Academic literature on the topic 'Mentioned services'

AbstractProduct-service systems (PSS) are solutions that integrate product and services in order to fulfill the customers’ needs by means of greater value in use. Multiple stakeholders should be involved in the design process for the development of a successful PSS value proposition. However, it is not clear who could be the potential stakeholders of a PSS. The aims of this study are to consolidate the stakeholders cited in PSS case studies and to reveal the terms used to refer to “stakeholder” in PSS literature. A systematic literature review was carried out, and an inductive content analysis procedure was applied. A total of 28 stakeholders were listed from the selected studies, whose PSS cases were classified as use- oriented or result-oriented services. Multiple terminologies are used to refer to stakeholders. This study contributes for showing the potential stakeholders that can be involved and engaged in the PSS design and operation. Also, it indicates the terms from which they can be addressed in the PSS literature.

Accompanying infrastructure improvements and networking technology innovation, the development of digital home service industry has gotten more and more attention. However, the digital home service levels have not sufficiently met rising demand from users. Therefore, it is urgent to propose and develop new service modes for the digital home. Geographic information services can provide various spatial information services such as map search, spatial information query. It has become an inevitable trend to implement geographic information services in the digital home. This paper proposes three new geographic information services modes for the digital home after sufficient requirement analysis: pushed information service mode, interactive information service mode, personalized information service mode. The key technologies to implement geographic information services on digital televisions are studied, involving digital television middleware technology, network transmission technology and visualization technology. According to the service modes’ characteristics mentioned above, a service system in the digital home is established to implement geographic information services on the basis of digital television. The implementation of geographic information services in the digital home not only enriches the digital home services content, but also promotes geographic information from specialization to public popularity.

В работе предложен методический подход к определению атрибутов потребительской ценности медицинской услуги. Представлены результаты, полученные в рамках четырёх этапов исследования: контент-анализа тематических источников по сочетающимся словам, группировки и соотнесении атрибутов, а также глубинного интервью с экспертами из медицинской сферы. This investigation introduces a methodological approach which allows to define the attributes for medical services consumer value. The study concentrates on the primary need to determine the medical services consumer value. The proposed methodological approach to determine the attributes for medical services consumer value contains four stages, namely: 1) content analysis; 2) attributes grouping; 3) attributes systematization 4) detailed interview with experts. The content analysis of topical texts was conducted using the harmonious words found in contemporary Russian and foreign studies. More than 4000 various mentioned attributes for the medical service consumer value were analyzed. All attributes were then grouped by the type of consumers’ benefits and costs. The medical service consumer value attributes were arranged in accordance with the elements of 7P marketing mix. The frequency of the mentioned attributes for medical service consumer value was calculated based on the results of the content analysis and detailed interview with the experts from the medical sector. The results of the investigation are important for assessing the medical service consumer value.

Abstract When using various types of services, the customer may experience positive or negative situations, incidents. These incidents may affect the customer's satisfaction or dissatisfaction. Therefore, these incidents can be a source of very valuable information for the enterprise about the quality of the services it offers. The problem, however, is their analysis, because such incidents can affect different aspects of the service, but also, as mentioned earlier, can have a positive or negative impact on customer satisfaction. The Critical Incident Technique (CIT), often mentioned in the literature, can be used for such an analysis. With this method, it is possible to isolate situations that are typical of the negative and positive feelings of the customers, as well as to determine the frequency of their occurrence. The purpose of the papers was to analyze the quality of services offered by the chosen catering enterprise with use of CIT. The research took form of a direct interview with customers after delivery of the chosen service. Data obtained on this basis was analyzed: all incidents were first divided into groups and categories as well as positive and negative incidents, and then statistics for individual categories were presented. This research allowed to indicate the strengths and weaknesses of the research service, but at the same time to indicate the areas of potential improvement.

The unrolling of properly intra-communitarian goods transport services may depend in many cases or be in tight connection with other services performance, such as: national transport services, accessory services (loading, unloading, handling, weighing, sorting, goods storage) or the mediation services concerning the intra-communitarian goods transport or accessory services. The categories of services above mentioned are remarked through a series of specific fiscal aspects, aspects that will be presented in this paper, both from a theoretical point of view, and from the point f view of some short examples.

In these competitive years of continuing change, libraries enrich their services with modern technologies and innovative approaches to satisfy users’ standards. This engagement significantly increases the effects of these new inputs on library budgets as new technology applications demand money and new organization schemes. Consequently, the annual budget has to be increased and difficulties arise due to its efficient allocation. This paper describes a methodology of evaluating offered services by using specific important factors like Users Satisfaction of a Service, Usage, and Cost of this service. Known methods for estimating Costs (ABC method) and estimating Satisfaction (MUSA method) in library fields are used. Also, the multi-criteria method to evaluate a service by correlating the above mentioned factors are used to give the observer the ability to find useful information. Finally, a case study about the evaluation of services using the proposed methodology is presented. The goal of the proposed methodology is to help library decision makers choose the most appropriate services to offer change and improvements according to user needs and allocated budgets.

The article is devoted to the study of the scientific sphere of service and services which are included in it. Analysis of aspects of this field has begun recently. Increasing interest in this subject is explained with the transition of society to post-industrial (informational) development, that is, to the society, where the basis is the contemporary acquisition of new knowledge and relevant information. Today science is considered as a specific production objective (overt, explicit) knowledge. Consequently, the sphere of scientific service is a special part of the sphere of services directly associated with the specific activity of scientific institutions and organizations. However, despite the significant role of the sphere of scientific services in economic growth, in the direction of the course of scientific and technical policy (SSTP) and the competitiveness of any developed or just developing country, we should establish that there are several understudied aspects and controversial issues. In particular, the scientific literature gives little attention to the research of the sphere of scientific service; there is no universally accepted definition of the sphere of scientific service. This article presents some theoretical positions about the nature of this sphere and gives its features. The authors give the clarified definition of «scientific services» and identify the proposed location of the sphere of scientific service in the field of services. The article discusses the various services in the field of scientific services. Names are from classifications officially cited or mentioned in the periodical literature (both foreign and domestic). According to the results the authors give the definition of the services in the field of scientific service based on the analyzed classifications.

