Crossing frontiers between tourism and demography. An empirical analysis based on European travellers’ behaviour

This paper aims to establish possible tourism demand scenarios of European travellers to Portugal based on the relationship with changing population structures. A combination of the EUROBAROMETER report 370 (“Attitudes of Europeans towards Tourism in 2013”) and the cohort-component method for population projections will allow the development of different possible tourism demand scenarios. Following the European report, individuals who travelled in 2013 were most likely to live in a household with two or more individuals. Thus, if elderly couples are together till later in their life and in better physiological shape, it is possible that the number of elderly individuals travelling for tourism purposes will increase in the near future. If we can expect tourists from developing countries to be younger due to their demographic dynamics than those from developed countries, where the ageing population is growing fast, we can expect that the percentage of the elderly among tourists will increase. Furthermore, the 2013 European report found that the combination of socio-demographic variables, such as, age, population, gender, household dimension, country of residence and trip purpose explained tourism demand scenarios for Portugal, confirming that seniors and families evidence a paramount sense of importance for the destination. In the literature there is a lack of discussion about the effects of demography in the future and the role of an ageing population in tourism demand choice patterns. We aim to contribute to filling this gap. Consequently, we strongly believe that this paper contributes to the literature by introducing a new field of discussion about the importance of demographic changes in shaping travel trends.

The “Iranian ART Revolution”: infertility, assisted reproductive technology, and third-party donation in the Islamic Republic of Iran

Infertility is a social onus for women in Iran, who are expected to produce children early within marriage. With its estimated 1.5 million infertile couples, Iran is the only Muslim country in which assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs) using donor gametes and embryos have been legitimized by religious authorities and passed into law. Th is has placed Iran, a Shia-dominant country, in a unique position vis-à-vis the Sunni Islamic world, where all forms of gamete donation are strictly prohibited. In this article, we first examine the “Iranian ART revolution” that has allowed donor technologies to be admitted as a form of assisted reproduction. Then we examine the response of Iranian women to their infertility and the profound social pressures they face. We argue that the experience of infertility and its treatment are mediated by women’s socioeconomic position within Iranian society. Many women lack economic access to in vitro fertilization (IVF) technologies and fear the moral consequences of gamete donation. Thus, the benefits of the Iranian ART revolution are mixed: although many Iranian women have been able to overcome their infertility through ARTs, not all women’s lives are improved by these technologies.

Nature's experiment? Handedness and early childhood development

In recent years a large body of research has investigated the various factors affecting child development and the consequent impact of child development on future educational and labour market outcomes. In this article we contribute to this literature by investigating the effect of handedness on a child and given recent research demonstrating that child development strongly affects adult outcomes. Using a large nationally representative sample of young children we find that the probability of a child being left-handed is not significantly related to child health at birth, family composition, parental employment or household income. We also find robust evidence that left-handed (and mixed handed) children perform significantly worse in nearly all measures of development than right-handed children with the relative disadvantage being larger for boys than girls. Importantly these differentials cannot be explained by different socioeconomic characteristics of the household, parental attitudes or investments in learning resources.

Supporting the mature aged workforce

This article presents findings from an Australian research project regarding management of the mature aged workforce and ageing demographic issues. Semi structured interviews were used to discuss perceptions of older workers, ageing demography, informal work practices, formal work practices and business development. The sample included 25 employees from three local governments from the Queensland State in Australia. Four main themes emerged from the analysis regarding the current setting. These were: (1) Despite negative stereotyping, respondents had a positive view of older workers, (2) Age management was more of an issue for the outdoor workforce due to declines in physiological capacities associated with aging, (3) The overarching policy framework within the local councils was age neutral; and (4) Informal age management strategies existed at the discretion of the respective managers and section heads. An age conscious and forethought workforce plan was viewed as the next step towards a formal age management strategy. The findings indicate that mentoring, training and flexible work options to retain staff and to retain corporate knowledge may be some of the options for the future

