Cyprus' image—a sun and sea destination—as a detrimental factor to seasonal fluctuations. Exploration into motivational factors for holidaying in Cyprus

Cyprus is established as a summer destination. To aid the destination in developing its winter season as well, this research uses a qualitative inductive approach to explore the tourists’ current image of the island and their motivations of visiting it. The research indicates that the current image, which essentially portrays Cyprus as a sun-and-sea destination is thought to dissuade tourists from perceiving the island as a year-round destination. Nonetheless, increasing the pull factors of the destination through the development of unique special interest products can help in extending the tourism season as well as broaden its narrow image

Penetration of high intensity focused ultrasound in vitro and in vivo rabbit brain using MR imaging

In this paper magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is investigated for monitoring the penetration of high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) ex vivo and in vivo rabbit brain. A single element spherically focused transducer of 5 cm diameter, focusing at 10 cm and operating at 2 MHz was used. A prototype MRI- compatible positioning device is described. MRI images were taken using fast spin echo (FSE). The length of the lesions in vivo rabbit brain was much higher than the length ex vivo, proving that the penetration in the ex vivo brain is limited by reflection due to trapped bubbles in the blood vessels

Tourism policy and destination marketing in developing countries: the chain of influence

Tourism marketers including destination marketing organisations (DMOs) and international tour operators play a pivotal role in destination marketing, especially in creating destination images. These images, apparent in tourist brochures, are designed to influence tourist decision-making and behaviour. This paper proposes the concept of a “chain of influence” in destination marketing and image-making, suggesting that the content of marketing materials is influenced by the priorities of those who design these materials, e.g. tour operators and DMOs. A content analysis of 2,000 pictures from DMO and tour operator brochures revealed synergies and divergence between these marketers. The brochure content was then compared to the South African tourism policy, concluding that the dominant factor in the chain of influence in the South African context is in fact its organic image

Improved dd+4^4He potentials by inversion, the tensor force and validity of the double folding model

Improved potential solutions are presented for the inverse scattering problem for $d$+$^4$He data. The input for the inversions includes both the data of recent phase shift analyses and phase shifts from RGM coupled-channel calculations based on the NN Minnesota force. The combined calculations provide a more reliable estimate of the odd-even splitting of the potentials than previously found, suggesting a rather moderate role for this splitting in deuteron-nucleus scattering generally. The approximate parity-independence of the deuteron optical potentials is shown to arise from the nontrivial interference between antisymmetrization and channel coupling to the deuteron breakup channels. A further comparison of the empirical potentials established here and the double folding potential derived from the M3Y effective NN force (with the appropriate normalisation factor) reveals strong similarities. This result supports the application of the double folding model, combined with a small Majorana component, to the description even of such a loosely bound projectile as the deuteron. In turn, support is given for the application of iterative-perturbative inversion in combination with the double folding model to study fine details of the nucleus-nucleus potential. A $d$-$^4$He tensor potential is also derived to reproduce correctly the negative $^6$Li quadrupole moment and the D-state asymptotic constant.Comment: 22 pages, 12 figures, in Revte

Plugging a hole and lightening the burden: A process evaluation of a practice education team

Aim: To investigate the perceptions of clinical and senior managers about the role of Practice Educators employed in one acute hospital in the UK. Background: Producing nurses who are fit for practice, purpose and academic award is a key issue for nurse education partnership providers in the UK. Various new models for practice learning support structures and new roles within health care institutions have been established. To sustain funding and policy support for these models, there is a need for evaluation research. Design: A process evaluation methodology was employed to determine the current value of a practice education team and to provide information to guide future direction. Methods: Data were collected through semi-structured telephone interviews using a previously designed schedule. All senior nurse managers (N=5) and a purposive sample of clinical managers (n=13) who had personal experience of and perceptions about the role of practice educators provided the data. Interview notes were transcribed, coded and a thematic framework devised to present the results. Results: A number of key themes emerged including: qualities needed for being a successful practice educator; visibility and presence of practice educators; providing a link with the university; ‘plugging a hole’ in supporting learning needs; providing relief to practitioners in dealing with ‘the burden of students’; alleviating the ‘plight of students’; and effects on student attrition. Conclusions: Findings provided evidence for the continued funding of the practice educator role with improvements to be made in dealing with stakeholder expectations and outcomes. Relevance to clinical practice: In the UK, there still remain concerns about the fitness for practice of newly registered nurses, prompting a recent national consultation by the professional regulating body. Despite fiscal pressures, recommendations for further strengthening of all systems that will support the quality of practice learning may continue to sustain practice learning support roles

Takayasu's arteritis presenting with temporary loss of vision in a 23-year-old woman with beta thalassemia trait: a case report

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p>The simultaneous presence of Takayasu's arteritis and beta thalassemia trait is a rare combination. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case report on Takayasu's arteritis and beta thalassemia presenting together.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>This is a case report of a 23-year-old Asian woman of Pakistani descent who presented with a headache, blurred vision and dizziness.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The correct diagnosis of our patient was based on clinical suspicion, appropriate imaging studies, and deliberation of the differential diagnosis. The management of our patient depended on the correct diagnosis of both the diseases.</p

PALAEOSEISMOLOGICAL INVESTIGATION OF THE GYRTONI FAULT (THESSALY, CENTRAL GREECE)

Two paleoseismological trenches were excavated across the Gyrtoni Fault in NE Thessaly and studied in order to understand the recent seismotectonic behavior of this structure. Twenty five fluvial-colluvial sediment and pottery samples from both the upthrown and the downthrown fault blocks were investigated. Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) dating has been applied to date both sedimentary depositspalaeosoils and pottery fragments. Paleoseismological analysis of the two trenches indicates evidence of three surface faulting events in the time span between 1.42 ±0.06 ka and 5.59 ± 0.13 ka. The observed vertical displacement per event of ~0.50 m corresponds to an Mw 6.5 ± 0.1 earthquake. An average fault slip rate of 0.41 ± 0.01 mm/yr and an average recurrence of 1.39 ± 0.14 ka for earthquakes were estimated. The results documented the activity of the fault and since the return period from the most recent event (minimum age 1.42 ± 0.06 ka) has expired, the possibility for reactivation of this active structure in the near future should be included in Seismic Hazard Assessment

A sustainable campus: The Sydney Declaration on interspecies sustainability

Under the remit of an expanded definition of sustainability – one that acknowledges animal agriculture as a key carbon intensive industry, and one that includes interspecies ethics as an integral part of social justice – institutions such as Universities can and should play a role in supporting a wider agenda for sustainable food practices on campus. By drawing out clear connections between sustainability objectives on campus and the shift away from animal based products, the objective of this article is to advocate for a more consistent understanding and implementation of sustainability measures as championed by university campuses at large. We will draw out clear connections between sustainability objectives on campus and the shift away from animal based products. Overall, our arguments are contextualised within broader debates on the relationship between sustainability, social justice and interspecies ethics. We envisage that such discussion will contribute to an enriched, more robust sense of sustainability—one in which food justice refers not only to justice for human consumers and producers of food and the land used by them, but also to justice for the nonhuman animals considered as potential sources of food themselves