bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Localist challenges and the fragmentation of the pan-democratic camp in Hong Kong
Authors: Lam Jermain T.M.
Published: February 2020

Purpose

The purpose of the paper is to analyze the challenges brought by the localist faction to the traditional democratic camp in order to examine the risks and opportunities for the pan-democratic camp in the democratization process.

Design

The methodologies used for the paper were documentary analyses to examine the theory and practice of localism in the political context of Hong Kong and the election data analyses to study the electoral performances of localist and traditional democratic camps in the 2015 District Council and 2016 Legislative Council elections.

Findings

The paper found that firstly mainland–Hong Kong conflicts were the nurturing ground for emergence of localism in Hong Kong. Secondly, the ideology of localism in the context of Hong Kong connotes an anti-China element in the protection of Hongkongers’ identity, interests, and values. Thirdly, the growth of localist camp was rapid as evidenced in the 2015 and 2016 elections. Fourthly, localism presented both challenges and new opportunities for the pan-democratic camp in the democratization process.

Originality

The paper was the product of an original research project that examined the ideology of localism and the challenges brought by localism to the pan-democratic camp to reflect on the implications for the democratization process.
Is craft beer consumption genderless? Exploratory evidence from Italy and Germany
Authors: Rivaroli Sergio , Lindenmeier Jörg , Spadoni Roberta
Published: February 2020

Purpose

This study aimed to investigate the gendered nature of craft beer (CB) consumption in Italy and Germany.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected through online surveys in Italy (N = 210) and Germany (N = 211). Based on an enhanced version of the theory of planned behaviour, mean value difference tests and moderated regression analyses with gender as a moderator were performed to test gender effects on CB consumption behaviour.

Findings

The study results provide evidence that the gap in CB consumption behaviour is not very pronounced. In the German sample, gender did not moderate the effects of the model components on behavioural intent. However, the study found significant mean differences in all model variables. In the Italian sample, gender moderated the effects of several components of the theory of planned behaviour on behavioural intention. Hence, CB consumption appears to represent an opportunity for Italian women to negotiate their womanhood in a historically masculine-dominated space.

Research limitations/implications

The limitations of these data are the focus on two specific countries, the use of small-sized samples and the prediction of behavioural intentions instead of actual behaviour.

Practical implications

The study may help marketing managers develop appropriate marketing strategies based on a better understanding of gender-specific needs in CB consumption.

Originality/value

This investigation provides the first comparative analysis of gender-specific behavioural patterns in CB consumption in two European countries characterised by notably different beer cultures.
Variable speed PMSG design and implementation for wind driven welding power source
Authors: S. Vinod , M. Balaji
Published: February 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is the attempt to model a variable speed permanent magnet synchronous generator (PMSG) for extracting a standalone power source to assuage the needs of a welding application. The emphasis orients to evolve a framework for the effective exploration of renewable energy resource and prevent the injection of grid harmonics.

Design/methodology/approach

The system involves the use of self-commutated dc-dc converter interfaces to extradite the current and voltage requirements of the welding attributes. The philosophy incites a pulse width formulation for reducing the voltage ripples in the dc output and improving the time response characteristics.

Findings

The proper selection of closed loop Fuzzy tuned PI control ensures the restriction on the magnitude of the current drawn from the source, enhances the dynamic response and betters steady state response.

Originality/value

PMSG-based welding power source with parallel-connected cascaded buck fed cuk converters. MATLAB-based simulation of the methodology offer interesting results in the sense it orchestrates the range of converter operation and the ability to provide a high-quality weld without polluting the ac mains. The experimental prototype further proliferates to validate the simulated performance and claims a space for its use in the real-world utilities.
Understanding user acceptance of blockchain-based smart locker
Authors: Lian Jiunn-Woei , Chen Chih-Teng , Shen Li-Fang , Chen Hung-Ming
Published: February 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to explore the critical factors that affect users’ acceptance and usage intention toward blockchain-based smart lockers.

Design/methodology/approach

The research is designed in two phases. In the first phase, the key stakeholders are interviewed. Participants include managers from technology providers and logistics companies. In the second phase, a questionnaire survey is used to validate the proposed model.

Findings

Based on the final results, this study makes the following three suggestions. First, perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use are the critical factors. In other words, it is important to emphasize the function and convenience of a new service when introducing it to a potential user. Second, safety is not the major concern when using a blockchain-based smart locker. This means that users will trust the service provider for providing a secure service. Users do not worry about the security problem. Finally, the network externality of smart locker is also insignificant.

