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The main purpose of this study is to investigate the best predictor of firm performance among different proxies. A sample of 287 Czech firms was taken from automobile, construction, and manufacturing sectors. Panel data of the firms was acquired from the Albertina database for the time period from 2016 to 2020. Three different proxies of firm performance, return of assets (RoA), return of equity (RoE), and return of capital employed (RoCE) were used as dependent variables. Including three proxies of firm’s performance, 16 financial ratios were measured based on the previous literature. A machine learning-based decision tree algorithm, Chi-squared Automatic Interaction Detector (CHAID), was deployed to gauge each proxy’s efficacy and examine the best proxy of the firm performance. A partitioning rule of 70:30 was maintained, which implied that 70% of the dataset was used for training and the remaining 30% for testing. The results revealed that return on assets (RoA) was detected to be a robust proxy to predict financial performance among the targeted indicators. The results and the methodology will be useful for policy-makers, stakeholders, academics and managers to take strategic business decisions and forecast financial performance.

The study revisits the predictors of consumers’ intentions to use peer-to-peer accommodation (P2PA) services and accents the impact of positive emotional responses from COVID-19 crisis response communication efforts adopted by P2PA service providers. An online scenario-based survey was carried out among 265 consumers from the Philippines. The results of the analysis reveal that peer-to-peer accommodation usage intentions remain driven by perceived economic benefits, environmental benefits, and trust while dismissing the desire for social interaction. Emotions elicited from crisis response communication affect consumer psychology and behavior; hence, service providers should aptly communicate crisis response efforts along the route to crisis recovery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metal–organic frameworks and coordination polymers (MOFs/CPs) have emerged as a rare category of multidimensional materials with applications in many fields, particularly as photocatalysts for aromatic dyes and for the luminescent sensing of volatile organic solvents (VOCs), anions, cations, etc. Herein, a luminescent zinc(II) coordination polymer (ZnCP) was prepared using 3,5-diamino triazole (DAT) and 1,3,5-benzenetricarboxylic acid (BTC) under solvothermal conditions and was fully characterized by FTIR spectroscopy, powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) analysis, and single X-ray crystallography. Moreover, the photocatalytic performance of the ZnCP in decomposing an aqueous solution of methyl green (MG) was examined. Photocatalysis results indicated a 99.61% efficiency in the presence of the ZnCP under visible light. Furthermore, an active species trapping experiment helped deduce a possible photocatalysis mechanism of MG degradation. Interestingly, the ZnCP also acted as a potential luminescent sensor for the detection of cations Fe3+ and Cu2 and anions Cr2O72− and MnO4−, with outstanding limit of detection (LOD) values of 2.44 nM for Fe3+, 3.50 nM for Cu2+, 3.14 nM for Cr2O72−, and 2.54 nM for MnO4−. Thus, the designed luminescent zinc(II) coordination polymer holds the potential to act as a photocatalyst as well as a luminescent sensor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant and enduring effect on the tourism industry, specifically impacting travel agencies. To respond effectively, it is essential to comprehend the financial repercussions and challenges that these agencies confront. This study seeks to address existing gaps in knowledge by conducting a comprehensive examination of the tourism industry's financial performance in the post-COVID-19 era. Our methodology utilizes a Difference-In-Difference (D-I-D) approach, considering multiple investigations to establish a causal connection between the pandemic and the financial stability of tourism service providers. We analyse changes in the overall financial health of the tourism industry relative to other sectors both before and after the COVID-19 outbreak using Altman Z scores. Furthermore, we assess accounting harmonization across diverse jurisdictions and financial frameworks (IFRS, US GAAP, Czech GAAP, German HGB). Data is sourced from 11 multinational corporations in the tourism sector, supplemented with financial data from sectors such as Automotive, Manufacturing, Food and beverage, and Real Estate. Our empirical findings indicate that non-tourism entities experienced a 19% lower likelihood of bankruptcy post-COVID-19. This finding underscores the uniqueness of the tourism industry's challenges during the pandemic. In addition to these findings, we provide practical recommendations designed to assist companies in the tourism industry as they navigate the recovery phase following the pandemic. These insights are pivotal in enabling the industry to build resilient strategies and ensure its sustainability in a post-pandemic landscape. