Recent research and studies have shown that Information Technology(IT)has a significant impact on service quality,customer satisfaction,and customer relationship development.With the proliferation and penetration of t...Recent research and studies have shown that Information Technology(IT)has a significant impact on service quality,customer satisfaction,and customer relationship development.With the proliferation and penetration of technology in all aspects of life,organizations are responding to the implications and opportunities that IT creates in relation to customer services.The main objective of using information technology in organizations is to increase customer satisfaction,service quality,and customer relationship management,which the authors will focus on here.Enhancing service quality,improving customer satisfaction,and establishing close and sustainable customer relationships are key advantages of leveraging information technology in this field.This article examines the impact of information technology on service quality,customer satisfaction,and customer relationship development and provides strategies and models for organizations to improve customer satisfaction and establish closer connections with them through the use of information technology.Seventy individuals from the IT field were used to evaluate the proposed model.The proposed model was compared with three models:SEM,regression,and decision tree,and the results demonstrated better performance of this approach.展开更多
Objective:To evaluate the risk factors of death caused by COVID-19 in Iran.Methods:This study was a retrospective cohort study from February 20,2020,to August 22,2022,in the hospitals in Isfahan,Iran.The data were col...Objective:To evaluate the risk factors of death caused by COVID-19 in Iran.Methods:This study was a retrospective cohort study from February 20,2020,to August 22,2022,in the hospitals in Isfahan,Iran.The data were collected through a researcher-made checklist.To determine the risk factors of the death,logistic regression and Cox regression models were used.For each variable,the odds ratio and 95%confidence interval were also reported.Results:1885 Patients were included.The age of deceased persons was significantly higher than that of the surviving persons.The risk of death for the age group above 60 years was about 14 times higher than that of people aged 19-35 years[95%CI:14.41(2.02-102.99),P<0.01].Hypertension[95%CI:1.92(1.47-2.5),P<0.01],diabetes[95%CI:1.62(1.23-2.13),P<0.001],and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease[95%CI:1.92(1.47-2.50),P<0.01]were also risk factors of mortality.Conclusions:This study reveals that the mortality rate due to COVID-19 is associated with old age,longer hospitalization in the ICU,increased length of stay,and comorbidities of high blood pressure,diabetes,and chronic pulmonary disease.展开更多
In the domain ofmedical imaging,the accurate detection and classification of brain tumors is very important.This study introduces an advanced method for identifying camouflaged brain tumors within images.Our proposed ...In the domain ofmedical imaging,the accurate detection and classification of brain tumors is very important.This study introduces an advanced method for identifying camouflaged brain tumors within images.Our proposed model consists of three steps:Feature extraction,feature fusion,and then classification.The core of this model revolves around a feature extraction framework that combines color-transformed images with deep learning techniques,using the ResNet50 Convolutional Neural Network(CNN)architecture.So the focus is to extract robust feature fromMRI images,particularly emphasizingweighted average features extracted fromthe first convolutional layer renowned for their discriminative power.To enhance model robustness,we introduced a novel feature fusion technique based on the Marine Predator Algorithm(MPA),inspired by the hunting behavior of marine predators and has shown promise in optimizing complex problems.The proposed methodology can accurately classify and detect brain tumors in camouflage images by combining the power of color transformations,deep learning,and feature fusion via MPA,and achieved an accuracy of 98.72%on a more complex dataset surpassing the existing state-of-the-art methods,highlighting the effectiveness of the proposed model.The importance of this research is in its potential to advance the field ofmedical image analysis,particularly in brain tumor diagnosis,where diagnoses early,and accurate classification are critical for improved patient results.展开更多
Purpose–Material selection,driven by wide and often conflicting objectives,is an important,sometimes difficult problem in material engineering.In this context,multi-criteria decision-making(MCDM)methodologies are eff...Purpose–Material selection,driven by wide and often conflicting objectives,is an important,sometimes difficult problem in material engineering.In this context,multi-criteria decision-making(MCDM)methodologies are effective.An approach of MCDM is needed to cater to criteria of material assortment simultaneously.More firms are now concerned about increasing their productivity using mathematical tools.To occupy a gap in the previous literature this research recommends an integrated MCDM and mathematical Bi-objective model for the selection of material.In addition,by using the Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution(TOPSIS),the inherent ambiguities of decision-makers in paired evaluations are considered in this research.It goes on to construct a mathematical bi-objective model for determining the best item to purchase.Design/methodology/approach–The entropy perspective is implemented in this paper to evaluate the weight parameters,while the TOPSIS technique is used to determine the best and worst intermediate pipe materials for automotive exhaust system.The intermediate pipes are used to join the components of the exhaust systems.The materials usually used to manufacture intermediate pipe are SUS 436LM,SUS 430,SUS 304,SUS 436L,SUH 409 L,SUS 441 L and SUS 439L.These seven materials are evaluated based on tensile strength(TS),hardness(H),elongation(E),yield strength(YS)and cost(C).A hybrid methodology combining entropy-based criteria weighting,with the TOPSIS for alternative ranking,is pursued to identify the optimal design material for an engineered application in this paper.This study aims to help while filling the information gap in selecting the most suitable material for use in the exhaust intermediate pipes.After that,the authors searched for and considered eight materials and evaluated them on the following five criteria:(1)TS,(2)YS,(3)H,(4)E and(5)C.The first two criteria have been chosen because they can have a lot of influence on the behavior of the exhaust intermediate pipes,on their performance and on the cost.In this structure,the weights of the criteria are calculated objectively through the entropy method in order to have an unbiased assessment.This essentially measures the quantity of information each criterion contribution,indicating the relative importance of these criteria better.Subsequently,the materials were ranked using the TOPSIS method in terms of their relative performance by measuring each material from an ideal solution to determine the best alternative.The results show that SUS 309,SUS 432L and SUS 436 LM are the first three