Parvin Reisinezhad and Mostafa Fakhrahmad
Questionnaire studies of knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) are effective research in the field of health, which have many shortcomings. The purpose of this research is to…
Abstract
Purpose
Questionnaire studies of knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) are effective research in the field of health, which have many shortcomings. The purpose of this research is to propose an automatic questionnaire-free method based on deep learning techniques to address the shortcomings of common methods. Next, the aim of this research is to use the proposed method with public comments on Twitter to get the gaps in KAP of people regarding COVID-19.
Design/methodology/approach
In this paper, two models are proposed to achieve the mentioned purposes, the first one for attitude and the other for people’s knowledge and practice. First, the authors collect some tweets from Twitter and label them. After that, the authors preprocess the collected textual data. Then, the text representation vector for each tweet is extracted using BERT-BiGRU or XLNet-GRU. Finally, for the knowledge and practice problem, a multi-label classifier with 16 classes representing health guidelines is proposed. Also, for the attitude problem, a multi-class classifier with three classes (positive, negative and neutral) is proposed.
Findings
Labeling quality has a direct relationship with the performance of the final model, the authors calculated the inter-rater reliability using the Krippendorf alpha coefficient, which shows the reliability of the assessment in both problems. In the problem of knowledge and practice, 87% and in the problem of people’s attitude, 95% agreement was reached. The high agreement obtained indicates the reliability of the dataset and warrants the assessment. The proposed models in both problems were evaluated with some metrics, which shows that both proposed models perform better than the common methods. Our analyses for KAP are more efficient than questionnaire methods. Our method has solved many shortcomings of questionnaires, the most important of which is increasing the speed of evaluation, increasing the studied population and receiving reliable opinions to get accurate results.
Research limitations/implications
Our research is based on social network datasets. This data cannot provide the possibility to discover the public information of users definitively. Addressing this limitation can have a lot of complexity and little certainty, so in this research, the authors presented our final analysis independent of the public information of users.
Practical implications
Combining recurrent neural networks with methods based on the attention mechanism improves the performance of the model and solves the need for large training data. Also, using these methods is effective in the process of improving the implementation of KAP research and eliminating its shortcomings. These results can be used in other text processing tasks and cause their improvement. The results of the analysis on the attitude, practice and knowledge of people regarding the health guidelines lead to the effective planning and implementation of health decisions and interventions and required training by health institutions. The results of this research show the effective relationship between attitude, practice and knowledge. People are better at following health guidelines than being aware of COVID-19. Despite many tensions during the epidemic, most people still discuss the issue with a positive attitude.
Originality/value
To the best of our knowledge, so far, no text processing-based method has been proposed to perform KAP research. Also, our method benefits from the most valuable data of today’s era (i.e. social networks), which is the expression of people’s experiences, facts and free opinions. Therefore, our final analysis provides more realistic results.
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Sundas Hussain, Safiya Mukhtar Alshibani and Amir Daneshvar
The ongoing economic impact of the global COVID-19 pandemic upon national and international economies has provided a novel set of challenges and barriers for organisations;…
Abstract
The ongoing economic impact of the global COVID-19 pandemic upon national and international economies has provided a novel set of challenges and barriers for organisations; particularly for small and medium enterprises (SMEs). This has led to an increased focus on sustainable decision-making and long-term survival and growth strategies, such as internationalisation opportunities, for SMEs during obscure times and fluctuating economies. Thus, examining how SMEs within ambiguous economies are adopting innovative decision-making to continue to sustain and grow their enterprises provides a vital perspective and understanding of not only enterprise survival but enterprise growth during times of economic uncertainty. This chapter proposes a conceptual framework that explores internationalisation opportunities through an intersectional lens. The framework depicts that intersectionality as an enabler during ambiguous times for Maldivian women entrepreneurs generates innovative decision-making towards internationalisation as part of sustainable growth practices. The conceptual framework offers theoretical implications for empirical studies of an inductive or deductive nature and offers pragmatic importance for women entrepreneurs considering internationalisation through sustainable growth during obscure times and fluctuating economies. This chapter contributes to the growing body of knowledge in the field of international entrepreneurship, particularly innovative decision-making, and sustainable growth through internationalisation opportunities of women entrepreneurs, whilst advancing our understanding of gender and entrepreneurship studies. Studying innovative decision-making and sustainable growth practices of women entrepreneurs additionally provides a new perspective on intersectional works within entrepreneurial growth during uncertain times.
