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This study aims to explore the perception of students from conflicted groups studying nursing together regarding the intergroup encounter. Specifically, this study focused on Jewish and Arab students in a nursing undergraduate program at an Israeli college. This study focused on the association between two factors [students’ cultural intelligence (CQ) level and their satisfaction with the support provided by the college] and the degree of closeness or social interaction Arab and Jewish students experience.

Accordingly, 362 students completed three anonymous questionnaires during December 2022, focused on (1) CQ (2) satisfaction with the academic setting and (3) experience of intergroup social interaction.

The results revealed that (1) Arab students (minority group) demonstrated higher CQ than Jewish students, especially regarding awareness of cultural differences and motivation for intercultural encounters. (2) Arab students experienced the intergroup encounter with Jewish students as closer and warmer than Jewish students did. (3) Despite being a minority group in Israel, Arab students’ satisfaction with the college’s support was higher than that of Jewish students. (4) Satisfaction with the support provided by the college was the main factor associated with the sense of social interaction, having a higher correlation with it than the degree of CQ.

Fostering CQ through curricula alone is insufficient in shaping intergroup experiences of students studying together in a divided society. To encourage social interaction between students in academia in divided societies, educational institutions need to ensure their students’ sense of support is high.

This paper investigates the global financial integration of the Gulf Cooperation Council markets, which is important for financial economists, global investors and policymakers.

The first step is to estimate a benchmark one-factor model and multifactor models over the entire sample period to obtain the time-invariant global integration estimates for the Gulf Cooperation Council markets. Because the global integration of the Gulf Cooperation Council markets may be time varying, the second step is to use 24-month rolling regressions to estimate the time-varying integration estimates. To explicitly test for structural breaks in global integration, this study applies a supremum Wald test to endogenously search for structural breaks.

Empirically, consistent evidence suggests that the Gulf Cooperation Council markets are increasingly integrated with international equity markets at different levels of financial development and from different regions. However, compared to other emerging and frontier markets, the global integration of the Gulf Cooperation Council markets is still relatively low, suggesting that these markets still offer significant diversification benefits for global investors.

This study contributes to the literature by systematically investigating the global integration of the Gulf Cooperation Council markets with monthly data (to account for the gradual information diffusion in international equity markets) and a longer sample period (to more robustly identify the trend in the global integration).

The aim of the study is to capture consumers' conceptualization of ethnic food and ethnic restaurants, focusing on what it takes for ethnic restaurants to be perceived authentic.

Qualitative research, based on semi-structured in-depth interviews which were transcribed and subjected to inductive thematic analysis.

The findings conceptualize what ethnic food and ethnic-authentic restaurant are, leading to formulating the criteria that authentic ethnic restaurant should meet.

Findings have practical implications for restaurateurs interested in establishing themselves as ethnically authentic and for businesses focusing on ethnic food. This study was based on Israeli-Jewish participants; studies with other populations will contribute to the findings' trustability.

This study provides novel and critical insights into ethnic restaurant managements and to the customer conceptualization of the concept of ethnic authentic, demonstrating it being a multifaceted concept.

The purpose of this paper is to meet Ros Ben-Moshe, a cancer survivor – or rather thriver – and lecturer in positive psychology at La Trobe University, describes how she uses laughter to boost levity and mental health.

This case study is divided into two parts: an autoethnographic life story of Ros Ben-Moshe, followed by 10 questions and answers.

Regular laughter is an enjoyable way to stimulate the feel-good chemicals dopamine, oxytocin, serotonin and endorphins. A laughter mindset is an important tool for overall wellbeing. It can help build connections and re-frame negative situations.

This is a personal narrative and gives the perspective of one person who harnessed the benefits of laughter following a cancer diagnosis.

Laughter can be used strategically to reset our internal mindset and prime ourselves towards optimal mental health and wellbeing, even while struggling with serious health issues. Research into how and when to prescribe laughter for mental health and overall wellbeing is therefore of interest.

Social laughter is important and rewarding. For those anxious about social laughter, finding people to laugh with who do not judge you is recommended, as are affirmations to lessen anxiety.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first case study and interview with a cancer survivor on the topic of laughter, cancer and mental health.

A pronounced rise in postpandemic immigration is creating consumption opportunities and challenges for countries worldwide. Past research has shown that immigrant homeownership indicates advanced consumer acculturation. However, critical factors which differentiate immigrant decisions to purchase a home remain underexplored. This study aims to examine the importance of different identity resources in determining homeownership gaps between immigrant groups in Spain during a dynamic decade.

