Search results

The purpose of this study is to assess the performance of fuel blends containing ethanol and gasoline in spark ignition engines. The aim is to explore alternative fuels that can enhance performance while minimizing or eliminating adverse environmental impacts, particularly in the context of limited fossil fuel availability and the need for sustainable alternatives.

The authors used the Ricardo Wave software to evaluate the performance of fuel blends with varying ethanol content (represented as E0, E10, E25, E40, E55, E70, E85 and E100) in comparison to gasoline. The assessment involved different composition percentages and was conducted at various engine speeds (1,500, 3,000, 4,500 and 6,000 rpm). This methodology aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of how different ethanol-gasoline blends perform under different conditions.

The study found that, across all fuel blends, the highest brake power (BP) and the highest brake-specific fuel consumption (BSFC) were observed at 6,000 rpm. Additionally, it was noted that the presence of ethanol in gasoline fuel blends has the potential to increase both the BP and BSFC. These findings suggest that ethanol can positively impact the performance of spark-ignition engines, highlighting its potential as an alternative fuel.

This research contributes to the ongoing efforts in the automotive industry to find sustainable alternative fuels. The use of Ricardo Wave software for performance assessment and the comprehensive exploration of various ethanol-gasoline blends at different engine speeds add to the originality of the study. The emphasis on the potential of ethanol to enhance engine performance provides valuable insights for motor vehicle manufacturers and researchers working on alternative fuel solutions.

Given the rise of sport non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and sponsorships from cryptocurrency companies in the sport industry during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, this paper aims to critically frame the partnerships between cryptocurrency and sport by exploring the reception of fan tokens amongst supporters of three English Premier League clubs: Manchester City, Everton and Crystal Palace.

Drawing upon the emerging critical scholarship on cryptocurrency and the political economy of professional football, this study uses digital ethnography in an attempt to understand the major themes emanating from the online forum discussions amongst fans in response to the issuance of fan tokens by the aforementioned three clubs, among other types of partnerships with crypto companies.

The supporters’ critical deliberations revolved around the contradictions of fan tokens (as a means for supposed “fan engagement” or for financial speculation) and the utility of cryptocurrency for the public. These reactions in turn showcase a larger tension underlying the financially unstable professional football industry: the contest between the owners and the fan bases over the exchange value (for profit) and use value (for community) of the clubs.

This paper is one of the first studies to adopt a critical framework to examine the emerging partnerships between sports and cryptocurrency companies during the COVID-19 pandemic. It also provides one of the first in-depth analyses of the critical receptions of sport NFTs amongst sport fans. While contributing to the literature on fan activism/protest in the context of the commercialization and commodification of sport, the paper also raises new questions on the responsible use of cryptocurrency/NFT in sport.

The purpose of this study is to determine the relationships between organizational justice, organizational silence and organizational creativity and to examine the mediating role of organizational silence in the effect of organizational justice on organizational creativity.

Research data were collected using a face-to-face survey method applied to employees in the automotive industry in Turkey. The research model and hypotheses were tested by structural equation modeling.

Research results indicate that organizational justice positively affects organizational silence, organizational creativity is positively affected by organizational justice and organizational silence positively affects organizational creativity. Besides, according to the results, organizational silence has a partial mediating role in the effect of organizational justice on organizational creativity.

Although the relationships between organizational justice, organizational silence and organizational creativity were examined in previous studies in the literature, the role of organizational silence in the relationship between organizational justice and organizational creativity was not investigated. Besides, although previous studies examined the mediating role of variables that are thought to have a positive effect on the organization between organizational justice and organizational creativity, they did not study the role of a variable of organizational silence, which is considered negative. For these reasons, this study is predicted to differentiate the perspective in the literature and fills a gap in the literature.

Social welfare scholarship has not paid adequate attention to the phenomenon of single-parent women in Asia, especially in terms of their economic and social vulnerabilities. This study aims to explore the strategies employed by women who are single parents to secure their families from socioeconomic issues. It also delves into the experiences and viewpoints of families regarding the social institutions they turn to for assistance during times of hardship – whether it be the state, market, or informal networks.

The data were collected through 33 semi-structured interviews, with informants selected using the purposive sampling technique in South Sumatra Province, Indonesia, from February 2023 to July 2023. This number was obtained based on informants who were included in the criteria the researchers determined, which included “being a female single parent” and “being over the age of 17,” which is the minimum age for Indonesians to marry. Others included “having dependents to support, be they children and/or the respondent’s family” and occupying the main role as “household head” – all of which defined whether someone belongs to the “vulnerable group.”

The study highlights the significance of informal support for single mothers facing economic hardship. Still, overreliance on it can lead to concerns about the sustainability of the everyday social safety net they receive. Social exclusion is also problematic due to societal assumptions about divorce and widowhood. The last highlight is how 'deskilling' among single parents has complicated the challenges women face to re-enter the workforce.

This study’s outcomes provide crucial insights into analyzing the patterns of single-parent families in Indonesia and serve as a framework for further research on the resilience of single parents in developing countries.

