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Article
Publication date: 23 March 2012

M. Jesús Alvarez, Carmen Jaca, Elisabeth Viles and Anna Colomer

The purpose of this paper is to see how quality management is carried out in hotels in the Basque Country, a region in the north of Spain with a long tradition in the tourist…

1384

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to see how quality management is carried out in hotels in the Basque Country, a region in the north of Spain with a long tradition in the tourist sector.

Design/methodology/approach

The objective of the study was to establish what approaches to quality management are utilised by hotels in the region. The data were collated from information gathered via a survey conducted by e‐mail.

Findings

A large percentage of surveyed hotels implement a quality management system that has been designed in‐house. A figure of note, is the fact that 79 per cent of participants claim their quality management system has been introduced successfully. The study also indicated that a significant number of hotels implement a policy of continuous improvement to the system, as hotels believe in the effectiveness of quality management systems and think that such systems have resulted in an increase in customers and profit.

Research limitations/implications

The hotels that responded to the survey could be those that are committed to quality management. That fact could introduce a bias that makes it seem that the situation is better than it really is.

Originality/value

This study offers an understanding on the philosophy of quality management adopted by hotels in the Basque Country. Moreover, it provides empirical evidence on the perceived results of the implementation of quality management in hotels.

Details

International Journal of Quality and Service Sciences, vol. 4 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1756-669X

Keywords

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Article
Publication date: 1 August 2019

Sandra Ricart, Anna Ribas, David Pavón, Ariadna Gabarda-Mallorquí and Dolors Roset

The purpose of this paper is to identify the tourism potential of natural and cultural heritage in historical irrigation canals by promoting social learning and providing digital…

594

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to identify the tourism potential of natural and cultural heritage in historical irrigation canals by promoting social learning and providing digital tools to local and visitors.

Design/methodology/approach

This research is based on the EUWATHER project (JPI – Cultural Heritage, HERITAGE PLUS Joint Call 2015), through which new opportunities for eco-tourism and outdoor recreation as a driver for sustainable development of historical irrigation canals are provided. A case study from North-Eastern Spain, the Lower Ter area (in the Costa Brava), is analyzed. Heritage inventories and digital itineraries including the tangible and intangible cultural history of waterscape heritage have been co-designed with local communities and key stakeholders. Online data sets and Spatial Data Infrastructure (webpage and mobile app) are provided.

Findings

The project provides a manual for developing digital waterways heritage tours. For the case study, up to 118 heritage objects have been selected from 8 natural and cultural heritage categories according to their tourism potential. Three itineraries have been proposed to promote the tourism potential existing in the hinterland of the Costa Brava region.

Practical implications

The methods section and the main results obtained for the case study will be useful for professionals working in heritage institutions, rural development and sustainable tourism agencies.

Originality/value

The project provides two geo-based technologies: a digital platform (www.waterwaysexplorer.com) and a mobile app (Izi.travel) in which external users are able to collect relevant data and construct tourism itineraries from minor waterways with consolidated natural and cultural heritage. A Tool Box is provided for practitioners in order to help local communities and tourist organizations to create their own itineraries along minor waterways.

Details

Journal of Cultural Heritage Management and Sustainable Development, vol. 9 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2044-1266

Keywords

Available. Open Access. Open Access
Article
Publication date: 19 August 2024

Marc Ballesté, Ares Fernández, Cristina Yáñez de Aldecoa and Anna Solé-Llussà

Heritage education is currently a consolidated discipline, which advocate for a holistic vision of heritage. In this sense, this research aims to study the heritage conceptions…

262

Abstract

Purpose

Heritage education is currently a consolidated discipline, which advocate for a holistic vision of heritage. In this sense, this research aims to study the heritage conceptions, perceptions and learning context amongst primary and secondary students, comprehensively and fully.

Design/methodology/approach

This research focuses in Andorra, a country in the Pyrenees, where there are three different education systems. This allowed the study to obtain a sample of 1,235 primary and secondary students, throughout a structured questionnaire that was previously designed and validated ad hoc.

