11319 research outputs found
Sort by
Eliciting information from adults: quality, quantity, and their willingness to disclose to an avatar interviewer
Get PDFAvatars—digital representations of humans—may be a useful tool in a wide range of areas, such as education, advertising, communication, and health. The overarching goal of the present research was to examine the use of avatars in the context of evidential and clinical interviewing, in the hope that this novel technology could facilitate adults’ memory performance and enhance their disclosure of sensitive information. The first specific aim was to examine the effectiveness of an avatar interviewer on adults’ accounts of a witnessed event. In this context, adults were interviewed by either a digital-human avatar or a human face-to-face using both free- and directed-recall questions. Some participants also received post-event misinformation that was presented by either the digital-human avatar or the human interviewer. In addition, I examined the impact of several individual differences, including participants’ level of autism and personality traits, and their perception of the avatar’s operation. Finally, I investigated the effectiveness of avatar interviewers with varying degrees of anthropomorphism on adults’ accounts. The second specific aim was to explore the potential for avatar professionals in the context of the disclosure of sensitive information.
In the present thesis, I investigated the effects of two types of avatar interviewers: a more anthropomorphic, 2D cartoon-rendered digital-human avatar, and a less anthropomorphic, speech-wave avatar. The digital-human avatar resembled the appearance of the human interviewers who were also used in the present research, but the avatar’s movement was restricted to eye blinks and head tilts. The speech-wave avatar interviewer resembled Apple’s Siri. Both types of avatar were voiced and operated by a concealed human interviewer. The digital-human avatar’s lips moved in synchrony with the human’s speech; the speech-wave avatar moved up and down, also in synchrony with the human’s speech. The avatar was displayed on a computer monitor that was placed on a table directly in front of the participant. The interviews involving the human interviewer were conducted face-to-face.
Overall, differences in participants’ memory performance was not detected when they were interviewed only once by either a digital-human avatar or a human interviewer. When participants were interviewed twice, on the other hand, participants who were interviewed by the human interviewer were more talkative and provided more correct details than did participants who were interviewed by the digital-human avatar, but their reports were also less accurate during free recall. Still, the digital-human avatar did not protect the participants from the adverse effects of misleading information. Finally, relative to an interview with the digital-human avatar, participants’ memory performance was enhanced when the speech- wave avatar interviewed them. In addition to these group-level results, participants with low conscientiousness and autism traits, or who perceived the digital-human avatar as computer- operated, were more accurate in their accounts during free recall when a digital-human avatar interviewed them.
With respect to disclosure, overall, participants preferred to disclose information to a human professional face-to-face rather than to avatar professionals. When I compared the digital-human avatar to the speech-wave avatar, participants preferred to disclose more embarrassing information, particularly sex-related topics, and reported more coherent details about an embarrassing personal event to a speech-wave avatar. In terms of the avatar’s characteristics, participants indicated that they would be more comfortable disclosing embarrassing information to an avatar appearing as a female around 45- to 54-years of age.
Collectively, my findings provide initial insight of the potential value and pitfalls of using avatars in evidential and clinical interviewing. In this day and age, humans may have adapted to technology, treating non-human interviewers in much the same way as they treat human interviewers. Still, there is a place for avatars in specific populations, and in the context of disclosing stigmatising experiences. The results of the present research have important implications for designing and using avatars that might aid humans in performing specific tasks in help-seeking settings
Enhancing the validity of teachers' summative judgments through decision frameworks
Get PDFCommentators have argued that achievement measures based on teachers’ judgments lack validity (Ward & Thomas, 2016) and introduce bias (Meissel et al., 2017). This thesis addresses this issue by exploring whether decision frameworks can enhance the validity of teachers’ summative judgments. A decision framework is a systematic process used to support and guide judgments. The thesis focusses on a framework developed in New Zealand called the Progress and Consistency Tool (PaCT). Intended for use with students in Years 1 to 10, the PaCT supports teachers to judge how well their students are achieving in reading, writing, and mathematics.
