Customer Satisfaction measurement procedures: one-dimensional and multi-dimensional approach

The purpose of this paper is to present an overview of the principal methods of measurement of Customer Satisfaction (CS) and to discuss their strengths and limits. Two approaches are dealt with: (i) one-dimensional measurement - namely the measurement of a single variable representing overall satisfaction of the good or the service (the focus here is on measurement scales); (ii) multidimensional measurement, that takes account of all the variables characterizing the CS complex concept. We analyze here compositive models (SERVQUAL) and PLS-Path Models. Finally, we provide some guidelines for possible developments

Parameterization of a bucket model for soil-vegetation-atmosphere modeling under seasonal climatic regimes

We investigate the potential impact of accounting for seasonal variations in the climatic forcing and using different methods to parameterize the soil water content at field capacity on the water balance components computed by a bucket model (BM). The single-layer BM of Guswa et al. (2002) is employed, whereas the Richards equation (RE) based Soil Water Atmosphere Plant (SWAP) model is used as a benchmark model. The results are analyzed for two differently-textured soils and for some synthetic runs under real-like seasonal weather conditions, using stochastically-generated daily rainfall data for a period of 100 years. Since transient soil-moisture dynamics and climatic seasonality play a key role in certain zones of the World, such as in Mediterranean land areas, a specific feature of this study is to test the prediction capability of the bucket model under a condition where seasonal variations in rainfall are not in phase with the variations in plant transpiration. Reference is made to a hydrologic year in which we have a rainy period (starting 1 November and lasting 151 days) where vegetation is basically assumed in a dormant stage, followed by a drier and rainless period with a vegetation regrowth phase. Better agreement between BM and RE-SWAP intercomparison results are obtained when BM is parameterized by a field capacity value determined through the drainage method proposed by Romano and Santini (2002). Depending on the vegetation regrowth or dormant seasons, rainfall variability within a season results in transpiration regimes and soil moisture fluctuations with distinctive features. During the vegetation regrowth season, transpiration exerts a key control on soil water budget with respect to rainfall. During the dormant season of vegetation, the precipitation regime becomes an important climate forcing. Simulations also highlight the occurrence of bimodality in the probability distribution of soil moisture during the season when plants are dormant, reflecting that soil, it being of coarser or finer texture, can be preferentially in either wetter or drier states over this period

Scalable high-resolution forecasting of sparse spatiotemporal events with kernel methods: a winning solution to the NIJ "Real-Time Crime Forecasting Challenge"

We propose a generic spatiotemporal event forecasting method, which we developed for the National Institute of Justice’s (NIJ) RealTime Crime Forecasting Challenge (National Institute of Justice, 2017). Our method is a spatiotemporal forecasting model combining scalable randomized Reproducing Kernel Hilbert Space (RKHS) methods for approximating Gaussian processes with autoregressive smoothing kernels in a regularized supervised learning framework. While the smoothing kernels capture the two main approaches in current use in the field of crime forecasting, kernel density estimation (KDE) and self-exciting point process (SEPP) models, the RKHS component of the model can be understood as an approximation to the popular log-Gaussian Cox Process model. For inference, we discretize the spatiotemporal point pattern and learn a log-intensity function using the Poisson likelihood and highly efficient gradientbased optimization methods. Model hyperparameters including quality of RKHS approximation, spatial and temporal kernel lengthscales, number of autoregressive lags, bandwidths for smoothing kernels, as well as cell shape, size, and rotation, were learned using crossvalidation. Resulting predictions significantly exceeded baseline KDE estimates and SEPP models for sparse events

302 - The global impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on those living with and caring for someone with dementia

We are presenting four abstracts here for four inter-related talks into the global impact of the pandemic on dementia. Specifically, we will be presenting four talks from our international consortium (UK, India, Italy, Poland, Australia) highlighting how dementia has increased as a global public health concern during the pandemic with similar and different impacts across countries; the mental health impact on people with dementia and carers; the difficulties in using technology for social contact in dementia; as well as the impact on carers with relatives residing in institutional long-term care settings. Public involvement has been a key element of this study. The symposium will be hosted by Dr Clarissa Giebel, the PI of this international 5-country study, and talks will be presented by Dr Giebel, Marta Lenart, Dr Ilaria Chirico, and Dr Katarzyna Lion

Employee layoffs in times of crisis: do family firms differ?

In this study, we seek to understand firm behaviour during times of crisis, with a particular focus on family firms in different contexts. We theorize that family control mitigates (i.e. negatively moderates) the relationship between economic crisis and the layoff of employees, resulting in a higher propensity of family firms to retain their employees during a crisis compared to their nonfamily counterparts. Furthermore, taking a closer look at family firms, based on their location, we argue that family firms in rural regions are more likely to adopt measures leading to involuntary job turnover than family firms in urban areas due to a higher sensitivity to the loss of socioemotional wealth following a business closure. Relying on a panel dataset of Swedish private firms active in the period 2004–2012, our study contributes to a better understanding of family firms as employers in different contexts

Multicolor Fluorescent Intravital Live Microscopy (FILM) for Surgical Tumor Resection in a Mouse Xenograft Model

Background: Complete surgical resection of neoplasia remains one of the most efficient tumor therapies. However, malignant cell clusters are often left behind during surgery due to the inability to visualize and differentiate them against host tissue. Here we establish the feasibility of multicolor fluorescent intravital live microscopy (FILM) where multiple cellular and/or unique tissue compartments are stained simultaneously and imaged in real time. Methodology/Principal Findings: Theoretical simulations of imaging probe localization were carried out for three agents with specificity for cancer cells, stromal host response, or vascular perfusion. This transport analysis gave insight into the probe pharmacokinetics and tissue distribution, facilitating the experimental design and allowing predictions to be made about the localization of the probes in other animal models and in the clinic. The imaging probes were administered systemically at optimal time points based on the simulations, and the multicolor FILM images obtained in vivo were then compared to conventional pathological sections. Our data show the feasibility of real time in vivo pathology at cellular resolution and molecular specificity with excellent agreement between intravital and traditional in vitro immunohistochemistry. Conclusions/Significance: Multicolor FILM is an accurate method for identifying malignant tissue and cells in vivo. The imaging probes distributed in a manner similar to predictions based on transport principles, and these models can be used to design future probes and experiments. FILM can provide critical real time feedback and should be a useful tool for mor

Corrigendum to "Spatial moments of catchment rainfall: rainfall spatial organisation, basin morphology, and flood response" published in Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 15, 3767–3783, 2011

No abstract available