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Films, besides serving as an important instructive means to deliver sociological content, have also recently made their way into more structured courses on Media Sociology. It becomes particularly pertinent for cultivating global sociological imagination in the classroom. This chapter is a pedagogical reflection discussing the potentials of integrating Bollywood films into a first-year seminar, the content of which at many levels is comparable to basic sociology classes. The reflection is based out of the experience of teaching a freshmen class on Bollywood to a body of students with little past exposure, or knowledge of this movie industry. The chapter will initiate a dialogue on strategies of introducing the content, encouraging engagement and critical thinking, how to build on essential global sociological imagination along with a summary of what works and what does not. For this chapter, I will detail on the three contemporary Bollywood films (Ishaqzaade, Monsoon Wedding, and Dor), which I use to engage in a dialogue on family, class, and gender. Next, I will apply Sutherland and Fetley’s (2013) framework to explore the sociological relevance of these films (thus validating my choice of these works for pedagogical purposes) and also demonstrate possible hegemonic versus oppositional ways of reading these texts, which students are supposed to decipher and apply. Contemporary Bollywood films in many ways mirror aspects of the life course experienced in the United States and can be instrumental in encouraging a diverse undergraduate curriculum.

Though certain characteristics of micro-firms affect the likelihood of their participation in external relationships, how cooperation in craft enterprises differs from low and high-tech enterprises has not been investigated yet. Therefore, this study aims to fill the above gap in the literature.

This study adopts a descriptive approach by extensively reviewing relevant literature to explore the unique characteristics and nature of micro-firm's co-operative behavior. The theoretical approach of this research is grounded in resource-based view and dynamic capabilities theories.

This study finds that handicraft micro-firms possess special and unique characteristics that differentiate them from low- and high-tech firms. Further, handicraft micro-firms' co-operative behavior also differs from other firms in terms of cooperation motives, breadth, depth and factors that inhibit or promote cooperation. Additionally, in small handicraft firms, the co-operation is more informal, personal and through social networks, whereas in the corporate sector, it is more formal, direct and through supply chains. This study also argues that contrary to handicraft and low-tech firms, high-tech firms are more likely to cooperate with external partners and invest heavily in R&D for new product development (often radical in nature).

This study enriches our understanding of handicraft micro-firms' special and unique characteristics that differentiate them from low- and high-tech micro-firms. This research also provides in-depth knowledge to understand the handicraft micro-firms’ co-operative behavior and how it differs from low- and high-tech firms.

This study aims to examine issues affecting the growth and survival of traditional handicraft enterprising community in Pakistan, and analyzes their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, as well as develops strategic solutions to overcome the problems identified for their revival.

This exploratory study is based on a descriptive approach because it attempts to investigate the critical issues faced by traditional handicraft enterprising community. To operationalize the theoretical approach, this paper used a SWOT analysis of craft enterprising community. After thoroughly reviewing relevant literature, this study put forward strategic solutions for the revival of the traditional enterprising community. Moreover, secondary data on employment and gender wage gap were used to provide empirical evidence of the issues identified and emphasize the importance of strategic solutions.

This study found that traditional handicraft producers are facing many problems that hinder their survival and growth. This paper, therefore, makes some essential strategic recommendations on how to overcome these issues. The current research argues that Pakistan’s handicraft industry must be revived; else, centuries-old traditional culture and patrimonial knowledge will vanish. Moreover, there is a need to attract foreign investment to overcome resource limitations and improve the competitive capability of the enterprising community. Notably, government intervention is necessary for the revival of the traditional handicraft industry.

This study provides in-depth knowledge of issues faced by the Pakistani traditional handicraft enterprising community and suggests possible strategic solutions for the problems identified. Unlike previous studies, this research also discusses the essential characteristics of traditional handicrafts that differentiate them from identical mechanized products.

Evidence-based design (EBD) is traditionally limited to using empirical research findings based on randomized controlled trials. The purpose of this study is to explore stakeholder experiential knowledge as alternate credible evidence in redesigning health-care facilities for improved usability.

This research, based on critical participatory action research, involved a case study of redesign and post-occupancy evaluation (POE) of an emergency department (ED) at Holy Family Hospital, Techiman, Ghana. Observation, interviews and document analysis were used to collect data in the redesign and POE. The data was analyzed through directed content analysis.

Findings indicate that the redesign interventions, generated from stakeholder experiential knowledge, led to improved effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction in the ED. This presents stakeholder experiential knowledge as alternate credible evidence in EBD. Furthermore, the POE revealed that open and flexible spatial arrangement, zoning care areas according to severity, and providing staff-support amenities are some redesign interventions for improving ED usability.

Compared to the hard and controlled nature of experimental research knowledge, the soft and fluid experiential knowledge of stakeholders could be more useful for health-care redesign process, especially in iteratively structuring design thinking and making choices.

