Free sample articles newly available from International Journal of Management Concepts and Philosophy

The following sample articles from the International Journal of Management Concepts and Philosophy are now available here for free:

• Evaluating the strategic potential of AMT in Indian manufacturing industries
• Dealing with quality uncertainty in the supply chains of perishable agricultural produce: consideration of buyer-supplier geographical distance and the choice of procurement channel
• Beyond relational diversity: managing workplace diversity and team composition with Indian psycho-philosophy
• A new model of pairing for innovation in management higher education: implications for the management field
• Achieving waste-free manufacturing processes through an effective series link production system

Special issue published: "Big Data Analytics and Business Intelligence"

International Journal of Business Intelligence and Data Mining 17(2) 2020

• A novel dynamic approach to identifying suspicious customers in money transactions
• Fibonacci retracement pattern recognition for forecasting foreign exchange market
• ScrAnViz: a tool for analytics and visualisation of unstructured data
• Implementation of multi node Hadoop virtual cluster on open stack cloud environments
• Impact of clustering on quality of recommendation in cluster-based collaborative filtering: an empirical study
• Mining big data streams using business analytics tools: a bird's eye view on MOA and SAMOA
• Weighted neuro-fuzzy hybrid algorithm for channel equalisation in time varying channel
• Decision tree classifier for university single rate tuition fee system

Breaking brand

Back in the day, if you liked a brand, you bought and used its products, perhaps mentioning or even recommending to friends and family. Today, the ubiquity of social media means that consumers have so many additional, albeit online, ways in which to “interact” and “engage” with a brand beyond simply using the product. One might post photos of the brand in action on a personal blog, photo or video site, such as Instagram or Youtube, one might offer updates and critique on platforms like Twitter, and, of course, there is the possibility of endless opportunities for liking, following, and commenting with and about a brand on Facebook.

Now, researchers from Korea and the USA writing in the International Journal of Internet Marketing and Advertising, discuss why some consumers ultimately disengage with some brands they once showed allegiance to on Facebook. They discuss the notion of advertising avoidance and one’s shift in the consumer-brand relationship not only in the context of hiding content that is no longer wanted but also as a means of direct self-expression.

A former brand fan that friends and family knew “liked” a brand summarily “unliking” it may be seen as a change in attitude or personal identity. Of course, the rationale may be perceived information overload, attitude towards social media marketing in general, but there is a certain element that pushes the brand detachment as social-identity expression, the team suggests.

Kwon, E.S., Kim, E. and Chung, Y.J. (2020) ‘Social break up: why consumers hide and unlike brands on Facebook’, Int. J. Internet Marketing and Advertising, Vol. 14, No. 3, pp.299–317.

International Journal of Auditing Technology to invite expanded papers from XXIII Seminários em Administração for potential publication

Extended versions of papers presented at the XXIII Seminários em Administração (25 November 2020, Universidade de São Paulo, Brazil) will be invited for review and potential publication by the International Journal of Auditing Technology.

Research pick: Less work, more play - "The impacts of increasing leisure time on subjective health and life satisfaction"

In the current global situation many people have been forced to rethink what we previously referred to as a work-life balance. There was much pressure from good mental health advocates for us to opt for more leisure time if that were a possibility. Now, in the time of the global coronavirus pandemic, we can see new ways to look at leisure time with a perspective on life satisfaction. However, in research carried out before Covid-19, Yen-Lien Kuo and Tzu-Hsiu Huang of the Department of Economics at National Cheng Kung University in Tainan City, Taiwan, investigated the relationships between working hours and changes in time spent on leisure and sports activities, as well as perceived health status, and individual life satisfaction.

Fundamentally, they analysed data from the Taiwan Social Change Survey and were able to show that longer working hours almost inevitably led to significantly lower life satisfaction whereas more leisure time improved subjective health measures and enhanced life satisfaction markedly. There was a caveat in terms of health. In that those in full-time work tended to be healthier than those were not. However, there was still the potential to improve mental health by boosting life satisfaction when employees were able to have more leisure time at the expense of working hours.

