Will Ecotourists Pay Premium Prices? An Explanatory Study on Motivations, Ecotourism Intention and Willingness to Pay Premium for Ecotourism

Purpose: Recent literature emphasizes that there is an ambiguity on ecotourism consumption as actual environmentally friendly behaviors deviate from the intentions. Further, it is identified that ecotourism offerings are higher in price and discourage consumption. Hence, this study examined ecotourism consumer behaviors focusing on motivation, ecotourism intention, and willingness to pay premium for ecotourism. It also aims to investigate the mediating effect of ecotourism intention between motivations and willingness to pay premium. Design/methodology/approach: The study undertook a quantitative approach with a cross-sectional design. Self-administrated questionnaires (online) were distributed employing purposive sampling technique to young domestic travelers who had purchased green travel products in the last six months in Sri Lanka. A total of 212 responses were analyzed by PLS-SEM approach using SmartPLS 4.0 software. Findings: The findings revealed that intrinsic motivation significantly influenced the willingness to pay premium whereas the impact of extrinsic motivation on willingness to pay premium was insignificant. Additionally, this study proved that ecotourism intention partially mediated the relationship between intrinsic motivation and willingness to pay premium while ecotourism intention fully mediated the relationship between extrinsic motivation and willingness to pay premium. Originality: This research contributes to extending knowledge of tourism consumer behaviour in the context of ecotourism. Moreover, this study examined how an individual is motivated towards ecotourism consumption and their willingness to pay premium for such consumptions. Thus, the present study integrates the actual behavior, willingness to pay premium to further explain the self-determination theory. Thus, it empirically contributes to broadening the understanding of comprehensive ecotourism consumer behaviour that has been paid little attention. Implications: The findings offer important practical implications for ecotourism providers, marketers, policymakers, and other decision-makers for planning and developing ecotourism offerings, effective marketing and promotion to encourage and ensure sustainable tourism consumption. Keywords: Ecotourism, Ecotourism Intention, Extrinsic Motivation, Intrinsic Motivation, Willingness to Pay Premiu

Mortality percentage of Sri Lankan Leopards (Pantera pardus kotiya)

leopard, mortality, sri lankan, леопард, смертность, Шри-Ланк

Anthelmintic efficacy of Albendazole and Levamisole against gastrointestinal parasites in Sri Lanakan elephants at Udawalawe, Sri Lanka

elephants, parasites, gastrointestinal parasites, antihelminthic drug, albendazole, levamisole, sri lanka, слоны, паразиты, гельминты, желудочно-кишечный тракт(жкт), противоглистные препараты, альбендазол, левамизол, Шри-Ланк

Green manuring for tropical organic cropping -A comparative analysis

Abstrac

Taxation formula for tobacco in Sri Lanka

Article 06 of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco control emphasizes the importance of implementing effective tax and price policies for Tobacco products. To fight against the Tobacco epidemic WHO has introduced the MPOWER package which R stands for raising taxes on Tobacco. According to WHO standards, 70% of the excise tax from the retail price will contribute to an effective Tobacco tax indexation policy. National Authority on Tobacco and Alcohol organized Tobacco Taxation and Illicit Trade virtual workshop with the collaboration of WHO FCTC Knowledge Hub on Tobacco Taxation, Research Unit on the Economics of Excisable Products, University of Cape Town. The developed Tobacco tax indexation formula of the National Authority on Tobacco and Alcohol was modified by including exogenous factor with the guidance of experts of WHO FCTC Secretariat Knowledge Hub on tobacco taxation. Tobacco tax simulation modeling can be used to predict how much tobacco consumption will decrease, and government revenue will increase if there is a change in the tobacco excise tax structure and an increase in the level of taxation. Preliminary evidence from the TETSiM model predicts that a 91.6 to 124.6 billion increase in tobacco excise taxation from the current 2022 to 2026 would lead to a 1.1 % drop in consumption and approximately 101.8 to 136.9 billion increases in government revenue. The finding of the modeling of Tobacco taxes with the TETSiM model will lead to an increase in Tobacco tax revenue and decrease Tobacco consumption in Sri Lanka

Fatality percentages of Sri Lankan leopards (Panthera pardus kotiya) killed in human activities in Sri Lanka

