The Debt-Equity Ratio Choice: Risk Sharing Instruments, A Viable Alternative

Evidence has been documented in the literature that the interest based debt financing system is experiencing continuous discomfort. The outcome of the 2008 global financial crisis has further create fresh vigor to the assertion. Also, these authors have submitted that debt and leveraging are the two major causes of financial instability in the present system. This paper claims that the existence of the interest-based debt regime is becoming less acceptable, as excessive debt can affect the whole economic system, even in a developed country like United States. From an economic viewpoint, therefore, by banning interest rate-based contracts and decreeing exchange contracts, Islamic financeinspires risk sharing and prohibits risk transfer, risk shedding, and risk shifting. The paper proposes risk sharing based Islamic financing as a suitable alternative to the interest based debt financing. This study concludes that risk-sharing finance has several benefits, especially its potential to minimize, if not circumvent, the debt prompted financial crises that have beset the world..Keywords :  Debt-Equity Ratio; Risk Sharing Instruments; Islamic Financ

Knowledge about asthma: A cross-sectional survey in 4 major hospitals of Karachi, Pakistan

Objective: To determine knowledge and misconceptions about asthma among the local population..Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted at four tertiary care hospitals; Aga Khan University Hospital, Civil Hospital Karachi, Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre and Ojha Institute of Chest Diseases, Karachi, from October to November 2016, and comprised hospital attendants. The questionnaire used in the study comprised 26 questions answered with a true, false or not sure answer.SPSS 20 was used for data analysis.Results: There were 400 participants. The overall mean age was 41.2±14.2 years, and 214(53.5%) of the participants were males. Moreover, 75(19%) participants thought that asthma was a psychological disorder while 181(45%) considered it an infectious disease. Nearly 174(43.5%) believed that inhaled medications had significant side effects. Besides, 264(66%) participants considered steam inhalation to be an effective treatment for asthma, 269(67%) thought that patients with asthma should avoid rice in their diet and 167(42%) considered milk as a common trigger.CONCLUSIONS: Participants\u27 knowledge about asthma was poor and misconceptions were common about the condition

Modelling the recommendation technique for achieving awareness in serious game for obesity

Obesity among children is increasing alarmingly. Therefore it is crucial to instill the awareness about the danger of being obese to the children. To instill the awareness is a challenge. A good approach is required for the message to be accepted and conceptualized by the children. Serious game has been an important mechanism to assist the achievement of many serious purposes other than for entertainment and enjoyment. This paper proposes the implementation of content-based recommendation technique in serious game for obesity awareness among children. Several recommendation techniques for awareness had been studied and the content-based recommendation technique is found to be suitable to be implemented in games. The game was developed according to game development approach and fulfilled the game characteristics. For this preliminary study, 10 children participated in the experiment to determine the effectiveness of the game. The participants were given a pre-and post test to answer before and after playing the game. The result of the test shows that participants achieved the obesity awareness after playing the game. The content-based recommendation technique is applicable to be adopted in serious games to instill awareness in the players

Association between Behavioral Intentions and Knowledge Sharing ; Are Demographics Influential*

Objective: Globally, the inadequate level of knowledge sharing is considered as an increasing concern among educational institutes, impacting educational quality and job performance. Thereby, the study aims to assess the association between behavioral intentions and knowledge sharing by using the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA). It also examines the influence of the demographic factors on knowledge sharing behavior. Methods: A cross-sectional design was used in this study including a total of 630 academicians from the four educational institutes (Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS), Universiti Teknologi MARA Sarawak, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Bintulu and Politeknik Kuching) based on a survey approach. The collected data were analyzed statistically using PLS SMART- SEM. Results: The results revealed a significant impact of age, gender, work experience, designation, and education on behavioral intentions and knowledge sharing. It also showed a direct association between behavioral intention and knowledge sharing. Conclusion: The study concludes that collaborative practices should be encouraged among academicians for creating a knowledge sharing culture

Bank Specific and Macroeconomic Determinants of Commercial Bank Profitability: Empirical Evidence from Nigeria

