Search results for: personal variables

Authors: Anna-Lisa Osvalder, Jonas Borell

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There are several reasons behind the use, non-use, or inadequate use of personal protective equipment (PPE) in the construction industry. Comfort and accurate size support proper use, while discomfort, misfit, and difficulties to understand how the PPEs should be handled inhibit correct usage. The need for several protective equipments simultaneously might also create problems. The purpose of this study was to analyse the correct usage, comfort, and fit of different types of PPEs used for construction work. Correct usage was analysed as guessability, i.e., human perceptions of how to don, adjust, use, and doff the equipment, and if used as intended. The PPEs tested individually or in combinations were a helmet, ear protectors, goggles, respiratory masks, gloves, protective cloths, and safety harnesses. First, an analytical evaluation was performed with ECW (enhanced cognitive walkthrough) and PUEA (predictive use error analysis) to search for usability problems and use errors during handling and use. Then usability tests were conducted to evaluate guessability, comfort, and fit with 10 test subjects of different heights and body constitutions. The tests included observations during donning, five different outdoor work tasks, and doffing. The think-aloud method, short interviews, and subjective estimations were performed. The analytical evaluation showed that some usability problems and use errors arise during donning and doffing, but with minor severity, mostly causing discomfort. A few use errors and usability problems arose for the safety harness, especially for novices, where some could lead to a high risk of severe incidents. The usability tests showed that discomfort arose for all test subjects when using a combination of PPEs, increasing over time. For instance, goggles, together with the face mask, caused pressure, chafing at the nose, and heat rash on the face. This combination also limited sight of vision. The helmet, in combination with the goggles and ear protectors, did not fit well and caused uncomfortable pressure at the temples. No major problems were found with the individual fit of the PPEs. The ear protectors, goggles, and face masks could be adjusted for different head sizes. The guessability for how to don and wear the combination of PPE was moderate, but it took some time to adjust them for a good fit. The guessability was poor for the safety harness; few clues in the design showed how it should be donned, adjusted, or worn on the skeletal bones. Discomfort occurred when the straps were tightened too much. All straps could not be adjusted for somebody's constitutions leading to non-optimal safety. To conclude, if several types of PPEs are used together, discomfort leading to pain is likely to occur over time, which can lead to misuse, non-use, or reduced performance. If people who are not regular users should wear a safety harness correctly, the design needs to be improved for easier interpretation, correct position of the straps, and increased possibilities for individual adjustments. The results from this study can be a base for re-design ideas for PPE, especially when they should be used in combinations.

Keywords: construction work, PPE, personal protective equipment, misuse, guessability, usability

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Authors: Ayodele James Akinola

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This study examines how social and linguistic variables influenced communication between neurologists and patients in selected university teaching hospitals (UTHs) in southwestern Nigeria. Jacob Mey’s Pragmatic Acts, complemented by Emanuel and Emanuel’s model of doctor-patient relationship, served as the theoretical framework. Data comprising 22 audio-recorded neurologist-patient interactions were collected from two UTHs in the southwestern region of Nigeria. Data revealed that educational attainment of patients has insignificant influence on the interaction where the linguistic prowess of the patient has been impaired for consultative communication. However, the status influenced the degree of attention paid to patients by neurologists and determines the amount of time 'trying to help patients to communicate'. Patients with lower educational status and who could not communicate in English spent more time narrating their ailment to neurologists. Patients with higher educational status and could communicate in English saves consultation time as they express themselves briefly unlike those who were of little or no education in the clinics. Through this, diagnoses and therapeutic processes took eight to 12 minutes. 20 minutes was the longest duration recorded. Neurologist-patient interaction in the observed hospitals is shaped by neurologists’ experience, patients’ social variables and language.

Keywords: medical pragmatics, neurologist-patient interaction, nigeria, socio-linguistic influence

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Authors: Roberto Rosenhaim, Marcos Antonio Crus Moreira, Robson da Cunha, Gerson Gomes Cunha

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This work provides details on the wind speed behavior within cities of Arraial do Cabo and São Pedro da Aldeia located in the Lakes Region of the State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. This region has one of the best potentials for wind power generation. In interurban layer, wind conditions are very complex and depend on physical geography, size and orientation of buildings and constructions around, population density, and land use. In the same context, the fundamental surface parameter that governs the production of flow turbulence in urban canyons is the surface roughness. Such factors can influence the potential for power generation from the wind within the cities. Moreover, the use of wind on a small scale is not fully utilized due to complexity of wind flow measurement inside the cities. It is difficult to accurately predict this type of resource. This study demonstrates how fuzzy logic can facilitate the assessment of the complexity of the wind potential inside the cities. It presents a decision support tool and its ability to deal with inaccurate information using linguistic variables created by the heuristic method. It relies on the already published studies about the variables that influence the wind speed in the urban environment. These variables were turned into the verbal expressions that are used in computer system, which facilitated the establishment of rules for fuzzy inference and integration with an application for smartphones used in the research. In the first part of the study, challenges of the sustainable development which are described are followed by incentive policies to the use of renewable energy in Brazil. The next chapter follows the study area characteristics and the concepts of fuzzy logic. Data were collected in field experiment by using qualitative and quantitative methods for assessment. As a result, a map of the various points is presented within the cities studied with its wind viability evaluated by a system of decision support using the method multivariate classification based on fuzzy logic.

Keywords: behavior of winds, wind power, fuzzy logic, sustainable development

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Authors: Sujeeva Sebastian Pereira

