Impact of Tourism on the Quality of Life on the Citizens of the Historic Center of Venice, Italy - Essay Example

?Running head: CRITIQUE OF A RESEARCH PROPOSAL Critique of a Research Proposal – Impact of Tourism on the Quality of Life of the Citizens of the Historic Center of Venice, Italy Insert Name Here Insert Affiliation Here Critique of a Research Proposal – Impact of Tourism on the Quality of Life of the Citizens of the Historic Center of Venice, Italy This paper reviews the research proposal, “Impact of Tourism on the Quality of Life of the Citizens of the Historic Center of Venice, Italy” by Fabio Carrera, submitted to the Fondazione ENI Enrico Mattei (FEEM). The aim of this paper is to thoroughly analyze the research structure and design of the proposed study, to state its research problems and paradigms, and to evaluate its significance. I. Aims of the Study and Statement of Research Problem The primary objective of the proposed study is to evaluate the impact of tourism on the quality of life of the people living in Venice. To achieve this primary objective, the first step is to survey and record the present distribution of retail shops and the type of primary goods such as food and other daily commodities sold therein. The number of shops that predominantly sell tourist-oriented goods would be recorded and a “touristization index” would be formulated to estimate the prevalence of tourist-oriented shops in the region. Another index, viz. “shopping comfort” would also be formulated to measure the quality of life based on the importance and necessity of products sold in these retail shops, the accessibility of the stores, the number of people of different age groups in each shop’s vicinity, average price of basic goods etc. Once these indices are computed, the shopping landscape of Venice from the time of World War II (1945) to 2005 would be recreated. This will facilitate the study of the evolution of the retail landscape of Venice in 60 years, and will also equip the researchers with enough data to help in identifying the trends in its evolution. The research problem that this study wishes to address is whether tourism has influenced the quality of life of people living in Venice, by affecting its retail sector. The study wishes to ascertain whether shops selling basic and daily commodities have been replaced by tourist-oriented shops selling artifacts and souvenirs, thereby affecting the common people’s daily lives. Access to shops selling foodstuff and other necessities, the age of individuals living in the shop’s vicinity and the distances travelled to procure goods for daily needs will thus be assessed by the study. The study also intends to propose alternatives, and public and private interventions to stop or even reverse the trends, in case they are found to have a negative impact on the people’s quality of life. II. Research Paradigm The proposed research aims at challenging popular claims that increasing tourism in Venice has led to the replacement of shops selling goods of basic necessity with shops selling tourist-related goods such as souvenirs and apparel. Although this has been the common perception of local citizens since the past 30 years, the belief is largely anecdotal and is not backed by quantitative or qualitative evidence. Moreover, no investigation has been done until date on the type of local stores that have been running and those that have been shut down since the second World War. Therefore, the belief that tourism has negatively impacted the people’s quality of life by changing the retail scene is based on unconfirmed assumptions. The researchers thus wish to challenge the hypothesis that “Venice is becoming a harder and more costly place to live in, where souvenir shops have displaced stores providing primary necessities to the aging local population”. It is expected that this hypothesis will either be confirmed or decried after the successful completion of the proposed study. If the hypothesis is confirmed, potential solutions will be proposed. However, if the hypothesis were disproved, it would result in a paradigm shift in the local perception of tourism-oriented retail and its effect on the people’s quality of life. The current paradigm is that local shops are increasingly being replaced by tourist-oriented shops, negatively affecting the local population. III. Quantitative Approach to Research The study put forth in the research proposal is quantitative in approach. This is because it aims at testing rather than building a theory and has an objective rather than subjective approach to research. It is strictly planned out and focuses on converting tacit data into computable indices. For instance, it aims at quantifying the distribution of tourist-oriented shops using a “touristization index” by relating the “total square footage of tourist-oriented shops to the number of citizens in each census block”. It also aims to quantify the impact of the change in retail stores on the people’s quality of life by computing the “shopping comfort” index, which combines variables such as the accessibility of the stores, the essentiality of the goods sold, the number of people of each age group in the shop’s vicinity, the average price of essential goods etc. By mapping these indices on a Geographic Information System, the researchers aim to measure the net cost of purchasing essential goods, for different age groups in different parts of Venice. The research approach is also said to be quantitative as its methodology is predetermined and is based on deductive reasoning. The researchers aim to re-create the retail landscape of the city for each year since 1945, by mapping and identifying which kind of store had operated at each shop location. This would be done based on interviews with local citizens. Since the research intends to analyze data across space and time in order to estimate evolutionary trends in retail, the study design is quantitative in nature. Moreover, the researchers are not part of the research experiment and are context insensitive. Therefore, it can be ascertained that the proposed study is quantitative in approach. IV. Significance of the Proposed Study The study proposed in this research proposal is of extreme significance for the local citizens of Venice, Italy. If the study is successful in confirming the presumption that tourism has negatively impacted people’s quality of life by changing the retail landscape and increasing the inaccessibility of essential goods, especially for the elderly, it would prove to be an eye-opener for the government and policy makers. The authors of this proposal also intend to suggest possible solutions to counteract and reverse the negative effects of this trend. If the hypothesis is rejected, however, then it would prove that the low quality of life, increasing costs and inaccessibility of basic goods for local consumers is not because of increasing tourism but is rather attributed to other hitherto unknown factors. These causes will then have to be sought out in order to propose worthwhile solutions that would eliminate the people’s apprehension of tourist-oriented shops and improve their quality of life and “shopping comfort”. This study, therefore, will prove to be beneficial for all citizens living on the 126 islands comprising Venice. The research proposal reviewed in this paper seeks to find the cause – effect relationship between increase in tourism and the lack of accessibility to shops selling basic commodities, thereby influencing the people’s quality of life. The research design is based on a quantitative approach and the study is based on deductive reasoning. The proposed study is of significance to the citizens of Venice and if successfully completed, will either put to rest or confirm all negative assumptions harbored by people on the impact of tourism on their way of life. Read More