The projected increase in the global probiotics market is driven by growing consumer awareness of gut health and the potential benefits of microbial supplements. However, the market currently exhibits a significant gap in probiotic yeast options, with Saccharomyces boulardii being the predominant probiotic yeast available. This limitation restricts diversity and potential tailored applications of alternative probiotic yeast strains. Pichia, a genus of yeast, has emerged as a promising candidate. This review explores the safety profile and probiotic attributes of Pichia strains, which collectively highlight its potential as an effective probiotic yeast. Evidence indicates that Pichia exhibits beneficial characteristics such as resilience in harsh gastrointestinal (GI) conditions, antimicrobial activity against pathogens, and immunomodulatory effects that could contribute to gut health. Additionally, the non-pathogenic nature of Pichia and its history of safe and wide use in food and beverage fermentation processes increases confidence in its safety for human consumption. Given its potential, Pichia may diversify the probiotic yeast market and present an alternative beneficial organism that may contribute to general health and well-being.

The efficient integration of young people into the global job market is fundamental to sustainable development, significantly impacting economic stability, social unity, and demographic benefits. This study examines the determinants of youth labour absorption across key economic sectors in South Africa. The study uses the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) model to analyse sector-specific time-series data. The empirical findings show that youth labour market outcomes are influenced by both macroeconomic and microeconomic factors, with varying effects across economic sectors. The identified key determinants of youth labour absorption include economic growth, skills levels, labour costs, capital- or labour-intensity, profitability, and investment. In the manufacturing sector, for example, a rising capital-to-labour ratio was identified as one of the key constraints on youth labour absorption, while relatively low labour costs supported youth labour absorption in the community and social services sector. These sector-specific insights highlight the necessity of differentiated policy responses. Accordingly, the study recommends targeted strategies to promote inclusive economic growth, bridge skills mismatches, and encourage investment in labour-intensive industries.

This paper examines differences in access to raw cotton markets between India and Japan in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. It argues that this differential access shaped the production strategies of their domestic textile industries, which, in turn, contributed to divergent outcomes in the long-run development of the same. In the period under study, raw cotton comprised 75–85 per cent of the total costs of production of yarn and 20–40 per cent of the total costs of finished textiles. The significance of access to the appropriate quality of raw cotton – expressed by its length, grade, and character – had more substantive implications than value shares suggest. Longer-stapled varieties of cotton were priced higher in global markets but would have compensated for these costs with gains in productivity, affecting the choice of longer-run technological adoption. These factors meant that textile industries with stable and cost-effective access to appropriate quality raw cotton were better equipped to deal with the vagaries and dynamism of competition that had by the end of the nineteenth century become entrenched in the global textile market. As different regions of the world specialised in the production of different cotton varieties, cotton manufacturing rested on a trade and commercial web that linked agrarian hinterlands with industrial centres of production. Ultimately, industrial textile production was reliant on the form and strength of trade organisation. I thus argue that this inter-relation between raw cotton markets, industrial strategies, and trade organisation was a significant factor in the differences in long-run development of the textile industries in India and Japan.

This paper analyzes the Impact of Oil Price Fluctuations on Saudi Arabia's Economic Growth: Strategies for Stability and Growth: Evaluating the Vision 2030 Initiative, It highlights how reliance on oil revenues makes the economy vulnerable to market volatility, impacting fiscal stability and growth prospects. The study analyzes key initiatives such as economic diversification, sovereign wealth funds, fiscal reforms, private sector promotion, renewable energy investments, and market stabilization measures. The Saudi economy is mostly pre-dominant to characterized by its heavy reliance on oil and gas. The study's primary objective is to analyze the economic impact of oil price fluctuation on Saudi Arabia. This also involves examining the data on oil price movement and its correlation as a key indicator to such GDP growth, the government's revenue, fiscal deficits and level of investment. The given study employs a primary qualitative method that explores the impact of oil prices and their fluctuation on Saudi Arabia’s economic growth and evaluation of Vision 2030 initiatives. The results show that a kingdom economy has traditionally been highly dependent on oil revenue, accounting for a substantial portion of its GDP and government budget. The Saudi economy is mostly pre-dominant to characterized through its heavy reliance on oil and gas. Findings suggest that while Vision 2030 has made significant progress toward reducing dependence on oil, ongoing challenges require sustained commitment to structural reforms and market flexibility to ensure resilient and sustainable economic growth in the face of global oil market fluctuations.

