CONSUMER’S SATISFACTION - EXPLANATORY MODELS

When the first studies related to consumer satisfaction began to appear in the sixties, nobody could imagine protagonism that it would reach with the course of the time. Nowadays not only private sector companies dedicate part from their resources to the study of the degree of satisfaction of their clients, but satisfaction studies are more and more increasing preoccupation in the state sector, therefore works related to the satisfaction of the patients, the contributors or with the tourist destiny can be found. Firstly, a revision of the different models that have been used to explain customer satisfaction level is presented, using the cognitive and the affective-cognitive models. In the first case, human being is looking as a rational being that can process information about the different attributes of the services to form his personal satisfaction. The most useful model within this category is the expectation disconfirmation model. These kind of models explain satisfaction as a function of the degree and direction of the discrepancy between expectation and perceptions. It has evolved all over time resulting in a lot of different approaches. We have also studied the equity model, in which consumer does a benefit-cost analysis not only its owns but from the rest of people who take part in the transaction. Finally, in the affective-cognitive models, human being is seeing like a complex being that is not solely an information processor but experiences feelings and emotions that also influence in their judgments of satisfaction. Secondly, it has been realized an empirical application in which we have used the main variables in the expectation disconfirmation model: perceptions, expectations and discrepancies to estimate some logit models. The tourists who visit Tenerife are classified as satisfied or unsatisfied. Then, we model the probability of each characteristic using tourist’s scores on some destination attributes. Two samples have been used. The first one was obtained at the time of arriving; the second one has been made when leaving the island. Since tourists are not necessary the same in both samples, a statistic inference process has been made to use all the information available. The best model is obtained when expectations and perceptions are used at the same time, so we obtain a 75% of right classification. To sum up, we have found that perceptions are the main subject for the tourist’s satisfaction, although we can’t forget the importance of expectations to complete the model.

Determinants of turism demand in the Canary Islands

En este trabajo se estima una función de demanda de turismo por motivos vacacionales en el destino turístico de las Islas Canarias. El objetivo del estudio es identificar las características relevantes de dicha función y cuantificar sus efectos, no sólo sobre la cantidad demandada (duración de la estancia), sino también sobre los ingresos brutos generados por el turismo, ya que, tanto desde el punto de vista de las empresas que prestan sus servicios en este sector, como de las instituciones públicas encargadas de su planificación y control, la variable que mide los resultados económicos de la actividad es la variable ingresos, más que la propia cantidad de demanda realizada.In this study a function of the demand for holiday making tourism in the Canary Islands is estimated. The object is to identify the determinants of this function and quantify their impact, not only on the volume of demand (length of stay), but also on the gross income generated by tourism, given that businesses in the tourist sector as well as public institutions responsible for planning and control of tourism both measure economic results by income rather by demand

Determinants and temporary changes in the distribution tourist expenditure between origin and destination. Evidence from the Canary Islands

O turismo é a principal fonte de creación de riqueza para moitas rexións. Estas poñen a disposición da industria turística o seu territorio, que é utilizado para a creación de infraestruturas e para a instalación das empresas provedoras dos servizos turísticos. As peculiaridades do produto turístico favorecen a aparición de intermediarios alleos ao destino que compiten para quedar cunha parte da renda turística, en gran medida da man das novas tecnoloxías, detraendo recursos ao destino que poderían ser dirixidos á mellora do seu crecemento e benestar. Neste traballo, usando datos turísticos do destino Illas Canarias que abarcan o período temporal 2006-2017, estúdase que parte do gasto total que realiza un turista se paga directamente ao provedor do servizo no destino, identificando cales son os factores que o determinan e como evolucionou esta porcentaxe nos últimos anos. Os resultados mostran que a porcentaxe de gasto en destino se ve afectado por características económicas, sociodemográficas, polas relativas á viaxe e polo uso das novas tecnoloxías pero, en calquera caso, e en termos ceteris paribus, a porcentaxe de gasto en destino decae sistematicamente no tempo, mesmo cando se fai uso das novas tecnoloxías no proceso de compra das vacacións.El turismo es la principal fuente de creación de riqueza para muchas regiones. Estas ponen a disposición de la industria turística su territorio, que es utilizado para la creación de infraestructuras y para la instalación de las empresas proveedoras de los servicios turísticos. Las peculiaridades del producto turístico favorecen la aparición de intermediarios ajenos al destino que compiten para quedarse con una parte de la renta turística, en gran medida de la mano de las nuevas tecnologías, detrayendo recursos al destino que podrían ser dirigidos a la mejora de su crecimiento y bienestar. En este trabajo, usando datos turísticos del destino Islas Canarias que abarcan el período temporal 2006-2017, se estudia qué parte del gasto total que realiza un turista se paga directamente al proveedor del servicio en el destino, identificando cuáles son los factores que lo determinan y cómo ha evolucionado este porcentaje en los últimos años. Los resultados muestran que el porcentaje de gasto en destino se ve afectado por características económicas, sociodemográficas, por las relativas al viaje y por el uso de las nuevas tecnologías pero, en cualquier caso, y en términos ceteris paribus, el porcentaje de gasto en destino decae sistemáticamente en el tiempo, incluso cuando se hace uso de las nuevas tecnologías en el proceso de compra de las vacaciones.  Tourism is the main source of wealth for many regions. These make their territory available to the tourist industry for the creation of infrastructures and facilities for tourist services. The peculiarities of the tourist product favor the appearance of intermediaries outside the destination, who compete to obtain a part of tourism spending, largely by the hand of new technologies, detracting resources to the destination that could be aimed at improving their growth and wellness. In the present paper, we use tourist data from the Canary Islands destination, covering the years 2006-2017, to study the share of the total tourist expenditure paid directly to the service provider in the destination, identifying their determinant variables and the evolution along of the studied years. The results show that the percentage of expenditure at the destination is affected by economic, sociodemographic, travel-related characteristics and with the ICT use but, ceteris paribus, this percentage is systematically decreasing over time, even when new technologies are used in the process of buying holidays.

