This study utilises higher objectives postulated in Islamic moral economy or themaqasid al-Shari’ahtheoretical framework’s novel approach in evaluating the ethical, social, environmental and financial performance of Islamic banks.Maqasid al-Shari’ahis interpreted as achieving social good as a consequence in addition to well-being and, hence, it goes beyond traditional (voluntary) social responsibility. This study also explores the major determinants that affectmaqasidperformance as expressed through disclosure analysis. By expanding the traditionalmaqasid al-Shari’ah,, we develop a comprehensive evaluation framework in the form of amaqasidindex, which (...) is subjected to a rigorous disclosure analysis. Furthermore, in identifying the main determinants of themaqasiddisclosure performance, panel data analysis is used by including several key variables alongside political and socio-economic environment, ownership structures, and corporate andShari’ahgovernance-related factors. The sample includes 33 full-fledged Islamic banks from 12 countries for the period of 2008–2016. The findings show that although during the nine-year period the disclosure ofmaqasidperformance of the sampled Islamic banks has improved, this is still short of ‘best practices’. Through panel data analysis, this study finds that the Muslim population indicator, CEO duality,Shari’ahgovernance, and leverage variables positively impact the disclosure ofmaqasidperformance. However, the effect of GDP, financial development and human development index of the country, its political and civil rights, institutional ownership, and a higher share of independent directors have an overall negative impact on themaqasidperformance. The findings reported in this study identify complex and multi-faceted relations between external market realities, corporate andShari’ahgovernance mechanisms, andmaqasidperformance. (shrink)

Research into spirituality and its impact on the work environment has been bourgeoning. In an attempt to explore the role of Islamic spirituality in the workplace, this study examines the influence of Islamic spirituality on job satisfaction and organisational commitment through work ethics. Data are obtained by an online Likert-scaled questionnaire survey based on one thousand Muslim employees from various economic sectors in Indonesia and analysed through structural equation modelling (SEM). The findings demonstrate that Islamic spirituality positively influences job satisfaction (...) and organisational commitment as two dimensions of work attitudes and that work ethics mediate that influence. There is also evidence that job satisfaction positively influences organisational commitment, but work ethics does not moderate that influence. The findings related to the role of work ethics, which mediates the effect of Islamic spirituality on job satisfaction and organisational commitment, can be considered the contribution of this study. (shrink)

Prison reflections on life, religion, and politics from Bosnia-Herzegovina's former president.

Localization Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN) represent a research topic with increasing interest due to their numerous applications. However, the viability of these systems is compromised by the attained localization uncertainties once implemented, since the network performance is highly dependent on the sensors location. The Node Location Problem (NLP) aims to obtain the optimal distribution of sensors for a particular environment, a problem already categorized as NP-Hard. Furthermore, localization WSN usually perform a sensor selection for determining which nodes are to be (...) utilized for maximizing the achieved accuracy. This problem, defined as the Sensor Selection Problem (SSP), has also been categorized as NP-Hard. While different metaheuristics have been proposed for attaining a near optimal solution in both problems, no approach has considered the two problems simultaneously, thus resulting in suboptimal solutions since the SSP is biased by the actual node distribution once deployed. In this paper, a combined approach of both problems simultaneously is proposed, thus considering the SSP within the NLP. Furthermore, a novel metaheuristic combining the Black Widow Optimization (BWO) algorithm and the Variable Neighbourhood Descent Chains (VND-Chains) local search, denominated as BWO-VND-Chains, is particularly devised for the first time in the author’s best knowledge for the NLP, resulting in a more efficient and robust optimization technique. Finally, a comparison of different metaheuristic algorithms is proposed over an actual urban scenario, considering different sensor selection criteria in order to attain the best methodology and selection technique. Results show that the newly devised algorithm with the SSP criteria optimization achieves mean localization uncertainties up to 19.66 % lower than traditional methodologies. (shrink)

This study aims to determine the demographic characteristics influencing the performance of Academic staff at the Southeast European University. This study employs data from the student evaluation carried out by the students for their respective professors and courses for the Fall and Spring semesters during the academic year 20/21. A lot of research has been done on demographics and its effect on the professor’s performance, and they point out that demographic attributes can change the rating evaluations, therefore these factors need (...) to be analyzed at SEEU to come to our conclusion. We assume that middle aged professors, females and single professors receive higher evaluation scores. In order to analyze the demographic characteristics of the academic staff of SEEU and how they influence student evaluations, quantitative research methodology was used including calculation of frequencies, percentages, means and cross tabulations. The results of the study show that students generally evaluate with high grades their professors, where the average of the whole questions asked resulted above 4.5, as per Likert scale, 1-5. Furthermore, the general results of the academic staff according to the demographic characteristics such as age, experience in teaching, academic title, gender and marital status for each academic staff do really show differences in student evaluation values. This is an important thing to know when recruiting and retaining academic staff that appear to be highly appreciated by students especially because that results from higher teaching quality. (shrink)

ExcerptMehmed Alija Dizdar, the most famous Bosnian poet of this age, was born in 1917 in Stolac, a town in the heart of Hum, the southern province of Bosnia. Few of Dizdar's readers know him by the name bestowed on him by his father, Muharem, and his mother, Nezira, née Babović. Rather, they known him by his pseudonym, Mak—the code name he used as a member of the anti-fascist movement during World War II. (Mak's mother and sister Refika were (...) killed in 1945 in the Jasenovac concentration camp, the Nazis' way of taking their revenge on the elusive Mak.) Although…. (shrink)

What is infinity? It's reading the last line of a book and imagining the rest. No, wait, it's the instruction manual for the machine that operates the sun and the stars. In unexpected observations, captivating images, and even some equations, celebrated Argentinian author-illustrator Pablo Bernasconi, finalist for the 2018 Hans Christian Andersen Award, offers up verses about what infinity could mean to all of us. Winner of the Grand Prize from the Asociación de Literatura Infantil y Juvenil de la Argentina (...) (ALIJA) in 2018, Infinity is a book children and adults alike will find endlessly fascinating. (shrink)

Sandžak has the largest Muslim Slav (Bosniak) community in the Balkans outside Bosnia–Herzegovina. In 1990, Sandžak Bosniaks organized a branch of the Party of Democratic Action (Alija Izetbegović’s party) and began to agitate for regional autonomy. During the 1990s under Slobodan Milošević’s regime, local Bosniaks became the victims of state terror that saw widespread official discrimination and the ethnic cleansing of entire villages. In spite of having a high birth rate, the Bosniak population of Sandžak declined by 7.88% in (...) the years 1991–2002 entirely because of the Milošević regime’s policies. Since the overthrow of Milošević, however, the Belgrade government has begun investing in the region’s infrastructure and economy. As a result, the situation for Bosniaks of Sandžak has improved since 2001. (shrink)