Originality/value

This study has three major contributions. First, this study identifies the critical factors that will affect user acceptance of blockchain-based smart lockers. Next, this study combines the opinions from service providers and users to understand the gap between different stakeholders. Finally, this study can enrich our understanding on the applications of blockchain from a managerial perspective and not only from a technical perspective, as in most previous studies.
A trustworthy network or a technologically disguised scam
Authors: Issac Abraham Cyril , Baral Rupashree
Published: February 2020

Purpose

The initiation of cryptocurrency such as bitcoin has invoked a general curiosity in the international financial regime. Bitcoin works in a peer-to-peer framework with no third party acting as a monitoring agency. This brings in both positive and negative spirit to the table. Though generic understanding is available, the studies done on bitcoin and blockchain are far and few. The purpose of this paper is to decipher the level of understanding the scientific world has on bitcoin and the underlying blockchain and thereby to find out the pertinent research gaps existing in this field.

Design/methodology/approach

A biblio-morphological analysis is undertaken which underscores a comprehensive framework characterizing the bitcoin and blockchain literature in terms of dimensions and options. This was developed as a result of extensive scanning of the relevant literature.

Findings

The biblio-morphological analysis broadly outlines the present status of the research on the topic. The morphological analysis brings out the 169 research gaps that exist in the area of bitcoin and underlying blockchain technology. The cross-consistency matrix underscores the fact that this novel technology bears large research potential.

Research limitations/implications

The biggest contribution of this paper would be to underline the present status of the literature on bitcoin and blockchain technology. This study attempts to make this document a vade mecum for both the industry and the academia in the area of bitcoin and blockchain technology. The blockchain technology and its effects and influences on other disciplines can effectively be explored by taking cues from the gaps identified by this biblio-morphological analysis. Such unique combinations can open up new avenues of research in the broader realm of business and economics.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is a first comprehensive biblio-morphological analysis on bitcoin and underlying blockchain technology, which characterizes blockchain literature and thereby offers to reduce redundant research by delineating the possible avenues in the area of blockchain technology.
Predatory publishing through McCornarck’s information manipulation theory
Authors: Bett Harry Kipkemoi
Published: February 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to analyse how predatory journals use spam emails to manipulate potential authors. This has been done based on McCornack’s information manipulation theory (IMT). Generally, predatory publishing is on the increase globally but more pronounced in developing countries. Although it affects both young and seasoned scholars, inexperienced scholars and those ignorant on credible publishing are the most affected.

Design/methodology/approach

The current study through document analysis focuses on email invites from predatory journals sent to the author between June 2016 and December 2018 after publishing a peer-reviewed journal article. The resultant texts were analysed using a directed qualitative content analysis.

Findings

Findings indicate that the invites flouted all the four Gricean maxims (of quality, quantity, manner and relevance) as posited by IMT. This suggests that the spam mails sent to the author sought to manipulate potential authors to publish with predatory journals.

Research limitations/implications

This qualitative study focuses on email invites to the author which may not fully capture the manipulation by predatory journals.

Practical implications

It is important that scholars in developing contexts are aware of how predatory publishers seek to manipulate their victims. Universities and research institutions should be intentional in enlightening their academic staff on predatory journals and their characteristics. Similarly, universities should consider disincentivising their faculty members who publish in such platforms.

Originality/value

The originality in this study lies in its use of IMT to explain how predatory journals manipulate potentials authors.
Conventional procedurevis-à-visbootstrap-based corrections of efficiency analyses
Authors: Valiyattoor Vipin , Bhandari Anup Kumar
Published: February 2020

Purpose

This paper aims to evaluate the performance of basic metals industry in India and analyze its determinants, using data envelopment analysis (DEA) method. It also intends to compare the results through conventional two-stage and bootstrap-based inferences.

Design/methodology/approach

Considering technical efficiency as a measure of performance, this paper specifically investigates whether the participation of a firm in the global market affects its performance. The conventional two-stage procedure is used to test the export intensity and firm performance nexus. The bootstrap-based algorithms (by Simar and Wilson, 2007) are used to correct the bias and serial correlation issues involved in the conventional approach.

Findings

The result shows a negative relation between export intensity and firm performance while following the conventional procedure. Even after accounting for serial correlation, the relation remains more or less similar to that of conventional analysis. However, a strong negative relation between export intensity and firm performance is not observed in a more reliable inference obtained after correcting for possible bias as well as serial correlation.

