Light-Weighted Decision Support Framework for Selecting Cloud Service Providers

Multi-criteria decision making(MCDM)is a technique used to achieve better outcomes for some complex business-related problems,whereby the selection of the best alternative can be made in as many cases as possible.This paper proposes a model,the multi-criteria decision support method,that allows both service providers and consumers to maximize their profits while preserving the best matching process for resource allocation and task scheduling.The increasing number of service providers with different service provision capabilities creates an issue for consumers seeking to select the best service provider.Each consumer seeks a service provider based on various preferences,such as price,service quality,and time to complete the tasks.In the literature,the problem is viewed from different perspectives,such as investigating how to enhance task scheduling and the resource allocation process,improve consumers’trust,and deal with network problems.This paper offers a novel model that considers the preferences of both service providers and consumers to find the best available service provider for each consumer.First,the model adopts the best-worst method(BWM)to gather and prioritize tasks based on consumers’and service providers’preferences.Then,the model calculates and matches similarities between the sets of tasks from the consumer’s side with the sets of tasks from the provider’s side to select the best service provider for each consumer using the two proposed algorithms.The complexity of the two algorithms is found to be O(n3).

Identifying Service Needs from the Perspective of Service Providers—A Qualitative Study

The provision of high-quality medical care has become a key challenge in many countries. At the same time, there is a growing awareness that the early detection of chronic diseases can reduce mortality rates. Therefore, it is important to identify service needs which influence to participate in health screening. To date, little research has been conducted into the perspectives of service providers on this topic. In this preliminary study, we aimed to explore the perspectives of service providers who work in a community-based setting in order to identify perceived barriers to chronic disease screening and incentives which can increase participation rates. In-depth interviews were conducted with 10 experienced health service providers from October 2017 to December 2017. Interviewees included physicians and community health representatives who had been working in a community-based health screening service for at least 3 years. The study identified several aspects of health screening services for chronic diseases that are in need of improvement, including a shortage of appropriate health service providers, inadequate attendance promoting measures, a lack of continually accessible and affordable medical services, healthcare professionals who possess inadequate communication skills, and rural-urban health care disparities. Service providers believe that current services do not fulfill community needs. Older adults who live in rural areas experience especially significant screening-related health disparities, which are mainly affected by structural service barriers. To improve the quality of medical services, healthcare screening services should be evaluated according to the perspectives of both participants and service providers.

The Extent of Partograph Use and Associated Factors among Obstetric Care Providers in Government Hospitals in Southern Ethiopia: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background: Prolonged labor is a significant contributor to maternal morbidity and mortality. The World Health Organization encourages using the partograph to keep track and solve this issue. The extent of partograph use in Ethiopia, however, is hardly understood. This study aimed to ascertain the level of partograph use and related variables among obstetric care providers in government hospitals in southern Ethiopia. Methods: A cross-sectional institutional study was conducted among obstetric care providers in government hospitals in southern Ethiopia, from March to December 2015. The data were collected using a pre-tested questionnaire and format. To establish a statistical relationship, an odds ratio with a 95% confidence interval was utilized. Results: A total of 212 (55.1%) obstetric providers reported routine use of partograph to monitor labor. Midwives [AOR: 3.4, 95% CI: (1.2, 9.4)], clinical nurses [AOR: 3.0, 95% CI: (1.1, 7.6)], knowledge of partographs [AOR: 2.0, 95% CI: (1.2, 3.5)], positive attitudes toward partograph use [AOR: 3.7, 95% CI: (1.7, 7.7)], service of 2 - 5 years [AOR: 3.4, 95% CI: (2.8, 4.4)] and service of more than five years [AOR: 2.3, 95% CI: (2.0, 3.3)] were associated with partograph use. Conclusion: This study has shown that the use of partographs to monitor labor among obstetricians is consistent with other studies from developing countries. However, this does not mean that obstetric care does not need to be strengthened, as a significant proportion of obstetricians still do not use the partograph for labor monitoring. Therefore, it is recommended that midwives and nurses be given preference in the delivery of obstetric services, the knowledge and attitudes of providers be improved, and mechanisms be developed that can help keep senior care providers.

A Study on the Multi-Task Incentive Mechanism for the Service Provider

Both conflict and asymmetric information exist betweenthe telecom operators and the service provider,and result in illegal behaviors of the service provider.The relationship between the telecom operators andthe service provider is classical multi-task principalagentrelationship. The multi-task incentive for theservice provider is considered in the design of theprincipal-agent incentive contract, and it is necessaryto add the multi-task incentive to the serviceproviders through the analysis of the risk costs andthe agency costs of this problem.

