Holiday in Venice I

I was recently on holidays in Venice, on my way to a salsa dancing holiday in Croatia. I walked through Venice with no specific plan, except  trying to stay away from the more touristic areas as they were too crowded. I will post a series of pictures, each of which will have a short caption. The objective of the caption is to capture my thoughts at the place and/or the meaning of the picture to me. The pictures try to narrate a different story of Venice from the usually one told by those who visit the city. I hope you enjoy the pictures as much as I enjoyed my walk.

 #ChoseYourCaption

 #ColourContrast

 #DavidAgainstGoliath

 #DeadEnd

 #JustABeautifulSight

 #SimplyPicturesqueI

  #SimplyPicturesqueII

  #SimplyPicturesqueIII

  #SimplyPicturesqueIV

 #PigeonsInLoveCoolingDown

 #PortugueseSpeakersWillBeLaughtingAtThis

#ReversePatternArquitecture

#StraightLineVeniceWay

 #TheContrastOfMarbleAndBricks

#TheRareViewOfNoBoatOnSight

#ThisIsNotAnOpticalIllusion

#TheLeaningTowerOfVenice

#TerracotaIsTheColour

Holiday in Venice II

#YouKnowWhereYouAre

#ItCouldBeAnywhere

#ThisIsVenice

#IAmATourismGetMeOutOfHere

#NoTouristsOnSight

#KidsAreNotTooYoungToTravel

#RushHourInTheCanal

#TheDeliveryVan

 #ThePresentAndFutureOfInternationalTourism

#TheSurpriseAtTheEndOfTheAlley

#TheUgglyInTheMiddleOfTheBeauty 

#TooManyTourists

#WelcomeToTheWorldNicolo 

#WhereLocalsLive 

 #DispatchedToTheWrongLocation

#YourExperienceIsWhatYouChoseToDo

Dragon's Den Experience

Last week we finalised another marathon of event & leisure innovation presentations. In this unit, students develop a new product proposal to a local business. I am always amazed at what 1st year students (BA Hons Events Management and BA Hons Events & Leisure Marketing) can do with the right challenge and support. Many of the 34 new product proposals were almost ready for implementation. They were well researched, creative and underpinned in a solid business case. Some were brilliantly delivered. After 8 years of leading this unit, we have achieved a lot. It is now a well structured unit which students find challenging yet exciting. A detailed report of the presentations can be found here.

Launching YACOPublishing

YACOPublishing eBooks will cover Study & Research Skills as well as topics related to the management and marketing of Experiential Services (Events, Leisure, Hospitality and Tourism). First book coming soon!

I created YACOPublishing to capitalise on the growing self-publishing trend. 

Academics produce a lot of content that often goes unpublished because it does not suit the traditional publishing methods (journals and textbooks). Self-publishing through eBooks provides academics with an easy and quick method to publishing such material. 

It is also very flexible as you don't need to have finished the whole book before publishing it. You can write part of it, publish it immediately and then add content over time. 

While I will use YACOPublishing to mainly publish my own work (alone or in conjunction with colleagues), I am open to proposals from other academics.

At present, YACO Publishing uses a platform called leanpub to publish its books.

External Examiner of a PhD from Brazil

Due to the marvels of technology, today I examined a PhD by a Brazilian Student from the Federal University of Parana (UFPR), South East Brazil. Graziela Scalise Horodyski, a PhD Candidate from the Faculty of Geography, defended a thesis entitled “Tourism Experience and Consumption: Souvenirs in Curitiba-PR”. The session started with a 30 minute presentation by the candidate, which was followed by comments and questions from the examiners. The thesis was examined by the supervisor (Dr. José Gândara), myself and 4 other academics, all from UFPR: Professor Zaki Sobrinho (who is also UFPR's Rector), Dr. Kleber Puchaski, Dr. Vander Valduga and Dr. Luís Lopes Diniz Filho. After a robust defense, the examining panel unanimously approved the thesis. Congratulations to Dr. Grazi!

Mutation version 4.0: "Centre for Regeneration and Development", aka (Ray) HOLDEN PUBLISHING & RESEARCH

I have first written about (Ray) Holder Publishing and Research back in January 2012, with an update in March 2012. Since then I have been reporting on their mutations/re-branding activities, notably when it became known as PAS Traning and Research in November 2012 and more recently Place and Space Research. Today I received an email alerting me to another mutation: Version 4.0.