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Language Anxiety (LA) – a distinct psychological construct of self-perceptions and behaviors related to classroom language learning – is perceived as a significant variable highly correlated with Second Language Acquisition (SLA). However, the existing scholarship has inadequately explored the nuances of LA in relation to South Asia, especially in terms of Sri Lankan higher education contexts. Thus, the current study, situated within the broad areas of Psychology of SLA and Applied Linguistics, investigates the impact of competency-based LA and identity-based LA on learner achievement among undergraduates of Sri Lanka. Employing a case study approach to explore the impact of LA, 750 undergraduates of the University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Sri Lanka, thus covering 25% of the student population from all seven faculties of the university, were selected as participants using stratified proportionate sampling in terms of ethnicity, gender, and disciplines. The qualitative and quantitative research inquiry utilized for data collection include a questionnaire consisting a set of structured and unstructured questions, and semi-structured interviews as research instruments. Data analysis includes both descriptive and statistical measures. As per the quantitative measures of data analysis, the study employed Pearson Correlation Coefficient test, Chi-Square test, and Multiple Correspondence Analysis; it used LA as the dependent variable, and two types of independent variables were used: direct and indirect variables. Direct variables encompass the four main language skills- reading, writing, speaking and listening- and test anxiety. These variables were further explored through classroom activities on grammar, vocabulary and individual and group presentations. Indirect variables are identity, gender and cultural stereotypes, discipline, social background, income level, ethnicity, religion and parents’ education level. Learner achievement was measured through final scores the participants have obtained for Compulsory English- a common first-year course unit mandatory for all undergraduates. LA was measured using the FLCAS. In order to increase the validity and reliability of the study, data collected were triangulated through descriptive content analysis. Clearly evident through both the statistical analysis and the qualitative analysis of the results is the significant linear negative correlation between LA and learner achievement, and the significant negative correlation between LA and culturally-operated gender stereotypes which create identity disparities in learners. The study also found that both competency-based LA and identity-based LA are experienced primarily and inescapably due to the apprehensions regarding speaking in English. Most participants who reported high levels of LA were from an urban socio-economic background of lower income families. Findings exemplify the linguistic inequality prevalent in the socio-cultural milieu in Sri Lankan society. This inequality makes learning English a dire need, yet, very much an anxiety provoking process because of many sociolinguistic, cultural and ideological factors related to English as a Second Language (ESL) in Sri Lanka. The findings bring out the intricate interrelatedness of both the dependent variable (LA) and the independent variables stated above, emphasizing that the significant linear negative correlation between LA and learner achievement is connected to the affective, cognitive and sociolinguistic domains of SLA. Thus, the study highlights the promise in linguistic practices such as code-switching, crossing and accommodating hybrid identities as strategies in minimizing LA and maximizing the experience of ESL.

Keywords: language anxiety, identity-based anxiety, competence-based anxiety, TESL, Sri Lanka

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Authors: Dahiru Jafaru Usman

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Nigerian courts have been sanctioned by a plethora of authorities to always employ the literal rule in interpreting statutes where the language of the statute is clear and unambiguous. This cardinal rule of interpretation appears not to be employed on Shari'ah issues in Nigeria. This is more pronounced in the interpretation of the jurisdiction of the Shari'ah Court of Appeal (hereinafter the court). The paper doctrinally assesses the judicial attitude of Nigerian appellate courts towards the construction of Section 277 of the 1999 Constitution as amended and other relevant statutory enactments by the State Houses of Assembly. The paper argues that a careful examination of the wordings of the constitution on the jurisdiction of the court literally reveals the intention of the constitutional drafters empowering the National Assembly and States' House of Assemblies to add to the itemised jurisdictional areas of the court other matters not mentioned. The paper found that the appellate courts failed in their construction of the constitutional provisions to accord the words and phrases used in the establishment, jurisdiction, and quorum sections of the court their ordinary and grammatical meaning. This results in consistent limitation of the jurisdiction of the court to matters of Islamic personal law. This remains so even when Decree No. 26 of 1986 was in force suspending and amending the provisions of the 1979 Constitution deleting the word 'personal' in the suspended Nigerian Constitutions. In order not to render section 277 futile, the paper recommends that appellate courts in Nigeria should as required by rules of statutory interpretation adopt literal and ordinary grammatical meaning in interpreting constitutional provisions on the jurisdiction of the court. It is further recommended that appellate courts must interpret the provisions of the 1999 constitution in a manner not to frustrate the several decades' yearnings of the Muslims for a court that would hear all their appellate criminal and civil matters on the path of Shari'ah from the lowest court to the highest. This is a duty the Nigerian Supreme Court placed on their shoulders.

Keywords: interpretation of statutes, jurisdiction, literal rule, Nigeria, Shari'ah Court of Appeal, 1999 Constitution

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Authors: Rajae Tahri, Omar Chokairi, Asmae Saadi, Souad Chaouir

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Background: The factors motivating students to choose a medical career is a long-standing topic of publication and discussion. To our knowledge, no national study on the motivation for choosing medical studies has been published to date. Population and methods: This is an observational, descriptive, and cross-sectional study of first-year medical students at the Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy of Rabat. An anonymous questionnaire comprising 16 questions was developed and distributed to students during Embryology tutorials. The students were free to fill it in or not. The number of students who consented to participate in the survey was 266. The variables studied are the socio-demographic variables of the students and the reasons for choosing medical studies. Results: The most strongly and frequently chosen reasons for choice by our students were saving lives (64.9%), helping others (62.1%), love of medicine (57%), and reducing suffering (56.5%). The comparison of the results according to gender showed a significant difference between the degree of self-motivation of girls compared to that of boys (p <0.001). The reason that stood out the most for them was teamwork. The presence of a health professional in the family was associated with strong extrinsic motivation (p = 0.005). Conclusion: Understanding medical student career choices would improve our knowledge of the factors that influence medical student learning and performance. This knowledge will make it possible to adapt the educational strategies to maintain the motivation of the students throughout their course as well as during their exercise.

Keywords: motivation, motivational profiles, medical studies, Morocco

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Authors: Rita U. Onolemhemhen, Saheed L. Bello, Akin P. Iwayemi

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The effectiveness of energy demand policy depends on identifying the key drivers of energy demand both in the short-run and the long-run. This paper examines the influence of regional differences on the link between energy demand and other explanatory variables for Nigeria, China and USA using the Vector Error Correction Model (VECM) approach. This study employed annual time series data on energy consumption (ED), real gross domestic product (GDP) per capita (RGDP), real energy prices (P) and urbanization (N) for a thirty-six-year sample period. The utilized time-series data are sourced from World Bank’s World Development Indicators (WDI, 2016) and US Energy Information Administration (EIA). Results from the study, shows that all the independent variables (income, urbanization, and price) substantially affect the long-run energy consumption in Nigeria, USA and China, whereas, income has no significant effect on short-run energy demand in USA and Nigeria. In addition, the long-run effect of urbanization is relatively stronger in China. Urbanization is a key factor in energy demand, it therefore recommended that more attention should be given to the development of rural communities to reduce the inflow of migrants into urban communities which causes the increase in energy demand and energy excesses should be penalized while energy management should be incentivized.

