How events can influence in the customer experience at Out of the Blue Hostel: an internship storytelling

The growth of tourism is not an exception to Azores Islands that saw a big increase of tourists after the low cost airlines started flying to the islands in 2015. The whole market is in a process of adaptation and hostels is a new concept to the island and very appreciated to the ones who visit it. Out of the Blue hostel's concept is to turn each stay into a unique experience. So me and the owners of the hostel were brainstorming ideas how to improve the concept and together we decided to create Out Of The Blue Family Dinners, where every evening we prepare homemade dinners and take guests out on night tours, creating moments of sharing cultures, ideas, dreams and time on the island between the guest and the staff of the hostel. In this storytelling I am presenting how I started doing events at the hostel and the process of adaptation to the tourism trends, guest and management needs in order to create a high quality experience. In the end I will present the reviews left by the guests of the hostel on various booking platforms. After 6 months the impact of the events is very visible through the guest reviews and feedbacks, team satisfaction and sales revenue.O turismo em crescimento e não é uma exceção nas Ilhas dos Açores que viu este fenomeno acontecer após as low coast começarem a voar para as ilhas em 2015. Todo o mercado está a adaptar-se e os hostels é um novo conceito na ilha e muito apreciado para o aqueles que as visitam. O conceito Out of the Blue é transformar cada estadia em uma experiência única. Então, juntos começamos a fazer um brainstorm como melhorar o conceito. Juntos, decidimos começar a fazer eventos todas as noites que inclui jantares e passeios nocturos, criando momentos de partilha de cultura, ideias, sonhos e tempo na ilha. Esta storytelling que vos apresento consiste em começar a fazer eventos no hostel e todo o processo de adaptação às tendências de turismo, hospedes e necessidades de gestão para criar uma experiência de alta qualidade. No final, irei apresentar os resultados de inquenritos realizados no hostel. Depois de 6 meses os impactos dos eventos são muito visíveis nas avaliações e comentários dos hospedes, assim como na satisfação da equipe e nos lucros das vendas

An examination of the concept of "genre" as a tool for the design of speaking activities for English for specific purposes (ESP)

This action research is aimed to investigate the application of the concept of genre for the selection, design and teaching of oral genres relevant to the needs of students of Political Management and Political Science at Bremen University. Although the genre approach has become widely accepted for teaching field-specific content in English for Specific purposes (ESP), the literature review revealed that the focus of its application was writing and that oral genres have been under-researched. A framework for developing academic English courses suggested by Swales {1990) helped to identify the genre of discussion as the most important for these students. The research comprises several stages with distinct methodology and findings for each of them. The stages include studies of a discourse community of students who returned from a semester abroad; the selection of a corpus for modelling the genre of argumentative discussion; discourse analysis of the corpus; designing activities on the basis of the results of this analysis; video recording learners' discussions; and analysing the effectiveness of the methodology. The research addresses several aspects of researching and teaching oral genres. The first one is related to. the development of theory for the analysis of oral genres relevant to students needs and examining which concepts and ideas used for studying written interaction in ESP and SFL are applicable to researching spoken communication. The aim of the theoretical part was to conduct discourse analysis of a corpus of extracts from TV discussion programmes, selected to exemplify the genre, in order to reveal phonological and lexico-grammatical features in relation to the rhetorical function of persuasion of the genre of politics-related argumentative discussion. Concepts from Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) applied to prosody and pragmatics were used to identify language features important for raising students' awareness of characteristics of this genre. The most important aspect addressed in this research was investigating the impact of genre- based pedagogy for teaching the genre of discussion in the academic classroom. Activities for three teaching and learning cycles (Rothery, 1996) were designed and used in two rounds of teaching. The effectiveness of genre-based methodology was evaluated on the basis of quantitative and qualitative analysis of data collected at all phases of the teaching, and learning cycles in the first round of teaching. Another important issue addressed in this research was assessment. Using formative assessment in the form of self-assessment reports demonstrated how the focus of genre based assessment can be shifted from the products to the processes of genre learning. At the same time developing and introducing a CEFR- based (Common European Framework of Reference) discussion assessment form with detailed descriptors was one of the key elements in optimising genre-based classroom teaching. The research may be seen as a contribution to the conceptualisation of the teaching of oral genres in academic settings. Combining elements of the two schools of genre English for Specific Purposes (ESP) and Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) helped to develop a comprehensive approach for identifying, characterising and teaching the genre of discussion relevant to the needs of the selected group of ESP students. This approach places emphasis on the combination of fostering genre awareness and providing maximum opportunities for genre acquisition in the genre-based classroom. The research has been helpful improving the pedagogical practice of teaching the genre of discussion in one tertiary-level academic setting and the results are potentially transferrable to similar contexts in other universities

