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Article
Publication date: 4 March 2021

Amir Asgari, Ali Khorsandi Taskoh and Saeed Ghiasi Nodooshan

This paper aims to introduce a conceptual model for the shaping of the innovation district under the anchor approach by extracting the specifications of the fourth-generation…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to introduce a conceptual model for the shaping of the innovation district under the anchor approach by extracting the specifications of the fourth-generation university.

Design/methodology/approach

This study selected 550 resources and reduced them to 190 to achieve the most appropriate resources. This study used a meta-synthesis analysis approach using a text-mining method due to the multidisciplinary and voluminous nature of contents.

Findings

The results first reveal the shaping process and the components of innovation districts, which are: innovational urban infrastructures, knowledge economy and competitiveness and academic development. Second, this study also shows the specifications of a fourth-generation university to shape innovation districts.

Practical implications

This study also informs the policymakers and researchers internationally about the implementation requirements of a fourth-generation university and the shaping mechanisms of an innovation district.

Originality/value

This paper is pioneer about two concepts, first, it shows the shaping process of an innovation district, providing a large-scale insight about the components and second, this illustrates for the first time the specifications of a fourth-generation University practically as an anchor institute to shape innovation district.

Details

International Journal of Innovation Science, vol. 13 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1757-2223

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 17 May 2021

Mohammad Javad Asgari, Amir Zakery and Mir Saman Pishvaee

This paper aims to investigate the impact of the factors affecting open innovation (OI) intensity, in terms of three components of cooperative innovation, resource search and…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to investigate the impact of the factors affecting open innovation (OI) intensity, in terms of three components of cooperative innovation, resource search and external research and development (R&D), as well as the impact of OI intensity on commercialization performance in small and medium-sized enterprises.

Design/methodology/approach

The data obtained from the distributed questionnaire among small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) from Isfahan Science and Technology Town (ISTT) in Iran, was analyzed using inferential and parametric statistics to examine the research hypotheses. In this analysis, structural equation tests were used to confirm or reject the research hypotheses using Smart PLS software.

Findings

The results indicate that all three OI components influence commercialization in technology-based firms of ISTT, while the most important one is cooperative innovation. Among the factors affecting OI components, innovative incentives are the most effective one that increases both external R&D and cooperative innovation. Facilitators and limitations of open innovation are also affecting OI intensity, with lower priorities.

Practical implications

Science park managers and policymakers should lay the ground for enhancing the cooperation intensity among firms. Cooperation intensity is the most effective open innovation component to improve commercialization performance.

Originality/value

Open innovation antecedents and its consequence on commercialization performance have been investigated for the same time in SMEs of a science park.

Details

Kybernetes, vol. 51 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0368-492X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 22 December 2022

Amir Najibi, Morteza Kianifar and Payman Ghazifard

The authors examined the numerical natural frequency analysis of a 2D functionally graded (FG) truncated thick hollow cone using 3D elasticity theory.

Abstract

Purpose

The authors examined the numerical natural frequency analysis of a 2D functionally graded (FG) truncated thick hollow cone using 3D elasticity theory.

Design/methodology/approach

The material properties of the 2D-FGM (two dimensional-functionally graded materials) cone are graded along the radial and axial axes of the cone using a power–law distribution. The eigenvalue problem was solved using finite element analysis (FEA) employing graded hexahedral elements, and the verification of the finite element approach was assessed by comparing the current solution to earlier experimental studies.

Findings

The effects of semivertex angle, material distribution and the cone configuration on the natural frequencies have been analyzed. For various semivertex angles, thickness, length and power law exponents, many results in the form of natural frequencies and mode shapes are presented for the 2D-FGM cone. As a result, the effects of the given parameters were addressed, and the results were compared, demonstrating the direct efficiency of raising the power–law exponents and cone thickness on the rise of natural frequencies.

Originality/value

For the first time, the numerical natural frequency analysis of a 2D-FG truncated thick hollow truncated cone based on 3D equations of elasticity has been investigated. The material properties of the truncated cone have been distributed along two directions, which has not been considered before in any research for the truncated thick cone. The reason for using these innovative volume fraction functions is the lack of accurate coverage by functions that are available in the literature (Asemi et al., 2011; Babaei et al. 2021).

