Search results

The purpose of this paper is to use financial market prices formed in betting markets as a measure of uncertainty of outcome and other factors as it relates to hockey attendance in three top European leagues, the KHL, SHL, and Liiga. This is the first study of European hockey to use betting market odds to estimate the impact of home team win probability and uncertainty of outcome on attendance.

The design of this study is a multivariate regression model with log of attendance and percentage of arena capacity as dependent variables in two separate regressions. Controlling for other factors, the role of the home team win probability and its square are explored for individual game attendance.

Fans of the KHL and SHL are found to prefer to see their home team win, but also exhibit strong preferences for uncertainty of outcome. Fans of Liiga prefer to see the home team win, but do not exhibit as strong a preference for uncertainty of outcome. This differs from recent findings in the sport of baseball and from previous findings for the NHL.

Having a competitive league is not only important for television ratings, but also for in-person attendance in these European hockey leagues. Importance of uncertainty of outcome varies across leagues.

The paper uses financial market prices, betting market odds, as a measure of game expectations (home team win probability) and uncertainty of outcome and applies it to a new setting for three of the top European hockey leagues. The findings illustrate that uncertainty of outcome is important for the KHL and SHL, but statistically insignificant for Liiga.

This case study was undertaken as a process consultation in a non‐profit Christian church which has experienced a general decline in attendance in addition to a particular problem characterized as a habit of late arrival at the primary Sunday worship service. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

This case study was designed as an action research project using appreciative inquiry and institutional theory in the structuralist tradition. This combined methodological approach was effectively used to identify core values and norms inherent in the organization and functioning of the church.

Results confirmed the premise of a habit of late arrival and indicated that there was little focus or support by congregants on the traditions and practices that occur early in the church service. Great value was placed on the overall environment, teaching and messaging that occurred from the sermons which begin approximately 45 minutes after the start of the service. Validation and review of the possibility propositions resulted in a reorganization of the primary Sunday worship service resulting in increased attendance and on time performance.

This case study finds that methods inherent in institutional analysis and appreciative inquiry can be effectively combined to identify gaps in organizational goals and performance which are direct results of encapsulated organizational traditions. It is anticipated that the methodological approach in this study is generally applicable to organizations of various types.

In Australia, male sports attendees outnumber female sports attendees by 25%, yet little research has been conducted into the attendance motives of women. This study undertakes an analysis of 460 respondents using descriptive and multivariate statistics to distinguish the attendance motivations of women and compare them directly to those of male attendees. The findings suggest that female attendance can be influenced through management and promotional strategies.

This paper analyses the determinants of sports participation and attendance in 40 sports and recreational activities in Spain. Ordered probit models are used to identify determinants in each case and to test for possible relationships. The results show that the two types of involvement, participation and attendance, are very different, the former constrained by economic, sociological and psychological variables such as gender, age, time availability and motivational factors, the latter explained by variables such as age, gender and size of household.

Although the understanding of both positive and negative factors influencing sports consumption is essential, previous research has mainly focused on motivators. The purpose of this study was to examine three different models of constraints and motivators that influence attendance: a correlated model, a hierarchical model and a moderated model. Twenty factors were identified and classified into four main categories. The results indicated that 16 out of 20 motivators and constraints had a significant relationship with attendance in the theoretically expected direction.

The number of people engaging in higher education (HE) has increased considerably over the past decade. However, there is a need to achieve a balance between increasing access and bearing down on rates of non‐completion. It has been argued that poor attainment and failure within the first year are significant contributors to the overall statistics for non‐progression and that, although research has concentrated on factors causative of student withdrawal, less attention has focused on students who fail academically. This study investigated the effects of a number of factors on the academic attainment of first‐year undergraduates within the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Glamorgan. Results showed that gender and age had only minor impacts upon educational achievement, while place of residence, prior educational attainment and attendance emerged as significant predictors of attainment. Further analysis showed these three factors to be interrelated, with attendance correlating strongly with both entry points and place of residence. In turn, prior attainment was strongly linked to place of residence. Findings may be used to identify and proactively target students at risk of poor academic performance and dropout in order to improve rates of performance and progression.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship of students’ school attendance, gender, and size of their class with their achievement in two subject areas among early grade primary school students in rural India. Second, it examines the extent to which the relationship between students’ attendance and achievement differed by classroom.