The thesis presents three studies designed to address different aspects of validity. The first study investigated the quality of the measures produced by a decision framework. It used multilevel modelling to explore the relationship between PaCT scores and scores on standardised tests. Study 2 investigated the practical viability of a decision framework. Using survey data collected from teachers and principals in schools that had committed to use the PaCT, the study compared the reactions of users who had some experience of the PaCT with those who were about to use it for the first time. The final study explored the relationship between the content of a decision framework and the measures the framework produces. The study involved the development of a methodology that could be used to describe each of the Rasch measurement scales that underpin the PaCT.
Study 1 found a strong linear relationship between the scores generated by teachers using the PaCT and scores on standardised tests. This supported a hypothesis that both approaches were measuring the same construct. Although the series of multilevel modelling analyses did not find consistent evidence of systematic bias in teachers’ PaCT judgments, the results did suggest a level of idiosyncrasy in the way that teachers made use of the PaCT.
Study 2 showed that educators who had experience using the PaCT were generally more positive about it than those who had no experience. However, school role mattered. On average, classroom teachers recorded lower Attitude and Practicality scores regarding the PaCT than educators who had school leadership roles.
The findings from Study 3 showed that it was possible to develop a robust methodology, based on the Rasch model, to link descriptions of the rich illustrations that form the content of the PaCT to most-probable locations on the underpinning measurement scales. The approach was applied by subject experts to successfully create a rich description of each of the PaCT scales.
Taken together, the findings from the three studies suggest that decision frameworks can enhance the validity of teachers’ summative judgments. However, concerns around idiosyncrasy and practicality did emerge. It is argued that these issues could be mitigated by incorporating decision frameworks into what Wilson described as a “community of judgment” (2005a). Such a community would promote shared responsibility for developing appropriate understandings of the frameworks, including how they are best deployed in diverse educational settings
What are the barriers to equitable maternal health in Aotearoa New Zealand?
No full textBackground:
Aotearoa New Zealand has a socialised health care system with free at point of delivery maternity care. Care is also uniquely structured, led by autonomous, principally community based, lead maternity care midwives providing continuity of care. Yet, large maternal health inequities exist. Māori and Pacific women are over-represented in maternal mortality and morbidity statistics and patient experience is rated poorly by these groups.
Aim:
To investigate the barriers to maternal health equity in New Zealand.
Methods:
A four-phase research programme, using integrative methodology, began with an integrated review examining the setting for maternal health inequity in New Zealand. Next, the last maternal satisfaction survey (from 2014) was interrogated using structural equation modelling to investigate the influence of different aspects of access on maternal satisfaction. The third and most extensive phase used logistic regression modelling to examine relationships between social determinants of health and severe adverse maternal and perinatal outcomes, using data from the Statistics New Zealand Integrated Data Infrastructure linked administrative datasets from 2003 to 2018. Finally, through a Foucauldian lens, I critically analysed the embedded systems and processes that may enable health inequities to persist and inhibit progress in ameliorating them.
Results:
The review found that New Zealand maternal health inequity is situated in a complex context, comprising the unique maternity system and its acceptability, sparse geographic population distribution, neoliberal politics, cultural factors and a colonial history.
Structural equation modelling found some groups – especially young women, those in remote rural and/or high socioeconomic deprivation areas – were less satisfied with specific equity and access aspects often associated with poor maternal and perinatal outcomes.
In a dataset of over 950,000 births, marked inequities in maternal and perinatal outcomes were found. Once adjusted for demographic variables (socioeconomic deprivation, education, parity, age, rural/urban residence and ethnicity) Māori and Asian women had an adjusted odds ratio of 1.21 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.18-1.23) and 1.39 (95% CI 1.36-1.43) for poor outcome respectively compared to New Zealand European/European women. Variables indicating lack of engagement with the healthcare system had the highest adjusted odds ratios of adverse maternal and perinatal outcomes. Over 20% of the birthing population in some geographic areas suffered a severe adverse outcome over this 16-year period.
