In this study, we focus on the electric optical characteristic of guest/host polymer system. The charge transfer chromophore Wu182 which contain fluorine atom in it was mixed with polymer PMMA and solved in chloroform, while DR1/PMMA served as reference sample. The wu182/PMMA and DR1/PMMA thin films were produced by spin coating. The thin film was poled at the temperature above glass transition temperature until the second harmonic generation signal was present. The poled thin film was placed in one arm of Mach-Zehnder interferometer. Voltage modulation applied to the polymer films can cause phase changes in the interferometer from that we estimate the electro-optic coefficient. From our experiments, we found that modulating frequency had significant influence on the electro-optic effect. The result shows that Wu182 possess large nonlinear optical coefficient. The valid electro-optic coefficient r13 was obtained to be 2.620 pm/V when the frequency was above 6 kHz.

Over the last several decades, economic globalization has presented many `advanced' economies with a dilemma between facilitating the flow of goods while simultaneously regulating the flow of labor. This contradiction has manifested itself in the immigration policies of Canada and the U.S., which have each pursued distinct strategies for importing foreign workers to maintain global economic competition. Such workers, whether legal `guest workers' or `illegal' immigrants, reside within the boundaries of the state, yet remain permanent aliens. This dissertation explores how guest worker policy specifically and immigration policy more broadly have been constructed and debated in national political discourse from 1990 to 2010. In addition, research in two rural case study communities reveals how labor markets and social geographies are re-shaped by the interaction between workers of varying legal and `illegal' statuses. This multi-scaled and comparative analysis of the understudied issue of guest worker programs reveals how different forms of exclusion, constructed at national and local scales, become deeply interwoven together to produce new labor market realities and reinforce national identities predicated on protecting the composition of the nation while actively promoting global economic competition.

A molecular receptor for mephedrone, an amphetamine-like NPS, was developed using host-guest chemistry and pharmacophoric design. The in-field detection of new psychoactive substances (NPS) is an area that has garnered considerable attention in the last few years. With the continuously expanding number of NPS on the market, traditional detection mechanisms lack the selectivity needed. In this project a new methodology has been developed for the design of host molecules for use in in-field detection, based on biomimetic design. To understand what a sensory molecular needs to be selective against, GC-MS and HPLC analysis were employed to identify and quantify thirteen aminoindane internet samples. It was found that the composition of internet samples varies greatly in terms of concentration of active ingredient, with a range of 17-95 % w/w of active ingredient identified. It was also found that caffeine was the most common cutting agent with a range of 27.7-30.2 % w/w identified. This highlights the need for both selectivity and sensitivity in detection mechanisms. Using the principles of biomimetic design, a methodology for the treatment of protein-ligand interactions was developed. Protein-ligand binding data collected from the Protein Databank was analysed for mephedrone related structures and common cutting agents, identified through aminoindane internet sample analysis and literature sources. From this work a three-point pharmacophoric model was developed, upon which two host molecules were considered, macrocyclic calixarenes and acyclic anthraquinones. Both contained the three binding interactions deduced from the pharmacophore design; two p-stacking interactions and one hydrogen bond acceptor. The final host molecule taken forward for testing was 1,8-dibenzylthiourea anthracene (Probe 1). The binding affinity of Probe 1 to mephedrone was tested using 1H-NMR. An estimated association constant of 104 M-1 was calculated, with a 1:1 binding stoichiometry. Along with ESI-MS and DFT calculations, it was found that mephedrone binds to Probe 1 in a concerted fashion with a three-point binding geometry, with two hydrogen bonds and one p-stacking interaction. A modest optical response using fluorescence spectroscopy was also observed between mephedrone and Probe 1 at high molar concentrations. A more pronounced response was observed upon addition of high molar concentrations of flephedrone. 1H-NMR showed that Probe 1 selectively bound mephedrone over methamphetamine as well as the four most common cutting agents identified from literature: lidocaine, caffeine, paracetamol and benzocaine, which have been shown to cause false positives in previous studies. Probe 1 showed significant selectivity for the β-ketoamine arrangement. This is supported by the systematic analysis of mephedrone, methamphetamine, mephedrone precursor and flephedrone. This is the first time this has been achieved using host-guest chemistry. A protocol was developed to successfully detect mephedrone via Probe 1 using NMR spectroscopy in a simulated street sample containing two of the most common cutting agents, benzocaine and caffeine. To further aid future design of small host molecules a methodology for the in silico analysis of small molecule host-guest binding using metadynamics was explored. Solvent interactions with the host and guest molecules were observed, highlighting the importance of solvent choice in binding studies. Metadynamics shows potential to be used in further work for improving the approach in which host molecules are designed in future.

