Joel Frater - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Joel Frater

With data collected from guests in all-inclusive resorts in Jamaica, West Indies, the purposes of... more With data collected from guests in all-inclusive resorts in Jamaica, West Indies, the purposes of this study were to: (1) delineate unique dimensions of customer service perceptions among guests and (2) report the finding of a study that measured guests' perceptions of the quality of customer service in all-inclusive resorts. The study asked the following research question: Are there statistically significant differences in guests' perceptions of the quality of customer service based on gender, educational level, experience traveling to Jamaica, international travel experience, country of residence and age? The results delineated six factors with relatively high coefficients. These factors were used in further analyses using t-tests and ANOVAs that revealed statistically significant differences in guests' perceptions of various service dimensions based on the socio-demographic variables (1) level of education, (2) experience traveling to Jamaica, (3) experience with international travel, (4) country of residence, and (5) age.

In: Bricker, Kelly, comp., ed. 2005. Proceedings of the 2004 Northeastern Recreation Research Symposium. Gen. Tech. Rep. NE-326. Newtown Square, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northeastern Research Station: 321-326., 2005

Volunteers are an important human resource for many organizations. Reasons to volunteers are attr... more Volunteers are an important human resource for many organizations. Reasons to volunteers are attributed to factors such as the increasing number of nonprofit organizations, decreasing pool of volunteers, competition for volunteer recruitment among organizations, and problems in volunteers' retention to an organization. Groups of college students from six departments were stratified according to service oriented and non-service oriented majors. For this study, a two-part questionnaire, including the six scale of the Volunteer Inventory Functions (VFI) was administered to college students. The results showed differences between volunteers and non-volunteers, males and females, and service-oriented and non-service oriented majors in their motivations to volunteer.

$Research paper thumbnail of Host Residents\u27 Support of the Summer 1996 Olympic Games$

Hallmark or mega-events have been widely hailed as opportunities to enhance the awareness and app... more Hallmark or mega-events have been widely hailed as opportunities to enhance the awareness and appeal of tourist destinations. Because hallmark or mega events such as the Olympic games hold the market potential for national and international tourism development, studies of host residents\u27 support of the Olympic games hold special significance. The purpose of this study was to examine Atlanta, residents on their perceptions of the State of Georgia hosting the 1996 Olympic games. Pre and post Olympic comparisons of residents showed strong support for Georgia hosting the Olympic games, limited change is willingness to attend Olympic events, and statistically significant differences for perceived economic benefits, improvement in citizen pride, and to a lesser extent, increased future tourism benefits

Current research on the credentialing process in parks, recreation and leisure services has focus... more Current research on the credentialing process in parks, recreation and leisure services has focused primarily on accreditation and certification and has largely ignored the civil service exam as a credentialing toll or condition of employment in many state and municipal parks and recreation departments.

Hallmark or mega-events have been widely hailed as opportunities to enhance the aware ness and a... more Hallmark or mega-events have been widely hailed as opportunities to enhance the aware ness and appeal of tourist destinations. Be cause hallmark or mega events such as the Olympic games hold the market potential for national and international tourism develop ment, studies ofhost residents' support of the Olympic games hold special significance. The purpose of this study was to examine Atlanta, residents on their perceptions of the State of Georgia hosting the 1996 Olympic games. Pre and post Olympic comparisons of residents showed strong support for Georgia hosting the Olympic games, limited change is willingness to attend Olympic events, and statistically significant differences for perceived economic benefits, improvement in citizen pride, and to a lesser extent, increased future tourism bene fits.

Examined at a macro level, there are several key factors that are likely to influence the tourism... more Examined at a macro level, there are several key factors that are likely to influence the tourism and hospitality industry. The first factor is the changing face of the American population. A second factor is the rate of growth of the tourism industry. A third, and very important factor is the extent to which the industry embraces diversity. There is a need for industries to reach out to a diverse group of customers and employees. The need for cross-cultural responsiveness and the adoption of training models is apparent. This paper examines population and travel industry data-trends as a corner stone for embracing diversity as both a moral and global or national economic and social real ity. Among the issues to be discussed are the racial and ethnic trends in the travel industry workforce, racial and ethnic trends in the ravel market, the content of globalization, and the adaptability of multicultural models used in disciplines such as counseling to the tourism and hospitality indu...

