The purpose of study was to examine the relative importance of servicescape, identify the optimal combination, and predict the market share in fitness centers. We conducted a conjoint analysis on users of fitness centers located in Seoul. As a primary result, it was found that the spatial layout, particularly \'sufficient exercise space\', was considered most important. Secondly, cleanliness, specifically \'well-maintained fitness equipment\', was deemed important following spatial layout. Next, users emphasized the importance of ambient conditions, especially \'well-managed heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning\'. However, aesthetics, specifically \'Attractive interior design\', was not considered as significant compared to other attributes. The optimal combination of servicescape was identified to be \'sufficient exercise space, well-maintained fitness equipment, and an attractive interior design within a well-managed heating, ventilation, and air conditioning\'. Finally, the combination of \'sufficient exercise space, attractive interior design, well-managed heating, ventilation and air-conditioning, and well-maintained fitness equipment\' was associated with the highest market share. From an academic perspective, this study holds significance in reaffirming the meaning and impact of servicescape on consumers. Additionally, it provides practical implications that assist in determining the direction for sustainable facility improvement and management of the fitness center.

This study investigates how physical and psychological distance from one\'s surroundings may influence one\'s perception of connectedness with the servicescape and, ultimately, perception of value. It also examines the effect of consumers\' techno-psychological differences and interaction modes on this distance-closeness relationship. The researchers develop and test a conceptual framework of how personal cognitive traits and technological intervention may alter consumers\' perceived connectedness to the servicescape and influence their perceived value in different service settings. Via a quasi-experiment design in three service scenarios, this research shows a synthetical effect of contactless technology in the distancing setting that may work more effectively on high self-efficiency customers to change their perceived closeness to the servicescape and further change their evaluation of the service. The findings reveal the practical implications of social distancing for different types of consumers in service encounters during or after the COVID-19 pandemic.

This study develops a conceptual framework that encompasses servicescapes and customer perceptions and behaviors, and conducts an empirical investigation of healthcare service facilities. Structural equation modeling is performed using a sample of 271 patients who received treatment within one year at hospitals and clinics located in the metropolitan area of Seoul, South Korea. The results of the empirical analysis show that service quality improvements and patient revisits to healthcare facilities can be induced through servicescape improvements and interaction quality. These results make theoretical contributions to the service management literature and have practical implications for the operations of healthcare facilities.

As COVID-19 spread throughout the world, the hospitality and tourism sectors were hard hit as no other industry. For this reason, the UNWTO developed the One Planet Vision as a response to a sustainable recovery of the tourism sector. At present, when people are starting to travel and stay at hotels again, it is important to analyze what their expectations are of hotels to move forward in the post-pandemic era. For instance, empirical research has been developed to examine people\'s sentiments toward servicescapes, and a comparative study is presented between 2020 and 2022. Findings contribute to the research by identifying new servicescape attributes during a health crisis. These also lead to practical implications by proposing a scale to evaluate customers\' perceptions and to increase their wellbeing and resilience. The current research is one of the first studies to collaborate with the One Planet Vision by empirically proposing improvements in the servicescapes of hotels for a responsible recovery.

UNASSIGNED: This article provides a conceptualization and an index of the multidimensional concept of maternity healthscapes (MHS).
UNASSIGNED: Healthscape has emerged as a potential key aspect to improve patient experience. Surprisingly, there has been little effort to delineate the concept of MHS from a design perspective, while maternity wards have unique characteristics and particular challenges. Indeed, patients in maternity wards are usually not acutely ill but can feel highly vulnerable due to the pain, stress, and the many uncertainties surrounding labor and delivery-which can heighten patients\' need for intimacy, supporter comfort, and additional supporting services. Thus, healthscapes need to be designed to account for the specificities of childbearing and needs of those patients and their family.
UNASSIGNED: A multidisciplinary literature review and 39 in-depth interviews were conducted with various stakeholders-mothers, midwives, heads of midwives, and chief executives.
UNASSIGNED: The authors develop a conceptualization to establish a comprehensive understanding of the dimensionality of MHSs. Based on that comprehensive conceptualization, the authors develop an index providing a census of the aspects in the MHS that various stakeholders-such as healthcare providers, designers, and architects-should take into account when conceiving MHS.
UNASSIGNED: Healthcare providers, designers, and architects can use this conceptualization and index to closely monitor and measure for evaluations and further improvements of the MHS, thereby enhancing patient experience in maternity wards.

