Destination brand performance measurement over time: Tracking consumer perceptions of a competitive set of destinations over a 10 year period

There has been a paucity of research published in relation to the temporal aspect of destination image change over time. Given increasing investments in destination branding, research is needed to enhance understanding of how to monitor destination brand performance, of which destination image is the core construct, over time. This article reports the results of four studies tracking brand performance of a competitive set of five destinations, between 2003 and 2012. Results indicate minimal changes in perceptions held of the five destinations of interest over the 10 years, supporting the assertion of Gartner (1986) and Gartner and Hunt (1987) that destination image change will only occur slowly over time. While undertaken in Australia, the research approach provides DMOs in other parts of the world with a practical tool for evaluating brand performance over time; in terms of measures of effectiveness of past marketing communications, and indicators of future performance.

Transition to an unsteady flow induced by a fin on the sidewall of a differentially heated air-filled square cavity and heat transfer

The transition from a steady to an unsteady flow induced by an adiabatic fin on the sidewall of a differentially heated air-filled cavity is numerically investigated. Numerical simulations have been performed over the range of Rayleigh numbers from Ra = 105–109. The temporal development and spatial structures of natural convection flows in the cavity with a fin are described. It has been demonstrated that the fin may induce the transition to an unsteady flow and the critical Rayleigh number for the occurrence of the transition is between 3.72 × 106 and 3.73 × 106. Furthermore, the peak frequencies of the oscillations triggered by different mechanisms are obtained through spectral analysis. It has been found that the flow rate through the cavity with a fin is larger than that without a fin under the unsteady flow, indicating that the fin may improve the unsteady flow in the cavity.

Illicit drug use between an annual key holiday and a control period: Wastewater analysis in a semi-rural, an urban and a vacation area

Introduction and Aims: Holiday periods are potentially a time for increased substance use as social events and private parties are more common. Data on community illicit drug consumption during holiday periods are limited. Besides existing methods for determining drug use, such as population surveys, one emerging method is to measure illicit drugs and/or their metabolites in wastewater samples. This study examined the change in consumption of cannabis, methamphetamine, cocaine and 3,4- methylenedioxymethamphetamine in three different types of areas (an inland semi-rural area, a coastal urban area and a vacation island) with respect to holiday times. Design and Methods: Samples were collected at the inlet of the major wastewater treatment plant in each area during a key annual holiday (i.e. the summer holiday including Christmas and New Year) and control period. Illicit drug residues in the daily composited samples were measured by liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry. Results: Drug use varied substantially among the three areas within each monitoring period as well as between the holiday and control period within each area. Use consistently increased and peaked over New Year particularly for cocaine and 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine whereas cannabis and methamphetamine were relatively less subjected to holiday times in all the areas. Discussion and Conclusions: Wastewater sampling and analysis provides higher spatio-temporal resolution than national surveys and supplements drug epidemiology studies originating primary in metropolitan locations. Such data is essential for policy makers to plan potential intervention strategies associated with these illicit substances in regional areas and other settings besides urban areas in the future.

A study of the use of the Edinburgh postnatal depression scale with parent groups outside the postpartum period

The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) was sent by post to 206 mothers and 201 fathers of toddlers (aged between 19 and 22 months). At the same time these parents also completed subscales of the Crown—Crisp Experiential Index (CCEI). The responses were used to assess the feasibility of postal completion of the EPDS and its acceptability to parents outside the postpartum year, particularly fathers for whom there have been no previous reports of its use. On a small sub-group, the sensitivity, specificity and predictive values of the measures were assessed using the Present. State Examination. Answers to the depression subscale of the CCEI to the EPDS and to the Present State Examination were compared to assess validity. Completion of the postally-administered EPDS was satisfactory, though some difficulties were experienced in a second postal administration to a subsample. The scale was completed without obvious error or omission and this, combined with positive comments from parents, suggests the acceptability of the scale to both mothers and fathers. The mean scores were higher for mothers than for fathers, but the pattern of distribution was similar with a marked positive skew and a distinct decline in scores above 10. Because the subsample of parents interviewed was small the calculation of sensitivity and specificity has to be treated with caution. However, the results for mothers suggest that the EPDS has satisfactory validity for this group and one superior to the depression subscale of the CCEI. Among the fathers interviewed there were insufficient cases to enable calculation of sensitivity and specificity. Other results were encouraging, however, and suggest the merit of further studies of the application and validity of the EPDS with fathers.

Switching period randomisation for multilevel converter modulation

The spectral energy associated with the carrier and sidebands of naturally sampled carrier based PWM can be spread by randomising the carrier (switch) half-period Tc = 1/2fc. So long as the switch duty cycle each period still correctly reflects the value of the modulating fundamental waveform as sampled during that switch period, then the fundamental component will remain undistorted. Natural sampling will ensure this occurs. Carrier based PWM can be extended to (m+1) level multilevel converter waveform generation by creating m triangular carriers, each with an equal 2*pi/m phase displacement. Alternatively the carrier disposition strategy calls for m amplitude displaced triangular carriers, each of amplitude 1/m and frequency mfc. Randomising these carrier sub-periods T0> = 1/2mfc is shown to generate (m+ 1) level PWM waveforms where the first (m-1) carrier groups are cancelled, while the remaining carrier and sidebands at multiples of mfc are spectrally spread. Numerous five level simulation and experimentally gathered randomised PWM waveforms are presented, showing the effects of the variation of the degree of randomisation, modulation depth and pulse number.

A model for determining the optimal project life span and concession period of BOT projects

The concession agreement is the core feature of BOT projects, with the concession period being the most essential feature in determining the time span of the various rights, obligations and responsibilities of the government and concessionaire. Concession period design is therefore crucial for financial viability and determining the benefit/cost allocation between the host government and the concessionaire. However, while the concession period and project life span are essentially interdependent, most methods to date consider their determination as contiguous events that are determined exogenously. Moreover, these methods seldom consider the, often uncertain, social benefits and costs involved that are critical in defining, pricing and distributing benefits and costs between the various parties and evaluating potentially distributable cash flows. In this paper, we present the results of the first stage of a research project aimed at determining the optimal build-operate-transfer (BOT) project life span and concession period endogenously and interdependently by maximizing the combined benefits of stakeholders. Based on the estimation of the economic and social development involved, a negotiation space of the concession period interval is obtained, with its lower boundary creating the desired financial return for the private investors and its upper boundary ensuring the economic feasibility of the host government as well as the maximized welfare within the project life. The outcome of the new quantitative model is considered as a suitable basis for future field trials prior to implementation. The structure and details of the model are provided in the paper with Hong Kong tunnel project as a case study to demonstrate its detailed application. The basic contributions of the paper to the theory of construction procurement are that the project life span and concession period are determined jointly and the social benefits taken into account in the examination of project financial benefits. In practical terms, the model goes beyond the current practice of linear-process thinking and should enable engineering consultants to provide project information more rationally and accurately to BOT project bidders and increase the government's prospects of successfully entering into a contract with a concessionaire. This is expected to generate more negotiation space for the government and concessionaire in determining the major socioeconomic features of individual BOT contracts when negotiating the concession period. As a result, the use of the model should increase the total benefit to both parties.

Mothers' sleepiness and driving in the postpartum period

The postpartum period is typically a time of increased sleepiness, however little research has investigated mothers' sleepiness whilst driving during this period. The research presented in this thesis details three studies systematically designed to assess postpartum mothers' sleepiness and driving, followed by the utilisation of this information in the development of an information-based program designed to convey pertinent evidence-based information about postpartum sleepiness, sleep, and sleepy driving.