Development Of Conceptual Model Research Articles

Virtual Site Investigation to Evaluate Conceptual Site Model Development at DNAPL‐Impacted Sites

AbstractThe development of a conceptual site model (CSM) is essential to support decision making for the investigation and remediation of contaminated sites, including sites impacted by dense nonaqueous phase liquids (DNAPLs). Dynamic investigation strategies using high‐resolution site investigation tools can be used to increase the accuracy, and increase the precision (reduce the uncertainty) of a CSM, while balancing life‐cycle costs. However, the evaluation of CSM accuracy is limited by the hydrogeological and biogeochemical complexities inherent in subsurface systems. This study simulated DNAPL migration, dissolution, and reactive transport to create three high‐resolution “virtual sites” composed of 0.4–1 billion parameter values each, which were investigated by teams of leading practitioners. Use of these virtual sites allowed key hydrogeological and biogeochemical parameters to be known by the model developers but not the investigation teams. Comparison of the CSMs developed by these practitioners to the simulated values across multiple metrics (e.g., dissolved concentrations, DNAPL mass, and mass discharge) showed that 92% of those metrics were estimated within a factor of 10 and 63% were within a factor of 3 of the true (simulated) values. Furthermore, estimates of dissolved phase plume footprint were often more accurate than estimates of DNAPL source footprint, and the approaches used for investigation and data analysis were both important for CSM development. Overall, none of the site investigation approaches used to develop the CSMs resulted in the highest accuracy for all metrics, which demonstrates the need to establish best‐practices that draw from multiple approaches and vary depending on investigation objectives.

Sustainable development of smart cities and smart territories based on the model of minimizing externalities

The development of conceptual models of a digital city poses numerous challenges for developers. The public sector concept model has become one of the most difficult models to use. When developing algorithms to find a solution, the multidirectional interests of businesses and public institutions are combined. This type of model reflects the most acute and urgent problems faced by megapolises with regard to combining numerous localized services provided to the community in a limited territory. The administrations of both cities and regions (the scale of the smart territories) must make decisions concerning overcoming the barriers existing between the profits of commercial structures, the negative externalities generated by their activities, and the social benefits to the population in the territory under their control. It is necessary to solve this problem to achieve the effective management of enterprises belonging to the segment of long-term participants in various business activities, interacting with the surrounding social and business environment in a complex. This study takes into account the complex structures of the economic processes characteristic of megacities. The periodicity of economic processes is also taken into account. When choosing an optimization criterion, functions reflecting the level of internalization of responsibility for external effects were considered. The authors propose a mathematical model that can be used as part of the management decision support systems software, aiming at taking into account the externalities of a wide range of national, institutional, business, and social activities.

THE CONCEPTUAL MODEL OF THE STRUCTURE AND FUNCTIONAL PURPOSE OF THE GEOINFORMATION SYSTEM FOR ADMINISTRATIVE AND ECONOMIC MANAGEMENT OF A REGIONAL AIRPORT

This article is devoted to the development of a conceptual model of the structure of the geoinformation system (GIS) for the administrative and economic management of regional airports, taking into account the requirements of world and national experience, international and national standards, modern technologies of geospatial data collection. The research is aimed at structuring all the facilities and objects of the airport complex and isolating components by location and function; development of a generalized scheme of directions for the use of administrative and business GIS at airports based on the analysis of world and domestic experience; establishing the need to use international and national standards of the “Geographic Information / Geomatics” series when creating an airport GIS; development of a generic scheme of the composition of the database of the Digital Single Topographic Base of the Airport, basic and profile geoinformation resources for the administrative and economic GIS; development of conceptual model of structure and functional purpose of GIS of administrative and economic management of the airport. The developed conceptual model reflects the main production processes and needs of airports, based on the database of the Digital Numeral Topographic Framework, is a complete and consistent model of the relationship between the administrative and economic needs of airports and the functionality of modern geoinformation systems for the efficient operation of objects, structures and facilities communications, analysis of the current state, monitoring and management decision-making.

