This paper presents an empirical investigation to study the relationship between intellectual capital and investment opportunities on selected firms listed on Tehran Stock Exchange (TSE) over the period 2005-2011. In our survey, Tobin Q represents investment opportunity and intellectual capital is measured based on different variables such as value added intellectual capital and human capital. The study uses regression technique with panel data and random effect and the results indicate that there was no meaningful relationship between intellectual capital and investment opportunity. In other words, most investment opportunities on TSE do not depend on intellectual capital and they mostly depend on traditional methods of investment.

For years, there have been growing interests on cost reduction for products and services. Privatization is considered as one of the most important techniques to increase relative efficiencies of publically held firms. In this paper, we present an empirical investigation to rank important barriers on privatization of television (TV) media industry in Iran. The proposed study of this paper designs and distributes a questionnaire using a sample of 234 out of 600 graduate students who were enrolled in media communication studies. The survey considers social, cultural, economic as well as rules and regulations factors influencing privatization of TV media industry. The survey uses the ranking method presented by Cook and Kress (1990) [Cook, W. D., & Kress, M. (1990). A data envelopment model for aggregating preference rankings. Management Science, 36(11), 1302-1310.]. The results of the investigation indicate rules and regulations are the most important barriers on privatization of Iranian TV followed by cultural, social and economic factors.

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationships of master production scheduling (MPS), total quality management (TQM), blood production (BP) and blood transfusion sustainability in the blood bank sector of Uganda. This study considers MPS as an independent variable and examines its relationship with BTS through TQM and BP. Based on the dynamic capability theory, this study concurrently incorporates and considers TQM and BP as independent and serial mediators. Data was collected from 213 blood bank respondents using a self-administered questionnaire. Random simple sampling was used to draw the sample. SEM approach was used in the study to assess the model. The major findings are positive total effect relationship between MPS and BTS; BP was found to be an independent mediator, TQM was found not to be an independent mediator, and TQM and BP mediated the MPS and BTS relationship serially. The findings suggest that MPS is related to BTS through a serial mediation model with two mediators. Therefore, blood banks in Uganda need to pay attention to develop and maintain a better MPS program so that positive perceptions of blood transfusion can be attained. Future research should investigate the mediating effect of other TQM and BP dimensions in the link between MPS and BTS in other countries.

The computer numerical control (CNC) machines are chiefly used for the production of jobs with high accuracy and high speed. The CNC machining centers perform the machining operations according to the given program instructions which are commonly programmed by a CNC programmer. In this paper, a procedure to develop an automatic CNC program for machining of different types of holes by using different machine learning algorithms is developed. The machine learning algorithms namely support vector machine (SVM) and restricted boltzmann machine algorithm (RBM) with deep belief network (DBN) are used for the au-tomatic development of CNC machining programs of different types of holes. Initially, the position and other parameters of machining operations are identified and thereafter the CNC machining program is developed by using the MATLAB application. The automatically de-veloped CNC programs are tested on a CNC simulator. It is found that the application of RBM machine learning algorithm with DBN outperforms the SVM machine learning algo-rithm for the development of automatic CNC machining program for the machining of blind holes, through holes, counterbores and countersink operations.

In order to manage a project seamlessly, there is a need to establish effective communication be-tween different departments and identify the risks in the project, determine the affected or influ-encing stakeholders, provide timely resources and logistics, and manage the available resources to make a framework for project implementation. In order to successfully complete the project it is also necessary to focus on approved costs, project completion time and quality within the specified range. Project management is the coordination among different parts of the project to achieve the main goals of the project and the stakeholders’ expectations. To achieve this, there are several standards and one of the most recognized standards is the Project Management Knowledge Facility (PMBOK), which has come with the assistance of Project Managers for professional, targeted and comprehensive management. PMBOK is not just a guideline and a methodology for project management. Building Information Modeling (BIM), a project man-agement methodology has been adopted in recent years to design a project integrated as a 3-D information model, which adds all project information in the various phases of the project to a 3-D information model. The purpose of this research is to gather some date from experts using some questionnaires in the area of project management to build an information modeling. The study determines that each of the basic BIM capabilities had positive effects on different domains of PMBOK knowledge. Moreover, using SAW analysis, the study suggests that BIM had the greatest impact on project integration management, and finally, the BIM general process model is introduced to implement each of the areas of knowledge.

