A new technique for the analysis of three-component seismic data from a single station is presented. Based upon the auto-and cross-correlations of the three orthogonal components within a short time window an assessment is made of whether these data are consistent with the arrival of a P-wave or a linearly polarized S-wave which has a vertical component of motion. In many cases the procedure can discriminate between a major P-phase and S-phases or later arriving P-phases from analysis of the coda after the first detected amval. The method is computationally efficient, providing for P-wave detections including estimates of azimuth, apparent surface velocity, and (for teleseismic events) source location, in real time on a small personal computer.

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Exploring the major factors influencing consumer selection of travel agencies in a regional setting AbstractThe research reported in this paper explores why consumers choose to book their travel arrangements with travel agencies in regional settings. Consumers can now access on-line bookings for airlines, accommodation, transportation, sightseeing tours and other related products so why do they still go to travel agencies for reservations? This paper identifies the attributes which consumers seek in a travel agency or consultant and determines the relative importance of these in their selection process. The research was conducted in two stages. The first stage was a series of in-depth interviews with 10 travel agency users and three travel consultants. The second stage was a mail-out survey of 400 users of travel agencies in the Darling Downs area of Queensland, Australia. Despite its regionality, the region is a significant consumer of travel with approximately eight agencies in the city of Toowoomba alone. The indepth interviews highlighted the need to de-emphasize two particular agency attributes, i.e. agency promotion and adequate brochure provision from the research questions and replace these with parking and travel reward programs as factors worthy of investigation. Survey results revealed that there were 12 significant attributes impacting on consumer selection and of these, the most important were firstly, the knowledge and experience of consultants, and secondly, the helpfulness and friendliness of consultants. Of particular note was that these attributes related to the consultant and not the agency per se. Travel reward programs were seen as the least influential in this research.

This conceptual study examines peripheral and core tourism experiences in Australia using online data collection of reviews by tourists. To date most of the obvious and major tourism factors have been researched and recognized as a single driver to a tourist community including major events, major attractions and popular well known world locations (Crompton & McKay 1997)[1], while little is known of how these factors contribute to initial and subsequent visits to a destination. Limited research has been conducted in tourism to ascertain how the choice of destination contributes to the over success and visitation in a region (Schmallegger & Carson 2010)[2]. Other fields of product and service marketing recognize the premise of core and peripheral attributes as consumption motivators (Qu, Kim & Im 2011)[3]. Applied in tourism core and peripheral factors suggest the notion of a core or main experience to a destination such as a major attraction or major event with a peripheral experience suggested as an augmentation, such as local unique cultural phenomena, local produce, culture and arts and local attractions. Future research into peripheral tourism experiences will allow a typology to be developed advancing a management framework for peripheral tourism operators and stakeholders to assist in improving the appeal and success of these destinations and peripheral experiences in Australia.