ATLAS prizes for Bachelor and Master theses 2023

The Association for Tourism and Leisure Education and Research (ATLAS) has established an annual ATLAS Prize for undergraduate and graduate theses on leisure and tourism.

Nominations for the prize (a maximum of one undergraduate and one master's thesis per institution) should be submitted by heads of departments from ATLAS member institutions, by providing a statement (maximum one page A4) explaining why their nominee is worthy of the ATLAS prize for undergraduate and master's theses on leisure and tourism. .

The thesis must have been successfully defended by 2022 and must be written in English. Given the variety of possible topics in the field of leisure and tourism, we do not specify precise criteria. Possible grounds for the award include scientific and social relevance, originality of the topic and readability.

Nominations will be reviewed by the ATLAS Advisory Board in May, June and July 2023 and the 2 award winners (one for the best Bachelor thesis and one for the best Master thesis) will be announced at the annual ATLAS conference in October in Bad Gleichenberg, Austria. The award winners will receive a framed certificate. They will also be invited to present their work during a webinar and receive a free ATLAS student membership for one year.

The closing date for entries is Monday 1 May 2023.  All submissions (nomination form and thesis in PDF format) should be submitted by e-mail to admin@atlas-euro.org.

NOMINATION FORM

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ATLAS Internship

ATLAS is proud to announce the possibility to offer students an ATLAS internship.

The agreement about the internship will be reached with an ATLAS member institution and the student. This agreement will allow students to carry out their university internships under the tutelage of one of their institutional experienced researchers and under the flag of ATLAS.

The benefits of an ATLAS Internship are:

• Student can make use of the ATLAS network
• It can be an international internship
• Students will be connected to the SIG’s of their interest
• Students can profile themselves and their research on the ATLAS website
• Students will receive a certificate when their internship has been completed and signed off by the supervising researcher.
• Students will be offered ATLAS student membership free for one year
• If the internship relates to a student’s thesis work, there is an opportunity for the thesis to be nominated for the ATLAS thesis prizes awarded annually.

We encourage members to work with their students to develop their internships with ATLAS. If you have any ideas, please contact admin@atlas-euro.org.

February 2022

ATLAS is proud to announce a new agreement reached with the University of Seville. This agreement will allow students from this institution to carry out their university internships under the tutelage of one of our experienced researchers. The first student to enjoy this new agreement is Llorenç Quetglas Llull, a student of the Degree in Geography and Land Management, who is excited to be part of this team and grateful for the opportunity that the organisation has given him to grow professionally. We encourage other institutions to open the possibility to their students to develop their internships with ATLAS.

As part of the ATLAS membership we do invite other members to initiate ATLAS Internships. If you have any idea please contact admin@atlas-euro.org.

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ATLAS prizes for Bachelor and Master theses 2022

The Association for Tourism and Leisure Education and Research (ATLAS) has created the annual ATLAS Prize for Bachelor and Master thesis on leisure and tourism. Nominations were made by Heads of Department / School from ATLAS Member institutions, In addition, theses produced by ATLAS student members were also considered.

We received 9 nominations, 3 Bachelor and 6 Master theses.

Nominations were reviewed in May and June 2022 by the ATLAS Advisory Board and we now do have 4 prize winners! Due to the difficulty to choose only 2 winners, the ATLAS advisory board decided to select two more theses to be highly recommended.

What do the rewarded students win:

Reward for first prize  

• Framed certificate (also in PDF)
• Free participation in the ATLAS annual conference
• Invitation to present the thesis during the ATLAS annual conference
• Free ATLAS student membership for one year
• Selection of ATLAS publications   

Reward for highly recommended / second prize

• Certificate in PDF
• Invitation to present the thesis during the ATLAS annual conference
• Free ATLAS student membership for one year

The prize winners will be honoured during the ATLAS annual conference in September 2022.

