scholarly journals Meeting you was a fake: investigating the increase in romance fraud during COVID-19

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
David Buil-Gil ◽  
Yongyu Zeng
Keyword(s):  
Young Adults ◽  
Romantic Relationship ◽  
Internet Use ◽  
Moving Average ◽  
Social Changes ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Financial Gain ◽  
Auto Regressive ◽  
Research Questions ◽  
The Uk

Purpose Romance fraud refers to situations where an individual is deceived for financial gain by someone with whom the victim perceives to be in a romantic relationship. With the increase in internet use, the growth in loneliness and the increasing engagement in online dating sites during COVID-19, opportunities for romance fraud may have suffered an important increase. This paper aims to analyse changes in romance fraud, loneliness and internet use during the pandemic. Design/methodology/approach Data about romance fraud reported to the police in the UK, and survey data recorded by the Understanding Society longitudinal survey, are used to address our research questions. Auto regressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) modelling is used to analyse whether temporal changes observed are an effect of social changes associated with lockdown and stay-at-home orders. Findings The analysis shows that cyber-enabled romance fraud experienced a large increase after April 2020, which is greatly above any expected crime variation considering known pre-COVID trends. The increase in romance fraud was more abrupt among young adults than older persons. The results also indicate that only young adults experienced a significant increase in loneliness, while older adults reported a large increase in internet use during COVID. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is a first-of-its-kind paper analysing the effect of rapid social changes on a growing type of cyber-enabled fraud. It is likely that the growth in romance fraud during COVID is due to a combined effect of an increase in internet use and growing loneliness rates experienced by many people during the pandemic.

scholarly journals Relationships between young adults’ housing tenure, elements of perceived job security and social capital in Britain

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Oluwadamilola Aguda ◽  
Obas John Ebohon
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Young Adults ◽  
Urban Renewal ◽  
Social Cohesion ◽  
Job Security ◽  
Housing Tenure ◽  
Sustainable Communities ◽  
Economic Policies ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Uk

Purpose Against the backdrop of the changing trends in tenure in the UK housing system, young adults are faced with different situations that continue to shape their housing consumption and decisions. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationships amongst young adults’ housing tenure, social capital and elements of perceived job security in Britain. Socio-psychological dimension of housing tenure decisions has been receiving attention by housing market analysts and practitioners seeking deeper understandings of the UK housing market dynamics, particularly in the wake of changing tastes and preferences of young people concerning housing decisions across major cities of the world. Design/methodology/approach A quantitative approach has been applied to the harmonised version of the British Household Panel Survey (BHPS) from 2001 to 2015. Findings The authors discovered that British young adults’ homeownership decisions are increasingly influenced by social capital and elements of perceived job insecurity, depending on their tenure of origin. Furthermore, this study will significantly enhance the understanding of tenure shifts amongst young adults in the UK and provide property developers, local authorities and central governments the knowledge and information to guide economic policies, urban renewal towards achieving better social cohesion and sustainable communities. Originality/value Very little has been done to investigate the contributions of social capital formation, for example, neighbourhood or social integration and social relations and elements of perceived job security on housing tenure transitions among British young adults. This study will further provide property developers, local authorities and central governments the knowledge and information to guide economic policies, urban renewal towards achieving better social cohesion and sustainable communities.

scholarly journals Young adult occupational transition regimes in Europe: does gender matter?

2018 ◽  
Vol 38 (1/2) ◽  
pp. 130-149
Author(s):  
Valentina Goglio ◽  
Roberto Rizza
Keyword(s):  
Young Adults ◽  
Labour Market ◽  
Event History Analysis ◽  
Content Type ◽  
History Analysis ◽  
Specific Category ◽  
Institutional Contexts ◽  
Market Status ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Life Course

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to achieve a greater understanding of the transitions young adults experience into and out of the labour market and the influence that gender and married/cohabiting status have on employment careers. Design/methodology/approach The paper focuses on young adults (25-34 years old) in four European countries – Italy, the Netherlands, the UK and Norway – that are representative of different youth transition regimes. Using longitudinal data from EU-SILC survey (for the years 2006-2012) and event history analysis, the authors investigate the effect of the particular set of institutional features of each country, the effect of the cohort of entry and the effect of gender differences in determining transitions across labour market status. Findings Findings show that the filter exercised by the national institutions has a selective impact on the careers of young adults, with some institutional contexts more protective than others. In this respect, the condition of inactivity emerges as an interesting finding: on one side, it mainly involves women in a partnership, on the other side it is more common in protective youth regimes, suggesting that it may be a chosen rather than suffered condition. Originality/value The paper contributes to existing literature by: focusing on a specific category, young adults from 25 to 34 years old, which is increasingly recognised as a critical stage in the life course though it receives less attention than its younger counterpart (15-24); integrating the importance of family dynamics on work careers by analysing the different effects played by married/cohabiting status for men and women.

