BUSINESS MODEL FRAMEWORK FOR TRANSFORMATIVE TOURISM STARTUPS

This exploratory study seeks to design a service logic business model framework for novice entrepreneurs launching startups in the transformational tourist clusters considering the key stakeholders' interests and understanding the interests of those tourism customers seeking „conscious travel‟ to reinvent themselves and the world around them. The research combines phenomenographical and constructive approaches. Based on thematic content analysis of in-depth interviews with 12 entrepreneurs, 5 host providers of tourism services, and 30 travelers, as well as 7 co-creative workshops, we argue that a three-dimensional perspective on transformative tourism services suits the tasks of value co-creation in a collaborative peer-to-peer cluster-type networks. The key stakeholders in this framework are a service provider (startup), a host partner at the destination and local tourist clusters (“salt of the earth”), and a target customer. The proposed business model framework will enable novice transformative tourism entrepreneurs to experiment with finding a profitable business model in a lean format. The article also examines the impact of digital travel services on the development of the tourism industry

Influence of Using Various Levels of Protein Concentrate in Rations of Ayrshire Dairy Cows on Rumen Microbiome, Reproductive Traits and Economic Efficiency

Animal feeding research has revealed a close relationship between the chemical composition and nutritional value of cow rations, the number of rumen bacterial communities and animal productivity. Our present research aimed to investigate the outcome of inclusion of different levels of protein concentrate in rations of Ayrshire dairy cows in relation to the rumen microbiome, reproductive traits and economic value. Forty-five Ayrshire cows were divided into three groups (15 in each). The first control group 0 AM was fed the basal ration, while the second 1 AM and third 2 AM groups were fed the basic ration with the sunflower cake replaced by different levels of protein concentrate Agro-Matic (1 and 1.5 kg/head/day, respectively). Ruminal fluid samples, reproductive parameters and economic value were studied. During the early lactation period, 120 days in milk (DIM), the number of pathogenic microorganisms decreased in both the 1 AM and 2 AM groups when compared with the control group 0 AM; moreover, a significant decrease in Peptococcus bacteria was recorded in the 1 AM group, while Fusobacterium decreased in the 2 AM group. At the end of lactation, the total number of cellulolytic bacteria increased with the use of protein concentrate in animals of the 1 AM group when compared with the control group. Regarding undesirable bacteria, the 2 AM group recorded the highest value for Lactobacilli and Actinobacteria when compared with the 0 AM group (0.18 and 8.90 vs. 0.04 and 4.24), and the differences were significant (p p > 0.05. The profitability of milk production increased by 2.76% and 6.28% in both supplemented groups, and the differences compared to the 0 AM group were significant. We conclude that the supplementation of Agro-Matic caused no deviations from the normal standards of cellulolytic, amylolytic, transit and pathogenic bacteria, no impact on reproductive functions and significantly improved the profitability of the milk production process of Ayrshire dairy cows

Bioactive Feed Additive for the Prevention of Clostridial Disease in High-Yielding Dairy Cattle

The purpose of this research is to develop and test a new approach to prevent clostridial disease in cattle, based on the use of a new compound biologically active feed additive (BFA). Some properties of the separate components of BFA are characterized. The research showed that a strain of the bacterium Bacillus amyloliquefaciens159 has an expressed antagonism to toxin-producing strains of C. perfringens. When using the test strains of C. perfringens from the ATCC collection (13,124 as type A, 10,543 as type C, 12,916 as type F), the anticlostridial activity of the tested strains varied, with size range of 14.0 ± 0.95–15.0 ± 1.28 mm of delayed growth zones. The bactericidal properties of lauric acid and the sorption properties of diatomaceous earth, included in BFA, were confirmed. The experiment was conducted on Holstein cows at the beginning of lactation (control, C (n = 15) vs. experimental E48 (n = 15), E80 (n = 15) and E112 (n = 15), 48, 80 and 112 g/head/day BFA, respectively. All cows were vaccinated with “Coglavax” (vaccine against bovine and sheep clostridial disease, Ceva-Phylaxia VeterinaryBiologicals, Hungary), reinjected two weeks before the experiment. At the end of the experiment (3.5 months after the vaccination and 3 months after the start of BFA feeding according to the scheme of the experiment), the immune response in the control and Group E48 to C. perfringens β-toxin remained at the initial level, while the response in Group E80 and Group E112 became higher under the influence of BFA feeding. Cows fed BFA saw a guaranteed improvement in non-specific resistance. The increase in serum lysozyme concentration in cows of Groups E was 1.01–2.91 mkg/mL vs. control (p p p p p p p = 0.002). Serum TBA–AP/ CP ratio was directly related to TBA–AP (r = 0.87, p p = 0.03 vs. Control). Thus, feeding BFA to dairy cows was found to improve resistance, prevent toxicoses and increase milk production of cattle, which can serve as an additional strategy for bioprotection of cattle against infection