The role of trip purpose and hotel star rating on guests’ satisfaction and WOM

© 2018, Emerald Publishing Limited. Purpose: This paper aims to understand how guests’ trip purpose and hotel star rating influence the effects of the value for money perceived at hotels and service quality on guest satisfaction and word of mouth (WOM) recommendation. Design/methodology/approach: Using TripAdvisor, 25 Singaporean hotels were randomly selected for the study, which yielded hotel reviews from 2,040 respondents. Hierarchical and logistic regression analysis was conducted to investigate the relationships proposed in the study. Findings: Results indicate significant differences between leisure and business guests’ perception of value for money and service quality at hotels with various star ratings. While perceived value for money and service quality were found as significant predictors for both leisure and business guests’ satisfaction and WOM, the effects were moderated by the hotel star rating. Despite the significant effect of hotel star rating on guest satisfaction, the study found no significant relationships between hotel star rating and WOM for leisure and business guests. Practical implications: The findings suggest that managers in the hotel industry should understand the purpose of guests’ trip and offer services based on their expectations. As the star rating of a hotel creates certain expectations for both leisure and business guests, providing an appropriate level of services and assuring value for money in accordance with the hotel rating contributes to guest satisfaction and WOM recommendation. Originality/value: This study contributes to the hospitality literature by investigating how hotel star rating moderates the relationship of value for money and service quality on leisure and business guests’ satisfaction and WOM recommendation

Dynamic response and impact energy loss in controlled rocking members

Unbonded posttensioning anchors a rocking structural member to its foundation and produces its controlled rocking response when the member undergoes seismic action. Unlike rocking of free‐standing bodies, little attention has been given to the dynamic behavior of these controlled rocking members. This paper utilizes experiments of concrete structural members with unbonded posttensioning, varying member geometries, and levels of initial posttensioning force to (a) characterize the associated impact energy loss and (b) improve modeling of controlled rocking motions. Experimental results show that impact energy loss in controlled rocking members can be captured accurately using the coefficient of restitution (r) approach of the modified simple rocking model (MSRM). Based on the MSRM, a controlled rocking model (CRM) is developed that additionally accounts for the variations in contact length at the member‐to‐foundation (rocking) interface. The CRM reproduces the experimental responses of controlled rocking members with good accuracy and is used to investigate controlled rocking motions under horizontal base excitations

Generalized Dynamic Analysis of Structural Single Rocking Walls (SRWs)

The investigation of structural single rocking walls (SRWs) continues to gain interest as they produce self-centering lateral load responses with reduced structural damage. The Simple Rocking Model (SRM) with modifications has been shown to capture these responses accurately if the SRW and its underlying base are infinitely rigid. This paper advances previous rocking models by accounting for: 1) the inelastic actions at or near the base of the SRW; and 2) the flexural responses within the wall. Included in the proposed advancements are hysteretic and inherent viscous damping associated with these two deformation components so that the total dynamic responses of SRWs can be captured with good accuracy. A system of nonlinear equations of motion is developed, in which the rocking base is discretized into fibers using a zero-length element to locate the associated compressive deformations and damage. The flexural deformations of the rocking body are captured using an elastic term, while the impact events are modeled using impulse-momentum equations. Comparisons with experiments of structural precast concrete and masonry SRWs show that the proposed approach accurately estimates the dynamic responses of different SRWs with and without unbonded posttensioning, for various dynamic excitations and degrees of hysteretic action. Using the proposed approach, a numerical investigation employs different configurations of structural SRWs to quantify the various sources of energy loss, including hysteretic action and impact damping, during various horizontal ground motions

Can cultural festivals function as counterspaces for migrants and refugees? The case of the New Beginnings Festival in Sydney

