Tourists' consumption and interpretation of sport event imagery

In an era when popular and mass cultures are positioned further up the symbolic hierarchy, sport events are deemed by cities to be a valuable image or branding tools. Event strategies are often justified by their envisaged image effects and the celebrities, iconic structures and media exposure associated with sport events means that they are viewed as being particularly effective for this purpose. This paper evaluates the image effects of strategies deployed by three English cities; Birmingham, Manchester and Sheffield. Each of these cities has used a combination of regular sport fixtures, ‘mega’ sport events and event bids to further their reputations as tourist destinations. Semi-structured interviews with a representative sample of potential tourists were used to provide evidence of the impacts of these initiatives. Despite some participants making connections with traffic chaos and violence, in general sport events appear to have encouraged positive connotations amongst potential tourists, including modernity, progress and vitality. Events seem to be regarded favourably at a cultural level, generating widespread positive meanings even when individual preferences vary. This has positive implications for cities deploying sport events as re-imaging or branding tools

Trajetórias truncadas, trabalho e futuro: jovens fora de série na escola pública de ensino médio

Resumo O artigo discute resultados da etapa quantitativa da pesquisa Jovens fora de série: trajetórias truncadas de estudantes do ensino médio na cidade do Rio de Janeiro. A investigação tem como objetivo geral depreender e compreender trajetórias de escolarização e percursos biográficos de jovens estudantes de ensino médio de escolas públicas que se encontram em situação de defasagem escolar. Neste artigo, apresenta-se o perfil que emerge da aplicação do questionário estruturado a um universo de 593 jovens. A amostra exploratória e não probabilística foi distribuída entre 14 escolas localizadas nas zonas sul, centro, oeste e norte da cidade do Rio de Janeiro. Os jovens participantes da pesquisa fazem parte de classes de Educação de Jovens Adultos (EJA) e do programa de correção de fluxo denominado Autonomia. Enfoque especial de análise é dado à combinação entre trabalho, estudo e constituição de projetos de futuro. Verificou-se que o abandono escolar cria mais problemas para o fluxo da escolarização do que as reprovações. Os dados apontam para a existência de uma superposição entre os tempos de trabalho e escola na vida dos jovens. Nesse sentido, ocorre um duplo efeito do trabalho nas trajetórias dos estudantes. Se, por um lado, trabalhar e estudar representam um desafio para a continuidade dos estudos sem truncamentos do fluxo da escolarização, por outro, a experiência de trabalho cria disposições relacionadas com a independência, a conquista da autonomia e o delineamento de projetos de futuro

An exploratory study on the use of information sources by consumers to select Australian regional travel agencies

[Abstract]: This research investigates the information sources consumers used to select regional travel agencies to make their travel arrangements. The research design involves two stages, in-depth interviews with 13 participants and a mail-out survey of 400. The in-depth interviews highlighted the need to remove three particular information sources (travel guidebooks, travel or automotive clubs and local tourist offices) for inclusion in the mail-out survey and replaced with two other information sources (television lifestyle programs and travel consultants) worthy of investigation. The mail-out survey revealed that personal experience was the most important information source used in the selection of a regional travel agency whilst yellow pages were identified as the least influential. The findings highlighted the relative importance of the 11 information sources investigated and also suggested that informal sources were more important than formal sources when consumers search for information sources to assist them with their selection of the travel agencies to patronise

The minority protection system of the League of Nations in relation to the German minority in Poland, 1920-1934

SIGLEAvailable from British Library Document Supply Centre-DSC:D203444 / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreGBUnited Kingdo

Peaks of Identity in Colorado’s San Juan Mountains

The glaciated ranges of southwestern Colorado constituting the San Juan Mountains are culturally significant to residents and visitors. As certain mountains are imbued with meaning, they become "peaks of identity," tangible and towering symbolic landscapes representing a distinctive set of community and cultural ideals. This paper explores the symbols and themes of San Juan peaks of identity, with a focus on the mountain amenity town of Lake City and nearby Uncompahgre Peak. Uncompahgre's icon dominates mountain representations in Lake City and instantly identifies the community; its symbolism embodies aesthetics of form and elevation and the sanctity of hallowed ground. Mountain symbolism in the San Juans is mainly projected through land use and the display of icons and names on signs and government seals. Although the San Juans are sacred to the Utes and Navajos and represent a rich mining heritage, they also symbolize idealized natural scenery, landmarks of home, recreation opportunities, and spiritual renewal. Many San Juan communities identify with mountains in a generic sense, but this article focuses on the traits, variability, and depth of meaning of the mountains that are landscape signatures of community identity