Research limitations/implications

This paper is based on cross-sectional analysis, and a more reliable result can be obtained by considering a larger sample and longer period.

Originality/value

This paper shows how the conventional two-stage procedure may result in misleading inferences due to bias in the estimation of efficiency scores and the serial correlation during the second stage inferential analysis. This paper also empirically exemplifies how the double bootstrap DEA procedure can overcome these limitations of the conventional two-stage approach.
Evolutionary information dynamics over social networks: a review
Authors: Zhang Hangjing , Chen Yan , Zhao H. Vicky
Published: February 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to have a review on the analysis of information diffusion based on evolutionary game theory. People now get used to interact over social networks, and one of the most important functions of social networks is information sharing. Understanding the mechanisms of the information diffusion over social networks is critical to various applications including online advertisement and rumor control.

Design/methodology/approach

It has been shown that the graphical evolutionary game theory (EGT) is a very efficient method to study this problem.

Findings

By applying EGT to information diffusion, the authors could predict every small change in the process, get the detailed dynamics and finally foretell the stable states.

Originality/value

In this paper, the authors provide a general review on the evolutionary game-theoretic framework for information diffusion over social network by summarizing the results and conclusions of works using graphical EGT.
Collaborative filtering recommendation algorithm based on variational inference
Authors: Zheng Kai , Yang Xianjun , Wang Yilei , Wu Yingjie , Zheng Xianghan
Published: February 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to alleviate the problem of poor robustness and over-fitting caused by large-scale data in collaborative filtering recommendation algorithms.

Design/methodology/approach

Interpreting user behavior from the probabilistic perspective of hidden variables is helpful to improve robustness and over-fitting problems. Constructing a recommendation network by variational inference can effectively solve the complex distribution calculation in the probabilistic recommendation model. Based on the aforementioned analysis, this paper uses variational auto-encoder to construct a generating network, which can restore user-rating data to solve the problem of poor robustness and over-fitting caused by large-scale data. Meanwhile, for the existing KL-vanishing problem in the variational inference deep learning model, this paper optimizes the model by the KL annealing and Free Bits methods.

Findings

The effect of the basic model is considerably improved after using the KL annealing or Free Bits method to solve KL vanishing. The proposed models evidently perform worse than competitors on small data sets, such as MovieLens 1 M. By contrast, they have better effects on large data sets such as MovieLens 10 M and MovieLens 20 M.

Originality/value

This paper presents the usage of the variational inference model for collaborative filtering recommendation and introduces the KL annealing and Free Bits methods to improve the basic model effect. Because the variational inference training denotes the probability distribution of the hidden vector, the problem of poor robustness and overfitting is alleviated. When the amount of data is relatively large in the actual application scenario, the probability distribution of the fitted actual data can better represent the user and the item. Therefore, using variational inference for collaborative filtering recommendation is of practical value.
College students’ understanding of social justice as sustainability
Authors: Kruger Tina M. , McCreary Nicholas , Verhoff Brandon L. , Sheets Virgil , Speer James H. , Aldrich Stephen P.
Published: February 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to explore college students’ understanding of sustainability and, specifically, the extent to which students see social justice as being integral to sustainability.

Design/methodology/approach

Between fall 2015 and 2017, an online survey study was deployed to students at a Midwestern University in the USA to assess attitudes and concerns about environmental issues and awareness of the university’s activities related to these issues. This analysis included ten assessment items from a larger study, of which 1,929 participants were included in the final sample. A chi-square goodness-of-fit and variable cluster analysis were performed on the included items.

Findings

Items such as “recycling,” “economic viability” and “fair treatment of all” were identified as integral to the concept of sustainability, while items such as “growing organic vegetables” and “reducing meat consumption” had high levels of “not applicable” and “don’t know” responses, with differences arising across gender and class standing. Social justice-related items were seen as more distally connected to sustainability.

Research limitations/implications

This study is limited by a non-random sample of students.

Practical implications

College students tend not to recognize the integral nature of social justice or the relevance of food to sustainability, providing an opportunity for universities to better prepare their students for a sustainable future.

Social implications

Universities might adopt policies and curricula that address these areas of ignorance.

Originality/value

This study is among the first to identify specific areas of college students’ lack of understanding about sustainability.
How can national governance affect education quality in Western Europe?
Authors: Gerged Ali , Elheddad Mohamed
Published: February 2020

Purpose

As the international society faces unprecedented challenges associated with resource scarcity, governance scandals, increasing injustice and inequality, new opportunities for higher education institutions are emerging. This paper aims to investigate the association between national governance standards and education quality across nine western European countries, namely, the UK, Germany, France, Finland, Norway, Switzerland, Sweden, Denmark and Ireland.

