The research in Talent Identification and Development (TID) in sport comprises a wide literature that is categorised into five key constructs in the second study of this thesis. The fifth construct concerns the role that the stakeholders (the sport organisation, coaches and parents) have in athlete development. However, this construct has attracted less research attention, despite its obvious and important contribution to athlete success. The second study indicated low degrees of stakeholder understanding of all five constructs of TID and poor levels of coherence between them, (as described by their perception of each other’s views of the research constructs). Further investigation endorsed this lack of coherence, and suggested specific areas of knowledge that would be helpful for coaches and parents in particular. There were very apparent perceptual differences between what parents wanted to know and what coaches thought they should know. Subsequently, testing the impact of parent workshops gave a clear indication that such an intervention could increase understanding of the key issues of athlete development and lead to improvement in coach-parent relationships. The different studies were based primarily in the UK and in one sport, but cultural differences suggest that the findings of this thesis may not pertain to other sports and nations. To this end, the final study compared TID systems and coach- parent coherence in three different cultures. Very few significant differences existed either in each nation’s TID process or in coach-parent coherence, suggesting a substantial influence of sporting over national culture. The conclusion is that the many and consistent outcomes of TID research are largely ignored by sport systems. Where TID processes are put in place for junior athletes by sport systems, they appear to contribute to low levels of coherence between the stakeholders and to the lack of success, as adults, of selected junior athletes.

Britain is widely considered to be the birth place of modern sport. Given this fact, it could be expected that the representation of sport within British museums would be extensive. However, the discussion of sport in museums within the existing literature is limited at best and, where it does occur, has a focus primarily on sport specific museums. Therefore, this thesis examines the development of sport in museums and the motivations and barriers which have influenced its development. Placing sport in museums within the wider context of cultural policy between the period of 1997 and 2012, the study explores the impact of sport in museums within wider social and economic agendas. Due to the lack of existing evidence concerning the subject area, the study draws on extensive fieldwork conducted by the author with individuals working in the fields of cultural policy, museum practice, and academia. In addition, focus groups and questionnaires were carried out with members of the public to ascertain perceptions towards sport as a subject matter for museums and the potential of sport to increase and change museum audiences. In addition, there is an in-depth evaluation of the Our Sporting Life exhibition programme in order to establish the impact of sport in museum against the widely used museu-m methodology frameworks, the Generic Learning *Outcomes and Generic Social Outcomes. The findings of this research demonstrate that sport in museums responds to a range of wider cultural policy objectives which support economic and social outcomes. These include: improving individual’s knowledge and understanding; providing enjoyment; supporting health and well-being agendas; and building stronger communities. In addition, the evidence establishes that sport attracts new and different audiences to museums and suggests that this may impact on the visiting habits of these individuals in the long-term. However, the findings also demonstrate that there are significant barriers to the delivery of sporting exhibitions in museums, most notably access to sufficient funding and inadequate knowledge and availability of relevant sporting collections. Therefore, this thesis presents the first conclusive evidence that sport in museums is both relevant and valuable as a subject matter for museum discourse, and argues that this alone suggests a need for increased funding to support further development of activity in this field.

