Service Providers Research Articles

Measuring tourist-to-tourist value co-creation: a scale development

Purpose The purpose of this study is to primarily focus upon the acknowledged benefits of tourist-to-tourist (t2t) encounters through productive interactions among tourists, rather than focusing on interactions between tourists and service providers. Design/methodology/approach This study delves into various value dimensions among Indian tourists that arise during different co-creation stages. A rigorous mixed-methods approach, coupled with a three-wave analysis, was used to develop a comprehensive six-dimensional scale for measuring t2t value co-creation. Findings The research findings shed light on the dimensions constituting t2t value co-creation, thereby providing a nuanced understanding of their interactions. The developed six-dimensional scale offers a structured framework to quantify positive interactions among tourists, previously unexplored in the literature. Practical implications This study significantly contributes to the field of tourism experience by enriching the literature on t2t interaction and value co-creation. Moreover, it provides valuable conceptual, practical and instructive insights for service design and administration within the tourism industry. These insights potentially enhance the overall tourist experience and facilitate more meaningful interactions among tourists, thereby contributing positively to the tourism sector. Originality/value The research breaks new ground by shifting the focus from tourist-service provider interactions to productive relationships among tourists. It introduces a pioneering six-dimensional scale, quantifying positive t2t value co-creation. Concentrating on Indian tourists, this study offers unique cultural insights. Methodologically rigorous and practically impactful, it clarifies conceptual ambiguities laying the foundation for nuanced research in understanding tourist interactions and value co-creation.

An application of COM-b model to explore factors influencing veterinarians' antimicrobial prescription behaviors: Findings from a qualitative study in Bangladesh.

The integration of behavioral theories in designing antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) interventions aimed at optimizing the antimicrobial prescription in veterinary practice is highly recommended. However, little is known about the factors that influence veterinarians' antimicrobial behavior for food-producing animals in lower- and middle-income settings like Bangladesh. There is a large body of research on the factors that influence veterinarian behavior of prescribing antimicrobials, however, there is a need for more studies that use comprehensive behavior change models to develop and evaluate interventions. Applying the Capability, Opportunity, and Motivation for Behavior (COM-B) model, this qualitative study attempted to address this gap by conducting 32 one-on-one semi-structured interviews with registered veterinarians in Bangladesh. In alignment with COM-B constructs and the theoretical domain framework (TDF), thematic analysis (both inductive and deductive inferences) was performed to analyze the data and identify underlying factors that influence veterinarians' antimicrobial prescription behavior. We found that under "Capability," factors such as knowledge of antimicrobial resistance (AMR); ability to handle complex disease conditions; ability to identify the appropriate antimicrobial type, routes of administration, and potential side effects influence prescription behavior by veterinarians. Under "Opportunity," veterinarians' prescription behavior was influenced by lack of laboratory testing facilities, poor farm biosecurity, farm management and location, farming conditions, impacts of climate change, the clinical history of animals and social influence from different actors including senior figures, peers, farmers, and other informal stakeholders. Under "Motivation," national laws and guidelines serve as catalysts in reducing antimicrobial prescriptions. However, perceived consequences such as fear of treatment failure, losing clients, farmers' reliance on informal service providers, and economic losses demotivate veterinarians from reducing the prescription of antimicrobials. Additionally, veterinarians feel that reducing the burden of AMR is a shared responsibility since many informal stakeholders are involved in the administration and purchase of these medicines. Based on our results, this study recommends incorporating the factors we identified into existing or novel AMS interventions. The behavior change wheel can be used as the guiding principle while designing AMS interventions to increase capability, opportunity and motivation to reduce antimicrobial over-prescription.

