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21 – 30 of 78Mehdi Dehghan and Fatemeh Shakeri
Multi‐point boundary value problems have important roles in the modelling of various problems in physics and engineering. This paper aims to present the solution of ordinary…
Abstract
Purpose
Multi‐point boundary value problems have important roles in the modelling of various problems in physics and engineering. This paper aims to present the solution of ordinary differential equations with multi‐point boundary value conditions by means of a semi‐numerical approach which is based on the homotopy analysis method.
Design/methodology/approach
The convergence of the obtained solution is expressed and some typical examples are employed to illustrate validity, effectiveness and flexibility of this procedure. This approach, in contrast to perturbation techniques, is valid even for systems without any small/large parameters and therefore it can be applied more widely than perturbation techniques, especially when there do not exist any small/large quantities.
Findings
Unlike other analytic techniques, this approach provides a convenient way to adjust and control the convergence of approximation series. Some applications will be briefly introduced.
Originality/value
The paper shows how an important boundary value problem is solved with a semi‐analytical method.
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XinYing Chew, Raed Alharbi, Khai Wah Khaw and Alhamzah Alnoor
The study is interested in knowing “the role of the organizational structure as a mediating variable of the relationship between the information technology and organizational…
Abstract
Purpose
The study is interested in knowing “the role of the organizational structure as a mediating variable of the relationship between the information technology and organizational communication”.
Design/methodology/approach
The study was conducted in several service companies, and the study adopted the questionnaire as a basic tool for the data collection on the practical side, as 267 opinions were surveyed, in addition to conducting personal interviews, and the normal distribution of data was tested, analyzing, describing and diagnosing study variables, testing correlations and determining direct effects.
Findings
Findings show that there is no direct and significant statistical impact of information technology on organizational communications. Whereas there was a positive, direct and statistically significant impact of information technology on the organizational structure. There was also a positive, direct and statistically significant effect of the organizational structure on organizational communication.
Research limitations/implications
This paper is restricted to the role of the organizational structure as a mediating variable of the relationship between the influence of information technology on organizational communication.
Practical implications
As part of the practical implication, the paper suggests the need to increase support and attention to the importance of information technology in service organizations in order to increase coordination and organizational communication and achieve a high ability to explore and exploit ideas.
Originality/value
Apart from the fact that several companies were engaged, the organizational structures of these companies were engaged too to examine the impacts of Information technology (ICT) on organizational communication.
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HamidReza KhakRah, Mehdi Mohammaei, Payam Hooshmand, Navid Bagheri and Emad Hasani Malekshah
The nanofluid flow and heat transfer within a heat exchanger, with different thermal arrangements of internal active bodies, are investigated.
Abstract
Purpose
The nanofluid flow and heat transfer within a heat exchanger, with different thermal arrangements of internal active bodies, are investigated.
Design/methodology/approach
For the numerical simulations, the lattice Boltzmann method is utilized. The KKL model is used to predict the dynamic viscosity of CuO-water nanofluid. Furthermore, the Brownian method is taken account using this model. The influence of shapes of nanoparticles on the heat transfer performance is considered.
Findings
The results show that the platelet nanoparticles render higher average Nusselt number showing better heat transfer performance. In order to perform comprehensive analysis, the heatline visualization, local and total entropy generation, local and average Nusselt variation are employed.
Originality/value
The originality of this work is carrying out a comprehensive investigation of nanofluid flow and heat transfer during natural convection using lattice Boltzmann method and employing second law analysis and heatline visualization.
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Irna Puji Lestari, Galuh Tri Pambekti and Arna Asna Annisa
This paper aims to provide a comprehensive and systematic overview of relevant factors that affect green purchase behavior of Muslims.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to provide a comprehensive and systematic overview of relevant factors that affect green purchase behavior of Muslims.
Design/methodology/approach
A systematic literature review was conducted to fill in the lack of conceptual clarity on the relationship between green product purchasing and Muslim consumers.
Findings
The review revealed that studies on Muslim green purchase behavior were mostly carried out in Asian countries, with the theory of planned behavior as a highly featured approach. The in-depth analysis captured more than 50 factors of green purchasing behavior of Muslims with religiosity, which was found to be the most mentioned determinant in the literature.
