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The purpose of this paper is to first review the implementation of automatic identification and data capture) technologies in library/information science, focusing on barcode technology, radio frequency identification (RFID) and near field communication (NFC). This paper then presents S-Library, a new android-based application, to enable users to perform a wide range of information science-related transactions, such as borrowing, searching, returning and viewing transaction records.

This paper presents the design process and the database and software components. For analysis, the authors used application testing, and also usability testing, with a questionnaire distributed to 343 users.

The implementation of NFC technology means that S-Library has a number of technical advantages over other approaches. It was also shown with user acceptance testing that there was a high degree of user satisfaction with S-Library.

Although the findings combine technical assessment and usability testing and are extremely positive, further user evaluation could be performed. In addition, S-Library does not currently read existing RFID tags, which would improve the application further.

The system proposed here shows that S-Library is a feasible approach taken to improve the library transaction experience and that it can replace and improve upon older technologies.

This paper provides a first successful demonstration of a functioning and tested android and NFC-based library transaction system and shows that this approach generates a high degree of user reliability.

This paper aims to explore the strategies used by venture capital (VC) firms in assisting entrepreneurs who have business potential but lack capital. The study also aims to investigate whether the VC strategy can be adopted by Islamic banks through musharakah financing.

Apart from content analysis, primary data were gathered from several interview sessions with the management of three VC firms and two Islamic banks.

Islamic banks in Malaysia have great potential to offer musharakah financing and mitigate risk by adopting the following five VC strategies: method of selection, channelling of funds, monitoring, non-capital assistance and period of investment. We propose the channelling of corporate social responsibility funds for musharakah financing as an initial step in applying VC strategy.

Given the limited number of willing and eligible respondents in Malaysia, the scope of this study can be widened to a cross-country analysis where musharakah financing is widely adopted.

This study motivates regulatory bodies and Islamic banks to consider musharakah financing using the risk monitoring strategy adopted from the VC industry.

This study is the first to empirically explore the strategy adopted by VC companies and evaluate whether such a strategy is suitable for the concept of musharakah financing.

This chapter provides a case study on a Sharīʿah-compliant home facility contract based on the Bai Bithaman Ājil (BBA) contract, generally used by Islamic banks in Malaysia. The study emphasises on the need to comply with the existing legal framework and execute relevant contracts in line with the Sharīʿah resolutions of the Sharīʿah Advisory Council of Bank Negara Malaysia without causing harm (ḍarar) to the customers or introducing uncertain elements or procedures (gharar) in the execution of the agreements. This chapter is based on doctrinal analysis of the relevant issues as well as a qualitative legal research through content analysis of relevant BBA agreements, case law as well as statutory provisions. The case study used in this chapter is completely anonymised. The study finds that the execution of BBA agreements in Malaysia leaves much to be desired. Even though the regulatory framework for Sharīʿah-compliant home financing in Malaysia is robust, there are some legal and Sharīʿah considerations which the stakeholders need to look into in order to project Malaysia as the main global hub of Islamic finance. This study demonstrates the need for proper Sharīʿah auditing of the practical execution of BBA agreements to avoid an incorporated element of gharar at the time of execution of the agreements, which might ultimately lead to unforeseen reputation risks for the bank. Though there are several studies on the Sharīʿah, financing and accounting aspects of the BBA home facility agreement, this study focusses on both Sharīʿah and legal issues, using the case study approach. The recommendations are expected to provide a good policy framework for the stakeholders in the Islamic financial services industry in Malaysia.

Purpose – The purpose of this chapter is to study the concept of infaq in Islam, investigate its practice in Malaysia, analyse its role in public universities (PUs), investigate the issues and constraints of infaq for financing of higher education in Malaysia and suggest recommendations for improvement.

Methodology/approach – This study used a qualitative methodology and was conducted to obtain information on the practice of infaq in financing tertiary-level education in Malaysia, to learn about the recommended practice of infaq in Islam, to analyse its implementation and to explore the constraints faced in the financing of higher education in Malaysia.

