The tourist experience of heritage urban spaces : Valletta as a case study

This article provides an understanding of how tourists experience heritage urban spaces by investigating features that influence tourist experiences most. It is framed within urban design literature which refers to three elements of urban space namely physical setting (or form), activity, and meaning. These elements are used to explore how urban spaces are experienced by tourists. Its findings are derived from an in-depth qualitative analysis of interviews with tourists to Valletta, Malta. The research suggests that the intrinsic qualities of the space are relevant to the tourist experience but what is even more relevant are the interactions of the tourist with different elements within that space, namely interactions with surroundings, interactions with others, and interactions with self/meaning. Within this broad conceptual model, the research identifies important sub-themes. Some of these reinforce the findings of existing work on tourist experiences, but others are often under-estimated or neglected.peer-reviewe

A study of "swayback": a demyelination disease of lambs with affinities to Schilder's disease, (encephalitis periaxialis diffusa) in man

1. When this investigation was begun in 1935, relatively little was known about the Swayback other than it was a form of lamb 'paralysis". These studies established the pathological nature of the disease for the first time and as a result caused it to be viewed in an entirely-new light, and thus placed it on sounder basis for further important work. • 2. Swayback is a nervous disorder of new-born and young lambs of different breeds occurring in many parts of England, Scotland and Wales. The same disease occurs in Australia and New Zealand and probably corresponds to conditions which have occurred in South America, Sweden, South Africa and India. The incidence in Britain varies annually and may be as high as 90 per cent. of the lambs born on any one affected farm. In some areas (e.g. Derbyshire) the disease is enzootic. • 3. The symptoms are those of a spastic paralysis of the limbs with resultant inco- ordination and occasionally blindness; the disease is progressive in most cases with a fatal termination. • 4. The pathology is characterised by a diffuse symmetrical demyelination of the cerebrum varying in extent in different cases from small foci in the centrum ovale to gross demyelination of the whole hemispheres. Liquefaction and cavitation is a common end stage of the lesion. Secondary degeneration of the motor tracts in the cord is always present. The disease is a degenerative disorder bearing some resemblance to Schilder's disease in man and is of ante-natal origin. • 5. Bacteria and /or viruses are not concerned in the aetiology; "Swayback" is analagous in this respect to the demyelinating disorders in man, monkey and the dog. • 6. The causal agent causes no obvious disturbance in the health of the ewe but exerts a pathogenic effect on the foetus or young lamb. In the latter this agent has a specific affinity for the cerebral myelin and/or for the mechanism or cells responsible for the laying down of myelin which it destroys with singular rapidity. • 7. The suggestion that a disturbance of copper metabolism in the pregnant ewes was concerned in this way with the aetioloty was subsequently investigated. Chemical analyses of the blood and body tissues of "Swayback" lambs and their mothers show lower Cu values compared with suitable controls. The remarkable prophylactic value of Cu is clearly proved as a result of a large scale field experiment carried out in Derbyshire. The exact role which the trace element plays in the aetiology is not, however, understood as it is apparent from the Cu analyses of the pastures that the disease is not a Cu deficiency per se. Until more is known about function of copper and its relation to myelin metabolism, the pathogenesis may not be easily explained. specific anaemic complication in the mother is not part of the syndrome and swayback is not thus a blood-brain complex parallel with pernicious anaemia and subacute combined degeneration in man

The Academic Resilience Approach in the promotion of young people’s mental health. Proposals for its use in schools

Els joves que gaudeixen de bona salut mental són més propensos a tenir un rendiment acadèmic més bo i un millor desenvolupament social. Davant l’increment de problemes de salut mental entre adolescents a Catalunya, es presenta l’Enfocament de Resiliència Acadèmica (ERA) com una pràctica estratègica per a centres d’educació secundària que involucra tota la comunitat educativa. La finalitat és ajudar que els joves, especialment els més vulnerables, aconsegueixin obtenir un rendiment acadèmic més òptim, malgrat les circumstàncies en les quals es troben. Les propostes per integrar l’ERA als centres de secundària es basen en la redefinició de les activitats que ja es desenvolupen i en el disseny de noves pràctiques educatives considerant els elements del Marc de Resiliència

Digitization to Support Generations of Refugees: How Can IS Research and Researchers Make a Difference?