Practical implications
The finding provides three insights for future research and marketing practices: Muslim consumer behavior model development, green-halal product innovation and green Islamic marketing strategy formulation.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, no literature review has comprehensively identified the determinants of Muslim green purchasing behavior. Therefore, enriched with bibliographical mapping, this study will systematically conduct a literature review to explain the driving factors of Muslims in purchasing green products and outline potential directions for marketers and researchers to enhance green ecosystems.
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Noor e Sahar, Dahlia Zawawi, Nor Siah Jaharuddin and Munir A. Abbasi
This study aims to use stewardship theory to investigate the effect of responsible leadership (RL) on organisational citizenship behaviour for the environment (OCBE) through the…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to use stewardship theory to investigate the effect of responsible leadership (RL) on organisational citizenship behaviour for the environment (OCBE) through the mediatory role of environmental corporate social responsibility (ECSR).
Design/methodology/approach
Data was collected from a sample of 224 individuals employed in the manufacturing sector of Pakistan. The study used partial least squares structural equation modelling to estimate the relationships within the model.
Findings
The findings indicate that RL positively impacts OCBE, and ECSR is a partial mediator that mediates the relationship between RL and OCBE.
Practical implications
This research offers novel perspectives for organisational leaders, highlighting the significance of RL quality for instilling OCBE among the employees of manufacturing sectors. Organisational leaders must prioritise ECSR in their CSR initiatives.
Originality/value
This study’s novelty lies in confirming the mediating role of ECSR to drive the positive impact of RL on OCBE through stewardship theory.
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David Mensah, Anthony Q.Q. Aboagye, Joshua Y. Abor and Anthony Kyereboah-Coleman
The management of external debt among highly indebted poor countries (HIPCs) in Africa still remains a challenge despite numerous packages and attempts to ameliorate the…
Abstract
Purpose
The management of external debt among highly indebted poor countries (HIPCs) in Africa still remains a challenge despite numerous packages and attempts to ameliorate the consequences of such odious debt. The purpose of this paper is to establish the factors that contribute to the growth rate of external debt and how these factors respond to shocks to external debt growth rate in Africa.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were obtained from 24 African countries and analyzed using a panel vector autoregression estimation methodology.
Findings
The study found that external debt growth rates respond positively to unit shock or changes in government investment spending, consumption spending, and domestic borrowings over a long period of time. In the medium term, external debt growth rates respond negatively to shocks in tax revenue, inflation, and output growth rates. The paper also provides empirical support that external debt may be consumed rather than invested among HIPCs in Africa.
Research limitations/implications
The findings of this paper are limited to only HIPCs in Africa.
Practical implications
This study has some few debilitating implications for external debt management among HIPCs in Africa. First, the paper suggests that debt repayment may be a problem. This is largely because external debt is consumed rather than invested. External debt sustainability needs a holistic approach in less developed countries. The findings place much emphasis on improvements in gross domestic product and tax revenues as the principal routes out of the debt doldrums. However, this option must be exploited with great caution as there is ample evidence that these poor countries increase their external borrowing capacities with improvements in economic outlook.
Originality/value
This paper fills a research gap that identifies specific components of government deficit budgets that may be contributing to the growth rate of external debts among HIPCs.
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Aurang Zaib, Rizwan Ul Haq, Ali J. Chamkha and Mohammad Mehdi Rashidi
The purpose of this paper is to present an inclusive study of the mixed convective flow involving micropolar fluid holding kerosene/water-based TiO2 nanoparticle towards a…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to present an inclusive study of the mixed convective flow involving micropolar fluid holding kerosene/water-based TiO2 nanoparticle towards a vertical Riga surface with partial slip. The outcomes are confined for opposing and assisting flows.
Design/methodology/approach
Similarity equations are acquired and then worked out numerically by the Keller box technique.
Findings
Impacts of significant parameters on microrotation velocity, temperature distribution, velocity profile together with the Nusselt number and the skin friction are argued with the help of graphs. Two solutions are achieved in opposing flow, while the solution is unique in assisting flow. It is also monitored that the separation of boundary layer delays because of micropolar parameter and accelerates because of volume fraction.
Originality/value
The authors trust that all these results are new and significant for researchers.
