Malcolm Smith, Anita Jamil, Yang Chik Johari and Syahrul Ahmar Ahmad
The obfuscation hypothesis suggests that under‐performing firms will tend to obscure the meaning of their corporate narratives by deliberately adopting a textual complexity, most…
Abstract
Purpose
The obfuscation hypothesis suggests that under‐performing firms will tend to obscure the meaning of their corporate narratives by deliberately adopting a textual complexity, most readily apparent through poor readability and the use of unnecessarily difficult language. This paper seeks to add to the literature in the area by comparing the textual complexity of corporate narratives, notably the chairman's statement, of main board and second board companies on the Bursa Malaysia (formerly known as the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange), with their financial performance, and also to examine the impact of company size, board membership and degree of statutory regulation on the readability of corporate narratives.
Design/methodology/approach
Following the existing literature this paper uses readability as a proxy for textual complexity, in addition to more direct measures, and seeks to examine relationships between textual complexity and various measures of financial performance.
Findings
The findings suggest that there are significant relationships between corporate language and financial performance, but that these are not consistent with the obfuscation hypothesis.
Originality/value
The findings are consistent with the suggestion that increased regulation and statutory monitoring of disclosures are associated with improved readability of narrative. They do not provide support for the obfuscation hypothesis.
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Zulkiflee Ibrahim, Abu Bakar Fadzil, Amat Sairin Demun, Mazlin Jumain, Md Ridzuan Makhtar, Noraliani Alias, Nurfarhain Mohamed Rusli and Fenny Baseng
The Best Management Practices for Sustainable Urban Drainage System including On-Site Detention have been introduced in the Storm Water Management Manual for Malaysia. Flash…
Abstract
The Best Management Practices for Sustainable Urban Drainage System including On-Site Detention have been introduced in the Storm Water Management Manual for Malaysia. Flash floods are becoming frequent in the urbanised areas in this country. Inefficient drainage system has been highlighted as one of the factors. Urban drains were reported incapable of coping with the unexpected heavy rainfall. Concrete drains are favourable in construction industry for economic reasons. An experimental research was conducted out to investigate the effectiveness of infiltration integration with drainage system to reduce flash flood. This laboratory research was conducted in the Universiti Teknologi Malaysia. Experiments were performed for selected drainage bed slopes and focussed on several spacing between precast drain sections along the system. The total and infiltrated flow rates, water surface and velocity profiles were examined. The results showed that drain flow rates were reduced by 60.9%–89.6% when the spacing between drain sections were enlarged. Meanwhile, the flow depths in drain sections were dropped by 48.2%–68.9%, and the water velocity was lowered up to 49% as the spacing between drain sections were increased. The study found that the drainage bed slope also influenced the performance of the infiltrated concrete drainage system.
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Miriam Kuttikat, Anita Vaillancourt and Michael Massey
The civil war prompted many Tamils to flee Sri Lanka as refugees. Several researchers have documented psychological distress and trauma among Sri Lankan Tamil refugees, but the…
Abstract
Purpose
The civil war prompted many Tamils to flee Sri Lanka as refugees. Several researchers have documented psychological distress and trauma among Sri Lankan Tamil refugees, but the literature lacks sufficient discussion of resilience among this population. Although Sri Lankan Tamil refugees have experienced conflict and loss, they have also demonstrated positive adaptation following these challenges. The paper aims to discuss these issues.
Design/methodology/approach
The present study used an ecological approach, in which the effect of the environment on a person is regarded as significant, to explore resilience among Sri Lankan Tamils living in refugee camps in India.
Findings
Through a qualitative investigation of refugee experiences of war and camp life, the authors developed a conceptual framework for understanding individual and collective resilience among refugees.
Research limitations/implications
Additionally, the results of this study need to be interpreted with caution because participants were camp refugees, which may limit the applicability of these results with refugees who live in different settings.
Practical implications
The current research results show that intervention programs should have multiple components, including trauma intervention to address the individual and community psychological and psychiatric effects of war and migration experiences and psychosocial interventions to address individual, family, community dynamics and daily stressors.
Social implications
The study participants stated that Sri Lankan Tamil refugees are using their resilience traits including will power, positive talk, practical solutions, social support, religion and social networks to remake their broken souls.
Originality/value
Future studies need to be conducted with other refugee group to validate the findings of the paper.
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Rockson Mintah, Godfred Matthew Yaw Owusu, Rita Amoah-Bekoe and Gorkel Obro-Adibo
This paper reviews scholarly literature on electronic banking (EB) research over a three-decade period. The focus of this review is to evaluate the intellectual structure and…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper reviews scholarly literature on electronic banking (EB) research over a three-decade period. The focus of this review is to evaluate the intellectual structure and trends and unearth new areas in the research domain of EB.
Design/methodology/approach
Drawing data from the Scopus database, a bibliometric analysis was performed on 2,391 research articles published in the EB domain. The articles were examined and synthesized through volume analysis, citation analysis, authorship analysis and the level of collaboration, co-citation analysis and keyword co-occurrence analysis. A well-known bibliometric tool, VOSviewer, was used to create and analyse various bibliometric maps, networks and tables.
Findings
This study uncovers the temporal and spatial trends of publications on EB, the most influential documents, authors, productive publication outlets, countries in the domain, the status of collaboration and the major themes that have been studied in the literature. The publication trail over the years has been gauged using overlay visualization.
Practical implications
This paper highlights new concepts that have emerged in EB over the past three decades and suggests future avenues for research in this area.
Originality/value
Research in the domain of EB is empirical, with only a handful of studies being literature reviews. This is the first-of-its-kind study that aims to trace the development of electronic banking over the past 29 years, from 1994 to 2022, through bibliometric analysis and network visualization.
