An assessment of standard regulatory framework for Islamic Banking System in Bangladesh

Regulatory framework for Islamic banking system has been theoretically explored in the existing literature in different parts of Muslim countries including Bangladesh. Islamic banking has been growing in Bangladesh since few decades ago. Scholarly researches have investigated different theoretic bases for the operation of Islamic baking in the country. However, theoretical assumptions are no longer viable or sufficient in establishing standard regulatory framework for Islamic banking system in predominant Muslim countries. This paper primarily aims at assessing Quantitative research method was employed. The population comprised promoters of Islamic banking. As regards to sample, the researcher used convenient sampling technique in distributing 180 survey questionnaires online to the promoters of Islamic banking system in Bangladesh in order to collect data for this research. Descriptive statistics by using frequencies, percentage, means and standard deviations were used via Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 16.0 for data analysis. Three factors of standard regulatory framework (SRF) (i.e. Operation of Islamic banking (OIB), Bank Control Law (BCL); Profit-Loss Sharing (PLS) were assessed in this study. The findings showed that the majority of the respondents strongly agreed with underlining indicators (i.e. OIB, BCL and PLS) of standard regulatory framework in the context of Bangladesh. In conclusion, the three identified factors of regulatory framework could complement the existing regulations in Bangladesh. It is therefore recommended that the country should expand the scope of regulatory framework by exploring the regulatory framework being provided in countries like Saudi Arabia and Malaysia in order to effectively standardise it in the country

Big data and predictive analytics in healthcare in Bangladesh: regulatory challenges

Big data analytics and artificial intelligence are revolutionizing the global healthcare industry. As the world accumulates unfathomable volumes of data and health technology grows more and more critical to the advancement of medicine, policymakers and regulators are faced with tough challenges around data security and data privacy. This paper reviews existing regulatory frameworks for artificial intelligence-based medical devices and health data privacy in Bangladesh. The study is legal research employing a comparative approach where data is collected from primary and secondary legal materials and filtered based on policies relating to medical data privacy and medical device regulation of Bangladesh. Such policies are then compared with benchmark policies of the European Union and the USA to test the adequacy of the present regulatory framework of Bangladesh and identify the gaps in the current regulation. The study highlights the gaps in policy and regulation in Bangladesh that are hampering the widespread adoption of big data analytics and artificial intelligence in the industry. Despite the vast benefits that big data would bring to Bangladesh's healthcare industry, it lacks the proper data governance and legal framework necessary to gain consumer trust and move forward. Policymakers and regulators must work collaboratively with clinicians, patients and industry to adopt a new regulatory framework that harnesses the potential of big data but ensures adequate privacy and security of personal data. The article opens valuable insight to regulators, academicians, researchers and legal practitioners regarding the present regulatory loopholes in Bangladesh involving exploiting the promise of big data in the medical field. The study concludes with the recommendation for future research into the area of privacy as it relates to artificial intelligence-based medical devices should consult the patients' perspective by employing quantitative analysis research methodology. © 2021 The Author(s

Qualitative Exploration of Legal, Economic and Health Impacts of Covid-19 in Saudi Arabia

Since the outbreak of COVID-19, several researches have been conducted in different parts of the world, including Saudi Arabia. However, there is little focus of attention on qualitative exploration of the impacts of COVID-19 in the context of Saudi Arabia. The primary objective of this study was to explore the opinions of legal, economic, and medical experts pertaining to the impacts of COVID-19. The methodology employed in this paper was a qualitative research design. The data was collected with a specific focus on the use of an in-depth interview. Fifteen (15) participants among the legal, economic, and medical experts were finally used for the interview among the targeted participants. In order to analyze the data, different themes were generated from the transcribed interviews, which were: Overview of COVID-19, legal, economic, health impacts. The finding of the study revealed that the current pandemic of Covid-19 has multidimensional impacts in Saudi Arabia. The pandemic has negative impact not only on the social and economic areas but also on the legal sphere. Social and economic impacts of the Covid-19 increase the inequality, discrimination, unemployment, deprivation of usual education, and disruption in business activities. The findings further indicated that the legal impact of COVID-19 has been mentioned in the aspect of the inability to perform contracts that have the potential to trigger default or force majeure provisions leading to litigation or reconciliation. In addition, the participants also acknowledged the health impact of COVID-19 in causing anxiety, suffering from illness, loneliness, depression, and causing death, among others. If not properly addressed through effective measures and policy, the impact of the COVID-19 on the legal, economic, and health spheres would have severe consequences. Therefore, it is recommended that all the stakeholders, especially the government of Saudi Arabia should effectively and efficiently address the legal, economic, and health impacts of COVID-19. Doi: 10.28991/esj-2022-SPER-01 Full Text: PD