For Taiwan in particular, it is as a nation third in the league tables for longest working hours among Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries. It had been suggested in much earlier work that people with long working hours and inadequate recovery time see various problems accumulate over time and become chronic reactions. Work and leisure time may have been upturned in recent months because of pandemic lockdown and other factors. However, part of the new-normal may well see an increased need to balance work and leisure without trying to cram more hours into the day by reducing working hours. We already know that many more people can work from home and avoid the daily commute. This research suggests that government-led initiatives, particularly in Taiwan could drive this forward to the benefit of employees and perhaps even for employers.

Kuo, Y-L. and Huang, T-H. (2020) ‘The impacts of increasing leisure time on subjective health and life satisfaction‘, Int. J. Happiness and Development, Vol. 6, No. 1, pp.26-40.

Free sample articles newly available from International Journal of Happiness and Development

The following sample articles from the International Journal of Happiness and Development are now available here for free:

• Perceptions of ethnic residents' satisfaction: a quest towards the sustainable development of public space in Nigeria
• Psychosocial factors and psychological well-being in Ilaje oil-producing community, Niger-Delta region of Ondo State, Nigeria
• External flows and inclusive human development in Sub-Saharan Africa
• An examination of happiness between race, gender and school classification: an echo boomer analysis
• Factors associated with happiness among college students: do academic self-efficacy and stress predict happiness?
• Happiness, economic growth and air pollution: an empirical investigation

Research pick: Self-healing concrete - "Effect of calcium lactate and Bacillus subtilis bacteria on properties of concrete and self-healing of cracks"

The almost ubiquitous construction material we know as concrete has high compressive strength but low tensile strength. In order to overcome this problem, reinforced concrete was developed. Unfortunately, reinforced concrete more readily succumbs to corrosion particularly from water ingress so there is a need to develop ways to improve the formulation of reinforced concrete and perhaps to develop additives that allow the self-healing of cracks and fissures that grow so that a structure might be saved from complete deterioration.

Writing in the International Journal of Structural Engineering, a team from the National Institute of Technology, in Raipur, India, explain that there are two major causes of deterioration: carbonation-induced corrosion and chloride-induced corrosion. “Through the random distribution of pore spaces in concrete, aggressive substances, such as carbon dioxide, chloride, moisture, and oxygen may penetrate the structure,” the team explains. This, in turn, can break down the protective layer around reinforcing steel bars within the structure leading to their corrosion and ultimate failure.

In terms of the chemistry of the initial corrosion process involving carbonation. The initial alkalinity arising from the hydration process of cement protects the concrete formed from corrosion. However, carbon dioxide ingress leads to reactions with calcium compounds in the concrete which generates calcium carbonate and lowers the alkalinity making the material more acidic, unstable, and thus susceptible to degradation.

Other researchers have already shown that adding Bacillus subtilis bacteria to the cement formulation can have a protective effect. The team has now shown that calcium lactate can boost the benefits of the microbes by reducing the carbonation rate. It also improves the compressive strength of the concrete. Moreover, the living bacteria can refill and repair microscopic cracks within the structure to a degree allowing concrete to self-heal. This was observed in the laboratory by the team using scanning electron microscopy.

Vijay, K. and Murmu, M. (2020) ‘Effect of calcium lactate and Bacillus subtilis bacteria on properties of concrete and self-healing of cracks’, Int. J. Structural Engineering, Vol. 10, No. 3, pp.217–231.

Research pick: Stay-at-home workers - "Telecommuting potential analysis"

Working from home has become part of the so-called “new normal” for many people during the Covid-19 pandemic. However, there has been a move underway towards increased telecommuting for many years. Writing in the Global Business and Economics Review a research team from Portugal has set out to explore the potential of telecommuting in terms of productivity and quality of life gains, cost savings for workers and employers, and perhaps even environmental improvements through reduced transport pollution.

