Sapientia
Repositório Científico da UAlg
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Digital co-creation and the transformation of customer experience in Moroccan hospitality
Publication . Lazrak, Youssra; El Idrissi Tissafi, Amina; Torkington, Kate; Correia, Marisol B.
In Morocco’s rapidly growing hotel sector, digital co-creation is emerging as a key strategy to enhance the customer experience. Grounded in co-creation theory and the literature surrounding digital transformation, this study explores how Moroccan hotels use digital platforms to engage customers and foster service innovation. A qualitative research design, based on 27 semi-structured interviews with hotel clients, was employed. Data were analysed inductively using thematic analysis with NVivo 14, allowing patterns and key themes to emerge from participants’ narratives.
Findings reveal that digital tools improve service personalization, facilitate feedback, and enable collaborative engagement through mobile applications, contributing to higher customer satisfaction and more effective service innovation. Persistent challenges include gaps in digital literacy and concerns regarding data privacy.
The study contributes theoretically by providing contextual insights into how digital co-creation fosters personalization, engagement, and service innovation in Moroccan hotels. On a practical level, it offers empirically-grounded recommendations for hotel managers to design user-friendly digital interfaces, ensure data privacy, and support customers in adopting digital tools, thereby enhancing satisfaction and fostering customer loyalty.
The impact of information systems and the circular economy in the rural tourism sector. An evaluation of the Algarve region
Publication . Pego, Ana
Rural tourism in the Algarve is one of the main types of tourism that has grown in importance over the last ten years. Its importance shows a new capacity for tourism supply and demand, as well as a new methodology to improve the rural market. In addition, the sustainability of the rural tourism sector and its performance based on the circular economy is a good indicator that the rural market has improved its competitiveness and resilience. The research aims to describe the importance of the link between the circular economy (CE) and the information system (IS) in the rural tourism sector in the Algarve region. The quantitative research focused on the importance of the combination of these variables in rural tourism (RT) through the analysis of rural organisations. The author addresses the following research question: How has the rural tourism sector promoted CE and IS to increase its competitiveness? The analysis presents a challenging opportunity to discuss the use of IS and CE in rural organisations in terms of sustainability and competitiveness in the sector. The research provides an accessible exploratory study of circular management in RT while offering the opportunity to discover a new management methodology based on IS and CE. Furthermore, it is of interest to academics, policy makers, and others working in the hospitality sector.
Radium - from discovery to the present day – narrative review
Publication . Charkiewicz, Angelika Edyta; Djuricic, Ivana; Todorovic, Vanja; Nikliński, Jacek; Conceição, Jaime; Djordjevic, Brizita
Following its discovery, radium was initially promoted as a therapeutic agent for a wide range of conditions, including skin disorders, allergies, visual problems, joint pain, and as a general health-enhancing remedy. However, subsequent research demonstrated its significant radiological toxicity and harmful effects on human health. Despite these risks, more than a century after its discovery, certain radium isotopes continue to have limited medical applications, particularly in the treatment of specific cancers. Following ingestion, radium is absorbed into the body and behaves similarly to calcium, resulting in its deposition in bone tissue. A proportion of absorbed radium is eliminated through feces and urine, while the remaining fraction may persist in the skeleton and contribute to long-term internal radiation exposure. The severity and onset of adverse health effects are closely related to the absorbed dose and duration of exposure. Chronic exposure to elevated radium levels has been associated with hematological abnormalities, cataracts, dental and jaw damage, bone cancer, and increased mortality. Advances in radiobiology, radiation protection, and personalized medicine continue to improve the safety and effectiveness of radiation-based treatments. Modern radiotherapy, including selected applications involving targeted radionuclide therapy, requires a detailed understanding of radiation dose distribution, biological responses, and patient-specific factors. The optimization of re-irradiation strategies remains an important clinical challenge that requires careful assessment of previous radiation exposure, tissue tolerance, and potential risks. Because radium exposure can occur through ingestion, inhalation, or dermal contact, continued monitoring, appropriate regulatory frameworks, and access to specialized analytical methods remain essential components of public health protection. International cooperation and strengthened surveillance programs are needed to ensure the safe management of radium-containing materials and minimize potential health risks.