Keywords: economic growth, energy demand, income, real GDP, urbanization, VECM

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Authors: Amirmohsen Behjat, Aleck Ostry, Christina Miewald, Bernie Pauly

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Substantial research has indicated that socioeconomic and demographic characteristics’ of neighborhoods are strong determinants of food security. The aim of this study was to develop a Food Insecurity Neighborhood Index (FINI) based on the associated socioeconomic and demographic variables to identify the areas at potential risk of food insecurity in rural British Columbia (BC). Principle Component Analysis (PCA) technique was used to calculate the FINI for each rural Dissemination Area (DA) using the food security determinant variables from Canadian Census data. Using ArcGIS, the neighborhoods with the top quartile FINI values were classified as food insecure. The results of this study indicated that the most food insecure neighborhood with the highest FINI value of 99.1 was in the Bulkley-Nechako (central BC) area whereas the lowest FINI with the value of 2.97 was for a rural neighborhood in the Cowichan Valley area. In total, 98.049 (19%) of the rural population of British Columbians reside in high food insecure areas. Moreover, the distribution of food insecure neighborhoods was found to be strongly dependent on the degree of rurality in BC. In conclusion, the cluster of food insecure neighbourhoods was more pronounced in Central Coast, Mount Wadington, Peace River, Kootenay Boundary, and the Alberni-Clayoqout Regional Districts.

Keywords: neighborhood food insecurity index, socioeconomic and demographic determinants, principal component analysis, Canada census, ArcGIS

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Authors: Yogish Huchaiah, Chandrashekara Krishnappa

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This study considers the optimization and validation of experimental results using Multi-Functional Criteria Technique (MFCT). MFCT is concerned with structuring and solving decision and planning problems involving multiple variables. Production of biodiesel from Composite Oil Methyl Esters (COME) of Jatropha and Pongamia oils, mixed in various proportions and Biodiesel thus obtained from two step transesterification process were tested for various Physico-Chemical properties and it has been ascertained that they were within limits proposed by ASTME. They were blended with Petrodiesel in various proportions. These Methyl Esters were blended with Petrodiesel in various proportions and coded. These blends were used as fuels in a computerized CI DI engine to investigate Performance and Emission characteristics. From the analysis of results, it was found that 180MEM4B20 blend had the maximum Performance and minimum Emissions. To validate the experimental results, MFCT was used. Characteristics such as Fuel Consumption (FC), Brake Power (BP), Brake Specific Fuel Consumption (BSFC), Brake Thermal Efficiency (BTE), Carbon dioxide (CO2), Carbon Monoxide (CO), Hydro Carbon (HC) and Nitrogen oxide (NOx) were considered as dependent variables. It was found from the application of this method that the optimized combination of Injection Pressure (IP), Mix and Blend is 178MEM4.2B24. Overall corresponding variation between optimization and experimental results was found to be 7.45%.

Keywords: COME, IP, MFCT, optimization, PI, PN, PV

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Authors: Carmen Cantuarias-Villessuzanne, Jeffrey Blain, Radmila Pineau

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Our research project aims at analyzing the sensitiveness of French households to urban biodiversity and urban ecosystem services (UES). Opinion surveys show that the French population is sensitive to biodiversity and ecosystem services loss, but the value given to these issues within urban fabric and real estate market lacks evidence. Using GIS data and economic evaluation, by hedonic price methods, weassess the isolated contribution of the explanatory variables of biodiversityand UES on the price of residential real estate. We analyze the variation of the valuefor three urban ecosystem services - flood control, proximity to green spaces, and refreshment - on the price of real estate whena property changes ownership. Our modeling and mapping focus on the price at theIRIS scale (statistical information unit) from 2014 to 2019. The main variables are internal characteristics of housing (area, kind of housing, heating), external characteristics(accessibility and infrastructure, economic, social, and physical environmentsuch as air pollution, noise), and biodiversity indicators and urban ecosystemservices for the Ile-de-France region. Moreover, we compare environmental values on the enhancement of greenspaces and their impact on residential choices. These studies are very useful for real estate developers because they enable them to promote green spaces, and municipalities to become more attractive.

Keywords: urban ecosystem services, sustainable real estate, urban biodiversity perception, hedonic price, environmental values

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Authors: Dai-Ling Li, Jung-Fa Cheng, Min-Lang Huang, Yun-Yao Chi

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The hedonic pricing model has been popularly applied to describe the economic value of environmental amenities in urban housing, but the results for cultural heritage variables remain relatively ambiguous. In this paper, integrated variables extending by GIS-based data and an existing typology of communities used to examine how cultural heritage and environmental amenities and disamenities affect housing prices across urban communities in Tainan, Taiwan. The developed models suggest that, although a sophisticated variable for central services is selected, the centrality of location is not fully controlled in the price models and thus picked up by correlated peripheral and central amenities such as cultural heritage, open space or parks. Analysis of these correlations permits us to qualify results and present a revised set of relatively reliable estimates. Positive effects on housing prices are identified for views, various types of recreational infrastructure and vicinity of nationally cultural sites and significant landscapes. Negative effects are found for several disamenities including wasteyards, refuse incinerators, petrol stations and industries. The results suggest that systematic hypothesis testing and reporting of correlations may contribute to consistent explanatory patterns in hedonic pricing estimates for cultural heritage and landscape amenities in urban.

Keywords: hedonic pricing model, cultural heritage, landscape amenities, housing

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Authors: Fernanda A. P. Peres, Thiago N. Peres, Flavio S. Fogliatto, Michel J. Anzanello

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Batch processes are widely used in food industry and have an important role in the production of high added value products, such as chocolate. Process performance is usually described by variables that are monitored as the batch progresses. Data arising from these processes are likely to display a strong correlation-autocorrelation structure, and are usually monitored using control charts based on multiway principal components analysis (MPCA). Process control of a new batch is carried out comparing the trajectories of its relevant process variables with those in a reference set of batches that yielded products within specifications; it is clear that proper determination of the reference set is key for the success of a correct signalization of non-conforming batches in such quality control schemes. In chocolate manufacturing, misclassifications of non-conforming batches in the conching phase may lead to significant financial losses. In such context, the accuracy of process control grows in relevance. In addition to that, the main assumption in MPCA-based monitoring strategies is that all batches are synchronized in duration, both the new batch being monitored and those in the reference set. Such assumption is often not satisfied in chocolate manufacturing process. As a consequence, traditional techniques as MPCA-based charts are not suitable for process control and monitoring. To address that issue, the objective of this work is to compare the performance of three dynamic time warping (DTW) methods in the alignment and synchronization of chocolate conching process variables’ trajectories, aimed at properly determining the reference distribution for multivariate statistical process control. The power of classification of batches in two categories (conforming and non-conforming) was evaluated using the k-nearest neighbor (KNN) algorithm. Real data from a milk chocolate conching process was collected and the following variables were monitored over time: frequency of soybean lecithin dosage, rotation speed of the shovels, current of the main motor of the conche, and chocolate temperature. A set of 62 batches with durations between 495 and 1,170 minutes was considered; 53% of the batches were known to be conforming based on lab test results and experts’ evaluations. Results showed that all three DTW methods tested were able to align and synchronize the conching dataset. However, synchronized datasets obtained from these methods performed differently when inputted in the KNN classification algorithm. Kassidas, MacGregor and Taylor’s (named KMT) method was deemed the best DTW method for aligning and synchronizing a milk chocolate conching dataset, presenting 93.7% accuracy, 97.2% sensitivity and 90.3% specificity in batch classification, being considered the best option to determine the reference set for the milk chocolate dataset. Such method was recommended due to the lowest number of iterations required to achieve convergence and highest average accuracy in the testing portion using the KNN classification technique.

