Assessment of the environmental sustainability of restaurants in the U.S.: The effects of restaurant characteristics on environmental sustainability performance

ABSTRACT

This paper investigated the current levels of environmental sustainability in restaurants across the U.S. to determine whether a restaurant’s proclivity for environmental sustainability depended on its characteristics such as chain affiliation or restaurant type.

A web-based survey was administered to 2,500 top-level restaurant managers, from which a total of 218 responses were judged as usable. The data were analyzed using independent

sample t-tests and ANOVA. This study presents an in-depth account of the environmental sustainability in restaurants across the U.S. based on an evaluation of top-level managers. This study also highlights the differences in restaurant environmental sustainability across different restaurant segments.     

US small retail businesses’ perception of competition: Looking through a lens of fear,confidence, or cooperation

The U.S. retail industry has undergone dramatic changes, leading to the closing of brick-and-mortar retail stores on a large scale. Understanding perceived market competition among small retail businesses may help explain why certain businesses survive or fail in the altered retail environment. This study investigates small retail businesses' perceptions of competition within/outside the community, underlying reasons for their perceptions, and variations in perceptions by different business characteristics. Contrary to common expectations, we found that more than half of businesses interviewed were optimistic in the face of competition. Our data reveal two salient underlying reasons for pessimism and five for optimism. These perceptions tended to differ by operational locality (urban clusters vs. urban areas), business revenues, and innovativeness. Based on the findings, we developed propositions and a framework of small businesses' perceived competition and sustainable competitive advantage. We discussed theoretical and practical implications for small retail businesses’ sustainable growth in the challenging retail environment.     

“How does customer perception of salespeople influence the relationship? A study in an emerging economy”

Sales and sales force management is a complex activity that largely determines a company's commercial success. Customer perception of the salespeople in terms of expertise, trust, interaction, and risk can drive the establishment of long-lasting ties, making customer portfolio management profitable in the long-term. Yet to date, while much work has been done on company-customer relational issues, very few studies have taken customer perception of salespeople as their reference. Moreover, most existing studies have taken western countries and developed economies as their reference of analysis.The present study, in contrast, provides an analysis of an emerging economy context, Peru. Using a sample of more than 400 consumers and structural equations analysis, this article presents a model based on the Social Exchange Theory. The final part of the study presents the theoretical discussion together with key implications and recommendations for management.     

机电一体化设备的故障维修特点和可靠性分析

随着我国经济的发展和科学技术的进步,各种机电一体化设备产品也逐渐走进了人们的生活,这就需要相关单位加强对机电一体化设备的故障维修,优化设备性能。为此,论文就机电一体化设备的故障维修特点和可靠性做了简单分析。     

Landslide risk perception survey in Angra dos Reis (Rio de Janeiro,southeastern Brazil): A contribution to support planning of non structural measures

The increasing magnitude and frequency of landslide-related disasters exposes weaknesses in disaster risk reduction (DRR) policy. One of the underlying reasons is that DRR policies tend to focus only on the physical aspects of the problem (i.e. mass movement processes) while neglecting the level of vulnerability of exposed populations to landslide threats, which affects the types and magnitude of adverse consequences. This neglect is a typical symptom of the remoteness that can exist between public administrators and local communities and undermines the implementation of participatory risk management. Certain dimensions of vulnerability depend on how communities relate to the issue of disasters based on their intuitive or rational judgment, i.e. their perception of risk. This paper seeks to shed light on the need for an understanding of risk perception based on the findings from a survey of residents in the city of Angra dos Reis, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to be taken into account in aiming at a more efficient landslide risk management policy. The survey was carried out through semi-structured face-to-face interviews with residents of three typical hillside communities in this municipality. In general, the study found that residents will often weigh landslide risks against other threats and opportunities existing where they live. It also found that community members find it difficult to see themselves as agents of change in the environment where they live and in mitigating landslide risks, and that better communication is needed between the government agencies involved in risk management and local residents.     

