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Using the stimulus–organism–response (SOR) theoretical model, this empirical research aims to examine and validate how tourists’ interactions with 360-degree virtual reality (VR) videos incorporating Web navigability and visual interface design quality (stimulus) on travel websites can make tourists more engaged and then satisfied (organism), which could make them more likely to visit destinations and spread electronic word of mouth (e-WOM) (response).

Using the convenience sampling method, 975 responses were collected through a questionnaire. The data were analysed using Smart-PLS 4 software to investigate the hypothesised relationships.

The findings demonstrate that 360-degree VR videos significantly create Web user engagement, and Web user engagement is significantly associated with Web user satisfaction. The result shows that Web user engagement and satisfaction impact the intention to visit the tourist destination. Additionally, Web user satisfaction impacts e-WOM. Lastly, navigability and visual interface design quality are significantly moderated between 360-degree VR videos and Web user engagement.

This research only examined the tourists’ behavioural intentions with 360-degree VR videos during the pre-travel phase. In contrast, future research may investigate how tourists behave with VR during the on-site and post-travel phases.

Tourism marketers should not only adopt 360-degree VR but also integrate Web navigability and visual interface design to boost Web users’ engagement on tourism websites.

This study advances the study of VR from the tourists’ psychological perspective. Moreover, the SOR theory has been re-examined from the VR and technology tourism perspectives. It provides a general understanding of the behavioural aspects of tourists in developing countries.

利用刺激-有机体反应（SOR）理论模型, 本实证研究检验并验证了游客与旅游网站上结合了网络导航性和视觉界面设计质量（刺激）的360度虚拟现实(VR)视频的互动如何使游客更投入、更满意（有机体）, 这可能使他们更有可能访问目的地并传播电子口碑（响应）。

采用方便抽样法, 通过问卷调查收集了975份回复。使用Smart-PLS 4软件对数据进行分析, 以调查假设的关系。

研究结果表明, 360度虚拟现实(VR)视频显著提高了网络用户参与度, 网络用户参与与网络用户满意度显著相关。结果表明, 网络用户参与度和满意度对旅游目的地的访问意愿有影响。此外, 网络用户满意度也会影响电子口碑。最后, 在360度虚拟现实(VR)视频和网络用户参与度之间, 导航性和视觉界面设计质量显著适中。

这项研究只考察了游客在旅行前阶段使用360度虚拟现实(VR)视频的行为意图。相比之下, 未来的研究可能会调查游客在现场和旅行后阶段使用虚拟现实(VR)的行为。

旅游营销人员不仅应采用360度虚拟现实(VR), 还应将网络导航性和视觉界面设计相结合, 以提高网络用户对旅游网站的参与度。

本研究从游客的心理角度推进了虚拟现实(VR) 的研究。此外, 还从虚拟现实(VR)和科技旅游的角度重新审视了SOR 理论。它提供了对发展中国家游客行为方面的一般了解。

Utilizando el modelo teórico estímulo-organismo-respuesta (SOR), esta investigación empírica examinó y validó cómo las interacciones de los turistas con los vídeos de RV de 360 grados que incorporan la navegabilidad web y la calidad del diseño de la interfaz visual (estímulo) en los sitios web de viajes pueden hacer que los turistas se sientan más comprometidos y luego satisfechos (organismo), lo que podría hacerles más propensos a visitar los destinos y a difundir el e-WOM (respuesta).

Utilizando el método de muestreo por conveniencia, se recogieron 975 respuestas a través de un cuestionario. Los datos se analizaron mediante el software Smart-PLS 4 para investigar las relaciones hipotetizadas.

Los resultados demuestran que los vídeos de RV de 360 grados generan un compromiso significativo de los usuarios de la web y que el compromiso de los usuarios de la web se asocia significativamente con su satisfacción. El resultado muestra que el compromiso y la satisfacción del usuario web repercuten en la intención de visitar el destino turístico. Además, la satisfacción del usuario web influye en el e-WOM. Por último, la navegabilidad y la calidad del diseño de la interfaz visual son significativamente moderadas entre los vídeos de RV de 360 grados y el compromiso del usuario web.

Esta investigación sólo examinó las intenciones de comportamiento de los turistas con los vídeos de RV de 360 grados durante la fase previa al viaje. En cambio, en futuras investigaciones se podría estudiar cómo se comportan los turistas con la RV durante las fases in situ y posterior al viaje.

Los profesionales del marketing turístico no sólo deberían adoptar la RV de 360 grados, sino también integrar la navegabilidad web y el diseño de la interfaz visual para potenciar el compromiso de los internautas en los sitios web turísticos.

Este estudio avanza en el estudio de la RV desde la perspectiva psicológica del turista. Además, se ha reexaminado la teoría S-O-R desde las perspectivas de la RV y el turismo tecnológico. Proporciona una comprensión general del aspecto conductual de los turistas en los países en desarrollo.

This research attempts to assess the role of green intellectual capital components with respect to the sustainability business performance of manufacturing SMEs in Malaysia.

