Search Results (13)

This study employs a mixed method. In-depth interviews and observational studies are among the data collection approaches used in qualitative research. The quantitative method measures the weight of respondents’ answers to the distributed questionnaire. The questionnaire, containing 82 items, was distributed to 202 tourists to collect their perceptions based on the 4A tourist components. The results indicate that tourists’ perceptions of attractions, accessibility, and ancillary services are generally positive. In contrast, perceptions of amenity services are less favorable. Using the scores from IFAS, EFAS, and the I-E matrix, the total weighted scores for IFAS and EFAS are 2.68 and 2.83, respectively. The appropriate strategy for BTV is one of aggressive growth in a position of strengths and opportunities. The study highlights key techniques, including the application of information technology in service and promotion, the strengthening of community and government roles, the development of infrastructure and facilities, the utilization of external resources, sustainable innovation, and the encouragement of local governments to issue regulations for halal tourism villages. By identifying drivers and barriers from an economic, environmental, social, and cultural perspective, the SWOT analysis results help design strategies that can make positive contributions to the development of sustainable, community-based halal tourism and digital information in the future. Full article

This study examines the main determinants influencing the commitment of tourism village managers and business stakeholders to implement digital transformation. It will test the impact of perceived benefits, attitudes towards change, consumer behavior change, and the technological context on the intentions and commitments of tourism village managers and enterprises in Bogor Regency, Indonesia. The Causal Step multiple linear regression analysis examined 146 respondents selected through saturated sampling. The findings indicated that attitudes towards change, consumer behavior change, and the technological context significantly influenced the commitment to implement a digital transformation, mediated by the intention to implement digital transformation. The intention to implement digital transformation became a perfect part of the technological context of the commitment to implement digital transformation. It became a partial mediator of the influence of digital attitudes towards change and consumer behavior change on the commitment to implement transformation. Perceived benefits only directly affected the commitment to implement digital transformation. This research has at least two novelties, conceptual and contextual novelties. Conceptual novelty is studied in digital transformation, focusing on tourism villages. The contextual novelty is that the findings offer a more thorough understanding of the conditions and stages of technological transformation embraced by stakeholders and managers of tourism villages. Full article

The objectives of this study are, firstly, to determine the impact of tourism village development on economic, social, cultural, and environmental aspects in supporting the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and, secondly, to formulate a halal, local culture-based, and sustainable tourism village development model. The research method was qualitative and quantitative. Survey data were collected using questionnaires and interviews. The data were analyzed using a difference test before and after the development of the tourism village. Based on the data analysis, significant differences in economic, social, cultural, and environmental aspects existed before and after the development of the Benteng Ciampea tourism village in Bogor Regency, Indonesia. Many studies have examined the impact of tourism village development on social, economic, cultural, and environmental aspects. However, no comprehensive research has been conducted that is supported by empirical data. Most studies have been conducted partially and not linked to the SDGs. The SDGs issue distinguishes this from previous studies on developing sustainable halal tourism villages. Full article

The third expansion of the Islamic Caliphate (AD950–1450) produced the need for formalising an ethical framework to create an institutionalised approach to market regulations. During these times significant contribution to the literature was made regarding the modelling of the ethical premise of the duty to subscribe good and prohibit wrongs. It ranged from the formation of vigilante-styled civil duties to the institutionalisation of ethics in the form of the institution of hisbah, which is broadly understood as a quasi-autonomous non-governmental organisation (quango) designed to establish the ethical mandate within the medieval Muslim world. Our investigation maps the development of thoughts on embedding ethical rules in markets and within society between AD950–1450. This study explores and conceptualises the models for market regulations proposed by Al-Mawardi (d.AD1058), Al-Ghazali (d.AD1111), Ibn Taymiyya (d.AD1328), and Ibn Khaldun (d.AD1406). We formulate and compare the ethical models of these scholars in the context of their political–social positionings. The rationale for choosing these four scholars is the wide articulation and recognition of their logical ideas throughout Islamic history. This research examines the historic–ethical patterns within the corpus of Islamic thoughts that provide a discourse deixis for constructing regulatory models as conceptualised by these scholars for the institutionalised governance of markets and society in general. Full article

This study investigates the potential damage to flexible pavements caused by rising groundwater tables resulting from sea-level rise. A case study was conducted in Miami-Dade County, Southeast Florida, a low-lying area at high risk of inundation and rising groundwater table due to sea-level rise. Flexible pavement specifications are differentiated using functional classification, and the reduced service life for various roadway types due to rising groundwater tables is predicted. The study utilized regional groundwater table maps for future sea-level rise scenarios to identify the saturated unbound layers for each roadway. An improved multilayer linear elastic model incorporating an unsaturated modulus resilient module, capable to handle saturated subgrade to base layer, is employed to quantify pavement response for each classified road at a network scale. The results indicate that the groundwater table response due to sea-level rise will extend further inland, impacting coastal infrastructure and inland areas. This study contributes to a network-scale deterministic pavement model tailored specifically for assessing the impact of sea-level rise on pavement performance. Given the increasing threats posed by sea-level rise, flooding, and infrastructure vulnerability, a comprehensive tool is provided for planners, pavement engineers, and policymakers. Full article

