Corporate Governance and IFSB Standard-4:Evidence from Islamic Banks in Bangladesh

Purpose: This paper aims to examine the compliance status of Islamic banks in Bangladesh with Shari’ah-based accounting standards named Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB) standard-4 and its association with corporate governance. Design/methodology/approach: The six years of secondary data, including the annual reports of 2013–2018, were collected from the websites of all the seven listed Islamic banks, i.e. 100% of the population available during the period of study. The study used a content analysis approach for systematically categorizing and analysing the contents disclosed in the annual report. A total compliance score based on 133 reporting items of IFSB standard-4 were considered for content analysis. Furthermore, this study applied the ordinary least square to investigate the impact of corporate governance on IFSB standard-4. Findings: This study found that the level of compliance with the IFSB standard by the Islamic banks in Bangladesh is poor, as the overall compliance status is 44.83%. Further, this study observed a significant and positive influence of the Shari’ah supervisory committee, the board size, accounting experts on the board, foreign ownership and institutional ownership on the level of compliance with IFSB standard-4. On the other hand, this study found a negative effect of directors’ ownership on the level of compliance with IFSB standard-4. Practical implications: This study provides the management of Islamic banks an insight into developing their governance characteristics to comply with Islamic accounting and reporting standards. Moreover, this study expects to facilitate the management of Islamic banks in designing their accounting and reporting outlines to enhance the level of compliance with the IFSB standards. Originality/value: This pioneering study on IFSB standards opens an avenue to the researchers exploring the accounting and reporting status of Islamic banks considering the requirements of the IFSB standards.</p

Stress Response Pathways in Dairy Cattle: A Brief Review

Stress is an external event or condition that places a strain on a biological system. The animal response to stress involves the expenditure of energy to remove or reduce the impact of stress. This increases the maintenance requirements of the animal and results in loss of production. The biological response to stress is divided into acute and chronic phases, with the acute phase lasting hours to a few days, and the chronic phase lasting several days to weeks. The acute response is driven by homeostatic regulators of the nervous and endocrine systems and the chronic phase by homeorhetic regulators of the endocrine system. Both responses involve alterations in energy balance and metabolism. The thermal environment affects all animals and therefore represents the largest single stressor in animal production. Other types of stressors include housing conditions, overcrowding, social rank, disease, and toxic compounds. "Acclimation" to stress is a phenotypic response developed by the animal to an individual stressor within the environment. Acclimation is a homeorhetic process that takes several weeks to occur and occurs via homeorhetic, not homeostatic, mechanisms. It is a phenotypic change that disappears when the stress is removed. Milk yield and reproduction are extremely sensitive to stress because of the high energy and protein demands of lactation and the complexity of the reproductive process and multiple organs that are involved. Improvements in the protection of animals against stress require improved education of producers to recognize stress and methods for estimating the degree of stress on animals

Determination of suitable species combination for good aquaculture practice based carp fattening in ponds under drought prone barind area of Bangladesh

Increased temperature, decreased water level and reduced culture period of the ponds with lack of guidelines in selecting appropriate stocking size, density and combination of species are major constraints for safe production of fattening based carps in drought prone barind area of Bangladesh. In order to address these problems, an experiment was conducted during July-December, 2018 to determine the suitable species combination for fattening ponds of overwintered carps in Tanore upazila (sub district) of Rajshahi district, Bangladesh. Three different combinations of surface (G. catla and H. molitrix), column (L. rohita) and bottom (C. cirrhosus and C. carpio var. specularis) feeding carp species were tested under 3 treatments (T1, T2 and T3), each with 3 replications: T1 (Surface-30%, column-40%, and bottom-30%), T2 (Surface-40%, column-30%, and bottom-30%) and T3 (Surface-35%, column-35%, and bottom-30%). Application of good aquaculture practices in the studied ponds was found to improve the environmental conditions of pond. Significantly (P&lt; 0.05) highest fish yield was obtained from treatment T2 which was 21.47% and 11.89% higher than T1 and T3, respectively.&nbsp; Significantly (P&lt;0.05) highest cost benefit ratio was recorded with treatment T2 (0.42±0.02) followed by T3 (0.31±0.01) and T1 (0.21±0.01), respectively. Inclusion of appropriate number of fishes at different water layers of pond favoured the yield and economics of carp fattening. The study also suggests focusing on optimal stocking density together with the formulation of low cost feed for carp fattening in ponds under barind area of Bangladesh

Buffalo Milk Yield, Quality, and Marketing in Different Agro-Climatic Districts of Bangladesh