materials that the exhaust intermediate pipe optimal design should consider.Findings–The material matrix of the decision presented in Table 3 was normalized through Equation 5,as shown in Table 5,and the matrix was multiplied with weighting criteriaß_j.The obtained weighted normalized matrix V_ij is presented in Table 6.However,the ideal,worst and best value was ascertained by employing Equation 7.This study is based on the selection of material for the development of intermediate pipe using MCDM,and it involves four basic stages,i.e.method of translation criteria,screening process,method of ranking and search for methods.The selection was done through the TOPSIS method,and the criteria weight was obtained by the entropy method.The result showed that the top three materials are SUS 309,SUS 432L and SUS 436 LM,respectively.For the future work,it is suggested to select more alternatives and criteria.The comparison can also be done by using different MCDM techniques like and Choice Expressing Reality(ELECTRE),Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory(DEMATEL)and Preference Ranking Organization Method for Enrichment Evaluation(PROMETHEE).Originality/value–The results provide important conclusions for material selection in this targeted application,verifying the employment of mutual entropy-TOPSIS methodology for a series of difficult engineering decisions in material engineering concepts that combine superior capacity with better performance as well as cost-efficiency in various engineering design.展开更多
Digital technology has fundamentally transformed healthcare delivery, exerting profound influence on patient outcomes. This paper delves into the roles played by telemedicine, electronic health records (EHRs), and mob...Digital technology has fundamentally transformed healthcare delivery, exerting profound influence on patient outcomes. This paper delves into the roles played by telemedicine, electronic health records (EHRs), and mobile health applications in augmenting healthcare services. The objective is to scrutinize the ways in which these digital innovations enhance healthcare delivery and patient outcomes, while also identifying the attendant challenges in their adoption. To achieve this, a rigorous literature review encompassing peer-reviewed articles, reports, and case studies that examine the impact of digital technology in healthcare settings was conducted. The findings underscore that digital technology significantly bolsters patient care by enhancing access, operational efficiency, and diagnostic accuracy. Nonetheless, persistent challenges such as safeguarding data privacy, ensuring interoperability across systems, and managing implementation costs continue to pose significant hurdles.展开更多
This study focuses on the impact of climate change, specifically the increasing threat of heatwaves, in Pakistan, with a particular emphasis on the city of Karachi. The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) analyse...This study focuses on the impact of climate change, specifically the increasing threat of heatwaves, in Pakistan, with a particular emphasis on the city of Karachi. The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) analysed a century of climatic data to reveal warming trends, attributing them to human-induced factors. The vulnerability of Pakistan to climate change is highlighted, given its warm climate and location in a region where temperature increases are expected to surpass global averages. The study examines the past three decades, noting a significant rise in the frequency of hot days, especially in Karachi, where heatwaves have become more prevalent. The aims and objectives of the study involve identifying temporal changes in temperature, rainfall, humidity, and wind speed from 1984 to 2014 in Karachi. The literature review emphasizes the health implications of heatwaves, citing increased mortality during such events globally. The study incorporates a comprehensive temporal analysis, addressing gaps in previous research by considering multiple climate indicators responsible for heatwaves. The methodology involves statistical analyses, including linear regression and Pearson correlation, applied to temperature data and urbanization parameters. Results indicate an increasing trend in heat index temperature, with heatwave vulnerability peaking in the last three decades. Heat Index Temperature Anomalies show a clear surge, emphasizing the need for new indices to control critical heat stress conditions. The study concludes that tropical climate variability, particularly heat index, is linked to extreme hot days, urging measures to reduce population vulnerability. The findings underscore the importance of policy strategies, such as integrated coastal zone management, to mitigate the adverse health effects of heatwaves in Karachi’s vulnerable population.展开更多
Freshwater bodies are natural resources that should be exploited to the fullest, while maintaining the sustainability of ecosystems and ecosystem services which they support. Riparian forests are more important as the...Freshwater bodies are natural resources that should be exploited to the fullest, while maintaining the sustainability of ecosystems and ecosystem services which they support. Riparian forests are more important as they contain rivers which are vital sources of fresh water for local populations. However, the quality and quantity of water issued from the watershed depend on the structural state of these forests. The aim of this work was to assess the physico-chemical and structural state of the Akono gallery forest. To achieve this, fieldwork consisted of selecting six major streams of the watershed including Ndjolong, Menyeng adzap, Emomodo, Mvila, Negbe and Ossoé kobok. On each of these, two stations, one intact and one degraded, were marked by transects. The method involved measuring Hydrometric parameters (depth, length, width) of the stream and Physico-chemical parameters of water in the streams while dendrometric parameters were measured along 100 m-transects laid using the point-centred quarter method modified for water bodies to collect tree, shrub and palm variables such as trunk diameter, crown diameter and height. Macrophytes and species identification were carried out using standard botanical procedures. Results showed that, the majority of physico-chemical parameters measured differed significantly between intact and degraded stations (P Pentachletra mancrophylla, whereas on degraded sites, this index was low and characterized by the relative dominance of species Piptadeniastrum africanum. Sorensen’s index (0.56) and CFA showed that the different stands were homogeneous. We can affirm that the riparian forests of Akono watershed are towards a state of stability notwithstanding the perpetuation of anthropological actions.展开更多
