Helen Horobin and Jonathan Long
Reports the preliminary findings of a study examining the relationship between issues of sustainable development and the operations of small tourism businesses. Indicates that…
Abstract
Reports the preliminary findings of a study examining the relationship between issues of sustainable development and the operations of small tourism businesses. Indicates that detailed questionnaires were administered to owner managers of small tourism firms in the Yorkshire Dales National Park. States that the survey sought to establish information levels, attitudes towards sustainability, and action taken to protect the environment. Reveals that the research then sought to establish what characteristics of the firms and their owner managers might lie behind these. Suggests that although there is a lot of sympathy with the general principles of sustainability, there is general confusion around the term “sustainability” and even “environmental concern”. Reports a range of actions, but a lack of appreciation of how these might relate to a coherent business strategy, aggravated by a surprising lack of information, which is clearly something that needs to be addressed by the various public agencies in the field. Suggests that it may be possible to identify the characteristics of those business owners who are most likely to be receptive to the principles of sustainable tourism.
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Francesco Duina and Frédéric Mérand
How should we make sense of Europe's current malaise? Focused on the great recession, the European Union (EU)'s architecture, or diverging national interests, the literature…
Abstract
How should we make sense of Europe's current malaise? Focused on the great recession, the European Union (EU)'s architecture, or diverging national interests, the literature offers useful economic, institutional, and political explanations. It is our contention that, however diverse, these works share one important limitation: a tendency to focus on rather immediate causes and consequences and not to step back with historical or comparative perspectives to gain a “longer” view of the dynamics at work. In this article, we begin by examining parallels between the EU's current conditions and the Austrian-Hungarian Empire. Then, introducing the articles contained in this special issue, we raise research questions pertaining to long-term historical, social, cultural, economic, and political factors. Are the current challenges unprecedented or do they have roots or connections to past events and developments? Is there a European trajectory into which we can contextualize current events? Are there bright spots, and what do they suggest about Europe's present and future? To engage in such questions, the papers leverage the insights of historical and comparative sociology, as well as comparative politics. In so doing, they offer analyses that see the EU as an instance of state formation. They propose that a key dimension of tension and possible resolution is the classic problem of sovereignty. They grapple with the question of identity and institutions, exploring in that context the extent and limit of citizens' support for more Europe. And they delve into the nature of the nationalist and populist sentiments within and across European countries.
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Congratulations cards, gifts, and announcements in newspapers are some features of the social rituals surrounding the birth of a child, normally a happy occasion. A subtle mixture…
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Congratulations cards, gifts, and announcements in newspapers are some features of the social rituals surrounding the birth of a child, normally a happy occasion. A subtle mixture of public and private activity intermingle in reactions to this unique yet universal event. In this article I intend to explore the rituals and processes involved in hearing and spreading the news of a birth, with particular reference to grandparents. Such a discussion of the announceable features of becoming a grandparent can form the beginning of an assessment of the meaning and significance of grnadparenthood, something which has received little attention in sociological work. In providing an account of the essential features of ‘telling the news’, I hope to generate an understanding both of the procedures used to ‘make sense’ of grandparenthood, and of the structural assumptions and processes underlying the way in which events are announced.