This thesis is a study of early modern English travel narratives and the ways they presented the German states and their people to the public through the medium of print. It is based on an analysis of forty seven published travel narratives written by men and women who toured Germany and wrote about their experiences. The study situates these writings in the context of the growing sense of national identity in early modern Europe and offers an assessment of how these travel narratives contributed to a uniquely English understanding of Germany. As English travel narratives about Germany in the early modern period evolved, writers highlighted distinctive characteristics they believed Germans possessed, and compared their subjects to themselves. Travelers presented diverse and even conflicting views on a variety of subjects related to Germany. Nevertheless, by the late eighteenth century, English travelers had fashioned a common set of images, stereotypes, and characteristics of Germany and its people.

Tourism, leisure and recreation are considered to be an important form of interaction between cultures and are a basic part of social life (McMillen,1984; Hutchinson and Fidel,1985). The experiences received by participating in various tourism activities may be different due to racial influences. Although in general terms, travelers may have similarities, the ethnic heritage, social and cultural differences between different racial groups produce distinct patterns of leisure travel and recreational behavior. Demographic factors such as age, education, race, gender and income, occupation and residence may all be related to each other and determine the buying power of the consumer which thus influences travel behavior. African Americans represent more than $400 billion in purchasing power while comprising slightly over 12.5% of the U.S. population (Whigham-Desir,1996). As the largest non-white group in the U.S., African Americans continue to grow into a substantial force in the marketplace. More specifically, Blacks consume a diverse range of products and services. The results of a "Target Market News-The Buying Power of Black America" survey (1996) showed that blacks spent $1.8 billion dollars on entertainment and leisure and $4.2 billion in travel and lodging. According to Mroun and Whigham-Desir (1997), Blacks have an estimated $25 billion in travel spending power and as a result, are gaining the attention of the $440 billion U.S. travel industry. Research investigating the social conditions of marginality (lower income status, lower educational level, lower occupational status and segregated residence) in influencing travel behavior is sparse to none. Little focus has been placed on this relationship and how it affects travel behavior. The purpose of this study was to examine whether or not differences exist between black and white travelers with respect to travel behavior. More specifically, this study investigated whether the marginality predictors, income, education, occupation and residence contributed to differences between black and white travelers in the type of trips selected, length of stay and activities participated in during leisure travel, and whether these differences (if any) persist when controlled for race.The data were collected through telephone interviews with members of a sample of residents in the six southeastern states of Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina and Tennessee. Only those respondents who reported taking a leisure trip at least two nights away from home during the past year and those respondents who identified themselves as black or white were considered to participate in this study. A total of 500 surveys were completed of whom 225(45%) were black and 275 (55%) were white. Data were analyzed by involving three types of data analysis. Significant differences between the samples were identified using chi-square or difference of means tests. The effects of culture and of selected variables were assessed through log-linear modeling and analysis of variance. All of the hypotheses for this study were tested and partially confirmed. While important similarities existed among black and white travelers, findings of the study suggested that blacks and whites do significantly differ in terms of length of stay and income and occupation; type of trip and income, occupation and residence; activities and income, education, occupation and residence; and race and type of trip and race and activities. Tests of the effects of race as opposed to marginality predictors upon travel variables identified race as a predictor of leisure travel and the socio-economic covariates as significant predictors in some instances. Findings of the research suggest implications associated with the developing of effective marketing strategies targeted to the African American population and their estimated $25 billion in travel spending power. / Ph. D.

