Measuring airport service quality: A multidimensional approach

Currently, airports are expected to be operated as self-sufficient service organizations providing efficient and high-quality services to a variety of customers. In this context, improving airport service quality (ASQ) has become paramount. However, due to the complexity of the airport service environment, an effective process of measuring and analyzing passenger perceptions of ASQ is not easily achieved. Generic scales for perceived service quality might not cover some particularities of the passenger–airport interaction. Furthermore, while some measurement practices have been developed within the airport industry, there has been only limited consideration for validity and reliability. These concerns are certainly relevant to avoid misinterpreting passenger perceptions. In view of these concerns, this paper has a twofold objective. First, to fit a measurement model for perceived ASQ built on typical service measures within the airport industry. Second, to test for the model's equivalence across groups of passengers. Sample data from an extensive survey applied at a major Brazilian airport was used for confirmatory factor analysis. The results suggested that a six-factor structure provides a meaningful multi-item measurement model for perceived ASQ. The model was validated for international and domestic departing passengers with respect to its factorial structure and metric invariance. The proposed measurement model could be considered an alternative for a multidimensional approach in the context of airport performance measurement regarding service quality. Finally, the findings from this research might contribute to the discussion on passenger perceptions of ASQ, particularly concerning its multidimensionality and the need to review current practices for ASQ analysis.     

Exploring the concept of perceived sustainability at tourist destinations: a market segmentation approach

The concept of sustainability as perceived by tourists has rarely been studied and much less considered as a basis for segmentation. This article provides a conceptual framework based on tourists’ perception of sustainability policies at destinations and a multidimensional measure for this construct. An empirical analysis at five Mediterranean destinations validated the conceptual proposal and provided empirical evidence for the potential use of perceived sustainability in segmentation studies. Our findings show the discriminating power of the construct, identifying four latent clusters. Perceived sustainability as a tool for segmentation can help analyze the effectiveness of sustainability strategies and action taken.     

University Systems in Europe： A Multi-Dimensional Efficiency Comparison

The paper undertakes an examination of university systems of selected European countries from the perspective of the Austrian higher education system. The challenge of implementing higher institutional autonomy, accountability, and controllability in the Austrian higher education system is discussed with respect to recent experience in selected national university systems in Europe. Two major challenges were identified, first, the high diversity of the Austrian university system, and second, the implementation of considerable reorganization in a comparatively short period and under conditions of relatively high uncertainty.     

Sustainability: Perceptions of Problems and Progress of the Paradigm

Four aspects of the application of sustainability to agricultural policy have remained problematic between the 1987 Brundtland Report and the 2002 World Summit. These are:

Multidimensionality: early emphasis on a triple bottom line of social, economic and biophysical criteria gave way to emphasis on the biophysical, although there is now evidence of re-convergence in policy and from elite consumers.

Hierarchy: sustainability is addressed within systems that are nested in space, time, the principal actor and the dominant factor affecting it.

Emergent properties: an emphasis on anticipating and monitoring sustainability through, e.g. indicators, has obscured the reality that sustainability is an outcome or emergent property. Recent methods derive problem-determined objectives for sustainable development.

Uncertainty: agricultural systems are not simply predictable and deterministic. Assessment of sustainability should quantify and anticipate uncertainties and avoid policy intervention which is coloured by the evaluator and their circumstances.

Social aspects of decision-making pervade all these problems. It is proposed that progress will be accelerated by: pro-active government policy intervention in rural areas (of the type which is accepted by citizens of cities); participatory decision-making from the outset and throughout any development of, or decision to provide financial support to maintain, a sustainable enterprise; and evaluations of sustainability that anticipate variability or risk, uncoloured by short-term priorities such as business survival.     

翻译视野中能力多维性的认知解构

翻译是一种以语言符号为媒介的意识性活动。翻译过程是能力介入作用的过程。翻译的多维能力是翻译操作的心理资源;一个翻译文本的生成是多维能力综合表征的结果,因此翻译能力的建构应是多维性的。     

西藏贫困的脆弱性和多维性*——以昌都、日喀则为例

［目的］贫困是伴随人类发展社会进程所出现的世界性问题，农村贫困更是困扰发展中国家社会经济发展的难题。定量评估农村贫困的多维性和脆弱性特征，不仅有助于理解贫困本身的复杂性，而且能为制定针对性的扶贫对策提供有力支持。［方法］以西藏典型贫困区昌都和日喀则为例，采用入户调查方法获取一手研究数据，对贫困户多维性和脆弱性进行定量测度和评价。［结果］研究区贫困类型可以划分为人力资本缺乏型、基础设施缺乏型、金融资本—基础设施兼缺型、人力资本—基础设施兼缺型、金融资本—人力资本兼缺型、金融资本—人力资本—基础设施缺乏型、生计途径缺乏型； 研究样本脆弱性指数最大值为097，最小值为-023，平均值为036，不同家庭结构和生计策略下贫困的影响因素差异较大，不同家庭结构下影响贫困脆弱性的最显著因素是家庭收支和贷款，不同生计策略下影响贫困脆弱性的最显著因素是生计多样性、抚养比、受教育程度和家庭收支； 样本户由单一维度引起的贫困现象较少，主要是由多种因素共同引起的多维贫困，生计策略以多样型生计策略为主。［结论］研究结论对理解西藏典型农村地区的贫困特征及其精准脱贫实践具有参考价值。