Conceptualizing and Measuring Customer Luxury Experience in Hotels

Despite the growing significance of customer luxury experience in tourism and hospitality, research on defining and measuring it remains scarce. Existing studies fail to distinguish luxury from ordinary experiences or rely on unidimensional approaches that overlook the complexity of customer luxury experiences. To address this gap, this study develops a multidimensional six-factor, 20-item customer luxury experience scale specific to luxury hospitality. Drawing on luxury and customer experience literature, three studies are conducted to develop and validate this scale. Study 1 collected and examined a large dataset of customer reviews from the Tripadvisor website to inform the domain specification and item generation process. Study 2 involved both academic and industry experts to validate the dimensions, as well as to review, refine, and suggest new items. Study 3 was a large-scale survey to calibrate and validate the scale. Findings suggest that luxury customer experience should be based on six dimensions: service quality, authenticity, escapism, exclusivity, status, and aesthetic refinement to elevate the overall perception of luxury experience. Tourism and hospitality managers can use this scale to assess and enhance customer luxury experience. This contribution enriches luxury tourism and hospitality, offering insights into how consumers perceive and experience luxury in hotels

Self-annealing behaviour of an Mg-Dy alloy processed by high-pressure torsion

An investigation was conducted to evaluate the microstructure, texture and microhardness of an Mg-0.4Dy (wt.%) alloy processed by high-pression torsion (HPT) for 15 turns and then self-annealed at ambient temperature for six years. Electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) and Vickers microhardness were carried out near the centre, mid-radius and edge of each disc. The results show that self-annealing leads to a slight increase in the average grain size from 0.7 to 1 µm. The basal texture was retained at the centres and edges of the discs while the C1-fiber vanished near the mid-radius of the self-annealed disc. The value of the microhardness remained constant along the radii of the discs but the dislocation density, originating from the geometrically necessary dislocations (GND), increased significantly after self-annealing due to the development of sub-grain boundaries with misorientations of 2°< θ <5°. Based on these results, it is concluded that self-annealing of the HPT-processed Mg-0.4Dy alloy is controlled by a recovery process

Healthy Brain Healthy Life: An innovative and culturally-tailored approach to dementia prevention in minority ethnic communities

Despite having increased risk of developing dementia, individuals from minority ethnic communities are largely overlooked by research and dementia services and are less likely to receive timely diagnosis and appropriate support. Culturally-specific programmes and policies that promote awareness and engage with minority ethnic communities around brain health and dementia are urgently needed to prevent, diagnose and support people living with dementia. In response to these challenges, we developed and evaluated the Healthy Brain Healthy Life (HBHL) project, a targeted culturally-tailored dementia prevention public engagement project to create dialogue and engage with minority ethnic communities around brain health and dementia. The project involved a series of co-produced, culturally-tailored interactive workshops with minority ethnic communities and community organisations in the United Kingdom. Outputs, which remain an available resource, included: (i) co-produced culturally-tailored information booklet (ii) a recipe book, including six recipes and information on ingredients that support brain health; and (iii) digital stories from each workshop, sharing the experiences of participants and highlighting key messages on brain health, This article is a practice case study that describes the co-production process, implementation and evaluation of the workshops. The project achieved national and international impact creating dialogue around dementia in the workshops, the local community, and on social media. Here, we share the learning from our approach as an example of best-practice in engaging minority ethnic communities to develop knowledge and understanding of this stigmatised condition to inform future research. Our lessons demonstrate the value and impact of co-production and participatory methods embedded in cultural competency to create community discussion around public health agendas and messages

The significance of crystal structure on grain refinement during severe plastic deformation

This study focused on the significance of crystal structure on the grain refinement occurring during severe plastic deformation without considering the activation of softening mechanisms which inherently hinder grain refinement. Pure metals of Fe, Co and Ni, with relatively close melting points and initial grain sizes, were selected as models for BCC, HCP and FCC materials, respectively, for processing by high-pressure torsion under similar condition at room temperature. Severe plastic deformation of the BCC, HCP and FCC materials led to grain refinement with average grain sizes of ~90, ~60 and ~120 nm, respectively, with the FCC material showing the lowest hardness and microstrain among the studied materials. The formation of shear bands in the BCC and HCP materials were effective in microstructure fragmentation during straining which facilitated a finer grain size compared to the FCC material without shear bands. A significant grain refinement with the highest dislocation density was obtained due to an insufficient number of slip systems in the HCP material which encouraged deformation-induced twinning and a transformation for strain accommodation. The results demonstrate the high potential for achieving exceptional grain refinement in materials with an HCP crystal structure by comparison with BCC and then FCC materials

Creative Bricks, Endless Possibilities: Using Lego® Serious Play® (LSP) to Manage Player Transition in Women’s Semi-Elite Association Football in England.

