Search results

This paper aims to detect the most profitable, i.e. optimal turning points (TPs), from the history of time series using a binary integer programming (BIP) model. TPs prediction problem is one of the most popular yet challenging topics in financial planning. Predicting profitable TPs results in earning profit by offering the opportunity to buy at low and selling at high. TPs detected from the history of time series will be used as the prediction model’s input. According to the literature, the predicted TPs’ profitability depends on the detected TPs’ profitability. Therefore, research for improving the profitability of detection methods has been never given up. Nevertheless, to the best of our knowledge, none of the existing methods can detect the optimal TPs.

The objective function of our model maximizes the profit of adopting all the trading strategies. The decision variables represent whether or not to detect the breakpoints as TPs. The assumptions of the model are as follows. Short-selling is possible. The time value for the money is not considered. Detection of consecutive buying (selling) TPs is not possible.

Empirical results with 20 data sets from Shanghai Stock Exchange indicate that the model detects the optimal TPs.

The proposed model, in contrast to the other methods, can detect the optimal TPs. Additionally, the proposed model, in contrast to the other methods, requires transaction cost as its only input parameter. This advantage reduces the process’ calculations.

This study aims to compare the social support among patients with schizophrenia or methamphetamine dependency with healthy individuals.

Using convince sampling, the authors recruited 80 patients (schizophrenia, n = 40; methamphetamine dependency, n = 40) and their companions (healthy individuals, n = 40) who were referred to a psychiatric hospital in a cross-sectional study in Sari, Iran. In in-person interviews, the authors collected data on demographic characteristics and measured social support using a standardized questionnaire.

The three groups were similar regarding age and marital status, but different in gender distribution (p = 0.001). The average social support score was 58.0 in the schizophrenia group and 42.3 in the methamphetamine-dependent group, both significantly lower than 63.6 in the healthy group (p = 0.001). The social support scores in schizophrenia and methamphetamine-dependent groups were significantly lower than those in the healthy group across all subgroups of gender (p < 0.04), age (p < 0.05) and marital status (p < 0.001). The methamphetamine-dependent group had the lowest score overall and across all demographic groups and social support subdomains.

This study had two main limitations. First, the study samples were from one city and one hospital in the north of Iran and so may not be generalizable to other population and settings. Second, the authors did not study the causes or predictors of low social support like social stigma which should be studied in future studies.

Despite the limitations, this study found low social support for people diagnosed with schizophrenia or methamphetamine dependency. Intervention to increase social support for them, especially for those with substance use, is required.

The purpose of this study is to organize and analyze the existing literature on co-creation in tourism to identify the state-of-the-art studies and the research gap in this field.

As the research questions seek to provide an overview of the studies in the available literature, the systematic mapping study (SMS) has been selected as the research method. A suitable mapping study method for analyzing and structuring a broad research field concerning methods, designs and research focuses on the existing publications. In total, 137 articles published during 2006–2019 in reliable academic databases such as Science Direct, Emerald, Scopus, Wiley, ProQuest, Sage, Web of Science and Taylor and Francis were selected and analyzed.

The results show a rising trend of published articles in tourism, with the maximum number published in 2019 and the minimum number in 2006. Also, analysis of input articles revealed that most of the studies focused on the antecedents and prerequisites for co-creation and paid less attention to the co-creation context. Other findings show that in the field of tourism, the hospitality sector, especially hotels have paid special attention to co-creation. The majority of papers were the empirical type with quantitative design. Furthermore, most studies used the survey method, while the case study and other methods were the next choices.

This study addresses a major research gap by summarizing the literature related to value co-creation with a specific focus on tourism using the SMS method that provides an overview of the studies in this field. Categorizing papers through SMS helps researchers to review the status of studies in a visual summary to identify gaps and directions for future research.

