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Using coconut shell aggregates (CSA) in concrete benefits agricultural waste management and reduces the demand for mineral resources. Several studies have found that concrete containing CSA can achieve strengths that are comparable to regular concrete. The purpose of the present work is to evaluate the concrete’s durability-related properties to supplement these earlier findings.

Cylindrical specimens were prepared with a constant water–cement ratio of 0.50 and CSA content ranging from 0% to 50% (at 10% increment) by volume of the total coarse aggregates. The specimens were cured for 28 days and then tested for density, surface hardness, electrical resistivity and water sorptivity. The surface hardness was measured to describe the concrete resistance to surface wearing, while the resistivity and sorptivity were evaluated to describe the material’s resistance to fluid penetration.

The results showed that the surface hardness of concrete remained on average at 325 Leeb and did not change significantly with CSA addition. The distribution of surface hardness was also similar across all CSA groups, with the interquartile range averaging 59 Leeb. These results suggest that the cement paste and gravel stiffness had a more pronounced influence on the surface hardness than CSA. On the other hand, concrete became lighter by about 9%, had lower resistivity by 80% and had significantly higher initial sorptivity by up to 110%, when 50% of its natural gravel was replaced with CSA. Future work may be done to improve the durability of CSA when used as coarse aggregate.

The present study is the first to show the lack of correlation between CSA content and surface hardness. It would mean that the surface hardness test may not completely capture the porous nature of CSA-added concrete. The paper concludes that without additional treatment prior to mixing, CSA may be limited only to applications where concrete is not in constant contact with water or deleterious substances.

Laser shock peening (LSP) is mainly a mechanical process, but in some cases, it is performed without a protective coating and thermal effects are present near the surface. The numerical study of thermo‐mechanical effects and process parameter influence in realistic conditions can be used to better understand the process.

A physically comprehensive numerical model (SHOCKLAS) has been developed to systematically study LSP processes with or without coatings starting from laser‐plasma interaction and coupled thermo‐mechanical target behavior. Several typical results of the developed SHOCKLAS numerical system are presented. In particular, the application of the model to the realistic simulation (full 3D dependence, non‐linear material behavior, thermal and mechanical effects, treatment over extended surfaces) of LSP treatments in the experimental conditions of the irradiation facility used by the authors is presented.

Target clamping has some influence on the results and needs to be properly simulated. An increase in laser spot radius and an increase in pressure produces an increase of the maximum compressive residual stress and also the depth of the compressive residual stress region. By increasing the pulse overlapping density, no major improvements are obtained if the pressure is high enough. The relative influence of thermal/mechanical effects shows that each effect has a different temporal scale and thermal effects are limited to a small region near the surface and compressive residual stresses very close to the surface level can be induced even without any protective coating through the application of adjacent pulses.

The paper presents numerical thermo‐mechanical study for LSP treatments without coating and a study of the influence of several process parameters on residual stress distribution with consideration of pulse overlapping.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the methodological approaches adopted in cross‐cultural service quality (CCSQ) research and the extent to which these approaches have adhered to the general principles of established cross‐cultural research methodology.

A search was conducted to identify CCSQ papers published between 1995 and 2009. The authors searched four well‐known online databases: ABI Inform (Proquest Direct), Emerald Library, ScienceDirect, and EBSCOhost. This search identified 40 studies, which were examined according to three broad groups of methodological issues: research design, instrumentation and data collection, and data analysis and measurement.

Despite the acknowledged contributions that these selected studies have made to the services‐marketing field, it is evident from this review that researchers have frequently overlooked many important aspects of cross‐cultural research methodology. These methodological deficiencies are discussed and various remedies are suggested.

There has been a growing research interest in comparative cross‐cultural service‐quality in recent decades. As this relatively new branch of service‐quality research becomes more prominent, it seems opportune to examine the methodological approaches adopted in these studies and the extent to which these approaches have adhered to the general principles of established cross‐cultural research methodology. This is the first work to examine such a large number of CCSQ studies.

LibQUAL is a service‐quality assessment instrument developed by the Association of Research Libraries in partnership with Texas A&M University Library and has been used in numerous institutions. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate a Spanish version of the scale in terms of its structure, reliability, and validity.

