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The study of house prices has become more relevant in recent times after the global financial crisis. Using a housing data set from three regions of Ghana (collated from real estate agents), the purpose of this paper is to estimate the relative importance of housing attributes to house prices.

The hedonic regression analysis conducted indicates that location is the most powerful determinant of house prices. Other relevant factors are the number of bedrooms, the number of floors, the total floor area, land size, age of the house and luxury finishing.

The implications of these results are many. Policy wise, the study provides an evidence-based empirical study that supports the need for better urban planning to improve communities, which in turn is associated with house price appreciations. Homeowners, investors and creditors, particularly mortgage lenders could be the immediate beneficiaries. Drawing on this, improved urban planning could mitigate strategic defaults that results from house prices falling below mortgage loan balances. This is important for financial market stability.

The paper provides a comprehensive and unique understanding of the hedonic determinants of house prices in Ghana. Future studies could examine the effect of location upon mortgage lending in Ghana.

This study aims to provide a framework for assessing the technical condition of a house to determine its market value, including the identification of other price-setting factors and their statistical significance. Time on market (TOM) in relation to the technical condition of a house is also addressed.

The primary database contains 631 houses, and the initial asking price and selling price are examined. All the houses are located in the Brno–venkov district in the Czech Republic. Regression analysis was used to test the influence of price-setting factors. The standard ordinary least squares estimator and the maximum likelihood estimator were used in the frame of generalized linear models.

Using envelope components of houses separately, such as the façade condition, windows, roof, condition of interior and year of construction, brings better results than using a single factor for the technical condition. TOM was found to be 67 days lower for houses intended for demolition – as compared to new houses – and 18 days lower for houses to refurbishment.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this paper is original in the substitution of specific price-setting factors for factors relating to the technical condition of houses as well as in proposing the framework for professionals in the Czech Republic.

The purpose of this study is to develop a scale for measuring housing quality in the context of Pakistan.

The inductive and deductive approaches for item generation have been combined, and items have been purified using multistage expert review. Data was collected from a sizeable purposive sample of 445 respondents, and exploratory and confirmatory factor approaches used for assessing psychometric properties of the scale.

The result is a 21-item scale covering five dimensions, namely, Design and Construction Quality, Neighborhood Quality, Adequacy of Space, Quality of Institutional Services and Proximity of Basic Amenities.

This study contributes to housing quality literature by deepening our understanding of the concept of housing quality in the context of Pakistan, the world’s fifth most populous country. The findings of the study have important implications for both theory and practice.

Energy conservation literacy within households is a contemporary and topical issue globally. However, scant research has been conducted on energy-saving literacy amongst Ghanaian households. To substantiate the problem, this paper aims to examine energy conservation literacy and behaviours among Ghanaian households in the Greater Accra Region.

The study assessed household electricity use and explored determinants of household energy conservation behaviours. Data was collected through a survey administered to households within the target region and analysed using descriptive statistics and Spearmen’s rank correlation.

Results showed electricity conservation among households is greatly influenced by the number of household occupants, household income levels, and the quality and quantity of appliances. The study also found that conservation behaviours are positively correlated to the number of occupants, household income levels, the quantity of electrical appliances, age of household members, number of rooms and level of urbanization within the home’s geographical region. Cumulatively, the findings suggest households held positive attitudes towards efficient energy practices. Enigmatically, the use of energy-conserving alternative technologies was not widely used by households; hence, this factor does not significantly affect household energy conservation.

Although limited to Ghana’s capital region, the findings can be used to inform policy and regulations at the regional and national levels in designing an efficient and effective mechanism to reduce the country’s overall energy use.

Premised upon the findings, the study recommends an intensification of education and awareness-creation on various energy-saving regulations and initiatives and thorough education on the usage of standardized (approved) refrigerators to promote the consistent adoption of energy conservation measures among households.

This study pioneers investigations into the influence of household demographic variables on overall electricity conservation behaviours exhibited by Ghanaian households

The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) goal to end the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) epidemic as a public health threat by 2030 emphasises the importance of leaving no one behind. To determine progress towards the elimination goal in Ghana, an in-depth understanding of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) care from the perspective of vulnerable populations such as persons living with HIV in incarceration is necessary. This study aims to explore the experiences of incarcerated individuals living with HIV (ILHIV) and on antiretroviral therapy (ART) in selected Ghanaian prisons to help inform policy.

The study adopted a qualitative approach involving in-depth interviews with 16 purposively selected ILHIV on ART from purposively selected prisons. Interviews were conducted between October and December 2022. Thematic analysis was performed using the ATLAS.Ti software.

Three themes were generated from the analysis: waking up to a positive HIV status; living with HIV a day at a time; and being my brother’s keeper: preventing HIV transmission. All participants underwent HIV screening at the various prisons. ILHIV also had access to ART although those on remand had challenges with refills. Stigma perpetuated by incarcerated individuals against those with HIV existed, and experiences of inadequate nutrition among incarcerated individuals on ART were reported. Opportunities to improve the experiences of the ILHIV are required to improve care and reduce morbidity and mortality.

