108,273 research outputs found
How Do Experts Think? An Investigation of the Barriers to Internationalisation of SMEs in Iran
No full textNowadays, “internationalisation” is a topic of concern for many types of research on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). SMEs pursue internationalization policy as a leading process to keep and improve their position in the competitive business markets. However, SMEs face many challenges that hinder the successful implementation of the internationalization process. This chapter aims to recognise the important barriers to internationalisation for Iranian SMEs. We conduct two studies using a combined exploratory and confirmatory approach. We apply the Delphi method for exploring and forecasting the key barriers in the first study. In the second study, we validate the key indicator employing a Structural Equation Modelling technique for the Confirmatory Factor Analysis of the survey data. In the Delphi method, a group of 24 managers and academic professors in Iran, identified the main barriers. A sample of 210 survey observations was collected from the owner and top managers, senior managers, and employees. The results suggest 8 key factors and 31 indicators of barriers to internationalisation associated with Iranian SMEs: informational, financial, marketing, functional, procedural, governmental, environmental and, tariff and non-tariff. This research contributes to the knowledge of critical obstacles concern for current and future business internationalisation, and the outcomes provide practical implications. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
Implementing statistical multiplexing in DVB-H
No full textA novel technique for implementing statistical multiplexing (StatMux) of broadcast services over Digital Video Broadcasting for Handhelds (DVB-H) channels is proposed. DVB-H uses a time-sliced transmission scheme to reduce the power consumption used for radio reception part in DVB-H receivers. Due to the time-sliced transmission scheme, the implementation of known StatMux methods for DVB-H application presents some challenges which are addressed in this paper. The proposed StatMux technique is implemented in conjunction with the time-slicing transmission scheme. The combination is similar to a time division multiplexing (TDM) scheme. The proposed StatMux method considerably decreases the end-to-end delay of DVB-H services while it maximizes the usage of available bandwidth. Moreover, the proposed method can effectively decrease the channel switching delay of DVB-H services. Simulation results show a high performance for the proposed StatMux method. © 2009 Mehdi Rezaei et al
Barriers and overcoming strategies to supply chain sustainability innovation
Full text linkThis study identifies a list of barriers that hinders adoption, implementation and upscaling of sustainable supply chain innovation in the manufacturing industry. It further proposes overcoming strategies that seek to aid management decision to dealing with these barriers systematically. A multi-criteria decision analysis method, the Best-Worst Method (BWM), is adopted to aid in the evaluation and prioritisation of the barriers and their overcoming strategies within the Indian manufacturing industry, an emerging economy. The results depict that, “lack of technical expertise and training”, “lack of R&D and innovation capabilities”, “popularity of traditional technology”, “high initial investment in latest technology” and “fear of extra workload and loss of flexibility” are the top five barriers that confronts the Indian manufacturing companies in their quest for adopting and implementing sustainable supply chain innovation practices. In addition, the overcoming strategic pathway for dealing with these barriers are provided. The findings provide managerial and policy insights for guiding the formation of strategic operations framework and resource allocation if these Indian manufacturing firms seeks to build sustainability into their supply chain innovations
Method of Implementing Graded Index Media by Symmetry-Reduced Helical Photonic Structures
No full textWe propose a new approach for the realization of a graded index (GRIN) medium using a symmetry reduced unit element in photonic crystals. An index gradient on the order of ?n = 0.16 is achieved without modifying the filling fraction or cell size dimensions. Various beam manipulation techniques can be implemented with such a GRIN medium. We show that designed GRIN structure may effectively focus an incident beam over wide bandwidth. The arrangement of the photonic crystal (PC) elements within unit cells exhibits structural order which is helical along the transverse to propagation direction. The designed GRIN PC structurally resembles the molecular orientation of cholesteric liquid crystals. © 2015 Optical Society of America
Factors Associated with Delay in Diagnosis of Tuberculosis in Ardabil Province
Full text linkAbstract
Background and objectives: Transmission of tuberculosis occurs usually by aerosols, Produced
with patient’s cough. So early diagnosis and proper treatment of patients as a disease reservoir, has
a special importance. It seems that every TB patient can infect 10 to 15 people annually during
contagion period. For these reasons this study has been planned to evaluate delay time in TB
diagnosis.
Material and methods:This is a descriptive analytical cross sectional study performed among all of
the TB patients diagnosed in 18 months of study in Ardabil province(from April 2010 to September
2011) .Data for questionnaire was collected with interview and analysis , was done with SPSS
software version 16. ANOVA, t test, chi-squared statistical tests were used for hypothesis assay .
Results :126 patients whom diagnosis confirmed by scientific tuberculosis committee of province
were entered the study.68 patients (54.4%) were smear positive .Mean, standard deviation and
median for these patients were 43.8,64.3,20 days respectively. The same numbers for smear
negative patients were 43.4, 70.7, and 21 days. There was not any significant statistical difference
between smear negative and smear positive patients in patients delay. (P=0.9) the same numbers for
diagnosis delay for smear positive versus smear negative patients were 15.6, 22.1,5 days and
46.2,49.2,24 days respectively. This difference was significant statistically (P=000).With definition
of patient delay as medical request after 14 days symptomatic illness, it was revealed that only
38.3% of smear positive patients were returned to any treatment centers in fewer than 14 days of
symptoms onset. Despite this, proper diagnosis was made in 70.1% of smear positive patients in
less than 15 days. Marital state, less than high school education, residence in villages were
associated with patients delay. Symptomatic productive cough were associated with reduced latency
of diagnosis.
Conclusion: Greater patients delay for treatment request was associated with decrease in diagnostic
delay .Delay in diagnosis of smear negative pulmonary tuberculosis and extrapulmonary
tuberculosis was more than smear positive pulmonary tuberculosis. The most delays in reaching the
correct diagnosis are related to patient. Increasing public knowledge about signs and symptoms of
tuberculosis and disease spread ways, along with increasing access to health care services can be
useful strategies
HKJ760123_online_supplement – Supplemental material for Hospitals preparedness using WHO guideline: A systematic review and meta-analysis
No full textSupplemental material, HKJ760123_online_supplement for Hospitals preparedness using WHO guideline: A systematic review and meta-analysis by Fatemeh Rezaei, Mohammad Reza Maracy,
Mohammad H Yarmohammadian and Hojat Sheikhbardsiri in Hong Kong Journal of Emergency Medicine</p
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Bounds for the relative -th nilpotency degree in compact groups
No full textThe line of investigation of the present paper goes back to a classical work of W. H. Gustafson of the 1973, in which it is described the probability that two randomly chosen group elements commute. In the same work, he gave some bounds for this kind of probability, providing information on the group structure. We have recently obtained some generalizations of his results for finite groups. Here we improve them in the context of the compact groups
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Full text linkWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
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