Denny Meyer

Tourist accidents: An exploratory analysis

Abstract Health issues associated with international tourism are now attracting interest from diverse researchers as they examine the interconnections between health and tourism. Despite this new popularity, no mainstream tourism journal has published any substantial research study-on this topic to date. This article examines one area of tourist health hitherto neglected in studies of travel medicine: tourist accidents. The paper commences with a review of the existing literature on tourist accidents and examines the situation in New Zealand using a number of unique data sources generated by the Accident Compensation Corporation and the Land Transport Safety Authority. Trends in international tourist accidents are discussed and the implications for their prevention are examined.

Anxiety online: a virtual clinic: preliminary outcomes following completion of five fully automated treatment programs for anxiety disorders and symptoms.

Background The development of e-mental health interventions to treat or prevent mental illness and to enhance wellbeing has risen rapidly over the past decade. This development assists the public in sidestepping some of the obstacles that are often encountered when trying to access traditional face-to-face mental health care services. Objective The objective of our study was to investigate the posttreatment effectiveness of five fully automated self-help cognitive behavior e-therapy programs for generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), panic disorder with or without agoraphobia (PD/A), obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD), posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and social anxiety disorder (SAD) offered to the international public via Anxiety Online, an open-access full-service virtual psychology clinic for anxiety disorders. Methods We used a naturalistic participant choice, quasi-experimental design to evaluate each of the five Anxiety Online fully automated self-help e-therapy programs. Participants were required to have at least subclinical levels of one of the anxiety disorders to be offered the associated disorder-specific fully automated self-help e-therapy program. These programs are offered free of charge via Anxiety Online. Results A total of 225 people self-selected one of the five e-therapy programs (GAD, n = 88; SAD, n = 50; PD/A, n = 40; PTSD, n = 30; OCD, n = 17) and completed their 12-week posttreatment assessment. Significant improvements were found on 21/25 measures across the five fully automated self-help programs. At postassessment we observed significant reductions on all five anxiety disorder clinical disorder severity ratings (Cohen d range 0.72–1.22), increased confidence in managing one’s own mental health care (Cohen d range 0.70–1.17), and decreases in the total number of clinical diagnoses (except for the PD/A program, where a positive trend was found) (Cohen d range 0.45–1.08). In addition, we found significant improvements in quality of life for the GAD, OCD, PTSD, and SAD e-therapy programs (Cohen d range 0.11–0.96) and significant reductions relating to general psychological distress levels for the GAD, PD/A, and PTSD e-therapy programs (Cohen d range 0.23–1.16). Overall, treatment satisfaction was good across all five e-therapy programs, and posttreatment assessment completers reported using their e-therapy program an average of 395.60 (SD 272.2) minutes over the 12-week treatment period. Conclusions Overall, all five fully automated self-help e-therapy programs appear to be delivering promising high-quality outcomes; however, the results require replication. Trial Registration Australian and New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry ACTRN121611000704998; http://www.anzctr.org.au/trial_view.aspx?ID=336143 (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/618r3wvOG)

Modeling tourism crime: the 2000 America's Cup

Abstract Between October 1999 and March 2000, Auckland, New Zealand hosted the largest sporting event ever held in the country, the Americas Cup Yacht Race. This paper investigates the impact of this race on destination crime rates, especially against tourists: it statistically models tourism-related crime observing that there was no significant difference between the victimization rates of domestic and overseas tourists. They rather were affected by ethnicity and form of accommodation. The type of crime experienced by overseas tourists differs from that for domestic ones in that foreigners are more subject to theft from places such as the casino or a campervan. Domestic tourists are more likely to experience smaller losses as a result of theft from their cars.

Molecular Characterisation of Gastrointestinal Microbiota of Children With Autism (With and Without Gastrointestinal Dysfunction) and Their Neurotypical Siblings

Many children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) suffer from gastrointestinal problems such as diarrhoea, constipation and abdominal pain. This has stimulated investigations into possible abnormalities of intestinal microbiota in autistic patients. Therefore, we designed this study to identify differences (and/or similarities) in the microbiota of children with autism (without gastrointestinal dysfunction: n = 23; with gastrointestinal dysfunction: n = 28) and their neurotypical siblings (n = 53) who share a similar environment using bacterial tag‐encoded FLX amplicon pyrosequencing. Regardless of the diagnosis and sociodemographic characteristics, overall, Firmicutes (70%), Bacteroidetes (20%) and Proteobacteria (4%) were the most dominant phyla in samples. Results did not indicate clinically meaningful differences between groups. The data do not support the hypothesis that the gastrointestinal microbiota of children with ASD plays a role in the symptomatology of ASD. Other explanations for the gastrointestinal dysfunction in this population should be considered including elevated anxiety and self‐restricted diets. Autism Res 2012, 5: 419–427.

