Volunteer tourism: Evidence of cathartic tourist experiences

The study involved in-depth interviews with participants of an Australian non-government organization (NGO) that organizes projects in which young volunteers aged between 17 and 26 years from Australia and New Zealand participate in welfare projects with partner NGOs in developing countries. The welfare projects provide on the ground assistance to communities; these may not lead to longer-term sustainable development through longer-term skills training but engage the volunteers and community in a mutual exchange. Typically, participants will be engaged in short term courses in health and hygiene, micro-enterprise management skills, assisting in community health projects, community service with children with disabilities or orphans, painting, construction of school playgrounds and classrooms, guest teaching in schools, cultural exchange and disaster relief. The Australian NGO provides no financial assistance for participants; it primarily organizes and facilitates the travel, project and community work. Each project lasts between two and four weeks and are thus typically short-term in duration. As such, participants can be considered 'shallow volunteer tourists' (Callanan and Thomas 2005)

Situating the self in religious tourism research: An author’s reflexive perspective

This paper reflectively examines aspects of the author’s journey as an academic researcher and research supervisor to discuss and recognise the realities of situated knowledge creation within the study of religion tourism. Specifically, I focus on issues which have emerged from my experiences of researching religious tourism, and the issues and ethical challenges encountered during the supervision process when advising students in the same field. Two wider questions are posed in the consideration of the researcher’s and supervisor’s journey: Firstly, can we research the lived experiences of others when we hold different religious beliefs to those whom we study and collaborate with? Secondly, what are the key ethical issues in doing so? In discussing these questions, drawing on the experiences of the author and two of her research students, the paper aims to turn religious tourism discourse ‘towards the self’ in the hope of engendering further consideration of reflexivity within this field of enquiry

A literature review of wellness, wellbeing and quality of life issues as they impact upon the Australian mining sector

Australia’s mining boom Global demand for minerals and energy products has fuelled Australia’s recent resources boom and has led to the rapid expansion of mining projects not only in remote locations but increasingly in settled traditionally agricultural rural areas. A fundamental shift has also occurred in the provisioning of skilled and semi-skilled workers. The huge acceleration in industry demand for labour has been accompanied by the entrenchment of workforce arrangements largely dependent on fly-in, fly-out (FIFO) and drive–in, drive–out (DIDO) non-resident workers (NRWs). While NRWs are working away from their homes, they are usually accommodated in work camps or ‘villages’ for the duration of their work cycle which are normally comprised of many consecutive days of 12-hour day- and night-shifts. The health effects of this form of employment and the accompanying lifestyle is increasingly becoming contentious. Impacts on personal wellness, wellbeing and quality of life essentially remain under-researched and thus misunderstood. Sodexo in Australia Sodexo began operations in Australia in 1982, and has since become a leader in providing Quality of Life (QOL) services to businesses across the country. The 6,000 Australian employees are part of a global Sodexo team of 413,000 people. Sodexo in Australia designs, delivers and manages on-site their QOL services at 320 diverse site locations, including remote sites. Sodexo operates in a range of sectors, including the mining industry. Service plans are tailored to suit the individual needs of organisations. Sodexo Remote Sites has previously conducted unpublished research among mining workers in Australia. The results highlighted needs and expectations of Australian mining workers. Main insights about workers’ requirements were directed towards: • contacts with closest; • warm rest time around proper and varied meals; • additional services to help them better enjoy their life onsite and/or make the most of it; • organise their transportation; • promote community living; and • finding balance between professional and personal life. The brief for this current research is aimed at building upon this knowledge. Research brief Expectations for quality of life and wellness and wellbeing services are increasing dramatically. It's getting costlier and more difficult to retain valuable employees. This is particularly the case in the Australian mining sector. Given the level of interest in ensuring healthy workplaces in Australia, Sodexo has commissioned QUT to conduct a literature review. The objectives as specified by Sodexo are: Objective 1: To define the concepts of wellness and wellbeing and quality of life in Australia Objective 2: To examine how wellness and wellbeing are developed within organisations in Australia and how they impact on employee and organizational performance. More specifically, to review the literature that could be sourced about: • challenges of the mining environment; • the mining lifestyle – implications for health, wellness and daily life; • personal health and wellness of Australian mining workers; • factors affecting health in mines and perceived support for health and wellness; and • the impact of employer investment in health on perceptions and behaviour of employees. Objective 3: To determine what impact employee wellness and well-being has on the performance of mining workers. More specifically, to review the literature that could be sourced about: • impact of obesity, alcohol, tobacco use on companies; and • links between employee engagement and satisfaction and company productivity. Accordingly this review has attempted to ascertain what factors an organisation should focus on in order to reduce absenteeism and turnover and increase commitment, satisfaction, safety and productivity, with specific reference to the mining industry in Australia. The structure of the report aligns with the stated objectives in that each of the first three parts address an objective. Part IV summarises prominent issues that have arisen and offers some concluding observations and comments

Spiritual hosting: An exploration of the interplay between spiritual identities and tourism

The facilitation of tourism experiences based on shared ideology is increasingly being seen to contribute to tourism worldwide. However, these studies have not considered informal networks that promote shared religious or spiritual ideology, such as that offered by the New Zealand HIT (Hosting Israeli Travellers) network. Whilst pilgrimage for spiritual goals has been given considerable attention by tourism researchers, these studies have exclusively focused on religion and spirituality as a motivation among travellers, rather than hosts or the effect of hosts\u27 spiritual motivations on the host-tourist encounter. Drawing on exploratory qualitative research applying the Value-Stretch Gap-Analysis Model, this paper analyses the ideological characteristics of the New Zealand HIT network and provides insights into the motivations of HIT hosts. As such, this paper seeks to contribute insights into the interplay between tourism and spiritual identities by exploring the conceptual power of faith and spirituality in potentially shaping tourism production and consumption. The notion of spiritual hosting is introduced as an appropriate conceptualisation of the performance and construction of hosted experiences facilitated by the HIT network in New Zealand

A discourse analysis of representational spaces: Writings of women independent traveller

Since 1987 there has been a substantial growth in women travelling independently, with the mature welltravelled woman seeking more than a holiday lying on the beach. In response to this demand, there has been a plethora of travel guides which specifically target women by providing advice for and/or stories of independent female travellers. Women are noted to travel for different motivations than men. It is argued that independent women tourists travel for self-discovery, enlightenment, and/or educational purposes. They also view travel as an opportunity for respite from the confines and responsibilities of their domestic environment. Critical questions regarding how their travel is constructed and the meanings of women\u27s travel experiences have not been addressed in the published literature to date. To advance our understanding of gender and tourism, and in particular, to examine gendered experiences of independent travelling, we used critical discourse analysis to investigate a selected travel guide. The Rough Guide to Women Travel: First Hand Accounts from More than 60 Countries, is examined to understand the role that discourse plays in the positioning of, and providing meaning for, independent women travellers. Findings indicate that, rather than escaping traditional notions of female dependence and associated values, these are actually reinstated in the construction of women as independent travellers. Themes that emerged from the research include: caring for others and being cared for, danger and security, connecting and networking and redefined identities