The Implementation of the Gats and its impact upon tourism development.

The research is aimed to examine the implementation of the GATS and its impact upon tourism development, particularly in Korea. The GATS (General Agreement on Trade in Services) agreement has been implemented in order to liberalise World Trade in services. In this respect, the research examines the performance of GATT to see how successful GATT has been in securing and fostering world trade in manufacturing industry and then moves on to examine the implementation of GATS and, by drawing upon findings from other trading agreements (such as the NAFTA and EU) estimate the likely impacts that such agreements will have on tourism services and the manner in which they are delivered. The GATS agreement is a long-term undertaking in which major trading countries are likely to become members. GATS sets up a legal and operational framework for the liberalisation of international trade in tourism as well as other services. The principle of GATS is the liberalisation of exchange of services and it is adapted from the GATT (General Agreement on Tariff and Trade). The GATS has been established as part of the multilateral trade negotiations and introduced new rules for services to complete overhaul of the GATT trade system. The rapid growth of tourism is the product of liberalisation which has been the hallmark of economic policy throughout the world, during the past decade. The UNCTAD report (1999) states that both globalisation and liberalisation have increased the potential for international trade in goods and services to become an unprecedented engine of growth and an important mechanism for integrating countries into the global economy. However, the GATS has many implications for tourism, particularly for tourism policymakers since it covers many different areas and sectors in tourism. Unlike other services, tourism is not a specific type of service, but a mixture of different services consumed by tourists. Therefore, it is essential to understand the rules and the principles of GATS as applied to tourism sectors in international trade. The overall aims of the study are: 1. To examine the factors that influence world trade in goods and services. 2. To examine the influences that GATS is likely to have on the scope and magnitude of world trade in services. 3. To determine how GATS impacts on tourism development in developing countries and act as a catalyst to enhance the development of developing countries. 4. To examine what are the likely effects. of GATS upon tourism development and delivery in Korea. Since one of the research objectives is to examine what is the likely effect of GATS upon tourism development and delivery in Korea, the case study was a useful technique. In particular, the case study seemed an appropriate strategy to answer the research question because the research area is relatively new. Therefore, descriptive research design was adopted for this particular study. Moreover, the research adopted an explanatory research design, in order to investigate relationships by giving answers to problems and hypotheses. Through explanatory research, this study seeks to explore aspects of tourism development as a result of liberalisation and globalisation in Korea. In particular, this study investigates specified areas such as: how will GATS help future tourism development in Korea? Why are there different perceptions of GATS between the private and public sector? How do government policies and regulations affect future tourism development? by using interviews and questionnaires. For this study, the semi-structured interviews were used and questionnaires were designed to gather information about the impacts of GATS on tourism development in Korea before conducting the survey, but it failed to obtain the necessary information. It is hoped that these findings enhance an understanding of the role of international trade in services particularly tourism industry, which may assist national and international tourism policy makers to consider the complexities and difficulties of understanding the rules of multilateral trade agreements (such as GATS) not only to develop tourism but also to develop other service sectors, especially in developing countries

Membrane Traffic and Fusion at Post-Golgi Compartments

Complete sequencing of the Arabidopsis genome a decade ago has facilitated the functional analysis of various biological processes including membrane traffic by which many proteins are delivered to their sites of action and turnover. In particular, membrane traffic between post-Golgi compartments plays an important role in cell signaling, taking care of receptor–ligand interaction and inactivation, which requires secretion, endocytosis, and recycling or targeting to the vacuole for degradation. Here, we discuss recent studies that address the identity of post-Golgi compartments, the machinery involved in traffic and fusion or functionally characterized cargo proteins that are delivered to or pass through post-Golgi compartments. We also provide an outlook on future challenges in this area of research

CittaSlow, Slow Cities, Slow Food: Searching for a Model for the Development of Slow Tourism

Slow Tourism, a new trend that originated in Italy, is now traversing the globe. This study traces its evolution, synthesizes existing definitions, and develops a conceptual model for the stages of Slow Tourism development. It uses a qualitative, exploratory framework situated in the paradigms of constructivism and critical theory and a critical, interpretative form of inquiry and analysis. Data sources included various types of secondary data as well as primary data collected during personal interviews conducted in November of 2010 with key leaders in the first two CittaSlow designated cities in the U.S. Findings suggest that Slow Tourism, which can occur in both rural and urban settings, is an outgrowth of the Slow Food Movement and is tied to CittaSlow through the explicit guarantee of unique slowness offered by these officially designated cities. The presence of Slow Food Convivia, a critical mass of CittaSlow designated cities, and practices of socio-political consumption emerged as important stages in its development

Sec1/Munc18 Protein Stabilizes Fusion-Competent Syntaxin for Membrane Fusion in Arabidopsis Cytokinesis