Keywords: batch process monitoring, chocolate conching, dynamic time warping, reference set distribution, variable duration

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Authors: Tatjana Kochetkova

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This paper explores the pivotal role of environmental education, specifically outdoor education, in facilitating a psychological connection to nature among young adults. This research aims to contribute to building an empirical and conceptual basis of ecopsychology by providing a picture of psyche-nature interaction. It presents the results of the four-day connection-to-nature workshop. It intends to find out the effects of the awareness of nature on subjective well-being and perception of the meaning of life. This led to finding a battery-recharging effect of nature and the influence of nature at four levels of awareness: external physical perception, internal (bodily) sensation, emotions, and existential meaning. The research on the psychological bond of humans with the natural environment, the subject of ecopsychology, is still in its infancy. However, despite several courageous and fruitful attempts, there are still no direct answers to the fundamental questions about the way in which the natural environment influences humans and the specific role of nature in the human psyche. The urge to address this question was the primary reason for the current experiment. The methodology of this study was taken from the study of Patterson, and from White and Hendee. The methodology included a series of assignments on the perception of nature (the exercises are described in the attachment). Experiences were noted in a personal diary, which we used later for analysis. There are many trustworthy claims that contact with nature has positive effects on human subjective well-being and that it is of essential psychological and spiritual value. But, there is a need for more support and theoretical explanation for this phenomenon. As a contribution to filling these gaps, this qualitative study was conducted. The aim of this study is to explore the psychological effects of short-term awareness of wilderness on one’s subjective well-being and on one’s sense of the meaning of life. This specific study is based on the more general hypothesis that there are positive relationships between the experience of wilderness and the development of the self, feelings of community, and spiritual development. It restricted the study of the psychological effects of short term stay in nature to two variables (subjective well-being and the sense of meaning of life). The study aimed at (i) testing the hypothesis that there are positive effects of the awareness of wilderness on the subjective sense of well-being and meaning in life, (ii) understanding the nature of the psychological need for wilderness. Although there is a substantial amount of data on the psychological benefits of nature, we still lack a theory that explains the findings. The present research aims to contribute to such a theory. This is an experiment aimed specifically at the effects of nature on the sense of well-being and meaning in life.

Keywords: environmental education, psychological connection to nature, subjective well-being, symbolic meaning of nature, emotional reaction to nature, meaning of life

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Authors: Chulpan Gromova, Rezeda Khairutdinova, Dina Birman

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One of the most significant issues that schools all over the world face today is the ways teachers respond to increasing diversity. The study was informed by the tripartite model of multicultural competence, with awareness of personal biases a necessary component, together with knowledge of different cultures, and skills to work with students from diverse backgrounds. The paper presents the results of qualitative descriptive studies that help to understand how school teachers in Russia treat migrant children, how they solve the problems of adaptation of migrant children. The purpose of this study was to determine: a) educational practices used by primary school teachers when working with migrant children; b) relationship between practices and attitudes of teachers. Empirical data were collected through interviews. The participants were informed that a conversation was being recorded. They were also warned that the study was voluntary, absolutely anonymous, no personal data was disclosed. Consent was received from 20 teachers. The findings were analyzed using directive content analysis (Graneheim and Lundman, 2004). The analysis was deductive according to the categories of practices and attitudes identified in the literature review and enriched inductively to identify variation within these categories. Studying practices is an essential part of preparing future teachers for working in a multicultural classroom. For language and academic support, teachers mostly use individual work. In order to create a friendly classroom climate and environment teachers have productive conversations with students, organize multicultural events for the whole school or just for an individual class. The majority of teachers have positive attitudes toward migrant children. In most cases, positive attitudes lead to high expectations for their academic achievements. Conceptual orientation of teacher attitudes toward cultural diversity is mostly pluralistic. Positive attitudes, high academic expectations and conceptual orientation toward pluralism are favorably reflected in teachers’ practice.

Keywords: intercultural education, migrant children schooling, teachers attitudes, teaching practices

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Authors: Ning Niu

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The study hinges on consumer taste, food industry (wine production) and cultural consumption (vineyard tourism) which are related to the Chinese market, consumers, and visitors traveling to Australian vineyards. The research topic can be summed up as: the economic importance of the Chinese market on Australian wine production; the economic importance of the Chinese market have an impact on how Australian wine is produced or packaged; the impact of mass Chinese wine tourism on Australian vineyards; the gendered and cultured experience of wine tourism for Chines visitors. This study aims to apply the theories of Pierre Bourdieu into the research in food industry and cultural consumption; investigate Chinese experiences with Australian wine products and vineyard tours; to explore the cultural, gendered and class influences on their experiences. The academic background covers the concepts of habitus, taste, capital proposed by Pierre Bourdieu along with long-lasting concepts within China’s cultural context including mianzi (face, dignity/honor/hierarchy) and guanxi (connections/social network), in order to develop new perspectives to study the tastes of Chinese tourists coming to Australia for wine experiences. The documents cited from Australian government or industries will be interpreted, and the analysis of data will constitute the economic background for this current study. The study applies qualitative research and draws from the fieldwork, choosing ethnographic observation, interviews, personal experiences and discursive analysis of government documents and tourism documents. The expected sample size includes three tourism professionals, two or three local Australian wine producers, and 20 to 30 Chinese wine consumers and visitors travelling to Australian vineyards. An embodied ethnography will be used to observe the Chinese participants’ feelings, thoughts, and experiences of their engagement with Australian wine and vineyards. The researcher will interview with Chinese consumers, tourism professionals, and Australian winemakers to collect primary data. Note-taking, picture-taking, and audio-recording will be adopted with informants’ permissions. Personal or group interview will be last for 30 and 60 minutes respectively. Personal experiences of the researcher have been analyzed to respond to some research questions, and have accumulated part of primary data (e.g., photos and stories) to discover how 'mianzi' and 'guanxi' influence Australian wine and tourism industries to meet the demands’ of Chinese consumers. At current stage, the secondary data from analysis of official and industrial documents has proved the economic importance of Chinese market is influencing Australian wine and tourism industries. And my own experiences related to this study, in some sense, has proved the Chinese cultural concepts (mianzi and guanxi) are influencing the Australian wine production and package along with vineyard tours. Future fieldwork will discover more in this research realm, contribute more to knowledge.

