bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Strategies for Expanding Access and Improving the Quality of Pharmaceutical Services
Authors: Dias-Souza Marcus Vinícius
Published: December 2016

Pharmaceutical services are among the most accessible healthcare assistance systems worldwide, being provided generally in enterprises like Drugstores and Compounding Pharmacies. Pharmacists are highly accessible healthcare professionals considering also the availability, geographic distribution and location of pharmaceutical enterprises. However, there are several challenges for providing these services for patients with limitations such as low education, difficulties on reaching the Pharmacist, and the need for individualized monitoring (due to the complexity of therapy). Reports of low quality services are growing worldwide, and in order to expand access and improve the quality of pharmaceutical services, Pharmacists must move from being medication dispensers with focus in administrative management to a clinically-oriented practice with a humanistic view. The aim of this chapter is to make an approach on the implementation of effective strategies and ways to improve the quality of Pharmacists' work as specialized healthcare providers.
An Overview of Therapeutic Applications
Authors: Waghulde Sandeep , Naik Pravin
Published: December 2016

Over the last few years' great advances have been made on the development drug delivery systems for different purposes for targeting the diseased conditions. Novel drug delivery originates from polymers or associated with some devices is generally related with the emergence of novel characteristics. These changes are what eventually comprise the value of drug delivery system and Novel drug delivery system. Novel properties become existed without making new materials. Novel drug delivery system comparable to traditional system, following Targeted Drug Delivery System (TDDS) is also called targeting drug system. A new drug delivery system makes the drugs densely gather pathological-change structures, and has an improved healing effect and less toxic side effects. The drugs can improve the strength of pharmacological action and reduce the bad effect all over the body, for they release in the target organs.
Resealed Erythrocytes as Drug Carriers and Its Therapeutic Applications
Authors: Singh Prabhakar , Singh Sudhakar , Kesharwani Rajesh Kumar
Published: December 2016

In this pharma innovative world, there are more than 30 drug delivery systems. Today's due to lacking the target specificity, the present scenario about drug delivery is emphasizing towards targeted drug delivery systems. Erythrocytes are the most common type of blood cells travel thousands of miles from wide to narrow pathways to deliver oxygen, drugs and nutrient during their lifetime. Red blood cells have strong and targeted potential carrier capabilities for varieties of drugs. Drug-loaded carrier erythrocytes or resealed erythrocytes are promising for various passive and active targeting. Resealed erythrocyte have advantage over several drug carrier models like biocompatibility, biodegradability without toxic products, inert intracellular environment, entrapping potential for a variety of chemicals, protection of the organism against toxic effects of the drug, able to circulate throughout the body, ideal zero-order drug-release kinetics, no undesired immune response against encapsulated drug etc. Resealed erythrocytes are rapidly taken up by macrophages of the Reticuloendothelial System (RES) of the liver, lung, and spleen of the body and hence drugs also. Resealed erythrocytes method of drugs delivery is secure and effective for drugs targeting specially for a longer period of time. This chapter will explain the different method of drug loading for resealed erythrocytes, their characterization, and applications in various therapies and associated health benefits.
Prediction of Structural and Functional Aspects of Protein
Authors: Ingale Arun G.
Published: December 2016

To predict the structure of protein from a primary amino acid sequence is computationally difficult. An investigation of the methods and algorithms used to predict protein structure and a thorough knowledge of the function and structure of proteins are critical for the advancement of biology and the life sciences as well as the development of better drugs, higher-yield crops, and even synthetic bio-fuels. To that end, this chapter sheds light on the methods used for protein structure prediction. This chapter covers the applications of modeled protein structures and unravels the relationship between pure sequence information and three-dimensional structure, which continues to be one of the greatest challenges in molecular biology. With this resource, it presents an all-encompassing examination of the problems, methods, tools, servers, databases, and applications of protein structure prediction, giving unique insight into the future applications of the modeled protein structures. In this chapter, current protein structure prediction methods are reviewed for a milieu on structure prediction, the prediction of structural fundamentals, tertiary structure prediction, and functional imminent. The basic ideas and advances of these directions are discussed in detail.
Food Allergy and Food Poisoning
Authors: Marquinez Jose Iñaki Alava , Lopez Miguel Angel
Published: December 2016

Taken into account data from which is considered a product not safe, estimate the safe level of a contaminant on food, for example, always have many unavoidable uncertainties. It cannot be overemphasized enough, that this also happens as in any other human activity. In most cases, we hope, to define as clearly as possible the eventual risk associated with particular conditions of exposure to a given substance in food. There are numerous toxic compounds that reside naturally in certain foods that unable these to be consumed above certain limits or even are fully prohibited in some other countries. Chapter starts with a clear explanation of differences and relationships between food allergy and food poisoning, continued with main allergens in food and main toxics. Finally, authors summarize different origins of toxins and allergens (natural from foods, from additives, pollutants and food processing).
Food and Cardiac Health
Authors: Jain Aditi , Rani Vibha
Published: December 2016