Sediment dynamics at different timescales on an embayed coast in southeastern Australia

The concept of coastal sediment compartments has recently been adopted at a national scale in Australia to better understand sediment and shoreline dynamics and to underpin management of future shoreline behaviour in response to impacts of climate change. Geomorphological studies in southern NSW have provided a foundation for development of conceptual models of estuary and sandy barrier evolution. Geochronological reconstructions using radiocarbon, optically-stimulated luminescence, and other dating techniques, reviewed in this paper, demonstrate that adjacent compartments are at successive stages. Three compartments, Illawarra, Shoalhaven and Moruya, are compared, each with different catchment characteristics and different levels of human intervention. Landform change and sediment accumulation at millennial timescales enable estimates of past sediment accretion (vertical accumulation) and horizontal displacement of shorelines (particularly progradation), as a first step towards quantifying volumetric changes of morphology. Lake Illawarra is a barrier estuary at an early stage of infill, but land-use change, urbanisation, and engineering structures at the entrance have accelerated rates of sediment accumulation. The Shoalhaven River has infilled its estuary and delivers sand to the coast. It has been subject to several conspicuous anthropogenic interventions. At Moruya, ongoing supply of sand, primarily from offshore rather than from the catchment, has resulted in beach-ridge plains (strandplains) with changes in their alongshore inter-connectivity driven by differential embayment infilling. Millennial-scale geomorphology indicates landform change providing a means to determine natural trajectories of sediment transfer. However, variability is apparent at century and decadal timescales, compounded by various anthropogenic interventions. Disentangling natural and anthropogenic influences will be necessary to provide greater confidence in estimating past and present sediment budgets. Assessing sand sources and transport rates is important in relation to engineering interventions at entrances, and long-term resilience of coastal habitats. Such issues are the focus of coastal management programs, and this synthesis emphasises the relevance of a sediment budget approach to understand contemporary sediment pathways and provide an indication of future response to engineering interventions and sensitivity to climate change.

Black, African American, and Migrant Indigenous Women in Leadership: Voices and Practices Informing Critical HRD

The Problem The lack of theoretical frameworks representing voices and leadership experiences of women of color, compounded by multiple ways intersectionality changes the experience, continues to be under-represented in Human Resources Development (HRD) literature. Furthermore, given the field of HRD is fundamental to developing the whole person, lack of attention to voices and leadership experiences of women of color is problematic. Here, women of color represent Black, African American, and Indigenous women leaders. The Solution Applied critical leadership is introduced as a theoretical framework to expand and enhance HRD research, theory, and practice in the development of women of color as leaders. A conceptual development model, the Feminist Indigenous Mixteco Migrant Epistemology (FIMME) is introduced as a sociocultural view of leadership, defining multiple ways women of color harness the power of intersecting racial, ethnic, gendered, linguistic, socio-economic, and migrant leadership practices. The Stakeholders Human Resources Development scholars, students, and policymakers benefit from novel ways to think about women of color in leadership through culturally grounded concepts, bringing light to nuanced understandings. Exemplars for women’s leadership for culturally and linguistically diverse and Indigenous societies are provided as solutions to socio-political complexity.

Sustainable development of smart cities and smart territories based on the model of minimizing externalities

The development of conceptual models of a digital city poses numerous challenges for developers. The public sector concept model has become one of the most difficult models to use. When developing algorithms to find a solution, the multidirectional interests of businesses and public institutions are combined. This type of model reflects the most acute and urgent problems faced by megapolises with regard to combining numerous localized services provided to the community in a limited territory. The administrations of both cities and regions (the scale of the smart territories) must make decisions concerning overcoming the barriers existing between the profits of commercial structures, the negative externalities generated by their activities, and the social benefits to the population in the territory under their control. It is necessary to solve this problem to achieve the effective management of enterprises belonging to the segment of long-term participants in various business activities, interacting with the surrounding social and business environment in a complex. This study takes into account the complex structures of the economic processes characteristic of megacities. The periodicity of economic processes is also taken into account. When choosing an optimization criterion, functions reflecting the level of internalization of responsibility for external effects were considered. The authors propose a mathematical model that can be used as part of the management decision support systems software, aiming at taking into account the externalities of a wide range of national, institutional, business, and social activities.

Evaluating the Efficacy of Approaches to Control Invasive Populations: A Conceptual Model Development for the Signal Crayfish

Invasive crayfish are among the major threats to freshwater ecosystems, with the signal crayfish, Pacifastacus leniusculus, being one of the most successful crayfish invaders in Europe. Approaches to invasive crayfish control range from manual and physical to biological and biocidal control methods. However, all of these approaches have their drawbacks and have limited efficacy. Among traditional approaches with minimal impacts on environment and non-target species, manual control via trapping is the most frequently applied. More innovative approaches comprise, among others, usage of sterile male release technique, whose efficacy in the field is yet to be fully tested, especially how it combines with more traditional approaches. A good alternative to costly and logistically challenging field comparisons of these approaches and their combinations is population modeling. Population models can integrate all relevant species-specific biological and ecological information and can be applied to identify management scenarios of highest impact on invasive crayfish abundances. In this study, we developed a conceptual population model of the invasive P. leniusculus following the Pop-GUIDE framework. In addition, we expanded on the framework to increase its applicability to other fields beyond environmental risk assessment. Finally, we discuss potential application of the model and its future use as a management tool.

