Search

Aim Methods Results Conclusions This study aimed to describe current strengths and gaps in services for children with feeding needs in Southeast Queensland, Australia from the perspective of key professionals involved in service design and provision.A web‐based survey was distributed to health professionals involved in providing services to children with feeding needs, staff who triaged/managed referrals, and/or service team leaders in Southeast Queensland.There were 79 responses to the survey, with 61 of these responses included in the analysis. Respondents identified several strengths in paediatric feeding disorder (PFD) service provision, particularly in the quality of care available for children who met service eligibility requirements. However, respondents also described services as disjointed, with limited coordinated multidisciplinary care available. Respondents frequently described service limitations relating to public service eligibility criteria, long waiting lists, and scant communication between services. Gaps were reported in the care available for children with ‘mild’ feeding difficulties and/or children who were not considered medically complex. Respondents also identified gaps in services secondary to a limited number of confident and trained professionals offering PFD care, particularly in the private sector.This study described service providers' perceptions of available care for children with PFD in Southeast Queensland. Overall, the availability of PFD services appeared to be limited by eligibility criteria, service design, and staff capacity, suggesting that children with PFD are not receiving timely, multidisciplinary care in this geographical area. Further research into ideal service design is required to support preventative PFD care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Suicidal persons' contacts with services present a key opportunity for suicide prevention. However, interventions by services are not always effective. A deeper understanding of suicidal service users' agency and its implications may facilitate the provision of meaningful responses to help-seeking during suicidal crises. This abductive study explores the recovery-related agency of suicide attempt survivors and the perceived role of interactions with services in facilitating or hindering it. Methods: Fourteen Finnish suicide attempt survivors were interviewed in-depth on their experiences of interacting with services during a recent suicidal episode. An operationalization of recovery-related agency as the expressed ability to take (mental or physical) action in a direction perceived as aiding recovery from suicidality (i.e., the coupling of recovery-related intentionality and power) was used to explore transcribed interviews through directed content analysis. Data were further categorized based on whether the service context was perceived as helpful or unhelpful to recovery efforts. Results: All participants expressed both agency and non-agency in relation to their recovery process. The relational context provided by services was presented as highly relevant for the achievement and sustainability of recovery-related agency as well as for participants' experience of safety in instances when agency was lacking. The results are presented as a typology of recovery-related agency in its perceived relational context, with the categories of sustained agency, strained agency, contained non-agency and uncontained non-agency. Conclusions: The concept of agency helped capture important aspects of suicidal individuals' recovery-related efforts and the role of services in facilitating or hindering them. The findings illuminate the value of viewing suicidal service users as agents of their own recovery process as well as the potential costs of ignoring this perspective in service delivery and design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Afrofuturism as "both an artistic aesthetic and a framework for critical theory" is concerned with racial equity and technological agency to create emergent liberatory [social] systems. Using Afrofuturism as a research method encourages the imagination of new possibilities for Black liberation in a world where racial inequalities persist. Through Afrofuturism, researchers and public administrators can enter empirical and imaginary evidence required for Black liberation into the public sphere. This article provides thick descriptions of a pilot project, the Three Cities project, to demonstrate how Afrofuturism can be used as a research method for gathering empirical and imaginary evidence, particularly for public service design. This article provides an illustrative example of experiences of racism in schools and corresponding solutions with a key finding that Afrofuturism centres Black communities' knowledge, subjectivities and experiences. The article concludes that Afrofuturism as a critical qualitative inquiry method for liberation can challenge the range of traditions and histories that have shaped public administration in ways that subjugated and marginalised Black communities, but importantly, academic researchers would need to be embedded with Black communities for an extended period in service of their Black liberation agenda. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the contemporary landscape of edge computing, the deployment of services with stringent real-time requirements on edge devices is increasingly prevalent. However, the challenge of designing an effective service deployment strategy that optimally leverages both cloud and edge resources to deliver high-quality services in production environments persists, primarily due to resource constraints in edge devices. To tackle this issue, we introduce an adaptive service deployment algorithm that utilizes speedup weights for cloud-edge collaborative environments (SWD-AD). First, by comparing the execution and communication times of tasks in the cloud and at the edge, the speedup weights are calculated, and a service deployment algorithm is designed that takes into account both the speedup weights and resource consumption weights. Then, during the cluster operation, information on the task processing for each service is collected and their cumulative speedup weights are calculated. Utilizing a dynamic service adjustment strategy based on these cumulative speedup ratio weights, services are migrated between the cloud and the edge. Our