This study uses the Lego® Serious Play® (LSP) methodology to explore the lived experiences and inequalities facing women’s participation in semi-elite association football in England. The study uniqueness is using Lego® Serious Play® to provide nuanced, abstract insights into leisure. It investigates how women navigate the transition process, both into and out of semi-professional sporting environments. By adopting a creative, experiential methodology, the focal point is the Lego® and not the footballer. Data was collected from fifteen women football players based at a semi-elite club in the South of England. Three key data themes emerged surrounding the transition process in the women’s game; (i) barriers facing women in male-dominated sports, (ii) governance and polices to support women’s football, and (iii) effective coaching to facilitate women’s progression in sport. This is the first study to use Lego® Serious Play® as a creative, experiential methodology in the context of managing sport organisations

Making sense of the intersubjective structure of homeworld/alienworld to examine the lifeworld of leisure volunteers during Covid 19

A common feature of leisure scholarship has been to use the idea of the lifeworld as a symbolic descriptor to signal in-depthness when dealing with qualitative examinations of how someone lives particular sections of their leisure lives. This paper outlines and explains how the concept of lifeworld can be understood via interpretations of homeworld/alienworld (Heimwelt/Fremdwelt) as derived from Edmund Husserl’s writings on the phenomenon of intersubjectivity. Recognising that phenomenology is neither univocal nor amorphous, we examine the alien state of being associated with the Covid 19 pandemic and the measures imposed to interrupt the pandemic between 2020 and 2022. Employing Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) of the experiences of 10 habitual leisure volunteers, highlights how the lifeworld of leisure volunteers was interpreted, negotiated and constructed during the Covid 19 pandemic. The outcomes clarify how conceiving of Covid 19 as an alienworld facilitates an interpretation and navigation of meaning and value of a key leisure activity during a period of existential crisis. Second, the data alerts us to how the leisure potential of volunteering can be easily corrupted once perceptions shift from domesticated perspectives of homeworld to an alienworld

The Ankle Recovery Trial (ART): clinical outcomes and patient experience of a pragmatic multicentre RCT comparing cast with removable boot for early mobilization after ankle fracture surgical fixation.

AIMS: This study compares functional outcomes and patient experience between cast immobilization and early mobilization in a removable boot after ankle fracture fixation, with early weightbearing encouraged in both groups. METHODS: This pragmatic multicentre randomized controlled trial with qualitative component and economic evaluation was conducted across eight UK NHS hospitals. Adults with acute ankle fractures were randomized to receive a plaster cast or removable support boot two weeks post-surgery. The primary outcome was ankle function measured by the Olerud and Molander Ankle Symptom Score (OMAS) seven weeks post-surgery. Secondary outcomes included function at 12 weeks, mechanistic measures, quality of life, complications, and resource use. Subgroup analyses included fracture complexity and age. Patients' views on both treatments were collected through semi-structured telephone interviews. RESULTS: In total, 243 participants consented to be randomized (120 cast; 123 boot), of whom 173 (71.2%) completed the primary outcome. The mean difference in OMAS at seven weeks between groups was 4.9 points favouring the boot (95% CI -1.0 to 10.7), which is below the minimal clinically important difference, and failed to detect a difference between groups. Boot participants had better dorsiflexion, particularly those with comminuted fractures, and better plantarflexion, particularly older patients. Complication rates were low, albeit higher in the boot group (cast eight/112; boot 18/117); all were minor, except one case of deep vein thrombosis in the boot group. Overall, we found low wound complication rates (7%). There were no differences for all other secondary measures. Patients expressed preference for boots at randomization, point of withdrawal from the trial, and during interviews. CONCLUSION: Patients managed in casts and boots had similar functional outcomes following ankle fracture fixation. Boots provided improved dorsiflexion and plantarflexion for some subgroups, but higher complication rates. Treatment modality decisions could therefore be informed by individual patient preference

Value co-destruction behavior in peer-to-peer accommodation: evidence of dark triad, moral disengagement, and host incivility

Drawing on value co-destruction literature, moral disengagement, social exchange and trait activation theories, this study investigates the role of dark triad traits, moral disengagement, and host incivility on peer-to-peer accommodation guests’ value co-destruction behavior. Data was collected from 428 Indian Airbnb customers and analyzed using partial least squares-structural equation modeling. Results show that among dark triad traits, only psychopathy directly influences value co-destruction behavior. However, all three dark traits lead to value co-destruction behavior through moral disengagement. Host incivility positively influences value co-destruction behavior and also moderates the relationship between psychopathy and value co-destruction behavior. The study offers a comprehensive understanding of the antecedents of guests’ value co-destruction behavior in peer-to-peer accommodation. The findings suggest that P2P accommodation managers need to instill moral accountability among guests and foster civil behaviors among hosts to prevent value co-destruction