Debt Management Literacy and Financial Performance of Saccos in Kumi County – Kumi Uganda

This dissertation is presented on the topic, “Debt management literacy and financial performance of SACCOs in Kumi County”. The overall objective of the study was to determine the effect of Debt management literacy on financial performance of SACCOs in Kumi County and to achieve this the researcher used one specific objective Vinz; “To determine the effect of Debt management literacy on financial performance of SACCOs in Kumi County”. In carrying out the study, the researcher used a case study research design because of its ability to investigate the study variables in detail. The population under study was 150 (N) people and a sample population of 108 (n) people consisting of; SACCO board members, SACCO management team members and SACCO members. The sample size was determined by use of both probability and non-probability sampling techniques. In data collection, the researcher used a duo approach with the use of; Questionnaire survey method which allowed collection of firsthand information within a short period of time and interview method employed on some key informants i.e. SACCO Board members as this was intended to probe for more information, get clarification and capture facial expression. Two tools in this context were used i.e. Research Questionnaire and interview guide. The data collected was both quantitative and qualitative in nature. Data analysis was carried out in two fold; Quantitative data was analysed using Statistical Package for Social Scientists (SPSS) version 25*64 bit. Qualitative data was recorded in the researchers note book and transcribed for a clear meaning. The research findings highlighted a strong positive relationship between debt management literacy and financial performance of SACCOs with R = 0.666. The study confirmed that Debt management literacy explains 44.4% of financial performance as evident with R2= 0.444. The researcher based on the study findings recommended creation of awareness and corporative member education on debt management; Documentation and implementation of a comprehensive credit or debt management policy; There must be a clear line of authority as to who authorizes and approves what and creation of a policy on relationship management strategies so as to ensure long and lasting beneficial relationships with clients.

Attitudes towards infopreneurship among information science students at a higher education institution

This study aimed to explore the attitudes of students of a higher education institution towards infopreneurship. The study emanated from observations that the widespread use of information technologies has created a new sector in the labor market – infopreneurship. The study adopted the case study research design based on focus group discussions to establish the students’ attitudes towards infopreneurship. The participants for the focus groups were students of the Information Science department at the University of Technology, Cape Town. Data collection during the focus group discussions was based on unstructured interviews. Quantitative data analysis was applied based on data reduction from codes to categories. An enterprising attitude (26.4% code frequency) dominated the positive responses while negative attitudes were mainly reflected by a critical attitude (20.8% code frequency) towards infopreneurship. While it appeared that positive attitudes were more prevalent than negative attitudes, there were notable observations that the respondents were critical or neutral towards the essence of infopreneurship in the South African context. It was found that the belief that infopreneurship is not a viable form of employment was still prevalent. Some respondents believed that employment means working for someone. They felt that there is greater respect in being employed than engaging in infopreneurship. Some respondents, however, appear to have stronger entrepreneurial orientations and felt that infopreneurship offers the best employment opportunities. The study recommends changes in higher education curricula and the creation of a stimulating environment for infopreneurship.

Effects of Government's Policy in Stock Price: A Case of Nepse

The purpose of this study is to find out the relationship of government's policy on the price movement of Nepal stock exchange (NEPSE). This study followed a case study research design, because it offers a deeper perspective and clearer understanding of the stock price movement of Nepalese joint venture banks. The sample size of this study consists of five joint venture commercial Banks, economic analysis and survey reports conducted by central bank of Nepal (Nepal Rastra Bank).The judgmental sampling method has been applied for selection of joint venture banks. The study was totally based on secondary data. in order to make proper analysis descriptive and inferential statistics were used using SPSS software version 26. The finding of this study revealed that the GDP and import are inversely associated with stock price movement and CRR, export, interest rate and inflation are positively associated with stock price movement. Further, it is found that the macroeconomic variables are key factors to determine the Nepalese stock price movement. More importantly, stock market has been found to respond significantly to changes in the government policy. It is recommended that CRR, EXPORT, INTEREST RATE and INFLATION are major factors which largely affect the stock price movement of NEPSE. GDP and IMPORT are not compliance with the stock price movement as they produce negative association with the stocks volatility.