Empirical data for this study were gathered through structured questionnaire forms, from entrepreneurs, managers, and decision-makers of manufacturing, small and medium enterprises. A sample of 500 individuals from 170 manufacturing SMEs from Malaysia was participated. Partial Least Squares (PLS) Structural Equation Modelling technique was used to examine the impact of green intellectual capital on the sustainability business performance of SMEs.

Results expressed that green intellectual capital has a positive significant impact on the sustainability business performance of manufacturing SMEs in Malaysia. Results also posited that the three components such as green customer capital, green technological capital, and green spiritual capital were supported while green human capital, green structural capital, and green social capital were not supported.

The present study inspects how entrepreneurs, managers, and policymakers should practice the concept of green and sustainability to attain maximum benefits from green intellectual capital to increase the sustainability business performance of their organizations.

This pioneering research produces a comprehensive theoretical model of green intellectual capital, supporting the current literature where similar works have been yet. This theoretical model will guide entrepreneurs and managers of SMEs to measure green intellectual capital in SMEs. Despite the significant contribution, this study offers insights to researchers, academicians and practitioners to mitigate environmental destruction and to achieve the sustainable business performance of SMEs in Malaysia and developing countries.

The study was initiated to test the relationship of social media site addiction on librarians' performance. Furthermore, the study also tested the mediating role of task distraction and moderating role of effective self-control in aforesaid relationship.

This was an empirical study, and data for the research were collected through a standardized questionnaire from 503 librarians who were having Facebook accounts and are questionnaire developed through “Google Forms” and the link of the questionnaire was distributed using Facebook groups. Data was analyzed using descriptive analysis, correlation, Baron and Kenny's approach, and Normal Test Theory.

Results indicate that social media addiction is an important factor for that is reducing librarians' performance. At the same time task distraction also adds to negative impact of social media addiction on librarians' performance. However, effective self-control can reduce the negative impact of social media addiction on their performance.

This research has some important theoretical as well as practical implications for librarians, library management, and well as for policy makers and government.

Social media is commonly used for communication but when it becomes addiction, it can reduce the employees' performance. Most of existing researched focused on positive aspects of social media; only few researches explored the negative impacts of social media. The proposed relationship was never tested on librarians. This study filled this literature gap and proposed as well as empirically tested a model for evaluating negative impact of social media on librarians' performance.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of Islamic finance on women empowerment in Africa between the periods of 1975 and 2021.

This paper uses secondary data for 27 African countries obtained from the World Development Indicators, World Population Review and the Varieties of Democracy databases. Four dimensions of women empowerment, namely, economic, social, political and household, are considered while Islamic finance is proxied by a binary variable with 1 and 0 representing the presence and the absence of Islamic finance, respectively. The two-staged least square estimation technique is used to control for the problem of endogeneity.

This study revealed that Islamic finance positively affects women empowerment in Africa. Specifically, Islamic finance has positive and significant effects on women political empowerment, women economic empowerment and women social empowerment in Africa but nonsignificant effect on home empowerment. These effects are more pronounced in middle-income than in low-income countries and in countries with higher penetration rate of Islamic finance.

Policymakers should put in place the necessary mechanisms for the promotion of Islamic finance such as the enacting of laws that ensures the creation of full-fledged Islamic banks, encouraging research in Islamic finance and Islamic economics. These policies should equally be backed by the creation of some accompanying measures such as the abolition of social norms that limit women’s ability to take part in decision-making.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study involving an Africa continent-wide analysis of the effects of Islamic finance on women empowerment.

Video game streaming (VGS) is emerging as an extremely popular, highly interactive, inordinately subscribed and very dynamic form of digital media. Incorporated environmental elements, gratifications and user pre-existing attitudes in VGS, this paper presents the development of an extended model of uses and gratification theory (EUGT) for predicting users' behavior in novel technological context.

The proposed model was empirically tested in VGS context due to its popularity, interactivity and relevance. Data collected from 308 VGS users and structural equation modeling (SEM) was employed to assess the hypotheses. Multi-model comparison technique was used to assess the explanatory power of EUGT.

The findings confirmed three significant types elements in determining VGS viewers' engagement, including gratifications (e.g. involvement), environmental cues (e.g. medium appeal) and user predispositions (e.g. pre-existing attitudes). The results revealed that emerging technologies provide potential opportunities for new motives and gratifications, and highlighted the significant of pre-existing attitudes as a mediator in the gratification-uses link.

This study is one of its kind in tackling the criticism on UGT of considering media users too rational or active. The study achieved this objective by considering environmental impacts on user behavior which is largely ignored in recent UGT studies. Also, by incorporating users pre-existing attitudes into UGT framework, this study conceptualized and empirically verified the higher explanatory power of EUGT through a novel multi-modal approach in VGS. Compared to other rival models, EUGS provides a more robust explanation of users' behavior. The findings contribute to the literature of UGT, VGS and users' engagement.

