Importance Of Motivation Research Articles

Сучасні тенденції та проблеми диджиталізації публічного управління в Україні

An important motive for the progress of digitalization is the desire to improve public administration. The article aimed to study modern trends and problems related to digitalizing public administration in Ukraine in modern conditions. In global and domestic practice, digitalization of public administration can cover changes in the provision of administrative services and the processes of formation of state policy, management of state property, and administrative activities. As a result of the analysis determined the main directions of digitization of public administration in Ukraine, which considers the features of modern conditions (electronic document flow and electronic services; Open Data, electronic identification, and digital signature; e-governance; artificial intelligence, and data analytics). The advantages and disadvantages of these processes in the context of the implementation of regional strategies are also investigated. The component strategies of digitization of public administration and indicators of its effectiveness are outlined, which will allow us to adjust the directions of development and control points of such a strategy in the future. The list of conditions for successful digitization of public administration in Ukraine is substantiated: the development and availability of information and communication technologies as the basis of digitalization; development of digital capabilities of civil servants; digitization of territorial communities and local self-government bodies; financial support for the development of public administration bodies; digital literacy of the population. Based on generalized information about the advantages and disadvantages of using digital technologies, the actions regarding the formation and implementation of territorial development strategies in practice can be adjusted in the future. It is noted that the success of this process depends on the extent to which the universal requirements of management by results are considered and the degree of compliance with the conditions of successful digitalization of public administration considering the post-war recovery of Ukraine’s economy. Keywords: digitalization of public administration, interaction of government and business, digitalization strategy, electronic services, digital development of communities and territories.

Does the Use of Media and Other Information Sources Cause the Perceived Experience of Climate Change or is it the Other Way Around?

ABSTRACT The perceived experience of climate change can be an important motivator of individual climate action. Recent scholarship argued that the use of media and other information sources is a basis of perceived experience. The current study analyzed a cross-lagged panel model to know if the use of information causes perceived experience or vice versa. Analysis of longitudinal data from a sample of Singapore residents (N = 466) showed that the use of traditional media, but not social media or interpersonal sources, explained change in perceived experience. In contrast, perceived experience explained change in the use of traditional media and interpersonal communication. We discuss these findings vis-à-vis the reinforcing spirals model of media effects and offer practical insights for climate change communicators, especially journalists.

Health, environmental, and animal rights motives among omnivores, vegetarians, and vegans and the associations with meat, dairy, and egg commitment

Dietary groups differ from each other in how much they value health, environmental, and animal rights motives to reduce or quit meat consumption. In an online survey study, we investigated whether omnivores (N = 237), vegetarians (N = 151), and vegans (N = 377) not only differ in their motives for meat reduction or meat-free diets (vegetarian eating motives) but also in their motives for dairy and egg reduction or the adoption of a fully plant-based diet (vegan eating motives), and how strongly these motives are associated with lower commitment to eating meat, dairy, and egg products. The results showed that omnivores rated health as the most important motive for both meat and dairy/egg reduction. However, among omnivores, only environmental and animal rights motives, and not health, were associated with reduced meat and dairy commitment, while environmental motives were also associated with reduced egg commitment. Vegetarians and vegans were more strongly motivated by environmental and animal rights concerns for meat and dairy/egg reduction compared with omnivores, yet vegetarians were less strongly motivated by animal rights than vegans, especially for dairy/egg reduction. However, among vegetarians, only animal rights motives, and not environmental and health motives, were associated with lower dairy and egg commitment. These findings provide new insights into the relative importance of dietary motives for reducing meat, dairy, and egg commitment among different dietary groups and highlight the importance of environmental and animal rights motives for reducing animal product commitment among omnivores and of animal rights motives for reducing dairy and egg commitment among vegetarians.

A Two-Phased Pilot Study Evaluating the Feasibility and Acceptability of the Cognitively Enriched Walking Program "Take a Walk with Your Brain" for Older Adults.

