Cruise Crimes: Economic-Legal Issues and Current Debates

Cruise tourism is one of the sunshine sectors of international tourism and is growing rapidly in many parts of the world. It is estimated that the growth rate of cruise tourism is twice the rate of tourism overall. Notwithstanding all the positives that accompany this growth, many critics have drawn attention to the “dark side” of cruise crimes. The eco-system aboard the cruise ship offers a fertile ground for the occurrence of crimes. The present paper examines the issue of crimes onboard from multiple standpoints and suggests some remedial measures that would lead to better management of cruise crimes. A presentation of the recent initiatives by the U.S. legislative bodies aimed at containing cruise crimes is also provided.cruise ships; criminology aboard; cruise crime typology; crime prevention; industry initiative; legislative intervention; and USA

Unique selling propositions and destination branding: A longitudinal perspective on the Caribbean tourism in transition

A recurring theme in the tourism literature is how travelers and tourism businesses perceive the concept of diversity and uniqueness of attractions pinned to places called tourism destinations and respond to their perceptions. In this backdrop, the primary focus of this research is a reexamination of the unique selling proposition (USP) based tourism marketing practice that various Caribbean island nations unleased since the early 2000\u27s. The extent of USP adoption in the web-based marketing campaigns of these destinations over a timeline from 2004 to 2014 is studied. Analysis shows that higher level USP use initially rose, reached a peak, and then declined. Also, over the years, destinations high in attraction diversity tended to delimit themselves from using highly targeted USPs while their counterparts with less attraction diversity routinely employed hierarchically superior USP slogans. The exact number of attractions in a destination country did not significantly imply the choice of slogans as much as the attraction type diversity. In order to achieve these objectives, an \u27attraction diversity index\u27 is proposed, which is a measure of the diversity of attraction types in a destination area. The research opens up further questions about the moderating role of product diversity in uniqueness centered marketing programs. It is recommended that marketers leverage the mass customization potential underlying in the contemporary progress in the information and communication technologies and tailor make USPs that reflect individual and small group aspirations about destination offerings

The Evolving Service Culture of Cuban Tourism: A Case Study

The case examines the impressive growth of tourism in Cuba. It analyzes tourism development in a society striving to navigate its way economically amid numerous social and political challenges. The Cuban experiment with tourism is a shortterm mega success. However, it is highly uncertain whether long-term sustainability can be maintained without the appropriate managerial changes at all levels. This paper highlights challenges in the tourism employment sector – training, supervisory issues, and performance evaluation, within a centrally controlled bureaucratic system. Of specific interest is the disconnection between the natural hospitability of the Cuban people and low levels of tourist satisfaction stemming from a lack of professional hospitality. The paper concludes by focusing on the high relevance of the Cuban cultural identity as a key motivator undergirding the demand for tourism. However, with the rapid growth of tourism, strains are occurring in the cultural realm, thus requiring immediate policy intervention for sustained positive results

Cannabis use and mood disorders: a systematic review

BackgroundProblematic cannabis use is highly prevalent among people with mood disorders. This underscores the need to understand the effects of cannabis and cannabinoids in this population, especially considering legalization of recreational cannabis use.ObjectivesWe aimed to (1) systematically evaluate cross-sectional and longitudinal studies investigating the interplay between cannabis use, cannabis use disorder (CUD), and the occurrence of mood disorders and symptoms, with a focus on major depressive disorder (MDD) and bipolar disorder (BD) and; (2) examine the effects of cannabis on the prognosis and treatment outcomes of MDD and BD.MethodsFollowing PRISMA guidelines, we conducted an extensive search for English-language studies investigating the potential impact of cannabis on the development and prognosis of mood disorders published from inception through November 2023, using EMBASE, PsycINFO, PubMed, and MEDLINE databases.ResultsOur literature search identified 3,262 studies, with 78 meeting inclusion criteria. We found that cannabis use is associated with increased depressive and manic symptoms in the general population in addition to an elevated likelihood of developing MDD and BD. Furthermore, we observed that cannabis use is linked to an unfavorable prognosis in both MDD or BD.DiscussionOur findings suggest that cannabis use may negatively influence the development, course, and prognosis of MDD and BD. Future well-designed studies, considering type, amount, and frequency of cannabis use while addressing confounding factors, are imperative for a comprehensive understanding of this relationship.Systematic review registrationhttps://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?ID=CRD42023481634

The role of untreated psychosis in neurodegeneration: A review of hypothesized mechanisms of neurotoxicity in first-episode psychosis

For over 20 years, studies have tried to measure the association between the duration of untreated psychosis (DUP) and changes in brain morphology. A hypothesis that untreated psychosis is neurotoxic has been postulated, but the mechanisms of that toxicity have not been described. We re-analyzed papers collected for a systematic review to extract data on the hypotheses that have been generated on the potential mechanisms by which DUP could impact brain morphology in first-episode psychosis. Dopaminergic hyperactivity, prolonged hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal activation, and persistent activity of catecholamines have been hypothesized as mechanisms to explain these associations. However, the question remains as to whether the observed structural changes are permanent or may be reversed via antipsychotic treatment

The internal structure of destination visitation model and implications for image management

In the present research, Stanley Plog’s (1967) Psychocentrism – Allocentrism Visitation Model is reimagined. The researcher decomposes Plog’s original model and identifies five smaller bell shaped curves constituting five tourist personas within the normal distribution of tourist flow that depicts Plog’s model. The study also finds that, while allocentric tourists largely prefer nascent destinations, destinations that are close to the end of their life cycles become attractive to them once again

The Evolving Service Qulture of Cuban Tourism: A Case Study

The case examines the impressive growth of tourism in Cuba. It analyzes tourism development in a society striving to navigate its way economically amid numerous social and political challenges. The Cuban experiment with tourism is a short-term mega success. However, it is highly uncertain whether long-term sustainability can be maintained without the appropriate managerial changes at all levels. This paper highlights challenges in the tourism employment sector – training, supervisory issues, and performance evaluation, within a centrally-controlled bureaucratic system. Of specific interest is the disconnection between the natural hospitability of the Cuban people and low levels of tourist satisfaction stemming from a lack of professional hospitality. The paper concludes by focusing on the high relevance of the Cuban cultural identity as a key motivator undergirding the demand for tourism. However, with the rapid growth of tourism, strains are occurring in the cultural realm, thus requiring immediate policy intervention for sustained positive results

Six Military and Patriotic Illustrated Songs. Elaborately Colored. In a novel form. Series No. 1.

This publication contains the lyrics to six songs, each accompanied by a color illustration, and an advertisement on the last page. 1. Our Grandfathers\u27 Days 2. The Captain with his Whiskers 3. Want — A Substitute 4. Dixie\u27s Land 5. Young American and ould Ireland 6. Kingdom Cominghttps://digitalcommons.wofford.edu/littlejohnmss/1325/thumbnail.jp

Holonomy in the Schwarzschild-Droste Geometry

Parallel transport of vectors in curved spacetimes generally results in a deficit angle between the directions of the initial and final vectors. We examine such holonomy in the Schwarzschild-Droste geometry and find a number of interesting features that are not widely known. For example, parallel transport around circular orbits results in a quantized band structure of holonomy invariance. We also examine radial holonomy and extend the analysis to spinors and to the Reissner-Nordstr\"om metric, where we find qualitatively different behavior for the extremal ($Q = M$) case. Our calculations provide a toolbox that will hopefully be useful in the investigation of quantum parallel transport in Hilbert-fibered spacetimes.Comment: 18 Latex pages, 3 figures. Second replacement. This version as published in CQG with some misprints correcte