Trude Furunes

Age discrimination in the workplace: validation of the Nordic Age Discrimination Scale (NADS).

Due to population ageing, older workers will make up a larger proportion of the workforce. However, recent reports show an increase in perceived age discrimination among older employees. Previous research found that age discrimination may result in negative feelings, such as uselessness, powerlessness and lower self-esteem. This study develops and validates a scale for monitoring age discrimination in the workplace. The validation study draws on three datasets, from Norway, Sweden and Finland respectively. The study provides a psychometric contribution to the study of the behavioral component of ageism.

Training paradox in the hotel industry.

This study was undertaken to assess how hospitality managers perceive the relative effectiveness of alternative employee‐training methods to attain specific training objectives. Data was obtained from 56 hotel managers in member organizations of the Norwegian Hospitality Association (RBL). Respondents rated the effectiveness of 15 training methods for prospective use in six training situations. Training methods included were case study, videotape, lecture, one‐to‐one training, role‐play, games, computer simulations, paper‐and‐pencil‐programmed instruction, audiotapes, self‐assessments, movies/films, multi‐media presentations, computer‐assisted instruction, videoconferences, and sensitivity training. Training objectives were knowledge acquisition, changing attitudes, problem solving, interpersonal‐skill development, participant acceptance, and knowledge retention. Results indicate that one‐to‐one training is perceived the best training method across five of six objectives. For interpersonal skill development role‐play is perceived to be better than one‐to‐one training. The study is partly a replication of previous studies. The respondents were also asked which training methods they currently employ. Except from the most frequently employed method, one‐to‐one training, findings indicate that training methods in use deviate from methods perceived to be effective. This may point out a training paradox. Due to the nature of the research field, the current study is regarded as an explorative study in the Norwegian field of hospitality‐management research.

A randomized trial on elderly laypersons' CPR performance in a realistic cardiac arrest simulation

Bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is important for survival after cardiac arrest. We hypothesized that elderly laypersons would perform CPR poorer in a realistic cardiac arrest simulation, compared to a traditional test.

10‐year Anniversary Editorial

Taylor and Francis SJHT_A_502364. gm 10.1080/1 2250.2010.502364 candinavian Journal of Hospitality and Tourism 502-2250 (pri t)/15 2-2269 (online) Original Article 2 10 & Francis 0 00201 Jan Vid rH uk land jvh@toi. o It is with great pride and pleasure that the Scandinavian Journal of Hospitality and Tourism (SJHT) presents, as part of its 10-year anniversary celebration, this jubilee issue devoted to nature-based tourism. This topic has also been the most published one in the 10 years that the SJHT has informed the world about a substantial part of Nordic hospitality and tourism research. From a strictly empirical point of view we may say that in hindsight, nature-based and rural tourism are compelling characteristics defining the tourism and hospitality sector in the North. The SJHT was launched with champagne and speeches at the 9th Nordic Symposium in Tourism and Hospitality Research on Bornholm in the year 2000. It was initiated by the Norwegian School of Hotel Management as a contribution to the transition of the regional university college in Stavanger into the University of Stavanger. Hence, from the outset the Norwegian School of Hotel Management became the owner of the journal, and has subsidised its work up until now. Since 2007 and upon evaluation, a significant contribution has also been provided by the Nordic Board for Publication in the Humanities and Social Sciences (NOH-PS), and from Aalborg University since 2008. One of the aims of the journal was to publish Nordic tourism research from Nordic researchers. However, at the outset it was not clear what Nordic tourism issues were, and attempts were made to define what could possibly be the unique features of Nordic tourism and hence the context of our research agenda. We then thought of tourism and hospitality as phenomena and businesses based upon the natural, cultural, social, political and economic resources that an area can provide, but also as being restricted by the same factors. A strong advocate of the uniqueness issue was Associate Professor Øystein Jensen who argued that:

Emotion Regulation and Its Implications for Leadership: An Integrative Review and Future Research Agenda

This integrative review synthesizes research on emotion regulation and its implications for leadership, from both leaders’ and followers’ perspectives. Regulating one’s emotions is considered an area of key competence associated with effective and good leadership. Three themes emerged from the preliminary synthesis: (a) emotion regulation strategies as facilitators of health, (b) emotion regulation strategies as facilitators of job outcome, and (c) emotion regulation as barriers to health and job outcomes. Findings revealed that leaders’ emotion competencies, cultural understanding, and coaching ability and the quality of leader–member relationships seem particularly important for the efficiency of emotion regulation. Methodological shortcomings and future research are discussed.

Do spouses coordinate their work exits? A combined survey and register analysis from Norway.

Research on spouses’ joint work exits is scarce, although household factors such as spouses’ work status, marital quality, and caregiving burdens are likely to affect seniors’ work engagement. We therefore examine whether the work exit probability of one spouse affects that of the other. Discrete-time hazard regression analyses of survey data linked to later registry information including all gainfully employed married respondents aged 50–74 with a working spouse (N = 1,764) were used to assess subsequent work exits. A spouse’s work exit is a strong predictor of a respondent’s work exit (hazard ratio 3.1, 95% confidence interval [2.5, 4.0]). Educational attainment, poor marital quality, and spouses’ health and care needs do not predict work exits. Surprisingly, no gender differences are observed. Research on larger survey samples to distinguish different work exit routes and reasons for spouses’ joint work exits appears warranted. To account for cultural and welfare state characteristics, cross-national studies ought to be undertaken.

