Search

One of the most important environmental issues today is the water crisis and the ensuing security challenges. Of these, transboundary waters pose the most significant security challenges. Resolving these conflicts and agreements over transboundary waters has always faced a variety of challenges, making it difficult to reach a mutually agreed solution. One of the transboundary water conflicts that have been exacerbating in recent years is the conflict between Afghanistan, Iran, and Turkmenistan over the use of the Harirud river water resources. (e present paper aims to analyze, using the Graph Model for Conflict Resolution (GMCR), a game theory model, the conflict between the three countries regarding the utilization of the water resources of the border river, Harirud. To this purpose, first, the current state of the conflict was investigated. (en, each of the three countries’ possible options and preferences was defined according to the past and present state of the conflict as well as the possible states. By defining the permissible movements and priorities of each decision maker, the equilibrium of the conflict was obtained. Next, four scenarios were defined, the equilibria were extracted in each scenario, and the results were interpreted. (e implementation of the GMCR model algorithm regarding the Harirud water conflict between the three countries indicated that the current state is the most likely outcome of the conflict as none of the parties involved, given their preferences, and is motivated or able to change their strategy to help the conflict to a more favorable state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Automation has attracted interest from the industry sector for its potential to improve energy efficiency, cost efficiency, and environmental performance. By elevating the LoA to the highest degree, associated costs will grow accordingly and its implementation will be far more complicated. This will also result in losing workers and decreasing environmental pollutants. On the other hand, increasing power consumption at high levels of automation leads to the production of greenhouse gases. This paper aims to increase the level of automation (LoA) considering the concept of sustainability. This study presents fuzzy multi-objective programming to determine the optimal LoA considering sustainability factors to achieve competitive advantages. To solve the model, the Zimmermann max-min approach was adopted and a cosmetics factory in Iran was chosen to optimize LoA according to this model. The results showed that it is possible to improve the LoA and also consider sustainability factors with the available resources without using the highest LoA. This study can help managers optimize the LoA in their organizations considering the current resources and sustainability issues, and control the company's return on investment and cost of overhead. They can run the model with every definition of LoA proposed till now. This research can benefit the environment and the workers' health in the production line by reducing environmental pollutants and prevent the dismissal of all personnel due to its negative social effects. It also reduces the risk of COVID-19 by minimizing the number of workers. So far, a mathematical model for selecting optimal LoA in the chemical industry considering sustainability has not been presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An efficient banking system with the right monetary policy by controlling liquidity and inflation and directing resources to productive economic activities plays an essential role in economic development. However, banks' performance is influenced by various political, economic, managerial, and social factors, and the study of these factors has been considered the topic of interest to researchers. This paper uses the structural equation modeling method to investigate the effect of ownership structure and corporate governance on listed banks' performance in the Tehran Stock Exchange from 2011 to 2017. Based on the results, ownership structure dimensions have a relatively insignificant impact on corporate governance. However, the financial performance dimension has a statistically significant negative effect. The results also indicate that corporate governance is significantly associated with a positive effect on financial performance. Consequently, the results indicate that corporate governance may mitigate the negative impact that ownership structure dimensions may have on bank financial performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this study is to examine the relationship between managerial ability and earnings classification shifting of firms listed in the Tehran Stock Exchange (TSE). The paper consists of a sample of 1,875 firm-year observations after applying systematic elimination sampling method during a period of fifteen years, from 2005 to 2019. This study used the multivariate panel data regression for testing the links between variables. The results of this study provide that there is a positive relationship between managerial ability and earnings classification shifting. The obtained results indicate that there is a negative relationship between managerial ability and real earnings management and no relationship between managerial ability and AEM. In addition, managerial ability mitigates the negative effect of earnings management on future firm performance. Furthermore, managerial ability affects its agency cost positively due to the reduction in earnings management. This paper contributes to developing management literature and financial reporting literature. The study focuses on links managerial ability and earnings classification shifting and agency cost in a developing country like Iran, and the results of the paper can fill distance theory and practice by empirical test. Furthermore, the results of this study indicate in an emerging market, namely, Iran, that has a political business environment among the other countries of the Middle East, managerial ability can release Iranian firms on economic sanctions and financial pressures. This paper is the first study of its type in Iran. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ensuring international transport corridors' safety is essential for countries along the routes. For the sustainable development of international transport channels, this paper discusses how to evaluate the operational risks and how to alleviate the adverse effects caused by emergencies. First, an indicator system of international transport corridors' operational risks was constructed, which consists of 30 indicators from five dimensions of politics, economy, society, safety, and technology. Secondly, a comprehensive scoring approach combined with a network analysis method was applied to examine the effects caused by operational hazards. On this basis, the quantitative method and rigorous statistical analysis were used to evaluate the China-Pakistan-Iran-Turkey International Transport Corridor in the south line of the Silk Road Economic Belt, whose operational risks from 2010 to 2019 were analyzed. Finally, the operational risk index was discussed in detail. Results demonstrate the following. (1) During the China-Pakistan-Iran-Turkey International Transport Corridor, the Pakistan section has the highest operational risk index, and the next culprit is Turkey, followed by Iran. The Chinese section has the lowest operational risk index. (2) Pakistan has been trapped in severe political risks and security risks in recent years. Turkey suffers from severe security risks due to the Kurdish problem. Iran ranks first in terms of economic risk and social risk. Special attention should be paid to the natural risks for China. (3) Pakistan's operational risks will exhibit consistently high in the future, while China appears downwards in long-term trend. The operational risk index in Iran is on the rise. Turkey shows a flattening of and then a slight decline in the foreseeable future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the birth of Fordism and the expansion of the markets beyond the states' borders, national supply chains have evolved into international and global supply chains. Some countries fared much better than others in becoming