Search results for: operational management

Authors: Adamu Danlami Ahmed

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Inventory management is the determinant of effective and efficient work for any manager. This study looked at the relationship between inventory management and financial performance. The population of the study comprises all conglomerate quoted companies in the Nigerian Stock Exchange market as at 31^st December 2010. The scope of the study covered the period from 2010 to 2014. Descriptive, Pearson correlation and multiple regressions are used to analyze the data. It was found that inventory management is significantly related to the profitability of the company. This entails that an efficient management of the inventory cycle will enhance the profitability of the company. Also, lack of proper management of it will hinder the financial performance of organizations. Based on the results, it was recommended that a conglomerate company should try to see that inventories are kept to a minimum, as well as make sure the proper checks are maintained to make sure only needed inventories are in the store. As well as to keep track of the movement of goods, in order to avoid unnecessary delay of finished and work in progress (WIP) goods in the store and warehouse.

Keywords: finished goods, work in progress, financial performance, inventory

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Authors: Giorgi Gaganidze, Eter Kharaishvili

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The atypical crisis has created new challenges in the education system. Globally, including in Georgia, traditional methods of managing the education system have appeared particularly vulnerable. In addition, new opportunities for the introduction of innovative management of learning processes have emerged. The aim of the research is to identify the main challenges in the field of education management in the distance learning process in Georgia and to develop recommendations on the opportunities for the introduction of innovative management. The paper substantiates the relevance of the research, in particular, it notes that in Georgia, as in many countries, distance learning in higher education institutions became particularly crucial during the Covid-19 pandemic. What is more, theoretical and practical aspects of distance learning are less proven, and a number of problems have been identified in the field of education management in Georgia. The article justifies the need to study the challenges of distance learning for the formation of a sustainable education management system. Within the bibliographic research, there are grouped the opinions of researchers on the modern problems of distance learning and education management in the article. Based on scientific papers, the expectations formed about distance learning are studied, and the main focus is on the existing problems of education management during the atypical crisis. The article discusses the forms and opportunities of distance learning in different countries, evaluates different approaches and challenges to distance learning, and justifies the role of education management in effective distance learning. The paper uses various theoretical-methodological tools of research, including desk research on the research topic; Data selection-grouping, problem identification is carried out by analysis, synthesis, sampling, induction, and other methods;SWOT analysis is used to assess the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of distance education and management; The level of student satisfaction with distance learning is determined through the Population-based / Census-based approach; The results of the research are processed by SPSS program. Quantitative research and semi-structured interviews with relevant focus groups were conducted to identify working directions for innovative management of distance learning and education. Research has shown that the demand for distance education is growing in Georgia, but the need to introduce innovative education management remains a particular challenge. Conclusions have been made on the introduction of innovative education management, and the relevant recommendations have been developed.

Keywords: distance learning, management challenges, education management, innovative management

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Authors: Berfin Yildiz

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These days, increasing global warming effects, limited amount of energy resources, etc., necessitates the awareness that must be present in every profession group. The architecture and construction sectors are responsible for both the embodied and operational energy of the materials. This responsibility has led designers to seek alternative solutions for energy-efficient material selection. The choice of energy-efficient material requires consideration of the entire life cycle, including the building's production, use, and disposal energy. The aim of this study is to investigate the method of material selection of external thermal insulation composite systems (ETICS). Embodied and in-use energy values of material alternatives were used for the evaluation in this study. The operational energy is calculated according to the u-value calculation method defined in the TS 825 (Thermal Insulation Requirements) standard for Turkey, and the embodied energy is calculated based on the manufacturer's Energy Performance Declaration (EPD). ETICS consists of a wall, adhesive, insulation, lining, mechanical, mesh, and exterior finishing materials. In this study, lining, mechanical, and mesh materials were ignored because EPD documents could not be obtained. The material selection problem is designed as a hypothetical volume area (5x5x3m) and defined as a multi-objective discrete optimization problem for external thermal insulation composite systems. Defining the problem as a discrete optimization problem is important in order to choose between materials of various thicknesses and sizes. Since production and use energy values, which are determined as optimization objectives in the study, are often conflicting values, material selection is defined as a multi-objective optimization problem, and it is aimed to obtain many solution alternatives by using Hypervolume (HypE) algorithm. The enrollment process started with 100 individuals and continued for 50 generations. According to the obtained results, it was observed that autoclaved aerated concrete and Ponce block as wall material, glass wool, as insulation material gave better results.

Keywords: embodied energy, multi-objective discrete optimization, performative design, thermal insulation

