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The purpose of this paper is to find out intentions of business graduating students regarding launching their own business, and their perception regarding issues and constraints entrepreneur would encounter after entering into entrepreneurial activities. In addition, it focusses to provide a general understanding regarding entrepreneurship. The study also argues unfriendly policies and environment for entrepreneurship slows down poverty reduction and economic development.

For this research, data were collected through structured questionnaire. Population of this study comprised of all the MBA final semester students of Pakistan. Statistical techniques were used for analysis.

Research shows that most MBA graduating students actually plan to launch their own business, but perception about different issues and constraints refrain them to enter into the entrepreneurial field. The study also shows that policies of government and country’s environment effect entrepreneurship which further effects poverty reduction and economic development.

Different constraints are highlighted in the study due to which business graduates hesitate to become an entrepreneur, plus importance level of each constraint is also calculated in the study.

This study aims to apply the extended theory of planned behaviour (ETPB) to investigate the factors influencing the intention to give zakāt on employment income.

This study draws the required data through a survey in three main cities Makkah, Medina and Jeddah in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). The final data sample is consisting of 650 useable questionnaires to analyse the objective of this study.

The study finds that moral norm, injunctive norm, descriptive norm and past behaviour have a significant influence on the intention to pay zakāt on employment income. The perceived behavioural control and attitude have a negative and weak impact on the intention to give zakāt on income.

The findings of this study can be useful for the policymakers and regulators to enhance peoples' awareness to give zakāt to eradicate poverty and inequality in Muslim societies. zakāt is for the deprived people, so the consequences of this study might help to improve their liveability.

This study is unique because it identified the behavioural factors that affect the peoples' intention to give zakāt in KSA have yet to be profoundly explored in the literature. This study has gathered primary data and applied the ETPB to identify the factors influencing the zakāt compliance behaviour in KSA.

Urban built-up has been increasing exponentially in the world. Urban population growth and migration are depleting the land resources and creating thermal discomfort. Cities all around the world are facing urban heat island effects and increased temperatures. This study aims to map land cover and formulate local climate zones for enhancing urban resilience against disaster and climate risks.

This study uses exploratory research to identify local climate zones for Lahore, Pakistan. Landsat 8 imagery was used to develop a land use land cover map. For mapping local climate zones, the standard World Urban and Access Portal Tool procedure was used.

Results have revealed that Lahore has grown exponentially. Compact low rise and open low rise were the two most common local climate zones prevalent in the city. In contrast, the outer regions of the city consisted of LCZ D (low plants) and LCZ F (bare soil).

This study highlights the need to consider local climate zones in future development plans and policies for ensuring sustainable, resilient and climate-friendly cities.

Local climate zone studies are missing in Pakistan. This study has empirically analyzed the ground situation of local climate zones for Lahore metropolitan city. This study will provide baseline support for future studies on urban heat island and climate change adaptation planning.

This paper attempts to investigate the impact of the Russia–Ukraine war on the returns and volatility of the United States (US) natural gas futures market.

The study uses secondary data of 996 trading day provided by the US Department of Energy and investing.com websites and applies the event study methodology in addition to the generalized autoregressive conditional heteroscedastic (GARCH) family models.

The findings from the exponential EGARCH (1,1) estimate are the best indication of a significant positive effects of the Ukraine–Russia war on the returns and volatility of the US natural gas futures prices. The cumulative abnormal returns (CARs) of the event study show that the natural gas futures prices reacted negatively but not significantly to the Russian–Ukraine war at the event date window [−1,1] and the [−15, −4] event window. CARs for the longer pre and post-event window display significant positive values and coincides with the standard finance theory for the case of the US natural gas futures over the Russia–Ukraine conflict.

This is the first study to examine the impact of the Russia–Ukraine war on natural gas futures prices in the United States. Thus, it provides indications on the behavior of investors in this market and proposes new empirical evidence that help in investment analyses and decisions.

Though microfinance has been working for many years as a tool to eradicate poverty from its root, most of the least developed and developing countries are yet to significantly alleviate it from the society. The purpose of this paper is to focus on Shariah-based microfinance products in the context of sustainable poverty alleviation approach and provide them financial benefits to enhance their livelihoods.

