bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Does Islamic financial development foster economic growth? International evidence
Authors: Butt Hilal Anwar , Sadaqat Mohsin , Shear Falik 
Published: July 2023

PurposeSeveral studies link Islamic finance to economic growth. There are at least two major limitations in these investigations. First, the proxy used to measure Islamic finance may not represent the whole impact of Islamic finance on economic growth because it only considers a subset of variables like Islamic banks’ deposits or sukuk issuance, etc. Second, it is difficult to extrapolate findings to other markets because most studies were conducted in just one nation or a small group of countries. Overcoming these issues is the driving force behind this research. In doing so, the study aims to use the overall Islamic Financial Development Index as a proxy for Islamic finance. The index measures the quantitative growth, knowledge, corporate social responsibility, governance and awareness of the Islamic financial sector.Design/methodology/approachUsing a panel data set of 67 countries starting from 2012 to 2020, this study investigates the relationship between Islamic finance and economic growth.FindingsThe authors find that Islamic finance contributes to economic growth. This connection is more robust in Muslim and developing nations than it is in non-Muslim and developed nations.Practical implicationsTo promote a country’s economic growth, the authors propose that regulators should focus on development of Islamic finance. To increase the reach of Islamic products, the government should take initiatives to raise public awareness of Islamic finance.Social implicationsThe findings imply that Islamic finance may have a more significant impact on socio-economic development in countries with a higher concentration of Muslim population and those in the developing stage. It highlights the potential role of Islamic finance in addressing socio-economic challenges and promoting inclusive growth in these regions.Originality/valueThis is the first study to use a more comprehensive sample of countries, covering both Muslim and non-Muslim nations, as well as both developing and developed nations. In addition, this study, unlike its predecessors, used a more robust and comprehensive index of Islamic finance developed by Thomson Reuters.
Digitalization and money laundering: the moderating effects of ethical behaviour of firms and corruption
Authors: Khelil Imen , El Ammari Anis , Bouraoui Mohamed Amine , Khlif Hichem 
Published: July 2023

Purpose
This paper aims to investigate the relationship between digitalization and money laundering and tests whether ethical behaviour of firms and corruption moderate this association.

Design/methodology/approach
The sample includes 114 countries during 2016. Basel Anti-Money Laundering Report for 2016 is used to collect data concerning money laundering. Digitalization proxies are collected from digital adoption index from the World Bank for 2016. Finally, the remaining variables are gathered from the Global Competitiveness Report for the same year.

Findings
Results show negative and significant associations between the overall digitalization score and sub-scores dealing with digitalization adoption by businesses, people and government and money laundering. When testing for the moderating effect of corruption, the negative and significant association remains stable for both low and high corrupt environments for the overall digitalization score and sub-scores dealing digitalization adoption by businesses and people and money laundering. Similarly, ethical behaviour of firms does not moderate the association between digitalization (overall index and digitalization by business and people) and money laundering, as the relationship remains negative and significant for low and high ethical behaviour sub-samples. By contrast, the association becomes insignificant between digitalization adoption by government and money laundering for countries characterized by high corruption and low ethical behaviour of firms, while it is negative and significant for countries characterized by low corruption and high ethical behaviour firms.

Originality/value
These findings confirm that digitalization effort represents a crucial arm to combat money laundering. It also emphasizes the interrelation that may exist between digitalization effort in governmental institutions and institutional environment, as low levels of money laundering cannot be reached if the digitalization effort undertaken by governments is not supported by low corruption and ethical business environment.
Language-related stereotype threat, customers’ well-being and its outcome
Authors: Malik Aaminah Zaman , Paswan Audhesh 
Published: July 2023

Purpose
While language is vital for a successful service exchange, it can also become a source of vulnerability if one party is a non-native speaker in an inter-culture service encounter (ICSE). Hence, the purpose of this study is to understand the relationship between language-related stigma that non-native customers perceive in an ICSE and the associated psychological and behavioral responses.

Design/methodology/approach
A survey-based research method and an experimental study was used to collect data from non-native speakers in the USA with English as their second language. Structural equation modeling procedure was used to test the hypothesized relationships.

Findings
The findings suggest that the customers who perceive language-related stigmatization in an ICSE context experience intergroup anxiety and lack of social belonging. In turn, intergroup anxiety influences their interaction comfort with the service provider. In the end, these experiences shape their future buying behavior, i.e. they tend to avoid direct interactions with the servers and prefer smart services.

Research limitations/implications
Future research is needed to explore the focal phenomenon in other service contexts and cultures to enrich knowledge on language vulnerabilities.

Practical implications
The study highlights the importance of technology, not just from a convenience perspective, but also as an accommodation mechanism for linguistically vulnerable customers.

Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to empirically examine the language-related stigmatization and associated psychological and behavioral responses from the non-native customers’ perspective in a services exchange setting.
An investigation into outside directors, managerial compensation, and firm performance in the Korean insurance industry
Authors: Han Sangyong , Mun Hyejeong 
Published: July 2023

PurposeThis study investigates the relationship between outside directors, managerial compensation, and firm performance in the Korean insurance industry.Design/methodology/approachThe authors employ a simultaneous equation framework by using three-stage least squares (3SLS) to address the endogeneity problems that could result from the joint determination of outside directors, firm performance, and executive compensation in Korean insurance companies.FindingsThe authors find that the ratio of outside directors on the board is negatively associated with insurance firm's value and financial profitability. In addition, this study's evidence shows that greater representation on the board by outside directors leads to a higher level of executive pay. In particular, the authors provide evidence that variable compensation scheme and outside directors who have backgrounds in the legal profession and former high-ranking government officials drive this study's main results.Originality/valueThis study adds to the literature by first demonstrating the interaction effects between outside directors, firm performance, and executive compensation in the Korean insurance industry. Unlike previous studies that typically focus on US companies, the authors study the Korean insurance sector that is an emerging power in the global insurance market, ranking seventh in terms of total premium volume, and show that the Korean insurance firm's outside directors system does not work in the manner that it is intended to function.
From investor’s paradise to graveyard: the tragic tale of Sintex
Authors: Srivastava Shashi Kant 
Published: July 2023

Research methodology
The case delves into the significant factors contributing to the steep decline of Sintex shares, examining both external and internal factors. Internally, the primary drivers were the expansion plan, the demerger decision, financial mismanagement and the delayed and inadequate integration of Information Technology (IT) into the business.

Case overview/synopsis
Sintex, a prominent private sector company listed in the Indian stock markets, operated in the textile and plastics sectors. However, in 2017, Sintex underwent a demerger into two separate entities: Sintex Industries Limited (SIL) and Sintex Plastics Technology Limited (SPTL). While SIL focused on textiles, SPTL dealt with plastics. However, soon after the demerger, the share prices of both companies began plummeting, leading to significant losses for investors. This case investigates the reasons behind this decline through a step-by-step analysis.

Complexity academic level
This case is suitable for postgraduate students pursuing an MBA, MMS and executive programs such as PGDBM and PGDM, with a specialization in business strategy. It is also beneficial for participants in management development programs (MDPs) designed for higher level executives. Additionally, the case can serve as training material for executives undergoing strategic role training within an organization. It is recommended to teach the case toward the end of the course, where the instructor can provide a summary of the previous classes’ teachings.

Subject Code
CCS7: Management Science
Which decision-making stages matter more? Influencer’s perceived credibility, sponsorship and moderating role of trust
Authors: Crnjak-Karanović Biljana , Kursan Milaković Ivana , Elez Jelena 
Published: July 2023

Purpose
By acknowledging the importance of micro-influencers and all decision-making process stages, this study aims to explore the impact of perceived influencer’s credibility, impacted by the sponsorship absenteeism, on problem recognition, information search, alternative evaluation, purchase and post-purchase. Additionally, the authors investigate the moderating role of trust level on the researched relationships.

Design/methodology/approach
This study focuses on 111 young Croatian consumers of cosmetic products. The authors analysed data with confirmatory factor and regression analyses.

Findings
This study reveals positive relationships between micro-influencers’ perceived credibility and all decision-making phases. The research results also show that the lack of sponsorship positively influences perceived credibility. Furthermore, results indicate that the trust level is an essential moderator for the relationships between perceived credibility and sponsorship and information search and buying stages.

Research limitations/implications
Limitations include the convenience sampling method and data collection at one point while also focusing on consumers from one country.

Practical implications
This study provides practical implications for companies outlining the marketing activities that should be considered in all stages of the decision-making process while recognising the attractiveness of micro-influencers for the buying experience.

Originality/value
This study fills gaps in the literature on micro-influencers credibility in general and particularly in the cosmetics industry. In addition, the study fills the gaps in the literature considering the impact of perceived micro-influencer credibility on all five decision-making process stages.
Precipitation timing and soil substrate drive phenology and fitness of Arabidopsis thaliana in a Mediterranean environment
Authors: Martínez‐Berdeja Alejandra , Okada Miki , Cooper Martha D. , Runcie Daniel E. , Burghardt Liana T. , Schmitt Johanna 
Published: July 2023

Abstract

In Mediterranean climates, the timing of seasonal rains determines germination, flowering phenology and fitness. As climate change alters seasonal precipitation patterns, it is important to ask how these changes will affect the phenology and fitness of plant populations. We addressed this question experimentally with the annual plant species Arabidopsis thaliana.

