Raja Ben Mohamed, Hichem Ben Nasr and Faouzi M'Sahli
The purpose of this paper is to present a new concept based on a neural network validity approach in the area of multimodel for complex systems.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to present a new concept based on a neural network validity approach in the area of multimodel for complex systems.
Design/methodology/approach
The multimodel approach was recently developed in order to solve the modeling problems and the control of complex systems. The strategy of this approach coincides with the usual approach of the engineer which consists in subdividing a complex problem to a set of simple, manageable sub‐problems that can be solved separately. However, this approach still faces some problems in design, especially in determining models and in finding the appropriate method of calculating validities.
Findings
A novel approach based on neural network validity shows very remarkable performances in multimodel for complex systems.
Research limitations/implications
The validity of each model is based on the convergence of each neural network. For a fast convergence the proposed approach can be online to give a good performance in multimodel representation for system with rapid dynamics.
Practical implications
The proposed concept discussed in the paper has the potential to be applied to complex systems.
Originality/value
The suggested approach is implemented and reviewed with a complex dynamic and fast process compared to the residue approach commonly used in the calculation of validities. The results prove to be satisfactory and show a good accuracy.
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Walid Belmaghraoui, Aimad Mazkour, Hicham Harhar, Mourad Harir and Souad El Hajjaji
This study aims to investigate the corrosion inhibition effect of extracted oil from Ziziphus lotus fruit on corrosion of C38 carbon steel in 5.5 M H3PO4 solution using…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate the corrosion inhibition effect of extracted oil from Ziziphus lotus fruit on corrosion of C38 carbon steel in 5.5 M H3PO4 solution using potentiodynamic polarization and impedance techniques.
Design/methodology/approach
Oil composition was determined using gas chromatography, and the results showed that oleic and palmitic acids present approximately 84.0 per cent of its total chemical content. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) data were analyzed by adapting it to a well-developed electric circuit model. The inhibition efficiency of Z. lotus oil was calculated and compared using Tafel polarization and EIS.
Findings
Accordingly, the oil extract was found to act as an anodic type inhibitor. Furthermore, inhibition efficiency of Z. lotus oil extract increase with oil concentrations and achieve approximately 70.5 per cent at 3 g/L solution of Z. lotus oil.
Originality/value
The results obtained from different tested methods were in line, and the oil was able to reduce significantly the kinetics of the corrosion process of C38 carbon steel.
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Amer Jazairy, Emil Persson, Mazen Brho, Robin von Haartman and Per Hilletofth
This study presents a systematic literature review (SLR) of the interdisciplinary literature on drones in last-mile delivery (LMD) to extrapolate pertinent insights from and into…
Abstract
Purpose
This study presents a systematic literature review (SLR) of the interdisciplinary literature on drones in last-mile delivery (LMD) to extrapolate pertinent insights from and into the logistics management field.
Design/methodology/approach
Rooting their analytical categories in the LMD literature, the authors performed a deductive, theory refinement SLR on 307 interdisciplinary journal articles published during 2015–2022 to integrate this emergent phenomenon into the field.
Findings
The authors derived the potentials, challenges and solutions of drone deliveries in relation to 12 LMD criteria dispersed across four stakeholder groups: senders, receivers, regulators and societies. Relationships between these criteria were also identified.
Research limitations/implications
This review contributes to logistics management by offering a current, nuanced and multifaceted discussion of drones' potential to improve the LMD process together with the challenges and solutions involved.
Practical implications
The authors provide logistics managers with a holistic roadmap to help them make informed decisions about adopting drones in their delivery systems. Regulators and society members also gain insights into the prospects, requirements and repercussions of drone deliveries.
Originality/value
This is one of the first SLRs on drone applications in LMD from a logistics management perspective.
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This paper aims to narrate the descriptions of accountability by which a pioneering Malaysian Islamic bank has come to be known and has become a specific model in many countries.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to narrate the descriptions of accountability by which a pioneering Malaysian Islamic bank has come to be known and has become a specific model in many countries.
Design/methodology/approach
This study is based on a four-year ethnographic work from 2002 to 2006, as accessed and analysed by the researcher. The philosophy underpinning this ethnography is from Geertz’s “Common sense as a cultural system” (1975) and The Interpretation of Cultures (1973).
