<p> The Contingent Valuation Method (CVM) and the Travel Cost Method (TCM) are used to measure non-market transactions, such as recreational experiences in nature-based coastal recreational areas. The purpose of this study was to find mean Willingness to Pay (WTP) for an average recreational experience in a Puerto Rico beach, based on surveys conducted in eight beach facilities. Using the Logistic Regression Model, the odds of acceptance of the visitor to pay more for their recreational experience (based on a hypothetical increase in transportation costs) was determined. Mean WTP for all beaches surveyed using CVM was $66.30. It was also determined that mean WTP for Blue Flag beaches ($73.37) was greater than that of beaches without this designation ($53.82). Using TCM, the Negative Binomial Count Model was incorporated to predict the average number of visits within a 12 month period. TCM WTP proved to be $35.05.</p><p> Based on the results of this study it is proposed that a business plan be developed for a Blue Flag beach in Northeast Puerto Rico operating at a loss, based on the recovery of marginal WTP or Consumer Surplus. The results of this study may be useful for managers of coastal recreational facilities and government agencies concerned with tourism economics in Puerto Rico.</p>

No description available.

The role and impact of decision-making (DM) has evoked much research interest. The link between philosophy and behaviour via the decisions that practitioners make has also been established. In elite sport however there has been little research to show how philosophy can shape and impact DM in this high performance domain. Furthermore, to this point epistemology has not been considered as a potential tool that could help guide and directly influence DM in such an environment. Given the pressures evident in elite golf, the demand for success, and the need to make decisions that will have positive outcomes for players, coaches and the sport itself the focus of this thesis was on developing a bespoke understanding of how those working in elite golf can make "the right decisions". In order to support the investigation an Epistemological Chain (EC) that links the higher order beliefs to practical behavioural outputs was conceptualised. Reflecting a growing interest and awareness of how practitioners and organisations make decisions the aim of this thesis was therefore to provide an exploration of DM in elite golf with a specific focus on the EC. Accordingly interviews were undertaken with coaches in order to gain a better understanding of the ECs existence, operation, application and potential utility. To further understanding of the EC’s wider impact on DM, a series of studies were undertaken, this time examining the EC at the coach-player, inter-coach, and organisational level. Findings from these studies demonstrated that the EC did exist, as did many potential benefits for its implementation. To further test these assumptions and propositions that had emerged an action research project was undertaken with England Golf. This study supported and confirmed the value and practicality of the EC as a reflection tool for uncovering existing interactions and as a framework against which to initiate change and base organisational management operations and decisions. Overall, this thesis represented an interesting study of DM interpretations in the elite golf domain. More significant however is that it has provided elite golf with an evidence-led framework against which to base its decisions.

<p> Tourism, Barbados&rsquo;s primary industry, declined substantially from the outset of the 2008 global recession, triggering an economic slump in the local economy. The purpose of this exploratory study was to explore the views of 20 Barbadian tourism executives regarding the ability of community-based tourism (CBT) to resuscitate Barbados&rsquo;s tourism industry. The participants included 10 from the government and 10 from the business sector; all possessed knowledge of CBT and worked with tourism for at least 10 years. Arnstein&rsquo;s <i> ladder of citizen participation</i> constituted the conceptual framework of this study. Participants were recruited by snowball and purposive sampling. Data were collected using an interview guide with semistructured interview questions, an audio recorder, and interview notes. The collected data were coded and analyzed using thematic analysis, which involved collating the most cited codes into potential themes and developing thematic maps. The major themes that emerged from the data analysis of the private sector included the use of CBT as a means to solidify social relationships among locals and tourists and its ability to encourage repeat vacations. The major themes that materialized from interviewing the government workers included the need for the education of residents regarding the importance of their roles as stakeholder participants and the obligation by the relevant officials to stem any potential for criminal activity that could occur through CBT implementation. Repeated vacations through CBT could give rise to positive social change in the island by generating increased foreign currency injections and improving the social well-being of Barbadians and the Barbados economy.</p>

<p> The purpose of this directed project is to develop nutrition resources aimed at optimizing energy status in male and female elite collegiate endurance runners. Specifically, this project includes personalized meal plans and a post-workout meal suggestion matrix that will be featured within a goal-based smartphone app called &ldquo;Run Fueled.&rdquo; A Formative Evaluation Survey was conducted. An expert panel of three Registered Dietitians completed the survey, and their opinions were determined using a 5-point Likert scale. Overall, the expert panel tended to agree with the specific evaluation items, indicating that the nutrition resources were appropriate and useful for the intended audience. In the future, a research project or qualitative assessment may be conducted on the endurance runners using &ldquo;Run Fueled&rdquo; to determine the effectiveness of the nutrition resources.</p>

Shared residential outdoor space (ROS) is an important resource, especially in urban areas where outdoor space is limited. This study investigates how well shared ROS is used by residents. Data was collected from 129 developments and streets using a postal questionnaire. 346 different areas within the selected sites were measured using the Carto tool of EDINA’s Digimap. Different types of layout were identified; the area of residential outdoor space available per dwelling was calculated and the distance along a walking route to the nearest shop and public open spaces was measured for each area. Aerial and birds-eye view satellite photographs from www.bing.com were used to assess greenness and tree cover and to confirm the layout and era of the buildings. 1328 valid questionnaires were returned. These are considered in three sets: shared ROS only; individual ROS only and both shared and individual ROS. Respondents with only shared ROS available report significantly lower levels of usage than respondents in the other two sets. Variables that vary across the sets and with levels of usage are identified. These are investigated using a casebased, rather than a variable-based method, using fsQCA software developed by Ragin (2008). This enables sets of variables linked with high and low usage of shared ROS to be identified. The most influential attributes are: area of ROS per dwelling, number of households sharing the ROS, greenness, maximum floor level of the dwelling and concerns about noise and privacy. Six interviews and consideration of nine specific developments show that uncertainty about what is ‘allowed’ and concerns about not upsetting neighbours are also inhibitors to using shared ROS. Recommendations are made for improving how well shared residential outdoor spaces are used.

