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1 – 10 of 320Philipp Loacker, Siegfried Pöchtrager, Christian Fikar and Wolfgang Grenzfurtner
The purpose of this study is to present a methodical procedure on how to prepare event logs and analyse them through process mining, statistics and visualisations. The aim is to…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to present a methodical procedure on how to prepare event logs and analyse them through process mining, statistics and visualisations. The aim is to derive roots and patterns of quality deviations and non-conforming finished products as well as best practice facilitating employee training in the food processing industry. Thereby, a key focus is on recognising tacit knowledge hidden in event logs to improve quality processes.
Design/methodology/approach
This study applied process mining to detect root causes of quality deviations in operational process of food production. In addition, a data-ecosystem was developed which illustrates a continuous improvement feedback loop and serves as a role model for other applications in the food processing industry. The approach was applied to a real-case study in the processed cheese industry.
Findings
The findings revealed practical and conceptional contributions which can be used to continuously improve quality management (QM) in food processing. Thereby, the developed data-ecosystem supports production and QM in the decision-making processes. The findings of the analysis are a valuable basis to enhance operational processes, aiming to prevent quality deviations and non-conforming finished products.
Originality/value
Process mining is still rarely used in the food industry. Thereby, the proposed method helps to identify tacit knowledge in the food processing industry, which was shown by the framework for the preparation of event logs and the data ecosystem.
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Arthur Rocha-Gomes, Alexandre Alves da Silva and Tania Regina Riul
The purpose of this study is to nutritionally evaluate dams exposed to caloric restriction or cafeteria diets during the lactation period.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to nutritionally evaluate dams exposed to caloric restriction or cafeteria diets during the lactation period.
Design/methodology/approach
Twenty-four female Wistar rats (n = 8/group) and their respective litters received during lactation: Control (CTRL) – received standard chow; Caloric restriction (CR) – received 50% of the ratio of the CTRL group; Cafeteria diet (CAF) – received cafeteria diet. Weighing of the mother rats and their respective litters occurred weekly and the diets were daily. At weaning, levels of glucose, total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and triglycerides were evaluated. Abdominal adipose tissue was removed and weighed. Liver tissue was removed to determine the lipid profile.
Findings
CR dams showed lower food (p < 0.01), caloric (p < 0.01) and all macronutrients (p < 0.01) intake. This group also observed intense weight loss (p < 0.01), in addition to low litter weight (p < 0.01). CAF dams had higher caloric intake (p < 0.05) and increased consumption of lipids (p < 0.01). The CAF group also reported greater accumulation of abdominal adipose tissue (p = 0.01), elevated levels of LDL (p < 0.01) and hepatic lipids (p < 0.01), as well as a litter with higher weaning weight (p < 0.01).
Originality/value
Few studies have evaluated the effects of different models of malnutrition focusing on dams. CR dams showed severe weight loss, which may have caused their pups to be underweight. On the other hand, the CAF diet during lactation led to a higher consumption of lipids and accumulation of adipose tissue, which generated a high weight of the litter.
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This “looking back to look forward” chapter addresses narrative threads that began in the Foreword of this book. The Holocaust and other inhumane acts again serve as starting…
Abstract
This “looking back to look forward” chapter addresses narrative threads that began in the Foreword of this book. The Holocaust and other inhumane acts again serve as starting points for discussion. Woven in are passages from an open letter a Holocaust survivor wrote to teachers in the aftermath of World War II. The naming of dehumanizing acts, along with their educated aggressors, segues into a discussion of excessive entitlement, the topic of this volume. This chapter acknowledges that faculty and graduate students wrestle with intractable educational dilemmas ignited by those who are excessively entitled. As they struggle to make sense of off-putting experiences that trace to their peers' excessiveness, they inevitably conclude that dilemmas, by their very nature, can never be resolved definitively. But they can be circumstantially managed. Teachers and principals are highly influential in weighing and managing dilemmas. They are primary role models to others in society because of their sustained relationships with youth over time. Only when teachers and professors consider humanity in its entirety do their in situ understandings of excessive entitlement recalibrate to become empowered entitlement where both self and others are taken into consideration where informed actions are concerned. This chapter ends by reinforcing the importance of the best-loved self, which repeatedly shows itself to be the yin to excessive entitlement's yang. This point is emphatically made in each preceding chapter as well – with all this volume's chapters suggesting how academia could move beyond excessive entitlement with the betterment of humankind in full view.
