Linking Social Values of Wild Reindeer to Planning and Management Options in Southern Norway

Norway is home to the last remaining populations of wild mountain reindeer (Rangifer tarandus tarandus) in Europe. Concerns over anthropogenic and natural drivers have led to change in the management regime from a population-based model to an area-based model. More complex management goals, increasing involvement of stakeholders, and larger management units call for improved knowledge about reindeer-related values. We examined the responses of 1000 respondents to 39 statements of attitudes and values associated with wild reindeer presence and the management situation in two reindeer regions of southern Norway. We used a partial least-squares path modeling approach to examine the nexus between the attraction of wild reindeer, sustainability concerns, utilitarian and non-utilitarian values, conflicts, and attitudes toward hunting. The results show that local concepts of the sustainability of reindeer are based on opinions about the ecological requirements as well as the roles reindeer can play in the social and economic development of the communities. The attraction of reindeer is a function of consumptive as well as non-consumptive objectives. Segments of the community with different consumptive orientations can share ideas about the attraction of reindeer, but diverge in their interpretation of the sustainability of the species. Improved knowledge about the diversity and complexity of value orientations associated with wild reindeer can be a useful tool for developing multi-objective management frameworks with a diversity of stakeholders who may share similar values and interests, although they have different experience and knowledge bases.Les toutes dernières populations de rennes sauvages des montagnes (Rangifer tarandus tarandus) de l’Europe se trouvent en Norvège. Des préoccupations sur le plan des motifs anthropiques et des motifs naturels ont donné lieu à la modification du régime de gestion, qui est passé d’un modèle axé sur la population à un modèle axé sur la région. En raison des objectifs de gestion plus complexes, de l’influence accrue des parties prenantes et de secteurs de gestion plus grands, il y a lieu de se doter de meilleures connaissances au sujet des valeurs liées aux rennes. Nous avons examiné les réponses de 1 000 répondants à 39 énoncés relatifs aux attitudes et aux valeurs liées à la présence des rennes sauvages et à la situation de la gestion dans deux régions où évoluent les rennes, dans le sud de la Norvège. Nous avons fait la modélisation du parcours au moyen de la régression partielle par les moindres carrés dans le but d’examiner la connexion entre l’attraction du renne sauvage, les inquiétudes en matière de durabilité, les valeurs utilitaires et non utilitaires, les conflits et les attitudes vis-à-vis de la chasse. Selon les résultats, les concepts locaux de la durabilité du renne reposent sur des opinions au sujet des exigences écologiques ainsi que sur les rôles que peuvent jouer les rennes dans le développement social et économique des collectivités. L’attraction du renne dépend des objectifs de consommation et des objectifs de non-consommation. Les segments de la collectivité ayant des orientations de consommation différentes peuvent partager des idées au sujet de l’attraction du renne, mais leur interprétation de la durabilité de l’espèce diverge. Il serait utile de posséder de meilleures connaissances au sujet de la diversité et de la complexité des orientations de la valeur liées au renne sauvage, car cela pourrait permettre d’élaborer des cadres de gestion à maints objectifs avec une diversité de parties prenantes susceptibles d’avoir des valeurs et des intérêts semblables, bien que leurs connaissances et leurs expériences diffèrent

medsem: a Stata package for statistical mediation analysis

The Stata package medsem provides a post-estimation command testing mediational hypotheses using Baron and Kenny's (1986) approach modified by Iacobucci et al. (2007) as well as an alternative approach proposed by Zhao et al. (2010) after estimating the concerned mediational model with the built-in sem command of Stata. The primary benefit of medsem is that it can contribute to conducting a proper and complete mediational analysis based on even very complex models (including observed and/or latent variables and with multiple mediators) due to the simultaneous estimation capability of structural equation modelling (SEM) technique.publishedVersionCopyright © 2018 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd

Linking social values of wild reindeer to planning and management options in Southern Norway

