Beyond the horizon of words: silent landscape experience within spiritual retreat tourism

Author(s):  
Ellina Mourtazina

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the notion and function of silent landscape in a touristic experience by presenting the findings of a study on silent retreats in a Buddhist meditation retreat center in Northern India. Design/methodology/approach This study adopted a sensory ethnography approach applied through interviews and participant observation methods conducted during and after nine retreats in a meditation center. Findings This study suggests that silent landscapes are not only backdrops of touristic experiences but can be considered as inter-subjective performative and resourceful milieu of engagement that intertwine intimate embodied experiences with broader social and cultural values. Originality/value Despite landscapes having been thoroughly investigated in tourist studies, this paper underlines the pertinence of mobilizing the lens of other forms of presences such as affects, embodiment, sensoriality and sonority to understand the inter-relation between tourists-selves and the surrounding world encountered during their travels.

2019 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
pp. 262-278
Author(s):  
Asmarani Februandari

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore authenticity conception of cultural built heritage. As a core of heritage management, authenticity is often seen as a validation of certain identity. In the cultural built heritage context, authenticity is vital for the community, particularly the ethnic minority community, because it can be viewed as a tool to tackle discrimination and misrecognition issues. Design/methodology/approach This research was conducted in two Indonesian Chinatowns, namely, Lasem and Semarang Chinatowns. An ethnography method was employed to address the research aim. Four techniques to carry out data collection were used in this research; they were life story interview, participant observation, documentary research and physical observation through house tour. Two theories were used to analyse the data, and they were Technologies of the Self from Foucault and Habitus from Bourdieu. Findings Result shows that authenticity conception in cultural built heritage is not fixed because it lies on the immaterial aspect (the community’s cultural values) that is continuously reinvented. This research also reveals that the immaterial aspect of cultural built heritage, the community’s cultural values, becomes the core of the conception of authenticity. These cultural values become the foundation for the community to create their cultural built environment. Social implications This research brings an important perspective on authenticity to be applied in heritage management. Interestingly, by adopting this perspective, heritage management could become a tool to create an inclusive society. Originality/value This research offers a unique perspective on heritage authenticity, which was constructed through sociological and materiality approach.


2020 ◽  
Vol 33 (8) ◽  
pp. 2139-2166 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kelum Jayasinghe ◽  
Pawan Adhikari ◽  
Simon Carmel ◽  
Ana Sopanah

PurposeThis paper analyses participatory budgeting (PB) in two Indonesian indigenous communities, illustrating how the World Bank sponsored neo-liberal model of “technical rational” PB is overshadowed by local values and wisdom, consisting of sophisticated, pre-existing rationalities for public participation.Design/methodology/approachAdopting a qualitative and interpretive case study approach, the study draws on data from semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders and periods of participant observation. The paper utilises Weber's characterisations of rationality to analyse the PB process in indigenous communities.FindingsThe co-existence of both formal (technical) and substantive rationalities leads two Indonesian indigenous communities to execute participatory budgeting pragmatically. The formal budgetary mechanisms (Musrenbang), cascaded down from central and local governments, are melded with, and co-exist alongside, a tradition of public participation deriving from local cultural values and wisdom (Rembug warga). Reciprocal relationships and trust based on a pre-existing substantive rationality result in community members adapting budget practices while also preserving their local culture and resisting the encroachment of neo-liberal initiatives. The paper offers deeper analysis of the unintended consequences of attempting to implement technical rational accounting reforms and practices in indigenous settings.Originality/valueThe paper provides important insights into the way the interplay between formal and substantive rationality impacts on accounting and budgeting practices in indigenous communities. Our study also presents a unique case in emerging economy contexts in which neoliberal initiatives have been outmanoeuvred in the process of preserving indigenous values and wisdom. The informal participatory mechanism (Rembug warga) retained the community trust that neoliberalism systematically erodes.


2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 129
Author(s):  
Moch Abdur Rahman ◽  
Kusnadi Kusnadi ◽  
Didik Suharijadi

Ecological factors, the close relationship between fishing communities and the sea (nature) has given rise to various types of marine knowledge in such a way, which is used as an adaptive function in "conquering and navigating the sea" as an effort to maintain the stability of the family's survival. A local knowledge system that has delivered a sociocultural pattern of fishing communities has distinctive cultural values, which are different from the various surrounding communities. The register of fishermen's marine knowledge is a variation of language based on the function of use and the context of its use that reflects social processes, and contains different meanings with the types of meanings in lexical dan grammatical. This study aims to describe the shape and meaning of registers of marine knowledge of Madurese fishermen using anthropolinguistic studies. The method used is descriptive qualitative. Research data in the form of terms and meanings on their cultural functions in marine registers. Efforts to extract data were carried out by participant observation methods and in-depth interviews, supplemented by written notes and recording aids in the form of a cellphone recorder. Data were analyzed using interactive data analysis (reduction, presentation, and withdrawal / verification of data) and interpretive methods oriented to the point of view of the community under study. In its realization, the terms in the register are searched for their lexical meanings using the referential equivalent method, which matches the lexicon meaning in the MaduraIndonesian dictionary. Next the cultural significance is determined based on the sociocultural function of the fishermen's interpretation The fishery knowledge register can be classified into four subsystems, including; register of fishermen's marine knowledge relating to; (1) current conditions; (2) weather / climate conditions; (3) conditions of the fishing area (fishing ground) and signs of fish presence; and (4) the techniques and fishing tools used. 


