Analysing Shariah-Compliant Microfinance: A Case Study Of Uganda

This study focuses on the impact of microfinance on the income and vulnerability of poor rural households. In order to clarify this question, the study examines household participation and access to credit through Joint Liability Lending (JLL) programmes, the allocation of household credit, and subsequent loan repayment. The study, the first of its kind conducted through extensive fieldwork in Uganda, concentrates on Joint Liability Lending programmes, instead of looking at other models of microfinance, because the Joint Liability Lending model targets the poorest segments of the population. Although the objective of poverty reduction is clearly included in most microfinance models, not all microfinance institutions have poverty reduction as a primary mission. Today’s microfinance industry consists of a wide range of institutions serving different market niches with the aim of providing small-scale financial services to businesses and households that have been traditionally kept outside the formal financial system. But these institutions do not necessarily have as their mission reducing poverty. The models described in this thesis provide clear evidence that Shariah-compliant financial principles can be compatible with microfinance and technical standards can be put in place, for example, through standard Shariah-compliant microfinance arrangements such as a murabaha agreement, or possibly even a mudaraba agreement. As shown too, the leasing or purchase of property or other goods can be accomplished via an ijara agreement. Elsewhere in microfinance, we have seen that bank accounts can be offered by banks under an amanah or wadia contract, while the community-based solution found in a takaful contract is ideal for providing microinsurance

Al Sheikh Abdul Hakim Zuein, Imam and the third preacher of the Great Mosque of Fallujah: A Study of his Life

This paper deals with an under-researched figure who preached across Iraq, particularly in Fallujah. He lived during the Ottoman and royal eras and worked as an imam and preacher in their army. Sheikh Abdul Hakim Zuein was a veteran, serving as an imam and preacher at the Great Mosque of Fallujah from 1928 to 1930. He passed away in 1947 and was buried in Baghdad

To make a nanomechanical Schr\"{o}dinger-cat mew

By an explicite calculation of Michelson interferometric output intensities in the optomechanical scheme proposed by Marshall et al. (2003), an oscillatory factor is obtained that may go down to zero just at the time a visibility revival ought to be observed. Including a properly tuned phase shifter offers a simple amendment to the situation. By using a Pockels phase shifter with fast time-dependent modulation in one arm, one may obtain further possibilities to enrich the quantum state preparation and reconstruction abilities of the original scheme, thereby improving the chances to reliably detect genuine quantum behaviour of a nanomechanical oscillator.Comment: For Proc. DICE-2010 (Castiglioncello), to be published in J. Phys. Conf. Ser., 201

Inhibitive action of Chamomile extract on the corrosion of Iron: Density Functional Theory

DFT calculations have been performed on major compounds of Chamomile extract as a green source of environmentally friendly corrosion inhibitors for Fe using B3LYP/6-31G* level (d, p). Several global Quantum parameters were calculated on inhibitors and thermodynamic Gibbs function ∆Gads of adsorption of Fe has been calculated and used to evaluate the inhibitive action of the each inhibitor. Quercetin has been found the highest anti-corrosion efficiency as compared to other compounds. Consequently, calculated global quantum parameters and thermodynamic function ∆Gads show spontaneous physical adsorption of Apigenin-7-glucoside, luteolin-7-glucoside and  Quercetin  on Fe, wherase other inhibitors show non- spontaneous chemical adsorption

Electronic transport in a Cantor stub waveguide network

We investigate theoretically, the character of electronic eigenstates and transmission properties of a one dimensional array of stubs with Cantor geometry. Within the framework of real space re-normalization group (RSRG) and transfer matrix methods we analyze the resonant transmission and extended wave-functions in a Cantor array of stubs, which lack translational order. Apart from resonant states with high transmittance we unravel a whole family of wave-functions supported by such an array clamped between two-infinite ordered leads, which have an extended character in the RSRG scheme, but, for such states the transmission coefficient across the lead-sample-lead structure decays following a power-law as the system grows in size. This feature is explained from renormalization group ideas and may lead to the possibility of trapping of electronic, optical or acoustic waves in such hierarchical geometries

On Generalized Recurrent Finsler Spaces of Higher Order with Berwald’s Curvature Tensor

In this present paper, we introduced a Finsler space Fn which projective curvature tensor K^i_ijkh satisfies the generalized five recurrence property with respect to Berwald’s connection parameters G^i_kh, we have derived some theorems and some identities along with few more related results in a recurrent and generalized 5-recurrent Finsler space with Berwald’s curvature tensor field

The Power of Options: The Solution for Healthier Society and Better Economy

Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD) testing is the practice of obtaining a cellular biopsy sample from a developing human oocyte or embryo, acquired via a cycle of In Vitro Fertilization (IVF); evaluating the genetic composition of this sample; and using this information to determine which embryos will be optimal for subsequent uterine transfer. PGD has become an increasingly useful adjunct to IVF procedures. The ability to provide couples who are known carriers of genetic abnormalities the opportunity to deliver healthy babies has opened a new frontier in reproductive medicine. The purpose of the PGD is enables us to choose which embryos will be implanted into the mother. In the present study we investigate the frequency of application of this technique in the kingdom and GCC to find out, the population awareness of these technique and the advantages which could apply to the community. We also interested to know frequencies of centers and studies in this field. This epidemiological study helps to improve social awareness and community services toward reducing frequencies of genetic disorders

Prediction of water table in an alluvial aquifer using modflow

Groundwater is the main source of water in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). A larger part of groundwater is founded in alluvial (unconfined) aquifers. Prediction of water table elevations in unconfined aquifers is very useful in water resources planning and management. During the last two decades, many aquifers in different regions of the KSA experienced significant groundwater decline. The declines in these aquifers raised concerns over the quantity and quality of groundwater, as well as concerns over the planning and management policies used in KSA. The main objective of this study was to predict water table fluctuations and to estimate the annual change in water table at an alluvial aquifer at wadi Hada Al Sham near Makkah, KSA. The methodology was achieved using numerical groundwater model (MODFLOW). The model was calibrated and then used to predict water table elevations due to pumping for a period of 5 years. The output of the model was found to be in agreement with the previous records. Moreover, the simulation results also show reasonable declination of water table elevations in the study area during the study period