Search

Ecotourism is the sustainable choice of natural resources with the potential for low-cost funding approaches. As ecologically and socially responsible tourism, it promotes biodiversity while conserving the environment and society. To encourage the development of ecotourism and the advancement of indigenous communities and their resources, it is essential to examine the factors tourists consider when selecting a destination. Therefore, this study explores the critical factors of potential risk in selecting ecotourism destinations in the narrow and specific sphere. As a quantitative study, it used a sample of 377 tourists to investigate the relationship between different constructs. In this regard, SPSS-AMOS was used for data analysis. The findings highlight the importance of factors that influence tourists' decisions, which are greatly affected by risk factors; thus, it is also imperative for the Bangladesh government, policymakers, and tourism management to address this, leading to an upsurge of tourists in ecotourism destinations. These are also crucial for assisting stakeholders in understand ing how tourists perceive and guide ecotourism potential and reducing the impact of confrontations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Computer-mediated communication has dramatically transformed the human communication landscape by enhancing speed, content and social presence. The world has been experiencing a sharp decline in using email and phone calls due to organizations' rapid adoption of instant messenger (IM) for their day-to-day communication with their stakeholders. Moreover, the world has been experiencing a sharp decline in using email and phone calls since the beginning of the IM era. Hence, the aim of this study is to comprehend the IM adoption process through the lens of three theories. A structured questionnaire was developed to collect data from the organizations and test hypotheses using consistent PLS-SEM (PLSc) in SMART PLS combined with bootstrapping. The results indicated that parallelism is the most dominating factor explaining IM adoption in organizations followed by transmission velocity, rehearsability and symbol set. The findings of this study also confirmed that team performance is not influenced by communication but by the quality of the communication and the level of knowledge within the group that can create using instant messenger. Indeed, this empirical study is one of the limited investigations that combine three theories to explain the IM adoption process and its effect on team performance. Moreover, this study contributes both theoretically and practically to comprehending the adoption process of IM. Lastly, this study reconfirmed the importance of Media Synchronicity Theory (MST) and Social Presence Theory (SPT) in predicting IM adoption; and the findings of this research extended the applications of the Adaptive Structuration Theory (AST) from the IM perspective, which is, indeed, rare. Finally, this study provides a great foundation for managers to understand the importance of IM in their day-to-day communication systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organizations are constantly looking for effective strategies to develop a strong brand in today's cutthroat business climate. The study in this regard intends to analyze the effects of country of origin on brand equity dimensions based on Aaker's consumerbased brand equity (CBBE) model with regards to the Bangladesh apparel industry. This paper further analyzed the role of brand equity dimensions namely brand awareness, brand image, perceived quality and brand loyalty on fashion apparel brand equity in Bangladesh. Data were collected through an online survey from 300 respondents residing Dhaka Metropolitan Area. Afterward, the collected data were examined using SPSS and SEM. The findings of the study revealed that the country of origin has a significant positive effect on brand loyalty and overall brand equity while having no significant positive effect on brand awareness, brand image, and perceived quality. Additionally, the result disclosed that the effect of brand awareness, brand image, perceived quality and brand loyalty on fashion apparel brand equity is insignificant. Hence, the study shed light on the possible rationale behind these divergent outcomes and emphasizes scrutinizing other dimensions which will strengthen the overall brand equity of this particular sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ecotourism has been recommended for multiple outcomes that foster environmental protection in developing nations. Tourism studies have revealed that ecotourism has several setbacks in Bangladesh, resulting in environmental difficulties, security issues and tourists' unwillingness to visit destinations. Therefore, this paper examines the factors of destination image, perceived risk, and travel motivation to foresee tourists' selection of ecotourism destinations in Bangladesh. The framework of this study is built upon the "Stimulus-Response Model of Buyer Behaviour" to address the knowledge gap. A total of 364 usable responses were collected from the tourists. The data were examined using SPSS for primary analysis and SEM-AMOS for hypothesis testing. The findings suggest that a proper image and motivation would encourage tourists to visit ecotourism destinations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of the paper is to examine the relationship between green human resource management (GHRM) practices such as green recruitment, green training, green performance management, green reward, green involvement and millennial employee retention in the hotel industry in Bangladesh. The study examined the moderating effect of psychological empowerment on the relationship between GHRM practices and millennials' retention. This study used a survey questionnaire of 394 employees in Bangladeshi 3‐star to 5‐star hotels to test hypotheses using SmartPLS. The study found that green reward and green training have significant relationships with millennials' retention in hotels. The results showed psychological empowerment as a significant moderator on the relationship between three GHRM practices, green training, green performance management, green and reward and millennials' retention. With significant environmental degradation in South‐Asia, this study establishes GHRM can reconcile environmental regeneration and business strategy in the hotel industry, whose environmental footprint is increasingly under scrutiny. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Medications can be found in different formulations and ingested in different ways. OTC medications are used to cure, avoid or alleviate disease and to promote the well-being of people. There is continuous argument building up by taking a possibly Halal medication among the growing Muslim consumers around the world. Therefore, the focus of this study drawn from Maqasid al-Shariah approach for medicine usage and its significance in Islam. A sample of 308 Muslim consumers of pharmacies was being surveyed from the metropolitan territory of Kuala Lumpur and Selangor states in Malaysia. The Exploratory Factor Analysis and Confirmatory Factor Analysis techniques have been used to analyse the data. The outcome revealed that customers' religious satisfaction significantly moderates the purchasing of OTC medicines. The purpose of self-medication comes from the consumer's decision-making. Hence, the self-medication phenomenon is critical to understand, and it should be subjected to strict control for the betterment of the Ummah. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alternative Medicine is a mode of therapies and therapeutics used in place of conventional medicines. For the past decades, alternative medicine has made significant contributions to harmonize the human body's natural healing process. This study examined decision factors such as patient's attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control, knowledge, and purchase intention to buy alternative medicine in Malaysia. The study was conducted following a quantitative research approach. Primary data were collected through the deployment of self-administered questionnaires from 350 patients in Klang Valley, Malaysia. For the purpose of the study, Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) techniques were performed. Patient's perceived behavioral control and product knowledge are significantly related to purchase intention to buy alternative medicine; whereas attitude and subjective norm did not have significant relationship with intention to purchase alternative medicine. Perceived behavioral control and knowledge should be taken into consideration for developing marketing strategies in order to enhance patient's intention to purchase alternative medicine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to explore the variables that affect Muslim consumers' perception towards tax rebate over zakat on income in Malaysia. Design/methodology/approach: A close-ended structured questionnaire was developed and a total number of 236 valid responses were collected through online survey from the Muslims residing in Malaysia. Findings: This study found that halal-haram aspect of Islamic Shariah, legal consciousness and religiosity of Muslim consumers are positive significant factors for growing perceptions towards tax rebate over zakat on income in Malaysia. Research limitations/implications: This study will definitely play an important leading role for the policy-makers and academicians in understanding the perceptions of Muslim consumers. Practical implications: This study can assist zakat and tax authorities in Malaysia for taking corrective actions to adapt or improve the current policy on the basis of its Muslim consumers' perception. Social implications: The findings of this study can reduce the gap of understanding among Muslims in the society by letting other people's perceptions towards tax rebate through zakat system in Malaysia. Originality/value: As there are not enough studies in this area, this study will definitely play an important leading role for the countries or policy-makers or concerned zakat or tax institutions all over the world in capitalizing the practices which is highly and positively perceived by the Muslim consumers in Malaysia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hafnium diboride (HfB2) is used in hypervelocity re-entry vehicles (such as intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) or ICBM heat shields), nuclear reactors and aerodynamic leading edges because of its strong tensile strength and high thermal resistance. HfB2 is an ultra-high-temperature ceramic (UHTC) with a melting point of 3250°C. In this paper, we study the performance of HfB2 as a saturable absorber in Q-switched lasers. HfB2 has a non-saturable absorptance of 2.5 dB/µm, a saturable absorptance of 0.8 dB/µm and a saturation fluence of 12 µJ/cm2. In addition, the saturation lifetime is estimated as 989.3 ps, while the recovery lifetimes are estimated as 254.9 and 22.1 ps. As a saturable absorber in our Q-switched laser, we observed pulses with durations between 880 and 2000 ns. With the addition of an acousto-optic modulator, we have observed Q-switching mode-locking, with pulses as low as 250 ns. HfB2 can potentially work at very high power, since its damage fluence is no less than 361 mJ/cm2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Patients are the center of healthcaresystem where key role players include pharmaceutical manufacturers. In recent years, ethical standards of marketing strategies conducted by pharmaceutical manufacturers have declined significantly which raises the question ofhealthcare quality. The conventional wayof pharmaceutical marketing is widely accepted by Muslims and non-Muslims around the world. Limitedstudies have been conducted so far to establish Islamic marketing mechanismin pharmaceutical businessas Islam is the answer to all questions of our lives and beyond. This paper theoretically proposed the relation of pharmaceutical marketing strategies with quality healthcare service for patient's satisfaction and investigated it with primary data. It also highlights the mediating effect of Islamic marketing mechanism from ethical context. The findings revealed that there is a significant positive relationship exists between pharmaceutical marketing ethics and Islamic marketing mechanism which partially mediates healthcare quality. Also, healthcare quality significantly influences patient satisfaction. The framework developed in this study need to be tested in the future through other social factors. Based on the findings, recommendations for Muslim entrepreneurs are explained at the end. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ultra-high temperature ceramics are widely used in hypersonic vehicles, nuclear reactors, and in other equipment that operates under extreme conditions. In particular, Zirconium Boride (ZrB12) is an ultra-high temperature refractory ceramic material with a melting point above 3000 °C. The measured laser damage threshold of ZrB12 is 132 mJ/cm2, higher than in many materials commonly used as saturable absorbers, making it suitable for work in high-power laser systems. Zirconium Boride is also used as a saturable absorber in an ytterbium-doped Q-switched fiber laser, producing pulses between 239 and 2600 ns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of explanation on customer satisfaction in the service failure stage. It seeks to better understand the dynamics of consumer repurchase intention through a mediating effect of customer satisfaction.Design/methodology/approach A structured questionnaire was e-mailed to collect the primary data. With three reminders, this study managed to obtain 322 responses from customers who complained about their internet service in Malaysia. Structural equation modelling techniques were applied to examine both direct and mediating effects between variables.Findings Results reveal that all four dimensions of explanation have significant partial mediating effect on repurchase intention through customer satisfaction. Results also disclose that there is no significant relationship between excuse and customer satisfaction in service failure. Among all dimensions, reference and apology have higher influence on repurchase intention through customer satisfaction.Research limitations/implications The results are particularly valuable for managers, as it supports the role of using explanation as a practical tool for fostering positive and profitable outcomes like repeat customer purchases.Practical implications The findings of this study will help organisations rethink their explanation strategies with the eye to foster greater customer repurchase intention.Originality/value The results are particularly valuable for managers, as they support the role of using explanation as a practical tool for fostering positive and profitable outcomes like repeat customer purchases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, a novel nano antenna is designed in order to convert the high frequency solar energy, thermal energy or earth re-emitted sun's energy into electricity. The proposed antenna is gold printed on a SiO2 layer, designed as a circular edge bow-tie with a ground plane at the bottom of the substrate. The Lorentz-Drude model is used to analyze the behavior of gold at the infrared band of frequencies. The proposed antenna is designed by 3D-electromagnetic solver, and analyzed for optimization of metal thickness, gap size, and antenna's geometrical length. Simulations are conducted in order to investigate the behavior of the antenna illuminated by the circularly polarized plane wave. The numerical simulations are studied for improving the harvesting E-field of the antenna within 5 THz-40 THz frequency range. The proposed antenna offers multiple resonance frequency and better return loss within the frequency bands of 23.2 THz to 27 THz (bandwidth 3.8 THz) and 31 THz to 35.9 THz (bandwidth 4.9 THz). An output electric field of 0.656 V/µm is simulated at 25.3 THz. The best fitted gap size at the feed point is achieved as 50 nm with the substrate thickness of 1.2 µm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - This study aims to identify the factors that influence Malaysian non-Muslim consumers' perception towards buying hold food products. Design/methodology/approach - A structured close-ended questionnaire was used for data collection through a random distribution to 500 non-Muslim consumers from various states in Malaysia. Findings - Using SPSS package, the factor analysis was able to identify three main variables. Later, the hypotheses were tested using structural equation modelling. This study has indicated that the perception of non-Muslim consumers about hold food products is influenced by their attitude, subjective norm and perceived behavioural control, specifically in the context of Malaysia. Research limitations/implications - This finding will help both the academics and the industry food makers in understanding the perception of non-Muslim consumers towards the concept of hold food products. Practical implications - The outcome of the study can serve as a useful reference to relevant Malaysian statutory bodies on the current perception of the Malaysian non-Muslim consumers towards Malaysian halal agenda. This will also help the industry food makers to serve their customers better as well as maximize their profit through a well-planned marketing campaign. Social implications - It prepares a sound basis for Malaysian policymakers to promote the involvement of Malaysian non-Muslim entrepreneurs within the halal food service industry with the intent of improving the socio-economic strata of its participants and, at the same time, fulfilling their religious obligations in providing halal foods for fellow Muslims. Originality/value - Because very few researches have studied non-Muslim consumers' perception towards halal food products, the development of halal food theory will help in capitalizing the practices in non-Muslim countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to study the impact of organizational politics on the performance of readymade garments employees in Bangladesh. The other purpose is to empirically test the hypothesized relationship of the research framework. This study also highlighted some propositions to guide future empirical research. Design/methodology/approach – The survey instrument was administered on 250 employees. This paper develops a measure for exploring the organizational politics on employees' performances included with employees' commitment as a mediating variable. