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1 – 10 of 536Yahya AlSawafi, Abderezak Touzene, Khaled Day and Nasser Alzeidi
Wireless sensor network (WSN) and mobile crowd sensing (MCS) technologies face some challenges, especially when deployed in a large environment such as a smart city environment…
Abstract
Purpose
Wireless sensor network (WSN) and mobile crowd sensing (MCS) technologies face some challenges, especially when deployed in a large environment such as a smart city environment. WSN faces network latency, packets delivery and limited lifetime due to the nature of the used constrained internet of things small devices and low power network. On the other hand, most of the current applications that adapt MCS technology use 3G or long term evalution network to collect data and send them directly to the server. This leads to higher battery and bandwidth consumption and higher data cost.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper proposes a hybrid routing protocol based on the routing protocol (RPL) protocol that combines the two wireless sensing technologies (WSN and MCS) and allows the integration between them. The aim is to use MCS nodes in an opportunistic way to support static WSN nodes to enhance the performance.
Findings
The evaluation of the proposed protocol was conducted in a static WSN to study the impact of the integration on the WSN performance. The results reveal a good enhancement on packet delivery ratio (17% more), end-to-end delay (50% less) and power consumption (25% less) compared with native RPL (without MCS integration).
Originality/value
The authors believe that the hybrid-RPL protocol can be useful for sensing and data collection purposes, especially in urban areas and smart city contexts.
This chapter offers a symbolic perspective on the Egyptian Revolution. It does so by analyzing the transformation of Khaled Said, a 28-year-old Egyptian man beaten to death by…
Abstract
This chapter offers a symbolic perspective on the Egyptian Revolution. It does so by analyzing the transformation of Khaled Said, a 28-year-old Egyptian man beaten to death by police on June 6, 2010, into a key visual injustice symbol. Activists were motivated by a horrifying cell phone photograph of Said taken by his family at the morgue and uploaded on the web. Although the postmortem photograph had a powerful emotional impact in itself, the transformation of Said from local/particular incident to injustice symbol with society-wide repercussions cannot be explained by its mere availability in the public sphere. The transformation required intervention and appropriation by activists who creatively and strategically universalized the case, linking it with existing injustice frames in Egypt. This chapter analyzes this interplay between photographs, activism, and society in two steps. The first provides an analysis of the genesis of the Said symbol and identifies three levels of agency in its formation. The second step analyzes the process through which Said was infused with injustice meanings by activists. Providing the first systematic analysis of Said from a social movement perspective, the chapter draws on several data sources that are subjected to interpretive analysis: visual material available on the internet, Facebook pages, and interviews with and accounts by key activists. And it calls for more attention to photographs and symbols in the analysis of activism and points to several historical and present cases with relevance for such an approach.
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Mohammed N. Alajmi, Yousef Al-Haroun, Rua Alshaheen and Mohammed Al-Nafisi
This study evaluates the architectural status of circular prototype mosques in Kuwait. The argument is that the once dominant and powerful image of mosques is now merely a…
Abstract
Purpose
This study evaluates the architectural status of circular prototype mosques in Kuwait. The argument is that the once dominant and powerful image of mosques is now merely a repetitive reproduction through the prototype scheme. The study focuses on the circular prototype design, which has been constructed in many of Kuwait's recent residential areas. It evaluates qualitatively the worshipers' experiences of these mosques.
Design/methodology/approach
The research methodology is qualitative. The main question is how well the circular prototype mosques are received by worshipers and local communities. Various research methods were used, including walk-through survey and group interview with worshipers and semi-structured interview with key informants in Public Authority for Housing Welfare and Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs. Purposive sampling was chosen to select for key informants. Time-location sampling was selected for worshipers' group interview.
Findings
Circular prototype presents several weaknesses. The community did not receive the circular design well as it deviates from the traditional and modern rectangular mosque design prevalent in Kuwait. This research highlights the importance of considering traditional design principles, community preferences and functional requirements while designing a mosque. It also emphasizes the need for an extensive evaluation of prototype designs to identify potential weaknesses before proceeding with the final design.
Social implications
It is recommended that future mosque design projects in Kuwait consider traditional design principles; community preferences; and financial, functional and sustainability requirements. In addition, the findings of this study can be used to inform future mosque design projects in Kuwait and to ensure that they are functional, cost-effective and well received by the community.
Originality/value
This research provides an informative and comprehensive analysis of Kuwait's prototype mosque designs from the 1950s to the present day. It focuses on the current circular prototype, critically examining its advantages and disadvantages. This research is the first to evaluate the history and design improvements over the years. As such, this research offers invaluable information to those interested in Kuwait's religious architecture and cultural history.
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The purpose of the current study, besides describing the Khaled Nabi shrine and the reasons and motivations behind the visits to the shrine, is to elaborate its importance and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of the current study, besides describing the Khaled Nabi shrine and the reasons and motivations behind the visits to the shrine, is to elaborate its importance and meaning for the Turkmen community with regard to cultural identity in modern Iran. In addition, the possibilities of the classification of the visitors at the shrine, according to the tourist-pilgrim model will be also considered.
