Choosing the Right Promotional Tool in the Hotel Industry: The Case of the Chinese Consumer.

The rapid growth of the Chinese tourism has stimulated competition within tourism-related industries, such as the hospitality industry. The purpose of this study is to examine the Chinese consumer reaction to different promotional tools used by hotels in China and, thus, to provide a deeper understanding for marketers of how to use sales promotion effectively to generate appropriate consumer responses. An experimental survey was administered yielding a total sample of 319 Chinese customers, who were probed using different types of sales promotion tools. Data analysis indicates that bonus packs (e.g. a 3-night stay at a hotel for the price of 2) induced the highest consumer perceived value, brand switching, and purchase acceleration intention, whereas price discounts resulted in the highest intention to spend more. Although this study has its limitations given its reliance on a convenience sample, it offers insightful practical implications for hotel business owners in Asia regarding targeting the right customers with the right promotional tools, where it is proposed that bonus packs successfully attract new Chinese customers and price discounts support in generating more sales.

On the 'inherent' character of the right of states to self-defence

While there is no lack of studies on the use of armed force by states in self-defence, its qualification as an ‘inherent right’ in article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations has received little scholarly attention and has been too quickly dismissed as having no significance. The present article fills this gap in the literature. Its purpose is not to discuss the limits to which article 51 or customary international law submit the exercise of the right of self-defence by states, but to examine what its 'inherent’ character means and what legal consequences it entails. The article advances two main arguments. The first is that self-defence is a corollary of statehood as presently understood because it is essential to preserving its constitutive elements. The second argument is that the exercise of the right of self-defence must be distinguished from the right itself: it is only the former that may be delegated to other states or submitted to limitations under customary international law and treaty law. The right of self-defence, however, cannot be alienated and it takes precedence over other international obligations, although not over those specifically intended to limit the conduct of states in armed conflict or over non-derogable human rights provisions.

Argonauta Video Database: General simulated scenes. Scene 1 (Right camera)

General simulated scenes These scenes followed a pre-defined script (see the Thesis for details), with common movements corresponding to general experiments. People go to or stand still in front of "J9", and/or go to the side of Argonauta reactor and come back again. The first type of movement is common during Irradiation experiments, where a material sample is put within the "J9" channel; and also during neutrongraphy or gammagraphy experiments, where a sample is placed in front of "J9". Here, the detailed movements of putting samples on these places were not reproduced in details, but only the whole bodies' movements were simulated (as crouching or being still in front of "J9"). The second type of movement may occur when operators go to the side of Argonauta to verify some operational condition. - Scene 1 (Obs.: Scene 1 of the "General simulated scenes" class): Comprises one of the scenes with two persons. Both of them use clothes of light colors. Both persons remain still in front of "J9"; one goes to the computer and then come back, and both go out. Video file labels: "20140326145315_IPCAM": recorded by the right camera,

Argonauta Video Database: Spectrography experiment. Scene 1 (Right câmera)

Scenes for Spectrography experiment Scenes were recorded following the tasks involved in spectrography experiments, which are carried out in front of "J9" output radiadion channel, the latter in open condition. These tasks may be executed by one or two persons. One person can do the tasks, but requiring him to crouch in front of "J9" to adjust the angular position the experimental appartus (a crystal to bend the neutron radiation to the spectograph), and then to get up to verify data in a computer aside; these movements are repeated until achieving the right operational conditions. Two people may aid one another in such a way one remais crouched while the other remains still in front of the computer. They may also interchange tasks so as to divide received doses. Up to now, there are available two scenes with one person and one scene with two persons. These scenes are described in the sequel: - Scene 1: Comprises one of the scenes with one person performing spectography experiment. Video file labels: "20140327181335_IPCAM": recorded by the right camera

Argonauta Video Database: General simulated. Scene 2 (Right camera)

General simulated scenes These scenes followed a pre-defined script (see the Thesis for details), with common movements corresponding to general experiments. People go to or stand still in front of "J9", and/or go to the side of Argonauta reactor and come back again. The first type of movement is common during Irradiation experiments, where a material sample is put within the "J9" channel; and also during neutrongraphy or gammagraphy experiments, where a sample is placed in front of "J9". Here, the detailed movements of putting samples on these places were not reproduced in details, but only the whole bodies' movements were simulated (as crouching or being still in front of "J9"). The second type of movement may occur when operators go to the side of Argonauta to verify some operational condition. - Scene 2: Comprises one of the scenes with two persons. Both of them use clothes of dark colors. Both persons go to the side of Argonauta reactor and then come back and go out. Video file labels: "20140326154754_IPCAM": recorded by the right camera.

