Of discovery and dread: The importance of work challenges for international business travelers' thriving and global role turnover intentions

As frequent travel across international borders has become common for an ever-increasing number of workers, it is essential to understand what helps these international business travelers (IBTs) thrive and embrace their global work responsibilities. This study's purpose is to examine the role of developmental opportunities (i.e., work role challenges) in helping IBTs see frequent travel as a predominantly beneficial experience. By integrating two theories of motivation—conservation of resources theory and the challenge-hindrance demands framework—I build a moderated mediation model of IBTs' intent to cease their global work responsibilities (i.e., global role turnover intentions). Using latent moderated structural equation modeling, I test the model on a sample of 204 IBTs collected at two time points. Results show that, through the psychological state of thriving at work, travel frequency has a negative indirect association with IBTs' global role turnover intentions when IBTs' work roles are challenging and a positive association when their work lacks challenge. This is primarily the case regarding the challenge of being responsible for others at work. The novelty of IBTs' work tasks is also a salient challenge but to a lesser extent. This study contributes to literatures on global work, work role design, and thriving.     

“If I know when you will arrive,I will let you walk to school:” The role of information technology

Introduction: Providing a sense of supervision for parents may facilitate their children’s involvement in physical outdoor activities, such as walking to school. Information technology (IT) solutions could bring more parental supervision, which in turn has the potential to enhance the proportion of walking trips to school. This study aimed to examine the role of a proposed hypothetical IT solution that gives parents real-time information about children’s entrance to and exit from the school, for the intention of parents letting their children walk to school. Method: A total of 820 questionnaires were distributed among pupils aged 7–9-years across 28 elementary schools to be completed by their parents (82% return rate). Results: Compared to the group of walking pupils, increased parental intention to let their children walk to school under the proposed solution could be explained by considerably more variables in the group of pupils who did not walk to school. The findings revealed that increased parental intention was higher among the walking pupils compared to the non-walking pupils. For the non-walking pupils, enhancement of walking facilities across the school area could potentiate the use of the proposed solution by the parents, which in turn may increase the proportion of walking on school trips. In addition, boy pupils, the pupils whose parents evaluated walking more favorable, those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, and those living in close proximity to the school could more likely benefit by shifting from non-walking to walking modes of travel, after implementation of the solution.     

Residents’ Attitudes Towards Tourism in a Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems Pilot Site: a Case Study in China

Abstract

Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS) is a wide program to promote the conservation and adaptive management of such systems and their associated landscapes, biodiversity, knowledge systems and cultures. Rice-Fish Systems (RFS) in Longxian village of China, as a traditional agricultural system, was selected as one of the five pilot sites of GIAHS in 2005. Researchers have paid more attention to the dynamic conservation and adaptive management of RFS because it is under severe threats from global development challenges. Tourism is suggested to be brought into the RFS conservation program as an alternative industry. This paper presents a comparative study of residents in three types of farm household in Longxian, seeking attitudes to the RFS conservation and tourism development and ways in which such information may guide future strategies. Results show residents, belonging to the household type in which most family members are abroad, have the most positive attitudes to RFS conservation and tourism development; while residents, as other household type in which less than 50% of family members are abroad, are the least sensitive group in these three household types, due to the motivation of moving abroad weakening their enthusiasm to participate in the local activities. Implications are discussed in the context of how resident attitudes will affect the future management of GIAHS conservation and tourism development, and then measures are put forward to foster tourism cooperation and multistakeholders process establishment.     

Impacts of Social and Demographic Factors on Residents’ Subjective Well-being in Rural China

Abstract

The objective of social development is to construct a harmonious society. In China, the key to a harmonious society is the happiness of more than 900 million farmers living in the rural areas. This study aimed to measure rural residents’ subjective well-being (SWB) through the day reconstruction method, as well as to analyze SWB’s influencing factors through a variety of statistical methods. The results showed that the average U index was 12.79%, indicating that respondents were unhappy 12.79% of the time. Twenty-seven percent of the population had a U index greater than 0, with the average value being 47%, indicating that these people were unhappy 47% of the time. The study also found that SWB varied according to the characteristics of the respondents. Logistic regression analysis showed that social and demographic factors, including age, education, county, household size, generation number, per capita income, migration status and social networking, which significantly affected rural residents’ SWB. The size of the impact varied with the different factors.     

