The Health Resort Sector in Australia: A Positioning Study

This study provides a profile of the health resort sector in Australia. The study was based on resort directories, an analysis of promotional materials produced by each of the resorts within the population and discussions with representatives of Australia's various state tourism organisations. It was found that most properties in the health resort category may be described as being mainstream and offering a tourism focus. The smallest number are found in the alternative and medical treatment focus categories though these components of the health resort sector do appear to be dynamic and innovative. The development of a dynamic and innovative health resort sector may owe something to the absence of a strong tradition of spas in Australia

The effect of age on perceived benefits and constraints to participation in masters cycling—Literature review

The purpose of this literature review is to examine and explore the research literature related to masters cycling from a social ecology framework. An exploration of health promotion research, leisure research and physical activity research supports the validity of the social ecology framework with respect to perceived benefits and constraints. Three key constraints were identified as explaining the most variance in participation in masters sport. The Cyclist Motivation Instrument provided five detailed cycling-specific factors in motivation. However, no research to date has examined the effects of age on perceived benefits and constraints to participation in masters cycling

Measuring housing and transportation affordability: A case study of Melbourne, Australia

Housing affordability is traditionally measured using the percentage of household income spent on housing. An important cost that is usually overlooked in measuring location affordability is the transportation or accessibility costs. In this paper, we present a modeling approach, driven by urban open data, to measure location affordability that incorporates both housing and transportation costs. We apply the developed model to assess housing affordability in Melbourne, Australia as a case study. Results suggest that neighbourhoods that appear to be affordable when only housing cost is considered are not necessarily affordable when transportation costs are taken into account. A negative correlation between housing affordability and transportation affordability is observed. We also identify the presence of a strong spatial clustering pattern in the affordability measure across the study area. A major methodological contribution of the paper is the inclusion of comprehensive private vehicle costs and public transportation expenses in the model that contributes to a more robust estimation and understanding of location affordability. The model also distinguishes between different trip purposes. Results suggest that plans and policies to improve housing affordability should be made in coordination with transportation infrastructure investment plans to ensure effective and equitable outcomes. Nevertheless, the focus of the paper is more on the measurement of affordability; rather than reviewing and recommending housing related policies