Chia Rostami, Elaheh Hosseini and Mohammad Karim Saberi
The study aims to survey information-seeking behavior of the Iranian medical faculty members and to identify the reasons and obstacles of their usage via the internet, scientific…
Abstract
Purpose
The study aims to survey information-seeking behavior of the Iranian medical faculty members and to identify the reasons and obstacles of their usage via the internet, scientific databases and online social networks.
Design/methodology/approach
In this cross-sectional study, a structured questionnaire used to collect data. The research population includes faculty members of four faculties of Hamadan University of Medical Sciences in Iran, including health, nursing – midwifery, paramedicine and rehabilitation. SPSS software was used to analyze data in descriptive and analytical levels.
Findings
Low internet speed, network traffic and lack of time were the main barriers and difficulties. Gender was significantly related with familiarity with databases, problems and barriers to accessing information, barriers to using social network, as well as purpose and motivation of using social network. Search for educational and research resources and use of social network to increase their general information were the main goals of participants to using the internet and databases. A negative significant relationship was observed between usage of social network with age (r = −0.204, P = 0.047) and experience (r = −0.239, P = 0.019).
Originality/value
The usage of faculty members of various digital resources is growing ever more. This study examines the use of faculty members of the internet, scientific databases and online social networks simultaneously.
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Sophia Su, Kevin Baird and Nuraddeen Abubakar Nuhu
This study examines the association between the use of strategic management accounting (SMA) practices and competitive advantage and the moderating role of four aspects of…
Abstract
This study examines the association between the use of strategic management accounting (SMA) practices and competitive advantage and the moderating role of four aspects of organisational culture – teamwork orientation, outcome orientation, innovation orientation and attention to detail orientation – on this association. Online survey data were collected from 408 accountants in Australian business organisations, and structural equation modelling (SEM) was used to analyse the data. The results indicate a positive association between the use of SMA practices and competitive advantage with such an association positively moderated by one cultural dimension, teamwork orientation. Specifically, the findings indicate that the positive effect of SMA practices on competitive advantage is dependent upon the fit between the use of SMA practices and teamwork orientation with more (less) teamwork-oriented organisations exhibiting a stronger (weaker) association between the use of SMA practices and competitive advantage.
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Gabriela Souza, Suelen Siqueira dos Santos, Rita Bergamasco, Jessica Antigo and Grasiele Scaramal Madrona
The purpose of this study is to extract psyllium mucilage and evaluate its antioxidant compounds (in the best extraction condition) and its application in a chocolate drink.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to extract psyllium mucilage and evaluate its antioxidant compounds (in the best extraction condition) and its application in a chocolate drink.
Design/methodology/approach
First, the extraction by ultrasonic bath was evaluated, followed by water bath extraction, and as there was no difference between the methods, a water bath experimental design was carried out to evaluate the best extraction conditions for psyllium mucilage, having response variables, yield and emulsion stability. A chocolate drink with psyllium mucilage was produced and evaluated in the best extraction condition to compare with xanthan gum.
Findings
The best extraction conditions for psyllium mucilage were 60°C for 2 h and 1:80 ratio (seed:water). It can be verified that psyllium is rich in antioxidant compounds (0.71 mg GAE/g and 6.67 Mmol ET/g by 2,2′-azinobis (3-ethylbenzthiazoline sulfonic acid-6), and 9.65 Mmol ET/g for ferric reducing antioxidant power), which can greatly contribute to its application in food products. The use of mucilage in chocolate drink is feasible, as among its several attributes there was no significant difference between samples, highlighting texture attributes in which mucilage samples did not differ from the control containing xanthan gum (being the grades approximated 6.84).
Originality/value
Psyllium presented several antioxidant compounds that are very desirable in food products. In the chocolate drink, psyllium mucilage showed potential use as a thickener, so it is important for further studies to improve the product’s development, but it is currently feasible to be produced in an industrial scale.