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Thilini Chathurika Gamage, Narayanage Jayantha Dewasiri, Athula Gnanapala and Mananage Shanika Hansini Rathnasiri
South Asian countries have recently shown tremendous advancement in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) deployment and have been identified as one of the…
Abstract
South Asian countries have recently shown tremendous advancement in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) deployment and have been identified as one of the fastest-growing regions in the world. This chapter reviews 43 state-of-the-art scholarly articles on the role of ICT in accelerating economic growth by fostering innovations in South Asian countries. A seven-step approach to the literature review is used for synthesizing relevant data. The findings indicate that although many South Asian countries understood ICT innovations as an approach that provides a competitive edge to business firms and the country's economic growth, their full potential remains untapped due to many barriers. Some significant barriers include the digital divide, ICT infrastructure, existing ICT policies, and data governance and social trust. The results of this chapter would help policymakers understand the vital role of ICT in fostering innovation and uplifting economic growth in the South Asian region.
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Abbas Ali Chandio, Yuansheng Jiang and Abdul Rehman
The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of support price on wheat production in Pakistan during the period 1971–2016.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of support price on wheat production in Pakistan during the period 1971–2016.
Design/methodology/approach
To capture the effect of support price on wheat production, the authors estimated the long-run linkage by using the ARDL bounds testing approach to cointegration.
Findings
This study confirmed the presence of a positive and long-term effect of area under cultivation, support price and fertilizer consumption on wheat production through ARDL bounds test. The results showed that both in the long run and short run, support price plays an important role in the enhancement of wheat production. The authors also found that the coefficients of the area under cultivation and fertilizer consumption variables were statistically significant and positive both in the long run and short run.
Originality/value
The use of the ARDL approach that examines the long-run and short-run effects of support price on wheat production in Pakistan makes the current study unique. An emerging economic literature suggests that only limited research has been conducted in this area.
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Recognising the significance of international trade in economic growth, this research explores the drivers of exports in South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation countries…
Abstract
Recognising the significance of international trade in economic growth, this research explores the drivers of exports in South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation countries from 2008 to 2021. The study employs the export demand model and the augmented exports supply model and utilises pooled time-series data. This study questions whether export supply decisions are based on traditional trade model factors, emerging trading realities or macroeconomic variables. The model based on fixed effects evaluates the connection between exports and their possible drivers. Traditional export supply models suggest determinants like production capacity, variable cost and relative pricing influencing South Asian export supply performance substantially. Changes in trade, for example, have a substantial impact on export supply, demonstrating that the trade liberalisation procedure promotes growth in exports, compression in imports and technological advancement. The worsening state of the energy industry and growing levels of corruption have proved to be significant deterrents to export supply decisions. The results verify foreign direct investment's positive and medium influence on the expansion of exports. Other variables, however, such as GDP and its growth, Official Development Assistance (ODA), development expenditure, indirect taxation, labour supply and the exchange rate of currencies, have a positive impact on the flow of exports. Furthermore, the data corroborate the notion that increased savings have a significant beneficial influence on the flow of exports. The study proposes that concerned governments examine their export policies and adopt new policies adapted in accordance with changing circumstances with the goal of increasing and enhancing the performance of exports.
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Jiho Kim, Youngjun Jang, Wongyeom Seo and Hongchul Lee
Information filtering systems serve as robust tools in the ongoing difficulties associated with overwhelming volumes of data. With constant generation and accumulation of reviews…
Abstract
Purpose
Information filtering systems serve as robust tools in the ongoing difficulties associated with overwhelming volumes of data. With constant generation and accumulation of reviews in online communities, the ability to distill and provide valuable insights to assist customers in their search for relevant information is of considerable significance. This study devised an effective review filtering system for a popular online physical experience review site.
Design/methodology/approach
This study entailed an investigation of a hybrid approach for a review filtering system augmented with various text mining-based operational variables to extract the linguistic signals of online reviews. Moreover, we devised three ensemble models based on multiple machine learning and deep learning algorithms to build a high-performance review filtering system.