Towards responsible science and technology: How nanotechnology research and development is shaping risk governance practices in Australia

Incorporating perspectives of multiple stakeholders concerning the appropriate balance of risks and benefits of new and potentially disruptive technologies is thought to be a way of enhancing the societal relevance and positive impacts of those technologies. A risk governance approach can be instrumental in achieving balance among diverse stakeholders, as it enables decision-making processes informed by multiple dimensions of risk. This paper applies a risk governance approach to retrospectively examine the development of nanotechnology research and development (R&D) in Australia to identify how risk governance is reflected in the practices of a range of stakeholders. We identify ten risk-related challenges specific to nanotechnology R&D based on a review of the international literature, which provided the foundation for documenting how those working in the Australian nanotechnology sector responded to these global risk-related challenges. This case study research draws on a range of sources including literature review, semi-structured interviews, and a combination of qualitative and quantitative approaches for data analysis to identify key themes and generate visualisations of the interconnections that exist between risk governance practices. The ability to visualise these interconnections from the qualitative data is a key contribution of this research. Our findings show how the qualitative insights and professional experiences of nanotechnologists provide evidence of how risk governance approaches have been operationalised in the Australian nanotechnology R&D sector. The findings generate three important insights. First, the risk research undertaken by Australian nanotechnologists is interdisciplinary and involves multiple stakeholders from various disciplines and sectors. Unlike traditional risk governance approaches, our findings document efforts to assess, not only physical risks, but also social and ethical risks. Second, nanotechnology risk governance is a non-linear process and practices undertaken to address specific challenges occurred concurrently with and contributed to addressing other challenges. Third, our findings indicate that applying a risk governance approach enables greater intersection and collaboration, potentially bridging any disconnect between scientists, policymakers, and the public to realise transdisciplinary outcomes. This research highlights opportunities for developing systematic methodologies to enable more robust risk governance of other new and emerging technologies.

Choosing Startups as Suppliers: A Supplier Selection Archetypes Typology

Recent research demonstrates the value of examining collaborations between established organizations and startups via the lens of the buyer–supplier relationship. However, enterprises must first find, analyze, and select potential startups as suppliers before they can exploit startups' resources and talents in a buyer–supplier relationship. Due to the fact that earlier research has focused exclusively on how purchasing firms select established firms as suppliers, it is unknown which processes, tools, or organizational approaches purchasing organizations employ when selecting startup firms as suppliers. These suppliers are qualitatively distinct in that they lack organizational structure, financial resources, and operational competencies, offering a substantial risk to purchasing organizations. This inductive, qualitative case study research elicits data from twenty established purchasing firms and examines how they choose startup suppliers. We begin by identifying five design motifs that differentiate purchasing firms' selection procedures. We create a typology of three supplier selection paradigms based on these themes. The findings suggest that enterprises who are ready and able to adjust their selection technique to startups should exhibit a higher level of selection performance, implying a greater likelihood of selecting acceptable startups as suppliers. The findings contribute to the literature on supplier selection and shed light on the burgeoning sector of new venture suppliers.

Bringing Transition Management to Cities: Building Skills for Transformative Urban Governance

Cities are open to trialing new approaches for advancing their planning and urban governance practice. Evidence from urban research and practice shows that transition management has been widely and diversely applied for strategic planning for climate mitigation and adaptation, regeneration, as well as sectoral (energy, water, waste) and social cohesion agendas. Despite the amounting evidence of the applications of transition management, the research has not identified what it is required in terms of skills to apply such a governance framework for participatory governance in cities. In this paper, we respond to this gap by providing evidence from 11 cities across Europe that applied transition management as an approach to participatory urban governance for unpacking what transformative actions are required to strengthen urban resilience in deprived neighborhoods. Our multi-case study research and analysis reveals that a multitude of vocational and academic skills are required for the application of transition management approach including systems thinking, creativity, theory-to-practice application skills, diplomatic skills for forging partnerships and learning alliances and openness to learning-by-doing during experimentation. Transition management application in cities in the Resilient Europe project brought about positive outcomes in terms of developing new skills, embedding new knowledge about urban resilience and transition management in planning.

Using theory and reflexivity to preserve methodological rigour of data collection in qualitative research

This paper examines the place of theory in qualitative medical research. While theory’s place in research planning and data analysis has been well-established, the contribution of theory during qualitative data collection tends to be overlooked. Yet, data collection is not an asocial or apolitical process and requires reflection and analysis in and of itself. Therefore, drawing on an exemplar case study research project which focused on patients’ use of medicines, the paper argues that engaging with theory to think reflexively, throughout a project but particularly during the process of data collection can ensure the rigour and trustworthiness of qualitative data. In this case study, we draw on sociologist Erving Goffman’s theoretical framework of the dramaturgical metaphor to address the multiplicity of roles that healthcare practitioners undertaking qualitative research have to occupy and navigate. Rather than painting researchers out of their research through a naïve search for ‘objectivity’, reflexivity that is scaffolded by theory, offers a way through which researchers’ biases and subjectivities can be made explicit and their data analysis transparent. In making this argument, we encourage medical researchers to engage with, and be attuned to, theoretical perspectives outwith their own discipline.

