Which Neighborhoods Have Easier Access to Online Home Delivery Services?A Spatiotemporal Accessibility Analysis in Nanjing,China

The rise in online home delivery services(OHDS)has had a significant impact on how urban services are supplied and used in recent years.Studies on the spatial accessibility of OHDS are emerging,but few is known about the temporal dimension of OHDS accessibility as well as the geographic and socioeconomic differences in the spatiotemporal accessibility of OHDS.This study measures the spatiotemporal accessibility of four types of OHDS,namely leisure,fresh and convenient,medical,and catering services.The geographic and socioeconomic disparities in the spatiotemporal accessibility of these four types of OHDS are then identified using spatial statistical methods and the Kruskal-Wallis test(K-W test).The case study in Nanjing,China,suggests that:1)spatiotemporal accessibility better reflects the temporal variation of OHDS accessibility and avoids overestimation of OHDS accessibility when only considering its spatial dimension.2)The spatiotemporal accessibility of OHDS varies geographically and socioeconomically.Neighborhoods located in the main city or neighborhoods with higher housing prices,higher population density,and higher point of interest(POI)mix have better OHDS spatiotemporal accessibility.Our study contributes to the understanding of OHDS accessibility from a spatiotemporal perspective,and the empirical insights can assist policymakers in creating intervention plans that take into account variations in OHDS spatiotemporal accessibility.

Public Relation Practices in Polytechnic Libraries for Effective Service Delivery in North-Central,Nigeria

This study investigated public relations practices for effective service delivery in polytechnic libraries in North-Central,Nigeria.The study was guided by two research questions.The descriptive survey research design was adopted for this study.The population of the study was 107 library staff consisting of both federal and state polytechnic libraries in North-Central,Nigeria.There was no sampling as all the population of the study was used as sample.Two sets of instruments were used to collect data for the study:questionnaire for library staff and interview guide for the polytechnic librarians.The instruments were subjected to face validation by two experts.Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics while the qualitative data were transcribed,coded,and analyzed through document analysis as confirmatory to the quantitative data collected.The formulated hypotheses were tested using t-test.The findings revealed that public relations practices used by librarians were attending to users’enquiries on the public information desks and providing suggestion boxes to collect users’opinions,etc.(X=3.20,Sd=0.77;X=3.10,Sd=0.73);Projectors and bulletin boards were the facilities employed in public relations practices(X=3.21,Sd=0.86;X=3.18,Sd=0.69).Based on the findings,it was recommended that,the library management should create awareness on the public relations practices used for effective service delivery through such fora as workshop,orientation,and seminar to educate library users on the relevance of public relations;also librarians should use every possible avenue to be abreast with state-of-the-art facilities that can be employed in public relations practices in polytechnic libraries for effective service delivery,among others.

Service delivery time guarantee decisions with consideration of the time and price sensitive customer

Based on the assumption that the customer is time and price sensitive and price is a piecewise function of the delivery time, a service delivery time guarantee decision model is proposed, and the existence of the optimal service delivery time guarantee L^＊ is proved. Furthermore, the impact of the correlation parameters on the optimal L^＊ is analyzed. It is revealed that if the optimal L^＊ is smaller than the industry level L0, the service provider with low cost should quote a shorter delivery time, and the service provider should increase the delivery time guarantee under the conditions of the decrease in customer time sensitivity or the increase in the difference of the customer reservation payment. When L^＊ 〉 L0, the service provider should quote a longer delivery time guarantee and should increase the delivery time guarantee and reduce the price under the conditions of the increase in the customer price sensitivity or the decrease in the mean customer reservation payment.

