This study develops an optimisation model to facilitate inter-facility medicine sharing in response to anticipated medicine shortages. These facilities include hospitals and medical representatives. We adopt the concept of collective response proposed in our study literature. The optimisation model is developed according to the real-world practices of inter-facility medicine sharing. We utilise case studies of particular healthcare networks to demonstrate the efficacy of the developed model. The efficacy encompasses the model’s application to real-world case studies, as well as its validity and reliability within a specific system. The results show that the developed model is able to determine which facilities should share the requested amount of medicines; and to reduce total lead times by at least one day compared to the ones obtained in the current practice. The model can be used as a decision-support tool for healthcare practitioners when responding to shortages. The study presents the managerial implications of medicine sharing at the network level and supports the development of collaboration amongst facilities in response to medicine shortages.
This study aims to investigate what influences local workers over the age of 40 to work and stay employed in oil palm plantations. 414 individuals participated in a face-to-face interview that provided the study’s primary source of data. Exploratory Factor Analysis was used to analyse the given data. The study revealed that factors influencing local workers over the age of 40 years to leave or continue working in oil palm plantations can be classified as income factors, internal factors and external factors. The income factor was the most significant factor as the percentage variance explained by the factor was 26.792% and Cronbach Alpha was high at 0.870. Therefore, the study suggested that the oil palm plantation managements pay more attention to income elements such as basic salary, wage rate paid to the workers and allowance given to the workers since these elements contribute to the monthly total income received by the workers and in turn be able to attract more local workers to work and remain in the plantations.
The Akit tribe fishermen on Rupat Island, Riau, Indonesia, are a remote indigenous community with a low level of education. They have experienced cultural acculturation after the influx of outsiders and the government built road infrastructure to break the isolation. The government also provides internet facilities to speed up the process of modernizing communications between them. The research aim is to analyze the role of government support as a mediator in the influence of education and acculturation on communication modernization among Akit fishermen. The research used a survey method, involving 165 of the 763 Akit fishermen as respondents. This number determine used the Sample Size Calculator technique. Respondents were selected using a purposive random sampling technique. The variables studied consisted of education, acculturation, government support (as mediator), and communication modernization. Data collection was carried out through a closed questionnaire containing statements, which were measured with a 5-point Likert scale. The data were analyzed using the Structural Equation Modeling method with the help of SmartPLS 4 software. The research results show that acculturation and government support have a positive and significant influence on communication modernization, while education plays a negative influence. Government support as a mediator plays a positive and significant role in the influence of education on communication modernization, while it does not play any role in the influence of acculturation. The most implication of this research is that the government must further increase its role in organizing the acculturation process for Akit fishermen to accelerate the communication modernization process.
This study employed the theory of planned behavior to examine how green urban spaces influence walking behaviors, with a focus on Chongqing’s Jiefangbei Pedestrian Street. Using structural equation modelling to analyse survey data from 401 respondents, this study assessed the relationships between attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, walking intentions, and actions. The results revealed that attitudes toward walking (β = 0.335, p < 0.001) and subjective norms (β = 0.221, p < 0.001) significantly predict walking intentions, which strongly determine actual walking behavior (β = 0.379, p < 0.001). Moreover, perceived behavioral control exerts a direct significant impact on walking actions (β = 0.332, p < 0.001), illustrating that both environmental and social factors are crucial in promoting pedestrian activity. These findings suggest that enhancing the appeal and accessibility of urban green spaces can significantly encourage walking, providing valuable insights for urban planning and public health policy. This study can guide city planners and health professionals in creating more walkable and health-conducive urban environments.
Catastrophes, like earthquakes, bring sudden and severe damage, causing fatalities, injuries, and property loss. This often triggers a rapid increase in insurance claims. These claims can encompass various types, such as life insurance claims for deaths, health insurance claims for injuries, and general insurance claims for property damage. For insurers offering multiple types of coverage, this surge in claims can pose a risk of financial losses or bankruptcy. One option for insurers is to transfer some of these risks to reinsurance companies. Reinsurance companies will assess the potential losses due to a catastrophe event, then issue catastrophe reinsurance contracts to insurance companies. This study aims to construct a valuation model for catastrophe reinsurance contracts that can cover claim losses arising from two types of insurance products. Valuation in this study is done using the Fundamental Theorem of Asset Pricing, which is the expected present value of the number of claims that occur during the reinsurance coverage period. The number of catastrophe events during the reinsurance coverage period is assumed to follow a Poisson process. Each impact of a catastrophe event, such as the number of fatalities and injuries that cause claims, is represented as random variables, and modeled using Peaks Over Threshold (POT). This study uses Clayton, Gumbel, and Frank copulas to describe various dependence characteristics between random variables. The parameters of the POT model and copula are estimated using Inference Functions for Margins method. After estimating the model parameters, Monte Carlo simulations are performed to obtain numerical solutions for the expected value of catastrophe reinsurance based on the Fundamental Theorem of Asset Pricing. The expected reinsurance value based on Monte Carlo simulations using Indonesian earthquake data from 1979–2021 is Rp 10,296,819,838.
The COVID-19 pandemic in 2019 heralded a downturn in the Thai economy, particularly in the tourism and hospitality sectors which rely heavily on international tourists. To decrease the dependence of international tourists, this research outlined three objectives as 1) explore and classify the high-end domestic tourism market among 77 provinces in Thailand, 2) study the potential and readiness of tourism resources and tourism products to cater to the demand of high-end domestic tourists, and 3) suggest tourism management approaches for domestic high-end tourists after the crisis. Both quantitative and qualitative research methodologies were applied to achieve the research objectives. Income was used to identify and segment high-end domestic tourists living in 77 provinces in Thailand, while a verified questionnaire collected data from 1200 respondents nationwide. Forty-one experts from different tourism-related agencies at local and regional levels were targeted using purposive sampling techniques, and semi-structured interviews were conducted to acquire qualitative data. High-end domestic tourists, classified by monthly income, were segmented into Silver (50,000–70,000 THB), Gold (70,001–90,000 THB), Diamond (91,001–110,000 THB), and Platinum groups (Over 110,001 THB). These high-end domestic tourists shared both similarities and differences in tourism needs, preferences, and behaviors. Sixteen provinces in six domestic regions demonstrated the potential and readiness of tourism resources and products to satisfy the needs, preferences, and behaviors of high-end domestic tourists.
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