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Authors: Clement Yeboah

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Prior research concludes that environmental commitment positively drives organisational performance. Nonetheless, the nexus and conditions under which environmental commitment capabilities contribute to a firm’s performance are less understood. The purpose of this quantitative relational study was to examine the relationship between environmental commitment and 500 firms’ performances in Ghana. The researchers further seek to draw insights from the resource-based view to conceptualize environmental commitment and green procurement practices as resource capabilities to enhance firm performance. The researchers used insights from the contingent resource-based view to examine green leadership orientation conditions under which environmental commitment capability contributes to firm performance through green procurement practices. The study’s conceptual framework was tested on primary data from some firms in the Ghanaian market. PROCESS Macro was used to test the study’s hypotheses. Beyond that, green procurement practices mediated the association between environmental commitment capabilities and the firm’s performance. The study further seeks to find out whether green leadership orientation positively moderates the indirect relationship between environmental commitment capabilities and firm performance through green procurement practices. While conventional wisdom suggests that improved environmental commitment capabilities help improve a firm’s performance, this study tested this presumed relationship between environmental commitment capabilities and firm performance and provides theoretical arguments and empirical evidence to justify how green procurement practices uniquely and in synergy with green leadership orientation transform this relationship. The study results indicated a positive correlation between environmental commitment and firm performance. This result suggests that firms that prioritize environmental sustainability and demonstrate a strong commitment to environmentally responsible practices tend to experience better overall performance. This includes financial gains, operational efficiency, enhanced reputation, and improved relationships with stakeholders. The study's findings inform policy formulation in Ghana related to environmental regulations, incentives, and support mechanisms. Policymakers can use the insights to design policies that encourage and reward firms for their environmental commitments, thereby fostering a more sustainable and environmentally responsible business environment. The findings from such research can influence the design and development of educational programs in Ghana, specifically in fields related to sustainability, environmental management, and corporate social responsibility (CSR). Institutions may consider integrating environmental and sustainability topics into their business and management courses to create awareness and promote responsible practices among future business professionals. Also the study results can also promote the adoption of environmental accounting practices in Ghana. By recognizing and measuring the environmental impacts and costs associated with business activities, firms can better understand the financial implications of their environmental commitments and develop strategies for improved performance.

Keywords: firm’s performance, green procurement practice, environmental commitment, environmental management, sustainability

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Authors: Luciana S. Almeida

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Nanotechnology has revolutionized the world of science and technology bringing great expectations due to its great potential of application in the most varied industrial sectors. The same characteristics that make nanoparticles interesting from the point of view of the technological application, these may be undesirable when released into the environment. The small size of nanoparticles facilitates their diffusion and transport in the atmosphere, water, and soil and facilitates the entry and accumulation of nanoparticles in living cells. The main objective of this study is to evaluate the environmental regulatory process of nanomaterials in the Brazilian scenario. Three specific objectives were outlined. The first is to carry out a global scientometric study, in a research platform, with the purpose of identifying the main lines of study of nanomaterials in the environmental area. The second is to verify how environmental agencies in other countries have been working on this issue by means of a bibliographic review. And the third is to carry out an assessment of the Brazilian Nanotechnology Draft Law 6741/2013 with the state environmental agencies. This last one has the aim of identifying the knowledge of the subject by the environmental agencies and necessary resources available in the country for the implementation of the Policy. A questionnaire will be used as a tool for this evaluation to identify the operational elements and build indicators through the Environment of Evaluation Application, a computational application developed for the development of questionnaires. At the end will be verified the need to propose changes in the Draft Law of the National Nanotechnology Policy. Initial studies, in relation to the first specific objective, have already identified that Brazil stands out in the production of scientific publications in the area of nanotechnology, although the minority is in studies focused on environmental impact studies. Regarding the general panorama of other countries, some findings have also been raised. The United States has included the nanoform of the substances in an existing program in the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency), the TSCA (Toxic Substances Control Act). The European Union issued a draft of a document amending Regulation 1907/2006 of the European Parliament and Council to cover the nanoform of substances. Both programs are based on the study and identification of environmental risks associated with nanomaterials taking into consideration the product life cycle. In relation to Brazil, regarding the third specific objective, it is notable that the country does not have any regulations applicable to nanostructures, although there is a Draft Law in progress. In this document, it is possible to identify some requirements related to the environment, such as environmental inspection and licensing; industrial waste management; notification of accidents and application of sanctions. However, it is not known if these requirements are sufficient for the prevention of environmental impacts and if national environmental agencies will know how to apply them correctly. This study intends to serve as a basis for future actions regarding environmental management applied to the use of nanotechnology in Brazil.

Keywords: environment; management; nanotecnology; politics

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Authors: Ayse Begum Kilic, Sevgi Ozkan

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Industry 4.0 (I4.0) is a significant and promising research topic that is expected to gain more importance due to its effects on important concepts like cost, resource management, and accessibility. Instead of focusing those effects in only one area, combining different departments, and see the big picture helps to make more realistic predictions about the future. The aim of this paper is to identify the implications of Industry 4.0 for both supply chain management and human resources management by finding out the topics that take place at the intersection of them. Another objective is helping the readers to realize the expected changes in these two areas due to I4.0 in order to take the necessary steps in advance and make recommendations to catch up the latest trends. The expected changes are concluded from the industry reports and related journal papers in the literature. As found in the literature, this study is the first to combine the Industry 4.0, supply chain management and human resources management and urges to lead future works by finding out the intersections of those three areas. Benefits of I4.0 and the amount, research areas and the publication years of papers on I4.0 in the academic journals are mentioned in this paper. One of the main findings of this research is that a change in the labor force qualifications is expected with the advancements in the technology. There will be a need for higher level of skills from the workers. This will directly affect the human resources management in a way of recruiting and managing those people. Another main finding is, as it is explained with an example in the article, the advancements in the technology will change the place of production. For instance, 'dark factories', a popular topic of I4.0, will enable manufacturers to produce in places that close to their marketplace. The supply chains are expected to be influenced by that change.

Keywords: human resources management, industry 4.0, logistics, supply chain management

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Authors: Tao Ding, Danjia Yan, Jinye Li, Chao Ren, Xinhua Hu

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The paper based on the research background of the current situation of water shortage in China and intelligent management of water resources in the information era. And the paper adopts WebGIS technology, combining the mathematical model of water resources management to develop a WebGIS-based water environment capacity inquiry and polluted water emission planning. The research significance of the paper is that it can inquiry the water environment capacity of Jinhua City in real time and plan how to drain polluted water into the river, so as to realize the effective management of water resources. This system makes sewage planning more convenient and faster. For the planning of the discharge enterprise, the decision on the optimal location of the sewage outlet can be achieved through calculation of the Sewage discharge planning model in the river, without the need for site visits. The system can achieve effective management of water resources and has great application value.

