Concept Of Services Research Articles

Value outcomes in Airbnb as a chronotopic service

Many types of consumption—including events, traveling, and accommodation—primarily focus on selling time in space to consumers. That is, their business model is based on charging consumers for spending time in provided spaces (or places), with prices varying depending on the type of space and how much time consumers spend in that space. Using Bakhtin’s notion of chronotopes, we develop the concept of chronotopic services to describe these types of services that primarily sell time-in-space to consumers. Airbnb is an example of a chronotopic service. In a six-year multimethod qualitative study of consumers’ experiences with Airbnb we examine how such chronotopic services occur and how they shape consumption value outcomes in Airbnb. We conceptualize chronotopic services by noting three affordances that characterize Airbnb—temporal, spatial, and spatiotemporal affordances. We show how these three chronotopic affordances enable the orchestration of consumption value outcomes through heterotemporality, heterotopia, and hybridity. We contribute to services and consumer research on the role of space and time in the consumption of services by demonstrating how chronotopic affordances shape consumption outcomes and consumer experiences. This research also highlights the implications of the time-in-space aspects of chronotopic services and how value is created and destroyed because of its chronotopic nature. We discuss the implications of our findings for understanding the consumption of other chronotopic services and how chronotopic affordances shape other forms of consumption.

YOUNG PERSONNEL IN THE CIVIL SERVICE OF UZBEKISTAN

The article aims to study the organizational and legal framework for the provision of young people in the civil service. The article analyzes the essence of the concepts of civil service and meritocracy, the specifics of the preparation and admission of young people to the civil service, the formation of their reserves and the introduction of youth leaders in the neighborhoods in the Republic of Uzbekistan. Based on the research, a number of suggestions and recommendations have been made.

The Intention to Adopt Parcel Lockers as A Last-Mile Delivery Services in Malaysia

Last-mile delivery serves as the final connection between the upstream supply chain operations and the end consumers, acting as the ultimate link in the supply chain. Research indicates that the logistics sector has experienced significant financial gains as a result of the swift growth of online commerce. Nevertheless, there has been much attention given to the difficulties that accompany the potential benefits of parcel lockers. To overcome the limitations of conventional last-mile logistics in various distribution scenarios and to update the delivery service concept with advanced technology, the implementation of self-collection services is necessary. This research aims to utilize the Theory of Planned Behavior to investigate consumers' preferences in adopting parcel locker services. Specifically, the study seeks to identify the patterns and dimensions of consumer preferences, such as convenience, reliability, relative advantage, and complexity. Additionally, the research examines the mediation effect of customers' attitudes towards parcel locker services in determining their intention to adopt this service. The data was gathered via Google Forms from 138 participants situated within Malaysia. The study's hypotheses were tested using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 27.0. The results indicated that consumer preference which comprise of convenience, reliability, relative advantage, and complexity, had a substantial impact on consumers' sentiments towards parcel locker service. Furthermore, the results indicated that the attitude towards parcel locker service acts as a mediator in the relation between consumer preferences and the intention to utilize parcel locker service. Therefore, this research contributes to the growing body of knowledge on parcel locker services in Malaysia, a topic that is still in its early stages in the country. This enhances the value of the research findings and is highly relevant to bridge the gap in the emerging literature on parcel locker service in Malaysia.

Mapping the Demand for Ecosystem Services in Human-Dominated Topical Forest of Sabah, Malaysia

