Executive Summary

2
Table of content
1. Methodology 4

2. Results: 6
2.1. Research Objective 1: 6
2.1.1. Research Question 1 6
2.1.2. Research Question 2 7
2.1.3. Research Question 3 8
2.1.4 Research Question 4 10
2.2. Research Objective 2: 10
2.2.1. Research Question 1 10
2.2.2. Research Question 2 11
2.2.3. Research Question 3 14
2.3. Research Objective 3: 15
2.3.1. Research Question 1 15
2.3.2. Research Question 2 16
2.3.3. Research Question 3 17
2.3.4. Research Question 4 18
2.3.5. Research Question 5 20

3. Conclusion and recommendations: 21

Conclusion 21
3.1. Recommendation 1 22
3.2 Recommendation 2 22
3.3. Recommendation 3 23

References: 23

Appendix 24

3
 1. Methodology
The main objective of the research was to ascertain the influence of the correlations
between university students, their interests, and attitudes toward the difficulties in
scheduling the Ladder Art Space (LAS) program among university students during the
outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. LAS offers gallery spaces, art classes, and
workshops which change almost every month. They provide many kinds of classes for
different groups of audiences such as the Paint and Sip workshop for the audience who
want to have meet and greet time and Paint your Pet classes for the audience who want
to paint and be guided by professional artists. Moreover, LAS also offers private painting
parties or even birthday parties. Unfortunately, due to the outbreak of Covid-19, LAS
had to close for eight months. The study is supported by secondary data, conducted to
make strong suggestions for LAS to aid in improving suitable students' program
registration. Furthermore, in order to gather primary data, a survey and a quantitative
research method were designed to identify the issue that affects the diverse
perspectives of university students.

An online, cross-sectional quantitative study with one phase was used for this research.
When conducting research based on a number of key factors, online surveys work
perfectly. The fact that conducting a survey online is substantially faster than doing so
traditionally is one of the main justifications for this. Researchers could also take
advantage of adaptability, and affordability (Kumar et al., 2019). Since everything is
automatically gathered, researchers don't have to wait for traditional paper surveys to
acquire the information needed. And when everything is done online, money will be
saved. Additionally, the data and reports can be shown as graphs, tables, or any other
style, making them far more comprehensible and intuitive, researchers will have access
to the data and can quickly assess the solutions. Other advantages of online surveys
include increased accessibility and the largely anonymous nature of responders, leading
to more precise and individualized responses. However, limitations of this method
include the ability of significant self-selection biases and acceptance, leading to an
unrepresentative and inconsistent sample (Sue & Ritter, 2012). These variables may
make it difficult to generalize the findings to the general population, thus jeopardizing
the validity and trustworthiness of the findings.

The survey presented a number of various multiple choice questions, Likert and rating
scales, matrix as well as ranking questions to collect data regarding personal interests
and attitudes towards art events, gallery spaces, art classes, and workshops. The
research is being carried out over about seven weeks during Semester 1 2022. The
target population of the study is younger students from 18 to 26 years old. Through the
snowball sampling method, LAS could be able to receive various responses. Snowball
sampling has the advantages of being economical and effective and since this method
uses social media sites from the initial sample, it can be effective for more populations.

4
It should be emphasized that not all students are capable of schedule at this point,
which could reduce the direct applicability of responses for short-term program
improvements, leading to the impact on the generalizability of the results to the
intended audience. Of the total of 229 responses, some responses were removed since
they do not meet the criteria. In order to conduct an accurate analysis, the data was first
cleaned up and then prepared using SPSS and Microsoft Excel.

