Networked Hospitality and Placemaking in the Sharing Economy

This article investigates the similarities and differences for tangible and intangible elements (factors and language use) contributing to placemaking in Airbnb English language reviews in Paris (59,057 reviews), Barcelona (19,291 reviews) and London (30,403 reviews). This paper contributes to provide new insights on the narrative construction of reputational capital which is connected to placemaking strategies. A combined quantitative approach using large scale text analysis enabled the analysis of review content and style. Patterns in the words usage were identified. Findings suggest that tangible and intangible elements work together in the discourse, contributing to the place-narrative built on the host’s reputational capital. The host-guest interaction is the main aspect of the reviews, followed by the importance of transport and local amenities. Cities have different profiles in the composition of the word clusters which indicates differences in the guests’ perceived experience. Keywords: Hospitality; Sharing economy; Placemaking; Airbnb, Narrative, Reputational capita

Together alone: an exploration of the virtual event experience

After 50 years in development, virtual reality (VR) has now become commercially available to consumers. The events industry has started to adopt this transformational technology, by implementing it into live events, or using it as an alternative method for providing event experiences. However, little research attempts to compare real to virtual event experiences to understand perceived user benefits and drawbacks. Using Uses and Gratifications (UG) Theory, this study aims to understand the possible user benefits provided from virtual event experiences. A process was designed that incorporated the viewing of a VR experience that was similar to an event previously attended by respondents. They were then interviewed and performed a Product Reaction Card exercise to compare their experiences. Analysis of the data suggests that current 360 VR technology can be used to extend the experiencescape but not replace live events. Respondents indicate that VR provides emotional gratifications that may build positive associations with event organizations and brands. However, VR in its current form does not provide the social and sensory gratifications of live events. VR can therefore be used to deepen relationships with existing participants or encourage future participation at events

Potential Co-benefits and trade-offs between improved soil management, climate change mitigation and agri-food productivity

Maximising resource-use efficiency, productivity and environmental sustainability are all fundamental requirements to raise global food production by ~70 per cent in order to feed a world population of ~9.7 billion people by 2050. Perhaps the most vital resource within our capacity to achieve this goal is our soil. Broadly, the fundamental question concerns whether or not satisfying this production demand will accelerate soil degradation, climate change, and the loss of soil carbon stocks. This paper builds upon the outputs of the UK Charity ‘Food & Farming Futures’ (chaired by Lord Curry of Kirkharle) virtual workshop held on 23 March 2021, entitled ‘Capturing the Potential of Soil’. The event focussed on the link between soil health, primarily soil organic carbon (SOC), and agricultural productivity. Supported with commentaries by Professor Pete Smith (University of Aberdeen and Science Director of the Scottish Climate Change Centre of Expertise) and Professor Steve McGrath (Head of Sustainable Agricultural Sciences at Rothamsted Research), specific focus will be given to the research challenges within the UK’s ability to improve soil health and functionality, the implementation priorities that must be held in order to improve soil management by 2050 and what the potential co-benefits could be. These co-benefits were scattered across environmental, economic, social and political issues, yet they may be summarised into six primary co-benefits: developing natural capital, climate change mitigation, carbon trading, improvements in crop yield, animal performance and human health (nutrition). Additionally, the main barriers to improved soil management practices are centred on knowledge exchange-regarding agri-environmental techniques—whilst the most impactful solutions rely on soil monitoring, reporting and verification

A randomised trial of robotic and open prostatectomy in men with localised prostate cancer

Background: Prostate cancer is the most common male cancer in the Western world however there is ongoing debate about the optimal treatment strategy for localised disease. While surgery remains the most commonly received treatment for localised disease in Australia more recently a robotic approach has emerged as an alternative to open and laparoscopic surgery. However, high level data is not yet available to support this as a superior approach or to guide treatment decision making between the alternatives. This paper presents the design of a randomised trial of Robotic and Open Prostatectomy for men newly diagnosed with localised prostate cancer that seeks to answer this question.Methods/design: 200 men per treatment arm (400 men in total) are being recruited after diagnosis and before treatment through a major public hospital outpatient clinic and randomised to 1) Robotic Prostatectomy or 2) Open Prostatectomy. All robotic prostatectomies are being performed by one surgeon and all open prostatectomies are being performed by one other surgeon. Outcomes are being measured pre-operatively and at 6 weeks and 3, 6, 12 and 24 months post-surgery. Oncological outcomes are being related to positive surgical margins, biochemical recurrence +/- the need for further treatment. Non-oncological outcome measures include: pain, physical and mental functioning, fatigue, summary (preference-based utility scores) and domain-specific QoL (urinary incontinence, bowel function and erectile function), cancer specific distress, psychological distress, decision-related distress and time to return to usual activities. Cost modelling of each approach, as well as full economic appraisal, is also being undertaken.Discussion: The study will provide recommendations about the relative benefits of Robotic and Open Prostatectomy to support informed patient decision making about treatment for localised prostate cancer; and to assist in treatment services planning for this patient group.Trial registration: ACTRN12611000661976

