Recreational Pursuits on Marginal Farm Land: A Discrete-Choice Model of Irish Farm Commonage Recreation

In the last decade the demand for rural recreation has increased in Ireland as the population has become increasingly urbanised. Increased affluence, mobility and changing values have also brought new demands with respect to landscape, conservation, heritage and recreation, with a greater emphasis on consumption demands for goods and services in rural areas. This paper’s contribution to the understanding of outdoor recreational pursuits in Ireland is based on the estimation of the first farmland recreation demand function. We use this empirical work to investigate the more general conflict between countryside recreational pursuits and farming activity. Through the estimation of a travel cost model, the study derives the mean willingness to pay of the average outdoors enthusiast using a farm commonage site in Co. Galway, Ireland and an estimate of the gross economic value of the site as a recreational resource. The result indicates the high value of Irish farmland from a recreational amenity perspective.

REACH-ing for Our Dreams!

More than half a decade ago, several individuals and agency and organization representatives decided it was time to act upon the belief that conservation and the environment in Iowa needed a more generous and reliable funding source. Representatives of two dozen agencies and organizations, coordinated by the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation, worked with several key legislators to draft the Resource Enhancement and Protection (REAP) program. The program itself passed the Iowa House and Senate unanimously and, after a little haggling over funding, was signed by Governor Branstad in May 1989

Public access to the countryside: An exploration of the costs and benefits of farmland walking trails

To date, estimates of individuals’ willingness to pay (WTP) for access to the countryside have typically been on sites of special interest such as developed walking routes, public rights of way in specific areas, national parks and forests (see Lockwood and Tracy, 1995; Bennett and Tranter, 1997; Crabtree and MacDonald, 1997; Liston-Heyes and Heyes, 1999; Garrod et al., 1998; Bennett et al., 2003; Buckley et al., 2009; Morris et al., 2009). There has been little if any attempt to derive estimates of individuals’ WTP for the provision of walking trails in the wider countryside at a national level. The present study aims to build on previous work by examining the demand for particular types of walking trails through a nationally representative survey of the Irish population. One further advantage of this research is that apart from valuing walking activities in a generic sense this paper investigates what types of investment in facilities associated with walking trails generate the greatest welfare gains. Furthermore, using a nationally representative survey of the farming population this paper examines farmers’ willingness to participate in a hypothetical walking scheme whereby the general public will be allowed access to specific trails. First by way of background this paper will discuss the situation in relation to access rights to the countryside across a number of countries. Second this paper will outline the research approach which is followed with a discussion of the empirical results. Finally this paper will conclude with a discussion of the papers main findings and their implications for the provision of public access to the countryside.This work was funded by the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food under the Stimulus Funding

Early “Frictions” in the Transition towards Cashless Payments

In this article we describe the trials and tribulations in the early stages to introduce cashless retail payments in the USA. We compare efforts by financial service firms and retailers. We then document the ephemeral life of one of these innovations, colloquially known as “Hinky Dinky”. We conclude with a brief reflection on the lessons these historical developments offer to the future of digital payments

Does environmental enrichment promote recovery from stress in rainbow trout?

The EC Directive on animal experimentation suggests that animals should have enrichment to improve welfare yet relatively little research has been conducted on the impact of enrichment in fish. Studies on zebrafish have been contradictory and other fish species may require species specific enrichments. Salmonids are important experimental models given their relevance to aquaculture and natural ecosystems. This study sought to establish how an enriched environment may promote better welfare in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) enhancing their recovery from invasive procedures. Trout were held individually in either barren or enriched (gravel, plants and an area of cover) conditions and recovery rates after a potentially painful event and a standard stressor were investigated by recording parameters such as behaviour, opercular beat rate and plasma cortisol concentrations. Fish were randomly assigned to one of four treatment groups: Control where the fish were left undisturbed; Sham where fish were anaesthetised but no invasive procedure; Pain where a subcutaneous injection of acetic acid was administered to the frontal lips during anaesthesia; and Stress where fish were subject to one minute of air emersion. Video recordings were made prior to treatment then at 30 minute intervals afterwards to determine whether fish in enriched conditions recovered more rapidly than those in barren tanks. Preliminary analyses suggest that enriched fish may be less stressed thus these findings have important implications for the husbandry and welfare of captive rainbow trout but may also affect the outcome of experimental studies dependent upon whether enrichment was adopted