In order to examine whether there is a link and a strength between two variables,
regression and correlation have been utilized. When using correlation, it could be
difficult as it does not offer a convincing explanation for why there is a connection in the
first place. The only thing researchers can do is investigate the relationships between
phenomena to discover how they affect one another. What this approach is unable to
produce is information on one variable influencing the other. To gather the required
data, it is, therefore, necessary to either assume the correlation for a given variable or
use an alternative research approach. Regression analysis is another test that has been
applied to determine the association. This can indicate an individual's age, gender, or
whether they take LAS art classes, depending on the faculty. However, the limitation of
this method is that if the supplied data contains errors, regression models will not
function effectively. The regression model's validity is harmed if the data is not done
properly to eliminate missing values, redundant data, outliers, and unequal data
distribution. Regarding LAS, a student's chance of attending an art class relies on the
faculty. To test the differences, t-tests and ANOVAs have occurred. T-tests happen when
there are one or two samples presented while ANOVAs occur when there are more than
three samples. The limitation of the t-test is that it produces type I errors, which prevent
it from being used for numerous comparisons. It will be challenging to find evidence
against the null hypothesis when doing a paired t-test on a collection of samples. On the
other hand, although a repeated measures test must be performed when the variables
are not independent, an ANOVA is often appropriate for comparing means in controlled
investigations.

Lastly, LAS could create recommendations based on the research and understand how
COVID-19 affected people's interest in social activities, particularly artistic activities like
Paint and Sip and increase the number of participants.

5
 2. Results:
2.1. Research Objective 1:
2.1.1. RQ1: On average, how many social activities does a student participate in
per year?
A central tendency and frequency analysis were run to find the average participation in
social activities (Appendix A). The total average number of social activities that each
student engages in is 72. Figure 1 shows that the restaurant/café is where most students
engage in social activities an average of 31 times per year per student, which accounts
for half of all social activities. Bars/clubs have the second highest participation with an
average of 14 per student per year. The least amount of participation—1 activity per
student per year—is in art classes and activities. According to the research, it is clear
that most students will frequent cafes and restaurants more frequently every year since
they can socialize with friends when eating at a café. According to an observation made
by (Marris 2018), it's common to see young college students having a good time during
the weekend while out and about in the big cities. This clarifies that the enjoyable times
associated with loud music are what draw young people to clubs and bars, as shown in
figure 1. The low participation in art classes and events among the students could be an
indication that there is low interest in or awareness about art classes as a social activity
among young people.

Figure 1: Average participation in social activities a student joins in a year

6
2.1.2. RQ2: Is there any relationship between the number of times a student
goes to a bar/club and their age? How about art events and age?

A correlation test was carried out to establish the P-Value and assess the significance of
the relationship between the frequency of visits to bars and clubs by students and their
age (Appendix B). The relevant hypothesis were:
● H0: There is NO relationship between the number of times a student goes to a
bar/club and their age
● H1: There IS a relationship between the number of times a student goes to a
bar/club and their age

Age Bars/Clubs

Age 1

Bars/Clubs 0.023 1

P-Value 0.728

Figure 2: Correlation between the number of times a student goes to bar/clubs & age

Figure 2 demonstrates a terribly weak positive connection between a student's age and
how frequently they visit bars and clubs, with a correlation coefficient of 0.023;
nevertheless, the P-value of 0.728 suggests that the results are not significant. As a
result, the null hypothesis will be accepted and H1 will be rejected.

A correlation test was carried out to establish the P-Value and the significance of the link
between the frequency of students attending art events and lessons and their age
(Appendix C). The relevant hypothesis were:
● H0: There is NO relationship between the number of times a student goes to art
events/classes and their age
● H1: There IS a relationship between the number of times a student goes to art
events/classes and their age

Age Arts/Events

Age 1

Bars/Clubs 0.113 1

P-Value 0.087

Figure 3: Correlation between the number of times a student goes to arts/events & age

7
Figure 3 shows that the correlation coefficient is 0.113, demonstrating an incredibly
weak positive association between the frequency of a student attending art events or
lessons and their age. However, the P-value of 0.087 suggests that the results are not
significant. As a result, the null hypothesis will be accepted and H1 will be rejected.

According to the data, there is no correlation between the age of students who attend
pubs, clubs, or art classes or events. Furthermore, because there are other factors that
affect participation, such as part-time employment or money constraints, age has little
impact on students' engagement in bars and art courses. This research implies that
Ladder Art Space shouldn't select customers based on their age because there is no
relationship that exists.