Emerging influence of Cardiovascular Diseases (CVDs) and its impact on the society has raised much awareness for its prevention. Healthy food habits and physical exercise has drawn a lot of attention of the people from scientific as well as common world. The role of food-based bioactive compounds in reducing risk of CVDs has been established with various health benefits apart from the basic nutrition have been reported. The present chapter provides an overview of the role of different foods on cardiovascular health of humans. Biological effects of plant derived food products and their bioactive compounds in the context of relevance to cardiovascular health promotion are discussed in detail. The chapter also covers the effects of the consumption of functional food on the intermediate clinical markers of CVDs including cholesterolemia, hypertension, endothelial function and inflammation. The chapter will enable the better understanding of the current knowledge on the potential health benefits of different functional foods and bioactive compounds on cardiovascular health.
Role of Molecular Docking in Computer-Aided Drug Design and Development
Authors: Agarwal Rahul , Singh Ashutosh , Sen Subhabrata
Published: December 2016

Molecular Docking is widely used in CADD (Computer-Aided Drug Designing), SBDD (Structure-Based Drug Designing) and LBDD (Ligand-Based Drug Designing). It is a method used to predict the binding orientation of one molecule with the other and used for any kind of molecule based on the interaction like, small drug molecule with its protein target, protein – protein binding or a DNA – protein binding. Docking is very much popular technique due to its reliable prediction properties. This book chapter will provide an overview of diverse docking methodologies present that are used in drug design and development. There will be discussion on several case studies, pertaining to each method, followed by advantages and disadvantages of the discussed methodology. It will typically aim professionals in the field of cheminformatics and bioinformatics, both in academia and in industry and aspiring scientists and students who want to take up this as a profession in the near future. We will conclude with our opinion on the effectiveness of this technology in the future of pharmaceutical industry.
Importance of Applicability Domain of QSAR Models
Authors: Roy Kunal , Kar Supratik
Published: December 2016

Quantitative Structure-Activity Relationship (QSAR) models have manifold applications in drug discovery, environmental fate modeling, risk assessment, and property prediction of chemicals and pharmaceuticals. One of the principles recommended by the Organization of Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) for model validation requires defining the Applicability Domain (AD) for QSAR models, which allows one to estimate the uncertainty in the prediction of a compound based on how similar it is to the training compounds, which are used in the model development. The AD is a significant tool to build a reliable QSAR model, which is generally limited in use to query chemicals structurally similar to the training compounds. Thus, characterization of interpolation space is significant in defining the AD. An attempt is made in this chapter to address the important concepts and methodology of the AD as well as criteria for estimating AD through training set interpolation in the descriptor space.
Protein Ligand Interaction Fingerprints
Authors: HajiEbrahimi Ali , Ghafouri Hamidreza , Ranjbar Mohsen , Sakhteman Amirhossein
Published: December 2016

A most challenging part in docking-based virtual screening is the scoring functions implemented in various docking programs in order to evaluate different poses of the ligands inside the binding cavity of the receptor. Precise and trustable measurement of ligand-protein affinity for Structure-Based Virtual Screening (SB-VS) is therefore, an outstanding problem in docking studies. Empirical post-docking filters can be helpful as a way to provide various types of structure-activity information. Different types of interaction have been presented between the ligands and the receptor so far. Based on the diversity and importance of PLIF methods, this chapter will focus on the comparison of different protocols. The advantages and disadvantages of all methods will be discussed explicitly in this chapter as well as future sights for further progress in this field. Different classifications approaches for the protein-ligand interaction fingerprints were also discussed in this chapter.
Quantitative Nanostructure-Activity Relationship Models for the Risk Assessment of NanoMaterials
Authors: Vrontaki Eleni , Mavromoustakos Thomas , Melagraki Georgia , Afantitis Antreas
Published: December 2016

In the last few decades, nanotechnology has been deeply established into human's everyday life with a great number of applications in cosmetics, textiles, electronics, optics, medicine, and many more. Although nanotechnology applications are rapidly increasing, the toxicity of some nanomaterials to living organisms and the environment still remains unknown and needs to be explored. The traditional toxicological evaluation of nanoparticles with the wide range of types, shapes, and sizes often involves expensive and time-consuming procedures. An efficient and cheap alternative is the development and application of predictive computational models using Quantitative Nanostructure-Activity Relationship (QNAR) methods. Towards this goal, researchers are mainly focused on the adverse effects of metal oxides and carbon nanotubes, but to date, QNAR studies are rare mainly because of the limited number of available organized datasets. In this chapter, recent studies for predictive QNAR models for the risk assessment of nanomaterials are reported and the perspectives of computational nanotoxicology that deeply relies on the intense collaboration between experimental and computational scientists are discussed.
Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products as Emerging Water Contaminants
Authors: Becker Julie A. , Stefanakis Alexandros I.
Published: December 2016

