Synthesis of nanocomposite coating based on TiO₂/ZnAl layer double hydroxides

The aim of this investigation was the synthesis of nanocomposite coatings based on Zn-Al layered double hydroxides (Zn-Al LDH) and TiO2. The Zn-Al LDH material, which acted as the catalyst support of the active TiO2 component (in the content of 3 and 10 wt. %), was synthesized by a low super saturation co-precipitation method. The interaction between the Zn-Al LDH and the active TiO2 component was accomplished by using vacuum evaporation prior to the mechanical activation and only by mechanical activation. The final suspension based on Zn-Al LDH and 10wt. % TiO2, impregnated only by mechanical activation, showed the optimal characteristics from the aspect of particle size distribution and XRD analysis. These properties had a positive effect on the functional properties of the coatings (photocatalytic activity and self-cleaning efficiency) after the water rinsing procedure

TOUR OPERATING BUSINESS

Tourist product is composed of an amalgam of services and products that are brought together to create an overall tourist experience. This multi-service product, by definition, includes a trip away and an overnight at the destination, and can either be created by the tourists themselves or by a tour operator. Travel trade is an important sector of the tourism industry responsible for packaging travel services and offering them to potential travelers. They also have an important role in commercialization of tourist products and destination development. Tour packages are usually cheaper, safer and more convenient for tourists. Hence, travel firms create the link between tourist products at the destination and the travelers. Tour operators even create and brand destinations. They take various risks and invest in the destination product ahead of the sales, hence they are an important stakeholder for tourism destination development. Despite there being extensive literature on transportation, accommodation, restaurants, attractions and events; the tour operators, their place in tourism system and their operations are neglected in education and research

Tour Operating Business

PublishedTourist product is composed of an amalgam of services and products that are brought together to create an overall tourist experience. This multi-service product, by definition, includes a trip away and an overnight at the destination, and can either be created by the tourists themselves or by a tour operator. Travel trade is an important sector of the tourism industry responsible for packaging travel services and offering them to potential travelers. They also have an important role in commercialization of tourist products and destination development. Tour packages are usually cheaper, safer and more convenient for tourists. Hence, travel firms create the link between tourist products at the destination and the travelers. Tour operators even create and brand destinations. They take various risks and invest in the destination product ahead of the sales, hence they are an important stakeholder for tourism destination development. Despite there being extensive literature on transportation, accommodation, restaurants, attractions and events; the tour operators, their place in tourism system and their operations are neglected in education and research. This book addresses this gap both in theory and practice. The first chapter discusses the nature of the tourism industry and tourism supply. Tourism resources, tourism types, tourist services and organizations are also explored in this section. The second chapter focuses on the tourist product, features of tourism as a service, standardization and distribution of tourism products. This chapter also introduces travel firms as both producers and intermediaries of tourism products and services. The third chapter focuses on the travel industry, defining travel agencies and tour operators. Differences between the two and different types of each are also detailed in this section. This book also recognizes tour guides as an important part of the tourism industry and a significant partner to travel firms. Tour guides, their roles, certification and their relationships with tour operators are examined in chapter four. Tourism education, its significance, characteristics and challenges are provided in chapter five. Chapter six delves into tour operation, its management and stages. The importance of tour operators for destination development, sustainability, branding and competition and their relationships with other stakeholders are examined in this chapter. Chapter six also explores ICT information and communication technology tools in tour operation, disintermediation and online travel agencies. This book is designed as a comprehensive destination management book as well. Hence the second part of the book delves into multinational tourism organizations, tourism types and offers case destinations for further discussion. The seventh chapter focuses on multinational corporations that invest in travel trade, including financial institutions. Vertical and horizontal integration in the industry and different types of investors are also examined in this chapter. Business travel and MICE tourism are discussed in chapter eight and nine. Their characteristics, types, operation, destination and choice factors are examined supported with sample itineraries, promotion kits and SWOT analysis. Faith tourism is another tourism type, explored in chapter ten. Istanbul and Anatolia as faith tourism destinations and their relationship with tourism are explored from the perspective of different stakeholders. Chapter eleven delves into culture tourism, which is another significant tourist segment for tour operators. Culture tourism is explored from the perspective of Istanbul and its cultural resources. This book, in chapter twelve, also makes a comparison between two popular destinations in Turkey: Antalya, the major leisure destination and Istanbul, the center for business travel and cultural tourism. The book finally concludes with an epilogue discussing the geopolitical dimensions of tourism and tourist flows. As both authors are scholars with hands on experience in tour operation, who integrated theory with practice within the book and provided real life examples, illustrations and itineraries. It is very much hoped that the content will provide both theoretical and practical contributions and will be a useful resource for tour operator education and training

The professional relationship between tour guides and tour operators

Tour operators and tour guides are major stakeholders during production and operation of organized package tours. However, the relationship between them received little attention in tourism literature. This study intends to identify the dimensions of the relationship between the two parties and importance attained to different guiding roles both by tour operators and guides. It also explores the attitude gaps between tour operators and guides on various guiding attributes. The analyzed data were collected from 110 professional tour guides and 56 inbound tour operators. Numerous differences in perceptions were identified regarding importance attained to foreign language skills, group cohesion, holiday experience creation, entertainment, representation skills, contract compliance, image creation, itinerary compliance and identification with tour operators

The Evolution of Host Specialization in an Insect Pathogen

AbstractNiche breadth coevolution between biotic partners underpins theories of diversity and co-existence and influences patterns of disease emergence and transmission in host-parasite systems. Despite these broad implications, we still do not fully understand how the breadth of parasites’ infectivity evolves, the nature of any associated costs, or the genetic basis of specialization. Here, we serially passage a granulosis virus on multiple inbred populations of its Plodia interpunctella host to explore the dynamics and outcomes of specialization. In particular, we collect time series of phenotypic and genetic data to explore the dynamics of host genotype specialization throughout the course of experimental evolution and examine two fitness components. We find that the Plodia interpunctella granulosis virus consistently evolves increases in overall specialization, but that our two fitness components evolve independently such that lines specialize in either productivity or infectivity. Furthermore, we find that specialization in our experiment is a highly polygenic trait best explained by a combination of evolutionary mechanisms including conditionally positive fitness asymmetries and mutation accumulation. These results are important for understanding the evolution of specialization in host-parasite interactions and its broader implications for co-existence, diversification, and infectious disease management.</jats:p