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Article
Publication date: 20 January 2023

Sabah Ben Messaoud

The purpose of this paper is to make a contribution to understanding the influence of factors such as the water/cement (W/C) ratio and the granular class on the mechanical and…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to make a contribution to understanding the influence of factors such as the water/cement (W/C) ratio and the granular class on the mechanical and physical properties of high-strength concretes (HSCs). In the formulations of HSC, aggregates by their high mass and volume proportion play an important role. When selecting aggregates, it is necessary to know their intrinsic properties. These properties influence the performance of concrete, in particular the quality of the granulate cimentary adhesion.

Design/methodology/approach

This experimental study focused on the effect of W/C ratio (0.25, 0.30, 0.35), the effect of replacing a part of cement by silica fume (SF) (8%), the effect of fraction of aggregate on properties of fresh and hardened concrete, the effect of different environment conversation like drinking water and sea water on compressive strength and the study of absorption of water and softening using the mix design method of the University of Sherbrooke combined with the Dreux-Gorisse method which gives good results.

Findings

At the end of our work, the examination of the results obtained made it possible to establish the correlations between the formulations studied and the physicomechanical characteristics of the concrete compositions (HSC25, HSC16, HSC8). The results of this study show that the use of three granular classifications (DMAX8, DMAX16 and DMAX25) and three report W/C (0.25, 0.30 and 0.35) in two different conservation environment (drinking water and sea water) give HSCs, HSC25 with an W/C = 0.25 ratio has reached the largest mechanical strength of 90 MPa for different environments of conservation. For selecting aggregates, it is necessary to know their intrinsic properties, these properties influence the strength of concrete. In general, there is a slight decrease in the compressive resistance of the specimens stored in seawater, it can be said that the conservation life has not had effect on the resistance (28 days). The effect of aggressive environment can appear in the long term.

Research limitations/implications

Mixed design and concrete fabrication with a 28-day compressive strength of up to 68 MPa or more of 90 MPa can now be possible used in Jiel (Algeria), and it should no longer be considered to be used only in an experimental domain. Addition of SF in concrete showed good development of strength between 7 and 28 days, depending on the design of the mix.

Practical implications

Concrete containing 8% SF with W/B of 0.25 has higher compressive strength than the other concretes, and concretes with SF are more resistant than concretes without SF, so it is possible to have concrete with a compressive strength of 82 MPa for W/C 0.25 without SF. Like as a result, we can avoid the use of SF to affect the strength of concrete at compressive strength of 68 MPa, and a slump of 21 cm, because the SF is the most expensive ingredient used in the composition of concrete and is therefore very important economically. One of the main factors of production of HSC above 90 MPa is use of aggregate DMAX25, which is stronger with W/B of 0.25 and 0.30.

Social implications

This mixtures leads to a very dense microstructure and low porosity and produces increased permeability of HSC and is able to resist the penetration of aggressive agents. This combination has a positive effect on the economy of concrete.

Originality/value

The combination of the Dreux-Gorisse method with the Sherbrook method is very beneficial for determining the percentage of aggregates used, and the use of coarse aggregates of Jijel to obtain HSC with 90 MPa and 16 cm of workability.

Details

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

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 11 June 2019

Abdolrahim Asadollahi and Abdolkarim Najafi

Injecting drug use addiction is a main factor in hepatitis B, C infection and HIV–AIDS infection. The purpose of this paper is to measure seroprevalence of hepatitis B, C virus…

Abstract

Purpose

Injecting drug use addiction is a main factor in hepatitis B, C infection and HIV–AIDS infection. The purpose of this paper is to measure seroprevalence of hepatitis B, C virus and HIV–AIDS amongst injecting drug users (IDUs) and its influencing factors.

Design/methodology/approach

The cross-sectional method was used in mid-2017 in Ahwaz city, southwest Iran. In total, 133 IDUs, aged 29–71 years (mean age=48.21 ± 10.4), were chosen from Aria addiction treatment centre. The data were collected on demographic and behavioural characteristics. In addition, serum samples were screened for those diseases.

Findings

In a total of 131 IDUs, 2 (1.5 per cent) were HIV+, 16 (11.7 per cent) HCV+ and 8 (6.1 per cent) HBV+. There was a significant correlation between diseases and IDU. Results of multiple regression stated that IDU was a more predicting variable as β=0.76 and the model was able to predict 74.1 per cent of the variance, F (3, 35)=12.42, ρ<0.001, R2=0.741, OR=3.01, 95% CI [1.44, 3.83]. The synchronised pairwise effect of age, imprisonment and IDU with GLM analysis was significant, F (2, 114)=20.433, ρ<0.000, η HCV + 2 = 0.609 , η HBV + 2 = 0.616 , and η HCV + 2 = 0.612 , λWilks’=0.056. The infection rate among IDUs was significant and the most important risk factor for these infections has been intravenous drug use, together with age of misusing and imprisonment.

