bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
PSTD Treatment of Joint Forces Operation Combatants
Authors: Semenenko Oleh , Dobrovolskyi Uzef , Yarmolchyk Mariia , Stolinets Serhii , Tarasov Oleh
Published: August 2024

The participation of military personnel in operations like the Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO)/Joint Forces Operations (JFO) can lead to significant psychological trauma, potentially resulting in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Understanding the effectiveness of psychotherapy in treating PTSD among ATO/JFO participants is crucial given its profound impact on personal relationships, life scenarios, and overall well-being. This study evaluates how acceptance and commitment therapy can alleviate PTSD symptoms and enhance well-being in Ukrainian military personnel with combat-related PTSD. The main research method was a psychological experiment, and the case study method was used as an auxiliary research method. The study revealed the following: combatants in the ATO/JFO who have been diagnosed with PTSD should be classified as persons with disabilities due to certain limitations in their life activities, namely, the inability to control their behavior, and difficulties in work and communication. This study proves that cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy has a clear advantage in overcoming PTSD in the military, as it allows transforming psychological trauma into posttraumatic growth. Attachment and acceptance therapy, a form of behavioral therapy, has emerged as one of the most effective treatments for PTSD. It focuses on diagnosing and addressing the psychological consequences of war by analyzing the connections among cognition, affect, and behavior. Given the protracted nature of PTSD, the practical significance of the study is to develop effective psychotherapeutic interventions for the expected recovery of ATO/JFO participants affected by combat operations.
The Effect of Nursing Moral Distress on Intent to Leave Employment
Authors: Sheppard Katherine , Smith Catherine , Morgan Merri K. , Wilmoth Donna , Toepp Angela , Rutledge Carolyn , Zimbro Kathie S.
Published: August 2024

OBJECTIVE

This study explored the impact of moral distress (MD) and respondent characteristics on intent to leave employment.

BACKGROUND

Managing patient care, within organizational constraints, may create physical discomfort or mental peace disturbances such as MD, negatively impacting RN retention.

METHODS

Responses from 948 RNs were collected using an anonymous online survey. The impact of MD on intent to leave employment was explored.

RESULTS

MD was significantly higher among RNs intending to leave employment. System-level and team-level integrity attributes were significant factors predicting intent to leave, controlling for potential confounders. The odds of intending to leave were 147% higher for new graduate RNs, 124% higher for direct care RNs, and 63% higher for 2nd-career RNs. Gender and race were not significant predictors.

CONCLUSION

Exploring root causes contributing to MD frequency and severity is critical to maintain a healthy work environment. Mitigating MD in the work environment may enhance nursing practice and improve patient care. Support for new graduate and 2nd-career RNs can be realized, further reducing turnover for these vulnerable populations of the nursing workforce.
Establishing a Sustainable Workforce Via Nursing Pipelines
Authors: Porter Marlene T. , Gembol Leslie
Published: August 2024

COVID-19 escalated the already challenged nursing workforce, causing hospitals to address their unstable staffing. This report details the journey of a large rural level 1 academic healthcare market postpandemic to stabilize their nursing workforce and create a sustainable pipeline of nurses. The results demonstrated reductions in turnover rates, vacancy rates, and days to fill nursing positions.
Escape of SARS-CoV-2 variants KP1.1, LB.1 and KP3.3 from approved monoclonal antibodies
Authors: Planas Delphine , Staropoli Isabelle , Planchais Cyril , Yab Emilie , Jeyarajah Banujaa , Rahou Yannis , Prot Matthieu , Guivel-Benhassine Florence , Lemoine Frederic , Enouf Vincent , Simon-Loriere Etienne , Mouquet Hugo , Rameix-Welti Marie-Anne , Schwartz Olivier
Published: August 2024

First-generation anti-SARS-CoV-2 monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) used for prophylaxis or therapeutic purposes in immunocompromised patients have been withdrawn because of the emergence of resistant Omicron variants. In 2024, two novel mAbs, Pemivibart and Sipavibart, have been approved by health authorities, but their activity against contemporary JN.1 sublineages is poorly characterized. We isolated authentic JN.1.1, KP1.1, LB.1 and KP3.3 viruses and evaluated their sensitivity to neutralization by these mAbs in two target cell lines. Compared to ancestral strains, Pemivibart remained moderately active against JN.1 sub-variants, with a strong increase of 50% Inhibitory Concentration (IC50), reaching up to 3 to 15 μg/ml for KP3.3. Sipavibart neutralized JN.1.1 but lost antiviral efficacy against KP1.1, LB.1 and KP3.3. Our results highlight the need for a close clinical monitoring of Pemivibart and raise concerns about the clinical efficacy of Sipavibart.
vPro-MS enables identification of human-pathogenic viruses from patient samples by untargeted proteomics
Authors: Grossegesse Marica , Horn Fabian , Kurth Andreas , Lasch Peter , Nitsche Andreas , Doellinger Joerg
Published: August 2024

