title: Influences of indication response requirement and target prevalence on dogs’ performance in a scent-detection task

authors: Edwards, Timothy L.

abstract: Scent-detection dogs assist humans with many socially significant tasks and hold promise for assisting with many others. However, the methods used to train scent-detection dogs and the conditions under which they work are highly variable, and the influences of many relevant factors on scent-detection performance are poorly understood. Using an automated scent-detection apparatus that allowed the dogs to work independently from a handler, we evaluated the influence of two factors on scent-detection performance with amyl acetate as the target. In the first experiment in this study, we examined the influence of the indication response requirement on the performance of five dogs trained to perform a scent-detection task. The indication response consisted of the dogs breaking an infrared beam in a port through which they accessed samples. The response requirement was manipulated by adjusting the duration of the beam break that was required to activate food reinforcement if the target was present. As the indication response requirement increased, dogs’ ability to detect the target remained unchanged, as indicated by stable log d measures across durations (p =.09), but their response bias, represented by log B, shifted from a tendency to indicate that targets were present to a tendency to indicate that targets were absent (p <.001). In the second experiment, we examined the influence of target prevalence, or the proportion of samples that are target samples, on four dogs’ scent-detection performance. As target prevalence decreased, the dogs’ ability to detect the target remained unchanged (p =.13), but their response bias shifted from a tendency to indicate that the targets were present to a tendency to indicate that targets were absent (p <.001). This finding aligns with the “low-prevalence effect,” which is commonly observed in human signal detection research. The findings from both experiments have important theoretical and practical implications. For example, by adjusting response effort, we can alter dogs’ response bias toward or away from indicating the presence of targets and, by having a clear understanding of the influence of target prevalence on bias, we can make informed decisions about the need to artificially increase target prevalence when dogs are searching for rare targets.

text: Influences of indication response requirement and target prevalence on dogs’ performance in a scent-detection task Scent-detection dogs assist humans with many socially significant tasks and hold promise for assisting with many others. However, the methods used to train scent-detection dogs and the conditions under which they work are highly variable, and the influences of many relevant factors on scent-detection performance are poorly understood. Using an automated scent-detection apparatus that allowed the dogs to work independently from a handler, we evaluated the influence of two factors on scent-detection performance with amyl acetate as the target. In the first experiment in this study, we examined the influence of the indication response requirement on the performance of five dogs trained to perform a scent-detection task. The indication response consisted of the dogs breaking an infrared beam in a port through which they accessed samples. The response requirement was manipulated by adjusting the duration of the beam break that was required to activate food reinforcement if the target was present. As the indication response requirement increased, dogs’ ability to detect the target remained unchanged, as indicated by stable log d measures across durations (p =.09), but their response bias, represented by log B, shifted from a tendency to indicate that targets were present to a tendency to indicate that targets were absent (p <.001). In the second experiment, we examined the influence of target prevalence, or the proportion of samples that are target samples, on four dogs’ scent-detection performance. As target prevalence decreased, the dogs’ ability to detect the target remained unchanged (p =.13), but their response bias shifted from a tendency to indicate that the targets were present to a tendency to indicate that targets were absent (p <.001). This finding aligns with the “low-prevalence effect,” which is commonly observed in human signal detection research. The findings from both experiments have important theoretical and practical implications. For example, by adjusting response effort, we can alter dogs’ response bias toward or away from indicating the presence of targets and, by having a clear understanding of the influence of target prevalence on bias, we can make informed decisions about the need to artificially increase target prevalence when dogs are searching for rare targets.

year: 2022

title: Drivers of guest loyalty in the hotel industry in New Zealand: The role of staff loyalty, service quality, guest satisfaction and commitment, and the influence of loyalty programmes