With the advent of better detection, more micro-contaminants are being found in water. Many of these micro-contaminants come from medical therapies and personal care products. These chemicals are comprised of a wide-range of substances including pharmaceuticals, dietary supplements, veterinary drugs, fragrances, hair care products, body lotions, oral care, and cosmetics. Many of these products enhance our quality of life and in some cases, provide life-saving therapies. But, they come with an environmental cost. Scientific research has found sub-therapeutic levels of many of these chemicals in our waterways and in our finished drinking water, causing concern about the potential environmental and public health impacts associated with very low, chronic exposure. As tailored therapies and personal care products are developed, it is crucial to consider how to control emerging contaminants from medical therapies and personal care products. Specific actions and policies can be implemented now by adopting upstream approaches to prevent waste and decrease environmental exposures.
Toxicological Effects of Carbon Nanotubes
Authors: Bonner James C.
Published: December 2016

The rapidly evolving field of nanotechnology offers many potential societal and economic benefits. Carbon Nanotubes (CNTs) are one of the most widely produced engineered nanomaterials and have diverse applications in engineering, electronics, and medicine. They have also been extensively investigated for their toxicological properties. Studies with rodents indicate that CNTs can cause lung fibrosis or granuloma formation, exacerbate pre-existing respiratory disease, cause injury to the sensitive pleural lining of the lungs, and have systemic immunosuppressive effects. CNTs have also been reported to cause genotoxic effects on cultured cells. The fiber-like structure of CNTs has led to comparisons with asbestos fibers; yet the debate over whether CNTs cause mesothelioma remains highly controversial, and evidence thus far is lacking. The aim of this chapter is to overview the evidence in rodent models that CNTs cause lung disease and to discuss the potential of CNTs to cause adverse immune, fibrogenic, or carcinogenic effects in humans as a result of occupational, consumer, or environmental exposure.
A British and Dutch Caribbean Overseas Territories Training Evaluation Case Study
Authors: Baptiste Lennise , Moss Tamarah
Published: December 2016

This chapter will focus on the transfer of learning, the third level of the five levels Phillip (1997) model for the evaluation for training. From this impact evaluation, the authors will share the lessons learned from the evaluation of the training component of the multi-site project implemented to strengthen the response of British and Dutch Caribbean overseas territories (OCTs) to the HIV and AIDS epidemic. With a focus on the transfer of learning, this case study brings theory into a real-life application using the Theory of Change evaluation approach and Appreciative Inquiry to examine the impact of the workforce training activities, which were implemented to enhance the prevention efforts to reduce the spread of HIV. Lessons for current and future evaluators are also highlighted.
Examining the Relationship Between Learning, Continuing Legal Education, and the Improvement of the Practice of the Law
Authors: Fisher Holly B. , Spikes W. Franklin
Published: December 2016

This is a case study about the Kansas Continuing Legal Education (CLE) Commission and its Education Initiative. As the regulator of CLE in the State of Kansas, the Commission ensures that quality course offerings are available for attorneys who are licensed within the state for use in meeting their annual mandatory continuing legal education (MCLE) requirements. The Commission's Education Initiative was focused on discovering current best practices in program development, delivery, and evaluation with the goal of improving the MCLE experience for Kansas attorneys and thus improving the practice of law. Findings from this effort point to innovative efforts currently underway, or aspired to, by providers to evaluate how MCLE disseminates new legal knowledge, increases attorney-to-attorney connections, encourages ethical behavior, and, ultimately, improves the practice of law.
Using Training Evaluation to Improve Practice
Authors: Koech Japheth Kipkorir , Pak Kimberly Stokes
Published: December 2016

By providing you with a detailed description of our upgrade training case, we hope you would be able to (a) relate and compare our case descriptions, environment, processes to your organization and environment, (b) Identify similarities and difference between our cases, and (c) Develop possible action plan based on our lesson learn to carry out your training and evaluations needs. In our lesson learned, look for tools that work best for you depending on your environment to conduct training and evaluations (Beebe et al., 2012). Locate or create your training and evaluation data because they are very useful in improving your training for your learners (Phillips, 1997). Following-up extreme feedback after training evaluation (Goad, 2010) either directly in person or through related channel allows you to evaluate and gain more insight into learner's reactions.
Use of Social Media in Online Learning
Authors: Korucu Agah Tugrul , Atun Handan
Published: December 2016

