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Article
Publication date: 1 June 2003

Khaled Nassar

Simulation games provide practical decision‐making and strategy development experiences to students in a classroom setting. Having the ability to develop a bidding strategy that…

1370

Abstract

Simulation games provide practical decision‐making and strategy development experiences to students in a classroom setting. Having the ability to develop a bidding strategy that secures work and increases market share is vital in a competitive market. This paper presents a simulation game, called C3M (Construction Contracts in a Competitive Market), which mimics a bidding situation and allows users to experiment with different strategies. It is aimed at upper undergraduate students taking courses in construction management or cost and bid analysis, but can be utilized also in a professional training program. The game introduces the principles of competitive bidding through a series of simulated bidding decisions and provides for interaction between the bid prices of the competing teams over a simulated period of time. It can be implemented on any commercial spreadsheet, as described. Trial runs are provided to test the interlocking nature of the decisions made.

Details

Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, vol. 10 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0969-9988

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Article
Publication date: 28 June 2013

Ossama Hosny, Khaled Nassar and Yasser Esmail

Contractor prequalification is a typical multiple criteria decision‐making problem that includes both quantitative and qualitative criteria. The conditions surrounding the…

923

Abstract

Purpose

Contractor prequalification is a typical multiple criteria decision‐making problem that includes both quantitative and qualitative criteria. The conditions surrounding the prequalification decision are often imprecise, subjective and uncertain; assessments are consequently made using linguistic approximations. Fuzzy set theory is specifically designed to handle qualitative and linguistic data based on approximations and provides a method of representing in numerical form the linguistic approximations used to describe the decision‐maker judgments. However, fuzzy set theory has a weakness in identification of the relative weights of the decision criteria. On the other hand, one of the most accurate and easy methods for identifying the relative weights is the analytic hierarchy process (AHP). This paper seeks to address these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

The main objective of this paper is to develop a new integrated decision model composed of fuzzy set theory and analytic hierarchy process (AHP) methodologies approach that takes full advantages of the fuzzy set theory and the AHP. Two fuzzy approaches are considered, namely Chang's extent analysis and Jaskowski aggregated group decision analysis.

Findings

Both approaches are applied and validated on actual contractors in the Egyptian construction market. A software tool is developed to automate the calculations and a case study is provided.

Originality/value

This research produced a new integrated decision model composed of fuzzy‐AHP methodology approach that takes full advantages of the fuzzy set theory and AHP for tackling the uncertainty and imprecision of contractor prequalification during the prequalification stage, where the decision‐makers comparison judgments are represented as fuzzy triangular numbers. The default criteria used in this model had been collected through the literature review and experts’ opinion for building projects.

Details

Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, vol. 20 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0969-9988

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Article
Publication date: 21 May 2024

Sarah Yahia, Marwa Atif Ali and Khaled Mohamed Seddik

This paper aims to produce sustainable sport-hijab or veiling using cotton and bamboo as renewable and eco-material blending with polyester. Due to the unique characteristics of…

42

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to produce sustainable sport-hijab or veiling using cotton and bamboo as renewable and eco-material blending with polyester. Due to the unique characteristics of the knitting fabrics, the research focused on constructing the proposed samples using a circular knitting technique with a French terry structure, to achieve comfort, ease of care, good appearance and sustainability in different climatic conditions.

Design/methodology/approach

The researchers formed three different knitted samples using yarn count 30/1Ne for cotton and bamboo and 70 dens for polyester yarn, using the same blending ratio of 50:50% (cotton/polyester, bamboo/ polyester and cotton/ bamboo). They tested several mechanical and physical properties (weight, thickness, air permeability, water permeability, electrostatic charges, ultraviolet protection factor, stiffness, pilling resistance and bursting strength).

Findings

Using different tools, the researchers statistically analyzed the influence of variables on sample properties, including a Chart line, ANOVA test at p-value = 0.05 and the least significant differences values to identify the effect significantly as well as demonstrate the interaction among the samples at each tested property. Finally, radar chart areas to clarify the preferable sample performance.

Originality/value

The findings declared that blending materials used significantly affected most properties of the produced samples, except for the water permeability and an electrostatic charge. Furthermore, the findings pointed out that blending (cotton or bamboo/polyester) is more efficient and desirable than blending (cotton/ bamboo). Additionally, based on radar charts analysis, the cotton/polyester knitted outperforms other blended materials samples in producing sport-hijab or veiling fabric.

