The effect of financing and non-financing income on Islamic banks’ risk : evidence from Gulf Cooperation Council Countries

Purpose: This study investigates the effect of income structure on Islamic banks’ risk in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. The main objective was to investigate whether a great reliance on non-financing income, and different types of non-financing income (Fees and Commission, Trading Income, and Other Income) impacts the riskiness of Islamic banks. Design/Methodology/Approach: A panel dataset of 16 Islamic banks from Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, and Kuwait during the period 2010 to 2016 were used to achieve the objectives of this study. Findings: The study found evidence that Islamic banks’ risks are decreased and stability is improved by non-financing income. In addition, the study found that components of nonfinancing income have different impacts on Islamic banks’ risk, where trading income and other income have decreased the Islamic banks’ risk. Islamic banks are found to be more focused on financing activities than non-financing activities (innovative activities). Practical Implications: These findings have important practical implications to Islamic banks in order to deal with non-financing income to boost their growth worldwide. Moreover, these findings have important implications for Islamic banks’ management. Originality/value: Testing the effect of income structure in the banking industry is still relatively needed. Furthermore, the Islamic banks literature has been largely ignored.peer-reviewe

Numerical evaluation of the pipe-pile buckling during vibratory driving in sand

The buckling of steel pipe piles during vibratory driving is numerically studied using the Multi-Material Arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian (MMALE) method. This method handles the large soil deformations that occur during pile driving and other geotechnical installation processes. The Mohr-Coulomb and an elastic-perfectly plastic material model are used to model the soil and the pile mechanical behavior, respectively. The result of a small-scale pile driving experiment is used to validate the numerical model. The penetration trend agrees well with the experimental measurements. Thereafter, four case scenarios and their possible effects on pile buckling, namely the presence of heterogeneity in the soil (a rigid boulder inside the soil) and the existence of geometrical imperfection modes in the pile (ovality, out-of-straightness, flatness) are investigated. This study shows that a combination of local and global buckling initiates at the pile tip and the pile shaft, respectively. During the initiation of buckling, a decrease in the penetration rate of the pile is observed compared to the case where no or minimal buckling occurs. It is shown that a less portion of the driving energy is spent on the pile penetration and the rest is spent on other phenomena such as buckling, resulting in less pile penetration. The cross section of the pile tip after buckling takes a form of a “peanut”, yet with a different geometry for each case. In cases where the model was initially symmetric, an asymmetric shape in cross section of the pile tip was obtained at the final stage which can be attributed to complex soil-structure interaction. The results of the numerical approach provide promising results to be used as an evaluation tool to reach reliable predictions in pile installation practice

Numerical evaluation of the soil behavior during impact driving of pipe-piles

During the impact driving of pipe-piles, the soil is influenced in different ways including the void ratio, stress distribution, and plugging formation. Such effects may play an important role in structural design criteria such as the pile’s lateral support provided by the soil. Hence, this work is focused on investigating the change in the mechanical characteristics of the soil during impact driving using an advanced numerical analysis tool which is validated against an experiment. The investigation includes the pile penetration behavior, plugging formulation inside the pile, and the change of the lateral stress in the soil during the pile installation. The proposed numerical model is shown to provide similar results compared to experimental measurements. The void ratio of the soil is influenced due to pile driving up to a lateral and vertical distance of 2D and 1D, respectively, where D is the pile diameter. Compared to the initial void ratio, the soil inside the pile experienced loosening about 20% while the soil outside is densified about 30% during driving. Moreover, the induced lateral stress inside is more than the one outside the pile, indicating the formation of plugging. Compared to the initial lateral stress state, the pile installation increased the lateral stress up to four times inside and two times outside the pile. Based on the findings of this work, the effects of driving on soil mechanical properties are not minimal and may affect the pile performance including the lateral resistance of the pile. By using the numerical approaches such as one in this study, the evaluation of the various effects on the soil due to pile driving and gaining a better understanding of the such complex problems are possible

Evaluation of emergency medicine training programs in Egypt: Trainees’ perspective

Background and ObjectivesEmergency medicine (EM) is in the early development phase in Egypt. There is an Egyptian Board of Emergency Medicine that has been in existence for approximately 10years, along with academic master degree in EM from three medical schools (Alexandria, Tanta and Suez Canal). Until now, there is not a specialty society in emergency medicine or national annual meetings to evaluate the training progress and give the trainees the chance to see and be seen. It is known that each program has two-folded objectives; the organization’s objectives and the objectives of the individual. It is the goal of the study to emphasis on the trainees view toward the Emergency medicine training.MethodsA questionnaire based survey of the satisfaction with EM training in Egypt among trainees who are doing residency or fellowship.Results88 physicians filled the questionnaire; 18 trainees at the three medical schools for master degree and 70 at Egyptian board program. 100 % of the participants were unhappy with their training. 57 (65%) agreed that they are working without any or under unprofessional supervision, while 82 (93%) reported unclear job description and lack of practical and applicable training policy. 36 (41%) were thinking to change the career, while 17 (19.3%) already enrolled in another post-graduate specialty certificates e.g. MRCS (UK), MRCP (UK) and academic masters.ConclusionsEgyptian Emergency medicine trainees are not satisfied with their training and owing that to the unclear vision toward Emergency medicine as specialty from the policy makers and lack of professional staff responsible for education and evaluation. It is highly recommended that the training and mentoring go hand in hand and trainees should take part in the continuous evaluation process

A Novel Method for Measuring the Timing Website Reconstructions

This research method contributes to the literature by measuring commensurably the Timing of Website Reconstructions (TWR) for Web-based research studies. TWR deepens the understanding the functionality of online media by focusing on specific web metrics to make the usage of this type of media efficient for disclosure function. This method helps establishing a new methodological pathway by providing chronological map of website reconstructions. The inputs of new method are originally based on publicly available data and it can be applied through 3 consecutive steps. Accordingly, this method is applicable to assess disclosure function for any web-based research study. In sum, this method presents. • The inputs of TWR method are publicly available data. • This method is applicable for variety web-based research studied regardless of the applied methodological approach (e.g., qualitative, quantitative)

Application of date palm leaves compost (DPLC) and plant growth promoting rhizobacteria(PGPR) for controlling faba bean root rot disease in New Valley, Egypt

Abstract This study was designed to investigate the effect of date palm leaves compost (DPLC) individually and/or in combined with plant growth promoting rhizobacteria(PGPR) for controlling faba bean root rot disease caused by Rhizoctonia solani andFusarium solani under greenhouse and field conditions as well as plant growth and yield parameters. The obtained data indicate thatDPLC at different concentrations significantly decreased root rot incidence either under artificial infection in pot or natural infection in field as well as increased growth and yield parameters during growing season 2013-2014. Date palm leaves compost at 8 ton/feddan recorded the highest protection against root rot disease and gave the highest increased of plant growth and yield parameters. On the other hand, PGPR viz.Bacillus megaterium, B. cereus and Pseudomonas fluorescens individually or mixed significantly decreased root rot incidence under greenhouse and fieldconditions. The mixed of PGPR strains more than for controlling root rot disease than used alone of them.  Plant growth promoting rhizobacteria increased efficacy of DPLC for controlling root rot disease in faba bean more than the applied of DPLC or PGPR alone under greenhouse and field conditions during both growing seasons (2014-2015 and 2015-2016) as well as increased of nodulations, growth and yield parameters. The application mixed of PGPR strains and DPLC at 8 ton/feddanrecorded the highest reduction of root rot incidence and increase of nodulations, growth and yield parameters during both growing seasons