Viral infections are commonly diagnosed by the detection of viral genome fragments or proteins using targeted methods such as PCR and immunoassays. In contrast, metagenomics enables the untargeted identification of viral genomes, expanding its applicability across a broader spectrum. In this study, we introduce proteomics as a complementary approach for the untargeted identification of human-pathogenic viruses from patient samples. The viral proteomics workflow (vPro-MS) is based on anin-silicoderived peptide library covering the human virome in UniProtKB (331 viruses, 20,386 genomes, 121,977 peptides), which was especially designed for diagnostic purposes. A scoring algorithm (vProID score) was developed to assess the confidence of virus identification from proteomics data (https://github.com/RKI-ZBS/vPro-MS). In combination with high-throughput diaPASEF-based data acquisition, this workflow enables the analysis of up to 60 samples per day. The specificity was determined to be > 99,9 % in an analysis of 221 plasma, swab and cell culture samples covering 18 different viruses (e.g. SARS, MERS, EBOV, MPXV). The sensitivity of this approach for the detection of SARS-CoV-2 in nasopharyngeal swabs corresponds to a PCR cycle threshold of 27 with comparable quantitative accuracy to metagenomics. vPro-MS enables the integration of untargeted virus identification in large-scale proteomic studies of biofluids such as human plasma to detect previously undiscovered virus infections in patient specimens.
ActSort: An active-learning accelerated cell sorting algorithm for large-scale calcium imaging datasets
Authors: Jiang Yiqi , Akengin Hakki O. , Zhou Ji , Aslihak Mehmet A. , Li Yang , Hernandez Oscar , Ebrahimi Sadegh , Zhang Yanping , Inan Hakan , Jaidar Omar , Miranda Christopher , Dinc Fatih , Blanco-Pozo Marta , Schnitzer Mark J.
Published: August 2024

Recent advances in calcium imaging enable simultaneous recordings of up to a million neurons in behaving animals, producing datasets of unprecedented scales. Although individual neurons and their activity traces can be extracted from these videos with automated algorithms, the results often require human curation to remove false positives, a laborious process calledcell sorting. To address this challenge, we introduce ActSort, an active-learning algorithm for sorting large-scale datasets that integrates features engineered by domain experts together with data formats with minimal memory requirements. By strategically bringing outlier cell candidates near the decision boundary up for annotation, ActSort reduces human labor to about 1–3% of cell candidates and improves curation accuracy by mitigating annotator bias. To facilitate the algorithm’s widespread adoption among experimental neuroscientists, we created a user-friendly software and conducted a first-of-its-kind benchmarking study involving about 160,000 annotations. Our tests validated ActSort’s performance across different experimental conditions and datasets from multiple animals. Overall, ActSort addresses a crucial bottleneck in processing large-scale calcium videos of neural activity and thereby facilitates systems neuroscience experiments at previously inaccessible scales.
Surfactant-laden bubble bursting: Dynamics of capillary waves and Worthington jet at large Bond number
Authors: Pico P. , Kahouadji L. , Shin S. , Chergui J. , Juric D. , Matar O. K.
Published: August 2024

We present a numerical study of the main substages preceding aerosol formation via bursting bubbles: capillary wave propagation along the bubble, convergence at the bubble's apex, and the ascent of a Worthington jet and its breakup to release liquid drops. We focus on two crucial yet overlooked aspects of the system: the presence of surface-active agents and dynamics driven by non-negligible gravitational effects, quantified by the Bond number. Our results propose a mechanism explaining capillary wave retardation in the presence of surfactants, involving the transition from bi- to unidirectional Marangoni stresses, which pull the interface upwards, countering the motion of the waves. We also quantitatively elucidate the variable nature of the waves' velocity with various surfactant parameters, including surfactant solubility and elasticity, a departure from the constant behavior well documented in clean interfaces.

Published by the American Physical Society
2024
Particle creation in left-handed metamaterial transmission lines
Authors: Ferreri Alessandro , Bruschi David Edward , Wilhelm Frank K.
Published: August 2024

Transmission lines (TLs) are excellent examples of quantum simulators of quantum fields. By appropriately driving-specific circuit elements, these devices can reproduce relativistic and quantum phenomena such as particle creation due to the nonadiabatic stimulation of the quantum vacuum. We investigate particle creation in left-handed TLs induced by the modulation of the Josephson energy in superconducting quantum interference devices. Our results show that, as a consequence of the peculiar dispersion relations present in these systems, particle production occurs with much more favorable conditions with respect to the usual right-handed TLs.