2.1.3. RQ3: Does the number of times a student goes to a bar/club differ by
their faculty? How about art events and faculty?

An ANOVA test was conducted (Appendix D) and the results were analyzed in order to
determine whether there is a correlation between a student's faculty and the frequency
with which they visit bars and clubs. These were the relevant hypotheses:
● H0: The number of times a student goes to bars/clubs does NOT differ by faculty
● H1: The number of times a student goes to bars/clubs DOES differ by faculty

Groups Count Sum Average Variance P-value

Business 163 2368 14.5 330.5 0.104

and Law

Engineering 14 58 4.1 47.5

and
Technology

Health, Art 52 806 15.5 408.7

and Design

Figure 4: Average attendance to bars/clubs based on faculty

According to Figure 4, the average bar attendance for BL students is 14.5, for ET
students it is 4.1, and for FHAD students it is 15.5—higher than the average for the other
faculties. Even if the ratings for each group are quite different, the results may be
distorted by outliers since BL has a variation of 330.5, ET has 47.5, and FAHD has the
highest variance (408.7). The significant P value of 0.104 indicates that it is greater than
0.05, indicating that this difference is not significant when looking to determine whether

8
there is a difference. As a result, the null hypothesis will be accepted and H1 will be
rejected.

To identify if there is a relationship between the number of times a student goes to art
classes/events and faculty, an ANOVA test was run (Appendix E) and the results were
analysed. The relevant hypothesis were:
● H0: The number of times a student goes to art classes/events does NOT differ by
faculty
● H1: The number of times a student goes to art classes/events DOES differ by
faculty

Groups Count Sum Average Variance P-value

Business 163 122 0.75 3.8 0.171

and Law

Engineering 14 4 0.3 0.2

and
Technology

Health, Art 52 66 1.3 6.9

and Design

Figure 5: Average attendance to art classes/events based on faculty

Figure 5 demonstrates that BL students, ET students, and HAD students have greater
average attendance in art classes and events than students from the other faculties, at
0.75, 0.3, and 1.3, respectively. Although the scores for each group differ, the HAD
group's score variance is the highest at 6.9, followed by ET's 0.2 and BL's 3.8. The P value
of 0.171 indicates that it is larger than 0.05, indicating that this difference is not
statistically significant. As a result, the null hypothesis will be accepted and H1 will be
rejected.

According to Marris (2018), compared to students pursuing social courses, students

taking science and engineering courses face greater challenges and must devote a
greater amount of time to research. This would imply that students majoring in
engineering and technology would often have lower attendance rates. In addition, HAD
and BL students, with average involvement rates of 1.3 and 0.75, respectively, have
greater rates of arts/event engagement than ET students. These results suggest that
Ladder Art Space should concentrate on drawing visitors from the faculties of business
and law and of health, art, and design.

9
2.1.4 RQ4: Would students attend more social activities after the COVID-19
crisis, compared to pre-COVID-19?

Frequency Distributions analysis was used to determine the frequency with which each
response to survey question 4 was chosen as well as the mean, median, and mode of
those replies in order to address this research issue (Appendix F).

Social activities attendance after Covid-19

Mean 3.9

Median 4

Mode 4

Figure 6: Average attendance of social activities after COVID-19

Figure 6 demonstrates that all three values are reasonably equal to one another, with
the mean and mode being 3.97 and 4, respectively. This suggests that after the
COVID-19 crisis, students will engage in somewhat more social activities. In conclusion,
students are more inclined to attend social activities now than they were before the
COVID-19 epidemic. Primary data is the most trustworthy source of information to
achieve the most accurate response to this research question because there isn't
enough secondary data available to utilize.

2.2. Research Objective 2:

2.2.1. RQ1: What are the attitudes towards Paint and Sip and Paint Your Pet
workshops?

A descriptive analysis was conducted using a Central Tendency and Dispersion analysis
to accurately determine the level of interest Swinburne students have in Paint and Sip
and Paint Your Pet workshops (Appendix G). The data was gathered from survey
questions 5.1 and 5.2, which assessed interest on a scale of 1 (not interested at all) to 5
(extremely interested). The mean, median, and mode score were calculated using the
Central Tendency analysis, as shown in Figures 7 and 8.

