716 research outputs found
Furious Angels
No full textReunited by tragedy, Andrew and Will are unlikely pawns in a high-stakes game of A.I. and religious fanaticism. Answering a call from beyond the grave they are unwittingly thrown into a vast technological world both deadly and fascinating. This is the breathtaking first book in the series by Irish author Dr Damien Mac Namara
Worldmaking and domestic tourists: critical insights from philosophical hermeneutics
No full textThis review article raises insights into domestic tourism that deserve earnest attention from conceptualists and practitioners in Tourism Studies/Tourism Management (hereafter Tourism Studies). In it, Jacobsen critiques the movement in Tourism Studies, which is described by Hollinshead as worldmaking and which is indicative of the shift toward critical inquiry into the sociopolitical nature of tourism and travel. Jacobsen considers that the notion of (and practice of) worldmaking highlights the globalized nature of tourism that must be considered in relation to the complex place-specific processes of production. However, Jacobsen critically argues in this review article that the range of sociopolitical agencies illuminated via a worldmaking approach is an overinternationalized one and is therefore stifled by a presupposition that can obscure the conceptualization of, and therefore inquiry into, domestic tourism. In this light, Jacobsen maintains that this undersuspected presupposition relates to the construction of existential tourist being as “a place relation” that commences from “rupture.” He attempts to remedy this constrained Tourism Studies thinking by drawing on Gadamer\u27s philosophical hermeneutics—in support of Caton\u27s recent call (within this journal) for more informed reflections on Gadamerian interpretations of “tourism.” Following Gadamer\u27s insistence on the extent to which historical influence conditions the present, Jacobsen assigns “historicity to touristhood in a move embracing the view that tourist being commonly implicates relations to place that actually precede the act of or experience in tourism. In examining the advocations that worldmaking is a helpful working conceptualization that can potentially and incrementally envision/reenvision tourism as a facilitator for genuine dialogue between disparate peoples, Jacobsen seeks to recast received considerations about “tourist being,” ipso facto. Yet, Jacobsen\u27s review article suggests that this potential for tourism to provide settings to contend with seemingly irreconcilable difference in the world is problematic, especially in regard to Heideggerian understandings about the inauthenticities of our time and the historically conditioned links between domestic tourists and place. Overall, this review article proposes that philosophical hermeneutics can indeed provide crucial insights that extend what he sees as Hollinshead\u27s ideas beyond current thresholds of thinking about worldmaking to open up new even further and fresher awarenesses of and about emancipated being, or rather of “being through tourism.
How Is Damien Hirst a Cultural Entrepreneur?
No full textabstract: An on-going academic debate occupying Entrepreneurship researchers for the past several decades is concerned with defining what an entrepreneur is and what an entrepreneur does. The debate also extends to exploring the influence different types of entrepreneurs have on their environment. In the new creative economy, entrepreneurship has become a central issue for the regeneration of urban space. This essay first differentiates between economic and cultural entrepreneurs and second explores what influence cultural entrepreneurs, especially, have on urban developments. By using Damien Hirst as exemplar for the discussion of the entrepreneurial character and spheres of action, the analysis of his career demonstrates how difficult it is in practice to draw a line between artistic, cultural and commercial activities in the creative economy. Hirst’s approach to contemporary conceptual art and his factory-like art production are both controversial and successful as defined by the author. Nevertheless, there seems to be agreement that his entrepreneurial artistic work has had a profound impact on the revitalization of East London and thus can be used as model for urban planners. The author posits that Hirst is a cultural entrepreneur based on this model for creating/regenerating viable economic urban spaces who embraces the blending of the artistic and market spheres
Transforming the Reading Experience of Scientific Documents with Polymorphism
No full textDespite the opportunities created by digital reading, documents remain mostly static and mimic paper. Any improvement in the shape or form of documents has to come from authors who contend with current digital formats, workflows, and software and who impose a presentation to readers. Instead, I propose the concept of polymorphic documents which are documents that can change in form to offer better representations of the information they contain. I believe that multiple representations of the same information can help readers, and that any document can be made polymorphic, with no intervention from the original author. This thesis presents four projects investigating what information can be obtained from existing documents, how this information can be better represented, and how these representations can be generated using only the source document. To do so, I draw upon theories showing the benefit of presenting information using multiple representations; the design of interactive systems to support morphing representations; and user studies to evaluate system usability and the benefits of the new representations on reader comprehension
L’« Incroyable » trésor de Damien Hirst présenté à Venise en 2017
No full textCet article se propose de revenir sur l’exposition Treasures from the Wreck of the Unbelievable de l’artiste britannique Damien Hirst. Présentée à Venise en 2017, elle mettait en lumière le prétendu trésor de l’épave « l’Incroyable », découvert au large des côtes d’Afrique en 2008. Il s’agit d’une lecture personnelle de l’auteur à la suite de sa visite en septembre 2017.This paper aims to analyse the exhibition “Treasures from the Wreck of the Unbelievable” by the British artist Damien Hirst. Presented at Venice in 2017, the exhibition showed the treasure of the so-called “Unbelievable”, discovered off the African West coast in 2008. This paper is a personal analyze of the author after her visit in September 2017
The 'auto cannibal'
