Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Shariah scholars'

This dissertation assesses how Islamic finance fares as an example of 'civil compromise' in Islamic law. By focusing on the Islamic project finance sector, my research examines how the industry's main stakeholders (representing faith, capital, and power) cooperate and compete to bring about this compromise through the 'Game of Islamic Bank Bargains'. The Islamic finance industry is a work in progress, and while it has made some significant strides, it is still a niche in the global conventional financial order rather than an alternative to it. It has fallen short of fulfilling its originally-stated social justice aspirations, but has provided a previously unavailable form of banking and finance for Muslims to transact, at least formalistically, in accordance with widely-believed tenets of their faith. Thus, those who hold up Islamic finance as a universal panacea or dismiss it outright as a fraud have both got it wrong. It is neither. It is, rather, a complex myriad of incentives and aspirations of a multitude of stakeholders muddled together across numerous geographies and evolving incrementally and constantly. The state of the industry is the result of how the stakeholders (the shariah scholars, lawyers, bankers, government officials, and customers) have pursued their self-interest in the Game of Islamic Bank Bargains. My research examines who are the 'winners' and 'losers' of this game, and what religious, commercial, and political factors have influenced this outcome. I assess what may incentivise the incumbent 'winners' to guide the Islamic finance industry away from a formal and legalistic approach towards one that also incorporates principles from Islamic economics. I explore how the 'losers' - whose interests are not accounted for due to their lack of sufficient financial and political clout - can sway the outcome of the game in their favour.

