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The purpose of this paper is to investigate the availability of embedded metadata within images of digital cultural collections. It is designed to examine a proposed hypothesis that most digitally derived images of cultural resources are stripped of their metadata once they are placed on the web.

A sample of 603 images were selected randomly from four cultural portals which aggregate digitized cultural collections, then four steps in the data collection process took place to examine image metadata via the web-based tool and windows application.

The study revealed that 28.5 percent of the analyzed images contained metadata, no links exist between image embedded metadata and its metadata record or the pages of the websites analyzed, and there is a significant usage of Extensible Metadata Platform to encode embedded metadata within the images.

The findings of the study may encourage heritage digital collection providers to reconsider their metadata preservation practices and policies to enrich the content of embedded metadata. In addition, it will raise awareness about the potential and value of embedded metadata in enhancing the findability and exchange of digital collections.

This study is ground breaking in that it is one of the early studies, especially in the Arab world, which aim to recognize the use of image embedded metadata within cultural heritage digital collections on the web.

This study aims to investigate the role of cognitive processing – driven by hedonism, emotional experiences and nostalgia – in enhancing destination evangelism and revisit intentions among virtual reality (VR) tourists. By addressing gaps in existing literature on VR tourism, it aims to provide insights into how cognitive engagement influences visitation and advocacy for destinations.

The research comprises two studies. Study 1 employs a within-subjects pre-post quasi-experimental design with 197 participants who completed the same survey measure before and after viewing a VR video of the Taj Mahal. Study 2 utilizes a mixed-methods approach, which included surveying 377 participants at popular hotels in Kashmir followed by conducting unstructured interviews with 24 respondents to gather qualitative insights. Data analysis includes paired-sample t-tests, structural equation modelling (SEM) and narrative content analysis.

Results of Study 1 reveal a significant change in both destination evangelism and revisit intentions following VR exposure, indicating VR exposure has a significant impact on creating destination evangelism and revisit intentions. Results of Study 2 indicate that nostalgia, hedonism and emotional experience influence cognitive processing, which in turn leads to destination evangelism and revisit intention. Further, results indicate that tourist engagement moderates the effect of cognitive processing on destination evangelism and revisit intention in a way that the positive effect of cognitive processing on both destination evangelism and revisit intention intensifies at higher levels of tourist engagement. Qualitative insights derived from interviews validate that VR experiences evoke strong emotional connections that foster advocacy and loyalty towards destinations.

These findings suggest that destination marketers should leverage VR technology to enhance tourists’ emotional engagement and evoke nostalgia, thereby cultivating stronger relationships with tourists. The study highlights the importance of cognitive processing in developing effective marketing strategies that encourage destination evangelism and repeat visitation.

This research fills a critical gap in the literature by examining the cognitive and emotional factors that drive tourist behaviour in VR contexts, specifically focusing on how these factors influence loyalty and advocacy. It contributes to the emerging discourse on metaverse tourism management, offering actionable insights for optimizing virtual destination experiences.

Previous studies have considered the presence of women directors on corporate boards and their impact on financial performance in isolation, disregarding their interaction with other corporate boards and firm-level attributes. Consequently, the results of such studies are largely inconclusive. This study addresses this gap by adopting a system’s approach to corporate governance characteristics and firm financial performance, rooted in a configurational approach.

The authors used fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis to investigate the association of outside executive women directors and family-affiliated executive women directors with financial performance in the presence of board and firm-level characteristics in 216 listed non-financial family firms in Pakistan over the period of 2014–2019.

The findings reveal that various configurations of board and firm characteristics lead to high financial performance, underscoring conjunction, equifinality and asymmetry. The authors note that, the presence of outside executive women directors on corporate boards is frequently associated with high financial performance compared to family-affiliated executive women directors. Additionally, results indicates that presence of either outside executive women directors, family-affiliated executive women directors or both on corporate board associates with low level of leverage and vice versa. Moreover, high proportion of independent directors, large board size and large firm size are frequently associated with high ROE and Tobin’s Q.

This study introduces a novel perspective by integrating board and firm-level characteristics using a configurational approach. Focusing on listed non-financial family firms, the study highlights the asymmetric association between women directors and financial performance, suggesting that their impact fluctuates based on their combination with other board- and firm-level attributes. The study’s findings challenge the notion of a one-size-fits-all approach to board gender diversity and call for a more contextual understanding of how different types of women directors contribute to firm performance in family firms.