A business student’s overseas internship is a unique place to investigate what knowledge/skills or personal traits that are important for their future career. This research consists of two stages: (1) First, we qualitatively analyzed students’ internship reports to explore what knowledge or skills and what personal traits are perceived to be important; 90 reports were scrutinized and coded regarding company profiles, internship tasks and perception of important knowledge/skills and personal traits. We arrived at a list of 12 skills and 20 personal traits that are crucial for a successful business internship. (2) Then, we administered a questionnaire to identify what expectations companies have of student interns in international business. One hundred and seven international companies participated in the survey. Companies’ expectations are roughly in line with students’ perception regarding knowledge, skills and personal traits for a successful internship. The findings shed light on international business education by addressing the necessity of refining a school’s curriculum to meet the requirements of the business workplace. For business educators, the current research helps them to prepare their students better, mentor them more effectively during their overseas internship, and adjust the curriculum design to meet the requirements of that workplace.
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The transformation in the global demography and the shortages of healthcare workers requires innovation and efficiency in healthcare. The Dyna-Form SMARTresponse application is an example of Digital Technology, the application can be linked to a Mercury Advance Hybrid Mattress (Direct Healthcare Group, 2019). The goal of this application is to reduce the risk of pressure injuries by notifying healthcare workers about patient, often older people, non-movement. Digital Technology has been studied comprehensively and according to previous research there is a mismatch between the available Digital Technology and the adoption of Digital Technology (Mathijssen et al., 2020). Currently it is unclear whether the Dyna-Form SMARTresponse application can adequately support healthcare workers in their daily practice. Consequently, a generic qualitative study investigating the expectations of healthcare workers of the Dyna-Form SMARTresponse application linked to the Mercury Advance mattress is needed.
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PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to gain insight into how low back pain (LBP) patients conceptualize the construct of expectations regarding treatment.METHODS: This study was nested within a mixed-method randomized clinical trial comparing three primary care interventions for LBP. A total of 77 participants with LBP lasting longer than 6 weeks were included; semi-structured interviews were conducted querying patients about their expectations for treatment. Also factors influencing their expectations were explored. Interviews were administered following enrollment into the study, but prior to study treatment. Two researchers independently conducted a content analysis using NVIVO 9 software.RESULTS: LBP patients' expectations could be categorized in two main domains: outcome and process expectations, each with subdomains. Patients expressed expectations in all subdomains both as values (what they hoped) and probabilities (what they thought was likely). In multiple subdomains, there were differences in the nature (positive vs. negative) and frequency of value and probability expectations. Participants reported that multiple factors influenced their expectations of which past experience with treatment appeared to be of major influence on probability expectations.CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS: This study showed that LBP patients' expectations for treatment are multifaceted. Current measurement instruments do not cover all domains and subdomains of expectations. Therefore, we recommend the development of new or improved measures that make a distinction between value and probability expectations and assess process and/or outcome expectations covering multiple subdomains. Some of the influencing factors found in this study may be useful targets for altering patients' treatment expectations and improving health outcomes.
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We recently published the remarkable findings that German vacationers who planned their vacations further ahead of time, and spent more time planning, actually enjoyed their vacations less and reported lower wellbeing afterward. Furthermore, we found that this unfavorable planning behavior is driven by the personality of some people, known as “maximizers,” to “maximize” all kinds of choices in their lives. They are clearly the least satisfied with their vacations and with life as a whole, as their in-depth planning causes them to have very exact and overinflated expectations. They probably make their most satisfying choices when they have only a few options to choose from. These findings are based on a large-sample questionnaire, as well as a smaller number of in-depth interviews, as explained in our article “The Best Experiences Cannot Be Planned.”