Research limitations/implications

The non-cooperation of two samples, lack of participation of three addiction rehabilitation centres in Ahwaz city, the end of cooperation in the first two months of the implementation of the plan, and the lack of consistency of the three serum samples in the cases (two cases) were limitations of the study.

Practical implications

Based on the results, the following suggestions could be presented: establishing “Intervention Clubs” for treatment in the peripheral urban areas for the participation of women drug users – the responsible organisation is Cultural and Social Deputy of Ahwaz Municipality Organisation. Integration of “Small Self-caring Groups” in Sepidar Women’s Penitentiary in the East Ahwaz region – the responsible organisation is Khuzistan Province Prisons Organisation (the southwestern Iranian prisons authority); constructing “Community-based Committees” to increase the level of social intervention – the responsible organisation is the Iran Drug Control Headquarters at Iranian Presidential Office; screening of injecting drug use in the populations at risk, especially girls and women in marginalised areas – the responsible organisation is Deputy Director of Prevention and Treatment of Addiction in the Iran Welfare and Rehabilitation Organisation; establishing an “Patient Treatment Center” in high-risk areas along with directing drug users and supervising the relevant authorities – the responsible organisation is Deputy Police Commander on Social Assistance; providing education to families involved with addiction in the “Neighborhood Parks” – the responsible organisation is Deputy for Health Affairs.

Social implications

They are mixed with practical implications as well.

Originality/value

The comprehensive harm reduction plan and prison-related issues of IDUs with shared syringe along with the pairwise age and imprisonment need to consider the above factors.

Details

Drugs and Alcohol Today, vol. 19 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1745-9265

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 11 April 2016

Laura Gavinelli, Maria Cristina Morra and Angelo Di Gregorio

The purpose of this paper is to examine whether and how a mega event can be an opportunity for a territory to be developed as a marketing product. The topic is analysed in the…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine whether and how a mega event can be an opportunity for a territory to be developed as a marketing product. The topic is analysed in the pre-event phase, from the point of view of marketing mix and governance.

Design/methodology/approach

A qualitative method was adopted with a case study on Monza and Brianza province (northern Italy) which is strongly involved in EXPO2015 initiatives. The triangulation among multiple sources such as documents, interviews and observation, allow for deeper data collection.

Findings

A mega event can enhance development and repositioning also of minor territories. There are, however, two main conditions for benefiting from such an opportunity: to plan the marketing mix, taking into account people and partnerships, and to ensure a vision on territory through coordination with a legacy perspective.

Research limitations/implications

This study is not representative or generalizable. However, it gives insights into the mechanism of coordination and collaboration between different stakeholders and on how to plan the Monza and Brianza marketing mixes.

Practical implications

The research has implications for governance mechanisms and for marketing politics both for public and private decision-makers, especially in the pre-mega event phase, but also with some inputs into legacy phase.

Originality/value

The research is original for three reasons: the context concerns Monza and Brianza province, and so can help understand how mega events can help a minor territory reposition itself; the research looks at the managerial implications of place marketing in this pre-event phase; and in Italy, provinces are being reorganized or abolished: this case study looks at a province and its future.

Details

Qualitative Market Research: An International Journal, vol. 19 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1352-2752

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 7 November 2016

Frederick Ng and Isabella Li

This paper aims to examine how the customer can be better integrated into case-mix systems for primary healthcare. Case-mix is an established performance management tool in…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to examine how the customer can be better integrated into case-mix systems for primary healthcare. Case-mix is an established performance management tool in hospitals, and there is growing interest in its extensions into out-of-hospital healthcare.

Design/methodology/approach

Interviews with academics and clinicians are used to explore conceptual foundations for this area. A service-dominant logic perspective is used to problematize the roles of accounting in this complex setting.

Findings

The findings identify that a customer focus is embedded in current primary healthcare thinking, contrasting with the goods-dominant focus in hospitals. This paper identifies diverse objectives and coordinating networks of care as challenges for case-mix.

