The network structure of a regional tourism organization: Application of he social network theory in one region of Queensland

Regional tourism organizations (RTOs) plays a central role in planning, coordinating and marketing tourism in many areas, including Queensland, Australia. RTOs rely on interaction with a network of other organizations for their efficient functioning. This paper describes an exploratory case study that develops a method for use of social network analysis techniques to analyse the inter-organizational network in one RTO region in Queensland. Results indicate that differences exist in the structure of inter-organizational links between commercial tourism organizations and planning organizations, between tourism organizations and other sectoral clusters, and between organizations at local, regional and state levels. The results highlight areas or improvement in the role and responsibilities of RTOs in Queensland.

Technology policy and technological innovation in the People's Republic of China

The objective of this research is to unveil the dynamics of technological innovation in planned economies in transition. It is proposed in the thesis that all innovation systems in the world, in fact, consist of certain configurations of market and hierarchy. These systems have always been shifting from one existing market-hierarchy mix to a new one, which is expected to be more conducive to technological innovation and economic development. Current reforms in many planned economies in transition reflect this theoretical proposition. A research framework is constructed to include three main dimensions for the study of a specific innovation system, i.e. Arrangements, Achievements and Actors. China, which has undergone reforms since 1978, is chosen as the empirical basis of the research. The research examined technology policy and technological innovation in China between 1978 to 1988. The thesis starts from Arrangements - R&D System in China and Its Reform. The thesis illustrates reforms in the R&D system in relation to government technology policy. There exist coherent government efforts to promote innovations through various plans, and the planning process incorporates both market and command elements. The institutional structure of Chinese R&D system remains still vertically departmentalised, but horizontal links are created through the market. Secondly, Achievements - Performance of Chinese R&D System is assessed through patterns of technological innovation. Data from National Awards for S&T Progress (1978-1988) are included in a substantial database, which is used to generate patterns of technological innovation and patterns of innovating organisations. These patterns were presented and interpreted in relation to geographical differences, sectoral differences, typological differences, forms of co-operation and the impacts of S&T policy and reform. The third dimension is study on Actors - Innovation in Applied R&D institutes. Through semi-structured interviews and questionnaire survey, internal structure and research management are analysed in the light of ongoing reforms. The reform of R&D funding system greatly affected the way applied R&D institutes operate. Both organisational and individual incentives for innovating are increasingly associated with economic or material benefits. The research suggests there is a need to put reforms in the R&D system into a wider societal and political context. Some general attributes of applied R&D institutes are also discussed in the thesis.

Tourism in Albarracín and Region. Local Public Action and dynamics in recent key sustainable tourism development

Spanish tourist destinations in rural areas have been established over more than two decades of implementation of various public policy instruments (mainly tourism and rural development policies). These convey complementary objectives in theory but provoke distant results in practice. The intervention of these instruments produces in the region of Sierra de Albarracín (Teruel) two types of destination whose sustainability is committed: the historical urban site of Albarracín as a consolidated cultural tourism destination based on heritage and the Sierra as a generic and incipient destination of rural tourism. It is discussed how the deployment of the local public action causes a fragmented territory in two models of management and tourism development. Cooperation is presented as a key element for the necessary rethinking of tourism development in the region.

Competing "Host" Discourses: Appropriation of Australian Aboriginal Culture in the Tourism Borderzones

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Washington, 2016-08