The Economic Impact of Film Tourism: The Case of the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit

Film tourism, also known as popular culture tourism, is tourism in the wake of film shows. Research literature contains no established and accepted method for measuring the economic effects of film tourism. This paper takes the first step to evaluate the overall economic impacts of film tourism, with a particular focus on the Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit filmed in New Zealand. A new approach that combines both econometric and computable general equilibrium modeling techniques is used in the impact assessment. The preliminary results show that the Lord of the Rings did not bring any significant impacts on the tourism and economy of New Zealand mainly due to its lack of appropriate marketing strategies. The Hobbit film, on the other hand, was found to have brought significant positive impacts on the New Zealand economy through film induced tourism

Should I Travel? Moral Motivation During Crises

While our travel decisions involve many decisions related to the right or wrong way to behave, our understanding of morality in tourism is largely underdeveloped. Currently, we are hoping for a more responsible and sustainable future after the pandemic. However, we still lack understanding of how moral motivations influence people’s travel behavior during a crisis for better crisis management. Against the background of COVID-19, this study develops the moral motivation of travel amid public health crisis (MMTPHC) scale and tests its influence on travel behavior to advance our understanding of morality in tourism. Specifically, two moral motivations (compliance with anti-epidemic policy related to traveling and shame) discourage people’s travel intentions. However, concern about public denunciations and empathy toward others encourage travel intention. We also found shame and concern for public denunciations mediate the relationships between face concerns and travel intentions. Practical implications are suggested

Investigating the Motivations and Constraints of Chinese Peer-to-Peer Accommodation Hosts

Purpose – This research aims to identify peer-to-peer (P2P) accommodation hosts’ perceived motivations and constraints, to examine the prediction of the motivation and constraint factors on hosts’ intention to continue business based on hosts’ attitudes, and to explore the moderating role of business scale. Design/methodology/approach – A scale for hosts’ perceived motivators and constraints was developed. Mixed methods were used to develop and analyse a conceptual framework for demonstrating how constraints and motivations influence hosts’ behavioural intentions. Findings from interviews with hosts interpretatively supported the survey results.Findings – Chinese hosts’ perceived constraints and motivators are identified and explained. The survey results indicate that constraints lower intention to continue one’s business and motivators heightens it. Motivators have a higher effect on attitudes and intentions than constraints do. Business scale was confirmed as a moderator in the constraint—attitude link but not in the motivator—attitude relationship.Practical implications – This paper offers policy implications for governments, online platforms and hosts in terms of establishing incentives and solving problems so that Chinese hosts can sustainably operate their businesses.Originality/value – This paper identifies constraints and motivators and develops a measurement scale for both simultaneously, which provides a holistic explanation of hosts’ attitude and behavioural intention. It also reveals the moderating role of business scale. In investigating the thoughts of existing hosts operating on global and local platforms in China, this paper complements the literature, which mainly focuses on the Western context and a single global platform

Co-creation experience and place attachment: Festival evaluation

Adopting customer-to-customer value co-creation logic, this study explored the underlying dimensions of the co-creation experience and its effects on the behavioral intention to attend festivals. The analysis focused on the role of place attachment and festival satisfaction as mediators in the relationship between festival visitors' satisfaction with the co-creation experience and their behavioral intention to attend the festival. Drawing on 444 survey responses, our findings support the mediation roles of place dependence and festival satisfaction. The findings did not vary between tourists and residents. This suggests that facilitating shared consumption of festivals motivates festival attendees to re-patronize specific festivals. Based on these findings, both theoretical and practical implications of this analysis are discussed

National identity and cultural festivals in postcolonial destinations

The number of cultural festivals organised globally has increased primarily due to their significance in celebrating and promoting community values, ideologies, identity and continuity. This mixed-method study aims to understand the role national identity and the associated emotions play in cultural festivals. It first investigates the rationale of organising festivals to celebrate postcolonial hybrid identities via a qualitative approach in Study 1, specifically regarding the ‘Macao International Parade’. It further tests a proposed framework via a quantitative approach in Study 2, which investigates the relationships between national identity, festivalscapes, festival satisfaction, hedonic value and re-patronising intention. This study implies that the cultural festival in Macao not only recognises a unique moment in history, but also contributes to strengthening the hybrid identity in postcolonial Macao. Based on these findings, both theoretical and practical implications are discussed