The new energy vehicle (NEV) industry is rapidly globalizing, driven by the worldwide push for decarbonization and proactive government policies. This has fostered a fiercely competitive landscape where continuous research and development and strategic agility are critical. Despite Tesla's first-mover advantage and technological prowess, it must navigate mounting pressures in this evolving market. This diagnostic analysis, applying the SWOT framework and 4P marketing theory, identifies a concerning rigidity in Tesla's strategic approach, manifesting as an overly standardized global marketing strategy and imprecise customer segmentation. It draws attention to Tesla's advantages in terms of financial strength, brand power, and technological innovation, but also its disadvantages in terms of high costs, a narrow focus on the market, and reliance on the supply chain. Global environmental regulations, entering the mid-to-low-end market, and utilizing AI technology are examples of opportunities; supply chain instability and escalating rivalry are examples of risks. BYD's 4P analysis, on the other hand, highlights its competitive price, varied product lines, and greater market adaptability. Consequently, this paper develops specific strategic interventions to enhance the marketing agility requisite for Tesla to preserve its market dominance.

Digital advertising suffers from persistent inefficiencies despite a $600+ billion global market, with mistargeted campaigns wasting substantial budgets by optimizing for correlation rather than causal impact. This research presents a novel framework combining neural contextual bandits with causal inference for micro-targeted ad delivery at enterprise scale. We formulate real-time ad selection as a contextual multi-armed bandit problem, deploying deep neural networks for reward prediction while maintaining sub-50ms latency constraints required for programmatic advertising. Three primary contributions are demonstrated: (1) a distributed architecture with hierarchical action space reduction achieving 18× computational speedup, enabling real-time inference across thousands of concurrent advertisements; (2) integration of uplift modeling and doubly robust causal estimation to distinguish incremental conversions from organic user behavior; and (3) adaptive exploration-exploitation strategies balancing performance optimization with advertiser fairness. The AppCapy platform, built on Next.js and Supabase, was evaluated on 8.2 billion impressions across 52 publishers over 90 days. Results show 10-12% improvement in conversion rates versus production baselines, with 28% reduction in cost-per-incremental-conversion through causal optimization. The system achieves 95th percentile latency of 47ms while processing 12,300 requests per second, with near-logarithmic regret growth validating theoretical bandit properties. Causal analysis reveals that 74% of conversions represent incremental lift, demonstrating that traditional correlation-based metrics substantially misattribute advertising effectiveness. This work bridges the gap between bandit theory and production deployment, offering a scalable solution for causally-informed programmatic advertising.

Abstract Introduction Pharmaceuticals are vital to healthcare and considered a human right, yet equitable access remains difficult in small markets like Malta. Despite a fully tax-funded NHS offering full reimbursement, rising pharmaceutical costs and reliance on imports heighten vulnerability to global disruptions including the phenomenon of Brexit and COVID-19. Limited national data further emphasizes the need for targeted research to address Malta’s distinct pharmaceutical access and policy challenges [1]. Aim The study aimed to capture the collaboration and understanding of the perspective of both the internal and external stakeholders within the National Health Service, and hence provide a platform for elucidating real-time experiences within a small country context, as perceived by the diverse stakeholders. Thereafter establish the connection with existing policies, and the prevailing challenges perceived. Methodology A qualitative, inductive research design was employed to explore these complex issues. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with purposefully selected internal and external stakeholders, enabling the collection of detailed and context-rich data. Thematic Analysis, as outlined by Clarke and Braun (2006), was used to identify and develop key themes from the raw data, allowing for an emergent understanding of stakeholder concerns [2]. A conceptual model was subsequently developed to interpret findings within a structured framework [3]. Ethical approval was obtained from both IDEA College (Malta) and the Ministry for Health and Active Ageing (Malta), with strict adherence to ethical standards concerning participant consent, confidentiality, and data protection Results Findings reveal that Malta’s pharmaceutical sector faces considerable challenges related to affordability, accessibility, and supply continuity. Stakeholders identified geopolitical disruptions, including Brexit, and Malta’s inherent small-market limitations as primary drivers of elevated medicine prices and procurement difficulties. Participants also criticized outdated pricing mechanisms, procedural delays, and the limitations of ERP systems and relevant data in HTAs, which often fail to reflect actual market prices [4]. While the NHS’s full reimbursement model ensures equitable access, it may reduce cost sensitivity among both prescribers and patients. There were widespread calls for sustainable funding strategies, enhanced interdepartmental coordination, and improved data systems. Stakeholders strongly advocated for EU-level collaboration, joint procurement models, and better stock management frameworks especially further to procurement shift from UK to EU market [5]. Discussion This study provides critical insights into Malta’s pharmaceutical pricing landscape, contributing to a limited body of national literature on access and affordability issues. It demonstrates how global market disruptions, combined with national policy limitations, impact equitable access. Limitations of the study included challenges in participant recruitment due to the sensitive nature of the topic and a constrained diversity of perspectives owing to time restrictions. Nonetheless, the study underscores the importance of stakeholder collaboration, updated procurement strategies, and robust data infrastructure. Future research should explore the effects of cost-awareness programs on prescribing behaviours and investigate procurement innovations in other small EU markets to inform sustainable reform efforts.

