Tourism as a driver of economic development: The Colombian experience

The current paper analyzes the importance and potentials of the tourism sector for economic development. It is divided into four major parts. After a short introduction, section two presents some theoretical insights into the topic of economic development. Commenting on the most relevant components of the catching-up theory by Abramovitz (1986) and the structural change theory by Baumol (1967) and others, it could be realized that growth and the accompanying structural changes in the distribution of employment and GDP have their sources in the sector industry. But at the moment of incorporating the demand side explanation of structural change, the service sectors offer growth potentials as well. Furthermore, the basic characteristics and importance of the tourism sector for economic development and employment are emphasized, examining the so-called 'social capabilities' and the innovation potential within the process of economic growth of any nation. A short survey of literature concerning the contribution of this sector to economic growth makes clear that tourism should be considered not just from the perspective of the benefits, but also from the costs associated with it. Section three provides an analysis of the economic impact of tourism in a developing country, namely Colombia, based on time-series analysis and data gathered supported on the 'Tourism Satellite Account' Methodology. Some relevant indicators produced by the World Economic Forum through its 'Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report', are also evaluated. Finally, some conclusions are drawn with respect to the potentialities, as well as the challenges identified for the Colombian case. --structural change,service sectors,social capabilities,economic development,tourism,Colombia

Particle Coating in Food Industry

Iako je primarna namjena oblaganja čestica bila proizvodnja lijekova sa zaštitnim fi lmom, oblaganje čestica pronalazi sve veću primjenu i u prehrambenoj proizvodnji, uglavnom radi zadržavanja funkcionalnih svojstava nutraceutika i aditiva. Glavne pozitivne strane oblaganja čestica jesu da nastaju mikrokapsule s produženim vijekom trajanja, lakoćom manipuliranja, kontroliraniim oslobađanjem hranjivih tvari, boljim okusom, bojom i sveopćom prihvatljivošću za krajnjeg kupca (Dewettinck i Huyghebaert, 1999). Međutim, u usporedbi s farmaceutskom tehnologijom, prehrambena je više okrenuta smanjenju troškova proizvodnje, a time i drugačijem pristupu oblaganju čestica koje je samo po sebi jako skup proces. Iako skup, proces oblaganja čestica u prehrambenoj industriji koristi se u svrhu očuvanja dobrih svojstava pojedinih aditiva, nutraceutika, probiotičkih kultura i ostalih funkcionalnih sastojaka za koje je bitno da svoja funkcionalna svojstva zadrže tijekom proizvodnog procesa i perioda skladištenja kako bi mogli polučiti pozitivne učinke kod krajnjeg korisnika.Although the production of fi lm tablets in the pharmaceutical industry was the primary purpose of the coating process, it is also frequently used in the food industry. The basic purpose of making coated food products is maintaining functional properties of nutraceutics and food additives. Main positive effects of coating are products with a longer shelf life, easy to handle, with controllable substance release, better taste, color and appearance for the end customer. However, in comparison with the pharmaceutical industry, food industry is more focused on reducing production costs and therefore a different approach to an expensive particle coating process. Although expensive, particle coating process is used in food industry to preserve functional properties of additives, nutraceutics, probiotic microorganisms and other functional properties throughout the production process and storage, in order to achieve positive effects on the end customer

Tourism as a driver of economic development: The Colombian experience

The current paper analyzes the importance and potentials of the tourism sector for economic development. It is divided into four major parts. After a short introduction, section two presents some theoretical insights into the topic of economic development. Commenting on the most relevant components of the catching-up theory by Abramovitz (1986) and the structural change theory by Baumol (1967) and others, it could be realized that growth and the accompanying structural changes in the distribution of employment and GDP have their sources in the sector industry. But at the moment of incorporating the demand side explanation of structural change, the service sectors offer growth potentials as well. Furthermore, the basic characteristics and importance of the tourism sector for economic development and employment are emphasized, examining the so-called “social capabilities” and the innovation potential within the process of economic growth of any nation. A short survey of literature concerning the contribution of this sector to economic growth makes clear that tourism should be considered not just from the perspective of the benefits, but also from the costs associated with it. Section three provides an analysis of the economic impact of tourism in a developing country,namely Colombia, based on time-series analysis and data gathered supported on the “Tourism Satellite Account” Methodology. Some relevant indicators produced by the World Economic Forum through its “Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report”, are also evaluated. Finally, some conclusions are drawn with respect to the potentialities, as well as the challenges identified for the Colombian case

Health care issues in Croatian elections 2005-2009: series of public opinion surveys

