Effects of Perceptions of Climate Change and Flood Risk on Coping Behavior: A Case Study of Taipei, Taiwan

Globalization and population growth have put great pressure on the environment over the last few decades, and climate change has increased associated negative effects. Researchers examine the interactions between human and the environment. Among them, the relationship between place attachment and pro-environmental behavior has attracted particular research attention. However, few studies have addressed the relationships among flood risk perceptions, place attachment, and climate change coping behavior in a densely populated urban area. This study examines the effects of perceptions of climate change and flood risk on coping behavioral intention, and determines whether place attachment plays a mediating or moderating role therein in Taipei, the flood-prone capital city of Taiwan. A total of 1208 questionnaires were collected. An analysis of the mediation effects based on a three-level regression model (Phase I) suggested that place attachment is not a mediator. Adjustment of the model and analysis of moderation effects using structural equation modeling (Phase II) suggested no moderation effect. In Phase III, the mediation effect was reexamined, with the replacement of dependent variables (adaptation/mitigation) with high-effort/low-effort coping behaviors, and one dimension of place attachment was replaced with four dimensions thereof (place dependence and place identity, place satisfaction, place affect, place social bonding). The results thus obtained reveal that the paths of place satisfaction exhibit significant mediating effects between attitudes and high-effort coping behavior. Some paths exhibit significant mediating effects between perceptions and low-effort coping behavior through place satisfaction. Another four paths exhibit partial significant mediating effects through place dependence and place identity and place social bonding. These results suggest that affective attachment of people to local places results in a behavioral tendency to protect or improve those places. The main contribution of this study is its support of meta-analyses of the effects of each dimension of place attachment to provide a better understanding of the effects of place attachment on flood risk perception and coping behavior.

Place attachment and affinity: turning the Mainland Chinese students into “Word-of-Mouth Champions”

PurposeMainland Chinese students are the largest group of international students globally. The role of international students in destination marketing can be seen as “Word-of-Mouth Champions”. This study attempts to examine the effect of place attachment and affinity for Mainland Chinese students on generating word-of-mouth intention towards their place of study.Design/methodology/approachSix well-trained research assistants collected paper-based questionnaires in six institutions in Macao. They chose every tenth student who passed by to fill in the questionnaire at six locations in each institution. This study employed partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) to estimate the strength of causal relationship among place identity, place dependence, affinity and intention to word-of-mouth.FindingsThe results of the survey from 327 students in Macao indicate that place dependence, place identity and affinity drive Mainland Chinese students to provide word-of-mouth regarding Macao. Place dependence has a positive influence on place identity, and place identity has a positive influence on affinity with residents. However, place dependence has no significant direct effect on affinity.Practical implicationsEvidence from this study indicates the importance of students' word-of-mouth as they as sojourners, in particular, the students' place attachment and affinity for residents is critical to positive their Word-of-mouth on destinations. This research offers insights about the potential group which need require attention.Originality/valueThis study fills a research gap by exploring the relationship between place attachment and social distance in influencing Mainland Chinese students' behaviour, a relationship that has rarely been investigated in tourism research. Practical recommendations are provided to the governments, universities and education enterprises according to the results of the study. From both theoretical and practical perspectives, the findings from this study suggest promoting international students to turn into real “Word-of-Mouth Champions”.

The Effect of Place Attachment on Overseas Students’ Tourism Ambassador Behavior: A Mediation Role of Life Satisfactionrdrd

Life satisfaction is a research hotspot in positive psychology in recent years. This study uses overseas students as subjects and attempts to examine the effect of place attachment and student life satisfaction on Mainland Chinese students’ word-of-mouth (WOM) recommendations and their Ambassador Behavioral (AB) intention. A survey was systematically conducted in six institutions in Macao. The results of 312 valid data indicate that place dependence has a positive influence on place identity; place identity and place dependence have a positive influence on student life satisfaction; student life satisfaction mediates the influence of the two dimensions of place attachment on WOM and AB intention. Recommendations are provided to improve overseas students’ life satisfaction in the study places. It helps to improve their sense of ownership and actively participate in the construction of the study places.

EXPLORING THE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN SATISFACTION, PLACE ATTACHMENT AND LOYALTY IN NIGERIAN ZOOS

Surveys exploring satisfaction, place attachment and loyalty in a zoo context are scarce despite the prevalence of such studies vis a vis other tourism destinations, and their valued importance in understanding travel behaviour and contributions to destinations’ success. This study explores the relationships between visitors’ satisfaction, place attachment (place identity, place dependence, place affect and place social bonding) and loyalty in one of Nigeria’s prominent zoos. This study adoped a qunatitative research approach, with data obtained from a sample of 395 visitors through a structured questionnaire. Using structural equation modeling, we found that the most important causal factor of loyalty is satisfaction, either directly or indirectly through some dimensions of place attachment. In addition, it was revealed that place social bonding can act as either a predictor or an outcome of visitors’ satisfaction. Satisfaction was found to be a significant and positive mediator between place attachment (place identity and place social bonding) while place attachment was found not to mediate the relationship between satisfaction and loyalty. The findings were discussed and practical applications were drawn, particularly aimed at optimizing and providing satisfying experiences which enhances place attachment as well as loyalty.

