Adaptive Service Research Articles

Psychosocial Support Needs and Preferences Among Family Caregivers of ICU Patients with Severe Acute Brain Injury: A Qualitative Thematic Analysis.

Family caregivers of patients with severe acute brain injury (SABI) are at risk for clinically significant chronic emotional distress, including depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress. Existing psychosocial interventions for caregivers of intensive care unit (ICU) patients are not tailored to the unique needs of caregivers of patients with SABI, do not demonstrate long-term efficacy, and may increase caregiver burden. In this study, we explored the needs and preferences for psychosocial services among SABI caregivers to inform the development and adaptation of interventions to reduce their emotional distress during and after their relative's ICU admission. In this multicenter longitudinal qualitative study, we conducted semistructed interviews with SABI caregivers at two time points: during their relative's ICU admission (n = 30) and 2months later (n = 20). We analyzed qualitative data using a hybrid of inductive and deductive analytic techniques. We recruited family caregivers of patients with SABI from 14 US neuroscience ICUs. We conducted interviews over live video. Our convenience sample of SABI caregivers (n = 30) was recruited through referral by medical teams and nursing staffs across participating neuroscience ICUs. Caregivers included spouses, children, parents, and siblings to patients with SABI. We identified themes and subthemes related to participants' preferences for (1) the content of psychosocial support services and (2) the delivery and implementation of psychosocial support services. Findings revealed an unmet need for psychosocial support around the time of ICU discharge and 2months later, including information to understand their loved one's condition and guide difficult decision-making, education regarding how best to communicate with the patient's care team and other family members, and emotional and behavioral coping skills. Our findings provide specific recommendations to justify and inform the development and adaptation of psychosocial support services for SABI caregivers for delivery in the ICU and after discharge.

Disruption, adaptation, and maintenance of domestic violence services during the COVID-19 pandemic

ABSTRACT COVID-19 disrupted many aspects of domestic violence services including sheltering, in-person advocacy, and access to mental health, visitation, and legal services. Increased demand for services occurred concurrent with the highest levels of pandemic disruptions. Adaptations to many systems and services were made to address survivor’s changing needs. To understand how various aspects of service provision were disrupted during the pandemic, we surveyed a national census of U.S. based domestic violence direct service agencies. Email addresses were collected from online directories and each agency received a link to complete a survey using the online platform Qualtrics. The survey included five sections: services provided; work environment during COVID-19; disruptions caused by COVID-19; personal and organizational disaster preparedness; and demographics. Twenty-two percent of 1,341 agencies responded to the survey. At the start of the pandemic, the most disrupted services were legal and court, sheltering, and mental health/counselling services. Hazard pay, flexible scheduling, and additional information technology support were most frequently mentioned supports provided to mitigate disruptions and support providers and advocates. Disruptions and supports changed over the course of the pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the provision of services and advocacy to victims and survivors of domestic violence. Adaptations were made as new control measures were available (e.g. vaccines) and lessons learned were identified (e.g. successful implementation of virtual legal and court services). Maintaining supportive measures post-pandemic will require continued investment in this chronically underfunded, yet critical, sector and applying lessons learned from COVID-19 related disruptions and adaptations.

Library and Information Services for People with Disabilities in Academic Libraries on the Example of the Library of the University of Sarajevo – Faculty of Philosophy

