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This study aims to investigate the effect of the diversity of the board of directors (BOD) and the shariah supervisory board (SSB) on credit risk, insolvency, operations, reputation, rate of deposit return risk (RDRR) and equity-based financing risk (EBFR) of Islamic banks (IB).

The study uses 68 IBs from 19 countries covering 2009 to 2019. BOD and SSB diversity attributes data were hand-collected from the annual reports. Financial data were collected from the bankscope database. The robustness test and two-step system generalized method of moment estimation technique were used to address potential endogeneity issues.

This study provides evidence that diversity in the experience and cross-membership of board members decreases the risk. Gender diversity increases the risk, but the BOD’s education level diversity has no relationship with risk. More interestingly, influences in the experience and cross-membership of the SSB’s members positively influence risk. However, members’ education levels and gender diversity have not been proven to affect risk.

The paper recommends that Islamic banking authorities play a stronger role and make a greater effort in driving corporate governance reform. Also, determining individual characteristics of the board is a requirement to become a member of a BOD or an SSB.

This paper expands the commitment literature through the diversity of the BOD’s and the SSB’s members in terms of their education levels, experience, cross-membership and gender. This study expands the list of potential risks for IBs, by including the RDRR and EBFR.

This paper examines the moderating effect of good corporate governance on the association between internal information quality and tax savings.

This study uses a quantitative approach. It employs an Australian sample of analysis composed of 1,295 firm-year observations from the period 2017 to 2021. Data relating to corporate governance are hand-collected from the annual reports.

Based on the result of the analysis, this study demonstrates that the interaction between corporate governance and quality of internal information is positively associated with tax savings. Superior corporate governance is critical in activating the effect of internal information quality on tax savings. This finding is robust to a battery of robustness checks and additional tests.

This examination utilizes only publicly traded companies from one developed country.

For the company management, an effective governance structure must be at the top because it will determine the development of all other areas. This study emphasizes the need to continuously improve the effectiveness of corporate governance practices. For long-term investors, an important indicator that can be considered in assessing the “safety” of a company’s tax strategy is its corporate governance aspects. For regulators, this study is expected to assist regulators in creating a more adequate corporate governance implementation and disclosure package to be implemented by corporations in the future.

This study provides new evidence on a crucial construct that can strengthen the relationship between internal information quality and tax savings.

Renal failure is an end-stage consequence after persistent hyperglycemia during diabetic nephropathy (DN), and the etiology of DN has been linked to oxidative stress. The purpose of this research was to determine the beneficial synergistic effects of S-Allyl Cysteine (SAC) and Taurine (TAU) on oxidative damage in the kidneys of type 2 diabetic rats induced by hyperglycemia.

Experimental diabetes was developed by administering intraperitoneal single dose of streptozotocin (STZ; 65 mg/kg) with nicotinamide (NA; 230 mg/kg) in adult rats. Diabetic and control rats were treated with SAC (150 mg/kg), TAU (200 mg/kg) or SAC and TAU combination (75 + 100 mg/kg) for four weeks. The estimation of body weight, fasting blood glucose (FBG), oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT), oxidative stress markers along with kidney histopathology was done to investigate the antidiabetic potential of SAC/TAU in the NA/STZ diabetic group.

The following results were obtained for the therapeutic efficacy of SAC/TAU: decrease in blood glucose level, decreased level of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) and increased levels of GSH, glutathione-s-transferase (GST) and catalase (CAT). SAC/TAU significantly modulated diabetes-induced histological changes in the kidney of rats.

SAC/TAU combination therapy modulated the oxidative stress markers in the kidney in diabetic rat model and also prevented oxidative damage as observed through histopathological findings.

Serious concerns about the stability of the international financial systems have arisen recently, resulting from the mounting inflation rates and the accompanying procedures to control them. Consequently, this study aims at examining empirically the impact of inflationary pressures/shocks on the stability of banking sectors.

The study adopts a dynamic GMM models and exploits a sample of 188 banks operating in 14 MENA economies, over the period 1999–2021.

This research finds that high inflation does indeed harm bank financial stability and deteriorates banks credit risk. Furthermore, the examination of the impact of interaction terms between inflation and bank-specific and institutional quality variables shows that better capitalisation levels, higher liquidity buffers, larger asset size, greater market power, foreign ownership and overall political stability, all can counterbalance the impact of inflationary pressures on MENA banks financial stability.

In addition to empirically revealing how inflationary shocks can deteriorate financial stability, the main novelty of this research is examining how the interactions between inflation on one hand, and bank-specific and institutional quality on the other, affect bank stability.

