https://tkuir.lib.tku.edu.tw/dspace/handle/987654321/50761 Search the Channel s https://tkuir.lib.tku.edu.tw/dspace/simple-search https://tkuir.lib.tku.edu.tw/dspace/handle/987654321/106874 title: An exploration of mindfulness and its experiential benefits: Taiwanese backpackers in Australia abstract: Stress in everyday life is common in our postrnodern society leading some people to seek relief and fulfilment from a range of leisure and lifestyle activities such as travel experiences. Travel in itself, even adventurous or unstructured travel does not guarantee that travellers will receive positive benefits from their experiences. However, the notion of mindfulness may play an important role in producing positive consequences from different experiences. Thus, this study explores the nature and experiential benefits of 'meditative mindful' tourist experiences that can be experienced during travel. Mindfulness is a mental state that may facilitate positive experiences. Understanding the importance of mindfulness is becoming a mainstream field of academic study in many therapeutic settings. However, there has been little discussion of mindfulness theory as it might be applied to tourism studies. Previous research in tourism has mainly focused on socio-cognitive mindfulness related to visitor learning rather than meditative mindfulness experiences. These include contexts such as tourist-wildlife encounters, appreciation of scenery, or through interaction with other people. The conceptual framework in this thesis is based on the Eastern notion of meditative mindfulness and has been used in Western therapeutic studies. In the past decade, evidence of the effectiveness and application of meditative mindfulness has grown dramatically due to a developing dialogue between Buddhist traditions and Western clinical psychology. There is a growing interest in whether meditative mindful experiences can occur outside of formal therapeutic settings, including travel. However, it is not clear how meditative mindful tourism experiences might be defined or whether they occur at all during travel. Furthermore, few studies have investigated the antecedents and consequences of meditative mindful experiences in tourism contexts. This thesis presents an exploratory study of the occurrence as well as the antecedents and consequences of the meditative mindfulness phenomenon in a tourism context. A qualitative methodology based on an interpretive constructivist paradigm was adopted for the data collection. Taiwanese backpackers in Australia were selected as respondents and snowball sampling was used to recruit participants. In total, 43 semi-structured interviews were completed, and a total of 77 instances of meditative mindful experiences were identified. The semi-structured interviews were conducted in Brisbane (at backpacker hostels) and at Uluru (Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park), as these two main sites provided the best opportunities to meet Taiwanese backpackers. Two interview protocols were used in screening and extended interviews for qualifying and exploring the three research objectives. The interviews were transcribed and analysed using thematic analysis. NVivo 10 qualitative analysis software was used to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of the data analysis process. The fmdings indicated that meditative mindful experiences occurring in tourism contexts were characterised by three constructs of awareness ('paying attention', 'living in the present', and 'non-elaborative awareness'). An operational definition of tourist experience associated with meditative mindfulness is proposed as "paying attention to a present moment experience, without elaboration on it n. In addition, the study clarified and contrasted three related concepts (meditative mindfulness, socio-cognitive mindfulness and flow). This thesis is the first study to empirically identify tourist experiences that have been associated with meditative mindfulness. The fmdings also identified the antecedents and consequences of meditative mindful tourist experiences. The four main types of identified triggers that facilitated tourists experiencing a mindful state were labelled as travel-induced relaxation, aesthetic appreciation, atmosphere of quietness, and curiosity-developing. Natural encounters and participation in specific activities were found to foster a state of being mindful. The mental process of meditative mindfulness contributes to relaxation and tranquillity and helps to create memorable experiences. Such psychological and physical benefits were identified among backpackers. A theoretical framework to provide a better understanding of the phenomenon and mental process of tourist meditative mindful experience is also discussed. This model is considered to be a useful tool for academics and the tourism industry to scope the mental and spiritual dimensions of tourist experiences for backpackers. An examination of how