A mixed methods research design with triangulation was used. First, the critical “historical research method” is used to empirically assess 15,465 household-level microdata files from the National Immigrant Survey of Spain. Second, the analysis is corroborated through informant interviews, an evaluation of digital news archives and other historical traces such as relevant advertisements in Spain from 2000 to 2009.

Results provided an account of immigrant homeownership whereby foreign-born consumers leveraged resources to promote social identities aligned with an advanced level of acculturation through housing investment during this period. Furthermore, marketing focused on specific targets of ethnic minority consumers coupled with government policies to promote immigrant homeownership reinforced the “Spanish Dream” as a new paradigm for housing market integration.

Spain provides an unprecedented historical context to explain marketing-related phenomena due to a perfect storm of immigration, job availability and integration supports. Contrary to popular wisdom, immigrant consumer homeownership gaps are not solely a result of differences in income and economic mobility, but rather an advanced acculturation outcome driven by personal and social investments in resources that lead to consumer identities.

This study employs firm-level data to evaluate how the knowledge economy impacts the financing constraints of businesses across 106 low- and middle-income nations, focusing on the influence of technological transformation on corporate financing choices.

The research centers on privately held, unlisted firms and examines the distinct effects of knowledge at both the within-country and between-country levels using a panel dataset. Rigorous sensitivity and endogeneity analyses are conducted to ensure the reliability of the findings.

The findings indicate that greater levels of the knowledge economy correlate with reduced financing constraints for firms. However, this effect varies depending on the location within a country and across different geographical regions. Firms situated in larger urban centers and more innovative regions reap the most significant benefits from the knowledge economy when seeking external funding. Conversely, firms in smaller cities, rural areas and regions characterized by structural and institutional inefficiencies in knowledge generation experience fewer advantages.

The impact of knowledge exhibits variability not only within and among countries but also between poor and affluent developing nations, as well as between larger and smaller countries. The knowledge effect on firms' access to external finance is influenced by factors such as financial openness and development, educational quality, technological absorption capabilities and agglomeration conditions within each country.

This study investigates the role of market concentration and efficiency in banking system stability during the COVID-19 pandemic. We empirically test the hypothesis that market concentration and efficiency are significant determinants of bank performance and stability during the time of crises, using a sample of 575 banks in 20 countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).

The main sources of bank data are the BankScope and BankFocus (Bureau van Dijk) databases, World Bank development indicators, and official websites of banks in MENA countries. This study combined descriptive and analytical approaches. We utilize a panel dataset and adopt panel data econometric techniques such as fixed/random effects and the Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) estimator.

The results reveal that market concentration negatively affects bank profitability, whereas improved efficiency further enhances bank performance and contributes to the banking sector’s overall stability. Furthermore, our analysis indicates that during the COVID-19 pandemic, bank stability strongly depended on the level of market concentration, but not on bank efficiency. However, more efficient banks are more profitable and stable if the banking institutions are Islamic. Similarly, Islamic banks with the same level of efficiency demonstrated better overall financial performance during the pandemic than their conventional peers did.

The main limitation is related to the period of COVID-19 pandemic that was covered in this paper (2020–2021). Therefore, further investigation of the COVID-19 effects on bank profitability and risk will require an extended period of the pandemic crisis, including 2022.

This study provides information that will enable bank managers and policymakers in MENA countries to assess the growing impact of market concentration and efficiency on the banking sector stability. It also helps them in formulating suitable strategies to mitigate the adverse consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. Our recommendations are useful guides for policymakers and regulators in countries where Islamic and conventional banking systems co-exist and compete, based on different business models and risk management practices.

The authors contribute to the banking stability literature by investigating the role of market concentration and efficiency as the main determinants of bank performance and stability during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study is the first to analyze banking sector stability in the MENA region, using both individual and risk-adjusted aggregated performance measures.

This study aims to develop a theoretical model that uses the decision-making theory in a financial intermediation setting to provide insights into the differences between the outcomes of the decision-making process for a bank and for a peer-to-peer (p2p) lending platform to explain the role of p2p lending versus bank lending in the credit market.