In the network environment, special service website is an effective way to carry out special services. Currently there are many problems in special topic service website construction: the style is not uniform, the database is not compatible, technical architectures have serious differences, and rights management is confusing. All of the issues mentioned above lead to a great waste of hardware, software, human and financial resources. This article puts forward the Drupal-based rapid website establishment solution which can effectively improves the construction and management efficiency of special topic service website and increases compatibility between different topic service sites, while greatly reducing the cost of topic services.

The special service website is an effective way to conduct special services in network environment. Recently many problems exist in website construction for special topic service: the style is not uniform, the database is not compatible, communication protocol is not practical, technical architectures have serious differences and rights management is confused. All of the problems mentioned above lead to a great waste of hardware, software, human and financial resources. This paper proposes a Drupal-based rapid website establishment solution which effectively improves the construction and management efficiency of special topic service website and increases compatibility between different topic service sites, while greatly reducing the cost of topic services.

In many economies, a significant proportion of service production is organized within market system. In the market system, the units in this organization base their economic activities on profit and benefit maximization. However, in most parts of service sector, pure competition conditions may not be valid. Health services are different from the goods which are produced and distributed by the open market. While some activities which are within the scope of health services are close to the definition of public, most of them have the characteristics of semipublic goods and services. Considering the importance which the mentioned services have regarding the society with their social benefits and the social costs which they will cause unless they are produced sufficiently, it could be argued that besides the open market, the public should also produce these services. The aim of this study is to present the insufficiency of market system in producing health services and analyze the intervention methods of public in order to compensate the insufficiency.

In the context of integration of the Lithuanian social service sector into the international social security system of the European Union where relations of market economy are getting more and more stronger, it is important to substantiate the trends and priorities for efficient development of the mentioned services. In order to ensure rendering of one of the types of the mentioned services – institutional care services – for elderly population not only by the objective structure and scope, but also to ensure sufficient funding thereof, it is necessary to identify the priorities and principles of efficient rendering of the mentioned services. Researches carried out in the European Union show that most of the goals of effectiveness of institutional care services (further – “the ICS”) for the elderly are short-term, driven to technical efficiency, where efforts are taken to render maximal quantity of services (of the definite quality) for the minimal ICS costs. However, the increasing need for these services in a result of new changes in the structure and values of the society is not adequate to public resources and does not ensure satisfaction of the ICS need either.

Defences to copyright infringement have gained increased significance over the past twenty years. The fourth industrial revolution emerged with the development of innovative copy-reliant services and business models, transforming the way in which copyright works can be used, from digital learning methods to mass digitization initiatives, media monitoring services, image transformation tools, and content mining technologies. The lawfulness of such innovative services and business methods, which arguably have the potential to enhance public welfare, is dubious and challenges copyright law. EU copyright contains specifically enumerated, narrowly drafted, and strictly interpreted defensive rules, often taking the form of the so-called exceptions and limitations to copyright. Because the fourth industrial revolution promises innovation and business growth—stated objectives of EU copyright—it invites an examination of defensive rules as a whole. The book adopts a holistic approach in its exploration of the limits of permissibility under EU copyright, including legislatively mentioned exceptions and limitations, doctrinal principles, and rules external to copyright, with a view to unveiling possible gaps and overlaps, offering a novel classification of defensive rules, and evaluating the adaptability of the law towards technological change. Discussing recent legislative developments, such as the provisions of the Digital Single Market Directive, Court of Justice of the European Union case law, and insights from national laws and cases, the book tells the story of copyright from the perspective of copyright defences, offering positivist and normative insights into law and doctrine and arguing towards a principle-based understanding of the scope of defences that could inform future law and policy making.

This work aims to analyze the possible practical and legal repercussions of the implementation of technologies characteristic of the digital age in the dynamics of advocacy. Considering the increasing influence that scientific advances have exercised not only in human life, but especially in the ways of working and in the models of the professions, the objective was to prospectively investigate the transformations of this context in advocacy. In order to improve the understanding of the research, three common sectors-activities were separated between the more traditional advocacy: manual labor; systems and departments, highlighting the most recurring bottlenecks. Ahead, there were also three technologies highlighted in the technological revolution, which were: artificial intelligence; automation of legal documents and big data. In the meantime, possible resistance factors between law and technology were also discussed. Finally, through a bibliographic and exploratory methodological process, the research explored possible consequences of the direct insertion of these new technologies in each specific sector of traditional law, considering the functionalities and the problems that would be solved. Thus, there were several repercussions, both practical and legal, including the financial, methodological, strategic and organizational logistics of the offices, among which were mentioned: gain of time; fees. internal costs; data-based procedural strategy, and more. Still, in addition to the realization of the high probability of changes in the lawyer's practice, there was a need to seek solutions that really connect the law to innovations in this new scenario, with emphasis on the contracting of services offered by lawtechs.

This chapter explains the organisation and functions of the following institutions of employment law: the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS); the Certification Office; the Central Arbitration Committee (CAC); the Employment Tribunal and Employment Appeal Tribunal; industrial training boards; the Equality and Human Rights Commission; the Health and Safety Executive; the Health and Work Advisory and Assessment Service; the Low Pay Commission; and the Supreme Court. It also discusses the impact of the EU on UK employment law and the implications of the Human Rights Act 1998 for employment law, and mentions the effect of the European Union (Withdrawal) Bill.