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Neeraj Kumar, Rama Tyagi, Sahaya Mercy Jaquline Robert, Akanksha , Mohd. Aqil, Mohd. Vaseem Ismail, Abul Kalam Najmi and Mohd Mujeeb
This study aims to present a great deal of interest in researching plant-based phytopharmaceuticals and nutraceuticals as a possible alternative to synthetic medication, both to…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to present a great deal of interest in researching plant-based phytopharmaceuticals and nutraceuticals as a possible alternative to synthetic medication, both to avoid their side effects and for financial reasons.
Design/methodology/approach
Mankind has used medicinal plants since the beginning of civilization. Nature has been explored as a source of therapeutic chemicals for thousands of years, and many modern drugs have been discovered from natural sources. The primary medical care system of resource-poor areas in India has continued to rely on traditional medicine as the most accessible and reasonably priced form of treatment.
Findings
Tinospora cordifolia is a plant that is frequently used in Ayurvedic and traditional medicine throughout India. Although almost all of its parts are used in conventional medical systems, the leaves, stems and roots are the most significant ones used medicinally. All forms of existence can benefit from the versatility of T. cordifolia. It includes a wide variety of compounds that impact the body.
Originality/value
The goal of this review is to provide a concise summary of the knowledge about the pharmacological, phytochemistry, botanical, ethnopharmacology, toxicity study, marketed products and patents of the T. cordifolia plant.
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Labaran Isiaku and Ahmet Adalier
This study aims to investigate the challenges associated with the integration and implementation of blockchain technology in the education sector. The primary objective is to…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate the challenges associated with the integration and implementation of blockchain technology in the education sector. The primary objective is to identify and categorize these challenges using the Technology-Organization-Environment (TOE) framework, shedding light on the technological, organizational and environmental factors that influence the adoption of blockchain solutions in educational settings.
Design/methodology/approach
A comprehensive literature review was conducted across multiple databases including Science Direct, Web of Science, Springer, IEEE Xplore and MDPI. The selected articles were analyzed based on the TOE framework to categorize challenges from the technological, organizational and environmental perspectives. The methodology involves a systematic search, analysis and synthesis of relevant articles to provide an in-depth understanding of the challenges hindering blockchain adoption in education.
Findings
This review revealed a predominant focus on technological challenges, emphasizing scalability issues, integration complexities, security and privacy concerns and data immutability. However, there is a notable research gap in the exploration of organizational and environmental challenges. The scarcity of studies addressing these perspectives may impact acceptance and resistance to blockchain adoption in educational settings.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the literature by systematically categorizing and analyzing the challenges associated with blockchain implementation in education using the TOE framework. It identifies the need for further research on organizational and environmental aspects, addressing a significant gap in the current scholarship on blockchain adoption in educational institutions.
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Wike Pertiwi, Sri Murni Setyawati and Ade Irma Anggraeni
The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between toxic workplace environments, negative workplace gossip and knowledge hiding, by exploring workplace spirituality…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between toxic workplace environments, negative workplace gossip and knowledge hiding, by exploring workplace spirituality as a moderating variable in this relationship.
Design/methodology/approach
This study focusses on private university lecturer in West Java, Indonesia. Data collection was carried out by distributing questionnaires to respondents offline and online via Google Forms. Data analysis was done by structural equation modeling (SEM).
Findings
The findings reveal that a toxic workplace environment and negative workplace gossip are positively related to knowledge hiding. In addition, it was found that workplace spirituality moderates the relationship between a toxic workplace environment and negative workplace gossip with knowledge hiding.
Research limitations/implications
This study extends the research model and research context of knowledge hiding in private universities. This research contributes to the social exchange theory literature by proving empirical support to confirm that there is a social exchange in interpersonal relations between academics.
Practical implications
This study extends the research model and research context of knowledge hiding in private universities, linking it to the conservation of resources theory. This research contributes to the social exchange theory literature by proving empirical support to confirm that there is a social exchange in interpersonal relations between lecturers.
Social implications
Leaders need to instill spirituality in lecturer so that they feel comfortable when working, and it indirectly reduces the effects of negative behavior such as negative gossip and a toxic environment that makes them willing to share knowledge.
Originality/value
To the authors’ understanding, this is the first study to examine workplace spirituality as a variable moderating the relationship between toxic workplace environment and negative workplace gossip with knowledge hiding in the college context.
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Asmae El Jaouhari, Jabir Arif, Ashutosh Samadhiya, Anil Kumar and Jose Arturo Garza-Reyes
Over the next decade, humanity is going to face big environmental problems, and considering these serious issues, businesses are adopting environmentally responsible practices. To…
Abstract
Purpose
Over the next decade, humanity is going to face big environmental problems, and considering these serious issues, businesses are adopting environmentally responsible practices. To put forward specific measures to achieve a more prosperous environmental future, this study aims to develop an environment-based perspective framework by integrating the Internet of Things (IoT) technology into a sustainable automotive supply chain (SASC).
Design/methodology/approach
The study presents a conceptual environmental framework – based on 29 factors constituting four stakeholders' rectifications – that holistically assess the SASC operations as part of the ReSOLVE model utilizing IoT. Then, experts from the SASC, IoT and sustainability areas participated in two rigorous rounds of a Delphi study to validate the framework.
Findings
The results indicate that the conceptual environmental framework proposed would help companies enhance the connectivity between major IoT tools in SASC, which would help develop congruent strategies for inducing sustainable growth.
Originality/value
This study adds value to existing knowledge on SASC sustainability and digitalization in the context where the SASC is under enormous pressure, competitiveness and increased variability.