Seasonal fluctuations in the advance of a tidewater glacier and potential causes: Hubbard Glacier, Alaska, USA

Thesis (M.S.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2007Satellite imagery has been used to acquire seasonal terminus positions of tidewater Hubbard Glacier, Alaska, from 1992 to 2006. During this 15 year time period the width-averaged advance of the entire terminus has been ~620 m at a mean rate of 35 m a⁻¹. Seasonal fluctuation of the terminus ranges 150 - 200 m and varies spatially. The section of the terminus near Gilbert Point exhibited little to no mean advance during this time period but displayed seasonal fluctuations of 300 - 500 m. Seasonal variability in surface ice speeds and surface seawater temperatures were also observed; both are potential forcing mechanisms for terminus fluctuations. Seasonal changes in seawater temperature of 10 to 12 °C, as well as seasonal changes in subglacial freshwater discharge are inferred to influence calving and submarine melting at the terminus, driving seasonal variations. Displacements of the medial moraine separating Hubbard Glacier and Valerie Glacier at the terminus suggest surge-like pulses of the latter with a periodicity of several years. The timing of these pulses suggests they may influence the Hubbard terminus near Gilbert Point and have implications for future closures of Russell Fjord

Lessons Learned, Lessons Learning: Insights from the Calgary and Salt Lake City Olympic Winter Games

The intense competition among destinations to host the Olympic Games (both winter and summer), demonstrates the value that is attached to this type of mega-event. Despite this apparent importance, there is surprisingly little comprehensive research that rigorously assesses the value of the Olympics-particularly in terms of their contribution to long term community and tourism development. In addition, as researchers, we have failed to document the lessons learned from one Olympics Games to the next. The result is that many of the same errors are regularly repeated. This paper seeks to identify the lessons learned as a result of hosting the 1988 Olympic Winter Games in Calgary, Canada. It also seeks to provide some preliminary insights into the lessons we are learning as preparation for the 2002 Games in Salt Lake City proceeds

Economic Valuation of cultural heritage sites: A choice modelling approach

Despite growing attention by researchers and policy makers on the economic value of cultural heritage sites, debate surrounds the use of adequate methods. Although choice modeling techniques have been applied widely in the environmental economics field, their application in tourism and cultural economics has been much more limited. This paper contributes to the knowledge on the economic valuation of cultural heritage sites through a national choice modeling study of Old Parliament House, Australia. The study sought to value marginal changes in several attributes of this site and revealed that only some of them are valued positively: extending the period of temporary exhibitions, hosting various events, and having 'shop and café' and 'fine dining'. Advantages of using a mixed logit model are provided and managerial and policy implications are discussed

When the Future is Now: An Experimental Study on the Role of Future Thinking and Affective Forecasting in Accommodation Decision-Making

When people make travel decisions, they consult their imagination, considering how they would feel in the respective travel situation. Both, researchers who examine this phenomenon and practitioners executing it, commonly hold the vague assumption of an evaluative cognitive process that enables tourists to factor such information into their decision-making process. The nature and functioning of such a process is largely unknown. The authors suggest that travelers, often subconsciously, mentally simulate future hotel stays and predict future feelings to inform their decision-making, a process referred to as affective forecasting. Executing an experimental design, the authors show that actively engaging in episodic future thinking to trigger affective forecasting increases travelers’ intentions toward holiday accommodations. This effect is mediated by hotel trust and risk perception, demonstrating that affective forecasting is an effective way for regaining tourists’ trust and reducing their perceived risk during a pandemic. Contributions to theory and practical implications are discussed

Prospectives

Tiré de: Prospectives, vol. 11, no 5, déc. 1975Titre de l'écran-titre (visionné le 24 janv. 2013

Disaster Planning Intentions of Tourism Accommodation Managers: Understanding the Influence of Past Disaster Experience and Disaster Management Training

Tourism is one of the most vulnerable industries to disasters, and empirical studies on disaster preparedness have been surprisingly sparse. Drawing on the theory of planned behavior, this study sheds light on the unexplored mediating role of strategic decision-makers’ (SDMs) disaster cognition along with their attitude to explicate how and why learning influences disaster planning. Hypotheses were tested using two-phase survey data collected from 301 SDMs of Sri Lankan accommodation establishments. Clarifying previous inconsistent findings regarding the role of learning, this study demonstrated that training and past disaster experience indirectly influenced SDMs’ planning intentions via their disaster cognition and attitude toward disaster planning. In this regard, past experience was found to regulate the relationship of training with both cognition and attitude, implying that disaster training programs may be more influential for encouraging disaster planning intentions of lesser experienced SDMs by stimulating their disaster cognition and attitude