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Article
Publication date: 21 July 2023

Jinhua Sun

Steel-reinforced concrete-filled steel tubular (SRCFST) columns have been increasingly popular in engineering practice for the columns' excellent seismic and fire performance…

Abstract

Purpose

Steel-reinforced concrete-filled steel tubular (SRCFST) columns have been increasingly popular in engineering practice for the columns' excellent seismic and fire performance. Significant design progress guidance has been made through continuous numerical and experimental research in recent years. This paper tested and analysed the residual loading capacity of SRCFST columns under axial loading after experiencing non-uniform ISO-834 standard fire.

Design/methodology/approach

The experimental research covered the main parameter of heating conditions, 1-side and 2-side fire, through two specimens. Two specimens were heated and loaded simultaneously in the furnace for 240 min. After cooling, the columns were moved to the hydraulic loading system and loaded to failure to determine the columns' residual capacity.

Findings

The experimental results indicated that the non-uniform heating area plays an essential role in the overall performance of SRCFST columns, the increasing heating area of columns results in lower residual loading capacity and stiffness. The SRCFST columns still had a high loading capacity after heating and loading in the fire.

Originality/value

The comparison of experimental data against design results showed that the design method generated a 16% safety margin for S2H4 and a 39% safety margin for S1H4.

Details

Journal of Structural Fire Engineering, vol. 15 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2040-2317

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 17 May 2024

Neda Rasooli, Fariborz Jolai, Mohammad Mehdi Sepehri and Afsaneh Tehranian

The childbirth process is a complex and vital event that requires careful analysis and improvement. This experience can shape a woman's perspective on motherhood and even affect…

Abstract

Purpose

The childbirth process is a complex and vital event that requires careful analysis and improvement. This experience can shape a woman's perspective on motherhood and even affect her mental health. Healthcare providers must prioritize improving the birth experience for women. In this interdisciplinary research, a combination of business process modeling (BPM) and medicine have been used with the aim of realizing an improved delivery experience and increased maternal satisfaction.

Design/methodology/approach

The data collection of this study was done by observing 518 childbirth processes and interviewing the chief of labor, chief residents, and midwives in the obstetrics and gynecology department of a hospital in Tehran from October 2022 to February 2023.

Findings

The research has been done in four main stages. The first phase is to model the primary process and sub-processes of normal vaginal delivery (NVD). The second phase is validation using expert confirmation and process mining (PM). The third phase is the analysis of the causes of maternal dissatisfaction in labor. The fourth phase of the heuristics redesigning and improving the process, in which for the first time three new categories have been presented including hospital-based, patient-based, and medical technique-based results show BPM intervention effect can be far-reaching in improving patient care and optimizing operational efficiency.

Originality/value

This study is one of only a few to adopt a process-oriented perspective to show how BPM can be used in clinical processes and has specifically examined an essential clinical process, i.e. childbirth.

Highlights

  1. Developing business process management (BMP) applications in a medical special process related to childbirth as interdisciplinary research.

  2. A combination of qualitative and quantitative techniques contains engineering software and management approaches for a Case study, Implementation of BPM lifecycle in the women's hospital in Iran, Tehran, for a clinical process, which is called, normal vaginal delivery (NVD) process for fetal expulsion normally.

  3. Modeling NVD clinical process and sub-process for the first time by BPMN2.0 notations in visual paradigm (VP) software and Validation of the made model with process mining (PM), by Disco process mining software. This was done through event log collection from HIS at the hospital.

  4. Improving the childbirth process by redesigning heuristics and Introducing two new categories special for clinical process improvement for the first time.

  5. Clinical process improvement heuristics obtained in this research are not consistent with the previous seven categories presented in previous studies such as Marlon Dumas' book. Therefore, we have introduced two new heuristics to redesign clinical processes compatible with medical centers, including hospital-based, patient-based, and medical technique-based.

  6. Providing a framework for clinical process modeling and improvement containing steps and tools.

Developing business process management (BMP) applications in a medical special process related to childbirth as interdisciplinary research.