Career Choice With the Serious Game Like2be

Choosing a career is an important biographical event for adolescents. Toward the end of compulsory education, they must decide which career path they want to pursue. The serious game like2be was developed to support adolescents in this individual career choice process. In a quasi-experimental intervention study with 809 adolescents, like2be was evaluated for its effectiveness in career choice classes at the lower secondary level. In addition, a teaching concept for the application of the serious game which included additional teaching materials was analyzed. The data show that like2be is an effective medium for broadening personal career choice horizons, especially when it is pedagogically well-founded and integrated into career choice classes. Although the effectiveness of like2be in stimulating intensive reflection on one's own vocational aptitude or a gender-sensitive attitude towards occupations is limited, the present study shows that like2be has major potential for supporting the process of career choice among adolescents

Factors Influencing the Effectiveness of Serious Gaming in the Field of Vocational Orientation

This study investigates the effectiveness of the serious game like2be, which has been developed to support the individual career orientation process of adolescents by broadening their occupational horizon. In this paper, we present results from an intervention study with n = 809 adolescents in Swiss schools at the lower secondary education level. To analyze the extent to which cognitive, affective, and motivational factors are stimulated and what influence they have on expanding knowledge about occupations (measured learning outcome), we applied confirmatory factor analysis, multiple linear regression, and a structural equation model. The results indicate that the stimulation of cognitive processes through serious gaming has a statistically significant impact on learning outcome, although such factors as enjoyment, flow experience, or self-perceived benefits in playing like2be did not significantly impact gain in knowledge about occupations

Values in the School Curriculum from Teachers' Perspective: A mixed-methods Study

The transmission of human values plays a key role in the educational landscape around the world (Matthes, 2014; Beck, 1990; Halstead, 1996), and educational frameworks (c.f. OECD , 2019; Council of Europe , 2016) as well as national school curricula (c.f. National Curriculum , Ofsted, 2018 ; Lehrplan 21 , D -EDK, 2016) are based on values that are considered important. However, empirical research into how values are structurally reflected in school curricula and how these values are perceived in the school environment by teachers is very limited. This mixed-methods study is the first of its kind to provide findings based on data from Switzerland, where a new comprehensive curriculum has recently been introduced. Schwartz's theory of basic human values (1992), the most widely researched values framework, serves as its conceptual framework. A Qualitative Content Analysis of the Swiss educational curriculum ( Lehrplan 21 , D -EDK, 2016) revealed a wealth of references to values, with a focus on values belonging to Schwartz' higher order values Openness to Change (Basic values: Self-Direction and Stimulation ), Conservation ( Tradition, Conformity and Security ) and Self-Transcendence ( Benevolence and Universalism ). On the other hand, values belonging to the higher order value of Self-Enhancement ( Power and Achievement ) did not play an important role in the investigated curriculum. In a complementary quantitative study, the value statements from the Swiss educational curriculum were embedded in a questionnaire, which 108 (102 female (94.4%), 6 male (5.6%)) primary school teachers completed with regard to how they perceive the value-oriented curricular contents in their school environment. Multidimensional Scaling revealed that teachers' perception of value-oriented curricular contents in their school environment was structured alongside Schwartz's motivational continuum of values, with values of Openness to Change being opposed to values of Conservation , and values of Self-Transcendence being opposed to values of Self-Enhancement

The relationship between young children’s personal values and their teacher-rated behaviors in the classroom

There has been little research on the relationships between children’s personal values and the behaviors that express such values in the school context. In the present study, we examined for the first time with children at this young age, the relations between values and their value-related behaviors, i.e., supportive, disciplined, learning-oriented, and achievement-oriented, in the primary school context. The sample consisted of 952 primary school children (51.5% boys; Mage = 7.93; SD = 0.35). Data used in this study were collected in 2022 in Switzerland. A multilevel analysis confirmed the hypothesis that systematic relationships between values and teacher-rated behaviors can be demonstrated with young children. However, gender was the strongest predictor of teacher-rated children’s classroom behaviors. The results highlight the significance of understanding children’s value-behavior relations, teachers’ possible gender stereotypes of children’s behaviors, and its practical importance in the school context