Findings
The main findings confirm the effectiveness of using the derived operational variables when reviewing filtering systems. We found that the reviewer’s tendency and history macros, as well as the readability and sentiment of the reviews, contribute significantly to the filtering performance. Furthermore, the proposed three ensemble frameworks demonstrated good efficiency with an average accuracy of 89.39%.
Originality/value
This study provides a methodological blueprint for operationalizing variables in online reviews, covering both structured and unstructured datasets. Incorporating different variables enhances the efficiency of the algorithm and provides a more comprehensive understanding of user-generated content. Furthermore, the study affords a strategic perspective and integrated guidelines for developers seeking to create advanced review filtering systems.
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Ali Fares, Ashraf Elazouni, Sameh Al-Shihabi and Mubarak Al-Alawi
In the construction industry, cash flow issues can impact both contractors and owners. Although finance-based scheduling (FBS) models were developed to control contractors’ cash…
Abstract
Purpose
In the construction industry, cash flow issues can impact both contractors and owners. Although finance-based scheduling (FBS) models were developed to control contractors’ cash flow, researchers completely disregarded cash flow management for owners’ portfolios. Therefore, FBS is once again introduced in this study from the perspective of the owners of portfolios.
Design/methodology/approach
For the FBS problem of portfolio owners (FBS-PO), a mixed integer linear program (MILP) model is developed. The purpose is to ensure that owners’ cash inflows are greater than cash outflows while minimizing the sum of weighted extensions of the projects in portfolios. Owing to the difficulties encountered in solving the proposed MILP model, genetic algorithm (GA) and particle swarm optimization (PSO) meta-heuristics are used. To ensure the feasibility of the solutions, a special serial schedule generation heuristic was developed in conjunction with the random key method for chromosome representation.
Findings
The GA produced higher-quality solutions compared to PSO, though it required more processing time. The GA has proven to be a far better choice than the MILP exact solver for bigger portfolios. Additionally, there is a linear correlation between the number of activities in portfolios and the amount of computational time required for the GA to converge.
Originality/value
This paper introduces the new research domain of FBS from the owners’ perspective (FBS-PO). In order to establish the FBS-PO as a stand-alone domain, a critical review of the FBS studies in the literature was conducted. In addition, the goals, characteristics, implementation and challenges of the FBS heuristics are benchmarked against those of the special serial schedule generation heuristic developed for the FBS-PO problem.
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Abd El-Wahab H., Farouk Abd El-Monem, Naser M.A., Hussain A.I., Elshhat H.A. Nashy and Lin L.
The purpose of this paper is devoted to application of the emulsion polymer of poly(methyl methacrylate-co-butyl acrylate) prepared with in situ nano-silica as a novel tanning…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is devoted to application of the emulsion polymer of poly(methyl methacrylate-co-butyl acrylate) prepared with in situ nano-silica as a novel tanning agent of hide to partly or totally replace chrome salt and to improve physical, thermal and mechanical properties of the tanned leather and to reduce the environmental impact of chrome tanning effluent.
Design/methodology/approach
Polymer/nano-silica hybrid emulsions were prepared via in situ seed emulsion polymerisation. The prepared polymers were characterised for solid content, molecular weight, viscosity, drying time, minimum film-forming temperature (MFFT) and microstructures (via transmission electron microscopy). The mechanical, thermal and surface morphological (by scanning electron microscope) properties of the treated samples were also investigated. The influences of the increase in the content of organic nano-silica on the properties of the tanned leather are discussed.
Findings
It was found that the viscosity, the particle size and the solid content of the prepared polymers increased as the content of the nano-silica increased while gloss and drying time of the resulting polymer film decreased. Tanning buffalo hide by Polymer F (containing a high content of nano-silica) gave desirable properties in terms of tensile strength, thermal stability and shrinkage temperature.
Research limitations/implications
This paper discusses the preparation and the characterisation of emulsion polymers with in situ nano-silica and their application in tanning process to enhance and improve the leather quality, as well as reduce the use of chrome tanning materials and consequently chrome tanning waste.
Practical implications
The tanned leather showed an improvement of physico-mechanical properties and enhancement of thermal stability. Furthermore, the tanned leather has uniform colour, softness and firmness of grain. All these promising results provide evidence to support the applicability of the prepared co-polymer/nano-silica emulsions as an efficient tanning agent that also provides lubricating properties for leather.
