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Article
Publication date: 13 April 2023

Naureen Akber Ali, Anam Feroz, Noshaba Akber and Adeel Khoja

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has led to unprecedented mental health repercussions in the lives of every individual including university students. Therefore, study…

Abstract

Purpose

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has led to unprecedented mental health repercussions in the lives of every individual including university students. Therefore, study on students’ psychological state and its associated factors during the pandemic are of importance. This study aims to discuss the aforementioned issue.

Design/methodology/approach

An online survey was done on a total of 207 university students of Pakistan to collect information on socio-demographic characteristics, concerns or fears amidst COVID-19 and mental distress. Validated tools; Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD-7) and Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9)-Depression were used to assess stress, anxiety and depression, respectively.

Findings

Around 14% of the university students were experiencing severe stress and anxiety, while 8.2% had severe depression. The authors found that stress among university students was related to psychiatric illness or symptoms (OR = 5.1: 1.1, 22.9) and unpredictability due to the pandemic (OR = 3.7: 1.2, 11.2). The significant determinants of anxiety were psychiatric illness/symptoms (OR = 6.6: 3.4, 12.9), implementation of public health measures (OR = 3.7: 1.1, 11.6), employed mothers (OR = 2.4: 1.1, 5.0) and lack of support from university administration (OR = 2.2: 1.0, 5.0). While the factors associated with depression included psychiatric illness or symptoms (OR = 8.4: 3.3, 21.5), unpredictability due to pandemic (OR = 6.8: 2.2, 20.7), impaired social support system (OR = 3.7: 1.3, 10.4) and studying without a scholarship (OR = 2.1: 1.0, 4.4).

Research limitations/implications

These findings call for an urgent need to develop appropriate interventions and educational programs that could address the psychological needs of students.

Practical implications

The study directs the role of university and faculty in dealing the mental health needs of the student in COVID-19 pandemic time.

Social implications

Educational programs are important that could address the psychological needs of students in COVID-19 pandemic.

Originality/value

University students reported mental distress during COVID-19 pandemic which shows that younger people are at risk of COVID-19 repercussions. Moreover, several stressors (i.e. impaired social support system and lack of support from universities) were revealed that could be mitigated by implementing appropriate strategies.

Details

Arab Gulf Journal of Scientific Research, vol. 42 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1985-9899

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 28 June 2022

Edwina Pio, Shailendra Vyakarnam, Shima Barakat and Margaret McCammon

The purpose of this study is to discuss how ethnicity and gender influence high-tech entrepreneurship in the Cambridge cluster emphasizing homophily and how and why bridging and…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to discuss how ethnicity and gender influence high-tech entrepreneurship in the Cambridge cluster emphasizing homophily and how and why bridging and bonding ties are created in moving individuals from the periphery to cross the threshold into acceptance.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors present findings on the micro-dynamics of ethnicity and gender in high-tech entrepreneurship underpinned by homophily. The authors discuss how ethnicity and gender influence who enters and stays in high-tech entrepreneurship university spinouts. Through an entrepreneurial narrative qualitative approach, the authors explore how and why bridging and bonding ties may be created and the challenges for those at the periphery to cross the threshold into acceptance. The study adopts an entrepreneurial narrative qualitative approach using interviews with individuals associated with the Cambridge cluster.

Findings

The authors add to the entrepreneurship literature by responding to the call for multiplexity within homophily, and the research indicates that homophily strongly influences who enters and who leaves the cluster based on bridging and bonding ties. The findings address the need for more focused understanding of entrepreneurial clusters and how mechanisms can be developed to create an environment to nurture both bridging and bonding ties. It is possible for an entrepreneurial cluster to be perceived as attractive and thriving while being homophilous. Ethnic individuals and women continue to struggle to gain acceptance in the Cambridge cluster.

Research limitations/implications

Interviews were conducted by one person – an ethnic minority female – for continuity of all interviews. Yet as many of the participants were not minorities, it is possible that an interviewer who was not an ethnic minority may have elicited different narratives.

Originality/value

The study adds to the entrepreneurship literature by focusing on multiplexity within homophily in examining the dynamics of homophily in the context of the Cambridge cluster and the significance of nurturing bridging and bonding ties. The research comments on implications for practice among three interlinked but autonomous groups: first, the individual entrepreneurs; second, the networks she/he belongs to; third, the university as both fertile ground for entrepreneurship and an educational institution where entrepreneurship education is engaged in for encouraging and supporting spinouts.

