The impact of service delivery system effectiveness on service quality: A hierarchical approach

Copyright © 2015 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd. This article focuses on the effectiveness of the service delivery system (SDS) and re-examines its influence on customers' perceived service quality. In this study, the influence of four specific indicators of the SDS' effectiveness (namely front line employees' role performance, their adaptability to individual customer needs, the effectiveness of their coordination and the effectiveness of the service process' control) on perceived service quality is tested. In doing so, a hierarchical approach integrating both managers' and customers' views have been taken. The results confirm the positive influence of three variables on perceived service quality (role performance, effectiveness of coordination and effectiveness of process' control). On the contrary, the influence of employees' adaptability was not found significant

Experimental study of the surface marine atmospheric boundary layer over Aegean Greece

Micrometeorological measurements within the surface Marine Atmospheric Boundary Layer (MABL) took place at the shoreline of island of Karpathos, at the South East end of the Aegean Sea (Karpathio Pelagos), during summer 2012. Α meteorological mast was installed at a distance less than 30m from the shoreline, instrumented with a sonic anemometer and a fast krypton hygrometer at 14.5m height with a sampling frequency of 10Hz, in order to measure the turbulent transport of mass and energy of the surface MABL. At the same mast slow response sensors (1Hz) were also installed providing vertical profiles of wind speed and direction, temperature and humidity at three levels (3, 8 and 12 m). Satellite sea surface temperature images were also obtained. The spacial and temporal scales of the Aegean Pelagos have not been studied in the past while it is expected to present differences compared with those measured over oceans or open seas. It is worth to mention that this study is a follow-up of a previous study which took place during summer 2011 at Skyros island, northern Aegean provided similar measurements but with different fetch. During Karpathos campaign, more than of 120 hours stationary surface MABL observations of near neutral wind flows were recorded. The vertical profiles of temperature reveal the presence of a coastal internal boundary layer, mostly below 8m height. Eddy correlation analysis is used to study the turbulent fluxes of mass and energy. According to first results on the stable MABL, momentum fluxes depend on stability and give increasing values with the wind speed. The estimated values are higher, almost by a factor of two, compared to typical values measured over the ocean. These increased values could be attributed to a developed sea state since wind stress is greater over young and developing wave fields. Sensible heat flux is found to be increased with stability and rather independent from wind speed while moisture flux seems to not be dependent neither to stability or wind speed. Some part of the records present upward heat fluxes under near neutral conditions and mostly for positive sea-air temperature differences, possibly associated with sea spray or mesoscale heterogeneity of the sea surface temperature. Ongoing investigation of the turbulent exchanges is expected to provide a more thorough insight on the coupling processes between the surface MABL and Aegean sea

Flux measurements in the surface marine Atmospheric Boundary Layer over the Aegean Sea, Greece

Micro-meteorological measurements within the surface Marine Atmospheric Boundary Layer took place at the shoreline of two islands at northern and south-eastern Aegean Sea of Greece. The primary goal of these experimental campaigns was to study the momentum, heat and humidity fluxes over this part of the north-eastern Mediterranean Sea, characterized by limited spatial and temporal scales which could affect these exchanges at the air–sea interface. The great majority of the obtained records from both sites gave higher values up to factor of two, compared with the estimations from the most widely used parametric formulas that came mostly from measurements over open seas and oceans. Friction velocity values from both campaigns varied within the same range and presented strong correlation with the wind speed at 10 m height while the calculated drag coefficient values at the same height for both sites were found to be constant in relation with the wind speed. Using eddy correlation analysis, the heat flux values were calculated (virtual heat fluxes varied from −60 to 40 W/m2) and it was found that they are affected by the limited spatial and temporal scales of the responding air–sea interactionmechanism. Similarly, the humidity fluxes appeared to be strongly influenced by the observed intense spatial heterogeneity of the sea surface temperature

