Search results
1 – 6 of 6Zeinab Lalegani, Ali Nasr Isfahani, Arash Shahin and Ali Safari
The purpose of this paper is to develop and analyze a model of factors influencing interpersonal conflicts.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to develop and analyze a model of factors influencing interpersonal conflicts.
Design/methodology/approach
This research was conducted using a mixed method approach. In the qualitative study, the conceptual model of the factors affecting interpersonal conflicts was extracted from semi-structured interviews with 17 relevant experts using a theme analysis technique. Then, three hypotheses were developed based on the model and relevant theoretical evidence. Using a researcher-made questionnaire which was developed earlier based on the qualitative results, a quantitative-based survey was performed to assess the interpersonal conflicts and also the standard scale of the level of interpersonal conflicts (Jehn, 1997). The hypotheses were tested on a sample of 160 employees of Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari Province Gas Company (CBPGC).
Findings
The results of the qualitative study indicated that individual factors including personality dimensions and individual differences; organizational factors including five dimensions of organizational culture, organizational structure, management characteristics, intra-organization factors and human resource systems; and environmental factors influenced the creation of interpersonal conflicts. The results of the quantitative study indicated that organizational factors with an effect size of 0.502 were identified as the most important factor influencing interpersonal conflicts.
Research limitations/implications
The findings of this study can provide a roadmap to managers of the CBPGC to be aware of the contributing factors to conflict within their organization.
Originality/value
The use of mixed method to identify the causes and factors of interpersonal conflict and analyzing a context different from previous studies can be considered as the innovations of this study.
Details
Keywords
Arezoo Pedramfar, Keivan Beheshti Maal and Sayed Hossein Mirdamadian
Corrosion-producing microorganisms have different physiology and include sulfate-reducing bacteria, iron oxidizers and magnesium oxidizers. Biocorrosion has been seen in various…
Abstract
Purpose
Corrosion-producing microorganisms have different physiology and include sulfate-reducing bacteria, iron oxidizers and magnesium oxidizers. Biocorrosion has been seen in various industries, especially the petrochemicals and oil industries. One proposal to solve this problem is the use of bacteriophages to treat the bacteria-caused corrosion. The aims of this study were isolation and identification of corrosion-producing bacteria from petroleum pipeline corrosion as well as finding their specific bacteriophages for phage therapy purposes.
Design/methodology/approach
The sample pipes with the corrosion were obtained from the Gandomkar petroleum pipeline station, Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari, Iran. For screening the corrosion-producing bacteria, the rusted pipe samples were cultured in a selective culture medium, manganese agar. The purified individual colonies were subjected to molecular examinations. For isolating bacteriophages from silversmithing workshops wastewater in Isfahan, whole plate titration methods and transmission electron microscopy were used to isolate and detect phages.
Findings
The cultivation of corrosion-based material on manganese agar after 18 hours incubation at 30°C resulted in the isolation of cream-colored colonies. The microscopic examinations showed Gram-negative coccobacilli. Based on molecular examinations, the isolated bacteria were identified as Stenotrophomonas maltophilia strain PBM-IAUF-2 with Genebank accession number of KU145278.1. The found bacteriophage was related to the Siphoviridae family of phages.
Originality/value
This paper is the first report of isolation and identification of corrosion-producing bacteria and its specific lytic phages from Gandomkar petroleum pipeline station, Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari, Iran. The biological procedures for preventing the microbial corrosion could be an asset and considered as a potential in the petroleum and industrial microbiology. Phage therapy is considered as one of the economical methods for reducing the biocorrosion.
Details
Keywords
Somayye Karimi Omshi, Sohrab Kordrostami, Alireza Amirteimoori and Armin Ghane Kanafi
Data envelopment analysis (DEA) is a significant method for measuring the relative efficiency of decision making units (DMUs) that use the least inputs, produce the most desirable…
Abstract
Purpose
Data envelopment analysis (DEA) is a significant method for measuring the relative efficiency of decision making units (DMUs) that use the least inputs, produce the most desirable outputs and emit the least undesirable outputs in order to maximize their profits. In DEA, detecting an optimal scale size (OSS) is also vital and could be more applicable in economic activities when there are integer and undesirable measures. The purpose of this research is to measure average-profit efficiency (APE) and OSSs with integer data and undesirable outputs.
