Customer emotions in service failure and recovery encounters

Emotions play a significant role in the workplace, and considerable attention has been given to the study of employee emotions. Customers also play a central function in organizations, but much less is known about customer emotions. This chapter reviews the growing literature on customer emotions in employee–customer interfaces with a focus on service failure and recovery encounters, where emotions are heightened. It highlights emerging themes and key findings, addresses the measurement, modeling, and management of customer emotions, and identifies future research streams. Attention is given to emotional contagion, relationships between affective and cognitive processes, customer anger, customer rage, and individual differences

Bioestimulação e comportamento reprodutivo de novilhas de corte Biostimulation and reproductive performance of beef heifers

O objetivo do presente trabalho foi determinar se a bioestimulação é capaz de alterar favoravelmente o comportamento reprodutivo de novilhas de corte em sua primeira estação reprodutiva. Para isso, 50 dias antes do início da inseminação artificial (IA), 60 novilhas de dois anos (Hereford x Nelore) foram divididas ao acaso em dois grupos: bioestimuladas (BE), através do uso de rufiões, ou não (NE). As taxas de novilhas cíclicas antes do início da IA foram de 76 e 56% para BE e NE, respectivamente. As taxas de prenhez foram de 90 e 73% para BE e NE, respectivamente. A bioestimulação determinou diferenças nos percentuais acumulados de novilhas inseminadas por subperíodos de 21 dias de IA, sem alterar a data média de concepção. Foi observado efeito de idade/desenvolvimento corporal na resposta à bioestimulação.<br>The goal of this experiment was to evaluate if biostimulation may favourably change the reproductive performance of beef heifers on their first breeding season. For this purpose, 50 days before the artificial insemination (AI) period, 60 two-year-old heifers (Hereford x Nelore) were randomly distributed into two treatment groups: biostimulatated (BE) using a ruffian or not biostimulated (NE). The rates of cycling heifers before AI were 76 and 56% for BE e NE, respectively. Conception rates were 90 and 73% for BE e NE, respectively. Biostimulation changed accumulated percents of inseminated heifers by the end of 21 days periods during AI, without changing mean conception day. It was observed the effect of age/body development in the responses to biostimulation

Age at maturity in cavies and guinea-pigs (Cavia aperea and Cavia aperea f. porcellus): influence of social factors

Trillmich F, Laurien-Kehnen C, Adrian A, Linke S. Age at maturity in cavies and guinea-pigs (Cavia aperea and Cavia aperea f. porcellus): influence of social factors. JOURNAL OF ZOOLOGY. 2006;268(3):285-294.Age at maturity, a particularly important parameter in the life history of small mammals, contributes greatly to fitness. Social influences on age at maturity have been demonstrated for altricial rodents, in particular, mice. Nothing is known about such effects in precocial small mammals. Wild cavies Cavia aperea are born in a highly precocial state and mature early in life, briefly after weaning. We investigated whether the wild cavy C. aperea and the domestic guinea-pig Cavia aperea f. porcellus reach maturity earlier in the presence of adults of the opposite sex. Juvenile females kept in pairs without males showed first vaginal opening (=oestrus) when 59 days old in cavies and at about 40 days in the guinea-pig. However, in the company of adult males, cavy females kept in pairs reached maturity when about 30 days old, and guinea-pig females when 26 days old. Most cavy females experienced successful pregnancy following first vaginal opening. In cavies, female mass at birth and at first oestrus was not correlated with age at first oestrus. In guinea-pigs, birth mass predicted age at maturity only when a male was present. The growth rate from birth to first oestrus related to age at first oestrus. In the wild cavy, the presence of a male appeared to influence maturation more between days 25 and 30 than earlier in life. Male C. aperea matured and had fully descended testes when about 65-70 days old. All male cavies produced abundant motile sperm from day 75. First successful copulations occurred at about the same age. Surprisingly, the priming effect of the presence of an adult male on female maturation proved stronger in these highly precocial caviomorphs than in altricial rodents investigated so far