Experimental study of the turbulent structure of the surface marine Atmospheric Boundary Layer over the Aegean Pelagos under etesian winds

In order to study the physical processes of the turbulent transportation of mass and energy within the surface Marine Atmospheric Boundary Layer over the Aegean Pelagos, field measurements were conducted on the island of Skyros, mainly under the etesian winds, during summer 2011. Α meteorological mast was installed close to the shoreline, instrumented with fast anemometer (sonic) and hydrometer measuring the three components of the wind, the virtual temperature and water vapor at 10m height with a sampling frequency of 20Hz. At the same mast slow response sensors were measuring wind speed and direction, temperature and humidity at three levels (2, 6 and 10 m). Weak stable to near neutral flows were recorded during the experimental period. The eddy correlation analysis re-vealed the momentum and heat fluxes values which are presented and discussed. The estimated values are related both with stability and wind speed variations

Arachnoid cysts: the role of the BLADE technique

Background: This study aims at demonstrating the ability of BLADE sequences to reduce or even eliminate all the image artifacts as well as verifying the significance of using this technique in certain pathological conditions

Antecedents of Supplier Selection Decisions in the Public Sector in Nigeria

This paper develops and tests a conceptual model of supplier selection decisions in the public sector. The study seeks to determine the relative importance of a broad range of non-economic variables in explaining supplier selection decisions during strategic organizational purchases. Data were collected from a national sample of 341 senior staff and top management team (TMT) members in 40 public sector organizations in Nigeria using structured questionnaires. Results of structural equation modelling (SEM) analysis shows that government policy requirements, social ties of organizational actors, party politics, decision-makers’ experience, and the perception of instrumental ethical work climates are, respectively, the most important determinants of strategic supplier selection decisions, followed in descending order of importance by: the perception of rules ethical work climates, self-enhancement personal values, CEOs’ structural position, self-transcendent personal values and the perception of time pressure. Findings also indicate that the choice of a supplier per se is not an important determinant of organizational performance

Graphene-like metallic-on-silicon field effect transistor

In this manuscript, we present a field effect transistor with a channel consisting of a two-dimensional electron gas located at the interface between an ultrathin metallic film of Ni and a p-type Si(111) substrate. We have demonstrated that the two-dimensional electron gas channel is modulated by the gate voltage. The dependence of the drain current on the drain voltage has no saturation region, similar to a field effect transistor based on graphene. However, the transport in this transistor is not ambipolar, as in graphene, but unipolar

Do ethical work climates influence supplier selection decisions in public organizations? The moderating roles of party politics and personal values.

Purpose - This study examined the relationship between ethical work climates (EWCs) and supplier selection decisions (SSD), and the moderating roles of party politics and personal values on this relationship. Design/methodology/approach - A total of 600 senior level personnel from 40 Nigerian public organizations were surveyed using structured questionnaires. Multiple regression analysis was used to test the hypotheses developed for the study after assessing construct reliability and validity. Findings - Results show that both high and low levels of external political pressures significantly reduce the perception that organisational SSDs are ruled-based and pro-social in nature. Furthermore, regardless of the level of perception of instrumental personal values by employees, instrumental ethical climates significantly determine SSDs; principled/cosmopolitan climate and benevolent/cosmopolitan climate only become significant perceptible determinants when there is less room for the accommodation of personal goals during SSD processes. Research limitations/implications - This study only examined the relationship between ethical climate perceptions and supplier selection decisions without controlling for the effects of some important possible intervening variables on this relationship. Therefore, the study encouraged future researcher to enhance the generalizability of our findings by incorporate relevant control variables in the model, as well as examining other decision phases in the public buying process. Originality/value – This study is original to the extent that only a few studies in the literature are devoted to perceptions of EWCs in African organizations, and no previous studies have examined this phenomenon in relation to SSDs in Nigerian public firms. Key Words: Ethical Work Climates, Supplier Selection Decisions, Public Sector, Nigeria, Party Politics, and Personal Values