The circulation of counterfeit cosmetics remains a serious problem in the global market, including in Indonesia. Counterfeit cosmetic products have the potential to pose various health risks, ranging from skin irritation and allergies to long-term effects such as organ damage. One of the main causes of the widespread circulation of counterfeit cosmetics is consumers' lack of knowledge in distinguishing between genuine and counterfeit products. This lack of knowledge is often exploited by unscrupulous parties who market counterfeit products at significantly lower prices but without guarantees of safety. This study aims to develop an accurate method for identifying the authenticity of lipstick from a popular cosmetic brand. The model used is YOLOv5 (You Only Look Once version 5), a deep learning algorithm known for its high speed and accuracy in object detection. The dataset used consists of hundreds of images of genuine and counterfeit lipsticks collected, then processed through labeling, data sharing, and augmentation before being used to train the model. Test results show that YOLOv5 performs very well, with a precision of 0.996, a recall of 1.0, an mAP50 of 0.995, and an mAP50-95 of 0.893. This achievement demonstrates that YOLOv5 can accurately distinguish between genuine and counterfeit lipsticks. This finding contributes significantly to efforts to reduce the circulation of counterfeit cosmetics and raise public awareness of the importance of product authenticity for consumer safety.

With the global low-voltage power market expanding rapidly, lead-free dielectric ceramics exhibit excellent stability and environmental friendliness, but their strong field-dependence limits low-field applications. There is an urgent need to develop lead-free ceramic systems with outstanding energy-storage performance under modest electric fields to meet the rapidly expanding global low-voltage power market for bulk ceramics. In this study, high-entropy ceramics (1 − x%)(NaBiBa)0.205(SrCa)0.1925TiO3-x%La(Zr0.5Mg0.5)O3 (x = 0–8) were successfully prepared. The introduced La(Zr0.5Mg0.5)O3 not only dissolves well in the high-entropy elementary lattice but also effectively improves its relaxation characteristics. High-entropy ceramics show optimal energy-storage characteristics, as indicated by an excellent energy-storage density of 4.46 J/cm3 and an energy-storage efficiency of 94.55% at 318 kV/cm. Moreover, its power density is as high as 92.20 MV/cm3, and the discharge time t0.9 is only 145 ns.

Nowadays, with the rapid development of social media and under the background of frequent and fast-paced global cultural exchanges, Korean dramas have gradually spread from Asia to the world and become entertainment products shared by global audiences. It's worth noting that Netflix's 2021 release of Squid Game not only broke viewership records for the platform, it also became a viral trend. Using Squid Game as the central case, this research analyzes how the franchise has evolved into a global phenomenon from both artistic and commercial perspectives. The research covers the five stages of integrated film and television operations: pre-production planning, pre-release preparation, release implementation, post-release management and operation to reveal their strategic path to global success. This research argues that the success of Squid Game is not only from its innovative narrative framework and online promotion, but also from Netflix's global distribution network and marketing strategy. Through the analysis of this case, it provides valuable enlightenment for the film and television industry to cultivate influential intellectual property rights in the era of globalization.

