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Hospital landscape is not a useless space within hospital buildings anymore. It is considered as a supportive area providing mental and physical peace. However, the planting design of the hospital landscape and the way it should be in order to not disrupt wayfinding performance is neglected. This paper, which is a case study, aims at investigating the effects of planting design in Kerman hospitals’ landscapes on the users’ wayfinding using space syntax techniques.

This research focuses on the effects of planting design on the users’ wayfinding in hospitals. In so doing, library research, computer simulation and analysis with the University College London (UCL) Depthmap software, and comparison techniques are used. Based on axial maps, the measures of integration, connectivity and intelligibility are considered for analysing the wayfinding process of individuals.

The findings show that planting configurations in the hospital landscape can affect individuals’ wayfinding. Integrated and regular planting design in addition to combining planted areas with the hospital buildings can pave the way for intelligible space and easier wayfinding.

According to the authors’ knowledge, the current study is the first to use the space syntax techniques in the health-care landscape architecture in terms of planting design and wayfinding. As wayfinding is an important issue in health-care spaces, the study findings can greatly help the health-care building designers and the related organizations to pay attention to the hospital landscape as much as hospital indoors.

The house not only provides shelter and security but also is a reflection of human privacy. One of the important factors involved in house design is privacy. The current research is a case study that examines privacy's evolution in contemporary houses in Kerman using space syntax techniques.

This study is based on the quantitative approach of space syntax. A total number of 15 houses in Kerman built in three periods of Qajar, Pahlavi and the Islamic Republic, were examined for the space syntax indices using UCL DepthMap. The DepthMap outputs were also analyzed using one-way ANOVA.

The findings indicated that the arrangement of spaces in houses has altered over time from the 1920s onwards. There is a significant difference between houses of the Qajar, Pahlavi and the Islamic Republic eras, indicating a reduction in the hierarchy of access and reduced privacy in houses in the Islamic Republic.

Numerous factors affect privacy (e.g. confidentiality, interface spaces, quality of openings and visibility). Nevertheless, this study focused on the impact of spatial configuration on privacy. It can be stated that the design of houses from the Pahlavi period was gradually associated with changes in culture and modern architecture, leading to a decrease in privacy.

This study used space syntax to examine the evolution of privacy in contemporary Iranian houses. Since privacy is a substantial issue in the middle east communities, the findings can help designers and relevant organizations consider privacy as much as other comfort factors in the early stages of design.

The purpose of this paper is to determine the prevalence of Listeria monocytogenes as an important foodborne pathogen in different kinds of meat.

In total, 410 samples, including fresh and frozen meats of turkey, quail, chicken, ostrich, cattle, sheep and camel, fresh chicken liver and fresh minced meat were gathered and then analyzed according to USDA-FSIS method. To enumerate L. monocytogenes, the MPN procedure was used and also, strains were serotyped by using commercial specific antisera.

It was found that 28.05 percent of samples were positive for L. monocytogenes and the contamination of beef meat was higher than the others. The range of microbial load was from <2 to 940 MPN g−1. Most of the samples (94.39 percent) had a microbial load of <100 MPN g−1. Moreover, 56 percent of the strains belonged to serogroup 1, especially to 1/2a, although, the most frequently isolated serotype was serotype 4b (38.3 percent) in all samples. These findings indicate the potential risk of contamination in different kinds of meats by L. monocytogenes.

This survey is of academic value and of value to those working in the food hygiene and safety. Also, to the best knowledge of these researchers, there has been no serious research on this topic with all its aspects in Iran.

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the compliance status of prerequisite programs (PRPs) and to determine the feasibility of hazard analysis and critical control point (HACCP) program in restaurants in different cities of Iran.

In total, 58 great chain restaurants were assessed randomly by observation, interview and questionnaires. The main prerequisites for HACCP implementation in questionnaires were as follows: personal hygiene of employees, rinsing, disinfection and cleaning programs, area and location of the restaurant, design and layout of the tools, building facilities, interior environment of the building, environmental hygiene, storerooms, cold storage, refrigerators and documentation.

