Search results for: Perceived Organizational Support

Authors: Nebi Gedik

Abstract:

The goal of motor image brain computer interface research is to create a link between the central nervous system and a computer or device. The most important signal for brain-computer interface is the electroencephalogram. The aim of this research is to explore a set of effective features from EEG signals, separated into frequency bands, using wave atom sub-bands to discriminate right and left-hand motor imagery signals. Over the transform coefficients, feature vectors are constructed for each frequency range and each transform sub-band, and their classification performances are tested. The method is validated using EEG signals from the BCI competition III dataset IIIa and classifiers such as support vector machine and k-nearest neighbors.

Keywords: motor imagery, EEG, Wave atom transform sub-bands, SVM, k-NN

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Authors: Luis M. Villar, Olga M. Alegre

Abstract:

Finding effective ways of improving university quality assurance requires, as well, a retraining of the staff. This article illustrates an Online Programme of Excellence Model (OPEM), based on the European quality assurance model, for improving participants- formative programme standards. The results of applying this OPEM indicate the necessity of quality policies that support the evaluators- competencies to improve formative programmes. The study concludes by outlining how faculty and agency staff can use OPEM for the internal and external quality assurance of formative programmes.

Keywords: Formative assessment, Online faculty excellence program, Teaching competencies, University quality assurance.

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Authors: Thossaporn Thossansin, Auttapon Pomsathit

Abstract:

This paper presents a comparison between using a desktop web application and a mobile application for students enrolling in courses at Rangsit University, Thailand. In addition, Rangsit University has enhanced the enrollment process by leveraging its information systems, which allows students to choose to enroll in courses online. In order to use the system, students must provide their identification and personal documents for registration. The reason to have a mobile application is to support students’ ability to access the system at anytime, anywhere and anyplace. The objective of this paper was to: 1. Evaluate the success of developing a user friendly mobile device system and 2. Measure user interest in future mobile development.

Keywords: Mobile Application, Web Application and Enrollment System.

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Authors: A. de Folly d’Auris, R. Bagatin, P. Filtri

Abstract:

This paper discusses the importance of having a good initial characterization of soil samples when thermal desorption has to be applied to polluted soils for the removal of contaminants. Particular attention has to be devoted on the desorption kinetics of the samples to identify the gases evolved during the heating, and contaminant degradation pathways. In this study, two samples coming from different points of the same contaminated site were considered. The samples are much different from each other. Moreover, the presence of high initial quantity of heavy hydrocarbons strongly affected the performance of thermal desorption, resulting in formation of dangerous intermediates. Analytical techniques such TGA (Thermogravimetric Analysis), DSC (Differential Scanning Calorimetry) and GC-MS (Gas Chromatography-Mass) provided a good support to give correct indication for field application.

Keywords: Desorption kinetics, hydrocarbons, thermal desorption, thermogravimetric measurements.

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Authors: M. N. Osman Zahid, K. Case, D. Watts

Abstract:

This paper reports an advanced approach in the application of CNC machining for rapid manufacturing processes (CNC-RM). The aim of this study is to improve the quality of machined parts by introducing different cutting tools during finishing operations. As the cutting is performed in different directions, the surfaces presented on part can be classified into several categories. Therefore, suitable cutting tools are assigned to machine particular surfaces and to improve the quality. Experimental studies have been carried out by fabricating several parts based on the suggested approach. The results provide further support for implementing this approach in rapid machining processes.

Keywords: CNC machining, End mill tool, Finishing operation, Rapid manufacturing.

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Authors: Nazar Zaki, Safaai Deris, Hany Alashwal

Abstract:

Detecting protein-protein interactions is a central problem in computational biology and aberrant such interactions may have implicated in a number of neurological disorders. As a result, the prediction of protein-protein interactions has recently received considerable attention from biologist around the globe. Computational tools that are capable of effectively identifying protein-protein interactions are much needed. In this paper, we propose a method to detect protein-protein interaction based on substring similarity measure. Two protein sequences may interact by the mean of the similarities of the substrings they contain. When applied on the currently available protein-protein interaction data for the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the proposed method delivered reasonable improvement over the existing ones.