Critical analysis demonstrated that women experiencing the poorest outcomes are also often considered ‘outside the norm’. In Foucauldian terms this allows labelling of some groups as aberrant and enables society to tolerate inequities for those considered ‘other’.
Conclusion:
This research, using large linked administrative datasets and novel methods (e.g., imputation using predictive mean matching), found maternal health inequity in Aotearoa New Zealand was strongly associated with social determinants, consistent with international evidence. These maternal health inequities continue as affected women are from groups that are marginalised by society. The critical analysis provided insight into systemic changes that are required to eliminate these inequities. At a policy level, urgent attention is needed to change systems to make accessing care safe and acceptable, in both primary and secondary services. And, as a society we must refuse to accept maternal health inequities as inevitable
Habitat selection by feral cats (Felis catus) and three rat species (Rattus spp.) on Stewart Island (Rakiura) and their impacts on native birds
No full textPopulations of many native bird species on Stewart Island are in decline, despite the absence of mustelids, which are known bird predators on the mainland of New Zealand. Other bird predators, principally ship rats, possums, and feral cats, are therefore likely to be responsible for the extinction and reduction in numbers of native bird populations on Stewart Island. Feral cats, as efficient predators of ground nesting birds, are thought to be the principal reason for the steep decline in numbers of the endangered southern New Zealand dotterel, that nest in alpine heath on the mountain tops of Stewart Island.
Feral cats are being controlled to reduce predation and thus increase the numbers of dotterels. To improve the current control of cats, the habitat selection of feral cats on Stewart Island was investigated. Cats are known to select habitat depending on where their prey is located, so trapping of three rat species, which are cats' principal prey, was carried out in four forest types to examine rats' habitat selection and seasonal changes in relative abundance. Ship rats were found in all forest types, and were numerically dominant in two. Norway rats dominated in subalpine shrubland and Pacific rats dominated in Leptospermum scoparium shrubland. Overall, rat numbers
fluctuated seasonally, with a low in relative abundance occurring over the late summer and early autumn.
When rat abundance was reduced cats were more likely to leave established home ranges or die, probably through starvation. As rats became less abundant cats did not apparently 'prey-switch' to birds, as secondary prey, but cats did eat proportionally more birds by weight as rat abundance declined. Rats formed 81 % of cats' diet by weight and seasonal depressions in rat abundance every year were limiting cat numbers.
Cats were radio-collared and radio-tracked to investigate home range sizes and habitat selection. The home ranges of cats on Stewart Island, measured using the minimum convex polygon method, were the largest recorded for females and the second largest recorded for males. The large home range sizes were probably due to the seasonal depressions in primary prey abundance. Habitat selection by cats was measured using the kernel method. Cats used podocarp-broadleaf forest more than was expected by availability, and used subalpine shrubland significantly less than podocarp-broadleaf forest. Selection of the forest types by cats was influenced by the need for shelter from wet weather. Similarly, it appears that dotterel recruitment is adversely affected in dotterel breeding seasons with very wet weather, despite the apparent success of the current cat control programme in reducing predation of adult dotterels.
Habitat selection of the New Zealand robin was thought to be influenced by known nest predators, such as ship rats and possums, on Stewart Island, and was investigated using trapping records and artificial nest predation experiments in three forest types. Ship rats and possums were trapped significantly less in Leptospermum shrubland than in podocarp-broadleaf forest, and more artificial nests were successful in Leptospennum shrubland than the other forest types in spring, and more successful than artificial nests in podocarp-broadleaf forest in summer. These results support the theory that robins are restricted to Leptospermum shrubland by the habitat preferences of nest predators.
