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This study aims to explore and identify potential challenges and prospects for conducting the professional shariah audit training programme via an e-learning approach during coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

Questionnaires were administered to 296 participants who were enrolled in the professional shariah audit training programme via e-learning during the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak in 2020. These participants were final-year students from selected Malaysian public universities.

Findings show that several main challenges are faced in adopting an e-learning approach for conducting the professional shariah audit training programme such as the inability to do more hands-on, group and physical activities, different understandings based on academic backgrounds, difficulty in learning practical and technical topics, technical issues and problems during e-learning sessions. These lead to the unsuitability of conducting professional training via the e-learning approach. In terms of prospects of knowledge learnt via the e-learning approach, participants showed that they are able to master all six modules covered in the professional shariah audit training programme via the e-learning approach. These include (1) shariah principles; (2) shariah governance; (3) Islamic financial transactions; (4) shariah risk management; (5) shariah audit planning and programme; and (6) shariah audit fieldwork and communication.

Based on the findings, it is suggested to have more time spent and earlier preparation on the learning contents and sessions, more discussion on actual contents and practical exercises and competency of the trainers in delivering e-learning sessions.

This study is believed to be one among the pioneering studies on the potential challenges and prospects in adopting e-learning for conducting the professional shariah audit training programme due to COVID-19.

This paper analyzes the impact of macroeconomic variables such as real exchange rate, exchange-rate volatility, and economic growth of the UK and Norway on Norway’s bilateral trade flow to the UK via maritime and other transport modes. The first two models considered trade volume (import and export) via only maritime transport, while the third and fourth models considered trade volume via modes other than maritime transport. The empirical validity of the Marshall-Lerner condition is tested to see whether a devaluation of the real exchange rate improves the trade balance in the long term. In addition to the long-term relationship among variables, short-term effects are also evaluated. The results show that the real income of Norway and its trading partner (the UK) is the main determinant of bilateral trade flow via maritime and other transport modes. Moreover, the results indicate that in the long run, the Marshall-Lerner condition is satisfied only for bilateral trade via modes other than maritime transport.

Studies show that building information modelling (BIM) technology can improve construction productivity regarding the design, construction and maintenance of a project life cycle in the 21st century. Revit has been identified as a frequently used tool for delivering BIM in the built environment. Studies about BIM technology via Revit are scarce in training middle-level workforce higher education institutions. Thus, this study aims to investigate the relevance of BIM technology and offer measures to promote digitalisation in Nigeria’s built environment polytechnic undergraduates via Revit.

Given the unexplored nature of training the middle-level workforce in Nigeria, 37 semi-structured virtual interviews were conducted across Nigeria, and saturation was achieved. The participants were knowledgeable about construction-related BIM. The researchers used a thematic analysis for the collected data and honed them with secondary sources.

Improved visualisation of design, effective and efficient work productivity, automatic design and quantification, improved database management and collaboration and data storage in the centrally coordinated model, among others, emerged as BIM’s benefits. BIM technology via Revit is challenging, especially in Nigeria’s polytechnic education curriculum. The 24 perceived issues were grouped into government/regulatory agencies-related, polytechnic management-related and polytechnic undergraduate students-related hindrances in Nigeria’s built environment.

This study is limited to BIM implications for Nigeria’s built environment polytechnic undergraduates.

This study contributes to the literature paucity in attempting to uncover perceived issues hindering the implementation of BIM technology via Revit in training Nigeria’s built environment polytechnic undergraduates via a qualitative approach.

Funding infrastructural facilities of higher institutions, especially in some developing nations such as Nigeria, that is under-funded, is a challenge in the current era. Private organisations participation in infrastructure development via a proposed expanded corporate social responsibility (ECSR) may enhance infrastructural facilities provision. There is a paucity of literature regarding ECSR, a form of infrastructure tax relief providing infrastructural facilities for higher institutions. Therefore, the study investigated the role of private organisations via a proposed ECSR in the provision of infrastructure and proffer ways to enhance higher institutions' infrastructure development delivery in Nigeria.

