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Reading the City Through Practice: Evaluating the Urban Hunting Game as a Place-Based Learning Method in Porto and Kaunas
2026-05-14 - Albuquerque, Helena; Marques, Jorge; Quintela, Joana A.
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Reading the City Through Practice: Evaluating the Urban Hunting Game as a Place-Based Learning Method in Porto and Kaunas
by Helena Albuquerque 1,2,*ORCID,Jorge Marques 1,3ORCID andJoana A. Quintela 1,4ORCID
1
Research on Economics, Management and Information Technologies (REMIT), Portucalense University, 4200-072 Porto, Portugal
2
Research Unit on Governance, Competitiveness and Public Policies (GOVCOPP), University of Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal
3
Centre of Studies in Geography and Spatial Planning (CEGOT), Department of Geography and Tourism, University of Coimbra, 3004-530 Coimbra, Portugal
4
Research Center in Economics & Business Sciences (CICEE), Autonomous University of Lisbon, 1169-023 Lisbon, Portugal
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Geographies 2026, 6(2), 50; https://doi.org/10.3390/geographies6020050 (registering DOI)
Submission received: 3 April 2026 / Revised: 9 May 2026 / Accepted: 11 May 2026 / Published: 14 May 2026
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Abstract
Urban tourism research has long recognised that understanding cities depends not only on accumulated knowledge but also on the ability to read space, interpret urban form and connect physical settings with cultural meaning. Although these ideas are well established in tourism geography, fewer studies have examined how such skills can be developed through structured learning activities in higher education. This article addresses this gap by analysing the Urban Hunting Game (UHG) as a place-based learning approach designed to strengthen students’ spatial awareness and analytical capacity to interpret urban environments through fieldwork and digital mapping. The UHG was implemented in two European cities, Porto and Kaunas, through distinct pedagogical structures shaped by local conditions. In Porto, students followed a collaborative process using uMap to co-create a single itinerary. In Kaunas, international student groups independently designed thematic routes using MyMaps. This differentiated methodological approach proved advantageous, as it showed how different levels of autonomy and digital engagement influence spatial decisions, interpretive strategies and the narratives that the students construct. Based on student-generated maps and observational notes, the findings show that the UHG enhances spatial literacy, encourages attention to detail and supports the translation of field observation into coherent tourism experiences. This study contributes to tourism geography by illustrating how map-centred, place-based learning methodologies can be adapted to diverse urban contexts and by highlighting their potential to develop interpretive and analytical competences relevant to urban tourism studies.
Reimagining work in the age of intelligent automation: A qualitative inquiry into AI-augmented workforce dynamics and managerial redesign
2026-05-15 - Barbosa, Isabel Cristina Pereira; Real, Elizabeth
Purpose
This paper aims to examine how artificial intelligence (AI) reshapes contemporary work by augmenting, rather than substituting, human roles, engaging explicitly with substitution, augmentation and co-evolutionary perspectives on AI and the future of work. It introduces the concept of augmented work agency to refine sociotechnical debates on agency, control and coordination in AI-mediated settings and investigates how AI integration transforms managerial practices, workforce identities and organizational coordination, within evolving infrastructures that combine predictive and generative AI.
Design/methodology/approach
A qualitative interpretivist research design was used, drawing on semistructured interviews with 28 managers and professionals from 12 organizations across technology, finance and knowledge-intensive service sectors in Europe and Asia. Using thematic and interpretive analysis, supported by organizational document review, the study identifies patterns of adaptation in organizations implementing AI at strategic and operational levels, paying particular attention to experiences of technostress, anxiety and the micro-political negotiation of AI tools in everyday work.
Findings
This study develops an emergent framework of AI–human co-adaptation, illustrating how cognitive, relational and structural changes accompany AI integration across three interrelated dimensions: technological alignment, cognitive calibration and ethical anchoring. It uncovers three central tensions − autonomy versus orchestration, capability versus dependency and experimentation versus ethics − that collectively shape the evolving dynamics of AI‐mediated work and condition how organizations navigate competing priorities while fostering productive human–AI collaboration, and how employees experience and contest AI integration through forms of individual and collective agency.
Originality/value
This paper advances understanding of augmented workforce design by introducing the concept of augmented work agency as a multi-level, interpretive form of human agency in algorithmically mediated environments, extending sociotechnical systems, algorithmic management and institutional-logics perspectives on agency, control and coordination. It conceptualizes AI as a co-evolving organizational capability rather than a deterministic technology and shows how augmented work agency is shaped by generative and non-generative AI applications, employees’ experiences of anxiety and technostress and the micro-politics through which teams and employee groups negotiate the boundaries of AI use and AI ethics. The study offers actionable insights for leaders seeking to balance innovation, capability development and ethical governance in AI-enabled workplaces while sustaining human interpretive authority, accountability and responsibility over time.
Pilgrimage in the Digital Age: Marketing Reflections and Technological Pathways on the Way of St. James
2026-04-01 - Cayolla, Ricardo
The religious tourism industry is a reality in today’s society. After centuries of history, the pilgrims’ paths are just one example of the importance they represent in the history of humanity in the creation and sustainability of regions. We live in a time when the search for an identity for each individual is pressing. Religion and other activities (e.g., sports fans) are among the most important in seeking identity. The mixing of faith and business is a fact nowadays. The relationships that consumers establish with brands are vital to achieving their goals. The religious tourism industry, like many others, needs to attract and maintain a whole range of resources and be aware of the signs of a rapidly changing society. After completing the Portuguese St. James Way (a.k.a., Camino de Santiago), with this commentary based on personal experience, we highlight three topics: 1) the signage used in Portugal and Spain; 2) the role of women today; 3) the pilgrimage as a reflection of current society. Finally, we present possible avenues of study in this area.