This paper attempts to categorize solar stills into six sorts based on the design guidelines used in each device. The properties of these design guidelines are detailed and evaluated from the angle of enhancing the productivity of solar stills. Preferred design guidelines are recommended for...

This research focuses on an open-loop reverse supply chain, which includes a single centralized returns center (CRC) and multiple local collection points (LCPs). Each LCP receives a stream of returned products from consumers and once its inventory reaches its economic inventory level, these...

IMF policies have been widely criticized in the aftermath of the Asian crisis. Key critics questioned the appropriateness and the sequencing of financial liberalization programs which, along with insufficient monitoring and inadequate prudential regulations, left the financial sectors of the...

Based on the minimal reduction strategy, Yang et al. (2011) developed a fixed-sum output data envelopment analysis (FSODEA) approach to evaluate the performance of decision-making units (DMUs) with fixed-sum outputs. However, in terms of such a strategy, all DMUs compete over fixed-sum outputs...

This paper highlights the importance of having a cooperative quality investment (CQI) strategy and proposes a simple proportional investment sharing schedule in the outsourcing of a supply chain, which consists of a contract manufacturer (CM, the supplier) and two competitive original equipment...

As environment constraints on economic growth are strengthening, Carbon Emissions Abatement (CEA) allocation becomes a significant issue that draws academia׳s attention. In the literature, the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) technique has been applied to obtain CEA allocation with centralized...

This study measures the performance of participating nations at the Olympics, considering the quest for medals as a two-stage Olympic process. The first stage is characterized as athlete preparation (AP) and the second stage as athlete competition (AC). We extend the relational model from the...

There is a trend in fashion product industry that firms launch new styles of their products more frequently. To investigate the optimal style launching strategy for a fashion firm, we propose a two-period pricing model for a fashion product firm. The firm sells a style of products in the first...