Browsing by Issue Date, starting with "2025-03-22"
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- Motorhome and vanlife travel as serious leisure: a positive sociology approachPublication . Anica Claro Rodrigues, Teresa Isabel; Marques, João FilipeDespite travel and tourism sometimes being mentioned in the literature as 'casual leisure' activities, they are practically absent from the 'serious leisure perspective'. However, a significant number of studies have argued that some modes of travelling and touring can indeed be framed from the serious leisure perspective. The main objective of this article is to demonstrate, through empirical evidence and the theoretical lens of positive sociology, that motorhome tourism and 'vanlife' travel possess the six qualities of serious leisure identified by Stebbins: perseverance, career, effort, durable benefits, unique ethos and identity. Not only can motorhome and van touring induce experiences of hedonic pleasure (as casual leisure), but they can also promote states of eudaemonic well-being and flow (as serious leisure), which are more challenging to achieve but much more lasting and transformative. Considering the blend of hedonic and eudaimonic experiences lived by motorhome travellers, it can be argued that, with this way of travelling, they achieve an 'optimal leisure lifestyle'. The empirical research took place in the Algarve region (Southern Portugal) and resorted to a 'mobile methodology': an ethnographic approach that included participant and non-participant observations and a series of semi-structured interviews through the use of a rented motorhome.
- Assessing the invasion risk of the cnidaria Blackfordia virginica Mayer, 1910: a threat to the Baltic Sea ecosystem?Publication . Serandour, Baptiste; Leroy, Boris; Blenckner, Thorsten; Mittermayer, Felix; Clemmesen, Catriona; Cruz, Joana; Nowaczyk, Antoine; Winder, MonikaThe ecological role, bloom extent and long-term dynamics of jellyfishes are mostly overlooked due to sampling limitations, leading to the lack of continuous long-term datasets. A rise in frequency and magnitude of jellyfish invasion around the world is shedding new light on these organisms. In this study, we estimate the current and future distribution of the introduced jellyfish Blackfordia virginica in the Baltic Sea. We determine the combination of favorable levels of temperature and salinity for this species by analyzing presence/absence data from areas outside the Baltic Sea and project the distribution of suitable habitat in the Baltic Sea across different scenarios with variable climate forcing and eutrophication levels. Our results show that suitability increases with rising temperature and optimal salinity range from 13 to 20 for this species. In addition, a relatively large area of the Baltic Sea represents favorable abiotic conditions for B. virginica, enhancing the concerns on its potential range expansion. Spatial analysis illustrates that the coastal areas of the southern Baltic Sea are particularly at risk for the invasion of the species. The observation of the projection of habitat suitability across time highlights that future Baltic Sea environmental conditions increase suitability levels for B. virginica and suggest a potential expansion of its distribution in the future.