Norway is home to the last remaining populations of wild mountain reindeer (Rangifer tarandus tarandus) in Europe. Concerns over anthropogenic and natural drivers have led to change in the management regime from a population-based model to an area-based model. More complex management goals, increasing involvement of stakeholders, and larger management units call for improved knowledge about reindeer-related values. We examined the responses of 1000 respondents to 39 statements of attitudes and values associated with wild reindeer presence and the management situation in two reindeer regions of southern Norway. We used a partial least-squares path modeling approach to examine the nexus between the attraction of wild reindeer, sustainability concerns, utilitarian and non-utilitarian values, conflicts, and attitudes toward hunting. The results show that local concepts of the sustainability of reindeer are based on opinions about the ecological requirements as well as the roles reindeer can play in the social and economic development of the communities. The attraction of reindeer is a function of consumptive as well as non-consumptive objectives. Segments of the community with different consumptive orientations can share ideas about the attraction of reindeer, but diverge in their interpretation of the sustainability of the species. Improved knowledge about the diversity and complexity of value orientations associated with wild reindeer can be a useful tool for developing multi-objective management frameworks with a diversity of stakeholders who may share similar values and interests, although they have different experience and knowledge bases

What influences tourists' overall holiday experience? Tourism company products versus destination products

There are as yet to our knowledge no systematic investigations comparing the effects of specific tourism company product and total destination product components on tourists’ experience. The current study addressed this particular issue, based upon a convenience sample of 867 tourists visiting Northern Norway in the summer of 2011. The study results indicated that the effect of the company product components was indeed much greater than that of the destination product on the tourists’ overall holiday experience. Further analysis revealed that three of the product components related to the tourism company (personnel, information, and product variety) and three of those related to the destination (transport to destination, accommodation, and restaurant/dining facilities) had a significant influence on the tourists’ overall holiday experience. Theoretical and practical implications of the study are also discussed

plssem: A Stata Package for Structural Equation Modeling with Partial Least Squares

We provide a package called plssem that fits partial least squares structural equation models, which is often considered an alternative to the commonly known covariance-based structural equation modeling. plssem is developed in line with the algorithm provided by Wold (1975) and Lohmöller (1989). To demonstrate its features, we present an empirical application on the relationship between perception of self-attractiveness and two specific types of motivations for working out using a real-life data set. In the paper we also show that, in line with other software performing structural equation modeling, plssem can be used for putting in relation single-item observed variables too and not only for latent variable modeling

Examination of grounded theory analysis with an application to hospitality research

Abstract The focus on qualitative research has unfortunately been mainly confined to methods of data collection, neglecting a more significant aspect, namely data analysis. Hospitality and tourism research is no exception to this observation. This is considered to be one of the main reasons why there has been a lower output of qualitative research in hospitality and tourism. In order to elevate the status of and, consequently, use of qualitative research more attention should be shown towards the issue of data analysis. Consequently, the current work aims to make a modest contribution in this direction by thoroughly examining one specific analytic strategy-that of grounded theory-with an application of it to a hospitality study.

Norwegian Men and Women Value Similar Mate Traits in Short-Term Relationships

Previous research has provided evidence that females are generally the more selective sex in humans. Moreover, both sexes have been found to be more selective in long-term mating compared to short-term mating. In this study, we have examined the effects of sex, mating strategy (preferred relationship length) and their interaction on mate preferences (i.e., mate selection criteria) in an egalitarian Nordic society, namely Norway. The study sample consisted of 1,000 individuals, 417 of whom were male and 583 female respondents. According to our findings, men were more selective in physical appearance, whereas women were more selective in all the other mate preferences (e.g., understanding, dominant, kind, intellectual etc.). The respondents that were seeking short-term relationships had higher preference for physical appearance, humorousness and sociability. On the other hand, the respondents that were seeking long-term relationships were more selective in most of the other mate preferences (i.e., understanding, kind, cultivated, domestic, reliable, and similar). Interestingly, no interaction effect was found between sex and mating strategy in that differences between long-term and short-term seekers in mate preferences did not change depending on sex. This suggests that men and women value the same traits in short-term relationships