Comparing alternative instruments to measure service quality in higher education

The purpose of this work is to examine the performance of five alternative measures of service quality in the high education sector – SERVQUAL (Service Quality), Importance-weighted SERVQUAL, SERVPERF (Service Performance), Importance-weighted SERVPERF and HedPERF (Higher Education Performance). We aim at determining which instrument has the superior measurement capability. Data were collected by means of a structured questionnaire containing perception items enhanced from the SERVPERF and HEdPERF scales and expectation items from the SERVQUAL scale, both modified to fit into the higher education sector. The first draft of the questionnaire was subject to a pilot testing through a focus group and an expert evaluation. Data were gathered from a 360 students’ sample of a Portuguese university in Lisbon. Scales were compared in terms of unidimensionality, reliability, validity and explained variance. Managerial conclusions were also drawn.service quality scales; higher education; reliability

Comparing Airport regulation in Europe: Is there need for a European Regulator?

This paper provides an overview of how the major airports are regulated in Europe. In order to eliminate the potential of airports to exercise market power and protect the public interest, it has become increasingly necessary to set a common regulatory framework. We intend to discuss the need of a single regulator in Europe to monitor or establish the quality of service and the charges practiced by the airports, to ensure cost-relatedness, transparency and non-discrimination. The existing regulatory approaches regarding aeronautical charges and their economic implications are also analyzed. We propose the creation of a European Observatory for this sector.airports, economic regulation, European Observatory

The fractional volatility model : no-arbitrage, leverage and completeness

When the volatility process is driven by fractional noise one obtains a model which is consistent with the empirical market data. Depending on whether the stochasticity generators of log-price and volatility are independent or are the same, two versions of the model are obtained with different leverage behaviors. Here, the no-arbitrage and completeness properties of the models are rigorously studied

Securing the Harmony between the High and the Low: Power Animals and Symbols of Political Authority in Ancient Chinese Jades and Bronzes

For decades scholars have been discussing the meaning, purpose, and function of the various styles of decoration found in jade and bronze objects produced in the period spanning the Neolithic to the Han dynasty. Max Loehr made a significant contribution to this discussion in 1953 when he made the first attempt to understand the nature and sequence of styles of bronze décor from the Anyang period (1300–1038 b.c.), which corresponds to the late Shang dynasty. Since then scholars have been divided by two different points of view. Taking one side are those who concentrate on the iconographical meaning of the figures represented on the surface of jades and bronzes, suggesting that ornaments are correlated with, and an expression of, a preexistent system of beliefs. On the other side are those who consider the nature and evolution of the sequence of designs and styles as an artistic sophistication that must be considered independently of any exterior motivation, such as a system of religious beliefs. This article aims to explore the purpose and meaning of jade and bronze decorations, particularly those representations of real and mythical animals as forms of spiritual and political empowerment. Through the examination of the nature and sequence of iconographic motifs interpreted as archetypal forms, this article demonstrates the existence of distinct moments for the meaning and purpose of jade and bronze ornaments. During the moments when spirituality and the sacred rituals are dominant and overlap political power, the use of jade and bronze objects decorated with power-animals are manifestations of a system of beliefs. On the other hand, during the moments when political power enlists spirituality and sacred rituals as instruments of sovereignty, the designs tend to be more inventive and sophisticated, corresponding to technological improvements. Consequently, iconographic motifs lose their spiritual meaning and purpose to an immanent sense of design within an artistic phenomenon