Design/methodology/approach

Using panel data from 2002 to 2017, this paper uses fixed-effects and random-effects models to examine the relationship between national governance (proxied by voice and accountability (V&A) indicator) and education quality (proxied by human development index: education index). This analysis is supplemented with conducting instrumental variable (IV) estimations to address any concerns regarding the expected occurrence of endogeneity problems.

Findings

The findings are suggestive of a significant and positive relationship between national governance and education quality in Europe. This implies that national governance standards, such as V&A, are essential actors in the enhancement of the quality of educational institutions’ outcomes.

Research limitations/implications

Policymakers should implement stricter regulations and ensure that accountability indicators are motivated if they wish to increase the spending on education, which is associated with better qualities of educational institutions. A culture of continuous review of education policies needs to be upheld in the Western Europe region to be watchful of any emerging problems while maintaining a sustainable relationship between the rule of law and the education administration.

Originality/value

So far, a minimal number of studies focussed on examining the role of country-level governance in advancing education quality. This study, therefore, extends the body of prior literature by investigating the possible effect of national governance structures on education quality across a sample of Western European countries.
One visitor too many: assessing the degree of overtourism in established European urban destinations
Authors: Amore Alberto , Falk Martin , Adie Bailey Ashton
Published: February 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to provide a series of indicators to determine the limits to urban tourism growth, tourism gentrification and overtourism. The study addresses overtourism within the frame of urban liveability through a proxy analysis of tourism-relevant indicators for major European tourist cities.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on the various indicators, a composite overtourism indicator is derived. The following dimensions are considered for the composite indicator: total number of overnight stays per relevant tourist area in km2; number of museum visitors per population; average annual change in total nights between 2009 and 2017; and foreign nights per population.

Findings

Based on the results, Venice is the city with the highest degree of overtourism, followed by Florence, Seville and Lisbon. The remaining cities have a lower than average overtourism potential as indicated by the negative z-score.

Research limitations/implications

This study and the composite overtourism indicators are only a starting point that can lead to further research in the field. Recommendations for further studies include the assessment of visitor flow and overtourism at different times of the year and to expand the study to other European urban destinations.

Practical implications

The paper suggests that policymakers should use these indicators when managing urban tourism development and monitoring visitor growth. Furthermore, they can be a starting point from which to assess the impact of tourism on the quality of life of local residents.

Social implications

This study provides a starting point from which to assess the causes for social unrest tied to overtourism. If the city under study is found to have a lower than average overtourism potential, this indicates that there may be other social or psychological issues at play apart from sheer overcrowding.

Originality/value

To date, there has been no composite indicator that considered the different numerical aspects of overtourism altogether. This study provides a set of key indicators and a composite overtourism indicator to provide a preliminary appraisal of overtourism as a demand-side phenomenon with evidence from a range of established European urban destinations.
Design and locomotivity analysis of a novel deformable two-wheel-like mobile mechanism
Authors: Zhang Qianqian , Li Yezhuo , Yao Yan-An , Li Ruiming
Published: February 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to propose a deformable two-wheel-like mobile mechanism based on overconstrained mechanism, with the abilities of fast rolling and obstacle surmounting. The drive torque of the multi-mode motions is generated by self-deformation. Moreover, the analyses of feasibility and locomotivity of two mobile modes are presented.

Design/methodology/approach

The main body of the two-wheel-like mobile mechanism is a kind of centrally driven 4 R linkages. The mobile mechanism can achieve the capabilities of fast rolling and obstacle surmounting through integrating two mobile modes (spherical-like rolling mode and polyhedral-like obstacle-surmounting mode) and can switch to the corresponding mode to move or surmount obstacles. The mobility and kinematics of the mobile modes are analyzed.

Findings

Based on the results of kinematics analysis and dynamics analysis of the wheel-like mechanism, the spherical-like rolling mode has the capability of fast rolling, and the polyhedral-like obstacle-surmounting mode has the capability of surmounting different obstacle heights by two submodes (quasi-static obstacle-surmounting submode and dynamic obstacle-surmounting submode). The proposed concept is verified by experiments on a physical prototype.

