Hotel satisfaction and booking channels: The Bayesian rule and regression analysis

The study utilizes the Bayesian mechanism and calculates the likelihood for each of the booking channels in the study to supply to lodging operations UNLV students who will become highly satisfied with the subsequent hotel stays. Hospitality proprietary booking channels (booking by phone or booking through a hotel\u27s own web site) are more likely to supply a highly satisfied student traveler to an operation than intermediary booking channels, such as booking through a merchant site or addressing a travel agent; Moreover, UNLV students who utilize hospitality proprietary channels tend to bring higher room revenue to a lodging operation than the students who book through intermediary channels. At the 0.05 significance level, UNLV students\u27 overall satisfaction with booking experiences is the only factor related to experiences with booking channels to influence respondents\u27 satisfaction with the subsequent hotel stays

Case Study Analysis on Agri-Food Value Chain: A Guideline-Based Approach

This study aims to identify the methods and associated indicators that are commonly used in value chain analyses (VCA) and to determine the areas of interest that have been excluded. Value chain analysis generally includes four different dimensions, which are institutional/functional, economic/financial, social, and environmental. This study has two main sources of literature. The first is the guidelines and the other is case studies on value chain analysis. The case study review is limited by the time between 2000 and 2022. The results showed that the researchers mainly focused on the institutional/functional analysis of the value chain, which is the first step of the analysis. Studies were mostly concentrated on the mapping of value chains, which includes the mapping of agents, core activities, and the marketing channels and flows of products. The second important area of interest is economic/financial analysis. Value added analysis is a top research area on the economical side of the value chain (VC). Consumer behavior and financial analysis are also included in the case studies. The research on consumer behavior of the value chain analysis has focused on the preferences, attitudes, and behaviors of the consumers. Financial analysis is another area of interest which generally concentrates on the cost of intermediate inputs, total output value, net present value, internal rate of return, cash flows and cost of fixed assets, and break-even point. The social and environmental sides of the value chain have been studied with less attention. This is much more important for a sustainable food VC

Women, WASH, and the Water for Life Decade

From childbirth to education to domestic responsibilities to dignity and safety, access to water and sanitation affect women and girls more than men and boys. This report details recommendations for policy and global practice that will empower women and water-related projects

The Career Readiness of Intercollegiate Athletes: Is There a Gender Gap?

Career development is one of the major objectives of universities. It is well-known that intercollegiate athletes have many time commitments that make it more challenging for them to focus on their career development. To compound this issue, the effectiveness of career development efforts may be impacted by the gender of the intercollegiate athlete. The purpose of this study was to examine the career readiness of student-athletes, focusing on differences based on gender. This was accomplished through the lenses of the social cognitive career theory and career decision self-efficacy. A total of 137 intercollegiate student-athletes at a large Midwestern university completed a career readiness instrument. It was found that there were differences between genders in the intercollegiate athlete’s perceived career readiness. Female intercollegiate student-athletes indicated lower levels of ability on career related skills, less confidence in their problem solving, higher levels of general indecisiveness about career choice, and a higher need for self-knowledge. There were similarities between the genders as well, such as the need for more career information and levels of career choice anxiety. Recommendations for programs to assist student-athletes in their career readiness and for areas of future research are provided

The Career Readiness of Intercollegiate Athletes: Is There a Gender Gap?

Career development is one of the major objectives of universities. It is well-known that intercollegiate athletes have many time commitments that make it more challenging for them to focus on their career development. To compound this issue, the effectiveness of career development efforts may be impacted by the gender of the intercollegiate athlete. The purpose of this study was to examine the career readiness of student-athletes, focusing on differences based on gender. This was accomplished through the lenses of the social cognitive career theory and career decision self-efficacy. A total of 137 intercollegiate student-athletes at a large Midwestern university completed a career readiness instrument. It was found that there were differences between genders in the intercollegiate athlete’s perceived career readiness. Female intercollegiate student-athletes indicated lower levels of ability on career related skills, less confidence in their problem solving, higher levels of general indecisiveness about career choice, and a higher need for self-knowledge. There were similarities between the genders as well, such as the need for more career information and levels of career choice anxiety. Recommendations for programs to assist student-athletes in their career readiness and for areas of future research are provided

