Search results

The purpose of this paper is to develop an effective approach to support and guide production improvement processes utilising online product reviews.

This paper combines two methods: (1) natural language processing (NLP) to support advanced text mining to increase the accuracy of information extracted from product reviews and (2) quality function deployment (QFD) to utilise the extracted information to guide the product improvement process.

The paper proposes an approach to automate the process of obtaining voice of the customer (VOC) by performing text mining on available online product reviews while considering key factors such as the time of review and review usefulness. The paper enhances quality management processes in organisations and advances the literature on customer-oriented product improvement processes.

Online product reviews are a valuable source of information for companies to capture the true VOC. VOC is then commonly used by companies as the main input for QFD to enhance quality management and product improvement. However, this process requires considerable time, during which VOC may change, which may negatively impact the output of QFD. This paper addresses this challenge by providing an improved approach.

Reverse logistics refer to processes related to the reuse of products. The role of suppliers’ performance is crucial in achieving quality, cost, service and delivery aims of a supply chain. The selection of suppliers is regarded as one of the critical issues encountered by purchasing and operations managers in a supply chain to enhance organization’s global marketplace competitiveness. Most of the supply chain models are rather complex problems. Consequently, it is impossible to propose systematic models to handle them. Therefore, in this paper a new integrated approach based on experimental design and computer simulation is proposed for supplier selection. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

In this study, a simulation approach is implemented to determine certain equivalent of parameters values in a CLSC network design which cannot be computed through mathematical model. Suppliers’ order quantities are investigated by Taguchi method for planning time horizon. Moreover, data envelopment analysis (DEA) is applied to assess suppliers based on quality, cost, delivery time, production capabilities, services and technology.

In the numerical example, there are three suppliers for different regions. Purchase value of each supplier is measured in three years successively. According to the proposed method, the authors find the minimum level of costs together with the maximum number of high-quality products.

The objective functions of model are minimizing the costs and maximizing number of high-quality products. The integrated approach introduced in this paper enables managers to select their suppliers effectively in their real system.

Most supply chain models are complex and the identification of proper and optimal solutions in complex real-world systems often requires the solution of multi-objective problems involving multiple stochastic variables. Therefore, the paper introduces a new integrated approach for supplier selection in closed loop supply chain. To the best of the authors knowledge, this is the first study that integrates DEA, computer simulation and Taguchi method for supplier selection in closed loop supply chains.

Project selection management is a matter of challenge for project-oriented organizations, particularly, if the decision-makers are confronted with limited resources. One of the main concerns is selecting an optimal subset that can successfully satisfy the requirements of the organization providing enough resources to the best subset of the project. The projects for which there are not enough resources or those requiring whole resources of the organization will collapse soon after failed to success. Therefore, the issue is in the risk of choosing a set of projects so that can make a balance in investment versus on collective benefit.

A model is presented for project selection and has been tested on the 37 available projects. This model could increase the efficiency of the whole subset of the project significantly in comparison to the other model and it was because of choosing a diverse subset of projects.

Provides a general framework for project selection and a diverse and balanced subset of projects to increase the efficiency of the selected subset. Also, reduces the impact of uncertainty risk on the project selection process.

For the purposes of project selection, any project whose results are uncertain is a risky project because, if the project fails, it will reduce combined project value. For example, a pharmaceutical company’s R&D project is affected by the uncertain results of a specific compound. If the company invests in different compounds, a failure with one will be offset by a good result on another. Therefore, with selecting a diverse set of projects, this paper will have a different set of risks.

This paper discusses the risk of selecting or being responsible for selecting a project under uncertainty. Most of the projects in the field of project selection generally consider the risks facing the projects or existing models that do not take into account the risk.

This study is primarily aimed at investigating the asymmetric impact of institutional ownership on the relationship between stock liquidity and stock return. It was conducted by testing the hypotheses regarding efficient monitoring and adverse selection from Tehran Stock Exchange (TSE).

Using a panel smooth transition regression model and selecting 183 firms for the period from 2009 to 2019 from TSE, this study examined the data to explore the asymmetric impact of institutional ownership on the relationship between stock liquidity and stock return.

The results show a positive impact by institutional ownership on the relationship between stock liquidity and stock return in the first regime (threshold level 39%), whereas in the second regime, there is a negative impact by institutional ownership on the relationship between stock liquidity and stock return. Furthermore, the firms were divided into two groups based on the market value. The first group includes those with a market share less than the mean total market value of the sample. The second group includes firms with a market share higher than the mean total market value of the sample (large firms). The results illustrate that the threshold level is 32% and 44% for the first and second groups, respectively.