This paper aims to measure the adoption of big data analytics (BDA) to achieve sustainability in services being offered in university libraries in Pakistan.

The study applied a unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) as a framework and used quantitative data collection and analysis method. In total, 246 university library professionals were surveyed using a questionnaire consisting of UTAUT factors. The gathered data were analyzed using partial least structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM).

The results showed that performance expectancy (PE), effort expectancy (EE) and social influence (SI) significantly impacted the behavioral intention (BI) to adopt BDA. Facilitating conditions (FCs) have a statistically significant influence on the adoption of big data in libraries, while BDA has a statistical influence on the sustainability of library services (SLS).

BDA assists libraries in making better decisions about demand-driven collection creation, library space management, usage tracking, and quality maintenance in routine and repetitive library tasks such as cataloging, indexing, archiving, administration, preservation and representation. BDA supports libraries in making more cost-effective, innovative, user-oriented services, resource transferring, social identity, resource utilization, healthier user experience, strategic planning, informed decision-making and state-of-the-art infrastructure.

The foundation of this study is based on information gathered from various sources and university libraries in Punjab to better understand the challenges associated with using BDA for the SLS in Pakistan.

Cash waqf is a powerful financial instrument that deals with the issue of liquidity constraints in waqf institutions. While there are several models of cash waqf operating in different countries, there is increasing demand for innovative cash waqf models, especially within the financial technology context. This paper aims to propose a practical alternative model of funding for waqf institutions using the concepts of crowdfunding and cash waqf.

This study evaluated the literature relevant to cash waqf models that have been implemented in different countries and proposed a new viable alternative model.

Results offer an alternative financing model, named crowdfunding cash waqf model, for waqf institutions to overcome monetary constraints and enable development projects to be completed.

The current study has important implications for both officials and relevant stakeholders. It is sought to bring better consistency between cash waqf donors, solving the liquidity problem faced by waqf institutions, enhancing the transparency of waqf institutions and their use of waqf funds, wealth circulation and financing businesses without interest-based loans (riba). By incorporating a crowdfunding and investment mechanism in the model, this method of collecting funds will assist governments in reducing their expenditure on waqf institutions and other social development programmes.

The proposed model differs from current methods of generating cash waqf, including those are also internet-based. The proposed model is devised to help waqf institutions achieve financial sustainability by including an investment mechanism in the model to sustain the development of waqf projects.

The paper investigates the dynamic relationship among the stock markets of South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation (SAARC) countries during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Daily time-series data of four SAARC countries: India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka, from February 13th, 2013 to March 31st, 2021 are used. The study considers stock prices prior to the blowout of COVID-19 and during the onset of the pandemic. The novel estimation procedure of the autoregressive distributed lag model is used while the results are also confirmed by post-estimation techniques.

The study confirms that the COVID-19 contagion has adversely influenced the stock returns of SAARC countries. The findings signify that the pattern of cointegration has significantly different regularities in the pattern of causality in the long run and short run during the COVID-19 crisis. Overall, the study revealed that the COVID-19 pandemic has weakened the dynamic connection among the stock markets of SAARC countries.

To dampen uncertainties generated by the COVID-19 pandemic, the authorities and central banks should be equipped with efficient strategies and guidelines to cope with the crisis created by the pandemic. Further, governments should focus on assuaging the panic faced by investors and enhancing the confidence of domestic as well as foreign investors. Further, the weakened integration of financial markets during the crisis offers opportunities for speculative and arbitrage gains for investors.

The research work is an innovative effort to analyze the impression led by COVID-19 on the SAARC stock markets integration.

Life experience in hot and arid areas of Iran has proved that in the transitional seasons (spring and autumn) in which the climate is not too hot, passive cooling systems such as windcatchers (baadgir) have functioned well. This paper intends to investigate the efficiency of a single-side windcatcher as a passive cooling strategy; the case study is the Bina House windcatcher, located in Khousf town, near Birjand city, Iran.

To achieve the aim, air temperature, relative humidity, wind data and mean radiant temperature were measured by the related tools over five days from September 23 to October 23. Then, the thermal performance of the windcatcher was examined by analyzing the effects of all these factors on human thermal comfort. Quantitative assessment of the indoor environment was estimated using DesignBuilder and its computational fluid dynamics (CFD) tool, a thermal comfort simulation method to compare the cooling potential of the windcatcher. Windcatcher performance was then compared with two other common cooling systems in the area: single-side window, and evaporative cooler.

The results showed that both windcatcher and evaporative cooler can provide thermal comfort for Khousf residents in the transitional seasons; but the difference is that an evaporative cooler needs to consume water and electricity power, while a windcatcher is a passive cooling system that uses clean energy of wind.

The present study, by quantitative study of single-side windcatchers in a desert region, measured the climatic factors of a historical house and compared it with thermal comfort criteria. Therefore, the results of field measurements were analyzed, and the efficiency of the windcatcher was compared with two other cooling systems, namely single-side ventilation and evaporative cooler, in the two seasons of summer and autumn (transition seasons).