Faculty Research Projects

How can stakeholders get insights into perceived well-being in a timely manner and related to specific aspects of urban environments? Comprehensive national surveys are costly, require significant organizational effort and are a careful balance between knowledge to be gained and burden placed on respondents. To address these challenges, DWBI will use AI-based natural language processing in conjunction with evolving knowledge graphs to extract affective knowledge from user-generated digital content. Automatically mapped to existing indicators, this knowledge will complement and enrich survey-based approaches and traditional assessment methodologies, mitigating some of the associated problems.

Organisations: MODUL University Vienna, School of Sustainability, Governance, and Methods

Author: Arno Scharl, Ivo Ponocny, Sabine Sedlacek, Adrian Brasoveanu, Agnieszka Skwara

Date: 01.10.2021 - 30.09.2024

Managed By: MODUL University Vienna

Many studies showed the vulnerability of Austria's tourism to climate change, possible economic impacts, risks and opportunities. However, tourism itself contributes substantially to climate change. Given the importance for the economy, a specific, reviewed assessment is needed. The purpose of the Special Report is to summarize and assess the state of knowledge of all aspects of this topic based on and open to contributions by the full community of Austrian researchers and related experts.

Organisations: School of Tourism and Service Management

Author: Dagmar Lund-Durlacher

Date: 01.03.2018 - 29.02.2020

Managed By: School of Tourism and Service Management

Modern day tourism organizations use standard general-purpose software tools, such as Google Analytics to collect and report website statistics. But to the standardized key performance indicators (KPIs) provided by these tools really provide added value? What insights do they provide? How can they be applied in an effective way? It is of outmost importance to find KPIs that are linked to the objectives of every tourism organization. General-purpose tools are good in improving an individual’s website content or for identifying and solving usability issues. However, they are not capable of providing meaningful, industry specific information. Moreover, web analytics need to move from a technology driven, standardized reporting function towards a business objective centered approach, which provides useful information to managers. The purpose of this project is to create a unique platform for destinations, to compare and benchmark their website with other destination websites. In addition, it gives the opportunity to create online marketing projects based on the demographics of their website visitors, compare the number of visitors from source market versus number of website visitors from the same source market, and opportunities for forecasting.

Organisations: MODUL University Vienna, School of Tourism and Service Management

Author: Karl Wöber, Irem Önder

Date: 01.10.2015 - 31.12.2020

Managed By: MODUL University Vienna

The overall goal of the service contract is to determine the carrying capacity in regions dominated by tourism. This will help local leaders in destinations to analyse and assess the impact of tourism in their regions based on indicators for the economic, social and environmental aspects affected. The focus will lie on big data, new technologies, artificial intelligence and high-performance computing. This needs to be conditioned for European tourist destinations. In the context of this service contract local, national and EU policies will be advised in managing and measuring carrying capacity in tourist destinations.

Organisations: MODUL University Vienna, School of Sustainability, Governance, and Methods, Department of Public Governance and Sustainable Development, School of Tourism and Service Management, Research Center of New Media Technology

Author: Sabine Sedlacek, Christian Weismayer, Bozana Zekan, Ulrich Gunter, Daniel Dan, Lyndon Nixon

Date: 11.11.2019 - 11.11.2020

Managed By: MODUL University Vienna

The main objective is to use the "Carrying Capacity Methodology" developed in the ESPON TOURISM project to provide local stakeholders on the Iveragh Peninsula in southwest Ireland with the means to assess tourism trends in support of developing policies and action plans for the long-term and sustainable development of the local tourist industry, as the sector emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Organisations: MODUL University Vienna, School of Sustainability, Governance, and Methods

Author: Christian Weismayer, Sabine Sedlacek

Date: 05.11.2021 - 29.04.2022

Managed By: MODUL University Vienna

Development of an instrument for collecting information about systems measuring city tourism performance worldwide. Data form and questionnaire for the expert interviews with destination management organizations (DMOs) that were developed include the most current, measurable, objective, and replicable information.