This paper contributes to theory by validating and illustrating stakeholder experiential knowledge as credible evidence for EBD. Practically, it provides strategies, based on POE findings, for designing EDs to improve usability.

Compliance with standard specifications in stairway design and construction, particularly the step geometry, is imperative for the safety and usability of stairs. The purpose of this study, was to assess the compliance of stair step geometry parameters with standard specifications in selected public buildings in Ghana. Specifically, the study investigated the prevalence of deviations in step geometry parameters from standard provisions; how significant these deviations are in comparison, and by theoretical association, the potential risk of accidents.

Field measurement of the geometric parameters of a total of 1954 steps in 204 flights of stairs within 28 university buildings was undertaken using a calibrated Multi Digit Pro + digital spirit level and a tape measure following the Nose-to-Nose Method. The results were analyzed using in Microsoft Excel 2016 and Minitab 18 and interpreted based on mean values, one-sample t-test and percentages.

Although some parameters generally complied with standard specifications, dimensional inconsistencies in risers and treads of adjacent steps were most prevalent, and significantly at margins far above standard specifications. The findings of the study show the unique limitation of the step geometry design requirements specified in the current Ghana National Building Code and the National Building Regulation, and by association, the potential risk of accidents and discomfort in the use of stairs in public buildings such as those on university campuses.

The observed deviations in the dimensions of risers and treads point to a lack of strict compliance with standard specifications in the design and construction of stairs. Apart from engaging skilled artisans, and intensifying supervision in stair construction, development control authorities in Ghana need to strengthen inspection of stairs during construction to ensure and enforce compliance.

Findings of the study provide insight into stairway design, as well as stair safety and usability in a developing world context, and allows for a more comprehensive study of stair-related accidents and discomfort associated with stairs in public buildings as a basis for the review of standards and codes in Ghana and other developing countries.

The phenomenon of wicked problems is inextricably associated with a design process, especially participatory design. The management of wicked problems in participatory design, however, remains largely unexplored. The purpose of this paper is to explore the use of the choosing by advantages (CBA) decision system to manage wicked problems in participatory design.

Two case studies, involving the application of CBA to make typical participatory design decisions, are evaluated to establish how responsively the CBA decision system operates in the midst of wicked problems in participatory design.

Findings point to the exploitability of some elements and attributes of the CBA process to manage wicked problems in participatory design, to some extent. The observed collaborative attributes of CBA is particularly helpful and play a key role in mitigating the adverse effects of wicked problems on collaboration in this regard.

The recommendation of the paper is the incorporation of CBA in the development of stakeholder involvement frameworks for a design process.

This paper contributes to knowledge on relying on elements and the attributes of a decision-making system, such as CBA, to manage stakeholder involvement in the design process, particularly focussing on wicked problems. The CBA decision system still remains emergent regarding its application and research in the AEC industry.

This study investigates the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on investors' sentiments, behavioral biases and investment decisions in the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX).

The authors have assessed investors' behaviors and sentiments and the stock market overreaction during COVID-19 using a questionnaire and collected data from 401 investors trading in the PSX.

Results of structural equation modeling revealed that the COVID-19 pandemic affected investors' behaviors, investment decisions and trade volume. It created feelings of fear and uncertainty among market participants. Evidence suggests that behavioral heuristics and biases, including representative heuristic, anchoring heuristic, overconfidence bias and disposition effect, negatively influenced investors' decisions at the PSX.

This study will contribute to behavioral finance literature in the context of developing countries as it has revealed the impact of COVID-19 on the emerging stock market, and its results are generalizable to other emerging stock markets.

The findings of this study will help academicians, researchers and policymakers of developing countries. Academicians can formulate new behavioral models that can depict the solutions of dealing with an uncertain situation like COVID-19. Policymakers like the Securities Exchange Commission and the PSX can formulate crisis management strategies based on behavioral finance concepts to cope with situations like COVID-19 in the future and help lessen investors' losses in the stock markets. The role of the Securities Exchange Commission is crucial as it regulates the financial markets. It can arrange workshops to educate investors to manage their decisions during crisis time and focus on the best use of irrational and rational decision-making at the same time using Lo (2004) adaptive market hypothesis.

The novelty of the paper is that the authors have introduced overconfidence and disposition effect as mediators that create a connection between representative and anchoring heuristics and investment decisions using primary data collected from investors (institutional and retail) to demonstrate the presence of psychological biases during COVID-19, and it has been done for the first time according to authors' knowledge. It is a contribution and addition to the behavioral finance literature in the context of developing countries' stock markets and their efficiency.

This study aims to investigate the role of moderated mediation between innovation in service quality and customer loyalty in the hospitality industry for potential entrepreneurs in the hospitality industry.