Given the aging population, finding solutions to retain optimal cognitive capacity is a research priority. The potential of physical activity to reduce the risk of cognitive decline and to enhance cognitive functioning is established. Combining physical with cognitive activity has been put forward as a potentially even more effective way to promote healthy cognitive aging. Most studies on combined interventions have however been conducted in laboratory settings. This paper reports on a two-phased pilot study evaluating the acceptability and feasibility of a newly developed real-life cognitively enriched walking program for adults aged 65+ years. In Phase I, the feasibility and enjoyability of the cognitive tasks was evaluated by conducting walk-along interviews with older adults (n = 163). In Phase II, the cognitively enriched walking program was piloted in two groups of older adults (n = 19), and the feasibility and acceptability of the program and cognitive tasks was evaluated by means of questionnaires and focus groups. The cognitive tasks (i.e., median scores of ≥3 on a total of 4 (Phase I) and ≥6 on a total of 10 (Phase II) for most of the tasks) and the cognitively enriched walking program (i.e., median scores of ≥7 on a total of 10) were considered feasible and acceptable. Based on the input of the participants, key considerations for a feasible and acceptable program were defined: participants should be sufficiently challenged cognitively and physically, social interaction is an important motivator, cognitive tasks should make use of stimuli reflecting daily life and be conducted in group, the rationale for the tasks should be explained to participants, the frequency of the group sessions should be maximum 2 times a week, and the program should be supervised by a trained coach. These results warrant future research to establish the effectiveness of this program.

Приключения кекса ″Мадлен″ в России: заметки о переводах романа М. Пруста В поисках утраченного времени

″The powerful joy″ (une puissante joie), ″the delicious pleasure″ (un plaisir délicieux) is a very important motive of Marcel Proust’s novel A la Recherche du temps perdu. It is represented in the famous episode of the novel, that is the narrator’s remembrances initiated by the Petite Madeleine. The narrator analyses this ecstatic gastronomic experience and creates a new form of retrospective reflection which is considered as one of the aesthetic inventions by M. Proust and as one of the foundations of the novel’s project. The article describes how this retrospective gastronomic reflection is represented in Russian translations. There are at least three unfinished Russian versions of the novel but nevertheless the completely correct translation of the Petite Madeleine episode doesn’t exist. As a starting point and as a model of the M. Proust’s novel this episode seems to be an important material for analyzing peculiarities of a reception of the French writer’s work in Russia and for developing an interpretation of A la Recherche du temps perdu.

The importance of the health motive in undertaking sports and recreational activities by Austrian school students compared to other motives

Sports and recreational activity is an important element of an effective use of their free time by children and school youth. In contrast to competitive sports, which focus on achieving maximum sports results through intense competition, sports and recreational activity should be assessed mainly in terms of its health benefits. Sports and recreational behaviour can be analysed in the context of psychophysical development, personality development, regeneration of vital forces, contact with nature, active rest and relaxation. The literature on the subject distinguishes various motives for undertaking sports and recreational activity, the most important of which include: pleasure, relaxation, health, aesthetic values, physical fitness and social aspects. This work aims to examine what motives guide Austrian school youth when undertaking sports and recreational activity, with particular emphasis on the health motive. The analysis also includes the differences related to gender and environmental conditions. The study included 391 students of general secondary schools in Austria, aged 18. The study group consisted of 96 boys and 103 girls from a large city and 94 boys and 98 girls from a small town. The Sports Activity Motives Questionnaire was used for the analysis. The study results emphasize the significant role played by the health motive in undertaking sports and recreational activities, especially among girls. The social aspect and relaxation also turned out to be important motives for both sexes. Statistical analysis showed significant differences in motives such as physical fitness and risk, which were more important for boys, while aesthetics was much more important for girls. The study did not find any statistically significant differences in the motives for undertaking sports and recreational activities between young people from large and small towns.