Keywords: Protein-Protein Interaction, support vector machine, feature extraction, pairwise alignment, Smith-Waterman score.

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Authors: Valeria M. Pequeno, Joao Carlos G. M. Pires

Abstract:

Data Warehouses (DWs) are repositories which contain the unified history of an enterprise for decision support. The data must be Extracted from information sources, Transformed and integrated to be Loaded (ETL) into the DW, using ETL tools. These tools focus on data movement, where the models are only used as a means to this aim. Under a conceptual viewpoint, the authors want to innovate the ETL process in two ways: 1) to make clear compatibility between models in a declarative fashion, using correspondence assertions and 2) to identify the instances of different sources that represent the same entity in the real-world. This paper presents the overview of the proposed framework to model the ETL process, which is based on the use of a reference model and perspective schemata. This approach provides the designer with a better understanding of the semantic associated with the ETL process.

Keywords: conceptual data model, correspondence assertions, data warehouse, data integration, ETL process, object relational database.

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Authors: M. Samaka

Abstract:

This paper presents the development of a software application for Off-line robot task programming and simulation. Such application is designed to assist in robot task planning and to direct manipulator motion on sensor based programmed motion. The concept of the designed programming application is to use the power of the knowledge base for task accumulation. In support of the programming means, an interactive graphical simulation for manipulator kinematics was also developed and integrated into the application as the complimentary factor to the robot programming media. The simulation provides the designer with useful, inexpensive, off-line tools for retain and testing robotics work cells and automated assembly lines for various industrial applications.

Keywords: Robot programming, task-level programming, robot languages, robot simulation, robotics software.

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Authors: Jorge Cardoso

Abstract:

Workflow Management Systems (WfMS) alloworganizations to streamline and automate business processes and reengineer their structure. One important requirement for this type of system is the management and computation of the Quality of Service(QoS) of processes and workflows. Currently, a range of Web processes and workflow languages exist. Each language can be characterized by the set of patterns they support. Developing andimplementing a suitable and generic algorithm to compute the QoSof processes that have been designed using different languages is a difficult task. This is because some patterns are specific to particular process languages and new patterns may be introduced in future versions of a language. In this paper, we describe an adaptive algorithm implemented to cope with these two problems. The algorithm is called adaptive since it can be dynamically changed as the patterns of a process language also change.

Keywords: quality of service, web processes, workflows, web services

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Authors: Cyrille Lambert, Tatiana Kalganova, Emanuele Stomeo, Manissa Wilson

Abstract:

A multi-board run-time reconfigurable (MRTR) system for evolvable hardware (EHW) is introduced with the aim to implement on hardware the bidirectional incremental evolution (BIE) method. The main features of this digital intrinsic EHW solution rely on the multi-board approach, the variable chromosome length management and the partial configuration of the reconfigurable circuit. These three features provide a high scalability to the solution. The design has been written in VHDL with the concern of not being platform dependant in order to keep a flexibility factor as high as possible. This solution helps tackling the problem of evolving complex task on digital configurable support.

Keywords: Evolvable Hardware, Evolutionary Strategy, multiboardFPGA system.

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Authors: N. Rezaee, M Nayeripour, A. Roosta, T. Niknam

Abstract:

With the prevalence of computer and development of information technology, Geographic Information Systems (GIS) have long used for a variety of applications in electrical engineering. GIS are designed to support the analysis, management, manipulation and mapping of spatial data. This paper presents several usages of GIS in power utilities such as automated route selection for the construction of new power lines which uses a dynamic programming model for route optimization, load forecasting and optimizing planning of substation-s location and capacity with comprehensive algorithm which involves an accurate small-area electric load forecasting procedure and simulates the different cost functions of substations.

Keywords: Geographic information systems (GIS), optimallocation and capacity, power distribution planning, route selection, spatial load forecasting.

