John P. Tiefenbacher

Attributes of repeat visitors to small tourist-oriented communities

Abstract This study investigates the characteristics of small tourist towns to discern why visitors want to return. It examines how accessibility, physical and cultural amenities, the social setting, and the prestige of places influence repeat-tourism. A survey assessed the perceptions, attitudes, and experiences of visitors to three small towns in Texas: an ethnocultural and craft center, a summer beach community, and an artisan marketplace. Discriminant analyses showed that shorter travel distance and the presence of friends or family are the characteristics most strongly related to repeat visitation.

ENVIRONMENTAL EQUITY IN URBAN TEXAS: RACE, INCOME, AND PATTERNS OF ACUTE AND CHRONIC TOXIC AIR RELEASES IN METROPOLITAN COUNTIES

The distribution of toxic air releases in urban Texas counties is compared to socioeconomic patterns to identify inequitable risk burdens. Chronic and acute toxic airborne release patterns from 1987 to 1990 are compared to demographics for Metropolitan Area (MA) counties. Spearman rank correlation tests indicate that counties with higher percentages of Blacks and other minority groups are more likely to have higher numbers of acute and chronic toxic releases. Mann-Whitney U-tests were used to compare the race and per capita income ranks of the top and bottom 10 counties, which indicated that Blacks and other minority groups were more likely to be associated with airborne toxics. Further analyses explored these relationships at the census-tract level for three sample counties representing distinctly different proportions of Black population. Only one of the sample counties provides supportive evidence that Blacks and other non-Hispanic minorities are inequitably burdened by airborne toxic risk from toxic f...

A Comparative Study of Environmental Knowledge, Attitudes and Behaviors Among University Students in China

Environmental problems in China are intensifying and it is vital to evaluate the environmental knowledge, attitudes and behaviors of the generation poised to inherit their management. This study examines a survey of environmental awareness among Chinese students (aged between 16 and 20 years). Considering the contrasting levels of regional economic development and environmental problems in the eastern/coastal and western/inland regions of China, we examine how environmental differences affect university students’ environmental awareness. Data were analyzed statistically using nonparametric tests to compare a population of urban residents from a developed region against a similar population of urbanites from a less-developed region. Students in the samples possessed rather low levels of environmental knowledge, but had positive environmental attitudes and were willing to commit to environment-friendly behaviors. Students growing up in developed versus less-developed settings had significantly different levels of general environmental awareness despite their shared exposure to institutionalized environmental education.

Access to healthcare and disparities in colorectal cancer survival in Texas.

This paper reports a study examining the association between colorectal cancer (CRC) survival and access to healthcare in Texas using data from the Texas cancer registry. We geo-referenced the data to the census tract level and used an enhanced 2-step floating catchment area method and factor analysis to estimate peoples spatial and non-spatial access to healthcare. In addition, Cox proportional hazard regression was employed to assess the influence of different factors on CRC survival, and a spatial scan statistic was used to investigate the geographic disparity of CRC survival and the influence of access to healthcare. The analyses revealed that Hispanics, non-Hispanic blacks, and residents from several regions in Texas were more likely to die from CRC than others. Disadvantaged population groups based on factors rather than spatial access had an increased risk of CRC-specific mortality. Spatial access to oncologists has a significant association with CRC survival in non-urban areas but not in urban areas. Geographic disparities of CRC survival were largely influenced by factors rather than spatial access to healthcare.

The barriers impeding precautionary behaviours by undocumented immigrants in emergencies: The Hurricane Ike experience in Houston, Texas, USA

Emergency management tends to be planned for legal, resident populations that are responsive to mainstream channels of communication and enforcement. For many areas prone to extreme events and emergencies, populations are also composed of transitory tourists, temporary visitors and migrant workers. This latter group may be a large population and, while not completely invisible to residents, may prefer obscurity and concealment within the social landscape. Tending towards poverty, technologically disconnected and linguistically isolated, undocumented migrants seek employment and attempt to avoid local law enforcement and immigration officials for fear of imprisonment and deportation. In this context, the behaviours prompted by developing public emergencies will be different for undocumented migrants than for the population at large. We examine the experience of 135 Hispanic undocumented migrants in the coastal zone of Houston-Galveston, Texas to understand the factors and issues that influence decision making and behaviours under region-wide mandatory evacuation conditions. Undocumented migrants’ decisions to evacuate rest upon: the presence (or absence) of family and/or children, their access to risk information that they find meaningful and rational and is in harmony with their pre-conceptions about their circumstances, their openness to information that either confirms their experiences or confronts rumour-generated biases they carry, their familiarity with social groups and governmental agencies and the services they offer, and the outcome of their risk analyses that consider the dangers of remaining in situ against the danger of exposing themselves to discovery as ‘illegal aliens’. The results suggest that emergency management plans ought to promote the dispelling of rumours that weaken the effect of emergency communication, promote non-emergency outreach to peripheral populations through community groups, and promote better, basic, non-technical, Spanish-language media through mainstream conduits (i.e. the most commonly watched non-Spanish television channels) that do not require high-tech devices or advanced understanding of visual media tools.

