Does travel broaden the mind? This book explores this question through an innovative sociological study of gap year travel. Taking a year out overseas between school and university is an increasingly legitimate practice for young people in the UK. But what do young people get out of gap years? A wide range of 'official' sources acknowledge gap years as a way of becoming a global citizen and more employable at the same time. Instead of automatically assuming that gap years are a 'good thing', this book critically considers how this contemporary rite of passage could contribute to the reproduction of structural disadvantage at both a national and international level in relation to young people's routes into education and employment, and representations of difference and distinction in cultural practices. The key argument running throughout the book is that well-established ways of thinking about and understanding the world are used to frame gap year experiences, including how other people and places are different; the influence of class in determining what has cultural value; and what sort of identity work is worthwhile. Gap years are located at a point where a number of fields overlap: education, employment and the consumption of leisure travel. A Cosmopolitan Journey? will therefore be of interest to students, academics and practitioners in these areas.

A Future without Borders (FWB) offers an explanation of why the recent, but by now distant, movements of the “Occupy Wall Street” activists have repeated themselves across the globe. The book demonstrates some of the processes inherent to an adapting cosmopolitanism (a call for civility, a call for Justice, a call for a collective responsibility or accountability) that is not individualistic in nature. Until recently, the statal/national problems understood as politico-economic failures were conceived as isolated problems, failures of statal institutions that are particular to certain countries. FWB contests the Westphalian logic that explains these circumstances, as national failures and argues instead that the conditions be assessed as extensions of the global economic and ideological failures that they surely are. Contributors are: Anton Allahar, Arnold Farr, Andrew Fiala, Pierre-André Gagnon, Bill Gay, Kurtis Hagen, Linden F. Lewis, Tracey Nicholls, Richard T. Peterson, Jorge Rodriguez, Eddy M. Souffrant, and Hilbourne A. Watson.

Now available in PDF format. DK Eyewitness Travel Guide: Thailand's Beaches and Islands is your ideal companion for exploring this diverse and fascinating part of the world. Thailand's glorious beaches stretch over 2,000 miles of coastline, proving irresistible to lovers of beach-life and ocean sports. Whether you're seeking a secluded getaway or the hottest party destinations, you'll find insider tips and reviews for best hotels, restaurants and bars, shopping and entertainment, beaches, markets, and festivals. Your options are listed area by area and include recommendations for all budgets. DK Eyewitness Travel Guide: Thailand's Beaches and Islands also provides in-depth information on this region's breathtaking geographic diversity and rich cultural heritage. All of Thailand's extensive coastline is covered in this updated guide, from the Eastern Seaboard to Bangkok, the Upper and Lower Western Gulf coasts, the Deep South, and the Upper and Lower Andeman Coasts. You won't miss a thing on your vacation with the DK Eyewitness Travel Guide to Thailand's Beaches and Islands.

Historically, the tenure of most CEOs, business heads and key functional leaders of the best organisations globally have been short-lived despite these leaders being highly talented with credible academic qualifications, high caliber & proven track records. One common factor that came to light was that they failed at a critical point of business decision. The book has been crafted using well-researched & scientifically-analysed data and successfully introduces a new term in the personality spectrum, i.e., Precast Personality. The book argues that it is the Precast Personality of incumbent that plays a predominant role over Apparent Personality acquired through high profile academic/management courses to suit the assigned role resulting into the failure at “a critical point of business decision”. The book blends Occult Sciences and Psychology to conceptualize & derive a Theory for decoding Personality to achieve Organisational Success. The book ultimately leads to design a Cosmo-Psycho Tool to decode Personality of incumbent. It effectively answers the following questions: a. What is Precast Personality? b. Do occult sciences have scientific bearing? c. Is there a relationship between occult sciences and new age sciences?

Showing how specific rhetorical strategies used in nineteenth-century British travel writing produced fictional representations of continental Europe in works by Ann Radcliffe, Lord Byron, Charles Dickens, and Bram Stoker, Katarina Gephardt argues that nineteenth-century writers envisioned their country simultaneously as distinct from the Continent and as a part of Europe. She suggests that their imaginative geography of Europe anticipated Britain’s ambivalence about European integration.

Taking a global and multidisciplinary approach, The SAGE International Encyclopedia of Travel and Tourism brings together a team of international scholars to examine the travel and tourism industry, which is expected to grow at an annual rate of four percent for the next decade. In more than 500 entries spanning four comprehensive volumes, the Encyclopedia examines the business of tourism around the world paying particular attention to the social, economic, environmental, and policy issues at play. The book examines global, regional, national, and local issues including transportation, infrastructure, the environment, and business promotion. By looking at travel trends and countries large and small, the Encyclopedia analyses a wide variety of challenges and opportunities facing the industry. In taking a comprehensive and global approach, the Encyclopedia approaches the field of travel and tourism through the numerous disciplines it reaches, including the traditional tourism administration curriculum within schools of business and management, economics, public policy, as well as social science disciplines such as the anthropology and sociology. Key features include: More than 500 entries authored and signed by key academics in the field Entries on individual countries that details the health of the tourism industry, policy and planning approaches, promotion efforts, and primary tourism draws. Additional entries look at major cities and popular destinations Coverage of travel trends such as culinary tourism, wine tourism, agritourism, ecotourism, geotourism, slow tourism, heritage and cultural-based tourism, sustainable tourism, and recreation-based tourism Cross-references and further readings A Reader’s Guide grouping articles by disciplinary areas and broad themes