Leonie J. Pearson

Sustainable tourism: an overview of the concept and its position in relation to conceptualisations of tourism.

Reference to sustainable tourism is now made in most strategic tourism planning documents. Yet, despite its common use, definitional arguments exist over its meaning and subsequent operationalisation. In addition to this, literature on sustainable tourism rarely discusses its development prior to the publication of Our Common Future (World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED), 1987) and its relevance to current conceptualisations of tourism. This paper analyses the context within which sustainable tourism was developed and has recently been conceptualised. It does this by assessing the development of sustainable tourism (with an Australian focus) and proposing a model which incorporates the development of sustainable tourism into tourism. The paper argues that sustainable tourism has traditionally given more focus to aspects related to the environment and economic development and that more focus should be given to community involvement.

Centrally mediated cardiovascular and EEG responses to bradykinin and eledoisin

Abstract In anaesthetized cats, the intracarotid injection of bradykinin but not of eledoisin produced EEG desynchronization and a pronounced rise in blood pressure. In anaesthetized rats, injection of bradykinin or eledoisin directly into the cerebral ventricles produced EEG desynchronization and a biphasic cardiovascular response which was abolished by hexamethonium but not affected by atropine, indicating that the responses were due to a central action and suggesting that they did not involve cholinergic nerves. The initial fall in blood pressure was abolished by phentolamine suggesting that it was due to inhibition of sympathetic tone to peripheral resistance vessels; the secondary pressor phase was blocked by propranolol, suggesting it was due to stimulation of cardiac β-adrenoreceptors. The response to bradykinin was abolished completely by propranolol plus phentolamine but the depressor component of the response to eledoisin was enhanced by propranolol alone and by propranolol plus phentolamine, suggesting it has an additional action.

The acquisition of perceived descriptive norms as social category learning in social networks

Descriptive norms—what people typically do in a certain setting—play a significant role in peoples behavioural decisions. However, little is known about how people acquire descriptive norms in their community. We postulate that acquisition of descriptive norms can be construed as social category learning in social networks, where people learn social information relevant about community descriptive norms from others with whom they are associated through social network ties. We distinguish two routes to norm acquisition: experiential and conceptual. The experiential route suggests people observe the behaviours of their associates in their social networks, and infer what people typically do; the conceptual route suggests people learn about their community from what their associates say people typically do. We used a novel statistical method of autologistic actor attribute models (ALAAM) on survey responses collected by snow ball sampling in a rural city in Australia, and found that people experientially learn descriptive norms about community engagement. Implications of this finding and the limitations of the current study are discussed.

Effect od acetylsalicylic acid and morphine on pressor responses produced by bradykinin

Abstract Biphasic or pressor responses are produced by the intravenous or intra-carotid injection of bradykinin in anaesthetized cats and in conscious or anaesthetized dogs. The analgesic drugs, acetylsalicylic acid and morphine, failed to abolish or even reduce consistently the pressor responses to bradykinin. These findings indicate that whereas a reflex response to pain caused by the intra-carotid injection of bradykinin may partially contribute to the pressor phase, especially in the conscious dog, this mechanism cannot be wholly responsible. It is concluded that bradykinin has a direct action in the central nervous system which leads to an increase in sympathetic cardiovascular tone.

A comparison in conscious and anaesthetized dogs of the effect on blood pressure of bradykinin, kallidin, eledoisin and kallikrein

Abstract The dose-response relationships of the hypotensive polypeptides, bradykinin, kallidin and eledoisin were investigated on the arterial blood pressure of conscious and anaesthetized dogs. The responses in the anaesthetized dogs were significantly greater than when the animals were conscious. This difference may be due to cardiovascular compensatory reflexes being more active in the conscious state. A secondary pressor response following the initial fall in blood pressure was observed with bradykinin and kallidin. It may be that a more active pressor component of the response in conscious dogs also contributes to the diminished effect in unanaesthetized animals. The results suggest the need for caution in extrapolating from studies of the kinins in anaesthetized animals to their possible role in pathological states in man. Kallikrein 8 units/kg produced an initial fall in blood pressure followed by a prominent secondary rise. Similar responses were found in conscious and anaesthetized dogs.

