Abstract
The increasing usage of mobile technologies for service provision has created the need to understand customer mobile service experiences and to integrate designer's and technology's perspectives for the design of successful mobile services. This paper presents the results of a qualitative study with 44 mobile service customers, providing an in-depth understanding of the experience factors that contribute to design improved mobile services. The study' results indicate that traditional interface factors, such as usefulness and ease of use, continue to be important. However, the study reveals that contextual factors, such as the social environment and service atmosphere, are very important for the mobile service experience. These results reinforce the need to adopt a broader view of the experience factors for the effective design of mobile services.

Abstract
ITC based information services are widely used for providing or accessing information on a daily basis. In exceptional or emergency situations relevant information could be sent to citizens in order to elicit improved responses. There are examples of using mobile devices to reach users, e.g., in some countries, citizens have received text messages with relevant information about H1N1, such as a list of the main symptoms and a telephone number to call in case of emergency. This paper proposes the Contemplate initial extension to the engineering CDIO process (conceive, design, implement and operate) and stresses out its iterative nature as a framework suitable for new service design, in our case for emergency or exceptional information services. Although the proposal is applicable in general, this paper uses examples from public transport in urban areas. Road works, congestion, and accidents are examples of undesirable influences on public transportation. Technologies such as GPS, mobile communication devices, databases, data mining and other approaches for profiling user activities with careful individual and social considerations could be used to improve the quality of service and quality of life in cities.

Abstract
Oliveira, M. M., Camanho, A. S., and Gaspar, M. B. 2010. Technical and economic efficiency analysis of the Portuguese artisanal dredge fleet. - ICES Journal of Marine Science, 67: 1811-1821. An efficiency analysis of the commercial dredge fleet operating along the south coast of Portugal between 2005 and 2007 sought to determine the efficiency of the vessels using data envelopment analysis models, considering fixed inputs (vessel power, length, tonnage, and an indicator of stock biomass) and a variable input (number of days at sea). The annual quota per vessel was also included in the model as a contextual factor. In the technical-efficiency (TE) analysis, outputs were defined by the catch weight for each of the three target species (bivalves). Using price data for each species in the wholesale market, revenue efficiency was also estimated to complement the TE analysis. The advantage of the approach lies in the ability to separate technical aspects from allocative aspects in the efficiency assessment, allowing two-dimensional graphic representation of vessel performance. The procedure allows the identification of benchmark vessels, which maximized the catch weight of the species landed, given their inputs, as well as the vessels that selected the appropriate target species to maximize the revenue of the fishing activity, given output prices. The approach also allowed the specification of targets for inefficient vessels that correspond to the catch by species, permitting revenue maximization from fishing.

Abstract
This paper describes a method for the assessment of retail store performance based on Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). The assessment considers the stores as complex organizations that aggregate several subunits, corresponding to sections with management autonomy. This structure motivated an analysis at two different levels: the section level and the store level. The performance assessment of the sections envolves a comparison among similar sections located in different stores, and evaluates efficiency spread. This is followed by an analysis at the store level to define targets for the sections. This analysis takes into account the interdependencies of the sections composing a store, as they share limited resources such as the floor area. This is achieved using a Network DEA model, which determines the maximum store sales allowing for reallocations of area among the sections within a store. The method developed is illustrated using a case study consisting of a Portuguese chain of supermarkets.

Abstract
The web benchmarking systems broadly used in the construction industry (CI) are designed to provide results based on key performance indicators (KPIs). No insights concerning organization overall performance and improvements targets are available. This research aims to fulfill this gap using data envelopment analysis (DEA) as a method to complement the information provided by a set of KPIs. The methodology proposed is useful to all organizations involved in benchmarking routines. To enable a more realistic assessment of CI companies, two types of DEA models were used, one allows factor weights to vary freely and the other includes weight restrictions. These models assign an efficiency score to each organization, identifying efficient organizations and providing performance improvements targets for the others. To enable suggesting targets for all organizations, expert opinion was used to specify virtual units which were included in the efficiency assessment to define a practical frontier located beyond the productivity levels of the original DEA frontier. Based on a sample of 20 Portuguese leading contractors, the Portuguese web benchmarking system for CI, icBench, was used to demonstrate the advantages of integrating the DEA method with KPIs benchmark scores.

Abstract
This paper analyses the value added (VA) of a sample of Portuguese schools using two methodologies: data envelopment analysis (DEA) and the methodology used presently by the UK Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF). The VA estimates obtained by the two methods are substantially different. This reflects their different focus: DEA emphasizes on best-observed performance, whereas the DCSF method reveals average performance. The main advantage of the methodology used by the DCSF is its simplicity, although it confounds pupil effects with school effects in the estimation of school VA. In contrast, the DEA methodology can differentiate these effects, but the complexity may prevent its use in a systematic way. This paper shows that the two methods provide complementary information regarding the VA of schools, and their joint use can improve the understanding of the relative effectiveness of schools regarding the progress that pupils make between educational stages.