This is a history of the development of the manager in English football from 1880 until the mid-1960s. It is predicated on two main arguments. First, that football management in England has largely reflected the practical tradition of British management where managers are employed more for their experience than any qualifications that they might hold. Second, that the management of players during this period mirrored prevailing attitudes within society towards the handling of young, working-class men and because they lacked any management training, managers imposed their personality and authority on them. The thesis has a chronological structure. The first chapter provides a broad overview of British management up to 1970. Its aim is to provide an overall context for the rest of the thesis by analysing the history of British management, its culture, and also the role of education. Chapter 2 charts the early development of football management in the years up to 1914. The following chapter examines the emergence of early football managers during the same period. It examines, first, the relationship between a manager and his directors and how this has developed in light of football's commercialisation process; second, how the training and background of managers has reflected trends within British management; and third, the manager's relationship with his workers, the players. This framework will be used throughout the thesis. Chapter 4 is a case study of Herbert Chapman. Chapter 5 deals with the inter-War period and Chapter 6 looks at the emergence of modem football management from 1945 up to the Sixties. Chapter 7 assesses the socio-economic impact of a manager on a team's performance during this period. The conclusion will briefly draw together the main themes and arguments of the thesis.

This thesis sets out to examine the creative process in developing large TV console video games. Using methods based on the philosophy of Grounded Theory, interviews were conducted at four game development studios. From these interviews and the extant literature, a Model Set was constructed to reflect the creative process. The underlying premise of the Model Set is that a Darwinian process of variation, selection, and retention, is the kernel of the creating process. The Model Set is comprised of four components: a rigorous domain specific definition of the creative process, a defined perspective, a Core Creating Model, and a Creative Continuum. The Core Creating Model is the mechanism of the creating process, while the Creative Continuum provides a platform to evaluate the video game in terms of the creative definition. Following from the Model Set are four key research findings as contributions to knowledge and current research directions. These findings are: 1) Creativity is not all about ideas, as commonly perceived. Decision-making is a fundamental element of creativity, 2) The Core Creating Mechanism provides a distinction between Creativity and Discovery, while placing both within an understandable context, 3) The Model Set challenges the common assumption that more creativity is better, 4) The creative process is structured in multiple ways. It is of critical importance to understand these difference structures when researching and managing the creative process. The creative process in video game development is not monotonic: it is bimodal, that is, there is creativity both at the beginning and at the conclusion of the development process. Not all creative processes follow this pattern. The Model Set and four key research findings are a contribution to knowledge as they expand and deepen our understanding of the creative process. From these findings, the thesis discusses the theoretical and practical implications of the research.

published_or_final_version / Social Work / Master / Master of Social Work

<p> Travelers throughout time have attested to the profoundly moving and psychologically meaningful impact of their journeys, disclosing travel&rsquo;s potential as a soulful experience. Yet many travel experiences are better defined as &ldquo;ego-trips,&rdquo; with harmful consequences to host regions, individuals, and even the travelers themselves. Dedicated towards the notion of &ldquo;re-souling&rdquo; travel, this dissertation ventures into the typically unconscious aspects of Western travel. </p><p> Depth psychological in approach, this study employs hermeneutics and the symbolic perspective towards an interpretation of a few of the travel experiences recorded by two luminary psychological theorists: C. G. Jung and James Hillman. By exploring these guiding examples of soulful travel, this dissertation unearths key facets of meaning behind the impulse to travel, identifies certain ancestral and archetypal travel experiences, recognizes the role of ritual in the engagement between traveler and place, and regards the import of the traveler&rsquo;s relationship with Other. </p><p> Archetypal alienated seeking, influenced by a mythos of one&rsquo;s &ldquo;parturition&rdquo; from the natural world and spiritual belief systems, is an unconscious factor driving much of Western travel. Utilizing the symbolic approach can aid travelers in becoming aware of their consumptive and/or imperialistic behaviors, lack of meaning, the relativization of the ego, and the accompanying labor pains that are embedded in the collective history of travel as travail. Recognizing the archetypal nature of the journey can assist in uncovering the longing behind the call to explore. To that end, this study identifies archetypal experiences tied to Western travel&rsquo;s ancestry: the road trip, going south, aesthetic travel, therapeutic travel and poetic travel. Ritual can cultivate the Western traveler&rsquo;s receptivity to the psychological potency of place. Authentic engagement with other people and places can also be fostered through a reverent acceptance of liminality, reclaiming psychological projections, and courageous attendance to that which emerges in dialogue. </p><p> This dissertation concludes by positing that the impulse to travel is related to psyche&rsquo;s desire to be mapped as the Western culture moves away from the parturition myth and towards a new mythos of an interconnected world soul. </p>