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was used to extract and test the key influential attributes on the basis of data of total samples respectively. Structural equation model was also used to define the structure of influencing attributes and to measure the degree of impact for each attribute on the employees' performances. Findings – The result shows that the organizational politics affect most significantly towards employees' commitment and as a consequence affect on employees' performances as well. On the other hand organizational politics does not have any significant impact on employees' performance. Research limitations/implications – This research used convenience sampling procedure which is the main limitation of this study. Future studies could use stratified random sampling procedure with more samples. On the other hand the EFA is difficult to generalize to a larger audience, and there was a lack of experimental control for the questionnaire investigation, so the quality of questionnaire cannot be ensured. Practical implications – It is hoped that the findings of this study will assist the government, NGO and garment industry owners to better understand their employees. Originality/value – The added value of this paper is to link theory and practice, and explore the organizational politics and employees' performance. Few studies have conducted over the years under this perspective in the Bangladeshi environment. Moreover, this is a relatively new issue that remains largely under researched given the developing country perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to assess the existing advertising practices in Malaysia and their compliance with the Shariah (Islamic Law). Design/methodology/approach - Using descriptive observations, the promotional tools and practices used by the prominent conventional banks were compared to those used by the Islamic banks. A total of 40 different advertisements were assessed as well as staff and personnel from 30 branches were interviewed. Findings - The paper reveals that customers remain unaware of the Islamic banks' products. Shariah-based promotions will help increase customer awareness of these banks and their offerings. Research limitations/implications - Future research on Shariah-based promotions and advertising will improve banks' effectiveness and help position them as role models for other advertisers, both Islamic and non-Islamic. The producers of Islamic advertisements need to apply precise screening procedures that ensure the delivery of their message through Shariah-compliant methods. Originality/value - The paper contributes to research through improving understanding of the main issues relating to the effect of advertising practices in Islamic societies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plasmonic metamaterial absorbers are particularly important in different applications such as photodetectors, microbolometers and solar cells. In this paper, we propose a tungsten boride (WB, a refractory ceramic) based broadband metamaterial absorber whose optical properties is numerically analyzed and experimentally characterized. We have also analyzed the damage characteristics of this absorber using a femtosecond laser and compared with an ordinary Au metamaterial absorber. We observe that WB has almost the double absorption bandwidth with absorption more than 90% over the spectral range of 950 to 1400 nm when compared with the Au counterpart. Furthermore, we show that Au metamaterial is damaged at the power of around 36.4 mW whereas WB metamaterial is not damaged at that power (WB has high Tammann temperature than Au)-however the atom of WB material was knocked off by the bombardment of a femtosecond laser. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nano-antennas are replicas of antennas that operate at radio-frequencies, but with considerably smaller dimensions when compared with their radio frequency counterparts. Noble metals based nano-antennas have the ability to enhance photoinduced phenomena such as localized electric fields, therefore-they have been used in various applications ranging from optical sensing and imaging to performance improvement of solar cells. However, such nano-structures can be damaged in high power applications such as heat resisted magnetic recording, solar thermo-photovoltaics and nano-scale heat transfer systems. Having a small footprint, nano-antennas cannot handle high fluences (energy density per unit area) and are subject to being damaged at adequately high power (some antennas can handle just a few milliwatts). In addition, given that nano-antennas are passive devices driven by external light sources, the potential damage of the antennas limits their use with high power lasers: this liability can be overcome by employing materials with high melting points such as chromium (Cr) and tungsten (W). In this article, we fabricate chromium and tungsten nano-antennas and demonstrate that they can handle 110 and 300 times higher fluence than that of gold (Au) counterpart, while the electric field enhancement is not significantly reduced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]