The reasons behind the absence of a comprehensive Shariah Governance Framework of Islamic banks in Bangladesh

Purpose: The main objective of the study is to examine the reasons behind the absence of a comprehensive Shariah Governance Framework (SGF) of Islamic banks in Bangladesh. Design/Methodology/Approach: The study has covered 17 respondents through semistructured interviews from the Islamic banks and the Central Bank of Bangladesh with a combination of Shariah supervisory board members, Shariah department executives, Central Bank executives, and banking experts. Findings: Based on findings, this study outlines that the knowledge gap of management, unqualified Shariah supervisory boards members, executives in Central Bank and Islamic banks, and intention of the regulators, policymakers, Shariah experts, government executives, Islamic bankers, Board of directors, stakeholders and civil societies are responsible for the absence of a comprehensive SGF. Practical Implications: The study has significantly contributed to the national regulators, government, and the Central Bank of Bangladesh on the subject for developing a comprehensive Shariah Governance Framework. Originality/Value: The study highlights the reasons for the absence of a comprehensive Shariah Governance Framework which was unexplored for more than 30 years.peer-reviewe

Concept, Design and Implementation of Automatic Waste Management System

One of the main concerns with our environment has been solid waste management which in addition to disturbing the balance of the environment also has adverse effects on the health of the society. The detection, monitoring and management of wastes is one of the primary problems of the present era. The traditional way of manually monitoring the wastes in waste bins is a complex, cumbersome process and utilizes more human effort, time and cost which is not compatible with the present day technologies in any wa y. This paper proposes an advanced method in which waste management is automated. Radio frequency identification (RFID) is one of the most promising and anticipated technologies in recent years. The system makes use of radio frequency (RF) tags and web sup port. This work presented here certainly provides a novel approach in handling and disposing off the day to day solid wastes in an efficient and easy way. The system consists of four main subsystems namely Smart Trash System (STS), Local Base Station (LBS) , Smart Vehicle System (SVS) and Smart Monitoring and Controlling Hut (SMCH). The proposed system would be able to automate the solid waste monitoring process and management of the overall collection process. The technologies that would be used in the prop osed system are good enough to ensure the practical and perfect for solid waste collection process monitoring and management for green environment

Sharia compliance service quality metrics for e-commerce: An exploratory analysis

Despite the rising call for Sharia compliance in e-commerce systems, yet there are no established service quality metrics that would ensure Muslim consumer trust, use and users satisfaction. Therefore, we prudently proffered Sharia compliance service quality metrics for e-commerce that would foster e-commerce use, user satisfaction and net benefits for the over 1.8 billion Muslims globally. By deducing extant e-commerce service quality metrics from literature and harnessing the opinion of Sharia compliance scholars/experts, an integrative Sharia compliance service quality metrics for e-commerce are proffered. Fundamentally, Sharia compliance assurance of e-commerce systems is found to be an essential service quality metric that will ensure Muslim consumer trust, use, user satisfaction and net benefits from e-commerce.Whereas, conventional e-commerce service quality best practices that are aimed at enhancing the welfare and devoid of Sharia violations are also deemed important service quality metrics for Sharia compliance. Because, providing pre-sale, during the sale and post-sale support services are vital in ensuring the Sharia obligation of eliminating uncertainties, risk, losses, displeasure and discord emanating from e-commerce

An integrated approach towards Sharia compliance e-commerce trust

The Sharia compliance trust concerns over the conventional e-commerce systems among devoted Muslims causes reluctance and abstinence to partake in e-commerce transactions. Although e-commerce trust building mechanisms have been highlighted in the extant literature, there has not been any integrative or exhaustive solution to the Sharia compliance trust concerns of Muslims. Therefore, it became necessary to develop a framework that will provide a guide towards achieving Sharia compliance e-commerce trust (SCE-C). Consequently, relevant literature on e-commerce trust from a conventional perspective and the Sharia perspective were reviewed to gain a background. It provided the basis for proffering a framework for SCE-C trust with a view to enhancing e-commerce adoption and use by Muslims around the world. The framework for SCE-C Trust highlights that e-commerce vendor trustworthiness factors comprising of Sharia compliance, integrity, benevolence, competence, website quality, and third-party assurance if positively moderated by consumer trust propensity and religious commitment will ensure SCE-C trust

