Search results for "ruis"
showing 10 items of 146 documents
Memory-Based Mismatch Response to Frequency Changes in Rats
2011
Any occasional changes in the acoustic environment are of potential importance for survival. In humans, the preattentive detection of such changes generates the mismatch negativity (MMN) component of event-related brain potentials. MMN is elicited to rare changes (‘deviants’) in a series of otherwise regularly repeating stimuli (‘standards’). Deviant stimuli are detected on the basis of a neural comparison process between the input from the current stimulus and the sensory memory trace of the standard stimuli. It is, however, unclear to what extent animals show a similar comparison process in response to auditory changes. To resolve this issue, epidural potentials were recorded above the pr…
The effect of social norms and the presence of bystanders on altruistic behavior
2016
In this chapter, prosocial behavior will be analyzed from a social psychology point of view, examining the theoretical contributions of the past ten years and highlighting the various interpretations that have been proposed. Specifically, the focus will be on the analysis of the motivations that characterize a person who behaves altruistically. Theoretical models that will be examined include those that consider the possibility of a genuine altruistic motivation, as well as those that hypothesize that true altruism does not exist. In fact, it will be shown how the motivation behind altruistic behavior has been interpreted differently by social psychologists as being either intrinsically ego…
Tracking cruise passengers' consumption: An analysis of the relationships between onshore mobility and expenditure
2022
This paper analyzes the relationships between the spatial behaviour and destination expenditures of cruise tourists by integrating customer surveys and GPS tracking technology. Based on data collated in 2018 and 2019 in Copenhagen, cruise passenger expenditure was modelled via logistic regression, using socio-demographic characteristics and mobility-related variables. In order to map the spatial behaviour and the key characteristics of the itinerary followed, tracking data were synthesized into meaningful mobility variables. An analysis of stops was performed to identify locations with the potential highest expenditure density. The results indicated that spatial movement and, in particular,…
The moderating effect of personal and situational characteristics in behavioural factors affecting ports of call
2017
This research aims to study the moderating effects of cruise passengers’ gender, age, education, and prior experiences on a Mediterranean port of call destination image formation and the influence ...
Political risks: the “red shift” in debt sustainability analysis
2020
Political stability and economic policy uncertainty can be key determinants of sovereign debt dynamics, and we show how they can be incorporated in debt sustainability analysis. We distinguish between short-term ambiguity and long-term uncertainty about political risk factors, and using a combination of narrative scenarios and calibrated probabilistic scenarios we obtain a comprehensive heatmap of high-risk debt dynamics. We use Italy as an interesting case study and demonstrate a “red shift” in the assessment of vulnerabilities when accounting for political risks. Ignoring these risks can lead to excessive optimism and wrong decisions.
Unethical Brotherly Love: Zell Kravinsky and Maximum Human Utility
2014
The case of American investor and philanthropist Zell Kravinsky (1956-) presents numerous ethical challenges regarding our social responsibility to others. In 2003, after disbursing the bulk of his forty-five-million-dollar fortune to various charities, Kravinsky made the decision to donate one of his kidneys to an impoverished African-American woman he had met only once. In doing so he courageously saved a life, but also incurred the wrath of his family, friends, and many observers in the media who questioned his sanity. To Kravinsky, however, refusal to donate would have been tantamount to murder, constituting a violation of his belief in ‘maximum human utility’ – a concept that insists o…
The value of volunteering in special events: A longitudinal study
2013
Abstract Volunteering has important insights for tourism, especially in the context of special events. In this paper, volunteering is studied in a religious event from a consumer value-based approach. A longitudinal study is conducted on 711 volunteers, three months before and one month after the event. The value-based approach is reliable and valid over time. The results of the value dimensions (spirituality as altruism, social value, play, efficiency, and effort spent) suggest volunteering is a highly emotional experience, although functional aspects showed higher expectations than perceptions. Value conceptualisation as a trade-off is consistent with the approach to volunteering as a “gi…
Developments in the evolutionary theory of social interactions
2016
Altruistic behaviour, which benefits others but harms the actor, can evolve when copies of the underlying genes are transmitted to future generations by related beneficiaries. While we know that the mechanism of ‘kin selection’ answers to how altruism can evolve, the answers to why and when it can evolve are still obscure. The first aim of this thesis is to shed light to the evolution of altruism by identifying factors that facilitate or promote it. I find that the conditions under which altruism can evolve follow surprisingly simple principles that are independent of the taxon-specific traits such as fecundity. Further, by analysing the unique aspects of haplodiploid sex determination syst…
Of Oaks, Erratic Boulders, and Milkmaids
2004
In the study and care for rural landscapes and their inhabitants a perpetual dilemma is knowing the different discourses those landscapes embody for a culture group, or “discourse community,” as Siri Aasbo (1999: 148) calls it (after Eco 1977). It is a well-known truism that a gap exists in the understanding and evaluation of landscapes between insiders and outsiders, natives and visitors, actors and observers, inhabitants and experts. Since this is known territory, I shall not revisit it, except to restate the obvious — expert opinion, even when well-intended, rarely agrees with the local inhabitants in what is good for them. As Sverker Sorlin expresses it, landscape is a “contested terrai…
‘Tour me onshore’: understanding cruise tourists’ evaluation of shore excursions through text mining
2018
ABSTRACTThe aim of this paper is to shed light on the elements underlying cruise tourists’ evaluation of shore excursions, approaching them as an interaction of expressive and instrumental components.To fulfil the aim of the investigation, a thematic content analysis of 1296 online reviews was conducted using the text-mining software Leximancer. The results of the study revealed that cruise visitors with different overall satisfaction with their guided tour focus the narrative of their opinion on different tour attributes. Thus, the dominant themes of the cruise passengers delighted with their tour included the performance of the tour guide, the arrangement of the tour, as well as the cruis…