Researching Identities through Material Possessions: The Case of Diasporic Objects

The article aims to contribute to the growing literature on exploring relationships between objects, homes, and identities in the context of migration. Using examples from a qualitative study of homemaking practices of Russian-speaking communities in the UK, the article discusses how the presence and use of certain objects and foods reflects complex meanings about home and belonging. Specifically, the article deploys the idea of ‘diasporic’ objects that signify the ambivalent nature of migrants’ relationships with their past and present homes simultaneously acting as symbols of connection and detachment. As the objects ‘travel’ through different homes so too do their meanings, and, through this, ‘diasporic’ objects accumulate new values and biographies embedded in wider cultural and transnational contexts. Analytically, the concept of diasporic objects is offered as a way to approach the feeling of home as a changing category that is (re)produced through memories and senses, as well as through particular ways of appropriation and personalisation of spaces and places

The changing determinants of tourists’ repurchase intention: the case of short-term rentals during the COVID-19 pandemic

Purpose Adopting Ajzen’s theory of planned behaviour theoretical framework, this paper aims to explore repurchase intentions among short-term rental users and changes in determinants of repurchase intention in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Design/methodology/approach Data for the research was collected via a cross-country quantitative survey (N = 1,433) in five European countries: Croatia, Italy, Spain, Turkey and the UK during 2020. Trust, perceived value, authenticity and perceived risk were incorporated into the structural equation model as part of an integrated analysis of antecedents of repurchase intention. Findings Perceived value and authenticity are the key drivers of a positive attitude to repurchase of short-term rentals even after the pandemic. The pandemic modified the role of perceived risk in determining attitude towards short-term rentals as perceived risks could negatively affect attitude and repurchase intention after COVID-19. Trust in the platform and the host became a significant determinant of repurchase intentions after the spread of COVID-19. Research limitations/implications The analysis has shown the link between attitude, subjective norms, perceived behavioural control and repurchase intention, and has thus demonstrated a successful application of the theory of planned behaviour to short-term rental users. Originality/value The results of this study suggest a possible reconceptualisation of repurchase determinants due to the pandemic. The study offers a timely contribution to the research on the impact of the pandemic on the determinants of tourists’ repurchase intentions

Exploring expectations, experiences and long-term plans of Chinese international students studying in the joint Sino-Russian degree

This article investigates the transitioning process of international Chinese undergraduate students studying in Russia. The paper offers new insights into changes in the expectations and experiences of Chinese students at various stages of their joint educational studies in China and Russia. Drawing on a qualitative study of 20 Chinese undergraduates studying in Russia, the findings of the study indicate that before studying in Russia, most of Chinese students had low expectations about their study programme. However, once they were in Russia, students’ perception of the value of their international education experiences changes through varied opportunities for self-reflexivity in an unfamiliar cultural environment. The study also offers an example of methodological approach useful for researching international students’ experiences, particularly within but not limited to context of Sino-Foreign university partnerships

Creating a home from home : Russian communities in the UK

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Material Possessions and the Identity research

Recording of presentation given at Vital Signs 2 Conference, 7-9 September 2010, University of Manchester The presentation discusses the ideas surrounding the study of material possessions in the context of every-day personal life. Based on my research on the homes of Russian migrants in the UK, the paper examines the meanings of material possessions and the connection between those meanings and personal identity and culture. Taking the example of Russian migrants’ homes I will focus on the group of objects such as souvenirs and craft, which stereotypically represent Russia. Although these objects can often be seen in Russian homes, it does not indicate that have been chosen to symbolise/manifest Russia. In many instances the owners did not consider these items to be especially important, and often could not remember why they had them, as if they had come into the house ‘by themselves’. Thus, these possessions occupied a “marginal position” in the domestic space since they did not have any functional or personal meaning; their only function was as a term of reference. Some migrants accumulated whole collections of these objects making a home look like an exhibition of a “Russian kitsch”. Although useless, these “culturally impoverished” items were a culturally significant phenomenon. Even recognising the items as useless and tasteless and thinking that they do not really need them, Russians could not bring themselves to throw them away as if there was a sort of underlying cultural obligation. In my presentation I will explore the relationship between the meanings and the practices around the creation and maintaining of these symbols and obligations

