Rethinking niche tourism: The example of backpacking

This conceptual paper re-evaluates the concept of niches in tourism markets. As many regions are now attempting to address niche markets in tourism as a development strategy, understanding of the dynamics of niche markets is crucial. Current approaches are often limited to seeing niche markets as simple subsectors of larger consumer markets. We argue for a broader view of market niches as forms of social rituals involving both consumers and producers with a mutual focus of attention. Based on the work of Randall Collins we examine how interaction rituals are produced and maintained, and how these are also reflected in niche markets, such as backpacking. We illustrate the how backpacking produces a mutual focus of attention and boundaries to outsiders, helping to sustain the niche over the longer term. This analysis has implications for producers hoping to tap into niche markets, as they too need to become part of the niche community.

Frost resistance of cement-sand and concrete beams during unilateral freezing

The work investigates changes in the beam structure under the action of local freezing, which leads to a change of the mechanical properties of the material and, consequently, of the beam structure. Two types of beam samples were used: from cement-sand mortar and from concrete. The work investigates the change in the development of deformations depending on the conditions of freezing of samples. The second accelerated method for assessing frost resistance was chosen according to DSTU B В.2.7-47-96. An accelerated method was chosen for assessing frost resistance at the temperature of -20 ±2 C°. After every five freeze-thaw cycles, the following changes were monitored: mass, water absorption, ultrasound transmission rate, damage coefficient, tensile bending strength, splitting strength, compressive strength, carbonization depth. The results showed that both in concrete and in mortar samples, the compressive strength after freezing was lower by 8% and 15% accordingly. The experimental results obtained confirm the assumptions made that the frost resistance of the material depends on the conditions of exposure of negative temperatures on products and structures and it can be used in a wider range of construction which will push regional development.

Adoption of big data technologies in smart cities of the European Union: Analysis of the importance and performance of technological factors

The cities of the European Union are adopting big data technologies in their development towards a smart city. Given that big data technologies are complex and disruptive technologies, it is necessary to determine the importance of factors and their aspects for the adoption of big data technologies in cities. The aim of this paper is to identify the most important aspects of technological factors in the adoption of big data technologies in the cities of the European Union. In order to achieve the goal of the paper a survey was conducted on a sample of European Union cities, and on the collected data, an analysis of the map of importance and performance of factors for the adoption of big data technologies was conducted. The results of the research show that the aspects of absorption capacity and technological readiness of EU cities are of relatively high importance, but with low levels of performance in relation to organizational and environmental factors. The contribution of the paper consists of general guidelines for increasing the level of technological readiness and absorption capacity of cities in order to increase the success of the adoption of big data technologies in the cities of the European Union.

European Cohesion Policy and Evaluating the Impact of Evidence-Based Policy

In the 2014–2020 programming period, the cohesion policy focuses more on results and evaluation of programs based on facts. Due to the Commission policies, an expansion of cohesion policy counterfactual impact evaluation of programmes with new approaches can be expected in the future. In this paper, the focus is on the calculation of the impact of received European cohesion funds on the revenue of companies in Slovenian municipalities one/two years after the receipt of cohesion funds for the 2007–2013 period. Two development priorities that affect company revenue – Enterprise competitiveness and research excellence and Promoting entrepreneurship and adaptability are considered. The effect of the use of the European cohesion funds on company revenue in Slovenian municipalities is positive for 2009 and 2010 and negative for all other years examined. The results of the research can serve to policy-makers to reduce the economic, social and territorial disparities in less developed European countries and regions therefore reaching balanced regional development.

Fine-grained Fiber Concrete on Mechanoactivated Portlandcement

This article is devoted to the study of the mechanical properties of fine-grained concrete used for flooring in industrial and civil buildings. Characterized by the well-known advantages (unlimited raw material base, manufacturability, high homogeneity), fine-grained concrete requires an increased consumption of cement to achieve the necessary mechanical characteristics - compressive strength, abrasion, impact resistance. An alternative to the known technological method is proposed an intensive separate technology (IST) for preparing fine-grained concrete mixtures using a high-speed mixer-activator in the presence of hydrophobized basalt fiber and a polycarboxylate superplasticizer Relaxol-Super PC. The use of IST leads to an increase in the strength of fine-grained concrete in compression by 1.9 times, impact resistance by a factor of 2, and a decrease in abrasion by 40... 50% in comparison with the control. The relevance of using the technology of monolithic floors for industrial and civil construction is due to a wide range of varieties of Portland cement, the grain composition of aggregates, as well as the simplicity of the technology for preparing a fine-grained concrete mixture.

