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1 – 10 of 30Dinesh Kumar Kushwaha, Dilbagh Panchal and Anish Kumar Sachdeva
An integrated intuitionistic fuzzy (IF) modelling-based framework for examining the performance analysis of a packaging unit (PU) in three different stages has been proposed.
Abstract
Purpose
An integrated intuitionistic fuzzy (IF) modelling-based framework for examining the performance analysis of a packaging unit (PU) in three different stages has been proposed.
Design/methodology/approach
For the series and parallel configuration of PU, a mathematical model based on the intuitionistic fuzzy Lambda–Tau (IFLT) approach was developed in order to calculate various reliability parameters at various spreads. For determining membership and non-membership function-based reliability parameters for the top event, AND/OR gate transitions expression was employed.
Findings
For 15%–30% spread, unit’s availability for the membership function falls by 0.006442%, and it falls even more by 0.014907% with an increase in spread from 30% to 45%. In contrast, for 15%–30% spread, the availability of non-membership function-based systems reduces by 0.007491% and further diminishes. Risk analysis has presented applying an emerging approach called intuitionistic fuzzy failure mode and effect analysis (IFFMEA). For each of the stated failure causes, the output values of the intuitionistic fuzzy hybrid weighted Euclidean distance (IFHWED)-based IFFMEA have been tabulated. Failure causes like HP1, MT6, FB9, EL16, DR23, GR27, categorized under subsystems, namely hopper, motor, fluidized bed dryer, distributor, grader and bin, respectively, with corresponding IFFMEA output scores 1.0975, 1.0190, 0.8543, 1.0228, 0.9026, 1.0021, were the most critical one to contribute in the system’s failure.
Research limitations/implications
The limitation of the proposed framework lies in the fact that the results obtained for both reliability and risk aspects mainly depend on the correctness of raw data provided by the experts. Also, an approximate model of PU is obtained from plant experts to carry performance analysis, and hence more attention is required in constructing the model. Under IFLT, reliability parameters of PU have been calculated at various spreads to study and analyse the failure behaviour of the unit for both membership and non-membership function in the IFS of [0.6,0.8]. For both membership- and non-membership-based results, availability of the considered system shows decreasing trend. To improve the performance of the considered system, risk assessment was carried using IFFMEA technique, ranking all the critical failure causes against IFHWED score value, on which more attention should be paid so as to avoid sudden failure of unit.
Social implications
The livelihood of millions of farmers and workers depends on sugar industries. So perpetual running of these industries is very important from this viewpoint. On the basis of findings of reliability parameters, the maintenance manager could frame a correct maintenance policy for long-run availability of the sugar mills. This long-run availability will generate revenue, which, in turn, will ensure the livelihood of the farmers.
Originality/value
Mathematical modelling of the considered unit has been done applying basic expressions of AND/OR gate. IFTOPSIS approach has been implemented for ranking result comparison obtained under IFFMEA approach. Eventually, sensitivity analysis was also presented to demonstrate the stability of ranking of failure causes of PU.
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The main purpose of this paper was to evaluate the validation process of food safety control measures.
Abstract
Purpose
The main purpose of this paper was to evaluate the validation process of food safety control measures.
Design/methodology/approach
The validation of control measures has been analyzed at 50 food companies in Serbia. The sample included companies that produce food of both plant and animal origin and have certified food safety management systems. A total of 156 control measures that combat physical hazards (41.6%), followed by microbial hazards (34.0%) and chemical hazards (24.4%), have been analyzed. To enable quantification of the validation protocols, each control measure was assigned a score.
Findings
The validation scores showed that the highest level of validation was observed in large companies, as opposed to small and medium-sized companies (p < 0.05). The type of food safety hazards and the food sector did not reveal any statistical differences in-between the scores. The main approach to validating control measures was referring to the technical documentation of equipment used (52.6%), followed by scientific and legal requirements (30.7%). Less than 20% of the analyzed control measures were validated with operational data collected on-site. No mathematical modeling was observed for the sampled food companies. Future steps should include the development of validation guides for different types of control measures and training modules.
Practical implications
This study can serve as an improvement guide for food safety consultants, food safety auditors, certification bodies, inspection services, food technologists and food managers.
Originality/value
This study is one of the first to provide an insight into how food companies validate their control measures to combat microbial, chemical and physical food safety hazards.
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Stefan Ninković and Olivera Knežević Florić
Since teaching practice is the most important within-school determinant of student learning outcomes, a deepened understanding of how and why school leadership contributes to…
Abstract
Purpose
Since teaching practice is the most important within-school determinant of student learning outcomes, a deepened understanding of how and why school leadership contributes to effective teaching is needed. This article aimed to systematically review the knowledge that has been accumulated about the indirect relations between school leadership and instructional practices.
Design/methodology/approach
The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guided the selection of relevant articles from the databases Scopus and Google Scholar. Twenty-six published works met the eligibility criteria and were included in the narrative synthesis and content analysis.
Findings
The most frequently measured mediators of the effects of school leadership on teaching practice were teacher collaboration, professional learning and teacher self-efficacy. Most studies simultaneously modeled multiple mediated pathways from school leadership to teaching practice. However, only a few analyzed studies used time lags when examining relationships between constructs.