Published by the American Physical Society
2024
Magnonic
φ
Josephson junctions and synchronized precession
Authors: Nakata Kouki , Zou Ji , Klinovaja Jelena , Loss Daniel
Published: August 2024

There has been a growing interest in non-Hermitian physics. One of its main goals is to engineer dissipation and to explore ensuing functionality. In magnonics, the effect of dissipation due to local damping on magnon transport has been explored. However, the effects of nonlocal damping on the magnonic analog of the Josephson effect remain missing, despite that nonlocal damping is inevitable and has been playing a central role in magnonics. Here, we uncover theoretically that a surprisingly rich dynamics can emerge in magnetic junctions due to intrinsic nonlocal damping, using analytical and numerical methods. In particular, under microwave pumping, we show that coherent spin precession in the right and left insulating ferromagnet (FM) of the junction becomes synchronized by nonlocal damping and thereby a magnonic analog of the φ Josephson junction emerges, where φ stands here for the relative precession phase of right and left FM in the stationary limit. Remarkably, φ decreases monotonically from π to π/2 as the magnon-magnon interaction, arising from spin anisotropies, increases. Moreover, we also find a magnonic diode effect giving rise to rectification of magnon currents. Our predictions are readily testable with current device and measurement technologies at room temperatures.

Published by the American Physical Society
2024
Exploring healthcare professional’s engagements and experiences towards people who use new psychoactive substances in different addiction and mental healthcare services
Authors: Solomon David , Guirguis Amira
Published: August 2024

Purpose

New psychoactive substance (NPS) use in mental health and addiction health-care services is a common co-morbidity. This paper aims to explore the survey responses with health-care professional’s (HCPs) engagements and experiences towards people who use NPS in five health-care services.

Design/methodology/approach

A theoretically adapted online survey design explored the engagements and experiences of participants towards people who use NPS across (n = 3) community and (n = 2) rehabilitation mental health and addiction health-care services consisting of (n = 1,027) service users.

Findings

A total of 92 participants (of 120 participants) completed the survey and 28 did not. Most (56.33%) reported neutral to poor experiences and engagements and a lack of NPS-related policies, procedures and educational training. Participants (99%) recognised the harmful effects of NPSs and (87%) requested clinical assessment procedures. The participants are unable to identify and manage acute intoxication by NPS, lack knowledge of NPS adverse effects and requested NPS-specific training on drug legislation.

Research limitations/implications

The sample may not be representative with the broader UK population. The study’s methods are comparable to similar research surrounding NPS in health-care services. Similar studies may advance the findings.

Practical implications

The implications for practice include NPS awareness trainings, educational updates through seminars and conferences. Participants requested clearer NPS assessment, referral and management processes. Several policy-making and procedural opportunities exist to ensure a better health outcome for people who use NPS.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first theoretically adapted survey to explore participant’s engagements and experiences with people who use NPS in addiction and mental health settings.
Distributed safety flight control for LAV swarm in a hostile environment under multi-constraints and sudden appearing risks
Authors: Zhao Meijiao , Wang Yidi , Zheng Wei
Published: August 2024

Purpose

Loitering aerial vehicle (LAV) swarm safety flight control is an unmanned system control problem under multiple constraints, which are derived to prevent the LAVs from suffering risks inside and outside the swarms. The computational complexity of the safety flight control problem grows as the number of LAVs and of the constraints increases. Besides some important constraints, the swarms will encounter with sudden appearing risks in a hostile environment. The purpose of this study is to design a safety flight control algorithm for LAV swarm, which can timely respond to sudden appearing risks and reduce the computational burden.

Design/methodology/approach

To address the problem, this paper proposes a distributed safety flight control algorithm that includes a trajectory planning stage using kinodynamic rapidly exploring random trees (KRRT*) and a tracking stage based on distributed model predictive control (DMPC).

Findings

The proposed algorithm reduces the computational burden of the safety flight control problem and can fast find optimal flight trajectories for the LAVs in a swarm even there are multi-constraints and sudden appearing risks.

Originality/value

The proposed algorithm did not handle the constraints synchronously, but first uses the KRRT* to handle some constraints, and then uses the DMPC to deal with the rest constraints. In addition, the proposed algorithm can effectively respond to sudden appearing risks by online re-plan the trajectories of LAVs within the swarm.
Sustainability reporting assurance practice in Indonesia: assuror and academician perspective
Authors: Kurniawan Putu Sukma , Basuki Basuki
Published: August 2024

Purpose

This study aims to uncover fundamental challenges pertaining to sustainability reporting assurance practice (SRAP) in Indonesia. This study uses assuror and academician perspectives to examine the SRAP discourse in Indonesia.

Design/methodology/approach

The research method was qualitative approach by conducting online semi-structured interviews with ten informants, including four from assuror representatives and six from academician representatives. Qualitative data analysis, such as codification process and data triangulation, was used to understand the opinions of each informant and to develop a comprehensive discussion.

