TOURISM EDUCATION IN FRANCE AND CANADA: ARE UNIVERSITIES INCORPORATING ICT?

The field of tourism was noted at the 2005 Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) conference to be global and growing (Keler, 2005). That growth has continued today, with no signs of abatement (Todd, 2008). Globally, international tourists numbered 900 million in 2007 (UNWTO, 2008). This figure is estimated to grow to 1.6 billion by 2020 (World Tourism Organization, 2005) and 1.9 billion by 2030 (Yeoman, 2008). In the two countries (Canada and France) examined in this paper, the tourism industry is important within the economy. Tourism contributes $28.6 billion (CDN) or 9.7 percent of Canada's gross domestic product in 2007 (Hernandez, 2008) and 36.9 million euros or 6.3 percent to France's gross domestic product in 2007 (Ministère de l'Economie des Finances et de l'Emploi, 2008). The tourism industry in Canada provided over 1.8 million jobs in 2006 or 11 percent of the national economy (Tourism Satellite Account, 2008). Despite France being the number one tourist destination in the world, it represents only six percent of its national income (Tourisme Infos Stat, 2008) and two million jobs (French-Property.com, 2008). It must be noted that these figures are based on different components and therefore may not be comparable. In both of these countries, as well as globally, the growth in the tourism industry is facilitated by information and communication technologies (ICT), including the Internet (Bloch and Segev, 1996). It is estimated that half the global B2C e-commerce turnover is in the travel and tourism sector (Fodor and Werthner, 2004-2005). With increasing time and economic pressures, ICT is an increasingly important component of tourism today. ICT facilitates travellers who do not have time to visit travel agencies or are looking to save money and travellers who are looking to design their own travel itinerary. Further, ICT provides an equalizing platform for increasing numbers of tourist destinations, many in developing countries (About UNWTO, n.d.) broadening the competition internationally. This inclusivity is incorporated into the practical environment (Cunliffe, 2008) as discussed by the World Tourism Organization (Tourism 2020 Vision, n.d.). Given that both private and pubic post-secondary educational institutions are the training ground that readies the graduate for the field of practice; these institutions have the opportunity to connect anticipated actions within society (Gherardi, 2009). In using mock real-life situations, it is found that student professionals are capable of learning at a new level with enhanced understanding (Gold et al 2007). With the emergence of ICT and virtual learning communities (Allan, 2007), the question of the inclusion of ICT in the curriculum of tourism programs is raised. Education performs two functions. One is the provision of specific, structured skill development that is based on behavioural modification such that the graduate ‘fits' into the workplace. Although beginning in technical and apprentice programs, many university programs, specifically those training individuals for the professional workplace, have answered industry's call to make higher education relevant to the workplace. The other function is the traditional purview of universities: training students to think independently, analyze, conceptualize, and innovate. Today, the traditional function to prepare them for the evolution occurring in practice has become blurred with institutions of higher education focusing on the established employment needs of their graduates (Gunn, 1991) and the industry (Bount, Castleman, and Swatman, 2005). Recognizing the dichotomy of training for an industry that is becoming more reliant on ICT while individual operators often do not recognize the need for ICT, we examine the educational training in etourism and ICT of graduates from public and private institutions of higher education in France and Canada. We find that the training provided reflects the status of the industry that has few standards. Thus different institutions interpret the industries needs uniquely. Following this discussion, we present recommendations for the industry and the trainers to establish a minimum standard for employability. We begin with a review of the literature that examines the training available for e-tourism.

Inventory Planning In Small Business

This article is about an inexpensive and easily adaptable inventory maintenance system developed specifically for small business using the commonly available Microsoft Office Excel program. This paper discusses a new system for inventory management that was developed in conjunction with a small business to determine the value, volume, and contribution margins of the product mix.  Other entrepreneurs have subsequently used this system for decision-making concerning the allocation of scarce resources, inventory items stocked, determination of the profitability of individual businesses, and the future potential of the business.  Inventory in small business is a concern for a number of reasons including: existing management systems are expensive; turnover is a major factor in profitability; and profitability is directly attributable to stocking a saleable product mix.  Entrepreneurs must optimize their resources to engender profitability and stability by selling sufficient quantities of desirable products at acceptable prices

Double-Loop Learning and the Global Business Student

In preparing students for employment in commerce, the student needs to be aware of many aspects not necessarily included in business programs. In recognizing students often have no or limited exposure to foreign environments, the authors developed an electronic exchange between students in Canada and Kazakhstan. In this exchange, students not only learned about foreign marketplaces but were able to integrate classroom teachings and text knowledge into their actions. This approach resulted in enhanced learning for students through double-loop processes and development in their other courses.  Dans la préparation des étudiants pour un emploi dans le commerce aujourd’hui, l’étudiant doit connaître de nombreux aspects aucune nécessairement inclus dans les programmes d’affaires. En reconnaissant les étudiants ont souvent l’exposition on pas limité à environnements étrangers, les auteurs ont élaboré un échange électronique entre les élèves en Canada et aux Kazakhstan. Dans l’échange, les étudiants ont non seulement appris au sujet des marchés étrangers, mais ont été en mesure d’intégrer les enseignements en classe et l’information dans leurs textes dans leurs actions. Il en a résulté dans l’apprentissage renforcé par double boucle des processus et de développement dans leurs autres cours

The field instructors\u27 perceptions of the experience of field instruction.