performance evaluation experiments reveal that this strategy notably reduces the average response time of tasks by 29.38 and 25.86% compared to Swarm and Kubernetes (K8s) algorithms, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A significant percentage of assets of the Italian national bridge stock have outlived their nominal design service lives, a situation that has led to an increasing number of structural failures over the years, e.g. the deadly 2018 collapse of Morandi Bridge in Genoa. It would have been impossible to replace all existing infrastructural assets, so the focus was shifted to their upkeep. This is commonly achieved through structural health assessments of bridges and through properly planned and prioritized maintenance interventions. For a proper management of their bridge stock, infrastructure managers need a prioritization tool capable of quickly assessing whether a particular unit is in immediate need of maintenance. Currently, the prioritization of each bridge inside a stock is often based on its structural reliability. Yet, whilst several complex and time-consuming structural reliability assessment methodologies exist, these often fail to be quick in application. The present article provides for this shortcoming by introducing a novel simplified structural reliability model. In particular, it provides a framework for the assessment of overload, degradation, seismic, hydraulic and landslide risk factors and a detailed formalization of the most widespread, i.e. overload and degradation. On the basis of such a swift model, infrastructure managers can quickly detect rapidly deteriorating bridges, guarantee well-timed interventions and improve infrastructure user safety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aims to reveal consumer purchase intentions for Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) lifetime deals and the role of service offerings in shaping these intentions. Design/methodology/approach: Lifetime deals − an aggressive market penetration strategy − have the potential to allow startups to gain market share, user base and the cash necessary for growth. However, startups need to mitigate consumer concerns for which service offering design plays a key role. Drawing on expectancy-value and signaling theories, this study developed a research model and then conducted empirical research on 2,173 consumers via choice-based conjoint analysis to reveal the critical service offering attributes for consumer utility in lifetime deals in the SaaS presentation tool market context. After using the hierarchical Bayes model to derive each respondent's part-worth utilities for service offering attributes, the hypotheses were tested via the factor score regression method. Findings: The results show that the service offering attributes of low price, refund option, human support and feature updates enhance consumer utility in SaaS lifetime deals. Three of these four attributes, namely, low price, refund option and feature updates, enhance consumers' purchase intentions by reducing their concerns about the service's performance, seller and lifespan, respectively. Originality/value: This study elucidates consumer purchase intentions for SaaS services in digital marketplaces. By investigating a widespread market entry strategy − lifetime deals − it shows consumer preferences and behavior for these deals in the fast-growing online tools market. This study also shows how startups can use lifetime deals through a well-designed service offering to mitigate various consumer concerns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lipinski's Rule of Five and Ghose filter are empirical guidelines for evaluating the drug-likeness of a compound, suggesting that orally active drugs typically fall within specific ranges for molecular descriptors such as hydrogen bond donors and acceptors, weight, and lipophilicity. We revisit these practices and offer a more analytical perspective using the Dominance-based Rough Set Approach (DRSA). By analyzing representative samples of drug and non-drug molecules and focusing on the same molecular descriptors, we derived decision rules capable of distinguishing between these two classes systematically and reproducibly. This way, we reduced human bias and enabled efficient knowledge extraction from available data. The performance of the DRSA model was rigorously validated against traditional rules and available machine learning (ML) approaches, showing a significant improvement over empirical rules while achieving comparable predictive accuracy to more complex ML methods. Our rules remain simple and interpretable while being characterized by high sensitivity and specificity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores how design, as a disciplinary field, can play a role in conceiving and supporting transition strategies within complex food systems where multiple actors are involved and sustainability is a priority. The work builds on the methodology of Design-Orienting Scenarios (DOS), which are future-oriented narratives motivated, illustrated, and visualized through specific solutions. DOS are applied here to contribute to the ongoing transformation of the Milano Food System, which is at the intersection of dynamics influencing the activities of its various 'nodes'—pivotal points in the supply chain. A specific scenario is then co-designed with relevant actors, combining two influencing factors: governance and sustainability strategy. The aim of this scenario is to highlight areas of multi-actor collaboration and spark transformative projects while also defining roles, values, and capabilities. This article further introduces the evolution of DOS into Transitioning Design-Orienting Scenarios (T-DOS), designed to facilitate outcome-oriented transitions. Characterized by a multi-actor and relational perspective, T-DOS engage stakeholders through a structured process, leveraging local challenges, resources, and actors to ensure the relevance and applicability of practical futures. The T-DOS methodology is finally discussed as a tool to guide systemic design-oriented conversations within the food system and, more broadly, within complex systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasing operational transparency offers customers the opportunity to observe the labor and efforts of service staff in the service production and delivery process. This study explores the