Crowding standards at Petra Archaeological Park: a comparative study of McKercher's five types of heritage tourists

To achieve sustainability in heritage tourism, tourists should be placed at the heart of the management and planning processes. Indicators and standards-based frameworks were developed in the field of outdoor recreation management to manage and measure crowding and other problematic issues in parks and related areas. Using normative theory and visual research methods, this article aims to examine crowding standards of tourists at Petra Archaeological Park, and compare these standards between the types of heritage tourists suggested by a model developed by Bob McKercher. Results showed that tourists’ acceptability levels go down with an increasing number of tourists, and tourists who are highly motivated to visit heritage sites (i.e. purposeful and sightseeing heritage tourists) had the most restrictive acceptable number of tourists at the park. The normative standards formulated in this article provided a guidance to manage crowding at Petra.     

New development: The conceptual underpinnings of international public sector accounting

The conceptual underpinnings of accounting standards are potentially very important for the future of public sector accounting internationally. The authors explain why and comment on the implications for public sector accounting.     

Are multinational teams more successful?

Teams have become increasingly multinational in many sectors. The impact of national diversity on team performance is, however, controversial. On the one hand, multinational teams may have access to a greater variety of task-relevant expertise, which should increase the team performance. On the other hand, national diversity may complicate team collaboration and increase team conflict. Applying panel econometrics to 4284 team observations in a globalized sector, we find evidence that multinational teams perform worse than teams with less national diversity.     

Between risk and precaution – reassessing the future of GM crops

Contemporary problems tend to be inherently ‘post‐normal’ in their intimate intermeshing of scientific and contextual concerns. Yet we struggle with this mix, constrained by analytical frameworks that admit one or other of these concerns but not both. While this segregation of material and social domains has been central to the western intellectual tradition, alternative understandings transcending these distinctions have recently been developed. This paper applies some of these insights to risk. Using Actor–Network Theory risk is conceived as a dynamic entity manifested by the relationships between material and social domains rather than as something correlating to either one or other of them. This interpretation illuminates the systemic nature of contemporary problems and the solutions they necessitate underlining, in particular, the significance of matters of scale and complexity. Applied to the risk society it advances insights concerning the pervasiveness of scientific logic and its embodiment by leading institutions, while applied to public participation and HAZOP it emphasizes the benefits of unhindered, intersubjective communication. Harnessing these insights an approach of ‘epistemic pluralism’ is proposed for ‘post‐normal’ problems in which conventional insights and methods are pragmatically combined with those of the form elaborated here.     

Tax reform: Chasing the elusive dream

The paper provides a bird's-eye view of the long and arduous task of reforming the federal individual income tax. As a starting point for reviewing the major reforms, the authors evaluate Secretary Simon's criteria that underlie his contention that the tax system was badly in need of a thorough overhaul. Principles that should guide tax reforms are spelled out. Conflicts that arise with the application of these principles are highlighted. An examination of reform efforts in light of the principles and criteria set in the Treasury Department's Blue Prints for Tax Reform forms the basis for evaluating reforms enacted over the period 1978–2001. The review suggests that we are partway towards achieving the tax man's dream of equity, efficiency, and simplicity.The task of comprehensive reform is monumental in its dimension and far reaching in itspotential impact on our economic well-being.[William E. Simon, 1977, p. 11]     

Externalities in the agricultural export sector and economic growth: a developing country perspective

For years economists have ignored the diversity in agriculture and its potential to increase long run growth rates by enhancing a country's knowledge base. Non-traditional agriculture requires significant investments in the infrastructure and knowledge; and therefore, has the potential to increase long run growth rates. Policy makers in developing countries have tended to enact macroeconomic policies designed to enhance the manufacturing sector at the expense of the agricultural sector. A theoretical model is developed to explain the dynamics between two non-traditional export sectors and the long run economic growth of the country. The model illustrates that growth in highly perishable agricultural exports, not domestic production of manufactured goods, can potentially lead to higher long run growth rates. The model is applied to the fruit and flower industries in Colombia to bring forth an example with real world relevance.