The study was aimed at assessing the productive performance of dairy buffalo and milk marketing approaches in different agro-climatic districts of Bangladesh. Three (03) districts of Bangladesh viz. Bhola, Mymensingh, and Dinajpur were chosen from the coastal, river basin and semi-arid region, respectively. A triangulation method of survey was used to collect the data and the components of the triangle were buffalo farms, buffalo farmers and buffalo herdsmen. The investigation duration was twelve (12) months. The study revealed that the highest milk yield (5 L/h/d; p=0.010) was found in the river basin and semi-arid region. Lactation yield was also recorded double in the river basin and semi-arid districts compared to coastal districts (p=0.000). In the case of lactation length, the river basin buffaloes possessed 33 and 36% longer than coastal and semi-arid districts, respectively. All the chemical components were found significantly different (p≤0.050) but fat. Among different agro-climatic districts, about 92% of milk was traded in the coastal region after meeting the household's need but it was noted that the farmers from the semi-arid region kept more than 21% of milk for family consumption (p=0.000). The highest unit price (BDT 72/L) of milk was observed in the river basin district (p=0.011). In conclusion, the current situations of buffalo farming and milk marketing approaches in Bangladesh, varies considerably

Variations of Raw Milk Components and Amino Acid Profiles in Different Dairy Buffalo Crossbreds

This study aimed to assess the relationship between milk components and amino acid (AA) profiles among different buffalo crossbreds in Bangladesh. A total of thirty-six (36) lactating buffaloes were selected from Murrah, Nili-Ravi, and Mehsana crossbreds, and they were assigned to 03 groups, each with 12 buffaloes. The total experimental period was 10 weeks, including the initial 10 days of diet adjustment. The results from the experiment revealed that milk protein, fat, and total solids contents of Murrah crossbred was significantly (p&lt;0.05) higher than Mehsana and Nili-Ravi crossbreds. In contrast, the lactose content of all buffalo crossbreds was statistically similar (p&gt;0.05). In the case of milk amino acid contents, all the milk samples entailed a higher concentration of Glutamic acid (0.9-1.00 g/100 g of milk), whereas Cysteine had the lowest concentration (0.02-0.05 g/100 g). The most prevalent essential amino acids were Leucine, Lysine, and Phenylalanine, whereas the most prevalent non-essential amino acids were Glutamic acid, Proline, Asparagine, and Serine. Lysine, Isoleucine, Leucine, Phenylalanine, Cysteine, and Histidine concentrations differed significantly (p&lt;0.05), and at the same time as the other 11 AAs concentrations were found non-significant (p&gt;0.05). The highest Lysine: Methionine ratio observed in Murrah buffalo was about 3.20%, while in Mehsana and Nili-Ravi buffalo was about 2.80 and 2.50%, respectively. Thus, it was evident from the study that the raw milk components and amino acid composition vary considerably in the different lactating buffalo crossbreds. Finally, the compositional data of raw milk may create the way of sustainable use of milk from dairy buffalo crossbreds and improve food and nutrition security, particularly in developing countries

A Food Frequency Questionnaire for Hemodialysis Patients in Bangladesh (BDHD-FFQ): Development and Validation

Diet is a recognized risk factor and cornerstone for chronic kidney disease (CKD) management; however, a tool to assess dietary intake among Bangladeshi dialysis patients is scarce. This study aims to validate a prototype Bangladeshi Hemodialysis Food Frequency Questionnaire (BDHD-FFQ) against 3-day dietary recall (3DDR) and corresponding serum biomarkers. Nutrients of interest were energy, macronutrients, potassium, phosphate, iron, sodium and calcium. The BDHD-FFQ, comprising 132 food items, was developed from 606 24-h recalls and had undergone face and content validation. Comprehensive facets of relative validity were ascertained using six statistical tests (correlation coefficient, percent difference, paired t-test, cross-quartiles classification, weighted kappa, and Bland-Altman analysis). Overall, the BDHD-FFQ showed acceptable to good correlations (p 0.05). Cross-quartile classification indicated that <10% of patients were incorrectly classified. Weighted kappa statistics showed agreement with all but iron. Bland-Altman analysis showed positive mean differences were observed for all nutrients when compared to 3DDR, whilst energy, carbohydrates, fat, iron, sodium, and potassium had percentage data points within the limit of agreement (mean ± 1.96 SD), above 95%. In summary, the BDHD-FFQ demonstrated an acceptable relative validity for most of the nutrients as four out of the six statistical tests fulfilled the cut-off standard in assessing dietary intake of CKD patients in Bangladesh

Provision of renal-specific nutrition knowledge for changing dietary practice in bangladeshi hemodialysis patients