During the last decades, we witness the convergence of Islamic banking sector towards conventional banking sector, which was more evident after the 1990s with the entrance of Islamic Banks (IBs) into competition with conventional banks in the global market. Because of such convergence, initial aspirations of Islamic banking sector during the emergence period in the 1960s as part of Islamic Moral Economy (IME) have mostly failed resulting in high utilisation of debt-financing instruments accompanied with lack of consideration for social consequences of everyday practices of IBs. Although it is expected that supervisory role of Shari’ah Boards (SBs) should prevent or at least moderate the observed convergence beyond merely relying on the legal-rational interpretation of Islamic law or Shari’ah; they are rather considered as facilitators of the divergence of IBs from IME norms. In order to investigate the role and status of Shari’ah scholars in IBs and the reasons behind the lack of ability of Shari’ah scholars to prevent the observed social failures of IBs, it is important to identify three main problems; (i) examination of supervisory role of SBs through Shari’ah Annual Reports (SARs) within IME framework; (ii) investigation of the process of divergence of IBs from initial aspirations of IME within postcolonial framework; and (iii) exploration of paradigm shifts in ifta (issuing legal opinion) institution’s reason d’etre with the objective of tracing the roots of modern SB as an ifta institution to explore the main reasons behind the inability of Shari’ah scholars in SBs to prevent the divergence from the IME objectives. This research, therefore, aims at constructing and constituting an Islamic Corporate Governance (ICG) system and its constituents through the foundational principles of Islamic ontology by framing it on the Islamic Political Economy (IPE) structure and IME substance. In addition, research aims to empirically examine SBs disclosure performance through their most effective communication channel with stakeholders, namely SARs to determine the performance of Shari’ah scholar in Shari’ah compliancy related communication. Furthermore, this study aims at examining the theoretical aspects of SBs to identify the process that makes this division as a source of legitimacy in terms of Shari’ah compliancy through analysis of the evolution of ifta institution in history and its transformation into SB division. Referring to the ontological and epistemological sources of Islam, a theoretical ICG system is developed in this study in Essay 1. Based on this theoretical foundation and available standards on SBs, Essay 2 presents an empirical analysis on the extent of disclosure in SARs as well as the factors affecting the level of disclosure in these reports with a sample size of 305 SAR from 41 IBs of 15 countries for the period of 2007-2014 through statistical and econometrics methods. The results of disclosure analysis indicate that SARs do not contain adequate details to convince stakeholders in Shari’ah compliancy of IBs. However, Shari’ah scholars’ explicit approval of Shari’ah compliancy of the institution in SARs without disclosing details of their analysis seems a sufficient condition for the stakeholders considering the high growth rate of the Islamic banking sector during last decades. This study further examines the SB as modern ifta institution in its historical trajectory to explore how such trust has been gained and whether similar conditions are valid for Shari’ah scholars employed in modern Islamic banking sector today. However, before investigating historical trajectory of ifta institution, this study analyses the relationship between IBs and conventional banks which especially became a matter of concern as with the entrance of IBs to the global financial market, they have to compete with conventional banking sector in terms of performance, efficiency, minimisation of cost and increased shareholder value. The aim of Essay 3 is to analyse the sources of observed convergence in IBs towards conventional banks through the phases that IBs have evolved, for which the development of modern Islamic banking sector is analysed in three stages and explored separately: (i) Establishment of first Islamic bank as a hybrid institution until the entrance of Islamic banking sector into competition at global scale; (ii) Convergence of Islamic banking institutions to conventional banking due to competition at the global scale; (iii) Co-optation and adoption of Islamic banking structure and instruments by conventional banks. As the current trajectory in Islamic banking sector demonstrates, IBs and conventional banks with Islamic windows follow a pragmatist approach to achieve growth and lacks the adherence to the initial goals of Islamic economics movement, which aimed at establishing an alternative sector based on Islamic ontological and epistemological sources. Considering the convergence of IBs towards their conventional counterparts during the last decades and insufficient disclosure in SARs by SB members, we claim that the source of an ‘Islamic’ identity in IBs is not due the practical success of SBs alone, but also the role and status of Shari’ah scholars (and indirectly SBs) in the sight of stakeholders. This requires the investigation of SB division from a theoretical perspective to understand its emergence and evolvement, for which the ifta institution and its evaluation is examined through its historical trajectory. Essay 4, therefore, critically explores and explains the evolution of ifta institution and the role and status of Shari’ah scholars in pre-modern period so that their ‘legitimacy source role’ in IBs can critically be explored and understood. Essay 5, by building on the fourth essay, aims at critically exploring the transformation of ifta institution and the role and status of Shari’ah scholars in the modern period through the conceptual framework of institutional logics. Our research revealed that there are three important transformations between pre-modern and modern period in terms of the role and status of Shari’ah scholars. These are embeddedness of Shari’ah scholars into the financial sector in modern period rather than the society as in the pre-modern period; transformation of the source of legitimacy of Shari’ah scholars from society to ‘being assigned to a SB by the management of IB’; and lastly, complexity of products and services in the modern period compared to the pre-modern period. In order to overcome the social failure of Islamic finance sector and prevent the convergence towards conventional sector as a result of these transformations, this study offers a civil society based control mechanism that goes beyond ‘halal’ and Shari’ah compliant product and services, and investigate the products and services with IME based dimensions through a fuzzy logic approach. In the conclusion, we discuss the reasons behind the lack of ability of Shari’ah scholars in preventing the social failures of IBs during the last decades based on five essays.

Discusses briefly the concept and significance of resource sharing in Indian context with a view to justify on the basis of tremendous growth as well as diversity of explicit knowledge, increased users' demands, diminished budgets, galloping prices for subscribing periodicals and purchasing books, etc. Papers suggest that resource sharing is inevitable among libraries and mentions the concepts, the areas and modalities for cooperation through library consortia in the networked information environment. This paper also covers growth as well as points out merits and demerits of library consortia and the future prospect of consortia in Indian scenario.

