A Cross-cultural Comparison of Weekend–trips in Religious Tourism: Insights from two cultures, two countries (India and Italy)

This paper explains peculiarities, significance, and universality of weekend-trips as significant form of religious tourism using a comparative analysis of this phenomenon in two pilgrimage sites from two different cultures (and countries), namely, Vrindavan in India and the Shrine of Santimissi Medici in Italy. The findings derived from a case-study approach and visitors’ survey method confirm that religious tourism falls under the more general category of leisure and that visitors who flock to these places on weekends do not coincide either with general models proposed in the extant literature, nor can they be assimilated to the conventional categories of pilgrims and/or tourists. While highlighting the similarities and differences in the two cases, the paper proposes that weekend visitors are best described as religious tourists: visitors who use tourism as a means to fulfill a predominant religious motive in visiting a destination they consider religious or sacred. The analysis based on the concept of weekend-trips helps to explore nuances of religious tourism which can be used for better planning and management in religious tourism destinations

Placing communitas: Spatiality and ritual performances in Indian religious tourism

This paper examines the spatial and temporal contexts that contribute to the fostering of communitas in contemporary South Asian religious travel, with particular attention to the influence of ritual performances and the mediation of social actors engaged in the cultural economy of religious tourism. It is based on the case studies of two sites located in the western Indian state of Maharashtra – Tuljapur and Shirdi. While the first is a site where hereditary lineages of priests perform rituals that are integral to pilgrimage practice, the second is associated with Sai Baba, a 20th century guru, whose spiritual-magical charisma continues to attract millions of visitors and the pilgrimage activity is managed by a centrally administered trust. Hence, they represent a spectrum of pilgrimage sites; at one end are the sites that are managed through social and informal networks (Tuljapur) and at the other are those managed by a public organization (Shirdi). A diverse range of religious functionaries including gurus, priests, and temple managers assist visitors in performing pilgrimage rituals and facilitate arrangements for lodging and boarding in Tuljapur. In Shirdi, these functions are handled by a charitable public trust that administers the shrine, and guides and tour operators and hotels that mediate movement and experience of visitors. The paper highlights how the different spatial modes of engagement with pilgrimage rituals and the mediation by religious specialists through distinct socio-spatial relationships play a significant role in creating the situations for fostering of communitas

Optical absorption in boron clusters B6_{6} and B6+_{6}^{+} : A first principles configuration interaction approach

The linear optical absorption spectra in neutral boron cluster B$_{6}$ and cationic B$_{6}^{+}$ are calculated using a first principles correlated electron approach. The geometries of several low-lying isomers of these clusters were optimized at the coupled-cluster singles doubles (CCSD) level of theory. With these optimized ground-state geometries, excited states of different isomers were computed using the singles configuration-interaction (SCI) approach. The many body wavefunctions of various excited states have been analysed and the nature of optical excitation involved are found to be of collective, plasmonic type.Comment: 22 pages, 38 figures. An invited article submitted to European Physical Journal D. This work was presented in the International Symposium on Small Particles and Inorganic Clusters - XVI, held in Leuven, Belgiu

Qualification study of SiPMs on a large scale for the CMVD Experiment

A Cosmic Muon Veto (CMV) detector using extruded plastic scintillators is being designed around the mini-Iron Calorimeter (mini-ICAL) detector at the transit campus of the India based Neutrino Observatory, Madurai for the feasibility study of shallow depth underground experiments. The scintillation signals that are produced in the plastic due to muon trajectories are absorbed by wavelength shifting (WLS) fibres. The WLS fibres re-emit photons of longer wavelengths and propagate those to silicon photo-multipliers (SiPMs). The SiPMs detect these photons, producing electronic signals. The CMV detector will use more than 700 scintillators to cover the mini-ICAL detector and will require around 3000 SiPMs. The design goal for the cosmic muon veto efficiency of the CMV is >99.99%. Hence, every SiPM used in the detector needs to be tested and characterised to satisfy the design goal of CMV. A mass testing system was developed for the measurement of gain and choice of the overvoltage ($V_{ov}$) of each SiPMs using an LED driver. The $V_{ov}$ is obtained by studying the noise rate, the gain of the SiPM. This paper describes the experimental setup used to test the SiPMs characteristics along with detailed studies of those characteristics as a function of temperature.Comment: 16 pages, 20 figure

How Effective Is a Buddhist Pilgrimage Circuit as a Product and Strategy for Heritage Tourism in India?

