Ecotourism and Economic Growth in the Galapagos: An Island Economy-wide Analysis

This paper raises questions about the compatibility of "ecotourism and conservation in the unique environment of the Galapagos Islands. It updates a 1999 economy-wide analysis that predicted that increases in tourism would result in rapid economic as well as demographic growth on the islands. The following six years witnessed sharp growth in tourism; a restructuring of tourism around larger cruise ships and new, larger hotels; and rapid population growth. Our findings indicate that total income (that is, the gross domestic product) of the Galapagos increased by an estimated 78% between 1999 and 2005, placing Galapagos among the fastest growing economies in the world. Tourism continues to be far and away the major driver of economic growth; however, new injections of all sorts of spending, including by government, commercial fishing, and conservation agencies, have had a multiplier effect on income in the Galapagos economy, and as a result, on population growth, via uncontrolled immigration that is theoretically prohibited by the Special Law of the Galapagos to prevent ecological harm to the islands. Further, immigration has diminished the effect of economic growth on household income, creating political pressure to find even more economic development options for Galapagos residents, including commercial fishing. The linkage between economic growth, led by tourism or any other sector, and environmental protection of the Galapagos should be taken seriously when designing and implementing economic development and conservation programs.Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Understanding College Students with Physical Disabilities

The purpose of this qualitative research study was to explore what it means to be a college student with a physical disability. The visibility of a physical disability a is distinct characteristic, even within the disability community, which often results in discrimination, oppression, and marginalization that influence both the identity and experiences of the individual. Through the research method of Photovoice, important considerations related to the identity and experiences of college students with physical disabilities were revealed in this study including: visibility (of a physical disability which leads to stigma and stereotypes); independence (ability to do things for oneself); membership in a university organization; support from the disability community; limited college options; money; insurance; power and control; mood; and, faculty awareness. In addition to the empowerment of participants in the creation of social changes as a result of this study, the findings of this study can also be utilized to shape current practices and policies in social work, and higher education and leadership, to improve access and inclusion of college students with physical disabilities

Staying the Course: How a Long-Term Strategic Donor Initiative to Conserve the Amazon Has Yielded Outcomes of Global Significance

This article examines how the design principles of a major philanthropic initiative have influenced its performance, and provides a practical example of strategic philanthropy that can contribute to the current debate over the merits and flaws of this approach. The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation’s $369 million Andes Amazon Initiative, one of the largest private environmental conservation initiatives ever, reflects the values of the Moore family by focusing on conserving important biodiversity and wilderness areas such as the Amazon. “Making a difference” in the context of the Andes-Amazon has required adherence to the foundation’s founders’ principles of investing at sufficient spatial and temporal scale, the development of an evidence-based theory of change, and a systematic means to measure and evaluate progress against a clearly articulated outcome. Maintaining a commitment to these principles through multiple changes in foundation leadership and staffing has been an important challenge. The lessons learned are reinforced by the experience of the foundation across its other initiatives, spanning fields as diverse as scientific research and supporting advances in the field of health care. The relevance of the foundation’s experience, therefore, extends beyond environmental conservation to other areas of philanthropy

Examining proximity factors in public-private collaboration models for sustainable agri-food system transformation: a comparative study of two rural communities

Collaboration among local actors is considered an important precondition for a sustainable transformation of the regional agri-food system. To date, however, little is known about the social innovation capacity of local farmers when it comes to the establishment of alternative food networks. This is especially true for farmers’ collaborations with local government officials, which are becoming increasingly important in establishing sustainability-oriented markets for local products and services, especially in the agricultural sector that is often rooted in rigid logics, supply chains and institutions. Therefore, this paper aims to explore the concept of proximity as an analytical lens to understand private-public collaboration models that aim at facilitating sustainable transformation in rural areas. Drawing on concepts from innovation geography, this paper considers the influence of geographic, cognitive, institutional, organizational and social determinants of collaboration, enabling an evaluation of the social innovation capacity of local private and public actors. This theoretical approach helps to disassemble and differentiate social innovation processes to determine success strategies. The paper studies two rural communities where mayors aim to establish local food stores with regional products and, therefore, seek collaboration with local farmers. While the empirical aspect of the study is limited, the two cases provide an opportunity to test the theoretical framework. The proximity approach can be significant for regional agri-food system transformation and steering social innovation processes by considering the distinct capacities of actors. Our conclusion is that the examination of the absence and degree of proximity facilitates a better understanding of practical recommendations to promote agri-food system transformation.Peer Reviewe

Ανάδειξη της αγροτικής παραγωγής στην αστική καθημερινότητα. _προβολή _ εμπόριο _ ενημέρωση στην Θήβα

An 'aggregate economic' value (H), which is a combination of genetic control and relative economic value of traits, for all traits in the breeding objective was developed to aid in multitrait selection of strawberry cultivars in the subtropical southeast Queensland program. A profitability index for 12 traits was calculated from the effect of unit changes in each trait on changes in production costs and profitability. The index was applied to the breeding values of 3008 genotypes to produce estimates of H. H was validated by its high correlation (R=0.77) with year of selection (1945-1998) for commercial cultivars. H values for 3008 genotypes ranged from -0.36 to +0.28, when the zero value was set to the value of the cultivar 'Festival', which is the main cultivar grown in southeast Queensland. Modelling indicated that the gross margins were highly linearly related (R0.98) to H values where the genotype occupied less than 50% of total area planted in the industry, but this relationship became quadratic when the genotype occupied higher percentages of the total area planted to strawberries, and variation in gross margin increased as H values increased. H is efficient in identifying economically superior genotypes, but, when deploying new genotypes with high H, impacts on farm gross margin due to high adoption rates should also be considered

Penile Tumors: Their Management by Mohs Micrographic Surgery

Penile tumors represent a difficult group of neoplasms requiring effective and curative treatment while minimizing tissue loss to prevent cosmetic and functional deformity. Over the past 6 years, we have treated 20 patients with penile cancer utilizing the fresh tissue technique of Mohs micrographic surgery. Tumors were excised with an average of 2.25 stages. Most defects (80%) were allowed to heal by second intention. Since surgery, four patients have developed metastatic disease in their regional lymphatic system, and one patient has died from metastatic spread. One patient has developed local recurrence. Micrographic surgery is a very useful treatment modality for patients with penile tumors. Patients with SCC of the penis should be considered for elective regional lymph node biopsy and/or dissection in conjunction with micrographically controlled excision of the primary tumor.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/72082/1/j.1524-4725.1987.tb02427.x.pd

Genome-Wide Association Study for Abscission Failure of Fruit Pericarps (Stick-Tights) in Wild Macadamia Germplasm

Macadamia pericarps that fail to abscise (‘stick-tights’) are an important trait to select against in breeding as they can harbour pests and diseases. Traditional macadamia breeding cycles are lengthy and expensive due to long juvenilities and large tree sizes. Thus, genome-wide association studies (GWAS) are an important investigative tool to identify candidate trait-linked markers to enable potential reductions in evaluation and selection cycles via marker-assisted selection (MAS) in young seedlings. This study assessed 199 wild macadamia germplasm accessions for stick-tight prevalence across two years. As the number of stick-tights per tree is limited by the number of nuts per tree, we conducted association analyses to identify SNPs linked with the number of stick-tights per tree, and examined whether such SNPs were also associated with, and thus confounded with, the number of nuts per tree. We also assessed associations with the proportion of stick-tights per total number of nuts. Thirty-two SNPs were associated with at least one of the stick-tight traits in one year (p < 0.001). Of all such SNPs, only one was associated with the number of nuts per tree (p < 0.001), indicating that most associations were not confounded with yield