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This study addresses the gap in understanding text analytics within the service domain, focusing on new service development to provide insights into key research themes and trends in text analytics approaches to service development. It explores the benefits and challenges of implementing these approaches and identifies potential research opportunities for future service development. Importantly, this study offers insights to assist service providers to make data-driven decisions for developing new services and optimising existing ones.

This research introduces the hybrid thematic analysis with a systematic literature review (SLR-TA). It delves into the various aspects of text analytics in service development by analysing 124 research papers published from 2012 to 2023. This approach not only identifies key practical applications but also evaluates the benefits and difficulties of applying text analytics in this domain, thereby ensuring the reliability and validity of the findings.

The study highlights an increasing focus on text analytics within the service industry over the examined period. Using the SLR-TA approach, it identifies eight themes in previous studies and finds that “Service Quality” had the most research interest, comprising 42% of studies, while there was less emphasis on designing new services. The study categorises research into four types: Case, Concept, Tools and Implementation, with case studies comprising 68% of the total.

This study is groundbreaking in conducting a thorough and systematic analysis of a broad collection of articles. It provides a comprehensive view of text analytics approaches in the service sector, particularly in developing new services and service innovation. This study lays out distinct guidelines for future research and offers valuable insights to foster research recommendations.

This study aims to investigate the effect of total external debt stock on economic growth of the East African Community (EAC) bloc.

The study applies balanced panel data for seven of the eight EAC member states, spanning the period from 2013 to 2022, and uses panel data models, i.e. pooled ordinary least squares, random and fixed effects models.

The findings reveal a significant positive correlation between total external debt stock and economic growth, supporting the economic theory that reasonable levels of borrowing can stimulate economic growth, particularly when funds are channeled into productive activities. However, the relationship between foreign direct investment and economic growth lacks statistical significance, indicating challenges in attracting sufficient investment for substantial growth within the EAC bloc. Trade openness shows a negative and statistically insignificant correlation with economic growth. Additionally, the study finds a positive and significant correlation between the unemployment rate and economic growth, while the inflation rate demonstrates a positive but statistically insignificant relationship with economic growth.

The study recommends improvements in debt management practices, enhancements in the business environment, infrastructure investments, a reassessment of trade policies and initiatives to stimulate job creation and SME development. More importantly, governments should focus on expanding the tax base in ways that stimulate growth, thereby reducing reliance on external debt.

This study is unique as it revisits the effect of external debt stock on economic growth following Somalia’s recent membership in EAC bloc.

The purpose of this study is to provide quantitative information about the development of Islamic financial management literature. For this purpose, it is aimed to draw attention to the development of this field by revealing the literature gap in the field of Islamic financial management.

In this study, the document analysis method is used and the Web of Science (WOS) site is used to obtain the desired data. The time range of the study covers the years 1980–2023/January. The results obtained from the scans were analyzed by the bibliometric analysis method. The data obtained within the scope of the study are classified and analyzed using the VOSviewer program, which is one of the many software developed for scientific mapping analysis. The obtained data are presented in a certain order with the visual mapping method.

In the analyses made, bibliometric analysis based on document review and including the subject of “Islamic financial management” in the WOS database between the relevant years has not been used in any study, which points to an important gap in the literature. However, 3,022 studies on “Financial management” and 1,830 studies on “Islamic finance” have been identified. Although there is no data on “Financial Management”, the subjects of “Islamic finance” and “Financial management” related to the subject have been evaluated in terms of countries, the most publishing organizations, authors, publications and word–word groups, using the bibliometric analysis method, as well as making numerical and visual evaluations. These studies show that an infrastructure to include the subject of “Islamic financial management” has not been formed in the literature.

This study points to an important gap in the literature. The subjects of “Islamic finance” and “Financial management” have been sufficiently covered in the literature separately. By combining this knowledge with new studies there appears an environment where original studies on the subject of “Islamic financial management” can be made and this study is aimed to shed light on this virgin area.