Commuting generates enormous economic, social, and environmental costs, although it has been the conventional approach to “going out to work” since the industrial revolution if not before. There are some benefits, of course, but largely these are often outweighed by infrastructure and transport requirements and ultimately increased use of energy and resources and an increase in pollution and carbon emissions. However, with a big shift to online services and the increased use of information technology in this so-called digital age many traditional jobs can readily be performed from the home at least some of the time if not the whole of the working week. Obviously, some jobs, such as construction and manual factory work, farming, and healthcare can rarely be reduced to the working from home paradigm.

Deveani Babu, Nelson Ramalho, and Pedro Falcao of the University Institute of Lisbon suggest that increasing the level of telecommuting across various sectors is entirely feasible. Moreover, given the global pandemic that emerged since the time of their review, it is likely that we will garner more evidence for the personal and societal benefits of this form of working. Our unwitting experiment caused by the pandemic might also offer insights into previously unknown problems with telecommuting too.

Babu, D., Ramalho, N. and Falcao, P.F. (2020) ‘Telecommuting potential analysis’, Global Business and Economics Review, Vol. 23, No. 1, pp.100–124.

New Editor for International Journal of Nuclear Law

Associate Prof. Jakub Handrlica from Charles University in the Czech Republic has been appointed to take over editorship of the International Journal of Nuclear Law.

Research pick: Lyre, lyre – there’s an app for that! - "On digitising the Greek music tradition: simulation of the Cretan lyre for mobile devices"

Forget Captain Corelli’s stringed instrument and Zorba the Greek’s theme tune, a team writing in the International Journal of Arts and Technology is investigating whether it might be possible to digitize the Greek music tradition by simulating the Cretan lyre for a mobile device application.

Dimitrios Margounakis, Georgios Tsotakos, and Andreas Floros of the School of Science and Technology, at the Hellenic Open University, Greece and the Ionian University, Corfu, point out that playing the Cretan lyre involves an intriguing technique using a bow and the development of a simulation has not been undertaken previously.

“Contemporary multi-touch-based mobile smart phones have a range of sensory input capabilities, making realistic simulation of musical instruments feasible,” the team writes.

They suggest that their app has a recreational and educational aspect as well as a conservation perspective in terms of musical culture. Users employ the same gestures as a real-life player would make to produce the notes and tones of the instrument in a mobile device.

The team adds that their app has embedded within it instructional information allowing even a novice to reconstruct well-known traditional melodies quickly. Moreover, the timbre of the lyre can be overlaid with the sound of the lute to create an even more interesting overall sound. Additionally, many players in Crete use a bow that has bells on, sounds that might also be incorporated into the app, the team reports. So, while the music may not have all of the accoutrements of some simulated instruments apps it will soon have the bells if not the whistles.

Margounakis, D., Tsotakos, G. and Floros, A. (2020) ‘On digitising the Greek music tradition: simulation of the Cretan lyre for mobile devices’, Int. J. Arts and Technology, Vol. 12, No. 2, pp.103–117.

 

Free sample articles newly available from International Journal of Vehicle Systems Modelling and Testing

The following sample articles from the International Journal of Vehicle Systems Modelling and Testing are now available here for free:

• A design methodology for space frame through parametric study of torsional stiffness
• Performance test and analysis of key components of pure electric vehicles
• E-bikes for steep roads: mid drive and hub drive motor efficiency comparison
• Integrated vehicle dynamic controls using active rear wheel steering and four wheel braking
• Analytical modelling of twist beam axles

Research pick: The thermodynamics of Covid-19 - "Energetic and exergetic costs of COVID-19 infection on the body of a patient"

When you catch a virus it will hijack your metabolic processes for its own replication. The virus, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) which is at the heart of the current global pandemic of the associated disease Covid-19 is no exception. It hooks into the body’s cellular processes leaching energy and exergy (energy that does work) so that it can duplicate its genetic code and build the proteins it needs to create copies of itself. Obviously, such an energy drain gives rise to some of the symptoms while others are caused by the body’s immune response that attempts to stop the virus in its tracks.

