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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.

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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.

(1) The major aim of this work was to provide a scientific basis for the management of St. Cyrus National Nature Reserve. The Nature Reserve itself consists of cliffs, sand-dunes and a salt-marsh. Most of the research was focussed on the latter two. The approach to the research was partly descriptive, partly experimental. (2) A description of the salt-marsh and sand-dune vegetation was obtained by means of classification and photointerpretation. The landform changes around the N. Esk estuary were mapped from aerial photographs (maps 1a and b). Six communities were described and mapped from the salt-marsh: a Festuca rubra-community, a Juncus gerardii-community, a Scirpus maritimus-community, a Relict Puccinellia or tall herb-grassland community and an open and closed Elymus-Ammophila -community on deposited sand (map 2). These communities were ranked into the Braun-Blanquet phytosociological classification system. The distribution of the surviving salt-marsh flora was mapped (map 3) and its distribution related to environmental conditions. The successional development since 1951 was related to the decrease in flooding frequency, a consequence of the landform changes in the area; most affected by the desalination and desiccation processes was the former Puccinelietum maritimae which developed into the tall herb-grassland or Relict Puccinellia-community, characterised by pasture and ruderal species. The future development of the salt-marsh vegetation largely depends on the dynamic processes around the N. Esk estuary. (3) A polythetic divisive classification method, TWINSPAN, led to the identification of the sand dune communities. The following sequence of communities was described (map 4): foreshore colonisation, mobile Ammophila-dune, Ammophila-dune in its stabilising and early stages of fixation, tall Arrhenatherum-grassland and grazed dune pasture. The last stage of the successional series is represented by dune scrub dominated by Ulex europaeus. The lichen-rich grey dune community, an anomaly in the present series, probably represents a deflection of the successional trends. The most important trends observed since 1951 were the stabilisation and fixation of the Ammophila-dunes, the development of tall Arrhenatherum-grassland and Ulex-scrub. The decrease in rabbit numbers after the advent of the myxomatosis in 1954 was partly responsible for these changes. (4) The effect of the removal of the rabbit grazing factor was assessed from rabbit-proof exclosures. Principal Components Analysis proved to be an effective means of detecting time-related trends in the vegetation. The exclusion of rabbits from the grazed dune pasture led to the development of taller vegetation, a significant increase in the cover of Festuca rubra and a small but significant decrease in species richness. Excluding rabbits from the grey dunes resulted in a decrease of annual species. A more detailed study of the grey dunes revealed that the variation in this community was related to the disturbance by man and/or rabbits. (5) About 18 km of paths, and tracks, were mapped from the Nature Reserve (map 5). This included 3 km of tractor tracks created by the fishermen. The remaining 15 km represented footpaths and old tracks. Nearly all of these paths and tracks were concentrated in the dunes which had a path, density of 739 m/ha. A general description of the vegetation and the amount of erosion revealed weak points in the dune system. Vegetation recovery on a footpath in the dunes took approximately two years. Camping on the dune pasture appears to favour a particular assemblage of species. Removal of camping pressures had initially little effect on the dune pasture vegetation. (6) Experimental burning of a part of the Arrhenatherum-grassland was followed by a rapid recovery of the dominants during the first season after the fire. Recolonisation by mosses started in the second season after the fire. Complete recovery of the vegetation is to be expected three or four years after the burning. Fire also appeared to have a rejuvenating effect on Ammophiia arenaria. (7) Bracken and gorse have been invading the dune pasture to the detriment of its attractive and rich flora. Experimental control of bracken with the herbicide asulam demonstrated that spraying with asulam was a safe method for controlling bracken on the Nature Reserve. Application of asulam at the recommended rate of 4.4kg active ingredient per ha resulted in an average reduction of bracken of 79% in the first year after treatment and 58% reduction in the second year after treatment. In the second year after treatment an increase in the cover of Arrhenatherum elatius and a decrease in the cover of bracken litter were observed. The rate of spread of gorse was estimated from maps made from aerial photographs and appeared to be exponential. Gorse-cleared sites in the Arrhenatherum-grassland and dune pasture were recolonised mainly by vigorous Holcus lanatus.