Autonomy found: Estimating the local benefit from tourism in SIDS – the Case of Cape Verde

Tourism is an unusually important economic sector for the Small Island Development States (SIDS). Islands are the second most visited destinations after historic cities. The SIDS tourism is usually dependent on foreign investment and in the form of All-Inclusive (AI) system. Few studies have evaluated the economic impact of tourism on the economic development and/or poverty reduction of a SID using macro level data. And little research has used micro/firm level data to investigate the impact of tourism on the local economy of SIDS. This paper aims to evaluate the local benefits made from the development of tourism in SIDS, in particular the contribution of AI accommodation using the case of Cape Verde. It makes two main contributions: it makes the first attempt to use microeconomic data at the company level to examine the contribution of tourism in SIDS; it uses empirical data to examine the impacts of AI accommodation on the local economy. A semi-structured hotel questionnaire was applied to 13 accommodation managers and hotel owners, from small guest-houses to large 500 room All-Inclusive resorts in Sal, Boa Vista, Fogo, and Santo Antão. The results indicate that for destinations at an early stage in their development, large-scale AIs may be the most effective way to achieve the growth of tourism to the point that a critical mass is achieved

Oral Delivery of Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2 and Angiotensin-(1-7) Bioencapsulated in Plant Cells Attenuates Pulmonary Hypertension

Emerging evidences indicate that diminished activity of the vasoprotective axis of the renin–angiotensin system, constituting angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) and its enzymatic product, angiotensin-(1-7) [Ang-(1-7)] contribute to the pathogenesis of pulmonary hypertension (PH). However, long-term repetitive delivery of ACE2 or Ang-(1-7) would require enhanced protein stability and ease of administration to improve patient compliance. Chloroplast expression of therapeutic proteins enables their bioencapsulation within plant cells to protect against gastric enzymatic degradation and facilitates long-term storage at room temperature. Besides, fusion to a transmucosal carrier helps effective systemic absorption from the intestine on oral delivery. We hypothesized that bioencapsulating ACE2 or Ang-(1-7) fused to the cholera nontoxin B subunit would enable development of an oral delivery system that is effective in treating PH. PH was induced in male Sprague Dawley rats by monocrotaline administration. Subset of animals was simultaneously treated with bioencapsulaed ACE2 or Ang-(1-7) (prevention protocol). In a separate set of experiments, drug treatment was initiated after 2 weeks of PH induction (reversal protocol). Oral feeding of rats with bioencapsulated ACE2 or Ang-(1-7) prevented the development of monocrotaline-induced PH and improved associated cardiopulmonary pathophysiology. Furthermore, in the reversal protocol, oral ACE2 or Ang-(1-7) treatment significantly arrested disease progression, along with improvement in right heart function, and decrease in pulmonary vessel wall thickness. In addition, a combination therapy with ACE2 and Ang-(1-7) augmented the beneficial effects against monocrotaline-induced lung injury. Our study provides proof-of-concept for a novel low-cost oral ACE2 or Ang-(1-7) delivery system using transplastomic technology for pulmonary disease therapeutics

Oral Delivery of Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2 and Angiotensin-(1-7) Bioencapsulated in Plant Cells Attenuates Pulmonary Hypertension