Keywords: sewerage planning, water environment capacity, water resources management, WebGIS

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Authors: Xiaojing Gao, James Njuguna

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This paper emphasizes the importance of integrating project management and systems engineering for innovative system design and production development. The research highlights the need for a flexible approach that unifies these disciplines, as their isolation often leads to communication challenges and complexity within multidisciplinary teams. The paper aims to elucidate the intricate relationship between project management and systems engineering, recommending the consolidation of engineering disciplines into a single lifecycle for improved support of the design and development process. The research identifies a synergy between these disciplines, focusing on streamlining information communication during product design and development. The insights gained from this process can lead to product design optimization. Additionally, the paper introduces a proposed Project Management-Based Systems Engineering (PMBSE) framework, emphasizing effective communication, efficient processes, and advanced tools to enhance product development outcomes within the product lifecycle.

Keywords: system engineering, product design and development, project management, cross-disciplinary

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Authors: Wuttigrai Ngamsirijit

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Talent management in today’s modern organizations has become data-driven due to a demand for objective human resource decision making and development of analytics technologies. HR managers have been faced with some obstacles in exploiting data and information to obtain their effective talent management decisions. These include process-based data and records; insufficient human capital-related measures and metrics; lack of capabilities in data modeling in strategic manners; and, time consuming to add up numbers and make decisions. This paper proposes a framework of talent management through integration of talent value chain and human capital analytics approaches. It encompasses key data, measures, and metrics regarding strategic talent management decisions along the organizational and talent value chain. Moreover, specific predictive and prescriptive models incorporating these data and information are recommended to help managers in understanding the state of talent, gaps in managing talent and the organization, and the ways to develop optimized talent strategies.    

Keywords: decision making, human capital analytics, talent management, talent value chain

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Authors: Sadegh Abedi, Ali Yaghoubi, Hamidreza Mashatzadegan

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This paper proposes an approach to identify key processes required by an organization in the field of knowledge management and aligning them with organizational objectives. For this purpose, first, organization’s most important non-financial objectives which are impacted by knowledge management processes are identified and then, using a quality house, are linked with knowledge management processes which are regarded as technical elements. Using this method, processes that are in need of improvement and more attention are prioritized based on their significance. This means that if a process has more influence on organization’s objectives and is in a dire situation comparing to others, is prioritized for choice and improvement. In this research process dominance is considered to be an influential element in process ranking (in addition to communication matrix). This is the reason for utilizing DEA techniques for prioritizing processes in quality house. Results of implementing the method in Khuzestan steel company represents this method’s capability of identifying key processes that require improvements in organization’s knowledge management system.

Keywords: knowledge management, organizational performance, fuzzy data, envelopment analysis

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Authors: Abenezer Nigussie

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Strategic control practice is a critical exercise, as it provides a sturdy influence towards firms or production partners to achieve the full implementation of effective predetermined plans. The importance of strategic control in a company is often measured by observing the relationship between strategic management and organizational performance. The conventional philosophy of strategic control in academia and the industry places significant emphasis on the ability to plan and execute initiatives. In contrast, the same emphasis on strategic management has received less attention in the housing industry. Although the pressures of project performance can often obscure the wider social, economic, and professional context in which strategic management is undertaken, it is these broad contextual areas that make strategic control a vital issue for construction businesses. Rapidly changing social and technological issues are creating an informed environment that will appear very different in the coming decades from what is experienced in today’s companies. Construction project activity is not adequately led by strategic management tools; projects are mostly executed through simple plans and schedules. The issues that this thesis addresses and solves involve the successful accompaniment of the construction project process through these strategic management tools. The second important aspect is an evaluation of project activity, which is mostly done through simple economic and technical valuation. However, during this research, effective strategic management tools are evaluated and suggested for the assessment of project activities. The research introduces a study of the current strategic management practices of construction companies and also presents the concept of strategic management and the areas that companies need to address to compete in the global market. A summary of an industry survey is documented along with the historical research that prompted the investigation of these topics with a focus on the implementation of tools. Strategic management is a concept that concerns making decisions and taking corrective actions to achieve the future goals and objectives of a company. The objective of this paper is to review the practice of strategic management in construction companies. Questionnaires were distributed to major construction companies listed under categories of each project capable of specifying the complete expression of strategic management tools. Findings of the research showed that the majority of development companies practice strategic management tools in the process and implementation of each tool.

Keywords: strategic management, management, analysis, project management

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Authors: Solomon Ojo

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The study investigated emotional intelligence as a correlate of conflict management styles among managers and supervisors in work organization. The study was a survey and Ex-post facto design was employed. A total of 407 participants took part in the study, and the participants were selected across different work organizations in the six (6) existing Geo-political zones in Nigeria, namely South-West, South East, South-South, North-East, North-West and North-Central. Questionnaire format was used for data collection in the study. Collected data were analyzed by both the Descriptive and Inferential Statistics, specifically using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 21.0. The findings revealed that considerate leadership style was significantly and positively related to the use of collaborating conflict management style, [r(405) = .50**, P < .01]; Considerate leadership style was significantly and positively related to the use of compromising conflict management style, [r(405) = .3**, P < .01]; Considerate leadership style was significantly and positively related to accommodation conflict management style, [r(405) = .64**, P < .01]; Considerate leadership style was not significantly related to competing conflict management style, [r(405) = .07, P > .05]; Considerate leadership style was significantly and negatively related to avoiding conflict management style, [r(405) = -.38**, P < .01]. Further, initiating structural leadership style was significantly and positively related to competing conflict management style, [r(405) = .33**, P < .01], avoiding conflict management style, [r(405) = .41**, P < .01]; collaborating conflict management style [r(405) = 51**, P < .01]. However, the findings showed that initiating structural leadership style was significantly and negatively related to compromising style, [r(405) = -.57**, P < .01] and accommodating style, [r(405) = -.13**, P < .01]. The findings were extensively discussed in relation to the existing body of literature. Moreover, it was concluded that leadership styles of managers and supervisors play a crucial role in the choice and use of conflict management styles in work organizations in Nigeria.

