Investigating self-reported food allergy prevalence in Waterloo Region,Canada

While food allergy prevalence has been studied at the national level, we know little of food allergy prevalence or perceptions of prevalence/management at the local level. This paper uses Waterloo Region as a case study to 1) document self-reported individual and household food allergy and sensitivity prevalence at the local level; 2) investigate perceptions of food allergy prevalence; and 3) explore perceived confidence in anaphylaxis management. Survey data were collected from January to March 2019. Respondents (n = 500) self-reported individual and household food allergy and sensitivity, estimated the percentage of Canadians with food allergy, and were queried about their knowledge of food allergy management. Prevalence estimates were weighted to the structure of the 2016 Canadian Census, and univariate and bivariate analysis were conducted. Prevalence of self-reported food allergy was 12.1% (95%CI, 8.8%-15.3%), and prevalence of self-reported food sensitivity was 26.3% (95%CI, 21.9%-30.7%). When asked to estimate the percentage of Canadians with food allergy, the mean perceived percentage was 35.1% (SD = 22.96). Self-reported prevalence of food allergy appears higher in Waterloo Region, and the estimated percentage of Canadians with food allergy is inflated. Understanding prevalence and perceptions at the local level is important for targeted allocation of public health resources to ensure safe spaces for individuals with food allergy.     

Performance and visitors’ perception of authenticity in eco-cultural tourism

ABSTRACT

With the increasing commodification of cultural heritage induced by tourism development, the perception of a ‘real’ travel experience often depends on what is defined as authentic, original and local. Visitors are becoming increasingly concerned about the authenticity of eco-cultural tourism practices when they visit culturally and environmentally remote regions. The purpose of this study is to examine the role performance plays in visitors' perception of authenticity of eco-cultural tourism experiences. Various theoretical foundations and aspects of visitors' perceptions of authenticity in cultural heritage tourism are considered. A grounded theory approach based on in-depth semi-structured interviews with several categories of visitors including 25 clients from two eco-tours in South and Central Kazakhstan and 29 Free Independent Travellers (FITs) was adopted to identify visitors' perception of authenticity of various aspects of their tourism experiences and the attributes of the visitors' performative aspects of their travels. Results reveal that the performative aspects contributing to the perceived authenticity of the visitors' eco-cultural experiences are spontaneous, existential and reciprocal relationships with their hosts in intimate tourism encounters. The findings contribute to literature regarding authenticity and cultural heritage tourism by exploring new directions in which to apply the concept of authenticity in eco-cultural tourism experiences and by theorising the link between performance-based touristic space and the perception of authenticity. This space becomes a basis for interaction and social exchange within the host–guest relationship.     

比较视野下中国乡村认知的再辨析:当代价值与乡村复兴

本文首先探讨了西方社会对乡村认知转型的基本思潮,其演进脉络经历了生产主义、后生产主义和多功能乡村三个阶段。在此基础上,本文尝试建立了从主体和功能两个维度进行乡村认知的基本框架,并从历史视角对中国乡村的认知变迁进行了回溯。新中国成立以来,对于乡村的认知大致经历了牺牲型乡村和追赶型乡村两个阶段,直至城乡统筹的概念提出,才有一定的改变。本文提出了当前中国乡村的三重价值——乡村的农业价值、乡村的腹地价值和乡村的家园价值。基于这样的多元价值,尝试性地提出了"乡村复兴"的概念框架。     

An uninhabited waste: transforming the Grand Prairie in nineteenth century Illinois, USA

Today the area once known as the Grand Prairie in the American Midwest is best known for its high agricultural productivity and monoculture. Little of the original prairie landscape that gave the region its name remains. Prior to white settlement, the region was perceived as swampy, dangerous, unhealthy and unfit for agriculture. This ‘uninhabited waste’ and ‘giant emporium of malaria’ embodied the type of landscapes settlers initially tried to avoid. Ultimately, perceptions of the Grand Prairie landscape as well as the physical landscape itself were altered by settlement and improving drainage technology. This paper aims to link changes in the way the central Illinois landscape was imagined and perceived, with the subsequent environmental transformation that resulted in the near total elimination of tallgrass prairie and the wholesale alteration of regional hydrology through channelization and agricultural drainage.     