Social media tools are used to visualize resources especially. However, there is a limited range of created content in social media, instructors and students have a tendency to use shared materials rather than edit an existed material or create a new material. However, this does not change the situation of social media in education, it is proved that social media improves teaching and learning process. Therefore, researchers stressed that instructions should consider supporting academic staff with technical and pedagogical guidance as the academicians do not meet the requirements of digital native students. Their web self-efficacy and digital competencies should be improved (Manca & Ranieri, 2016a; Manca & Ranieri, 2016b).
A Case Study of Peer Assessment in a Composition MOOC
Authors: Vu Lan
Published: December 2016

The large enrollments of multiple thousands of students in MOOCs seem to exceed the assessment capacity of instructors; therefore, the inability for instructors to grade so many papers is likely responsible for MOOCs turning to peer assessment. However, there has been little empirical research about peer assessment in MOOCs, especially composition MOOCs. This study aimed to address issues in peer assessment in a composition MOOC, particularly the students' perceptions and the peer-grading scores versus instructor-grading scores. The findings provided evidence that peer assessment was well received by the majority of students although many students also expressed negative feelings about this activity. Statistical analysis shows that there were significant differences in the grades given by students and those given by the instructors, which means the grades the students awarded to their peers tended to be higher in comparison to the instructor-assigned grades. Based on the results, this study concludes with implementations for peer assessment in a composition MOOC context.
A Review of Literature and a Model for Scaffolding Asynchronous Student-Student Interaction in Online Discussion Forums
Authors: Koskey Kristin L. K. , Benson Susan N. Kushner
Published: December 2016

The purpose of this chapter is to overview types of asynchronous student-student interactions with a focus on designed interaction in an online discussion forum context, as well as to illustrate pedagogical approaches to scaffolding interactions. Student-student interaction in asynchronous online discussion is the emphasis of this chapter. The chapter focuses on a review of the literature on the roles of the instructor, student, and learning task in the online teaching and learning process. Ways in which these roles interact is then discussed including an overview of types of interactions. The chapter then focuses on contextual and designed interactions including conditions documented in research as to how to effectively use designed interaction to scaffold student-student interaction. Next, a guiding model is presented for how to plan for asynchronous interaction. Finally, challenges faced when designing or implementing synchronous discussions are discussed, as well as potential recommendations for overcoming these challenges.
Electronic Learning
Authors: Kasemsap Kijpokin
Published: December 2016

This chapter aims to explain the overview of electronic learning (e-learning); the emerging trends in e-learning; the important factors of e-learning; the relationships among e-learning quality, learning satisfaction, and learning motivation; the implementation of e-learning; the approaches and barriers to e-learning utilization; e-learning for medical and nursing education; and the significance of e-learning in modern education. When compared to the traditional mode of classroom learning, there is clear evidence that e-learning brings faster delivery, lower costs, more effective learning, and lower environmental impact in the modern learning environments. E-learning allows each individual to tackle the subject at their own pace, with interactive tasks being set in place to ensure a thorough understanding throughout each module. The chapter argues that utilizing e-learning has the potential to increase educational performance and reach strategic goals in modern education.
Interfacing with Diaspora/Ethnic Entrepreneurship
Authors: Okoya Jummy
Published: December 2016

The chapter deals with the issue of diversity in society and changing markets combined with matters dealing with marketing strategies. The increasing diversity of the UK's ethnic population suggests that firms/organizations have a need to pay closer attention to the needs of different ethnic groups in order to generate value and competitive advantage in the marketplace. One way of understanding those needs involves, not only hiring competent ethnic personnel but allowing them to play substantive strategic management roles in the firm/organization. The paper highlights the opportunities and challenges of an ethnically heterogeneous workplace through illustrations in four industrial sectors in the UK. Consequently, a theory of practice is formulated for a successful outcome of, not only diaspora/ethnic businesses but other non-ethnic and large firms/organizations.
Social Entrepreneurship in Sub-Saharan Africa
Authors: Ndhlovu Tidings P. , Ndinda Catherine
Published: December 2016

There has been a growing interest in “social entrepreneurship”, but very few analyses have attempted to go beyond definitional disagreements in capturing the role of the diaspora within a theoretical and evidence-based framework. It is in this context that this chapter systematises competing perspectives on social entrepreneurship, that is, the neo-liberal conception, the institutional/social organisation framework and the agenda of social transformation. On the basis, we proceed to analyse how far so-called “social impact investments” in Sub-Saharan Africa by the diaspora has contributed to poverty alleviation and a fundamental social transformation. Our study will not only clarify competing viewpoints, but also place the diaspora at the centre of this process. While great strides have been made in the institutional context by the African diaspora such as Mutombo and Akon in making the world a better place, there are limitations to what they can do. Indeed, our alternative social transformation conception of social entrepreneurship teases out these limitations, politically and socially.
The “Gospel” of Pentecostalism and Entrepreneurship
Authors: Ojo Sanya
Published: December 2016

