Color Models and Illumination Changes

Color model representation allows characterizing in a quantitative manner, any defined color spectrum of visible light, i.e. with a wavelength between 400nm and 700nm. To accomplish that, each model, or color space, is associated with a function that allows mapping the spectral power distribution of the visible electromagnetic radiation, in a space defined by a set of discrete values that quantify the color components composing the model. Some color spaces are sensitive to changes in lighting conditions. Others assure the preservation of certain chromatic features, remaining immune to these changes. Therefore, it becomes necessary to identify the strengths and weaknesses of each model in order to justify the adoption of color spaces in image processing and analysis techniques. This chapter will address the topic of digital imaging, main standards and formats. Next we will set the mathematical model of the image acquisition sensor response, which enables assessment of the various color spaces, with the aim of determining their invariance to illumination changes.

Extracting and verifying coordination models from source code

Current software development relies increasingly on non-trivial coordination logic for com- bining autonomous services often running on di erent platforms. As a rule, however, in typical non-trivial software systems, such a coordination layer is strongly weaved within the application at source code level. Therefore, its precise identi cation becomes a major methodological (and technical) problem which cannot be overestimated along any program understanding or refactoring process. Open access to source code, as granted in OSS certi cation, provides an opportunity for the devel- opment of methods and technologies to extract, from source code, the relevant coordination information. This paper is a step in this direction, combining a number of program analysis techniques to automatically recover coordination information from legacy code. Such information is then expressed as a model in Orc, a general purpose orchestration language

Planning Considerations for Tourism in the Minho-Lima Region (Northwest Portugal)

In administering their territories, most local municipalities aim to preserve their natural, historical and ethnographical resources while simultaneously using them to increase revenue and employment. In order to efficiently promote the products and services available and attract tourists, decision makers, private and public, need to know and incorporate tourists’ preferences in their marketing strategies. In this chapter we illustrate the use of stated preferences as an instrument to identify national and foreign tourists’ preferences regarding the products and services that the touristic destination of the Minho-Lima region (Northwest Portugal) should offer. As a starting point, we have taken the three general groups of touristic resources mentioned above as attributes. We take Ponte de Lima, a municipality in this region that has a strong cultural tourism potential as an example to identify possible future tourism scenarios for this territory. We believe the previously identified methodology can be a valuable instrument in the identification of the strengths and weaknesses of the selected territory and, thus, support the decision making process behind its future tourist development and marketing strategies.

Residents’ perception of the benefits of cultural tourism: the case of Guimarães

In many cities throughout Europe and the rest of the world, cultural tourism plays a major role in local economic development. Tourism also acts to preserve cultural heritage, as it provides a way to acquire the revenue needed to restore and preserve historical buildings, and encourages local people to value their traditions and festivals. However, tourism success can be a double-edged sword with tourist flows having a strong impact on the quality of life of residents when certain tourist thresholds are surpassed. This paper aims to address local residents’ perception of the benefits of cultural tourism. To capture their perception, a survey was implemented, addressed to both the city centre inhabitants and the non-urban residents of the Guimarães municipality.

Portugal’s Minho-Lima region as a tourist destination: tourism operators’ attitudes towards its management and promotion

The success of tourism development depends on the capacity of a region’s tourism agents to establish and sustain networks, involving both private-sector companies and the public sector. Creating an attractive destination able to compete with others that are better positioned and consolidated requires cooperative behaviour among the various agents involved. This behaviour will facilitate both external and internal competition, which in turn will assure better product quality, continuous product renewal, a strong offer of unique experiences and the efficient use of endogenous resources. In this paper, the authors discuss the results of a survey of restaurant owners and of interviews conducted with the main institutional agents concerned with tourism promotion and the economic development of the Minho–Lima region. Such an approach, the authors argue, can be valuable in identifying the strengths and weaknesses of the area in question with regard to future tourism development. The authors work from the premise that the commitment of tourism agents constitutes a precondition for the success of the strategy to be defined. This is especially applicable to Minho–Lima, which to date has suffered from an absence of commitment and coordination on the part of those agents.

Tourists’ perceptions of world heritage destinations: the case of Guimarães

Guimarães is a world heritage site (UNESCO) since December 2001, and is hosting the European Capital of Culture (ECOC) in 2012. This paper examines the profile, destination image and motivations of tourists’ visiting Guimarães before the cultural event. Based on survey responses from 276 tourists, this study found that tourists arrived to Guimarães came from the two most important cities in the northern part of Portugal (Porto and Braga). They are relatively young and well educated compared with the average tourists that visited Portugal. The results suggest that many tourists are aware of the city status as a world heritage site encompassing a historic centre, monuments, and architectural buildings. Further, these perceptions shape the image of Guimarães, as the factor analysis indicates that “historical background and functionality” is the most reliable and valid factor behind the choice of visiting the city. Finally, the main tourists’ motivation to choose Guimarães as theirs destination is educational, rather than recreational as they want to live a learning experience.

