Mohammad Zamanzade, Taghi Shahrabi and Ali Yazdian
This study aims to evaluate the influence of pulsed cathodic protection on calcareous deposit formation on structures submerged in the synthetic sea water.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to evaluate the influence of pulsed cathodic protection on calcareous deposit formation on structures submerged in the synthetic sea water.
Design/methodology/approach
Chronoamperometric and CHF methods have been used to evaluate the influence of pulsed cathodic protection on decreasing the required cathodic current for protection and also decreasing the surface coverage. The morphology of the formed deposits was evaluated using scanning electron microscopy. Chemical analyses of the formed deposits were performed using energy dispersive X‐ray spectrometer and X‐ray diffraction.
Findings
It was observed that pulse frequency influenced both the structure and the composition of the deposits. The most compact aragonite layer was obtained at high frequencies and at a high off‐time. It was clearly shown that by applying currents with less than 100 Hz frequency, the deposits formed on the sample involved CaCO3 (aragonite) and Mg(OH)2 (brucite). However, the kinetics of deposits formed when applying pulse current have been improved, compared to deposits formed by conventional cathodic protection. The reason is that large electrode overpotential favors nucleation through a decrease in the energy of nucleus formation. On the other hand, by intensive decrease of surface potential, repulsion of aggressive anions such as SO42− and Cl− occurs. These anions inhibit the formation of aragonite deposits.
Research limitations/implications
In order to have a better investigation of electrodeposition processes in the shorter time, the use of more advanced techniques and analysis methods such as XPS is recommended. Furthermore, EHD techniques could be used for measurements of thickness of the layers.
Practical implications
The pulsed cathodic protection method is a relatively new method for the protection of buried and submerged structures. Recently, many researches have investigated that the influence of this technique on increasing the throwing power, decreasing interference effects on neighboring structures and increasing the uniformity of current distribution under cathodic protection.
Originality/value
Very little attention has been paid in the past to the effect of pulsed CP on deposit formation. The present paper, therefore, contributes useful understanding of the mechanism and advantages of such deposits in improving the effectiveness and lowering the operational cost of cathodic protection in use on offshore structures.
Details
Keywords
Ismail Erol, Ilker Murat Ar, Ali Ihsan Ozdemir, Iskender Peker, Ali Asgary, Ihsan Tolga Medeni and Tunc Medeni
The objective of this study is to assess quantitatively how feasible blockchain is for various industries, such as logistics and supply chain, health, energy, finance, automotive…
Abstract
Purpose
The objective of this study is to assess quantitatively how feasible blockchain is for various industries, such as logistics and supply chain, health, energy, finance, automotive, pharmaceutical and agriculture and food using a comprehensive list of indicators.
Design/methodology/approach
A decision aid was applied to the problem of identifying the feasibility of blockchain in Turkish industries. To this end, first, a set of indicators was identified. Then, the fuzzy AHP and fuzzy TOPSIS were utilized to assess the feasibility comparatively using the data gathered from a group of experts. Finally, a scenario analysis was conducted to ensure the consistency of our evaluation.
Findings
The findings of this study suggest that comparatively, logistics and supply chain, finance and health industries are the most feasible industries for blockchain. This study further suggests that blockchain is the least feasible for the automotive industry compared to the rest of the identified industries.
Research limitations/implications
It is cumbersome to find out the respondents who have sufficient knowledge of both blockchain and the identified industries. Even if we took the utmost care in identifying the right respondents, we limited our search to the biggest industrial hubs of Turkey.
Practical implications
The findings of this research may help various decision-makers employed in governments, conglomerates, software and consulting firms and national research institutions make more informed decisions and allocate their resources more effectively.
Originality/value
To this date, the current studies have solely investigated possible research opportunities in blockchain and demonstrated several blockchain applications in stand-alone cases. To the best of our knowledge, however, no single study exists that evaluates the feasibility of blockchain comparatively and holistically among a group of industries using various indicators.
