161 research outputs found
Willingness to pay in Taman Negara: a contingent valuation method
The main attractions of national parks include its scenic beauty, rainforest and wildlife. An appropriate pricing policy in national parks can be used as a tool to not only achieve successful and sustainable management of national parks, but also provide quality products and services at fair prices to visitors. The central question is how to establish an appropriate pricing policy for national parks? Park resources such as scenic beauty and conservation of endangered species are not traded in the market place like many other commodities so they require the use of non-market valuation techniques. One of the methods commonly
used for non-market valuation is the Contingent Valuation Method (CVM). With Willingness to Pay (WTP) as the elicitation method, CVM was used to determine the appropriate pricing policy for the sustainable management of Taman Negara National Park (TNNP). Respondents were asked the maximum amount they were willing to pay for the nonmarket goods available at TNNP. This provided an estimate of the mean values for setting the price for licenses and permits. In addition to estimating the mean values, the study also identifies socio-demography,
visit and paying characteristics of visitors. The study employs 180 visitors to TNNP, who participated in closed-ended questionnaires through interviews. Findings of the study reveal that visitors were willing to pay more for entrance fees. This study presents implications to policy
makers to guide future management of TNNP. Results of this study facilitate in establishing an efficient and realistic pricing policy for TNNP
Willingness Tto Pay for Turtle Conservation and the Financial Viability of Rantau Abang Turtle Sanctuary, Terengganu
Conservation is an important measure to ensure that the endangered turtles will
be able to survive for the benefit of future generations. Cardinal approach i.e. Contingent
Valuation Method was used in this study to evaluate the willingness to pay for
conservation of turtles in Rantau Abang, Terengganu. The study also estimated the
benefits of turtle conservation, evaluated the viability of the existing Turtle Sanctuary and
identified the factors that influenced society's willingness to pay for turtle conservation
based on a survey of different groups of respondents.
Three different groups of respondents i.e. group A (residents), group B (visitors
to Rantau Abang Turtle Sanctuary) and group C (tourists) were classified in this study.
Each group consists of a different number of sample sizes i.e. 110 for group A, 100 and
130 for groups B and C respectively. In the estimation of benefits for each group of
respondents, the Contingent Valuation Method yielded mean values of RM10.02,
RM107.11 and RM61.93 using the Logit technique. It is also found that among the factors that influenced willingness to pay for turtle
conservation for groups A and B were bid, monthly income and age. For group C, bid,
monthly income and membership in some environmental organisations were the main
factors influencing peoples' willingness to pay.
The study also evaluated the role of government contribution to the viability of
the project. Using RM10 as the ticket price and with the government allocation of
RM150,000, the financial analysis showed that the Net Present Value (NPV) was
RM1,27,603.45. However, without government allocation, the NPV was negative
RM6,229.77. This infers that the government contribution is essential to ensure the
viability of the project. In fact, with the current contribution of RM150,000, the ticket price
could be reduced to RM5 and the project would still be viable. At this ticket price, the
NPV was RM263,649.15.
A sensitivity analysis showed that the project was still viable even with a 10%
decrease in total cash inflow or with a 10% increase in total cash outflow. Further
analysis was carried out to determine the amount of government allocation needed for
the project to reach break-even point only. At the ticket price of RM10, the amount of
government allocation that made the NPV equaled zero was RM700.59 per year. At the
price of RM5, the amou nt of government allocation was RM120,350.59 per year
Pricing Of Protected Areas.