Нарративный анализ мотивационных структур гражданской активности студенческой молодежи при создании культурно-просветительских обучающих проектов

A modern university is a space for professional exchange, spiritual search, formation, development and self-development of the individual, students and teachers. Studying the motivational structures of student youth's civic engagement helps teachers in the search for teaching and communication strategies, and also contributes to project activities. Student activity is considered as a complex process of social interaction, including communication and professional activities. The article presents a study of motivational structures that stimulate students to be active in cultural and educational projects. The experiment (February - August 2023, Kazan) was based on quantitative and qualitative methods, including a survey (158 people), analysis of successful cases, application of a narrative approach to the focus group method and expert interviews. It was revealed that motivational structures directly depend on the psychological profile of generations. For Generation X, the least significant motive is “Communication” (3.17 points) and the most significant motive is “Self-development” (4.83 points). For generation Y, the least important motive is “Presentation, personal brand” (2.47 points) and the most important is the “Knowledge” motive (4.84 points). For generation Z, this parameter, indicated as less significant, was rated at 3.83 points, the highest value for generation Z is the motive “Self-development” (4.93 points). For older respondents, the structure of motives becomes more complex, expanding the composition of the components that form the motive, which leads to more informed decision-making. The leading motive for participation in cultural projects for respondents of all ages was “Self-development.” The results of the study were tested in training programs by lecturers and students of the High School of Journalism of the Kazan Federal University when creating educational and cultural projects based on The Contemporary Art Gallery of the National Museum of Fine Arts (Kazan), which is aimed at youth audiences.

Основные подходы к финансовым и институциональным условиям возникновения научно-образовательных консорциумов

Currently, scientific and educational consortia are becoming increasingly popular forms of collective action in the field of science and education. They are turning from static structures into dynamic communities that have a high degree of flexibility and are able to quickly respond to new challenges and trends. Consortia bring together universities, research centers, companies and other organizations in order to jointly perform scientific and educational tasks, exchange information and resources. Using their capabilities, such groups can achieve great results that are not available to one person or one organization. In science and education, various models of cooperation are used, which contribute to the creation of scientific and educational consortia. By a decree of the Russian government dated May 13, 2021, the Priority 2030 Strategic Academic Leadership program was adopted, which is aimed at supporting universities and stimulating their participation in achieving the national development goals of the country. Consortia are an important mechanism for the implementation of this program. The strategic academic Leadership program "Priority 2030" has become an important incentive for the development of consortia in the field of education and increased funding for universities. According to the data of form VPO-2, reviewed in this article, there has been an increase in the volume of cash receipts since 2021. The analysis of the main advantages of Scientific and Educational consortia shows that consortia allow solving complex tasks that are inaccessible to one scientist or educational institution. In addition, consortia ensure efficient use of resources, which is especially important in conditions of limited budgets.

Tourism Destination: The Role of Beach Tourism Experience Affect Green Consumption on Parangtritis Beach Yogyakarta, Indonesia

Beach has become a part of tourism experience and it is one of the most important motivators for tourism. In order to attract tourists to come to visit, a beach should have a favorable image. Furthermore, nature and environmental awareness by tourists in a beach destination are also considered to be very important to influence the spread of positive green consumption towards a beach destination. However, in the context of tourist destinations, these concepts have never been empirically investigated. Therefore, the aim of this research is to extend the theoretical concepts and evaluates the empirical evidence of the relationship between tourism experience, connectedness to nature, environmental, green consumption towards Parangtritis beach. The result drawn from a sample of 226 domestic tourists in Yogyakarta (117 men, 109 women; age rage 18-60 years), between September 2023 and December 2023, show that tourism experience, connectedness to nature, environmental awareness and green consumption has a significant influence on Parangtritis beach. Furthermore, this study reveals that the development of a beach in a tourism destination is only possible if the beach is simultaneously developed into an attractive destination