Findings

This study has identified the issues in the context of SRAP in Indonesia. Several recommendations have been made for the relevant stakeholders to improve the quality of SRAP in the Indonesian context.

Practical implications

The results of this study can be used by the stakeholders to improve the quality of SRAP in Indonesia.

Social implications

The results of this study can be used by the stakeholders in Indonesia, for example, the authority of the financial services industry, to formulate policies related to SRAP in Indonesia.

Originality/value

There are still few previous studies that include an academician’s perspective related to the SRAP and examine SRAP in a developing country context.
Using photovoice to investigate the impact of place attachment on community resilience in Iceland
Authors: Lyons Aine , Gísladóttir Jóhanna , Kokorsch Matthias
Published: August 2024

Purpose

Globally, climate change is exacerbating the impacts of climate-related, natural hazards including avalanches. However, there is limited knowledge about how small and remote communities are affected by and perceive the effects of a changing climate with hazards that increase in intensity and/or frequency. Consequently, there is a call for more actionable and interdisciplinary climate adaptation research, which takes its starting point in understanding the local concerns of people living in small remote communities.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper test the photovoice method to gather respondents’ perceptions of the place in which they live and the hazards they face through personal narratives of photographs.

Findings

Despite its limitations, the photovoice method was found to be a suitable tool for gaining valuable insights into the communities while ensuring comfort and enjoyment for both participants and the researcher.

Research limitations/implications

The findings also show that despite its limitations photovoice is a useful method for shedding light on risk perception, place attachment and resiliency in communities facing the risk of natural hazards. The study found that place attachment is an important factor to consider in disaster risk management, policy and decision making.

Originality/value

The paper adds to a growing body of literature surrounding the relationship between place attachment and community resilience to climate-related natural hazards. The authors examined the impact of place attachment on community resilience, focusing on two rural and remote villages located in the Westfjords in Iceland – Patreksfjörður and Flateyri. Societal aspects of natural hazards have hitherto been hardly addressed in Iceland and to our knowledge the applied method has not been tested before in such a setting. The photovoice method is tested to gather respondents’ perceptions of the place in which they live and the hazards they face through personal narratives of photographs.
Multi-dimensional feature fusion-based expert recommendation in community question answering
Authors: Ye Guanghui , Li Songye , Wu Lanqi , Wei Jinyu , Wu Chuan , Wang Yujie , Li Jiarong , Liang Bo , Liu Shuyan
Published: August 2024

Purpose

Community question answering (CQA) platforms play a significant role in knowledge dissemination and information retrieval. Expert recommendation can assist users by helping them find valuable answers efficiently. Existing works mainly use content and user behavioural features for expert recommendation, and fail to effectively leverage the correlation across multi-dimensional features.

Design/methodology/approach

To address the above issue, this work proposes a multi-dimensional feature fusion-based method for expert recommendation, aiming to integrate features of question–answerer pairs from three dimensions, including network features, content features and user behaviour features. Specifically, network features are extracted by first learning user and tag representations using network representation learning methods and then calculating questioner–answerer similarities and answerer–tag similarities. Secondly, content features are extracted from textual contents of questions and answerer generated contents using text representation models. Thirdly, user behaviour features are extracted from user actions observed in CQA platforms, such as following and likes. Finally, given a question–answerer pair, the three dimensional features are fused and used to predict the probability of the candidate expert answering the given question.

Findings

The proposed method is evaluated on a data set collected from a publicly available CQA platform. Results show that the proposed method is effective compared with baseline methods. Ablation study shows that network features is the most important dimensional features among all three dimensional features.

Practical implications

This work identifies three dimensional features for expert recommendation in CQA platforms and conducts a comprehensive investigation into the importance of features for the performance of expert recommendation. The results suggest that network features are the most important features among three-dimensional features, which indicates that the performance of expert recommendation in CQA platforms is likely to get improved by further mining network features using advanced techniques, such as graph neural networks. One broader implication is that it is always important to include multi-dimensional features for expert recommendation and conduct systematic investigation to identify the most important features for finding directions for improvement.

Originality/value

This work proposes three-dimensional features given that existing works mostly focus on one or two-dimensional features and demonstrate the effectiveness of the newly proposed features.
Development of a personalized mask design method using three-dimensional scan data
Authors: Kang Yeonghoon , Jung Gyungin , Kim Sungmin
Published: August 2024

Purpose

This study aims to develop a novel design method to make personalized masks for the effective prevention of pandemic respiratory infectious disease.

Design/methodology/approach

The changes in facial shape during speaking were analyzed using a three-dimensional (3D) scanning technique. In total, 13 anthropometric items were measured, and mask patterns were generated using a parametric pattern design method. Three sizing methods were proposed to reflect not only static but also dynamic body dimensions on the mask patterns.

