Proper planning and execution of mass vaccination at the onset of a pandemic outbreak is important for local health departments. Mass vaccination clinics are required to be setup and run for naturally occurring pandemic outbreaks or even in response to terrorist attacks, e.g., anthrax attack. Walk-in clinics have often been used to administer vaccines. When a large percentage of a population must be vaccinated to mitigate the ill-effects of an attack or pandemic, drive-through clinics appear to be more effective because a much higher throughput can be achieved when compared to walk-in clinics. There are other benefits as well. For example, the spread of the disease can be minimized because infected patients are not exposed to uninfected patients. This research extends the simulation modeling work that was done for a mass vaccination drive-through clinic in the city of Louisville in November 2009. This clinic is the largest clinic set up in Louisville with more than 19,000 patients served, over two-thirds via ten drive-through lanes. The intent of the model in this paper is to illustrate a general tool that can be customized for a community of any size. The simulation-optimization tool will allow decision makers to investigate several interacting control variables in a simultaneous fashion; any of several criterion models in which various performance measures are either optimized or constrained, can be investigated. The model helps the decision maker determine the required number of Points of Dispense (POD) lanes, number and length of the lanes for consent hand outs and fill in, staff needed at the consent handout stations and PODs, and average user waiting time in the system.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to develop a model to understand and facilitate more knowledge sharing (KS) among construction companies in Jordan. Sixteen cultural variables that affect KS were identified through self-administered questionnaires. Design/methodology/approach – Factor analysis was used to find possible relationships between the cultural variables for grouping purposes and to eliminate the cultural variables that do not affect KS. The results of factor analysis were further refined using a brainstorming session and Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) was used to prioritise the factors obtained through the factor analysis. Findings – Trust, management and communication were identified as the three most important factors, whilst communication was acknowledged as the least important factor. Originality/value – This research uses factor analysis and AHP to study the influence of cultural factors on KS. It develops a hierarchy of factors that affect effective KS within the Jordanian context. The paper investigated KS in-depth and highlighted the components that constitute KS in an organisation. Based on extensive literature review, this study found the relative importance of different factors that affect KS. The emphasis on trust was found to be more critical than the presence of a computer-based system. In addition, this is the first paper of this type to look at KS in the context of the Jordanian construction industry.

Customer satisfaction is given top priority by all service-oriented industries. The civil aviation industry is no exception. The highly competitive global aviation arena causes various airlines to vie for the top position with lot of importance being given to the customer service. The aim of this study is to analyze the methods and tools used by the United Arab Emirates' (UAE's) federal government and the various local governments in the country to improve the customer satisfaction with regard to the aviation industry in the country. This paper develops a framework to assess customer service in the aviation sector in the UAE and uses the framework to analyze and compare the three main airports in the UAE based on the feedback of passengers. This study used a multi-pronged approach to collect data. In all, 78 travelers were chosen at random and they were administered a structured and a semi-structured questionnaire. Responses to the former were used to perform Chi-square test and establish the differences between the three airports; the latter were used to gain deeper insight and gauge a more in-depth opinion of the respondents. Through the analysis of the data, this study was able to learn more about the public view with regard to the innovations and ideas implemented by the government of the UAE. A new customer service model has been developed to compare the three airports in UAE and gain more insights into opportunities for improvement.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present a maturity model developed to assess knowledge sharing (KS) for the Jordanian construction sector. Design/methodology/approach The research was conducted in three stages. The first stage consisted of the review of literature and documenting variables from the literature that highlight influence on KS in organizations. The second stage was designed for maturity model development by identifying the cultural factors that affect KS in the Jordanian construction sector through questionnaires and interviews. Factor analysis was used to find possible relationships between the cultural variables followed by semi-structured interviews. In the third stage the initial maturity model was refined through another set of semi-structured interviews. Findings The model presented in the paper includes three levels of maturity. The first level identifies whether the variable barely exists in company’s KS practices. The second level shows the occasional techniques which the company uses to increase KS activities. The final level demonstrates the importance of the variable in affecting KS as being fundamentally ingrained in the company’s vision, mission, strategy and operations. Originality/value The research has developed a model that can be used to measure the KS in an organization. Although the model has been applied to the construction industry, it can easily be modified to fit in the other sectors.

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