Emerging evidences indicate that diminished activity of the vasoprotective axis of the renin–angiotensin system, constituting angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) and its enzymatic product, angiotensin-(1-7) [Ang-(1-7)] contribute to the pathogenesis of pulmonary hypertension (PH). However, long-term repetitive delivery of ACE2 or Ang-(1-7) would require enhanced protein stability and ease of administration to improve patient compliance. Chloroplast expression of therapeutic proteins enables their bioencapsulation within plant cells to protect against gastric enzymatic degradation and facilitates long-term storage at room temperature. Besides, fusion to a transmucosal carrier helps effective systemic absorption from the intestine on oral delivery. We hypothesized that bioencapsulating ACE2 or Ang-(1-7) fused to the cholera nontoxin B subunit would enable development of an oral delivery system that is effective in treating PH. PH was induced in male Sprague Dawley rats by monocrotaline administration. Subset of animals was simultaneously treated with bioencapsulaed ACE2 or Ang-(1-7) (prevention protocol). In a separate set of experiments, drug treatment was initiated after 2 weeks of PH induction (reversal protocol). Oral feeding of rats with bioencapsulated ACE2 or Ang-(1-7) prevented the development of monocrotaline-induced PH and improved associated cardiopulmonary pathophysiology. Furthermore, in the reversal protocol, oral ACE2 or Ang-(1-7) treatment significantly arrested disease progression, along with improvement in right heart function, and decrease in pulmonary vessel wall thickness. In addition, a combination therapy with ACE2 and Ang-(1-7) augmented the beneficial effects against monocrotaline-induced lung injury. Our study provides proof-of-concept for a novel low-cost oral ACE2 or Ang-(1-7) delivery system using transplastomic technology for pulmonary disease therapeutics

Exploring Spirituality in Teaching Within a Christian School Context Through Collaborative Action Research

This article reports on a collaborative action research project conducted in New Zealand, during 2012, exploring spirituality in teaching within a Christian school context. The experienced primary school teacher participant chose to take action around the issue of personal fear and insecurity which were believed to be hindering professional growth and relationships. Through self-directed inquiry, critical reflective journaling, Bible study, fellowship and prayer with trusted friends, the teacher experienced a renewed sense of peace and freedom in Christ. This personal transformation was believed to be influential on subsequent professional practice, assisting the teacher to become more relational, responsive and compassionate. The findings provide a rich description of the participant’s spirituality, the lived reality of a person’s spiritual life. This report will be of interest to teachers, teacher-leaders and teacher-educators who desire to explore Christian spirituality through practitioner-led inquiry

Fish Autophagy Protein 5 Exerts Negative Regulation on Antiviral Immune Response Against Iridovirus and Nodavirus

Autophagy is an important biological activity that maintains homeostasis in eukaryotic cells. However, little is known about the functions of fish autophagy-related genes (Atgs). In this study, we cloned and characterized Atg5, a key gene in the autophagy gene superfamily, from orange-spotted grouper (Epinephelus coioides) (EcAtg5). EcAtg5 encoded a 275-amino acid protein that shared 94 and 81% identity to seabass (Lates calcarifer) and humans (Homo sapiens), respectively. The transcription level of EcAtg5 was significantly increased in cells infected with red-spotted grouper nervous necrosis virus (RGNNV). In cells infected with Singapore grouper iridovirus (SGIV), EcAtg5 expression declined during the early stage of infection and increased in the late stage. Fluorescence microscopy revealed that EcAtg5 mainly localized with a dot-like pattern in the cytoplasm of grouper cells. Overexpression of EcAtg5 significantly increased the replication of RGNNV and SGIV at different levels of detection, as indicated by increased severity of the cytopathic effect, transcription levels of viral genes, and levels of viral proteins. Knockdown of EcAtg5 decreased the replication of RGNNV and SGIV. Further studies showed that overexpression EcAtg5 activated autophagy, decreased expression levels of interferon related cytokines or effectors and pro-inflammatory factors, and inhibited the activation of nuclear factor κB, IFN-sensitive response element, and IFNs. In addition, ectopic expression of EcAtg5 affected cell cycle progression by hindering the G1/S transition. Taken together, our results demonstrated that fish Atg5 exerted a crucial role in virus replication by promoting autophagy, down-regulating antiviral IFN responses, and affecting the cell cycle