Development of Conceptual Cost Estimation Model for an Economic Analysis of Steam Methane Reforming based Hydrogen Production

Development of Conceptual Cost Estimation Model for an Economic Analysis of Steam Methane Reforming based Hydrogen Production

Development of Site-Scale Conceptual Model Using Integrated Borehole Methods: Systematic Approach for Hydraulic and Geometric Evaluation

Understanding the physical flow mechanisms in aquifer systems is essential in effectively protecting groundwater resources and preserving subsurface environments from a wide range of contaminants. A conceptual model is a simplified representation of a groundwater system and gaining knowledge about the geological features and parameters controlling the flow and transport processes is a crucial first step towards properly constructing a site-scale conceptual model. In this study, we present a multi-step workflow that involves integrated borehole techniques to gain information concerning groundwater flow. Measurements from core-scale to field-scale enable us to better build a subsurface geological structure divided into the unconsolidated layer and the fractured bedrock. In addition, neutron logging and mercury injection capillary pressure techniques allow for the development of vertical porosity distribution in the alluvial layer. For fracture characterization, the fracture geometry is delineated using a series of borehole imaging techniques and single-hole tests to differentiate the individual permeable fractures from other hydraulically inactive fractures. Combining the hydraulic and geometric evaluations, the presence of large-scale connective fracture networks is identified. Our high-resolution three-dimensional (3D) site-scale conceptual model is expected to contribute to improving the reliability and availability of numerical groundwater models.

Self-management support in flemish primary care practice: the development of a preliminary conceptual model using a qualitative approach

BackgroundCoping with a chronic disease can be really challenging. Self-management represents a promising strategy to improve daily life experiences. The role of primary healthcare professionals cannot be underestimated in supporting self-management. Due to a shortage of theory, implementation of self-management support is hindered in primary care practice. The aim of this study is to create a conceptual model for self-management support by analysing patients’ care experiences towards self-management support.MethodsAn explorative-descriptive qualitative study was conducted in Flanders, Belgium. Semi-structured interviews were performed with 16 patients and their informal caregiver (dyads) using a purposive sampling strategy and processed by an inductive content analysis, according to Graneheim and Lundman.ResultsInterviews revealed in-depth insights into patients’ care experiences. A conceptual model was developed for primary care practice, including five fundamental tasks for healthcare professionals - Supporting, Involving, Listening, Coordinating and Questioning (SILCQ) – contributing to the support of self-management of chronic patients.ConclusionsThis qualitative paper emphasises the use of the SILCQ-model to develop optimal roadmaps and hands-on toolkits for healthcare professionals to support self-management. The model needs to be further explored by all stakeholders to support the development of self-management interventions in primary care practice.

Corporate Social Capital – Prerequisite for Effective Bonding

The conceptualization of the manifestation of corporate social capital presents a cognitive message about its complicated relationship with corporate culture, applicable to both theory and practice. The study presents the authors’ original vision of the role of corporate social capital in business processes, where the dichotomy rationality-irrationality of behaviors and choices, as well as of decision-making directly affects the performance through the corporate bonding. The aim is to conceptualize the contextual specifics of the manifestation of the corporate social capital and its fundamental parameter–trust, with a focus on culture, subcultural constructs, and management practices to outline specific theses for the implementation of different forms and levels of organizational cooperation. The in-depth study of the cultural context favors the development of up-to-date conceptual management models, as well as the derivation of good and appropriate practices. The idea is that the study of the cultural context and in general, the mutual enrichment and coexistence between economics and socio-economic and business anthropology, favors the development of conceptual models for the management of human and social capital, and putting the appropriate practices for effective management.

The role of talent management and employee psychological contract on employer branding: a pragmatic conceptual model

PurposeThe purpose of the article is to investigate the role of talent management and employee psychological contract on employer branding and to develop a pragmatic conceptual model while identifying gaps between core concepts.Design/methodology/approachThe archival method was adopted along with systematic review based on Khan et al.’s (2003) five steps of systematic literature review. The systematic review has enclosed published research articles between 1960 and 2022 in fields of human resource management (HRM), brand management and psychology. In total, 260 Articles were initially scrutinized, and 230 were systematically reviewed finally to explore core concepts, identify gaps and model development.FindingsThis study explored five gaps among key concepts based on systematic review and linked theories, namely, social exchange theory and signaling theory. A conceptual model has been developed to explore the impact of talent management on employer branding with mediating and moderating role of employee psychological contract.Research limitations/implicationsThis study is limited to conceptual model development; nevertheless, there is enormous scope for empirically testing the model related to various global contexts in future studies.Originality/valueThe developed conceptual model is a vibrant contribution for future investigations of impact of talent management on employer branding with mediating and moderating role of employee psychological contract in diverse global contexts in wining “war for talent.” This study endows a momentous input to whole frame of HRM knowledge because it discourses significant knowledge gaps amongst relationships and effects of identified variables, which has not been formerly revealed.

