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Article
Publication date: 13 September 2011

Diwa Pandey, Mohammed H. Buzgeia, Safaa A.E. Badr, Faiza Gheith Senussi, Haifa Ibrahim El‐Mokasabi and Aisha Mohammed El‐Shahomi

The purpose of this paper is to identify the extent of actual malnutrition and its risk among cancer patients receiving radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy in the Libyan city of…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to identify the extent of actual malnutrition and its risk among cancer patients receiving radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy in the Libyan city of Benghazi.

Design/methodology/approach

A cross‐sectional nutritional assessment study using the patient‐generated subjective global assessment (PG‐SGA) was carried out on 200 (91 males and 109 females) cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy.

Findings

A total of 25 per cent of the subjects were severely malnourished while 73.5 per cent were either at risk of malnutrition or suspected to be malnourished. Almost all (99.5 per cent) needed some degree of intervention (critical in nature for 83.5 per cent). Family income and physical activity were associated with nutritional status (p<0.05). Body Mass Index alone is an insensitive criterion for identifying malnutrition among such patients. All the sections and subsections of the PG‐SGA had a statistically significant positively correlation with its total score (r=0.51‐0.96, p<0.05). Dieticians played a very limited role in patient nutritional care.

Practical implications

It is suggested that dieticians should play a more participatory and prominent role in a multidisciplinary team involved in patient nutritional care. The PG‐SGA can help identify areas where tailor made strategies to counteract specific malnutrition or its risk can be planned, implemented and monitored.

Originality/value

There exists a considerable prevalence of malnutrition among Benghazi cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy, most of whom need critical intervention.

Details

Nutrition & Food Science, vol. 41 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0034-6659

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 8 August 2023

Rachel Gabel-Shemueli, Shay Tzafrir, Berlan Rodriguez Perez and Danae Bahamonde Canepa

The purpose of this two-wave longitudinal study was to examine the role of mindfulness as mediator between social support and engagement and as a moderator in the relationship…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this two-wave longitudinal study was to examine the role of mindfulness as mediator between social support and engagement and as a moderator in the relationship between work overload and burnout, both cross-sectionally and after one year.

Design/methodology/approach

The sample consisted of 243 Peruvian teachers. Structural equation modeling and SPSS Process Macro were used to test the hypothesis.

Findings

The results show that mindfulness mediated the relationship between social support and engagement at both times but doesn't moderate the relationship between work overload and burnout at either time.

Originality/value

This study highlights the role of mindfulness as a valuable personal resource in the workplace, as it facilitates a higher functioning at work while identifying relevant organizational characteristics that have an influence in its use.

Propósito

El propósito de este estudio longitudinal de dos olas fue examinar el papel de mindfulness como mediador entre el apoyo social y el engagement en el trabajo; así como moderador en la relación entre la sobrecarga de trabajo y el burnout, tanto transversalmente como después de un año.

Diseño

La muestra estuvo conformada por 243 profesores peruanos. Se utilizó el modelo de ecuaciones estructurales (SEM en inglés) y Process Macro para SPSS para probar la hipótesis.

Resultados

Los resultados muestran que mindfulness media la relación entre el apoyo social y engagement en ambos momentos, pero no modera la relación entre la sobrecarga de trabajo y el burnout en ninguno de los dos.

Originalidad

Este estudio destaca el papel del mindfulness como un recurso personal valioso en el trabajo, ya que facilita un mejor funcionamiento al tiempo que identifica características organizacionales relevantes que influyen en su uso.

Details

Academia Revista Latinoamericana de Administración, vol. 36 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1012-8255

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 7 September 2015

Dvora Ben Sasson and Anit Somech

Despite growing research on school aggression, significant gaps remain in the authors’ knowledge of team aggression, since most studies have mainly explored aggression on the part…

Abstract

Purpose

Despite growing research on school aggression, significant gaps remain in the authors’ knowledge of team aggression, since most studies have mainly explored aggression on the part of students. The purpose of this paper is to focus on understanding the phenomenon of workplace aggression in school teams. Specifically, the purpose of the study was to examine whether team affective conflict in school teams mediates the relationship between team injustice climate (distributive, procedural, and interpersonal injustice climate) and team aggression.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected from a survey of 43 school teams at different schools using questionnaires.

