Bold Moves for Visitor Use Management: Public Health, Public Engagement and Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion

Public land management is inherently complex and requires a systems approach that integrates ecological, economic, and social values. Currently, there are few tools and examples available for federal land management planning that use a systems approach. Issues are often approached from a disciplinary perspective, and outdoor recreation problems, assumptions, and solutions often focus too narrowly on how to mitigate recreation impacts as opposed to understanding the broader role of visitor use and access, public engagement, and public health in sustainable land management. The Visitor Use Management Framework (the Framework), developed by the Interagency Visitor Use Management Council (IVUMC, 2016) provides interagency guidance for managing public use on federal lands and waters. The Framework uses a process that can be incorporated into existing agency planning and decision making. It follows all of the Council agencies’ (NPS, BLM, USFS, USFWS, ACoE, NOAA) planning principles and illustrates how to specifically address visitor experiences and resource protection with an integrated planning approach. This research note explores the evolving role of the Framework in sustainable recreation management and how public health, public engagement, and representation, inclusion, and access can be incorporated throughout the Framework to ensure planning decisions meet the needs, values, and preferences of diverse user groups. Further, this paper invites a broader discussion around next steps for boldly moving to integrate public health, public engagement, and representation, inclusion, and access more fully into all aspects of visitor use management, including the Framework. Collective effort and ongoing innovation is needed to ensure that the Framework is thoughtfully implemented in ways that provide opportunities to enhance outdoor recreation access and inclusion for a broader range of people.

Effects of gender on income and family planning for diplomates of the American College of Zoological Medicine

OBJECTIVE To evaluate income and family planning decisions of American College of Zoological Medicine (ACZM) diplomates. SAMPLE 98 ACZM diplomates. PROCEDURES An online survey was sent to 201 ACZM diplomates. Participation was voluntary. RESULTS 98 (49%) diplomates responded to the survey. The most commonly reported income categories were $90,000 to $94,999, $100,000 to $104,999, and $110,000 to $114,999. Overall, the mean of the salary-category midpoint responses was $105,357 but was $122,917 for those in academia and $94,508 for those working in zoos and aquaria. When incomes of males and females were matched (24 pairs matched for gender and age), no difference in income was observed. There were no significant differences in income between males and females with and without children. Diplomates who did not complete a residency had significantly higher incomes than diplomates who did. Sixteen of 21 (76%) females and 9 of 19 (47%) males reported delaying having children because of their career. Additionally, a higher percentage of females with children (13/20 [65%]) than males with children (3/19 [16%]) felt that having children had had a negative effect on their career. Thirty-five of 41 (85%) females without children and 4 of 9 (44%) males without children thought having children would have negatively affected their careers. CLINICAL RELEVANCE Although substantial differences in income between female and male ACZM diplomates were not identified, differences in family planning and perceptions of the impact of having children on their careers did exist.

Evaluating Local Attractiveness for Tourism and Recreation—A Case Study of the Communes in Brzeski County, Poland

For many regions and communes, the development of tourism offers opportunities for economic revival, the stimulation of local entrepreneurship and, as a result, increased budget revenues. Before such objectives can be successfully pursued, however, it is necessary to carefully consider to what degree the conditions present in a particular area are conducive to the development of tourism there, including its tourism resources and the existing state of development. This study analyzes the attractiveness of the seven communes making up Brzeski County (Lesser Poland Voivodeship, Poland) for tourism and recreation. The potential of the communes in this largely rural county was characterized using Gołembski’s index, based on multivariate comparative analysis, assessing the natural and man-made features and the degree of development of each of the communes. This analysis was further complemented using Wejchert’s impression curve, assessing visual attractiveness along selected routes in two of the communes. Of the seven communes analyzed, the Commune of Brzesko was found to have the most extensively developed services, hotel and food-service infrastructure, to be home to many historic buildings and to have a relatively high municipal budget. The Commune of Iwkowa, in turn, which scored lowest in terms of Gołembski’s index (mainly due to its underdeveloped infrastructure, few historic buildings and the fact that it is crossed by a major transit route), was nevertheless found to score significantly higher than Brzesko in terms of Wejchert’s impression curve. These findings confirm that the beauty of the landscape is not always well correlated with tourism development potential. We conclude that such a combination of methods should to be applied to reliably and comprehensively evaluate the relative attractiveness of different parts of a given region for tourism and recreation, for instance so as to inform planning decisions and the allocation of funding.

Replacing place in planning history

Variations are due to happen in the course of Planning History, though there has been an unusual outburst of changes in recent times. Two factors seem to be at the outset of these changes: the crucial growth of global urbanization; and the actual tendency for cities presenting a complex of ‘place’ centralities. Undoubtedly, central to alterations in Planning History are the special conditions of contemporary society, with almost 80% of whose members living in urbanized environments. But next to it comes the extraordinary increase in the production of newly invented ‘places’ under the most diverse forms: entertainment places, themed malls, revamping of historical settings, and so on. This pervading tendency led to changes in planning attitudes, seen as historical in face of their global claims. However, many of the innovative theoretical issues now linked to the concept of place have not been thoroughly examined in the Planning area so far. Additionally, the concept is now engrossing the research interests of other disciplines, which results in important contributions being introduced to its foundational aspects, hence, establishing a transdisciplinary condition to its essence. In fact, planning theory seems now ripe to ‘replace’ its prevalent understanding of place. This paper intends to suggest some of the directions to follow in such an attempt. Methodologically, it will pursue the directions set by three types of conflicts generated by the variations: controversies, contrasts, and challenges. To approach the variations in terms of the controversies implies to realize the duality in the roles places can perform in today’s societal behaviours: a functional as well as an existential one. Indeed, for some scholars, the new invented places of today are appropriated as new places of urbanity, leading to think that we are on the brink of a situation where the perception of place can influence the perception of ‘urbanity’ – urbanity understood as that unique quality forwarded by cities to their citizens in terms of communication and sociability – ultimately entailing new ways of enjoying the urbanity cities have to offer. Contrasts associated to the variations bring to light a duality present in the Planning discipline itself. Previously, the discipline had that the sense of place would derive exclusively from society’s practices, emerging from them as a social construction, whereas today, besides being a social construction, place is also regarded as an economic construction. This is a condition that sometimes exacerbates inherent social contrasts, producing cities dotted with fragments of exception believed to act upon the urban structure as disintegrative factors evidencing latent differences. Finally, to approach the variations in terms of their challenges will direct the focus towards the planning decisions city’s administrators are faced to take when settling to embark on the placemaking + placemarketing game – or not – a challenge cities increasingly are compelled to adhere to, often at the risk of engaging on demanding competitive practices.

