Estimation of the parameter of satisfaction with services in tourism: content analysis of online customer reviews

To increase the competitiveness the hotels have to satisfy their guests’ requirements, anticipate their wishes and offer new services; this is quite problematic for the hotel business. The paper considers the opportunities of employing online guest reviews to reveal the hotel ratings and attributes, significant for guests. The implementation of this research method is specified by the quality of information obtained via the internet; it is published on a voluntary basis, statements are initiated by users; moreover, consumers estimate the services and offers, having certain emotional importance for them; it allows segmenting the factors according to the level of their emotional significance. This segmentation is of utmost importance since the principal aim of the researches devoted to the assessment of the level of consumers’ satisfaction is to reveal the indicators of company activities from the position of customers’ priorities and emotional evaluations. The content analysis discovers the indicators, significant for the beach hotels customers. 90 hotels were grouped according to 16 categories. The results display that the guests responses can be used for investigating the importance of hotel attributes and determining the peculiarities of various hotel customers groups. The obtained results can be used for service package improvement and for hotel description in advertisement and reservation systems

Multiscale - Patient-Specific Artery and Atherogenesis Models

In this work, we present a platform for the development of multiscale patient-specific artery and atherogenesis models. The platform, called ARTool, integrates technologies of 3-D image reconstruction from various image modalities, blood flow and biological models of mass transfer, plaque characterization, and plaque growth. Patient images are acquired for the development of the 3-D model of the patient specific arteries. Then, blood flow ismodeled within the arterial models for the calculation of the wall shear stress distribution (WSS). WSS is combined with other patient-specific parameters for the development of the plaque progression models. Real-time simulation can be performed for same cases in grid environment. The platform is evaluated using both animal and human data

The fusion approach – applications for understanding local government and European integration

The article explores the theoretical capabilities of the fusion approach as a conceptual ‘kit’ to explain the ‘bigger picture’ of European integration from a local government perspective. Fusion addresses the rationales and methods facilitating the transfer of policy-making competences to the European level. It understands European integration as a merging of public resources and policy instruments from multiple levels of government, whereby accountability and responsibilities for policy outcomes become blurred. The article argues that the fusion approach is useful to explain the systemic linkages between macro-trajectories and the corresponding change at the local level; the fusion dynamics of the local and European levels in a common policy-cycle; and the attitudes of local actors towards the EU. Although the article concludes that local government is rather modestly ‘fused’ into the EU, fusion approaches allow examining the extent to which the local level has become integrated into the European governance system

Investment Evaluation of a Suburban Coastal Transport System

This paper aims at determining the optimum viable solution of an investment on a suburban coastal shipping system in the area of Athens. More specifically the development of a sea transport system, alternative to the existing road one, that connects Piraeus with the southern suburban coastal area of Athens is examined. The best viable solution of such an undertaking is considered to be the one, which under the existing constraints maximises the total profit that derives from this investment. The variables used for the formation of the constraints are the number of vessels used, the routing and the price of the services. The article focuses on the financing alternatives of the project and their impact on its economic efficiency and concludes with the best viable scenarios and optimum solution

Implications of serial measurements of natriuretic peptides in heart failure: insights from BIOSTAT‐CHF

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