As a result of the conclusions from this thesis it is suggested that control of cats continue in the subalpine shrubland, until large-scale control of cats is possible. Any large-scale control would need to be done in concert with rat control due to the probable problems of mesa-predator release, of rats, for nesting birds. Large-scale cat control would also be more effective if it was carried out in lowland forest, and in the summer, when cats' prey abundance is low. Monitoring of dotterel recruitment, in relation to seasonal weather means, requires more investigation, as does the population dynamics of rats and cats during podocarp mast-seed years, the status of ground-nesting birds on Stewart Island, and the reasons for the observed distribution of robins
Subjective well-being buffers the effects of social exclusion and expression of in-group favouritism in real groups
Get PDFHuman beings are social animals. People need to connect with one another in order to thrive and survive. Yet people are socially excluded by others on a daily basis. A growing body of research reveals that such outcomes can (a) thwart the basic psychological needs of self-esteem, meaning, control and belonging and (b) promote negative outcomes such as prejudice, hostility and in-group favouritism. In spite of such findings, it is also true that not everyone, who experiences exclusion or ostracism, will become depressed or respond negatively to others via hostility and prejudice. As it stands we know little about the factors that determine reactions to ostracism. The primary aim of this thesis was to redress this issue by assessing the extent to which subjective well-being might serve as buffer in reducing the negative effects of ostracism on psychological needs and in-group favouritism. To this end four experiments were conducted.
Study 1, sought to examine the link between well-being and in-group favouritism amongst men and women. The results showed that, (a) low baseline levels of subjective well-being were associated with greater patterns of in-group favouritism and (b) greater patterns of in-group favouritism led to increased levels of well-being.
Study 2, sought to examine the link between well-being and in-group favouritism, following threat manipulated through progressive ostracism amongst minimal groups. The findings revealed that participants tended to show in-group favouritism regardless of psychological threat, and that people with high well-being showed more in-group favouritism.
Study 3 compared the differences in psychological threat as a function of progressive ostracism as opposed to constant ostracism. The data suggest that the latter was more psychologically threatening. Although there were no differences in perceived exclusion between the two methods of ostracism, participants subjected to constant ostracism reported lower levels of control and meaningful existence.
Study 4 used constant ostracism to subsequently test the extent to which subjective well-being, in the context of exposure to pleasant media, buffered the expression of in-group favouritism and threats to psychological needs. The findings indicate that (a) the in-group was evaluated less favourably than the out-group, and the more excluded participants felt, the lower they rated the in-group and (b) exposure to pleasant media content, prior to ostracism feedback served to buffer psychological needs. Ostracised participants with higher (as opposed to lower) well-being, reported higher levels of control and meaningful existence when exposed to pleasant media content
Predator-Prey Interactions Between Paranephrops zealandicus and Odonata Species in Semi-natural Aquaculture Environments
Get PDFInteractions between predator and prey contribute towards shaping food webs and can be responsible for the composition of species in an ecosystem. In semi-natural aquaculture ponds, interactions between predators and competitors can be unfavorable for farmed species as they might reduce biomass in ponds and therefore economic growth. Juvenile farmed species are significantly more vulnerable in pond aquaculture as size is usually the factor that dictates trophic levels in aquatic habitats. Odonata are a family of pond invertebrates that are considered opportunistic predators and are known to feed on the prey of many juvenile vertebrate and invertebrate ponds species. Their ability to successfully capture prey makes them top invertebrate predators and how they interact with farmed species, specifically juveniles in aquaculture pond systems has been speculated. In New Zealand (NZ), semi- natural aquaculture ponds are used to cultivate the freshwater water crayfish species Paranephrops zealandicus yet how this species interacts with other pond invertebrates, particularly odonate larvae has not been studied. It was therefore the aim of this thesis to further investigate the predator-prey interactions between NZ odonate larvae and the farmed species P. zealandicus in semi-natural aquaculture ponds. This thesis examines predator-prey interactions based on species spatial patterns and habitat use in ponds, as well as stomach content and stable isotope analysis on study species.