Offline-Channel Planning in Smart Omnichannel Retailing

Problem definition: Observing the retail industry inevitably evolving into omnichannel, we study an offline-channel planning problem that helps an omnichannel retailer make store location and location-dependent assortment decisions in its offline channel to maximize profit across both online and offline channels, given that customers’ purchase decisions depend on not only their preferences across products but also, their valuation discrepancies across channels, as well as the hassle costs incurred. Academic/practical relevance: The proposed model and the solution approach extend the literature on retail-channel management, omnichannel assortment planning, and the broader field of smart retailing/cities. Methodology: We derive parameterized models to capture customers’ channel choice and product choice behaviors and customize a corresponding parameter estimation approach employing the expectation-maximization method. To solve the proposed optimization model, we develop a tractable mixed integer second-order conic programming reformulation and explore the structural properties of the reformulation to derive strengthening cuts in closed form. Results: We numerically validate the efficacy of the proposed solution approach and demonstrate the parameter estimation approach. We further draw managerial insights from the numerical studies using real data sets. Managerial implications: We verify that omnichannel retailers should provide location-dependent offline assortments. In addition, our benchmark studies reveal the necessity and significance of jointly determining offline store locations and assortments, as well as of incorporating the online channel while making offline-channel planning decisions.

PLANNING SOLUTIONS FOR SPACES FOR REMOTE OPERATION

This article explores the possibilities of remote work. A definition is given, a regulatory framework is identified. The main advantages and disadvantages are analyzed. The negative factors that make it difficult to carry out work at home are identified. To compensate for the proposed use cases of spaces, also called co-working spaces. For the organization of remote work, there are five groups of needs. To meet the needs of the appropriate jobs. These are isolated rooms, open areas, meeting rooms, creative workshops, and rooms for group activi-ties. Typical modular planning solutions consisting of four zones: an office zone, which includes the listed types of premises, a zone of administrative and office premises, a zone of administrative and office premises, a leisure and rec-reation area. If necessary, the possibility of planning decisions is provided.

Impact of weather on lowland rice cultivation and planning decisions over humid tropical India

The present study investigates the effect of the climatic environment on three different varieties of paddy. Crop coefficient in different stages of growth, the consumptive uses and radiation use efficiency has been determined and discussed in each case. Ideal date which could give optimum yield, has been determined in two varieties. The yield was correlated with weather parameters for each of the phases of the crop growth by forward ranking method and a statistical prediction model developed. Path analysis was applied to the predictors thus selected and direct and indirect contribution of the predictors to yield determined and discussed.

A Model for Integrated Inventory and Assortment Planning

Integrating inventory and assortment planning decisions is a challenging task that requires comparing the value of demand expansion through broader choice for consumers with the value of higher in-stock availability. We develop a stockout-based substitution model for trading off these values in a setting with inventory replenishment, a feature missing in the literature. Using the closed form solution for the single-product case, we develop an accurate approximation for the multiproduct case. This approximated formulation allows us to optimize inventory decisions by solving a fractional integer program with a fixed point equation constraint. When products have equal margins, we solve the integer program exactly by bisection over a one-dimensional parameter. In contrast, when products have different margins, we propose a fractional relaxation that we can also solve by bisection and that results in near-optimal solutions. Overall, our approach provides solutions within 0.1% of the optimal policy and finds the optimal solution in 80% of the random instances we generate. This paper was accepted by David Simchi-Levi, optimization.

Pregnancy and Fertility Trends Among Female Otolaryngologists

Objective This study sought to determine childbearing patterns and decision making among female otolaryngologists. Study Design Anonymous survey. Setting An anonymous survey was sent in 2020 to female otolaryngologists identified through their membership with the American Academy of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery. Methods Data were analyzed concerning individual fertility and childbearing history, reflections regarding decision making, perceptions of workplace support, and estimations of objective childbearing potential. Results There were 398 responses. The mean age at first pregnancy was 32.3 years. Almost one-third of respondents who attempted to conceive (30.4%) were diagnosed with infertility. Of those who had their first pregnancy during training, 55% reported having substantial workplace support, as opposed to 70% of those whose first pregnancies followed completion of training ( P = .01). When asked what they would do differently in retrospect, most women with infertility (65.0%) would have attempted conception earlier; 41 (41.0%) would have used cryopreservation to extend fertility; and 14 (14.0%) would have gone into a different specialty. Conclusion Female otolaryngologist respondents have children later in life than the general population, and a substantial proportion face infertility or have regrets about family planning decisions and career decision making. Increased awareness, further investigation, and targeted programs are needed to support the growing number of female otolaryngologists who desire both a career and a family.