As the global smartphone market tends to be saturated, emerging markets have become a new focus of competition among manufacturers. As a leading Chinese mobile brand expanding globally, Transsion Holdings has rapidly risen in the African market via its deep localization strategy and distinctive competitive advantages, earning it the reputation of the King of Africa. This paper examines Transsions development trajectory in the African market, aiming to explore its market entry strategies, localized product design, and brand-building mechanisms, while analyzing how the company has achieved breakthroughs in a resource-constrained environment with substantial cultural differences. Through a case study method, combined with models like SWOT analysis, this paper analyzes Transsions strategic choices and sources of competitive advantage, drawing primarily on data from the companys annual reports, industry reports, and media sources. The results demonstrate that Transsion has effectively navigated environmental challenges and attained sustained growth by precisely identifying user needs, establishing a localized R&D and marketing system, and developing an efficient distribution network. Its experience offers practical guidance for Chinese firms entering emerging markets, highlighting the importance of focusing on users and adapting to local conditions.

In recent decades, workplace diversity and inclusion (D&I) have been high on the agendas of policymakers and businesses, driven by social movements, globalization, and labor market changes. This paper discusses the effects of law on corporate diversity and inclusion management. It will particularly focus on labor law, anti-discrimination law, and disability rights law. The study aims to examine to what extent have D&I legislations helped to safeguard workers from discrimination and encourage employers to create inclusive workplaces. The study adopts a qualitative method through literature review, comparative legal review, and empirical evidence synthesis from existing research and reports regarding employment outcomes, earning gaps, and workplace accommodations across different jurisdictions. The current literature demonstrates that employment and anti-discrimination law have seen measurable advances, i.e., reduced wage gaps, increased employment for disadvantaged groups, and more prevalence of inclusive practices. At the same time, challenges such as hidden discrimination, enforcement difficulties and global variance continue to impede the complete fulfillment of legal rights. The study concludes that the law provides an important foundation for diversity management, but inclusive working in practice requires additional organisational and cultural efforts.

As a core precious metal with dual commodity and financial attributes, gold price fluctuations are profoundly influenced by macroeconomic policies, monetary conditions, and market supply-demand dynamics. As the global benchmark for gold pricing, the COMEX gold futures market generates price signals that hold significant reference value for investors asset allocation decisions, central banks reserve management practices, and the stability of the global bulk commodity market. Against this backdrop, this study focuses on the dynamic linkage between COMEX gold futures prices and key macroeconomic variables, aiming to quantitatively analyze the short-term impact effects and long-term equilibrium relationships of the U.S. dollar exchange rate, real interest rates, and inflation rates on gold prices. Methodologically, the Vector Autoregression (VAR) model, this research uses monthly data of COMEX gold futures prices, U.S. Dollar Index (DXY), U.S. 10-year Treasury real yields, and U.S. core PCE inflation rate from 2015 to 2024 as the research sample.

The low competitiveness of vocational high school (SMK) graduates remains a serious challenge in meeting the needs of the dynamic industrial world, particularly in Banten Province, particularly Cilegon City. Although this region has many companies in the manufacturing, shipping, and stevedoring sectors, the unemployment rate among vocational high school graduates remains relatively high. This study aims to analyze the impactSkill Development Revolving Fundtowards developmentvocational careerand professional competence in an effort to increase the competitiveness of vocational school graduates. The research approach used was quantitative with a sample of 266 respondents, who were randomly drawn from graduates of four vocational schools in Cilegon City. The results of the study showed that: (1)Skill Development Revolving Fundhas a significant impact on developmentvocational career, which ultimately increases the competitiveness of vocational school graduates; (2)Skill Development Revolving Fundalso has a significant influence on improving the professional competence of graduates, thus encouraging the creation of competitive advantages; (3) overall,Skill Development Revolving Fundand its indicators play an important role in strengthening the competitiveness of vocational school graduates; and (4) a combination ofSkill Development Revolving Fund, developmentvocational career, and professional competence provide a positive contribution to increasing the competitiveness of vocational school graduates. Thus, it can be concluded that the management ofSkill Development Revolving FundAn effective program can create career development mechanisms and enhance professional competencies relevant to industry needs. This program needs to be continuously strengthened as a sustainable strategy to prepare a competent, adaptive, and highly competitive vocational high school workforce in the global job market.

