Not such smart tourism? The concept of e-lienation

The concept of alienation was adapted to tourism by MacCannell who identified it as a key feature of modernity and a strong driver of tourism where tourists seek to reconnect to authentic places and selves. Meanwhile the post-modern world has witnessed a revolution in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) especially in the realm of smart tourism where its advocates talk eagerly of the internet of everything. Such a totalising prospect demands serious review and this article fills a critical gap by conceptualising the idea of e-lienation as a specific form of alienation in ICT-enabled tourism. It combines philosophic questions of meaning, sociological theory and empirical research to demonstrate the meanings of e-lienation, its dimensions, causes, consequences and strategies of resistance

Mess and method: Using ANT in tourism research

The use of actor-network thinking is increasingly evident in tourism research. ANT offers the researcher a practical, fieldwork-based orientation, emphasising detailed description of relationships between actors in practice. However, questions which arise for the researcher in using ANT are seldom confronted in the literature. This paper contributes to the growing ANT literature in tourism by identifying five ‘character traits’ relating to selection and use of method in ANT research. It uses an empirical case study to show how these traits are performative in the researcher’s ‘hinterland’ of methodological choices, providing theoretical and practical reflections for future researchers. It ends by considering how acknowledging these traits in the account can demonstrate adherence to accepted criteria for research quality

Tourism: A critical business

Abstract A research and practice gap is identified demonstrating tourism to be an insufficiently critical business. Initially the idea of critical tourism is addressed in two ways. First an array of meanings is exposed from which the idea of critical theory is developed. Next discussion turns to how critical approaches can contribute to good management and governance of tourism by providing understandings that technical rationality can overlook. Finally the limited extent of critical tourism research is established. The article concludes that tourism should be a critical business and offers pointers for such an agenda. For although positivist research informed by technical rationality is crucial to the better operational management of tourism, critical research is essential for setting an agenda for ethical management, governance and co-existence with the wider world. Indeed it is critical to deep, long term sustainability and even the survival of tourism

Informal and Incidental Learning in the Liminal Space of Extended Independent (Gap-Year) Travel

Significant student learning experiences occur informally and incidentally in the liminal spaces that are “betwixt and between” various educational, professional, and life stages. However, the learnings which take place in such liminal spaces are not well understood; they are both problematic and powerful and have untapped potential. Our research explored informal and incidental learning processes and outcomes in the liminal space of extended independent (gap year) travel. Based on an in-depth qualitative analysis of the detailed accounts of the learning experiences of 27 participants, we present a six-stage model of how learning occurs in the liminal space of extended independent travel. In studying the relationships between informal and incidental learning in this space we uncovered a process whereby participants, at times as the result of experiencing a disorienting dilemma, had the opportunity to reflect on old ‘habitual’ ways of being and, through reflexivity, engage with new ‘re-authored’ ways of being. The implications of our findings for learning in general and management learning and education in particular are discussed. Keywords: informal and incidental learning; liminality; reflection; reflexivity; transformatio

Percepções de docentes sobre a voz dos estudantes em relação à qualidade no Ensino Superior em Turismo no Brasil

A importância da voz do estudante na educação é apresentada e as peculiaridades da pesquisa sobre o tema no contexto da qualidade do ensino superior de turismo são abordadas. Um estudo empírico com professores brasileiros foi conduzido para verificar as suas percepções sobre esta questão. Entrevistas telefônicas foram realizadas utilizando um quadro teórico pré-definido e os resultados mostraram que docentes são receptivos à ideia de ouvir a voz do estudante. No entanto, alguns deles demonstraram pouca consciência do que isso realmente significava. Muito poucos usam uma abordagem sistemática e formal para ouvir seus alunos. Professores acreditam que seja responsabilidade das instituições, não deles. Todavia, os comentários de docentes indicam que as instituições não fazem bom uso dos dados coletados por meio de auto-avaliações. Como tal, a voz do estudante é muitas vezes negligenciada. Em casos muito raros em que ações são empreendidas com base na voz do estudante, pouco esforço é feito para mostrar aos alunos que as suas vozes deram origem a tais ações.The importance of the student voice on education is offered and the peculiarities of the research on the topic in the context of quality in tourism higher education are addressed. An empirical study with Brazilian lecturers was conducted to verify their perceptions about the issue. Telephone interviews were carried out using a predefined framework and the results showed that lecturers are receptive to the idea of listening to the student voice. However, some of them demonstrated little awareness of what that really meant. Very few use a systematic and formal approach to listening to their students. Lecturers believe that is the institutions’ responsibility, not theirs. However, lecturers’ comments indicate that institutions do not make good use of the data collected through self-evaluations. As such, the student voice is often overlooked. In the very rare cases where action is taken based on the student voice, little effort is made to show students that their voices originated such actions.La importancia de la voz del estudiante en la educación se presenta y las peculiaridades de la investigación sobre el tema en el contexto de la calidad en la educación superior en turismo son tratadas. Un estudio empírico con profesores brasileños se llevó a cabo para verificar sus percepciones sobre el tema. Entrevistas telefónicas fueron realizadas utilizando un marco teórico predefinido y los resultados mostraron que los profesores son receptivos a la idea de escuchar la voz del estudiante. Sin embargo, algunos de ellos demostraron poco conocimiento de lo que eso realmente quiere decir. Muy pocos utilizan un enfoque sistemático y formal para escuchar a sus alumnos. Profesores creen que eso sea responsabilidad de las instituciones, no de ellos. Sin embargo, los comentarios de profesores indican que las instituciones no hacen un buen uso de los datos recogidos a través de auto-evaluaciones. Como tal, la voz del estudiante es a menudo renunciada. En casos muy raros en que acciones son tomadas a partir de la voz del estudiante, se hacen pocos esfuerzos para mostrar a los estudiantes que sus voces han dado lugar a tales acciones