这项制图研究的目的是组织和分析有关旅游业共同创造的现有文献, 以识别最新研究和该领域的研究差距

由于研究问题旨在提供现有文献中的研究概述, 因此已选择系统制图研究（SMS）作为研究方法。用于分析和构建涉及方法, 设计和研究的广泛研究领域的合适的映射研究方法着眼于现有出版物。选择并分析了2006-2019年在可靠的学术数据库中发表的137篇文章, 这些数据库包括Science Direct, Emerald, Scopus, Wiley, ProQuest, Sage, Web of Science和Taylor&Francis

结果显示旅游业发表的文章呈上升趋势, 2019年发表的文章最多, 而2006年发表的最少。对投入文章的分析显示, 大多数研究集中于共同创造和付费的先决条件和先决条件较少关注共创环境。其他发现表明, 在旅游领域, 酒店业尤其是酒店业特别重视共同创造。大多数论文是经验性的, 带有定量设计。此外, 大多数研究使用调查方法, 而案例研究和其他方法是下一个选择。 原创性/价值–本研究通过总结与价值共创相关的文献来解决一个主要的研究空白, 其中特别关注旅游业, 使用SMS方法对该领域的研究进行了概述。通过SMS对论文进行分类有助于研究人员以直观的摘要查看研究状态, 从而找出差距和未来研究的方向。 

El propósito de este estudio de cartográfico es organizar y analizar los artículos existentes sobre la co-creación en la industria del turismo a fin de identificar los últimos estudios y la brecha de investigación en este campo.

El método de Estudio de Mapeo Sistemático (SMS) ha sido seleccionado como método de investigación debido a que el objeto de los temas cuestionados en este estudio es proporcionar una visión general en cuanto a las investigaciones hechas hasta hoy. El método de estudio de mapeo, centrándose en las publicaciones existentes, es un método adecuado para analizar y estructurar un amplio campo de investigación sobre maneras, diseños e investigaciones. Se seleccionaron y analizaron 137 artículos publicados durante los años 2006–2019 en bases de datos académicas confiables como Science Direct, Emerald, Scopus, Wiley, ProQuest, Sage, Web of Science y Taylor & Francis.

Los resultados muestran una tendencia al alza de los artículos publicados sobre el turismo, con el número máximo publicado en el año 2019 y el número mínimo en 2006. Además, el análisis de los artículos existentes en las bases, reveló que la mayoría de los estudios se han centrado en los antecedentes y requisitos previos para la co-creación y se ha enfocado menos en el concepto de co-creación. Otros hallazgos muestran que en el campo del turismo y la hostelería, se ha prestado especial atención a la co-creación. La mayoría de los trabajos eran de tipo empírico con diseño cuantitativo. Asimismo, la mayoría de los estudios han utilizado el método de encuesta, mientras que el estudio monográfico y otros métodos han sido las siguientes opciones.

Resumiendo los artículos relacionados con la creación conjunta de valores, con un enfoque específico en la industria del turismo, y utilizando el método SMS que proporciona una visión general de los estudios en este campo, este estudio aborda una brecha de investigación importante. La categorización de documentos usando el método SMS ayuda a los investigadores a revisar el estado de los estudios en un resumen visual para identificar vacíos y direcciones para futuras investigaciones.

Within a religious tourism destination, the study of business networks can be used to improve understanding of the interactions taking place within or among businesses, by exploring the informal and formal connections linking them together. Hence, the purpose of this study is to map and analyze strategic business networks operating in a religious destination.

This research explores the networks of stakeholders associated with a religious context in an intensive single case study on Al-Atabat Al-Aliyat in Iraq through qualitative analysis. Multiple methods of data collection were used to build strategic networks promoting religious tourism in the Middle-East region. Key analysis practices include content analysis and social network analysis (SNA). The identified interrelationships between stakeholders were analyzed by using UCINet, an SNA tool.

