The researcher: My name is Dorina Maria Buda, I am from Romania, currently living and studying in Hamilton, New Zealand. I am working towards my doctoral degree at Waikato University, Programmes for Geography and Tourism. My passion for tourism as well as my interest for Jordan and Jerusalem has driven me to carry out this research project on tourism in Jordan and Jerusalem. I am interested to find out why people choose to visit these places and also how they feel about the political situation in the region.
The project: Thank you very much for taking the time to consider getting involved in my doctoral research project. Tourism is a complex, dynamic, ever-changing phenomenon with ramifications in numerous disciplines. The connection between tourism and political situation represents a key point of this research project. The effects of political instability within a region, or even a country can be a two-edged sword; on the one hand it can deter tourists from visiting the country and the whole region altogether or, on the other hand it can entice some tourists to visit what it is perceived or portrayed as a politically unstable country or a war-torn region.
The area: The political situation in the Middle Eastern region seems complicated. The country Jordan and the city of Jerusalem offer a good position to view and analyse the political environment and the impacts on international tourist motivation to visit Jordan and Jerusalem. I am interested in the connection between politics and tourism in Jordan and the city of Jerusalem as well the way this impacts tourists’ motivations to travel to these places.
Your involvement: In order to gain an in-depth understanding of the relationship between tourism and political instability this study includes several methods, which are totally voluntary, organized in 3 stages. First stage is our initial semi-structured interview that will feel like informal chats about your decision to travel to these places and your experience visiting them. At the end the initial interview you will be invited to take part in stage two of this research, which I will explain to you in details and is completely voluntary. In stage 2 I plan to use two methods that are relatively new: diary – interview and photograph & video interpretation. They will give me a new, more imaginative way of understanding not only the way you see places, but also the relationship between tourists and places and the possible link with political instability.
If you agree to further participate in my research, for stage 2 you will be given a small diary notebook that you can use to write down notes about anything and everything that crosses your mind, your heart when you see a certain place while on your trip in Jordan and/or Jerusalem. Diary entries can be as long or as short as you want, and can be taken during the tour, at the end of the tour or even at the end of the day.
For the photo & video interpretation part I am kindly asking you to provide me with as many pictures as you want and write a caption for each picture illustrating the reason you considered important, interesting, useful, funny to take that picture. If needed, I can provide you with a digital photo camera. Making one or more short videos of places, spaces and sites that you consider important or illustrative for the connection between tourism and the political situation in the region is also very useful.
The third and final stage of your involvement will consist of a follow-up friendly chat about further reflections you might have on this research project. This will be organized at the end of stage two in a place that suits you (e.g. a café in town, lobby of a hotel) and will not last longer than 30 minutes.
You can decide to participate in any or all of the 3 stages of this project.
How do I contact you?
If you decide to participate you can contact me on +64 21 128 4001, or at dorinab@waikato.ac.nz or dorina.buda@gmail.com and can set up a meeting while in Jordan, Tel Aviv or Jerusalem between 11thof July to 30th of October. I will be in Tel Aviv from 12th – 16th of July, Jerusalem from 16th – 21st July, Amman and different sites in Jordan 21st July – 30th October. If you have already been to the area and are willing to share your experience with me we can even organise an on-line meeting using such software as gchat from gmail, yahoo messenger, or skype.
What are my rights as a participant?
As a participant have the right to:
· decline to participate;
· decline to answer any particular question (in case of interviews); decline to provide any photograph or use the diary (in case of photo, video and written diaries)
· ask for the audio-recorder to be turned off at any time;
· end the interview at any time
· withdraw from the study up until three weeks after participating in the research and have the photographs and diary sent back;
· ask any questions about the study at any time during participation; and
· ask for the erasure of any materials you do not wish to be used in any reports of this study.
What about confidentiality?
The interviews, photographs and diaries that you might provide will be audio-recorded and notes will be taken during the interview. You have the right to ask to have the recording turned off whenever you decide and you may also end the interview at any time. If you wish so you will be sent a copy of the interview notes, and you will have the opportunity to make corrections or request the erasure of any materials you do not wish to be used. The information you provide will be kept confidentially in a locked facility or in a password protected file on my computer up to five years upon completion of my research.
What will my information be used for? The main use of the information you provide will help me towards my doctoral thesis, which upon completion will publicly be available on Internet. The data may also be used for articles, book chapters, published and unpublished work and presentations. Unless you have given explicit permission to do so, personal names or any other information which would serve to identify you as an informant will not be included in this research or in any future publication or reports resulting from this project.
This research project has been approved by the Human Research Ethics Committee of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Any questions about the ethical conduct of this research may be sent to the Secretary of the Committee, email fass-ethics@waikato.ac.nz, postal address, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Te Kura Kete Aronui, University of Waikato, Te Whare Wananga o Waikato, Private Bag 3105, Hamilton 3240.
Once again I thank you for taking the time to find out more about my doctoral research. I am at your disposal for any questions you might have.
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