Unlocking Tourism Innovation Potential through Academic Research: A Transformational Learning Approach

Stimulating new tourism product ideas and developing an innovative culture within destinations is fundamental to enhance the current and future competitiveness of the tourism industry. Although academic research is generally considered a necessary precursor to innovation, tourism academic research is criticized as inward looking and failing to create new opportunities. This paper describes a case study of tourism academics working with tourism businesses and destination management agencies to unlock business innovation potential and start an innovation conversation in a destination. Drawing upon the principles of transformational learning theory, the academics built long-term research relationships with tourism businesses and challenged them to develop innovative and appealing products for a new market (the Asian international student market). The successful results provide a model for academic research that challenges established views, disrupts routine thinking and finds ways to innovatively adapt products for new markets

Estimación in vivo de la canal porcina por el método de ultrasonografía: Un Enfoque de la Ecointensificación en Bioeconomia Porcina

En este estudio se analiza la relación entre el espesor de grasa subcutánea (EGS), espesor muscular (EM) y espesor de grasa subcutánea y espesor muscular juntos (EGSM), medidos con ultrasonido en un solo punto anatómico de cerdos vivos y los parámetros más importantes de la canal . En nuestro experimento utilizamos cerdos híbridos  de las  razas Pietrain, Landrace y Yorkshire en cantidad de 25 animales de ambos sexos.   Los resultados del estudio  sugieren que los parámetros de la composición de la canal aquí analizados están altamente correlacionados con el espesor de la grasa subcutánea medida con el  ultrasonido en la última costilla del musculo longuísimo dorsal en el lado izquierdo del cerdo vivo (r = 0.53 - 0.67). La correlación múltiple del modelo de predicción de regresión lineal entre los parámetros de la canal y el espesor de grasa dorsal fue (0.74) y el coeficiente de determinación mostró suficiente capacidad de predicción (R2 = 0.55). Los modelos de predicción de regresión lineal de los componentes de la canal con el espesor muscular obtuvieron baja capacidad de predicción (R2 = 0.23). Igualmente en el modelo de regresión del espesor de grasa subcutánea y espesor muscular juntos ( R2= 0.25).  Entre las correlaciones más importantes encontradas están: lomo derecho, carne clase A (r = 0.80), peso vivo y canal entera (r = 0.85) paleta derecha y carne clase B (r = 0.88) siendo este patrón repetitivo en todas las correlaciones de las mediciones ultrasonografica y los componentes de la canal

Nonlinear optical beams in bounded nematic liquid crystal cells

Stable nonlinear beams, both solitary waves (nematicons) and optical vortices, can form in a nematic liquid crystal due to a balance between the nonlinear, nonlocal response of the nematic and the diffractive spreading of the light beam. The `huge\u27 nonlinearity of a nematic liquid crystal makes it ideal for the experimental development of photonic devices as nonlinear effects occur over millimetre distances. In this work, a simple and fast method to analyse the trajectory of a nonlinear beam within a finite liquid crystal cell, based on a classical method not explored in this context, the method of images, is developed. With the orientation of the nematic molecules modelled using images, the evolution of the beam is obtained by using both asymptotics and modulation theory. The efficiency of this new method is shown by comparisons with a standard Fourier series solution for the nematic response and full numerical solutions of the governing equations. It is found that only a small number of images is required compared with the usual Fourier series technique in order to obtain excellent agreement with full numerical solutions. Finally, the contrasting effect of the cell boundaries on a nematicon and a vortex is explored

Attention, emotion and hedonic service experiences Managing and delivering services in the Asian Century

Purpose - This paper aims to address the central guiding questions: What principles of services management need urgent re-thinking in the Asian Century? What opportunities and challenges lie ahead?Design/methodology/approach - This paper provides a review of relevant literature on hedonic consumption and related issues of emotion, attention, mental time travel and, importantly, how these phenomena may be measured.Findings - The paper addresses this question from a psychological and customer perspective. Services managers are well-positioned and have a great future for two reasons. First, services in general are the growing part of the global economy. Second, services managers provide the experiences required by increasingly affluent consumers. On the other hand, there is in general within the services sector, a lack of knowledge and expertise in understanding the consumer psychology of hedonic consumption. Additionally, and especially in Western countries, there is lack of knowledge about the cultural differences in experiential requirements of Asian consumers.Originality/value - The paper provides directions for future research in the area of tourism experiences and emotion