Findings

A significant increase or decrease was observed in 10 out of 13 measurement items. Based on this, four items were selected to be used in the mask pattern design. The nose and cheek areas of a mask were fixed to protect the respiratory tract against viruses. The lower jaw area was deformed to improve the fit.

Social implications

This study is expected to provide fundamental data to understand the changes in facial shape during movement. In addition, it is expected that the development of individualized personal protective equipment with movement adaptability will facilitate an effective response to various pandemic respiratory diseases.

Originality/value

In order to develop a personal protective equipment (PPE) that has a good fit and can protect against pandemic respiratory infectious diseases, morphological analysis was attempted using 3D facial data. It would be possible to design various products and equipment to be worn on the face by using the method proposed in this study.
Impacts of institutional pressures and internal abilities on green performance of transport and logistics companies
Authors: Layaoen Haerold Dean , Abareshi Ahmad , Abdulrahman Muhammad Dan-Asabe , Abbasi Babak
Published: August 2024

Purpose

Transport and logistics companies (TLCs) have adopted green practices to reduce their emission and waste in support of environmental protection requirements. However, not all green practices of TLCs have resulted in green performance (GP) because of inherent variations in internal abilities and external factors affecting firms in different operational environments. Using institutional (INT) and resource-based view (RBV) theories we develop a model that shows how institutional pressures and internal abilities impact TLCs’ GP.

Design/methodology/approach

Underpinned by INT and RBV theories, this study utilised structural equation modelling on a cross-sectional survey of 222 TLC firms operating in the Philippines.

Findings

The study reveals that TLCs’ regulatory compliance, social obligations and competitor pressures have significant direct effects on TLCs’ GP while supplier integration and resource capabilities serially mediate the relationships. The findings indicate that institutional pressures and internal abilities that shape firms’ environmental policies and procedures explain TLCs’ GP.

Research limitations/implications

As a result of the cross-sectional nature of our data, findings may be time, population and prevailing situation dependent. The long-term validity of the research can be improved if longitudinal design is employed. We collected data from a single respondent considered as the best respondent. However, with time and resource availability, a jury of executives for each company would have been a better alternative respondent.

Practical implications

The findings of this research provide TLC managers, policymakers and other stakeholders with much-needed guidance for crafting policies and strategies for handling the challenges of caring for the planet and maintaining sustainable operations.

Social implications

Improving green practices of TLCs to enable waste and emission reductions is critical to the health and well-being of people and the planet. An environment free of pollution will result in fewer health challenges, fewer medical/insurance-related expenses, and, above all, enable a higher quality of life and a more productive workforce.

Originality/value

Studies have extensively explored the green practices of TLCs as well as the influences of both institutional pressures and internal abilities of TLCs on their green practices. This study identifies critical factors that significantly affect the GP of TLCs and provides a conceptual framework for a better understanding of the dynamics of strategic, tactical and operational issues that TCLs may face in their effort at greening the sector.
Feedback, training, goal-setting, planning and performance: understanding the pathway to improved organizational outcomes
Authors: Chowhan James , Mann Sara , Budworth Marie-Hélène
Published: August 2024

Purpose

As competitive pressures persist and global economic influences continue to present new challenges, businesses need to be able to respond to emerging circumstances. Goal-setting and planning are key mechanisms contributing to organizational competitive success, yet organizations underappreciate the role of competency and capacity building factors that contribute to successful planning. This paper integrates three theoretical models enabling an investigation into the positive relationships between managerial activities generating information feedback, training in planning and skills and organizational performance outcomes, while exploring the positive mediating roles of goal-setting and planning.

Design/methodology/approach

A unique organizational sample of agribusiness producers (n = 499) in Canada is examined. A structural equation path analysis model is used to evaluate the main relationships.

Findings

The results suggest that organizations are finding that managerial and training activities should not be considered in isolation, but rather as supports for goal-setting, planning and performance outcomes. Thus, the implications are that managers can find organizational value enhanced through the building of human resource competency (e.g. management activities and training) with these emerging capacities aiding goal setting and planning activities.

Originality/value

This study makes three main contributions: first, by adopting a rational-design perspective and integrating theoretical frameworks focusing on (a) planning-performance and (b) goal-setting-planning. This extended model goes beyond previous studies by including managerial activities, training, goals, planning and performance outcomes. Second, this study uniquely accounts for a more comprehensive set of key confounding factors such as operational activities, organizational strategy and organizational size in the integrated framework. Finally, as far as the authors are aware, there has not been a survey study at the organizational level that has explored the role of managerial activities and training in planning within a similarly comprehensive model.
Weight gain and social support networks in Canadian federal correctional facilities
Authors: Johnson Claire , Dupuis Jérémie B. , Robichaudb Wendjie , Pone Edwige Kamwa , LeBlanc Caroline P.
Published: August 2024

Purpose

This study aims to examine whether inmate’s social support network is related to changes in anthropometric data among individuals in Canadian correctional facilities.

