No abstract

The metaverse promises an unimaginable future for digital travelers by enabling them to gain unique experiences (e.g., space travel) that would otherwise be impossible in non-virtual reality. Moreover, COVID-19 travel anxiety has triggered growing interest in virtual environments (e.g., metaverse travel) in the aftermath of the pandemic. The cost-conscious and tech-savvy behavior of travelers has been resurrected in the ‘new normal’; however, the fear of missing out (FOMO) is now dictating travelers’ choices for newness, immersive and rewarding travel experiences. To address these emerging trends, promising new technologies, and untested relationships, the present study explored the effects of COVID-19 travel anxiety on the readiness for metaverse space travel. In addition, the moderating influence of tech savviness and travel FOMO was tested on this relationship. Drawing on data of international expats (N = 386) in UAE, the finding based on structural equation modeling (SEM) revealed that the international expat’s readiness for metaverse space travel is positively influenced by their COVID-19 travel anxiety. Moreover, expats with high tendencies of travel FOMO and tech savviness will experience a stronger impact of COVID-19 travel anxiety on their readiness for metaverse space travel. These novel findings guided by prominent theories (e.g., self-determination, SOR, and protection motivation) offer new insights for policy makers and practitioners to strategically achieve digital-tourism transformation and sustainability through emerging and immersive metaverse technologies.

Using estimates of schooling demand function and private rate of return to education by gender derived from Household Integrated Economic Survey 2010-11, this paper attempts to examine if there is any dynamics to define a differential behaviour across gender in enrolment in Pakistan and if there is then what can be the possible cause of such discrepancies and how can they be reduced. The first set of analysis focuses on the estimates of probability of enrolment at primary, secondary and tertiary level of education by gender. Strong evidence for higher likelihood of enrolment emerges only at the secondary level of education when the gender is male. The behaviour of the determinants for these schooling demand functions at different levels of education differs by gender. One such key variable is parental education, which is more pronounced in case of mother’s education towards increasing the likelihood of enrolment of girls at the primary and secondary level and of father’s education for boys at all levels and girls at the tertiary level. Hence investing in female education today will not only empower females today but as a positive externality will also lead to gender equity in educational outcomes in the future. Besides this intergenerational externality of investment in female education, the finding establishes that when conditional cash programmes are targeted at mothers as a policy tool they become an effective measure in increasing current female enrolment. Moreover the case for reducing gender disparities in educational outcomes is further supported when we see how gender imbalance in educational attainment and female labour force participation lead to discrepancies in the private rate of return to education by gender. The varied estimates of private rate of returns to education for males and females show that such deviations arise because the females labour force on average is much less educated than males and hence if the object is to raise the rates of returns, a targeted policy for reducing gender differences in enrolment at all levels of education primary, secondary and tertiary will have to be implemented.

The purpose of this study is to understand how leader humility effectively stimulates follower creativity in the workplace during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) scenario. Relying on social cognitive and social information processing theories, this study investigates how leader humility cultivates follower self-efficacy and follower creativity. Furthermore, it explores an intervening mechanism of follower self-efficacy and examines a moderating role of leader proactive personality. The hypothesized model is empirically tested by collecting the data from 405 employees and 87 managers working in the banking sector of Pakistan. The results indicate that leader humility is positively related to follower self-efficacy and follower creativity, which improve the organization’s innovation climate and an environment for social sustainability. Follower self-efficacy is also significantly related to follower creativity. The mediation analysis shows that follower self-efficacy mediates the relationship between leader humility and follower creativity. Additionally, leader proactive personality moderates the relation between follower self-efficacy and follower creativity. This study highlights the importance of leader humility for creativity and extends the literature by explaining the role of self-efficacy. Furthermore, the findings may assist the policymakers in how a humble leader heightens employee creativity and social sustainability in COVID-19.

Although water insecurity has been discussed in general, its impacts on mothers’ physical and mental health, and infants’ and young children’s feeding (IYCF), has largely been ignored. This study explores household water insecurity experiences and their association with optimal health and nutrition of women and children in the Rajanpur district of Punjab Province. Using focus group discussions (FGDs) and key informants (KIIs) interviews from an area with high maternal-child malnutrition prevalence, a qualitative study was conducted to describe local experiences of water acquirement and arrangement, and of the consequences of water insecurity. The findings highlight that rural Western marginalized populations of the Rajanpur district rely on brackish, canal, or flood surface water as the water supply is absent, which intensifies mothers’ work burden and stress, and often makes them victims of violence, stigma, and sickness. Water fetching impacts women in unforeseen ways, impacting the psychosocial and physical health of mothers engaged in maternal breastfeeding. Water insecurity, originally rooted in regional disparities, compounds with gender inequities, which leads to maternal stress and child sickness. Justice in water resources is imperative and urgent in the deprived South of Punjab province for improving public health nutrition.