«The Tsar, My Lord, Have Mercy on Me». The Problems in the Recruitment of Service Men «According to the Instrument» to Yelets Fortress at the End of the XVI Century

The article is devoted to the history related to the formation of service groups in a southern outpost of the Moscow state at the end of the 16th century. It was Yelets fortress which for many years became a barrier on the road of the detachments of Cherkasy and Crimean Tatars; it ensured the coordinated work of the stanitsa and guard services. The problematic of the article reveals issues related to the formation of a combat-capable military garrison from the inhabitants of the region as well as to determining the reasons why service maen left the fortress and their service. The surviving materials of numerous cases make it possible to trace the behavior of Yelets citizens included in the life of the fortress and their involvement in solving not only military, but also economic issues related to the construction of fortifications and land development. The analysis of the documents allows us to determine how difficult and dangerous the service and life of a medieval man was, every day they faced with harsh environmental conditions, as well as the threat of being killed or captured. In addition, one can trace the features of the behavioral model characterizing Yelets service people. The models are clearly reflected in correspondence with the Ambassadorial Order. In general, the article сovers the issue how the formation of local society happened if we consider the characteristics of the region and the population’s perception of their duties to the tsar and the central government as a whole.

Coping with COVID 19: Health Risk Communication and Vulnerable Groups

ABSTRACT Objectives: This study sought to identify COVID 19 risk communication materials distributed in Jamaica to mitigate the effects of the disease outbreak. It also sought to explore the effects of health risk communication on vulnerable groups in the context of the pandemic. Methods: A qualitative study was conducted including a content analysis of health risk communications and in-depth interviews with 35 purposively selected elderly, physically disabled, persons with mental health disorders, representatives of government agencies, advocacy and service groups, and caregivers of the vulnerable. Axial coding was applied to data from the interviews and all data were analyzed using the constant comparison technique. Results: Twelve of the 141 COVID 19 risk communication messages directly targeted the vulnerable. All participants were aware of the relevant risk communication and largely complied. Barriers to messaging awareness and compliance included inappropriate message medium for the deaf and blind, rural location, lack of Internet service or digital devices, limited technology skills, and limited connection to agencies that serve the vulnerable. Conclusion: The vulnerable are at increased risk in times of crisis. Accessibility of targeted information was inadequate for universal access to health information and support for vulnerable persons regardless of location and vulnerability.

Understanding Customer Retrials in Call Centers: Preferences for Service Quality and Service Speed

Problem definition: Customers are likely to initiate retrial calls when their previous contact with a call center fails to deliver a satisfactory resolution. According to industry reports, retrials are listed as a top annoying issue for customers and hurt call centers’ profits. Though recognizing this problem, call centers find it challenging to reduce retrials without overshooting their operating expenses. Our research aims to empirically understand the mechanism of customer retrials and then provide economically feasible solutions to reduce retrials. Academic/practical relevance: Little empirical research has been done to understand customers’ strategic retrials, and theoretical research studies retrials by assuming the degree to which pickup speed and service quality impact retrials. Our research empirically investigates the mechanism of customer retrials by studying whether speed and quality truly matter and, if so, how strong the impact is from each of them and whether the impacts are different across various customer segments. The quantified mechanism can then guide service providers to reduce retrials cost-effectively. Methodology: We use a random-coefficient dynamic structural model to characterize customer decisions in pursuing a satisfactory resolution and estimate the parameters from call-by-call records of a uniquely designed call center. Our model tracks customer decisions in the online waiting stage, in which customers are waiting for an agent but weighing whether to abandon, and in the off-line waiting stage, in which customers are not directly connected but are actively debating whether to retry. Utilizing the hybrid system that sequentially places customers into queues for three distinct quality service groups, we disentangle the effects of pickup speed and service quality on customers’ abandonment and retrial decisions. Results: Our estimations confirm that high service quality and quick pickup speed reduce retrials. Moreover, we discover that private customers are more sensitive to quality but less sensitive to speed compared with business customers. We suggest two service designs to reduce retrials cost-effectively by tailoring services to customer preferences. One reallocates the service groups for different customer segments without expanding the system, and the other adjusts the staffing ratios by hiring low-cost, ordinary-quality agents. Under the two tailoring designs, business customer surplus increases by up to 14.4% and private customer surplus by up to 14.9%. Managerial implications: First, our research highlights the importance of recognizing customers’ off-line decisions, which are impacted by online service offerings and, in turn, affect future online service operations. Neglecting customer retrials leads to suboptimal service designs. Second, by understanding the mechanism of customer retrials empirically, our research guides call centers to reduce retrials cost-effectively with speed–quality balance. Third, our research develops a practical analysis framework for service providers to quantify customer preferences and design tailoring services.

