Jeremy Northcote

Social Capital, Tourism and Regional Development: SPCC as a Basis for Innovation and Sustainability

Traditional views of regional development have focused on economic factors and potential innovation in technical and resource exploitation processes. Similarly, regional tourism development is usually couched in economic terms, such as number of jobs and increasing land values. This approach usually ignores the social and community aspects of tourism development; thus an alternative view argues that the community needs to be factored into our planning and development strategies to balance the traditional economic view. It is argued in this paper that fostering innovation in regional development is much more than a process of community consultation. Rather, what needs to be factored in is SPCC – social, political and cultural capital. This works in both directions; tourism development depends on a level of social, political and cultural capital in order to be a successful regional development tool (even in economic terms) while at the same time tourism development can be undertaken in a way that contributes to SPCC in the region. The paper outlines the key concepts of social capital, political capital and cultural capital. It does so within the context of regional tourism development and the concepts of systems of innovation and sustainable development.

Nightclubbing and the search for identity: Making the transition from childhood to adulthood in an Urban Milieu

It is generally held that the kinds of rites of passage that mark the transition from childhood to adulthood found in less complex societies are not characteristic of advanced industrial societies. Rather, young people are seen to be caught within a liminal phase of ‘youth’ that involves a period of freedom and hedonistic leisure before they assume the roles and responsibilities of adulthood. This paper argues, however, that many young adults in advanced industrial societies seek to enact informal rites of passage through their leisure-time pursuits. As a popular form of leisure activity for young people worldwide, nightclubbing is examined in terms of an urban rite of passage using Mitchells typology of urban relationships and Turners dramaturgical perspective. The result of this analysis is a framework that may prove useful for approaching the transitional significance of other leisure practices engaged in by young people.

Wine, history, landscape: origin branding in Western Australia

Purpose – Wine is an integral part of so‐called “Old World” nations, amalgamating with the local history and landscape, and providing a powerful “origin branding”. To date, however, these dimensions have been discussed to a very limited extent in emerging “New World” wine regions, where the lack of a traditional heritage of wine making presents special challenges in terms of origin branding. The focus of most previous research has been on the viewpoints of consumers, not those of producers. This study seeks to explore these dimensions among small wine growers.Design/methodology/approach – Using a qualitative approach, 42 interviews with winery operators from several emerging Western Australian wine regions were conducted.Findings – In the absence of historical wine pioneers and traditions, winery operators in emerging wine‐producing regions use alternative means for “origin branding” that emphasise heritage and landscape characteristics centring on the wider “rural idyll”. These associations serve to forg...

Small winegrowers’ views on their relationship with local communities

This study examines the views of small winery operators in the Canary Islands, Spain and Western Australia regarding their relationship with their local community in such dimensions as event participation, employment and education. Winery operators indicated being actively involved in their local community in different ways. However, some of these interactions can be the source of misunderstandings centring on the informal economies characteristic of rural communities. One key difference between the two regions is that while some Western Australian respondents perceived weak local support in purchasing their wines, Canary Islands respondents indicated selling most of their wines locally. The development and strengthening of relationships between wineries and their community has very important implications, including supporting initiatives to nurture and maintain the communitys fabric, encourage further development in local areas, or use wine tourism as a tool to tap into commercial opportunities.

Limitations of Resident Perception Surveys for Understanding Tourism Social Impacts The Need for Triangulation

Resident perceptions survey (RPS) approaches to social impact assessment (SIA) in tourism are currently in vogue, but little discussion has taken place over the validity of this approach to SIA. This paper contends that there are serious limitations involved in RPS approaches when employed as a stand-alone SIA method, which throw doubt on whether the results obtained from these surveys in fact indicate actual impacts from tourism at all. While it is not disputed that the RPS approach can be an important SIA tool, it is argued that RPS results—if they are to be accepted as valid measures of social impacts—need to be supplemented by other research data, such as that obtained from visitor surveys, participant observation, in-depth interviews and, of particular focus in this paper, quantitative social indicator research. An integrated approach is recommended that aims to determine whether the impacts indicated in RPS results derive from tourism development or are caused by external factors, including factors that may well be ‘imaginary’ in nature. Hence, a combined approach attempts to triangulate the causal variables underlying the perceived impacts. The importance of undertaking such triangulation is not only to further understanding of the effects of tourism development on host communities, but to ensure that the incorporation of resident attitudes into tourism planning is undertaken in an informed manner that will benefit all concerned.