Keywords: habitus, taste, capital, mianzi, guanxi

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Authors: Wilhelmus Hary Susilo

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The marketplace would have at least some resources that are unique (e.g., well communication, knowledgeable employees, consumer value, effective transaction, efficient production processes and institutional branding). The institutions should have an advantage in resources and then could lead to positions of competitive advantage. These major challenges focus on increasing unique consumer value on reliable purchases that influence of loyalty and pursuit of a sustainable competitive advantage from the Institutions in Jakarta. Furthermore, a research was conducted with a quantitative method and a confirmatory strategic research design. The research resulted in entire confirmatory factors analysis (1st CFA and 2nd CFA) among variables pertains to; χ2//Df (9.30, 4.38, 6.95, 2.76, 2.97, 2.91, 2.32 and 6.90), GFI (0.72, 0.82, 0.82, 0.81, 0.78, 0.84, 0.89 and 0.70) and CFI (0.90, 0.95, 0.93, 0.92, 0.95, 0.91, 0.96 and 0.89), which indicates a good model. Furthermore, the hybrid model is well fit with, χ2//Df=1.84, P value = 0.00, RMSEA = 0.076, GFI = 0.76, NNFI= 0.95, PNFI= 0.82, IFI= 0.96, RFI= 0.91, AGFI= 0.71 and CFI= 0.96. The result was significant hypothesis, i.e. variables of communitization marketing 3.0 and price perception influenced to unique value of consumer with tvalue =4.46 and 5.89. Furthermore, the consumers value influenced the purchasing with t value = 5.94. Additionally, the loyalty, the ‘communitization’, and the character building marketing 3.0 are affecting the pursuit of a sustainable competitive advantage from institutions with t value = 7.57, -2.12, and 2.04. Finally, the test between the most superior variable dimensions is significantly correlated between INOV and WDES, RESPON and ATT covariance matrix value= 0.72 and 0.71. Thus, ‘communitization’ and character building marketing 3.0 with dimensions of responsibility and technologies would increase a competitive advantage with the dimensions of the innovation and the job design from the institutions.

Keywords: consumer loyalty, marketing 3.0, unique consumer value, purchase, sustainable competitive advantage

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Authors: Leticia Lengler, Vania Estivalete, Vivian Flores Costa, Tais De Andrade, Lisiane Fellini Faller

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Social entrepreneurship has emerged and driven a new development perspective, and as the literature mentions, it is based on innovation, and mainly, on the creation of social value, rather than personal wealth and shareholders. In this field of study, one of the focuses of discussion refers to the distinct characteristics of the individuals responsible for socially directed initiatives, named as social entrepreneurs. To contribute to this perspective, the present study aims to identify the values related to work that guide the performance of social entrepreneurs, members of enterprises that have developed themselves within a social incubator at a federal institution of higher education in Brazil. Each person's value system is present in different facets of his life, manifesting himself in his choices and in the way he conducts the relationship with other people in society. Especially the values of work, the focus of this research, play a significant role in organizational studies, since they are considered one of the important guiding principles of the behavior of individuals in the work environment. Regarding the method of the study, a descriptive and qualitative research was carried out. In the data collection, 24 entrepreneurs, members of five different enterprises belonging to the social incubator, were interviewed. The research instrument consisted of three open questions, which could be answered with the support of a "disc of values", an artifact organized to clearly demonstrate the values of the work to the respondents. The analysis of the interviews took into account the categories defined a priori, based on the model proposed by previous authors who validated these constructs within their research contexts, contemplating the following dimensions: Self-determination and stimulation; Safety; Conformity; Universalism and benevolence; Achievement; and Power. It should be noted that, in order to provide a better understanding of the interviewees, in the "disc of values" used in the research, these dimensions were represented by the objectives that define them, being respectively: Challenge; Financial independence; Commitment; Welfare of others; Personal success; And Power. Some preliminary results show that, as guiding principles of the investigation, priority is given to work values related to Self-determination and stimulation, Conformity and Universalism and benevolence. Such findings point to the importance given by these individuals to independent thinking and acting, as well as to novelty and constant challenge. Still, they demonstrate the appreciation of commitment to their enterprise, the people who make it and the quality of their work. They also point to the relevance of the possibility of contributing to the greater social good, that is, of the search for the well-being of close people and of society, as it is implied in models of social entrepreneurship coming from literature. With a lower degree of priority, the values denominated Safety and Realization, as the financial question at work and the search for satisfaction and personal success, through the use of socially recognized skills were mentioned aspects with little emphasis by social entrepreneurs. The Power value was not considered as guiding principle of the work for the respondents.

Keywords: qualitative study, social entrepreneur, social incubator, values of work

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Authors: Chokri Slim

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The relative failure of simultaneous equation models in the seventies has led researchers to turn to other approaches that take into account the dynamics of economic and financial systems. In this paper, we use an approach based on vector autoregressive model that is widely used in recent years. Their popularity is due to their flexible nature and ease of use to produce models with useful descriptive characteristics. It is also easy to use them to test economic hypotheses. The standard econometric techniques assume that the series studied are stable over time (stationary hypothesis). Most economic series do not verify this hypothesis, which assumes, when one wishes to study the relationships that bind them to implement specific techniques. This is cointegration which characterizes non-stationary series (integrated) with a linear combination is stationary, will also be presented in this paper. Since the work of Johansen, this approach is generally presented as part of a multivariate analysis and to specify long-term stable relationships while at the same time analyzing the short-term dynamics of the variables considered. In the empirical part, we have applied these concepts to study the dynamics of of the exchange rate in Tunisia, which is one of the most important economic policy of a country open to the outside. According to the results of the empirical study by the cointegration method, there is a cointegration relationship between the exchange rate and its determinants. This relationship shows that the variables have a significant influence in determining the exchange rate in Tunisia.