Paint and Sip workshop

Mean 2.73
Median 3.00
Mode 3

10
 Figure 7. Average Interest towards Paint and Sip workshops

Figure 7 reveals that the mean interest for Paint and Sip workshops was 2.73, which sits
very close to 3. Thus , it can be said that students are moderately interested in Paint and
Sip workshops. Both the median average and the mode earned a 3, indicating that most
students have a moderate interest in Paint and Sip workshops.

Paint Your Pet workshop

Mean 2.34
Median 2.00
Mode 1

Figure 8. Average Interest towards Paint Your Pet workshops

Figure 8 shows that for Paint Your Pet workshops, the mean was 2.34, which sits close to
2, and can be said that students are slightly interested in this workshop. However, when
looking at the mode, which is the most common number in the set, the results show
that the majority of students rated their interest as a 1, implying that they were not
interested in the Paint Your Pet workshops at all.

It can be concluded that students have little to no interest in Paint Your Pet workshops.
As for Paint and Sip workshops, there is a moderately higher rate of interest in students.

Since this question is directly related to LAS's offerings, secondary data would be
insufficient to provide a legitimate answer; thus, primary data would be more accurate.

2.2.2. RQ2: Does attitude towards each workshop (Paint and Sip and Paint Your
Pet) differ by gender and faculty?

Two tests of difference will be employed to examine students' attitudes toward Paint
and Sip and Paint Your Pet workshops based on their gender and faculty. The difference
between faculties will be identified using ANOVA, and gender differences will be
determined using an Independent T-test. The identification of their faculty has grouped
students by the nominal value being:
● Faculty of Business and Law (1)
● Faculty of Engineering and Technology (2)
● Faculty of Health, Art and Design (3)

Paint and Sip Workshops

11
To determine if there is a difference in interest towards Paint and Sip workshops by
faculty, the relevant hypothesis was:
● H0: Interest in Paint and Sip workshops DOES NOT differ by faculty
● H1: Interest in Paint and Sip workshops DOES differ by faculty

Groups Average Variance P-value

Faculty of Business and Law 2.58896 1.29296 0.0103

Faculty of Engineering and 2.85714 1.05495

Technology

Faculty of Health, Art, and Design 3.15385 1.70136

Figure 9. Difference between interest towards Paint & Sip workshops and faculty

From the ANOVA conducted (Appendix H), figure 9, shows there is a difference in
interest towards Paint and Sip classes by faculty with FHAD students having a higher
interest at 3.15. Since the P value is 0.01, less than 0.05, the difference is significant.
Hence, the null hypothesis is rejected and H1 can be accepted.

To determine if there is a difference in interest towards Paint and Sip workshops by

gender, a T-test was run. Based on LAS’s current attendees, the relevant hypothesis was:
● H0: Females DO NOT have a higher interest in Paint and Sip workshops
● H1: Females DO have a higher interest in Paint and Sip workshops

Female Male P(T<=t) one-tail

Mean 3.288135593 2.19047619 7.08543E-14

Variance 1.26669564 0.905677656

Figure 10 Difference between interest towards Paint & Sip workshops and gender

From the T-test conducted (Appendix I), figure 10 shows that females have a higher
interest in the workshop with a mean of 3.28 and a higher variance compared to males.
The P one tail value is less than 0.05, therefore, the null hypothesis can be rejected and
the H1 can be accepted, concluding that females have a higher interest in Paint and Sip
workshops.