Goal: The main goal of this paper is to examine and analyse in detail the existing services for people with disabilities at the Library of the University Sarajevo – Faculty of Philosophy, physical access to the building, access to the funds, content, and services, and on that track recognize possibilities of further improvement of services for blind and visually impaired users of the Library. Methodology: As a sample for this research the Library of the University Sarajevo – Faculty of Philosophy was chosen to analyse services that the Library offers to blind and visually impaired students, starting from the definition of disability of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and IFLA’s Glossary of Terms and Definitions, followed by IFLA’s Library Services to People with Special Needs Section. This research is based on selected IFLA guidelines Access to libraries for people with disabilities, which starts from the library’s environment, key categories from its physical space to access to materials and services. The paper also discusses the guidelines of the Library for the blind in the information age: Guidelines for the development of functions and services that provide an overview of all significant aspects of library and information services for the blind, from their historical development, legal and strategic frameworks on which such services directly depend, to users, staff, and the development and management of collections and services. Based on the IFLA guidelines, the paper analyses the following key categories: physical access to the Library’s premises, materials, assistive technology, trained staff, websites, and cooperation with other institutions, strategic documents, and evaluation. In addition to international acts, the paper also examines BH key regulations, such as the Law on Prohibition of Discrimination, which explicitly mentions this category of persons. Results: The analysis showed a significant adaptation of services to selected key categories, but also revealed the possibilities of improving these services, which are listed in the Conclusion, and recognized substantial successful segments of serving other users with disabilities, not only blind and visually impaired users. Based on the analysis, in the last chapter of the paper, in the Conclusion, the possibility of applying the framework plan for the development of these services of the Library of the Faculty of Philosophy of the University of Sarajevo on other academic libraries in Bosnia and Herzegovina is highlighted, and it points to the importance of cooperation with other institutions that serve blind and visually impaired users, and with whom it is possible to exchange resources for work, assistive technology of different types, but also experiences in working with users with disabilities. Originality: This paper presents selected IFLA guidelines for people with disabilities as a theoretical basis. The development of the themed services of this Library can serve as a model for other academic libraries in the BH environment.

INNOVATIVE STRATEGIES FOR MANAGING ENTERPRISE COMPETITIVENESS IN THE CONTEXT OF GLOBAL MARKET CHANGES

In the context of global market changes and technological innovations, the question of rapid adaptation to a transformational environment arises, where technological, social, and economic factors are constantly evolving, creating new challenges and opportunities for business and management. The article elucidates the definition of innovative strategies for managing enterprise competitiveness, which examines the approaches and methods that enable companies to effectively maintain and enhance their competitiveness amid rapid changes and new market challenges. The concepts of competitive advantages and success factors of innovative competitiveness strategies are differentiated. The article explores contemporary innovative competitiveness management strategies, including: product innovation development, technological leadership, digital transformation, agile management, collaboration and partnerships, customer orientation, market expansion, and sustainable development and ESG strategies. Real case studies analyze successful innovative business strategies. The experience of well-known companies demonstrates how different companies effectively use innovative strategies to enhance their competitiveness in the global market. Success factors of innovative competitiveness strategies are identified as key elements that determine the effectiveness of a company's operations and its ability to achieve strategic goals and maintain competitive advantages. Key success factors include: investment in research and development, digital technologies, adaptability and flexibility of business models, integration of sustainability and social responsibility principles, global diversification of products and markets, partnerships and strategic alliances, customer orientation, innovation culture, analysis and utilization of big data (Big Data), effective supply chain management, and optimization of marketing campaigns. Innovative success factors for competitiveness strategies ensure effective entry into international markets, adaptation of products and services to different cultural and regional needs, and contribute to business expansion and profit maximization.

Improving the Structure of the Electricity Demand Response Aggregator Based on Holonic Approach

A demand response (DR) aggregator is a specialized entity designed to collaborate with electricity producers, facilitating the exchange of energy for numerous stakeholders. This application is a pivotal development within the Russian Energy System as it transitions to a Smart Grid. Its successful operation relies on the advancement and implementation of more efficient strategies to manage emerging energy assets and structures. The holonic approach is a distributed management model used to handle systems characterized by random and dynamic changes. This paper analyzes the specific aspects of the electricity demand management mechanism in Russia, primarily aimed at reducing peak load in the energy system by engaging active consumers who are outside the wholesale market. The DR-Aggregator is considered both a cyber-physical system (CPS) with a cluster structure and a business process. The DR-Aggregator exhibits essential holonic properties, enabling the application of a holonic approach to enhance the efficiency of the DR-Aggregator mechanism. This approach will facilitate greater flexibility in managing the load schedules of individual holon consumers, bolster the reliability of power supply by aligning load schedules among holon consumers within the super-holon cluster, and improve the fault tolerance of the DR-Aggregator structure, providing greater adaptability of demand management services.