This thesis seeks to contribute to a better understanding of the effects of tourism on the host population, within the context of planning for regional development. In the Badenoch-Strathspey District of the rural Scottish Highlands, various surveys were undertaken to obtain a wide range of information on historical trends, policies and planning, use of resources, the tourist industry and the resident population. To provide a framework for assessing effects, a set of key indicators was devised. Many are subjective in nature, and a major challenge of this research has been to obtain suitable measures for each indicator. Effects could not be 'proved', given the absence of a controlled experiment, so many of the observations are suggestive rather than conclusive, or deduced rather than based on inferential statistics. The explanation of effects required a detailed assessment of the tourist industry, so that actual mechanisms of change could be isolated. It was found that the most profound changes affecting residents stemmed from development and growth in general, leading to the integration of residents in the mainstream of national economic and social trends. Tourism had some unique effects and exacerbated others. Most significant of the positive effects were the creation of new opportunities for jobs, incomes, and leisure, while a shortage of housing and some crime and social disruption were the main negative effects. The demands of large-scale developments for importing staff and using mainly unskilled and female labour had the greatest effect which could be attributed uniquely to tourism. However, the attainment of a winter season and an emphasis on sports and large facilities increased the value of tourism by providing more all-year jobs for males. Overall, it was concluded that the benefits brought by recent developments had outweighed the costs and problems to residents and the local authorities. In assessing the implications of the case study, analysis focussed on key policy-related questions. Most significant of these was the question of concentration versus dispersal of developments. It was concluded that a large-scale concentration was most appropriate for generating major changes, but that it eventually became desirable to limit the dominance of the concentration in order to disperse more widely the benefits that could be obtained from tourism.

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.

Recreation has been a major force in enhancing the quality of life in a modern society. The provider must try to fulfil the requirements of the recreational users and has to focus on the quality of the products it delivers. As a recreational destination the National Park must offer opportunities to satisfy the diverse needs and requirements of the visitors. This involves establishing recreational participation patterns, preferences and the related demands and benefits to the users. In turn, a suitable user fee must be established and explained to recreational users in order to enhance their appreciation of costs. The study focuses on the evaluation of recreational usage of the National Park. The data acquired from the survey in the area established the background of the visitors in terms of socio-economics, leisure and recreation patterns, travel characteristics, on-site recreation attributes and the interrelationships between various activities. Besides, users perspectives in relation to the incremental and improvement of the facilities, the environment and related management approaches were recognised. These findings can be useful for the development of an integrated management approach leading to social and ecological balance. In addition recreational preferences were established by valuation of the opportunities of Taman Negara based on the willingness to pay responses of the user groups. Recreational use of the Park was later evaluated using the contingent valuation method. The demand for recreation use of the Park in its existing condition is attributed to foreigners, income, education, those not visiting friends or relatives during vacation, visitors pursuing specific recreational activities, visitors accompanied by friends and visitors accompanied by their families. The demand for improved facilities is related to Malaysians, urban residents, income, education and visitors participated in bird and wildlife observation. The recreational value for existing opportunities of the Park was RM211,939 per annum and value for opportunities if improved was RM304,086 per annum. The benefits gained by the recreationists for existing opportunities was RM175017 and RM267,164 per annum for improved opportunities. The suggested entrance fees were RM3.00 for existing opportunities and RM8.00 for improved opportunities based on total revenue obtained by the management. Finally information of recreational usage and its management highlighted from the study could be used to aid the formulation of the National Park policy and better management of this area.

<p> While overt and systematic forms of remediation proliferate at community colleges through developmental education courses, remediation also works across the system of U.S. higher education to satisfy divergent goals of universal access and highly guarded academic prestige. Recognizing that remediation often targets students whose &ldquo;at-riskness&rdquo; has been implicitly tied to their racial identities, socioeconomic status, language backgrounds, parental education levels, and/or status as international students, this practitioner research study attempted to better understand how remediation operates within and through a university-based learning center at a highly competitive institution and to enact, with students and colleagues, learning support practices that resist and potentially disrupt institutional legacies and mechanisms of remediation. Through student and practitioner inquiry groups, this study explored alternatives to the individualized and therapeutic instructional model reflected in the spatial organization of the learning center, creating opportunities for participants to collectively construct and articulate their epistemological perspectives, learning goals, cultural and linguistic resources, and complex identities. By framing the learning center and its broader institutional context as activity systems, this study exploited historically accumulating contradictions between these systems in order to trouble and potentially &lsquo;re-mediate&rsquo; both academic support practices and the structures that operate to restrict and define them. Central to this study are questions of how students and practitioners can build upon more expansive notions of knowledge and learning to promote individual growth and constructively disrupt limiting institutional and disciplinary norms.</p>