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Why Travel? A Historical and Modern Day Approach to Understanding the Human Desire to Travel

Description
Humans have traveled since the dawn of humanity over 200,000 years ago. As time progressed and technology increased, so too did human motivations and drivers for travel. This thesis aims to understand these human motivations and drivers, ultimately answering the question, "Why Travel?" To answer this question, this research starts…

Humans have traveled since the dawn of humanity over 200,000 years ago. As time progressed and technology increased, so too did human motivations and drivers for travel. This thesis aims to understand these human motivations and drivers, ultimately answering the question, "Why Travel?" To answer this question, this research starts from the earliest of humans, classifying groups of individuals across time into respective buckets based on a similar motivation. In doing so, four traveler segments were identified: the Survivors, the Inventors, the Adventurers, and the Colonists. Each segment describes an era in time of a specific group of humans, each distinctly aligning with a specific reason for travel. In the early 1800s, the advent of commercial travel altered the future of travel. This began with the invention of the locomotive and was followed by the airplane and automobile. With this onset of commercial travel, transportation arrives to its current state in 2018 with a new type of traveler: the Modern Traveler. This is a turning point in the history of travel, as prior to commercial travel, groups of individuals could be grouped under one specific reason. Post commercial travel, human motivations and drivers become diverse and discrete, with no two individuals sharing the same motivations. To further understand this human desire for travel in a modern sense, a survey was administered to uncover these drivers. The findings revealed one broad reason: humans travel for the experience. With this overarching view of travel, five drivers were also apparent. First, humans travel to visit friends and family. Secondly, family vacations are an important factor in the motivation to travel. Third, humans desire the ability to experience a culture different than their own. Fourth, humans are intrigued by new places and can be motivated to travel by the ability to have new experiences. Fifth and finally, rest and relaxation are a key driver in human travel. With a greater understanding as to "why humans travel," and the drivers behind the "experience" individuals seek through travel, such understandings could be used to segment these individuals into distinct traveler profiles. These segments, the Backpacker, the Solo-Traveler, the Groupie, the Cultural Traveler and the Party Lover, were used to better group motivations for travel. One conclusion can be drawn from this research: travel is diverse and so are travelers. One reason cannot define the motivations of a modern traveler, rather today's traveler is bound by multiple. However, segmenting an individual provides valuable insights into their own diverse traveler persona.
ContributorsCheney, Elizabeth Marie (Author) / Eaton, John (Thesis director) / Mokwa, Michael (Committee member) / Department of Supply Chain Management (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / School of Film, Dance and Theatre (Contributor) / W.P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
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The Irish Do It Better: A Cross-Cultural Motivation Study

Description
In recent years, companies have been expanding their business efforts on a global scale. This project explores this expansion of American-based multinational corporations (MNCs) in Ireland, and the comparison of how their culture motivation in the workplace. We did a cultural study using Hofstede and Trompenaars' cultural dimensions of the…

In recent years, companies have been expanding their business efforts on a global scale. This project explores this expansion of American-based multinational corporations (MNCs) in Ireland, and the comparison of how their culture motivation in the workplace. We did a cultural study using Hofstede and Trompenaars' cultural dimensions of the two countries then used McClelland's Needs Theory, Equity Theory, and Herzberg's Motivation-Hygiene Theory in order to create three research questions. (1) How does the manager define success for the firm as a whole and for their employees, (2) How is the definition of success reflected in the company's corporate culture (i.e. values, norms and practices), along with how cultural values, norms and practices affect the company, and (3) How do external forces (i.e. governmental factors, workplace technology, etc.) affect the workplace environment and motivation for employees? With these we hypothesized that for research question 1, we hypothesized that from our study of Hofstede's and Trompenaars' cultural frameworks, Irish employees will show a greater tendency to favor affiliation, nAff, as opposed to a need for achievement, nAch, in American employees, according to McClelland's Needs Theory. For research question 2, we predicted that motivation would be administered through style of feedback to employees and office norms, such as autonomy, flexible hours, and work-life balance. For research question 3, we hypothesized that Ireland would have an impact from external factors such as government and technology, whereas the U.S. employees would face no clear impact. We conducted eight, qualitative interviews using a questionnaire, either in person or via video conference. The interviewees were all managers in some facet and have all had some international experience. Through the analysis of the interviews, we found that the Irish employees focused on how employees are able to help or contribute to a group (nAff), instead of looking at how the contribution of a group can be used to meet individual goals (nAch). The American companies reflected Trompenaars' definition of individualism in which employees focus on collaborating in teams, as long as individual goals are met, and benchmarked collaboration as a performance measure, tying in the need for achievement, for research question one. For the second research question, we found that employees in Ireland had a focus on teamwork in the workplace and much higher respect for work-life balance. American firms, in contrast, had a greater focus on making sure employees were contributing, meeting their goals, and getting their work done. While American firms did acknowledge work-life balance and its importance, there was a priority for coming in early and/or staying late to make sure a job got done. Findings for our third question showed that government factors did impact Ireland more, due to labor laws such as required vacation days in Ireland, and that technology had less of an impact than expected, for both countries. More importantly was our finding that the companies in Ireland were greatly impacted by the decisions made by the business executives in the United States.
ContributorsSong, Jenny Jungwon (Co-author) / Brown, William (Co-author) / Arrfelt, Mathias (Thesis director) / Moore, James (Committee member) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / Department of Management and Entrepreneurship (Contributor) / W.P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
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Precursors to Athlete Burnout