Managing digital assets on death and disability: An examination of the determinants of digital asset planning literacy

Despite its increasing importance, digital financial literacy (DFL) is yet to be adequately understood. This article reports on one aspect of DFL, namely, digital asset planning literacy (DAPL) which is an individual’s awareness of what happens to their digital assets on their death or incapacity. Our results from Australia and Singapore suggest that single, less-educated women are less likely to possess DAPL, and that the number of digital assets is negatively associated with DAPL, while having a Will is positively related to DAPL. With this study, we put forward that financial education should include consumer rights regarding digital financial assets. JEL Classification: D14; G53; G50; J12; J1

Non-Rated Air Force Line Officer Attrition Rates Using Survival Analysis

The Air Force structures its workforce around rank structure and work specialty codes (Air Force Specialty Codes (AFSCs)). The challenge is to grow and manage personnel to fill a variety of skill sets at a variety of ranks over a 20-30 year planning horizon. To ensure that the missions are accomplished while adhering to congressionally-mandated force allocations, the Air Force is continually attempting to \right size its force by maintaining the correct balance of personnel in each career field. The Air Force conducts its force structure management responsibility by comparing historical attrition rates to current manpower requirements for each AFSC to determine the \optimal number of officers needed in each accession yeargroup over a 30-year career. Personnel analysts aggregate the individual yeargroup numbers for each AFSC and call this a \sustainment line. In this study, logistic regression was used to determine which factors are significant to predicting non-rated Air Force line officer retention. The variables considered were commissioning yeargroup, gender, source of commission, number of years served as enlisted, career field grouping, and distinguished graduate at commissioning source and all six were significant. All of these factors are included in the survival analysis, which yielded a total of 99 unique survival functions to characterize officer attrition behavior. Each of the survival functions provides a more specific representation of historic behavior that can be used to predict and/or shape future behavior. To best present the data to decision-makers, the unique survival functions must be aggregated after being weighted according to the respective percentage of the populations they represent

