Telecommunication Infrastructure Development and Economic Growth: A Panel Data Approach

World is going to be global village due to the introduction of new and advanced technology and new innovations in technology make it more possible day by day. The widely spread economic activities both in real as well as in credit market is possible when they use advance technology to communicate. This is a fact that the world is rapidly moving towards an economic system based on the continuous and ubiquitous availability of information. Developing countries try to maintain and develop their technology in such a way that they can become a part of this global village. Recent developments in telecommunication technology have been an important tool to exchange the information to develop a sharp and valuable commodity market. During 21st century to move into post-industrial, information based economic growth, countries and sector try to equip themselves with the necessary telecommunication system. A modern telecommunication infrastructure is not only important for economic growth but also to connect domestic market of commodities as well as credit with international commodity and financial markets. This would develop the smooth flow of foreign investment, positive value of net exports, increase the value addition in GDP of an economy etc. Once the industrial and agriculture development was considered to be a best tool to enhance economic growth of a country, every country gave more importance to these sectors in its plans and policies, but now the trend has changed because the advancement and development of these two major sector of an economy sustain on the development of other factors, the role of service sector, advancement in technology, and the contribution of foreign sector in economic growth by different ways increases, and the major area of interest for foreign sector or investment was service sector and still it is, countries with the existence of GATS, started to privatise their set up, and after realising the importance of communications, the telecommunication sector is now on their main priorities. With the advancement of telecommunication services, a new market mechanism, low cost structure and expanded value chain of firms is possible [Kambil and Short (1994)], on other hand in developing countries, the average price of agricultural commodities is high in the area where there is telephone facilities available than the area where there is no facilities to communicate [Bayes, et al. (1999)]

Corporate Sustainability by Combating Bribery:The Role of an Organisation Culture and Its Impact on the Organisation’s Performance

There is an increasing trend in bribery practices among employees (corporate bribery), especially from emerging economies, where developed countries, including the USA, have enormous interests in various aspects of local and international trade. Therefore, this study aims to examine the influence of organisations’ culture and outcome orientation, as well as the stability culture dimensions of Organisation Culture Profile (OCP), in order to combat corporate bribery practices, as an aspect of corporate sustainability practices, and their subsequent impact on both organisational financial and non-financial performance. The study surveyed mid-to-top level managers of a total of 201 organisations from Bangladesh. The survey data were used to develop a structural equation model (SEM) by utilising the AMOS (26th version) software, and thus tested the developed hypotheses on the study variables. The findings provide evidence of the positive influence of the two dimensions (outcome orientation and stability) of organisations’ culture in combating bribery practices within organisations. The findings highlight the positive impact of combating bribery practices on both organisations’ financial and non-financial performance. Our empirical findings contribute to the existing limited bribery-related corporate sustainability literature, with the goal of achieving suitable organisation culture in order to minimise unethical business practices, specifically bribery practices. The findings provide practical implications for practitioners and policymakers due to the discovery of the importance of having congenial corporate culture, in order to promote and enhance corporate sustainability practices by reducing the likelihood of poor practices by employees, i.e., taking or offering bribes to business partners

Impact of COVID19 Pandemic in Bangladesh: A Perspective of Mental Health and Socio-Economic Status

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted the global labor market has threatened millions of livelihoods globally including Bangladesh. The study attempts to analyze the emerged socio-economic crisis among street vendors’ households in Bangladesh and to explore the psychological impacts among them during the COVID-19 pandemic. Following the qualitative approach, it was conducted in a total of 16 KIIs from street vendors. The study found that levels of depression and anxiety varied from individual to individual (i.e., street vendors), the households of street vendors with multiple breadwinners or minimum earnings were merely affected by psychological distress whereas the households with single breadwinners or no income had to suffer severe anxiety and depression. Mostly, COVID-19 infected street vendors went through severe mental depression in comparison to others. In conclusion, the paper suggests that policymakers and other respective authorities can effectively address the issues for ensuring the well-being of street vendors in upcoming pandemics

Prevalence and determinants of hypertension among urban slum dwellers in Bangladesh

Background: In low- and middle- income countries such as Bangladesh, urban slum dwellers are particularly vulnerable to hypertension due to inadequate facilities for screening and management, as well as inadequate health literacy among them. However, there is scarcity of evidence on hypertension among the urban slum dwellers in Bangladesh. The present study aimed to determine the prevalence and factors associated with hypertension among urban slum dwellers in Bangladesh. Methods: Data were collected as part of a large-scale cross-sectional survey conducted by Building Resources Across Communities (BRAC) between October 2015 and January 2016. The present analysis was performed among 1155 urban slum dwellers aged 35 years or above. A structured questionnaire was adminstered to collect data electronically and blood pressure measurements were taken using standardised procedures. Binary logistic regression with generalized estimating equation modelling was performed to estimate the factors associated with hypertension. Results: The prevalence of hypertension was 28.3% among urban slum dwellers aged 35 years and above. In adjusted analysis, urban slum dwellers aged 45–54 years (AOR: 1.64, 95% CI: 1.17–2.28), 55–64 years (AOR: 2.47, 95% CI: 1.73–3.53) and ≥ 65 years (AOR: 2.34, 95% CI: 1.47–3.72), from wealthier households (AOR: 1.94, 95% CI: 1.18–3.20), sleeping < 7 h per day (AOR: 1.87, 95% CI: 1.39–2.51), who were overweight (AOR: 1.53, 95% CI: 1.09–2.14) or obese (AOR: 2.34, 95% CI: 1.71–3.20), and having self-reported diabetes (AOR: 3.08, 95% CI: 1.88–5.04) had an increased risk of hypertension. Moreover, 51.0% of the participants were taking anti-hypertensive medications and 26.4% of them had their hypertension in control. Conclusions: The findings highlight a high burden of hypertension and poor management of it among the slum dwellers in Bangladesh requiring a novel approach to improve care. It is integral to effectively implement the available national non-communicable disease (NCD) control guidelines and redesign the current urban primary health care system to have better coordination

Germination, growth and biochemical responses of papaya (Carica papaya L.) to electric field

Electric field, a non-ionizing radiation, exists in abundant in the vicinity of high voltage power lines, covers a large area of the agricultural land and affects crop productivity. In this study, an attempt was made to unravel the potential of using electric field as an agricultural tool to increase seed germination and plant vigour, and to investigate the effect of electric field seed treatment of several strengths on the germination rate, and the subsequent growth and biochemical changes of papaya (Carica papaya L.) Eksotika II. Papaya seeds were subjected to electric field of different strengths such as 0 (control), 10, 20, 40, 60, 80, 100 and 120 kV/m prior to sowing. Electric field treatments exerted some influence on the growth and biochemical changes in papaya. Highest germination percentage occurred when seeds were treated with 60 kV/m electric field. Most of the electric field treatments resulted in higher shoot and root length and dry weight, but 120 kV/m resulted in negative growth responses. In terms of the biochemical responses of papaya, electric field treatments up to 40 kV/m yielded higher soluble protein and nitrogen content compared to control. Total chlorophyll and carotenoid content and peroxidase specific enzyme activity were also positively influenced by electric field treatment up to 100 kV/m. Therefore, 60 kV/m may be considered as the optimum electric field strength for seed treatment to increase the germination, growth and biochemical quality of papaya