The study data were collated via face-to-face interviews and observation of existing buildings. From the six geo-political zones, two higher institutions each were selected for a good representation across Nigeria. Saturation was achieved with 26 participants interviewed. The emerged three main themes were analysed via thematic analysis.

Findings show inadequate infrastructure development in Nigerian higher institutions. Lack of policy and institutional framework, lax governance, level of transparency, and corruption, emerged as the key issues that may hinder private organisations from participating in public higher institutions infrastructure development delivery in Nigeria via ECSR. Others are lack of autonomy, inadequate planning, high level of impunity, political affiliation, poor management, and access to funding. The study proffers some recommendations based on these findings.

This research is restricted to the role of private organisations via ECSR in infrastructure development (buildings) in Nigeria's public higher institutions. Future study is needed to validate the proposed ECSR framework in developing countries for the provision of buildings for higher institutions in their host communities.

The paper will advance the philosophy of corporate social responsibility to the provision of building facilities in host communities' higher institutions by private companies through tax relief and supported by a proposed Presidential Executive Order.

The proposed ECSR framework can be used to improve building facilities in Nigeria's higher institutions. This may assist and stir up policymakers to explore the proposed model and back up with an established policy such as infrastructure tax relief (ITR) for implementation.

Inadequate strategic planning and maintenance budget may undermine the maintenance of the Higher Education Institution Building (HEIB). Studies have shown that a customised maintenance concept such as Soft System Methodology (SSM) can improve public building maintenance operations. There is a paucity of studies regarding public HEIB maintenance in Nigeria via an SSM approach. Therefore, the research investigated the state of public HEIB and developed a framework to improve public HEIB maintenance practices in Nigeria.

The research adopted SSM to understand Nigeria’s public HEIB maintenance practices. The SSM permitted a substitute approach to improve public HEIB maintenance practices via a developed framework. Data were collated via virtual interviews with experts, and findings were presented in line with the SSM seven steps.

Findings show that besides the shoddy state of public HEIB maintenance, there is no public digitalised HEIB framework to improve maintenance practices across Nigeria’s higher education institutions. The study developed a digitalised framework with the support of Computerised Maintenance Management System from the findings. It would reposition the public HEIB and stir up various agencies/departments/units managing maintenance for better service delivery via integrated delivery, practical, methodological and managerial aspects.

The research investigated Nigeria’s public HEIB maintenance practices via SSM to identify the required document and propose a feasible framework to improve Nigeria’s HEIB maintenance practices. Besides the developed conceptual framework, Nigeria’s HEIB maintenance practitioners and higher institution chief executives can use the recommended framework as guidelines to improve HEIB maintenance practices.

Public higher education institutions (HEIs) infrastructure funding is challenging in many developing countries. Encouraging private investment in HEIs infrastructure via a developed expanded corporate social responsibility (ECSR) may improve physical facilities. ECSR is a form of infrastructure tax relief providing physical facilities for HEIs. Academic literature is scarce concerning how ECSR can improve Nigeria’s public HEIs infrastructure and achieve education infrastructure related to Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG 4). Therefore, this study aims to proffer measures to improve public HEIs infrastructure and achieve sustainable development connected to Goal 4 focussing on infrastructure via a developed framework.

This is an expansion of an ongoing study, and data were collated via virtual interviews across the six geo-political zones in Nigeria. The analysed data were presented in a thematic pattern.

A total of 18 measures (sub-variables) emerged and were re-grouped into six variables. This includes institutionalising ECSR, HEIs infrastructure via ECSR awareness, HEIs infrastructure incentives, national and state action plans on HEIs infrastructure, a legal framework for HEIs infrastructure and key stakeholders’ participation. Also, the study used the generated six main variables to develop the improved public HEIs infrastructure via ECSR in developing countries, using Nigeria as a case study. This can enhance achieving infrastructure associated with SDG 4 (quality education) and targets.

This study intends to develop the philosophy (ECSR) with an implementable framework to encourage the private sector further to expand their CSR in the infrastructure development to the educational sector, especially in developing countries higher institutions, using Nigeria as a case study.