impact of service design on customers' affective, cognitive, and behavioral responses. This study first investigates the effects of operational transparency on customers' brand evaluation and purchase intention through gratitude (affective) and perceived value (cognitive). This study also explores the moderating role of relationship norms in the proposed relationships. Based on two between-subjects experiments, Study 1 identifies the serial mediating role of customer gratitude and perceived value on the relationship between operational transparency and customers' brand evaluation and their purchase intention. The results of Study 2 demonstrate that the Study 1 discovery only lasts when the exchange relationship norm prevails in a customer-service brand relationship. The theoretical and managerial implications of operational transparency in enhancing customer service experience are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines citizens' attribution of blame for a failure of public-private partnerships (PPPs) using a survey experiment with a sample of more than 1500 Americans. We find that when service delivery fails, citizens tend to attribute less blame to public actors if the service is delivered by a PPP rather than solely by the government. Additionally, introducing citizen participation in service delivery design reduces the blame assigned to the government in direct service provision, but this effect does not extend to services provided via PPPs. These findings deepen our understanding of how emerging service delivery models affect citizens' attitudes toward the government. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This research investigates the systematic reuse of service concept elements within modular service design, aiming to offer actionable insights into effective conceptualization of services and extending methodological underpinnings to enhance the approach of service design. Design/methodology/approach: Employing a design science research approach, this study investigates the intentional and targeted reuse of service concept elements for modular service design. It develops four general design principles and applies them in a real-world context to demonstrate and evaluate the purposeful integration of service concept elements. Findings: This research reveals the efficacy of reusing service concept elements for modular service design, highlighting the benefits of this approach in conceptualizing new services. It theorizes generalizable design knowledge by formalizing four design principles that allow to underpin the reuse of service concept elements. Originality/value: This research contributes to service design literature by providing actionable insights into the systematic reuse of service concept elements, particularly within the framework of modular service design. We develop and test general design principles and, specifically, apply them for analytics-based digital services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

(1) Background: Public transport has a vital role to play in creating sustainable, accessible societies. Accessible and inclusive, door-to-door public transport systems with low barriers to use benefit everyone, increasing the mobility of citizens and improving independence. As the industry strives towards multi-modal and Mobility as a Service (MaaS) concepts, there is a need to delve deep into the needs and perceptions of transport user's door-to-door journeys to find ways to improve. Accordingly, in order to increase the sustainability of MaaS, improving accessibility and understanding service user perceptions are of utmost importance. However, there is a scarcity of research within national transport services to determine unmet user needs to increase the accessibility and autonomy of door-to-door journeys. This research aims to investigate if it is possible to improve the door-to-door journey experience for public transport travellers, increasing the accessibility and the perception of autonomy via technology, and by doing so, providing a more sustainable alternative to road transport. It focuses on understanding service users of Ireland's National Rail service, Irish Rail, to create key improvements in interactive systems. (2) Methods: The study applies a user-centred mixed-methods methodology using surveys (N = 316) and co-design workshops (four workshops N = 15). The research collected deep insights into the mindsets and needs of service users, showing the potential to improve this door-to-the-door customer journey. Key improvements for interactive systems were outlined. Experience maps were designed, leading to a Conceptual Design for a travel assistant to aid the service user throughout the door-to-door journey. (3) Results: Travellers' autonomy and the sense of freedom they experience can be improved, mainly if their needs across the complete door-to-door customer journey are supported. Highlighted areas for action include information, accessibility, personal security, ticketing, comfort, facilities, and anxiety. (4) Conclusions: This research reiterates the need for national transport and MaaS providers to prioritise service users' perspectives when developing sustainable services. Co-designing is recommended as a means of achieving this. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article proposes a novel approach called breaching-through-service (BtS) that integrates the microsociological approach of ethnomethodology and field-based design experimentation. BtS is service-in-action that is embedded with incongruity. It provides an operational and analytical framework for researchers to breach a social situation by designing and delivering a service, accounting for what occurs in that context, and then acting based on the ensuing interaction. In this way, it enables inquiry and service delivery simultaneously. The BtS approach enriches the practice of studying and harnessing micro-interactions with and for service design. With this, it advances the investigative and transformational capacity of service design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given the promising growth of digital payments in India, this study aims to identify motivational factors influencing digital payment acceptance among Indian consumers and how consumers perceive these services when segregated by demographic profiles of gender, age, education and income levels. An online survey