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The purpose of this study is to investigate environmental factors impacting Ajanta mural deterioration, assessing global tourism effects and visitor conduct on cave environment and murals. This study recognizes stakeholder roles in conservation, providing data-driven insights to guide institutions like the Archaeological Survey of India. The objective is sustainable tourism practices to balance public access with mural preservation for future generations.

Over 25 years, Ajanta Caves' visitors doubled, impacting microclimatic conditions for ancient murals. This study assesses visitor impact to establish a regime and determine carrying capacity, considering temperature, humidity and pollution. Challenges arise from quantifying capacity because of variables. This research informs global tourism and heritage conservation, offering methodologies applicable to cultural sites worldwide.

This study examines environmental impacts on mural preservation in Ajanta Caves, including humidity, microbial growth, sunlight exposure, air quality and tourist presence. Tourist influx escalates CO₂ levels, directly endangering murals. Concerns about particulate matter, especially during visits, emphasize the need for data-driven decision-making and modern technology use to protect Ajanta Caves' artwork, crucial because of its global significance and tourism-related vulnerabilities.

This study carries substantial social implications with a global resonance. The active engagement of the local community and tourism stakeholders in conserving and promoting the Ajanta Caves fosters empowerment, igniting a sense of pride, ownership and responsibility among residents and ensuring sustainable enjoyment of cultural heritage while safeguarding it for future generations. In addition, there will be socioeconomic benefits to local residents such as employment opportunities as tour operators, tour guides, hospitality staff, artisans and souvenir shopkeepers.

This study integrates art conservation, environmental science, cultural heritage preservation and social aspects to address global tourism challenges. Focusing on a site of worldwide significance, this study offers practical strategies for artwork preservation, tourism management and environmental concerns. These recommendations provide real-world solutions applicable to heritage sites globally, bridging scientific analysis with social and cultural insights.

本研究调查了影响阿詹塔壁画退化的环境因素, 评估了全球旅游业和游客行为对洞穴环境和壁画的影响。它承认利益相关者在保护中的作用, 为印度考古调查等机构提供数据支撑的见解。目的是实践可持续旅游, 平衡公众进入和供子孙后代使用的壁画保护。

25年来, 阿詹塔洞穴的游客增加了一倍, 影响了古壁画的小气候条件。该研究评估了游客的影响, 考虑温度、湿度和污染, 建立了一个制度并确定承载能力。量化承载能力的指标面临着挑战。这项研究为全球旅游业和遗产保护提供了信息, 提供了适用于世界各地文化遗址的方法。

这项研究考察了环境对阿詹塔洞穴壁画保护的影响, 包括湿度、微生物生长、阳光照射、空气质量和游客的存在。游客的涌入使二氧化碳含量上升, 直接危及壁画。对颗粒物的考虑, 尤其是在参观期间, 强调了数据驱动决策和现代技术应用对保护阿詹塔洞穴的艺术品的必要性。这一点至关重要, 因为它具有全球意义和旅游相关的脆弱性。

这项研究具有重大的社会影响并引起全球共鸣。当地社区和旅游利益相关者积极参与阿旃陀石窟的保护和推广, 可以增强居民的赋权, 激发居民的自豪感、主人翁意识和责任感, 确保可持续享受文化遗产, 同时为子孙后代保护文化遗产。此外, 还将为当地居民带来社会经济效益, 例如旅游经营者、导游、接待人员、工匠、纪念品店主等的就业机会。

这项研究综合了艺术保护、环境科学、文化遗产保护和社会方面以应对全球旅游业的挑战。它关注一个具有世界意义的遗址, 为艺术品保护、旅游管理和环境问题提供了实用的策略。这些建议提供了适用于全球遗产地的现实世界解决方案, 将科学分析与社会和文化见解联系起来。

El estudio investiga los factores medioambientales que influyen en el deterioro de los murales de Ajanta, evaluando los efectos globales del turismo y el comportamiento de los visitantes sobre el entorno de las cuevas y los murales. Se examina el papel que desempeñan las partes interesadas en la conservación y aporta datos para orientar a instituciones como la encuesta arqueológica de India. El objetivo son las prácticas turísticas sostenibles para equilibrar el acceso del público con la conservación de los murales para las generaciones futuras.