леопард, смертность, причины, самки, самцы, деятельность людей, среда обитания, агрокультура, Шри ЛанкаПриведены данные по наблюдению за жизнью диких леопардов для уточнения наиболее распространенных причин их гибели. Рассматривались и оценивались случаи гибели леопардов в течение 2010-2016 годов, показывающие, что основной и наиболее частой причиной гибели леопардов явился человеческий фактор. Среди всех половозрастных групп наблюдалась эта же тенденция, то есть человеческий фактор также являлся основной причиной гибели животных. Этот процент гибели может быть снижен за счет понимания особенностей жизни и обитания леопардов. В дополнение к этому необходимо применять меры по защите окружающей среды, особенно в тех местах, где сосредоточенa большая популяция этих животных, необходимо контролировать развитие сельского хозяйства в данных областях, привлекать внимание людей к данной проблеме за счет информации в виде вывесок, ограничивать скорость движения транспорта, чтобы снизить процент гибели животных

Large schwannoma in the ulnar nerve in axilla - A case report

Introduction: Schwannomas are nerve sheath tumours which majority is benign. Only one case of solitary schwannoma in the ulnar branch of brachial plexus in the axilla is so far reported. Some are asymptomatic while others having pain and neurological disability. For diagnosis, imaging studies such as ultrasonography, computerized tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, electromyography and aid of electron microscopy and immunohistochemistry are used. Non-surgical treatment is appropriate for slow growing and asymptomatic tumours. Surgical treatment is aimed to prevent progressive neurological deficit. Damage to the parent nerve is a known complication.Case report: A 44 year old female was investigated for a lump in her left axilla. Ultrasonography showed well defined hypoechoic solid mass, suspicious of an enlarged lymph node in the axilla with normal breasts. Tru-cut biopsy was compatible with histological appearance of schwannoma. A large (7.0x5.5x4.0cm3) well circumcised white mass of tissue arising at the origin of ulnar nerve deep in the left axilla was enucleated. Histologically lesion was compatible with a schwannoma with an intact capsule. Diffusely positive S-100 protein was demonstrated immunohistochemically and malignancy excluded. Post-operatively patient had ulnar nerve palsy confirmed by nerve conduction studies. Hand physiotherapy was offered and nerve function gradually improved.Discussion: Benign schwannoma of the ulnar nerve is not a common condition encountered in general clinical practice, hence delay in diagnosis is of concern. MRI and histology is needed to diagnose schwannoma accurately and to exclude malignancy. Treatment is complete excision while preserving nerve function preferably under intra-operative electrophysiological guidance.

Anthelmintic efficacy of albendazole and levamisole against gastrointestinal parasites in sri lanakan elephants at udawalawe, Sri Lanka

альбендазол, левамизол, комплексное лечение, стронгилята, фасциолы, паразитозы, слоны, Шри ЛанкаПроведено сравнение антигельминтной эффективности препаратов «Альбендазол» и «Левомизол» при желудочно-кишечных паразитозах слонов Шри-Ланки. Первый тест проводился с использованием только альбендазола, второй тест – комплексное использование препаратов. Слоны, находящиеся в эксперименте, были инвазированы фасциолами и стронгилятами. Было установлено, что комплексное лечение наиболее эффективно против желудочно-кишечных гельминтов слонов

Development and validation of a reference marker for identification of aerobic and anaerobic bacteria associated with diabetes chronic wound ulcers using PCR denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis

Introduction: Diabetes chronic wounds consist with a diverse microbial community and unculturablespecies may be highly prevalent.Objectives: This study aimed to establish a bacterial reference marker consisting of a group ofchronic wound related bacteria, using polymerase chain reaction-denaturing gradient gelelectrophoresis (PCR-DGGE) for profiling of bacteria in diabetes chronic wound infections.Methods: DNA was extracted from the known wound bacterial strains. PCR–DGGE was performedusing eubacterial specific primers targeting V2-V3 region of 16S rDNA. DGGE was performed usinga 30-55% denaturing gradient. Migration position of each organism was detected on DGGE gel andimportant organisms were selected. Equal volume from PCR products of each selected organism wasmixed, diluted with gel loading dye in 1:1.5 ratio and used for all DGGE gels. The ladder was thensubjected to species identification of fifteen tissue debridement specimens obtained from diabeteschronic wound ulcers. The identification efficacy was tested by sequencing.Results: DNA of bacterial pathogens which showed different migration distances on the gel werecombined and used as a reference panel. This bacterial ladder consisted of eleven different bacterialspecies including Bacteroides sp., S. aureus, Acineto bacter sp., P. aeruginosa, Streptococcus Group Aand Group B sp., E. faecalis, Providencia sp., Veillonella sp., E .coli and Enterobacter sp. Accordingto the reference panel, Pseudomonas species were abundant. Further the results were confirmed bysequencing.Conclusion: Reference marker allows comparative analysis of DGGE patterns and can be used as atool for presumptive identification of polymicrobial microbiota in chronic wound infections