Sieving through the avalanche of dissertations on the Pentecostal movements this chapter attempts to analyze the African Pentecostalism's structural arrangement to generate a deeper understanding of its operations and how the movement is re-inventing itself in contemporary epoch. This was done by appraising in-depth knowledge in concrete terms rather than in abstraction through the combination of notions of the market, entrepreneurship, diaspora, and development. Thus, the chapter develops a new sociological understanding of the differences and similarities between religion and the market in ethnic/diaspora entrepreneurship market space. It argues that the success of African Pentecostalism, both in Africa and the diaspora, is predicated on its ability to smoothly connect the past with the present. Whilst synthesis of African culture in the movement's liturgy is a proficient engagement with the past, inculcating the efficiency ethos of the market economy in its operations signifies a commitment to the present.
Redefining the 21st Century Labor Paradigm
Authors: Sharma Shaurya , Sharma Shivankar
Published: December 2016

At a time when the Indian subcontinent is beset with a burgeoning population, rapid urbanization, and high disposable incomes, the Indian economy is at a precarious stage of balancing demand uncertainties with pressures to minimize bottom line costs. As a consequence, there is great reliance on a dynamic workforce, which comprises of temporary, contract, and casual laborers referred to as the contingent workforce. A talent war is looming on the horizon and employers need to buckle up their workforce armory with an unparalleled employee value proposition, making the business landscape a tricky vehicle to maneuver. A robust strategic framework bolstered by prudent workforce management will aid an organization to fulfill its goals while isolating it from any legal liability. Technology can be used to leverage data analytically for job assessment and aid in seamless project execution. In sum, an approach sensitive to the legal, technological and psychological pillars of managing workers provides a comprehensive mechanism to counter issues associated with contingent workforce management.
The Role of International Labour Organization in the Fight Against Modern Slavery
Authors: Özalp Halise Duygu
Published: December 2016

Since the date it was founded to the present day, International Labour Organization (ILO) has been working on developing policy proposals about the problematic areas emerging in working life. Though unemployment is regarded across the world as the source of major problematic areas of economies, the thought of the need for taking the new ‘invisible' work types into the spotlight also as problematic areas is considered significant. This chapter acknowledges this need and is about the fight against modern slavery; in this context, the chapter takes the assessments and reports of ILO on forced labor. Thus, the purpose is to put forth the necessity and importance of fighting against the modern forms of slave labor, expanding on the efforts of the Organization which can cause significant pressure on the government/state level.
Statistical Analysis of Women's Labor Force Data of OECD Countries
Authors: Çemrek Fatih , Yenilmez Füsun
Published: December 2016

Women take part in working life less in proportion to men due to the reasons such as the value judgments of the societies in which they live, the roles of motherhood and housewifery which the society have imposed on them, and social gender inequality. Making use of the economic potential of the country fully and effectively depends on increasing the employment rates of women which remain behind the male employment for various reasons. In this study, it was tried to reveal differences of OECD countries in each other in terms of women's labor force variables. To realize this aim, 9 indicators of women's labor force pertaining to 32 countries, which were received from OECD Employment Outlook 2015, OECD Labor Statistics Book and OECD official website www.oecd.org, were compared with the help of Multidimensional Scaling. The study was carried out for 32 countries both two dimensionally and three dimensionally. Additionally, Factor Analysis was utilized. Determining the most remote countries together in dimensions, variables leading to differences were shown in graphics.
The Role of Entrepreneurial Spirit in Indonesian Youths and Housewives to Reduce Unemployment and Poverty Rate
Authors: Cahayani Ati
Published: December 2016

Unemployment and poverty are problems experienced especially by developing countries. The higher level of unemployment and poverty will lead the higher level of crime. The unemployment rate in Indonesia in August 2014 is 5.94% or 7,244,905 people, and 4% of Indonesian people living on less than $1.25 a day. One of the things that can reduce the unemployment rate and the percentage of poor people is entrepreneurship. This chapter wants to explain that the level of unemployment and poverty can be minimized by the spirit of entrepreneurship of housewives and youths, who has a micro, small, and medium business. From six women and youth entrepreneurs who start their micro and small business that described in this book chapter, it can be seen that their effort could empower themselves and make themselves and their family exit from poverty. But, they are facing barriers to starting up. The government must push and encourage Indonesian people to become an entrepreneur by designing entrepreneurship development program, which includes government, educational institution, and family.
Employment in Innovation Performance
Authors: Girginer Nuray , Şenak Aslışah
Published: December 2016

