Search results

This study aims to provide a novel method for sport places site selection, although instead of using decision-making methods, the focus is on analytic functions in geographic information systems (GIS).

Researchers today have combined site selection science to a large extent with GIS and different decision-making methods to provide methods with higher confidence coefficients, however, it seems that there is a long way left to the best result.

After making a study database including data related to uses and urban elements, sports places, population density in study territory and drawing map of the region, by exporting data to GIS environment this database was prepared to use as separate layers. In the next step, the final map was made by shared overlapping of layer resulted from combining determining factors in sport places site selection and a layer of the sphere of influence of sport places available.

As with other research studies done for site selection, the region determined as high value in the final map was wide, a method of minimizing the difference of maximum and minimum standard deviation of polygons was used to minimize these lands. This method made it possible to plan to construct multiple sport places in succession.

In terms of the use of sports places and spaces, per capita is a determining parameter for the status and perspective of the future. Although there are many uses for the per capita indicator in sports places, there are no consistent scientific and methodological methods for calculating it. Therefore, this study aims to provide an analytical model to determine the per capita index of sports places and spaces.

One of the matters that can be considered as the basic information required to develop and construct sports facilities is determination of per capita, which can be used as the most vital information to plan and develop this type of urban utilities. In the history of contemporary urbanization, the use of the per capita concept is one of Reinhard Laumeister’s innovations, a founder of modern urban engineering in Germany, hence, the use of per capita was triggered in 1876, almost 133 years ago.

The underlying information of the research in two spatial and descriptive sections was analyzed in the geographic information systems (GIS) software. After the division and network distribution of the boundary by the Thiessen Networks analytic function in the Arc GIS, per capita of each polygon was separately calculated using the presented formula and the population of the related blocks

Finally, with the qualitative per capita achieved in the previous stage, the study area was classified based on the need for the development of indoor pools to three, privileged, semi-privileged and deprived spectrums.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the dynamical behavior of heat and mass transfer of non-Newtonian nanofluid flow through parallel horizontal sheet with heat-dependent thermal conductivity and magnetic field. The effects of thermophoresis and Brownian motion on the Eyring‒Powell nanofluid heat and concentration are also considered. The flow fluid is propelled by squeezing force and constant pressure gradient. The hydromagnetic fluid is induced by periodic time variations.

The dimensionless momentum, energy and species balance equations are solved by the spectral local linearization method that is employed to numerically integrate the coupled non-linear differential equations.

The response of the fluid flow, temperature and concentration to variational increase in the values of the parameters is graphically presented and discussed accordingly.

The validity of the method used was checked by comparing it with previous related article.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between suspicious executives and tax shelters.

Sample includes the 155 companies listed on the Tehran Stock Exchange during a period of seven years, from 2008 to 2015. Data were analyzed by using logistic panel regression with R software.

The results show that there is no association between the presence of suspicious executives and tax shelters or the firm value or both of them (tax shelters and the firm value).

The authors also investigated the implications of the firm value on suspicious executives. These findings are crucial to the state. However, several studies with similar subjects have been conducted in different countries. The current research is the first study in Iran.

This study aims to investigate the impact tax shelters and cost of debt in Iran. It also aims determine methods to identify tax-aggressive policies through corporate structure and corporate policies, as well as various solutions to handle these issues.

For this purpose, the data of 155 listed companies on the Tehran Stock Exchange (TSE) during the years of 2008-2015 will be considered. The number of observations includes 1,085 companies. Data was analyzed using logistic panel regression with R software.

The results of the hypotheses show that financial leverage use is not inversely related to companies’ tax-aggressive policies. There is no direct relationship between sales and financial leverage. Overall, there is no inverse relationship between tax shelters and total debt.

The results extend the empirical findings of Graham and Tucker and Wilson. The authors also investigated the relationship between tax shelters and financing (total debt). These findings are crucial to the state; although several studies with similar subjects have been conducted in different countries, the current study is the first of its type in Iran.

New business practices and the globalization of markets force firms to take innovation as the fundamental pillar of their competitive strategy. Research and Development (R&D) plays a vital role in innovation. As technology advances and product life cycles become shorter, firms rely on R&D as a strategy to invigorate innovation. R&D project portfolio selection is a complex and challenging task. Despite the management's efforts to implement the best project portfolio selection practices, many projects continue to fail or miss their target. The problem is that selecting R&D projects requires a deep understanding of strategic vision and technical capabilities. However, many decision-makers lack technological insight or strategic vision. This article aims to provide a method to capitalize on the expertise of R&D professionals to assist managers in making informed and effective decisions. It also provides a framework for aligning the portfolio of R&D projects with the organizational vision and mission.

This article proposes a new strategic approach for R&D project portfolio selection using efficiency-uncertainty maps.

The proposed strategy plane helps decision-makers align R&D project portfolios with their strategies to combine a strategic view and numerical analysis in this research. The proposed strategy plane consists of four areas: Exploitation Zone, Challenge Zone, Desperation Zone and Discretion Zone. Mapping the project into this strategic plane would help decision-makers align their project portfolio according to the corporate perspectives.