Design/methodology/approach

Methods: A total of 754 participants in federal correctional facilities who had been incarcerated for at least six months responded to the questionnaire by interview regarding their social support network. Chi-square tests and non-parametric tests for median comparison were used to measure changes in anthropometric data [weight and body mass index (BMI)] between the date of admission into custody and the date of the interview. Subsequently, a multivariate regression analysis for BMI change was conducted to adjust for covariates such as sex, age and ethnicity.

Findings

Results: Participants who received more than two visits per month had significantly lower weight gain (2.6 kg) than those who received less than one visit per month (7.1 kg, p = 0.02). Similar results were observed for the average change in BMI (p = 0.01). The influence of an external social support network on BMI change remained significant after adjusting for covariates. Conclusions: An individual's external social support network (outside the prison environment) may protect against weight gain in correctional facilities. Given how social support will vary based on the prison context by country and jurisdiction, individual and organizational strategies should be considered to maintain a healthy social support network and increase the number of visits (at every stage of incarceration) to counteract this weight gain and its adverse health consequences.

Originality/value

The social support network outside the prison environment may protect against weight gain in correctional facilities. Strategies should be considered to maintain a healthy social support network and increase the number of visits to counteract this weight gain and its adverse health consequences.
Examining the relationship between project management office functions and project performance in Ghana: a structural equation modelling approach
Authors: Agyeman-Boakye Kwasi , Kissi Ernest , Abu Ivy
Published: August 2024

Purpose

The aim of this study is to investigate the influence of Project Management Office (PMO) functions on project performance in businesses in Lower Middle-Income Countries (LMIC) using Partial Least Square–Structural Equation Modelling (PLS–SEM).

Design/methodology/approach

Utilizing close-ended questionnaires in a cross-sectional survey, 256 project professionals from 10 business sectors in Ghana views were elicited. The questions were developed through a comprehensive literature review and involved 27 PMO functional measures grouped into 6 and 19 project performance measures grouped into 6. Data collected was then analysed using the PLS–SEM to validate the hypothetical relationship.

Findings

The PLS–SEM model supported 13 (t > 1.65) out of 36 hypotheses investigating the relationship between PMO functions and project performance. Variations in the PMO functions moderately (R2 = 0.34) explained the performance of projects. The aggregate activities of the PMO had the highest significant influence on environmental performance (R2 = 0.467). The topmost PMO function was identified as monitoring and controlling project performance, and it was significantly associated with cost (ß = 0.265, p < 0.05), quality (ß = 0.291, p < 0.05) and project scope (ß = 0.265 p < 0.05) performance.

Research limitations/implications

This research has brought more illumination to the functions of PMOs and its influence on project performance. The results suggest that PMO activities, when tailored to the business context, can significantly change project performance variables.

Originality/value

Most research on PMO and project performance has been limited to developed countries or a single sector. This study uniquely expands the business sectors and focuses on LMICs.
Exploring marketing strategies in wine tourism: a comparative study of Roussillon and Empordà wine regions
Authors: Camprubi Raquel , Goncalves Olga
Published: August 2024

Purpose

This study addresses a gap in the literature by examining the marketing strategies adopted by wineries in the context of wine tourism. This study aims to identify marketing strategic orientations and highlight their significance in the context of wine tourism.

Design/methodology/approach

The research uses a comparative case study approach, focusing on two wine regions, Roussillon (France) and Empordà (Spain). It involves the analysis of 99 active winery websites to identify marketing orientations. Descriptive statistics, cluster analysis and ANOVA tests were used to achieve this.

Findings

The study reveals four distinct wine tourism strategic orientations adopted by wineries in these regions. It emphasizes the importance of external ties, varying levels of competitiveness, website performance and geographical differences as key findings. The results show that wineries with a clear diversification strategy benefit from a higher level of competitiveness.

Originality/value

This research contributes to the academic literature by identifying different marketing strategies within wine tourism, highlighting their importance and providing a comprehensive analysis of key areas, thus adding original insights to the existing body of literature.
School leadership in a non-western context: how is paternalistic leadership related to teacher well-being and commitment in collectivist versus individualistic school cultures?
Authors: Bellibaş Mehmet Şükrü , Polatcan Mahmut , Özcan Muaz , Akyürek Muhammet İbrahim
Published: August 2024

Purpose

The present study aims to examine the moderation role of school culture attributes (individualism versus collectivism) in the relationship between paternalistic leadership and teacher commitment, mediated by teacher well-being.

