Qualidade de Serviço numa unidade Hoteleira em São Vicente

A satisfação dos clientes é uma forma das empresas se manterem no mercado a partir da conquista dos seus parceiros comerciais, por isso o tema satisfação ganhou maior importância no contexto da administração de empresas. Dado o crescente fenómeno competitivo da indústria hoteleira, o objectivo deste estudo foi aumentar a compreensão das percepções sobre a qualidade do serviço de um hotel, da perspectiva dos seus consumidores. Além disso, este estudo também pretendeu explorar a relação entre a satisfação global e nove factores de qualidade num serviço sendo eles: “higiene e limpeza”, “decoração”, “conforto”, “funcionários”, “alimentação”, “animação”, “serviços de apoio”, “quarto”, e “relação qualidade/preço”. Esta pesquisa acedeu as percepções da qualidade do serviço no hotel através da aplicação de um questionário abrangendo uma amostra de 16 respondentes (hospedes que de livre vontade responderam ao questionário). Os dados recolhidos foram analisados em SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Sciences). Verificamos os seguintes resultados: São o conforto (primeiro lugar), a higiene e limpeza (em segundo) e os serviços de apoio (em terceiro) que mais influenciam a satisfação global no hotel. Costumer’s satisfaction is one way for companies to keep in the market by the conquest of its trading partners; hence, the theme of satisfaction gained greater importance in the context of business administration lately. Given the increasing competitive phenomenon in the touristic industry, the aim of this study was to increase the comprehension of perceptions towards hotel service quality from the hotel customer’s perspective. Besides, this study also intended to explore the relationship between the overall satisfaction and nine service quality factors, namely: “cleanness”, “decoration”, “comfort”, “staff”, and “food/beverage”, “entertainment” “support services”, “rooms and “relation quality/price”. This research assessed the ‘perceptions of service quality’ by applying a questionnaire comprising a sample of 16 guests that responded it correctly. Data collected was analyzed using SPSS - (Statistical Package for Social Sciences). The results indicated the following: comfort (in the first place), cleanness (in the second) and support services (in the third) are the factors that most influence the overall satisfaction in a hotel.

F-1 Food Assistance Program State Summary, February 2007

The Food Assistance Monthly Participation Report is a monthly summary of Food Assistance program participation, Statewide and for each Iowa county. Breakouts are reported for participants also in the FIP program, those only receiving Food Assistance, and those that are receiving economic assistance under other programs (primarily Medicaid). This report may also be known as the F-1 Report.

F-1 Food Assistance Program State Summary, March 2007

The Food Assistance Monthly Participation Report is a monthly summary of Food Assistance program participation, Statewide and for each Iowa county. Breakouts are reported for participants also in the FIP program, those only receiving Food Assistance, and those that are receiving economic assistance under other programs (primarily Medicaid). This report may also be known as the F-1 Report.

F-1 Food Assistance Program State Summary, April 2007

The Food Assistance Monthly Participation Report is a monthly summary of Food Assistance program participation, Statewide and for each Iowa county. Breakouts are reported for participants also in the FIP program, those only receiving Food Assistance, and those that are receiving economic assistance under other programs (primarily Medicaid). This report may also be known as the F-1 Report.

IROme, a New High-Throughput Molecular Tool for the Diagnosis of Inherited Retinal Dystrophies-A Price Comparison with Sanger Sequencing.

The molecular diagnosis of retinal dystrophies (RD) is difficult because of genetic and clinical heterogeneity. Previously, the molecular screening of genes was done one by one, sometimes in a scheme based on the frequency of sequence variants and the number of exons/length of the candidate genes. Payment for these procedures was complicated and the sequential billing of several genes created endless paperwork. We therefore evaluated the costs of generating and sequencing a hybridization-based DNA library enriched for the 64 most frequently mutated genes in RD, called IROme, and compared them to the costs of amplifying and sequencing these genes by the Sanger method. The production cost generated by the high-throughput (HT) sequencing of IROme was established at CHF 2,875.75 per case. Sanger sequencing of the same exons cost CHF 69,399.02. Turnaround time of the analysis was 3 days for IROme. For Sanger sequencing, it could only be estimated, as we never sequenced all 64 genes in one single patient. Sale cost for IROme calculated on the basis of the sale cost of one exon by Sanger sequencing is CHF 8,445.88, which corresponds to the sale price of 40 exons. In conclusion, IROme is cheaper and faster than Sanger sequencing and therefore represents a sound approach for the diagnosis of RD, both scientifically and economically. As a drop in the costs of HT sequencing is anticipated, target resequencing might become the new gold standard in the molecular diagnosis of RD.

