Dynamic Service System Research Articles

Shifting sands: Actor role and identity reconfigurations in service systems

Building on previous actor-to-actor perspectives in service systems, this study mapped the dialectic trajectory of actor role and identity transitions in the context of family caregiving. The study employed the theoretical lens of role and identity transitions and drew on in-depth, qualitative interviews with 22 unpaid family caregivers caring for dependent relatives to demonstrate how family caregiver roles and identities co-evolve throughout the caregiving journey. Our findings elucidate three dynamic reconfigurations of role and identity transitions in family caregiving. We evince how such transitions vary in both degree and type, and range from incremental to disruptive, as actors assume and detach from roles and associated identities. Theoretical contributions shed light on the emergent and nuanced nature of role and identity transitions, as roles and identities synchronously and asynchronously co-evolve in a service system in conjunction with changed relations between actors, society, and the service system. The paper concludes with implications for enhancing actor engagement in dynamic service systems.

Analysis of dynamic service system between regular and retrial queues with impatient customers

<p style='text-indent:20px;'>In this article, we propose a dynamic operating of a single server service system between conventional and retrial queues with impatient customers. Necessary and sufficient conditions for the stability, and an explicit expression for the joint steady-state probability distribution are obtained. We have derived some interesting and important performance measures for the service system under consideration. The first-passage time problems are also investigated. Finally, we have presented extensive numerical examples to demonstrate the effects of the system parameters on the performance measures.</p>

Quality-Speed Trade-Offs in Dynamic Service Systems: How to Anticipate Future Demand Changes

Quality-Speed Trade-Offs in Dynamic Service Systems: How to Anticipate Future Demand Changes

An ecosystem service-dominant logic? – integrating the ecosystem service approach and the service-dominant logic

Natural and business ecosystems are complex and dynamic service systems that interact through the utilization of ecosystem service offerings for human well-being. Currently, natural and business sciences have not developed a shared and common set of service-based terms or concepts for discussing ecosystem service offerings in the process of value co-creation. In this study, the ecosystem service approach was compared with marketing science's service-dominant logic. The terminology and concepts were harmonized, and the two approaches were then integrated into a service-dominant value creation (SVC) framework. The incorporation of natural ecosystems includes accounting for the flow of positive and negative impacts through associated value networks. Therefore, the term value-in-impact was proposed to describe these value flows. A case study of the global forest-based sector was then presented, demonstrating how to discuss current research challenges using the proposed framework. In conclusion, a shared service-dominant approach provides an opportunity for deeper inter-disciplinary discussion between natural and business sciences. This study represents a contribution towards the development of a holistic service science that includes consideration for natural ecosystems. The SVC framework also addresses many of the multidimensional challenges noted by previous sustainability frameworks.

Expanding understanding of service exchange and value co-creation: a social construction approach

According to service-dominant logic (S-D logic), all providers are service providers, and service is the fundamental basis of exchange. Value is co-created with customers and assessed on the basis of value-in-context. However, the extensive literature on S-D logic could benefit from paying explicit attention to the fact that both service exchange and value co-creation are influenced by social forces. The aim of this study is to expand understanding of service exchange and value co-creation by complementing these central aspects of S-D logic with key concepts from social construction theories (social structures, social systems, roles, positions, interactions, and reproduction of social structures). The study develops and describes a new framework for understanding how the concepts of service exchange and value co-creation are affected by recognizing that they are embedded in social systems. The study contends that value should be understood as value-in-social-context and that value is a social construction. Value co-creation is shaped by social forces, is reproduced in social structures, and can be asymmetric for the actors involved. Service exchanges are dynamic, and actors learn and change their roles within dynamic service systems.