Proposing an organizational framework for the Sharīʿah Secretariat of Islamic banks in Bangladesh

PurposeSharīʿah Secretariat plays a significant role in assisting Sharīʿah Supervisory Boards (SSBs) in their role in achieving Sharīʿah compliance in Islamic banks (IBs). The key objective of the study is to develop a demographic framework of the Sharīʿah Secretariat for the IBs in Bangladesh.Design/methodology/approachThe study applied qualitative case study research. The data have been collected from 17 respondents through semi-structured interviews from IBs and professional experts in Bangladesh.FindingsThis study proposes a full-time Sharīʿah Secretariat and several departments for further enhancement of the Sharīʿah functions in IBs in Bangladesh. The framework proposed in this study covers the formation, functions, composition, qualification, reporting line, independence, remuneration and terms of appointment of the Sharīʿah Secretariat to set a uniform benchmark for all IBs in Bangladesh. It is anticipated that the outcomes of this research will assist to further strengthen the Sharīʿah governance of IBs in Bangladesh.Research limitations/implicationsThis research contributed to the national and global regulatory authorities and IBs by proposing a Sharīʿah Secretariat framework for the smooth functioning of the IBs in Bangladesh. The framework proposed in this study covers the formation, functions, composition, qualification, reporting line, independence, remuneration and terms of appointment of Sharīʿah Secretariat.Originality/valueThis study proposed a framework which is considered the first organizational framework so far for the Sharīʿah Secretariat of IBs in Bangladesh. IBs can apply this proposed framework to form their Sharīʿah Secretariat structure.

From ivory tower to a storyteller of value creation: integrated reporting at Japanese and South African universities

PurposeThe paper examines integrated reporting (IR) practices of two Japanese universities and three South African universities by evaluating and comparing their 2019 integrated reports.Design/methodology/approachA multiple case study research method is used in this study.FindingsThe paper reveals that IR is in its infancy at the sample universities. Some universities have initiated disclosing information to their stakeholders on how they create value. However, the universities lack a comprehensive approach to integrating financial and non-financial information, thereby affecting the IR disclosure quality. The findings indicate that informal coercive pressure of South African universities is a primary driving factor that enables the universities to achieve a higher IR disclosure quality than their Japanese counterparts.Research limitations/implicationsThis paper argues that institutional theory is relevant for explaining the differences in IR practices of the universities in the two different jurisdictional settings.Practical implicationsThe research will be of interest to university administrators, policymakers, regulators and other stakeholder groups of universities. The assessment of integrated reports serves as a first step to help the universities improve IR practices as well as to facilitate the diffusion of IR in higher education institutions (HEIs) globally. There is also a need for universities to pay more attention to the storytelling of their value creation in future IR disclosures.Originality/valueIt is the first to assess the IR quality of the Japanese sample universities as well as the first to conduct a comparative analysis for IR practices of universities in two different jurisdictional settings that have adopted IR. The findings of this study add to the current scholarly debate on universities' ability to tell their stories on their value creation to stakeholders via integrated reports.

MANAJEMEN KESISWAAN DI SEKOLAH DASAR ISLAM MOHAMMAD HATTA DI MASA PANDEMI COVID-19

The covid-19 pandemic has had an impact on various aspects of life. With various new policies taken regarding the Covid-19 pandemic, new adaptations are needed for our lives. The existence of the PSBB policy (large-scale social restrictions), social distancing and stay at home forced everyone during this pandemic to carry out all activities from home on an online basis. Likewise in the education sector, which must adapt to new habits related to policies during the Covid-19 pandemic. This research was conducted with the aim of knowing student management at the Mohammad Hatta Islamic Elementary School during the Covid-19 pandemic based on research. This research is a case study research using a descriptive qualitative research approach to describe the findings obtained after the research. The data in this study were collected by means of interviews, observation and documentation study. The research results show that in a managerial system, the activities in this institution have been systematically organized even though they are still adapting to the latest policy updates from the government. This institution strives to continue to optimize student activities amidst the limitations of meeting face to face.