Research limitations/implications

This paper breaks down the complexity of primary healthcare case-mix into two accounting roles: a “dialogue machine” to understand client objectives and a “learning machine” to understand clients’ networks of resources. The infancy of case-mix for primary healthcare means our interview sample is restricted to a small group of pioneers in the area, within a supply perspective.

Practical implications

Primary healthcare management is a priority area in New Zealand. The findings describe opportunities and challenges for the “dialogue” and “learning” roles of accounting. This paper discusses practical and ideological tensions to be resolved when integrating customers into case-mix systems.

Originality/value

This paper contributes to the limited literature on the use of case-mix accounting outside of hospitals, discussing the role of customers and networks of care. Findings contribute by describing the customer as both a source of, and a means to resolving, complexity.

Details

Pacific Accounting Review, vol. 28 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0114-0582

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 June 1999

Danny C.K. Ho and Eddie W.L. Cheng

This paper reexamines the traditional approaches to study value and quality, and suggests the need of linking these isolated approaches. A new concept called value mix which…

2400

Abstract

This paper reexamines the traditional approaches to study value and quality, and suggests the need of linking these isolated approaches. A new concept called value mix which focuses on the customers’ perception of the value of a product or service in terms of function, quality and price is developed to provide a vehicle for an amalgamation of varied management thinking. Value is suggested to form the core of organisations’ strategic process of pursuing customer satisfaction. Leading edge can be forged by formulating and applying an appropriate value mix. Given that quality is the focus of total quality management (TQM) while value is that of value analysis/value engineering (VA/VE), researchers should explore the opportunity of integrating TQM and VA/VE tools and techniques to enhance product or service value.

Details

Managing Service Quality: An International Journal, vol. 9 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0960-4529

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 18 January 2011

Robert L. Harrison and Timothy M. Reilly

The purpose of this article is to determine the uses of mixed method research designs published in major marketing journals.

34272

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this article is to determine the uses of mixed method research designs published in major marketing journals.

Design/methodology/approach

This study involved a content analysis of 2,166 articles published between 2003 and 2009 in nine prominent marketing journals.

Findings

A total of 34 mixed method studies implemented data‐collection procedures sequentially (79 percent), eight implemented them concurrently (19 percent) and one combined both sequential and concurrent procedures (2 percent). On the whole, priority was skewed more toward quantitative strands, with 27 articles prioritizing quantitative data (63 percent), three articles prioritizing qualitative data (7 percent), and 13 articles prioritizing both equally (30 percent).

Research limitations/implications

It is clear that marketing scholars recognize the benefit of mixing qualitative and quantitative research; however, as a discipline we are not demonstrating knowledge of the mixed method literature or procedures, as only one article recognized or mentioned knowledge of mixed method procedures or cited mixed method research.

Practical implications

This study provides guidance for researchers in identifying design types appropriate for various rationales or research objectives and models of different design types that have been published in marketing journals. In addition, implications for designing mixed methods studies in marketing include highlighting the need for scholars to specifically address issues such as the timing and priority given to each data type (i.e. sequential or concurrent), and the integration (or mixing) of the both data types.

Originality/value

Until now, the role of mixed methods designs in marketing has not been the subject of formal examination. The delineation of the major forms in mixed method designs provides a framework for looking at such design types, which helps to provide more credibility to the field of marketing by providing examples of research designs that are substantially different than single strand studies.

Details

Qualitative Market Research: An International Journal, vol. 14 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1352-2752

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 14 May 2018

Hyun Hee Park and Jung Ok Jeon

Despite the importance of electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) in e-commerce transactions on the global market, there is still limited understanding about the effect of eWOM sequence…

2636

Abstract

Purpose

Despite the importance of electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) in e-commerce transactions on the global market, there is still limited understanding about the effect of eWOM sequence and its psychological mechanism in cross-cultural settings. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the differences in brand attitude changes according to the eWOM sequence, as well as cross-culturally, based on thinking styles. Furthermore, the authors examine the moderated mediation effect of perceived cognition congruency across cultures to explain its underlying mechanism.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors use a 2 (eWOM sequence: positive/negative, negative/positive) × 2(culture: East (South Korea), West (USA)) factorial design. Perceived cognition congruency is measured as a within-group variable.

Findings

First, brand attitude changes in the West (USA) for the negative/positive presentation order are significantly larger than for the positive/negative presentation order, while, in the East (South Korea), no significant differences exist. Second, in the Westerner group (analytical thinking style), the perceived cognition congruency shows a significant difference according to the eWOM sequence, whereas in the Easterner group (holistic thinking style), the perceived cognition congruency does not show a significant difference according to the eWOM sequence.

