Cultural tourism as memories: cultural representations as memories of European holiday making among Edinburgh residents

Whereas previous literature has tended to focus on tourism in terms of motivation, expectation or presence (Prentice 1996), this thesis considers how tourism can be understood in terms of memory. During two periods of data collection (June 1997 to October 1997 and September 1998 to February 1999) interviews were conducted in the homes of respondents who had taken a European cultural holiday within the last three years. These respondents were selected from two 'middle-class' wards in Edinburgh. A full discussion of the methodology and process of analysis is presented in chapter two. The first phase of the study focused on incidents remembered by tourists who have undertaken a European cultural holiday and how these are conveyed through social discourse. The second phase investigates how tourists represent their memories in other tangible forms such as photographs and souvenirs. The meaning and symbolism of these memories are analysed using discourse analysis, while content analysis was used to provide an indication as to the extent of behaviours. The thesis presents a number of models which might be used to provide an understanding of tourism as memory. These include Faulk and Dierking's model of 'interactive experience', which was developed within a museum context; topological models such as those developed by Cohen (1979) and Smith (1978); hierarchical typologies such as those developed by Driver-Brown (1980) and Beeho and Prentice (1995); and the theory of laddering technique (Reynolds and Gutman 1988). Drawing on these models a 'composite model of remembered experience' is proposed which serves to integrate the literature and thus produce a better understanding of memory within the context of cultural tourism. In the first three data chapters the 'composite model of remembered experience' is reviewed, based on data gathered during the first phase of the investigation. The interview data suggest that key areas of remembered experience within the cultural holidays are learning, authenticity and relaxation. These subjects therefore form the bases of chapters three, four and five and each subject is explored in the context of remembered experience. Chapters six and seven are based on the second phase of data collection and investigate the use of souvenirs and photograph as memory prompts. Again the 'composite model of remembered experience' provides the basis of these chapters, the emphasis in each chapter reflecting the points expressed in the respondents' narrated memories. In addition to this, these chapters investigate the context of display and non-display, and question the extent to which such items are actually used as memory prompts. In each of the data chapters the potential benefits of recalling holiday memories (both privately and in public) are discussed, including the role such memories may play in enhancing past tourists' appreciation of other cultures and the possibility of selecting certain memories in order to enhance social status. The data chapters are framed by an initial chapter, in which relevant literature is reviewed, and a concluding chapter, which returns to the issues raised in chapter one, and shows how the data may be used to further the understanding of both memory and cultural tourism

Videographic analysis of the Coelacanth, Latimeria Chalumnae, and associated habitats in the Isimangaliso Wetland Park, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Videography is a valuable tool in biological and ecological studies. Using video footage obtained during previous coelacanth surveys, this thesis investigated coelacanths and their associated habitats in the submarine canyons of iSimangaliso Wetland Park, South Africa. This thesis aimed to (1) describe the biological habitats within the submarine canyons, (2) determine coelacanth distribution within these habitats, and (3) assess the use of computer-aided identification to successfully identify individual coelacanths. Seven different habitat types were noted with the most distinctive being the canyon margins that consisted of dense agglomerations of gorgonians, wire and whip corals, and sponges. Results suggested that although substratum type has a great influence on invertebrate community structure in the canyons, depth is the principal factor. Coelacanths were associated with cave habitats within the steep rocky canyon walls. Habitat analyses allowed predictive classification tree models to be constructed. Depth, underlying percentage of rock, and percentage cover of gorgonians and sponges were the most important variables for determining coelacanth presence and absence. The overall correct classification rate for the model was estimated at 96.6%, correctly predicting coelacanth absence (> 99%) better than presence (60%). Because coelacanths have a unique spot pattern it was possible to quickly and accurately identify specific individuals photographically using computer-aided identification software. Without any manual intervention by an operator the software accurately identified between 56 and 92% of the individuals. Identification success increased to 100% if the operator could also manually select from other potential matching photographs. It was also shown that fish exhibiting a yaw angle not exceeding 60° could be accurately identified in photographs. Each of the sections presented in this thesis represent a possible step towards analysing coelacanth-related habitats, locating and then analysing new habitats. Steps include first locating a population and then performing a habitat analysis. Coelacanth location within the different habitats can then be determined allowing the development of predictive models to potentially identify possible locations of new populations. The final step is to identify individual fish within the population for assessing demographic parameters and population monitoring

