Serious leisure among older gardeners in Australia

Activities such as gardening are fast becoming acknowledged as a much desired health management strategy in later life. However, few studies have examined gardening as a serious leisure pursuit. The aim of this study was to apply the concept of serious leisure to the context of leisure gardening by older adults in Australia. Casual, participant and devotee gardeners were compared with respect to the relative importance of the characteristics of serious leisure, using self-administered questionnaires (n = 514). Findings indicated that characteristics of serious leisure varied significantly across the three groups. The most powerful discriminating characteristics were Identity, Unique Ethos and Significant Effort; with Identity particularly important for devotee gardeners. The deeper the level of engagement, the more gardening was perceived as contributing to overall life satisfaction. Findings indicated that gardening could be a serious leisure pursuit that assists in the development of a positive leisure identity and contributes to a more mobile and active life for older adults.     

The prediction of bankruptcy of small- and medium-sized industrial firms

Using large amounts of data from small- and medium-sized industrial firms, this study examines several aspects of bankruptcy prediction. We have tested a hypothesis on the predictive power of different ratio categories during the successive phases before bankruptcy, and one on the relationship between the age of a firm and the predictability of bankruptcy. It was found that virtually every ratio investigated had some predictive power, and that the univariate and multivariate importance of ratio stability were not very high.     

波速测试在工程场地判别的应用

波速测试作为岩、土体工程特质测试项目之一,已广泛应用于工业、建筑等诸多领域并取得了良好的实际应用效果。波速测试技术是工程场地判别方法之一,亦是一种简便、快捷、准确的现场管理方法。其利用弹性波在不同弹性介质中的波速差异来获取工程场地判别中岩土体的类型、周期与应用参数,可以为工程场地的判别方法、应用技术、安全性评价提供有价值的参考与依据。     

Paradise for who? Segmenting visitors' satisfaction with cognitive image and predicting behavioural loyalty

The purpose of this research is to assess the influence of socio‐demographic characteristics on destination image and loyalty, thereby offering a segmentation perspective of visitors to the island of Mauritius. A self‐administered survey of hotel guests was undertaken and resulted in a sample of 705 respondents. Using a k‐means clustering algorithm and discriminant analysis, three clusters of visitors were identified. Different image attributes predict visitors' revisit and recommendation intentions. These findings allow destination marketers to adapt the marketing mix elements to different segments while enabling a destination to emphasize the relevant attributes in promotion and positioning efforts. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

基于满意度视角下上海世博园重游者的比较研究

2010年上海世博园共接待游客7000万人次,其中不乏多次参观世博园区的重游者,文章运用SPSS16.0的判别分析法( Discriminant Analysis),建立判别函数将园区重游者分为三类,即低满意度的“补偿型重游者”、中满意度的“实用型重游者”和高满意度的“依恋型”重游者.根据三类重游者对世博园区属性的11项满意度测量指标,分析比较产生重游行为的差异性.证实了满意度并非产生重游行为的惟一原因,重游行为的产生受多种动因的影响.文章的研究结论对于成功举办节事活动,提高游客的人数和满意度具有一定的借鉴作用.     

葡萄酒产业纵向协作模式农户选择影响因素*——以河西走廊葡萄酒产区为例

［目的］构建了农户参与产业链纵向协作模式分析的7个基本假设,对河西走廊葡萄酒产区农户参与纵向协作模式选择的影响因素进行分析。［方法］文章基于河西走廊葡萄酒产区农户的入户调查,运用判别分析法综合分析葡萄酒产业纵向协作模式农户选择偏好及主要影响因素。［结果］（1）河西走廊产区酿酒葡萄种植户显著地偏好“口头协议”模式参与葡萄酒产业纵向协作,“市场交易”模式次之,“合同模式”偏好程度最低,其选择率分别为4045%、3315%和2640%。（2）农户选择产业纵向协作模式的影响因素存在差异。专用性投资是农户选择“市场交易”模式最重要影响因素。（3）“口头协议”与“书面合同”模式下,企业与农户之间的监督管理对于双方协作非常必要。（4）“市场交易”和“口头协议”模式下的企业与农户普遍缺乏有效沟通,“企业—农户”之间松散的组织关系,极易引发合作双方的机会主义行为,导致潜在“敲竹杠”风险,农户选择“书面合同”模式动力不足。［结论］位于产业价值链“微笑曲线”高价值区的企业,如何技术性的处理利益分配对双方影响深远。     

Using partial least square discriminant analysis to distinguish between Islamic and conventional banks in the MENA region

The deterioration of bank profitability poses a threat not only to the interests of consumers and internal staff members but also affects investors who may equally suffer from significant financial losses. It is important to establish an effective system which assists investors in their investment choices. In prior literature, traditional models have been developed, but achieved short‐term performances such as logistic regression and discriminant analysis. This paper applies a partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS‐DA) to distinguish between conventional and Islamic banks in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region based on the financial information for the period 2005–2011. This method can successfully identify the non‐linearity and correlations between financial indicators. The results demonstrate superior performance of the proposed method. On one hand, our model can select all financial ratios to distinguish between banks and at the same time identify the most important variables in the distinction process. On the other hand, the proposed model has high levels in terms of accuracy and stability.     

论财务预警模型的构建——来自中国证券市场的经验数据

当前,上市公司的财务预警判别问题是国内外财务研究的热点,也取得了不少的成果,并建立了多种财务预警模型。以2009年主板上市公司的年度财务报表作为数据来源,从反映上市公司财务状况的偿债能力、盈利能力、营运能力、持续经营能力等四个方面考虑,初步确定了16个财务预警变量。首先通过单变量的描述性统计对这16个财务指标进行显著性判断;其次,采用多元统计中的逐步判别法确立出3个判别分析变量,从而构建了财务预警模型;最后,通过检验样本对该模型进行实证检验,证明该财务预警模型具有良好的判别效果。     

An analysis of the social unit of participation and the perceived psychological outcomes associated with most enjoyable recreation activities

Abstract

Two research questions were addressed by this study: (1) to determine the predominant social units in which individuals participate in their two most enjoyable recreation activities, and (2) to determine if a relationship exists between the social units with which individuals participate in their two most enjoyable activities and the reasons for participating in these activities. Outdoor activities predominated as individuals’ two most enjoyable activities with a marked predominance of participation in the family/friends social group. Two discriminant analyses revealed a strong relationship between social units of participation and reasons for participation. The reasons of family togetherness, relation with nature, being with people, escaping the family, escaping physical pressure, and meeting new people were the primary discriminating variables in pre‐dicting the social unit of participation. However, these reasons were not, in general, viewed as primary reasons for engaging in one's most enjoyable activities. Therefore, it may be concluded that the type and degree of social interaction desired vary with the social unit of participation, but the primary reasons for participation remain relatively stable regardless of the social unit of participation.