A combination of qualitative and quantitative techniques contains engineering software and management approaches for a Case study, Implementation of BPM lifecycle in the women's hospital in Iran, Tehran, for a clinical process, which is called, normal vaginal delivery (NVD) process for fetal expulsion normally.

Modeling NVD clinical process and sub-process for the first time by BPMN2.0 notations in visual paradigm (VP) software and Validation of the made model with process mining (PM), by Disco process mining software. This was done through event log collection from HIS at the hospital.

Improving the childbirth process by redesigning heuristics and Introducing two new categories special for clinical process improvement for the first time.

Clinical process improvement heuristics obtained in this research are not consistent with the previous seven categories presented in previous studies such as Marlon Dumas' book. Therefore, we have introduced two new heuristics to redesign clinical processes compatible with medical centers, including hospital-based, patient-based, and medical technique-based.

Providing a framework for clinical process modeling and improvement containing steps and tools.

Details

Business Process Management Journal, vol. 30 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1463-7154

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 8 February 2023

Michael Karikari Appiah, Samuel Amponsah Odei and Gifty Kumi-Amoah

The purposes of this study are: to investigate how the dimensions of resource competitive strategies impact on small and medium enterprises’ (SMEs) intention to invest in Ghana’s…

Abstract

Purpose

The purposes of this study are: to investigate how the dimensions of resource competitive strategies impact on small and medium enterprises’ (SMEs) intention to invest in Ghana’s downstream petroleum sector and to develop a model to explain the moderating role of local content policy on the relationship between competitive strategies and investment intention of SMEs. Focusing on the Ghanaian SMEs, quantitative research approach and survey questionnaire have been used. The research hypotheses have been tested using variance-based structural equation modeling technique.

Design/methodology/approach

Since the Ghanaian Parliament passed the Local Content and Local Participation Policy (LI.2204) into law in 2013, successive governments have strived to optimize oil and gas benefits and encouraged local participation, yet the actual impacts are mixed, ambiguous and inconsequential. This paper further argues that the extent to which the local content policy role moderates the relationship between firms’ internal resources (proxied as competitive strategies) and investment intention in the energy sector remains largely unexplored.

Findings

The results have shown that competitive strategies such as entrepreneurial competency, finance resources and technological usage have positive and significant effects on SME's investment intention. Again, local content policies exert significant moderating effect on SMEs’ investment intention.

Practical implications

The policy implication of these results includes the need to strengthen regulatory capacity of the Petroleum Commission to enforce local content implementation in Ghana to enhance indigenous participation in the sector.

Originality/value

Theoretically, using the resource-based view theory, this study has offered a robust predictability of SMEs investment’s determinants in an emerging economy.

Details

International Journal of Energy Sector Management, vol. 18 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1750-6220

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 4 March 2024

Hillal M. Elshehabey, Andaç Batur Çolak and Abdelraheem Aly

The purpose of this study is to adapt the incompressible smoothed particle hydrodynamics (ISPH) method with artificial intelligence to manage the physical problem of double…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to adapt the incompressible smoothed particle hydrodynamics (ISPH) method with artificial intelligence to manage the physical problem of double diffusion inside a porous L-shaped cavity including two fins.

Design/methodology/approach

The ISPH method solves the nondimensional governing equations of a physical model. The ISPH simulations are attained at different Frank–Kamenetskii number, Darcy number, coupled Soret/Dufour numbers, coupled Cattaneo–Christov heat/mass fluxes, thermal radiation parameter and nanoparticle parameter. An artificial neural network (ANN) is developed using a total of 243 data sets. The data set is optimized as 171 of the data sets were used for training the model, 36 for validation and 36 for the testing phase. The network model was trained using the Levenberg–Marquardt training algorithm.

Findings

The resulting simulations show how thermal radiation declines the temperature distribution and changes the contour of a heat capacity ratio. The temperature distribution is improved, and the velocity field is decreased by 36.77% when the coupled heat Cattaneo–Christov heat/mass fluxes are increased from 0 to 0.8. The temperature distribution is supported, and the concentration distribution is declined by an increase in Soret–Dufour numbers. A rise in Soret–Dufour numbers corresponds to a decreasing velocity field. The Frank–Kamenetskii number is useful for enhancing the velocity field and temperature distribution. A reduction in Darcy number causes a high porous struggle, which reduces nanofluid velocity and improves temperature and concentration distribution. An increase in nanoparticle concentration causes a high fluid suspension viscosity, which reduces the suspension’s velocity. With the help of the ANN, the obtained model accurately predicts the values of the Nusselt and Sherwood numbers.

