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The paper aims to examine the role played by property tax in influencing strategic decisions regarding marital separation and divorce in Italian municipalities.
Abstract
Purpose
The paper aims to examine the role played by property tax in influencing strategic decisions regarding marital separation and divorce in Italian municipalities.
Design/methodology/approach
The empirical analysis is conducted on a sample of 6,458 Italian municipalities by applying the ordinary least squares (OLS) and instrumental variables (IVs) approaches.
Findings
The estimation results show a small increase in marital separations and divorces as the difference between the municipal secondary and primary home tax rate increases. Specifically, an increase of 1‰ in the property tax rate differentials is accompanied by an increase of six marital separations and four divorces per 1,000 inhabitants.
Research limitations/implications
The main limitation of the analysis is that the strategic behavior of the married couple is inferred from econometric analysis with data aggregated at the municipal level. To investigate this phenomenon more precisely, it would be useful to have individual data collected by surveys on strategic divorce decisions due to property tax incentives.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the scant existing literature on the tax incentives for strategic divorce. It is the first study to empirically investigate the effects of property tax on separation and divorce decisions by investigating the Italian context. In Italy, a property tax was introduced in 1993, encouraging “false” divorces by spouses with a second home since the tax on the secondary home was set at a rate higher than that on the primary residence. Moreover, there were no tax deductions and no additional tax breaks on the secondary home, while they were established on the primary one. Higher property taxes and the absence of tax breaks on the secondary home may have encouraged a strategic behavior whereby many married couples filed for false separation and divorce in order to recover part of property tax rebates.
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The purpose of this paper is to propose drivers that may impact the development of solo tourism in the near future.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to propose drivers that may impact the development of solo tourism in the near future.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper identifies and briefly examines four key factors that, it is suggested, will be significant in solo tourism in the near future.
Findings
It is proposed that future solo tourism will be increasingly fragmented based on the desires, living circumstances and motivations of the individual. A key element will be the level of solitude or controlled or uncontrolled companionship that the individual desires. Three possible personas of the future solo tourist are highlighted.
Originality/value
Solo tourism is currently underresearched, and this paper provides a starting point in looking specifically at the varying motivations and behaviours of the solo tourist.
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This is an opinion piece on the practice of early child marriage in Iran, with a brief review of the causes and consequences of this practice. This piece critically looks at the…
Abstract
This is an opinion piece on the practice of early child marriage in Iran, with a brief review of the causes and consequences of this practice. This piece critically looks at the blanket policies, such as minimum age at marriage, that criminalise early child marriage and discusses why such policies may do more harm than good when they are not compatible with the social norms of the societies in which they are implemented.
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Heike A. Schänzel and Ian Yeoman
Families represent a large and growing market for the tourism industry. Family tourism is driven by the increasing importance placed on promoting family togetherness, keeping…
Abstract
Purpose
Families represent a large and growing market for the tourism industry. Family tourism is driven by the increasing importance placed on promoting family togetherness, keeping family bonds alive and creating family memories. Predictions for the future of family travel are shaped by changes in demography and social structures. With global mobility families are increasingly geographically dispersed and new family markets are emerging. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the trends that shape the understanding of families and family tourism.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper examines ten trends that the authors as experts in the field identify of importance and significance for the future of family tourism.
Findings
What emerges is that the future of family tourism lies in capturing the increasing heterogeneity, fluidity and mobility of the family market.
Originality/value
The paper contributes to the understanding about the changes taking place in family tourism and what it means to the tourism industry in the future.
Yeter Durgun Ozan and Mesude Duman
This study aimed to examine the effect of causes of infertility related to gender differences on the distress level of women who were treated for infertility.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aimed to examine the effect of causes of infertility related to gender differences on the distress level of women who were treated for infertility.
Design/methodology/approach
This is a cross-sectional, descriptive study. The sample consisted of 314 women who were treated for infertility between September 2016 and June 2017. Data were collected as “Sociodemographic Characteristics Form” and “Infertility Distress Scale.”
Findings
A statistically significant difference was found between the mean distress scores of the women for whom the reason for infertility was related to a female factor, and of the women for whom this reason was related to a male factor.
Research limitations/implications
The situation should be determined with quantitative studies, and the reason for the differences should be determined with qualitative studies.
Practical implications
Infertility nurses should develop a care plan that ensures that couples understand their feelings, and which enhances their mutual respect and partnership.
Social implications
The study highlights the importance of cultural awareness in the care of infertile couples.
Originality/value
The authors highlight some important aspects about the gender difference on women's distress level.
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The study focuses on the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and policy measures implemented by the Malaysian government to address issues during this…
Abstract
Purpose
The study focuses on the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and policy measures implemented by the Malaysian government to address issues during this period. The study examines the impacts on the financial security and mental health of single-parent families in Malaysia.
Design/methodology/approach
The study used a cross-sectional survey to obtain data about single-parent families. To support the information collected with the survey, interviews were conducted with six representatives from six single-parent associations.
Findings
The study identified that policy measures implemented by the Malaysian government have helped improve the financial security of single-parent families. However, for mental health, the support single parents received was not able to provide better quality of life, as the majority were severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, especially during lockdown, before they received any assistance from the government.
Research limitations/implications
The study was conducted during the pandemic; thus, the study was not able to include a larger sample of single parents. Therefore, the findings cannot be generalized to explain nationwide issues. However, the study provides important insights into understanding the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on people, especially single-parent families.
Practical implications
The study confirmed that the COVID-19 pandemic has affected single parents in different ways. Financial security and mental health, the focus of this study, have provided a clear justification for how pandemics could affect people’s lives. Specifically, the situation was exacerbated after the implementation of movement control orders in Malaysia, and it has continuously affected the living conditions of single-parent families.
Social implications
The study focuses on single-parent families, a group that receives less attention from the government and policies, although this group is recognized as one of the vulnerable groups. Understanding this context helps to provide a clear guide for how policies can be formulated and provides equal attention to assist this group in the future.
Originality/value
This study focuses on single-parent families. Few studies have examined this perspective using Malaysia as the study context. Moreover, the study analyzes the pandemic situation, and this area is still new and underexplored.
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Cathy Downs and LuAnne Ktiri-Idrissi
Emotional and interpretive responses to three short stories were noted in two study populations of similar age: Qatari students in a post-highschool foundation program preparing…
Abstract
Emotional and interpretive responses to three short stories were noted in two study populations of similar age: Qatari students in a post-highschool foundation program preparing to attend branch campuses of western universities located in Qatar, and American students, many of Mexican-American heritage, from a small college in a rural setting in South Texas. It has long been thought that reading literature from a foreign culture confers educational value on the reader; in this investigation the nature of that ‘value’ was placed under study. Written responses to quiz questions or assignments were used as data; responses critical of or affirming of character, setting, plot, and literary tropes were particularly noted. Our data show that readings from an author whose culture was similar to the reader’s created interest and urged both intellectual and affective types of understanding, such as remembering, grieving, healing, forgiving, and feeling pride. Readings from ‘classic’ literature presented in historical context strongly enabled critical discussion among students in a multicultural setting, since the author’s absence from the scene ‘allows’ free conversation about his or her work without fear of insulting the author’s culture. Readings by contemporary writers from outside the reader’s culture, or ‘multicultural literature’, may cause some readers to shy away from the challenge of understanding another culture or to voice stereotypes instead of seeking ideas. Readings from outsider cultures, however, and the affective distancing of ‘othering’, enable the well-prepared educator and student to discuss how culture patterns our lives.