Originality/value

The work presented in this paper is a novel exploration to apply bar linkages in the field of scout. The two-wheel-like mobile mechanism improves the torque imbalance of bar linkages by centrally driven method, removes the rear support structures of the traditional two-wheeled mechanisms by self-deformation and increases the height of obstacle surmounting by mode switching angle.
sEMG-based variable impedance control of lower-limb rehabilitation robot using wavelet neural network and model reference adaptive control
Authors: Hasanzadeh Fereydooni Rohollah , Siahkali Hassan , Shayanfar Heidar Ali , Mazinan Amir Houshang
Published: February 2020

Purpose

This paper aims to propose an innovative adaptive control method for lower-limb rehabilitation robots.

Design/methodology/approach

Despite carrying out various studies on the subject of rehabilitation robots, the flexibility and stability of the closed-loop control system is still a challenging problem. In the proposed method, surface electromyography (sEMG) and human force-based dual closed-loop control strategy is designed to adaptively control the rehabilitation robots. A motion analysis of human lower limbs is performed by using a wavelet neural network (WNN) to obtain the desired trajectory of patients. In the outer loop, the reference trajectory of the robot is modified by a variable impedance controller (VIC) on the basis of the sEMG and human force. Thenceforward, in the inner loop, a model reference adaptive controller with parameter updating laws based on the Lyapunov stability theory forces the rehabilitation robot to track the reference trajectory.

Findings

The experiment results confirm that the trajectory tracking error is efficiently decreased by the VIC and adaptively correct the reference trajectory synchronizing with the patients’ motion intention; the model reference controller is able to outstandingly force the rehabilitation robot to track the reference trajectory. The method proposed in this paper can better the functioning of the rehabilitation robot system and is expandable to other applications of the rehabilitation field.

Originality/value

The proposed approach is interesting for the design of an intelligent control of rehabilitation robots. The main contributions of this paper are: using a WNN to obtain the desired trajectory of patients based on sEMG signal, modifying the reference trajectory by the VIC and using model reference control to force rehabilitation robot to track the reference trajectory.
Conflict factors investigation among construction professionals in Nigeria
Authors: Adeyemi Benjamen Sunkanmi , Aigbavboa Clinton Ohis
Published: February 2020

Purpose

This paper aims to determine various factors that cause conflict among professionals in the Nigerian construction industry.

Design/methodology/approach

This study made use of quantitative approach. Questionnaires were used as a form of data collection, and it was distributed to construction professionals such as quantity surveyors, architects, builders, civil engineers, project managers and construction managers in Ondo and Lagos state to ascertain various factors that cause conflict among professionals in the Nigerian construction industry. A total number of 150 questionnaires were distributed, but 135 were received from the respondents that represent 90 per cent of response rate. In this study, the descriptive analysis and exploratory factor analysis were used.

Findings

The findings from this study show that the major cause of conflict among the professionals is favouritism. This is followed by role ambiguity that occurs due to improper definition of the role of different construction professionals, and it leads to a misunderstanding culminating into conflict. Also, other major causes of conflict among construction professionals in Nigeria include differences in professionals’ experience, differences in level of education, differences in personalities and differences in professionals’ goal and views.

Originality/value

It should be emphasized that professionals must avoid and desist from any factors that can cause conflict among them. Strict adherence by construction professionals in Nigeria will encourage free flow of ideas and will help them progress. This will actually lead to improvement on professionals tasks.
Time-dependent safety performance of reinforced concrete structures
Authors: Woju Utino Worabo , Balu A.S.
Published: February 2020

Purpose

Performance of the structure depends on design, construction, environment, utilization and reliability aspects. Other factors can be controlled by adopting proper design and construction techniques, but the environmental factors are difficult to control. Hence, mostly in practice, the environmental factors are not considered in the analysis and design appropriately; however, their impact on the performance of the structures is significant along with the design life. It is in this light that this paper aims to perform the time-dependent performance analysis of reinforced concrete structures majorly considering environmental factors.

Design/methodology/approach

To achieve the intended objective, a simply supported reinforced concrete beam was designed and detailed as per the Euro Code (EC2). The time-dependent design parameters, corrosion parameters, creep and shrinkage were identified through thorough literature review. The common empirical equations were modified to consider the identified parameters, and finally, the time-dependent performance of reinforced concrete beam was performed.

Findings

Findings indicate that attention has to be paid to appropriate consideration of the environmental effect on reinforced concrete structures. In that, the time-dependent performance of reinforced concrete beam significantly decreases with time due to corrosion of reinforcement steel, creep and shrinkage.