This study aims to determine the innovation performance of Turkey and EU countries in terms of human resources and employment indicators. Firstly, 28 EU countries' and Turkey's innovation efficiency is analyzed with Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) technique. An output-oriented DEA model was used with 4 inputs (government R&D % of GDP, at least upper secondary educational attainment, science and technology graduates, employment in knowledge-intensive service sectors) and 4 outputs (high-tech patent applications to the European Patent Office, high-tech exports as a share of total exports, UNDP Human Development Index and WIPO Innovation Index). DEA helps to determine where to look to improve DMU efficiency, but it is not possible to rank the efficient DMUs through DEA. Consequently, efficient countries and innovation indicators with respect to their impact on performances are ranked with Gray Relation Analysis (GRA). As a result of GRA, Sweden has been the first ranked country among efficient countries. Most important performance indicator has been found to be human development index.
Economic Growth, Labor Market Segmentation, and Labor Productivity
Authors: Tambunan Tulus T. H.
Published: December 2016

This chapter examines economic growth, labor market segmentation, informal employment, and labor productivity in Indonesia from 1990-2015. It shows four important facts. First, Indonesia was ever among countries in Southeast Asia with the highest economic growth before the country was severely hit by the Asian financial crisis in 1997/98. In 1999, the country started to recover, and since then, the economy has performed exceptionally well until these days. Second, total employment increased continuously, although as a percentage of total labor force, it tends to decline. Second, total labor productivity also continued to increase. Third, employment is still dominated by the informal sector. This chapter also discusses labor market policy in Indonesia. This chapter concludes that there are many factors that simultaneously determine directly or indirectly the growth of labor productivity, including good macroeconomic management and effective labor market policies.
Tourists' Motivations and Repeater Segments in Japanese Spa Destinations
Authors: Kamata Hiromi
Published: December 2016

This chapter attempts to answer two research questions related to Japanese spa tourists: how to grasp tourists' motivations, and who will be repeaters. Benefit segmentation was employed to answer the first question, the results yielded seven motivations and divided spa tourists into three segments. For the second question, the relationship between overall satisfaction and revisit intentions in the short and the long term were tested, and key factors for repeaters were different for each segment. Destinations and stakeholders should change their strategy as it relates to their target market, to create repeaters by segment. Contrasting these results with some efforts of spa destinations, examples from Hakone are introduced. Local government considered the theoretical fan that visits Hakone constantly. NARAYA CAFÉ, a representative effort of young people in the area, creates a “release and relaxation” atmosphere for tourists.
An Exploratory Study of Online Destination Images via User-Generated Content for Southeastern Rural Transylvania
Authors: Kavoura Androniki , Nechita Florin
Published: December 2016

The advent of new technologies has brought forth an incredible power to online users of social media who may act as active contributors and co-creators of the tourism communication and promotion of the areas that have visited, influencing in that way the online image that is created for an area, a region or a country. The user-generated content (UGC) that is created and uploaded, text and/or travel photos allows research to examine tourists' behavior. How can this be depicted with the use of photos taken from visitors for a rural area? The present chapter aims to (a) examine the destination image of Brasov County's (Romania) based on UGC created via photos uploaded on Facebook by a selected group of visitors in the area; (b) to examine the projected image and strategy in official Brasov County's websites and strategic documents and (c) to create a set of recommendations for the promotion of the Brasov County's rural area on the international tourism market.
Marketing Communication of SMEs Acting in Creative Tourism
Authors: Koudelková Petra
Published: December 2016

The author aims to combine so important firms ‘processes as creating of marketing communication and making creative tourism by small and medium-sized enterprises is. It offers to view of some chosen examples of good practice in Czech SMEs. Marketing plays significant role in business. Unfortunately, SMEs (including many travel agencies) aren´t able to take full advantages of marketing. The author discusses this issue and is looking for possible solutions. In additional the author deals with the patterns of marketing communications in SMEs describe the situation of tourism in Europe and discuss the creative tourism and its role not only for tourism but also for SMEs and national economy.
Doing, Using, Interacting
Authors: Nordin Sara , Hjalager Anne-Mette
Published: December 2016

Innovation is a critical factor for long-term economic development, including in tourism. This chapter examines the processes that lead to new products and services in a tourism context. It does so based on two commonly referred to modes of innovation (Jensen et al., 2007); that is, two types of innovation processes: science, technology, and innovation (STI) and doing, using, and interacting (DUI). DUI appears to capture the essence of innovation in tourism enterprises better than STI because it acknowledges the intrinsic nature of services and the typical size and working modes of touristic actors. The case study of Icehotel illustrates how working in partnerships and in close cooperation with customers enhances the advantages of the DUI model. The handling of externally induced events and difficulties and the critical partnerships are better understood through the DUI than through the STI lens. The DUI framework leads to a more correct picture of tourism innovation and could also provide a better guidance for policy processes in the field.
Social Media and Creativity
Authors: Pavlíček Antonín
Published: December 2016