Assessment of Energy Culture at a University and a Paper Mill for Energy Saving Opportunities

This work was intended to examine the existing energy culture in a university and in a paper mill of Bangladesh. 75 participants from a public university and 50 participants from a paper mill were surveyed to collect data using a three-segment questionnaire on energy consumption, conservation behavior, and general technical aspects. Responses were analyzed based on gender, age, and education to identify the artifacts that affect and impact the energy use pattern of two organizations. The possibilities of energy conservation through change in organizational norms like attitude, energy management strategy, material culture, and energy practices were assessed for both the commercial and industrial institutions. Key findings showed that the impacts of socio-demographic and psychological factors are found influential on the daily energy saving attitudes. The study also finds that energy conservation behaviors and tendency of reporting on energy wastages among the employees were influenced by the gender, age, and education of the respondents for both the university and the paper mill. For the university case, the analyses of the several statements reveal that women participants hold more positive attitude for saving energy than men. Expressions from the respondents of the university and industry on moral obligation for sensible energy consumption, habitual facts and efficacy are often influenced by education, age, and work experiences. This work suggests for the potential energy saving opportunities by changing behaviors through awareness and material culture through knowledge

The Utility Extent of Linguistics to Language Teaching: An Experimental Evaluation

To approach the very questions how and how far linguistics helps language teaching, we have to examine, analyze and evaluate them critically from various view-points. During the Second World War, the importance of linguistics in language teaching was noticed forthwith for the first time. Linguistics and language teaching have the same subject matter to deal with. Though linguistics is the scientific study of language, it has some specific role to play in the process of language teaching from the earlier to the modern times. Stephen Pit Corder (1975:143) says, “… the relevance of theoretical linguistics to language teaching is indirect and it is not the task of a theoretical linguist to say what relevance it may have. This is the field of applied linguistics.” According to the American linguist Noam Chomsky and some others, applied linguistics has a direct relationship with language teaching which is a pragmatic process and cannot take place in a total isolation. It takes help from various related sources and fields such as general, educational and social psychology; sociology, social anthropology and so on. Here, linguistics provides a language teacher with effective tools. However, as Dwight Bollinger says (1975a:22), “Language teaching is not linguistics, any more than medicine is chemistry….” So, the aim of this paper is to show the role of linguistics in teaching both foreign languages and any first languages or mother tongues

A Study On The Utilization and Health Services Provision by Community Clinics of Jashore, Bangladesh

Background: As Bangladesh has gained the reputation of improving the health sectors, much health related sites still require improvements. Community clinic services (CCS) may contribute to this sector with its foremost importance. So this study was conducted to investigate the utilization and health services provision by community clinics (CCs) in rural area. Methods: A descriptive longitudinal study was conducted among three community clinics of Jashore and a structured questionnaire was developed on which most of the questions were developed to find out the contributions of these community clinics. Here for data analysis we used SPSS version 25.0 software. Results: Here we analyzed health service related data from three randomly selected community clinics (CCs). We found an average of 15 patients got antenatal care every month by the Komlapur CC throughout the year. About 140 patients received health services per month from Dogachiya CC. About 634 children were benefited by Saziyali CC throughout the year. By this study we came to know that average 67-75 patients were provided iron supplementations each month by Saziyali CC. All of the CCs had active referral system and online reporting system. Conclusion: From our study we came to know that majority % of rural people are now dependent on community health care services. But most of the community clinics have many limitations regarding infrastructure, training, medicines, financial etc. So the government should take necessary steps regarding this

Trade Facilitation and Agriculture Sector Performance in Sub-Saharan Africa: Insightful Policy Implications for Economic Sustainability

This study investigates the impact of trade facilitation though costs, documents, and time to import and export—on agricultural sector performance (ASP) for a panel of 33 Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries from 2005 to 2019. The empirical analysis is based on a dynamic system of generalized method of moments. The following findings are established. First, higher import costs, documents, and time significantly improve ASP, while exports negatively impact ASP. Second, while import costs promote trade in agricultural products through substitution effects, export costs impede it. Third, among other factors, improvements in human capital, gross fixed capital formation, population growth, and trade openness significantly improve agricultural sector performance. Fourth, the results of the robustness check further emphasize the importance of TF on ASP from various dimensions. The study concludes that improving TF procedures by reducing costs, documents, and time in cross-border trade remains crucial to boosting agriculture sector performance in SSA

Prevalence and predictors of binge eating disorder symptoms among a sample of university students in Bangladesh: a cross-sectional survey

