The Otterbein Miscellany - September 1979

https://digitalcommons.otterbein.edu/miscellany/1019/thumbnail.jp

The Otterbein Miscellany - Fall 1979

https://digitalcommons.otterbein.edu/miscellany/1017/thumbnail.jp

Tourism communities and social ties: the role of online and offline tourist social networks in building social capital and sustainable practice.

Mobile connectivity enables the adoption of new ways to connect with social networks which are changing how we might, and could, seek support. In the tourism domain we increasingly blend online and offline presence to engage with social networks in the spatial location, at a distance and across time. This paper explores the forms of community that exist in physical tourism contexts, contexts not previously analysed through a community lens, and explores how mobile technology is creating connections within and beyond existing social networks. It examines how sustainable tourism can be enhanced by mobile connectivity through new space-time practices and using ephemeral interpersonal relationships to harness niche groups to create bottom-up social systems interested in sharing experiences, ideas and resources. Special attention is given to the concept of gelling socialities which proposes a less ridged network structure, and to the need to understand the increasingly liquid social dynamics of mobile social interactions. The paper adds to the theories surrounding community, social ties and tourism’s value to society. It draws on data from in-depth interviews undertaken while designing and testing a collaborative travel app. It contributes to growing research into the new technologies increasingly available for sustainable tourism marketing and implementation

Implementing smartphone enabled collaborative travel: Routes to success in the tourism domain.

Smartphone technology can help identify current and anticipate future patterns of behaviour and, with its social networking capabilities, allow users to imagine and organise collaborative travel opportunities, such as lift share. This has led to the development of collaborative apps designed to enable activities like lift sharing. Such apps require new norms of behaviour to establish a user base and research has yet to address the socio-cultural barriers to both the use of this technology to organise travel and the sharing of personal space that collaborative travel entails. This paper reports the findings of a study which designed, built and tested a collaborative travel app in the tourism domain. Data derived from exploratory interviews, post-trial interviews and a questionnaire reveal that user age and extent of mobile engagement play a less significant role than expected, while other aspects of the social exchange, notably social tie strength, trust and obligations play a more marked role. A conceptual framework and discussion of strategies to address these barriers provides insight into appropriate contexts and routes for implementation of collaborative travel apps

Long-term thermal sensitivity of Earth’s tropical forests

The sensitivity of tropical forest carbon to climate is a key uncertainty in predicting global climate change. Although short-term drying and warming are known to affect forests, it is unknown if such effects translate into long-term responses. Here, we analyze 590 permanent plots measured across the tropics to derive the equilibrium climate controls on forest carbon. Maximum temperature is the most important predictor of aboveground biomass (−9.1 megagrams of carbon per hectare per degree Celsius), primarily by reducing woody productivity, and has a greater impact per °C in the hottest forests (>32.2°C). Our results nevertheless reveal greater thermal resilience than observations of short-term variation imply. To realize the long-term climate adaptation potential of tropical forests requires both protecting them and stabilizing Earth’s climate

The economic performance of the New England states in 2001: an overview

The year 2001 marked the end of a ten-year economic expansion for the nation and New England. Both the recession that began in the first quarter of 2001 and the terrorist attacks of September 11 weakened the region's labor market, which had built strength in the 1990s and through 2000. Employment in nearly all of the region's states and major industries declined in 2001, while unemployment became more widespread. Furthermore, the value of exports dropped across most major industries and destinations. The region's residential real estate market remained robust, however, as prices increased faster than in the nation overall. In addition, the region continued to face a higher rate of consumer price inflation than the nation.Economic conditions - New England ; Economic conditions - Massachusetts ; Economic conditions - Maine ; Economic conditions - Connecticut ; Economic conditions - Vermont ; Economic conditions - Rhode Island ; Economic conditions - New Hampshire

Mainstreaming biodiversity : conservation for the twenty-first century

CITATION: Redford, K. H. et al. 2015. Mainstreaming biodiversity : conservation for the twenty-first century. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 3:137, doi:10.3389/fevo.2015.00137.The original publication is available at http://journal.frontiersin.org/journal/ecology-and-evolutionInsufficient focused attention has been paid by the conservation community to conservation of biodiversity outside of protected areas. Biodiversity mainstreaming addresses this gap in global conservation practice by “embedding biodiversity considerations into policies, strategies and practices of key public and private actors that impact or rely on biodiversity, so that it is conserved, and sustainably used, both locally and globally” (Huntley and Redford, 2014). Biodiversity mainstreaming is designed to change those policies and practices that influence land uses outside of protected areas as well as to change economic and development decision-making by demonstrating the importance of conserving biodiversity for achieving development outcomes. The practice of mainstreaming is tied to implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity and is practiced with billions of dollars of investment by development agencies, national government agencies, and the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and its implementing organizations as well as other donors. It is essential for the long-term survival of biodiversity inside and outside protected areas. However, it is virtually unheard of in the main conservation science field. This must change so as to bring careful documentation, analysis, monitoring, publishing, and improvement of practices—all things that conservation science should provide as partners to practitioners of biodiversity mainstreaming. The situation is ripe for informed coordination and consolidation and creation of a science-driven field of biodiversity mainstreaming.http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fevo.2015.00137/fullPublisher's versio