Omni-channel customer experience framework: enhancing service delivery in SMEs

The omni-channel customer experience framework offers a comprehensive strategy for enhancing service delivery in Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). This review examines how the integration of multiple communication and interaction channels—both online and offline—creates seamless, consistent, and personalized customer journeys, thereby improving overall service delivery. For SMEs, adopting an omni-channel approach provides significant competitive advantages by enabling customers to engage with businesses through their preferred platforms, including websites, mobile apps, social media, in-store visits, and customer service hotlines. This strategy fosters customer satisfaction, retention, and brand loyalty. By leveraging technology and data analytics, SMEs can synchronize customer interactions across channels, ensuring that customers receive a cohesive experience regardless of their entry point. Omni-channel frameworks allow businesses to track customer preferences, behaviors, and interactions, which in turn helps in delivering personalized services and timely responses. Automation tools such as chatbots and AI-driven systems further support this by providing 24/7 customer service, enhancing responsiveness and efficiency, particularly for resource-constrained SMEs. The integration of physical and digital touchpoints is crucial in creating a seamless experience. For example, customers may research a product online, visit a physical store to experience it firsthand, and then complete the purchase through a mobile app. SMEs that effectively adopt an omni-channel strategy can cater to evolving customer expectations and deliver more flexible, adaptive service offerings. Moreover, this framework helps in gathering and analyzing customer data from various touchpoints, offering valuable insights into customer behavior and preferences. These insights enable SMEs to continuously refine their service delivery, anticipate customer needs, and innovate their business models. In conclusion, implementing an omni-channel customer experience framework empowers SMEs to enhance service delivery by providing consistent, personalized, and responsive interactions across multiple platforms. This approach is key to maintaining competitiveness, improving customer satisfaction, and fostering long-term growth.

Customer experiences and coping behaviors during crisis situations: The role of service adaptation and service transformation

Understanding how customers react to changes in service encounters during crisis situations, is extremely valuable for companies. Guided by the four fundamental premises of customer experience (Becker and Jaakkola, 2020) and drawing on the Touchpoints-Context-Qualities (TCQ)-framework (De Keyser et al., 2020) and Stimulus-Organism-Response (S-O-R) Theory (Mehrabian and Russell, 1974), this study aims to better understand (1) the customer experience during a crisis, and (2) how outside versus within firm-controlled touchpoints, (3) contextual factors (here, individual and firm/industry) and (4) a firm’s service adaptation (e.g., firms adapt to regulatory measures) and service transformation (e.g., firms transform their business by exploring new service delivery models) strategies shape customer experiences and coping behaviors. Using social media data (here, tweets) in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, our qualitative and quantitative findings reveal that (1) customers’ affective responses are not restricted to negative experience (here, fear, anger, sadness, and disgust), but also include positive experiences (here, joy, surprise, acceptance, and anticipation), (2) the government as third-party affects the customer experience, (3) service adaptions and service transformations evoke different affective responses, and (4) both positive and negative experiences influence customers’ coping behaviors, but positive experiences exert a greater influence on the inward coping behaviors (here, active coping, planning, and positive reinterpretation), while negative experiences exert a greater influence on the outward coping behaviors (here, seeking social support for instrumental reasons, and venting). Our findings have implications for managers and public policy makers that want to manage the customer experience during crisis situations.

Intention to adopt blockchain technology for zakat management in Indonesia

Purpose This paper aims to analyze intention for applying blockchain-based technology in zakat management regarding the readiness of zakat institutions and muzakki in Indonesia. Design/methodology/approach This research is a mixed method, namely, using qualitative research to examine the readiness of practitioner and academics in welcoming blockchain-based financial technology and using quantitative research to measure people’s knowledge and intentions to adopt zakat using blockchain technology based on UTAUT theory (Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology). Findings The findings indicate that performance expectancy, social influence, facilitating conditions and sentiment positively affect the intention to adopt blockchain technology in zakat payments, while effort expectancy do not. Additionally, interviews reveal that practitioners and academics support blockchain technology but are unprepared for its implementation. Practical implications The implications of this study suggest important directions for policy makers, notably zakat institutions, supporting the application of blockchain technology and the adaptation of user-friendly information system services to meet the requirements of zakat service users. Originality/value This study fills the gap in previous research by offering a more comprehensive analysis of the collaboration between zakat and blockchain technology through three different perspectives, namely, practitioners (BAZNAS), academics and users of zakat services (muzakki).