Practical implications

As such, a strategic interpretation of the mixed eWOM presentation order across cultures is needed. In the West, interest and attention are necessary for the eWOM sequence. However, in the East, a different strategic approach, except for the presentation order of mixed eWOM, is required. The other elements of the mixed eWOM, such as attribute type or intensity of negative information, need to be considered for mixed eWOM management.

Originality/value

This study expands the existing body of knowledge on the sequence effect of mixed eWOM. Furthermore, it provides strategic direction and practical implications for mixed eWOM-driven information management, focusing on sequence in cross-cultural settings.

Details

International Marketing Review, vol. 35 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0265-1335

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 1 September 2014

Frank Walter, Bernd Vogel and Jochen I. Menges

We offer a new perspective on group affective diversity by introducing the construct of mixed group mood, denoting co-occurring positive and negative mood states between different…

Abstract

We offer a new perspective on group affective diversity by introducing the construct of mixed group mood, denoting co-occurring positive and negative mood states between different members of a group. Mixed group mood is characterized by four facets, namely members’ distribution between two positive and negative subgroups, subgroups’ average mood intensity, subgroups’ mood intensity heterogeneity, and individual members’ mood ambivalence. Building on information/decision-making and social categorization/similarity–attraction perspectives, we explore the performance consequences of mixed group mood along these four facets and we discuss implications and directions for future research.

Details

Individual Sources, Dynamics, and Expressions of Emotion
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78190-889-1

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 4 August 2022

Daniel Amos

Despite the increasing discourse on mixed methods (MM) in academic literature, less attention has been focused on its methodological development in the built environment in…

Abstract

Purpose

Despite the increasing discourse on mixed methods (MM) in academic literature, less attention has been focused on its methodological development in the built environment in developing countries. This paper aims to examine the basis and challenges of the application of MM for health-care facilities management (FM) research in Ghana.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper adopts autoethnography as its research method, coupled with a scholarly review of methodological literature to position a technical view on the application of mixed methods for health-care FM research in a developing country.

Findings

This paper contributes and lends support to the methodological strength of MM as epistemologically coherent and useful for understanding the intricacies of health-care FM. This paper advances the proposition that the nascent stage of FM development in Ghana, paucity of literature, epistemological and axiological considerations underscore the choice of a sequential MM. The attitude of research participants, ethical challenges and time-lapse for data analysis were observed as practical challenges.

Research limitations/implications

Discussion of data integration is excluded.

Practical implications

This paper provides a nuanced understanding of the concept of MM in health-care FM and set forth practical recommendations worthy to enhance the application of MM research.

Originality/value

This paper is among the few focusing on methodological discussion of health-care FM. This paper proposes a framework to guide researchers in the application of mixed methods.

Article
Publication date: 18 January 2019

Rafsan Mahmud

Private supplementary tutoring, common in many countries, has mixed (both positive and negative) dimensions that impact student learning. Private supplementary tutoring runs…

Abstract

Purpose

Private supplementary tutoring, common in many countries, has mixed (both positive and negative) dimensions that impact student learning. Private supplementary tutoring runs parallel to mainstream schooling and provides lessons before or after school hours in exchange for additional fees. The purpose of this paper is to focus on how private supplementary tutoring benefits students’ learning in secondary education. It also identifies the drawbacks of tutoring, and shows variations in and between urban and rural locations.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper employed a mixed methods approach using a survey and individual interview collected from two different research settings: urban and rural. Grades 8 and 10 were purposefully chosen for data collection. A sample of 802 participants, including 401 students and their 401 parents (either mothers or fathers), participated in the survey, in addition to 48 interviewees comprising students, parents and teachers.

Findings

At times, pupils’ educational perspectives are influenced by the conflicting (positive/negative) standpoints of tutoring issues. The paper finds mixed impacts of private tutoring with a focus on disparities of implications between urban and rural locations. It identifies positive aspects such as learning attainment, exam preparation, relationship growth and lesson practice, as well as negative perspectives, such as an examination-centered aim and hamper of mainstream school learning.

Originality/value

The study contributes to the awareness of private supplementary tutoring that benefits students’ learning while also bringing disadvantages. It shows implications of fee-charging tutoring which may relate to students’ family socio-economic situations. The paper addresses private tutoring in general (including English and all other subjects) in most cases, and, more specifically, private tutoring in English as a subject in some cases.

Details

International Journal of Comparative Education and Development, vol. 21 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2396-7404

Keywords

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