Findings – This study indicated that the practice of infaq helps to ease the burden of rising fees and the cost of living for university students.

Research limitations/implications – The study only focused on the role of infaq in financing higher education in Malaysia. The sample for this study involved four PUs in the Klang Valley.

Originality/value – This study provides new contributions to the field of education infaq in Malaysia.

The purpose of this study is to examine the level of Shariah governance disclosure among Islamic banks in Malaysia and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries (i.e. Kuwait, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Oman and Saudi Arabia). On top of that, the effect of Shariah governance disclosure on Islamic banks financial performance is investigated.

Data underwent quantitative content analysis and a mean comparison of the Shariah governance disclosure mechanisms as well as multiple regression analysis. Shariah governance information is obtained from the Islamic banks' official websites and the Bursa Malaysia Exchange.

The results of the content analysis revealed that the level of Shariah governance disclosure among Malaysian Islamic banks has been more pronounced than in the GCC countries. Additionally, the multiple regression analysis results specified that of the five Shariah governance disclosure mechanisms, the Shariah committee emerged as the strongest determinant in the financial performance of the Islamic banks, followed by transparency and disclosure.

Islamic banks should emphasise publishing Shariah governance information in annual reports to reflect superior accounting practices as assessed by certified Shariah auditors with an effective monitoring system.

The empirical findings are vital for serving as a guideline for Islamic banks in Malaysia and the GCC countries to disclose their practice of Shariah governance and gain empirical insights into its effect on firms’ financial performance. Following that, Islamic banks would improve their accounting practices while adhering to Shariah principles, strengthen internal controls and boost their brand reputation.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of subjective norm, relative advantage, simplicity, compatibility and perceived behavioural control on the Islamic home financing adoption. It also examines the effects of subjective norm, relative advantage, simplicity and compatibility on attitude. Analyses of attitude as a mediating factor are also provided.

Survey data from 237 usable questionnaires are employed to test the hypothesized relationships. The proposed hypothesized relationships are examined using partial least squares (PLS). Similarly, PLS is also extended to analyse attitude as a potential mediator for the relationships between subjective norm, relative advantage, simplicity and compatibility with the Islamic home financing adoption. Baron and Kenny's (1986) procedure is used to evaluate the role of attitude as a potential mediating factor in the research's framework.

This study discovers an integrative approach that is valid in the case of Islamic home financing. The paper's results, however, have not supported the effect of compatibility on attitude towards Islamic home financing preference and it is also reported that attitude does not mediate for the relationship between compatibility and the Islamic home financing adoption.

This study, however, suffers from three limitations which further stimulate new researches in this area. First, this research does not consider additional measures to capture Islamic home financing adoption. Second, this study discovers attitude does not mediate the relationship between compatibility and the Islamic home financing adoption. Third, there is a possibility that attitude also serves as a moderator, however, but it is presently unconsidered.

This study has several implications for Islamic banks to develop proper planning for Islamic home financing products. Those implications are provided.

This study is the first research in Islamic home financing's area to integrate two models namely the theory of planned behaviour (the TPB) and the innovation diffusion theory (the IDT) in a single research in order to expound Islamic home financing adoption. This study contributes to the literature by examining an integrative approach for understanding Islamic home financing adoption in Malaysia.

Malaysia has shifted from a labor-intensive, agriculture-based economy since its independence in 1957 to a knowledge and innovation-based economy. Human capital development (HCD) is a key enabler for driving and sustaining Malaysia's socioeconomic growth. The education and training system is the main platform for HCD intervention. To sustain and achieve goals, long-term survival, competitive advantage, and sustainability, the workforce is optimized through comprehensive HCD interventions to provide the necessary knowledge, skills, and competencies needed to work effectively in a rapidly changing and complex environment. Numerous efforts have been made by the government to ensure that the education and training system has the capacity to enhance the quality and availability of intellectual and skilled human capital to support the transition toward knowledge-intensive activities, sustain economic growth, and compete in the global market. The country's development plans and policies as well as the economic development which lead toward a knowledge-based economy with a knowledge-based workforce have charted out clear transformation journeys for the development of the human capital ecosystem. This chapter presents an overview of the landscape of HCD in Malaysia. Relevant reports, plans, policies, and strategies to strengthen human capital through education and training is reviewed. Finally, a few issues and challenges that Malaysia experiences are discussed.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of financial restatements on the sell-side analysts' stock recommendations.

