Social Sciences

Abstract: Trunk rotator training is important for performance, stability, and injury prevention, but the intensity of anti-rotation exercises is difficult to quantify precisely. Break-tests may provide a practical method to assess maximal anti-rotation strength and its dependence on body posture. This study determined the intra- and inter-session reliability of a break-test for quantifying maximal anti-rotation trunk strength during a cable woodchop exercise, and examined differences and relationships across common postural configurations. Twenty-two physically active men completed two testing sessions separated by one week. Maximal isometric break force was assessed in seated, kneeling, half-kneeling, staggered-stance, and parallel-stance positions. Force was progressively applied by an evaluator within a standardized time window until posture was lost. Reliability was evaluated using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) and typical error (TE), while between-position differences and relationships were analyzed using repeated-measures ANOVA and Pearson’s correlations. The break-test demonstrated excellent intra-session reliability (ICC = 0.90–0.97; TE = 0.4–1.0 kg) and robust inter-session reliability (ICC = 0.78–0.90; TE = 0.8–1.4 kg). Maximal anti-rotation strength was posture-dependent (p < 0.001): half-kneeling produced the highest forces, whereas seated and staggered-stance positions constrained performance. Correlations between positions were moderate to high (r = 0.59–0.84), suggesting shared and position-specific strength characteristics. These findings support the break-test as a reliable and practical method for quantifying maximal anti-rotation trunk strength, helping standardize assessment and guide position-specific load prescription.

Abstract: Heritage tourism plays a central role in Spain’s cultural and territorial development, yet its spatial distribution and intensity remain unevenly understood. This study examines heritage tourism in Spain as a territorially differentiated phenomenon by analyzing provincial differences in tourism intensity, heritage tourism density, and cultural heritage concentration. Using official experimental statistics from the National Institute of Statistics of Spain, the study integrates mobile-phone geolocation data from 181,670,728 devices across 3,214 destinations, tourism expenditure information, and a Heritage Concentration Index constructed for architectural cultural heritage. Four one-way ANOVA models were applied to assess whether significant differences exist among Spain’s 52 provinces in the Internal Tourism Intensity Index, External Tourism Intensity Index, Heritage Tourism Density, and Heritage Concentration. Hochberg-adjusted post hoc comparisons were used to identify specific interprovincial differences while controlling for multiple comparisons. The results show statistically significant territorial differences across all four indicators, confirming that heritage tourism in Spain is not spatially homogeneous. These findings contribute to the literature by offering an integrated, data-driven approach to measuring heritage tourism at the provincial scale. They also provide practical evidence for designing differentiated tourism policies, improving destination management, and supporting more balanced heritage-based territorial planning.

Abstract: This study investigates the impact of sustainable service to customer-related outcomes in the hospitality industry by focusing on environmental awareness, perceived value, customer trust, and revisit intention. Grounded in Stakeholder Theory, the research posits and empirically examines the model with the concept of perceived value and customer trust as mediators and environmental awareness as a moderator. Data was collected from a total of 457 hospitality customers, proportionately drawn from Accra (184), Kumasi (152) and Tamale (121), and analysed using partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM). The results show that sustainable service practises have a significant impact on perceived value, customer trust and environmental awareness in a positive way. In addition, perceived value and customer trust partially mediate the relationship between sustainable service practises and environmental awareness, in which customer trust is the more effective mediating mechanism. Contrary to expectations, environmental awareness does not moderate the association between sustainable service practises and revisit intention to a great extent. Novelty: The outcome of the study accentuates the relevance of incorporating perceived value and customer trust into sustainable service practises offering both theoretical insights via stakeholder theory and practical direction for enhancing guest revisit intention in the hospitality sector. On the whole, the findings emphasize the strategic necessity of incorporating the concept of sustainability into the core service delivery and achieving better customer perceptions and relational outcomes.