Originality/value
Since May 2015, REACH Annex XVII restricts Cr(VI) in leather articles or leather parts of articles that come into contact with skin to a concentration of less than 3 mg/kg. Cases of discovery of Cr(VI) in leather papers have been reported by the European rapid alert system on dangerous consumer products (RAPEX). The emulsion poly (methyl methacrylate-co-butyl acrylate) with in situ nano-silica that has been developed via the study reported in this paper is one of the better technologies for the reduction of chromium ratio used in tanning industry.
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S.H. El‐Sabbagh, A.I. Hussain and M.A. Abd El‐Ghaffar
To evaluate the performance of the compatibiliser of epoxidised soyabean oil‐free fatty acid prepared on the NBR/EPDM blends compared with maleic anhydride and also to explore the…
Abstract
Purpose
To evaluate the performance of the compatibiliser of epoxidised soyabean oil‐free fatty acid prepared on the NBR/EPDM blends compared with maleic anhydride and also to explore the effect of loading the compatibiliser NBR/EPDM rubber blend with unmodified and modified polypropylene fibres on the mechanical properties of the blend.
Design/methodology/approach
To achieve desirable rheological and physico‐mechanical properties of NBR/EPDM rubber blend, various compositions were made by incorporating different doses of the compatibiliser of epoxidised soyabean oil‐free fatty acid prepared and maleic anhydride to form NBR/EPDM blends. The effect of loading the compatibiliser rubber blend with unmodified and modified polypropylene fibres on the mechanical properties of the blend was investigated.
Findings
The incorporation of epoxidised soyabean oil‐free fatty acid or maleic anhydride into NBR/EPDM blend greatly enhanced their compatibility improved the rheological, as well as physical properties of rubber blends. The addition of NBR to EPDM improved the motor oil swelling resistance of EPDM. Blending of the two individual rubbers without a compatibiliser generally exhibited a non‐synergistic effect with respect to the physical properties. The strain energy, tensile strength, Young's modulus and strain at yield varied linearly with composition in the presence of compatibiliser, but deviated from linearity in the absence of compatibiliser. Reinforcement of the NBR/EPDM blend with modified polypropylene fibres enhanced the physical properties more significantly than with the unmodified ones.
Research limitations/implications
The compatibiliser of epoxidised soyabean oil was prepared by reacting in situ soyabean oil‐free fatty acid with per‐acetic acid.
Practical implications
The method developed provided a simple and practical solution to improving the rheological and physico‐mechanical properties of the NBR/EPDM rubber blend.
Originality/value
The method for enhancing rheological and physico‐mechanical properties of NBR/EPDM rubber blend loaded with modified polypropylene fibres was very important and showed a synergistic effect and could find numerous applications in the rubber and plastic industries.
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Abdoul Karim Diamoutene and John Baptist D. Jatoe
The aim of this paper is to analyze the effects of access to credit on maize productivity in Mali, by identifying the determinants of credit market participation and maize yield…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this paper is to analyze the effects of access to credit on maize productivity in Mali, by identifying the determinants of credit market participation and maize yield, and then estimating the impact of credit on maize yield.
Design/methodology/approach
This study analyzes the impact of credit on maize productivity using data from the World Bank 2014 Living Standards Measurement Survey (LSMS) on Mali, and the endogenous switching regression (ESR) model.
Findings
The results suggest a positive effect of credit on maize yield in Mali. Farm size, production shocks and the female gender exert negative effects on credit market participation, unlike education, intercropping with cotton, male family labor and fertilizer use which show positive effects. Farm size has a negative effect on maize yield, but both male family labor, and fertilizer use exert positive effects. Although the use of credit improves agricultural yields, the results show a greater potential effect for rationed producers, than credit users.
Research limitations/implications
These results suggest that implementing a credit strategy that allows those currently excluded from the credit market, to participate, could substantially increase productivity and maize production output in furtherance of the country's food security strategy. Gender-based targeting is needed to bridge the gender gap in access to credit.
Originality/value
As far as the authors are aware, this study is the first to explore the credit-farm productivity links in Mali, while addressing selection bias.