Studies of electoral geography have traditionally examined the impact of spatial context on vote choice at the neighborhood or larger geographical level, overlooking potential effects of the immediate physical environment in the polling station. Observations of actual polling stations located in schools in Israel revealed a strong presence of nationalist and religious content in and around voting booths, in the form of naïve décor such as murals and children’s drawings (Study 1). In three experimental studies (Studies 2–4), we examine the effect on voters of such seemingly apolitical cues. The experimental studies were conducted in the days prior to Israeli general elections for the 21st and 22nd Knesset. Using a virtual-reality interface based on real-life content in actual polling stations (Study 2, student sample) and simulated environments (Studies 3 and 4, representative samples of Jewish Israeli voters), the three experiments document an effect of naïve nationalist décor on simulated voting, particularly for left-wing less-nationalist voters. In Study 5, based on actual voting in the 22nd Knesset, we capitalize on the random allocation of voters to polling stations in schools and find a correlation between the content displayed around polling places and voting patterns among distinctively left-wing populations. Investigating the influence of the encounter with the immediate environment at a resolution of meters and seconds exposes the potential impact of the (ultra-)micro temporo-spatial scale on decision-making and enriches theoretical discussions on the multiscalarity of contexts in electoral geography analyses.

Cultural landscapes can contribute to positive environmental appraisals. However, previous studies focused on exposure to ingroup culture. Referring the debate in Europe on Muslim symbols in the public sphere, this study examines the effect of exposure to outgroup cultural cues on environmental appraisals. We compare environmental appraisals of participants from France, Germany, and the Netherlands after a simulated walk in an outgroup (Muslim) cultural landscape or a religiously-neutral environment. The effect of the Muslim setting was contingent on intolerance, with tolerant individuals reporting more positive environmental appraisals in the Muslim environment. However, this effect reversed as intolerance increased, and more intolerant individuals perceived the Muslim environment more negatively than the control. These findings offer an alternative view to the idea that the visibility of Muslim symbols in the public space has negative effects. Instead, we reveal a nuanced interplay between the urban environment, sociopolitical context and individual-level differences.

Smartphones and mobile applications (apps) have become indispensable tools for travelers. Despite their pivotal role in the tourism industry and continuous advancements, our understanding of their usage and integration is limited. Adopting a bottom-up approach, we analyzed and characterized 347 tourism mobility apps, differentiating between globally-used apps and those that are developed and used locally in four renowned tourist destinations: Amsterdam, Barcelona, Venice, and Dubrovnik. The central attributes that characterize these apps were revealed through factor analysis, including tourist-oriented functionality, orientation and navigation, efficacy, effective mobility, social (interaction), and activities. Four types of apps, namely mobility, navigation, interact and experience, and social media, were then grouped using k-means clustering. Our typology facilitates a better understanding of the tourism apps market and the apps' added value. This topic is becoming increasingly important, considering the smartization processes that destinations are undergoing.

Portable sensing, in which lightweight mobile sensors are used to measure stimuli, events, and human behavior, is a new and disruptive data collection paradigm. It has several methodological advantages compared to traditional methods and is suitable for investigating the dynamism of increasingly mobile and urban societies. In this article, we discuss the motivations behind the use of portable sensing and reflect upon the advances, limitations, and future of the field. Although portable sensing is still in its infancy, we foresee that its utilization will grow in the coming years. For portable sensing to become a prevalent and legitimate methodological approach, it is essential to have conceptually strong study designs that are grounded in suitable ethical procedures and comply with data protection regulations.

Recent approaches in the research on walkable environments and wellbeing go beyond correlational analysis to consider the specific characteristics of individuals and their interaction with the immediate environment. Accordingly, a need has been accentuated for new human-centered methods to improve our understanding of the mechanisms underlying environmental effects on walking and consequently on wellbeing. Immersive virtual environments (IVEs) were suggested as a potential method that can advance this type of research as they offer a unique combination between controlled experimental environments that allow drawing causal conclusions and a high level of environmental realism that supports ecological validity. The current study pilot tested a walking simulator with additional sensor technologies, including biosensors, eye tracking and gait sensors. Results found IVEs to facilitate extremely high tempo-spatial-resolution measurement of physical walking parameters (e.g., speed, number of gaits) along with walking experience and wellbeing (e.g., electrodermal activity, heartrate). This level of resolution is useful in linking specific environmental stimuli to the psychophysiological and behavioral reactions, which cannot be obtained in real-world and self-report research designs. A set of guidelines for implementing IVE technology for research is suggested in order to standardize its use and allow new researchers to engage with this emerging field of research.

Advanced tracking technologies have facilitated the tracking of tourists' movement with high levels of spatial resolution, allowing for the exploration of factors that influence dispersal. However, the degree to which different analytical indices impact the results that they generate, remains under-researched. This study uses a high tempo-spatial resolution data set of location tracking information that was collected in the island state of Tasmania, Australia, using a mobile phone research application. It compares the results that emerge when four different analytical indicators are used to quantify tourist dispersal. The results improve understandings of the role that analytical indicators play in assessing dispersal, along with the underlying factors that influence tourists' dispersal at the state scale.