Computer-aided identification of coelacanths, latimeria chalumnae, using scale patterns

Despite coelacanths, Latimeria chalumnae, being listed as either endangered by CITES or critically endangered by the IUCN, their population size within South Africa is unknown and still needs to be estimated. Their conservation status unfortunately excludes the use of conventional tagging to mark individual animals for a possible mark-recapture experiment. This study shows that because coelacanths have a unique spot patterning it is possible to quickly and accurately identify specific individuals photographically using computer-aided identification software. Without any manual intervention by an operator, the software accurately identified between 56 and 92% of the individuals. Indentification success increased to 100% if the operator could also manually select from other potential matching photographs. It was also shown that fish exhibiting a yaw angle not exceeding 60˚ could be accurately identified in photographs, although the percentage of fish correctly identified without operator-intervention decreased rapidly with increasing yaw angle. Computer-aided identification should therefore facilitate future coelacanth research as it is both efficient and accurate while also reducing potential stress on the animals observed

Effects of non-uniform stiffness on the swimming performance of a passively-flexing, fish-like foil model

Author Posting. © The Author(s), 2015. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of IOP Science for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Bioinspiration & Biomimetics 10 (2015): 056019, doi:10.1088/1748-3190/10/5/056019.Simple mechanical models emulating fish have been used recently to enable targeted study of individual factors contributing to swimming locomotion without the confounding complexity of the whole fish body. Yet, unlike these uniform models, the fish body is notable for its non-uniform material properties. In particular, flexural stiffness decreases along the fish’s anterior-posterior axis. To identify the role of non-uniform bending stiffness during fish-like propulsion, we studied four foil model configurations made by adhering layers of plastic sheets to produce discrete regions of high (5.5x10-5 Nm2) and low (1.9x10-5 Nm2) flexural stiffness of biologically-relevant magnitudes. This resulted in two uniform control foils and two foils with anterior regions of high stiffness and posterior regions of low stiffness. With a mechanical flapping foil controller, we measured forces and torques in three directions and quantified swimming performance under both heaving (no pitch) and constant 0o angle of attack programs. Foils self-propelled at Reynolds number 21,000-115,000 and Strouhal number ~0.20-0.25, values characteristic of fish locomotion. Although previous models have emphasized uniform distributions and heaving motions, the combination of non-uniform stiffness distributions and 0o angle of attack pitching program was better able to reproduce the kinematics of freely-swimming fish. This combination was likewise crucial in maximizing swimming performance and resulted in high self-propelled speeds at low costs of transport and large thrust coefficients at relatively high efficiency. Because these metrics were not all maximized together, selection of the “best” stiffness distribution will depend on actuation constraints and performance goals. These improved models enable more detailed, accurate analyses of fish-like swimming.This work was supported by an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship under grant DGE-1144152 to KNL and by ONR MURI Grant N000141410533 monitored by Dr Bob Brizzolara to GVL.2016-10-0

Fish optimize sensing and respiration during undulatory swimming

Previous work in fishes considers undulation as a means of propulsion without addressing how it may affect other functions such as sensing and respiration. Here we show that undulation can optimize propulsion, flow sensing and respiration concurrently without any apparent tradeoffs when head movements are coupled correctly with the movements of the body. This finding challenges a long-held assumption that head movements are simply an unintended consequence of undulation, existing only because of the recoil of an oscillating tail. We use a combination of theoretical, biological and physical experiments to reveal the hydrodynamic mechanisms underlying this concerted optimization. Based on our results we develop a parsimonious control architecture that can be used by both undulatory animals and machines in dynamic environments

Cultural tourism as memories Cultural representations as memories of European holiday making among Edinburgh residents

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