The article undertakes an exploration into the rather unexpected progressiveness exhibited by courts across the globe in bestowing protection upon LGBTQ rights. A three-pronged study, which encompasses an examination of the theoretical rationales, empirical investigations, and doctrinal underpinnings of the augmentation of LGBTQ rights in diverse locales, is executed. It is hypothesized that a prima facie paradox emerges, whereby LGBTQ rights have been safeguarded and advanced in an extraordinary fashion, while concurrently, a discernible general trend of deviation from liberal constitutionalism, rights safeguarding mechanisms, and the rule of law is observable in other arenas. This article scrutinizes this contention and discovers that it is substantiated by case law from various regions. Critical theory and Butler’s theory of performativity potentially offer the most cogent explanations for this paradox. They have led to the social embrace of LGBTQ rights, while simultaneously, the enactment or amplification of these rights even in illiberal states furnishes an effortless ‘triumph’ for illiberal political actors, which can be employed as a countermeasure against assaults on their liberal and democratic reputations.

The study investigates the impact of corporate gender diversity on dividend payouts in Asia-Pacific countries. The study used the data of 610 listed firms in the Asian Pacific region over eleven years, from 2006 to 2016, with 6710 observations. The regression results revealed that the representation of women on board and at least 30% on board positively relates to dividend payout. Board size and board independence have a significant negative relationship with dividend payouts. Overall, results suggest that gender diversity on corporate boards has a greater propensity to pay dividends in the mix of ownership structure, strong and weak corporate governance compliance, and horizontal agency conflict.

Urban mobility in Grand Lomé is affected by several negative externalities, including road congestion, insecurity and environmental pollution. Traffic jams cause considerable economic losses, estimated at more than 13,000 CFA francs per month for some public officials, and represent a financial drain of several million CFA francs per day on the Togolese economy. These challenges are accentuated by rapid urbanization and a dizzying increase in the number of vehicles, especially motorcycle taxis. These factors not only cause economic losses, but also to the deterioration of the quality of life of the inhabitants. On average, motorists lose up to 49.5 min per day in traffic jams, with fuel and time costs estimated at hundreds of thousands of CFA francs per year for each user of the main boulevards. Through an in-depth analysis of the impacts of these negative externalities on mobility and sustainable development, this study reveals that traffic congestion, combined with the lack of road infrastructure, generates considerable economic and environmental costs. These traffic jams also worsen air pollution, making the transport sector responsible for 80% of greenhouse gas emissions. These proposed solutions include: 1) The modernization of road infrastructure, culminating in the construction of new lanes entirely dedicated to public and non-motorized transport. 2) The regulation of motorcycle taxis, inspired by regional examples, to improve safety and efficiency. 3) The introduction of rapid transit systems, such as Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), to make travel more fluid. 4) The implementation of strict environmental standards and regular technical controls to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. These proposals aim to reduce social and economic costs, while promoting sustainable mobility and a better quality of life for residents.

The proposed research work encompasses implications for infrastructure particularly the cybersecurity as an essential in soft infrastructure, and policy making particularly on secure access management of infrastructure governance. In this study, we introduce a novel parameter focusing on the timestamp duration of password entry, enhancing the algorithm titled EPSBalgorithmv01 with seven parameters. The proposed parameter incorporates an analysis of the historical time spent by users entering their passwords, employing ARIMA for processing. To assess the efficacy of the updated algorithm, we developed a simulator and employed a multi-experimental approach. The evaluation utilized a test dataset comprising 617 authentic records from 111 individuals within a selected company spanning from 2017 to 2022. Our findings reveal significant advancements in EPSBalgorithmv01 compared to its predecessor namely EPSBalgorithmv00. While EPSBalgorithmv00 struggled with a recognition rate of 28.00% and a precision of 71.171, EPSBalgorithmv01 exhibited a recognition rate of 17% with a precision of 82.882%. Despite a decrease in recognition rate, EPSBalgorithmv01 demonstrates a notable improvement of approximately 14% over EPSBalgorithmv00.

The issue of virtue and happiness holds a crucial position in both Chinese traditional and Western philosophical systems, and to this day, it remains a hot topic of concern and discussion. The "Huainanzi" was written during the early Western Han Dynasty, mainly based on Taoist thoughts, incorporating various schools of thought to form its distinct theoretical system. It can be seen as a culmination of the traditional Chinese pre-Qin perspective on "virtue and happiness" holding significant research value. "Huainanzi" firmly believes that the ideal situation between virtue and happiness is and must be a consistent relationship.

This research study aims 1) to create a structural equation model for sports sponsorship of halal products in Thailand and 2) to examine the direct and indirect influence of variables that are components of the structural equation model for halal products, specifically in the context of becoming a sports sponsorship for halal products in Thailand. The study focused on a sample group of Thai Muslims interested in watching and following the news and participating in Thai sporting events. The researcher chose a sample size of 400 participants from this population, excluding backup data gathering and data analysis, to ensure the questionnaire’s quality and dependability. The results of the data analysis from the structural equation model created show that it is consistent with empirical data. The results of the statistical hypothesis test reveal that the level of religious adherence and the level of awareness of entering into sponsorship have both direct and indirect influences on consumer attitudes and purchase intentions with statistical significance at 0.01. It can also be identified that if a sponsor increases awareness among Muslim viewers through branding or product presentations in events that feature halal symbols or indicate compliance with religious standards, it will lead to a more positive attitude and higher purchase intentions. This insight can be applied to marketing promotion in administrative regions or countries where the majority of the population is Muslim.