Paint your Pet Workshops

12
To determine if there is a difference in interest towards Paint Your Pet workshops by
faculty the relevant hypothesis were:
● H0: Interest in Paint Your Pet workshops DOES NOT differ by faculty
● H1: Interest in Paint Your Pet workshops DOES differ by faculty

Groups Average Variance P-value

Faculty of Business and Law 2.251534 1.559797 0.288461

Faculty of Engineering and Technology 2.428571 2.10989

Faculty of Health, Art, and Design 2.576923 2.131222

Figure 11. Difference between interest towards Paint Your Pet workshops and faculty

From the ANOVA conducted (Appendix J), figure 11 shows that there is a slight
difference in interest towards Paint Your Pet classes based on faculty, with FHAD
students having a higher interest at 2.58. However, the P value is 0.28, which is more
than 0.05, therefore, the null hypothesis can be accepted and the H1 is rejected.

To determine if there is a difference in interest towards Paint Your Pet workshops by

gender, a T-test was run. Based on LAS’s current attendees the relevant hypothesis were:
● H0: Females DO NOT have a higher interest in Paint Your Pet workshops
● H1: Females DO have a higher interest in Paint Your Pet workshops

Female Male P(T<=t) one-tail

Mean 2.728813559 1.933333333 1.64996E-06

Variance 1.908735332 1.216666667

Figure 12: Difference between interest towards Paint Your Pet workshops and gender

From the T-test conducted (Appendix K), figure 12 shows that females have a higher
interest towards the workshop with a mean of 2.72 and a higher variance compared to
males. The P one tail value is less than 0.05, therefore, the null hypothesis can be
rejected and the H1 can be accepted, concluding that females have a higher interest in
Paint Your Pet workshops.

13
It can be concluded that students in FHAD and Females have a higher interest towards
Paint and Sip workshops. Interest towards Paint Your Pet workshops do not differ by
faculty but differs by gender, with Females having a higher interest than Males.

2.2.3. RQ3: What is the most popular day of the week and time of day for a
painting workshop?

To determine the most popular day of the week and time of day for painting workshops,
students were asked to rate each day of the week and select which times for each day
were best suited. To figure out the ideal day and time of week, Central tendency and
dispersion (Appendix L) and frequency tests (Appendix M) were utilized to identify the
mean, median, mode, and frequency of responses.

Figure 13. Popular days of the week for painting workshops

Figure 13 highlights that the most popular day of the week for painting workshops is
Saturday with a mean of 3.39 and Sunday comes second with a mean of 3.28. Figure 14
highlights that the 17:00-18:30 time period is the most popular time across all days.
Based on this, it can be concluded that Saturdays and Sundays around 17:00 -18:30
seem to be the most suitable time for students.

14
 Figure 14. Popular times of the day for painting workshops

There isn’t sufficient secondary data that can be used to answer this research question,
thus, primary data is the most reliable source of data to get the most legitimate answer.

2.3. Research Objective 3:

2.3.1. RQ1: Does fear of COVID-19 differ by gender (male and female)?

A T-Test was utilised to help determine whether or not fear of COVID-19 is impacted by
gender (Appendix N). The following hypotheses were considered relevant:
● H0: Fear of COVID-19 does NOT differ by gender.
● H1: Fear of COVID-19 DOES differ by gender.

Male Female

Mean 1.64217687 1.84503632

P(T<=t) one-tail 0.000144048

Figure 15: Fear of COVID-19 in different genders

The male mean was lower than the female mean, as seen in Figure 14. Furthermore,
because our hypotheses were one-tailed, the P one-tail value was explored to see
whether or not this difference was significant. We may accept H1 because the P value is
below 0.05 and the fear of COVID-19 varies by gender.

15
Secondary data can also be utilized to provide a more particular answer to this question.
The study discovered a significant link between gender and COVID-19-related dread and
anxiety. According to a 2020 study, females view coronavirus to be a greater hazard to
personal health and the wider population than males (Niño et al., 2021). Furthermore,
according to Ball and Smith's research, women were more concerned about the health
risks of COVID-19 than men, while men were more concerned about the economic
ramifications of the pandemic than women. According to the studies cited above, the
fear of COVID-19 varies by gender. This finding is totally compatible with data supplied
to Swinburne University Vietnam students demonstrating that males are less worried of
COVID-19 than females.
In general, the fear of COVID-19 varies by gender, with males having a lower fear than
females.