This research attempted to examine the motivational differences between different student populat... more This research attempted to examine the motivational differences between different student population subgroups. The participants in this study were undergraduate college students from SUNY College at Brockport (students, n=437; males, n=159; female, n=278; volunteers, n=373; nonvolunteers, n=64; service-oriented majors, n= 169; nonservice-oriented majors, n= 177). A survey instrument that was developed for this study included the Volunteers Function Inventory (VFI). It was used to assess the research data. The instrument measured the subjects' perception of the importance of six motivational functions (Values, Career, Understanding, Social, Enhancement, and Protective) in regards to volunteer expe1ience, gender, and major. The results suggest the existence of motivational differences for volunteering: 1) in the Values, Understanding, Enhancement and Career functions between volunteer and nonvolunteer students, 2) in the Values, Understanding, and Enhancement functions between ma...

Visions of Leisure and Business, 1998

Despite the acknowledged importance of tour ism to global economies, and the attention given to ... more Despite the acknowledged importance of tour ism to global economies, and the attention given to empirical research in developed coun tries, very little attention has been given to research in less developed countries, particu larly those in the Caribbean. In this study, resi dents in the tourism resort communities of Negri!, Montego Bay, and Ocho Rios, Ja maica, West Indies rated their perceptions of the economic impact of tourism on their community. The mean scores indicated that residents perceived an overall slightly positive economic impact of tourism However, ANOV A results showed statistically significant difference in the degree of positive perceptions based on the socio-demographic variables of community, employment, placed of employ ment, and length of residence. The implica tions of these findings for the host residents and the tourist industry is discussed.

Leis Stud, 1997

The value of academic and professional role models cannot be overestimated for today&#x27... more The value of academic and professional role models cannot be overestimated for today&#x27;s college and university students of all races. Students are the generational link in the perpetuation of the leisure services profession and &#x27;belong&#x27; to the profession via their initial enculturation in educational encounters. Accredited programmes in leisure studies at comprehensive US public colleges have missions that mandate attention

Current research on the credentialing process in parks, recreation and leisurt: services has focu... more Current research on the credentialing process in parks, recreation and leisurt: services has focused primarily on accreditation and certification and has largely ignored the civil service exam as a credentialing toll or condition of employment in many state and municipal parks and recreation departments. It is the experience of the researchers of this study that a significant number of students are stunned when seeking many state and municipal parks and recreation jobs. This is so because they are usually confronted with the need to be tested and perform well on civil service examination as a condition of employment or a condition for retaining their position after provisional status has ended. The purpose of this study was to examine the extent of public recreation employment and wages at the state and municipal levels and draw inferences as to the extent employees and potential employees are subject to the civil service examination process. The results indicated that: I) recreation employment at both the state and municipal levels is significant, 2) many prospective employees will inevitably be impacted by the need to take & successfully pass civil service examinations, since state & municipal departments are subject to this process, 3) although employment in terms of numbers & payroll amount is significant, public sector recreation employment is small compared to total public sector employment, 4) both within a region and among regions some inference can be drawn as to the recreation & leisure values held by elected officials and the population in general, and 5) Students will continue to acquire little knowledge of the civil service employment system because there are no current curriculum accreditation standards that require recreation programs to specifically address civil service employment issues.

Visions in Leisure and Business, 2001

Leisure Studies, 1997

$Research paper thumbnail of Host Residents\u27 Support of the Summer 1996 Olympic Games$

Visions of Leisure and Business, 1998

Leis Stud, 1997

Visions in Leisure and Business, 2001

Leisure Studies, 1997