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.     

A NOTE ON ARBITRAGE AND CLOSED CONVEX CONES

We give an example of a subspace K of     such that     , where     denotes the closure with respect to convergence in probablity. On the other hand, the cone   C ≔ K − L ^∞₊  is dense in   L ^∞  with respect to the weak-star topology  σ( L ^∞, L ¹)  . This example answers a question raised by I. Evstigneev. The topic is motivated by the relation of the notion of no arbitrage and the existence of martingale measures in Mathematical Finance.     

我国经济发展水平与劳动力就业数量关系研究——兼论我国劳动力资源是否过剩

我国劳动力对经济发展而言，其生产率高于资本，因而经济发展对劳动力就业的促进作用逐渐减弱（经济增长的就业弹性逐渐变小）。据测算，我国2013年以前劳动力就业压力很大，2015年以后劳动力又会供不应求。所以，我国未来经济发展中，2014年前后应采用不同的产业结构调整策略来充分满足劳动力就业的要求。     

票据无权代理追认制度微探

票据行为是一种法律行为，自然也可以以代理方式为之。民法上有关代理制度的规则一般也都可以适用于票据代理行为。但由于民法与商事法的立法旨趣各有侧重，为促进票据流通、保障交易安全，票据代理不能照搬民法上关于代理制度的规定。票据的无权代理是票据代理中一个非常典型的问题，与民法上的无权代理区别很大，其中存在的问题很多。对于票据的无权代理中是否应当赋予本人以追认权，多数大陆法系国家的立法例与英美法系国家之立法例有所不同。     

无锡市城乡统筹发展初探

城乡统筹发展是解决三农问题的关键,就目前对其内涵的理解存在不同的见解。文章主要在界定城乡统筹发展内涵的基础上,介绍了无锡统筹发展的成果及今后发展的措施。     

客户信用评级体系的校准度检验研究

利用多种统计量对客户信用评级体系进行校准度检验,以对其准确性做出定量评估。同时,使用这些统计量对由两种不同方法构造的信用评级进行了实证对比检验,结果表明,校准度检验能够对客户信用评级的准确性做出有效评估。     

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。     

中国工业化进程与劳动力就业关系研究综述

工业化进程的加速推进与劳动力就业在一定程度上是存在矛盾的,国内外众多专家学者对这一问题也做了相应研究。文章分别从加速工业化进程对劳动力就业的抑制、促进和新型工业化与劳动力就业三方面对现有文献进行了梳理,并进行了评述,为进一步研究提供了理论基础和研究空间。今后进一步研究的方向主要是工业化进程与劳动力就业相互影响的内部机理,以为合理工业化路径选择和有效的劳动力就业模式提供理论支持。     

关于开展航海职业教育扶贫工作的探讨

建设新农村的核心环节是提高农民收入。对贫困地区进行扶贫是党和政府解决贫困地区农民问题的重要手段之一,其中心工作是提高农民收入。通过开展航海职业教育扶贫工作可以有效地帮助转移农村富余劳动力,提高农民综合素质,增加农民收入,增强农民自身的造血功能,彻底改变贫穷的面貌;同时也有利于促进航运业和航海职业教育的发展。开展航海职业教育扶贫工作是一个多方合作共赢的过程。