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There is a major transformation taking place in the Arab and Muslim worlds. People in these nations are poised on the edge of a significant new social landscape. Called the Internet, this new frontier not only includes the creation of new forms of private communication, like electronic mail and chat, but also webbased forums, which for the first time enables public discussion between males and females in conservative societies. This paper has been written as a result of an ethnographic study conducted in Saudi Arabia during the period 2001‐2002. The purpose of the study was to understand how online communities in Saudi Arabia are affecting people. The results of the study indicate that while participants to a large extent used online communities in accordance with their cultural values, norms and traditions, the communication medium and the features associated with it, such as the anonymity and lack of social cues, have affected them considerably. For example, many participants became more flexible in their thinking, more aware of the diverse nature of people within their society, less inhibited about the opposite gender, and more self‐confident. On the other hand, participants neglected their family commitments, became less shy and some became confused about some aspects of their culture and religion. These findings and their implications for the Arab and Muslim worlds will be highlighted in this paper.

The aim of this study is to examine interpersonal trust in Muslim matrimonial sites (MMS) from a male perspective. Specifically how users perceive interpersonal trust in MMS; what are the signs of lack of trust in MMS (if any); and what strategies do users adopt to handle the lack of trust in MMS.

This empirical qualitative study used ethnographic techniques to collect data. In addition to briefly observing five MMS, the study conducted semi-structured interviews with ten participants, who were all males, between the ages of 25-35, and residing in different locations, including the USA, the UK, the UAE, Australia and Bahrain. While the interviews focused on participants' experience in MMS, the analysis of these interviews focused on the issue of trust in these sites.

The analysis has revealed that participants associated trust with “risk taking”, “reliance” on one's abilities, “self-confidence” and honesty with the first three being the major themes that transpired from the analysis of data. The analysis has also revealed three signs of lack of trust in MMS. Users expressed concern over a large number of members' profiles being fake; they appeared suspicious about these sites and approached them with caution and felt intimidated by the unrealistic expectations members placed on them. However, it was found users adopted several strategies to handle the lack of trust in MMS including using their communication skills to study others carefully, doing “police work” to uncover any inconsistencies in their statements, “interrogating” them using a pre-developed list of questions and involving their family members in their negotiations.

Despite MMS immense popularity within the Islamic world, with the exception of a few articles, there are not many articles available in the academic literature on them. This article seeks to address this imbalance.

This study aims (1) to numerically investigate the characteristics of a human cough jet in a quiescent environment, such as the variation with time of the velocity field, streamwise jet penetration and maximum jet width. Two different turbulence modelling approaches, the unsteady Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (URANS) and large eddy simulation (LES), are used for comparison purposes. (2) To validate the numerical results with the experimental data.

Two different approaches, the URANS and LES, are used to simulate a human cough jet flow. The numerical results for the velocity magnitude contours and the spatial average of the two-dimensional velocity magnitude over the corresponding particle image velocimetry (PIV) field of view are compared with the relevant PIV measurements. Similarly, the numerical results for the streamwise velocity component at the hot-wire probe location are compared with the hot-wire anemometry (HWA) measurements. Furthermore, the numerical results for the streamwise jet penetration are compared with the data from the previous experimental work.

Based on the comparison with the URANS approach and the experimental data, the LES approach can predict the temporal development of a human cough jet reasonably well. In addition, the maximum width of the cough jet is found to grow practically linearly with time in the far-field, interrupted-jet stage, while the corresponding axial distance from the mouth of the jet front increases with time in an approximately quadratic manner.

Currently, no numerical study of human cough flow has been conducted using the LES approach due to the following challenges: (1) the computational cost is much higher than that of the URANS approach; (2) it is difficult to specify the turbulent fluctuations at the mouth for the cough jet properly; (3) it is necessary to define the appropriate conditions for the droplets to obtain statistically valid results. Therefore, this work fills this research gap.

The purpose of this paper is to use the concepts of the multi-attribute utility theory to develop a model to evaluate the design of low-density residential units to increase the profit of the company from a certain design, by assessing the changes in the market shares as a result of the built unit’s attributes.

The proposed platform consists of two stages: Stage I or relational model development and Stage II or design evaluation. Stage I is concerned with developing a mathematical model that links design variables (e.g. the R-Value of the building envelope and construction material) with the assessment attributes (e.g. price and carbon emissions). Stage II ensures the fulfillment of the corporation’s goals in maximizing profit and market shares using multi-attribute utility theory.

