scholarly journals Queueing Systems with Rationally Inattentive Customers

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caner Canyakmaz ◽  
Tamer Boyacı
Keyword(s):  
Queueing Systems ◽  
Service Design ◽  
Customer Behavior ◽  
Problem Definition ◽  
Cognitive Capacity ◽  
Limited Attention ◽  
Single Server ◽  
Information Costs ◽  
Information Frictions ◽  
The Impact

Problem definition: Classical models of queueing systems with rational and strategic customers assume queues to be either fully visible or invisible, while service parameters are known with certainty. In practice, however, people only have “partial information” on the service environment, in the sense that they are not able to fully discern prevalent uncertainties. This is because assessing possible delays and rewards is costly, as it requires time, attention, and cognitive capacity, which are all limited. On the other hand, people are also adaptive and endogenously respond to information frictions. Methodology: We develop an equilibrium model for a single-server queueing system with customers having limited attention. Following the theory of rational inattention, we assume that customers optimize their learning strategies by deciding the type and amount of information to acquire and act accordingly while internalizing the associated costs. Results: We establish the existence and uniqueness of a customer equilibrium when customers allocate their attention to learn uncertain queue lengths and delineate the impact of service characteristics. We provide a complete spectrum of the impact of information costs on throughput and show numerically that throughput might be nonmonotone. This is also reflected in social welfare if the firm’s profit margin is high enough, although customer welfare always suffers from information costs. Managerial implications: We identify service settings where service firms and social planners should be most cautious for customers’ limited attention and translate our results to advisable strategies for information provision and service design. For example, we recommend firms to avoid partial hindrance of queue-length information when a low-demand service is not highly valued by customers. For a popular service that customers value reasonably highly, however, partial hindrance of information is particularly advisable. Academic/practical relevance: We propose a microfounded framework for strategic customer behavior in queues that links beliefs, rewards, and information costs. It offers a holistic perspective on the impact of information prevalence (and information frictions) on operational performance and can be extended to analyze richer customer behavior and complex queue structures, rendering it a valuable tool for service design.

scholarly journals Dynamic vs static maintenance rate policies for multi-state queueing systems

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gang Chen ◽  
Zaiming Liu ◽  
Yuqing Chu
Keyword(s):  
Average Cost ◽  
Queueing Systems ◽  
Single Server ◽  
Threshold Policy ◽  
Maintenance Rate ◽  
Optimal Maintenance ◽  
Dynamic Maintenance ◽  
Optimal Dynamic ◽  
Dynamic Policy ◽  
The Impact

This paper considers a single-server queueing system with server breakdowns. When the server fails, it is sent to repair immediately and its maintenance rate is allowed to be adjustable. The goal is to find the optimal maintenance rates that minimize the long-run average cost of the system. We address the static and dynamic maintenance control problems respectively. For the static control model, we derive the stationary system performances and the explicit solution of the optimal maintenance rate. Then regarding the dynamic maintenance problem, we formulate it as a Markov decision process (MDP) and the optimal dynamic policy is proved to be a threshold policy. Based on the structure of optimal dynamic policy, we construct a performance evaluation for computing efficiently the optimal threshold and average cost. Finally, a comparative study of the dynamic and static policies is presented by numerical experiment which shows the impact of system parameters on the optimal maintenance policies.

scholarly journals A Taylor Series Approach for Service-Coupled Queueing Systems with Intermediate Load

2017 ◽  
Vol 2017 ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ekaterina Evdokimova ◽  
Sabine Wittevrongel ◽  
Dieter Fiems
Keyword(s):  
Performance Measures ◽  
Queueing Systems ◽  
Poisson Processes ◽  
Series Expansions ◽  
Service Rate ◽  
Single Server ◽  
Queueing Model ◽  
State Space Explosion ◽  
Finite Queues ◽  
Service Rates

This paper investigates the performance of a queueing model with multiple finite queues and a single server. Departures from the queues are synchronised or coupled which means that a service completion leads to a departure in every queue and that service is temporarily interrupted whenever any of the queues is empty. We focus on the numerical analysis of this queueing model in a Markovian setting: the arrivals in the different queues constitute Poisson processes and the service times are exponentially distributed. Taking into account the state space explosion problem associated with multidimensional Markov processes, we calculate the terms in the series expansion in the service rate of the stationary distribution of the Markov chain as well as various performance measures when the system is (i) overloaded and (ii) under intermediate load. Our numerical results reveal that, by calculating the series expansions of performance measures around a few service rates, we get accurate estimates of various performance measures once the load is above 40% to 50%.

scholarly journals Artificial intelligence and the future of psychiatry: Qualitative findings from a global physician survey

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. 205520762096835
Author(s):  
C Blease ◽  
C Locher ◽  
M Leon-Carlyle ◽  
M Doraiswamy
Keyword(s):  
Artificial Intelligence ◽  
Machine Learning ◽  
Medical Profession ◽  
Descriptive Analysis ◽  
Psychiatric Practice ◽  
Limited Attention ◽  
Written Responses ◽  
Future Technology ◽  
Qualitative Descriptive ◽  
The Impact