Determinantes de la demanda de turismo vacacional en las Islas Canarias

En este trabajo se estima una función de demanda de turismo por motivos vacacionales en el destino turístico de las Islas Canarias. El objetivo del estudio es identificar las características relevantes de dicha función y cuantificar sus efectos, no sólo sobre la cantidad demandada (duración de la estancia), sino también sobre los ingresos brutos generados por el turismo, ya que, tanto desde el punto de vista de las empresas que prestan sus servicios en este sector, como de las instituciones públicas encargadas de su planificación y control, la variable que mide los resultados económicos de la actividad es la variable ingresos, más que la propia cantidad de demanda realizada

Determinantes e cambios temporais no reparto das rendas turísticas entre orixe e destino: evidencia das Illas Canarias

Tourism is the main source of wealth for many regions, which make their territories available to the tourist industry for the creation of infrastructures and facilities for tourist services. The peculiarities of the tourist product encourage the emergence of intermediaries outside the destination, who compete to obtain a part of tourism spending, largely with the help of new technologies, taking resources away from the destinations that could be aimed at improving their growth and welfare. In the present paper, we use tourist data from the Canary Islands destination, covering the years 2006-2017, to study the share of the total tourist expenditure paid directly to the service provider in the destination, identifying their determinant variables and the evolution over the years studied. The results show that the percentage of expenditure at the destination is affected by economic, sociodemographic, travel-related characteristics and by ICT use, but, ceteris paribus, this percentage is systematically decreasing over time, even when new technologies are used in the process of buying holidaysO turismo é a principal fonte de creación de riqueza para moitas rexións. Estas poñen a disposición da industria turística o seu territorio, que é utilizado para a creación de infraestruturas e para a instalación das empresas provedoras dos servizos turísticos. As peculiaridades do produto turístico favorecen a aparición de intermediarios alleos ao destino que compiten para quedar cunha parte da renda turística, en gran medida da man das novas tecnoloxías, detraendo recursos ao destino que poderían ser dirixidos á mellora do seu crecemento e benestar. Neste traballo, usando datos turísticos do destino Illas Canarias que abarcan o período temporal 2006-2017, estúdase que parte do gasto total que realiza un turista se paga directamente ao provedor do servizo no destino, identificando cales son os factores que o determinan e como evolucionou esta porcentaxe nos últimos anos. Os resultados mostran que a porcentaxe de gasto en destino se ve afectado por características económicas, sociodemográficas, polas relativas á viaxe e polo uso das novas tecnoloxías pero, en calquera caso, e en termos ceteris paribus, a porcentaxe de gasto en destino decae sistematicamente no tempo, mesmo cando se fai uso das novas tecnoloxías no proceso de compra das vacaciónsEl turismo es la principal fuente de creación de riqueza para muchas regiones. Estas ponen a disposición de la industria turística su territorio, que es utilizado para la creación de infraestructuras y para la instalación de las empresas proveedoras de los servicios turísticos. Las peculiaridades del producto turístico favorecen la aparición de intermediarios ajenos al destino que compiten para quedarse con una parte de la renta turística, en gran medida de la mano de las nuevas tecnologías, detrayendo recursos al destino que podrían ser dirigidos a la mejora de su crecimiento y bienestar. En este trabajo, usando datos turísticos del destino Islas Canarias que abarcan el período temporal 2006-2017, se estudia qué parte del gasto total que realiza un turista se paga directamente al proveedor del servicio en el destino, identificando cuáles son los factores que lo determinan y cómo ha evolucionado este porcentaje en los últimos años. Los resultados muestran que el porcentaje de gasto en destino se ve afectado por características económicas, sociodemográficas, por las relativas al viaje y por el uso de las nuevas tecnologías pero, en cualquier caso, y en términos ceteris paribus, el porcentaje de gasto en destino decae sistemáticamente en el tiempo, incluso cuando se hace uso de las nuevas tecnologías en el proceso de compra de las vacacione