The usage of social media is vital part of businesses practices and lives of individuals today, tourism being not exception. Yet, despite the wide reach of social networks there is a lack of understanding which factors contribute to becoming an influencer on social network services. This chapter particularly focuses on the largest video-sharing platform YouTube. It analyzes common success factors in three different countries: Canada, Germany, Italy and concludes by explaining which factors can be considered as relevant in order to succeed on YouTube. The objective is to find common factors which enable Youtubers to succeed. Predict which quantitative and qualitative elements can actually influence the success of a Youtuber and through ANOVA, Descriptive Analysis and Linear Regression find if there's actually a link between these elements and the number of subscribers. Lastly, it will try to assess on three case studies, how different tourist destination use the power of YouTube.
Innovation in Tourism Service Development in Budapest
Authors: Rátz Tamara
Published: December 2016

Both food tourism and literary tourism are increasingly popular products in the global market, but there is relatively limited collaboration between the two areas. In addition to providing an overview of the role of creativity and innovation in tourism development, with special emphasis on gastronomic tourism and literary tourism, the paper presents a unique hospitality concept that fuses gastronomy with literature, demonstrating the use of creativity in successful tourism product development. The research is based on qualitative methods: interviews with the business owners were used to explore the innovation process and the factors affecting the company's operations, and content analysis of customers' reviews on social media sites and the restaurant's media coverage were used to evaluate the role of creativity in the restaurant's success.
Adoption of Sustainable Energy Solutions
Authors: Sinha Ritu , Chaudhuri Ranjan
Published: December 2016

Growing affluence and urbanization are commanding huge demand for fossil fuels. Energy security and sustainable development have gained attention in the current global environment. Many businesses and consumers are becoming aware and concerned about damage to the environment. Huge amount of energy can be saved by using energy efficient equipment. Lighting accounts for about 30 percent of total residential electricity use. LED bulbs are being used as an energy-efficient lamp with an objective of conserving energy. The paper examines the adoption of energy efficient lighting technologies in Mumbai households. A survey was administered to examine how the environmental concern, environmental responsible behaviour and perceived value of LED Bulbs products impact its adoption by the consumers. The study validates that factors such as perceived value, environmental concern and environmentally responsible behaviour are instrumental in stimulating the adoption of LED bulbs among users.
Examination of Internet Banking Customer Perception of Service Quality
Authors: Ray Nilanjan , Ghosh Tilak Nath , Sen Krishnendu
Published: December 2016

The present study empirically examines the impact of internet banking service quality dimensions on Customer Satisfaction. This study is a cross-sectional survey that employed the use of pre-structured questionnaire to collect primary data from a sample of 120 respondents through personal contact, field survey and email. Collected data have been analyzed through SPSS 21 software by different statistical tools like Reliability test for judgment of internal consistency of collected data and paired t- test. It was also found that customers are satisfied with IS-QUAL dimensions. Service quality has become as one of the major factors of the client satisfaction.
Geospatial Mashups in Web GIS for Tourism Infrastructure
Authors: Chaudhuri Somnath , Ray Nilanjan
Published: December 2016

A Mashup is the process of merging multiple sources of data, both spatial and non-spatial, into a single integrated spatial display. It is about extracting spatial data from a non-spatial source and combining with other spatial data and finally displaying it on a map. Mashups can potentially combine any type of contents and functions over the web, regardless of whether a formal interface of programming is available (Fu et al., 2011). The present study discusses the basic architecture of the Geospatial Mashups in Web GIS and its application in tourism promotion.
Employee Creativity to Deliver Organizational Performance Improvements
Authors: Scarmozzino Emanuela , Corvello Vincenzo
Published: December 2016

This chapter aims to present an empirical model aimed to explore relationships among the elements within the process of employee creativity as driver for organizational performance improvement. The analysis employs a multiple case study research design, focusing on four organizations. The results derive approaches to improving organizational performance. Those approaches' characteristics are: an emphasis on openness to experience in developing novel ideas; the prevalence of creative self-efficacy on the creative behavior. A mutual combination of these characteristics leads to four possible outcomes, pictured in a 2 × 2 matrix as approaches to improving organizational performance. The proposed research design can be used to analyse how changing the form of skill and ability facilitates improvements of organizational performance. The chapter concludes with discussions and limitations, proposing a future research agenda.
Crowdsourcing and Crowd Participation
Authors: Consiglio Stefano , Cicellin Mariavittoria , Ragozini Giancarlo , Scuotto Adriana
Published: December 2016