Little has been documented concerning the perceptions of the Social Work Field Instructor of their experience in the field instruction process. Due to the fact that the field instruction program hinges upon the existence of Field Instructors, this examination appeared warranted. It was expected that their views would lead to important changes which would maximize the field instruction process for enhanced student learning. The underlying question of this study was: How were field instructors affected by their role in field instruction? This question was sub-divided into seven components. These dealt with: (1) the socio-demographic characteristics of Field Instructors; (2) the Field Instructors\u27 preparation for assumption of the role; (3) the Field Instructors\u27 perception of the reasons for participation in the program by their agency; (4) influential factors in the decision to become a Field Instructor; (5) the Field Instructors\u27 evaluation of the School of Social Work; (6) the causal factors in the decision to cease involvement; and, (7) the Field Instructors\u27 perceptions of the experience. (Abstract shortened by UMI.) Paper copy at Leddy Library: Theses & Major Papers - Basement, West Bldg. / Call Number: Thesis1991 .F744. Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 31-01, page: 0151. Chair: F. C. (Bud) Hansen. Thesis (M.S.W.)--University of Windsor (Canada), 1991

Why and Wherefore of Increased Scientific Collaboration

This paper examines international and domestic collaborations using data from an original survey of corresponding authors and Web of Science data of articles that had at least one US coauthor in the fields of Particle and Field Physics, Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, and Biotechnology and Applied Microbiology. The data allow us to investigate the connections among coauthors and the views of corresponding authors about the collaboration. We have four main findings. First, we find that US collaborations have increased across US cities as well as across international borders, with the nature of collaborations across cities resembling that across countries. Second, face-to-face meetings are important in collaborations: most collaborators first met working in the same institution and communicate often through meetings with coauthors from distant locations. Third, the main reason for most collaborations is to combine the specialized knowledge and skills of coauthors, but there are substantial differences in the mode of collaborations between small lab-based science and big science, where international collaborations are more prevalent. Fourth, for biotech, we find that citations to international papers are higher compared to papers with domestic collaborators only, but not for the other two fields. Moreover, in all three fields, papers with the same number of coauthors had lower citations if they were international collaborations. Overall, our findings suggest that all collaborations are best viewed from a framework of collaborations across space broadly, rather than in terms of international as opposed to domestic collaborative activity.Economic

Genetic risk and a primary role for cell-mediated immune mechanisms in multiple sclerosis.

Multiple sclerosis is a common disease of the central nervous system in which the interplay between inflammatory and neurodegenerative processes typically results in intermittent neurological disturbance followed by progressive accumulation of disability. Epidemiological studies have shown that genetic factors are primarily responsible for the substantially increased frequency of the disease seen in the relatives of affected individuals, and systematic attempts to identify linkage in multiplex families have confirmed that variation within the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) exerts the greatest individual effect on risk. Modestly powered genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have enabled more than 20 additional risk loci to be identified and have shown that multiple variants exerting modest individual effects have a key role in disease susceptibility. Most of the genetic architecture underlying susceptibility to the disease remains to be defined and is anticipated to require the analysis of sample sizes that are beyond the numbers currently available to individual research groups. In a collaborative GWAS involving 9,772 cases of European descent collected by 23 research groups working in 15 different countries, we have replicated almost all of the previously suggested associations and identified at least a further 29 novel susceptibility loci. Within the MHC we have refined the identity of the HLA-DRB1 risk alleles and confirmed that variation in the HLA-A gene underlies the independent protective effect attributable to the class I region. Immunologically relevant genes are significantly overrepresented among those mapping close to the identified loci and particularly implicate T-helper-cell differentiation in the pathogenesis of multiple sclerosis

