Rethinking social intolerance: lessons from the suspension of homophobia at public gay and lesbian celebrations. This project will contribute to the understanding of intolerance via the lessons drawn from an analysis of homophobia at public gay and lesbian celebrations. It will take advantage of these events as exceptional social windows that appear to be characterised by a suspension of overt intolerance. The study innovatively reverses the usual analysis of intolerance and hostility as a socia ....Rethinking social intolerance: lessons from the suspension of homophobia at public gay and lesbian celebrations. This project will contribute to the understanding of intolerance via the lessons drawn from an analysis of homophobia at public gay and lesbian celebrations. It will take advantage of these events as exceptional social windows that appear to be characterised by a suspension of overt intolerance. The study innovatively reverses the usual analysis of intolerance and hostility as a social presence. It will analyse situational elements and ways of understanding sexuality that structure mainstream views of these events as pleasurable activities for all participants. It will advance knowledge of homophobia and intolerance in Australian society as contradictory and shifting phenomena.Read moreRead less
Reinventing rural places? The extent and impact of festivals as regeneration strategies. This research addresses the important problem of rural decline in Australia. The project will make available new knowledge on innovation in rural places. Benefits will accrue to specific communities from insights on the possibilities and limitations of renewal through festivals. Tourism promoters and regional development policy makers will be able to make use of the online database of rural festivals. Nation ....Reinventing rural places? The extent and impact of festivals as regeneration strategies. This research addresses the important problem of rural decline in Australia. The project will make available new knowledge on innovation in rural places. Benefits will accrue to specific communities from insights on the possibilities and limitations of renewal through festivals. Tourism promoters and regional development policy makers will be able to make use of the online database of rural festivals. National benefits include greater understanding of the significance of festivals. Research will empower rural communities and advance theory on rural restructuring, post-productivism and the reciprocal relationship between place and identities. In these ways, the project seeks to strengthen the social and economic fabric of rural Australia. Read moreRead less
Enabling tourism, conservation symbiosis by engaging protected area visitors in focused lifelong activism. Rainforests occupy just 0.3% of Australia and are endangered by increasing visitation and urbanisation. This project will transform visitors to rainforest-protected areas from a potential liability to an asset by investigating their willingness to participate in volunteering, fundraising, donating and other forms of park-related activism throughout their lifetime, and using this information ....Enabling tourism, conservation symbiosis by engaging protected area visitors in focused lifelong activism. Rainforests occupy just 0.3% of Australia and are endangered by increasing visitation and urbanisation. This project will transform visitors to rainforest-protected areas from a potential liability to an asset by investigating their willingness to participate in volunteering, fundraising, donating and other forms of park-related activism throughout their lifetime, and using this information to design a prototype park where quality visitor experiences also translate into biodiversity enhancement. Australia as a result will emerge as a world leader in tourism/conservation symbiosis, realising substantial ecological, social and economic benefits from the thriving rainforests that this symbiosis fosters.Read moreRead less
Involving local communities in defining town character in Victorian coastal towns. Many Australian coastal towns are experiencing rapid growth from tourism. In such places it is common to hear residents complain that the ?character? of their town is being lost due to inappropriate development. Local planning authorities are now attempting to respond to these concerns by undertaking studies to define what it is people feel is being lost. This project will involve local communities in defining tow ....Involving local communities in defining town character in Victorian coastal towns. Many Australian coastal towns are experiencing rapid growth from tourism. In such places it is common to hear residents complain that the ?character? of their town is being lost due to inappropriate development. Local planning authorities are now attempting to respond to these concerns by undertaking studies to define what it is people feel is being lost. This project will involve local communities in defining town and neighbourhood character in affected rural coastal areas of Victoria. Questions concerning residents' conceptualisation of town character and relationships between psychological and biophysical attributes associated with the notion of town character will be explored.Read moreRead less