Keywords: stationarity, cointegration, dynamic models, causality, VECM models

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Authors: N. J. Shanono, J. G. Ndiritu

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The poor performance of water resource systems (WRS) has been reportedly linked to not only climate variability and the water demand dynamics but also human behaviour-driven unlawful activities. Some of these unlawful activities that have been adversely affecting water sector include unauthorized water abstractions, water wastage behaviour, refusal of water re‐use measures, excessive operational losses, discharging untreated or improperly treated wastewater, over‐application of chemicals by agricultural users and fraudulent WRS operation. Despite advances in WRS planning, operation, and analysis incorporating such undesirable human activities to quantitatively assess their impact on WRS performance remain elusive. This study was then inspired by the need to develop a methodological framework for WRS performance assessment that integrates the impact of human behaviour with WRS performance assessment analysis. We, therefore, proposed a conceptual framework for assessing the impact of human behaviour on WRS performance using the concept of socio-hydrology. The framework identifies and couples four major sources of WRS-related values (water values, water systems, water managers, and water users) using three missing links between human and water in the management of WRS (interactions, outcomes, and feedbacks). The framework is to serve as a database for choosing relevant social and hydrological variables and to understand the intrinsic relations between the selected variables to study a specific human-water problem in the context of WRS management.

Keywords: conceptual framework, human behaviour; socio-hydrology; water resource systems

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Authors: Nazeema Ahmed

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This paper reports on the development of a student peer mentoring programme at a higher education institution. The programme is dependent on volunteering senior undergraduate students who are trained to mentor first-year students studying towards an engineering degree. The evaluation of the programme took the form of first-year students completing a self-report paper questionnaire at the onset of a lecture and mentors completing their questionnaire electronically. The evaluation yielded mixed findings. Peer mentoring clearly benefited some students in their adjustment to the institution. Specific mentors’ personal attributes enabled the establishment of successful mentoring relationships, where encouragement, advice and academic assistance was provided. Gains were reciprocal with mentors reporting that the programme contributed towards their personal development. Confidence in the programme was expressed in mentors feeling that it was an initiative worth continuing and first-year students agreeing that it be recommended to future first-year students. This was despite many unfavourable experiences of mentors where their professionalism and commitment to the programme was suspect. It is evident that while mentors began with noble intentions they appear either to lose interest or become overwhelmed with their own workload as the academic year progresses. On the other hand, some mentors reported feeling challenged by the apathy of first-year students who failed to maximise the opportunity available to them. The different attitudes towards mentoring that manifested as a mentoring culture in some departments were particularly pertinent to its successful implementation. The findings point to the key role of academic staff in the mentoring programme who model the mentoring relationship in their interaction with student mentors. While their involvement in the programme may be perceived as a drain on resources in an already demanding academic teaching environment, it is imperative that structural changes be put in place for the programme to be both efficient and sustainable. A pervasive finding concerns the evolving institutional culture of student development in the faculty. Mentors and first-year students alike alluded to the potential of the mentoring programme provided it is seriously endorsed at both the departmental and faculty level. The findings provide a foundation from which to develop the programme further and to begin improving its capacity for maximizing student retention in South African higher education.

Keywords: engineering students, first-year students, peer mentoring

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Authors: Tamara Tallman

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Collaboration is a powerful tool for professional development and central for creating opportunities for teachers to reflect on their practice. However, school districts continue to have difficulty both implementing and sustaining collaboration. The purpose of this research was to investigate the experience of the teacher in a creative, instructional collaboration. The teachers in this study found that teacher-initiated collaboration offered them trust and they were more open with their partners. An interpretative phenomenological analysis was used for this study as it told the story of the teacher’s experience. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis was chosen for this study to capture the complex and contextual nature of the teacher experience from a creative, instructional collaborative experience. This study sought to answer the question of how teachers in a private, faith-based school experience collaboration. In particular, the researcher engaged the study’s participants in interviews where they shared their unique perspectives on their experiences in relation to this phenomenon. Through the use of interpretative phenomenological analysis, the researcher interpreted the experiences of each participant in an attempt to gain deeper insight into how teachers made sense of their understanding of collaboration. In addition to the researcher’s interpreting the meaning of this construct for each research participant, this study gave a voice to the individual experiences and positionality of each participant at the research site. Moreover, the key findings presented in this study shed light on how teachers within this particular context participated in and made sense of their experience of creating an instructional collaborative. The research presented the findings that speak to the meaning that each research participant experienced in their relation to participating in building a collaborative culture and its effect on professional and personal growth. The researcher provided recommendations for future practice and research possibilities. The research findings demonstrated the unique experiences of each participant as well as a connection to the literature within the field of teacher professional development. The results also supported the claim that teacher collaboration can facilitate school reform. Participating teachers felt less isolation and developed more teacher knowledge.

Keywords: collaboration, personal grwoth, professional development, teachers

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Authors: Theodorou Kyriaki, Ypsilantis George

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Vocabulary learning has attracted a lot of attention in recent years, contrary to the neglected part of the past. Along with the interest in finding successful vocabulary teaching strategies, many scholars focused on locating learning strategies used by language learners. As a result, more and more studies in the area of language pedagogy have been investigating the use of strategies in vocabulary learning by different types of learners. A common instrument in this field is the questionnaire, a tool of work that was enriched by questions involving current technology, and it was further implemented to a sample of 300 Greek students whose age varied from 9 and 17 years. Strategies located were grouped into the three categories of memory, cognitive, and compensatory type and associations between these dependent variables were investigated. In addition, relations between dependent and independent variables (such as age, sex, type of school, cultural background, and grade in English) were pursued to investigate the impact on strategy selection. Finally, results were compared to findings of other studies in the same field to contribute to a hypothesis of ethnic differences in strategy selection. Results initially discuss preferred strategies of all participants and further indicate that: a) technology affects strategy selection while b) differences between ethnic groups are not statistically significant. A number of successful strategies are presented, resulting from correlations of strategy selection and final school grade in English.