Diabetes mellitus type 2 in urban Ghana: characteristics and associated factors

BACKGROUND: Sub-Saharan Africa faces a rapid spread of diabetes mellitus type 2 (DM2) but its potentially specific characteristics are inadequately defined. In this hospital-based study in Kumasi, Ghana, we aimed at characterizing clinical, anthropometric, socio-economic, nutritional and behavioural parameters of DM2 patients and at identifying associated factors. METHODS: Between August 2007 and June 2008, 1466 individuals were recruited from diabetes and hypertension clinics, outpatients, community, and hospital staff. Fasting plasma glucose (FPG), serum lipids and urinary albumin were measured. Physical examination, anthropometry, and interviews on medical history, socio-economic status (SES), physical activity and nutritional behaviour were performed. RESULTS: The majority of the 675 DM2 patients (mean FPG, 8.31 mmol/L) was female (75%) and aged 40-60 years (mean, 55 years). DM2 was known in 97% of patients, almost all were on medication. Many had hypertension (63%) and microalbuminuria (43%); diabetic complications occurred in 20%. Overweight (body mass index > 25 kg/m2), increased body fat (> 20% (male), > 33% (female)), and central adiposity (waist-to-hip ratio > 0.90 (male), > 0.85 (female)) were frequent occurring in 53%, 56%, and 75%, respectively. Triglycerides were increased (≥ 1.695 mmol/L) in 31% and cholesterol (≥ 5.17 mmol/L) in 65%. Illiteracy (46%) was high and SES indicators generally low. Factors independently associated with DM2 included a diabetes family history (adjusted odds ratio (aOR), 3.8; 95% confidence interval (95%CI), 2.6-5.5), abdominal adiposity (aOR, 2.6; 95%CI, 1.8-3.9), increased triglycerides (aOR, 1.8; 95%CI, 1.1-3.0), and also several indicators of low SES. CONCLUSIONS: In this study from urban Ghana, DM2 affects predominantly obese patients of rather low socio-economic status and frequently is accompanied by hypertension and hyperlipidaemia. Prevention and management need to account for a specific risk profile in this population

A communal catalogue reveals Earth's multiscale microbial diversity

Our growing awareness of the microbial world's importance and diversity contrasts starkly with our limited understanding of its fundamental structure. Despite recent advances in DNA sequencing, a lack of standardized protocols and common analytical frameworks impedes comparisons among studies, hindering the development of global inferences about microbial life on Earth. Here we present a meta-analysis of microbial community samples collected by hundreds of researchers for the Earth Microbiome Project. Coordinated protocols and new analytical methods, particularly the use of exact sequences instead of clustered operational taxonomic units, enable bacterial and archaeal ribosomal RNA gene sequences to be followed across multiple studies and allow us to explore patterns of diversity at an unprecedented scale. The result is both a reference database giving global context to DNA sequence data and a framework for incorporating data from future studies, fostering increasingly complete characterization of Earth's microbial diversity.Peer reviewe

A communal catalogue reveals Earth’s multiscale microbial diversity

Our growing awareness of the microbial world’s importance and diversity contrasts starkly with our limited understanding of its fundamental structure. Despite recent advances in DNA sequencing, a lack of standardized protocols and common analytical frameworks impedes comparisons among studies, hindering the development of global inferences about microbial life on Earth. Here we present a meta-analysis of microbial community samples collected by hundreds of researchers for the Earth Microbiome Project. Coordinated protocols and new analytical methods, particularly the use of exact sequences instead of clustered operational taxonomic units, enable bacterial and archaeal ribosomal RNA gene sequences to be followed across multiple studies and allow us to explore patterns of diversity at an unprecedented scale. The result is both a reference database giving global context to DNA sequence data and a framework for incorporating data from future studies, fostering increasingly complete characterization of Earth’s microbial diversity

Association of respiratory symptoms and lung function with occupation in the multinational Burden of Obstructive Lung Disease (BOLD) study

Background Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease has been associated with exposures in the workplace. We aimed to assess the association of respiratory symptoms and lung function with occupation in the Burden of Obstructive Lung Disease study. Methods We analysed cross-sectional data from 28 823 adults (≥40 years) in 34 countries. We considered 11 occupations and grouped them by likelihood of exposure to organic dusts, inorganic dusts and fumes. The association of chronic cough, chronic phlegm, wheeze, dyspnoea, forced vital capacity (FVC) and forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1)/FVC with occupation was assessed, per study site, using multivariable regression. These estimates were then meta-analysed. Sensitivity analyses explored differences between sexes and gross national income. Results Overall, working in settings with potentially high exposure to dusts or fumes was associated with respiratory symptoms but not lung function differences. The most common occupation was farming. Compared to people not working in any of the 11 considered occupations, those who were farmers for ≥20 years were more likely to have chronic cough (OR 1.52, 95% CI 1.19–1.94), wheeze (OR 1.37, 95% CI 1.16–1.63) and dyspnoea (OR 1.83, 95% CI 1.53–2.20), but not lower FVC (β=0.02 L, 95% CI −0.02–0.06 L) or lower FEV1/FVC (β=0.04%, 95% CI −0.49–0.58%). Some findings differed by sex and gross national income. Conclusion At a population level, the occupational exposures considered in this study do not appear to be major determinants of differences in lung function, although they are associated with more respiratory symptoms. Because not all work settings were included in this study, respiratory surveillance should still be encouraged among high-risk dusty and fume job workers, especially in low- and middle-income countries.publishedVersio