Abstract: This study examines the role of smart digital systems in shaping the tourist experience, with a particular focus on perceived safety, comfort, and convenience, and their relationship with satisfaction and future intention to use digital services. The research was conducted on a sample of 104 respondents using a questionnaire and a quantitative approach. The results show that perceived comfort and convenience have the strongest impact on satisfaction with the tourist experience, while perceived safety, although significant, has a weaker effect. Satisfaction, perceived usefulness, and comfort significantly influence the intention to use smart digital services. The findings also indicate that experience with digital technologies positively affects perceived safety and comfort, while gender differences were not statistically significant. The results highlight the importance of developing simple, intuitive, and user-oriented digital solutions in tourism.

Abstract: The Golden Triangle circuit (Delhi–Agra–Jaipur) is India’s most iconic tourism product, yet it faces mounting pressure from overtourism, environmental degradation, and economic leakage. We argue that strategic management of visitor satisfaction can play a key role in transforming this high-volume circuit into a sustainable destination that delivers long-term economic growth. Drawing on expectancy disconfirmation theory (EDT), SERVQUAL, perceived value theory, social exchange theory (SET), destination competitiveness models, and a systematic classification of destination attributes, this study evaluates destination attributes and visitor satisfaction. The study assesses the importance of visitor satisfaction with the Golden Triangle and proposes a comprehensive framework for its measurement and application with destination attributes. It identifies key attributes driving tourist satisfaction in the Triangle and assesses the overall current state of the circuit. Furthermore, it identifies major challenges (harassment, congestion, leakage), and proposes actionable improvements through smart technology, community-based tourism, and real-time feedback. A comprehensive evaluation of visitor satisfaction with various destination attributes of the Golden Triangle reveals that it performs well as the outcome shows high overall satisfaction. The study also highlights that visitor satisfaction is an indirect economic lever that impacts the local economic activity by creating jobs and earning foreign currency. The Golden Triangle can serve as a replicable model for other heritage circuits in the Global South.

Abstract: The bilateral deficit (BLD) is traditionally defined as the reduced capacity to produce force during simultaneous bilateral contractions compared with the summed output of unilateral actions. However, in applied sport settings, BLD is frequently estimated from countermovement jump (CMJ) height, representing a functional rather than a direct mechanical measure of force production. Therefore, this study aimed to analyze the association between a CMJ-derived functional BLD index and multidirectional performance in soccer players. Forty male university soccer players (age: 23 ± 1 years) performed unilateral and bilateral CMJs using a contact platform system, followed by the 505 change-of-direction (CoD) test analyzed through two-dimensional video-based motion analysis. Participants were classified into low, moderate, and high BLD groups according to deficit magnitude. Group differences were analyzed using the Kruskal–Walli’s test with Bonferroni-adjusted post hoc comparisons. Significant between-group differences were observed across all temporal phases of the 505 test (ε² = 0.34–0.59; p < 0.001), with the largest effects found for total CoD time and CoD deficit (ε² = 0.74–0.75; p < 0.001). Players with lower BLD values demonstrated superior acceleration, deceleration, reacceleration, and overall multidirectional performance. These findings suggest that CMJ-derived functional BLD may represent a practical indicator of movement efficiency and neuromuscular performance in soccer players.

Abstract: This research aims to analyze audiovisual productions in the development of tourism at the Armero ruins, delving into how narratives and audiovisual productions shape perceptions and the tourist experience. The methodology used is qualitative and was carried out in two phases. This research began in August 2023 with interviews of visi-tors to Armero and a content analysis of YouTube videos that recount the Armero tragedy. The impact on collective memory and the sense of belonging among visitors is highlighted. The visitors' personal productions show that the experience in Armero becomes an emotional journey, where history is tangled with the hope of rebuilding the social fabric and honoring the memory of the thousands who lost their lives. This re-search reveals a range of emotions: from awe at the natural beauty to respect and sadness when remembering the tragedy that buried this prosperous Colombian city in 1985. Conclusion: The importance of preserving historical memory is evident, so that tragedies like Armero are not forgotten and can promote reflection on natural risk management and community resilience.