Here, this qualitative study critically analyzes the basics of the sustainable Islamic microfinance to exterminate the level of poverty.

Islamic microfinance is a more ethical practice than the traditional motives of profit maximization, and it encourages extending the time of repayment if the debtors are in hardship. In some case, it suggests to give charity if the creditor has capability.

Most importantly, research scholars and experts have already criticized the concept of conventional microfinance on the basis of various points, especially for its high rate of interest.

Islamic microfinance is provided with a view to fulfill two tools simultaneously, i.e., social and financial inclusion. In this case, credits and Zakah can be given to the extreme poor people for satisfying basic needs. In terms of social responsibility, Islam encourages the people to be soft in case of collecting the lending money.

The study discoursed that sustainable Islamic Microfinance (IM) may be a promising future option to draw the attention of the religiously sensitive people toward the Shariah-based microfinance which can, in turn, mitigate the poverty level.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of terrorist attacks on the volatility and returns of the stock market in Tunisia.

The employed sample comprises 1250 trading day from the Tunisian stock index (Tunindex) and stock closing prices of 64 firms listed on the Tunisian stock market (TSM) from January 2011 to October 2015. The research opts for the general autoregressive conditional heteroscedasticity (GARCH) and exponential generalized conditional heteroscedasticity (EGARCH) models framework in addition to the event study method to further assess the effect of terrorism on the Tunisian equity market.

The baseline results document a substantive impact of terrorism on the returns and volatility of the TSM index. In more details, the findings of the event study method show negative significant effects on mean abnormal returns with different magnitudes over the events dates. The outcomes propose that terrorism profoundly altered the behavior of the stock market and must receive sufficient attention in order to protect the financial market in Tunisia.

Very few evidence is found on the financial effects of terrorism over transition to democracy cases. This paper determines the salient reaction of the stock market to terrorism during democratic transition. The findings of this study shall have relevant implications for stock market participants and policymakers.

Corporate governance plays a significant role to overcome agency issues and develop the culture of transparency and openness. In this context, this paper aims to examine how corporate governance mechanisms affect the performance of Islamic banks (IBs).

Stepwise, two-step system generalize method of moment estimation technique is used in the analysis in which control variables are added into the model sequentially. This study used data on 129 IBs from 29 Islamic countries (Middle East, South Asia and Southeast Asia) during the period of 2008 to 2017.

The findings suggest that the audit committee (AUDC) and Shariah board (SB) have positive impact on the performance of IBs (return on assets and return on equity). However, board size and risk management committee have negative and significant effect on the performance of IBs. CEO duality and non-executive directors have mixed relationship with the performance of IBs. These results support the argument that IBs need to improve their financial performance through appropriate governance mechanism.

The findings of the study added a new dimension to the governance research that could be a valuable source of knowledge for policymakers and regulators to improve the existing governance mechanism for better performance of IBs.

The study fills the gap in the literature by addressing the issue of corporate governance on performance of IBs across countries. Agency theory is discussed to explain the relationship between corporate governance mechanism and performance.

Waste is typically encountered during the building's life cycle, from the design phase, through the construction phase, to modification and demolition. Most of these construction wastes are unnoticed or unattended by project managers, which lead to serious environmental problems. Effective waste reduction strategies will require a thorough and detailed understanding of the causes of construction waste. Hence, this paper aims to explore critical waste factors (CWFs) affecting the performance of construction projects.

An extensive literature review was carried out to determine these factors based on previous studies, from which a questionnaire was developed. Series of statistical analyses such as reliability analysis, Spearman Correlation, Kruskal–Wallis and factor analysis were performed on a total of 330 valid responses to identify latent factors responsible for wastes occurrence.

This study reveals 31 CWFs through evaluation of prior relevant studies carried out in several countries and then adjusted and validated through semistructured interviews. The significant differences in views within various groups of respondents with different organizational characteristics are highlighted. The results of factor analysis showed that there are six principal components extracted with 66.3% of variance explained (material-related factors; subcontractors and workers; planning, communication and coordination; people involvement and financial issues; people development strategies; and external factors).

