PSYCHOGEOGRAPHICAL EXPERIENCE BETWEEN THE SELF AND THE PLACE

Background and Purpose: The absence of psychogeographical awareness is a critical factor contributing to the lackadaisical attitudes towards the place and its environment. As a result, it enables an individual to fully experience a location, both physically and intellectually, while also gaining a feeling of self-discovery and self-realisation. Methodology: The purpose of this study was to examine the responses of a group of individuals who participated in a field observation. 40 participants from a Malaysian university's foundation level were brought to Malacca to experience the environment's geographical scenery at their own leisure. The survey data was then manually transcribed and analysed in accordance with the study's aim. Findings: Interactions with individuals and observation of features in the countryside and urban surroundings enabled participants to go on a psychogeographical journey that influenced their way of thinking and behaving. All participants felt that the journey had influenced their experiences and perspectives on their thinking and behaviour, highlighting the critical role of this notion in establishing the connection between place and self. Contributions: The findings of this study provide a solid foundation for future research in the field of psychogeography. The data may be used as a baseline for future studies to determine whether a comparable impact exists in other locations, with or without significant features like those found in Malacca. Keywords: Psychogeography, place attachment, place meaning, self-discovery, Malacca. Cite as: Khaidzir, M. F. S., Hashim, R. S., & Md. Yusof, N. (2022). Psychogeographical experience between the self and the place. Journal of Nusantara Studies, 7(1), 243-263. http://dx.doi.org/10.24200/jonus.vol7iss1pp243-263

Does entrepreneur perception of the city’s decline matter to place attachment?

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the association between local entrepreneurs’ perception of the city’s decline and their place attachment (measured in terms of commitment to the declining city and sense of how the declining city compares to other cities). Design/methodology/approach The authors surveyed entrepreneurs in a relatively small sample (N = 105) from a declining city of about 78,000 residents in the USA. Findings The authors found significant inverse correlations and found that, after controlling for length of residency, the entrepreneur’s perception of the city’s decline predicted lower place attachment. The authors also tested a moderation hypothesis and observed that, whereas professional-service entrepreneurs with both stronger and weaker perceptions of the city’s decline showed similar place attachment, non-professional entrepreneurs showed significantly more variation, displaying both the highest place attachment when weak in perceptions of the city’s decline and the lowest place attachment when strong in perceptions of the city’s decline. Research limitations/implications The authors discuss implications for place attachment, place image and place branding research, as well as for the study of place context’s effects on entrepreneurship. Practical implications Results hold implications for place branding’s participative development and for reasons to expect some difficulty in place branding when the context is a declining city. Originality/value Relative to prior research in place management, the research features a neglected segment of the city’s population, business owners, to study place attachment. Relative to prior entrepreneurship research, the authors advance the study of context’s effects on entrepreneurship by extending it to the place context of declining cities, which are not usually featured in entrepreneurship studies.

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-Oriented or People-Oriented Concepts for Destination Loyalty: Destination Image and Place Attachment versus Perceived Distances and Emotional Solidarity

Many studies have modeled several different concepts to explain destination loyalty; however, none have integrated place-oriented (e.g., destination image, place attachment) and people-oriented concepts (e.g., cultural distance, social distance, and emotional solidarity) for their relative influences on loyalty. The current study tested the influence of destination image (place-oriented) and perceived distances (people-oriented) as antecedents of place attachment (place-oriented) and emotional solidarity (people-oriented) for their relative influences on destination loyalty. Survey data collected from both domestic ( n=260) and international ( n=250) visitors to a city in Turkey, Antalya, revealed that place-oriented concepts (cognitive and affective destination images and place attachment) are better predictors of destination loyalty than people-oriented concepts (cultural distance, social distance, and emotional solidarity). Together, they explain about half of the variance in destination loyalty, 42% in past loyalty and 60% in future loyalty.

ANTECEDENT AND OUTCOME OF PLACE ATTACHMENT IN HERITAGE SITES

This study focuses on attachment theory as the foundation theory in examining the antecedent and outcome of place attachment among local tourists of heritage sites. Data was collected from local tourists who visited heritage sites in Melaka and George Town by using judgemental sampling through questionnaire. A total of 396 respondents completed the questionnaire. Structural equation model was used to analyze data and test the hypothesis. This study reveals new findings whereby cultural motivation positively influences each of the four dimensions of place attachment. However, only place dependence and affective attachments were found positively influencing intention to recommend. Destination managers are encouraged to enhance tourists’ attachment (place dependence and affective attachment) by providing knowledge and information, especially to culturally motivated tourists. Recommendations for future studies are also discussed to overcome the limitations of this study.

Modal analysis of an underwing search-light fairing

Many applications of aircraft require using dedicated elements of equipment attached to the fuselage or wings. These elements change aerodynamic properties of the aircraft. They modify spatial mass distribution and local stiffness in the attachment place. Structural dynamics of the modified airframe is usually investigated with use of the numerical analysis techniques. Verification of results of such the analysis is carried out experimentally. The basic method of testing is the experimental modal analysis. In the paper, there is presented an exemplary application of the experimental modal analysis to testing of a modified airplane structure with a search-light covered by its fairing attached under a wing. The described experiments consisted of the ground as well as the in-flight tests. The paper reports description and results of the experiments.