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October 1999
Table of contents
1. Travel trends for the new millennium
A. Central Asia/Africa more popular; retirees more
adventurous
B. Once, only the lonely; now hundreds of thousands
C. Americans of diverse classes/backgrounds going abroad
D. Virtual reality to "sell" exotic travel
E. Space, the final frontier, already booking
reservations
2. Career of the future
A. Prognosis excellent for training nurses in the
law
1. TRAVEL TRENDS FOR THE NEW MILLENNIUM
A. CENTRAL ASIA/AFRICA MORE POPULAR; RETIREES MORE ADVENTUROUS
As the third millennium opens, Central Asia and Africa will become
more popular as travel destinations to retiring Baby Boomers,
predicts Riall Nolan, director of the Institute for Global Affairs
at University of Cincinnati. Longer and healthier life spans
coupled with greater disposable income will allow retirees to be
more adventurous.
But travelers should be careful not to make assumptions about these
places, cautions Nolan, the author of "Communicating and Adapting
Across Cultures: Living and Working in the Global Village."
Travelers might think that far-flung locales are more Americanized
than they are. He urges people to research their destinations and
to cultivate a sensitivity to native practices and customs. In
particular, he said it's most useful to learn ways to show respect
in an unfamiliar environment, even if it's just learning to say
"please" and "thank you" in the local dialect. contact:
513-556-4402
B. ONCE, ONLY THE LONELY; NOW HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS
Jo Face, UC associate professor of art history, who has trekked for
20 years in Nepal, Tibet, India, Peru, Chile, Bolivia and Turkey,
is among the travelers who have been pioneers in tourism to remote
spots. When she traveled aound the Annapurna peaks in Nepal and
Tibet in 1985, she was one of a few thousand westerners to do so.
Now, she estimates that 200,000 from the United States, Europe, and
Australia are doing so. The numbers are rising so much that the
Nepalese government no longer permits wood-fueled fires. And
because of the rising numbers, Face says, "It makes me want to
stay home." Over the summer of 1999, Face, 67, went to the Ka‡kar
Mountains in northeast Turkey, an area of Turkey that has just
opened to tourism. She figures that Turkey will also become more
popular as travel-guide publisher Lonely Planet recently released
a book about trekking in Turkey. In fact, Lonely Planet has also
published a travel guide to Antarctica as well. contact:
513-556-0275
C. AMERICANS OF DIVERSE CLASSES/BACKGROUNDS GOING ABROAD
Barbara Ramusack, UC professor of history, who has traveled to
places like India and Katmandu since her graduate student days in
1964, has already noticed the increased influx of tourists to Asia.
"People are getting there faster because there are more flights.
People going there are of more varied groups and economic
backgrounds." contact: 513-556-2140
D. VIRTUAL REALITY TO "SELL" EXOTIC TRAVEL
UC associate professor of fine art Benjamin Britton, an
internationally renowned electronic artist who uses technology and
virtual reality (VR) as principal tools in his work, thinks VR will
fuel the travel boom. Though people will be able to visit virtual
sites like the one he created of the Caves of Lascaux (in southern
France, where prehistoric humans carved and painted depictions on
the cave walls) or other existing "virtual" destinations like the
Taj Mahal, Machu Picchu and Stonehenge, he doesn't think these
virtual spots will ever replace physical travel. "Rather they'll
whet the appetites and really enable people to be very
knowledgeable about where they're going."
He also predicts that travel agents and tourist agencies will use
virtual reality programs to entice people into traveling to actual
places. "Can you imagine that it's winter outside. You walk into
a travel agency, and they plop the virtual helmet on your head.
Suddenly, you're in Bali, the sights, the sounds, the scents.
You'll sign up to go right then and there." contact:
513-556-0283
E. SPACE, THE FINAL FRONTIER, ALREADY BOOKING RESERVATIONS
For the even more daring, others are predicting travel that is
truly "out of this world." Spacevoyages.com, a Web site, offers a
Zegrahm Expeditions space training program for civilians and is
taking reservations for space flights scheduled to take off in
July-December 2002. (Zegrahm also offers tours to Africa,
Mongolia, Antarctica and the South Pacific at the website at http://www.zeco.com.) contact: Chris
Ostendorf, manager of marketing and public relations, Zegrahm,
206-285-3743
2. CAREER OF THE FUTURE
A. Prognosis Excellent for Nation's First Degree Program to Train
Nurses in the Law
A relatively new career field that combines medicine and law, Legal
Nurse Consulting, is growing. Nationally, the American
Association of Legal Nurse Consultants was founded in 1989 with
only 30 members. Now, ten years later, it has more than 3,100
members. The University of Cincinnati is now offering the nation's
first degree program to train nurses in the law, a baccalaureate in
Legal Nurse Consulting.
Part of the drive behind the new field is rising stakes in
litigation. According to a study from Jury Verdict Research, a
legal-research firm, compensatory awards from medical malpractice
lawsuits rose from 1986 to 1996. The median award of $355,000 in
1986 rose to $568,000 in 1996.
Managed care and the changing healthcare landscape is also a
driving factor in the growth of the new field. The range of jobs
for Legal Nurse Consultants is diverse: reviewing claims for
insurance carriers, reviewing workman's compensation claims,
reviewing Medicare and Medicaid cases as well as general policy for
government agencies (like developing biohazard waste disposal
methods) as well as working in law firms where legal nurse
consultants perform research, interview clients and expert
witnesses as well as review accident and medical reports.
For more information, contact:
Jerry Reid
Academic Director of the program
513-556-4427
Donna Schoebel
Program Instructor and RN paralegal
513-556-1731
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