This chapter provides an introduction to study design, data collection, and analysis in implementation science. Although the randomized controlled trial is frequently employed in implementation science, a number of alternatives are relied on for addressing the unique challenges present. Alternatives include the cluster randomized control trial, roll-out designs such as the stepped wedge, cumulative trial, and effectiveness–implementation hybrid designs. Data collection and data analytic techniques must also address the unique challenges present in implementation science. Often, implementation occurs over time, often, across complex, multilevel contexts. Implementation scientists frequently utilize mixed, qualitative, and quantitative methodologies for collecting, analyzing, and interpreting data. Data represent the outer context of service systems and the inner context of organizations such that the data are often nested and hierarchical in nature. This chapter highlights the previously mentioned topics, particularly as they relate to currently funded implementation studies focused on the cancer control continuum.

Sepsis is common and has been the focus of recent large-scale, multi-centre trials internationally. Mortality rates have improved, largely due to a focus on early identification, key interventions, and close monitoring. Setting goals and resuscitation targets coupled with frequent reassessment is the essence of modern sepsis care. Retrieval services bring the intensive care unit to the patient. Specific conditions such as infective endocarditis, central nervous system infections, respiratory, gastrointestinal, abdominal, obstetric, and necrotizing soft tissue sepsis require special consideration. With newly emerging infections and increasing air travel, the importance of a travel history is emphasized. Sepsis in the immunocompromised host gets a special mention due to the complexity of patient, organism, and drug interactions. The chapter is completed by a table to guide empirical antibiotic choice.

Banking sector is one of the sectors which face the problem because of the huge amounts of data coming in at a rapid pace. In this paper the authors analyzed grievances in the banking sector through big data. The customers may have a wide variety of complaints and suggestions regarding the working style and other procedural methods which are followed by the banks for effective customer dealing and satisfaction. Quick rectification of complaints and working on customer suggestions can help banks gain a good name in the market, win customers' loyalties and attract new customers. To accomplish this gargantuan task, banks must maintain a complaints database which stores the information on customer complaints across the above mentioned categories along with the response to the complaints by the relevant employees which is collected over a period of time can reveal crucial and critical information for effective CRM in the organizations. In this paper, authors had analyzed the grievances to uncover the valuable suggestions of the customer to provide them a higher level of satisfaction

Higher education is continuously progressing toward globalization and openness, and models of teaching, scientific research, and learning are rapidly changing. Due to macro-environmental changes, academic libraries must actively adjust their functional positions and explore new methods for user services. To satisfy users' increasingly diversified needs for information, academic libraries are continuously extending user service functions, and gradually evolving from libraries that provide lending services to centers of learning, teaching services, knowledge, and culture on campus. Through functional repositioning, academic libraries are constructing more systematic and diversified user service systems by improving basic services, deepening support services, extending services in teaching assistance, boosting services for cultivating humanistic literacy, developing spatial services, and expanding new technical services. Throughout the above-mentioned development processes, there has been a clear trend of change in terms of the contents, marketing, and cooperation of user services.

Customer retention is the process of keeping your current customers' set satisfied and loyal to your product, successful customer retention is not only related to the applied product or services, but strongly related to how the organization provide the services and the reputation it creates within and across the marketplace. This chapter mentions four different cases of using social media to achieve customer retention. Cases will be named based on services provided by the firm, theme park, personal care business, food business, and suppling athlete tools. Also set of tips and guidelines about planning social strategy presented, finally suggested tools support different platforms were mentioned.

In these competitive years of continuing change, libraries enrich their services with modern technologies and innovative approaches to satisfy users’ standards. This engagement significantly increases the effects of these new inputs on library budgets as new technology applications demand money and new organization schemes. Consequently, the annual budget has to be increased and difficulties arise due to its efficient allocation. This paper describes a methodology of evaluating offered services by using specific important factors like Users Satisfaction of a Service, Usage, and Cost of this service. Known methods for estimating Costs (ABC method) and estimating Satisfaction (MUSA method) in library fields are used. Also, the multi-criteria method to evaluate a service by correlating the above mentioned factors are used to give the observer the ability to find useful information. Finally, a case study about the evaluation of services using the proposed methodology is presented. The goal of the proposed methodology is to help library decision makers choose the most appropriate services to offer change and improvements according to user needs and allocated budgets.

It is possible to take the concepts of economic geography, regional production, and competition, often mentioned nowadays, back to the transition to the established order in the historical process, in other words, to the agricultural revolution. However, systematically developing and implementing methods was started by Ahi Evran about 800 years ago. The working order of the Akhi-Tradesmen Organization created by Evran, based on the understanding of the economy will serve the human, not human to economy, bears a resemblance to today's agglomeration system. The fact that production factors, which are agglomerated in a specified geographical area, work with optimum efficiency spurs competitiveness.Within this framework, this chapter reveals the implementation of regional agglomeration model in Ottoman territories in historical process, which is discussed in the economic geography studies. In addition, within the scope of institutionalization, the period spent by organization of Akhi-Tradesmen in the Ottoman Empire will be mentioned.

Digitalization has affected many areas as well as management and marketing areas. In the digital age, through ICTs, the ways of searching and accessing information about the event by the users have been developed and transformed. Besides, the developments in the digital age have also affected many sectors such as the production, design, software, management, and marketing sector. The opportunities offered by digital marketing make life easier for users and provide easy access to information. Likewise, businesses can facilitate their management and marketing events through digitalization. Businesses sustain their events by organizing and diversifying new events according to the customer base and the type of event for the management and marketing of events. ICT tools have spread to all functions and events of the tourism industry in terms of business, marketing, and management. In this chapter, which mentioned the opportunity and challenges of ICTs, the opportunities and challenges posed by ICT are also mentioned.

