Introverts abroad? Long-term visitors' adaptations to the multicultural tourism context of Costa Blanca,Spain

Many people from North-Western Europe have quite long stays in Mediterranean Spain, partly related to phenomena such as ‘wintering’, seasonal movements and sabbatical holidays, for the most part dwelling in their own houses or apartments. This paper explores intercultural relations of long-term visitors and it raises some questions on differentiation and dedifferentiation in the consolidated holidaymaking context of Costa Blanca (Alicante, Spain). The paper includes visitors' assessments of certain central aspects of their (temporary) life in Spain, based on an exit survey. It is revealed that long-term visitors have far more varied and wide-ranging adjustments to their new and/or temporary surroundings than is usually assumed in news media and in some previous scholarly works. The study also demonstrates that generalised views depicting long-term visitors as secluded and living predominantly in compatriot enclaves are too simple, especially in long-established holiday destination areas. A considerable proportion of long-term visitors make an effort to relate to the language, culture, and social conditions of the host society. It is argued that a more nuanced and complex analysis is needed in order to describe the varied life situations of sojourners and other long-term visitors in Mediterranean Spain.     

Encounters in the Fields – Tourism to the Battlefields of the Western Front

The First World War is now slipping beyond the realm of lived experience, yet it continues to wield a profound fascination over the British modern imagination. The Western Front in France and Belgium, which was the decisive theatre of operations for the Allied troops, has fashioned its own mythology and imagery and has secured a firm place in modern memory. Although the unremarkable topography of the region now visually betrays little of the momentous nature of the battles fought across its expanses, thousands of British visitors travel to the area throughout the year. This paper explores the ways in which tourists embarking on commercial coach tours engage with the battlefield landscape by examining contemporary tourist performance. It also considers the role of the tour guide in setting and directing the tourist encounter.     

Virtual reality tourism experiences: Addiction and isolation

This qualitative research note reports two neglected themes in research on virtual reality tourism experiences, i.e. its potentially addictive nature and temporary sense of isolation. Existing work on virtual reality tourism experiences has applied existing knowledge and theories and has solely tested how VR applications can positively mediate or moderate the tourist experience. This study adopted an inductive approach, analyzing contents of reviews and blogs, and consequently uncovered a temporary sense of isolation and the addictive nature of virtual reality as hidden themes within virtual reality tourism experiences. We stress the importance of further work on addiction and a sense of isolation in terms of their nature, role, and effects.     

借鉴国际经验 加快我国创业投资的发展

本文在回顾我国创业投资发展历史的基础上,分析了创业投资发展中存在的问题,总结了国外创业投资发展的有益经验,提出了借鉴国外成功经验、促进我国创业投资发展的几点建议。     

Caught in the Middle: Organizational Impediments to Middle Managers’ Work-life Balance

As increased work demands and longer working hours become the reality for many employees, the concept of work-life balance has received increasing attention. This paper presents findings from an exploratory study of Australian middle managers, which investigated the impact of middle managers’ daily organizational experiences on their lives both in and beyond the workplace. We focus on respondents’ reports of the difficulty in achieving work-life balance, specifically, the organizational impediments to creating balance. Three particular areas where these impediments were apparent are: the impact of new technologies; limits to autonomy and control in the middle management role; and difficulties in taking advantage of flexibility initiatives in the workplace. As middle managers are caught in the middle between work and personal life, there is a need for organizations to support middle managers’ efforts to achieve work-life balance if the organization’s long-term goals are to be achieved.     

Heritage Buildings and Tourism: An Experiential View

There has been a lack of attention in previous heritage tourism studies to the experiential relationship between heritage buildings and tourism. The aim of this paper is to explore the experiences gained by international tourists from heritage buildings in a particular region of New Zealand: Hawke's Bay. Specifically, the paper seeks insight into the specific attributes of heritage buildings that influenced the experiences of international tourists in the region. An increased understanding of the experiential relationship between heritage buildings and tourism is essential in strengthening support for preservation, for product development and promotion. Fifty semi-structured, and 66 photograph-supported, interviews conducted with international tourists visiting Hawke's Bay elicited three key experiential themes that emerged from respondents' narratives. These are ‘visual appeal’, ‘personal reflections’ and ‘engaging experiences’. Specifically, it was found that a tourism townscape is not a passive space. Heritage buildings render the townscape an experiential space filled with emotion, mindfulness, engagement and personal meaning. The paper concludes that this finding has important implications for destination promotion and product development and stresses the need for future research into the relationship between heritage buildings and tourism.     

Encouraging sustainability beyond the tourist experience: ecotourism,interpretation and values

The relationship between tourism and sustainability is complex, with considerable attention paid to ecotourism's potential to positively contribute to sustainability. One way forward could be through using tourist experiences, especially those focusing on interpretation, to activate or change sustainability relevant values, beliefs, attitudes and actions both at places visited and elsewhere. This paper reports on research conducted with passengers on expedition cruises that explored links between aspects of the overall experience including the interpretation provided, tourist perceptions of the benefits of these experiences and their awareness of sustainability values linked. An adapted mean-ends analysis technique was used and found a consistent pattern of relationships between features of interpretive experience, activation of values and intentions to adopt responsible behaviours beyond the cruise. Responses highlighted the importance of staff expertise and dedication, the ability of interpretive staff to provide security, to assist people to make personal connections and to elicit participant trust. A Value Model of Interpretation (VMI) was developed, integrating theories of effective interpretive practice and connecting interpretation to the activation of sustainability values. The VMI offers new areas for guides to consider, shifting the focus from the transmission of information and towards the facilitation of mindfulness and reflective engagement.     

从国际经验看中国反垄断私人执行制度的建立

我国《反垄断法》对私人执行制度只做了原则性规定。我国应重视私人执行制度的发展,使其成为公共执行制定的有力补充。在私人执行具体操作模式上,我国可借鉴多数国家的经验,选择直接执行模式。在私人执行救济方式上,我国可借鉴欧洲国家的经验,选择单倍赔偿制度和禁令制度并举的救济方式。     

Serious games and the gamification of tourism

Gamification has become a focus of attention in an increasing number of fields including business, education, and health care. Through a wide range of applications and support functions, its potential for the tourism industry is significant. Gamification of tourism can contribute to a more rewarding interactions and higher level of satisfaction, as well as increase brand awareness and loyalty to the destination. As one of the first attempts to conceptualize gamification of tourism, this paper examines gaming in general terms and the application of it in specific tourism fields. It identifies game design elements that can contribute to a meaningful gamification. A few cases of best practices are presented to show how this innovative concept can benefit tourism marketing. Implications for tourism marketing and management are discussed as well as future research recommendations.     

国外社保整合对我国碎片化养老保险制度改革的经验和启示

目前,我国养老保险制度碎片化的状况比较严重。文章分析了我国养老保险制度碎片化的现状,发现其造成了公平和效率的严重失衡,并且产生了影响社会的稳定和发展的弊端。文章借鉴英、法、美等西方国家在社保整合方面所采取的管理体制改革和养老金制度改革等整合社会养老保险制度的措施,总结经验和教训,为我国的碎片化养老保险制度改革提供思路,以期促进我国养老保险事业的健康发展和制度的不断完善。