Using the Car in a Fragile Rural Tourist Destination: A Social Representations Perspective

The visitor experience of place is inextricably linked to our ability to travel around an area at will, yet this mobility creates many problems especially in scenic rural areas of the UK. The study presented here attempts to unravel visitors’ experiences of mobility using Moscovici’s social representations approach. Travel diaries were employed to explore visitors’ transport choices and mobility patterns during the peak season in Purbeck, Dorset, UK. Analysis focuses on how such patterns reflect a social representation of mobility and the implications this has for visitor travel at destinations

Social representations and community attitudes towards spring breakers

Social representations theory has been adopted for explaining tourism impacts and local attitudes. However, its usefulness in segmenting local population in terms of their attitudes towards specific types of tourists has not been tested. This study identifies the attitudes of local people towards spring break, a North American young tourist phenomenon in the context of the Mexican beach resort of Acapulco. Although residents perceive an increase in alcohol consumption, drug use, noise and litter during the spring break season, they largely recognise economic benefits and are thus generally supportive for the phenomenon. Based on these attitudes, three clusters were identified: spring break supporters (identified by their high appreciation of spring break benefits), ambivalents (who are uncertain about both benefits and costs) and realistics (characterised by recognising both benefits and costs). The main contribution of this study lies in the confirmation of the usefulness of social representations theory in explaining residents’ attitudes towards a very specific type of tourists whose hedonist behaviours are a common characteristic

Score a goal for climate: Assessing the carbon footprint of travel patterns of the English Premier League clubs

Football is the most popular sport, globally and in the United Kingdom. However it generates a range of negative environmental impacts, such as climate change, due to an extensive amount of travel involved. The growing contribution of football clubs to the global carbon footprint has been recognised, but never consistently assessed. This study assesses the carbon footprint of the English Premier League (EPL)clubs, using the patterns of their domestic travel in the 2016/2017 season as a proxy for analysis. The study shows that, within the 2016/17 season, the EPL clubs produced circa 1134 tonnes of CO 2- eq. as a result of their travel, where transportation accounts for 61% of the carbon footprint. To reduce this carbon footprint, a careful review of the current corporate travel and procurement practices in the EPL clubs is necessary. This is in order to optimise the travel itineraries, prioritise more climate-benign modes of transport and contract budget accommodation providers with the ‘green’ credentials

Mountain resorts in summer: defining the image

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The initial impact of a matched savings program: The saver plus progam

A major emphasis in policy focus in recent years has been to promote greater levels of saving and financial inclusion in Australia. A number of studies have identified that low-income households and households with children have lower saving propensities. This paper explores the effectiveness of a particular matched savings program, Saver Plus, in promoting savings amongst lowincome families that are typically at the margin of the financial sector. While noting the limitations of the lack of a formal control group, the results appear to suggest that the Saver Plus program, with its involvement of community groups, a financial education component, and co-contribution arrangements may have been successful in encouraging savings behaviour

Measurement of plasma renin activity with use of HPLC-electrospray-tandem mass spectrometry

Background:;The measurement of renin activity is complicated by difficulties in the quantification of angiotensin 1 (Ang1), the product of the renin-catalyzed reaction. We report an HPLC-electrospray-tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-ESI-MS/MS) method for the quantification of Ang1 as a measure of plasma renin activity (PRA). Methods: After incubation (37 degrees C for 3 or 18 h), samples were prepared using C-18 solid-phase extraction. [Val](5)Ang1 was used as the internal standard (IS). Chromatography was performed on a C-18 column, using 200 mL/L ammonium acetate buffer-800 mL/L methanol as the mobile phase. The flow rate was 150 mu L/min, with a chromatographic run time of 5 min/sample. Mass spectrometric detection was in the positive ionization mode with selected reaction monitoring (Ang1 mit 649.0-->784.0; IS mit 641.9-->770.4). Results: The assay was linear over the range 2.5-500 ng Angl/mL, which corresponded to a limit of detection (signal-to-noise ratio of 3:1) of PRA of 0.14 ng Ang1 mL(-1) h(-1). The imprecision (CV) of the assay at PRA values of 26.1, 13.5, 3.2 and 0.78 ng Ang1 mL(-1) h(-1) was 7.0%, 7.0%, 15%, and 11%, respectively. Absolute recoveries were 92.3% (Ang1) and 87.4% (IS). Incubation times of 3 h vs 18 h in the PRA assay gave good agreement at PR

A longitudinal study of the impacts of an annual event on local residents

Understanding the impact of an event on residents' quality of life (QOL) is becoming increasingly important because local residents are the key source of attendees for most events and help ensure the event's survival. This study compares the host community perceptions of the impacts of the Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix over time to determine whether there were changes in resident perceptions of the event's influence on residents' QOL. The same methods were used in each of two separate data collection phases spaced three years apart. Using postal surveys, 279 responses were received each year, although these represented different response rates. Cluster analysis was used to identify residents with varying perceptions. The findings suggest that, over time, the number of respondents in the "unconcerned" category had grown and those with extreme positive and negative perceptions had decreased. The respondents to Phase 2 of the study had an increased appreciation of the economic contribution of the event and the impact on residents' QOL appeared to be less damaging, with fewer concerns about noise and the operational components of the event in the latter cohort. The paper concludes with a discussion of the implications for event organisers and local tourism authorities in managing events for improved residents' QOL