Maternal delays in utilizing institutional delivery services, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia

Introduction: Timely referrals and access to appropriate health care had a great impact on reduction to maternal deaths and disabilities. Maternal delay is one of the contributing factors for high maternal mortality in developing countries. Maternal delays were categorized into three levels: delay in making the decision for seeking care, delay in arrival at a health facility, and delay in receiving adequate treatment. They have been named first, second, and third delay maternal delays;respectively. This study was aimed at assessing maternal delays in utilizing institutional delivery service sin Bahir Dar, North-Western Ethiopia. Methods: A cross sectional facility based study was conducted on a sample of 422 women attending at a public health facility for delivery services. The sample size was determined by using single population proportion formula and the study participants were selected by using a systematic random sampling method. Data were collected by means of a pre-tested, standardized questionnaire;analysis was carried out using SPSS version 16. Results: Data was collected from 410 laboring mothers. First delay, 155 (37.8%) of mothers was delayed in decision making for seeking care from the public health facility and the mean delay was 8 hours. Delay in seeking emergency obstetric care [EOC] was about seven fold among illiterate mothers (AOR, 6.71;95%CI, 3.66 -12.29) than literate mothers;the odds of delay for EOC were three times more likely among mother were unable to make decisions by their own (AOR, 3.30;95%CI, 1.25 -7.20) than those mothers who made the decisions of their own. Unemployed mothers were 4 times more likely to have the maternal delay in seeking EOC (AOR, 3.94;95%CI, 2.36 -6.57) than employed mothers. Second delay, 130 (31.7%) of mothers had transportation problems in reaching health care facilities. Predictors in the first maternal delay were also the major contributing factors for this delay. The third delay, after their arrival at health facilities, 126 (30.7%) mothers reported that they did not get the services on time;the mean waiting time for getting the service was 4 hours. Conclusions: Many mothers were not getting institutional delivery care services in a timely manner, due to the “three maternal delays”. Mothers’ literacy, decision making power and employment status were the main predictors for delivery service utilization. Hence, emphasis should be given for awareness creation on the risks of maternal delays, designing income generating mechanism, women empowering for in decision making and ambulance services should be strengthened.

Vehicle Fleet Management Practices and Service Delivery in State Owned Enterprises in Zimbabwe

The main objective of the study was to examine the influence of vehicle fleet management practices on service delivery in State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) in Zimbabwe. The study adopted a pragmatism research philosophy together with a mixed method research paradigm. In addition, structured questionnaires were distributed to 344 respondents drawn from 86 SOEs. Stratified and purposive sampling was used. Descriptive statistics were calculated using Statistical Package for the Social Science (SPSS) version 20. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was done on all items of the study while research hypotheses were tested using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) in AMOS version 21. The study concluded that vehicle maintenance, fuel management, driver management and vehicle replacement positively influence service delivery. In addition, the study also established that Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) moderate the influence of vehicle fleet management practices on service delivery. The study recommended that there is need for regular driver training and vehicle programs encompassing electronic spares tracking.

Maintenance of Municipality Infrastructure: A Case Study on Service Delivery in Limpopo Province at South Africa

Purpose: An element of poor service delivery concerns the quality of management on the maintenance of services like water, electricity, roads, schools and clinics. This is a relevant and topical issue for research because of the current situation regarding these provisions in South Africa. This research took place in a Municipality situated in Limpopo Province, South Africa. It is the responsibility of municipalities to ensure that they fulfil their constitutional obligations in the delivery of maintainable, operative and well-organised municipal services through the maintenance of infrastructure. As this country has been subjected to a large number of service delivery complaints, this has led to the motivation of this study. The purpose of this study is to analyse maintenance on municipal infrastructure and service delivery in a local municipality, in particular focusing on the water supply. This research study is aimed at analysing how local municipality conducts its maintenance of municipal infrastructure, seeking to understand the challenge of maintenance on service provided to the communities. Design/Methodology/Approach: To achieve the success of this research, both qualitative and quantitative methods were adopted. A survey questionnaire and structured interview questions were conducted with communities and employees in a municipality in Limpopo Province. Findings: The results of the study revealed that residents are facing water difficulties due to a lack of maintenance and absence of water supply. People are fetching water from the rivers in the nearby community, water which unfortunately is not purified. Furthermore, people have experienced this poor maintenance and service delivery for years, negatively impacting on the community’s standard of living. Originality/Value: The original contribution of this work was to analyse the types of maintenance being used in local municipalities and how it will benefit the communities. To the best of the authors’ understanding, there are no studies that have been conducted in South Africa regarding the impact of maintenance on municipal infrastructure, and this paper aims to fill this gap.