Findings
This study finds the religious metaphors of “Halal and Haram is not Only on Food” and “Bank for All” are the anticipated conception that envisages the institution of Bank Islam Malaysia Berhad (BIMB), especially the perspective of the Shariah Supervisory Council and the struggles of the assistant managers.
Research limitations/implications
The paper aligns with the concerns of McPhail et al. (2004) and calls for engagement in research projects on accounting and accountability related to theology but with an attempt to theorise the “engagement” within the components of human limitation and intelligence which require a narrative from the social and collective dimensions of the present and in the past.
Practical implications
By using various objects as symbol, metaphor and memory, such as “counter”, “branch”, “advertising” and “food”, the paper encourages readers to understand the objects as temporalities brought into being by a common sense consciousness and within a historical Malay context; one in which Malaysia is a Muslim society and a by-product of colonialism. This interpretation allows the issues raised by BIMB to represent an authentic Malaysian voice rather than to be read merely as an adjunct to western accounting history.
Originality/value
The paper explores the translations of concepts that the self probes and attempts to describe accountability, as well as how these translate into common sense.
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Mina Balouchi, Yuhanis Abdul Aziz, Tahmoures Hasangholipour, Amir Khanlari, Azmawani Abd Rahman and Raja Nerina Raja-Yusof
The purpose of this study is to understand the factors influencing Iranian tourists’ behavioural intention to use consumer-generated contents (CGC) websites whilst browsing the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to understand the factors influencing Iranian tourists’ behavioural intention to use consumer-generated contents (CGC) websites whilst browsing the web when it comes to travel planning, based upon the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) extension.
Design/methodology/approach
The total of 211 valid responses were collected through an online questionnaire survey. Data collected from Iranian online tourists were used to test the proposed research model by using the partial least squares structural equation modeling method of analysis.
Findings
The results of the study indicate that perceived source credibility is the strongest predictor for behavioural intention. Furthermore, in this study, the most significant relationship is between perceived enjoyment and perceived ease of use. However, the findings of this study show that perceived ease of use is unable to predict behavioural intention of Iranian tourists while using CGC websites.
Research limitations/implications
This study provides clear evidence for the importance of additional key variables in improving the authors’ understanding of the Iranian adoption behaviour concerning CGC websites for travel planning purposes. Implications of this research can aid both academicians and practitioners towards a better understanding of tourists’ adoption behaviour when associated with the social media.
Originality/value
This paper adopts TAM and extends it with other variables, namely, perceived enjoyment, perceived source credibility and perceived risk. It examines their influence in the behavioural intention of using CGC for travel planning in the context of Iran for the first time.
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Asmae El Jaouhari, Jabir Arif, Ashutosh Samadhiya, Anil Kumar and Jose Arturo Garza-Reyes
Over the next decade, humanity is going to face big environmental problems, and considering these serious issues, businesses are adopting environmentally responsible practices. To…
Abstract
Purpose
Over the next decade, humanity is going to face big environmental problems, and considering these serious issues, businesses are adopting environmentally responsible practices. To put forward specific measures to achieve a more prosperous environmental future, this study aims to develop an environment-based perspective framework by integrating the Internet of Things (IoT) technology into a sustainable automotive supply chain (SASC).
Design/methodology/approach
The study presents a conceptual environmental framework – based on 29 factors constituting four stakeholders' rectifications – that holistically assess the SASC operations as part of the ReSOLVE model utilizing IoT. Then, experts from the SASC, IoT and sustainability areas participated in two rigorous rounds of a Delphi study to validate the framework.
Findings
The results indicate that the conceptual environmental framework proposed would help companies enhance the connectivity between major IoT tools in SASC, which would help develop congruent strategies for inducing sustainable growth.
Originality/value
This study adds value to existing knowledge on SASC sustainability and digitalization in the context where the SASC is under enormous pressure, competitiveness and increased variability.
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This paper aims to identify the nature of the problem of corruption in the telecommunications sector and to identify possible actions to limit it.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to identify the nature of the problem of corruption in the telecommunications sector and to identify possible actions to limit it.