THE IMAGE OF A SINNER IN DRAMA «THUNDERSTORM» OF A.N. OSTROVSKY

The article studies the image of sinners based on the drama «Thunderstorm» written by A.N. Ostrovsky. This issue is related to the prototype theory, which is based on the image, motivation and plot of the work with similar characteristics to the mythological component.In this way, it can be concluded that the creativity of literature comes from mythology. In this regard, the concept of «eternal image» appeared in literary criticism, which has a certain value to world literature. An important motive of classical literature is depravity. However, this motive is away to shape the image of a sinner.This image exists in different versions of Russian literature:that is, the heroine engaged in prostitution, the «tempted and abandoned» and unfaithful wife, the «camellia»(ladies of the demimonde, kept women) and others.The motives and plots of the hypostases of the image of the sinner are reduced to a certain archetypal semantic core, which is characteristic of Russian literature. The sinner refers to the sufferer in Russian literature; the path is from sin to rebirth, and the events will develop in the following order: «fall-repentance- suffering-redemption-salvation». This paradigm is obviously based on the Christian understanding of sin, mainly referring to the biblical story of the Savior and the repentant prostitute, and is related to the theological triad «sin-repentance- salvation». The analysis of the image of the sinner Katerina in the drama «Drama» by A.N. Ostrovsky is based on a single semantic archetypal core. And this type of unfaithful wife is depicted through a moral and religious understanding of sin, directly related to the concepts of guilt and shame, as well as a philosophical approach to the concept of this category, revealed in the image of the «holy harlot» through the realization of the concept of repentance and forgiveness.

Values and National Identification in Minority and Majority Youth: Longitudinal Multi-Study Findings

Collective identification is vital for adolescents, fostering well-being and connection, but scant attention has been given to drivers of national identification and their contextual variations in youth. To address this, two longitudinal studies examined how values, as guiding goals defining what individuals consider important in their lives, relate to the trajectory of national identification in majority and minority youth. Study 1 (N = 568; Mage = 16.24, SD = 0.71) and Study 2 (N = 678; Mage = 13.78, SD = 0.73) focused on majority youth (Jewish-Israelis), while Study 2 also included minority (Arab citizens of Israel). The findings highlight values as important motivators of national identification over time. Conservation values, emphasizing the preservation of the status quo and a preference for stability, were prominent motivators for the majority of adolescents. In contrast, power values, which center around climbing the social ladder and accumulating wealth, held greater significance among their minority counterparts; however, both sets of values correlated with increased national identification. The discussion touches on motivations underlying national identification, their contextual diversity, and implications for future studies.

INCENTIVING PERSONAL OF BUDGETARY ORGANIZATIONS BASE ON THE USE OF KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS

The article discusses issues of motivation and incentives for personnel of budgetary organizations. An analysis of recruiting companies showed that wages are an important incentive to perform work duties, capable of encouraging employees to achieve assigned tasks with high dedication and a focus on productive, efficient work. A well-designed and thoughtful system of personnel incentives has a beneficial effect on the quality and results of the work performed, and promotes creative and professional activity. The main requirements include higher education and (or) professional retraining, work experience in the areas where professional activities are carried out; the absence of outstanding or unexpunged convictions for crimes, as well as the presence of Russian citizenship. Additional requirements for personnel of budgetary organizations include — compliance with the Code of Ethics and Official Conduct of Public Sector Employees, detailed in accordance with the powers of state authorities (state bodies) or local governments provided for by the legislation of the Russian Federation. The implementation of key performance indicators in the budgetary sector must be agreed upon with an assessment of the quality of financial management, which will significantly improve the rating of the main managers of budget funds, which has an impact on the efficiency and effectiveness of the activities of government bodies.