Findings

In general terms, the results show that around half of the students have a holistic view of heritage; however, natural and historical elements are highlighted as the ones they learn from the most, especially through visits in situ. Moreover, the students’ perceptions of heritage show that over a 90% of students believe it is important to safeguard because it is connected to nature and culture preservation.

Originality/value

This research is included in a greater scope project that also considers other agents in the education community that belong to formal and non-formal spheres. In addition, it is the first investigation where the field of heritage education is studied globally in an entire country, considering primary and secondary education students.

Details

Journal of Cultural Heritage Management and Sustainable Development, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2044-1266

Keywords

Available. Open Access. Open Access
Article
Publication date: 19 November 2018

Davide Settembre Blundo, Fernando Enrique García Muiña, Martina Pini, Lucrezia Volpi, Cristina Siligardi and Anna Maria Ferrari

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the production cycle of glazed porcelain stoneware, from the extraction of raw materials to the packaging of the finished product, with the…

4302

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the production cycle of glazed porcelain stoneware, from the extraction of raw materials to the packaging of the finished product, with the aim of verifying the effects of integrating an environmental impact assessment into the decision-making process for managing the life cycle, to make it economically and ecologically sustainable, in a holistic approach along the supply-chain.

Design/methodology/approach

The research is performed using the life cycle assessment and life cycle costing methodologies, to identify environmental impacts and costs, that occur during extraction of raw materials, transportation, ceramic tiles production, material handling, distribution and end-of-life stages within a cradle to grave perspective.

Findings

Through the use of a comprehensive analysis of the environmental impact assessment and related externalities, three possible strategic options to improve the environmental performance and costs of ceramic tile production were formulated, leveraging sustainability as a competitive advantage.

Research limitations/implications

This exploratory research opens future lines of investigation, the first of which is to confirm the technological feasibility and market responsiveness to the three strategic solutions hypothesised thanks to the use of an innovative eco-design technique.

Originality/value

The research has allowed testing and validating the tools of environmental impact assessment (life cycle assessment) and economic impact assessment (life cycle costing as structured methodologies in a life cycle management framework, to help companies implement competitive strategies based on sustainability.

Details

Asia Pacific Journal of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, vol. 12 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2398-7812

Keywords

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Article
Publication date: 1 February 2009

R. Elwood Martin, K. Murphy, D. Hanson, C. Hemingway, V Ramsden, J Buxton, A. Granger‐Brown, L‐L. Condello, M. Buchanan, N. Espinoza‐Magana, G. Edworthy and T. G. Hislop

This paper describes the development of a unique prison participatory research project, in which incarcerated women formed a research team, the research activities and the lessons…

327

Abstract

This paper describes the development of a unique prison participatory research project, in which incarcerated women formed a research team, the research activities and the lessons learned. The participatory action research project was conducted in the main short sentence minimum/medium security women’s prison located in a Western Canadian province. An ethnographic multi‐method approach was used for data collection and analysis. Quantitative data was collected by surveys and analysed using descriptive statistics. Qualitative data was collected from orientation package entries, audio recordings, and written archives of research team discussions, forums and debriefings, and presentations. These data and ethnographic observations were transcribed and analysed using iterative and interpretative qualitative methods and NVivo 7 software. Up to 15 women worked each day as prison research team members; a total of 190 women participated at some time in the project between November 2005 and August 2007. Incarcerated women peer researchers developed the research processes including opportunities for them to develop leadership and technical skills. Through these processes, including data collection and analysis, nine health goals emerged. Lessons learned from the research processes were confirmed by the common themes that emerged from thematic analysis of the research activity data. Incarceration provides a unique opportunity for engagement of women as expert partners alongside academic researchers and primary care workers in participatory research processes to improve their health.

Details

International Journal of Prisoner Health, vol. 5 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1744-9200

Keywords

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Article
Publication date: 15 February 2023

Albert Sunyer, Josep Domingo Hinojosa Recasens and Jenny Gibb

The purpose of this research is to deepen understanding of the materiality in organizational identity (OI) by describing how physical objects support, instantiate and communicate…

156

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this research is to deepen understanding of the materiality in organizational identity (OI) by describing how physical objects support, instantiate and communicate OI over time.

