Selecting Outsourcing Strategies in Single Level Bidirectional Service Supply Chain: A Proposed Approach

The purpose of this paper is to propose an approach for selecting outsourcing strategies in single level bidirectional service supply chain. For this purpose, analytic hierarchy process (AHP) technique has been used for selecting two factors that have maximum influence on service outsourcing decisions. Selected factors have been integrated with quadrant analysis for selecting outsourcing strategies. Two questionnaires have been developed to indicate the importance and correlation of objectives of outsourcing and choosing factors that have influence on service outsourcing decisions in the selected service supply chain of a hospital in Isfahan, Iran. Questionnaires have been fulfilled by senior managers and supervisors the hospital. The results indicate that customer contact and relative capability position in the process have maximum affect on service outsourcing decisions in the selected service supply chain and when relative capability position in the process is high, it is better for the decision makers to keep process internal, i.e. in-sourcing since it provides more competitive advantages.Key words: Outsourcing; Service Supply Chain Management (SSCM); Health care; AHP; Quadrant Analysi

Evaluating practical functions of available web-based virtual museums using qualitative comparative method

By the extension of digital networks and the rise of personal computers, advantages of information technology have been noticed by major cultural organizations such as museums. As the result, different versions of online virtual museums have been created so far with various approaches and technologies. In addition to having a short review on literature and the history of web-based virtual museum development, this paper evaluates the practical functions of available web-based virtual museum development approaches using the qualitative comparative method regarding general aims, functions, and concepts in the definition of a museum defined by the International Council of Museums (ICOM). Considering the findings of this study, it is possible to increase effectiveness and efficiency of virtual museums

A New Simple Equation of State for Calculating Solubility of Solids in Supercritical Carbon Dioxide

In this work, a modified Redlich–Kwong (βRK) equation of state has been proposed to calculate the solubilities of twenty solids including Ascorbic acid, Fluoranthene, Propyl gallate, Acenaphthene, Asprin, Climbazole, Cinnamic acid, Triclocarban, 4-methoxyphenylacetic acid, Phenoxyacetic acid, Cholesterol,Cholesteryl butyrate, Cholestrol acetat,Triphenylene, Ibuprofen, Acetanilide, Propanamide, Butanamide, Chrysene and Dodecyl gallate in supercritical carbon dioxide (440 data points). The proposed equation of state has been coupled with the van der Waals zero (vdW0) mixing rule. To distinguish the accuracy of the proposed model, the results of the model have been compared with the results of Peng–Robinson (PR) equation of state in combination with the van der Waals one (vdW1) and the Wong-Sandler (WS) mixing rules. The calculation results showed that the proposed model performed well for reproducing the solubility of these twenty solids in supercritical carbon dioxide with absolute average relative deviation (AARD) = 5.7 %

A New Correlation Method for Estimating Thermal Conductivity of Carbon Dioxide in Liquid, Vapor and Supercritical Phases

In this study, a new correlation for estimating thermal conductivity (TC) of carbon dioxide was developed based on 2319 data points. The data points were at the temperature ranging from 250 to 1100 K, pressure ranging from 1 to 3000 bar and density ranging from 0.3 to 1400 Kg.m-3 in different phases of liquid, vapor and supercritical. The statistical parameters including average absolute deviation (AAD%), average percent relative error (ARE%), sum of absolute residual (SAR) and the coefficient of determination (R2) have been calculated to evaluate the accuracy of present correlation. The obtained values of AAD%, ARE%, SAR and R2 were 1.98, −0.64, 3510.1 and 0.995, respectively. The predictions of proposed correlation were also compared with three widely used correlations. The results showed that the proposed correlation is able to accurately calculate thermal conductivity of carbon dioxide. In addition, the proposed model is superior to all the existing empirical models considered

New Functionality for Energy Parameter of Redlich-Kwong Equation of State for Density Calculation of Pure Carbon Dioxide and Ethane in Liquid, Vapor and Supercritical Phases

A new equation of state has been proposed for calculating densities of pure carbon dioxide and ethane in the liquid, vapor, and supercritical phases. In this equation of state, a new function (β function) for energy parameter of Redlich-Kwong equation of state has been used versus temperature and pressure. The constants of the β function were calculated by minimizing of average absolute relative deviation percent (AARD%) between calculation results and experimental densities data reported in literature. The data points used for optimization were 2770 for carbon dioxide in the ranges of (220-1273) K for temperature and (8- 2000) bar for pressure and 2002 for ethane in the ranges of (95-625) K and (2-700) bar. The densities calculated by the proposed EoS (βRK-EoS) were in good agreement with experimental densities with AARD% of 1.68 and 0.49 for ethane and carbon dioxide, respectively