2.3.2. RQ2: Is there a relationship between fear of COVID-19 and willingness to

attend a face-to-face paint and sip session?

A correlation test was carried out to determine whether students' motivation to

participate in face-to-face paint and sip sessions was impacted by their fear of COVID-19
(Appendix O). After establishing a correlation, a regression was utilised to get the
P-Value and assess the significance of the association. The key hypothesis were as
follows:
● H0: There is NO CORRELATION between fear of COVID-19 and willingness to
attend a face-to-face paint and sip session.
● H1: There is A CORRELATION between fear of COVID-19 and willingness to attend
a face-to-face paint and sip session.

Fear of COVID Willingness

Fear of COVID 1

Willingness 0.07668233 1

P-Value 0.90812166

Figure 16: Correlation between fear of COVID-19 and willingness to attend a face-to-face
paint and sip session
Figure 15 indicates a very weak positive connection between COVID-19 fear and
willingness (0.07). Because the P-value of 0.9 shows that no significance exists, H1 is
rejected and H0 is accepted, showing that there is no association between fear of
COVID-19 and the choice to participate in a face-to-face paint and sip session.
The information research assists LAS in understanding that the relationship between
fear of COVID-19 and willingness is absolutely nonexistent, allowing LAS to exclude the
fear hypothesis. LAS should investigate the target audience throughout the research to

16
have a deeper understanding of why the consumer does not want to have face-to-face
paint and sip sessions without the worry of COVID-19. LAS receives a summary of its
classroom preparedness response from primary data.

2.3.3. RQ3: What are the most important factors that impact people’s
confidence in booking a social activity such as a paint and sip workshop during
a pandemic?

The variables impacting people 's comfort in engaging social activities like paint-and-sip
workshops for both sexes during the pandemic were examined using a central tendency
and dispersion test (Appendix P). Specifically, the average ratings of the participants on
the factors that influence their confidence in attending social events (with 1 being the
least significant and 7 being the most essential) based on the result of the test are
illustrated below.

Figure 17: Factors influence people’s confidence in attending social activities

According to the statistics, obtaining an entire refund (6.37) and the possibility to
rearrange (5.83) are the most crucial factors that affect people's confidence when
attending a social activity, while hygiene activities such as attendees wearing masks
(2.61), and social distancing (2.73) are the least important.

2.3.4. RQ4: What variables predict students’ willingness to attend a face-to-face

paint and sip session at Ladder Art Space?

Multiple regression was undertaken (Appendix Q) to examine different variables (age,

gender, income, experience and painting capability, distance from CBD, and faculty) to
discover the factors that have the most influence on the dependent variable - students'

17
desire to participate in a paint and sip session dirrectly at Ladder Art Space. The main
hypotheses were formulated:

1 Willingness to Participate vs. Age

H0: There is no correlation between age and willingness to participate in face-to-face

paint and sip sessions.

H1: There is a correlation between age and willingness to participate in face-to-face

paint and sip sessions.

2 Willingness to Participate vs. Gender

H0: There is no correlation between gender and willingness to participate in face-to-face

paint and sip sessions.

H1: There is a correlation between gender and willingness to participate in face-to-face

paint and sip sessions.

3 Willingness to Participate vs. Income

H0: There is no correlation between income and willingness to participate in face-to-face

paint and sip sessions.

H1: There is a correlation between income and willingness to participate in face-to-face

paint and sip sessions.

4 Willingness to Participate vs. Experience and Painting Capability

H0: There is no correlation between experience/painting capability and willingness to

participate in face-to-face paint and sip sessions.

H1: There is a correlation between experience/painting capability and willingness to

participate in face-to-face paint and sip sessions.

5 Willingness to Participate vs. Distance from CBD

H0: There is no correlation between distance from CBD and willingness to participate in
face-to-face paint and sip sessions.

H1: There is a correlation between distance from CBD and willingness to participate in
face-to-face paint and sip sessions.

6 Willingness to Participate vs. Faculty

H0: There is no correlation between faculty and willingness to participate in face-to-face

paint and sip sessions.

