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The purpose of the paper is to challenge and address the limitations of the traditional system of knowledge production that is embedded in disaster and climate change research studies, and research studies in general. It argues that knowledge production in research processes conforms to colonialist thinking or west-inspired approaches. Such a system often results in the omission of crucial information due to a lack of participation, inclusion and diversity in knowledge production.

The paper proposes practices and recommendations to decolonise knowledge production in disaster and climate change research studies, and research studies in general. It provides a brief literature review on the concepts of decolonisation of knowledge and epistemological freedom, and its origins; assesses the need for knowledge decolonisation, emphasising on the integration of local knowledge from grassroots women-led initiatives in instances where disasters and crises are being investigated in vulnerable communities, especially in the Global South; and finally the paper proposes to decolonise knowledge production through activating co-learning and co-production. The practices have been developed from the work of relevant authors in the field and case studies.

Through a brief literature review on previous discourses on the topic of knowledge decolonisation and analysis of recent case studies on disaster and crisis management and community resilience, the paper finds that there exists a lack of pluralism and inclusion in epistemology which limits the pursuit to obtain the whole truth in the production of knowledge in research studies.

This paper adds to the discussion of decolonisation of knowledge in the field of disaster and climate change research studies, and research processes in general. It provides in-depth analyses of recent case studies of emerging community resilience and local practices that were crucial in the face of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) crisis.

This study aims to assess mental health literacy (MHL) in the general population using six case vignettes related to depression, mania, psychosis, conversion disorder (CD), obsessive compulsion disorder (OCD) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Each vignette had nine items related to MHL. The sample comprised 4,590 young adults conveniently selected from twin cities in Pakistan. Participants’ responses were converted into percentages and percentiles to find MHL levels.

The men had moderate MHL in depression and inadequate MHL in the remaining five illnesses. The women had adequate MHL in depression and moderate MHL in mania, psychosis, OCD and PTSD while inadequate in CD. Comparing item-wise understanding, the participants had an adequate understanding of identifying the illness, who could suffer and whether the illness was treatable. However, they struggled with naming the illness, knowing about it and how to treat and identify the person who can treat it.

The findings of this study are helpful for mental health professionals, policymakers and individuals who identify the target areas for engagement and improving MHL in the general population.

This study provides data about MHL related to six mental illnesses, unlike previous studies focusing on a few illnesses. This study recommends awareness sessions, community workshops and engaging social and electronic media for improving MHL and seeking help from relevant health professionals for mental illnesses instead of spiritual healers and witchcraft.

This study examines the roles of retail experience quality dimensions, customers’ in-shop emotion valence and in-shop involvement valence in shaping the holistic retail customer experience.

We conducted a total of 25 interviews with customers who have used services at non-fuel retail stores in Malaysia, commonly known as tuckshops, which are located adjacent to fuel stations. The data were analyzed using thematic analysis, which led to the identification of key themes and categories that informed the development of our conceptual framework.

This study identifies three dimensions of retail experience quality: physical surroundings experience quality, interaction experience quality and service innovation experience quality. These dimensions, which were previously unexamined, are shown to influence customer evaluations based on their interactions with the retail environment, employees and digital applications. Additionally, the study finds that these dimensions impact customers’ emotions and involvement valence, suggesting that even with negative experiences, high involvement and overall positive perceptions can still occur.

This study contributes to the literature in several ways. First, it identifies key retail antecedents that shape how customers interact with, interpret and evaluate the quality of their retail experiences. Second, it examines the complex nature of customers’ in-store emotions and involvement valence, highlighting the coexistence of positive and negative emotions in certain retail contexts. Third, the study offers practical insights for retail firms, urging them to adopt a holistic approach in addressing customer emotions and involvement across diverse retail service channels.

The study introduces new dimensions of retail experience quality and develops a framework linking these dimensions to customer emotions and involvement valence. Unlike previous research that has focused on either positive or negative aspects in isolation, this study offers a comprehensive view of how mixed emotions and involvement can impact the overall retail experience. It provides both theoretical insights and practical guidance for creating more balanced and engaging retail experiences.

