Experiences Of Owners Research Articles

Who Cares? Women entrepreneurs and the transition to the Canada-wide Early Learning and Child Care Agreement in Nova Scotia

The Canada-wide Early Learning and Child Care Agreements signed in 2021/2022 represent an unprecedented investment into child care across Canada, supporting the expansion of care spaces, reductions in parent fees, and increased wages for care workers. In the province of Nova Scotia, however, the new funding model faced considerable pushback from women entrepreneurs in the care field, who felt overlooked and bullied by the provincial government amidst the policy rollout. This paper evaluates the experiences of child care owners in Nova Scotia during the transition to the new funding agreement through a series of interviews with entrepreneurs. The paper posits that the consultation and communications between the province and care owners reified gendered power relations, particularly through the devaluation and exploitation of women's care work. Interviewees report feeling treated as “glorified babysitters” and experiencing significant mental health strains as a result of the policy negotiation with the province.

Travelling together: exploring the impact of support and service animals on travel experiences

ABSTRACT The phenomenon of multi-species families is increasingly linked to the growing awareness of the benefits of emotional support and service animals. As more people adopt various animals into their homes, it becomes crucial to understand how these family arrangements influence travel experiences. The presence of these animals during travel directly impacts the well-being and safety of travellers, contributing to the emotional and behavioural dynamics of multi-species families in transit. Consequently, the hospitality, tourism, and transportation industries must adapt to accommodate the growing number of tourists travelling with their animals, whether for work or leisure. The United States is the focus of this research due to its significant role in regulating emotional support and service animals, allowing for comparisons with the diverse regulations across European countries. This study aims to: (1) investigate current U.S. legislation regarding emotional support and service animals; (2) explore the challenges faced by owners of these animals during travel; and (3) highlight the practical experiences of owners travelling with emotional support and service animals. The methodology used is an exploratory qualitative review. The research highlights the experiences of Em and Jennifer, Brazilian students who travelled to the USA with their animals, illustrating the variations in travel experiences with emotional support and service animals. In conclusion, while acceptance and accommodation of these animals are evolving, particularly in the US hospitality industry and tourist attractions, challenges and a lack of understanding still exist in some establishments. This underscores the importance of studies like this to raise awareness and educate about the needs of families that rely on their animals. The increasing prevalence of multi-species families positively influences the availability of pet-friendly services, which can significantly impact travellers’ choice of accommodation when accompanied by their pets.

The power of homestay tourism in fighting social stigmas and inequities

Homestay tourism serves as an interactive learning platform for both hosts and guests. As this form of tourism continues to grow, it is crucial to analyze its impact on local communities, particularly in terms of host-guest interactions. This study aims to explore how homestay tourism contributes to mitigating social stigmas and inequities within homestay communities. We used a phenomenological approach to delve into the lived experiences of homestay owners in rural homestay communities in Nepal. We conducted 26 in-depth semi-structured interviews with homestay owners from four community-based homestays. Community-based homestays were purposively selected with a history of various socio-cultural issues (e.g. untouchability, child marriage, impurity, illiteracy, etc.). A social learning theory serves as a theoretical basis for this paper. The findings suggest that learning is critical to homestay tourism, influencing positive behavioral changes among community members. The positive outcomes from homestay tourism further facilitate meaningful host-guest interactions, fostering community empowerment. It is evident that these changes occur gradually over time. In essence, this research emphasized the transformative role of homestay tourism in promoting learning and combating social stigmas and inequities.

Becoming a matter of veterinary concern.

Horses in Great Britain are living into increasingly older age and are often regarded as friends or family members by their owner. The horse is reliant on their owner to meet their needs and this paper discusses how horse owners frame an issue that becomes a matter of veterinary concern within the context of the older horse. Qualitative methods were used to explore the experiences of owners and veterinarians. Data were collected and analysed using a grounded theory approach during the period 2019-2022. Analysis identified that owners undertook an ongoing and iterative process of assessment, monitoring and decision making in relation to the animal and any changes they observed. Matters that became a veterinary concern required the owner to formulate the issue as something that fell within the knowledge domain of the veterinarian. Veterinarians had a medicalised view of older horse health and their perspectives on socially acceptable care were shaped by their understanding of species-specific needs, and whether owners were providing appropriately for those needs. The formulation of a matter of veterinary concern was itself shaped by an owner's experiential knowledge of both veterinary matters and their horse. The extent to which owners felt like they and their individual horse mattered during interactions with veterinarians affected whether they adopted veterinary advice and the nature of future veterinary employment. Findings demonstrate how matters of health, disease, and the role of professionalised forms of medical knowledge, are not static but constantly changing and interacting over time. An issue that became a matter of veterinary concern was contextual, and rooted in individual relationships. The significance of veterinarian-owner interactions in shaping future consumption of veterinary health care may be underestimated.