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Dg Nooremah Ag Said, Rose Irnawaty Ibrahim, Azman Ab Rahman and Hafidzi Hamdan
This paper aims to view the tradition of the Prophet in zakat payment, especially the attributed measurements, and adapt these measures to current zakat measurement practices.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to view the tradition of the Prophet in zakat payment, especially the attributed measurements, and adapt these measures to current zakat measurement practices.
Design/methodology/approach
This study is designed with an exploratory sequential mixed method where qualitative data were collected from historical archives and also from the measurement of available ṣāʿ صاع and mud_ مد. These standard measures were collected from Malaysia and other Muslim countries and calibrated at the National Measurement Standards Laboratory (currently carried out by the National Metrology Institute of Malaysia). The volume of the ṣāʿ were tabulated, charted, analyzed and determined.
Findings
Prophet Muḥammad ordered for zakat al-fiṭr زكاة الفطر to measure the crops using ṣāʿ (gallon: volume measure), not raṭl رطل (pound: standard weight). This paper recommends a reference volume for the ṣāʿ, and from this value, the volume for the smaller measure mud and much larger measure wasq وسق were calculated. The agricultural niṣāb (5 wasq) is one of the key parameters in ṣāʿ volume analysis.
Research limitations/implications
This study covers standard measures acquired from Malaysia, Saudi Arabia and the United Kingdom (traceable to India). Several empirical data are attained from previous studies from Saudi Arabia and North Africa. Also, some theoretical data are obtained from kitab tafsir, hadith and kitab turath (books and records written by early scholars). A concern in this study is the ratio of de-husked grains currently approximated at half of un-hulled grains. This might not necessarily be accurate and may differ by different types of grains.
Practical implications
After the introduction of the modern measurement system known as the International System of Units (SI) in 1971, ṣāʿ became obsolete, leaving each state in Malaysia to define and convert ṣāʿ to SI units variously. This paper contributes to standardizing the conversion to one value with an appropriate SI unit, that has traceability to the Prophet’s ṣāʿ. This national reference standard ṣāʿ is essential for zakat al-fiṭr measurement, important for zakat centers and impacting every Muslim in Malaysia. Often overlooked, ṣāʿ is more crucial as a basis in determining and standardizing the seasonal crops niṣāb, unfolding the reasons why the poor are paying the paddy zakat in Malaysia.
Social implications
The Prophet’s tradition for ablution is to use water not more than one mud, this is aligned with the 12th Sustainable Development Goals by the United Nations which promoted the responsible consumption of water. Considering half (adults) of the 1.9 billion Muslims in the world, multiplied by 5 times of prayer, the Muslims will at least use 4.75 billion muds of water for ablution alone in 1 day. This is approximately 3.5 billion liters of water daily, and if they limit their water usage to 1 mud for each ablution, they collectively will save at least four times more water (about 14 billion liters) daily than performing ablution from a running tap. Though for ablution, accuracy is not an issue, the mud impact on all Muslims is vital on a daily basis, literally by volume.
Originality/value
Ṣāʿ is essential in measuring food for the annually obligated zakat al-fiṭr and more crucial as a basis in determining the seasonal crops niṣāb. This paper contributes to the development of a national reference standard ṣāʿ for Malaysia that has traceability to the Prophet’s ṣāʿ.