targeting 386 respondents was targeted to study the key determinants of digital payments adoption. The study reveals that trust, subjective norm, perceived risk, ease of use, and usefulness are key predictors of digital payment adoption. In addition, invariance analysis provides empirical evidence of scale non-invariance when consumers are segregated by gender and education. The study is pioneering in digital payments as useful insights are gained, which can help policymakers and service providers design future strategies for wider acceptance of digital payments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Systems Engineering & Electronics is the property of Journal of Systems Engineering & Electronics Editorial Department and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Baghdad Science Journal is the property of Republic of Iraq Ministry of Higher Education & Scientific Research (MOHESR) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Background: To explore the design, delivery models and identify good and innovative practices in Memory Assessment Services (MAS) in England and Wales. Methods: A two-stage service evaluation comprising (1) on-line survey of MAS providers to identify features of the commissioning models, service design, delivery, and challenges alongside examples of good/innovative practice; (2) qualitative case studies using video/telephone interviews with key staff and people who had used the service. Results: The 49 respondents to the survey reported a shift in delivery of MAS post COVID and identified key areas for improvement, including a need for specialist staff, support for MCI and rarer dementias, and capacity for post diagnostic support. The 15 case studies illustrated good practice and innovation focusing on post diagnostic support, equity of access, working with external services/service location, MCI and rarer dementia and involving specialist staff. Conclusions: The evaluation speaks to the importance of (re)evaluation of services to identify local need and the importance of commissioning based on local need and innovative approaches that my sit outside of 'typical' MAS pathways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This participatory action research initiative was undertaken in Thailand to promote carbon-neutral tourism (CNT). The research involved the engagement of multiple stakeholders in the value chain to co-create a valuable CNT route for Nong Khao sub-district tourism in Kanchanaburi Province. A service design approach was applied in this study, consisting of four phases: building engagement and awareness, exploring customer needs, co-creating a route, and assessing the results. The findings revealed that tourists exhibited a strong preference towards the CNT trip option. The implementation of the activities resulted in an increased net profit margin of 165.31% due to cost reduction, sale-price growth, and larger tourist numbers. The research provides important value co-creation of CNT management guidelines for community tourism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social structures are increasingly becoming subject matters of design, because considered integral to service design, akin to interfaces, physical elements, and spaces. The paper explores the use of aesthetics to reshape social structures in social innovation. It delves into three social innovation projects in Milan, formulating the concept of 'convivial aesthetic', which refers to the design and creation of materials, interactions, social forms, and a sense of community that fosters autonomy, personal interdependence, and positive social change. The analysis of the projects is based on a framework consisting of four elements: material support, social interaction, ordinary social forms, and the sense of community.The latter is a crucial component of convivial aesthetic: by fostering a feeling of belonging and shared purpose, participants become part of a larger social community with collective goals. Designers use symbols, rituals, and events to strengthen this sense of community.The paper acknowledges the limitations of this framework, particularly its focus on smaller communities and the need for further exploration of larger societal structures. However, it highlights the value of convivial aesthetic in shifting the focus of design from physical objects to immaterial interactions and social forms, ultimately promoting positive social transformation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To solve the problem of passenger travel cost and full load rate balance before and after the implementation of cross-line operation in the peak period of urban rail transit (URT) passenger flow. This paper introduces the concept of section full load rate balance. According to the division of different types of passenger flow in the intersection mode of "X" and "Y" lines, based on the characteristics of passenger flow in peak passenger flow period, a mathematical model with cross-line operation mode turn-back station and operation frequency of train as decision variables is constructed to minimize passenger travel cost, full load rate balance objective function and enterprise operation cost. Taking the Changping Line and Line 8 in the Beijing URT system as examples, the validity of the model is verified. The results show that the operation mode of the cross-line train can alleviate the passenger flow pressure of the transfer station, reduce the overload of the original train on the line, improve the full load rate balance of the train, make the utilization of the transport capacity more balanced, and optimize the passenger ride experience. In addition, considering the operation of cross-line trains may increase the operating costs of enterprises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents marketing educators with an approach to teaching an undergraduate services marketing class with a unique emphasis on service design. As part of the class, the content on services marketing fundamentals is blended with a detailed discussion of service design. Additionally, hands-on experience with the service design process is provided as part of a semester-long project in which students design a service delivered through a mobile application. The findings suggest that students develop a strong understanding of service design fundamentals and find the class to be a valuable learning experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To