Association between handgrip strength and depressive symptoms in patients undergoing hemodialysis: a cross-sectional study from a single Chinese center

BackgroundThe relationship between handgrip strength (HGS) and depression in patients undergoing hemodialysis (HD) was unknown. Therefore, we aimed to clarify this association in a cohort of patients.MethodsHGS was used as a representative indicator of muscle strength and was measured with a handheld dynamometer. Depressive symptoms were assessed with the self-reported Patient Health Questionnaire-9. A multivariable logistic regression model and restricted cubic spline analysis were used to assess the relationship between HGS and depression.ResultsThe prevalence of depression in our study was 34% in 568 Chinese patients undergoing HD. Compared with patients in the lowest tertiles of absolute and weighted HGS, patients in the highest tertiles of HGS had an approximately 59% lower [odds ratio (OR) = 0.41, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.24–0.68; OR = 0.41, 95%CI = (0.24–0.69)] prevalence of depressive symptoms after multivariate adjustments. Besides, the risk of depression in hemodialysis patients decreased by 33% (OR = 0.67, 95%CI = 0.53–0.85) and 32% (OR = 0.68, 95%CI = 0.54–0.85) for each standard deviation increase in absolute HGS and weighted HGS, respectively. The prevalence of depressive symptoms decreased with both increasing absolute HGS and weighted HGS after multivariate adjustments (p for trend < 0.05). Furthermore, a linear dose-response relationship was observed between absolute HGS and weighted HGS and the prevalence of depressive symptoms (pnonlinearity>0.05).ConclusionsThis study suggests that lower handgrip strength, a simple and modifiable parameter, is associated with a higher prevalence of depression in Chinese patients undergoing HD. Considering that depression is often unrecognized or underdiagnosed in HD patients, lowered muscle strength should be an important indicator and incentive for medical staff to screen for depression.

A Survey Study of Motivators for Pediatric Hospitalists to Work in the Community.

The loss of pediatric beds in the community has contributed to decreased access to pediatric inpatient and emergency services. Community pediatric hospitalist programs could reduce the overhead of inpatient care, promoting the financial feasibility of caring for hospitalized children closer to home. This study aims to determine which career motivators are the most important for pediatric hospitalists to begin working in, remain in, and leave the community setting. A survey was sent to a convenience sample of 269 community hospitalists from 31 different sites. Sites were invited if the program director was known to the authors. Responses were evaluated and χ-square or Fisher's exact test were used to compare the differences. One hundred twenty six community pediatric hospitalists completed the survey (response rate 49.1%). The 3 most important motivators for pediatric hospitalists to begin working in the community were work-life integration (80%), geographic location (75%), and flexible hours (71%). Pediatric hospitalists who planned to leave the community setting were more likely to cite mentoring and teaching opportunities (76% vs 32%, P = .0002), opportunities for research and quality improvement (29% vs 10%, P = .021), and paid time for nonclinical interests (52% vs 26%, P = .02) as very important. This study demonstrates key motivators for pediatric hospitalists to work in the community and elucidates motivators for transitioning to larger pediatric centers. This knowledge may be used to guide community pediatric hospital medicine recruitment and program development that could lead to improved retention.

Employment of Friday preachers for persuasive influence methods A survey of the Friday sermon

The study aimed to know the Jordanian Friday preachers’ employment of persuasive influence methods in the Friday sermon, and the researcher used the descriptive survey method on a study population represented by the Jordanian mosque preachers affiliated with the Ministry of Endowments, Affairs and Islamic Sanctuaries, who numbered (2035) orators from the official imams of mosques at the time of the study, with a regular random sample. Its amount is (824) orator. The study concluded that the Jordanian Friday preachers use persuasive influence methods in a balanced manner while delivering the sermon, and that they use persuasive influence methods because they enable them to influence the recipient’s demand for obedience in a balanced and reassuring manner, and that the most prominent method preferred by Friday preachers is the method of carrot, and that the method of assigning information to sources Trusted by the public is one of the most important motives for using persuasive influence methods. It has been proven that there are statistically significant differences in the degree to which persuasive influence methods were used during Friday sermon, according to different years of experience, in favor of from 5 years to less than 10 years. Keywords: Friday sermons, methods of influence, encouragement, balance, rhetoric.

Vinyl and Alkynyl Substituted Heterocycles as Privileged Scaffolds in Transition Metal Promoted Stereoselective Synthesis.