Description

The purpose of this study was to identify the different contributors and predictors related to athlete burnout. Athlete burnout consists of emotional and physical exhaustion, reduced sense of accomplishments and sport devaluation. Moreover, motivation type, athletic identity, and being a student athlete can affect athlete burnout. Participants of this study…

The purpose of this study was to identify the different contributors and predictors related to athlete burnout. Athlete burnout consists of emotional and physical exhaustion, reduced sense of accomplishments and sport devaluation. Moreover, motivation type, athletic identity, and being a student athlete can affect athlete burnout. Participants of this study were female, Division I soccer student-athletes located in Tempe, Arizona [n=22]. Athlete burnout was assessed with the Athlete Burnout Questionnaire (ABQ). Motivation type was assessed with the Behavioral Regulation in Sport Questionnaire (BRSQ). Athletic identity was assessed with the Athletic Identity Measurement Scale (AIMS). Student burnout was assessed with the Maslach Burnout Inventory - Student Survey (MBI-SS). All of the questionnaires were answered based on a Likert scale. Pearson correlations were used to find relationships between the different variables and athlete burnout. The results showed that 50% of the participants were burnt out at the end of their competitive season. Correlations were shown between the ABQ and its subscales: reduced accomplishment (r=0.6101, p<0.05), physical and mental exhaustion (r=0.8170, p<0.05), and devaluation (r=0.8697, p<0.05). Furthermore, the ABQ was also negatively correlated with general intrinsic motivation (r=-0.4943, p<0.05) and intrinsic motivation to know (r=-0.4865, p<0.05). The results from this study should be used for further research that focuses on education and prevention of athlete burnout in female soccer players.
ContributorsDehakiz, Isabel (Author) / Carleer, Lieske (Co-author) / Hoffner, Kristin (Thesis director) / Marsit, Joseph (Committee member) / Ramos, Christopher (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Historical, Philosophical & Religious Studies, Sch (Contributor) / College of Health Solutions (Contributor)
Created2021-12
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Precursors to Athlete Burnout

Description

The purpose of this study was to identify the different contributors and predictors related to athlete burnout. Athlete burnout consists of emotional and physical exhaustion, reduced sense of accomplishments and sport devaluation. Moreover, motivation type, athletic identity, and being a student athlete can affect athlete burnout. Participants of this study…

The purpose of this study was to identify the different contributors and predictors related to athlete burnout. Athlete burnout consists of emotional and physical exhaustion, reduced sense of accomplishments and sport devaluation. Moreover, motivation type, athletic identity, and being a student athlete can affect athlete burnout. Participants of this study were female, Division I soccer student-athletes located in Tempe, Arizona [n=22]. Athlete burnout was assessed with the Athlete Burnout Questionnaire (ABQ). Motivation type was assessed with the Behavioral Regulation in Sport Questionnaire (BRSQ). Athletic identity was assessed with the Athletic Identity Measurement Scale (AIMS). Student burnout was assessed with the Maslach Burnout Inventory - Student Survey (MBI-SS). All of the questionnaires were answered based on a Likert scale. Pearson correlations were used to find relationships between the different variables and athlete burnout. The results showed that 50% of the participants were burnt out at the end of their competitive season. Correlations were shown between the ABQ and its subscales: reduced accomplishment (r=0.6101, p<0.05), physical and mental exhaustion (r=0.8170, p<0.05), and devaluation (r=0.8697, p<0.05). Furthermore, the ABQ was also negatively correlated with general intrinsic motivation (r=-0.4943, p<0.05) and intrinsic motivation to know (r=-0.4865, p<0.05). The results from this study should be used for further research that focuses on education and prevention of athlete burnout in female soccer players.
ContributorsCarleer, Lieske (Author) / Dehakiz, Isabel (Co-author) / Hoffner, Kristin (Thesis director) / Marsit, Joseph (Committee member) / Ramos, Christopher (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / College of Health Solutions (Contributor)
Created2021-12

Inclusive Physical Therapy Exercise Instruction Cards for Children with Disabilities

