scholarly journals Assessing the Learning Outcomes of Food-related Educational Tourism Events for University Students: The Case of the International Student Competition of Fermo, Italy

Author(s):  
Sabrina Tomasi ◽  
Alessio Cavicchi ◽  
Gigliola Paviotti ◽  
Giovanna Bertella ◽  
Cristina Santini

This paper examines the International Student Competition on Place Brand­ing and Mediterranean Diet held in Fermo, Italy, in the context of the devel­opment of rural areas. This one-week food-related educational programme was organised by the University of Macerata’s Department of Education, Cultural Heritage and Tourism in collaboration with The Piceno Laboratory on the Mediterranean Diet, a local network of public and private stakehold­ers committed to the promotion of Fermo area as a touristic destination based on traditional gastronomy. The aim of this study was to understand how and to what extent such food-related educational events may con­tribute to providing students with the knowledge, expertise and soft skills needed for careers in the food tourism sector. Of interest also was how such events may benefit the development of rural areas. The ISC was founded in 2016 and continued in 2017, 2018 and 2019. In order to assess students’ perceptions about the experience, specifically regarding what they felt they had learned about food tourism, and which soft skills they had acquired or honed, 13 students who participated in the 2017 event were interviewed for a qualitative study. Moreover, the authors drew upon information gleaned from interactions with students and teachers, as well as with several important actors of the local food and tourism sector, in­cluding tourism and hospitality entrepreneurs and representatives of gov­ernment agencies, with whom they collaborated in the context of planning, running and evaluating the events. The findings show that the ISC can provide students with a good general understanding of the territory and practical knowledge about place branding and food tourism. In terms of career preparation, the combination of fieldwork activities with traditional lectures and group activities was particularly fruitful in promoting soft skills such as communication, efficient use of social media, teamwork, problem-solving and decision making.

2005 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 148-153 ◽  
Author(s):  
Faye Hayman

Objective: To provide descriptive information about a short-term educational programme for rural carers of people with a mental illness, living in the Loddon Campaspe Southern Mallee region. Method: The Carers Education Exchange Programme is a flexible, needsbased model that can be modified to cater for individual groups. It consists of a number of sessions on topics relevant to caring for someone with a mental illness, held over a period of several weeks. The programme is offered at locations throughout the region, making it accessible to carers in isolated, rural areas. Results: Feedback indicates that the benefits of participating in the programme include the reduction of isolation and stigma, increased understanding of mental illness, development of skills relevant to the caring role and the formation of supportive networks, both professional and personal. Conclusions: Educational group programmes for carers are an effective way of providing both education and support. This programme can assist in reducing some of the distress and difficulties inherent in caring for someone with a mental illness. Carer well-being is enhanced by the promotion of self-care and a positive outlook.


2019 ◽  
Vol 17 (Suppl.1) ◽  
pp. 284-288
Author(s):  
Nikolai Ivanov

Bulgarian economy is a part of the ongoing worldwide processes of globalization. Of the other part, the importance of the tourism sector of Bulgarian economy is essential. Changing the theoretical and practical knowledge in every field of science should follow the general direction of development. The same goes for accounting. Accountability is related to the effective management of the enterprise. On the other hand, accounting is a "conservative science" but "revolutionary" changed in recent years. This article aims to show the contemporary bioeconomical problems in tourism.


2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Ni Putu Evi Wijayanti

Rural tourism is one tour package that is highly desirable for foreign tourists, especially European tourists. Rural tourism has an important role and provides many benefits in the tourism sector for rural communities. When tourists travel to rural areas, they indirectly help local communities in developing rural areas and living standards. Furthermore, homestay is one of the criteria for a tourist village. Homestay is a product of the tourism industry where tourists can meet directly with local residents. Tourists who stay at the homestay and given an offer of rural tour packages, can be an opportunity for the community to attract tourists to stay longer by enjoying a variety of natural and cultural activities in the tourist village. This study aimed to determine the perceptions of European tourists on rural tour packages at D’Karang Homestay. The benefit of this research is to add references in tourism studies especially about the perceptions of European tourists on rural tourism packages. The research methods used were observation, interview, questionnaire and documentation. This research revealed European tourist perceptions of the rural tour packages offered by D’Karang Homestay but there are still shortcomings that need to be corrected.


