Bishnu Sharma

This study identifies the human resource practices used in the hospitality and tourism industry through the review of articles published in the hospitality and tourism journals (45 articles, 10 journals) and the other non-hospitality journals (26 articles, 17 journals). The review suggests that key HR practices used in the industry are recruitment/selection, performance management, compensation, training and development, employee empowerment, employee recognition and reward. The study also identifies the focus of past HR research in the hospitality and tourism industry. HRM practices, employee turnover, employee retention/intention to stay or leave, job satisfaction/dissatisfaction, work family conflict/work life balance/work family issues/flexible working/employee well-being, customer satisfaction/firm performance among others have been the dominant aspects of past research. The study also presents a range of gaps in HR research in the hospitality and tourism industry for potential future research.

This study investigates the demographic difference in local communities' perceptions of positive and negative emotions, trust in the government in organising the event, trust in the organising committee in organising the event, their level of attachment and support for the FIFA World Cup held in Brazil in 2014. The data for this study was collected from 12 cities in Brazil which were involved in hosting the World Cup games using a survey approach. Demographic variables used were gender, city of residence, age category, numbers of years lived in a city, marital status, occupation, education, income and ethnicity. The study found significant differences in their perceptions by the city of their residence. Significant differences were also noted in the negative emotions by all the demographic variables considered in this study. However, not all of them were significant for their level of trust, support and attachment to the event.

This study investigates the relationship between the level of trust the local residents have to the relevant government and non-governmental bodies, residents' level of emotions and attachment with their level of support for the FIFA World Cup 2014 held in Brazil. For collecting the data for this study, a survey was carried out from a sample of residents (n=3786) located in 12 cities in Brazil that were involved in hosting the World Cup games. The results suggest that positive emotions, attachment, and trust have a significant positive relationship with their support for the event and negative emotions have a significant negative relationships with their support.

This study investigates the relationships between local residents' attachment and their emotions 'positive and negative' towards the World Cup, residents' emotions and their perceptions of impact from the FIFA 2014 World Cup Games, and residents' perceptions of impact and their support for the event. For conducting this study, data collection was carried out using a stratified random sampling approach from a sample of residents (n=3770) located in 12 cities in Brazil that hosted the World Cup games during the spring of 2014. The LISREL 8.7 structural equation analysis package was used to analyse the data. The results suggest that there is a direct relationship between residents' attachment and both positive and negative emotions towards the event; between positive emotions and both the perceptions of positive impacts and the perceptions of negative impacts and so forth. The study also identified a direct significant impact between positive impact perceptions and support for mega-event and between positive negative perceptions and support for mega-event.

Alcohol abuse has been a matter of concern among university students in many countries including Germany (Martin et al., 2009; Health, 2006; Collins & Lapsley 2008; Lewis & Thombs 2005). It has several negative consequences which include violent assaults, accidents, vomiting, unprotected sex, unwanted sex, fatalities, drunk driving, injuries, and suicide (Ray, Turrisi, Abar, & Peters, 2009; Wilson, Pritchard, & Schaffer, 2004). The belief that people hold about the effects of drinking alcohol is called alcohol expectancies (Shell, Newman, & Xiaoyi, 2010; George et al., 1995). Positive alcohol expectancies include beliefs that drinking will result in increased level of assertiveness, increased sociability, enjoyable, and tension reduction; and negative expectancies include increased risk and aggression, and negative self-perception (Zamboanga & Ham, 2008; Bot, Engels, & Knibbe, 2005; Barnow et al., 2004). Expectancies of adolescents are associated with drinking and alcohol consumption levels when adolescents start drinking (Bot et al., 2005). The level of self-esteem, on the other hand, can go up and down based on the individual's perceptions of success or failure (Heatherton & Polivy, 1991). A person with high self-esteem has 'self-respect, considers himself a person of worth' and the person with low self-esteem 'means that the individual lacks respect for himself and considers himself unworthy' (Rosenberg, 1979, p. 54). Those individuals who have a low self-esteem and are experiencing some kind of stress or anxiety tend to use alcohol to relax and cope with anxiety (Glindemann, Geller, & Fortney, 1999). However, the studies based on self-reported drinking, alcohol expectancies, levels of self-esteem and consequences are 'limited or contradictory or otherwise inconclusive' (Glindermann et al., 1999, p. 61). Therefore, this study investigates the following research questions: RQ1: What are the key dimensions of university students' alcohol expectancies? RQ2: Is there a relationship between university students' alcohol expectancies and their self-esteem? And, RQ3: Is there a relationship between university students' alcohol expectancies and consequences?