The authors have collected data from customers of the hospitality industry of significant cities of Pakistan using 362 structured questionnaires. Structural equation modelling was used to find out moderated mediation between innovation in service quality and customer loyalty in the hospitality industry for potential entrepreneurs in the hospitality industry.

The results showed that the role of customer satisfaction as a mediator and the role of perceived price fairness as a moderator between service quality and customer loyalty is statistically significant. Customers are influenced by price, and it leads to their satisfaction in the hospitality industry.

The results of this study can be used by managers of the restaurant industry to enhance customer loyalty by focusing on customer satisfaction and perceived price.

The evidence documented in this paper is first known to measure the role of a mediator and moderator between service quality and customer loyalty for potential entrepreneurs. This paper will add to the literature of service quality in the hospitality industry concerning the role of customer satisfaction and perceived price fairness for future and potential entrepreneurs.

This study aims to examine the impact of religiosity on fashion knowledge, consumer-perceived value and patronage intention.

This study applied purposive sampling method. The population size used a minimum number of samples (100) in the WarpPLS analysis. The inferential statistical technique used is structural equation modeling. A tool for analyzing the structural models is the partial least square method.

Religiosity is a consumer belief in religion, which does not generate fashion knowledge so that high and low religiousness cannot increase or decrease fashion knowledge. Consumer confidence in their religion can increase consumer-perceived value of Muslim fashion products. It causes consumers to behave positively toward future behavioral intentions, that is, the patronage intention. Consumer religiosity is not the cause of patronage intention so that the high or low level of religiousness does not increase or decrease in the willingness of consumers to visit the store (or patronage intention). Fashion knowledge has a positive influence on consumer-perceived value. Consumer knowledge of fashion can increase the patronage of consumer intention toward Muslim fashion products. Fashion knowledge brings the knowledge to consumers in regard to Islamic law that regulates the prohibited and allowed actions, especially in wearing fashion. The high or low level of consumer-perceived value does not provide a cause for increase or decrease in the willingness of consumers to revisit the store (or patronage intention).

With regard to the relationship between religiosity and knowledge, it is found that there are still limited studies and differences in the sectors studied regarding the influence of religiosity and knowledge. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, the religiosity variable in influencing consumer-perceived value has not been used in previous studies. Religiosity is associated with consumer-perceived value expressed as originality in this study because the researcher has not found this relationship in the previous studies. Regarding the relationship between religiosity and store patronage intention, it is found that there are still different opinions in the research results on the effect of religiosity and store patronage intention. Concerning the relationship between knowledge and consumer-perceived value, it is found that there are still different opinions in the research results on the effect of knowledge and consumer-perceived value. The authors found no use of the knowledge variable in influencing store patronage intention in previous research studies. Knowledge associated with store patronage intention is expressed as the originality trait in this study because the researcher has not found this relationship in the previous studies. As for the relationship between consumer-perceived value and store patronage intention, it is found that there are still different opinions in the research results of the study regarding the influence of consumer-perceived value and store patronage intention.

Knowing and understanding the spatial needs of users is imperative for the design of livable and sustainable houses. However, the practical and theoretical difficulties associated with this, especially in social housing, create a shortfall in design knowledge known as user needs gap. To bridge this gap, design researchers over the years, have sought to provide feedback for design decision-making through post-occupancy evaluation studies using preferences and residential satisfaction as constructs. In view of their limitations, this study aims to explore residential adaptations as residents’ tacit means of communicating their spatial needs, and a pathway to understanding residents’ housing requirements.

The study was exploratory in nature and a case study by design using a convergent parallel design within the mixed methods tradition. Activity Theory as used as a conceptual framework. The study involved three strands of research as follows: estimation of the floor areas of the rooms and spaces of the case study designs using the International Standards Organisation intramuros method; a survey of households and their activities using questionnaires; and observation of residents’ adaptations captured photographs and drawings. In all, 43 households out of the 66 apartments in the two case designs were surveyed.

The study found that while the units were theoretically large, they were practically inadequate when average household sizes were taken into account in a space per person analysis. In response, particularly to sleeping requirements of children, residents make different forms of adaptations – normative, such as house sharing, compositional and organizational, as well as add-ins and add-ons including and illegal alterations.

The paper presents residential adaptations as an empirically grounded, contextually embedded and practically useful means of exploring and understanding users’ spatial needs in housing design. Residential adaptations provide a means through which residents communicate their housing needs, albeit tacitly – a means for self-expression, self-extension and self-determination. To theory, the study shows that residential adaptations can be useful as a construct for understanding residents’ spatial needs, though fuzzy. It also helps understand how the tensions in an activity system, may result from contradictions produced by the lurking effect of contextual factors. This makes contextual knowledge, particularly cultural knowledge, critical to the design.