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Backpackers can be found all over the world, especially in urban areas where the main enclaves are established. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the operationalisation of the term “backpacker” and present a proposal to conceptualise backpackers and backpackers’ segments based on the operational criteria available in literature to avoid incongruities among researchers.

Based on a literature review, this study provides a critical review of the backpacker conceptualisation and operationalisation using a methodology divided into three phases, a quantitative analysis based on the Scopus database and a bibliometric analysis coupled with a manual analysis of documents (content analysis).

Substantial heterogeneity and complexity regarding the conceptualisation of backpacker tourism and its diversified subsegments were evident. For this reason, this paper argues that backpacker tourism can and should continue to be analysed from different perspectives, suitably framed in the theoretical instrument constructed to identify and distinguish the different subsegments through its operationalisation features.

This study provides a practical contribution to all researchers interested in the topic of backpackers proposing the operationalisation of the term backpacker and it subsegments to avoid disparate results and deviations. This contribution will enable the correct and objective assessment of the operationalisation of this concept for researchers, managers and destination management organisations, identifying exactly what phenomenon is to be studied.

This study examines the inter-linkages between Bitcoin prices and CEE stock markets (Hungary, the Czech Republic, Poland, Romania and Croatia).

The dynamic contemporaneous nexus has been analyzed using both the multivariate DECO-GARCH model proposed by Engle and Kelly (2012) and quantile on quantile (QQ) methodology proposed by Sim and Zhou (2015). Our study is implemented using the daily data spanning from 6 September 2012 to 12 August 2019.

First, the findings show that the average return equicorrelation across Bitcoin prices and CEE stock indices are positive, even though it is found to be time-varying over the research period shown. Second, the Bitcoin-CEE stock market association has positive signs for most pairs of quantiles of both variables and represents a rather similar pattern for the cases of Poland, the Czech Republic and Croatia. However, a weaker and primarily negative connectedness is found for Hungary and Romania, respectively. Furthermore, the interconnectedness between the co-movements in the Bitcoin market and stock returns changes significantly across quantiles of both variables within each nation, indicating that the Bitcoin-stock market relationship is dependent on both the cycle of the stock market and the nature of Bitcoin price shocks.

The evidence documented in this study has significant implications for divergent economic agents, including global investors, risk managers and policymakers, who would benefit from a comprehensive knowledge of the Bitcoin-stock market relationship to build efficient risk-hedging models and to conduct appropriate policy reactions to information spillover effects in different time horizons.

This paper is the first study employing both the multivariate DECO-GARCH model and QQ methodology to shed light on the nexus between Bitcoin prices and the stock markets in CEE countries. The DECO model uses more information to compute dynamic correlations between each pair of returns than standard dynamic conditional correlation (DCC) models, declining the estimation noise of the correlations. Besides, QQ approach allows us to capture some nuanced features of the Bitcoin-stock market relationship and explore the interdependence in its entirely. Therefore, the main contribution of this article to the related literature in this field is significant.

本研究旨在探討比特幣的價格與中東歐股市(匈牙利、捷克共和國、波蘭、羅馬尼亞和克羅地亞) 之相互聯繫.

研究使用恩格爾與凱利(2012)(Engle and Kelly (2012)) 提出的多變量DECO-GARCH模型及Sim 與Zhou(2015)(Sim and Zhou ( 2015)) 研製的分位數-分位數方法來分析動態同期的聯繫。我們的研究使用由2012年9月6日至2019年8月12日期間取得的每日數據來進行.

首先、研究結果顯示、跨比特幣價格與中東歐股價指數的平均回報當量關聯是正相關的，即使在研究期間被發現是隨時間而變化的。第二、比特幣與中東歐股市之聯繫在大多數兩變數分位數對而言出現正相關跡象，而且，這聯繫在波蘭、捷克共和國及克羅地亞而言表現一個頗相似的模式。唯就匈牙利而言、這聯繫則較弱、而羅馬尼亞則主要是負聯繫。研究結果亦顯示: 比特幣市場內的聯動與股票回報間之內在關聯會在每個國家內跨兩個變數的分位數而顯著地改變，這顯示比特幣-股市關係是取決於股市的週期和比特幣價格衝擊的本質.