From Perception to Practices: Adoption of Ecosystem-Based Adaptation in Vietnam Upland Areas—A Case Study in Thua Thien Hue Province

In the context of increasing interest in ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA), there remains a paucity of discussion regarding the transition from perception to practice in aiding farmer households to adapt to climate change (CC) while maintaining the provision of essential ecosystem services. Thus, this study aims to explore policymakers’ and local people’s perceptions, from thinking about the implementation of EbA strategies to responding to CC in current and future agricultural production and forestry in upland Thua Thien Hue province, Vietnam. This study has adopted the Model of Private Proactive Adaptation to CC to investigate the perceptions of EbA among various administrative and household levels through in-depth interviews and focus group discussion methods. Our findings indicate a significant relationship between the perceptions and understanding of EbA among policymakers and farmer households, and the adoption of EbA practices. Many EbA practices are already well-established and have demonstrated their ability to enhance ecosystem services provision, adaptation benefits, and livelihood and food security. These benefits are crucial for helping farmer households to adapt to CC. However, current financial, technical, and market constraints hinder the broader adoption of these practices. Therefore, to increase adaptive capacity to CC and upscale EbA practices, EbA interventions must consider technical, financial, and market aspects. Furthermore, it is essential to provide evidence from both scientific and practical perspectives and disseminate information on EbA practices to encourage broader adoption by local farmers. In addition, supportive policies from various departmental and agency levels are necessary for managers in the agricultural and forest sectors as well as households to recognize EbA as a vital strategy for developing agriculture and forestry in a manner that is sustainable and resilient to CC.

Spatial adaptation in children with autism - A study based on behavioural dynamic video data

Children with autism show unique behavioural patterns and sensitivity to spatial elements; therefore, size and furniture arrangement at rehabilitation facilities can affect behaviour. In this study, spatial adaptation during three situations (learning, playing with toys, and finding objects) was evaluated for different spatial sizes in children with autism using video data. In particular, 330 videos of training sessions involving 15 boys with autism aged 4–6 years in spaces classified as training space (large, medium, and small) and immediate surroundings (activity areas and hallways) were evaluated. Skeletal data were acquired using AI motion capture technology and transformed into movement volume and positions using Grasshopper. Differences between children with autism in normal and aggressive states in different spaces were analyzed. The movement of volume increased in all space sizes during the aggressive state, especially in large spaces. In large spaces, the movement volume during learning was significantly larger, but object-seeking was significantly smaller in the aggressive state than in the normal state. In the immediate surrounding, the volume of movement varied significantly across behavioural states. Additionally, compared with the normal state, the movement location of children with autism in the aggressive state were more dispersed. The movement of location for learning, activity area and hallway were closer to the wall. Playing with toys and finding objects overlapped more with the furniture. This study provides a basis for the spatial adaptation of intervention services for children with autism and a reference for comparisons with current design standards.

091. Impact of the Covid-19 Pandemic on Breast Cancer Surgery Care in 8 Institutiona Around Southeast and South Asia

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic brought about unprecedented disruptions to surgical services globally, which could have led to delays in surgical care for breast cancer patients. This study analysed the institutional responses of tertiary hospitals from selected Asian countries to the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: We identified all patients newly diagnosed with breast cancer from 16 institutions (9 countries: Singapore, Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka and Vietnam) from 11 Mar 2020 to 10 Mar 2021 (“covid”) and compared them to those diagnosed 11 Mar 2019 to 10 Mar 2020 (“precovid”). The following data were collected and retrospectively analysed: number of breast cancer surgeries and timeliness of surgery (days from diagnosis to surgery); type of surgery (breast conserving surgery [BCS], mastectomy without [Ms] and with reconstruction [MRecon]), and clinical stage at diagnosis. Results: 4816 patients (2550 in “precovid” and 2266 in “covid” cohort) were included. Median age at diagnosis was 57 for both cohorts (r, 20-117) (p=0.79). In overall number of cases (n=4877), there is no statistically significant difference between pre- (n=2515, 51.6%) v. covid (n=2362, 48.4%) period (p=0.26). Sequence of treatments was similar in both cohorts (upfront surgery [n=3983 cases, 53.7% v. 46.3%, p=0.08; or surgery after neoadjuvant therapy [n=878 cases, 48.9% v. 51.1%, p=0.79]). Five of 16 institutions experienced a decrease in number of surgeries (p<0.05) during the first year of the pandemic, and across all 3 types of surgery, while 1 institution received more cases (p=0.002). Two other institutions had statistically significant more patients with neoadjuvant therapy (p=0.003 and p<0.001) and 1 of these two showed an increase in BCS (p=0.04) and MRecon (p=0.04) cases during covid compared to the precovid period. Five of 12 institutions had significantly longer waiting time from diagnosis to surgery (p<0.05). Trend analysis per quartile during covid period demonstrated that number of surgeries and timeliness dipped mainly in the first quartile, followed by rapid rebound in surgeries across all institutions in the next 2 quartiles. There was no difference in clinical stage at presentation in the 2 time periods. Conclusion: The COVID-19 pandemic initially impacted the number of breast cancer surgeries performed by institutions in Asia. This was followed by rapid adaptation and restoration of surgical services by institutions.

