Critical Reflections
Dark Tourism in "Canada's Penitentiary Capital": Mobilizing the Dark Heritage of Kingston Penitentiary in Kingston, Canada
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Bronwyn Jaques
This paper analyses the Kingston Penitentiary Tours in Kingston, Canada and the ways that the city’s prison history has been mobilized by municipal actors through tourism to advance local political and economic agendas. As an example of dark tourism – the act of travel or site-visitation associated with death, suffering, and horror – the Kingston Penitentiary Tours take visitors “behind the walls” of Canada’s oldest and most notorious prison, which opened in 1835 and was decommissioned in 2013. Through extensive document analysis of promotional materials, visitor reviews, and media coverage, as well as interviews I conducted with employees of the Tours – many of whom are former Correctional Officers – and members of the Kingston community, my research examines the presentation and reception of the Kingston Penitentiary Tours and the ways that Kingston’s prison history has been utilized through tourism to enhance, rather than undermine, the city’s image. Situating my analysis within the larger theoretical discussions surrounding dark tourism, city-branding, and meta-soft power, as well as the history and practice of prison tourism, I argue that the Kingston Penitentiary Tours have been mobilized by municipal and community actors in ways which transform Kingston’s dark history as “Canada’s Penitentiary Capital” into an economic and cultural asset and a source of regional pride.
A Typology of Delinquent Behavior on the Aircraft
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Polyxeni Moira, Dimitrios Mylonopoulos, Elli Terzoglou
Airplane delinquency is known to both professionals and passengers. However, the particularity of the airplane as an enclosed space where one cannot leave when and whenever he wishes, the intense phobias associated with this space and the competition between companies operating in the field often prevents the wide publicity of the delinquent incidents that take place inside the plane. This study records and classifies the incidents of delinquency occurring in the international arena by investigating similar incidents and studying relevant cases. The data are derived from interviews of people who have been working for years as flight attendants on airplanes managing similar incidents, as well as recording, classifying and studying incidents as reported by the international media. The results show the occurrence of all kinds of airplane delinquency, such as drunkenness, theft, drug abuse, obscene behavior, domestic violence, etc. occurring among all persons on board (passengers, crew members). Due to the lack of systematic aircraft surveys concerning the incidents of delinquent behavior and ways of managing them, in conjunction with the airline, the type of clientele, the seasonality, etc. it is suggested that targeted research should be carried out involving scientists from the fields of social, legal sciences, administration, psychology, etc. so that there is a complete image of the problem and ways of dealing with it.
Ethical Eating: The Discourse/Practice Gap in Top Restaurants in Peru
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Maria E Sanchez Zambrano, Mario Marcello Pasco-Dalla-Porta
There is an increasing concern about ethical problems in the restaurant industry, such as food contamination, animal cruelty, labor malpractices, and asymmetric relationships in the supply chain. The demands of increasingly informed customers, and the changes promoted by conscious restaurateurs have converged into the discourse and practice of ethical eating, which emphasizes the topics of healthy food, animal welfare, ethical labor policies, and fair trade. However, in many restaurants, this approach has become a rhetorical resource to appease their clients’ demands instead of an actual transformation of their core business model. The current boom of the Peruvian gastronomy reflects such a discourse. The most prominent restaurateurs of the country have manifested their commitment to sustainable agriculture and to responsible relationships with their stakeholders. In spite of this, many practices in their restaurants seem to be at odds with this rhetoric. As these chefs and entrepreneurs have a prominent role in the configuration and progress of the Peruvian gastronomy, it is important to assess the consistency between discourse and practice in their restaurants. The purpose of this research is to determine the discourse/practice gap regarding ethical eating in leading restaurants in the country. The study focuses on the top forty-four restaurants, according to international and national rankings. The multi-method approach includes discourse analysis of restaurants’ websites and chefs’ statements, observational techniques in restaurants, and in-depth interviews with restaurateurs and key actors in the industry.
