Identifying stakeholders’ perspectives on the success factors of halal tourism in the city of Makassar: a group model building approach

Purpose Islamic attributes and activities need to be developed in compliance with the halal concept to attract potential Muslim tourists and ensure the success of halal tourism. Although the literature shows that many factors can influence the success of halal tourism, a complete picture of the success factors of halal tourism in a city is still very limited. As such, this explorative study aims to examine stakeholders’ perspectives regarding the antecedents of halal tourism success and the benefits of halal tourism for the city. Design/methodology/approach Qualitative system dynamics modeling was used for this study, and Makassar (a successful halal tourism city) was considered as the basis for the study. A causal loop diagram (CLD) of halal tourism was developed using the group model building technique to elicit stakeholders’ knowledge and assumptions. Network analysis and feedback loop analysis were used to identify the driving factors of successful halal tourism. Findings Two factors need to be taken into account by halal tourism stakeholders in the city: support from the central and local government and improving and maintaining potential tourists’ perceptions of the city. There are four benefits of halal tourism success for the city: an increase in the number of micro-, small- and medium-sized halal businesses in the city, increased support from the central and local government to further develop halal tourism infrastructure in the city, increased word-of-mouth promotion of Makassar as a tourism destination and a decrease in the price of halal tourism components (e.g. food and accommodation). Originality/value The resulting CLD shows the interlinkage between political, societal and economical factors that could influence the success of halal tourism development. In particular, the findings show how governments and tourism stakeholders need to promote halal tourism socialization in the community and improve the public perception of this type of tourism. Therefore, the findings can help destination stakeholders and tourism developers in other cities develop halal tourism potential.

To Be, to Do, to Share: The Triple-Loop of Water Governance to Improve Urban Water Resilience—Testing the Benidorm’ Experience, Spain

Peri-urban interfaces tend to ensure water supply relying on their surrounding’ resources, generating water disputes when asking for collaboration. The urban-rural matrix of the Marina Baja county in southern Spain is characterized by inland irrigation and coastal tourism development, being the most water-intensive activities in Benidorm. This contribution addresses the following research question: Can a better and systematic understanding of stakeholders’ behavior and interactions increase water resilience in urban-rural interfaces? Data were collected from semi-structured interviews and questionnaires to 19 key stakeholders representing government officials, water managers, and the agricultural, tourism, and environmental sectors. Data were analyzed following the SAA and using MaxQDA® Analytics Pro 2020. A triple-loop analysis on water governance has been developed and applied to synthesize stakeholders’ behavior when addressing urban water resilience to face climate change impacts: relevance and representativeness (to be), recognition and assessment (to do), and collaboration (to share). Results highlighted how Benidorm’s urban water resilience is conditioned by four main learnings from stakeholders’ perception and interaction: (1) ‘feeling represented’ is related to stakeholders’ capacity to negotiate decisions, (2) lack of political will and Benidorm’s leading role increase stakeholders’ feelings of underrepresentation, motivating power imbalance, (3) stakeholders’ actions are less valued than stakeholders’ roles and functions, and (4) agreements are benefited by predisposition (willingness), but also by the compatibility of discourses (affinity) and the technical-management facilities (viability).

Optimal tuning of PI controller using system identification for two-phase boost converter for low-voltage applications

<span lang="EN-US">This paper presents modeling and hardware implementations of a two-phase DC-DC boost converter by using the system identification approach. The main objective of this research was to study new methods to obtain the values of the constants for the proportional-integral (PI) controller. Existing methods are time-consuming, since the values of the constants for the PI controller need to be calculated. The system identification approach for the closed-loop boost converter saves more time. This method has the fastest technique to find constants </span><em><span lang="EN-US">K_p</span></em><span lang="EN-US"> and </span><em><span lang="EN-US">K_i</span></em><span lang="EN-US"> for the closed-loop two-phase boost converter. To model a two-phase boost converter using the system identification approach, input duty cycle and output voltage are collected in the time domain data. In this study, the transfer function (TF) model, the autoregressive moving average with exogenous (ARMAX) model and the output-error (OE) model were used to generate a mathematical model. To perform the closed-loop analysis, constants </span><em><span lang="EN-US">K_p</span></em><span lang="EN-US"> and </span><em><span lang="EN-US">K_i</span></em><span lang="EN-US"> were obtained based on the generated mathematical model from the system identification approach. The result from the experiment shows that the percentages of overshoot for the TF, ARMAX and OE models were 19%, 25.36% and 24.6%, respectively. The output voltage ripples obtained for all three models were less than 5% of output voltage.</span>