2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 21-44
Author(s):  
Rumana Afroze ◽  
Tamanna Parvin Eva ◽  
Atiqur Rahman Sarker

Abstract Objective: University graduates in Bangladesh are presently confronted with high job competition. Because of less job availability, engineering graduates are facing more challenges in getting job opportunities than business graduates. Moreover, engineering graduates are more proficient in technical skills than with their human skills. The most important barrier for engineering graduates’ employability at their initial stage of career is that they have less focus on acquisition of their soft skills. Therefore, this study is concentrating to analyse the current situation of the engineering graduates’ soft skills deficiency and to investigate the impact of having soft skills on employability. Methodology:The nature of the study is qualitative and data has been gathered through in-depth interview and Focus Group Discussion (FGD). Respondents of in-depth interview are experienced engineers and HR experts who are working in engineering based organizations especially at the power solution service providing companies in Bangladesh. FGD among final year undergraduate engineering students has also been conducted to validate the interview data. Thematic analysis is used to analyse the qualitative data. Findings:The impact of having soft skills in getting employment of new graduates at the entry level is identified in this paper. Value Added: Higher education can assist in developing employability through increasing employment prospect and also achieving individual learning goals. However, fresh engineering graduates have social skills gap and lack of practical knowledge which can be reduced through acquiring soft skills. Different techniques such as self-training, institutional training, joining language sessions, attending presentation skills development classes and social programs can assist graduates in the acquisition of soft skills. Recommendations: As the most important reason of engineers’ unemployment is the lacking of collaboration between industry and academic institutions, this study focuses to draw the attention of engineering students, educational institutes and policy makers to highlight the importance of developing soft skills for employability and career growth.


2003 ◽  
Vol 1848 (1) ◽  
pp. 106-113 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sakina Khan ◽  
David Levy

Much of the literature on the economic benefits associated with investments in transportation infrastructure focuses on locations with at least some measure of private-sector economic activity. The focus here is on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota, an area with extremely limited private economic activity and a transportation network with limited connectivity and accessibility. The study was one of a series sponsored by FHWA to examine linkages between transportation improvements and economic development in rural areas. The Pine Ridge study established a framework for analyzing these linkages and focused the analysis on tourism, a key sector that both offers great potential for economic development and is dependent on improvements in transportation infrastructure. The analysis estimated the potential benefits of the tourism sector and identified the transportation improvements that would be needed to support this sector. It was found that, assuming implementation of a suite of supportive initiatives, a mature tourism sector at Pine Ridge could attract more than 1 million visitors each year, which would have an estimated total economic impact of $153 million during a 15-year period. By the end of the analysis period, these tourists would generate more than 1 million automobile trips per year, with a peak average daily traffic of 5,200 vehicles. The local enhancements in transportation infrastructure that would be needed to provide adequate levels of service include both upgrading the functional class of key roads and performing adequate maintenance throughout the life cycle of the improved roads. The costs of these transportation investments are estimated at $73.3 million.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (15) ◽  
pp. 6133
Author(s):  
Charikleia Prochaska ◽  
Anastasios Zouboulis

Although Greece has accomplished wastewater infrastructure construction to a large extent, as 91% of the country’s population is already connected to urban wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), many problems still need to be faced. These include the limited reuse of treated wastewater and of the surplus sludge (biosolids) produced, the relative higher energy consumption in the existing rather aged WWTPs infrastructure, and the proper management of failing or inadequately designed septic tank/soil absorption systems, still in use in several (mostly rural) areas, lacking sewerage systems. Moreover, the wastewater treatment sector should be examined in the general framework of sustainable environmental development; therefore, Greece’s future challenges in this sector ought to be reconsidered. Thus, the review of Greece’s urban wastewater history, even from the ancient times, up to current developments and trends, will be shortly addressed. This study also notes that the remaining challenges should be analyzed in respect to the country’s specific needs (e.g., interaction with the extensive tourism sector), as well as to the European Union’s relevant framework policies and to the respective international technological trends, aiming to consider the WWTPs not only as sites for the treatment/removal of pollutants to prevent environmental pollution, but also as industrial places where energy is efficiently used (or even produced), resources’ content can be potentially recovered and reused (e.g., nutrients, treated water, biosolids), and environmental sustainability is being practiced overall.


