Social ecological models are recognized for allowing researchers to examine the influence of multiple factors on behaviour, yet to date relatively little research has simultaneously examined the role of personal, social, and environmental factors on youths’ physical activity, while giving consideration to the role of different types of neighbourhoods. The current study examined the physical activity of 804 youth aged 10 to 16 years residing in urban high density, suburban, or suburban low density neighbourhoods, by exploring relationships between several personal, social, and environmental factors. Findings revealed that all three factors were significant in explaining youths’ physical activity. Differences in participation were found based on gender and neighbourhood; males and youth from suburban low density neighbourhoods were significantly more physically active. Moreover, several variables were found to be important for understanding youth physical activity: sex, age, self-efficacy, encouragement, neighbourhood safety, and the use of a number of neighbourhood facilities.

Destination image is a concept created by different demand and supply agents. The balance between what is expected and what is being delivered is essential in promoting the destination. The main goal of this study is to describe the different destination images related to Dracula tourism in Transylvania. This is accomplished by looking at the Western tourists’ expectations and demands as expressed in their travel blogs, and by analyzing the supply side through the elicitation of information from locals and Bran Castle tour guides through qualitative interviews. Qualitative content analysis was used to analyze the content, visual and audio information on sampled blogs and interviews. This method identified 11 different themes which captured the overall destination image. The themes focused primarily on historical and fictional images of the destination, on the type of tourists visiting Bran Castle, but also on the locals’ image and response to Dracula tourism. The findings of this study reveal that the majority of Western bloggers visit Bran in search for Count Dracula; however, the Bran Castle tour guides focus on presenting the historical truth. Local residents, although seeing Dracula as a national hero, sometimes adopt the mythical image as a marketing or product development tactic in selling to visitors. Nevertheless, the stakeholders involved in the creation of the image each fit into different destination image frameworks, allowing for the creation of an overall destination image based on historical and fictional elements.

Good governance is of paramount importance to the survival and success of parks in achieving the dual mandate of conservation and recreation. However, there exists a lack of research on governance regarding the implications of outsourcing visitor services to private companies. The case study research explored the perceived implications of British Columbia’s Provincial Parks’ outsourcing model on the nine UNDP criteria for good governance. Interviews were conducted with six government employees, three private contractors, and six members of conservation and recreation non-governmental organizations. The findings revealed distinct variations in satisfaction with governance principles based on stakeholder group. The participants were all deeply passionate for parks yet felt powerless to influence the direction and management of BC Parks due to the high level of political control which prioritized the focus placed on each governance principle. Future parks governance research must also investigate the relationship between politicians and public administrators.

This study examined the role volunteer tourism played in the conservation of elephants in Chiang Mai, Thailand. A case study was conducted to determine whether volunteer tourism at the Elephant Nature Park (ENP) had an effect on elephant conservation. Specifically, this study looked at how volunteer tourism and the ENP had an impact on: non-volunteer tourists, elephants, the local economy, and government policy. Mixed methods were used to attain the data in this study. Self-administered questionnaires were created to determine the impact volunteer tourism had on non-volunteer tourists. Results showed an increase in non-volunteer tourists’ awareness of elephant tourism, volunteer tourism and elephant conservation during the time they spent at the park. Self-administered questionnaires were also used to determine whether members of the local community felt they were receiving economic or social benefits from volunteer tourism and the ENP. The data showed that community participants felt they were receiving both economic and social benefits but their responses varied depending on sex, age, and how long they had lived in the region. Semi-structured interviews were also conducted to determine the role the ENP had on the conservation of elephants in Thailand and government policy. Interviewees consisted of experts in the industry who were knowledgeable about elephant tourism, volunteer tourism, and the ENP. The data indicated that the ENP created awareness about elephant conservation issues with non-volunteer tourists, volunteers, the community, and government officials. However, the ENP did not have any measureable effect on government policy. The model of volunteer tourism utilized by the Elephant Nature Park has been shown to be effective in conserving the domestic elephant and in creating awareness about domestic elephant conservation issues in Thailand.