Economic Aspects of Agricultural and Food Biosecurity in the United States, March 2007

Concerns about biosecurity in the food system raise a variety of issues about how the system is presently organized, why it might be vulnerable, what one could reasonably do to better secure it, and the costs of doing so. After presenting some facts about US agriculture and food, this paper considers three economic aspects of the general problem. One is the global problem, or the way biosecurity measures can affect how countries relate to each other and the global consequences that result. Another is how to best manage the immediate aftermath of a realized threat in order to minimize damage. The third is how to seek to prevent realization of the threat. Some policy alternatives are also presented.

Emerging Biofuels: Outlook of Effects on U.S. Grain, Oilseed, and Livestock Markets, 2007

Projections of U.S. ethanol production and its impacts on planted acreage, crop prices, livestock production and prices, trade, and retail food costs are presented under the assumption that current tax credits and trade policies are maintained. The projections were made using a multi-product, multi-country deterministic partial equilibrium model. The impacts of higher oil prices, a drought combined with an ethanol mandate, and removal of land from the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) relative to baseline projections are also presented. The results indicate that expanded U.S. ethanol production will cause long-run crop prices to increase. In response to higher feed costs, livestock farmgate prices will increase enough to cover the feed cost increases. Retail meat, egg, and dairy prices will also increase. If oil prices are permanently $10-per-barrel higher than assumed in the baseline projections, U.S. ethanol will expand significantly. The magnitude of the expansion will depend on the future makeup of the U.S. automobile fleet. If sufficient demand for E-85 from flex-fuel vehicles is available, corn-based ethanol production is projected to increase to over 30 billion gallons per year with the higher oil prices. The direct effect of higher feed costs is that U.S. food prices would increase by a minimum of 1.1% over baseline levels. Results of a model of a 1988-type drought combined with a large mandate for continued ethanol production show sharply higher crop prices, a drop in livestock production, and higher food prices. Corn exports would drop significantly, and feed costs would rise. Wheat feed use would rise sharply. Taking additional land out of the CRP would lower crop prices in the short run. But because long-run corn prices are determined by ethanol prices and not by corn acreage, the long-run impacts on commodity prices and food prices of a smaller CRP are modest. Cellulosic ethanol from switchgrass and biodiesel from soybeans do not become economically viable in the Corn Belt under any of the scenarios. This is so because high energy costs that increase the prices of biodiesel and switchgrass ethanol also increase the price of cornbased ethanol. So long as producers can choose between soybeans for biodiesel, switchgrass for ethanol, and corn for ethanol, they will choose to grow corn. Cellulosic ethanol from corn stover does not enter into any scenario because of the high cost of collecting and transporting corn stover over the large distances required to supply a commercial-sized ethanol facility.

F-1 Food Assistance Program State Summary, May 2007

The Food Assistance Monthly Participation Report is a monthly summary of Food Assistance program participation, Statewide and for each Iowa county. Breakouts are reported for participants also in the FIP program, those only receiving Food Assistance, and those that are receiving economic assistance under other programs (primarily Medicaid). This report may also be known as the F-1 Report.

F-1 Food Assistance Program State Summary, June 2007

The Food Assistance Monthly Participation Report is a monthly summary of Food Assistance program participation, Statewide and for each Iowa county. Breakouts are reported for participants also in the FIP program, those only receiving Food Assistance, and those that are receiving economic assistance under other programs (primarily Medicaid). This report may also be known as the F-1 Report.