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Authors: Soottipoom Yaowiwat, Manoj Lohatepanont, Proadpran Punyabukkana

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Several approaches such as linear programming, network modeling, greedy heuristic and decision support system are well-known approaches in solving irregular airline operation problem. This paper presents an alternative approach based on Multi Objective Micro Genetic Algorithm. The aim of this research is to introduce the concept of Multi Objective Micro Genetic Algorithm as a tool to solve irregular airline operation, combine and reroute problem. The experiment result indicated that the model could obtain optimal solutions within a few second.

Keywords: Irregular Airline Operation, Combine and RerouteRoutine, Genetic Algorithm, Micro Genetic Algorithm, Multi ObjectiveOptimization, Evolutionary Algorithm.

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Authors: Saeed AL-Rashdy, Qing Guo

Abstract:

The IEEE802.16 standard which has emerged as Broadband Wireless Access (BWA) technology, promises to deliver high data rate over large areas to a large number of subscribers in the near future. This paper analyze the effect of overheads over capacity of downlink (DL) of orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA)–based on the IEEE802.16e mobile WiMAX system with and without overheads. The analysis focuses in particular on the impact of Adaptive Modulation and Coding (AMC) as well as deriving an algorithm to determine the maximum numbers of subscribers that each specific WiMAX sector may support. An analytical study of the WiMAX propagation channel by using Cost- 231 Hata Model is presented. Numerical results and discussion estimated by using Matlab to simulate the algorithm for different multi-users parameters.

Keywords: BWA, mobile WiMAX, capacity, AMC , overheads.

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Authors: Rattanathip Rattanachai, Kunyanuth Kularbphettong

Abstract:

This paper describes the development of a Vegetation Searching System based on Web Application in case of Suan Sunandha Rajabhat University. The model was developed by PHP, JavaScript and MySQL database system and it was designed to support searching for endemic and rare species of trees on Web site. We describe the design methods and functional components of this prototype. To evaluate the system performance, questionnaires for the system usability and Black Box Testing were used to measure expert and user satisfaction. The results were satisfactory as followed: Means for experts and users were 4.30 and 4.50, and standard deviation for experts and users were 0.61and 0.73 respectively. Further analysis showed that the quality of the plant searching Website was also at a good level as well.

Keywords: Endemic species, Vegetation, Web based System, and Black Box Testing.

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Authors: Ju-Chun Chien

Abstract:

The Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion proposed that the role of health services should shift the focus from cure to prevention. Nowadays, besides having physical examinations, people could also conduct genetic tests to provide important information for diagnosing, treating, and/or preventing illnesses. However, because of the incompletion of the Chinese Genetic Database, people in Taiwan were still unfamiliar with genetic testing. The purposes of the present study were to: (1) Figure out people’s attitudes towards genetic testing. (2) Examine factors that influence people’s intention to pursue genetic testing by means of the Health Belief Model (HBM). A pilot study was conducted on 249 Taiwanese in 2017 to test the feasibility of the self-developed instrument. The reliability and construct validity of scores on the self-developed questionnaire revealed that this HBM-based questionnaire with 40 items was a well-developed instrument. A total of 542 participants were recruited and the valid participants were 535 (99%) between the ages of 20 and 86. Descriptive statistics, one-way ANOVA, two-way contingency table analysis, Pearson’s correlation, and stepwise multiple regression analysis were used in this study. The main results were that only 32 participants (6%) had already undergone genetic testing; moreover, their attitude towards genetic testing was more positive than those who did not have the experience. Compared with people who never underwent genetic tests, those who had gone for genetic testing had higher self-efficacy, greater intention to pursue genetic testing, had academic majors in health-related fields, had chronic and genetic diseases, possessed Catastrophic Illness Cards, and all of them had heard about genetic testing. The variables that best predicted people’s intention to pursue genetic testing were cues to action, self-efficacy, and perceived benefits (the three variables all correlated with one another positively at high magnitudes). To sum up, the HBM could be effective in designing and identifying the needs and priorities of the target population to pursue genetic testing.

Keywords: Genetic testing, intention to pursue genetic testing, Taiwan, health belief model.