The name of the ‘venture’ is now called “Centre for Regeneration and Development”. The company they purport to be running these events is Hoxton Development Services (no website, just a twitter account). They appear to be using twitter (three accounts: 1, 2 and 3) as the primary means of promoting their ‘business’. But they have also updated their website to incorporate the new brand name. Interestingly, the layout and presentation of the website are exactly the same as the in the previous name (rather ugly and amateurish). They could not even bother to change the internet domain, which is http://www.ijnr.co.uk/ (IJNR – International Journal of Neighbourhood Renewal). In a (desperate?) attempt to enhance the credibility of the initiative, they have now come up with a new Journal name: Journal of Rural Renewal. First it was about renewing ‘cities’, not they are ‘concerned’ with renewing the ‘countryside’.

Below I am transcribing the email they are sending to potential targets.

************************

PROMOTIONAL EMAIL:

From: Hoxton Development Services [mailto:cultureworksjournal@googlemail.com] 

Sent: xx October 2013

To: Hoxton Development Services

Subject: Rural Works Conference Dublin 21st May 2014

On the 21^st May 2014 Hoxton Development Services is staging a one day conference called ‘Rural Works’ at the University College Dublin, which will focus on the range of issues that face the future development of rural towns and communities. 120 delegates are expected at the event, together with up to 20 speakers and 20 exhibitors.  This will a great opportunity to listen to a range of key speakers on Rural Development and also learn and share good practice.

We will also be launching an new exciting Journal at the Conference called the ‘Journal of Rural Renewal’ which will become a focus for the development and promotion of good practice and research in rural development.  All proceedings of the day will feature in the Journal. 

Details of the Conference and Journal can be found on the Twitter Feeds https://twitter.com/CentreRegenDev  and https://twitter.com/rural_develop

The cost to attend as a delegate for the day is Euro 250 but until 1^st March we are currently offering a free place for every one booked and hope that you will take up this offer.   The cost to have a display stand at the event is Euro 500.  All who participate at the event will receive a free Annual E-subscription to the Journal of Rural Renewal.  There are also some speaker slots available.  There are also 20 spaces available for students at a reduced rate of Euro 60. 

If you wish to attend as a delegate, a speaker, take a display space or submit a paper to the Conference and Journal please email here

Currently speakers are confirmed from University Research Departments, Local Development Companies and Local Energy Agencies. 

We look forward to seeing you at ‘Rural Works’ in May.

Hoxton Development Services

90 Paul Street LONDON EC2A 4NE

https://twitter.com/HoxtonDevelop

New paper accepted "Consumer behaviour in tourism: Key concepts, influences and opportunities"

Today I received the final acceptance decision of a review paper entitled "Consumer behaviour in tourism: Key concepts, influences and opportunities". The paper is co-authored by Scott Cohen (University of Surrey, UK) and Girish Prayag (University of Canterbury, NZ) and has been accepted for publication in Current Issues in Tourism. You can download the word version of the accepted paper here

This is the abstract:

Although consumer behaviour is one of the most researched areas in the field of tourism, few extensive reviews of the body of knowledge in this area exist. This review article examines what we argue are the key concepts, external influences and opportune research contexts in contemporary tourism consumer behaviour research. Using a narrative review, we examine the consumer behaviour literature published in three major tourism journals from 2000 to 2012. Of 519 articles identified and reviewed, 191 are included in this article. We examine the development of and scope for future research on nine key concepts, including decision making, values, motivations, self-concept and personality, expectations, attitudes, perceptions satisfaction, trust and loyalty. We then examine three important external influences on tourism behaviour, technology, Generation Y and the rise in concern over ethical consumption. Lastly, we identify and discuss five research contexts that represent major areas for future scholarship: group and joint decision making, under-researched segments, cross-cultural issues in emerging markets, emotions and consumer misbehaviour. Our examination of key research gaps is concluded by arguing that the hedonic and affective aspects of consumer behaviour research in tourism must be brought to bear on the wider consumer behaviour and marketing literature.

So, if you are doing research on any of the topics covered (in Purple), you will find this paper of interest to your research.