Originality/value

However, the Euro code, Ethiopian code and Indian code threat the exposure condition of reinforced concrete by providing corresponding concrete cover that retards the corrosion initiation time but does not eliminate environmental effects. The results of this study clearly indicate that the capacity of reinforced concrete structure degrades with time due to corrosion and creep, whereas the action on the structure due to shrinkage increases. Therefore, appropriate remedial measures have to be taken to control the defects of structures due to the environmental factors to overcome the early failure of the structure.
Three-dimensional analysis of anchored wall with concrete bearing pads
Authors: Arefizadeh Hamed , Shahir Hadi
Published: February 2020

Purpose

Anchorage with concrete bearing pad is commonly used in Iran for stabilization of excavations because of the ease of construction, less costs and less time consumption than the soldier pile method. In this method, a wall facing which includes the concrete bearing pads at the location of the anchors and a shotcrete layer between the bearing pads is constructed parallel to the excavation operation similar to the nailing method.

Design/methodology/approach

In this paper, using the finite element software Abaqus, a three-dimensional model of the above-mentioned type of wall is constructed, and the effect of spacing and size of bearing pads on the wall behavior is discussed.

Findings

According to the obtained results, the size of the concrete bearing pads has little effect on wall deformations, but the internal forces and bending moments developed in the shotcrete layer between the bearing pads are greatly influenced by the bearing pads dimensions and spacing.

Originality/value

Owing to the discrete elements of the wall facing, the behavior of this system is completely three-dimensional.
Assessment of corruption in the humanitarian assistance in Puntland State of Somalia
Authors: Sofe Abdinur Abdirisak
Published: February 2020

Purpose

Corruption in humanitarian aid is one of the most worried and worst problems around the world. The existence of corruption acts in humanitarian aid delivery can endanger the already susceptible lives of the neediest individuals in the community. Amid serious humanitarian allegation in the country, this study aims to capture meaningful insights in humanitarian aid corruption in Puntland State of Somalia.

Design/methodology/approach

The study applied qualitative method and used interview as a technique of data collection. The information obtained through the interview was analyzed by quoting and narration forms.

Findings

The findings indicated numerous acts of corruption in all project stages including corruption in project granting and humanitarian staff employment, distortion of project targets and diversion of humanitarian project from targeted communities. The research also found that governmental and non-governmental actors are involved in the humanitarian corruption such as project managers and support staffs in addition to line ministries, parliament and community representatives.

Research limitations/implications

Corruption is a taboo and is difficult to research; people do not want to share the information for fear of victimization. Concerned institutions were not willing to provide necessary materials which led to shortage of secondary data. Another problem encountered during the study has been that the humanitarian stakeholders (for instance, government, non-government and private institutions) acted reluctantly to cooperate because of suspicion that disclosing information may lead to negative effect on their business. To overcome the challenges, the study assured the confidentiality of the members and that information collected would be used for research purposes only. The study further combined various tools of data collection so that the weakness of one tool becomes the strength of the other; while the researcher made efforts to build rapport with the research participants.

Originality/value

This study will contribute to the literature on corruption in the humanitarian aid. Specifically, the findings of this study will benefit academicians/researchers by giving empirical insights of corruption in the humanitarian aid in Puntland. It will benefit the government policymakers in the formulation of policies to combat corruption in the sector. Donors and aid agencies may also find the findings useful as they are key stakeholders who are interested in corruption in the humanitarian sector and finally the findings will benefit the wider society that is the primary victim of corruption in the humanitarian sector.
Understanding and controlling financial fraud in the drug industry
Authors: Akomea-Frimpong Isaac , Andoh Charles
Published: February 2020

Purpose

This study aims to assess the fraud cases, factors and control measures of financial fraud in the drug industry with evidence from Ghana. Drug industry and pharmaceutical are the same, and they are used interchangeably in this study.

Design/methodology/approach

Data from questionnaires were collected from 412 manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers of the drug industry. Data were presented and analysed with descriptive statistics and probit regression.

Findings

Results show that, in general, stealing of drugs, stealing of cash, usage of fake cheques, falsified documents and dubious accounting practices are some of the fraud cases in the industry. Factors such as gender, educational level, religious beliefs, regulatory 7measures, pressure, rationalization and opportunities influence financial fraud in the drug industry. Control measures such as thorough assessment of products, regular review of fraud policies, installation of fraud-detection software and effective internal systems could reduce the menace.

Research limitations/implications

The paper addresses a number of theoretical and systemic issues on financial fraud in the drug industry but with limited specific quantitative data or calculations as well as limited sample size. Further studies could offer a more quantitative approach with a larger sample size in an attempt, for instance, to estimate the financial costs of financial fraud to the drug industry.