Writing in the International Journal of Exergy, a research team from Turkey explains how this novel coronavirus first reported in late 2019, causes a cluster of symptoms not commonly seen in other viral infections: severe pneumonia, pulmonary inflammation, and fibrosis. These symptoms reduce gas exchange between the air sacs, the alveoli, within the lungs, and the blood capillaries that carry oxygen away from the lungs and around the body. As such, patients experience diminished oxygenation of their blood haemoglobin. This then has an effect on metabolic rate.

If metabolic rate falls by one third, then in thermodynamic terms the fall in exergetic and energetic magnitude associated with the damage can be 0.46 and 0.45 Watt per kilogram of body weight, respectively. If the decline is a two-thirds decrease, the exergetic and energetic magnitude of the damage can be 0.92 and 0.90 W/kg, the team reports. Those are the figures for an 18-year old patient. For a putatively more vulnerable 70-year old, they would need to generate almost a fifth as much energy or exergy to compensate for the damage caused by the metabolic decline. This, partly explains why it is harder for older patients to cope with this virus and why they suffer worse symptoms. Additionally, if they have other underlying health conditions such as diabetes or lung disease, then the burden is even greater.

Having such information in hand will not only assists in our understanding of the progression and prognosis of this novel disease but may well point to improving how we treat it to save patients from severe morbidity or even mortality.

Yilmaz, B., Ercan, S., Akduman, S. and Özilgen, M. (2020) ‘Energetic and exergetic costs of COVID-19 infection on the body of a patient’, Int. J. Exergy, Vol. 32, No. 3, pp.314–327.

Free sample articles newly available from International Journal of Migration and Border Studies

The following sample articles from the International Journal of Migration and Border Studies are now available here for free:

• Whose needs count in situations of forced displacement? Revaluing older people and addressing their exclusion from research and humanitarian programmes
• Contestations of the heart: Mexican migrant women and transnational loving from rural Ontario
• Seasonal agricultural workers and the habitus of mobile precarity
• Confronting myths: agricultural citizenship and temporary foreign worker programs
• Borders for profit: transnational social exclusion and the production of the NAFTA border
• Pushing the US-Mexico border south: United States' immigration policing throughout the Americas
• Underground Railroads and coyote conductors: brokering clandestine passages, then and now
• 'Come out and live on your land again': sovereignty, borders and the Unist'ot'en camp

Free sample articles newly available from International Journal of Critical Computer-Based Systems

The following sample articles from the International Journal of Critical Computer-Based Systems are now available here for free:

• AltaRica 3.0 in ten modelling patterns
• Survey on international standards and best practices for patch management of complex industrial control systems: the critical infrastructure of particle accelerators case study
• Formal methods in dynamic software updating: a survey
• A methodology for assuring the safety and security of critical infrastructure based on STPA and Event-B
• Fully encrypted high-speed microprocessor architecture: the secret computer in simulation
• A versatile approach for ranking and modelling of non-functional requirements

Special issue published: "Freedom, Technology, Surveillance: Paradoxes in the Making"

International Journal of Migration and Border Studies 6(1/2) 2020

• The crafting of a paradox: Schengen inside and out
• The civil paradox: Swedish arms production and export and the role of emerging security technologies
• The power elite of security research in Europe: from competitiveness and external stability to dataveillance and societal security
• The socio-genesis of a guild of 'digital technologies' justifying transnational interoperable databases in the name of security and border purposes: a reframing of the field of security professionals?
• The interoperability controversy or how to fail successfully: lessons from Europe
• Freedom, technology and surveillance: everyday paradoxes on the EU-Morocco border
• Engaging migrant careworkers: examining cases of exploitation by recruitment agencies in Quebec, Canada

Free sample articles newly available from International Journal of Applied Systemic Studies

The following sample articles from the International Journal of Applied Systemic Studies are now available here for free:

• The need for systemic analysis and design methodology of medical equipments
• Audio encryption - a chaos-based data byte scrambling technique
• A theory of interactional systems: semantic connections and relational contextics
• A novel method combining fuzzy SVM and sampling for imbalanced classification