Historical sites, specifically former military fortifications, are often repurposed for tourism and recreation. While some of over 100 Dutch forts are recognized as UNESCO World Heritage sites, a substantial number are currently underdeveloped, putting their heritage value and biodiversity at risk. This demands action, as forts are well-positioned to relieve overtourism in other locations, responding to the Netherlands Board of Tourism and Convention's call to spread visitors to lesser-known areas. Furthermore, developing lesser-known fort sites could provide tourism and recreation opportunities near populated areas, thus contributing to the well-being not only of visitors but also the environment. Development initiatives depend on a transition from isolation to cooperation across sites. However, for cooperation to be effective, enterprises and agencies managing these forts still lack data regarding visitor expectations and experiences. We will employ a multidisciplinary approach to capturing visitor demographics, motivations, and experiences, through conducting quantitative questionnaires, lab-driven physiological experience measurement, and location tracking. This proposal builds on the previous project, “Experiencing Nature”, funded by Centre of Expertise in Leisure, Tourism, and Hospitality, which utilized Breda Experience Lab technologies to explore visitor experiences at Fort de Roovere. In sum, the purpose of the present project is to measure and analyze visitor demographics, motivations, and experiences at less-developed forts, and to develop a toolkit to inspire, support, and monitor development of these forts for heritage preservation, visitor experience, and biodiversity. The project will be conducted in collaboration with Flemish partners, thereby forming the consortium comprised of the Alliantie ZuiderWaterlinie (NL), Regionale Landschappen (VL), and Agentschap Natuur en Bos (VL), with support from municipalities in both countries. The project will promote regional synergies and facilitate long-lasting cross-border collaboration, especially toward coming Interreg EU proposals, whilst informing the design of interregional marketing campaigns and supporting planning for visitor flows and biodiversity conservation efforts. Collaborative partnersNHL Stenden, Alliantie Zuidwaterlinie, RLRL, Agentschap Natuur en Bos.
The Hospitality, Tourism, Innovation & Technology Experts Network (HTIT-EN) is a pivotal initiative aimed at unlocking societal impact potential. The Dutch hospitality and tourism sector, which employs over half a million individuals and annually hosts more than 40 million guests, ranks as the Netherlands’ 8th largest economic sector. However, this sector faces numerous challenges, including the uncertain impact of emerging technologies and issues such as unethical behavior, workforce attrition, and staff shortages, which have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The advent of emerging technologies like service robots, immersive experiences, and artificial intelligence has brought the sector to a critical juncture. These innovations pose significant disruptions, challenging the traditional concept of hospitality and questioning the positive societal impact in terms of ethical considerations, inclusivity, affordability, and data privacy.Strategically positioned to address these challenges, HTIT-EN focuses on leveraging emerging technologies to create impactful scenarios and shape the future of hospitality and tourism. Our motivation stems from the sector’s societal importance and its continuous influence on our daily lives. By harnessing technology and innovation, we aim to tackle industry-specific issues and extend the positive societal impact to related human-centered service industries.The overarching mission of HTIT-EN is to empower the Dutch Hospitality and Tourism sector to serve as a driving force for technology-enabled societal impact. The primary objective is to align research activities and promote collaboration. Key objectives include bringing together leading professors specializing in technology-driven impact within the hospitality and tourism sector, initiating research projects in line with a shared research agenda and in collaboration with local and international industry partners, and collaboratively developing expertise in emerging technologies that empower the role of hospitality and tourism as catalysts for societal impact. This endeavor contributes to the development and acceleration of the Knowledge and Innovation Agenda (KIA) ‘Key technologies’ & ‘Digitalization’. The aim is to foster an excellent reputation for Dutch hospitality and tourism as a global leader in technology-driven societal impact.We have strong support from CELTH, the Centre of Expertise within the domain of leisure, tourism and hospitality for the overall ambitions of the research project.Societal issueThe HTIT-EN project bridges societal importance and cross-cutting issues in the tourism and hospitality sectors. It’s fueled by the ambition to leverage emerging technologies to tackle industry-specific challenges, including knowledge and skills gaps, labor shortages and replacements, and evolving consumer expectations.Benefit to societyThe platform brings together professors and researchers from MBO, HBO and WO knowledge institutes as well as diverse set of professional partners to stimulate collaboration, align research lines and establish joint a joint research agenda on how technology-driven impact may become a catalyst within hospitality and tourism.
