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1 – 10 of 14Issa Gholampour Azizi, Hassan Ghadi and Samaneh Rouhi
OTA is primarily produced by species of Penicillium and Aspergillus. This toxin has been detected worldwide in different grains such as rice. Due to OTA's toxicity and its effects…
Abstract
Purpose
OTA is primarily produced by species of Penicillium and Aspergillus. This toxin has been detected worldwide in different grains such as rice. Due to OTA's toxicity and its effects on human's health, the authors performed this study to analyze the OTA's contamination levels in rice samples that gathered in different cities of Mazandaran (a province in northern Iran). The paper aims to discuss these issues.
Design/methodology/approach
In this study, 80 rice samples were collected from several cities of Mazandaran. Data were analyzed using CD-ELISA method for OTA. Conjugated enzyme was added to uncoated-antibody wells and standard solution and sample extract were added to it. Solutions were transferred to the coated-antibody wells. Then, substrate was added to produce blue color. Finally, stopping solution was added to stop the reaction. The color intensity was inversely proportional to the OTA concentration, measured with the ELISA reader and calculated by analysis of variance by using the SPSS software package.
Findings
None of the samples that were collected in Mazandaran were contaminated with >5 μg/kg of OTA in October. Also none of the samples from Amol, Fereydonkenar, Babol or Behshahr were contaminated with >5 μg/kg of this toxin in November. But in sari, Nowshahr and Ramsar the authors encountered samples that had >5 μg/kg of OTA contamination which is more than the acceptable limit.
Practical implications
Screening and analyzing the rice fields are vital to detect any OTA contamination and can be effective for removing the contaminated rice. So proper strategies and management tactics are required in order to prevent OTA production in rice fields in pre- and post-harvest time and people must share their experiences regarding fighting this contamination.
Originality/value
Since rice is used extensively all over the world, consumption of contaminated rice causes diseases for humans. Therefore, determination, management, and prevention of OTA should be considered seriously.
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This paper attempts to investigate the impact of the Russia–Ukraine war on the returns and volatility of the United States (US) natural gas futures market.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper attempts to investigate the impact of the Russia–Ukraine war on the returns and volatility of the United States (US) natural gas futures market.
Design/methodology/approach
The study uses secondary data of 996 trading day provided by the US Department of Energy and investing.com websites and applies the event study methodology in addition to the generalized autoregressive conditional heteroscedastic (GARCH) family models.
Findings
The findings from the exponential EGARCH (1,1) estimate are the best indication of a significant positive effects of the Ukraine–Russia war on the returns and volatility of the US natural gas futures prices. The cumulative abnormal returns (CARs) of the event study show that the natural gas futures prices reacted negatively but not significantly to the Russian–Ukraine war at the event date window [−1,1] and the [−15, −4] event window. CARs for the longer pre and post-event window display significant positive values and coincides with the standard finance theory for the case of the US natural gas futures over the Russia–Ukraine conflict.
Originality/value
This is the first study to examine the impact of the Russia–Ukraine war on natural gas futures prices in the United States. Thus, it provides indications on the behavior of investors in this market and proposes new empirical evidence that help in investment analyses and decisions.
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Faqir Sajjad Ul Hassan and Malik Ikramullah
The importance of transformational leadership (TFL) for improving followers’ work engagement (WE) has been highlighted by management researchers, but little is known about how and…
Abstract
Purpose
The importance of transformational leadership (TFL) for improving followers’ work engagement (WE) has been highlighted by management researchers, but little is known about how and why TFL is related to WE. This study develops an integrated model that addresses the questions and uncovers the influence of TFL on employees’ WE through two pathways reflecting simple and parallel mediating effects of employees’ self-efficacy (SE) and trust in the leader.
Design/methodology/approach
In a developing country’s organizational context, a total of 376 employees working in four different types of organizations voluntarily participated in the survey. Partial least square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was used to test the study model.
Findings
Data supported the joint parallel mediation effect of subordinates’ SE and trust in the leader and partially confirm the role of a single mediator of each between the relationship of TFL and WE.
Practical implications
In public sector, it is a daunting challenge to sustain a high degree of WE of employees so that they may actively involve in the provision of better services planned by policymakers. Therefore, WE has deemed a very important construct for both administrators and researchers in such organizations. The framework and relationships that are discussed and displayed in this study help administrators in understanding the driving forces that cause in to WE.