本研究所記載的證據、對不同的經濟行為者而言極具意義 (這包括國際投資者、風險管理經理和政策制定者)，因他們會受惠於對比特幣-股市關係的全面認識，他們可建立有效的風險對沖模型、及在不同時間範圍對資訊溢出效應進行適當的政策反應.

本文為首個研究使用多變量DECO-GARCH模型和分位數-分位數(QQ)方法、來解釋比特幣價格與中東歐國家之股市的關係。這DECO模型使用比標準動態條件關係模型更多資訊，來計算每對回報間之動態關係，這能減少估測雜訊，而且，QQ方法讓我們可以取得比特幣-股市關係的一些細微特徵及全面地探索其相互依賴性。因此，本文的主要貢獻是在這學術領域內有關的文獻上.

The study aims to analyze the relationship between tourists' satisfaction and their sense of belonging in a specific cultural destination by also investigating the moderating role of their on-site involvement, both offline (on-site activities at the destination) and online (social media activities). A further objective lies in exploring the relationship between tourists' sense of belonging and their adoption of environmentally responsible behavior while at the destination. Finally, the paper attempts to determine whether said behavior can predict tourists' pro-environmental behavior and recommendation intention.

To reach these objectives, a survey and a structural equation model, based on a sample of 647 visitors of an important world Heritage site UNESCO (i.e. Urbino), have been adopted.

Findings reveal a positive influence of sense of belonging on satisfaction and environmentally responsible behavior, which, in turn, influences pro-environmental behavior and Recommendation intention, thus triggering a virtuous process in the tourists' formation as responsible and loyal travelers. Moreover, results underline how the relationship between satisfaction and sense of belonging is significantly strengthened when tourists' on-site activity involvement increases. Conversely, the moderating role of social media involvement is not supported.

The present study offers important implications for different actors in the tourism sector, such as policy makers, destination marketing organizations (DMOs) and tourism operators.

The present study explores the role of social media involvement, specifically during the tourist's holiday.

This study enriches the empirical evidence in the cultural tourism through an analysis focused on the tourists' perspective, especially by investigating the relationship between satisfaction and emotional constructs (i.e. sense of belonging) that are able to bring environmental and loyalty benefits to the destination. Moreover, although existing research has highlighted the positive influence of the tourists' involvement on their experience, there is a paucity of studies jointly analyzing the on-site and online activities in the sustainability field.

In 2022, the International Network for Quality Assurance (QA) Agencies in Higher Education (INQAAHE) published the new guidelines by adding three QA modules in response to the changing higher education landscape. The paper aims to investigate the transformative focus of quality assurance in higher education globally as well as Asian response to three new QA modules according to the INQAAHE ISGs.

The research conducted a quantitative approach for data collection. An on-line survey was conducted to perceive QA practices, perceptions toward new emerging QA modules and challenges encountered. In total, there were 26 responses from 18 territories with 22 QA agencies. A total of 13 out of them have a national qualifications framework in place.

Three are three major findings in the study. First, national policy and criteria and standards in distance education have been developed in the majority of Asian nations. Second, non-signatories of the Tokyo Convention had a higher proportion of having related policies, regulations and criteria in CBHE and distance education. Third, national policies and regulations; and lack of professional staff are two common challenges implementing QA in new types of providers.

The findings are of value for policymakers, QA agencies and universities to advocate the new QA model as a systematic approach in response to changing higher education landscape in the post pandemic era.

The purpose of this paper is to identify the critical success factors of emblematic hotels from the perspective of the guest, by analysing the direct activities that make up the value chain of these types of establishments.