Levekår, emosjonelle plager, resiliens og foreldrestress – en kartlegging av flyktningfamilier fra Ukraina

Norway’s integration programme for newly arrived refugees is mandatory, and is offered by all municipalities. The programme offers courses in social studies, Norwegian language and parental guidance. In 2023, it was decided to allow municipalities to adapt and shorten the latter course for families from Ukraine due to capacity constraints. To make informed adaptations, the municipalities need more information about the needs of parents from Ukraine. This article aims to provide knowledge that can help decision-makers plan and implement further adaptations to social and health services by examining living conditions, emotional problems, parental stress and resilience. The participants were Ukrainian refugees with children aged 6–12 from seven municipalities who completed an electronic questionnaire that included questions on the Hopkins Symptom Checklist (short version), the Resilience Scale for Adolescents, and the Parenting Stress Index (short version). We found that economic living conditions among Ukrainian refugees were poor, and that 26 per cent of the sample reported symptoms of anxiety and depression. Despite this, parents demonstrated resilience through their social resources, family cohesion, and low levels of parental stress. However, it is important to note that mental health issues and increased parental stress can emerge sometime after flight and settlement in Norway, and that poor economic conditions can exacerbate these concerns. Keywords: parenting programmes, refugees, Ukraine, poor economic conditions

Maternal support in preschool and child behavior problems: The mediating role of childhood emotion knowledge.

Children's emotion knowledge encompasses abilities to recognize and label emotions in the service of positive adaptation. Drawing on a sociodemographically diverse sample of 250 children (50% female sex assigned at birth; Mage_W1 = 49.02 months, SD = 2.99) and their maternal caregivers (55.6% Latina; 37.6% poverty), this study evaluated a multiple mediation model to integrate heretofore distinct bodies of research examining (a) parenting effects on the development of emotion knowledge and (b) emotion knowledge effects on socioemotional adaptation. Observations of maternal supportive presence at age 4 predicted increases in children's emotion recognition and labeling from ages 4 to 8. However, only emotion labeling skills explained children's behavioral adjustment outcomes with a significant pathway from supportive parenting at age 4 to fewer externalizing and internalizing behavior problems at age 10 via improved emotion labeling skills. These findings suggest that emotion knowledge, particularly labeling skills, partially explains the protective impact of supportive parenting on behavioral adaptation across childhood. Prevention and intervention efforts should target both supportive parenting practices and emotion knowledge skill development to support children's socioemotional functioning and reduce behavior problems. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Unmasking population undercounts, health inequities, and health service access barriers across Indigenous populations in urban Ontario

ObjectivesOur Health Counts (OHC) methods are designed to address gaps in urban-based Indigenous health information. In partnership with local Indigenous health service providers, we have successfully implemented OHC in six Ontario cities. The aim of this study is to summarize findings regarding Indigenous population undercount, health inequities, and health service access barriers across study sites.MethodsWe estimated Indigenous population size using OHC census participation survey responses and a multiplier approach. Health inequities between Indigenous populations and overall populations in each city were examined using respondent-driven sampling (RDS), adjusted OHC survey results, and existing public data. Measures included health status outcomes; determinants of health; barriers to health service access, including discrimination by health service providers; and unmet health needs.ResultsIndigenous social networks were strong and extensive, and the urban populations demonstrate resilience and cultural continuity across multiple measures. Self-reported rates of census participation for Indigenous populations were markedly lower than those for the general population in each city, and OHC Indigenous population size estimates were consistently 2‒4 times higher than reported in the census. Indigenous to general population health inequities cut across measures of chronic disease, determinants of health, and unmet health needs. Indigenous populations experienced multiple barriers to health services access, including racial discrimination by health service providers.ConclusionThe Canadian census appears to markedly underestimate Indigenous population size in urban areas. Indigenous health inequities and service access barriers are striking and cross-cutting. Timely adaptation of health policies, services, and funding allocations in response to these findings is recommended.