A lo largo de 25 años, los visitantes de las cuevas de Ajanta se han duplicado, con un impacto en las condiciones microclimáticas de los murales antiguos. El estudio evalúa el impacto de los visitantes para establecer una regulación y determinar la capacidad de carga, teniendo en cuenta la temperatura, la humedad y la contaminación. La cuantificación de la capacidad plantea problemas debido a las variables. La investigación aporta información al turismo mundial y a la conservación del patrimonio, ofreciendo metodologías aplicables a sitios culturales de todo el mundo.

Este estudio examina los impactos ambientales en la conservación de los murales de las cuevas de Ajanta, incluyendo la humedad, el crecimiento microbiano, la exposición a la luz solar, la calidad del aire y la presencia de turistas. La afluencia de turistas aumenta los niveles de CO2, poniendo directamente en peligro los murales. La preocupación por las partículas, especialmente durante las visitas, pone de relieve la necesidad de tomar decisiones basadas en datos y de utilizar tecnología actual para proteger las obras de arte de las cuevas de Ajanta, algo crucial debido a su importancia mundial y a las vulnerabilidades relacionadas con el turismo.

Este estudio conlleva importantes implicaciones sociales con una resonancia global. La participación activa de la comunidad local y las partes interesadas del turismo en la conservación y promoción de las Cuevas de Ajanta fomenta el empoderamiento, generando un sentido de orgullo, propiedad y responsabilidad entre los residentes y garantiza el disfrute sostenible del patrimonio cultural al mismo tiempo que lo salvaguarda para las generaciones futuras. Además, habrá beneficios socioeconómicos para los residentes locales, como oportunidades de empleo como operadores turísticos, guías turísticos, personal de hostelería, artesanos, comerciantes de souvenirs, etc.

Este estudio integra la conservación del arte, las ciencias medioambientales, la preservación del patrimonio cultural y los aspectos sociales para abordar los retos del turismo mundial. Centrándose en un sitio de importancia mundial, ofrece estrategias prácticas para la conservación de las obras de arte, la gestión del turismo y los problemas medioambientales. Estas recomendaciones aportan soluciones reales aplicables a lugares patrimoniales de todo el mundo, tendiendo puentes entre el análisis científico y las percepciones sociales y culturales.

This study aims to clarify the evolution law of stress field and fracture field during the mining process of inclined coal seam, to prevent the occurrence of roof burst water and impact ground pressure accident during the advancing process of working face.

The evolution law of stress-fracture field under different mining conditions of inclined coal seam was studied by using discrete element method and similar material simulation method.

The overburden stress at the lower end of the coal seam was mainly transmitted to the deep rock mass on the left side, and the overburden stress at the upper end was mainly transmitted to the floor direction. With the increase of the inclined length of the mining coal seam, the development of the fracture zone gradually evolves from the “irregular arch” form to the “transversely developed trapezoid” form. The development range of the fracture zone was always in the internal area of the stress concentration shell.

An original element of this paper is based on the condition that the dip angle of coal seam is 35°, and the evolution law of overburden stress-fracture field during the excavation of coal seam with different lengths was analyzed by UDEC numerical simulation software. The coupling relationship between stress shell and fracture field was proposed, and the development range of fracture zone was determined by stress. The value of this paper is to provide technical support and practical basis for the safety production of a mine working face.

This paper aims to describe and analyse the community’s perceptions of buren sites and how they maintain their value. Buren is a term used by locals to refer to the location of former iron ore smelting in the past. Archaeological findings at smelting sites are slags, ore fragments, tuyeres and smelting furnaces. These sites urgently need to be conserved because the expansion of oil palm plantations and coal mines is ongoing. Buren sites are on community and customary land, so site conservation and development must consider community perception.

The primary data were gathered through interviews, group discussions and observation. A literature review of previous research results obtained secondary data. Interviews and group discussions were digitally recorded and transcribed verbatim as qualitative coding. Thematic content analysis was performed using the concepts of the community’s perception and heritage values.

The community initially did not care about the buren. Today, they believe the buren as ancestral heritage has historical and educational value. The community hopes the buren can be preserved and developed to reinforce identity and pride as Dayak people and may improve community welfare.

Preserving and developing buren sites necessitate serious planning involving multiple stakeholders, as well as incorporating buren sites into development plans and regional socioeconomic growth. Future research should focus on strategies for preserving and developing buren sites.

Research results are used to teach students about the history and technology of metal making, instilling a sense of patriotism, strength and pride in Dayak’s identity.

The research has an impact on attitudes and behaviour of the locals. Previously, locals did not care about the buren tend to be afraid to enter it because they believed that buren was a guarded spirit. Now, the community has become concerned, participating in preserving the buren site as providing temporary roofs and making signboards and roads to the site. The community with support from regional officials expects to conserve and utilise the buren site as a tourist destination, combining river tours and forest tourism to create economic opportunities for local tour guides, parking services and boat providers.