Details

Research Journal of Textile and Apparel, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1560-6074

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Article
Publication date: 24 October 2020

Mohamed A. Saad, Fatma Metwaly, Sarah Yahia Gad, Khaled Mansour Mansour and Marwa A. Ali

The paper aims to use the Trilobal® polyester (Y cross-section) for producing fabrics suitable for fencing suits and evaluating their various properties.

169

Abstract

Purpose

The paper aims to use the Trilobal® polyester (Y cross-section) for producing fabrics suitable for fencing suits and evaluating their various properties.

Design/methodology/approach

Double weave structure was chosen to produce the samples by using six different face structures and two back structures divided into two groups according to the back structures. They were evaluated by their physical and mechanical properties such as tensile strength, puncture resistance, air permeability and humidity properties in horizontal and vertical wicking, drying rate and water vapor transmission.

Findings

Fencing sport recently is one of the most growing sports in the world, which necessitates special requirements and properties of fencing suit, either mechanical properties, which allow the easily and freely movement for the athlete, or the comfort properties that save the player’s effort and energy for a long time to improve his performance.

Originality/value

ANOVA test analysis showed highly significant results in some properties comparing back and face structures of the double weave fabric high correlation coefficient were found between packing density factor of produced fabric and the weft material types. The final results showed the produced sample that weaved with plain 1/1 for back structure and warp rib 2/2 for face structure achieved the best results, followed by the produced sample weaved with plain 1/1 for back structure and weft rib 2/2 for face structure compared with the other produced samples.

Details

Research Journal of Textile and Apparel, vol. 25 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1560-6074

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Article
Publication date: 15 August 2023

Walaa AlKhader, Raja Jayaraman, Khaled Salah, Andrei Sleptchenko, Jiju Antony and Mohammed Omar

Quality 4.0 (Q4.0) leverages new emerging technologies to achieve operational excellence and enhance performance. Implementing Q4.0 in digital manufacturing can bring about…

488

Abstract

Purpose

Quality 4.0 (Q4.0) leverages new emerging technologies to achieve operational excellence and enhance performance. Implementing Q4.0 in digital manufacturing can bring about reliable, flexible and decentralized manufacturing. Emerging technologies such as Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs), Blockchain and Interplanetary File Storage (IPFS) can all be utilized to realize Q4.0 in digital manufacturing. NFTs, for instance, can provide traceability and property ownership management and protection. Blockchain provides secure and verifiable transactions in a manner that is trusted, immutable and tamper-proof. This research paper aims to explore the concept of Q4.0 within digital manufacturing systems and provide a novel solution based on Blockchain and NFTs for implementing Q4.0 in digital manufacturing.

Design/methodology/approach

This study reviews the relevant literature and presents a detailed system architecture, along with a sequence diagram that demonstrates the interactions between the various participants. To implement a prototype of the authors' system, the authors next develop multiple Ethereum smart contracts and test the algorithms designed. Then, the efficacy of the proposed system is validated through an evaluation of its cost-effectiveness and security parameters. Finally, this research provides other potential applications and scenarios across diverse industries.

Findings

The proposed solution's smart contracts governing the transactions among the participants were implemented successfully. Furthermore, the authors' analysis indicates that the authors' solution is cost-effective and resilient against commonly known security attacks.

Research limitations/implications

This study represents a pioneering endeavor in the exploration of the potential applications of NFTs and blockchain in the attainment of a comprehensive quality framework (Q4.0) in digital manufacturing. Presently, the body of research on quality control or assurance in digital manufacturing is limited in scope, primarily focusing on the products and production processes themselves. However, this study examines the other vital elements, including management, leadership and intra- and inter-organizational relationships, which are essential for manufacturers to achieve superior performance and optimal manufacturing outcomes.

Practical implications

To facilitate the achievement of Q4.0 and empower manufacturers to attain outstanding quality and gain significant competitive advantages, the authors propose the integration of Blockchain and NFTs into the digital manufacturing framework, with all related processes aligned with an organization's strategic and leadership objectives.

Originality/value

This study represents a pioneering endeavor in the exploration of the potential applications of NFTs and blockchain in the attainment of a comprehensive quality framework (Quality 4.0) in digital manufacturing. Presently, the body of research on quality control or assurance in digital manufacturing is limited in scope, primarily focusing on the products and production processes themselves. However, this study examines the other vital elements, including management, leadership and intra- and inter-organizational relationships, which are essential for manufacturers to achieve superior performance and optimal manufacturing outcomes.