Details
Keywords
Hira Hafeez, Muhammad Ibrahim Abdullah, Muhammad Asif Zaheer and Qurratulain Ahsan
The purpose of the study is to create substantial awareness for safety precautions and safety parameters to lessen occupational injuries and accidents. Utilization of safety…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of the study is to create substantial awareness for safety precautions and safety parameters to lessen occupational injuries and accidents. Utilization of safety culture phenomenon with its fundamental understanding has imperative consideration for safety compliance and participation behaviors. Thoughtful aim of this study is the extension of knowledge related to safety orientation particularly in primary health-care workforce.
Design/methodology/approach
Only slips and trips accounted for 40% of workplace injuries in nursing professionals. To identity, the data were collected through structured surveys from nursing professionals of public and private hospitals in Pakistan. To evaluate that data for current study, standardized regression coefficients (parameter estimation) with 95% confidence interval and 5,000 bootstrap samples were subjected. Confirmatory factor analysis was also used to measure the validity of study constructs.
Findings
The potential findings of present study have assured the presence of safety culture at workplace has potential to influences negative safety outcomes. In addition, safety compliance and safety participation as mediation paths would be the strengthening addition to safety model. These findings have extended the existing understanding of compliance and participation behaviors from single factor to two different constructs of safety orientation. This safety culture model offers an evidence-based approach to nursing practitioners and nursing managers with implications for nurse’s safety, education and training.
Originality/value
Occupational injuries and accidental happenings have adversely affecting the quality of care, patient’s recovery spam, satisfaction level and psychological health in care agents. This study has proposed a comprehensive model for understanding the mechanism of possible and reliable safety implications at health-care units. Prior knowledge has limitation to the inevitable effects of occupational injuries only rather than focusing on corrective actions against this phenomenon.
Details
Keywords
Hajar Eskandar, Elham Heydari, Mahdi Hasanipanah, Mehrshad Jalil Masir and Ali Mahmodi Derakhsh
Blasting is an economical method for rock breakage in open-pit mines. Backbreak is an undesirable phenomenon induced by blasting operations and has several unsuitable effects such…
Abstract
Purpose
Blasting is an economical method for rock breakage in open-pit mines. Backbreak is an undesirable phenomenon induced by blasting operations and has several unsuitable effects such as equipment instability and decreased performance of the blasting. Therefore, accurate estimation of backbreak is required for minimizing the environmental problems. The primary purpose of this paper is to propose a novel predictive model for estimating the backbreak at Shur River Dam region, Iran, using particle swarm optimization (PSO).
Design/methodology/approach
For this work, a total of 84 blasting events were considered and five effective factors on backbreak including spacing, burden, stemming, rock mass rating and specific charge were measured. To evaluate the accuracy of the proposed PSO model, multiple regression (MR) model was also developed, and the results of two predictive models were compared with actual field data.
Findings
Based on two statistical metrics [i.e. coefficient of determination (R2) and root mean square error (RMSE)], it was found that the proposed PSO model (with R2 = 0.960 and RMSE = 0.08) can predict backbreak better than MR (with R2 = 0.873 and RMSE = 0.14).
Originality/value
The analysis indicated that the specific charge is the most effective parameter on backbreak among all independent parameters used in this study.
Details
Keywords
Mansour Soufi, Mehdi Fadaei, Mahdi Homayounfar, Hamed Gheibdoust and Hamidreza Rezaee Kelidbari
The construction industry contributes to economic development by providing physical equipment and infrastructures. However, it also generates some undesirable outputs such as…
Abstract
Purpose
The construction industry contributes to economic development by providing physical equipment and infrastructures. However, it also generates some undesirable outputs such as waste and environmental pollution, especially in developing countries. Due to the importance of the green supply chain management (GSCM) philosophy, for solving these problems, the current study aims to evaluate the drivers of GSCM adoption in the construction industry of Iran.
Design/methodology/approach
This research uses a descriptive and practical methodology. The participated experts in the study include senior managers of the construction department in Rasht municipality who had relevant academic education and suitable experiences in urban and industrial construction. The experts took part in both qualitative and quantitative phases of the research, namely verification of the drivers extracted from literature and ranking them in ascending order. In the quantitative phase, Step-Wise Weight Assessment Ratio Analysis (SWARA) as a new multi-criterion decision-making (MCDM) method is used to evaluate the drivers of GSCM adoption using MATLAB software.