This study aims to investigate risks associated with climate change vulnerability and in response the adaptation methods used by farming communities to reduce its negative impacts on agriculture in Pakistan.

The study used household survey method of data collection in Charsadda district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, involving 116 randomly selected respondents.

Prevalent crops diseases, water scarcity, soil fertility loss and poor socio-economic conditions were main contributing factors of climate change vulnerability. The results further showed that changing crops type and cultivation pattern, improved seed varieties, planting shaded trees and the provision of excessive fertilizers are the measures adapted to improve agricultural productivity, which may reduce the climate change vulnerability at a household level.

The major limitation of this study was the exclusion of women from the survey due to religious and cultural barriers of in Pashtun society, wherein women and men do not mingle.

Reducing climate change vulnerability and developing more effective adaptation techniques require assistance from the government. This help can be in the form of providing basic resources, such as access to good quality agricultural inputs, access to information and extension services on climate change adaptation and modern technologies. Consultation with other key stakeholder is also required to create awareness and to build the capacity of the locals toward reducing climate change vulnerability and facilitating timely and effective adaptation.

This original research work provides evidence about farm-level vulnerability, adaptation strategies and risk perceptions on dealing with climate-change-induced natural disasters in Pakistan. This paper enriches existing knowledge of climate change vulnerability and adaptation in this resource-limited country so that effective measures can be taken to reduce vulnerability of farming communities, and enhance their adaptive capability.

The purpose of this study is to discern the underlying dimensions of destination branding and social media in the socio-geographical context of Pakistan. The study while selecting an event – Pakistan Tourism Summit 2019 – has explored the narratives of foreign social media influencers (SMIs). These narratives and content of tourism website of Pakistan have been comparatively analyzed to disentangle the voluntary and involuntary branding eventualities.

Qualitative research strategy has been adopted. Using the interface of NVivo 12, thematic analysis on the narratives of foreign influencers and content of tourism website has been performed. Eventually, influencer’s videos and website’s content have been transcribed and integrated into inductive themes.

The findings implies that multiple halt points exist in tourism branding of Pakistan. Stigmatized image as a dangerous place for visitation, superficial/exaggerated branding by the influencers, colonial mindset to marginalize the domestic influencers, domestic branding through foreign influencers and veiled tourism potential are the various dimensions emerged during analysis phase.

Given the limitations of the qualitative research approach, the current study lacks statistical avenues of quantitative or mix-method studies. Selection of a single event and website further limits this study and calls for the necessity of future studies having wider units of data collection and other portals of social media.

For policy makers, academia and supply sector, this study offers touchpoints to be emphasized in the strategic, legal and theoretical fronts of destination branding.

Despite the hegemony of SMIs in destination branding, there is scarcity of research on the paybacks of such branding campaigns. This endeavor in response to this call, accentuated the destination branding via foreign social media activists regarding the tourism potential of Pakistan. Findings provides novel insights and branding ethos deemed necessary to be considered in destination branding strategies/campaigns.

Marketing theory and practice is under severe criticism – socialists and the practitioners criticize marketing in its current form which calls for active efforts by marketers to reposition the discipline – making it beneficial to the masses. The Western world is thoroughly investigated based on the opinions of public regarding marketing as a discipline. However, studies which present a non-Western consumer’s attitudes toward the role of marketing in a society are scant. This purpose of this study is to encapsulate Pakistani consumers’ understandings and attitudes toward marketing with an emphasis on their perceptions of the ethicality and transformative power of the discipline.

A purposive convenience sample of 40 professionals with diverse non-marketing backgrounds and of the widest possible demographic profile participated in in-depth, unstructured interviews. The content analysis and grounded theory method were used for the analysis.

Marketing is appreciated for creating product awareness and, occasionally, combating social problems, but this positive image is clouded by severely criticizing it for promoting materialism, being irritatingly pervasive and pushy, as well as for using unethical and unfair practices.

