Abstract:A common justification for developing wildlife tourism attractions is that they help to secure long-term conservation of wildlife and wildlife habitats. Managers and guides often highlight their role in protecting wildlife and its habitat, yet little is known about the interests, needs and preferences of the tourists who participate in such activities -how aware are they of conservation issues; how concerned are they about the environmental impacts their visit may cause; do they expect and accept the conservation messages they receive? This research explores the perceptions, preferences and conservation awareness of tourists visiting the Mon Repos Conservation Park in Queensland, Australia. Comparison data from four other sites are also presented in order to provide a wider context for interpreting the data. The findings suggest that wildlife tourism management practices that enlist tourists as conservation partners, communicate the reasons behind any constraints imposed, and present a consistent message regarding interactions with wildlife, are likely to be most successful in meeting the needs of both tourists and wildlife.

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Peer assessment has been used successfully in higher education, with important bene ts reported in terms of student learning. However, most of the literature has focused on its use with small groups of students taught by staff who are committed to the peer assessment process. This paper reports the development of peer assessment procedures for use in large classes, using a cyclical process of action, re ection and re ned action. The project was carried out in three phases and after each phase changes were made to the procedures in response to student and staff feedback. The development of procedures is discussed in relation to assessment tasks, assessment criteria, anonymity, procedural guidelines, distribution systems, marking procedures and tutor remarking. Although there are speci c dif culties associated with the use of peer assessment in large classes, this study suggests that these are outweighed by the learning bene ts for students. Based on the ndings of this study, recommendations are made for ways in which peer assessment might be successfully applied in large classes. Notes on ContributorsROY BALLANTYNE is an Associate Professor in the School of Learning and Professional Studies, Queensland University of Technology. He has a long-standing commitment to researching and improving teaching and learning in higher education.A summary of the procedural guideline s produced in this study, including checklist s for both tutors and students, are included in the Appendix.

Botanic gardens attract a wide range of domestic and international tourists, as well as regular visitors from their local areas. As both conservation and education are among the objectives of botanic gardens, they are potentially well-placed to offer community education about conservation, to engender pro-conservation attitudes, and to encourage the public to support conservation efforts. In order to inform the development of appropriate interpretive strategies targeting conservation issues, information is needed regarding visitors' existing conservation awareness, interests and motives for visiting. This paper addresses this need by describing the environmental awareness, interests and motivations of 150 visitors to the Mt. Coot-tha Botanic Gardens. Gardens visitors were found to be less interested in and committed to conservation issues, and less motivated to learn, than visitors to other free-choice learning settings such as museums, zoos, aquariums, heritage sites, natural areas and wildlife tourism activities. The implications for interpretive practice in botanic gardens are discussed. r

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Studies exploring the impact of environmental interpretation on visitors' conservation knowledge, attitudes and behaviour often measure impacts as visitors exit tourism sites. For ease of measurement, their intentions are often used as indicators of behaviour change. Recent longitudinal studies suggest that intentions may be poor indicators of long-term behaviour change. This study examines both the behavioural intentions and the long-term conservation behaviour of 100 Australian families participating in a wildlife viewing experience. Respondents who reported being negatively or positively emotionally involved in the experience were more likely to indicate an intention to change their behaviour. New ideas about animals and their habitats were also significantly correlated with the development of positive behavioural intentions. Three months later, for 10 of the 13 conservation behaviours explored, the majority of respondents who intended to increase their participation did not. Implications for using intentions as an indicator of programme effectiveness are discussed. The importance of providing post-visit support that incorporates specific strategies, localised examples, petitions and activities to help visitors convert their intentions into behaviour prior to their enthusiasm waning is highlighted. Suggestions are made for more longitudinal studies in this area.

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