Australia’s Great Barrier Reef (GBR) is just one of those places that sightseers flock to — “to see it before it’s gone”! It is an example of the concept of ‘Last Chance Tourism’. The key words hovering over a site like GBR are “doom”, “dying”, “endangered” and so on. It is like a species nearing extinction. However, Annah Piggott-McKellar and Karen McNamara encountered a paradox at the core of the concept in their research. Last chance tourists, in general, are predominantly “older, more environmentally conscious females who are visiting the region for the first time and who have travelled greater distances, both on a domestic and international scale.” This description shows great concern about the health of the reef in the case of GBR. But on-site activities, associated with people’s access and carbon emission related to travel, can cause a site to deteriorate further. The site’s ‘destination status’ is pushed to greater danger. In short, last chance tourists who are keen on visiting a site “before it’s gone” actually make it “gone” faster, but they don’t relate their travel to the paradox.

SNEAK PEEK

1. With greens around

Even passive exposure to green spaces can lessen people’s cravings for alcohol, cigarettes and junk food, and also their feelings of negative emotions — quite a compelling reason to invest in green spaces within towns and cities. Who demonstrated this in a study?

1. Leanne Martin (University of Plymouth)

2. With cats and dogs

Many US universities have instituted “Pet Your Stress Away” programs, in which students interact with cats or dogs to help alleviate their stress. A significant reduction in cortisol, a major stress hormone, has been reported. Who said “Just 10 minutes” can have an impact?

2. Patricia Pendry (Washington State University

3. Women: Linked fate

Unlike married women, most unmarried women (never-married or divorced) tend to be more liberal. They have high levels of “linked fate” — the conviction that an individual’s chances of success depend on the status of the group. Who stated that this explains their politics?

3. Kelsy Kretschmer (Oregon State University)

4. After toilet visits

There are clear indications that norms of violence and hygiene are influenced by general human psychology. Who declared that “several hundreds of thousands of children could be rescued from death every year if people just washed their hands after toilet visits”?

4. Pontus Strimling (Institute for Futures Studies, Stockholm)

5. Eyes: narrow, wide

In fear, our eyes open wider. This expands our field of vision so as to identify the source of danger. In disgust, our eyes narrow. This blocks light and sharpens our focus to determine the source of our displeasure. Who explained two opposite facial expressions this way?

5. Ecologist Adam Anderson (Cornell University’s College)

6. Different profiles

Casino gamblers are obsessive. They know they’ll lose sooner or later but they gamble anyway because they feel they need to. In contrast, sports gamblers believe they can control the outcome. Who contended that these different addiction profiles need different therapies?

6. Dr Pinhas Dannon (Tel Aviv University)

7. Girls to do science

Stereotypes about gender disparities in science achievement intimidate girls. So the right way to get girls engaged to science is asking them to “do science” (as an action), not asking them to be “be scientists” — at least in the childhood. Who came up with the alternative?

7. Marjorie Rhodes (NYU’s Department of Psychology)

8. Like blocked blood

Originally, only 91 rivers of the world were long enough (1,000 km or more) to flow to the ocean, but only 21 of them still retain a direct source-to-sea connection. The remaining free-flowing rivers are largely restricted to remote regions. Who measured this fatal change?

8. McGill university geographist Günther Grill

9. Pitch perception

Pitch perception is what makes us communicate and create music, but it’s found that marmoset monkeys do have it. Who inferred that aspects of pitch perception may have evolved more than 40 million years ago to enable vocal communication and song-like vocalisations?

9. Xiaoqin Wang (Johns Hopkins Medicine)

QUIZ No. 912

1. Biases against other-race faces emerge very early in our perception? Who found it?

– Brent Hughes
– Marie-Louise von Franz
– Susan Gathercole

1. Brent Hughes

2. Who recommended circus skills to avoid serious mental health issues in adulthood?

– Dr Richard McGrath
– Pamela Jane Bjorkman
– Steven Block

2. Dr Richard McGrath

3. Blue light at night from PCs and phones can raise blood sugar levels. Who studied It?

– Howard Cedar
– Anayanci Masís-Vargas
– Michael Chamberlin

3. Anayanci Masís-Vargas

4. Wrong, completely wrong, not even wrong. Which scientist rated nonsense this way?

– Murray Gell-Mann
– Arthur Stanley Eddington
– Wolfgang Pauli

4. Wolfgang Pauli

5. Evil and beauty. Who used the remains of Nazi victims in his marvellous body atlas?

– Eduard Pernkop
– H. Boettcher-Brueckner
– Ruth Closius-Neudeck

5. Eduard Pernkop