Mapping spatial tourism and hospitality employment clusters: An application of spatial autocorrelation

This article analyzes the characteristics and spatial clustering of tourism and hospitality employment clusters in Victoria, Australia. Using cluster theory as the theoretical base, three interrelated research questions are specifically addressed: What industries constitute the tourism and hospitality sector? What broader "groupings" does the sector exhibit? Are these tourism and hospitality industries clustered around strategic areas of economic and resource advantage? Using the Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification (at the four-digit level), industries explicitly related to tourism and hospitality were first identified and total numbers of individuals working within these industries were aggregated at a level of Statistical Local Area (similar to a suburb or a neighborhood). Results show that in 2006 employment in tourism and hospitality equate to 7.74% of total employment in Australia. "Cafés and restaurants" (22%) is the single largest tourism and hospitality-related employer, followed by "takeaway food services" (20%) and "accommodation" (16%). Using factor analysis, four broader functions were extracted to characterize the underlying structure and functional interdependency among tourism and hospitality industries. These functions include: tourism operational services, hospitality services, entertainment services, and infrastructure operational facilities services. Spatial autocorrelation measures have identified five established tourism and hospitality spatial clusters in Victoria, which we argue hold the potential to act as tourism growth foci to create business synergy and generate spill-over effects through regional collaboration, competition, and sharing of pooled resources between firm

Understanding the patterns, characteristics and trends in the housing sector labour force-AHURI Final Report No.208

The focus of this study is the national policy problem of the gap between housing supply and demand, as identified and monitored by the National Housing Supply Council. Research to date has not focused upon the spatial distribution of labour supply and demand of the housing sector labour force (HSLF). Also research to date has not distinguished between labour engaged in building new dwellings and labour engaged in undertaking alterations and additions. In addressing this research gap, this Final Report presents the summative output of the AHURI research project entitled: Understanding the patterns, characteristics and trends in the housing sector labour force in Australia. It follows the publication of the Positioning Paper for the project (Dalton et al. 2011a).This chapter has presented a response to the secondary research question: What are the temporal dimensions of the HSLF as a whole and the new build and alterations and additions sub-sectors? It first described the categories, containing records of workers who worked in the housing industry, which were used to interrogate the census data. Using these categories, the data presented showed that, in aggregate, the size of the HSLF grew in the period 2001-06. In Victoria, the workforce grew from 72 000 to 89 000, an increase of 23 per cent in the five-year period 2001-06. The 44 per cent growth in the Queensland workforce was almost twice that of Victoria for the same period when it grew from 53 000 to 77 000. This aggregate data was then split to distinguish between workers who worked on 'new build' housing and those who worked on 'alterations and additions'. The results of this splitting showed that there had been growth in both sub-sectors. The rate of growth in the alterations and additions sub-sector was greater than for the new build sector, although this growth was from a lower base

Measurement of Cough Aerodynamics in Healthy Adults.

ImportanceCough is a critical human reflex and also among the most frequent symptoms in medicine. Despite the prevalence of disordered cough in laryngeal pathologies, comprehensive and quantitative evaluation of cough in these patients is lacking.ObjectiveHerein we seek to establish normative values for cough aerodynamics to provide a population standard for reference in future studies.Design, setting, and participantsHealthy subjects were recruited from an outpatient clinic to perform voluntary cough. Subjects were instructed on the technique for maximal voluntary cough production with measurements recorded on pneumotachograph. Fifty-two subjects were studied, including 29 women and 23 men with a mean age of 51.6 and 52.3 years, respectively. Main Outcomes and Measures: Cough peak airflow, peak pressure, and expiratory rise time. Results were stratified by age, gender, and height.ResultsPeak airflow demonstrated significant differences across age, gender, and height, with flow increasing according to increasing height. Peak cough pressure also increased with height and was significantly greater in males versus females. Expiratory rise time, the time from glottal opening to peak airflow, did not vary with age or height but was statistically significantly longer in women.ConclusionsCough aerodynamics can be readily measured objectively in the outpatient setting. Expiratory rise time, peak flow, and peak pressure are important aspects of each cough epoch. Normative data provided herein can be used for future studies of patients with laryngotracheal disorders, and these cough parameters may prove to be simple, accessible, and repeatable outcome measures

