ABSTRACT
This article focused on transportation sustainability during the COVID-19 pandemic situation under the Fermatean fuzzy environment. In both developed and developing nations, sustainability has risen to the top of the priority list for transportation policies and planning. We introduce a simplified presentation of the Fermatean fuzzy traveling seller problem solved by using a new computation approach. Several approaches for solving the traveling seller problem using fuzzy parameters have been described in the literature. Even so, all the current strategies use general fuzzy numbers as the parameters for the traveling salesman problems, but his study, focused on the new Fermatean fuzzy number, is more effective for representing real-life incidents. The Fermatean fuzzy scoring functions and numerical conditions in distinct models in the Fermatean fuzzy environment were described to construct the algorithm. New solution methodology developed through scoring functions to find the best solution to fulfill our goal of sustainable transportation for traveling sellers problem. Sustainable cost and the optimal path are obtained by this study.
ABSTRACT
Mobile food order applications have become a phenomenal disruption in the food delivery industry. Customers demand better and more consistent experiences when making most purchases, including in food choices. Food delivery platforms have also been seen as the most convenient feature for customers during the global COVID-19 pandemic. Although food delivery applications have been widely used, there is only a scarce literature that focuses on the factors that optimize user experience and repurchase intention. The current study attempted to explore customer repurchase intention, driven through cognitive and affective experience, towards food delivery applications. In the current study, we conceptualized and empirically confirmed an integrated model of antecedents for cognitive and affective experience and its influence on application satisfaction and repurchase intention. The model also incorporated situational factors (distance to restaurant and availability of time to visit restaurant) as a moderating variable. To test the proposed model, data were collected from 350 regular users of different food delivery applications. Subsequently, the data were analyzed using partial least square-structural equation modeling where the findings substantially supported the significance of cognitive and affective experience on application satisfaction and repurchase intention towards food delivery applications. In addition, the results of multigroup analysis (MGA) also confirmed the positive impact of situational factors as a moderator between application satisfactions and repurchase intention. The findings of the study provide important insights into how food delivery applications can accelerate cognitive and affective experience and use application satisfaction to encourage repeat buying intention. The results also offer guidance in designing and implementing effective approaches and strategies for food delivery retailers.
ABSTRACT
It is crucial for a city to ensure economic stability and growth, along with social security and prosperity, not only for the present, but also for future generations. Increasingly, researchers are highlighting the need to apply sustainable urban growth principles to the field of urban development, arguing that this would reduce the negative impacts of urbanization processes (poverty, air pollution, unemployment, and crime). At the same time, cities are competing with one another to maintain their position in the urban hierarchy, not only in the short term, but also in the long term. The COVID-19 pandemic affected many areas of our everyday life: over 5.85 million deaths, increased unemployment, the introduction of restrictions, the closure of national borders, and various other circumstances have all undoubtedly affected to a certain degree those factors which serve to influence competitiveness. The aim of this article is to conduct an integrated competitiveness assessment of the Baltic capitals within the context of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic for the period 2015–2020, according to an integrated assessment model for urban competitiveness (MDK), which is based upon the principles of sustainable development. A systematic and comparative analysis of the concepts published in the scientific literature has been performed, the concepts of sustainable city and sustainable urban competitiveness have been formed, research and methods of urban competitiveness evaluation have been carried out, and a comprehensive competitiveness assessment of the results of the study showed that the evaluation of integrated competitiveness of a sustainable city in the context of the impact of COVID-19 (using the Baltic capitals as an example in the period 2015–2020), in terms of the multi-criteria SAW and TOPSIS evaluation methods, is in the highest position in 2016–2019. Vilnius is in second place during the whole period 2016–2019. Riga takes third place in 2015–2019 (except in 2020, when it exchanges places with Vilnius and takes second place). Meanwhile, the results of the COPRAS multicriteria method differ from those discussed above. In 2016, 2019, and 2020, Tallinn is in the highest position, and in 2015, 2017, and 2018, it is surpassed by Vilnius. Riga remained in third place from 2015 to 2019. In 2020, Vilnius took over this position.