Studies show that provision of nutrition knowledge help renal patients make informed food choices. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of nutrition knowledge for changing dietary practice among Bangladeshi dialysis Following development of a renal-specific nutrition booklet, a pilot study was conducted among 50 hemodialysis patients from a single dialysis setting. Demographic, anthropometric, clinical, biochemical, dietary data, and a 10-item MCQ on renal-specific nutrition information were collected before and 3 months after the provision of the booklet. 52%of the participants were male, 54% had twice weekly dialysis, age 53±12 years, and dialysis vintage was 46 ± 25 months. Serum potassium and phosphorous, dietary potassium, phosphorous, and phosphorous to protein ratio were significantly reduced after the provision of the booklet. Additionally, patients consuming >3 meals/day increased to 66% while adherence to renal-specific cooking method and vegetable preference were significantly increased to 70% and 62%, respectively. Provision of knowledge via renal-specific nutrition booklet was able to improve patients' dietary practice and enhance their dietary adherence to renal specific recommendations. Innovation: The booklet was developed using locally available food items in local language and was found beneficial in low-resource settings where overall health care facilities, including nutrition support are limited

Health Education Through a Campaign and mHealth to Enhance Knowledge and Quality of Life Among Patients With Chronic Kidney Disease in Bangladesh: Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial

BACKGROUND: Despite the growing burden of chronic kidney disease (CKD), disease knowledge and understanding are still lacking, especially in Bangladesh. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the outcome of a health education intervention in order to enhance knowledge, health-related quality of life (QOL), and motivation regarding healthy lifestyles among rural and periurban adults suffering from CKD. METHODS: A parallel-group (1:1) randomized controlled trial is ongoing in the Mirzapur subdistrict, Bangladesh, where two groups of patients with CKD are being compared. Patients aged 18 years and over with CKD (stages 1-3) were enrolled in November 2020. Patients were randomly allocated into either the intervention group (n=63) or the control group (n=63). The control group received usual treatment, while the intervention group received health education through a CKD campaign facilitated by a nephrologist and via mHealth (ie, periodic mobile phone calls) from community health workers. Both groups were followed up for a period of 6 months. The primary endpoint is patients' increased knowledge measured using the Chronic Kidney Disease Knowledge Questionnaire. The secondary endpoints are improved QOL measured using the standardized EuroQol 5-Dimension 5-Level (EQ-5D-5L) questionnaire as well as improvements in the levels of blood pressure, BMI, serum creatinine, fasting blood sugar, hemoglobin, cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglyceride, serum uric acid, blood urea nitrogen, and albumin to creatinine ratio. RESULTS: Enrollment of participants began in November 2020; the intervention and follow-up were completed in May 2021. We enrolled 126 patients in the study. Patients' mean ages were 57.97 (SD 15.03) years in the control group and 57.32 (SD 14.37) years in the intervention group. There were 45 out of 63 (71%) females in the control group and 38 out of 63 (60%) females in the intervention group. In addition, there were 38 out of 63 (60%) literate patients in the control group and 33 out of 63 (52%) literate patients in the intervention group. CONCLUSIONS: It is expected that a combined approach, incorporating both a CKD campaign and mHealth, for health education may be an effective tool for increasing knowledge and improving QOL among patients with CKD. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04094831; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04094831. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID): DERR1-10.2196/30191

Exploring the Relationship between Customer Loyalty and Financial Performance of Banks: Customer Open Innovation Perspective

In the age of technology, continuous innovation is the ultimate motto of the financial sector to attract customers. Firms in the financial sector must be innovative in terms of service quality and operational performance to obtain customer loyalty and gain financial stability. A dearth of studies on customer loyalty and financial performance of Islamic Banks motivated the authors to examine the relationship between customer loyalty and financial performance. The study also explores whether the service qualities have any impact on customer loyalty. The study uses both primary and secondary data to conclude the research objectives. A survey of 356 questionnaires was carried out among the customers of the selected Islamic banks of Bangladesh to gather information regarding customer service quality and customer loyalty, while financial performance data were attained from the annual reports. Moreover, the study follows the SERVQUAL model&rsquo;s five dimensions (tangibles, empathy, assurance, reliability, and responsiveness) to determine the service quality of Bangladeshi Islamic Banks. Rigorous statistical techniques, including exploratory factor analysis, reliability testing, and regression analysis were used to investigate the hypothesis. The study empirically documents a positively significant impact of service quality (tangibles, empathy, reliability, and responsiveness) on customer loyalty, while assurance shows an insignificant relationship. Furthermore, the study does not find any significant relationship between customer loyalty and the financial performance of Bangladeshi Islamic Banks. The findings of the study profoundly denote that the financial performance of Bangladeshi Islamic Banks mostly depends on many other financial and non-financial factors, rather than customer loyalty