Guimarães residents’ perceptions towards tourism impacts: a cluster analysis

The present study was designed to assess and segment local residents with respect to their perceived impacts of Guimarães tourism development. The residents of this municipality (located in the northern part of Portugal) are quite strong in their support to tourism. However, they do not keep a homogeneous perception of tourism impacts. A clusters analysis using data from a survey of 400 Guimarães residents’ has revealed the existence of three clusters, according the different degrees of perceived tourism impacts: the Skeptics - moderate in relation to the benefits (averages range from 2.89-3.74) and the ones more concerned with its costs (averages range from 2.86-3.74); the Moderately optimistic - very optimistic about the benefits of tourism (averages range from 3.74-4.51) and conscious of the costs (averages range from 2.71-3.49); the Enthusiasts - very optimistic about tourism benefits (averages range from 2.92-4.52) and little worried about its costs (averages range from 1.78-3.26). Following the data from the survey, the findings are discussed and a few conclusions are extracted.

Profiling consumer behaviour in cross-border tourism destinations

Tourism is a phenomenon that moves millions of people around the world, taking as a major driver of the global economy. Such relevance is reflected in the proliferation of studies in the overall area known as tourism, under various perspectives and backgrounds. In the light of such multitude of insights our study aims at gaining a deeper understanding of customer profiling and behavior in cross-border tourism destinations. Previous studies conducted in such contexts suggest that cross-border regions (CBRs) are an attractive and desirable idea, yet requiring further theoretical and empirical research. The new configuration of many CBRs calls for a debate on issues concerning its development, raising up important dimensions, such as, organization and planning of common tourism destinations. There is still a gap in the understanding of destination management in CBRs and the customer profile and motivations. Overall this research aims at attaining a deeper understanding of the profile and behavior of consumers in tourism settings, addressing the predisposition for the destination. The study addresses the following research question: “What factors influence customer behavior and attitudes in a CBRs tourism destination?” To address our question we will take an interdisciplinary perspective bringing together inputs from marketing, tourism and local economics. When addressing consumer behavior in tourism previous studies considered the following constructs: involvement, place attachment, satisfaction and destination loyalty. In order to establish the causal relationships in our theoretical model, we intend to develop a predominant quantitative design, yet we plan to conduct exploratory interviews. In the analysis and discussion of results, we intend to use Structural Equation Modeling. It will further allow understanding how the constructs in the research model relate to each other in the specified context. Results are also expected to have managerial implications. Consequently our results may assist decision makers in developing their local policies.

Consumer behavior and profile in cross border tourism destinations

Tourism is a phenomenon that moves millions of people around the world, taking as a major driver of the global economy. Such relevance is reflected in the proliferation of studies in the overall area known as tourism, under various perspectives and backgrounds. In the light of such multitude of insights our study aims at gaining a deeper understanding of customer profiling and behavior in cross-border tourism destinations. Previous studies conducted in such contexts suggest that cross-border regions (CBRs) are an attractive and desirable idea, yet requiring further theoretical and empirical research. The new configuration of many CBRs calls for a debate on issues concerning its development, raising up important dimensions, such as, organization and planning of common tourism destinations. There is still a gap in the understanding of destination management in CBRs and the customer profile and motivations. Overall this research aims at attaining a deeper understanding of the profile and behavior of consumers in tourism settings, addressing the predisposition for the destination. The study addresses the following research question: “What factors influence customer behavior and attitudes in a CBRs tourism destination?” To address our question we will take an interdisciplinary perspective bringing together inputs from marketing, tourism and local economics. When addressing consumer behavior in tourism previous studies considered the following constructs: involvement, place attachment, satisfaction and destination loyalty. In order to establish the causal relationships in our theoretical model, we intend to develop a predominant quantitative design, yet we plan to conduct exploratory interviews. In the analysis and discussion of results, we intend to use Structural Equation Modeling. It will further allow understanding how the constructs in the research model relate to each other in the specified context. Results are also expected to have managerial implications. Consequently our results may assist decision makers in developing their local policies.

The strategic management of creation process and of change: a theoretical contribute from the perspective of tourism

The entrepreneurship and innovation have been gradually gaining ground in the academic community as a field of study. However, the interpretations surrounding fragmented, without a univocal definition. In last decades, tourism has received greater attention from researchers in various sciences, varying only by the different emphases considered: economic, social, cultural and environmental. As other emerging sectors in a modern economy, tourism is a dynamic and ever-changing industry. The study has as purpose to provide a better understanding regarding the essence of entrepreneurship: theoretical and practical implications from the perspective of tourism. Regarding the methodology used here, this is a conceptual paper with a literature review that brings together the major components of entrepreneurship and its implications tourist perspective and conceptual model of the dynamic nature of the Triggering Process and innovation (e.g. iTravey, Interactive Stores, Tourist Transportable Tower).