As restaurants are resuming normal operations, COVID-19 mitigation strategies are still in place. An effective COVID-19 mitigation protocol may facilitate a more successful rebound since consumers may perceive a lowered risk to purchase food from the restaurant with protocols in place. However, little is known regarding how consumers evaluate restaurants\' present efforts to contain the transmission of COVID-19. By using a rigorous scale development procedure, this study creates a scale to measure restaurant consumers\' perceptions of COVID-19 mitigation strategies (acronym: PHASE): Protective equipment/technology (P); Health and hygiene (H); Access of purchase/serving (A); Safety measure for customers (S); and Employee safety measure (E). The study further identifies the areas that need to be improved by using importance-performance analysis. Findings of this study provide guidelines for restaurant professionals to potentially reallocate their existing resources to refine their COVID-19 mitigation strategies and to better prepare for the future.

BACKGROUND: Shortage of physicians in the UK has been a long-standing issue. Graduate entry medicine (GEM) may offer a second point of entry for potential doctors. However, the challenges of developing and implementing these programmes are still unrecognised. This small-scale study aimed to briefly explore the opportunities and challenges facing students at two UK GEM programmes.
METHODS: Two case studies were conducted at Imperial College and Scotland\'s GEM (ScotGEM) and used a triangulated qualitative approach via semi-structured and elite interviews. Data analysis, informed by grounded theory, applied thematic and force-field analysis in an empirical approach to generate evidence and instrumental interpretations for Higher Education Institutions.
RESULTS: Although GEM forms an opportunity for graduates to enter medicine, the different drivers of each programme were key in determining entry requirements and challenges experienced by postgraduates. Three key dilemmas seem to influence the experiences of learners in GEM programmes: (a) postgraduate identity and the everchanging sense-of-self; (b)self-directed and self-regulated learning skills, and (c) servicescape, management and marketing concepts.
CONCLUSIONS: Graduate entry programmes may support policy makers and faculty to fill the workforce gap of healthcare professionals. However, their successful implementation requires careful considerations to the needs of graduates to harness their creativity, resilience and professional development as future healthcare workers.

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic restaurant operators had to close their dining rooms for dine-in service for a number of weeks; however, once they were allowed to re-open concern still existed over safety and socially distancing many operators had to get creative in ensuring guest and worker safety. The current study sought to assess consumer perceptions and preferences regarding different types of dining room setups that were implemented by restaurants around the U.S. during the re-opening phase to ensure proper social distancing amongst guests. A quasi-experimental design was implemented where respondents were shown images of two different dining-room setups and provided responses to questions based on their perceptions and preferences for these socially distant servicescapes. Overall, respondents indicated that partitions between tables were preferred to mannequins being placed at tables. Academic and practical implications are discussed.

The fitness sector has always been linked to the analysis of the loyalty of its consumers. Different studies have shown the importance of sports service and human resources for greater customer loyalty. However, few works have studied how the physical environment or servicescape influences the behavior of consumers in fitness centers based on gender and age. Therefore, the objective of the study was to analyze the relationship between servicescape and the loyalty of fitness center consumers, analyzing through the Importance-Performance Matrix Analysis (IPMA) what the aspects to improve according to gender and age are. The sample was 10,368 fitness center customers (5864 women and 4504 men). After the IPMA, it was concluded that the main improvement margins in general in fitness centers were the equipment and the facility condition, and the facility layout. In turn, in relation to gender and age, the aspects with room for improvement were to a greater extent for equipment and facility condition in women over 21 years of age, and in facility layout for women between 21 and 40 years old and 51-60 years old. Regarding men, the aspects with the highest performance margins were the equipment and facility condition in all the age groups, the facility layout in men up to 50 years old, and the signage in men up to 40 years old and from 51 to 60 years old.

This paper argues that the concept of affordance, which captures the relations between one\'s abilities and the properties of one\'s environment, can help in aligning the elements of a tourism service with intended service experiences. We start with a general review of its conceptual basis in ecological psychology and design research, and then elaborate on the concept\'s potential applications in the context of tourism service design. The application of an affordance-centred framework is illustrated through a case study which examined a group of tourists with and without visual impairment on a holiday to an international destination. Finally, we offer four propositions to guide the use of the affordance concept in tourism service design.