Testing the effectiveness of a gym orientation program

The study was set at a commercial Fitness Center facility based in Dubai, UAE, and aimed to test the effectiveness of a Gym Orientation Program designed to help new members with little-to-no training experience acclimatize to the facility and to fitness training. The practical end of all orientation programs is to ameliorate Member Retention; the purpose of the present study was to investigate whether the Gym Orientation Program supported member retention via its impact on intermediary perceptual constructs. A longitudinal design was used to collect data at three distinct points in the customer journey, on-boarding, completion of the Gym Orientation Program, and at Membership Renewal, one year after joining. Questionnaire instruments were adapted from studies on Student Retention in Higher Education. Multivariate analysis of covariance and multiple regression were used to determine whether Gym Members who participated in the Gym Orientation Program differed significantly from those who did not on the basis of institutional and social integration constructs. Multiple Regression was used to assess the impact of the integration metrics on self-reported intent to persist. Results suggest that the Gym Orientation Program promoted significantly increased levels of integration and intent to persist, ultimately leading to increased Member Retention. In terms of practical implications, the findings support the conclusion that it is possible to design and implement effective interventions that explicitly aim to increase the sense of institutional and social belonging in order to increase Member Retention. The study adopts an original, interdisciplinary approach by deploying the methodological paradigm deployed and refined over five decades in the field of student retention scholarship within Higher Education, underlining the conviction that there is much to be gained by adopting an interdisciplinary perspective.

Relational Satisfaction of Spousal/Partner Informal Caregivers of People with Multiple Sclerosis

Background: Relational satisfaction of spousal/partner informal caregivers of people with multiple sclerosis (MS) is important for continued care and support. Previous studies have examined relational satisfaction in terms of well-being and quality of life of informal caregivers. Based on the Rusbult investment model, we directly studied the relational satisfaction of spousal/partner informal caregivers of individuals with MS. In doing so, we investigated possible effects that commitment to relationship, caregiving burden, and prorelational behavioral tendencies might have on relational satisfaction. Methods: Nine hundred nine adult spousal/partner informal caregivers of people with MS completed measures of relational satisfaction (Kansas Marital Satisfaction Scale), commitment to relationship (15-item commitment measure), caregiving burden (Zarit Burden Interview), and prorelational behavioral tendencies (adapted Prosocial Tendencies Measure). Participants also provided demographic information (age, sex, duration and type of relationship [spouse, partner]). Results: Structural equation modeling highlighted commitment to the relationship as the strongest predictor of relational satisfaction. Caregiving burden was found to affect relational satisfaction directly and through commitment to relationship. Prorelational behavioral tendencies were found to affect less relational satisfaction. Conclusions: Commitment to relationship, namely, intent to persist, had the highest positive effect on satisfaction. Caregiving burden was found to have a two-way negative relationship to commitment to relationship. These findings suggest that specialists should enhance the intent-to-persist aspect of commitment because it seems to have an alleviating effect regarding caregiving burden (which itself negatively affects relational satisfaction).

Examining persistence factors of golf management students

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine student, program and institutional support characteristics that relate to cohort intent to persist among Professional Golfers’ Association Golf Management University Program (PGA-GMUP) undergraduate students from 12 universities. Design/methodology/approach A survey instrument was created and disseminated to the targeted population. Multiple regressions were used to analyze the 473 responses of students’ intention to persist across the three independent variables (student, program and institutional support). Findings The research findings suggest higher levels of college GPA, career goals specific to the student’s desire to become a PGA professional, higher levels of faculty engagement, higher levels of satisfaction with major, being a leader in the student association and involvement in the student association are related to students’ intent to persist. Conversely, the results suggest career goals focused on being happy instead of graduation or working as a PGA professional and finding it difficult to make friends are associated with lower levels of intention to persist, while parental expectations of advanced degrees negatively affected students’ intent to persist. Additionally, passing a player ability test did not have bearing on intention to persist. Originality/value Results from this analysis offer insight into which persistence factors lead to students’ matriculation, with the ultimate goal of program completion. Identifying persistence factors may help PGA-GMUPs and other hospitality programs recruit students that are more likely to persist in the program, develop program characteristics that optimize cohort matriculation, and utilize university or institutional support services characteristics that may ensure program completion.