The Determinants of Customer Satisfaction towards Muslim-Friendly Healthcare Service Deliveries: A Conceptual Model

The global need for hospitals that adhere to Islamic principles and accommodate the specific needs of Muslim patients is increasing. Hence, in highly competitive landscape of the healthcare industry it’s imperative for hospitals to be profitable while delivering sufficient and excellent healthcare services to the community, management must exhibit prudence in addressing this evolving attitude. This study intends to identify the appropriate determinants of customer satisfaction pertaining to the service deliveries offered by healthcare providers that are desired by Muslim patients while adhering to Islamic medical ethics and Shariah requirements. A systematic literature review approach was utilized to examine the appropriate features of Muslim-friendly healthcare practices and their mechanisms. The thematic analysis of the reviewed papers revealed eight potential determinants of customer satisfaction which are Halal pharmaceuticals and medical equipment, Islamic facilities and amenities, proficient personnel, empathy and supportive staff, compliance and supportive hospital policy, welcoming Islamic settings, reasonable and suitable pricing, and Islamic work culture. The results are anticipated to stimulate policymakers in Malaysia and other nations with an interest in the matter, to implement the suggested practices through the enactment of favorable legislative measures. This study contributes to the body of knowledge by illuminating the antecedents of customer satisfaction model that can be used by Muslim-friendly healthcare providers to formulate strategies and policies to reduce the financial and business risk due to unsatisfied customers’ reactions. Subsequently, achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals of good health and well-being (Goal 3) and peace, justice and strong institutions (Goal 16)

DEVELOPMENT AND MODELING OF UNMANNED UNDERWATER REMOTELY OPERATED VEHICLE USING SYSTEM IDENTIFICATION FOR DEPTH CONTROL

This paper presents the development and modeling of low cost underwater Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) for depth control using system identification technique. The ROV was developed by the Underwater Technology Research Group (UTeRG). For Unmanned Underwater Vehicle (UUV), the most crucial issue is the control system. It is needed for the ROV to perform several underwater applications and tasks. In this project, a prototype of the ROV will be developed first. The ROV will be tested on an open loop system to obtain measured input-output signals. Input and Output signals from the system are recorded and analyzed to infer a model. Then, system identification toolbox in MATLAB will be applied to generate a model of the ROV. The experimental testing of ROV only considered the vertical movement. The modeling obtained will be used to design the a suitable controller for depth control. The purpose of depth control is to ensure the ROV to remain stationary at a desired depth by utilizing the pressure sensor as feedback. The simulation studies have been carried out in order to obtain the controller of the ROV. This method is useful to obtain the model of the ROV to design the best controller for depth control. Conventional controller will be used in order to verify the modeling of ROV and gives acceptable performances of system response

Environmental Management Practices (EMP) Implementation in Small and Medium-Size Businesses

Purpose: Small and medium-sized businesses must understand the environmental consequences of their operations and seek advice on green issues. The goal of the study is to look into the factors that influence their establishment's implementation of environmental management practices.   Theoretical framework: A modified version of the Technology-Organizational-Environmental Framework (TOE) (Tornatzky & Fleischer, 1990) and the Model of External Influences on Environmental Awareness and Practices (MEAP) (Gadenne et al., 2009) have been developed for researching the adoption of environment management practices.   Design/methodology/approach: The study is to determine the factors adopting environmental management practices in small and medium-sized businesses. Variables introduced are from systematic literature reviews of related articles and journals. The papers were analysed from descriptive, bibliographic, methodologic, results, and citation characteristics.   Findings: According to the findings, small and medium-sized businesses could perhaps participate in environmental programs such as corporate governance, environmental legislation, different industries, business size, organization traits, talent management, internationalization, organizational structure, corporate execution activity, environmental and sustainable aspects, and role in the logistics system, corporate strategy demeanour, and geographical region.   Research, Practical & Social implications:  For small and medium-sized enterprises, implementing environmental management practices can be seen as a key strategy for addressing their environmental issues. It's crucial to understand the motivations behind these policies, though.   Originality/value: This article is an academic contribution that allows an understanding of research developed on small and medium size businesses on adopting environmental management practices, considering data from two reference research databases

Nisab of Zakat and Zakat Contribution: A Conceptual Model

Zakat distribution has a positive correlation with its collection. Thus, a higher collection of zakat will positively impact the distribution amount and reach a bigger pool of zakat recipients. However, some external constraints in its collection could likely have an adverse impact on its collection, especially the effect of the macroeconomic factors. It becomes crucial when the increase in the price of gold (one of the primary commodities used as a nisab benchmark for zakat in Islam) is claimed to negatively influence the collection and allocation of zakat to the respective recipients. Therefore, this study aims to investigate whether the high and low value of nisab due to the fluctuating price of gold in the world market could negatively influence the zakat collection and indirectly affect all the recipients, especially the poor and needy. In achieving this aim, this study will utilize a structured self-administered questionnaire to study the awareness of Muslims on the nisab of zakat and its influence on their zakat payments. It is still relatively rare to find any research on the awareness of the nisab of zakat and its relation to the zakat contribution. One past econometric study concluded that a higher nisab leads to a lower zakat collection. The findings of this proposed study could complement that previous study and hence be justifiable due to its significant impact on the recipients of zakat (asnaf) as the main stakeholders

