Search results

In order to enhance operational efficiency, improve service quality and reduce costs, practitioners in the hospitality industry have widely adopted and implemented information and communication technologies (ICTs) in their businesses. Understanding what has been done and how ICTs have performed in the past and are performing in the present could assist practitioners and researchers in identifying research gaps and formulating future plans. This paper aims to address these issues

This study analyzed 88 full-length ICT-related research articles that were published in the period 1999-2008 in eight leading hospitality journals. The research focuses on all selected articles were in suppliers ' perspectives, and each article was analyzed by content analysis.

Seven dimensions were formed after content analysis including human resources and training, security, reservation, revenue management, marketing, guest services, as well as strategic and operational management. Published articles were comprehensively overviewed on ICT usage in suppliers ' perspectives. In this paper, suppliers refers to the providers of hospitality services.

The major limitation of this study is the inclusion of only eight leading journals. Nevertheless, findings should be of use to researchers and practitioners to understand various ICT applications in the hospitality industry.

A major contribution of this paper is its comprehensive review of previous studies and their contributions to hospitality. Future research areas on ICT development and implementation in suppliers ' perspective are also offered.

For the fifth year, JBS takes a look at the newest software to help executives run their businesses better.

This work presents a topology optimization methodology for designing microarchitectures of phononic crystals. The objective is to get microstructures having, as a consequence of wave propagation phenomena in these media, bandgaps between two specified bands. An additional target is to enlarge the range of frequencies of these bandgaps.

The resulting optimization problem is solved employing an augmented Lagrangian technique based on the proximal point methods. The main primal variable of the Lagrangian function is the characteristic function determining the spatial geometrical arrangement of different phases within the unit cell of the phononic crystal. This characteristic function is defined in terms of a level-set function. Descent directions of the Lagrangian function are evaluated by using the topological derivatives of the eigenvalues obtained through the dispersion relation of the phononic crystal.

The description of the optimization algorithm is emphasized, and its intrinsic properties to attain adequate phononic crystal topologies are discussed. Particular attention is addressed to validate the analytical expressions of the topological derivative. Application examples for several cases are presented, and the numerical performance of the optimization algorithm for attaining the corresponding solutions is discussed.

The original contribution results in the description and numerical assessment of a topology optimization algorithm using the joint concepts of the level-set function and topological derivative to design phononic crystals.

The paper discusses broadly electronic publishing and types of electronic publications. An attempt has been made to group the select electronic resources of chemical information into portals, patents and dissertations, full‐text files with backfiles and e‐books, abstracting and indexing services, encyclopaedias and handbooks, periodic tables, property databases and specialty databases. The paper concludes that in delivering electronic information two major developments are gaining momentum as archives from major publishers and preprints from academic circles are used as alternative methods of accessing research information. Also, scholarly publication of chemical information in electronic form will continue to grow, adapting to meet changing needs of authors and readers alike.

Focuses on current and near‐term efforts to integrate Web browsing, computing, e‐mail, video telephony and voice telephony in a hand‐held device. Concludes with observations about the probable product/markets resulting from integration. Concludes the Far East seems to be the potential market for smart phones.

The lead engine on the Boeing 757 aircraft is the Rolls‐Royce RB211‐535. The transient operation of this engine is largely dependent on the operation of its multiple bleed valves which are located at several different stages of the Intermediate and High Pressure Compressor spools.