Organisations: MODUL University Vienna, School of Tourism and Service Management

Author: Bozana Zekan, Irem Önder, Karl Wöber

Date: 01.03.2016 - 31.08.2016

Managed By: MODUL University Vienna

The Climate Change Collaboratory (Triple-C) aims to strengthen the relations between environmental stakeholders who recognize the need for climate change adaptation and mitigation, but differ in their specific worldviews, goals and agendas. For this purpose, the collaboratory provides tools to manage expert knowledge as well as a context-sensitive environment for creating and editing documents in a collaborative manner. Building upon the award-winning technology behind the Media Watch on Climate Change, the user's semantic context is provided by a real-time synchronization framework for rendering advanced visualizations including information landscapes, geographic projections, and ontology graphs. Innovative survey instruments in the tradition of “games with a purpose” create shared meaning through collaborative ontology building, and leverage the extensive user base of social networking platforms to capture indicators of environmental attitudes, lifestyles and behaviors. Two project workshops help align Triple-C with the research activities of its associate partners, increase the project’s visibility, and foster the collaboration with leading international organizations.

Organisations: MODUL University Vienna, Research Center of New Media Technology

Author: Arno Scharl, Sabine Sedlacek

Date: 01.03.2010 - 20.09.2012

Managed By: Research Center of New Media Technology

The study primarily analyzes the consumption/travel behaviour at stagnating/decreasing permanent income. Main focus of the study is the quantification of income/budget shifting from „non-neccessary“ consumer goods (i.e. travels, diverse luxury goods) towards „neccessary“ consumer goods (i.e. expeditures for daily needs) and increased „cautionary saving“ at stagnating/decreasing available personal real income.

Organisations: MODUL University Vienna, School of Tourism and Service Management

Author: Egon Smeral

Date: 01.03.2016 -

Managed By: School of Tourism and Service Management

Organisations: MODUL University Vienna, Department of Public Governance and Sustainable Development

Author: Dimitris Christopoulos

Date: 01.01.2012 - 01.01.2014

Managed By: Department of Public Governance and Sustainable Development

Organisations: MODUL University Vienna, Department of Public Governance and Sustainable Development

Author: Dimitris Christopoulos

Date: 01.01.2015 - 01.01.2017

Managed By: Department of Public Governance and Sustainable Development

Organisations: MODUL University Vienna

Author: Kristof Tomej

Date: 01.09.2016 - 01.07.2017

Managed By: MODUL University Vienna

DecarboNet is a research project funded by the European Commission to investigate the potential of social platforms in mitigating climate change. Engaging the public in energy debates and encouraging behaviour change are essential strategies for reducing energy consumption and saving our planet. Studies show that information and technology alone are insufficient for changing behaviour towards more sustainable lifestyle choices, and that what is needed is a combination of socio-technical interventions. How to raise awareness collectively by means of social platforms and how to transform it into behaviour change are some of the challenges addressed by the project’s research agenda. DecarboNet is funded by CAPS (Collective Awareness Platforms for Sustainability & Social Innovation), a FP7 and H2020 research programme of the European Commission to enable new forms of social innovation and leverage emerging network effects by combining social media, distributed knowledge creation and data from the “Internet of Things”, increasing awareness and identifying possible solutions to problems that require collective efforts. Witness emerging DecarboNet technologies in action by exploring the Media Watch on Climate Change, participating in the Climate Challenge, or using the faceted search of the Climate Resilience Toolkit.

Organisations: MODUL University Vienna, Research Center of New Media Technology

Author: Arno Scharl

Date: 01.10.2013 - 30.11.2016

Managed By: MODUL University Vienna

Organisations: School of Tourism and Service Management

Author: Astrid Dickinger

Date: 01.09.2014 - 31.08.2016

Managed By: MODUL University Vienna

Development and test of instruments for guest information in the field of sustainable food in order to improve the sustainability balance of businesses and to fix the concept of sustainable food in the perception of guests

Organisations: MODUL University Vienna, School of Tourism and Service Management

Author: Dagmar Lund-Durlacher, Hannes Antonschmidt

Date: 01.07.2016 - 31.12.2017

Managed By: School of Tourism and Service Management

The aim of the "Digital Tourism Expert" initiative is to provide the participating company partner with relevant digital know-how and to test and implement it with the help of initial digital projects (Transfer-Projects). Therefore, 14 educational modules were developed which on the one hand deliver digital marketing know-how and on the other hand provide knowledge to create the right structural requirements for becoming a digital tourism company. Both competencies will create the skills to implement a digital transfer project in the final phase of the project. In these projects the companies implement innovative digital processes or projects guided by the coaches from the universities.