Results indicate odonate larvae have no significant effect on the abundance of P. zealandicus in ponds. Vegetation and the densities of P. zealandicus in ponds are more likely to have a greater impact on odonate larvae and juvenile P. zealandicus abundance. Desirable habitat was occupied by larger P. zealandicus which forced juvenile P. zealandicus to seek refuge in areas of the pond that were not attractive for larger territorial individuals. Based on stomach content analysis, odonate larvae were found to primarily feed on small sedentary pond invertebrates such as Chironomidae P. zealandicus tissue was exceptionally low in odonate larvae stomachs. Stable isotope analysis further showed all odonate larvae had lower trophic levels to juvenile P. zealandicus indicating odonate larvae are unlikely to be major predators of juveniles. P. zealandicus diets reflected their omnivorous nature feeding on both plant detritus and invertebrate tissue, however P. zealandicus were highly cannibalistic with adults found to have high volumes of P. zealandicus tissue in their stomachs. Stable isotope analysis showed between P. zealandicus and juvenile crayfish there was no significant difference in trophic levels. Year 1 crayfish represented much of the P. zealandicus sample used for stable isotope analysis and adults were poorly represented in the sample which could be the reason for this result. Therefore Year 1 P. zealandicus are unlikely to be feeding on juveniles, however more research needs to be carried out looking at the trophic interactions between adult P. zealandicus and year of young.
Ultimately, odonate larvae are not likely to be major predators of juvenile P. zealandicus, and cannibalism is more likely to be the main factor for low juvenile success in ponds. Future research investigating other pond invertebrates and ways to mitigate cannibalism in ponds is speculate
The Ultraviolet Radiation Environment and Use of Observable Sun Protection at Secondary School Rowing Regattas
Get PDFBackground
Skin cancer is the most common cancer in New Zealand/Aotearoa and the incidence of melanoma, the most serious form of skin cancer, is amongst the highest in the world. Overexposure to ultraviolet radiation (UVR) causes over 90% of all skin cancers. It is also implicated in eye health issues, such as cataract and pterygium. Teenagers have been identified as an at-risk group for sun exposure because they experience higher levels of sunburn and have lower uptake of sun protection measures compared with other age groups. Secondary school sports participation has many associated benefits, but some outdoor summer sport settings have a high UVR exposure profile. There is little evidence that sun protection policies and guidelines are currently embedded at secondary school level or are adopted by summer sports organisations. Sun protection usually remains the responsibility of the competitor. This thesis relates to the secondary school sport of competitive rowing. It considers both the UVR environment within which secondary school rowers compete and the current use of visible sun protection by participants during competition.
Methods
The empirical contribution in this thesis is organised into two parts. The first measures personal UVR exposure using dosimeters positioned on the shoulder of rowers at six regattas held during the 2018-19 and 2019-20 Austral summer seasons. Second, a database of photographs of rowing crews at the race start line afforded comprehensive insights into the use of visible sun protective headwear, sunglasses and clothing by competitors.
Results
Dosimeter measurements included standard erythemal dose (where 1 SED equals 100 joules per m2), SED per hour and percentage ambient UVR. Over two-thirds (67.2%) of individual race-times, which is defined as the total time on the water in order to compete in a rowing race recorded a SED in excess of the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency recommendation of 1 SED per day. In addition, 24.1% of race-times equalled or exceeded 1.5 SED, which is the UVR dose estimated to cause just perceivable sunburn in individuals with light coloured skin. The median SED per hour for the five rowing regattas held at Lake Ruataniwha ranged from 0.97-2.37 SED per hour and the median percentage ambient ranged from 17–35%.
The photographic analysis indicated an established culture of cap wearing amongst rowers. In addition, approximately one-third of competitors wore sunglasses. However, one-fifth of competitors wore no headwear or eye protection and younger age groups were observed using the least visible sun protection. Females demonstrated a propensity to wear visors that offer even less sun protection than caps during competition. The use of protective clothing under the rowing zootie was almost non-existent. However, coxswains were well protected with headwear, sunglasses and clothing.
