Tourist Behavior of People with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Consumer behavior studies in the field of tourism aim to explain why tourists make certain decisions related to their travels. Researchers analyze demographic data such as age, gender, income, and family life cycle to account for the differences among people in consumer behavior studies. However, neurodiversity is often overlooked. Understanding the unique experiences of people with ASD requires a tailored tourist behavior model as there is a lack of a conceptual model that describes the travel experiences of tourists with ASD. This study aims to propose a research agenda on tourist behavior of people with ASD through identifying the knowledge gaps in the current literature on tourists with ASD and a thorough review of previous models of tourist behavior

Algorithmic Contributions to the Theory of Regular Chains

Regular chains, introduced about twenty years ago, have emerged as one of the major tools for solving polynomial systems symbolically. In this thesis, we focus on different algorithmic aspects of the theory of regular chains, from theoretical questions to high- performance implementation issues. The inclusion test for saturated ideals is a fundamental problem in this theory. By studying the primitivity of regular chains, we show that a regular chain generates its saturated ideal if and only if it is primitive. As a result, a family of inclusion tests can be detected very efficiently. The algorithm to compute the regular GCDs of two polynomials modulo a regular chain is one of the key routines in the various triangular decomposition algorithms. By revisiting relations between subresultants and GCDs, we proposed a novel bottom-up algorithm for this task, which improves the previous algorithm in a significant manner and creates opportunities for parallel execution. This thesis also discusses the accelerations towards fast Fourier transform (FFT) over finite fields and FFT based subresultant chain constructions in the context of massively parallel GPU architectures, which speedup our algorithms by several orders of magnitude

TIPS AND TRAPS: METHODOLOGICAL ISSUES RELATED TO CONDUCTING AN ONLINE TRIP PLANNING STUD

This study examines methodological issues related to studying American college students’ online travel planning behavior. A mixed method approach, which integrated think-aloud protocol combined with the process tracing method, log analysis and survey techniques, was evaluated in this paper. In previous studies, this methodological approach has been subject to issues of reliability and validity that were addressed in the design of the current study. Specifically, questions were related to whether the experiment used in this study would yield results comparable to the decision-making and search processes respondents would engage upon on their real-life trip planning. The purpose of this paper was to discuss how this study has evolved from previous work in this area in order to increase reliability and validity. Issues regarding the artificiality of the environment are addressed in this paper. Overall it was found that the qualitative- based, mixed-method approach used in this study was deemed appropriate and has resulted in delivering insights into the phenomena of online travel planning

Benchmarking in the ferromanganese production processes

Abstract: Process benchmarking is recognised as an essential tool for the continuous improvement of the quality of products. It is a process that allows the production of manganese ferroalloys i.e. ferromanganese and silicomanganese (FeMn and SiMn) to improve upon existing ideas and practices. In this study, it is critical to interrogate the organisation of production of manganese ferroalloys in the identified production plants. Three production plants were identified within, and two outside South Africa. A methodology of research was identified that will be most appropriate to undertake the study. From the research process, it is expected that the critical variables that impact on production processes, differences in application, scale of processes, measurement methods, and competitiveness analysis to be identified