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mahender Reddy Gavinolla ◽  
Vikrant Kaushal ◽  
Agita Livina ◽  
Sampada Kumar Swain ◽  
Hemant Kumar

Purpose The purpose of the paper is to review the existing landscape of consumption and production in wildlife tourism and, more precisely, discuss how tiger tourism is packaged and produced as a product or commodity for the consumption of wildlife tourists. In doing so, the study explores the issues and challenges for responsible consumption and production (SCP) of wildlife tourism in the context of progress toward sustainable development goal (SDG12) responsible consumption and production. Design/methodology/approach The paper combines an analysis of existing literature and insights from the tiger reserve stakeholders. Qualitative analysis using semi-structured interviews and participant observation methods are used to derive insights. Findings This paper explores the status of SCP of wildlife tourism, particularly tiger tourism in Indian national parks. The paper then discusses the implications of SCP for various stakeholders in wildlife tourism. Originality/value This paper explores the perspective of SCP in wildlife tourism, and it provides innovative approaches that stakeholders should adopt.


2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 200
Author(s):  
Hardiyanti Munsi ◽  
Ahmad Ismail

This article intends to identify and to describe the unique structure and the managing style that owns primordial characteristics, that is giving significance to kinship, religion, and local Bugis cultural values, which made up the cultural system of PT. Hadji Kalla family business. Theoritically, this research was inspired from Weberian perspective on the ideal types of bureaucracy, that observes organizations (in this case is the family business) as one of the socio-cultural phenomena which is neutral and value-free, that is place aside its subjective aspects. The research was conducted in two locations, the head office and one of the branch offices using qualitative approach that relies on participant observation, in-depth interviews, and literature studies. The results of the research shows that the family business of PT. Hadji Kalla that has advanced into national level still prioritizes kinship, ethnicity, and religious aspects in the daily activities of the company. The value even take parts in providing the company’s colour to the urban societies in various districts where the company stands. This means that although the society has undergone transformations, it doesn’t mean that the primordial value, and the elements that exist outside of businesses (such as kinship, big men, religion, cultural values, and interest) do not influence the activities that are held in formal organizations. Therefore, the interventions of subjective aspects will always appear, followed with the application of the modern management system that is implemented by PT. Hadji Kalla company.


Facilities ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 38 (3/4) ◽  
pp. 298-315
Author(s):  
Luisa Errichiello ◽  
Tommasina Pianese

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to identify the main features of smart work centers (SWCs) and show how these innovative offices would support the implementation of smart working and related changes in workspaces (“bricks”), technologies (“bytes”) and organizational practices (“behaviors”). Design/methodology/approach In this study, scientific literature is combined with white papers and business reports and visits to 14 workplaces, including offices designed as SWCs, co-working spaces, one telecenter, one accelerator and one fab lab. Primary data were collected through interviews with managers and users and non-participant observation, whereas secondary data included web-sites, brochures, presentations, press releases and official documents. Findings The authors developed research propositions about how the design of spaces and the availability of technology within SWCs would support the “bricks” and “bytes” levers of smart working. More importantly, the authors assumed that this new type of workplace would sustain changes in employees’ behaviors and managers’ practices, thus helping to overcome several challenges traditionally associated with remote working. Research limitations/implications The exploratory nature of the research only provides preliminary information about the role of SWCs within smart working programs. Additional qualitative and quantitative empirical investigation is required. Practical implications This study provides valuable knowledge about how the design of corporate offices can be leveraged to sustain the implementation of smart working. Originality/value This study advances knowledge on workplaces by focusing on an innovative design of traditional offices (SWC). It also lays the foundations for future investigation aimed at testing the developed propositions.


mBio ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicolas J. Delalez ◽  
Richard M. Berry ◽  
Judith P. Armitage