The study reveals three different types of cooperation networks in the case of Al-Atabat Al-Aliyat, namely, a 67-actor continuous network, a 69-actor non-Arbaeen network and an 89-actor Arbaeen network. The results also pinpoint the need for more collaborative activities on the different levels of cooperation in the networks.

This paper provides important guidelines on how to manage the interrelationships within tourism networks in a religious destination such as Iraq. The findings highlight the acute need for establishing strategic and effective networks of stakeholders in Al-Atabat Al-Aliyat. Non-tangible, long-term and quantitative benefits can be found for tourism businesses investing time and money in religious networks in Iraq.

The research contributes to religious tourism literature, filling the gaps about how the interrelationships among the actors involved in a business network can evolve over time and influence the success of a certain religious destination.

Religious tourism is a form of tourism where people of a particular faith travel to visit places of religious significance in their faith. Previous research into the various aspects of religious and spiritual tourism (RST) has been noticeably extended. The purpose of this study is to perform systematic mapping to provide trends and classification regarding the recent publications in the area of RST.

This study collected 181 papers from five scientific databases, from which 122 were selected to be classified according to six properties: research type, research focus, research method, investigated religion, publication type and time.

The analysis of these data resulted in a map of the research field, which was presented under three perspectives: the distribution and trends over time of each classification property and the relationship between them. Besides the visual map, the full list of classified papers is available. The results showed that the number of publications is increasing every year, which shows a growing interest in this field. Moreover, the primary research focuses were destination, demand and marketing. Top three journals were found to be International Journal of Tourism Research, Tourism Recreation Research and Journal of Heritage Tourism. Furthermore, evaluation research, solution proposals and opinion papers were the main research types in the area. In addition, the majority of studies focused on Christianity and Islam. Finally, survey, discussion paper, interview and case study were the predominantly used research methods.

The mapping study delivers the first systematic summary of RST research.

This study aims at characterizing and identifying the existing research on tourism business networks.

The authors conducted a systematic mapping study to identify and analyze related literature. They identified 225 primary studies, dated from 1997-2016, and classified them with respect to research focus, types of research and contribution.

Seventy four studies were identified and mapped, synthesizing the available evidence on tourism business networks. “Business networks” with 27 articles is the dominant research focus and “Network configuration” with 22 articles is the next dominant one. Regarding the research type, “Solution proposal” is the most frequently used research type. “Interview” and “Case study”, respectively, were the most used research methods. However, “Agent-based modeling”, “Delphi study” and “Non-linear time series analysis” were used less often. “Philosophical paper” was the most common research type between 1997 and 2002, and after that “Solution proposal” was the dominant research paper type. Further, the number of publications has declined between 2012 and 2014.

This mapping study provides the first systematic exploration of the state-of-art on tourism business networks research. The existing body of knowledge is limited to a few high quality studies.

Adipose tissue accumulation by trapping vitamin D and reducing its level may cause serious side effects. The purpose of this study is to determine the effects of vitamin D supplementation on dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), paraoxonase 1 (PON 1), insulin, free fatty acid (FFA), apolipoprotein-AI (Apo-AI) and apolipoprotein B (Apo-B) concentration in obese and overweight participants under low-calorie diet (LCD) program.

Healthy overweight and obese individuals (n = 70) with vitamin D deficiency were randomly assigned into 2 groups to receive either vitamin D supplements (an oral 2,000 IU vitamin D supplement) or placebo for 8 weeks.

