The aim of this study was to determine the possible build up of heavy metals （Pb, Cu, Fe, Mn and Zn） in the Sakumo lagoon, a Ramsar site situated 3 km west of Tema, an industrial town in Ghana. To achieve this, surf...The aim of this study was to determine the possible build up of heavy metals （Pb, Cu, Fe, Mn and Zn） in the Sakumo lagoon, a Ramsar site situated 3 km west of Tema, an industrial town in Ghana. To achieve this, surface sediments were collected from three sections designated as south, centre and north of the lagoon. Sampling was done for a period of six months （September 2007 to February 2008） and concentrations of the heavy metals （Pb, Cu, Mn, Fe and Zn） in the sediments were determined using the atomic absorption spectrophotometer. The results were compared with the mean concentrations of these metals from a study carried out on the same lagoon in 2003. It was observed that concentrations of these heavy metals in the sediments showed a significant increase over the 2003 levels except for lead where a decrease was observed. The metals also showed spatially large variation from south to north. The spatial variations in concentrations indicate the different absorption capacities of the sediments in the lagoon, a phenomenon which shows that recent anthropogenic heavy metal pollution had occurred. Statistical analysis also showed significant correlation between Pb and Cu （0.968） at 0.01 confidence level and between Cu and Zn （0.869） at 0.05 confidence level.展开更多
Most of the time, clients only have one opportunity to evaluate a service received in terms of quality and satisfaction; under this premise organizations have been concerned with developing, in a permanent manner, a q...Most of the time, clients only have one opportunity to evaluate a service received in terms of quality and satisfaction; under this premise organizations have been concerned with developing, in a permanent manner, a quality evaluation culture in the services offered to their clients. To do this, procedures and methods that let them achieve it, have been implemented. That is the case of the model that concedes to measure and evaluate service quality, which is redefined and named Servqual, considering a multidimensional theoretical construct that explains the client＇s perception of quality service considering the differences between what is expected and what is received. Therefore, the goal of this study is to identify the factors that define the quality of emergency services provided by a private hospital in Hermosillo, Sonora, Mtxico, a sample of 384 patients, with a confidence level of 95% and a margin of permissible error of 5%. A questionnaire with 22 items was applied to measure the perceptions and expectations of users in terms of the quality of the service, which was subjected to an extensive evaluation of reliability and construct validity, with an estimate Cronbach＇s alpha of 95.6% and 97.9% respectively. The results showed that Servqual is a valid, reliable, and dependable instrument to monitor and measure the quality of the services offered in private hospitals in Hermosillo, and permit hospital administrators to identify opportunities or improvement areas, from the patients＇ perspective.展开更多
文摘The aim of this study was to determine the possible build up of heavy metals （Pb, Cu, Fe, Mn and Zn） in the Sakumo lagoon, a Ramsar site situated 3 km west of Tema, an industrial town in Ghana. To achieve this, surface sediments were collected from three sections designated as south, centre and north of the lagoon. Sampling was done for a period of six months （September 2007 to February 2008） and concentrations of the heavy metals （Pb, Cu, Mn, Fe and Zn） in the sediments were determined using the atomic absorption spectrophotometer. The results were compared with the mean concentrations of these metals from a study carried out on the same lagoon in 2003. It was observed that concentrations of these heavy metals in the sediments showed a significant increase over the 2003 levels except for lead where a decrease was observed. The metals also showed spatially large variation from south to north. The spatial variations in concentrations indicate the different absorption capacities of the sediments in the lagoon, a phenomenon which shows that recent anthropogenic heavy metal pollution had occurred. Statistical analysis also showed significant correlation between Pb and Cu （0.968） at 0.01 confidence level and between Cu and Zn （0.869） at 0.05 confidence level.
文摘Most of the time, clients only have one opportunity to evaluate a service received in terms of quality and satisfaction; under this premise organizations have been concerned with developing, in a permanent manner, a quality evaluation culture in the services offered to their clients. To do this, procedures and methods that let them achieve it, have been implemented. That is the case of the model that concedes to measure and evaluate service quality, which is redefined and named Servqual, considering a multidimensional theoretical construct that explains the client＇s perception of quality service considering the differences between what is expected and what is received. Therefore, the goal of this study is to identify the factors that define the quality of emergency services provided by a private hospital in Hermosillo, Sonora, Mtxico, a sample of 384 patients, with a confidence level of 95% and a margin of permissible error of 5%. A questionnaire with 22 items was applied to measure the perceptions and expectations of users in terms of the quality of the service, which was subjected to an extensive evaluation of reliability and construct validity, with an estimate Cronbach＇s alpha of 95.6% and 97.9% respectively. The results showed that Servqual is a valid, reliable, and dependable instrument to monitor and measure the quality of the services offered in private hospitals in Hermosillo, and permit hospital administrators to identify opportunities or improvement areas, from the patients＇ perspective.
