Effects of rural tourism development on poverty alleviation: a grounded theory

Tourism has been accredited as a significant sector by the Namibian government because it is one of the highest income earners and ranks third after mining and agriculture. This research paper explores the key determinants of poverty in the Northern region of Namibia (Kunene and Zambezi) and the effects of rural tourism development on poverty alleviation. The research adopted grounded theory and phenomenological approaches and data were collected through in-depth interviews and focus group discussions with various tourism stakeholders in the two regions. The research findings reveal the importance of all stakeholders in identifying the causes of poverty in each region/constituency before implementing poverty alleviation strategies. This study, therefore, concludes that providing the same tourism strategies to different geographical locations does not work, because some communities are extremely deprived. This research, therefore, recommends a flexible framework which takes a pragmatic approach to move away from the “one size fits all” approach

Identifying and managing asbestiform minerals in geological collections

Asbestos is widely recognised as a serious hazard, and its industrial use is now banned within the UK, and EU, and strict regulations govern the use of older manufactured materials which may contain asbestos. However, asbestos is also a natural geological material, and may occur in museum collections as minerals or constituents of rock specimens. In the UK the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 (CAR 2012) provides the legal framework for the safe identification, use and disposal of asbestos. However, these regulations, and other EU regulations, provide no specific guidance on dealing with potentially asbestos-containing natural materials. CAR 2012 specifies just six asbestos minerals although a number of other minerals in museum collections are known to have asbestiform structures and be hazard-ous, including other amphiboles, and the zeolite erionite. Despite the lack of specific guid-ance, museums must comply with CAR 2012, and this paper outlines the professional ad-vice, training and procedures which may be needed for this. It provides guidance on identifi-cation of potential asbestos-bearing specimens and on procedures to document them and store them for future use, or to prepare them for professional disposal. It also makes sug-gestions how visitors, employees and others in a museum can be protected from asbestos as incoming donations and enquiries, managed in the event of an emergency, and safely included in displays

Petrology and geochemistry of gabbroic and ultrabasic rocks from eastern Rhum

This work is concerned with the lower part of the Eastern Layered Series (LELS) of Rhum, and with the marginal relationships of the ultrabasic complex in eastern Rhum. The Lower Eastern Layered Series comprises approximately Units 1-5 of previous workers. Remapping has revealed considerable along-strike lithological variation in the units of the L.E.L.S. It is suggested, on the basis of field and geochemical evidence, that two layers formerly regarded as 'conformable intrusive sheets of fine grained olivine gabbro'. may be evolved allivalite layers rather than later intrusions. Xenolith suites in these layers and elsewhere, indicate a component derived from the roof or walls of the magma chamber. Cryptic variation is more extensive in the L.E.L.S. than in other parts of Rhum: olivine forsterite content varies from 85.6 to 70, and clinopyroxene MgX100/(Mg+Fe) varies from 88 to 74. Post-cumulus effects and sub-solidus re-equilibration have altered the initial compositions of the mineral phases. The migration of interstitial liquids has had a major effect on mineral chemistry. Replacement of plagioclase-rich rocks by peridotite is a significant process in parts of the sequence. This is ascribed to disequilibrium between migrating pore liquids and plagioclase. The data are consistent with a model of repeated replenishment by picritic magma, although the replenishing liquids may have been slightly less magnesian than those subsequently available during the formation of the upper ELS .Re-examination of the eastern margin of the ultrabasic complex suggests that the ultrabasic rocks formed more or less in situ, and that fragments of the roof to the intrusion occur in places. Locally under these roof fragments variolitic olivine-rich gabbros are developed, which may represent the chilled margin to the ultrabasic complex

David Ferguson’s mineral prospecting expedition to South Georgia in 1912

The mineral exploration work in the Falkland Islands by the Scottish geologist and mineral prospector David Ferguson, during the 1913-1914 austral summer, was described in the 2013 issue of Falkland Island Journal (Volume 10, Part 2). But that was Ferguson’s second expedition to the South Atlantic region on behalf of the Christian Salvesen Whaling Company. During 1912 he had visited South Georgia to assess the rocks there for the possible presence of economic minerals. When the Salvesen Company established their onshore whaling station in Stromness Bay in 1909, naming it Leith Harbour after the company’s home port in Scotland, negotiations for mineral rights were promptly begun with the Falkland Islands Government (at that time South Georgia was a Dependency of the Falkland Islands). These were successfully concluded and a formal license allowing prospecting was signed on 31 May 1911 by the Governor of the Falklands, William Allardyce. A copy of the license is preserved in the Salvesen Archive, now held by the University of Edinburgh Library’s Centre for Research Collections, along with other material relevant to Ferguson’s survey including his geological report and some of his photographic prints and glass-plate negatives

ANN-Benchmarks: A Benchmarking Tool for Approximate Nearest Neighbor Algorithms

This paper describes ANN-Benchmarks, a tool for evaluating the performance of in-memory approximate nearest neighbor algorithms. It provides a standard interface for measuring the performance and quality achieved by nearest neighbor algorithms on different standard data sets. It supports several different ways of integrating $k$-NN algorithms, and its configuration system automatically tests a range of parameter settings for each algorithm. Algorithms are compared with respect to many different (approximate) quality measures, and adding more is easy and fast; the included plotting front-ends can visualise these as images, $\LaTeX$ plots, and websites with interactive plots. ANN-Benchmarks aims to provide a constantly updated overview of the current state of the art of $k$-NN algorithms. In the short term, this overview allows users to choose the correct $k$-NN algorithm and parameters for their similarity search task; in the longer term, algorithm designers will be able to use this overview to test and refine automatic parameter tuning. The paper gives an overview of the system, evaluates the results of the benchmark, and points out directions for future work. Interestingly, very different approaches to $k$-NN search yield comparable quality-performance trade-offs. The system is available at http://ann-benchmarks.com .Comment: Full version of the SISAP 2017 conference paper. v2: Updated the abstract to avoid arXiv linking to the wrong UR

Caring for a loved one with a malignant fungating wound

Erworben im Rahmen der Schweizer Nationallizenzen (http://www.nationallizenzen.ch)Purpose: Caring for a loved one with a malignant fungating wound is very challenging and causes extreme physical and psychological distress. The aim of this study was to explore the experiences of carers who care for a loved one with a fungating breast wound. Method: To explore the lived experiences of carers, a methodological framework using Heideggerian hermeneutic phenomenology and semi-structured interviews was used. Seven carers were interviewed from January until November 2009. Results: Having to deal with a situation of a loved one with a visible cancer was hard for all the carers. The visibility of the cancer was one of the most shocking aspects to deal with from the perspective of the patient and the carer. The presence of the visible wound and a cancer at an advanced stage contributed to a change in the relationship and extreme suffering for both the patient and the carer. Despite many problems such as wound odour and copious discharge from the wound, which was difficult to control, carers did their best to help their loved one with the wound. Gradually, the wound became the centre of the patient and carer’s life, and a great deal of time was spent trying to control the wound symptoms. All carers managed the wound on their own without help and advice from health care practitioners. For all of them, it was a major burden and they felt isolated. Conclusion: This study contributes to an understanding that the care of women and their carers needs strategies that are integrated in palliative wound care that takes a holistic and empathic approach that responds to patients’ and carers’ psychosocial and emotional needs and a practical need for information to help carers assist in managing the wound-related symptoms