Abstract is not availabl
Peran Interaksi Interpersonal Dalam Memediasi Pengaruh Lingkungan Kerja Terhadap Kepuasan Kerja Pegawai Pada Sekretariat DPRD Provinsi Sulawesi Tenggara
Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui dan menganalisis: 1) Pengaruh lingkungan kerja terhadap interaksi interpersonal pada Sekretariat DPRD Provinsi Sulawesi Tenggara, 2) Pengaruh lingkungan kerja terhadap kepuasan kerja pegawai pada Sekretariat DPRD Provinsi Sulawesi Tenggara, 3) Pengaruh interaksi interpersonal terhadap kepuasan kerja pegawai pada Sekretariat DPRD Provinsi Sulawesi Tenggara dan 4) Peran interaksi interpersonal dalam memediasi pengaruh lingkungan kerja terhadap kepuasan kerja pegawai pada Sekretariat DPRD Provinsi Sulawesi Tenggara. Pendekatan yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini adalah pendekatan kuantitatif. Populasi dalam penelitian ini adalah seluruh Aparatur Sipil Negara pada Sekretariat DPRD Provinsi Sulawesi Tenggara sebanyak 154 Orang. Pengambilan sampel dalam penelitian ini dengan menggunakan rumus slovin. Sehingga sampel dalam penelitian adalah sebanyak 60 Orang. Analisis data yang digunakan adalah menggunakan analisis deskriptif dan partial least square (PLS). Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa; 1) Lingkungan kerja berpengaruh positif dan signifikan terhadap interaksi interpersonal pada Sekretariat DPRD Provinsi Sulawesi Tenggara. Artinya bahwa semakin baik lingkungan kerja yang dipersepsi pada indikator lingkungan kerja fisik dan lingkungan kerja non fisik dapat meningkatkan interaksi interpersonal yang tercermin pada keterbukaan, empati, dukungan, kepositifan dan kesamaan, 2) Lingkungan kerja berpengaruh positif dan signifikan terhadap kepuasan kerja pada Sekretariat DPRD Provinsi Sulawesi Tenggara. Artinya bahwa semakin baik lingkungan kerja yang dipersepsi pada indikator lingkungan kerja fisik dan lingkungan kerja non fisik dapat meningkatkan kepuasan kerja yang tercermin pada pekerjaan yang secara mental menantang, kondisi kerja yang mendukung, gaji atau upah yang pantas, kesesuaian kepribadian dengan pekerjaan dan rekan sekerja yang mendukung, 3) Interaksi interpersonal berpengaruh positif dan signifikan terhadap kepuasan kerja pada Sekretariat DPRD Provinsi Sulawesi Tenggara. Artinya bahwa semakin baik interaksi interpersonal yang dipersepsi pada indikator keterbukaan, empati, dukungan, kepositifan dan kesamaan dapat meningkatkan kepuasan kerja yang tercermin pada pekerjaan yang secara mental menantang, kondisi kerja yang mendukung, gaji atau upah yang pantas, kesesuaian kepribadian dengan pekerjaan dan rekan sekerja yang mendukung dan 4) Interaksi interpersonal memediasi pengaruh lingkungan kerja terhadap kepuasan kerja pada Sekretariat DPRD Provinsi Sulawesi Tenggara. Artinya bahwa interaksi interpersonal dapat dijadikan variabel mediasi dalam menjembatani pengaruh lingkungan kerjaterhadap kepuasan kerja pada Sekretariat DPRD Provinsi Sulawesi Tenggara, selain itu juga lingkungan kerja secara tidak langsung berpengaruh signfikan terhadap kepuasan kerja pada Sekretariat DPRD Provinsi Sulawesi Tenggara
Estimating Time-Varying Effective Connectivity in High-Dimensional fMRI Data Using Regime-Switching Factor Models
Recent studies on analyzing dynamic brain connectivity rely on sliding-window
analysis or time-varying coefficient models which are unable to capture both
smooth and abrupt changes simultaneously. Emerging evidence suggests
state-related changes in brain connectivity where dependence structure
alternates between a finite number of latent states or regimes. Another
challenge is inference of full-brain networks with large number of nodes. We
employ a Markov-switching dynamic factor model in which the state-driven
time-varying connectivity regimes of high-dimensional fMRI data are
characterized by lower-dimensional common latent factors, following a
regime-switching process. It enables a reliable, data-adaptive estimation of
change-points of connectivity regimes and the massive dependencies associated
with each regime. We consider the switching VAR to quantity the dynamic
effective connectivity. We propose a three-step estimation procedure: (1)
extracting the factors using principal component analysis (PCA) and (2)
identifying dynamic connectivity states using the factor-based switching vector
autoregressive (VAR) models in a state-space formulation using Kalman filter
and expectation-maximization (EM) algorithm, and (3) constructing the
high-dimensional connectivity metrics for each state based on subspace
estimates. Simulation results show that our proposed estimator outperforms the
K-means clustering of time-windowed coefficients, providing more accurate
estimation of regime dynamics and connectivity metrics in high-dimensional
settings. Applications to analyzing resting-state fMRI data identify dynamic
changes in brain states during rest, and reveal distinct directed connectivity
patterns and modular organization in resting-state networks across different
states.Comment: 21 page
The impact of empowerment on emotional labour: a conceptual framework
This conceptual paper investigated the importance of employee empowerment and its impact on emotional labour in securing success of service delivery. This study advocates that empowerment is essential and also a key factor in the development of service quality and customer satisfaction. It
is predicted that employees who are empowered and display suitable positive emotions at work may be able to manage their emotional labour efficiently. Therefore, the major goal of this paper was to develop and propose a conceptual framework on the impact of empowerment and positive emotions
on emotional labour. It aimed to help marketers and managements to have a better understanding of empowering front-line employees in the organisation. Accordingly, this study conceptualised the relationships between empowerment, positive emotions, and negative emotions with deep acting,
surface acting and expressions of naturally felt emotions. The model was developed based on the extent literature in services marketing, organisational behaviour and services management literature. Meanwhile, structural equation modelling was proposed to analyse the relationships among the predicted antecedents with their outcomes. The paper foresees contribution in services marketing literature as well as hotel management literature on the importance of empowering employee and its impact on emotional labou
ARE THERE DIFFERENCES IN WILLINGNESS TO PAY AMONG VISITORS AND NON-VISITORS OF TAMAN NEGARA NATIONAL PARK?