Practical implications

This paper openly tackles various attempted frauds and financial malfeasances from stakeholder perspectives in the drug industry. Practical measures have been given to tackle the consequences of the menace.

Originality/value

This paper is geared towards providing valuable learning points for stakeholders in the drug industry to handle daily operations to assist them in detecting and preventing similar occurrence of financial fraud.
Legal analysis of Qatar’santi-money laundering and combating terrorist financing legislation and regulation amidst the summer 2017 GCC crisis
Authors: Naheem Mohammed Ahmad
Published: February 2020

Purpose

The recent diplomatic split between members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and Qatar with accusations of terrorist financing (TF). This paper aims to study Qatar’s domestic legislations, which specifically targets money laundering and TF activities. The country has stringently worked in compliance with international standards on combating financing of terrorism (CFT) and anti-money laundering (AML) practices by imparting autonomous power to regulatory bodies, such as the Qatar Central Bank and other agencies.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper studies independent legislations passed under the Emir’s decree over the past decade advancing Qatar’s AML ranking, with significant effort in CFT regulations. The paper also analyses the advancement in AML/CFT regulation and their validity with respect to international standards set by various governmental, intergovernmental and non-profit agencies.

Findings

The analysis finds Qatar in compliance with strong AML/CFT regulations. Further, it finds the government to have provided transparent oversight to international organizations that attest to the findings of the legislative efforts. This paper disproves claims and accusations that have possibly been presented to the GCC and subsequently led members to abruptly end diplomatic relations with Qatar over allegations of TF activities, amongst others.

Originality/value

The paper offers insight into Qatar’s legislative and regulatory advancement with respect to the AML/CTF in the past decade. The paper also discusses Qatar’s legislative advancement in relation to the evolutions of the country’s financial system, adopting a more robust mechanism to combat financing of terrorism and ML.
Impacts of uncertain online reviews on pricing and profits of competitive retailers
Authors: Zhao Cui , Zhang Yao
Published: February 2020

Purpose

This paper aims to investigate the impacts of uncertain online reviews on product prices and profits of two competitive retailers.

Design/methodology/approach

First, the authors develop a game-theoretical model to determine the optimal product prices and profits considering uncertain online reviews. Afterwards, to examine the effects of the uncertain online reviews, they compare the equilibrium solutions with those of the game-theoretical models of deterministic online reviews and no online reviews, respectively.

Findings

Uncertain online reviews play a significant role in product price optimization and profit maximization. In the quality-dominates-fit case, both retailers will lower their product prices in response to the uncertain online reviews. And the uncertain online reviews would hurt the two retailers. Conversely, in the fit-dominates-quality case, the presence of uncertain online reviews will encourage both retailers to raise their product prices. And the two retailers can still benefit from the online reviews. With the increase in consumer uncertainty about online reviews, both retailers might raise their product prices, thus generating higher profits.

Practical implications

Managerially, the results indicate that in the quality-dominates-fit case, when consumers are uncertain about online reviews, it might be better for retailers to abandon the online review system; however, in the fit-dominates-quality case, both retailers could still benefit from the uncertain online reviews through product price optimization. Therefore, the presence of an online review system could be beneficial.

Originality/value

This paper develops a game-theoretical model to help competitive retailers optimize their price strategies and achieve profit maximization considering uncertain online reviews.
The impact of religious values in the Jordanian political discourses on public opinion (field study on universities students)
Authors: Ebniya Zaid Odeh
Published: February 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to know the effect of religious values that the Jordan Political discipline adopted and were mentioned in the Jordan political discourses (Amman Message 2005, discourse of King Abdullah II in the European Parliament 2008 and his discourse in United Nations 2015) on the public opinion of the university students, especially their attitudes toward terrorism and extremism. Defending Islam is the responsibility of the Jordan political leadership according to Hashemite legacy and promoting Islamic values that rejected terrorism and extremism to Jordanian youth, especially tolerance and moderation values, to counter defamations and claims against Islam and correct its image in the West.

Design/methodology/approach

A political discourse analysis approach was used by analyzing the Amman Message and identifying the most important religious values contained therein. Also, a quantitative research method was used in this study. The study population consisted of university students, particularly Jordanian University students because being one of the high-bred Jordanian universities, it is characterized with gender, age, regional affiliation and family income diversities. This study depends on a purposive sample containing 350 students (175 males and 175 females). The survey was conducted in the academic year (2018-2019). A questionnaire that was reviewed by three jurors was used in data collection.

