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Senior Project submitted to The Division of Languages and Literature of Bard College

A critical assessment of team building as a tourism offering in the Eastern Cape

This study researched team building as a tourism offering. Team building has particular potential to benefit tourism in the Western Region of the Eastern Cape. Team building has grown in popularity and is offered by several tourism operators in the Western Region of the Eastern Cape. Team building can be practiced throughout the year by the use of numerous indoor and outdoor activities thereby attracting participants and tourists. The activity involves a wide range of tourism-related services and facilities which shows its potential value as tourism resource. The research methodology for this study aimed to identify the link between team building and tourism. Additionally, the study draws attention to team buildings possible socio-economic value which is added to a tourism business’s offering range and its effect on the host destination. A survey was conducted among a randomly selected target population representing role-players involved in team building and tourism activities, for which a questionnaire was developed by adapting the SERVPERF model. This enabled the researcher to identify the team building participants’ level of satisfaction with the team building operator, activity and host destination. Emerging from the gained insight into the dynamics between team building offerings and tourism businesses, recommendations have been formulated as to the relevance of team building for a tourism businesses’ offering range and the impact on the host destination. The research study identified numerous beneficial spin-off effects for the Western Region of the Eastern Cape driven from team building activities. These benefits were an increase in awareness of the destination, improved image of the Western Region of the Eastern Cape, and tourist engagement in other tourism offerings during their stay at the destination, among others

Statistical hadronization and hadronic microcanonical ensemble I

We present a full treatment of the microcanonical ensemble of the ideal hadron-resonance gas in a quantum-mechanical framework which is appropriate for the statistical model of hadronization. By using a suitable transition operator for hadronization we are able to recover the results of the statistical theory, particularly the expressions of the rates of different channels. Explicit formulae are obtained for the phase space volume or density of states of the ideal relativistic gas in quantum statistics which, for large volumes, turn to a cluster decomposition whose terms beyond the leading one account for Bose-Einstein and Fermi-Dirac correlations. The problem of the computation of the microcanonical ensemble and its comparison with the canonical one, which will be the main subject of a forthcoming paper, is addressed.Comment: 15 pages, LaTeX macros svjour.cls and svepj.clo needed, revised version to be published in Eur. Phys. J.

The role of bendamustine in the treatment of indolent non-Hodgkin lymphoma

There is no consensus on recommendations for the treatment of relapsed and refractory indolent non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). Bendamustine hydrochloride (bendamustine) has recently been approved for treatment of these patients. Bendamustine is a uniquely structured alkylating agent that lacks cross-resistance with other alkylators. This agent has a high degree of activity against a variety of tumor cell lines. Clinically, bendamustine has demonstrated activity against indolent NHL, chronic lymphocytic lymphoma, multiple myeloma and mantle cell lymphoma. Moreover, studies have validated its activity in patients with indolent NHL who are resistant to purine analogs and rituximab. The cytotoxic activity of bendamustine has been shown to be synergistic with rituximab in hematological malignancies. The incidence of alopecia is significantly less than with other alkylating agents. Myelosuppression is the major toxicity associated with bendamustine

A Comparative Analysis of U.S. Foreign Policy in Iran and the Philippines

This paper is a comparative analysis of U.S. foreign policy towards Iran and the Philippines. The question which prompted this research topic was simple: why was the outcome for the United States so different in terms of subsequent relations with each state after the downfall of the Shah and Ferdinand Marcos? Both leaders were important U.S. allies in strategic states that had benefited from foreign aid. Opposition groups in each state resented this support of their repressive leaders. Unlike Iran, good relations with the Philippines continued during the Aquino presidency, without the resentment and mistrust which prevented good relations after the Shah\u27s departure

Congenital Absence of Unilateral Lumbar Articular Process - A Case Report -

A congenital absence of a lumbar articular process is a rare condition with an uncertain etiology. However, an intervertebral instability caused by this anomaly can cause occasional lower back pain. A 20 years old man presented with lower back pain. The physical examination revealed no neurological deficits. Plain radiographs of the lumbar spine revealed an absence of the left inferior articular process at the fourth lumbar vertebra associated with hypoplasia of the left lamina. The patient's symptoms were resolved after conservative treatment. We report a case of a congenital absence of articular process at the fourth lumbar vertebra