Utilisation of seed resources by small mammals : a two-way interaction

Within the Australian wet tropics bioregion, only 900 000 hectares of once continuous rainforest habitat between Townsville and Cooktown now remains. While on the Atherton Tableland, only 4% of the rainforest that once occurred there remains today with remnant vegetation now forming a matrix of rainforest dispersed within agricultural land (sugarcane, banana, orchard crops, townships and pastoral land). Some biologists have suggested that remnants often support both faunal and floral communities that differ significantly from remaining continuous forest. Australian tropical forests possess a relatively high diversity of native small mammal species particularly rodents, which unlike larger mammalian and avian frugivores elsewhere, have been shown to be resilient to the effects of fragmentation, patch isolation and reduction in patch size. While small mammals often become the dominant mammalian frugivores, in terms of their relative abundance, the relationship that exists between habitat diversity and structure, and the impacts of small mammal foraging within fragmented habitat patches in Australia, is still poorly understood. The relationship between foraging behaviour and demography of two small mammal species, Rattus fuscipes and Melomys cervinipes, and food resources in fragmented rainforest sites, were investigated in the current study. Population densities of both species were strongly related with overall density of seed resources in all rainforest fragments. The distribution of both mammal species however, was found to be independent of the distribution of seed resources. Seed utilisation trials indicated that M.cervinipes and R.fuscipes had less impact on seed resources (extent of seed harvesting) than did other rainforest frugivores. Experimental feeding trials demonstrated that in 85% of fruit species tested, rodent feeding increased seed germination by a factor of 3.5 suggesting that in Australian tropical rainforest remnants, small mammals may play a significant role in enhancing germination of large seeded fruits. This study has emphasised the role of small mammals in tropical rainforest systems in north eastern Australia, in particular, the role that they play within isolated forest fragments where larger frugivorous species may be absent.

African Indigeneity

The current argument is that there exist no indigenous people in Africa because all Africans are indigenous. The obverse considers those Africans who have not been touched by colonialism and lost their traditional cultures commensurate with attachments to the lands or a distinguishable traditional lifestyle to be indigenous. This paper argues in favor of the latter. For example, modernism, materialism, ex-colonial socio-cultural impacts (as in the remnants of European legal structures, and cultural scarring), globalization, and technology are international social homogenizers. People who live in this telos and do not participate in a distinct traditional culture that has been attached to the land for centuries are not indigenous. It is argued that this cultural divergence between modern and traditional is the major identifying point to settle the indigenous-non indigenous African debate. Finally, the paper looks at inclusive development, how this helps to distinguish African indigeneity, and provides a new political analysis model for quantifying inclusivity.

Food insecurity in Brisbane : the single mother’s struggle

Using a feminist reflexive approach this paper reports on interviews with single mother’s in the Brisbane area about their experiences with food shopping and household food security. Preliminary findings suggest that most experience significant stress around the amount of money they have available for food. As the price of food and other costs of living increase, the only budget item that is flexible – groceries - is squeezed tighter. All women expressed a reluctance to ask for help from strangers at agencies instead relying on the support of family and friends to keep them food secure. Sometimes family and friends had no spare resources to help or were not aware of the extent their friend or relative might be struggling. The increased risks of poverty and food insecurity mean many go without as feeding the children takes precedence. The quality of their diets is variable with many reporting on aiming for quantity rather than being concerned with nutritional balance. Exhaustion and stress from being over-committed doing three roles, mother, father and housekeeper was self-identified as a key factor leading to mental health conditions such as depression, burnout and break down. Female single parent households are vulnerable to reducing welfare benefits as children grow or child support changes. Current policy forces single parents out to work but many can only manage part-time work for lower wages and are barely able to cope with this extra burden often resenting the reduction in benefits it brings. Public perceptions, derision and the notions of choice surrounding single parenting leave the cohort divided and silent for fear of reprisals. In my investigation issues arise about welfare policy that keep benefits low and workplace patriarchal power that can contribute to systemic poverty and the widening of the gender gap in poverty. So far analysis suggests a better support system around community food security including some hands on home help services, nutritional information, cooking classes, community gardening and other social capital building activities are needed for these women in order to avoid long-term health problems and help them better care for the next generation.

The impact of gender diversity on turnover : the moderating effect of human resource policies and practices

Demography theory suggests that high gender diversity leads to high turnover. As turnover is costly for organizations, we examined whether HR policies and practices influence the expected gender diversity-turnover relationship. Survey data were collected from 198 HR decision makers at publicly listed organizations. We found that HR policies and practices that are supportive of diversity moderate the gender diversity-turnover relationship, such that high gender diversity leads to low turnover in organizations with many diversity supportive policies and practices. Results suggest that organizations can avoid the negative consequences of high gender diversity by implementing diversity supportive HR polices and practices.