design user-centered services, it is essential to build empathy toward users. It is hence strategic to trigger empathy for users among professionals concerned with shaping service user experiences. There is, however, a lack of quantitative tools to measure empathy in design. Through two studies, we report on the development and validation of the Empathy in Design Scale (EMPA-D). The tool aims to measure service employees' empathy toward users. Grounded in theories from psychology and design, we first generated and tested a pool of items through expert inspection and cognitive interviews. In Study 1, we administered 16 items to 406 full-time service employees from various industries, including employees in customer-facing positions. In Study 2, we iterated on additional items and administered a revised scale to 305 service employees. The selected model consists of 11 items and has a three-factor structure (Emotional interest/Perspective-taking , Personal experience and Self-awareness) , which showed an adequate model fit and good internal consistency. Evidence of convergent validity was provided by moderate correlations of the EMPA-D scale with empathy measures in psychology (SITES, Empathy Quotient, Interpersonal Reactivity Index), whereas discriminant validity was demonstrated by low correlations with the narcissism measure Narcissistic Personal Inventory. We outline how this self-reported empathy measure can support organizations in enhancing their services and discuss potential limitations of quantitatively measuring empathy in service teams. Research Highlights We present the development and validation of the Empathy in Design Scale (EMPA-D), a self-report measure of employees' empathy toward users of a service. We report on two validation studies and document the psychometric properties of the scale. The selected model consists of 11 items and a three-factor structure (Emotional interest/Perspective-taking, Personal experience and Self-awareness). The resulting EMPA-D scale contributes to filling the gap in metrics to assess empathy in the service design context. In industry, measuring employees' empathy support the selection of appropriate empathic interventions to foster the service user-centeredness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the challenges of designing a computer supported collaborative environment aimed at facilitating co-production processes, i.e., those collaborative processes between Public Administrations, private stakeholders and citizens that aim at the design of public services, their implementation, and their shared delivery to the community. We argue that, for such a digital platform, different types of socio-technical requirements should be considered, i.e., those related to governance models and associated collaboration dynamics; requirements that may emerge from the specific type of public service to design; as well as user and technical requirements common to all e-government platforms. This research informed the development and testing of a digital collaboration platform that offers guidance on how to organize a co-production initiative and a network of stakeholders, functionalities to support collaborative work, and enablers (in the form of reusable knowledge and digital resources) to perform the sequence of steps to produce a public service. The lessons learned from the iterative platform development process and a preliminary evaluation study conducted with three Public Administrations in different European countries pointed at specific functionalities that are perceived as most crucial and at different appropriation practices that depend on the organizational structure of the involved Public Administrations and related multi-stakeholder networks. The innovation that is brought about with respect to general-purpose platforms for computer supported cooperative work is represented by the operationalization of co-production processes, with step-by-step guidance and potential reuse (with adaptation) of ready to use resources and processes. Based on the results of our research, general guidelines are also proposed for the design of future digital platforms supporting co-production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Modern e-commerce systems are more likely focused on mechanisms of security, such as secure transactional protocols, cryptographic schemes and parameter sanitization, and it is assumed that putting these in place will guarantee a secure e-commerce application. However, vulnerabilities in the business application logic itself are often ignored which can make the effect of these security mechanisms null and void. Essentially, the weakest link can be at the server rather than client because of business logic and insecure server-side business components, its security ignoring is another factor, which is done at developer's peril. This paper focuses on the weakest link (component's logic subversion) in the e-commerce system. We outline a logical attack (subversion attack, class Design Flaw) that would not be prevented by the deployment of the mechanisms commonly used in e-commerce systems. To further investigate this problem, we propose a security assurance methodology for service component-oriented application that will be practiced through threat modeling and component fault detection model with further modeling component and its application using unified modeling language secure-design approach with a valid technique (verification, validation model for security-by-design testing) for design flaw detection to avoid the business logic problem in component-based e-commerce applications from existing application logic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Generalist approaches can help address several challenges facing today's primary care. However, GPs report insufficient support to deliver advanced generalist medicine (AGM) in daily practice, struggling within a healthcare system that imposes strict adherence to single-disease focused guidelines. Aim: To examine the professional and educational experiences of newly qualified GPs attending a course on AGM to understand how to redesign primary care systems to support their generalist work. Design and setting: This was a qualitative study focusing on AGM in UK general practice (England), conducted in the context of the research evaluation of an online career development programme on AGM. Method: We conducted 36 interviews and six focus groups with newly qualified GPs attending an online career development programme on AGM, and analysed data using framework analysis. Results: Three tensions experienced by the participants were identified: tension between realistic and idealistic practice; tension between different decision-making paradigms; and tension in the formation of the GPs' professional identities. These were owing to grey areas of practice deeply rooted in primary care systems — namely areas of work not adequately addressed by current education and service design. Conclusion: Our findings have implications for tackling the general practice workforce crisis, highlighting that solutions targeting individual problems will not suffice by themselves. By making visible the grey areas of everyday general practice, we describe the changes needed to target tensions as described by the GPs in this study to ultimately enable, enhance and make visible the complex work of generalist medicine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Technology and data are at the heart of services. By integrating each others' methodologies, technology and service design can collaborate more effectively, ensuring they both keep up with the rapid pace of change in the technological landscape. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article aims to explore the underutilised potential of systemic service design methods in providing the necessary overview and facilitating green transitions in sustainable supply chains by being a facilitator of the interdisciplinary process. We will introduce a 'Mess/Gigamap' template with an influence from Geels' (2005) 'Multi-Level Perspective' model. In addition, we will show how 'Mess/Gigamaps' are tools that can aid conversations between stakeholders to visually understand the complexities that they are facing. The aim of this template is to enable the creation of systemic maps as boundary objects to facilitate discussions between multiple stakeholders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How do we help today's college students make the most of their time, energy and money invested? This question is at the heart of ongoing discussions among educators, policymakers and stakeholders. Many solutions lie in new programmes, policies and structures, particularly to support minoritised populations. But are they really working? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that the world needs 4.5 million new nurses by 2030. Nurses are a critical touchpoint of health and social care services. Without them, the services could not exist as we know them. The nurse shortage is a vicious service design problem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At its core, service design is about addressing ambiguity to drive transformational changes. As service designers, working with ambiguity is one of the first things we learn to deal with, and it's what we excel at. It might even be what drew us to the service design field in the first place. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The early stages of service design projects are defined by empathy, awareness and a deep analysis of the context in which designers engage. Therefore, understanding our cognitive capacities ('neuro-related tools') enhances the ability to detect environmental cues, enriching the service design process, especially within innovative and creative explorations, to envision desirable futures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Both in academia and in professional practice, multidisciplinarity, interdisciplinarity and transdisciplinarity offer unique pathways to innovation and holistic understanding. But what sets them apart? And why should we care? Imagine diverse experts tackling the redesign of a digital service, improving the experience of citizens or solving a complex service challenge. Each scenario requires different levels of collaboration, reflecting these three approaches. The shift from pooling knowledge to fully integrating and transcending boundaries can transform problem-solving. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AI is dramatically increasing service designers' capacity to deliver value. A McKinsey report (June 2023) values the potential productivity improvement of AI in customer operations at over US$400 billion annually, and the potential for marketing productivity improvement at over US$450 billion annually, thanks to efficient content creation, enhanced use of data and individual personalisation.1 To learn how AI is transforming service design, we conducted secondary research and interviews with a 40-year veteran of the tech industry, the head of design quality and collaboration for a global healthcare brand and the head of operating system customer experience for a leading luxury car brand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interdisciplinary service design combines methods and tools from various disciplines. However, when designing a new public service, the integration of these interdisciplinary visions can create tension between the pragmatic perspectives of a feasible design and the critical perspectives on the desired outcomes, carried out with stakeholder consensus and validation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to deepen the understanding of the service design concept by critically analyzing the existing servitization literature. The paper's main purpose is to structure service design and offer a clear understanding of how it should be applied. Design/methodology/approach: A systematic literature review was conducted within servitization literature to understand the evolution of the service design concept. The authors use service design pillars (i.e. user-centered, co-creative, sequencing, evidencing and holistic) as a theoretical framework to explain how service design should be effectively incorporated into the servitization journey. Findings: The findings expose a discordant interpretation of the pillars underpinning service design, revealing a paradoxical comprehension that jeopardizes its practical advancement within the servitization literature. The authors propose that service design should first be seen holistically, then target user-centered practices for sequencing service development steps, and finally, co-creating with partners to make the service evident to users. Furthermore, the authors contextualize