Branding as an essential element in the creation process of the image of the brand in national tourism destinations

Purpose: Presentation of branding as an important element in the creation process of the brand image of national tourism destinations on the example of the operation of 39 National Tourism Organizations (NTOs) in Europe. Design/Methodology/Approach: For the selection of NTOs the following criteria were taken into account. 1. The functional criterion: the main functions attributed to NTOs were accepted as the grounds for the verification, firstly, it was considered whether the promotion of a given country on foreign markets is included among these tasks. 2. The economic criterion: possession of an autonomous financial budget by a given organization (regardless of the percentage share of funds from the budget of the state or from the private sector, or from any other sources) was accepted as the grounds for verification. 3. The organizational criterion: a separation of a given organization in the structure of a superior body was accepted as the grounds for verification. The research methods used include a method of diagnostic survey including a questionnaire technique, a direct interview and a statistical analysis. Findings: The analysis demonstrated among others that the vast majority of the NTOs examined (92.3%) implement the objectives of branding in practice. At the same time, a significant part of these organizations (86.1%) recognized the activities taken within branding to be very effective. Moreover, the vast majority of the NTOs analysed (91.7%) undertake the initiatives realized as part of branding on the global tourist market. Practical Implications: The conclusions following the study can be used by various entities which are responsible for an effective realization of the management process of the brand of tourism destinations on the different levels of administration. Originality/Value: The study constitutes an entirely new insight into the functioning of NTOs while presenting a substantially broader spectrum of the areas of interest for this type organizations as compared to those presented in the source literature till now.peer-reviewe

Real Wages and the Business Cycle in Germany

This paper establishes stylized facts about the cyclicality of real consumer wages and real producer wages in Germany. As detrending methods we apply the deterministic trend model, the Beveridge-Nelson decomposition, the Hodrick-Prescott filter, the Baxter-King filter and the structural time series model. The detrended data are analyzed both in the time domain and in the frequency domain. The great advantage of an analysis in the frequency domain is that it allows to assess the relative importance of particular frequencies for the behavior of real wages. In the time domain we find that both real wages display a procyclical pattern and lag behind the business cycle. In the frequency domain the consumer real wage lags behind the business cycle and shows an anticyclical behavior for shorter time periods, whereas for longer time spans a procyclical behavior can be observed. However, for the producer real wage the results in the frequency domain remain inconclusive.real wages, business cycle, frequency domain, time domain, Germany, trend-cycle decomposition, structural time series model, phase angle

Superhydrophobic Surface by Replication of Laser Micromachined Pattern in Epoxy/Alumina Nanoparticle Composite

Superhydrophobic surfaces were obtained by superposition of microstructure—defined by replication of laser micromachined masters, with nanostructure—created by durable epoxy/γ-Al₂O₃ nanoparticle composite, used for replication. Hierarchical surface topography thus obtained consisted of hexagonally spaced microcavities and nanoparticle agglomerates, exposed on the replica surface by radio frequency (RF) air plasma etching. Surface topography was further enhanced by rims around the microcavity edges, resulting from nanosecond laser micromachining defects in aluminum masters. Subsequent wet chemical hydrophobization with 1H,1H,2H,2H-perfluorotetradecyltriethoxysilane (PFTDTES) provided superhydrophobic behavior in replicas with a microcavity spacing of 30 μm, as indicated by a water contact angle of 160° and a sliding angle of 8°. The preparation method is relatively simple, inexpensive, and potentially scalable.This work was supported by the National Science Centre of Poland through projects nos. 2011/03/N/ST8/05879 and UMO-2012/05/B/ST8/02876. The authors are grateful to Professor Weimin Liu and Professor Feng Zhou of the Lanzhou Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Science, for making the laser micromachining, JEOL SEM, and Drop Shape Analysis equipment available