In recent years, a new refugee crisis has been sweeping the world due to the continuous violence in different places and countries. These developments have caused unexpected challenges on different levels, ranging from individuals (including migrants and refugees and hosting populations) to organizations, countries, and continents (including those fleeing violence and hosting countries of fleeing individuals). Despite the urgency and the potential risks associated with the current refugee situation, relatively little work has been carried out by IS researchers on how to find the intersection between this societal topic and the use of technology to alleviate this crisis. The outcomes of the panel have implications for both academia and practice. We would like to uncover the beneficial use of digital transformation solutions that could help and empower refugees and host communities using the bright side of existing technologies in integrating refugees into society

How can we manage the tourist-historic city? Tourism strategy in Cambridge, UK, 1978-2003

This paper draws on research into twenty-five years of tourism planning and management in Cambridge, UK, to explore the long-term effect that tourism strategies can have in managing the development of tourism in historic cities. It focuses particularly on strategic aims and the policies designed to implement them through regulating the city. It finds that five successive Tourism Strategies from 1978 onward have had consistent aims, strongly influenced by the locality characteristics of Cambridge. It explores how strategic aims are derived, focusing on the balance between local and external influences, and how policies to implement the aims are developed. It argues that locality factors, and the role of local regimes and policy communities are more important than national government policy in accounting for aims and policies. It suggests that tourism management issues are rarely finally resolved, and the most important element of policy is creating capacity for continuing management

Children’s oxygen administration strategies trial (COAST): A randomised controlled trial of high flow versus oxygen versus control in African children with severe pneumonia

Background: In Africa, the clinical syndrome of pneumonia remains the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in children in the post-neonatal period. This represents a significant burden on in-patient services. The targeted use of oxygen and simple, non-invasive methods of respiratory support may be a highly cost-effective means of improving outcome, but the optimal oxygen saturation threshold that results in benefit and the best strategy for delivery are yet to be tested in adequately powered randomised controlled trials. There is, however, an accumulating literature about the harms of oxygen therapy across a range of acute and emergency situations that have stimulated a number of trials investigating permissive hypoxia.Methods: In 4200 African children, aged 2 months to 12 years, presenting to 5 hospitals in East Africa with respiratory distress and hypoxia (oxygen saturation \u3c 92%), the COAST trial will simultaneously evaluate two related interventions (targeted use of oxygen with respect to the optimal oxygen saturation threshold for treatment and mode of delivery) to reduce shorter-term mortality at 48-hours (primary endpoint), and longer-term morbidity and mortality to 28 days in a fractional factorial design, that compares: Liberal oxygenation (recommended care) compared with a strategy that permits hypoxia to SpO2 \u3e or = 80% (permissive hypoxia); and High flow using AIrVO2TM compared with low flow delivery (routine care)

Children’s Oxygen Administration Strategies Trial (COAST): A randomised controlled trial of high flow versus oxygen versus control in African children with severe pneumonia.

Background: In Africa, the clinical syndrome of pneumonia remains the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in children in the post-neonatal period. This represents a significant burden on in-patient services. The targeted use of oxygen and simple, non-invasive methods of respiratory support may be a highly cost-effective means of improving outcome, but the optimal oxygen saturation threshold that results in benefit and the best strategy for delivery are yet to be tested in adequately powered randomised controlled trials. There is, however, an accumulating literature about the harms of oxygen therapy across a range of acute and emergency situations that have stimulated a number of trials investigating permissive hypoxia. Methods: In 4200 African children, aged 2 months to 12 years, presenting to 5 hospitals in East Africa with respiratory distress and hypoxia (oxygen saturation \u3c 92%), the COAST trial will simultaneously evaluate two related interventions (targeted use of oxygen with respect to the optimal oxygen saturation threshold for treatment and mode of delivery) to reduce shorter-term mortality at 48-hours (primary endpoint), and longer-term morbidity and mortality to 28 days in a fractional factorial design, that compares: Liberal oxygenation (recommended care) compared with a strategy that permits hypoxia to SpO2 \u3e or = 80% (permissive hypoxia); and High flow using AIrVO2TM compared with low flow delivery (routine care). Discussion: The overarching objective is to address the key research gaps in the therapeutic use of oxygen in resource-limited setting in order to provide a better evidence base for future management guidelines. The trial has been designed to address the poor outcomes of children in sub-Saharan Africa, which are associated with high rates of in-hospital mortality, 9-10% (for those with oxygen saturations of 80-92%) and 26-30% case fatality for those with oxygen saturations \u3c80%