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Article
Publication date: 21 February 2018

Somayyeh Mirzaee and Ali Ghaffari

Knowledge is the key factor and the strategic resource for acquiring assets and intangible organizational capabilities, which can lead to further growth and development, creation…

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Abstract

Purpose

Knowledge is the key factor and the strategic resource for acquiring assets and intangible organizational capabilities, which can lead to further growth and development, creation of value and the advantage of competitiveness. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of information systems (ISs) on knowledge sharing.

Design/methodology/approach

The statistical society and the intended population of this study were the experts of the registry office in Tabriz, East Azerbaijan Province, Iran. A questionnaire was used as the instrument for collecting data. Also, SMART-partial least square was used for testing the hypotheses of the study.

Findings

The results gained in this study revealed that IS dimensions, i.e. service quality, system quality and technology, play a significant role in sharing knowledge among the personnel of an organization.

Practical implications

Nowadays, knowledge is regarded as a notable component of knowledge management process, which contributes to the growth and development of organizations. Sharing knowledge can be considered as a vital phenomenon in managing organizational knowledge. One of the remarkable tasks of ISs is to share information as a key factor. Sharing information can result in fast information distribution and efficient and effective organizational operations and enhanced internal and external performance of the organization.

Originality/value

This paper is aimed at introducing and presenting functional dimensions for optimizing the efficacy of ISs. Implementing an effective IS can accelerate the speed of information exchange among the personnel and the improvement of their capabilities.

Details

Journal of Knowledge Management, vol. 22 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1367-3270

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 11 September 2017

Naser Akbari and Ali Ghaffari

This paper was aimed at investigating the impact of knowledge management (KM) procedures on enriching human resources in Water and Waste Water Company in East Azerbaijan, Iran.

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Abstract

Purpose

This paper was aimed at investigating the impact of knowledge management (KM) procedures on enriching human resources in Water and Waste Water Company in East Azerbaijan, Iran.

Design/methodology/approach

The samples used in this study included the employees of Water and Waste Water Company in Tabriz, East Azerbaijan, Iran. A questionnaire was used for collecting data from the employees of the abovementioned company. Its reliability and validity were first examined and checked. Then, Smart partial least squares 2.0 was used for analyzing the structural model.

Findings

The results acknowledged the validity of the introduced model for enriching human resources. The findings indicated that five variables, namely, kind of knowledge, top managers, information technology, culture and organization of knowledge, have significant impact on enriching human resources.

Research limitations/implications

It is undoubtable that research studies might have specific limitations which should be pointed out and addressed in future studies. The followings are the major limitations of the study: because the present study was carried out in Water and Wastewater Company in Tabriz, East Azerbaijan, hence, generalizing the findings of this study to other professional contexts and organizations should be made with caution. In fact, the present study need to be replicated in other context to find whether the same or different results are obtained. In other words, different cultural, contextual and professional conditions might result differently from the ones reported here. Inasmuch as the present study was a cross-sectional study and the data were collected via questionnaire, a longitudinal study with a longer observation and investigation might shed more light on the efficacy of KMS in organizations. The present study focused on a specific dependent variable (human resource empowerment) which was explained by different dimensions of an independent variable, i.e. KM. However, the impact and efficacy of KMS can be investigated on other organizational variables and parameters. In this study, due to certain logistic and real-life limitations such as the limited time of the staff members of the target organization, we had to use only one data-collection instrument. Nevertheless, future studies can use data triangulation so as to better capture professional contexts of the study. Furthermore, another limitation of the study is related to the individual variables of the employees which remained untouched. That is, whether employees’ personal, emotional and cognitive variables can modify the impact of KM on human resource empowerment was not investigated in the present study.

Practical implications

Organizational managers are recommended to provide the background for employees to share their experiences. Organizations should invest on designing and developing patterns and strategic perspectives in human resource empowerment as a key factor toward becoming knowledge-based organizations.

Originality/value

This paper is one of the few applied studies which acknowledged the relationship between knowledge management initiatives and empowering human resources. It addresses the gap between knowledge management and human resource empowerment.

Details

Journal of Knowledge Management, vol. 21 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1367-3270

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 27 November 2017

Mahboub Okhdar and Ali Ghaffari

Based on consideration of learner needs for expanding vocabulary and the complexity of educational content, this paper introduces a model aimed at facilitating English vocabulary…

Abstract

Purpose

Based on consideration of learner needs for expanding vocabulary and the complexity of educational content, this paper introduces a model aimed at facilitating English vocabulary learning.