ABSTRACTSome proteins in biological complexes exchange with pools of free proteins while the complex is functioning. Evidence is emerging that protein exchange can be part of an adaptive mechanism. The bacterial flagellar motor is one of the most complex biological machines and is an ideal model system to study protein dynamics in large multimeric complexes. Recent studies showed that the copy number of FliM in the switch complex and the fraction of FliM that exchanges vary with the direction of flagellar rotation. Here, we investigated the stoichiometry and turnover of another switch complex component, FliN, labeled with the fluorescent protein CyPet, inEscherichia coli. Our results confirm that,in vivo, FliM and FliN form a complex with stoichiometry of 1:4 and function as a unit. We estimated that wild-type motors contained 120 ± 26 FliN molecules. Motors that rotated only clockwise (CW) or counterclockwise (CCW) contained 114 ± 17 and 144 ± 26 FliN molecules, respectively. The ratio of CCW-to-CW FliN copy numbers was 1.26, very close to that of 1.29 reported previously for FliM. We also measured the exchange of FliN molecules, which had a time scale and dependence upon rotation direction similar to those of FliM, consistent with an exchange of FliM-FliN as a unit. Our work confirms the highly dynamic nature of multimeric protein complexes and indicates that, under physiological conditions, these machines might not be the stable, complete structures suggested by averaged fixed methodologies but, rather, incomplete rings that can respond and adapt to changing environments.IMPORTANCEThe flagellum is one of the most complex structures in a bacterial cell, with the core motor proteins conserved across species. Evidence is now emerging that turnover of some of these motor proteins depends on motor activity, suggesting that turnover is important for function. The switch complex transmits the chemosensory signal to the rotor, and we show, by using single-cell measurement, that both the copy number and the fraction of exchanging molecules vary with the rotational bias of the rotor. When the motor is locked in counterclockwise rotation, the copy number is similar to that determined by averaged, fixed methodologies, but when locked in a clockwise direction, the number is much lower, suggesting that that the switch complex ring is incomplete. Our results suggest that motor remodeling is an important component in tuning responses and adaptation at the motor.


2014 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 154-164 ◽  
Author(s):  
Danya Glaser

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to outline brain structure and development, the relationship between environment and brain development and implications for practice. Design/methodology/approach – The paper is based on a selected review of the literature and clinical experience. Findings – While genetics determine the sequence of brain maturation, the nature of brain development and functioning is determined by the young child's caregiving environment, to which the developing brain constantly adapts. The absence of input during sensitive periods may lead to later reduced functioning. There is an undoubted immediate equivalence between every mind function – emotion, cognition, behaviour and brain activity, although the precise location of this in the brain is only very partially determinable, since brain connections and function are extremely complex. Originality/value – This paper provides an overview of key issues in neurodevelopment relating to the development of young children, and implications for policy and practice.


2015 ◽  
Vol 81 (17) ◽  
pp. 5907-5916 ◽  
Author(s):  
Z. J. Jay ◽  
J. P. Beam ◽  
A. Dohnalkova ◽  
R. Lohmayer ◽  
B. Bodle ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTThermoproteales(phylumCrenarchaeota) populations are abundant in high-temperature (>70°C) environments of Yellowstone National Park (YNP) and are important in mediating the biogeochemical cycles of sulfur, arsenic, and carbon. The objectives of this study were to determine the specific physiological attributes of the isolatePyrobaculum yellowstonensisstrain WP30, which was obtained from an elemental sulfur sediment (Joseph's Coat Hot Spring [JCHS], 80°C, pH 6.1, 135 μM As) and relate this organism to geochemical processes occurringin situ. Strain WP30 is a chemoorganoheterotroph and requires elemental sulfur and/or arsenate as an electron acceptor. Growth in the presence of elemental sulfur and arsenate resulted in the formation of thioarsenates and polysulfides. The complete genome of this organism was sequenced (1.99 Mb, 58% G+C content), revealing numerous metabolic pathways for the degradation of carbohydrates, amino acids, and lipids. Multiple dimethyl sulfoxide-molybdopterin (DMSO-MPT) oxidoreductase genes, which are implicated in the reduction of sulfur and arsenic, were identified. Pathways for thede novosynthesis of nearly all required cofactors and metabolites were identified. The comparative genomics ofP. yellowstonensisand the assembled metagenome sequence from JCHS showed that this organism is highly related (∼95% average nucleotide sequence identity) toin situpopulations. The physiological attributes and metabolic capabilities ofP. yellowstonensisprovide an important foundation for developing an understanding of the distribution and function of these populations in YNP.


2016 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 203-211 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lawrence A. Patterson ◽  
Samuel Berry

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore experiences of team culture, structure and function of an intensive support service (ISS) within the context of the recent service guidance “Building the Right Support” (NHS England, Local Government Association and Association of Directors of Adult Social Services, 2015). Reflections on the Hampshire and Southampton ISS set up in 2010 are discussed with a view to informing a debate about frameworks for ISS services nationally. Design/methodology/approach A reflective piece, drawing on experience and case examples. Findings This paper describes that a key function of an ISS is making individuals safe and this is significantly assisted by using shared team formulation, which can enable information and perspectives to be shared between and within teams as rapidly as possible. Further, a case is made for recognising the importance of inter-disciplinary practice, as the Southampton and Hampshire ISS has removed the “old fashioned” demarcations that led to individuals seeing a “procession” of different professionals from different disciplines. This relates to team structure, but importantly is about a culture of holding a shared identity based on positive behavioural support values, rather than a traditional uni-disciplinary perspective. Practical implications ISS models are being proposed by NHS England and this paper suggests some important practical aspects. Originality/value Limited literature exists examining the team culture within ISSs, which contributes to desired outcomes for service users. This paper opens a debate about structural and functional aspects of service delivery in this service model.


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