mindfulness occurs and how it can be further developed in tourism experiences is expected to be useful for tourism stakeholders. Business operators or policy makers should be aware of how to design engaging experiences and, in particular, how they can enhance affective, sensory or mental experiences through encouraging an awareness of the present moment and non-judgmental thinking during on-site visits. This may help tourism industries to better understand how to design holistic engaging experiences that benefit tourists' understanding of an alternative access to personal fulfilment. A number of areas for further research are also discussed. <br>description: 博士論文 <br> https://tkuir.lib.tku.edu.tw/dspace/handle/987654321/99696 title: MEMBERS OF THE EXECUTIVE OPERATING COMMITTEE IN INTERNATIONAL BRAND HOTELS IN MAINLAND CHINA: THEIR PROFILES AND ASPIRATIONS abstract: This study aims to identify hotel executive operating committee (EOC) members€™ profiles that include both demographic characteristics and career paths in international brand hotels in Mainland China; and identify the relationship between profiles of hotel EOC members and their aspirations for hotel general manager (GM) position. After dealing with the missing data and outliers, 165 valid questionnaires are retained. This study adopts career analysis technique to analyze hotel EOC members profiles. The results identify that the hotel EOC members in international brand hotels in Mainland China are middle-aged men with bachelor's degrees and an annual income lower than RMB 250,000. They have worked in the hotel industry for 14.5 years, and they took 11.5 years to become hotel EOC members. They have worked for 4.3 hotels on average; and most of them have never worked outside the hotel industry over the course of their careers. The self-organizing-map (SOM) was adopted to cluster hotel EOC members based on their profiles. Three segments of hotel EOC members were produced via SOM: Rookie, Supportive Veteran and Generative Veteran. Rookie is younger female hotel EOC members with less hotel experience, higher level of education, and lower personal annual income. Supportive Veteran is older male hotel EOC members in supportive departments in hotels, such as Human Resources and Finance & Accounting, with more hotel experience, with a higher level of education, and higher personal annual income. Generative Veteran is older male hotel EOC members in the revenue-generating departments, such as F&B, Rooms, and Sales & Marketing, with more hotel experience with a lower level of education, and higher personal annual income. An aspiration model was developed from the aspiration theory and was tested in each hotel EOC member segments. For Rookie and Supportive Veteran, their enacted aspiration depends on their desire aspiration; and their desire aspiration depends on their perceived self-GM congruence. For Generative Veteran, their enacted aspiration depends on their perceived advancement prospect. Generative Veteran has the highest perceived self-€“GM congruence, perceived advancement prospect, desired aspiration, and enacted aspiration among hotel EOC members. Supportive Veteran has the lowest perceived advancement prospect among hotel EOC members. Rookie has the lowest perceived self-€“GM congruence, desired aspiration, and enacted aspiration among hotel EOC members. Statistically, Generative Veteran has a significantly higher perceived advancement prospect, perceived self-GM congruence, and enacted aspiration than the Rookie group; Generative Veteran has a significantly higher perceived advancement prospect and enacted aspiration than Supportive Veteran. The practical contributions of this study benefit both hotel employees and hotel companies in Mainland China. For hotel employees, the findings in the career paths of hotel EOC members may benefit their individual career management. The hotel EOC members have the top positions of each functional department in the hotel so their career paths can serve as a map and timeline of career progression in each department. Based on this map and timeline, junior hotel employees may have a better idea on how to plan and manage their careers to reach the top. For hotel companies, the findings of this could enable hotel companies to better design organizational career management strategies for different hotel EOC members. For theoretical contribution, the findings of this study indicate that although individuals have similar desires, it does not necessarily mean that they can transform their desire into action. This result indicates the importance and necessity of the dual-faced construct of aspiration, which should contain both desire and action. This research also proves the general applicability of the SOM, which can be valuable in the worldwide hospitality industry. This study is unique in that it provides a comprehensive view of the profiles and aspirations of hotel EOC members in international brand hotels in Mainland China. <br>