PARTICULATE MATTER IN ATMOSPHERIC AIR IN URBAN AGGLOMERATION

The study aimed to determine the mass concentration of PM10 in the air in urban area. The specific objective of the research was to analyze and assess the impact of transport road emissions on the level of concentration of particulate matter in the atmosphere in the Lublin agglomeration. The measuring points were located in places at different distances from the communications emission sources and, at the same time, possibly varying degrees of air pollution dust. Measuring the concentration of dust at the measuring points was performed using an indirect method using a laser photometer. In the research point which was not under direct influence of a heavy traffic road dust levels lower by 10.5% to 65.4% than in the vicinity of the transport route were reported. Small particle air pollution at all the points covered by the study increased significantly during the heating season. Based on the comparison of the obtained values of PM10 concentrations with legal standards, it was found that the air pollution exceeded the limits in all measurement points only during a series of measurements in the months of November-December. The recorded increase in air pollution during the heating season should be associated with an increased dust emissions in this period from the "low" emitters - local house boilers and detached houses

Screening religiosity in contemporary Polish films. The Role of Religious Motifs in Visual Communication.

In the paper the Polish contemporary cinema has been explored as a vehicle through which films can reflect and communicate social issues, such as religiosity of Polish society, the character of it, the ways of expression and values promoted by it. The main components of modern Polish religiosity are shown as they are exhibited in film works perceived as part of modern visual culture. The examination also comprises most frequently and typically tools used for communicating or revealing the transcendent sphere in the contemporary Polish films, such as Christ-figures - including apocryphal ones and parables. They are considered as a narrative patterns used in visual artistic communication

Rozwijanie uważnych zachowań u studentów przekładoznawstwa. Od praktyki do usposobienia

Contemporary translator education aims to develop professional competences, adaptability to job market dynamics and life-long learning skills by fostering collaborative, situated and self-directed, experiential learning. In recognition of the essentiality of reflection skills for life-long learning, the author examines the possibility of stimulating students’ (cultural) reflection in online (intercultural) projects via guidance on mindful behaviour, as defined by Ritchhart and Perkins and discusses the findings with a view to informing task design which would augment the development of cultural and other components of translator competence.Współczesna edukacja tłumaczy ma na celu rozwijanie kompetencji zawodowych, zdolności adaptacji do dynamiki rynku pracy oraz umiejętności uczenia się przez całe życie za pośrednictwem opartego o pracę zespołową, sytuowanego i samodzielnego uczenia się przez doświadczenie. Uwzględniając wagę refleksji w procesie uczenia się przez całe życie, autor artykułu bada możliwość stymulowania (kulturowej) refleksji nad doświadczeniem u studentów uczestniczących w (międzykulturowych) projektach internetowych poprzez instruktaż na temat uważnego zachowania w rozumieniu Ritchharta i Perkinsa. Wyniki badania omawia zaś pod kątem projektowania zadań dydaktycznych wspomagających rozwój kulturowych i innych elementów kompetencji tłumacza

Finanse lokalne a redystrybucja usług społecznych

Zadanie pt. „Digitalizacja i udostępnienie w Cyfrowym Repozytorium Uniwersytetu Łódzkiego kolekcji czasopism naukowych wydawanych przez Uniwersytet Łódzki” nr 885/P-DUN/2014 dofinansowane zostało ze środków MNiSW w ramach działalności upowszechniającej naukę

Concordancer-enhanced reflection in telecollaborative translation projects at university level

This paper deals with the implementation of concordancers for the purpose of stimulating reflection on experience in telecollaborative translation projects at university level. The paper opens with a brief presentation of the rationale for the use of telecollaboration in contemporary translation and translator education. Then collaboration and telecollaboration are described as teaching/learning modes, with the latter presented as a computer-mediated extension of the former. Subsequently, the theoretical standing of collaboration in translator education is discussed, together with the learning gains that telecollaboration potentially offers to student translators. On a more practical note, on the basis of his own research conducted so far, the author presents means of eliciting reflection in telecollaborative translation projects administered at university level and introduces the idea of a concordancer as a tool for stimulating deepened reflection in such projects. The paper concludes with a summary of the benefits that concordancing brings to telecollaborative translation projects