Details

Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management, vol. 34 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1741-038X

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Article
Publication date: 1 March 2024

Khaled Mostafa and Azza El-Sanabary

The novelty addressed here is undertaken by using tailor-made and fully characterized starch nanoparticles (SNPs) having a particle size ranging from 80 to 100 nm with a larger…

48

Abstract

Purpose

The novelty addressed here is undertaken by using tailor-made and fully characterized starch nanoparticles (SNPs) having a particle size ranging from 80 to 100 nm with a larger surface area, biodegradability and high reactivity as a starting substrate for cadmium ions and basic dye removal from wastewater effluent. This was done via carboxylation of SNPs with citric acid via esterification reaction using the dry preparation technique, in which a simple, energy-safe and sustainable process concerning a small amount of water, energy and toxic chemicals was used. The obtained adsorbent is designated as cross-linked esterified starch nanoparticles (CESNPs).

Design/methodology/approach

The batch technique was used to determine the CESNPs adsorption capacity, whereas atomic adsorption spectrometry was used to determine the residual cadmium ions concentration in the filtrate before and after adsorption. Different factors affecting adsorption were examined concerning pH, contact time, adsorbent dose and degree of carboxylation. Besides, to validate the esterification reaction and existence of carboxylic groups in the adsorbent, CESNPs were characterized metrologically via analytical tools for carboxyl content estimation and instrumental tools using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) spectra and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) morphological analysis.

Findings

The overall adsorption potential of CESNPs was found to be 136 mg/g when a 0.1 g adsorbent dose having 190.8 meq/100 g sample carboxyl content at pH 5 for 60 min contact time was used. Besides, increasing the degree of carboxylation of the CESNPs expressed as carboxyl content would lead to the higher adsorption capacity of cadmium ions. FTIR spectroscopy analysis elucidates the esterification reaction with the appearance of a new intense peak C=O ester at 1,700 cm−1, whereas SEM observations reveal some atomic/molecules disorder after esterification.

Originality/value

The innovation addressed here is undertaken by studying the consequence of altering the extent of carboxylation reaction expressed as carboxyl contents on the prepared CESNPs via a simple dry technique with a small amount of water, energy and toxic chemicals that were used as a sustainable bio nano polymer for cadmium ions and basic dye removal from wastewater effluent in comparison with other counterparts published in the literature.

Details

Pigment & Resin Technology, vol. 54 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0369-9420

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Article
Publication date: 13 November 2023

Khaled Hesham Hyari and Mujahed Thneibat

Skewed pricing is a typical tactic used by tenderers in unit price projects to gain additional advantages at the expense of the owner or other competing tenderers. This paper aims…

238

Abstract

Purpose

Skewed pricing is a typical tactic used by tenderers in unit price projects to gain additional advantages at the expense of the owner or other competing tenderers. This paper aims to describe the development of a model for detecting skewed pricing in competitive tendering for unit price contracts.

Design/methodology/approach

The model evaluates how much the offered unit rates for work items deviate from the reasonable rate identified from the item’s submitted unit rates. Item rate deviations are integrated into a total deviation score for each submitted tender based on the relative weight of the work item to the total project amount. The model allows for assigning higher weights to work items that are more prone to skewed pricing, such as those that are performed early and those that are expected to experience quantity fluctuations.

Findings

The paper presents a detection model that uses only the submitted prices of the competing tenderers to perform the needed calculations, which reduces subjectivity in identifying skewed tenders. Two examples are given to demonstrate how the model may be used to detect skewed tenders.

Originality/value

The model supports tendering officials in the challenging task of identifying skewed tenders, which is required by rules and regulations governing public procurement. The model’s ease of use is expected to make it more widely used as a decision-support tool during the tender evaluation stage of real-world projects.

Details

Construction Innovation , vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1471-4175

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Article
Publication date: 8 July 2022

Omar Ikbal Tawfik, Omar Durrah, Khaled Hussainey and Hamada Elsaid Elmaasrawy

This study aims to investigate the factors influencing the adoption of cloud accounting (CA) in Oman’s small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The research model is developed based…

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Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to investigate the factors influencing the adoption of cloud accounting (CA) in Oman’s small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The research model is developed based on relationships between technology, organisational and environmental contexts.

