Undergraduate Instrumental Analysis

xix; 1079 hlm;26,5 c

A Study of Tourist Perceptions of Overseas Travel Stress While Visiting Bangkok, Thailand

Traveling has long been considered one of the best ways to release the stress caused by work and life. But in fact, uncertainties and negative experiences can break down the benefits and may make travelers feel stressed. A considerable amount of literature in tourism focuses on topic areas like destination building, market operation, and consumer satisfaction, but ignores one important aspect which negates many of the positive benefits of tourism—stress. Thus, the main purpose of this study is to examine foreign tourists’ perceptions of travel related stress on their visits to Bangkok, Thailand, and test how demographic and traveler characteristics act on them by such data statistical treatments as independent sample t-test and one way ANOVA. Descriptive research and questionnaires are used as the research method and the research instrument in this study, which involved 384 tourists. Results reveal that there are significant differences in foreign tourists’ perceptions of stress, which can be classified in terms of nationality, personality, type of tour, purpose of tour, group size, and familiarity with fellow travelers

Datura quids at Pinwheel Cave, California, provide unambiguous confirmation of the ingestion of hallucinogens at a rock art site

Proponents of the altered states of consciousness (ASC) model have argued that hallucinogens have influenced the prehistoric making of images in caves and rock shelters. However, the lack of direct evidence for the consumption of hallucinogens at any global rock art site has undermined the ASC model. We present the first clear evidence for the ingestion of hallucinogens at a rock art site, in this case, from Pinwheel Cave, California. Quids in the cave ceiling are shown to be , a Native Californian entheogen, indicating that, rather than illustrating visual phenomena caused by the , the rock paintings instead likely represent the plant and its pollinator, calling into question long-held assumptions about rock art and the ASC model. While debates have raged over the relationship between trance and rock art, unambiguous evidence of the consumption of hallucinogens has not been reported from any rock art site in the world. A painting possibly representing the flowers of on the ceiling of a Californian rock art site called Pinwheel Cave was discovered alongside fibrous quids in the same ceiling. Even though Native Californians are historically documented to have used to enter trance states, little evidence exists to associate it with rock art. A multianalytical approach to the rock art, the quids, and the archaeological context of this site was undertaken. Liquid chromatography−mass spectrometry (LC-MS) results found hallucinogenic alkaloids scopolamine and atropine in the quids, while scanning electron microscope analysis confirms most to be . Three-dimensional (3D) analyses of the quids indicate the quids were likely masticated and thus consumed in the cave under the paintings. Archaeological evidence and chronological dating shows the site was well utilized as a temporary residence for a range of activities from Late Prehistory through Colonial Periods. This indicates that was ingested in the cave and that the rock painting represents the plant itself, serving to codify communal rituals involving this powerful entheogen. These results confirm the use of hallucinogens at a rock art site while calling into question previous assumptions concerning trance and rock art imagery