A clear understanding on the impact of the built environment on travel behavior is crucial for land use and transport planning. However, previous land use-transport studies are largely constrained to a single individual in the household and a single long-term choice (i.e. residential location). The individual was commonly used as the unit of analysis, while both long-term location/mobility choices (residential location, work location and car ownership) and daily travel behaviors could be household level decisions. Besides, previous land use-transport research usually assumed the residential location as a decision that independent with the work location, while these two location choices may be associated with each other. Ignoring intra-household interactions in travel decisions and the interdependencies between different long-term choices would lead to an incomplete understanding on the land use-transport relationship. This thesis fills these research gaps by providing a new household perspective to rethink and reexamine the relationships among the built environment, travel attitudes, and travel behavior. It extends the"individual-based"analytical framework of land use-transport research to a broader"household-based"one. Specifically, this proposed analytical framework takes the household as the basic unit of analysis, and considers interactions among different household members as well as different long-term choices. This research challenges the underlying assumptions of existing land use-transport research, and has the potential to guide the research design and model specification of future travel behavior studies. Three empirical studies were conducted to examine the proposed household-based research framework. Data was derived from a household activity-travel diary survey in 2016 in Beijing, China. The results of empirical studies indicate that: Self-selection exists in different long-term choices, including residential location, work location, commuting distance and car ownership; Travel attitudes of different household members play different roles in self-selections regarding these long-term choices; The partner's travel attitudes affect an individual's long-term choices and travel behaviors simultaneously, thereby could be additional sources of the self-selection effect; The built environment has indirect impacts on the male head's travel behaviors through the female head's travel choices; Besides, residential location has indirect impacts on travel behavior though the work location choice, and vice versa. In general, this dissertation confirms the significance and necessity of investigating the impact of the built environment on travel behavior from a household-based perspective. Findings in this dissertation contribute to a better understanding on the process and mechanism of household members' long-term and short-term travel choices, and further both the direct and indirect impacts of the built environment on travel behavior.

A clear understanding on the impact of the built environment on travel behavior is crucial for land use and transport planning. However, previous land use-transport studies are largely constrained to a single individual in the household and a single long-term choice (i.e. residential location). The individual was commonly used as the unit of analysis, while both long-term location/mobility choices (residential location, work location and car ownership) and daily travel behaviors could be household level decisions. Besides, previous land use-transport research usually assumed the residential location as a decision that independent with the work location, while these two location choices may be associated with each other. Ignoring intra-household interactions in travel decisions and the interdependencies between different long-term choices would lead to an incomplete understanding on the land use-transport relationship. This thesis fills these research gaps by providing a new household perspective to rethink and reexamine the relationships among the built environment, travel attitudes, and travel behavior. It extends the"individual-based"analytical framework of land use-transport research to a broader"household-based"one. Specifically, this proposed analytical framework takes the household as the basic unit of analysis, and considers interactions among different household members as well as different long-term choices. This research challenges the underlying assumptions of existing land use-transport research, and has the potential to guide the research design and model specification of future travel behavior studies. Three empirical studies were conducted to examine the proposed household-based research framework. Data was derived from a household activity-travel diary survey in 2016 in Beijing, China. The results of empirical studies indicate that: Self-selection exists in different long-term choices, including residential location, work location, commuting distance and car ownership; Travel attitudes of different household members play different roles in self-selections regarding these long-term choices; The partner's travel attitudes affect an individual's long-term choices and travel behaviors simultaneously, thereby could be additional sources of the self-selection effect; The built environment has indirect impacts on the male head's travel behaviors through the female head's travel choices; Besides, residential location has indirect impacts on travel behavior though the work location choice, and vice versa. In general, this dissertation confirms the significance and necessity of investigating the impact of the built environment on travel behavior from a household-based perspective. Findings in this dissertation contribute to a better understanding on the process and mechanism of household members' long-term and short-term travel choices, and further both the direct and indirect impacts of the built environment on travel behavior.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / The use of Global Positioning Systems (GPS) and/or accelerometers to identify trips and transportation modes such as walking, running, bicycling or motorized transportation has been an active goal in multiple disciplines such as Transportation Engineering, Computer Science, Informatics and Public Health. The purpose of this study was to review existing methods that determined trip and travel mode from raw Global Positioning System (GPS) and accelerometer data, and test a select group of these methods. The study had three specific aims: (1) Create a systematic review of existing literature that explored various methods for determining trip and travel mode from GPS and/or accelerometer data, (2) Collect a convenience sample of subjects who were assigned a GPS and accelerometer unit to wear while performing and logging travel bouts consisting of walking, running, bicycling and driving, (3) Replicate selected method designs extracted from the systematic review (aim 1) and use subject data (aim 2) to compare the methods. The results were be used to examine which methods are effective for various modes of travel.