Community Participation in the Decentralized Health and Water Services Delivery in Tanzania

This article examined community participation in the delivery of water and primary health care services in the Local Government Authorities (LGAs) in Tanzania. This was the descriptive research study which employed both qualitative and quantitative research designs involving a total of 208 respondents. Where 127 respondents filled in the questionnaires, 51 respondents participated in the in-depth interviews and 30 respondents participated in the Focus Group Discussions (FGDs). The results indicate that decentralization reforms have facilitated the formation of health and water services governance structures that facilitate community participation in the service delivery. The findings further revealed the means through which community participated in the delivery of services, i.e., from participating in the meetings, project initiation and management, to membership in various statutory services boards and committees.

Subsea Maintenance Service Delivery:Mapping Factors Influencing Scheduled Service Duration

The oil and gas （O＆G） industry on the Norwegian continental shelf （NCS） leads the world in terms of the number of subsea O＆G installations. Ensuring the dependability of these assets is critical. Non-intrusive inspection, maintenance and repair （IMR） services are therefore needed to reduce risks. These services are planned and executed using a mono-hull offshore vessel complete with remotely operated vehicles （ROVs）, a module handling system and an active heave compensated crane. Vessel time is shared between competing jobs, using a prioritized forward-looking schedule. Extension in planned job duration may have an impact on O＆G production, service costs and health, safety, and environmental （HSE） risks. This paper maps factors influencing the job schedule efficiency. The influence factors are identified through reviews of literature as well as interviews with experts in one of the large IMR subsea service providers active on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. The findings show that the most obvious factors are weather disruption and water depth. Other factors include job complexity, job uncertainty, IMR equipment availability, as well as the mix of job complexity.

Impact of Healthcare Management and Control on Service Delivery, a Case of Oklahoma Healthcare Facilities

Background: Healthcare management and control have been essential to any economy and a concern for most nations. Health care being in the service industry gives another challenge as they are inseparable from the service providers. As a result, a significant focus should be made on the management and control of healthcare. A study is necessary to establish how such practices influence service delivery within the healthcare industry. Objective: To show the influence of health care management and control on the service delivery in the health sector and to establish the impact of health care management system on the delivery of health services, find out the extent to which health leadership has influenced service delivery in the health industry and to establish the existence of healthcare control practices in the health industry and their impact on service delivery. Methods: The general information questionnaire, interviews patient’s satisfaction scale, and the hospital performance index were investigated by interviewing 42 healthcare workers working in Oklahoma hospitals. The study utilized a combination of data collection instruments, questionnaires, and interviews for primary data collection and a cross-sectional survey for secondary data from healthcare records within the healthcare facilities. The research adopted a descriptive statistics methodology for data analysis. The study tested the validity of data collected and reset test for omitted variables and simple correlation analysis. Results: effective healthcare management yields reasonable patient satisfaction and ignites motivation among healthcare workers. Additionally, quality service delivery is a function of proper healthcare management systems. Although it is impossible to measure effective management through observation, the testimonies and satisfaction levels among the nurses and the patients communicate accurately.

Learning Management System for Improved Service Delivery in Tertiary Institution

Learning Management System (LMS) provides educators, administrators and learners with a single robust, secure and integrated system to create personalized learning environments. This paper was motivated by the lag in technological evolution and traditional learning system in the Educational system in most of the Universities. Hence, a call for a change in the way service is delivered in our tertiary institutions. The work proposed the use of Moodle Learning Management System (LMS) as a tool to improve service delivery in tertiary institution. The methodology used was SSADM while the programming used was PHP, HTML, CSS and Ajax. MySQL was for the database design. The expected result was an e-learning site for Computer Science Imo State University Owerri, a platform that increases the possibility of interaction between students and lecturers.