ATLAS prizes for Master thesis on leisure and tourism

The Jury has decided to award the ATLAS 2022 Master thesis first prize to:

Noémie Bernardin
Wageningen University & Research, The Netherlands
Understanding attitudes towards recreational regulations in protected nature areas. A case-study of the Gorges de Daluis Nature Reserve, France

Noémie’s thesis focuses on understanding attitudes towards recreational regulations in protected nature areas. Her thesis is well structured, based on a distinctive literature review and on a sample of 402 questionnaires. The methodology is well justified and of exceptional level. The jury liked the originality and freshness of the topic and felt that the author has been rigorous in her approach to the research and the writing up of her findings. All in all a very useful study, as well as a theoretically sophisticated piece of work.

The jury highly commended (second prize):

Cinzia Kaufmann
Erasmus University Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Urban Design and the Consideration of Place Attachment in Promoting Creativity within the City A Case Study of the Creative District Zurich West

A better understanding of creative districts and the promotion of creativity in the city motivated this study as in to further investigate the consideration of attachment to place in the respective urban design. By gathering statements from 15 experts most directly concerned and in charge with the design of urban areas, i.e. urban, planners, designers, researchers and architects the notion of creative districts was discussed and approaches to the promotion and evaluation of creative activities addressed. Cinzia’s thesis is based on a very good, nicely written and sophisticated literature review. Methodology is well thought out and clearly justified and the descriptive results are well structured, making frequent references to previous literature. All in all a nicely written, interesting and useful study for industry, as well as being theoretically robust.

ATLAS prizes for Bachelor thesis on leisure and tourism

The Jury has decided to award the 2022 Bachelor thesis first prize to

Yvonne Lleogben
Technological University Dublin, Ireland
An investigation of work related factors affecting the rate of turnover within the Irish Hotel sector and identifying methods of retention that should be adopted

This piece of research sought to address key factors affecting turnover in the Irish hotel sector. Yvonne’s thesis is well-structured and interesting, based on a sound literature review and research design. The findings chapter was very well presented, both quantitative and qualitative data was explored, and the most relevant data was interrogated. Findings are skillfully discussed in reference to the literature review.. The conclusion and recommendations chapter draw together a good summary of the findings, and Yvonne clearly identified limitations and opportunities for industry and for future research.

The jury highly commended (second prize):

Kira Tabea Meyer
Wageningen University & Research, The Netherlands
The Role of Utopian Imaginaries in an Anarchist Movement Prefigurative Politics in the Dannenröder Forest

This is a theoretically well substantiated, interesting thesis. Kira combined participatory action research, formal interviews and informal data gathering strategies and used the results of a workshop she organized, to study the utopian imaginaries of the participants of a protest campaign against the construction of a new highway in Germany. The thesis is based on an impressive literature review which deals with some high level theoretical concepts and a very interesting methodology involving participant observation and ethnography. Kira also has a very self-reflexive and engaging style of writing. This resulted in a thesis that is a clear exploration of prefigurative politics in practice. The thesis also has an excellent summary and final discussion. Which - unfortunately - has little direct relevance for the leisure & tourism sector and therefore was awarded with a second prize.

CONGRATULATIONS!!
 

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ATLAS prizes for Bachelor and Master theses 2021

The Association for Tourism and Leisure Education and Research (ATLAS) has created the annual ATLAS Prize for Bachelor and Master thesis on leisure and tourism. We received 16 nominations, 8 Bachelor and 8 Master theses.

Nominations were made by Heads of Department / School from ATLAS Member institutions. In addition, theses produced by ATLAS student members were also considered.

Nominations were reviewed by the ATLAS Advisory Board and we now do have 4 prize winners! Due to the difficulty to choose only 2 winners, the ATLAS advisory board decided to select two more theses to be highly recommended.

What do the rewarded students win:

Reward for first prize   

• Framed certificate (also in PDF)
• Free participation in the ATLAS annual conference
• Invitation to present the thesis during the ATLAS annual conference
• Free ATLAS student membership for one year
• Selection of ATLAS publications   

Reward for highly recommended / second prize

• Certificate in PDF
• Invitation to present the thesis during the ATLAS annual conference
• Free ATLAS student membership for one year

The prize winners will be honored during the ATLAS annual conference in September 2021, which will be held ONLINE.

