Shima Amini, Alireza Rezvani, Mohsen Tabassi and Seyed Saeed Malek Sadati
Cost overruns have been identified as the most significant challenge for construction sector stakeholders. Like many developing countries, the Iranian construction industry…
Abstract
Purpose
Cost overruns have been identified as the most significant challenge for construction sector stakeholders. Like many developing countries, the Iranian construction industry suffers from poor cost performance. So, the current research aims to investigate the causes of cost overrun in Iranian construction projects. This paper also reviews the findings of similar studies conducted in several Asian countries.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper includes a literature review and a quantitative method with a questionnaire survey. The review is limited to the studies investigating the causes of cost overrun in an Asian country in the last decade. Moreover, the current research was conducted through a questionnaire prepared based on 43 common factors identified through the literature review. The required data were gathered from the representatives involved in handling construction activities in Iran. The collected data were analyzed based on relative importance index (RII), using the SPSS software package.
Findings
The results showed that poor site management, improper planning, fluctuation of prices of materials, lack of experience, and poor economic condition are the critical reasons for cost overrun in Iranian construction projects. The findings also indicated that among the studies conducted in Asian countries, the first three factors have the highest frequency.
Originality/value
This paper highlighted most studies concerning the cost overrun factors in construction projects in different Asian countries in recent years. Up-to-date knowledge helps to understand the complexity of this field in various periods and therefore minimizes the risk of cost overrun. This research can also be used as a benchmark for further studies to clarify similar issues in other developing countries.
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Given the long lived literature on the small firm funding gap and the contemporary evidence on the easier access to equity finance of the London proximate firms, this study aims…
Abstract
Purpose
Given the long lived literature on the small firm funding gap and the contemporary evidence on the easier access to equity finance of the London proximate firms, this study aims to examine the relevance of spatial proximity to London in explaining the amount of monies raised by small British firms at Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) on the UK Alternative Investment Market (AIM).
Design/methodology/approach
A cross sectional regression analysis is conducted to see whether proximity to London affects the amount of monies raised by small British firms at IPOs.
Findings
The results suggest that proximity to London has a positive effect on the amount of monies raised through IPO and, therefore, there exists a London bias even for those small firms which manage to overcome the equity gap problem and achieve a London listing.
Originality/value
The paper contributes to both the economic geography and the small firm regional disparity literature by documenting for the first time that geographic location has an impact on the amount of monies raised by small IPOs in the UK.
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Alireza Amini, Seyyedeh Shima Hoseini, Arash Haqbin and Mozhgan Danesh
A better understanding of the characteristics and capabilities of women entrepreneurs can significantly improve their chances of success. Therefore, three studies were conducted…
Abstract
Purpose
A better understanding of the characteristics and capabilities of women entrepreneurs can significantly improve their chances of success. Therefore, three studies were conducted for this exploratory paper. We have discovered the characteristics of entrepreneurial intelligence among female entrepreneurs through semi-structured interviews based on conventional content analysis. According to the second study, qualitative meta-synthesis was utilized to identify characteristics of women's entrepreneurial intelligence at the international level. As a third study, we examined the evolutionary relationships of entrepreneurs' intelligence components following the discovery and creation of opportunities.
Design/methodology/approach
The present paper was based on three studies. In the first study, 15 female entrepreneurs were interviewed using purposive sampling in the Guilan province of Iran to identify the characteristics of entrepreneurial intelligence at the national level. An inductive content analysis was performed on the data collected through interviews. Using Shannon entropy and qualitative validation, their validity was assessed. In the second study, using a qualitative meta-synthesis, the characteristics of women's entrepreneurial intelligence were identified. Then the results of these two studies were compared with each other. In the third study, according to the results obtained from the first and second studies, the emergence, priority and evolution of entrepreneurial intelligence components in two approaches to discovering and creating entrepreneurial opportunities were determined. For this purpose, interviews were conducted with 12 selected experts using the purposeful sampling method using the fuzzy total interpretive structural modeling (TISM) method.
Findings
In the first research, this article identified the components of entrepreneurial intelligence of women entrepreneurs in six categories: entrepreneurial insights, cognitive intelligence, social intelligence, intuitive intelligence, presumptuous intelligence and provocative intelligence. In the second study, the components of entrepreneurial intelligence were compared according to the study at the national level and international literature. Finally, in the third study, the evolution of the components of entrepreneurial intelligence was determined. In the first level, social intelligence, presumptuous intelligence and provocative intelligence are formed first and social intelligence and provocative intelligence have an interactive relationship. In the second level, entrepreneurial insight and cognitive intelligence appear, which, in addition to their interactive relationship, take precedence over the entrepreneur's intuitive intelligence in discovering entrepreneurial opportunities. With the evolution of the components of entrepreneurial intelligence in the opportunity creation approach, it is clear that intuitive intelligence is formed first at the first level and takes precedence. At the second level, there is cognitive intelligence is created. At the third level, motivational intelligence and finally, at the last level, entrepreneurial insight, social intelligence and bold intelligence.
Originality/value
This study has the potential to discover credible and robust approaches for further examining the contextualization of women's entrepreneurial intelligence at both national and international levels, thereby advancing new insights. By conceptualizing various components of entrepreneurial intelligence for the first time and exploring how contextual factors differ across nations and internationally for women's entrepreneurship, this paper challenges the assumption that the characteristics of women's entrepreneurial intelligence are uniform worldwide. It also depicts the evolution of the components of entrepreneurial intelligence.
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Alireza Amini, Seyyedeh Shima Hoseini, Arash Haqbin and Vahideh Shahin
Recognizing women’s potential and directing their talents to realize these potentials can be of great benefit. Accordingly, this paper aims to identify the characteristics of…
Abstract
Purpose
Recognizing women’s potential and directing their talents to realize these potentials can be of great benefit. Accordingly, this paper aims to identify the characteristics of entrepreneurial intelligence in female entrepreneurs, drawing on a national-level study and the international literature on this topic.