Road safety issues for older road users : CARRS-Q Monograph 1

[Selection of papers from the Older Road User Safety Symposium, 26 November 2000, Brisbane, Australia.]----- This publication is a selection of papers on older road user safety which were presented at the Older Road User Safety Symposium on Sunday 26 November 2000 at the Sheraton Brisbane Hotel, Queensland, Australia. The Symposium was held on the day before Australia’s annual Road Safety Research, Policing and Education Conference, which provided an opportunity to garner both presenters and participants from the wider road safety community in Australia. Road safety is a large and diverse area of scholarship and practice, and many disciplines are drawn on in the processes of understanding and addressing road safety problems. The safety of older road users is no different. As this selection shows, work on older road user safety can be informed by demography, research on the mental and physical effects of ageing, social research on older people as road users, evaluation of educational and behavioural interventions, road crash analysis, engineering research and practice, and reviews of policy approaches within Australia and elsewhere. It is possible to summarise these into four constellations, which are reflected in the papers selected for this publication: social impacts and responses; physical and cognitive capability; specific road use performance; and environment/ecology. Though three years have passed since the Symposium, the issues raised in these papers remain current.

The Metapopulation Dynamics of an Infectious Disease: Tuberculosis in Possums

An SEI metapopulation model is developed for the spread of an infectious agent by migration. The model portrays two age classes on a number of patches connected by migration routes which are used as host animals mature. A feature of this model is that the basic reproduction ratio may be computed directly, using a scheme that separates topography, demography, and epidemiology. We also provide formulas for individual patch basic reproduction numbers and discuss their connection with the basic reproduction ratio for the system. The model is applied to the problem of spatial spread of bovine tuberculosis in a possum population. The temporal dynamics of infection are investigated for some generic networks of migration links, and the basic reproduction ratio is computed—its value is not greatly different from that for a homogeneous model. Three scenarios are considered for the control of bovine tuberculosis in possums where the spatial aspect is shown to be crucial for the design of disease management operations

For blood, sweat and tears : the severing of subconscious connections with company and business model

Humans have altered environments and enhanced their well being unlike any other creature on the planet (Heilman & Donna, 2007); this is no different whether the environment is ecological, social or organisational. In recent times business modelling techniques have become intricately detailed in the pre-designing and evaluating of business flow before the final implementation (Ou-Yang & Lin, 2008). The importance of the organisation change and business process model is undeniable. The feedback received from real business process users is that the notation is easy to learn; the models do help people to understand the process better; the models can be used to improve the (business) process; and the notation is expressive enough to capture the essential information (Bennett, Doshi, Do Vale Junior, Kumar, Manikam, & Madavan, 2009).

Do planning regulations matter? : a comparison of South East Queensland and South Florida

At one level the urban landscapes of South Florida and South East Queensland look quite similar. However at another level the context of planning and planning control and regulation is quite different. To understand the contextual differences between South Florida and South East Queensland, four themes will be used, some of which were based on Cullingworth and Booth. The four themes include: demography, governance, the law and regulatory philosophy. After having evaluated South Florida and South East Queensland across these four themes, we propose a framework for examining whether these differences have shaped planning outcomes and in particular, the built form.

Suicide rates in Shandong, China, 1991–2010 : rapid decrease in rural rates and steady increase in male–female ratio

Background China has one of the highest suicide rates in the world; however, the recent trends in suicide have not been adequately studied. This study aimed to examine the potential changes in the rates and characteristics in a Chinese population. Methods Data on suicide deaths in 1991–2010 were extracted from the Shandong Disease Surveillance Point (DSP) mortality dataset based on ICD-10 codes. The temporal trend in age-adjusted suicide rates for each subpopulation was tested using log-linear Poisson regression analysis. Results From 1991 to 2010, there was a marked decrease in the overall suicide rate in Shandong, with an average reduction of 8% per year. The decrease trend was stronger in rural than in urban areas and more evident in females than in males. Similar decreases were observed for all age groups. Pesticide ingestion and hanging remained the top two methods for suicide. Limitations There are likely quality concerns in the morality data, such as underreporting and misclassification, as well as low accuracy in determining the underlying causes of deaths. The representativeness of the DSP system may also be problematic due to the rapid changes in economy and demography. Conclusions Completed suicides in Shandong have sharply declined over the past 20 years. Higher rates in females versus males and in rural versus urban areas, which were previously considered to be distinguishing features of suicide in China, are becoming less pronounced.