Auditing the Marketing and Social Media Communication of Natural Protected Areas. How Marketing Can Contribute to the Sustainability of Tourism

Natural Protected Areas face the challenge of conciliating attractions with satisfaction of their different stakeholders without compromising their own resources. Marketing can play an important role to this challenge from a macromarketing perspective. No studies are found in the literature on the integral assessment of marketing practices in Natural Protected Areas. For the first time, it proposes a marketing audit in Natural Protected Areas to fill that gap applying the Importance-Performance Analysis matrix, useful in strategic decisions, through interviews with directors of Natural Protected Areas. The main strengths, weaknesses, and deficits in the application of marketing are identified. The presence of a restricted and biased attitude towards marketing was noted among directors. In addition, the marketing behaviour is studied in two of the main social networks (Twitter/Facebook), comparisons were established in the USA, Spain, Italy and Mexico, identifying behavioural profiles in five groups in accordance with the 26 indicators under analysis

Auditing Marketing and the Use of Social Media at Ski Resorts

Mountain and snow tourism are sectors of immense social and economic importance that are developed in an especially sensitive environmental context. A large part of this tourism is channeled through ski resorts. The literature on comparative studies of ski-resort management and, in particular, on marketing management, is limited. This study contributes knowledge on the application of marketing practiced at ski resorts. For the first time, an audit of marketing at ski resorts is performed through a quantitative survey at resorts in two countries (Spain and Italy). The importance–performance analysis (IPA) is used, which identifies both the strong and the weak points and the great deficits of marketing management at ski resorts from the perspective of their directors, to whom the questionnaire was addressed. The social media usage of the ski-stations is also analyzed, identifying different typologies of resorts in accordance with their performance against 11 indicators from Twitter and 15 from Facebook. Knowing the opinion of the visitors, the online and competitive strategy, and adapting to the legislative changes are the aspects to which the directors attach greater importance. The greatest deficits were linked to employee motivation and communication (internal and non-integrated). There are minor differences in Twitter and Facebook indicators between Spanish and Italian ski resorts. The turnover results of the ski resorts present more correlation with Facebook indicators than with Twitter ones. This analysis provides recommendations and implications for the management of ski resorts in the six dimensions of marketing under consideration. It, likewise, offers knowledge of the social-media-related behavior of resorts that are leaders on both Twitter and Facebook, for benchmarking purposes

Academic rankings and the distribution by gender of the universities

Este trabajo examina la distribución por género de las universidades, a través de un porcentaje de mujeres dentro del alumnado, y comprueba si tal distribución tiene alguna relación con la posición de las universidades en los rankings universitarios. Se han seleccionado siete rankings, globales y sintéticos, disponiendo de datos de la distribución por género del alumnado para 924 universidades. Los resultados confirman que las universidades con una equilibrada distribución entre hombres y mujeres presentan mayores puntuaciones, por tanto, mejores posiciones en los rankings. Las universidades con mayor presencia femenina en el alumnado son las de ratio más alto de estudiantes por profesor y las que alcanzan mayores valoraciones medias en los indicadores de internacionalización. En los indicadores de premios Nobel y medallas Fields, e ingresos procedentes de la industria, las universidades con mayor presencia masculina tienen mayores puntuaciones medias. Los resultados pueden contribuir a la mejora de las políticas de igualdad en las universidades, así como a orientar las decisiones estratégicas y de gestión de las mismas.This paper examines the distribution of the universities by gender through a percentage of women within the student body, and checks if such distribution has any relation to the position of the universities in the university rankings. Seven rankings, have been selected, both global and synthetic, and a joint database collecting all data on gender distribution of students from 924 universities was created. The results confirm that universities with a more balanced distribution between men and women receive higher scores and, therefore, better ranking positions. The universities with the highest female presence in the students are those with the highest ratio of students per teacher and those with the highest average scores in internationalization indicators. In the indicators of Nobel prizes, Fields medals, and income from the industry, those universities with the highest male presence have higher average scores. These results can contribute to the improvement of equality policies in universities, as well as to guide the strategic and management decisions

Meta-ranking de universidades. Posicionamiento de las universidades españolas

Este estudio propone la elaboración de un meta-ranking con las 14 universidades españolas que aparecen en al menos cuatro de los cinco rankings globales considerados, que son de reconocida notoriedad internacional. Se puede diferenciar entre rankings de investigación con datos bibliométricos y rankings que tienen en cuenta otros aspectos y otras formas de recabar datos basadas en encuestas. Las universidades españolas alcanzan mejores posiciones en los primeros que en los segundos. Se pone de relieve una debilidad mayor en la internacionalización, la reputación o el ratio estudiante-profesor que en los indicadores de investigación. Son excepción las universidades que destacan en las dos dimensiones. A la vista de estas conclusiones resulta evidente la necesidad de profundizar en una mayor internacionalización, en mejorar la reputación y mejorar la visibilidad internacional de la universidad española.This study proposes the elaboration of a meta-ranking, including the 14 Spanish universities which appear in at least four of the five global rankings considered in this study, that are some of the world’s most influential. It is necessary to differentiate between research rakings that use bibliometric data and rankings that take into account other aspects and other forms of data collection, basically based on surveys. Spanish universities attain better positions in the first group. The investigation highlighted that the higher weaknesses we can find are in the internationalization, the reputation or in the student-teacher ratio. The one exception is for universities that stand out in the two dimensions. Regarding the outcome, there is an evident need for a greater internationalisation, to improve the reputation of the higher education institutions and to enhance the international visibility of the Spanish universities