Over the last two decades, the concept of dark tourism has attracted ever-increasing attention in both academic and media circles. At the same time, not only has there been an apparent growth in the supply of ‘dark’ tourism sites and attractions, but also such demand for dark tourism experiences is also evidently on the increase. Hence, academic research has and continues to be concerned with both the consumption (demand) and development (supply) of dark tourism sites and experiences, reflected in a now extensive and diverse dark tourism literature. Nevertheless, significant issues with respect to dark tourism remain unresolved, not least the validity of the term itself. That is, dark tourism is considered by some to be a pejorative term, particularly in the context of the tourist experience. However, of greater concern is the lack of attention paid to the role of local communities in dark tourism destinations. In other words, there is limited understanding of how local communities respond to becoming the object of the dark tourist ‘gaze’, and the subsequent implications for the development and management of tourism in ‘dark’ destinations. The purpose of thesis, therefore, is to address the gap in the literature. Based on a case study of L’Aquila, a city in Italy that in 2009 was struck by a powerful and deadly earthquake and that subsequently became (and continues to be) a new dark tourism destination, it sets out to explore how ‘dark’ tourism has evolved and, in particular, the local community’s understanding of and responses to their city becoming a dark tourism destination as a result of the disaster it suffered. More specifically, in order to address these issues, the thesis focuses initially on relevant background theory, including a critical review of both the emergence of the concept of dark tourism and its wider application within the field of tourism studies and contemporary theory of host-tourist perceptions. Subsequently, the formal literature review explores critically contemporary approaches to theorising disasters, the disaster recovery process and disaster tourism, as well as broader theoretical constructs relating to the social construction of reality. Collectively, these inform the construction of two conceptual frameworks which are subsequently applied to guide two stages of empirical enquiry. The research in L’Aquila reveals that, overall there has been a lack of any significant guidance or leadership in tourism development within the city. As a consequence, the city has in effect become an unplanned open museum for tourists, whilst the residents themselves feel betrayed by the authorities for the lack of progress in the redevelopment of their city and feel exploited and or treated with a lack of understanding and respect by tourists who come to gaze on their misfortune. Thus, it is argued that a more recognised and established tourism presence on behalf of the local community might have ensured that the conduct of tourists was effectively controlled and managed, thereby reducing the negative impacts of tourism on the local community. That is, it is suggested that, had the local community been better placed to manage the influx of ‘dark’ tourists into their city, they would have been more accepting of tourism and tourists in the initial stages of tourism development following the disaster. Consequently, through a combination of stakeholder development theory and the empirical data generated by this research, the thesis proposes a ‘Post-disaster tourism development stakeholder model’. Of most significance, however, is the manner in which the city’s social and cultural environment has limited the individual and the collective attitude amongst the local community in L’Aquila towards tourism and tourists; that is, it is identified that L’Aquila’s collective social mentality has been a major barrier to the potential development of tourism since the disaster. With respect to the concept of dark tourism in particular, the research reveals that for, the local community in L’Aquila, tourism since the earthquake is best defined or thought of not as ‘dark tourism’ but as disaster tourism. Indeed, it became evident through the research that the labelling of L’Aquila as ‘dark’ not only stigmatised the location and the victims of the earthquake but, importantly, also influenced the residents’ perceptions of tourists. That is, tourists are seen as ‘dark’ by the local residents, heightening negative feelings towards them and consequently, reinforcing the unwillingness of many members of the community to support or engage in promoting dark tourism. Additionally, the research found that local residents experienced higher levels of negative emotions towards tourists in the initial stages following the disaster. Of significance, is that, over time, the local residents have become more willing to accept tourism and tourists who are engaging with ‘dark’ tourism practices relating to the earthquake that destroyed their city. This temporal element is recognised and proposed in a ‘Host-Reactions to Post-Disaster Tourists / Tourism Model’. This thesis also proposes a more rounded perspective of host-tourist attitudes to dark tourism, focusing on the individual attitude of a local, rather than that of a collective societal position. Overall, then, this research reveals that there are significant and varied implications in the development of dark tourism from the perspective of the local community, not least with respect to the term 'dark tourism' itself. That is, dark tourism is shown to be an inappropriate label to attach to either the destination of tourists who visit, enhancing as it does the negative perceptions towards tourists whilst stigmatising the local community as victims. Thus, use of the term 'dark tourism' may be best restricted to academic contexts. Nevertheless, the attitude or perceptions of the local community to becoming the object of the 'dark' tourist gaze can only be fully comprehended within a wider analysis of the local socio-cultural environment and, in particular, the disaster recovery process. In this case study, the local community's perceptions of tourism are influenced by failures in the disaster recovery process and, hence, the proposed frameworks offer a valid basis for future research in alternative dark or disaster tourism contexts.