Background and Aims: There is a dearth of information about binge eating disorder (BED) among Bangladeshi university students, who may be more susceptible to BED due to the rise in unhealthy lifestyles and food habits. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to assess the prevalence and associated factors of BED symptoms among Bangladeshi university students. Methods: Students (N = 525) from three public universities in Bangladesh participated in this cross-sectional study between November 2022 and March 2023. Face-to-face interviews were conducted using a structured paper-based questionnaire that included two validated survey tools; the binge eating disorder screener and the patient health questionnaire-9. To identify the factors associated with BED symptoms, multiple logistic regression analysis was conducted, with sociodemographic and behavioral information (e.g., age, sex, smoking status, etc.) considered as covariates. Results: The prevalence of BED symptoms among participants (mean age 21.28 years, 50.3% male and 49.7% female) was 20.6%. Male students had a 2.28 times higher likelihood of having BED symptoms compared to female counterparts (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 2.28; 95% CI: 1.33−3.89). Older students (AOR = 3.56, 95% CI: 1.80−7.05), students who were overweight or obese (AOR = 3.32, 95% CI: 1.87−5.89), and students reporting higher depressive symptoms (AOR = 2.69, 95% CI: 1.66−4.35) were at greater risk for developing BED compared to their respective counterparts. Conclusions: This study provides new insights into the prevalence of BED symptoms and its contributing factors among Bangladeshi students. Approximately 1-in-5 university students reported having BED symptoms. University students who are older, overweight, or obese, and who report depressive symptoms may be at greatest risk. Future longitudinal studies are needed to determine the causal factors underlying BED. Findings from this study can assist policymakers and public health professionals in developing effective and targeted strategies to mitigate the risks associated with BED among Bangladeshi university students

Safe distances between groundwater-based water wells and pit latrines at different hydrogeological conditions in the Ganges Atrai floodplains of Bangladesh.

BACKGROUND: Groundwater drawn from shallow tubewells in Bangladesh is often polluted by nearby pit latrines, which are commonly used toilets in rural and sub-urban areas of the country. METHODS: To determine the minimum safe distance of a tubewell from a pit latrine in different hydrogeological conditions of Bangladesh, 20 monitoring wells were installed at three study sites (Manda, Mohanpur and Bagmara) with the vertical and horizontal distances ranging from 18-47 to 2-15 m, respectively. Water samples were collected three times in three seasons and tested for faecal coliforms (FC) and faecal streptococci (FS) as indicators of contamination. Soil samples were analysed for texture, bulk density and hydraulic conductivity following standard procedures. Sediment samples were collected to prepare lithological logs. RESULTS: When the shallow aquifers at one of the three sites (Mohanpur) were overlained by 18-23-m-thick aquitards, the groundwater of the monitoring wells was found contaminated with a lateral and vertical distances of 2 and 31 m, respectively. However, where the aquitard was only 9 m thick, contamination was found up to lateral and vertical distances of 4.5 and 40.5 m, respectively. The soil textures of all the sites were mainly composed of loam and sandy loam. The hydraulic conductivities in the first aquifer at Manda, Mohanpur and Bagmara were 5.2-7.3, 8.2 and 1.4-15.7 m/h, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The results showed that the safe distance from the tubewell to the pit latrine varied from site to site depending on the horizontal and vertical distances of the tubewell as well as hydrogeological conditions of a particular area

Safe distances between groundwater-based water wells and pit latrines at different hydrogeological conditions in the Ganges Atrai floodplains of Bangladesh

Background: Groundwater drawn from shallow tubewells in Bangladesh is often polluted by nearby pit latrines, which are commonly used toilets in rural and sub-urban areas of the country. Methods: To determine the minimum safe distance of a tubewell from a pit latrine in different hydrogeological conditions of Bangladesh, 20 monitoring wells were installed at three study sites (Manda, Mohanpur and Bagmara) with the vertical and horizontal distances ranging from 18\u201347 to 2\u201315 m, respectively. Water samples were collected three times in three seasons and tested for faecal coliforms (FC) and faecal streptococci (FS) as indicators of contamination. Soil samples were analysed for texture, bulk density and hydraulic conductivity following standard procedures. Sediment samples were collected to prepare lithological logs. Results: When the shallow aquifers at one of the three sites (Mohanpur) were overlained by 18\u201323-m-thick aquitards, the groundwater of the monitoring wells was found contaminated with a lateral and vertical distances of 2 and 31 m, respectively. However, where the aquitard was only 9 m thick, contamination was found up to lateral and vertical distances of 4.5 and 40.5 m, respectively. The soil textures of all the sites were mainly composed of loam and sandy loam. The hydraulic conductivities in the first aquifer at Manda, Mohanpur and Bagmara were 5.2\u20137.3, 8.2 and 1.4\u201315.7 m/h, respectively. Conclusions: The results showed that the safe distance from the tubewell to the pit latrine varied from site to site depending on the horizontal and vertical distances of the tubewell as well as hydrogeological conditions of a particular area