Virtual reality for better event planning and management

Digital technologies, such as virtual reality (VR), will have an increasing influence on the way events are experienced and managed. To date, scholarship has focused predominantly on the possibilities that VR presents for event experiences by event attendees, and there has been limited consideration of the application of VR for event planning and management. In this chapter, the authors provide a brief overview of the growth and application of virtual reality technology in events. A case study of a private sector start-up in the Australian setting is examined with a focus on VR technologies, it is developing as an aid in event planning and logistics. Key opportunities and challenges of VR pertinent to event planning and management are identified, and the authors suggest a number of implications for industry practice and event education, alongside avenues for future research to support the development of VR in event management and education. © 2021, IGI Global

Planktic foraminiferal molecular evolution and their polyphyletic origins from benthic taxa

Phylogenetic analyses based on partial sequences of the small subunit (SSU) ribosomal (r) RNA gene have shown that the planktic and benthic foraminifera form a distinct monophyletic group within the eukaryotes. In order to determine the evolutionary relationships between benthic and planktic foraminifers, representatives of spinose and non-spinose planktic genera have been placed within a molecular SSU rDNA phylogeny containing sequences of the benthic suborders available to date. Our phylogenetic analysis shows that the planktic foraminifers are polyphyletic in origin, not evolving solely from a single 'globigerinid-like' lineage in the Mid-Jurassic, but derived from at least two ancestral benthic lines. The benthic ancestor of Neogloboquadrina dutertrei may have entered the plankton later than the Mid-Jurassic, and further investigation of related extant species should provide an indication of the timing of this event. The evolutionary origin of the non-spinose species Globorotalia menardii remains unclear. The divergences of the planktic spinose species generally support recent phylogenies based on the fossil record, which infer a radiation from a globigerinid common ancestor in the Mid- to Late Oligocene. The branching pattern indicates that there are possibly four distinct groups within the main spinose clade, with large evolutionary distances being observed between them. Globigerinoides conglobatus clusters strongly with Globigerinoides ruber and are divergent from Globigerinella siphonifera, Orbulina universa and Globigerinoides sacculifer. Conserved regions of the SSU rRNA gene show sufficient variation to discriminate foraminifers at the species level. Large genetic differences have been observed between the pink and white forms of Gs. ruber and between Ge. siphonifera Type I and II. The two types of Ge. siphonifera cannot be discriminated by traditional palaeontological methods, which has considerable implications for tracing fossil lineages and for the estimation of molecular evolutionary rates based upon the fossil record. The conserved regions show a high degree of sequence identity within a species, providing signature sequences for species identification. The variable regions of the gene may prove informative for population level studies in some species although complete sequence identity was observed in G. sacculifer and O. universa between specimens collected from the Caribbean and Western Pacific

Protecting HIV databases

We fully agree with Korber et al. concerning the importance of the issue of sample contamination. We had, in fact, carried out a more detailed analysis than theirs which was indeed considered as part of the review process of our paper. Sample timing and order of processing demonstrate that no simple pattern of contamination, either of samples or of clones, can explain the observed sequence similarities [...