Place attachment and brand loyalty: the moderating role of customer experience in the restaurant setting

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to ascertain the effects of place attachment on brand loyalty. This study further ascertains whether the effects of emotion-based attachment on brand loyalty are stronger for customers who have a positive experience with a restaurant brand. Additionally, the authors investigate whether emotion-based attachment mediates the relationships between identity-based attachments, place dependence and brand loyalty in the restaurant setting.Design/methodology/approachThe authors administered the questionnaire to customers (diners) of restaurants in Ghana, and they were completed via a paper and pencil/pen approach. The authors tested their hypotheses using structural equation modeling.FindingsThe findings show that identity-based and emotion-based attachment enhances brand loyalty within a restaurant setting. The results also show that place dependence attachment promotes emotional bonding with restaurant brands. The study's findings also show that place dependence attachment does not have a direct and positive significant effect on brand loyalty except when an emotional response is produced.Originality/valuePlace attachment studies in a restaurant setting are rare. This study thus contributes to the place attachment literature in restaurants setting.

Land Use Change and Farmers’ Sense of Place in Typical Catchment of the Loess Hilly and Gully Region of China

Clarifying the relationship between land use and farmers’ sense of place on a micro scale is significant for enriching the perspective of research on human–environment relationships. Therefore, this paper analyzed land use change and the sense of place of farmers and further explored the interaction between them in the Yangjuangou catchment of Liqu Town in Baota District, Shaanxi Province from 1984 to 2020. The results indicated that: (1) the change in croplands was the most significant, i.e., its share in the total area decreased by 40%, and the decrease in sloping fields was the highest. The average relative altitude of croplands has decreased. The change in ecological land was also more significant, showing an increasing trend. Overall, the exploitation of land resources has declined; (2) the intensity of the sense of place of local farmers fluctuated downwards. The intensity of place attachment and place dependence decreased, and the intensity of the place identity increased; and (3) the decline in the intensity of the place attachment and place dependence promoted the reduction of sloping fields, the growth of ecological land and abandoned fields. By comparison, the increase in ecological land and check dam land promoted an increase in the intensity of place identity for local farmers. This paper suggested that rural areas in the Loess Hilly and Gully Region should strengthen innovation in land use patterns and focus on sustainability of farmers’ livelihoods, in order to promote the harmonious development of human-environmental relations.

Glial place cells: complementary encoding of spatial information in hippocampal astrocytes

Calcium dynamics into astrocytes influence the activity of nearby neuronal structures. However, because previous reports show that astrocytic calcium signals largely mirror neighboring neuronal activity, current information coding models neglect astrocytes. Using simultaneous two-photon calcium imaging of astrocytes and neurons in the hippocampus of mice navigating a virtual environment, we demonstrate that astrocytic calcium signals actively encode spatial information. Calcium events carrying spatial information occurred in topographically organized astrocytic subregions. Importantly, astrocytes encoded spatial information that was complementary and synergistic to that carried by neurons, improving spatial position decoding when astrocytic signals were considered alongside neuronal ones. These results suggest that the complementary place-dependence of localized astrocytic calcium signals regulates clusters of nearby synapses, enabling dynamic, context-dependent, variations in population coding within brain circuits.

Environmentally Responsible Behavior of Tourists in Cognitive, Affect and Attitude Aspects: an Integrated Approach to Sustainable Tourism Destination

In this research environmental responsible behaviors of tourists visiting sustainable tourism destinations are examined. The process of "cognition-affection-attitude-behavior" is examined in the study. Cognition refers to environmental knowledge, affection refers to environmental sensitivity, attitude refers to place attachment and behavior refers to Environmentally Responsible Behavior (ERB). 233 tourists visiting Trabzon's Uzungöl destination were included in the research. Structural equality model is used in the Smart PLS program to explore the relationship between variables. The results point that sustainable development knowledge has no effect on environmental sensitivity, but environmental protection knowledge positively affects environmental sensitivity. In addition, it has been determined that environmental sensitivity positively affects place identity and place dependence. Finally, place dependence positively affects general ERB and specific ERB. However, while place identity positively affects the general ERB, it does not have a significant effect on the specific ERB. The results of the research reveal the importance of activities that increase the level of environmental knowledge for sustainable tourism destinations. In addition, in-service training for tour guides and tourism managers is expected to be beneficial. Key words: Environmentally Responsible Behavior; Environmental Knowledge; Environmental Sensitivity; Place Attachment; Sustainable Tourism.

Place Attachment and Environmentally Responsible Behavior: The Mediating Role of Destination Psychological Ownership

This study aimed to explore the relationship between place attachment and environmentally responsible behavior, and to verify the mediating role of destination psychological ownership in the above relationship. We surveyed scuba divers in Taiwan as the research subjects and obtained 361 valid questionnaires. After conducting a literature review and examining related theories, we proposed a theoretical model and used the structural equation model for analysis. The results showed that the overall model fitted well, place dependence directly affected place identity, and place dependence and place identity both positively and directly influenced environmentally responsible behavior. Furthermore, the testing showed that destination psychological ownership could play a mediating role on the relationship between place attachment and environmentally responsible behavior.