Applying the Elaboration Likelihood Model to increase recall of conservation messages and elaboration by zoo visitors

Zoos aspire to facilitate sustainable behaviours in visitors and conservation messages are plentiful in zoos. However, the degree to which these messages are being received and processed by visitors on site has rarely been studied. In our paper, we studied the effectiveness, as measured in message recall, of a common mode of face-to-face communication used in zoos, animal talks. We compared animal talks based on a theoretical framework, the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM), to a control group in which no framework was used. A two-phase ELM-based training programme, which instructed staff in techniques to increase cognitive possessing in visitors, led to increased visitor satisfaction after one training programme and increased relevancy (connected to the visitor's life) and elaboration (provoked thinking) after a second training session. There was a small number of staff who did not integrate conservation messages into talks despite repetitive training. Implications for zoos and their goal of effectively communicating conservation messages to visitors are discussed.     

The Venture Capital Cycle. Paul A. Gompers and Jose Lerner. The MIT Press,Cambridge, Massachusetts,U.S.A., 2000.

Small Business Economics -     

Comprehensive Income Measures, Housing Equity, and Tax-Transfer Effects

Cash income is widely recognised as a deficient measure of income, as it takes no account of the contribution of net worth to consumption potential. Housing equity is a particularly important component of net worth. Comprehensive income measures incorporate housing equity by adding its annuitized value to cash income. However, such an approach fails to take into account adverse tax-transfer effects on conversion of housing equity. As such, the contribution of housing equity to potential consumption is significantly exaggerated. A net comprehensive income measure, which directly incorporates the tax-transfer effects from housing equity conversion, is introduced. Simulation exercises are conducted, to demonstrate the importance of taking into account tax-transfer effects when measuring the comprehensive income of those homeowner income units in receipt of government pensions and benefits.     

Generalising Gibrat: using Chinese evidence founded on fieldwork

This paper reports on determinants of small firm growth and survival, using fieldwork evidence collected by face-to-face and telephone interviews. It extends the ??basic?? size-age model to a ??comprehensive?? growth model with two types of additional explanatory variables: firm specific and business environmental. Estimation is by log-linear regression on Chinese cross-section data, with corrections for sample selection bias and heteroskedasticity. Our results from the comprehensive model highlight the importance of location choice and customer orientation for the growth of Chinese private firms.     

NEGATIVE CORRELATION BETWEEN STOCK AND FUTURES RETURNS: AN UNEXPLOITED HEDGING OPPORTUNITY?

The negative correlation between equity and commodity futures returns is widely perceived by investors as an unexploited hedging opportunity. A Lucas (1982) asset‐pricing model is adapted to analyse the fundamentals driving equity and commodity futures returns. Using the model we argue that such a negative correlation could arise as an equilibrium relationship which reflects traders' perceptions about the shocks driving the fundamentals such as energy and consumables, and does not necessarily indicate any hedging opportunity.     

A Note on the (Continued) Ability of the Yield Curve to Forecast Economic Downturns in South Africa

In 2002‐2003, the South African yield spread falsely signalled a downswing that never materialised. This paper provides two reasons for this false signal. First, while the Reserve Bank never actually officially declared the start of a downswing, by alternative measures a downswing did actually occur. It is this severe weakness in economic activity at that time that the yield curve pointed to. Second, short‐term interest rates in 2003 were higher than they should have been because of a mistake made in measuring consumer price inflation. Because South Africa had recently introduced an inflation‐targeting regime, policy interest rates were, as a result of this error, kept too high for too long. This policy mistake was rectified as soon as the error in the Consumer Price Index was discovered. Thus, the yield curve in 2003 pointed to the reality that short‐term interest rates were too high and risked pushing the economy into full blown recession. This is demonstrated by the fact that it was a fall in long bond interest rates that caused the yield spread to turn negative, indicating expectations that short‐term interest rates would need to be cut – as indeed they were.     

Using Space Syntax to Assess the Built Environment for Physical Activity: Applications to Research on Parks and Public Open Spaces

The application of space syntax as a method for examining the role of spatial configuration on people's behavior has been widespread in several disciplines, such as urban design and architecture. However, the ideas and procedures of space syntax have rarely been applied in studies within the field of public health or leisure studies. This article briefly introduces the principles of space syntax and describes how space syntax can extend previous knowledge regarding associations between the built environment and physical activity with specific applications to research on parks and public open spaces.     

An economic survey of northern Sulawesi: turning weaknesses into strengths under regional autonomy

The separation of North Sulawesi and Gorontalo into two provinces in 2001 complicated the issue of making regional autonomy work for northern Sulawesi, a region far removed from Indonesia's centre of power. Although the region had come through the economic crisis relatively well, the over-reliance on coconuts and the lack of a focus for dynamic development remained a challenge. Tourism, mining and services were the most dynamic sectors but, for different reasons, none of these sectors can be relied on for steady long-term growth. With the selection of the corridor from Manado to Bitung as one of Indonesia's 13 integrated economic development zones (Kapet), and given the new North Sulawesi province's potential role as a ‘gateway’ to Northeast Asia, the longer-term prospects for this province are brighter than those of Gorontalo. Nevertheless, capitalising on North Sulawesi's potential remains a formidable challenge.