The pattern by which functional areas activities that comprise entrepreneurial strategy are organized will differ among businesses based on the immediate and wider environment in which they operate, that is, their industry and economic settings. We examine the interrelationships among functional area activities in their association with entrepreneurial strategy in a progressive textile manufacturing industry located in China. Using the Partial Least Square analytical technique and a sample of 248 Chinese small businesses, we find that networking features prominently alongside market-based activities of customer retention management and technology as determinants of entrepreneurial strategy. We also find that activities in these three functional areas mediate the association between other functional area activities such as HRM, operations, planning, and finance and entrepreneurial strategy. In a social-based system where relationships are important, the development and maintenance of network ties as well as attention to customers and innovation are critical to pursuit of entrepreneurial strategy.

The issue of alcohol abuse is evident in several countries (D'Alessio, Baicco and Laghi, 2006; Eliasen et al., 2009). Nearly 25% of the general population develop some form of drinking problem during their lives (O'Brien, 2010). Alcohol use is generally high during the teen years and early twenties and starts to drop as people begin to assume adult roles such as employment and family (Maggs & Schullenberg, 2004/2005). Excessive alcohol consumption is more prevalent among girls (ESPAD, 2007; Wechsler et al., 2002) with the motives generally including having fun, conformity to peer group norms, forgetting the frustrations of the working day or escaping the everyday, and finding the self-confidence to deal with social situations (IAS Factsheet, 2010). Importantly, a number of studies have highlighted that the influence of friends is more important than parental influence on adolescents' alcohol use (Hayes et al., 2004; Kim et al., 2009; Wechsler et al., 2002). Thus, our study sought to investigate the relationship between the drinking attitude of young women and that of their peers across three countries viz. Australia, Germany and Wales. Specifically, the following research questions frame the study: RQ1: Do the perceived drinking attitudes of young women's peers vary by country?; and RQ2: Is there a relationship between young women's drinking attitude and the perceived drinking attitude of their peers?

This study investigates whether there has been a change in residents' perceptions of living on, and tourism impacts, on the Sunshine Coast in 2009 from their perceptions of 2008. In collecting the data for this study, a survey approach was taken. The survey attracted 1572 and 587 resident participants in 2008 and 2009 respectively. Over 55% of the respondents reported that lifestyle and general pace of life were the key attractions of living on the Sunshine Coast in 2009 as opposed to 32% in 2008. The results also demonstrate a significant increase in residents' perceptions that tourism is likely to have a positive impact on the cultural identity of the community and provide more parks and other recreational areas for local residents. The study also found that between 2008 and 2009 there was a significant decrease in the residents' concerns regarding traffic congestion; noise and pollution; crime rates; destruction of the natural environment; and unpleasantly overcrowded beaches, and bush walking paths, parks and outdoor facilities in the community. The study, however, reveals no significant differences in the residents' perceptions of conservation of natural resources; creation of employment; and the possibility of having more cultural exchange between tourists and residents due to tourism. Overall, these findings are favourable for tourism-related stakeholders in developing future tourism plans for the region in that residents' appear to be more willing to support tourism development. They also indicate the importance of not relying on a single measure in time when making policy and planning decisions.

This study investigates whether there has been a change in residents' perceptions of tourism impacts on the sunshine Coast over a period of time using longitudinal data based on 2004 (n=732) and 2008 (n=1564) surveys. The results suggest that there is a significant increase in the residents' perceptions that tourism is likely to result in noise and pollution; unpleasantly overcrowded beaches, bush walking paths, parks and outdoor places in the community; and less likely to provide more parks and other recreational areas for local residents. However, on the positive side, more residents now feel that tourism significantly contributes to essential jobs in the region and is more likely to result in cultural exchange between tourists and local residents. The study, however, reveals no significant differences in the residents' perceptions of possible increase in crime rate; destruction of natural environment because of construction of hotels and other tourist facilities; traffic congestion; and conservation of natural resources and so forth due to tourism.