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This study aims to offer authors’ humble yet unique experiences about developing an undergraduate sociology programme in an increasingly divided city.

In this study, the authors reflect upon the development of a new sociology programme in Hong Kong in which a wide spectrum of expectations from different stakeholders, together with their own sense of mission towards sociology education, have set a very challenging stage.

Developing an undergraduate sociology programme has never been easy, and there is no self-complacence as far as developing a programme that is of both academic and social values.

This paper offers a first-hand account of how sociology educators have developed a new sociology programme in a unique social context.

Wage employees enter self-employment either directly or in a staged manner and may subsequently undertake multiple stints at self-employment. Extant research on the relationship between entry modes and the persistence and outcomes of self-employment is inconclusive. This study investigates the relationship between wage employees’ initial mode of entry into self-employment and the duration of the subsequent first two stints of self-employment.

This study used a matched longitudinal sample of 9,550 employees who became majority owners of incorporated firms from 2005 to 2016.

The findings demonstrate that the initial mode of entry into self-employment matters for the first two stints at self-employment. Staged entry into self-employment was associated with a shorter first stint and became insignificant for the second stint. Staged entry into self-employment was positively related to the odds of becoming self-employed for the second time in the same firm.

Using a comprehensive and reliable dataset, the paper shifts focus from the aggregated onward journey of novice entrepreneurs (survival as the outcome) to the duration of their self-employment stints. By doing so, the paper offers insights into the process of becoming self-employed and the patterns associated with success/failure in entrepreneurship associated with self-employment duration.

This study aims to investigate whether social investment (SI) policies improve employment among single mothers.

This paper analyzes the potential effects of SI policies on vulnerable individuals and workers at the macro level by using the employment position of single mothers as a dependent variable. Time-series cross-national data from 18 OECD countries between 1998 and 2017 are analyzed. Multilevel model analysis is also used for robustness check.

I find that public spending on education and family support is positively associated with the employment rates of single mothers. In contrast, active labor market policy (ALMP) spending is negatively associated. ALMP’s negative effects stand out particularly with public spending on job training. Of all family support policies, family allowances are positively associated with single mothers’ employment, which runs counter to the conventional argument that family allowances are a disincentive for women’s or mothers’ employment. Paid leave (length and generosity) is also associated with higher employment for single mothers. There is also some tentative evidence that public spending on maternity leave benefits (spending level) may raise the odds of single mothers being employed, when individual-level factors are controlled for in multilevel analysis we implement for robustness check.

This paper does not analyze the effects of the qualitative properties of SI policies. Future research is necessary in this respect.

The effects of SI policies on employment among single mothers have not yet been examined in the literature. This paper seeks to be a first cut at measuring the effects.

This study aims to advance knowledge in international management research about how researchers’ cultural identity in fieldwork encounters may be grounded in the choice of language in multicultural and multilingual projects.

The study is based on critical reflections on the experience of two co-authors as Chinese nationals conducting research in overseas Chinese multinational corporations (MNCs) in developing economies.

Drawing on social identity theory, the authors demonstrate that the cultural identity and cultural insider/outsider positionality of both the researcher and research participants can be shaped by language, translation and other artefacts in cross-cultural interviews, constantly being shifted, managed and renegotiated during qualitative interviewing. This study highlights the politics of language which, when combined with other forms of power relations, such as the researcher’s perceived status, economic development of the MNCs’ home country and the participants’ organisational hierarchy, affect power distribution between the researcher and participants. Researchers often need to move from being an “insider” to an “outsider” and often to an “in-betweener” at different stages in an interview interaction to balance power.

This study contributes to international debates about the complex interplay of languages, politics and identity in multilingual and multicultural qualitative research. In contributing to these literatures, the authors focus on the relatively under-researched Chinese MNCs in other developing countries including Mongolia and Tanzania. Recommendations for researcher training and reflexivity are proposed.

A systematic investigation of postgraduate leadership programs for health and/or human services offered by Australian higher education institutions was undertaken.

Quantitative analysis identified the core characteristics of the programs. A thematic analysis of the course learning outcomes was conducted and six major themes of disciplinary leadership and management knowledge; research and analytical skills; professional practice; communication and collaboration; creativity and innovation; and system knowledge are shared in this study.

The authors conclude that Australian universities have taken an evidence-based approach to leadership education.

More work might need to be undertaken to ensure leadership theories are incorporated into learning outcomes.

