1,720,956 research outputs found
IMPROVEMENT IN PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION AND ITS IMPACT ON SUSTAINABLE TOURISM
Get PDFINTRODUCTION
Tourism is one of the most important sectors in Albania. The direct, and indirect contribution of this industry to Albania’s economy during recent decades has been high. The development of sustainable tourism is also a key to success that requires a great deal of responsibility, careful planning and competence to achieve. For this reason, the Albanian government is investing in creating improved environmental conditions through legal policy, investment in infrastructure and the preparation of qualified human capacities for tourism, etc.
Given that many elements impact a well-functioning tourism sector, one of the most delicate issues remains human resources. The special importance of qualified human resources in tourism, the lack of culture inherited from the past in the hospitality sector in Albania, as well as globalisation, brought the necessity to develop a better education system, which is designed and orientated toward one purpose; that of sustainable tourism. Professional education and training of human capacities are a strong link in the chain that keeps all tourism sustainable. Given that among other things every tourism enterprise (but not only) aims to maximise revenue, human capacity normally plays a crucial role in ensuring success.
There has been a return from professional education in Albania in the last decade, but much remains to be done. The main research questions are: Is it essential to adapt curricula regarding professional education for tourism to the conditions offered by the labour market in the tourism sector in Albania? Do students leaving professional schools meet their expectations? Do they meet the actual requirements of work?
MATERIALS AND METHODS
To conduct this study, secondary and primary data were used. Secondary data result from a review of wide-ranging and generally current literature, related to the research topic. Primary data are acquired using qualitative and quantitative research. Qualitative data are obtained through the instrument of a focus group held with students who attend professional education in hotel tourism. Quantitative data are obtained using two questionnaires, compiled by teachers and tourism businesses in Albania. The questionnaires contain open and structured questions and are self-administered by the respondent. The scientific method has been used for data collection, and the paper can be reproduced by other researchers.
RESULTS
The results of this study provide interesting evidence of the problems and challenges of professional education for tourism, and its connection with tourism businesses. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed, highlighting what still needs to be done to further improve professional education for sustainable tourism in Albania.
DISCUSSION
This paper has a contribution on the government level. As the Albanian government is investing in developing professional education, they need to consider the efficiency of their strategies and where they need to invest in the future. This paper can help a business to understand the positive impact of collaboration with a professional school
INNOVATION TECHNOLOGY ON CONNECTING AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS WITH TOURISM ENTERPRISES IN RURAL AREAS OF NORTHERN ALBANIA
Get PDFINTRODUCTION
In a developing country such as Albania, the tourism industry is considered very important in creating economic benefits. The possible contribution of tourism is also considered in the agricultural sector. The integration of regional agriculture and tourism enterprises is very important and brings economic development to the rural area. The relationship of agriculture with the tourism sector in rural areas stimulates local production, and sustains tourism profits. The problem of integrating the two sectors is related to the seasonal nature of tourism, the low quality of local products, the dependence of the tourism industry on imported supplies and the lack of a direct link between agricultural enterprises and the tourism industry.
Digitalisation of agriculture is considered very important for the progress of farming. Different interested parties assume that adopting new farming technology influences performance and will also provide an increase in accuracy of output produced to meet the needs of tourism business in the region.
The purpose of this paper is to explore farmers’ and tourism enterprises’ perception and attitude in relation to farming technology. This paper also shows the importance of digitalisation of the supply chain of agricultural products in order for it to sustain the tourism market. Finding optimal ways to improve relations between agricultural and tourism enterprises is necessary to create market synergy and improve the image of the tourist destination. The main source of this is agricultural development and potential in tourism development, in the form of tourism programmes and facilities. Two hypotheses were raised: digitalisation improves the production process of agricultural products, and digitalisation of the supply chain sustains relations between agricultural and tourism enterprises to create market synergy.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
The methodology of this paper is based on the analysis of secondary data and processing of primary data. The secondary data are the result of a review of extensive and contemporary literature, domestic and foreign, related to the research topic. In formal statistical management systems, data are used to research the characteristics and importance of agricultural and tourism companies using farming technology. The primary data is obtained using quantitative research through questionnaires. The questionnaires contain open and structured questions and are self-administered by the respondent. Two questionnaires were distributed; one to guest houses that operate specifically in the area of Theth, Razma, Bogë, Tamara, Lepushë, Vermosh, and the other to farmers that operate in the same area. The results of the questionnaire were elaborated using the SPSS program.Since a scientific method has been used for data collection, the paper can be reproduced by other researchers.
RESULTS
The data show that there is generally a positive attitude of farmers and tourism businesses in northern Albania towards adopting new technology, especially regarding distribution channels. There are several barriers to the adoption of technology by business in these two sectors.
DISCUSSION
The positive contribution of this paper is at the governmental level because it helps them understand where and what to invest or support regarding the tourism and agricultural sector. This paper is also valuable for private investors and NGOs
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Get PDFThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Get PDF“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Get PDFWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts
Get PDFWe conducted a full-scale evaluative citation analysis study of scholars in the XML research field to explore just how different from each other author rankings resulting from different citation counting methods actually are, and to demonstrate the capability of emerging data and tools on the Web in supporting more realistic citation counting methods. Our results contest some common arguments for the continued
use of first-author citation counts in the evaluation of scholars, such as high correlations between author rankings by first-author citation counts and other citation
counting methods, and high costs of using more realistic citation counting methods that are not well-supported by the ISI databases. It is argued that increasingly available digital full text research papers make it possible for citation analysis studies to go beyond what the ISI databases have directly supported and to employ more
sophisticated methods
koamabayili/VECTRON-author-checklist: VECTRON author checklist
No full textWe have done our best to complete the author checklist relating to the use of animals in the hut study. Note that the objective for the hut study was to evaluate the IRS treatment applications for residual efficacy against Anopheles mosquitoes, including the local An. coluzzii mosquito population. Cows were only used to attract mosquitoes into the huts and no tests were carried out directly on the cows. The author checklist is intended for use with studies where experiments are carried out on animals, which is why we have had such difficulty in completing this for the hut study, as many of the questions do not relate to how the cows were used
Author-wise bibliometric analysis based on entropy.
No full textAuthor-wise bibliometric analysis based on entropy.</p
- …