Lower alcohol wines in the UK market: some baseline consumer behaviour metrics

2014 ◽  
Vol 116 (7) ◽  
pp. 1143-1161 ◽  
Author(s):  
Johan Bruwer ◽  
Vladimir Jiranek ◽  
Lulie Halstead ◽  
Anthony Saliba
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Consumer Behaviour ◽  
Product Category ◽  
Research Information ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Lower Alcohol ◽  
Research Questions ◽  
Profile Characteristics ◽  
The Uk

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide clearer insights into and identify the key consumer behaviour metrics of the lower alcohol category (<11 per cent ABV) in the UK wine market. Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected via an online survey from a sample size of 598 regular UK wine drinkers. To operationalise the study, five research questions were formulated. A highly structured quantitatively directed questionnaire was designed to find the answers to the research questions. Findings – Barriers to a larger uptake of the product category included non-availability of the products, lower quality perceptions, taste issues, lack of awareness, lack of alcohol's “feel effect” and absence of a lower alcohol drinking occasion. Many UK consumers are not yet convinced how/if lower alcohol wine fits into their wine drinking occasions. The lower ABV wine buyer's main profile characteristics are weighted towards females, Millennial and Baby Boomer age generations, mostly mid to low income, who drink mainly white and rosé wines. Lower alcohol on its own is not seen as a big benefit, thus lower ABV wines should be more creatively communicated to sell the benefits. Originality/value – This study contributes to the knowledge base in that it is the first to investigate consumer behaviour metrics as regards lower ABV wine in one of the world's leading markets, in the process providing some important baseline research information on this category. As such it is of value to academic researchers and practitioners alike.

“Big 4 fee premium” and audit quality: latest evidence from UK listed companies

2013 ◽  
Vol 28 (8) ◽  
pp. 680-707 ◽  
Author(s):  
Domenico Campa
Keyword(s):  
Audit Quality ◽  
Listed Companies ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Audit Market ◽  
Big 4 ◽  
Audit Firms ◽  
House Of Lords ◽  
Audit Fee ◽  
Research Questions ◽  
The Uk

PurposeUsing the most recent observations (2005‐2011) from a sample of UK listed companies, This paper aims to investigate whether Big 4 audit firms exhibit a “fee premium” and, if this is the case, whether the premium is related to the delivery of a better audit service.Design/methodology/approachUnivariate tests, multivariate regressions and two methodologies that control for self‐selection bias are used to answer the proposed research questions. Data are collected from DataStream.FindingsFindings provide consistent evidence about the existence of an “audit fee premium” charged by Big 4 firms while they do not highlight any significant relationship between audit quality and type of auditor with respect to the audit quality proxies investigated.Research limitations/implicationsEvidence from this paper might signal the need for legislative intervention to improve the competitiveness of the audit market on the basis that its concentrated structure is leading to “excessive” fees for Big 4 clients. Findings might also enhance Big 4 client bargaining power. However, as the paper analyses only one country, generalizability of the results might be a limitation.Originality/valueThis study joins two streams of the extant literature that investigate the existence of a “Big 4 audit fee premium” and different levels of audit quality among Big 4 and non‐Big 4 clients. Evidence supports the concerns raised by the UK House of Lords in 2010 that the concentrated structure of the audit market could be the driver of “excessive” fees for Big 4 clients as it does not find differences in audit quality between Big 4 and non‐Big 4 clients.

scholarly journals A behavioral analysis of the volatility of interbank interest rates in developed and emerging countries

2017 ◽  
Vol 22 (42) ◽  
pp. 99-128 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nara Rossetti ◽  
Marcelo Seido Nagano ◽  
Jorge Luis Faria Meirelles
Keyword(s):  
Interest Rates ◽  
Moving Average ◽  
Good News ◽  
Macroeconomic Policies ◽  
Conditional Heteroscedasticity ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Asymmetric Garch ◽  
Auto Regressive ◽  
Autoregressive Conditional Heteroscedasticity