This chapter provides reflections on extrinsic and intrinsic incentive mechanisms, in order to explore the extent to which they are able to motivate users in starting community building processes. The authors present some results of the research project OR.C.HE.S.T.R.A (ORganization of Cultural HEritage for Smart Tourism and Real-time Accessibility) that means to develop a crowdsourcing community directed towards a smarter valorisation of the city of Naples (Italy). Successful crowdsourcing solutions require activities that both fulfill the communities' administrators' needs and account for individual contributors' needs. Thus, analyzing the incentives that spur users to contribute are critical to designing crowdsourcing applications. The authors set up a field experiment in order to understand which types of incentives are useful to engage users to produce contents for OR.C.HE.S.T.R.A and address specific behavior. The authors shed light on a partly jagged topic and provide some normative suggestions on how to design a crowdsourcing application.
Cultural Organizations Push for Territory's Growth
Authors: Reina Rocco , Crtistofaro Concetta Lucia , Melina Anna Maria , Ventura Marzia
Published: December 2016

If “entrepreneurship has become the engine of world economic and social development” (Audretsch, 2003, p.5), culture is becoming more and more a specific context in which is possible to invest and create new opportunities of labor and value. The principal aim of this contribution is to understand how it's possible for cultural organizations to influence the environment and local development. So, the work wants to highlight - through the analysis of an empirical case of success - what might be the indicators able to create virtuous relationships among cultural organizations and social and economic context. The work aims to contribute both theoretically and practically on the topic of cultural entrepreneurship. The results of this research can be utilized for further reflections in order to develop a framework with high practical relevance.
Integrating Culture in Language Preparatory Programs
Authors: Mede Enisa , Cansever Zeynep Mutlu
Published: December 2016

This chapter aims to investigate the role of culture in English Language Preparatory Programs in Turkey. Specifically, the chapter attempts to gain insights on what types of culture teaching activities native and non-native English instructors use in their classroom, find out if there is any difference between the two groups of participants and lastly, identify to what extent they implement culture in their teaching practices.. The sample population of this study were 95 (44 native and 51 non-native) EFL instructors working in the preparatory program. Data were collected from a questionnaire, semi-structured interviews and classroom observations. The findings revealed that both groups of instructors agreed that language and culture are closely related and that culture should be integrated in classrooms frequently to help students to become intercultural speakers as well as become more competent in how to develop a relationship with people of other languages and cultures.
Cultural Bias, Self-Identity, and Self-Efficacy
Authors: Powell Angela M.
Published: December 2016

The goal of this chapter is to provide an overview, promote awareness for cultural competence, and to illustrate various forms of deficiencies in multicultural education among educators in the United States. When serving as an educator, it is imperative to accept the responsibility of ensuring equal educational opportunity for all students. It is understood that most individuals naturally acculturate themselves with those whom they have connections with and are most comfortable with. This is no different among minority students who are new to the United States. Cultural norms must be acknowledged and students should be accommodated to foster a more engaging learning environment. Educators should engage in multicultural training and encourage culturally diverse and appropriate exchanges among all students. This will result in more confident students who would be more likely to feel connected, accepted, and esteemed; thus, giving students a foundation to to develop motivation to learn.
Cultural Diversity
Authors: Velliaris Donna M. , Pierce Janine M.
Published: December 2016

Autoethnography is a genre of writing that connects the personal to the cultural, placing the self within a social context. These texts are usually written in the first-person and feature dialogue, emotion, and self-consciousness as relational and institutional stories are affected by history, culture and social structure; authors use their ‘own' experiences to look deeply at ‘self-other' interactions by starting with ‘self'. Both authors, educators at the Eynesbury Institute of Business and Technology (EIBT) responded to the question: In the context of EIBT, what significant professional experiences of miscommunication have had an impact on your pedagogical praxis today? Educators are constantly in the process of negotiating the social, cultural and educational forces, trends and structures within which they work. These researcher-practitioners share the ‘lived' cultural misconceptions, misinterpretations, and misunderstandings they have experienced in this school setting and in their own classrooms.
The Self-Determined English Language Learner
Authors: Hepburn Lori Suzanne , Jones Kathryn
Published: December 2016

English Language Learners have their own, individual set of needs. According to Deci and Ryan (1985), individuals need self-determination skills to be successful in their environment. Researchers agree that self-determination skills produce positive outcomes for individuals both in and out of school. This chapter provides families, students, and educators a working definition of self-determination and instructional practices that assist English Language Learners to develop self-determination skills both at school and in the home.