Novelty, conceptualized as the experience of something new and different from the everyday, is widely believed to be what defines tourism experiences and makes them enjoyable. The present study tests the mediating effect of novelty on positive emotions in two longitudinal data sets based on daily psychometric diaries. Findings show that the effect of tourism experience on positive emotions is indeed partly mediated by novelty. The mediation effect is similar for average positive emotions as well as for the emotion of interest, suggesting that novelty sparks positive emotions through goal congruence more than by directly triggering interest. Findings affirm that novelty is indeed fundamental and enjoyable in the tourism experience.
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We designed a wine recommendation robot and deployed it in a small supermarket. In a study aimed to evaluate our design we found that people with no intent to buy wine were interacting with the robot rather than the intended audience of wine-buying customers. Behavioural data, moreover, suggests a very different evaluation of the robot than the surveys that were completed. We also found that groups were interacting more with the robot than individuals, a finding that has been reported more often in the literature. All of these findings taken together suggest that a novelty effect may have been at play. It also suggests that field studies should take this effect more seriously. The main contribution of our work is in identifying and proposing a set of indicators and thresholds that can be used to identify that a novelty effect is present. We argue that it is important to focus more on measuring attitudes towards robots that may explain behaviour due to novelty effects. Our findings also suggest research should focus more on verifying whether real user needs are met.
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Leisure research on adolescent females’ holiday experiences, and how these experiences may contribute to their happiness is scarce. Recent work in the area of positive psychology has suggested that novelty within an experience may enhance positive emotions and life satisfaction which together comprise subjective well-being (SWB), a common conceptualization of happiness. The purpose of this paper was to test the direct influence of activity novelty and the mediating influence of emotion balance (the balance between positive and negative emotions) on life satisfaction for a group of adolescent females on a winter holiday. As part of a larger study, participants (n = 74) were German girls aged 12–17 years who completed a diary-based questionnaire for 21 consecutive days (before, during, and after their holiday). A conditional process analysis indicated that activity novelty may have a positive or negative influence on emotion balance depending on pre-vacation activity novelty patterns. Furthermore, while novelty does not have a direct influence on life satisfaction, it has a positive indirect influence through emotion balance. This study provides evidence that holiday experiences can contribute to young women’s SWB and highlights the important role of emotions during such experiences. In addition, results support the use of a positive psychology framework to understand adolescent vacationers’ experiences.
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Tourism experiences have been recognised for their power to change peoples’ lives. Termed transformational tourist experiences, these life-changing experiences have been conceptualised in terms of changes to individuals’ well-being, values, and goals. Yet, little is known about the potential of tourism experiences to induce changes in personality. Drawing on a nine-year longitudinal panel study in the Netherlands with 3292 responses from 1803 participants, we examined within-individual, between-occasion associations between vacation frequency, duration, and extraversion. More frequent and longer vacations were associated with increases in extraversion, and that this effect was partially mediated by the experience of meeting new people during vacations. These findings offer preliminary longitudinal evidence that vacation experiences can drive personality change, and position interpersonal novelty as a mechanism of transformation, extending theoretical understandings of personality malleability and the transformative potential of tourism.
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from the article: "In the past decades, industrial design practice has broadened from designing (mass-)products towards e.g. the design of services, experiences and systems. With this broadening, it is questionable how models of design processes still fit todays’ industrial design practice. By means of process research, this study investigates new roles that designers currently take in practice. It addresses the question how ways of working change for an industrial designer dealing with an open design challenge. The context of research is a design project for a large academic hospital that is in the middle of a large-scale renovation. The project is executed by a design agency with 10+ years of experience in designing healthcare products. However, this project concerns the improvement of service, rather than a product. The data collection (during 21 months) is based on principles of organizational ethnography, combined with interviews. The analysis is based on an events-based approach and provides understanding in how a senior designer experienced the project flow and how he adapted ways of working in eight main events of the project. The findings include strategies of a senior designer dealing with change and novelty in a complex design project in healthcare, and scaffolding concepts in the light of existing theory."
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Background: Since 2006, business principles have been introduced to foster efficient healthcare by way of managed competition. Managed competition is expressed by a contract between a health insurer and a physiotherapy primary healthcare organisation (PTPHO). In such a managed environment, PTPHOs have to attain treatment service quality and financial PTPHO-centred outcomes Research shows that business model designs may enhance organisation-centred outcomes. A business model is a design (efficiency or novelty) of how a firm transacts with customers, partners, and vendors; how it connects with markets. However, research on managed competition contract and business model designs, in relation to PTPHO-centred outcomes is new to the healthcare literature. PTPHOs may not know how business model designs enhance outcomes. This study aims to delineate the relations between business model efficiency and novelty, and PTPHO-centred outcomes, while accounting for managed competition contract in Dutch healthcar
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This paper focuses on the topical and problematic area of social innovations. The aim of this paper is to develop an original approach to the allocation of social innovations, taking into account characteristics such as the degree of state participation, the scope of application, the type of initiations as well as the degree of novelty, which will be elaborated on further in this article. In order to achieve this goal, the forty-two most successful social innovations were identified and systematized. The results of this study demonstrated that 73.5% of social innovations are privately funded, most of them operating on an international level with a high degree of novelty. Moreover, 81% of all social innovations are civic initiatives. Social innovations play an important role in the growth of both developed and less developed countries alike as highlighted in our extensive analysis
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Vacations offer a break from daily stressors but at the same time introduce challenges away from home. While the positive aspects of vacationing, especially individual benefits, are well documented, the challenges couples face and their psychological mechanisms and outcomes remain unexplored. This study investigated the effects challenges and challenge resolution might have on shared experiences and on relationship quality. We collected data from 100 romantic couples at major tourist destinations in the Netherlands in Spring 2024. Random intercept regression models showed that novelty is positively associated with positive emotions, passionate love, and feelings of connection with partner; and that challenges would take away some of these benefits. Interestingly, challenges were associated with self-expansion, a major predictor of long-term love and passion, especially when partially resolved. Positive emotions mediated some of these relationships. These findings highlight the importance and value of studying challenges and challenge resolution on vacations for relationship and experience quality.
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Background: Particulate matter (PM) exposure is an important health risk, both in daily life and in the workplace. It causes respiratory and cardiovascular diseases and results in 800,000 premature deaths per year worldwide. In earlier research, we assessed workers’ information needs regarding workplace PM exposure, the properties and effects of PM, and the rationale behind various means of protection. We also concluded that workers do not always receive appropriate risk communication tools with regards to PM, and that their PM knowledge appears to be fragmented and incomplete. Methods: We considered several concepts for use as an educational material based on evaluation criteria: ease of use, costs, appropriateness for target audiences and goals, interactivity, implementation issues, novelty, and speed. We decided to develop an educational folder, which can be used to inform employees about the properties, effects and prevention methods concerning PM. Furthermore, we decided on a test setup of a more interactive way of visualisation of exposure to PM by means of exposimeters. For the development of the folder, we based the information needs on our earlier mental models-based research. We adjusted the folder based on the results of ten semi-structured interviews evaluating its usability. Results: The semi-structured interviews yielded commentaries and suggestions for further improvement, which resulted in a number of alterations to the folder. However, in most cases the folder was deemed satisfactory. Conclusion: Based on this study, the folder we developed is suitable for a larger-scale experiment and a practical test. Further research is needed to investigate the efficacy of the folder and the application of the exposimeter in a PM risk communication system.
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