Durability of Modified Fiber Concrete for Rigid Pavements

Modified concretes and fiber concretes for rigid pavements have been investigated. Four-factor experiment was conducted. The amount of Portland cement, polypropylene fiber, metakaolin and polycarboxylate superplasticizer varied in the experiment. All mixtures had the same mobility S2. The active mineral additive metakaolin increases the compressive strength of concrete and its tensile strength in bending. The amount of metakaolin at the level of 15.20 kg/m3 is rational. Due to a decrease in W/C with an increase in the amount of superplasticizer Coral ExpertSuid-5 to 0.9.1%, the compressive strength of concrete increases by 5.7 MPa, the tensile strength in bending increases by 0.5.0.6 MPa. Due to the introduction of polypropylene fiber, the tensile strength of concrete in bending increases by 0.6.0.9 MPa, the frost resistance of concrete increases by 50 cycles. Due to the use of a rational amount of superplasticizer and metakaolin, the frost resistance of concretes and fiber concretes concrete increases by 50-100 cycles. The use of a rational amount of modifiers and fiber reduces the abrasion of concretes by 40.45%. The developed modified fiber concretes of rigid pavements, depending on the amount of Portland cement, have compressive strength from 55 MPa to 70 MPa, tensile strength in bending from 8 MPa to 9.5 MPa, frost resistance from F350 to F450, abrasion from 0.30 to 0.40 g/cm2. Such strength, frost resistance and abrasion resistance allow the use of fiber concretes in pavements with the greatest load and ensures high durability of the material and corresponds to the directions and tasks of the state scientific and technical program “National Transport Strategy of Ukraine for the period up to 2030”

Investigation of Residual Bearing Capacity of Inclined Sections of Damaged Reinforced Concrete Beams

The article reports on the results of the numerical and the laboratory tests to determine the effect of concrete damages near support areas in compressed zone of the reinforced concrete beams on their residual bearing capacity of inclined sections. According to the experimental plan, 15 single-span freely supported experimental samples with dimensions of 100×200×1200 mm made with different artificial damages within the shear span aν (1d, 2d, and 3d) were tested. The numerical test of prototypes was performed in software complex LIRA-SAPR 2017. The results of laboratory and numerical experiments showed good convergence regarding the bearing capacity, however, the nature of the fracture in samples B11-B14 did not match. Empirical - conducting laboratory experiments on samples using modern methods of measurement; numerical modelling – using software complex LIRA-SAPR 2017; analysis and statistical processing of the obtained research results; comparison of the obtained results; abstraction; generalization; deduction; formulation of the main conclusions and recommendations. The analysis found that the bearing capacity decreases with increased area of damage and shear span. Conducting the calculations in software complex LIRA-SAPR allows to predict the work elements and determine the bearing capacity with good accuracy, but in comparison with the real data there still are some differences in the character of destruction.

Panels made from recycled tire-application of linear model to test the tensile force

Background: Number of used tires is increasing every day and the accumulation of such waste is a serious problem in terms of environmental protection and in terms of delay and deposition (End-of-LifeTires, 2019). Over the last twenty years the study of new ways to use products from recycled tires has been intensified. When developing new products, it is important to investigate how certain properties of the materials used change. According to the available literature, different variants of material composition and processing approaches have been investigated (Kowalska, Chmielewski, Guleira & Dutta, 2017; Zaoiai, Makani, Tafraoui & Benmerioul, 2015). Objectives: The aim of this work, based on the evaluation of an experiment using a mathematical model, is to determine the required structure of the material. The possibility and correctness of using the linear model was determined. Methods/Approach: The experiment was conducted to check the magnitude of the deformation depending on the stress. Results: Based on the obtained results, the accuracy of the applied linear model and the influence of individual factors on the results of the experiment were evaluated. Conclusions: Mathematical linear model estimation refers to the determination of quantitative parameters in the structure of a material. If the required deformation is defined or acceptable, other material parameters can be determined with some accuracy.

From a policy bank to a crowding-in bank: The development of the European Investment Bank in the last ten years, as seen through its business model

The European Investment Bank (EIB), the primary financial arm of the European Union (EU) has become of central interest in the last ten years. The EIB has been increasingly solicited by the EU to bolster the European economy during the global crisis and support its recovery thereafter. Calls have recently been voiced for the EIB to contribute to the European Green Deal and the post-pandemic economic stimulus. This paper studies the EIB’s role in the European economy through its business model in the period from 2009–2019. The paper’s prime objective is to investigate what enabled the EIB to act in a countercyclical mode and how the EIB met the new economy needs in this turbulent environment.