Community structure and the evolution of interdisciplinarity in Slovenia's scientific collaboration network

Interaction among the scientific disciplines is of vital importance in modern science. Focusing on the case of Slovenia, we study the dynamics of interdisciplinary sciences from 1960 to 2010. Our approach relies on quantifying the interdisciplinarity of research communities detected in the coauthorship network of Slovenian scientists over time. Examining the evolution of the community structure, we find that the frequency of interdisciplinary research is only proportional with the overall growth of the network. Although marginal improvements in favor of interdisciplinarity are inferable during the 70s and 80s, the overall trends during the past 20 years are constant and indicative of stalemate. We conclude that the flow of knowledge between different fields of research in Slovenia is in need of further stimulation.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figures; accepted for publication in PLoS ONE [related work available at http://arxiv.org/abs/1004.4824 and http://www.matjazperc.com/sicris/stats.html

National Development Generates National Identities

The purpose of the article is to test the relationship between national identities and modernisation. We test the hypotheses that not all forms of identity are equally compatible with modernisation as measured by Human Development Index. The less developed societies are characterised by strong ascribed national identities based on birth, territory and religion, but also by strong voluntarist identities based on civic features selected and/or achieved by an individual. While the former decreases with further modernisation, the latter may either decrease or remain at high levels and coexist with instrumental supranational identifications, typical for the most developed countries. The results, which are also confirmed by multilevel regression models, thus demonstrate that increasing modernisation in terms of development contributes to the shifts from classical, especially ascribed, identities towards instrumental identifications. These findings are particularly relevant in the turbulent times increasingly dominated by the hardly predictable effects of the recent mass migrations

Research Performance Based Funding Systems: a Comparative Assessment

Performance based funding is used by most EU Member States to increase the performance of their public research system. This report analyses the different nature of systems in EU Member States, selected associated and third countries. It aims to inform Member States which are in a process of mutual learning to improve the design of their allocation systems. • Research Performance based funding systems provide incentives to increase scientific performance and concentrates resources in well performing organisations • The nature of systems in place differs widely • The specific features of RPBF assessment designs can generate unintended consequences • The assessment suggests RPBF as a potential avenue for several Member States • The choice for specific designs, taking into accounts costs and potential benefits, should take into account the national contextJRC.J.6-Innovation Systems Analysi

Publications 2000

This publication comprises the monographs published by the Institutions of the Communit

Publications 2000

This publication comprises the monographs published by the Institutions of the Communit

A imagem dos destinos turísticos de montanha: olhares dos residentes e dos turistas