Design/methodology/approach

By measuring a set of effective variables regarding simplicity of English sentences, a ranking algorithm is presented in the proposed model. According to this ranking, the simplest sentence in the recommender system (RS) is selected and recommended to the user. Furthermore, Pearson correlation coefficient was used for checking the degree of correlation among the respective parameters on sentence simplicity. For evaluating the efficiency of the recommended algorithm, a prototype was designed by programming using Embarcadero Delphi XE2.

Findings

The results of the study indicated that the correlation among the parameters of word frequency, sentence length and average dependency distance were 0.723, 0.683 and 0.589, respectively. The computed final score is considered to be more accurate.

Practical implications

The application of RS in language learning and education sheds light on the theoretical validity of system thinking by highlighting its key features: its multidisciplinary nature, complexity, dynamicity and the interdependence and relation of micro and macro levels in a system.

Social implications

The proposed method has significant pedagogical implications; it can be used by second language teachers and learners for checking the degree of complexity/learnability of discourse and text.

Originality/value

This paper proposes an alternate model with a significantly higher speed for computing final sentence score.

Article
Publication date: 24 April 2024

Bahman Arasteh and Ali Ghaffari

Reducing the number of generated mutants by clustering redundant mutants, reducing the execution time by decreasing the number of generated mutants and reducing the cost of…

Abstract

Purpose

Reducing the number of generated mutants by clustering redundant mutants, reducing the execution time by decreasing the number of generated mutants and reducing the cost of mutation testing are the main goals of this study.

Design/methodology/approach

In this study, a method is suggested to identify and prone the redundant mutants. In the method, first, the program source code is analyzed by the developed parser to filter out the effectless instructions; then the remaining instructions are mutated by the standard mutation operators. The single-line mutants are partially executed by the developed instruction evaluator. Next, a clustering method is used to group the single-line mutants with the same results. There is only one complete run per cluster.

Findings

The results of experiments on the Java benchmarks indicate that the proposed method causes a 53.51 per cent reduction in the number of mutants and a 57.64 per cent time reduction compared to similar experiments in the MuJava and MuClipse tools.

Originality/value

Developing a classifier that takes the source code of the program and classifies the programs' instructions into effective and effectless classes using a dependency graph; filtering out the effectless instructions reduces the total number of mutants generated; Developing and implementing an instruction parser and instruction-level mutant generator for Java programs; the mutant generator takes instruction in the original program as a string and generates its single-line mutants based on the standard mutation operators in MuJava; Developing a stack-based evaluator that takes an instruction (original or mutant) and the test data and evaluates its result without executing the whole program.

Details

Data Technologies and Applications, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2514-9288

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 4 September 2009

Morteza Tayefi, Jafar Roshanian and Ali Ghaffari

The purpose of this paper is to identify linear model parameters of launch vehicles based on the actual flight test data. To compare the estimated parameters with the ones…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to identify linear model parameters of launch vehicles based on the actual flight test data. To compare the estimated parameters with the ones obtained by two other approaches: identification based on the recorded data from six‐degree‐freedom simulation of motion and linearization of the equations of motion via small‐disturbance theory as an analytical method.

Design/methodology/approach

As the vehicle contains all the key issues in system identification such as time‐varying, unstable, nonlinear, and closed‐loop dynamics, Kalman filter method under the autoregressive with exogenous input model structure is used as a powerful method to estimate the dynamic parameters.

Findings

Simulation results demonstrate that the linear model parameters used in the vehicle design and analysis should be validated by flight test data to accurate the vehicle dynamic model as more as possible.

Practical implications

One of the most important usages of a linear model of aerospace vehicles is to design their controller. Another application of the algorithm presented in this paper is to estimate online dynamic parameters of the vehicle when they are required for the operation of the control system.

Originality/value

Being strongly affected by vehicle dynamic characteristics, linear model parameters of launch vehicles play important part in their design and analysis.

Details

Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, vol. 81 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0002-2667

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 9 October 2019

Mohsen Babaei, Afshin Shariat-Mohaymany, Nariman Nikoo and Ahmad-Reza Ghaffari

One of the problems in post-earthquake disaster management in developing countries, such as Iran, is the prediction of the residual network available for disaster relief…

Abstract

Purpose

One of the problems in post-earthquake disaster management in developing countries, such as Iran, is the prediction of the residual network available for disaster relief operations. Therefore, it is important to use methods that are executable in such countries given the limited amount of accurate data. The purpose of this paper is to present a multi-objective model that seeks to determine the set of roads of a transportation network that should preserve its role in carrying out disaster relief operations (i.e. known as “emergency road network” (ERN)) in the aftermath of earthquakes.

Design/methodology/approach

In this paper, the total travel time of emergency trips, the total length of network and the provision of coverage to the emergency demand/supply points have been incorporated as three important metrics of ERN into a multi-objective mixed integer linear programming model. The proposed model has been solved by adopting the e-constraint method.