This study differs from other studies in the literature by gathering all relevant waste factors including those related to nonphysical waste such as time, budget, workers and equipment. Furthermore, this paper will be of great interest to both practitioners and researchers since it brings various recommendations concerning the prevention/reduction of waste through lean construction for more sustainable construction projects.

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) ISO standards have been noted as an essential marketing strategy by which firms can achieve consumer trust while improving environmental, social, and quality factors. This study discloses the contextual relationship between CSR ISO standards and sustainable impulse buying behavior. This study also looks to uncover the CSR ISO driving and linkage factors that motivate consumers to make sustainable impulsive purchases.

Three distinct research methods were employed in this research. First, a consumer expert opinion-based Interpretive Structural Modeling (ISM) approach was adopted to reveal the contextual relationship between CSR ISO factors and sustainable impulse buying behavior. Secondly, Matrice Impacts Croises Multiplication Appliques Classement (MICMAC) was used to examine these factors' driving and dependent power. In addition, Minitab package software was also used to check the statistical validation of ISM-MICMAC results.

The results indicate that although environmentally responsible CSR ISO 14001, socially responsible CSR ISO 26000, and consumer perception of product quality CSR ISO 9001 standards contain strong driving power, their dependent power was weak. All these CSR ISO factors (14,001, 26,000, and 9001) strongly impact each other and sustainable impulse buying. Therefore, these three CSR ISO factors have been placed at the bottom of the ISM model. The CSR ISO 14020 standard (labeling of the product), knowledge of CSR ISO standards, consumer trust, and advertising about CSR ISO standards have been placed in the middle. The mentioned factors have intense driving and dependent power and are classified as linkage factors for sustainable impulse buying. Impulse buying behavior has weak driving and strong dependent power, yet this factor strongly depends on other CSR ISO factors. Hence, this factor is placed at the top of the ISM model. In addition, the Minitab package software results indicate that ISM-MICMAC results are statistically valid.

To the best of our knowledge, this research is unique and examines the influence of CSR ISO factors on sustainable impulse buying in the context of Pakistani consumers. Secondly, our study has thoroughly investigated several CSR ISO factors and allied these factors in the context of consumer buying behavior. Third, several CSR ISO factors and impulse buying behavior were examined using a mix of ISM-MICAC and Minitab methods. Thus, including these steps in our study has led to the development of a novel technique.

The study aims at providing a reliable system of real-time monitoring for underground mine and tunnels which detects any structural change in the network and reconfigures it for resuming the data delivery process. In high stress environments, e.g. underground mines and tunnels, real-time activity monitoring is an emerging issue. Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) play a key role in ensuring the safety of people working in underground mines and tunnels. WSN not only provide real-time monitoring of underground environment but also detects any structural change in the network itself.

In this paper, results of empirical implementation of a re-configurable WSN, capable of self-healing approach, reconfigure the network connectivity upon failure or addition of nodes in the system. An open-source radio-frequency identification standard for WSN, named as DASH7, is used for practical implementation. The proposed system is capable of determining cluster breakage by sudden disruptions caused by roof falls, explosions and node failures, sensor coverage hole, node re-addition to the network and distress priority signal generation by the miner.

The proposed platform contributes to re-attain network state for establishing a communication link with fusion center in terms of: instant and accurate detection of collapse holes, acceptable error rate, time to re-attain network state, rapid distress signal propagation and low deployment cost. This platform is deployed in four different environments of anechoic chamber, hallway, outdoor and underground mine environment, to test the aforementioned scenarios using DASH7-compatible Bitsense Sensor Motes operating at 433 MHz. The effectiveness of the proposed approach has been experimentally validated for the single and multiple adjacent and disjoint node failures in all the four environments.

The number of monitoring systems was implemented for safety assurance in high stress environments before, but the novelty of our platform is long range, cost effectiveness, quick response to any structural change in the network, rapid and accurate data delivery using WSN operated on DASH7 protocol stack.