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Franz Rumstadt, Dominik K. Kanbach, Josef Arweck, Thomas K. Maran and Stephan Stubner
When CEOs are publicly weighing in on sociopolitical debates, this is known as CEO activism. The steadily growing number of such statements made in recent years has been subject…
Abstract
Purpose
When CEOs are publicly weighing in on sociopolitical debates, this is known as CEO activism. The steadily growing number of such statements made in recent years has been subject to a flourishing academic debate. This field offers first profound findings from observational studies. However, the discussion of CEO activism lacks a thorough theoretical grounding, such as a shared concept accounting for the heterogeneity of sociopolitical incidents. Thus, the aim of this paper is to provide an archetypal framework for CEO activism.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors used a multiple case study approach on 145 activism cases stated by CEOs and found seven distinct statement archetypes.
Findings
The study identifies four main structural design elements accounting for the heterogeneity of activism, i.e. the addressed meta-category of the statement, the targeted outcome, the used tonality and the orientation of the CEOs’ positions. Further, the authors found seven distinguishable archetypes of CEO activism statements: “Climate Alerts”, “Economy Visions”, “Political Comments”, “Self-reflections and Social Concerns”, “Tech Designs”, “Unclouded Evaluations” and “Descriptive Explanations”.
Research limitations/implications
This typology classifies the heterogeneity of CEO activism. It will enable the analysis of interrelationships, mechanisms and motivations on a differentiated level and raise the comprehensibility of research-results.
Practical implications
The framework supports executives in understanding the heterogeneity of CEO activism and to analyse personality-fits.
Originality/value
To the authors’ knowledge, this marks the first conceptualisation of activism developed cross-thematically. The work supports further theory-building on CEO activism.
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Adah-Kole Onjewu, Razieh Sadraei and Vahid Jafari-Sadeghi
In spite of wide civic and academic interest in obesity, there are no bibliometric records of this issue in the marketing corpus. Thus, this inquiry is conceived to address this…
Abstract
Purpose
In spite of wide civic and academic interest in obesity, there are no bibliometric records of this issue in the marketing corpus. Thus, this inquiry is conceived to address this shortcoming with a bibliometric analysis of Scopus indexed articles published on the subject.
Design/methodology/approach
The analysis followed a five-step science mapping approach of study design, data collection, data analysis, data visualisation and data interpretation. R programming software was used to review 88 peer reviewed journals published between 1987 and 2021.
Findings
A sizable stream of literature exploring obesity has accrued in the marketing area as authors have drawn parallels between the influence of persuasive communication and advertising on human wellbeing and child health. The United States of America is found to be by far the country with the highest number of publications on obesity, followed by Australia and the United Kingdom. The topic dendrogram indicates two strands of obesity discourse: (1) social and policy intervention opportunities and (2) the effects on social groups in the population.
Research limitations/implications
This review will shape future enquiries investigating obesity. Beyond the focus on children, males and females, an emerging focus on cola, ethics, food waste, milk, policy-making and students is highlighted.
Originality/value
This is the first bibliometric review of obesity in the marketing literature. This is especially timely for weighing up the utility of research aimed at understanding and reporting the trends, influences and role of stakeholders in addressing obesity.
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Yafei Feng, Yongqiang Sun, Nan Wang and Xiao-Liang Shen
Sharing co-owned information on social network platforms has become a common and inevitable phenomenon. However, due to the uniqueness of co-owned information, the privacy…
Abstract
Purpose
Sharing co-owned information on social network platforms has become a common and inevitable phenomenon. However, due to the uniqueness of co-owned information, the privacy calculus theory based on a single information owner cannot explain co-owned information disclosure. Therefore, this study tries to investigate the underlying mechanism of users’ co-owned information disclosure from a collective privacy calculus perspective.
Design/methodology/approach
Through a survey of 740 participants, covariance-based structural equation modeling (CB-SEM) was used to verify the proposed model and hypotheses.
Findings
The results show that personal benefit, others’ benefit and relationship benefit promote users’ co-owned information disclosure by positively affecting personal distributive fairness and others’ distributive fairness perception. Meanwhile, personal privacy risk and others’ privacy risk prevent users’ co-owned information disclosure by negatively affecting personal distributive fairness and others’ distributive fairness perception. Besides, others’ information ownership perception enhances the positive effect of others’ distributive fairness perception on co-owned information disclosure intention. Furthermore, others’ information ownership strengthens the mediating role of others’ distributive fairness.