The new approach combines the efficiency and uncertainty dimensions in portfolio selection into an integrated framework that: (i) provides a complete representation of the stochastic decision-making processes, (ii) models the endogenous uncertainty inherent in the project selection process and (iii) proposes a computationally practical and visually unique solution procedure for classifying desirable and undesirable R&D projects.

Selecting a suitable contract to outsource construction projects is an ongoing concern for project managers and organizational directors. This study aims to propose a comprehensive model to manage the risks of outsourced construction project contracts.

To employ the proposed model, firstly, the types of contracts and risks in the organization should be identified, then, to prioritize the contracts, the identified risks are considered as criteria. After receiving the experts' opinions, the best–worst method (BWM) integrated with grey relation analysis (GRA) method was used to prioritize the contracts. BWM and GRA are multi-criteria decision-making methods with different approaches and applications. In the current study, BWM has been employed to calculate the weights of criteria because it has better performance than other methods such as the analytic hierarchy process (AHP). After calculating the weights of criteria, the GRA method has been utilized for ranking the alternatives.

According to the results obtained from the case study, the cost plus award fee contract is the most suitable alternative for outsourcing construction projects. The proposed methodology can be practically applied through different types of the projects such as construction or “engineering, procurement and construction”.

To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time a conceptual model has been proposed to select an appropriate contract for construction projects. Also, for the first time, the BWM integrated with GRA method has been used to prioritize project contracts based on the potential risks. The proposed model can contribute to project managers for selecting a suitable contract with the least risk in construction projects.

The main objective of the current study is to provide a framework for business sustainability performance (BSP) in Iran.

To determine the dimensions, components and indicators of BSP, the use of the meta-synthesis method allows for the achievement of research goals. For measuring the quality of selected literature, Critical Appraisals Skills Program (CASP) is used. The total of selected texts is 181, of which 139 were excluded.

This research presented a comprehensive conceptual model for BSP, which includes 23 components and 125 reporting indicators in economic category, social, ethical, environmental and corporate governance.

Although there is an extensive body of literature exploring the nature and extent of sustainability practices in developed countries, empirical studies examining the framework for BSP using meta-synthesis in emerging markets do not exist.

Every day, the sun provides by far more energy than the amount necessary to meet the whole world’s energy demand. Solar energy, unlike fossil fuels, does not suffer from depleting resource and also releases no greenhouse gas emissions when being used. Hence, using solar irradiance to produce electricity via photovoltaic (PV) systems has significant benefits which can lead to a sustainable and clean future. In this regard, the purpose of this study is first to assess the technical and economic viability of solar power generation sites in the capitals of the states of Canada. Then, a novel integrated technique is developed to prioritize all the alternatives.

In this study, ten provinces in Canada are evaluated for the construction of solar power plants. The new hybrid approach composed of data envelopment analysis (DEA), balanced scorecard (BSC) and game theory (GT) is implemented to rank the nominated locations from techno-economic-environmental efficiency aspects. The input data are obtained using HOMER software.

Applying the proposed hybrid approach, the order of high to low efficiency locations was found as Winnipeg, Victoria, Edmonton, Quebec, Halifax, St John’s, Ottawa, Regina, Charlottetown and Toronto. Construction of ten solar plants in the ten studied locations was assessed and it was ascertained that usage of solar energy in Winnipeg, Victoria and Edmonton would be economically and environmentally justified.

As to novelty, it should be clarified that the authors propose an effective hybrid method combining DEA, BSC and GT for prioritizing all available scenarios concerned with the construction of a solar power plant.

The study's main objective is to identify business sustainability performance indicators and analyze the mutual relationship between different business sustainability components in Iran.

To achieve research objectives, the 125 indicators of Business Sustainability Performance in Arianpoor and Salehi (2020) were used. For data collection, a questionnaire is designed and developed. Moreover, the Delphi method is used to determine the indicators related to business sustainability performance. Accordingly, we attempted to send the questionnaire to 346 experts and qualified opinion-leaders in the study area to utilize their opinions in our project. Finally, 108 questionnaires were analyzed statistically.

In this study, the confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), binomial test, one sample t-test, one sample Kolmogorov–Smirnov test and Kruskal–Wallis test are used. The results of statistical tests show that among 125 proposed indicators, 11 indicators were eliminated. Hence, to assess business sustainability performance in the listed firm on the Tehran Stock Exchange, 114 indicators were analyzed. To achieve the study's objective, the relationship between financial and non-financial sustainability performance and their effect is analyzed using the Smart PLS Software. Findings indicate that there is a mutual relationship between financial and non-financial sustainability performance in Iran. There is also a relationship between the operational component and research component and non-financial sustainability performance. In contrast, as for the growth component and non-financial sustainability performance, there is no significant relationship. Also, root means squared error (RMSE) values suggest a reasonable model-data fit.

The type and characteristics of different regions have a significant role in the reporting and differ according to different economic conditions. The discussion of business sustainability and its reporting is important; therefore, essential indicators were identified in this study. In addition, all aspects of sustainability performance are considered cohesively to analyze the mutual relationship between different components of sustainability performance and to be able to make more appropriate decisions in future studies about performance evaluation and reporting using the results of this paper.