The performance of the jet trigger for the ATLAS detector during 2011 data taking

The performance of the jet trigger for the ATLAS detector at the LHC during the 2011 data taking period is described. During 2011 the LHC provided proton–proton collisions with a centre-of-mass energy of 7 TeV and heavy ion collisions with a 2.76 TeV per nucleon–nucleon collision energy. The ATLAS trigger is a three level system designed to reduce the rate of events from the 40 MHz nominal maximum bunch crossing rate to the approximate 400 Hz which can be written to offline storage. The ATLAS jet trigger is the primary means for the online selection of events containing jets. Events are accepted by the trigger if they contain one or more jets above some transverse energy threshold. During 2011 data taking the jet trigger was fully efficient for jets with transverse energy above 25 GeV for triggers seeded randomly at Level 1. For triggers which require a jet to be identified at each of the three trigger levels, full efficiency is reached for offline jets with transverse energy above 60 GeV. Jets reconstructed in the final trigger level and corresponding to offline jets with transverse energy greater than 60 GeV, are reconstructed with a resolution in transverse energy with respect to offline jets, of better than 4 % in the central region and better than 2.5 % in the forward direction

Destination segmentation: a recommended two-step approach

[Abstract]Market segmentation has been identified in the tourism marketing literature as an effective tool that can be used by management to meet the needs of a market more efficiently and effectively. It has been widely used by researchers seeking to develop tourism segments. Historically, most segmentation studies have developed tourism profiles at a destination using 1) a visitor questionnaire survey developed from studies in the literature or 2) secondary data. Very little research has taken a stakeholder approach to destination segmentation, despite many authors arguing the importance of utilising a stakeholder approach for destination management and marketing purposes. This research proposes a two-step approach to destination segmentation. It details this approach using one Australian destination. The two-step approach to segmentation begins with firstly understanding how tourism stakeholders at a destination segment their market before surveying tourists for the purposes of identifying segments. In contrast to previous tourist-focused segmentation studies, the two-step approach recommended and detailed in this study considers both tourism stakeholders and tourists. The segments devised from the proposed approach are then compared and contrasted with segments currently utilised by the destination marketing organisation (DMO). Step one involved interviewing 14 tourism stakeholders to determine how they segment the market. Based on these findings, a questionnaire survey was developed and data was collected from 852 tourists. This represented step two of the approach. Three tourism segments were identified through cluster analysis. Only one of these three segments was comparable with the segments defined by the DMO. The other two were not considered in the DMO segmentation. These segments represented over half of all tourists in the sample. Based on the sample in this study, the DMO segments target less than a quarter of the types of tourists visiting the destination. Contributions to theory and practice were identified. Firstly, it was recognised that different tourism stakeholders attract different tourists, not all stakeholders segment their market, and some stakeholders do not adhere to segments targeted by the DMO which may lead to an inconsistent message in the market. Secondly, the two-step approach is a new method incorporating a stakeholder view, which gives a more holistic view and a richer description for the segments obtained when compared with academic and practitioner segmentation approaches. The two-step approach can be utilised at other tourist destinations. The two-step approach to segmentation is capable of assisting tourism marketers to target more of the tourists frequenting the destination. This study suggests that many dollars may be wasted targeting tourists that are not likely to travel to the destination and not targeting those who would. Future research should be conducted at alternative destinations to further the understanding of the recommended two-step approach to segmentation

Information sources used by older adults for decision making about tourism and travel destinations

Over the past decade, the older market has emerged as an extremely important one because of its increased purchasing power for most consumer goods and services. The tourism and leisure industry is also targeting people aged 65 years and older, because many possess a relatively large share of discretionary money that they want to spend on travel. This has resulted in increasing attention by the mass media and the advertising industry in particular. This paper discusses the main types of information sources that are used by older adults when they make decisions about tourist and travel destinations, and particularly focuses on the importance of word-of-mouth sources and personal experiences. It also explores the influence of the mass media on trip decision making of older adults, and discusses the importance of brochures, magazines and television as information sources for older adults. Finally, it critiques the lack of senior models in advertising campaigns for travel products that are aimed at the older market

Modification of photosynthesis and growth responses to elevated CO2 by ozone in two cultivars of winter wheat with different years of release

The beneficial effects of elevated CO(2) on plants are expected to be compromised by the negative effects posed by other global changes. However, little is known about ozone (O(3))-induced modulation of elevated CO(2) response in plants with differential sensitivity to O(3). An old (Triticum aestivum cv. Beijing 6, O(3) tolerant) and a modern (T. aestivum cv. Zhongmai 9, O(3) sensitive) winter wheat cultivar were exposed to elevated CO(2) (714 ppm) and/or O(3) (72 ppb, for 7h d(–1)) in open-topped chambers for 21 d. Plant responses to treatments were assessed by visible leaf symptoms, simultaneous measurements of gas exchange and chlorophyll a fluorescence, in vivo biochemical properties, and growth. It was found that elevated CO(2) resulted in higher growth stimulation in the modern cultivar attributed to a higher energy capture and electron transport rate compared with the old cultivar. Exposure to O(3) caused a greater growth reduction in the modern cultivar due to higher O(3) uptake and a greater loss of photosystem II efficiency (mature leaf) and mesophyll cell activity (young leaf) than in the old cultivar. Elevated CO(2) completely protected both cultivars against the deleterious effects of O(3) under elevated CO(2) and O(3). The modern cultivar showed a greater relative loss of elevated CO(2)-induced growth stimulation due to higher O(3) uptake and greater O(3)-induced photoinhibition than the old cultivar at elevated CO(2) and O(3). Our findings suggest that the elevated CO(2)-induced growth stimulation in the modern cultivar attributed to higher energy capture and electron transport rate can be compromised by its higher O(3) uptake and greater O(3)-induced photoinhibition under elevated CO(2) and O(3) exposure