Parent perceived quality of life is age-dependent in children with food allergy.

Food allergy in children significantly affects their quality of life. Its impact can be analyzed by quality of life questionnaires. The aim of our study was to validate the French version of disease-specific questionnaires and to evaluate the quality of life in children with IgE-mediated food allergy. Two validated food allergy-specific questionnaires for quality of life, the parent's and children's forms (FAQLQ-PF and FAQLQ-CF), were translated from English to French and submitted to children with food allergy and their parents. Questionnaires were analyzed in terms of emotional impact, food anxiety, and social and food limitations. NCT 01480427. Sixty-two parents of children aged 0-12 yrs answered the FAQLQ-PF, and 32 children aged 8-12 yrs the FAQLQ-CF. Construct validity of both questionnaires was assessed by correlation between the FAQLQs and FAIM (r = 0.85 and 0.84, respectively). Both FAQLQs had good internal consistency (Cronbach's α = 0.748 and 0.67, respectively). Young children (0-3 yrs old) showed better quality of life scores than older children (FAQLQ-PF global score: p = 0.02). Worse scores were also shown among children with previous severe systemic reactions (FAQLQ-PF global score: p = 0.039), the ones with an allergic mother (FAQLQ-PF global score: p = 0.002), or allergic siblings (FAQLQ-PF emotional impact score: p = 0.034), the ones with multiple food allergy (more than 1 food) (FAQLQ-PF anxiety score: p = 0.04) and among the girls (FAQLQ-CF global score: p = 0.031). Older children, the ones with severe systemic reactions, or with mothers or siblings also affected by allergies, as well as girls, and children with multiple food allergies show worse quality of life scores.

F-1 Food Assistance Program State Summary, July 2007

The Food Assistance Monthly Participation Report is a monthly summary of Food Assistance program participation, Statewide and for each Iowa county. Breakouts are reported for participants also in the FIP program, those only receiving Food Assistance, and those that are receiving economic assistance under other programs (primarily Medicaid). This report may also be known as the F-1 Report.

F-1 Food Assistance Program State Summary, August 2007

The Food Assistance Monthly Participation Report is a monthly summary of Food Assistance program participation, Statewide and for each Iowa county. Breakouts are reported for participants also in the FIP program, those only receiving Food Assistance, and those that are receiving economic assistance under other programs (primarily Medicaid). This report may also be known as the F-1 Report.

Oil price shocks, income and democracy

We examine the effect of oil price fluctuations ondemocratic institutions over the 1960-2007 period. We also exploitthe very persistent response of income to oil price fluctuations tostudy the effect of persistent (oil price-driven) income shocks ondemocracy. Our results indicate that countries with greater net oilexports over GDP see improvements in democratic institutionsfollowing upturns in international oil prices. We estimate that a 1percentage point increase in per capita GDP growth due to apositive oil price shock increases the Polity democracy score byaround 0.2 percentage points on impact and by around 2 percentagepoints in the long run. The effect on the probability of a democratictransition is around 0.4 percentage points.

F-1 Food Assistance Program State Summary, September, 2007

The Food Assistance Monthly Participation Report is a monthly summary of Food Assistance program participation, Statewide and for each Iowa county. Breakouts are reported for participants also in the FIP program, those only receiving Food Assistance, and those that are receiving economic assistance under other programs (primarily Medicaid). This report may also be known as the F-1 Report.

Consistent solutions in exchange economies: A characterization of the price mechanism

We characterize the Walrasian allocations correspondence by means offour axioms: consistency, replica invariance, individual rationality andPareto optimality. It is shown that for any given class of exchange economiesany solution that satisfies the axioms is a selection from the Walrasianallocations with slack. Preferences are assumed to be smooth, but may besatiated and non--convex. A class of economies is defined as all economieswhose agents' preferences belong to an arbitrary family (finite or infinite)of types. The result can be modified to characterize equal budget Walrasianallocations with slack by replacing individual rationality with individualrationality from equal division. The results are valid also for classes ofeconomies in which core--Walras equivalence does not hold.