In an attempt to create rigorous study abroad programs, international educators frequently debate the design of study abroad programs. Design elements include intercultural contact, level of immersion and the balance of structured and unstructured activities Sutton, Miller, & Rubin, 2007). International education researchers have found that unstructured free time, or leisure, during study abroad programming gives students opportunities to connect with the host culture and leads to attitude changes in how students feel about themselves as well as how they perceive the host country and its citizens McCabe, 1994； Meyer-Lee & Warfield, 2006； Nyaupane, Teye & Paris, 2008). However, no research has explored students use of free time during their study abroad program and its contribution to development from a leisure perspective. The purpose of this study was to examine study abroad participants reflections on their leisure activities and companions during study abroad. Semi-structured interviews, supported by personal photographs from the students time abroad, were carried out approximately a month after the students returned home from a semester-long residential program in the European Union. Findings determined that the amount of cross-cultural contact between the American students and the host nationals was low due to student motivations and program design features. Additionally, the little contact Americans did have with host nationals was influenced by the conditions of contact theory. Students spent the majority of their leisure time with other American students or visiting friends and family engaging in travel to other European countries or observing the local culture. The implications for study abroad programming are discussed.

Tourism demand analysis has received considerable attention from both academics and practitioners. Accurate tourism demand modelling and forecasting can help tourism businesses to establish effective marketing and investment plans and the government to formulate appropriate policies. Different methodologies have been applied to tourism demand analysis, including advanced econometric techniques. Amongst them, the almost ideal demand system AIDS) model, a system-of-equations approach, possesses distinct advantages over single-equation models, especially in analysing tourist expenditure allocation. This study presents the first attempt to apply the time-varying parameter TVP) version of the error-correction AIDS model to the analysis of tourist consumption of different tourism goods and services. The AIDS model includes several equations each of which refers to one category of tourism goods and services) that are simultaneously estimated. This allows the investigation of the interaction amongst different kinds of demand. The incorporation of the TVP technique into the AIDS model gives the model superior performance compared to its constant-parameter counterpart by allowing the examination of the evolution of tourist expenditure patterns over time. An empirical study is conducted in which the constant-parameter and TVP versions of the long-run AIDS and short-run error-correction AIDS models are employed to examine and compare tourist spending behaviour in Hong Kong. The constant- parameter AIDS model addresses average tourist consumption behaviour whereas the TVP-AIDS model explores the evolution of tourist consumption behaviour over time. Tourists from eight major source markets are examined, and the demand elasticities i.e., expenditure and price) that are associated with each of these source markets are computed and analysed. The results provide useful information to enhance Hong Kongs competitiveness as an international tourist destination. Keywords: Tourism demand analysis, econometric approaches, error-correction AIDS model, TVP technique, Hong Kong inbound tourist expenditures

This dissertation provides a robust assessment of value surfaces and the potential for benefit transfer BT) in the international context of coral reef. Environmental values are considered as useful tools to improve management of these declining ecosystems. Nevertheless, primary valuation is often limited by difficulties in rigorous applications of valuation surveys, and budgetary and time restrictions. Acknowledging that, Spurgeon 2001) suggested BT as an alternative to primary valuation of coral reefs. Nine years later, Brander, Van Beukering and Cesar 2007) and this dissertation are, to the knowledge of the author, the only meta-analytic BT MA-BT) studies in the context of coral reefs. The dissertation seeks to provide a comprehensive assessment of the suitability of international MA-BT on the recreational value of reefs. The motivation for this assessment comes from an increasing demand for welfare measures at policy sites and from limitations in existing estimates. These limitations include both the sparseness of original studies and the presumed poor potential for BT on coral reefs Brander et al., 2007). From a meta-analytic perspective, these limitations are related to a common issue: spare and highly heterogeneous data. This dissertation addresses this issue at two levels: the generation of new meta-data with improved commensurability of observations, and the implementation of a computational approach that allows tailoring of meta-regression models MRMs) to more specific policy contexts. First, the generation of a new meta-data imposes commodity and welfare consistency, and it also incorporates variables that improve physio-economic linkages in the modeling. Second, the implementation of both classical and Bayesian approaches allows for a comparison of the performance of alternative statistical methods and models in presence of small and heterogeneous samples. Bayesian methods add flexibility to: i) diversify sources of information by incorporating prior distributions, and ii) better address small-sample estimations. This research provides valuable insight into the capacity of classical and Bayesian MRMs to capture heterogeneity of the data, explain the variation in willingness to pay, generate robust assessment of value surfaces, and enhance MRMs to improve the potential for BT, based on in-sample validity testing. Recommendations for further primary and meta-analytic research are also provided.

This thesis explores the complex relationship between heritage conservation and tourism in the Historic Center of Arequipa, a World Cultural Heritage Site in Peru. Although it has been recognized that tourism impacts the people and places where it occurs and, through this, it impacts the tourists’ own experience, the challenge that tourism poses to efforts to conserve heritage resources is not always recognized. Even though heritage conservation efforts in Arequipa have been strengthened in the last ten years, tourism has been increasing steadily without appropriate planning, therefore challenging the desired balance between conservation and tourism in the historic center. The relationship between heritage conservation and tourism has been assessed, and tourism opportunities and threats for heritage conservation have been identified. Based on the existing Master Plan for the Historic Center of Arequipa guiding conservation efforts in the city, recommendations for conservation and tourism planning have been established.