Originality/value

A novel integration between the ISPH method and the ANN is adapted to handle the heat and mass transfer within a new L-shaped geometry with fins in the presence of several physical effects.

Details

International Journal of Numerical Methods for Heat & Fluid Flow, vol. 34 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0961-5539

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 26 July 2022

Kawther Dhifi and Ghazi Zouari

Integrated reporting (IR) is the latest development in corporate reporting. It is a tool capable of better representing the ability of companies to create value over time. The…

Abstract

Purpose

Integrated reporting (IR) is the latest development in corporate reporting. It is a tool capable of better representing the ability of companies to create value over time. The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between the CEO’s characteristics (age, gender, education and experience) and firm performance through a mediating variable, namely, IR.

Design/methodology/approach

This study is a quantitative research and used panel data. Based on a sample of 449 UK firms or using a sample of 449 UK companies between 2010 and 2020 on STATA17 and structural equation model was used to analyze data and test hypotheses.

Findings

The results show that IR has only indirect mediation on the relationship between CEO’s characteristics and firm performance but mediates the relationship between CEO experience and performance in a complementary manner.

Originality/value

This article is motivated by the low number of works in the context about the corporate social responsibility and sustainability issues. It makes an important contribution to the academic literature by adding to the limited body of research on CEO’s characteristics, IR and firm performance. This study focuses primarily on the importance of integrated reporting in UK.

Details

Global Knowledge, Memory and Communication, vol. 73 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2514-9342

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 26 March 2024

Anuj Kumar Goel and V.N.A. Naikan

The purpose of this study is to explore the use of smartphone-embedded microelectro-mechanical sensors (MEMS) for accurately estimating rotating machinery speed, crucial for…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to explore the use of smartphone-embedded microelectro-mechanical sensors (MEMS) for accurately estimating rotating machinery speed, crucial for various condition monitoring tasks. Rotating machinery (RM) serves a crucial role in diverse applications, necessitating accurate speed estimation essential for condition monitoring (CM) tasks such as vibration analysis, efficiency evaluation and predictive assessment.

Design/methodology/approach

This research explores the utilization of MEMS embedded in smartphones to economically estimate RM speed. A series of experiments were conducted across three test setups, comparing smartphone-based speed estimation to traditional methods. Rigorous testing spanned various dimensions, including scenarios of limited data availability, diverse speed applications and different smartphone placements on RM surfaces.

Findings

The methodology demonstrated exceptional performance across low and high-speed contexts. Smartphones-MEMS accurately estimated speed regardless of their placement on surfaces like metal and fiber, presenting promising outcomes with a mere 6 RPM maximum error. Statistical analysis, using a two-sample t-test, compared smartphone-derived speed outcomes with those from a tachometer and high-quality (HQ) data acquisition system.

Research limitations/implications

The research limitations include the need for further investigation into smartphone sensor calibration and accuracy in extremely high-speed scenarios. Future research could focus on refining these aspects.

Social implications

The societal impact is substantial, offering cost-effective CM across various industries and encouraging further exploration of MEMS-based vibration monitoring.

Originality/value

This research showcases an innovative approach using smartphone-embedded MEMS for RM speed estimation. The study’s multidimensional testing highlights its originality in addressing scenarios with limited data and varied speed applications.

Details

Sensor Review, vol. 44 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0260-2288

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 18 April 2023

Raphael Lissillour, Yuting Cui, Khaled Guesmi, Weijian Chen and Qianran Chen

This study aims to empirically examine the relationships among perceived environmental uncertainty (EV), the level of knowledge distance (KD) and the impact of value network on…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to empirically examine the relationships among perceived environmental uncertainty (EV), the level of knowledge distance (KD) and the impact of value network on firm performance.