The authors use the case study methodology to derive conclusions that contribute to the development of a theory about the success factors of emblematic hotels. The case selected is the Spanish Tourist Parador chain. The authors carried out over a period of two years a data mining analysis of the online comments posted by its guests.

The results indicate that the attributes of location and facilities are critical success factors expected a priori given the nature of the business of such establishments, based on the singular nature of the buildings. Another critical success factor is personnel, which seems to indicate that the Paradors support their business model by employing highly qualified staff, but give less attention to restaurant services or the room, according to guest perceptions.

The paper provides required evidence on the critical success factors of emblematic hotels adapting Porter’s value chain, for the tourism accommodation sector, through the analysis of direct value chain activities. In addition, the existing literature is broadened by taking a perspective scarcely studied, the guest perception of hotel establishments, online content posted by the user on the establishment’s website, rather than simply considering the traditional views of the experts/managers, through structures questionnaires. Besides, the results provide practical and useful implications for the managements of the emblematic hotels under study.

This paper aims to study the daily returns and volatility spillover effects in common stock prices between China and four countries in Southeast Asia (Vietnam, Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia).

The analysis uses a vector autoregression with a bivariate GARCH-BEKK model to capture return linkage and volatility transmission spanning the period including the pre- and post-2008 Global Financial Crisis.

The main empirical result is that the volatility of the Chinese market has had a significant impact on the other markets in the data sample. For the stock return, linkage between China and other markets seems to be remarkable during and after the Global Financial Crisis. Notably, the findings also indicate that the stock markets are more substantially integrated into the crisis.

The results have considerable implications for portfolio managers and institutional investors in the evaluation of investment and asset allocation decisions. The market participants should pay more attention to assess the worth of across linkages among the markets and their volatility transmissions. Additionally, international portfolio managers and hedgers may be better able to understand how the volatility linkage between stock markets interrelated overtime; this situation might provide them benefit in forecasting the behavior of this market by capturing the other market information.

This paper would complement the emerging body of existing literature by examining how China stock market impacts on their neighboring countries including Vietnam, Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia. Furthermore, this is the first investigation capturing return linkage and volatility spill over between China market and the four Southeast Asian markets by using bivariate VAR-GARCH-BEKK model. The authors believe that the results of this research’s empirical analysis would amplify the systematic understanding of spillover activities between China stock market and other stock markets.

Large displacement misalignment under the action of active faults can cause complex three-dimensional deformation in subway tunnels, resulting in severe damage, distortion and misalignment. There is no developed system of fortification and related codes to follow. There are scientific problems and technical challenges in this field that have never been encountered in past research and practices.

This paper adopted a self-designed large-scale active fault dislocation simulation loading system to conduct a similar model test of the tunnel under active fault dislocation based on the open-cut tunnel project of the Urumqi Rail Transit Line 2, which passes through the Jiujiawan normal fault. The test simulated the subway tunnel passing through the normal fault, which is inclined at 60°. This research compared and analyzed the differences in mechanical behavior between two types of lining section: the open-cut double-line box tunnel and the modified double-line box arch tunnel. The structural response and failure characteristics of the open-cut segmented lining of the tunnel under the stick-slip part of the normal fault were studied.

The results indicated that the double-line box arch tunnel improved the shear and longitudinal bending performance. Longitudinal cracks were mainly distributed in the baseplate, wall foot and arch foot, and the crack position was basically consistent with the longitudinal distribution of surrounding rock pressure. This indicated that the longitudinal cracks were due to the large local load of the cross-section of the structure, leading to an excessive local bending moment of the structure, which resulted in large eccentric failure of the lining and formation of longitudinal cracks. Compared with the ordinary box section tunnel, the improved double-line box arch tunnel significantly reduced the destroyed and damage areas of the hanging wall and footwall. The damage area and crack length were reduced by 39 and 59.3%, respectively. This indicates that the improved double-line box arch tunnel had good anti-sliding performance.