ATLAS prizes for Master thesis on leisure and tourism

The Jury has decided to award the ATLAS 2021 Master first prize to:

Jana-Samira Werl
Breda University of Applied Sciences thesis, the Netherlands
Exploring the Paradoxes of Privacy and Big Data Analysis in Tourism Destination Management. A case study: Austria.

In this thesis Jana-Samira explored the utility of Big Data analysis in Tourism Destination Management while identifying the arising paradoxes regarding privacy. It seeked to derive practical policy implications that balance the needs of a digital tourism economy on one hand and the rights to privacy and data protection on the other. The thesis first concludes that the potential of Big Data analysis for Tourism Destination Management Organizations (DMOs) in Austria is high but vastly underutilized except for digital marketing and communication.

Secondly, this study found three inherent paradoxes of privacy and Big Data: a paradox of supply and demand, the transparence paradox and a paradox of power and competition. Based on these findings, this research suggests nine recommendations for DMOs. The jury found this a thesis of outstanding quality, focusing on an important, topical and timely subject, thoroughly researched using a robust methodology, with very convincing and well-argued conclusions of great potential practical application by DMOs. In sum, the jury found the thesis a critical, analytical and intelligent piece of work.”

The jury highly commended (second prize):

Kristina Hansen
Wageningen University & Research, the Netherlands
Quietscapes: Towards a sonic sensibility of place.

In this thesis project, Kristina questions what a sonic sensibility brings to our understanding of contemporary life in a remote Wadden island. In particular, her sonic sensibility traces what tuning into the meanings of quietness adds to understanding islanders’ relations with their home. This thesis is part of the sensory turn within social sciences and atmospheric turn within tourism studies. This research contributes to current thinking on the role of quietness and sensory based experiences, constructions and negotiations of place. Next to this, this thesis advances the call to geographers to take part in place-making and the reimagination of place through a sonic art approach.

The jury found this a highly original and rigorously-executed thesis, focusing on an under-researched, yet vital theme – the role played by a vital human sense in the tourism experience - with useful findings of great significance for many destinations. They found it a beautifully written thesis which deals with an unusual subject in a very creative way. A carefully crafted and thoughtful literature review was combined with fascinating fieldwork.



ATLAS prizes for Bachelor thesis on leisure and tourism

The Jury has decided to award the ATLAS 2021 Bachelor first prize to:

Eleonora Rossi
Dalarna University, Sweden
Chained to Trafficking. A Study on Sex Trafficking in Chain-affiliated Hotels in Sweden.

In this thesis Eleonara investigated the vulnerabilities of the hotel industry and chain-affiliated hotels that sex traffickers exploit to force women into prostitution. Through semi-structured interviews with employees of chain-affiliated hotels, the study identified 14 vulnerabilities. Some vulnerabilities are external to the industry, but affect it directly. Other vulnerabilities are internal to the hotel industry, but not associable to any specific chain-affiliated hotel. Lastly, there are vulnerabilities that are strictly related and associable to single hotels.

The jury found this thesis very well written and structured dealing with an important and for tourism studies unusual topic. The thesis contains very strong sections on methodology, on research ethics given the sensitive topic and on research limitations. Results are well presented, although based on a limited number of respondents. The thesis deals with a topic of social importance with results that could lead to practical actions for industry.


The jury highly commended (second prize):

Sofia Rastelli
Erasmus University Rotterdam, the Netherlands
The Hero, the Adventurer and the Advocate volunteers. A visual analysis of volunteer tourists’ identities on Instagram.

In this thesis Sofia studies photographic practices related to volunteer tourism on Instagram. Findings show that volunteers perform the identities of the hero, the adventurer and the advocate, portraying different approaches on how to live the volunteer experience and interact with the local ‘other’. Again, the jury found this a very well written thesis about an interesting and topical subject. The thesis has a strong theoretical underpinning based on a sound literature review and lots of insightful comments and examples of critical thinking. It makes use of an innovative methodology but with some ethical issues implicit in it. However, related societal implications are not really addressed in the thesis.

 

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