an irreplaceable part of the said chain. For instance, one could mention Iran due to its rich oil reserves and geopolitical position on the globe, China with its cheap human capital and high-profit margins, and the US with its massive reach all around the world. This study examines the US's mediatory effect on Iran-China's relations. Consequently, a derivative of the gravity model has been devised to test the said hypothesis. The dependent variables to test this hypothesis are China's imports from Iran and China's exports to Iran. The model controls the two states' currency value, their inflation rate, and the price of crude oil. Furthermore, the signing of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action in 2015 and the US's Maximum Pressure Policy in 2017 are the main variables of interest in the model in form of two dummy variables. The study employs a novel multidisciplinary approach both on the methodology front by introducing an abstract conception of distance and on the epistemology front by combining international economics literature with that of the international relations. According to the results, the US's foreign policy has a significant buffering effect on the trade between Iran and China. In other words, the United States acts as a distancing factor between the two states of Iran and China. This distancing effect, however, is stronger for China's imports from Iran in comparison to China's exports to Iran. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the modern era, intellectual capital encompasses all resources within an organization that enhance the value and competence of the organization. Consequently, this indicates that managing intellectual capital effectively will enhance the value and performance of an organization. This study aims to investigate the effects of intellectual capital on business performance through the use of customer knowledge management in the Bank Mellat branches of Iran. In this study, all managers and employees working for Bank Mellat in Tehran are included. Based on Morgan's table, the sample size was 220 people. Sampling was done by the simple random method. We used a descriptive correlation method to conduct this study and a questionnaire was used to collect data. The questionnaires were scored using a Likert scale. It was confirmed by a consensus of experts that the research instrument was valid, and the reliability of the research was 0.894%. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the data. According to the results, the dimensions of intellectual capital (human, structural, and relational) have a significant impact on business performance. However, relational capital has been more influential on business performance than other factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Implementing various projects in each country leads to the development of that country. The necessity of implementing any project is to finance that project through different methods. In this regard, the cost of financing projects, determining the amount of financing from each technique, and the risk of financing projects are among the things that have caused problems for managers and decision makers. This study presents a new sustainable financing model for international projects in Iran. The main objectives are to minimize the financing cost and risk of funding the projects. Based on the proposed conceptual model based on fuzzy hierarchy analysis, it was observed that Iran's economic conditions, with a weight coefficient of 0.34, have the highest risk in financing projects. Therefore, a two-objective model was designed by determining the weighting coefficients to reduce costs and financing risks. Additionally, the epsilon constraint methods and NSGA II algorithm were used. Comparative results between the two algorithms show that financing projects must be changed to reduce the risk of sustainable financing of international projects, which can lead to an increase in the total cost of financing projects. On the other hand, it was observed that the NSGA II algorithm obtained 32 efficient answers (a combination of how projects are financed). Each of the received answers has advantages over the other solutions obtained. The epsilon constraint method also brought 11 efficient answers, demonstrating that the domestic capital market can provide 54.89% of the deficit budget of the country's international projects. Furthermore, 44.81% of the project deficit budget can be financed from a foreign bank loan source, and only 0.2% of the budget can be funded through the company's internal resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Blood and its products, like plasma, are among the most sensitive products for the sake of transportation and storage. Special storage conditions, short shelf life, and lack of particular demand for blood products are among the most significant challenges to managing it. In this respect, it is necessary to implement the problem of supply chain network design in uncertain conditions to find a proper solution for the management of blood products. In this study, a multilevel supply chain is designed to supply plasma in the COVID-19 pandemic. First, the blood is sent to blood donation centers and then to the laboratory. Moreover, after that, it is sent to hospitals. To optimize the transfer rate at each level of the supply chain, a mathematical model is proposed to reduce total costs. Also, the fuzzy programming approach is used to deal with uncertainty in the parameters of the mathematical model. The results of model optimization show that this mathematical model has the required efficiency in finding optimal solutions for the distribution of blood products. According to the obtained results, value objective function in certain and uncertain values is determined. According to the results, the objective certain value is lower than the uncertain value. Uncertain value calculated is of three dimensions. According to this, the categorized objective value increased when the dimension is equal to 0.5. Finally, it shows that when demand increases, more blood and plasma need to be collected to meet the demand, which increases operating and health testing costs and ultimately increases total system costs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High severity crashes are one of the negative consequences of suburban transportation for a range of factors. Fatalities, injuries, and medical costs, as well as road and car damage and mental side effects, are more important consequences of severe crashes. The goal of this research is to figure out what factors contribute to different crash severity levels, in order to reduce the likelihood of such crashes. This study is unique in that it tries to investigate the capabilities of various discrete choice methods in order to explore which one performs best given the current database and research restrictions. Furthermore, the data fusion approach allows this study to take advantage of a wide range of characteristics that influence crash severity. To achieve this objective, the current study used several types of discrete choice models, such as ordered logit (OL), multinominal logit (MNL), and mixed logit (ML) models, to examine the factors influencing the severity of crashes in the suburban highway area. The data are related to crashes and traffic counters in Khorasan Razavi province in the northeast of Iran. Spatial-temporal analysis of crash data with a data fusion approach has been conducted to prepare a multisource data set with a wide spectrum of independent variables to acquire reliable results using logit models. Independent descriptive variables include geometric design, time-related, weather and environmental conditions, land use, traffic attributes, vehicle characteristics, and driver characteristics. ML provided the best fit with the available data set when compared to other discrete choice techniques. In addition, in all three logit models, coefficients of geometric design, vehicle characteristics, driver characteristics, land use, and weather and environmental conditions are significant, demonstrating the significance of using multisource data in defining factors impacting crash severity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]