The role of trails in the creation of tourist space

Trails and routes are increasingly ubiquitous features within the tourism landscape and although their role and usefulness as applied tourism products has been analysed, they remain under-theorised within the academic literature. This article addresses this gap by exploring the role of trails within the socio-cultural construction of space. In particular, the potential function of trails in creating themed, static spaces is analysed and the concept of museumisation is employed to further illustrate the capacity of trails to reconfigure spaces within specific cultural framings which may exclude local identity and yet are consumed by the unquestioning visitor. However, the article goes on to use more recent paradigms such as tourism’s performance turn and the associated concept of embodiment to further explore the trail’s potency in promoting a more engaged, multi-vocal and sensory experience of place. Using these contemporary approaches to the role of the tourist and the cultural construction of place, the article employs a range of examples to argue for the efficacy of trails as flexible, interpretive tools that allow a multiplicity of stories to be told and encourage visitors towards a more engaged interaction within the spaces through which they tour

Police interviews with women reporting rape: a critical discourse analysis

This study investigates the discursive patterns of interactions between police interviewers and women reporting rape in significant witness interviews. Data in the form of video recorded interviews were obtained from a UK police force for the purposes of this study. The data are analysed using a multi-method approach, incorporating tools from micro-sociology, Conversation Analysis and Discursive Psychology, to reveal patterns of interactional control, negotiation, and interpretation. The study adopts a critical approach, which is to say that as well as describing discursive patterns, it explains them in light of the discourse processes involved in the production and consumption of police interview talk, and comments on the relationship between these discourse processes and the social context in which they occur. A central focus of the study is how interviewers draw on particular interactional resources to shape interviewees? accounts in particular ways, and this is discussed in relation to the institutional role of the significant witness interview. The discussion is also extended to the ways in which mainstream rape ideology is both reflected in, and maintained by, the discursive choices of participants. The findings of this study indicate that there are a number of issues to be addressed in terms of the training currently offered to officers at Level 2 of the Professionalising Investigation Programme (PIP) (NPIA, 2009) who intend to conduct significant witness interviews. Furthermore, a need is identified to bring the linguistic and discursive processes of negotiation and transformation identified by the study to the attention of the justice system as a whole. This is a particularly pressing need in light of judicial reluctance to replace written witness statements, the current „end product? of significant witness interviews, with the video recorded interview in place of direct examination in cases of rape

Haptoglobin-hemoglobin receptor independent killing of African trypanosomes by human serum and trypanosome lytic factors

The haptoglobin-hemoglobin receptor (HpHbR) of African trypanosomes plays a critical role in human innate immunity against these parasites. Localized to the flagellar pocket of the veterinary pathogen Trypanosoma brucei brucei this receptor binds Trypanosome Lytic Factor-1 (TLF-1), a subclass of human high-density lipoprotein (HDL) facilitating endocytosis, lysosomal trafficking and subsequent killing. Recently, we found that group 1 Trypanosoma brucei gambiense does not express a functional HpHbR. We now show that loss of the TbbHpHbR reduces the susceptibility of T. b. brucei to human serum and TLF-1 by 100- and 10,000-fold, respectively. The relatively high concentrations of human serum and TLF-1 needed to kill trypanosomes lacking the HpHbR indicates that high affinity TbbHpHbR binding enhances the cytotoxicity; however, in the absence of TbbHpHbR, other receptors or fluid phase endocytosis are sufficient to provide some level of susceptibility. Human serum contains a second innate immune factor, TLF-2, that has been suggested to kill trypanosomes independently of the TbbHpHbR. We found that T. b. brucei killing by TLF-2 was reduced in TbbHpHbR-deficient cells but to a lesser extent than TLF-1. This suggests that both TLF-1 and TLF-2 can be taken up via the TbbHpHbR but that alternative pathways exist for the uptake of these toxins. Together the findings reported here extend our previously published studies and suggest that group 1 T. b. gambiense has evolved multiple mechanisms to avoid killing by trypanolytic human serum factors

