Tourists and beach safety in Queensland, Australia

Surf Life Saving Queensland (SLSQ) is a leading authority on beach safety, providing patrol, education, and rescue services to both tourists and local residents along the coast of Queensland, Australia. SLSQ recognizes that tourists are a target group requiring special attention due to their unfamiliarity with ocean beaches and surfing activities, and in some cases having the additional challenge of poor swimming skills, language barriers, and disorientation in a foreign vacation environment. This article describes SLSQ initiatives to provide beach safety for tourists through a focus on service delivery and partnerships with the tourism industry and relevant government agencies. The positive involvement of SLSQ in tourism is a model for other coastal destinations, given that drowning is the second most frequent cause of injury death among international travelers.

Using front-end and formative evaluation to design and test persuasive bird feeding warning signs

Wildlife feeding is a wide-spread and controversial practice that can pose serious threats to the safety of both wildlife and visitors. The design and effectiveness of warning signs in recreational areas varies considerably and is rarely the product of theoretical models or scientific research. This study uses front-end and formative evaluation to design and test the perceived effectiveness of warning signs relating to bird feeding. Stage One examined visitors' beliefs, attitudes and bird feeding behaviour and found significant differences between feeders and non-feeders. Stage Two involved designing and evaluating three signs that built on the beliefs, knowledge and mis/conceptions identified in Stage One. Respondents thought the sign that focused on the birds' health and safety would be the most persuasive, however, elements of the other two signs were also positively evaluated. The article concludes with recommendations for the wording of future bird feeding warning signs. (c) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Stormy Outlook? Domestic students' impressions of international students at an Australian University

The education of international students in Australian universities has grown significantly over recent years, with Australia now having the highest ratio of international students to domestic students among the major English-speaking destinations popular with international students. While there is a variety of research that examines the learning experiences of international students, little research has been conducted that examines the impact that international students have on their domestic counterparts. This paper reports on research that solicits the perceived advantages and disadvantages held by 301 domestic students, who are sharing their educational experience with international students studying hospitality and tourism management. The study reveals that there is a sizable proportion of domestic students (28%) who consider that there are too many international students on campus; that domestic and international students do not readily mix and it also highlights the fact that racist incidents occur. It is suggested that institutions wishing to increase their number of international students must take into consideration the feelings and concerns of their domestic students.

Introducing employee social identification to customer satisfaction research: a hotel industry study

The purpose of this paper is to address the concept of linkage research and propose the addition of social identity theory as an important consideration in managing employee-customer interactions and customer satisfaction.

ANÁLISE DAS MUDANÇAS DOS FATORES DETERMINANTES DA ESTRUTURA DE CAPITAL EM FUNÇÃO DO CICLO DE VIDA DAS EMPRESAS BRASILEIRAS SÃO BERNARDO DO CAMPO

As várias teorias acerca da estrutura de capital despertam interesse motivando diversos estudos sobre o assunto sem, no entanto, ter um consenso. Outro tema aparentemente pouco explorado refere-se ao ciclo de vida das empresas e como ele pode influenciar a estrutura de capital. Este estudo teve como objetivo verificar quais determinantes possuem maior relevância no endividamento das empresas e se estes determinantes alteram-se dependendo do ciclo de vida da empresa apoiada pelas teorias Trade Off, Pecking Order e Teoria da Agência. Para alcançar o objetivo deste trabalho foi utilizado análise em painel de efeito fixo sendo a amostra composta por empresas brasileiras de capital aberto, com dados secundários disponíveis na Economática® no período de 2005 a 2013, utilizando-se os setores da BM&FBOVESPA. Como resultado principal destaca-se o mesmo comportamento entre a amostra geral, alto e baixo crescimento pelo endividamento contábil para o determinante Lucratividade apresentando uma relação negativa, e para os determinantes Oportunidade de Crescimento e Tamanho, estes com uma relação positiva. Para os grupos de alto e baixo crescimento alguns determinantes apresentaram resultados diferentes, como a singularidade que resultou significância nestes dois grupos, sendo positiva no baixo crescimento e negativa no alto crescimento, para o valor colateral dos ativos e benefício fiscal não dívida apresentaram significância apenas no grupo de baixo crescimento. Para o endividamento a valor de mercado foi observado significância para o Benefício fiscal não dívida e Singularidade. Este resultado reforça o argumento de que o ciclo de vida influência a estrutura de capital

A szerződések teljesülése a magyar élelmiszerláncban (Contract fulfilments in Hungarian food chains)

A tanulmány célja, hogy azonosítsa azokat a tényezőket, amelyek befolyásolják az élelmiszer-gazdasági kis- és közepes vállalkozások szerződéseinek teljesülését a Közép-magyarországi régióban. Számításaink megerősítik Guo-Jolly [2008] eredményeit, amely szerint a szerződések tartalmi elemeinek kulcsszerepük van a szerződések teljesülésében. Továbbá a vállalatvezetői képességek, a vállalati és tranzakciós jellemzők szintén jelentős hatást gyakorolnak a szerződések teljesülésére. Érdekes módon az ágazatspecifikus jellemzőknek csak korlátozott szerepük van a szerződések teljesülésének magyarázatában. / === / The paper analyses the contractual relations and contract fulfilment of small and medium-sized firms along the food chain, in the central region of Hungary, using survey data. The estimates also reveal that contract fulfilment is significantly affected by the design of the contract. They confirm that an important role in contract fulfilment is played by corporate and managerial attributes and transaction characteristics. Interestingly, branch-specific characteristics play only a limited role in explaining contract fulfilment.