Cultural realignment, islands and the influence of tourism: A new conceptual approach

This article introduces a new concept: ‘cultural realignment’, which embraces phenomena such as cultural representation, interpretation, stereotyping and branding. Cultural realignment is the intentional depiction or interpretation of a culture (or part of one) for a specific preconceived purpose. It relates directly to power, and there is a need for this broad concept to help comprehend processes in an era of increasing globalisation, the growth of cultural commodification and the proliferation of representations in media including the internet. A prime concern of the article is the way that cultural realignment impacts on the identities of the communities subject to the realignment. The main examples given relate to island communities and their representation by anthropologists, and to island tourist destinations that have been subject to various descriptions, physical transformations and commodification driven by the tourism industry. A case study is examined as an example in the Canary Islands, using original research material related to recent and longitudinal fieldwork

Glitchspace:teaching programming through puzzles in cyberspace

There is an increasing need to address the player experience in games-based learning. Whilst games offer enormous potential as learning experiences, the balance between entertainment and education must be carefully designed and delivered. Successful commercial games tend to focus gameplay above any educational aspects. In contrast, games designed for educational purposes have a habit of sacrificing entertainment for educational value which can result in a decline in player engagement. For both, the player experience is critical as it can have a profound effect on both the commercial success of the game and in delivering the educational engagement. As part of an Interface-funded research project Abertay University worked with the independent games company, Space Budgie, to enhance the user experience of their educational game Glitchspace. The game aimed to teach basic coding principles and terminology in an entertaining way. The game sets the player inside a Mondrian-inspired cyberspace world where to progress the player needs to reprogramme the world around them to solve puzzles. The main objective of the academic-industry collaborative project was to analyse the user experience (UX) of the game to increase its educational value for a standalone educational version. The UX design focused on both pragmatic and hedonic qualities such playability, usability and the psychological impact of the game. The empirical study of the UX design allowed all parties to develop a deeper understanding of how the game was being played and the initial reactions to the game by the player. The core research question that the study sought to answer was whether when designing an educational game, UX design could improve philosophical concepts like motivation and engagement to foster better learning experiences.</p

On the Burnside ring of a finite group

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Parallel algorithm for large scale electronic structure calculations

SIGLEAvailable from British Library Document Supply Centre- DSC:DX84152 / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreGBUnited Kingdo

Why do Nigerian manufacturing firms take action on AIDS?

This repository item contains a single issue of the Health and Development Discussion Papers, an informal working paper series that began publishing in 2002 by the Boston University Center for Global Health and Development. It is intended to help the Center and individual authors to disseminate work that is being prepared for journal publication or that is not appropriate for journal publication but might still have value to readers.OBJECTIVE: To identify differences between manufacturing firms in Nigeria that have undertaken HIV/AIDS prevention activities and those that have not as a step toward improving the targeting of HIV policies and interventions. METHODS: A survey of a representative sample of registered manufacturing firms in Nigeria, stratified by location, workforce size, and industrial sector. The survey was administered to managers of 232 firms representing most major industrial areas and sectors in March-April 2001. RESULTS: 45.3 percent of the firms’ managers received information about HIV/AIDS from a source outside the firm in 2000; 7.7 percent knew of an employee who was HIV-positive at the time of the survey; and 13.6 percent knew of an employee who had left the firm and/or died in service due to AIDS. Only 31.7 percent of firms took any action to prevent HIV among employees in 2000, and 23.9 percent had discussed the epidemic as a potential business concern. The best correlates of having taken action on HIV were knowledge of an HIV-positive employee or having lost an employee to AIDS (odds ratio [OR] 6.36, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.30, 17.57) and receiving information about the disease from an outside source (OR 7.83, 95% CI: 3.46, 17.69). CONCLUSIONS: Despite a nationwide HIV seroprevalence of 5.8 percent, as of 2001 most Nigerian manufacturing firm managers did not regard HIV/AIDS as a serious problem and had neither taken any action on it nor discussed it as a business issue. Providing managers with accurate, relevant information about the epidemic and practical prevention interventions might strengthen the business response to AIDS in countries like Nigeria

Food tourism and the use of authenticity in Thailand

This article explores the concept of authenticity as it relates to its use by hosts at tourist destinations, the relationship between food and tourism, especially food produced and sold by market traders, and the various uses of authenticity by traders and tourists. It specifically aims to further our understanding of the use of authenticity in Thailand by stakeholders in a synergistic process, thereby filling a gap in research. Mixed research methods were used (interviews, questionnaires, and observation of the markets) with fieldwork totaling 6 months in Central Thailand. Eight different markets were chosen providing qualitative material leading to a sample of emic material on attitudes and approaches to authenticity, its construction, and utilization. It was found that authenticity, as it relates to traditional food markets, has been constructed by stakeholders. Authenticity may differ through the products, according to the personal experiences and motivations of the agents involved. Additionally, the tourists' experiences and expectations impact on the final product in an evolving process. It is recommended that traditional food may be further promoted in traditional markets by stimulating visitors' engagement in food culture. The article argues that authenticity, in its sociocultural constructivist context, is a relativistic phenomenon, which may be seen as existing in a continuum where there are degrees of authenticity