Happiness and subjective experiences receive growing attention in the business and economic literature as a central force that determines consumer satisfaction. This process is supported, to a great deal, by technological developments in the form of portable and ubiquitous information, communication, and location technologies. In this article, we argue that the interaction of tourists with the destination is becoming mediated through technological apparatuses and thus products that are being consumed are becoming increasingly personalized. We call for a paradigmatic shift in the analysis of tourist experience and destination competitiveness which should build on the following four elements: (1) utilizing advanced methodological tools that rely on mobile and sensor technologies, (2) adopting disaggregated research approach toward experiences, (3) employing high spatial resolution analysis to allow a precise investigation of content- and place-specific experiences, and (4) avoiding the traditional differentiation between destinations as suppliers of attractions and tourists as passive consumers.

The article discusses the feasibility and benefits of using immersive virtual environments (IVEs) to gauge the environmental preferences of individuals. The discussion is based on the results of a stated preference conjoint experiment employed within an IVE. In the experiment, participants were asked to rate and rank their cycling experience during and after they had cycled a few virtual routes with changing environmental characteristics. Participants repeated the experiment a week later to allow the examination of the test–retest reliability of the method. Presence level—namely the extent to which one has an actual sense of being in the simulated world—was computed using the ITC–SOPI questionnaire. The scores were compared with an equivalent, more traditional, still images conjoint task that was administrated to a control group. Presence level was significantly higher in the IVE compared to the still images experiment. This finding supports the notion that IVEs may yield greater external validity due to their higher level of realism. Relatively low test–retest reliability scores between the two IVE experiment rounds were obtained. This might be explained by the participants' low familiarity with IVEs, which in the first round diverted their attention from the conjoint task itself. In contrast, the test–retest scores of post-IVE evaluations, which are considered more cognitive in their nature, were satisfactory. Implications of the experiments and suggestions for future research are discussed.

Advances in commercial wearable devices are increasingly facilitating the collection and analysis of everyday physiological data. This article discusses the theoretical and practical aspects of using such ambulatory devices for the detection of episodic changes in physiological signals as a marker for mental state in outdoor environments. A pilot study was conducted to evaluate the feasibility of using commercial wearables in combination with location tracking technologies. The study measured physiological signals for fifteen participants, including heart rate, heart rate variability, and skin conductance. Participants? signals were recorded during an outdoor walk that was tracked using a Global Positioning System logger. The walk was designed to pass through various types of environments including green, blue, and urban spaces, as well as a more stressful road crossing. The data that were obtained were used to demonstrate how biosensor information can be contextualized and enriched using location information. Significant episodic changes in physiological signals under real-world conditions were detectable in the stressful road crossing but not in the other types of environments. The article concludes that despite challenges and limitations of current off-the-shelf wearables, the utilization of these devices offers novel opportunities for evaluating episodic changes in physiological signals as a marker for mental state during everyday activities including in outdoor environments. Key Words: electrodermal activity, GPS, mental state, stress, wearable.

Reduced mobility is associated with decrease in both hedonic and eudemonic aspects of well-being. The current chapter investigates the potential of employing smartphone location tracking to investigate the association between deteriorating mobility and wellbeing among individuals with chronic disease during daily activity. The locations of 36 patients with sickle cell disease, a genetic disorder that affects the production of hemoglobin, were tracked continuously every 2 min using participants' smartphones to allow the calculation of movement parameters such as walking and driving distance and speed. The results of the study were mixed. (1) While smartphone tracking could be performed continuously for long periods of time for some patients (e.g. more than 100 days of tacking), data quality was not consistent for other patients. Twenty-one out the 36 patients enrolled had poor or no spatial information. Based on the results of other studies, we suspect that this is mainly due to motivational factors (e.g. participants did not keep the phone's location services on) and not a fault of the hardware. We conclude that future studies should implement some incentive or feedback mechanism that will enhance motivation of participants. (2) The association between daily mobility parameters and physical and mental wellbeing (i.e. depression, pain level) were in the expected direction, but results were not significant for the most part. While this could be attributed to the small sample of the study, it might also be the case that other indicators which better represent the tempo-spatial context of human behavior should be considered in the future.

In today's developed world, the ability of a city to generate good experiences for its residents and visitors is a main aspect of its attractiveness. A good city is considered to be one in which people feel secure, relaxed, and happy. This article explores the factors that influence the subjective momentary experiences of individuals in the city, while focusing on the impact of spatial variables on these experiences; 91 students living in Jerusalem, Israel, were asked to repeatedly self-report four dimensions of episodic experience, namely, sense of security, happiness, annoyance, and sense of comfort. Reports were sent in real time using a smartphone application during an eight-month period. The results, based on over 5000 experience samples, indicate that subjective momentary experiences, particularly sense of comfort and sense of security, are highly influenced by situational variables and environmental characteristics including type of activity and environment, place characteristics, and company. Surp...

ABSTRACT Nowadays, a growing number of researchers are investigating subjective attitudes of people toward their environment with ever-increasing spatial and temporal resolutions. It seems that researchers' interest in daily experiences is not merely a passing research fad, but rather that individuals in current societies find more interest in their own momentary experiences. They talk about their affective states, they spend considerable portions of their income on intangible experiences, and they instantly share personal ‘moments' through various online social media platforms. These trends are even more apparent in the tourism and leisure industries which aim to generate positive experiences among individuals. This research note points out new directions in the exploration of experiences during tourism and leisure activities. It discusses a new relevant concept, subjective momentary experiences on one hand and presents novel methodological opportunities on the other. In order to portray these new trends,...