Assessment of plasma chitotriosidase activity, CCL18/PARC concentration and NP-C suspicion index in the diagnosis of Niemann-Pick disease type C : A prospective observational study

Niemann-Pick disease type C (NP-C) is a rare, autosomal recessive neurodegenerative disease caused by mutations in either the NPC1 or NPC2 genes. The diagnosis of NP-C remains challenging due to the non-specific, heterogeneous nature of signs/symptoms. This study assessed the utility of plasma chitotriosidase (ChT) and Chemokine (C-C motif) ligand 18 (CCL18)/pulmonary and activation-regulated chemokine (PARC) in conjunction with the NP-C suspicion index (NP-C SI) for guiding confirmatory laboratory testing in patients with suspected NP-C. In a prospective observational cohort study, incorporating a retrospective determination of NP-C SI scores, two different diagnostic approaches were applied in two separate groups of unrelated patients from 51 Spanish medical centers (n = 118 in both groups). From Jan 2010 to Apr 2012 (Period 1), patients with ≥2 clinical signs/symptoms of NP-C were considered 'suspected NP-C' cases, and NPC1/NPC2 sequencing, plasma chitotriosidase (ChT), CCL18/PARC and sphingomyelinase levels were assessed. Based on findings in Period 1, plasma ChT and CCL18/PARC, and NP-C SI prediction scores were determined in a second group of patients between May 2012 and Apr 2014 (Period 2), and NPC1 and NPC2 were sequenced only in those with elevated ChT and/or elevated CCL18/PARC and/or NP-C SI ≥70. Filipin staining and 7-ketocholesterol (7-KC) measurements were performed in all patients with NP-C gene mutations, where possible. In total across Periods 1 and 2, 10/236 (4%) patients had a confirmed diagnosis o NP-C based on gene sequencing (5/118 [4.2%] in each Period): all of these patients had two causal NPC1 mutations. Single mutant NPC1 alleles were detected in 8/236 (3%) patients, overall. Positive filipin staining results comprised three classical and five variant biochemical phenotypes. No NPC2 mutations were detected. All patients with NPC1 mutations had high ChT activity, high CCL18/PARC concentrations and/or NP-C SI scores ≥70. Plasma 7-KC was higher than control cut-off values in all patients with two NPC1 mutations, and in the majority of patients with single mutations. Family studies identified three further NP-C patients. This approach may be very useful for laboratories that do not have mass spectrometry facilities and therefore, they cannot use other NP-C biomarkers for diagnosis

Subcutaneous anti-COVID-19 hyperimmune immunoglobulin for prevention of disease in asymptomatic individuals with SARS-CoV-2 infection: a double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomised clinical trialResearch in context

Summary: Background: Anti-COVID-19 hyperimmune immunoglobulin (hIG) can provide standardized and controlled antibody content. Data from controlled clinical trials using hIG for the prevention or treatment of COVID-19 outpatients have not been reported. We assessed the safety and efficacy of subcutaneous anti-COVID-19 hyperimmune immunoglobulin 20% (C19-IG20%) compared to placebo in preventing development of symptomatic COVID-19 in asymptomatic individuals with SARS-CoV-2 infection. Methods: We did a multicentre, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, in asymptomatic unvaccinated adults (≥18 years of age) with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection within 5 days between April 28 and December 27, 2021. Participants were randomly assigned (1:1:1) to receive a blinded subcutaneous infusion of 10 mL with 1 g or 2 g of C19-IG20%, or an equivalent volume of saline as placebo. The primary endpoint was the proportion of participants who remained asymptomatic through day 14 after infusion. Secondary endpoints included the proportion of individuals who required oxygen supplementation, any medically attended visit, hospitalisation, or ICU, and viral load reduction and viral clearance in nasopharyngeal swabs. Safety was assessed as the proportion of patients with adverse events. The trial was terminated early due to a lack of potential benefit in the target population in a planned interim analysis conducted in December 2021. ClinicalTrials.gov registry: NCT04847141. Findings: 461 individuals (mean age 39.6 years [SD 12.8]) were randomized and received the intervention within a mean of 3.1 (SD 1.27) days from a positive SARS-CoV-2 test. In the prespecified modified intention-to-treat analysis that included only participants who received a subcutaneous infusion, the primary outcome occurred in 59.9% (91/152) of participants receiving 1 g C19-IG20%, 64.7% (99/153) receiving 2 g, and 63.5% (99/156) receiving placebo (difference in proportions 1 g C19-IG20% vs. placebo, −3.6%; 95% CI -14.6% to 7.3%, p = 0.53; 2 g C19-IG20% vs placebo, 1.1%; −9.6% to 11.9%, p = 0.85). None of the secondary clinical efficacy endpoints or virological endpoints were significantly different between study groups. Adverse event rate was similar between groups, and no severe or life-threatening adverse events related to investigational product infusion were reported. Interpretation: Our findings suggested that administration of subcutaneous human hyperimmune immunoglobulin C19-IG20% to asymptomatic individuals with SARS-CoV-2 infection was safe but did not prevent development of symptomatic COVID-19. Funding: Grifols