Mapping the demand for ecosystem services (ES) is a profoundly debated research topic that needs to be investigated further to overcome spatial discrepancies between supply and demand in the literature. This study proposes a holistic approach to valuing ES, which is demanded by local people living adjacent to Sabah’s protected area in the southwestern part of Sabah, Malaysia. To assess the local people's demand for ecosystem services, we applied the 'ES Matrix Assessment' method. Timber, global climate regulation, recreation, and ecotourism are selected to illustrate the changes in ES demand patterns reported in the Klias Peninsula region. To identify the ES required by local people based on land-cover type, we used a weighted arithmetic mean approach. Then, using multiple regressions, we identified socio-demographic characteristics that influence demand for ES obtained from the Klias Peninsula's tropical forest. The 6-point Likert scale results showed that timber received medium (3) to highly relevant demand (4) among local people in the forest ecosystem, while climate regulation demand was the most highly relevant demand (5) in the forest ecosystem, and recreation and ecotourism are highly demanded in the forest ecosystem and water-based area. Overall, ethnicity, source(s) of income, distance from the protected area, length of residence, and education level have influenced the population's perception of ecosystem service demand in peat swamp forest, mangrove, and forest land, and these factors are statistically significant at the 1% to 5% levels. Our approach possesses the advantage of being intuitively straightforward, making it easy to convey to stakeholders and decision-makers across various ecosystem service (ES) applications. Therefore, our approach, while relatively simple, remains realistic and easy to apply, effectively raising awareness about the utility of the ecosystem services concept for stakeholders and policymakers.

An Analytical Study on the Logic of Tourism Consumption Policies under the Perspective of Multi-Stream Theory in the Post-Epidemic Era---Taking Harbin City as an Example

In recent years, the tourism industry was one of the first sectors to be seriously affected by the New Crown epidemic. Therefore, in the post-epidemic era, China has introduced a series of policies to promote tourism consumption. Based on a multiple streams perspective, this paper explores the internal logic behind the formulation of tourism consumption policies by taking Harbin City as an example, which involves issues, policies, and political perspectives. The study finds that there are problems, policies, and politics behind the formulation of a policy and the setting of an agenda at the social level. Problem streams such as the single structure of tourism consumption and poor service quality are the main sources of policy change; the research results of experts and scholars are the policy stream of policy change; and social opinion and the direction of national sentiment are the political stream of policy change. The three streams converge at a certain point in time and open the window of policy. To further promote the development and improvement of the tourism consumption market, Harbin City should establish a sense of the problem and adhere to the problem orientation in the future; widely solicit suggestions and adhere to the policy formulation from multiple angles; and uphold the concept of service and create a good public opinion environment.

Perceptions and knowledge of ecosystem services in urban river systems, Eastern Cape, South Africa

The ecosystem services concept has been studied in rural contexts but not as much in urban landscapes, particularly for aquatic ecosystems in Africa. There is little knowledge of how people perceive ecosystem services (ES) supplied by rivers in urban centres and the factors influencing their perceptions. To fill this gap, the research presented here addresses two objectives: 1) to assess local communities’ perception and knowledge of different types of ecosystem services of an urban river in South Africa, 2) to assess the influence of particular demographic characteristics (age and gender), socio-economic characteristics (education, housing type, income, and years of residence), and prior knowledge of the ecosystem services concept on people’s perception of the ecosystem services provided by the Swartkops River in the Eastern Cape of South Africa. To address these objectives, a team of ten trained field staff collected 181 surveys between May–June 2021 in communities within the river catchment. We used multinomial logit models to analyse the relationships between demographic and socio-economic variables, and people’s perception of ecosystem services. For the majority of the ecosystem services, there was almost an equal split between the perception “sometimes” and “never” that the river provides a particular ecosystem service, and people were less likely to say that the river always provide a particular service. Prior knowledge of the ecosystem services concept, years of residence, age, income and housing type significantly influence people’s perception of ecosystem services. Prior knowledge, was important for the intangible services, whereas years of residence was more important for tangible services with direct use value. Level of formal education was not a significant variable. An important implication of this study is that ecological interventions can be designed through an understanding of factors influencing people’s perceptions of ecosystem services.