In the literature bibliometric analysis based on document review including the subject of “Islamic financial management” has not been used in any study. To the best of the author’s knowledge this study is the first in the literature to address the related issue and with it an important gap in the literature has been identified and an important case that will be a source for future studies has been revealed.

This paper aims to assess the current and future dynamics of land cover transitions and analyze the vegetation conditions in Abuja city since its establishment as the capital of Nigeria in 1991.

A random forest classifier embedded in the Google Earth Engine platform was used to classify Landsat imagery for the years 1990, 2001, 2014 and 2020. A post-classification comparison was used to detect the dynamics of land cover transitions. A hybrid simulation model that comprised cellular automata and Markovian was used to model the probable scenario of land cover changes for 2050. The trend of Normalized Difference Vegetation Index was examined using Mann–Kendall and Theil Sen’s from 2014 to 2022. Nighttime band data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration were obtained to analyze the trend of urbanization from 2014 to 2022.

The findings show that built-up areas increased by 40%, while vegetation, bare land and agricultural land decreased by 27%, 7% and 8%, respectively. Vegetation had the highest declining rate at 3.15% per annum. Built-up areas are expected to increase by 17.1% between 2020 and 2050 in contrast with other land cover. The proportion of areas with moderate vegetation improvement is estimated to be 15.10%, while the proportion of areas with no significant change was 38.10%. The overall proportion of degraded areas stands at 46.8% due to urbanization.

The findings provide a comprehensive insight into the dynamics of land cover transitions and vegetation variability induced by rapid urbanization in Abuja city, Nigeria. In addition, the findings provide valuable insights for policymakers and urban planners to develop a sustainable land use policy that promotes inclusivity, safety and resilience.

In the Global North, affordable housing has evolved and thrived, and it is now gaining traction in the Global South, where governments have been vocal supporters of the concept. Therefore, this paper aims to investigate the important criteria for selecting affordable housing units in Ghana.

A quantitative research approach was used, and a survey was administered to the residents. The data was analysed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. The relative importance index technique was used to rank the important criteria, and the EFA technique was used to create a taxonomy system for the criteria.

The hierarchical ranking of the most significant criteria for selecting affordable housing includes community safety, waste management and access to good-quality education. Furthermore, the important criteria for selecting affordable housing are classified into two groups, namely, “sustainability criteria” and “housing demand and supply and social service provision”.

This study has implications for the real estate industry and construction stakeholders, as this will inform decision-making in terms of the design of affordable housing and the suitability of the location for the development.

These findings provide a baseline to support potential homeowners and tenants in their quest to select affordable housing. Furthermore, these findings will aid future longitudinal research into the indicators or criteria for selecting suitable locations for the development of low- and middle-income housing.

The purpose of this paper is to determine current and potential takaful customers’ perception of takaful product and its adoption in Somalia.

This study used three originally selected constructs of perceived relative advantage, perceived compatibility and perceived complexity of diffusion of innovation (DOI) theory and adds three additional constructs of level of customer awareness, culture and perceived trust. A total of 427 questionnaires were collected from the participants of the study using a nonprobability convenience sampling technique. For data analysis, Smart PLS3 and SPSS software were used. The survey was conducted in Somalia, with respondents being current and potential takaful product’s customers. The DOI theoretical model was put to the test using structural equation modeling.

The findings showed that perceived relative advantage, perceived compatibility, awareness, perceived culture and perceived trust have a positive and significant influence, whereas perceived complexity has an insignificant influence on the adoption of takaful products.

This research is a pioneering attempt to investigate the determinants of current and potential takaful customers’ adoption by changing the DOI theory, and it presents a unique contribution to the field with regard to Somalia.

The purpose of this study is to identify the capacity needs of building professionals to deliver environmentally sustainable buildings (ESBs) globally, from a unique systems approach. Through a review of extant literature, this study contributes to knowledge of the global delivery of ESBs by identifying research trends and gaps that can be tackled in future research, and current hotspots in capacity building (CB) research within the built environment (BE). The adopted systems approach to CB postulates that the construction industry is systemized in nature, and thus, CB solutions within the industry should be approached from a systems approach.

