Search results

Although e-learning has already been accepted globally as an effective medium of delivery of quality education and ensure optimum student participation, Bangladeshi higher educational institutions are still at a very early stage of adopting such technologies. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to critically examine the suitability of implementing effective e-learning through learning management system (LMS) at the tertiary educational institutions in Bangladesh, and how both students and teachers experience and respond to this new learning platform. Following mixed-methods techniques, data for this study were collected from students and respective course teachers of a private university in Bangladesh by administering questionnaires and in-depth interviews. The findings of this paper reveal that e-learning has been well accepted by most of the students as they are found routinely spending time on the LMS on a regular basis for watching lecture videos, viewing course information, reading postings of the fellow students in the forum. However, there are constraints as well, since the learning materials are poorly designed that do not allow much interaction between students and lecturers. There are also some technical problems such as poor internet connection which restrict access to e-learning platforms. To harness the optimum benefit of e-learning, this paper recommends a concerted effort by all stakeholders, such as students, lecturers, administrators and policy makers so that each of their priorities and expectations are reflected in the designing and implementing e-learning platforms.

This paper is based on the qualitative evaluation of Education 3.0 platform. Primary data were collected from the students using a well-structured survey questionnaire, and the findings of the survey have subsequently been cross-referred and supplemented by non-participatory observations with semi-structured interviews which allowed a better in-depth understanding of the issue at hand.

The findings of the study suggest that a majority of the students are found to be highly enthusiastic about the online courses. They are eager to participate and interact in the online platforms, which are somehow limited in the traditional classroom settings. However, there are several institutional, administrative and technical limitations of implementing e-learning in Bangladesh. It is recommended that better orientation of the users, quality content distribution though user-friendly systems and enhanced asynchronous interaction between the lecturers and students are the key pre-requisites to harness the optimum benefit from e-learning technologies in Bangladesh.

The data have been analyzed and discussed using qualitative framework which allows an in-depth understanding of the opportunities and challenges of the use of e-learning technologies at the higher educational institutions in Bangladesh.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of Islamic microfinance services (IMFS) on women’s empowerment in rural Bangladesh.

The study is based on a multi-stage sampling technique. The primary data are collected through a face-to-face survey of 389 women respondents who have received IMFS from the Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited. Cronbach’s alpha test is conducted to test the reliability and internal consistency of collected data. Paired-sample tests, logit regression and proportion hypothesis tests are conducted to measure the impact of IMFS on women’s empowerment. Descriptive and inferential statistics are used to interpret the data.

The study reveals that IMFS have led to structural transformation in the occupation dynamics of the respondents’ families from agriculture to retail businesses. IMFS have had a significant positive impact on household income, savings and expenditure; have improved standard of living and human capital formation; and have enhanced all three dimensions of empowerment, namely, economic empowerment (ECEM), socio-cultural empowerment (SCEM) and familial empowerment (FLEM). Of them, ECEM and SCEM have positively contributed toward overall women’s empowerment, while FLEM has a negative but insignificant impact on overall empowerment. The respondents’ perception also supports the finding that IMFS have benefited rural women and empowered them.

The study is based on primary data. It leads to an inquiry as to whether women are dominant in familial affairs. If so, it may reduce the state of happiness and overall women’s empowerment. There is a clear gap in the existing literature about this inquiry.

After analyzing these uncountable benefits of digital or cashless payment, many European countries like Sweden, Finland and Canada has been trying to convert their payment system into cashless. Following these developed countries, the Bangladesh Government has taken a decision to transfer society as a cashless society by using information technologies for adopting the fourth industrial revolution over the world. Digital payment system is among the various options available for transforming a cashless society. First, this empirical study presents demographic information and digital payment characteristics on the basis of income levels. This study identifies influential factors of adopting digital payment systems. Finally, this study aims to justify how digital payments transform the Bangladeshi economy into a cashless society in developing countries.

The study was administered to a sample of 1,000 Bangladeshi customers who had engaged in online banking transactions for the purpose of acquiring items and services through both social media platforms in Google Form format and face-to-face interactions in hard copy format. Among these, 647 questions were deemed usable and were used for data analysis, where the response rate was 68%. The SmartPLS is used to create and validate the structural equation modeling model presented for the research, as well as to evaluate the hypothesized correlations between the different constructs.

This cross-sectional study conducted the extended technology acceptance model (TAM) with perceived security (PS) and personal innovation (PI) variables to identify the influencing adoption factors of digital payment systems. This study finds that perceived ease of use, PI and perceived usefulness have a favorable impact on individuals’ attitudes toward adopting digital payment methods (DPMs). The study also indicated that PS did not influence negatively the adoption of digital payment system. Besides this, the adoption of digital payment will help to transform society into a cashless society in the future.

Increasingly prevalent across the nation. Several variables are required to facilitate the transition toward a cashless society. This study exclusively focuses on DPMs. Additionally, the data has been obtained exclusively from a single urban area. The adoption of DPMs has become increasingly prevalent across the nation.