The necessity of an empirical study to determine if church congregations function as a family

Scripture’s reference to believers as the ‘family of God’ may indicate that believers should mutually care for one another like members of a caring family do, and not merely that members are part of a ‘spiritual’ family. From this perspective, the article investigated the extent of mutual care within congregations. The increasing need for pastoral care, within and outside church congregations, reveals the need for mutual care between members. The necessity for empirical studies within church congregations were revealed by the differences in the intensity of the answers by the participants. Without knowledge about the experiences of church members, leaders of church congregations may overlook potential needs of their members. A quantitative empirical study was done through an anonymous online survey with church members, pastoral counsellors, and pastors and ministers from various denominations who completed the survey, according to their experiences within their individual church congregation. The concepts of fellowship (koinōnia), service (diakonia), care, and family were used in the survey to determine the experiences of mutual care between members of the church congregation. The deficiency of mutual care between members of the congregation may motivate leaders to intentionally develop relationships through fellowship (koinōnia) to foster mutual care between members, and intentionally develop members to serve (diakonia) one another and their community.Contribution: This article contributes to an interdisciplinary discussion between pastoral theology, practical theology, and systematic theology from a Reformed perspective with a focus on the practical participation of members of the church congregation in pastoral care as the ‘family of God’.

Fertility Assessment of Sexed Semen with Synchronized and Spontaneous Estrus in Crossbred Cows

Background: With the commercial introduction of sexed semen, its use has been recommended for insemination at observed estrus, avoiding the use of a fixed-time insemination due to inherent variation in success of timed programmes. The use of the Ovsynch protocol with sexed semen at defined conditions such as normal clinical and reproductive status of lactating cows might result in a pregnancy rate comparable to that achievable at insemination upon detection of spontaneous estrus with sexed semen. Considering this rationale, present research was implemented with the effect of fertility on synchronized and spontaneous estrus with sexed semen. Methods: Post-partum multiparous crossbred cows (n=28) were categorized as a group I (Spontaneous; n=14) and group II (Ovsynch; n=14). The fourteen cows from group I were inseminated with sexed semen at observed estrus after initial treatment with vitamin AD3E and H, urimin and supplemented with chelated mixture and the fourteen cows from the group II were synchronized with Ovsynch synchronization protocol (Inj. Buserline acetate 10 µg I/M) on day 0, (Inj. Cloprostenol sodium 500 µg) on day 7 and (Inj. Buserline acetate 10 µg) I/M on day 9. Thereafter, timed artificial insemination (TAI) was performed 16-20 hours after 2nd dose of GnRH with sexed semen. Result: The percent intense type of intensity recorded numerically higher in induced estrus. The first service conception rate was higher in spontaneous estrus with the overall conception rate 39.28%. Cows with 60-100 days in milk was showed high conception rate with sexed semen, as the parity increases the conception rate decreases with sexed semen The overall proportion of female calves born was 90.90%.

Administrative and legal mechanism of public service provision in Ukraine

Administrative and legal mechanism of public service provision in Ukraine

Implementation of the Ecosystem Services Concept in the Environmental Legislation of Ukraine: Current State and Prospects

The article outlines the general principles of the concept of ecosystem services and examines the current state and prospects of its implementation in national environmental legislation. It is established that the need to introduce this concept has already been envisaged by a number of strategic programmatic documents, headed by the “Basic Principles (Strategy) of the State Environmental Policy of Ukraine for the Period up to 2030”, but this concept is still not reflected at the level of key environmental legal acts, in particular, the Law of Ukraine “On Environmental Protection” and resource-specific codes and laws which not only lack any mention of ecosystem services, but also hardly ever use the term “ecosystem” at all. It is proved that one of the ways to implement the concept of ecosystem services in Ukraine is to develop an appropriate legal framework, namely: The Law of Ukraine “On Ecosystem Services” and other related bylaws, which should be done in the near future. At the same time, it is substantiated that in addition to the adoption of new legislation in this area, it is extremely important to analyze the current environmental legislation through the prism of the ecosystem approach and make appropriate changes and additions to it, since only under such conditions can legislative gaps and conflicts be avoided and a coherent model for implementing the concept of ecosystem services be developed, which in the current realities of the armed aggression of the russian federation will help to assess and take into account all the damage caused to the environment of Ukraine.

Child life specialist services, practice, and utilization across health care: a scoping review.