Originality/value
This is the first study to systematically review knowledge on pathways through which school leadership is related to classroom instruction. Thus, this review provides a comprehensive understanding of processes through which school leadership achieves its effects on instructional practices.
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Giovanni De Luca and Monica Rosciano
The tourist industry has to adopt a big data-driven foresight approach to enhance decision-making in a post-COVID international landscape still marked by significant uncertainty…
Abstract
Purpose
The tourist industry has to adopt a big data-driven foresight approach to enhance decision-making in a post-COVID international landscape still marked by significant uncertainty and in which some megatrends have the potential to reshape society in the next decades. This paper, considering the opportunity offered by the application of the quantitative analysis on internet new data sources, proposes a prediction method using Google Trends data based on an estimated transfer function model.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper uses the time-series methods to model and predict Google Trends data. A transfer function model is used to transform the prediction of Google Trends data into predictions of tourist arrivals. It predicts the United States tourism demand in Italy.
Findings
The results highlight the potential expressed by the use of big data-driven foresight approach. Applying a transfer function model on internet search data, timely forecasts of tourism flows are obtained. The two scenarios emerged can be used in tourism stakeholders’ decision-making process. In a future perspective, the methodological path could be applied to other tourism origin markets, to other internet search engine or other socioeconomic and environmental contexts.
Originality/value
The study raises awareness of foresight literacy in the tourism sector. Secondly, it complements the research on tourism demand forecasting by evaluating the performance of quantitative forecasting techniques on new data sources. Thirdly, it is the first paper that makes the United States arrival predictions in Italy. Finally, the findings provide immediate valuable information to tourism stakeholders that could be used to make decisions.
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Szilvia Vanessza Schalk-Nador and Ida Rašovská
This study examines empirically the development of efficiency levels in the hotel industry and its key drivers, by juxtaposing pre- and post-COVID-19 results in the four most…
Abstract
Purpose
This study examines empirically the development of efficiency levels in the hotel industry and its key drivers, by juxtaposing pre- and post-COVID-19 results in the four most important cities in the United States in terms of international arrivals.
Design/methodology/approach
A two-step approach was employed by first utilising the data envelopment analysis method to characterise the efficiency of United States hotels. A multiple linear regression analysis was performed to compare hotel performance in the two years prior to the COVID-19 outbreak with the first two years after the outbreak.
Findings
The results indicated the positive effect of size and the economy hotel category on efficiency, while increasing property age, urban location and a lack of brand affiliation showed a negative effect. During the pandemic, size and the economy category remained significant and positive, whereas urban location continued to represent a negative effect.
Practical implications
This study assists decision makers regarding prospective investments, supports existing and future portfolio analyses, contributes to observations on competition, and offers a wider perspective of the industry.
Originality/value
First, this study investigated the evolution of factors that influenced efficiency before and after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Second, the results offer insights into the impact of the pandemic on hotels' efficiency levels. Third, the study proposes directions for the restoration of hotel efficiency to pre-COVID-19 levels.
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Barbara Borusiak, Bartlomiej Pieranski, Aleksandra Gaweł, David B López Lluch, Krisztián Kis, Sándor Nagy, Jozsef Gal, Anna Mravcová, Jana Gálová, Blazenka Knezevic, Pavel Kotyza, Lubos Smutka and Karel Malec
Increasing the need for education for sustainable development in universities requires an understanding of the predictors of students’ environmental concern (EC). In this paper…
Abstract
Purpose
Increasing the need for education for sustainable development in universities requires an understanding of the predictors of students’ environmental concern (EC). In this paper, the authors focus on the EC of business students because of their future responsibility for business operations regarding the exploitation of natural resources. The aim of the study is to examine the predictors of business students’ environmental concern.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on the Norm Activation Model as the theoretical framework, this study hypothesizes the model of EC with two main predictors: ascription of responsibility for the environment (AOR), driven by locus of control and self-efficacy (LC/SE), and awareness of positive consequences of consumption reduction on the environment (AOC), driven by perceived environmental knowledge. Structural equation modelling was applied to confirm the conceptual model based on the responses of business students from six countries (Czech Republic, Croatia, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and Spain) collected through an online survey.
Findings
The environmental concern of business students is predicted both by the ascription of responsibility and by awareness of consequences; however, the ascription of responsibility is a stronger predictor of EC. A strong impact was found for internal locus of control and self-efficacy on AOR, as well as a weaker influence of perceived environmental knowledge on AOC.
Originality/value
Sustainability education dedicated to business students should provide environmental knowledge and strengthen their internal locus of control and self-efficacy in an environmental context.
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This paper aims to uncover the insights derived from past experimental studies in promoting sustainable tourism. It also advocates for leveraging future experimental designs to…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to uncover the insights derived from past experimental studies in promoting sustainable tourism. It also advocates for leveraging future experimental designs to position tourism as a catalyst for positive change toward sustainable development goals.
Design/methodology/approach
A review of previous literature examines the contributions of experimental design in both tourist studies and employee studies within the tourism fields.
