Fuat M. Andic and Suphan Andic
Income and wealth inequality is a constant concern in our society. It becomes more acute at certain times than at others. The Great Depression raised the concern; so did the…
Abstract
Income and wealth inequality is a constant concern in our society. It becomes more acute at certain times than at others. The Great Depression raised the concern; so did the political circumstances in the 1960s when attention was focused on the state of the poor and of racial groups who were failing to participate in the national affluence.
F.M. Andic and A.J. Mann
The relation between economic growth and income distribution has been the subject of a growing body of empirical studies ever since the initial discussion by Kuznets, who argued…
Abstract
The relation between economic growth and income distribution has been the subject of a growing body of empirical studies ever since the initial discussion by Kuznets, who argued that the income distribution in the early stages of growth in developing areas would most likely move in the direction of greater inequality. While there is substantial support for this hypothesis of relative inequality increase, recent cross‐country evidence does not corroborate a stronger hypothesis of a decline in the absolute income level of the poorer groups. Nevertheless, cross‐sectional analyses may be fraught with misleading generalisations, and the validity of the hypothesis will have to be assessed by the secular experience of individual countries. Within this focus, one country which does not appear to support the Kuznets thesis is Puerto Rico, where recent studies point to a movement toward greater income equality over the 1949–69 period. This paper, which covers the same two‐decade interval, attempts to throw further light upon the overall question by employing, in addition to the well‐known Lorenz/Gini measure, Theil's entropy index. The latter coefficient permits decomposition of given sets by quantifying between‐set and within‐set inequalities.
The librarian and researcher have to be able to uncover specific articles in their areas of interest. This Bibliography is designed to help. Volume IV, like Volume III, contains…
Abstract
The librarian and researcher have to be able to uncover specific articles in their areas of interest. This Bibliography is designed to help. Volume IV, like Volume III, contains features to help the reader to retrieve relevant literature from MCB University Press' considerable output. Each entry within has been indexed according to author(s) and the Fifth Edition of the SCIMP/SCAMP Thesaurus. The latter thus provides a full subject index to facilitate rapid retrieval. Each article or book is assigned its own unique number and this is used in both the subject and author index. This Volume indexes 29 journals indicating the depth, coverage and expansion of MCB's portfolio.
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Esen Andiç-Mortan and Cigdem Gonul Kochan
This study aims to focus on building a conceptual closed-loop vaccine supply chain (CLVSC) to decrease vaccine wastage and counterfeit/fake vaccines.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to focus on building a conceptual closed-loop vaccine supply chain (CLVSC) to decrease vaccine wastage and counterfeit/fake vaccines.
Design/methodology/approach
Through a focused literature review, the framework for the CLVSC is described, and the system dynamics (SD) research methodology is used to build a causal loop diagram (CLD) of the proposed model.
Findings
In the battle against COVID-19, waste management systems have become overwhelmed, which has created negative environmental and extremely hazardous societal impacts. A key contributing factor is unused vaccine doses, shown as a source for counterfeit/fake vaccines. The findings identify a CLVSC design and transshipment operations to decrease vaccine wastage and the potential for vaccine theft.
Research limitations/implications
This study contributes to establishing a pandemic-specific VSC structure. The proposed model informs the current COVID-19 pandemic as well as potential future pandemics.
Social implications
A large part of the negative impact of counterfeit/fake vaccines is on human well-being, and this can be avoided with proper CLVSC.
Originality/value
This study develops a novel overarching SD CLD by integrating the epidemic model of disease transmission, VSC and closed-loop structure. This study enhances the policymakers’ understanding of the importance of vaccine waste collection, proper handling and threats to the public, which are born through illicit activities that rely on stolen vaccine doses.
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Chaitanya D.V.S.K. and Naga Satish Kumar Ch.
This study aims on a broad review of Concrete's Rheological Properties. The Concrete is a commonly used engineering material because of its exquisite mechanical interpretation…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims on a broad review of Concrete's Rheological Properties. The Concrete is a commonly used engineering material because of its exquisite mechanical interpretation, but the addition of constituent amounts has significant effects on the concrete’s fresh properties. The workability of the concrete mixture is a short-term property, but it is anticipated to affect the concrete’s long-term property.
Design/methodology/approach
In this review, the concrete and workability definition; concrete’s rheology models like Bingham model, thixotropy model, H-B model and modified Bingham model; obtained rheological parameters of concrete; the effect of constituent’s rheological properties, which includes cement and aggregates; and the concrete’s rheological properties such as consistency, mobility, compatibility, workability and stability were studied in detail.