The study examines the bank-specific and macroeconomic determinants of banks profitability in Nigeria analyzing audited financial reports of selected sixteen (16) commercial banks over the period of 2010 to 2015 making up to 96 observations. The study identified that existing studies are sketchy in developing economies even though many studies have emerge in developed economies. The bank profitability is measured by return on assets and return on equity as function of bank-specific and macroeconomic determinants. Using the balanced panel data set, the empirical results of the study shows that capital adequacy and liquidity have a positive and significant effect on bank profitability. However, efficiency ratio have a negative and significant effect on bank profitability. With regards to macroeconomic variable, GDP growth also have a positive and significant impact on banks profitability. The empirical results of the study suggested that banks can improve their profitability through increasing capital and liquidity, decreasing operating cost with conscious effort to maintain transparency in their operations. In addition, a good economic environment for financial institutions foster increase in bank profitability. Hence, the study recommends that further studies can expand the scope while extending to other industries as well.&nbsp

Consumer Protection of Halal Products in Malaysia: A Literature Highlight

AbstractThe halal industry is a highly potential market of the future that has not been fully explored. This is supported by the growing number of world's Muslim community estimated to increase to 1.8 billion by 2011 with current halal market value estimated to reach USD2.3 billion. However, there are some issues regarding the halal industry either domestically or internationally, particularly in relation to the abuse of halal logo and other offenses relating to the halal logo. The question is arised whether the rights of Muslims were fully protected under the relevant laws and their lawfully rights if these laws were not adhered to? The objective of this article is to examine a preamble to the highlight of consumer protection in Malaysia and its application. The research methodology is by documentations analysis based on literature review and the outcome of this writing would be an improvement in consumer protection and consumer's comprehension in matters related to halal products, to protect and educate consumers, and to educate producers to be more vigilant and responsible for the manufacture of their products

[μ-1,6-Bis(diphenyl­arsan­yl)hexa­ne]bis­[chloridogold(I)]

In the title compound, [Au2Cl2(C30H32As2)], each Au atom is coordinated by As and Cl atoms in an approximately linear geometry. In the crystal, mol­ecules are linked into two-dimensional networks parallel to the ac plane via inter­molecular C—H⋯Cl inter­actions. One of the phenyl rings is disordered over two positions, with site occupancies of 0.518 (8) and 0.482 (8)

The Effect of Emotional Intelligence and Job Stress on the Teaching Effectiveness among Malaysia Polytechnic Lecturers

This study aimed to find out the effect emotional intelligence (EI) and job stress (JS) on the teaching effectiveness (TE) among Malaysia Polytechnic lecturers. That research considers the development of a measurement instrument of EI, JS and TE based on lecture

The Influence of Service Quality and Food Quality Towards Customer Fulfillment and Revisit Intention

The intensely competitive environment existing in the restaurant sector makes it vital for firms to achieve customer satisfaction in order to survive in the long term. Obtaining customer satisfaction means that they become an effective and efficient communication resource, at no cost to the firm. Prominent among the factors that determine the levels of customer satisfaction in the food and beverage contexts are service quality and product quality. Nowadays, Chinese cuisine is becoming more attractive and accepted worldwide. Due to large population of Chinese Muslims in Malaysia, restaurants catered or owned by Chinese Muslims are now increasing and cater to all races in Malaysia. Therefore, the objective of the study is to identify the relationship between service quality and product quality towards customer satisfaction and examine revisit intentions of 9 Chinese Muslim restaurants in Shah Alam, Malaysia. The questionnaire was tested for reliability before being used. Correlation and regression analysis were employed to investigate the relationship between the service and product (food), customer satisfaction and revisit intentions to these restaurants. The findings of this study indicate that service quality and food quality have a significant relationship on customer satisfaction and thus have a significant relationship towards revisit intention. In conclusion, it was found that all customers were satisfied with these restaurants and willing to recommend Chinese Muslim restaurants to their relatives and friends and they were also willing to revisit this type of restaurant in the future