CURRENT PROJECTS
WORKING TITLE:Â APPLYING LIMINOIDITY ANDÂ THE USES-AND-GRATIFICATIONS THEORYÂ TO THEME PARK TOURISM
In an increasingly mediated society, it is important to draw connections, when applicable, between disciplines to facilitate a deeper understanding of the modern social world. By working with theories from beyond tourism scholarship, this work illuminates a popular area of the tourism industry with an approach that speaks to the interconnected ways we live today. This project identifies and outlines the relationship between fan-tourists’ uses and gratifications of the Harry Potter series and the qualities of liminoidity fans' experience while visiting Universal's Wizarding World of Harry Potter (WWoHP). This site acts as a locus for media’s effects and tourism’s significance in the modern world where individuals negotiate the overlapping intersections between the two industries.
WORKING TITLE: HETEROTOPIAS, WHS AND MEDIA TOURISM
The purpose of this research is to critically explore the dual narratives of Dubrovnik and, in particular, examine how a world heritage site can successfully convey a popular culture narrative alongside a cultural heritage narrative while maintaining long-term international interest. Popular culture, media tourism begins to broaden the appeal of WHS and shifts the functionality of these spaces to support an alternative narrative. This research is proposing an alternative way to engage with the concept of heritage through the lens of heterotopias and media tourism
LIMINOIDITY IN TOURISM EXPERIENCES: FANSHIP AT POPULAR CULTURE ATTRACTIONS
Utilizing Turner’s (1974) theoretical framework of liminoidity, this research analyzes media tourism experiences by Harry Potter fans to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Orlando, Florida. Liminoid experiences are characterized by leisure, individualization, permanent settings, continuously reoccurring nature, and do not require societal participation or transformation. This research employed qualitative research methods to delineate the structure of liminoidity in this tourism experience. Both theoretical and practical implications for the understanding of modern day tourism experiences, including repeat attendance, are discussed. Findings reveal a structure to liminoidity which is present in fans’ experiences and is transferrable to other leisure experiences. This research, therefore, proposes a model to better understand liminoidity in modern day leisure and tourism experiences.
RURAL RESILIENCY
This project looks at rural service sector’s entrepreneurial venture into peer-to-peer accommodations (P2PAs). This project is in collaboration with E.P. Yeager from East Carolina University, J. Soulard from the University of Illinois, and C.S. Deale from East Carolina University.
INVESTIGATING THE MANDATORY NATURE OF TRANSFORMATION IN 'TRANSFORMATIVE TOURISM'
This conceptual project is still in development.