An exploratory study of residents' perception of place image: the case of Kavala

Studies on place image have predominantly focused on the tourists’ destination image and have given limited attention to other stakeholders’ perspectives. This study aims to address this gap by focusing on the notion of residents’ place image, whereby it reviews existing literature on residents’ place image in terms of whether common attributes can be identified, and examines the role of community-focused attributes in its measurement. Data collected from a sample of 481 Kavala residents (Greece) were subjected to exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. The study reveals that the existing measurement tools have typically emphasized destination-focused attributes and neglected community-focused attributes. This study contributes to the residents’ place image research by proposing a more holistic measurement, which consisted of four dimensions: physical appearance, community services, social environment, and entertainment opportunities. The study also offers practical insights for developing and promoting a tourist place while simultaneously enhancing its residents’ quality of life

Residents' place image: a meaningful psychographic variable for tourism segmentation?

While there has been a considerable body of research on tourists’ place image, there remains limited attention on residents’ place image, specifically, in relation to its segmentation utility. This study seeks to address this oversight by a) clustering the local residents based on the image held of a tourism place, and b) exploring the extent to which the identified image-based resident clusters share similar (dissimilar) demographic characteristics and attitude towards tourism development. Empirical analysis was based on a sample of 481 residents of a Greek city. The findings support the utility of residents’ place image as a psychographic segmentation variable revealing the existence of three distinct resident groups - termed “Nature Loving”, “Apathetic” and “Advocate.” Results also suggest that these resident groups exhibit dissimilar demographic characteristics and dissimilar attitude towards tourism. In comparison with other segments, the Apathetic exhibits the least favourable image and the least supportive attitude towards tourism

Childhood environmental health concerns in Russia

Environmental Health Centre (EHC) is one of the few Russian organisations responsible for the development of environmental epidemiology and health risk assessment methodologies in Russia. Being a WELL resource centre network partner we considered the possibilities for environmental interventions to address major causes of child mortality and morbidity and environmental health concerns in Russia. It was based on the results of the preliminary scoping studies carried out by our Centre during May – October 2002. The scoping studies themselves were based on published and unpublished literature and on consultations with key stakeholders

Strengthening the role of WASH and disabilities in Bangladesh

In 2014, the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and IRC obtained a grant from the Australian Development and Research Awards Scheme) to research accessibility to sanitation in relation with disabilities in Bangladesh and Malawi. The project, aims to obtain prevalence of disability related problems on access and accessibility to sanitation and reflect on a mitigation strategy to be rolled out beyond the project. Iinitial findings based on the survey are: To address the problem of adapted sanitation facilities, a general mobility problem needs solving first; to discuss solutions, social barriers around both sanitation and disability need to be lifted by all relevant stakeholders. To address suitable solutions in a cost-effective and up-scalable way, a dialog between provider and user seems to be the best way forward in Bangladesh. At the same time, self-assessment by the disabled does not always result in the most appropriate solution

Influence of radiation exposure on the properties of dielectric layers based on anodic aluminum oxide

Devices that are used in the aerospace industry must operate in extreme conditions, so it is important to understand how the properties of materials change under the influence of radiation and low temperatures. Anodic aluminum oxide, due to its mechanical and dielectric properties, is widely used in electronic devices with a high degree of integration. Radiation exposure can lead to degradation of the electrophysical parameters of dielectric films and can also change their chemical composition. The methods for studying the effect of radiation exposure on the dielectric properties of films are shown in this article. The research has been carried out and the results of the influence of α-particles on the dielectric properties of a porous film of anodic aluminum oxide during the influence of low temperature are presented.Devices that are used in the aerospace industry must operate in extreme conditions, so it is important to understand how the properties of materials change under the influence of radiation and low temperatures. Anodic aluminum oxide, due to its mechanical and dielectric properties, is widely used in electronic devices with a high degree of integration. Radiation exposure can lead to degradation of the electrophysical parameters of dielectric films and can also change their chemical composition. The methods for studying the effect of radiation exposure on the dielectric properties of films are shown in this article. The research has been carried out and the results of the influence of α-particles on the dielectric properties of a porous film of anodic aluminum oxide during the influence of low temperature are presented

KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDE, AND BEHAVIOR ABOUT ABORTION AMONG ADULT WOMEN AT PEUNAYONG DISTRICT, BANDA ACEH, INDONESIA

Objective: Every year approximately 13% (78,000) of maternal death caused by unsafe abortion. Indonesia Family Planning Association predicts 2.5 million abortions per year and 1.5 million of them committed by teenagers. Adolescent reproductive health problems are more alarming year by year. Sexual behavior tends to be permissive and bold with limited knowledge of reproductive health has increased the risk of abortion. This study is to assess the knowledge, attitudes, and behavior regarding abortion in young adults. Methods: This is a descriptive cross-sectional study. The subjects were young women aged 18–24 years old who were fulfilled by inclusion and exclusion criteria. The knowledge, attitudes, and behavior were assessed using questionnaire. The results were analyzed using statistical program. Results: The total subjects recruited in this study were 55 subjects. Twenty-eight (50.9%) of subjects has a good knowledge and 27 (49.1%) of subjects had a moderate knowledge. Twenty-nine (52.7%) subjects had moderate attitudes and 36.4% of subjects had good attitude. Thirty (54.5%) of subjects had a good behavior regarding abortion. Conclusion: Most of the subjects had good level of knowledge and moderate attitude toward abortion

