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The purpose of this paper is to investigate the current capital budgeting practices in Bangladeshi listed companies and provide a normative framework (guidelines) for practitioners.

Data were collected with a structured questionnaire survey taking from the chief financial officers (CFOs) of companies listed in the Dhaka Stock Exchange in Bangladesh. Garnered data were then analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistical techniques.

The results found that net present value was the most prevalent capital budgeting method, followed closely by internal rate of return and payback period. Similarly, the weighted average cost of capital was found to be the widely used method for calculating cost of capital. Further, results also revealed that CFOs adjust their risk factor using discount rate.

The findings of this study might help the firms, policymakers and practitioners to take a wise decision while evaluating investment projects. Additionally, this study’s findings enrich the existing body of knowledge in the field of capital budgeting practices by providing more reliable and comprehensive analysis taking samples from a developing economy.

Extensive work related to examining predictors and determinants of employee engagement and job performance have been conducted in past studies. A dearth of studies relating organizational culture and employee engagement with contextual and task performance in the hospitality industry necessitated the present study. This study aims to examine variability in the task and contextual performance owing to employee engagement and organizational culture.

The study has been conducted in four districts of Himachal Pradesh using a multistage sampling technique. A total of 360 hotel employees were involved in collecting their responses through a structured questionnaire.

The results of multiple regression showed that vigor, dedication and absorption variables of employee engagement contribute toward contextual performance. Vigor and absorption affect the task performance of employees. In the case of contextual performance vigor shows maximum contribution followed by absorption and dedication whereas for task performance, the maximum contribution is exhibited by absorption followed by vigor. Organizational culture sub-variables of experimentation, autonomy and trust came out to be major predictors, which help to improve contextual and task performance of employees.

The study suggests that psychological ownership, along with trust toward top management can create an enriched work culture, which influenced both the contextual and task performance of employees. The findings of the study can be practically used by government and private organizations for improving workforce performance in the hospitality industry. Future research can be conducted based on the findings of the study.

The study provides insight on how and to what extent cultural and employee engagement variables can affect employee’s contextual and task performance. The present study adds value to the existing literature and investigates the role of culture and employee engagement in enhancing task and contextual job performance. Managers and policymakers can use the findings of the study to improve organizational culture, employee engagement and performance of the employees in the hospitality sector. The study opens avenues for future studies.

The purpose of the study is to ascertain whether or not faculty members would be motivated to use e-Databases for research considering the impact of the Technology Acceptance Model2 (TAM2) cognitive instrumental processes of job relevance, output quality and result demonstrability.

The survey research design was applied. The selection of samples was based on a multistage sampling technique involving; purposive, simple/systematic random and total enumeration procedures. Five colleges and departments each were selected from the three universities that provided the setting for the conduct of this study, out of which a sample of 135 was drawn from the total population of 209. The questionnaire method was used for data gathering. Ninety-five percent return rate of the administered instrument was observed. Descriptive and inferential statistical tools were employed for data analyses.

Job relevance, output quality and result demonstrability are motivators of faculty use of e-Databases for research with result demonstrability wielding the strongest influence. Use of e-Databases for research is based on the usefulness level perceived of them. Faculty are highly predisposed to using the technology for research with the chances of getting published in reputable journal outlets ranked highest among other factors that influence faculty use of e-Databases.

The conceptualization of TAM2 cognitive instrumental processes as system characteristics and motivators of e-Databases use among faculty towards research engagement advances the understanding of intention to use e-Databases for research.

The aim of this study is to assess healthcare workers' behavior on the congenital hypothyroidism screening program implementation based on a framework protocol and its associated factors.

A cross-sectional study was conducted using the multistage random sampling method in recruiting health clinic workers and purposive sampling techniques for hospital workers. The demographics, providers' characteristic, occupational profile, attitude, perceived behavior control (PBC), knowledge, behavioral intention and adherence to protocol were gathered using validated and reliable self-administered questionnaires.

Partial intention to adhere to protocol was 25.7%. Weak attitude (adjusted odds ratio [AOR]: 5.48, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 3.32–9.06), low PBC score (AOR: 0.91, 95% CI: 0.86–0.95) and low knowledge score (AOR: 0.85, 95% CI: 0.75–0.96) were associated with partial intention to adhere to protocol. In the self-rated adherence assessment, 92.6% of participants from health clinics, 79.1% from pediatric and 61.1% from pathology were found not adhering to protocol. There was a significant association between intention and adherence to protocol.

Documentations and observations in assessing program implementation were limited to perform in the present study. Using self-rated instruments and focusing on healthcare workers alone did not provide a comprehensive assessment.

Availability of a training module at site and regular refreshing course training should be made available to harness knowledge, attitude and behavioral perception in implementing the program activities.

Integrating the Logical Framework Approach in assessing program implementation and application of the Theory of Planned Behavior and Attitude, Subjective Norms, Self-Efficacy Model in this study were beneficial.

