The reduction of odor emanating from wasted swine manure is a very challenging environmental engineering problem. In an earlier work (Watkins et al., 1997), we showed the effect of ozone in reducing the odor and concentration of phenolic compounds in swine manure obtained from the pits under the slotted floors where the swine were housed. In this paper, we have expanded significantly upon the work of Watkins et al. by determining the effect of storage on the physical, chemical and biological characteristics of the swine manure slurry and whether the efficacy of ozonation is dependent upon storage time.Swine manure slurry was collected and stored, without mixing, in a fermentation reactor. This simulated the storage of the manure in the holding pits located below the swine finishing houses. A sample of slurry was collected weekly and treated with ozone to determine the efficacy of ozone in reducing the malodors of the stored samples. Results show that at an ozone dosage of 1 g ozone/L of slurry, ozone was very effective at reducing odors to an acceptable level, despite the observation that the malodor significantly increased during the 12 weeks of storage. The concentrations of sulfides, phenol, p-cresol, p-ethylphenol and skatole were observed to decrease significantly upon ozonation. The numbers of aerobic bacteria, anaerobic bacteria, E. coli, coliform bacteria, and coliphage also were observed to decrease significantly upon ozonation. No change in the concentrations of soluble phosphate and ammonia nitrogen was observed upon ozonation at this dosage.
This study explores causal relationships between push and pull motivations, perceptions of service quality and loyalty intention, and examines the moderating role of membership status in the National Museum of Natural Science (NMNS), the largest museum in Taiwan. Data were collected from 405 paid admission visitors, with a quota and systematic sampling, from two stages of pre-and post-visit corresponding with twoquestionnaires. The results demonstrate that push and pull motivations impact on service quality perceptions, which in turn influences museum loyalty; the effect of pull motivation on service quality perceptions in the non-member group was stronger than member group; the effect of service quality perceptions on loyalty in the member group was stronger than the non-member group. Museum managers could tailor and advertise existing museum products and services to different types of visitors; assuring the museum's continued operation and success.
The island tourism market is a major growth segment, worldwide, for international tourism. Penghu, Taiwan, and Phuket, Thailand, have become major destinations for foreign and domestic island tourism for Taiwanese tourists. Island tourists might have different reasons for choosing domestic versus international destinations. The objectives of this study are: (1) to identify motivational factors and marketing drivers across the two islands;(2) to investigate measurement invariance across samples; and (3) to examine the moderation effect of marketing drivers on the relationship between island tourists' motivations and their travel behavior, across samples. The measures were validated via confirmatory factor analysis, using EQS, and identified four motivational factors: experience, facilities and services, natural resources, and special events. Moderated regression was carried out to examine whether marketing drivers have a moderating effect on the relationship between motivation, and trip duration and group size. As there is measurement invariance exhibited throughout the samples of both Penghu and Phuket tourists, managers and academics alike can be confident that the scales capture the motivations and marketing drivers effectively across different contexts. In addition, marketing drivers moderate the effect of motivation on trip duration and group size in Phuket, and on group size in Penghu. Both islands need to emphasize that tourist motivations for experiencing island travel can bring a longer stay through pricing and promotional tour package programming.
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