Keywords: acquisition of English, internet technology, research among Greek students, vocabulary learning strategies

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Authors: Pitsanu Poonpetpun

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This research aimed to study opinions of Suan Sunandha Rajabhat University administrative personnel towards performance of the university council committee by addressing (1) personal characteristics of the committees; (2) duties designated by the university council; and (3) relationship between university council and university administrative personnel. The population of this study including the president, vice presidents, faculty deans, deputy deans, office heads, director of office of president, directors, deputy directors, division directors, made a total of 118 respondents. Frequency, percentage, mean, and standard deviation were utilized in analyzing the data. The finding on opinions of the administrative personnel towards personal characteristics of the university council committees was averagely at a high level. The characteristic items were rated and revealed that the item gaining the highest mean score was the item stating that the university council committees obtained overall appropriate qualification. The items stating that the president of the teachers’ council acting as the university council committee had impartiality and good governance reported the lowest mean score. The opinions of the administrative personnel towards duty performance of the university council committees was averagely in a high level, in which the item gaining the highest mean score was the item stating that formulating rules and regulations or assigning governmental offices to do so was practiced with governance or fairness to all stakeholders, and the item stating that the president of the teachers’ council acting as the university council committee had impartiality good governance reported the lowest mean score. Moreover, the study found that the rating of opinions of the administrative personnel towards relationship between university council and university administrative personnel was averagely high. Relationship items were rated and revealed that the highest mean score was rated for the fact that the university president was empowered by the university council to manage the university with no violation of the policies. The fact that there was the integrity of policy between the university council and the university administrative personnel was rated the lowest score.

Keywords: performance, university council, education, university administrative personnel

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Authors: Sagir M. Yusuf, Chris Baber

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In this paper, we describe how Bayesian inferential reasoning will contributes in obtaining a well-satisfied prediction for Distributed Constraint Optimization Problems (DCOPs) with uncertainties. We also demonstrate how DCOPs could be merged to multi-agent knowledge understand and prediction (i.e. Situation Awareness). The DCOPs functions were merged with Bayesian Belief Network (BBN) in the form of situation, awareness, and utility nodes. We describe how the uncertainties can be represented to the BBN and make an effective prediction using the expectation-maximization algorithm or conjugate gradient descent algorithm. The idea of variable prediction using Bayesian inference may reduce the number of variables in agents’ sampling domain and also allow missing variables estimations. Experiment results proved that the BBN perform compelling predictions with samples containing uncertainties than the perfect samples. That is, Bayesian inference can help in handling uncertainties and dynamism of DCOPs, which is the current issue in the DCOPs community. We show how Bayesian inference could be formalized with Distributed Situation Awareness (DSA) using uncertain and missing agents’ data. The whole framework was tested on multi-UAV mission for forest fire searching. Future work focuses on augmenting existing architecture to deal with dynamic DCOPs algorithms and multi-agent information merging.

Keywords: DCOP, multi-agent reasoning, Bayesian reasoning, swarm intelligence

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Authors: Tommaso Adamo, Gianpaolo Ghiani, Antonio Domenico Grieco, Emanuela Guerriero

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Batch production plants provide a wide range of scheduling problems. In pharmaceutical industries a batch process is usually described by a recipe, consisting of an ordering of tasks to produce the desired product. In this research work we focused on pharmaceutical production processes requiring the culture of a microorganism population (i.e. bacteria, yeasts or antibiotics). Several sources of uncertainty may influence the yield of the culture processes, including (i) low performance and quality of the cultured microorganism population or (ii) microbial contamination. For these reasons, robustness is a valuable property for the considered application context. In particular, a robust schedule will not collapse immediately when a cell of microorganisms has to be thrown away due to a microbial contamination. Indeed, a robust schedule should change locally in small proportions and the overall performance measure (i.e. makespan, lateness) should change a little if at all. In this research work we formulated a constraint programming optimization (COP) model for the robust planning of antibiotics production. We developed a discrete-time model with a multi-criteria objective, ordering the different criteria and performing a lexicographic optimization. A feasible solution of the proposed COP model is a schedule of a given set of tasks onto available resources. The schedule has to satisfy tasks precedence constraints, resource capacity constraints and time constraints. In particular time constraints model tasks duedates and resource availability time windows constraints. To improve the schedule robustness, we modeled the concept of (a, b) super-solutions, where (a, b) are input parameters of the COP model. An (a, b) super-solution is one in which if a variables (i.e. the completion times of a culture tasks) lose their values (i.e. cultures are contaminated), the solution can be repaired by assigning these variables values with a new values (i.e. the completion times of a backup culture tasks) and at most b other variables (i.e. delaying the completion of at most b other tasks). The efficiency and applicability of the proposed model is demonstrated by solving instances taken from Sanofi Aventis, a French pharmaceutical company. Computational results showed that the determined super-solutions are near-optimal.

Keywords: constraint programming, super-solutions, robust scheduling, batch process, pharmaceutical industries

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Authors: Mehdi Bakhtiarzadeh, Reza Efatnejad, Kambiz Rezapour Rezapour

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Due to the limited resources of fossil fuels and their harmful effects on the environment and human health, research on renewable energy applications in industrial and scientific communities has become particularly important. Only one percent of freshwater resources are available for use in the domestic, agricultural, and industrial sectors. On the other hand, the rapid growth of industry and the increase of population in most countries of the world, including Iran, have led to an increase in demand for freshwater. Among renewable energies, there is the potential of solar energy in Iran. As a result, solar distillation systems can be used as a solution to supply fresh water in remote rural areas. Therefore, in the present study, a solar water desalination device was designed and manufactured using two heat exchangers and a photovoltaic system. Its evaluation was done during September and October of 2020. During the evaluation of the device, environmental variables such as total solar radiation, ambient temperature and cooling tower temperature were recorded at intervals of one hour from 9 am to 5 pm. The effect of these variables on solar concentrator performance, heat exchanger, and daily freshwater production was evaluated. The results showed that using two heat exchangers and a photovoltaic system has led to the daily production of 5 liters of fresh water and 46% economic efficiency.

Keywords: solar water desalination, heat exchanger, photovoltaic system, technical and economic evaluation

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Authors: Parwinder Singh, Ashok Kumar

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Aim: The aim of the study was to investigate the relationship between selected Anthropometric and physical fitness variables of Junior Free Style Wrestlers. Method: one hundred fifty (N = 150) male Junior Free Style Wrestlers were selected as subjects, and they were categorized into five groups according to their weight categories; each group was comprised of 30 wrestlers. Body Mass Index can be considered according to the World Health Organization. Body fat percentage was assessed by using Durnin and Womersley equation, and Bodyweight was checked with a weighing machine. Cardiovascular endurance was checked by the Havard Step test of junior freestyle wrestlers. Results: A statistically positive significant correlation was found between Body Weight and Body Mass Index, skinfold thickness, and Percentage Body Fat. Fitness index was observed as negatively significant relationship related with Body Weight, Percent Body Fat, and Body Mass Index. Conclusion: It is concluded that freestyle wrestling is a weight classified sport and physical fitness is the most important factor in freestyle wrestling; therefore, the correlation of the fitness index of the wrestlers with body composition is important. The results of the present study also demonstrated the effect of Age, Body Height, Body Weight, Body Mass Index, and percentage body fat of the aerobic fitness of junior freestyle wrestlers.

