Sustainability of the tourist supply chain and governance in an insular biosphere reserve destination: the perspective of tourist accommodation

ABSTRACT

Small islands in peripheral regions are currently perceived as attractive tourist destinations. Governance plays an important role as a strategy for the revival of such destinations to achieve a more productive, environmental, social and sustainable management structure. ‘Good’ governance of a destination depends on all the actors involved in the tourism network. Such governance requires a redefinition of relations between government and society and minimal boundaries between public and private sectors. This paper has analysed the level of implementation of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in a tourist destination that is a biosphere reserve (BR), the island of Fuerteventura (Canary Islands, Spain), from a comprehensive approach involving a tourism supply chain (TSC) with private and public agents. The focal firms analysed within the TSC have been tourist accommodation establishments in Fuerteventura. The paper shows that the level of involvement of tourist accommodation in CSR is positive. However, this involvement is not sufficiently high to meet the requirements of a destination designated as a BR. Therefore, coordination policies should be developed that promote governance systems and further enhance sustainability in the destination.     

Critical review of desalination in Spain: a resource for the future?

There have been significant territorial changes in the Spanish Mediterranean in the last few decades because of the important growth of residential tourism functions. The Spanish National Hydrological Plan ( 2001 ) and, to a greater extent, the Action for Management and Use of Water Programme ( 2004 ) advocated large‐scale desalination of seawater to guarantee a supply for urban, tourism, and even future agricultural demands. The paralysis of urban development planning caused by the financial crisis (2007/08), together with the downward trend in the consumption of drinking water in the last decade, highlighted a capacity to produce desalinated water that was far superior to actual needs. This study reviews the current context in which desalinated water is produced in Spain, weighs up the advantages and disadvantages of this method of water management, and considers the potential role that this non‐conventional source of water could play as a strategic resource in the future. The main findings of the study are that desalination is not a panacea; rather, it should be considered in terms of technological parameters tailored to the circumstances of each geographical and socioeconomic environment.     

PETROGRAPHIC AND CHEMICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF POTTERY PRODUCTION OF THE LATE MINOAN I KILN AT HAGHIA TRIADA,CRETE*

Pottery from the Late Minoan I kiln at Haghia Triada in the Mesara Plain, southern Crete, was analysed by a range of techniques, comprising thin‐section petrography, scanning electron microscopy, X‐ray diffraction, X‐ray fluorescence and neutron activation analysis. The project characterizes the ceramic fabrics and probable raw materials, correlates paste recipes with shape, reconstructs the firing conditions of the kiln and establishes a chemical reference group, taking into account post‐burial alteration and contamination. Comparison of the reference group formed with that from the neighbouring, broadly contemporary, kiln at Kommos shows an unexpected differentiation of the two kilns.     

TWO BRONZE AGE MINIATURE WAGON AND WHEEL BURIALS IN ENCS (NORTH-EASTERN HUNGARY)

During an excavation of a Bronze Age, Füzesabony-culture cemetery at Encs (north-eastern Hungary), a clay wagon model with spoked wheels (grave 1290) and three miniature solid clay wheels were found (grave 1389). Miniature wagon and wheel models in burials began to appear in the Late Copper Age and lasted until the Iron Age in Central Europe. Their presence allows of several interpretations. These spoked wheels of grave 1290 provide early evidence about the appearance of such in the Carpathian Basin. Focussing on the two graves from Encs, this article reports AMS radiocarbon dates that suggest the spoked wheels belong to the early second millennium BC. The implications of these finds are interpreted though a comparative review of both wagon models from the Füzesabony culture and the evidence for early spoked wheels in the Carpathian Basin.     

Pétrarque: L’écriture Comme Philosophie

Petrarch is often considered as the founder of humanism and from then on classified in our division of knowledge on the side of literature, even though several times he claims to be in his writings on the side of philosophy. In retracing the thread of historiographic tradition to understand how Petrarch found himself to be placed outside of philosophy, we would like to examine thoroughly the interrogation on the relationship between literature and philosophy in the west of the xiv ^th century, and try to show how Petrarch tried to bring into existence a conception of philosophy as an art of living and writing, leaning on the social space of courses thus proposing an alternative to the learned constructions of the university world.     

IBERIAN CERAMIC PRODUCTION FROM BASTI (BAZA,SPAIN): FIRST GEOCHEMICAL,MINERALOGICAL AND TEXTURAL CHARACTERIZATION

Ceramic fragments from the archaeological excavation of the Iberian–Roman city of Basti (Spain) were studied from a geochemical point of view and by applying a statistical tool to X‐ray fluorescence data to discover similarities between ceramic materials. The analysis of these samples was completed by performing a mineralogical analysis, textural observation, and by characterizing the porous system and the colour of the pieces. Our results enabled us to identify the source area of the clayey raw material in the surroundings of Basti and to estimate the firing temperature of the ceramics. Differences in the chemistry were confirmed by characteristics of the pastes and the mineralogical composition of the pieces. Some samples show black cores, which would suggest the presence of organic matter in the raw material and fast firing of the ceramics. The main types of temper were quartz grains and gneiss fragments, although carbonate grains were also identified. Our evidence suggests that most of the samples were well fired. New silicate phases were found to be present in several samples. The mercury intrusion porosimetry verified and confirmed the firing temperature of non‐carbonated samples. Colorimetry showed that the colour of the ceramics varied according to the amount of CaO that they contained.     

Essai de typologie des centres de santé et de services sociaux au Québec

Given the importance of contextual factors—physical, social and institutional environments—for understanding health landscapes, this article examines the situation in the province of Québec and suggests a spatial typology at the scale of the health and social services centres (CSSS). These CSSS provide services for 95 areas which are the finest territorial delineation in terms of health policies since a reform instituted in 2003. While delivery of primary health and social services is defined at this local scale, overall health policy is decided at the provincial scale. The challenge for stakeholders is to supplement their local knowledge with that of the broader context. In this article, we use principal components analysis and hierarchical cluster analysis to identify eight profiles of CSSS. The final results of the cluster analysis demonstrate that two‐thirds of the health and social services centres correspond with two marginally differentiated profiles and the remaining third shows specificities that are highly spatially anchored.