This thesis explores new forms of scholarly communication and the practice of open science among UK based academics. Open science broadly refers to practices that allow cost-free open access to academic research. Three aspects of open science are examined in this study: open access to research articles; open access to research data; and publishing ongoing research updates using social media. The study employs a mixed-methods approach, combining a series of scoping studies using qualitative methods followed up by an Internet survey of 1,829 UK academics. Overall this thesis has shown that whilst there is support for open science, the use of open science by academics was limited. Many academics were not aware of RCUK's open access policy and had limited experience of making their research articles freely accessible online. Most academics did not share their primary research data online. Although some academics had used a range of social media tools to communicate their research, the majority had not used social media in their research work. Overall, male, older and senior academics were more likely to use open access publishing and share primary research data, but were less likely to use social media for research. Academics based in Medical and Natural Sciences were more likely to use open access publishing and share research data, but less likely to use social media for their research compared to academics from Humanities and Social Sciences. Academics who were aware of RCUK's open access policy and who recognised the citation advantages of open access were more likely to publish in open access journals. Academics that were aware of RCUK's open access policy and had used social media for research were more likely to self-archive research articles. Academics that had used secondary data collected by others and self-archived research papers were more likely to share their own primary research data. Academics seemed to be strongly influenced by their colleagues' recommendation for the adoption of social media in research. Those who considered that the general public should know about their research findings were more likely to share their research on social media. A group of academics were identified and described as super users who frequently communicated ongoing research on social media. These super users were more likely to use tablet computers and have received social media training organised by their institutions. It is clear that open science is going to be a major factor in future academic work and in relation to building an academic career. Many academics have recognised the importance of open science. However to date the use of the tools for open science has been limited. With the right guidance and reinforcement of relevant policies, the new forms of scholarly communication can provide a pathway to open science which would serve to benefit individual academics, research communities and the public good.

Thesis (M.A. in Security Studies (Homeland Defense and Security))--Naval Postgraduate School, March 2009.
Thesis Advisor(s): Brannan, David W. ; Miller, Patrick. "March 2009." Description based on title screen as viewed on April 24, 2009. Author(s) subject terms: Information and intelligence sharing, intelligence requirements, intelligence centers, Los Angeles Regional Intelligence Center, Joint Terrorist Task Force, Terrorists Early Warning Group, fusion centers, intelligence analysis, common technical platforms, interoperability, data banks, data collection, financial considerations, disparate systems, emergency communications, independent police municipalities. Includes bibliographical references (p. 85-93). Also available in print.

Thesis (M.A. in Security Studies (Homeland Security and Defense))--Naval Postgraduate School, March 2009.
Thesis Advisor(s): Bergin, Richard. "March 2009." Description based on title screen as viewed on April 23, 2009. Author(s) subject terms: Fusion Centers, Information Sharing, Governance, Agreements, Relationships, Trust, MOAs, SOGs, SOPs, Technology, Interoperability, Megacommunities, Standards. Includes bibliographical references (p. 75-77). Also available in print.

Thesis (M.A. in Security Studies (Homeland Security and Defense))--Naval Postgraduate School, September 2009.
Thesis Advisor(s): Bergin, Richard D. ; Josefek, Robert A. "September 2009." Description based on title screen as viewed on November 9, 2009. Author(s) subject terms: Information Sharing Environment, privacy, collaboration, constitutionality, Transportation Security Administration, Program Manager Information Sharing Environment, information sharing. Includes bibliographical references (p. 89-96). Also available in print.

Thesis (M.A. in Security Studies (Homeland Security and Defense))--Naval Postgraduate School, September 2008.
Thesis Advisor(s): Simeral, Robert. Second Reader: McCreary, John. "September 2008." Description based on title screen as viewed on May 7, 2010. DTIC Descriptor(s): Terrorism, Rails, Passengers, Military Intelligence, Information Exchange, Theses, Abstracts, Case Studies, Surveys, Personnel, Law Enforcement, Models, Organizations, Nations, Railroads, Infrastructure, Methodology Author(s) subject terms: Passenger Rail; Private Sector; Intelligence; Intelligence Sharing; Sources; Patterns; Nodes; Nature; Pathways; Decision Makers; Psychology; Networks; Network Analysis; Social Network Analysis; Organizational Network Analysis; Strategy; Megacommunities; Informal Networks; Requirements; Priorities; Multi-Discipline; Dissemination; NYPD SHIELD; British Transport Police; Culture; Multiculturalism; Governance; Collaborative Partnerships; Foreign Intelligence; Liaison. Includes bibliographical references (p. 167-172). Also available in print.