The sample of this study is based on a dataset from a panel of 246 Malaysian public listed companies for the period 2008 to 2013 (651 company-year observations). This study employs feasible generalized least squares regression.

This study finds a negative and significant relationship between restated companies and sell-side analysts' stock recommendations, which means that sell-side analysts issue less favorable stock recommendations for restated companies.

The findings based on observations from an emerging economy complement the results of the US studies that analysts revise their earnings forecasts or recommendations downwards or drop coverage following financial restatements. The results of this study should be useful to capital market participants in understanding how analysts perceive and evaluate restated companies.

This paper expands the literature on financial restatements consequences in an emerging market which is largely unstudied. Prior research on analyst behavior towards restatements has focused on the consequences of restatements in terms of analyst following and forecast accuracy and dispersion. This study examines if and how the restatements affect the analysts' final output as reflected in the recommendation opinion, an area that has so far received little attention.

The acceptance of Islamic banking services by non-Muslim customers is not promising in the Malaysian context. Thus, this study aims to examine the effect factors that may motivate this customer group to adopt the Islamic banking services in the Malaysian context.

A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data through google docs from 188 respondents. Structural equation modelling partial least squares (PLS-SEM) was used to analyze the hypothetical model of this study.

The result of this study found that knowledge about Islamic banking exerts a positive effect on non-Muslim beliefs (attitudinal, control and norm). Moreover, this study found a significant relationship between attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control with non-Muslim Intention towards Islamic banking services. Furthermore, the mediating effect of attitude, subjective norm and perceived behavioral control was supported.

This is a pioneer study that contributes to the consumer behavior literature by extending the theory of planned behavior by incorporating knowledge in the model. In addition, this study develops comparatively new relationships, practically the mediation role of beliefs (attitudinal, control and norm) between knowledge and intention.

The purpose of this paper is to deliberate on the establishment of zakat (Islamic alms) on oil and gas in Malaysia. Being one of the five Islamic pillars, zakat contributes significantly to the country’s socio-economic development and prosperity. However, in Malaysia and other Islamic countries, there is not yet a proper mechanism for calculating zakat on extracted minerals. Similar to gold and silver, oil and gas are valuable minerals, which, upon extraction, are subject to zakat payment. In Malaysia, however, this is not the case.

This study uses a qualitative method. It presents a thorough review on the stipulation for paying zakat on minerals, specifically oil and gas. The deliberation is based on secondary data entailing a comprehensive content analysis of prominent books on the subject, current zakat rulings and legal acts on oil and gas.

Oil and gas are subject to zakat payment, as indicated in several Qurʾānic verses and based on the academic reasoning of Muslim scholars. The zakat calculation for oil and gas entails the nisāb (minimum threshold value of the assets) but not the ḥawl (the requirement for one full Islamic year of ownership for the assets), by analogy with zakat on agricultural produce. Despite the obligation to pay zakat on minerals under the zakāt al-māl (alms due on wealth) category, oil and gas is yet to be fully subject to this practice in Malaysia, although the country is known as an oil-producing Muslim country. Several legislative acts covering the managerial and business side of oil and gas operations have long been established, but the provision on zakat remains unclear. Hence, comprehensive legislation is needed to fine-tune the Malaysian oil and gas system, particularly with regard to zakat.

This study relies mainly on secondary data and literature without performing any empirical investigations.

In terms of academic implication, this study enriches the existing body of knowledge on zakat. Practical implications would include enhanced decision-making concerning zakat on oil and gas on the part of zakat institutions, policymakers and the government of Malaysia.

This study provides practical and academic contributions to the deep understanding of zakat on oil and gas, which has received very little attention in the existing body of literature. Despite being limited in literature, this is a breakthrough study that sheds light on zakat on oil and gas.