Findings
The results show that environmental management systems, green product design and innovational capability with weights of 0.347, 0.218 and 0.143 are the most significant sub-drivers, respectively. The less important factor is an investment in environmental technology.
Originality/value
This study evaluated the motivational factors of GSCM in the construction industry. The findings help governments, companies and green supply chain (GSC) managers to improve their knowledge about GSCM and make the best decisions to decrease environmental pollution.
Details
Keywords
Tehreem Fatima, Ahmad Raza Bilal, Muhammad Kashif Imran and Ambreen Sarwar
Ostracism is a subjective and relative concept that renders itself to multiple manifestations and context-specific outcomes. Therefore, this study identified specific behaviours…
Abstract
Purpose
Ostracism is a subjective and relative concept that renders itself to multiple manifestations and context-specific outcomes. Therefore, this study identified specific behaviours that are perceived as workplace ostracism by teaching faculty of Pakistani Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs). Building on belongingness theory, the ramifications of ostracism on psychological well-being are outlined along with the context-specific factors that shape these outcomes.
Design/methodology/approach
A phenomenological approach was adopted, and 30 semi-structured interviews from the teaching faculty of HEIs in Lahore, Pakistan, were conducted. The transcribed interviews were coded, and an inductive thematic analysis via NVivo 12 Plus software was used to generate themes and sub-themes.
Findings
Five behaviours, i.e. biased treatment, exclusion from formal and informal interactions, interpersonal alienation, delayed sharing or hiding of knowledge, lack of work-related, social and emotional support constituted the acts of ostracism in studied HEIs. The psychological well-being of faculty suffered in terms of negative emotions, reduced job, career and life satisfaction in their work and family life. The contextual factors deciding the intensity of outcomes resulting from workplace encompassed head of department (HOD) support, pay, friendly relations, fear of confrontation, alternative job options and designation of faculty members.
Originality/value
This research is a pioneer in using an in-depth phenomenological approach to define a behavioural typology of ostracism in academia. Moreover, a much needed holistic outcome of psychological well-being is explored in work and non-work domains and further elucidated in light of context-specific factors.
Details
Keywords
Asmita Asmita, Anuja Akhouri, Gurmeet Singh and Mosab I. Tabash
The review paper aims to understand the development of workplace ostracism as a field in organizational studies from 2000 to the present. The study provides a comprehensive…
Abstract
Purpose
The review paper aims to understand the development of workplace ostracism as a field in organizational studies from 2000 to the present. The study provides a comprehensive synthesis of the current state of the domain by exploring its antecedents, consequences, underlying mechanisms and buffering mechanisms.
Design/methodology/approach
The present study analyses 134 published peer-reviewed empirical and non-empirical articles retrieved from the Scopus database. A systematic literature review and bibliometric analyses (using VOS viewer) have been used to gain insights into the development and trends within the field. Bibliometric analyses involved science mapping techniques such as co-citation analysis, co-occurrence of keywords and bibliographic coupling. Combining these three techniques, the study aimed to provide a comprehensive overview of the workplace ostracism research domain's historical, current and future landscape.
Findings
In the present study, through descriptive analyses, the authors uncovered publishing trends, productive journals, countries and industries that contribute to this research field. The systematic review enabled the showcasing of the current landscape of workplace ostracism. The bibliometric analyses shed light on major authors, influential articles, prominent journals and significant keywords in workplace ostracism.
Originality/value
This study enriches the existing literature by offering a comprehensive research framework for workplace ostracism. It goes beyond that by presenting significant bibliographic insights by applying bibliometric analyses. Furthermore, this study identifies and emphasizes future research directions using the theory, characteristics, construct and methodologies framework, aiming to expand the knowledge base and understanding of this topic.
Details
Keywords
Ambreen Sarwar, Muhammad Ibrahim Abdullah, Muhammad Kashif Imran and Nazia Rafiq
With theoretical underpinnings in the conservation of resources theory, this research aims at understanding the link between workplace ostracism (WPO) and its effects on…
Abstract
Purpose
With theoretical underpinnings in the conservation of resources theory, this research aims at understanding the link between workplace ostracism (WPO) and its effects on customers' interests in the context of COVID-19, with the mediation of stress and moderation of self-efficacy (SE).