ConspectusBiologically active compounds and pharmaceutically relevant intermediates often feature sterically congested stereogenic centers, in particular, carbon stereocenters that are either tertiary tetrasubstituted ones or quaternary in nature. Synthons that comprise such bulky and often structurally complex core units are of high synthetic value and represent important incentives for communities connected to drug discovery and development. Streamlined approaches that give access to a diverse set of compounds incorporating acyclic bulky stereocenters are relatively limited, though vital. They enable further exploration of three-dimensional entities that can be designed and implemented in discovery programs, thereby extending the pool of molecular properties that is inaccessible for flat molecules. However, the lack of modular substrates in particular areas of chemical space inspired us to consider functionalized heterocycles known as cyclic carbonates and carbamates as a productive way to create sterically crowded alkenes and stereocenters.In this Account, we describe the major approximations we followed over the course of 8 years using transition metal (TM) catalysis as an instrument to control the stereochemical course of various allylic and propargylic substitution processes and related transformations. Allylic substitution reactions empowered by Pd-catalysis utilizing a variety of nucleophiles are discussed, with amination being the seed of all of this combined work. These procedures build on vinyl-substituted cyclic carbonates (VCCs) that are simple and easy-to-access precursors and highly modular in nature compared to synthetically limited vinyl oxiranes. Overall these decarboxylative conversions take place with either "linear" or "branched" regioselectivities that are ligand controlled and offer access to a wide scope of functional allylic scaffolds. Alternative approaches, including dual TM/photocatalyzed transformations, allowed us to expand the repertoire of challenging stereoselective conversions. This was achieved through key single-electron pathways and via formal umpolung of intermediates, resulting in new types of carbon-carbon bond formation reactions significantly expanding the scope of allylic substitution reactions.Heterocyclic substrate variants that have triple bond functional groups were also designed by us to enable difficult-to-promote stereoselective propargylic substitution reactions through TM catalysis. In these processes, inspired by the Nishibayashi laboratory and their seminal findings in the area, we discovered various new reactivity patterns. This provided access to a range of different stereodefined building blocks such as 1,2-diborylated 1,3-dienes and tetrasubstituted α-allenols under Cu- or Ni-catalysis. In this realm, the use of lactone-derived substrates gives access to elusive chiral γ-amino acids and lactams with high stereofidelity and good structural diversity.Apart from the synthetic efforts, we have elucidated some of the pertinent mechanistic manifolds operative in these transformations to better understand the limitations and opportunities with these specifically functionalized heterocycles that allowed us to create complex synthons. We combined both theoretical and experimental investigations that lead to several unexpected outcomes in terms of enantioinduction models, catalyst preactivation, and intermediates that are intimately connected to rationales for the observed selectivity profiles. The combined work we have communicated over the years offers insight into the unique reactivity of cyclic carbonates/carbamates acting as privileged precursors. It may inspire other members of the synthetic communities to widen the scope of precursors toward novel stereoselective transformations with added value in drug discovery and development in both academic and commercial settings.

DUKUNGAN KELUARGA DENGAN KEPATUHAN KUNJUNGAN ANC PADA IBU HAMIL TRIMESTER III

The purpose of this study was to determine the correlation between family support and compliance with ANC visits in third trimester pregnant women at the Independent Practicing Midwife Amirul Cholifah S.Tr. Keb in Sumberwono Village, Bangsal District, Mojokerto Regency. The results showed that most of the respondents were in the Supporting category, namely 24 people (80%), and most of the respondents were in the Compliant category, namely 20 people (66.7 The results of the Fisher Exact test p value = 0.000 means that there is a correlation between family support and compliance with ANC visits in third trimester pregnant women at Independent Practice Midwife Amirul Cholifah S.Tr. Keb in Sumberwono Village, Bangsal District, Mojokerto Regency. Family support and pregnancy checks are important motivations for pregnant women in the form of compliance with ANC visits to maintain the condition of the mother and the growth of the fetus. It is expected that health workers will provide education and counseling about ANC to pregnant women so that families pay more attention to the physiological and psycholoical conditions of pregnant women