Findings

The results of applying the model to Tehran’s highway network indicated that the least possible length for the emergency transportation network is about half the total length of its major roads (freeways and major arterials).

Practical implications

Gathering detailed data about origin-destination pair of emergency trips and network characteristics have a direct effect on designing a suitable emergency network in pre-disaster phase.

Originality/value

To become solvable in a reasonable time, especially in large-scale cases, the problem has been modeled based on a decomposing technique. The model has been solved successfully for the emergency roads of Tehran within about 10 min of CPU time.

Details

Journal of Humanitarian Logistics and Supply Chain Management, vol. 9 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2042-6747

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 4 November 2020

Jurgita Raudeliuniene, Ekaterina Albats and Mirna Kordab

The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of information technologies and technology-enabled social networks on the efficiency of knowledge management processes in the…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of information technologies and technology-enabled social networks on the efficiency of knowledge management processes in the Middle Eastern audit and consulting companies.

Design/methodology/approach

Scientific literature analysis, structural equation modeling and expert evaluation (structured questionnaire) were used to develop the research model, collect data from the audit and consulting companies’ experts and test the research hypotheses.

Findings

The empirical results of this research supported the hypotheses stating that information technologies and social networks positively affect the knowledge management cycle, including five processes (acquisition, creation, storage, sharing and application) within the Middle Eastern audit and consulting companies.

Research limitations/implications

The research results were generated from the Middle Eastern audit and consulting companies, which form a limitation concerning the geographical area and the business sector.

Practical implications

From the results of this study, audit and consulting companies, as well as organizations and society broadly, would benefit via the positive effect of information technologies and technology-enabled social networks on the whole knowledge management cycle, which has a further impact on organizational performance. These practical implications are related to a more open, sharing culture that drives organizational performance to the members and stakeholders of organizations, which, in turn, benefits society.

Originality/value

This research analyzes information technologies and technology-enabled social networks’ impact on knowledge management processes, particularly in the context of the Middle Eastern audit and consulting companies. While the phenomena have received some attention in the prior scientific research, the studied context so far remained under-researched, where a gap is found in studying the knowledge management cycle as a whole.

Details

Journal of Knowledge Management, vol. 25 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1367-3270

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 19 August 2021

Mitho Khan Bhatti, Bahadur Ali Soomro and Naimatullah Shah

This paper aims to explore the training characteristics and employees' performance among the nurses in Pakistan.

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to explore the training characteristics and employees' performance among the nurses in Pakistan.

Design/methodology/approach

The study employed cross-sectional data through random sampling of trained health nurses from the Government sector hospitals of Pakistan. The survey questionnaire is applied as the primary tool to acquire data. In total, the authors utilized 306 valid cases to infer the final results.

Findings

The structural equation modeling (SEM) underlines a positive and significant impact of cognitive ability and performance goal on employees' performance. On the other hand, there is an insignificant impact of motivation to learn on performance among the nurses of Pakistan.

Practical implications

Broadly, the findings of the study would provide some new insights to understand the performance of nurses in the health care sector through the outcomes of the training characteristics. Further, the results would be a way out to make a better quality of health care enhanced with the support of training. It may contribute to the growth in quality of work and improve work productivity by boosting up and uplifting training characteristics. The research arena would enrich the inclusive theoretical framework of performance and contribute to the domain literature and methodological validation.

Originality/value

The study confirms the role of training characteristics towards performance among the nurses of the public health sector of Pakistan. The investigation would further validate the impact of cognitive ability and the motivation to learn and performance goals on performance globally.

Details

Journal of Economic and Administrative Sciences, vol. 39 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1026-4116

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 3 May 2022

Olufisayo Adedokun and Temitope Egbelakin

Despite several research efforts tackling construction project risks globally, tertiary education building projects are not devoid of experiencing risks with cascading effects on…

Abstract

Purpose

Despite several research efforts tackling construction project risks globally, tertiary education building projects are not devoid of experiencing risks with cascading effects on projects. In the past decades, there has been increasing application of linear assessments of risks in construction risk management practices. However, this study aims to assess the influence of risk factors on the success of tertiary education building projects using a structural equation modelling approach. This study will further reinforce the risk factors that require attention because risk factors are not linear but interdependent.