With the increasing application of web services in our lives, selecting the right web service is becoming unprecedentedly difficult. Indeed, before paying the price of a web service, the customer always tries to make sure of his choice. One of the mechanisms used to put the customer in trust is to make available the opinions of other customers who have already used this web service. In the literature, many solutions for measuring the reputation of web services have been proposed. Unfortunately, they ignore certain aspects that we find important to ensure a more meaningful assessment of the reputation. Firstly, consumers do not always have the same satisfaction criteria, and as a result, they can judge the same web service differently. Thus, without knowing the consumer's preferences, it is almost impossible to give meaning to his opinion. Secondly, the qualities of a web service can be changed over time, and hence, the old ratings are no longer representative. In this chapter, the authors propose a novel reputation computation approach to deal with the problems mentioned above.

Besides the support of Aniridia Foundation International, there are several other services for the blind and visually impaired. Parent Training and Information Centers and Community Parent Resource Centers can help parents with children who are blind or visually impaired. These centers are located all over the United States, and they help families of children and young adults with disabilities (from birth to age 22). Also, they help families obtain appropriate education and services for their children with disabilities, train and inform parents and professionals on a variety of topics, resolve problems between families and schools, and connect children with disabilities to community resources that address their needs. For more information on a center located in your state, please visit http://www.ilru.org/html/publications/directory/index.html. All websites mentioned in this chapter will be listed at the end of this chapter along with several other websites for other services and organizations that may assist you. The Lighthouse International has been helping visually impaired people since 1905. It strives to help visually impaired individuals live better lives and to be in independent. It is also dedicated to preventing disabilities. To accomplish this it has research studies, prevention efforts, advocacy initiatives, education programs, and vision rehabilitation services. For more information, please visit the Lighthouse International website at www.lighthouse.org. The Lions International began to dedicate services to the visually impaired in 1925 when Helen Keller challenged the Lions Club to be “knights of the blind in the crusade against darkness.” Today Lions is successful in helping those who are blind and visually impaired. A very important program Lions has is called SightFirst. This program was started in 1989 to help prevent blindness. Just a few of the services are helping to construct or expand eye hospitals and clinics, contributing to cataract surgeries, and providing sight-saving medication. This program is also striving to eliminate preventable childhood blindness, and to control river blindness and trachoma. For more information, please visit the Lions International website at www.lionsclubs.org.

Several systems integration proposals have been suggested over the years. However these proposals have mainly focused on data integration, not allowing users to take advantage of services offered by Web portals. Most of the mentioned proposals only provide a set of design principles to build integrated systems and lack in suggesting a systematic way of how to develop systems based on the integration architecture they propose. In previous work we have developed PISA (Web Portal Integration Architecture)—a Web portal integration architecture for data and services—and MIDAS-S, a methodological approach for the development of integrated Web portals, built according to PISA. This work shows, by means of a case study, how both proposals fit together integrating Web portals.

Although tagging is a widely accepted practice on the Social Web, it raises various issues like tags ambiguity and heterogeneity, as well as the lack of organization between tags. We believe that Semantic Web technologies can help solve many of these issues, especially considering the use of formal resources from the Web of Data in support of existing tagging systems and practices. In this article, we present the MOAT—Meaning Of A Tag—ontology and framework, which aims to achieve this goal. We will detail some motivations and benefits of the approach, both in an Enterprise 2.0 ecosystem and on the Web. As we will detail, our proposal is twofold: It helps solve the problems mentioned previously, and weaves user-generated content into the Web of Data, making it more efficiently interoperable and retrievable.

Many current manufacturers provide not only tangible products to their customers, but also services which are accompanying their products. Moreover, manufacturers add smart services to their service offerings. Applying the change toward smart services is not easy, especially in SMEs where many of businesses struggle with lack of money, insufficient digital technologies or unskilled employees. The aim of the study mentioned in this paper explores current situation in SMEs and their attitudes related to collaboration with other subjects on their markets. To address the research objective, a qualitative multi-case study was conducted among seven Czech electrotechnical SMEs, which have already started with smart service development. The findings can indicate two approaches of collaboration based mostly on the owners’ enthusiasm for smart services, management’s age and the length of running their business. The study is unique in highlighting the problems of smart services in SMEs in the Czech Republic, where the industrial sector is still dominant in comparison to other European countries.

The use and evaluation of riparian forest ecosystem services is a topical issue in Latvia involving interests of different target groups. Research work on proper management methods, their impact on biological values and production function has been started in 2014, while information on social values was missing. Particular methodology was designed and three different approaches of opinion polls were used to obtain information on use of riparian forest services and their evaluation by public in spring, 2015. In total there were 1024 questionnaires distributed out of which 418 were analysed for the research purposes along with 224 filled on the Internet. Different services of riparian forest ecosystems were used by 88 % of respondents, mostly walking along rivers and swimming were mentioned. Respondents evaluated three different scenarios of forest management and 96% of them gave preference to the scenario which required implementation of sustainability criteria resulted in high diversity of species and an increase of esthetical values. Large part (61 %) of respondents accepted the idea of voluntary work to improve the condition of rivers and riparian forests and in average there were ready to work 3.8 days per year. Willingness to pay (WTP) to improve the situation of riparian forests and rivers close to a residence place of a respondents was expressed by 62 % of respondents, in the average 28.50 Euro per year was mentioned. The current research is a starting point for evaluation of riparian forest ecosystems and provides valuable information for further analyses. Research data are used to identify factors influencing the use and evaluation of different services provided by riparian forest ecosystem. Results will be used in decision making processes related to legislation and management changes, as well as in valuation of ecosystem services and planning of public use of riparian forests.

Adopting emerging computing paradigms such as cloud applications include challenges associated to transform legacy software to essential characteristics of the mentioned computing model, e.g. on-demand self-service, broad network access, resource pooling, rapid elasticity and measured services. This paper presents a summary of technical experiences on applying one of the most popular approaches to address transformation of legacy software to cloud-native applications: a microservice-oriented architecture with connections to legacy systems through anti-corruption layers. Several technical considerations are presented, focusing on Open Source Software to include particular features on modern development practices as well as solving issues related to the cloud-native transformation.