In the digital age, the data exchanged within a company is a wealth of knowledge. The survival, growth and influence of a company in the short, medium and long term depend on it. Indeed, it is the lifeblood of any mod...In the digital age, the data exchanged within a company is a wealth of knowledge. The survival, growth and influence of a company in the short, medium and long term depend on it. Indeed, it is the lifeblood of any modern company. A companys operational and historical data contains strategic and operational knowledge of ever-increasing added value. The emergence of a new paradigm: big data. Today, the value of the data scattered throughout this mother of knowledge is calculated in billions of dollars, depending on its size, scope and area of intervention. With the rise of computer networks and distributed systems, the threats to these sensitive resources have steadily increased, jeopardizing the existence of the company itself by drying up production and losing the interest of customers and suppliers. These threats range from sabotage to bankruptcy. For several decades now, most companies have been using encryption algorithms to protect and secure their information systems against the threats and dangers posed by the inherent vulnerabilities of their infrastructure and the current economic climate. This vulnerability requires companies to make the right choice of algorithms to implement in their management systems. For this reason, the present work aims to carry out a comparative study of the reliability and effectiveness of symmetrical and asymmetrical cryptosystems, in order to identify one or more suitable for securing academic data in the DRC. The analysis of the robustness of commonly used symmetric and asymmetric cryptosystems will be the subject of simulations in this article.展开更多
Pomegranate rind is abundantly available as a waste material. Pomegranate Rind Extract (PRE) can be applied to cotton fabrics for its natural colours, as a mordanting agent and also for imparting certain functional pr...Pomegranate rind is abundantly available as a waste material. Pomegranate Rind Extract (PRE) can be applied to cotton fabrics for its natural colours, as a mordanting agent and also for imparting certain functional properties such as fire retardancy and antimicrobial properties. This paper reviews the feasibility of Pomegranate Rind Extract to improve the functional properties of cellulosic fabrics. Studies show that varying concentrations and higher temperatures that were used to apply the extract on the fabric, resulted in enhanced functional properties. At a particular concentration, the treated fabric showed a 15 times lower burning rate in comparison with the control fabric. Also, antimicrobial efficacy has been observed against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. Due to the natural colouring material, it can be used as a natural dye on cotton material. The fire retardancy of pomegranate rind extract was tested on jute material under varying alkalinity. Research has indicated that pomegranate rind extract could be used to dye polyamide as well. The rubbing and wash fastness of the finished fabrics is good. The light fastness was fair, and its antibacterial efficiency against tested bacteria was good.展开更多
Firstly,I point out the problems in the fruit supply chain management.Then through field survey,we know that busywork flow plays a very important role in the fruit supply chain management.I establish the mathematical ...Firstly,I point out the problems in the fruit supply chain management.Then through field survey,we know that busywork flow plays a very important role in the fruit supply chain management.I establish the mathematical model,to derive that the supply chain management of corporate procurement and supply network is the optimal economic model.In terms of the performance of supply chain,I draw the following conclusions:(i) Busywork flow can achieve the supply chain management,and reduces logistics costs in the whole process of circulation;(ii) Busywork flow can improve logistics services for the customers and reduces coordination costs;(iii) The establishment of modern information system can reduce logistics costs;(iv) Busywork flow can improve distribution efficiency and reduce costs;(v) Busywork flow can reduce and avoid the costs of return of goods;(vi) The operation of the busywork flow can achieve integrated transport and business outsourcing to third-party logistics,thereby reducing costs,reducing transport links,reasonably choosing the means of transport,formulating the optimal transportation plan,improving the mode of transport,and increasing the cargo loading amount.(vii) Busywork flow promotes the use of e-commerce.I also express my own views on upgrade version of corporate procurement and supply network.Finally I point out some problems in the existing corporate procurement and supply network,and put forward the following recommendations:developing township-level 4S fruit shop according to the business development,with the functions of purchasing apple,supplying means of agricultural production,providing technical services and developing market;building " corporate ecological orchard" through holding.展开更多
To achieve high performance and reliability in video streaming over wireless local area networks （WLANs）, one must jointly consider both optimized association to access points （APs） and handover management based o...To achieve high performance and reliability in video streaming over wireless local area networks （WLANs）, one must jointly consider both optimized association to access points （APs） and handover management based on dynamic scanning of alternate APs. In this article, we propose a new architecture within the software-defined networking （SDN） framework, which allows stations to be connected to several APs simultaneously and to switch fast between them. We evaluate our system in a real-time testbed and demonstrate that our SDN-based handover mechanism significantly reduces the number and duration of video freeze events and allows for smaller playout buffers.展开更多
There are a plethora of empirical pieces about employees’pro-environmental behaviors.However,the extant literature has either ignored or not fully examined various factors(e.g.,negative or positive non-green workplac...There are a plethora of empirical pieces about employees’pro-environmental behaviors.However,the extant literature has either ignored or not fully examined various factors(e.g.,negative or positive non-green workplace factors)that might affect employees’pro-environmental behaviors.Realizing these voids,the present paper proposes and tests a serial mediation model that examines the interrelationships of job insecurity,emotional exhaustion,met expectations,and proactive pro-environmental behavior.We used data gathered from hotel customer-contact employees with a time lag of one week and their direct supervisors in China.After presenting support for the psychometric properties of the measures via confirmatory analysis in LISREL 8.30,the abovementioned linkages were gauged using the PROCESS plug-in for statistical package for social sciences.The findings delineated support for the hypothesized associations.Specifically,emotional exhaustion and met expectations partly mediated the effect of job insecurity on proactive pro-environmental behavior.More importantly,emotional exhaustion and met expectations serially mediated the influence of job insecurity on proactive pro-environmental behavior.These findings have important theoretical implications as well as significant implications for diminishing job insecurity,managing emotional exhaustion,increasing met expectations,and enhancing ecofriendly behaviors.展开更多