No full textThe relentless triumph of technology is increasingly dismissive of the human desire for interaction; we are deprived of experiences with the ordinary and become less aware of the potential such objects contain. The author primarily considers art as a means of understanding the world and his practice is based on personal observations and autonomous processes. This can often lead to an over-analysis of the mundane, which is directly confronted in each of my projects through an enthusiasm for the objects we not only take for granted, but do so to the extent that we barely notice their existence. Drawing inspiration from literature, philosophy and ideas which surround permanence in a society which is frequently considered throwaway, the author is influenced by personal insecurities and have developed a creative style that not only explores construction - in the obsessive means by which a work is made; but also one that celebrates the process of destruction - in that the materials the author uses have the potential to instigate their own demise in a process I generally refer to as autocannibalism
Prosper. An evaluation of tourism's contribution to regional economies
No full textProsper has delivered a three part model for assessing and enhancing the value of tourism in regional areas. The
first part of the model uses simple indicators to provide an assessment of the economic, social, and environmental value attached to tourism. An indicators approach was adopted following extensive review of the application of more complex approaches to regional economic analysis. The review found that complex approaches are unlikely to produce results of sufficient validity and applicability to warrant their high resource costs (time, money, and skills). Complex models are also more difficult to maintain. The economic value is represented through quantitative indicators relating to employment and the number of businesses in tourism related sectors. These are all relative indicators (for example, proportion of all businesses which are businesses in the tourism sector or proportion of change in employment that can be attributed to change in tourism related employment). These indicators are drawn from national data sets which provide information for statistical local areas and/or postcode areas. This offers the opportunity to develop and deliver consistent national profiles through a vehicle such as Decipher. National standard data sets are supplemented in the model by more qualitative assessments of tourism’s contribution to the local economy made by business operators through
interviews or surveys. Again, tracking the change in these assessments over time is the key to the model. Social and environmental values are substantially more difficult to assess. The Prosper case studies have included qualitative assessments derived from business and community meetings, local government and other administrative documents, media and a simplified network analysis identifying the extent to which community based organisations interact with the delivery of tourism services. Data sets have been identified which would allow a quantitative analysis of the extent to which tourism activity (visitor movements, business activity, business construction) encroaches on environmentally sensitive areas or is responsible for redevelopment or preservation of built environments. The case studies have not been able to implement this quantitative analysis.
The second part of the model conducts a ‘diagnostic’ assessment of the capacity in the region to harness the
value of tourism through innovation. Innovation is seen as a very important mechanism for both identifying regional issues and developing responses to those issues. Innovation is widely accepted in the literature as a driver of economic growth, and concepts such as ‘systems of innovation’ and ‘regional systems of innovation’ have become common in understanding how that innovation can be encouraged and placed within technical or geographical contexts. The diagnostic element of the Prosper model uses a series of techniques (including historical document analysis, interviews, and network analysis) to investigate the characteristics of region’s human tourism resources in relation to their ‘innovation potential’. Innovation potential is influenced by:
• Economic competence – the extent to which those resources include capacity to manage projects and
implement new ideas;
• Clustering of resources – the spatial relationships between tourism attractions and amenities and nontourism
amenities and resources which may be critical in the delivery of tourism product;
• Networks – the social and professional relationships between tourism attractions and amenities and nontourism
amenities and resources which may be critical in the delivery of tourism product;
• Development blocks – the existence of sufficient new resources or new ways of looking at existing resources to provide opportunities for innovation. Development blocks need also to be a source of tension or disequilibrium so that their use is contested and therefore options more likely to be scrutinized as to their viability;
• Entrepreneurship – the capacity for human resources to engage in new tasks and drive activity;
• Critical mass – the relationship between the capacity to supply tourism product, and the capacity to access sufficient and appropriate markets (including resident markets) to support ongoing supply;
• Local government – the extent to which local government considers tourism an important issue and is willing to engage in the innovation process
• Production and distribution of knowledge – the extent to which the history and current status of tourism is understood and communicated, and the degree to which stakeholders can access and apply new information for identifying the potential or need for change, assessing the viability of projects, and evaluating activities;
• Social, political and cultural capital – the strength of the social, political and cultural environments, and the degree to which those environments can be effectively harnessed to support tourism innovation.
The third part of the model uses ‘visioning’ techniques (drawing in part on experiences from Sustainable Tourism CRC projects on ‘Gold Coast Visioning’ led by Professor Bill Faulkner at Griffith University, and research by Walker, Lee, Goddard, Kelly & Pedersen, 2005) to engage stakeholders in developing strategies for identifying tourism value issues (based on the community awareness of the value of tourism, aspirations for enhancing value, and strategies for addressing deficiencies in innovation potential). A number of processes are available for applying visioning techniques. Our case studies typically involved community leaders accepting
ownership of the results of the application of the first components of the model and, in a facilitated or nonfacilitated way, delivering these results broadly through the community. In some cases, strategies emerged
entirely from within the region, while in others, the research team was further engaged to collate strategy
suggestions and summarise the arguments attached to these suggestions. In most cases, the final case study
write-up included reference to suggestions which appeared likely to be carried forward.