service design within contemporary and traditional service-related issues such as servitization innovation, customer experience, service-dominant logic, service ecosystems and digital transformation. Originality/value: This research pinpoints the service design concept's shortcomings in the servitization literature. The study promotes a critical reflection on the service design concept and its current application, providing avenues for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The current study gives a quantitative analysis DT literature over the past ten years in domain of management and business where the field has witnessed a proliferation in studies. The study's primary areas of concentration were analyzing historical trends and identifying prospective future research opportunities in the field. Due of the way, it approaches innovation and problem-solving, design thinking has garnered a lot of interest from both academics and practitioners. Promoters and detractors, however, tend to have quite different perspectives on the program's core qualities, practicality and results. Design/methodology/approach: The study adopts a bibliometric approach to a systematic literature review, where the analyses and visualizations are carried out using R Studio (Biblioshiny package) and VosViewer software. The study was conducted on 518 documents extracted from the Scopus database. To identify past research trends in the field, performance analysis based on productivity and/or impact of the research constituents was carried out to understand the intellectual structure of the field. Findings: The study's findings indicated that few areas have received the most attention, which are presented as seven themes. While the emerging themes in the field include areas such as service design, service innovation, customer experience, innovation management, project management and 21st-century skills. Practical implications: The studies are going deeper by breaking down concepts or processes and analyzing one aspect at a time, codesign and prototyping are such subareas within the realm of service or new product design and development. Originality/value: This study is the first of its kind where a literature review has been conducted covering design thinking in the area of business management and accounting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Financial institutions are increasingly turning to artificial intelligence (AI) to improve their decision-making processes and gain a competitive edge. Due to the iterative process of AI development, it is mandatory to have a structured process in place, from the design to the deployment of AI-based services in the finance industry. This process must include the required validation and coordination with regulatory authorities. An appropriate dashboard can help to shape and structure the process of model development, e.g., for credit assessment in the finance industry. In addition, the analysis of datasets must be included as an important part of the dashboard to understand the reasons for changes in model performance. Furthermore, a dashboard can undertake documentation tasks to make the process of model development traceable, explainable, and transparent, as required by regulatory authorities in the finance industry. This can offer a comprehensive solution for financial companies to optimize their models, improve regulatory compliance, and ultimately foster sustainable growth in an increasingly competitive market. In this study, we investigate the requirements and provide a prototypical dashboard to create, manage, compare, and validate AI models to be used in the credit assessment of private customers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Damage to long-span truss structures may cause structural deformation, load-capacity reduction, and even collapse. The design service life of truss structures is usually 50 years, so evaluating their reliability is the utmost importance. Reliability considers the probability of failure as an analysis index. In calculating the probability of structural failure, important components are first selected to form a failure path, and then the failure probability corresponding to the failure path is calculated. A truss structure has many important components and failure paths, so calculating this probability requires extensive and thorough work. As a result, we propose selecting the important components via the approximation method to reduce the influence of the threshold of approximation. Collectively exhaustive events were established using the differential equivalent recursive algorithm to calculate the probability of structural failure. This process was considerably simplified, and validity was verified via a reliability analysis involving a three-bar truss structure, a plane truss structure, and a square pyramid truss structure. This method is suitable for selecting important components of regular truss structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public service is related to everyone's life and future and directly feeds back on the development of society and the country. How to better shape and develop it is a critical issue for both individuals and groups. As the primary provider, the government plays a vital role in its creation, development, and transformation. In recent years, with the rapid development of human society, this field has been placed in the midst of new challenges. These are the difficulties that government departments urgently need to solve, and the traditional solutions have shown apparent inadequacies. Service design, as a powerful responder, is gradually emerging and playing an important role, influencing a series of dimensions from service innovation to social policies. The application of service design in government public services holds significant social value. However, related research remains in its infancy, needing a systematic theoretical framework. This paper focuses on government public service design and carries out systematic design research on it in order to realize the corresponding social and academic value. This paper established a theoretical framework for government public service design centered on the TB4D model, based on an in-depth study of the relevant literature, nearly 30 representative industry case studies, and three practical projects conducted by the author. The model integrates the TSLC operational