http://hdl.handle.net/10563/1001723 Wed, 08 Apr 2026 23:05:49 GMT 2026-04-08T23:05:49Z http://hdl.handle.net/10563/1012426 Building a smart system of pilgrimage tourism through a mobile application for Mary's Way in Slovakia Šramová, Blandína; Deptová, Tatiana The paper is focused on the example of one pilgrimage route, “Way of Mary”, in the field of building pilgrimage tourism in Slovakia within the rurAllure project supported by the European Commission, Horizon 2020. Smart tourism and slow tourism combined with pilgrimage is one of the attractive options that respond to the demands of today’s customers. One smart pilgrimage tourism approach is creating a mobile application developed within the project that emphasises a personalised approach. The research findings based on content analysis pointed to five key themes that form the core of the mobile application’s appeal to pilgrimage tourists. There are: (1) pilgrimage sites, (2) natural heritage sites, (3) ethnographic and cultural attractions, (4) experiential spots, and (5) narratives. The platform developed as part of the rurAllure project will provide pilgrims with unique and interactive opportunities to explore the pilgrimage routes in a new and enriching way and encourage a smart, sustainable, slow, and customer-oriented approach. Wed, 01 Jan 2025 00:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/10563/1012426 2025-01-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10563/1012091 The Czech Republic and non-governmental non-profit organizations after the impact of the COVID-19 crisis Göttlichová, Marcela The period of the pandemic crisis in the Czech Republic significantly reflected the uncertainty of the time. It was characterized by the loss of the guarantee for the services of non-governmental non-profit organizations, which the public will demand and accept in the future. The period coincided with financial impacts on the running of these organizations, declining public confidence, and declining interest from supporters. The presented study, based on the secondary and mainly primary data reflecting the attitude of non-governmental non-profit organizations of the Zlin Region based on quantitative research aimed at the communication of organizations during the pandemic, has once again confirmed the still-persistent shortcomings demonstrably requiring necessary changes leading to the efficiency of the current form of communication on a professional basis. One of the ways to offer a solution to the ongoing unhappiness is the intensive cooperation of non-governmental non-profit organizations with students of marketing communications, as documented explicitly by the collaboration of the Faculty of Multimedia Communications of the Tomas Bata University in Zlin in cooperation with the Zlin Region, which enables significant assistance in the professionalization of non-governmental non-profit organizations’ communication in continuity with development of the Zlin Region on the one hand. On the other hand, it strengthens the interest in non-commercial marketing among university students in continuity with their future professional classification. Mon, 01 Jan 2024 00:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/10563/1012091 2024-01-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10563/1011302 Gender, teenagers and the motivations behind identity construction on social media: A conceptual study from the perspective of Czech Republic and Ghana Adzovie, Daniel Edem; Adzovie, Rita Holm; Jibril, Abdul Bashiru; Pham, Quynh Giao Ngoc The attainment of ubiquity of social media (SM), also known as new media or new new media in people's lives continues to attract scholarship in varied perspectives. Although there is evidence that people of almost all ages are in one way or the other social media users, research indicating that young people constitute the most users of social media abound. There is extant literature on the effects (positive/negative) of social media usage on employees, students and others. However, scholarship on gender, how teenagers construct their identities on social media as well as the motivations behind the identity teenagers construct is scanty. Also, no study has explored a cross-cultural identity construction on social media by teenagers from the perspective of developed and developing countries. The main purpose of our study is to examine how teenagers from two 'worlds apart' (Czech Republic and Ghana) construct social media identity as well as the motivations behind these identity constructions of teenagers from these two countries. We also explore what roles gender play in such identity constructions. First, the authors employed a qualitative inquiry with specific focus on document analysis on the phenomenon by retrieving scholarly works from reputable databases such as Scopus, Web of Science, EBSCO, Google Scholar, ERIH Plus; opinions from experts as well as news items and editorials and weblogs in order to put the study in the right perspective. Second, the authors conceptualised a research model for future research design which could obtain rich naturally occurring data from teenagers from both Ghana and Czech Republic for Thematic analysis. This could be helpful in the validation of the proposed conceptual research model. Literature reviewed revealed that while some individuals construct their identity on social media to conform to ideals of society, others do so to reflect their individual aspirations in life. Also, a number of people, mostly young people create what is termed “ideal identity”. Even though the literature shows that gender has an influence on social media usage, scholarship is silent on its influence on identity construction. However, such individuals are in the minority. Research implications have been discussed in the concluding part of the study. © 8th European Conference on Social Media, ECSM 2021. Fri, 01 Jan 2021 00:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/10563/1011302 2021-01-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10563/1011299 The role of intercultural interaction in international student enrolment: A conceptual study from the Czech Republic Adzovie, Daniel Edem; Attor, Cleophas The internationalisation of higher education drive continues to gain grounds as most universities all over the world strive to attract international students into their schools in order to fulfil the internationalisation mandate. Most institutions of higher learning keep designing and re-shaping strategies for attracting foreign/international students into their fold. Intercultural communication is very important in breeding the feeling of belongingness among people. Social media platforms continue to be explored by institutions to attract targets. The aim of the study is to examine the perception of international students on the effect of intercultural interaction on decision making regarding choice of university, with particular focus on universities in the Czech Republic. Partially, we seek to explore the role of social media platforms operated by universities in attracting foreign students. Employing a qualitative methodology of inquiry, and specifically using document analysis vis-à-vis opinions from experts, the authors assessed the antecedents and consequences of intercultural communication on international student enrolment. We then conceptualised a research model for future qualitative/quantitative study which could consider in-depth interviews from international students in Tomas Bata University (TBU) as well as a survey from higher institutions of learning in the Czech Republic for analysis with the use of multivariate analysis or partial least square and equation modelling (PLS-SEM). This initiative would propel the validation of the proposed conceptual model of the study. The literature review revealed that intercultural interaction among international students plays a major role in the decision-making process of prospective international students regarding the choice of institution of higher learning. The quest to internationalise motivates most universities to implement numerous international student-friendly policies in the bid to attract more international students to their institutions. Finally, the literature showed that social media platforms produce maximum results with regards to attraction of international students. Research implications have been discussed. © 8th European Conference on Social Media, ECSM 2021. Fri, 01 Jan 2021 00:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/10563/1011299 2021-01-01T00:00:00Z