Argonauta Video Database: Spectography experiment. Scene 2 (Right camera)

Scenes for Spectrography experiment Scenes were recorded following the tasks involved in spectrography experiments, which are carried out in front of "J9" output radiadion channel, the latter in open condition. These tasks may be executed by one or two persons. One person can do the tasks, but requiring him to crouch in front of "J9" to adjust the angular position the experimental appartus (a crystal to bend the neutron radiation to the spectograph), and then to get up to verify data in a computer aside; these movements are repeated until achieving the right operational conditions. Two people may aid one another in such a way one remais crouched while the other remains still in front of the computer. They may also interchange tasks so as to divide received doses. Up to now, there are available two scenes with one person and one scene with two persons. These scenes are described in the sequel: - Scene 2: Another take similat to Scene 1. Video file labels: "20140327180749_IPCAM": recorded by the right camera.

Argonauta Video Database: Spectography experiment. Scene 3 (Right camera)

Scenes for Spectrography experiment Scenes were recorded following the tasks involved in spectrography experiments, which are carried out in front of "J9" output radiadion channel, the latter in open condition. These tasks may be executed by one or two persons. One person can do the tasks, but requiring him to crouch in front of "J9" to adjust the angular position the experimental appartus (a crystal to bend the neutron radiation to the spectograph), and then to get up to verify data in a computer aside; these movements are repeated until achieving the right operational conditions. Two people may aid one another in such a way one remais crouched while the other remains still in front of the computer. They may also interchange tasks so as to divide received doses. Up to now, there are available two scenes with one person and one scene with two persons. These scenes are described in the sequel: - Scene 3: Comprises the scene with two persons performing spectography experiment. Video file labels: "20140327182905_IPCAM": recorded by the right camera.

Argonauta Video Database: Real operation. Scene 1 (Right camera)

Real operation scene This scene was recorded during a real Irradiation operation, more specifically during its final tasks (removing the irradiated sample). This scene was an extra recording to the script and planned ones. - Scene: Involved a number of persons, as: two operators, two personnel belonging to the radiological protection service, and the "client" who asked for the irradiation. Video file labels: "20140402150657_IPCAM": recorded by the right camera.

Argonauta Video Database: Projection and Homography matrices. Projection Right Camera

Description of the Annotation files: Annotation files are supplied for each video, for benchmarking. Annotations correspond to ground truths of peoples' positions in the image plane, and also for their feet positions, when they were visible. Annotations were performed manually, with the aid of a code developed by (Silva et al., 2014; see the Thesis for details). Targets (people or feet) are marked at variable frame intervals and then linearly interpolated.

Argonauta Video Database: Projection and Homography matrices. Homography Right Camera

Description of the Annotation files: Annotation files are supplied for each video, for benchmarking. Annotations correspond to ground truths of peoples' positions in the image plane, and also for their feet positions, when they were visible. Annotations were performed manually, with the aid of a code developed by (Silva et al., 2014; see the Thesis for details). Targets (people or feet) are marked at variable frame intervals and then linearly interpolated.

InOut Project – Doing the things right & doing the right things

A Work Project, presented as part of the requirements for the Award of a Masters Degree in Management from the NOVA – School of Business and Economics

Fate map of zebrafish left-right organizer

The organizer is a ciliated signalling transient organ, responsible for the patterning of embryo tissues during embryonic development. In higher vertebrates, such as mouse and chick, this organizer (the node and the Hensen’s node, respectively) performs dorsalventral and anteriorposterior axis definition, as well as left-right patterning of the internal organs. In lower vertebrates, such as frog and zebrafish, there is a separate specialized organ for left-right purposes called the Gastrocoel Roof Plate (GRP) and Kupffer’s Vesicle (KV), respectively. It is known that mouse and chick organizer cells give rise to structures like floor plate, notochord, hypochord and somites. Frog GRP originates all these but floor plate. In zebrafish, at 13-14 somite stage (ss) the KV finished its left-right patterning but what happens to this organizer’ cells is still poorly studied. This research attempts to understand the fate and behaviour of the KV cells. We followed the fate of KV cells by live imaging and by tight time-courses with fixed larvae. We assessed in detail their proliferative and death profile, as well as cilia length progression from 9-10 ss until 29-30 ss. We conclude that the KV cells mostly follow the evolutionarily conserved fates described for other organizers. These cells mainly incorporate the notochord and hypochord; few cells incorporate the floor plate and the somites. As a novelty, it is also hypothesized that the hypural cell fate may be among the KV cell fates.