Promoting metacognitive awareness across different educational domains

The purpose of this doctoral thesis was to deepen existing understanding of teachers’metacognitive awareness (MA), defined here as the individual’s ability to be aware of, understand and specify one’s thinking about learning. This model of MA draws a theoretical distinction between two main components: knowledge of cognition and regulation of cognition. The dissertation’s aims were theoretical, methodological and empirical in nature. The theoretical aim was to examine teacher support for learner MA. Study I assessed the utility of the widely used current theory of MA for examining MA among Finnish teachers (N = 208). As teacher MA impacts the support provided to learners, Study II assessed the suitability of this theoretical model for examining learners’ (N = 578) MA. A theoretical account of how learner self-evaluation links to overall MA was examined. In Study III (N = 1045), a new theoretical model of support for MA was constructed on the basis of the findings of Study I and Study II. The methodological aim was to develop a measure of perceived teacher support for learner MA. Study I assessed the utility of a measure operationalized in terms of the current theoretical model, using an instrument adapted for international use, and translated and validated in Finnish. Study II assessed the suitability of the new theoretical account for examining learner MA. In Study III, a new instrument for measuring perceived teacher support for learner MA was developed and tested, based on Study I and Study II. The empirical aim was to explore how teachers support learner MA. Study I and Study II confirmed the validity and reliability of the self-report measures in a Finnish education context, and the underlying theoretical model’s ability to account for these data. As a further empirical issue, Study III explored teachers’ perceived support for learner MA across different teaching domains. The results of Confirmatory Factor Analysis of the data from Study I and Study II revealed good/acceptable fit of the factor structure of both measures of MA, whose utility was separately confirmed for both teachers and learners. Study II confirmed the hypothesis that self-evaluation serves as a reference component linking knowledge of cognition and regulation of cognition. Self-evaluation was therefore examined in Study III as a key element of MA. The results of Structural Equation Modelling in Study II confirmed that learners’ knowledge of conditions (conditional knowledge) predicted learners’ knowledge of learning content selection (declarative knowledge), as well as knowledge of self-evaluation of learning. Activity in planning one’s own learning predicted monitoring and debugging activity during learning, as well as activity in self-evaluation of learning strategies at the end of the learning process. Study III explored perceived teacher support for learner MA across different teaching domains in terms of three main components: knowledge of learning objects, regulation of learning strategies and self-evaluation. The findings clarify how teachers currently address the challenges of teaching 21st century skills such as lifelong learning and metacognition. As learners’ responsibility for their own learning is increasingly highlighted at all levels of education, teacher support for learner MA becomes crucial. The findings indicate that while special teachers provide most support for learner MA, subject teacher support for MA varies across components within subject groups. There was also a statistically significant difference between genders, in that women supported learner MA more systematically than men for all components and across all teacher groups. In sum, the findings confirm the validity of the proposed measures and can be used to inform ways of teaching and learning in teacher education. The results also confirm the perceived need to develop teachers’ ability to support learner MA, both during pre-service education and in-service further education.Metakognitiivista tietoisuutta edistämässä eri koulutus- ja kasvatuskentillä Tämän väitöskirjan tutkimustehtävänä oli syventää nykytietoon perustuvaa ymmärrystä opettajien metakognitiivisesta tietoisuudesta ja tutkia opettajien käsitystä antamastaan tuesta oppijoiden metakognitiiviselle tietoisuudelle. Metakognitiivinen tietoisuus (MT) määritellään yleisesti tietoisuudeksi, johon kuuluvat tieto ajattelusta ja toiminnan säätelystä. Tässä tutkimuksessa tarkastellaan sitä oppimisen näkökulmasta. Tutkimuksen teoreettisena lähtökohtana oli MT:n jaottelu oppimisen tiedon ja säätelyn pääkomponentteihin. Väitöskirjassa tarkasteltiin MT:ta teoreettisesti, metodologisesti ja empiirisesti. Tutkimuskokonaisuuden teoreettisena tavoitteena oli tarkastella oppijoiden MT:n tukemista. Osatutkimuksessa I tarkasteltiin aiemman tutkimuksen teorian soveltuvuutta suomalaisten opettajien (N=208) MT:n tutkimiseen. Osatutkimuksessa II jäsennettiin MT:n teoreettista mallia. Oppijan itsearviointia tarkasteltiin yhteydessä muihin MT:n osa-alueisiin. Koska opettajan tuki kohdistuu oppijoihin, osatutkimuksessa II tarkasteltiin mallin soveltuvuutta opiskelijoiden (N=578) MT:n tutkimiseen. Osatutkimusten I ja II perusteella rakennettiin MT:n tukemisen mallia, jota käytettiin osatutkimuksessa III (N=1045) jäsentämään MT:n tukemisen teoriaa. Metodologisena tavoitteena oli rakentaa mittari, jolla voidaan tuottaa tietoa opettajan käsityksestä antamastaan tuesta oppijoiden MT:lle. Osatutkimuksessa I tarkasteltiin, kuinka MT:n teoreettisesta mallista operationalisoitu mittaus soveltuu suomalaisten opettajien tutkimiseen. Tutkimuksessa validoitiin suomeksi kansainvälisesti käytettäväksi sovellettu mittari. Osatutkimuksessa II tarkasteltiin tässä tutkimuksessa kehitetyn uuden teoreettisen jäsennyksen soveltuvuutta oppijoiden MT:n tutkimiseen. Osatutkimuksessa III kehitettiin ja testattiin I ja II osatutkimuksen tulosten avulla uusi mittari, jolla voidaan tuottaa tietoa opettajan käsityksestä antamastaan tuesta oppijoiden MT:lle. Empiirisenä tavoitteena oli tuottaa tietoa siitä, miten opettajat kokevat tukevansa oppijoiden MT:ta. Osatutkimuksessa I ja II saatiin tietää, kuinka hyvin kansainvälisesti validoiduissa kyselytutkimuksissa käytettyjä lomakkeita voidaan soveltaa Suomessa. Osatutkimuksessa III tarkasteltiin sitä, miten eritaustaiset opettajat eri oppiaineissa ja koulutusmuodoissa kokevat tukevansa oppijoiden MT:ta. Tulokset konfirmatorisista faktorianalyyseistä osatutkimuksissa I ja II osoittivat näissä tutkimuksessa suomennettujen MT:n tutkimiseen tarkoitettujen mittarien rakenteen validiteetin. Niiden käytettävyys voitiin vahvistaa erikseen sekä opettajille että oppijoille. Osatutkimuksen II hypoteesi, jonka mukaan itsearviointi toimii referenssikomponenttina MT:n tiedon ja säätelyn pääkomponenttien välillä, sai vahvistusta. Tästä syystä itsearvioinnista muodostettiin osatutkimuksessa III oma pääkomponenttinsa. Polkumallinnus osatutkimuksessa II osoitti, että oppijoiden tietoisuus oman oppimisensa ehdoista ennusti hänen tietoisuuttaan oppimisensa sisällöistä ja edelleen sitä, että hän arvioi itse omia oppimistuloksiaan. Oppijoiden aktiivisuus oman oppimisensa suunnittelussa ennustaa hänen aktiivisuuttaan myös oppimisen aikaisessa oman oppimisensa tarkkailussa ja suuntaamisessa. Nämä ennustavat edelleen aktiivisuutta oppimisen lopuksi tapahtuvassa oman oppimisprosessin arvioinnissa. Osatutkimuksessa III tutkittiin opettajien tukea oppilaan MT:lle kolmella ulottuvuudella, jotka olivat tieto omasta oppimisesta, omien oppimisstrategioiden säätely ja itsearviointi. Tulosten perusteella voidaan päätellä, miten opettajat tällä hetkellä kokevat vastaavansa haasteeseen opettaa tulevaisuuden taitoja, kuten elinikäinen oppiminen ja metakognitiiviset taidot. Nykyaikaisessa oppijakeskeisessä kulttuurissa oppijoiden vastuuta omasta oppimisestaan korostetaan kaikilla koulutustasoilla ja -aloilla. Tämä tekee tulevaisuudessa opettajien tuen oppilaiden MT:lle entistä tärkeämmäksi. Tämän tutkimuksen tulosten mukaan erityisopettajat tukivat oppilaiden MT:ta eniten. Aineenopettajien antama tuki oppijoiden MT:n eri osa-alueilla vaihteli oppiaineittain. Naisopettajat tukivat miesopettajia enemmän tilastollisesti merkitsevällä tavalla oppijoiden MT:ta kaikilla osa-alueilla. Yhteenvetona voidaan todeta, että kaikissa osatutkimuksissa käytetyt mittausmenetelmät soveltuvat MT:n arviointiin. Tuloksia voidaan hyödyntää opettajankoulutuksen opetus- ja oppimistapojen kehittämiseen. Tutkimustulokset vahvistavat käsitystä, että opettajankoulutusta tulisi kehittää siten, että koulutusta MT:n tukemisesta tulisi lisätä sekä opettajaksi opiskelun aikana, että jo työssä oleville opettajille jatkokoulutuksena