The Prosper model was tested in thirteen case studies, not simply to establish whether the relationships hypothesized between innovation potential and harnessing the value of tourism could be observed, but also to establish to extent to which participating regions viewed the application of the model as important and worthwhile in their attempts to move forward. The case studies were a mix of five new studies conducted using the Prosper model in a direct way and meta-analysis of eight previous case studies. The short time frame for the research (2 and ½ years) and the relatively long term nature of change made it impossible to design the research to evaluate the success of the strategies developed or any specific innovations in new case studies, so the metaanalysis studies were significant in this respect. The case studies strongly supported the second part of the model in particular, and the research served as an influential tool for many of the case study communities who were able to implement programs of value monitoring (through quantitative or qualitative means), identify ways in which their systems of innovation could be strengthened, and develop context specific mechanisms for
identifying and assessing the feasibility of tourism development proposals. The research has delivered a number of outputs which may be used in dissemination and commercialisation of the intellectual property. A stand-alone publication reviewing the applicability of various economic value assessment techniques to regional tourism has been produced. A quick guide to the Prosper model and assessing whether application of the model would assist a particular region has been drafted, and is slated for development in collaboration with Sustainable Tourism CRC. A detailed methodology specification has been prepared, and may be used as the basis of consulting services or the conduct of further case studies. The quantitative data sets (Census, Sensis, TTF employment analysis, labour force statistics etc.) may be made available through Decipher and included in a structured Decipher product which facilitates analysis and interpretation. A book containing research results of the thirteen case studies and an overview of the relationship between those case studies and the Prosper model has been edited by Dean Carson and Dr Jim Macbeth and has been submitted to the Sustainable Tourism CRC editorial team led by Professor Chris Cooper at the University of Queensland
Dress, law and naked truth : a cultural study of fashion and form
No full textWhy are civil authorities in so-called liberal democracies affronted by public nudity and the Islamic full-face 'veil'? Why is law and civil order so closely associated with robes, gowns, suits, wigs and uniforms? Why is law so concerned with the 'evident' and the need for justice to be 'seen' to be done? Why do we dress and obey dress codes at all? In this, the first ever study devoted to the many deep cultural connections between dress and law, the author addresses these questions and more. His responses flow from the radical thesis that 'law is dress and dress is law'. Engaging with sources from The Epic of Gilgamesh to Shakespeare, Carlyle, Dickens and Damien Hirst, Professor Watt draws a revealing history of dress and civil order and offers challenging conclusions about the nature of truth and the potential for individuals to fit within the forms of civil life
Law, Politics and the Limits of Prosecuting Mass Atrocity
No full textDamien Rogers is Senior Lecturer at the Centre for Defence and Security Studies at Massey University, New Zealand. This book offers a unique and powerful critique of the quest for international criminal justice. It explores the efforts of three successive generations of international prosecutors, recognising the vital roles they play in the enforcement of international criminal law. By critically examining prosecutorial performance during the pre-trial and trial phases, the volume argues that these prosecutors are simultaneously political actors serving in the interests of economic liberalisation. It also posits that international prosecutors help wage a mostly silent and largely unacknowledged politico-cultural war fought for control over the institutions governing modernist international affairs. As the author contends, international prosecutors are thus best understood as agents not only of the law and politics, but also of a war fought by proponents of various utopian projects
Building knowledge for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander remote tourism: key visitor markets and opportunities in remote Australia
No full textThis report provides an overview of various visitor markets relevant to remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people involved in tourism. The report accumulates this information for CRC-REP stakeholders to update existing market knowledge and stimulate remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to consider broad development opportunities based on accessible visitor segments. The report divides the market descriptions into two categories: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander tourism, and remote tourism. The third section of the report provides a snapshot of visitor segments in three different destination regions of remote Australia.Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander tourism market segments include international and domestic visitors, with the key international visitor markets including Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States and South Korea. Visitor numbers from many of these countries have reduced in recent years, and overall international Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander tourism visitor numbers have also declined. However, there has been growth in visitors from China. Statistics and research about domestic markets for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander tourism show that this segment has also recorded a downward trend in recent years. Other challenges for the domestic market include matching Aboriginal tourism experiences with domestic visitor expectations.The report also draws attention to a range of remote tourism visitor segments, including four-wheel drivers, caravanners and campers, grey nomads, volunteers, wildlife visitors, fishing enthusiasts and ecotourists. The needs of each segment offer diverse tourism development opportunities, and the information in this report may stimulate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people involved in tourism to cater to segments accessible in their regions. Finally, the report discusses visitor segments in three destination regions of remote Australia. It highlights that while different regions can share some visitor segments, the diversity of remote Australia requires decision making that combines localised insight with an understanding of remote tourism.Although it presents a brief outline of many remote visitor segments, this report is unable to specify visitor segments and tourism initiatives relevant to every destination region of remote Australia, because decision makers must determine the unique tourism potential specific to their region
- …