The philosophic practitioner : tourism, knowledge and the curriculum

Tourism is an important and growing activity in the world. It produces significant impacts not only on businesses and the economy, but also on people and the planet. Tourism education at university level has grown just as rapidly as its target phenomenon. However, a vocationalist orthodoxy, focusing predominantly on business and the economy, is evident in the emerging curricula. Recent curriculum proposals in the tourism literature describe partial framings that legitimate this vocationalist trend. \ud This thesis addresses concerns about what should be taught. Its initial review of methodological approaches to the design of the tourism curriculum finds that a philosophical approach to the problem is lacking. It therefore adopts such a philosophical approach and initially situates the curriculum amidst its related concepts of tourism and tourism knowledge. Here, the frill possible extent of, and contest for, the curriculum is revealed. Different types of knowledge, and alternative ideas of tourism compete for representation in the curriculum. Partial framings leave significant areas of the tourism world underrepresented in the curriculum.\ud The thesis proposes principles for the ordering of a comprehensive curriculum for tourism higher education. The framework proposed comprises four key domains where vocational action is complemented by vocational reflection, liberal reflection and liberal action. The tourism world in which graduates are prepared for action is thereby extended from a narrow business setting to include tourism's wider society. \ud This framework enables the case to be made, and the content outlined, for a tourism higher education which educates philosophic practitioners. These would be graduates who deliver efficient and effective tourism services whilst at the same discharging the role of stewardship for the development of the wider tourism world in which these services are delivered. \u

Lost Tourism

Tourism is in a constant state of change, yet little attention has been paid to those aspects of tourism which have disappeared, become lost or absent. This article addresses this research gap. Inspired by an exhibition by the artist Ellen Harvey, it adopts a conceptual research method informed by empirical and philosophical analysis. Its original contribution is threefold. First it offers a novel research method based on data from Harvey’s exhibition and including hyperlinks to access the art. Second it offers a detailed conceptualisation of lost tourism which includes its meaning, typology and the causes and consequences of this phenomenon. Finally practical impli cations are considered including the need to identify, evaluate and where appropriate prevent or remediate tourism’s losses

Do livestock injure and kill koalas? Insights from wildlife hospital and rescue group admissions and an online survey of livestock–koala conflicts

Koala populations in Australia are declining due to threats such as chlamydiosis, wild dog predation and vehicle collision. In the last decade, grazing livestock emerged anecdotally as a threat to koala survival in areas where koala habitat and livestock grazing land overlap. This is the first study investigating the significance of livestock-inflicted injuries and deaths in koala populations over a large spatial and temporal scale. We investigated the outcome, scale, and frequency of livestock–koala incidents via an online survey, and analysed koala admission records in Queensland wildlife hospitals and a wildlife rescue group (Wildlife Victoria) in Victoria. The results provide evidence of both livestock-inflicted injuries and deaths to koalas, especially as these have been confirmed by witness statements. The outcomes for the koala victims of the incidents were severe with a 75% mortality rate. The reported frequency of livestock–koala incidents was low but increasing, with 72 cases (0.14% out of 50,873 admissions) in Queensland wildlife hospitals during 1997–2019, and 59 cases (0.8% of 7017 rescue records) in Wildlife Victoria during 2007–2019. These incidents were likely to be under-reported due to the remoteness of the incident location, possible mis-diagnoses by veterinarians and the possible reluctance of farmers to report them. Future research is encouraged to explore the mechanics and causes of livestock–koala incidents and to develop management strategies to minimise the livestock threat to koalas

Regulators of G protein signalling proteins in the human myometrium

The contractile state of the human myometrium is controlled by extracellular signals that promote relaxation or contraction. Many of these signals function through G proteincoupled receptors at the cell surface, stimulating heterotrimeric G proteins and leading to changes in the activity of effector proteins responsible for bringing about the response. G proteins can interact with multiple receptors and many different effectors and are key players in the response. Regulators of G protein signalling (RGS) proteins are GTPase activating proteins for heterotrimeric G proteins and help terminate the signal. Little is known about the function of RGS proteins in human myometrium and we have therefore analysed transcript levels for RGS proteins at various stages of pregnancy (non-pregnant, preterm, term non-labouring, term labouring). RGS2 and RGS5 were the most abundantly expressed isolates in each of the patient groups. The levels of RGS4 and RGS16 (and to a lesser extent RGS2 and RGS14) increased in term labouring samples relative to the other groups. Yeast two-hybrid analysis and co-immunoprecipitation in myometrial cells revealed that both RGS2 and RGS5 interact directly with the cytoplasmic tail of the oxytocin receptor, suggesting they might help regulate signalling through this receptor. Key words: G protein-coupled receptors; labour; myometrium; RGS protein