Přikrylová, M. Mystery guest as a tool for quality management in services. Diploma thesis. Brno: Mendel University, 2017. The thesis focuses on the issue of quality management tools and techniques while marketing research called mystery guest or mystery shopping as well. The work is divided into two parts, of which the theoretical part is focused on explaining the issues in marketing services and practical part subsequently deals with the application of lessons learned and their use in quality control services, specifically in the enterprise providing wellness services

Over the past several years, some hotels in St. Lucia, Caribbean have experienced declining occupancy rates and revenues. The failure of general managers of large hotels on the island to increase and sustain occupancy levels may threaten the economic stability of the island. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore strategies that general managers from 3 large hotels on the island in St. Lucia have used to increase and sustain occupancy levels in their hotels. The general managers selected for each case had over 15 years of experience in managing large hotels in St. Lucia. The conceptual framework applied in this study was system theory. Data were collected from hotel general manager interviews, review of government gazettes, select social media sources, and personal hotel property observations. The results of the interviews were analyzed and coded. Review of documents and property observations provided supporting information that corroborated the findings of the interviews. Methodological triangulation and member checking were used to interpret and analyze the data. At the conclusion, the following 4 theme collations were identified: marketing, air transportation, guest experience, and product development. The conclusions yielded that increased occupancy rates were dependent on the alignment of the hotel operational model, the services provided, and meeting customer expectations. Implications for social change include the possible creation and sustaining of new jobs in the hotel sector as well as in other possible sectors, such as construction, financing, and material supplies.

京都大学 / 0048 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(工学) / 甲第21117号 / 工博第4481号 / 新制||工||1696(附属図書館) / 京都大学大学院工学研究科物質エネルギー化学専攻 / (主査)教授 辻 康之, 教授 大江 浩一, 教授 村田 靖次郎 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Philosophy (Engineering) / Kyoto University / DFAM

One important aspect of sustainable tourism is that local communities are involved in the management of tourism, as this can potentially help avoid negative social, environmental and economic impacts on the destination and local residents. Workaway and WWOOF (World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms) are work- and cultural exchange programs in which hosts receive help with their work in exchange for free food and accommodation for guests. Since the hosts are in charge of deciding if, when, and how to host guests, Workaway and WWOOF could be seen as a type of community-based tourism where locals initiate and manage tourism themselves. This study applied a qualitative case study approach using semi-structured interviews and participant observation to investigate Workaway and WWOOF hosts’ motivations for becoming hosts, as well as their experiences as hosts, on the island of Gotland, Sweden, which has not been explored so far in other research. It further aimed to discover how Workaway and WWOOF may or may not contribute to sustainable tourism besides empowering the host. The research results indicated that Gotland’s WWOOF and Workaway hosts were motivated to become hosts from a combination of needing help with work and wanting to meet new people. Their experiences as hosts have many benefits, such as receiving help with work, making lasting friendships, and traveling through their guests, but also some challenges, such as the effort of hosting guests, having difficult guests and a clash of expectations between guest and host. Similarly, while WWOOF and Workaway seem to contribute to sustainable tourism by making hosting and traveling accessible to many people or spreading awareness about sustainability, among other aspects, these programs could also deter from sustainable tourism by being available mostly to privileged guests and hosts or potentially displacing local workers, among other aspects. Though far from perfect, Workaway and WWOOF nevertheless enable local hosts to benefit from tourism, which is not always the case.

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Recent advancements in supramolecular chemistry have given a wealth of strongly binding host-guest combinations. However, the deployment of these systems into meaningful constructs has been hindered due to difficulty of synthesis or to the lack of functionality in one or both components. Systems caught in this trap were the pyridyl cryptands of dibenzo-30-crown-10 and bis(m-phenylene)-32-crown-10 paired with paraquat. Exceptionally high association constants in the range of 105 to 106 have been observed for these systems, but their applications have been hindered. Easing the implementation of pyridyl cryptands based on dibenzo-30-crown-10 was made a priority. An efficient method for the synthesis of pyridyl cryptands based on dibenzo-30-crown-10 and bis(m-phenylene)-32-crown-10 made use of the salt pyridinium bis(trifluoromethane)sulfonamide (TFSI) as a template. Optimization of the pyridinium TFSI template allowed for cyclization yields as high as 89%, as well as without the use of a syringe pump. Addressing the concern of functionality, for pyridyl cryptands, chelidamic acid was targeted as a way to build in functionality. Using a chelidamic isopropyl ester, 20 new chelidamic precursors of varying functionality were synthesized. The chelidamic derivatives fell into six groups: potential covalent monomers, initiators, chain terminators, leaving groups, aryl halides and host-guest monomers. In an attempt to boost the association constants of pyridyl cryptands based on dibenzo-30-crown-10 with paraquat, alterations to the paraquat guest were explored. It was found that the association constants could be increased by nearly an order of magnitude. Tweaks to the paraquat included changing the counterion to TFSI, methyl groups to benzyl and allowing for access to more nonpolar solvents that were previously inaccessible, such as solvent change from DCM to acetone. Two new biscryptands and two new bisparaquat TFSI monomers were synthesized. Using these monomers supramolecular polymers were synthesized and characterized. Fibers of these polymers drawn from concentrated solutions were found to be flexible and one such polymer solution was found to have an upper log / log specific viscosity–concentration slope of 3.55, which is the theoretical maximum. Additionally, a biscryptand was used to produce a chain extended polymer. Using a fundamental understanding of host-guest chemistry, work was conducted on the synthesis of norbornene monomers and polymers with pendant imidazolium tethered by ethyleneoxy linkages to aid in the stabilization of the imidazolium cation. Through the use of ethyleneoxy linkages, the free anion content and conductivity was increased. Imidazolium monomer and polymer conductivities ranged up to nearly 10-4 S/cm. Furthermore, it was determined that as long as the ethyleneoxy spacer between the norbornene and imidazolium was two units or greater, similar properties were obtained for both the monomer and corresponding polymer. Expanding the work further, the imidazolium monomers were incorporated as a soft segment into a triblock copolymer to produce a single direction mechanical actuator. / Ph. D.