In a first experiment, we manipulated the date of rainfall onset and recorded germination phenology on sand and soil substrates. In a second experiment, we manipulated germination date, growing season length and mid‐season drought to measure their effects on flowering time and fitness. Within each experiment, we manipulated seed dormancy and flowering time using multilocus near‐isogenic lines segregating strong and weak alleles of the seed dormancy gene DOG1 and the flowering time gene FRI. We synthesized germination phenology data from the first experiment with fitness functions from the second experiment to project population fitness under different seasonal rainfall scenarios.

Germination phenology tracked rainfall onset but was slower and more variable on sand than on soil. Many seeds dispersed on sand in spring and summer delayed germination until the cooler temperatures of autumn. The high‐dormancy DOG1 allele also prevented immediate germination in spring and summer. Germination timing strongly affected plant fitness. Fecundity was highest in the October germination cohort and declined in spring germinants. The late flowering FRI allele had lower fecundity, especially in early fall and spring cohorts. Projections of population fitness revealed that: (1) Later onset of autumn rains will negatively affect population fitness. (2) Slow, variable germination on sand buffers populations against fitness impacts of variable spring and summer rainfall. (3) Seasonal selection favours high dormancy and early flowering genotypes in a Mediterranean climate with hot dry summers. The high‐dormancy DOG1 allele delayed germination of spring‐dispersed fresh seeds until more favourable early fall conditions, resulting in higher projected population fitness.

These findings suggest that Mediterranean annual plant populations are vulnerable to changes in seasonal precipitation, especially in California where rainfall onset is already occurring later. The fitness advantage of highly dormant, early flowering genotypes helps explain the prevalence of this strategy in Mediterranean populations.

Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.
Potential field survey of subsurface structures of the NW segment of the Zagros Fold‐Thrust Belt, Kurdistan Region
Authors: Qadir Harem O. , Baban Ezzadin N. , Aziz Bakhtiar Q. , Koyi Hemin A. 
Published: July 2023

AbstractThis study reports results of gravity and magnetic surveys conducted for the first time in the western segment of the Zagros Fold‐and‐Thrust Belt in the Kurdistan Region. This study attempts to delineate deep structures in an area, which has not been surveyed before. CG‐5 Autograv gravimeter and G‐857 portable proton‐precession magnetometer were used to acquire gravity and magnetic data from 750 stations along over eleven traverses across and parallel to the Zagros trend (NW–SE). Six of these traverses are parallel to the Zagros trend, whereas the others are perpendicular to the trend of the other traverses and can be tied where they intersect. The total length of the traverses is about 1000 km. Tilt Angle of horizontal gradient method is used to detect regional gravity and magnetic lineaments. The mapped lineaments from regional gravity and magnetic surveys are divided into two categories: the NE–SW lineaments, which represent transversal faults in the study area, and the NW–SE lineaments, which represent the Zagros Thrust Faults, some of which may be linked to the inverted basement normal faults of Arabian passive margin (the NW–SE Najd Fault system). The results show that there is a relationship between the regional gravity and magnetic lineaments outlining the same deep geological features. The data presented here confirm the presence of regional longitudinal and transversal lineaments documented in other studies (e.g. Anah‐Qalat Dizeh Fault, Surdash‐Tikrit Fault, Sirwan Fault, Khanaqin Fault, Zagros Mountain Front Fault, Baranan Back Thrust Fault and High Zagros Reverse Fault) and outlines new lineaments not mapped before. Most of the detected regional lineaments in the current study coincide with the previously confirmed lineaments, which have played a significant role in the tectonic evolution of the Zagros Fold‐and‐Thrust Belt. As such, this study contributes to a better understanding of the subsurface structure of the Kurdistan segment of the Zagros Fold‐and‐Thrust Belt and probably the rest of the belt.
Selecting coral species for reef restoration
Authors: Madin Joshua S. , McWilliam Michael , Quigley Kate , Bay Line K. , Bellwood David , Doropoulos Christopher , Fernandes Leanne , Harrison Peter , Hoey Andrew S. , Mumby Peter J. , Ortiz Juan C. , Richards Zoe T. , Riginos Cynthia , Schiettekatte Nina M. D. , Suggett David J. , van Oppen Madeleine J. H. 
Published: July 2023

Abstract

Humans have long sought to restore species but little attention has been directed at how to best select a subset of foundation species for maintaining rich assemblages that support ecosystems, like coral reefs and rainforests, which are increasingly threatened by environmental change.

We propose a two‐part hedging approach that selects optimized sets of species for restoration. The first part acknowledges that biodiversity supports ecosystem functions and services, and so it ensures precaution against loss by allocating an even spread of phenotypic traits. The second part maximizes species and ecosystem persistence by weighting species based on characteristics that are known to improve ecological persistence—for example abundance, species range and tolerance to environmental change.

