Search results for "ample"
showing 10 items of 2398 documents
Does service quality matter in measuring the performance of water utilities?
2008
Abstract Quality is a dimension of water services that has been repeatedly omitted in the study of performance of water utilities. In this paper, Data Envelopment Analysis techniques are used to compute both conventional quantity-based and quality-adjusted scores of technical efficiency for a sample of Spanish water utilities. The key assumptions are that a lack of quality (bad quality) can be regarded as a bad output and the existence of a trade-off between quantity and quality. Our main results indicate that quality matters in measuring technical efficiency, the difference between conventional and quality-adjusted evaluations representing the opportunity cost of maintaining quality. Avera…
Assessing the quality of service to customers provided by water utilities: A synthetic index approach
2017
Abstract Currently, water and sewer companies face the challenge of improving their quality of service to customers (QSC). Performance indicators are essential to monitor and benchmark the QSC of water companies; however, individual indicators do not provide a holistic evaluation of the quality of water and sewer services provided to customers. This study proposes an innovative QSC index based on distance-function techniques that makes it possible to compare changes in the QSC of water companies among locations and temporal periods. A case study assesses changes in QSC for a sample of Chilean water and sewer companies from 2007 to 2014. The results show that in spite of the efforts made by …
Exploring the links between destination attributes, quality of service experience and loyalty in emerging Mediterranean destinations
2020
Abstract Since the publication of the “Experience Economy” work by Pine and Gilmore in 1999, understanding the increasing complexity of the customer experience within the customer journey in the tourism industry is a priority for researchers and destination management organizations. This study contributes to the extension of the Experience Economy in tourism research by examining the links between tourists' assessment of destination attributes, their perceived quality of the service experience and loyalty, in seven emerging Mediterranean destinations. To date, little research has explored the aforementioned aspects, even though the Mediterranean region is the leading tourism destination in …
From service quality in organisations to self-determination at home
2015
Background In our proposed model, family members' perceptions of service quality in organisations improve communication about self-determination. In turn, family perceptions of communication openness have a positive relationship with self-determination attitudes of family members. Finally, these attitudes predict self-determination behaviours of individuals with intellectual disability, as reported by family members. Method We tested this model with a sample of 625 family members (196 using ‘day care services’ and 429 using ‘occupational services’). Results Multi-sample structural equation modelling (SEM) supported the model. Communication and attitudes fully mediated the link from service …
A primal-dual algorithm for the fermat-weber problem involving mixed gauges
1987
We give a new algorithm for solving the Fermat-Weber location problem involving mixed gauges. This algorithm, which is derived from the partial inverse method developed by J.E. Spingarn, simultaneously generates two sequences globally converging to a primal and a dual solution respectively. In addition, the updating formulae are very simple; a stopping rule can be defined though the method is not dual feasible and the entire set of optimal locations can be obtained from the dual solution by making use of optimality conditions. When polyhedral gauges are used, we show that the algorithm terminates in a finite number of steps, provided that the set of optimal locations has nonepty interior an…
Un nuovo campionatore per la misura della perdita di suolo in parcelle attrezzate
2012
Le misure di perdita di suolo in parcelle attrezzate necessitano la conoscenza del peso del materiale eroso intercettato nella sezione terminale delle parcelle. Nell’area sperimentale di Sparacia attrezzata per la misura della perdita di suolo i deflussi torbidi prodotti in seguito ad un evento erosivo vengono convogliati mediante una grondaia posta a valle di ciascuna parcella all’interno di vasche di accumulo. Per misurare la frazione di materiale solido presente nel volume della sospensione raccolto in dette vasche, si propone l’utilizzo di un nuovo campionatore appositamente predisposto. Esso consiste in un cilindro di ottone, di noto diametro, dotato nella sezione terminale di una valv…
Architettura barocca nella Sicilia orientale e progettazione del restauro: la conservazione della facciata della Chiesa di Santa Maria delle Stelle a…
2010
La tavola mostra alcuni elaborati estratti dal progetto di restauro della chiesa di Santa Maria delle Stelle a Comiso (RG), uno degli esempi più rappresentativi d'architettura barocca nella Sicilia orientale.
An empirical approach for ranking environmental and energy saving measures in the hotel sector
2009
The energy demand of the hotel sector of an Italian region is here utilized for hierarchizing, by means of an empirical method, efficient measures devoted to energy saving and reduction of CO2 emissions. Due to the large number of consumers present in the selected territorial area and the lack in detailed data, the energy demand assessment is here carried out by the analysis of a sample of representative consumers. A short set of indexes, referring to energy and environmental performances, are defined and calculated for different clusters of hotels, grouped on the basis of site characteristics, opening periods, number of beds, and building age. Such indexes are utilized to establish lists o…
A hybrid observer for localization from noisy inertial data and sporadic position measurements
2023
We propose an asymptotic position and speed observer for inertial navigation in the case where the position measurements are sporadic and affected by noise. We cast the problem in a hybrid dynamics framework where the continuous motion is affected by unknown continuous-time disturbances and the sporadic position measurements are affected by discrete-time noise. We show that the peculiar hybrid cascaded structure describing the estimation error dynamics is globally finite-gain exponentially ISS with gains depending intuitively on our tuning parameters. Experimental results, as well as the comparison with an Extended Kalman Filter (EKF), confirm the effectiveness of the proposed solution with…
A Gabor-based Technique for Bias Removal in MR images
2007
Magnetic Resonance images are often characterized by irregularly displaced luminance fluctuations that are called bias artifact. This disturb is due to a drop in signal intensity caused by the distance between imaged sample and receiver coil. An original approach to bias removal in Magnetic Resonance images is presented, which is based on the use of Gabor filter to extract the artifact. The proposed technique restores the image using a correction model, which is derived from the attenuation of signal diffusion across the tissues. No hypotheses are made about the structure of the tissues under investigation and the used MR spectrum. The approach is presented in detail, and extensive experime…