К вопросу о картографировании этнолокальных групп Белозерья по ономастическим данным

In this study, Belozerye is considered within the borders of the Principality of Beloozero in the 14th century. These borders were mostly natural and generally coincided with the internal micro-regional division of Belozerye, connected with the history of its colonisation and ethnic features. From the point of view of modern administrative and territorial division, the districts of Vologda Oblast, surrounding Lake Beloye, Kargopolsky and Konoshsky Districts of Arkhangelsk Oblast, and Poshekhonsky District of Yaroslavl Oblast all make part of the territory under study.The material for the research is mostly taken from the database of the Ural University Toponymic Expedition (Ural Federal University, Yekaterinburg). The subdatabase on Belozerye involves several thousands of place names.This article provides the results of the mapping of onomastic data. First and foremost, they are ethnotoponyms and collective nicknames, originating from ethnonyms (Zyr’, Kaybany, Finns, Swedes, Chud’, Chuhari and others), and toponymic legends connected with the aforementioned ethnonyms. The areas of all ethnonymic formations look similar: they stretch from the southwest to the northeast of Belozerye, pass along the banks of the large rivers (the Suda, the Andoga, the Kema) and large lakes (Beloye, Lache, Vozhe), which corresponds to the main direction of Russian expansion into Belozerye. An exception to this general trend is the onomastic facts associated with the Veps and the Lapps, which, apparently, give the most accurate information on the settlement of the respective ethnic groups.В данном исследовании Белозерье понимается в границах Белозерского княжества XIV в. Эти границы в значительной степени имели естественный характер и в целом соответствовали внутреннему микрорегиональному членению Белозерья, связанному с историей его колонизации и этническими особенностями. С точки зрения современного административно-регионального деления, территория исследования включает несколько районов Вологодской области, расположенных вокруг Белого озера, а также Каргопольский и Коношский районы Архангельской области и Пошехонский район Ярославской области.Основным источником материала является база данных Топонимической экспедиции Уральского университета (Уральский федеральный университет, Екатеринбург). Подкорпус по Белозерью насчитывает несколько тысяч географических названий.В статье представлены результаты картографирования ономастических данных. Прежде всего это этнотопонимы и коллективные прозвища, образованные от этнонимов (зырь, кайбаны, финны, шведы, чудь, чухари и т. п.), и топонимические легенды, связанные с указанными этнонимами. Ареалы всех отэтнонимических образований выглядят сходным образом: они вытянуты по направлению с юго-запада на северо-восток Белозерья, проходят по берегам крупных рек (Суды, Андоги, Кемы) и озер (Белого, Лаче, Воже), что соответствует основному направлению русского освоения Белозерья. Исключением из этой общей тенденции являются ономастические факты, связанные с вепсами и лопарями, которые, по-видимому, дают наиболее близкие к действительности сведения о расселении соответствующих этнических групп