Conclusions
Applying these findings to the Ottawa Charter conceptual framework for health promotion highlights the need for a multifaceted approach if improvements in the use of sun protection by secondary school rowing students is to be achieved. The documented UVR exposure and concurrent information about visible sun protection use provides the opportunity for targeted sun protection strategies to be implemented in the sport of rowing. Targeting the most junior rowers with interventions to improve use of headwear and sunglasses would be a suitable starting point, but leadership from the national rowing body will be required to lift the 20% of rowers who currently do not use any form of headwear or sunglasses to routine adoption of sun protection for racing. Implementing best practice guidelines, including phasing out the use of visors and encouraging the use of sleeved tops to the start line, will improve not only the short- term health of secondary student rowers but should also reduce the long-term risks from overexposure to UVR. The recommendations arising from this research do not extend to the use of sunscreen. Best practice guidelines would, however, need to cover all five sun protection measures which, in addition to the ones studied here, include sunscreen use when competing and use of shade between races. Rowing is a unique and rewarding sport and secondary students should be able to receive the benefits associated with participation without the harms associated with overexposure to the Sun.
Like most summer outdoor sports in Aotearoa, Rowing New Zealand does not currently have a sun protection policy. The development of such a policy that aims to establish habitual sun protection practices on the part of all participants appears to be a necessary response to the personal UVR exposure doses reported in this thesis. Only then will the long-term wellbeing of all secondary school student rowers in relation to overexposure to UVR be realised
Fair allocation for transmission parameters to achieve scalability in LoRaWAN
Get PDFLoRa and LoRaWAN are promising solutions for the upcoming challenges that the Internet of Things (IoT) presents. But even with the recent developments in LoRaWAN, there are still problems to overcome due to the scale of applications required for IoTs. LoRa and LoRaWAN provide many of the desired characteristics for IoT such as long-range transmissions, low power use, and low device cost, but also have an issue with node capacity. Scaling LoRaWAN networks for the capacity that the IoTs desires is the current challenge, so therefore, I aim to improve current solutions to meet this challenge. Since LoRaWAN is a new technology, research in the area is in early development, with some contributions existing but no complete solution that can be applied to a diverse range of LoRaWAN applications.
My research extended upon previous research focused on the fairness of collision probabilities across nodes in a network, and thus, I created a solution that improved the scalability of LoRaWAN. Overall, I contributed a parameter allocation algorithm, a transmission power assignment scheme, and a path loss rule for node placement for LoRaWAN networks that, in simulation, achieved better performance than current solutions. This was possible due to lack of consideration regarding the importance of LoRa spreading factor parameters by current solutions and the realistic implications of path loss. By factoring for these two aspects, a more adaptable solution can be created. This solution can effectively maximise LoRaWAN's most important capability and also consider the physical limitations of the real-world like path loss. The proposed solution, Fair Allocation for Transmission Parameters (FATP) for LoRaWAN, adapts the idea of fair device performance in a network to the realistic limitations a real-world application would introduce, such as node distribution and path loss. Firstly, the parameter allocation algorithm is responsible for understanding the path loss of every device and the ideal method of leveraging the spreading factor parameter to achieve a fair network. A fair network, in this instance, is one where every device has the same probability for collision when transmitting. This algorithm then adapts the ideal method of assigning the spreading factor parameter to devices based on their path loss so that the network remains as near to optimal as possible, while respecting the limitations of the real world. Secondly, the transmission power scheme is responsible for minimising the power usage of devices by controlling how much power is used to transmit with. This power scheme functions by minimising every device's transmission power to the minimum amount that will still guarantee a viable transmission. Finally, the path loss rule is a guideline to follow when placing devices in a network. This guideline describes the minimum path loss a device should be allowed to have before it becomes impossible to mitigate its interference with other devices.