Introduction. This paper reports on part of a larger study, specifically on the information behaviour theories used in foundational reference and information services courses in North America. Method. Content analysis of syllabi, reading lists and textbooks from foundational reference courses was conducted. Analysis. Qualitative and quantitative analyses of documents was conducted to identify specific information behaviour theories. Results. The most mentioned information behaviour theories in reference courses are similar to those most mentioned in studies of information behaviour research, including Kuhlthau’s information search process and Savolainen’s everyday life information seeking. Conclusions. Students in courses that discuss information behaviour theories are being exposed to the most impactful information behaviour theories, but still only two-thirds of courses include them.

The article considers the problem of additional vocational training in the system of higher education of the Russian Federation. The author gives main characteristics of a modern refresher course or a course of vocational training, based on the experience of attending courses of additional vocational training by the teachers of the Department of foreign languages of the Irkutsk State Medical University (ISMU). In the end, there is an example of an innovative course of vocational training worked out by the specialists of the mentioned department that can answer the challenges of the modern system of higher education.

A research and development project has recently been carried out to develop ceramic thermocouple probes (CTPs) capable of measuring temperatures up to 2000°C and rugged enough to withstand extended service in high-temperature gas turbine environments. Existing metallic thermocouple technology cannot withstand such conditions for sustainable periods of time. Following initial laboratory studies, CTP trials were carried out in power generation boilers (Farrell and Higginbottom, 1995). Prototype CTPs were subsequently developed for evaluation in gas turbine (GT) combustors (at atmospheric and elevated pressures) and in a Spey engine (Patent, 1996). The CTPs performed well under the harsh conditions imposed, demonstrating their mechanical integrity and consistency/sustainability of signal output. Initial studies have also been carried out with a view to applying ‘thin-layer’ ceramic thermocouples directly onto thermal barrier coatings to give surface temperatures on stator or other hot gas surfaces, and are briefly mentioned. Rowan Technologies and TÜV Energy Services are currently looking for companies interested in exploiting this new ceramic thermocouple technology.

Ecosystem services are all goods and benefits that humans obtain from ecosystems. These are essential for human survival, social and economic development. With the impacts of climate change, ecosystem degradation and loss of biodiversity, the efficient and complete provision of ecosystem services is also under threat. The paper presents community capacity building activities on ecosystem services and climate change implemented under the ECO - SMART project (Cooperation program Interreg V-A ItalySlovenia 2014-2020). Since the design of coordinated local climate change adaptation plans of selected pilot Natura 2000 sites in Slovenia and Italy is a project objective, activities aimed at strengthening competences of crossborder local communities and confronting different stakeholder views are of particular importance. The educational needs of the community were identified through a questionnaire. The respondents' knowledge regarding mentioned contents, interest for capacity building and participation in training events were analysed. The results were taken in consideration during design of capacity building activities.

The theoretical issues of tourism marketing, modern methods of tourism promotion on the market, as well as the main questions of success marketing research of tourism services in general, and for consumers in particular are covering in this article. Materials of marketing research of tourism in Kyrgyzstan by using data from tourists’ survey, who rest in Issyk-Kul during the summer season in 2016 also are analyzing. The results of marketing research of tourist behavior as the consumers are summarizing by identifying positive and negative reviews, as well as investigating the activities of the main competitors, operating in the tourism sphere in Kyrgyzstan, preparing SWOT-analysis. The main reasons for the low level of the tourism sector in the country's GDP is also identifying, as well as the low level of development of tourism logistics and customer service.
 Based on the above mentioned materials at the end in the article the problems and ways to improve are emphasizing. The ways to further improve the service and leisure for the travelers and the main directions of further development of tourism as a business in the Kyrgyz Republic are identifying.
 
 

Sustainable development has always been one of the most important policies implemented by the European Union, mentioned in different treaties over time. In 2015, European Union is setting 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) with 169 targets within the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Developement. European Union is preseting the SDG 11 Goal aim ”to renew and plan cities and other human settlements in a way that they offer opportunities for all, with access to servicies, energy, housing, transportation, green public spaces, while improving resource use and reducing environmental impacts”. The EU is monitoring the progress towards SDGs for all member states through different indicators, like the recycling rate of municipal waste for SDG 11. In 2018, Romania has the recyling rate of municipal waste of only 11,11%, far away from the average of EU of 47,4%. The local public administrations have an important role in increasing the recyling rate, by providing the best services for the citizens and, in the same time, by reducing the costs of these services. In this matter, the paper presents an innovative solution regarding the waste collection in the largest District from Bucharest, Romania. The underground waste collection platforms represent and alternative for the classic platforms and the innovation comes from the smart component that they integrate, represented by the filling sensors that communicate directly to the sanitation operator. The monitoring system has direct effect by incresing the efficiency of the waste collections process, as follows: reduces the waste collection cost by 50%; improves the services provided for the citizens; predicts waste generation patterns based on data; refines waste collection processes over time; optimizes routing and navigation etc.

The objective of the study was to identify employers’ needs of the future labour market in 5–7 years in Vidzeme Region. The data were obtained from a quantitative survey of employers and expert interviews according to Delphi method. Experts believe that some brand new profession may appear, but mostly changes will affect the contents of the professions and the required skills. As regards the topicality of occupations within the next five years, the experts all agree on priority of information and communication services and related professions. The second most frequently mentioned is the processing industry, since a change in the working specifics will require employees, able to use complicated equipment.

