Book Review: “ASIA ON TOUR: Exploring the rise of Asian tourism”

A review of the book "Asia on Tour: Exploring the Rise of Asian Tourism," edited by Tim Winter, Peggy Teo and T. C. Chang is presented

Cross-case analysis

Prior to the development of low-cost computing and the ease of completing statistical analysis, case studies played a significant role in the development of the social sciences. However, since the mid-1990s statistical modelling and empirically driven work has come to dominate academic literature; yet there remain epistemological similarities between some forms of case study work and statistical modelling. Nonetheless, issues of the qualitative versus quantitative divide and the purported role of value judgments made by the researchers have in part muddied the waters until quite recently, when the researchers using statistical methods started to adopt the use of the first person in their writing and began to recognise that the choice of a given statistical technique is just as surely a value judgment or exercise of experience and expertise as is any interpretation of text by a qualitative researcher. Similarly, qualitative researchers have become increasingly familiar with textual analysis using software programmes based on neural network theory, and a new generation of researchers have become comfortable with a mixed method mode of analysis

Researching indigenous and marginal peoples – Introduction

Those promoting tourism often seek to highlight that which is unique about their destinations in order to attract tourists. Many countries have beautiful landscapes, rich histories and heritage, and the tourist may come to see linkages of landscape and history across different countries and indeed possibly across continents. However, in the search for the unique, those countries with ethnic minority or other minority groups demarcated by factors other than ethnicity but characterised by special belief systems or ways of life living within their borders (e.g. the Amish) are truly able to offer the tourist a glimpse of something that will not be found in other parts of the world. Accordingly, and being aware that holiday makers are not lay anthropologists and may be seeking little more than an entertainment, minorities and their culture have become in many places a staged show based primarily on song and dance. Indeed, such has been the process that Xie (2011, p. 196) provides an example from the island of Hainan, China, where tourism promoters have created ‘the authentic Chiyou tribe’ to entertain tourists – a tribe developed purely for entertainment based on concepts of the exotic and primitive and only loosely based on the culture of the native Li people. One partial result described by Xie (2011) has been that the Li themselves have become confused as to their own culture

The Impact of Early Schooling on Subsequent Literacy and Numeracy Performance - Estimates from a Policy Induced 'Natural' Experiment

This paper exploits a policy-induced natural experiment that occurred in South Australia in the mid-1980s to generate a 'causal' estimate of the effect of schooling on the literacy and numeracy performance of school students in their middle years of secondary school (in Year 9 for most students). The Early Years of School policy changed the way that an identifiable subset of students progressed through junior primary school, causing them to obtain an additional year of schooling for any completed Grade or level compared with their predecessors. The impact of the policy change on the age-grade structure of student cohorts in South Australia is captured between two waves of longitudinal data. Based on the analysis of the impact of this policy change, it appears that an additional year of junior primary school increased the numeracy and literacy performance in mid-secondary school significantly, by around one half of a standard deviation. These effects were the same for boys and girls and were similar across the distribution of ability - they were the same for low school achievers as high ones.natural experiment, school achievement

Impact of the Australian higher education funding reforms

Graduates, especially women, can expect a substantial increase in the time taken to pay off their student loans under proposed changes to Australia’s higher education sector University, according to this paper. Abstract This brief explores the potential impact on the time students take to repay their tuition loans of changes proposed by the Australian Government in its May 2014 budget to the funding and operations of the Australian higher education sector. The key results of the analysis are: Result 1: Total loan repayments vary substantially across the graduate income distribution, increasing by more than double the higher tuition charges for about 20% of graduates, since these graduates take a long time to repay the debt. Result 2: The additional time taken to repay tuition loans also varies substantially across the graduate income distribution, increasing most at incomes a little above the first repayment threshold. Across the graduate income distribution, repayment periods are typically about double under the new arrangements studied compared with existing arrangements, if repayments are made at all. Result 3: Loan default will increase. An increased proportion of individuals will never repay their tuition loans. The proportion who never repays anything will not change much, but the proportion making only partial payments will increase, especially among female graduates. Result 4: Even in the absence of any increase in fees from university fee deregulation, the package of other measures results in an increase in the time to repay loans of over ten years for some groups of graduates. Increases in fees of the magnitudes envisaged here as part of the fee deregulation element of the package increase the additional time to repayment beyond fifteen years for some individuals. Result 5: Variations to the base case or analysis of specific groups do not result in qualitatively different results – typically, the average years required to repay the loan approximately doubles under variations to the new arrangements