Central banks worldwide have started researching and developing central bank digital currencies(CBDCs).In the digital economy context,concerns regarding the integrity,competition,and privacy of CBDC systems have also ...Central banks worldwide have started researching and developing central bank digital currencies(CBDCs).In the digital economy context,concerns regarding the integrity,competition,and privacy of CBDC systems have also gradually emerged.Against this backdrop,this study aims to evaluate users’willingness to use China’s digital currency electronic payment(DCEP)system,a digital payment and processing network,and its influencing factors by comprehensively considering and comparing the characteristics of cash and third-party payment services.Combining the push-pull-mooring frame-work(PPM)and task-technology fit(TTF)theory,we discuss the scenarios and mecha-nisms that may inspire users’DCEP adoption intention through an empirical study.The results reveal that privacy concerns regarding the original payment methods and technology-task fitting level of DCEP positively impact users’willingness to adopt DCEP.The technical characteristics of DCEP,users’payment requirements,and government support positively affect users’adoption intention by influencing the task-technology fitting degree of DCEP.Switching cost significantly and negatively impacts adop-tion intention,whereas relative advantage exhibits no significant effect.This research contributes to a better understanding of the factors that influence switching intentions and the actual use of DCEP,and provides policy guidance on promoting the efficiency and effectiveness of DCEP.展开更多
Take a digital libraries＇ service system for example, Objects Served Relationship Management （OSRM） in complex systems is proposed firstly as a new concept, and its connotation is explained. The significances and c...Take a digital libraries＇ service system for example, Objects Served Relationship Management （OSRM） in complex systems is proposed firstly as a new concept, and its connotation is explained. The significances and constructions of OSRM are analyzed. Both the fundamental facts and the important natures that the things which are interested by Objects Served （OS） （e. g. publishers and readers） and the server （e. g. digital libraries are the servers of publishers and readers） will not be the same completely although there are a lot of common benefits between OS and servers, are indeed clarified. The valuable information,which should be used by OS and their server, is often hidden behind them. Thus, how to find, manage and control the relationship among OS and their servers is very necessary and important for the common benefits among all of them.（e. g. the three dimensions of OSRM in digital library system and its overall framwork are proposed. The different strategies to different cases in the digital library＇s multidimensional framework are analyzed.）展开更多
Rapid changes in business environment have increased the needs of graduates who have capabilities of anticipating to the changes. The faculty, especially at the level of study program, has an important role in affecti...Rapid changes in business environment have increased the needs of graduates who have capabilities of anticipating to the changes. The faculty, especially at the level of study program, has an important role in affecting the quality of graduates, because the study program is the core element in the higher education institution which involves directly in planning, organizing, executing and controlling the teaching and learning activities. This dissertation is to examine the effect of leadership on performance management and good governance, and also to examine the effect of performance management and good governance on internal and external satisfaction. The data for this causal research is collected by questionnaire. Unit of analysis in this research is all study programs in all accredited faculty of economics in East Java. The respondents are academic staffs, students and administrative staffs in the study program. There were 83 of 125 accredited study program which has been successfully contacted and agreed to participate in the research. There were 900 students and 285 academic staffs filling up the questionnaires. The data analysis is conducted by Path Analysis with the SPSS 11.5 version software to measure construct validity and reliability and to test causal relationships between variables in the model. The findings of the research showed that： （1） Leadership affects performance management significantly; （2） Leadership affects good governance significantly; （3） Leadership affects internal satisfaction significantly; （4） Performance management affects internal satisfaction; （5） Good governance significantly affects external satisfaction; （6） Internal satisfaction does not affect external satisfaction. Based on the findings in this research, it is suggested that the study programs take into account the implementation of performance management in order to undertake improvement continuously considering that performance management supports the quality assurance activity. It is also suggested that the faculty implements good governance formally. However, the implementation should empower the study program to undertake the improvement.展开更多
According to the current problems of safety management processes in coalmine enterprises,we introduced barrel theory to coal mine safety management,constructedthe closed-loop structure of a coal mine safety management...According to the current problems of safety management processes in coalmine enterprises,we introduced barrel theory to coal mine safety management,constructedthe closed-loop structure of a coal mine safety management system,andpointed out that efficient safety management lies in three factors:safety quality of all ofthe staff in coal mine enterprises,weak links in security management systems,and cooperationamong departments.After conducting detailed analysis of these three factors,we proposed concrete ways of preventing and controlling potential safety hazards duringthe process of coal mine production.展开更多
Aiming to reveal the university students＇ understanding in management as for the strategy and strategic management phenomena, this study accomplishes a phenomenographic research to assess the future managers＇ market...Aiming to reveal the university students＇ understanding in management as for the strategy and strategic management phenomena, this study accomplishes a phenomenographic research to assess the future managers＇ market perception. It was chosen university students in Management of a Portuguese University. We conclude that the strategy definitions obtained are an assembly of the diverse existing concepts. Concerning to strategic management it was perceived an approach with one of the main existing concepts. The findings raise interesting issues with respect to the difficulties felt by new managers in translating their theoretical definitions in real examples in the organizations.展开更多
The relation between the HRM and the firm performance is analyzed statistically by many researchers in the literature. However, there are very few nonlinear approaches in literature for finding the relation between Hu...The relation between the HRM and the firm performance is analyzed statistically by many researchers in the literature. However, there are very few nonlinear approaches in literature for finding the relation between Human Resource Management (FIRM) and firm performance. This paper exposes the relationship between human resource management and organizational performance through the use of nonlinear modeling technique. The modeling is proposed based on Radial Basis Function (RBF) which is nonlinear modeling technique in literature. The relation between 12 input and 9 output parameters is investigated in this research that is collected between 54 companies in Turkey which indicated that the relationship between organizational management performance and relationship management can be modelled through nonlinearly.展开更多
