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Thumbing a ride : hitchhikers, hostels, and counterculture in Canada
\"As a national network of roads spread across Canada, so did the practice of hitchhiking. Thumbing a Ride examines its rise and fall in the 1970s, drawing on records from the time. Many equated adventure travel with freedom and independence, but a counter-narrative emerged of girls gone missing and other dangers. Town councillors, community groups, and motorists demanded a clampdown on a transient youth movement they believed was spreading anti-establishment nomadism. Linda Mahood asks new questions about hitchhiking as a rite of passage, and about adult intervention that turned a subculture into a pressing moral and social issue.\"-- Provided by publisher.
Book
Users’ Perceptions of Green Roofs and Green Walls: An Analysis of Youth Hostels in Lisbon, Portugal
Green roofs and green walls are a potential strategy to increase green spaces in the urban environment. These solutions bring multiple benefits to the cities at the economic and socio-environmental levels. However, from the point of view of private investors, green roofs and green walls often have a negative financial evaluation. Concerning this, the quantification of the benefits according to building use and occupancy could be an important tool to assist the decision-making process and guarantee returns on investment. This study aims to support the decision-making process by managers and owners of youth hostels regarding green roofs and green walls implementation. Using a structured questionnaire, users’ perceptions were assessed through a five-point Likert scale. The survey was conducted in five youth hostels in Lisbon, Portugal. Analyses were performed in two phases. Firstly, using the original sample (n = 345), and subsequently grouping homogeneous individuals through cluster analysis. The results showed that most respondents support green infrastructure installation in the hostel and consider that these solutions could provide a greater sense of individual well-being and local aesthetic improvement. However, there is no strong evidence that green infrastructure solutions are considered a deciding factor to select local lodging, despite the fact that it can be a tiebreaker factor between two similar options. Furthermore, findings have shown that 90% of the respondents from Cluster 1 and 92% from Cluster 4 are probably not willing to pay higher daily rates for youth hostels that have green infrastructure solutions in place. On the other hand, 67% of the respondents from Cluster 2 were potentially willing to pay an additional amount. For the 345 respondents, the most preferred green infrastructure typologies are indoor living wall and the accessible green roof. Moreover, findings support the gender socialization and identity theory showing that women have a greater environmental concern compared to men.
Journal Article
‘Leaving no one behind’: reflections on the design of community-based HIV prevention for migrants in Johannesburg’s inner-city hostels and informal settlements
Background
Unmanaged urban growth in southern and eastern Africa has led to a growth of informal housing in cities, which are home to poor, marginalised populations, and associated with the highest HIV prevalence in urban areas. This article describes and reflects on the authors’ experiences in designing and implementing an HIV intervention originally intended for migrant men living in single-sex hostels of inner-city Johannesburg. It shows how formative research findings were incorporated into project design, substantially shifting the scope of the original project.
Methods
Formative research activities were undertaken to better understand the demand- and supply-side barriers to delivering HIV prevention activities within this community. These included community mapping, a baseline survey (
n
= 1458) and client-simulation exercise in local public sector clinics. The intervention was designed and implemented in the study setting over a period of 18 months. Implementation was assessed by way of a process evaluation of selected project components.
Results
The project scope expanded to include women living in adjacent informal settlements. Concurrent sexual partnerships between these women and male hostel residents were common, and HIV prevalence was higher among women (56%) than men (24%). Overwhelmingly, hostel residents were internal migrants from another province, and most felt ‘alienated’ from the rest of the city. While men prioritised the need for jobs, women were more concerned about water, sanitation, housing and poverty alleviation. Most women (70%) regarded their community as unsafe (cf. 47% of men). In the final intervention, project objectives were modified and HIV prevention activities were embedded within a broader health and development focus. ‘Community health clubs’ were established to build residents’ capacity to promote health and longer term well-being, and to initiate and sustain change within their communities.
Conclusions
To improve efforts to address HIV in urban informal settings, intervention designers must acknowledge and engage with the priorities set by the marginalised communities that live here, which may well encompass more pressing issues associated with daily survival.
Journal Article
“Two Wheels Bad”?
The Youth Hostels Association (YHA) was founded to provide cheap accommodation for rural holidays. It catered to both walkers and cyclists. However, many perceived the organization as one that favored walkers and considered walking to be a superior form of travel. This perception is examined through the study of four areas; the dispositions and statements of leading figures, the literature of the YHA, the press response to its formation, and the policy interventions of the YHA. Despite this, the YHA had close institutional links with cycling organizations and many cyclists among its members. This article traces the YHA’s relationship with walkers and cyclists and, despite occasional tensions, shows that the two groups could be accommodated within the organization.
Journal Article
Organization from a systemic perspective
Purpose - The paper's aim is to provide the reader with an example of the application of Beer's viable system model (VSM), to present the crucial steps of analyzing and improving a complex organization on the basis of Beer's approach, and thereby to demonstrate the value of viewing an organization cybernetically for managerial purposes. Design/methodology/approach - Based on Beer's VSM, as a first step, a diagnosis of the underlying organizational subsystems of the Swiss Youth Hostel Association has been undertaken on the basis of interviews and an analysis of relevant written sources. Based on this evaluation of the organization's viability, suggestions for improvement have been derived in a second step. Findings - Diagnosis shows that the VSM offers a useful, innovative, and effective reference framework for analyzing the organizational structure of an organization from a multidimensional, cybernetic perspective, on the strength of which managers can cope more efficiently and substantially with complexity. Practical implications - The paper offers an example of the process of applying Beer's practicable framework to managerial tasks, helping them comprehend their organizations from a cybernetic view as viable systems, thus enabling them to deal with internal and external complexity more effectively and efficiently. It accordingly shows how diagnosis based on this framework can reveal organizational strength and weaknesses on the one hand and act as a makeshift for redesigning system structure on the other hand. Originality/value - The paper contributes to the practical application-oriented understanding of Beer's VSM for managerial purposes by giving an example of how it applies to a complex organization, showing how a VSM-based diagnosis reframed the perspectives of managers in the organization under study.
Journal Article
Hostelling as a Pathway to Cross-Cultural Understanding
Investigation regarding the specific contribution to global understanding made by tourism has been limited. The purpose of this study was to determine the experiential links between hostel stays and cross-cultural awareness. Sixty semistructured interviews were conducted with tourists
staying at five hostels located in the northeastern US. Respondents represented fourteen different resident countries and offered feedback regarding trip patterns, perceptions about hostel lodging, connections with other cultures, and demographic items. Qualitative analyses resulted in four
themes: the structure of the hostelling space, challenging preconceived notions, personal growth, and world perspective. Hostels were found to provide unique environmental conditions that promote equality and facilitate cross-cultural understanding.
Journal Article
