In the Light of Epistemological Debates about Knowledge, is ‘Evidence-Based’ Policy Making (in the Britain) Anything More than Political Rhetoric?

Recently, the policy discourse in Britain has shifted towards evidence-based policy (EBP) where ‘evidence’ is founded on rationality of natural science. In one hand, the proponents of EPB advocate for scientific approaches (e.g. experimentation, systematic review) in generating evidence in social science in order to modernising the policy making process. On the other hand, question arises whether such technical/instrumental approach in social science can really construct appropriate knowledge in order to improve government’s policy making endeavour. Critical analysis of the scientific research approaches in generating evidence (knowledge) in social science reveals that the present government’s ‘what works’ philosophy is a major fallacy of their effort to bridge the gap between policy process and social research because there are some inherent methodological and epistemological issues that the evidence-based research faces in the way of understanding the social world. Basically, the critics of EBP warn that the concept of ‘what works’ evidence is myopic, because it defines ‘evidence’ scientifically and mechanically that is too narrow from social science’s perspective. Keywords: evidence based policy, scientific research, policy researc

To What Extent is the Free Market Compatible With the ‘Strong State’?

Contradictory views persist among neoliberals, social democrats and social liberals regarding relationships between free market and the nation State. In one hand, neoliberals suggest that the development of the free market puts constraints on the role of the state. Yet empirical evidence to support this view is lacking and range of commentators show not only resilience but even the expansion of state spending. Moreover, the article highlights that the State has welcomed globalization for the betterment of the society and subsequently it is restructuring itself to accommodate the changes to be effective on a desired way. Keywords: Globalization, Strong State, Free Market, State Control and Liberalism

Global Corruption Hoax: Politicization of the Concept of Corruption and the Issues of Corruption Measurement Indices

Often we observe that the third world countries always top the corruption indices compare to the developed West. This incident naturally leads to the question of why - Is it because the third world countries are significantly more corrupt than the developed countries? Or, is there any other reason behind this issue?--these are the questions that are explored in this article. To be more specific, this article critically explores contemporary arguments regarding inherent issues of corruption and various aspects of measurement techniques of corruption indices (e.g. definition issue, identification problem, clandestine nature of corruption, perceptual problem, validity and reliability of corruption data). Thus, by examining the innate complex nature of corruption, the article argue that, in many cases, in comparison to the developed West, corruption of developing nations may not be as deep as the corruption indices, which are also contested, accuse. In addition, the article emphasizes that the corruption issue is specifically targeted towards the third world countries more so than the developed countries. Keywords: corruption, governance, corruption indices, corruption measuremen

Comparison of Wear Behaviour of Commercial Tire and Bearing Pad Rubber under Dry Sliding Condition

The consequence of load and sliding distance on the performance tribology of commercially used tire and bearing pad rubber was evaluated using a pin-on-disc method. The test was carried out under ambient dry sliding conditions with load of 2.5N, at sliding velocity of 0.369 ms-1 and with varying sliding distance ranging from 110m-2650m. The results showed that the sliding distance at the fixed load affects the wear rate of the rubbers and the weight loss increased with increasing the distance for both the rubbers. Wear rate also increases almost linearly to a maximum then attain a plateau with increasing sliding distance. The tire rubber showed the higher wear and coefficient of friction due to presence of natural rubber. The worn surface was characterized by optical microscope and SEM. The results show surface with shallow grooves width and depth increased as the distance increases. Oxidative wear was found to be the predominant mechanisms in the dry sliding

Qualitative Research: A Decisive Element to Epistemological & Ontological Discourse

Qualitative research in social science is an invaluable way to understand social world. The qualitative research process of studying, knowing or learning about social world generates some philosophical debates. This article explores various critical concepts of qualitative research and how they are being perceived/defined in the research paradigm. In doing so, the article also examined the epistemological aspects of qualitative research; particularly, the article scrutinizes particular methods of conducting qualitative research and issues related to the appropriateness of verbal communication technique in qualitative research (e.g. "˜capacity' of interview technique for "˜knowledge construction', interviewers' role and its relation to data contamination, "˜evaluation' of interpretations of qualitative data). Then, the article highlights issues that encompass fundamental (ontological and epistemological) aspects of qualitative research. Finally, the article concludes that irrespective of the inherent issues of qualitative research approach, it plays crucial roles in knowing social world around us

Why banks should consider ESG risk factors in bank lending?

Why banks should be concerned about incorporating environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria in the lending process? What is the motivation? This study aims to find the motives for considering environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria in bank lending process. A primary survey has been conducted to know the current status and motivation for incorporating ESG factors in investment decisions. Sample comprised 30 private commercial banks (PCBs) operating in Bangladesh. Data collected were analyzed with graphs, descriptive statistics, and regression analysis. Findings of the study indicate that banks are mostly considering basic environmental, social and governance factors set by regulators qualitatively. They are lagging behind in considering the advanced ESG criteria needed for sustainable and efficient credit risk management. Based on motivation for incorporating ESG factors, it was found that banks pioneering in incorporating ESG factors in lending decisions are compensated through better financial performance. Findings of the study are expected to encourage practitioners and policy-makers to take more pragmatic steps to incorporate ESG risk factors quantitatively in lending decision-making process

An Empirical Study on Corporate Governance and Islamic Bank Performance: A Case Study of Bangladesh

Corporate governance refers to the relationship present between the corporation and the stakeholders that determines and controls the strategic direction and performance of the corporation. Good corporate governance should provide adequate incentives for the board and management to pursue objectives that are in the interests of the company and shareholders, thereby encouraging firms to use resources more efficiently. However, the definition of accountability differs between conventional and Islamic Banks. Islam was made accountable not only to stakeholders, but also to Allah, the ultimate owner and authority. These powerful moral ethics help in promoting fair, just and honest business dealing. The aim of this study is to examine the relationship between corporate governance structures and the resultant financial performance of listed Islamic banks of Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) in Bangladesh. The panel time series data were collected for the time period of 6 years (2009-2014) from all the listed Islamic banks to run an Ordinary Least Squared (OLS) regression model to examine whether the existing corporate governance mechanisms as well as several other internal and external indicators are significant in influencing the financial performance. Preliminary findings suggest corporate governance mechanisms in Islamic banks are not quite as strong as they should be, hinting at possible market and management inefficiencies

Interactive IIoT-Based 5DOF Robotic Arm for Upper Limb Telerehabilitation

Significant advancements in contemporary telemedicine applications enforce the demand for effective and intuitive telerehabilitation tools. Telerehabilitation can minimize the distance, travel burden, and costs between rehabilitative patients and therapists. This research introduces an interactive novel telerehabilitation system that integrates the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) platform with a robotic manipulator named xARm-5, aiming to deliver rehabilitation therapies to individuals with upper limb dysfunctions. With the proposed system, a therapist can provide upper limb rehab exercises remotely using an augmented reality (AR) user interface (UI) developed using Vuforia Studio, which transmits bidirectional data through the IIoT platform. The proposed system has a stable communication architecture and low teleoperation latency. Experimental results revealed that with the developed telerehabilitation framework, the xArm-5 could be teleoperated from the developed AR platform and/or use a joystick to provide standard upper limb rehab exercises. Besides, with the designed AR-based UI, a therapist can monitor rehab/robot trajectories along with the AR digital twin of the robot, ensuring that the robot is providing passive therapy for shoulder and elbow movements