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This study aims to map the digital risks for the Islamic finance industry. Since 2010, the financial space has largely shifted from being banking-centric to the entrepreneurship spectrum, benefiting from groundbreaking innovations in computer technology. The problem of Islamic Finance is that it is still within its banking-centric moment that is risk averse leading to financial exclusion. As with all innovations, there are associated risks that require careful consideration to ensure the reaping of the benefits of these technologies while controlling the risks at its lowest. In this context, the aim of this study is to highlight the risks associated with financial technologies (FinTech) to prepare the Islamic finance sector to serve the economic ideals of Maqāṣid al-Shariah in financial inclusion and profit and loss sharing. The main research question is as follows: What do Islamic Finance industry need to do to manage the digital risks for financial inclusion?

This study uses narrative review method in analysing the discourse of financial technology literature using qualitative data collected from the literature on the topic. It aimed to problematise associated digital risks from the Shariah compliance and Maqā¸ṣid al-Shariah critical viewpoints. Considering the nature of this conceptual study, it adopts a qualitative methodology by using discourse and thematic analysis of the literature that can lay the foundation for future empirical testing on the topic.

The study found that managing risks faced by the Islamic financial sector while adapting to the digital era can be divided into two main clusters: risk mitigation for Shariah-compliant FinTech and risk avoidance for Shariah non-compliant innovations. The high level of gharar associated with current practices in both cryptocurrencies and smart contracts needs additional regulation and simulation before they can be reconsidered for market-wide application. Cloud computing, crowdfunding and big data have promising applications that can address the limitations of the Islamic finance industry, particularly in terms of reducing transactional costs.

This conceptual article offers some insights into the subject; nevertheless, it does not attempt to establish causation or generalise the results. Additional statistical testing is required prior to generalising the results.

Due to the difficulties experienced since its inception, the Islamic financial industry is in urgent need of the cutting-edge solutions required to gain a competitive edge in the market and get over the limits that came with its late entry into the financial sector. Mapping digital risks is imperative for the development of comprehensive prudential risk management strategies for the Islamic finance industry that can fix its problems and enable it to deliver the more favourable Shariah-based solutions, rather than remaining in the lower bands of Shariah compliance.

Findings of the study lay the foundation for empirical testing the volatility of FinTech innovations for the Islamic finance industry to reduce uncertainties and generate reliable forecasts. Scholarship on managing digital risks for Islamic financial institutions is still developing due to the covid global lockdown and the looming recession, and this study will help enhance theorisation necessary that can aspire economic recovery after current challenges.

The deployment of solar photovoltaic (PV) in higher education institutions is beneficial and critical for attaining sustainable campus goals. However, various barriers hamper the adoption of the technology, and unless these challenges are identified, formulating tailor made solutions to boost deployment will be challenging. Thus, this study aimed to identify the barriers to the deployment of PV in the public university sector in South Africa.

A critical review of the literature was conducted to identify the factors that negatively impact PV deployment. By screening the barriers identified from the literature using a conceptual framework, the barriers that were considered relevant to deployment within a university context were selected. Thereafter, the selected barriers and additional barriers recommended by panellists were verified through a three-round Delphi survey. The factors were either accepted or rejected as barriers in the sector based on the factors' mean score and interquartile range values.

The study observed that 12 barriers hamper PV deployment in the public university sector. The findings indicated that the top five barriers were the lack of incentives, lack of green building targets, lack of financial resources, high initial cost, and lack of clear policy direction. However, the study found that deployment was not hindered because there was resistance to change or uncertainty of recouping investment costs. The deployment was also not hindered because there was a lack of demand from electricity end-users or a lack of suitable installation space.

Given the lack of empirical studies on the subject in the region, the present study contributes to the body of knowledge by identifying the significant barriers that impede PV deployment in the public university sector. Furthermore, insight is provided on measures that relevant stakeholders can take to motivate and support universities to deploy the technology further.

This article argues that truth recovery practices that take place against the backdrop of ongoing settler colonial erasure, as is the case when considering Zionist colonial violence in Palestine, must focus on combating state-sponsored attempts at erasure, rather than solely providing a platform for the expression of settler guilt.

The article analyses existing literature on truth recovery practices that take place in Palestine, including the work of a variety of local NGOs engaged in such praxis, with a view to considering how this form of transitional justice has germinated incrementally in the space. Critical reflection on the work of a variety of grassroots NGOs is situated alongside other forms of transitional justice intervention.

The article argues that in the context of enduring settler colonialism, the truth regarding past Zionist atrocities in historic Palestine must avoid being curated in the present day in such a way as to allow for damage limitation rather than the platforming of conversations around meaningful repair. Truth recovery for recovery's sake serves only to reinforce the settler colonial status quo rather than properly agitate for a full decolonisation, one that demands and facilitates indigenous Palestinian return.

The article challenges prevailing notions of the role of truth recovery practices in spaces of enduring settler colonial value. It makes clear that the role of truth recovery interventions in sites where colonial violence endures must be to actively and meaningfully support activities that reinforce native identity, history and presence on the land. Moreover, by reference to existing grassroots attempts at truth recovery in Palestine, the article provides an original and clear argument that states it is simply not enough to platform the revelation of uncomfortable truths or to provide opportunities for settler violence of the past to be “confessed” in public if it is disassociated from challenging the present-day structures of ongoing oppression.

Drawing on indigenous theory of Ibn Khaldun, the rise and fall of States, this paper explores the agency of women entrepreneurs in family business in Bahrain and the underlying enablers in supporting and facilitating the exercise of this agency. This study attempts to move beyond the Western-centric studies to reflect and bring to light the unique institutional settings of the Gulf States.

The research builds on a rich qualitative single case of a family business based in Bahrain. The single case study methodology was motivated by the potential for generating rich contextual insights. Such an approach is particularly valuable to gain a more holistic and deeper understanding of the contextualized phenomenon and its complexity.

In this study the authors show how women entrepreneurs take two different paths to enter and become involved in the family business, the barriers they are subjected to and the active role they play in dismantling the challenges to the extent that they become the main mediators between the family business and central institutions in society.

By incorporating indigenous theory with Western family business concepts, the study extends existing understanding of women entrepreneurs in family business by underscoring the agency that women entrepreneurs have in “doing context” and the role that women play in strengthening common cause and destiny within the family and the business by building and drawing on different forms of loyalty.