Assessment of Real Estate Brokerage Service Quality with a Practicing Professional's Instrument

This study explores factors that affect service quality for a large residential real estate brokerage in a diverse midwestern city. It examines the extent to which overall service quality influences homebuyers to recommend the brokerage firm and to use the firm for future transactions. A Linear Structural Relations model is fit to data using the firm's service quality instrument. Results indicate statistically significant relationships between both agent characteristics and the tangible aspects of the firm, and three measures of overall service quality. Implications for the real estate industry are discussed and suggestions for improvement and future research are provided.

Utilization of Saltmarsh Shorelines by Newly Settled Sciaenids in a Texas Estuary

Post-settlement patterns of habitat use along saltmarsh shorelines of Galveston Bay, Texas were examined for three sciaenids; spotted seatrout (Cynoscion nebulosus), red drum (Sciaenops ocellatus), and Atlantic croaker (Micropogonias undulatus). Collections were made summer through fall of 1997 and 1998 using a 1.5-m beam trawl hand-towed along the outside edge of salt marshes. Sciaenids were collected from tidal pass, bay, and remote tidal creek areas to assess large-scale (bay-wide) patterns of distribution and abundance. Cynoscion nebulosus were smaller and most numerous at bay stations, with densities peaking in June. Conversely, S. ocellatus were collected in higher numbers, and smaller sizes, at stations near the tidal pass, with peak densities in September. Micropogonias undulatus occurred in high numbers near both the tidal pass and remote tidal creeks, with undetectable size differences among areas and peak densities in November. Densities of C. nebulosus and S. ocellatus were greater at sites nearer the larval supply; patterns were less clear for M. undulatus. Small-scale patterns of habitat use were investigated within remote tidal creeks, with trends in density and size apparent for M. undulatus, while few C. nebulosus and S. ocellatus were collected. Interannual variability in densities occurred within and among stations, although total densities for each species were relatively similar between 1997 and 1998

Seedling Establishment of Spartina alterniflora and Spartina patens on Dredged Materials in Texas

Effects of fertilizer, elevation, and tidal inundation on seedling establishment of Spartina alterniflora and Spartina patens were tested at a wave-protected sandy dredged material site, Galveston Bay, Texas. No seedlings that grew from sown seeds became established at elevations below 36 cm (msl) while the greatest number established in the upper tier. Seedlings of S. alterniflora were more numerous than S. patens in the upper and middle tiers. Naturally occurring seedlings of S. alterniflora, which apparently germinated from seeds produced on transplants in adjacent plots, established at all elevations of the site during winter. The average time of tidal inundation at a particular elevation was less during winter than spring. Thus, establishment of plants by seed at low intertidal elevations appears feasible only during low seasonal winter tides and with S. alterniflora. Fertilizers did not enhance growth, and high concentrations of fertilizer caused stress to some S. alterniflora seedlings