线性文化遗产的特征及其对旅游利用模式的影响——基于《世界遗产名录》的统计分析

线性文化遗产是一种特殊的遗产类型,随着人们对遗产完整性不断深入的理解以及遗产活化利用理念的发展,线性文化遗产旅游的重要性日益显现。因此,树立线性文化遗产意识,把握线性文化遗产特征,是推进线性文化遗产旅游利用和可持续发展的重要问题。本文以《世界遗产名录》中收录的线性文化遗产为基础数据,对线性文化遗产的类别与列入标准、资源组合模式和核心区与缓冲区等典型特征进行深入分析,并从旅游空间演化和旅游活化路径两方面总结其对旅游利用模式的影响,以期为线性文化遗产旅游的可持续发展提供科学参考。研究结果表明,线性文化遗产旅游空间结构发展过程遵循“增长极”演化规律,并在遗产文化分层上表现出不同的利用方式和活化路径。     

跨文化背景下商业广告设计的视觉元素关注度研究——以餐饮类平面广告为例

本文以餐饮类平面广告为实验材料,研究了中国和美国被试者对平面广告中的图形、色彩、文字、编排及构图等视觉元素的关注度。本研究从文化认知理论出发,以文化认知差异为前提,探寻了东西方族群对商业广告中出现的视觉信息的不同处理方式。以商业广告中视觉设计的原则为标准,解构了平面广告设计中的视觉构成元素并进行一一比较,得出商业平面广告设计中中美两国被试者的视觉元素关注度差异。最终获取了各种视觉元素的评估结果和相对权重,形成了商业图形广告设计元素关注度的先后顺序。这一实验结果对跨文化认知心理理论在跨国广告设计中的应用有借鉴和启发作用,可以为跨国公司和设计师提供技术指导,设计出更符合消费者需求的商业广告。     

Discretionary effort of regional hospitality small business employees: Impact of non-monetary work factors

This research examines the impact of non-monetary work environment factors on employee discretionary effort within the hospitality sector in the South West Region of Western Australia. Limited qualitative research has previously examined the factors that drive employee discretionary effort especially in the regional hospitality sector. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 20 hospitality employees using purposive sampling. While the findings are preliminary, they do highlight important aspects of discretionary effort within a regional context. Critically, two previously un-identified factors, employees’ professional identity and perception of the hospitality sector have been found to have important implications for employees’ discretionary effort and need to be further explored. Additionally, the findings support the direct influence of organisational culture, job design, interpersonal relationships, on discretionary effort. Finally, the research confirms that a paternalistic leadership approach has a significant influence on hospitality employees’ discretionary effort. Theoretical and practical implications and directions for future research are outlined.     

基于主客视角的苏南传统村落旅游地乡愁的时间特征

“记得住乡愁”是乡村旅游和乡村振兴的重要内容。本文基于居民和游客视角,以苏南传统村落为案例地,探讨乡愁的时间特征。结果表明：（1）乡愁主体方面：相对暂居村落的外来人口,三代以上的世代居民对家乡乡愁情感更加强烈;出生在1950—1959和1960—1978年间的这两代游客较多成长在乡村,乡愁文化感知相对更高;离开家乡在外工作生活时间越长的游客在传统村落旅游时,其乡愁情感和乡愁记忆比起未离开家乡或离开家乡较短的人更加强烈。（2）乡愁触点方面：触发居民和游客乡愁的季节集中在秋天和冬天,天气集中在下雨和落雪时,时辰集中在深夜和傍晚时,节庆集中在春节、中秋节、清明节和家乡特有节日,假日主要集中在周末、寒假和“十一”国庆假期。（3）乡愁记忆方面：主客乡愁记忆都主要集中在童年,其次是青少年,最后是成年和老年;游客产生乡愁的频率比居民频率相对高。（4）乡愁载体回忆顺序：主客乡愁载体都会提到“家”和“乡”相关场所和空间,其回忆的顺序是家人、家、家乡和国家。文章最后总结了乡愁旅游开发的启示。     

深化学科认知与构建中国特色社会主义政治经济学理论体系

对学科的认知包括认识学科内涵、学科性质与任务、学科发展进路等核心问题,关系到如何构建学科体系,是学科建设的重要内容。从深化学科认知的视角,中国特色社会主义政治经济学的学科发展与理论体系构建,要坚持几个重大原则,包括把中国特色社会主义政治经济学建立在历史唯物主义的基础之上;要以生产关系分析为核心来构建中国特色社会主义政治经济学的理论范式;坚持以人民为中心是中国特色社会主义政治经济学的本质属性;把共同富裕作为中国特色社会主义政治经济学的逻辑主线;以问题为导向研究新时代中国特色社会主义建设的重大理论与实践问题;《中国特色社会主义政治经济学》教材要体现学科的创新发展。