This study develops a novel approach to explaining the differences between p2p lending and bank lending by using the decision-making theory. In particular, it analyzes the likelihood of a risky borrower being able to obtain a loan from a p2p lending platform versus the likelihood of being able to obtain a loan from a bank. The results contribute a theoretical understanding of factors that can determine the role of p2p lending platforms versus that of banks in the credit market, with implications for recovery from an economic crisis.

p2p lending platforms have the potential for contributing to economic recovery when they are subject to less regulations and are able to offer a faster and less costly lending process than do banks and when they are used by a large number of lenders. However, the potential role of p2p lending platforms in recovery might be reduced when banks have access to anticyclical measures that reduce banks’ capital requirements or provide them with low-cost funds.

This study provides a novel approach to explaining the differences between p2p lending and bank lending by using the decision-making theory. The results contribute a theoretical understanding of factors that can determine the role of p2p lending platforms versus that of banks in the credit market.

This study aims to investigate the moderating role of corporate governance (CG) on the relationship between credit risk (CRs) and financial performance (FP) of banks listed in the Palestine Securities’ Exchange (PEX) and Amman Securities’ Exchange (ASE).

This study used a hypothesis-testing research design to collect data from the annual reports of 21 banks listed on (PEX) and (ASE). Secondary data, annual reports and disclosures were used between from 2009 to 2019. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used, along with correlation analysis to evaluate linear relationships between variables. Data was collected based on panel data, the VIF was used to test multicollinearity and binary logistic regression was used to develop the research model.

The regression results showed the association between CR and firm performance depends on the measurement of each factor applied. The results showed mixed results between loans to total assets (LTA) and nonperforming loans to total loans (NPLs) with FP. LTA has a significant and positive effect on TOBINSQ and return on equity (ROE), but an insignificant and positive effect on return on assets (ROA). On the other hand, NPLs have a significant and negative effect on ROA, whereas NPLs have a weak and positive effect on TOBINSQ. However, there is an insignificant and positive effect of NPLs on ROE. Moreover, the results demonstrated that CG moderated the relationship between CRs and FP of banks. The practical contribution of this paper, for bank policymakers and authorities, the study’s implications are noteworthy. Understanding the varied impacts of different CR measures on FP can help regulators and policymakers design more tailored and effective risk management frameworks for banks.

This study had limitations that future research might be able to address. First, the small size of the sample used in the study included 21 banks listed on the PEX and ASE. Likewise, the ASE and PEX are considered developing stock exchanges, so the results of this study may differ from those of other stock exchanges. Second, only CRs were considered in this study when examining the association between the profitability of Palestinian banks and ASE. Other studies can be undertaken on other nonfinancial risks, such as operational risk, to measure the differences between them and examine their effects on the profitability of Palestinian and Jordanian banks. Other studies might be performed to compare CRs and its impact on profitability in Palestinian and Jordanian banks with those in other Western and Eastern banks. Furthermore, in addition to TOBINSQ, ROA and ROE, researchers can use other financial indicators to measure profitability. This will contribute to substantiating the present study’s findings.

Although several studies have examined the relationship between CRs and FP in developed and developing countries, the results have been mixed. However, this study is one of the few studies that examined the moderating role of CG in association with CRs and FP, especially on Palestinian and Jordanian contexts. Finally, the findings offer policymakers and practitioners of Palestinian and Jordanian contexts.

This research aimed to find out both direct and mediating relationships between the fear of COVID-19 (FC) and the usage of digital financial services (UDFS) via mediator financial anxiety (FA). It also attempted to ascertain the moderated effect of education of small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) owners (ESO), i.e. business degree holders (BDH) vs nonbusiness degree holders (NBDH), in the relationship between FC and the UDFS.

This research employed a simple random sampling technique. In total, 387 complete responses were collected from Pakistani SMEs. The complete analysis was performed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) 23, AMOS 24, Process Marco 4.1, and Interaction 1.7.

According to the findings, FC leads to UDFS and FA mediates this relationship. Additionally, the findings show that the ESO between FC and UDFS was moderated. However, conditional analysis shows that BDH-SME owners strengthened the moderated relationship between FC and UDFS compared to NBDH-SME owners, who did not show any relationship.

Policymakers might use the study's findings to promote business education, which has been recognized as essential for making sound financial decisions. Finally, because the study is cross-sectional, the authors are unable to draw definitive generalizations.

The key novelty of this research work lies in the inclusion of FA as a mediator and the education of SME owners as a moderator in understanding the relationship between FC and the UDFS. This study illuminated the positive aspects of the COVID-19 epidemic based on the theory of emotional finance, risk avoidance theory and theories of emotion.