In this paper, the brain potential changes caused by touching fabrics for handle evaluation were recorded by event related potential (ERP) method, compared with subjective evaluation scores and physical index of KES, explore the cognitive mechanism of the transformation of tactile sensation into neural impulses triggered by subtle mechanical stimuli such as material, texture, density and morphology in fabrics. By combining subjective evaluation of fabric tactile sensation, objective physical properties of fabrics and objective neurobiological signals, explore the neurophysiological mechanism of tactile cognition and the signal characteristics and time process of tactile information processing.

The ERP technology was first proposed by a British psychologist named Grey Walter. It is an imaging technique of noninvasive brain cognition, whose potential changes are related to the human physical and mental activities. ERP is different from electroencephalography (EEG) and evoked potentials (EP) on the fact that it cannot only record stimulated physical information which is transmitted to brain, but also response to the psychological activities which related to attention, identification, comparison, memory, judgment and cognition as well as to human’s neural physiological changes which are caused by cognitive process of the feeling by stimulation.

According to potential changes in the cerebral cortex evoked by touching four types of silk fabrics, human brain received the physical stimulation in the early stage (50 ms) of fabrics handle evaluation, and the P50 component amplitude showed negative correlation with fabric smoothness sensations. Around 200 ms after tactile stimulus onset, the amplitude of P200 component show positive correlation with the softness sensation of silk fabrics. The relationship between the amplitude of P300 and the sense of smoothness and softness need further evidence to proof.

In this paper, the brain potential changes caused by touching fabrics for handle evaluation were recorded by event related potential (ERP) method, compared with subjective evaluation scores and physical index of KES, the results shown that the maximum amplitude of P50 component evoked by fabric touching is related to the fabrics’ smoothness and roughness emotion, which means in the early stage processing of tactile sensation, the rougher fabrics could arouse more attention. In addition, the amplitude of P200 component shows positive correlation with the softness sensation of silk fabrics.

Contemporary focus on infections and deaths in the event of pandemics may distract health institutions and medical practitioners from the psychosocial consequences of the outbreak in individuals. In light of the devastation, persistency and scarcity of pandemics, it is imperative to delve into individuals' psychological state and self-preservation instincts when confronted with the environmental danger arising from pandemic conditions and the environmental restrictions being imposed.

Guided by the self-preservation theory, the authors advance a research model to elucidate the moderated mediation effect of secondary traumatic stress on an individual's reactions when faced with environmental danger and restriction. The authors also consider the moderating influence of environmental restriction and media use diversity. The authors subsequently validated the research model via a survey with 2,016 respondents in China. The authors employed PLS-SEM to analyze the data and assess the hypothesized paths.

Analytical results revealed that secondary traumatic stress fully mediated the impact of environmental danger on external reliance but suppresses the mediating effects on internal reliance. The authors further confirmed that environmental restriction moderated the relationship between environmental danger and reliance. Furthermore, the authors attest to the moderating influence of media use diversity on the relationship between secondary traumatic stress and external reliance.

This study not only extends the theoretical lens of self-preservation to public health emergencies but also yields practical guidelines for coping with pandemics. Insights from this study can be harnessed to aid populations worldwide in coping and recovering from pandemics.

This study investigates the observed resurgence in religious beliefs seen across many societies during the COVID-19 pandemic. Using the economic theory of religious clubs, the author models religious participation during the pandemic as a mechanism for alleviating the financial distress associated with the health distress from the pandemic.

Using data from the COVID-19 National Longitudinal Phone Survey (NLPS) in Nigeria, the author investigates the economic motivation for religious intensity during the COVID-19 pandemic. To address endogeneity concerns, the author exploits geographic variables of temperature and longitudes as sources of COVID-19 risk.

Overall, health distress stimulates religious intensity. Consistent with the economic theory of religious clubs, adverse health shocks stimulate financial distress, and the effect is stronger among religious participants. Similarly, people see God and not the government as a source of protection against COVID-19.

The study’s model sees religious organizations as public goods providers, especially when governments and markets are inefficient.

The study’s recommendations support an expanded role for religious networks in healthcare delivery and more public funding to attenuate the post-pandemic resurgence of social violence in economically distressed regions.

Despite the research interest in the COVID-19 pandemic, the long-term implications, many of which relate to social behavior adjustments that cause individuals to identify more closely with their social group, need greater understanding. Suppose religious intensity is linked to economic distress. In that case, this is a major source of worry for countries whose economies are subject to higher fluctuations and where the governments and markets are inefficiently organized. These regions may be more susceptible to a resurgence in religious fundamentalism associated with the economic shocks from the pandemic. Consequently, these regions would require more public funding to attenuate the potential for costly activities like organized violence, suicide attacks and terrorist activities in the aftermath of the pandemic.

Prompted by the observation of the increase in religious identity through religious intensity during the pandemic, the author contributes by developing theoretically-based hypotheses that are incentive-compatible to provide a rational justification for the observation. The author empirically validates the hypothesis by taking advantage of the COVID-19 National Survey in Nigeria by specifically using survey rounds 4 and 7 which have more comprehensive religious items included.

The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-11-2022-0719