Study on the Relationship between Tourist Influence and Residents’ Sense of Community: An Empirical Study from Changdao County in Shandong Province

Abstract

Residents’ sense of community is an important prerequisite to promote the development of community. Tourism has significant influence on residents’ sense of community. An empirical study from Changdao shows that economy and life conflict caused by tourism can affect neighborhood-friendly and community participation significantly. Culture, environment and social services from tourism can significantly affect community association, community care and place recognition. Therefore, the regional managers should pay attention to allocate revenues in the residents fairly and protect own culture to avoid the negative impact from tourism.     

基于消费者行为模型的农村居民环境保护意愿分析

针对农村居民基于消费者行为的环境保护意识构建经济模型,将居民消费品分为环境关联物品和非环境关联物品两类,又从环境关联物品中分离出环境友好型商品和环境负效应商品,对这两种消费品抽象出某种效用层次下两种类型商品的组合,通过规范式分析方法,判断农村居民环境保护意愿的影响因素和规律。结论显示,农村居民环境保护意愿的不断提高,需要绿色消费品相对价格的降低;通过加大宣传教育,使他们的环保意愿与行为选择达到对农村自然环境保护更为理想的状况。     

The use of personalised social marketing to foster voluntary behavioural change for sustainable travel and lifestyles

Changing public attitudes and behaviour is key to achieving the UK target of a 60% reduction in carbon dioxide emissions by 2050. Top-down campaigns that have provided information to a passive public have not necessarily resulted in pro-environmental behavioural change. This paper examines the use of a personalised social marketing approach to engage the public in changing their personal travel. It provides the results of a project in the City of York to foster voluntary travel behavioural change. Using face-to-face discussions, personalised information and incentives, a statistically significant reduction in car use and an increase in cycling and the use of public transport were achieved over a six-month period. However, this change was not sustained 12 months later. The paper explores the contrasting perspectives on behavioural change and examines the possible lessons that can be learnt to foster voluntary behavioural change in other aspects of household consumption.     

“Lead has become carbon dioxide”: framing sustainable travel in an age of climate change

This paper explores the promotion of environmentally sustainable travel and the ways in which individual citizens engage with exhortations to adopt environmentally responsible travel modes. In local contexts, the arguments for promoting modal shifts have focused on issues like congestion, noise reduction and the improvement of local environmental quality. However, in recent years, concerns about global climate change have reframed the promotion of sustainable travel around carbon emissions reductions and more fundamental changes to lifestyle choices as a way of combating climate change. Within this context, this paper considers the ways in which individuals frame sustainable travel through using focus group data collected as part of a wider research project on travel behaviour in the UK. The paper will demonstrate that notions of “sustainable” travel are still largely dominated by localised environmental concerns that have resonances with the everyday experiences and practices of individuals, with many of the factors underlying established discourses of travel behaviour being focused on pragmatic issues like convenience and cost. In contrast, the issue of climate change presents a number of challenges for policy-makers seeking to change behaviour because of the contestations surrounding climate science, political leadership and the perceived role of individual consumers in tackling climate change.     

成都市老年人旅游制约因素研究

老龄化社会的来临,为老年旅游市场的发展带来了空前的机遇.然而,老年人的特殊性令众多的旅游企业望而却步,因此对老年人旅游的制约因素进行研究是十分必要的.在国内外相关研究的基础上,以成都市老年人为研究对象,对老年人旅游制约因素进行实证研究.通过因子分析发现,老年人旅游制约主要表现为自身制约、支持制约、经济与经历制约、环境制约四项,其中自身制约为最主要的制约因素.同时,探讨分析了不同人口学特征的老年人在旅游制约因子上的差异以及内在关系.     

基于“项目导向、任务驱动”的高职《旅行社经营管理》课程改革与实践

在阐述"项目导向、任务驱动"教学法基础上,设计了《旅行社经营管理》课程教学新思路的五个步骤:布置任务、计划安排、实施工作、展示成果和总结评价,并从七方面研究了此教学法对培养学生职业技能的积极作用及创新。