2013 ◽  
Vol 17 (9) ◽  
pp. 2001-2009 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giuseppe Grosso ◽  
Stefano Marventano ◽  
Gabriele Giorgianni ◽  
Teodoro Raciti ◽  
Fabio Galvano ◽  
...  

AbstractObjectiveTo assess adherence to the Mediterranean diet and nutrient intakes in a population of Sicily, southern Italy and to evaluate possible determinants, particularly socio-cultural and lifestyle factors.DesignCross-sectional.SettingUrban and rural areas of eastern Sicily.SubjectsBetween May 2009 and December 2010, 3090 adults were randomly recruited through the collaboration of fourteen general practitioners. Adherence to the Mediterranean diet was measured by the MedDietScore. Nutrient intakes were assessed through the 24 h recall of the previous day's dietary intake.ResultsRural participants were barely more adherent to the Mediterranean diet than their urban counterparts (mean scores were 27·8 and 27·2, respectively, P = 0·037). The MedDietScore was correlated with intakes of MUFA, fibre and vitamin C, as well as with consumption of non-refined cereals, vegetables, fruit, meat, dairy products, alcohol and nuts. Regression analysis revealed that older and more educated people were more likely to be in the highest tertile of MedDietScore (OR = 1.90; 95 % CI 1·39, 2·59 and OR = 1·29; 95 % CI 1·05, 1·58, respectively). A significant difference in quantity (moderate) and quality (red wine and beer) of alcohol was found according to adherence to the Mediterranean diet. Finally, more active participants were 1·5 times more likely to form part of the high-adherence group.ConclusionsA slow but concrete moving away from traditional patterns has been observed in younger people and low educated people. Public health interventions should focus on these target populations in order to improve the quality of their diet.


Author(s):  
Yatela Zainal-Abidin ◽  
Rosna Awang-Hashim ◽  
Hasniza Nordin

This article explores the life story of Amir, a young adult from a rural village in Malaysia, who built resilience and developed soft skills to thrive in his life despite his vulnerable beginnings. Amir’s strong resilience and other soft skills that assisted him to be outstanding in his academics and career may have resulted from his caring and supportive authoritative mother, countering his strict and harsh authoritarian father, with an ecological system of protective factors and developmental assets strengthened by religiosity and spirituality. However, both his parents’ extremely different confrontive and coercive methods appeared to have worked together towards the development of certain soft skills, such as his entrepreneurial mindset. This fresh outlook may provide guidance to assist vulnerable children and youth from rural areas to thrive, while raising new questions for future research.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 217-225
Author(s):  
Wulandira Sawitri Djelantik ◽  
Ida Ayu Listia Dewi

The agricultural sector has a multifunctional role in the development of an area. Bali Province is one of the provinces in Indonesia that uses rural areas as a gateway to the agricultural sector that supports the tourism sector. The contribution of the agricultural sector in 2017 amounted to 13.07 percent of the GRDP of the Province of Bali, number two of the 17 sectors (the sector of providing accommodation and food and drink occupy the first position, amounting to 22.82 percent. The purpose of this study was to map the growth typology of each sector in the Province of Bali, and evaluated the performance of the agricultural sector in the Province of Bali from 2013-2017. The location of the study was conducted in the Province of Bali, carried out deliberately (purposive) with the consideration that there has been a very alarming increase in the conversion of agricultural land functions in the Province of Bali. The typology used is Klassen, LQ (Location Quotient, and DLQ (Dynamic Location Quotient). The results of this study are the agriculture, forestry, and fisheries sectors in quadrant II, namely the advanced but depressed sector, as a whole is a “prospective” agricultural sector, the sector it has a basic role during 2013-2017 but this sector does not have the potential to remain a base sector because the growth rate of the agricultural sector in Bali Province is slower than the national level.


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