Motivation and personality traits for choosing religious tourism. A research on the case of Medjugorje.

Religion has long been a primary motivation for journeys and it is considered the oldest non-economic reason for travelling. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the reasons tourists choose to travel to sacred sites, with the specific aim of discovering relationships between personality traits and motivations for religious travel. Participating in the research were 679 Italian travellers to Medjugorje sanctuary, who completed the travel motivation scale and big five questionnaire. The results show that motivation is focused prevalently on the need for discovery in men and socialisation in women. Multiple regression analyses demonstrated that personality traits are predictive of motivation factors differently for males and females

The Relationship between Stress and Social Capital among Police Officers

This paper analyzes the effectiveness of social capital in reducing the negative externalities associated with stress, as well as the physical and psychological indicators of stress among police officers. Despite the fact that there is a large multidisciplinary literature on stress or on social capital, the link between both factors is still underexplored. In this empirical paper we therefore aim at reducing such a shortcoming. We focus on a strategically important work environment, namely law enforcement agents, that is not only characterized as physically and emotionally demanding, but also as an essential part for a well-functioning society due to the fact that inefficiencies in the police force can induce large negative externalities. Using a multivariate regression analysis focusing on nine different proxies for stress and two proxies for social capital and conducting several robustness checks, we find strong evidence that an increased level of social capital is correlated with a lower level of stress. From a policy perspective, our findings suggest that stress reduction programs should actively engage employees to build stronger social networks.Social Capital, Trust, Stress, Police Officers