Details

Engineering Computations, vol. 40 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0264-4401

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 10 April 2020

Fereshteh Aliasghari, Soghra Aliasgharzadeh, Amir Hossein Faghfouri, Reza Mahdavi and Neda Lotfi Yagin

Obesity can cause impairment in adipose tissue-derived hormones levels, which, in turn, might lead to metabolic syndrome occurrence. This study aims to assess the relationship…

Abstract

Purpose

Obesity can cause impairment in adipose tissue-derived hormones levels, which, in turn, might lead to metabolic syndrome occurrence. This study aims to assess the relationship between the levels of adiponectin, resistin, retinol-binding protein 4 (RBP4) and insulin with metabolic syndrome (MetS) indices. Also, optimal cutoff points of the adipokines and insulin for MetS prediction were determined.

Design/methodology/approach

In this study, 180 women (90 women with MetS and 90 women without MetS) were studied. The National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III criteria were used for MetS diagnosis. Anthropometric and biochemical indices were measured. Data were analyzed using SPSS software version 21.

Findings

Serum adiponectin correlated negatively with age, BMI, waist circumference (WC), triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol, SBP, DBP, FBS and positively correlated with high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol. Both resistin and RBP4 levels correlated positively with BMI, WC, TG, SBP, DBP and FBS. Also, serum insulin correlated positively with BMI, WC, SBP and DBP. All the studied adipokines and insulin showed significant areas under the receiver operating characteristics curve. The largest area under the curve was observed for adiponectin (0.93, 95 per cent CI = 0.89-0.97, p < 0.001) with the optimal cut-off point of 11.94 µg/L. Also, the upper level of adiponectin was associated with 70 per cent lower prevalence odds of metabolic syndrome after adjusting for confounders.

Originality/value

The authors determined the optimal cutoff points of the adipokines and insulin for MetS prediction and calculated the diagnostic odds ratio for various cutoff values. Adiponectin could be used as a biomarker in MetS regarding its largest AUC.

Details

Nutrition & Food Science , vol. 50 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0034-6659

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 5 April 2019

Mohamad Amin Kaviani, Amir Karbassi Yazdi, Lanndon Ocampo and Simonov Kusi-Sarpong

The oil and gas industry is a crucial economic sector for both developed and developing economies. Delays in extraction and refining of these resources would adversely affect…

Abstract

Purpose

The oil and gas industry is a crucial economic sector for both developed and developing economies. Delays in extraction and refining of these resources would adversely affect industrial players, including that of the host countries. Supplier selection is one of the most important decisions taken by managers of this industry that affect their supply chain operations. However, determining suitable suppliers to work with has become a phenomenon faced by these managers and their organizations. Furthermore, identifying relevant, critical and important criteria needed to guide these managers and their organizations for supplier selection decisions has become even more complicated due to various criteria that need to be taken into consideration. With limited works in the current literature of supplier selection in the oil and gas industry having major methodological drawbacks, the purpose of this paper is to develop an integrated approach for supplier selection in the oil and gas industry.

Design/methodology/approach

To address this problem, this paper proposes a new uncertain decision framework. A grey-Delphi approach is first applied to aid in the evaluation and refinement of these various available criteria to obtain the most important and relevant criteria for the oil and gas industry. The grey systems theoretic concept is adopted to address the subjectivity and uncertainty in human judgments. The grey-Shannon entropy approach is used to determine the criteria weights, and finally, the grey-EDAS (evaluation based on distance from average solution) method is utilized for determining the ranking of the suppliers.

Findings

To exemplify the applicability and robustness of the proposed approach, this study uses the oil and gas industry of Iran as a case in point. From the literature review, 21 criteria were established and using the grey-Delphi approach, 16 were finally considered. The four top-ranked criteria, using grey-Shannon entropy, include warranty level and experience time, relationship closeness, supplier’s technical level and risks which are considered as the most critical and influential criteria for supplier evaluation in the Iranian oil and gas industry. The ranking of the suppliers is obtained, and the best and worst suppliers are also identified. Sensitivity analysis indicates that the results using the proposed methodology are robust.

Research limitations/implications

The proposed approach would assist supply chain practicing managers, including purchasing managers, procurement managers and supply chain managers in the oil and gas and other industries, to effectively select suitable suppliers for cooperation. It can also be used for other multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) applications. Future works on applying other MCDM methods and comparing them with the results of this study can be addressed. Finally, broader and more empirical works are required in the oil and gas industry.