As the size of the population is growing and the capacity of the planet Earth is limited, human beings are searching for sustainable and technology-enabled solutions to support society, ecology and economy. One of the solutions has been developing smart sustainable cities. Smart sustainable cities are cities as systems, where their infrastructure, different subsystems and different functional domains are virtually connected to the information and communication technologies (ICT) and internet via sensors and devices and the Internet of Things (IoT), to collect and process real-time Big Data and make efficient, effective and sustainable solutions for a democratic and liveable city for its various stakeholders. This chapter explores the concepts and practices of sustainable smart cities across the globe and explores the use of technologies such as IoT, Blockchain technology and Cloud computing, etc. their challenges and then presents a view on business models for sustainable smart cities.

This study offers a global comparative analysis of variables associated with job satisfaction, specifically work-life balance, intrinsic and extrinsic rewards, and work relations on job satisfaction for hotel housekeepers.

The study analyzes these variants across 29 countries using International Social Survey Program data.

Findings indicate significant differences in job satisfaction for hotel housekeepers across countries, lower job satisfaction for hospitality occupations compared to all other occupational categories, lower job satisfaction for hotel housekeepers than employees in other hospitality occupations, and a statistically significant positive impact of some elements of work-life balance, intrinsic and extrinsic rewards, and coworker relations on job satisfaction.

The hospitality industry is characterized by poor work-life balance, high turnover rates and limited rewards. Hotel housekeepers report lower levels of satisfaction than other hospitality workers in terms of work-life balance, pay, relationships with managers, useful work and interesting work. Housekeepers play an important role in hotel quality and guest satisfaction. As such, understanding and addressing factors contributing to job satisfaction for hotel housekeepers is critical for managers

This paper aims to develop indicators of happiness in learning of the Thai open university (TOU)'s undergraduate students.

Sampling for the study was comprised of two groups. Group I comprised eight lecturers who are experts in their disciplines and six students who were purposively sampled. The focus group was used to validate the appropriateness of the indicators. In Group II, 332 students were engaged in a multistage sampling process. The responses were analyzed using descriptive statistics, coefficient correlation, exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA).

The indicators of happiness in learning of undergraduate students of TOU were classified in six categories. These included satisfaction with learning environment (five indicators), learning anxiety (five indicators), satisfaction with learning (five indicators), enthusiasm to learn (six indicators), self-satisfaction (six indicators) and readiness to learn (seven indicators). The six categories explained happiness in learning of undergraduate students of TOU at the 65% and fit empirical data.

The TOU can use the indicators for the assessment of happiness in learning of its students as well as guidelines for the improvement of its student learning environments.

There have been very few studies on indicators of happiness in learning of TOU students. Most were done at the basic education level. This study disclosed the six factors affecting happiness in learning of TOU students; therefore, it should inspire and draw attention of many in the field of higher education distance learning.

Addressing overweight in the population is an important public health challenge. Use of social media such as Facebook has been proposed as a platform to deliver weight loss interventions to influence behavior change to tackle obesity. The purpose of this paper is to compare the effectiveness of weight loss education and support interventions delivered through online social media (experimental group) vs conventional method (control group).

The six-month experimental study comprised of a four-month intervention and a two-month follow up from May 2016 to October 2016. All faculties in a university were randomly selected into the experimental or control group. Then, undergraduate students (n=66) were randomly recruited from each faculty into the corresponding groups (experimental group=33 and control group=33). Both groups received health education and support services through either Facebook or the offline support system. The mean differences of main outcomes including body mass index (BMI) and waist to height ratio (WHtR) between groups at baseline and fourth month and baseline and sixth month were compared using t-test.

The results show those in the experimental group had significantly better outcomes in term of BMI and WHtR at the end of four-month intervention with the mean difference (95% CI) at 0.7 (0.1, 1.3) and 0.01 (0.00, 0.01), respectively. The differences at the end of the study, however, became insignificant.

The health education and support services through Facebook can be used in a weight loss promotion program for BMI and WHtR reduction. On a larger scale to replace conventional programs, a long-term continuous measure is needed.

Contemporary entrepreneurial ecosystem models and frameworks advocate that culture is a criterion for entrepreneurial intention and central to entrepreneurship discourse. However, there is limited research from resource-constrained economies, such as sub-Saharan Africa and at a sub-national level. Responding to calls for bottom-up perspectives hinged on local context and heterogeneous nature, this paper aims to provide an in-depth understanding from multiple perspectives about the effect that culture and entrepreneurial intention have on the entrepreneurship process and performance in Nelson Mandela Bay, South Africa.

A mixed-method research design followed a sequential independent process consisting of two phases. Phase 1 included the dissemination of questionnaires to economically active participants, and 300 responses were statistically analysed. In Phase 2, 15 semi-structured interviews with influential economic development agents were conducted.

The results indicated that social legitimacy towards entrepreneurship existed and self-employment was viewed positively. However, self-employment endeavours were mainly necessity driven, and the systemic low levels of innovation, poor business competitiveness and the inability to scale were highlighted. The findings indicated that individuals venturing into business had a culture of being dependant on the government, lacking a risk appetite, fearing failure, with disparate groups suffering from a poor legacy of entrepreneurship.

Despite research done on the role of culture and entrepreneurial intention on entrepreneurial ecosystems, there are few case studies showing their influence at a sub-national level. This study responds to calls for studies on a sub-national level by exploring the influence that culture and entrepreneurial intention have on entrepreneurship in a resource-constrained metropole.