This study would help policymakers, marketers and bankers understand which factors affect digital payment infrastructure expansion. So, they can produce digital payment apps that are compatible with different devices, have fast transactions, are user-friendly, easy to use and highly secure to maintain good attitudes toward digital payment systems.

Few studies have examined how DPMs affect cashless societies in developing countries like Bangladesh. According to researchers, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to explore how digital payments affect cashless society in Bangladesh and raise awareness about it.

The study extended the TAM model to PS and PI. This paper is also unique in the conceptual arguments and the subject theme of the research area.

After the fall of Burma on 10 March 1942 the British government extensively implemented scorched-earth policies in Bengal like denial of rice and boats. The British government had inadequate defense equipment to resist Japanese attack in Bengal. After the Japanese invasion supply of Burmese rice suddenly stopped. Faridpur district used to import rice from Burma. The Burmese conquest created an immediate and serious crisis for several rice imported districts and coastal districts of Bengal. Hence, none of the districts of East Bengal could escape its brutal clutches and severity recorded in Chittagong, Dhaka, Faridpur, Tripura, Noakhali, Bakargonj and so on.

Among the affected districts of Bengal, Faridpur has been chosen as study area due to severity of famine. This study addresses the famine scenario of Faridpur. Data has been collected from primary and secondary sources. Content Analysis Research method is used to test reliability and validity of the data. Historical Analysis Research method has been followed in this study.

Finding of the study shows that the government relief issues, ignorance of warnings, political nepotism and denial policy of British government intensified the famine of Faridpur district. The wartime tactics adopted by the colonial government aggravated the famine situation. This article has shed light on the government war time policy, activity and some impacts of British decline in Burma that fueled the famine in Faridpur district.

This study is my original research work and has not been published else where.

The purpose of the paper is to explore the association between corporate governance mechanisms and the performance of listed banks in Bangladesh.

Dynamic panel data of two-step System Generalized Method of Moments (SGMM) estimators are used to analyze the influence of corporate governance characteristics on the performance of banks operating in Bangladesh over a period of eleven years from 2008 to 2018.

By employing the two-step SGMM, the authors find statistical evidence to conclude that board size has a positive impact on banks' accounting performance. However, it does not influence the market performance of banks operating in Bangladesh. The authors’ results also suggest that outside independent directors, managerial ownership and females' participation on the board are not linked with the performance of the listed banks in Bangladesh. It signifies that the mere presence of outside directors and female directors in the board does not guarantee the enhancement of banks' performance and the minimization of agency conflict between shareholders and management. The persistent characteristic of bank performance is one of the crucial findings of this paper.

This research has some limitations as the study's findings may not be generalized to other countries or industries because the current study considered only the small sample size based on the availability of the data and focused only on the banks listed in the DSE. Moreover, this study may not represent the whole financial industry because it includes all listed and non-listed banks and non-bank financial institutions. Hence, the findings may not be applicable to the other industries operating in different business ecosystems.

The findings of this analysis have some managerial implications. This study provides managers empirical evidence regarding the influence of corporate governance elements on banks' performance, and they can now identify the factors that should emphasize enhancing the bank performance. The findings demonstrate that policymakers, regulatory bodies and bank management should pay more attention to the banks' overall corporate governance structures, especially in the case of appointing independent and female directors to challenge the executive power and to prevent the repetition of financial irregularities and loan scams in the banking industry of Bangladesh. Furthermore, the regulatory authorities should ensure the banks follow the corporate governance guidelines precisely for building a resilient banking industry to attain sustainable development goals in the long run.

This paper is the first empirical in-depth analysis applying the most recent data that examines the effect of bank governance elements on the performance of all the banks listed in the Dhaka Stock Exchange to the best of our knowledge.

The cost of pharmaceutical supply chain due to drug waste is one of the current major issues in health care. Drug waste associated with intravenous (IV) fluid form of medication is one of the crucial issues for many pharmacies. The purpose of this paper is to apply a cross-docking model to minimize the IV delivery lead time to reduce drug waste by scheduling staff in a local hospital’s inpatient pharmacy.

A mixed integer linear programming model is applied to the IV delivery system of a hospital. The parameters are selected based on the observations made in the inpatient pharmacy.

The result implies that cross-docking approach can be effectively applied to IV delivery system. In fact, the cross-docking optimization model employed in this case study reduces the IV delivery completion time of the inpatient pharmacy by 41 percent.

The scope of this research is limited to the activities performed after IV preparation.

The application of cross-docking system in staff scheduling will be beneficial for health care organizations that aim to minimize medication waste.

The prime value of this study lies in the introduction of a cross-docking concept in an internal hospital ordering process. Cross-docking models are widely used in general supply chain systems; however, their application for specific activities inside hospitals is the novelty of this study, which can fill the research gap in terms of drug waste management within the inpatient pharmacy.