Healthcare Provider Narratives of the Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Pregnant and Parenting Youth in Canada: A Qualitative Study.

The COVID-19 pandemic led to significant challenges for healthcare providers working with pregnant and parenting youth. However, the impacts of the pandemic on this population and healthcare services from the perspective of healthcare providers are not well documented in Canada. We examined the narratives and experiences of healthcare providers regarding these impacts and explored the challenges to service provision. Using a qualitative interpretative description (ID) approach, we recruited 25 health and service providers from Alberta, Ontario, and British Columbia for individual qualitative interviews. Our analysis resulted in three themes: complexities of health service provision during COVID-19, healthcare providers' accounts of impacts on pregnant and parenting youth, and leveraging challenges into opportunities for service provision. Participants described the influence of pandemic policies and distancing measures on accessibility of health services, availability of healthcare resources and personnel, and well-being of their clients. They also reported increased mental health issues, isolation, and exacerbation of inequities within this population. Providers highlighted the role of telemedicine in ensuring some degree of continuity of care. Additionally, they commented on service adaptations to address the evolving needs of their clients. Our findings underline the need for a resilient and adaptable healthcare system that can better support the needs of vulnerable populations during crises.

Digital Innovations and Competitive Advantage of Commercial Banks in Kenya

Purpose: The purpose of the study was to ascertain the role of digital banking technological innovations in enhancing competitive advantage among commercial banks in Kenya. Specifically, the study sought to examine the influence of digital technological innovations for market, digital banking innovations for differentiation, digital innovations for customer satisfaction and the influence of ICT infrastructure on competitive advantage of commercial banks in Kenya Methodology: Descriptive research design was adopted for the present study. The study was carried out in Kenya, covering all the 39 solvent commercial banks in Kenya as of 31st March 2024. The study adopted the census data collection method from the headquarters of the 22 solvent commercial banks belonging to Tier 3. Four key officers including the sales manager, loan officer, relationship manager, and risk manager totaling to 88 were sampled to participate in the study. Findings: The findings indicate that there is a significant relationship between market positioning and competitive advantage (B = 0.292, p = 0.003). On the other hand, Differentiation is established to have a negligible influence on competitive advantage in this model (B = 0.027, p = 0.852). Customer Satisfaction comes out strongly, as a factor that defines competitive advantage (Coefficient = 0.247, P = 0.046). Unique Contribution to Theory, Policy and Practice: The study recommends that Kenyan commercial banks invest in continuous digital innovation, particularly in mobile and Internet banking, to strengthen market positioning, improve brand perception, and offer personalized services. Banks should also enhance their ICT frameworks for better service delivery, data protection, and adaptability to market changes. Emphasizing mobile banking innovations and staying updated with emerging digital trends will help banks reduce customer acquisition costs, expand their customer base, and maintain a competitive edge in a dynamic industry.

Near-Optimal Adaptive Policies for Serving Stochastically Departing Customers

In, “Near-Optimal Adaptive Policies for Serving Stochastically Departing Customers,” Segev considers a multistage stochastic optimization problem originally introduced by Cygan et al. [Cygan M, Englert M, Gupta A, Mucha M, Sankowski P (2013) Catch them if you can: How to serve impatient users. Proc. 4th Innovations Theoretical Comput. Sci. Conf., 485–494], studying how a single server should prioritize stochastically departing customers. In this setting, the objective is to determine an adaptive service policy that maximizes the expected total reward collected along a discrete planning horizon, in the presence of customers who are independently departing between one stage and the next with known stationary probabilities. The paper’s main contribution resides in proposing a quasi-polynomial-time approximation scheme for serving impatient customers. Specifically, letting n be the number of underlying customers, our algorithm identifies in [Formula: see text] time a service policy whose expected reward is within factor [Formula: see text] of the optimal adaptive reward. The method for deriving this approximation scheme synthesizes various stochastic analyses in order to investigate how the adaptive optimum is affected by alterations to several instance parameters, including the reward values, the departure probabilities, and the collection of customers itself.

