Purpose: This research aims to unravel the intricate dynamics that connect economic status with individuals’ engagement in dance training institutes. Focusing on the affordability of classes, access to resources, awareness, cultural background, and geographic location, the study seeks to provide a nuanced understanding of how economic considerations influence various facets of engagement within the dance community. Method: Conducted through 13 semi-structured interviews, this research adopts a qualitative approach to explore the multi-faceted relationships between economic status and dance engagement. Thematic analysis, structured in three steps, is employed to uncover patterns, themes, and insights within the qualitative data. Findings: The study uncovers a myriad of findings that illuminate the impact of economic factors on dance engagement. Affordability emerges as a significant barrier, influencing access to classes and participation in competitions or performances. Access to resources, including studio space and trained instructors, proves pivotal in shaping individuals’ experiences within dance education. Awareness and exposure play crucial roles, with limited exposure hindering engagement, while the cultural background and geographic location intersect with economic considerations, shaping preferences and opportunities within the dance community. Originality/Significance: This research contributes to the field by offering a focused exploration of economic influences within the dance community. The originality lies in its holistic approach, considering the interconnected nature of affordability, access to resources, awareness, cultural background, and geographic location. From a policy and institutional standpoint, the findings have practical implications, guiding initiatives to address disparities and foster a more accessible and supportive environment within dance training institutes.
The ongoing dissemination of globalization and digitalization may suggest that personal relationships are becoming less crucial in the context of retail banking and financial services. In Hungary, in addition to private banking, which is associated with high income levels, personal banking also plays an important role. The objective of this study is to develop a model that can identify the factors that determine customer satisfaction and their relative importance. Furthermore, the aim is to incorporate gender and age as moderator variables to identify demographic differences in satisfaction. The analysis was conducted via a questionnaire survey in October to November 2023 employing a purposive sampling approach in a university environment, as the respondents are likely to possess the highest level of existing financial knowledge within this population. The 214 valid responses were analyzed using the Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) approach, with the objective of contributing to the development of theory in this field of study. The results demonstrate that perception (β = 0.519) and reliability (β = 0.253) collectively explained 51.8% of the variance in satisfaction. Moreover, the results indicate that perception accounts for 49.2% of the variance in reliability, suggesting the existence of an indirect effect on satisfaction. Therefore, the findings suggest that, despite the advent of digital banking, face to face service remains a pertinent concern in Hungary, and financial institutions should prioritize the factors that shape customer satisfaction. The study contributes to the literature and to the development of customer loyalty strategies for banks based on these findings.
Measuring the performance of healthcare organizations has become a crucial yet challenging task, which is the focus of this study. The paper’s primary goal is to identify the key factors that shape healthcare organizations’ performance management systems in Serbia, which can serve as useful guidelines for implementing sustainable solutions. Additionally, the aim is to emphasize the importance of a broad implementation of performance measurement systems to facilitate strategy implementation and enhance organizational effectiveness. The empirical research involved an online survey of 280 respondents, including managers, executives, and operational staff from both private and public healthcare organizations in Serbia. Statistical analysis was conducted using SPSS 20. The study identifies key challenges, including the lack of a developed performance measurement system, weak support from information and management systems for performance improvement, and an organizational structure that does not support performance enhancement. Furthermore, it has been found that a deeper understanding of the essence of measurement significantly contributes to identifying problems in its application in the healthcare sector. It was also observed that the more challenges identified in the measurement process, the less favourable the perception of the flexibility and adaptability of the system.
A The meaning of life is the purpose that defines a person’s existence based on a set of fundamental objectives that give meaning to life or not. Furthermore, not all individuals have a meaning in life, and it may be absent at some point or stage of life. Objective: To analyze Peruvian older adults’ socioeconomic factors and the meaning of life. Method: A descriptive, comparative, quantitative cross-sectional study was conducted. One thousand older adults were intentionally selected through quotas of 100 older adults in 10 localities in Arequipa, Peru. They were administered a survey validated with high levels of reliability on the meaning of life and socioeconomic factors. Results: A moderate level of meaning in life was found. Most older adults believe that increasing age decreases the purpose of living, and existential emptiness grows. Conclusions: Statistically significant differences (p < 0.05) were found between the meaning of life and the following socioeconomic factors: retirement, religion, educational level, cohabitation, marital status, income, and occupation. It is understood that older adults who scored higher on these factors indicate having meaning in life because they still fulfill the role of providers for the family economy, being util to their families compared to the majority who scored low, which indicates an absence of meaning of life leading to an increase existential void.
eGovernment projects are capital intensive and have high probability of failure because of the dynamic and technological laden environment in which they operate. The number of skilled labour and technicalities required are often not available in quantity needed to sustain such project. There is always the need to have in place adequate risk assessment framework to guide the execution and monitoring of eGovernment projects. Several studies have been conducted on the critical success factors relating to risk assessment of eGovernment projects to understand the reasons for the high rate of failure. Therefore, there is need to review these articles and categorize them into different research domain in project risk assessment so as to reveal domain with more or less research and those that need to understand the future research directions in risk assessment for eGovernment projects. Using the positivism paradigm, this study utilized the Systematic Literature Review methodology to collect 147 articles from the following academic databases namely IEEE, Preprints, WorldCat Discovery, ArXiv. Ohio-state University databases, Science Direct, Scopus, ACM, NWU digital library, Usenix, Jise database, Sagepub, MDPI Academia published between 2013 to 2023. Different inclusion and exclusion criteria were applied pruning to 48 articles that were used for the study. The results show the classification of articles in risk assessment for eGovernment projects into those that discusses project analysis, review, framework, maturity and model tools, implementation, and integration, applied methodology and evaluation with the percentage of articles published in each domain with the past 10 years. The various critical success factors that should be considered in the development of a robust risk assessment framework were discussed and future research directions in eGovernment risk assessment were given based on the reviews.
One significant importance of street vending in South Africa is its role in providing livelihoods and economic opportunities, especially for marginalized and vulnerable populations. However, Street vendors, particularly those selling agricultural commodities, face numerous challenges. Street vending in Moletjie Mmotong is a vital source of income and employment, offering affordable goods and services, including food, clothing, and household items. One potential solution is online selling, but there is limited knowledge about it in the informal sector. This study aims to analyze the factors affecting street vendors’ willingness to sell fruits and vegetables online in Moletjie Mmotong under Polokwane Municipality. Data was collected from 60 street vendors using a questionnaire and simple random sampling. Descriptive statistics identified and described the socio-economic characteristics of the vendors, while a binary logistic regression model analyzed the factors influencing their willingness to sell online. The study found that age, education level, gender, household size, and access to online selling information significantly influenced their willingness to sell online. The findings highlight the potential benefits of online selling for street vendors, such as increased sales and a broader customer base. The study recommends that governments provide training and workshops on online selling, develop educational programs, distribute educational materials, and create marketing strategies to support street vendors in transitioning to online platforms.
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