This paper aims to evaluate the performance of banks in Tunisia from 2011 to 2013. An approach based on relations between fuzzy numbers (BRONF) is used to solve the fuzzy data envelopment analysis (FDEA) model in presence of financial and non financial data. In addition, a methodology is proposed to treat imprecise inputs and outputs. The results show that, in a competitive environment, no-financial inputs and outputs should be taken into account in order to obtain credible and realistic efficiency scores.

Serviceable engineering components not only rely on their bulk material properties but also on the design and the characteristics of their surface. These characteristics influence directly the surface quality of the machined products. In terms of surface roughness, the influence of the tool material can be also caused by its tribological properties, i.e. a contact behavior between cutting tool and workpiece. This study presents a formulation of the nominal’s coefficient and friction forces generated in machining between workpiece and cutting tool using cutting force profiles. The obtained equations led to the evaluation of coefficient, frictional forces and cutting inserts characterization in terms of better surface finish and lowest frictional forces. Indeed, results show that the contact between cutting tool and workpiece depends on the materials cutting tool nature, and that the cutting tool type can influences the surface roughness of the machined surface.

Customer Demand Information (CDI) sharing plays a vital role in reducing the bullwhip effect as well as in improving the performance of a supply chain. The objective of the present research is to identify the best form of CDI sharing experimentally for a four-stage serial supply chain under lost sales business environment. A supply chain role play game software package is developed for conducting suitable experiments. Different forms of CDI sharing tested in this research are periodic CDI, history of CDI and CDI in the form of distribution. It is found that all forms of CDI sharing have significant impact on the reduction of bullwhip effect compared to non-sharing of information and the upstream stages in the supply chain are benefited the most under CDI sharing. The statistical analysis also confirms that sharing CDI in the form of distribution is the most effective among the various forms of information sharing studied. The percentage reductions in magnitude of order variance under the most benefitted information sharing at distributor and factory stages are 64.43 and 66.04, respectively. It is also found that the performance of a supply chain depends on the degree of customer demand information shared among the stages in the supply chain.

The electron transport of Phthalocyanines (Pc) with central metal and di-axial ligands (such as FeIII(Pc)L2; where L = CN, Cl, Br) originates from its intermolecular Pc π-π orbital overlap while its giant negative magnetoresistance (GNMR) arises from its intramolecular Pc-π(HOMO) and Fe-d (s=1/2) interaction. However, the π-d interaction tends to localize itinerant electrons resulting in the decrease in the conductivity of the FeIII(Pc)L2 series compared to the non-magnetic CoIII(Pc)L2 where π-d interaction is absent. More so, the axial ligand field energy of the FeIII(Pc)L2 system is found to have the ability to proportionally modulate the π-d interaction. In reference thereof, theoretical calculations point that isostructural RuIII(Pc)Br2 would provide the best balance of π-d orbital energy interplay. That is, RuIII(Pc)Br2 is expected to be a molecule with high electrical conductivity and GNMR which would make it an ideal magnetic molecular conductor. This paper reports on the synthesis of RuIII(Pc)Br2.

We study the question of how to ideally divide total profits among supply chain members, especially in a stochastic demand market. The Shapley value is used as the methodology solution to divide profits in a supply chain. To illustrate the Shapley value solution and procedures, a two-echelon supply chain consisting of one supplier and two heterogeneous retailers is examined. The goal is to figure out ideal transfer prices for products delivered among supply chain members. These transfer prices will achieve the suggested profit allocations among three companies.