Factors influencing tourism sustainability : The case of the World Heritage Falun Great Copper Mountain

This thesis focuses on identifying hindrances of achieving a sustainable tourism development on a base of a World Heritage Site. Using a case study of the World Heritage Site Falun Great Copper Mountain, the thesis assesses the situational context by using qualitative methods. Five semi- structured interviews with influential stakeholders were conducted to get an inside view of the current situation and to identify site-specific issues. The thesis identifies a number of factors that determine the successful implementation of measures leading towards sustainable tourism in the long-run; the most important being the lack of clear guidelines for the whole destination and no holistic planning approach within the municipality. The thesis concludes that despite the increased pressures towards establishment of sustainable tourism, the concept remains challenging to operationalize for the World Heritage Site without frameworks and tools from UNESCO.

Languaging in virtual learning sites : studies of online encounters in the language-focused classroom

This thesis focuses upon a series of empirical studies which examine communication and learning in online glocal communities within higher education in Sweden. A recurring theme in the theoretical framework deals with issues of languaging in virtual multimodal environments as well as the making of identity and negotiation of meaning in these settings; analyzing the activity, what people do, in contraposition to the study of how people talk about their activity. The studies arise from netnographic work during two online Italian for Beginners courses offered by a Swedish university. Microanalyses of the interactions occurring through multimodal video-conferencing software are amplified by the study of the courses’ organisation of space and time and have allowed for the identification of communicative strategies and interactional patterns in virtual learning sites when participants communicate in a language variety with which they have a limited experience. The findings from the four studies included in the thesis indicate that students who are part of institutional virtual higher educational settings make use of several resources in order to perform their identity positions inside the group as a way to enrich and nurture the process of communication and learning in this online glocal community. The sociocultural dialogical analyses also shed light on the ways in which participants gathering in discursive technological spaces benefit from the opportunity to go to class without commuting to the physical building of the institution providing the course. This identity position is, thus, both experienced by participants in interaction, and also afforded by the ‘spaceless’ nature of the online environment.

Streetwise Asia, a practical guide for the conservation and revitalisation of heritage cities and towns in Asia.

This is a practical and accessible guide for residents and professionals concerned to preserve and revitalise heritage cities in Asia. Heritage cities (many listed by UNESCO) are of course of major interest to one of the world's largest industries, tourism. Using inset colour photographs to complement the text, the realities of destructive and constructive development, repairs, restoration and usage are made clear. Legal, financial, administrative, historical and educational aspects of conservation policies, incentives and implementations are discussed. With outlines for strategy, goals and bibliography.

Selection of roost sites by the lesser long-eared bat (Nyctophilus geoffroyi) and Gould`s wattled bat (Chalinolobus gouldii) in south-eastern Australia

Physical characteristics of roost sites used by the lesser long-eared bat Nyctophilus geoffroyi and Gould's wattled bat Chalinolobus gouldii were investigated in a farmland–remnant vegetation mosaic and adjacent forested floodplain in south-eastern Australia. A total of 45 individuals of N. geoffroyi and 27 C. gouldii were fitted with radio-transmitters, resulting in the location of 139 and 89 roosts, respectively. Male N. geoffroyi roosted in trees, fallen and decayed timber and artificial structures. These roosts were low to the ground, mainly under bark and in cracks in timber. Roosts of female N. geoffroyi were located higher above ground, and all within trees. Maternity roosts were predominantly located in large dead trees, approximately twice the diameter of roost trees used by females outside the breeding season. No maternity roosts were found under bark, despite half the roosts used by non-breeding females being located in these situations. Both sexes roosted primarily in dead timber and used cavities where the narrowest dimension of the entrance was 2.5 cm. Most roosts of C. gouldii were in dead spouts on large, live river red gum Eucalyptus camaldulensis trees. Intraspecific differences in roost characteristics were less pronounced for this species. Despite access to the same roosting opportunities, there were marked differences in roost selection between N. geoffroyi and C. gouldii. Both species favoured large diameter trees, but differed significantly for all other measured variables: type of roost structure, condition of roost tree (live or dead), height of roost tree, height of roost, and entrance dimensions. Although these species are among the most widespread bats in Australia and are often considered to be habitat 'generalists', both displayed a high level of discrimination in the roosts used. Clearly, roosting requirements are a complex and important issue in the conservation of even the most common species of bats.

A history of urban planning policy and heritage protection in Vientiane, Laos

This paper examines the tensions between modernisation and heritage protection in the Lao capital, Vientiane. Vientiane provides an interesting case study of the dilemmas facing small cities in developing countries as those countries try to manage the pressures that result from greater integration in regional and global processes of economic and cultural change. While modernisation appears to be winning out over heritage  protection, the paper concludes that they are not necessarily mutually exclusive, and that heritage protection in Vientiane is largely aimed at  reinforcing monumental and nation-building elements, emphasising the  development of a contemporary national capital of a modern nation state.

Politicised pagodas and veiled resistance : contested urban space in Burma.

The urban landscapes of Yangon and Mandalay in Burma (Myanmar) exhibit a rich cultural layering and complex blending of urban forms and architectural styles. But while both cities today are shaped by contemporary economic and political realities, they also clearly reflect
their historical origins—Yangon as the British colonial capital and Mandalay as the last seat of the monarchy. Burma’s ancient religious monuments, monarchical and colonial heritage on the one hand, and new religious edifices, international standard hotels, commercial enterprises, new public buildings and satellite towns on the other hand, represent the two poles of the dialectic of tradition and modernity. The landscapes, as symbolic representations, have been appropriated by
the authoritarian military regime, the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) for nation building purposes. But the urban landscapes are also contested and appropriated in symbolic ways and invested with meanings as sites of resistance and struggle by those in opposition, and
are thus contested sites where the power relations of domination and resistance intersect. The paper illustrates these themes with examples drawn from Yangon and Mandalay.