Involvement in and perception of the free-time context for adolescents in youth protection institutions

What adolescents do, with whom, and at which arenas, represent the contextual dimensions of adolescents' daily free-time. Since free-time may be particularly significant for many developmental processes in adolescence, it is important to understand the impact free-time may have on vulnerable youth. This study used the Experience Sampling Method to examine the free time of adolescents who are taken care of by the Child Welfare Organization (Oslo, Norway). When a sample of experiences (n = 479) from 20 adolescents living in youth protection institutions was compared to a sample of experiences (n = 741) from a non-institutionalized comparison group, results showed differences in perception of and involvement in daily after-school contexts. The adolescents from the youth protection institutions reported significantly fewer self-involving activities and spent their free time in different arenas compared to their peers. Further analyses disclosed differences in the perceptual experiences associated with activity, social group and arena.     

Regional Development Programmes

Broad-focusing development programmes at a regional level have been a major thrust by governments of developing countries over the last three decades. Most of the programmes addressed here have been entirely or partly financed by donor agencies. They have tended to concentrate on augmenting activities of government line agencies, and have mainly emphasized physical and social infrastructure, standardized support facilities to enterprises and individuals, and, sometimes, land use zoning and other measures to regulate the spatial distribution of facilities and activities. This article suggests that regional development programmes may become more effective if they are designed as more flexible instruments for peoplecentred development, exploiting potential comparative advantages of innovation, networking and institution building in a broad sense. Basic organizational and management requirements for this would be a decentralized set-up, substantial freedom from government administration. flexible organizational form, process planning with compatible systems of monitoring and co-ordination, active facilitation of initiatives from below and democratically minded leaders with broad management competence.     

Beyond the renaissance of the traditional Voss sheep's-head meal: Tradition,culinary art,scariness and entrepreneurship

Attempts have been made to make traditional local foods a part of the tourists' experiences, but few have caught great interest among the tourist and leisure consumers. An exception is the Norwegian traditional Sheep's-head meal. This article focuses on driving factors behind this success. Sheep's heads have been continuously available and used at private meals, albeit the status of the meals has changed from everyday food to party food, and a festival and commercial meals with unique ceremonies have developed. Participation in these may give a sense of symbolic proximity to traditions and historical “roots”. The culinary qualities of the product are important especially for the experienced sheep's-head meal participants. The scariness of the product itself and the measures taken to make the meal an enjoyable adventures trigger the feelings of courage, mastery and inclusion in the “in-group” of sheep's-head eaters. Most important for the success were the individual entrepreneurships and entrepreneurial networks which were the number one drivers behind the rejuvenation of these unique meal experiences. This case illustrates the significance of the individual and network entrepreneurial processes in the branding and development of tourism destinations.     

Marketing in Heterozygous Advantage

As the rapidly advancing possibilities of biotechnology have outstripped the adaptive capacity of current legal and ethical institutions, a vigorous debate has arisen that considers the boundaries of appropriate use of this technology, particularly when applied to humans. This article examines ethical concerns surrounding the development of markets in a particular form of human genetic engineering in which heterozygotes are fitter than both homozygotes, a condition known as heterozygous advantage. To begin, we present a generalized model of the condition, illuminated by the application to sickle-cell anemia. Next, we propose a typology of related markets, some of which are currently functioning with available products and services, and others that are widely viewed as imminent. We suggest the manner in which perverse incentives may arise for firms that market genetic intervention in circumstances where heterozygous advantage is possible. Finally, we propose that this misalignment of incentives with social welfare has arisen from both ill-conceived market intervention where markets are capable of achieving efficient outcomes and the lack of market intervention where markets have failed. We offer specific legal and regulatory approaches for reform.     

