This study examines the crucial role of digital marketing in promoting sustainable tourism in the villages of Bali. It adopts a mixed methods approach, using qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis. The qualitative data were obtained from semi-structured interviews with management teams who have experience in implementing digital marketing strategies for village tourism. The interviewees were selected using a purposive sampling technique. The quantitative data were gathered from questionnaires distributed to domestic tourists who visited the villages. The questionnaires measured the tourists’ perceptions of digital marketing as a tool for village tourism marketing. The study found that digital marketing plays a vital role in promoting tourism villages, as most tourists learned about the villages through online media. The study also identified five dimensions of digital marketing, namely website media, social media, search engines, email marketing, and online advertising, which have potential effects on the sustainability of tourism villages. The study conducted statistical tests to examine the effects of 20 indicators of digital marketing on village tourism marketing. The results showed that 16 indicators had a significant positive effect, while four indicators had no effect. These findings suggest that digital marketing is an effective way to market tourism villages and enhance their sustainability.

Through Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) on destination attractiveness characteristics at the country level, this study identifies attribute configurations in the pre- and post-pandemic period to analyze the changes and differences generated by an exogenous event (COVID-19). The results suggest that the destination attractiveness attributes work together, in multidimensional configurations, to increase leisure travel volume. We found an important change in pat-terns/configurations of attractiveness between the pre- and post-pandemic scenarios. Our findings suggest that the destination attributes may change in importance and valuation or disappear for some configurations. The conclusion has implications for the stakeholders related to the destination attractiveness development, showing possible patterns of tourism attributes to guide the action to improve the resilience in the tourism sector and recover these activities in a disaster scenario.

The research utilizes a comprehensive dataset from MENA-listed companies, capturing data from 2013 to 2022 to scrutinize the influence of capital structure (CapSt) level on corporate performance across 11 distinct countries. This study analyzed 6870 firm-year observations using a quantitative research method through static and dynamic panel data analysis. The primary analysis reveals a positive correlation between the CapSt ratio and company performance using fixed effects (FE) techniques. Hence, the preliminary results were re-examined and affirmed using a two-step system generalized method of moment (GMM) estimator to address potential endogeneity concerns. This finding aligns with most studies conducted in advanced countries, indicating a positive correlation between CapSt and corporate performance. Furthermore, it is also consistent with some research conducted in less-developed markets. This research argues that, in the MENA region, the advantages of debt, such as tax saving, may outweigh the potential financial distress cost. Furthermore, it offers insights into the monitoring role of CapSt in MENA-listed companies. We strengthen our research results by employing various methodologies and using alternative measures of accounting performance and controlling size, notably panel quantile regression analysis.

This study explores the intricate relationship between emotional cues present in food delivery app reviews, normative ratings, and reader engagement. Utilizing lexicon-based unsupervised machine learning, our aim is to identify eight distinct emotional states within user reviews sourced from the Google Play Store. Our primary goal is to understand how reviewer star ratings impact reader engagement, particularly through thumbs-up reactions. By analyzing the influence of emotional expressions in user-generated content on review scores and subsequent reader engagement, we seek to provide insights into their complex interplay. Our methodology employs advanced machine learning techniques to uncover subtle emotional nuances within user-generated content, offering novel insights into their relationship. The findings reveal an inverse correlation between review length and positive sentiment, emphasizing the importance of concise feedback. Additionally, the study highlights the differential impact of emotional tones on review scores and reader engagement metrics. Surprisingly, user-assigned ratings negatively affect reader engagement, suggesting potential disparities between perceived quality and reader preferences. In summary, this study pioneers the use of advanced machine learning techniques to unravel the complex relationship between emotional cues in customer evaluations, normative ratings, and subsequent reader engagement within the food delivery app context.

Africa has been fighting against colonialism and Eurocentrism for a long time in an attempt to reverse the regime of oppression and socio-economic marginalization and exploitation, and take back control of its cultural identity and right to self-determination. This adventure requires the recognition and revitalisation of indigenous arts, culture, and law—all of which have been subjugated and ignored during colonial rule. Ironically, the situation has not improved much by the dominating presence of post-independent neo-colonial structures and perpetuated Eurocentric phenomenon that have been ingrained into the socio-cultural and economic fabrics of the African state. This research explores the critical need for integrating science on African indigenous arts, culture, and legal systems, as a way of globalizing as well as revitalizing these elements, towards the ultimate emancipation of the continent from the vestiges of colonialism and Eurocentricism. Relying on the postcolonial, and indigenous knowledge systems theoretical frameworks, the study engages the ethnographic, collaborative and interdisciplinary research approaches, subjecting data obtained to thematic analysis. Underscoring the profound interconnectedness of science, indigenous arts, and cultural heritage, the study argues that combining scientific methods with indigenous African epistemology provides a powerful framework for advancing Africa’s true independence from the protracted legacies of colonialism and Eurocentrism. The research concludes that a holistic integration of these elements therefore, is indispensable for fostering a decolonized and inclusive approach to knowledge production, self-determination and sustainable development, against the background of the rich insights and sustainable practices embedded within the African cultural traditions. Ultimately, the research recommends that embracing and integrating science on indigenous epistemologies can propel Africa towards an emancipated, truly independent, and culturally affirming future, transcending the enduring legacies of colonialism and Eurocentrism.

The St. Peter Sandstone of the American Midwest is presented today in textbooks as a simple and unproblematic example of “layer-cake geology.” The thesis of this paper is that the very simplicity of St. Peter Sandstone has made it challenging to characterize. In widely separated states, the sandstone appeared under different names. Several theories about how it formed began to circulate. The story of the St. Peter is not only the story of the assemblage of a stratigraphic unit over a vast area during three centuries, but also the role the study of the provenance of this unit played in the development of sedimentology in the early twentieth century, research that was made all the more challenging by its “simple” mineralogy. Indeed, the St. Peter has been controversial since it was first described.