Hueston Woods State Park Bikeway Feasibility Study

Study of the potential for implementing a public bikeway in Hueston Woods State Park. The study looks at the physical, legal, and social trailblocks present for the park and in light of these obstacles, considers the cost/benefit of various bikeway options.Executive Summary - - First-year graduate students in the Institute for the Environment and Sustainability at Miami University worked with Hueston Woods State Park in Butler County, Ohio to explore the feasibility of adding a bikeway at the park. The park offers a wide variety of amenities and attractions, but doesn’t offer a path for pedestrians and bicyclists to travel along the Main Loop Road from one end of the park to the other. After exploring the associated environmental regulations, public opinions, related barriers, engineering concerns and financial costs, the team recommended that the park not construct a bikeway, but instead add shared lanes signage and a bicycle education program. This alternative has minimal cost, can be implemented more immediately, and causes little environmental impact. However, if Main Loop Road is reconstructed, the project team recommends incorporating a paved shoulder into the roadway. Some additional recommendations include exploring bikeway options within the park but away from Main Loop Road, considering whether connection to other pathways outside the park are possible, and gathering further public input to determine if a new pathway is desired

Health promotion in the age of social media: Evaluation of Word Press as a platform for developing postgraduate student skills

Aims: The present study reports on the evaluation of a postgraduate assignment in which students produced a health promotion website. The aim of the study was to examine the application of WordPress as a platform for developing contemporary skills in health promotion practice. Study design: A mixed methods study including the use of focus groups, survey, document analysis and literature review. Place and Duration of Study: A health promotion course as part of a UK-based MSc in Public Health/Environmental Health between September and December 2013. Methodology: Following a pilot development stage, 27 students were supported to produce a WordPress health promotion assignment. These were content and thematically analysed. Students completed a baseline and follow-up questionnaire on digital and health promotion literacy, and self-efficacy. Approximately half the group took part in focus groups to examine students’ perceptions of the assignment. Results: Participants were able to apply the web-based platform to a wide range of health promotion contexts. The central messages were supported through the use of hierarchically organized web-pages; extensive visual, audio-visual and diagrammatic elements; and contextual fields of theory, research and practice. Participants were able to present frameworks for incorporating interactive and dialogical components, but these areas were challenging within the context of the assignment. Questionnaire outcomes suggested group level improvements in the measures. Focus group themes concerned the role of previous experience; motivation; perceived advantages; challenges; help-seeking strategies; perceived benefits; and proposed improvements. Conclusion: Off-the-shelf blog-sites are a promising platform for developing skills in social media and health promotion. The study found good acceptability and feasibility from a student perspective. The assignment offered professional credibility in terms of the development of multi-media presentation, public and professional communication skills. Pedagogically this mode of assignment raises interesting challenges in the assessment of logical thought, critical reasoning and synthesis of argument

Eportfolio in Ireland: A landscape snapshot of current practice

This article reports on a study that explored eportfolio practice in Irish higher education. The aim of this research was to gain a landscape snapshot of eportfolio practice and technologies across Irish Higher Education Institutes (HEI) and to address a gap in the literature that there is little empirical evidence about how Irish HEIs engage and adopt eportfolio in practice. The project adopted a mixed method approach and was framed by two research questions: RQ1: What are the features of eportfolio practice in Irish higher education? RQ2: What are the experiences of Irish higher education practitioners in adopting eportfolio? Data was collected from seventy-nine participants from a range of Irish HEIs using an anonymous online survey. The four central themes that make up the study’s findings highlight key issues related to institutional engagement with eportfolio including features of eportfolio practice; technology underpinning eportfolio practice; enablers of eportfolio adoption and barriers to eportfolio adoption. The findings of this study indicate that Irish teaching staff use eportfolios with their students primarily for assessment, reflection, to support placement experiences and to develop student employability skills. There was also evidence that staff are using eportfolios for personal and/or professional purposes. Furthermore, it is particularly noteworthy that hardly anyone in the study reported evaluating their eportfolio practice. In addition, our findings indicate that the implementation and adoption of eportfolio by Irish HEIs has been quite uneven, the majority of institutions were reported to be at the early stages of adoption. While this study provides useful insight regarding the institutional and staff perspective, the research team do acknowledge that the student voice was not captured in this instance