Comparative analysis between statistical and artificial intelligence models in business failure prediction

A growing number of predicting corporate failure models has emerged since 60s. Economic and social consequences of business failure can be dramatic, thus it is not surprise that the issue has been of growing interest in academic research as well as in business context. The main purpose of this study is to compare the predictive ability of five developed models based on three statistical techniques (Discriminant Analysis, Logit and Probit) and two models based on Artificial Intelligence (Neural Networks and Rough Sets). The five models were employed to a dataset of 420 non-bankrupt firms and 125 bankrupt firms belonging to the textile and clothing industry, over the period 2003–09. Results show that all the models performed well, with an overall correct classification level higher than 90%, and a type II error always less than 2%. The type I error increases as we move away from the year prior to failure. Our models contribute to the discussion of corporate financial distress causes. Moreover it can be used to assist decisions of creditors, investors and auditors. Additionally, this research can be of great contribution to devisers of national economic policies that aim to reduce industrial unemployment.

Finantial risk analysis of portuguese textile and tourism companies

Textile and tourism sectors are two important industries in the Portuguese economy. However, its high exposure to both internal and international economic volatility make the companies operating in these economic sectors particularly vulnerable to economic crises, such as the ones which have been impacting Portugal and the European Union. The objective of this paper is to evaluate and understand the impact of size and age on the financial health of textile and tourism companies, measured by economic indices. An empirical based model is proposed. Its implications are derived and tested on a sample of 4061 Portuguese companies from textile and tourism sectors, during the period 2005-2009. The findings suggest that age has a major impact on the risk of failure, rather than size. Whereas the effect of age is generally positive regarding the financial health of the company, the effect of size is less clear and ultimately depends on the age of the company.

Tourism impacts of a portuguese world heritage historic center: residents’ perspectives

The aim of this study is twofold. First, the study analyzes local community perspectives of the importance of the WHS classification of the historic center of Évora. Second, the study analyzes local residents’ perceived tourism impacts on the municipality of Évora. The methodology comprises quantitative research based on a self-administered survey applied to convenience samples of local residents of Évora in the beginning of 2014. The main results reveal that local residents have a strongly positive perception of the WHS designation. With regard to the perceived tourism impacts, a principal component factor analysis delineated three positive and three negative tourism impacts. The comparison of the mean scores of these factors across residents that live near and far from the historic center reveals that the most valued and least valued factors are common to all groups of residents. Nevertheless, in terms of positive impacts, the residents that live near the historic center revealed higher means than the residents that live far from it, whereas in terms of negative impacts, the latter group revealed higher means than former group.

Residents’ perspectives on tourism impacts of portuguese world heritage historic centers: Angra do Heroísmo and Évora

The aim of this study is twofold. First, the study analyzes local community perspectives of the importance of the World Heritage Site (WHS) classification of the historic centers of Angra do Heroísmo and Évora. Second, the study analyzes local residents’ perceived tourism impacts on the municipalities of Angra do Heroísmo and Évora. The methodology comprises quantitative research based on a self-administered survey applied to convenience samples of local residents of the two Portuguese municipalities in 2014. The main results reveal that local residents have a strongly positive perception of the WHS designation in both municipalities. With regard to the perceived tourism impacts, residents from Angra do Heroísmo have a stronger agreement about the impacts of tourism on their city than the residents of Évora, except for the negative social and cultural impacts. The comparison of the mean scores of these impacts across residents that live near and far from the historic centers reveals that the most valued and least valued impacts in the three categories of impacts (economic, social and cultural, and environmental) are common to all groups of residents. Nevertheless, residents living in or near the historic center of Angra do Heroísmo have higher means in the majority of tourism impacts (in all categories), with only one negative impact to concern the majority of respondents. Among the residents from Évora, residents living in or near the historic center have higher means in the majority of economic impacts but lower means in almost social and cultural impacts. With regard to the environmental impacts, residents living in or near the historic center have higher means scores in the positive impacts and lower means scores in the negative environmental impacts.

Financial Risk Analysis of Portuguese Textile and Tourism Companies

Textile and tourism sectors are two important industries in the Portuguese economy. However, its high exposure to both internal and international economic volatility make the companies operating in these economic sectors particularly vulnerable to economic crises, such as the ones which have been impacting Portugal and the European Union. The objective of this paper is to evaluate and understand the impact of size and age on the financial health of textile and tourism companies, measured by economic indices. An empirical based model is proposed. Its implications are derived and tested on a sample of 4061 Portuguese companies from textile and tourism sectors, during the period 2005-2009. The findings suggest that age has a major impact on the risk of failure, rather than size. Whereas the effect of age is generally positive regarding the financial health of the company, the effect of size is less clear and ultimately depends on the age of the company.