Measuring mental well-being: A validation of the Short Warwick–Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale in Norwegian and Swedish

Aims: Mental health, currently one of the biggest challenges worldwide, requires attention and research. The aim of this study was to examine the psychometric properties of the Short Warwick–Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale (SWEMWBS), and validate the scale for use in Norway and Sweden. SWEMWBS, which includes both hedonic and eudemonic principles of mental well-being, could facilitate useful future studies. Method: Data were collected among Norwegian and Swedish hotel managers (N=600) through self-rated online questionnaires. Tests used to examine the psychometric properties of the scale included descriptive statistics, correlations, reliability analyses, and explorative factor analyses in SPSS, as well as confirmatory factor analyses in AMOS. Robustness tests were run for gender and country subsamples. Results: The scale showed adequate internal consistency and reliability. Results of the confirmatory factor analysis showed moderate fit in Norway and Sweden. In addition, the scale showed acceptable construct, criterion-related, and discriminant validity. Conclusion: The psychometric properties of the SWEMWBS were acceptable in both the Norwegian and the Swedish translations of the scale.

Changes in Health and Health Behavior Associated With Retirement

Objectives: While poor health contributes to early work exits, it is less clear how early work exits affect health. This study therefore examines changes in health associated with retirement. Method: Survey data from gainfully employed individuals aged 57 to 66 in 2002 were used to assess changes in health status and behaviors associated with retirement (49%) 5 years later (N = 546). Results: Compared with workers, retirees were more likely to report improvements in mental health (odds ratio [OR] = 1.67), and less likely to report mental health deteriorations (OR = 0.56). Retirees were more likely to both increase (OR = 2.03) and reduce (OR = 1.87) their alcohol intake, and to increase physical activity (OR = 2.01) and lose weight (OR = 1.75). Discussion: As welfare states aim to extend working life to counteract repercussions of population aging, findings on possible health benefits for retirees may warrant more focus on the pros and cons of a prolonged working life.

Dyadic Relationships and Exchanges in Performance Appraisals

Background: Previous research indicates that quality of dyad exchanges related to performance appraisal (PA) vary across organizations and across occupational groups. Leader-member exchange theory (LMX) is often used to explain such dyad relationships. The aim: This article focuses on manager-employees dyad relationships related to performance appraisals, and explores the different effects of high and low quality on dyadic exchange through PA in municipal health service. Method: Questionnaires were distributed to a representative sample of 600 health personnel, both from nursing homes and home care, with a response rate of 62 %. The LMX-7 scale was used to measure dyad quality. Findings: Employees in nursing homes are more participating and report higher exchange quality with the manager in PA than employees in home care. All subordinates report more constructive discussion with higher exchanges in PA than managers do. Auxiliary nurses are more satisfied with feedback and exchange in PA than nurses. Managers experience more thorough feedback with higher quality exchanges in PA than nurses. Conclusion: Health personnel in municipal health services experience LMX in PA differently. That is, employees in home care and nursing homes are experiencing different LMX in PA. They experience therefore different effects of PA. PA = Performance appraisal LMX = leader-member exchange

The 16th Nordic Symposium on Tourism and Hospitality Research in Helsingborg: Reflections and Recommendations on Tourism Research and Borders

The Department of Service Management at Lund University, Campus Helsingborg successfully organized the 16th Nordic Symposium on Tourism and Hospitality Research from 27–29 September 2007, at the Elite Marina Hotel Plaza in Helsingborg. The conference was chaired by Dr Szilvia Gyimothy and Dr Stefan Gössling. Professor Arvid Viken from Finnmark University College, Professor Peter Björk from the Swedish School of Economics in Waasa, Associate Professor Thomas O’Dell from Lund University, Professor Dieter Müller from Umeå University and Dr Anne-Mette Hjalager, Advance1 in Århus acted as the scientific committee. The organizers provided information needed in the very best ways, both up front and during the conference. The schedules and abstracts were presented in hard copies, which still is the most convenient format when choosing between alternative presentations and parallel paper sessions. In addition, the collection of abstracts and submitted full papers were available on a USB stick as a gift for each participant. All abstracts and the submitted full papers were also made available online at www.ch.lu.se/16Nordic, which is favourable for referencing purposes. The full papers are being reviewed for possible publication in the Scandinavian Journal of Hospitality and Tourism and authors of especially interesting contributions will be invited to submit their contributions to the journal. Participants were also updated after the conference with memos and greetings from the organizers. The conference venue, the Elite Marina Hotel Plaza, is an inviting and hospitable hotel in the centre of Helsingborg and most adequate for a conference of this size. Most of the participants stayed at the conference hotel which makes the conference experience even more stimulating as it facilitates discussions and socializing. Two arenas were created – the academic discourses, refreshing coffee breaks and socializing were located on the fifth floor, and meals and more socializing took place on the first floor. Alternative hotel and B&B facilities were also offered, which was beneficial as the hotel was unable to accommodate all participants. Infrastructures like projectors and amplifiers functioned well, and presentations could be uploaded on the computers where they should be held in front of each session. The in-house Scandinavian Journal of Hospitality and Tourism, Vol. 8, No. 1, 62–68, 2008