Proposing additional questions to understand a destination’s image and its relationship with a business travelers’ socio-economic and demographic profile: Specifically, the case of Las Vegas

Based on reviewed results of visitor profile reports from Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) and other related literature, this study concentrated on developing additional and helpful questions to measure Las Vegas business travelers’ leisure needs and their perceived image of LVCVA. These questions mainly covered the areas, which were not covered by LVCVA survey questionnaire. Both quantitative and qualitative methods were utilized to create these additional questions. Thirty seven leisure attributes were used to measure business travelers’ general travel experiences. Thirty eight leisure attributes were used to measure business travelers’ perceived overall image of Las Vegas. Three open-ended questions were added to measure the holistic image of Las Vegas

Making new spaces in between: A post-reflective essay weaving postcolonial threads into North American homiletics

This post-reflective essay is intended to provide common themes/threads that repeatedly appear throughout the consultation papers. However, it should be noted that though we distill and present these threads, not only numerous voices can remain unearthed but also the threads in themselves are porous, hybrid, changing, thus resonating. The threads that we identified in the papers are as follows: Hybridity and Identity in Contemporary Homiletic, Third Space, Loss and Memory, Performative Element, Context, Postcolonial Hermeneutics/Imagination, and Self-Reflexivity. In summary, these threads can be described in the following way: First, hybrid identity is closely related with Third Space, because postcolonial preaching is to create a Third Space where hybrid identity is forged. Thus, the understanding of both concepts is crucial for postcolonial preaching. Second, the lost should be recovered since under the influence of neo/colonialism, different elements (including memory) of the past that construct identities are lost, displaced and/or removed. Third, performative element is to be considered, focusing not only how and what to preach but also where to preach. Fourth, it is important to have synchronic and diachronic views of context as well as understanding of the inherent power dynamic within contexts. Fifth, postcolonial hermeneutics/imagination is needed to revision reality in historical, dialogical, and diasporic dimension. Finally, self-reflexivity is always required in order not to reproduce colonial discourse

Introduction to the Essays of the Consultation on Preaching and Postcolonial Theology

The essays that follow were first presented as part of a consultation on preaching and postcolonial theology at Boston University in October, 2014, sponsored by the BU Center for Practical Theology. The consultation was an opportunity to bring together a leading scholar in postcolonial theology, Dr. Kwok Pui-lan of Episcopal Theological Seminary; two homileticians who have already started to grapple with postcolonial theory and theology in their work, Drs. Pablo Jiménez and Sarah Travis; and two Ph.D. students, Revs. Tim Jones and Lis Valle, from BU and Vanderbilt respectively. The goal of this interdisciplinary consultation was to jump start a wider conversation on today’s postcolonial context in North American homiletics for the sake of the practice of preaching. As an ad hoc research team for the fall term of 2014, we editors named above were all pleased to help bring this consultation together and are now excited to bring its fruits to you, the international and diverse body of homileticians based in North America, the Academy of Homiletics

Revisiting the Impact of Divisional Affiliation on Secondary Market Ticket Prices in the National Football League

With the emergence of demand-based ticket pricing, professional sport organizations and marketers will benefit from a thorough understanding of pricing in the demand-driven secondary market. Ticket pricing studies often take divisional affiliation as a control variable; little research has focused on and examined the importance of divisional affiliation for secondary market ticket prices. Different from work indicating consumers’ preference for divisional games, this study revealed that higher ticket prices (i.e., consumer demand) accompanied non-divisional games. Additionally, the number of years between the away team’s visit to the home team’s stadium and the away team’s current winning percentage each played a significant role (explained by roughly 49% of the variance) in higher ticket prices for non-divisional games in the National Football League

Initial attack fire suppression, spatial resource allocation, and fire prevention policy in California, the United States, and the Republic of Korea