Globally, the provision of accommodation is dominated by family run businesses (Getz and Carlsen, 2005). Family businesses in the tourism and hospitality industry are significant in terms of numbers, economic value, and longevity. The visions and goals of the owners are different from those of other entrepreneurs, in the tourism and hospitality industry (Carland, Hoy, Boulton and Carland, 1984). However, scant academic research on family run hotels has been published. Since 1980 service quality has been a significant issue within tourism and hospitality, following the pattern set by the manufacturing industries (Johns, 1996). Hayes, Ninemeier and Miller (2011) argued that service quality is an important factor in customers’ perceived experience of hotel operations; thus, a better understanding of customer expectations within tourism and hospitality is potentially valuable for both practitioners and researchers. This is particularly true in Thailand, where tourism is a primary source of national income. Therefore, the overall aim of this research project is to develop a quality assurance model enabling Thai family run hotels to identify strengths and opportunities to improve their practices aligned with their motivations. Phase One of the research critically appraised the visions and goals of Chiangmai family run hotels. Phase Two examined the business environment of the hotels in terms of the implementation of quality assurance principles. In order to ascertain their customer expectations, Phase Three comprised of administering modified SERVQUAL questionnaire to their international guests. The results to the first phase revealed that family run businesses dominate the hotel sector in Chiangmai. These enterprises are motivated by three factors: lifestyle, concerning with their descendants, and keeping the business modest. Phase Two data identified a low level of quality assurance engagement in these family run hotels. Based on their own perceptions of the quality required, these hotel operators employ an inside-out approach; they design and communicate service specification via social media without investigating customer expectations. The findings from Phase Three showed that the dimension of “Competitiveness” is the most important. The thesis findings enabled the researcher to develop a generic model of quality assurance for family run hotels contributing to the body of knowledge.

Within the tourism literature, studies of crisis and disaster management in the tourism industry are relatively numerous. However, not only are most research case studies based on a Western-oriented paradigm, but also relatively few studies pay attention to tourists’ perceptions in relation to tourism crisis management. China has experienced numerous crises related to tourism in recent years and eventually coped with them. However, until the SARS outbreak in 2003 there tended to be a lack of subsequent research of crisis management. Following the completion of the Three Gorges Dam in 2009 and the successful completion of the 175-meter experimental water storage of Three Gorges Reservoir in 2010, the debates surrounding the major negative impacts of the dam on the Three Gorges region have become more intense. The transformation of environment has impacted on tourists’ experiences and perceptions, and even the number of inbound tourists. From a Western perspective, therefore, the Dam has become a ‘self-induced’ crisis for the Three Gorges area in general and for Three Gorges tourism. However, the Chinese government stresses that the Dam provides significant benefits to China’s economic development. The aim of this study is to identify appropriate strategies, within a conceptual framework of crisis management and tourism policy development, for rebuilding Three Gorges tourism in China following the completion of the Dam. Therefore, the research critically reviews the development of the Dam and existing tourism policies as a foundation for the principal research question: what are inbound tourists’ attitudes towards the Dam, and how might these inform strategic responses to the consequences of the Dam on the Three Gorges tourism? Subsequently at Stage One of this study, in addition to the secondary data collection related specifically to tourism in the Three Gorges, scoping research was conducted to elicit primary data regarding both tourism policy and planning for the region and an overview of tourists’ perceptions of the experience of the Three Gorges. Thus, the research at this stage involved two in-depth, semi-structured interviews with the supply-side stakeholders, namely, an expert specializing in Three Gorges tourism research and a high-level official from Chongqing Tourism Bureau, and semi-structured interviews with nine tourists from western countries visiting the Three Gorges. Having elicited the initial data and an overview of tourists’ perceptions of the Three Gorges Dam and the Three Gorges, it became evident that more detailed, rich data were required to inform an analysis of tourists’ perceptions of the Three Gorges and, hence, to underpin recommendations for future policy for Three Gorges tourism Therefore, an additional 17 semi-structured interviews with international tourists were conducted at Stage Two alongside a quantitative survey amongst international tourists who had just completed their trip in the Three Gorges region and were still on a cruise ship. In addition to these, an unstructured-interview with a senior tourist guide, as a supplementary source, was also conducted to further identify the international tourists’ perceptions of the Three Gorges and the Dam. The findings reveal that, from the perspective of Chinese government, the Three Gorges Dam is not considered as a self-induced crisis. Similarly, from the perspective of international tourists, the Dam has no yet caused any perceived tourism crisis. However, international tourists’ perceptions of environmental pollution indicate that water pollution in particular in the Three Gorges region is becoming worse. Such problem, if no controlled effectively, is likely to become a serious water pollution crisis in the future, affecting not only the life of local residents, but also the development of new Three Gorges tourism. Thus, in response to international tourists’ perceptions of the Three Gorges and the Dam, this research makes a number of recommendations for the development of new Three Gorges tourism. Overall, the purpose of this research is to establish a link between strategic responses, Faulkner’s framework of tourism crisis management and tourists’ perceptions of the destination in order to expand present tourism crisis management theory and models. In so doing, it adds an additional dimension to the contemporary crisis management and tourism in China literatures. The research also demonstrates the uniqueness of the case: although the Dam has been thought as a self-induced crisis created by humans, it differs from many crises, as the possible negative consequences brought by the Dam were predicted and predictable.

