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This paper aims to investigate the effect of product offering and other service quality (SQ) dimensions on the satisfaction of the customers of both Islamic and conventional banks, using evidence from an oil-based economy that is based on a prolonged SERVQUAL model with 11 dimensions and other statistical analysis methods.

The data were collected from 461 Islamic and conventional bank customers in Qatar via a survey and several tests were used to test certain hypotheses. Component analysis, factor analysis and gap and ascendency analysis were used in this study. Afterward, a correlation analysis and regression model were used to examine the hypotheses and validate the instruments used.

The results show that regardless of the type of bank, customers always have greater expectations of the services than they had perceived. A customer’s expectation of the product on offer is the only dimension that is significantly different in relation to the two types of banks. However, reliability, competence, responsiveness, credibility and empathy dimensions are significantly different of the two types of banks in customers’ perception of quality. In addition, the results suggest that both types of banks need to concentrate their efforts on the product offering, competence and courtesy dimensions.

The size of our sample of Islamic and conventional banks is unequally balanced. Future studies might therefore choose an equally balanced sample.

Bank managers in both types of banks need to continue improving the quality of their service including product offering and to adopt advanced methods to enhance customer satisfaction (CS) and reduce the gaps in quality in the dimensions used. Furthermore, managers in both types of banks need to put more emphasis on product offering, competence, courtesy and communication if they wish to improve SQ. Moreover, Islamic banks must guarantee that they possess competent, highly trained personnel who are familiar with Islamic finance products, so as to enhance the quality of service and attract customers.

To the best of the author’s knowledge, this is the first study to investigate the effect of product offering and other dimensions of SQ on CS in both Islamic and conventional banks by using 11 dimensions of SQ. In addition, it provides evidence of gaps in SQ, at the dimensions level, for both types of banks in an oil-based economy. The results of this study are valuable in helping decision-makers and bank managers who wish to raise the level of SQ and improve CS and in validating the results from other countries with a dual financial system.

The COVID-19 pandemic provides researchers and practitioners with an opportunity to examine the effect of emergency policing on public trust in the police and augment our understanding. Therefore, the primary purpose of this study was to examine the effect of police enforcement of COVID-19 health measures on public trust in the police in Ghana.

A multivariate binary logistic regression was utilized to assess the effect of police enforcement of COVID-19 health measures on public trust in the police in Ghana using national representative data.

Our analysis suggests that emergency policing positively influences public trust in the police in Ghana. Additionally, we observed that police-related issues such as corruption and professionalism, as well as demographic factors of the public, influence trust in the police. These observations are helpful for emergency policing and policy development in Ghana.

This study is unique because it uses national representative data to assess the effect of police enforcement of COVID-19 health measures on public trust in the police in Ghana. Furthermore, this study is among the first or among the few from Ghana and the sub-region to examine the nexus between health emergencies and policing.

Knowledge management (KM) is an important topic in the age of big data, and this study adds to the existing body of literature by providing a novel KM perspective on the technological phenomenon of artificial intelligence (AI). This study aims to discover how AI might facilitate knowledge-based business-to-business (B2B) marketing. In this chapter, the authors take a close look at the building blocks of AI and the relationships between them. Future research directions and also the effects of the various market information building components on B2B marketing are discussed. The study’s approach is theoretical; it tries to provide a framework for characterising the phenomenon of AI and its constituent parts. Additionally, this chapter provides a methodical analysis of the three categories of market information crucial to B2B marketing: knowledge of customers, knowledge of users, and knowledge of external markets. This research looks at AI through the lens of the conventional data processing framework, analysing the six pillars upon which AI systems are founded. It also explained how the framework’s components work together to transform data into actionable information. In this chapter, the authors will look at how AI works and how it can benefit B2B knowledge-based marketing. It’s not aimed at AI experts but rather at general marketing managers. In this chapter, the possible effects of AI on B2B marketing are discussed using examples from the real world.

This chapter shows the prevalence, trends and heterogeneity in maternal smoking around birth in the United Kingdom (UK), focussing on the war and post-war reconstruction period in which there exists surprisingly little systematic data on (maternal) smoking behaviours. Within this context, the authors highlight relevant events, the release of new information about the harms of smoking and changes in (government) policy aimed at reducing smoking prevalence. The authors show stark changes in smoking prevalence over a 30-year period, highlight the onset of the social gradient in smoking as well as genetic heterogeneities in smoking trends.

This paper aims to analyze the influences of context and methodological differences in how universities confront, report and manage carbon neutrality in selected Andean universities, contrasted with a university in the USA.

A sequential, mixed-methods design, using quantitative and qualitative approaches was applied. The data analysis is based on a systematic literature review with bibliometric analysis to identify how carbon neutrality in universities is understood and applied. Informed by the quantitative analysis, the qualitative phase compared the assessment methodologies, opportunities and obstacles in three Andean universities – EAFIT in Colombia, EPN in Ecuador and the UC in Chile – contrasted with MIT (USA) for comparative purposes beyond the region.