This study is a qualitative examination of my lived experiences and the lived experiences of my immediate family in sport. Using critical race theory (CRT) as my guiding theoretical framework, this research project answers Denzin’s (2003) call to advance “a radical performative social science” that “confront[s] and transcend[s] the problems surrounding the colour line in the 21st century” (p.5). As such, the purpose of this project was to explore issues of race, culture and power within our lived sport experiences and to present these experiences in such way so as to unpack the tensions associated with being an Aboriginal person living in today’s Canadian society.

The presence of students with disabilities on university campuses is steadily increasing; however, their total integration and inclusion into campus life has not been as successful (Merchant & Gajar, 1997; Promis, et al., 2001). Canadian students with disabilities continue to be marginalized within universities, mainly because a framework for inclusion has not been firmly established (Promis et al., 2001). Although universities offer services to support academic success, other facets of campus life offered to the general student population, such as recreation or athletics, are often neglected for students with disabilities. These aspects of student life should not be considered trivial as they have many benefits and can enhance a person’s experiences and quality of life at university (Ashton-Shaeffer et al., 2001; Blinde & McLung, 1997; Blinde & Taub, 1999; Promis et al., 2001). Guided by critical disability theory and the concept of embodiment, this dissertation used a participatory action research approach that united key partners from the University of Guelph community in order to examine issues around accessibility and inclusion of students with disabilities in campus recreational and athletic opportunities. The team included representatives from the University’s Centre for Students with Disabilities and the Department of Athletics, an undergraduate student with a disability, and two university alumni. The ultimate goal was to develop a planning framework to guide universities in supporting the human rights and inclusion of students with disabilities in extra-curricular campus life. Interviews were conducted with five research team members and 18 University of Guelph stakeholders, including: students with and without disabilities, staff members from the Department of Athletics and the Centre for Students with Disabilities, faculty members, and senior administrators. A focus group was also held to share findings and generate feedback on a preliminary draft of the framework. What emerged from data analysis of the interviews, the focus group, team meetings, and journal entries was the development of a framework for Creating a Campus Culture of Compassion. This framework identifies how universities can implement programs, policies, services and practices that better respond to the changing and diverse needs and interests of students with disabilities in order to ensure their full engagement in all areas of campus life. The framework centres around six guiding principles that help guide universities toward developing a campus culture that is compassionate. Essentially, a campus culture of compassion values: (a) access for all; (b) diversity and uniqueness; (c) interdependence and social responsibility; (d) diverse knowledge basis, voices, and perspectives; (e) the power of learning and education as a tool for social change; and (f) the whole person. The framework also indicates three fundamental characteristics that a campus culture of compassion must possess. In essence, post-secondary institutions and their community members must be: (a) interconnected, (b) supportive and enabling, and (c) informed. Six process pieces are included in the framework which enables a campus culture of compassionate to be fuelled and sustained over time. These pieces include: (a) creating a vision for the future, (b) constructing a plan to achieve the vision, (c) securing funds to put the plan in place, (d) thinking critically and measuring actions against the vision, (e) being proactive to make change happen, and (f) reaching beyond compliance. The framework encourages university stakeholders to collectively reflect, dialogue, and collaborate in order to create broader systemic changes. These changes are necessary since constraints to campus engagement can threaten a student’s well-being and sense of self. This framework can serve as a starting point to initiate these conversations and inspire universities to use a participatory approach to encourage positive social change within the university context.

The contributions of heritage attractions in cultural plans and economic development have long been recognized in the academic literature. However, despite the involvement of museums in such initiatives, there is little written on these issues from the perspective of the museum itself. Museums are important institutions that fulfill many functions in today’s society. While they have long been known as centers of education, cultural preservation and community, museums are increasingly being called upon in new ways that are outside their traditional preserves, including their position as one of the main attractions for cultural tourism. Museums and other cultural sites are the focus of many tourism and cultural plans being used to stimulate economic development. Nevertheless, the museum literature continues to focus on internal issues such as access, authenticity and conservation, with little discussion on the presence of tourists and tourism in the museum. This study aims to add to the existing body of knowledge concerning museums as a tourist attraction by examining curator perceptions of tourism in their museum, in light of their position in cultural and economic plans.

The purpose of this thesis is to understand the experiences and meanings of tourism employment for Muslim women in the Middle East, including the positive and negative aspects of this form of employment. The study was conducted in Oman, which was the research site and cultural setting for this study. The theoretical paradigm that guided this study was social constructionism. A constructivist grounded theory methodology was also used for this study in order to interpret and analyze the collected data into themes. A combination of convenience sampling and snowball technique was used to recruit participants for the interviews, resulting in a total of 9 interviews being conducted with local Muslim women working in the Oman tourism industry. The data were collected through open-ended interviews conducted face to face, using a semi structured interview format. The analysis process led to the development of seven themes. The seven main themes related to finding work in the tourism field, facing negative attitudes, challenges of tourism work, dealing with negative attitudes and challenges, the importance of tourism work in women lives, an expanded vision of tourism work, and implications for social change. The study revealed that the idea of women’s tourism work as exploitation is complex and multi-layered in Oman. Although there were some indicators of exploitation for the Omani tourism workers in this study, this form of work was also shown to be a source of benefits and form of empowerment for women. Further, the study revealed that tourism employment could also be seen as a site for women’s resistance, particularly for Muslim women seeking to change attitudes towards women, and to create a new society.

Immigration has become a common phenomenon of modern society in numerous countries around the world, including Canada. Despite this, tourism research has mainly focused on specific behaviours of travellers from a particular country (nationality) without considering the possibility that a nation may comprise unique sub-cultures of varying ethnic groups as a result of immigration. This study explores the influence of new Canadians’ home culture on their travel lifestyle and behaviours. A survey of European (n=128) and Asian (n=99) recent immigrants in Ontario was conducted to explore this relationship. More specifically, the project investigates the connection between the respondents’ region of origin and their travel lifestyle preferences in terms of their attitudes and opinions toward travelling as well as their travel interests. The information about the respondents’ demographic characteristics, past travel experiences and information search behaviour was also collected. The data were then analyzed using factor analysis, t-test, one-way ANOVA, chi-square test and cluster analysis. The results show that there are differences between the two groups in respect to their travel lifestyle, past travel experiences, and media used for planning a vacation. Cluster analysis based on immigrants’ reported travel lifestyle identified four distinct segments: High Familiarity Seekers, Low Interest Travellers, Independent Spontaneous Travellers, and Highly Engaged Travel Planners. The study concludes that region of origin has a strong influence on travel lifestyle and behaviour of new Canadians. Hence, the growing migrant population in Canada should not go unheeded as potential market segments, and marketers should acknowledge that consumers in countries with diverse multicultural backgrounds need differentiated services and products.

Arbetet handlar om sjömätning, både hur det går till i dag och hur det gick till förr. Jag har också forskat i alternativa metoder som skulle kunna komplettera konventionell sjömätning. Syftet med mitt arbete var att ta reda på hur många oupptäckta grund det finns kvar i den Svenska skärgården. Metoden för att få fram bra och trovärdiga uppgifter har varit att intervjua personer som på ett eller annat sätt sysslar med sjömätning. För att kunna beskriva sjömätningens historia har jag tagit hjälp av litteratur. Resultatet av min undersökning är att sjökortet i huvudsak stämmer någorlunda med verkligheten. Det finns dock vissa undantag, ofta stämmer sjökortet sämre i skärgårdar där få yrkesfartyg opererar. / This essay is about hydrography, I will investigate how it is done, both today and from a historic perspective. I have also done some research in alternative methods that may complete conventional hydrography. The purpose with this essay was to investigate how many unknown dangerous shoals there is left in the Swedish archipelago. The method to receive good and trustworthy information has been to do some interviews to people that in one way or another are practising hydrography. To be able to describe the history of hydrography I have had some literature as an aid. The result of my investigation is that the nautical chart is mainly comparable to the reality; however, there are some exceptions. The nautical charts is often less reliable in archipelagos were professional shipping is unusual.