Tourism in peripheral areas: the use of causal networks and lesson drawing as analytical methods.

The thesis sets out to evaluate the use of Causal Networks as a methodology and as a means of highlighting the problems associated with tourism in peripheral areas. Once these problems were identified through this process, the research findings are related to established literature and Lesson Drawing is evaluated as a means of comparative analysis. In attempting to utilise both Causal Networks and Lesson Drawing, three regions within Scotland were chosen as case studies. It was hoped that the selection of three regions within the same geographical propinquity would allow for Lessons to be both, imported and exported, from within the regions. The three regions chosen were Grampian; Inverness and Nairn; and Ross and Cromarty. An extensive literature search was conducted in an attempt to establish facts salient to the regions and primary research was carried out in all three regions. The primary research involved the use of an interview questionnaire. The respondents were all involved in tourism provision in one of the three case study regions. The interview data was collated and input onto conceptually clustered matrices. Causal Networks were constructed and analysed for each individual interview and for cognate groups and regions. Some tentative conclusions were drawn as a result of constructing the Causal Networks. These Causal Networks segmented the respondents into representative groups based on their functions or locations, for example commercial and non-commercial sector respondents or Grampian and Aberdeen City regional sector respondents. Using the Causal Networks opportunities for drawing lessons between the regions were highlighted. Finally, the effectiveness of both Casual Networks and Lesson Drawing methodologies were assessed in terms of their applicability for tourism provision in peripheral areas

Digitally manipulating memory : effects of doctored videos and imagination in distorting beliefs and memories

In prior research on false autobiographical beliefs and memories, subjects have been asked to imagine fictional events and they have been exposed to false evidence that indicates the fictional events occurred. But what are the relative contributions of imagination and false evidence toward false belief and memory construction? Subjects observed and copied various simple actions, then viewed doctored videos that suggested they had performed extra actions, and they imagined performing some of those and some other actions. Subjects returned two weeks later for a memory test. False evidence or imagination alone was often sufficient to cause belief and memory distortions; the two techniques in combination appeared to have additive or even superadditive effects. The results bear on the mechanisms underlying false beliefs and memories, and we propose legal and clinical applications of these findings

Changing beliefs about past public events with believable and unbelievable doctored photographs

Doctored photographs can shape what people believe and remember about prominent public events, perhaps due to their apparent credibility. In three studies, subjects completed surveys about the 2012 London Olympic torch relay (Experiment 1) or the 2011 Royal Wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton (Experiments 2-3). Some were shown a genuine photo of the event; others saw a doctored photo that depicted protesters and unrest. A third group of subjects saw a doctored photo whose inauthenticity had been made explicit, either by adding a written disclaimer (Experiment 1) or by making the digital manipulation deliberately poor (Experiments 2-3). In all three studies, doctored photos had small effects on a subset of subjects’ beliefs about the events. Of central interest though, comparable effects also emerged when the photos were overtly inauthentic. These findings suggest that cognitive mechanisms other than credibility—such as familiarity misattribution and mental imagery—can rapidly influence beliefs about past events even when the low credibility of a source is overt

Hypnotic Age Regression and the Occurrence of Transitional Object Relationships

A transitional object, as defined by object-relation theorists is the first treasured possession of the infant (teddy bear, blanket, etc.) usually first appearing in the second half of the first year, and terminating between the ages of four and six. Object relations theory and subsequent empirical investigations have demonstrated that, for almost all three year old children, the relationship with the transitional object: is spontaneously desired during periods of isolation and mild stress, is characterized by attachment to a specific object, and is affectively intense. The present study used these three characteristics of the three year old child\u27s mode of object relating, to test the validity of hypnotic age regression; this problem was approached by assessing the adequacy of a conceptualization of hypnotic age regression based solely on motivated response to demand characteristics. Using a real-simulating design, it was hypothesized that high susceptible, hypnotised subjects, when regressed to age three and presented with stress situations, should produce spontaneous, specific, and affectively intense relationships with a transitional object. It was further hypothesized that low susceptible, simulating controls, when presented with an otherwise identical experimental treatment, would be less able to approximate these three age appropriate responses. Results indicated that on all three variables, spontaneity, specificity and intensity, hypnotised subjects behaved in a significantly more age appropriate manner than the Simula tin;.\u27, controls. These results suggest the inadequacy of a taskmotivation conceptualization of hypnosis, and further, suggest, but do not establish, the existence of a trance component in hypnosis

False memories, nonbelieved memories, and the unresolved primacy of communication

Mahr and Csibra make a compelling case for a communicative function of episodic remembering, but a less compelling case that this is its primary function. Questions arise on whether confirming their predictions would support their account sufficiently, on the communicative function of preserving rich nonbelieved memories, and on the epistemic benefits of developing false memories via the acceptance of misinformation

Anchoring effects in the development of false childhood memories

When people receive descriptions or doctored photos of events that never happened, they often come to remember those events. But if people receive both a description and a doctored photo, does the order in which they receive the information matter? We asked people to consider a description and a doctored photograph of a childhood hot air balloon ride, and we varied which medium they saw first. People who saw a description first reported more false images and memories than people who saw a photo first, a result that fits with an anchoring account of false childhood memories

Countdown to 2010: Can we assess Ireland’s insect species diversity and loss?

peer-reviewedThe insects are the most diverse organisms on this planet and play an essential role in ecosystem functioning, yet we know very little about them. In light of the Convention on Biological Diversity, this paper summarises the known insect species numbers for Ireland and questions whether this is a true refl ection of our insect diversity. The total number of known species for Ireland is 11,422. Using species accumulation curves and a comparison with the British fauna, this study shows that the Irish list is incomplete and that the actual species number is much higher. However, even with a reasonable knowledge of the species in Ireland, insects are such speciose, small, and inconspicuous animals that it is diffi cult to assess species loss. It is impossible to know at one point in time the number of insect species in Ireland and, although it is useful to summarise the known number of species, it is essential that biodiversity indicators, such as the Red List Index, are developed