Design/methodology/approach
Because of the complexity of the tourism issues, for the collection of data for this research, the author has relied on both qualitative and qualitative methods, notably general observation, participant observation and in-depth interviews with key persons at the shrine. Furthermore, to get some insight in the general opinion, a total of 180 questionnaires that contained open- and close-ended questions have been distributed among Turkmen and non-Turkmen pilgrims/visitors in the age group of 18-80 years, of which 100 were completed. Therefore, observations were made for a whole week’s cycle to record variations during the same season.
Findings
Results of the study indicate that, because of the character of Khaled Nabi shrine, visitors with varieties of motivations like religious, semi-religious and secular, do visit Khaled Nabi and the shrine takes on a variety of functions for its visitors. The research specifies that drawing an exact line between the visitors proved to be improper. Therefore, to classify the visitors, the tourist-pilgrim continuum, being the most proper model, was applied. Accordingly, six categories of religious pilgrims, spiritual pilgrims/tourists, ecotourists, ethnic tourists, Turkmen cultural/historical tourists and non-Turkmen cultural/historical tourists have been created.
Research limitations/implications
In regard to the research many problems also appeared. Perhaps the most difficult part was overcoming all sorts of practical and bureaucratic hurdles of doing research in Iran which can be quite challenging at times. It is even harder when the research is on ethnic or religious minorities, which is deemed – without exception – by the Iranian authorities “sensitive”. Consequently, for example, in practice, to not attract undesirable attention of the officials, the author, instead of putting direct questions, did it through participant observation or informal chats with the visitors.
Originality/value
Despite the huge amount of publications related to pilgrimage and tourism, there is still a gap between abstract theory and empirical research. Tending to be general in nature, the studies dedicated to specific geographical regions with their own unique history and environment are rather few. This lack of tourism studies is even greater when the study is related to zeyarat (religious motivated in the Islamic contexts) which, despite its importance and wide extended practice, has been mostly ignored in tourism and geographic literature. The present study features one such area that is (almost) unknown within the community of tourism and geography researchers.
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Syed Zamberi Ahmad and Norita Binti Ahmad
Strategic management, Strategic marketing, Entrepreneurship and Small business ventures.
Abstract
Subject area
Strategic management, Strategic marketing, Entrepreneurship and Small business ventures.
Study level/applicability
This case study will be useful for undergraduate level students majoring in strategic management, entrepreneurship, small business ventures and marketing.
Case overview
Just Fresh Juice is a small entrepreneurial venture in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), specialising in preparing all-fresh juices, special mixes and fruit salads. The purpose of this paper is to analyse how Just Fresh can maintain its competitive advantage, and how it could sustain its rapid growth in the market and gain more market share in the long run. Just Fresh focuses on satisfying its customers more effectively than its competitors through a competitive strategy of cost leadership (Papulova and Papulova, 2006), direct interaction with the customers through social media (Srinivasan, 2014) and creating a customer experience (Porter, 2008), as delivering a good customer experience is often more effective in building a competitive advantage than optimising internal processes.
Expected learning outcomes
The purpose of this case is to enable management students to evaluate and analyse a small business established in the United Arab Emirates. Students will gain a comprehensive understanding of new business set-up and build proper business strategy. They will be able to perform the company’s competitive standing using Porter’s Five competitive forces and analyse its business strategies as well. They will be able to analyse the current status of the company using SWOT analysis and to design alternative strategies for the company using TOWS analysis. Furthermore, students will be able to build a cost analysis model for the company.
Supplementary materials
Teaching notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes.
Subject code
CSS 3: Entrepreneurship.
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This chapter is based on criminological research about theatre in detention. The research results allow a new conceptual approach to the notion of subversion. The purpose of this…
Abstract
This chapter is based on criminological research about theatre in detention. The research results allow a new conceptual approach to the notion of subversion. The purpose of this work is to (a) briefly present the object, context, and methodology of the research; (b) describe the concept of subversion; and (c) explain how subversion can serve an activist project in criminology. The topic will be situated in an epistemological reflection, illuminating the nature of the prison theatre project and its criminological applications.
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Leehe Friedman, Yair Samban, John Tyson Chatagnier and Alex Mintz
This chapter offers an analysis of the decision code of Khaled Mashal, the former leader of the Hamas organization. Using the Applied Decision Analysis (ADA) method, it examines…
Abstract
This chapter offers an analysis of the decision code of Khaled Mashal, the former leader of the Hamas organization. Using the Applied Decision Analysis (ADA) method, it examines five decisions made by Mashal in 2011–2017. The analysis suggests that Mashal tends to use mainly the poliheuristic decision rule in these decisions, and considers the political-organizational dimension of Hamas as non-compensatory. Thus, Mashal made these decisions by first eliminating any alternative which risked his organization’s political status, and only then he rationally chose the alternative with the greatest expected utility from the remaining ones.