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Mehdi Zaferanieh, Mahmood Sadra and Toktam Basirat
This paper aims to propose a bi-level mixed integer linear location-allocation problem. The upper-level objective function is dedicated to minimizing the total distances covered…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to propose a bi-level mixed integer linear location-allocation problem. The upper-level objective function is dedicated to minimizing the total distances covered by customers to meet the p-selected facilities and the fixed cost values for establishing these facilities. While in the lower level, a customer preference function evaluates the priority of customers in selecting facilities.
Design/methodology/approach
The solution approach to the proposed model uses the Karush–Kuhn–Tucker (KKT) optimality conditions to the lower-level problem where a set of p-selected facilities are introduced as the selection of the upper-level decision maker. The bi-level model reduces to a single-level model with some added binary variables.
Findings
Sensitivity analysis of the proposed bi-level model concerning variations of such different parameters as customers’ preferences and the number of selected facilities have been provided, using some numerical examples. Also, locating a recreational facility in Mazandaran province, Iran, has been provided to evaluate the reliability of the proposed model and efficiency of the solution approach, as well.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this paper is original and its findings are not available elsewhere.
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The purpose of this study is to investigate the strain rate effect on the problem of low-velocity impact (LVI) on a beam, including silicon nitride and stainless steel materials.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to investigate the strain rate effect on the problem of low-velocity impact (LVI) on a beam, including silicon nitride and stainless steel materials.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on the nonlinear Hertz impact mechanism, the energies related to the impactor and the beam are written, and motion equations are derived using the Lagrangian mechanics and Ritz method. The strain rate term is represented as a damping matrix in the equations of motion. In the issue of LVI on the silicon nitride and stainless steel beam, the effect of internal viscous damping coefficient in simply–simply and clamped–free boundary conditions are studied. Also, the influence of the volume fraction index in the range between zero and one and greater than one on the impact response is investigated.
Findings
The results make it clear that the strain rate parameter had little effect on the response in LVI. Also, an increase in the volume fraction index has led to a decrease in the contact force and an increase in the rebound velocity of the impactor.
Originality/value
The effect of strain rate on LVI is theoretically studied in this paper, while in most of the papers, this effect is investigated experimentally and numerically.
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Keywords
Mehri Yasami, Kullada Phetvaroon, Mayukh Dewan and Kristina Stosic
The onset of a health crisis has substantially crippled the hotel industry, causing employees' fears of an imminent job loss. This study investigates how hotel employees'…
Abstract
Purpose
The onset of a health crisis has substantially crippled the hotel industry, causing employees' fears of an imminent job loss. This study investigates how hotel employees' perceived job insecurity affects work engagement and psychological withdrawal behavior. Additionally, it explores the mediating role of work engagement between job insecurity and psychological withdrawal behavior, along with examining the moderating effects of employee resilience on the links between job insecurity, work engagement and psychological withdrawal behavior.
Design/methodology/approach
Adopting simple random sampling, a total of 357 completed questionnaires by Thai frontline hotel employees in 36 four- and five-star international hotel chains in Phuket, Thailand, were analyzed. Data analyses were undertaken by SPSS version 25.0 and partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) version 4.0.9.1.
Findings
Results indicate that perceived job insecurity diminishes work engagement and leads to psychological withdrawal behavior. Work engagement is found to partially mediate the connection between job insecurity and psychological withdrawal behavior. Furthermore, employee resilience lessens the impact of job insecurity on work engagement while reinforcing the link between work engagement and psychological withdrawal behavior.
Practical implications
The study findings offer valuable practical implications, illustrating how Thai hospitality firms can cultivate effective talent management practices to develop and enhance employees' skills, engagement and enthusiasm in their work. These practices can assist employees in coping with and managing their perceptions of job insecurity during turbulent times and uncontrollable crises.
Originality/value
This study creates a compelling framework to elucidate the connections among COVID-19-intensified job insecurity, work-related outcomes and personal factors. It introduces a previously underexamined perspective that enriches the authors' theoretical comprehension of how personal resources, like employee resilience, serve as protective factors, shaping employee behavior and performance amidst job insecurity. Moreover, the study advocates for a synthesizing approach, emphasizing the integration of various theoretical perspectives and past literature, particularly when research gaps cannot be sufficiently addressed by a single theory.
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