The authenticity of this research is the sites are archaeologically valuable and are threatened by the expansion of oil palm plantations and coal mining. This is also the first study of an iron industrial site in Indonesia that addresses this problem and uses this method.

To ensure the motion attitude and stable contact force of massage robot working on unknown human tissue environment, this study aims to propose a robotic system for autonomous massage path planning and stable interaction control.

First, back region extraction and acupoint recognition based on deep learning is proposed, which provides a basis for determining the working area and path points of the robot. Second, to realize the standard approach and movement trajectory of the expert massage, 3D reconstruction and path planning of the massage area are performed, and normal vectors are calculated to control the normal orientation of robot-end. Finally, to cope with the soft and hard changes of human tissue state and body movement, an adaptive force tracking control strategy is presented to compensate the uncertainty of environmental position and tissue hardness online.

Improved network model can accomplish the acupoint recognition task with a large accuracy and integrate the point cloud to generate massage trajectories adapted to the shape of the human body. Experimental results show that the adaptive force tracking control can obtain a relatively smooth force, and the error is basically within ± 0.2 N during the online experiment.

This paper incorporates deep learning, 3D reconstruction and impedance control, the robot can understand the shape features of the massage area and adapt its planning massage path to carry out a stable and safe force tracking control during dynamic robot–human contact.

This paper aims to define the efficiency achieved by urban transport companies in Spain concerning the resources they use, considering the type of management used for implementation, public-private, and size.

This study consisted of an analysis of the efficiency of 229 public-private urban transport operators during the period 2012–2021 using Data Envelopment Analysis, the Malmquist Index and inference estimators to determine productivity, efficiency change into Pure Technical Efficiency Change (PTECH), and scale efficiency change.

Based on the efficiency analysis, the authors concluded that of the 229 companies studied, more than 35 were inefficient in all analysed periods. Considering the sample used, direct management is considered significantly more efficient. It cannot be concluded that the size of these companies influences their efficiency, as the data show unequal development behaviours in the studied years.

This study provides arguments on whether there is a significant difference between the two types of management in the urban transport sector. It also includes firm size as a study variable, which has not been previously considered in other studies related to urban transport efficiency. Efficiency should be a crucial factor in determining funding allocation in this sector, as it encourages operators to optimize and improve their services.

The aim of the paper is to explore within-firm vertical pay inequality and its relation to firm size and firm performance.

Using firm-level microdata for Kazakhstan, the authors measure within-firm pay inequality as the wage differential between the top- and the bottom-level job occupations. The authors carry out their analysis based on panel regression models.

The authors find that within-firm pay inequality increases as firms grow. Further, they identify that this trend is mainly driven by top-occupation workers receiving more significant wage increases compared to lower-level workers as firms expand. Once the authors address concerns about endogeneity, they find that pay inequality is negatively associated with firm performance.

Developing strategies and policies that prioritize fairness and transparency in compensation practices is crucial during the expansion process of firms. By actively discouraging rent-seeking behavior, firms can create a work environment that promotes productivity and sustainability, ultimately leading to improved firm performance. The research findings highlight the importance of implementing context-specific interventions, recognizing that different environments may require tailored approaches to address pay inequality effectively.

This study contributes to the study of within-firm pay inequality, firm size and performance in an emerging economy, an area that has been largely overlooked in previous empirical research. The contrasting findings show the importance of the structural and industrial characteristics of emerging markets that contribute to broader and deeper impact of pay inequality compared to developed economies.

In recent years, there has been significant interest in adopting XR (extended reality) technologies such as VR (virtual reality) and AR (augmented reality), particularly in retail. However, extending activities through reality-mediation is still mostly believed to offer an inferior experience due to their shortcomings in usability, wearability, graphical fidelity, etc. This study aims to address the research gap by experimentally examining the acceptance of metaverse shopping.

This study conducts a 2 (VR: with vs. without) × 2 (AR: with vs. without) between-subjects laboratory experiment involving 157 participants in simulated daily shopping environments. This study builds a physical brick-and-mortar store at the campus and stocked it with approximately 600 products with accompanying product information and pricing. The XR devices and a 3D laser scanner were used in constructing the three XR shopping conditions.

