Potential of development of dark tourism in Bulgaria

2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 22-39
Author(s):  
Sonia Varadinova Mileva
Keyword(s):  
Exploratory Study ◽  
Urban Landscape ◽  
Research Area ◽  
Research Topic ◽  
Political Regime ◽  
Demand Side ◽  
Dark Tourism ◽  
Tourism Research ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Potential Development

Purpose The paper is making a preliminary evaluation of dark tourism potential in Bulgaria. Dark tourism is underestimated research topic in Bulgaria – a country with long and rich cultural heritage, belonging to orthodox religion, with ambiguous impacts from the communist/socialist political regime and nowadays being a typical destination for mass and 3 “S” (sun, sand, sea) tourism. The research topic is approached by starting with an inventory and classification of the main tourist attractions/sites for dark tourism according to the most widely applicable theoretical typologies, inclusively their territorial density, cities location, authenticity and commercialization. The general counterpoint is the non-western approach and the hypothesis that dark places/attractions can be explored as potential tourist resources, diversifying the cities destination supply. The places related to death within the death-tourism framework are explored within the urban landscape. The research applies supply-demand approach and includes semi-structured interviews with different stakeholders from the supply side and a questionnaire accessing the tourist’s perspective and readiness from the demand side. Special attentions is given to the cities as concentrating the major part of the dark sites/attractions in the country, being at the same time integral part of the public areas and urban landscape, with special designation and/or combination of additional recreational functions. The data and results from the conducted research revealed that dark tourism in Bulgaria, in the narrowest sense is relatively unknown, unexplored type of tourism, difficult to distinguish and overlapping with other types of tourism mainly in the cities. The paper also raises the discussion about the necessity to extend the dark tourism research in the cities, taking into account the non-western approach and cultural sensitiveness. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach The methodology of the research, in its nature, is purely qualitative, widest and most applicable (Biran A., Hyde K., 2013), (Wight, 2006) (Light, 2017) and follows two main stages: inventory, classification and potential of the dark tourism sites/attractions in Bulgaria and supply-demand approach for pilot exploratory study of the reediness of the suppliers and main stakeholders from one side, and the tourist’s perceptions from other side. Findings The data and results from the conducted research revealed that dark tourism in the narrowest sense in Bulgaria is relatively unknown, unexplored type of tourism, difficult to distinguish and overlapping with other types of tourism mainly in the cities. The findings challenge the predominant understanding of dark tourism typology, spectrum, and type of places/attractions (Light, 2017). Within the tourism-death relationship framework in the non-western approach with narrow focus in Bulgaria as research area, the author can confirm that the concept of dark tourism research should be extended taking into account the religion (relationship to death), historical development and political regime. The results obtained clearly show that the main difference from the western approach lies in on completely different conceptual basis, which differs from the concept of dark tourism. Tourism is mostly linked with recreation, leisure, and entertainment, while the dark places/sites related to death and suffer are mostly linked to religion, historical or political heritage. Besides being different both create and conduct to a behavior and visit of such places with deserved respect, honor and part of national identity and culture. Research limitations/implications The study’s focus is narrow and limited at national level as part of “eastern” (non-western) context of tourism-death relationship framework. The findings resulted from pilot exploratory study provide theoretical and practical insights into understanding of dark tourism and its potential development in Bulgaria by considering the availability of dark sites/attractions, supply (readiness of main stakeholders) and demand side (tourist’s perspective). The paper limits the research in the post-modern context stressing on tourism/leisure and commercial use of death as attractions and places. Other limitations are pilot character of the exploratory study and the limited number of respondents. Practical implications The paper delivers practical insights into understanding of dark tourism and its potential development in Bulgaria by considering the availability of dark sites/attractions, supply (readiness of main stakeholders) and demand side (tourist’s perspective). Originality/value Most of the research in the field of dark tourism as expression of tourism-death relationship framework are concentrated on the “western way of thinking” (Light, 2017, p. 297) covering countries from West Europe, USA, Australia (Foote, 1997), (Bowman M., Pezzullo P., 2010, p. 188). The use of Western frameworks for understanding the tourism-death relationship in other parts of the world and particularly in Bulgaria as Eastern European and orthodox country may not be appropriate. For the specific research area – the case of Bulgaria, theoretically although incorrect, a parallel is possible between the western post-modern secularism and atheism as official communist policy between 1940 and 1990 (Metodiev, 2013). Darkness of sites/attraction identified within the tourism-death relationship and exploitation of the death is seen supporting and commemorating the sacrifice of the “heroes” of the time keeping them “eternally alive” and as symbols, incarnations of the “sacral” political power.