No description available.

Travel time estimation is an integral part of transportation management. The use of advanced technologies in collecting travel time information has been a major concern to transportation engineers and system operators who rely on such data to improve safety and emergency response of transportation facilities. GPS and Bluetooth are two of the available technologies which are efficient and cost effective in collecting travel time data. This study focuses on the accuracy analysis of them. This thesis begins with a review of the theory of Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) instruments. Then it illustrates the methods of travel time collection in three techniques, License Plate, Global Positioning System (GPS) and Bluetooth. Third, it outlines the method of processing of the data and the statistical method to compare the accuracy of GPS and Bluetooth. Last, it presents the results and analyzes the accuracy of two technologies.

"The Gun at Kamurgersky" is a collection of short stories.

This dissertation examines the pervasiveness of storytelling in theme parks and establishes the theme park as a distinct narrative medium. It traces the characteristics of theme park storytelling, how it has changed over time, and what makes the medium unique. This was accomplished using a mixed methods approach drawing data from interviews with creative professionals, archival research, fieldwork, and an analysis of more than eight hundred narrative attractions. The survey of narrative attractions revealed the most common narrative expressions to be dark rides and stage shows. Source material tends to be cultural tales (legends, fairy tales) or intellectual properties (generally films). Throughout major periods and world regions, setting, scenes, and visual storytelling are the most ubiquitous narrative devices. Three dozen techniques and technologies are detailed in this project. Significant impetuses for narrative change over time are the advent of technologies, formalization of the industry, explicit discourse on storytelling, formation of design philosophies, and general convergence of media. There are at least a half dozen key distinctions in theme park narratives compared with other mediums: dimensionality, scale, communality, brevity, a combinatory aspect, and a reiterative nature. Also significant is that creative professionals view themselves as storytellers, purposefully design with narrative systems, embed them in spaces, and participate in public dialogue surrounding narrative and design principles. This study was initiated to expand the literature on emerging media and narratives within the Texts and Technology approach and to fill a gap in the scholarship, as designer standpoint is rarely considered in analysis. This is the first large-scale study of storytelling in the global theme park industry. It uses underrepresented creative voices as participants and recognizes their contributions as storytellers. Finally, the project lays the groundwork for future inquiries into theme parks as storytellers and spatial narrative mediums.

Tourism is a topic that has gained much attention within the realm of anthropology over the past few decades. Anthropological research of the tourism industry has been largely devoted to the study of the tourist gaze and its subsequent sociocultural impacts as well as the benefits that travelers reap from their colonialist excursions. However, the voices of those who form the foundation of this industry, the laborers, remain almost entirely absent from said discourse. Furthermore, there is a lack of anthropological consideration for the relationship between tourism and mental health experiences of employees within the tourism industry. One specific region that is rife with information on tourism and its effects is Orlando, Florida. This research employs participant observation and semi-structured interviews to analyze the lived mental health experiences of current/former Disney cast members as a direct result of their employment within Disney and the Orlando theme park tourism industry. Not only does this thesis aim to backtrack the erasure of the perspectives of tourism employees and help create a space for them to make their voices heard, but it also attempts to bridge the gap of consideration for the impacts of tourism on the mental health of tourism employees within anthropology and touristic studies. Through the application of my own research as well as the minimal amount of relevant anthropological and touristic studies literature, I argue that Orlando theme park tourism exists as a type of structural violence that utilizes performativity and a neoliberal market to cast tourism employees in a slot of servitude that is nearly impossible to escape. As a result, this research possesses great potential to highlight the ways in which Orlando can become the happiest place on earth for its residents and employees, not just those who engage with it for their own leisurely gain.