Planning reform, land release and the supply of housing

There is a growing interest in academic and policy circles in the relationship between land use planning policy and housing supply. Housing researchers are interested in the extent to which planning policies and practises may be exacerbating housing affordability questions, while planning academics and practitioners focus on what effect their policies actually have on the characteristics of housing supply. Policies seeking a diversity of built form are underpinned by attempts to reduce energy consumption through smaller house sizes and the design of less car dependent suburbs. Urban Growth Boundaries (UGBs) and increased net housing densities seek to slow the expansion of cities into hinterlands and reduce travel costs. The impact of UGBs on house prices is one of a number of issues that remains contested (Nelson et al 2007; Buxton and Scheurer 2007)

Optical Properties of High-Frequency Radio Sources from the Australia Telescope 20 GHz (AT20G) Survey

Our current understanding of radio-loud AGN comes predominantly from studies at frequencies of 5 GHz and below. With the recent completion of the Australia Telescope 20 GHz (AT20G) survey, we can now gain insight into the high-frequency radio properties of AGN. This paper presents supplementary information on the AT20G sources in the form of optical counterparts and redshifts. Optical counterparts were identified using the SuperCOSMOS database and redshifts were found from either the 6dF Galaxy survey or the literature. We also report 144 new redshifts. For AT20G sources outside the Galactic plane, 78.5% have optical identifications and 30.9% have redshift information. The optical identification rate also increases with increasing flux density. Targets which had optical spectra available were examined to obtain a spectral classification. There appear to be two distinct AT20G populations; the high luminosity quasars that are generally associated with point-source optical counterparts and exhibit strong emission lines in the optical spectrum, and the lower luminosity radio galaxies that are generally associated with passive galaxies in both the optical images and spectroscopic properties. It is suggested that these different populations can be associated with different accretion modes (cold-mode or hot-mode). We find that the cold-mode sources have a steeper spectral index and produce more luminous radio lobes, but generally reside in smaller host galaxies than their hot-mode counterparts. This can be attributed to the fact that they are accreting material more efficiently. Lastly, we compare the AT20G survey with the S-cubed semi-empirical (S3-SEX) models and conclude that the S3-SEX models need refining to correctly model the compact cores of AGN. The AT20G survey provides the ideal sample to do this.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRA

Periprocedural antithrombotic management for lumbar puncture: Association of British Neurologists clinical guideline

Lumbar puncture (LP) is an important and frequently performed invasive procedure for the diagnosis and management of neurological conditions. There is little in the neurological literature on the topic of periprocedural management of antithrombotics in patients undergoing LP. Current practice is therefore largely extrapolated from guidelines produced by anaesthetic bodies on neuraxial anaesthesia, haematology groups advising on periprocedural management of antiplatelet agents and anticoagulants, and by neuroradiology on imaging-guided spinal procedures. This paper summarises the existing literature on the topic and offers recommendations to guide periprocedural antithrombotic management for LP, based on the consolidation of the best available evidence. ​. [Abstract copyright: © Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2018. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.

An Integrated Interdisciplinary Faculty-Student Learning Community Focused on Water Issues: A Case Study

In response to a request from a campus student organization, faculty from three fields came together to develop and teach an integrated interdisciplinary course on water issues and social activism. This course, Water as Life, Death, and Power, brought together topics from the fields of anthropology, biology and chemistry to explore water rights, access to clean water, and water treatment methods. Students enrolled in the course developed projects related to a variety of local and global water issues to present real-world solutions at a university-wide student research showcase. This article describes how we organized the learning community, composed of students, faculty, and staff, and outlines the training process of developing a sense of community, content integration, and interdisciplinary teaching techniques. Cathy Willermet is a Professor of Anthropology at Central Michigan University. Eron Drake is the Assistant Director of the Faculty Center for Innovative Teaching at Central Michigan University. Anja Mueller is a Professor of Chemistry at Central Michigan University. Stephen J. Juris is a Professor of Biology at Central Michigan University. Pratik Chhetri is a graduate student and a member of Universities Allied for Essential Medicines (UAEM) at Central Michigan University. Samik Upadhaya is a graduate student and a member of UAEM at Central Michigan University

A new online tool for visualization of volumetric data

This work was sponsored by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) UK, the Medical Research Council (MRC) UK and the Wellcome Trust