Design/methodology/approach

The research design uses an in-depth case study of Codorníu wineries taking a symbolic interactionism methodological lens. The study examines a set of physical objects preserved from the company's foundation in 1551 to the present day and their associated identity meanings.

Findings

This study uncovered how the company used multiple objects to symbolically represent its identity. Some of these objects were primal artifacts used to legitimize organizational identity since the firm's foundation; others were interpreted as identity markers that worked to instantiate identity and to provide it with greater persistence, while others were created ad hoc to communicate organizational identity to external audiences. Some physical objects were used to differentiate the organization and its products from competitors, while others were used to maintain a temporary and spatial link with the organization's founding origins.

Practical implications

This study describes practical implications on the use of identity materiality to build legitimacy, employee identification, differentiation from competitors and reputation.

Originality/value

The analysis of the meanings associated with material objects shows that identity tangibility has not hindered organizational adaptation and change. Some identity objects gained relevance, while others were reinterpreted or abandoned according to their symbolic value in order to embody organizational identity at a given time. Four trajectories were identified that describe the evolution of physical objects in representing an organization's identity over time.

Details

Journal of Organizational Change Management, vol. 36 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0953-4814

Keywords

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Article
Publication date: 19 January 2021

Sally Brown

The main purpose is to investigate what resources young emergent bilinguals use to communicate a multimodal response to children’s literature. In particular, attention is paid to…

301

Abstract

Purpose

The main purpose is to investigate what resources young emergent bilinguals use to communicate a multimodal response to children’s literature. In particular, attention is paid to the ways students translanguage as part of the learning process.

Design/methodology/approach

An ethnography-in-education approach was used to capture the social and cultural aspects of literacy learning in an English-only context. A multimodal transcript analysis was applied to video-recorded data as a method for examining semiotic resources and modes of learning.

Findings

The results revealed that students used technology, paper-based resources and peers to construct meaning relative to books. Experimentation or play with the affordances of the tablet computer served as avenues to determine the agentive selection of resources. As students wrestled with constructing meaning, they gathered multiple perspectives from peers and children’s literature to involve symbols and representations in their texts. Signs, multiple language forms and meaning came together for the social shaping of situated perspectives.

Originality/value

This study addresses the call for educators to engage in multiliterate, multimodal practices with young learners in the contexts of classrooms. It provides insight into the need to create multilingual learning spaces where translanguaging freely occurs and the meaningful ways early childhood learners use technology. To fully understand what emergent bilinguals know and can do, they must be afforded a variety of semiotic resources at school.

Details

English Teaching: Practice & Critique, vol. 20 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1175-8708

Keywords

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Article
Publication date: 25 September 2023

Jianyu Ma, Noel Scott and Yu Wu

Tourism destination marketers use videos that incorporate storytelling and visual and audio components to evoke emotional arousal and memorability. This study aims to examine the…

1279

Abstract

Purpose

Tourism destination marketers use videos that incorporate storytelling and visual and audio components to evoke emotional arousal and memorability. This study aims to examine the increase in participants’ level of arousal and the degree of memorability after watching two different videos.

Design/methodology/approach

A quasi-experimental study was conducted with 45 participants who watched two destination promotional videos. One video used storytelling whereas the other used scenic images and music. The level of arousal was measured using both tonic and phasic electrodermal activity levels. The memorability of each video was measured after seven days by testing the recall accuracy.

Findings

Scenic imagery and music videos were associated with higher-than-average arousal levels, while storytelling videos generated larger-amplitude arousal peaks and a greater number of arousal-evoking events. After a week, the respondents recalled more events from the storytelling video than from the scenery and musical advertisements. This finding reveals that the treatment, storytelling and sensory stimuli in advertising moderate the impact of arousal peaks and memorability.

Originality/value

These results indicate that nonnarrative videos using only sceneries and music evoked a higher average level of arousal. However, memorability was associated with higher peak levels of arousal only in narrative storytelling. This is the first tourism study to report the effects of large arousal peaks on improved memorability in advertising.

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