The provision of outdoor adventure leisure experiences for young people is a complex service task and it requires the careful management of participants' heterogeneous needs in a physically demanding and dynamic risk environment Research into the quality of this experience and its management is limited. It typically presents an adult perspective of young people's needs, without reference to the young people themselves. Practitioners and researchers alike acknowledge that the few studies conducted with young people to date suffer from the lack of clear theoretical and empirical underpinning, therefore this thesis, which draws on the conceptual basis for SERVQUAL, has a clear theoretical foundation. Also, many extant studies are quantitative and do not elicit richer, qualitative data from these young people and thus there is little deep understanding of their experiences to guide management. The literature on service quality links to that on customer satisfaction: in this thesis, the two are explicitly conjoined as a precursor to the field research here. A key contribution made by this thesis is to demonstrate that the main drivers of participants' satisfaction are based on elements not previously identified with clarity. These elements are their interactions with staff, their interactions with one another in their own peer 'socialscape' and their own performance in developing skilled leisure consumption. The explicit identification of a 'socialscape' is a particular feature of the research findings here. This thesis analyses qualitative perceptions of service quality from participants, employees and management, and evaluates how service quality and customer satisfaction are managed in a specific organisational context in outdoor adventure leisure. Firstly, watersports participants were interviewed before, observed during, and interviewed after their courses, to establish whether they felt their expectations were met and how this might have been achieved. Secondly, staff were interviewed to establish their perceptions of young people's experiences of the service, and the critical aspects of managing these experiences appropriately. The critical aspect of managing these experiences is that instructors must have specific personal qualities, summarised in this thesis as 'intrinsic service values', and be able to work in an empowered culture, where the changing physical service environment requires them to make flexible, autonomous decisions to ensure participants have an appropriate experience. There are additional findings, which conclude that the ADVENTUREQUAL Conceptual Gap Model is a more appropriate reconceptualisation of the SERVQUAL Conceptual Gap Model, to inform this study of young people's outdoor adventure leisure. This thesis thus provides both conceptual development and understanding, and managerial insight in a specific context.

The dominant focus in the service quality literature in general, and within the tourism and hospitality sector service literature in particular, has been on the drivers of customer-perceived service quality. That is, although the role of front-line employees in service quality has been acknowledged, few studies have actually identified the factors linked to the service encounter from the perspective of both the provider and customer. In practice, the role of front-line employees in service firms tends to be underappreciated, with the lowest paid, less experienced and trained ‘put’ on the front-line. Therefore, managing and measuring the employee-customer encounter becomes a vital determinant of service quality management. Consequently, there is need for more in-depth research from the perspective of both parties in service encounters. Traditionally, research into service quality has been undertaken from the perspective of a person’s (customer’s) satisfaction within service encounters through the expectancy-disconfirmation theory. Indeed, this has been one of the main concepts for assessing satisfaction (Oliver, Rust and Vark, 1997), including the well-known SERVQUAL scale for measuring service quality (Parasuraman, Zeithaml and Berry, 1988). However, a more recent focus on measuring and managing service quality through the service encounter and, ultimately, on business improvement has adopted a new approach: Human Sigma (Fleming and Asplund, 2007). This new approach has signified a shift away from isolated employee and customer satisfaction scales, described as meeting expectations, to an examination of the more powerful and emotional dimensions of engagement which are holistically measured and managed. This, in turn, can facilitate organisations in remaining highly competitive in attracting and retaining both customers and employees. Given, therefore, that this new approach has the potential to have a positive impact on service organisations in their quest to improve service quality, the purpose of this thesis is to explore the concept of Human Sigma within the context of the hospitality sector. More specifically, focusing on the UK tourism industry, which is primarily comprised of small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs), the purpose of this thesis is to appraise critically the philosophy of the Human Sigma concept of business improvement and to apply the Human Sigma model in a single service context, a UK tourism SME. Subsequently, in order to fully determine the applicability of Human Sigma, a postal questionnaire survey is first conducted amongst the managers of tourism SMEs to establish the extent of the utilisation and contribution of service management tools, techniques and approaches within contemporary small to medium businesses. Following, in-depth interviews are conducted with two key informants in order to enhance knowledge and understanding of the principles and practices of Human Sigma. Building on these results, the third and principal stage of the research applies the Human Sigma model in an operational analysis within a tourism SME. As a consequence, the research not only identifies potential limitations inherent in the Human Sigma model but also, and most significantly, enables the development of a new conceptual model and instrument for measuring and managing the service encounter. The thesis concludes by exploring the implications of this research for service managers and the future of service quality management.

