Development of an Open-GIS decision aid system for ecological and economical management of surface and groundwater resources in the Bistrita River Basin (Romania)

International audienceThe Bistrita River Basin (a length of 283 km, a surface of 7039 km2, a mean discharge of 65 m3/s) is one of the most important tributary of the Siret River, which is the second major affluent of the Danube River. Heavily influenced by hydraulic management and highly polluted by agricultural and urban activities in some stretches, the Bistrita river has been studied in the framework of the Diminish Project (LIFE03 ENV/ RO/000539), funded by the Life Environment Program. The project aims to support the implementation of the EU Water Framework Directive and to combat the nutrient pollution by developing an integrated, on-line, GIS-based support system for the management of the water quality in relation with human activities, using socio-economical analysis, at the scale of the river catchments. Based on modeling approaches the decisional system allows to predict which strategy will lead to the most effective reduction of nutrient concentrations within the Bistrita hydrological network and of nutrient loads transported by the Siret River into the Danube. The consequences of the nutrient pollution are discussed for two basin areas, from two points of view: i) the effects of point and diffuse pollution for surface and groundwater, on the basis of the basin response to the changing pressures over the river catchments (industrial, rural, urban, agricultural changes), ii) the economical valuation of environmental costs and cost-effectiveness of the measures, that can be proposed from socio-economic scenarios, for reaching the "good ecological status" of this river

When East Meets West: International Change and Its Effects on Domestic Cultural Institutions

Domestic governments increasingly face the pressure to follow policy developments occurring at the international or supranational level. Yet international laws and policies need to be “translated” to suit domestic political institutions and newly adopted policies may challenge or contradict preexisting domestic policies, institutions, and interests. To explore the domestic impact of international institutional developments, we studied the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage and its adoption in four countries (Japan, China, France, and Germany). Using historical institutionalism, this comparative case study sheds light on the effects of the Convention on cultural governance systems in two supposedly different “camps” within the UNESCO: the East and the West. The study argues that it is the interaction and entangled relationship of exogenous and endogenous factors over time, particularly the timing and sequence in which they constrain and facilitate change, which shape actors’ preferences and institutional development at both levels

New monitoring technique for rapid investigation of nitrates pollution in aquatic systems

In situ measurement with a portable multi-parameter sonde was used in the framework of the Cleanwater project – LIFE09 ENV/RO/000612, for a rapid investigation of nitrates pollution in Barlad River basin, in rivers and domestic wells, in addition to laboratory measurements. Water samples were analysed in an accredited laboratory for water monitoring, such as the Vaslui Water Management System from Barlad basin. Sampling campaigns were performed monthly in the period April–November 2011. In order to find the main factors that influence the measurements, the behaviour of equipment was analysed in rivers, for different water sampling points along the river and the cross-sections, taking into account the water level, the turbulence, the vegetation and the obstacles along the river. Results proved the multiparameter sonde as a useful device for rapidly monitoring spatial distributions or temporal trends of nitrates or chlorophyll a, and detecting sudden changes in surface and groundwater quality

Effects of crowdvoting on hotels: the Booking.com case

[EN] Purpose - This paper aims to define and demonstrate the importance of crowdsourcing for the improvement of diverse functions of hotels, the advantages and disadvantages of this technique and, specifically, the relevance of crowdvoting for enhancing hotel sales, and diverse hotel performance dimensions. Design/methodology/approach - A total of 45,103 opinions from Booking.com, a sample of 184 questionnaires addressed to hotel managers and partial least squares (PLS)-path modeling were combined to contrast the hypotheses. Findings - The results empirically show the direct and positive impact of the opinions of the crowd on the amount of hotel sales that do not depend on physical intermediaries, and the impact that this has on the performance dimensions of hotels. Practical implications - The paper shows the relevance of following strategies addressed at increasing the customers' recommendations in the main social media or virtual travel agencies, as a mechanism to reduce tourism and hospitality organizations' traditional weaknesses and increase their long-term performance. Originality/value - The novelty of crowdsourcing, means that few works (although with an explosive increase and with high impact) have focused on this aspect in the literature, especially in the tourism and hospitality literature. The results of our research open new areas of research and contrast the relevance of crowdsourcing and specifically crowdvoting for the success of hotels. In addition, the methodology employed, by mixing the data from a social media, with a questionnaire addressed to managers, can open new ideas for future works.This paper acknowledges financial support from the Universitat Politecnica de Valencia.Garrigós Simón, FJ.; Galdón Salvador, JL.; Sanz-Blas, S. (2017). Effects of crowdvoting on hotels: the Booking.com case. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management. 29(1):419-437. doi:10.1108/IJCHM-08-2015-0435S41943729