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The purpose of this study is to explore the salience of glass ceiling type barriers in the Lebanese banking sector, based on the perceptions of a sample of Lebanese top and middle level women managers.

Literature review and survey type questionnaire molded after the women workplace culture questionnaire developed by Bergman and Hallberg. The questionnaire was administered to a sample of 61 top and middle level women managers, drawn from the context of 12 different banks in the Lebanese context.

The findings suggest that the common precepts of the glass ceiling theory are not supported in the context of Lebanese banks with overall positive inferences and perceptions reported by Lebanese women managers in relation to their work environment and daily work experiences. These findings are explained by the progressive evolution of the Lebanese banking sector over the past few decades.

The value added of this research is to revisit the salience of the glass ceiling in a non‐traditional context, namely Lebanon. While the findings encountered in the banking sector cannot be generalized to the entire Lebanese society, they nevertheless present an unexpected trend and potentially interesting implications stemming from an Arab‐Middle‐Eastern context.

This study aims to investigate the significant role of the Shariah Board (SB) in the innovation of digital finance products through SBs’ interaction with financial technology (FinTech).

By using semi-structured interviews, the paper examines 34 views and experiences of scholars and other practitioners from the FinTech and Islamic banking industries to gain an in-depth understanding of SBs’ Shariah compliance roles in FinTech inclusion in Malaysian Islamic banks (IBs).

Taking advantage of Malaysia’s comprehensive Shariah Governance Framework for IBs, the study highlighted the importance of SBs to better address the opportunities and challenges of financial innovation for the development of IBs with the inclusion of FinTech. The authors found that digital solutions and tools, such as Robo Advisory system and blockchain, enhance SBs’ roles by providing more effective and timely Shariah assurance regardless of the volume of data information and storage.

Given SBs significant roles in conforming to the Shariah, the study contributed significantly to assisting the regulatory and policy promulgation that enhance SBs’ integrity and credibility in response to the growth of IB infrastructures and financial innovation.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to investigate the significant role of SBs in the innovation of digital finance products through their interaction with FinTech, while prior studies focused on the characteristics and structure of Islamic digital financial products.

The purpose of this paper is to examine investors' perceptions of the usefulness of continuous online auditing (COA) prior to and after the Sarbanes‐Oxley (SOX) Act and assesses the current value relevance of continuous auditing. The paper examines two research questions: first, whether continuous online audits significantly impact investors' perceptions of firm risk and, consequently, the value of a firm and second, whether continuous online audits have a greater impact on investor assessment of a firm's risk subsequent to SOX.

A 2 × 2×2 × 2 between participants laboratory experiment was conducted. Technology risk was manipulated at (e‐commerce risks versus no e‐commerce risks), traditional financial risk was manipulated at (high financial leverage versus low financial leverage), COA was manipulated at (traditional annual audit versus continuous online audits), and pre‐ and post‐SOX was tested (2002 sample versus 2005 sample). The primary dependent variables used were investors' assessment of firm risk and investors' assessment of earnings per share estimates. Additionally, investors' confidence in their investing decision was captured.

Results indicate a demand for COA as reflected in investors' reduced firm risk estimates, and increased confidence in estimates. Comparative results from the 2005 sample and the 2002 sample indicate that the value relevance of COA has increased after the introduction of SOX in July 2002. We attribute this shift to investors' perception that COA is a factor that helps mitigate firm risk and relatedly boosts investor confidence in their investing decisions.

Only a single proxy for traditional business risk (financial leverage) is examined. Future studies need to examine the ability of continuous online audits to mitigate other types of traditional business risks.

The study establishes the current economic feasibility of continuous online audits. Additionally, the most insightful finding of the study is that the value relevance of COA has increased after the introduction of SOX. This shift is due to investors' perceptions of COA as a factor that mitigates firm risk and helps boost confidence in their investing decisions. Implications for the profession, the classroom and public policy are discussed.

There is much debate in the literature about how the performance of Islamic banks (IBs) should be measured. Basically, IBs’ business models are different from that of conventional banks; thus, the performance of IBs should be measured by using a Sharīʿah-based approach. This paper considers zakat (Islamic tax) as an alternative indicator to measure the performance of IBs. This paper aims to examine whether zakat ratios can be used as Islamic performance (ISPER) indicators for IBs besides the conventional performance (COPER) indicators.