A Matrilineal Study on the Origin and Genetic Relations of the Ecuadorian Pillareño Creole Pig Population through D-Loop Mitochondrial DNA Analysis

Domestic pig breeds reached America on the second Columbus trip; from this date, Iberian pig genetic resources were disseminated throughout the continent, forming diverse creole breeds. These Ecuadorian Creole pigs are important for food production but have been genetically eroded since the introduction of transboundary breeds. In this study, we sought to characterize this erosion more thoroughly through mitochondrial DNA D-Loop analysis of Ecuadorian Pillareño Creole pigs from seven regions of Ecuador. To allow comparison, we also included in our analysis sequences from wild species, commercial lines, and domestic pigs, which were obtained from the NCBI GenBank database. Creole pigs’ population showed overall moderate Hd values and low π values, and a negative value of Tajima’s D was observed. The greatest differentiation from the Ecuadorian Pillareño Creole pigs was observed between Asian wild and Asian domestic pigs. The haplotype analysis revealed three different phylogenetic clades (A, E I, and E II) and 65 haplotypes. Ecuadorian Creole populations were grouped into nine haplotypes for Clade E I and E II, which have not previously been reported for Creole Pillareño populations. Our analysis indicates that in the establishment of Creole Pillareño pigs, individuals most likely separated from the Asian pig population and appear to be genetically influenced by European and Iberian populations raised in Spain.

Quantization of Gravity and Finite Temperature Effects

Gravity is perturbatively renormalizable for the physical states which can be conveniently defined via foliation-based quantization. In recent sequels, one-loop analysis was explicitly carried out for Einstein-scalar and Einstein-Maxwell systems. Various germane issues and all-loop renormalizability have been addressed. In the present work we make further progress by carrying out several additional tasks. Firstly, we present an alternative 4D-covariant derivation of the physical state condition by examining gauge choice-independence of a scattering amplitude. To this end, a careful dichotomy between the ordinary, and large gauge symmetries is required and appropriate gauge-fixing of the ordinary symmetry must be performed. Secondly, vacuum energy is analyzed in a finite-temperature setup. A variant optimal perturbation theory is implemented to two-loop. The renormalized mass determined by the optimal perturbation theory turns out to be on the order of the temperature, allowing one to avoid the cosmological constant problem. The third task that we take up is examination of the possibility of asymptotic freedom in finite-temperature quantum electrodynamics. In spite of the debates in the literature, the idea remains reasonable.

PV Loops and REBOA During Hemorrhage and Resuscitation

Retrograde Endovascular Balloon Occlusion of the Aorta (REBOA) is frequently used in hemorrhagic shock to facilitate resuscitation. In theory, aortic occlusion increases afterload and focuses perfusion to the coronary arteries and great vessels; also to focus perfusion to the brain. It is, however, unknown exactly how and to what extent REBOA impacts cardiovascular parameters such as preload, afterload and contractility, or coronary artery blood flow. It is also not known how these parameters evolve over time during REBOA as it is shifted from fully to partially occlusive, or weaned down entirely. We aim to use left ventricular Pressure-Volume (PV) loop analysis and directly measure coronary flow in swine as they descend into hemorrhagic shock, are resuscitated with full aortic occlusion with REBOA, transitioned to partial aortic occlusion with REBOA, and then weaned completely off of the REBOA and are resuscitated. We will examine, specifically, measures of preload, afterload, contractility and coronary blood flow during each study time period (baseline, hemorrhagic shock, full aortic occlusion, partial aortic occlusion, and post-occlusion during resuscitation).