Religious tourism and emotional experiences: An emotional cartography of Jerusalem

An increasingly important segment of cultural tourism relates to ‘religious travel’, tourism motivated by spiritual reasons or associated with religious heritage sites. Thus, travel agencies are offering extensive journey packages to ancient places of worship, sacred destinations and pilgrimage sites. In this sense, according to data offered by the Ministry of Tourism of Israel, around one fifth of tourists to the country expressed religious tourism or pilgrimage as the main purpose of their visit. Additionally, tourism is greatly founded on the consumption of experiences. Understanding the ways in which tourists experience the places is, therefore, fundamental to the study of the consumption of tourism and, in particular, of religious tourism and pilgrimage. Consequently, measuring the emotional situation of these tourists is crucial for the fulfilment of their expectations and, logically, for the degree of overall satisfaction of the experience itself. Accordingly, this paper presents the preliminary results of the experimental implementation of an emotional measurement system in the context of a spiritual journey to Holy the Land during Easter 2015. This is a first trial out of a laboratory and, therefore, one controlled volunteer, whose primary motivation was pilgrimage, was selected to test the suitability of the method for measuring the emotional situation of the individual while in the aforementioned religious travel. The paper proposes an integrated framework of verbal and non-verbal measurement approaches and, together with spatial and temporal information, generates an emotional cartography of the Holy Land based on this journey. Initial findings suggest that emotional situation is influenced not only by space factors, but also by temporal and religious contextual factors surrounding the visitor. Even though results of the trial respond to a single case that should be expanded to contrast the obtained conclusions, it can be affirmed that there are significant implications for researchers and their methodological practices, particularly regarding the spiritual aspects of emotional engagement in religious tourism

Numerical Simulation Methods Applied at Fiber Grating Sensors Design

The paper presents the results obtained in simulation of fiber Bragg grating (FBG) and long-period grating (LPG) sensors and their applications. The optical properties of FBG and LPG are firstly analyzed and, consequently, the basics of simulation models are provided. Coupled-mode theory and the transfer matrix methods are the two techniques used for the simulation of FBG and LPG. The numerical simulations are performed for an improved design of these types of fiber sensors, designs dedicated to specified applications. The different FBG types, i.e. the normal, chirped, apodized, according to different laws and tilted cases, are analyzed. Also, various LPG configurations are numerically simulated. The two main categories of sensing applications, for temperature and for mechanical stress/strain evaluation, are simulated for each type of fiber grating sensor. The chapter is intended to be a synthesis of already obtained results to which some results of research in development are added

Written peer-feedback to enhance students' current and future Learning

Spanish universities are engaged in the implementation of the European Higher Education Area (EHEA). This process implies the use of the most effective instructional designs and methodologies in order to achieve deep learning, increase student involvement in their own development, and professional and personal-greater autonomy in the construction of knowledge. Peer-feedback is an effective strategy to reach such requirements. The study aimed to analyze the type of feedback students provide in peer-assessment in group work projects and to investigate students' perception towards peer-assessment for the improvement of the learning process. The methods were mixed. A semantic analysis of the type of feedback was conducted. A total of 637 feedback units were analysed according to the guidelines developed in the project. In addition, questionnaires to students and teachers involved in the experience were administrated. The results demonstrate that the great majority of feedback offered by students was related to task development, followed by feedback regarding the motivational aspects of the process and finally the structural and formal aspects of the writing. At the end of the process, both teachers and students declared that the feedback received helped them to better develop the task and support them in future learnin

Finasteride adverse effects and post-finasteride syndrome; implications for dentists

Finasteride is a 5α-reductase inhibitor widely used in present in the therapeutic approach of androgenic alopecia. Adverse effects consist in variable sign and symptoms, the most common being represented by mental troubles (reduced feeling of life pleasure or emotions, depression), physical impairments (loss of muscle tone and/or mass) and sexual complains (loss of libido and sexual potency). An increasing number of studies identify and describe even a post-finasteride syndrome (persistent adverse affects three months or more after finasteride cessation) or new adverse effects including but not limited at the skin level or oral cavity (marginal periodontium). We intend to present in this study several oral adverse effects encountered during finasteride administration, represented by mild and moderate signs which generally responded to topical procedures without to require the stop of the drug administration. New studies on large samples will further document the existing relation between the described oral adverse effects and the implied pathophysiological mechanisms. For this moment, we are taking into account as possible mechanisms- a direct action of finasteride administration, possible indirect consequences due to hormonal interferences, or coexisting factors with finasteride administration that were not detected

Tehnologii de elaborare a temelor pe acasă la educaţia muzicală : Ghid pentru profesori şi studenţi