Findings
Also, this review study has detailed the constituents and concrete’s rheological properties effects. Moreover, it exhibits the relationship between yield stress and plastic viscosity in concrete’s rheological behavior. Hence, several methods have been reviewed, and performance has been noted. In that, the abrasion resistance concrete has attained the maximum compressive strength of 73.6 Mpa; the thixotropy approach has gained the lowest plastic viscosity at 22 Pa.s; and the model coaxial cylinder has recorded the lowest stress rate at 8 Pa.
Originality/value
This paper especially describes the possible strategies to constrain improper prediction of concrete’s rheological properties that make the workability and rheological behavior prediction simpler and more accurate. From this, future guidelines can afford for prediction of concrete rheological behavior by implementing novel enhancing numerical techniques and exploring the finest process to evaluate the workability.
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Matthew Schwieterman, Manus Rungtusanatham, Thomas J. Goldsby, W.C. Benton, Martha C. Cooper and Esen Andiç-Mortan
This research seeks to identify the motivations, means and outcomes of supply chain integration (SCI) among firms in the middle market (i.e. those with annual revenues between…
Abstract
Purpose
This research seeks to identify the motivations, means and outcomes of supply chain integration (SCI) among firms in the middle market (i.e. those with annual revenues between US$10m and US$1bn). These firms often interface with larger, more powerful firms in the supply chain – both suppliers and customers. Understanding how these firms are challenged and benefit from integrative mechanisms in supply chain relations can lead to better outcomes more often.
Design/methodology/approach
The research utilizes an online focus group methodology featuring 39 participants. The participants were able to interact in written form with a professional moderator, as well as each other, over the course of three days.
Findings
The research presents evidence that firms in the middle market adopt SCI as a response to pressure from customers and suppliers. These firms also view technology as a primary means of achieving integration. Despite their disadvantageous size position relative to larger customers and suppliers, firms in the middle market achieved positive outcomes from integration.
Research limitations/implications
Because of the specific context of middle-market firms, this research may lack generalizability. However, providing contextualization regarding firm size contributes specificity to the large number of studies detailing the challenges and benefits of SCI.
Practical implications
Managers of firms in the middle market should find value in this study as it explicates the possible benefits their firms may realize through integration with customers and suppliers. Moreover, this research outlines several of the possible means through which integration can be achieved. Further, managers in smaller and larger firms can better understand the motives and needs of middle-market companies with which they interact.
Originality/value
Despite voluminous literature on SCI, this paper provides context-specific findings by isolating the implications of SCI to firms in the middle market.
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Mohd Rizaimy Shaharudin, Mohammad Iranmanesh, Suhaiza Zailani, Keah Choon Tan and Morteza Ghobakhloo
The aim of this study is to investigate the impact of integration capabilities on reverse supply chain (RSC) adoption and, consequently, RSCs' effectiveness. Thus, supply chain…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this study is to investigate the impact of integration capabilities on reverse supply chain (RSC) adoption and, consequently, RSCs' effectiveness. Thus, supply chain (SC) integration capabilities and their types in relation to internal, supplier and customer integration capabilities are investigated.
Design/methodology/approach
In this paper a quantitative survey was conducted with Malaysian manufacturers with a certified the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 14001 environmental management system. The entire population was utilized through census sampling; 150 useable survey responses were received. The partial least squares technique was used for the data analysis.
Findings
The results indicate that internal integration improves external integration. In addition, supplier and customer integration have a positive direct effect on the adoption of RSC activities. Though internal integration has no significant direct effect on the adoption of RSC activities, it has an indirect impact through both supplier integrative capabilities and customer integrative capabilities.
Practical implications
The findings of this study suggest that the managers of manufacturers whose internal integrative capabilities are the base and whose SC integrative capabilities and external integrative capabilities are reinforcing SC integrative capabilities should adopt RSC activities.
Originality/value
The paper offers in-depth insight into this issue and has shed light on the ambiguities in the literature regarding the role of SC integration in RSC adoption.
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Biswajit Kar and Mamata Jenamani
A vaccination strategy to cover the susceptible population is key to containing the spread of any virus during a healthcare emergency. This study quantifies the susceptibility of…
Abstract
Purpose
A vaccination strategy to cover the susceptible population is key to containing the spread of any virus during a healthcare emergency. This study quantifies the susceptibility of a region based on initial infection rates to prioritize optimal vaccine distribution strategies. The authors propose a metric, the regional vulnerability index (RVI), that identifies the degree of susceptibility/vulnerability of a region to virus infections for strategically locating hubs for vaccine storage and distribution.