authors: Elebiary, Ahmed Mohamed Hassan

subjects: Staff loyalty

abstract: This study focused on investigating the drivers of guest loyalty in the hotel industry. Specifically, the study further explored the role of staff loyalty, service quality, guest satisfaction and commitment, and the influence of loyalty programmes. The research methodology used both qualitative and quantitative methods in a two-step process comprising focus groups and self-administered surveys. Data collected from the focus groups were analyzed using CATPAC. The survey was developed from the information collected from the focus groups and a review of the literature. Data collected from the survey were analyzed using both regression and structural equation modeling. A model of guest loyalty drivers (GLDM) was proposed and validated in the study. The study contributes to the present body of knowledge in hospitality management theory as it investigated the drivers of guest loyalty. Results from the survey showed that loyalty programmes have a significant impact on guest loyalty more than staff loyalty and staff interaction, but guest satisfaction and guest affective commitment had more significant impact on guest loyalty than loyalty programmes. This study suggests some implications for hotel managers to consider before introducing or developing a loyalty programme. For example, the research shows that there are some gender differences in relation to loyalty programmes. Male guests look for better service, special treatment and collecting points, while female guests look mainly for price incentives and experiencing a unique stay. These findings indicate that hotel managers need to consider the use of different loyalty schemes for different guests. The model proposed in the study (GLDM) provided a new insight for academics and practitioners. Although, it was evident from the study that staff loyalty, staff interaction (as a dimension of service quality), guest satisfaction and commitment, and loyalty programmes are directly linked to and are capable of predicting guest loyalty in the hotel industry as drivers for guest loyalty. The study also indicates that hotel managers should not overlook staff attitude in preference to loyalty programmes; in the sense that, hotels should focus on developing interpersonal relationships between staff and guests. This study demonstrates that hotels should allocate more resources to relational marketing at both the beginning and throughout the relational exchange. The new model is of considerable interest to both academics and practioners alike; as it gives a new dimension to the interelationship between service, staff, satisfaction and guest loyalty, and lends itself to further research which will help gain a greater understanding of this interrelationship.

text: Drivers of guest loyalty in the hotel industry in New Zealand: The role of staff loyalty, service quality, guest satisfaction and commitment, and the influence of loyalty programmes This study focused on investigating the drivers of guest loyalty in the hotel industry. Specifically, the study further explored the role of staff loyalty, service quality, guest satisfaction and commitment, and the influence of loyalty programmes. The research methodology used both qualitative and quantitative methods in a two-step process comprising focus groups and self-administered surveys. Data collected from the focus groups were analyzed using CATPAC. The survey was developed from the information collected from the focus groups and a review of the literature. Data collected from the survey were analyzed using both regression and structural equation modeling. A model of guest loyalty drivers (GLDM) was proposed and validated in the study. The study contributes to the present body of knowledge in hospitality management theory as it investigated the drivers of guest loyalty. Results from the survey showed that loyalty programmes have a significant impact on guest loyalty more than staff loyalty and staff interaction, but guest satisfaction and guest affective commitment had more significant impact on guest loyalty than loyalty programmes. This study suggests some implications for hotel managers to consider before introducing or developing a loyalty programme. For example, the research shows that there are some gender differences in relation to loyalty programmes. Male guests look for better service, special treatment and collecting points, while female guests look mainly for price incentives and experiencing a unique stay. These findings indicate that hotel managers need to consider the use of different loyalty schemes for different guests. The model proposed in the study (GLDM) provided a new insight for academics and practitioners. Although, it was evident from the study that staff loyalty, staff interaction (as a dimension of service quality), guest satisfaction and commitment, and loyalty programmes are directly linked to and are capable of predicting guest loyalty in the hotel industry as drivers for guest loyalty. The study also indicates that hotel managers should not overlook staff attitude in preference to loyalty programmes; in the sense that, hotels should focus on developing interpersonal relationships between staff and guests. This study demonstrates that hotels should allocate more resources to relational marketing at both the beginning and throughout the relational exchange. The new model is of considerable interest to both academics and practioners alike; as it gives a new dimension to the interelationship between service, staff, satisfaction and guest loyalty, and lends itself to further research which will help gain a greater understanding of this interrelationship.