All the participants were given an LCD program during the intervention. Vitamin D supplementation led to a significant increase in the levels of 25(OH)D (vitamin D vs placebo groups: 36.6 ± 9.8 vs 19.9 ± 3.5 ng/mL, p < 0.001), PON 1 levels (vitamin D vs placebo groups: 80 ± 25 vs 58 ± 23.2 ng/mL, p = 0.001), DHEA concentration (vitamin D vs placebo groups: 2.3 ± 0.7 vs 1.5 ± 0.6 ng/mL, p < 0.001) and Apo-AI levels (vitamin D vs placebo groups 3.7 ± 0.5 vs 3 ± 0.5 mg/dL, p < 0.001). Besides, intake of vitamin D supplements led to a significant decrease in FFA (vitamin D vs placebo groups: 3.1 ± 0.75 vs 3.5 ± 0.5 ng/mL, p = 0.001). After adjusting the analyses based on baseline levels, age and baseline body mass index measures, significant changes were observed in the insulin levels (0.03 ± 0.06 vs −1.7 ± 0.6 µIU/ml, p = 0.04). But the authors did not find any significant difference in the concentration of Apo-B between groups (vitamin D vs placebo groups: 71.5 ± 35.5 vs 66.6 ± 28.5 mg/dL, p = 0.05).

Overall vitamin D supplementation for eight weeks among vitamin D-deficient obese and overweight participants had beneficial effects on serum DHEA PON 1 FFA insulin and Apo- AI while it did not affect the Apo-B concentration.

This research intends to develop a model for predicting employees at a high-risk attrition and identify the most important factors affecting them.

In this study, using the triangulation technique of a mixed research method, the employee attrition problem is investigated by identifying its affecting factors. For that matter, data related to the human resources department of a pharmaceutical company in Iran are used. And to achieve the intended goal, advanced data mining algorithms and interviews with human resource managers are applied.

A model for predicting employees at a high-risk attrition is presented based on the gradient boosting machine algorithm with 89% accuracy. The use of the mixed research approach shows that qualitative and quantitative methods can be more effective in identifying the factors affecting employee churn or loss of staff. The results also contain a new situation arising out of the COVID-19 pandemic and remote working scenarios having impact on employee attrition. Finally, human resource policies are presented based on variables related to each of the identified factors.

The novel contributions of this study include real data related to a leading pharmaceutical company as well as a combination of two quantitative and qualitative methods. The hybrid approach can identify the reasons for attrition and, consequently, retention policies to benefit from the advantage of both approaches. Data mining can be useful to identify the factors, which are usually not mentioned in termination interviews, such as direct managers. On the other hand, the results obtained from termination interviews can also include features that the authors cannot identify through data mining, which are specifically related to the characteristics of the pharmaceutical industry such as building a more professional career path. From a practical perspective, since this company specializes in pharmaceutical marketing in a new way and is primarily comprised graduates, it is important to note that the churn of specialized people disperses organizational and technological know-how. On the other hand, the pharmacist community in Iran is small, and their attrition might adversely affect not only the reputation of an organization but the employer's brand as well. So, this research would help other similar firms in retaining their valuable human capital.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the social acceptance of renewable and non-renewable energies in Iran using the social acceptance pyramid.

Today, social acceptance is considered a very important phenomenon in the development, implementation and achievement of energy policy goals. Low acceptance will make it difficult to achieve energy development goals; therefore, social acceptance must be taken into account when making policy. Firstly, the model criteria, using data obtained from questionnaires, are weighted by the Shannon entropy method and, finally, four sources of fossil, nuclear, wind and solar energy were ranked by means of VIKOR, Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS).

The results show that, in Iran, the social acceptance criterion and trust sub-criterion are the most important criteria for energy acceptance. The results of the ranking of options based on multiple-criteria decision-making (MCDM) techniques show that, given Iran's specific energy requirements, social acceptance of fossil energy is higher than wind, solar and nuclear, and wind, solar and nuclear energy come later in the rankings.

This research contributes to the literature in two ways: Firstly, social acceptance is considered a very important phenomenon in the development, implementation and achievement of energy policy goals; thus social acceptance must be taken into account when making policy. The results of the ranking of options based on MCDM techniques show that, given Iran's specific energy requirements, social acceptance of fossil energy is higher than wind, solar and nuclear, and wind, solar and nuclear energy come later in the rankings. Also, the social acceptance criterion and trust sub-criterion are the most important criteria for energy acceptance in Iran.