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The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of investor confidence on mutual fund performance in two relatively vulnerable but leading emerging markets, India and Pakistan.

A pooled ordinary least squared (OLS) model is used to look at two alternative measures of investor confidence and test for the relationship between investor confidence and mutual fund returns. To check the robustness of the findings, the authors also implement two-stage least squares and generalized method of moments techniques to control for unobserved heterogeneity, simultaneity and dynamic endogeneity problems in the regressors.

The paper finds that the returns of mutual funds are positively associated with investor confidence and an interaction effect exists between investor confidence and persistence in performance. The paper also confirms that returns from mutual funds are associated with different fund characteristics such as fund size, turnover, expense, liquidity, performance persistence and the fund’s age. These findings remain robust to alternative model specifications and measures of investor confidence.

While the previous literature mainly focuses on mutual fund characteristics and the macroeconomic determinants of mutual fund returns, this paper demonstrates that investor confidence plays an important role in determining mutual fund performance. The authors attribute this finding to two relatively unique features of the emerging markets in the study. A lack of awareness of mutual funds as being a low-cost investment vehicle and the interplay of cultural and behavioral changes have prevented investor’s savings from being channeled into investment products, away from gold or property.

Despite its devastating nature, the COVID-19 pandemic has also catalyzed a substantial surge in the adoption and integration of technological tools within economies, exerting a profound influence on the dissemination of information among participants in stock markets. Consequently, this present study delves into the ramifications of post-pandemic dynamics on stock market behavior. It also examines the relationship between investors' sentiments, underlying behavioral drivers and their collective impact on global stock markets.

Drawing upon data spanning from 2012 to 2023 and encompassing major world indices classified by Morgan Stanley Capital International’s (MSCI) market and regional taxonomy, this study employs a threshold regression model. This model effectively distinguishes the thresholds within these influential factors. To evaluate the statistical significance of variances across these thresholds, a Wald coefficient analysis was applied.

The empirical results highlighted the substantive role that investors' sentiments and behavioral determinants play in shaping the predictability of returns on a global scale. However, their influence on developed economies and the continents of America appears comparatively lower compared with the Asia–Pacific markets. Similarly, the regions characterized by a more pronounced influence of behavioral factors seem to reduce their reliance on these factors in the post-pandemic landscape and vice versa. Interestingly, the post COVID-19 technological advancements also appear to exert a lesser impact on developed nations.

This study pioneers the investigation of these contextual dissimilarities, thereby charting new avenues for subsequent research studies. These insights shed valuable light on the contextualized nexus between technology, societal dynamics, behavioral biases and their collective impact on stock markets. Furthermore, the study's revelations offer a unique vantage point for addressing market inefficiencies by pinpointing the pivotal factors driving such behavioral patterns.

The purpose of this study is to discuss the Darcy–Forchheimer nanoliquid bio-convection flow by stretching cylinder/plate with modified heat and mass fluxes, activation energy and gyrotactic motile microorganism features.

The proposed flow model is based on flow rate, temperature of nanomaterials, volume fraction of nanoparticles and gyrotactic motile microorganisms. Heat and mass transport of nanoliquid is captured by the usage of popular Buongiorno relation, which allows us to evaluate novel characteristics of thermophoresis diffusion and Brownian movement. Additionally, Wu’s slip (second-order slip) mechanisms with double stratification are incorporated. For numerical and graphical results, the built-in bvp4c technique in computational software MATLAB along with shooting technique is used.

The influence of key elements is illustrated pictorially. Velocity decays for higher magnitude of first- and second-order velocity slips and bioconvection Rayleigh number. The velocity of fluid has an inverse relation with mixed convection parameter and local inertia coefficient. Temperature field enhances with the increase in estimation of thermal stratification Biot number and radiation parameter. A similar situation for concentration field is observed for mixed convection parameter and concentration relaxation parameter. Microorganism concentration profile decreases for higher values of bioconvection Lewis number and Peclet number. A detail discussion is given to see how the graphical aspects justify the physical ones.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, original research work is not yet available in existing literature.

The restrictive measures related to the COVID-19 pandemic put a halt to everything across the world. The global crisis hit every sphere of life. The mobility restrictive nature of the pandemic was a major blow to the travel, tourism and hospitality industry. For a country like Pakistan, with an unstable economy and struggling tourism, the pandemic served as ground zero. This chapter critically examines tourism dimensions in Pakistan and how it sustained the impact of various crises. It pays attention to the concepts of vulnerability, social and community resilience, and adaptive capacity to provide a theoretical understanding of the revival of tourism in Pakistan. It also considers the impact of COVID-led measures on the tourism industry and corresponding initiatives of the government. The chapter concludes by arguing that Pakistan should carefully monitor and assess the current debates on tourism policies and practices. The chapter suggests that the national tourism strategy should incorporate a mechanism that can address tourism in crises in addition to addressing the environmental, socio-cultural and economic impact of tourism.