Service providers’ perspectives and reproductive (in)justice among Roma women: a qualitative study in Spain

The main objective of this study is to identify the barriers that prevent Roma women and girls from accessing reproductive rights derived from reproductive justice by analysing the discourses of service providers as a facilitating source of information. A qualitative study including nine semi-structured in-person interviews with community service providers was conducted in April-June 2019. The interview script addressed intercultural competences, views on gender discrimination against Roma women, resources available to fight against this discrimination, knowledge and use of these resources in reproductive justice, as well as the networks of actors involved. The qualitative analysis involved a discourse analysis. In the analysis, three focal areas were defined around which barriers to access spaces inspired by reproductive justice for Roma women could be identified. In each of the focal areas (stereotypes, discrimination, and intercultural competences), discourses and practices have been observed in contrasting ways that can prevent access, as well as others that can facilitate access based on prejudices about Roma culture and people. The relationship models between professionals and users of the Roma population project stereotypes that are an obstacle in terms of accessing reproductive justice. The right of Roma women to preserve their culture and to actively participate in policies that affect them is not included and guaranteed in public policies. The intention to include the Roma population’s situation in an inclusive narrative exists, although without short-term effects. Reproductive justice is an absent framework within professional intervention and the institutional system.

Energy-efficient joint performance optimization of cloud data centre users/operator using memetic algorithm

ABSTRACT The use of cloud computing as a cost-effective and flexible method has currently drawn the attention of cloud service providers. When offering various cloud services to users, a certain level of Service Level Agreement (SLA) must be guaranteed by the cloud operator, based on the service received at the user level. Considering the non-linear dependency of network users’ Quality of Experience (QoE) on cloud resources (RAM, disk memory, network bandwidth, and CPU core usage) as well as the non-linear and time-varying dependency of cloud operator efficiency on the level of resources consumed by users, joint optimization of user experience and cloud operator efficiency poses significant computational challenges. This paper focuses on the green optimization of both user experience and the benefits of cloud data centre operators, employing a metaheuristic algorithm, which essentially combines a genetic algorithm with an innovative approach. In this approach, the efficiency of the cloud data centre operator, energy consumption of data centres, and user experience quality are jointly optimized. Simulation results demonstrate the improvement of the combined user/operator utility function compared to traditional methods, considering energy consumption constraints.

Developing analytics-driven maintenance data mining processes: a design science approach

PurposeData mining has been well-applied by maintenance service providers in identifying data patterns and supporting decision-making. However, when applying data mining for analytics-driven maintenance, maintenance service providers often adopt data mining with unstructured “trial-and-error” approaches. In response, we have followed design science to develop a comprehensive approach to diagnosing the problems with the existing data mining processes model for analytics-driven maintenance service.Design/methodology/approachThis study conducted an in-depth case study with Siemens in the UK for data collection in order to apply a two-cycle build-and-evaluate design process. Based on the literature, the preliminary model is built. It is evaluated through the case company in the first cycle. In the second cycle, the model is refined based on the comments from the case company and then re-evaluated from both business management and information technology perspectives to ensure the applicability of the designed model in a real business environment.FindingsFirstly, this study identifies three main shortcomings in the existing data mining process models for analytics-driven maintenance. Secondly, this study develops the “Gear-Wheel Model”, with a customer-oriented cycle, a project planning cycle and a machine comprehension cycle, to overcome all these shortcomings simultaneously and provide improvement solutions. Thirdly, this study highlighted that the data mining processes for analytics-driven maintenance service need interactions from different functional departments and supports of successive data collection.Originality/valueThe study expands data mining analysis beyond a single business function to include interactions with other internal functions and external customers. It contributes to existing knowledge by focusing on the managerial aspects of data mining and integrating maintenance service providers with their business customers.