Keywords: conflict management style, emotional, intelligence, leadership style, consideration, initiating structure, work organizations

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Authors: Abongile Zweni

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As a post-apartheid strategy to redress the social imbalances of the past, local governments are tasked with the role of delivering crucial services to their constituents. Apart from political instability, evidence shows that managers in South African municipalities lack effective financial management skills and competencies. This resulted in a failure to fulfill its administrative obligations, particularly municipal financial management. Most municipalities have, however, failed in this role, which has led them to be placed under administration by the provincial government in terms of Section 139 of the constitution of the Republic of South Africa. Thus, this study proposed a leadership conceptual framework for effectively managing ever-eroding municipal finances in South Africa. The study adopted a desktop research approach to explore the key components of leadership and municipal financial management toward the development of the conceptual framework. The study fostered a better understanding of the need for transformation in relation to the current financial management practices and sustainability of a municipality. Moreover, the conceptual framework applies not only to municipalities but also to other government departments and public authorities in the country for financial management.

Keywords: leadership, municipal finance, financial performance, management skills, municipality

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Authors: Gaurav Kumar Sinha

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In an era defined by the proliferation of data and the utilization of cloud computing environments, the efficient transfer and processing of big data workloads across multi-cloud platforms have emerged as critical challenges. This research paper embarks on a comprehensive exploration of the complexities associated with managing and optimizing big data in a multi-cloud ecosystem.The foundation of this study is rooted in the recognition that modern enterprises increasingly rely on multiple cloud providers to meet diverse business needs, enhance redundancy, and reduce vendor lock-in. As a consequence, managing data across these heterogeneous cloud environments has become intricate, necessitating innovative approaches to ensure data integrity, security, and performance.The primary objective of this research is to investigate strategies and techniques for enhancing the efficiency of data transfer and processing in multi-cloud scenarios. It recognizes that big data workloads are characterized by their sheer volume, variety, velocity, and complexity, making traditional data management solutions insufficient for harnessing the full potential of multi-cloud architectures.The study commences by elucidating the challenges posed by multi-cloud environments in the context of big data. These challenges encompass data fragmentation, latency, security concerns, and cost optimization. To address these challenges, the research explores a range of methodologies and solutions. One of the key areas of focus is data transfer optimization. The paper delves into techniques for minimizing data movement latency, optimizing bandwidth utilization, and ensuring secure data transmission between different cloud providers. It evaluates the applicability of dedicated data transfer protocols, intelligent data routing algorithms, and edge computing approaches in reducing transfer times.Furthermore, the study examines strategies for efficient data processing across multi-cloud environments. It acknowledges that big data processing requires distributed and parallel computing capabilities that span across cloud boundaries. The research investigates containerization and orchestration technologies, serverless computing models, and interoperability standards that facilitate seamless data processing workflows.Security and data governance are paramount concerns in multi-cloud environments. The paper explores methods for ensuring data security, access control, and compliance with regulatory frameworks. It considers encryption techniques, identity and access management, and auditing mechanisms as essential components of a robust multi-cloud data security strategy.The research also evaluates cost optimization strategies, recognizing that the dynamic nature of multi-cloud pricing models can impact the overall cost of data transfer and processing. It examines approaches for workload placement, resource allocation, and predictive cost modeling to minimize operational expenses while maximizing performance.Moreover, this study provides insights into real-world case studies and best practices adopted by organizations that have successfully navigated the challenges of multi-cloud big data management. It presents a comparative analysis of various multi-cloud management platforms and tools available in the market.

Keywords: multi-cloud environments, big data workloads, data transfer optimization, data processing strategies

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Authors: P. Annapurna, Cecil Ross, Sudhir Krishna, Sweta Srivastava

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Irradiation plays a pivotal role in cervical cancer treatment, however some tumors exhibit resistance to therapy while some exhibit relapse, due to better repair and enhanced resistance mechanisms operational in their cells. The present study aims to understand the signaling mechanism operational in resistance phenotype and in the present study we report the role of Rho GTPase associated protein kinase (ROCK) signaling in cervical carcinoma radio-resistance. ROCK signaling has been implicated in several tumor progressions and is important for DNA repair. Irradiation of spheroid cultures of SiHa cervical carcinoma derived cell line at 6Gy resulted in generation of resistant cells in vitro which had better clonogenic abilities and formed larger and more colonies, in soft agar colony formation assay, as compared to the non-irradiated cells. These cells also exhibited an enhanced motility phenotype. Cell cycle profiling showed the cells to be blocked in G2M phase with enhanced pCDC2 levels indicating onset of possible DNA repair mechanism. Notably, 3 days post-irradiation, irradiated cells showed increased ROCK2 translocation to the nucleus with enhanced protein expression as compared to the non-irradiated cells. Radio-sensitization of the resistant cells was enhanced using Y27632, an inhibitor to ROCK signaling. The treatment of resistant cells with Y27632 resulted in increased cell death upon further irradiation. This observation has been confirmed using inhibitory antibodies to ROCK1/2. Result show that both ROCK1/2 have a functional contribution in radiation resistance of cervical cancer cells derived from cell lines. Interestingly enrichment of stem like cells (Hoechst negative cells) was also observed upon irradiation and these cells were markedly sensitive to Y27632 treatment. Our results thus suggest the role of ROCK signaling in radio-resistance in cervical carcinoma. Further studies with human biopsies, mice models and mechanistic of ROCK signaling in the context of radio-resistance will clarify the role of this molecule further and allow for therapeutics development.