year: 2012

title: The embodied and lived experiences of welfare and care for highly impaired, high performance para-sport athletes in Aotearoa New Zealand

authors: Lowry, Amanda

abstract: Aligning with calls in critical disability studies to bring the body and impairment into disability sport, this thesis examines the welfare and care experiences of highly impaired athletes in high-performance sport. While a focus on athlete welfare has gained some international prominence, and a duty of care is increasingly invoked as an organisational and coaching responsibility, these developments remain largely disconnected from disability.  
The research is centred around two main objectives. First, to amplify the lived and embodied experiences of highly impaired, high performance disabled athletes as they prepare for, train, and compete in sport, and those who support them. Second, to understand how sporting institutions and regulations (within the broader context of government funding and national health care provision) influence welfare and care practices for high performance disabled athletes. 
Crip methodologies and Indigenous Māori storytelling methodologies such as pūrākau centres lived experience as a site of resistance and knowledge production. Using a reflexive, qualitative approach, including semi-structured interviews, autoethnographic vignettes, and visual ethnography, I expose how impairment effects are managed in ableist sporting environments that valorise normative athlete ideals. I interviewed 11 high-performance paraathletes, seven organisational representatives and two support workers. 
The research highlights the material, emotional, and temporal labour of care in highperformance sport. Findings are organised around three core themes: the embodied labour of care, impairment effects and interdependence; the tension between crip time, care time, and performance time; the intersecting structural, institutional, and ableist barriers that shape and constrain highly impaired athletes’ participation in disability sport.  
The first theme shows how high-performance sport privileges autonomous, efficient, and normative bodies, while marginalising those whose messy, gritty embodied impairment effects demand more time, support, and interdependence. The findings bring to the fore biosocial, psycho-emotional costs of navigating care and its impact on athlete welfare. The second theme uncovers how the rhythms of highly impaired bodies disrupt the linear, clockbound time of high-performance sport, revealing the incompatibility between care time and high performance cultures. It highlights the vital yet invisible labour of support workers, ii unacknowledged in contemporary sporting discourse. The third theme addresses the barriers that highly impaired athletes face when navigating ableist institutional and organisational structures. It exposes the complexity of the ableist disability sporting landscape and the gap between duty of care rhetoric and practice. 
Ultimately, this thesis calls for a radical reimagining of disability sport, one that centres interdependence, affirms bodily difference, and addresses the structural failures that marginalise highly impaired athletes.

text: The embodied and lived experiences of welfare and care for highly impaired, high performance para-sport athletes in Aotearoa New Zealand Aligning with calls in critical disability studies to bring the body and impairment into disability sport, this thesis examines the welfare and care experiences of highly impaired athletes in high-performance sport. While a focus on athlete welfare has gained some international prominence, and a duty of care is increasingly invoked as an organisational and coaching responsibility, these developments remain largely disconnected from disability.  
The research is centred around two main objectives. First, to amplify the lived and embodied experiences of highly impaired, high performance disabled athletes as they prepare for, train, and compete in sport, and those who support them. Second, to understand how sporting institutions and regulations (within the broader context of government funding and national health care provision) influence welfare and care practices for high performance disabled athletes. 
Crip methodologies and Indigenous Māori storytelling methodologies such as pūrākau centres lived experience as a site of resistance and knowledge production. Using a reflexive, qualitative approach, including semi-structured interviews, autoethnographic vignettes, and visual ethnography, I expose how impairment effects are managed in ableist sporting environments that valorise normative athlete ideals. I interviewed 11 high-performance paraathletes, seven organisational representatives and two support workers. 
The research highlights the material, emotional, and temporal labour of care in highperformance sport. Findings are organised around three core themes: the embodied labour of care, impairment effects and interdependence; the tension between crip time, care time, and performance time; the intersecting structural, institutional, and ableist barriers that shape and constrain highly impaired athletes’ participation in disability sport.  
The first theme shows how high-performance sport privileges autonomous, efficient, and normative bodies, while marginalising those whose messy, gritty embodied impairment effects demand more time, support, and interdependence. The findings bring to the fore biosocial, psycho-emotional costs of navigating care and its impact on athlete welfare. The second theme uncovers how the rhythms of highly impaired bodies disrupt the linear, clockbound time of high-performance sport, revealing the incompatibility between care time and high performance cultures. It highlights the vital yet invisible labour of support workers, ii unacknowledged in contemporary sporting discourse. The third theme addresses the barriers that highly impaired athletes face when navigating ableist institutional and organisational structures. It exposes the complexity of the ableist disability sporting landscape and the gap between duty of care rhetoric and practice. 
Ultimately, this thesis calls for a radical reimagining of disability sport, one that centres interdependence, affirms bodily difference, and addresses the structural failures that marginalise highly impaired athletes.

year: 2025-10