Reputación y rankings universitarios: análisis de sus debilidades y aplicaciones

A continuación, se presentan los objetivos generales de los trabajos incluidos: • El primer capítulo consta de una revisión de literatura para abordar la temática objeto de esta tesis doctoral, la reputación universitaria. Se hace una revisión tanto de la reputación organizacional como universitaria, se analiza la relación o el parecido con otros conceptos como imagen, marca, satisfacción, calidad o comportamiento de rebaño, también se hace una revisión de las relaciones, antecedentes y consecuencias, de la reputación universitaria desde diferentes perspectivas, así como se analizan las implicaciones para la gestión de diferentes aspectos relacionados con las universidades. Además, se identifican las interconexiones existentes entre el desempeño académico y los rankings universitarios. Estos instrumentos, aunque presenten algunas desventajas, se pueden utilizar como herramienta de medición y de comparación entre universidades, manteniendo el rigor científico si se utilizan sabiendo cómo miden y qué es lo que están midiendo. • En el segundo capítulo, se lleva a cabo un análisis bibliométrico que sirve de precursor para los trabajos empíricos que vienen a continuación. El objetivo es conocer el estado actual de la cuestión, descubrir la evolución de la temática en los años y conocer los temas emergentes o los que, con el paso de los años, han ido perdiendo de interés.Tesis Univ. Granada

Tourism and marketing management. Comparative analysis between parks and ski stations

El turismo de montaña, que incluye estaciones de esquí y áreas naturales protegidas, ha de buscar un equilibrio entre satisfacer las necesidades de los visitantes y el respeto al medio ambiente. En dicha búsqueda, el marketing puede desempeñar un importante papel. Este trabajo trata de responder a la falta de estudios sobre la aplicación del marketing en las actividades de turismo de montaña y, en particular, en la comunicación en redes sociales comparando la aplicación y la percepción que se tiene del marketing en las estaciones de esquí con los parques naturales. Para ello, se ha realizado una auditoría de marketing preguntando a directivos y técnicos de unos y otros, y se han analizado 26 indicadores de redes sociales (Twitter y Facebook). Las estaciones de esquí presentan un mayor enfoque al marketing salvo en aspectos relativos al impacto ambiental. Los resultados muestran la diferente sensibilidad y los aspectos donde hay mayor divergencia, distinguiendo por el grado de importancia como por el grado de adecuación que se les otorga mediante la matriz de importancia-adecuación. También es mayor el dinamismo en redes sociales de las estaciones de esquí.Mountain tourism, which includes ski resorts and protected natural areas, has to strike a balance between meeting the needs of visitors and respecting the environment. In the search for this balance, marketing can play an important role. This paper seeks to respond to the lack of studies on the application of marketing in mountain tourism activities and, in particular, in communication in social networks by comparing the application and the perception of marketing in ski resorts with that of natural and national parks. To this end, a marketing audit was carried out, based on interviews with managers and technicians of each and analyzing 26 indicators of social networks (Twitter and Facebook). The ski resorts have a greater focus on marketing except in aspects related to environmental impact. The results show the different levels of sensitivity and those aspects where there is greater divergence, distinguishing the degree of importance and degree of adequacy that is granted by the importance-adequacy matrix. There is also greater dynamism in the social networks of ski resorts

Considerations for Pediatric Heart Programs During COVID-19: Recommendations From the Congenital Cardiac Anesthesia Society

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has impacted congenital cardiac surgical programs with significant reduction in case load, implementation of patient triage strategies, and development of personal protective equipment (PPE) guidelines. This document summarizes current status and implications of COVID-19 in congenital cardiac surgery outlining recommendations from the Congenital Cardiac Anesthesia Society (CCAS). [...

Considerations for Pediatric Heart Programs During COVID-19: Recommendations From the Congenital Cardiac Anesthesia Society.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has impacted congenital cardiac surgical programs with significant reduction in case load, implementation of patient triage strategies, and development of personal protective equipment (PPE) guidelines. This document summarizes current status and implications of COVID-19 in congenital cardiac surgery outlining recommendations from the Congenital Cardiac Anesthesia Society (CCAS). [...

The Essential Role of Patient Blood Management in a Pandemic: A Call for Action.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), the disease caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), a pandemic. Global health care now faces unprecedented challenges with widespread and rapid human-to-human transmission of SARS-CoV-2 and high morbidity and mortality with COVID-19 worldwide. Across the world, the medical care is hampered by a critical shortage of not only hand sanitizers, personal protective equipment, ventilators and hospital beds, but also impediments to the blood supply. Blood donation centers in many areas around the globe have mostly closed. Donors, practicing social distancing, some either with illness or undergoing self-quarantine, are quickly diminishing. Drastic public health initiatives have focused on containment and “flattening the curve” while invaluable resources are being depleted. In some countries, the point is reached at which demand for such resources, including donor blood outstrips supply. Questions as to the safety of blood persist. Although it does not appear very likely that the virus can be transmitted through allogeneic blood transfusion, this still remains to be fully determined. As options dwindle, we must enact regional and national shortage plans worldwide, and more vitally disseminate the knowledge of and immediately implement Patient Blood Management (PBM). PBM is an evidence-based bundle of care to optimize medical and surgical patient outcomes by clinically managing and preserving a patient’s own blood. This multinational and diverse group of authors issue this “Call to Action” underscoring “The Essential Role of Patient Blood Management in the Management of Pandemics” and urging all stakeholders and providers to implement the practical and common-sense principles of PBM and its multi-professional and multimodality approaches