Only 17 percent (10) of restaurants were generally assessed in a proper level of compliance and 95 percent (55) of them had not any documentation about hygienic practices. Also, the status of storerooms, cold storage and refrigerators was improper. Although, according to the area and location, the feasibility of HACCP program in the evaluated restaurants was in the highest level.

All of evaluated chain restaurants provided large amounts of food for customers each day and they had relatively more facilities and money resources for the implementation of PRPs. Hence, the findings of this research can be applicable for small and independent restaurants and other food service establishments.

The construction industry in developed countries is witnessing a paradigm shift towards modular construction methods, driven by the need for efficiency, sustainability, and cost-effectiveness. However, the realization of these benefits in the context of developing countries is hindered by numerous barriers. Against this backdrop, this study seeks to contribute insights into the barriers hindering the adoption of modular construction in developing countries, specifically Nigeria, and further formulate effective strategies.

A thorough review of existing literature was conducted to identify the multifaceted barriers hindering the adoption of modular construction and the corresponding strategies. Subsequently, a panel of 13 experts were invited to utilize the Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process (FAHP) approach to systematically evaluate these barriers based on their impact. Furthermore, the experts implored the Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) approach to select and prioritize the most suitable strategies to mitigate these barriers.

The study revealed that the most critical barriers to modular construction are Client resistance to change and innovation, Limited experience in module installation, and Transportation constraints. Additionally, the study prioritizes 13 strategies, with the Development of effective guidelines, standards, and policies ranked highest. The insights from the ranking using the FAHP and TOPSIS approach were adopted to develop a framework for modular implementation in developing countries.

This study is limited to Nigeria due to its status as the country with the highest Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in Africa, and it is considered a suitable representation of the region as most of the countries in Africa are categorized as developing nations.

By highlighting the most critical barriers and prioritizing effective strategies, the study provides actionable insights for overcoming obstacles to modular construction adoption. Decision-makers can use this information to develop targeted policies and training programs to promote the adoption of modular construction in developing countries.

The research provides valuable insights by not only identifying critical barriers but also presenting prioritized strategies, distinguishing itself from previous studies, and establishing itself as a novel resource for developing countries. This adopt a novel hybrid MCDM approach for modular construction in developing countries such as Nigeria which can serve as reference point to other developing countries seeking to adopt modular construction and leverage its numerous benefits.

The Indonesian construction industry has to considerably rise due to the issues of quality product, organisational performance and global competitiveness faced today, along with settling several national challenges that continue to plague the construction industry. Delivering high-quality construction products and services is non-negotiable when competing for contracts with international constructors. Developing such an assessment system to evaluate the performance of Indonesian construction companies is an urgent need in order to encourage and motivate the construction companies to continually improve their performance in the execution of construction works. The purpose of this paper is to empirically test the key attributes related to the evaluation of quality and performance in the construction project-based case of Indonesia.

A survey was conducted in the five provinces in Indonesia involving 216 construction practitioners from medium and large qualifications of construction companies.

On the basis of the data analysis results, the study develops the 39 key attributes that can be a basis for the development of Indonesian building construction project performance assessment system. The attributes cover construction companies’ performance during project implementation, in delivering final project results and in implementing quality procedures for building construction works.

The outcome of this study is considered significant to provide a tool for the government to assess the quality performance of contractors in delivering projects against specified standards, and a guideline for the contractors to improve their competitiveness by implementing continuous quality improvement. The confirmed attributes developed from this study is an initial step towards developing an Indonesian construction comprehensive quality performance assessment system.

The purpose of this paper is to examine and model the in-plant operational efficiency of tow trucks of an automobile manufacturing plant. Even though, tow trucks contribute toward the improvement of operational performance, little case-based evidence prevail in the literature. For this purpose, a case study has been conducted in an Indian automobile manufacturer to address the prevailing issues in material handling (MH).

Initially, this paper focuses on grouping of the sequence parts and finding the shortest path among the groups. To elucidate this, an analytical framework based on the distance and stuffing quantity is proposed. A fuzzy Dijkstra’s algorithm is used to solve the issues in grouping of the sequence parts and shortest path among the groups.

This study addressed the four aspects of MH: move cost, time, distance and material by integrating the function of grouping, finding the shortest path and communication with low cost devices. The result shows that logistics routes and activities should not be interrupted by any of the external factors. The availability of stock is a key performance variable to attain efficiency. In addition to this, effective communication between the truck operators and the production line managers is key performance indicator.