Our study was designed to investigate the longitudinal trajectories of student leader development capacities in a sample of students enrolled in multiple leadership-focused courses across several semesters. Our goal was to assess the degree to which course enrollment was associated with growth over the time that students engage as undergraduates in academic leadership programs, and if so, to assess the shape and speed of capacity change.

We utilized a multilevel intra-individual modeling approach assessing students’ motivation to lead, leader self-efficacy, and leadership skills across multiple data collection points for students in a campus major or minor focused on leadership studies. We compared an unconditional model, a fixed effect model, a random intercept model, a random slope model, and a random slope and intercept model to determine the shape of score trajectories. Our approach was not to collect traditional pre-test and post-test data – choosing to collect data only at the beginning of each semester – to reduce time cues typically inherent within pre-test and post-test collections.

Our results strongly suggested that individual students differ greatly in the degree to which they report the capacity to lead when initially enrolling in their first class. Surprisingly, the various models were unable to predict a pattern of longitudinal leader development through repeated course enrollment in our sample.

Our investigation employed statistical methods that are not often utilized in leadership education quantitative research, and also included a data collection effort designed to avoid a linear pre-test/post-test score comparison.

The tourism sector continues to be an engine for economic growth for communities (Jenkins, 1980), and in post-disaster scenarios, destination can be overwhelmed with challenges, particularly for the local community. However, it is essential to seek the most effective path of recovery for individuals and communities. Gaps in contemporary post-disaster literature remain, as the focus often centres on infrastructure and economic developments (Cox and Perry, 2011). This paper aims to address such gaps by offering new ideas around the value of recovery focusing more on the victims, their stories and the role of tourism.

As a theoretical paper, the applied method is described as a convenient approach to data collection and analysis. The methodological reasoning is down to the selection and examination of sources used to establish new theoretical understandings. The study applies a pragmatic research approach to embrace the spectrum of views that are present within the constructivist and positivist. The pragmatic philosophical approach supports multi-disciplinary studies and ensures a more holistic consideration of social conditions is embraced.

This paper offers new knowledge and ideas for post-disaster recovery scenarios. It presents a model that incorporates a range of (traditional, digital and immersive) methods and platforms in which stories can be shared and presented. It argues that allowing victims to share stories in different formats could support rehabilitation while also providing stronger, powerful narratives for tourists, leading to more effective tourism experiences.

Disasters leave individuals and communities in devastation and with potentially lifelong trauma. In rehabilitation of victims is a vital ingredient to the recovery of a destination and its social fabric. This research offers new ideas around the use of digital technologies to generate stories of value that not only support victims of disasters but also offer visitors the opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of challenges and difficulties of dark places, often seen as a key part of the visitor experience and motive to places of tragedy.

The world population is getting older and housing decisions matter to the security of retirement life and well-being. However, senior housing and financing decisions are largely overlooked in the literature. This study aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the senior housing and financing decisions in the USA.

Using 2021 American Housing Survey data and ordinary least squares estimates, this paper studies senior housing and financing decisions in the 15 most populous US metropolitan areas. Multiple regressions are used to analyze the whole sample as well as various subsamples.

This paper finds strong evidence that seniors are more likely to own a house with a higher market value compared with nonseniors. More specifically, although race and gender do not matter in this relationship, it is less pronounced among those with higher education. Also, seniors, especially white senior homeowners, are more likely to have a lower mortgage debt burden due to a higher upfront down payment than nonseniors. Last, seniors are more likely to refinance their homes and receive cash than nonseniors.

Constrained by the data limitations, this study specifically focuses on seniors’ housing and mortgage decisions. Future research could involve exploring seniors’ mortgage decisions by considering factors such as mortgage loan terms, borrower credentials and the evolving landscape of the senior housing market, among other aspects.

The findings would help policymakers and contractors in the construction industry better understand the uniqueness of challenges in the senior housing market and develop effective housing policies and programs that cater to the needs of the elderly. A comprehensive understanding of the senior housing market would also help seniors make informed purchase and financing decisions.

The authors propose providing financial education to the elderly, particularly those of disadvantaged status, to improve their expertise and bargaining skills in the mortgage loan application process.

This paper contributes to understanding the dynamic senior housing market, which encounters challenges and opportunities associated with the aging population. The study fills the gap of limited research regarding seniors’ housing decision and their financing choices in the USA and would help policymakers and contractors in the construction industry develop effective housing policies and programs that cater to the needs of the elderly.