A generic framework for e-commerce requirements to comply with Sharia in business-to-consumer perspective

The serious concern over fulfillment of the essential requirements of Sharia by the conventional e-commerce system constitutes a barrier to e-commerce adoption and use among many Muslims. Therefore, it is important to explore and understand the essential requirements for Sharia compliant e-commerce specifically in Business to Consumer (B2C) setting. Our research has identified the necessary requirements for e-commerce Sharia compliant. The requirements are categorised into two; Islamic law of contract, and Sharia prohibition in e-commerce. The requirements for Islamic law of contract those include compliant with form (offer and acceptance), contracting parties (buyer and seller), and subject matter (object and price). In addition, the requirements for prohibition in e-commerce are referred to the avoidance of fundamentally prohibited elements of riba, gharar, haram and maysir. Furthermore, we have developed a generic framework of requirements for B2C Sharia compliant e-commerce. This framework will serve as a guide to consumers in determining the legitimacy of an e-commerce transaction in the light of Sharia. Besides, e-commerce merchants, web application developers and other stakeholders will gain clear understanding of these requirements to improve the development and diffusion of Sharia compliant e-commerce application. Conclusively, this research postulates that, any e-commerce transaction or platform that complies with the Islamic law of contract and is devoid of any fundamentally prohibited element (riba, gharar, haram and maysir) is deemed Sharia compliant

E-commerce quality evaluation metrics: a sharia compliance approach

There is a growing concern and need for Sharia compliance e-commerce quality metrics to evaluate policies and practice that will ensure that Sharia principles are adhered and user’s desirable characteristics are provided. Therefore, extant conventional e-commerce quality metrics from the literature are critically reviewed. Furthermore, an exploratory study involving Sharia compliance experts was conducted, revealing adherence to the maqasid Sharia and the principles of Islamic law of contract as the fundamental Sharia compliance requirements for e-commerce systems. Hence, we integrated the relevant conventional e-commerce quality metrics and the Sharia compliance requirements deduced to propose a set of Sharia compliance e-commerce quality metrics based Information, systems and service quality dimensions. The Sharia compliance e-commerce information quality metrics proffered are accuracy, relevance, timeliness, understandability, completeness, and currency. System quality metrics involves being devoid of riba, devoid of gharar, devoid of haram objects, ethical advertisements, usability, reliability, functionality, customization, security, and privacy. While Service quality metrics are Sharia compliance assurance, khiyar policy, responsiveness, empathy, follow-up services, and the effectiveness of online support capabilities. Developing and evaluating Sharia compliance e-commerce quality based on the proposed metrics is envisaged to foster Muslim consumer trust, use and user satisfaction with e-commerce systems

Conversational agents in healthcare: a systematic review.

Objective: Our objective was to review the characteristics, current applications, and evaluation measures of conversational agents with unconstrained natural language input capabilities used for health-related purposes. Methods: We searched PubMed, Embase, CINAHL, PsycInfo, and ACM Digital using a predefined search strategy. Studies were included if they focused on consumers or healthcare professionals; involved a conversational agent using any unconstrained natural language input; and reported evaluation measures resulting from user interaction with the system. Studies were screened by independent reviewers and Cohen's kappa measured inter-coder agreement. Results: The database search retrieved 1513 citations; 17 articles (14 different conversational agents) met the inclusion criteria. Dialogue management strategies were mostly finite-state and frame-based (6 and 7 conversational agents, respectively); agent-based strategies were present in one type of system. Two studies were randomized controlled trials (RCTs), 1 was cross-sectional, and the remaining were quasi-experimental. Half of the conversational agents supported consumers with health tasks such as self-care. The only RCT evaluating the efficacy of a conversational agent found a significant effect in reducing depression symptoms (effect size d = 0.44, p = .04). Patient safety was rarely evaluated in the included studies. Conclusions: The use of conversational agents with unconstrained natural language input capabilities for health-related purposes is an emerging field of research, where the few published studies were mainly quasi-experimental, and rarely evaluated efficacy or safety. Future studies would benefit from more robust experimental designs and standardized reporting. Protocol Registration: The protocol for this systematic review is registered at PROSPERO with the number CRD42017065917

