Directory of Open Access Books (DOAB)
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New Trends in Tourism
No full textTourism in the 21st century has undergone a profound transformation. As mass tourism fades, modern travellers increasingly seek unique, meaningful experiences that resonate on a deeper, personal level. This book explores the rise of niche tourism—a dynamic, multifaceted phenomenon that rejects traditional "sun-sea-sand" offerings in favor of specialized travel experiences like ecotourism, heritage tourism, and spiritual journeys. It delves into the motivations driving today's tourists, who yearn for authenticity and self-discovery amidst the alienation of modern life. The book's first section examines tourism's complex impacts, offering insights into sustainable practices and the emergence of innovative niches. It highlights destinations and businesses' challenges, from economic pressures to balancing competing interests, while showcasing sustainable initiatives that redefine success in the tourism industry. In the second section, the focus shifts to the interplay between tourists and locals, introducing concepts like the "domestic zoo syndrome" and exploring how exoticism shapes both traveller perceptions and local empowerment. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork from Brazil and Fiji, it uncovers how informal tourism and creativity reshape cultural power dynamics and foster mutual growth. The final section tackles the disruptive effects of COVID-19 and climate change, analyzing their implications for tourism. To illustrate the role of management in times of crisis, this section presents a case study of dealing with change by examining the cruise tourism industry in the port of Ibiza. Finally, the third section explores the transformative role of technology, from AI and VR to mobile apps, which redefine travel experiences and raise ethical considerations. By investigating these trends, the book offers a glimpse into tourism's future, questioning whether technological advancements can enhance authenticity and personal connection. A must-read for students, professionals, and curious travellers alike, this book provides a glimpse at the evolving landscape of tourism and its main drivers in an increasingly complex world
Impulse für eine pflegebeziehungsorientierte institutionelle Kleinstkinderziehung
No full textSeit über 20 Jahren wird der Ausbau der frühkindlichen Betreuung betrieben, jedoch ohne umfassende erziehungswissenschaftliche Erforschung der Bedeutung von Pflegehandlungen. Diese Untersuchung beleuchtet die zentrale, jedoch marginalisierte Rolle von Pflegehandlungen in der Frühpädagogik. Dabei werden diese nicht mehr als reine Hygienemaßnahmen, sondern als wesentliches Element verstanden, das die psychische, physische und soziale Entwicklung des Kindes beeinflusst. Historische, politische und feministische Analysen zeigen, wie Pflegehandlungen marginalisiert wurden. Im Gegenzug dazu steht Emmi Piklers Konzept des »körperlichen Dialogs«. Dieses wird mit weiteren sozialtheoretischen Ansätzen fundiert und verdeutlicht die Relevanz von Pflegehandlungen im Diskurs von leibbezogener und beziehungsorientierter institutioneller Frühkindbetreuung
Education and climate change
No full textThis scholarly book explores education’s vital yet underemphasised role in addressing climate change, positioning it as both a powerful tool for climate action and a sector directly impacted by environmental challenges.Challenging traditional, fact-based educational models, the book advocates for a transformative framework that integrates social-emotional learning, interdisciplinary collaboration, and action-oriented teaching. Through empirical research, theoretical insights, and real-world case studies – such as the Keep it Cool – Climate Change Education (KIC-CCE) initiative in South Africa – it illustrates how education can drive awareness, empower communities, support green employment, and foster resilience, particularly among marginalised populations. Aligning with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals 4 (quality education) and 13 (climate action), the book highlights the importance of teacher preparedness, gender equality, and community engagement. Rich in academic rigour and practical relevance, it first offers scholars, but also policymakers and practitioners, a forward-thinking perspective on integrating climate change education into curricula and broader educational systems
The vow of stability
No full textThough monastic life is often imagined to be a flight from the world, Benedictine monks take on the intense social commitment of life in close community. Drawing on long-term anthropological fieldwork in a Catholic English Benedictine monastery, this book traces the monks’ daily lives as they confront the eternal in the fabric of the everyday. Bringing into focus the vow of stability – a lifelong commitment to the monastery and its community – this ethnography explores the rhythms and architecture that sustain shared life in a world of movement and fleeting interaction. At the same time, it analyses those social processes that damage and undermine the monastic institution and those in contact with it – in particular the harm caused by sexual abuse. Engaging with the everyday dynamics of life in close community while paying close attention to the time-depth of monastic history, this is a study of how religious institutions endure and change through generations