Objectivity and the supernormal: the limitations of bracketing approaches in providing neutral accounts of supernormal claims

This paper contends that bracketing approaches to the sociological study of supernatural, paranormal, and occult proponents do not truly ‘bracket’ the reality-claims made by those being studied, but instead impose ontological limits on what can be considered ‘supernormal’. It is argued that such boundaries and definitions tend to rule out alternative ontological perspectives of the kind that researchers typically encounter among religious, paranormal, and occult proponents. It is also argued that, unlike earlier reductionist approaches to the supernormal, the bias of bracketing approaches is not necessarily based on an underlying sceptical outlook of researchers, but rather reflects an inherent ontological limitation within the sociological enterprise itself. It is recommended that bracketing should be replaced by a reflexive, dialogical approach that emphasises the ontological positioning of social analyses with respect to supernormal claims.

Young adults’ decision making surrounding heavy drinking: A multi-staged model of planned behaviour

This paper examines the real life contexts in which decisions surrounding heavy drinking are made by young adults (that is, on occasions when five or more alcoholic drinks are consumed within a few hours). It presents a conceptual model that views such decision making as a multi-faceted and multi-staged process. The mixed method study draws on purposive data gathered through direct observation of eight social networks consisting of 81 young adults aged between 18 and 25 years in Perth, Western Australia, including in-depth interviews with 31 participants. Qualitative and some basic quantitative data were gathered using participant observation and in-depth interviews undertaken over an eighteen month period. Participants explained their decision to engage in heavy drinking as based on a variety of factors. These elements relate to socio-cultural norms and expectancies that are best explained by the theory of planned behaviour. A framework is proposed that characterises heavy drinking as taking place in a multi-staged manner, with young adults having: 1. A generalised orientation to the value of heavy drinking shaped by wider influences and norms; 2. A short-term orientation shaped by situational factors that determines drinking intentions for specific events; and 3. An evaluative orientation shaped by moderating factors. The value of qualitative studies of decision making in real life contexts is advanced to complement the mostly quantitative research that dominates research on alcohol decision making.

Breaking the Isolation Cycle: The Experience of Muslim Refugee Women in Australia

Based on the findings of focus groups and key informant interviews, an ‘isolation cycle’ is proposed to conceptualize the interrelated processes that marginalize first generation migrant Muslim refugee women from meaningful participation in Australian society. We hold that both internal ‘ethnic’ factors and external societal factors are jointly involved in perpetuating a cycle of isolation for Muslim refugee women. Hence, we propose that the tendency of social analysts, politicians and media commentators alike to focus on one group over the other as a means of casting ‘blame’ on difficulties surrounding integration is misguided. We conclude that more attention is required by Australian services and government agencies in breaking the isolation cycle through a more sustained, pro-active strategy directed not only at refugee settlers, but Australian society in general.

When totems beget clans: The brand symbol as the defining marker of brand communities:

The veneration of brands as part of “brand communities” reflects the expansion of consumerism in advanced capitalism. But what is it about brand communities that set them apart from other community types? It is argued that brand communities differ from other types of communities in one important respect – the community is a secondary, rather than primary, effect of brand community association. In other words, the brand as symbol precedes the emergence of the brand community, rather than the symbol being employed (in a totemic fashion) to represent a pre-existing community as in other types of community. This realization opens the way for understanding the specific dynamics that characterize brand communities, particularly in their relationship with the corporate entities that legally own brands and market the branded products, and also with wider social trends where the brand comes to possess an iconic, mythic significance. It will be argued that, contrary to the recent trend in the brand community literature to view all manner of brand-oriented group activities as examples of brand communities, there are specific features that set brand communities apart from other types of community configurations. As a consequence, some of the examples put forward by analysts as brand communities might have brand community aspects, but are in fact primarily other types of community formations, such as subcultures and hobby groups. It is suggested that brand communities be viewed as a part of a continuum, with some groups according with the ideal type of brand community more than others. This is not merely important for classification purposes, but is important analytically, as it is contended that brand communities have a unique set of dynamics that sets them aside from other types of community formations.

Small winery operators and business vision: A Western Australian case.

Numerous academic studies discuss the vital importance for entrepreneurs of having a clearly defined business vision, whereby they outline the business philosophy and/or long-term objectives for their business. This study examines the business vision dimension among a group of 40 Western Australian wineries, the majority of which are open to the public. While almost half of the respondents (18, 45%) are certain of where they want their businesses to be in the future, others (16, 40%) do not appear to have a clearly defined vision, or are unsure of what the concept of a ‘vision’ entails, either in regards to their own businesses or their industry. The importance of providing an excellent experience at the winery can contribute to business opportunities, which in turn requires a business vision. However, while such vision might be critical from a business perspective, the findings identify no differences between those who manifested a clear-cut business vision and those who did not with regard to their winerys age. These preliminary findings shed some light into an unexplored area and may help support future research on winery entrepreneurship.