Research limitations/implications
The findings of this study enrich the research scope of information disclosure and privacy calculus theory and help social network platform developers design collective privacy protection functions.
Originality/value
This study develops a collective privacy calculus model to understand users’ co-owned information disclosure on social network platforms, confirming the mediating role of collective distributive fairness and the moderating role of others’ information ownership perception in the process of collective privacy calculus.
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This survey explores the application of real options theory to the field of health economics. The integration of options theory offers a valuable framework to address these…
Abstract
Purpose
This survey explores the application of real options theory to the field of health economics. The integration of options theory offers a valuable framework to address these challenges, providing insights into healthcare investments, policy analysis and patient care pathways.
Design/methodology/approach
This research employs the real options theory, a financial concept, to delve into health economics challenges. Through a systematic approach, three distinct models rooted in this theory are crafted and analyzed. Firstly, the study examines the value of investing in emerging health technology, factoring in future advantages, associated costs and unpredictability. The second model is patient-centric, evaluating the choice between immediate treatment switch and waiting for more clarity, while also weighing the associated risks. Lastly, the research assesses pandemic-related government policies, emphasizing the importance of delaying decisions in the face of uncertainties, thereby promoting data-driven policymaking.
Findings
Three different real options models are presented in this study to illustrate their applicability and value in aiding decision-makers. (1) The first evaluates investments in new technology, analyzing future benefits, discount rates and benefit volatility to determine investment value. (2) In the second model, a patient has the option of switching treatments now or waiting for more information before optimally switching treatments. However, waiting has its risks, such as disease progression. By modeling the potential benefits and risks of both options, and factoring in the time value, this model aids doctors and patients in making informed decisions based on a quantified assessment of potential outcomes. (3) The third model concerns pandemic policy: governments can end or prolong lockdowns. While awaiting more data on the virus might lead to economic and societal strain, the model emphasizes the economic value of deferring decisions under uncertainty.
Practical implications
This research provides a quantified perspective on various decisions in healthcare, from investments in new technology to treatment choices for patients to government decisions regarding pandemics. By applying real options theory, stakeholders can make more evidence-driven decisions.
Social implications
Decisions about patient care pathways and pandemic policies have direct societal implications. For instance, choices regarding the prolongation or ending of lockdowns can lead to economic and societal strain.
Originality/value
The originality of this study lies in its application of real options theory, a concept from finance, to the realm of health economics, offering novel insights and analytical tools for decision-makers in the healthcare sector.
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Margit Närvä, Jarmo Alarinta and Gun Wirtanen
The purpose of this study was to investigate amount of food waste and the number of food packages used in Finnish households with university students. The aim of the paper is to…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study was to investigate amount of food waste and the number of food packages used in Finnish households with university students. The aim of the paper is to answer the following research questions: How much avoidable food waste is generated in the participating various sized households? How much unavoidable food waste is generated in the participating various sized households? How many food packages are classified as deposit, municipal waste or recycled in the participating various sized households?
Design/methodology/approach
The data was collected among the students in Seinäjoki University of Applied Sciences. A total of results from 432 households with 890 persons are presented. The participating households weighed their unavoidable and avoidable food waste and calculated the food packages during one week. The results were analysed in Excel and the statistical significance assessed using a t-test.
Findings
The average avoidable and unavoidable food wastages were 498 g/week/person, i.e. 25.9 kg/year/person and 543 g/week/person, i.e. 28.3 kg/year/person, respectively. Single-person households generate more avoidable and unavoidable food waste as well as packages per person than other sized households. The results show that there is no correlation between the amount of avoidable food waste/person, unavoidable food waste/person or packages/person.
Originality/value
This kind of research has sparsely been reported. The food and package wastage definitions vary, and thus it is difficult to compare these results with other reported results.
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Even in Poland, a bright spot for the region, manufacturing activity remains in contraction territory, while private consumption and investment continue to expand modestly…