Paradoxes of PrEP for HIV Prevention
No full textAvailable open access digitally under CC-BY licence. Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is a drug taken by HIV-negative people that reduces the risk of getting HIV. Comparing two case studies in Denmark and Zimbabwe, this book demonstrates six paradoxes that users often encounter in navigating their PrEP journey. These paradoxes lead to contentions, uncertainties, dilemmas and ambiguities that need to be carefully and pensively responded to through what the author terms ‘everyday PrEP negotiations’. The social nature and need for such everyday PrEP negotiations help explain why PrEP works for some people and not for others. This book argues that such insight is critical to make PrEP work for more people and to inform social public health responses
Kritische Erfolgsfaktoren zur Implementierung von Strategischem Trendmanagement in Handelsunternehmen
No full textIn diesem Open-Access-Buch wird basierend auf dem Modell des „Dynamic Capability View“ - Ansatzes, der die Anpassungsfähigkeit von Unternehmen betont, mittels Mixed-Methods-Ansatzes ein praxisrelevantes Modell zur Implementierung von Strategischem Trendmanagement entwickelt, das den gängigen Innovationsprozess um strategische Trendarbeit erweitert und interne Unternehmensebenen mit dem externen Umfeld verknüpft. Die Volatilität der Märkte macht das Geschäftsumfeld des Handelssektors anspruchsvoll und wettbewerbsintensiv. Strategisches Vorausschauen wird entscheidend, um zukünftige Herausforderungen zu antizipieren und Trends in verwertbare Erkenntnisse für die Wettbewerbsfähigkeit zu übersetzen. Strategisches Trendmanagement bietet einen methodischen Ansatz, der Unternehmen hierbei unterstützt
Social Group Representation in a Diachronic News Corpus
No full textThis Element explores the portrayal of social actors in Czechia's newspapers and magazines over thirty years, revealing predominantly white male-oriented news. It highlights linguistic othering and stratification as potential threats to equality and the need for careful interpretation. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core
Buddhism in the Nordic Countries
No full textThis book provides new unprecedented research on Buddhism in the five Nordic countries Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden. Aiming at comparisons between the different Nordic countries, the chapters identify possible unique characteristics of Nordic Buddhism.
Buddhism in the Nordic Countries contributes to the growing literature on Buddhism in the West. Identifying a number of similar cultural and social trends that have been at work in the Nordic countries, the book shows that these have favoured the growth of Buddhism in northern Europe. The chapters on each of the Nordic countries describe the establishment of the main Buddhist traditions in the country, temple institutions, monasteries, demography, estimation on the number of Buddhists, geography, economy and funding. They discuss tensions between ethnic Buddhist and converts, if any, and controlling mechanisms of who is a proper Buddhist and how Buddhism should be presented in public space. The contributors analyse representation in media and images of Buddhism in popular culture and present relevant scholarly interest in Buddhism. Additionally, the book includes chapters on significant Buddhist individuals in the Nordic countries who have played major roles in the development of Buddhism.
The first book to examine the characteristics of Nordic Buddhism, its connection to the ideology of the Nordic welfare society and to establish if Nordic Buddhism might differ from other forms of Buddhism, this work will be of interest to researchers in the field of religious studies, religion in context and Buddhist studies
Antifeminismus und Provinzialität
No full textWie hängen Antifeminismus und Provinzialität zusammen? Was verbindet den Hass auf feministische Emanzipation mit der Sehnsucht nach ländlicher Idylle? Und warum verweisen traditionelle Geschlechterbilder so oft auf das harmonische Landleben? Die Beiträger*innen versammeln erste theoretische und empirische Überlegungen zu einer Verbindung, die vor dem Hintergrund gesellschaftlicher Krisen, Entfremdungserscheinungen und dem sozialen Druck kapitalistischer Vergesellschaftung an Bedeutung gewinnt. Was Antifeminismus und Provinzialität ideologisch verbindet, ist die Idealisierung einer Vergangenheit, die es so nie gegeben hat, und die autoritäre Sehnsucht nach Eindeutigkeit
Figuring Out Spaces
No full textDer »Raum« gehört mittlerweile zu den Grundbegriffen der Soziologie. Wie er sich konzeptionell zum Sozialen verhält und wie ein Raumdenken für Gesellschaftsanalysen und Zeitdiagnosen fruchtbar gemacht werden kann, wird immer wieder neu diskutiert. Die Beiträger*innen dieser Festschrift für Martina Löw versammeln aktuelle, interdisziplinäre Bestandsaufnahmen zur Sozialtheorie des Raumes. Sie laden dazu ein, sich auf die Suche nach den räumlichen Figuren der Gesellschaft zu machen und loten die Möglichkeiten aus, sozialen Wandel, gesellschaftliche Konflikte, Formen des Erinnerns, ökologische Entwicklungen und urbane Umstrukturierungen als eine spannungsreiche Refiguration von Räumen zu verstehen