Perceptions of the tourism and hospitality industry by Singapore polytechnic hospitality students: An exploratory study

Many Singapore polytechnic students are not keen to join the hospitality line even after being enrolled in a 3-year hospitality program. Many students find the nature of the job too stressful and strenuous. Students have also cited reasons such as long working hours, shift work, dealing with unpredictable circumstances in the job environment and having lower starting remuneration as compared other industries (K. Ong, personal communications, June 16, 2010). Other perceived qualitative reasons that have been given by students for not joining the industry would be the semi-professional nature of the hospitality industry as compared to other industries such as education, law, engineering and business-related industries (Khan, 1992). Students especially from a semi-traditional Asian-Singapore context are not encouraged to join the hospitality line because their parents do not support their decision as the jobs in this industry is seen as one which is ‘servitude’ and have little prospects of promotion from rank-and-file. The polytechnics also play a major role in influencing the choice of career of their students through their faculty, curriculum, resources and links to the industry. Therefore Singapore hospitality schools would need to manage student expectations prior to and during the course of studies to encourage students to stay within the industry after graduation. Industrial practitioners must also re-look at their job environment, practices, wages and welfare treatment of their staff so that they can retain and grow human capital to prevent a dearth of manpower in the hospitality and tourism industry

A Study on The Determinants of Singapore Polytechnic Students’ Choices in A Hospitality and Tourism Program

The hospitality and tourism industry in Singapore is rapidly growing and all polytechnics in Singapore are offering hospitality courses so that they can help sustain the economy with the necessary manpower. However, the new generation of Singapore millennial students choosing hospitality programs assess choice factors differently and give different priorities of importance to these factors. Factors have been grouped according to ‘Personal’, ‘Institution – Academic’, ‘Institution – Others’, and ‘Curriculum’, and students rated these on their own perceptions and against those perceptions from the faculty when designing hospitality programs to attract potential students. It has been noted that the ability to get a job after graduation is of the highest importance to both parties and that parents' and peers' influence do not matter in their choice of hospitality programs or polytechnics. With this understanding, educational institutions would need to relook at their strategies for enticing students to join their programs. This study will also grant a precursory insight into how students from developing Asian countries will select hospitality programs, using Singapore as a model in the future

RAPID FABRICATION OF MICROMOLD MASTERS FOR THE REPLICATION OF POLYMER MICROFLUIDIC DEVICES

Lab-on-a-chip devices play an important role in a variety of applications such as analyzing DNA and RNA, medical screening, monitoring the environment, and chemical analysis. Often these devices must be disposable because they can only be used once to avoid sample contaminations. The cost of unit microfluidic devices then becomes a critical factor of the commercial success of the devices. These devices are typically produced using conventional microfabrication techniques such as photolithography and electroplating, which involve harmful chemicals extensively. Electroplating process typically requires long plating hours to reach the required thickness. To address these practical needs of fabricating inexpensive disposable devices, the ability to fabricate micromold masters for replication of polymeric microfluidic devices rapidly and with greener fabrication technologies is necessary. This dissertation illustrates new approaches to fabricate micromold masters based on non-lithographic processes and the minimal usage of chemicals. This thesis is organized into two major parts. The first part described the microfabrication technologies developed to manufacture micromold masters for replicating low cost disposable polymer microfluidic devices. Three methods were developed and laser was employed to fabricate the mask having microfluidic network patterns on a thin metallic sheet. The pattern on this mask was transferred onto a substrate to create the master. Three techniques to transfer the mask pattern onto the mold master substrates have been explored including the laser microwelding, micro-spark erosion, and partial hot embossing (hot intrusion) process. The method that required the use of the laser welding is termed as Laser Cutting, laser Welding, and Molding (LCWM). The method that required the use of the microspark erosion to remove materials in order to produce the master is termed as Laser cutting, Electro-Discharging, and Molding (LEDM ). The method that employed the partial hot embossing process to create the polymeric mold masters is termed as Laser cutting, Hot embossing, and Molding (LHEM). Proof-of-concept demonstrations of these three methods were experimentally validated. Each method has its unique advantages and disadvantages and the selection of the developed methods used in fabrication of micromold masters depends on the requirements of the intended application. The second part of this dissertation described the further investigations of the LHEM method because of its fabrication simplicity, rapid process, and produced high quality surface finishes. An extensive series of experimentations and analysis were conducted. Subsequently, an empirical model was derived to characterize the experimental observations. A finite element method (FEM) model was also developed to gain further understanding of the hot intrusion process. The FEM predictions were in good agreements with the experimental data. Both experimental data and FEM analysis reveal a strong positive correlation between the extruded height and width of cross- sectional extruded microreliefs created by the hot intrusion. This correlation, if employed innovatively, enables us to fabricate 3D microfeatures. Several examples including a 3D micronozzle were demonstrated