Is the interplay among O2O platform businesses always equal? Evidence of attribute weight changes in the hospitality sector

PurposeA crossover effect exists in the relationship between recommendation apps and restaurants in the online-to-offline (O2O) service platform context. Yet, how this effect evolves across subsequent consumption episodes, from the initial stage of information searching to the final stage of loyalty to a service provider, remains unclear.Design/methodology/approachThis study utilizes a two-time-lag interval approach to test changes in temporal and carryover effects and attribute weights.FindingsWhile there is no crossover effect between restaurant satisfaction and recommendation app loyalty during two time-lag interval periods, the crossover effect between recommendation app satisfaction and restaurant loyalty intentions is significant. These findings indicate that the satisfaction–loyalty intentions linkage operates systematically within the O2O consumption domain and increases over time. Particularly, the initial selection of a restaurant based on an app’s recommendation strengthens the intention to use the app again and increases loyalty toward the restaurant.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the literature by demonstrating the crossover effects of the two consumption systems on consumer evaluations. It underscores the importance of changes in individual attribute weights between the two systems as behavioral responses occur during initial and subsequent consumption phases.

A Collaborative Governance Perspective in Ecotourism Development in Ujung Kulon National Park, Banten-Indonesia

This research aims to examine ecotourism activities in Ujung Kulon National Park, Pandeglang Regency, Banten-Indonesia. This research uses qualitative methods, with a comprehensive case study approach. The focus of the research is on collaborative governance in the development of ecotourism in Ujung Kulon National Park. This research also pays attention to the various dimensions of the roles and functions of the actors involved since the starting condition phase, institutional design, facilitative leadership, and collaborative process (Ansell and Gash, 2008). Data collection techniques were carried out through observation, in-depth interviews with informants, literature studies, and tracking news in the mass media. Data and information were obtained through several sources of informants including: 1) actors of ecotourism activities such as the government (Ujung Kulon National Park and Pandeglang Regency Government), 2) local communities, 3) non-governmental organizations, and 4) the private sector as service providers. The results of the study found that collaborative governance as a model of cooperation for ecotourism activities in Ujung Kulon National Park Pandeglang Banten has been carried out, although there are still many obstacles and challenges. This can be seen in the implementation of citizen participation in the activity planning stage, several obstacles such as the inequality of knowledge of community members in understanding the concept of nature conservation and the concept of ecotourism, then the earthquake, the covid19 pandemic outbreak, and the central role of the Ujung Kulon National Park office. Collaborative Governance as a concept always refers to efforts to realize consensus and active participation from the stakeholders involved, as well as interdependence and common interests being factors that cannot be ignored.

Humans [plural] in the loop: the forgotten collective aspects of privacy, consenting, controlling, and digital protection

The integration of digital technologies into various aspects of life is not only transforming industries and economies but also fundamentally altering human interactions and societal dimensions, raising critical ethical and societal concerns, particularly regarding human agency and human rights. Current approaches for addressing these concerns, particularly in the case of digital privacy, are predominantly “individual-centric”, placing an undue burden on individuals who often lack the necessary knowledge and resources to protect their digital rights. This article argues for a paradigm shift toward human-compatible approaches by providing individuals with cognitive, collective, and contextual supports to empower them. The article redefines “humans in the loop” as a collective practice and expands the ongoing debates from “data protection” to the broader discourse of “digital protection.” It proposes the establishment of novel sociotechnical mechanisms, such as the “Advanced Data Protection Control (ADPC)”, within internet infrastructures to facilitate effective communication between users and stakeholders. This approach addresses the shortcomings of current practices dominated by service providers and advocates for innovative policy-making and technical advancements. By integrating collective supports with automation and other cognitive and contextual supports, the goal is to foster a sustainable and accountable digital future that ensures pluralism, inclusion, and human agency in the continuous co-creation, evaluation, and improvement of digital technologies.

Striving for effective social development interventions in South Africa

The socio-economic conditions of the poor in South Africa remain dire, and little has been done to improve them. However, many faith-based organizations (FBOs) have entered into agreements with the state to overcome various social development problems. Nevertheless, since questions continue to be raised regarding the rate of resolution of social development problems in South Africa, the difficulty may lie with the conceptualization and understanding of the partnership between church and state and the role that this partnership plays. This article reports on a critical assessment of the partnerships between FBOs in Elsies River and some Western Cape government organizations. The study entailed semi-structured interviews with a purposive sample to understand how both role players understood the FBO-state partnership, and how their understanding and social praxis either brought about more complexities and negative consequences or had a beneficial and positive influence on how poor social conditions in the communities are attended to. The study found that the South African government is not always adequately resourced to provide the necessary social welfare services and therefore makes use of alternative service providers to render social development services on its behalf. Furthermore, the study raises a deep concern about the imbalance in the power relations between the two stakeholders.

