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Considering the direct impact of retailers' performance on the economy, this paper aimed to propose a comprehensive framework to evaluate the performance of different branches of a retailer.

Through a case study, the weights of indicators were calculated by the best-worst method (BWM) and the branches' performance was appraised using data envelopment analysis (DEA).

The branches were ranked in terms of performance, and sensitivity analysis and statistical tests were conducted to realize the weaknesses and strengths of the branches. Then, some strategies were proposed using strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) analysis to improve the performance of the weak branches.

This paper contributes to previous studies on the evaluation of retailers' performance by proposing a triple framework based on resilience, sustainability and sales-marketing indicators. This paper focused on branches' operations and branches' optimization by improving performance in terms of these three indicators. This paper also offers a qualitative and quantitative analysis of retailers' performance, which has received less attention in previous studies.

This chapter studies how in Iranian schools the power of resistance is evident in female students’ moral dilemmas. The Islamic Revolution of Iran was a turning point in Iranian educational system in which the role of religion and the desire for Islamization of all aspects of the society was emphasized. The data was gathered from one girl and one boy school in Tehran in 2016, and it includes lower secondary school students’ essays (Female n=175, Male n=165) about moral dilemmas. The study reveals the impact of Islamic values in school life and that the power of resistance is weak since students cannot criticize Islamic values. However, female students’ moral dilemmas indicate aspects of resistance in terms of questioning the schools rules that are based on these religious values and principles. This chapter examines female cases in detail to discuss how issues related to gender and religion are interconnected in Iranian schools.

This paper aims to present a novel bi-objective mathematical model for a production-inventory system under uncertainty.

This paper addresses agile and lean manufacturing concepts alongside with green production methods to design an integrated capacitated lot sizing problem (CLSP). From a methodological perspective, the problem is solved in three phases. In the first step, an FM/M/C queuing system is used to minimize the number of customers waited to receive their orders. In the second step, an effective approach is applied to deal with the fuzzy bi-objective model and finally, a hybrid metaheuristic algorithm is used to solve the problem.

Some numerical test problems and sensitivity analyzes are conducted to measure the efficiency of the proposed model and the solution method. The results validate the model and the performance of the solution method compared to Gams results in small size test problems and prove the superiority of the hybrid algorithm in comparison with the other well-known metaheuristic algorithms in large size test problems.

This paper presents a novel bi-objective mathematical model for a CLSP under uncertainty. The proposed model is conducted on a practical case and several sensitivity analysis are conducted to assess the behavior of the model. Using a queue system, this problem aims to reduce the items waited in the queue to receive service. Two objective functions are considered to maximize the profit and minimize the negative environmental effects. In this regard, the second objective function aims to reduce the amount of emitted carbon.

This paper aims to analyze the accuracy of the single and two-phase numerical methods for calculation of ferrofluid convective heat transfer in the presence of a magnetic field. The findings of current study are compared with previous single-phase numerical results and experimental data. Accordingly, the effect of various parameters including nanoparticles concentration, Reynolds number and magnetic field strength on the performance of the single and two-phase models are evaluated.

A two-phase mixture numerical study is carried out to investigate the influence of four U-shaped electromagnets on the hydrodynamic and thermal characteristics of Fe₃O₄/Water ferrofluid flowing inside a heated channel.

It is observed that the applied external magnetic field signifies the convective heat transfer from the channel surface, despite local reduction at a few locations. The maximum heat transfer enhancement is predicted as 23% and 25% using single and two-phase models, respectively. The difference between the results of the two models is mainly attributed to the slip velocity effect which is accounted for in the two-phase model. The magnetic field gradient leads to a significant increase in the slip velocity which in turn causes a slight difference in velocity and temperature profiles obtained by the single and two-phase models in the magnetic field region. According to percentage error calculation, the two-phase method is generally more accurate than the single-phase method. However, the percentage error of both models improves by decreasing either magnetic field intensity or Reynolds number.

For the first time in the literature, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, the current work analyzes the accuracy of the single and two phase numerical methods for calculation of ferrofluid convective heat transfer in the presence of a magnetic field.

The main purpose of this research is to examine the influence of macroeconomic stability on economic growth of SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) countries.

Using panel data of 1991–2020, fixed effect regression analysis, pooled ordinary least squares and generalized method of moments techniques have been conducted to demonstrate whether macroeconomic stability contributes to economic growth. Moreover, cross-sectional dependency test, unit root test, correlation analysis and granger causality tests have been run.

Robust findings indicate that inflation has negative impacts on economic growth which indicates that lower level of macroeconomic instability promotes countries’ economic growth. This study also observed that foreign direct investment, domestic credit delivered to private sector, currency exchange and institutional difference across countries are affirmatively connected while labor force is negatively associated with economic growth.

Empirical findings of this study signify that macroeconomic stability have significant effects on economic growth. Findings of this study have superior contributions for the policy makers to achieve sustainable economic growth.