The investigation covered a sample of 214 yearly observations of 37 IBs located in Indonesia, Malaysia, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates for the period 2007–2015. This study used a single-factor congeneric model and confirmatory factor analysis, performed using the AMOS 23.0 software.

The findings assert that the discriminant validity of multi-bank performance, as measured by ISPER [zakat on assets (ZOA) and zakat on equity (ZOE)] and COPER indicators (return on assets, return on equity and operational efficiency in terms of assets), is very high. Hence, ISPER and COPER measurements are valid, either together to measure the multi-performance of IBs from both the Islamic and conventional perspectives, or independently as each measurement is valid to measure the Islamic and conventional performance if it is used separately.

This paper does not investigate whether the findings are constant across time. This represents one of the limitations of this study.

It is strongly recommended that IBs calculate and disclose zakat ratios, particularly ZOA and ZOE, in their annual reports. Researchers and academicians should use these ratios for measuring the ISPER of IBs, either along with COPER or separately.

Empirical evidence is provided in this paper on the development and validity of zakat ratios as ISPER indicators in the Islamic banking industry. Zakat ratios are suitable indicators that can measure IBs’ performance and achieve the goals of IBs as well as those of Islamic economics. Technically, zakat has a dynamic ability to reflect the profitability of IBs. The more the IBs generate profit, the more they pay zakat. Furthermore, the greater the total assets of IBs, the higher the amount of zakat that they should pay. Thus, zakat ratios can be used as profitability measurements as in the case of tax ratios.

Prolonged closure of educational institutions prompted authorities to adopt online teaching as an alternative method to impart education. The purpose of this study is to investigate the readiness on the part of teachers to switch/adopt online teaching as a part of their pedagogy. Also, this study analyses relationship between perceived stress (PS) and readiness to change (RTC)/adopt.

All the constructs were adapted from established scales, exploratory factor analysis confirmed item loadings on the appropriate constructs. Convenience sampling was used for data collection; owing to COVID-19 this appeared to be the only viable method. Partial least square structural equation modelling was used for analysis of data.

Results from this study indicate that 32.2% variance in RTC is accounted for by exogenous constructs perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use and autonomy (AUT). Although f2 effect size pointed towards non-significance of AUT in predicting RTC (path coefficients were found to be significant for all the exogenous constructs). Also, RTC accounted for 32.6% variance in PS. To assess the predictive relevance of the model, blindfolding procedure was used to obtain Q2 values (Q2PS = 0.231; Q2RTC = 0.243). Positive Q2 values provide support for the model’s predictive relevance.

Data were collected from teachers employed in urban public schools. A complete picture can be obtained by involving teachers from rural public and state-run schools.

Teachers’ readiness to adopt online teaching as a part of their pedagogy may act as a starting point for the policymakers to design properly structured training programs for teachers that minimise stress levels.

If not handled properly, the society may end with either loss of learning to one generation or a major chunk of stressed-out teaching populations or both.

To the best of the author’s knowledge, this study is probably the first one focusing on sudden shift to online teaching and PS.

In March 2019, Facebook updated its security procedures requesting ID verification for people who wish to advertise or promote political posts of adverts. The announcement received little media coverage even though it is an interesting development in the battle against fake news. This paper aims to review the current literature on different approaches in the battle against the spread of fake news, including the use of computer algorithms, artificial intelligence (AI) and introduction of ID checks.

Critical to the evaluation is consideration into ID checks as a means to combat the spread of fake news. To understand the process and how it works, the team undertook a social experiment combined with reflective analysis to better understand the impact of ID check policies when combined with other standards policies of a typical platform.

The analysis identifies grave concerns. In a wider context, standardising such policy will leave political activists in countries vulnerable to reprisal from authoritarian regimes. Other victims of the impacts include people who use fake names to protect the identity of adopted children or to protect anonymity from abusive partners.

The analysis also points to the fact that troll armies could bypass these checks rendering the use of ID checks less effective in the battle to combat fake news.

