Factors influencing Jamaican householders’ housing choice

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anetheo Jackson ◽  
Carol Dean Archer

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to bridge the gap in knowledge of Jamaican householders’ housing choices and to provide empirical research that will support the inclusion of the householders’ perspectives in developing housing policies and programmes in Jamaica. Design/methodology/approach A questionnaire survey of 430 householders drawn from public housing developments in 6 of 14 parishes in Jamaica was conducted. A pragmatic approach was taken in this study. As such, both qualitative and quantitative data were used to investigate the factors influencing householders’ housing choices. The data were analysed using exploratory factor analysis to extract the main factors influencing the householders’ housing choices. Findings The research revealed that the dwelling features and its environment, accessibility and neighbourhood attributes are three factors influencing householders’ housing choice. Notably, the dwelling and its immediate environment explained the majority of the variance in housing choice. This suggests that if householders are given a choice between a larger more desirable dwelling in a clean, safe and well-maintained community and housing with proximity to work, job opportunities, urban services and other proximity variables, they are less likely to choose the latter. Research limitations/implications The factors obtained from this study provide some insights into the scale of preference of the household heads and desired attributes of affordable housing solutions. They also shed some light on what might have caused some past affordable housing solutions to be undesirable. In addition to this, there is some intuition that there may be efficacy in adopting a community development approach to housing. These results have strong implications for housing planning. However, given the island’s challenge with the proliferation of squatter settlements, it is recommended that further research, which includes these householders’ be carried out. Originality/value This research is the first to examine the views of Jamaican householders’ with the purpose of understanding what influences their choice of housing. The findings provide new insights into the trade-off that householders may be willing to make in choosing their housing. The results provide a source of reference in reviewing the performance of past policies and programmes.

2015 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 219-230 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin O'Sullivan ◽  
Richard Kemp ◽  
David Bright

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to lay the groundwork for a narrative study of desistance that is both qualitative and quantitative. Design/methodology/approach – The review traces the strands of research that have made self-story an important theme in the study of desistance with particular reference to work since 2001. Findings – The importance of an agentic self-story in the process of desistance from crime came to prominence in the work of Shadd Maruna (1997, 2001). Since then authors have attempted to formulate: first, an integrated theoretical view of desistance incorporating agency; and second, a clinically useful understanding of how self-story is important. The clinical studies have almost always been qualitative, relying on extensive life history interviews which yield great richness of detail but few, if any, testable hypotheses. To date, such studies have not provided the empirical foundation on which to develop policy in correctional environments. Practical implications – If it is found that a measure of self-belief correlates with desistance from crime, it may be possible to devise psychological interventions to enhance and change self-belief. Originality/value – The paper proposes adding a quantitative approach to the measurement of self-concept in order to estimate the likelihood of desistance.


Author(s):  
Evan H. Offstein ◽  
Rebecca M. Chory ◽  
J. Stephen Childers Jr

Purpose – This study aims to offer insights into the contextual and situational variables that influence volunteering choices. Design/methodology/approach – An analysis of European and US business students’ volunteering experiences is performed. Cross-cultural and experiential outcomes are compared and contrasted at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. Findings – A majority of volunteering decisions are made without thoughtful reflection, based on convenience in an effort to reduce personal hardship, and influenced heavily by institutional and organizational structures. Originality/value – These results call into question the notion that volunteering-related choices are deeply personal, purposeful and/or reflective decisions. Moreover, the findings begin to explain why volunteerism continues to be dogged by labels such as “ineffective”, “inefficient” or “lacking in value” when benchmarked against expectations.


2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (6) ◽  
pp. 1281-1310 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ashna Chandra ◽  
Justin Paul ◽  
Meena Chavan

PurposeThis paper reviews the literature on internationalization barriers of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) from developing countries. The purposes of the study are: (1) to explicitly point out specific factors influencing the growth and internationalization of SMEs from developing countries and (2) to identify the research gaps to provide lucid and succinct directions for future research in this area.Design/methodology/approachThe authors selected relevant papers from journals listed on Web of Science and Scopus databases.FindingsIt was found that there are large number of questions remain unanswered regarding the internationalization of SMEs from developing countries regarding the factors determining their growth and internationalization.Originality/valueThis review distinctively accentuates previous studies on such barriers influencing the growth of SMEs from developing countries and systematically synthesize the issues faced by those SMEs. Thus, the authors seek to provide a comprehensible platform for researchers working in this area.


