Donors’ influence strategies and beneficiary accountability: an NGO case study

Previous research on NGO accountability have focused on the constraining features of NGOs’ accountability to donors. We argue that donor accountability of NGOs also has enabling features which can be mobilised to the advantage of beneficiaries. Drawing on a fieldwork-based case study design in this paper, we show that how powerful stakeholders like donors can influence NGOs, and in that process facilitate beneficiary accountability. We have found that donors have applied “direct usage” (influence NGOs directly by controlling critical resources) and “indirect usage” (influence NGOs indirectly via other stakeholders such as regulators) strategies in holding the case NGO to account

Effects of politically controlled boards on bank loan performance: an emerging economy perspective

Purpose – In this study, the authors explore the effects of politically controlled boards on bank loan performance in both state-owned commercial banks (SCBs) and private sector commercial banks (PCBs) in Bangladesh.
 Design/methodology/approach –The data consist of 409 bank-year observations from 46 sample SCBs and PCBs of Bangladesh for the period 2008–17. The authors apply ordinary least squares pooled regression with year fixed effect for baseline econometric analyses and generalized method of moments regression for robustness tests after addressing the endogeneity issue.
 Findings – The regression results reveal that the presence of bank “boards controlled by politically affiliated directors” (PA) have significant positive effects on non-performing loans (NPLs). Similarly, the presence of “boards controlled by politically affiliated directors without substantial ownership interests” (PAWOI) show positive association with NPLs. In contrast, the presence of “boards controlled by politically affiliated directors with substantial ownership interests” (PAOI) exhibit an inverse relationship with NPLs. These findings support ‘agency conflict’ arguments and document that both PA and PAWOI are detrimental to bank loan performance in Bangladesh, while PAOI do not have significant effect on increasing NPLs.
 Originality/value – This study contributes to the existing bank governance literature by providing evidence from an emerging economy perspective, where politically affiliated directors (PADs) exploit their positions for personal and/or political gain at the cost of other stakeholders by taking advantage of relaxed regulatory oversights and investor protections

Variation of Wheat Cultivars in Their Response to Elevated Temperature on Starch and Dry Matter Accumulation in Grain

Three wheat cultivars, namely, BARI Gom 25, BARI Gom 26, and Pavon 76, were sown in experimental field of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Agricultural University, Gazipur, in Bangladesh, on 18 November, 2013. Two temperature regimes, namely, normal (23°C in open field) and elevated (6 ± 1°C higher compared to open field mean air temperature in polythene chamber) temperature, were created immediately after anthesis to investigate the response of wheat cultivars to heat stress. Elevated temperature cuts back the duration of grain filling by 5 days in BARI Gom 25 and BARI Gom 26 and 10 days in Pavon 76. Starch synthesis was also cut back by the same duration in respective cultivars under elevated temperature condition. Results indicate that failure of conversion of sugar to starch rather than limited supply of sugar under high temperature condition was responsible for shortening of grain filling duration in all wheat cultivars. However, the response of elevated temperature on grain starch and main stem grain dry matter was less profound in BARI Gom 25 and BARI Gom 26 compared to Pavon 76 indicating their better tolerance to elevated temperature

Phytochemical and Pharmacological Investigations of Lannea grandis (Dennst.) Engl. Leaves Extracts

Medicinal plants can serve as a prominent source of bioactive secondary metabolites which can exert beneficial effects to combat against many human diseases. Lannea grandis (Dennst.) Engl, a member of Anacardiaceae family has several applications in the ethnomedical practices. In this study, the ethanol extract of L. grandis leaf (ELG) along with its petroleum-ether and chloroform fractions were subjected to phytochemical analysis along with the evaluation of antimicrobial, anti-diarrheal, and sedative activities using standard protocols. Phytochemical screening was performed according to common phytochemical tests. Antimicrobial assay was carried out by disc diffusion method where the ethanol extract of L. grandis showed significant activity against tested bacterial species (zone of inhibitions = 10.8±0.85 to 13.8±1.84 mm). The same extract also exhibited the highest antifungal activity against Blastomyces dermatitidis (zone of inhibition = 20.5±0.35 mm). The chloroform fraction of L. grandis at the dose of 400 mg/kg body weight produced a significant (p<0.05) anti-diarrheal effect with 40.69% inhibition of castor oil-induced diarrhea in mice. During sedative activity assay in mice, the plant extract at the dose of 400 mg/kg body weight produced mild reduction in the time of onset of sleep and increased the length of the sleeping time induced by a sedative, phenobarbitone. In conclusion, the plant L. grandis can be considered as a base for the development of new drugs and phytomedicine. Keywords: Lannea grandis, phytochemical, antimicrobial, anti-diarrheal, sedative activity