The future of the timeshare industry : will the brands dominate? : A summary of the vacation ownership industry and an analysis of the advantages that the brands have over smaller independent developers

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, 2002.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 42-44).The timeshare industry has transformed since its introduction to the United States nearly thirty years ago. Suffering from its early beginnings of dubious business practices and negative consumer perception, timesharing has evolved into a credible and growing source to the real estate industry. The concept of timeshare, at its simplest level, is dividing up condominium style residences into weekly increments, commonly referred to as intervals, which are sold to consumers in perpetuity or for a period of time. Timesharing has experienced explosive growth reaching four billion dollars in U.S sales in 2001 with compounded annual growth of over fourteen percent during the past twenty years. Over eighty-five percent of all timeshare owners are satisfied with their purchases. It is estimated that less than two percent of the U.S population own timeshares. With the convergence of the baby-boomer generation fueled with disposable income to spend on vacation experiences, the potential for growth is enormous. Industry insiders and the public mainly credit growth and consumer acceptance of timesharing due to the entry of large branded companies such as Marriott, Starwood, Disney, and Hilton. These companies have brought a degree of credibility and innovation to the industry that was lacking in the earlier part of its existence. Today, the industry is dominated by smaller independent companies who account for seventy-five percent of the market, but the brands continue to increase their market share. Will the timeshare industry mimic the consolidation of the hotel industry thirty years ago? This thesis paper will synthesize the pertinent aspects of the timeshare industry in order to establish a framework for those readers unfamiliar with the industry. It will also investigate and analyze the key reasons and competitive advantages that brands have over smaller independent developers. The thesis concludes that brands will dominate the timeshare industry due to five key factors: credibility/quality/ brand awareness; financial and economic advantages; sales and marketing; liquidity and flexibility; and consolidation.by Ethan S. Bornstein.S.M

SB21-20/21: Resolution Amending Article V, Section 4, Paragraphs I, J, and K of the ASUM Bylaws

SB21-20/21: Resolution Amending Article V, Section 4, Paragraphs I, J, and K of the ASUM Bylaws. This resolution was approved unanimously during the September 9, 2020 meeting of the Associated Students of the University of Montana (ASUM)

SB11-20/21: Resolution Amending Section 20.1 of Fiscal Policy

SB11-20/21: Resolution Amending Section 20.1 of Fiscal Policy. This resolution was approved unanimously during the August 26, 2020 meeting of the Associated Students of the University of Montana (ASUM)

SB31-20/21: Resolution Creating Section 27.0 of Fiscal Policy

SB31-20/21: Resolution Creating Section 27.0 of Fiscal Policy. This resolution was approved unanimously during the September 30, 2020 meeting of the Associated Students of the University of Montana (ASUM)

SB32-20/21: Resolution Creating Section 28.0 of Fiscal Policy

SB32-20/21: Resolution Creating Section 28.0 of Fiscal Policy. This resolution was approved unanimously during the September 30, 2020 meeting of the Associated Students of the University of Montana (ASUM)

SB27-20/21: Resolution Creating a Code of Ethics

SB27-20/21: Resolution Creating a Code of Ethics. This resolution was approved unanimously during the September 23, 2020 meeting of the Associated Students of the University of Montana (ASUM)

Superior control of HIV-1 replication by CD8+T cells is reflected by their avidity, polyfunctionality, and clonal turnover

The key attributes of CD8+ T cell protective immunity in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection remain unclear. We report that CD8+ T cell responses specific for Gag and, in particular, the immunodominant p24 epitope KK10 correlate with control of HIV-1 replication in human histocompatibility leukocyte antigen (HLA)–B27 patients. To understand further the nature of CD8+ T cell–mediated antiviral efficacy, we performed a comprehensive study of CD8+ T cells specific for the HLA-B27–restricted epitope KK10 in chronic HIV-1 infection based on the use of multiparametric flow cytometry together with molecular clonotypic analysis and viral sequencing. We show that B27-KK10–specific CD8+ T cells are characterized by polyfunctional capabilities, increased clonal turnover, and superior functional avidity. Such attributes are interlinked and constitute the basis for effective control of HIV-1 replication. These data on the features of effective CD8+ T cells in HIV infection may aid in the development of successful T cell vaccines

TCR β-Chain sharing in human CD8+ T cell responses to cytomegalovirus and EBV

The CD8+ TCR repertoires specific for many immunogenic epitopes of CMV and EBV are dominated by a few TCR clonotypes and involve public TCRs that are shared between many MHC-matched individuals. In previous studies, we demonstrated that the observed sharing of epitope-specific TCRβ chains between individuals is strongly associated with TCRβ production frequency, and that a process of convergent recombination facilitates the more efficient production of some TCRβ sequences. In this study, we analyzed a total of 2836 TCRβ sequences from 23 CMV-infected and 10 EBV-infected individuals to investigate the factors that influence the sharing of TCRβ sequences in the CD8+ T cell responses to two immunodominant HLA-A*0201-restricted epitopes from these viruses. The most shared TCRβ amino acid sequences were found to have two features that indicate efficient TCRβ production, as follows: 1) they required fewer nucleotide additions, and 2) they were encoded by a greater variety of nucleotide sequences. We used simulations of random V(D)J recombination to demonstrate that the in silico TCRβ production frequency was predictive of the extent to which both TCRβ nucleotide and amino acid sequences were shared in vivo. These results suggest that TCRβ production frequency plays an important role in the interindividual sharing of TCRβ sequences within CD8+ T cell responses specific for CMV and EBV