scholarly journals Multi-stakeholder perspectives on indicators for sustainable maintenance performance in production contexts: an exploratory study

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chiara Franciosi ◽  
Valentina Di Pasquale ◽  
Raffaele Iannone ◽  
Salvatore Miranda
Keyword(s):  
Exploratory Study ◽  
Sustainable Manufacturing ◽  
Research Area ◽  
Survey Study ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Manufacturing Companies ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Stakeholder Perspectives ◽  
Sustainability Research ◽  
Multi Stakeholder

PurposePoor maintenance management leads to non-negligible economic, environmental and social impacts and obstacles to the sustainable manufacturing paradigm. Studies evaluating maintenance impacts on sustainability underline growing interest in the topic, but reports on the industrial field are lacking. Therefore, this paper investigates the industrial environment and the indicators that manufacturing companies use for measuring their maintenance impacts.Design/methodology/approachIn this pilot survey study, several stakeholders of production enterprises in the south of Italy were interviewed to unveil the spread of the measurement of maintenance impacts on sustainability and the indicators used by those companies.FindingsThe interview results showed a low level of awareness among stakeholders about maintenance impacts on sustainability. Maintenance stakeholders are mainly focused on technical and economic factors, whereas environmental, quality and safety stakeholders are becoming more aware of maintenance impacts on environmental and social factors. However, both groups need guidelines to define sustainability indicators to assess such impacts.Originality/valueThis exploratory study allowed us to investigate the current situation in industrial organisations and achieve the first variegated and diversified vision of the awareness of company stakeholders on maintenance impacts on the sustainability of several business functions. This paper provides a valuable contribution to “maintenance and sustainability” research area in production contexts and sheds light on non-negligible maintenance impacts on sustainability, providing preliminary insights on the topic and an effective basis for defining future research opportunities. Moreover, this study enables increased awareness among internal and external manufacturing company stakeholders on the role of maintenance in sustainable production.

Into the dark – dark stories in the cities of Brežice and Krško in Slovenia as a basis for the future dark tourism products

2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 40-53 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lea Kužnik ◽  
Nina Veble
Keyword(s):  
Research Area ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Contemporary History ◽  
Small Cities ◽  
Dark Tourism ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Tourism Product ◽  
Guided Tour ◽  
The City ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose Dark tourism has a very long heritage. Compared to the rest of the world, dark tourism in Slovenia is very poorly developed. The theme is therefore a novelty in Slovenia as well as in the Slovenian professional and scientific literature. The purpose of this paper is to identify and describe dark stories of two small cities – Brežice and Krško – in Slovenia. Design/methodology/approach The paper brings ethnographical approach based on the in-depth literature analysis, existing documentation in museums (old newspapers articles, photographs) and fieldwork in Brežice and Krško which contained the method of unstructured interviews with four curators in The Posavje Museum Brežice, The City Museum of Krško and The National Museum of Contemporary History – Brestanica Branch as well as the method of observation with participation in a guided tour of Posavje “witches” in The City Museum of Krško and The Brežice Cemetery. The information for the research was also obtained by conducting ten unstructured interviews with the residents who live nearby “dark places” or are still connected to them. Findings The paper provides practical results as 14 dark stories related to the castles, wars, accidents, murders, paranormal activities and witchcraft were found. These stories could be incorporated into dark tourism. Research limitations/implications Because of the chosen research approach, the research results may lack generalizability. The results refer to a particular area of research. Practical implications The paper includes implications for the development of a new dark tourism product on a basis of dark stories found in the research area. Originality/value The paper fulfills need to identify and study dark stories that can be integrated in dark tourism in Slovenia.

