Using Cost Observation to Regulate Bureaucratic Firms

We study regulation of a bureaucratic provider of a public good in the presence of moral hazard and adverse selection. By bureaucratic we mean that it values output in itself, and not only profit. Three different financing systems are studied - cost reimbursement, prospective payment, and the optimal contract. In all cases, the output level increases with the bureaucratic bias. We find that the optimal contract is linear in cost (fixed payment plus partial cost-reimbursement). A stronger preference for high output reduces the tendency of the firm to announce a high cost (adverse selection), allowing a more powered incentive scheme (a lower fraction of the costs is reimbursed), which alleviates the problem of moral hazard.Procurement, Regulation, Adverse selection, Moral hazard, Bureaucracy

Qualidade de vida de pais e crianças autistas portuguesas

Curso de mestrado em enfermagem de reabilitaçãoIntrodução: Actualmente os estudos realizados tendo em conta a qualidade de vida (QDV) dos pais de crianças autistas são escassos. O que reforça a necessidade de novas investigações para que se consiga perceber o real impacto que uma criança autista provoca no seio familiar, para posteriormente se conseguirem desenvolver novas estratégias de actuação. Neste pressuposto, o presente estudo teve como objectivos: conhecer a QDV dos pais de crianças autistas e determinar variáveis o efeito de variáveis de contexto sociodemográfico, familiar e psicossocial nos diferentes domínios desta mesma QDV. Métodos: Realizou-se um estudo transversal, descritivo-correlacional, de natureza analítica e quantitativa, no qual participaram 56 pais de crianças autistas pertencentes à APPDA-Viseu, com idades entre 26 e 47 anos. Para a mensuração das variáveis utilizaram-se os seguintes instrumentos: uma ficha sóciodemográfica, escala de Apgar Familiar, escala de avaliação da QDV WHOQOL-Bref, Escala de Satisfação com o Suporte Social (ESSS) e o Inventário da Personalidade de Eysenck. Resultados: Relativamente à QDV dos pais de crianças autistas concluímos que os homens apresentam melhor QDV face às mulheres com uma ordenação média de 34.50 vs 24.62 respectivamente. Os dados revelam que existem influências significativas das variáveis sóciodemográficas: género, zona de residência e estado civil sobre a QDV dos pais de crianças autistas. Obtêm-se também a existência de influências significativas das variáveis sóciofamiliares: género do filho, tempo de institucionalização do filho e funcionalidade familiar e por fim influências significativas tanto da variável suporte social como da personalidade (em relação às variáveis psicossociais). Conclusão: As evidências encontradas neste estudo convidam-nos para a elaboração e reflexão sobre novas estratégias que possibilitem a obtenção de um melhor conhecimento que facilite o desenho de programas de intervenção formativos e informativos, visando a promoção da QDV destes sujeitos. Palavras-chave: QDV, pais, autismo, funcionalidade familiar, suporte social, personalidadeABSTRACT Introduction: Currently studies regarding the quality of life (QOL) of parents of autistic children are scarce. This reinforces the need for further investigations in order to realize the real impact of an autistic child in the family environment. So our objectives are to understand the QOL of parents of autistic children and to establish whether there is any kind of connection between the different domains of QOL and socio-demographic, psychosocial and social-familial aspects. Method: We conducted a cross-sectional study, descriptive-correlational, analytical and quantitative, attended by 56 parents of autistic children belonging to APPDA-Viseu, aged between 26 and 47 years. To measure the variables we used the following instruments: a socio-demographic data sheet, family Apgar scale, WHOQOL-Bref scale, Satisfaction with Social Support scale and the Eysenck Personality Inventory. Results: we found that men have better QOL compared to women with an average ranking of 34,50 vs. 26,72 respectively. The data reveal that there are significant influences of socio-demographic variables: gender, area of residence and marital status on QOL of parents of autistic children. We also obtained a significant influence of social-familial variables: child’s gender, Length of institutionalization of the child and family functioning and ultimately we also obtain significant influences of both the variable of Social Support and personality (in relation to psychosocial). Conclusion: Evidences found in this study invite us to create and reflect on strategies to achieve a better knowledge to facilitate the design of intervention programs and training information aiming at promoting QOL of parents of autistic children. Key Words: Quality Of Life, Parents, Autism, Family Function, Social Support, Personality

