·       Personal Details

             Name: Yael Ram

             Address and telephone number at work: Ben- Gurion University, Beer- Sheva,

Tel: 972-52-2546123

             Address and telephone number at home: Machane Yaffe, Zip Code 85425

·      Education

             B.A. -   1991-1994 - Tel Aviv University – Departments of Psychology and political Science (Cum laude)

             M.B.A. - 1995-1998 - Tel Aviv University – Faculty of Management, the Leon Recanati Graduate School of Business Administration

M.A. Thesis 2006 - Ben-Gurion University of the Negev – Guilford Glazer School of Business and Management                                        

Name of advisors: Prof. Natan Uriely and Prof. Ayala Malach-Pines

Title of thesis: Attachment Theory in Tourism Context: The Correlation   Between Attachment Style, Cohesion, Adaptability and Enjoyment from Familial Vacation

Ph.D. from 2007 - Ben-Gurion University of the Negev - Guilford Glazer School of Business and Management. 

Name of advisors: Prof. Natan Uriely and Prof. Ayala Malach-Pines.

Title of thesis: From Familial vacation to Vacation for Families: Characteristic of Family Vacations across Psychological Typologies and Socio-demographic Aspects of Parents

·      Employment History

             From 2007 – junior staff in Guilford Glazer School of Business and Management, Department of Hospitality and Tourism and Department of Management                                      

·      Educational activities

                                      Courses taught

• Psychology of Tourism – Managerial aspects – Graduate – Ben- Gurion University of the Negev.
• Principles of Marketing - Undergraduate – Achva College
• Business Management in Israel (practicum project advisor) – Undergraduate – Ben-Gurion University of the Negev.
• Leadership Workshop – The Academic Program for IAF Flight Course.
• Business Communication - Undergraduate – Ben-Gurion University of the Negev.
• Interpersonal Communication – Undergraduate – Achva College.            
• Management of Teamwork – Undergraduate – Achva College.     

• Awards, Citations, Honors, Fellowships

             Honors, Citation Awards       

·      1999 - Tel Aviv University – Faculty of Management, the Leon Recanati Graduate School of Business Administration – Dean Prize.

·      From 2007 – Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, internal University scholarship.

·             Scientific Publications

Article submitted for publication in refereed journals:

Uriely, N., Ram, Y., & Malach-Pines, A. (under review). Deviant tourist behavior – A Psychodynamic perspective

My role in the article: full partner.

In this innovative paper psychodynamic approaches are using in order to widen the understanding of deviant behaviors tourism. The paper was submitted on February (2010) to "Annals of tourism research", a leading journal of tourism research (five years impact factor 1.683).  

• Presentation of papers at conferences/meetings 

Ram, Y.(presenter) , Uriely, N.,& Malach-Pines, A. (2008). From familial vacations to vacations of families. The annual meeting of tourism research in Israel, Eilat, Israel.

   This annual meeting provides an opportunity for Israeli Tourism research to share their knowledge and to present their ongoing works as well as complete researches.

             Ram, Y.(presenter), Uriely, N.,& Malach-Pines, A. (2008). Vacations of families. The 4th Conference for Graduate Research in Tourism, Hospitality and Leisure World. Anatolya, Turkey.

   The aim of this biannual conference is to provide a forum for research collaboration and mentoring of emerging tourism researchers in order to share their research experience. Organized by: Anatolia: An International Journal of Tourism and Hospitality Research.

             Ram, Y. (presenter) Uriely N.& Malach-Pines, A. (2009). Instincts, Archetypes and Superiority striving: Tourism industry and unconscious drives. The annual meeting of tourism research in Israel. Haifa, Israel.

             Ram, Y. (presenter) Uriely N.& Malach-Pines, A. (2009). Unconscious drives and the tourist experience. ATLAS annual conference. Aalborg, Denmark.

             Ram, Y. (presenter) & Uriely, N. (2010). Preferences of parents regarding the family vacation. The annual meeting of tourism research in Israel. Jerusalem, Israel.

Ram, Y.(presenter) , Uriely, N.,& Malach-Pines, A. (2010). Deconstructing the
 Family Vacation. ATLAS Annual Conference, Limassol, Cyprus.

•  International workshops

    Participation in "Human factors in teams" - the 4th workshop of CREATE (May 26- June 2 / 2010) a Marie Curie (EU) series of events that is focused on developing young researchers' competencies tied to working in large European projects, as well as their competencies in social networking and relation building at an international level.

·        Research Grants

             2008 – Ministry of Tourism, Israel  for national survey of attitudes of parents about familial vacations – Uriely Natan (principal  investigator), Malach-Pines Ayala, Ram Yael.

$6000.

 Synopsis of research

Introduction:

The importance of the familial vacation to the tourism industry is widely known (e.g. Litvin Xu & Kang, 2004; Bieger & Lasser, 2002), nevertheless, the field suffers from a lack of research and practical tools (e.g Gram, 2005; Zabriskie, 2001). The current research is based on a pilot study (Ram, Uriely, Malach-Pines, 2007) in which correlations were found between parents' psychological and socio-demographic characteristics and familial vacations preferences.

Research objectives:

The research aims to enhancing the understanding of familial vacations and to develop a practical model and tools enhancing the attractiveness of tourism attractions for families with children.

The current study attempts to reveal the heterogeneous nature of the familial vacation by exploring various segments within the familial vacation market. In line with the pilot research, psychological and sociological analyses will be used as segmentation tools. These segments will assist the tourism industry in applying their services to a wide range of families and thus expand the demand for familial tourism.

Methods:

1. National survey among parents (n=336), in order to study the influence of psychological and sociological profiles of families over the attitudes towards familial vacations (funding by ministry of tourism, Israel).

2. Field sample in four forms of tourism (n=309): rural guest houses/camping sites, hotels, organized trips abroad and independent trips abroad. This field sample was done in order to study the differences between psychological and sociological profiles of families that visit in different sites during their familial vacations.

Contribution:

The research should reveal the heterogeneous nature of the familial vacation phenomenon. By doing so, the research will provide theoretical knowledge alongside practical tools.

Theoretical contribution:

1.  A pioneering understanding of the nature of the familial vacation as a heterogeneous phenomenon rather than a monolithic one.

2.  Utilization of psychology aspects to analyze attitudes in behaviors in a mental health context.

3.  An interdisciplinary perspective of psychology and sociology in a tourism context.

Practical contribution:

1.  Providing market segmentation to the familial vacation market alongside recommendations regarding the each segment.

2.  Identifying niches in the familial vacation market that were left without a proper response for their needs.

·      Additional research activity

Another scope of research activity focuses on the psychological aspects of tourist behaviors. This conceptual theoretical analysis is regarding the link between unconscious forces and various behaviors and manifestations in tourism context.

• Additional Information

·      Professional Activities

2008 - Bank Hapo'alim Ltd, Retail Banking Branch – running service and sales workshops

·      Professional experience

1999-2005 sales and marketing jobs in a large commercial bank in Israel   (Hapoalim Bank, Ltd). Last position: Marketing manager of wealthy customers, Hasharon District.