Keywords: cervical carcinoma, radio-resistance, ROCK signaling, cancer treatment

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Authors: Gechbaia Badri

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In the article, it is studied and realized the perfection issues of service sphere management in Georgia’s reality. As stated above, to transfer the country's economy onto marketing relationships, to form competitive dynamic market is dictated by the time and represents objective necessity. In the last period, the abruptly increasing of changes on science and education caused servicing sphere and producing skills, consumptions based on fields of places and changing role in a structure of the national economy. The main recourse in the new system of the economy became the intellectual capital. The economical progress is significantly determined by developing informational technologies. In the article, it is investigated the service problems of different fields of national economy and are given sentences to settle these problems.

Keywords: service management, service, paradigm, business and management engineering

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Authors: Francine Morales Tavares, Jose Alberto Rio Fernandes

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The expanding concept of Heritage and the increased relevance of how heritage places relate to their surroundings is associated with an important shift in public heritage policies and how they consider the development of cities and communities, with an increasingly relevant role of management. Within the current discussions, management plans, mandatory since the year 2005 in areas classified by UNESCO as World Heritage, it is a tool for the reconciliation of cultural heritage demands with the needs of multiple users of a certain area, being especially critical in the case of urban areas with intense touristic pressure. Considering the transformations of the heritage policy management model, this paper discusses the practices on the integration of cultural heritage in urban policies through indicators which were selected from resource manual 'Managing Cultural World Heritage (2013)' and analyzed two case studies: The Management Plan of the Historic Centre of Porto (Portugal) and The Management Plan for the Historic Site of Olinda (Brazil). The empirical evidence concluded that for the historic centre of Porto the increase of tourism is the main aim driver in the management plan, with positive and negative aspects on the heritage management point of view, unlike Olinda, where the plan for the development of local urban policies was identified as essential. Plans also differ in form, content and process but coincide on being unaligned with committed local political leaders’ agendas, with the consequent misunderstandings between theory and practice, planning and management, and critically missing in the field integration of urban policies. Therefore, more debate about management plans, more efficient tools and also, appropriate methodologies to correlate cultural heritage and urban public policy are still lacking.

Keywords: world heritage, management plan, planning, urban policies

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Authors: Saseyi Olaitan Olaoluwa, Osifeko Olalekan Remigious

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The study was meant to identify the impediments to female sports management and participation in the selected colleges. Seven colleges of education in the south west parts of the country were selected for the study. A total of one hundred and five subjects were sampled to supply data. Only one hundred adequately completed and returned, copies of the questionnaire were used for data analysis. The collected data were analysed descriptively. The result of the study showed that inadequate fund, personnel, facilities equipment, supplies, management of sports, supervision and coaching were some of the impediments to female sports management and participation. Athletes were not encouraged to participate. Based on the findings, it was recommended that the government should come to the aid of the colleges by providing fund and other needs that will make sports attractive for enhanced participation.

Keywords: female sports, impediments, management, Nigeria, south west, colleges

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Authors: Lolwa Alansari, Hanen Mrabet, Kholoud Khaled, Abdelhamid Azhaghdani, Sufia Athar, Aska Kaima, Zaineb Mhamdia, Zubaria Altaf, Almunzer Zakaria, Tamara Alshadafat

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Introduction: The Obstetrics and Gynecology Emergency Department at Alwakra Hospital has faced significant challenges, which have been further worsened by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. These challenges involve issues such as overcrowding, extended wait times, and a notable surge in demand for emergency care services. Moreover, prolonged waiting times have emerged as a primary factor contributing to situations where patients leave without receiving attention, known as left without being seen (LWBS), and unexpectedly abscond. Addressing the issue of insufficient patient mobility in the obstetrics and gynecology emergency department has brought about substantial improvements in patient care, healthcare administration, and overall departmental efficiency. These changes have not only alleviated overcrowding but have also elevated the quality of emergency care, resulting in higher patient satisfaction, better outcomes, and operational rewards. Methodology: The COVID-19 pandemic has served as a catalyst for substantial transformations in the obstetrics and gynecology emergency, aligning seamlessly with the strategic direction of Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC). The fundamental aim of this initiative is to revolutionize the operational efficiency of the OB-GYN ED. To accomplish this mission, a range of transformations has been initiated, focusing on essential areas such as digitizing systems, optimizing resource allocation, enhancing budget efficiency, and reducing overall costs. The project utilized the Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) model, involving a diverse team collecting baseline data and introducing throughput improvements. Post-implementation data and feedback were analysed, leading to the integration of effective interventions into standard procedures. These interventions included optimized space utilization, real-time communication, bedside registration, technology integration, pre-triage screening, enhanced communication and patient education, consultant presence, and a culture of continuous improvement. These strategies significantly reduced waiting times, enhancing both patient care and operational efficiency. Results: Results demonstrated a substantial reduction in overall average waiting time, dropping from 35 to approximately 14 minutes by August 2023. The wait times for priority 1 cases have been reduced from 22 to 0 minutes, and for priority 2 cases, the wait times have been reduced from 32 to approximately 13.6 minutes. The proportion of patients spending less than 8 hours in the OB ED observation beds rose from 74% in January 2022 to over 98% in 2023. Notably, there was a remarkable decrease in LWBS and absconded patient rates from 2020 to 2023. Conclusion: The project initiated a profound change in the department's operational environment. Efficiency became deeply embedded in the unit's culture, promoting teamwork among staff that went beyond the project's original focus and had a positive influence on operations in other departments. This effectiveness not only made processes more efficient but also resulted in significant cost reductions for the hospital. These cost savings were achieved by reducing wait times, which in turn led to fewer prolonged patient stays and reduced the need for additional treatments. These continuous improvement initiatives have now become an integral part of the Obstetrics and Gynecology Division's standard operating procedures, ensuring that the positive changes brought about by the project persist and evolve over time.

