The changing world of women and leisure: Feminism, ‘postfeminism’ and leisure

Since sport is accorded such a significant position within national popular culture, it assumes corresponding importance in producing, reproducing and challenging racial myths. This paper explores how dominant notions of black physicality are embedded in sports practice and how such assumptions may be challenged. To do this we shall offer a critique of existing literature and, importantly, draw on empirical evidence from a recent study of the nature and extent of racism in rugby league. Together these allow us to explore tacit racism, that which is hidden and normalized by language and culture. At the heart of this are stereotypes of 'race' and racial qualities, created by white hegemonic culture with their significance perpetuated by society, including the people who experience the stereotyping. These cultural productions maintain inequalities even after the caricatures they portray may have changed. We examine how these historically specific images are formed and justified (and thereby normalized) and how they have material effects through the actions of coaches, managers, chairmen and players. Finally, we shall review how the sports arena can be used to challenge racist stereotypes to offer necessary, though not sufficient, conditions to begin to change social relations more generally.     

Explaining regional disparities in Central and Eastern Europe

The paper analyses the determinants and the evolution of income disparities across regions within Central and Eastern European Countries (CEECs) over 1991–2011. We add to the literature in different ways. First, we adapt the categories that Rodriguez‐Pose used for studying convergence among old EU members to CEECs regions. This allows us to assess the relevance of geo‐sectoral groups (urban areas, old industrialized areas and peripheral areas) for newcomer regions. Second, we introduce a new category, that of ‘successful Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)‐based restructuring’ in order to capture regions that, often through considerable FDI, manage to reconvert their old industrial base. We then analyze whether this group helps understand catching‐up/falling behind processes in CEECs. We test the relevance of these groups by means of both non‐parametric and spatial regression analyses. We find that they help explain the increase in within‐countries’ regional disparities especially after the turn of the century.     

Exploring the preparation practices of teachers who organise secondary school ski trips in England and Wales

Secondary schools across England and Wales understand the importance of offering young people the opportunity to experience activity-based trips. One of these fundamental trips is the ski trip which enables young people to experience new challenges and adventure. However, within England and Wales, skiing is an atypical activity due to the lack of accessibility to the slopes. Consequently, it is vital to effectively prepare young people for skiing to promote enjoyment and reduce the likelihood of injury. The purpose of this study was to explore the current practices in the preparation of school ski trips within England and Wales. An electronic survey was administered to secondary schools across England and Wales with 270 completed responses of schools which organise ski trips. Analysis revealed that there were no significant differences (p > 0.05) across the regions with information being shared with parents prior to the ski trip. Young people are informed on similar information prior to and during the ski trip across the regions (p < 0.05). However, there was a significant difference between respondents screening (33%) and not screening students (67%) (p > 0.01) and under half (47%) of schools provide their pupils with exercise programmes prior to the school trip. Overall, these findings appear that ski trip organisers are consistent across England and Wales with their education of the young person and the management of the ski trip. Although, the knowledge gained by organisers to prepare young people is gathered from a variety of different sources. Therefore, it is essential for evidence-based information to be shared and disseminated to ski trip organisers to provide best practice and to facilitate other schools in providing ski trips for their pupils.     

Exploring the Implications of Virtual Reality Technology in Tourism Marketing: An Integrated Research Framework

The proliferation of the Internet and other technological innovations has transformed the structure of the tourism industry as well as affected how tourism destinations are perceived and consumed. The 3D virtual world provides opportunities for destination marketing organizations to communicate with targeted markets by offering a rich environment for potential visitors to explore tourism destinations. However, as of yet, there is little understanding about how to effectively market tourism destinations to virtual world participants who are technology users as well as potential consumers. The purpose of the present study is to develop a research framework that integrates the technology acceptance model (TAM) and self‐determination theory to understand how tourists use a 3D virtual world. Primary data were obtained for this study through self‐administered Web questionnaires. The data were conducted in a laboratory setting with 186 participants. This study contributes to the empirical TAM literature by applying the model to a 3D virtual tourism site. Additionally, this study provides a research framework to capture the entertainment nature of a 3D virtual world by extending the TAM to incorporate psychological elements of self‐determination theory to understand consumer experience. From the perspective of tourism professionals, this study contributes to an understanding of how best to construct informative and interactive tourist destinations in 3D virtual worlds to attract potential online and real‐world tourists. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Export Sector Dynamics and Domestic Growth: The Case of Colombia

Analyses of Colombian data have generally failed to confirm the hypothesis of export-led growth. This paper generates several measures of export diversification and structural change in exports, and argues that these measures are useful in assessing growth externalities generated by the export sector. In a simultaneous-equations framework, increases in the rate of export structural change are associated with accelerated Colombian GDP growth. Export diversification, by contrast, is not a source of economic growth, and the reduced-form relationship between aggregate lagged export growth and GDP growth is weak.     

RISK AND UNCERTAINTY IN CENTRAL BANK SIGNALS: AN ANALYSIS OF MONETARY POLICY COMMITTEE MINUTES

This paper considers the signalling aspect of monetary policy. We introduce a heuristic framework for the study of signal uncertainty, and use this to analyse the signal uncertainty implicit in the communications of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC). Our findings suggest that frequencies of key terms expressing signal uncertainty in MPC minutes may either reflect the degree of confidence implicit in MPC deliberations, or offer evidence for the presence of an irreducible kind of signal uncertainty that shows up as white noise, casting doubt on the soundness of the various qualitative uncertainty indices found in the literature.     

Mainstream Methodology, Financial Markets and Global Political Economy

The experience of financial markets in the global economy isopen to a variety of interpretations, based on different framings,with important consequences for economic policy. Knowledge aboutfinancial markets, and the methodology employed to build it,can be understood in terms of framing. The underlying argumentof the paper is in favour of considering the framing of financialmarkets within an open-system approach, allowing input fromother disciplines, as well as taking account of the real, oftenperformative, implications of (closed-system) mainstream framingby policy-makers. The methodological underpinnings of, and interdependenciesbetween, different framings among theorists, policy-makers,market players and users is explored.     

William E. Simon's contribution to tax policy

This paper analyzes the role of William E. Simon in shaping tax policy during his tenure as Treasury Secretary from 1974 to 1977. Simon believed in supply-side economics. Therefore, the tax policy changes that occurred during his time as Secretary involved reductions in tax rates as well as simplification of rules. A far-reaching effect of the 1975 Tax Act was the introduction of the Earned Income Tax Credit, which retains popular support today. Although these changes did not immediately increase growth and curb inflation, Simon's attempts to reduce marginal tax rates in the 1970s resulted in two decades of legislation to reduce the influence of government on the economy, which resulted in budget surpluses in the 1990s.He was an extraordinarily effective Treasury Secretary in a time of very difficult economic and political transition.[Alan Greenspan, Tribute to William E. Simon, p. 22]