Identifying the contextual components of design and development of entrepreneurial branding of the university (Case study of Iran University of Technology)

Introduction: The aim of the present study is identifying the contextual components of design and development of entrepreneurial branding of Iranian industrial universities. So that, the present research seeks to take advantage of the postmodern paradigm and considering the approach of university entrepreneurial branding, by conducting interviews with professors of industrial universities in the country, extracting the most important categories of university entrepreneurial branding design and development and finally, based on the findings, proceed to provide a suitable framework for entrepreneurial branding of industrial universities. Methodology: For this purpose, the method of phenomenological qualitative research was used. The research community was industrial universities experts. Based on the research method, using purposive sampling method and including 32 industrial universities experts were selected. The data collection process was performed using a semi-structured interview. To determine the validity of the interviews, two methods of member checks and peer review were used. To analyze the data, the data encoding technique of open and axial coding levels was used. Results and Discussion: Findings indicate that the four main components of “design and development missions”, “products and services”, “human resources” and “development of university capabilities” are the most important components of the design and development of entrepreneurial branding of the university. In the following, several pivotal components are presented for each of the main components. In such a way that for the main component of the missions key components of “education”, “research”, “scientific policy” and “internationalization”; for the main component of products and services pivotal components of “student” and “university products and services”; for the main component of human resources core components of “staff” and “faculty” and for the main component of capacity development core components of “finance”, “marketing” and “infrastructure” are suggested. Finally, for each of the pivotal components, the university's entrepreneurial branding design and development strategies are presented. Finally, for each of the core components, strategies for the design and development of entrepreneurial branding of the university are presented. Conclusions: Based on this, it is generally suggested that industrial universities form a committee consisting of experts and professionals in the field of branding, in order to identify and evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the unique value of the university brand and make principled and logical planning, to make the best possible use of opportunities in order to lead to the improvement of the university brand. It should also be kept in mind that branding is a complex and multifaceted work that must be done with due care, necessary time investment, necessary financial allocation and detailed planning

Polynomial chaos-based extended Padé expansion in structural dynamics

The response of a random dynamical system is totally characterized by its probability density function (pdf). However, determining a pdf by a direct approach requires a high numerical cost; similarly, surrogate models such as direct polynomial chaos expansions are not generally efficient, especially around the eigenfrequencies of the dynamical system. In the present study, a new approach based on Padé approximants to obtain moments and pdf of the dynamic response in the frequency domain is proposed. A key difference between the direct polynomial chaos representation and the Padé representation is that the Padé approach has polynomials in both numerator and denominator. For frequency response functions, the denominator plays a vital role as it contains the information related to resonance frequencies, which are uncertain. A Galerkin approach in conjunction with polynomial chaos is proposed for the Padé approximation. Another physics-based approach, utilizing polynomial chaos expansions of the random eigenmodes, is proposed and compared with the proposed Padé approach. It is shown that both methods give accurate results even if a very low degree of the polynomial expansion is used. The methods are demonstrated for two degree-of-freedom system with one and two uncertain parameters

Optimized water allocation in persistent severe climatic conditions: A novel metaheuristic approach

With increasing global water tensions, the need for a comprehensive water management framework in persistent harsh conditions is crucial. A framework was designed to devise a comprehensive and detailed plan that can strike a balance between all water resources and demands. In contrast to previous studies, this framework can be adopted for long-lasting severe climatic conditions and suggests detailed cultivation patterns and reservoir management. The framework adopts a comprehensive, detailed, novel, multi-objective, and evolutionary-based approach for optimal water management during continuous extreme events in sectors including agriculture, industry, and the environment. Sustainability (ecological water demand and global warming potential), economic welfare, and equitability are allocation principles. This framework utilizes complex, metaheuristic algorithms that enable it to cope with big data and optimize complex systems with high precision. For the case study of the Karkheh basin, the results show that for a full recovery of the Hoor al-Azim wetland, the basin cannot bear the agricultural water demand, and such activities must be decreased drastically. It is also shown that a 10% increase of the agricultural net benefit will result in a 40% increase of the Gini coefficient.ISSN:0043-1354ISSN:1879-244

Exergy-economic assessment of a hybrid power, cooling and heating generation system based on SOFC

In this research, a combined cycle using a solid oxide fuel cell system, a single-stage H2O–NH3 absorption chiller and a residential hot water HX, is developed for the electricity production, hot water and cooling all at the same time, and it is studied from an exergy, energy, and exergoeconomic standpoint. Performance of system under the design condition is analyzed and the mathematical model is simulated. After analyzing the results in the initial input mode, changing the fuel cell current density effect and fuel utilization factor on the system efficiency is evaluated. The result indicates that total energy is 4.418 kW, the total exergy efficiency is 37.8%. And the overall irreversibility is 1.650 kW. On the other hand, the air HX, fuel cell and water HX are designed as elements that must be given more attention than others from the exergoeconomic perspective, because they have nearly the most amount of price compared to other parts