MG+: Towards Efficient Context Inconsistency Detection by Minimized Link Generation

ABSTRACTSelf‐adaptive applications are becoming increasingly attractive, with the ability to smartly understand their runtime environments (or contexts) and deliver adaptive services, for example, location‐aware navigation or resource‐sensitive suggestions. However, due to inherent noises in the process of sensing and interpreting environmental information, there is a growing demand for guarding the consistency of collected contexts to avoid application misbehaviour and, at the same time, minimize extra costs. Existing work attempted to achieve this by speeding up the kernel constraint checking module inside the consistency guarding process. Most of these efforts were spent on reusing previous checking results or parallelizing the checking process, but they all leave one central step of constraint checking, that is, link generation, untouched. In this step, the checking engine provides reasons to explain the violation of constraints under check. It occupies a substantial part of the total time cost. Focusing on this key link generation step, we proposed MG, which deploys a rigourous analysis to automatically identify and avoid redundancy in the link generation without harming any correctness of the checking results. MG has been proven sound (always guaranteeing correctness) and complete (entirely removing redundancy). Moreover, based on our observation that MG's redundancy elimination also assists another core step of constraint checking to reduce unnecessary computation further, we additionally enhance MG with an escape‐condition optimization to escape unnecessary evaluation of truth values to further improve the efficiency of constraint checking in an aspect other than link generation. We call it MG+ for distinguishing. Our experiments with synthesized and real‐world consistency constraints reported that, compared with existing work, MG eliminates all link redundancy (83% to 0%), and based on it, MG+ further reduces significant truth value calculations (e.g., 49.74% reduction when combined with ECC and Con‐C). Generally, MG brought 14–500 speed‐ups in link generation, and MG+ further made 1.2–1.9 speed‐ups in truth value evaluation. Altogether, MG reduced the total constraint checking time up to 45.4%, and MG+ reduced it up to 61.0%.

Coping with parental migration: A qualitative study on the social adaptation of left-behind children in Henan, China

This study explores the key challenges faced by left-behind children and examines their coping strategies, with the aim of proposing methods to enhance their social adaptation. Employing qualitative in-depth interviews, the research gathers data from left-behind children in rural areas, identifying a spectrum of coping strategies related to parental migration and evaluating their effects on social adaptation. These strategies include acceptance, environmental adaptation, the use of social media platforms like short-video apps, seeking social support, engaging in recreational activities, emotional self-regulation, and maintaining a positive outlook. The study offers a fresh perspective and framework for the social adaptation service system and advocates for the development of a social work model tailored to rural left-behind children.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the Banking Industry: A Review of Service Areas and Customer Service Journeys in Emerging Economies

The banking industry's shift towards digitalization, particularly Web 2.0 banking, signifies a profound change in the bank-client relationship. This transformation integrates digital elements into consumers' lives, digitising everyday activities and highlighting the importance of online social platforms and digital business operations. AI's growing interest in academia and commerce underscores its significant role in customer service. The study examines AI strategies in the banking industry, focusing on service areas and adaptation to the evolving technological landscape, particularly in customer service in developing economies. By adopting an interpretivist philosophy emphasising practicality, a qualitative approach was employed through a systematic literature review of 90 articles using thematic analysis. The research highlights AI's growing use in process automation, customer experience, stock market trend prediction, credit risk management, online banking, marketing management, and auditing. It concludes AI's positive impact on banking operational efficiency and customer service by recommending ethical AI usage, stakeholder collaboration, trust in data handling, and robust internal control systems. Additionally, it suggests exploring the association between organisational culture, leadership, and AI integration in developing economies. The research contributes to the theoretical and empirical frameworks that explain how AI is optimally integrated into banking operations, guiding policymakers and practitioners in leveraging AI to foster financial inclusion and economic growth. Future researchers should include non-profit institutions and non-financial performance metrics to gain insights into AI’s sustainability implications in banks beyond financial metrics.