Exploring concepts of home for returned long term travellers (original) (raw)

Many people helped me through this PhD process and I am deeply grateful to them all, not only those who are listed here. Most importantly though, I am grateful to my ever patient and understanding husband, Travis, without whose wisdom, support, love and laughter I could never have completed this thesis. Secondly, I would like to thank my supervisors: Alison McIntosh, who has traversed the roles of mentor, counsellor and friend, challenging, encouraging and "bolstering" me to the end; Cheryl Cockburn-Wootten, who has challenged me to new ways of thinking outside the realm of tourism studies; and Anne Zahra, whose friendship and support I cherish. I appreciate all of my supervisors for inspiring me to always think ever more critically and deeply, challenging my assumptions and encouraging me to examine divergent philosophies, theories, methodologies and ideas. I also appreciate the endless hours they have spent reading and commenting on my previous drafts. They have also all contributed to my emerging publications and I look forward to continuing this work with them in the future. I would also like to thank my family, and particularly my parents, who have always supported me in my decisions and encouraged me to aim high and reach my goals. To Kirstie, Greg and Girish, with whom I formed a "support group" to air our complaints and ease our isolation, I am grateful. I am also grateful to the Departments of Tourism and Hospitality Management and Management Communication, and in particular Chris Ryan, Jenny Cave and Prue Holmes, who commented on my proposed research at the start of my PhD, and to Maria Fitzgerald and Leonie Pope for their administrative support throughout the process. I also thank the attendees of the 2008 Council for Australian University Tourism and Hospitality Education (CAUTHE) conference, and in particular Paul Lynch and Keith Hollinsead, for their constructive comments on my conceptual paper, and the unnamed scholars who have reviewed my papers and thus contributed to my conceptualisations of this research. xii enclosed space in front of a wharenui or meeting house (literally "big house"). However, it is generally used to refer to the whole complex, including the buildings and the open space (http://en.wikipedia.org/).