An exploratory empirical study of whistleblowing and whistleblowers

2020 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 755-770
Author(s):  
Maria Krambia-Kapardis
Keyword(s):  
Statistical Analysis ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Research Topic ◽  
Due Date ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Unethical Behaviour ◽  
Eu Member States ◽  
European Directive ◽  
Original Survey ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose The purpose of this study is to develop a profile of whistleblowers and to determine whether whistleblowing legislation would encourage those individuals to bring to light some illegal or unethical behaviour that otherwise would remain in the shadows. Design/methodology/approach Having identified whistleblowing correlation, a survey was carried out in Cyprus of actual whistleblowers and could-have-been whistleblowers. Findings Males between 46 and55 years of age, regardless of whether they have dependents or hold senior positions in organizations are significantly more likely to blow the whistle. However, could-have-been whistleblowers did not go ahead because they felt that the authorities would not act on their information. Research limitations/implications Because of the sensitive nature of the research topic and the fact that only whistleblowers or intended whistleblowers could participate in the study, the sample size is limited as a result. This, in turn, limits both the number of respondents in each category (actual and intended) as well as constrains the statistical analysis that could be carried out on the data. Practical implications It remains to be seen whether EU Member States shall implement the European Directive 2019/1937 on the protection of persons who report breaches of Union Law, in its entirety by the due date, namely December 2021. Originality/value This study provides a literature review of whistleblowing and reports an original survey against the backdrop of the European Directive.

Learning analytics: where information science and the learning sciences meet

2019 ◽  
Vol 120 (1/2) ◽  
pp. 59-73 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephanie Danell Teasley
Keyword(s):  
Learning Analytics ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Significant Contribution ◽  
Information Science ◽  
Research Area ◽  
Learning Sciences ◽  
Digital Tools ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Working Together ◽  
Everyday Learning

Purpose The explosive growth in the number of digital tools utilized in everyday learning activities generates data at an unprecedented scale, providing exciting challenges that cross scholarly communities. This paper aims to provide an overview of learning analytics (LA) with the aim of helping members of the information and learning sciences communities understand how educational Big Data is relevant to their research agendas and how they can contribute to this growing new field. Design/methodology/approach Highlighting shared values and issues illustrates why LA is the perfect meeting ground for information and the learning sciences, and suggests how by working together effective LA tools can be designed to innovate education. Findings Analytics-driven performance dashboards are offered as a specific example of one research area where information and learning scientists can make a significant contribution to LA research. Recent reviews of existing dashboard studies point to a dearth of evaluation with regard to either theory or outcomes. Here, the relevant expertise from researchers in both the learning sciences and information science is offered as an important opportunity to improve the design and evaluation of student-facing dashboards. Originality/value This paper outlines important ties between three scholarly communities to illustrate how their combined research expertise is crucial to advancing how we understand learning and for developing LA-based interventions that meet the values that we all share.

Digital competences of the workforce – a research topic?

2017 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 721-734 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthias Murawski ◽  
Markus Bick
Keyword(s):  
Research Topic ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Digital Competence ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Research Activities ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Pros And Cons ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose Considering working in the digital age, questions on the consequences for the individual workers are, so far, often neglected. The purpose of this paper is to deal with the question of whether the digital competences of the workforce is a research topic. The authors argue for the thesis that it is indeed a research topic. Design/methodology/approach In addition to a literature analysis of the top IS, HR, and learning publications, non-scientific sources, as well as the opinions of the authors, are included. The authors’ thesis is challenged through a debate of corresponding pros and cons. Findings The definition of digital competences lacks scientific depth. Focussing on the workforce is valid, as a “lifelong” perspective is not mandatory for research. Digital competence research is a multidisciplinary task to which the IS field can make a valuable contribution. Research limitations/implications Although relevant references are included, some aspects are mainly driven by the opinions of the authors. The theoretical implications encompass a call for a scientific definition of digital competences. Furthermore, scholars should focus on the competences of the workforce, including occupations, roles, or industries. The authors conclude by providing a first proposal of a research agenda. Practical implications The practical implications include the alignment of multiple stakeholders for the design of “digital” curricula and the integration by HR departments of the construct of digital competences, e.g. for compensation matters and job requirements. Originality/value This paper is one of very few contributions in the area of the digital competences of the workforce, and it presents a starting point for future research activities.

Exploring trainers’ engaging instructional practices: a collective case study

2016 ◽  
Vol 40 (2) ◽  
pp. 111-127 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vishal Arghode ◽  
Jia Wang
Keyword(s):  
Learning Styles ◽  
Learning Outcomes ◽  
Training Session ◽  
Research Area ◽  
Small Sample ◽  
Training Context ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Collective Case Study ◽  
Study Approach