Harbour porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) and minke whales (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) observed during land-based surveys in The Minch, north-west Scotland

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

The discourse of (re)exploitation: female victims in the legal system

Across England and Wales in the year 2017–18, the number of reported cases of rape in which a charge was brought dropped by over 23%, with less than a third of prosecuted cases resulting in a conviction (CPS, 2018). This, despite an increase in the number of sexual offences reported (ONS, 2018), against a backdrop where rape nevertheless remains vastly underreported. Expectations around gender-appropriate behaviour, mistrust of women, and the resulting judgement faced by women who choose to report, undoubtedly have their part to play in these statistics. It has long been noted that women who experience sexual violence have their ordeals reproduced and legitimated through interpretative discursive devices that serve to rationalise and normalise the incident(s). It has been widely recognised that the police interview is the most crucial link in the chain in terms of addressing issues of attrition and for ensuring fair treatment for victims. Drawing on investigative interviews with female rape victims, this chapter explores the ways in which victims’ accounts are constrained by the discursive resources available to the narrators. It examines the linguistic structures through which the criminal justice system works against women, demonstrating the subtle ways in which sexist discourses are manifested in these interactions

Literary Fiction Tourism: Understanding the Practice of Fiction-inspired Travel

This timely and insightful book critically reviews the synergistic relationship between books, literary culture, and the practices of tourism. The volume sets literary fiction tourism within its historical, theoretical, and managerial context and explores the current provision of literary tourism sites and experiences. It focuses on literary fiction and the interplay between imaginative worlds, literary reputation, and tourism. The volume explores a variety of literary tourism forms in a global context such as biographical sites, imaginative sites, literary trails, and book towns, identifying the challenges associated with interpreting and managing them for visitors. Current international case studies allow readers to understand this most ancient of touristic activity within its contemporary context. This book offers new insight into the diversity of the literary tourism landscape, the range of experiences and visitors and the variety of interpretive responses that may be appropriate. The relationship between literary fiction and other forms of media such as film and digital culture are also explored. International in scope, this volume will be of interest to students of tourism, heritage studies, cultural studies, and media studies, as well those interested in literary tourism more specifically

Assuming identities online: Authorship synthesis in undercover investigations

A new task for the forensic linguist has recently arisen in the context of online investigations, for example in operations against online child sexual abuse and exploitation. Investigators often find themselves having to take over of an individual’s online identity for the purposes of intelligence gathering and/or securing an arrest, and language has a central role to play in this process. In this chapter I discuss the relationship between language and identity and describe the role of the forensic linguist in preparing undercover officers for the task described above. I detail the input that trainee online undercover investigators receive at the levels of structure, meaning, and interaction, and consider the effectiveness of this input for their analysis and assumption of alternate identities. This context provides a novel application of linguistic theory and forensic linguistic research, and it is hoped that this work will pave the way for future meaningful collaborations between forensic linguistics academics and investigative practitioners

‘A faint whiff of cigar’: The literary tourist’s experience of visiting writers’ homes

Places associated with authors and their literary creations are popular attractions and amongst the most compelling of these literary tourism sites are writers’ homes where visitors can gain personal insights into their favourite artists. However, there are few studies on the experience of literary tourists in these settings and this paper addresses this gap by analysing 1200 TripAdvisor reviews of four well-known English and American literary homes using Leximancer software which uses a quantitative approach to carry out qualitative analysis of text. The conceptual framework of the genius loci was used to inform this analysis of the literary visitor experience. The findings revealed that for these literary visitors, the domestic setting was the most important aspect of the visit, coupled with the knowledge gained and the experience of being in proximity to the creative process itself. Further thematic analysis also revealed that visitors were keen to seek out authentic, personal objects and sensed the presence of the deceased author within the house. The article concludes that the notion of the genius loci – the presiding spirit of place – is a useful way of conceptualising the literary visitor’s experience of author’s homes and informing their presentation and management as visitor attractions