The use of robots for machining operations has become very popular in the last few decades. However, the challenge of the robotic-based machining process, such as surface finishing on curved surfaces, still persists. Prior studies (non-contact- and contact-based) have their own limitations, such as fixture error and surface friction. To cope with these challenges, this study proposes an advanced technique for path correction and normal trajectory generation while tracking a curved workpiece’s surface. Initially, a key-point selection approach is used to estimate a reference workpiece’s coordinates using a depth measuring tool. This approach overcomes the fixture errors and enables the robot to track the desired path, i.e., where the surface normal trajectory is needed. Subsequently, this study employs an attached RGB-D camera on the end-effector of the robot for determining the depth and angle between the robot and the contact surface, which nullifies surface friction issues. The point cloud information of the contact surface is employed by the pose correction algorithm to guarantee the robot’s perpendicularity and constant contact with the surface. The efficiency of the proposed technique is analyzed by carrying out several experimental trials using a 6 DOF robot manipulator. The results reveal a better normal trajectory generation than previous state-of-the-art research, with an average angle and depth error of 1.8 degrees and 0.4 mm. Full article

During the COVID-19 outbreak, modeling the spread of infectious diseases became a challenging research topic due to its rapid spread and high mortality rate. The main objective of a standard epidemiological model is to estimate the number of infected, suspected, and recovered from the illness by mathematical modeling. This model does not capture how the disease transmits between neighboring regions through interaction. A more general framework such as Cellular Automata (CA) is required to accommodate a more complex spatial interaction within the epidemiological model. The critical issue of modeling in the spread of diseases is how to reduce the prediction error. This research aims to formulate the influence of the interaction of a neighborhood on the spreading pattern of COVID-19 using a neighborhood frame model in a Cellular-Automata (CA) approach and obtain a predictive model for the COVID-19 spread with the error reduction to improve the model. We propose a non-uniform continuous CA (N-CCA) as our contribution to demonstrate the influence of interactions on the spread of COVID-19. The model has succeeded in demonstrating the influence of the interaction between regions on the COVID-19 spread, as represented by the coefficients obtained. These coefficients result from multiple regression models. The coefficient obtained represents the population’s behavior interacting with its neighborhood in a cell and influences the number of cases that occur the next day. The evaluation of the N-CCA model is conducted by root mean square error (RMSE) for the difference in the number of cases between prediction and real cases per cell in each region. This study demonstrates that this approach improves the prediction of accuracy for 14 days in the future using data points from the past 42 days, compared to a baseline model. Full article

This article explores the phenomena of violence and jihad in three parts: their emergence and trajectory in the Qur’anic text, their meanings, and their entanglement with the religious cause. The objective was to examine the interactions between violence and jihad, highlighting the variations in their usage and interpretation. Based on intensive literal interpretations of the jihad verses, radical Islamist movements have distorted their historical memory by sanctifying and reducing them to an argument of war (harb, qital) and combat, thus seeking a military solution to their political agendas. This article also aimed to address the issue of the transition of Islam from a meta-narrative of emancipation and rationality to one of violence by examining the question of war in Islam, as well as its definition and legitimisation. In this rather complex transition, we draw in some sections on Ibn Khaldun’s modelling to highlight the political component related to violence. The aim was to attempt to disentangle the threads of violence, politics, and power within the Islamic tradition. This study will allow assessment of the tension—in the context of the Qur’an—between order (islah) and disorder/injustice (fasad). The transition from one to the other implies a legitimisation of violence; its appropriateness must, therefore, be studied. Full article

This research is an event study that evaluates the performance of large market capitalization shares using a performance model that is adjusted to risks due to the COVID-19 outbreak. The study measured the performance of large market capitalization stocks which represented each tick size on the Indonesian Stock Exchange during the COVID-19 pandemic using the Sharpe Index, the Treynor Ratio, and Jensen’s Alpha. The sample selection used a purposive sampling technique and 24 stocks were selected as samples in the study. We used the daily closing price of stocks, the Indonesia composite index, and average risk-free rate return (BI rate). By using Jensen’s Alpha, this study found that FREN was the highest beta with a value of 1.8189, indicating that the index was an effective and well-diversified stock. FREN is low priced and the highest market capitalization stock in its tick size (third tier stocks). Jensen’s Alpha is good for measuring the performance of large capitalization and low-priced stocks. There are eight stocks that always have negative values in each method of measuring stock performance, which indicates that these stocks underperformed during COVID-19. Full article