The geochronological landscape of Mozambique: absolute dates from archaeological and palaeoenvironmental contexts
Publication . Bicho, Nuno; Gomes, Ana; Skosey-LaLonde, Elena; Raja, Mussa
This paper presents a systematic review of absolute dating data from Mozambique, drawing on a compiled database of 442 dates from 69 sites. The dataset spans archaeological and palaeoenvironmental contexts and encompasses dates ranging from the present day to close to a half a million years ago, covering the whole of the Holocene and part of the Middle and Upper Pleistocene. The most widely used dating method is radiocarbon (AMS and original), followed by luminescence techniques (OSL variants and pIRIR), electron spin resonance (ESR), uranium-series and cosmogenic nuclide dating. More than 250 dates belong to archaeological contexts distributed across four cultural phases — the Ceramic Phase, the Later Stone Age, the Middle Stone Age and the Early Stone Age — while the remaining entries come from palaeoenvironmental contexts. Regionally, the southern provinces of Inhambane, Gaza and Maputo are the most densely sampled, followed by the central region (Zambezia, Tete, Sofala and Manica) and lastly the northern region (Cabo Delgado, Niassa and Nampula). These distributions are discussed in the light of research history and the chronological resolution offered by each method. Significant gaps are identified in the geochronological coverage of Mozambique that call for targeted future investigation.
Estudo dos sintomas de lesões músculo-esqueléticas relacionadas com o trabalho nos cantoneiros de limpeza
Publication . Nora, Elisabete da Saudade Passos Ruas; Cavaco, Adriana Isabel Rodrigues González; Fontes, Ana Paula de Almeida
As Lesões Músculo-esqueléticas Relacionadas com o Trabalho (LMERT), são consideradas as doenças profissionais mais prevalentes na União Europeia, atingindo trabalhadores de todos os setores e profissões, lesando trabalhadores, empresas e sociedade em geral. Este estudo pretendeu identificar e analisar a presença de sintomas de LMERT nos cantoneiros de limpeza da Taviraverde, E.M. avaliando o impacto da implementação de um programa de ginástica laboral, ao nível da sintomatologia músculo-esquelética e ao nível do desempenho de algumas atividades. Para tal, caraterizou-se a amostra em termos sociodemográficos, de saúde, sintomas de LMERT e desempenho de algumas atividades relacionadas com os membros superiores, pré e pós-intervenção. A recolha dos dados incluiu caracterização sociodemográfica, de saúde, o Questionário Nórdico Musculoesquelético e o Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand. Foi um estudo de caráter experimental longitudinal, do tipo analítico com recolha de dados antes e depois da intervenção, numa amostra de 44 cantoneiros de limpeza. Foram encontradas correlações positivas entre a intensidade da dor e incapacidades/sintomas no membro superior e tempo de exercício profissional, no pescoço e região lombar. A sintomatologia nos punhos, correlacionou-se com o género masculino e a prática de atividade física, correlacionou-se com a sintomatologia nos joelhos. O grupo experimental pós-intervenção, reduziu cerca de 70% a sintomatologia na região lombar e a intensidade da dor, nos ombros, região torácica, região lombar e punhos. Foi possível concluir que a ginástica laboral, teve um impacto positivo na prevalência da sintomatologia de LMERT e na intensidade da dor, nestes trabalhadores. No entanto, o reduzido número da amostra não permite que os resultados sejam generalizados à população. Estes resultados sugerem uma reflexão sobre a importância da ginástica laboral na saúde e bem-estar destes profissionais, de modo a garantir a produtividade das empresas, sem prejuízo dos trabalhadores.