Heart diseases have become one of the most causes of death among Egyptians. With 500 deaths per 100,000 occurring annually in Egypt, it has been noticed that medical data faces a high-dimensional problem that leads to a decrease in the classification accuracy of heart data. So the purpose of this study is to improve the classification accuracy of heart disease data for helping doctors efficiently diagnose heart disease by using a hybrid classification technique.

This paper used a new approach based on the integration between dimensionality reduction techniques as multiple correspondence analysis (MCA) and principal component analysis (PCA) with fuzzy c means (FCM) then with both of multilayer perceptron (MLP) and radial basis function networks (RBFN) which separate patients into different categories based on their diagnosis results in this paper, a comparative study of the performance performed including six structures such as MLP, RBFN, MLP via FCM–MCA, MLP via FCM–PCA, RBFN via FCM–MCA and RBFN via FCM–PCA to reach to the best classifier.

The results show that the MLP via FCM–MCA classifier structure has the highest ratio of classification accuracy and has the best performance superior to other methods; and that Smoking was the most factor causing heart disease.

This paper shows the importance of integrating statistical methods in increasing the classification accuracy of heart disease data.

This research explores the impacts of content-generating devices (mobile phones versus personal computers) and content features (social content and achievement content) on consumer engagement with marketer-generated content (MGC) on social media. It also examines these factors' interaction effects on consumer engagement.

The study analyzed MGC that 210 companies had posted to Sina Weibo over three years, testing the study’s proposed model with negative binomial regression analysis.

The study's results show that MGC generated via mobile phones attracts more consumer engagement than MGC generated via personal computers. MGC with more social features attracts more consumer engagement, whereas MGC with more achievement features reduces consumer engagement. The authors also found that MGC with more social features generated via mobile phones and MGC with more achievement features generated via personal computers lead to more consumer engagement due to the congruency of the construal level of psychological distance.

This research enriches the literature by exploring the effects of content-generating devices and content features on consumer engagement in the MGC context, which extends the research on consumer engagement with social media from the context of user-generated content to the MGC.

The influence of technology on marketing communications is rising in both applications and value created. Artificial intelligence (AI) and, as a result, smart speakers are benefiting both brands and customers at many levels. In particular, AI opens up the possibility to establish human-like dialogs with customers and to advertise brands in a new and engaging way. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to understand why and how consumers would accept receiving advertising (ad) via AI-enabled devices such as smart speakers.

A total of 326 individuals participated in a study that explored the factors influencing ad acceptance in smart devices. A partial least squares-structural equation model technique was used to validate the results.

The findings show that customer acceptance of ads via smart assistants is influenced by smart assistant usefulness and hedonic motivations. However, privacy risk moderates the relationship between smart speaker ease of use and smart speaker usefulness.

This paper explores the main drivers of ad acceptance via smart speakers and goes beyond the existing knowledge of smart speaker acceptance to further explore how this can become an important channel for brands to communicate.

La influencia de la tecnología en las comunicaciones de marketing está aumentando tanto en las aplicaciones desarrolladas como en el valor creado. La inteligencia artificial (IA) y, en consecuencia, los altavoces inteligentes están beneficiando tanto a las marcas como a los clientes a muchos niveles. En particular, la IA abre la posibilidad de establecer diálogos similares a los humanos con los clientes y de publicitar las marcas de una manera nueva y atractiva. Por lo tanto, es necesario entender por qué y cómo los consumidores aceptarían recibir publicidad (anuncios) a través de dispositivos con IA, como los altavoces inteligentes.

Un total de 326 personas participaron en un estudio que exploró los factores que influyen en la aceptación de la publicidad en los dispositivos inteligentes. Se utilizó una técnica PLS-SEM para validar los resultados.

Los resultados muestran que la aceptación de los anuncios a través de los asistentes inteligentes por parte de los clientes está influenciada por la utilidad del asistente inteligente y las motivaciones hedónicas. Sin embargo, el riesgo para la privacidad modera la relación entre la facilidad de uso del altavoz inteligente y su utilidad.