mechanism model, the Behavior-Organization-Policy operational content model, the "3 + 1" development mode, and the method reference guide for government public service design based on the Double Diamond design process model. The letters and numbers in the model's name sequentially represent these four components. Specifically, the TSLC operational mechanism model derives its name from the initials of four parts: trans-dimensional cognitive and thinking mode, systems thinking, learning interactive innovation process, and cultural regeneration and value shaping. The "3 + 1" development model denotes three forms of development centered on internal design capability and the form of joint development focused on external design capabilities. The TB4D model combines both theory and practice, yet to better illustrate its overall performance, this paper reverted to the practical domain. It quantitatively evaluated 20 complete projects, calculating the mean value and 95% confidence intervals to verify the model. The results demonstrate that the model is valid and possesses high industry representativeness, effectiveness, and universality. The organic operation of the model will provide systematic, innovative solutions to address the problems and challenges faced in the public service field, promoting the sustainable development of society. Since research in this area is still at an early stage, the theoretical model proposed here emphasizes its intrinsic principles and universal logic. It aims to provide foundational theoretical support for the development of this field and systematic guidance for relevant practices. As the industry evolves, the model's content can be further refined and enriched to better reflect contemporary characteristics. Additionally, because this model serves as a foundational framework for the entire field, it can be further expanded to develop sub-models with local characteristics when applied to different regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We show how prospect theory uncovers critical decision-making insights in the design of sequential experiences by formulating a general framework and applying it to three experience design settings. First, we study the problem of releasing a piece of good news versus bad news, where a firm may incrementally reveal the news over a preemptive period. We characterize the optimal release strategy for both types of news and show that when the ultimate news is good (resp., bad) and the audience is sufficiently gain-seeking, it is optimal first to release information of a negative (resp., positive) sentiment. Second, we consider the problem of organizing an event such as a concert with performances of known valuations, where an event organizer needs to arrange the sequence of all performances. We show that for both loss-averse and gain-seeking audiences, interior peaks can be optimal, where pleasant and aversive performances are arranged to alternate throughout the event. Lastly, we investigate the problem of simultaneous versus sequential release of a series, such as songs or TV episodes, where a content provider does not know a priori the audience's exact valuation of each item. We show that if the audience's sensitivity to losses is sufficiently small (resp., large), the optimal strategy is to release all items in the series sequentially (resp., simultaneously). Across all of the settings, we show that the audience's sensitivity to losses relative to a reference point is a critical factor that governs how to design and manage the audience's evolving experience dynamics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Not a single domain of technology, design, or management can fully tackle AI's ethical, practical, and strategic dimension. A service design approach is used to explore the intersection of technology, design, and management for a responsible AI implementation that fosters innovation but is also ethically aligned and strategically integrated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Older adults are not actively participating in outdoor physical activities. An understanding of what factors influence older adults' outdoor physical activities is important for informing interventions. This study aims to examine the potential effect of service ontology on the intention of outdoor physical activities in older adults. Face-to-face surveys were conducted with 421 older adults from eight districts in Nanjing, China. One-way analysis of variance and ordinal logistic regression analysis revealed that seven of the 20 factors have a positive effect on intention of outdoor physical activities, including gender, health self-assessment, family structure, accessibility, exercise instructors, emergency service, and staff in outdoor space. To further improve the intention of outdoor physical activities, governments and service designers should focus on providing age-friendly community infrastructures. Moreover, specific attention should be paid toward older females and people with low-income/poor health conditions, and strategies should also be adopted to significantly improve the quantity and instruction efficiency of exercise instructors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study a Bone Marrow Transplant (BMT) Centre whose objective is to maximise the expected health benefits of the admitted patients. The arrival of patients is a renewal process with generally distributed inter-arrival times, and the length of stay in a transplant room is a generally distributed random variable. Arriving patients are immediately admitted into a transplant room if available; otherwise, they would be added to a finite waiting list called patient reserve. When a transplant room becomes available, a member of the patient reserve is selected for admission. Patients who arrive when all transplant rooms are occupied and the patient reserve is full are referred to other BMT Centres. Because the patient reserve members' health will continue to deteriorate while waiting for a transplant room, our research results illustrate the optimal trade-offs among the number of transplant rooms, the number of spots in the patient reserve, and the expected health benefits of the admitted patients. Our experience with a leading BMT Centre supports the notion that an understanding of these optimal trade-offs is crucial for managers of BMT Centres. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]