in rural and agricultural geography and he has written extensively on topics such as farm diversification, agricultural policy, food supply chains, local and specialist food products, and the links between food and rural tourism.ABSTRACT Rural spaces are no longer associated purely with agricultural commodity production but are seen as locations for the stimulation of new socioeconomic activity, often incorporating tourism, leisure, speciality food production and consumption and e-commerce. Within the context of debates about integrated and territorial approaches to rural development in Europe's 'lagging regions', this paper introduces the notion of 'Integrated Rural Tourism' (IRT) and describes the various methods of research used in an EU research project that forms the basis of this special edition. IRT is theorised as tourism explicitly linked to the economic, social, cultural, natural and human structures of the localities in which it takes place. The argument is that IRT -as a theory and approach -leads to more sustainable tourism (broadly conceived) than other forms of tourism because it creates powerful network connections between social, cultural, economic and environmental resources. The notion of IRT is also intended to open up practical ways of thinking about improving linkages between tourism and local and regional resources, activities, products and communities in the light of changing trends in tourism demand. KEY WORDS: Integrated rural tourism, lagging rural regions, rural development, SPRITE Endnote 1 This paper is based on a collaborative programme of research funded under the EU's Quality of Life and Management of Living Resources programme (QLK5-CT-2000-01211 -SPRITE) and undertaken by the universities and research centres listed in Endnote 2. SPRITE is the acronym for "Supporting and promoting integrated tourism in Europe's lagging rural regions". The authors particularly wish to thank Moya Kneafsey (University of Coventry) and Tim Jenkins (formerly of the University of Wales, Aberystwyth and coordinator of the SPRITE project) for their valuable contributions towards the SPRITE conceptual framework. Endnote 2 Participating research groups

Students' experience of higher education comprises not only their academic studies but also their extracurricular activities. This article reports on the findings from a mixed-methods research project, exploring in detail the nature and value of extracurricular activity engagement and the significance of institutional schemes encouraging extracurricular activity engagement, from a UK student perspective. Our findings reveal that many students are actively engaged in a variety of extracurricular activities and recognise their value for employability. However, fewer students are strategic in their patterns of involvement, which may be hindered by a lack of career planning. Furthermore, extracurricular activity engagement can be detrimental to academic study, and engagement alone does not assure employability benefits. However, structured institutional schemes encouraging extracurricular activity engagement may facilitate reflection, enabling students to make best use of their experiences for their future careers. Our research contributes to a growing body of research evidence on 'life-wide learning'.

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This article explores students' extracurricular activities and, uniquely, their short-and long-term effects on employability. Drawing on the literature, six research questions are identified. A questionnaire and interviews with alumni provide the quantitative and qualitative information needed. The effects of different extracurricular activities and the skills and qualities they promote are demonstrated for early-and later-career jobs, as are the complementary effects for employability of degree schemes and extracurricular activities. Alumni who are now recruiters of staff use their double perspective to explain the role extracurricular activities have played in their lives and now as professional recruiters. This article shows how the alumni of any university could share these insights with undergraduates.

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