El artículo explora los principales impulsores de la aceptación de la publicidad a través de los altavoces inteligentes y va más allá del conocimiento existente sobre la aceptación de los altavoces inteligentes para explorar más a fondo cómo esto puede convertirse en un canal importante para que las marcas se comuniquen.

科技对营销传播的影响在应用和价值创造方面都在上升。人工智能（AI）以及智能音箱在很多层面都对品牌和客户有益。尤其是, 人工智能开辟了与客户建立类似人类对话的可能性, 并以一种新颖的、有吸引力的方式宣传品牌。因此, 了解消费者为什么以及如何接受通过人工智能设备（如智能音箱）接收广告（广告）是有必要的。

本研究的326名参与者探讨了影响智能设备中广告接受度的因素。PLS-SEM技术被采用以对结果进行验证。

研究结果显示, 客户通过智能助手接受广告会受智能助手有用性和享乐动机的影响。然而, 隐私风险调节了智能音箱的易用性和智能音箱的有用性之间的关系。

本文探讨了通过智能音箱接受广告的主要驱动因素, 并超越了现有的关于智能音箱接受度的知识, 进一步探讨了这如何能成为品牌沟通的重要渠道。

This paper aims to investigate the link between agency costs mitigation via three levels of rights protection (minority rights protection, enforcing contracts, resolving insolvency issues) provides the propitious climate for financing investment opportunities around the world.

We use Bartlett’s three-group method to stratify countries based on how well they protect investors as measured by the scores provided in the Doing Business dataset developed by the world bank for 189 countries. We then test a variety of independent hypotheses that the alleviation of agency costs via three levels of protection (minority investors’ rights, contract enforcement, resolving insolvency issues) is associated with better access to credit via the banking system, better valuation of listed firms via the stock market and higher investment and growth.

Our findings support Agency Theory which explains why the absence of legal protection of external investors leads to stock markets and financial institutions failing to fulfill their role of financing the economy.

The policy implication from this study indicates that countries ought to (1) develop legislation that protects investors’ rights, (2) improve the quality of their judicial system in terms of enforcing the legislation and (3) build the framework for resolving disputes during insolvency as these are important ingredients for a developed financial system.

We use the World bank dataset and a new methodology to quantify the significance of the relationship between minority rights protection, ineffective enforcement, lack of bankruptcy laws and access to firm financing via the banking sector and the stock market. It provides new evidence that the quality of the judicial system in a country matter for firms’ ability to raise financing and enhance value creation.

本文旨在探討一個假設，該假設為透過三級別權利保障（保障少數群體的權利、執行合同、解決破產問題）的代理成本緩減會為世界各地的金融性投資機會提供良好的氣侯。

我們以巴特利特（Bartlett）的三組法把國家分組，分組方法是基於該國家保障投資者的程度，而保障程度是以世界銀行為189個國家而制定的營商資料集內提供的評分來衡量的。我們把國家分組後，便就各樣的獨立假設進行測試。這些假設是：透過三級別保障（保障少數股權投資者的權利、合同的執行、解決破產問題）的代理成本緩減是連繫於透過銀行系統而產生的更佳信貸途徑，透過股市的更佳上市公司估值及更高的投資和增長。

研究結果証實了代理理論，該理論說明為何當外來投資者沒有得到法律保障時，結果會導致股票市場和金融機構不能履行其為經濟提供資金的角色。

本研究具有政策方面的意義，因研究顯示了國家應該：（1）設立保障投資者權利的法律；（2）在執行法律方面，改善其司法系統的素質；（3）建立解決破產時爭議的體系。這些是應該做的，因它們是一個已發展的金融體制的重要元素。

本文強調了一個保障投資者權利的法律環境所需的三個特定要素：對少數股權投資者權利的保障、有效的執行、有效的破產法律及透過銀行部門和股票市場而取得公司融資。這提供新的證據, 證實這三級別權利保障對公司籌集資金及提高價值創造的能力而言至為重要。