Power plant projects are very complex and encounter serious cost overruns worldwide. Their cost overrun risks are not independent but interrelated in many cases, having structural relationships among each other. The purpose of this study is, therefore, to establish the complex structural relationships of risks involved.

In total, 76 published articles from the previous literature are reviewed using the content analysis method. Three risk networks in different phases of power plant projects are depicted based on literature review and case studies. The possible methods of solving these risk networks are also discussed.

The study finds critical cost overrun risks and develops risk networks for the procurement, civil and mechanical works of power plant projects. It identifies potential models to assess cost overrun risks based on the developed risk networks. The literature review also revealed some research gaps in the cost overrun risk management of power plants and similar infrastructure projects.

This study will assist project risk managers to understand the potential risks and their relationships to prevent and mitigate cost overruns for future power plant projects. It will also facilitate decision-makers developing a risk management framework and controlling projects’ cost overruns.

The study presents conceptual risk networks in different phases of power plant projects for comprehending the root causes of cost overruns. A comparative discussion of the relevant models available in the literature is presented, where their potential applications, limitations and further improvement areas are discussed to solve the developed risk networks for modeling cost overrun risks.

This study examines the impact of institutional quality (INQ) and human capital creation (HCC) on economic growth (EG) linkage in Bangladesh using an ARDL approach.

This study uses time-series annual data over the period 1990–2019. It formulates an INQ index based on international country risk guide (ICRG) data, employs public education outlay and expenditure on health data each as a portion of real gross domestic product (GDP) to measure HCC, while an increase in real GDP is used as a proxy for EG. It employs the ARDL technique and Toda–Yamamoto (T-Y) causality check to realize the study.

The ARDL analysis divulges that the variables have a long-run association; INQ affects long-run EG positively; expenditure on health stimulates EG rate in the long run, but does not impact the latter in the short-run; whilst government spending on education impacts long-term EG rate negatively but positively in the short-term. The T-Y causality test results reveal a feedback relationship between INQ and EG, and one-way causation from health expenditure to EG rate, and education outlay to EG rate and authenticate the ARDL estimation results.

The study is original. The novelty of the study is to employ an INQ index using the ICRG data on 12 different components which are converted into a single index through principal component analysis.

The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-12-2021-0732

Personal remittance and ready-made garments (RMG) export incomes have emerged as the largest source of foreign income for Bangladesh's economy. The study investigates their impact on income inequality and gross domestic product (GDP) as a control variable, using time-series yearly data from 1983 to 2018.

It employs the Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) estimation and the Toda-Yamamoto (T-Y) causality approach. The ARDL estimation outcomes confirm a long-run association among the above variables and validate the autoregressive characteristic of the model.

Personal remittances positively contribute to reducing the income gap among the people of the society and declining income inequality. In contrast, RMG export income and economic growth contribute to further income inequality. The T-Y causality analysis follows the ARDL estimation outcomes and authenticates their robustness. It reveals a feedback relationship between remittance inflow and the Gini coefficient, unidirectional causalities from RMG export income to income inequality and economic growth to income inequality.

The finding has important policy implications to limit the income gaps between low and high-income groups by channeling incremental income to the lower-income group people. The policymakers may facilitate further international migration to attract further remittances and may upgrade the minimum wage of the RMG workers.

The study is original. As far as the authors' knowledge goes, this is a maiden attempt to investigate the impact of personal remittances and RMG export income on income disparity in the case of Bangladesh.

The purpose of this study is to examine the influence of urbanization on energy consumption, including economic growth, globalization and “foreign direct investment (FDI)” inflow as control variables.

This study uses yearly panel data from 19071 to 2018 on five selected South Asian economies. It applies the “pooled mean group (PMG)” estimator and the “Dumitrescu-Hurlin (D-H)” panel causality test.

The PMG estimators reveal that urbanization causes energy consumption negatively in the long run because of an unusual and messy urbanization process. At the same time, it has no impact on the latter in the short run. Per capita income has both long- and short-run positive influences on energy use. Globalization causes energy consumption positively in the long run but does not affect it in the short run. FDI inflow has a strong positive impact on energy use in the long run and adverse effects in the short run. The Dumitrescu–Hurlin causality test reveals feedback relationships between “urbanization and energy consumption,” “globalization and energy consumption” and one-way causation from “per capita income to energy consumption.” It validates the findings of the PMG estimators.

The results of this study indicate that South Asia may focus on enhancing the availability of energy in the region and producing more renewable energy to add to its energy portfolio to meet growing energy demand, particularly among urban dwellers. Moreover, they should raise their real per capita incomes and augment the standard of living of low-income city dwellers to make urbanization more serviceable and comfortable.

This study is original. As far as the author is aware, this is a maiden attempt to investigate urbanization's effects on energy usage in South Asia in the preview of globalization and FDI.