The paper helps the automobile practitioners on increasing the efficiency of tow truck by systemizing the routes. Logistics routes and activities should not be interrupted by any of the external factors. The availability of stock is a key performance variable to attain efficiency. In addition to this, effective communication between the truck operators and the line managers is key performance indicator.

The primary aim of this study was to determine whether or not leaders' emotional intelligence plays a mediating role in the relationship between leadership styles and voluntary work behaviours among employees of selected banks in Ghana. Specifically, the objective was to determine the mediating effect of leaders' emotional intelligence on the relationship between transactional and transformational leadership styles and organizational citizenship behaviours (OCB) and counterproductive workplace behaviours (CWB).

The quantitative approach to research was adopted to collect data from 234 respondents. More so, both purposive and simple random sampling techniques were used for the selection of respondents for the study.

The findings of the study revealed that amongst the various leadership styles and OCB and CWB relationships, only the relationship between transformational leadership and OCB was mediated by leaders' emotional intelligence.

It was however recommended that transformational leadership style be adopted in the quest to encourage employees to exhibit OCB and mitigate employees' involvement in CWB since such leaders are more prone to exhibiting high levels of emotional intelligence in the dealing with employees.

For the first time in the Ghanaian banking sector, this research explores the leaders' emotional intelligence as mediator on the nexus between leadership styles and voluntary work behaviours of employees of selected banks in Ghana.

The study investigates the effect of autocratic, democratic and transformational leadership styles on employees' organizational citizenship behavior (OCB). The study further examines the moderating role of leaders' emotional intelligence between leadership styles and OCB.

Questionnaires were used to collect data from 618 small and medium-sized enterprises' (SMEs) employees in Ghana. For this study, both simple random and convenient sampling were adopted in selecting respondents. Regression was used to test the hypotheses in the research model using IBM–Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS).

The results show that democratic and transformational leadership styles both positively predicted the OCB of SME employees, although transformational leadership has a more significant influence. On the contrary, autocratic leadership style was found to have an insignificant relationship with OCB of SME employees when the interactive effect of the various leadership styles and emotional intelligence were introduced into the model. The results also show that whereas leaders' emotional intelligence positively moderate the relationship between autocratic leadership style and OCB, the relationships between democratic leadership style and OCB and between transformational leadership style and OCB are not significantly moderated by leaders' emotional intelligence.

An examination of other prominent leadership styles (for example, the transactional leadership style and the laissez faire leadership style) could be key areas for future research as it is a potential limitation of this study. Similarly, the use of a Western leadership instrument could also be a potential limitation in the Ghanaian context, although these instruments and scales may be applicable. Future studies could also consider a longitudinal approach to give a more holistic picture of the effect of the leadership styles on OCB.

In general, the findings of the study support the idea that the autocratic leadership style affects SME employees' OCB both directly and indirectly through leaders' emotional intelligence. This study recommends that leaders of SMEs should focus on leadership styles that combine both result-oriented and people-centric behaviors to encourage SMEs' employees to engage in OCB.

This study provides firsthand information on the impact of autocratic leadership style, democratic leadership style and transformational leadership style on an employee's OCB from the Ghanaian SME perspective.

The purpose of this paper is to determine the extent to which leadership styles predict the voluntary work behaviors of employees.

The quantitative approach was adopted to collect data from 234 respondents. Both purposive and simple random sampling techniques were used for the selection of the respondents.

The findings of the study revealed that though both the transformational and transactional leadership styles positively predicted the organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) of employees, transformational leadership is more significant. Also, transformational leadership was found to have a significant negative relationship with the counterproductive workplace behavior (CWB) of employees, whereas transactional leadership had an insignificant relationship with CWB.

The research addresses the gap in the literature on how leadership styles influence employees’ tendency to exhibit either OCB or CWB specifically in the Ghanaian context.

The findings suggested that transformational leadership should be used in the quest to encourage OCB and to mitigate CWB.

The study provides an in-depth account on how the leaders’ style influences both employees’ OCB and CWB and how to appropriately manage such voluntary behaviors.