Service Quality of the Chinese YMCA of Hong Kong

Service quality is an essential element for managers and marketers to successfully compete in the sport and leisure industry. The present study is a first of its kind research study evaluating the service quality of the Chinese YMCA of Hong Kong. In this study, extensive customer research was conducted to investigate the members’ usage, expectations, perceptions, and satisfaction levels in the Recreation and Sport Department. Data were collected from 559 members. This study provides a channel to listen to the voice of the customers and assist the managers to improve the service quality by pinpointing areas that need managerial action

Binary particle swarm optimized 2 × 2 power splitters in a standard foundry silicon photonic platform

Compact power splitters designed ab initio using binary particle swarm optimization in a 2D mesh for a standard foundry silicon photonic platform are studied. Designs with a 4.8  μm×4.8  μm footprint composed of 200  nm×200  nm and 100  nm×100  nm cells are demonstrated. Despite not respecting design rules, the design with the smaller cells had lower insertion losses and broader bandwidth and showed consistent behavior across the wafer. Deviations between design and experiments point to the need for further investigations of the minimum feature dimensions

Multi-layer silicon nitride-on-silicon polarization-independent grating couplers

A polarization-independent grating coupler is proposed and demonstrated in a 3-layer silicon nitride-on-silicon photonic platform. Polarization independent coupling was made possible by the supermodes and added degrees of geometric freedom unique to the 3-layer photonic platform. The grating was designed via optimization algorithms, and the simulated peak coupling efficiency was −2.1 dB with a 1 dB polarization dependent loss (PDL) bandwidth of 69 nm. The fabricated grating couplers had a peak coupling efficiency of −4.8 dB with 1 dB PDL bandwidth of over 100 nm