SummaryIntracellular membrane fusion requires complexes of syntaxins with other SNARE proteins and regulatory Sec1/Munc18 (SM) proteins. In membrane fusion mediating, e.g., neurotransmitter release or glucose-stimulated insulin secretion in mammals, SM proteins preferentially interact with the inactive closed, rather than the active open, conformation of syntaxin or with the assembled SNARE complex. Other membrane fusion processes such as vacuolar fusion in yeast involve like membranes carrying cis-SNARE complexes, and the role of SM protein is unknown. We investigated syntaxin-SM protein interaction in membrane fusion of Arabidopsis cytokinesis, which involves cytokinesis-specific syntaxin KNOLLE and SM protein KEULE. KEULE interacted with an open conformation of KNOLLE that complemented both knolle and keule mutants. This interaction occurred at the cell division plane and required the KNOLLE linker sequence between helix Hc and SNARE domain. Our results suggest that in cytokinesis, SM protein stabilizes the fusion-competent open form of syntaxin, thereby promoting trans-SNARE complex formation

Intervention Strategies Based on Information-Motivation-Behavioral Skills Model for Health Behavior Change: A Systematic Review

SummaryPurposeThis study systematically reviewed research on behavioral interventions based on the information-motivation-behavioral skills (IMB) model to investigate specific intervention strategies that focus on information, motivation, and behavioral skills and to evaluate their effectiveness for people with chronic diseases.MethodsA systematic review was conducted in accordance with the guidelines of both the National Evidence-based Healthcare Collaborating Agency and Im and Chang. A literature search was conducted using electronic databases. Randomized controlled trials that tested behavioral interventions based on the IMB model for promoting health behaviors among people with chronic diseases were included. Four investigators independently reviewed the studies and assessed the quality of each study. A narrative synthesis was used.ResultsA total of 12 studies were included in the review. Nine studies investigated patients with HIV/AIDS. The most frequently used intervention strategies were instructional pamphlets for the information construct, motivational interviewing techniques for the motivation construct, and instruction or role playing for the behavioral skills construct. Ten studies reported significant behavior changes at the first post-intervention assessment.ConclusionThis review indicates the potential strength of the IMB model as a theoretical framework to develop behavioral interventions. The specific integration strategies delineated for each construct of the model can be utilized to design model-based interventions

AtRMR1 functions as a cargo receptor for protein trafficking to the protein storage vacuole

Organellar proteins are sorted by cargo receptors on the way to their final destination. However, receptors for proteins that are destined for the protein storage vacuole (PSV) are largely unknown. In this study, we investigated the biological role that Arabidopsis thaliana receptor homology region transmembrane domain ring H2 motif protein (AtRMR) 1 plays in protein trafficking to the PSV. AtRMR1 mainly colocalized to the prevacuolar compartment of the PSV, but a minor portion also localized to the Golgi complex. The coexpression of AtRMR1 mutants that were localized to the Golgi complex strongly inhibited the trafficking of phaseolin to the PSV and caused accumulation of phaseolin in the Golgi complex or its secretion. Coimmunoprecipitation and in vitro binding assays revealed that the lumenal domain of AtRMR1 interacts with the COOH-terminal sorting signal of phaseolin at acidic pH. Furthermore, phaseolin colocalized with AtRMR1 on its way to the PSV. Based on these results, we propose that AtRMR1 functions as the sorting receptor of phaseolin for its trafficking to the PSV

The implementation of the GATS and its impact upon tourism development A case study of Korea

In two volumesAvailable from British Library Document Supply Centre- DSC:DXN064385 / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreSIGLEGBUnited Kingdo

“He was despised” in writing and performance: A study of vocal ornamentation in one aria from Handel's “Messiah” using objective and subjective listening practice

A two-fold analysis of the vocal ornamentation in Handel's aria, "He was despised" from Messiah, was conducted employing objective and subjective forms of listening practice associated with the analysis of recordings methodology. It is this author's hypothesis that prosody, born of the semiotic processes of rhythm, pitch and accent, and which is also reflective of the subjective understanding of the performer, will be present during the moment of an ornament—if it is present at all in any performance. Ornamentation is shown to be an entry into the world of subjectivity in Baroque vocal performance practice as well as a window into the oral tradition and the primacy of the singer's expressiveness that relates back to the Italian school to which Handel subscribed. The method of study in this monograph consists of examining scholarly writings, scores, notations and most importantly, applying listening practice to 38 different renditions of "He was despised," executed by female altos or male countertenors, under the direction of various conductors, dating from 1927 through 2006. The first of two listening practices is an analysis of recordings to identify and review the nature of the non-notated sung ornaments found in the recordings. The author develops a system of defining and categorizing the types and units of nonnotated, aurally observed vocal ornaments executed in each performance. In the second phase of this study, the author incorporates a postmodern philosophical approach and notes her own subjective experiences during the analysis of recordings. This phase examines the idea that prosodic elements are associated with the subjective experience of emotional meaning, elucidation of text, and illumination of subtext in this aria from Handel's Messiah. Results include noteworthy findings about the interplay of the singer's subjectivity with ornamentation in affecting the listener's subjective reaction to the performance (e.g., narrator viewpoint, beautifying versus emphasizing subtext). In conclusion, the author explores the relationship between a performer's prosodic and non-prosodic executions of ornamentation and proposes specific recommendations to singers who wish to execute ornamentation in a manner that is both historically informed as well as prosodically expressive of subtext