Cross-cultural features of tour groups service from Sri Lanka

An important component of the tourist image of the region is the monitoring of area customer's satisfaction with the level and volume of services provided. There are certain special requirements to anticipate needs of guests from any of the countries, at the same time the most apparent differences concern welcoming guests from Asian countries. The theoretical material of cross-cultural approach to social and business communications has been summarized in the article, the challenges have been revealed and areas for improving quality of tourist services for mass tourism and incentive tour package groups from Sri Lanka have been considered

Молодежь в Содружестве Независимых Государств: статистический портрет

Statistical abstract «Youth in the Commonwealth of Independent States: A Statistical Portrait» was published in 2014 within a joint initiative of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the Interstate Statistical Committee of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS-Stat). National statistical services of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan, and independent experts in statistics were directly involved into the process of development of the abstract. The publication reflects targets for the World Programme of Action for Youth, the Millennium Development Goals and the Programme of Action adopted at the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development, as well as youth programmes implemented in the CIS countries. Analysis of statistical data included into the Abstract identified several key problems of life of young people living in the Commonwealth region. Low income levels, insufficient housing per capita, and a higher risk of poverty among young families with children are factors impacting the living conditions of youth and young families in the CIS member countries. Over the past two decades, the CIS has seen major demographical changes that have led to greater variations in the composition and dynamics of statistical indicators in its member countries. The global population ageing trend, characteristic of most countries around the world, is present in all CIS member countries. Statistics clearly demonstrates that youth in the Commonwealth countries face an added risk of mortality from external causes. Health statistics demonstrated that early prevention of morbidity and premature deaths among youth should become priorities of CIS youth policy, and reproductive health, including indicators such as high adolescent pregnancy and abortion rates, maternal mortality, sexually transmitted infections (STIs), and HIV, should be placed into the centre of youth policy. The rate of secondary education enrolment has remained high throughout the CIS economic reforms, while the youth literacy rate (for people aged 15-24) is nearly 100 percent. At the same time in many countries there has been a decrease in the number of graduates from initial vocational schools. This has contributed to a mismatch between the needs of national economies for such specialists and the actual shortage of trained production workers. The highest unemployment rates in the CIS are found among youth. In the coming years, some countries will see a decrease in their working-age population while others experience a large influx of working-age youth, thus producing an excess supply in the labour market. Labour migration can act as a stabilizing force that helps combat poverty, as well as a flexible instrument for integrating CIS countries into the international migration system and for forming international labour market. Host countries face acute challenges, however, with the social integration of migrant populations. Statistics is an essential tool for substantiating, designing youth programmes at the global, regional, and national levels, and monitoring their implementation. The availability of most comprehensive statistical information allows it to formulate specific goals, expected results, determine the resources required to implement youth programmes and evaluate their effectiveness. Meanwhile, in the process of developing the statistical abstract were identified gaps in the youth statistics, proving that there is still much to be done to improve youth statistics in the CIS region.Обзор подготовлен по материалам сборника «Молодежь в Содружестве Независимых Государств: статистический портрет», изданного в 2014 г. в рамках совместной инициативы Статкомитета СНГ и ЮНФПА при участии национальных статистических служб стран - членов СНГ. В сборнике приведены статистические характеристики молодежи стран СНГ с учетом рекомендаций и с использованием целевых показателей Всемирной программы действий в интересах молодежи, Целей развития тысячелетия, Программы действий, принятой в 1994 г. на Международной конференции по народонаселению и развитию в Каире, а также целевых программ стран Содружества Независимых Государств. Статистические данные, опубликованные в сборнике, показывают, что во всех государствах СНГ наблюдается тенденция старения населения, характерная для большинства стран мира, а молодежь, живущая в этом регионе, находится в группе особого риска по показателю смертности от внешних причин. Для молодежи характерны низкий уровень доходов, высокий уровень безработицы, проблемы обеспеченности жильем, увеличение риска бедности при рождении детей. В странах, принимающих мигрантов, остро стоят вопросы их социальной интеграции в общественную жизнь, в то время как для стран-доноров миграция играет важную роль социального стабилизатора, содействующего преодолению бедности. Показатели здоровья молодого поколения свидетельствуют о необходимости разработки программ ранней профилактики заболеваний, предотвращения ранней смертности молодежи, принятия мер по улучшению показателей ее репродуктивного здоровья

Safety and efficacy of inactivated varicella zoster virus vaccine in immunocompromised patients with malignancies: a two-arm, randomised, double-blind, phase 3 trial

Background Patients who are immunocompromised because of malignancy have an increased risk of herpes zoster and herpes zoster-related complications. We aimed to investigate the efficacy and safety of an inactivated varicella zoster virus (VZV) vaccine for herpes zoster prevention in patients with solid tumour or haematological malignancies.Methods This phase 3, two-ann, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, inulticentre trial with an adaptive design was done in 329 centres across 40 countries. The trial included adult patients with solid tumour malignancies receiving chemotherapy and those with haematological malignancies, either receiving or not receiving chemotherapy. Patients were randomly assigned (1:1) to receive four doses of VZV vaccine inactivated by v irradiation or placebo approximately 30 days apart. The patients, investigators, trial site staff, clinical adjudication committee, and sponsor's clinical and laboratory personnel were masked to the group assignment. The primary efficacy endpoint was herpes zoster incidence in patients with solid tumour malignancies receiving chemotherapy, which was assessed in the modified intention-to-treat population (defined as all randomly assigned patients who received at least one dose of inactivated VZV vaccine or placebo). The primary safety endpoint was serious adverse events up to 28 days after the fourth dose in patients with solid tumour malignancies receiving chemotherapy. Safety endpoints were assessed in all patients who received at least one dose of inactivated VZV vaccine or placebo and had follow-up data. This trial is registered (NCT01254630 and EudraCT 2010-023156-89).Findings Between June 27, 2011, and April 11,2017,5286 patients were randomly assigned to receive VZV vaccine inactivated by gamma irradiation (n=2637) or placebo (n=2649). The haematological malignancy arm was terminated early because of evidence of futility at a planned interim analysis; therefore, all prespecified haematological malignancy endpoints were deemed exploratory. In patients with solid tumour malignancies in the modified intention-to-treat population, confirmed herpes zoster occurred in 22 of 1328 (6.7 per 1000 person-years) VZV vaccine recipients and in 61 of 1350 (18.5 per 1000 person-years) placebo recipients. Estimated vaccine efficacy against herpes zoster in patients with solid tumour malignancies was 63.6% (97.5% CI 36.4 to 79.1), meeting the prespecified success criterion. In patients with solid tumour malignancies, serious adverse events were similar in frequency across treatment groups, occurring in 298 (22.5%) of 1322 patients who received the vaccine and in 283 (21.0%) of 1346 patients who received placebo (risk difference 1.5%, 95% CI -1.7 to 4.6). Vaccine-related serious adverse events were less than 1% in each treatment group. Vaccine-related injection-site reactions were more common in the vaccine group than in the placebo group. In the haematological malignancy group, VZV vaccine was well tolerated and estimated vaccine efficacy against herpes zoster was 16.8% (95% CI -17.8 to 41.3).Interpretation The inactivated VZV vaccine was well tolerated and efficacious for herpes zoster prevention in patients with solid tumour malignancies receiving chemotherapy, but was not efficacious for herpes zoster prevention in patients with haematological malignancies. Copyright (C) 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved