abstract: The purpose of this quantitative study is to test the validity of a behavioral theory, value-belief-norm theory (Stern, 2000), in the context of environmental hotel management. The lack of theoretical consideration in previous studies on environmental attitudes of hotel/resort managers warrants an investigation of a theory with the potential to better explain behaviors that support the goals of environment management systems. The goal of this research was to document the values, beliefs, personal norms, and environmental management support behaviors of managers in a hospitality setting. Data were collected from a sample of hotel and resort managers in the Phoenix metropolitan area by using a survey of well-documented items from previous research on the theory. Results suggest the value-belief-norm theory is successful in explaining environmental management support behaviors. Implications for practitioners as well as researchers are discussed. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.S. Recreation and Tourism Studies 2011

Tourism is viewed as an important industry to help local economies overcome poverty and low rates of employment. The economic benefits of a growing tourism industry cannot be disputed in a South Africa where unemployment levels remain above international averages. However, whether South Africa is successfully exploiting opportunities to grow the industry sustainably remains questionable. Many attempts have been made to help the industry implement sustainable tourism practices, especially amongst accommodation establishments. However, policies formulated, initiatives designed and current industry norms and standards make very little distinction between various sizes and categories of establishments. As a result, smaller establishments are lumped together with larger establishments and solutions developed do not address the unique needs of this sector. This study introduces the concept of a smaller accommodation establishment (SAE). While the adoption of sustainable tourism practices within tourism remains unsatisfactory, this study focuses on illustrating the importance of the SAE sector specifically within the tourism sector. It proposes that SAEs are defined and categorised in a format that will allow for greater comparisons in performance – both in relation to each other and in relation to their larger counterparts. This will also allow for the collection of more meaningful data towards establishing baselines and benchmarks. Through a detailed literature review, this study investigates reasons why the adoption of sustainable tourism practices has been lower than desired by SAEs. The research first and foremost focuses on how to define sustainable tourism and responsible tourism and how to define an SAE so as to create a context for the remainder of the research. The literature review used the Porter’s Five Forces model to analyse the relative sustainability of the sector, and proposed the main barriers to implementation of sustainable tourism practices amongst SAEs. It then set out to answer the question: "What framework and mechanisms could be used to help SAEs overcome the barriers to implementing sustainable tourism, thus enabling sustainable growth and development of SAEs as a sub-sector of the tourism industry?" In answering the above question, the study used the Delphi method of reaching consensus to test the views industry experts in relation to the definition and categorisation of SAEs, the size of the sector, the relative importance of the sector in the overall South African economy as well as the potential barriers to SAEs implementing sustainable tourism practices. The study then tested these findings through a broad industry survey that collected qualitative and quantitative data from SAE owners and managers across South Africa. The findings of the broad industry survey confirmed the findings of the literature review and industry expert questionnaires. It added additional data that provided perspectives on the uptake of sustainable tourism practices amongst SAEs and helped to set some baselines for the SAE sector. It also added additional dimensions to be considered in the development of the framework. Finally, the research utilised focus groups and individual interviews with SAE owners and managers to determine the validity of the findings from the previous sections. From the inputs of the literature review and the three data collection phases, this research develops a comprehensive framework for the implementation of sustainable tourism practices amongst SAEs. The framework is a flexible, adaptable and scalable tool that assists in communicating a specific approach that could be utilised by many role players in the SAE sustainable tourism implementation arena, including the SAE owners, public sector entities, private sector business, industry professionals and community members. The essence of the proposed framework is to support the implementation of sustainable tourism practise amongst SAEs, thus enhancing the overall sustainability of the smaller accommodation sector while also addressing the sustainability of the cluster. The framework includes recommendations on how SAEs should be defined and categorised, as well as how sustainable tourism should be defined. The use of the proposed framework helps to draw the attention of sustainability efforts to clusters of SAEs rather than individual businesses and adds to local competitiveness through engaging the supply chains of accommodation establishments. Combining mechanisms such as incentives and change processes, route development and policy formulation guides the framework to provide collaborative holistic approaches to overcoming the barriers of sustainable tourism practices. The framework also recommends holistic indicators of success that do not only represent the performance of individual businesses, but also of business clusters, the tourism sector and the impacted communities. Within clusters, greater cohesion amongst role players will provide greater negotiation power in various aspects such as cost reduction and more favourable policy formulation processes which involves a greater base of role players. Through the adoption of guiding questions within the framework, each of the role players is able to take responsibility their actions and decisions / Environmental Sciences / Ph. D. (Environmental Management)

This study measured postsecondary faculty attitudes toward academic accommodations and an inclusive teaching method called Universal Design for Instruction (UDI). The purpose of the study was to help determine a readiness for change among faculty with regard to implementing UDI principles, compare differences between faculty groups, as well as add to the postsecondary UDI research agenda. UDI requires faculty instructional design and has the potential to reduce the need for individualized academic accommodations and increase the retention and graduation rates of students with disabilities. The study included an online survey e-mailed to 1,621 faculty at Southern Illinois University Carbondale (SIUC). Independent variables included: amount of teaching experience, teaching status (i.e., full-time, part-time), academic discipline, and amount of prior disability-related training. Results showed significant differences among faculty based upon amount of teaching experience, prior disability-related training, and academic discipline. Generally, faculty with more teaching experience and prior disability-related training had more favorable attitudes toward accommodations and UDI concepts. Faculty in the colleges of Applied Sciences and Arts (ASA), Education, and Mass Communication and Media Arts had more favorable attitudes toward multiple means of presentation than the colleges of Science and Liberal Arts. Faculty in the college of Education had more favorable attitudes toward providing accommodations than the college of ASA. The study effectively started a dialogue with SIUC faculty on their willingness to use UDI principles. Overall, faculty reported mostly positive attitudes toward UDI concepts and traditional academic accommodations. Results could be utilized when proceeding with targeted training for faculty on UDI in postsecondary settings.

The tourism and hospitality industry has made a meaningful contribution to the development of the South African economy. Not only the hotels, but also the demand for self-catering holiday properties such as guest houses and bed-and-breakfast (B&B) establishments is increasing which could boost the tourist industry. Moreover, the prospect of the self-catering holiday properties in South Africa is extremely positive, particularly when the country is given the opportunity to hold the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Thus, expectations and perceptions are significantly shaped and transformed by the prosperous environment. The self-catering holiday properties should provide the best possible service to international and domestic tourists and ensure that their needs are fully met. The general purpose of this study was to evaluate the service quality of guest houses and B&Bs in the Nelson Mandela Bay by comparing guests’ expectations and perceptions. The results of this study could assist the managers of guest house and B&B in improving its service performance to more effectively fulfil the needs of dynamic tourist market. The literature study provided an overview of tourism industry from the management and marketing perspectives, services marketing and a detailed discussion of service quality focusing on the nature of services, determinants of service quality and techniques for measuring service quality. The SERVQUAL model and its derivative, Lodging Quality Index (LQI), were adapted for measuring the guests’ perceived service quality in this research. ii The empirical data was collected by means of a survey, using a self-administered questionnaire distributed to guests who were staying at guest houses or B&Bs in the Nelson Mandela Bay identified in terms of convenience sampling. One hundred and five useable questionnaires were received. The empirical findings based on the perception-minus-expectation (P-E) gap analysis showed that the perception mean scores were consistently lower than the expectation mean scores. This implies that guests perceived service quality of guest house and B&B to be relatively low. It is recommended that the managers of guest houses and B&Bs should: {u10007A} uniform the employees; {u10007A} use every tool to figure out what the guest wants; {u10007A} establish specific working procedures and help employees to understand their job responsibilities and mangers’ expectations; {u10007A} invite suggestions of existing located facilities from guests, and move the inconvenient facilities if possible; {u10007A} employ a communication audit to evaluate the overall quality of the communication system by comparing communication objectives to actual performance; {u10007A} combine useful destination information from different sources and update them on the website frequently; and {u10007A} apply an attracting layout to build positive image.

No description available.

El presente trabajo de investigación consistió en desarrollar un plan de negocio para la implementación de un Hostal de 3 estrellas pet friendly en la ciudad de Tacna. Se consideró el alto número de turistas extranjeros, en su mayoría chilenos, que arriban en compañía de sus mascotas, y la poca oferta de alojamientos orientados en recibir a los engreídos del hogar. La sostenibilidad del plan de negocio está basada en un análisis integral del turismo en Tacna para determinar la demanda de las personas que buscan este tipo de alojamientos. Asimismo, se analizó la afluencia de los turistas que llegan a Tacna con mascotas, el perfil del turista extranjero y su nivel socioeconómico. Como parte de su diferenciación, el hostal brindará, adicionalmente, el servicio de guardería para canes, alquiler de los jardines para eventos y un dog bar para expender accesorios para perritos. La proyección de ventas por el servicio de hospedaje a los turistas nacionales y extranjeros se elaboró para un periodo de cinco años, con un índice de ocupación anual distribuido entre huéspedes con mascota y huéspedes sin mascota. Para el primer año se proyectó un índice de ocupabilidad de 62.84 %, equivalente a 10,781 huéspedes. La inversión inicial del proyecto es de S/ 825,343.97, estructurado por el 60% de capital de trabajo de tres accionistas y por el 40 % financiado por el banco, finalmente obtendríamos una utilidad neta desde el primer año de S/ 137,489.77 / The present research work consisted of development a business plan for the implementation of 3 estrellas pet friendly Hotel in the city of Tacna, considering the high number of foreign tourists, mostly Chileans, who arrive to city of Tacna their pets together, and to little offer of lodging aimed at caring for conceited of the home. The sustainability of the business plan is based on a comprehensive analysis of tourism in Tacna to determine the demand of people looking for this type of accommodation, as well as the influx of tourists who come to Tacna with pets, the profile of foreign tourists and their socioeconomic status. As part of its differentiation, the hostel will also provide a nursery service for dogs, rental of gardens for events; and a dog bar to sell dog accessories. The projection of sales for the lodging service to national and foreign tourists was prepared for a period of five years, with an annual occupancy rate distributed between guests with pets and guests without pets. For the first year, an occupancy rate of 62.84 % was projected, equivalent to 10,781 guests. The initial investment of the project is S/ 825,343.97, structured by 60% of working capital of three shareholders and 40% financed by the bank, finally we obtain a net profit from the first year of S/ 137,489.77 / Trabajo de investigación

Individuals with disability have different needs of accommodations because the disability can express itself in different ways. There's laws that are designed to meet the individuals with disabilities so they can live on the same terms as individuals without disabilities. What’s not regulated in the law is how an equivalent education should be achieved for individuals with disabilities in higher education. In order to meet the needs of students with disabilities, accommodations have been established. Accommodations have been established so that students with disabilities can study at the same terms as students without. The aim of this study was to examine decision-makers' experience regarding accommodations for students with disabilities and whether the forms of accommodations correspond to the students' needs, especially in the light of the ongoing pandemic Covid-19. The method used was a qualitative method where semi-structured interviews were conducted with staff in charge of accommodations throughout Sweden.  The result and analysis have found that the accommodations have been affected by the fact that education has shifted to distance education due to Covid-19. The conclusion that has been drawn is that the accommodations are unavailable regardless of whether it is regular teaching or distance teaching. A further conclusion is that the focus should be on making the teaching environment available instead of focusing on expanding the accommodations.

Over one tenth of students in postsecondary education have a documented disability as defined by the Americans with Disability Act. However, faculty and course designers often lack understanding of these students' experiences, which leads to insufficient accommodations. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to explore the experiences of students with physical disabilities (SWD) in online courses. The research was grounded in self-determination theory, which posits 3 basic needs for self-actualization: autonomy, competence, and relatedness. This theory in combination with universal design for learning provided a lens for exploring these experiences. Data collection included 8 interviews with postsecondary students with a physical disability. Data were coded using a combination of value codes and organized thematically. Major findings showed that SWD experience barriers in self-regulation, minimizing of their disabilities, pressure to overachieve, specific knowledge of available resources, isolation, and miscommunication. However, through proper online learning, SWD experience benefits in self-regulation, self-pacing, an increasing sense of confidence and pride, stamina, connection to peers, positive discussions, and advocacy for themselves and others. This research has implications for social change as an evidentiary tool for advocacy when exploring the benefits of taking online courses for SWD and as an awareness tool for teachers and other stakeholders in online education who wish to adapt to best practices.

"October 2004" A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Occupational Therapy. This study examined the relationship between university faculty attitudes toward academic accommodations and the provision of academic accommodations for students with disabilities. A pretest posttest design was used to examine the relationship between faculty attitudes (willingness, perceptions, and intentions) toward students with disabilities and whether the attitudes and the knowledge one posses about providing academic accommodations influences faculty teaching behaviors. According to the 2000 Census, one out of twelve children and teenagers (ages 520) living in the United States has a physical or mental disability (Cohen, 2002). This statistic indicates that the number of students requiring academic accommodations in post secondary education will continue to grow throughout the next decade. The literature suggests that faculty who are not well informed on how to provide reasonable accommodations for students with disabilities may develop negative attitudes that create additional barriers for these students. Therefore, in an effort to contribute to evidence-based occupational therapy practice, a faculty-training workshop was developed and conducted to evaluate whether training faculty about academic accommodations affected their willingness to provide academic accommodations to students with disabilities. Participants were faculty at Eastern Michigan University, Ypsilanti, Michigan who elected to participate in a four-hour training session on providing academic accommodations to students with disabilities. The results of the study suggest that both knowledge and attitudes (willingness, perceptions, and intentions) of faculty improved as a result of the intervention which in turn can have a positive impact on students enrolled in their courses. The researcher concluded that further qualitative research is needed to address if the training provided did in fact have an impact on the participants' long-term behavior and whether participating faculty are now more willing to provide academic accommodations to students with disabilities as a result of the workshop. Additionally inquiry is recommended with larger and diverse samples to determine the most effective training interventions.

The number of children being diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), an impairment that affects an individual’s social-communication abilities and behavior, is currently 1 in 68. An estimated 50,000 students who have ASD are reaching adulthood and exiting secondary education annually―a phenomenon known as the Autism Tsunami. There is a lack of services available to support this wave of young adults with ASD to be self-sustaining, contributing members of their communities. This is evidenced by the 37% of adults in their early 20s, who have ASD, and who have never worked or attended any postsecondary educational program. Due to the lack of appropriate accommodations in many of these programs, there is a low rate of completion for those who enroll. With an increase in positive educational outcomes in K-12 education, there are a burgeoning number of individuals holding the diagnosis of ASD able to enroll in postsecondary education at IHEs. For these students, the predicament of attending an IHE may pose unique challenges despite their ability to complete academic work. There is an ever-increasing need to support individuals with ASD while they attend IHEs, however there is a scant amount of emerging literature on this topic. This exploratory case study was conducted to gain an in-depth understanding of the ways in which Nathan, a student with ASD, was supported while he attended North Coast University (NCU), with the intent to inform further research, and affect the practice of service providers who work with students with ASD who are attending IHEs. The results of this study yielded an in-depth understanding of how NCU Disability Service providers, David and Richard, and Nathan’s mother, Sandy, supported him as he attended NCU, and of his lived experience of support. The Interactional Model of Disability, a model that views disability as caused by both the individual’s impairment and external environmental influences, was used as the theoretical lens in this study. The findings of this study are as follows. Although Nathan has incredible perseverance and academic ability, without support he would not have had the same level of success. The early proactive, nonacademic approach to supporting students with ASD used by NCU was instrumental in Nathan’s success and in helping him to become more independent. Coaching an intervention used as part of the NCU approach was highly effective for Nathan. David and Richard’s dedication to positive student outcomes played a role in Nathan’s success. Support from his mom was essential, but needed to be invisible. The ubiquitous nature of the issue of disclosure of disability emerged, as well as how Nathan experiences ASD.