Details

Journal of Enterprising Communities: People and Places in the Global Economy, vol. 17 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1750-6204

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 18 August 2022

Shailendra Chauhan, Rajeev Trehan and Ravi Pratap Singh

This work aims to describe the face milling analysis on Inconel X-750 superalloy using coated carbides. The formed chips and tool wear were further analyzed at different cutting…

Abstract

Purpose

This work aims to describe the face milling analysis on Inconel X-750 superalloy using coated carbides. The formed chips and tool wear were further analyzed at different cutting parameters. The various impact of cutting parameters on chip morphology was also analyzed. Superalloys, often referred to as heat-resistant alloys, have exceptional tensile, ductile and creep strength at high operating temperatures and good fatigue strength, and often better corrosion and oxidation resistance at extreme heat. Because of these qualities, these alloys account for more than half of the weight of sophisticated aviation, biomedical and thermal power plants today. Inconel X-750 is a high-temperature nickel-based superalloy that is hard to machine because of its extensive properties. At last, the discussion regarding the tool wear mechanism was analyzed and discussed in this article.

Design/methodology/approach

The machining parameters for the study are cutting speed, feed rate and depth of cut. One factor at a time approach was implemented to investigate the effect of cutting parameters on the cutting forces, surface roughness and material removal rate. The scatter plot was plotted between cutting parameters and target functions (cutting forces, surface roughness and material removal rate). The six levels of cutting speed, feed rate and depth of cut were taken as cutting parameters.

Findings

The cutting forces are primarily affected by the cutting parameters, tool geometry, work material etc. The maximum forces Fx were encountered at 10 mm/min cutting speed, 0.15 mm/rev feed rate and 0.4 mm depth of cut, further maximum forces Fy were attained at 10 mm/min cutting speed, 0.25 mm/rev feed rate and 0.4 mm depth of cut and maximum forces Fz were attained at 50 mm/min cutting speed, 0.05 mm/rev feed rate and 0.4 mm depth of cut. The maximum surface roughness value was observed at 40 mm/min cutting speed, 0.15 mm/rev feed rate and 0.5 mm depth of cut.

Originality/value

The effect of machining parameters on cutting forces, surface roughness, chip morphology and tool wear for milling of Inconel X-750 high-temperature superalloy is being less researched in the present literature. Therefore, this research paper will give a direction for researchers for further studies to be carried out in the domain of high-temperature superalloys. Furthermore, the different tool wear mechanisms at separate experimental trials have been explored to evaluate and validate the process performance by conducting scanning electron microscopy analysis. Chip morphology has also been evaluated and analyzed under the variation of selected process inputs at different levels.

Details

World Journal of Engineering, vol. 21 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1708-5284

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 16 February 2024

Sujoy Sen, Sanjeev Kadam and Reshma Nair

This paper aims to study the motives that led to conflict between two groups – Employees of state-owned power distribution companies and the Government – over permitting parallel…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to study the motives that led to conflict between two groups – Employees of state-owned power distribution companies and the Government – over permitting parallel licensing to a private company for power distribution services in selected areas of the Maharashtra state in India. The study also seeks to comprehend the reconciliation process and the role of leadership in thwarting the strike that could have impacted common citizens.

Design/methodology/approach

The research is built on a case-based approach to analyze the pre- and poststrike environment along with the impact of the power shortage during the few hours of the strike. A semi-structured interview method wherein government and employee union representatives were interviewed to understand their version of the incident is used. Related literature, reports and news were reviewed to realize the impacts and consequences of similar situations in the past.

Findings

The strike was called off within a few hours with the intervention of state government to resolve the issue, promising the union the government’s intention not to privatize but to invest INR 500bn in the three government companies. The parallel licensing may impact government-owned power distribution companies as well as customers in the future.

Practical implications

It will pave the way for lessons related to such incidence where the Government and the Unions are at loggerheads over issues like privatization or ownership of the company and help the involved and other parties to seek a viable solution. The role of resilient leadership demonstrated by both parties led to a win-win solution within a few hours of the strike.

Originality/value

The paper is a case study on an issue that is very contemporary; the role of leadership and its swiftness in decision-making that led to a solution to a very complex situation is something that was not done earlier in the context of the State vs Union issue.

