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

Evaluating Baculovirus as a Vector for Human Prostate Cancer Gene Therapy

Gene therapy represents an attractive strategy for the non-invasive treatment of prostate cancer, where current clinical interventions show limited efficacy. Here, we evaluate the use of the insect virus, baculovirus (BV), as a novel vector for human prostate cancer gene therapy. Since prostate tumours represent a heterogeneous environment, a therapeutic approach that achieves long-term regression must be capable of targeting multiple transformed cell populations. Furthermore, discrimination in the targeting of malignant compared to non-malignant cells would have value in minimising side effects. We employed a number of prostate cancer models to analyse the potential for BV to achieve these goals. In vitro, both traditional prostate cell lines as well as primary epithelial or stromal cells derived from patient prostate biopsies, in two- or three-dimensional cultures, were used. We also evaluated BV in vivo in murine prostate cancer xenograft models. BV was capable of preferentially transducing invasive malignant prostate cancer cell lines compared to early stage cancers and non-malignant samples, a restriction that was not a function of nuclear import. Of more clinical relevance, primary patient-derived prostate cancer cells were also efficiently transduced by BV, with robust rates observed in epithelial cells of basal phenotype, which expressed BV-encoded transgenes faster than epithelial cells of a more differentiated, luminal phenotype. Maximum transduction capacity was observed in stromal cells. BV was able to penetrate through three-dimensional structures, including in vitro spheroids and in vivo orthotopic xenografts. BV vectors containing a nitroreductase transgene in a gene-directed enzyme pro-drug therapy approach were capable of efficiently killing malignant prostate targets following administration of the pro-drug, CB1954. Thus, BV is capable of transducing a large proportion of prostate cell types within a heterogeneous 3-D prostate tumour, can facilitate cell death using a pro-drug approach, and shows promise as a vector for the treatment of prostate cancer