Portal vein embolization before right hepatectomy: prospective clinical trial.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the impact of liver hypertrophy of the future liver remnant volume (FLR) induced by preoperative portal vein embolization (PVE) on the immediate postoperative complications after a standardized major liver resection. SUMMARY BACKGROUND DATA: PVE is usually indicated when FLR is estimated to be too small for major liver resection. However, few data exist regarding the exact quantification of sufficient minimal functional hepatic volume required to avoid postoperative complications in both patients with or without chronic liver disease. METHODS: All consecutive patients in whom an elective right hepatectomy was feasible and who fulfilled the inclusion and exclusion criteria between 1998 and 2000 were assigned to have alternatively either immediate surgery or surgery after PVE. Among 55 patients (25 liver metastases, 2 cholangiocarcinoma, and 28 hepatocellular carcinoma), 28 underwent right hepatectomy after PVE and 27 underwent immediate surgery. Twenty-eight patients had chronic liver disease. FLR and estimated rate of functional future liver remnant (%FFLR) volumes were assessed by computed tomography. RESULTS: The mean increase of FLR and %FFLR 4 to 8 weeks after PVE were respectively 44 +/- 19% and 16 +/- 7% for patients with normal liver and 35 +/- 28% and 9 +/- 3% for those with chronic liver disease. All patients with normal liver and 86% with chronic liver disease experienced hypertrophy after PVE. The postoperative course of patients with normal liver who underwent PVE before right hepatectomy was similar to those with immediate surgery. In contrast, PVE in patients with chronic liver disease significantly decreased the incidence of postoperative complications as well as the intensive care unit stay and total hospital stay after right hepatectomy. CONCLUSIONS: Before elective right hepatectomy, the hypertrophy of FLR induced by PVE had no beneficial effect on the postoperative course in patients with normal liver. In contrast, in patients with chronic liver disease, the hypertrophy of the FLR induced by PVE decreased significantly the rate of postoperative complications.

The role of the right parietal cortex in sound localization: a chronometric single pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation study.

Auditory spatial functions, including the ability to discriminate between the positions of nearby sound sources, are subserved by a large temporo-parieto-frontal network. With the aim of determining whether and when the parietal contribution is critical for auditory spatial discrimination, we applied single pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation on the right parietal cortex 20, 80, 90 and 150 ms post-stimulus onset while participants completed a two-alternative forced choice auditory spatial discrimination task in the left or right hemispace. Our results reveal that transient TMS disruption of right parietal activity impairs spatial discrimination when applied at 20 ms post-stimulus onset for sounds presented in the left (controlateral) hemispace and at 80 ms for sounds presented in the right hemispace. We interpret our finding in terms of a critical role for controlateral temporo-parietal cortices over initial stages of the building-up of auditory spatial representation and for a right hemispheric specialization in integrating the whole auditory space over subsequent, higher-order processing stages.

Viability interactions between the left and right arms of the second chromosome of Drosophila melanogaster

Inter and intrachromosomal viability interactions have been detected in a few experimental studies. Computer simulations and analytical models have led to postulation of nonadditivity of gene action. This study reports evidence of strong nonadditive interactions between the arms of the metacentric second chromosome of Drosophila melanogaster. Mean viability for 40 homozygous lines of the second chromosomes was 0.720+0.265 • Mean viability for 40 half homozygous second chromosomes was 0.928!O.)10 • Significant heterogeneity among and within lines was found in both groups of chromosomes, as well as a highly significant viability difference between the two groups. Comparison of observed viabilities with the expected values, according to the theories of additive and multi - plicative gene action. was made for both groups. Highly significant departures from the expected values were found for over 90% of the lines in both groups of chromosomes, for both additive and multiplicative models of gene action.