Allocation of COVID-19 vaccination: when public prioritisation preferences differ from official regulations

As vaccines against COVID-19 are scarce, many countries have developed vaccination prioritisation strategies focusing on ethical and epidemiological considerations. However, public acceptance of such strategies should be monitored to ensure successful implementation. In an experiment with N=1379 German participants, we investigated whether the public’s vaccination allocation preferences matched the prioritisation strategy approved by the German government. Results revealed different allocations. While the government had top-prioritised vulnerable people (being of high age or accommodated in nursing homes for the elderly), participants preferred exclusive allocation of the first available vaccines to medical staff and personnel caring for the elderly. Interestingly, allocation preferences did not change when participants were told how many individuals were included in each group. As differences between allocation policies and public preferences can affect trust in the government and threaten the social contract between generations, we discuss possible strategies to align vaccination prioritisations.

Allocation of COVID-19 vaccination: When public prioritization preferences differ from official regulations

As vaccines against COVID-19 are scarce, many countries have developed vaccination prioritization strategies focusing on ethical and epidemiological considerations. However, public acceptance of such strategies should be monitored to ensure successful implementation. In an experiment with N = 1,379 German participants, we investigated whether the public’s vaccination allocation preferences matched the prioritization strategy approved by the German government. Results revealed different allocations. While the government had top-prioritized vulnerable people (being of high age or accommodated in nursing homes for the elderly), participants deprioritized these groups and preferred exclusive allocation of the first available vaccines to medical staff and personnel caring for the elderly. Interestingly, allocation preferences did not change when participants were told how many individuals were included in each group. As differences between allocation policies and public preferences can affect trust in the government and threaten the social contract between generations, we discuss possible strategies to align vaccination prioritizations.

Modelling capability-based risk allocation in PPPs using fuzzy integral approach

Appropriate risk allocation and sharing are significant critical success factors for public-private partnership projects, but evidence suggests that poor risk allocation practices prevail. This signifies the need to develop a robust model for assisting stakeholders in risk allocation decision-making. A non-additive fuzzy integral based multiple attribute risk allocation decision approach is proposed to effectively aggregate each stakeholder’s risk management capability assessment on accepted risk allocation principles that are derived from qualitative judgements and experience based knowledge of experts. Data collected from privately financed and developed power and transport infrastructure projects in Pakistan are used to demonstrate and validate the model for key risk factors that exhibit variable risk allocation preferences. Comparison of results with an additive aggregation approach confirms suitability of the adopted methodology as it performs better when modelling risk allocation preferences of experts due to its ability to handle interdependencies in the risk allocation criteria. Apparently, the allocation and sharing of key risks is significantly influenced by market, sector and project contexts.

Efficient container stacking approach to improve handling: efficiency in Chinese rail–truck transshipment terminals

An efficient container stacking approach is vital to the handling efficiency of container transshipment terminals. In this paper, by considering container allocation preferences and operation distance, the container stacking problem in rail–truck transshipment terminals has been formulated as a multi-objective optimization model to minimize container overlapping amounts and crane moving distance. A simulation-based algorithm implementing process has been developed to stack containers to the optimum positions. Computational experiments on data from a rail–truck transshipment terminal in China are conducted to test the efficiency of the proposed approach. Experimental results demonstrate that the container stacking approach is efficient and significant for improving handling efficiency in rail–truck transshipment terminals.

Infrastructure Public Private Partnership Implementation and Risk Management – Lessons from Albanian Approach

<p>Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) are being frequently used today to offer large infrastructure projects in the Western Balkan. In a small country like Albania, today there are more than 170 infrastructure PPPs, counted mainly in hydropower and road sector. Their application aims to provide funds to reduce the existing gap between the available budget and public expenses, expand investments in infrastructure as a major drive of economic development, improve the quality of services and the efficiency of project delivery, optimize resource utilization, commercial valuation of public assets and achieve optimal risk allocation.</p><p>The purpose of this paper is to study and review the application of PPPs for large infrastructure projects, highlighting lessons learnt from Albanian approach. The focus will be on implementation framework and risk management. The study uses a combined approach: questionnaire survey- targeting the applied PPPs in Albania- to identify the main risks encountered and their allocation preferences, and case study approach to investigate the phenomena within its real-life context. Three case studies are chosen: Mother Teresa Airport Terminal, as a representative of infrastructure project, in its operation phase; ASHTA HPP, as representative of a PPP in hydro energy, in its operation phase; Devolli HPP, as a hydropower concession, in its construction phase. Observations and documentation review-aimed to identify the phases and procedures, and semi structure interviews- aimed to identify the main risks, their allocation and treatment, are used.</p><p>The findings of the study are organized in three parts: First, the qualitative study identified the mostly used PPPs, their main risks and allocation preferences. Secondly, the case study review and third, lessons learned for future applications, such as the need for lifecycle value for money analysis on procurement methods, unsolicited proposals implications, lack of negotiation phase contractual cost implication, lack of social assessment requirement.</p>