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The main objective of this study is to examine whether firms follow the financing hierarchy as suggested by the Pecking Order Theory (POT). The External Funds Needed (EFN) model offers a financing hierarchy that can be used for examining the POT. As far as the EFN considers growth of sales as a driver for changing capital structure, it follows that shall firms plan for a sustainable growth of sales, a sustainable financing can be reached and maintained. This study uses data about the firms listed in two indexes: Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA30) and NASDAQ100. The data cover quarterly periods from June 30, 1999, to March 31, 2012. The methodology includes (a) cointegration analysis in order to test for model specification and (b) causality analysis in order to show the generic and mutual associations between the components of EFN. The results conclude that (a) in the majority of the cases, firms plan for an increase in growth sales but not necessarily to approach sustainable rate; (b) in cases of observed and sustainable growth of sales, firms reduce debt financing persistently; (c) firms use equity financing to finance sustainable growth of sales in the long run only, while in the short run, firms use internal financing, that is, retained earnings as a flexible source of financing; and (d) the EFN model is quite useful for examining the hierarchy of financing. This study contributes to the related literature in terms of utilizing the properties of the EFN model in order to examine the practical aspects of the POT. These practical considerations are extended to examine the use of the POT in cases of observed and sustainable growth rates. The findings contribute to the current literature that there is a need to offer an adjustment to the financing order suggested by the POT. Equity financing is the first source of financing current and sustainable growth of sales, followed by retained earnings, and debt financing is the last resort.

The purpose of this study is to examine the legal framework for court-annexed dispute resolution in courts with Sharī‘ah jurisdiction in Nigeria, Malaysia and Singapore. The major part of the study is dedicated to propose reforms in the administration of justice system in the courts with Sharī‘ah jurisdiction in Nigeria and the relevance of such reforms to the ongoing reforms in the Middle East and North African (MENA) countries.

This is an integrative literature review, which adopts a comparative approach in analyzing the conceptual framework of amicable dispute resolution in the modern world with particular reference to the Sharī‘ah court.

The findings of this research illustrate the adaptability of the practices in Malaysia and Singapore in the courts with Sharī‘ah jurisdiction in Nigeria and the MENA region.

An exposition of the dispute resolution processes in Islamic law reveals the relevance of these processes in modern reforms of the administration of justice system. The practical implications of this study include the streamlining of the rules and procedures of modern Sharī‘ah courts in post-revolution Arab countries to allow for court-annexed amicable (alternative) dispute resolution initiatives.

As far as it is known, this is the first conceptual study on the court-annexed dispute resolution frameworks of Sharī‘ah courts in three commonwealth jurisdictions.

The paper aims to examine significant developments in the institutional framework for dispute resolution in the Islamic finance industry in Malaysia. Malaysia, as part of its efforts to consolidate its enviable Islamic finance industry, has strengthened its institutional framework for dispute resolution.

Data for this study were collected from both primary and secondary legal sources. Through a conceptual legal analysis, the institutional frameworks of dispute resolution in the Malaysia’s Islamic finance industry are studied.

The study finds that Malaysia is far ahead of other jurisdictions by a significant margin in spearheading reforms in the emerging global Islamic finance industry. The dispute resolution framework has been largely affected by the recent reforms.

Other jurisdictions may borrow a leaf from Malaysia’s initiative in providing a robust legal framework for dispute management in the Islamic finance industry.

Apart from adopting Malaysia’s framework and possibly adapting it to suit their specific local variations, other jurisdictions may also encourage Islamic financial institutions to incorporate effective dispute resolution processes in Islamic finance contracts.

This study critically discussed most recent developments in the institutional framework on dispute resolution in the Islamic finance industry in Malaysia.

This paper aims to explore the practical role of maqasid al-Shari’ah in applying fiqh muamalat to the reality of modern banking practices. As the modern financial environment is complicated and not too conducive for Islamic banking operations, a special approach based on maqasid al-Shari’ah is needed to harmonize between revelation and reality.

The data of this study are obtained through literature and empirical data. As for the empirical, the exploratory qualitative approach is applied in which three members of the Shari’ah Advisory Council (SAC) of Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) as well as three Shari’ah committees (SC) of Islamic Finance Institutions are selected as interviewees. As a result, several themes are defined from the interview data before they are analyzed based on the concept of maqasid al-Shari’ah.

