New book traces geographers' journeys

Stephen Smith (right) admits that not everyone takes tourism studies seriously. They don’t always distinguish between the fun and often frivolous experience of tourism, and the serious research devoted to it.

But tourism is an economic giant in any community, says Smith, a professor of recreation and leisure studies and a core faculty member in Waterloo’s joint master’s tourism policy and planning program. “In Ontario, tourism employs more workers than the pharmaceutical, mining, or auto industries,” he says. “Most people think of tourism as what you do when you’re away from work – but for a couple of hundred thousand people in Ontario, tourism is their work.”

Around the world, tourism employs nearly 80 million people and its receipts make up 9 per cent of the global gross domestic product. Add wide-ranging environmental and social impacts to that economic clout, and you have a subject worth serious attention.

That was the drive behind Waterloo’s tourism program when it was launched in 2002, a joint effort between the environment and applied health sciences faculties. It was considered unique then. One or two other programs now exist in other institutions, “but ours is still the only grad program in tourism policy and planning,” Smith says. “It’s also unique in its emphasis on sustainable development and community-based tourism. This is a niche that we deliberately chose to fill, both to avoid being in competition with others, and to build on our strengths.”

As part of his contribution to the field, he recently published two books. Practical Tourism Research (CABI, 2010) is his textbook, based on 30 years of practical work in tourism for various organizations, and written with his own students very much in mind.

Many voices of tourism research
The Discovery of Tourism (Emerald, 2010)  is an edited book of articles by 15 contributors, the personal stories of leading geographers from 10 nations. What they all have in common is that they are geographers — not surprising, Smith says, since “geography is the central discipline in tourism.”

Several have links to Waterloo, notably geography professor Geoffrey Wall; alumnus C. Michael Hall (MA ’84); adjunct professor Richard Butler, retired;  and Allan Williams, Gareth Shaw, and Jigang Bao, who were all visiting faculty or guest lecturers.

The two and a half years it took to compile and edit the book were not always smooth sailing: Smith was dealing with a collection of diverse and “sometimes difficult” personalities. Many he knew personally, and it gave him great pleasure to read their stories. “As I read their pieces, their distinctive personalities came through. It was almost as if I was hearing them speak. I hope the reader will have that same experience of hearing those diverse and very distinctive voices.”

Geoffrey Wall (left, seen receiving an honorary degree at Dalian University in 2004), titled his piece “With a Little Help from my Friends.” He discusses the importance of friendships and relationships in research, teaching, and supervision. He also talks of the challenges and practicalities of managing large-scale international programs, such as his work with CIDA.

Many contributors relate how, from sometimes from humble beginnings, they fell in love with learning and were motivated to enter academia, then geography, and finally tourism studies. “The book describes the different paths that people follow as they start academic careers,” Smith says. “There is a lot of diversity here, but all were driven by curiosity, the love of asking and answering questions, the joy and passion of research.”

He adds: “To me the most fascinating thing was that all of these people started as geographers, but only four were still in geography departments at the time they retired, or at the time of writing the book. The rest had moved into tourism or management programs, and were perceived as having left the field of geography. But all continue to look at the world through geographic lenses.”

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Conferences, jobs in Europe, other notes

The Selected Areas in Cryptography (SAC) workshop, held annually since 1994 in locations across Canada, comes to the University of Waterloo this August. SAC 2010 is held in co-operation with the International Association for Cryptologic Research (IACR), the leading professional organization for cryptographic research. The objective of the workshop is to present cutting edge research in the designated areas of cryptography and to facilitate future research through an informal and friendly workshop setting. Registration and reception happen August 11; sessions take place August 12 and 13 in the Centre for Environmental and Information Technology, room 1015. Organizers are Waterloo professors Guang Gong, electrical and computer engineering, and Douglas Stinson, computer science; and Alex Biryukov, University of Luxembourg. Details, including registration form, are online.

Liberal arts students and scholars are invited to attend the International Conference on the Liberal Arts at St. Thomas University in Fredericton, New Brunswick, September 30 – October 2. “The Next 100 Years of Liberal Arts – Confronting the Challenges” explores such challenges to liberal arts education as “internationalization, corporatization, the ... diminishment of government funding, and legacies of religious involvement.” Registration and other information is online.

Waterloo researcher wins award at AWWA conference
Shoeleh Shams, research assistant for Waterloo’s NSERC Chair in Water Treatment, earned first place honours for her work on nitrate removal technology at the seventh annual Fresh Ideas Poster Session during the American Water Works Association’s (AWWA) Annual Conference and Exposition (ACE10) in Chicago in June. The poster session featured 13 section winners from across North America.

Shams’s project addressed nitrate contamination of groundwater, a serious world-wide issue. “Nitrate exposure can lead to several health problems in adults and a potentially fatal disorder in infants,” she said, adding that the feasibility of nitrate removal is limited by cost and residuals handling. Shams researched ion exchange and reverse osmosis for their effectiveness at reducing nitrate concentrations in groundwater samples. Her project, she said, “provides decision support assistance for the selection of an appropriate nitrate removal technology under a variety of conditions.” The AWWA newletter article is here.

Looking for a term in Europe? Apply soon!
If you’re a co-op student scheduled for a winter 2011 work term and you’ve had at least one previous work term, if you’re a Canadian citizen and enrolled in engineering, math, or any of the “+ business” programs, there’s an opportunity for you to get a work term in Austria or Germany.

Six paid work term positions are available, and are posted on JobMine. You’ll need to apply by Monday, July 26. If successful, you’ll be notified and expected to confirm your acceptance of offer by August 2010. You will also receive a stipend of Cdn. $4,500 to cover travel and orientation costs. The term will start on January 10 and end on April 15.

This opportunity was created through the CANEU CO-OP Project, a two-year initiative funded by Human Resources and Social Development Canada. Participating universities are the University of Waterloo, the University of Victoria, FH Joanneum in Austria, and Baden-Wurttemberg Cooperative State University, Germany. For more information contact Lisa ter Woort, Waterloo’s CANEU COOP project coordinator, at terwoort@uwaterloo.ca. Background information is on the CECS website, on the CANEU-COOP website, and in the January 12 Daily Bulletin.

CPA staff

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