Abstract: Crisis management has become a critical strategic concern in hospitality, particularly following the COVID-19 pandemic, which exposed vulnerabilities in conventional preparedness and response approaches. This study examines strategic crisis management in Jakarta’s five-star hotel sector, with the aim of developing an integrated understanding of crisis management across pre-crisis, during-crisis, and post-crisis phases. A constructivist grounded theory approach was employed, based on in-depth semi-structured interviews with 25 senior hospitality leaders, including hotel executives, owners, and industry association representatives. The findings suggest that crisis management is best understood as an integrated strategic organizational process rather than a series of isolated emergency responses. Pre-crisis preparedness emerged as continuous strategic readiness characterized by environmental sensemaking, adaptive decision readiness, and financial preparedness. During crisis, effective management depended on integrated strategic response through liquidity discipline, operational adaptation, workforce adaptability, leadership coordination, and cross-functional alignment. Post-crisis management extended beyond operational recovery toward strategic renewal through organizational learning, including the retention of effective crisis practices, strengthened internal capabilities, and managerial reorientation toward ongoing uncertainty. This study contributes to hospitality crisis management scholarship by proposing an Integrated Strategic Crisis Management Framework for Hospitality Organizations, offering a contextually grounded interpretive model that may inform both future research and strategic practice in uncertainty-sensitive service environments.

Abstract: Cape Coast is a prominent tourism destination in Ghana, distinguished by its historical landmarks, coastal ecosystems, and cultural heritage. Yet the city faces mounting threats from environmental hazards such as coastal erosion, flooding, extreme heat, and lagoon degradation, which directly compromise the sustainability of its tourism sector. Guided by the Sustainable Tourism Development Theory (STDT) and the Tourism Resilience and Adaptation Theory (TRAT), this study investigates the impacts of these hazards on tourism development, the effectiveness of current disaster risk reduction (DRR) strategies, and the roles of key stakeholders in building sectoral resilience. Using a qualitative research design, data were collected through in-depth interviews with eighteen stakeholders comprising four policymakers, six community leaders, five tourism business operators, and three representatives from non-governmental organisations, alongside documentary analysis of four institutional reports. The study contributes to the literature by demonstrating that fragmented, reactive DRR strategies and weak stakeholder coordination undermine Cape Coast’s tourism resilience, and by showing how urban natural assets, a dimension largely neglected in existing tourism-DRR scholarship, are central to both hazard exposure and adaptive capacity. The findings call for integrated, ecosystem-based DRR frameworks that align governance mechanisms with sustainable tourism imperatives.

Abstract: This study examines the role of entrepreneurship education quality in shaping students’ tourism development orientation through cognitive and capability-based mechanisms. In the context of developing countries such as Indonesia and Timor-Leste, strengthening entrepreneurial capacity is essential to support sustainable tourism growth. Using a quantitative cross-sectional design, data were collected from 348 university students enrolled in entrepreneurship-related programs across the two countries. The study employs Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM), multi-group analysis (PLS-MGA), and fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA) to test direct, mediating, and moderating relationships. The findings reveal that entrepreneurship education quality significantly enhances entrepreneurial self-efficacy, which in turn strengthens innovation capability, leading to higher entrepreneurial intention and ultimately tourism development orientation. However, no direct effect of education quality on entrepreneurial intention or tourism orientation was found, indicating full mediation. Entrepreneurship course experience positively moderates the relationship between education quality and self-efficacy, while prior entrepreneurial experience shows no significant moderating effect. Cross-national analysis indicates that the link between entrepreneurial intention and tourism orientation is stronger in Indonesia than in Timor-Leste. Overall, the study highlights the importance of fostering self-efficacy and innovation capability as key pathways through which entrepreneurship education contributes to tourism development.