Evaluating the Effectiveness of Public Participation Efforts by Environmental Agencies: Repermitting a Smelter in El Paso, Texas, USA

Public participation is central to environmental policy-making processes. Government agencies often scramble to involve the public in legitimizing policy decisions. No single tool exists to assess the effectiveness of public participation. Extending previous research, this paper clarifies a framework for evaluating the effectiveness of public participation and we apply this framework to the efforts of three levels of government in the United States—federal, state, and local—in the case surrounding the repermitting of atmospheric emissions from industrial activity at the American Smelting and Refining Company smelter located in western El Paso, Texas. Results show that the three government agencies assessed in this study did not effectively achieve adequate opportunities for public participation. This failure could lead to several undesired repercussions, including increasing public resentment and hostility and also future resistance to participation.

La Frontera Química : Toxic Emissions and Spills along the U.S.-Mexican Border

Abstract Toxic releases and spills along the U.S.‐Mexican border are examined to define the “chemical frontier,” where economic growth is increasing industrial‐chemical risks to local populations. The chemical frontier is expanding into Mexico as a consequence of industrialization and free trade, creating what is known as la frontera quimica. Analyses show that emitting facilities are found in counties with higher population densities and little or no agricultural activity. Spill reports were greatest in counties with high populations of non‐Hispanics and non‐Spanish speakers, high incomes, low poverty rates, and low percentages of employment in the agricultural sector. The borderland is being assimilated into the U.S. industrial landscape. The growth and movement of non‐Hispanic populations into the greater border region represents not only economic growth and development, but also the transference of the hazards that come with that growth.

Environmental Review: Persistent, Bioaccumulative, and Toxic Chemicals in the US-Mexico Borderlands: A Regional Assessment of the Situation

Persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic materials are a special group of chemicals and heavy metals that are both synthetic and natural in origin. As pesticides, industrial wastes, and mining by products, they have contaminated air, water, and land, and they are biomagnified. Recent national, regional, and international agreements have targeted approximately two dozen contaminants for evaluation, control and elimination from the environment. This paper is a review and evaluation of the current and future impacts of 27 toxic materials in the US-Mexican border region. Because of economic development, population growth, and unique environmental conditions in the region, concern about them should be much higher. Evidence from research conducted within 100 kilometers of the border shows that though the effort is ongoing, there are not enough data upon which to confidently conclude that efforts to reduce contamination have been successful. In a few cases, investigators have detected a reduction of some materials in some biota, but the paucity of information, particularly in Mexico, leaves little hope that the health and welfare of the borderlands occupants will be preserved. The environmental Practitioner can contribute by focusing efforts on cross-border collaboration, on coordinated ecosystem or watershed-based analyses, and on the development of methods to accurately identify sources of contaminants for locations that lack detailed accounting.

Emergency Cooperation between the USA and Mexico in Disaster Management: Co-Dependency and Geopolitics

Today, the US relies upon Mexican labour and agricultural produce and exploitation of growing consumption in the Mexican market. Mexico, conversely, depends upon remitted wage earnings and internationalised industry to support marginalised rural and poor urban populations. Treaties have formalised this co-dependency. Disasters, emergencies, and environmental problems, particularly in the border zone are usually shared calamities and the need for binational cooperative emergency management is obvious. What are the prospects for cooperation in light of growing tension between the two countries? This paper evaluates cooperation between the USA and Mexico during disasters and examines the implications of the anti-undocumented-migrant sentiment and US construction of the 700 mi (1167 km) border fence. Particular attention is placed on issues of sovereignty, trade agreements, environmental accords, and approaches to emergency management. We argue that geography and political-economic interactions have developed a dysfunctional, but necessary, relationship. Approaches to management of risks, hazards, and emergencies fit both their respective cultures and their political relationship. The borderlands are particularly problematic due, in part, to the marginalisation of all Latinos (Americans and non-Americans alike) and the lack of understanding of the Mexican (and Mexican-American) culture.

Monuments of Progress: Modernization and Public Health in Mexico City, 1876 1910. By Claudia Agostoni. Latin American and Caribbean series. Calgary, Alta.; Boulder, Colo.; Mexico, D.F.: University of Calgary Press; University Press of Colorado; Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, 2003. xvii + 228 pp. Illustrations, map, notes, bibliography, index. Cloth

Urban Ideas & Projects for Mexico City: The Late Eighteenth Century. The Control of the Environment. The Expansion & Diagnosis of the City. The Modern City. The Conquest of Water. Index.