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Authors: G. Shruthi, Purohit Shrinivasacharya

Abstract:

The biggest problem in cloud is securing an outsourcing data. A cloud environment cannot be considered to be trusted. It becomes more challenging when outsourced data sources are managed by multiple outsourcers with different access rights. Several methods have been proposed to protect data confidentiality against the cloud service provider to support fine-grained data access control. We propose a method with combined Cipher Text Policy Attribute-based Encryption (CP-ABE) and Timed-release encryption (TRE) secure method to control medical data storage in public cloud.

Keywords: Attribute, encryption, security, trapdoor.

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Authors: C. C. Yee, Y.Y.Chen

Abstract:

Performance appraisal of employee is important in managing the human resource of an organization. With the change towards knowledge-based capitalism, maintaining talented knowledge workers is critical. However, management classification of “outstanding", “poor" and “average" performance may not be an easy decision. Besides that, superior might also tend to judge the work performance of their subordinates informally and arbitrarily especially without the existence of a system of appraisal. In this paper, we propose a performance appraisal system using multifactorial evaluation model in dealing with appraisal grades which are often express vaguely in linguistic terms. The proposed model is for evaluating staff performance based on specific performance appraisal criteria. The project was collaboration with one of the Information and Communication Technology company in Malaysia with reference to its performance appraisal process.

Keywords: Multifactorial Evaluation Model, performance appraisal system, decision support system.

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Authors: Iman Ali Ahmed Al-Rashed

Abstract:

This paper directs attention to the limitations of the teacher-centered strategy in teaching. The aim of this study is to draw more educational attention to learner-centered strategy in order to shift the emphasis from the traditional concept of teaching to a new concept in teaching. To begin bridging the traditional concept of teaching and the new concept, the study will explore the new concept of teaching to support teaching in Arab World generally and in Iraq specifically. A qualitative case study orientation was used to collect data in the form of classroom observations, interviews and field notes. The teaching practices used by three university instructors are investigated and according to the findings, some explanations and recommendations are made.

Keywords: Case study, learner-centered strategy, qualitative study, teacher-centered strategy, traditional teaching.

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Authors: R. Boondao, A. J. Hurst, J. I. Sheard

Abstract:

In the globalized e-learning environment, students coming from different cultures and countries have different characteristics and require different support designed for their approaches to study and learning styles. This paper explores the ways in which cultural background influences students- approaches to study and learning styles. Participants in the study consisted of 131 eastern students and 54 western students from an Australian university. The students were tested using the Study Process Questionnaire (SPQ) for assessing their approaches to study and the Index of Learning Styles Questionnaire (ILS) for assessing their learning styles. The results of the study led to a set of principles being proposed to guide personalization of e-learning system design on the basis of cultural differences.

Keywords: Approaches to study, Cultural influences, Learningstyles, Personalization, e-learning system.

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Authors: Fawaz A. Masoud, Heba_tallah Khattab, Mahmoud Al-Karazoon

Abstract:

The database reverse engineering problems and solving processes are getting mature, even though, the academic community is facing the complex problem of knowledge transfer, both in university and industrial contexts. This paper presents a new CASE tool developed at the University of Jordan which addresses an efficient support of this transfer, namely UJ-CASE-TOOL. It is a small and self-contained application exhibiting representative problems and appropriate solutions that can be understood in a limited time. It presents an algorithm that describes the developed academic CASE tool which has been used for several years both as an illustration of the principles of database reverse engineering and as an exercise aimed at academic and industrial students.

Keywords: Reverse engineering, ERD, DBRE, case tools.

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Authors: H. El-Madbouly

Abstract:

For future Broad band ISDN, Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) is designed not only to support a wide range of traffic classes with diverse flow characteristics, but also to guarantee the different quality of service QOS requirements. The QOS may be measured in terms of cell loss probability and maximum cell delay. In this paper, ATM networks in which the virtual path (VP) concept is implemented are considered. By applying the Markov Deterministic process method, an efficient algorithm to compute the minimum capacity required to satisfy the QOS requirements when multiple classes of on-off are multiplexed on to a single VP. Using the result, we then proposed a simple algorithm to determine different combinations of VP to achieve the optimum of the total capacity required for satisfying the individual QOS requirements (loss- delay).