Keywords: aerobic fitness, anthropometry, fat percentage, free style wrestling, skinfold, strength

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Authors: Aleš Florian, Lenka Ševelová

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Complex sensitivity analysis of stresses in a concrete slab of the real type of rigid pavement made from recycled materials is performed. The computational model of the pavement is designed as a spatial (3D) model, is based on a nonlinear variant of the finite element method that respects the structural nonlinearity, enables to model different arrangements of joints, and the entire model can be loaded by the thermal load. Interaction of adjacent slabs in joints and contact of the slab and the subsequent layer are modeled with the help of special contact elements. Four concrete slabs separated by transverse and longitudinal joints and the additional structural layers and soil to the depth of about 3m are modeled. The thickness of individual layers, physical and mechanical properties of materials, characteristics of joints, and the temperature of the upper and lower surface of slabs are supposed to be random variables. The modern simulation technique Updated Latin Hypercube Sampling with 20 simulations is used. For sensitivity analysis the sensitivity coefficient based on the Spearman rank correlation coefficient is utilized. As a result, the estimates of influence of random variability of individual input variables on the random variability of principal stresses s1 and s3 in 53 points on the upper and lower surface of the concrete slabs are obtained.

Keywords: concrete, FEM, pavement, sensitivity, simulation

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Authors: Ana Claudia de Souza Costa, Beatriz de Cássia Pinheiro Goulart, Karine de Cássia Cavalari, Henrique Ceretta Oliveira, Edineis de Brito Guirardello

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Background: During the COVID-19 pandemic, nursing represents the largest category of health professionals who were on the front line. Thus, investigating the practice environment and the job satisfaction of nursing professionals during the pandemic becomes fundamental since it reflects on the quality of care and the safety climate. The aim of this study was to evaluate and compare the nursing professionals' perception of the work environment, job satisfaction, and safety climate of the different hospitals and work shifts during the COVID-19 pandemic. Method: This is a cross-sectional survey with 130 nursing professionals from public, private and mixed hospitals in Brazil. For data collection, was used an electronic form containing the personal and occupational variables, work environment, job satisfaction, and safety climate. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and ANOVA or Kruskal-Wallis tests according to the data distribution. The distribution was evaluated by means of the Shapiro-Wilk test. The analysis was done in the SPSS 23 software, and it was considered a significance level of 5%. Results: The mean age of the participants was 35 years (±9.8), with a mean time of 6.4 years (±6.7) of working experience in the institution. Overall, the nursing professionals evaluated the work environment as favorable; they were dissatisfied with their job in terms of pay, promotion, benefits, contingent rewards, operating procedures and satisfied with coworkers, nature of work, supervision, and communication, and had a negative perception of the safety climate. When comparing the hospitals, it was found that they did not differ in their perception of the work environment and safety climate. However, they differed with regard to job satisfaction, demonstrating that nursing professionals from public hospitals were more dissatisfied with their work with regard to promotion when compared to professionals from private (p=0.02) and mixed hospitals (p< 0.01) and nursing professionals from mixed hospitals were more satisfied than those from private hospitals (p= 0.04) with regard to supervision. Participants working in night shifts had the worst perception of the work environment related to nurse participation in hospital affairs (p= 0.02), nursing foundations for quality care (p= 0.01), nurse manager ability, leadership and support (p= 0.02), safety climate (p< 0.01), job satisfaction related to contingent rewards (p= 0.04), nature of work (p= 0.03) and supervision (p< 0.01). Conclusion: The nursing professionals had a favorable perception of the environment and safety climate but differed among hospitals regarding job satisfaction for the promotion and supervision domains. There was also a difference between the participants regarding the work shifts, being the night shifts, those with the lowest scores, except for satisfaction with operational conditions.

Keywords: health facility environment, job satisfaction, patient safety, nursing

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Authors: E. Happ, Zs. Ivancsone Horvath

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With the development of the information technology, IT, sector, all industry of the world has a new path, dealing with digitalisation. Tourism is the most rapidly increasing industry in the world. Without digitalisation, tourism operators would not be competitive enough with foreign destinations or other experience-based service providers. Digitalisation is also necessary to enable organizations, which are interested in tourism to meet the growing expectations of consumers. With the help of digitalisation, tourism providers can also obtain information about tourists, changes in consumer behaviour, and the use of online services. The degree of digitalisation in tourism is different for different services. The research is based on a questionnaire survey conducted in 2018 in Hungary. The sample with more than 500 respondents was processed by the SPSS program, using a variety of analysis methods. The following two variables were observed from more aspects: frequency of travel and the importance of services related to online travel. With the help of these variables, a cluster analysis was performed among the participants. The sample can be divided into two groups using K-mean cluster analysis. Cluster ‘1’ is a positive group; they can be called the “most digital tourists.” They agree in most things, with low standard deviation, and for them, digitalisation is a starting point. To the members of Cluster ‘2’, digitalisation is important, too. The results show what is important (accommodation, information gathering) to them, but also what they are not interested in at all within the digital world (e.g., car rental or online sharing). Interestingly, there is no third negative cluster. This result (that there is no result) proves that tourism uses digitalisation, and the question is only the extent of the use of online tools and methods. With the help of the designed consumer groups, the characteristics of digital tourism segments can be identified. The help of different variables characterised these groups. One of them is the frequency of travel, where there is a significant correlation between travel frequency and cluster membership. The shift is clear towards Cluster ‘1’, which means, those who find services related to online travel more important, are more likely to travel as well. By learning more about digital tourists’ consumer behaviour, the results of this research can help the providers in what kind of marketing tools could be used to influence the consumer choices of the different consumer groups created using digital devices, furthermore how to conduct more detailed and effective marketing activities. The main finding of the research was that most of the people have digital tools which are important to be able to participate in e-tourism. Of these, mobile devices are increasingly preferred. That means the challenge for service providers is no longer the digital presence but having optimised application for different devices.

Keywords: cluster analysis, digital tourism, marketing tool, tourist behaviour

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