Keywords: overcrowding, waiting time, person centered care, quality initiatives

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Authors: Onyeka Nkwonta, Theo Haupt, Karana Padayachee

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This study aims primarily to identify potential causes of the bottlenecks in the public sector that affect delivery and formulate evidence-based interventions to improve delivery and management of infrastructure projects. An initial literature review was carried out on infrastructural development and delivery in South Africa, with the aim to formulate evidence-based interventions to improve delivery within the sector. The infrastructure delivery management model was developed to map out best practice delivery processes. These will become the backbone on which improvement initiatives that will be developed within participating stakeholders. The model will, in turn, support a range of methodologies, including the risk system and a knowledge management framework. It will also look at key challenges facing departments with the ability to ensure knowledge and skills transfer at various sectors. The research is limited because the findings were based on existing literature. This study adopted an indirect approach for infrastructure management by focussing on the challenges faced and approaches adopted to overcome these challenges. This may narrow the consideration of some of the viewpoints, thereby limiting the richness of experience available to this research.

Keywords: infrastructure, management, challenges, South Africa

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Authors: Jeyarajan Sivapathasundram

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Knowledge management has been recognised as an emerging factor for being competitive among institutions and performances in firms. As such, being recognised as knowledge rich institution, higher education institutes have to be recognised knowledge management based resources for achieving competitive advantages. Present research picked result out of postgraduate research conducted in knowledge management at non-state higher educational institutes of Sri Lanka. Besides, the present research aimed to discover knowledge management for competition and firm performances of higher educational institutes out of the result produced by the postgraduate study. Besides, the results are found in a pair that developed out of knowledge management practices and the reason behind the existence of the practices. As such, the present research has developed a filter to pick the pairs that satisfy its condition of competition and performance of the firm. As such, the pair, such as benchmarking is practised to be ethically competing through conducting courses. As the postgraduate research tested results of foreign researches in a qualitative paradigm, the finding of the present research are generalise fact for knowledge management for competitiveness and performances in higher educational institutes. Further, the presented research method used attributes which explain competition and performance in its filter to discover the pairs relevant to competition and performances. As such, the fact in regards to knowledge management for competition and performances in higher educational institutes are presented in the publication that the presentation is out of the generalised result. Therefore, knowledge management for competition and performance in higher educational institutes are generalised.

Keywords: competition in and among higher educational institutes, performances of higher educational institutes, noun based filtering, production out of generalisation of a research

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Authors: Jin Sheng

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This paper addresses a promising area of insurance sector to develop in Asia. Captive insurance, which provides risk-mitigation services for its parent company, has great potentials to develop in energy, infrastructure, agriculture, logistics, catastrophe, and alternative risk transfer (ART), and will greatly affect the framework of insurance industry. However, the Asian captive insurance market only takes a small proportion in the global market. The recent supply chain interruption case of Hanjin Shipping indicates the significance of risk management for an Asian company’s sustainability and resilience. China has substantial needs and great potentials to develop captive insurance, on account of the currency volatility, enterprises’ credit risks, and legal and operational risks of the Belt and Road initiative. Up to date, Mainland Chinese enterprises only have four offshore captives incorporated by CNOOC, Sinopec, Lenovo and CGN Power), three onshore captive insurance companies incorporated by CNPC, China Railway, and COSCO, as well as one industrial captive insurance organization - China Ship-owners Mutual Assurance Association. Its captive market grows slowly with one or two captive insurers licensed yearly after September 2011. As an international financial center, Hong Kong has comparative advantages in taxation, professionals, market access and well-established financial infrastructure to develop a functional captive insurance market. For example, Hong Kong’s income tax for an insurance company is 16.5%; while China's income tax for an insurance company is 25% plus business tax of 5%. Furthermore, restrictions on market entry and operations of China’s onshore captives make establishing offshore captives in international or regional captive insurance centers such as Singapore, Hong Kong, and other overseas jurisdictions to become attractive options. Thus, there are abundant business opportunities in this area. Using methodology of comparative studies and case analysis, this paper discusses the incorporation, regulatory issues, taxation and prospect of captive insurance market in Hong Kong, China and Singapore. Hong Kong and Singapore are both international financial centers with prominent advantages in tax concessions, technology, implementation, professional services, and well-functioning legal system. Singapore, as the domicile of 71 active captives, has been the largest captive insurance hub in Asia, as well as an established reinsurance hub. Hong Kong is an emerging captive insurance hub with 5 to 10 newly licensed captives each year, according to the Hong Kong Financial Services Development Council. It is predicted that Hong Kong will become a domicile for 50 captive insurers by 2025. This paper also compares the formation of a captive in Singapore with other jurisdictions such as Bermuda and Vermont.

