This study discusses prospects and challenges facing start-up entrepreneurs in language and culture-related tourist attractions in Lombok, Indonesia. Data were collected by observing the operations of tourism entrepreneurs and interviewing the owners, workers, clients, and authorities in the industry. The data were analyzed using a mixed method where tourism sales over one year of business experience were quantitatively analyzed and where prime causes leading to profits and losses were qualitatively explicated. The findings identify six prospective opportunities and five challenges in sustainably establishing language and culture-related tourist attractions as core entrepreneurial businesses. This study enriches our understanding of what micro and small entrepreneurs experience at the early stages of business start-ups and how they respond to uncertainties facing them. The study also provides readers with an understanding of the prospects and the challenges facing small tourist-related entrepreneurs in operations at early start-up stages and serves as a reminder to small businesses about the potential challenges in their business operations. The article also recommends viable management plans to refer to as contingency strategies for probable future challenges. Furthermore, this study attempts to fill a gap in the literature on start-up entrepreneurship in language and culture-related tourist attractions.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become a pivotal force in transforming the retail industry, particularly in the online shopping environment. This study investigates the impact of various AI applications—such as personalized recommendations, chatbots, predictive analytics, and social media engagement—on consumer buying behaviors. Employing a quantitative research design, data was collected from 760 respondents through a structured online survey. The snowball sampling technique facilitated the recruitment of participants, focusing on diverse demographics and their interactions with AI technologies in online retail. The findings reveal that AI-driven personalization significantly enhances consumer purchase intentions and satisfaction. Multiple regression analysis shows that AI personalization (β = 0.35, p < 0.001) has the most substantial impact on purchase intention, followed by chatbot effectiveness (β = 0.25, p < 0.001), predictive analytics (β = 0.20, p < 0.001), and social media engagement (β = 0.15, p < 0.01). Similarly, AI personalization (β = 0.30, p < 0.001), predictive analytics (β = 0.25, p < 0.001), and chatbot effectiveness (β = 0.20, p < 0.001) significantly influence consumer satisfaction. The hierarchical regression analysis underscores the importance of ethical considerations, showing that ethical and transparent use of AI increases consumer trust and engagement. Model 1 explains 45% of the variance in consumer behavior (R² = 0.45, F = 154.75, p < 0.001), while Model 2, incorporating ethical concerns, explains an additional 10% (R² = 0.55, F = 98.25, p < 0.001). This study highlights the necessity for retailers to leverage AI technologies ethically and effectively to gain a competitive edge, improve customer satisfaction, and drive long-term success. Future research should explore the long-term impacts of AI on consumer behavior and the integration of emerging technologies such as augmented reality and the Internet of Things (IoT) in retail.

Since the systematic approach of the processes and their interactions, the aim is to establish the configuration of a construction project for the housing of the Weenhayek indigenous people. Applied from the theoretical research of various authors on a group of methodologies, phases and tools for project management, through rational scientific methods, such as descriptive, analytical, comparative, analytical-synthetic, inductive-deductive, historical-logical, analogies, modeling, systemic-structural-functional, systematization; and empirical methods, such as interpretivism that involves inductive, qualitative, phenomenological and transversal research, and the interview technique; the way in which the implementation processes are organized, interacted and structured is established. This reveals an alternative for the detailed configuration of a construction project for Weenhayek houses, based on phases, activities, actions and work tasks with characteristics in accordance with the needs of the project.

The proposed scientific article aims to analyze the application of Lean Six Sigma in the food industry. To this end, a detailed methodology has been designed that ranges from the selection of the works to the synthesis and presentation of the results obtained. The methodology is based on rigorous inclusion criteria to ensure the relevance and quality of the selected sources, including books, academic articles, theses, and other relevant documents. Through extensive searches of academic databases and other reliable sources, key works were identified that specifically address the implementation of Lean Six Sigma in the context of food production. Once the relevant papers were collected, a critical analysis was conducted to identify common themes, trends, and key findings. The works were classified according to their main focus, such as process improvement, waste reduction, supply chain optimization and food safety assurance. This categorization allowed the information to be organized in a coherent way and to facilitate the synthesis of the results. The results obtained were presented in a table that included details about each selected work, such as title, author, year of publication, abstract and links to the original source. This structured and rigorous approach provides a clear and comprehensive view of the topic, contributing to the advancement of knowledge in this area and offering practical guidance for practitioners and researchers interested in the application of Lean Six Sigma in the food industry. The literature on Lean Six Sigma in the food industry highlights its importance in improving efficiency, quality, and safety. Key recommendations include gradual implementation, appropriate training, focus on quality, and continuous improvement.

The PPP scholarly work has effectively explored the material values attached to PPPs such as efficiency of services, value for money and productivity, but little attention has been paid to procedural public values. This paper aims to address this gap by exploring how Enfidha Airport in Tunisia failed to achieve both financial and procedural values that were expected from delivering the airport via the PPP route, and what coping strategies the public and private sectors deployed to ameliorate any resultant value conflicts. Based on the analysis of Enfidha Airport, it is argued that PPP projects are likely to fail to deliver financial and procedural values when the broader institutional context is not supportive of PPP arrangements, and when political and security risks are not adequately counted for during the bidding process.

The US Infrastructure Investment and Job Act (IIJA), also commonly referred to as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill, passed in 2021, has drawn international attention. It aims to help to rebuild US infrastructure, including transportation networks, broadband, water, power and energy, environmental protection and public works projects. An estimated $1.2 trillion in total funding over ten years will be allocated. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill is the largest funding bill for US infrastructure in the recent history of the United States. This review article will specifically discuss funding allocations for roads and bridges, power and grids, broadband, water infrastructure, airports, environmental protection, ports, Western water infrastructure, electric vehicle charging stations and electric school buses in the new spending of the Infrastructure Investment and Job Act and why these investments are urgently necessary. This article will also briefly discuss the views of think tank experts, the public policy perspectives, the impact on domestic and global arenas of the new spending in the IIJA, and the public policy implications.