Abstract: This study examines whether and how the perceived effectiveness of GenAI-assisted itinerary recommendations influences tourists’ environmentally responsible behavior in heritage tourism. Drawing on the Stimulus–Organism–Response framework, the study conceptualizes the perceived effectiveness of GenAI-assisted itinerary recommendations as the stimulus, cultural identity as the organism, and tourists’ environmentally responsible behavior as the response. Data were collected from 479 Chinese domestic tourists who had used GenAI tools for itinerary planning when visiting three UNESCO World Heritage sites in Henan Province, China. The data were analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). The results show that the perceived effectiveness of GenAI-assisted itinerary recommendations significantly enhances cultural identity, and cultural identity, in turn, significantly promotes tourists’ environmentally responsible behavior. The indirect effect is also significant, confirming the mediating role of cultural identity. These findings suggest that the importance of GenAI-assisted itinerary recommendations in heritage tourism lies not only in improving trip planning, but also in shaping how tourists engage with the cultural meaning of the destination. This study extends GenAI tourism research beyond adoption-related outcomes, identifies cultural identity as a heritage-specific explanatory mechanism, and refines the application of the Stimulus–Organism–Response framework in AI-enabled heritage tourism contexts.

Abstract: IIce hockey represents a sport with predominantly anaerobic efforts best reflected by repeated sprint ability (RSA) testing (5x5 seconds with 10 seconds recovery). A controversy persists about the usefulness of V̇O2 max laboratory testing for the assessment of ice hockey players. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the relationship between laboratory measured V̇O2 max and RSA simulated on a supine ergometer and tested on ice. Elite male hockey players (n = 64) were tested in the laboratory (V̇O2 max and RSA). RSA was performed by modified Wingate test (5 x 5-seconds sprints with 10 seconds recovery). In 28 athletes RSA were assessed during an on-ice testing (5 maximal skating sprints between the goal and the blue line). The decrease in performance was assessed by fatigue indices. In the laboratory settings the V̇O2 max correlated significantly with maximum workloads of the 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th bout with increasing correlation strength (r= 0.26, p=0.02; r=0.48, p< 0.001; r=0.57, p< 0.001; and r=0.60, p< 0.001) and with fatigue indices - % workload decrement index (r = 0.44, p< 0.001) and % maximum average workload decrement (%) (r=0.38, p=0.002). In addition, V̇O2 max correlated with lactate levels after 10 minutes of recovery (r=0.31, p=0.01). There was no correlation between V̇O2 max and on-ice testing results. Moreover, the results of RSA measured in laboratory and on ice did not show any correlation. The lack of relationship between laboratory and on-ice testing is further challenging the usefulness of bicycle ergometry laboratory testing in ice hockey.

Abstract: While much of the current research on early specialization focuses on physical outcomes, training models, and policy implications, little is known about how athletes themselves make sense of their developmental experiences. This study aimed to examine how ice-hockey players perceive and experience early specialization, with the goal of gaining a nuanced understanding of the athlete perspective. In this study, a qualitative study design was used where eight current and former ice-hockey players with experience of early specialization participated. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews and analysed using qualitative conventional content analysis. Three overarching themes emerged, highlighting experiences of loneliness, pressure, and elevated expectations within elite sport environments, alongside the vital importance of support networks and team community: ‘Thrown into adulthood with premature expectations’, ‘Balancing Support and Pressure in Athlete Development’, and ‘The Struggle Between Dream and Reality’. Players described feeling pressured, isolated, and prematurely professionalized, often at the expense of personal development. The findings highlight the psychological and structural challenges of early specialization in elite ice-hockey. While support systems played a crucial role, they also contributed to performance anxiety and external expectations. These insights underscore the need for youth sport systems that prioritize long-term athlete well-being over short-term success.