One nation, three cultures: exploring dimensions that relate to leadership in Malaysia

Purpose – Malaysia is a multicultural country with a distinct mix of three major races; Chinese Indians, and Malays. This paper sets out to explore the contribution of the three main ethnic groups to leadership in Malaysia.Design/methodology/approach – Summated scales for the importance of Excellent Leader (EL), Personal Qualities (PQ), Managerial Behaviours (MB), Organisational Demands (OD) and Environmental Influences (EI) were developed using most of the items categorised by Selvarajah et al. and several other items rated highly in the study. A structural model was constructed to explain the relationship in excellence in leadership.Findings – From the three ethnic groups, 512 managers participated in the research. The findings suggest that Malaysian managers maintain distinctive leadership behaviour along ethnic lines and a Malaysian leadership identity is still in its infant stage.Practical implications – Malaysia is a country with three distinct ethnic population groups and is yet to forge a single M...

Single motherhood versus poor partner relationship: outcomes for antenatal mental health.

Objective: In the transition to parenthood, lack of social support significantly impacts on maternal mood. This paper compares the influence of single-mother status and level of partner support in a partnered relationship, on antenatal emotional health. Methods: Antenatal demographic, psychosocial and mental health data, as determined by Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) score, were collected from 1578 women. The association between these variables, and marital status, was investigated using logistic regression. Results: Sixty-two women (3.9%) were identified as single/unpartnered. Elevated EPDS scores (>12) were found in 15.2% (240/1578) of the total cohort and 25.8% (16/62) of the single/unpartnered women. EPDS scores were significantly lower for single/unpartnered women than for women with unsupportive partners (8.9±5.3 vs 11.9±6.5, p<0.001). Compared to the partnered cohort, single/unpartnered women were more likely to have experienced ≥2 weeks of depression before the current pregnancy (p<0.05), a previous psychopathology (p<0.001), emotional problems during the current pregnancy (p<0.01) and major life events in the last year (p<0.01). Binary logistic regression modelling to predict antenatal EPDS scores suggests that this is mediated by previous psychiatric history (p<0.001) and emotional problems during pregnancy (p=0.02). Conclusion: Women in a partnered-relationship with poor partner-derived support were at an increased risk of elevated antenatal EPDS scores compared to single/unpartnered women. A previous history of depression and current emotional problems, rather than single mother status, were significant risk factors for elevated EPDS scores. The present study reiterates the contribution of psychosocial risk factors as important mediators of antenatal emotional health.

Urban Visitor Perceptions of Safety during a Special Event

The impact of crime on special events in the urban environment has generated a limited amount of research among tourism researchers. This article is an exploratory study of visitor perceptions of crime and safety during the hosting of a special event—the 2000 Americas Cup in Auckland, New Zealand. Using factor analysis and a structural equation model, the authors analyze the factors involved with crimes against tourists in urban areas. The results indicate that distinct differences exist between domestic and international visitors in relation to the perception and experiences of tourism-related crime.

Harbin, lanterns of ice, sculptures of snow

Abstract The purpose of this study was to investigate the motivation of those visiting the Harbin Ice Lantern and Snow Festival using an existing cross-cultural instrument and to determine the reliability of this instrument in different cultural festival situations. The motivational factors were compared with similar studies conducted for Jordanian and North American festivals, using very similar questionnaire items. The results of the Harbin study differ a little from the Jordan study and appear to be more similar to the North American studies. The consistency of the results for the above studies, despite Likert scale cultural bias and variations in festival themes, access and management, suggests that this instrument will be valuable to festival planners and marketers for the monitoring or motivational factors for festival attendance.

The Determinants of Urban Resource Consumption

This article analyzes data from a major household survey in Melbourne, Australia, to assess the relative importance of each of the five sets of predictors—individual (structural and attitudinal) and contextual (household, dwelling, and locational)—to an explanation of urban resource consumption that encompasses water, energy, housing, carbon-intensive travel, and domestic appliances. Using general linear modeling and multiple regression, we find that the determinants of consumption vary for the different domains of consumption and also that an individual’s attributes are less influential than contextual factors in accounting for a particular level of per capita resource consumption.

Recreational tourism injuries among visitors to New Zealand: an exploratory analysis using hospital discharge data.

Abstract New Zealand Health Information Service (NZHIS) morbidity data for the 15-year period, 1982–1996, were analysed to determine the role of recreational and adventure tourism in overseas visitor injuries, and identify recreational activities with greatest injury occurrence. Approximately 19 per cent of all injuries involved recreational/adventure tourism activities, corresponding to 8.4 injuries per 100,000 overseas visitor arrivals. This figure can be compared to that for motor vehicle traffic accidents (12), and suggests a significant recreational tourism injury problem in New Zealand. Injuries were concentrated in regions known to be major centres for adventure tourism in New Zealand, and were most commonly sustained by overseas visitors aged between 20 and 40 years. Tourist injuries were observed most frequently for activities that involve independent, unguided recreation, notably skiing, mountaineering and tramping. Of the commercial adventure tourism activities, horse riding and cycling were the only significant contributors to overseas visitor injuries.