Approaches such as the Contingent Valuation Method (CVM) have helped to assign dollar values to non-use values for non-market goods which, unlike other products, are not traded in the market. This study attempts to put a value on the above non-market values. This study used the CVM, with Willingness to Pay (WTP) as the elicitation method to measure the non-use value among visitors and non-visitors of Taman Negara National Park (TNNP). This study also will answer questions; are there any differences in the WTP of various market segments, based on nationality, gender, age, education and income among visitors and non-visitors? This study found that there was a different between visitors and non-visitors willingness to pay. It also found that visitors and non-visitors market segments such as nationality,, income etc. are differed. Thus, information found in this study can be a fundamental source for park management in directing park pricing policy towards an efficient system. Although using WTP for this economic valuation cannot provide exact answers on the valuation of these natural resources, it can still provide a guideline on pricing strategy and give extra information for park management decisions, especially about park pricing. Thus, better decision-making processes can be practised if monetary values can be placed on these non-market goods
Willingness to pay for domestic water service improvements in Selangor, Malaysia : a choice modeling approach
The tasks and responsibilities of domestic water service management in Malaysia are handled by various government agencies. Sufficient water service and resources management is required for sustainable water resources conservation. In order to realized water resource conservation, economic effectiveness of water utilization (consumers), maintenance of water quality supply (source of water supply) and efficiency in allocating water resources (agencies) needs to be addressed. The objective of the study is to assess community preferences and values relating to alternative water service management with particular concentration on water service improvement. This study has applied Choice Experiment (CE) to investigate the current policies and potential alternative of water service management in Selangor. The studies are based on 230 respondents in Subang Jaya that were randomly interviewed for data collection in October to December 2008. The findings indicates that respondents are willing to pay higher for drinking water as compared to the current rate with improved in water quality (WQ), reduced the frequency of water interruption (WI) and increases in the consumer trust to tap water (CT). The finding of this study is very important in order to assists and recommends the policy makers towards efficiency of domestic water service management in Malaysia
Hotels involvement in sustainable tourism practices in Klang Valley, Malaysia
The hotel sector has been described as an industry of which activities constitute a great impact on the environment. Hotels consume vast amount of energy, water and non-durable goods, and has been reported to discharge huge amount of raw and solid waste in different quantities. Serious impacts on the environment were highlighted, calling for greater hotel’s participation in sustainable tourism practices by committing to environmental management system (EMS). Comprehensive studies among hotels in Malaysia on their contributing efforts in curbing environmental degradation have been inadequate. Hence, a current study was conducted and this paper presents findings on sustainable tourism practices most commonly adopted by Malaysian hotels within Klang Valley. The main findings indicate the use of occupancy sensor/key card control system as energy saving measures, as well as the use of energy-efficient equipments and products. This result, therefore, confirms a number of preliminary studies which indicates widespread adoption of energy management among hotels. Adopting these practices has enabled Malaysian hotels to benefit from improved image to the guests and the local communities as well as the enhancement of a safe and healthy environment for hotel guests and employees
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