ABSTRACT
This publication analyzes the situation of businesses in the context of global pandemics. Business is an integral part of everyday life, facing risks and challenges daily, and in rare cases, such as pandemics and quarantine. Therefore, it is necessary for companies to have a contingency plan in place to deal with unexpected or expected challenges, i.e. what activities it would be possible to reorient to, how to perform activities by working remotely etc. Both the public sector and the private sector are closely interlinked. And every new environmental factor, be it state regulation, technological development, or the changing needs of humanity, and in this case, pandemic and quarantine, affects business in one way or another and leads to the success of some, the failure of others. At present, the coronavirus Covid-19, which is spreading all over the world, and the quarantine introduced in many countries are of great importance to business. This paper also presents a small-scale qualitative research data showing the impact on different types of businesses in Lithuania. The main scope of this paper is measuring the level of impact of the pandemic COVID-19 for businesses in Lithuania. Methods were used as follows: i) analysis, comparison and interpretation of scientific literature and documents;ii) qualitative approach applying structured interview with selected leaders/managers of the companies in Lithuania.
ABSTRACT
This study investigates a complex system that describes a non-trivial epidemiological model with integrated internal conflict (interregional migration) on the example of cyclic migration using the software. JetBrains PyCharm Community Edition 2020.3.3, a free and open-source integrated development environment (IDE) in the Python programming language, was chosen as the software development tool. The Matplotlib 3.5 library was used to display the modelling results graphically. The integration of internal conflict into the model revealed significant and notable changes in its behavior. This study’s results prove that not only the characteristics of the interaction factors but also the size of the values determine the direction of migration concerning relation to competitors.
ABSTRACT
These are unprecedented times while the world weathers the highly infectious respiratory pandemic caused by coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19). Humanity has experienced other cataclysmic events, but something as novel as this pandemic cannot be easily described. A safe COVID-19 vaccine is often hailed as the only effective public health method to prevent the further spread of this virus. New vaccines' cost has increased even as policymakers struggle with limited resources and budget constraints. Thus, more decision-support tools are needed to facilitate the selection of vaccine manufacturers as part of a global immunization strategy against COVID-19 or other epidemics and pandemics. This study sought to address this issue by combining three well-established operational research methods (i.e., cognitive mapping, decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory, and the Choquet integral). Based on the insights provided by a panel of experts on vaccination and infectious diseases, a vaccine manufacturer selection mechanism was developed that incorporates the World Health Organization's guidelines. This approach facilitated the identification of multiple selection criteria regarding vaccine manufacturers, their allocation into six major clusters (i.e., soundness of scientific approach and technology used; speed of delivery; cost; liability and risk sharing; ability to supply sufficient quantities through production capacity development; and global solidarity), and subsequent analysis of the respective cause-and-effect relationships. The results of a real-life application of the proposed selection system were further consolidated by a member of Saint Francisco Xavier Hospital Infectious Diseases Unit in Lisbon, Portugal. The mechanism's advantages and limitations are also discussed.
ABSTRACT
Robots have started to be used in the service sector as well as in the manufacturing industry. The use of service robots in airport services, tourism, and hospital services also brings many advantages. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, reducing physical contact and providing hygiene are essential benefits of service robots. For this purpose, the effect of COVID-19 fear on perceived trust in service robots and the intention to use them at airports was investigated in this study. For analysis, data were collected from 730 participants from 64 different countries, by questionnaire. The data were analyzed with the SPSS and AMOS package programs. As a result of the structural equation model analysis, it was determined that COVID-19 fear affects perceived trust in service robots and the intention to use them positively, and perceived trust also affects the intention to use service robots positively. In addition, as a result of the Process Macro analysis, it was found that perceived trust has a high mediating effect on the effect of COVID-19 fear on the intention to use. The research results show that people’s attitudes towards COVID-19 shape the perception of robot usage in air transport services.