Design/methodology/approach

The data included 1,152 teachers across 104 schools in Türkiye using a multilevel moderated mediation SEM model to test relevant hypotheses.

Findings

The results showed that teacher well-being fully mediates the relationship between perceived paternalistic principal leadership and teacher commitment. Additionally, the collectivist orientation of school culture influences the strength of the association between paternalistic leadership and teacher commitment indirectly through well-being. More precisely, paternalistic leadership has a stronger link to teacher well-being and commitment when teachers identify the culture of their schools as relatively more collectivist.

Originality/value

This study offers empirical evidence of paternalistic school leadership in promoting teacher well-being and commitment depending on the school culture in a non-western country context.
Addressing brain drain and strengthening governance for advancing government readiness in artificial intelligence (AI)
Authors: Socol Adela , Iuga Iulia Cristina
Published: August 2024

Purpose

This study aims to investigate the impact of brain drain on government AI readiness in EU member countries, considering the distinctive governance characteristics, macroeconomic conditions and varying levels of ICT specialists.

Design/methodology/approach

The research employs a dynamic panel data model using the System Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) to analyze the relationship between brain drain and government AI readiness from 2018 to 2022. The study incorporates various control variables such as GDP per capita growth, government expenditure growth, employed ICT specialists and several governance indicators.

Findings

The results indicate that brain drain negatively affects government AI readiness. Additionally, the presence of ICT specialists, robust governance structures and positive macroeconomic indicators such as GDP per capita growth and government expenditure growth positively influence AI readiness.

Research limitations/implications

Major limitations include the focus on a specific region of countries and the relatively short period analyzed. Future research could extend the analysis with more comprehensive datasets and consider additional variables that might influence AI readiness, such as the integration of AI with emerging quantum computing technologies and the impact of governance reforms and international collaborations on AI readiness.

Practical implications

The theoretical value of this study lies in providing a nuanced understanding of how brain drain impacts government AI readiness, emphasizing the critical roles of skilled human capital, effective governance and macroeconomic factors in enhancing AI capabilities, thereby filling a significant gap in the existing literature.

Originality/value

This research fills a significant gap in the existing literature by providing a comprehensive analysis of the interaction between brain drain and government AI readiness. It uses control variables such as ICT specialists, governance structures and macroeconomic factors within the context of the European Union. It offers novel insights for policymakers to enhance AI readiness through targeted interventions addressing brain drain and fostering a supportive environment for AI innovation.
Mapping the path to efficiency: harnessing value stream mapping (VSM) and lean tools for streamlined electronic device manufacturing
Authors: Al-Rifai Mohammad
Published: August 2024

Purpose

Optimizing manufacturing processes addresses operational challenges and yields significant benefits across the business spectrum. This study aims to comprehensively analyze a manufacturing process through value stream mapping (VSM), aiming to streamline operations, reduce production lead times and minimize work-in-process (WIP) inventory levels. These improvements directly enhance competitiveness, customer satisfaction and overall business success, enabling a swift response to market demands, timely delivery of high-quality products and cost-effectiveness.

Design/methodology/approach

The approach integrates current and future-state VSM concepts with Lean tools across four stages: problem definition, current-state VSM analysis, future-state VSM design and improvement implementation. A team assembled to improve the manufacturing process for electronic devices has successfully implemented this approach.

Findings

Implemented improvements significantly reduced WIP inventory (88.8% equivalent to $572,171 annually) and production lead time (from 28.26 to 3.21 days), enhancing operational flexibility and competitiveness. Streamlined processes led to a 13% decrease in cycle time and a notable reduction in daily rework (63.6%), amounting to $118,127 annually. Labor reduction (45.5%) yielded annual savings of approximately $594,000, with affected individuals successfully transitioning to other roles, highlighting the effectiveness of lean methodologies without job cuts.

Originality/value

This initiative exemplifies the effective use of VSM and Lean tools in optimizing an electronic device manufacturing operation that produces 43 products across various processes. By leveraging these methodologies, this research offers valuable insights into enhancing production efficiency, resulting in shorter production lead times, reduced cycle times and significant decreases in WIP inventory and rework.
The physical mechanism of heat transfer enhancement for Al2O3-water nanofluid forced flow in a microchannel with two-phase lattice Boltzmann method
Authors: Guo Yali , Liu Hui , Gong Luyuan , Shen Shengqiang
Published: August 2024

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the mechanism of nanofluid enhanced heat transfer in microchannels and promote the application of nanofluids in industrial processes such as solar collectors, electronic cooling and automotive batteries.

Design/methodology/approach

The two-phase lattice Boltzmann method was used to calculate the flow and heat transfer characteristics of Al2O3 nanofluids in a microchannel at Re = 50. By comparing the simulation results of pure water, nanofluids without calculated nanoparticle-fluid interaction forces and nanofluids with calculated nanoparticle-fluid interaction forces, the effects of physical properties improvement and interaction forces on flow and heat transfer are quantified.