The application of the proposed model on a case study – a single-family house – shows that reducing the selling price of the unit is not always the best marketing strategy builders should pursue to increase their sales and accordingly their profit, as accounting for other attributes (e.g. performance, operational cost and environmental impact) leads to larger changes in the market shares and accordingly in profit.

The limitations of this research are manifested in the following points: it does not account for the impact of the marketing campaigns on the market shares; it considers the profit as a percentage of the construction cost; and it has not been validated on high-density residential buildings.

This research provides speculative builders with a platform that allows the objective evaluation of houses’ designs prior to introducing them to the market so builders can increase their market shares and consequently their profit. The proposed platform also contributes to increasing the sustainable performance of the housing industry, as it allows for the assessment of the design against economic, environmental and social attributes concurrently, which ensures a balanced consideration of the built houses on sustainability pillars.

The proposed platform for design evaluation extends the assessment attributes beyond the traditionally considered economic and environmental attributes. By doing so, it assists decision-makers in evaluating the potential social influence of the proposed design and, as a result, reduces the unwanted impact.

This research combines the concepts of multi-attribute utility with market studies to develop an objective decision support tool for evaluating the design of speculative houses to increase the sustainable performance of the builders without compromising on their profit.

This meta-analysis reviews and summarizes the results of 34 studies to investigate the relationship between overconfidence and financial decision-making.

A correlation meta-analysis was conducted with three moderators of the relationship between overconfidence and financial decision-making examined: the type of overconfidence construct, the type of overconfidence measuring method and the type of financial decision-making.

It was found that the effect of overconfidence on financial decision-making was significant, but the magnitude of this effect was low. Additionally, indirect measures of overconfidence showed to have stronger effect than direct measures, and the overconfidence was mostly related to investment, followed by trading and innovativeness.

This was the first attempt to meta-analytically integrate results concerning the relationship between overconfidence and financial decision-making. Although overconfidence is described as a keystone for understanding financial decision-making, it was shown that it has rather limited effect on individuals' financial decisions. The findings suggest that indirect measures increase the overall effect and may cause the overvaluation of overconfidence in literature. The results call for more rigorous and consistent conceptualization of overconfidence in behavioral research.

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the relationship between internal audit functions (IAF) and financial reporting quality (FRQ) and whether such a relationship is moderated by senior management support (SMS) in listed companies in Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).

This research is a cross-sectional study, using primary data in the form of a survey sent to 175 listed companies in NSE. A total of 149 questionnaires have been collected and analysed out of which 97 were found to be useful and used in the final analysis.

The findings indicate a positive and significant relationship between internal audit qualities of work performed, internal control activities, coordination between internal and external auditors and FRQ and this finding was also supported by SMS as a moderator. However, the results show a negative and insignificant relationship between internal audit competency, organisational status and FRQ.

The findings support the assumption with regard to agency theory. The board should support the IAF to serve as an effective monitoring mechanism in minimising opportunistic management actions. Regulators should also ensure adequate structures that will strengthen the organisational status of the internal auditors to perform towards improving FRQ.

The study contributes to the existing literature by assessing the effect of IAF on FRQ as moderated by SMS.

The purpose of this strengths or weaknesses, and its external opportunities or threats (SWOT) analysis study on Halal logistics industry in Malaysia is to identify SWOT in the Halal logistics environment and to uncover strategies to leverage on the strengths and opportunities and rectifying the weaknesses as well as overcoming the threats.

This study comprises two methods: literature review and interviews. Extensive literature reviews were obtained from leading databases and the articles recorded matches or related with the keywords. In addition, the respondents from the interviews consist of middle- and top-level managers with reputable knowledge, expertise and experience in the Logistics and Halal industry. After the literature was reviewed and information was transcribed from the interviews, reduction techniques were used to group and summarize the variables into the four SWOT categories.

The SWOT categories, consisting of SWOT, are generated from the literature reviews and supported by the respondents’ views and vice versa. Examples of SWOT analyses done are as follows: strength (strong government support), weakness (inconsistent Halal definition), opportunity (Muslims’ population growth) and threat (no uniformity on Halal standards).