Development of a multidimensional conceptual model for job shop smart manufacturing scheduling from the Industry 4.0 perspective

Based on a scientific literature review in the conceptual domain defined by smart manufacturing scheduling (SMS), this article identifies the benefits and limitations of the reviewed contributions, establishes and discusses a set of criteria with which to collect and structure its main synergistic attributes, and devises a conceptual framework that models SMS around three axes: a semantic ontology context, a hierarchical agent structure, and the deep reinforcement learning (DRL) method. The main purpose of such a modelling research is to establish a conceptual and structured relationship framework to improve the efficiency of the job shop scheduling process using the approach defined by SMS. The presented model orients the job shop scheduling process towards greater flexibility, through enhanced rescheduling capability, and towards autonomous operation, mainly supported by the use of machine learning technology. To the best of our knowledge, there are no other similar conceptual models in the literature that synergistically combine the potential of the specific set of Industry 4.0 principles and technologies that model SMS. This research can provide guidance for practitioners and researchers’ efforts to move toward the digital transformation of job shops.

Equity and the Hazard of Veiled Injustice: A Methodological Reflection on Risk Adjustment.

Equity and the Hazard of Veiled Injustice: A Methodological Reflection on Risk Adjustment.

Methodological and theoretical advancements in social impacts of tourism research

This lead article introduces the double special issue dedicated to methodological and theoretical advancements in social impacts of tourism research. We begin by providing an overview of five key developmental stages of research within this area: Definitions, typologies, and conceptual model development; the advent of case study-based, atheoretical empirical inquiry; scale design, development, and testing; further scale development/refinement and theoretical application; and theoretical model development and testing. Brief evolutionary histories of the methodological and theoretical advancements of research dedicated to social impacts of tourism are then discussed. This includes a review of the most pertinent predictor variables (along with a visual display of each and key studies) in explaining residents’ perceptions of social impacts of tourism and a thorough review of most frequently used theoretical frameworks. Following this, brief synopses of the articles are provided along with key themes (e.g. resident-tourist relationships, social impacts and residents’ attitudes, residents’ empowerment, overtourism, and methodologies) and salient points of each work. In closing, we suggest numerous lines of inquiry that will continue to advance research into social impacts of tourism. Though these studies were undertaken prior to the COVID-19 outbreak, we emphasize that future work should be designed with the pandemic in mind. Supplemental data for this article is available online at http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09669582.2022.2046011

Impulsive Buying Behavior of Hindu Balinese Women in the Implementation of Yadnya: A Conceptual Model Development

The purpose of this study was to build a comprehensive model of the impulsive buying behavior of Hindu Balinese women in the implementation of Yadnya. This research is exploratory research through literature review. The analysis of the existing literature leads to the formulation of 8 theoretical propositions. The findings of this study indicate that the impulsive buying behavior of Hindu Balinese women is influenced by hedonic shopping values, utilitarian shopping values, and social values, as well as the urge to buy impulsively and reinforced by self control. This research integrates in one conceptual model various variables about hedonic shopping value, utilatarian shopping value, social shopping value, urge to buy impulsively, and self control which were previously studied separately. The influence and interaction of all these variables can explain what variables determine impulse buying behavior.

The endometriosis daily diary: qualitative research to explore the patient experience of endometriosis and inform the development of a patient-reported outcome (PRO) for endometriosis-related pain