Design/methodology/approach
A two-phase methodology is used to address this problem. Phase 1 uses a modified Susceptible-Infected-Recovered (SIR) model, ModSIR, to estimate the RVI. Phase 2 leverages this index to model a P-Center problem, prioritizing vulnerable regions through a Mixed Integer Quadratically Constrained Programming model, along with three variations that incorporate the RVI.
Findings
Results indicate a weighting scheme based on the population-to-RVI ratio fosters fair distribution and equitable coverage of vulnerable regions. Comparisons with the public distribution strategy outlined by the Government of India reveal similar zonal segregations. Additionally, the network generated by our model outperforms the actual distribution network, corroborated by network metrics such as degree centrality, weighted degree centrality and closeness centrality.
Originality/value
This research presents a novel approach to prioritizing vaccine distribution during pandemics by applying epidemiological predictions to an integer-programming framework, optimizing COVID-19 vaccine allocation based on historical infection data. The study highlights the importance of strategic planning in public health response to effectively manage resources in emergencies.
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The vaccine supply chain (VSC) performance remains under stress during pandemic outbreaks than conventional vaccination drives due to desired vaccination coverage. Therefore, it…
Abstract
Purpose
The vaccine supply chain (VSC) performance remains under stress during pandemic outbreaks than conventional vaccination drives due to desired vaccination coverage. Therefore, it is essential to identify the crucial performance objectives (POs) and their interrelationship structure and prioritize them to improve performance in a pandemic VSC.
Design/methodology/approach
This study combines the decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory based analytic network process (DANP) method with spherical fuzzy sets (SFS) to explore critical POs of the pandemic VSC in the balanced scorecard framework. The SFS theory tackles the uncertainty of POs and DANP interlaced causal relationships among crucial POs to the pandemic VSC while ranking them for prioritization.
Findings
This work identifies 32 issues associated with pandemic VSC and maps them against 13 POs. Effective communication, adequate health financing and operating cost optimization are the most critical POs, and operational issues listed under them must be prioritized to improve the overall VSC performance for future pandemics. The relationship structure among these POs is also summarized using the balanced scorecard framework in a strategy map.
Research limitations/implications
The strategy map proposed in this study can help practitioners to address the causality among different POs and underlying issues for the sudden expansion of vaccination programs during pandemics from an economic, social and operational perspective.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first empirical study to suggest improving the VSC performance during the pandemic by focusing on the causative relationship and priority of different detected POs.
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Abstract
Purpose
The managerial questions of this paper are as follows, and the authors are trying to solve them: How revenue sharing contract (CSR) degree and government subsidy affect the agri-food quality? What kind of model (WPC, revenue-sharing contract [RSC] and cooperative) would be more effective in motivating manufacturers and retailer to increase effort and improve agri-food quality? What kind of model (WPC, RSC and cooperative) would make manufacturer and retailer better off?
Design/methodology/approach
Considering the jointing quality effort and contract decision in green agri-food supply chain, this paper proposes six models that consider CSR of manufacturer and retailer, and then the obtained optimal solutions are compared and analyzed. At the same time, the impact of government subsidies is analyzed, and corresponding conclusions are drawn.
Findings
The results show that, first of all, whether the increasing CSR of the manufacturer or the retailer can motivate both parties to improve the agri-food quality effort investment. Second, the WPC and RSC contract may play different role in different cases. Finally, under the model with government subsidies, regarding positive influence of government subsidies on efforts of manufacturer and retailer, quality and profits of members is investigated. Based on these conclusions, this study puts forward the following policy suggestions. Firstly, governments should formulate reasonable subsidy policies to support manufacturer and retailer to improve the agri-food quality, thereby promoting green industries' development. Secondly, manufacturer and retailer should actively improve CSR and strengthen the effort of agri-food so as to advance quality. Finally, manufacturer and retailer can choose cooperative model or WPC contract.
Research limitations/implications
In this paper, one manufacturer and one retailer are considered. Since the agri-food supply chain structure in reality is more complicated, the future research direction can consider the supply chain structure with one manufacturer and multiple retailers. In addition, this paper only considers the subsidy, and future research can classify the subsidy into different types.
Originality/value
The study makes two substantive contributions to the body of knowledge in the field of sustainable operations:(1) incorporating quality-based demand function in supply chain and dynamic process of agri-food quality; (2) exploring the impact of CSR awareness of members and subsidy of government on agri-food quality, and comparing the influence in different models.