Assessment of Clients Satisfaction in Family Planning Service Delivery in Port Harcourt, Nigeria

Background: Client satisfaction is considered as one of the desired outcomes of health care service delivery and it is directly related to the utilization of any health services. The family planning clinic remains one of the important health care delivery outlets where client satisfaction guarantees continuation of usage, hence this study. Objective: The objective of this study is to assess the determinants of client satisfaction with the family planning (FP) services provided in Port Harcourt. Materials and methods: This was a descriptive prospective cross-sectional study conducted between 18th of June 2018 and 18th of July 2018. The target population is women of reproductive age group (15 - 49) who visited 11 randomly selected family planning health facilities in Port Harcourt during the study period. A set of exit interviewer-administered questionnaire (pretested for reliability and validity) was used for data collection from a sample size of 195 respondents;and analyzed using SPSS 22.0. Standard deviation was used for continuous variable while categorical variables were presented in simple percentages and frequencies. The P value was set at <0.05 and confidence interval was 95%. Results: Age range 30 - 39 years constituted the largest proportion of 51.3%. A large proportion of the women (87.2%) expressed satisfaction with FP services provided. All respondents said the facilities were easily accessible, clean and were treated respectfully. However, only about half of the clients (51.3%) received their chosen contraceptive product after 1 hour. Conclusion: A huge proportion of family planning clients expressed satisfaction with family planning service delivery in Port Harcourt;not minding the longer waiting time. Implication of this is continued use and by implication improved contraceptive prevalence.

CACTSE:Cloudlet Aided Cooperative Terminals Service Environment for Mobile Proximity Content Delivery

Along with the rapid development of communications,the Internet,and smart terminals,mobile Internet has become a hot topic with both opportunities and challenges.In this article,a new perspective on edge content delivery service for mobile Internet is described,based on cooperating terminals.A mobile cloud architecture named Cloudlet Aided Cooperative Terminals Service Environment(CACTSE) is proposed as an edge network service environment.The Service Manager(SM),a cloudlet like module,is introduced into the local service domain in order to manage the in-domain terminals and help coordinate the content delivery requests for better bandwidth efficiency as well as user experience.The reference model is presented in this article with architecture and mechanism design.Moreover,the research progress and potential technology trends of CACTSE are analysed based on the related R&D directions.

Data Visualization in Evaluating Service Delivery

The delivery of human services has become highly complex and is increasingly reliant on the capacity of experienced local service providers to evaluate complex datasets so as to provide adequate decision-support for critical and costly service delivery needs.Traditionally,localized human service agencies which are of relatively small size have limited resources and must control administrative expenditures to provide human services.

Artificial Intelligence in Health,Human Service Delivery and Education:A Brief Conceptual Overview

This paper will articulate a conceptual overview of online content currently available to assess the development of AI to improve human service delivery and social services as well as to enhance and improve educational service delivery and human condition outcomes.Artificial intelligence has been the subject of substantial optimism and being of service to improving human lifestyles.AI has become an integral aspect of the technology industry and is affecting information science transportation economic and manufacturing services.However,there are emerging applications of AI in the improvement of human welfare,health,and educational attainment.Each of these will be addressed in the conceptual review to follow.

Driver Management and Service Delivery: Insights within State-Owned Enterprises in Zimbabwe

Driver management may be considered an organization’s most valuable asset, and State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) must invest in it to secure their survival and growth. The study sought to establish the effect of driver management on service delivery in SOEs. Various empirical studies reveal that there is a lack of understanding of the impact of driver management on service delivery in public organizations, notably SOEs, resulting in sectorial and contextual research gaps that must be filled. The study used a mixed-method research strategy and a pragmatic research philosophy. In addition, 344 respondents from 86 SOEs were given standardized questionnaires to complete. The researchers employed stratified and purposive sampling. Statistical package for social scientists (SPSS) version 20 was used to generate descriptive statistics. All study items were subjected to exploratory factor analysis (EFA), and research hypotheses were assessed using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) in AMOS version 21. The study findings revealed that despite having clear driver recruiting procedures, there is bad driver conduct and a lack of driver recognition programs to reward good driving. The study concluded that driver management has a positive effect on service delivery. In light of these conclusions, the study suggests that SOEs should ensure that drivers understand their responsibilities when using company vehicles. Furthermore, drivers should be periodically trained in line with the tenets of the New Public Management Theory which advocates for quality service delivery, customer centrism and reduction in rigidity.