Findings

Results showed that team affective conflict played a role in fully mediating the relationship of team procedural and interpersonal injustice climate to team aggression.

Research limitations/implications

The present results empirically support the notion that workplace aggression can be considered not only an individual phenomenon but also a team phenomenon. Furthermore, it highlights the significance of organizational factors in predicting this phenomenon. The study should serve to encourage principals to reduce the level of team aggression and develop a supportive climate characterized by fair procedures and respect.

Originality/value

A review of the literature also reveals that little investigative effort has been made by scholars to examine aggression on the part of teachers. Evidence for this can be seen in the scarcity of publications on this topic. The current literature’s call to address this issue in schools and at the team level (Fox and Stallworth, 2010) stimulated the present study by highlighting the importance of exploring the contextual factors, rather than the individual ones, responsible for school team aggression.

Details

Journal of Educational Administration, vol. 53 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0957-8234

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 21 November 2016

Ibrahim Bakry, Osama Moselhi and Tarek Zayed

Construction projects are complex projects taking place in dynamic environments, which necessitates accounting for different uncertainties during the planning stage. There is a…

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Abstract

Purpose

Construction projects are complex projects taking place in dynamic environments, which necessitates accounting for different uncertainties during the planning stage. There is a significant lack of management tools for repetitive projects accounting for uncertainties in the construction environment. The purpose of this paper is to present an algorithm for the optimized scheduling of repetitive construction projects under uncertainty.

Design/methodology/approach

Fuzzy set theory is utilized to model uncertainties associated with various input parameters. The developed algorithm has two main components: optimization component and buffering component. The optimization component presents a dynamic programming approach that processes fuzzy numbers. The buffering component converts the optimized fuzzy schedule into a deterministic schedule and inserts time buffers to protect the schedule against anticipated delays. Agreement Index (AI) is used to capture the user’s desired level of confidence in the produced schedule while sizing buffers. The algorithm is capable of optimizing for cost or time objectives. An example project drawn from literature is analysed to demonstrate the capabilities of the developed algorithm and to allow comparison of results to those previously generated.

Findings

Testing the algorithm revealed several findings. Fuzzy numbers can be utilized to capture uncertainty in various inputs without the need for historical data. The modified algorithm is capable of optimizing schedules, for different objectives, under uncertainty. Finally AI can be used to capture users’ desired confidence in the final schedule.

Originality/value

Project planners can utilize this algorithm to optimize repetitive projects schedules, while modelling uncertainty in different input parameters, without the need for relevant historical data.

Details

Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, vol. 23 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0969-9988

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 22 September 2021

Hani Al-dmour, Haifa Hadad and Rand Al-dmour

This study aims to examine the impact of green marketing adoption on non-profitable organizations’ performance in Jordan.

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Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to examine the impact of green marketing adoption on non-profitable organizations’ performance in Jordan.

Design/methodology/approach

A structured questionnaire was developed to collect the needed data and test the developed hypotheses to investigate the impact of green marketing adoption on non-profitable organizations’ performance. The data was collected using a self-administered questionnaire distributed to 183 respondents in non-profitable organizations operating in Jordan.

Findings

The findings indicate that the extent of green marketing adoption by profitable organizations in Jordan is relatively moderate. They also confirm that the corporate performance of non-profitable organizations is positively associated with the extent of adoption of green marketing dimensions, particularly environmental and social responsibility aspects.

Originality/value

Reviewing the existing literature revealed that similar studies had not previously been undertaken in Jordan as a developing country.

Article
Publication date: 10 October 2016

Kussai Haj-Yehia and Khalid Arar

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the factors that attract (pull) or discourage (push) Palestinian students from Israel (PSI) to study at a Palestinian university, the Arab…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the factors that attract (pull) or discourage (push) Palestinian students from Israel (PSI) to study at a Palestinian university, the Arab American University in Jenin (AAUJ), for the first time since the establishment of Israel in 1948.

Design/methodology/approach

A qualitative research method using in-depth interviews with 15 PSI who study at AAUJ attempts to define the motivations behind PSI preferring AAUJ, on one hand, and constraints, on the other hand.