Design/methodology/approach
The present paper conducted two studies. First, 15 female entrepreneurs in the Guilan province of Iran, who were selected using purposive sampling, were interviewed to identify the characteristics of entrepreneurial intelligence nationally. The data gathered by interviews were analyzed using inductive content analysis. Then, their validity was tested using qualitative validation and analyzed using Shannon entropy. In the second study, the characteristics of female entrepreneurial intelligence were identified through a qualitative metasynthesis. The results of the two studies were compared together.
Findings
This categorized entrepreneurial intelligence into six categories, namely, entrepreneurial insights, cognitive intelligence, social intelligence, intuitive intelligence, presumptuous intelligence and provocative intelligence. Ultimately the characteristics of women’s entrepreneurial intelligence in each category were compared according to the national-level study and the international literature.
Originality/value
This study has the potential to discover credible and robust approaches for further examining the contextualization of women’s entrepreneurial intelligence at both national and international levels, thereby advancing new insights. By conceptualizing various dimensions of entrepreneurial intelligence for the first time and exploring how contextual factors differ across nations and internationally for women’s entrepreneurship, this paper challenges the assumption that the characteristics of women’s entrepreneurial intelligence are uniform across the world.
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Meysam Amini, Esmaeil GhasemiKafrudi, Mohammad Reza Habibi, Azin Ahmadi and Akram HosseinNia
Due to the extensive industrial applications of stagnation flow problems, the present work aims to investigate the magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) flow and heat transfer of a magnetite…
Abstract
Purpose
Due to the extensive industrial applications of stagnation flow problems, the present work aims to investigate the magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) flow and heat transfer of a magnetite nanofluid (here Fe3O4–water nanofluid) impinging a flat porous plate under the effects of a non-uniform magnetic field and chemical reaction with variable reaction rate.
Design/methodology/approach
Similarity transformations are applied to reduce the governing partial differential equations with boundary conditions into a system of ordinary differential equations over a semi-infinite domain. The modified fourth-order Runge–Kutta method with the shooting technique which is developed for unbounded domains is conducted to give approximate solutions of the problem, which are then verified by results of other researchers, showing very good agreements.
Findings
The effects of the volume fraction of nanoparticles, permeability, magnetic field, chemical reaction and Schmidt number on velocity, temperature and concentration fields are examined and graphically illustrated. It was found that fluid velocity and temperature fields are affected strongly by the types of nanoparticles. Moreover, magnetic field and radiation have strong effects on velocity and temperature fields, fluid velocity increases and thickness of the velocity boundary layer decreases as magnetic parameter M increases. The results also showed that the thickness of the concentration boundary layer decreases with an increase in the Schmidt number, as well as an increase in the chemical reaction coefficient.
Research limitations/implications
The thermophysical properties of the magnetite nanofluid (Fe3O4–water nanofluid) in different conditions should be checked.
Practical implications
Stagnation flow of viscous fluid is important due to its vast industrial applications, such as the flows over the tips of rockets, aircrafts, submarines and oil ships. Moreover, nanofluid, a liquid containing a dispersion of sub-micronic solid particles (nanoparticles) with typical length of the order of 1-50 nm, showed abnormal convective heat transfer enhancement, which is remarkable.
Originality/value
The major novelty of the present work corresponds to utilization of a magnetite nanofluid (Fe3O4–water nanofluid) in a stagnation flow influenced by chemical reaction and magnetic field. It should be noted that in addition to a variable chemical reaction, the permeability is non-uniform, while the imposed magnetic field also varies along the sheet. These, all, make the present work rather original.
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Soraiya Ebrahimpour-Koujan, Amir Ali Sohrabpour, Saeid Safari, Nima Baziar, Shima Hadavi, Laleh Payahoo and Samaneh Shabani
Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) is becoming a crucial health problem worldwide. Continued and high-speed mutations of this virus result in the appearance of new…
Abstract
Purpose
Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) is becoming a crucial health problem worldwide. Continued and high-speed mutations of this virus result in the appearance of new manifestations, making the control of this disease difficult. It has been shown that well-nourished patients have strong immune systems who mostly have short-term hospitalization compared to others. The purpose of this study is to review the major nutrients involved in the immune system reinforcement and to explain nutritional aspects during the recovery of COVID-19.
Design/methodology/approach
In this review paper, the mechanistic role of nutrients in boosting the immune system and the nutritional aspects during the recovery of COVID-19 patients were discussed. Papers indexed in scientific databases were searched using antioxidants, COVID-19, inflammation, immune system, macronutrient, micronutrient and probiotic as keywords from 2000 to 2022.
Findings
Because of the adverse effects of drugs like thrombosis, pulmonary embolism and hypercholesterolemia, a balanced diet with enough concentrations of energy and macronutrients could increase the patient's durability. The inflammatory cytokines in a vicious cycle delay patients’ rehabilitation. The main mechanistic roles of micronutrients are attributed to the downregulation of virus replication and are involved in energy homeostasis. Dysbiosis is defined as another disturbance among COVID-19 patients, and supplementation with beneficial strains of probiotics helps to exert anti-inflammatory effects in this regard. Being on a well-planned diet with anti-inflammatory properties could reverse cytokine storms as the major feature of COVID-19. Future studies are needed to determine the safe and effective dose of dietary factors to control the COVID-19 patients.
Originality/value
Being on a well-planned diet with anti-inflammatory properties could reverse cytokine storms as the major feature of COVID-19. Future studies are needed to determine the safe and effective dose of dietary factors to control the COVID-19 patients.