Decommodifying grassroots struggle against a neoliberal tourism agenda: Imagining a local, just and sustainable ecotourism

© 2016 selection and editorial matter, Jan Mosedale; individual chapters, the contributors. It is not surprising that an advanced welfare state such as Sweden has significantly decommodified social policies and also demonstrates some of the community based ideals and best local practices of an ethical and socially just ecotourism. The areas covered by Swedish certification include animal welfare, waste and resource management, use of local goods and services and use of fuel-efficient and sustainable transport alternatives. There are also limitations on the capacities of local economies and communities to resist, challenge and in some cases robustly respond to the imperatives of neoliberalism. Alternative ecotourism development is not the same as alternative social development because the tourist/client is dependent on highly unregulated market forces to sustain tourism (Salole, 2007). The impact of market principles on small-scale tour operators and hosts cannot be ignored in the drive for profits. Nonetheless, global capitalism has a way of delivering paradoxical movements to the modes of profit making, competition amongst economic interest and production that reflect the neoliberal agenda. Our arguments here suggest that there is some dynamic for a countermovement from local operators and hosts to such economic globalization in order to drive forward decommodified agendas in ecotourism

Narcissism and Neo-Liberalism : Work, Leisure, and alienation in an era of consumption

The purpose of this paper is to trace some of the links between neo-liberalism, narcissism and the influence of work, leisure and consumer culture on self-identity. By examining narcissism as an instrument of personality and social psychological analysis, we investigate the ways in which self-identity in neo-liberal societies is constructed and fulfilled through interactions with the marketplace, promoting self-interest and success in the form of wealth, admiration and bodily perfection. It is our contention that this process creates narcissistic identities, which attempt to defend the self against the degradation of work in neo-liberal societies, and where anxiety, emptiness and isolation are converted into pleasure and healing through leisure consumerism. In the final analysis we explore some of the links between narcissistic work and leisure, and psychological distress and disorders. © 2008 Presses de l’Université du Québec

The transformative meanings of viewing or not viewing the body after sudden death

This study investigates the experience of viewing or not viewing the body for 64 relatives bereaved after a sudden and unexpected death1. Thematic analyses of in-depth interviews reveal the importance of viewing and the challenges in providing choice. Some participants experienced difficulties including regret and intrusive images. These are discussed alongside the transformative meanings of seeing or not seeing the body for bereaved relatives

The Integrated Pre-visit Communication Audit: A User Guide

As a result of the increasing influence of tourism, natural and protected area management continues to evolve from management primarily focused around on-site management and conservation to one that more broadly encompasses a greater range of holistic recreation and tourism experiences. In dealing with this evolution national parks and protected area managers are now required to balance on-site interpretation activities with previsit marketing and demand management activities

Marketing Of Protected Areas As A Tool To Influence Visitors' Pre-Visit Decisions

As the result of the increasing influence of tourism, natural and protected area management is evolving from one primarily focused around onsite management and conservation to one that more broadly encompasses a greater range of holistic recreation and tourism experiences. In dealing with this evolution, national parks and protected area managers are now required to balance onsite interpretation activities with marketing and demand management activities

The Nature of Aesthetics: How Consumer Culture has Changed our National Parks

Tourism is essentially a modern Western social and cultural phenomenon, the analysis of which has evolved from premodernism through to postmodernism. Tourism differs significantly from nonWestern and historical forms of travel, being closely related to the emergence of modernity with the emphasis on economic viability and consumer culture. The massive growth of tourism over the 20th century and the emergence of a multibillion dollar global tourist industry have impacted on national parks as tourists increasingly seek nature-based experiences. This has occurred in conjunction with increases in leisure time, disposable income, technological improvements in communication and transportation, demographic changes, and a shift in the axis of personal identity and meaningful social action from production to consumption. This article examines how aesthetics fits into this evolution and the current role of national parks with a focus on the emergence of their production through the mass media to a consumer market. Finally, we propose more reflexivity in regards to tourism and place image production

Ice‐Shelf Basal Melt Channels Stabilized by Secondary Flow

Ice-shelf basal channels form due to concentrated submarine melting. They are present in many Antarctic ice shelves and can reduce ice-shelf structural integrity, potentially destabilizing ice shelves by full-depth incision. Here, we describe the viscous ice response to a basal channel - secondary flow - which acts perpendicular to the channel axis and is induced by gradients in ice thickness. We use a full-Stokes ice-flow model to systematically assess the transient evolution of a basal channel in the presence of melting. Secondary flow increases with channel size and reduces the rate of channel incision, such that linear extrapolation or the Shallow-Shelf Approximation cannot project future channel evolution. For thick ice shelves (> 600 m) secondary flow potentially stabilizes the channel, but is insufficient to significantly delay breakthrough for thinner ice (< 400 m). Using synthetic data, we assess the impact of secondary flow when inferring basal-channel melt rates from satellite observations

Carers’ responses to shifting identity in dementia in Iris and Away From Her: cultivating stability or embracing change?

An emphasis on supporting and maintaining self-identity in people who have dementia for as long as possible has gone hand in hand with the revitalisation of dementia interventions, services and empowerment. However, recognition of the need for change, adaptation and personal growth is as necessary when living with dementia as at any other time in people's lives. Those who care for people with dementia must constantly navigate this tension between continuity and change within the context of memory loss, knowing when to respond by reinforcing the ‘self’ they have known over time, and when it may be better to respond by acknowledging the changes that have taken place in that ‘self’. The creative arts are avenues for the exploration of the caring relationship under these conditions, conveying the challenges and stimulating audiences to ask how they themselves might choose to respond in a similar situation. This article considers how the scenarios of two noted films, Iris (dir. Richard Eyre, 2001 UK)) and Away From Her (dir. Sarah Polley, 2006 Can), present the dilemmas of identity and caring. In both, a husband cares for a wife experiencing cognitive decline, but responds differently in each to her shifting needs and experience of identity. We argue that the two films reveal complementary and provocative perspectives on this situation. They offer no easy answers, but provide insights into the everyday decisions characteristic of caring for someone who has dementia

Bleaching of lignocellulosic material with in-situ-generated dioxirane

A chemical pulp which contains reactants capable of generating dioxirane within the pulp is produced in a process which comprises mixing a pulp with reactants comprising a carbonyl compound, preferably acetone, and an oxygen donor, preferably monoperoxysulfate, in proportions which produce a water-soluble dioxirane having a molecular diameter of less than 140 angstrom units. Such a pulp bleaching process which employs dioxirane as a bleaching agent is rendered environmentally and economically acceptable by recycling the reactants employed to produce the dioxirane. For the most up-to-date information about these patents, including the availability of Certificates of Correction, be sure to check the United States Patent and Trademark Office\u27s free, publicly accessible database: Patent Public Search https://ppubs.uspto.gov/pubwebapp/static/pages/landing.htmlhttps://irl.umsl.edu/patents/1005/thumbnail.jp