Public Valuations of Managing Compromised Molars: A Discrete Choice Experiment.

There is limited evidence to support optimal patient-centered management for compromised first permanent molars (cFPM) in children. Based on an online discrete choice experiment (DCE), this study elicits UK adult general population preferences and calculates willingness to pay (WTP) for pathways to manage cFPM. The DCE was designed with information from semistructured interviews and literature reviews, as well as focus groups with an expert panel of dentists, citizens, and policy makers. A statistically optimal D-efficient design generated 18 choice tasks, split across 2 blocks. Each respondent answered one block of 9 tasks to reduce survey fatigue. Choice tasks varied across 5 attributes: type of treatment, provider of care, who makes the management decision, number of future visits avoided, and cost. An opt-out was included (no treatment). Conditional logit models (fixed effects) were used for data analysis, and marginal WTP for each attribute level was calculated. An overall 430 respondents completed the DCE. Respondents valued children receiving care as compared with not. Restoring a cFPM was valued equally to spontaneous or orthodontic gap closure. In contrast, having a partial gap, prosthetic replacement with a bridge, or a full unit gap was valued less than restoration or full gap closure. General dentists were preferred to dentists with enhanced skills, but there was no evidence of a preference for general dentists over specialists in pediatric dentistry. Respondents preferred to be wholly or partly involved in the decision-making process as opposed to the dentist making the decision alone. Respondents preferred less costly treatments and the avoidance of future dental work. Dental care service providers must consider service user preferences for health and nonhealth outcomes in any service redesign. Furthermore, the results provide marginal WTP estimates that can be used to value dental care services.

Women's Perspectives on Post-partum Family Planning in Banyumas, Indonesia.

Background: A recent programmatic shift in the provision of family planning in the Global South led to a renewed focus on post-partum family planning (PPFP). PPFP embodies a shift in the primary narrative of global family planning programs, from fertility reduction to promoting maternal and child well-being.Purpose: We examine key factors that shape women's knowledge, attitudes and practice of PPFP in Banyumas, Indonesia.Methodology: We employed a qualitative approach utilizing focus group discussions with pregnant women and women with children aged less than 1 year old (n = 44), and in-depth interviews with health service providers (n = 10). Guided by the research questions, we conducted a thematic analysis of the transcripts.Results: Our findings demonstrate how women's agency within marriage, their social and familial networks, their interactions with healthcare providers, and policy changes related to reproductive health and health insurance schemes, all influence the extent to which women's rights to information and choice regarding post-partum family planning can be realized. Conclusions: Key implications for practice include the necessity for health providers to offer unbiased information about contraceptive options, to engage local leadership effectively, and to ensure that government targets for the PPFP program align with women's needs and the health and social conditions of the community.

Network Automation for Routing and Switching: Leveraging Tools Like Ansible and Netconf

With growing network size and complexity, service providers and enterprises face ever- increasing difficulty to keep the networks in their desired configurations with minimum latency and high availability. Manual configuration and implementation processes are error-prone, inefficient, and costly. Network automation using tools like Ansible or Netconf can definitely aid in reducing implementation errors, reduce engineering time and eventually reduce operational costs. Automation can help enterprises and service providers increase effectiveness, and optimize. This paper describes current difficulties with manual network configurations, talks about automation as a tool for reducing outages, and introduces Ansible and Netconf. This paper also provides the setup and configuration of both tools, configuration examples, and important design considerations when applying network automation tools. Keywords— Manual Network Configuration, Ansible, Netconf, Network Automation, standardization, increase efficiency.