Evaluation of Outsourcing Development in the Service Sector

The global pandemic has affected all sectors and disrupted not only supply chains but also had a particular impact on the range of services provided and the whole service sector. Outsourcing is used to adapt to business environment changes. However, in the scholarly literature, outsourcing of services is analysed as a complementary part of the manufacturing process—there is a lack of research on outsourcing in service companies. This article analyses the enablers of outsourcing in all service groups. The aim of the semi-structured interview was to determine not only the enablers, their significance in each WTO (World Trade Organisation) group of services but also the use of outsourcing in the provision of core and non-core services. The results of the empirical study revealed that outsourcing is increasingly used in the service sector; however, enablers vary depending on the provision of services, the nature of the service company’s activities, and the needs they meet, public or for-profit.

Criteria for evaluating the quality of architecture buildings of elite residential complexes

This article deals with the problem of the lack of accurate criteria for evaluating luxury housing today. The existing criteria of elite housing are given, urban planning, space planning, and service groups are identified. Examples of houses of this type from foreign design experience, including in London and Paris, are considered.

The Pedagogical Beliefs of Pre-Service and In-Service Teachers

The Teacher Self Inventory is an instrument for measuring aspects of teachers' beliefs and self-perceptions. Using this instrument, the perceptions and beliefs of elementary classroom teachers and pre-service (undergraduate) teachers were assessed. In addition, semi-structured interviews were conducted with volunteers from both the in-service and pre-service groups. The main goal of this mixed-methods study was to explore various dimensions of teachers' beliefs and also to compare practicing (in-service) elementary classroom teachers' responses and reflections to those of pre-service teachers. The results indicate several trends in teacher beliefs and several points of comparison between in-service teachers and pre-service teachers. A discussion concludes with implications for teaching and suggestions for further research.

Research on Equalization of Public Transportation Services Based on Perspective of Groups – A Case Study of Beijing

In this paper, by quantifying the value of public transportation travel benefits of ordinary travel groups, economically disadvantaged groups, and physiologically disadvantaged groups, this paper establishes a public transportation travel benefit evaluation index system, uses a questionnaire survey method to collect index data within Beijing, and establishes a TOPSIS model. Based on the travel benefit values of the three groups, the benefit compensation for disadvantaged traffic groups is considered, benefit compensation factors are introduced, the degree of equalization is evaluated based on the Wilson entropy model, and the level of equalization among public transportation service groups in Beijing is empirically studied to find out an important indicator that restricts the level of equalization.

Decision Support System of Student Study Service Program Group Distribution Applying Process Hierarchy Analitic Method: A Case Study Lppm of Musamus University

Student study service is a community service, education and research activity that is carried out in an interdisciplinary and intra-curricular by dividing students into each group in certain location. Its group and location were determined by applications that produce alternative choices in making decisions on the distribution of student study service groups evenly through certain methods and criteria. The research applied the analytic hierarchy process method, where problems were simplified in a hierarchy including 3 components, such as goals, assessment criteria and alternative choices. The criteria were gender, department, and location potential. Applications of system builder were Visual Basic .NET, SQL Server and Crystal Report. The results were to facilitate distribution according to the criteria balanced and time of student study service efficiently. By the application, it assisted administration staff to determine student study service distribution and was able to be developed into various features and criteria.