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Bangladesh achieved its independence in 1971. Since that time, the country has gone through several major policy changes regarding the ownership and control of industries with a view to promoting economic growth. One of the strategies the Government of Bangladesh (GOB) followed to accelerate economic growth was to attract foreign direct investment (FDI) into the country. Immediately after the independence, the Government obtained control of a large number of industries abandoned by non‐Bangladeshi owners. Through the Nationalization Order of 1972, all key industries including jute, cotton textiles and sugar were vested upon the public sector. The wholesale nationalization of industries resulted in a low growth of the economy. The Gross National Product (GNP) per capita of the country grew at an average annual rate of 0.4 per cent until 1985 compared to 3.8 per cent for the group of “low income countries” (The World Development Report, 1989). The low growth performance of the economy put pressures on GOB to privatise major industries and to undertake economic reforms. As Karim (1996) mentions, external pressure from donors had a significant impact on the Government's investment policy. As a result, the GOB has taken a number of measures to attract FDI including the establishment of the Board of Investment (BOI) and wide publicity in foreign countries. Many believe that GOB has maintained an over‐valued exchange rate in order to attract FDI. These policy changes, along with other traditional factors (such as financial, political, regulatory and tax risks) have significant impact on foreign direct investment (FDI) in Bangladesh.

This paper analyzes the growth of entrepreneurship in Bangladesh in relation to its Government's privatization efforts. A survey instrument was designed to elicit opinions of entrepreneurs regarding the level of privatization and the growth of entrepreneurship. The instrument was designed in such a way that the responses were dichotomous. A Discriminant Analysis was then conducted in order to classify entrepreneurs and to determine the key variables responsible for privatization and the growth (or lack of growth) of entrepreneurship. Results indicate that the non‐availability of long‐term capital, the poor state of the economy, and excessive government regulation are the three most important explanatory variables for non‐privatization and lack of growth of entrepreneurship.

This paper aims to map and understand the reverse logistics systems in the apparel aftermarket in India. It clarifies the processes involved from the procurement of used clothing until its resale in the aftermarket. The paper identifies that collaboration between stakeholders can improve logistics, business predictability and margins.

In total, 93 in‐depth interviews were conducted with stakeholders. Questions revolved around strategic and operational factors of reverse logistics in the aftermarket.

This fragmentation and isolation of stakeholders' businesses is identified as the cause of most stakeholder inefficiencies. It was found that benefits accrued by collaboration in the reverse logistics chain are increased market knowledge, more predictable business and better margins.

Mapping and understanding of the reverse logistics were the primary aims of this paper. Researchers are encouraged to look at a value‐addition model based on this paper which could help evaluate further business decisions. Additionally a study of the sustainability aspects of this reverse logistics process would be a valuable addition to knowledge in this area.

Collaborative initiatives can be used as a way to reduce multiplicity of activity, increase predictability and expand business.

This paper fulfills the need of understanding the apparel aftermarket in India and how reverse logistics may be looked on as a tool to manage the post‐first consumer apparel market.

Organizations increasingly use inclusion initiatives to reflect a meaningful involvement of their entire workforce as part of their larger diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) strategies. However, the conceptualization of inclusion and its impact on larger DEI efforts and the organization remains unclear, coupled with the organizations’ struggles to find ways to embrace and advance inclusion. Hence, the purpose of this study is to synthesize ways of inclusion conceptualizations and review empirical evidence related to inclusion.

The authors conducted a literature review using the method of scoping review coupled with topical cluster mapping techniques.

The authors captured three ways of inclusion conceptualizations and provided an overview of topic clusters related to inclusion and its measurement tools. The authors also proposed a path model of inclusion based on emerging empirical evidence related to inclusion in the workplace.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is one of the pioneering efforts to provide a much-needed review of inclusion in the workplace, which provides guidance for further research and practice to fulfill the goal of inclusion for all in the current workplace.

The study aims to investigate whether the adoption of IFRS could ensure ultimate intercompany comparability of operating performance in terms of uniformity in the application of accounting methods and reporting style.

Using content analysis on 125 annual financial statements of 25 companies from five industries listed on the Dhaka Stock Exchange in Bangladesh, this study reports that only the sole adoption and application of principle based IFRS cannot ensure ultimate intercompany comparability of financial reports.

The findings document that the adoption of IFRS cannot ensure the application of same accounting methods as well as way of presentations which is a precondition of greater comparability of operating performance of competitive firms. The methodological and reporting direction through local regulatory agencies alongside maximum compliance with principle based IFRS can enhance intercompany comparability of financial reports in the same industry.

This study tries to manifest that sole adoption cum implementation of IFRS could not ensure ultimate intercompany comparability of operating performance within the same industry and urges to conduct further research to find out the ways to do so.

Stunting is a major multifactorial health problem in Indonesia that negatively impacts children. Among Southeast Asian countries, Indonesia had the highest prevalence of child stunting (0–59 months old). As Indonesia has also the largest population in Southeast Asia, it is crucial to assess measures to decrease the prevalence of stunting in the country. Therefore, this study aims to examine the prevalence and determinants of stunting among children 6–23 under two years old in Indonesia.

The study used a cross-sectional design using the national database. A total of 15,641 children aged 6–23 months were included in the study. A multivariate logistic regression was performed to identify the association between the dependent and independent variables.