The findings of this study suggest that institutional ownership theories require closer inquiry.

Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) is becoming a crucial health problem worldwide. Continued and high-speed mutations of this virus result in the appearance of new manifestations, making the control of this disease difficult. It has been shown that well-nourished patients have strong immune systems who mostly have short-term hospitalization compared to others. The purpose of this study is to review the major nutrients involved in the immune system reinforcement and to explain nutritional aspects during the recovery of COVID-19.

In this review paper, the mechanistic role of nutrients in boosting the immune system and the nutritional aspects during the recovery of COVID-19 patients were discussed. Papers indexed in scientific databases were searched using antioxidants, COVID-19, inflammation, immune system, macronutrient, micronutrient and probiotic as keywords from 2000 to 2022.

Because of the adverse effects of drugs like thrombosis, pulmonary embolism and hypercholesterolemia, a balanced diet with enough concentrations of energy and macronutrients could increase the patient's durability. The inflammatory cytokines in a vicious cycle delay patients’ rehabilitation. The main mechanistic roles of micronutrients are attributed to the downregulation of virus replication and are involved in energy homeostasis. Dysbiosis is defined as another disturbance among COVID-19 patients, and supplementation with beneficial strains of probiotics helps to exert anti-inflammatory effects in this regard. Being on a well-planned diet with anti-inflammatory properties could reverse cytokine storms as the major feature of COVID-19. Future studies are needed to determine the safe and effective dose of dietary factors to control the COVID-19 patients.

Being on a well-planned diet with anti-inflammatory properties could reverse cytokine storms as the major feature of COVID-19. Future studies are needed to determine the safe and effective dose of dietary factors to control the COVID-19 patients.

To better understand the use intensity of e-government service offerings among citizens, a considerable number of studies have examined correlations between various attitudinal constructs related to such offerings and citizens’ service adoption (intentions). This investigational paper aims to take a different angle by exploring associations between a set of 11 objectively identifiable household and individual behavioral and socio-demographic characteristics on the one side and three levels of e-government services use on the other.

The empirical analysis is based on survey responses of a random sample of 17,012 individuals residing in Germany.

Ordinal logistic regression analysis suggests that citizens with low use levels of public e-service offerings are most likely younger male persons with low levels of computer literacy, internet affinity and education, who have a migration background and live in small mid-level-income households located in rural communities.

The findings imply that public institutions may find it difficult to rapidly raise e-government acceptance by distributing only “technocratic” information explaining various service options. Public authorities should consider supplementing “pure” information programs by measures which ensure that the software of e-government service platforms is designed in a way guaranteeing a very high level of “usability”. Furthermore, they should analyze whether the benefits of providing e-government services in specific foreign languages outweigh the costs of such a service extension. If this is the case, an easy-to-use software menu item should be introduced which enables citizens to switch to another common foreign language.

The contribution of this paper results from the analysis of a set of objective predictors of e-government service use in a large random sample of citizens residing in Germany, whereas most prior studies are based on surveys of small convenience samples in other countries.

Divorce has negative effects on children, although emotions that children experience after parental divorce are open to different interpretations. Accordingly, this study was conducted to explore loneliness in children of divorce.

A constructivist grounded theory study was carried out through the lens of definitive guidelines provided by Charmaz (2006). The participants were 15 female children aged 11–12 years, who were purposively selected. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews and memos. To analyze data, the authors used four coding techniques, including initial, focused, axial, and theoretical coding. Also, to examine the links between the identified themes, the authors focused on three factors: conditions, actions/interactions, and consequences.

The analysis of the obtained data through the above-mentioned stages led to the identification of three main themes, including parental unavailability, rejection, and mistrust, which shaped children's experience of loneliness through lack of physical access, lack of emotional access, low levels of parental expectations, lack of supervision, absence of belongingness, being ignored, pessimistic views, and insecure relationships.

As was suggested by attachment theory, children of divorce lost their attachment bonds with their parents that intensified their perception of loneliness and negatively affected their social and academic performance. It was revealed that, effects of divorce went beyond the loss of the attachment bonds in families because our participants talked about their relationships with peers and their position in a society, where divorce carries the social stigma and children of divorced mother are marginalized.