Does customer satisfaction impact linearly on loyalty and retention levels?

Dissertation presented as the partial requirement for obtaining a Master's degree in Statistics and Information Management, specialization in Information Analysis and ManagementConsidering the highly competitive telecommunications market, Mobile Service Providers need to understand the concepts of customer satisfaction, loyalty and retention since they have become important keys to help creating strategies to retain their customers. This dissertation intends to have a deeper knowledge about the impact (linear or nonlinear) of satisfaction on loyalty and retention levels, in other words, to understand what persuades a satisfied customer with prior consumption experience to become loyal to the respective company or service and remain loyal even if, in the future, the company/service does not always live up to expectations. Moreover, it is essential to understand which are the determinants influencing these two main variables. After a review of the literature on the most important antecedents, it is presented an adaptation of the ECSI model, introducing one new variable, Trust, and eliminating one variable, Claims. Regarding the methodology, it was used an online questionnaire and it was obtained a final sample of 371 participants. Data processing was done through a statistical analysis with SPSS, followed by an analysis of structural equations using the SmartPLS3 program and an analysis of the adjustment of the model in R software. The results showed that, in general, the respondents were satisfied with their mobile service. It was also concluded that satisfaction has a positive impact on loyalty as well as the antecedents of satisfaction. However, there is evidence to affirm that this relationship between customer satisfaction and customer loyalty is not linear and tends to have a better fit with models that have curvatures. Furthermore, it was proved that the variable Trust has a mediator influence on the Customer Satisfaction-Customer Loyalty relationship. This study contributes to the telecommunications market in order to understand possible points of improvement where respondents are less satisfied with. Additionally, it may help to better understand how satisfaction affects loyalty and how that relation evolves with the increase of satisfaction

Alcohols, esters and heavy sulphur compounds production by pure and mixed cultures of apiculate wine yeasts

Strains of Hanseniaspora uvarum, Hanseniaspora guilliermondii and Saccharomyces cerevisiae were used as pure or mixed starter cultures in commercial medium, in order to compare their kinetic parameters and fermentation patterns. In pure and mixed cultures, yeasts presented similar ethanol yield and productivity. Pure cultures of H. uvarum and S. cerevisiae showed a specific growth rate of 0.38 h⁻¹; however, this value decreased when these yeasts were grown in mixed cultures with H. guilliermondii. The specific growth rate of pure cultures of H. guilliermondii was 0.41 h⁻⁻¹ and was not affected by growth of other yeasts. H. guilliermondii was found to be the best producer of 2-phenylethyl acetate and 2-phenylethanol in both pure and mixed cultures. In pure cultures, H. uvarum led to the highest contents of heavy sulphur compounds, but H. guilliermondii and S. cerevisiae produced similar levels of methionol and 2-methyltetrahydrothiophen-3-one. Growth of apiculate yeasts in mixed cultures with S. cerevisiae led to amounts of 3-methylthiopropionic acid, acetic acid-3-(methylthio)propyl ester and 2- methyltetrahydrothiophen-3-one similar to those obtained in a pure culture of S. cerevisiae; however, growth of apiculate yeasts increased methionol contents of fermented media

Local scale dynamics to promote the sustainable management of construction and demolition waste

2_(Des)construir_Economia_Circular). This work was also supported by the Portuguese Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) under the project LA/P/0069/2020 granted to the Associate Laboratory ARNET, and the strategic project UIDB/04292/2020 granted to MARE - Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre.On a local scale, municipalities often incur high costs as a result of the illegal dumping of construction and demolition waste (CDW), due to gaps in awareness and training, a lack of adequate oversight actions or infrastructure and equipment. Moreover, there is a loss of resources, failing to close the loop of the circular economy. Six participatory workshops were implemented in 2021, via videoconference due to the Covid-19 pandemic, in a rural Portuguese region, to understand the contribution of local scale dynamics in the promotion of CDW management from an operational perspective. Three of them were dedicated to municipal technicians (39 participants, on average) and the other three to representatives of micro and small construction companies (25 participants, on average). The results reveal that strategies must rely on investment in local solutions to optimise logistics and cost issues, cooperation between stakeholders, and improving the market for recycled aggregates. Also, support for information, awareness, and training is essential, focusing on good practices onsite and oversight procedures. Additionally, municipalities were involved in the prioritisation of legal framework issues, and micro and small construction companies concerning the determinants contributing for their behaviour change. These findings contribute to solving gaps in the literature, useful for researchers and decision-makers in rural or less developed areas.publishersversionpublishe

