CSRC Publishing: Open Journal Systems (Center for Sustainability Research and Consultancy)
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1354 research outputs found
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Dark Side of Pakistan Showcasing Economic Crisis Through Memes
No full textPurpose: The research represents witticism and humorous pictures, showcasing Pakistan’s economic issues on social media. The study highlights two important points of view, i.e., how these memes make an impression on people’s thinking about Pakistan and raise awareness in the young generation to pay attention to the developed economic condition of the country.
Design/Methodology/Approach: The Fairclough model is used by the researchers to study social media’s impact on economic discussions. 30 memes have been collected from Facebook, Twitter, and other social media platforms through random sampling to see how these memes have changed the perspective and mindset of people, especially the young generation, who care about Pakistan’s economic problems.
Findings: The results of this research highlight the hidden meanings in these memes and discuss their role in Pakistan’s economic condition. It is also evident from the results that some memes are used to create fun for the audience, but many of them are used to criticise government policies. Creating memes related to economic crises raised the issue of economy-building, highlighting the significance of the economy for purposes other than academic research and addressing societal issues.
Implications/Originality/Value: The government should invest in infrastructure to facilitate market access and boost economic growth. Income disparities may be minimised by fostering economic growth, which increases people's access to jobs and economic possibilities. Finally, Pakistan should encourage social cohesiveness.  
Positive Tone Sentiment and Readability as Impression Management Tactics Used by District Municipalities in South Africa
No full textPurpose: The study explored the use of positive tone sentiment and readability as impression management tactics in South African local government sphere particularly district municipalities using attribution theory. What gets included in the mayor’s foreword is at the discretion of municipal management and that makes it subject to impression management tactics.
Methodology: The study followed the quantitative research method. Out of the 44 district municipalities, the mayor’s foreword of 34 district municipalities were analyzed using content analysis and were categorized into 17 performing and 17 non-performing district municipalities based on audit outcomes. Secondary data were used as data were extracted from the annual reports available on the websites of district municipalities.
Findings: The study revealed that performing district municipalities used significantly more positive tone than non-performing district municipalities whereas there was no significant difference on the readability score of performing and non-performing district municipalities.
Implications: The study brings new insights about the use of impression management tactics in the South African local government, specifically district municipalities. The study brings awareness to the local government stakeholders to be careful of impression management tactics in the annual report before making decisions. It further extends debate on impression management and self-attribution
Beyond the Hype: Unveiling the Realities of Crypto Trading Journeys
No full textPurpose: Cryptocurrency has emerged as a new digital phenomenon and has remained a hot topic over the last few years. Its perplexing and unprecedented features motivate us to explore the live experiences of crypto day traders in Pakistan. This study provides insights into the crypto market's Motivation, Risk, and Obstacles from traders' perspectives.
Methodology: This study has adopted a phenomenological research design. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews with seven crypto traders. NVivo 20 software was used to analyze the data.
Findings: The study identified three main themes: Motivation, Risk, and Obstacles. The incentives for trading crypto were primarily financial, with a potential for profit being the primary driving factor. The Risks associated with crypto trading were predominantly related to security, price volatility, and liquidity. Finally, the study revealed that lack of awareness, social stigma, and regulatory environment are the main hurdles to developing the crypto market in Pakistan.
Practical Implications: The practical implications of this study include providing potential investors with a better understanding of crypto trading strategies for maximizing profits and reducing risks. It also helps policymakers and regulators develop policies related to crypto trading.
Social Implication: Cryptocurrency is not a legal tender, and its prices are highly volatile. Investors can face scam brokers, fake exchanges, and cyber theft in this market. Investors should be well aware of all these things before investing.
Originality/Value: This study fulfils an identified need to explore the experiences of crypto traders and provides insights into the Motivations, risks, and obstacles they face during trading
Equity Sensitivity and Employee Retention through the Lenses of Social Exchange Theory among Specialist Doctors in Malaysia
No full textPurpose: Specialist doctors are the indispensable human resource asset of the healthcare industry due to their unique expertise built over time. They are the industry leaders in medical research and play a crucial role in providing specialized care producing better outcomes in overall patients’ treatment. Therefore, the increasing number of specialists leaving government health services has been concerning. In this regard, most research in specialist retention has focused on individual and job factors. However, there is scant research exploring the individual differences that may influence the intention to stay of specialists. Hence, this paper looks to contribute to the literature on specialist doctors’ retention by focusing on the role of equity sensitivity.
