The fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and fuzzy Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) are extremely beneficial when a decision-making process is complex. The reason is that AHP and TOPSIS can prioritize multiple-choice criteria into a hierarchy by assessing the relative importance of criteria and can thus generate an overall ranking of the alternatives. This study uses fuzzy AHP and fuzzy TOPSIS to evaluate the human resource in science and technology (HRST) performance of Southeast Asian countries. The fuzzy TOPSIS analysis indicates that Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan have similarities in their desired levels of HRST performance. That is, these three countries have better HRST performances than other Southeast Asian countries.

Patients with multiple diseases requiring several medications often face the risk of drug–drug interactions (DDIs). Such patients need more care and services from clinical pharmacists. Given the importance of this issue in clinical medicine, the present study aims to investigate how DDIs and time availability affect patient trust in clinical pharmacists and how patient trust influences patient satisfaction and cooperation between patients and clinical pharmacists. Sample data of 741 patients in central Taiwan hospitals were analyzed, and the results of structural equation modeling showed that DDIs and time availability positively affect patient trust, which, in turn, positively influenced patient satisfaction and cooperation between patients and clinical pharmacists. Overall, the results indicated that patient satisfaction is an important predictor of cooperation between patients and clinical pharmacists.

In a low-profit environment, numerous firms no longer use traditional hiring practices and are forced to use a temporary workforce; these practices result in a more flexible workforce. Although outsourcing provides several benefits, it has a high level of risk. Therefore, implementing an enterprise risk management programme is crucial for using temporary labour. This study investigated the condition under which the multiperiod contract of a temporary work agency prohibits labour shortages. This investigation was performed to improve the effectiveness of dispatch contract designs. This study incorporated the concepts of labour demand forecasting and risk sharing and proposes two types of quantity flexibility contracts, period quantity adjustment and total quantity adjustment, to develop an optimal manpower dispatch contract model. An optimal manpower dispatch contract model must coordinate the interests of a temporary work agency and user firms to increase profits for both firms and must be flexible enough to allow for numerous order adjustments. To achieve this objective, this study used sensitivity analysis and an experimental design methodology to analyse the benefits of period quantity adjustment and total quantity adjustment and, accordingly, determine the factors that influence the total expected profit.

According to the United Nations, males and females should be given equal treatment in physical and psychological services, and healthcare institutions should exert greater efforts to reduce the gap in gender equality. However, this issue has been largely ignored in previous literature on healthcare environments. Designing a hospital environment that focuses on gender differences is critical to academic researchers and practical managers in all healthcare institutions. Thus, as an exploratory effort, this study aims to develop a measurement to assess customer perceptions of gender-friendly hospital environments. To identify and refine the structure of the instrument, two studies are conducted at different hospitals in Taiwan. The exploratory evidence shows there are five factors (i.e., physical design, functional design, marking design, gender perception, and gender-friendly services) and 28 items in the measurement scale of gender-friendly hospital environments. Results also show that gender-friendly hospital environments affect customers’ loyalty and willingness to pay. Based on our findings, hospital practitioners and researchers can adopt the measurement instrument used in this study to deal with the gap of gender equality in healthcare environments.