Matkailijarakenteen ja kehitystarpeiden tutkiminen : case Hailuoto

Opinnäytetyöni tavoitteena oli selvittää Perämerellä sijaitsevan Hailuodon saaren kävijöiden rakennetta, ajanviettotapoja, mielikuvia, ostokäyttäytymistä ja kehittämisideoita. Tutkimuksen tarkoitus oli saada kattavaa tietoa Hailuodon kunnalle, mikä auttaa kehittämään paikkaa. Suoritin tutkimuksen kesällä 2017 ja toteutin sen kyselytutkimuksena. Paperinen kyselylomake oli strukturoitu, jossa oli myös muutama avoin kysymys. Lomakkeet olivat jaossa kahdeksassa Hailuodossa sijaitsevassa yrityksessä. Lisäksi keräsin vastauksia myös itse muutamia kertoja paikan päällä. Lopuksi syötin vastaukset tilasto-ohjelmaan ja analysoin ne. Opinnäytetyö koostuu teoriaosuudesta, joka käsittelee kuluttajakäyttäytymistä, ostopäätöksiin vaikuttavia tekijöitä, asiakaskokemusta ja siihen vaikuttavia tekijöitä sekä erilaisia matkailupalveluita. Tämän jälkeen kerroin tutkimuksen toteutuksesta ja mitä kaikkea siihen sisältyi. Opinnäytetyö oli määrällinen eli kvantitatiivinen tutkimus ja kohderyhmänä oli kaikenlaiset Hailuodossa kävijät. Vastaajat on valittu satunnaisotannalla. Tutkimuksen toteutuksen jälkeen kerroin tutkimustulokset. Opinnäytetyön lopussa on pohdintaosio, jossa kävin läpi tutkimusprosessia, omia ajatuksia, opinnäytetyön hyödynnettävyyttä ja jatkotutkimusaiheita. Tutkimustuloksista selvisi, että tyypillinen Hailuodossa kävijä on 51-65 vuotias eläkeläinen tai sosiaali-, terveys- ja liikunta-alan työntekijä. Kävijä on kotoisin Pohjois-Pohjanmaalta ja on viipymässä Hailuodossa yhden päivän. Tyypillisesti kävijä saapuu paikalle puolison tai ystävän kanssa. Kävijä on kuullut Hailuodosta ja sen palveluista ystävältä tai se on ollut jo ennestään tuttu. Hän on vieraillut Hailuodossa aikaisemmin yli 10 kertaa. Kävijä pitää Hailuodon ympäristöä ratkaisevana tekijänä, minkä takia on matkustanut paikkakunnalle. Tyypillinen kävijä käy katsomassa nähtävyyksistä Marjaniemeä ja majakkaa ja retkeilee luonnossa. Hän käyttää rahaa matkallaan 0-40 euroa ravintoloihin ja ostoksiin. Pääasiassa kävijöiden mielikuvat Hailuodosta ennen matkaa olivat olleet positiivisia ja he kuvailivat niitä sanoilla: merellinen, karu, pieni, luonnonläheinen ja syrjäinen. Valtaosa kävijöistä oli positiivisesti yllättyneitä ja kokemukset vastasivat mielikuvia tai olivat parempia. Monella myöskään ei ollut ennestään minkäänlaisia mielikuvia saaresta. Kävijät kaipasivat Hailuotoon leirintäaluetta ja toivoivat siistimpää ja parempaa jätehuoltoa Marjaniemeen. Kävijät haluaisivat pyörätien joka ulottuisi Huikun lauttarannasta saaren toiselle puolelle Marjaniemeen saakka. He myös toivoisivat selkeyttä tieopasteisiin ja selkeän infon saaren aktiviteeteista, reiteistä, majoitusvaihtoehtoista, tapahtumista ja nähtävyyksistä. Kävijät olivat kuitenkin pääasiassa tyytyväisiä Hailuotoon ja sen palveluihin. He pitivät saaren omaleimaisuudesta ja luonnon rauhasta.The goal of my thesis was to find out visitor structure, recreation habits, images, buying behaviors and development needs of an island called Hailuoto, which is situated in the Bothnian Bay. The purpose of the survey was to give inclusive information to the town of Hailuoto, which will help to develop the place. I did the research in summer 2017 and it was a questionnaire survey. The paper questionnaire was structured and included also a couple of open questions. The forms were given to eight companies in Hailuoto. In addition, I also collected answers by myself a couple of times in Hailuoto. In the end, I entered the answers into a statistical program and analyzed them. The thesis consists of a theoretical part, which tells about consumer behavior, buying habits and customer experience and factors affecting them and different tourism services. After this I told about doing the survey and what kind of things were included in that. The thesis was a quantitative survey and the target group was all kinds of visitors of Hailuoto. The survey takers were collected randomly. After this, I reported the results of the survey. In the end of the thesis there is a discussion part, where I wrote about the survey process, my own thoughts, recoverability and further research topics. The results of the survey revealed that a typical visitor of Hailuoto is 51-65 years old retired person or works in the social, health or sports industry. The visitor is from Northern Ostrobothnia and is staying for one day in Hailuoto. Typically, the visitor arrives with a partner or a friend. Visitor has heard about Hailuoto and its services from a friend or s/he already knows something about it. S/he has visited Hailuoto over 10 times. Visitor thinks that the environment is the main reason to go there. A typical visitor goes to see Marjaniemi and the lighthouse and hikes in the nature. S/he spends money between 0-40 euros, usually on restaurants and shopping. Visitors’ images of Hailuoto before the trip were mainly positive and they described the place with words such as: marine, bare, small, natural and distant. The majority of the visitors were positively surprised and the experiences were the same as their images before or even better. Many of them also had not had any kind of images of the island. Visitors hoped to get a camping area on Hailuoto and a cleaner and better waste disposal in Marjaniemi. Visitors wanted a bicycle way, which would reach from Huikku ferry wharf to the other side of the island, Marjaniemi. They also hoped for clearer signposts and good and clear info which would tell about the island’s activities, routes, options of accommodation, events and attractions. However, visitors were mainly happy with Hailuoto and its services. They liked the uniqueness and the peace of nature on the island

Monolithically Integrated Multilayer Silicon Nitride-on-Silicon Waveguide Platforms for 3-D Photonic Circuits and Devices

