Search results

New acrylic and allylic resins were prepared by functionalising perfluoropolyethers chains, which assured peculiar surface properties. Blends having a different amount of the acrylic and of the allylic systems were cured in air by UV irradiation. The cure of the films was found dependent on the ratio between the two resins; the concentration for the obtaining of a film fully cured in air was determined. On the basis of this concentration, a macromer functionalised with the right amount of both the acrylic group and the allylic one was synthesised.

The purpose of this study is to demonstrate the potential of three-dimensional printing technology for the remanufacturing of end-of-life (EoL) composites. This technology will enable the rapid fabrication of environmentally sustainable structures with complex shapes and good mechanical properties. These three-dimensional printed objects will have several application fields, such as street furniture and urban renewal, thus promoting a circular economy model.

For this purpose, a low-cost liquid deposition modeling technology was used to extrude photo-curable and thermally curable composite inks, composed of an acrylate-based resin loaded with different amounts of mechanically recycled glass fiber reinforced composites (GFRCs). Rheological properties of the extruded inks and their printability window and the conversion of cured composites after an ultraviolet light (UV) assisted extrusion were investigated. In addition, tensile properties of composites remanufactured by this UV-assisted technology were studied.

A printability window was found for the three-dimensional printable GFRCs inks. The formulation of the composite printable inks was optimized to obtain high quality printed objects with a high content of recycled GFRCs. Tensile tests also showed promising mechanical properties for printed GFRCs obtained with this approach.

The novelty of this paper consists in the remanufacturing of GFRCs by the three-dimensional printing technology to promote the implementation of a circular economy. This study shows the feasibility of this approach, using mechanically recycled EoL GFRCs, composed of a thermoset polymer matrix, which cannot be melted as in case of thermoplastic-based composites. Objects with complex shapes were three-dimensional printed and presented here as a proof-of-concept.

Several service quality studies show how cultural features may influence the way service quality is perceived. However, few studies specifically describe culture's influence on health service quality. Also, there are few studies that take into account patients' health service quality perceptions. This article seeks to present a first step to fill these gaps by examining patients' cultural values and their health service quality assessments.

The study draws on published work and applies its ideas to Chinese healthcare settings. Data consist of hospital service perceptions in the People's Republic of China (PRC), a society that is socially, economically and culturally undergoing major changes. In total, 96 patients were surveyed. Data relationships were tested using partial least square (PLS) analysis.

Findings show that Chinese patients' cultural values and their health service assessments are related and that the cultural values themselves seem to be changing. Additionally, further analyses provided interesting results pointing to which cultural values influenced service quality perceptions. The strongest service quality predictor was power distance.

The sample is relatively small and collected from only one major hospital in China. Therefore, future research should extend the sample size and scope. Follow‐up research could also include cross‐cultural investigations of perceived health service quality to substantiate cultural influences on health service quality perceptions.

In line with similar research in other contexts, the study confirms that power distance has a significant relationship with service quality perceptions.

The study contributes to existing health service literature by offering patients' views on health service quality and by describing relationships between health service perceptions and cultural values ‐ the study's main contribution.

The present study aims to examine the relationship between techno-ethical orientation and ethical decision-making (EDM) in Indian supply chain companies during the COVID-19 pandemic. It also aims to explore the moderating role of technological frames (TF) in the relationship between techno-ethical orientation and EDM.

The relationship between techno-ethical orientation and EDM is examined using correlation and regression analysis. The moderating effect of five dimensions of TFs (personal attitude, application value, organisational influence, supervisor influence and industry influence) is analysed using structural equation modelling.

The correlation coefficient between techno-ethical orientation and EDM is 0.513. Also, the regression coefficient (β = 0.213) is significant at 0.05, establishing a positive linkage between the two. R-square values showed a 45.2% variation in EDM is explained by techno-ethical orientation. Similarly, all variables of TFs have a positive and significant moderating effect on the relationship between techno-ethical orientation and EDM.

This is one of the pioneer studies exploring techno-ethical orientation’s impact on EDM in supply chain companies.

Well‐founded complaint has recently been made concerning the characters of the various forms of “candy,” or, as we should term them, “sweets,” that are manufactured in great quantities in the United States.

The purpose of this paper is to develop a constitutive model in cyclic viscoplasticity of perfluoroelastomers that accounts for the Mullins effect and to determine adjustable parameters in the stress‐strain relations by fitting observations in mechanical tests.