Why biofilms are important in nosocomial infections: the state of the art

As infeções nosocomiais são uma realidade constante no ambiente hospitalar. São responsáveis por um elevado número de casos de infeções e são notoriamente difíceis de erradicar. Um dos motivos pelos quais o tratamento das infeções nosocomiais é difícil deve-se ao facto de muitas destas infeções serem causadas por biofilmes microbianos. Os biofilmes podem ser definidos como comunidades de micro-organismos que vivem aderidos a uma superfície e envoltos numa complexa mistura de compostos tais como proteínas, polissacáridos e DNA extracelular. O crescimento de micro-organismos sob a forma de biofilmes dificulta a sua erradicação, pois estas estruturas podem ser consideradas adaptações dos micro-organismos, de forma a continuar no hospedeiro. É especialmente relevante ter em consideração as infeções causadas por biofilmes no contexto hospitalar, pois podem necessitar de abordagens diferentes para a sua erradicação. Este artigo de revisão tem como objetivo reunir o conhecimento existente do papel dos biofilmes microbianos nas infeções nosocomiais.Nowadays nosocomial infections are a reality in all hospital environments. They are the cause of a high number of infections, morbidity and mortality, and are recognised as being notoriously difficult to eradicate. One of the reasons for the problems in the treatment of nosocomial infection is the fact that many of the pathogens involved in this infections form biofilms. Biofilms are normally defined as communities of microorganisms adhered to a surface and surrounded by a polymeric matrix of extracellular components, such as proteins, polysaccharides and eDNA. The growth of microorganisms in biofilms makes their eradication difficult as this type of growth can be considered an adaptation of the pathogens in order to improve their persistence in the host. As such it is of special interest to account for the role of biofilms in nosocomial infections so that the appropriate approach can be taken in order to eradicate them. The aim of this article is to review the existing information on the prevalence of nosocomial infections potentially caused by biofilms(undefined

Environmental mediation: an instrument for collaborative decision making in territorial planing

Environmental Mediation allows, besides formal participation, true collaborative decision making as well as prevention and resolution of conflicts. This paper analyses the advantages of mediation applied in environmental and territorial planning conflicts (Mediação Ambiental e Sócio­‑Territorial – MAST) following the requirements of the Portuguese Mediation Law No 29/2013, of April 19th. It aims to understand if this legal basis prevents or encourages a more intense and efficient use of Environmental Mediation in land use planning as a means within public policy.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Exaustão emocional e qualidade da relação parental com filhos adolescentes: o apoio organizacional como protetor