This paper examines the cultural significance of the annual Tamashii Nations exhibitions held by the leading Japanese toy manufacturer Bandai to present the latest high-end model toys to its customers. The analysis concentrates on the exhibitions between 2019 and 2024, which serves as a case study to understand how Bandai engagement with cultural production and representation in a globalized and post-pandemic context. Drawing on Appadurais social life of things and Kopytoffs cultural biography of objects as theoretical frameworks, this paper explores how Bandai's exhibition strategies, particularly through the promotion of the True Bone Carving series, generate cultural and economic value. The analysis highlights how nostalgia, craftsmanship, and fan engagement contribute to shaping the perception of model toys as both collectible commodities and cultural artifacts. Through a detailed examination of exhibition practices, consumer reception, and global market trends, the study demonstrates how Bandai not only integrates existing cultural industry strategies but also actively influences the constructionof model toy culture. The conclusion addresses future trends, including digital exhibition formats, globalization, and the evolving role of collectible figures in identity formation in transnational fandoms.

Business education has been identified as a fundamental pillar in equipping individuals with entrepreneurial, managerial, and technological competencies necessary for sustainable national development. However, across Africa and other developing economies, a significant disparity persists between the competencies of business education graduates and the dynamic needs of modern industries. This widening skill gap threatens employability, innovation, and productivity, thereby undermining national sustainability goals. This opinion paper critically explores the implications of this skill gap and argues for a paradigm shift in business education to align curriculum design, teaching methodology, and institutional collaboration with industrial realities. Drawing insights from current literature and policy frameworks, this paper argues that the repositioning of business education is not merely an academic necessity but an economic and social imperative. When business education graduates are equipped with both employable and entrepreneurial skills, they become agents of productivity, sustainability, and national development. The paper highlights the urgent need for curriculum innovation, digital literacy integration, work-based learning, and public-private partnerships as mechanisms to bridge the gap. It concludes that a sustainable and competitive national economy can only be achieved when business education becomes both industry-driven and innovation-oriented, equipping graduates with employability and entrepreneurial competencies that respond to the evolving demands of the global market.

The maritime industry, a cornerstone of global trade, relies heavily on effective communication to ensure operational safety and efficiency. English has been established as the lingua franca through the Standard Marine Communication Phrases (SMCP) by the International Maritime Organization (IMO). However, a significant gap in English language proficiency among maritime professionals remains a crucial issue, potentially hindering their career progression. This study aims to comprehensively analyze the impact of English language proficiency on career opportunities, identify the current level of English proficiency, and determine the factors impeding its acquisition among maritime workers. Employing a mixed-methods approach, the research gathered data through questionnaires from 100 respondents and in-depth interviews with HR managers and seafarers. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and Pearson's correlation, while qualitative data underwent thematic analysis. Hypothetical findings indicate a significant positive correlation between English language proficiency (CEFR levels) and perceived promotion opportunities and access to international companies. Key barriers identified include a lack of specific maritime English training (English for Specific Purposes), low motivation, and limited access to learning resources while at sea. This study concludes that investing in relevant and structured English language training programs is a vital strategy to enhance the competence and competitiveness of maritime professionals in the global market.

Leadership and innovation have been two key areas of research over the last decade. Innovation is crucial in organisational survival and growth, and it is a force of change in today’s competitive market. To be competitive in the global market, especially in the public sector, organisations must adopt innovative approaches to service delivery, governance and operational efficiency. Innovation is identified as a critical element for the success of an organisation. Effective leadership is essential in driving innovation within organisations, still the role of leadership style to foster innovation and encourage experimentation are still not fully understood. While considerable research has been conducted globally, studies examining the association between leadership style and innovation in the United Arab Emirates, particularly Dubai government organisations, is still rare. Accordingly, this study seeks to address the following research question: How do leadership styles foster a culture of innovation within Dubai government organisations? As a conceptual paper, this study adopts a synthesis approach, drawing on existing regional and global literature to develop a theoretical foundation, identify research gaps, and propose directions for future empirical study. The research aims to shed light on the vital role of leadership style in fostering a culture of innovation in Dubai government organisations, with specific focus on how leadership styles foster a culture that support experimentation, innovation, and continuous improvement. The research highlights innovation initiatives implemented by Dubai government organisations, examining how leadership has driven initiatives, for example the Mohammed Bin Rashid Centre for Government Innovation, and the Dubai Future Accelerators to promote digital transformation, agile governance, and promote a culture of experimentation. The research addresses the persistent barriers to innovation commonly faced by Dubai government organisations, including bureaucratic inertia, rigid hierarchies, and resistance to change. In addition, the study offers practical recommendations to the public sector to help overcome the challenges through strategic leadership practises, capability building, and supportive policy frameworks. Finally, the underlying mechanisms and determinants of effective leadership style and its impact on innovation are critical to understand, as the existing literature tends to focus on leadership style practices, rather than its drivers. This research offers practical guidance for leaders to create a culture of innovation within the Dubai government organisations.

