The importance of urban milieu in predicting recreation participation: The case of day hiking

Abstract

Numerous outdoor recreation forecasting studies have included household characteristics as well as aspects of the recreation facilities and accessibility. Only a few studies, however, have included in the prediction equation any measure of the effects of urban milieu on behavior. Four commonly cited surrogates of urban milieu are used to cluster the cities of Illinois into three relatively homogeneous groups of environments. Regression analyses are then undertaken using individual household data, aspects of the recreation facilities patronized by the households, participation, and distance and travel time estimates. Comparisons of the regression analyses indicate that, as a concept, milieu is an important predictor of both the volume of recreation participation and salient features of recreation facilities.     

A new fluctuation test for constant variances with applications to finance

We present a test to determine whether variances of time series are constant over time. The test statistic is a suitably standardized maximum of cumulative first and second moments. We apply the test to time series of various assets and find that the test performs well in applications. Moreover, we propose a portfolio strategy based on our test which hedges against potential financial crises and show that it works in practice.     

“Step into the Real Texas”: Associating and claiming state narrative in advertising and tourism brochures

Texas is one of the most popular states for tourists. Using quantitative and primarily qualitative methods, we analyzed how marketers of small cities and towns associate their place to four central components of the Texas state narrative – the flag, official and unofficial symbols, territory, and social–historical mythology – in advertising and tourism brochures in the years 2008–2010. We discovered that in parallel to the overuse of the “associating to well-known brand/narrative” strategy, marketers also invest efforts toward claiming the narrative. Thus our second goal was to discover which techniques were used in order to claim the state narrative. Using the state of Texas as an example may provide a test case for typology, associating and claiming state narratives in promotional materials.     

Disputed Rivers: Sovereignty,Territory and State-Making in South Asia, 1948–1951

The construction of territorial sovereignty is key to conceptions of modern states. Yet after the Partition of India and Pakistan in 1947, when both became independent from Britain, the precise nature of India’s relationship to Pakistan was open to some question. Was Pakistan a foreign country? Was India’s relationship to it international? This article uses the example of a dispute over water resources in the Indus Basin to highlight the process through which Indian officials in New Delhi’s External Affairs and Law ministries came to define Pakistan as constitutionally, as well as geographically, “outside” India between 1948 and 1951. Yet while Indian policy makers manoeuvred into an aggressive stance against Pakistan, both countries’ membership of the British Commonwealth implied an international relationship blurring the formal distinction between “domestic” and “foreign”. Negotiating the contradictions between Commonwealth rules and the desire to assert sovereignty over territory and resources, I argue, made Indian sovereignty contingent on circumstance.     

Growth,convergence and public investment. A Bayesian model averaging approach

The aim of this study is twofold. First, the determinants of economic growth are studied among a wide set of potential variables for the Spanish provinces (NUTS3). Among others, various types of private, public and human capital in the group of growth factors are included. Also, it is analysed whether Spanish provinces have converged in economic terms in recent decades. The second objective is to obtain cross-section and panel data parameter estimates that are robust to model specification. For this purpose, a Bayesian Model Averaging (BMA) approach is used. Bayesian methodology constructs parameter estimates as a weighted average of linear regression estimates for every possible combination of included variables. The weight of each regression estimate is given by the posterior probability of each model.     

What shapes local public transportation in Europe? Economics,mobility, institutions,and geography

This paper analyzes factors explaining supply and demand of local public transportation. Together with variables related to traditional economic factors and mobility, we consider variables reflecting institutional characteristics and geographical patterns. Being a political capital increases supply and demand of local public transportation, inequality is associated with higher supply, and contracting out reduces supply. Furthermore, our regional analysis allows us capturing the effect of geographical characteristics and different traditions of government intervention. In all, we provide first evidence on the role played by institutional and regional characteristics useful to achieve a better understanding of local public transportation supply and demand.     

Airport stops and flights on small airplanes as inhibitors of tourism-related air travel: A case study

This article discusses the extent to which prospective tourists' concerns about airport stops and flights on small airplanes inhibit air travel to tourist destinations, drawing on data from telephone surveys conducted in the Dallas–Fort Worth, Texas area. Respondents were queried about the extent to which one airport stop, two airport stops, and one airport stop followed by a flight on a small, propeller-powered airplane, respectively, would deter them from flying to a destination 1096 miles (1764 km) away. Findings suggest that marketers of similar destinations in similarly distant markets that are accessible by air only after two airport stops risk having their promotional appeals ignored by roughly half those who would prefer to reach such destinations by air. Moreover, those most concerned about such flight schedules were more likely than other respondents to have high incomes and to use the Internet to obtain vacation or travel information.     

Different Paths to Collaboration Between Businesses and Civil Society and the Role of Third Parties

In this article, we suggest that one of the unexplored paths toward collaboration between firms and civil society organizations starts with confrontation or potential conflict, and that the transition toward collaboration can be further understood if one focuses on triadic relationships rather than dyadic ones. We analyze the presence of third parties and their different roles to explain how collaboration is facilitated. The article aims at bringing together the bodies of research on business–civil society confrontation and on business–civil society collaboration. It offers a comparative analysis of four case studies, and proposes a typology of third parties composed of facilitating allies, participating allies, mediators, and solution seekers. We conclude with some implications for further research as well as for practice.