Sustainability and Hospitality in Tourism Experiences

Concepts of sustainability have been prominent in international discourse and development policy for at least 35 years. According to the Brundtland Commission: \u201cSustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs\u201d (1, p. 43). Sustainability in tourism is a continuous process of making a positive impact on the environment, economy, and society. It is a concept of visiting a place with great respect for the inhabitants of the area and their cultures, customs, and socio-economic systems. At the same time, "Tourism for All" is a concept that addresses a growing segment of travelers with a diverse range of needs and requirements. That is why becoming more inclusive is a more appropriate goal for the tourism industry than focusing just on "accessible tourism". Sustainability in tourism activities cannot be secured unless researchers and policy-makers pay attention to the different needs of tourists. In particular, such considerations include changes in access to resources when the tourist is a man or a woman, is a young or an old person, or has or does not have a disability. Social equality must logically be extended to old and new generations. Inclusion and equality are influenced not only by gender and age but also by other factors, including the local and cultural context, that affect incentives and the ability to adopt sustainable provision practices. This Special Issue intends to cover aspects related to the measurement of tourists\u2019 preferences (case studies, surveys, instruments, etc.) regarding the degree to which they accept (or prefer) experiences in tourism facilities or cultural programmes with sustainable characteristics. We aim to gather papers related to psycho-social and/or environmental sustainability with a particular focus on gender, age, and physical differences in tourists

On the feasibility of studying vortex noise in 2D superconductors with cold atoms

We investigate the feasibility of using ultracold neutral atoms trapped near a thin superconductor to study vortex noise close to the Kosterlitz-Thouless-Berezinskii transition temperature. Alkali atoms such as rubidium probe the magnetic field produced by the vortices. We show that the relaxation time $T_1$ of the Zeeman sublevel populations can be conveniently adjusted to provide long observation times. We also show that the transverse relaxation times $T_2$ for Zeeman coherences are ideal for studying the vortex noise. We briefly consider the motion of atom clouds held close to the surface as a method for monitoring the vortex motion.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figur

Attaccamento ai genitori e disagio emotivo in adolescenti appartenenti a famiglie italiane, miste e migranti: Un approccio multi-metodo

Una ricerca compiuta in italia con metodologia quantitativa e qualitativa per approfondire l'attaccamento ai genitori e il disagio emotivo in adolescenti appartenenti a famiglie italiane, miste e migranti.I partecipanti erano 509 adolescenti (55% maschi) che frequentavano varie scuole medie e superiori del centro-est Italia. La loro et\ue0 variava tra gli 11 e i 19 anni (M = 13.6, DS = 2.2). Il campione era composto da tre gruppi: 261 adolescenti provenivano da famiglie italiane; 100 da famiglie miste (in cui un solo genitore aveva la nazionalit\ue0 italiana); e 148 da famiglie migranti. I risultati hanno mostrato che gli adolescenti provenienti da famiglie migranti si differenziano dai loro coetanei provenienti da famiglie italiane o miste in quanto manifestano con minore frequenza un forte attaccamento a entrambi i genitori e con maggiore frequenza un debole attaccamento a entrambi. Inoltre, gli studenti di famiglie migranti riportano pi\uf9 sintomi ansiosi e depressivi dei coloro coetanei appartenenti alle famiglie italiane e miste. In generale, gli adolescenti con un forte attaccamento a entrambi i genitori manifestano i livelli pi\uf9 bassi di sintomi depressivi e ansiosi mentre un legame ambivalente o evitante sono associati a maggiori disagi emotivi. I risultati sono interpretabili in linea con la letteratura che vuole i compiti di sviluppo relazionali pi\uf9 complessi in adolescenti di famiglie migranti mentre nelle famiglie miste la coppia sarebbe gi\ue0 abituata a negoziare tra culture differenti rendendo meno complessa la costruzione dell\u2019identit\ue0 nei figli

Le relazioni amicali in adolescenza

I rapporti con i coetanei, le alterne vicende dell\u2019amicizia intima, le partecipazioni ai gruppi sono centrali per gli adolescenti e possono costituire, al di l\ue0 della loro temporaneit\ue0, una chiave di volta per la costituzione della competenza sociale e della riorganizzazione del S\ue9. Nel volume, alla luce di recenti risultati della ricerca psico-sociale, sono descritte le relazioni amicali in adolescenza: da quelle pi\uf9 intime con il/la migliore amico/a a quelle sviluppate nei gruppi dei pari. Sono identificate le tipologie delle aggregazioni e individuate le dinamiche, gli sviluppi e le risorse che le animano. Tutto ci\uf2 partendo dall\u2019assunto che l\u2019amicizia tra pari, anche quella pi\uf9 attuale come le amicizie che si costruiscono in Internet, possa essere una potenzialit\ue0 su cui fare leva e non solo una fucina di disagio, disimpegno e devianza

Rapporto con la famiglia e sviluppo del concetto di s\ue9 in adolescenza [family relationship and self concept development in adolescence]