Employee productivity spillovers generated by incentive schemes

Orientation: The introduction of various incentive schemes in the South African workplace creates incentive-induced employee productivity spillovers but could differ between industries and geographic areas.Research purpose: The aim of the study was to determine the industry and geographic nature of incentive-induced employee productivity spillovers to inform managerial decision-making on intrinsic and extrinsic motivators.Motivation for the study: The introduction of incentive schemes is an important motivator of employee productivity in the workplace. For this study, it was deemed important to indicate whether incentive-induced employee productivity spillovers differ between industries and geographic areas by taking into consideration firm-size, firm-profitability, different incentive schemes, trade union presence, employee age and skill levels.Research approach/design and method: Fixed-effect panel data estimations were computed to predict incentive-induced employee productivity spillover effects based on secondary firm-based data sets.Main findings: Incentive scheme-induced employee productivity spillover effects were generally similar for all the different industry and geographic areas. The spillovers increased with greater firm-sizes, higher profitability levels, introduction of greater levels of monetary-based incentive schemes (especially for unionised employee segments), and allocation of incentive schemes to the middle- age employee grouping (35 years–55 years) as well as higher skilled employees.Practical/managerial implications: The effective introduction of incentive schemes in the workplace is an important mechanism for creating positive employee productivity spillover effects and it is generally common for all firms irrespective of the industry or geographic area.Contribution/value-add: Improved understanding of incentive-induced employee productivity spillovers in the South African workplace will enable the effective alignment of incentive schemes with firm profitability.

Being Well-in with the Joneses? A Lab-in-the-Field Experiment on Conspicuous Consumption among Rural Communities

Conspicuous consumption, specialised consumption of high visibility but without apparent economic benefit, is reducing investment in productive assets and thus hindering economic development in low-income countries. In previous research, the phenomenon was commonly explained by status-seeking and herding behaviour. Our study follows a novel angle in testing the role of risk sharing, assuming that investment into social status is perceived to increase access to informal credits in times of crises. We conduct a random-effects hurdle model along a lab-in-the-field experiment along a sample of 197 wheat farmers in Uzbekistan, a country characterised by high levels of risk and uncertainty. Within our experimental setup, both risk attitude and real-life risk management decision are found to be significant determinants of conspicuous consumption. Our findings support the notion of a complex decision-making process with risk sharing as one important motivator. Providing first empirical evidence on the topic, our findings have implications beyond our narrowly defined study case: We argue that strengthening options of formal risk-sharing tools might remove one of the motivators for conspicuous consumption; thus, it could improve the economic welfare of low-income households worldwide by allowing for more productive investment of scarce financial resources.

Self-employment in craft making – a career change towards personal sustainability.

Contemporary crafts are experiencing a vigorous revival not only as bearers of cultural heritage and meaningful leisure activity, but increasingly as a career choice. According to UNESCO, the creative economy is now one of the world’s most rapidly growing sectors. Recent statistics show that this is apparent in the Icelandic economy. With the rise in precarity of work and challenges in career development, people are seeking meaningful and sustainable careers, as is evidenced by an increase in self-employment and micro-entrepreneurship. The main research question of this study was: How do contemporary craft makers in Iceland make sense of taking up and maintaining financially risky self-employment? Data collection and analysis was therefore focused on motives and shared meaning. The primary empirical data consists of fifteen semi-standardized interviews. Reflexive thematic analysis was conducted. The constant comparison method was also applied. Needs for authenticity, autonomy, and self-determination, along with passion for creating, were important motives. Negative career shocks were an unexpectedly common motive. Three main themes were developed to describe how participants reasoned their career choice: a second chance, a natural choice, and an act of agency. The analysis revealed craft knowledge as a valuable resource for participants seeking personal sustainability through self-employment. The study adds to an understanding of the value of crafts and craft knowledge in contemporary society.Keywords: craft knowledge, self-employment, personal sustainability, career sustainability, career shocks