A despedida abusiva como afronta à dignidade humana do trabalhador

A prática da despedida abusiva, destinada à precarização do trabalhador em favor do desenvolvimento econômico dos agentes mercadológicos, constitui-se em verdadeiro insulto à dignidade humana do contratado laboral. A nova roupagem de que se reveste o capitalismo atual, reorganizado pelo fenômeno da globalização, exige das empresas participantes do mercado eficiência e competitividade crescentes, realidade diante da qual surge como empecilho o Estado interventor nas esferas social e econômica. Daí decorrem as propostas do neoliberalismo, suporte ideológico da globalização, destinadas, no que tange ao âmbito do labor, à relativização dos direitos e garantias a que fazem jus os trabalhadores a fim de facilitar a instrumentalização destes em benefício da maximização dos lucros do capital. É nesse panorama que se observa a frequente utilização do direito dito potestativo de que dispõe o empregador de despedir arbitrária ou injustificadamente o empregado a fim de que a figura patronal possa se livrar do trabalhador cuja mão-de-obra, a partir de um dado momento, passa a se revelar cara e, portanto, desvantajosa aos interesses lucrativos empresariais. É diante do receituário constitucional fundante do Estado Democrático de Direito brasileiro, mais especificamente por força da aplicação do princípio da dignidade da pessoa humana no âmbito laboral, que tal conduta patronal se reveste de abusividade e, por lesiva que é à cidadania do ser humano trabalhador e ao próprio projeto democrático, deve ser combatida. Apesar do inafastável escopo indicado pelo ditame supra e do caráter protetivo do art. 7º, inc. I, da Constituição Federal, entretanto, predomina na ordem jurídica pátria o entendimento de que, em virtude de uma lacuna legislativa, a responsabilidade do empregador que despede abusivamente se esgota no pagamento da indenização compensatória versada pelo art. 10, inc. I, do Ato das Disposições Constitucionais Transitórias, realidade insatisfatória com a qual não há de se conformar e para a qual se faz necessária a aplicação de um novo everdadeiramente eficaz entendiment

Induction of Isochromanones by Co-Cultivation of the Marine Fungus Cosmospora sp. and the Phytopathogen Magnaporthe oryzae

Microbial co-cultivation is a promising approach for the activation of biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) that remain transcriptionally silent under artificial culture conditions. As part of our project aiming at the discovery of marine-derived fungal agrochemicals, we previously used four phytopathogens as model competitors in the co-cultivation of 21 marine fungal strains. Based on comparative untargeted metabolomics analyses and anti-phytopathogenic activities of the co-cultures, we selected the co-culture of marine Cosmospora sp. with the phytopathogen Magnaporthe oryzae for in-depth chemical studies. UPLC-MS/MS-based molecular networking (MN) of the co-culture extract revealed an enhanced diversity of compounds in several molecular families, including isochromanones, specifically induced in the co-culture. Large scale co-cultivation of Cosmospora sp. and M. oryzae resulted in the isolation of five isochromanones from the whole co-culture extract, namely the known soudanones A, E, D (1-3) and their two new derivatives, soudanones H-I (4-5), the known isochromans, pseudoanguillosporins A and B (6, 7), naphtho-γ-pyrones, cephalochromin and ustilaginoidin G (8, 9), and ergosterol (10). Their structures were established by NMR, HR-ESIMS, FT-IR, electronic circular dichroism (ECD) spectroscopy, polarimetry ([α]D), and Mosher’s ester reaction. Bioactivity assays revealed antimicrobial activity of compounds 2 and 3 against the phytopathogens M. oryzae and Phytophthora infestans, while pseudoanguillosporin A (6) showed the broadest and strongest anti-phytopathogenic activity against Pseudomonas syringae, Xanthomonas campestris, M. oryzae and P. infestans. This is the first study assessing the anti-phytopathogenic activities of soudanones