Despite the recognised benefits of cultural festivals, it is still unclear how they may assist marginalised groups in mitigating the adverse effects of marginalisation. Informed by the Counterspace Framework, this paper seeks to address the gap at the nexus of leisure, events and marginalisation by considering the case of the New Beginnings Festival in Sydney. Using hybrid thematic analysis and based on data collected through participant observation, semi-structured interviews, and document analysis, we argue that the festival operates as a counterspace for attendees through the processes of narrative identity work, acts of resistance, and direct relational transactions. First, the festival validated experiences of rejection and marginalisation by attendees, and at the same time celebrated migrants and refugees by showcasing their capabilities/achievements. This lead to attendees’ sense of affirmation and acceptance. Second, the freedom to express themselves in culturally meaningful ways helped bolster the attendees’ self-concept. Third, social and institutional support, and leadership roles such as mentoring and volunteering were made possible at the festival, which enhanced attendees’ social capital in empowering ways. In addition, we highlight the importance of location for events as counterspaces. Our findings contribute to both the critical event studies and the counterspace literature

Behavior of rubberized concrete under active confinement

Abstract not availableAliakbar Gholampour, Togay Ozbakkaloglu, Reza Hassanl

Experimental study on enhancing the main characteristics of crumb rubber concrete

The use of rubber particles as partial fine aggregate replacement to produce crumb rubber concrete (CRC) can have an adverse effect on some of its mechanical properties, such as strength. Researchers have used a range of methods to overcome the material deficiencies, however the results have often been contradictory and highly variable. In this paper, the effects of many different rubber chemical pre-treatments on CRC workability, compressive strength, tensile strength, and flexural strength were measured. The rubber pretreatments utilized chemicals such as Sodium Hydroxide (NaOH), Hydrogen Peroxide (H2O2), Sulfuric acid (H2SO4), Calcium Chloride (CaCl2), Potassium Permanganate (KMnO4), Sodium Bisulfite (NaHsO3), and Silane Coupling Agent. Soaking rubber particles in tap water or running them through water before mixing were also tried as pre-treatment of rubber particles. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis and scanning electron microscope (SEM) imaging of some of the pre-treated rubber particles were carried out. The results showed that mixing rubber with dry cement before adding to the mix increased the compressive strength by up to 3%. Pretreatment using water was more effective than other chemicals in enhancing the CRC workability. Regardless of the treatment material type, the longer the time of the treatment the more cleaning of rubber occurred

Influence of Mixing Procedures, Rubber Treatment, and Fibre Additives on Rubcrete Performance

This research extensively investigates how to enhance the mechanical performance of Rubcrete, aiming to move this type of concrete from the laboratory research level to a more practical use by the concrete industry. The effects of many different mixing procedures, chemical pre-treatments on the rubber particles, and the use of fibre additives, have been investigated for their impact upon Rubcrete workability, compressive strength, tensile strength, and flexural strength. The mixing procedure variables included mixing time and mixing order. The rubber pre-treatments utilized chemicals such as Sodium Hydroxide (NaOH), Hydrogen Peroxide (H2O2), Sulphuric acid (H2SO4), Calcium Chloride (CaCl2), Potassium Permanganate (KMnO4), Sodium Bisulphite (NaHsO3), and Silane Coupling Agent. Soaking rubber particles in tap water, or running them through water before mixing, were also tried as a pre-treatment of rubber particles. In addition, the effects of fibre additives such as steel fibres, polypropylene fibres, and rubber fibres, were assessed. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis was utilised to examine some of the pre-treated rubber particles. The results showed that doubling the net mixing time of all mix constituents together enhanced the Rubcrete slump by an average of 22%, and the compressive strength by up to 8%. Mixing rubber with dry cement before adding to the mix increased the compressive strength by up to 3%. Pre-treatment using water was more effective than other chemicals in enhancing the Rubcrete workability. Regardless of the treatment material type, the longer the time of the treatment, the more cleaning of rubber occurred. Significant Rubcrete flexural strength increase occurred when using 1.5% fibre content of both steel fibre and polypropylene fibre