A systematic approach to tree planting and management globally is hindered by the limited synthesis of information sources on tree uses and species priorities. To help address this, the authors ‘mined’ information from 23 online global and regional databases to assemble a list of the most frequent tree species deemed useful for planting according to database mentions, with a focus on tropical regions. Using a simple vote count approach for ranking species, we obtained a shortlist of 100 trees mentioned in at least 10 of our data sources (the ‘top-100’ species). A longer list of 830 trees that were mentioned at least five times was also compiled. Our ‘top-100’ list indicated that the family Fabaceae (syn. Leguminosae) was most common. The information associated with our mined data sources indicated that the ‘top-100’ list consisted of a complementary group of species of differing uses. These included the following: for wood (mostly for timber) and fuel production, human nutrition, animal fodder supply, and environmental service provision (varied services). Of these uses, wood was most frequently specified, with fuel and food use also highly important. Many of the ‘top-100’ species were assigned multiple uses. The majority of the ‘top-100’ species had weediness characteristics according to ‘attribute’ invasiveness databases that were also reviewed, thereby demonstrating potential environmental concerns associated with tree planting that need to be balanced against environmental and livelihood benefits. Less than half of the ‘top-100’ species were included in the OECD Scheme for the Certification of Forest Reproductive Material, thus supporting a view that lack of germplasm access is a common concern for trees. A comparison of the ‘top-100’ species with regionally-defined tree inventories indicated their diverse continental origins, as would be anticipated from a global analysis. However, compared to baseline expectations, some geographic regions were better represented than others. Our analysis assists in priority-setting for research and serves as a guide to practical tree planting initiatives. We stress that this ‘top-100’ list does not necessarily represent tree priorities for the future, but provides a starting point for also addressing representation gaps. Indeed, our primary concern going forward is with the latter.

This paper presents the framework and methodology for the economic valuation of the knowledge-based economy in five Latin American (LA) countries, namely Costa Rica, El Salvador, Mexico, Peru and the Dominican Republic, for which a new database (IDB-Ivie, 2020) has recently been released. It uses an alternative approach to measuring the knowledge intensity of economies as to those based on the aggregation of industries according to selected indicators such as research and development (R&D) expenditure or labor force skills. Instead, we follow an economic approach rooted in the growth accounting methodology, determining the contribution of each individual factor of production (capital and labor) according to the prices of the services it provides. This methodology will be applied to the above-mentioned LA countries, and to the United States and Spain, which are used as benchmarks. Data are available for the period 1995-2016.

Channel Island National Park (CHIS), incorporating five islands off the coast of southern California (Anacapa Island, San Miguel Island, Santa Barbara Island, Santa Cruz Island, and Santa Rosa Island), has an outstanding paleontological record. The park has significant fossils dating from the Late Cretaceous to the Holocene, representing organisms of the sea, the land, and the air. Highlights include: the famous pygmy mammoths that inhabited the conjoined northern islands during the late Pleistocene; the best fossil avifauna of any National Park Service (NPS) unit; intertwined paleontological and cultural records extending into the latest Pleistocene, including Arlington Man, the oldest well-dated human known from North America; calichified “fossil forests”; records of Miocene desmostylians and sirenians, unusual sea mammals; abundant Pleistocene mollusks illustrating changes in sea level and ocean temperature; one of the most thoroughly studied records of microfossils in the NPS; and type specimens for 23 fossil taxa. Paleontological research on the islands of CHIS began in the second half of the 19th century. The first discovery of a mammoth specimen was reported in 1873. Research can be divided into four periods: 1) the few early reports from the 19th century; 2) a sustained burst of activity in the 1920s and 1930s; 3) a second burst from the 1950s into the 1970s; and 4) the modern period of activity, symbolically opened with the 1994 discovery of a nearly complete pygmy mammoth skeleton on Santa Rosa Island. The work associated with this paleontological resource inventory may be considered the beginning of a fifth period. Fossils were specifically mentioned in the 1938 proclamation establishing what was then Channel Islands National Monument, making CHIS one of 18 NPS areas for which paleontological resources are referenced in the enabling legislation. Each of the five islands of CHIS has distinct paleontological and geological records, each has some kind of fossil resources, and almost all of the sedimentary formations on the islands are fossiliferous within CHIS. Anacapa Island and Santa Barbara Island, the two smallest islands, are primarily composed of Miocene volcanic rocks interfingered with small quantities of sedimentary rock and covered with a veneer of Quaternary sediments. Santa Barbara stands apart from Anacapa because it was never part of Santarosae, the landmass that existed at times in the Pleistocene when sea level was low enough that the four northern islands were connected. San Miguel Island, Santa Cruz Island, and Santa Rosa Island have more complex geologic histories. Of these three islands, San Miguel Island has relatively simple geologic structure and few formations. Santa Cruz Island has the most varied geology of the islands, as well as the longest rock record exposed at the surface, beginning with Jurassic metamorphic and intrusive igneous rocks. The Channel Islands have been uplifted and faulted in a complex 20-million-year-long geologic episode tied to the collision of the North American and Pacific Places, the initiation of the San Andreas fault system, and the 90° clockwise rotation of the Transverse Ranges, of which the northern Channel Islands are the westernmost part. Widespread volcanic activity from about 19 to 14 million years ago is evidenced by the igneous rocks found on each island.