The SWOT analysis done for this study only demonstrates the internal and external environments and not the assumption that they are certain to be correct, as they contain every imaginable matter in relation to Halal logistics. Plus, the analysis done does not show how to achieve competitive advantage, merely as a guideline and the SWOT analysis done may be outdated as the environments are constantly changing.

The study hopes to contribute in future studies and act as a guide for the Halal logistics players to have better understanding in their business environment.

This study is the first of its kind, to incorporate SWOT and Halal logistics. Hence, this study will add in more value to the existing academic research done on SWOT analysis and broadening the Halal and logistics business understanding, not only in Malaysia but globally as well.

Developing countries tend to be characterised by relatively high levels of indebtedness. The proceeds from debt can potentially have positive effects on growth, if the funds are employed to expand the productive capacity of the nation. The paper aims to investigate whether debt can be used to finance growth.

The paper utilizes meta‐analysis approach to address the issue. This approach allows researchers to combine the results from both published and unpublished research to gain insights regarding the directional and statistical significance of the relationship between the two variables.

The results suggest that there exist a positive relationship between debt and economic growth.

The findings from the paper suggest that future research should be conscious of the effect model specification can have on the results on their studies. Indeed, when external debt, the fiscal balance, debt relief where included in the econometric specification the relationship between debt and growth was weakened.

Economic growth should be stimulated, if the proceeds from debt issues are utilized to finance investment in productive areas of economic activity.

While the relationship between debt and growth has stimulated a number of research papers, seminars and conferences, to date, however, no clear answer to the question is available. Through the use of meta‐analysis, this paper allows the reader to glean the main findings from this body of research.

The purpose of this review of the literature is to provide data about flaxseed intake during pregnancy and/or lactation and its effects in the offspring from birth to adulthood.

This review includes up-to-date information from evidence-based sources on flaxseed intake and its by-products, during pregnancy and lactation and its effects on male and female offspring, from post-weaning until adulthood. Topics included are effects on body mass; glycaemic metabolism; lipid profile; blood pressure and aortic structure; reproductive system and brain tissue.

The main effects of flaxseed or its by-products were observed in the cardiovascular system, where a lipid profile improvement and minor aortic remodelling were noticed, and in the cerebral development, where greater n-3 PUFA incorporation in the brain was detected.

The research done in this study, to understand the offspring response that were early exposed to the flaxseed components during pregnancy and lactation, may be the first step toward guiding future strategies for recommending the use of this seed during the offspring’s perinatal period.

Knowledge management (KM) is associated with higher performance and innovative culture; KM can help the public sector to be fiscally lean and meet diverse stakeholders’ needs. However, hierarchical structures, bureaucratic culture and rigid processes inhibit KM adoption and generate inertia. This study aims to explore the nature and causes of this inertia within the context of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) public sector.

Using an in-depth case study of a UAE public sector organisation, this study explores how organisational inertia can be countered to enable KM adoption. Semi-structured interviews are conducted with 17 top- and middle-level managers from operational, management and strategic levels. Interview data is triangulated with content analysis from multiple sources, including the UAE Government and case organisation documents.

The results show transformation leadership, external factors and organisational culture mediate the negative effect of inertia on KM practices adoption. We find that information technology plays a key role in enabling knowledge creation, access, adoption and sharing. Furthermore, we uncover a virtuous cycle between organisational culture and KM practices adoption in the public sector. In addition, we develop a new model (the relationship between KM practices, organisational inertia, organisational culture, transformational leadership traits and external factors) and four propositions for empirical testing by future researchers. We also present a cross-case comparison of our results with six private/quasi-private sector cases who have implemented KM practices.

Qualitative data is collected from a single case study.

Inertia in a public section is a result of bureaucracy and authority bounded by the rules and regulations. Adopting a qualitative methodology and case study method, the research explores the phenomena of how inertia impacts KM adoption in public sector environments. Our findings reveal the underlying mechanisms of how internal and external organisational factors impact inertia. Internally, supportive organisational culture and transformational leadership traits positively effect KM adoption, which, in turn, has a positive effect on organisational culture to counter organisational inertia. Externally, a progressive national culture, strategy and policy can support a knowledge-based organisation that embraces change. This study develops a new model (interactions between internal and external factors impacting KM practices in the public sector), four propositions and a new two-stage process model for KM adoption in the public sector. We present a case-comparison of how the constructs interact in a public sector as compared to six private/quasi-private sector cases from the literature.