Mariangela Franch

Market research for requirements analysis using linguistic tools

Numerous studies in recent months have proposed the use of linguistic instruments to support requirements analysis. There are two main reasons for this: (i) the progress made in natural language processing and (ii) the need to provide the developers of software systems with support in the early phases of requirements definition and conceptual modelling. This paper presents the results of an online market research intended (a) to assess the economic advantages of developing a CASE (computer-aided software engineering) tool that integrates linguistic analysis techniques for documents written in natural language, and (b) to verify the existence of the potential demand for such a tool. The research included a study of the language – ranging from completely natural to highly restricted – used in documents available for requirements analysis, an important factor given that on a technological level there is a trade-off between the language used and the performance of the linguistic instruments. To determine the potential demand for such tool, some of the survey questions dealt with the adoption of development methodologies and consequently with models and support tools; other questions referred to activities deemed critical by the companies involved. Through statistical correspondence analysis of the responses, we were able to outline two “profiles” of companies that correspond to two potential market niches, which are characterised by their very different approach to software development.

Evaluating and designing Web site quality

There are many reasons to evaluate a Web sites quality. The growth of e-commerce, for example, has made a companys success more dependent on the quality of its Web site, whether its goal is commerce or content presentation. We developed the 2QCV3Q model to help site owners and developers evaluate Web site quality and incorporate these findings into site design. Starting with the assumption that a Web site is a hypermedia system primarily concerned with communication, we used classical rhetoric to create this model.

4L tourism (landscape, leisure, learning and limit): responding to new motivations and expectations of tourists to improve the competitiveness of Alpine destinations in a sustainable way

Purpose – Most Alpine destinations are currently in the mature phase of the development life cycle, placing them near the precipice that leads toward a period of irreversible decline. After describing the principal reasons for this phenomenon, the paper aims to set forth a strategic response, within the logic of destination re‐engineering, that is based on recent changes in the motivations and behaviors of tourists. A new market segment has emerged that shows a heightened sensitivity to environmental protection, local cultural preservation and to the overall authenticity of the vacation experience. This segment, defined with several terms (eco‐tourism, nature‐based tourism, responsible tourism …), is potentially a very important market in terms of both quantity and quality, on the condition that the destinations should be able to compete by maintaining originally and authentically attractions.Design/methodology/approach – The study is based on field research with the administration of about 1,000 question...

Roles and opinions of primary and secondary stakeholders within community‐type destinations

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to identify primary and secondary stakeholders for the development of community‐type destinations and to analyse how the difference in power characterizes them with regards to how they value specific rules and how they estimate trust and control in the destinations. From this analysis it is possible to draw useful indicators for the definition of the destination governance.Design/methodology/approach – The paper takes the form of a literature review and field research. The literature review considers network approach and stakeholder approach in order to analyse the actors involved in the tourist offer (size of the network and characteristics of the nodes) and their influence reputation for identifying primary and secondary stakeholders within the destination. The field research is carried out in two community‐type destinations in the Alps. In both destinations, tourism is the main economic activity, as it involves a multiplicity of public and private stakeholders; th...

A Modular Approach to Quality Evaluation of Tourist Destination Web Sites: The Quality Model Factory

One of the most important steps in Web site quality evaluation projects is the choice of which aspects of the site to consider. The aspects constitute the model of the site itself and should be identified and evaluated based on the objectives of all stakeholders. In some cases it is possible to adopt standard “syntactic” models. Where this is not possible it is necessary to “personalize” the evaluation model so that it takes into account the semantics of the site or sites under assessment. This adaptation takes time and resources. In this paper we put forth a modular approach that supports the definition of detailed semantic models for the evaluation of Web sites of tourist destinations, starting from a common meta-model. The methodology — referred to as “quality model factory” — is based on the identification of unique elements of diverse types of tourist destinations.