2019 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 653-670
Author(s):  
Qian Hao ◽  
Xiangyan Shi ◽  
Danlu Bu ◽  
Liaoliao Li

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impacts of the 2008 Chinese stimulus program on earnings management. Design/methodology/approach Using a sample period from 2004 to 2011 (per-stimulus period: 2004-2007 and post-stimulus period: 2008-2011), the authors compare the change in earnings management between the firms that received the stimulus funds and those that did not receive the stimulus funds. Findings The authors find that from the pre- to post-stimulus period, the recipient firms experienced a greater increase in downward accrual management and a greater decrease in real management than the non-recipient firms did. This result is primarily driven by the non-state-owned enterprises and firms using non-Big-Four auditors. Originality/value The results suggest that the earnings management level is ultimately determined by the underlying economic and political factors influencing managers’ and auditors’ incentives (Cohen, 2008; Ball et al., 2003). Meanwhile, some mechanisms, such as high-quality audit (Eshleman and Guo, 2014) and state ownership (Wang and Yung, 2011) can also play a role in determining the level of earnings management.


2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 311-335
Author(s):  
Sabine Elisabeth Töppig ◽  
Miguel Moital

PurposeTo establish how and why exhibition managers manage circulation, this study explores the techniques (specific activities used to influence circulation), outputs (tangible enhancements in the performance of the exhibition resulting from changes in circulation dynamics) and outcomes (benefits of those enhancements to exhibitors, attendees and the exhibition organiser) of circulation management.Design/methodology/approachIn face-to-face interviews, 10 exhibition managers were asked how and why they manage attendee circulation, which also involved a card-sorting exercise to elicit tacit circulation management knowledge. Four different experienced exhibitions managers from three continents were asked to validate the findings.FindingsFour types of techniques were identified: magnet, layout, curiosity and playfulness and guiding techniques, with these implemented to achieve five outputs: greater footfall, better exposure to exhibits, enhanced navigation, greater buzz and managing congestion levels. The results further show that circulation was managed to achieve a variety of organiser-, exhibitor- and attendee-related outcomes. The study uncovered a large range of factors influencing the employment of circulation management techniques. Conflicts in outputs resulting from several techniques are highlighted, requiring the exhibition manager to establish which outputs and resulting outcomes take priority over others.Originality/valueThis exploratory study is the first study to propose a circulation management model for the exhibition context, equipping exhibition managers with knowledge to strategically manage attendee circulation.


2018 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 338-362 ◽  
Author(s):  
Choo-Hui Park ◽  
Hankyu Chu

Purpose The Government of Korea institutionalized the World Korean Business Convention (WKBC) and the World Korean Business Network (WKBN) to promote Korean diaspora entrepreneurs’ investment in the homeland. Few studies have examined the effectiveness of the WKBC and WKBN and the critical variables affecting them. This paper aims to fill this gap by exploring important variables affecting Korean diaspora entrepreneurs’ investment in the homeland. It also seeks to examine the relationships among these variables to inquire upon a set of critical questions pertaining to Korean diaspora entrepreneurs’ investment in the homeland including the effectiveness of the WKBC and WKBN. Design/methodology/approach To achieve the above purpose, critical variables influencing Korean diaspora entrepreneurs’ investment in the homeland were identified and four hypotheses that include the inquiries pertaining to the effectiveness of the WKBC and WKBN were developed in terms of those variables. The hypotheses were empirically tested using the survey data gathered from the participants of the annual WKBC. Findings The current research found that Korean diaspora entrepreneurs’ evaluation of the investment climate in the homeland was not favorable. The WKBC was positively evaluated by Korean diaspora entrepreneurs willing to make investment, There is discrepancy between expectations of the WKBN’s target group (i.e. Korean diaspora entrepreneurs willing to make investment) and its performance for the group, and there is a difference between ascending and descending Korean diaspora entrepreneurs in assessment of investment value of the homeland. Originality/value A majority of studies on diaspora entrepreneurship and development have so far cast light on ascending diaspora entrepreneurs while neglecting descending diaspora entrepreneurs. In this regard, the most interesting finding of the current study to both researchers and policymakers may be the fact that descending Korean diaspora entrepreneurs assess the investment value of the homeland differently from ascending Korea diaspora entrepreneurs. The finding calls for further research on causes of the difference, and different natures of descending diaspora entrepreneurs compared to those of ascending diaspora entrepreneurs. Such research will enable policymakers to formulate and implement effective strategic diaspora policies that take the differences into consideration.


