Single-family housing transactions: Seller motivations, price, and marketing time

Factors such as relocation and financial distress motivate the seller of a single-family home to facilitate sale by posting a lower list price, communicating the motivations to the marketplace, or offering sales incentives to agents. Impacts of seller motivations on selling prices and marketing times are estimated using data for single-family homes sold in Arlington, Texas, from 1991 to 1993. Results show selling price discounts for houses with sellers who are either eager, motivated, or anxious, houses with sellers who have relocated, foreclosures, and vacant houses. Only foreclosure houses show the reduced marketing time expected for properties with motivated sellers. The results further suggest that the list price is the seller's primary mechanism for selling the property. Reducing the list price fosters faster sales at the sacrifice of the selling price.     

Modelling preferences for nature-based recreation activities

This research contributes to a better understanding of visitors’ preferences and behavioural patterns in national parks and protected areas. A conceptual model is proposed to explain why visitors prefer particular nature- or culture-based activities. It integrates three components – outdoor recreation participation, expectancy-value and environmental attitudes. The New Environmental Paradigm is used to capture environmental attitudes, and the motivations for travelling to parks are based on the push and pull motivation factors. Structural equation modelling is used to test the proposed model using data from 401 domestic visitors to Portuguese parks and other protected areas. Results show that nature-based sports are influenced by motivation to do adventurous sports and by social norms; the pro-environmental attitudes, the motivation to enjoy nature and the influence of others affect the interest in interpretation activities; the model’s strongest impact on recreation activities is from culture-related motives.     

英语口语教学的认知心理空间探析

大学英语教学改革对大学英语口语教学提出新的、更高的要求。目前大学英语教学理念中存在"重输出、轻输入"的误区。认知语言学认为,口语交际是一种认知体验活动,本文拟对认知心理空间在大学英语口语教学中作用之认知理据进行探讨。     

A Comparison of Ecolodge Patrons' Characteristics and Motivations Based on Price Levels: A Case Study of Belize

Ecolodges are an increasingly popular accommodation form. This study determined the demographic and trip characteristics, as well as the travel motivations of ecolodge patrons at three different price levels: budget, mid-price and upscale. Six ecolodges were studied in the Cayo District of Belize. Of 480 questionnaires distributed at the ecolodges, 331 valid surveys were returned (68.9% response rate). The clients of the Belizean ecolodges had some demographic characteristics similar to those of ecotourists found in other studies: middle-aged, highly educated, and employed with high levels of income. This study found consistency amongst the three groups in the most important travel attraction motives, with tropical forests and wilderness/undisturbed nature ranked highest by all groups. The study also showed consistency amongst the three groups with regards to travel social motives, with learn and explore nature the top-ranked social motive by all groups. The study found significant differences amongst the price levels on many variables, including: age, country of residence, education, employment status, income, party composition, trip length, length of stay at the ecolodge and level of ecolodge experience. There were important differences found in travel motivations and the importance of ecolodge attributes. The mid-price group was the hardest to please; they wanted a lower price, yet desired the quality, services and programmes of the upscale group.     

Trend Analysis of Motivation-Based Clusters at the Chilkoot Trail National Historic Site of Canada

This study combines data from three cross-sectional surveys (1993, 1998, and 2004) to explore how hikers at the Chilkoot Trail National Historic Site of Canada were affected by the introduction of several restrictive management policies. The analysis revolves around motivation-based segments defined via one single principal component and cluster analysis over all three years of data. The results document similarities and differences between the three motivation-based segments over time and as a reaction to the restrictions. Clusters also differed in the reaction to indicator variables such as advance booking time, perceived management problems, encounters, and satisfaction. Future longitudinal data collections and investigations as part of visitor monitoring protocols are suggested.     

Planning for Sustainable Ecotourism: The Case for Research Ecotourism in Developing Country Destinations

Research ecotourism is a relatively new component of activities within the ecotourism industry, providing research opportunities for visitors focusing on aspects of the natural environment which are principally located in developing countries. This paper is directed towards identifying the nature and causes of socio-cultural impacts of this strand of ecotourism using a case study from Indonesia. The positive nature of socio-cultural impacts perceived by host communities alongside the irregular nature of economic benefits to host communities is analogous with the altruistic surplus theory of individual recognition of communal benefits. Certain characteristics of research ecotourists are identified as contributing towards host reactions towards visitors which reinforce the contention that this is a desirable form of ecotourism in similar locations.     

Attending a tattoo convention: to seek or escape?

Utilizing Iso-Ahola’s (S. E. Iso-Ahola. The Social Psychology of Leisure and Recreation. Dubuque, IA: WC Brown Co. Publishers, 1980) seek and escape theory and social identity theory in the context of tattoo conventions, this study examines whether individual and group identity influences personal and interpersonal seeking and escaping motivations and whether these motivations influence an attendee’s self-enhancement and subsequent revisit intention. Based on an online survey (n = 350), structural equation modeling revealed that individual identity influenced personal seeking and escaping motivations, group identity influenced interpersonal seeking and escaping motivations, and personal seeking and interpersonal seeking and escaping motivations increased self-enhancement and ultimately revisit intention. Implications are provided for tattoo event managers based on findings.     

Restaurant experiences triggering positive electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) motivations

This study empirically examined which restaurant experiences trigger customers to engage in positive electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM), where the quality of restaurant service (food quality, service quality, atmosphere, and price fairness) is the antecedent of eWOM communication. The results of this study suggest that (1) restaurants’ food quality positively influences customers to spread positive eWOM, motivated by their desire to help the restaurant; (2) satisfactory restaurant experiences with service employees triggered positive eWOM, motivated by the need to help the restaurant or to express positive feelings; (3) a superior atmosphere in restaurants elicited positive eWOM motivated by a concern for others; and (4) price fairness in restaurants did not drive restaurant customers toward eWOM. Additionally, this study investigated sources of positive eWOM and types of eWOM media used among opinion leaders in the restaurant industry to enhance the practical implications of the study regarding online marketing. Because of the small number of opinion leaders in the study sample, specifying who the opinion leaders were (the source of eWOM) and the type of eWOM media the opinion leaders used had no effect. Further discussion and implications are provided in the text.     

Natural Resource Agencies and Their Motivations to Partner: The Public Lands Partnership Model

Public land management agencies, such as the USDA Forest Service (USFS), utilize partnerships to accomplish a variety of tasks and meet specific targets. However, public agency personnel invest considerable time and energy to develop and maintain partnerships. Research on partnering motivations typically focuses on volunteers, nonprofit organizations and corporations, leaving the motivations of public agency personnel relatively unknown. This paper presents findings from a multiple partnership case study design on six national forests. The Public Lands Partnership Model (PLPM) is presented as a conceptualization of 13 motivations, classified into 3 distinct motivation types (i.e., interpersonal, intrapersonal, and institutional), that influence the propensity of agency personnel to partner. Additional influences, such as national forests’ external environment and internal commitment, need further exploration to confirm the PLPM and generalize results to the USFS and other agencies engaged in public land management partnerships.     

The Emerging Securities Market in Russia

Abstract

This paper examines the motivations of foreign firms for investing in the Eastern and Central European countries, based on a synthesis of surveys of investors and on anecdotal observations. The findings of this examination are used as a framework within which policies towards FDI are formulated and evaluated. It suggests that the efforts of Eastern and Central European governments should be directed towards the improvement of the conditions which affect investment driven by market, export and efficiency seeking motivations. These are the areas in which the region seems to have large potential as host for FDI that has not fully materialized yet.