Evolving from Legacy Protocols: Transitioning from RIP and EIGRP to OSPF, IS-IS and BGP

With the advent of the internet and growing complexity in the networking environment, old protocols like Routing Information Protocol (RIP) or Enhanced Interior Gateway Routing Protocol (EIGRP) pose significant bottlenecks for modern businesses and service providers. This paper provides an overview on the evolution of RIP and EIGRP, its limitations as Interior Gateway Protocols (IGPs), the benefits of moving to newer and more powerful protocols such as Open Shortest path First (OSPF), Intermediate System to Intermediate System (IS-IS) and Border Gateway Protocol (BGP). The paper further dives deep into migration strategies from legacy protocols to OSPF or ISIS. OSPF and IS-IS are considered the best enterprise routing solutions and service provider routing solutions respectively due to their scalability, performance and flexibility. In addition, it highlights the importance of BGP as an external gateway protocol to control routing across autonomous systems. The findings aims to aid network engineers in making educated decisions on protocol implementation and migration efforts. Keywords— RIP, OSPF, IS-IS, BGP, Migration Strategies, Convergence time, Scalability.

Return Discussions to Reduce Missing Incidents in Persons Living with Dementia: Findings from a Scoping Review and Individual Interviews.

Persons living with dementia are at risk of becoming lost. While return discussions after missing incidents are common with children, these discussions are seldom done with persons living with dementia. Our objective was to describe the use of return discussions with persons living with dementia according to the literature and practice. We conducted a scoping review using 19 databases to locate scholarly and grey literature on return discussions, followed by 20 semi-structured interviews with first responders and service providers in Canada and the United Kingdom (UK). Eleven scholarly and 94 grey sources were included, most from the UK, related to missing children, none included persons with dementia. According to participants, although there was no standardized procedure, there were themes about conditions that facilitate return discussions. This was the first study to examine return discussion practice in dementia, and results can inform development of evidence-based protocols.

The Influence of Price Perception and Service Quality on Customer Satisfaction of Maxim Application

This study aims to analyze the influence of price perception and service quality on Customer satisfaction with the Maxim online transportation application in Depok City. With the rapid growth of online transportation in the Jabodetabek area, particularly in Depok, Maxim has become one of the preferred service providers due to its competitive pricing and numerous promotions. Based on previous research, factors such as service quality, price, and employee service have been shown to positively affect customer satisfaction. In the increasingly competitive online transportation industry, Customer satisfaction is a crucial factor for success. This study focuses on Maxim Customers in Depok, who are identified by their yellow helmets and jackets. According to data from the Central Bureau of Statistics of Depok City in 2020, the city has a population of over 2 million, but there is still limited research on Customer perceptions of Maxim's services in this area. This research uses a quantitative method with a purposive sampling approach, targeting male and female respondents aged 17 to 30 who have used Maxim’s services at least three times, with a sample of 100 respondents, and using the SmartPLS version 4 program. The results indicate that price perception has a positive and significant effect on Customer satisfaction, with a P-value of 0.001 < 0.05 and a path coefficient of 0.324 or 32.4%. Additionally, service quality is also proven to significantly influence Customer satisfaction, with a P-value of 0.000 < 0.05 and a path coefficient of 0.590 or 59%. These findings indicate that both variables—price perception and service quality—play important roles in determining the satisfaction level of Maxim Customers in Depok City. Therefore, online transportation companies are expected to continuously improve service quality and maintain competitive pricing to ensure customer satisfaction amid fierce competition.

Continuous Improvement in State Vocational Rehabilitation: A Demonstration and Call to Action

Background State Vocational Rehabilitation Agencies (SVRAs) are the leading provider of employment services for disabled adults in the United States, with achievement of competitive integrated employment as their main outcome. Objective Current data collection policies and practices require counselors to record extensive information for case documentation purposes, however, these data offer limited utility for service planning or for determinations of whether services are having the intended impact. Available data is not structured to support continuous improvement for individual providers or to establish evidence of best practices in day-to-day service provision. Method In this article, we present the many potential benefits of including pre-post assessment of services in measuring the impact of SVRA services. Results The Transition Readiness Toolkit offers a concrete example of the advantages associated with pre-post assessment and continuous use of data to guide services and quality improvement in SVRAs. Conclusion Recommendations and implications for implementing pre-post assessment for other SVRA services are provided.