Characterisation and pathological variability of Exserohilum turcicum responsible for causing northern corn leaf blight (NCLB) disease in Malaysia

Aims: Corn is grown primarily for human consumption. It is considered as the second most important cereal crop after rice in Asia. Many diseases affect this crop due to planting of susceptible hybrids. This research is aimed to characterize the causative agent of northern corn leaf blight disease in Malaysia, caused by Exserohilum turcicum. Methodology and results: Leaf samples were collected from infected farms of 2 corn growing areas of Peninsular Malaysia in 2015. A total of 5 fungal isolates were examined for cultural, morphological and molecular properties, and based on the results, the five isolates were identified as E. turcicum. The conidial shapes were observed to be elongated and spindle. Cultural characteristics showed that variation existed among the isolates in colony growth and colour. Mycelia growth rates of the isolates were significantly different on potato dextrose agar (PDA), corn meal agar (CMA) and potato sucrose agar (PSA) media, growth on CMA was faster than on PSA and PDA. The isolates were grouped into three groups based on colony colour i.e. light gray, gray and dark gray. The isolates were categorized into 2 groups based on growth namely, moderate growth and profused growth. The number of septa ranged from 5-7 to 7-10 representing isolates ET002 and ET003, respectively. Similarly, conidial length varied from 56.7 μm to 89.44 μm for isolates ET002 and ET003, respectively. The pathogenic variability tested on Thai Super Sweet (TSS) corn variety, showed that isolates ET001 and ET003 were more aggressive while isolate ET005 was less aggressive among the isolates tested. Conclusion, significance and impact of the study: Both morphology and molecular results showed that, the isolates were identified as E. turcicum. The findings of this study will serve as a baseline for future studies and will help to minimize losses in yield

Characterisation and pathological variability of Exserohilum turcicum responsible for causing corn northern leaf blight (BCLB) disease in Malaysia

Aims:Corn is grown primarily for human consumption. It is considered as the second most important cereal crop after rice in Asia. Many diseases affect this crop due to planting of susceptible hybrids. This research is aimed to characterize the causative agent of northern corn leaf blight disease in Malaysia, caused by Exserohilum turcicum.Methodology and results: Leaf samples were collected from infected farms of 2 corn growing areas of Peninsular Malaysia in 2015. A total of 5 fungal isolates were examined for cultural, morphological and molecular properties, and based on the results, the five isolates were identified asE. turcicum. The conidial shapes were observed to be elongated and spindle. Cultural characteristics showed that variation existed among the isolates in colony growth and colour. Mycelia growth rates of the isolates were significantly different on potato dextrose agar (PDA),corn meal agar(CMA)and potato sucrose agar (PSA)media, growth on CMA was faster than on PSA and PDA. The isolates were grouped into three groups based on colony colour i.e. light gray, gray and dark gray. The isolates were categorized into 2 groups based on growth namely, moderate growth and profused growth. The number of septa ranged from 5-7 to 7-10 representing isolates ET002 and ET003, respectively. Similarly, conidial length varied from 56.7 μm to 89.44 μm for isolates ET002 and ET003, respectively. The pathogenic variability tested on Thai Super Sweet (TSS) corn variety, showed that isolates ET001 and ET003 were more aggressive while isolate ET005 was less aggressive among the isolates tested.Conclusion, significance and impact of the study:Both morphology and molecular results showed that, the isolates were identified as E. turcicum. The findings of this study will serve as a baseline for future studies and will help to minimize losses in yield