Business impacts of web accessibility in the Austrian hotel sector

Diese Magisterarbeit behandelt die wirtschaftlichen Auswirkungen von barrierefreiem Web im Tourismus Bereich und fokussiert dabei insbesondere auf die österreichische Hotelbranche. Ein Literatur Review gibt vorerst einen Überblick über die gegenwärtige Situation von barrierefreiem Web und barrierefreiem Tourismus. Ferner werden mit Hilfe von statistikbasierten Schätzungen wirtschaftliche Auswirkungen von barrierefreiem Tourismus in der österreichischen Hotelbranche ermittelt. Um die Komplexität der Barrierefreiheit in der Tourismusbranche adäquat darstellen zu können, wird ein drei-dimensionales Hotelkategorisierungsmodell entwickelt, mit Hilfe dessen die Evaluierung des Status quo eines Hotels im Hinblick auf Barrierefreiheit vorgenommen werden kann. Darüber hinaus ist dieses Kategorisierungsmodell für weiterführende Benchmarking Aktivitäten einsetzbar. Eine Fallstudien-Analyse vereint quantitative und qualitative Forschungsmethoden und untersucht die betriebswirtschaftlichen Effekte von barrierefreiem Web in der Hotel Branche. Ergebnisse zeigen, dass derzeit nur ein Bruchteil der österreichischen Hotels über eine barrierefreie Webseite verfügt, obwohl durch die Implementierung von Barrierefreiheit zusätzliche Investitionen entfallen würden sowie Vorteile für alle Kunden generiert werden könnten. Die im Zuge dieser Magisterarbeit durchgeführten Studien bekräftigen bisherige Forschungsergebnisse, welche das fehlende Bewusstsein von Tourismus Akteuren in Bezug auf barrierefreies Web als Hauptgrund für die mangelnde Implementierung identifizierten. Ferner kann festgestellt werden, dass Reisende mit Beeinträchtigungen eine wirtschaftlich signifikante Touristengruppe darstellen und in ihren Eigenschaften sehr loyal und zunehmend mobil sind.This contribution aims to investigate the business impacts of web accessibility in the tourism industry with the focus on the Austrian hotel sector. Case study research methods are used for the research. The results of the conducted studies verify previous research, showing that tourism stakeholders considerably lack awareness of web accessibility. The literature review on web accessibility and accessible tourism gives an overview on the current status. Estimations based on statistical data are used to assess the economical impact of accessible tourism in the Austrian hotel sector. A three dimensional hotel categorization model on accessibility is introduced to encompass the complexity of accessibility in the hotel sector. It can be used to evaluate the status quo of hotel accessibility and may therefore provide a valuable tool for further benchmarking activities. Quantitative and qualitative studies are used to assess the implications of web accessibility in the hotel sector in praxis. The study on the accessibility of the Austrian hotel web pages shows that currently only a fraction has implemented web accessibility. The conducted in-depth interviews reveal that implementing web accessibility doesn’t require additional investment and has advantages for all costumers. The interviews also confirm the results of previous studies: travelers with disabilities can represent a significant guest group, are very loyal to the place their like and they are increasingly mobile, this groups of travelers is ever more important. Additionally, this study confirmed that accessibility has to be promoted, so people with disabilities can find these hotels

WEB ACCESSIBILITY IN THE AUSTRIAN HOTEL SECTOR

This contribution aims to provide an analysis of the current state of web accessibility in the tourism industry with the focus on the Austrian hotel sector. The results of the conducted study verify previous research, showing that tourism organizations considerably lack awareness of web accessibility. A three dimensional hotel categorization model on accessibility is introduced to encompass the complexity of accessibility in the hotel sector. This model can be used to evaluate the current state of hotel accessibility and may therefore provide a valuable tool for further benchmarking activities

Room Temperature Electrochemical Synthesis of Hg-1212 Superconducting Thin Films

In the present investigation, the novel two-step electrochemical process of room temperature synthesis of Hg-1212 superconducting films has been developed and reported first time. Electrochemical parameters were optimized by studying cyclic voltammetry (CV), linear sweep voltammetry (LSV) and chronoamperometry (CA) for the deposition of Hg-Ba-Ca-Cu alloy at room temperature. Current time transient showed progressive growth with hemispheriodal granules, which were then revealed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Stoichiometric electrocrystallization to get Hg1Ba2Ca1Cu2O6+x (Hg-1212) was completed by electrochemically intercalating oxygen species into Hg-Ba-Ca-Cu alloy at room temperature. The oxygen content in the samples was varied by varying the electrochemical oxidation period and the changes in the crystal structure, microstructure, and superconducting transition temperature (Tc) and critical current density (Jc) were recorded. The films oxidized for 28 min showed Tc = 104.7 K with Jc = 1.437 x 103 A/cm2. The dependence of superconducting parameters on oxygen content is correlated with structure property relations and reported in this paper.Comment: 39 pages, 17 figures. Submitted to Physica

Glibenclamide—10-h Treatment Window in a Clinically Relevant Model of Stroke

Glibenclamide improves outcomes in rat models of stroke, with treatment as late as 6 h after onset of ischemia shown to be beneficial. Because the molecular target of glibenclamide, the sulfonylurea receptor 1 (Sur1)-regulated NCCa-ATP channel, is upregulated de novo by a complex transcriptional mechanism, and the principal pathophysiological target, brain swelling, requires hours to develop, we hypothesized that the treatment window would exceed 6 h. We studied a clinically relevant rat model of stroke in which middle cerebral artery occlusion (75% < reduction in LDF signal ≤90%) was produced using an intra-arterial occluder. Recanalization was obtained 4.5 h later by removing the occluder. At that time, we administered recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rtPA; 0.9 mg/kg IV over 30 min). Immunolabeling showed modest expression of Sur1 5 h after onset of ischemia, with expression increasing 7- to 11-fold (P < 0.01) by 24 h. Rats were administered either vehicle or glibenclamide (10 μg/kg IP loading dose plus 200 ng/h by constant subcutaneous infusion) beginning 4.5 or 10 h after onset of ischemia. In rats treated at 4.5 or 10 h, glibenclamide significantly reduced hemispheric swelling at 24 h from (mean ± SEM) 14.7 ± 1.5% to 8.1 ± 1.6% or 8.8 ± 1.1% (both P < 0.01), respectively, and significantly reduced 48-h mortality from 53% to 17% or 12% (both P < 0.01), and improved Garcia scores at 48 h from 3.8 ± 0.62 to 7.6 ± 0.70 or 8.4 ± 0.74 (both P < 0.01). We conclude that, in a clinically relevant model of stroke, the treatment window for glibenclamide extends to 10 h after onset of ischemia