Design/methodology/approach

The quantitative analysis is based on data from 243 Chinese companies with engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) business in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Findings

The two dimensions of value network [network centrality (NC) and network openness (NO)] have a different impact on firm performance [financial performance (FP) and market performance (MP)]. NC has a positive impact on FP, but not on MP. NO has a positive effect on MP, but not on FP. A reduced KD mediates the relationship between value network and firm performance. Moreover, it fully mediates the relationship between NC and MP, NO and FP. Finally, during the COVID-19 pandemic, only EV has a moderating effect on KD and MP.

Research limitations/implications

This study is limited in terms of data set because it relies on a limited amount of cross-sectional data from one specific country. Therefore, researchers are encouraged to test the proposed propositions further.

Practical implications

The present findings suggest that EPC professionals should pay more attention to the EV, which may be impacted by policy, technology and the economy. This research has actionable implications for the reform of EPC in the construction industry, and practical recommendations for EPC firms to improve their corporate performance.

Originality/value

The results measure the complementary effects of both dimensions of value network (NC and NO) on two distinct aspects of firm performance (MP and FP) and assess the moderating effect of EV and KD in the context of the COVID-19 pandemics.

Details

Journal of Knowledge Management, vol. 28 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1367-3270

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 18 September 2023

Martin Beaulieu, Claudia Rebolledo and Raphael Lissillour

This paper aims to investigate the competencies that researchers need to develop and employ for successful collaborative research.

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to investigate the competencies that researchers need to develop and employ for successful collaborative research.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors use a reflexive approach built on participant observation of six cases of collaborative research in public procurement and logistics.

Findings

The authors identify and explain two major competencies that are required for successful collaborative research. The first is boundary-spanning competence that represents the researchers' ability to move fluidly from the academic milieu to the practitioner's environment. The second is reflexivity competence that allows the researchers to learn from each collaborative research project they participate in and further improve their boundary-spanning competence.

Originality/value

This study goes beyond the list of skills for collaborative research reported in the literature to describe two major competencies that researchers should develop to perform successful collaborative research. This reflection may serve as a starting point for the development of a sociological understanding of the collaborative research field.

Details

The International Journal of Logistics Management, vol. 35 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0957-4093

Keywords

Abstract

Details

Social Enterprise Journal, vol. 20 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1750-8614

Article
Publication date: 6 November 2023

Jonathan Núñez Aedo, Marcela A. Cruchaga and Mario A. Storti

This paper aims to report the study of a fluid buoy system that includes wave effects, with particular emphasis on validating the numerical results with experimental data.

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to report the study of a fluid buoy system that includes wave effects, with particular emphasis on validating the numerical results with experimental data.

Design/methodology/approach

A fluid–solid coupled algorithm is proposed to describe the motion of a rigid buoy under the effects of waves. The Navier–Stokes equations are solved with the open-source finite volume package Code Saturne, in which a free-surface capture technique and equations of motion for the solid are implemented. An ad hoc experiment on a laboratory scale is built. A buoy is placed into a tank partially filled with water; the tank is mounted into a shake table and subjected to controlled motion that promotes waves. The experiment allows for recording the evolution of the free surface at the control points using the ultrasonic sensors and the movement of the buoy by tracking the markers by postprocessing the recorded videos. The numerical results are validated by comparison with the experimental data.

Findings

The implemented free-surface technique, developed within the framework of the finite-volume method, is validated. The best-obtained agreement is for small amplitudes compatible with the waves evolving under deep-water conditions. Second, the algorithm proposed to describe rigid-body motion, including wave analysis, is validated. The numerical body motion and wave pattern satisfactorily matched the experimental data. The complete 3D proposed model can realistically describe buoy motions under the effects of stationary waves.

Originality/value

The novel aspects of this study encompass the implementation of a fluid–structure interaction strategy to describe rigid-body motion, including wave effects in a finite-volume context, and the reported free-surface and buoy position measurements from experiments. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, the numerical strategy, the validation of the computed results and the experimental data are all original contributions of this work.

Details

International Journal of Numerical Methods for Heat & Fluid Flow, vol. 34 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0961-5539

Keywords

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