Originality/value
This research links multiple theories to develop an integrated model. The employees' perceptual data supported predictive power of the model both in-sample and out-of-sample through a rigorous statistical technique. Hence, this study is contributing to narrowing the gap between theory and practice.
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Mantasha Firoz, Richa Chaudhary and Madhu Lata
This study was conducted with two main objectives: (1) to examine the prevalence of workplace loneliness in the Indian manufacturing and service sectors (2) to examine the…
Abstract
Purpose
This study was conducted with two main objectives: (1) to examine the prevalence of workplace loneliness in the Indian manufacturing and service sectors (2) to examine the influence of socio-demographic characteristics (age, gender, marital status, nature of the organization, tenure, number of friends at the workplace, and position in the organizational hierarchy) on the feeling of loneliness in the workplace.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected from 934 employees working in manufacturing and service sectors across India. Regression analysis was used for hypotheses testing.
Findings
Findings indicated below average level of loneliness in Indian workplace. Significant differences were found in workplace loneliness with respect to age, marital status and number of friends at the workplace. In contrast, gender, nature of organization, position and tenure had no effect on the feeling of workplace loneliness.
Originality/value
This study advances the limited literature on workplace loneliness by identifying its prevalence and socio-demographic determinants in Indian business organizations. It would help HR practitioners in comprehending and dealing with the emerging challenges associated with workplace loneliness.
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Morad Guennouni, Brahim Admou, Noureddine El Khoudri, Aicha Bourrouhouat, Safaa Machraoui, El Khansaa Jasny and Abderraouf Hilali
Allergenic substances cause food allergy, which represents a major health issue in most countries. This underlines the importance of considering the products' labeling as well as…
Abstract
Purpose
Allergenic substances cause food allergy, which represents a major health issue in most countries. This underlines the importance of considering the products' labeling as well as applying related regulatory practices. The objective of this study was to assess the labeling practices of allergens in food products in Morocco.
Design/methodology/approach
This cross-sectional survey was conducted on 156 food products collected from four supermarkets in a Moroccan megacity. The data related to the allergen substances (allergen declared, emphasis characters, precautionary allergen labeling) were collected from labels of food products.
Findings
The number of foods included in this research was 156, of which 7 (4.5%) did not mention the allergy alert. The analysis of the allergy alert in the others sample (149) showed 266 nonconformities, noticed in 112 (71.8%) products. The labeling emphasis characters were observed in 33.3% of products, and only 13.5% mentioned “contains allergen” as a mandatory statement to declare the presence of allergens. Allergic alerts found in places concealed, removable by the opening of the seal or difficult to see were observed in 28.9%. The use of a precautionary allergen labeling statement was noticed in 40.4% of products.
Originality/value
Moroccan regulations on food allergens are demanding like those of the European Union and more demanding than those of most African countries. However, the application of this regulation remains unsatisfactory and 266 non-conformities were found in 112 (71.8%) products. The absence of emphasis characters and the declaration in inappropriate places represent the most observed non-conformities. Therefore, Moroccan manufacturers must strictly adhere to regulations to avoid exposure of predisposed consumers to potentially threatening allergenic substances.
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Amal Abdullah Hasan, Syed Zamberi Ahmad and Abdullah Osman
This study aims to investigate the mediating effect of transformational leadership (TL) and work engagement (WE) on health-care clinic nurses’ performance and the crucial role of…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate the mediating effect of transformational leadership (TL) and work engagement (WE) on health-care clinic nurses’ performance and the crucial role of these variables in the work environment (WEV).
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected from 353 nurses working across various health-care clinics in the United Arab Emirates. This study used descriptive correlational statistics from the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences, the Pearson correlation coefficient, confirmatory factor analysis for model validity, Cronbach’s alpha for reliability and path analysis to determine the results.
Findings
The relationship between TL and job performance among nurses in health-care clinics was strongly influenced by WE. In addition, a moderate WEV increased the positive influence of TL on job accomplishment. Furthermore, there were no statistically significant differences between the participants’ demographics characteristics and the main variables of the study.
Practical implications
Health-care management can support and enhance nurses’ job performance through TL, create a more structured WEV and support WE.