Liability of content sharing platform providers and other intermediary service providers for copyright infringement in the light of the Digital Services Act

Liability of content sharing platform providers and other intermediary service providers for copyright infringement in the light of the Digital Services Act

Analysis of User Satisfaction in Banten with Shopeepay Mobile Payment Based on E-Service Quality

The rapid development of technology has led to innovations in various areas, including mobile payments. Mobile payments are one of the innovations in financial technology designed to facilitate online transactions. In Indonesia, there are numerous mobile payment service providers, making competition increasingly fierce. One of the popular e-wallets in Indonesia is ShopeePay, a service created by Shopee. This study aims to analyze the importance and performance levels of various electronic service quality factors and assess user satisfaction with ShopeePay. This research is a survey-based study with a sample of 100 respondents. The analysis was conducted using Importance Performance Analysis (IPA) and Customer Satisfaction Index (CSI) to measure the importance and performance of each ShopeePay service quality factor and the satisfaction of its users. The results show that out of 24 ShopeePay service quality factors, 13 were considered important by respondents. The average importance rating was 4.07, while the average performance rating was 3.94. This results in a harmony between importance and performance of 97%. The Customer Satisfaction Index (CSI) for ShopeePay services in the Banten area was 78.77%, placing it in the "satisfying" category. This study has several limitations, including its focus on the Banten area, a limited and homogeneous respondent group, potential bias from online surveys, and not accounting for external factors or long-term changes in user perceptions of ShopeePay.

Jail-based interventions to reduce risk for opioid-related overdose deaths: Examples of implementation within Ohio counties participating in the HEALing Communities Study

BackgroundOpioid-related overdose is a leading cause of death for criminal legal-involved individuals and, although naloxone distribution and medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) are effective means for reducing post-release overdose death risk, jail-based availability is limited. This case report describes the challenges faced by three Ohio communities as they implemented evidence-based practices (EBPs) in jails to combat post-release opioid overdose deaths.MethodWe present case examples of how barriers were overcome to implement jail-based EBPs in three Ohio communities (two urban and one rural) as part of the HEALing Communities Study (UM1DA049417; ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04111939). Of the 18 participating Ohio HEALing Communities Study counties, we highlight 3 communities for the novelty of their EBPs implemented, the challenges that they faced, and their rural/urban status. We present descriptive data regarding the EBPs that they implemented and discuss the challenges identified by HEALing Communities Study staff with first-hand experience facilitating their implementation.ResultsNewly implemented interventions included overdose education and direct provision of naloxone to incarcerated individuals upon release (2 of 3 communities), initiating MOUD prior to release (3 of 3), linkage to ongoing MOUD treatment in the community (2 of 3), peer support-facilitated treatment retention efforts (2 of 3) and emergency housing (1 of 3) in the immediate post-incarceration period. Common challenges that emerged included skepticism about the need and feasibility of implementing EBPs to reduce overdose and death, lack of knowledge about the options available and whether external agencies may assist, and difficulty engaging stakeholders to overcome inertia.ConclusionsCreative flexibility, calm persistence, technical facilitation, and collaboration with community service providers were assets that helped these Ohio jails implement evidence-based strategies that combat the opioid epidemic and reduce the likelihood of post-incarceration overdose and death in a high risk, formerly incarcerated population.

Developing a framework for community childcare doctors to support community-based parental health education in preventing unintentional injuries among children aged below 6 years: a grounded theory exploration in eastern China

ObjectiveUnintentional injuries are a major threat to children’s health. Community-based health management services, which include the prevention of unintentional injuries among children aged 0–6 years, are important basic national public...