Recently,computation offloading has become an effective method for overcoming the constraint of a mobile device(MD)using computationintensivemobile and offloading delay-sensitive application tasks to the remote cloud-...Recently,computation offloading has become an effective method for overcoming the constraint of a mobile device(MD)using computationintensivemobile and offloading delay-sensitive application tasks to the remote cloud-based data center.Smart city benefitted from offloading to edge point.Consider a mobile edge computing(MEC)network in multiple regions.They comprise N MDs and many access points,in which everyMDhasM independent real-time tasks.This study designs a new Task Offloading and Resource Allocation in IoT-based MEC using Deep Learning with Seagull Optimization(TORA-DLSGO)algorithm.The proposed TORA-DLSGO technique addresses the resource management issue in the MEC server,which enables an optimum offloading decision to minimize the system cost.In addition,an objective function is derived based on minimizing energy consumption subject to the latency requirements and restricted resources.The TORA-DLSGO technique uses the deep belief network(DBN)model for optimum offloading decision-making.Finally,the SGO algorithm is used for the parameter tuning of the DBN model.The simulation results exemplify that the TORA-DLSGO technique outperformed the existing model in reducing client overhead in the MEC systems with a maximum reward of 0.8967.展开更多
Port of Igoumenitsa in Greece is one of the most important Ports in European Union and enjoys a privileged position being located at the starting point of Egnatia Motorway The Port is one of the largest passenger port...Port of Igoumenitsa in Greece is one of the most important Ports in European Union and enjoys a privileged position being located at the starting point of Egnatia Motorway The Port is one of the largest passenger ports in the East Mediterranean Sea basin, which, handles around 1,000,000 passengers per year for international destinations. The paper investigates current waste management and disposal options for ship generated waste and the associated impact of the waste for port. Data about the ship traffic were provided by the Port Authority and about the amount and characteristics of the wastes by the contractors for the disposal of the ship generated waste. It was concluded that all vessels should be encouraged to use the reception facilities and should pursue a waste reduction strategy and the port authority to provide adequate recycling facility. An electronic recording data system has to be adopted for better evaluation of the performance of the system. This system must record the deliveries for every ship in the port, the amount and the type of wastes are generated. Also must provide information about the maximum storage capacity of waste on board and about management of waste treatment options by the ships.展开更多
文摘Recent research and studies have shown that Information Technology(IT)has a significant impact on service quality,customer satisfaction,and customer relationship development.With the proliferation and penetration of technology in all aspects of life,organizations are responding to the implications and opportunities that IT creates in relation to customer services.The main objective of using information technology in organizations is to increase customer satisfaction,service quality,and customer relationship management,which the authors will focus on here.Enhancing service quality,improving customer satisfaction,and establishing close and sustainable customer relationships are key advantages of leveraging information technology in this field.This article examines the impact of information technology on service quality,customer satisfaction,and customer relationship development and provides strategies and models for organizations to improve customer satisfaction and establish closer connections with them through the use of information technology.Seventy individuals from the IT field were used to evaluate the proposed model.The proposed model was compared with three models:SEM,regression,and decision tree,and the results demonstrated better performance of this approach.
文摘Objective:To evaluate the risk factors of death caused by COVID-19 in Iran.Methods:This study was a retrospective cohort study from February 20,2020,to August 22,2022,in the hospitals in Isfahan,Iran.The data were collected through a researcher-made checklist.To determine the risk factors of the death,logistic regression and Cox regression models were used.For each variable,the odds ratio and 95%confidence interval were also reported.Results:1885 Patients were included.The age of deceased persons was significantly higher than that of the surviving persons.The risk of death for the age group above 60 years was about 14 times higher than that of people aged 19-35 years[95%CI:14.41(2.02-102.99),P<0.01].Hypertension[95%CI:1.92(1.47-2.5),P<0.01],diabetes[95%CI:1.62(1.23-2.13),P<0.001],and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease[95%CI:1.92(1.47-2.50),P<0.01]were also risk factors of mortality.Conclusions:This study reveals that the mortality rate due to COVID-19 is associated with old age,longer hospitalization in the ICU,increased length of stay,and comorbidities of high blood pressure,diabetes,and chronic pulmonary disease.
基金funding from Prince Sattam bin Abdulaziz University through the Project Number(PSAU/2023/01/24607).
文摘In the domain ofmedical imaging,the accurate detection and classification of brain tumors is very important.This study introduces an advanced method for identifying camouflaged brain tumors within images.Our proposed model consists of three steps:Feature extraction,feature fusion,and then classification.The core of this model revolves around a feature extraction framework that combines color-transformed images with deep learning techniques,using the ResNet50 Convolutional Neural Network(CNN)architecture.So the focus is to extract robust feature fromMRI images,particularly emphasizingweighted average features extracted fromthe first convolutional layer renowned for their discriminative power.To enhance model robustness,we introduced a novel feature fusion technique based on the Marine Predator Algorithm(MPA),inspired by the hunting behavior of marine predators and has shown promise in optimizing complex problems.The proposed methodology can accurately classify and detect brain tumors in camouflage images by combining the power of color transformations,deep learning,and feature fusion via MPA,and achieved an accuracy of 98.72%on a more complex dataset surpassing the existing state-of-the-art methods,highlighting the effectiveness of the proposed model.The importance of this research is in its potential to advance the field ofmedical image analysis,particularly in brain tumor diagnosis,where diagnoses early,and accurate classification are critical for improved patient results.