The prevalence of stunting was 18% (95% CI = 17.5%–18.7%). This study found that children aged 12–23 months were the dominant factor in stunting (OR = 2.12, 95% CI = 1.92–2.36). Factors associated with stunting include being male (OR = 1.37, 95% CI = 1.26–1.49), low birth weight (LBW) (OR = 1.95, 95% CI = 1.68–2.27), short birth length (SBL) (OR = 1.82, 95% CI = 1.64–2.01), history of infection (OR = 1.15, 95% CI = 1.06–1.26) and lack of dietary diversity (OR = 1.13, 95% CI = 1.04–1.00) consumption of empty calorie drinks (OR = 1.11, 95% CI = 1.01–1.24), unimproved sanitation (OR = 1.16, 95% CI = 1.04–1.30), middle socioeconomic status (OR = 1.34, 95% CI = 1.16–1.55), low maternal education (OR = 1.51, 95% CI = 1.08–2.10) and living in a rural area (OR = 1.15, 95% CI = 1.06–1.26).

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to analyze the prevalence and determinants of stunting among children under two years old in Indonesia using a national which represented a population of interest.

The purpose of this paper is to showcase the utilization of the magnetohydrodynamics-microrotating Casson’s nanofluid flow model (MHD-MRCNFM) in examining the impact of an inclined magnetic field within a porous medium on a nonlinear stretching plate. This investigation is conducted by using neural networking techniques, specifically using neural networks-backpropagated with the Levenberg–Marquardt scheme (NN-BLMS).

The initial nonlinear coupled PDEs system that represented the MRCNFM is transformed into an analogous nonlinear ODEs system by the adoption of similarity variables. The reference data set is created by varying important MHD-MRCNFM parameters using the renowned Lobatto IIIA solver. The numerical reference data are used in validation, testing and training sets to locate and analyze the estimated outcome of the created NN-LMA and its comparison with the corresponding reference solution. With mean squared error curves, error histogram analysis and a regression index, better performance is consistently demonstrated. Mu is a controller that controls the complete training process, and the NN-BLMS mainly concentrates on the higher precision of nonlinear systems.

The peculiar behavior of the appropriate physical parameters on nondimensional shapes is demonstrated and explored via sketches and tables. For escalating amounts of inclination angle and Brinkman number, a viable entropy profile is accomplished. The angular velocity curve grows as the rotation viscosity and surface condition factors rise. The dominance of friction-induced irreversibility is observed in the vicinity of the sheet, whereas in the farthest region, the situation is reversed with heat transfer playing a more significant role in causing irreversibilities.

To improve the efficiency of any thermodynamic system, it is essential to identify and track the sources of irreversible heat losses. Therefore, the authors analyze both flow phenomena and heat transport, with a particular focus on evaluating the generation of entropy within the system.

Phytochemicals are known for their iron chelation ability with no side effects. Lignans and polyphenols in flaxseed have iron-chelating and antioxidant abilities. Therefore, this study aims to assess the ability of flaxseed to reduce iron overload and minimize its negative health effects.

A randomized control trial was conducted. A total of 96 patients were enrolled in this study and randomized into three groups: two intervention groups had 3 or 7 g of whole flaxseed and a control group took a placebo (gram seeds). Interventions were administered for 12 weeks. A hematological profile, ferritin quantification in serum, and liver function tests were performed to evaluate the effects of flaxseed.

It was observed that flaxseed with synthetic iron chelators caused a significant reduction in ferritin levels compared with synthetic chelators. The pre-transfusion hemoglobin level was also improved in the intervention group. A significant reduction (p value 0.0003) in ferritin levels among intervention groups indicated that flaxseed reduced the iron overload. It can be concluded that flaxseed reduced iron overload in thalassemia major patients with no side effects and may reduce iron overload solely when taken in adequate quantity.

Although the study targets a non-specific protein-ferritin for the evaluation of iron-overload, the initial ferritin value and reduction in these levels indicate the efficacy of ferritin for reducing iron overload in thalassemia major patients. Moreover, this is the first study, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, that demonstrates the iron-chelation ability of flaxseed in thalassemia major patients, suggesting the use of flaxseed for iron chelation.

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the negative impacts of the Coronavirus Disease-2019 (COVID-19) emergency on small- and medium-sized enterprises’ (SMEs) business continuity (BC) by examining the moderating role of corporate governance principles (CGP) on SMEs’ BC in the context of an emerging market.

Based on an extended literature review on the negative impacts of the COVID-19 emergency, CGP and BC studies, the authors evaluate the impact of these constructs on SMEs’ BC in an emerging market. This paper follows a quantitative approach. The study sample was composed of 334 responses covering directors, managers and owners of enterprises. The Smart PLS SEM version 3.3.2 was used to analyse the data from SMEs of Vietnam in the year 2021.

The findings of this study clarify the areas of the COVID-19 consequences that negatively affect the BC. In addition, this study reveals that CGP moderates the links between COVID-19 outcomes and BC, whereby good CGP can facilitate a business to reduce the adverse effects of COVID-19 on BC. In addition to this, good CGP can help a firm to enhance its capability to respond to fluctuations in the external environment of the business.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first research that examines the moderating role of CGP. The originality of this study is that it gives an insight into how SMEs in an emerging economy overcome the adverse effects of the COVID-19 emergency on BC to keep their business going, and moreover, have the ability to move towards sustainability in today’s challenging context. This study provides the theoretical and managerial implications that may be of great interest to the academics, business practitioners and policymakers.