The objective of this review was to map the available evidence regarding the scope of child life specialist services, practice, and utilization. The concept of child life services began in 1922 and emerged as the child life specialist services specialty in the United States in the 1970s and 1980s. Child life specialists are members of multidisciplinary health care system teams who prioritize the developmental needs of pediatric patients to support and improve patient and family health care experiences. Evidence of the effectiveness of child life specialist services and the utilization of those services is often incorporated in multidisciplinary research reports and thus overlooked. All quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods research study reports and systematic reviews investigating child life specialist services, practice, and utilization in health care systems were included. This review was guided by the JBI methodology for scoping reviews and a published a priori protocol. CINAHL (EBSCOhost), MEDLINE (PubMed), Scopus, and PsycINFO (APA) were searched for evidence published from January 1980 to August 2022. Research publications about child life specialist services, practice, and utilization have increased dramatically over the past decade, with more than 50% of studies published in the past 5 years. Although the first authors of the majority of the research publications were physicians, these multidisciplinary author teams depicted child life specialist services in a variety of roles, including co-investigators, interventionists, and research subjects. The 105 full-text publications reviewed were from 9 countries, plus 1 publication that surveyed people across Europe. The contexts spanned a wide scope of clinical settings and medical subspecialties, but primarily in hospitals and health centers, and to a lesser extent, in ambulatory clinics and communities. A wide variety of child life specialist services were described across these settings. Mapping the research can help delineate the barriers and facilitators to child life specialist services in health care systems. This scoping review provides evidence of the global diffusion of child life specialist services across health care system settings, with recent increases in research publications involving child life specialist services.

Collaborative online international learning in physiology: a case study.

Internationalization in higher education is essential, and although active learning methodologies are increasing and allow students to develop transversal skills, most still have a very local scope. In this context, the Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) methodology is an interesting approach to benefit the students' development. It consists of an online program that involves creating multicultural teams to develop a specific learning project. Although this methodology is expanding, its use in physiology is still scarce. This paper aims to show an example of applying COIL methodology in physiology topics to enhance higher-education students' innovation and business skills. Our example project developed a sports-assessment service concept focused on physiology and biomechanics assessments. The program involved teams from Brazil, Germany, and Spain, comprising undergraduate and master students. Over 7 weeks, these teams, mentored by professors and researchers, engaged in workshops covering COIL methodology, business model design, executive summary planning, economic analyses, and communication techniques. Key outcomes included learning new concepts, developing soft skills, building confidence in innovative solution proposals, and experiencing diverse cultures. Challenges faced were language barriers, scheduling, task complexity, and logistical issues. This experience confirms the effectiveness of incorporating programs using COIL methodology into educational curriculums. Doing so exposes physiology students to innovation, entrepreneurship, and business creation while strengthening their professional connections and opening up postgraduation opportunities.NEW & NOTEWORTHY Although the Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) methodology is expanding, its use in physiology is still scarce. Our example COIL project of 7 weeks developed a sports-assessment service concept focused on physiology and biomechanics assessments. The program involved teams from Brazil, Germany, and Spain, comprising undergraduate and master's students. Students perceived extracurricular activities in this format as beneficial. Coaches also expressed positive views about such initiatives, noting benefits for students and their development.

The Implementation of Digital Humanities in the State Islamic University Libraries in Indonesia

State Islamic University libraries are striving to become research libraries. Since humanities are the core discipline in most State Islamic Universities, a new service concept—digital humanities—has been introduced to support research activities. This study explores the implementation of digital humanities in three State Islamic University libraries: UIN Sunan Kalijaga Yogyakarta, UIN Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta, and UIN Maulana Malik Ibrahim Malang. This research employs a qualitative methodology, utilizing data collection techniques such as interviews, observations, and documentation. The findings reveal that while the libraries have sufficient librarians, their involvement in research activities is not extensive or proactive. Additionally, the facilities and infrastructure necessary to support digital humanities are inadequate. Although policies supporting digital humanities exist, there is a lack of strategic programs to explore and fully enhance library use and involvement in research. Furthermore, internal cooperation between institutions has been established but remains limited, indicating a need for libraries to adopt a more proactive role. These insights underscore the challenges and opportunities in implementing digital humanities within State Islamic University libraries, providing a foundation for future strategic initiatives to enhance their research support capabilities.