Design/methodology/approach
A review of instances of corruption, showing the scope of its various forms, with particular emphasis on the Arab states, in the light of recent events.
Findings
Policies were advocated for telecommunications that greatly increased the risks of corruption without corresponding measures to ensure integrity, transparency and the investigation and prosecution of those paying and, especially, those accepting bribes.
Research limitations/implications
There is a need for much more raw data and detailing of specific cases, in particular there are no plausible estimates of the overall scale of bribery in the sector.
Practical implications
By repressing bribery in telecommunications it will increase competition in markets, reduce prices and remove the social grievance of “crony capitalism”.
Originality/value
There are, as yet, very few articles analysing the effects of corruption in telecommunications or identifying possible courses of action.
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Khalid Rashid and Anees Khadom
The purpose of this study is to investigate the corrosion inhibition of mild steel alloy in 2 M H3PO4 solution by the pomegranate peel extract as a friendly inhibitor was studied…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to investigate the corrosion inhibition of mild steel alloy in 2 M H3PO4 solution by the pomegranate peel extract as a friendly inhibitor was studied at various temperatures, inhibitor concentrations and immersion times.
Design/methodology/approach
A weight loss method was used to evaluate the corrosion rate. The experimental Taguchi design method was used for the distribution of experiments. The experimental design gave results which were impossible to show graphically. However, this problem was solved effectively with the aid of regression analysis.
Findings
Corrosion rate increased with temperature according to Arrhenius equation. It was found that the efficiency of inhibition was increased with an increase in the concentration of inhibitor and immersion time. However, this diminishes with increased temperature. According to Langmuir isotherm, the inhibitor was adsorbed physically on steel surface. The negative sign of estimated heat of adsorption suggests a stable spontaneous inhibition process. Combination of mathematical and statistical analysis was proposed to demonstrate the results of corrosion rate with high correlation coefficients. In addition, Fourier transform infrared spectrometer examinations confirmed that the organic inhibitor consists of phenolic components as main materials.
Originality/value
Using unconventional approach for evaluation of environmentally friendly inhibitor for corrosion of mild steel in phosphoric acid solution.
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This study aims to identify the most frequently used tools and techniques within the measure phase of the define, measure, analyze, improve and control (DMAIC) methodology in the…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to identify the most frequently used tools and techniques within the measure phase of the define, measure, analyze, improve and control (DMAIC) methodology in the Six Sigma Green Belt body of knowledge (BOK) to standardize training curriculum and reduce barriers to Six Sigma adoption.
Design/methodology/approach
This study measures the most frequently used tools within the Measure Phase of the Green Belt body of knowledge by surveying Six Sigma professionals from all industries as to how often they use tools specific to the Measure Phase. Professionals rated ten categories of tools based on frequency use as it pertains to a Green Belt level Six Sigma project. Descriptive analysis, t-tests, and ANOVA were performed on the data using Minitab to identify the most frequently used tool categories.
Findings
The findings of this study indicate that the most frequently used measure phase tools and techniques within in the Six Sigma Green Belt BOK are process mapping, control charts, descriptive statistics, graphical analysis, collecting and summarizing data, process capability analysis and Six Sigma statistics (defects per unit, defects per million opportunities, etc.). The research findings indicate that several tools that require a higher level of statistical understanding are used less frequently.
Research limitations/implications
The research study solely analyzed the measure phase tools within the Green Belt Six Sigma BOK. Other Six Sigma bodies of knowledge should be evaluated in their entirety.
Practical implications
Six Sigma training has been identified in previous research studies as a barrier to implementation. By identifying the most frequently used tools and determining that those tools are less statistically intensive, companies may be more inclined to adopt Six Sigma. Reducing the tools required to master to lead and carryout Six Sigma projects can also help to reduce the cost and time required for Six Sigma training.
Originality/value
Many studies have identified the lack of a standardized curriculum for Six Sigma and Lean Six Sigma. This research serves to function as a supportive analysis in identifying the most optimal and useful tools to lead successful Six Sigma and process improvement projects and contributes to the journey of establishing a standardized Six Sigma training curriculum.