A perfluoroelastomer with a complicated internal structure is modeled as an equivalent incompressible, permanent, non‐affine network of chains with constrained mobility. Its viscoplastic response at finite strains is treated as sliding of junctions between chains with respect to their reference positions. Damage accumulation is associated with acceleration of plastic flow of junctions driven by growth of free volume. Stress‐strain relations are derived by using the Clausius‐Duhem inequality.

Constitutive equations are developed that correctly describe the mechanical behavior of perfluoroelastomers under cyclic loading with stress‐ and strain‐controlled deformation programs and arbitrary numbers of cycles. Adjustable parameters in the stress‐strain relations are found by matching experimental data in uniaxial tensile tests. Numerical simulation demonstrates that the model adequately predicts characteristic features of the Mullins effect.

A constitutive model is derived that can be applied for description of the viscoplastic response in perfluoroelastomers at cyclic loading with complicated deformation programs and prediction of their time to failure under fatigue conditions.

This paper aims to review the patient satisfaction literature, specifically meta‐analyses, which critically analyses its theory and use; then to present evidence for perceived service quality as a separate and more advanced construct.

Papers that judiciously review the development and application of patient satisfaction were identified; along with studies addressing the conceptual and methodological deficiencies associated with the concept; and the current perceived service quality theory.

Patient satisfaction has been extensively studied and considerable effort has gone into developing survey instruments to measure it. However, most reviews have been critical of its use, since there is rarely any theoretical or conceptual development of the patient satisfaction concept. The construct has little standardisation, low reliability and uncertain validity. It continues to be used interchangeably with, and as a proxy for, perceived service quality, which is a conceptually different and superior construct.

The persistent use of patient satisfaction to evaluate the client's perception of the quality of a health service is seriously flawed. The key to solving this dilemma may be for the healthcare sector to focus on perceived health service quality by considering the specific concepts and models that can be found in the services marketing literature. This literature offers more advanced consumer theories which are better differentiated and tested than existing healthcare satisfaction models.

The paper points out that there is an urgent need for differentiation and standardisation of satisfaction and service quality definitions and constructs, and argues for research to focus on measuring perceived health service quality.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of health-care service quality (HCSQ) dimensions on patient satisfaction and behavioural intentions in selected corporate hospitals from South India.

Based on Parasuraman et al.’s SERVQUAL variables, the study tried to identify the effects of each variable to patient satisfaction and behavioural intentions. Data were collected through systematic random sampling among 500 in-patients of corporate hospitals with minimum four days stay were considered for the in-patients’ sample. Structural equation modelling technique was used to investigate the effect of HCSQ dimensions on patient satisfaction and behavioural intention.

The findings suggest that in addition to “patient satisfaction”, the only HCSQ dimension that directly affects behavioural intention is “empathy”. In addition, “empathy” affects “responsiveness”, “assurance” and “tangibles” which, in turn, have only an indirect effect to behavioural intention through “patient satisfaction”.

This research investigated the HCSQ dimensions effects on patient satisfaction and behavioural intention from the perspective of patients and corporate hospitals run by the private players. This paper contributes to the body of academic knowledge by shedding more light into the role of HCSQ dimensions, and especially “empathy”, in the intentions for corporate hospital patients.

An understanding of the direct and indirect effect of HCSQ dimensions on patient satisfaction and behavioural intentions is important to corporate hospital marketing managers because it offers them the opportunity to take certain actions for improving patients’ satisfaction and these actions increase their intention to revisit.

The paper manages to investigate the effects of HCSQ dimensions on patient satisfaction and behavioural intention, especially in the health-care marketing sector.

The purpose of this study is to investigate hospital service quality and its effect on patient satisfaction and behavioural intention.

A convenience sampling technique was used in this study. A total of 350 questionnaires were distributed and 216 were returned (61.7 per cent response rate).

The results confirm that the five dimensions – admission, medical service, overall service, discharge and social responsibility – are a distinct construct for hospital service quality. Each dimension has a significant relationship with hospital service quality. The findings of this study indicate that the establishment of higher levels of hospital service quality will lead customers to have a high level of satisfaction and behavioural intention.

This research examined the concept of hospital service quality, patient satisfaction and behavioural intention from the perspective of patients. However, this study did not explore the perspective of service providers. This is a limitation in as much as it only considers the patients' view, which might be different from the providers' view.

The results indicate that managers should use the perceived service quality and customer satisfaction as mechanisms for exit strategy that will increase loyalty among the present customers.

This study will enable hospitals to have a better understanding of the effects of service quality, which will lead to patient satisfaction and behavioural intention in order to build long‐term relationships with their patients.