MonALISA: An agent based, dynamic service system to monitor, control and optimize distributed systems

The MonALISA (Monitoring Agents in a Large Integrated Services Architecture) framework provides a set of distributed services for monitoring, control, management and global optimization for large scale distributed systems. It is based on an ensemble of autonomous, multi-threaded, agent-based subsystems which are registered as dynamic services. They can be automatically discovered and used by other services or clients. The distributed agents can collaborate and cooperate in performing a wide range of management, control and global optimization tasks using real time monitoring information. Program summary Program title: MonALISA Catalogue identifier: AEEZ_v1_0 Program summary URL: http://cpc.cs.qub.ac.uk/summaries/AEEZ_v1_0.html Program obtainable from: CPC Program Library, Queen's University, Belfast, N. Ireland Licensing provisions: Caltech License – free for all non-commercial activities No. of lines in distributed program, including test data, etc.: 147 802 No. of bytes in distributed program, including test data, etc.: 2 5913 689 Distribution format: tar.gz Programming language: Java, additional APIs available in Java, C, C++, Perl and python Computer: Computing Clusters, Network Devices, Storage Systems, Large scale data intensive applications Operating system: The MonALISA service is mainly used in Linux, the MonALISA client runs on all major platforms (Windows, Linux, Solaris, MacOS). Has the code been vectorized or parallelized?: It is a multithreaded application. It will efficiently use all the available processors. RAM: for the MonALISA service the minimum required memory is 64 MB; if the JVM is started allocating more memory this will be used for internal caching. The MonALISA client requires typically 256–512 MB of memory. Classification: 6.5 External routines: Requires Java: JRE or JDK to run. These external packages are used (they are included in the distribution): JINI, JFreeChart, PostgreSQL (optional). Nature of problem: To monitor and control distributed computing clusters and grids, the network infrastructure, the storage systems, and the applications used on such facilities. The monitoring information gathered is used for developing the required higher level services, the components that provide decision support and some degree of automated decisions and for maintaining and optimizing workflow in large scale distributed systems. Solution method: The MonALISA framework is designed as an ensemble of autonomous self-describing agent-based subsystems which are registered as dynamic services. These services are able to collaborate and cooperate in performing a wide range of distributed information-gathering and processing tasks. Running time: MonALISA services are designed to run continuously to collect monitoring data and to trigger alarms or to take automatic actions in case it is necessary.

Formal architectural models for agent-based service systems

This paper describes formal architectural models for three types of service systems: static service system, dynamic service system and mobile service system. The system architectures are agent based. For each model, we investigate the properties and give the case study.

The passport control problem or how to keep a dynamic service system load balanced?

In many real life situations (such as department stores, or passport control booths in airports) parallel queues are formed in front of control stations. Typically, some of the stations are manned while others are not. Classical queuing theory considers the configuration constant, and concentrates on the arrival process. This work explores a new line of research—the case in which the configuration is dynamic, and the customers can plan to cope with anticipated changes. Specifically, as the queues build up, management assigns additional officers to the unmanned stations. When this happens—some people move to the newly manned queues from nearby busy queues. In anticipation, people may prefer to line up in busy queues next to unmanned ones. Mathematically we discuss the problem of dynamic arrangement of the queues in a service system where at any time each server can be in either an active or an inactive mode. A balancing strategy determines how customers will be reallocated when a station becomes active. Given a balancing strategy, we seek a partition of customers to queues that minimizes the maximum wait time of a customer in each of the active stations, thereby keeping the system balanced at all times. We study two balancing strategies that we call Split and Trim. For the Split strategy we discuss a special case (the stations are ordered on a line and a single unmanned station is at one end). We show how an optimal partition can be calculated recursively. We then give partitions that approximate the minimal expected wait time within a factor of 1+ O(1/ N), under each of these strategies, where N is the number of stations. We obtain similar bounds (to within factor 2) for the case, where the number of active servers can be any 1⩽ n⩽ N−1, and the balancing strategy is Trim.