Abstract: Actualul ghid se adresează atât studentului care parcurge calea de iniţiere în tainele meseriei de profesor de educaţie muzicală, cât şi profesorului familiarizat deja cu aparatul conceptual al disciplinei, posesor al unei anumite experienţe didactice. Ca structură, ghidul îşi propune o tratare generală a temelor pe acasă la educaţia muzicală, prezentându-se ca un instrument ce suplineşte clasificarea, forma şi conţinutul acestora. Partea practică a ghidului conţine un set de teme pe acasă cu caracter orientativ, clasificat pe ani de studii şi teme generale semestriale

Polymeric Micro- and Nanosystems for Wood Artifacts Preservation

The complex methods of diagnosis investigation of the wood artifacts state and proper materials for their protection against decay are very important goals in cultural heritage. This chapter focuses on the recent trends in micro- and nanostructured polymer systems for application in cultural heritage and on wood preservation, especially. The synthesis, properties, and applications, as well as the relevant analysis techniques to reveal the structures and properties of polymer systems, are discussed, too. To overcome the specific problems that exist for wood artifacts, some aspects should be treated: effects of the environmental factors, as moisture and pollutant absorption into the wood fibers, over-exposure effect of sun or artificial light sources, biological attack of different microorganisms, and the effects of the protective and decorative coatings

Contrastando dos modelos de análisis de la cultura organizativa de la universidad

Presentamos dos investigaciones realizadas en los últimos cuatro años en las universidades públicas catalanas, así como dos modelos de análisis de la cultura organizativa universitaria. Un modelo se ha desarrollado a nivel global de universidad y otro a nivel microinstitucional de un departamento en concreto. El artículo pone de manifiesto los principales enfoques teóricos y metodológicos que han fundamentado los dos modelos para, finalmente, destacar los aspectos positivos y mejorables de cada uno, elementos que pueden servir como pautas en cualquier estudio de campo. Los resultados de la aplicación de ambos modelos nos han permitido ver elementos comunes y divergentes entre la cultura de una universidad en conjunto y la cultura de un departamento en particular. Todas las fuentes, las teóricas y las de los estudios de campo, otorgan a la cultura organizacional un papel fundamental para el desarrollo de las universidades puesto que el verdadero cambio pasa por el cambio de cultura de éstas

Accesul pericoronarian оn tratamentul bolnavului cu traumatism asociat craniofacial. Caz clinic

Datorită particularităţilor anatomotopografi ce e necesară o cooperare obligatorie a mai multor specialiști în tratamentul bolnavului cu traumatism asociat cranio-facial. CT este un examen complex, fiind cheia succesului în stabilirea tacticii de tratament și determinarea gravităţii traumei. Accesul pericoronarian utilizat în tratamentul bolnavului cu traumatism asociat va recupera bolnavul din punct de vedere morfofuncţional și estetic

Tratamentul chirurgical al leziunilor cerebrale parenchimatoase posttraumatice. Prezentare de caz

Leziunile traumatice parenchimatoase sunt consecinţe comune a traumatismelor craniocerebrale (TCC), asociindu-se cu acestea în 8.2%. În TCC severe leziunile parenchimatoase se asociază în 13-35% cazuri. Leziunile ce prezintă massefect, ce potenţial pot induce mecanismele secundare de injurie cerebrală, ce agravează neurologic pacientul, herniază ţesutul cerebral sunt indicaţii pentru tratament chirurgical. În lucrare sunt prezentate indicaţiile actuale şi timing-ul intervenţiei chirurgicale în leziunile parenchimatoase posttraumatice. Prezentăm în acest articol un pacient cu focare gigante bilaterale de contuzie cerebrală, operat în momentul optim cu rezoluţie postoperatorie satisfăcătoare a tabloului imagistic

Statusul vegetativ persistent hidrocefalic. Prezentare de caz

La stabilirea diagnosticului de status vegetativ persistent este esențial de a exclude inițial hidrocefalia ca și cauză a deteriorării stării de constiință. Pentru a face un diagnostic diferențial între ventriculomegalie și hidrocefalie în afară de investigațiile imagistice prin CT sau IRM în dinamică este imperativă evaluarea semnelor clinice și paraclinice de creștere a presiunii intracraniene. În cazul statusului vegetativ hidrocefalic este important de a cunoaște la care pacienți operația de șuntare poate oferi un prognostic favorabil. Prezentăm în acest articol un caz de status vegetativ persistent apărut în urma accidentului vascular cerebral cu erupere în sistemul ventricular, complicat cu hidrocefalie, care a fost tratată ulterior prin șuntare ventriculo-peritoneal