Urban Services Delivery in Limbo： A Provisional Assessment of Gweru＇s Water Supply System

This study sought to assess Gweru＇s water supply system from the source to the consumer to find out whether the water is safe for domestic purposes, mainly consumption. Water samples were taken from Gwenoro dam （raw water）, Gwenoro treatment plant （treated water） as well as from GIS-generated random points of residential areas closest to Gwenoro and furthest from both the dam and the treatment plant. These were taken for laboratory testing where parameters like pH, hardness, turbidity and DO （dissolved oxygen） were tested. Questionnaires were used to solicit the views of the consumers on water quality and water service delivery from eight randomly selected residential suburbs. Interviews were also administered to Gwenoro Water Treatment Plant superintendent and deputy to get insight into the day to day challenges that they have to grapple with. Results generally show that treated water from Gwenoro treatment plant is relatively safe to drink for those who have access to it. However, some consumer points like Mkoba 13 and Mkoba 18 receive water whose DO is out of the recommended range. Suburbs which lie on higher ground like Mkoba 19 and Mkoba 14 however rarely receive water from Gwenoro with some residents of Mkoba 19 having had no water from their taps for more than three years now. The study recommends that new equipment be bought for the treatment plant so that treated water reaches all parts of the city. Newly resettled farmers in the Upper Runde Catchment must be resettled elsewhere while urban stream bank cultivation must be banned to reduce water pollution as well as possible sedimentation of Gwenoro dam.

Construction Project Delivery System Selection Framework： Professional Service Firms＇ Perspective

There is a variety of PDSs （project delivery systems） in today＇s construction industry. This leads to confusion when it comes to selecting the most suitable PDS for a specific project. The wrong selection decision might lead eventually to reduced profit margins or perhaps financial losses to PSFs （professional service firms）. This research proposes a conceptual framework that helps PSFs in the selection of one or more suitable PDSs for their construction operations. The framework uses SWOT （strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats） analysis as a tool for assessing each PDS considered in this research. The PDSs included in the framework are design-bid-build, design-build, construction management agency, public-private partnerships and integrated project delivery. The main aim of this research framework is to enhance decision-making efficiency in PDS selection for PSF operations.

Delivery Service Management System Using Google Maps for SMEs in Emerging Countries

This paper proposes a Delivery Service Management(DSM)system for Small and Medium Enterprises(SMEs)that own a delivery fleet of pickup trucks to manage Business-to-Business(B2B)delivery services.The proposed DSM system integrates four systems:Delivery Location Positioning(DLP),Delivery Route Planning(DRP),Arrival Time Prediction(ATP),and Communication and Data Sharing(CDS)systems.These systems are used to pinpoint the delivery locations of customers,plan the delivery route of each truck,predict arrival time(with an interval)at each delivery location,and communicate and share information among stakeholders,respectively.The DSM system deploys Google applications,a GPS tracking system,Google Map APIs,ATP algorithms(embedded in Excel Macros),Line,and Telegram as supporting tools.To improve the accuracy of the ATP system,three tech-niques are applied considering driver behaviors.The proposed DSM system has been implemented in a Thai SME.From the process perspective,the DSM system is a systematic procedure for end-to-end delivery services.It allows the interactions between planner-driver decisions and supporting tools.The supporting tools are simple,can be easily used with little training,and require low capital expenditure.The statistical analysis shows that the ATP algorithm with the three techniques provides high accuracy.Thus,the proposed DSM system is beneficial for practitioners to manage delivery services,especially for SMEs in emerging countries.

Oracle and ZTE Extend Alliance for Service Delivery Platform Blueprint Development

Oracle and ZTE announced on April 21, 2008 that they have extended their alliance in connection with the marketing and development of Service Delivery Platform offerings in China and globally.

The Need for Speed The rapidly growing express delivery service gets even faster with cutting-edge technology

The rapidly growing express delivery service gets even faster with cutting-edge technology.