Tourism in the highlands and islands of Scotland rewards and conflicts

The paper examines the impact that tourism might be expected to have on peripheral regions, with a particular focus on the Highlands and Islands of Scotland while also drawing on the recorded experience of other areas. Tourism is evaluated as an economic, social, cultural, and political force to allow an assessment of its impact on the host community. The article recognizes that tourism may inevitably be associated with both costs and benefits in the same community and concludes that in order to ensure the most appropriate form of tourism, its development should be through local initiatives and consistent with local values.     

On the Characterisation and Measurement of the Redistributive Effect of Agricultural Policy

The article proposes a coherent framework for the evaluation of the redistributive performance of agricultural policy. An illustrative study shows that the vertical stance of policy in Scotland was progressive in absolute terms, reflecting the chronic dependence of Scottish agriculture on policy transfers. Nevertheless, the overall redistributive effect of policy was to increase absolute inequality in farm incomes because of horizontal inequities in the incidence of transfers, though neither systematic discrimination between farm types nor systematic reranking was the main cause. The targeting of policy transfers could be improved by the use of indicator variables more strongly correlated with pre‐transfer incomes.     

Declining suburbs in Europe and Latin America

Suburban shrinkage, understood as a degenerative urban process stemming from the demise of the Fordist mode of urbanism, is generally manifested in a decline in population, industry and employment. It is also intimately linked to the global restructuring of industrial organization associated with the rise of the post-Fordist mode of urbanism and, more recently, the thrust of Asian industrialization. Framed in the discourse of industrial urbanism, this article examines the first ring of industrial suburbs that developed around large cities in their most rapid Fordist urbanization phase. These industrial suburbs, although they were formed at different times, are today experiencing specific mutations and undergoing profound restructuring on account of their particular spatial position between the central area and the expanding peripheries of the post-Fordist metropolis. This article describes and compares suburban decline in two European cities (Glasgow and Paris) and two Latin American Cities (S?o Paulo, Brazil and Guadalajara, Mexico), as different instances of places asymmetrically and fragmentarily integrated into the geography of globalization.     

Secession in the European Union

This paper argues the case for the right of secession in Western democracies. I suggest that the winners gain more than the losers may lose. Indeed, the external effects of secession may well be positive. However, the political economy of secession is highly problematic. Ideally, the rules for secession should be set at the international level but international organisations have a vested interest in preventing secession. It is easier to establish the right of secession at the national level. The opinion of the European Union institutions that Catalonia and Scotland, after seceding, would have to reapply for EU membership has no basis in the European treaties. Nor has this question been settled in any UN agreement or Vienna Convention. There are merely practices, and they vary among international institutions. The paper concludes with suggestions on how secessions from EU member states and withdrawals of member states from the EU might be implemented.     

Reconciling moral and legal collective entitlement: Implications for community-based land reform

This paper discusses the drawing and contesting of social boundaries in the enactment of collective land rights, and the implications for land reform policies based around the notion of ‘community’ entitlement. Drawing on recent research in the crofting areas of Scotland, the paper explores the tensions arising when legal collective rights—or proposed changes to them—do not coincide with perceived moral claims to land. Examining the enactment of existing collective rights demonstrates how contested moral assumptions underpinning crofting identities, discourses and land use practices qualify and disqualify individuals as members of an imagined ‘crofting community’, and shape de facto access to and control over land-based resources. Some of the key policy implications of these findings are discussed with particular reference to Scottish land reform.     

New Firm Formation and Regional Economic Development: An introduction and review of the Scottish experience

This paper introduces this special edition ofSmall Business Economics on New Firm Formation and Regional Economic Development. It integrates the articles appearing in this volume with others presented at the Economic and Social Research Council Urban and Regional Economics Seminar Group conference on this theme in January 1994 in Ayr, Scotland. Many of the studies are derived from a Scottish Enterprise research programme on the contribution of new enterprises and entrepreneurs to economic development, and the factors explaining the low levels of business start-ups in Scotland. Comparative data, research and experiences from across the UK, European Union and US are called upon to improve the understanding of the processes involved. The findings are sometimes unsuspected, challenging the super-structure of business development agencies and their attitudes and behaviour towards indigenous potential entrepreneurs.     

An assessment of ‘international best practice’ in visitor attraction management: does Scotland really lag behind?

This paper compares and contrasts selected management practices among visitor attractions in Scotland, Australia, Canada and New Zealand. The catalyst for the study was the growing perception that management practices among visitor attractions in Scotland are becoming increasingly outdated and that the sector needs to learn from ‘international best practice’ in this respect. A postal questionnaire was sent to all paid‐admission visitor attractions in the four countries. In total, 1022 visitor attractions replied, representing an overall response rate of 41%. Chi‐square analysis was then used to test various hypotheses relating to the uptake of these management practices. A key conclusion is that although management practices do vary significantly among the four countries, Scotland does not necessarily lag behind. Indeed, Scottish visitor attractions seem to lead the way in many respects. Meanwhile, the study finds no strong evidence to suggest that visitor attractions in the other three countries have indeed identified and are following a common ‘international best practice’. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Going green: Decisional factors in small hospitality operations

This paper reports on research into the factors that influence the adoption of environmental measures in small hospitality firms. The research found that the decision to become environmentally involved had been a value-driven journey, influenced primarily by the development of environmental consciousness. Personal, socio-cultural and situational factors were other significant influences. The paper argues the importance of appreciating the personal and contextual circumstances of individual business-owners to understand their decision-making and operational approach. Further, it points to the value in making operators aware that going green need not involve a major change or capital outlay but can grow in accordance with the business’ needs and priorities.     

Winter tourism and the environment in conflict: the case of Cairngorm,Scotland

The development of downhill skiing in mountain areas has, since the 1950s been rapid, encouraged by government policy based upon an economic and social rationale. The World Tourism Organisation estimates that there are 15 to 20 million people crossing international borders to ski, representing 3–4% of the annual total of international tourist arrivals. However, as with other forms of tourism development, downhill skiing can also cause a range of negative environmental impacts or consequences. In mountain areas, where the physical environment is not robust and is slow to regenerate because of the harsh climatic conditions, downhill skiing can pose a real ecological threat. The negative consequences of ski development on mountain environments has meant that there is increasing conflict between ski developers and conservation groups. This confrontation has led to direct action against ski facilities in Vail, Colorado and in the case of Cairngorm lengthy judicial planning disputes. Yet little is understood about the attitudes of the downhill skiers to the environment they are skiing in, and little thought has been given to how this information could be used in better management of ski areas or in development strategies, to reduce the negative effects of downhill skiing. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Gender segregation in Scottish chartered accountancy: the deployment of male concerns about the admission of women, 1900-25

During the first two decades of the twentieth century the chartered accountants (CAs) of Scotland were confronted by challenges to the exclusively male composition of their profession. The paper traces in depth the male-dominated discourses on the subject of the admission of women. It is shown that socio-economic, constitutional and legal arguments were deployed to resist the admission of women. The apparent public consensus among the Scottish chartered societies on this issue hid the divergent opinions which were uttered in private. Proposals for the organization of the profession in a gender-segregated manner were eventually subsumed by the passing of the Sex Discrimination (Removal) Act, 1919. This statute precluded disqualification from membership on the grounds of sex. While the Act formally removed one set of barriers to the admission of women, more enduring social and cultural obstacles remained within chartered accountant firms and most practising offices remained unaffected by the reforming legislation.