Applicability of SERVQUAL in restaurants: an exploratory study in a Portuguese resort

SERVQUAL is the most popular instrument to ascertain service quality. However, some debate exists about its ability to characterize different service environments. Furthermore, there is not a consensus about the inclusion of customer expectations in the model. The research presented in this paper intends to discuss the applicability of SERVQUAL to restaurant services and to analyze the inclusion of customer expectations in such environment. The research was developed in a Portuguese resort and more than 300 customers, from two different restaurants, were invited to participate in the study.service quality; restaurants

Training needs in TQM: the Portuguese perspective

A survey to assess training needs in TQM was developed in several European countries, within the framework of a Leonardo’s project named IMVOCED. Beyond a comparison of the results in each country, a global analysis was performed to design a TQM programme to be delivered by WBL (Work Based Learning). Differences were found between countries, and the Portuguese results also revealed that different approaches to TQM training should be adopted according to the organisation’s dimension. Based on this evidence, two different strategies for TQM training by WBL are proposed and discussed.training needs; TQM

Cork oak (Quercus suber L.) wood hygroscopic properties and dimentional stability

Cork oak (Quercus suber L.) wood has a potential for high value uses because of its strength and aesthetic properties but one obstacle is the lack of knowledge of the wood-water relations. Variations in wood equilibrium moisture content, density and dimensions were studied at air temperatures of 22°C and 27°C (representing acclimatized homes and summer non-acclimatized homes, respectively) varying from 80% to 30% of relative humidity. For indoor uses (22-27°C, 50-65% of relative humidity), the wood equilibrium moisture content ranged 12-17% and these values are recommended for the final commercial drying of cork oak wood. The fibre saturation point averaged 27%. Total volumetric shrinkage at 22°C-27°C averaged 12%, the linear shrinkage 8.1-8.5% and 3.6-3.6%, respectively in tangential and radial directions. Anisotropy averaged 2.3. Wood density at 12% moisture content ranged 0.63 to 0.67 g/cm3. The higroscopicity obtained was 0.003. The average tangential differential shrinkage was 0.32 for both temperatures and the average radial differential shrinkage was 0.14 and 0.15, at 22°C and 27°C respectively. The shrinkage factor was 0.90 cm3/g and 0.82 cm3/g, at 22°C and 27°C respectively. Differences between temperatures were only statistically significant at 80-70% of relative humidity

O jornalismo em tempos de mudanças estruturais

O artigo apresenta uma pesquisa exploratória sobre o jornalismo sob o ponto de vista das mudanças estruturais. Por meio de revisão de literatura e pesquisa documental, discutem-se as transformações na produção das notícias, na formação, nos modos de acesso, regulação e controle deontológico da profissão e nas relações entre jornalistas e públicos. O objetivo é delinear eixos de análise que possam subsidiar a formulação de projetos de pesquisa sobre o assunto

Evolutionary Patterns in Coiled-Coils

Models of protein evolution are used to describe evolutionary processes, for phylogenetic analyses and homology detection. Widely used general models of protein evolution are biased toward globular domains and lack resolution to describe evolutionary processes for other protein types. As three-dimensional structure is a major constraint to protein evolution, specific models have been proposed for other types of proteins. Here, we consider evolutionary patterns in coiled-coil forming proteins. Coiled-coils are widespread structural domains, formed by a repeated motif of seven amino acids (heptad repeat). Coiled-coil forming proteins are frequently rods and spacers, structuring both the intracellular and the extracellular spaces that often form protein interaction interfaces. We tested the hypothesis that due to their specific structure the associated evolutionary constraints differ from those of globular proteins. We showed that substitution patterns in coiled-coil regions are different than those observed in globular regions, beyond the simple heptad repeat. Based on these substitution patterns we developed a coiled-coil specific (CC) model that in the context of phylogenetic reconstruction outperforms general models in tree likelihood, often leading to different topologies. For multidomain proteins containing both a coiled-coil region and a globular domain, we showed that a combination of the CC model and a general one gives higher likelihoods than a single model. Finally, we showed that the model can be used for homology detection to increase search sensitivity for coiled-coil proteins. The CC model, software, and other supplementary materials are available at http://www.evocell.org/cgl/resources (last accessed January 29, 2015).FCT fellowship: (SFRH/BD/51880/2012)

Cork oak (Quercus suber L.) wood growth and vessel characteristics variations in relation to climate and cork harvesting

Variations in tree ring growth of Quercus suber L. were analysed using dendrochronological techniques on cork oak discs from trees harvested in the cork producing region of Alentejo, Portugal. A tree-ring chronology containing a strong common signal and covering the period from 1970 to 1995 was build for ca. 30-year-old cork oaks never submitted to cork harvesting using 14 trees that crossdated satisfactorily out of 30 sampled trees. The tree ring indices correlated positively with September temperature (r = 0.48, P < 0.05) and very strongly with precipitation totals from previous October until current February (r = 0.82, P < 0.001) showing that the water stored in the soil during the autumn and winter months prior to the growing season has a primordial effect on the growth of the given season. The effects of cork harvesting were analysed by comparing mean ring width, mean annual vessel area, vessel density (n vessels/mm2), and vessel coverage (percentage of transverse surface occupied by vessels) between three mature cork oak trees and three young trees, for the period from 1987 to 1996, corresponding to the growth between two consecutive cork removals in the case of mature trees. In 1988, 1989 and 1996 (corresponding to the first and second years after cork removal, and 1996 to a year of cork removal), the ratios between ring widths of young versus mature trees was twice that for the rest of the period. However, an effect of cork removal indicated by eventual alterations in vessel size and distribution in the wood rings corresponding to the years 1988, 1989 and 1996 in the mature cork oaks was not observe

The application of the controllability principle in Electricidade dos Açores, SA

A Work Project, presented as part of the requirements for the Award of a Masters Degree in Management from the NOVA – School of Business and Economic

Sector integration and the benefits on global diversification

One of the main reasons that financial analysts recommend international investments is that foreign stocks are not highly correlated with U.S. stocks. As world economies become increasingly interrelated, it may become more difficult for investors to achieve effective diversification. This research investigates international stock market correlation, and assesses whether global diversification on a sector basis is beneficial to U.S. investors. This analysis includes 38 developed and emerging stock markets from 1981-2000. In addition to demonstrating a potential loss of diversification benefits, this paper utilizes an optimal global asset allocation model to illustrate the effects of sector diversification on portfolio performance over time. The results indicate that although the correlation between most foreign sectors and U.S. sectors is increasing over time, there are still substantial international diversification benefits. Further, the inclusion of emerging market sectors significantly enhances the return-to-risk performance of international portfolios.Indisponível