As the number and types of Islamic schools in a Western context have increased, so too have the questions on their purpose and impact in pluralistic Western societies. Amid this increasingly complex environment, questions are raised, both internally and externally, to determine the nature of Islamic educational goals, schools’ knowledge and pedagogical practices. Analysis in this paper draws on multiple sources of data: classical and contemporary literature on education in Islam; the Department for Education (DfE) school census and the Office for Standards in Education; Children’s Services and Skills (Ofsted); and empirical case-study data extracted from the author’s PhD thesis on diversity in Islamic schools in Britain conducted during 2008–2012 and subsequently revised during 2018–2019 by following up emergent themes. This paper argues for a need to develop an “Islamic wisdom-based culture” promoting action (‘amal) which nurtures the holistic growth of learners in ethical areas (akhlāq), aesthetics (dhawq/jamāl) and develops a sense of freedom (huriyyah). By doing so, the paper draws primarily on Bennabi’s analysis of the role of culture (thaqāfah) in the civilisation cycle, Ibn-Khaldūn’s analysis of freedom and dignity in educational practice embedded in his discussion of the meanings of humanity) Al-insāniyyah) and Gadamer’s analysis of “practical wisdom”. Firstly, it contextualises Islamic schooling in Britain into a neoliberal pluralistic context. The wisdom inherent in Islamic education is explored through critical dialogue during the process of learning and action. The discussion then considers three key elements of “wisdom-based cultural environment” for Islamic education. Full article

The assessment of trends in river flows has become of interest to the scientific community in order to understand the changing characteristics of flow due to climate change. In this study, the trends in river flow of Dukan Dam located in the northern part of Iraq were assessed. The assessment was carried out for the period 1964 to 2013 using Sen’s slope and the Mann–Kendall test. Sen’s slope was used to assess the magnitude of change while the Mann–Kendall trend test was used to confirm the significance of trends. The results of the study showed that there was a decreasing trend in river flow both annually and for all individual months. The highest decreasing trend of −5.08846 m³/month was noticed in April, while the lowest change of −1.06022 m³/month was noticed in November. The annual flow also showed a significant decrease at a rate of −1.912 m³/year at a 95% level of confidence. Additionally, the findings of the study also confirmed that a decrease in precipitation and the construction of hydraulic structures reduced the flow in the river. The findings of the study suggest that decreasing trends may cause a water-scarce situation in the future if proper adaptation measures are not taken. Full article

This paper examines modern democracy from the perspective of its capacity to generate social solidarity. To do so it considers the idea of asabiya, first used by Ibn Khaldûn and more recently applied by Peter Turchin. It postulates that this approach is quite similar to the analysis made by Roman historian Sallust. It considers the issue of the creation and decay of asabiya in the context of Benjamin Constant’s distinction between ancient and modern liberty. Ancient liberty seeks to generate asabiya and this has tended to make democracies a belligerent form of polity. Modern liberty and liberalism are happy to leave individuals to cultivate their own garden. This means that while modern democracy, which can be understood as the form of democracy founded on modern liberty, has some belligerent features it tends towards favoring peace. This raises a problem for modern liberal forms of democracy as they face difficulty in creating social solidarity and opponents who can create asabiya and the aggression that goes with it. Full article

Populations of Houbara Bustards have dramatically declined in recent years. Captive breeding and reintroduction programs have had limited success in reviving population numbers and thus new technological solutions involving molecular methods are essential for the long term survival of this species. In this study, we sequenced the 694 bp segment of COI gene of the four specimens of Asian Houbara Bustard (Chlamydotis undulata macqueenii). We also compared these sequences with earlier published barcodes of 11 individuals comprising different families of the orders Gruiformes, Ciconiiformes, Podicipediformes and Crocodylia (out group). The pair-wise sequence comparison showed a total of 254 variable sites across all the 15 sequences from different taxa. Three of the four specimens of Houbara Bustard had an identical sequence of COI gene and one individual showed a single nucleotide difference (G > A transition at position 83). Within the bustard family (Otididae), comparison among the three species (Asian Houbara Bustard, Great Bustard (Otis tarda) and the Little Bustard (Tetrax tetrax)), representing three different genera, showed 116 variable sites. For another family (Rallidae), the intra-family variable sites among the individuals of four different genera were found to be 146. The COI genetic distances among the 15 individuals varied from 0.000 to 0.431. Phylogenetic analysis using 619 bp nucleotide segment of COI clearly discriminated all the species representing different genera, families and orders. All the four specimens of Houbara Bustard formed a single clade and are clearly separated from other two individuals of the same family (Otis tarda and Tetrax tetrax). The nucleotide sequence of partial segment of COI gene effectively discriminated the closely related species. This is the first study reporting the barcodes of Houbara Bustard and would be helpful in future molecular studies, particularly for the conservation of this threatened bird in Saudi Arabia. Full article