Findings

The findings of the study show factors that attract PSI to study at the AAUJ and what subjects they choose to study there, the encounter with a similar culture and nationalism in a Palestinian campus in the occupied West Bank; the most significant difficulties and impediments they face there, whether economic or political, are discussed. This paper contributes to an understanding of the new national re-encounter between two Palestinian groups in a university campus, one under Israel’s occupation and the other that has Israeli citizenship.

Originality/value

It is a unique phenomenon in the trends of international students’ mobility in the world.

Details

Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education, vol. 8 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2050-7003

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 2 March 2015

Adnan Ali Enshassi and Farida El Shorafa

– The purpose of this paper is to identify and assess the key performance indicators (KPIs) for the maintenance of public hospital buildings in the Gaza Strip.

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to identify and assess the key performance indicators (KPIs) for the maintenance of public hospital buildings in the Gaza Strip.

Design/methodology/approach

Four KPIs were identified and evaluated in this paper: building performance indicators (BPI), maintenance efficiency indicators (MEI), annual maintenance expenditure (AME) and urgent repair request indicator. Twenty-one buildings in 13 public hospitals in Gaza Strip Governorate were taken as the sample of this study.

Findings

The results indicated that the European Gaza hospital has the highest BPI score (81.66) and the Dorra hospital has the lowest BPI score (68.26). The findings revealed that the average AME for all hospitals was $13.8/m2 which is considered to be below the standard level of expenditure. The MEI for Gaza public hospital buildings was found to be equal to 0.3 which indicated low level of maintenance expenditure.

Research limitations/implications

Unavailability of certain data, lack of maintenance documentation and comparison difficulty between the Gaza Strip and Israel due to political, cultural and financial situation were some of the limitations of this study.

Practical implications

The Ministry of Health (MoH) can utilize the results of this study and consider it as benchmarking for maintenance management in public hospital buildings. This can improve the current maintenance situation which ultimately will improve the health-care situation in Palestine. The Palestinian MoH should look for external funding to increase the AME, as well as aim at increasing the MEI.

Social implications

The health-care situation in Palestine will be improved.

Originality/value

This study is considered the first study to identify and assess the KPIs in the Gaza Strip. KPIs will assist the MoH to compare the actual and estimated performance in terms of effectiveness, efficiency and quality of workmanship.

Details

Facilities, vol. 33 no. 3/4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0263-2772

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 9 October 2017

Inês Calor and Rachelle Alterman

This paper aims to present a comparative analysis of noncompliance with planning laws in advanced-economy countries. Most research to date has focused on the widespread phenomenon…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to present a comparative analysis of noncompliance with planning laws in advanced-economy countries. Most research to date has focused on the widespread phenomenon of “informal” construction in developing countries. However, advanced-economy countries also encounter illegal development, though at different scales and attributes. Because planning law is at the foundation of land-use and urban policies, it is time that the “orphan” issue of noncompliance be adopted by more researchers to enable cross-national learning. The two OECD countries selected for in-depth analysis – Portugal and Israel – probably fall mid-way in the extent of noncompliance compared with the range among advanced-economy countries. Like most OECD countries, the selected countries have generally viable planning-law systems. Their experiences can thus offer lessons for many more countries. Recognizing the limitations of enforcement mechanisms as prevention, the paper focuses on how each of these countries responds to illegal development.

Design/methodology/approach

The method relies on two main sources: analysis of official documents – laws, policies and court decisions in both countries – and field interviews about practice. In both Portugal and Israel, the authors held face-to-face open interviews with lawyers and other professional staff at various government levels. The interviews focused on four issues: the effectiveness of the existing enforcement instruments, the urban consequences of illegal development, the law and policy regarding legalization and the existence of additional deterrent measures.

Findings

In both countries, there is a significant phenomenon of illegal development though it is somewhat less in Israel than in Portugal. In both countries, efforts to reduce the phenomenon have been partially effective even though in both, extensive demolition is not exercised. Neither country has adopted a general amnesty policy for existing noncompliance, so both resort to reliance on ex-post revision of statutory plans of granting of variances as a way of legalization. The shared tension between local authorities and national bodies indicates that not enough thought has gone into designing the compliance and enforcement systems. In Israel, a recent legislative amendment enables planning authorities, for the first time, to set their own priorities for enforcement and to distinguish between minor and major infringements. This approach is preferable to the Portuguese law, where there is still no distinction between minor and major infringements. By contrast, Portuguese law and policy are more effective in adopting financial or real-estate based deterrence measures which restrict sale or mortgaging of illegal properties.

