BETWEEN MYTHS AND RISK PERCEPTION AMONG RELIGIOUS TOURISTS: THE CASE OF THE HAREDIM

Mitovi o ponašanju turista i načinima na koji percipiraju rizike dva su socio-kulturna konstrukta kojima se istraživanja u turizmu rijetko bave. Usto, nikad se nije istraživao njihov međusobni odnos kod religioznih turista koji su razapeti između svoje vjere u Boga i stvarnih turističkih okolnosti koje zahtijevaju nerizično odgovorno ponašanje. Ovaj rad nastoji ispuniti tu prazninu te istražuje mitove i percepcije rizika kod ultraortodoksnih haredskih Židova. Upotrebom metode nominalne grupe i modela s primjenjivim vrijednostima ovaj rad nastoji utvrditi na koji način ta zajednica percipira najveće opasnosti vezane uz putovanja te u kojoj mjeri te percepcije nalikuju na mitove o ponašanjima vezanima uz putovanja koji su stvoreni u sekularnom izraelskom društvu ili se od njih razlikuju. Rezultati pokazuju da je kod haredskih Židova percepcija opasnosti vezanih uz putovanja obično “vjersko-svjetovni hibrid”. Sastoji se od predodžbi o opasnostima koje prevladavaju među sekularnim turistima, ali i od nih koje proizlaze iz specifičnih socio-ekonomskih i logističkih ograničenja vezanih uz haredski način života.Myths about tourist behavior and tourists’ risk perception are two socio-cultural constructs rarely discussed in tourism research. Furthermore, their interrelations have never been discussed with respect to religious tourists who are caught between their trust in God and real tourist circumstances that require risk-free responsible behavior. This paper attempts to fi ll this gap by studying myths and risk perception of Ultra-Orthodox Jews known as Haredim. Using Nominal Group Technique and the Value Stretch model, the study unveiled this community’s main travel-related risk perceptions and to what extent they differ from or are similar to myths about travel behavior originated by the secular Israeli society. Findings show that travel-related Haredi risk perception is generally a “religio-secular hybrid.” It is composed of risk constructs prevailing among secular tourists but also of those that stem from the unique socio-economic, logistic and lifestyle constraints of the Haredim

Risk Perceptions among Religiously Practicing Tourists: Are they Group Differentiated?

Religiousness and religious affiliation as a cultural phenomenon generating an array of travel risk perceptions has attracted only a handful of researchers so far. Using the case of the Ultra Orthodox Haredi community in Israel, we explored how belonging to a specific religious group within this community generates different risk perception constructs. Using the theoretical ‘Value Stretch’ model embedded into a ‘Nominal Group Technique’ methodology, we revealed that, generally, risk perceptions among religiously different Haredi groups are group differentiated. This is a result of various religious, cultural, social, and environmental differences, which characterise each Haredi subgroup. The findings call for further exploration of tourist subgroups’ cultural and religious backgrounds and their impact on shaping travel risk perceptions

Performance comparison of dwarf laying hens segregating for the naked neck gene in temperate and subtropical environments

This study compares laying performances between two environments of dwarf laying hen lines segregating for the naked neck mutation (NA locus), a selected dwarf line of brown-egg layers and its control line. Layers with one of the three genotypes at the NA locus were produced from 11 sires from the control line and 12 sires from the selected line. Two hatches produced 216 adult hens in Taiwan and 297 hens in France. Genetic parameters for laying traits were estimated in each environment and the ranking of sire breeding values was compared between environments. Laying performance was lower, and mortality was higher in Taiwan than in France. The line by environment interaction was highly significant for body weight at 16 weeks, clutch length and egg number, with or without Box-Cox transformation. The selected line was more sensitive to environmental change but in Taiwan it could maintain a higher egg number than the control line. Estimated heritability values in the selected line were higher in France than in Taiwan, but not for all the traits in the control line. The rank correlations between sire breeding values were low within the selected line and slightly higher in the control line. A few sire families showed a good ranking in both environments, suggesting that some families may adapt better to environmental change

Associations of Individual Genomic Heterozygosity, Estimated by Molecular Fingerprinting, and of Dam Major Histocompatibility Complex with Growth and Egg Production Traits in Layer Chickens

Growth and egg production data from F2 layer chickens produced from a mating of MHC-heterozygous B15B44 sires to B15B44 and B15B43 dams were analyzed for associations with the level of the individual\u27s genomic heterozygosity and dam MHC. The F1 sires and dams were produced from matings of birds from two genetically distinct, highly inbred lines. Genomic heterozygosity (expressed as composite band frequency, CBF) was estimated based on the average proportion of shared bands of individual birds compared to a composite pool of Hinf I-digested DNA samples from the two inbred lines. Birds from dams of genotype B15B43 had significantly greater BW than progeny from B15B44 dams at 6 wk and thereafter. Dam MHC genotype differences were also significant for number of eggs laid from 20 to 28 wk of age, with B15B43 progeny being superior. Negative regression coefficients at hatch, 32, and 44 wk were observed for the effect of CBF on BW of progeny from B15B43 dams and at hatch and 32 wk from progeny of pooled dam genotypes. Similarly, negative regression coefficients were observed for the association of CBF with number of eggs within progeny from the B15B44 dam MHC genotypes at 20 to 28 wk and total period recorded, and at 28 to 36 wk for progeny from B15B43 dams. The CBF regression coefficients and the differences among progeny based on dam MHC genotypes suggest that individual heterozygosity and MHC genotype may be associated with BW and egg production in chickens