Originality/value

This study is among the first few studies of supplier selection in the oil and gas industry from an emerging economy perspective and sets the stage for future research. The proposed integrated grey-based MCDM approach provides robust results in supplier evaluation and can be used for future domain applications.

Article
Publication date: 3 May 2022

Amir Ali Mohamad Khani, Toktam Aghaee, Jalil Mazloum and Morteza Jamali

A wide band perfect THz absorber is presented in this work. The structure includes two layers of graphene disks on the silicon dioxide dielectric layer while a golden plate is…

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Abstract

Purpose

A wide band perfect THz absorber is presented in this work. The structure includes two layers of graphene disks on the silicon dioxide dielectric layer while a golden plate is placed at the bottom to act as a fully reflecting mirror against THz waves. According to the simulations, the device is robust enough to show independent operation versus layers thicknesses variations, chemical potentials mismatches and changing of electron relaxation time. The designed THz absorber in this work is an appropriate basic block for several applications in THz optical systems such as sensors, detectors and modulators.

Design/methodology/approach

The layers in the proposed device are modeled via passive circuit elements and consequently, the equivalent circuit of the device is calculated. Leveraging the developed equivalent circuit model (ECM) and impedance matching concept, the proposed device is designed to perfect absorption with 4.7 THz bandwidth that possesses over 90% absorption. Ample simulations are performed using MATLAB (ECM) and CST (finite element method) to verify the superior performance of the device. According to the simulations, the device is robust enough to show independent operation versus layers thicknesses variations, chemical potentials mismatches and changing of electron relaxation time.

Findings

This work reports a wideband THz absorber, composed of two graphene layers. This paper considers the circuit model representation for two different layers of the device. For a unique structure, a highly tunable response versus chemical potential is obtained. The circuit model approach and impedance matching theory are exploited to reduce computational time regarding conventional approaches.

Originality/value

A wide band absorber in THz band is presented. Leveraging circuit model approach and impedance matching theory, the design procedure is simplified regarding CPU time and memory requirements compared to conventional methods. Detailed calculations and ample simulations verify the performance excellency of the device to absorb THz incident waves in 2–6.5 THz frequencies. Also, the robustness of the device is investigated versus parameters mismatches like layers thicknesses and chemical potentials values. According to the simulations and absorption response, the proposed device is an appropriate block to be used in THz optical systems such as detectors, imaging systems and optical modulators.

Details

COMPEL - The international journal for computation and mathematics in electrical and electronic engineering , vol. 41 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0332-1649

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 8 December 2020

Lai Wan Hooi

The purpose of this paper is to establish if indeed human resource management (HRM) practices drive organizational learning capability and, in turn, fortify small and medium…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to establish if indeed human resource management (HRM) practices drive organizational learning capability and, in turn, fortify small and medium enterprises (SMEs) performance. The purpose of mediation analysis is to see if the influence of organizational learning capability is stronger than the direct influence of HRM practices on SME performance.

Design/methodology/approach

Data was collected from managerial-level employees of SMEs using questionnaire survey. This study used the Partial Least Squares approach to structural equation modeling to test the hypothesized relationship, as it involves the relationships among multiple variables.

Findings

Of the HRM practices, incentive and compensation and team working seem to be important for firm performance. As for organizational learning capability, only openness and experimentation and managerial commitment have a direct positive impact on firm performance. The results of the mediation analysis established organizational learning capability as a mediator, albeit partially.

Originality/value

Although prior research revealed a positive relationship between HRM practices and performance, this study illuminates the black box in-between, as few studies have established its importance in the relationship between HRM practices and firm performance. The findings provide more consensus on the ongoing debate on the linkages among HRM practices, SME performance and organizational learning capability.