Purpose This paper aims to analyse the volatility of the fixed income market from 11 countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Argentina, Chile, Mexico, USA, Germany and Japan) from January 2000 to December 2011 by examining the interbank interest rates from each market. Design/methodology/approach To the volatility of interest rates returns, the study used models of auto-regressive conditional heteroscedasticity, autoregressive conditional heteroscedasticity (ARCH), generalized autoregressive conditional heteroscedasticity (GARCH), exponential generalized autoregressive conditional heteroscedasticity (EGARCH), threshold generalized autoregressive conditional heteroscedasticity (TGARCH) and periodic generalized autoregressive conditional heteroscedasticity (PGARCH), and a combination of these with autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) models, checking which of these processes were more efficient in capturing volatility of interest rates of each of the sample countries. Findings The results suggest that for most markets, studied volatility is best modelled by asymmetric GARCH processes – in this case the EGARCH – demonstrating that bad news leads to a higher increase in the volatility of these markets than good news. In addition, the causes of increased volatility seem to be more associated with events occurring internally in each country, as changes in macroeconomic policies, than the overall external events. Originality/value It is expected that this study has contributed to a better understanding of the volatility of interest rates and the main factors affecting this market.

scholarly journals Gendered Intergenerational Transmission of Work Values? A Country Comparison

2019 ◽  
Vol 682 (1) ◽  
pp. 125-138 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zeynep Cemalcilar ◽  
Carsten Jensen ◽  
Jale Tosun
Keyword(s):  
Young Adults ◽  
Intergenerational Transmission ◽  
Work Values ◽  
Work Centrality ◽  
Family Attitudes ◽  
Country Comparison ◽  
Research Questions ◽  
Extrinsic Work Values ◽  
Original Survey ◽  
The Uk

In this study, we examine two research questions: Are the work values of young people determined by the work values of their parents? Is the transmission of work values conditioned by the young adults’ gender? We use original survey data for respondents aged 18–35 and their parents in Denmark, Germany, Turkey, and the UK to explore these questions. Our findings reveal a robust pattern: in all four countries and for all four types of work values we measure, young adults’ work values are strongly influenced by their parents’ work values. We also find a gender effect among German respondents: work plays a more central role in the lives of young men than in the lives of young women. Gender helps to explain attitudes toward female labor force participation in all of the countries we studied, and we find no evidence that gender conditions the effect of the intergenerational transmission of work values except for in the UK, where gender does condition the effect of family attitudes on young peoples’ extrinsic work values and their views on work centrality.

Defining success in action learning: an international comparison

2017 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
pp. 160-176 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hyeon-Cheol Bong ◽  
Yonjoo Cho
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Differences ◽  
International Comparison ◽  
Action Learning ◽  
Sampling Technique ◽  
Snowball Sampling ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The World ◽  
Research Questions ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose The purpose of this paper was to explore how the two groups of action learning experts (Korean and non-Korean experts) define success of action learning to see whether there are any cultural differences. To this end, the authors conducted a total of 44 interviews with action learning experts around the world. Research questions guiding our inquiry included: How do action learning experts around the world define the success of action learning? Are there any cultural differences in action learning experts’ definitions of success? What do we learn from action learning experts’ definitions of success? Design/methodology/approach The authors approached willing participants first and then recruited more participants using a snowball sampling technique by requesting them to help us make contact with additional participants. Due to interview participants’ busy schedule at an international conference and work, individual interviews took approximately 30 min to complete using an interview protocol of 10 questions regarding the definitions of success in action learning. Findings To answer RQ1 (How do action learning experts around the world define the success of action learning?) and RQ2 (Are there any cultural differences in action learning experts’ definitions of success?), the authors analyzed interview data using a content analysis method. Analysis of interview participants’ narratives generated four themes including: definitions of success in action learning, the context where action learning is being practiced, challenges in action learning practice and the comparison of action learning with other approaches. The authors compared and contrasted cultural differences in the review of non-Korean and Korean experts’ narratives. Research limitations/implications The authors presented four significant discussion agendas including: cultural differences, relationships between interview questions, typology of definitions of success and comparing action learning with other approaches. Based on the discussion, the authors presented four propositions, three research questions, two methodological questions and two more questions for cultural differences for future investigation. Practical implications To answer RQ3 (What do we learn from action learning experts’ definitions of success?), the authors provided at least three practical implications for action learning practitioners. Originality/value Previous studies, using research methods such as Delphi and surveys, have not captured a complete picture of the meaning of success in action learning, and the interview method was used for a small number of experts only. In addition, as action learning originally emerged from the UK and Europe, and Korean companies adopted a US approach to action learning with little effort at indigenization, international comparison studies were called for, so the authors turned to action learning experts around the world to learn how they define success in action learning.

