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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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

This paper aims to add to the theorization of family dynamics and women’s entrepreneurship by examining women’s influence on decision-making in family businesses. Business decisions in family firms, in particular, are not free from family influence in terms of goals and strategies, and the role of women in decision-making processes is of particular interest. Consequently, the role of women entrepreneurs in family firms and their influence on business development requires a more fine-grained analysis of the family dynamic within the family and the business.

This study draws on a qualitative study and focuses on the life story narratives of nine women in rural family businesses in rural communities of Småland province in Sweden to empirically examine the decision-making processes. This region is known both for its entrepreneurial culture and traditional gender order. Based on the narrative accounts of women entrepreneurs in family businesses, the data analysis method is thematic, using a Gioia-inspired method.

The complexity of decision-making in rural family firms is further complicated in part due to a closeness with the rural community. Thus, a typology of three decision-making modes in family firms emerges an informal family-oriented mode, a semistructured family/employee consensus mode and a formal board mode with at least one nonfamily member. Moreover, the advantages, disadvantages and strategies that women use to influence decisions within the respective mode are outlined.

This work contributes to the study of women’s agency and its implications in family business and entrepreneurship in the rural context. The study implies that women’s agency shapes the (rural) entrepreneurship context and, likewise, the (rural) entrepreneurship context influences women’s agency. Hence, the author challenges the view of women as only caregivers and sheds light on the practices and processes behind the scenes of entrepreneurial family businesses.

Women’s empowerment remains a key development challenge in Kenya. The purpose of this study is to attempt to understand the status of women’s empowerment and the key contributors to their disempowerment in Kenya’s aquaculture sector.

A cross-sectional survey was conducted on 534 male and female fish farmers from 300 households drawn from six counties in Kenya (Kakamega, Kisumu, Kisii, Kiambu, Meru and Nyeri). The Abbreviated Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index (A-WEAI) was adapted to Abbreviated Women’s Empowerment in Fisheries and Aquaculture Index (A-WEFI) to suit the aquaculture and fisheries sub-sector. The adapted A-WEFI was then used to estimate and the status of women’s and men’s using five domains of empowerment (5DE) and a gender parity index (GPI). Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, Cramer’s V and sensitivity analysis as test statistics.

About 86% of the men and 80% of the women were classified as empowered. The mean score of the 5DE was 0.93 and 0.95 for women and men, respectively. In addition, 82% of the households achieved gender parity, suggesting that for such households, empowerment of men was no greater than that of women. Overall, the results suggest no major differences between the empowerment of women and men. Findings suggest areas of improvement in empowerment: when observed separately, women report lack of agency in production, resource, time-use and allocation and leadership.

This paper adapts the A-WEAI to the fisheries and aquaculture context, in bid to bridge the gap in standard women’s empowerment measurement methods in this area. Also, there are limited empirical studies on the multifaceted empowerment of women in aquaculture in Kenya. The findings are meant to serve as a point of reference for policymakers, as they develop gender-responsive intervention programmes, and in implementing gender mainstreaming in Kenya.

The purpose of this paper is to identify and discuss impediments in the compilation of an application for a search and seizure warrant for digital evidence and the structure of such a warrant in South African criminal cases.

This paper provides a brief overview of international and local impediments, followed by a detailed discussion of the implications of these impediments and how it is approached in various jurisdictions. The methodology of this paper consists of a literature review.

Addressing the impediments in the compilation of the application and the warrant will be beneficial for forensic investigators, the South African Police Service (SAPS) and the administration of justice in South Africa.

Search and seizures for digital evidence form part of civil, regulatory and criminal search and seizures. This study focuses on the search and seizure of digital evidence in criminal matters pursuant to mainly the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Act 51 of 1977 and the Cybercrimes Act 19 of 2020.

The originality of this paper lies in the approach to the drafting of applications for search and seizure warrants for digital information in South Africa. The contribution of the study is that, by using this approach, the SAPS can address the impediments during the application and compilation of the warrants, which would enhance the quality of investigations and contribute to the successful investigation and prosecution of crime in South Africa.

This research focuses on the work–family facilitation process to theorize and examine the potential positive impact of perceived overqualification (POQ) on an individual’s work–family interface. Drawing on social cognitive theory of self-regulation, this research identifies work–family balance self-efficacy (WFBSE) as a motivational mechanism through which POQ affects work engagement. Additionally, it proposes flexibility human resource (HR) practices as a key moderator of this process.

This research collected multi-wave time-lagged data from 342 managers in the hospitality industry. The research focused on managers with the title of headwaiter and above, while front-line service personnel were not included.

The results showed that POQ had an indirect positive relationship with work engagement via WFBSE. The results also showed that employee-experienced flexibility HR practices moderated the effectiveness of WFBSE in translating POQ into work engagement.

This research provides guidance and insights into how HRM systems can be customized to sustain positive outcomes in situations of overqualification. It is crucial that hotels offer flexibility options or individualization of work arrangements for overqualified employees.

The potential positive impact of POQ on employees’ work–family interface has been neglected. In addition, prior research has devoted little attention to potential organizational factors that enhance the positive effects of POQ. By examining the mediating and moderating effects, this research aims to explain how and under what conditions POQ facilitates work engagement.