Design/methodology/approach
This study presents an alternative concept of APE using the concepts of most productive scale size (MPSS), profit efficiency and scales, containing desirable and undesirable outputs along with integer and non-integer measures. In fact, the OSS minimizes APE as the optimal scale, which is the ratio of the profit efficiency to the radial average output. Considering the prices of the inputs and desirable outputs, as well as the lack of any specific weight for the undesirable outputs, a two-step model for the numerical calculation of OSS is presented. In addition, the proposed approach is applied to a real data set of Iranian gas companies while there are integer measures and undesirable outputs.
Findings
The results show the introduced approach is beneficial to estimate OSSs from the aspect of maximizing profits of firms with undesirable outputs and integer values.
Originality/value
Estimating OSSs is the significant issue for managers, but its investigation in the presence of integer measures and undesirable outputs is presently under-considered.
Details
Keywords
Mehdi Jahangiri, Ahmad Haghani, Shahram Heidarian, Ali Mostafaeipour, Heidar Ali Raiesi and Akbar Alidadi Shamsabadi
Rural areas are one of the effective regions in economy and self-sufficiency field especially in agricultural and livestock section. Planning in the rural section and the effort…
Abstract
Purpose
Rural areas are one of the effective regions in economy and self-sufficiency field especially in agricultural and livestock section. Planning in the rural section and the effort in solving the problems of farmers lead to increase their interest in farming and manufacturing in the villages and decrease their migration to the cities and metropolitans. Therefore, the present study aimed at feasibility of electricity to a rural household in Iran using off-grid solar-based hybrid system.
Design/methodology/approach
In renewable energy projects, a successful evaluation requires suitable criteria so that one can properly analyze the operational behavior of all feasible scenarios. In the present paper, HOMER software has been used for this purpose for a village with no access to electricity grid (Bar Aftab-e Jalaleh, Iran). Due to drastic fluctuation of fossil fuel prices and varied solar radiations in various years because of climate change, sensitivity analysis has been performed using HOMER.
Findings
In the optimum status economically, 70% of needed energy is provided by solar cells at the price 0.792 $/kWh. The comparison between the optimum condition economically and the condition that only use fossil fuels revealed that the return on investment will occur after less than 2 years and have remained profitable over 23 years.
Social implications
The authors hope that the results of this study can be used in planning of the authorities to realize the interests of people in this village.
Originality/value
According to the surveys, despite Iran being the first country in terms of providing solar power to the villages, so far no socio-economic-environmental assessment has been done for a solar cell-based micro-grid in an off-grid mode for a remote village that is deprived of electricity from a national electricity grid. In addition, for the first time in Iran, the effect of the fuel price and solar radiation parameters variability on the performance of system have been investigated.
Details
Keywords
In November, farmers gathered in Isfahan to complain about water scarcity. Teachers, miners, pensioners and municipal workers have also protested in recent months against a…
Navid Nazhand, Reza Dashti and Abolfazl Ahmadi
The purpose of this paper is to describe a novel method to compromise between planned (regulated) maintenance and outage initiation and unplanned (unregulated) maintenance and to…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to describe a novel method to compromise between planned (regulated) maintenance and outage initiation and unplanned (unregulated) maintenance and to find an economic model using which one can perform maintenance adequately and in the most optimal state.
Design/methodology/approach
In this paper, a system consisting of similar components is considered, and the role of each component in the system is explained. Then, the cost pertaining to failure in each asset is determined. Costs such as energy not supplied, penalties, human resources to resolve the defect and replacing assets are taken into account. Finally, a new comprehensive objective is proposed, and optimization is performed for a sample system.
Findings
In this paper, some graphs have been plotted from which plenty of information may be extracted. This is mentioned in the Conclusion.
Originality/value
In this paper, some graphs have been plotted from which plenty of information may be extracted. This is mentioned in the Conclusion.
Details