Owners' experiences of administering meglumine antimoniate injections to dogs with leishmaniosis: An online questionnaire study.

This study examined the experiences of owners of dogs with leishmaniosis who treated their dogs with daily subcutaneous meglumine antimoniate injections. The owners' perceived ease of administering the injections, the occurrence of problems and the effects on the owners and on the dog‒owner bond were evaluated. Dogs prescribed meglumine antimoniate as a treatment for leishmaniosis were identified using the database of the veterinary pharmacy of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht University. An online questionnaire was sent to the owners of these dogs to evaluate the perceived ease of administering the injections, the occurrence of problems and the effects on the owner and the dog-owner bond. Responses were received from 64 dog owners. Most respondents (78%) reported that administering the injections was not difficult. Pain or the development of nodules at the injection site was reported in 50% and 40% of the dogs, respectively. Polyuria was reported in 44% of the dogs. Some owners reported that administering the injections had a negative impact on their psychological wellbeing (20%), and some would have liked more veterinary support (11%). Some questions were answered by a limited number of people, and their responses may not be representative. Dog owners remain highly motivated to persevere with meglumine antimoniate treatment and are willing to administer the injections themselves. The availability of active support when needed during the therapy cycle may further improve their acceptance of and confidence in giving the injections.

Gentrification-induced displacement made visible: shop displacement and tourism gentrification in Reykjavík

ABSTRACT This paper investigates commercial displacement in the context of tourism gentrification. Tourism gentrification refers to the process by which tourism-related activities result in the displacement of long-term residents in favour of capital investment focused on tourism. While research on displacement induced by tourism gentrification has mainly focused on the residential displacement of long-term inhabitants, its impacts on local shops are poorly understood. Yet, commercial displacement is key to tourism gentrification as it involves the displacement of local shop owners and acts as a pressure of displacement on residents. This paper aims to measure the extent of shop displacement and to explore its causes and effects on shop owners by examining the experiences of shop owners as a category of those displaced, using Marcuse’s theoretical framework on displacement and the city centre of Reykjavík (Iceland) as a case study. It combines the quantitative measurement of commercial displacement with interviews with displaced shop owners. It argues that understanding commercial displacement, which is inherently much more visible than residential displacement, can provide urban geographers with valuable insights into understanding broader processes of gentrification-induced displacement.

A Phenomenological Analysis of Golf Experiences of Golf Membership Owners Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic

A Phenomenological Analysis of Golf Experiences of Golf Membership Owners Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic

Digital Education Platforms as Catalysts for Entrepreneurial Ventures

This study looks at the dynamic relationship between digital education platforms and entrepreneurial ventures, specifically the impact on skill development, global connectivity, and integration into entrepreneurial practices. This research investigates the experiences of business owners who have tried their hand at online education by employing a mixed-methods approach that includes qualitative in-depth interviews and thematic analysis. The findings show a symbiotic relationship, emphasizing the importance of digital education platforms in developing a diverse set of skills required for entrepreneurial success, fostering global networking opportunities, and facilitating real-time learning. The study also recognizes challenges, such as reliability issues and information overload, emphasizing the importance of addressing these limitations. This study adds to the evolving discussion about the transformative impact of digital learning on entrepreneurship, providing useful insights for individuals, educators, and policymakers navigating this dynamic intersection.

Solar Energy Policies for Commercial Buildings in India: Experiences of Building Owners and Managers

To fulfill the demands of a country that is fast developing and heavily reliant on fossil fuels, India’s energy sector has expanded rapidly. Since renewable energy sources are plentiful, limitless, and ecologically beneficial, they provide an alluring answer to the world’s mounting energy problems. Numerous initiatives have been taken in the direction of developing solar energy in all fields by the national and state-level governments in India. This study evaluates the various government initiatives for off-grid solar photovoltaic (SPV)/solar water heating (SWH) systems from the viewpoint of building owners and managers of commercial establishments in India. Building owners and managers rated environmental consciousness as the most important accelerator for installing SPV/SWH system. Limited financial and fiscal incentives from the government, limited sources of information with unclear, technical, and incomplete content, and government websites not being updated regularly were reported as the barriers hindering the installation of SPV/SWH systems in commercial establishments. The study thus identified gaps in the implementation of government initiatives and recommended improvements. The recommendations will go a long way in bringing all the stakeholders on the same page for the better functioning of the policy regime.