The unique characteristic of Islamic bank leads in governance and disclosure. Using stakeholder, signaling, and market discipline theory, governance and adequate disclosure may increase bank soundness. This study aims to investigate the relationship of sharia disclosure and Sharia Supervisory Board in influencing Islamic bank soundness in the different regulatory framework of the country. Using purposive sampling, the research covered 84 Islamic banks in 16 countries during the period 2013–2015 with lag data of Islamic bank soundness. The result shows sharia disclosure influences on Islamic bank soundness for management efficiency, capital adequacy ratio, asset quality, and liquidity. The results also show that sharia disclosure mediates the indirect effect of SSB on Islamic bank soundness. The regulatory framework (sharia accounting standard and SSB regulation) shows moderating effect of regulation framework proved on the association of sharia disclosure with management efficiency, capital, and liquidity. The effect is indirectly depending on the regulatory framework for proxy management efficiency, capital, and liquidity. The implication of the research suggests that sharia disclosure could increase the market discipline mechanism of Islamic bank stream. The Islamic bank can increase the transparency using sharia disclosure as a branding for increasing public trust, even though in the deficient Islamic bank regulation countries.

The study aims to examine the effect of Islamic values on the extent of voluntary corporate governance (CG) disclosure. In addition, the authors investigate the effect of traditional ownership structure and CG mechanisms on the extent of voluntary CG disclosure.

The authors distinctively construct Islamic values and voluntary CG disclosure indices using a sample of 75 Saudi-listed firms over a seven-year period in conducting multivariate regressions of the effect of Islamic values on the extent of voluntary CG disclosure. The analyses are robust to controlling for firm-level characteristics, fixed-effects, endogeneities and alternative measures.

The authors find that corporations that depict greater commitment towards incorporating Islamic values into their operations through high Islamic values disclosure index score engage in higher voluntary CG disclosures than those that are not. Additionally, the authors find that audit firm size, board size, government ownership, institutional ownership and the presence of a CG committee are positively associated with the level of voluntary CG disclosure, whereas block ownership is negatively associated with the extent of voluntary CG disclosure.

The study has clear practical implications for future research, practice and broader society by demonstrating empirically that corporations that voluntarily incorporate Islamic values into their operations are more likely to be transparent about their CG practices and thereby providing new crucial insights on the effect of Islamic values on voluntary CG compliance and disclosure.

This is the first empirical attempt at explicitly examining the effect of Islamic values on the extent of voluntary CG disclosure. The authors also offer evidence on the effect of traditional CG and ownership structures on the extent of voluntary CG disclosure.

The purpose of this paper is to find out whether corporate diversification provides a favourable environment for earnings management (agency conflicts hypothesis) or whether it mitigates this phenomenon (earnings volatility hypothesis).

Based on a sample of US firms and making an explicit distinction between industrial and geographic diversification, univariate and multivariate analyses are used to test whether firm diversification has an impact on earnings management.

Results show that the average diversified firm in the sample has somewhat more earnings management problems than a similarly constructed portfolio of stand‐alone firms chosen to approximate the segments of the conglomerate. Consistent with the agency conflicts hypothesis, the authors find that geographic diversification increases earnings management whereas industrial diversification decreases it, consistent with earnings volatility hypothesis. Moreover, industrial and geographic diversification combined reinforce this phenomenon. These findings are consistent with the view that the costs of geographic diversification outweigh the benefits.

The paper makes an important contribution to the accounting literature by providing new and significantly different evidence on the relative roles of corporate diversification in the earnings management. By linking two streams of research, earnings management and corporate diversification, one is taken into the unexplored area of the sources of the difference in earnings management between diversified and focussed firms. More specifically, this study provides evidence that earnings management is more intensively practiced in geographically diversified firms and even more so in firms that are both industrially and geographically diversified.

A decade after 2008 crisis, scholars in mainstream field of finance are yet to proffer lasting solutions to the menace that target the root cause of the crisis. Islamic finance offers a simple message for the whole episode and others similar to it: introduction of God consciousness, removal of interest from the system, and its replacement with profit and loss sharing together with establishment of an ethic base corporate governance structure. Absence of ethical considerations is the main factor for financial crisis in the past hundred years. Models utilized by Islamic finance industry for financing and sharing of risk are musharakah and mudarabah. This chapter provides an overview of risk management and governance in both Islamic and conventional finance in the process outlining similarities and differences between the systems. It dissected through developments in the two fields and highlighted recent controversial topics affecting the field of finance in the modern world.