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Ruzita Jusoh, Yazkhiruni Yahya, Suria Zainuddin and Kaveh Asiaei
Drawing on the natural resource-based view (NRBV) of the firm, this study aims to investigate the mediating role of sustainability performance management (SPM) practices in the…
Abstract
Purpose
Drawing on the natural resource-based view (NRBV) of the firm, this study aims to investigate the mediating role of sustainability performance management (SPM) practices in the relationship between corporate sustainability strategy (SS) and sustainability performance (SP). The conceptualization of SS and SPM practices follow the NRBV resources and capabilities to promote sustainability for competitiveness.
Design/methodology/approach
Data for the study were collected through a questionnaire from 114 small-medium to large organizations within environmentally sensitive industries operating in Malaysia.
Findings
The results indicate the indirect relationship between SS and SP through SPM practices. The results suggest that SS can only be realized through a broader management accounting control system (such as SPM practices) that provides information to generate, analyze and control environmental, social, economic and governance performance.
Practical implications
As some organizations may face their resource constraints, this study may help managers and management accountants prioritize their focus on SS and adopt the necessary SPM practices to enhance their SP.
Originality/value
This study sheds new light on the role of the SPM practices adopted by firms to manage their SS.
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Filzah Md Isa, Shaista Noor, Goh Wei Wei, Sharifah Diyana Binti Syed Hussain, Hairunnisa Mohamad Ibrahim and Muhd Afiq Syazwan Ahmdon
Malaysia is considered to be a relatively young country as compared to other older countries such as Japan, China and Australia in terms of the ageing population. However, until…
Abstract
Purpose
Malaysia is considered to be a relatively young country as compared to other older countries such as Japan, China and Australia in terms of the ageing population. However, until 2035, Malaysia will be in the ageing group countries as 15% of the entire population will be above 60 years of age. This situation is quite alarming as more and more ageing care centres will be required to fulfill the ongoing demands of the ageing population. The elderly care centres in Malaysia are categorised as public (sponsored by the government), private, and charity based that comes under religious centres. Currently, there are about 365 registered elderly care centres working in the main states of Malaysia, including Sabah and Sarawak, two states of the East Malaysia. Due to the importance of ageing population issues, the present study is conducted to explore the demographics facet of Malaysian’s elderly care centres. The main reason behind that lies on the fact that many of these centres are still labelled as being not well equipped and lacking behind in trained staff, equipment and also suffering from severe financial constraints but some still capable of working on a sustainability basis.
Design/methodology/approach
Qualitative Research Strategy has been adopted, and 28 centres throughout Malaysia are included in this study. About 18 Operators from different centres and 15 caregivers were interviewed to get the holistic view of ageing care and facilities in their respective centres.
Findings
The results highlight that the majority of centres are not receiving any financial help from the government, and few centres are doing small business such as supplying consumable medical and non-medical items and providing renting and rehabilitation centres facilities to sustain. The caregivers are facing issues such as excess workload, less salary, peer conflicts and non-cooperative centre leadership.
Originality/value
The present study may help to provide useful information to the policymakers, which enables them to formulate the strategies for ageing care centres in Malaysia. As this study provides insight of components that have an impact on the overall wellbeing of elderly care centres, hence, it could help the care services providers to act as a rising star for Malaysian’s social life comfort.
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Dingkang Peng and Chia-Hsing Huang
This paper aims to explore the hierarchy of motivations behind Chinese young wine consumers’ wine-purchasing behavior.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to explore the hierarchy of motivations behind Chinese young wine consumers’ wine-purchasing behavior.
Design/methodology/approach
This study used a random and snowball sampling technique to collect data from Chinese young wine consumers. Ultimately, 840 participants were included, representing diverse geographic regions across China. The gathered data was analyzed to explore wine customer behavior using SPSS and AMOS.