Results indicate that XR can offer an experience comparable to, or even surpassing, traditional shopping in terms of its instrumental and hedonic aspects, regardless of a slightly reduced perception of usability. AR negatively affected perceived ease of use, while VR significantly increased perceived enjoyment. It is surprising that the lower perceived ease of use appeared to be disconnected from the attitude toward metaverse shopping.

This study provides important experimental evidence on the acceptance of XR shopping, and the finding that low perceived ease of use may not always be detrimental adds to the theory of technology adoption as a whole. Additionally, it provides an important reference point for future randomized controlled studies exploring the effects of technology on adoption.

Given the great upheaval in the international situation and the increasing operating risk in international business, research on corporate diplomacy is thriving. However, it still lacks clear conceptualization and operationalization. Based on social capital theory, our study conceptualizes corporate diplomacy as a three-dimensional construct and quantifies its distinct and combined impacts on multinational enterprises’ (MNE) subsidiary performance.

This research analyzes 134 responses collected from a questionnaire survey among key informants in Chinese MNEs using the regression method.

This research finds that corporate diplomacy is positively correlated with MNEs’ subsidiary performance. Specifically, compatriot-oriented diplomacy is the most effective, followed sequentially by host-partner-oriented and host-regulator-oriented diplomacy. In addition, compatriot-oriented diplomacy substitutes for host-partner-oriented diplomacy but complements host-regulator-oriented diplomacy in enhancing subsidiary performance.

Our research enriches the conceptualization and operationalization of corporate diplomacy and provides a nuanced view of its distinct and combined effects on MNEs’ subsidiary performance.

Religious tourism is one of the oldest and fastest-growing segments. This study analyzes religious tourism through the pilgrimage of Muslims to the holy city of Mecca and has the following objectives: (1) establish the motivational dimensions of religious tourism; (2) identify the motivational dimensions that predict the satisfaction of religious tourism and (3) determine the motivational dimensions that predict return, recommend and say positive things about religious tourism applied to the pilgrimage to a sacred city.

The sample consisted of Muslim pilgrims who had visited Mecca. The sample was collected in Bahrain, a country located on the Persian Gulf, where most of its population is Muslim. A total of 380 valid questionnaires were obtained online. For the data analysis, factorial analysis and the multiple regression method enter were performed.

The results show that religious motivations are more important when visiting a sacred city than secular ones. Three motivational dimensions were found: religious, social and cultural and shopping. The three dimensions found have a significant relationship with satisfaction and loyalty. Likewise, it was found that the religious motivational dimension is the factor that most predicts satisfaction and loyalty in the behavior of religious visits to a sacred city.

The main limitation of the present study was the temporality in which the sample was taken because the demand may vary at another time of the year and therefore vary its results.

The authors of the study recommend that holy cities increase the religious motivations of these travelers by periodically researching their needs and organizing services to suit their desired spiritual experience. Also, to improve the social and cultural part, travel agencies and tourist companies to Mecca should promote social and cultural motivation among travelers in an appropriate way by providing service packages that involve visits to cultural and social sites such as museums and cultural centers.

This research will serve as a management guide for public institutions and private companies to develop more efficient planning in religious destinations and sacred cities.

This study is the first to analyze the construct of motivations in the pilgrimage to the city of Mecca, to then establish what the main motivations are that predict satisfaction and loyalty in a religious city. Thus, its results provide important information for tourist destination managers and tourism service providers.

This study aims to modify the human factors analysis and classification system (HFACS) to make it suitable for collapse accident analysis in construction. Based upon the modified HFACS, distribution patterns of causal factors across multiple levels were discerned among causal factors of various stakeholders at construction sites. It explored the correlations between two causal factors from different levels and further determined causation paths from two perspectives of level and stakeholder.

The main research framework consisted of data collection, coding and analysis. Collapse accident reports were collected with adequate causation information. The modified HFACS was utilized for coding causal factors across all five levels in each case. A hybrid approach with two perspectives of level and stakeholder was proposed for frequency analysis, correlation analysis and path identification between causal factors.

Eight causal factors from external organizations at the fifth level were added to the original HFACS. Level-based correlation analyses and path identification provided safety managers with a holistic view of inter-connected causal factors across five levels. Stakeholder-based correlation analyses between causal factors from the fifth level and its non-adjacent levels were implemented based on client, government and third parties. These identified paths were useful for different stakeholders to develop specific safety plans for avoiding construction collapse accidents.

This paper fulfils an identified need to modify and utilize the HFACS model for correlation analysis and path identification of causal factors resulting in collapse accidents, which can provide opportunities for tailoring preventive and protective measures at construction sites.