Originality/value

There is very little research on noncompliance with planning controls in advanced-economy countries. There is even less research on the legal and institutional responses to this phenomenon. This paper pioneers in creating a framework for looking at alternative types of government responses to illegal construction. The paper is, to the authors’ best knowledge, the first to present a systematic cross-national comparative analysis and critique of such responses. The authors thus hope to expand the view of the possible legal and policy response strategies available to planning authorities in other advanced-economy countries. The comparative perspective will hopefully encourage, expansion of the research to more countries and contribute to the exchange of experiences between jurisdictions.

Details

International Journal of Law in the Built Environment, vol. 9 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1756-1450

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 7 August 2018

Yazeed Alfakhri, Mohammad Nurunnabi and Demah Alfakhri

In response to the scarcity of research on Islamic corporate social responsibility (CSR), the purpose of this paper is to explore how young Saudi consumers perceive CSR from an…

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Abstract

Purpose

In response to the scarcity of research on Islamic corporate social responsibility (CSR), the purpose of this paper is to explore how young Saudi consumers perceive CSR from an Islamic perspective. The study is focused on Saudi Arabia, a Muslim country, and the largest exporter of petroleum in the world.

Design/methodology/approach

The present study uses a qualitative methodology with 34 in-depth interviews undertaken in two major Saudi cities (Tabouk and Riyadh).

Findings

Utilising social contract theory, this study contributes to the literature by developing an Islamic “CSR Tree” model (which consists of three parts: “roots”, “trunk”, and “crown”) to increase the understanding of Islamic CSR (i-CSR) and consumer behaviour. The roots are hidden, while the trunk and crown are visible. In particular, private social responsibility (the roots of the CSR Tree) incorporating Sadaqa, or values and intention, is the fundamental component on which organisations should base their CSR strategy from an Islamic perspective. The study also reveals that internal, external, and private social responsibilities are connected, and all are dependent on each other. The higher the level of private social responsibility exhibited, the higher the level of external social responsibility.

Originality/value

According to the CSR Tree model presented in this study, an organisation should avoid Riya (showing off) as this would represent shirk or idolatry, which is the opposite of Tawhid. The findings are particularly relevant for advancing the concept of i-CSR and for considering complex perspectives less travelled in the CSR literature. The study suggests that the best strategy for an organisation wishing to pursue an i-CSR agenda would be to balance internal and external responsibilities, and to bear in mind that private responsibility should be the motivation for action, and that CSR should be applied for the benefit of society.

Details

International Journal of Social Economics, vol. 45 no. 12
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0306-8293

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 18 May 2021

Wenchi Shou, Jun Wang and Peng Wu

Simulation has attracted increasing attention in lean production research as a response to address the complexities of the production environment and difficulties of dealing with…

Abstract

Purpose

Simulation has attracted increasing attention in lean production research as a response to address the complexities of the production environment and difficulties of dealing with changes within a system. Considerable growth of using simulation to facilitate lean acceptance and implementation has been observed across different projects and sectors. However, a thorough review of the development and use of simulation in lean production research is limited.

Design/methodology/approach

This study aims to address this gap by reviewing 311 journal papers published in the past two decades on this specific research area and identify the state-of-the-art development and propose future research directions.

Findings

The review shows that current studies related to simulation in lean production research can be categorised into two major research streams, namely, simulation assisted lean facilitation and evaluation, and simulation-based lean education and training. Under the first research stream, a total of 19 application areas have been identified which applied both lean and simulation in their studies. The evolution of the simulation techniques used in these studies has been analysed as well. Meanwhile, four types of simulation games have been identified in the stream of simulation-based lean education and training and the impact and applicability of the different simulation and games have been discussed. A framework for engaging lean and simulation is suggested based on the review of the existing studies. The analysis in both streams also highlights the importance of stakeholder engagement and the utilisation of information technologies for future studies.

Practical implications

The findings of this study are expected to provide useful references for the future development and application of simulation in lean production research.

Originality/value

This paper conducted a broad and extensive review of simulation integrated lean production research. An in-depth examination of the retrieved papers was conducted through a structured and quantitative analysis to understand the current body of knowledge.

Details

Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, vol. 28 no. 8
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0969-9988

Keywords

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