‘Visiting Home’ as a Method and Experience : Researching Russian Migrants’ Homes in the UK

This chapter draws on a study which examined the interrelation between home, migration and cultural identity, using home-based qualitative interviews as the main method of data collection. As the chapter shows, while the home as an interview setting offers opportunities to see and discuss objects in their actual location as well as engage the senses, it also poses challenges of ethical and methodological nature. This chapter presents a discussion of the home interview situation and the ways it came to reveal different contexts and relationships that produced a host/guest dynamic that reflected various expectations from both the researcher and the participants. While the domestic space provides welcome and hospitality, it also imposes boundaries and rules. Overall, the chapter calls for a more methodologically nuanced and reflexive approach to the home-based interview that can uncover meanings, attachments and relationships that affect both participants and researchers

Оpen personal intellectual technology for development and application of adaptive methods of assessment of investment attractiveness and creditworthiness of enterprises

Reliable assessment of the economic and financial activities of enterprises is important both for enterprises in order to take adequate measures in advance to get out of the crisis, and for investors and creditors, for whom the risk of bankruptcy of the financed enterprise is directly related to the risk of default on investments or loans. Thus, a reliable tool for assessing the risks of crediting to enterprises is necessary as it will allow assessing the investment attractiveness and creditworthiness of an enterprise. However, several problems due to which a company can not access the application of such techniques have been revealed during the study: 1) lack of methods for reliable assessment of credit risks of various enterprises; 2) high cost of services for development and adaptation of the credit risk assessment methods; 3) inability to purchase this technology for self-use; 4) high complexity and laboriousness of the development of mathematical models necessary for this technology implementing their algorithms and data structures, as well as software tools that provide the possibility of practical application of these models. The authors have substantiated that the problems mentioned above can be solved by applying a new innovation technology of artificial intelligence – automated system-cognitive analysis equipped with its own software tools of personal level – intellectual system “Eidos” (open software). The technology will be used as a form of adaptive methods for assessing the crediting risk of enterprises. The novelty of the study concerns the development of an open personal intellectual technology for creating adaptive techniques for the assessment of investment attractiveness and creditworthiness of an enterprise on the basis of the automated system-cognitive analysis and “Eidos” system. It allows using the original approach for the study of a huge range of social and economic systems and processes. The results obtained during the study have scientific and applied significance and lie in the development of an open personal technology that allows creating new methods for an enterprise’s crediting risk assessment on its basis with the tools of an automated system-cognitive analysis of initial financial data about an enterprise economic activity. They also concern the development of an environment for the application of these techniques in practice in an adaptive regime. A detailed numerical example of the use of the automated system-cognitive analysis as a technology for creating a method of crediting risk assessment is provided in the article. Further studies will concern the development of adaptive methods of crediting risk assessment that will consider the specifics of economic activity of enterprises, their localization, characteristics and dynamics of the external environment

Short-term rental market crisis management during the COVID-19 pandemic: Stakeholders' perspectives

Contingency plans and crisis management strategies have been implemented by the short-term rental industry to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. This paper examines the strategies adopted by three key groups of stakeholders: short-term rental platforms (e.g. Airbnb, Booking.com), service providers (represented by property management companies and short-term rental associations) and policymakers/tourism experts. The professional service providers, in particular, constitute a significant share of the short-term rental industry, but have not received much scholarly attention. In this respect, our study fills this gap by bringing attention to unexplored segments of the short-term rental industry. By examining and comparing the responses from these key groups, the paper contributes to the ongoing research about the workings of the short-term rental industry and its responses to the COVID-19 crisis