Jekyll and Hyde: men's constructions of feminism and feminists

Research and commentary on men's responses to feminism has demonstrated the range of ways in which men have mobilised both against and for feminist principles. This paper argues that further analyses of men's responses require a sophisticated theory of discourse acknowledging the fragmented and contradictory nature of representation. A corpus of men's talk on feminism and feminists was studied to identify the pervasive patterns in men's accounting and regularities in rhetorical organisation. Material from two samples of men was included: a sample of white middle-class 17-18 year old school students and a sample of 60 interviews with a more diverse sample of older men aged 20 to 64. Two interpretative repertoires of feminism and feminists were identified. These set up a 'Jekyll and Hyde' binary and positioned feminism along with feminists very differently as reasonable versus extreme and monstrous. Both repertoires tended to be deployed together and the paper explores the ideological and interactional consequences of typical deployments along with the identity work accomplished by the men as they positioned themselves in relation to these

Olfaction in Parkin single and compound heterozygotes in a cohort of young onset Parkinson's disease patients

Background Parkin related Parkinson's disease (PD) is differentiated from idiopathic PD by absent or sparse Lewy bodies, and preserved olfaction. The significance of single Parkin mutations in the pathogenesis of PD is debated. Objectives To assess olfaction results according to Parkin mutation status. To compare the prevalence of Parkin single heterozygous mutations in patients diagnosed with PD to the rate in healthy controls in order to establish whether these single mutations could be a risk factor for developing PD. Methods Parkin gene mutation testing was performed in young onset PD (diagnosed <50 years old) to identify three groups: Parkin homozygous or compound heterozygote mutation carriers, Parkin single heterozygote mutation carriers, and non-carriers of Parkin mutations. Olfaction was tested using the 40-item British version of the University of Pennsylvania smell identification test (UPSIT). Results Of 344 young onset PD cases tested, 8 (2.3%) were Parkin compound heterozygotes and 13 (3.8%) were Parkin single heterozygotes. Olfaction results were available in 282 cases (eight compound heterozygotes, nine single heterozygotes, and 265 non-carriers). In Parkin compound heterozygotes, the median UPSIT score was 33, interquartile range (IQR) 28.5–36.5, which was significantly better than in single Parkin heterozygotes (median 19, IQR 18–28) and non-carriers (median score 22, IQR 16–28) (ANOVA P < 0.001). These differences persisted after adjusting for age, disease duration, gender, and smoking (P < 0.001). There was no significant difference in UPSIT scores between single heterozygotes and non-carriers (P = 0.90). Conclusions Patients with Parkin compound heterozygous mutations have relatively preserved olfaction compared to Parkin single heterozygotes and non-carriers. The prevalence of Parkin single heterozygosity is similar to the 3.7% rate reported in healthy controls

Simple Viscous Flows: from Boundary Layers to the Renormalization Group

The seemingly simple problem of determining the drag on a body moving through a very viscous fluid has, for over 150 years, been a source of theoretical confusion, mathematical paradoxes, and experimental artifacts, primarily arising from the complex boundary layer structure of the flow near the body and at infinity. We review the extensive experimental and theoretical literature on this problem, with special emphasis on the logical relationship between different approaches. The survey begins with the developments of matched asymptotic expansions, and concludes with a discussion of perturbative renormalization group techniques, adapted from quantum field theory to differential equations. The renormalization group calculations lead to a new prediction for the drag coefficient, one which can both reproduce and surpass the results of matched asymptotics

Mutations in DNA polymerase δ subunit 1 co-segregate with CMD2-type resistance to Cassava Mosaic Geminiviruses

