Reengineering in the organizational thinking： A vital need in the third millennium

The crucial challenges that facing the economic, cultural and social situations of the 21st century are calling for new initiatives and thinking. The recent decade has witnessed an increasing growth in corporate strategies focused on creating a competitive advantage, using knowledge management and organizational thinking to reengineer through entrepreneurship. Public and private organizations are trying to identify the challenges in the global economic environment. In the current chaos environments, all business regardless of size and age must do organizational thinking reengineering in form of entrepreneurial dimensions to effectively survive and compete This is a conceptual paper. It gives an overview of the entrepreneurial thinking and then proposes a parsimonious conceptual model.     

Unusual suicides with band saws: Two case reports and a literature review

Suicides or suicide attempts with power saws (band, circular or chain saws) are rather rare events and only a few case reports exist in the forensic literature. The use of a band saw, in particular, has been extremely rare in cases of suicide.We report two cases of suicide that occurred in the same suburban area, three years apart. In each case, the victim was a carpenter and had a history of psychiatric disorder and/or of prior suicide attempts.We summarize the findings of the death scene investigations, the pertinent autopsy findings, and also summarize the world literature pertaining to suicide committed with power saws.     

Technological innovations and firms’ productivity in new patent regime: Evidences from Indian pharmaceutical industry

Innovative firms enjoy more market benefits by conducting both technological (product and process) and nontechnological (organizational and marketing) innovations. This study aims to examine the relationship between technological innovations and firms’ productivity in Indian pharmaceutical industry in new patent regime. In particular, we analyze the direct impact of product and process innovation on the productivity of 168 Indian pharmaceutical firms over 2000–2013. Findings of this study reveal that technological innovations are positive source of firms’ productivity. However, this relationship varies with types of technological innovations and also ownership structure of firms. Moreover, this study also finds that the impact of technological innovation is stronger for multinational enterprises.     

Initiatives that Counter Violent Radicalization but are Perceived as Suitable by Targeted Communities

To redress the scourge of violent extremism, an array of policies, programs, and practices have been implemented. Yet, these initiatives could sometimes conflict with the preferences of individuals who may be susceptible to radicalization. To illustrate, some initiatives might challenge the values of these individuals. The degree to which these individuals feel significant or important might thus decrease—a decrease that has been shown to rouse the pursuit of violent radicalization. To prevent this complication, two studies were designed to uncover programs, policies, or practices that align to the preferences of people who may be more susceptible than average to violent radicalization. In Study 1, three individuals who had been charged with crimes related to terrorism, but had since relinquished extremism, were asked to suggest initiatives they feel could prevent violent radicalization in Australian Muslims. Similarly, in the second study, young Australian Muslim adults who rejected extremist ideologies were asked the same question. The participants advocated initiatives that foster tolerance towards diverse perspectives, inspire individuals to trust their values and intuition, encourage civic engagement, improve the credibility of imams, and enable people to derive strength from their community. A review of previous literature indicates that many of these initiatives might not only resonate with the preferences of individuals who may be vulnerable to violent extremism but could also foster a sense of significance and meaning in life—an experience that tends to prevent radicalization.     

Perceptions of the Orient by the Occident. Twisted visions, false dreams and embracing the other

In this paper I will look at Occidental perceptions of the Orient, through a selective sample of writings by western scholars on the Orient, with special reference to the Malay and Islamic worlds. References to Edward Said's views on Orientalism will also be made. I argue that there is a relationship between Orientalism and politics, even in our contemporary world, although not necessarily in the manner envisaged and presented by Edward Said. Though the relationship between the Orient and the Occident has sometimes been conflictual, there have nevertheless been fruitful and significant encounters and exchanges between them in history. Finally a plea is made that though the scenario in East–West relations might at present appear pessimistic, a normative element in favour of inter-cultural and inter-civilisational dialogue, should be injected in both academia and practical politics, to bring about change and hope for humanity.

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Weak links in the BEE chain? Procurement,skills and employment equity in the metals and engineering industries

The Department of Trade and Industry's 2003 strategy identifies ‘Black Economic Empowerment’ (BEE) as being broad-based, inclusive, and part of a sustainable long-term growth and development strategy. In this, it is consistent with the 2001 Black Economic Empowerment Commission report, the ANC 2002 conference resolution and ultimately the ANC's Reconstruction and Development Programme of 1994. We use firm-level information in the metals and engineering industries to examine the actual nature and extent of BEE across the dimensions of ownership, procurement, employment equity and training. Its aim is to examine the relationships between BEE concepts and provisions and the responses that firms took in practice. Direct pressure for BEE in metals and engineering firms arises from legislation and regulatory provisions governing employment equity, skills development and procurement. It also follows from procurement provisions applying to large companies that buy from metals and engineering firms, as well as to mining firms and State-Owned Enterprises such as Eskom and Transnet.     

Data integration in IoT ecosystem: Information linkage as a privacy threat

Internet of things (IoT) is changing the way data is collected and processed. The scale and variety of devices, communication networks, and protocols involved in data collection present critical challenges for data processing and analyses. Newer and more sophisticated methods for data integration and aggregation are required to enhance the value of real-time and historical IoT data. Moreover, the pervasive nature of IoT data presents a number of privacy threats because of intermediate data processing steps, including data acquisition, data aggregation, fusion and integration. User profiling and record linkage are well studied topics in online social networks (OSNs); however, these have become more critical in IoT applications where different systems share and integrate data and information. The proposed study aims to discuss the privacy threat of information linkage, technical and legal approaches to address it in a heterogeneous IoT ecosystem. The paper illustrates and explains information linkage during the process of data integration in a smart neighbourhood scenario. Through this work, the authors aim to enable a technical and legal framework to ensure stakeholders awareness and protection of subjects about privacy breaches due to information linkage.     

What you sell is what you lend? Revealing complexity of <Emphasis Type="Italic">riba</Emphasis> in loan contract

The purpose of this paper is to resolve and examine the possible modus operandi of riba on selling and loan contract according to the Sharia’s precepts. This paper investigate the Qur’an, hadith, and juristic views on such relevant issues based on the survey done on the several sources, i.e., previous studies, Al-Qur’an and Al-Hadith and juristic views and deviate from the existing studies in two aspects, i.e., the selling and buying of goods do not involve riba and also the banks provide loan without riba. The findings of this paper are: First, the concept of interest in lending is widely accepted both in theory and practice. Second, riba exists in selling and lending. Third, the categorization and application of extensive and complex subjects of riba in economic life bring all speculative and usurious transactions under the rubric of riba prohibition. This paper important because express and disclosure riba in both exchange of goods and loans, also the social and economic developments. This is an original undertaking of this paper.