The study was conducted across 1,434 students enrolled in 24 schools in two rural districts. Student attendance on ten days over a five‐month period was examined in relation to their achievement in Math and Hindi. Hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) was employed for analysis.

When examined across all students, attendance had either no relationship or a very weak relationship with achievement scores. However, the relationship between attendance and achievement varied significantly by classroom, indicating that students’ achievement differed by which teacher they had for class. Across all grades and subjects, boys out‐scored girls on the achievement test at levels that were statistically significant but too small to have much practical importance.

The paper's findings indicate that the teacher is a key factor in determining the relationship between students’ attendance and their achievement. Results support the argument that the quality of teaching may need to precede an emphasis on promoting student attendance and shrinking class size. It is not that these things are unimportant; rather, they may be ineffective and a waste of money if quality teaching is not already present.

Research demonstrates that non-attendance at healthcare appointments is a waste of scarce resources; leading to reduced productivity, increased costs, disadvantaged patients through increased waiting times and demoralised staff. The purpose of this paper is to investigate non-attendance and implemented interventions to improve practice.

A mixed methods service audit took place in a primary care psychological therapies service. Existing service guidelines and reporting systems were reviewed. A cross-sectional design was used to compare a year’s cohort of completers of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) (n=140) and drop-outs (n=61).

Findings suggested contrasting guidelines and clinically inaccurate reporting systems. The overall service did not attend (DNA) rate was 8.9 per cent; well below rates suggested in the literature. The drop-out rate from CBT was 17 per cent. The most influential factor associated with CBT drop-out was the level of depression. The level of anxiety, risk ratings and deprivation scores were also different between completers and drop-outs. The main reasons given for non-attendance were forgetting, being too unwell to attend, having other priorities, or dissatisfaction with the service; again these findings were consistent with prior research.

A range of recommendations for practice are made, many of which were implemented with an associated reduction in the DNA rate.

This paper aims to examine the event attendance motives and the underlying mechanism through which event attendance motives influence positive word-of-mouth (PWOM) and revisit intentions. It also investigates how event attendance motives differ by gender.

A self-completed survey administered in English among visitors to the 2016 Olympic Games generated 230 valid responses. Partial least squares-based structural equation modeling was applied to test research hypotheses.

Event attendance motives of esthetics and escape positively influence host city evaluation. Host city evaluation positively influences PWOM and revisit intentions. Host city evaluation mediates the relationship between event attendance motives (esthetics and escape) and behavioral intentions (PWOM and revisit intentions). Male Olympic tourists show significantly lower means in the motives of social bond and escape when compared with female Olympic tourists.

This study adds to the body of knowledge concerning Olympic tourists, their motives and behavioral intentions. Research findings indicate that event attendance motives influence PWOM and revisit intentions through the mediating effect of host city evaluation. Considering the noticeable paucity of gender analysis weakens the understanding of the Olympic tourist behavior, this study contributes to the literature by examining gender differences in Olympic attendance motives.

This study provides some empirical evidence of the relationship between face‐to‐face contact for accounting students by comparing their performance with their attendance at tutorials. Previous research has shown that there was no significant difference in the performance of students, measured by their results, between students who attended tutorials and lectures with those who did not. Internal students who had face‐to‐face contact outscored those who did not attend lectures and tutorials. This suggests that attendance does explain performance. Consistent with previous studies, we posit that students who attended tutorials have a greater possibility of scoring a higher mean average grade than those who did not attend tutorials. We hypothesise that attendance at tutorials is useful and is conducive to better learning in accounting at the undergraduate levels. With debate about converting all accounting undergraduate courses into the flexible mode over the horizon, this study provides some empirical evidence to accounting students, accounting academics and university administrators as to the suitability of learning and teaching modes in accounting at the undergraduate level.