Efectiveness of Implemenying Qris Transacyion In Pandemic Covid-19

The purpose of this study is to study how widely QRIS is used among micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and how effective QRIS is in transaction processing. Reviewing the experiences of buyers and owners of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) having used QRIS has outlined the best way to use the system. This study uses a qualitative descriptive methodology. The goal of qualitative research is to bring researchers and the phenomena they study closer together in an interactive process that increases everyone's knowledge. While describing a phenomenon and its characteristics is the main goal of descriptive research. Observations, interviews, and documentation will be used to collect data, which will then be analyzed to provide solutions to the problems formulated and draw conclusions. The research findings show that first, many merchants and the general public do not understand the features and advantages of the program, the installation of a QRIS-based payment gateway for merchant transactions is still not going well. Second, the community and MSME actors are starting to switch to using QRIS because it can minimize the spread of Covid-19. Third, QRIS shows effectiveness in the transaction process during the Covid-19 pandemic which was very effective, besides that there are 2 types of transaction mechanisms using QRIS, the first is Merchant-Presented (push payment) and Customer-Presented (pull payment).

Measurement of hard-life experiences through the psychological sense: the SEM approach

This paper aims to develop a scale for hard-life experiences through the psychological sense. Hardship in the past is a factor that has impacted the cognition, stress, or resilience of individuals, and could be applied in many research areas, such as psychology, health, behavior, and decision-making in organizations. Learning about hard-life experiences is one aspect of longitudinal studies on the historical life of key leaders, who are business owners, crucial managers, and entrepreneurs focusing on the traumatic feeling during lifetime living from childhood to adulthood. A total of 149 key leaders who are business owners, crucial managers, and entrepreneurs in Vietnam responded to a survey. Structural equation modeling investigated the validity and reliability of hard-life experience measurement scales with two coherent constructs. The findings of this research discovered two sub-scales chronic and acute hard-life experiences to measure key leaders’ hardship during their lifetime, equivalenting for the period of childhood up to adolescence, and the adult period of individual key leaders essentially. A major contribution of this study is that it adds a significant new benchmark to a growing body of literature on the experiences of business owners, crucial managers, and entrepreneurs. Scholars can later use this scale to investigate relationships between hard-life experience factors and others by quantitative methods.

COVID relief as ‘dangerous money’ for Black business owners

ABSTRACT The present study examines Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) experiences of a sample of Black business owners in a mid-sized city amid the COVID-19 pandemic. It explores how Black business owners made sense of the Paycheck Protection Program, and how they came to regard it as an untrustworthy source of economic relief or even a dangerous trap. Less than half of the small business owners we interviewed applied for PPP, and those who did, did so with great trepidation. We find that experiences of Black business owners with the PPP are informed by the longstanding barriers that Black businesses face accessing financing from financial institutions.

“Family Keepers” or “Career Seekers”: Understanding the Life Experiences and Educational Trajectories of the Young Chinese Restaurant Owners in the United States

This qualitative research investigates how Chinese restaurant owners negotiate their education opportunities, family solidarity, and social identity during their migration for success in the United States. The researcher conducted in-depth interviews with nine Chinese restaurant owners in Western New York and identified two types of participants on the basis of their family backgrounds and educational attainments: the "family keepers" and the "career seekers". In short, "family keepers" tend to see ethnic business ownership as a way to sustain their families, while "career seekers" regard the ethnic business as a jumping-off point toward a new career. Incorporating the concept of transnational habitus from Bourdieusian scholars, this study argues that immigrants develop different transnational habitus within which they constantly reframe distinct mechanisms to evaluate their ethnic, family, and human capital for upward social mobility. By offering a comprehensive lens to understand immigrants’ human agency in coping with social and racial inequity, this study suggests one’s capital is dynamic and two-sided when transferring internationally. A certain type of capital denotes both advantages and disadvantages in immigrants’ transnational journey. It also raises the significance of with-group variance in understanding new immigrants’ upward social mobility.