Aim To compare the results of a series of public opinion surveys on experiences with the health care sector in Croatia conducted in the time of elections and to analyze whether political party affiliation had any influence on issues of priority ranking. Methods The surveys were conducted during 2005, 2007, and 2009. They were administered through a Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing method to representative samples of Croatian population and were statistically weighted according to sex, age, level of education, and political party affiliation. The random sampling of the person within the household was done using the table of random numbers. Results Health and health care system was the most important issue (58%) during the 2007 parliamentary election and the second most important issue during the 2005 and 2009 elections (46% and 28%). In the 2007 election, health care was viewed as most important by women, respondents with lower education levels, and respondents with lower income. In 2005, the most important health care issues were corruption and lack of funding (45% and 43%, respectively), in 2007 poor organization and lack of funding (43% and 42%, respectively), and in 2009 lack of funding and corruption (51% and 45%, respectively). Conclusion Health and health care system were consistently among the top two issues in all elections from 2005 to 2009. The top three most important health care sector issues were corruption, poor organization, and lack of funding. This indicates that political parties should include solutions to these issues in their health care policymaking

Antioxidant activity of selected apple cultivars studied by electron paramagnetic resonance

The total antioxidant activity of three apple cultivars conventionally farmed (Jonagold, Golden Delicious and Idared) and two cultivars organically farmed (Jonagold and Golden Delicious) were investigated by electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy. The spin label used for experiments was TEMPO radical (2, 2, 6, 6tetramethylpiperidine-1-oxyl) with a well-defined EPR spectrum consisting of three equidistant peaks. The results obtained indicated difference in the total antioxidant activity of apples grown in two different ways, conventional and organic, as well as between different cultivars grown in the same way. The Golden Delicious cultivar is richer in antioxidants than the Jonagold and Idared, regardless of the method of farming. The difference between them is higher in conventionally grown apples than in organically farmed apples. Experimental data was fitted with non-linear curve fit for exponential decay of the first order based on the Levenberg-Marquardt method. The high values of the R2 parameters for all data indicated correctness in the proposition of exponential decay of the first order as a model describing the dynamic properties of spin labels which diminish in the presence of fresh apple juice

A THOUSAND AND ONE NIGHTS CONSUM-(N)ATION

U članku se preispituje utjecaj sapunice i telenovele na svakodnevni život u Hrvatskoj uz prethodan povijesni pregled razvoja žanra. Uz to se pokušava iščitati razlog brzog uspjeha turskih sapunica i u Turskoj i u zemljama u okruženju. Naglašeno je istraživanje različitih fenomena koji su proizašli na temelju turske sapunice 1001 noć. Iz različitih se perspektiva nastoji osvijetliti stvarna percepcija i kako se prelijeva iz svijeta stvarnosti u fikciju i iz fikcije u stvarnost te kolika je i kakva uloga medija u širenju popularnosti te serije.In this article, the influence of soap operas and telenovels on everyday life in Croatia is examined with a preceding historical review of the genre’s development. In addition, an effort is made to read off the reason for the rapid success of Turkish soap operas both in Turkey and in its nearby countries. The main emphasis is placed on researching diverse phenomena that have stemmed from the foundations of the Turkish soap opera, A 1000 and One Nights. There is an attempt to cast light from various perspectives on how great the actual perception is and how it spills over from the real world into fiction and from fiction into reality, and how extensive and what the role of the media is in disseminating the popularity of the series itself

Changes of wedding customs in the Tolisa area from the end of 19th century to the modern age

Na osnovu istraživanja arhivske građe, sekundarne literature te vlastitih terenskih istraživanja, a na podlozi etnoloških i kulturnoantropoloških teorija i studija, analiziraju se promjene u svadbenim običajima u Bosanskoj Posavini. Konkretno promjene u svadbenim običajima razmatrati će se na primjeru rimokatoličke župe Tolisa u razdoblju od 1884. do 2014. godine. Posebna pažnja će se posvetiti analizi ekonomske strukture svadbenih običaja, kvantitativnoj analizi godišnjega broja sklopljenih brakova temeljem podataka prikupljenih iz knjiga matica vjenčanih župe Tolisa te utjecaju crkveno-povijesnih prilika na mijene svadbenih običaja. Uz navedeno, namjera je predloženoga doktorskoga rada kritičkim osvrtom na dosadašnje pristupe istraživanju pružiti nacrt mogućih novih promatranja i interpretacije svadbenih običaja.The changes in wedding customs in Bosanska Posavina are analysed in this study based on research of the archival material, secondary literature and my own field research, and on the grounds of ethnological and cultural-anthropological theories and studies. Specifically, the changes in wedding customs shall be observed on the example of the Roman Catholic Parish of Tolisa in the period from 1884 to 2014. Special attention shall be given to the analysis of the economic structure of wedding customs, quantitative analysis of annual number of contracted marriages based on data gathered from the Tolisa Parish Register of Marriages and also to the influence of church-historical conditions to changes of wedding customs. Along with the above-mentioned, the intention of this proposed doctorial study is by using critical review to former approaches to research, provide the draft of possible new observation and interpretation of the wedding customs