The bibliometric analysis points to the evolution of carbon management and carbon neutrality in universities and indicates how universities have applied methodologies and defined opportunities and obstacles. In this comparative experience, the contextual issues are brought to the fore. The conclusions highlight the importance of context in carbon neutrality assessment and argue against crude comparative metrics. While carbon assessment protocols provide data on which actions may be taken, the phase of carbon management development and the specifics of context – based on local institutional, geographical, climatic, cultural, socioeconomic and national policy conditions – are far more relevant for identifying actions.

This study only considered four universities, and the findings are not generalizable. The argument highlights the point that contextual factors generate important differences that may complicate simple comparisons based on the university's type or size. It also highlights the differences in the carbon calculation methodologies used by the institutions.

Results build on the recent publications that document the Latin American context. The article contributes to knowledge about Andean university commitments and actions relating to climate change and carbon neutrality. This knowledge can contribute to how universities in the region seek to apply different methodologies, set targets and the timing of actions and consider their contextual opportunities and obstacles.

Comparing university carbon footprints and carbon neutrality plans is an emerging topic, presenting methodological and institutional difficulties. This paper reveals some of these difficulties by comparing parameters, actions and implementation processes against contextual factors. While there is a drive for international and national comparisons and systematization of data on university carbon performance, significant methodological gaps still need to be resolved to account for these contextual factors.

The current paper is part of a larger scoping review project investigating the intersection of leader(ship) identity development and meaning-making. In this review, we analyzed 100 articles to determine the current extent of literature that covers the intersection of leader(ship) identity development, meaning-making and marginalized social identities.

A review of the extant literature is included, and a conceptual model is suggested for further exploration into this critical and under-researched domain.

More research is needed at the intersection of leadership identity development, meaning-making and marginalized social identities.

As this area of study has expanded, scholars have noted an absence of research on the effect of multiple social identities, especially marginalized identities, on meaning-making and leadership identity construction.

School-based social and emotional learning (SEL) programmes aim to improve pupils’ decision-making, emotional regulation and social skills. A body of international evidence has demonstrated the effectiveness of this type of early intervention for improving both mental health and educational outcomes. Nonetheless, if evidence of a programme’s effectiveness is to be usefully applied, educators need to know not only what works but how, and this is the theme of the chapter. Clearly, collaboration and consultation with teachers are essential to properly develop school-based provision. This case study introduces the Book of Beasties SEL intervention (which is based on a mental wellness card game and linked wellbeing activities) and charts its implementation in a primary school setting. Challenges and facilitators associated with embedding the programme are considered through the first-hand reflections of a primary school teacher who was also the delivery agent. Practical recommendations for a smooth and effective implementation, as well as pitfalls to avoid, are provided and can be applied to a local setting.

This study investigates the influence of e-marketing risks on a Corporation’s Reputation (CR) resulting from its online marketing of products and services.

A comprehensive analysis was conducted to enhance the company’s e-marketing strategies and bolster its reputation in the market. This involved an investigation into key factors of e-marketing risks, such as customer confidence, product quality, marketing fraud, credibility and customer knowledge and proficiency in using online platforms. These factors have directly impacted the company’s reputation, including aspects such as product/service quality, attractiveness, performance and commitment to social responsibility.

Its finding indicates that customers' lack of confidence in e-marketing has a strong impact on CR, followed by product quality and credibility. The absence of consumer awareness about e-marketing websites and e-fraud frequently negatively affects the organizational reputation.

To enhance the corporation’s reputation, it is recommended that companies provide educational resources on online shopping, including guidance on using the company’s website, comparing prices and other services that facilitate online purchases. This will help to support the credibility of e-marketing and enhance customer trust.

This research is an exploration of how e-marketing has affected a Corporation’s Reputation. It provides modern knowledge about the dynamic interplay between digital strategies and brand perception. Investigating this relationship provides valuable insights into the evolving landscape of consumer trust in the digital age. By analysing the various ways in which e-marketing influences a company’s reputation, innovative approaches can be developed to enhance its online presence and build lasting customer trust.

This paper offers a definition of the core of information science, which encompasses most research in the field. The definition provides a unique identity for information science and positions it in the disciplinary universe.

After motivating the objective, a definition of the core and an explanation of its key aspects are provided. The definition is related to other definitions of information science before controversial discourse aspects are briefly addressed: discipline vs. field, science vs. humanities, library vs. information science and application vs. theory. Interdisciplinarity as an often-assumed foundation of information science is challenged.

Information science is concerned with how information is manifested across space and time. Information is manifested to facilitate and support the representation, access, documentation and preservation of ideas, activities, or practices, and to enable different types of interactions. Research and professional practice encompass the infrastructures – institutions and technology –and phenomena and practices around manifested information across space and time as its core contribution to the scholarly landscape. Information science collaborates with other disciplines to work on complex information problems that need multi- and interdisciplinary approaches to address them.

The paper argues that new information problems may change the core of the field, but throughout its existence, the discipline has remained quite stable in its central focus, yet proved to be highly adaptive to the tremendous changes in the forms, practices, institutions and technologies around and for manifested information.