Design/methodology/approach

This study used a questionnaire to collect data from a sample of SMEs in Oman’s information and communication sector. In total, 300 enterprises were selected, and the questionnaire was distributed to the executives. The questionnaires valid for analysis were 159. The collected data were analysed using structural equation modelling through analysis of a moment structures software.

Findings

This study tested seven factors, namely, support from top management, firm size, infrastructure (technology readiness), security and privacy, compatibility, competitive pressure and relative advantage. The results revealed that compatibility has a significant impact on the adoption of CA.

Practical implications

This study suggests the mangers in SMEs should play a more decisive role in identification of technological, organisational and environmental factors that affect the success of implementing CA in a comprehensive model.

Originality/value

This study constitutes a management strategy that helps the enterprises in light of limited economic resources and concerns about the use of cloud services to make the appropriate decision in adopting CA.

Details

Journal of Science and Technology Policy Management, vol. 14 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2053-4620

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Book part
Publication date: 23 August 2012

Silvia Pasquetti

How are social groups unmade? Current theories identify the symbolic power of the state as a primary factor in the creation of social groups. Drawing on Gramsci's The Southern…

Abstract

How are social groups unmade? Current theories identify the symbolic power of the state as a primary factor in the creation of social groups. Drawing on Gramsci's The Southern Question, this chapter extends state-centered theories by exploring policies that are critical but under-theorized factors in group formation. These include the concession of material benefits as well as the use of coercive means. Further, while current theories focus on how social groups are made, a Gramscian perspective draws attention to how the state intervenes to prevent or neutralize group-making projects from below. This chapter explores a case of a decrease in national group solidarity. Specifically, this study explains how in the 1990s the Israeli state weakened national group formation among Palestinians by adopting two spatially distinct but coordinated strategies. First, the rearrangement of the military occupation of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank through the establishment of an authority of self-rule (the Palestinian Authority) demobilized and divided Palestinian residents of the Occupied Territories, especially along class-cum-moral lines. Second, state practices and discourses centered on citizenship rights shifted the center of political activism among Palestinian citizens of Israel toward citizenship issues. I argue that these two routes, which I call the indirect rule route and the civil society route, were complementary components of a broader attempt to neutralize Palestinian collective mobilization around nationhood. Despite recent changes and contestations, these two strategies of rule continue to affect group formation and to create distinct experiences of politics among Palestinians under Israeli rule. Analysis of the Palestinian–Israeli case shows that the state can unmake groups through the distribution of interrelated policies that are specific to certain categories of people and places. Understanding the conditions under which certain policies of inclusion or exclusion affect group formation requires going beyond the analytic primacy currently given to the symbolic power of the state.

Details

Political Power and Social Theory
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78052-867-0

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Article
Publication date: 13 October 2023

Faraj Salman Alfawareh, Edie Erman Che Johari and Chai-Aun Ooi

This paper aims to investigate the effect of governance mechanisms and firm performance on chief executive officer (CEO) compensation in relation to the Jordanian business…

873

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to investigate the effect of governance mechanisms and firm performance on chief executive officer (CEO) compensation in relation to the Jordanian business environment. This study also examines the moderating role of gender diversity.

Design/methodology/approach

The sample is drawn from the annual reports of 68 Jordanian firms between 2015 and 2019. This paper uses the ordinary least square regression. It also uses the generalised method of moments approach to control any endogeneity issue and analyses the data in depth. In addition, it uses a dynamic model to address concerns regarding causality in the study’s models.

Findings

The results show that governance mechanisms and firm performance have an impact on CEO compensation. Furthermore, the outcomes indicate that gender diversity significantly and positively moderates the association between firm performance and CEO compensation. These findings enhance and support agency theory in the context of Jordan.

Practical implications

The study’s results have significant implications for policymakers, shareholders, investors, academicians and the public in the developing Jordanian market. The findings also support more monitoring and inspection to prevent the occurrence of opportunistic management behaviour and ensure that CEO remuneration packages are appropriately designed.

Originality/value

This study provides a unique understanding by explaining the impact of governance and performance on CEO compensation in a developing country such as Jordan. Besides that, the current study extends prior studies in Jordan significantly.

Details

Journal of Financial Reporting and Accounting, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1985-2517

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