Mining and Modelling the Dynamic Patterns of Service Providers in Cellular Data Network Based on Big Data Analysis

Understanding the dynamic traffic and usage characteristics of data services in cellular networks is important for optimising network resources and improving user experience.Recent studies have illustrated traffic characteristics from specific perspectives,such as user behaviour,device type,and applications.In this paper,we present the results of our study from a different perspective,namely service providers,to reveal the traffic characteristics of cellular data networks.Our study is based on traffic data collected over a five-day period from a leading mobile operator's core network in China.We propose a Zipf-like model to characterise the distributions of the traffic volume,subscribers,and requests among service providers.Nine distinct diurnal traffic patterns of service providers are identified by formulating and solving a time series clustering problem.Our work differs from previous related works in that we perform measurements on a large quantity of data covering 2.2 billion traffic records,and we first explore the traffic patterns of thousands of service providers.Results of our study present mobile Internet participants with a better understanding of the traffic and usage characteristics of service providers,which play a critical role in the mobile Internet era.

Study on Task Assignment of Two-stage Multi-service Capability Port Logistics Service Providers

This paper mainly studies the problem of multi-task assignment of providers in port logistics service supply chain.As a core enterprise,port plays the role of logistics service integrator.With the continuous development of industrial integration,logistics service providers not only provide one kind of logistics service,but also develop into composite suppliers who capable of providing a variety of logistics services.This paper studies the task assignment problem of multi-service capability providers in the port logistics service supply chain.The two-stage logistics service provider task assignment model was built,which is based on the mixed evaluation method(including MOORA and FMEA)and the multi-objective planning method.Eventually,the effectiveness of the model method was verified by combining with an example.

The Relationship between Size and Performance of Palestinian Water Service Providers

Studies investigating the relationship between size and performance of water service providers are abundant. Yet, this relationship has not been fully addressed in Palestinian water sector, particularly, after the issuance of water law 2014 which calls for merging water providers into large regional utilities. This research evaluates the significant effect of the size of Palestinian water service providers on non-revenue water, staff productivity, collection efficiency, average consumption, average price, operating and maintenance cost, working ratio, and gross profit. The multivariate analysis shows that there are significant differences in working ratio, non-revenue water, staff productivity, average price, and gross profit based on the size. On the other side, no significant differences have been found in average daily consumption, operating and maintenance cost per unit, and collection efficiency based on those providers’ size. The small service providers perform better in non-revenue water, staff productivity, and collection efficiency;wherein, large service providers are more profitable than small service providers. Implications of these findings by conducting further studies will add the value for better merging of the Palestinian water providers and the reforming process.

“It All Goes Back to the Services”: A Rural/Urban Comparison of Service Providers’ Perceptions of Challenges and Facilitators to Disability Services

Purpose: The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore rural/urban differences in service providers’ perceptions of challenges and facilitators to services for children with special health care needs (CSHN) and their families in southeast Georgia. Methodology: A total of 23 individual interviews were conducted with service providers in one rural county in southeast Georgia (N = 12) and in one urban county in north central Georgia (N = 11). Interviews were based on the National Survey of Children with Special Health Care Needs 2009-2010 survey. All interviews were audio recorded, transcribed and coded with the intent of identifying themes and illustrative quotes. Findings: Service providers discussed a variety of challenges to accessing services related to socioeconomic status and the transition out of the school system. Urban and rural service providers’ perceptions were similar overall, with the exception of lack of transportation and access to a variety of services in rural area. Service providers overcome challenges through identifying parents’ needs and limitations and adapting service provision. Some of the facilitators mentioned by both urban and rural service providers are availability of transportation and resources. Practical Implications: The results of this study provide public health practice and policy implications that could guide the pathways of targeted interventions to improve the access and availability of variety of services for CSHCN. Originality/value of paper: This paper represents an in-depth exploration of service provider’s perceptions of challenges and facilitators related to service provision for children with special healthcare needs.

The Impact of Water Price on the Financial Sustainability of the Palestinian Water Service Providers

The impactof water sales price on the performance of water service providers is typically something of a mystery. High prices mean more revenue and profit;but it may lead to less bills collection and encourage the illegal connections. Yet, this argument has not been fully addressed in the Palestinian water sector;this research evaluates the effect of average water prices on the financial sustainability key indicators as collection efficiency, profit or loss percentage, non-revenue water, staff productivity, daily consumption, operating, and maintenance cost. The average price of cubic meter sold is segmented into low, medium, and high categories. Multivariate analysis shows that there are significant differences in profit or working ratio, daily consumption, and operating cost based on the different price categories. Further significant differences have been found in non-revenue water, collection efficiency, and water production based on low and high price categories. On the other hand, no significant difference has been found in staff productivity. The results show high price set by Palestinian water providers, leads to an increase in the bill collection rate and profit margin. However, negative relationship has been found between the price on one hand, and non-revenue water, average daily consumption, and water production on the other hand. The implication of these findings reveal that the Palestinian water providers should increase water prices gradually to cover operating and maintenance cost for better financial performance and sustainability.

