Blue Flag or Red Herring: Do beach awards encourage the public to visit beaches?

Surveys of beach visitor motivation in Ireland, Wales, Turkey and the USA indicate that beach awards play an insignificant role in motivation to visit beaches. However, a number of criteria closely identified with awards, notably cleanliness and water quality, are revealed to be very important. Aesthetic and emotional factors such as scenic setting and general ambience, and practical concerns such as proximity and range of activities available are much more important than beach awards in attracting visitors to beaches. The merits of beach awards are critically reviewed and it is concluded that any benefits that might accrue are in areas other than attracting visitors.     

Visitors’ learning for environmental sustainability: Testing short- and long-term impacts of wildlife tourism experiences using structural equation modelling

Wildlife tourism experiences have the potential to positively impact tourists’ awareness, appreciation and actions in relation to the specific wildlife they encounter and the environment in general. This paper investigates the extent of such impact across multiple sites, and uses Structural Equation Modelling to identify factors that best predict positive long-term learning and environmental behaviour change outcomes. Three sets of variables were measured – visitors’ entering attributes (including pre-visit environmental orientation and motivation for the visit), salient aspects of the experience, and short- and long-term learning and environmental behaviour change outcomes. Although attributes such as pre-visit commitment and motivation to learn were among the best predictors of the long-term impact of the experience, there was evidence that aspects of the experience were also important. In particular, reflective engagement which involved cognitive and affective processing of the experience was found to be associated with short- and long-term environmental learning outcomes. The implications for wildlife tourism managers are discussed.     

The public house and its role in society's margins

The aim of this conceptual paper is to explore the contribution of the British public house (pub) to marginalised sections of the community. There is a long tradition that celebrates the pub's quasi-egalitarian ethos as welcoming people from all walks of life. However, increased financial pressures on the pub sector dictate an evolution in this role, especially towards disadvantaged sections of society. This situation merits further examination by researchers, managers and policy makers. The paper draws on evidence from different traditions of research including management, sociology, history and geography, to develop a conceptual framework highlighting the issues facing these stakeholders in today's business environment.     

阿伯丁(苏格兰)——欧洲的能源之都

阿伯丁有着苏格兰最具活力和创新精神的产业.这些产业成为了欧洲最繁荣的分地区经济体的支柱,同时也成为了苏格兰的主要经济驱动力.     

Early on-line detection of exothermic reactions

On-line supervision exhibits in many respects properties complementary to those of established off-line safety tests. Thus, on-line methods are powerful tools for increasing the safety of chemical processes, especially in situations where unexpected hazards could occur. Known on-line supervising methods are described and their advantage and disadvantages are briefly discussed. The abilities of various on-line methods are demonstrated on a real case.     

The Power Motive and Organizational Structure: A Micro-Macro Connection

A model is described which includes a taxonomy of the power-motive profiles of individuals-a taxonomy of situational types based upon power considerations and a conceptual link among organizational structure, power-situation type, and individual power motives. The model provides a theoretical connection between micro and macro theories of organizational behaviour and adds some clarification and system to nPow theory. Résumé Le modèle décrit inclut la taxonomie des caractéristiques d'attraction au pouvoir des individus-une taxonomie de situations diverses fondée sur des considérations relatives au pouvoir et sur le lien conceptuel reliant la structure organisationnelle, le type de pouvoir découlant de la situation, et les motivations individuelles. Ce modèle prouve le lien théorique entre les théories micro et macro-économiques du comportement organisationnel, et clarifie et systématise la théorie nPow.     

Is There Persistence in the Impact of Emergency Food Aid? Evidence on Consumption, Food Security, and Assets in Rural Ethiopia

We identify the impact of emergency food aid programs after the 2002 drought in rural Ethiopia on future welfare. Based on a difference-in-differences matching estimator, participation in food-for-work increases growth in total consumption and food consumption eighteen months after the drought. Separately, receiving free food raises growth in food consumption, but, surprisingly, negatively impacts food security. Food-for-work benefited households in the middle and upper tail of the consumption distribution, while the better-targeted free food program benefited the poorest. Evidence suggests these impacts demonstrate accumulated and persistent effects of food aid received in the first twelve months after the drought.     

Estimating the economic value of big game habitat production from prescribed fire using a time series approach

This paper demonstrates a time-series production technique to quantify the deer harvest and deer hunting benefits of controlled burns or prescribed fire. The time series regression model showed a statistically significant and positive effect of prescribed fire on deer harvest. The net economic value of the resulting additional deer hunting benefit was estimated using the Contingent Valuation Method at $ 98 per additional deer harvested. The initial deer hunting benefits of an additional 1,000 acres of prescribed burning are between $ 2,674 and $ 3,128 or $ 2-3 per acre. The costs of prescribed burning greatly exceed these benefits, suggesting that deer hunting benefits represent only a small part of the multiple use benefits of prescribed fire.