18
H1: There is a correlation between faculty and willingness to participate in face-to-face
paint and sip sessions.

Regression statistics

Multiple R 0.326a

R Square 0.106

P-value

Intercept <0.001

Age 0.589

Gender 0.064

Income 0.027

Experience and 0.002

Painting capability

Distance from CBD 0.410

Faculty 0.228

Significance F

Regression <0.001b

19
 Figure 18: Linear regression analyzing a set of variables that affect the possibility to
participate in a face-to-face paint and sip event.

Figure 17 demonstrates that, on average, these factors have a significant impact on the
consent to take part in a face-to-face paint and sip event at LAS. The P-values found for
all dependent variables indicate that income (0.027<0.05) and experience and painting
capability (0.002<0.05) were the most crucial variables and had the strongest
connection with the desire to partake face to face in this event. As a result, the null
hypothesis regarding income, experience, and painting capability may all be rejected.

2.3.5. RQ5: Which social platform is the best to advertise?

A frequency table was utilized to examine the pattern in accessing online platforms in
order to determine the most relevant digital network to promote on among the survey
participants. Below is the analysis result table.

Social media preference Percentage

WeChat 3.5%

Snapchat 77.3%

LinkedIn 30.6%

Instagram 93.9%

Twitter 25.3%

Pinterest 29.7%

Reddit 26.2%

TikTok 66.4%

Facebook 83.8%

Figure 19: Percentage of the use of social media platforms

20
The two most used social media platforms are Instagram and Facebook at 93.9% and
83.8% respectively. Snapchat and TikTok also followed closely with 77.3 and 66.4
percent of participants choosing to use them. Other platforms such as LinkedIn,
Pinterest, Reddit, Twitter, and WeChat had only a quarter to less than 5% of users. In
addition, an examination of the total number of participants’ friends who use Facebook,
Instagram, and TikTok has also been conducted, with the result of over 100.000 users for
each application (see Appendix R). This suggests that Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok
should be chosen to advertise the events.

Secondary data can also be used to further address this research question. As of January
2022, according to AppMagic's research, Facebook still dominated the Australian media
platforms sector and held the two most popular social networking applications
(Granwal, 2022). Over 28 million people downloaded Facebook, which was pursued by
Instagram, Pinterest, and Google (Granwal, 2022). In Australia, Facebook has also
become the most widely used social networking platform for small and medium-sized
enterprises (Granwal, 2022). Aside from television and digital newspapers, many
Australians have resorted to Facebook as their regular source of information during the
COVID-19 outbreak (Granwal, 2022).

3. Conclusion and recommendations:

Conclusion

Utilizing an online, cross-sectional quantitative study with one phase, the research
ascertains the influence of the correlations between university students, their interests,
and attitudes toward the difficulties in scheduling the Ladder Art Space. Along with
secondary data, the research gives three recommendations in order to increase the
number of participants.

Some recommendations are also provided below in order to solve LAS’s current
problem. Email marketing strategies may be adapted to this particular target sector to
make them more pertinent and individualized. Also, further study must be done to
determine men's interests and how to connect art workshops with their interests.

It is found that students are interested in painting classes, therefore, LAS may see an
increase in the number of male and female university students if they change their
plans. By understanding the target audience, LAS can be able to tailor their program
toward the audience’s characteristics. This means the number of registrations among
university students will be increased.

3.1. Recommendation 1: Launch the new class about “art therapy” with
experts:

Numerous people have experienced psychological stress and symptoms of sadness,

anxiety, or post-traumatic stress disorder during and after COVID-19. There has also

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been alarming evidence of an increase in suicidal thoughts and behaviours, notably
among healthcare personnel (World Health Organization, 2022). Based on the statistics
from the LAS questionnaire, shows that the fear of COVID-19 in customers is decreasing
(Appendix S), but the mental health of people is still falling. Understanding the general
situation, LAS can launch an "art therapy" campaign with experts to support clients with
mental health problems. Art therapy promotes mental health by creating a positive
atmosphere for individuals and groups to express themselves through a combination of
art activities and verbal conversation (The University of Queensland, n.d.). LAS can
cooperate with organisations with many years of experience in the field of "art therapy"
such as ANZACATA to organise online and offline workshops that combine to attract
many customers, increase the credibility of the campaign, and have more revenue after
days of being frozen by COVID. Customers come to workshops to have more interesting
experiences about art and relieve stress and heal their souls after a long time at home.