Background The potential for machine learning to disrupt the medical profession is the subject of ongoing debate within biomedical informatics. Objective This study aimed to explore psychiatrists’ opinions about the potential impact innovations in artificial intelligence and machine learning on psychiatric practice Methods In Spring 2019, we conducted a web-based survey of 791 psychiatrists from 22 countries worldwide. The survey measured opinions about the likelihood future technology would fully replace physicians in performing ten key psychiatric tasks. This study involved qualitative descriptive analysis of written responses (“comments”) to three open-ended questions in the survey. Results Comments were classified into four major categories in relation to the impact of future technology on: (1) patient-psychiatrist interactions; (2) the quality of patient medical care; (3) the profession of psychiatry; and (4) health systems. Overwhelmingly, psychiatrists were skeptical that technology could replace human empathy. Many predicted that ‘man and machine’ would increasingly collaborate in undertaking clinical decisions, with mixed opinions about the benefits and harms of such an arrangement. Participants were optimistic that technology might improve efficiencies and access to care, and reduce costs. Ethical and regulatory considerations received limited attention. Conclusions This study presents timely information on psychiatrists’ views about the scope of artificial intelligence and machine learning on psychiatric practice. Psychiatrists expressed divergent views about the value and impact of future technology with worrying omissions about practice guidelines, and ethical and regulatory issues.

scholarly journals Determinants of Social Media Impact in Local Government

2016 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 82-103 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohd Hisham Mohd Sharif ◽  
Indrit Troshani ◽  
Robyn Davidson
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Local Government ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Limited Attention ◽  
Security Risks ◽  
Media Impact ◽  
The Public ◽  
Perceived Security ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Media Data

Limited attention has been directed towards understanding the impact of social media in the public sector, particularly in local government organisations. Although social media offer substantial benefits and opportunities to local government, research into the impact of social media remains scant. To address this gap, the authors draw on the technology, organisation, and environment (TOE) framework and propose a model of the determinants of social media impact in local government. The model is tested with data collected via a survey with 173 Australian local government organisations using social media. Data were analysed using the partial least squares-structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) technique. The results indicate that TOE factors including perceived benefits, perceived security risks, compatibility, and degree of formalisation are important predictors of social media impact in local government.

Impact of values on the learning approaches of Chinese construction students in Hong Kong

2014 ◽  
Vol 21 (5) ◽  
pp. 481-504 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mei-yung Leung ◽  
Chen Dongyu ◽  
Anita M.M. Liu
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Interpersonal Relationships ◽  
Personal Values ◽  
Value Systems ◽  
Limited Attention ◽  
Learning Approaches ◽  
Personal Integrity ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Learning Behaviours ◽  
The Impact

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the influence of personal values on students’ learning behaviours. Hong Kong construction students are often criticized, by both practitioners and educators, as rote learners. To improve students’ learning processes, extensive research on a variety of aspects of construction education has been conducted. However, limited attention has been paid to the influence of personal values on students’ learning behaviours. The impact of personal value factors on the learning approaches of Chinese construction students in Hong Kong is investigated. Design/methodology/approach – A questionnaire survey was conducted to ethically Chinese construction students in four universities in Hong Kong. A total of 820 questionnaires were distributed and 431 valid returns were collected. Findings – The survey identified six influential values (namely, personal integrity, conservatism, determination, discipline, interpersonal relationships, and achievement), and shows that students who emphasize the virtues of personal integrity, determination, and a positive attitude toward achievement are better able to handle their interpersonal relationships, which will eventually lead them to engage in deep learning. Originality/value – Work to develop appropriate value systems is thus recommended in freshmen courses, as is the use of cooperative learning approaches. Such value systems will have a long-term influence on the learning approaches of construction students.

Implications of Price Matching in Supply Chain Negotiation

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Weixin Shang ◽  
Gangshu (George) Cai
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chain ◽  
Social Welfare ◽  
Wholesale Price ◽  
Consumer Welfare ◽  
Problem Definition ◽  
Nash Bargaining ◽  
Price Matching ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Multiple Buyers ◽  
Wholesale Pricing

Problem definition: Few papers have explored the impact of price matching negotiation (PM), in which a channel matches its price with the resulting wholesale price bargained by another channel, on firms’ performances, consumer welfare, and social welfare, with and without supply chain coordination. Academic/practical relevance: Negotiation has been widely seen in determining both uniform and discriminatory wholesale prices, which affect outcomes of competitive supply chain practices. Methodology: To characterize the PM mechanism, we use game theory and Nash bargaining theory to compare PM with simultaneous negotiation (SN) through a common-seller two-buyer differentiated Bertrand competition model. Results: Our analysis reveals that PM can benefit the seller but hurt all buyers, which is at odds with some fair wholesale pricing clauses intending to protect buyers. Under coordination with side payments, however, all firms can conditionally benefit more from PM than from SN. Despite firms’ gains, PM leads to less consumer utility and social welfare compared with SN, unless the second buyer in PM is considerably less powerful than the first buyer. Coordination further worsens PM’s negative impact on consumer utility and social welfare. Moreover, the existence of a spot market can increase the wholesale price in PM, hurting buyers, consumers, and society. Furthermore, the qualitative results about PM remain robust under an alternative disagreement point for PM, multiple buyers, and other extensions. Managerial implications: This paper delivers insights on when price matching in supply chain wholesale price negotiation can benefit a seller, buyers, consumers, and society in a variety of scenarios. It advocates how managers can use PM to their own advantages and provides rationale to decision makers for policy regulations regarding wholesale pricing.

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