This paper explores the relationship between board interlocks and firm outcomes by reviewing the most recent peer-reviewed articles examining this research theme.

A systematic and bibliometric methodology of assessing 369 peer-reviewed articles from the Web of Science (WoS) database was applied. The study also leverages key R-packages litsearchr and Bibliometrix software to enhance the descriptive and thematic literature analysis to identify gaps and opportunities for new research.

This study confirms a rapid increase in articles on this thematic area, over the last decade, with increasing collaboration occurring among researchers in the United States, Europe, China, South Korea and India. Four core research clusters are identified. The first and largest cluster links interlocked directors to issues related to corporate governance and firm outcomes. The second cluster links social network theory, interlocking directorates and firm outcomes. Smaller emerging research clusters include topics related to ownership structure, board size, political connectedness and impacts on firm outcomes. The final cluster examines the influence of board interlocks on market value and firm innovation.

Interlocked directors can have both positive and negative impacts on a wide variety of firm outcomes. This study places great interest in the selection of new directors, ensuring that the selection has aligned with the needs and interests of the company and disclosures of potential competing interests are declared and considered. Equally important are the governance practices used to monitor directors' behavior and to protect the interest of shareholders and the firm. This is particularly relevant in the internal appointment of interlocked directors to critical positions, such as audit committees or instances where interlocked directors may simultaneously hold CEO or executive leadership positions in other companies.

This paper examines the board interlocks literature related to firm outcomes. Additionally, this review identifies several topics and disciplines which, if pursued, could enrich the literature and promise new avenues for future research.

Many factors contribute to public rail transit use in an urban network. However, a dysfunctional relationship between the built environment and the transport system significantly deters such use. Architects, urban designers, town planners and policymakers must understand the factors that promote or deter pedestrian use of the urban environment.

The paper investigates four connectivity and walkability factors for three different metro stations in Doha, Qatar: Al Aziziyah, Hamad Hospital and West Bay. The analysis includes pedestrian sheds, block sizes, ground-level land uses and connectedness in the urban spatial network based on catchment contour maps using space syntax.

The results indicate the three metro stations and neighborhoods are representative of diverse type of neighborhoods in Doha: relatively compact but expansive for the Hamad Hospital Station area, metrically and topologically restrictive due to the poor planning and the peninsular location of the reclaimed land in the West Bay area, and expansive, shallow and reliant on attraction for the Al Waab transportation corridor associated with Al Aziziyah Station.

Time factors and temporary closure/capacity reductions due to the global pandemic restricted planned efforts to collect more pedestrian use data based on passive observations and preference choices using surveys during the study. Nonetheless, adapting the investigation to the circumstances produced significant findings.

The analysis can help us develop better guidelines and diagnostic tools to calibrate design and planning strategies promoting more walkable, healthy and sustainable neighborhoods.

The study is original due to examining stations of the new Doha Metro for the first time. However, it relies on well-established representational techniques in urban morphology and space syntax research.

This paper aims to describe the immersive atelier model (IAM), a pedagogical model for remote inter-university studios that promotes quality education. The IAM uses multi-user virtual environments (MUVEs) in two atelier types: A predefined MUVE and a student-shaped one. The study questions how the IAM, using MUVEs, meets the needs of remote inter-university studios. The research explores how MUVE types are used and experienced by students.

Forty-six students that participated in a remote studio course involving three universities were monitored through observations and a post-course questionnaire, responded to by twenty-five students.

Findings provide insights into the learners’ experience and a rich description of the teaching and learning acts that emerged while using the MUVEs types. Student-shaped MUVEs were found particularly supportive of acts associated with indirect learning and conceptualization. The study identifies subtypes of student-shaped MUVEs that support these desired educational acts.

Findings provide encouraging insights for expanding the traditional atelier beyond its physical constraints and supporting sustainable quality education in remote inter-university studios.

The IAM can assist tutors in designing future virtual design studios to achieve diverse knowledge and learning progress.

This paper fulfills an identified need to update the atelier pedagogical model to support sustainable quality education in remote inter-university studios. Based on the affordances of MUVEs, the IAM expands the traditional atelier with types of virtual ateliers to support the learners’ sense of belongingness and engagement.

Innovatively, the IAM simultaneously uses MUVEs as educational and design spaces that enhance learning.