Using existing phenotypic‐trait and ecological data for reef building corals, we identified sets of ecologically persistent species by examining marginal returns in occupancy of phenotypic trait space. We compared optimal sets of species with those from the world's southern‐most coral reef, which naturally harbours low coral diversity, to show these occupy much of the trait space. Comparison with an existing coral restoration program indicated that current corals used for restoration only cover part of the desired trait space and programs may be improved by including species with different traits.

Synthesis and applications. While there are many possible criteria for selecting species for restoration, the approach proposed here addresses the need to insure against unpredictable losses of ecosystem services by focusing on a wide range of phenotypic traits and ecological characteristics. Furthermore, the flexibility of the approach enables the functional goals of restoration to vary depending on environmental context, stakeholder values, and the spatial and temporal scales at which meaningful impacts can be achieved.
The influence of a hostile environment on a syndemic of depression, stress and chronic limiting illness among LGBTQ+ people during the COVID‐19 pandemic
Authors: Kneale Dylan , Bécares Laia 
Published: July 2023

AbstractLesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Questioning (LGBTQ+) are at greater risk of poorer COVID‐19 prognosis due to higher levels of chronic disease and a greater impact on mental health from pandemic mitigation strategies due to worse pre‐pandemic mental health. We examine how a hostile social system contributes to LGBTQ+ people’s negative health experiences during the pandemic through adopting a syndemic framework and using data from The Queerantine Study, a cross‐sectional, web‐based survey (n = 515). Identification of a health syndemic is based on depressive symptoms, perceived stress and limiting long‐term illness. We used Latent Class Analysis to identify latent classes based on experiences of a hostile social system. A syndemic was identified among a third of respondents (33.2%), with transgender/gender‐diverse and younger participants at higher risk. Latent Class Analysis identified five groups based on experiences of hostile social systems using psychosocial and socioeconomic indicators. Classes reflecting psychosocial hostility were predictive of a health syndemic and worsening health. This study emphasises (i) mental and physical health issues are intertwined among LGBTQ+ people; (ii) experiences of hostile social systems can account for part of variation in health across LGBTQ+ groups; (iii) that psychosocial hostility continued and was exacerbated throughout the pandemic, and (iv) experiences of psychosocial hostility in particular were associated with a greater likelihood of experiencing a syndemic.
The double bind of social legitimacy: On disability, the sick role, and invisible work
Authors: Grue Jan 
Published: July 2023

AbstractDuring the last few decades, the human rights paradigm has shifted the normative status of disabled people, providing, in principle, the right to full and equal participation. Particularly in neoliberal economies, however, participation in work life is a major constraint on social legitimacy, creating a predicament for people who cannot adhere to the ideal of the ‘productive member of society’. In this article, I explore this predicament at the intersection of disability studies and the sociology of health and illness, reviewing literature and discussing key concepts. I argue that in neoliberal societies, two distinct and largely incompatible pathways to social legitimacy depend, respectively, on (a) a version of the classical sick role and (b) a more recently constituted able‐disabled role. Of these, the first pathway has mainly been explored and critiqued in the sociology of health and illness, while the second features mainly in disability studies. However, both pathways can be understood (1) as ableist mechanisms for maintaining adherence to values of productivity and by (2) imposing on disabled people an unequal burden of invisible work—a key feature of ableism, driving inequality both within the group of disabled people and for the group as a whole.
Statin use and its association with decreased risk of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma in betel nut chewers
Authors: Lin Chih‐Lang , Chen Wan‐Ming , Shia Ben‐Chang , Wu Szu‐Yuan 
Published: July 2023

AbstractBackgroundBetel nut chewing involves the chewing of areca nuts or betel quid (areca nuts wrapped in betel leaves), which is associated with an increased risk of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). Statins have anticancer properties. We investigated the association between statin use and ESCC risk in betel nut chewers.MethodsThe study included 105 387 betel nut chewers matched statin users and nonusers. Statin use was defined as the use of ≥28 cumulative defined daily doses (cDDDs) of statin. The primary outcome was incidence of ESCC.ResultsThe incidence rate of ESCC was significantly lower in statin users than in nonusers (2.03 vs. 3.02 per 100 000 person‐years). Statin users had a lower incidence rate ratio of 0.66 for ESCC (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.43–0.85) relative to nonusers. After potential confounders were adjusted for, statin use was determined to be associated with a reduced risk of ESCC (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR], 0.68; 95% CI: 0.51–0.91). A dose–response relationship was observed between statin use and ESCC risk; the aHRs for statin use at 28–182 cDDDs, 183–488 cDDDs, 489–1043 cDDDs, and > 1043 cDDDs were 0.92, 0.89, 0.66, and 0.64, respectively.ConclusionStatin use was revealed to be associated with a reduced risk of ESCC in betel nut chewers.