1.1 Macroeconomic summary Economic recovery has consistently outperformed the technical staff’s expectations following a steep decline in activity in the second quarter of 2020. At the same time, total and core inflation rates have fallen and remain at low levels, suggesting that a significant element of the reactivation of Colombia’s economy has been related to recovery in potential GDP. This would support the technical staff’s diagnosis of weak aggregate demand and ample excess capacity. The most recently available data on 2020 growth suggests a contraction in economic activity of 6.8%, lower than estimates from January’s Monetary Policy Report (-7.2%). High-frequency indicators suggest that economic performance was significantly more dynamic than expected in January, despite mobility restrictions and quarantine measures. This has also come amid declines in total and core inflation, the latter of which was below January projections if controlling for certain relative price changes. This suggests that the unexpected strength of recent growth contains elements of demand, and that excess capacity, while significant, could be lower than previously estimated. Nevertheless, uncertainty over the measurement of excess capacity continues to be unusually high and marked both by variations in the way different economic sectors and spending components have been affected by the pandemic, and by uneven price behavior. The size of excess capacity, and in particular the evolution of the pandemic in forthcoming quarters, constitute substantial risks to the macroeconomic forecast presented in this report. Despite the unexpected strength of the recovery, the technical staff continues to project ample excess capacity that is expected to remain on the forecast horizon, alongside core inflation that will likely remain below the target. Domestic demand remains below 2019 levels amid unusually significant uncertainty over the size of excess capacity in the economy. High national unemployment (14.6% for February 2021) reflects a loose labor market, while observed total and core inflation continue to be below 2%. Inflationary pressures from the exchange rate are expected to continue to be low, with relatively little pass-through on inflation. This would be compatible with a negative output gap. Excess productive capacity and the expectation of core inflation below the 3% target on the forecast horizon provide a basis for an expansive monetary policy posture. The technical staff’s assessment of certain shocks and their expected effects on the economy, as well as the presence of several sources of uncertainty and related assumptions about their potential macroeconomic impacts, remain a feature of this report. The coronavirus pandemic, in particular, continues to affect the public health environment, and the reopening of Colombia’s economy remains incomplete. The technical staff’s assessment is that the COVID-19 shock has affected both aggregate demand and supply, but that the impact on demand has been deeper and more persistent. Given this persistence, the central forecast accounts for a gradual tightening of the output gap in the absence of new waves of contagion, and as vaccination campaigns progress. The central forecast continues to include an expected increase of total and core inflation rates in the second quarter of 2021, alongside the lapse of the temporary price relief measures put in place in 2020. Additional COVID-19 outbreaks (of uncertain duration and intensity) represent a significant risk factor that could affect these projections. Additionally, the forecast continues to include an upward trend in sovereign risk premiums, reflected by higher levels of public debt that in the wake of the pandemic are likely to persist on the forecast horizon, even in the context of a fiscal adjustment. At the same time, the projection accounts for the shortterm effects on private domestic demand from a fiscal adjustment along the lines of the one currently being proposed by the national government. This would be compatible with a gradual recovery of private domestic demand in 2022. The size and characteristics of the fiscal adjustment that is ultimately implemented, as well as the corresponding market response, represent another source of forecast uncertainty. Newly available information offers evidence of the potential for significant changes to the macroeconomic scenario, though without altering the general diagnosis described above. The most recent data on inflation, growth, fiscal policy, and international financial conditions suggests a more dynamic economy than previously expected. However, a third wave of the pandemic has delayed the re-opening of Colombia’s economy and brought with it a deceleration in economic activity. Detailed descriptions of these considerations and subsequent changes to the macroeconomic forecast are presented below. The expected annual decline in GDP (-0.3%) in the first quarter of 2021 appears to have been less pronounced than projected in January (-4.8%). Partial closures in January to address a second wave of COVID-19 appear to have had a less significant negative impact on the economy than previously estimated. This is reflected in figures related to mobility, energy demand, industry and retail sales, foreign trade, commercial transactions from selected banks, and the national statistics agency’s (DANE) economic tracking indicator (ISE). Output is now expected to have declined annually in the first quarter by 0.3%. Private consumption likely continued to recover, registering levels somewhat above those from the previous year, while public consumption likely increased significantly. While a recovery in investment in both housing and in other buildings and structures is expected, overall investment levels in this case likely continued to be low, and gross fixed capital formation is expected to continue to show significant annual declines. Imports likely recovered to again outpace exports, though both are expected to register significant annual declines. Economic activity that outpaced projections, an increase in oil prices and other export products, and an expected increase in public spending this year account for the upward revision to the 2021 growth forecast (from 4.6% with a range between 2% and 6% in January, to 6.0% with a range between 3% and 7% in April). As a result, the output gap is expected to be smaller and to tighten more rapidly than projected in the previous report, though it is still expected to remain in negative territory on the forecast horizon. Wide forecast intervals reflect the fact that the future evolution of the COVID-19 pandemic remains a significant source of uncertainty on these projections. The delay in the recovery of economic activity as a result of the resurgence of COVID-19 in the first quarter appears to have been less significant than projected in the January report. The central forecast scenario expects this improved performance to continue in 2021 alongside increased consumer and business confidence. Low real interest rates and an active credit supply would also support this dynamic, and the overall conditions would be expected to spur a recovery in consumption and investment. Increased growth in public spending and public works based on the national government’s spending plan (Plan Financiero del Gobierno) are other factors to consider. Additionally, an expected recovery in global demand and higher projected prices for oil and coffee would further contribute to improved external revenues and would favor investment, in particular in the oil sector. Given the above, the technical staff’s 2021 growth forecast has been revised upward from 4.6% in January (range from 2% to 6%) to 6.0% in April (range from 3% to 7%). These projections account for the potential for the third wave of COVID-19 to have a larger and more persistent effect on the economy than the previous wave, while also supposing that there will not be any additional significant waves of the pandemic and that mobility restrictions will be relaxed as a result. Economic growth in 2022 is expected to be 3%, with a range between 1% and 5%. This figure would be lower than projected in the January report (3.6% with a range between 2% and 6%), due to a higher base of comparison given the upward revision to expected GDP in 2021. This forecast also takes into account the likely effects on private demand of a fiscal adjustment of the size currently being proposed by the national government, and which would come into effect in 2022. Excess in productive capacity is now expected to be lower than estimated in January but continues to be