Entanglements in multispecies voluntourism: conservation and Utila's affect economy

Abstract

Through a case study of conservation voluntourism this article brings together critical political ecology, multispecies ethnography, and studies of humanitarian tourism to advance a political ecology of multispecies conservation voluntourism. The article presents multispecies conservation voluntourism as a field that produces and is produced by an “affect economy”, or an economy based on the exchange or trade in the relational. Since the mid-1990s, life on Utila, Honduras, a popular discount backpacker scuba destination located along the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef, has been deeply transformed by the growth of dive tourism, the ecological destruction it has produced, and now the conservation voluntourism industry emerging in its wake. Seventy percent of Utila is comprised of mangroves and associated wetlands, home to several endangered and endemic species. Using examples of whale shark tourism, lionfish hunts, and iguana tracking, this article shows how conservation organizations operate as affect generators, enabling the privilege of engaging in multispecies encounters. Engaging in multispecies conservation voluntourism produces value in the form of cultural capital which is then exchanged for material outcomes by volunteers in the global economy; at the same time, this form of voluntourism obscures local relationships to nature and alters multispecies assemblages from past configurations.     

Uncertainty,story-telling and transformative learning: An instructor’s experience of TEFI’s Walking Workshop in Nepal

ABSTRACT

This article recounts three stories from TEFI’s walking workshop in Nepal: the construction of a road through what was once a trekking path; a dance-floor encounter at a Himalayan party; and the arrival of one participant, fatigued by jet lag and disoriented by the new surroundings. These stories of confusion, discomfort and fear are linked by one common theme: the potential of uncertainty to foster deep reflection and nuanced conclusions. The premise that uncertainty is to be valued and even cultivated has been explored in educational theory, spiritual traditions, and research on transformative learning. These sources affirm the role of uncertainty in the process of knowledge creation. However, accepting this role can be challenging for educators because it requires they assume a new identity, one which they may perceive as being at odds with their status as “teacher” the identity of learner. One way for the educator to address this challenge may be through recounting their own stories of uncertainty. Stories of being immersed in unfamiliar situations that challenge, confuse and even frighten – stories, in other words of being a tourist – can foster reflection on an intellectual, emotional and spiritual level, engaging the “whole” person, and thus initiating the educator/learner’s transformative journey.     

An Examination of the Interaction Between Modelling and Its Relationship with Construction Kits: Lessons from the Past and for the Future

Construction kits have played a significant part in nurturing the growth and development of the minds and manipulation-based skills of children (and adults) in formal and non-formal education settings. These kits have origins rooted in the representation of the built world and now have a diversity of form and function, including technical versions with moving parts. This article examines some of the historically based ideas that lie behind the role that kits may have in terms of physical modelling. The article traces the transformation of kits from simple bricks and blocks into more complicated pieces for space-filling and achieving the transfer of forces and motion. This transformation occurred during the Victorian era when the influence of the ideas of educationalists and, perhaps rather strangely, exponents of early aviation, played major roles in determining the diversity of forms of construction kit and modelled possibilities that are now to be seen in classrooms and homes. The article ends with a review of some of the lessons from the past and present that will need to be considered in relation to concrete modelling in schools for the future. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

以旅游消费驱动区域旅游竞合--以长江三角洲构建无障碍旅游区为例

以长江三角洲构建中国首个无障碍旅游区为例，提出旅游消费再生性、强关联性、跨区域性等特性是促成旅游竞合的天然机理，论述了作为市场力量的旅游消费是催生区域旅游竞合机制，促成旅游企业竞合的重要推动力，最后提出构建旅游消费驱动下的长三角区域旅游竞合的对策。     

陕西旅游商品市场问题探析与对策研究

发展旅游商品对提高区域旅游经济效益具有重要作用。但在陕西旅游产业体系中,购物始终是一个明显的弱项,这制约了陕西旅游经济的持续增长。在系统分析陕西旅游商品市场现存问题的基础上,提出发展陕西旅游商品市场的若干对策。     

广州旅游文化资源开发总体构想框架

城市现代化过程中的趋同化问题，引好了广州市政府推动旅游与城市文化结合的思路和政策导向。文中分析了广州市开发此类资源的潜力和优势，提出了广州市旅游文化资源开发构想框架，并由微观、中观到宏观的探讨，提出了近期操作切入点的选择、旅游线网片开发的思考、整合城市优势和凸现岭南文化特色等方面的建议。     

论旅游市场营销环境与旅游业可持续发展

随着科学技术的高度发展,旅游者的选择性强,旅游活动范围大,使旅游供给者面临越来越激烈的竞争。旅游企业要求得生存和发展必须要对旅游市场进行准确定位,在可持续发展观念指导下开展市场营销活动。创造良好的、协调发展的旅游市场营销环境是实现旅游业可持续发展的基础和保证。     

浅析体质投资对旅游院校的重要性

旅游业的日益兴旺大大提升了社会对高质量旅游人才的渴求，然而，目前中国大学生的体育教育不尽如人意，如何加强对学生健康第一教育，体质的投入，在一定程度上决定了培养高质量旅游人才的大问题。     

城市旅游标志物的确定及其结构化

针对旅游者对将要访问的城市比较陌生、选择旅游对象物时出现茫然的现象，为了更好地服务于旅游者，基于旅游行政管理的立场，提出了城市旅游标志物概念，认为其核心成员的确定需要基于遗产性、规模性、便捷性和公益性4个原则，并给出了核心成员、支持成员和外围成员的认知结构。