A literature search was conducted using the Scopus search engine, augmented by Google Scholar and Web of Science, to produce 54 relevant articles for analysis. The scientometric analysis was undertaken with the use of VOSViewer to better understand the broad literature on CB in the construction industry which would not have been possible with traditional data analysis. The content analysis allowed, for a systematic review of selected articles, to reveal key themes in this study.

Through a content analysis, four levels of CB were identified within the construction industry; individual level, organizational level, industry level and state level. Nine sub-capacities were subsumed under the four identified levels adopted from Potter and Brough (2004), including but not limited to Performance capacity, Workload capacity, Supervisory capacity, Industry Role capacity and Systems capacity. Under each sub-capacity, key questions were posed to aid identify the capacity needs of BE professionals. A framework for identifying capacity needs in the BE is proposed.

The findings of this study serve as a useful reference for practitioners and policymakers to assess their level of commitment to CB efforts for ESB delivery. The findings of this study have revealed that building the capacities of BE professionals to deliver ESBs should be addressed as part of a broader framework, interdependent on the other levels of CB in the systemic construction industry.

As a review study identifying capacity needs for BE professionals to deliver ESBs, this study enhances knowledge of CB within the construction industry.

This study aims to conduct a review and analysis of the literature on Shariah audit compliance by examining the difference between internal and external auditors, the scope of internal Shariah audits and the qualification of Shariah auditors.

The current study used content analysis and the descriptive approach to achieve the main objective of the study. To ensure that Islamic Financial Institutions’ (IFIs) practices preserve Shariah principles and values when providing Shariah-compliant products and services, this audit will be used to supervise and monitor the operations of IFIs. The main goal of Shariah compliance auditing is to protect the interests of IFIs stakeholders, including account holders, shareholders, creditors, management and employees, as well as the general public while ensuring that the mechanisms of checks and balances in place are appropriate and tailored to the goals and missions of its establishment following the Maqasid Al-Shariah.

The findings of this study attempt to contribute to the body of knowledge surrounding Shariah audit compliance by advising IFIs on the value of Shariah compliance auditing in addressing the needs of its stakeholders. As a result, the benefits of Shariah compliance audits will be maximized, and future legislative changes will be implemented to reduce or completely remove the risk of Shariah’s failure to comply.

This research advises IFIs on the usefulness of Shariah compliance auditing in addressing the demands of its stakeholders to add to the body of knowledge on Shariah audit compliance. Moreover, all parties involved to take action to reduce the gap that will significantly affect stakeholders’ confidence, particularly concerning the Shariah compliance of the IFIs’ products and services on their operations and activities.

The advantages of Shariah compliance audits will thus be maximized, and future regulatory improvements will be made to lessen or eliminate the danger of Shariah noncompliance.

The purpose of microcredit is to offer small loans to people who are not covered by traditional financial channels. It can facilitate entrepreneurship, boosting local socio-economic development and improving environmental and political factors.

This paper aims to analyse microcredit in Italy, focusing on a project based in Rione Sanità, Naples. Rione Sanità is one of the poorest areas of Southern Italy, displaying high rates of criminality and unemployment, especially among youth, women, migrants and the vulnerable. The district is renowned for its fine and ancient handicrafts, food, trade and historical heritage – potential drivers for boosting tourism in the area. Qualitative methodologies were used to collect primary data through field visits and interviews with project bankers, local businesses, artisans, associations and religious representatives, project volunteers, as well as participation at local meetings. These data were corroborated by budget analysis based on the project's accounting.

The study shows encouraging results for the project and policy prospects. Despite the tiny starting numbers, there emerges a significant potential for microcredit to spread in the district, as in Southern Italy, providing an effective strategy to combat unemployment, usury and criminality, yielding community development and favoring broad societal challenges.

With this evidence, the paper attempts to shed some light and verify the potential of microfinance projects as a driver of sustainable development and ethical finance in poor areas of developed countries.