Data were collected among students at a well‐known Mexican university. A total of 374 completed questionnaires were used in the analyses. Library service quality was measured using 22 items taken directly from the 2004 version of the LibQUAL scale. The back‐translation method was used to translate the original English version of LibQUAL into Spanish. Data were analysed using SPSS 16.0 and EQS 6.1 in the exploratory and confirmatory stages, respectively.

The study findings show that the Spanish version of the LibQUAL instrument actually consists of four dimensions: “affect of service”; “information access”; “personal control”; and “library as place”. The results support the reliability, convergent validity, discriminant validity, and nomological validity of the proposed Spanish version of the scale.

This is the first study to empirically evaluate and find support for the convergent, discriminant, and nomological validity of a Spanish version of the LibQUAL scale.

The purpose of the present study is to propose a conceptual model and empirically test the relationships between perceived service quality, perceived value, and recommendation in the public library setting.

The LibQUAL+^TM 2004 instrument was administered to 439 Canadian public library users.

The results show that affect of service, library as place, and information control significantly explain perceived value. There is a strong relationship between perceived service value and recommendation. The results also support the validity of the LibQUAL+^TM measure used in this study and its relevance in the public library service context.

Future research can focus on comparing the proposed relationships across different types of libraries. Another direction of research for future research is the study of these relationships in different cultural settings.

The paper provides valuable results concerning the determinants of the perceived value of library services from the users' perspective.

This research assesses the psychometric properties of a service quality measure applied internationally and investigates cross‐cultural differences in perceived service quality between North American and Latin American consumers. With this purpose in mind a cross‐cultural survey was conducted in which consumers evaluated the quality of supermarket services both in Quebec and in Peru. Four culture value orientations were expected to account for differences in perceived service quality: individualism, collectivism, monochronic time, and polychronic time. Confirmatory factor analysis provided support for convergent, discriminant, and nomological validities of the performance‐only items scale measuring service quality cross‐culturally. Multisample analysis using structural equation modeling showed evidence of partial invariance of the measurement model in the two samples. The relative importance of service quality dimensions was different. Responsiveness was the most important dimension for Quebecers while tangibles was the most important for Peruvians. Further research must be conducted in order to explore how cultural differences shape perceptions of service quality.

The aim of this paper is to compare perceptions of bank service quality among Tunisian and Canadian customers, and to determine which dimensions of service quality make the greatest contribution to overall customer satisfaction and loyalty.

Data were collected using self‐administered questionnaires from two convenience samples of bank customers (250 in Canada and 222 in Tunisia). Service quality was measured using the five SERVQUAL dimensions of tangibles, reliability, responsiveness, assurance, and empathy. Data were analyzed using confirmatory factor analysis, ANOVA and linear regression.

Respondents in both countries reported high levels of perceived service quality in banks. However, Canadians reported higher perceived service quality than Tunisians for all five SERVQUAL dimensions, and for 21 of the 22 individual items. In the Canadian sample, empathy and reliability were found to be the most important predictors of satisfaction and loyalty, while in the Tunisian sample, reliability and responsiveness were the most important predictors of satisfaction and loyalty.

Canadian bank managers should recognize the importance of “empathy” in service delivery by implementing appropriate customer‐oriented strategies. Tunisian bank managers should focus on performing promised services dependably and accurately.

Despite the large number of studies on individual countries, few studies compare bank service quality among different countries. The present study compares perceptions of bank service quality between consumers in two countries – Canada and Tunisia – that have different economic and cultural environments.

This paper aims to determine the impact of the economic crisis on the level of social commitment of the Spanish savings banks.

The paper uses the information provided by Spanish savings banks (SSBs) for 2004‐2009. In particular, it analyses the evolution of the welfare fund, the financial results, and the ratio between the welfare fund and the financial results variables for each of the SBs, to go more thoroughly into how the welfare fund is distributed.

The evolution of the allocations to the welfare fund shows a significant decline in absolute numbers, as a logical consequence of the significant decrease in the financial results. However, a substantial WF/P ratio growth can be seen in 2008 – 27.81 per cent – and, above all, of 36.08 per cent in 2009. This has allowed a certain mitigation of the decline of the allocations. In addition, a change has taken place in the distribution of the welfare fund, the amount for health and social care being bigger than the amount spent on culture and leisure.

This paper aims to highlight the impact that the process of mergers and acquisitions can have on the survival and the social commitment of the SBs.

The paper provides a quantitative and qualitative analysis of the effect of the economic crisis on the social commitment of the Spanish savings banks.