Findings
The hierarchical structure of motivations guiding young consumers’ wine consumption becomes apparent when analyzed across ascending levels: from considerations of health benefits and emotional assessments to social interactions and status symbols. These factors wield significant influence over the purchase of wines among Chinese young wine consumers. Moreover, these consumption motivations notably impact consumption behavior by mediating through consumption intentions.
Originality/value
This study integrates the theory of planned behavior with Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, systematically identifying four primary motivations that hierarchically influence wine consumption among Chinese young wine consumers. It empirically validates the relationships between motivations, intentions and behaviors, underscoring intentions as a mediating factor linking motivations and behaviors.
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Hei-Chia Wang, Army Justitia and Ching-Wen Wang
The explosion of data due to the sophistication of information and communication technology makes it simple for prospective tourists to learn about previous hotel guests'…
Abstract
Purpose
The explosion of data due to the sophistication of information and communication technology makes it simple for prospective tourists to learn about previous hotel guests' experiences. They prioritize the rating score when selecting a hotel. However, rating scores are less reliable for suggesting a personalized preference for each aspect, especially when they are in a limited number. This study aims to recommend ratings and personalized preference hotels using cross-domain and aspect-based features.
Design/methodology/approach
We propose an aspect-based cross-domain personalized recommendation (AsCDPR), a novel framework for rating prediction and personalized customer preference recommendations. We incorporate a cross-domain personalized approach and aspect-based features of items from the review text. We extracted aspect-based feature vectors from two domains using bidirectional long short-term memory and then mapped them by a multilayer perceptron (MLP). The cross-domain recommendation module trains MLP to analyze sentiment and predict item ratings and the polarities of the aspect based on user preferences.
Findings
Expanded by its synonyms, aspect-based features significantly improve the performance of sentiment analysis on accuracy and the F1-score matrix. With relatively low mean absolute error and root mean square error values, AsCDPR outperforms matrix factorization, collaborative matrix factorization, EMCDPR and Personalized transfer of user preferences for cross-domain recommendation. These values are 1.3657 and 1.6682, respectively.
Research limitation/implications
This study assists users in recommending hotels based on their priority preferences. Users do not need to read other people's reviews to capture the key aspects of items. This model could enhance system reliability in the hospitality industry by providing personalized recommendations.
Originality/value
This study introduces a new approach that embeds aspect-based features of items in a cross-domain personalized recommendation. AsCDPR predicts ratings and provides recommendations based on priority aspects of each user's preferences.
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Simran Gogna, Jaspreet Kaur, Kartik Sharma, Vishesh Bhadariya, Jyoti Singh, Vikas Kumar, Prasad Rasane and Vipasha Vipasha
The purpose of this paper is to highlight the health benefits, functional role of alpha linolenic acid (ALA) in combating diet-related non-communicable diseases, absorption…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to highlight the health benefits, functional role of alpha linolenic acid (ALA) in combating diet-related non-communicable diseases, absorption, metabolism, toxicity and extraction of ALA.
Design/methodology/approach
A wide range of publications were identified through electronic databases (Google Scholar, PubMed, SciELO, ScienceDirect, SpringerLink and ResearchGate) on the basis of different keywords such as dietary sources, functional role, metabolism, beneficial effects, toxicity and extraction.
Findings
ALA, an omega-3 fatty acid, is commonly found in dietary sources such as flaxseeds, rapeseed, pumpkin seeds, walnuts and fatty fish, with flaxseed being the richest among all the sources. Several convincing evidences depict the functional role of ALA in ameliorating cardiovascular functions, regulating systolic and diastolic blood pressure and improving neurological disorders, thus possessing anti-arrhythmic as well as anti-inflammatory properties. Its promising effect is also noticed on post-menopausal symptoms like hot flashes, insomnia and headache as well as in balancing the levels of sex hormones in women suffering from PCOS. Furthermore, it was also responsible for reducing the concentrations of C-reactive protein and interleukin-6. Its excess consumption may lead to gastrointestinal disturbances such as flatulence and bloating. Various extraction techniques, namely, medium pressure liquid chromatography, silver silica gel chromatography, silver ion-solid phase extraction and silver ion-high pressure liquid chromatography are used for the extraction of ALA from its sources.