Маркеры рудных месторождений в топонимии Русского Севера и Среднего Урала

Interest in geographical names based on names of ores (железо ‘iron’, медь ‘copper’) and their generic designation (руда ‘ore’) is due to the fact that ore deposits are linked to a specific area and at the same time have a high value for the national economy, therefore, it is logical to expect their reflection in toponymy. The research material is a set of geographical names formed from the words железо, медь, руда and their derivatives recorded in the Russian North (Arkhangelsk and Vologda Regions) and in the Urals (Perm and Sverdlovsk Regions) during the work of the Toponymic Expedition of Ural University between the 1960s and 2010s. Taking into account the type of objects denominated, their areal distribution, and accompanying contexts, the author determines the motivation for such names. Additionally, the article examines alternative toponymic markers (ржавец ‘viscous, swampy place, swamp covered with a reddish-brown coating, film (due to ironstone it contains)’, домница ‘blacksmith forge’), which could indicate the mining and production of iron. Moreover, the article examines data from the substrate toponymy of the Russian North with the same meaning (Ровдозеро, cf. Veps. roud ‘iron’; Розмега, cf. Veps. rozḿe ‘rust (on water)’).In the Russian North, железный is used to denote objects that are mostly water bodies — rivers, streams, swamps, and lakes, most of which are located in old iron-producing areas. Some of the names (for example, the metaphorical model Железные Ворота ‘Iron Gate’) are not related to iron ore deposits.Geographical names derived from the words руда, рудный и рудник are “synonymous” to toponyms referring to iron: water bodies also predominate among them, and most explanatory contexts associate them with the extraction of ore or the corresponding colour of water. The areas of toponyms formed from the words железо ‘iron’, ржавец ‘rusty’ and рудный (рудник) ‘mine’ in the Russian North overlap with and correspond to the territory of the main areas of the peasant iron industry.There are significantly fewer toponyms associated with copper mining in the Russian North: perhaps because there were practically no copper deposits. Most of the objects are fields and mows and the context does not allow the author to say which part of their names is associated with copper mining and which has a metaphorical meaning.In the Urals, ore toponymy is significantly less abundant than that of the Russian North: this applies to both железо and медь toponyms, and names derived from the words рудный and рудник. The only toponymic model that is massively represented in the Ural material is names derived from the word ржавец.Ore toponymy in the Russian North is more diverse and widespread than that of the Urals, which is probably due to the fact that the peasant iron industry in the Russian North was more widespread and lasted longer, while the Urals switched to factory production earlier.Интерес к географическим названиям, образованным от наименований руд (железо, медь) и их родового обозначения (руда), обусловлен тем, что рудные месторождения привязаны к конкретной местности и при этом обладают высокой ценностью для народного хозяйства, а потому логично ожидать их отражения в топонимии. Материалом исследования является комплекс географических названий, образованных от слов железо, медь, руда и их производных, зафиксированных на Русском Севере (Архангельская, Вологодская области) и на Урале (Пермский край, Свердловская область) в ходе работы Топонимической экспедиции Уральского университета в 1960–2010-е гг. С учетом вида номинируемых объектов, их ареальной дистрибуции и сопроводительных контекстов устанавливается мотивация таких названий. Обсуждаются альтернативные топонимические маркеры (ржавец ‘вязкое, топкое место, болото, покрытое красновато-бурым налетом, пленкой (от содержащихся в нем железистых пород)’, домница ‘кузнечный горн’), которые могли указывать на добычу и производство железа. Кроме того, привлекаются данные субстратной топонимии Русского Севера с тем же значением (Ровдозеро, ср. вепс. roud ‘железо’; Розмега, ср. вепс. rozḿe ‘ржавчина (на воде)’).Железными на Русском Севере называются преимущественно водные объекты — реки, ручьи, болота и озера, большинство которых расположено в старых железодобывающих районах. Часть названий (например, метафорическая модель Железные Ворота) не связана с месторождениями железной руды.Географические названия, производные от слов руда, рудный и рудник, «синонимичны» железным топонимам: среди них также преобладают водные объекты, а большинство поясняющих контекстов связывают их с добычей руды или соответствующим цветом воды. Ареалы топонимов, образованных от слов железо (железный), ржавец (ржавый) и рудный (рудник), на Русском Севере накладываются друг на друга и соответствуют территории основных районов крестьянской железоделательной промышленности.Топонимов, связанных с добычей меди, на Русском Севере заметно меньше: возможно, потому что месторождений меди практически не было. Большинство объектов — поля и покосы, причем контексты не позволяют говорить о том, какая часть их названий связана с добычей меди, а какая имеет метафорическое значение.На Урале рудной топонимии существенно меньше, чем на Русском Севере: это касается и железных и медных топонимов, и названий, образованных от слов рудный и рудник. Единственной топонимической моделью, представленной в уральском материале массово, являются наименования, производные от слова ржавец.Рудная топонимия Русского Севера более разнообразна и шире распространена, чем аналогичная топонимия Урала, что, вероятно, объясняется тем, что на Русском Севере крестьянская железоделательная промышленность имела большее распространение и сохранялась дольше, в то время как Урал раньше перешел к заводскому производству

Development of Method for Discontinuing Mercury-Containing Waste Including the Method of Analysis of Residual Concentrations

Environmental safety is one of the most important international and national tasks when using chemicals such as mercury, its compounds and mercury containing waste. Mercury (Hg) is a global pollutant. Constant anthropogenic mercury emissions and its presence in food chains affects human and ecosystem health and cause serious concerns. When released into the atmosphere with various emissions, mercury is deposited on the ground or water surface. Due to the global transport of mercury in the environment, its release is possible near sources of pollution, as well as at a remote distance. Keywords: mercury–containing wastes, Minamata Convention, immobilizatio