Through first-hand experiences from ILHIV in prisons, this study provides the perception of incarcerated individuals on HIV care in prisons. The insights gained from this study can contribute to the development of targeted interventions and strategies to improve HIV care and support for incarcerated individuals.

Small to mid-sized enterprises (SMEs) are underrepresented in market orientation and internet-related research. Yet, marketing-related issues represent some of the most important problems for SMEs. The purpose of this paper is to explain why SMEs use the internet in business processes and to explore the relationship between market orientation and internet usage.

The study amalgamates the technology acceptance model, the motivation model and the integrated model of technology acceptance into one model. Hypotheses are tested with survey data from Belgian SMEs using partial least squares.

One of the findings is that intrinsic and extrinsic motivation are positively significantly related to internet usage intention. No significant relationships were found between behavioural norms and perceived ease of use and between perceived ease of use and the intention to use the internet.

Managerial implications include that SME-internet training providers should focus on methods to increase the user’s perceived enjoyment (intrinsic motivation) instead of emphasizing the perceived ease of use of the internet.

Researchers as well as practitioners have stressed the gains from implementing market-orientated strategies in firms. Together with the prominence of studies about patterns and characteristics of internet usage, this calls for studies that integrate these two streams of literature. The study shows in what way market orientation is related to the capability to use internet to a firm’s long term advantage. Up till now the relationship between market orientation and internet use has hardly received attention.

A key strategy in the policy of saw millers and artisanal millers supplying the domestic market with legal and sustainable lumber is the transformation of chainsaw operators into legal artisanal millers to stop the production of illegal timber and supply only authorized wood to local trade points. The challenge, however, is how to develop the concept of its viability and acceptability to the chainsaw operators. Specifically, existing and potential investors’ knowledge about the possible costs and revenue is non-existent. This study aims to examine the financial and economic viability of the artisanal timber milling (ATM) business in rural Ghana.

Using data from three operational artisanal milling companies in Ghana, net present value, internal rate of return, profitability index and payback period were used in analyzing the viability of artisanal timber milling.

The results showed that the ATM business is financially and economically viable, attractive and profitable.

ATM business has the potential to create more jobs in the timber industry, reduce illegalities in the forestry sector and improve the living standard of individuals used by the sector.

As part of ATM’s medium and long-term strategies, the study encourages stakeholders to consider assisting existing and potential actors who have the passion to venture into this business to acquire concessions and financial support from financial institutions.

India's Muslim women (MW) face significant underrepresentation within the government and commercial sectors, rendering them virtually invisible in the job market. This underrepresentation is compounded by the double stigma of being both Muslim and female. As a result, this study aims to address this critical issue by looking into MW's intention to work in the industry of tourism and hospitality (T&H).

A survey was conducted online to gather data and 404 of the responses met the requirements for selection. The research model was empirically assessed by applying structural equation modelling. The data collection phase spanned from August 11, 2023, to November 10, 2023.

The study's findings demonstrate the effectiveness of the extended theory of planned behaviour in providing a robust model for analysing MW's intentions to participate in the T&H industry.

This research discloses inclusive policies, reduces discrimination, empowers women in the workforce, improves educational opportunities, promotes cultural sensitivity and fosters inclusive leadership in the T&H industry, focusing on MW career intentions, to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 5 (gender equality).

The importance of this study is contingent upon its ability to inform policymakers in academia and the T&H sector. By recognising and addressing the barriers faced by MW, it has the potential to foster a workplace environment that promotes equality and eliminates discrimination, ultimately improving the image of the T&H industry and harnessing the untapped potential of these women in India.

The global impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has been well documented, but there is still limited insight into the complex interaction of factors that determine its longer-term effects on the most vulnerable sectors of society. The current study therefore develops an integrated conceptual framework to investigate how consumers' fear of mortality and the perceived risk of severe illness associated with COVID-19 act as critical determinants of consumer food choices and perceived well-being.

An online survey was utilized to collect data from a sample of 407 adult, low-income consumers across Trinidad and Tobago. The PROCESS macro was used to empirically test the hypothesized relationships in a moderated mediation model.

The results confirm that an increase in the perceived risk of severe illness has a significant negative effect on the consumption of healthy foods and perceived well-being. Moreover, consumers' choice of healthy foods mediates the negative relationship between consumers' perceived risk of severe COVID-19 illness and subjective well-being. Finally, the negative relationship between perceived risk of illness and healthy food choice weakens as an individual's fear of pandemic-related mortality increases.

This research integrates multiple related theoretical constructs to provide a more nuanced understanding of the lingering impact that risk perceptions and fear have on consumer food choices and associated well-being among a vulnerable Caribbean population. The changes identified have important implications for researchers interested in consumer food preferences as well as policymakers seeking to promote a healthy lifestyle among individuals coping with psychologically stressful circumstances.