The effect of oestrous cycle number, at constant age, on gilt reproduction in a dynamic service system

AbstractPrevious studies examining the effect of age on gilt reproduction have generally failed to discriminate between chronological (i.e. days) and physiological age (i.e. number of oestrous cycles experienced) and the importance of each factor remains unclear in the pig. The present investigation tested the hypothesis that the physiological age at which gilts are bred in a dynamic service system (DSS) affects their reproductive behaviour and performance. A hundred and ninety gilts were randomly allocated between two treatments. They were introduced into the service pens of a DSS to be bred at the same age (215 days) but either at second (2H; no. = 96) or third (3H;no. = 94) post-pubertal heat period. The sexual behaviour of half of them was continuously recorded over a 13-week period and reproductive data from all the gilts were collected. Gilts of 2H treatment were significantly heavier at entry into the service pens (123 v. 119 kg; P < 0·05) than 3H gilts, but there was no significant difference in their backfat thickness. Treatment failed to affect the quality and frequency of mating attempts (MAs) gilts received or oestrus duration. Conception rate to first oestrus in the DSS (82%) was not affected by treatment. Litter size and number of piglets born alive was similar for 3H and 2H gilts (12·0 v. 11·7, s.e.d. 0·40 and 11·5 v. 11·0, s.e.d. 0·4 respectively; all P > 0·05). It is concluded that the reproductive behaviour and performance of gilts that had experienced either two or three oestrous cycles prior to mating at a constant age does not differ significantly in a DSS. More studies are needed in order to clarify the possible interactive influence of repeated and frequent services, which are common in a DSS, on gilt reproduction.

The effect of boar team size on reproductive behaviour in a dynamic service system

The effect of male hierarchy on the sexual activity of individuals is unclear from the recent scientific literature and a clear distinction between the social and sexual aspects of this hierarchy is lacking. Moreover, the effect of male team size on the extent of sexual competition between individuals has not been examined in the recently developed group mating systems for pigs, such as the Dynamic Service System for gilts (DSS). The main objectives of the present study were therefore to examine the effect of boar sexual status on the sexual activity of individuals and the influence of boar team size on the reproductive output of a DSS.

The reproductive behaviour of pigs in a dynamic service system for gilts

The behaviour of 80 gilts and 14 boars was observed over a 54-day period in a dynamic service system with pens of 20 gilts and 4–5 boars. The female population of this system was changed on a regular basis (four animals in four animals out per week) while boars were resident. Altogether 933 mating attempts (MAs) were recorded and their quality was classified using quantitative behavioural criteria. Only 9% and 18% of the observed MAs were classified as `very good' and `good', while 14, 24 and 35% were `fair', `poor' and `very poor', respectively. Differences between and within boar teams in the mating quality parameters were significant (all p<0.05). A significant correlation was found between time to first mount (TTFM) and MA duration ( r=+0.58, p<0.01). MAs followed a diurnal pattern and had a peak at about 0900 h (after feeding time). The number of MAs a gilt received per hour of oestrus decreased ( r=−0.55, p<0.001), while mating quality score improved ( r=+0.38, p<0.005). The overall pregnancy rate was 84%. Gilts with a positive PD result had received more total MAs and total `good'+`very good' MAs ( T=2.33, p<0.05 and T=2.25, p<0.05, respectively), and were significantly heavier at the time of selection ( T=2.80, p<0.01). Mating quality grade differed significantly with boar social status ( χ 2=35.8, df=16, p<0.01) but this had no influence on mating frequency, time to first mount or mating duration (all p>0.05), indicating that subordinate boars were not deprived of sexual partners. Gilt lesion scores reached a maximum 3 days after entry then subsequently declined ( r=−0.75, p<0.05). It was concluded that with a good knowledge of the factors influencing the activity of the sexual partners kept in such a system, the dynamic service system could be a valuable alternative in future pig production.

Reproductive behaviour and performance of gilts bred at the same age but at different post pubertal heat in a dynamic service system

The heat period at which gilts are bred affects first reproductive performance and overall sow productivity. However, most studies which have examined this subject have confounded chronological age (i.e. days) with physiological age (i.e. number of heat periods experienced) and the importance of each factor remains unclear. The Dynamic Service System (DSS) is a recently developed variant of group mating and the optimum heat period at which gilts should be bred has never been established. This study tested the hypothesis that the physiological age at which gilts are first mated in a DSS will affect their first reproductive behaviour (i.e. mating frequency and quality) and performance.