Dr Robert van der Veen

This study examines the perceptions of public spaces through the five senses on place attachment, place loyalty and civic participation. The study proposes an innovative analytical model (based on the stimulus-organism-response model) that maps the complex relationships between the five senses (sight, sound, scent, touch and taste) and desired community outcomes. An online survey was conducted with 396 residents of Rasht and the data were analyzed using structural equation modelling (SmartPLS 3). The results show that sensory experiences have a modest effect in strengthening people’s attachment to the city, which in turn induces loyalty to the city and generates higher levels of civic participation. The study provides recommendations for urban planners and government officials on how best to encourage place attachment, place loyalty, and civic participation by adopting policies for promoting sensory experiences.

Previous studies examining coaching outcomes generally rely on cross-sectional data which limits our understanding of the enduring and long-term effects of coaching. To address this issue, this study, based on longitudinal data, explores several popular variables associated with coaching outcomes. The study is underpinned by Lambert’s (1992) four-factor model of common factors and recognises them as variables which are customary to all coaching approaches contributing to coaching outcomes. The study considers stress, wellbeing, resilience, goal attainment and coaching effectiveness as coaching outcomes. Working alliance mediates the impact of self-efficacy, outcome expectations; and perceived social support which are regarded as the predictors of the coaching outcomes. The results indicate that social support predicts working alliance, and working alliance in turn predicts wellbeing and coaching effectiveness over time. The findings suggest that it is vital for coaches to monitor changes in the coachees’ social networks and their working alliance since these have a significant bearing on the effectiveness of the sessions and the coachees’ wellbeing.

In Japan there is a significant mismatch between the skills new-generation employees possess and the skills employers expect, with Japanese employers reporting a lower average satisfaction with graduate skills than that reported globally. By drawing on the concepts of ‘future work self’ and ‘proactive career behaviour’, this paper compares and contrasts the similarities and differences between Japanese and international students who will enter the workforce soon and explores why such a big gap in skills exists. As the results show, due to their unique social and cultural background and the influence of their contextual environments, fewer Japanese students develop the knowledge and skills important to their futures in comparison with international students, making them largely reliant on the concept of an organisational career rather than a proactively self-managed one. Better graduate outcomes require more tailor-made career counselling services to support students. Students should also familiarise themselves with employers’ expectations regarding desired skills.

The overall purpose of this study is to examine the moderating roles of gender and generation in the effects of perceived destination image on tourist attitude and visit intention among Chinese potential tourists to Australia. Australia is one of the preferred destinations to Chinese tourists and the China market emerges to be increasingly important to destination marketing organisations in Australia. Echoing the call for more gender studies in the tourism literature and also based on the generation theory, this study employed a cross-sectional questionnaire survey design and used structural equation modelling in its analysis. Survey data were collected through convenience sampling in the Chinese city Harbin at various public venues where urban residents can be found. The study identified Services and Tourism Provisions, Natural Environment, and Quality of Life as three destination image dimensions perceived by Chinese urban residents toward Australia. Services and Tourism Provisions, Natural Environment both positively affected tourist attitude, which in turn levered up visit intention. The study found that the effect of Services and Tourism Provisions on attitude was stronger for men than for women, while the effect of Natural Environment on attitude was stronger for women than for men; for the Post-80s/90s generation, the effect of Natural Environment on attitude was significantly stronger than that for the Post-60s/70s generation. Implications for tourism marketers and managers are discussed. 

This study develops a model based on the developmental theory of place attachment. The model considers the influence of tourists’ emotions on place attachment and the mediating effects of satisfaction and place attachment on the relationship between tourists’ emotions and intention to recommend. The model was tested using data collected from 464 international tourists at the end of their trip to Thailand. Results show that positive emotions, negative emotions and satisfaction are significant determinants of place attachment. In particular, negative emotions display a positive relationship with place attachment. In addition, only satisfaction mediates the relationship between tourists’ emotions and intention to recommend. Findings highlight the need for researchers to incorporate emotions in modeling place attachment and offer implications for marketers promoting Thailand as a tourist destination.

Key words: Australia, diversity, human capital, multicultural society, skilled migrants, social capital.