Examining characteristics and experiences of Black firearm owners.

The present study sought to better understand the characteristics of those who own firearms in the Black community; and to understand how Black firearm owners differ from nonfirearm owning Black individuals on a variety of variables related to safety, threat concerns, and suicide risk. Two samples were utilized in this study. The first was a subsample of those who identified as Black from a nationally representative sample (N = 502) seeking to understand firearm ownership within the United States. The second used a subsample of those who identified as Black (N = 1086) from a representative sample from New Jersey, Minnesota, and Mississippi. Variables related to safety and threat concerns were included in the second sample. In both samples, multiple demographic variables, such as being a woman and having higher education, predicted firearm ownership. In the second sample, experiences of everyday discrimination and crime experiences were associated with firearm ownership. Additionally, Black firearm owners reported significantly more suicidal ideation than Black nonfirearm owners. The findings demonstrate the unique characteristics and experiences of Black firearm owners and show that firearm ownership is associated with increased suicide risk factors for Black adults. Findings should be used to advocate for the creation of more culturally relevant suicide prevention and firearm means safety strategies.

Something to eat: experiences of food insecurity on the farm.

The health of farm owners and farmworkers has significant impacts on farm businesses, farming families, and local rural communities where agriculture is an important driver of social and economic activity. Rural residents and farmworkers have higher rates of food insecurity, but little is known about food insecurity among farm owners and the collective experiences of farm owners and farmworkers. Researchers and public health practitioners have stressed the need for policies that target the health and well-being of farm owners and farmworkers while remaining sensitive to the nature of life on the farm, yet farm owner and farmworker lived experiences have been understudied, especially in relation to one another. In-depth qualitative interviews were conducted with 13 farm owners and 18 farmworkers in Oregon. Modified grounded theory was used to analyze interview data. Data were coded using a three-stage process to identify salient core characteristics of food insecurity. Farm owner and farmworker meanings and interpretations of their food insecurity were often contradicted by evaluated food security scores using validated quantitative measures. According to such measures, 17 experienced high food security, 3 had marginal food security, and 11 had low food security, but narrative experiences suggested higher rates. Narrative experiences were categorized by core characteristics of food insecurity, including seasonal food shortages, resource stretching, working extended hours most days of the week, limited use of food assistance, and the tendency to downplay hardship. These unique factors have important implications for developing responsive policies and programs to support the health and well-being of farm livelihoods whose work enables health and well-being among consumers. Future studies to test the relationships between the core characteristics of food insecurity identified in this study and farm owner and farmworker meanings and interpretations of food insecurity, hunger, and nourishment are warranted.

Hermeneutical Phenomenology of Corporate Financial Failure in Ungaran District, Bawen, Semarang Regency, Central Java

This study uses qualitative methods on companies in Ungaran District, Bawen, Semarang Regency, Central Java with negative equity categories for 2 (two) consecutive years. A company experiencing negative equity or a condition of financial distress is a company's financial position in an unhealthy condition or crisis. Financial distress is a symbol of bankruptcy in accounting. This means that it is not yet or is not legally bankrupt. This research method uses phenomenology and hermeneutics in corporate financial failures to understand the meaning of the experiences of company managers and owners, companies, inter-subjective activities in the hermeneutic process between researchers and people who experience them. Semi-structured and ethnographic interviews, lived experience (Erlebnis), were conducted with eight (8) company research unit objects in Ungaran District, Bawen Regency, Semarang Regency, conducted for approximately 6, consecutive months. The results of this research understand (Verstehen) on the hermeneutic phenomenology of corporate financial failure caused by three things: (1) prejudice, and failure of Gadamer horizon fusion; (2) failure to "understand" Dasein's structure and Heidegger's facticity; (3) failure to understand the essence of Buber's encounter.