Nowadays, green supply chain (SC) management acts as an important strategic issue for the manufacturers. The effective SC design requires the development of analytical models and design tools. Because of the key role of steel in the infrastructure of industries, this metal is called the development metal. Despite the importance of this industry and its economic and environmental impacts through its SC, the SC structure of this industry has been less studied at the macro level. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to design the structure of a steel industry SC at three levels; and second, to find the most effective and efficient carbon dioxide emitted industry among the supplier industries of the steel industry SC in China as a case study.

In this paper, due to the relationships among different industries, DEMATEL as a multi-criteria decision-making method has been applied.

A SC structure for the steel industry has been designed at three levels. The results indicated that the industries that had the highest relationship with the steel industry are mine industry, electricity, water, and gas industry, and optical and electrical equipment industry, which were recognized as the first-level suppliers for the steel industry. On the other hand, considering the relationship among the embodied carbon dioxide emissions of various industries in China as a case study, it can be said that among the steel suppliers, the most important polluting industries, respectively, are mining industry, electricity, water, and gas industry, optical and electrical equipment industry, machinery industry, chemicals and chemical products industry and coke, refined petroleum and nuclear fuel industry.

The developed SC can help in providing the steel industries’ managers a basic model for their supplier selection problem at the macro level. This paper can also help the industrial managers to understand the causal relationships among the suppliers of their industries. Finally, this paper can help government and industries managers to discover the most polluted industrial suppliers in the steel industry.

The novelty of this study belongs to the usage of DEMATEL method based on the input-output table to discover the relationships among the industries as well as identifying the main raw material suppliers of the steel industry at three levels. Furthermore, this research discovers the relationships among the embedded carbon dioxide emission of various industries in steel SC to determine the most important polluting industries in steel SC.

Health-promoting schools have been associated with improvements in the health status of students globally. This study is a secondary analysis study assessing Iranian HPSs.

This was a cross-sectional study on routinely collected data using an external audit 63-item checklist, which was utilized to evaluate 440 HPSs between 2014 and 2017. The mean score for each of the checklists' components was calculated. Nonparametric tests were conducted to investigate the association between the presence of a school caregiver, students' educational level and the school's score.

While the number of five- and four-star schools increased significantly, one- to three-star schools declined. Providing clinical and counseling services had negative growth. Despite the steady growth of the staff's health, this category still had the lowest score among; on the contrary, physical activity had the highest score in 2017. The presence of a full-time school caregiver and middle schools were both significantly correlated with achieving higher scores (p < 0.005).

It seems that in addition to developing school facilities to promote physical activities, measures should be taken to promote access to counseling services, considering health issues of students and staff and finally increasing the number of full-time school caregiver

This paper aims to explore pro-environmental behavior (PEB) in Azerbaijan. Therefore, the authors used value-belief-norm (VBN) theory, extended by the construct of social norms (SN), as a basis.

Data were collected by establishing a link within various social media platforms. The final sample consisted of 407 respondents. The authors analyzed four dimensions of PEB using higher-order structural equations. The authors also examined both direct and (serial) indirect effects for cross-cultural validation of the extended VBN theory.

The authors were able to confirm the VBN theory in its entirety. However, SN, which are influential in collectivistic and Sunni-majority states, do not contribute significantly to explaining PEB in predominantly Shiite Azerbaijan.

The authors could not establish a direct effect of SN on PEB within this study. However, the authors observed an indirect “values-beliefs-norms-behavior” effect. The different (partly abbreviated) effect channels of the four tested value antecedents provide interesting insights for marketing research.

Based on the results, it seems crucial to make Muslim consumers aware of the negative outcomes of their consumption behavior and to emphasize individual responsibility. However, SN may not need to be addressed depending on cultural and/or religious values.

The authors examined PEB in Azerbaijan by testing the serial mediation effects in the VBN model. Further, the authors tested the influence of SN within the framework of the original VBN theory, contributing to a better understanding of the possibility of integrating components of the theory of planned behavior.

Hospital landscape is not a useless space within hospital buildings anymore. It is considered as a supportive area providing mental and physical peace. However, the planting design of the hospital landscape and the way it should be in order to not disrupt wayfinding performance is neglected. This paper, which is a case study, aims at investigating the effects of planting design in Kerman hospitals’ landscapes on the users’ wayfinding using space syntax techniques.

This research focuses on the effects of planting design on the users’ wayfinding in hospitals. In so doing, library research, computer simulation and analysis with the University College London (UCL) Depthmap software, and comparison techniques are used. Based on axial maps, the measures of integration, connectivity and intelligibility are considered for analysing the wayfinding process of individuals.

The findings show that planting configurations in the hospital landscape can affect individuals’ wayfinding. Integrated and regular planting design in addition to combining planted areas with the hospital buildings can pave the way for intelligible space and easier wayfinding.

According to the authors’ knowledge, the current study is the first to use the space syntax techniques in the health-care landscape architecture in terms of planting design and wayfinding. As wayfinding is an important issue in health-care spaces, the study findings can greatly help the health-care building designers and the related organizations to pay attention to the hospital landscape as much as hospital indoors.