The findings reveal that several practices are prevalent in developing Islamic banking products, including replicating conventional products to be Islamic ones, imposing wa’ad (unilateral promise) to strengthen the combination of different contracts into one product, and adopting floating rate with ibra’ (rebate) for financing price, which are needed to sustain this industry in modern financial system. In this regard, maqasid al-Shari’ah is applied to reconcile between rulings in fiqh muamalat and banking environments, so that these rulings can be adopted pragmatically without compromising Shari’ah principles.

This study has its limitations, as it focuses on the extent of the role of the maqasid al-Shari’ah in Islamic banking operations, excluding other segments of Islamic finance such as Islamic capital markets and Islamic insurance. Moreover, as data are collected from only six interviewees from SAC and SC of Malaysia, the results cannot be represented for the whole Islamic banking practices of this country.

This study provides several policy recommendations regarding the practice of the maqasid al-Shari’ah in Islamic banking. These may be useful for all Islamic finance players, including regulators and bankers in introducing policies and products in this area.

This study has the potential to enhance the confidence of the Muslim community, particularly in Islamic banking to support its existence and practices. The impact of such optimism will lead to an increase in demand for Islamic banking products, hence encouraging Islamic banking to sustain and update its activities in line with maqasid al-Shari’ah.

This paper offers a practical approach as regards to how the maqasid al-Shari’ah can play a significant role in sustaining the Islamic banking industry, particularly in circumstances that are not favorable to its progress. It is indispensable to prevent the Islamic rulings from being diverted in the name of human well-being and to avoid basing them on a literal textual approach. Moreover, as it provides empirical studies on the issue of replication, wa’ad, floating rate and ibra’, the discussion on this subject becomes more practical.

Purpose – The purpose of this article is to examine the Internet financial reporting (IFR) practice by listed companies in Egypt as one of the emerging markets (EMs) and investigate empirically some company characteristics as determinants of such practice.

Methodology/approach – Using a 39-item index, content analysis of websites was performed for 88 of the most active Egyptian listed companies on the Egyptian Stock Exchange (EGX). Further, the article employs statistical analysis to test the association between six company characteristics (independent variables) and the extent of the IFR (including three dependent variables).

Findings – Among the sampled companies, only 57 have accessible websites and 45 provide financial information in their websites. The results of univariate analysis, which were verified by multivariate linear regression, show that some company characteristics (e.g. size, profitability, foreign listing and ownership structure) are significantly positively associated with the IFR, while legal form is significantly negatively associated.

Research limitations and implications – The scope of this study is limited to a relatively small sample of Egyptian listed companies and they may not represent all of the possible listed companies. It would be interesting to duplicate this study in other EM countries which have many similarities to the Egyptian environment.

Originality/value – This investigation concerned a country with an EM – Egypt. Few articles have provided insight into the IFR practices of listed companies in Egypt as one of the EM. Unlike previous studies conducted in Egypt, the current study provides evidence regarding two company characteristics, for the first time in Egypt, namely ‘ownership structure’ and ‘legal form’ as explanatory variables of the extent of IFR by listed companies in EGX.

The maintenance of original building materials is crucial to extending their lifetime and avoiding their repeated replacement in heritage buildings. In order to maintain the identity of built heritage and resolve possible deterioration over the years, special expertise is required to avoid possible materials decay and to preserve building elements in a way that allows them to function efficiently as originally intended.

An expert system is created to identify the most effective method of repair for each specific building material and to propose the appropriate conservation methods for resolving different types of damages. Artificial intelligence is used to provide a systematic problem-solving technique that saves time and provides the most efficient conservation and preservation method for heritage building elements.

Those expert systems could be generalized on similar historical structures to be used as a systematic guide for examining material, evaluating deterioration state and objectively suggesting their related repair techniques. Further deteriorated materials in heritage buildings should be investigated, such as stone and timber staircases, to provide a guide for usage by restoration and conservation authorities.

Using a user-friendly method, with special considerations to three major problematic building elements in terms of decay and material dysfunction in heritage structures, timber doors, iron gates, and ceiling paintings are selected for diagnosis and repair in an Egyptian heritage building.