The recent failures and insolvencies of organisations related to the modern methods of construction (MMC) have gained increased attention and controversy across the UK construction sector. Such failures are linked to their inability to achieve an economy of scale and drive key clients to accept the MMC as an alternative to traditional methods. This paper aims to unravel whether a phenomenon of “innovation negativism” has manifested and is contributing to public clients' indecision towards broader MMC, whether this is only linked to past negative experiences formed after the Second World War or whether additional contributing reasons exist to influence adoption.

This study focusses on exploring the decision-making of the UK public construction sector; therefore, this paper adopts a qualitative approach, utilising interviews with 14 carefully selected MMC experts, government advisors and public clients. The phenomenological stance adopted herewith enables the authors to make better sense of the perceptions of the interviewees, leading to the conceptualisation of the innovation negativism phenomenon.

The paper identifies nine themes that may be argued to promote a profound understanding of the MMC negativism influencing public clients' decision-making. The study has found that more than just the previous negative perceptions formulated post Second World War are driving innovation negativism in the UK public sector. Notably, the emerging themes are incomprehension, lacking evidence, communication, relationship history, bad experiences, uncertainty, inadequate experimentation, the business case and localism.

This study is the first construction management research that acts as a fair departure point to conceptualise the reasoning behind innovation negativism in the construction setting. Through mirroring demand's unipolarity for traditional methods, policy and decision-makers can now rely on the conceptualised reasoning to determine practical solutions to overcome clients' indecisions towards MMC.

This paper introduces the YouWalk-UOS mobile application, a tool that revolutionises the assessment of urban open spaces (UOS). The paper demonstrates how integrating real-time, on-ground observations with users’ reactions into a digital platform can transform the evaluation of urban open spaces. It seeks to address the existing shortcomings of traditional UOS assessment methods and underscore the need for innovative, adaptable and inclusive approaches.

Emphasizing the necessity of UOS for mental and physical health, community interaction and social and environmental resilience in cities, the methodology involves a comprehensive analysis of a number of theoretical frameworks that have historically influenced urban open space conceptualisation, design and assessment. The approach includes a critical review of traditional UOS assessment methods, contrasting them with the capabilities of the proposed YouWalk-UOS application. Building on the reviewed theoretical frameworks, the methodology articulates the application’s design, which encompasses 36 factors across three assessment domains: functional, social and perceptual and provides insights into how technology can be leveraged to offer a more holistic and participatory approach to urban space assessment.

YouWalk-UOS application represents an important advancement in urban space assessment, moving beyond the constraints of traditional methods. The application facilitates a co-assessment approach, enabling community members to actively participate in the evaluation and development of their urban environments. Findings highlight the essential role of technology in making urban space assessment more user-centred, aligning more closely with community needs and aspirations.

The originality lies in the focus on the co-assessment approach and integration of mobile technology into urban open space assessment, a relatively unexplored area in urban design literature. The application stands out as an innovative solution, offering a new perspective on engaging communities in co-assessing their environments. This research contributes to the discourse on urban design and planning by providing a fresh look at the intersection of technology, user engagement and urban space assessment.

This paper aims to highlight a broader definition of good building performance that goes beyond the traditional emphasis on technical aspects, only adopting the lens of the social construction of technology (SCOT) in the empirical space of the workplace sector. Several building performance evaluation (BPE) methods focus on technical aspects such as energy consumption, indoor environmental conditions and compliance with building regulations and standards. Technical aspects, albeit important goals, only embed a partial component of what buildings are expected to deliver. There is growing interest in considering the organisational and experiential expectations of building performance, particularly integrating various views of performance as expected by different user groups.

The paper adopts an archival research method to analyse the archive of the workplace consultants DEGW, particularly focusing on their work on London’s Broadgate development in the 1980s and the 1990s.

The findings reveal how voices from a pluralistic client organisation can be addressed to articulate a broad definition of building performance that integrates different viewpoints encompassing technical, organisational and experiential expectations. In DEGW’s work, the views on building performance of various stakeholders involved in the everyday use and management of buildings are identified without imposing predetermined agendas or research notions of performance. Particular emphasis is given to understanding clients as not a homogenous entity but consisting of different interest groups, which implies multiple conceptualisations of building performance and the building itself.

The performance expectations of a building vary between organisations and even within any organisation. Moreover, the needs of an organisation will change over time, and the BPE criteria need to be changed to ensure better alignment between organisations and the physical spaces they occupy. A critical reflection on the conceptualisation of “users” and “building” in BPE methods is required to create an integrated approach towards building performance.

The paper offers insights by adopting the theoretical lens of SCOT to explore an integrated approach to building performance that captures the varied needs of building users through the example of London’s Broadgate development.