Grounded in Basic Psychological Needs Theory (BNT; Deci & Ryan, 2000) and integrating theory from the group dynamics literature (i.e., team cohesion; Carron, 1982) this thesis extended current understanding of the determinants of optimal functioning in elite youth athletes and teams. The studies aimed to highlight the roles of task and social cohesion as antecedents and outcomes of basic psychological needs satisfaction (BPNS) in teams and provided supporting evidence of structural invariance across elite and non-elite competitive levels in hockey players. A team-referenced examination of the tenets of BNT in teams was supported providing a novel approach to the conceptualisation of optimal functioning in teams. The mediating role of BPNS in the relationships provided further information explicating the differing associations between the BNT-related variables between and within teams. The examination of rugby players’ perceptions of the coach-created climate revealed that autonomy support was negatively associated with mean rates of change in levels of negative affect over time. The chapters provided a systematic examination of the BNT processes that extends knowledge beyond conceptualisation and measurement of athletes’ perceptions with a focus on youth athletes operating within elite and non-elite teams.

Coronary heart disease (CHD) remains the primary cause of death in the United Kingdom today and postprandial lipaemia (exaggerated elevation of the plasma triacylglycerol (TAG) concentration after intake of a fat-containing meal) is gaining recognition as an independent CHD risk factor. This thesis provides an overview of the effect that single bouts of exercise can exert on postprandial lipaemia. The conclusions from the experimental chapters within this thesis are that: prior moderate exercise reduces the lipaemia associated with moderate and high fat meals to a very similar extent in percentage terms; a single session of resistance exercise does not lower postprandial TAG concentrations in overweight, sedentary men, regardless of exercise intensity; ad libitum energy intake is not significantly increased on the morning after a brisk walk, with the exercise-induced lowering of lipaemia akin to percentage reductions from studies where fixed size meals were given; and aerobic exercise which lowers postprandial lipaemia, also increases postprandial hepatic portal vein and femoral artery blood flow. The general message from this thesis is that moderate-intensity aerobic exercise should be advocated as a strategy to lower cardiovascular disease risk, based on experimental evidence that postprandial lipaemia is consistently reduced after single bouts of brisk walking.

The prevalence of obesity in childhood and adolescence is increasing and is often accompanied by poor physical and psychological health. Cardiovascular risk factors such as hypertension and impaired glucose tolerance are prevalent in up to 30% of obese children whilst psychological impairments such as low self-esteem and depression are also commonly observed. Numerous factors have been implicated in the development of obesity, and include both metabolic and environmental factors. This thesis explored these determinants with particular reference to the role of physical activity, dietary intake and cardiorespiratory fitness. Obese children and adolescents demonstrated very low levels of physical activity, reduced cardiorespiratory fitness and significant psychological impairments. Many interventions have been employed to counteract obesity in childhood; however most are limited by high attrition rates. Children and young people are unwilling to give up sedentary behaviours and therefore the development of interactive media games offers a potential strategy to increase physical activity. This thesis identified dance mat exercise as being sufficiently intense to improve cardiorespiratory fitness in obese, sedentary children and young people. Furthermore 12 weeks of dance mat exercise promoted favourable changes in body composition, cardiorespiratory fitness and psychological well-being; all of which point towards an improved quality of life.