Choosing the rightweight model for web site quality evaluation

One of the most critical decisions in a quality evaluation project is to establish the level at which to analyse the characteristics of the Web sites. This choice should be driven by the underlying goals of the evaluation. Scalability and flexibility are thus desiderable features of the models used to evaluate the quality of a Web site. In this paper we describe two separate studies of Regional Tourist Boards in the Alps that were conducted using the meta-model 2QCV3Q. Specifically, we will show that the results of the first study - based on a lightweight model - are consistent with those obtained with the more detailed heavyweight model in the second study.

Le frontiere manageriali per la valorizzazione della cultura e dell’arte

The key questions in the paper concern the possibility to define the artistic and cultural good and the opportunity to manage it according to the standards of a specialized discipline, as yet little defined, such as the management of artistic heritage, or to adapt already existing managerial disciplines. The answer to the first question makes it necessary to consider the artistic good as an experience good, the fruition of which needs to be planned according to modular logics since it takes on personalized forms thanks to the individual fruition. As far as the management of artistic and cultural good is concerned, the studies of Normann and literature about Service Management appear to be the most suitable to make knowledge available and to offer the producer and the consumer the possibility to contribute to its construction. The conclusions propose a classification of the artistic and cultural heritage, identifying three different categories of enterprises that incorporate culture and artistic heritage in their productive processes, each of which requires a partially different managerial approach given the different characteristics of each one.

Awareness and Exploitation of the Potential of the Web by SMTEs: The Case of Alpine Hotels in Italy and France

The economic literature has clearly shown the potential of the introduction of the ICTs in the management of the firms, starting from the seminal research of the MIT in the Ninetines. The question is if small tourist businesses have used correctly and widely the new technologies, gaining competitive advantages and improving their market results. The paper presents the results of a field research on this topic, managed by the eTourism Research Group in the territory of the Alps, where the tourist offering is based on small — or micro — businesses. The analysis allows to identify both positive and negative results, highlighting some lacks in the use of the Web by the SMTEs and suggesting some areas of improvement.

The effects of local context on World Heritage Site management: the Dolomites Natural World Heritage Site, Italy

ABSTRACT This paper investigates the influence of local context on World Heritage Site (WHS) management. Building on the managerial literature about natural WHSs, protected areas and sustainable tourism, it explores the effects that tourism-driven socio-economic conditions have on stakeholder engagement in decision-making and governance both inside and neighboring a WHS. Mixed methods and tools collected case evidence at the lowest administrative level in Italys Dolomites natural WHS. Results show that UNESCO recognition seems to be creating a deeper divide between areas inside and those outside the WHS than already produced by the diversity of tourism development types. Within the WHS and where tourism-driven socio-economic well-being is already high, there has been reinforced stakeholder indirect participation in decision-making and raised expectations of further development. In contrast, it seems not to have affected the area outside the WHS or marginal destinations, either in terms of participatory decision-making, or of development, or of tourism as a development lever. There is strong belief in the value of WHS status, relatively little opposition to regulation, but a need for reduced reliance on financial incentives, and a better business culture. Preliminary managerial recommendations and suggestions on involving stakeholders more effectively are given.

Assessing the economic impact of cultural events: a methodology based on applying action-tracking technologies.

Cultural events have taken on a growing role in territorial and tourist marketing of cities and destinations. Their planning is a fundamental process because they contribute to the tourist and economic development of the territory. Assessment of the economic effects of the events becomes, therefore, an important managerial instrument of planning and control. The traditional approach for assessing the economic impact of a cultural event is based on data relating to preferences and intentions of participants collected through questionnaires. This article introduces an innovative methodology that applies action-tracking systems for collecting behavioral data on the fruition of the tourist destination offer. These data improve the estimates of the whole economic impact of cultural events calculated through Input-Output models (direct, indirect, and induced effects). The methodology has been formalized on the basis of the results of the RFID for Festivals relative to the 2008 editions of two international events in the town of Trento.