The aim of this study was to investigate associations between family relationships and self-concept in adolescence. Specifically, we investigated how adolescent attachment (expressed by levels of trust, communication, and alienation; Armsden & Greenberg, 1987) to both parents is associated with self-concept clarity (Campbell, 1990), that indicates the extent to which self beliefs are clear, internally consistent and stable. Participants were 2113 Italian adolescents (979 boys and 1134 girls), with ages ranging between 11 and 18 years (1023 were attending junior high schools and 1090 were attending high schools). Participants filled out the Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment (Nada-Raja, McGee, & Stanton, 1992) and the Self-Concept Clarity Scale (Campbell, Trapnell, Heine, Katz, Lavalle, & Lehman, 1996). Main findings of the multivariate analyses of variance indicated that quality of paternal and maternal relationships worsened during adolescence: trust in both parents and quality of communication with them was lower among older adolescents, that reported also higher levels of alienation. Second, self-concept clarity varied as a function of both gender and age (i.e., self-concept clarity increased over time for male adolescents, whereas it decreased for female adolescents). Results of regression analyses pointed out that paternal and maternal trust were positively related to self-concept clarity, whereas paternal and maternal alienation and maternal communication were negatively linked to it. A further exploration of these associations within gender and age adolescent groups highlighted that within the younger adolescent category paternal and maternal relationships were related to self-concept clarity in both male and female groups. On the contrary, within the older adolescent category only paternal attachment was related to boys\u2019 self-concept clarity and only maternal attachment was linked to girls\u2019 self-concept clarity

Extending the Current Theorization On Cyberbullying: Importance of Including Socio-Psychological Perspectives

Despite an abundance of research from multiple perspectives and disciplines, to date cyberbullying research has been fragmented and is often conducted atheoretically, using theories borrowed from general psychology and/or criminology, or considers only individual-level explanations such as demographics, personalities, and psychological conditions which may be insufficient to fully understand and explain the behaviour. Social psychological approaches that examine the everyday power relations in children\u2019s lives and the study of identity, relationships, and belonging systems may provide meaningful context and a more holistic perspective. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the positive impact of applying identity theories and a sociological perspective to the study of cyberbullying. This paper provides an overview of cyberbullying, followed by examples of how general psychological theories and theories borrowed from criminology and aggression have been applied to cyberbullying, including a cyberbullying-specific theory. Several key theories of identity that could be employed in the study of cyberbullying are then identified. Lastly, the utility of using a socio-psychological perspective using social identity theory and social network analysis to study of cyberbullying is explored. In order to manage cyber violence, we need to act on multiple levels, including individual, relational, organizational, and community levels

The Utrecht-Management of IdentityCommitments Scale (U-MICS)Italian Validation and Cross-National Comparisons

The present study examined the psychometric properties of the Dutch and Italian versions of the Utrecht-Management of Identity Commitments Scale (U-MICS) in large community samples of adolescents from Italy (N = 1,975) and The Netherlands (N = 1,521). Confirmatory factor analyses indicated that the three-factor model, consisting of commitment, in-depth exploration, and reconsideration of commitment, provided a better fit to the data than alternative one- and two-factor models. The three-factor model fit equivalently across sex and across age groups (early and middle adolescents). Furthermore, we demonstrated cross-national equivalence of the factor structure of the U-MICS. Additionally, results indicated that the latent means for commitment were higher in the Dutch sample, while latent means for both in-depth exploration and reconsideration of commitment were substantially higher in the Italian sample. The three identity processes were found to be meaningfully related to measures of self-concept, psychosocial problems, and parent-adolescent relations in both countries. These findings suggest that the U-MICS is a reliable tool for assessing identity processes in Italian and Dutch adolescents

The third transitional Identity of migrant adolescents. The case of Hotel House an Italian multi-ethnic skyscraper-ghetto

The adolescent\u2019s identity achievement is a complex task, even more so if they are migrants living in a particular context of ethnic ghettoization. Hotel House is an enormous, isolated condominium situated on the outskirts of Porto Recanati, a small Italian town. It is a unique reality poorly studied from a social psychological perspective. The present paper aims to measure the perceived levels of self-concept clarity, self-determination, ethnic group identification, relationship with parents, depression and life satisfaction in a group of 91 adolescents (11\u201319 years; 30% females; 1.5 immigrant\u2019s generation) living in this context. The analysis shows low levels of self-concept clarity and self-determination, especially in female adolescents, quite satisfactory relationships with their parents and medium levels of group identification and life satisfaction. The identification with their ethnic subgroups seems to provide a third transitional identity which works as a temporary link between native country values and host country values. The regression analysis shows significant associations: self-determination is negatively associated with depression and positively associated with the perception of life satisfaction; the father\u2019s closeness is a negative predictor for depression and a positive predictor for life satisfaction; mother\u2019s closeness is negatively associated with depression

Sustainable accommodation choice in tourism and emotional intelligence connected. An exploratory study looking for evidence

Emotional intelligence (EI) is considered an advantage in everyday life, starting from the area of work relationships to intimacy, from stress tolerance to the general well-being of an individual. However, the theme and issue of sustainability in tourism have become relevant after a growing awareness regarding the risks of an excessively massified tourism industry and excessive exploitation of the domain. This study aims to find evidence of the relation between EI and sustainable accommodation in tourism. This is done considering EI as a mental function that promotes adaptability and consciousness, while also assuming an environmental perspective. A survey was conducted on a sample of 157 (36.3%males and 63.7% females) Italian emerging adults and adults, aged between 19 and 37 years (mean = 26.5; DS = 4.4). In particular, we studied the contribution of EI in the building of clusters, including some dimensions of sustainable hospitality and some of social well-being. For this reason, bivariate analyses were conducted to evaluate the relationship between the variables, and a cluster analysis was accomplished to identify the groups on the basis of the scores obtained from the questionnaires. The results suggest that a psychological function, such as EI, could illustrate a more comprehensive framework of sustainable accommodation and identify a new criterion for market segmentation