Regulating a monopolist with unknown bureaucratic tendencies

We determine the optimal contract for the regulation of a bureaucratic firm in the case in which the bureaucratic bias is firm's private information. We find that output is distorted upward when the bureaucratic bias is low, downward when it is high, and equals a reference output when it is intermediate (in this case, the participation constraint is binding). We also determine an endogenous reference output (equal to the expected output, which depends on the reference output), and find that the response of output to cost is null in the short-run (in which the reference output is fixed) whenever the managers' types are in the intermediate range and negative in the long-run (after the adjustment of the reference output to equal expected output).Procurement, Regulation, Adverse selection, Bureaucracy, Reservation utility

Level of recommendation and satisfaction after an event: the NOS Primavera Sound case study

Purpose: This paper aims to evaluate the level of recommendation and satisfaction related with sociodemographic characteristics of visitors and the loyalty they show regarding the festival. Methodology: Data from a random sample of 1397 visitors were collected from an online questionnaire after the festival occurred. In univariate analysis with application of the ANOVA test, we observe that the global satisfaction is influenced by age, marital status, educational degree, residence, if they participated in the previous edition, type of ticket and intention to return for the next edition. In the application of the factorial analysis, three distinct factors emerged: the recommendation of the festival, the satisfaction with the organization and the satisfaction with the stages. In the econometric models we highlight simultaneously the gender and the intention to return that influence the recommendation and the satisfaction. Findings: The results will be important for the framework of management and marketing of the event NOS Primavera Sound in the sense that they can be used for the visitor segmentation through the identification of sociodemographic characteristics of visitors, the levels of recommendation, satisfaction and loyalty towards the event. Originality/Value: This is the first time a post-event analysis is applied to NOS Primavera Sounds, in Portugal.B913-0565-0908 | Elvira Vieirainfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The evaluation of municipal tourist tax awareness: the case of the city of Porto

Purpose – Evaluation of the municipal tourist tax awareness by tourists visiting the city of Porto, in order to test their knowledge and assessment about it and estimate the consequences on the city’s level of competitiveness, as a tourism destination. Design – This paper integrates the main literature review by using microdata, considering 2.139 answers, which were collected through direct interviews to tourists. Methodology – We use a logit and a generalized linear models. Findings – A little more than half of the tourists have already been aware of the tourist tax, depending on their sociodemographic characteristics, and almost 70,7% classifies the tax as “acceptable”. Two key variables stand out: level of education and nationality of the tourist. The tax is competitive and to guarantee the destination attractiveness it is highlighted that, if the revenue is invested to benefit tourism, providing improved quality services, the demand from the tourists whose profile was already identified, will not possibly be affected. Originality of the research – This study fulfils two gaps: i) the evaluation of the tourists’ awareness regarding the tax application and its assessment, according to their sociodemographic characteristics; and ii) the analysis of the destination’s level of competitiveness.B913-0565-0908 | Elvira Vieirainfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Exploring the relationship between the length of stay and various determinants at one of the best european destinations

Studies scrutinizing the tangible and intangible factors regarding the length of stay (LOS) in a destination are rare. The emotional factors have not always been integrated into this analysis. We have contributed to fill this gap in the literature considering the degree of happiness with the tourist destination. We used a sample of 1253 tourists and three regression models were estimated (OLS regression model, a Weibull survival model and a zero-truncated negative binomial) to study the LOS. We verified that the emotional factor related with happiness affects the LOS. Furthermore, regarding the managerial/practical implications it is important to highlight that the tourists who intend to visit the city have gastronomic and wine experiences, and, through their contact with the cultural heritage of the city, they will stay for a longer period of time. In addition to economic factors, as expenditures, there are also emotional and experiential aspects that influence LOS and these have to be included in the communication of a tourist destination. The attributes of a destination are not enough to influence the LOS. The destination must also be a set of experiences that will increase the happiness of the tourist with the destination.B913-0565-0908 | Elvira VieiraN/