Originality/value
This study involves a specific investigation into WE as a mediator, WEV as a moderator and the effect of TL on nurses’ job performance.
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Steven A. Schulz, Thomas Martin and Heather M. Meyer
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of internal marketing orientation, external marketing orientation, and subjective well-being on the affective…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of internal marketing orientation, external marketing orientation, and subjective well-being on the affective organizational commitment of frontline employees.
Design/methodology/approach
Previous research was used to develop hypotheses and develop a questionnaire for this project. An online survey was completed by 108 frontline employees.
Findings
The hypothesized model of all three variables having positive effects on organization commitment was supported. Internal marketing orientation, external marketing orientation, and subjective well-being were significant predictors of affective organizational commitment.
Research limitations/implications
A key limitation of this study is the cross-sectional, data collection design. A longitudinal study would allow for increased confidence when evaluating causal inferences with this type of data.
Practical implications
This paper identifies how managers may be able to use internal marketing orientation, external marketing orientation, and subjective well-being as potential tools to increase the affective organizational commitment of frontline employees.
Social implications
This paper demonstrates the importance of subjective well-being as an important component of life for an employee and success of the organization.
Originality/value
This paper extends current research on affective organizational commitment by testing a new model that includes internal marketing orientation, external marketing orientation, and subjective well-being as predictor variables.
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Saman Rashidi, Javad Abolfazli Esfahani, Mohammad Sadegh Valipour, Masoud Bovand and Ioan Pop
The analysis of the flow field and heat transfer around a tube row or tube banks wrapped with porous layer have many related engineering applications. Examples include the reactor…
Abstract
Purpose
The analysis of the flow field and heat transfer around a tube row or tube banks wrapped with porous layer have many related engineering applications. Examples include the reactor safety analysis, combustion, compact heat exchangers, solar power collectors, high-performance insulation for buildings and many another applications. The purpose of this paper is to perform a numerical study on flows passing through two circular cylinders in side-by-side arrangement wrapped with a porous layer under the influence of a magnetic field. The authors focus the attention to the effects of magnetic field, Darcy number and pitch ratio on the mechanism of convection heat transfer and flow structures.
Design/methodology/approach
The Darcy-Brinkman-Forchheimer model for simulating the flow in porous medium along with the Maxwell equations for providing the coupling between the flow field and the magnetic field have been used. Equations with the relevant boundary conditions are numerically solved using a finite volume approach. In this study, Stuart and Darcy numbers are varied within the range of 0 < N < 3 and 1e-6 < Da < 1e-2, respectively, and Reynolds and Prandtl numbers are equal to Re=100 and Pr=0.71, respectively.
Findings
The results show that the drag coefficient decreases for N < 0.6 and increases for N > 0.6. Also, the effect of magnetic field is negligible in the gap between two cylinders because the magnetic field for two cylinders counteracts each other in these regions.
Originality/value
To the authors knowledge, in the open literature, flow passing over two circular cylinders in side-by-side arrangement wrapped with a porous layer has been rarely investigated especially under the influence of a magnetic field.
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Mohammed Aboramadan and Khalid Abed Dahleez
This study aims to investigate the effects of transformational and transactional leaders’ behaviors on employees’ affective commitment and organizational citizenship behavior in…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate the effects of transformational and transactional leaders’ behaviors on employees’ affective commitment and organizational citizenship behavior in the context of nonprofit organizations (NPOs). Additionally, this study attempts to examine the role of work engagement, as an intervening mechanism as work engagement in NPOs has been empirically neglected (Park et al., 2018).
Design/methodology/approach
Data were conducted from 400 employees working in Italian NPOs in the North of Italy. For verifying the hypotheses of this study, structural equation modeling techniques were implemented.
Findings
It was found that both transformational and transactional leaderships influenced positively affective commitment and organizational citizenship behavior, and work engagement was revealed to have significant positive mediating effects on the relationship between the variables examined in this study.
Practical implications
The results of this study may be beneficial to leaders and supervisors of NPOs, specifically regarding the influence of the leaders’ behaviors on the employees’ outcomes.
Originality/value
Due to the limited number of studies conducted on leadership in nonprofit organizations, this study theoretically and empirically contributes to the leadership literature as it is the first study to investigate the two styles of leadership on work-related outcomes via work engagement in the nonprofit sector.
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