Technology at the table : an overview of food delivery apps

The ultimate goal of this study is to provide an overview of food delivery apps. With this service, the chance consumers have to eat a nice restaurant meal at the comfort of their homes is now at a distance of a click. Firstly, this research starts by identifying which attributes of food delivery apps consumers value the most, among online convenience, perceived control, visual design, and order accuracy. Secondly, perceived technology anxiety and need for interaction, lack of customer service and privacy & security concerns were tested as the main barriers preventing people from using the service. And lastly, a model of e-loyalty and repurchase intentions was designed, based on e-loyalty antecedents – e-satisfaction and e-trust. Two methodologies were chosen – in-depth interviews (12 interviewees) and an online survey (202 participants). Results indicated online convenience and order accuracy as the most important attributes for consumers. Further, contrarily to what it would be expected, consumers did not perceive the mentioned barriers as the aspects preventing them from using these apps. Finally, the positive effects of e-trust on e-loyalty and e-satisfaction were verified, as well as the relationship between e-loyalty and repurchase intentions. Yet, e-satisfaction effects on eloyalty were not relevant. A detailed and critical analysis of the results is provided in the last chapter.O grande objetivo deste estudo passa por fornecer uma visão geral das aplicações de telemóvel de entrega de comida ao domicílio. Com este serviço, a possibilidade que os consumidores têm de comer uma boa refeição de um restaurante no conforto das suas casas está agora à distância de um clique. Em primeiro lugar, esta pesquisa começa por identificar os atributos destas aplicações que os consumidores mais valorizam, entre a conveniência online, as perceções de controlo, o design visual e a precisão do pedido. Em segundo lugar, as barreiras tecnológicas, a necessidade de interação pessoal, a falta de apoio ao consumidor e os riscos adjacentes ao serviço foram testados como barreiras que impedem certas pessoas de usar o serviço. Por último, criou-se um modelo de e-loyalty e de intenções de recompra, baseado nos antecedentes de e-loyalty – e-satisfaction e e-trust. Foram adotadas duas metodologias – entrevistas presenciais (12 entrevistados) e um questionário online (202 participantes). Os resultados revelaram que a conveniência online e a precisão do pedido são os atributos mais importantes para os consumidores. Além disso, ao contrário do que seria esperado, os consumidores não consideraram as barreiras mencionadas como os aspetos que os impedem de usar estas aplicações. Por último, foram verificados os efeitos positivos de e-trust em e-loyalty e em e-satisfaction, bem como a relação entre e-loyalty e a intenção de recompra. Contudo, os efeitos de e-satisfaction em e-loyalty não foram considerados relevantes. No último capítulo, é apresentada uma análise crítica e detalhada dos resultados

Characterisation of microbial attack on archaeological bone

As part of an EU funded project to investigate the factors influencing bone preservation in the archaeological record, more than 250 bones from 41 archaeological sites in five countries spanning four climatic regions were studied for diagenetic alteration. Sites were selected to cover a range of environmental conditions and archaeological contexts. Microscopic and physical (mercury intrusion porosimetry) analyses of these bones revealed that the majority (68%) had suffered microbial attack. Furthermore, significant differences were found between animal and human bone in both the state of preservation and the type of microbial attack present. These differences in preservation might result from differences in early taphonomy of the bones. © 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved

Brazilian Flora 2020: Leveraging the power of a collaborative scientific network

International audienceThe shortage of reliable primary taxonomic data limits the description of biological taxa and the understanding of biodiversity patterns and processes, complicating biogeographical, ecological, and evolutionary studies. This deficit creates a significant taxonomic impediment to biodiversity research and conservation planning. The taxonomic impediment and the biodiversity crisis are widely recognized, highlighting the urgent need for reliable taxonomic data. Over the past decade, numerous countries worldwide have devoted considerable effort to Target 1 of the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation (GSPC), which called for the preparation of a working list of all known plant species by 2010 and an online world Flora by 2020. Brazil is a megadiverse country, home to more of the world's known plant species than any other country. Despite that, Flora Brasiliensis, concluded in 1906, was the last comprehensive treatment of the Brazilian flora. The lack of accurate estimates of the number of species of algae, fungi, and plants occurring in Brazil contributes to the prevailing taxonomic impediment and delays progress towards the GSPC targets. Over the past 12 years, a legion of taxonomists motivated to meet Target 1 of the GSPC, worked together to gather and integrate knowledge on the algal, plant, and fungal diversity of Brazil. Overall, a team of about 980 taxonomists joined efforts in a highly collaborative project that used cybertaxonomy to prepare an updated Flora of Brazil, showing the power of scientific collaboration to reach ambitious goals. This paper presents an overview of the Brazilian Flora 2020 and provides taxonomic and spatial updates on the algae, fungi, and plants found in one of the world's most biodiverse countries. We further identify collection gaps and summarize future goals that extend beyond 2020. Our results show that Brazil is home to 46,975 native species of algae, fungi, and plants, of which 19,669 are endemic to the country. The data compiled to date suggests that the Atlantic Rainforest might be the most diverse Brazilian domain for all plant groups except gymnosperms, which are most diverse in the Amazon. However, scientific knowledge of Brazilian diversity is still unequally distributed, with the Atlantic Rainforest and the Cerrado being the most intensively sampled and studied biomes in the country. In times of “scientific reductionism”, with botanical and mycological sciences suffering pervasive depreciation in recent decades, the first online Flora of Brazil 2020 significantly enhanced the quality and quantity of taxonomic data available for algae, fungi, and plants from Brazil. This project also made all the information freely available online, providing a firm foundation for future research and for the management, conservation, and sustainable use of the Brazilian funga and flora