Purpose – This study aims to explore the phenomenon of training engagement from the trainers’ perspective. Specifically, two questions guided this inquiry. First, how do trainers define engagement in the training context? and What strategies do trainers use to engage trainees? Design/methodology/approach – The collective case study approach was adopted for this qualitative study. Seven cases were selected for in-depth analyses. Data were collected through individual, face-to-face interviews and analyzed using the constant comparative analysis method. Findings – Major findings suggest that engaging training practices take various forms. They include being trainee-centered, maximizing learning through entertaining and interesting instruction, accommodating different learning styles, eliciting trainee participation by creating an encouraging learning environment and connecting with trainees by building rapport early in a training session. Research limitations/implications – The small sample limits the generalizability of the findings. However, this study expands training literature by focusing on an under-explored research area, the role of engaging trainees in maximizing learning outcomes. Practical implications – For trainers, this study offered some specific strategies they can use to engage learners in the training context to achieve desired learning outcomes. In addition, the seven cases selected for this study may be used as a benchmark against which both experienced and novice trainers compared their own practices. Originality/value – This is one of very few qualitative studies with a focus on emotional aspects involved in training. The rich data from this study shed light on areas for future improvement, particularly regarding how to effectively engage trainees to maximize learning outcomes.

An exploratory study of gay travelers: socio-demographic analysis

2017 ◽  
Vol 72 (1) ◽  
pp. 15-27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heejung Ro ◽  
Eric D. Olson ◽  
Youngsoo Choi
Keyword(s):  
Gay Men ◽  
Exploratory Study ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Self Esteem ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Gay Couples ◽  
Demographic Profiles ◽  
Gay Community ◽  
Collective Self ◽  
Collective Self Esteem

Purpose This exploratory study aims to examine gay travelers’ travel psychographics (allocentricity and psychocentricity) in relation to openness about sexual orientation, collective self-esteem and socio-demographic variables. Design/methodology/approach A survey is developed and study participants are recruited from attendees at a large annual gay event. A total of 196 gay men were used as samples for correlation analysis and independent samples t-tests. Findings The findings suggest that collective self-esteem is positively correlated with allocentricity. Also, gay couples showed higher allocentricity than single gay men, and white/Caucasian gay men showed higher allocentricity than other ethnic minorities gay men. Yet, psychocentricity was higher for lower income gay men than higher income gay men. Practical implications Tourism marketers should recognize that the gay market is not as homogenous as it has been portrayed in the tourism literature. Hospitality service providers and destination marketers should be aware of the importance of the gay community, gay travelers’ psychographics and, more importantly, the diversity within the gay market to develop effective products and services to better position themselves in this niche market. Originality/value This research contributes to the tourism literature by enhancing the understanding of gay travelers’ socio-demographic profiles and their travel-related behaviors and perceptions.

Accessible tourism: a bibliometric review (2008–2020)

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Guanghui Qiao ◽  
Liu Ding ◽  
Linlin Zhang ◽  
Huili Yan
Keyword(s):  
English Language ◽  
Research Literature ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Sampling Frame ◽  
Multiple Sources ◽  
Knowledge Maps ◽  
Tourism Research ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Bibliometric Review

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to reveal the knowledge evolution process, research hotspots and future trends in the accessible tourism research literature from 2008 to 2020. Design/methodology/approach A total of 213 articles on accessible tourism were selected from the core collection database of Web of Science (WoS) and analyzed using CiteSpace. Findings Over the 13-year period between 2008 and 2020, an increasing number of studies have been published concerning accessible tourism, but the overall base is still small. The research content mainly includes six modules. Among institutions, the University of Technology Sydney has published the largest number of papers. Cooperation among countries involves the USA, the United Kingdom, Australia, Portugal and China. Tourism Management is the leading journal for disseminating research on accessible tourism. Definition of “Accessible tourism” and the different scope of this phenomenon are re-discussed. In recent years, “experience” and “participation” have become the “new favorites” in accessible tourism research, which could reveal insights into future research directions. Research limitations/implications The sampling frame was defined in terms of the WoS database and even though this is an important database for global academic information, in the big data era, the authors may have to integrate information from multiple sources to comprehensively reveal and understand knowledge maps. Second, because of the operational constraints of the CiteSpace software, the authors only selected outputs published in peer-reviewed journals, excluding other published works, such as books and conference papers. Finally, because of the language restrictions of the authors, this research is limited to journals published in the English language. Practical implications Practically, the results of this study made a conclusion of accessible tourism research so that the researchers can easily know what has currently been done and what future research can do. Tourism managers can also understand the demands and the constraints of tourism for the people who have barriers to travel. They can supply more specific products for the accessible tourism and further promote the construction of barrier-free travel environments. Originality/value This paper unifies the literature on senior tourism and people with disabilities tourism, and uses CiteSpace to construct data and network visualizations, including a burst and dynamic analysis for the period covered by the sample. Furthermore, this paper proposed a more diversified accessible tourism.

