Three books,two movements,one story

These three books take different approaches to analysing the transformative potential of the Landless Workers Movement (MST) in Brazil. Vergara‐Camus' book also examines the Zapatista National Liberation Army (EZLN). Carter solicited essays from numerous specialists and sees his book as contributing to existing efforts to overcome inequality. Mészáros emphasizes the influence of power relations on the law, determining that it takes an organized pressure group such as the MST to ensure that authorities implement policies that challenge the status quo. Vergara‐Camus' grassroots approach, which involved periods of living with peasant families, concludes that the MST's strategies for building alternative, autonomous rural communities is more realistic – more universalistic – than that of the Zapatistas, whose military tactics tend to reinforce the group's isolation in the forests of Mexico's southernmost state. The review evaluates these arguments, the authors and their evidence from the perspective of a researcher experienced with the objects studied.     

Overconfidence and optimism: The effect of national culture on capital structure

This study assesses whether variations in capital structure across countries can be explained by cultural traits. We analyze capital structure choices of firms in 42 countries and provide evidence that these decisions are affected by the degree of individualism of the country where the firm is located. We assert that managers in countries with high level of individualism exhibit strong optimism and overconfidence which cause an upward bias in perception of supportable debt ratios. Our results are robust to controlling for other firm- and country specific determinants of capital structure choices and to using alternative model specifications and estimation techniques.     

Shipping route choice across geographies: Coastal vs. landlocked countries

This paper investigates how geography and transportation costs influence the decisions by shippers of which port of export to use. Using a large sample of disaggregated shipments originating from several countries in Europe, we show that European logistics networks exhibit a low level of international integration that affects shipping route choice. Furthermore, we find significant differences in shipping behaviors across landlocked and coastal countries, with shippers in landlocked countries avoiding long land transportation, crossing borders readily, and placing more value on transportation infrastructure. These findings have implications in designing port competitiveness strategies and economic development policies in landlocked countries.     

Brand personality and culture: The role of cultural differences on the impact of brand personality perceptions on tourists' visit intentions

Tourism destinations increasingly use brand-personification strategies to evoke favorable consumer reactions. These reactions, however, may hinge on cultural differences. This paper investigates the relationships among nation brand personality perceptions, consumer brand-self congruity, and the visit intention of a country as a tourism destination. Brand-self congruity is examined as a mediator of the relationship between brand personality perception and visit intention. Of Hofstede's cultural dimensions, individualism and uncertainty avoidance are the most relevant dimensions for brand-self congruity. Based on representative samples of consumers from five countries (Italy, the UK, Czech Republic, Poland, and Russia) and using Slovakia as a sample tourism destination, the effect of individualism and uncertainty avoidance on the relationship between brand self-congruity and visit intention is studied. Individualism and uncertainty avoidance moderate the congruity – visit intention relationship – but in a negative way, contrary to our expectations. Important implications are derived for both tourism research and destination management.     

Warfare tourism experiences and national identity: The case of Airborne Museum ‘Hartenstein’ in Oosterbeek,the Netherlands

This paper examines through an analysis of Dutch warfare tourism whether there is a relationship between the subjective perceived salience of Dutch identity and heritage tourists' motives, emotions and overall satisfaction. Using a social identity theory framework, this study provides a view of motives for Dutch warfare heritage tourism and the ways in which this specific variant of heritage tourism evokes different emotions and satisfaction evaluations in visitors. Specifically, we found that visitors who identified strongly as ‘being Dutch’ (the ‘in-group’) have stronger self-enhancement motives compared to those who identify less strongly, and that edutainment features strongly in the museum experience. Visitors seeking initiative/recognition express feelings of disappointment suggesting that the museum's symbolic function as a place of national in-group identity could be more highlighted. We demonstrate that an affirmative and engaged experience can manifest at nationally symbolic sites through positive historical narratives and entertainment, and through ‘in-group’ self-enhancement activities.     

The effect of physical environment on passenger delight and satisfaction: Moderating effect of national identity

This study aims to examine the influence of an international airport's physical environment on passengers' delight and satisfaction. This study also aims to assess the moderating role of national identity on the relationship between physical environment and passengers' delight and satisfaction. A convenient sampling technique was used to select the sample. A total of 271 questionnaires distributed at Kuala Lumpur International Airport, Malaysia were used for data analysis. The result from the structural analysis suggests that physical environment in an international airport influences passengers' delight and satisfaction. Moreover, national identity portrayed in airport moderates the relationships between physical environment, passengers' delight and satisfaction. Overall, findings of this study extends the understanding of physical environment, passengers' delight and satisfaction and national identity in the context of an international airport and offer implications for international airport authorities. Discussions and implications for airport practitioners, limitations, and suggestions for future research are also provided.     

The effect of motivational orientation over arousal-shopping response relationship

This paper enlarges extant theory on environmental retail by providing evidence that motivational orientation moderates the relationship between arousal and response. Our conceptual model focuses on the phenomenon of motivational orientation as moderator on the relationship between arousal and shopping intention. We extend Kaltcheva and Weitz model, since their focus was on the association between arousal and pleasure. We measured shopping behavior, as consequence variable in the framework, in six different formats (e.g. satisfaction, loyalty, money $, minutes, products). We did four studies in a 2×3 design with motivational orientation (hedonic vs. utilitarian) and arousal (high vs. moderate vs. low levels). After the procedures, the questionnaire listed the scales. The four studies did provide enough evidence that motivational orientation moderates the relationships proposed by Mehrabian and Russell's theoretical framework and those ones proposed by our model.     

全球价值链与国内价值链——基于投入产出表的新方法

价值链作为组织和协调经济活动的微观机制,已使经济全球化和增长模式发生了深刻的变化。本文利用来自投入产出表的新方法,测度了广东省和江苏省全球价值链和国内价值链的水平。结果表明,粤苏两省切入全球价值链的倾向高于切入国内价值链的倾向,而对其它省份关联效应较大的行业基本上是中间品行业,且具有自然资源密集的特征。全球价值链与国内价值链之间的互动关系,则关系到我国产业升级的前景和区域经济协调发展的基础。     

主客位视角在少数民族地区研究中应用的思考

现代化进程加速,少数民族地区社会发展成为重要议题,民族学作为专门研究不同民族的学科,承担着科学、客观及准确认知各个民族并为政府提供政策性建议,推动民族地区繁荣发展的重任。而民族学一向重视研究视角的选择,因为这关系到能否获得对研究问题的可靠认识。通过选取少数民族社会研究中的四个问题予以探讨,阐释关于民族学两种传统研究视角在民族地区现实问题研究中应用的思考,希望能为正确认识少数民族社会发展中遇到的问题与困境,进而促进民族地区健康、和谐及可持续发展提供有益见解。