Estimating returns to education: three natural experiment techniques compared

Andrew Leigh and Chris Ryan compare three quasi-experimental approaches to estimating the returns to schooling in Australia: instrumenting schooling using month of birth, instrumenting schooling using changes in compulsory schooling laws, and comparing outcomes for twins. Abstract With annual pre-tax income as our measure of income, we find that the naïve (OLS) returns to an additional year of schooling is 13%. The month of birth IV approach gives an 8% rate of return to schooling, while using changes in compulsory schooling laws as an IV produces a 12% rate of return. Finally, we review estimates from twins studies. While we estimate a higher return to education than previous studies, we believe that this is primarily due to the better measurement of income and schooling in our dataset. Australian twins studies are consistent with our findings insofar as they find little evidence of ability bias in the OLS rate of return to schooling. Our estimates of the ability bias in OLS estimates of the rate of return to schooling range from 9% to 39%. Overall, our findings suggest the Australian rate of return to education, corrected for ability bias, is around 10%, which is similar to the rate in Britain, Canada, the Netherlands, Norway and the United States

Visiting friends and relatives distinguishing between the two groups: The case of Hamilton, New Zealand

Within tourism the term visiting ‘friends and relatives' (VFR) is used with little distinction between the two components of ‘friends' and ‘relatives'. This paper examines the proposition that significant differences exist, and provides evidence of such differences derived from a survey of 763 respondents collected over a four month period. Although these differences are small, they indicate that those visiting friends are more likely to visit bars, night clubs and casinos than relatives; and relatives are more likely to visit gardens. Of particular importance is that specific patterns emerged as to attraction attendance and that age of visitor is perhaps more important than status as a ‘friend' or a ‘relative'. The data comprise both quantitative and qualitative forms. The former are analyzed by utilizing descriptive statistics, while the latter are analyzed using CATPAC software based on the principles of neural network analysis. A conceptual model is suggested to provide an insight into the phenomenon

The zoo as ecotourism attraction – visitor reactions, perceptions and management implications: the case of Hamilton Zoo, New Zealand

This paper reports results from a survey of 359 visitors to Hamilton Zoo, New Zealand. The questionnaire comprised items relating to motives for visiting the zoo, and evaluations of attributes, thereby permitting an importance-evaluation approach. The construction of the questionnaire was prompted by zoo management wishing to learn more about what motivated visits, and whether there were perceived deficiencies in visitors' experiences of the zoo. Like other studies (e.g. Turley, 2001) it was concluded that zoos represent an opportunity for family-based trips. However, while some opportunities exist for learning, on the whole visitors were not generally interested in acquiring detailed information about wildlife. Indeed, more importance was attached to the viewing of animals than to the recognition that possibly animals might require 'private places'. These findings prompt a discussion about the extent to which zoos might be able to replace or supplement trips to natural habitats as a means of viewing animals, and concludes that for this to happen significant changes in zoo layout would be required. Additionally, possible implications for zoo management are discussed

Tourism curriculum in the University Sector: Does it meet future requirements? Evidence from Australia

In the contemporary competitive and globally connected marketplace, factors that guaranteed business success in the past may be of limited relevance in the future. Within the paradigms of today’s business, many successful operators continually introduce new products and services to maintain their market leadership position. Whilst firms in the tourism industry seek to maintain competitive position through policy planning, strategic marketing, budgeting and R&D, tourism education providers occupy a key position by seeking to enhance the skill levels of management and employees, both present and future. This paper reviews some Australian tourism and hospitality education programmes and course curriculum and briefly compares them with some trends in other English-speaking countries. The research explores tourism industry demand, trainees’ expectations and additionally identifies gaps and opportunities for the future curriculum content. The findings may, therefore, assist tourism programme providers with a broader perspective with which to shape future tourism courses

Estimating Returns to Education: Three Natural Experiment Techniques Compared

We compare three quasi-experimental approaches to estimating the returns to schooling in Australia: instrumenting schooling using month of birth, instrumenting schooling using changes in compulsory schooling laws, and comparing outcomes for twins. With annual pre-tax income as our measure of income, we find that the naïve (OLS) returns to an additional year of schooling is 13%. The month of birth IV approach gives an 8% rate of return to schooling, while using changes in compulsory schooling laws as an IV produces a 12% rate of return. Finally, we review estimates from twins studies. While we estimate a higher return to education than previous studies, we believe that this is primarily due to the better measurement of income and schooling in our dataset. Australian twins studies are consistent with our findings insofar as they find little evidence of ability bias in the OLS rate of return to schooling. Our estimates of the ability bias in OLS estimates of the rate of return to schooling range from 9% to 39%. Overall, our findings suggest the Australian rate of return to education, corrected for ability bias, is around 10%, which is similar to the rate in Britain, Canada, the Netherlands, Norway and the United States.returns to education, instrumental variables, compulsory schooling, twins, Australia