Atualmente vivemos num contexto caracterizado pela concentração de pessoas nosgrandes centros urbanos, pela procura constante de melhores condições de vida e por ummercado cada vez mais exigente, o que faz com que os trabalhadores estejam imersos numatensão persistente. Adicionalmente às exigências profissionais, a vida diária cruza aconciliação entre este domínio e a família, sendo que esta interação tem desafios particularesquando ambos os elementos de um casal estão empregados e possuem filhos. Esta temáticatem atraído um crescente interesse dado quer trabalho quer a família remeterem paradimensões basilares da vida. Perante esta situação, as organizações têm-se empenhado nodesenvolvimento de medidas e apoios à conciliação com vista a promover o bem-estar eprodutividade dos seus colaboradores.Neste contexto, este estudo visa analisar a relação entre a exaustão emocional (umadas dimensões do Burnout) e a qualidade da relação parental e aferir o papel amortecedor dosapoios organizacionais (cultura organizacional apoiante e apoio do supervisor) nesta relação.Foram considerados 135 casais de duplo-emprego com filhos adolescentes com idadescompreendidas entre os treze e os dezoito anos.Os resultados obtidos evidenciam uma associação entre os níveis de exaustãoemocional e a qualidade da relação parental no caso das mulheres, no entanto esta associaçãonão é moderada pelos apoios organizacionais estudados. Apesar disso, uma culturaorganizacional apoiante e maior apoio do supervisor associa-se a maior qualidade da relaçãoparental e a menor exaustão emocional. Os resultados apontam para um padrão diferencial degénero no que toca às relações entre exaustão emocional e relação parental, tendo ainda severificado que as mulheres apresentam maiores índices de exaustão emocional, mas tambémmaiores índices de qualidade da relação parental do que os seus companheiros, não houvediferenças nos níveis de apoio organizacional e de apoio do supervisor.O presente estudo assume-se pertinente, tanto pela atualidade e relevância do temacomo pelas caraterísticas da sua amostra

Eficácia anestésica da técnica troncular versus infiltrativa em molares mandibulares com pulpite irreversível: revisão sistemática

Esta revisão tem como objetivo avaliar e comparar os resultados da eficácia anestésica da infiltração bucal (IB) articaína a 4% com o bloqueio do nervo alveolar inferior (BNAI) lidocaína a 2% em pacientes com dentes molares mandibulares com pulpite irreversível. Foi feita uma revisão sistemática descritiva de pesquisa quantitativa, em que foi utilizado o “(PRISMA) Preferred Reporting items for systematic Reviews”. Os critérios PICO, que identificam a população (P), Intervenção (I), Comparação (C), e Resultado (O) foram utilizados para estruturar a questão de pesquisa: “Será que a técnica infiltrativa (I) tem melhor eficácia anestésica (O) comparada com a troncular (C) em pacientes com pulpite irreversível em molares mandibulares (P)?”. A pesquisa foi feita usando os motores de busca, PubMed/Medline, Science direct e b-on. Os critérios de seleção foram aplicados com uma população de 18 ou mais anos de idade, de sexo feminino e masculino, com pulpite irreversível, artigos publicados em Inglês e sobre a técnica IB e o IANB convencional entre 2008 e 2021. Foram incluídos nesta revisão, dois ensaios de controlo randomizados, um ensaio clínico prospetivo randomizado duplo cego e um estudo clínico randomizado. Foi avaliada a validade e a confiabilidade de cada um dos estudos. Foi possível concluír que não há diferença estatística significativa entre a IB com articaína a 4% quando comparada com o BNAI com lidocaína a 2% em molares inferiores com pulpite irreversível, por isso a IB pode ser uma boa alternativa ao BNAI.This review aims to evaluate and compare the results of the anesthetic efficacy of buccal infiltration (BI) 4% articaine with inferior alveolar nerve block (IBNA) 2% lidocaine in patients with mandibular molar teeth with irreversible pulpitis. A descriptive systematic review of quantitative research was carried out, using the “(PRISMA) Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews”. The PICO criteria, which identify the population (P), Intervention (I), Comparison (C), and Result (O) were used to structure the research question: "Does the infiltrative technique (I) have better anesthetic effectiveness ( O) compared to the inferior alveolar nerve block (C) in patients with irreversible pulpitis in mandibular molars (P)? ”. The search was performed using the search engines, PubMed / Medline, Science direct and b-on. The selection criteria were published with population aged 18 years and over, female and male, with irreversible pulpitis, published articles in English and on the IB technique and the conventional IANB between 2008 and 2021. Two randomized control trials, a prospective randomized double-blind clinical trial and a randomized clinical trial were included in this review. The validity and reliability of each studie was evaluated. It was possible to conclude that there is no significant difference between BI with 4% articaine when compared to BNAI with 2% lidocaine in mandibular molars with irreversible pulpitis, therefore, BI can be a good alternative to BNAI