Cassava mosaic disease (CMD) suppresses cassava yields across the tropics. The dominant CMD2 locus confers resistance to cassava mosaic geminiviruses. It has been reported that CMD2-type landraces lose resistance after regeneration through de novo morphogenesis. As full genome bisulfite sequencing failed to uncover an epigenetic mechanism for this loss of resistance, whole genome sequencing and genetic variant analysis was performed and the CMD2 locus was fine-mapped to a 190 kilobase interval. Collectively, these data indicate that CMD2-type resistance is caused by a nonsynonymous, single nucleotide polymorphism in DNA polymerase δ subunit 1 (MePOLD1) located within this region. Virus-induced gene silencing of MePOLD1 in a CMD-susceptible cassava variety produced a recovery phenotype typical of CMD2-type resistance. Analysis of other CMD2-type cassava varieties identified additional candidate resistance alleles within MePOLD1. Genetic variation of MePOLD1, therefore, could represent an important genetic resource for resistance breeding and/or genome editing, and elucidating mechanisms of resistance to geminiviruses

Diffusion tensor imaging of Parkinson's disease, multiple system atrophy and progressive supranuclear palsy: a tract-based spatial statistics study

Although often clinically indistinguishable in the early stages, Parkinson's disease (PD), Multiple System Atrophy (MSA) and Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP) have distinct neuropathological changes. The aim of the current study was to identify white matter tract neurodegeneration characteristic of each of the three syndromes. Tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS) was used to perform a whole-brain automated analysis of diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) data to compare differences in fractional anisotropy (FA) and mean diffusivity (MD) between the three clinical groups and healthy control subjects. Further analyses were conducted to assess the relationship between these putative indices of white matter microstructure and clinical measures of disease severity and symptoms. In PSP, relative to controls, changes in DTI indices consistent with white matter tract degeneration were identified in the corpus callosum, corona radiata, corticospinal tract, superior longitudinal fasciculus, anterior thalamic radiation, superior cerebellar peduncle, medial lemniscus, retrolenticular and anterior limb of the internal capsule, cerebral peduncle and external capsule bilaterally, as well as the left posterior limb of the internal capsule and the right posterior thalamic radiation. MSA patients also displayed differences in the body of the corpus callosum corticospinal tract, cerebellar peduncle, medial lemniscus, anterior and superior corona radiata, posterior limb of the internal capsule external capsule and cerebral peduncle bilaterally, as well as the left anterior limb of the internal capsule and the left anterior thalamic radiation. No significant white matter abnormalities were observed in the PD group. Across groups, MD correlated positively with disease severity in all major white matter tracts. These results show widespread changes in white matter tracts in both PSP and MSA patients, even at a mid-point in the disease process, which are not found in patients with PD

Sustainability and Long Term-Tenure: Lion Trophy Hunting in Tanzania

It is argued that trophy hunting of large, charismatic mammal species can have considerable conservation benefits but only if undertaken sustainably. Social-ecological theory suggests such sustainability only results from developing governance systems that balance financial and biological requirements. Here we use lion (Panthera leo) trophy hunting data from Tanzania to investigate how resource ownership patterns influence hunting revenue and offtake levels. Tanzania contains up to half of the global population of free-ranging lions and is also the main location for lion trophy hunting in Africa. However, there are concerns that current hunting levels are unsustainable. The lion hunting industry in Tanzania is run by the private sector, although the government leases each hunting block to companies, enforces hunting regulation, and allocates them a species-specific annual quota per block. The length of these leases varies and theories surrounding property rights and tenure suggest hunting levels would be less sustainable in blocks experiencing a high turnover of short-term leases. We explored this issue using lion data collected from 1996 to 2008 in the Selous Game Reserve (SGR), the most important trophy hunting destination in Tanzania. We found that blocks in SGR with the highest lion hunting offtake were also those that experienced the steepest declines in trophy offtake. In addition, we found this high hunting offtake and the resultant offtake decline tended to be in blocks under short-term tenure. In contrast, lion hunting levels in blocks under long-term tenure matched more closely the recommended sustainable offtake of 0.92 lions per 1000 km2. However, annual financial returns were higher from blocks under short-term tenure, providing $133 per km2 of government revenue as compared to$62 per km2 from long-term tenure blocks. Our results provide evidence for the importance of property rights in conservation, and support calls for an overhaul of the system in Tanzania by developing competitive market-based approaches for block allocation based on long-term tenure of ten years