Details

International Journal of Law and Management, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1754-243X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 6 March 2024

Gaurav Kumar Badhotiya, Anand Gurumurthy, Yogesh Marawar and Gunjan Soni

Lean manufacturing (LM) concepts have been widely adopted in diverse industrial sectors. However, no literature review focusing on case studies describing LM implementation is…

Abstract

Purpose

Lean manufacturing (LM) concepts have been widely adopted in diverse industrial sectors. However, no literature review focusing on case studies describing LM implementation is available. Case studies represent the actual implementation and provide secondary data for further analysis. This study aims to review the same to understand the pathways of LM implementation. In addition, it aims to analyse other related review questions, such as how implementing LM impacts manufacturing capabilities and the maturity level of manufacturing organisations that implemented LM, to name a few.

Design/methodology/approach

A literature review of case studies that discuss the implementation of LM during the last decade (from 2010 to 2020) is carried out. These studies were synthesised, and content analyses were performed to reveal critical insights.

Findings

The implementation pattern of LM significantly varies across manufacturing organisations. The findings show simultaneous improvement in manufacturing capabilities. Towards the end of the last decade, organisations implemented LM with radio frequency identification, e-kanban, simulation, etc.

Originality/value

Reviewing the case studies documenting LM implementation to comprehend the various nuances is a novel attempt. Furthermore, potential future research directions are identified for advancing the research in the domain of LM.

Details

Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1741-038X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 5 February 2024

Yi Zhang, Tianqi Zhang, Hang Zhou and Jian Qin

People usually try to avoid uncertainty. Recently, however, uncertainty has become an emerging marketing tool in the hedonic product industry. In the case of blind box…

Abstract

Purpose

People usually try to avoid uncertainty. Recently, however, uncertainty has become an emerging marketing tool in the hedonic product industry. In the case of blind box consumption, for example, the consumers become addicted to the uncertainty created by businesses, leading to repeat purchases and even indulgences. Previous research has, yet, to focus on the impact of uncertainty on indulgence and the role of emotions.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper constructs and validates a chain mediation model of uncertainty triggering indulgent consumption based on the information gap theory, positive emotion theory and uncertainty resolution theory and examines the difference between resolved and unresolved uncertainty. This study also explores differences in the impact of whether uncertainty is resolved on emotions. The uncertainty-resolved group elicited a more positive emotional response than the uncertainty-unresolved group, leading to a more indulgent consumption.

Findings

The results of three studies show that uncertainty influences indulgent consumption through curiosity and positive emotion, and that curiosity and positive emotion play separate and chain mediating roles between uncertainty and indulgent consumption, respectively. We validate our central hypothesis with questionnaires among blind box consumer groups, examining the moderating role of perceived luck and risk preferences.

Originality/value

The findings shed new light on firms' use of uncertainty to promote consumer purchases.

Details

Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1355-5855

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 25 August 2023

Giovanni Lagioia, Vera Amicarelli, Rossana Strippoli, Christian Bux and Teodoro Gallucci

The hotel industry is one of the leading producers of waste worldwide, and more than one-third of that waste is food. The purpose of this study is to investigate hotel managers'…

Abstract

Purpose

The hotel industry is one of the leading producers of waste worldwide, and more than one-third of that waste is food. The purpose of this study is to investigate hotel managers' awareness of sustainable and circular practices, with a focus on their attitude toward and perception of food waste in Apulia, Southern Italy. The region has a tourist vocation, accounts for 3.3 million tourists per year and plays a key role in the Italian tourism.

Design/methodology/approach

The study was conducted using a questionnaire administered to ten hotel managers located in Apulia. In light of the Checkup Tool Speditivo, a sustainability score indicates managers' awareness of and attitude toward sustainability and circularity, distinguishing between “beginner” (0–25 points), “concerned” (26–50 points), “proactivist” (51–75 points) and “sustainable” (76–100 points). The results have been analyzed using descriptive statistic tools.

Findings

The average sustainability score indicating the level of awareness of sustainable and circular practices among hotel managers in Apulia was 84, whereas the average score associated with their attitude toward food waste management strategies was 65. The greater the number of stars, the higher the sustainability scores. However, the greater the number of rooms, the lower the attitude toward food waste management strategies.

Originality/value

The study sheds light on the main opportunities, barriers and trends in the field of food waste management, highlighting the food commodities which are wasted the most and proposing further strategies to improve circularity and sustainability in hotels. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this study is the first on such topics in Southern Italy and could represent the basis for future research on the topic.

Details

British Food Journal, vol. 126 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0007-070X

Keywords

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