文摘Purpose–Material selection,driven by wide and often conflicting objectives,is an important,sometimes difficult problem in material engineering.In this context,multi-criteria decision-making(MCDM)methodologies are effective.An approach of MCDM is needed to cater to criteria of material assortment simultaneously.More firms are now concerned about increasing their productivity using mathematical tools.To occupy a gap in the previous literature this research recommends an integrated MCDM and mathematical Bi-objective model for the selection of material.In addition,by using the Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution(TOPSIS),the inherent ambiguities of decision-makers in paired evaluations are considered in this research.It goes on to construct a mathematical bi-objective model for determining the best item to purchase.Design/methodology/approach–The entropy perspective is implemented in this paper to evaluate the weight parameters,while the TOPSIS technique is used to determine the best and worst intermediate pipe materials for automotive exhaust system.The intermediate pipes are used to join the components of the exhaust systems.The materials usually used to manufacture intermediate pipe are SUS 436LM,SUS 430,SUS 304,SUS 436L,SUH 409 L,SUS 441 L and SUS 439L.These seven materials are evaluated based on tensile strength(TS),hardness(H),elongation(E),yield strength(YS)and cost(C).A hybrid methodology combining entropy-based criteria weighting,with the TOPSIS for alternative ranking,is pursued to identify the optimal design material for an engineered application in this paper.This study aims to help while filling the information gap in selecting the most suitable material for use in the exhaust intermediate pipes.After that,the authors searched for and considered eight materials and evaluated them on the following five criteria:(1)TS,(2)YS,(3)H,(4)E and(5)C.The first two criteria have been chosen because they can have a lot of influence on the behavior of the exhaust intermediate pipes,on their performance and on the cost.In this structure,the weights of the criteria are calculated objectively through the entropy method in order to have an unbiased assessment.This essentially measures the quantity of information each criterion contribution,indicating the relative importance of these criteria better.Subsequently,the materials were ranked using the TOPSIS method in terms of their relative performance by measuring each material from an ideal solution to determine the best alternative.The results show that SUS 309,SUS 432L and SUS 436 LM are the first three materials that the exhaust intermediate pipe optimal design should consider.Findings–The material matrix of the decision presented in Table 3 was normalized through Equation 5,as shown in Table 5,and the matrix was multiplied with weighting criteriaß_j.The obtained weighted normalized matrix V_ij is presented in Table 6.However,the ideal,worst and best value was ascertained by employing Equation 7.This study is based on the selection of material for the development of intermediate pipe using MCDM,and it involves four basic stages,i.e.method of translation criteria,screening process,method of ranking and search for methods.The selection was done through the TOPSIS method,and the criteria weight was obtained by the entropy method.The result showed that the top three materials are SUS 309,SUS 432L and SUS 436 LM,respectively.For the future work,it is suggested to select more alternatives and criteria.The comparison can also be done by using different MCDM techniques like and Choice Expressing Reality(ELECTRE),Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory(DEMATEL)and Preference Ranking Organization Method for Enrichment Evaluation(PROMETHEE).Originality/value–The results provide important conclusions for material selection in this targeted application,verifying the employment of mutual entropy-TOPSIS methodology for a series of difficult engineering decisions in material engineering concepts that combine superior capacity with better performance as well as cost-efficiency in various engineering design.
文摘Digital technology has fundamentally transformed healthcare delivery, exerting profound influence on patient outcomes. This paper delves into the roles played by telemedicine, electronic health records (EHRs), and mobile health applications in augmenting healthcare services. The objective is to scrutinize the ways in which these digital innovations enhance healthcare delivery and patient outcomes, while also identifying the attendant challenges in their adoption. To achieve this, a rigorous literature review encompassing peer-reviewed articles, reports, and case studies that examine the impact of digital technology in healthcare settings was conducted. The findings underscore that digital technology significantly bolsters patient care by enhancing access, operational efficiency, and diagnostic accuracy. Nonetheless, persistent challenges such as safeguarding data privacy, ensuring interoperability across systems, and managing implementation costs continue to pose significant hurdles.
文摘This study focuses on the impact of climate change, specifically the increasing threat of heatwaves, in Pakistan, with a particular emphasis on the city of Karachi. The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) analysed a century of climatic data to reveal warming trends, attributing them to human-induced factors. The vulnerability of Pakistan to climate change is highlighted, given its warm climate and location in a region where temperature increases are expected to surpass global averages. The study examines the past three decades, noting a significant rise in the frequency of hot days, especially in Karachi, where heatwaves have become more prevalent. The aims and objectives of the study involve identifying temporal changes in temperature, rainfall, humidity, and wind speed from 1984 to 2014 in Karachi. The literature review emphasizes the health implications of heatwaves, citing increased mortality during such events globally. The study incorporates a comprehensive temporal analysis, addressing gaps in previous research by considering multiple climate indicators responsible for heatwaves. The methodology involves statistical analyses, including linear regression and Pearson correlation, applied to temperature data and urbanization parameters. Results indicate an increasing trend in heat index temperature, with heatwave vulnerability peaking in the last three decades. Heat Index Temperature Anomalies show a clear surge, emphasizing the need for new indices to control critical heat stress conditions. The study concludes that tropical climate variability, particularly heat index, is linked to extreme hot days, urging measures to reduce population vulnerability. The findings underscore the importance of policy strategies, such as integrated coastal zone management, to mitigate the adverse health effects of heatwaves in Karachi’s vulnerable population.
文摘Freshwater bodies are natural resources that should be exploited to the fullest, while maintaining the sustainability of ecosystems and ecosystem services which they support. Riparian forests are more important as they contain rivers which are vital sources of fresh water for local populations. However, the quality and quantity of water issued from the watershed depend on the structural state of these forests. The aim of this work was to assess the physico-chemical and structural state of the Akono gallery forest. To achieve this, fieldwork consisted of selecting six major streams of the watershed including Ndjolong, Menyeng adzap, Emomodo, Mvila, Negbe and Ossoé kobok. On each of these, two stations, one intact and one degraded, were marked by transects. The method involved measuring Hydrometric parameters (depth, length, width) of the stream and Physico-chemical parameters of water in the streams while dendrometric parameters were measured along 100 m-transects laid using the point-centred quarter method modified for water bodies to collect tree, shrub and palm variables such as trunk diameter, crown diameter and height. Macrophytes and species identification were carried out using standard botanical procedures. Results showed that, the majority of physico-chemical parameters measured differed significantly between intact and degraded stations (P Pentachletra mancrophylla, whereas on degraded sites, this index was low and characterized by the relative dominance of species Piptadeniastrum africanum. Sorensen’s index (0.56) and CFA showed that the different stands were homogeneous. We can affirm that the riparian forests of Akono watershed are towards a state of stability notwithstanding the perpetuation of anthropological actions.