In the simulation, FATP achieved better performance in terms of data extraction rate (DER) and reducing the variance of performance across nodes in a network for a range of node distributions when compared with current solutions. FATP provided up to a 9% improvement for network DER with an average of a 4% network DER improvement when compared to the nearest best performing current solution, an RSSI-based solution. Most notably, FATP, on average, reduced the variance of individual node performance by a factor of approximately 59. FATP achieved this while consuming approximately the same amount of energy as the RSSI-based solution. Overall, FATP achieved its goals of improving network DER to increase scalability while also ensuring that nodes operate more fairly with more consistent DER performance
Food and vulnerability in Aotearoa/New Zealand: A review and theoretical reframing of food insecurity, income and neoliberalism
Get PDFThe incidence of food insecurity in rich countries has remained stubbornly consistent in recent decades, even as rates of undernourishment in poorer countries have dived since 1990 (United Nations, 2015). This article addresses this apparent contradiction through a theoretical reframing of food insecurity in rich liberal democracies, built on a review of key literature and data. We draw a broad distinction between critical social science approaches to engaging with food insecurity and more empirical, policy-oriented approaches. These produce research that emphasises, respectively, the determinate role of economic class and neoliberalism in generating food insecurity, and the wide array of other factors associated with suffering food insecurity. We argue that both offer useful but analytically confined accounts of food insecurity and its drivers in rich liberal democracies. We proceed, seeking to broaden rather than abandon the strengths of these two accounts, with a review of data on incomes and the incidence of food insecurity in the Aotearoa/New Zealand case. Our review reveals patterns of socio-political deprivation beyond class with parallels across both data sets, significantly along lines of gender and ethnicity. This both offers texturing specifics to a 'monolithic' generic view of neoliberalism and contextualises demographic trends of food insecurity within the neoliberalised "contours of contemporary political-economic power" (Peck and Tickell, 2002, pp.381-382). We subsequently argue for the utility of vulnerability as a concept to capture socio-political dynamics and engage with food insecurity in rich liberal democracies. The framing work done by the concept of vulnerability offers the opportunity to: (1) align the strengths of research approaches emphasising theoretically derived context and empirically founded complexity; (2) account for the consistencies and complexities observed in the relationship between the political-economic landscape of rich liberal democracies following the neoliberal turn and the incidence of food insecurity; and (3) reconsider the relationship between political-economic and socio-political contexts of rich liberal democracies that consistently produce food insecurity and groups of people who live and consistently suffer food insecurity in these countries, for example as "structural violence" (Shepherd, 2012, p.206)
Factors affecting young Chinese tourists' use of Airbnb and the impact of personal values: A motivation-based segmentation study.
Get PDFThe rise of the peer-to-peer accommodation service such as Airbnb has represented a transformational innovation in the tourism and accommodation industry. Guttentag and fellow researchers (2017) stated that limited research had examined Airbnb, and motivation-based segmentation research based on accommodation choice is much more limited. As a replication study, the purpose of the current research was to investigate why tourists choose to stay with Airbnb based on the 17 motivators proposed in Guttentag et al.’ study, but more specifically among young tourists in the Chinese context. In addition, this study investigated young Airbnb users' level of the importance of personal value items proposed by Schwartz (Schwartz, 1992), in order to study whether there are correlations between the choice of Airbnb and personal value profiles. Three research questions were developed according to the research purposes: (1) What motivations attract young Chinese travellers to choose Airbnb? (2) What are the segments of young Chinese travellers regarding the motivations of using Airbnb? (3) What are the value profiles of young Chinese Airbnb users?
This study adopted a similar quantitative research method to the previous study of Guttentag et al. An online survey method was adopted concerning the research nature and the difficulties of data collection during the COVID-19 quarantine period. The questionnaire was designed by two online survey service websites: Qualtrics and Wenjuanxing. The survey link was posted on various social media platforms, which resulted in 296 responses. The results indicate fourteen out of seventeen motivators from Guttentag et al.'s study affecting the use of young Chinese tourists which were grouped into four factors - Sharing economy ethos and local authenticity, home benefits, novelty and function & interaction. The respondents were grouped into four segments – Easy-going consumers, Non-collaborative consumers, Egocentric consumers and Captious consumers – based on the levels of agreement with motivations. Additionally, two personal value factors affected young Chinese tourists' use of Airbnb – contradiction and adaptation. Numerous practical and theoretical implications were discussed. Areas for current limitations and recommendations for future research were also described