Building a digital marketing internship program for technology-based start-ups: an exploratory study of student experiences

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Russell Merz ◽  
Jamie Ward ◽  
Sufian Qrunfleh ◽  
Bud Gibson
Keyword(s):  
Factor Analysis ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
Exploratory Study ◽  
Study Data ◽  
Student Experiences ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Student Interns ◽  
Internship Programs ◽  
Blog Posts

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to describe the role and characteristics of the summer internship program (Digital Summer Clinic) delivered by Eastern Michigan University. The authors report the results of an exploratory study of interns participating in the Digital Summer Clinic over a five-year time period. The study captures and analyzes the experiences of interns as expressed in structured interviews and blog posts.Design/methodology/approachThe study data were text from structured interviews and blog posts capturing the “voice” of the interns. A natural language processing (NLP) analysis of the text corpus, consisting of 43 interviews and blog posts, resulted in the identification of 242 unique stem-terms used by interns in describing the internship experiences. The authors used the JMP Pro 15.2 Text Explorer algorithm (It is defined as a suite of computer programs for statistical analysis developed by the JMP business unit of SAS Institute) to extract the terms that were subsequently transformed and analyzed with factor analysis and regression to address the research questions.FindingsThe factor analysis results found six dimensions or themes, defined by the stem-terms used by student interns, best described the internship experience. The authors then explored the relationship between the six themes and the umbrella term “internship” with multiple regression analysis. The regression findings suggest a hierarchy of effects with the theme “Introducing Professional Opportunities” being the theme most predictive of the umbrella term.Originality/valueThe methodology used within the paper is unique in several ways when compared to other research investigating internship programs. First, it uses NLP analysis for the qualitative analysis of text-based descriptions of student experiences over a five-year time horizon. Second, the data analysis uses transformed text to quantitatively determine the major dimensions or themes expressed by the interns about their experiences in the Summer Clinic program. Finally, the relative importance of the themes identified provided direction for future program development.

Unveiling contemporary dimensions in the internationalisation of family firms through bibliometric analysis and thematic analysis

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sonal Thukral ◽  
Apoorva Jain
Keyword(s):  
Bibliometric Analysis ◽  
Thematic Analysis ◽  
Family Firms ◽  
Research Area ◽  
Research Articles ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Holistic Understanding ◽  
The Family ◽  
Research Stream

Purpose For sustaining a competitive advantage in the integrated world economy, it has become imperative for family firms to internationalise their operations in overseas markets. However, despite the growing set of literature, results are still inconclusive with respect to family firms’ internationalisation. Thus, this study aims to address this gap by systematically reviewing 142 articles (1991–2019) to help researchers in identifying and unfolding the unexplored themes in the underlying area. Design/methodology/approach For systematically reviewing articles, the study uses a three-step methodology following PRISMA guidelines, bibliometric analysis and thematic analysis. Descriptive statistics of 142 research articles are obtained through bibliometric analysis while thematic analysis is carried out to create themes or clusters of various factors relating to family firms’ internationalisation. Findings The current review uncovers the evolving trends in the research streams, most productive authors, top journals and articles, co-citation analysis, as well as the major themes surrounding the family firms’ internationalisation literature. Results from bibliometric analysis indicate that family firms’ internationalisation is an upcoming research area. Also, the review indicates an opportunity for scholars from developing nations to make significant contributions in the underlying research stream. Research limitations/implications Results from bibliometric and thematic analysis will help academicians and researchers in accumulating a holistic understanding relating to family firms’ internationalisation and understanding the upcoming trends in family firms’ research, thereby guiding the future research scope. Also, it will assist the family firms’ leaders and managers in understanding the important dynamics in overseas markets and various factors to be considered while planning their internationalisation. Originality/value Undertaking a systematic literature review presents readers with a state-of-the-art understanding of the underlying research topic. To the best of the knowledge, to date, the study is the first to conduct the review of literature through bibliometric analysis with the help of R Studio software in the field of family firms’ internationalisation. Also, the study is the first to review more than 100 research articles in the underlying area. Finally, the study proposes a comprehensive framework integrating the major themes and facets relating to family firms’ internationalisation.

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