Perceived Risk and Citizen Preferences for Governmental Management of Routine Hazards

Risk perceptions are important to the policy process because they inform individuals’ preferences for government management of hazards that affect personal safety, public health, or ecological conditions. Studies of risk in the policy process have often focused on explicating the determinants of risk perceptions for highly salient, high consequence hazards (e.g., nuclear energy). We argue that it is useful to also study more routinely experienced hazards; doing so shows the relevance of risk perceptions in individuals’ daily lives. Our investigation focuses on the impact perceived risk has on citizens’ preferences over hazard management policies (as distinct from identifying risk perception determinants per se). We use a recursive structural equation model to analyze public opinion data measuring attitudes in three distinct issue domains: air pollution, crime, and hazardous waste storage and disposal. We find that citizens utilize perceived risk rationally: greater perceived risk generally produces support for more proactive government to manage potential hazards. This perceived risk–policy response relationship generally holds even though the policy options respondents were asked to consider entailed nontrivial costs to the public. The exception seems to be when individuals know less about the substantive issue domain.     

Food and the middle ages

The study of food in the middle ages attracted much interest among antiquarians from the eighteenth century on. New perspectives came with the growth of social and economic history. Over the last two decades, re-evaluations of historical sources, along with contributions from other disciplines, especially archaeology, the archaeological sciences, anthropology and sociology, have changed the possibilities for this area of research. The study of cooking, of cuisine and its cultural context, as much as food production and the material conditions of life, is now central to developing our understanding of consumption. This paper explores new possibilities for the study of taste and demotic cuisine, food and virtue, the association of women with food, and the role of food in society and in cultural change.     

苏州古典园林旅游者空间意象特征分析

本文以苏州古典园林为案例,基于意象地图调查,探讨旅游者空间意象的基本要素构成、意象要素感知频率的空间分布特征及其形成机制。研究表明：（1）古典园林旅游者空间意象中共包含五个基本要素,五要素在总体样本中出现的频率基本均衡,在不同园林的样本之间有一定差异;（2）五要素均具有较高的可识别性,其中节点与边界要素的可识别性及可意象性最高,是遗产保护的核心要素;（3）五要素的感知频率在空间分布上呈现从景区核心向周边逐渐衰减的规律性特征,即“核心一边缘”空间模式,该模式的形成是旅游者行为特征与园林空间格局共同作用的结果。     

中英国家公园旅游可持续性比较研究——以中国九寨沟和英国新森林国家公园为例

中英两国国情迥异,但两国的国家公园均以自然保护、旅游与社区可持续发展为管理目标。本文以中国九寨沟和英国新森林国家公园为例,构建了由12个客观指标和12个主观指标组成的国家公园旅游可持续性评价指标体系,通过专家咨询和均方差法计算指标权值,用加权指标综合评价方法对案例地旅游可持续性进行了评价。评价结果表明,九寨沟旅游发展具有潜在的可持续性;而新森林国家公园则具有潜在的不可持续性。论文最后从两国国家公园管理体制和模式差异对评价结果进行了解释。     

旅游者对旅游“非营利”理念的感知研究——基于扎根理论

旅游资源从根本上看具有公益性特点,与“非营利”理念高度契合,两者相互结合的研究具有现实的必然性和理论的可行性。本文采用扎根理论的研究范式分析了旅游者对旅游“非营利”理念的感知,主要结论有：（1）旅游者普遍认为旅游“非营利”理念目前在我国几乎不存在,但却是大势所趋;（2）旅游者对旅游“非营利”理念的期望发展方向在宏观上表现为政府法规监管等9大方面;（3）旅游者对旅游“非营利”理念的期望发展方向在微观上表现为21个小范畴,且在健全监督机制、税收优惠等方面的期望较为集中。（4）旅游者对于如何从自身做起践行“非营利”理念的认知程度很低,国人的旅游“非营利”理念亟待培养。     

游客的犯罪侵害风险感知研究——以印度国际游客为例

游客在旅游活动中担心受到犯罪侵害,不但会影响游客的到访意愿,而且殃及当地旅游业的发展。本文旨在了解游客对犯罪侵害的心理反应,探讨旅游侵害风险感知形成的相关因素。本文以到访印度的国际游客为研究对象,于2010年1月在印度德里机场进行问卷调查。调查发现在印度的国际游客认为被骚扰、诈骗及盗窃的可能性较大。女性、亚洲人明显有较高的防卫行为倾向。观光游客比商务游客感觉受侵害风险更高。旅游侵害风险感知与旅游决策间具有负向关系,旅游风险意识及旅游信息在侵害风险感知与旅游决策关系间具有调节效果。