Corporate Social Responsibility Reporting in Locally Owned Hotel Chains in Singapore

This exploratory study looked at the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programs of 10 locally owned and operated Singapore hotel chains. By using a Content Analysis methodology, the 10 hotel chains' CSR efforts were analysed vis-à-vis to their annual reports and websites. This gave clear indication of whether the hotel chains were complying with the promises and standards that they had stated and promised. This report found that the CSR reported by the hotel chains were inclined toward Environmental efforts. This could probably be due to this Environmental practice being more tangible and visible. It was also noted that while the initiatives taken by the hotel chains were relatively numerous, many failed to report on whether these efforts amounted to an achievement. Moreover, CSR reporting on the hotel chains' websites were almost non-existent. Given this, recommendations have been included to assist Singapore hotel companies manage their reporting of CSR activities

Comparison of Test Methods to Determine Failure Parameters for MAT162 Calibration

MAT162, a laminated composite failure material model developed by The Material Sciences Corporation for the commercial finite element software LS-Dyna, is widely used within the aerospace industry to predict damage events under a range of dynamic conditions. The material model involves numerous inputs consisting of both physical material properties and numerical calibration parameters. Due to the large number material card inputs, often there is a lack of uniqueness to MAT162 material cards that limits the predictive capability to only the directly calibrated space. To expand this space, MAT162 requires a prudent and robust calibration process in which significant parameters are calibrated to high confidence damage events observed in experiment. Critical to this success is fully defining the material properties correctly, namely the fiber crush (SFC) and fiber shear (SFS) values, prior to calibrating the numerical parameters. In this paper, the effect of the determination of SFS and SFC on subsequent calibration steps is examined using two different experimental techniques

Characterisation of the developing heart in a pressure overloaded model utilising RNA sequencing to direct functional analysis

Cardiogenesis is influenced by both environmental and genetic factors, with blood flow playing a critical role in cardiac remodelling. Perturbation of any of these factors could lead to abnormal heart development and hence the formation of congenital heart defects. Although abnormal blood flow has been associated with a number of heart defects, the effects of abnormal pressure load on the developing heart gene expression profile have to date not clearly been defined. To determine the heart transcriptional response to haemodynamic alteration during development, outflow tract (OFT) banding was employed in the chick embryo at Hamburger and Hamilton stage (HH) 21. Stereological and expression studies, including the use of global expression analysis by RNA sequencing with an optimised procedure for effective globin depletion, were subsequently performed on HH29 OFT‐banded hearts and compared with sham control hearts, with further targeted expression investigations at HH35. The OFT‐banded hearts were found to have an abnormal morphology with a rounded appearance and left‐sided dilation in comparison with controls. Internal analysis showed they typically had a ventricular septal defect and reductions in the myocardial wall and trabeculae, with an increase in the lumen on the left side of the heart. There was also a significant reduction in apoptosis. The differentially expressed genes were found to be predominately involved in contraction, metabolism, apoptosis and neural development, suggesting a cardioprotective mechanism had been induced. Therefore, altered haemodynamics during development leads to left‐sided dilation and differential expression of genes that may be associated with stress and maintaining cardiac output

Users’ processing of online marketplace listings for high and low involvement goods

Purpose – To understand how users of online marketplaces process market signals in their decision making and whether this depends on if the good is of high or low involvement.Design/methodology/approach – The paper employs a mixed methods approach. Study 1 draws on an analysis of interviews with online marketplace users using hypothetical eBay purchases as stimuli, understanding how users conceptualize specific market signals and whether their importance varies depending on the type of purchase (high versus low involvement good). Study 2 tests hypotheses derived from signaling theory, using an eye tracking experiment.Findings – Price and photographs act as “fast and frugal” signals for inclusion in consideration sets for low involvement purchases, but consumers deem them insufficient for high involvement purchases where high-cost signals that help establish seller credibility are far more salient. Users pay relatively greater attention to costly market signals, which are beyond sellers’ direct control, for high involvement goods.Practical implications – The paper offers insights for sellers regarding the presentation of quality cues and strategies online marketplaces can employ to reduce information asymmetry.Originality/value – Drawing on and extending signaling theory, the paper introduces and confirms hypotheses for understanding users’ attention to market signals when making purchase decisions on online marketplaces. It identifies how the degree of involvement of a product affects the processing of market signals.<br/

Cardiac troponin T is necessary for normal development in the embryonic chick heart

The heart is the first functioning organ to develop during embryogenesis. The formation of the heart is a tightly regulated and complex process, and alterations to its development can result in congenital heart defects. Mutations in sarcomeric proteins, such as alpha myosin heavy chain and cardiac alpha actin, have now been associated with congenital heart defects in humans, often with atrial septal defects. However, cardiac troponin T (cTNT encoded by gene TNNT2) has not. Using gene-specific antisense oligonucleotides, we have investigated the role of cTNT in chick cardiogenesis. TNNT2 is expressed throughout heart development and in the postnatal heart. TNNT2-morpholino treatment resulted in abnormal atrial septal growth and a reduction in the number of trabeculae in the developing primitive ventricular chamber. External analysis revealed the development of diverticula from the ventricular myocardial wall which showed no evidence of fibrosis and still retained a myocardial phenotype. Sarcomeric assembly appeared normal in these treated hearts. In humans, congenital ventricular diverticulum is a rare condition, which has not yet been genetically associated. However, abnormal haemodynamics is known to cause structural defects in the heart. Further, structural defects, including atrial septal defects and congenital diverticula, have previously been associated with conduction anomalies. Therefore, to provide mechanistic insights into the effect that cTNT knockdown has on the developing heart, quantitative PCR was performed to determine the expression of the shear stress responsive gene NOS3 and the conduction gene TBX3. Both genes were differentially expressed compared to controls. Therefore, a reduction in cTNT in the developing heart results in abnormal atrial septal formation and aberrant ventricular morphogenesis. We hypothesize that alterations to the haemodynamics, indicated by differential NOS3 expression, causes these abnormalities in growth in cTNT knockdown hearts. In addition, the muscular diverticula reported here suggest a novel role for mutations of structural sarcomeric proteins in the pathogenesis of congenital cardiac diverticula. From these studies, we suggest TNNT2 is a gene worthy of screening for those with a congenital heart defect, particularly atrial septal defects and ventricular diverticula

The Bouncing Jet: A Newtonian Liquid Rebounding off a Free Surface

We find that a liquid jet can bounce off a bath of the same liquid if the bath is moving horizontally with respect to the jet. Previous observations of jets rebounding off a bath (e.g. Kaye effect) have been reported only for non-Newtonian fluids, while we observe bouncing jets in a variety of Newtonian fluids, including mineral oil poured by hand. A thin layer of air separates the bouncing jet from the bath, and the relative motion replenishes the film of air. Jets with one or two bounces are stable for a range of viscosity, jet flow rate and velocity, and bath velocity. The bouncing phenomenon exhibits hysteresis and multiple steady states.Comment: 9 pages, 7 figures. submitted to Physical Review

Proposal for gravitational-wave detection beyond the standard quantum limit through EPR entanglement

In continuously monitored systems the standard quantum limit is given by the trade-off between shot noise and back-action noise. In gravitational-wave detectors, such as Advanced LIGO, both contributions can be simultaneously squeezed in a broad frequency band by injecting a spectrum of squeezed vacuum states with a frequency-dependent squeeze angle. This approach requires setting up an additional long baseline, low-loss filter cavity in a vacuum system at the detector’s site. Here, we show that the need for such a filter cavity can be eliminated, by exploiting Einstein–Podolsky–Rosen (EPR)-entangled signals and idler beams. By harnessing their mutual quantum correlations and the difference in the way each beam propagates in the interferometer, we can engineer the input signal beam to have the appropriate frequency-dependent conditional squeezing once the out-going idler beam is detected. Our proposal is appropriate for all future gravitational-wave detectors for achieving sensitivities beyond the standard quantum limit