Meaning Shift of Items in Different Language Versions. A Cross-National Validation Study of the Illegal Aliens Scale

The 20-item Illegal Aliens Scale, which was developed and validated by Ommundsenand Larsen at Oregon State University (1999), has been translated into Norwegian andDutch. Cross-national comparisons of attitudes require equivalence of measurementinstruments (Rogler, 1999). The results of a translation – back translation procedure anda split sample study by (Ommundsen et al., in print) suggest that linguistic equivalencemay not be sufficient to detect other non-equivalence of meaning in cross-national research.This paper discusses a follow-up methodological study of the Dutch and Norwegianversions of this scale. This study consisted of two parts: (a) A `cognitive' test by meansof the three-step test-interviews (Hak et al., 2001) with Dutch and Norwegiansubjects. (b) A comparative study of differences in political salience of the itemsof the scale between Norway and the Netherlands. Results show that differences inhistorical, political and cultural context result in different interpretations of seeminglystraightforward concepts and that this affects how responses to attitude items are constructed.     

Why diversity management fails: Metaphor analyses unveil manager attitudes

Through analysing managers’ use of metaphorical images, this study is the first to reveal negative stereotyping of a senior hospitality workforce. In-depth analyses indicate that age discrimination exists towards seniors; managers seem to be biased. Some have positive experiences with a senior workforce, but when it comes to recruiting new employees, younger people are the first choice. There is a coexistence of positive and negative attitudes, where negative attitudes cohere with traditional stereotypes of ageing individuals in the society. This underlying prejudice is probably one of the reasons why diversity management, in terms of age diversity, has failed in the Norwegian hospitality industry.     

Play in adventure tourism: The Case of Arctic Trekking

This paper discusses narratives of polar adventure tourism from a multidisciplinary perspective of play. Reviewing discussions on the motivation behind this subject, it examines two concurrent approaches in particular: risk and insight theories. Based on empirical evidence obtained from a winter trekking trip to an Artic tourism destination, the paper argues that these theories may be particular components of adult play. The interplay among risk, insight seeking, and play is explored in this paper with a particular emphasis being placed on the competence, materiality, and bodily techniques demonstrated by Arctic adventure tourists.     

国际油气生产者协会(OGP)与石油天然气工业用标准

首先OGP是什么?1974成立的国际石油天然气生产者协会。OGP成员包括私有的和国有的石油天然气公司、服务公司、国际和地区性协会。协会的成员可生产世界上一半以上的石油和大约三分之一的天然气。办公室位于伦敦和布鲁塞尔。OGP的愿望为世界上所有的上游公司而工作,推进可靠且可     

Oil and Gas Exploration Valuation and the Value of Waiting

The timing flexibility of investments in oil and gas assets can potentially add value. In this article, we examine the value of waiting in exploration projects and propose a real option–based valuation method using least-squares Monte Carlo simulation. We show that the dynamics of the oil and gas prices have a large impact on the value of the option to wait, especially for projects with long lead times and durations. The uncertainty in the forward price curve is modeled using a two-factor stochastic price process. The article also presents the valuation method in the form of MATLAB functions and routines that can be used as an efficient test and analysis platform using the industry-standard input formats.     

The Relationship Between Supervisor Personality,Supervisors’ Perceived Stress and Workplace Bullying

This study investigated the relationship between supervisor personality and subordinate reports of exposure to bullying and harassment at work. Three research questions were examined: (a) Is there a direct relationship between supervisor personality and reports of workplace bullying? (b) Is there an interaction between supervisor personality and supervisors’ perceived stress as predictors of workplace bullying? (c) Will subordinates who experience bullying at their workplace rate their supervisor’s personality more negatively (negative halo effect)? The sample consisted of 207 supervisors and employees within 70 Norwegian restaurants. Supervisors low on conscientiousness, high on neuroticism and portraying high levels of exposure to stress were the subject of significantly more reports from subordinates of exposure to workplace bullying. An interaction between agreeableness and stress was found showing that agreeableness is related to bullying under low levels of stress. In addition, subordinates who perceived their supervisor as being low on agreeableness and high on introversion reported significantly more workplace bullying, supporting a negative halo effect hypothesis.