Buddhism and tourism : looking for lived Religion in Zhi Yun temple

The main topic for this thesis is the mixture of Tourism and Buddhism in China, to ask the question of what takes place when a tourist visits a Buddhist temple. Can sightseeing also be a religious experience? Resulting in the research question: How does a group of Chinese tourists experience a Buddhist temple and in what ways can their experiences be interpreted as spiritual using the approach of Lived Religion? In order to understand the dynamics at play here, this master thesis includes the historic backdrop and current situation for religion in China, especially Buddhism, as well as rural tourism which includes a special focus on ethnic minorities whose religious heritage at times are used as a part of the tourist industry. The field work consists of eight interviews with tourists at a Buddhist temple, Zhi Yun. This temple is located close to a tourist hot spot, Lijiang old town, but has until now been out of the tourist spotlight, so mainly only catering to religious activities. The findings were analysed using the concept Lived Religion as a frame for understanding spirituality. Several of the interviewees partook in religious practice, and many described an experience more related to spirituality or religiosity then to sightseeing activity. Despite this, no participants identified as Buddhist. The serenity and scenery, together with the religious tropes and symbols can be said to be the emotional activators, by what Riis and Woodhead would call emotional regimes

The nature of entrepreneurs’ engagement with a layered rural context

Rural entrepreneurship has recently been reconceptualised as engagement with contexts. However, our knowledge of the nature of this engagement remains limited. In this paper, we explore the engagement of entrepreneurs hired as part-time industry mentors at regional universities. Using a qualitative approach based on grounded theory and self-ethnography, we interviewed five entrepreneurs in adjunct positions and their academic counterparts at universities in Northern Norway. We also relied on our own experience as academics collaborating with industry mentors. Our findings demonstrate that the entrepreneurs’ engagement encompasses and combines the business, academic and spatial layers of the entrepreneurs’ context and that it unfolds in the form of knowledge-sharing practices. Our study makes several contributions. First, it contributes to the limited empirical research on rural entrepreneurship as engagement with context and gives a novel and detailed account of how this engagement unfolds in practice. Second, it contributes by adding new insight into how entrepreneurs relate to a layered rural context. In particular, we emphasise that the knowledge-sharing practices help in crossing boundaries between the layers. Third, our study offers some practical contributions for rural entrepreneurs, policymakers and actors in regional innovation systems and regional universities

Teameffektivitet og psykologisk trygghet

Executive Master of Management i Samspill og ledelse; anvendt organisasjonspsykologi fra Handelshøyskolen BI, 2023Denne prosjektoppgaven er en del av studieprogrammet Samspill og ledelse ved Handelshøyskolen BI. I oppgaven har det blitt redegjort for J. Richard Hackman sine fem betingelser for teameffektivitet og oppgaven undersøker videre hvordan oppfyllelsen av disse betingelsene er hos to ulike team med samme leder. I tillegg ser oppgaven på den psykologiske tryggheten i begge teamene og ser på om den har effekt på teameffektiviteten. Ved å sammenligne funnene på begge teamene, undersøker oppgaven hvilke betingelser som er spesielt viktig for å oppnå teameffektivitet. Det er også viktig å undersøke hvordan psykologisk trygghet påvirker teamenes samarbeid og suksess. Gjennom å undersøke to team med samme leder, er vi interessert i å avdekke forskjeller i oppfyllelsen av de fem betingelsene og eventuelt forskjeller i den psykologiske tryggheten. Undersøkelsen er gjennomført med hjelp av kvalitativ metode, og det ble brukt semi-strukturerte dybdeintervju for å samle inn data. Funnene på de to ulike teamene blir sammenlignet og drøftet opp mot Hackmans modell, for å undersøke hvilke betingelser som kan forbedres for å øke teameffektiviteten på teamene. Samtidig er det spennende å se om det er store ulikheter mellom teamene når de har samme leder

The reciprocity of soil, soul and society: the heart of developing regenerative tourism activities

Purpose – The study aims to investigate how tourism actors’ methodologies fuel the development of regenerative activities anchored in the reciprocity of nature and humans directed at bringing well-being for all living beings. Design/methodology/approach – To shed light on micro-scale regenerative creation processes in tourism, the authors engage in co-creative case study research with the owners of a small value-driven tourism firm in Arctic Norway in their creation of activities that strengthen the human–nature relation. Findings – The authors found that the values of the tourism firm’s owners constitute the soul creating regenerative activities based on the reciprocity of soil and society. Thus, the authors posit that soil, soul and society are at the core of developing regenerative tourism activities. A key finding identified is that it is challenging for small eco-centric driven firms to co-create regenerative tourism activities within a capitalocentric system. For regenerative activities to become regenerative tourism practices, multiple actors across levels of operations must act as responsible gardeners. Originality/value – The study extends current literature on regenerative tourism by providing in-depth insights into the methodology, illustrated through soil, soul and society, guiding one small tourism firm’s development of regenerative tourism activities and what drives these processes. The study also contributes knowledge that broadens the use of well-being in tourism to better address current capitalocentric challenges limiting the development of regenerative practices