In this dissertation, I combined a scenario-based, standard-response optimization model with a stochastic simulation model to improve the efficiency of the deployment of initial attack firefighting resources on wildland fires in California and the Republic of Korea. The optimization model minimizes the expected number of fires that do not receive a standard response—defined as the number of resources by type that must arrive at the fire within a specified time limit—subject to budget and station capacity constraints and uncertainty about the daily number and location of fires. The simulation model produces a set of fire scenarios in which a combination of fire count, fire locations, fire ignition times, and fire behavior occur. Compared with the current deployment, the deployment obtained with optimization shifts resources from the planning unit with the highest fire load to the planning unit with the highest standard response requirements. Resource deployments that result from relaxing constraints on station capacity achieve greater containment success by encouraging consolidation of resources into stations with high dispatch frequency, thus increasing the probability of resource availability on high fire count days. I extended the standard response framework to examine how a policy priority influences the optimal spatial allocation and performance of initial attack resources. I found that the policy goal of a fire manager changes the optimal spatial allocation of initial attack firefighting resources on a heterogeneous landscape, especially, for the socio-economic value of a potential fire location. Furthermore, I investigated the tradeoff between the number of firefighting resources and the level of fire ignition prevention efforts mitigating the probability of human-made fires in the Republic of Korea where most fires are caused by human activities. I found that fire ignition prevention is as cost-effective as initial attack resources given the current budget in the Republic of Korea on reducing the expected number of fires not receiving the standard response. From the comparison of the California and Republic of Korea cases, I can identify "rules of thumb" to be followed when allocating IA resources in particular ecological and policy settings

Irregularität der hinteren Hornhautoberfläche nach Femtosekundenlaser-assistierter versus Mikrokeratom-assistierter Descemet stripping automated endothelial keratoplasty (DSAEK)

Die perforierende Keratoplastik wird seit 1905 bei Hornhauterkrankungen wie der bullösen Keratopathie und Fuchs’-Endothel-Dystrophie angewandt. In den letzten Jahren sind neue Operationstechniken wie die endotheliale Keratoplastik entwickelt worden. Dadurch sind Hornhauttransplantationen unter Erhaltung der vorderen Hornhautanteile möglich geworden. Damit haben sich die visuellen Ergebnisse verbessert und die Visus-Erholungszeiten verkürzt. Mittlerweile ist die DSAEK zur Mainstream-Therapie bei endothelialen Hornhauterkrankungen geworden. Wenngleich inzwischen eine neue sog. DMEK-Technik für eine isolierte endotheliale Transplantation ohne Stromafasern entwickelt worden ist und bessere visuelle Ergebnisse liefert, ist sie gegenwärtig aufgrund der technischen Komplexität den auf Hornhauttherapie spezialisierten Zentren vorbehalten, so dass die die DSAEK-Methode dominiert. Die verschiedenen Methoden zur Präparation der Spenderhornhaut für die EK werden diskutiert. In diesem Forschungsprojekt sollen zwei verschiedene Methoden der Transplantatpräparation für die EK untersucht werden. Zum einen die Femtosekundenlaser-assistierte intrasomale Schnittführung unter Verwendung eines gekrümmten Interfaces und zum anderen die Schnittführung mittels Mikrokeratom mit planarer Applanation. Die klinischen Visusergebnisse unter Verwendung des Mikrokeratoms scheinen besser zu sein, als die mit dem Femtosekundenlaser. Es wird vermutet, dass Irregularitäten der posterioren Hornhautoberfläche ein Faktor für die schlechtere Visusentwicklung bei Verwendung der Femtosekunden Laser sein können. Zur Erörterung dieser Fragestellung wurde bei 22 Patienten im Rahmen einer klinischen retrospektiven Studie nach einer DSAEK die Morphologie der inneren Oberfläche der Hornhauttransplantate und die bestkorrigierte Sehstärke untersucht. Acht von 22 Spenderhornhäuten wurden mit dem 200kHz VisuMax Femtosekundenlaser (Carl Zeiss Meditec AG, Jena Deutschland; Femtosekundenlaser Gruppe) präpariert, während 14 Transplantate mit dem Amadeus II Mikrokeratom (Ziemer Olphthalmic System AG, Port, Schweiz; Mikrokeratom Gruppe) bearbeitet wurden. Der postoperative bestkorrigierte Visus zeigte einen signifikanten Unterschied (p=0,038) zwischen den beiden Gruppen. Der Mittelwert des bestkorrigierten Visus der Femtosekundenlasergruppe ergab einen schlechteren Mittelwert 0,48 [0,2; 0,9] logMAR als der Mittelwert von 0,33 [0,1; 0,5] logMAR bei der Mikrokeratomgruppe. Zur Evaluation der Irregularität der endothelialen Hornhautmorphologie (RTVue; Optovue, Fremont, USA) wurde eine Regressionsanalyse (SPSS, IBM, Chicago, USA) mit einer idealen polynomischen Kurve 2. Grades durchgeführt, um die Wurzel des mittleren quadratischen Fehlers als Maßstab für die Unregelmäßigkeit der Oberfläche ermitteln zu können. Die Wurzel des quadratischen Fehlers betrug 9,9 [2,2] m in der Femtosekundenlasergruppe und 5,7 [2,2] m in der Mikrokeratom-Gruppe. Daraus resultierte ein hoch-signifikanter Irregularitätsunterschied mit p < 0,001. Bei der Fragestellung ob es einen Zusammenhang zwischen dem bestkorrigierten Visus und der Irregularität der hinteren Hornhautoberfläche gibt, zeigte sich ein positiver Zusammenhang der beiden Parameter mit einem Pearson-Korrelationswert von 0,438 (p=0,05). Somit zeigen unsere Ergebnisse, dass die Mikrokeratom assistierte Transplantatpräparation bei der DSAEK zu geringeren Fältelungen der Hornhautinnenfläche und folglich zur überlegenen Visus als bei der Femtosekundenlaser-Methode führt