Societal collapse or transformation, and resilience

The recent article by Butzer (1) illustrated, through historical analysis, that resilience is not enough: many societies have collapsed irrespective of their resilience capacity. We argue that it might be because of their preoccupation with resilience. What they needed, and what Butzer also writes, is transformability: “…after overcoming initial, ideological dissonance, people can indeed come together to support change” (1). This is truly a message for our times as governments struggle with transforming to low-carbon societies.

Conditional autonomic responses induced in dogs by atropine and morphine

Abstract Using either atropine or morphine as the unconditional stimulus (UCS) and employing classical conditioning techniques, the establishment of conditional changes of salivation, gastric secretion and heart rate was investigated in dogs. With morphine, 2 mg/kg, as the UCS, conditional increases in salivation, gastric secretion and heart rate resulted: these conditional responses were similar to the effects produced by this dose of the drug. A larger dose of morphine, 10 mg/kg, produced an initial tachycardia and then a marked secondary bradycardia as the unconditional response. Although the conditional stimulus (CS) was presented during the secondary phase, conditional bradycardia could not be established. With atropine, 0.5 mg/kg, as the UCS, conditional salivation occurred but no significant conditional changes in gastric secretion or heart rate were observed during 21 pairings of UCS and CS. These results support the view that centrally mediated actions of drugs are more readily conditioned than are peripheral ones. The findings have implications in placebo reaction in the clinical trial of drugs.

Pharmacological investigation of the mechanism of conditional salivation in dogs induced by atropine and morphine

Abstract Conditional salivation was established in dogs using atropine or morphine as the unconditional stimulus. The conditional salivation induced by either drug was markedly reduced by atropine methonitrate, but was not affected by phentolamine, propranolol or guanethidine. It was concluded that the conditional salivation with both drugs was mediated by cholinergic parasympathetic mechanisms and not through adrenergic sympathetic pathways. The conditional salivation induced by morphine was not significantly reduced by mepyramine. The conditional salivation induced by atropine is interpreted as a conditional adaptation to a dry mouth produced by the drug, whereas the conditional salivation induced by morphine is consistent with a typical conditional reflex, with morphine acting as the unconditional stimulus.

A framework for governance of public green spaces in cities

Abstract Public authorities that seek to transfer the cost of managing green spaces to the private sector face apprehension about the extent of community input in managing of public green spaces in cities. In practice, the governance arrangements for managing public green spaces are neither a purely private or public sector responsibility. They are part of complex and contested governance schemas that involve multiple stakeholder groups with varying interests and responsibilities. This paper proposes a simple framework to support different modes of governance appropriate for the management of public green spaces in cities. The framework classifies stakeholders’ desires for engagement based on ecosystem service characteristics defined on a spectrum of excludability and rivalry. The framework is applied to case studies in Australia and Canada. Finally, we discuss the new insights for governance arrangements for public green space management in cities.

An institutional perspective on programme integration

ABSTRACT Integration is an approach used in practical evidence-based policy development to learn and share insights between different disciplines, models, policy arenas, methods, audiences, researchers and policy makers. The aim of this article is to use an institutional perspective to investigate an integrative research programme, the Murray-Darling Basin Futures Collaborative Research Network based at the University of Canberra, Australia, analysing the actors, resources and rules used to deliver integration outcomes. This innovative examination of integration provides some new insights for the integration literature as well as for policy makers and academics involved in integration programmes. Specifically the paper identifies that both the formal and informal rules are significant in facilitating the process of integration across research teams, themes and projects. The case study highlights the merits of multiple integration activities structured to encompass diverse integration approaches, modes of communication, actors and media across both social and cognitive outcomes. It also identifies that the set of necessary institutional conditions for integration (i.e. favourable institutional arrangements, suitable integrating framework and available resources) are not sufficient for delivery unless values and behaviour and incentives for action are also achieved.