Islamic Banks' Brand Personality and Customer Satisfaction: An Empirical Investigation through SEM

Purpose – Brand personality plays an important role in affecting customer satisfaction. The Muslim population is estimated to reach 30% of the world’s population, and it is considered as the fastest growing religion in the world. To tap into this market, it is important to explore various aspects of business, in general, and marketing, in particular, from the perspective of Muslim consumers. The present research also attempts to do the same by proposing a conceptual model related to the brand personality of Islamic Banks, named, Islamic Banks’ Brand Personality (IBBP) and its impact on customer satisfaction. Design/methodology/approach – This paper analyses the causal relationship that exists between the variables related to Islamic brand personality and customer satisfaction. For this purpose, data was collected quantitatively from 337 customers of different Islamic banks, through a self-administered questionnaire. The data analysis was conducted using SPSS and AMOS software. Factor analysis was performed to extract and decide on the number of factors underlying the measured variables of interest. Structural equation modelling was then used to examine the variables and the fitness of the proposed model. Findings – The result revealed that five out of the total six hypotheses were supported. In this case, trustworthiness and Shariah compliance resulted in the strongest impact on customer satisfaction followed by sincerity and justice. Practical implications – The positive significant impact of trustworthiness and Shariah compliance on customer satisfaction attests to the importance of these variables in the development of a strong brand personality in the context of Islamic banks. Policymakers of the financial industry in general and the Islamic financial service industry, in particular, may benefit from the findings of this study. Originality/value – There is a dearth of research conducted on investigating the impact of brand personality-related variables on the Islamic banking sector. The present research did not only develop variables of IBBP but also empirically tested their effect on customer satisfaction. This paper, therefore, offers invaluable insight into IBBP with its impact on customer satisfaction

Fertilizer Requirements of Newly Planted Teak (Tectona grandis L.f.) Seedlings

The results of the present study indicated that height and diameter increments of newly planted teak seedlings were significantly affected by N and P fertilizers. Leaf weight, shoot weight, root weight and total dry matter production showed statistically significant responses to fertilizer application at harvest, one year after planting. Root-shoot ratio decreased as a result of fertilizer application. The present study also revealed that the application of 300 kg/ha triple superphosphate and 200 kg/ha ammonium sulphate are required to enhance the height and diameter growth and total plant weight of newly planted teak seedlings on Penambang soil series

Prospects of microalgal biodiesel production in Pakistan – a review

Biodiesel is an alternative, renewable, biodegradable and environmentally friendly fuel for transportation, with properties like petroleum-derived diesel, and can be used directly in a compression ignition engine without any modifications. The world's fossil fuel and crude oil reserves are going to dry up in the next few decades, but, contrariwise, an attractive, high quality, readily available and economically extractable oil from microalgae is a substitute feedstock to produce alternative biodiesel fuel for the transportation sector in the future. Microalgae have a higher biomass productivity (tons/hectare/year) and lipid yield (kg/kg of algal biomass) as compared to vegetable oil crops. To overcome the problem of energy deficiency in developing countries, like Pakistan, and boost their economic growth, alternative fuels are proving very important for environment-friendly and sustainable development, especially in the last few decades. Different research studies on microalgae cultivation, characterization of microalgae oil (lipids), and evaluations of its socio-economic feasibility to produce renewable biodiesel have been conducted in the past in Pakistan for its future prospects. This review paper includes the overall summary and compilation of the microalgae research conducted in Pakistan on biodiesel production and includes the algal biodiesel production cost analysis. The studies showed promising results for harnessing microalgae and using its lipids to produce biodiesel with favourable properties that were comparable to the conventional diesel in Pakistan. The information related to the microalgae research will help stakeholders and governmental organisations working in the renewable energy sector to consider its cultivation on a large scale, using waste water as a feedstock to produce biodiesel to meet the target set by the Government of Pakistan of using 10% blended biodiesel by the year 2025 in Pakistan

Growth Response of Teak (Tectona grandis L.f.) Seedlings to Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium Fertilizers

Teak (fectona grandis L.f) is one of the high quality timber species in the world. A greenhouse experiment was conducted to determine the growth response of teak seedlings to N, P, K fertilizers. The results of the present study indicated that root weight, leaf area and total plant weight of the teak seedlings were significantly affected by all the three main factors i.e. N, P and K Height increment, leaf weight, shoot weight and root length showed statistically significant responses to N and P fertilizers. The main effects of N and K but not of P were statistically significant for diameter increment. There was significant main effect of N only far root-shoot ratio. The present study also revealed that the application of 564 kg/ha ammonium sulphate, 300 kg/ha triple superphosphate and 75 kg/ha muriate ofpotash are required to enhance height and diameter growth and total plant weight of teak seedlings at nursery stage