Dynamical models for sand ripples beneath surface waves

We introduce order parameter models for describing the dynamics of sand ripple patterns under oscillatory flow. A crucial ingredient of these models is the mass transport between adjacent ripples, which we obtain from detailed numerical simulations for a range of ripple sizes. Using this mass transport function, our models predict the existence of a stable band of wavenumbers limited by secondary instabilities. Small ripples coarsen in our models and this process leads to a sharply selected final wavenumber, in agreement with experimental observations.Comment: 9 pages. Shortened version of previous submissio

The “Young Athlete Body Project”—A pilot study evaluating the acceptability of and results from an eating disorder prevention program for adolescent athletes

Background: The high frequency of eating disorders (EDs) in sports speaks of a need for early-stage preventive measures. Objectives: This study evaluated the acceptability of an age, sex, and sports adapted version of the “Body Project” and changes in mental health symptoms. Methods: This noncontrolled pilot study included a class of athletes from 18 sports (N = 73, 13–14 years) at a sport-specialized junior high school in six small-group workshops. We interviewed 34 athletes on program acceptability, and all athletes responded to questionnaires at pretest, posttest, and 6-month follow-up including the Body Appreciation Scale 2–Children, Social Attitudes towards Appearance Questionnaire-4 revised, Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire Short form-12 modified, and questions about body appearance pressure (BAP). Results: Athletes found the program acceptable and beneficial, but some missed physically oriented activities or did not identify with the focus, particularly boys. There were acceptable levels in mental health constructs before the workshops. There were temporary changes in the percentage of boys experiencing “BAP in society” by −14.8% points (95% CI: −.6 to .0, p = .04), % in total group experiencing “BAP at school” by +11% points (95% CI: .0–.2, p = .05), thinness idealization by girls (g = .6, p = .002) and total group (g = .4, p = .006), and muscularity idealization by boys (g = .3, p = .05) and total group (g = .23, p = .04). Discussion: Athletes experienced benefits from the Young Athlete Body Project. Seeing stabilization in outcomes may mean a dampening of the otherwise expected worsening in body appreciation and ED symptoms over time. Public Significance: Adolescent athletes are at risk for developing EDs. Due to lack of prevention programs for this group, we adapted and evaluated a well-documented effective program, the Body Project, to fit male and female athletes <15 years. The athletes accepted the program and experienced participation benefits, with stronger acceptance among girls. Our promising findings encourage larger scaled randomized controlled trials to further evaluate a refined version this program among very young athletes.publishedVersio

DETECT: DEveloping and testing a model to identify preventive vision loss among older paTients in gEneral praCTice:Protocol for a complex intervention in Denmark

The number of people living with visual impairment is increasing. Visual impairment causes loss in quality of life and reduce self-care abilities. The burden of disease is heavy for people experiencing visual impairment and their relatives. The severity and progression of age-related eye diseases are dependent on the time of detection and treatment options, making timely access to healthcare critical in reducing visual impairment. General practice plays a key role in public health by managing preventive healthcare, diagnostics and treatment of chronic conditions. General practitioners (GPs) coordinate services from other healthcare professionals. More involvement of the primary sector could potentially be valuable in detecting visual impairment. METHODS: We apply the Medical Research Council framework for complex interventions to develop a primary care intervention with the GP as a key actor, aimed at identifying and coordinating care for patients with low vision. The development process will engage patients, relatives and relevant health professional stakeholders. We will pilot test the feasibility of the intervention in a real-world general practice setting. The intervention model will be developed through a participatory approach using qualitative and creative methods such as graphical facilitation. We aim to explore the potentials and limitations of general practice in relation to detection of preventable vision loss. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: Ethics approval is obtained from local authority and the study meets the requirements from the Declaration of Helsinki. Dissemination is undertaken through research papers and to the broader public through podcasts and patient organisations.</p

Merkebygging

Branding serves as a strategic tool for differentiating products and services in a competitive market and helps foster customer loyalty and trust. This anthology explores the ways in which strong brands are created and developed in various contexts – from branding in start-ups to destinations, flagship stores and personal branding. Key themes in the book are: · Developing a strong brand identity · Customer loyalty and how to build lasting relationships · Co-creating value with customers and stakeholders · Agile methods in market strategy development · Innovation in brand-building · The importance of analysis and evaluation in the branding process The book contains both empirical and conceptual studies. The authors have backgrounds in marketing, innovation, sales, service design, tourism and the experience economy. With contributions from 13 authors, Branding: Development, Involvement and Strategies provides insight for academics, students and marketers who want to learn more about developing effective brand strategies

Lokal tilpasning av et måleverktøy for butikk-kvalitet i Tromsø

Målinger av service kvalitet, eller butikk-kvalitet, har vært mye diskutert fordi det ikke er utviklet et globalt måleverktøy som ivaretar de ulike egenskaper og faktorer ved å handel i butikk. Et av de mest kjente og mye omtalte måleverktøy, for målinger av service kvalitet, er SERVQUAL. SERVQUAL har vist seg problematisk å bruke som et globalt måleverktøy, men er den ofte brukt ved utvikling av nye og mer spesifikke måleverktøy. SERVQUAL ble blant annet brukt under utviklingen av et måleverktøy for butikk, the Retail Service Quality Scale (RSQS), som skal være et globalt måleverktøy. RSQS ble derfor utgangspunktet for utvikling av et måleverktøy for målinger av butikk-kvalitet