Organisations: MODUL University Vienna, School of Tourism and Service Management, Research Center of New Media Technology

Author: Karl Wöber, Astrid Dickinger, Arno Scharl

Date: 01.01.2018 - 31.12.2020

Managed By: MODUL University Vienna

DIVINE integrates data from structured, unstructured and social sources to build information spaces. Lightweight seed ontologies act as focal points for integrating new evidence from third-party sources. Since such evidence is inherently uncertain, source-specific transformation rules assign confidence values to newly acquired pieces of knowledge.

Organisations: MODUL University Vienna, Research Center of New Media Technology

Author: Arno Scharl, Marta Sabou, Stefan Gindl, Alexander Hubmann-Haidvogel

Date: 01.07.2011 - 31.12.2013

Managed By: Research Center of New Media Technology

Tourism organizations need internationally comparable statistical data on the present structure of the industry as well as on historical and future trends. Based on reliable information, strategies and operational plans are implemented, monitored and where necessary, modified in response to feedback from the market. ECM Benchmarking Report covers the information needs of city tourism managers and is based on the data collected by TourMIS. It has a distinct focus on the strategic and competitive position of European city destinations and thus equips destination managers with important trends and recent developments in the European city tourism business. The prime objective of the ECM Report is to convert complex statistical data to easily accessible and comprehensive managerial information mainly by graphical presentation of charts.

Organisations: MODUL University Vienna, School of Tourism and Service Management

Author: Karl Wöber, Bozana Zekan

Date: 01.02.2009 -

Managed By: MODUL University Vienna

Performance comparison of the meetings industry (corporate and non-corporate)

Organisations: MODUL University Vienna, School of Tourism and Service Management

Author: Lidija Lalicic

Date: 01.03.2016 -

Managed By: School of Tourism and Service Management

EcoMove will develop new knowledge-based solutions for the efficient and environmentally sustainable movement of users in cities. This will be achieved by providing customised information about available mobility options in real time. Recommendations for delaying, avoiding or taking alternative mobilty options will be presented visually to the users - city inhabitants, visitors, and professional stakeholders - for the purpose of prioritizing "necessary" mobility. Vienna will be the city test case; the developed methods will be generic and the data collection will cover the entirety of Austria so that an extended application of the solutions to other regions as part of future projects will also be possible.

Organisations: MODUL University Vienna, Research Center of New Media Technology, School of Tourism and Service Management

Author: Lyndon Nixon, Astrid Dickinger, Sabine Sedlacek, Daniel Dan

Date: 01.07.2018 - 30.06.2021

Managed By: MODUL University Vienna

Mountain biking is seen as one of the core summer tourist activities in Austria in particular in mountainous regions and the bike industry continuously stirs the demand with new bike technologies. A recent debate revolves around the advantages and disadvantages of general opening of public and private owned forests for mountain bikers in Austria. Up to now mountain biking in forests is only allowed after approval of the land owner. The aim of the project was to assess the status quo of mountain biking in Austria as well as consequences of opening the forest tracks for mountain bikers. Potential consequences such as an increased volume of mountain bikers, user conflicts, accidents and security risks were to be evaluated. The expectations of all affected groups (mountain bikers, other nature users, touristic destinations) were examined. Eventually, the economic consequences of an opening were considered.

Organisations: MODUL University Vienna, School of Tourism and Service Management

Author: Dagmar Lund-Durlacher, Hannes Antonschmidt

Date: 01.07.2015 - 01.09.2016

Managed By: MODUL University Vienna