Keywords: Alternative Risk Transfer (ART), captive insurance company, offshore captives, risk management, reinsurance, self-insurance fund

Procedia PDF Downloads 217

Authors: Weera Weerasophon

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This research aims to study and survey a potential in the areas affecting development and study of management factors affecting cultural tourism for Suansunandha Rajabhat University in a model of a qualitative research as a survey research. The sample population includes executives, faculty members, and persons related to university management of Suansunandha Rajabhat University, the total number is 5 persons. The researcher distributed in-depth interview form for tools used in the research. The obtained data was brought to conduct content analysis by brainstorming from expert academician to persons related to university management of Suansunandha Rajabhat University in order to consider readiness in cultural tourism management for Suansunandha Rajabhat University, to analyze and develop to be a guideline for the development of Suansunandha Rajabhat University for promoting cultural tourism. From the study results, it is found that the factors of readiness in management, planning, organizing, personnel management, leadership and guiding, coordination, controlling, budgeting and marketing could influence to be a guideline for development of Suansunandha Rajabhat Universiy in order to promote cultural tourism; therefore, the university should prepare more plans concerning related matters, as well as development, determining form and policy of Suansunandha Rajabhat University.

Keywords: cultural tourism, Suansunandha Rajabhat University, tourism management, guideline of development

Procedia PDF Downloads 324

Authors: Stephanie K. Douglas, Gordon R. Haley

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Organizations face increasing disruptions, changes, and uncertainties through the rapid shifts in the economy and business environment. A capacity for resilience is necessary for organizations to survive and thrive in such adverse conditions. Learning is an essential component of an organization's capability for building resilience. Strategic human resource management is a principal component of learning and organizational resilience. To achieve organizational resilience, human resource management strategies must support individual knowledge, skills, and ability development through organizational learning. This study aimed to contribute to the comprehensive knowledge of the relationship between strategic human resource management and organizational learning to build organizational resilience. The organizational learning dimensions of knowledge acquisition, knowledge distribution, knowledge interpretation, and organizational memory can be fostered through human resource management strategies and then aggregated to the organizational level to build resilience.

Keywords: human resource development, human resource management, organizational learning, organizational resilience

Procedia PDF Downloads 127

Authors: Yuan-lin Liu, Ye Li, Tian Xia

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There are some shortcomings in Chinese existing taxi management modes. This paper suggests to establish the third-party comprehensive information management platform and put forward an evaluation model based on credit. Four indicators are used to evaluate the drivers’ credit, they are passengers’ evaluation score, driving behavior evaluation, drivers’ average bad record number, and personal credit score. A weighted clustering method is used to achieve credit level evaluation for taxi drivers. The management of taxi industry is based on the credit level, while the grade of the drivers is accorded to their credit rating. Credit rating determines the cost, income levels, the market access, useful period of license and the level of wage and bonus, as well as violation fine. These methods can make the credit evaluation effective. In conclusion, more credit data will help to set up a more accurate and detailed classification standard library.

Keywords: credit, mobile internet, e-hailing taxi, management mode, weighted cluster

Procedia PDF Downloads 306

Authors: Rozo D. Juan Felipe, Ramírez L. Leonardo Juan, Puerta A. Gabriel Alberto

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The telemedicine services require correct computing resource management to guarantee productivity and efficiency for medical and non-medical staff. The aim of this study was to examine web management strategies to ensure the availability of resources and services in telemedicine so as to provide medical information management with an accessible strategy. In addition, to evaluate the quality-of-service parameters, the followings were measured: delays, throughput, jitter, latency, available bandwidth, percent of access and denial of services based of web management performance map with profiles permissions and database management. Through 24 different test scenarios, the results show 100% in availability of medical information, in relation to access of medical staff to web services, and quality of service (QoS) of 99% because of network delay and performance of computer network. The findings of this study suggest that the proposed strategy of web management is an ideal solution to guarantee the availability, reliability, and accessibility of medical information. Finally, this strategy offers seven user profile used at telemedicine center of Bogota-Colombia keeping QoS parameters suitable to telemedicine services.

Keywords: availability, medical information, QoS, strategy, telemedicine

Procedia PDF Downloads 190

Authors: Kuo-Wei Hsu, Wei-Chin Lo

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In these years, urban agriculture development has been wide spreading all over the world. The development of urban agriculture is an evolution process of highly urbanization, as well as an agricultural phenomenon closely related to the development of economy, society and culture in urban areas. It provides densely populated areas with multi-functional uses of land, impacting strategic development of both large and small towns in the area. In addition, the participation of social enterprises keeps industrial competitiveness and makes gains when facing rapid transformation of industrial structures and new patterns of lifestyles in urban areas. They create better living conditions as well as protect the environment with innovative business beliefs, which give new ways for development of urban agriculture. Also, through building up the value chain, these social enterprises are capable of creating value for urban agriculture. Most of research regarding to social enterprises currently explore the relationship between corporate responsibilities and its role play, operational mode and performance and organizational patterns. Merely some of them discuss the function of social entrepreneurship in the development of urban agriculture. Moreover, none of them have explored the value creation for development of urban agriculture processed by social enterprises, as well as how social enterprises operate to increase competitive advantages, which make it possible to achieve industrial innovation, increase corporate value and even provide services with value creation. Therefore, this research mainly reviews current business patterns and operational conditions of social enterprises. This research endowed social responsibilities, and discusses current development process of urban agriculture. This research adopts Value Chain perspective to discuss key factors for value creation with respect to the development of urban agriculture processed by social enterprises. Thereby after organization and integration this research develops the prospect of value creation referring to urban agriculture processed by social enterprises and builds the value chain for urban agriculture. In conclusion, this research explored the relationship between value chain and value creation, which relates to values of customer, enterprise, society and economy referring to the development of urban agriculture uniquely, in consideration of the participation of social enterprises, and hence built the connection between value chain and value creation in the development of urban agriculture by social enterprises. The research found, social enterprises help to enhance the connection between the enterprise value and society value, mold corporate image with social responsibility and create brand value, and therefore impact the increase of economic value.