Impact of Self-Organizing Networks Deployment on Wireless Service Provider Businesses in China

Decoupling of revenues with network traffic and extreme penetration of expenses in wireless network leads to the critical situation for wireless service providers (WSP), as more wireless network is complex due to its heterogeneity in the context of planning, software & hardware installation, radio parameters setting, drive testing, optimization, healing and maintenance. These operations are time-consuming, labor & budget-intensive and error-prone if activated manually. Hence new approaches have to be designed and applied to meet those demands in a cost-effective way, Self-organizing networks (SON), is a promising approach to handle manual tasks with autonomous manners. More specifically the self-directed functions (self-planning, self-deployment, self-configuration, self-optimization and self-healing) are aid to reduce capital expenditure (CAPEX), implementation expenditure (IMPEX) and operational expenditure (OPEX). In this study, first we investigate the aforementioned impact factors of cost combined with self-functions. Then, we analyze the relative cost benefits causing from deploying the SON functions, using the economical method to have more precise results concerning those potential benefits. At last, the result shows that there is a significant difference in expenses and revenues of WSP with and without SON after enabling self-functions in wireless network.

Prediction-Based Resource Assignment Scheme to Maximize the Net Profit of Cloud Service Providers

In a cloud computing environment, users using the pay-as-you-go billing model can relinquish their services at any point in time and pay accordingly. From the perspective of the Cloud Service Providers (CSPs), this is not beneficial as they may lose the opportunity to earn from the relinquished resources. Therefore, this paper tackles the resource assignment problem while considering users relinquishment and its impact on the net profit of CSPs. As a solution, we first compare different ways to predict user behavior (i.e. how likely a user will leave the system before its scheduled end time) and deduce a better prediction technique based on linear regression. Then, based on the RACE (Relinquishment-Aware Cloud Economics) model proposed in [1], we develop a relinquishment-aware resource optimization model to estimate the amount of resources to assign on the basis of predicted user behavior. Simulations performed with CloudSim show that cloud service providers can gain more by estimating the amount of resources using better prediction techniques rather than blindly assigning resources to users. They also show that the proposed prediction-based resource assignment scheme typically generates more profit for a lower or similar utilization.

Survival Analysis of Logistics Service Providers: An Empirical Study of Chengdu, Area in China

This paper worked on a sample of 6791 logistics establishments registered in Chengdu, China over the period 1984-2016 to understand the survival status of logistics service providers (LSPs) by non-parametric Kaplan-Meier estimation, together with Cox proportional hazard regression model, to identify factors affecting the failure of LSPs. In particular, it studies the interaction effect between LSPs’ size and entry timing and location. The empirical results show that: 1) Regarding the survival time, 1365 of the 6791 sample LSPs exited from the market by 2017. The exit rate is 20.1%, and the average life of the 6791 LSPs is about 6 years. 2) The survival of LSPs depends on their typology, ownership structure. And there is no significant difference in the probability of survival for both independent LSPs and logistics branches after controlling the effects of other variables. 3) Location and entry timing also play an important role in the survival of small-scale LSPs, but these factors cannot explain large-scale LSPs’ failure.

Quality-Oriented Climate and Service Quality Among Healthcare Providers： Evidence From a Rehabilitation Center in Italy

The importance of quality in service provision is widely recognized in health service research. However, a limited number of studies have investigated antecedents of quality in healthcare service provision. This article tries to shed further light on this under-researched field. Specifically, the aim of this study is to verify the relationship between the quality-oriented climate and service quality as perceived by employees. The study was conducted in a private non-profit Rehabilitation Centre in Italy using a questionnaire administered to all healthcare workers. The questions focused on perceptions of quality-oriented climate （priorization of quality care, social cooperation, and exchange）, four different connotations of the quality in healthcare provision （provision of high quality service, adequacy of time spent with patients, freedom in clinical decisions, and continuing relationships with patients）, as well as on respondents＇ background. Of the 248 healthcare workers, 183 completed the questionnaire. Hierarchical regression analysis was used to study the relationship between quality-oriented climate and outcome variables （quality in healthcare provision）. The results suggest that a quality-oriented climate does explain service quality in Healthcare settings： When an organization has implemented a quality-oriented climate, the service care provided by healtheare workers can determine an increase for three of the four investigated aspects of quality service provision （quality of care, freedom to make clinical decisions to meet patients＇ needs, and continuing relationships with patients）. The paper demonstrates that the offer of quality services involves in a different way the various healthcare professionals and/or management staff. This research provides interesting findings for healthcare manager in Health Service settings regarding the management of a quality-oriented process of service provision.