PurposeEndometriosis is a chronic disorder of the female reproductive system characterized by debilitating symptoms, particularly endometriosis-related pain (ERP). Patient-reported outcome (PRO) measures of symptoms and impacts are required to assess disease severity in ERP clinical studies and clinical practice. A content-valid instrument was developed by modifying the Dysmenorrhea Daily Diary (DysDD) to form the Endometriosis Daily Diary (EDD), an electronic PRO administered via handheld device.MethodsQualitative research with US females with ERP was conducted in three stages: (1) Development of an endometriosis conceptual model based on qualitative literature and conduct of concept elicitation (CE) interviews (N = 30). (2) Cognitive debriefing (CD) interviews (N = 30) conducted across two rounds to assess relevance and understanding of the EDD, with modifications between interview rounds. (3) Pilot testing to assess usability/feasibility of administrating the EDD daily on an electronic handheld device (N = 15). Clinical experts provided guidance throughout the study.ResultsThe conceptual model provided a comprehensive summary of endometriosis to inform modifications to the DysDD, forming the EDD. CD results demonstrated that EDD items were relevant for most participants. Instructions, items, response scales, and recall period were well-understood. The resulting daily diary assesses severity of cyclic and non-cyclic pelvic pain, dyspareunia, impact of ERP on functioning and daily life, symptoms associated with ERP, and bowel symptoms. Participants were able to complete the diary daily and found the device easy to use.ConclusionThe EDD demonstrated good content validity in females experiencing ERP. The next step is to perform psychometric validation in an ERP sample.

The serial mediational role of attachment and emotion regulation in the relationship between early life adverse experiences and self-harm in a group of individuals engaging in self-harm who interact in self-harm focused online platforms

PurposeStudies have demonstrated that adverse childhood experiences, attachment and emotion dysregulation are significant predictors of self-harm. Developmental theories of self-harm propose that adverse childhood experiences can influence attachment, which in turn has an impact on emotion dysregulation, leading to self-harm. However, to date no study has investigated this. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the relationship between early life experiences and self-harm is serially mediated by insecure attachment and emotion dysregulation. MethodsAn observational cross-sectional study design was adopted for this study. A sample of 284 adults (77% females), 64% of whom acknowledged a mental health disorder and 49% of whom have attempted suicide before, was recruited online via specific self-harm groups on social media platforms (e.g. the subreddit r/AdultSelf-Harm on Reddit) and was asked to complete an online survey, consisting of four self-report questionnaires. Conditional process analysis was used to investigate the proposed model (using the PROCESS macro). ResultsThe findings supported the serial mediation model [Indirect effect = 0.004, SE = 0.002, 95% CI (0.0007, 0.0090)], even after controlling for previous suicide attempts. ConclusionsThe findings of the study seem to provide a fruitful start to the development of conceptual models of self-harm. Applications regarding early identification and assessment of self-harm and the development of specific interventions are discussed.

Liability for white-collar crimes in Ukraine: Theoretical and enforcement issues

This paper raises current theoretical and practical issues related to the implementation of a comprehensive mechanism of liability for economic criminal offences in Ukraine. The purpose of this study is to identify the main problem areas in the criminal law security of economic relations and to develop conceptual advice on their elimination. The paper uses a wide range of methodological tools (including comparative, historical, systemic, Aristotelian (dogmatic), modelling), which enabled a comprehensive and critical analysis of the current state and prospects for improving the criminal regulation of economic relations in the country. The results of the study are designed to promote the development of a unified conceptual model of protection of the national economy through criminal law. It is established that the prolonged economic crisis and distortions of market relations continue to adversely affect the state and dynamics of economic crime. The author’s opinion is also argued that since criminal law measures cannot objectively have a positive effect on economic processes, they can be relied on only to eliminate certain adverse consequences of economic activity. The study substantiated that the term “criminal offences against the market economy” in the context denoting the crimes for which responsibility is prescribed by Section VII of the Special Part of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, successfully passes conditional verification for compliance with the name of this structural part of the Criminal Code. Over the past five years, Ukraine’s criminal law policy on combating crimes in the sphere of economic activity has not undergone radical changes. Finally, there are hopes for the active development of legal research to become a reliable foundation for quality law-making to optimise the statutory framework in terms of criminal law response to economic and financial torts.

Big Data Analytics Quality in Enhancing Healthcare Organizational Performance: A Conceptual Model Development

The advancement of Big Data Analytics (BDA) has aided numerous organizations in effectively and efficiently adopting BDA as a holistic solution. However, BDA quality assessment has not yet been fully addressed, therefore it is necessary to identify essential BDA quality factors to assure the enhancement of organizational performance, particularly in the healthcare sector. Hence, the goals of this study are to recognize and analyse the determining factors of BDA quality as well as to suggest a conceptual model for enhancing the performance of healthcare organizations via BDA quality assessment. The proposed conceptual model is based on a related theoretical model and previous research on BDA quality. The essential BDA quality factors being selected as determinants consist of reliability, completeness, accuracy, timeliness, format, accessibility, usability, maintainability, and portability. The findings of this ongoing study are used to develop a conceptual model that is proposed in line with the ten-research hypothesis and may offer a better assessment quality model to improve the performance of healthcare organizations.