While a substantial amount of research has been conducted in western societies exploring public attitudes toward police (ATP) among immigrants in recent decades, the question of how recently arrived immigrants view the police in Asian societies has been largely overlooked. This study aims to explore Southeast Asian immigrants' ATP in Taiwan and how assimilation, discrimination, affirmation, procedural justice, bifocal lenses and contact experiences – viewed simultaneously – impact their perceptions.

Using a combination of convenience and snowball sampling methods, a total of 579 completed survey responses were collected in Taiwan with a response rate of 89%. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was used to examine key factors that impact immigrants' attitudes toward the Taiwanese police.

The findings suggest that procedural justice and assimilation are two robust and direct predictors of immigrants' attitudes toward Taiwanese police. Immigrants from Southeast Asian countries who perceive that they have been treated fairly by Taiwan police tended to report more positive ATP. Likewise, higher levels of assimilation boosted confidence in the police. In addition, both nationality and marital status had a significant impact on perceptions of the police.

This pioneering study examines immigrants' ATP among four groups of Southeast Asians in Taiwan —namely, immigrants from Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand and the Philippines. The use of SEM strengthens the robustness of the findings derived from this study.

Research shows that having student loan debt in retirement is associated negatively with life satisfaction, suggesting that student debt is a bane of retiree well-being. The rationale for this study is to determine the factors related to owing student debt in retirement, given the adverse effects on the well-being of retired households.

The study utilizes pooled cross-sectional data from the 2015 and 2018 U.S. National Financial Capability Study. The empirical analysis uses a sample of retired Americans aged 65 years and older (N = approximately 8,000) and estimates two-block logistic regression models to examine the effects of demographic, socioeconomic and behavioral factors on student loan indebtedness in retirement. A sensitivity analysis is performed for the subsample of retirees holding student debt for their children's education. Statistical interpretations use odds ratios.

The findings indicate that financial literacy, age, homeownership and high subjective financial knowledge are associated with a low likelihood of holding student loan debt in retirement. However, being Black, having postsecondary education, having difficulty covering expenses, having financially dependent children, having high-risk preferences and spending more than income increase the likelihood of holding student debt in retirement. The ensuing discussion will assist financial planners and educators identify practical ways to shape decisions regarding student loan debt in retirement.

The amount of student loan debt is unavailable in the dataset for analysis. One cannot infer causal relations from the study. The factors examined do not reflect the time the student loan was obtained.

The study focuses on the determinants of student loan indebtedness among retired Americans rather than young adults or older adults on the verge of retirement. The paper enhances the understanding of student loan holdings in the decumulation phase of the life cycle. Many US individuals have low retirement savings from which they draw a retirement income. The more the student debt burdens on retired Americans, the greater the likelihood of outliving their resources and experiencing poverty.

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a prevalent public health issue impacting women’s physical and mental health and psychosocial walks of life across cultures and societies. Despite this, many women continue to stay in such relationships. This study aims to examine, from a constructionist perspective, why women stay in abusive marriages and what factors prevent them from taking appropriate actions. Also, women’s experiences of surviving IPV were explored.

Using a descriptive qualitative research method, the authors recruited and interviewed 17 women from northern India. The data were analysed thematically.

The underlying themes that emerged in response to the research questions were the lack of family support, societal ideals, the culture of normalizing violence, fear, love and hope and emotional turmoil. The reason for women not to leave abusive marriages corresponds to the broader social constructions of marriage and women’s perceived positions in family and society.

Research on women’s decision to stay in abusive relationships is limited, especially from the Global South. This study generates fresh evidence on the subject matter, specifically from the Indian context. The study result contributes uniquely by approaching the problem of staying in an abusive relationship from a social constructionist perspective. This study has implications for policy and psychosocial interventions to bring progressive changes in the lives of women experiencing IPV.

The current study is aimed at identifying the prominent influencers that affect the response behaviour of patients in a hospital environment.

The research is based on the data collected through the participant observation method while interviewing patients about the quality of healthcare services in nine community health centres of the Kashmir division. Thematic analysis was performed on the information collected from patients admitted to various hospital sections.

The analysis of the qualitative data revealed that the presence of hospital staff near respondents, perceived risk of maltreatment, social desirability, the sensitivity of the topic, risk of information sharing and attitude towards surveys are the most frequently observed factors that modulate the patient's tendency to truthfully report critical facts about the problem understudy.

These results can help researchers to exercise caution while communicating with respondents and collecting data related to serious issues in a natural setting.

The purpose of this research is to propose and empirically validate a theoretical framework to investigate the willingness of the elderly to disclose personal health information (PHI) to improve the operational efficiency of AI-integrated caregiver robots.

Drawing upon Privacy Calculus Theory (PCT) and the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), 274 usable responses were collected through an online survey.

Empirical results reveal that trust, privacy concerns, and social isolation have a direct impact on the willingness to disclose PHI. Perceived ease of use (PEOU), perceived usefulness (PU), social isolation, and recognized benefits significantly influence user trust. Conversely, elderly individuals with pronounced privacy concerns are less inclined to disclose PHI when using AI-enabled caregiver robots.

Given the pressing need for AI-enabled caregiver robots due to the aging population and a decrease in professional human caregivers, understanding factors that influence the elderly's disclosure of PHI can guide design considerations and policymaking.

Considering the increased demand for accurate and comprehensive elder services, this is the first time that information disclosure and AI-enabled caregiver robot technologies have been combined in the field of healthcare management. This study bridges the gap between the necessity for technological improvement in caregiver robots and the importance of transparent operational information by disclosing the elderly's willingness to share PHI.