3.2 Recommendation 2: Email marketing campaign directed to males

Description:

In analyzing Research Objective 2 Research Question 2, the study discovered that males
had lower overall interest scores in both Paint and Sip and Paint Your Pet workshops
(p-value < 0.05). Hence It is proposed that incentives be presented after registering for
any of the workshops communicated via email marketing campaigns.

Justification:

Offering incentives to participants after registering for any of the workshops may entice
and spur males' interest in art workshops. However, it is difficult to segregate genders in
this day and age, creating a barrier to marketing a campaign for these workshops. To
increase male participation, more research must be conducted to identify men's
interests and how to associate art workshops with those interests. After this information
is gathered, email marketing campaigns can be tailored to be more relevant and
personalized to this specific market segment.

3.3. Recommendation 3: VIP packages that come with masterclasses and guest
artist meet & greets

It is advised that LAS offer attractions like the chance to see an artist in person to better
reward attendees as it is clear that there is poor attendance and interest in workshops.

The lecture and meet-and-greet with an artist might be made available as a special
event hosted on a Saturday night once a month. In order to avoid potential sources of
aggravation when attending an event, the VIP package includes components like

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transportation, such as special parking or collaborating with a ridesharing provider like
Uber to offer savings. As paint and sip sessions were the most popular class, it would
also include a masterclass with the artist of the evening, where participants could watch
a live demonstration and learn from the artist themselves about painting methods,
style, and other useful information. The LAS would invite a new Melbourne-based artist
each month, which would serve to vary the knowledge and style of art being taught. By
doing this, LAS may see an increase in the number of male and female university
students who attend and are interested in painting classes. In addition to having a
unique experience, students may learn about various painting techniques. Additionally,
it will broaden the range of courses, paintings, and experiences that LAS offers.

References:

Alsharaway, A., Spoon, R., Smith, A., & Ball, S. (2021). Gender Differences in Fear and
Risk Perception During the COVID-19 Pandemic. Frontiers in Psychology, 12(12). DOI:
10.3389/fpsyg.2021.689467

Granwal, L. (2022, August 8). Australia: leading social media apps by downloads 2021.
Statista.
https://www.statista.com/statistics/1220232/australia-leading-social-media-apps-by-do
wnloads/

Kumar, V., Aaker, D. A., Leone, R. P., & Day, G. S. (2019). Marketing research. John Wiley
& Sons, Inc.

Marris, P., (2018). The Experience of Higher Education. Routledge. London.

Pérez-Fuentes, M. del C., Molero Jurado, M. del M., Oropesa Ruiz, N. F., Martos
Martínez, Á., Simón Márquez, M. del M., Herrera-Peco, I., & Gázquez Linares, J. J. (2020).
Questionnaire on Perception of Threat from COVID-19. Journal of Clinical Medicine, 9(4),
1196. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm9041196

Sue, V. M., & Ritter, L. A. (2012). Conducting online surveys. Sage.

The University of Queensland (n.d.). Art Therapy. Retrieved from

https://study.uq.edu.au/study-options/programs/master-mental-health-5151/art-therap
y-artthx5151

World Health Organization (2022, June 16). The impact of COVID-19 on mental health
cannot be made light of, by WHO. Retrieved from

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https://www.who.int/news-room/feature-stories/detail/the-impact-of-covid-19-on-men
tal-health-cannot-be-made-light-of

Appendix

Appendix A

Appendix B

Appendix C

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Appendix D

Appendix E

Appendix F

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Appendix G

Appendix H

Appendix I

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Appendix J

Appendix K

27
Appendix L

Appendix M

28
Appendix N:

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Appendix O:

Appendix P

Appendix Q

30
Appendix R

Appendix S:

31