In this paper, we review and provide additional details about our progress on multilayer silicon nitride (SiN)-on-silicon (Si) integrated photonic platforms. In these platforms, one or more SiN waveguide layers are monolithically integrated onto a Si photonic layer. This paper focuses on the development of three-layer platforms for the O- and SCL-bands for very large-scale photonic integrated circuits requiring hundreds or thousands of waveguide crossings. Low-loss interlayer transitions and ultralow-loss waveguide crossings have been demonstrated, along with bilevel and trilevel grating couplers for fiber-to-chip coupling. The SiN and Si passive devices have been monolithically integrated with high-efficiency optical modulators, photodetectors, and thermal tuners in a single photonic platform

Multi-layer silicon nitride-on-silicon polarization-independent grating couplers

A polarization-independent grating coupler is proposed and demonstrated in a 3-layer silicon nitride-on-silicon photonic platform. Polarization independent coupling was made possible by the supermodes and added degrees of geometric freedom unique to the 3-layer photonic platform. The grating was designed via optimization algorithms, and the simulated peak coupling efficiency was −2.1 dB with a 1 dB polarization dependent loss (PDL) bandwidth of 69 nm. The fabricated grating couplers had a peak coupling efficiency of −4.8 dB with 1 dB PDL bandwidth of over 100 nm

Microcantilever-integrated photonic circuits for broadband laser beam scanning

Laser beam scanning is central to many applications, including displays, microscopy, three-dimensional mapping, and quantum information. Reducing the scanners to microchip form factors has spurred the development of very-large-scale photonic integrated circuits of optical phased arrays and focal plane switched arrays. An outstanding challenge remains to simultaneously achieve a compact footprint, broad wavelength operation, and low power consumption. Here, we introduce a laser beam scanner that meets these requirements. Using microcantilevers embedded with silicon nitride nanophotonic circuitry, we demonstrate broadband, one- and two-dimensional steering of light with wavelengths from 410 nm to 700 nm. The microcantilevers have ultracompact ~0.1 mm$^2$ areas, consume ~31 to 46 mW of power, are simple to control, and emit a single light beam. The microcantilevers are monolithically integrated in an active photonic platform on 200-mm silicon wafers. The microcantilever-integrated photonic circuits miniaturize and simplify light projectors to enable versatile, power-efficient, and broadband laser scanner microchips

Use of thiopurines in inflammatory bowel disease : an update

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), once considered a disease of the Western hemisphere, has emerged as a global disease. As the disease prevalence is on a steady rise, management of IBD has come under the spotlight. 5-Aminosalicylates, corticosteroids, immunosuppressive agents and biologics are the backbone of treatment of IBD. With the advent of biologics and small molecules, the need for surgery and hospitalization has decreased. However, economic viability and acceptability is an important determinant of local prescription patterns. Nearly one-third of the patients in West receive biologics as the first/initial therapy. The scenario is different in developing countries where biologics are used only in a small proportion of patients with IBD. Increased risk of reactivation of tuberculosis and high cost of the therapy are limitations to their use. Thiopurines hence become critical for optimal management of patients with IBD in these regions. However, approximately one-third of patients are intolerant or develop adverse effects with their use. This has led to suboptimal use of thiopurines in clinical practice. This review article discusses the clinical aspects of thiopurine use in patients with IBD with the aim of optimizing their use to full therapeutic potential.Peer reviewe

Monolithically Integrated Multilayer Silicon Nitride-on-Silicon Waveguide Platforms for 3-D Photonic Circuits and Devices

In this paper, we review and provide additional details about our progress on multilayer silicon nitride (SiN)-on-silicon (Si) integrated photonic platforms. In these platforms, one or more SiN waveguide layers are monolithically integrated onto a Si photonic layer. This paper focuses on the development of three-layer platforms for the O- and SCL-bands for very large-scale photonic integrated circuits requiring hundreds or thousands of waveguide crossings. Low-loss interlayer transitions and ultralow-loss waveguide crossings have been demonstrated, along with bilevel and trilevel grating couplers for fiber-to-chip coupling. The SiN and Si passive devices have been monolithically integrated with high-efficiency optical modulators, photodetectors, and thermal tuners in a single photonic platform