Keywords: Bandwidth allocation, Quality of services, ATMNetwork, virtual path.

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Authors: Rabah Diabi

Abstract:

As known, the guard wires of overhead high voltage are usually grounded through the grounding systems of support and of the terminal stations. They do affect the zero sequence impedance value of the line, Z0, which is generally, calculated assuming that the wires guard are at ground potential. In this way it is not considered the effect of the resistances of earth of supports and stations. In this work is formed a formula for the calculation of Z0 which takes account of said resistances. Is also proposed a method of calculating the impedance zero sequence overhead lines in which, in various sections or spans, the guard wires are connected to the supports, or isolated from them, or are absent. Parametric analysis is given for lines 220 kV and 400 kV, which shows the extent of the errors made with traditional methods of calculation.

Keywords: Overhead line, power system, zero sequence, wire guard, grounding.

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Authors: Angelo Thurairajah

Abstract:

Sufficient ultimate deformation is necessary to demonstrate the member ductility, which is dependent on the section and the material ductility. The concrete cracking phase of softening prior to the plastic hinge formation is an essential feature as well. The nature of the overload behaviour is studied using the order of the ultimate deflection. The ultimate deflection is primarily dependent on the slenderness (span to depth ratio), the ductility of the reinforcing steel, the degree of moment redistribution, the type of loading, and the support conditions. The ultimate deflection and the degree of moment redistribution from the analytical study are in good agreement with the experimental results and the moment redistribution provisions of the Australian Standards AS3600 Concrete Structures Code.

Keywords: Ductility, softening, ultimate deflection, overload behaviour, moment redistribution.

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Authors: Wondwosen Teshome B.

Abstract:

Since 1991 Ethiopia has officially adopted multi-party democracy. At present, there are 89 registered political parties in the country. Though political parties play an important role in the functioning of a democratic government, how to fund them is an issue of major concern. Political parties and individual candidates running for political office have to raise funds for election campaigns, and to survive as political candidates. The aim of this paper is to examine party funding problems in Africa by taking the case of Ethiopia as an example. The paper also evaluates the motives of local and international donors in giving financial and material support to political parties in emerging democracies and assesses the merits and de-merits of their donations.

Keywords: Africa, State funding, Ethiopia, Political finance, Political party, Western donors.

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Authors: D. Mohd Nazrul Hisham, J. Mohd Lip, R. Suri, H. Mohamed Shafit, Z.Kharis, K. Shazlin, A. Normah, M.F. Nurul Nabilah

Abstract:

Presence of phytosterol compound in Durian seed (Durio zibethinus) or known as King of fruits has been discovered from screening work using reagent test. Further analysis work has been carried out using mass spectrometer in order to support the priliminary finding. Isolation and purification of the major phytosterol has been carried out using an open column chromatography. The separation was monitored using thin layer chromatography (TLC). Major isolated compounds and purified phytosterol were identified using mass spectrometer and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). This novel finding could promote utilization of durian seeds as a functional ingredient in food products through production of standardized extract based on phytosterol content.

Keywords: Agrowaste, durian, seed, phytosterol

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Authors: Alicia Y. C. Tang, Rukaini Hj. Abdullah, Sharifuddin M. Zain

Abstract:

This paper discusses the development of a qualitative simulator (abbreviated QRiOM) for predicting the behaviour of organic chemical reactions. The simulation technique is based on the qualitative process theory (QPT) ontology. The modelling constructs of QPT embody notions of causality which can be used to explain the behaviour of a chemical system. The major theme of this work is that, in a qualitative simulation environment, students are able to articulate his/her knowledge through the inspection of explanations generated by software. The implementation languages are Java and Prolog. The software produces explanation in various forms that stresses on the causal theories in the chemical system which can be effectively used to support learning.

