Factors that influence French consumer satisfaction in the preference for Chilean avocados (Persea Americana Mill.)

Most avocados consumed in France come from Peru or Chile. French suppliers vary based on the season; however, Chile is the main supplier of avocados during the winter season. The aim of this study is to analyze the key variables that influence French consumer satisfaction in the preference for Chilean avocados.This is substantiated using an exploratory multivariate analysis, which was performed on a causal model comprised of endogenous constructs: perceived extrinsic and intrinsic quality, perceived risk and perceived value. The sample consists of 346 French consumers of Chilean avocados in supermarkets of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. The main results show that the risk perceived by French consumers can only be related to the perceived extrinsic quality of the product. On the other hand, both perceived intrinsic and extrinsic quality are directly related to perceived value. Finally, it is concluded that French consumer satisfaction in the preference for Chilean avocados can be explained by the variables perceived intrinsic quality, perceived extrinsic quality and perceived value.

Tipificación socio-agronómica y energética de productores de maíz en la región Frailesca, Chiapas, México

The identification and characterization of farmers types in the maize agroecosystem is an essential element for the development of effective and sustainable socio-productive strategies. In four municipalities of the Frailesca region in Chiapas, Mexico; maize farmers were typified and their agroecosystem was characterized regarding the criteria: socioeconomic, productive and energy efficiency. Besides, farmers relation to conventional, agro-ecological and mixed production strategies was determined. It was an exploratory socio-agronomic and descriptive research focused on a system approach and energy flows. The sample used was 300 farmers. For data management, descriptive statistics and exploratory multivariate analysis of principal components and clusters were used to construct the typologies. Five types of farmers-groups were identified based on six components that explained 83 % of the total variance. Among these components, the following stood out: "Yield and Efficiency", "Maize profile" (refers to the type of maize and its importance within the system) and "Energy Consumption". The typified groups of farmers were labeled as: "Small farmers", "Major farmers", "Mixed livestock-maize farmers", "Subsistence farmers" and "Maize-stubble producers". All groups are characterized by having small maize areas, but they are considered to have an acceptable energy efficiency, greater than 10 MJ and yields between 2.8 and 4.0 t.ha-1, higher than the average for the state of Chiapas. All groups were efficient in the use of energy, as result of the high productive and economic capacity of the agroecosystem. The maize yield is between 2.8 and 4.0 t.ha-1 and the energy efficiency is higher than 10 MJ. Conventional agriculture management predominates in the region in 86 % of the studied systems.

The Right Stuff: Are Not-For-Profit Managers Really Different?

In response to public pressure for accountability in the not-for-profit (NFP) sector, attempts have been made to adopt for-profit controls. These have generated mixed results. While many have argued that employees attracted to the NFP sector are "different," little prior empirical evidence backs up this claim. To address this gap, we review the literature to identify claimed individual characteristics that might differ and use the survey method to examine whether these differences exist between the groups of responding managers working in the NFP and for-profit sectors. NFP respondents exhibit lower levels of narcissism, lower levels of entitlement, less extroversion, and a more externally oriented locus of control than their for-profit counterparts. In exploratory multivariate analysis, best predictors of NFP membership include extroversion, locus of control, conscientiousness and moral reasoning. Rather surprisingly, the groups did not differ on altruism or tolerance for ambiguity. Implications for control system design are discussed.

On the interaction between register variation and regional varieties in English

This paper examines the extent to which regional varieties of English influence register variation. Register is a key concept in systemic functional linguistics (SFL), whereas regional variation is rarely studied in this framework. However, languages like Chinese, Spanish and English are used in more than one region and such more complex language situations raise the question of whether registers are used consistently throughout. In this study, texts from three varieties represented in the International Corpus of English are analysed for frequencies of 41 lexico-grammatical features and subjected to exploratory multivariate analysis. The analysis shows that, while there are clear indications of register patterns irrespective of varieties, variety appears to override register in some cases. Variety therefore needs to be accounted for in language theory in addition to the language system and registers as subsystems.

Participation of the autonomic cardiac system in dogs with chronic myxomatous degeneration of the mitral valve

ABSTRACT An exploratory multivariate analysis of factors of echocardiographic variables and those of the Holter test of 38 dogs with MVMD staged in three classes (class 1a, class 1b, class 2) of congestive heart failure proposed by the ISACHC. The purpose of this analysis was learning the processes that would explain the behavior of the variables described, using exploratory multivariate techniques of factors. Five independent factors were determined (PNS to SF) which altogether explain 82.17% of the shared variance of the data. It was identified that among the five factors, the first process (PNS) is the first factor in importance, recruiting the highest percentage of variance (37.96%) and represents the participation of the cardiac autonomic nervous system.

Exploratory Analysis of Influencing Variables on Deforestation in Ghana

The relationship between energy access and deforestation in Ghana is examined through this exploratory multivariate analysis. Variables of electrification rate, wood use as cooking fuel, built-up area, population density, cropland area, and education are used to understand the relative influence of energy access on deforestation. This research uses RStudio, GeoDa and SPSS software to perform statistical processes: enter and stepwise multivariate linear regression, cluster analysis, and Bivariate Local Indicators of Spatial Association (BiLISA). The methods conducted at the sub-national scale improve upon on recent research that found wood use as cooking fuel to be a significant driver of deforestation that is being minimized by increasing access to electricity. This research conversely reveals that energy access is in fact influencing an increase in deforestation in Ghana.