Abstract: By integrating the Norm Activation Model (NAM) with cognitive and behavioral variables, the study reveals mechanisms that translate into increased waste reduction intention. Data from 382 domestic tourists in Vientiane, Laos were analyzed using ordinary least squares regression. The results reveal that ascription of responsibility (AR) is the strongest predictor of intention, followed by personal norms (PN) and actual waste management behavior. Environmental knowledge and awareness of consequences show no significant influence. The findings confirm that fostering internalized moral sentiments, such as AR and PN, is more crucial in enhancing tourists’ waste reduction intention than mere cogni-tive awareness. Environmental campaigns and education to increase knowledge and heighten awareness of the negative impacts caused by poorly managed waste at popular destinations cannot guarantee an increase in tourists’ waste reduction intention.

Abstract: Multicultural human resources have become increasingly visible in tourism and hospitality in many destinations. However, limited attention has been paid to how residents perceive the growing multicultural workforce in these sectors. Although previous research has examined tourism impacts, workplace diversity, and multicultural attitudes from related perspectives, an instrument specifically designed to assess residents’ perceptions of multicultural human resources in tourism and hospitality is lacking. This study introduces the Residents’ Perceptions of Multicultural Human Resources in Tourism and Hospitality Scale and presents an initial psychometric assessment based on a preliminary sample of 108 valid responses collected in the Algarve, Portugal. The findings showed acceptable item variability, favourable internal consistency across the proposed dimensions, and adequate conditions for exploratory factor analysis. However, the exploratory solution did not reproduce the original seven-dimensional framework in full, instead pointing to a more condensed four-factor structure. Overall, the results suggest that the instrument provides a promising basis for future research while also indicating the need for further refinement and confirmatory testing in larger and more diverse samples.

Abstract: Golf tourism has gone hand in hand with the growth of the sport in recent years, reaching more than 1.4 million golf tourists in Spain, making it the second leading tourist desti-nation worldwide and surpassing 108 million players globally (National Golf Foundation, 2025; Real Federación Española de Golf, 2024b; Royal and Ancient, 2025). The present study seeks to answer the question: why do golf tourists travel? by analyzing the mo-tivations of golf tourists in Spain. For this purpose, an exploratory factor analysis was conducted to define the factors that drive golf tourists; subsequently, the suitability of these factors was tested through a confirmatory factor analysis, and finally, a cluster analysis was used to group the different typologies of golf tourists in Spain. A total of five clusters were identified, referred to as experiential golfers, wellness-oriented golfers, multifunctional golfers, low-involvement golfers, and learning-oriented golfers. The results of this research may serve golf course managers as well as public administrations in the development of marketing plans tailored to each customer segment.

Abstract: Interpreting doping prevalence estimates generated through indirect estimation models (IEM) remains challenging for sport policy and governance due to wide variation in reported rates and methodological complexity. Building on Sagoe et al. (2024), we combined a critical narrative review of methodological and epistemic developments with a bibliometric analysis of publication trends, citation patterns, and collaboration networks, using a convergent parallel mixed‑methods design. Across 52 records published between 2002-2026, this study maps the scientific landscape of IEM‑based doping prevalence research. Findings show that IEM‑based prevalence research is methodologically sophisticated yet institutionally dispersed and largely Eurocentric, reflecting a field still consolidating its standards and disciplinary identity. Over time, the focus has shifted from reporting prevalence rates to methodological critique and reanalysis of existing datasets Reported prevalence estimates, ranging from 0 to 57.1%, are highly sensitive to modelling assumptions about athlete behaviour in complex sur-vey environments. While this trend strengthens rigor, it also complicates evidence synthesis for policy actors and risks undermining trust in IEM‑based estimates if poorly communicated. Anti‑doping organizations and researchers should treat IEM‑derived prevalence as bounded indicators rather than definitive rates and integrate prevalence evidence with contextual data for transparent policy and public communication.

