The challenge of online privacy preservation in Muslim-majority countries during the COVID-19 pandemic

© 2020, Emerald Publishing Limited. Purpose: E-learning has become a predominant platform for education as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet, privacy issues have emerged from online learning that posed challenges on the users of e-learning systems. Privacy preservation in Muslim-majority countries with conservative cultures was a concern based on socio-cultural norms. This paper aims to analyze this situation through the lens of social identity theory. Design/methodology/approach: This practice paper represents a conceptual viewpoint. Findings: In this paper, the authors offer recommended solutions as best practices for Muslim-majority countries and similar contexts. Such proposed solutions consider social and cultural influences in e-learning systems to have an effective education process. Originality/value: This practice paper is unique in its approach, as it documents the privacy concerns in Muslim-majority countries during the COVID-19 pandemic

Solar Energy Cost Efficiency: A Simulated Case Study in the Egyptian Context

In Egypt, electric energy coming from fossil fuels represents around 85% of total electricity requirements. However, the supply of energy in the Arab world is expected to run dry in the coming 30-50 years. With the increase in energy needs, rise in fossil fuel prices, and the swelling of green house gas emissions, the use of renewable and more environment-friendly energy sources to supply power is gaining increased attention. Being a country on the Sunbelt, Egypt has great potential in utilizing solar energy to generate energy products and electricity. However, solar energy is still abandoned in Egypt due to its high costs. This paper first aims to examine the relative significance of several accounting and economic related variables to reduce solar energy costs. To be more specific, the paper seeks to examine the effect of using accounting and finance-based factors, related to depreciation schemes and financing options, to decrease solar energy costs. These factors are considered as a substitute for direct subsidies which are difficult to implement because of the narrow financial scope of the Egyptian government. The results of the study provide a number of policy implications that can be applied to make solar energy closer to cost-competitiveness and contribute to solve the energy problem in Egypt.Solar Energy, Cost Efficiency, Government Incentives

To Blow or Not to Blow the Whistle? An Islamic Framework

In this paper, we draw upon Islamic teachings to address two questions. How do Islamic ethics deepen and advance our understanding of the whistleblowing act? To what extent are Islamic ethics of whistleblowing promoted in practice? First, we have undertaken a thematic content analysis of the holy book of Qur’an, supported by the Sunnah (Prophetic Traditions). This has yielded a novel Islamic ethics-based framework of whistleblowing comprising the five aspects of the whistleblowing process: What should one blow the whistle about? Who should blow the whistle? Why should one blow the whistle? How should one blow the whistle? And to Whom should one blow the whistle? Second, using the developed framework, we have analyzed the whistleblowing policies of 20 Islamic banks and financial institutions across 11 countries. This analysis reveals that there exists a narrow view of what ought to be reported as wrongdoings, a confined scope of potential whistleblowers, a lack of connection with Islamic motivations, missing steps in the actual whistleblowing process, and a lack of gradation in relation to rectifying corrupt acts, thus highlighting a framework–policy gap. This is the first study to conceptualize the whistleblowing process from an Islamic perspective. The developed framework offers guiding procedures that individuals can consult to guide whistleblowing reasoning behavior and that organizations can use while developing whistleblowing policies. It also serves as a foundation for the development of organizational whistleblowing policies in different sectors

Parametrically excited nonlinear systems: a comparison of two methods

Subharmonic resonance of two-degree-of-freedom systems with cubic nonlinearities to multifrequency parametric excitations in the presence of three-to-one internal resonance is investigated. Two approximate methods (the multiple scales and the generalized synchronization) are used to construct a first-order nonlinear ordinary differential equations governing the modulation of the amplitudes and phases. Steady state solutions and their stability are computed for selected values of the system parameters. The results obtained by the two methods are in excellent agreement. Numerical solutions are carried out and graphical representations of the results are presented and discussed

Qur’anic wisdom and the sustainability mind-set: deciphering the relationship

Purpose: This paper aims to examine practical wisdom from the Islamic religion elaborating on how it pertains to the sustainability mind-set. The purpose is to assess whether the Islamic and sustainability mind-sets coincide and if so, how they do. Design/methodology/approach: The first two chapters of the Holy Qur’an were divided into parts based on the divisions in the exegesis by Abu Bakr Al-Jaza’eri. Next, a qualitative content analysis of the main sustainability themes in these chapters was conducted. The first stage of the content analysis involved the collection of Qur’anic verses related to the sustainability concepts. Following that, inductive interpretive analysis was conducted in the second stage of the content analysis, where key sustainability lessons within the agreed upon Qur’anic verses were extracted. Findings: The empirical study reported in this paper reveals 10 lessons from the examined Qur’anic text that pertain to the sustainability mind-set. Each of these lessons appears to foretell the wisdom behind the sustainability mind-set. Originality/value: This study contributes to the literature on sustainability and Islam in two ways. First, the analysis results in key lessons relating to sustainability, the majority of which were not covered in existing literature. Second, the research takes a holistic approach to finding commonalities between the sustainability mind-set and the Islamic mind-set, instead of focusing on a specific aspect of sustainability such as the environment