In what ways can outdoor education be used when teaching immigrants the language of their new country? There is a need to both concretise grammar teaching and diversify teaching methods to bring language acquisition closer to real life situations. By using action research a collaborative study was made with four Finnish teachers in four immigrant language classes by implementing a series of lessons using outdoor education. Focussing on the teacher’s experience qualitative interviews were conducted both before and after the collaborative outdoor lessons. This was supported by observation and student verbal and written evaluation. Both positive and negative aspects of outdoor education were explored in relation to how effective it is as a teaching method and as a method of cultural assimilation and group socialisation. Outdoor education was found to support a sense of group inclusion and strengthen collective group experience. Difficult concepts were dealt with in a more tangible manner which specifically benefited weaker students. By exploring the unfamiliar as a group in a supportive environment constructive outcomes were gained. Being outdoors and using natural materials democratised the cultural meeting. Peer collaboration was demanding but fruitful and should be used more as a developmental tool in education.

Background: Tanzania is a country which faces several development challenges. The villages in this essay are located in a rural part of central Tanzania. The area experiences severe environmental conditions in addition to poverty and other related problems. Therefore, there are attempts to improve the situation by forming groups on local level. The two projects studied aim to improve the environment and the members’ economy by planting and selling trees. The participants are women only, except the supervisors who are men in both projects. Purpose and Question at Issue: The purpose is to examine if the project which the women participate in is affected by their sense of place. This is perceived through the examination of problems and possibilities faced by the women in their daily lives as well as in the project, and how these are managed and dealt with. The aim is to see if there is a correspondence between how different situations are dealt with by the individual and if this too can be related to the sense of place. Method: The majority of the material was gathered through field studies but additional information was achieved through literature studies, earlier research, observations in field and informal conversations. Interviews were carried out with participating women in the studied projects. The method followed the guidelines of grounded theory and the interviews were designed with Dolbeare’s and Schuman’s three-interview series in mind. A minor quantitative study was also carried out by handing out a questionnaire to the women in the projects. Theory: The theoretical framework builds on Tuan’s development of the meaning of sense of place, which is made up of people’s feelings, experiences and relations to a certain place. Closely related to sense of place is Bourdieu’s structural theory of habitus, why this is also considered a part of the theoretical framework. Analysis: The material gathered through the field studies is analyzed in relation to the purpose and question at issue. Sense of place is defined by using various categories of the concept, which aim to encompass several aspects and therefore give a more nuanced picture of the meaning of place for the individual. The women were found to relate the place first and foremost to their family, social bonds and daily chores and to a lesser extent with the environment.

This thesis examines the everyday experiences of Anglophone communities in three different regions of Quebec – the Gaspésie, Gatineau and Eastern Townships – with the aim to understand their sense of place. Specifically, the focus is on the role of different geographic contexts on everyday access to social services, particularly healthcare, and how these experiences contribute to Anglophones’ place attachment. Data collection involved semi-structured personal interviews with ten participants in each region. Comparative analysis yielded three main findings: (1) issues with accessing healthcare in English reinforces Anglophones’ minority status; (2) in spite of the challenges faced as a linguistic minority, Anglophones demonstrate a strong sense of place to their region; and (3) feelings of home, heritage, and rootedness constitute elements in Anglophones’ place attachment and contribute to their sense of place in Quebec. The study also concludes that age, mobility, and location are important variables in influencing everyday experiences in each of the three regions.

This thesis examines the everyday experiences of Anglophone communities in three different regions of Quebec – the Gaspésie, Gatineau and Eastern Townships – with the aim to understand their sense of place. Specifically, the focus is on the role of different geographic contexts on everyday access to social services, particularly healthcare, and how these experiences contribute to Anglophones’ place attachment. Data collection involved semi-structured personal interviews with ten participants in each region. Comparative analysis yielded three main findings: (1) issues with accessing healthcare in English reinforces Anglophones’ minority status; (2) in spite of the challenges faced as a linguistic minority, Anglophones demonstrate a strong sense of place to their region; and (3) feelings of home, heritage, and rootedness constitute elements in Anglophones’ place attachment and contribute to their sense of place in Quebec. The study also concludes that age, mobility, and location are important variables in influencing everyday experiences in each of the three regions.

In what ways can outdoor education be used when teaching immigrants the language of their new country? There is aneed to both concretise grammar teaching and diversify teaching methods to bring language acquisition closer to reallife situations. By using action research a collaborative study was made with four Finnish teachers in four immigrantlanguage classes by implementing a series of lessons using outdoor education. Focussing on the teacher’s experiencequalitative interviews were conducted both before and after the collaborative outdoor lessons. This was supported byobservation and student verbal and written evaluation. Both positive and negative aspects of outdoor education were explored in relation to how effective it is as a teachingmethod and as a method of cultural assimilation and group socialisation. Outdoor education was found to support a sense of group inclusion and strengthen collective group experience.Difficult concepts were dealt with in a more tangible manner which specifically benefited weaker students. Byexploring the unfamiliar as a group in a supportive environment constructive outcomes were gained. Being outdoorsand using natural materials democratised the cultural meeting. Peer collaboration was demanding but fruitful andshould be used more as a developmental tool in education.