Design/Methodology/Approach: The study first establishes the problem of specialist doctors’ retention thru analysis of current reports, secondly investigates the past literature in the constructs relationship and theoretical underpinning to establish the theoretical basis and direction of this study.
Proposition: This paper heeds the limited theoretical precision of social exchange theory highlighted by previous studies to further specify the distinction between hedonically positive and negative values within equity sensitivity construct and in its relations with employee retention.
Implications/Originality/Value: This paper presents the theoretical ambiguity of social exchange theory suggested by prior studies in articulating the bipolarity within equity sensitivity and employee retention research and presents a proposal for the way forward from the challenges in this area of stud
Investigating the Effect of Financial Mismanagement on Municipalities Service Delivery: A Case Study of eThekwini Municipality-South Africa
No full textPurpose: This study investigated the effect of financial mismanagement on municipalities’ service delivery with a particular case study of eThekwini Municipality South Africa and to suggest how financial mismanagement can be addressed.
Design/Methodology/Approach: Scoping review of literature methodological framework was employed followed by Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA).
Findings: This study indicates that financial mismanagement in eThekwini Municipality is one of the major concerns due to a lack of knowledgeable and skilled workers as well as political involvement from the administration. The results showed that there are various skill shortages, and it was noted that untrained people were being hired. The finding also said that poor municipal budget management is prevented by the political administration.
Implications/Originality/Value: The findings of this study have significant implications for improving the eThekwini Municipality's financial management. This article contributes to the to the current body of knowledge and deepens understanding on the root causes of financial mismanagement and effect of financial mismanagement on municipalities’ service delivery, particularly in eThekwini Municipality-South Africa. The study further recommends municipality to hire suitably qualified staff with sound ethics to improve municipal financial management. This study is crucial for fraud and forensic practitioners, academia, and policymakers. It provided research agenda for future researchers
Unleashing the Value of Repurchase Intentions of Customers: Undeniable Truth about a Journey of Continuous Growth for Firms
No full textPurpose: Even though there is an immense level of research related to the impact of product quality and service quality on consumers’ purchase intentions the role of satisfaction as the mediator between perceived product qualities, affective commitment, and repurchase intentions has not been cross-examined in previous literature. To understand how this mediating mechanism affects repurchase intentions, we advanced a conceptual model.
Design/Methodology/Approach: This study employed a quantitative research approach. Data were obtained using the convenience sampling method from a sample of 400 respondents. Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 22.0 and Analysis of Moment Structure (AMOS) version 22.0 were used for the data analysis.
Findings: Results show that the relationship between perceived product quality, affective commitment, and repurchase intentions is partially mediated by customers’ satisfaction.
Implications/Originality/Value: understanding the underlying process of repurchase intentions of customers. The study is one of the exceptional efforts to provide evidence regarding the role of customer satisfaction as a mediating variable between independent and dependent variables
Investigating Challenges Faced by Investment Firms in Financing Small Businesses
No full textPurpose: This study delves into the issues faced by investment firms in financing small businesses formally as Small, Medium and Micro Enterprise (SMME). Despite being the backbone of the economy, small businesses have been struggling to attract investment, and the challenges faced by investment firms have not been thoroughly examined.
Design/Methodology/Approach: The research method utilized in this study was qualitative, with data gathered from a non-probability sample of 12 participants using purposive sampling technique. Semi-structured interviews were conducted, and inductive thematic analysis was used to analyze the data.
Findings: The study reveals that investment firms have specific requirements when it comes to financing SMMEs, such as compliance with rules and regulations. The study recommends credit reporting systems and investment in high return projects to address these challenges.
Implications/Originality/Value: The research concludes that investment companies face difficulties in financing small and medium enterprises due to lack or low credit scores and the maturity gap in these enterprises.  