Author(s):  
Olasunkanmi Habeeb Okunola

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to identify and analyze indicators for measuring residents’ level of social and physical vulnerability to human-induced disasters in disaster-prone communities of Lagos, Nigeria. Design/methodology/approach The study adopted the quantitative research method. Questionnaires were administered to household heads in three disaster-prone communities of Lagos, Nigeria. Using systematic random sampling technique, household heads’ opinions were sampled in 10 per cent of the buildings. This effort culminated in the sampling of 288 household heads in the three communities. Findings The study identified flood, fire outbreak and environmental pollution as the most prevalence disasters in the communities. State of infrastructure, housing conditions and residents’ socioeconomic characteristics were identified as the major factors influencing residents’ level of vulnerability to disasters in the communities. Research limitations/implications The study could be strengthened by looking at other disaster-prone communities in Nigeria with different cultural and political settings. Hence, the view presented in this paper may not be considered generalizable to other parts of the country with different cultural settings. Originality/value To build resilient communities in cities of developing countries, the paper of this nature is important to determine factors influencing residents’ level of vulnerability to disasters. This will aid in strengthening community-disaster preparedness in these countries.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nikhil K. Mehta ◽  
Sumi Jha

PurposeThe purpose of the study is to understand the team communication skill among students with engineering background.Design/methodology/approachLabour market offers more employment to those who have better social skills than those who fair less on these skills. It is pertinent to integrate these skills among engineers. In the study, a Qual-quant-Qual platform was created to develop social skill andragogy for engineers from India. Involving 132 engineers, the authors gathered qualitative and quantitative data to understand their perspective on communication and the emergent factors of team communication skill.FindingsThe qualitative study supports the view that despite theoretical awareness, the actions may differ. The factor analysis of the data revealed five important factors of interpersonal communication. The study offers six utilities in support of andragogy.Originality/valueThe study offers a platform to engineers to internalize and reflect differences in order for the real learning to take place, and it also offers space to faculty members to simulate and offer relevant interventions.


2019 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 445-465
Author(s):  
Sebastian Kurowski

Purpose The purpose of this study is to use a developed and pre-tested scenario-based measurement instrument for policy compliance and determine whether policy compliance measurements in the current policy compliance research are biased as has been postulated during a pre-study. The expected biases are because of social desirability and because of biases based on identity theory. Design/methodology/approach A survey was conducted (n = 54) that used policy compliance scales from literature and the developed self-reporting policy compliance (SRPC) scale, along with the Marlow–Crowne social desirability (MC-SDB) scale. Differences between the policy compliance scales were assessed. Moreover, a transformation of the SRPC measurements into the literature-based scales was examined using pair-wise t-testing. Finally, correlations between the MC-SDB and the policy compliance scales were examined. Findings There are no significant influences on the desire for social approval of the respondents as was exhibited by the MC-SDB values and policy compliance on either scale. However, the SRPC scale measurements show deviations from the literature-based policy compliance scales. Individuals that exhibit secure behaviour, which is not rooted in a policy but rather in anything but the policy, are also captured as being policy compliant in the current scales. This shows that a response bias exists in current scales. Respondents, who perceive to exhibit secure behaviours, may think that they are in compliance with the policy, even when they are not. Practical implications These findings mean that several contributions in the field of policy compliance must be questioned and that a revisit of several factors influencing policy compliance may be required. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, response biases in policy compliance research have not been considered to date.


2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 26-34
Author(s):  
Andrew Maine ◽  
Michael Brown ◽  
Maria Truesdale

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present an overview of the extant literature on diabetes in people with learning disabilities (LD) and discuss implications for policy, practice and research. Design/methodology/approach The key findings are extracted from qualitative and quantitative studies and recent systematic literature reviews. These findings are discussed in the areas of prevalence, treatments and implications. Findings The complex health needs of people with LDs who are diagnosed or at risk of developing diabetes are gaining wider recognition, and recent studies have begun to implement and evaluate potential solutions. Further analysis and alignment between services is required. Originality/value Following a dearth of studies on diabetes in people with LD, the past decade has seen a sudden upsurge in large and diverse set of studies. This paper provides an overview on the extent of this study.


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