Radiation effects on X-ray microanalysis of a light element alloy in a medium-voltage electron microscope

Recent studies have indicated that focussed beams of high energy electrons can cause significant elemental redistribution in materials in the electron microscope. This redistribution can be attributed to a variety of effects, e.g., electron-beam sputtering, radiation-induced segregation (RIS) and electron-beam mixing, which are exacerbated by the use of a focussed electron probe. In most imaging situations focussed probes are neither necessary nor desirable. However, in an Analytical Electron Microscope (AEM) highly focussed probes are routinely employed to obtain high spatial resolution in microanalysis. In this work X-ray Energy-Dispersive Spectroscopy (XEDS) has been used to investigate elemental redistribution by displacement damage in an alloy of A1-1.95at%Zn during microanalysis in one of the new series of medium-voltage (300–400 kV) analytical electron microscopes. The results indicate that for low specimen temperatures (T < 0.4T_m) and sufficiently high electron fluxes (> 3 × 10⁴ A/m²), the atomic displacement effects do not significantly alter the results of XEDS analysis (probe size range 300 to 7.5 nm). Electron beam knock-on sputtering may remove several tens of nanometres of surface material, if the specimen surfaces are clean. However, this produces compositional changes only if one or more of the alloy components sputter preferentially, or if there is Gibbsian segregation to the foil surface.     

Street level urban design qualities for walkability: Combining 2D and 3D GIS measures

Much of the physical activity and built environment literature has focused on composite walkability indices based on the D variables– design, density, diversity, destination accessibility, and distance to transit. This literature, however, has largely ignored the microscale streetscape features that affect the pedestrian experience. Five street level urban design qualities were recently identified and defined for quantitative measures although these measures are mostly through subjective field observation. View related features such as long sight line and proportion of sky have not yet been objectively measured due to the limitation of data and method. This study uses both 2D and 3D GIS to objectively measure street level urban design qualities in Buffalo, New York and tests their correlation with observed pedestrian counts and Walk Scores. Our results showed that 3D GIS helped to generate objective measures on view related features. These objective measures can help us better understand the influence of street level urban design features on walkability for designing and planning healthy cities.     

Labour mobility between cities and metropolitan integration: The role of high speed rail commuting in Spain

Although the link between transport accessibility and the regional and local scope of labour markets has been widely studied in the literature, high speed rail (HSR) commuting is a relatively new user behaviour and little research has been done to date on labour migration derived from inter-regional HSR commuting. This paper contributes to the limited existing literature by analysing the evolution of the impact of HSR on labour markets in commuting relations. The added value of this research is that it is the first assessment of a panel data regression analysis taking account of HSR as a variable and using labour inter-regional mobility data (2002–2014). The model has been validated using the HSR commuting areas that converge in the metropolitan areas of Madrid, Barcelona, Seville and Malaga.Results have highlighted the complexity of the variables involved in the decision to commute by HSR. This complexity is linked to the causal relations between the most representative variables, namely unemployment rates and housing prices, which are more difficult to study during periods of economic crisis. The location of the HSR station has been revealed as a key indicator, and is even more significant (in the case of the Madrid functional area) than the actual availability of the HSR commuting services.     

Special Economic Zones in South Africa: Reflections from International Debates

South Africa’s experience with spatial economic interventions has had a chequered history with the Industrial Development Zone programme most recently failing to generate anticipated development. Current policy has shifted to the imminent launch of Special Economic Zones (SEZs) as tools for national (re)industrial development and supporting underdeveloped regions. This paper reflects on recent South African experience with spatial economic interventions and international experience with SEZs paying particular attention to their strengths, weakness and key establishment considerations. It is argued that unfolding South African SEZ planning can be strengthened by learning from the ‘good’ and ‘bad practice’ of international SEZs.     

Economic Restructuring in the Zambian Copperbelt: Local Responses in Ndola

Since 2002, Zambia has experienced a decentralisation of powers from central government to local level. Accompanying this shift towards decentralisation, local economic development (LED) planning emerged in several urban centres. The aim in this article is to examine one facet of emerging LED planning in Zambia, analysing local responses towards economic restructuring of Copperbelt Province. The specific focus is the city of Ndola, which experienced economic decline from the early 1990s. The paper highlights the weaknesses and limitations of municipal-led interventions for LED and documents the expansion of community-led local responses to economic decline as expressed in the growth of urban cultivation.     

Predicting adolescents' safe food handling using an extended theory of planned behavior

The aim of this study was to investigate whether the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) with the addition of risk perception could predict safe food handling in a sample of adolescents from the UK and Australia over and above the explanatory power of knowledge. It was hypothesized that knowledge would predict both intention to prepare food safely and self-reported food hygiene behavior. It was expected that attitudes, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control and risk perception would predict intentions over and above knowledge. It was hypothesized that intentions and PBC would significantly predict food hygiene behavior over and above the influence of knowledge. Participants were recruited from secondary schools in Australia and the UK (n = 205). Knowledge alone predicted 4% of intention and 1.4% of behavior. TPB variable with the addition of risk perception accounted for an additional 60% of the variance in intention. PBC and intention accounted for an additional 24% of the variance in behavior. Knowledge was not a significant predictor of intention or behavior once other variables were added to the model these results provide further support for criticisms of interventions that have targeted food safety through knowledge based interventions. The results provide further support for the utility of the TPB in predicting safe food handling. The addition of risk perception added to the predictive utility of the model, suggesting that researchers may want to incorporate that factor into future considerations of food hygiene using the TPB.     

From Liquor to Leisure: The Changing South African Hotel Industry 1928–1968

Historical scholarship in tourism studies is relatively limited, mainly focused on North America and Western Europe. The aim in this article is to examine one neglected facet of the historical development of urban tourism in South Africa. Specifically, the focus is on the changing nature of South African hotels and of the hotel industry during the period of 1928–1968. During this period, a transformation occurred in the nature of the hotel sector ‘from liquor to leisure’. This change shifted the trajectory of hotel developments in South Africa and laid the essential foundations for the beginnings of an internationally competitive tourism industry. An understanding of developments taking place in the hotel industry through this formative period of 1928–1968 is essential for interpreting the evolution of the modern South African hotel industry.     

The Perceived Authenticity of Iconic Heritage Sites in Urban Tourism: the Case of Constitutional Hill,Johannesburg, South Africa

Cultural heritage sites play multiple roles in the development of urban tourism. Amongst these roles, the authentic properties of cultural heritage generate a sense of place, are the main source of authentic tourist experience and assume an important role in reaffirming cultural and national identity. This paper provides a contribution to authenticity discourse both theoretically and empirically. The study examines and re-evaluates the main sources of authenticity of tourist experience generated from South African iconic places which serve a dual function, as ‘must-see’ tourist attractions and as places of new post-1994 national African identity building. The focus is the Constitution Hill heritage site in Johannesburg. The research explores how authentic is the individual tourist experience of the site and whether differences exist in the way domestic and international tourists perceive the authenticity of the iconic place as representative of new South African identity. The results show that the majority of tourists perceive the place as authentic and derive an authentic experience from the visit. No statistically significant differences are observed between the experience of domestic versus international tourists’ experience of the site which was measured by four variables of authentic experience, namely, attraction, attention, outcomes and feelings.