Keywords: urban agriculture development, value chain, social enterprise, urban systems

Procedia PDF Downloads 465

Authors: F. Mohammadsadeghi

Abstract:

Relevance of research: Axial compressors are used in both aircraft engine construction and ground-based gas turbine engines. The compressor is considered to be one of the main gas turbine engine units, which define absolute and relative indicators of engine in general. Failure of compressor often leads to drastic consequences. Therefore, safe (stable) operation must be maintained when using axial compressor. Currently, we can observe a tendency of increase of power unit, productivity, circumferential velocity and compression ratio of axial compressors in gas turbine engines of aircraft and ground-based application whereas metal consumption of their structure tends to fall. This causes the increase of dynamic loads as well as danger of damage of high load compressor or engine structure elements in general due to transient processes. In operating practices of aeronautical engineering and ground units with gas turbine drive the operational stability failure of gas turbine engines is one of relatively often failure causes what can lead to emergency situations. Surge occurrence is considered to be an absolute buckling failure. This is one of the most dangerous and often occurring types of instability. However detailed were the researches of this phenomenon the development of measures for surge before-the-fact prevention is still relevant. This is why the research of transient processes for axial compressors is necessary in order to provide efficient, stable and secure operation. The paper addresses the problem of automatic control system improvement by integrating the anti-surge algorithms for axial compressor of aircraft gas turbine engine. Paper considers dynamic exhaustion of gas dynamic stability of compressor stage, results of numerical simulation of airflow flowing through the airfoil at design and stalling modes, experimental researches to form the criteria that identify the compressor state at pre-surge mode detection. Authors formulated basic ways for developing surge preventing systems, i.e. forming the algorithms that allow detecting the surge origination and the systems that implement the proposed algorithms.

Keywords: axial compressor, rotation stall, Surg, unstable operation of gas turbine engine

Procedia PDF Downloads 396

Authors: F. Murilo T. Luna, Vanessa F. Oliveira, Alysson Rocha, Expedito J. S. Parente, Andre V. Bueno, Matheus C. M. Farias, Celio L. Cavalcante Jr.

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Aviation jetfuel used in aircraft gas-turbine engines is customarily obtained from the kerosene distillation fraction of petroleum (150-275°C). Mineral jetfuel consists of a hydrocarbon mixture containing paraffins, naphthenes and aromatics, with low olefins content. In order to ensure their safety, several stringent requirements must be met by jetfuels, such as: high energy density, low risk of explosion, physicochemical stability and low pour point. In this context, aviation fuels eventually obtained from biofeedstocks (which have been coined as ‘biojetfuel’), must be used as ‘drop in’, since adaptations in aircraft engines are not desirable, to avoid problems with their operation reliability. Thus, potential aviation biofuels must present the same composition and physicochemical properties of conventional jetfuel. Among the potential feedtstocks for aviation biofuel, the babaçu oil, extracted from a palm tree extensively found in some regions of Brazil, contains expressive quantities of short chain saturated fatty acids and may be an interesting choice for biojetfuel production. In this study, biojetfuel was synthesized through homogeneous transesterification of babaçu oil using methanol and its properties were compared with petroleum-based jetfuel through measurements of oxidative stability, physicochemical properties and low temperature properties. The transesterification reactions were carried out using methanol and after decantation/wash procedures, the methyl esters were purified by molecular distillation under high vacuum at different temperatures. The results indicate significant improvement in oxidative stability and pour point of the products when compared to the fresh oil. After optimization of operational conditions, potential biojetfuel samples were obtained, consisting mainly of C8 esters, showing low pour point and high oxidative stability. Jet engine tests are being conducted in an automated test bed equipped with pollutant emissions analysers to study the operational performance of the biojetfuel that was obtained and compare with a mineral commercial jetfuel.

Keywords: biojetfuel, babaçu oil, oxidative stability, engine tests

Procedia PDF Downloads 249

Authors: Marcelo Sifuentes López

Abstract:

Strategic performance definition and follow-up processes have to be clear in order to provide value in today’s competitive world. Customer expectations must be linked to internal organization strategic objectives leading to profitability and supported by visibility and flexibility among others.By taking a whole picture of the supply chain, the executive, and its team will define the current supply chain situation and an insight into potential opportunities to improve processes and provide value to main stakeholders. A systematic performance evaluation process based on operational and financial indicators defined by customer requirements needs to be implemented and periodically reviewed in order to mitigate costs and risks on time.Supplier long term relationship and collaboration plays a key role using resources available, real-time communication, innovation and new ways to capitalize global opportunities like emerging markets; efforts have to focus on the reduction of uncertainties in supply and demand. Leadership has to promote consistency of communication and execution involving suppliers, customers, and the entire organization through the support of a strategic sourcing methodology that assure the targeted competitive strategy and sustainable growth. As customer requirements and expectations are met, results could be captured in a casual picture like a “selfie”; where outcomes could be perceived from any desired angle by them; or like most “selfies”, can be taken with a camera held at arm's length by a third party company rather than using a self-timer.

Keywords: supply chain management, competitive advantage, value creation, collaboration and innovation, global marketplace

Procedia PDF Downloads 431