Analysis of Domestic Violence against Women in Pakistan: Attitudinal Acceptance of Violence and its Associated Risk Factors
No full textPurpose: The purpose of this study is to determine the impact of attitudinal acceptance of violence (AAV) over observed violence (OV), including the impact of five factors on OV. The study aims to identify the impact of acceptance of violence and explore its consequences, if any. The independent variables (IV) in the study are self-esteem (SE), women empowerment (WE), locus of control (LoC), financial income (FI), number of people in the family (FS), and financial stress (FinST). The dependent variable (DV) is observed violence (OV). We are seeing the moderating effect of AAV over OV as well as the impact of IVs over the moderator AAV.
Research design: The participants of the study are married women in the age bracket of 18–60 years. The sample size of the study is 205. The data was obtained primarily through an adopted, pre-tested, structured questionnaire. Data were analyzed using descriptive, correlation, and multiple regression. FinST and SE resulted in statistically significant impacts on OV, whereas there was no moderating impact of AAV among all the factors.
Findings: The acceptance of violence by an individual woman differs vastly depending on personal perception, childhood experiences, education level, occupational type, the status of a dependency, and level of self-esteem. Women with high self-esteem are less likely to face violence; similarly, higher financial stress in the family increases the chances of observing violence.
Practical Implications: The significance of this study is highlighted by the realization of the need for modification in the attitudinal acceptance of violence through changing Pakistan's educational policy. This study will help raise the bar for women and create awareness that violence should not be accepted
Diasporic Identity of Sikh Youth Among Jakarta's Multicultural Society
No full textPurpose: The presence of the Sikh religion in Indonesia, particularly in Jakarta, is a group of ethnic minorities among Jakarta's multicultural society. Recognizing Sikh followers is seen in their identity, which is distinguished by the use of 5K. In Jakarta, the young Sikh diaspora also creates communities to maintain their sense of identity. The Sikh diaspora must be able to maintain their identity discrimination in order to continue practicing the Sikh religion as taught by Guru Nanak Dev and the other nine Sikh Gurus.
Methodology: the method used in this research is qualitative type by using literature study method and interviewing sources. Data from literature study are taken from books, journals, proceedings and articles related to history, traditions, religious activity and current issues related to Sikh religion, position and identity of Sikh youth in Indonesia, especially in the city of Jakarta.
Findings: Sikhism faces several challenges and issues that may affect young people, including questions of identity, belonging and meaning, as do all faith communities. The use of social media and digital podcasts has certainly been effective in capturing the attention of Sikh youth, as has the building of a Sikh online community using the Gurdwara as the primary venue for delivering Sikh religious enrichment programmes for youth.
Implications: The strategy for strengthening beliefs and self-identity in Sikh youth is to begin using social media with the goal of being easily accepted by Sikh youth in this digital era
Transforming Poverty: Assessing the Significance of the Akhuwat Islamic Microfinance Model across Absolute, Moderate, and Relative Poverty Strata
No full textPurpose: The goal of this study is to determine how the Akhuwat Islamic Microfinance Mode (AIMM) affects several types of poverty in Pakistan, including absolute, moderate, and relative poverty.
Design/Methodology/Approach: In this study, primary data from Akhuwat Microfinance borrowers were collected using the stratified sample technique. The population was divided into four groups: manufacturing concerns, trading concerns, services concerns, and non-trading concerns. Additionally, a two-stage structural modelling technique was used for further data analysis. The measurement model was used to assess the reliability and validity, while the structural model was used to gauge the link between the underlying variables.
Findings: The study found positive and significant impact of Akhuwat Islamic Microfinance Mode (AIMM) on different dimensions of poverty, including absolute poverty, moderate poverty and relative poverty. Therefore, lending practices of Akhuwat enables the borrowers to reduce their absolute, moderate, and relative poverty.
Implications/Originality/Value: The role Akhuwat's unique approach to address different poverty levels including absolute poverty, moderate poverty and relative poverty is hardly investigate in the context of Pakistan by applying the Abraham Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs Theory