Víctor Manuel Giménez García

Handling historical information on protected-area systems and coverage. An information system for the Natura 2000 European context

Protected-area coverage is an internationally-recognized surrogate indicator for measuring biodiversity conservation. To measure trends in biodiversity conservation over time, historical records on protected-area boundaries are needed. Protected-area systems represent a challenge in information management for public environmental organizations. Protected areas may be subjected to changes which must follow a mandatory multiple-step administrative process. A wealth of information is generated which needs to be stored in a way that eases the handling process and for future reference. We present an information system which handles both change on protected-area boundaries over time and their related administrative processes. It also provides distributed data maintenance functionality as well as integrated alphanumeric, file and cartographic information handling. We discuss the actual implementation of the system for handling Natura 2000 sites in the Catalan and Spanish contexts. The designed system is applicable to other European Union member states.

Teaching performance: determinants of the student assessment

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to identify the nature and factors that influence student evaluation of the teaching performance of university teachers by integrating two areas of research: services marketing and higher education. Design/methodology/approach A set of hypotheses were developed taking into consideration customer (student), employee (teacher) and service (course) characteristics. They were then tested using data from 952 courses for a three‐year period and employing different multivariate techniques. Findings Students basically evaluate the expertise, attitude and behavior of teachers. The results also indicate that this evaluation is a complex phenomenon that depends on factors related to teacher, student and course profiles. Research limitations/implications Given the nature of the data used here, future studies should extend the scope of research to other institutions, examine quality from an objective standpoint and include teachers’ perceptions and the outcomes of their research ac...