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Md Mohibul Islam, Anders Isaksson and Mohammad Ali Tareq
This study investigates the ex-dividend day stock prices of the firms listed on the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) where the tax rate is higher on dividends than on capital gains. The…
Abstract
This study investigates the ex-dividend day stock prices of the firms listed on the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) where the tax rate is higher on dividends than on capital gains. The results help to explain what impact taxes have on the ex-day stock prices behavior in an emerging market.
To examine the tax effect on the ex-day stock prices behavior, this study considers after-tax dividends and computes the raw price ratio, market-adjusted price ratio, raw price drop, market-adjusted price drop. The market-adjusted ex-dividend day abnormal returns and relative trading volume are also examined to determine the direction of investor trading around the ex-day.
The main hypotheses examine whether the mean (median) differs from its theoretical value by using a t-test and nonparametric sign-rank test. The findings suggest that the drop of stock prices on the ex-day on the DSE is not due to taxes or transaction costs but to valuation assumptions made by investors in determining the equilibrium stock price.
Findings of this study will be useful for investors and traders in their valuation assumption to trade around the ex-dividend day.
Market participant’s preference of dividends, and exempted tax and its ultimate contribution to the equity value explain the ex-day stock prices behavior in the Dhaka Stock Exchange.
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Souhila Benomar, Sanaa Yahia, Faiza Dehiba, Natalia Guillen, Maria Jesús Rodriguez-Yoldi, Jesús Osada and Ahmed Boualga
– The purpose of this study was to evaluate the antioxidant and hypocholesterolemic activities of sardine and bogue protein hydrolysates in cholesterol-fed rats.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the antioxidant and hypocholesterolemic activities of sardine and bogue protein hydrolysates in cholesterol-fed rats.
Design/methodology/approach
In total, 18 male Wistar rats (220 ± 10 g) fed 20 per cent casein, 1 per cent cholesterol and 0.5 per cent cholic acid were divided into three groups and received a daily gavage of 250 mg of sardine (SPH) or bogue (BPH) protein hydrolysates for 30 days. The third group, named control group (CG), received in the same conditions water. Lipoproteins were fractionated by size-exclusion fast protein liquid chromatography, and serum lipids, apolipoproteins and lipoproteins were assayed.
Findings
In SPH and BPH groups, serum total cholesterol concentrations were −66 per cent lower than in CG. This corresponded to the decreased very low-density lipoprotein-C in the former groups. Moreover, BPH treatment reduced low-density lipoprotein-C compared with CG and SPH groups. Compared with CG, serum phospholipids were reduced by SPH and BPH. Furthermore, BPH increased significantly APOA4 and sphingomyelin but lowered phosphatidylcholine. In the latter group, serum lecithin cholesterol acyltransferase activity was +23 per cent higher, but with SPH, this activity was −35 per cent reduced compared with CG. Apolipoprotein A-I contents were similar in the three groups. Compared with CG, hydroperoxide and lipid peroxidation contents in serum and lipoprotein fractions were reduced by SPH and BPH. Compared with CG, serum superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase activities were increased in the treated groups, particularly in the BPH group.
Originality/value
These results suggest that sardine protein hydrolysates and particularly those of bogue could be a very useful natural compound to prevent hypercholesterolemia by both improving the lipid profile and modulating oxidative stress in cholesterol-fed rats.
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Mohammad Almashaqbeh and Khaled El-Rayes
The objective of this research study is to formulate and develop a novel optimization model that enables planners of modular construction to minimize the total transportation and…
Abstract
Purpose
The objective of this research study is to formulate and develop a novel optimization model that enables planners of modular construction to minimize the total transportation and storage costs of prefabricated modules in modular construction projects.
Design/methodology/approach
The model is developed by identifying relevant decision variables, formulating an objective function capable of minimizing the total transportation and storage costs and modelling relevant constraints. The model is implemented by providing all relevant planner-specified data and performing the model optimization computations using mixed-integer programming to generate the optimal solution.
Findings
A case study of hybrid modular construction of a healthcare facility is used to evaluate the model performance and demonstrate its capabilities in minimizing the total transportation and onsite storage costs of building prefabricated modules.
Research limitations/implications
The model can be most effective in optimizing transportation for prefabricated modules with rectangular shapes and might be less effective for modules with irregular shapes. Further research is needed to consider the shape of onsite storage area and its module arrangement.
Practical implications
The developed model supports construction planners in improving the cost effectiveness of modular construction projects by optimizing the transportation of prefabricated modules from factories to construction sites.
Originality/value
The original contributions of this research is selecting an optimal module truck assignment from a feasible set of trucks, identifying an optimal delivery day of each module as well as its location and orientation on the assigned truck and complying with relevant constraints including the non-overlap of modules on each truck, shipment weight distribution and aerodynamic drag reduction.
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