An exact sequence for contact- and symplectic homology

A symplectic manifold $W$ with contact type boundary $M = \partial W$ induces a linearization of the contact homology of $M$ with corresponding linearized contact homology $HC(M)$. We establish a Gysin-type exact sequence in which the symplectic homology $SH(W)$ of $W$ maps to $HC(M)$, which in turn maps to $HC(M)$, by a map of degree -2, which then maps to $SH(W)$. Furthermore, we give a description of the degree -2 map in terms of rational holomorphic curves with constrained asymptotic markers, in the symplectization of $M$.Comment: Final version. Changes for v2: Proof of main theorem supplemented with detailed discussion of continuation maps. Description of degree -2 map rewritten with emphasis on asymptotic markers. Sec. 5.2 rewritten with emphasis on 0-dim. moduli spaces. Transversality discussion reorganized for clarity (now Remark 9). Various other minor modification

Invasive Streptococcus pyogenes Infections in <3-Month-Old Infants in France: Clinical and Laboratory Features.

Few data are available on invasive group A Streptococcus (GAS) infections (IGASIs) in infants. We described initial clinical and laboratory features and outcomes of <3-month-old infants hospitalized for an IGASI between 2007 and 2016 in France. Patients were identified from the French National Reference Centre for streptococci. IGASI was defined by the isolation of GAS from blood cultures or from other usually sterile sites. Data collection was performed by assessing the patients' hospitalization reports. Twenty-six patients (15 males; 57.7%) were included. Among 19 cases with available data, 14 (73.7%) were household contacts of a GAS infection, reaching 8/9 (88.9%) in neonates. The diagnoses were bacteremia (n = 18; 69.2%), pleural effusion or pneumonia (n = 6; 23.1%), meningitis with brain abscess (n = 1; 3.8%), and septic arthritis (n = 1; 3.8%). Fever (n = 10; 38.5%), hemodynamic disorders (n = 11; 42.3%), respiratory disorders (n = 7; 26.9%), thrombocytopenia (n = 7; 26.9%), and neutropenia (n = 5; 19.2%) were frequently observed. The main emm-genotype was emm-1 (n = 8; 30.8%). Thirteen (50.0%) infants have been admitted to the intensive care unit, and two (7.7%) died. Respiratory disorders, high C-reactive protein level, and the need for transfusion were significantly associated with severity. IGASI remains uncommon in <3-month-old children but leads to a high morbidity. Whether an antibiotic prophylaxis for contact neonates of a patient with GAS infection decreases the risk of infection remains to be determined

From pelvic radiation to social isolation: a qualitative study of survivors’ experiences of chronic bowel symptoms after pelvic radiotherapy

\ua9 2024, The Author(s).Purpose: We explored survivors’ experiences of chronic bowel symptoms following pelvic radiotherapy, strategies employed in living with these symptoms, effects on daily activities, and roles at home and in the workplace. Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 28 individuals (10 gynaecological, 14 prostate, four anal/rectal cancer survivors) who had completed pelvic radiotherapy at least six months prior to data collection and who had experience of bowel symptoms during this post-treatment period. Reflexive thematic analysis was undertaken. Results: We propose four themes describing a process leading from experience of symptoms to withdrawal from activities and roles. These are (1) losing control (the experience of unintended anal leakage or discharge); (2) experiencing embarrassment and fear (the experience of embarrassment or fear of embarrassment as a result of discharge becoming public); (3) managing and reacting (acting to reduce the likelihood of discharge or to prevent this becoming public); and (4) restriction and withdrawal (avoiding specific activities or situations so as to reduce or remove the risk of embarrassment). Returning to the workplace presented additional challenges across these themes. Conclusions: Impacts of chronic bowel symptoms can be severe. Survivors employ a variety of methods and strategies in living with their symptoms. Some of these support continued role fulfilment but some constitute a withdrawal from pre-treatment roles. Current healthcare provision and statutory protections fail to fully meet needs following pelvic radiotherapy. Implications for cancer survivors. There is a need to develop and implement evidence-based services and supported self-management programmes for survivors experiencing chronic bowel problems post-radiotherapy

Intersections of quadrics, moment-angle manifolds, and Hamiltonian-minimal Lagrangian embeddings

We study the topology of Hamiltonian-minimal Lagrangian submanifolds N in C^m constructed from intersections of real quadrics in a work of the first author. This construction is linked via an embedding criterion to the well-known Delzant construction of Hamiltonian toric manifolds. We establish the following topological properties of N: every N embeds as a submanifold in the corresponding moment-angle manifold Z, and every N is the total space of two different fibrations, one over the torus T^{m-n} with fibre a real moment-angle manifold R, and another over a quotient of R by a finite group with fibre a torus. These properties are used to produce new examples of Hamiltonian-minimal Lagrangian submanifolds with quite complicated topology.Comment: 14 pages, published version (minor changes