Details

International Journal of Organizational Analysis, vol. 29 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1934-8835

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 30 September 2020

Kevan Harris

One of the concepts most commonly evoked in order to characterize and explain the zig-zag trajectory of political dynamics in the Islamic Republic of Iran has been the “middle…

Abstract

One of the concepts most commonly evoked in order to characterize and explain the zig-zag trajectory of political dynamics in the Islamic Republic of Iran has been the “middle class.” Yet there is no scholarly consensus on a fundamental approach to identification and measurement of the middle class. Rather, the category of the middle class is both a category of analysis – long debated within social theory – as well as a category of practice – routinely deployed in political behavior and social distinction. In order to better conceptualize and understand the formation and role of Iran's middle classes in the country's sociopolitical dynamics, theories of class formation in the global South should be rearticulated away from a reified notion of the middle class as a transhistorical subject. To do so, this chapter is divided into four sections. First, internal debates over the role of Iran's middle classes in the country's recent political history are assessed and data from the 2016 Iran Social Survey is used to test a long-standing demographic assumption on the class dynamics of electoral behavior. Second, the tradition of theorizing the social power of middle classes is reassessed, drawing on the growing scholarly attention to the heterogenous origins and differentiated internal composition of middle classes across the global South. Third, a typology is proposed of four middle classes across the twentieth century shaped by varying state attempts at “catch-up” development. These types are then applied in a revisionist telling of the making and unmaking of middle classes in postrevolutionary Iran. Finally, implications of this framework beyond Iran are sketched out for global waves of protest in the twenty-first century.

Details

Rethinking Class and Social Difference
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83982-020-5

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 17 August 2010

Zahra Abazari and Alireza Isfandyari‐Moghaddam

This study aims to evaluates the existing and potential facilities in Iranian Islamic Sciences Centers (ISCs), including information resources, budget, human resources and…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to evaluates the existing and potential facilities in Iranian Islamic Sciences Centers (ISCs), including information resources, budget, human resources and facilities. It identifies the views of Center managers in order to find grounds for cooperation and collaboration and to develop communication and information exchanges between the Centers.

Design/methodology/approach

The population of this research includes all 123 ISCs in Iran. Questionnaires were distributed in a three‐month interval (August to October, 2008). The data were analyzed using SPSS software (Version 16).

Findings

The findings show that ISCs support the establishment of a network and would join it; however, lack of professionals in the informatics and network development, lack of in‐service training facilities, lack of financial and facilities, lack of access to the resources of other centers and the absence of fast exchange of information are among the problems that need much attention.

Practical implications

To establish the network, three issues should be considered, i.e. human resources, budget, and facilities of the centers.

Originality/value

The paper can serve as a driver to improve the efficiency in ISCs through establishing an information network to serve them.

Details

Interlending & Document Supply, vol. 38 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0264-1615

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 28 February 2019

Behzad Karimi, Amir Hossein Niknamfar, Babak Hassan Gavyar, Majid Barzegar and Ali Mohtashami

Today’s, supply chain production and distribution of products to improve the customer satisfaction in the shortest possible time by paying the minimum cost, has become the most…

Abstract

Purpose

Today’s, supply chain production and distribution of products to improve the customer satisfaction in the shortest possible time by paying the minimum cost, has become the most important challenge in global market. On the other hand, minimizing the total cost of the transportation and distribution is one of the critical items for companies. To handle this challenge, this paper aims to present a multi-objective multi-facility model of green closed-loop supply chain (GCLSC) under uncertain environment. In this model, the proposed GCLSC considers three classes in case of the leading chain and three classes in terms of the recursive chain. The objectives are to maximize the total profit of the GCLSC, satisfaction of demand, the satisfactions of the customers and getting to the proper cost of the consumers, distribution centers and recursive centers.

Design/methodology/approach

Then, this model is designed by considering several products under several periods regarding the recovery possibility of products. Finally, to evaluate the proposed model, several numerical examples are randomly designed and then solved using non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm and non-dominated ranking genetic algorithm. Then, they are ranked by TOPSIS along with analytical hierarchy process so-called analytic hierarchy process-technique for order of preference by similarity to ideal solution (AHP-TOPSIS).

Findings

The results indicated that non-dominated ranked genetic algorithm (NRGA) algorithm outperforms non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm (NSGA-II) algorithm in terms of computation times. However, in other metrics, any significant difference was not seen. At the end, to rank the algorithms, a multi-criterion decision technique was used. The obtained results of this method indicated that NSGA-II had better performance than ones obtained by NRGA.

Originality/value

This study is motivated by the need of integrating the leading supply chain and retrogressive supply chain. In short, the highlights of the differences of this research with the mentioned studies are as follows: developing multi-objective multi-facility model of fuzzy GCLSC under uncertain environment and integrating the leading supply chain and retrogressive supply chain.

Details

Assembly Automation, vol. 39 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-5154

Keywords

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