This paper adopted a self-designed large-scale active fault dislocation simulation loading system to conduct a similar model test of the tunnel under active fault dislocation. This system increased the similarity ratio of the test model, improved the dislocation loading rate and optimized the simulation scheme of the segmented flexible lining and other key factors affecting the test. It is of great scientific significance and engineering value to investigate the structure of subway tunnels under active fault misalignment, to study its force characteristics and damage modes, and to provide a technical reserve for the design and construction of subway tunnels through active faults.

The purpose of this paper is to present the use of a free code computational tool, Patent2net, in the search of patents for the implementation of distance learning aimed at Continuing Medical Education.

This technical report is based on the extraction, organization and availability, in the format of graphs and dynamic tables, and also based on information in other patents on the subject, made available in the Espacenet database.

As a result, it was possible to identify a Chinese patent, free for reproduction in Brazil, which describes an e-learning system that simulates 3D scenarios for training nursing teams.

The paper has used one unique patent database, but containing more than 100m documents.

The selected patent can contribute to the improvement of care and behavioral techniques of the health professionals.

The training of health professionals can improve the public and supplementary health systems.

This is the first paper in that de technometric analisys of patents was used to solve a problem regarding the training of health professionals.

On-ramp merging areas are typical bottlenecks in the freeway network since merging on-ramp vehicles may cause intensive disturbances on the mainline traffic flow and lead to various negative impacts on traffic efficiency and safety. The connected and autonomous vehicles (CAVs), with their capabilities of real-time communication and precise motion control, hold a great potential to facilitate ramp merging operation through enhanced coordination strategies. This paper aims to present a comprehensive review of the existing ramp merging strategies leveraging CAVs, focusing on the latest trends and developments in the research field.

The review comprehensively covers 44 papers recently published in leading transportation journals. Based on the application context, control strategies are categorized into three categories: merging into sing-lane freeways with total CAVs, merging into sing-lane freeways with mixed traffic flows and merging into multilane freeways.

Relevant literature is reviewed regarding the required technologies, control decision level, applied methods and impacts on traffic performance. More importantly, the authors identify the existing research gaps and provide insightful discussions on the potential and promising directions for future research based on the review, which facilitates further advancement in this research topic.

Many strategies based on the communication and automation capabilities of CAVs have been developed over the past decades, devoted to facilitating the merging/lane-changing maneuvers at freeway on-ramps. Despite the significant progress made, an up-to-date review covering these latest developments is missing to the authors’ best knowledge. This paper conducts a thorough review of the cooperation/coordination strategies that facilitate freeway on-ramp merging using CAVs, focusing on the latest developments in this field. Based on the review, the authors identify the existing research gaps in CAV ramp merging and discuss the potential and promising future research directions to address the gaps.

European countries are likely to increasingly adopt integrated reporting (IR) voluntarily, after the 2014/95/EU Directive is revised and other initiatives are implemented. Therefore, the present study provides insights on the relevance of IR in voluntary contexts by exploring analysts' reactions to the release of integrated reports in diverse institutional settings.

Drawing on voluntary disclosure theory, a quantitative empirical research method is used to explore the moderating role of country-level institutional characteristics on the associations between voluntary IR release and analyst forecast accuracy and dispersion.

IR informativeness is not uniform in the voluntary context and institutional settings play a moderating role. IR release is associated with increased consensus among analyst forecasts. However, in countries with weak institutional enforcement, a reverse association is detected, indicating that analysts rely largely on IR where the institutional setting strongly protects investors. Although a strong institutional setting boosts the IR release usefulness in terms of accuracy, it creates noise in analyst consensus.

Academics can appreciate the usefulness of voluntary IR across the institutional enforcement contexts.

Managers can use these findings to understand opportunities offered by IR voluntary release. The study recommends that policymakers, standard setters and regulators strengthen the institutional enforcement of sustainability disclosure.

This study is a unique contribution to recent calls for research on the effects of nonfinancial disclosure regulation and on IR “impacts”. It shows on the international scale that IR usefulness for analysts is moderated by institutional patterns, not country-level institutional characteristics.