Post-Pandemic Business Recovery Experiences of Samal Island Beach Resorts Owners: A Hermeneutic Phenomenological Inquiry

The tourism industry globally was primarily affected by the covid-19 pandemic travel restrictions due to the suspension of tourism activities including the tourism of small islands like the Island Garden City of Samal. The purpose of this study is to find the meaning of the experiences, coping mechanisms, and insights of the resort owners, managers, and local government tourism workers. This is a qualitative study using a phenomenological approach to understand the recovery experiences of island beach resorts. There were six purposively chosen owners and managers of beach resorts in Samal underwent in-depth interviews, while six participants took part in a focus group discussion. Thematic analysis was applied to the gathered information. The study found that the resorts were able to re-operate gradually and business continuity was manifested. The most relevant theme presented was Tourism business renovation. Participants seized the pandemic as an opportunity to upgrade resort facilities, enhance amenities, and improve service quality, providing job stability for employees through construction projects.

Race Differentials in the Credit Market Experiences of Small Business Owners

AbstractSmall businesses employ more than half of the entire workforce, account for more than sixty percent of new jobs created in the United States, and are responsible for about fifty percent of private domestic gross product. It is noteworthy, however, that small business owners in credit markets, in particular minority owners, have difficulty in securing sources of capital for their business operation. The literature on credit market discrimination shows consistent results that can be interpreted as evidence that minority owners are discriminated against compared to their counterparts (i.e., White owners) in obtaining loans, which may be caused by lenders’ discrimination, although such behavior is prohibited under current fair-lending laws. This paper uses pooled cross-sectional data from the Survey of Small Business Finances (1993, 1998, and 2003) and a bivariate probit model based on James J. Heckman’s approach to deal with sample selection bias for those choosing to apply for loans. Those who didn’t apply for loans have been ignored in analyses of credit markets for small business owners. This paper adds to the small business lending market literature by 1) combining cross sectional data from the Survey of Small Business Finances (SSBF) for 1993, 1998, and 2003 to get more precise estimates and test statistics with more power; 2) conducting regression analyses with different model specifications to show the robustness of the empirical results; and 3) dealing directly with problems of sample selection based on Heckman’s approach with particular attention to the assumptions required to justify the identification of the effect (i.e., exclusion restrictions).The analysis confirms previous results, suggesting that minority owners are discriminated against in credit markets. These conclusions are supported in a variety of model specifications.

A Qualitative Exploration of UK Leisure Horse Owners' Perceptions of Equine Wellbeing.

Human assessment of equine wellbeing is fundamental to ensuring the optimal care of domestic horses. However, terminology associated with wellbeing is still not fully defined and there are currently no validated quality of life (QoL) assessment tools. Furthermore, little is known about what equine wellbeing or QoL means to horse owners, or how their beliefs impact on the management decisions they make for their horse. This study sought to establish how UK leisure horse owners use wellbeing-related terminology by exploring their accounts within a focus group setting. Four online focus group discussions (FGD) were held and qualitative data were collected. FGDs involved a semi-structured discussion, followed by a group activity to compare seven equine wellbeing-related terms of interest introduced by the facilitator. The collected data were analysed using a constructivist grounded theory approach, and also by content analysis, to examine the frequency and subjective meaning of the terms of interest. The results showed that horse owners did not clearly delineate between different terms, rather, they used the terms in the context of their own assessments of their horse. The meanings assigned to what owners experienced with their horse were individual and subjective, shaped by past experiences, relationships with their animal, and peers or social groups. This individualised construction of equine wellbeing impacted on the meaning conveyed when using wellbeing-related terminology. In this study, we extend the literature on equine wellbeing terminology usage, and highlight differences between the academic literature and the real-world experiences of horse owners.

Documented Experiences among Food Service Businesses towards Future-Proofing the Industry

Food service businesses such as restaurants and catering services encountered challenges during and after the Covid-19 Pandemic. This quasi-phenomenological qualitative research approach documented the idiosyncratic experiences of Food Service Business Owners and Managers during the Covid-19 Pandemic, determined the challenges encountered by the Food Service Business Owners and Managers, identified the measures implemented by Food Service Industry during and after the Covid-19 Pandemic, and a recommended future-proofing framework in the Food Service Business. The researcher interviewed the selected Registered Food Service Businesses in the economic center of the Second District of Albay, Philippines using an open-ended interview questionnaire and presented a consent form to the participants for it to be recorded and documented. Scrutinized data have determined that the point of view and experiences of the Food Service Business Owners and Managers were relatively comparable. Consequently, Food Service Business Owners and Managers would always be willing to adjust to the current situation or to any business disruption that may occur, particularly on the demands of their customers, by adopting the technological trends, which means having a digital platform to continuously cater to their queries and orders.