The study offers a valuable insight into the discipline’s performative and social legitimation in a fast-growing Asian economy. The authors recommend paths for a positive repositioning of the discipline that will improve its public image and enhance its potential for being recognized as a force for positive social change.

Further to enhancing our understanding of consumer attitudes toward marketing, this paper’s value lies in it being the first ever exploration of the developing country perspective. Most importantly, it contributes to a debate that could enlighten the much-needed repositioning of marketing as a discipline to make it useful for masses.

This study attempts to come in help for Morocco by investigating rigorously the linkage between environmental degradation, measured by ecological footprint (EF), and the gross domestic product growth (EG), the human capital (HC) index and the natural resources (NR) depletion over the period of 1980:Q1 to 2021:Q1. The paper examines the validity of environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis in the Moroccan context.

Unlike previous studies, which are based only on the autoregressif dynamic linear (ARDL) model, this paper investigates two recent models: the novel DYNARDL simulation approach and the Kernel-based regularized least squares (KRLS) technics and uses in addition the frequency domain causality (FDC) test.

Models output say a significant and negative association between HC and the EF and a significant and positive interplay between economic growth and environmental quality in the long term. In the short term, findings reveal a significant and negative association between NR and the EF. Based on the FDC test, results conclude about a unidirectional causality from NR to the EF in short-, medium-, and long-term. Moreover, results validate the EKC hypothesis for the Moroccan environment sustainability.

In this study, the researchers use the “ecological footprint” as dependent variable to obtain more accurate and comprehensive assessment of environmental deterioration. Based on time series data investigations, this study is the first paper, which validates the EKC hypothesis and develops important policy implications for Morocco context to achieve sustainable development targets.

This study aims to examine the nexuses between economic growth, trade openness, renewable energy consumption and environmental degradation among organization of petroleum exporting countries (OPEC) members over the period 1990–2019.

The empirical strategy for the study includes dynamic heterogeneous panel pooled mean group (PMG), mean group (MG) estimators and dynamic panel threshold regression (TR) analysis. For clarity, PMG and MG are used to explore the long-run relationship between the variables, whereas TR is used to uncover the actionable and complementary policy thresholds in the nexuses between green growth and environmental degradation.

The empirical evidence is based on the significant estimates from PMG and TR. First, using PMG, the study finding revealed a long-run relationship between economic growth and environmental degradation via the PMG estimator. Second, using TR, the study revealed an actionable threshold for carbon dioxide emissions (CO₂) metrics tons per capita (mtpc) not beyond a critical mass of 4.88mtpc, and the complementary policy threshold of 85% of the share of trade to gross domestic product, respectively.

The policy relevance of the thresholds is apparent to policymakers in the cartel and for policy formulation. The policy implication of this study is straightforward.

The novelty of this study stalk in the extant literature on providing policymakers with an actionable threshold for CO₂ emissions with the corresponding complementary threshold for trade policies in the nexuses between green growth and the environment.

Energy consumption in existing office buildings has been growing in parallel with the rise in occupant energy demand. As a result, many building owners have given smart retrofits (SRs) a higher priority. However, the utilisation of suitable SRs from a range of SRs has become a challenging task. The purpose of this paper is to develop a decision-making model to select the most suitable SRs for conventional office buildings and form a set of benchmarks for assessing the performance of SRs.

A qualitative approach with six case studies was used. Content analysis was carried out using NVivo to explore the factors considered for the selection of SR techniques. A decision-making model for selecting SRs in Sri Lankan office buildings was proposed. SR performance benchmarks were developed by referring to established standards and studies done in tropical office buildings.

Out of 18 identified SRs from literature, fan cycling, ventilation control and LED luminaires have been recognised as commonly used SRs in Sri Lankan office buildings. Analysis showed that HVAC retrofits saved more energy, while lighting retrofits could be easily implemented in existing buildings. The proposed decision-making model can explore further improvements to enhance the performance of SRs.

The selection of SRs is a comprehensive decision-making process. Metrics were established to benchmark the performance of SRs. The proposed model offers a tool for building owners and facility managers to optimise facility operations.