Correlation between low skeletal muscle index and 3D anthropometric data measured by 3D body scanner: screening sarcopenia

BackgroundThe screening tools for sarcopenia are measuring calf circumference, SARC-F or SPPB. However, not all of these tools have high sensitivity, specificity, and low margins of error. This research investigates potential of 3D anthropometry of the lower extremities on screening of sarcopenia.MethodsFrom October 2022 to February 2023, we retrospectively analyzed results of 3D body scanner and bio-impedance analysis for patients aged 45 to 85 at risk of sarcopenia. The 3D scanner measured the surface and volume values of both thighs and calves. When skeletal muscle index (SMI) is less than 5.7, patients were classified to Low SMI group, indicative of sarcopenia.ResultsA total six out of 62 patients were classified to Low SMI group, showing significantly lower values of right, left, mean calf volumes and mean calf surface than the other patients (right calf volume 2.62 L vs. 3.34 L, p = 0.033; left calf volume 2.62 L vs. 3.25 L, p = 0.044; mean calf volume 2.62 L vs. 3.29 L, p = 0.029; mean calf surface 0.12 m2 vs. 0.13 m2, p = 0.049). There was no statistical difference in thigh volume and surface. Through AUC-ROC analysis, mean calf volume was the most significant cut-off value (right calf volume 2.80 L, AUC = 0.768; left calf volume 2.75 L, AUC = 0.753; mean calf volume 3.06 L, AUC = 0.774; mean calf surface 0.12 m2, AUC = 0.747).ConclusionThe calf volume and surface values have significant relationship with low SMI, and the mean calf volume was the most significant cut-off screening value for Low SMI. The 3D scanner demonstrated its value as a new means for screening sarcopenia

Security analysis and enhancements of an improved multi-factor biometric authentication scheme

Many remote user authentication schemes have been designed and developed to establish secure and authorized communication between a user and server over an insecure channel. By employing a secure remote user authentication scheme, a user and server can authenticate each other and utilize advanced services. In 2015, Cao and Ge demonstrated that An&apos;s scheme is also vulnerable to several attacks and does not provide user anonymity. They also proposed an improved multi-factor biometric authentication scheme. However, we review and cryptanalyze Cao and Ge&apos;s scheme and demonstrate that their scheme fails in correctness and providing user anonymity and is vulnerable to ID guessing attack and server masquerading attack. To overcome these drawbacks, we propose a security-improved authentication scheme that provides a dynamic ID mechanism and better security functionalities. Then, we show that our proposed scheme is secure against various attacks and prove the security of the proposed scheme using BAN Logic.111Ysciescopu