Description
Many children with disabilities need physical therapy treatment but it can be difficult to instruct patients with restricted or limited communication. Most exercise cards and depictions used in communicating instruction to pediatric special needs patients are not representative of children with disabilities. This project aimed to create inclusive physical therapy…

Many children with disabilities need physical therapy treatment but it can be difficult to instruct patients with restricted or limited communication. Most exercise cards and depictions used in communicating instruction to pediatric special needs patients are not representative of children with disabilities. This project aimed to create inclusive physical therapy exercise cards depicting children with disabilities. The goal of these cards was to help communicate instructions and motivate children to perform their exercises in clinical settings. The exercise selection was based on observations from working with children with disabilities in a pediatric physical therapy clinic. As a result, photos of children with developmental disabilities were taken performing exercises and subsequently made into cards and provided to physical therapists (PT). The PT’s used the cards for at least a week and reported on their functionality. The feedback from PT’s regarding the use of exercise cards in therapy sessions was overwhelmingly positive. With the positive feedback from the PT’s, the cards will be published and donated to pediatric physical therapy clinics in Arizona.
ContributorsMack, Sarah (Author) / Hart, Teresa (Thesis director) / Broman, Tannah (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / College of Health Solutions (Contributor)
Created2024-05
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Let's Get Physical: Determinants to Adolescent Engagement in Physical Activity

Description
The purpose of this study was to use the tenets discussed in the Self-Determination Theory to explore how adolescents are motivated to engage in physical activity and examine the reasons for their participation - or lack thereof - in order to determine the influence of motives on physical activity behaviors…

The purpose of this study was to use the tenets discussed in the Self-Determination Theory to explore how adolescents are motivated to engage in physical activity and examine the reasons for their participation - or lack thereof - in order to determine the influence of motives on physical activity behaviors in an adolescent population. The relative autonomy continuum of the Self-Determination Theory includes amotivation, external regulation, introjected regulation, identified regulation, integrated regulation, and intrinsic motivation. These different levels will be assessed. Participants were seventh grade students at a middle school in the Phoenix metropolitan area (n=70). The adolescents’ relative autonomy levels were assessed with a modified version of the Behavioral Regulation in Exercise Questionnaire. Individual motivational factors were measured from a modified version of the Exercise Motivations Inventory. The adolescents’ locus of causality was then measured using the Locus of Causality for Exercise Scale. Participants were asked to answer two additional questions assessing their perceived time barrier and frequency of physical activity participation. The data were scored using the scoring guidelines provided by each questionnaire after collection through a Google Form and analysis on Google Sheets. Results showed that adolescents with higher levels of identified regulation (3.88), intrinsic motivation (4.22), and locus of causality (4.67) were more likely to also engage in higher levels of physical activity. These findings could be used for future research that focuses on school-based interventions for physical activity through enjoyment so as to increase identified regulation and intrinsic motivation while shifting to a more internal locus of causality in order to increase their overall leisure-time physical activity as a way to combat the increasing rates of childhood overweight and obesity in the United States.
ContributorsWade, Jake (Author) / Hoffner, Kristin (Thesis director) / Broman, Tannah (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / College of Health Solutions (Contributor)
Created2022-05

Development and Evaluation of a Diabetes Prevention Program Dissemination Strategy

Description

Background: There is limited literature evaluating the impact of disseminating research results to past research study participants and their families. The purpose of the study was to evaluate whether disseminating results from a diabetes prevention program to past participants and their families facilitates motivation to engage in healthier behaviors. Methods:…

Background: There is limited literature evaluating the impact of disseminating research results to past research study participants and their families. The purpose of the study was to evaluate whether disseminating results from a diabetes prevention program to past participants and their families facilitates motivation to engage in healthier behaviors. Methods: Previous youth participants from the “Every Little Step Counts” study were contacted and invited to a community dissemination event in November of 2022 at a local YMCA in the Phoenix Metropolitan area. All individuals in attendance at the event were invited to complete a 10-item questionnaire following a presentation about diabetes and the study results. 10 youth past participants, 9 adult past participants, and 13 community members completed the questionnaire to assess whether dissemination of past study results increases motivation to engage in healthier behaviors. Results: Aggregate responses revealed a 28.43% increase in motivation to eat healthier and a 33.45% increase in motivation to increase exercise. An increase in average response frequency was evident amongst all figures, indicating that overall, dissemination of research results was found to increase motivation to engage in healthier behaviors across community members, adult participants, and youth participants. Conclusions: This study supports the importance of disseminating research results from a diabetes prevention program to past participants in order to reinforce and maintain behavior change skills taught throughout the study, with the long-term goal of reducing type 2 diabetes risk in youth.
ContributorsDerkach, Katherine (Author) / Shaibi, Gabriel (Thesis director) / Williams, Allison (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / College of Health Solutions (Contributor)
Created2023-05