PENANGGULANGAN KORUPSI MELALUI PENDEKATAN TEOLOGIS BERBASIS AL-QURAN

This study concludes that overcoming corruption with a non-theological conventional approach is deadlocked, which is caused by a moral crisis, identity, and social situation, and group propaganda that prioritizes corruption prevention strategies with an approach to improving legislation rather than theological approach. The conventional, non-theological approach has so far turned out to be ineffective, because it is only superficial (saṭḥiyyun wa ẓāhiriyyun), not a deep solution, that is, a solution that reaches deep into the substance of the problem, namely theological or religious approach. The perspective of the Qur'an in dealing with corruption is found through three strategies, namely: detective, preventive, and repressive. Detective and preventive strategies are pursued in three ways: strengthening faith, strengthening the heart, and strengthening morality. Meanwhile, the repressive strategy is pursued in four ways: strengthening supervisory institutions (al-ḥisbah), strengthening juridical law and the judiciary, strengthening communities, and strengthening aspects of religiosity. Meanwhile, the detective, preventive, and repressive strategies as a whole are taken through strengthening theological values. The method used in this study is a qualitative method, based on library research, verses of the Qur'an, publications in the form of research results, journals, seminars, and articles. While the interpretation method used is the thematic interpretation method (tafsīr mawḍū’ī), both when analyzing problems from a theological point of view and when using verses of the Qur'an

Реформа образования в зеркале метафоры

Предпринята попытка лингвистического осмысления реформирования системы образования, инициированной и реализуемой Правительством Российской Федерации. Определены основные метафорические модели. Сделан вывод о когнитивно-прагматической функции метафоры в медийном тексте

BRIBERY AND GRATUITY: REGULATORY ANALYSIS AND JUDICIAL RESPONSE

This paper is aimed at analyzing the concepts and parameters to determine an act as a bribery and gratuity in the Anti-Corruption Law and court cases.  This involved the application of the doctrinal legal research to understand these differences. The results of this study showed that bribery requires a meeting of mind between the bribe givers and bribe recipients which is not found in gratuity. The reporting mechanism and the reversal burden of proof do not apply to bribery while Operation Catching Hand does not apply to gratuity due to its inability to satisfy the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Code. Criminal sanctions are also imposed on both the giver and the recipient of a bribe while the act of a giver in gratuity is not considered as a criminal offense. The study also found that the court failed to apply these essential differences

The Equity Risk Premium Puzzle in Pakistan

Our study uses the consumption-based asset-pricing power utility model to test theEquity Risk Premium (ERP) puzzle in Pakistan. The study has collected monthly stock pricedata from July 1997 to December 2017 from the PSX data portal. We extracted informationabout macroeconomic factors such as inflation and risk-free interest rate from the State Bankof Pakistan. Moreover, the study used private consumption and population data from thePakistan Bureau of Statistics. The results suggest that the ERP puzzle has a strong occurrencein Pakistan, a phenomenon previously associated with only developed markets. Onedisadvantage of the present investigation is the small sample size. A longer time durationcould have reduced short-term biases. Past researchers have suggested different approachesfor solving the equity premium puzzle. For instance, some studies used improvised structuralmodels to justify the equity risk premium puzzle using macroeconomic factors

A prospective comparative study of Proximal Femoral Nailing Anti-rotation (PFNA) and Sliding Hip Screw (SHS) for Per-trochanteric Femur Fracture

Objectives: To determine the functional outcome, operative risks, rate of union, and complication in Per-trochanteric  Fracture fixed with PFNA and SHS. Material and Methods: The present study has been conducted at Shalamar Medical and Dental College Lahore from January 2018 to December 2018.40 patients with per-trochanteric femur fracture treated with proximal femoral nailing anti-rotation (PFNA)  and Sliding hip screw (SHS) were enrolled in our study.20 patients were treated by PFNA and 20 patients by SHS. Timing of surgery, mobilization status, hospital stay, infection, weight-bearing status, radiological union, complications both technical and implant-related, amount of blood loss(ml), C ARM Exposures, and Harris hip score at the end of 6 months were recorded. Results: Union was better in the PFNA group (95%) as compared to the SHS group (85%). Complication rate, hospital stay, surgery timing, and requirement of revision surgery were more in the SHS group. The functional outcome was better in the PFNA group as compared to the SHS group. Conclusion: From our study, we concluded that PFNA is a better alternative than SHS in terms of higher union rates, low complication rates, and better functional outcomes. &nbsp