文摘In the digital age, the data exchanged within a company is a wealth of knowledge. The survival, growth and influence of a company in the short, medium and long term depend on it. Indeed, it is the lifeblood of any modern company. A companys operational and historical data contains strategic and operational knowledge of ever-increasing added value. The emergence of a new paradigm: big data. Today, the value of the data scattered throughout this mother of knowledge is calculated in billions of dollars, depending on its size, scope and area of intervention. With the rise of computer networks and distributed systems, the threats to these sensitive resources have steadily increased, jeopardizing the existence of the company itself by drying up production and losing the interest of customers and suppliers. These threats range from sabotage to bankruptcy. For several decades now, most companies have been using encryption algorithms to protect and secure their information systems against the threats and dangers posed by the inherent vulnerabilities of their infrastructure and the current economic climate. This vulnerability requires companies to make the right choice of algorithms to implement in their management systems. For this reason, the present work aims to carry out a comparative study of the reliability and effectiveness of symmetrical and asymmetrical cryptosystems, in order to identify one or more suitable for securing academic data in the DRC. The analysis of the robustness of commonly used symmetric and asymmetric cryptosystems will be the subject of simulations in this article.
文摘Pomegranate rind is abundantly available as a waste material. Pomegranate Rind Extract (PRE) can be applied to cotton fabrics for its natural colours, as a mordanting agent and also for imparting certain functional properties such as fire retardancy and antimicrobial properties. This paper reviews the feasibility of Pomegranate Rind Extract to improve the functional properties of cellulosic fabrics. Studies show that varying concentrations and higher temperatures that were used to apply the extract on the fabric, resulted in enhanced functional properties. At a particular concentration, the treated fabric showed a 15 times lower burning rate in comparison with the control fabric. Also, antimicrobial efficacy has been observed against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. Due to the natural colouring material, it can be used as a natural dye on cotton material. The fire retardancy of pomegranate rind extract was tested on jute material under varying alkalinity. Research has indicated that pomegranate rind extract could be used to dye polyamide as well. The rubbing and wash fastness of the finished fabrics is good. The light fastness was fair, and its antibacterial efficiency against tested bacteria was good.
文摘Firstly,I point out the problems in the fruit supply chain management.Then through field survey,we know that busywork flow plays a very important role in the fruit supply chain management.I establish the mathematical model,to derive that the supply chain management of corporate procurement and supply network is the optimal economic model.In terms of the performance of supply chain,I draw the following conclusions:(i) Busywork flow can achieve the supply chain management,and reduces logistics costs in the whole process of circulation;(ii) Busywork flow can improve logistics services for the customers and reduces coordination costs;(iii) The establishment of modern information system can reduce logistics costs;(iv) Busywork flow can improve distribution efficiency and reduce costs;(v) Busywork flow can reduce and avoid the costs of return of goods;(vi) The operation of the busywork flow can achieve integrated transport and business outsourcing to third-party logistics,thereby reducing costs,reducing transport links,reasonably choosing the means of transport,formulating the optimal transportation plan,improving the mode of transport,and increasing the cargo loading amount.(vii) Busywork flow promotes the use of e-commerce.I also express my own views on upgrade version of corporate procurement and supply network.Finally I point out some problems in the existing corporate procurement and supply network,and put forward the following recommendations:developing township-level 4S fruit shop according to the business development,with the functions of purchasing apple,supplying means of agricultural production,providing technical services and developing market;building " corporate ecological orchard" through holding.
文摘To achieve high performance and reliability in video streaming over wireless local area networks （WLANs）, one must jointly consider both optimized association to access points （APs） and handover management based on dynamic scanning of alternate APs. In this article, we propose a new architecture within the software-defined networking （SDN） framework, which allows stations to be connected to several APs simultaneously and to switch fast between them. We evaluate our system in a real-time testbed and demonstrate that our SDN-based handover mechanism significantly reduces the number and duration of video freeze events and allows for smaller playout buffers.
文摘There are a plethora of empirical pieces about employees’pro-environmental behaviors.However,the extant literature has either ignored or not fully examined various factors(e.g.,negative or positive non-green workplace factors)that might affect employees’pro-environmental behaviors.Realizing these voids,the present paper proposes and tests a serial mediation model that examines the interrelationships of job insecurity,emotional exhaustion,met expectations,and proactive pro-environmental behavior.We used data gathered from hotel customer-contact employees with a time lag of one week and their direct supervisors in China.After presenting support for the psychometric properties of the measures via confirmatory analysis in LISREL 8.30,the abovementioned linkages were gauged using the PROCESS plug-in for statistical package for social sciences.The findings delineated support for the hypothesized associations.Specifically,emotional exhaustion and met expectations partly mediated the effect of job insecurity on proactive pro-environmental behavior.More importantly,emotional exhaustion and met expectations serially mediated the influence of job insecurity on proactive pro-environmental behavior.These findings have important theoretical implications as well as significant implications for diminishing job insecurity,managing emotional exhaustion,increasing met expectations,and enhancing ecofriendly behaviors.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(71871172:Model of Risk knowledge acquisition and Platform governance in FinTech based on deep learning72171184:Grey Private Knowledge model of security and trusted BI on the federal Learning Perspective).
文摘Central banks worldwide have started researching and developing central bank digital currencies(CBDCs).In the digital economy context,concerns regarding the integrity,competition,and privacy of CBDC systems have also gradually emerged.Against this backdrop,this study aims to evaluate users’willingness to use China’s digital currency electronic payment(DCEP)system,a digital payment and processing network,and its influencing factors by comprehensively considering and comparing the characteristics of cash and third-party payment services.Combining the push-pull-mooring frame-work(PPM)and task-technology fit(TTF)theory,we discuss the scenarios and mecha-nisms that may inspire users’DCEP adoption intention through an empirical study.The results reveal that privacy concerns regarding the original payment methods and technology-task fitting level of DCEP positively impact users’willingness to adopt DCEP.The technical characteristics of DCEP,users’payment requirements,and government support positively affect users’adoption intention by influencing the task-technology fitting degree of DCEP.Switching cost significantly and negatively impacts adop-tion intention,whereas relative advantage exhibits no significant effect.This research contributes to a better understanding of the factors that influence switching intentions and the actual use of DCEP,and provides policy guidance on promoting the efficiency and effectiveness of DCEP.