Aims: The study aims to analyze the dynamics of export and import growth, variability, and the competitiveness of Indian agricultural commodities. It also examines the comparative advantage and revealed competitiveness of Indian farm exports in the global market. Study Design: A descriptive and analytical study based on secondary time-series data (2013–2022), to assess India’s agricultural trade performance. Place and Duration of Study: The study used data from the ITC Trade Map and Agricultural Statistics at a Glance (Government of India) for the period 2013 to 2022. Methodology: Analytical tools applied include the Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) to measure export and import growth, the Cuddy–Della Valle Instability Index (CDVI) to assess variability, and trade indices such as Revealed Comparative Advantage (RCA), Revealed Symmetric Comparative Advantage (RSCA), and Revealed Competitive Advantage (RC) to evaluate specialization and competitiveness. Results: India's total agricultural exports grew steadily, with a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 6.08%, while imports increased by 9.57%, resulting in a consistent trade surplus. The Cuddy–Della Valle Instability Index indicated moderate variability in exports (25.59%) and in imports (27.4%). Among commodities, sugar (19.37%), rice (10.07%), and marine products (6.58%) recorded the highest export growth, while oilseeds and coffee showed declining trends. The Revealed Comparative Advantage (RCA) analysis indicated that rice (RCA 16.8–19.8), spices (13.0–18.3), tea (4.8–5.8), and copra (up to 11.1) had substantial comparative advantages, whereas wheat (0.07–1.7) and maize (0.23–1.01) exhibited weak or declining competitiveness. The Revealed Symmetric Comparative Advantage (RSCA) values for rice (0.90), spices (0.88), and tea (0.11) confirmed India's strong export specialization in these commodities. Overall, India maintained a favorable agricultural trade balance and global export presence, particularly in traditional crop sectors. Conclusion: The findings indicate a steady improvement in India’s agricultural exports, though competitiveness is weakening for certain cereals and horticultural crops. Policy measures to promote export diversification, value addition, and stable trade infrastructure can enhance India’s long-term agricultural trade performance.

Digital transformation is redefining marketing practices across emerging economies. Vietnam – one of Southeast Asia’s fastest-growing digital markets – offers a compelling case with over 79% internet penetration and 72 million social media users as of 2024. This paper examines Vietnam’s digital marketing transformation in the broader context of emerging economies. We synthesize literature on global digital marketing trends and specific challenges in developing markets, and employ a case-based analysis of Vietnam using secondary data from academic studies, government reports, and industry surveys. Key findings reveal a vibrant, mobile-first digital landscape characterized by the rise of short-form video content, influencer-driven campaigns, “shoppertainment” e-commerce, and AI-powered personalization. Businesses in Vietnam are leveraging platforms like TikTok, Facebook, YouTube, and local Zalo for broad consumer reach, with e-commerce valued at over $20 billion in 2023 and growing rapidly. However, significant challenges persist, including a digital skills gap, regulatory uncertainties (e.g. new data protection rules), heavy platform dependence, measurement/ROI limitations, and a rural–urban digital divide. Enabling factors such as a young tech-savvy population, expanding broadband infrastructure, and supportive government initiatives have catalyzed progress. The discussion highlights implications: businesses must adopt mobile-first and data-driven strategies, marketers need upskilling and diversified channel approaches, and policymakers should refine regulatory frameworks and support SME digitalization. This study contributes to understanding how emerging markets like Vietnam are navigating digital marketing transformation, emphasizing the need for localized, inclusive strategies to sustain growth.