This paper aims to deal with the heat transmission of Sutterby fluid-containing gyrotactic microorganism by incorporating non-Darcy resistance law. The mathematical modeling is based on nanoparticle concentration, energy, momentum and motile microorganism equations.

The governing nonlinear coupled equations are first rendered into nonlinear ordinary equations using appropriate transformation and are then solved analytically by using the optimal homotopy.

Graphical illustration of results depict the behavior of flow involved physical parameters on temperature, gyrotactic microorganism, concentration and velocity. Additionally, local Nusselt number and skin friction coefficient are computed numerically and validated through comparison with existing literature as a special case of proposed model. It is found that the temperature profile decreases by increasing values of Brownian-motion parameter and Prandtl number. An increase in thermophoresis parameter and Schmidt number results in decrease in concentration of nanoparticles. Bioconvection Peclet number corresponds to decreasing behavior of nondimensional gyrotactic microorganism field is observed. Finally, a comparison with the existing literature is made, and an excellent agreement is seen.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is reported for the first time.

This paper aims to investigate the effect of Powell–Eyring fluid induced by a stretched sheet. Heat and mass transfer under the influence of magnetic dipole over a stretching sheet are taken into account.

Nonlinear coupled governing equations are solved using the optimal homotopy asymptotic technique, and a computer software package BVPh 2.0 is used for numerical computations.

Impact of significant quantities is graphically examined. It is seen that the heat transfer deceases for higher values of viscous dissipation parameter, radiation parameter, Dufour number, whereas it increases for bigger values of Prandtl number. The numerical results have been validated through comparison with existing literature as a special case of proposed model and perceived that the Soret number has reining role to increase the rate of heat transfer.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is reported for the first time.

Due to a staggering growth rate in the recent past, halal products have attained a significant attention of marketers across countries. However, marketing practitioners seek to have detailed understanding of what drives consumers of different demographics towards this product category so as to better market and position themselves in the competitive landscape. Correspondingly, this study aims to provide insights into the Muslim women consumers’ halal cosmetics purchase behaviour and examines the variables (and their interplay) when purchasing such products.

The data for the study were collected through a self-administered questionnaire from 371 Muslim respondents from India. The data were analysed through structural equation modelling using AMOS 22.0 SEM software.

The findings of this study reveal that religious knowledge, religious commitment and halal certification(s) affect consumers’ actual purchase behaviour of halal cosmetics, which subsequently drives their repurchase intention. The findings further reveal a non-significant effect of religious orientation with both the actual purchase behaviour and repurchase intention towards halal cosmetics. Additionally, actual purchase behaviour of halal cosmetics is found to positively affect customers’ repurchase intentions.

Despite the recent growth of overall beauty industry, this particular segment of halal cosmetics has a huge potential given the phenomenal preference that Muslim consumers have shown in such niche. Therefore, this paper contributes towards examining the key factors influencing consumers purchase behaviour towards halal cosmetics in India that can be capitalized on.

Governing principles of the world countries' current foreign policies are based on nationalism and in the realization of this aspiration, human rights in other countries are less considered and demands of national interests on other issues are surpassed. Islam, in principle, is opposite to this approach. However, national interests are important in Islam, but Islam does not try to achieve this target at the price of destruction of other countries and rights violations of their peoples. The interests of Islam's government are based on expediency of humankind as a whole and in its foreign policy should be arranged in a way to fulfil this target. In this regards this paper aims to introduce the basic principles of foreign policy in Islam based on the Sufi standpoint.

Islam aims to improve humanities based on moralities and spiritualities. Some principles for reaching this goal based on Islamic Sufism standpoints are provided.

The paper reveals 32 principles.

Comparative research in other religions' Gnosticism will be helpful.

These principles can be used for applied debates in the field and ended with new international regulations.

Delicateness, truthfulness, and righteousness of Islamic Sufism may turn the attentions of scholars and researchers to this viewpoint, and a new set of regulations to be codified.

Political scientists have not touched the topic from a Sufi point of view. This paper brings this approach to a new challenging arena for those who are engaged in it.

This paper aims to present the effect of entropy generation on the unsteady flow of upper-convected Maxwell nanofluid past a wedge embedded in a porous medium in view of buoyancy force. Cattaneo-Christov double diffusion theory simulates the processes of energy phenomenon and mass transfer. Meanwhile, Brownian motion, thermophoresis and convective boundary conditions are discussed to further visualize the heat and mass transfer properties.

Coupled ordinary differential equations are gained by appropriate similar transformations and these equations are manipulated by the Homotopy analysis method.

The result is viewed that velocity distribution is a diminishing function with boosting the value of unsteadiness parameter. Moreover, fluid friction irreversibility is dominant as the enlargement in Brinkman number. Then controlling the temperature and concentration difference parameters can effectively regulate entropy generation.

This paper aims to address the effect of entropy generation on unsteady flow, heat and mass transfer of upper-convected Maxwell nanofluid over a stretched wedge with Cattaneo-Christov double diffusion, which provides a theoretical basis for manufacturing production.