As the Hispanic/Latino population grows in the United States, increased attention is being given to how and why Hispanic/Latino recreation differs from Anglo recreation. Concerns over equal access to natural resources and recreation have led researchers to question the causes for the differences in recreation choices. The discussion has largely focused on the restrictive effects of ethnicity and the marginal position of minorities in society creating recreation patterns in which minorities are practically nonexistent in wildland recreation areas. Stepping away from the negative valuation about dissimilarities in Hispanic/Latino versus Anglo recreation, this study of Hispanics/Latinos in Cache Valley, Utah focuses on recreation as defined by participants, recreation sites both visited and not visited, and the decision drivers participants identify as most influential. Through the use of a participant mapping activity, this study first identifies patterns in types of sites visited and not visited by participants. Using exploratory, semi-structured interviews, this study also uncovers the participants’ definitions of recreation as well as important elements driving their recreation choices, including desired and undesired sites for recreation. Municipal recreation sites are visited most commonly by participants and the major drivers attracting their visitation are the physical site characteristics comprised of proximity to their residences, available facilities, suitability for family outings, scenery, a feeling of seclusion or relaxation, and activities specific to the site. Sites not visited span the categories of municipal, federal, state, and private. Federal sites are the most commonly desired and undesired types of sites not visited by participants. Non-visitation of sites was found to largely be the result of marginality characteristics such as a lack of money, time, knowledge, language, and fear. Ethnicity and custom also proved to be influential drivers of recreation decisions through elements like language and participant conceptualization of recreation as seeking spaces in which to gather with others. This study concludes that customs and powers of access (as related to ethnicity and marginality) intermingle to influence recreation choices among Hispanic/Latino participants. Looking at Hispanic/Latino recreation beyond its comparative Anglo differences provides a necessary holistic understanding of the elements driving this ethnic group’s decisions. As this understanding increases, work can be done to ensure equality in access to resources like recreation as desired by the minority population.

The purpose of this study was to quantitatively examine if there is a significant relationship among youth contact sport participation, childhood religiosity, and aggressive behaviors later in life. According to Akers’ social learning theory, behaviors are reinforced over time according to the intensity, duration, and frequency of social learning experiences； however, deviant and conforming behaviors are simultaneously learned and modified through the same cognitive and behavioral mechanisms. Furthermore, childhood religiosity, another social learning experience, may tip the scale on what behaviors are learned in contact sports. Because childhood aggression has been linked to adult criminality, and because crime prevention is an important social goal, it is important to know if children are learning aggression through school sponsored contact sport participation. Therefore, using a correlational survey design and Zoomerang, a Web-based research company, data were collected on a non-random and purposive sample. Subsequently, multiple regression analysis was employed to assess the relationships among the variables. The study’s findings indicated that childhood religiosity and sport participation did not simultaneously and uniquely predict total, physical, or verbal aggression. However, the study’s findings indicated that the same variables, along with family and social risk factors, did jointly predict total, physical, and verbal aggression.

The relationship between special education students’ participation in after-school programs and behavior was examined. Participants included 79 male, special education students, ages 12 — 18 years, in schools across the United States. Behavior of the participants was measured using the Youth Self Report and the Child Behavior Checklist for Ages 6-18 (Achenbach & Rescorla, 2001). A linear regression model was used to examine the relationships. In general, after-school program participation was associated with better behavior and academic functioning (p&lt；.05). Students who spent more time in organized after-school programs received lower externalizing behavior scores (p&lt；.05), attended school more regularly (p&lt；.05), and had higher GPAs (p&lt；.05). Mixed results were found for social problems and anxiety/depression. Findings suggest that after-school program participation has positive benefits for special education students especially when the after-school program is sports related.

This dissertation consists of three essays on meta-analysis, benefit transfer and recreation use valuation. The first two essays were based on the sportsfishing valuation literature in the US and Canada while the third essay was based on a study site in the Philippines and selected study sites from the US. The first essay evaluates the aggregation structure of primary research studies and its implications for benefit transfer using meta-regression analysis. Results indicate that single-site and regional studies should not be pooled without accounting for their differences in a meta-analysis. The second essay examines the implications of addressing dependency in the sportsfishing valuation literature using meta-regression analysis. Results indicate that median absolute percentage transfer error is lower for the meta-regression models based on a single value, i.e. average-set and best-set metadata than the meta-regression models based on all-set. The average-set and best-set are two treatments of the metadata for avoiding dependency. The third essay applies the methodological treatments learned from the first two essays to estimate the recreational value via benefit transfer of Taal Volcano Protected Landscape in the Philippines. Results show that single point estimate transfer worked better than the meta-regression benefit function transfer. Recommendations based from the three essays include: (1) the need to account for aggregation differences among primary studies to minimize biased value estimates in benefit transfer depending on policy settings； (2) the importance to correct for dependency and other methodological pitfalls in meta-regression is always warranted； (3) metadata sample selection is best guided by the goals of the meta-analysis and perceived allowable errors in benefit transfer applications； and (4) the conduct of primary study is still the first best strategy to recreation use valuation, given time and resources.

This dissertation focuses on American women and the modern summer Olympic Games. It retraces the history of women’s participation in this significant and global sporting event to study the obstacles generated by social, economic, political, and cultural gender patterns while providing a forum for female Olympians to give voice to their journeys and how they dealt with and eventually overcame some of these obstacles. The findings herein support other scholarly works, arguing that despite progress, the Olympic Games, and by extension the institution of sport in general, is and will remain a hegemonic space that allows men to maintain and reinforce their dominant position in society. It does show, however, that even though this global athletic event did not, at the collective level, result in an egalitarian redefinition of gender roles, the benefits of training and participating in the Olympics remain indisputable for the women involved– benefits no different than these enjoyed by male athletes. The Olympic Games, then, empowers women as it simultaneously reinforces their position of subordination.