Service Model for Multi-Provider IP Service Management

In order to solve the problems associated with Internet IP services management, a generic service model for n multi-providcr IP service management is proposed, which is based on a generalization of the bandwidth broker idea introduced in the differentiated services （DiffServ） environment. This model consists of a hierarchy of service brokers, which makes it fit into providing end-to-end Internet services with QoS support. A simple and sealable mechanism is used to communicate with other cooperative domains to enable customers to dynamically setup services connections over multiple DiffServ domains. The simulation results show that the proposed model is real-time, which can deal with many flow requests in a short period of time, so that it is fit for the service management in a reasonably large network.

Selecting a Strategic Logistics Service Provider for Subsea Engineering Companies on the Tweneboa, Enyenra and Ntomme （TEN） Project in Ghana

The research dealt with assessment of logistics service providers＇ capabilities in SECs （supporting subsea engineering companies） on the Tweneboa, Enyenra and Ntomme （TEN） project in Ghana. SECs need logistics service providers who offer consolidated services for project optimization and fulfillment of local content requirements of the project. Relevant Staffof7 SECs and 10 logistics service providers in Ghana formed part of the target group. The weighted scoring model was used in selecting a logistics service provider based on certain criteria. The selection criteria included Quality, Health, Safety and Environmental （QHSE） policies [Q], Compliance to regulations （GRA, Work permit, petroleum regulation） [C], Delivery of goods on time and response rate to deliver [D], Vessel, Cargo attendance and transportation （sea freight and air freight） [V], and Logistics （Personal logistics and Logistics base facilities） [L]. The study concluded Consolidated Shipping Agency （Conship） was the best Logistics Service Provider to offer the best consolidated services for project optimization under the TEN project.

Respecting Each Other and Being Loyal to ZTE Career Providing Refined Service and Focusing on Customers' Requirements Working Hard to Create Famous ZTE Brand Improving ZTE Efficiency with Scientific Management

ZTE Corporation is China’s largest listedtelecommunications equipment provider spe-cialized in offering a full range of tailor-madesolutions for customers in high-,middle-andlow-end markets.

A Selection Algorithm of Service Providers for Optimized Data Placement in Multi-Cloud Storage Environment

The benefits of cloud storage come along with challenges and open issues about availability of services, vendor lock-in and data security, etc. One solution to mitigate the problems is the multi-cloud storage, where the selection of service providers is a key point. In this paper, an algorithm that can select optimal provider subset for data placement among a set of providers in multicloud storage architecture based on IDA is proposed, designed to achieve good tradeoff among storage cost, algorithm cost, vendor lock-in, transmission performance and data availability. Experiments demonstrate that it is efficient and accurate to find optimal solutions in reasonable amount of time, using parameters taken from real cloud providers.

It’s Not Just the Money: Why Consumers Do Not Purchase Pharmacist-Provided Services

The reimbursement model for pharmaceutical care remains a barrier to successful widespread implementation of pharmacist-provided services. In some instances, community pharmacists have been successful in obtaining direct compensation for services from patients;however, evidence suggests that lack of patient demand for pharmacist-services may ultimately undermine the campaign for widespread third-party payment. The purpose of this study is to conduct a secondary analysis of data indicating consumer/patients’ rationale for not purchasing pharmacist-provided disease management services when offered the opportunity to do so in community pharmacies. Our review of the data indicates that while financial concerns are clearly important in consumer demand for pharmacist-provided services, other considerations exist. The consumer/patient belief that pharmacist-provided services are duplicative or that these services are not needed are significant barriers to overcome. Intensive education and marketing campaigns are needed to sway consumer opinion on the value of pharmacist-provided services.

Bi-Level Bidding and Multi-Energy Retail Packages for Integrated Energy Service Providers Considering Multi-Energy Demand Elasticity

How to effectively use the multi-energy demand elasticity of users to bid in the multi-energy market and formulate multi-energy retail packages is an urgent problem which needs to be solved by integrated energy service providers(IESPs)to attract more users and reduce operating costs.This paper presents a unified clearing of electricity and natural gas based on a bi-level bidding and multi-energy retail price formulation method for IESPs considering multi-energy demand elasticity.First,we propose an operating structure of IESPs in the wholesale and retail energy markets.The multi-energy demand elasticity model of retail-side users and a retail price model for electricity,gas,heat and cooling are established.Secondly,a bi-level bidding model for IESPs considering multi-energy demand elasticity is established to provide IESPs with wholesale-side bidding decisions and retail-side energy retail price decisions.Finally,an example is given to verify the proposed method.The results show that the method improves the total social welfare of the electricity and natural gas markets by 7.99%and the profit of IESPs by 1.40%.It can reduce the variance of the electricity,gas,and cooling load curves,especially the reduction of the variance of the electricity load curve can which reach 79.90%.It can be seen that the research in this paper has a positive effect on repairing the limitations of integrated energy trading research and improving the economics of the operation of IESPs.