The impact of the BP oil spill on tourism

Understanding the effects of a tourism crisis: The impact of the BP oil spill on regional lodging demand

From Journal of Travel Research

Tourism as one of the most economically important industries is also one of the most vulnerable to crises and disasters. When crises or disasters take place, tourism industries, the tourists they serve, and the local community are affected such events divert tourism flows away from not only a particular destination but also neighboring regions or countries. As argued in this article, there have been a growing number of crises and disasters affecting the tourism industries, giving rise to a need to better understand the impact of such events.

This study has attempted to assess the impact of the 2010 Gulf oil spill across the U.S. coastal regions with the greatest predicted risk of oil spill contact. Two valid and reliable sources of secondary data were assessed to allow year-on-year comparisons of commercial lodging performance in the region. The results underscore the difficulties in determining damages at the macro level that in this case has resulted to date in US$13.5 billion of out of court settlements paid by BP to settle business owner claims. The data clearly show the complexity of the impact, with both winners and losers from the disaster identified in the data presented in this article. It provides a better understanding of the impact of the Gulf oil spill on the accommodation industry as a whole, as well as comparisons between the hotel and the vacation rental industries, and between regions in the affected area.

Achilles tendon injuries more likely in male “Weekend Warriors” than others

Achilles Tendon Injuries in a United States Population

From Foot & Ankle International

Male athletes are the group most likely to tear their Achilles tendon, according to this study. The activity most likely to cause the injury was basketball, and NBA players such as Kobe Bryant have been in the news lately for this exact injury. The authors of this article reviewed 406 records from patients at one clinic diagnosed with Achilles tendon injuries from August 2000 and December 2010.  The average age was 46 years old, 83% of the patients were males, and sports were responsible for 68% of the ruptures. “Delayed diagnosis and treatment have been shown to result in poorer outcomes,” says Steven Raikin, MD, of the Rothman Institute in Philadelphia, PA, and American Orthopaedic Foot & Ankle Society (AOFAS) member.  “Older individuals, and those with a higher BMI, should be evaluated carefully if they have lower leg pain or swelling in the Achilles tendon region.” The study supported previous findings that an Achilles tendon rupture on one leg increases the likelihood of a rupture on the other leg.

For further information on how to take care of your feet and ankles, or to find a local orthopaedic foot and ankle surgeon, visit the American Orthopaedic Foot & Ankle Societypatient website at www.footcaremd.org

Mass incarceration and working class interests: Which side are the unions on?

From Labor Studies

Mass incarceration has been one of the most important social policy failures in the U.S. in the last half century. This process has driven millions of members of the poorest sectors of the working class to prison and jails with African-Americans and more recently Latinos being the chief victims. While trade unions would be logical organizations to contest mass incarceration, they have consistently ignored the importance of mass incarceration for working class communities of color, instead choosing to defend the jobs of their members, even when their members are complicit in locking up innocent people and subjecting them to onerous conditions. This article is one of the first attempts to define mass incarceration as a working class issues and critique the trade unions general failure to take responsibility for poor people against the War on Drugs, truth in sentencing laws, racial profiling and other measures that have enabled the incarceration of millions of marginalized workers.

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SAGE Insight is moving

Dear Readers,

In June 2010 we launched SAGE Insight, this blog puts the spotlight on topical and interesting journal research, new and archived published in our journals. SAGE Insight was created to support our passion and commitment to widening access to (and the public understanding of) research, especially social research.  The articles on SAGE Insight provide a fresh perspective on major issues facing the public and policy makers.  SAGE Insight will move location next week and will be available through SAGE Connection.

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The move will make it even easier to stay up to date on the latest research trends along with the usual top tips and industry round ups you’ve come to expect from this blog. You can follow SAGE Insight posts by registering for email alerts at https://sageinsight.wordpress.com/register/ to receive notifications of new posts by email. The posts also appear via a Twitter account www.twitter.com/SAGE_News. If you have already registered for these alerts you don’t need to do a thing, we have transferred your registration to SAGE Connection. You will receive a notification email once your registration has been transferred, which you will need to click to verify your registration.  If you have not received an email from us please fill in your details on the registration form https://sageinsight.wordpress.com/register/.