Buddhist heritage in India is receiving reasonable attention for tourism development with a particular emphasis on promoting Buddhist circuits. One Buddhist pilgrimage circuit covering eight locations including four most sacred places, namely, Bodhgaya, Sarnath, Kushinagar, and Lumbini, is popular for spiritual and religious reasons. Fieldwork conducted in these four sites reveals complex patterns of visitation that question the idea of a circuit as a tourism product. The primary circuit-goers are foreign Buddhist followers, but the magnitude of their visitation is very low. They constitute less than 10 percent of visitors and are far outnumbered by domestic visitors. Domestic visitors driven by recreational purposes hardly complete the entire circuit; their visits are directed to two popular sites while other sites are used as “middle-of-the-trip centers” or places for daytrips. The interviews with various stakeholders including religious institutions, private tour operators, and relevant government agencies, show that the itineraries of circuit-goers depend on several factors including the convenience of travel, accommodation facilities, the ability to perform pilgrimage rituals, and institutional governance for tourism. This paper argues that Buddhist pilgrimage circuits operate more as a cultural landscape at a cognitive level rather than as a distinct physical route and a product that can be effectively translated into as strategy for tourism development in Buddhist sites

A Cross-cultural Comparison of Weekend–trips in Religious Tourism: Insights from two cultures, two countries (India and Italy)

This paper explains peculiarities, significance, and universality of weekend-trips as significant form of religious tourism using a comparative analysis of this phenomenon in two pilgrimage sites from two different cultures (and countries), namely, Vrindavan in India and the Shrine of Santimissi Medici in Italy. The findings derived from a case-study approach and visitors’ survey method confirm that religious tourism falls under the more general category of leisure and that visitors who flock to these places on weekends do not coincide either with general models proposed in the extant literature, nor can they be assimilated to the conventional categories of pilgrims and/or tourists. While highlighting the similarities and differences in the two cases, the paper proposes that weekend visitors are best described as religious tourists: visitors who use tourism as a means to fulfill a predominant religious motive in visiting a destination they consider religious or sacred. The analysis based on the concept of weekend-trips helps to explore nuances of religious tourism which can be used for better planning and management in religious tourism destinations

AUTOMATIC CONTROL OF PNEUMATIC TRAINER USING PLC

Electro pneumaticis successfully used in many areas of industrial automation. Production, Assembly of packaging system and also sequence of operation worldwide are driven by pneumatic control system.In old days, pneumaticused only manually but in recent days it is operated automatically by using PLC .In our projects we can use only few components like solenoidcoil,PLC ,relay,proximity switch,smps,FRL,directionalvalve and cylinder using these component we can make the electro pneumaticpanel.Our circuits are basedon 24v dc and working pressure was up to 8bar.The following chapter’sshows approach to project planning and the implementation of electro pneumatictrainer kit.Finally,we had a positive approach towards our project

Automatic Control of Pneumatic Trainer Using Plc

Electro pneumaticis successfully used in many areas of industrial automation. Production, Assembly of packaging system and also sequence of operation worldwide are driven by pneumatic control system.In old days, pneumaticused only manually but in recent days it is operated automatically by using PLC .In our projects we can use only few components like solenoidcoil,PLC ,relay,proximity switch,smps,FRL,directionalvalve and cylinder using these component we can make the electro pneumaticpanel.Our circuits are basedon 24v dc and working pressure was up to 8bar.The following chapter'sshows approach to project planning and the implementation of electro pneumatictrainer kit.Finally,we had a positive approach towards our project

Development and Validation of Analytical Method for Simultaneous Estimation of Formoterol Fumarate Dihydrate and Fluticasone Propionate from Bulk and Dry Powder Inhaler Formulation

A method was developed and validated for analysis of Formoterol Fumarate and Fluticasone Propionate in dry powder inhaler formulations. Separation was achieved on a HiQ Sil C18HS, 250×4.6mm, 5µm column using a mobile phase consisting of Acetonitrile: 0.01 M Ammonium Dihydrogen Phosphate solution (80:20 %v/v) at a flow rate of 1ml/min PDA detection at 215.0 nm. This method is validated according to ICH guidelines, which include linearity, precision, accuracy, specificity, robustness. The result obtained were within the acceptance criteria as per ICH guidelines