<p>In what ways can outdoor education be used when teaching immigrants the language of their new country? There is a need to both concretise grammar teaching and diversify teaching methods to bring language acquisition closer to real life situations. By using action research a collaborative study was made with four Finnish teachers in four immigrant language classes by implementing a series of lessons using outdoor education. Focussing on the teacher’s experience qualitative interviews were conducted both before and after the collaborative outdoor lessons. This was supported by observation and student verbal and written evaluation.</p><p>Both positive and negative aspects of outdoor education were explored in relation to how effective it is as a teaching method and as a method of cultural assimilation and group socialisation.</p><p>Outdoor education was found to support a sense of group inclusion and strengthen collective group experience. Difficult concepts were dealt with in a more tangible manner which specifically benefited weaker students. By exploring the unfamiliar as a group in a supportive environment constructive outcomes were gained. Being outdoors and using natural materials democratised the cultural meeting. Peer collaboration was demanding but fruitful and should be used more as a developmental tool in education.</p>

Abstract Residents of communities that are at the edge of the rural-urban divide are likely to have many senses of place reflective of the changes occurring around them. As the place where they have resided in and identify with becomes transformed by changes in land use and social composition, these residents may be forced to either adapt or leave. Often overlooked, these individuals may feel as if the place where they have long resided is no longer their home. As the familiar routes, stores, and neighborhoods give way to new highways, big name stores, and exclusive subdivisions, their understanding of its sense of place becomes challenged. This thesis seeks to understand changing senses of place among residents in Lutz, an unincorporated community at the edge of the city of Tampa in Florida. Using a humanistic geography approach which focuses on individual perceptions, nine semi-structured interviews were conducted on questions related to community boundaries, everyday experiences of demographic and land use transformations, and possible futures of the community. Further background on the community was collected by traveling through it and analyzing media accounts which provided both historical and contemporary perspectives on its cultural landscapes. One of the main findings of this thesis is that the unincorporated nature of this community adds a unique dimension to discussions of its socio-spatial transformations since the role of boundaries in sense of place becomes complicated here. Thus, in contrast to firm lines drawn by cartographers or postal agencies, cultural boundaries have a high degree of subjectivity and are often at odds with official demarcations. Overall, this thesis highlights the value of focusing on residents of unincorporated communities in order to build more complex notions of place-based identities.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation defines heritage tourism as: "traveling to experience the places and activities that authentically represent the stories and peoples of the past and present. It includes irreplaceable historic, cultural, and natural resources." Heritage tourism is a lucrative industry in the United States. On average, heritage tourists spend $623 per trip compared to $457 for all U.S. travelers. The rise of heritage tourism is inextricably linked with several trends in American society, namely: the historic preservation movement, the desire for a sense of place, and nostalgia. These motivating tendencies often inspire problems of authenticity, commodification, and an unhealthy romanticization of the past.The present study seeks to analyze the heritage tourism industry in Florida. Chapter one offers a brief look at the history and anthropology of tourism. Chapter two provides an explanation of heritage tourism and the human motivations that drive it, as well as an examination of several U.S. locations where it is practiced. Chapter three provides a short history of tourism in Florida, an overview of state organizations and agencies that promote and practice heritage tourism, and a look at several of Florida's unique heritage tourism locations.Chapter four is a case study focusing on the heritage tourism industry in St. Augustine, Florida, the oldest city in the United States. St. Augustine presents the best example of heritage tourism in Florida, and offers a perfect setting in which to examine many of the typical problems of heritage tourism. A popular tourist site since the 1800s, St. Augustine followed the lead of Colonial Williamsburg by extensively renovating its historic district in the 1960s. Tourism is the city's only true industry, but the number of tourists that visit annually pales in comparison to non-historical Florida attractions like Disney World. St. Augustine raises unique questions about the neglect of the Hispanic influence in the history of the United States, the American public's fascination with myth and primacy, and the inherent difficulties of maintaining authenticity in any heritage tourism location.

This thesis is an attempt at understanding the theoretical work of Joshua Meyrowitz in communication. The self-proclaimed specificity of his "contextual" media analysis will be recognized as well as its relevance for the development of a general logic of social change. The sources and foundations of Meyrowitz's media analysis will be respectively reconstructed in terms of the schools of thought which informed it and of a metatheoretical typology of the social sciences. The contextual logic of social change will be framed as a type of formal functionalism dealing with self-regulated systemic changes and integrating aspects of a more comprehensive sociology. It will be evaluated in view of recent empirical studies of some (post-)modern transformations in community life. The integrity of Meyrowitz's work in regard to his sources, the contribution of his media analysis to the development of community studies, and the foundations of his logic of social change will be here in question.

Due to the growing population in Stockholm, some of the urban green areas are beingsubjected to exploitation. Hammarbyskogen is an urban forest in the south of Stockholm andis an example of a green area that is planned to be transformed into an urban environment.This paper investigates key qualities and values of an urban forest of Hammarbyskogenvalued by local inhabitants of the neighbourhoods of Hammarbyhöjden and Björkhagen in thesouth of Stockholm. In addition to that, the study seeks to investigate people’s perception ofthe planned development of the forest as well as investigate how these perceptions andqualities are being incorporated into the process of neighbourhood development.Using text analysis, interviews and discussion forums, findings have been made showing thatthe local inhabitants value the urban forest mostly for its ecological and recreational qualities.Regarding perception of the change, people are either positive or negative to the developmentwhich can be explained by people’s experienced sense of place and place attachment of thearea and the forest itself. The study has also shown that the urban planners rely on localinhabitants’ view, as well as on expert knowledge during the process of planning.The results of the study contributes to a better understanding of why and for what purposesurban forests are important for the city dwellers.