Findings

The findings show that the nanofluid (φ = 3%, R = 10 nm) increases the average Nusselt number by 22.40% at Re = 50. In particular, 16.16% of the improvement relates to nanoparticles optimizing the thermophysical parameters of the base fluid. The remaining 6.24% relates to the disturbance of the thermal boundary layer caused by the interaction between nanoparticles and the base fluid. Moreover, the nanoparticle has a negligible effect on the average Fanning friction factor. Ultimately, we conclude that the nanofluid is an excellent heat transfer working medium based on its performance evaluation criterion, PEC = 1.225.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors' knowledge, this research quantifies for the first time the contribution of nanoparticle-liquid interactions and nanofluids physical properties to enhanced heat transfer, advancing the knowledge of the nanoparticle's behavior in liquid systems.
Agility in virtual environments: the socio-technical approach of distributed agile teams
Authors: Masili Giorgia , Binci Daniele , Cerruti Corrado , Appolloni Andrea , Giraldi Luca
Published: August 2024

Purpose

This study aims to understand how distributed agile teams (DATs), encouraged by globalisation, and recently accelerated by the COVID-19 outbreak, adopt agile practices to achieve project goals by working virtually.

Design/methodology/approach

This study developed a multiple-case study involving four companies undergoing several changes, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. The authors collected data mainly through in-depth, face-to-face interviews with seven key informants. Moreover, this study operates data triangulation by referring to secondary data sources and developing a grounded theory data analysis.

Findings

The findings highlight three main categories associated with the DAT functioning, namely, “DATs’ implementation issues”, “elements supporting DATs’ implementation” and “outcomes of DATs’ implementation”, that show DATs’ primary triggers, critical aspects and supportive actions for team functioning.

Research limitations/implications

This paper produced valuable theoretical knowledge of DATs’ dynamics within a socio-technical approach that distinguishes soft and hard variables supporting DAT implementation. Moreover, the evidence provides useful suggestions for managers about creating an objective-oriented virtual work environment based on DATs’ self-organisation, digitally shared leadership and occasional on-site socialisation.

Originality/value

This paper provides new and interesting insights that bring to evidence the main variables related to DATs’ adoption and dynamics, showing supporting activities that enhanced their operativity. It provides a valuable descriptive framework for academics and practitioners to understand DATs’ functioning better and take action to improve their implementation.
A review on microstructure, mechanical behavior and post processing of additively manufactured Ni-based superalloys
Authors: Kuntoğlu Mustafa , Salur Emin , Gupta Munish Kumar , Waqar Saad , Szczotkarz Natalia , Vashishtha Govind , Korkmaz Mehmet Erdi , Krolczyk Grzegorz M.
Published: August 2024

Purpose

The nickel-based alloys Inconel 625 and Inconel 718 stand out due to their high strength and corrosion resistance in important industries like aerospace, aviation and automotive. Even though they are widely used, current techniques of producing materials that are difficult to cut pose several problems from a financial, ecological and even health perspective. To handle these problems and acquire improved mechanical and structural qualities, laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) has been widely used as one of the most essential additive manufacturing techniques. The purpose of this article is to focus on the state of the art on LPBF parts of Inconel 625 and Inconel 718 for microstructure, mechanical behavior and postprocessing.

Design/methodology/approach

The mechanical behavior of LPBF-fabricated Inconel is described, including hardness, surface morphology and wear, as well as the influence of fabrication orientation on surface quality, biocompatibility and resultant mechanical properties, particularly tensile strength, fatigue performance and tribological behaviors.

Findings

The postprocessing techniques such as thermal treatments, polishing techniques for surface enhancement, mechanical and laser-induced peening and physical operations are summarized.

Originality/value

The highlighted topic presents the critical aspects of the advantages and challenges of the LPBF parts produced by Inconel 718 and 625, which can be a guideline for manufacturers and academia in practical applications.
Exploring Iranian English language teachers’ hope: an ecological perspective
Authors: Karimpour Sedigheh , Elahi Shirvan Majid , Shahnama Mojdeh
Published: August 2024

Purpose

The present study explores five Iranian English language teachers’ hopes by drawing on an ecological approach as its conceptual underpinning.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected from narrative frames and semi-structured interviews.

Findings

Analyses of our data highlighted how teacher- and student-related factors caused fluctuations in teachers’ hopes. In addition, our findings indicated that while teachers’ past teaching experiences increased their hope, teachers’ lack of agency and economic inflation were among the most significant factors that decreased teachers’ hope in their profession.

Originality/value

This study is one of the first studies in the field of language studies with an ecological perspective on language teachers' hope.