Keywords: Chemical reactions, explanation, qualitative processtheory, simulation

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Authors: Randhir Singh Baghel, Govind Shay Sharma

Abstract:

In this paper, we explore an ecosystem that contains a three-species food chain. The first and second species are in competition with one another for resources. However, the third species plays an important role in providing non-linear Crowley-Martin functional support for the first species. Additionally, the third species consumes the second species in a linear fashion, taking advantage of the available resources. This intricate balance ensures the survival of all three species in the ecosystem. A set of non-linear isolated first-order differential equations establish this model. We examine the system's stability at all potential equilibrium locations using the perturbed technique. Furthermore, by spending a lot of time observing the species in their natural habitat, the numerical illustrations at suitable parameter values for the model are shown.

Keywords: Competition, predator, response function, local stability, numerical simulations.

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Authors: Yu-Chun Lin

Abstract:

We identify clawback triggers from firms- proxy statements (Form DEF 14A) and use the likelihood of restatements to proxy for financial reporting quality. Based on a sample of 578 U.S. firms that voluntarily adopt clawback provisions during 2003-2009, when restatement-based triggers could be decomposed into two types: fraud and unintentional error, and we do observe the evidence that using fraud triggers is associated with high financial reporting quality. The findings support that fraud triggers can enhance deterrent effect of clawback provision by establishing a viable disincentive against fraud, misconduct, and otherwise harmful acts. These results are robust to controlling for the compensation components, to different sample specifications and to a number of sensitivity.

Keywords: Accruals quality, Clawback provisions, Compensation, Restatements.

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Authors: I. Khutsishvili, G. Sirbiladze, B. Ghvaberidze

Abstract:

This work proposes a fuzzy methodology to support the investment decisions. While choosing among competitive investment projects, the methodology makes ranking of projects using the new aggregation OWA operator – AsPOWA, presented in the environment of possibility uncertainty. For numerical evaluation of the weighting vector associated with the AsPOWA operator the mathematical programming problem is constructed. On the basis of the AsPOWA operator the projects’ group ranking maximum criteria is constructed. The methodology also allows making the most profitable investments into several of the project using the method developed by the authors for discrete possibilistic bicriteria problems. The article provides an example of the investment decision-making that explains the work of the proposed methodology.

Keywords: Expert evaluations, investment decision making, OWA operator, possibility uncertainty.

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Authors: Younis Jabarzadeh, Rahim Sarvari, Negar Ahmadi Alghalandis

Abstract:

Entrepreneurship at both individual and organizational level is one of the most driving forces in economic development and leads to growth and competition, job generation and social development. Especially in developing countries, the role of entrepreneurship in economic and social prosperity is more emphasized. But the effect of global economic development on the environment is undeniable, especially in negative ways, and there is a need to rethink current business models and the way entrepreneurs act to introduce new businesses to address and embed environmental issues in order to achieve sustainable development. In this paper, green or sustainable entrepreneurship is addressed in Iran to identify challenges and barriers entrepreneurs in the economic and social sectors face in developing green business solutions. Sustainable or green entrepreneurship has been gaining interest among scholars in recent years and addressing its challenges and barriers need much more attention to fill the gap in the literature and facilitate the way those entrepreneurs are pursuing. This research comprised of two main phases: qualitative and quantitative. At qualitative phase, after a thorough literature review, fuzzy Delphi method is utilized to verify those challenges and barriers by gathering a panel of experts and surveying them. In this phase, several other contextually related factors were added to the list of identified barriers and challenges mentioned in the literature. Then, at the quantitative phase, Interpretive Structural Modeling is applied to construct a network of interactions among those barriers identified at the previous phase. Again, a panel of subject matter experts comprised of academic and industry experts was surveyed. The results of this study can be used by policymakers in both the public and industry sector, to introduce more systematic solutions to eliminate those barriers and help entrepreneurs overcome challenges of sustainable entrepreneurship. It also contributes to the literature as the first research in this type which deals with the barriers of sustainable entrepreneurship and explores their interaction.

Keywords: Green entrepreneurship, barriers, Fuzzy Delphi Method, interpretive structural modeling.

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