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new cobalt(II) coordination polymer 'Cp-Co' has been designed and synthesized. The construction includes cobalt(II) as the central metal core along with 1,4-benzenedicarboxylic acid and the spacer 3,5-diamino-1,2,4-triazole obtained by a solvothermal method. The architecture of 'Cp-Co' was established using single X-ray crystallography and the topology of the coordination polymer. The 'Cp-Co' exhibited a periodic 3D framework. Furthermore, infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) analysis further supported the structure of 'Cp-Co'. The prepared material was explored as a catalyst for the photocatalytic degradation of methyl green (MG) dye and displayed outstanding degradation efficiency under visible light radiation. The experimental design was explored towards optimization of the reaction variables, such as catalyst dose, MG dye concentration, etc. It was found that 10 mg of Cp-Co with 150 mg L−1 MG resulted in 99.77% photocatalytic efficiency within 60 min of visible light irradiation. The kinetic data was simulated using the Langmuir–Hinshelwood kinetic model and the value of the apparent rate constant (Kapp) was found to be 0.020 min−1, 0.024 min−1 and 0.029 min−1 for 50, 100 and 150 mg L−1 MG concentrations. The trapping experiments suggested the involvement of a superoxide anion radical (O2−˙) in the degradation of MG. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A series of halogenated podands (P1–P8) have been synthesized from 1,3,5-tris(bromomethyl)mesitylene and halogen-substituted phenols to study the structure-directing roles of C–H hydrogen bonds and halogen bonds in the formation of self-assembled supramolecular frameworks. The ethereal podands are suitable for the study of C–H hydrogen bonds in the crystalline state due to the presence of three different types of C–H donors, such as methyl, methylene, and aromatic –CH groups, and three different types of acceptors such as ethereal oxygen, halogens, and aromatic rings. Single crystal X-ray structures of three halophenyl-functionalized podands (P2, P3 and P4) and a cyanophenyl-functionalized podand (P9) were determined at room temperature (298 K), and detailed Hirshfeld surface analysis of the crystal structures was performed to quantify the close contact contributions (in %) from different types of non-covalent interactions involved in the self-assembly of podands. The crystal structures of the halophenyl-functionalized podands (P2, P3, and P4) showed self-assembly primarily via intermolecular C–H⋯O, C–H⋯π, and halogen bonding interactions. Hirshfeld surface analysis of the crystal structures revealed significantly higher contributions from H⋯C and H⋯X (X = halogen) close contacts in comparison to H⋯O and X⋯C close contacts in 2D-fingerprint plots. The self-assembly of the cyanophenyl-functionalized podand (P9) was largely governed by intermolecular C–H⋯O and C–H⋯N interactions. The podand crystals showed relatively high thermal stability in thermogravimetry analysis (250–290 °C), which can be attributed to the hydrogen and halogen bond assisted formation of 3D supramolecular frameworks. 19F-NMR spectra of tetraethylammonium fluoride in the presence of an equivalent amount of tris(2-halophenoxymethyl)mesitylene podand (P5 or P6) showed a downfield shift of the fluoride signal (Δδ 3.2 ppm) indicating C–X⋯F− halogen bonding in solution. Further, 19F-NMR spectra of hydrogen bifluoride (HF2−) in the presence of P5 or P6 showed a large upfield shift of ≈21–22 ppm suggesting C–X⋯F−⋯H–F halogen bonding in solution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the last few years, more and more people have been using YouTube videos to experience virtual reality travel. Many individuals utilize comments to voice their ideas or criticize a subject on YouTube. The number of replies to 360-degree and unidirectional videos is enormous and might differ between the two kinds of videos. This presents the problem of efficiently evaluating user opinions with respect to which type of video will be more appealing to viewers, positive comments, or interest. This paper aims to study SentiStrength-SE and SenticNet7 techniques for sentiment analysis. The findings demonstrate that the sentiment analysis obtained from SenticNet7 outperforms that from SentiStrength-SE. It is revealed through the sentiment analysis that sentiment disparity among the viewers of 360-degree and unidirectional videos is low and insignificant. Furthermore, the study shows that unidirectional videos garnered the most traffic during COVID-19 induced global travel bans. The study elaborates on the capacity of unidirectional videos on travel and the implications for industry and academia. The second aim of this paper also employs a Convolutional Neural Network and Random Forest for sentiment analysis of YouTube viewers' comments, where the sentiment analysis output by SenticNet7 is used as actual values. Cross-validation with 10-folds is employed in the proposed models. The findings demonstrate that the max-voting technique outperforms compared with an individual fold. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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