The missing link between medical science knowledge and public awareness: Implications for tourism and hospitality recovery after COVID-19

Purpose: As the world grapples with the pervasive effects of the coronavirus pandemic, a notable disconnect has emerged in the public\u27s understanding of scientific and medical research. Particularly, the travel industry has become unquestionably vulnerable amid the COVID-19 outbreak; this pandemic has interrupted the industry\u27s operations with devastating economic consequences. This paper aims to highlight the importance of deconstructing barriers between medical science and public awareness related to COVID-19, taking tourism as a case in point. It also discusses the role of interdisciplinary research in facilitating the tourism and hospitality industry\u27s recovery and alleviating tourists\u27 uncertainties in the wake of COVID-19. Design/methodology/approach: This paper offers a synthesis of news coverage from several media outlets, framed within the literature on knowledge transformation across disciplines. This framing focuses on the medical sciences (e.g. public health) and social sciences (e.g. tourism management) to identify gaps between medical scientific knowledge and public awareness in the context of COVID-19. The authors\u27 experience in public health and tourism management further demonstrates a missing link between academic research and the information made available in public health and everyday settings. A potential research agenda is proposed accordingly. Findings: This paper summarizes how salient issues related to knowledge transfer can become intensified during a global pandemic, such as medical research not being communicated in plain language, which leads some citizens to feel apathetic about findings. Reporting on the prevalence and anticipated consequences of disease outbreaks can hence be difficult, especially early in the development of diseases such as COVID-19. Research limitations/implications: By assuming a cross-disciplinary perspective on medical/health and social science research, this paper encourages academic and practical collaboration to bring medical research to the masses. This paper also outlines several research directions to promote public health, safety and sustainability through tourism. Practical implications: This paper highlights that it is essential for medical knowledge to be disseminated in a manner that promotes public understanding. The tourism and hospitality industry can benefit from an essential understanding of medical findings, particularly during this pandemic. Without a firm grasp on COVID-19\u27s origins and treatment, the tourism and hospitality industry will likely struggle to recover from this catastrophe. Social implications: Taking COVID-19 as a case in point, this study advocates leveraging the strengths of disparate domains to bring medical findings to a wider audience and showcase cutting-edge developments for the greater good. This study also emphasizes the importance of engaging the general public in reputable scientific research findings to increase public awareness in a professional and accurate manner. Originality/value: This paper presents a unique and critical discussion of the gap between medical science knowledge and public awareness, as well as its implications for tourism and hospitality recovery after COVID-19, with a focus on applying medical scientific knowledge to post-pandemic industry recovery

Keeping Up with the Joneses: New Models to Support Developing Needs

The purpose of this paper is to explore models that may improve interdisciplinary collection strategies. Practical alternatives and expansions to existing services that can be explored without the burden of irreversible consequences will be discussed. This paper is intended more so as a conversation starter about altering our thought processes in regards to how librarians carry out their work to meet new demands. It is not intended to be a guide with proven methods that will work universally. These proposals are set within the context of a library that is part of a large research institution.International Federation of Library AssociationsUniversity of Toronto, LibraryUniversity of Toronto, Faculty of InformationUniversity of Illinois, LibraryTitle VI National Resource Center Grant (P015A060066)unpublishednot peer reviewe

VISTAS Interdisciplinary Colloquium on Emerging Research on Education, Economy and Community

Abstracts of presentations given at the VISTAS Interdisciplinary Colloquium on Emerging Research on Education, Economy and Communit

Tourism to religious sites, case studies from Hungary and England: exploring paradoxical views on tourism, commodification and cost–benefits

The application of systems theory to tourism development has a pedigree that has largely been derived from econometrics and macro–economic theory (Baggio et al., 2010; Franch et al., 2010; Choi and Sirakaya, 2006; Schianetz and Kavanagh, 2007, 2008; Dwyer et al., 2010). This paper identifies opportunities and some barriers to developing sites of religious worship for tourism to maximise income and engage appropriate resources allocation strategies. The authors have investigated tourism development that is sympathetic to sacred purposes at these sites over several years. Religious sites are now acknowledging that homogeneous supply responses may no longer be appropriate. Each special site demands a heterogeneous response of site guardians to changeable demand and careful evaluation of how to maximise income generated from very limited resources. This necessitates improved skills in guardians to build appropriate point of sale products and services that fit with consumption expectations and are congruent with sacred purpose

Symptoms of complexity in a tourism system

Tourism destinations behave as dynamic evolving complex systems, encompassing numerous factors and activities which are interdependent and whose relationships might be highly nonlinear. Traditional research in this field has looked after a linear approach: variables and relationships are monitored in order to forecast future outcomes with simplified models and to derive implications for management organisations. The limitations of this approach have become apparent in many cases, and several authors claim for a new and different attitude. While complex systems ideas are amongst the most promising interdisciplinary research themes emerged in the last few decades, very little has been done so far in the field of tourism. This paper presents a brief overview of the complexity framework as a means to understand structures, characteristics, relationships, and explores the implications and contributions of the complexity literature on tourism systems. The objective is to allow the reader to gain a deeper appreciation of this point of view.Comment: 32 pages, 3 figures, 1 table; accepted in Tourism Analysi