THE EVALUATION OF MUNICIPAL TOURIST TAX AWARENESS: THE CASE OF THE CITY OF PORTO

Purpose – Evaluation of the municipal tourist tax awareness by tourists visiting the city of Porto, in order to test their knowledge and assessment about it and estimate the consequences on the city’s level of competitiveness, as a tourism destination. Design – This paper integrates the main literature review by using microdata, considering 2.139 answers, which were collected through direct interviews to tourists. Methodology – We use a logit and a generalized linear models. Findings – A little more than half of the tourists have already been aware of the tourist tax, depending on their sociodemographic characteristics, and almost 70,7% classifies the tax as “acceptable”. Two key variables stand out: level of education and nationality of the tourist. The tax is competitive and to guarantee the destination attractiveness it is highlighted that, if the revenue is invested to benefit tourism, providing improved quality services, the demand from the tourists whose profile was already identified, will not possibly be affected. Originality of the research – This study fulfils two gaps: i) the evaluation of the tourists’ awareness regarding the tax application and its assessment, according to their sociodemographic characteristics; and ii) the analysis of the destination’s level of competitiveness

Gastronomic experiences on tourist's life satisfaction and happiness: the case of Porto

The tourists' gastronomic experiences are important in developing a destination branding strategy, especially if this translates into greater happiness and tourists' life satisfaction. We intend to study the influence of five gastronomic/food experience variables on the tourists’ life satisfaction and happiness. After inquiring 352 tourists in Porto, the data were analysed through SEM and SPSS/AMOS software. The results validate the hypotheses concerning refreshment and hedonic/novelty experiences, which improve tourists’ satisfaction and happiness. The adverse experiences reduce the tourists' happiness, and lastly, tourists' life satisfaction with the gastronomic/food experience improves their happiness. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.B913-0565-0908 | Elvira Vieirainfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Porto street stage at Rally Portugal: the determinants of the length of stay

We present the determinants of the length of stay (LOS) of Porto Street Stage that integrated the program of the 52nd edition of Rally de Portugal. Sport events assume an important role in the marketing of tourism destinations. However, when we compare them with other segments in tourism, it still remains underexplored. This study represents an opportunity to contribute to the literature, and it could become a significant toll for the organizers, public entities and other stakeholders. We contemplate a set of information and data that may improve the management of the future editions in a more rigorous and effective way. As we are dealing with an international event, it is an occasion to enlist tourists and promote the tourist destination. We applied a quantitative analysis and considered the sociodemographic characteristics of the spectators, factors that influenced the trip, expenses per day in the city, level of satisfaction with the event, and the intention to return. An OLS regression model, a Weibull survival model and a zero-truncated negative binomial regression model were estimated, and the results were compared. On the LOS determinants it is not common to consider the influence of each item of expenditure during the stay and the satisfaction levels with the event and different effects were observed. The travel and accommodation expenditures present a negative effect on the LOS. In the opposite side the satisfaction level and intention to return, both present a positive effect on the LOS. The sociodemographic characteristics have diverse impacts on the LOS.B913-0565-0908 | Elvira VieiraN/

Emotional intelligence profile of tourists and its impact on tourism

The study aims to characterize, for the first time, the emotional intelligence profile of the tourists visiting the city of Porto as well as to observe its influence on the intention to return and activities perfomed during the stay, along with other sociodemographic factors,To achieve these purposes, we used a sample of 886 responses with the following purposes: on the one hand, to get the emotional intelligence constructs by applying the confirmatory factorial analysis, and on the other hand, to apply a logit model to describe the intention to return. Four constructs of tourists’ emotional intelligence emerged: emotion regulation, emotion use, evaluation of their own emotions, and evaluation of others’ emotions. . The first construct was indicated as the most important leading us to conclude that tourists have the ability to control their own emotions, presenting a strong emotional control. The four constructs and different variables of the tourists’ socio-demographic profile show a positive effect on the intention to return. This type of information is highly useful for the sector since it allows the definition of communication strategies and guides businesses to adapt to the profile of tourists.B913-0565-0908 | Elvira VieiraN/