文摘Take a digital libraries＇ service system for example, Objects Served Relationship Management （OSRM） in complex systems is proposed firstly as a new concept, and its connotation is explained. The significances and constructions of OSRM are analyzed. Both the fundamental facts and the important natures that the things which are interested by Objects Served （OS） （e. g. publishers and readers） and the server （e. g. digital libraries are the servers of publishers and readers） will not be the same completely although there are a lot of common benefits between OS and servers, are indeed clarified. The valuable information,which should be used by OS and their server, is often hidden behind them. Thus, how to find, manage and control the relationship among OS and their servers is very necessary and important for the common benefits among all of them.（e. g. the three dimensions of OSRM in digital library system and its overall framwork are proposed. The different strategies to different cases in the digital library＇s multidimensional framework are analyzed.）
文摘Rapid changes in business environment have increased the needs of graduates who have capabilities of anticipating to the changes. The faculty, especially at the level of study program, has an important role in affecting the quality of graduates, because the study program is the core element in the higher education institution which involves directly in planning, organizing, executing and controlling the teaching and learning activities. This dissertation is to examine the effect of leadership on performance management and good governance, and also to examine the effect of performance management and good governance on internal and external satisfaction. The data for this causal research is collected by questionnaire. Unit of analysis in this research is all study programs in all accredited faculty of economics in East Java. The respondents are academic staffs, students and administrative staffs in the study program. There were 83 of 125 accredited study program which has been successfully contacted and agreed to participate in the research. There were 900 students and 285 academic staffs filling up the questionnaires. The data analysis is conducted by Path Analysis with the SPSS 11.5 version software to measure construct validity and reliability and to test causal relationships between variables in the model. The findings of the research showed that： （1） Leadership affects performance management significantly; （2） Leadership affects good governance significantly; （3） Leadership affects internal satisfaction significantly; （4） Performance management affects internal satisfaction; （5） Good governance significantly affects external satisfaction; （6） Internal satisfaction does not affect external satisfaction. Based on the findings in this research, it is suggested that the study programs take into account the implementation of performance management in order to undertake improvement continuously considering that performance management supports the quality assurance activity. It is also suggested that the faculty implements good governance formally. However, the implementation should empower the study program to undertake the improvement.
文摘According to the current problems of safety management processes in coalmine enterprises,we introduced barrel theory to coal mine safety management,constructedthe closed-loop structure of a coal mine safety management system,andpointed out that efficient safety management lies in three factors:safety quality of all ofthe staff in coal mine enterprises,weak links in security management systems,and cooperationamong departments.After conducting detailed analysis of these three factors,we proposed concrete ways of preventing and controlling potential safety hazards duringthe process of coal mine production.
文摘Aiming to reveal the university students＇ understanding in management as for the strategy and strategic management phenomena, this study accomplishes a phenomenographic research to assess the future managers＇ market perception. It was chosen university students in Management of a Portuguese University. We conclude that the strategy definitions obtained are an assembly of the diverse existing concepts. Concerning to strategic management it was perceived an approach with one of the main existing concepts. The findings raise interesting issues with respect to the difficulties felt by new managers in translating their theoretical definitions in real examples in the organizations.
文摘The relation between the HRM and the firm performance is analyzed statistically by many researchers in the literature. However, there are very few nonlinear approaches in literature for finding the relation between Human Resource Management (FIRM) and firm performance. This paper exposes the relationship between human resource management and organizational performance through the use of nonlinear modeling technique. The modeling is proposed based on Radial Basis Function (RBF) which is nonlinear modeling technique in literature. The relation between 12 input and 9 output parameters is investigated in this research that is collected between 54 companies in Turkey which indicated that the relationship between organizational management performance and relationship management can be modelled through nonlinearly.
基金supported by the Technology Development Program of MSS(No.S3033853).
文摘Recently,computation offloading has become an effective method for overcoming the constraint of a mobile device(MD)using computationintensivemobile and offloading delay-sensitive application tasks to the remote cloud-based data center.Smart city benefitted from offloading to edge point.Consider a mobile edge computing(MEC)network in multiple regions.They comprise N MDs and many access points,in which everyMDhasM independent real-time tasks.This study designs a new Task Offloading and Resource Allocation in IoT-based MEC using Deep Learning with Seagull Optimization(TORA-DLSGO)algorithm.The proposed TORA-DLSGO technique addresses the resource management issue in the MEC server,which enables an optimum offloading decision to minimize the system cost.In addition,an objective function is derived based on minimizing energy consumption subject to the latency requirements and restricted resources.The TORA-DLSGO technique uses the deep belief network(DBN)model for optimum offloading decision-making.Finally,the SGO algorithm is used for the parameter tuning of the DBN model.The simulation results exemplify that the TORA-DLSGO technique outperformed the existing model in reducing client overhead in the MEC systems with a maximum reward of 0.8967.
文摘Port of Igoumenitsa in Greece is one of the most important Ports in European Union and enjoys a privileged position being located at the starting point of Egnatia Motorway The Port is one of the largest passenger ports in the East Mediterranean Sea basin, which, handles around 1,000,000 passengers per year for international destinations. The paper investigates current waste management and disposal options for ship generated waste and the associated impact of the waste for port. Data about the ship traffic were provided by the Port Authority and about the amount and characteristics of the wastes by the contractors for the disposal of the ship generated waste. It was concluded that all vessels should be encouraged to use the reception facilities and should pursue a waste reduction strategy and the port authority to provide adequate recycling facility. An electronic recording data system has to be adopted for better evaluation of the performance of the system. This system must record the deliveries for every ship in the port, the amount and the type of wastes are generated. Also must provide information about the maximum storage capacity of waste on board and about management of waste treatment options by the ships.