D³IKIT: data-driven design innovation kit

AbstractThe utilization of data in design is a crucial aspect of shaping the product and service development. Despite the lack of extensive research on this subject, this study aims to bridge the gap by introducing the ‘D³IKIT’, a data-driven design process and toolkit. Through workshops, this process and toolkit offer a practical method for creating innovative product and service concepts using data and machine learning. Developed and tested with the participation of 42 individuals, the ‘D³IKIT’ provides valuable insights for both practitioners and academics.

From ‘service’ to ‘partnership’: harnessing social capital in support of activity in third space environments

ABSTRACT In more fluid higher education environments, the concept of third space has been developed to explore the activities of groups of staff who do not necessarily fit formal institutional descriptors. This paper draws on qualitative data from 26 respondents, in eight UK universities, who described significant elements of their work as occurring between professional and academic spheres of activity. Comparing individuals categorised as fully fledged ‘third space professionals’ with those categorised as simply ‘working in third space’, the paper suggests that the way individuals build and use social capital, and the recognition accorded to them by institutions, not only impacts on the way that they develop their roles but also is a significant factor in determining their career direction and aspirations. Furthermore, this has led to a general shift from the concept of service to one of partnership between colleagues, whether they are formally classified as ‘academic’ or ‘professional’.

Semi-arid's Unsung Heroes: Hymenoptera and the Vital Ecosystem Services Enabled by Encholirium spectabile, a Rupicolous Bromeliad in the Brazilian Semi-arid Region.

The concept of Ecosystem Services (ES) recognizes the importance of natural ecosystems in supporting human well-being. Hymenoptera, a diverse group of insects including ants, bees, and wasps, play crucial roles in providing ESs. Despite their significance, the provision of ESs by Hymenoptera is often undervalued, leading to ecosystem degradation and loss of important services. This study focuses on the association between Hymenoptera and a rupicolous bromeliad species (Encholirium spectabile) and explores the ESs promoted directly and indirectly by these insects. The study area is located in the Caatinga region of Brazil, characterized by irregular rainfall and a dry season. The results show that Hymenoptera, particularly bees, ants, and wasps, provide a range of ESs including pollination, honey production, pest control, cultural symbolism, and educational value. These services are vital for plant reproduction, food production, and ecosystem functioning in both seasons; there are no differences in species richness between seasons, but rather in species composition. Understanding the importance of Hymenoptera for ESs is crucial for informing conservation and management practices to ensure the sustainability of natural ecosystems. The study highlights the need for conservation actions to protect the intricate ecological relationships between Hymenoptera and bromeliads, which indirectly support ESs by providing habitat and resources, especially during droughts when resources are scarce in the region. By recognizing the importance of bromeliads in supporting Hymenopteran communities, conservation efforts can focus on preserving these critical ecological interactions and maintaining ES provision.

The importance of developmental programming in the beef industry

The beef industry relies on multiple focused segments (e.g., cow-calf, stocker/feeder, and meat packing) to supply the world with beef. Thus, the potential impact of developmental programming on the beef industry needs to be evaluated with regards to the different production traits that drive profitability within each segment. For example, when nutrient restriction of dams occurred early in gestation embryo survival was decreased and the ovarian reserve of heifer progeny was negatively affected. Restriction during mid- to late gestation negatively impacted first service conception rates and pregnancy success of daughters. Even non-nutrient stress has been reported to impact transgenerational embryo development through the male progeny. Primary and secondary muscle fibers form during months two to eight (Days 60–240) of gestation. Therefore, external stimuli (nutrition or environmental) during this window have the potential to decrease the postnatal number of muscle fibers; which has an irreversible impact on animal growth and performance. Nutrient restriction during the last third of gestation resulted in decreased weaning weights, and in some instances decreased dry mater intake, hot carcass weight, and marbling scores. Protein supplementation during late gestation; however, increased weaning weight and ADG to weaning, but progeny of dams restricted in protein in late gestation had greater ribeye area. The importance of developmental programming is recognized; however, its precise application depends on comprehension of its integrated effects across the multiple-focused segments of the beef industry.