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Support needed for children losing parent at early age

The long-term impact of early parental death: lessons from a narrative study

From Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine 

This study exploring the impact of early parental death has revealed the long-term damage and suffering that can be experienced by individuals in adult life if appropriate levels of support are not provided at the time of bereavement. The paper describes the low self-esteem, loneliness, isolation and inability to express feelings of some individuals who lost a parent in childhood, with the effects felt for as long as 71 years after the bereavement. The researchers found common themes that affect the experience of parental loss, including disruptions and continuity, the role of social networks and affiliations, and communication. Professor Mari Lloyd Williams speaking on behalf of the research team said: “Moving home and separation from family and friends makes adjustment to parental death significantly more difficult and increases stress in bereaved children. Long periods of disruption or living arrangements that do not meet the needs of the bereaved child means they are more likely to experience emotional difficulties and feelings of insecurity and loneliness in adult life.” The researchers suggest a model to identify and support individuals who may be more vulnerable to less favourable outcomes in adult life and point to the best practice guidelines set by The Childhood Bereavement Network which provide a framework for support of parents of bereaved children.

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Corporate sustainability: What it could mean for arms control, climate change, and biosecurity

Beyond compliance: Integrating non-proliferation into corporate sustainability

From Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists 

Corporate sustainability initiatives – commonly known for reducing accidents in the workplace and making businesses greener – may seem an unlikely deterrent to organizations bent on terror. But experts suggest that a tightly controlled supply chain is key to preventing weapon materials getting into the wrong hands. This paper takes a fresh look at corporate sustainability in a wider, more unconventional context, with authors exploring the topics of nuclear proliferation, biosecurity, and climate change.

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Junior doctors lack understanding of NHS reforms

Junior doctors and healthcare reforms: Are they ready? A questionnaire study

From JRSM Short Reports

Junior doctors are uninformed about current NHS reforms, despite being interested and concerned, according to this paper. The researchers found that basic understanding of health politics and NHS reforms was poor, even on issues affecting future training. A total of 17.7% could not name the health secretary, 66.7% did not know the budget of the NHS and 71.6% did not know who would be responsible for health-care commissioning after the reforms. 90.2% felt they would value formal education on the current changes. One author comments: “Most worryingly, almost three quarters of foundation doctors surveyed were unaware of significant changes that could affect their own training, namely that deaneries will no longer be responsible for coordinating education.” He concludes concludes: “Given foundation year doctors will be implementing current health policy, and arguably forming the policy of the future, it is essential to engage this population. It may be that improving health politics education – whether through formal teaching sessions for junior doctors or integration into medical student training – will be the only way in which this may occur.”

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How effective is the Liverpool Care Pathway on the quality of end-of-life care provided to adult cancer patients during their last week of life in hospital?

The Liverpool Care Pathway for cancer patients dying in hospital medical wards: A before–after cluster phase II trial of outcomes reported by family members

From Palliative Medicine

Death in hospital remains very common for cancer patients in developed countries. Although hospital surveys show that death was highly expected, patients dying in hospital have a high probability of unrelieved and poorly treated physical suffering, and emotional, spiritual and social distress. Quality improvement programmes in the United States and United Kingdom suggest that aspects of the ‘excellent practice’ of palliative care can be transferred to other settings. The Liverpool Care Pathway (LCP) for the dying patient is one pathway that seeks to achieve this. It offers a structured programme aimed at providing improvements in the quality of care for all relevant dimensions at the end of life. 

This study aims to assess the effectiveness of the LCP on the quality of end-of-life care provided to adult cancer patients during their last week of life in hospital. It implements an uncontrolled before–after intervention cluster trial performed within four hospital wards participating in the pilot. A total of 2 months after the patient’s death, bereaved family members were interviewed. The results provide the first robust data collected from family members, in any reasonably sized sample, of a potential clinically significant improvement in some aspects of quality of care – in particular respect, kindness and dignity, family emotional support, self-efficacy of the family and coordination of care.

Women are more attracted to guitarists than sporty guys

Men’s music ability and attractiveness to women in a real-life courtship context

From Psychology of Music

It is apparent that music plays a role in sexual selection. This study carried out an experiment in a real-life setting and showed that women approached in the street for their phone number agreed more readily with the request when the man asking was a young man holding a guitar case in his hands rather than a sports bag in his hands or had no bag at all.

Reviewing the advantages and limitations of intermittent fasting for weight loss and prevention of diabetes and cardiovascular disease

Intermittent fasting: a dietary intervention for prevention of diabetes and cardiovascular disease?

From British Journal of Diabetes & Vascular Disease

There has been a significant increase in obesity and type 2 diabetes in recent decades. Intermittent fasting, in which individuals fast on consecutive or alternate days, has been reported to facilitate weight loss and improve cardiovascular risk. This review evaluates the various approaches to intermittent fasting and examines the advantages and limitations for use of this approach in the treatment of obesity and type 2 diabetes.