Originality/value
This is a novel review which will provide a brief overview of dietary sources, functional role, absorption and metabolism, health benefits, toxicity and extraction of ALA.
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Shatha Siefan, Jiju Antony, Ahmad Mayyas, Mohammed Omar, Anupama Prashar, Guilherme Tortorella, Monika Foster and Maher Maalouf
This study investigates the adoption and effects of operational excellence methodologies on sustainable performance within the sector, drawing insights from 18 global quality…
Abstract
Purpose
This study investigates the adoption and effects of operational excellence methodologies on sustainable performance within the sector, drawing insights from 18 global quality management experts.
Design/methodology/approach
Utilizing a phenomenological approach alongside constant comparison, classical content and taxonomy analysis, qualitative data from semi-structured interviews are rigorously examined. The study examines the challenges and outcomes of implementing lean, six sigma and lean six sigma, particularly in the financial, social and environmental realms. By integrating academic research with real-world applications, this research identifies challenges and opportunities across diverse service industries, with the aim of informing best practices for practitioners.
Findings
The findings highlight a significant impact on financial outcomes, with lean six sigma implementations predominantly enhancing financial performance. However, perceptions differ regarding sustainability and the acknowledgment of such impact. In terms of social performance, opinions vary from consistently positive impact to a dual effect – both positive and negative. Regarding environmental impact, perspectives range from limited to significant positive outcomes. Additionally, quantitative analysis of operational measures underscores a noteworthy emphasis on financial performance, with a grand average of 4.23. Social performance marginally surpasses environmental performance, with averages of 3.01 and 2.95, respectively.
Originality/value
The critical role of the service sector in modern economies highlights the imperative for enhancing operational efficiency and sustainability. The findings highlight the importance of proactively integrating lean six sigma principles into the operational frameworks of service organizations to optimize both operational and sustainable performance.
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Esmail Cheraghi, Shakib Zohrehvandi, Mario Vanhoucke and Babak Mohamadpour Tosarkani
This research presents a multiproject scheduling and resource management (MPSRM) model that includes an M/M/c/n queue system, a p-hub median model, a parallel machine scheduling…
Abstract
Purpose
This research presents a multiproject scheduling and resource management (MPSRM) model that includes an M/M/c/n queue system, a p-hub median model, a parallel machine scheduling and a hub location problem solution method. This research aims to design a project network and then sequence raw materials delivery to hub factories.
Design/methodology/approach
This research is implemented as a case study in construction and industrial company. It considers several mines to supply raw materials for production in hub factories. In the sequencing phase, a parallel mine scheduling problem specifies the delivery of raw materials to hub factories. Furthermore, a multisource project scheduling model is studied and designed for building project-oriented companies.
Findings
The results suggest that the proposed MPSRM model in this study significantly reduces project transportation costs. Therefore, creating accurate planning in projects, especially in construction projects where transportation plays an important role, can help reduce time and costs. Researchers, project managers and those dealing with projects can use this model to exploit their projects.
Research limitations/implications
When the number of construction projects in a construction company increases in a region, choosing an appropriate strategy to supply resources and raw materials becomes very important in terms of profit and loss and project completion as scheduled. An increase in transportation demands alongside the economic development on the one hand and providing competitive transportation services, on the other hand, have increasingly spotlighted the significance of hub networks in transportation systems. In addition, in this research, there is no suitable access road from the mines to the project sites, and considering the workload, if any of the projects become a hub, a proper road should be built.
Originality/value
To the best of the knowledge, there is no outstanding research in which a p-hub median location problem by considering queuing model and different transportation modes and a parallel machine scheduling problem are studied simultaneously.