Abstract: Tourism is a complex economic activity shaped by distinct local resources: culture, nature, industrial heritage, urban ambiance, place-based uniqueness, and geographical accessibility. The simultaneous governance and management of economic growth motives, preservation of the cultural heritage base, and respect for nature and ecological quality calls for an evidence-based and multi-faceted policy analysis that seeks to achieve a sustainable development among conflicting policy objectives. The present paper seeks to explore the feasibility of a sustainable balance for various heterogeneous cultural heritage areas in Europe (‘urban pilot regions’), with particular attention for sustainable local development characterized by circular economic objectives and an ecological balance strategy based on the principle of stakeholders’ co-creation. To that end, an extensive survey experiment was administered in the urban regions concerned, in which a wide range of management issues/questions related to environmental preferences and perceptions were posed to stakeholders and visitors. The data were analyzed by means of a novel respondent-oriented multivariate statistical tool, viz. Generalized Q-Analysis, which is suitable for handling big databases with many respondents. The paper shows that the application of the Generalized Q-Analysis to common survey data enriches the results from the application of the usual Q-Analysis. Furthermore, the study also highlights that, based on the views of the surveyed visitors, the tourist areas concerned are quite different from each other in attracting specific types of visitors. Functional specialization seems to be, therefore, an important anchor point for effective governance of urban tourism.

Abstract: This study investigates how YouTube food travel vloggers semiotically construct destination images and function as informal gastrodiplomacy agents, using Uzbekistan as a case study of emerging tourism markets. Although digital content creators are increasingly recognised as shaping tourism flows, systematic understanding of the multimodal semiotic mechanisms through which food travel vlogs construct destination meanings remains limited. Using multimodal discourse analysis, this study examines six YouTube food travel videos on Uzbekistan (over 28 million combined views) from two prominent creators, Mark Wiens and Best Ever Food Review Show. The analysis integrates Kress and van Leeuwen’s visual grammar, Halliday’s systemic functional linguistics, van Leeuwen’s sound semiotics, and Norris’s multimodal interaction analysis to code a 60-segment corpus. Independent samples t-tests reveal 25 statistically significant differences between the two creators, identifying two distinct semiotic pro-files. Mark Wiens primarily follows a parasocial intimacy model marked by direct gaze (89.2%), frequent second-person address (78.4%), and comparatively minimal editing. In contrast, Best Ever Food Review Show adopts a cinematic documentary model characterised by first-person narration (56.5%), constructed visuals (60.9%), and gastronomic heritage narratives (34.8%). Despite these divergences, shared conventions—centred food composition, upbeat music, positive evaluation, and sharing gestures—indicate a stable semiotic grammar of food travel vlogging. The findings provide evidence that digital content creators may function as informal culinary ambassadors through gastrodiplomacy mechanisms, constructing destination awareness and cultural meaning for international audiences. The study contributes to theory on multi-modal destination image construction and offers implications for how emerging tour-ism destinations can leverage multi-creator strategies to build culturally grounded destination brands.

Abstract: Living history tourism is traditionally framed through heritage preservation and edu-cational interpretation, yet the motivational mechanisms translating visitor engage-ment into behavioral commitment remain insufficiently theorized. This study develops and tests an integrated structural model conceptualizing living history environments as experiential systems operating under conditions of late-modern acceleration. Data were collected from 1,066 visitors at Skansen (Sweden) and analyzed using structural equation modeling. The findings indicate that detachment-oriented motives signifi-cantly activate experiential immersion, which emerges as the central psychological mechanism within the model. Immersion strengthens perceptions of historical authen-ticity and constitutes the dominant predictor of behavioral intention, whereas educa-tional motives exert a comparatively weaker effect. Mediation analysis demonstrates that the influence of escape on behavioral commitment operates indirectly through immersion, confirming a fully mediated experiential pathway. These results suggest that living history destinations function not primarily as didactic heritage platforms but as structured experiential environments enabling temporary disengagement from routine pressures. By integrating immersion, authenticity construction, and behavioral intention within a unified framework, the study repositions living history tourism as an experiential counter-space embedded in accelerated modernity.