Qualitative projective techniques in political brand image research from the perspective of young adults

2015 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 115-144 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher Pich ◽  
Dianne Dean
Keyword(s):  
Young Adults ◽  
Focus Group ◽  
Political Parties ◽  
Brand Image ◽  
Focus Group Discussions ◽  
Group Discussions ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Projective Techniques ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Insight Into

Purpose – This paper aimed to focus on political marketing and utilised a number of projective techniques to explore the UK Conservative Party’s “brand image” amongst young adults aged 18-24 years. There is little guidance in the extant literature regarding projective technique analysis. Furthermore, there are explicit calls for insight and more understanding into the analytical process. Responding to this identified gap in the literature, this paper provides an illustrative guide that can be used to analyse and interpret findings generated from qualitative projective techniques. Design/methodology/approach – This paper opted for an exploratory study using focus group discussions, combined with qualitative projective techniques. Eight two-hour focus group discussions were conducted with 46 young citizens aged 18-24 years from three locations in England. Focus groups were conducted prior to the 2010 UK General Election. The data from the projective techniques were thematically analysed by the researcher. Findings – This research provides insight into the broad process used to analyse and interpret the qualitative projective expressions in relation to the UK Conservative Party’s brand image from the perspective of young adults. Furthermore, this paper highlights that projective techniques can provide an insight into underlying feelings and deep-seated attitudes towards political parties, candidates and the positive and negative aspects of brand image. Research limitations/implications – Several limitations became apparent at the end of this study. As this is a qualitative study, findings cannot be generalisable to the wider population. Additionally, it is important to note that the researcher had limited experience of conducting focus group discussions combined with projective techniques, and this can be considered a limitation. Nevertheless, the researcher did attend professional “effective depth interviewing” training delivered by the “Marketing Research Society” before data collection. This goes some way in addressing this limitation. Practical implications – This paper provides an illustrative guide and insight into the analytical process that can be used to analyse and interpret findings generated from qualitative projective techniques. This can be used by academics with little experience of projective techniques. Furthermore, this framework may be useful for practitioners such as marketers, political parties and candidates to explore and analyse the external image of other political brands. The elicitation ability of qualitative projective techniques facilitates greater expressive insight that may remain hidden if traditional direct data collection tools such as interviews and questionnaires are used. Social implications – This paper provides some understanding into how to analyse subjective meaning such as feelings, attitudes, perceptions and associations revealed through projective techniques. Furthermore, projective techniques can provide access to the private conscious and unconscious inner-world of the participant. They allow respondents to express themselves with greater detail and discussion compared with direct questioning. This research, therefore, presents greater insight in managing and analysing expressions generated from this non-intrusive approach that can encourage open disclosure with less hesitancy, verbally less demanding and suitable to overcome emotional, language and cultural barriers. Originality/value – This paper adds to the under-researched and undefined practice of analysing projective expressions by providing an illustrative process to interpret and understand insight generated from qualitative projective techniques. Thus, answers the explicit calls for detailed guidance in this area of research. This was achieved by critically reviewing and adapting the approaches taken by Boddy, 2005, Butler-Kisber, 2010 and Hofstede et al., 2007 and incorporating them into a pragmatic systematic framework. This research could be used as a foundation for future studies and a point of reference for people with limited knowledge of projective technique analysis.

The Effect of Suicide-Related Internet Use on Users’ Mental Health

Crisis ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 34 (5) ◽  
pp. 348-353 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hajime Sueki
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Young Adults ◽  
Suicidal Ideation ◽  
Internet Use ◽  
Panel Study ◽  
Psychological Effects ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Suicide Methods ◽  
Internet Users

Background: Previous studies have shown that suicide-related Internet use can have both negative and positive psychological effects. Aims: This study examined the effect of suicide-related Internet use on users’ suicidal ideation, depression/anxiety tendency, and loneliness. Method: A two-wave panel study of 850 Internet users was conducted via the Internet. Results: Suicide-related Internet use (e.g., browsing websites about suicide methods) had negative effects on suicidal ideation and depression/anxiety tendency. No forms of suicide-related Internet use, even those that would generally be considered positive, were found to decrease users’ suicidal ideation. In addition, our results suggest that the greater the suicidal ideation and feelings of depression and loneliness of Internet users, the more they used the Internet. Conclusion: Since suicide-related Internet use can adversely influence the mental health of young adults, it is necessary to take measures to reduce their exposure to such information.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document