Design/methodology/approach
The study followed a time-lagged design. A sample of 217 frontline employees working in the food sector of southern Punjab, Pakistan, responded to the study questions using the survey method with structured questionnaires. A Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) tool was utilized for data analysis with bootstrapping and PROCESS macro.
Findings
The findings show that an important mechanism by which ostracism translates into customer service sabotage (CSS) is the increase in perceived stress levels of the employees. Additionally, SE was found to be an important personal resource that acts as a moderator in the said relationship.
Practical implications
Employees with high SE sense less workplace stress even during a pandemic. Leadership should consider the stress-alleviating effect of SE for lessening the damaging influence of WPO on customers.
Originality/value
The study fills an important empirical gap in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, by showing that due to resource loss perceived by employees while being targeted by ostracism, they may decide to transfer their frustration towards organizational customers by sabotaging their service experience.
Details
Keywords
There have been strides in workplace incivility (WI), but in what direction, angles and theoretical streams are they taking place? In light of it, the purpose of this review is to…
Abstract
Purpose
There have been strides in workplace incivility (WI), but in what direction, angles and theoretical streams are they taking place? In light of it, the purpose of this review is to analyze the overall WI research output yielded in the initial decades of this century.
Design/methodology/approach
This investigation searched exclusively for empirical articles written in English that matched the terms incivility and WI in the websites of prominent peer-review publications covering the period of 19 years (i.e. 2000–2019). As a result, 93 peer-reviewed empirical studies were properly gathered and classified.
Findings
WI is one of the most relevant topics in OB studies under scrutiny in this moment. Corroborating such a perception is the huge amount of outlets that have been publishing about WI. In this sense, it is a topic that has gained strong interdisciplinary status, given the manifested interest of very distinct areas. Cross-sectional studies have prevailed in terms of method preferences, yet other approaches have been used. Of noteworthy is the shortage of qualitative and meta-analytic studies. Data provided evidence that a very limited number of nations (only 18 countries) have been investigated and it is not exactly surprising that the United States be the target of the majority of studies in this field. The antecedents and consequences of WI are the major focus of the investigations. But I found some evidence that that WI has been tested as performing the role of measure, mediator and moderator.
Research limitations/implications
It focused exclusively on peer-review journals and articles written in English.
Originality/value
This endeavor contributes to the theory of WI by encompassing crucial aspects such as time horizon, major outlets, study types, country-level output, samples features, constructs perused, theoretical function of WI and research outcomes. In addition, it points out new potential research streams.
Details
Keywords
Sheikh Sajid Mohammad and Nazir A. Nazir
This review analyzes data from research articles published from 2010 to 2022 related to workplace ostracism which include theoretical or empirical practical implications. The…
Abstract
Purpose
This review analyzes data from research articles published from 2010 to 2022 related to workplace ostracism which include theoretical or empirical practical implications. The primary motive of this review is to identify main themes of practical implications relevant to workplace ostracism.
Design/methodology/approach
In total, 86 research articles published in 56 journals were retrieved from six well-known management science databases, namely, Science Direct, Emerald Online, Springer Link, Taylor and Francis, Wiley and Sage. The affinity diagram was utilized to organize the practical implications of the studies into meaningful themes. Moreover, in order to prioritize the main themes, the Pareto diagram was utilized.
Findings
Eleven themes have been used to categorize the practical implications of the reviewed articles, demonstrating various human resource (HR) interventions for avoiding or limiting the feelings of ostracism at work. Specifically, they focus on training and development, culture, formal and informal meetings, interpersonal relationships, task interdependence, monitoring, trust and transparency, proper channel, job autonomy and individual characteristics.
Originality/value
While many systematic and traditional literature reviews have been undertaken in an attempt to thoroughly organize extant literature on various aspects of workplace ostracism, no study has addressed the main themes of practical implications vis-à-vis employees experiencing workplace ostracism. Moreover, the majority of them are apparently out of date (prior to 2019), and there is just one study undertaken up to 2020.