Evidence and Prosecution of Out-Of-Wedlock Pregnancies: A Legal Perspective of Syariah Criminal Offences in Malaysia

The issue of illegitimate pregnancies is worrying and births out of wedlock are rampant in Malaysia. These concerns are not exclusive to Malaysia however, as typically, developing countries encounter similar problems. Workable data or statistics on adultery are nearly impossible to obtain as the perpetrator would be unlikely to plead guilty, unless there are reliable witnesses willing to testify and help the prosecution. However, data on out of wedlock pregnancies and illegitimate births in Malaysia are certainly considered essential indicators of acts of fornication. Apart from from the incidences of rape, acts of voluntary sexual intercourse also contribute to both pregnancies and the birth of illegitimate children. Against this backdrop, the present paper aims to analyse the relevant syariah criminal laws related to premarital pregnancies. The areas of interest are issues on the allocation of funds, nature of punishment, extent of prosecution, and incriminating evidence required under the Syariah Criminal Offences (SCO) Enactments of states in Malaysia. This study has adopted a qualitative method by obtaining data through analyses of documents pertaining to the Syariah Criminal Offences (SCO) Enactments of Malaysian states, books, and academic journals. This study finds that not all states have provisions for extramarital affairs. In fact, prosecutions in Syariah Courts for out of wedlock pregnancies are very few compared to the number of illegitimate births. In addition, the existing provisions under the SCO are sufficient to handle cases of out of wedlock pregnancies and illegitimate births. In facing this reality, effective laws are obligatory, on top of the need to refine the existing provisions and develop the Islamic legal and judicial system in Malaysia

Development and modeling of unmanned underwater remotely operated vehicle using system identification for depth control

This paper presents the development and modeling of low cost underwater Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) for depth control using system identification technique. The ROV was developed by the Underwater Technology Research Group (UTeRG). For Unmanned Underwater Vehicle (UUV), the most crucial issue is the control system. It is needed for the ROV to perform several underwater applications and tasks. In this project, a prototype of the ROV will be developed first. The ROV will be tested on an open loop system to obtain measured input-output signals. Input and Output signals from the system are recorded and analyzed to infer a model. Then, system identification toolbox in MATLAB will be applied to generate a model of the ROV. The experimental testing of ROV only considered the vertical movement. The modeling obtained will be used to design the a suitable controller for depth control. The purpose of depth control is to ensure the ROV to remain stationary at a desired depth by utilizing the pressure sensor as feedback. The simulation studies have been carried out in order to obtain the controller of the ROV. This method is useful to obtain the model of the ROV to design the best controller for depth control. Conventional controller will be used in order to verify the modeling of ROV and gives acceptable performances of system respons

Niṣāb of Zakāt : An Analysis of Gold-Based Benchmark and the Macroeconomic Factors on Zakāt Collection

Zakāt collection determines the zakāt distribution. Thus, a higher zakāt collection leads to a huge benefit to the zakāt recipients. However, there is a constraint in terms of its collection due to the external factors that undeniably could affect the collection especially from the effect of the macroeconomic factors. It becomes critical when the price of gold (one of the macroeconomic commodities and used as a niṣāb benchmark for zakāt in Malaysia) claimed to have a negative influence on the collection of zakāt as well as distribution of the zakāt to the poor

Niṣāb of Zakāt : An Analysis of Gold-Based Benchmark and the Macroeconomic Factors on Zakāt Collection

Zakāt collection determines the zakāt distribution. Thus, a higher zakāt collection leads to a huge benefit to the zakāt recipients. However, there is a constraint in terms of its collection due to the external factors that undeniably could affect the collection especially from the effect of the macroeconomic factors. It becomes critical when the price of gold (one of the macroeconomic commodities and used as a niṣāb benchmark for zakāt in Malaysia) claimed to have a negative influence on the collection of zakāt as well as distribution of the zakāt to the poor

The Distribution of Zakat: A Comparison between the Rate of Niṣāb and the Rate of Poverty Line Income in Malaysia

Zakat plays a significant role in Muslim community as an agent in alleviating the poverty. The calculation of zakat payment depends of the calculation of nisab, which is the least amount of zakatable items of a Muslim wealth in one circle year. The zakat is an obligatory duty to a Muslim once the amount of wealth reaches the least level of nisab. This study aims to analyze the relationship between the niṣāb amount changes and the poor indication in Malaysia. This is based on the discussion of the contemporary scholars, who claimed that the price fluctuation in the world market impacts the amount of niṣāb of zakāt. Relatively, it could affect the poor once the price dropped. Therefore, the comparative analyses of the annually niṣāb and poverty line income data from 1993 to 2015 identifies that there is a significant correlation between the facts. Accordingly, it is an alert to the zakāt institution to take a precautionary step in preventing this situation