Doutoramento em TurismoNo actual contexto de competitividade, os destinos turísticos podem diferenciar-se pela imagem que os turistas e residentes têm sobre eles enquanto espaços alternativos de lazer e turismo (Baloglu & Mangaloglu, 2001). A imagem dos destinos constitui um conceito central na literatura em turismo porque está fortemente relacionada com o comportamento dos residentes e dos turistas (Baloglu & McCleary, 1999). A imagem afecta o comportamento de escolha e avaliação do destino, da viagem e da participação e experiência turísticas (Echtner and Ritchie 1991; Lee & Lee, 2009). Por outro lado, os residentes têm, também eles, uma imagem sobre o local onde residem que pode e deve ser analisada, afectando, por sua vez, a percepção que os turistas têm desses espaços (Gallarza, Saura & García, 2001). Alguns destinos turísticos possuem características simbólicas que exercem forte influência na formação da sua imagem, como são o caso dos espaços de montanha. De facto, as montanhas constituem um dos mais profundos arquétipos da Humanidade simbolizando poder, liberdade e eternidade (Smethurst, 2000, p.36). As regiões de montanha têm-se tornado num dos mais atractivos destinos turísticos constituindo a sua procura, actualmente, 20% dos fluxos turísticos globais com 500 milhões de turistas anualmente (UNEP, 2002; Thomas et al., 2006). Mas até muito recentemente, os estudos sobre os espaços de montanha limitavam-se, maioritariamente, às suas características físicas, ecológicas e ambientais (Smethurst, 2000). Uma abordagem do ponto de vista do turismo de montanha, no contexto da imagem, pode revelar-se, assim, essencial. Neste contexto, o presente estudo pretende analisar, de uma forma holística e multidisciplinar, a imagem que os residentes e turistas têm dos espaços de montanha, bem como o respectivo gap. O objectivo central é construir uma escala MDI - Mountain Destination Image Scale - no sentido de medir os parâmetros da imagem do destino, incluindo factores cognitivos e afectivos e tendo em conta os grupos populacionais turistas e residentes. Com base numa extensa revisão da literatura em imagem dos destinos turísticos e nos significados sociais e culturais da montanha ao longo do tempo, e no âmbito do trabalho empírico realizado a 315 turistas e 315 residentes na Serra da Estrela (Portugal), Alpes (França, Áustria e Suiça) e Picos da Europa (Espanha), os resultados indicam que a escala multidimensional MDI integra cinco dimensões de imagem de montanha pelos turistas: (1) histórico-cultural, (2) natural/ecológica, (3) social e prestígio, (4) lazer e desporto e (5) afectiva; e três dimensões percepcionadas pelos residentes: (1) mística/sagrada, (2) histórico-cultural e (3) afectiva. A discussão é centrada nas implicações teóricas e práticas da escala MDI no planeamento, gestão e marketing dos destinos turísticos de montanha. São igualmente apresentadas as limitações do presente estudo e traçadas algumas linhas orientadoras para investigações futuras.Within the highly competitive environment of tourist destinations it has been emphasized that destinations compete mainly based on their images; or, in other words, how target consumers perceive a destination’s image in comparison to alternative offers in the marketplace (Baloglu & Mangaloglu, 2001). Destination image is a central concept in tourism literature because it is highly related with tourists’ and residents’ behavior. Image affects the individual’s subjective perception of the destination and consequent behavior, such as destination choice, trip planning, and activity participation, and also influences post trip destination evaluation (Echtner and Ritchie 1991; Lee & Lee, 2009). Further, residents of destinations have images of their own place of residence that can and should be investigated in their own right and also affect tourists’ destination image (Gallarza, Saura & García, 2001). Some tourism destinations have powerful symbolic features that exert a strong influence on destination image formation, such as mountain places. Mountains are one of humankind’s most profound archetypal symbols and have long been revered, held in awe, and viewed as symbols of strength, freedom, and eternity (Smethurst, 2000, p.36). Therefore, mountain regions have become one of the most attractive tourism destination areas as demonstrated by the fact that mountain tourism demand constitutes at least 20% of global tourist flows, with mountain destinations being second in global popularity and the choice of 500 million tourists annually (UNEP, 2002; Thomas, et al., 2006). Until very recently, tourism researches concerned with mountain places mainly focused on physical, ecological and environmental perspectives (Smethurst, 2000). A perspective of mountain tourism within the corresponding image context is therefore most interesting. It is in this context that the present research project seeks to analyse, in a holistic and multi-disciplinary approach, residents’ and tourists’ image of mountain destinations, and the respective gap. The aim is to develop the MDI Scale - Mountain Destination Image Scale – in order to assess a wide set of tourism mountain destination image parameters. Within the MDI scale, images are related to cognitive and affective factors. The study aims at understanding particularly the differences between local residents and tourists in respect to this mountain image. A extensive literature review focusing on the concept of destination image and social and cultural meanings of mountains overtime, and insights from an empirical study of 315 tourists and 315 residents in European Mountains Destinations – the Serra da Estrela (Portugal), the Alps (France, Austria and Switzerland) and the Peaks of Europe (Spain) - indicate that this multidimension scale incorporates five mountain image dimensions held by tourits: (1) historic-cultural, (2) natural/ecological, (3) social and prestige, (4) sport and leisure, and (5) affective; and three images dimensions held by residents: 1) mystique/sacred, (2) historic-cultural and (3) affective). Discussion is focused on theoretical and practical implications for tourism destination planning, marketing and management. Study limitations and directions for future research are also presented.FCT - Programa Prode