Design/methodology/approach

A quantitative research method was undertaken in this study, where data collection was achieved via a structured questionnaire survey. In total, 452 questionnaires were administered to client representatives, consultants and contractors involved in executing tertiary education building projects across five public tertiary education institutions in Ondo State, Nigeria. Of 452 questionnaires, 279 were found usable for the analysis, implying a response rate of 61.73%. The Cronbach α test, average variances extracted and composite reliabilities values show high reliability and internal consistency of the instrument used for data gathering. Furthermore, the study adopted percentile, mean, correlation, regression analysis and structural equation modelling for analyzing the data collected upon which the study’s inferences were based.

Findings

The study found that three out of six criteria for measuring the success of tertiary education building projects were significantly affected by risk factors while using the structural equation modelling technique. With this non-linear method of assessment, completion to time was significantly impacted by environmental risk factors. In addition, safety performance was also significantly influenced by logistic, environmental and legal risk factors; furthermore, logistics, design and environmental risks significantly affected profit. However, completion to cost, standard/quality and end-user satisfaction was not significantly affected by the risk factors in tertiary education building projects.

Research limitations/implications

The quantitative data used for the analysis are limited to the tertiary education building projects from selected five tertiary education institutions in Ondo State; therefore, the results do not indicate all tertiary institutions in Nigeria. In addition, the findings are based on building projects that were procured through a competitive tendering arrangement only and thus considered a limitation for this study.

Practical implications

Not all the risks significantly influence the tertiary education building projects. Therefore, risk factors with a significant effect on the success indicators of tertiary education building projects should be prioritized for a successful project. While risk factors have not affected the completion to cost per se, the study implies that the resultant effect of risks on other success indicators could have a cascading effect on these projects in terms of cost and time overruns. These results may assist during the project risk management while also addressing complexity and uncertainty to avoid chaos in a tertiary education building projects.

Originality/value

The study found significant construction risk factors impacting the success of tertiary education building projects using a non-linear methodology, an extension beyond the usual linear method of assessment of risk impacts on the project performance.

Details

Journal of Facilities Management , vol. 22 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1472-5967

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 31 October 2022

Seyedeh Mehrangar Hosseini, Behnaz Bahadori and Shahram Charkhan

The purpose of this study is to identify the situation of spatial inequality in the residential system of Tehran city in terms of housing prices in the year 2021 and to examine…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to identify the situation of spatial inequality in the residential system of Tehran city in terms of housing prices in the year 2021 and to examine its changes over time (1991–2021).

Design/methodology/approach

In terms of purpose, this study is applied research and has used a descriptive-analytical method. The statistical population of this research is the residential units in Tehran city 2021. The average per square meter of a residential unit in the level of city neighborhoods was entered in the geographical information system (GIS) in 2021. Moran’s spatial autocorrelation method, map cluster analysis (hot and cold spots) and Kriging interpolation have been used for spatial analysis of points. Then, the change in spatial inequality in the residential system of Tehran city has been studied and measured based on the price per square meter of a residential unit for 30 years in the 22 districts of Tehran by using statistical clustering based on distance with standard deviation.

Findings

The result of spatial autocorrelation analysis with a score of 0.873872 and a p-value equal to 0.000000 indicates a cluster distribution of housing prices throughout the city. The results of hot spots show that the highest concentration of hot spots (the highest price) is in the northern part of the city, and the highest concentration of cold spots (the lowest price) is in the southern part of Tehran city. Calculating the area and estimating the quantitative values of data-free points by the use of the Kriging interpolation method indicates that 9.95% of Tehran’s area has a price of less than US$800, 17.68% of it has a price of US$800 to US$1,200, 25.40% has the price of US$1,200 to US$1,600, 17.61% has the price of US$1,600 to US$2,000, 9.54% has the price of US$2,000 to US$2,200, 6.69% has the price of US$2,200 to US$2,600, 5.38% has the price of US$2,600 to US$2,800, 4.59% has the price of US$2,800 to US$3,200 and finally, the 3.16% has a price more than US$3,200. The highest price concentration (above US$3,200) is in five neighborhoods (Zafaranieh, Mahmoudieh, Tajrish, Bagh-Ferdows and Hesar Bou-Ali). The findings from the study of changes in housing prices in the period (1991–2021) indicate that the southern part of Tehran has grown slightly compared to the average range, and the western part of Tehran, which includes the 21st and 22nd regions with much more growth than the average price.

Originality/value

There is massive inequality in housing prices in different areas and neighborhoods of Tehran city in 2021. In the period under study, spatial inequality in the residential system of Tehran intensified. The considerable increase in housing prices in the housing market of Tehran has made this sector a commodity, intensifying the inequality between owners and non-owners. This increase in housing price inequality has caused an increase in the informal living for the population of the southern part. This population is experiencing a living situation that contrasts with the urban plans and policies.

Details

International Journal of Housing Markets and Analysis, vol. 17 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1753-8270

Keywords

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