Findings
Previous experimental studies have explored effective methods shaping tourists’ sustainable behaviors and management strategies contributing to employees’ decent work. The importance of integrating digital technology in these interventions is highlighted. A future research agenda encompassing three dimensions – technological progress, theory development and practical implications and research design – is proposed to leverage experimental studies for fostering sustainable development within the tourism industry.
Originality/value
This study, through a comprehensive review, highlights the significant impacts of previous experimental studies on encouraging responsible consumption among tourists and championing improved working conditions for employees. It underscores the necessity for enhanced experimental design, which should integrate theoretical frameworks and prioritize technological innovations to address real-world challenges. These improvements are crucial for advancing the tourism industry toward greater sustainability.
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Sara Dolnicar and Csilla Demeter
Recent reviews of field experiments aiming to entice tourists to behave in more environmentally sustainable ways conclude that attitudes – while the primary target – do not…
Abstract
Purpose
Recent reviews of field experiments aiming to entice tourists to behave in more environmentally sustainable ways conclude that attitudes – while the primary target – do not perform as well as expected. The purpose of this study is to analyse in detail when attitudes have or have not been successful as behavioural change targets and propose a conceptual framework of possible explanations. In so doing, this study represents the first theoretical – rather than empirical – challenge to the currently dominant theoretical understanding of environmentally significant tourist behaviours and offers alternative theoretical constructs tourism researchers aiming to make tourists behave in more sustainable ways could investigate in future.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors investigate in detail experiments where attitude-based behavioural change approaches failed. Based on the insights from this analysis, the authors propose a conceptual framework offering five potential explanations. This study also discusses alternative theoretical constructs that could be used for behavioural change interventions.
Findings
The authors derive five potential explanations for why attitudes often fail to trigger behavioural change in the context of environmentally sustainable tourist behaviour: tourists do not notice messages attempting to change their attitudes; tourists are unwilling to cognitively process behavioural change messages; tourists develop reactance to behavioural change requests; attempts to alter attitudes do not influence habits; and attempts to alter attitudes do not reduce the effort associated with displaying the desired behaviour.
Research limitations/implications
This study broadens research attention to alternative theoretical constructs that may be more effective in making tourists behave in more sustainable ways and opens opportunities for new measures tourism businesses and destinations can implement to influence tourist behaviour.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first theoretical investigation of possible reasons why attitudes have performed poorly as targets of behavioural change interventions aiming to trigger environmentally sustainable tourist behaviours.
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Timothy Blumentritt, Robert Randolph and Gaia Marchisio
Building from calls for greater interdisciplinary research in interpreting family business phenomena, we integrate research on work–family conflict, detachment and burnout from…
Abstract
Purpose
Building from calls for greater interdisciplinary research in interpreting family business phenomena, we integrate research on work–family conflict, detachment and burnout from both organizational and family studies. Using the characteristic work–family integration of family business settings as a backdrop we develop theoretical arguments that emphasize the reconciliatory role of interdisciplinary perspectives to explain the ostensibly contradictory findings in extant research. The diminishing barriers separating work and life spheres occurring in most global industries illustrate the importance of conceiving the study of work–life phenomena through recursive, rather than linear, logics and emphasizing the relevance of family business research in providing a contextual foundation for interdisciplinary discussions.
Design/methodology/approach
This theoretical paper integrates perspectives from the literatures on organizational behavior and family systems theory to form six propositions on the relationship between work–life integration and the antecedents and consequences of burnout and psychological detachment.
Findings
This paper explores the nuances that overlapping work and family roles might be a source of both harmony and discord in family firms. In doing so, our research contributes to the growing relationship between family systems theory and family business research, and creates the foundation for future empirical studies on the psychological dynamics that underlie work–family integration.
Originality/value
This research advances a novel perspective on the interactions between work–family integration and burnout and detachment, and does so by noting that the way the family business literature treats work–family integration may apply to any employee that experiences tension between these different spheres of their identity.
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Murat Özdemir, Barış Eriçok, Hakan Topaloğlu and Gamze Tuti
In recent decades, researchers have increasingly begun to study the effects of transformational leadership on various teachers’ attitudes in K-12 settings. However, studies on the…
Abstract
Purpose
In recent decades, researchers have increasingly begun to study the effects of transformational leadership on various teachers’ attitudes in K-12 settings. However, studies on the effect of transformational leadership on the job satisfaction of vocational high school teachers are not sufficient. Therefore, in this study, the nature of the relationship between transformational leadership and job satisfaction in Turkish vocational high schools was examined.
Design/methodology/approach
The study data came from 847 teachers working at 82 state vocational high schools located in 12 regions in Türkiye. To test the research model, we conducted multilevel structural equation modeling to explore the structural relationships between transformational leadership, teacher professional learning, teacher’ self-efficacy and job satisfaction.
Findings
The analysis confirms that teacher professional learning and self-efficacy are prominent mediators in the relationship between transformational leadership and job satisfaction in Turkish vocational high schools.
Originality/value
The present study is expected to contribute to the body of research focusing on the effects of transformational leadership on job satisfaction in vocational high schools. Implications for theory, practice and policy are discussed.
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