Analysis of Cornell Cooperative Extension under the Background of Big Data

In the era of knowledge economy, higher education has become the support and engine of socio-economic development, and the importance and urgency of its social service function have become more prominent. The content and form of services urgently need to be updated and innovated. Analyzing the history and current development status of typical university social services undoubtedly has important exemplary value. As one of the earliest universities born in the United States to serve society, Cornell University has a deeply rooted concept of social service, a complete social service system, and a unique social service promotion system. The development of information technology and big data has greatly improved the social service field of the university. In order to have a deeper understanding of the development track and operation logic of Cornell University's social service extension system, this paper adopts the method of literature research, historical research and case study to trace the source of Cornell University's social service concept and explore Cornell University's social service extension model -- agricultural extension project with advantages of traditional "land-grant college". Learn about natural resources, environment and sustainable energy development projects that keep pace with The Times, as well as youth development and family upbringing services for family education. This article believes that the social services provided by Cornell University under the social service promotion system have a strong academic and professional nature, and the direction, content, and social needs of serving society are highly matched and coupled, which helps the university form a complete social service system. Its mature social service promotion system and successful experience in social services have important implications for the construction and improvement of university social service functions.

Exploring access-based consumption in last-mile logistics: a customer foresight study

PurposeDue to e-commerce growth, technological advancements and environmental concerns, developing a more nuanced service portfolio has become a critical issue for last-mile logistics service providers. Concurrently, consumers are adopting new modes of consumption. This paper aims to investigate the potential for last-mile logistics service providers to act as intermediaries in access-based consumption and to revitalise their service offerings through product-service systems – a pioneering strategy not executed in the market yet.Design/methodology/approachThis strategic customer foresight study uses a quantitative survey of 1,000 respondents and an online focus group comprising 10 early adopter consumers to investigate emerging last-mile service models. Potential service concepts were identified through the survey, and two distinct concepts were subsequently selected for evaluation and co-development within the focus group. The research was conducted in partnership with an SME logistics company in Finland.FindingsThe consumers expressed selective interest in access-based consumption related to the proposed offering of essential household goods. Young adults and consumers in early middle age living in the city centre emerged as the most potential user groups. Economic reasons and short-term needs were the primary motivations for adopting access-based consumption.Practical implicationsThe study showed that engaging consumers in a customer foresight process is viable for SMEs innovating their offerings and demonstrates how the process works in practice.Originality/valueDocumented cases of customer integration into foresight processes are rare in earlier research, and this paper extends the knowledge base through a multidisciplinary examination of future consumer behaviour in the last-mile logistics domain. The paper also expands the limited literature on the role of logistics in access-based consumption.

Integrating social-ecological outcomes into invasive species management: the Tamarix case

Incorporating societal considerations into decisions related to invasive species management is desirable, but can be challenging because it requires a solid understanding of the ecological functions and socio-cultural and economic benefits and values of the invaded environment before and after invasion. The ecosystem service (ES) concept was designed to facilitate such decision-making by establishing direct connections between ecosystem properties and human well-being, but its application in invasive species management has not been systematic. In this Discussion paper, we propose the adoption of the ES cascade model as a framework for understanding the environmental effects, costs and benefits associated with controlling an invasive shrub (Tamarix spp.) in riparian systems of the western United States. The cascade model has the advantage of explicitly dissecting social-ecological systems into five components: ecosystem structure and processes, ecological functions, ecosystem services, benefits and the economic and socio-cultural valuation of these services and benefits. The first two have received significant attention in the evaluation of Tamarix control effectiveness. The last three have long been implicitly acknowledged over decades of Tamarix management in the region, but have not been formally accounted for, which we believe would increase the effectiveness, accountability and transparency of management efforts.