significant and affected by high levels of uncertainty, as reflected in the wide forecast intervals. The possibility of new waves of the virus (of uncertain intensity and duration) represents a significant downward risk to projected GDP growth, and is signaled by the lower limits of the ranges provided in this report. Inflation (1.51%) and inflation excluding food and regulated items (0.94%) declined in March compared to December, continuing below the 3% target. The decline in inflation in this period was below projections, explained in large part by unanticipated increases in the costs of certain foods (3.92%) and regulated items (1.52%). An increase in international food and shipping prices, increased foreign demand for beef, and specific upward pressures on perishable food supplies appear to explain a lower-than-expected deceleration in the consumer price index (CPI) for foods. An unexpected increase in regulated items prices came amid unanticipated increases in international fuel prices, on some utilities rates, and for regulated education prices. The decline in annual inflation excluding food and regulated items between December and March was in line with projections from January, though this included downward pressure from a significant reduction in telecommunications rates due to the imminent entry of a new operator. When controlling for the effects of this relative price change, inflation excluding food and regulated items exceeds levels forecast in the previous report. Within this indicator of core inflation, the CPI for goods (1.05%) accelerated due to a reversion of the effects of the VAT-free day in November, which was largely accounted for in February, and possibly by the transmission of a recent depreciation of the peso on domestic prices for certain items (electric and household appliances). For their part, services prices decelerated and showed the lowest rate of annual growth (0.89%) among the large consumer baskets in the CPI. Within the services basket, the annual change in rental prices continued to decline, while those services that continue to experience the most significant restrictions on returning to normal operations (tourism, cinemas, nightlife, etc.) continued to register significant price declines. As previously mentioned, telephone rates also fell significantly due to increased competition in the market. Total inflation is expected to continue to be affected by ample excesses in productive capacity for the remainder of 2021 and 2022, though less so than projected in January. As a result, convergence to the inflation target is now expected to be somewhat faster than estimated in the previous report, assuming the absence of significant additional outbreaks of COVID-19. The technical staff’s year-end inflation projections for 2021 and 2022 have increased, suggesting figures around 3% due largely to variation in food and regulated items prices. The projection for inflation excluding food and regulated items also increased, but remains below 3%. Price relief measures on indirect taxes implemented in 2020 are expected to lapse in the second quarter of 2021, generating a one-off effect on prices and temporarily affecting inflation excluding food and regulated items. However, indexation to low levels of past inflation, weak demand, and ample excess productive capacity are expected to keep core inflation below the target, near 2.3% at the end of 2021 (previously 2.1%). The reversion in 2021 of the effects of some price relief measures on utility rates from 2020 should lead to an increase in the CPI for regulated items in the second half of this year. Annual price changes are now expected to be higher than estimated in the January report due to an increased expected path for fuel prices and unanticipated increases in regulated education prices. The projection for the CPI for foods has increased compared to the previous report, taking into account certain factors that were not anticipated in January (a less favorable agricultural cycle, increased pressure from international prices, and transport costs). Given the above, year-end annual inflation for 2021 and 2022 is now expected to be 3% and 2.8%, respectively, which would be above projections from January (2.3% and 2,7%). For its part, expected inflation based on analyst surveys suggests year-end inflation in 2021 and 2022 of 2.8% and 3.1%, respectively. There remains significant uncertainty surrounding the inflation forecasts included in this report due to several factors: 1) the evolution of the pandemic; 2) the difficulty in evaluating the size and persistence of excess productive capacity; 3) the timing and manner in which price relief measures will lapse; and 4) the future behavior of food prices. Projected 2021 growth in foreign demand (4.4% to 5.2%) and the supposed average oil price (USD 53 to USD 61 per Brent benchmark barrel) were both revised upward. An increase in long-term international interest rates has been reflected in a depreciation of the peso and could result in relatively tighter external financial conditions for emerging market economies, including Colombia. Average growth among Colombia’s trade partners was greater than expected in the fourth quarter of 2020. This, together with a sizable fiscal stimulus approved in the United States and the onset of a massive global vaccination campaign, largely explains the projected increase in foreign demand growth in 2021. The resilience of the goods market in the face of global crisis and an expected normalization in international trade are additional factors. These considerations and the expected continuation of a gradual reduction of mobility restrictions abroad suggest that Colombia’s trade partners could grow on average by 5.2% in 2021 and around 3.4% in 2022. The improved prospects for global economic growth have led to an increase in current and expected oil prices. Production interruptions due to a heavy winter, reduced inventories, and increased supply restrictions instituted by producing countries have also contributed to the increase. Meanwhile, market forecasts and recent Federal Reserve pronouncements suggest that the benchmark interest rate in the U.S. will remain stable for the next two years. Nevertheless, a significant increase in public spending in the country has fostered expectations for greater growth and inflation, as well as increased uncertainty over the moment in which a normalization of monetary policy might begin. This has been reflected in an increase in long-term interest rates. In this context, emerging market economies in the region, including Colombia, have registered increases in sovereign risk premiums and long-term domestic interest rates, and a depreciation of local currencies against the dollar. Recent outbreaks of COVID-19 in several of these economies; limits on vaccine supply and the slow pace of immunization campaigns in some countries; a significant increase in public debt; and tensions between the United States and China, among other factors, all add to a high level of uncertainty surrounding interest rate spreads, external financing conditions, and the future performance of risk premiums. The impact that this environment could have on the exchange rate and on domestic financing conditions represent risks to the macroeconomic and monetary policy forecasts. Domestic financial conditions continue to favor recovery in economic activity. The transmission of reductions to the policy interest rate on credit rates has been significant. The banking portfolio continues to recover amid circumstances that have affected both the supply and demand for loans, and in which some credit risks have materialized. Preferential and ordinary commercial interest rates have fallen to a similar degree as the benchmark interest rate. As is generally the case, this transmission has come at a slower pace for consumer credit rates, and has been further delayed in the case of mortgage rates. Commercial credit levels stabilized above pre-pandemic levels in March, following an increase resulting from significant liquidity requirements for businesses in the second quarter of 2020. The consumer credit portfolio continued to recover and has now surpassed February 2020 levels, though overall growth in the portfolio remains low. At the same time, portfolio projections and default indicators have increased, and credit establishment earnings have come down. Despite this, credit disbursements continue to recover and solvency indicators remain well above regulatory minimums. 1.2 Monetary policy decision In its meetings in March and April the BDBR left the benchmark interest rate unchanged at 1.75%.