Findings

The results of the analysis of the political discourse showed that the values of tolerance and moderation are among the most valued in the Amman Message, where they were frequently repeated. Also, findings have shown that the religious values adopted by the Jordanian political system mentioned in the political discourses had an impact on public opinion of university students on terrorism and extremism causes in a large percent. When gender differed (males and females), the impact ratio of the public opinion for males was higher than that for females. When the age group differed (18-22 and 23-30 years), the effect ratio with the old age group was higher than the effect ratio for the students with the youngest age group. When regional affiliation differed (Jordanian and Jordanian of Palestinian origin), the impact ratio of the public opinion for Jordanian students was higher than that for Jordanian students of Palestinian origin. When regional family income differed (500 dinars and less, more than 500 dinars), the impact ratio of the public opinion for students with family income more than 500 dinars was higher than that for students with family income 500 dinars and less.

Originality/value

This study represents an approach to recognize the effect of religious values that were adopted by the Jordanian political system mentioned in the political discourses on public opinion of university students on terrorism and extremism causes, considering that university students represent the influential youth group in the Jordanian society.
The role of heating and cooling in viscous sintering of pairs of spheres and pairs of cylinders
Authors: Polychronopoulos Nickolas D. , Vlachopoulos John
Published: February 2020

Purpose

This study aims to develop mathematical models for the determination of the effects of heating or cooling on neck growth in Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) and Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF). Two particle shapes are studied: spherical and cylindrical.

Design/methodology/approach

The time required for the coalescence (sintering) process is determined by balancing the work of surface tension forces and viscous dissipation. Heating and cooling effects are studied by incorporating temperature dependence of viscosity in an exponential form. Heating by a laser, convective and/or radiative heat transfer is assumed. It is also assumed that there are no temperature gradients within the coalescing molten polymers (lumped parameter heat transfer analysis).

Findings

The models predict faster sintering with heating and slower with cooling, as expected because of the effect of temperature on viscosity. For the isothermal case of pairs of cylinders, the present model predicts significantly longer time for completion of sintering than a previously developed and frequently cited model by Hopper.

Originality/value

An isothermal sintering model for two spheres was reworked for two long cylinders, and for the first time it has been compared to other models available in the literature. The mathematical models are capable of predicting neck growth under non-isothermal conditions for both spheres and cylinders. They are useful in assessment of bonding in selective laser sintering and fused deposition fabrication.
Mechanical characterization of 3D printed, non-planar lattice structures under quasi-static cyclic loading
Authors: McCaw John C.S. , Cuan-Urquizo Enrique
Published: February 2020

Purpose

While additive manufacturing via melt-extrusion of plastics has been around for more than several decades, its application to complex geometries has been hampered by the discretization of parts into planar layers. This requires wasted support material and introduces anisotropic weaknesses due to poor layer-to-layer adhesion. Curved-layer manufacturing has been gaining attention recently, with increasing potential to fabricate complex, low-weight structures, such as mechanical metamaterials. This paper aims to study the fabrication and mechanical characterization of non-planar lattice structures under cyclic loading.

Design/methodology/approach

A mathematical approach to parametrize lattices onto Bèzier surfaces is validated and applied here to fabricate non-planar lattice samples via curved-layer fused deposition modeling. The lattice chirality, amplitude and unit cell size were varied, and the properties of the samples under cyclic-loading were studied experimentally.

Findings

Overall, lattices with higher auxeticity showed less energy dissipation, attributed to their bending-deformation mechanism. Additionally, bistability was eliminated with increasing auxeticity, reinforcing the conclusion of bending-dominated behavior. The analysis presented here demonstrates that mechanical metamaterial lattices such as auxetics can be explored experimentally for complex geometries where traditional methods of comparing simple geometry to end-use designs are not applicable.

Research limitations/implications

The mechanics of non-planar lattice structures fabricated using curved-layer additive manufacturing have not been studied thoroughly. Furthermore, traditional approaches do not apply due to parameterization deformations, requiring novel approaches to their study. Here the properties of such structures under cyclic-loading are studied experimentally for the first time. Applications for this type of structures can be found in areas like biomedical scaffolds and stents, sandwich-panel packaging, aerospace structures and architecture of lattice domes.

Originality/value

This work presents an experimental approach to study the mechanical properties of non-planar lattice structures via quasi-static cyclic loading, comparing variations across several lattice patterns including auxetic sinusoids, disrupted sinusoids and their equivalent-density quadratic patterns.