Employee Motivation and Organizational Commitment: A Comparison of Tipped and Nontipped Restaurant Employees

This study explores motivational and organizational commitment factors of tipped and nontipped restaurant employees when differentiated by gender. The data collected from employees of a nationally-known, branded restaurant chain was analyzed using the ANOVA procedure in an effort to determine if significant differences existed between the tipped and nontipped employees relative to their level of motivation and organizational commitment. The results show that limited differences do exist for certain motivational factors and organizational commitment factors when employees were differentiated by tipped versus nontipped employee status and by gender. The study concludes by offering management implications and suggestions for future research relative to implementing operational systems, policies, and procedures that attend to restaurant employee classification difference as well as gender preference.     

A Protected Areas Ecotourism Competitive Cluster Approach to Catalyse Biodiversity Conservation and Economic Growth in Bulgaria

This paper focuses on how small ecotourism and related supply chain businesses in gateway communities can be linked to protected areas by organising them into competitive clusters focused on their comparative advantages and uniqueness. It examines pilot project work in Bulgaria in small communities near the Rila and Central Balkan National Park. It shows how Bulgaria might develop its ecotourism potential by replicating this approach. The Bulgarian experience holds potential for replication in other protected areas and gateway communities using collaborative tools based upon lessons learned from the model sites and from ecotourism cases around the world, including: (1) developing an inclusive stakeholder group; (2) fostering education within gateway communities near protected areas; (3) strengthening the legal and regulatory framework; (4) expanding small and medium size enterprises (SMEs) and entrepreneurship opportunities; (5) expanding destination management capacity at the community level; (6) linking protected area sites to less visited areas; (7) implementing environmental management and certification programmes; (8) expanding financing for protected areas; (9) using the Internet for linking and branding the network; and (10) developing indicator or monitoring systems.     

Do tourists disperse weed seed? A global review of unintentional human-mediated terrestrial seed dispersal on clothing,vehicles and horses

Human-mediated seed dispersal is recognised as an important, but under-researched, issue. To assess the potential for tourists to act as unintentional seed dispersal agents, we reviewed published and unpublished data on seed dispersal via clothing, vehicles (cars) and in/on horses and donkeys, all of which can be used by tourists. Seeds from 754 species of terrestrial plants have been collected from these vectors, 15% of which are internationally recognised environmental weeds. Seeds were collected from personal clothing and equipment (228 species), the fur of donkeys and horses (42 species), horse dung (216 species) and vehicles (505 species). Most were herbs (429 species) or graminoids (237 species) and native to Europe. Annual Poa, White Clover, Kentucky Bluegrass and Yorkshire Fog were the most frequent species. There have been eight studies specifically on tourists, which identified 12 species on clothing, 26 on vehicles and 133 from horse dung. Methods that minimise the risk of tourists as human-mediated dispersal agents may therefore be appropriate for some tourism activities/destinations: suggestions are made. Further sampling using standardised experimental techniques is required to assess the relative risk associated with specific tourist activities and locations and determine which, and how much, seed is transported.     

Narratives of Negotiation and Transformation: Women's Experiences within a Mixed-Gendered Gym

ABSTRACT

Those within the fitness industry claim that gyms provide accessible space for women (of certain economic status) to engage in activities that will increase their health. As such, gyms are marketed as safe, inclusive, and empowering spaces. Yet when viewing gym spaces through a feminist-informed lens, it becomes clear that gyms are not always innocuous spaces. They often reflect and perpetuate gendered power relations and highly prescribed cultural expectations for femininity around women's bodies, appearances, strength, and abilities. This narrative inquiry sought to illuminate women's gendered experiences within a for-profit mixed-gendered gym space. Through the use of unstructured life story interviews, this research highlights the dominant gendered expectations that women perceived within the gym and how these expectations influence women's gym use. The narratives also exposed several ways that gyms can be changed in order to facilitate more positive gym experiences for women.     

Accounting for Gender in a Study of the Motivation-Involvement Relationship

ABSTRACT

The effects of gender on involvement in high-risk recreation have received limited research attention despite mounting evidence suggesting the learned interactions between people and places likely vary for men and women. The purpose of this study was to provide insights into how gender influenced the motivation-involvement relationship among whitewater recreationists on a Wild and Scenic River in California. Our results revealed the motivations of Risk, Escape, Learning, and Achievement/Stimulation positively influenced involvement in rafting activities. Although gender did not influence all dimensions of involvement, we found that identity expression varied between subgroups. Specifically, men were more likely to ascribe meaning to rafting than women because this activity allowed them to affirm and express their individual character. The implications emanating from this study advance theoretical understanding of the factors that influence enduring involvement and inform natural resource management decisions about maintaining the desired benefits of activities sought by nature-based recreationists.     

The empirical development of a taxonomy for classifying recreation participants based on their attitudes toward the public and commercial sectors

Abstract

This study examined attitudes held toward the public and commercial sectors as variables relevant to classifying the recreation participants. The data were collected in a controlled experimental setting. A taxonomy was developed which can be used to categorize individuals on the basis of their attitudes toward the two sectors. Discriminant analysis was used to place individual subjects into one of nine groups in the taxonomy. The discriminant analysis identified statistically significant differences in the attitudes of individuals who were placed into the various groups. Further analysis revealed that the taxonomy may be simplified by collapsing the nine groups into three groups. The three groups include: (1) people who have more favorable attitudes toward the public sector than toward the commercial sector; (2) people who have more favorable attitudes toward the commercial sector than toward the public sector; and (3) people who have similar attitudes toward both sectors. Limitations of the study, implications for managers, and directions for future research are discussed.     

Married couples’ involvement with family vacations

Abstract

The involvement construct has received a great deal of attention in recent years. However, the majority of research on this topic has focused on the individual and has ignored spouses’ shared leisure involvement. In addition, little work has been done on involvement in the product‐class context of family vacations. This study examined the underlying dimensions of married couples’ involvement with family vacations and how these dimensions relate to selected personal variables. Factor analysis revealed two underlying dimensions. Stepwise multiple regression revealed that pleasure‐importance was positively related to gender role ideology and education and negatively related to presence of children in the home. A positive relation existed between the second dimension, sign value, and age. The study provides insight into both the nature of the involvement construct and how it might be used in future research.     

An Integrative Approach to Tourism: Lessons from the Andes of Peru

This study compares the Andean communities of Taquile Island and Chiquian, Peru, which differ in their level of integration for their respective tourism sector. Integration was primarily defined by percentage of local people employed, type and degree of participation, decision-making power, and ownership in the local tourism sector. Principally social and economic aspects were measured and evaluated, recognising that considerable local support and participation in tourism decision making are linked to issues of ownership and control. It was found that higher levels of integration would lead to enhanced socioeconomic benefits for the community. A framework for community integration was developed that could help guide research, planning, development and evaluation of community-based tourism projects.     

Tourism demand patterns in turbulent times: analysing Welsh accommodation occupancy data for 1998–2001

Different events in 2001, most notably an outbreak of foot and mouth disease and the 11 September terrorist attacks in the USA, caused many tourist businesses in the UK to experience significant changes in demand volumes. This paper examines the occupancy performance of serviced accommodation establishments in Wales from 1998 to 2001 and focuses especially on the changes in demand patterns in 2001. The approach is based on a combination of principal components and cluster analysis. The results are used to group establishments with similar performance profiles. Detailed conclusions are drawn about the temporal and spatial shifts in demand in 2001. ‘Winners’ and ‘losers’ are identified and several concrete implications for marketing and development policies are discussed. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.