Thesis (M.S. in Computer Science)--Naval Postgraduate School, December 2009.
Thesis Advisor: Singh, Gurminder. Second Reader: Das, Arijit. "December 2009." Description based on title screen as viewed on January 26, 2010. Author(s) subject terms: TwiddleNet, Mobile Web Server, cross network information sharing. Includes bibliographical references (p. 51). Also available in print.

Thesis (M.S. in Systems Engineering Management)--Naval Postgraduate School, September 2008.
Thesis Advisor(s): Osmundson, John S. "September 2008." Description based on title screen as viewed on November 3, 2008. Includes bibliographical references (p. 75-78). Also available in print.

Thesis (M.S. in Computer Science)--Naval Postgraduate School, September 2008.
Thesis Advisor(s): Singh, Gurminder ; Otani, Thomas. "September 2008." Description based on title screen as viewed on October 31, 2008. Includes bibliographical references (p. 45-50). Also available in print.

Thesis (M.S. in Information Warfare Systems Engineering)--Naval Postgraduate School, September 2008.
Thesis Advisor(s): Michael, James B. ; Buettner, Raymond R. "September 2008." Description based on title screen as viewed on November 3, 2008. Includes bibliographical references (p.45-47). Also available in print.

Thesis (M.A. in Security Studies (Homeland Security and Defense))--Naval Postgraduate School, March 2009.
Thesis Advisor(s): Rollins, John. "March 2009." Description based on title screen as viewed on April 23, 2009. Author(s) subject terms: Firefighters, Terrorism, Prevention, Response, Information Sharing, U.S. Fire Service, Homeland Security, New York City Fire Department Terrorism and Disaster Preparedness Strategy, U.S. Fire Service Intelligence Enterprise, Civil Contingencies Act, Legal, Operations, Cost, Political. Includes bibliographical references (p.109-115). Also available in print.

Thesis (M.A. in Security Studies (Homeland Security and Defense))--Naval Postgraduate School, March 2010.
Thesis Advisor(s): Bergin, Richard ; Josefek, Robert. "March 2010." Description based on title screen as viewed on April 28, 2010. Author(s) subject terms: Arizona Criminal Justice Commission, biometrics technology, biometrics identification, facial recognition, fingerprint identification, law enforcement, information sharing, criminal information sharing, Arizona, Mexico, New Mexico, Texas, California, RISC, AFIS, IAFIS, NGI, governors border conferences, Central America, south west border initiative. Includes bibliographical references (p. 87-92). Also available in print.

Thesis (M.A. in Security Studies (Homeland Security and Defense))--Naval Postgraduate School, September 2008.
Thesis Advisor(s): Bergin, Richard. "September 2008." Description based on title screen as viewed on November 4, 2008. Includes bibliographical references (p. 85-87). Also available in print.

This thesis is about information sharing in interdisciplinary research practices. It reports one conceptual and three empirical studies. The studies have been conducted through focusing on the field of design research, and in particular on a Nordic network of design researchers. From a practice-based perspective, the exploration of the study object oscillates between three nested and interconnected frames. The main contribution of this thesis is that it illustrates how activities of information sharing not only contribute to, but actually play a central role in the shaping of the practice of design research. It is shown how information sharing works as a contributor to the development, maintenance and shaping of practices in 1) design research as it is conducted in the Nordic network; 2) in the field of design research; and 3) within interdisciplinary research. Without losing sight of the empirical material, the theoretical analysis has made it possible to illuminate the connection between activities of sharing and the enactment of a discipline. Through analysis and discussion of the four studies as a whole, the reciprocal relationship between information sharing and the area of design research is elucidated. It is shown how information sharing, as it emerges in this interdisciplinary practice, functions as a unifying force towards the probable goal of establishing a discipline.

Academic dissertation for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Library and Information Science at the University of Borås to be publicly defended on Friday 25 April 2014 at 13:00 in lecture room E310, the University of Borås Allégatan 1, Borås.

Research data is essential to scholarship. The value of research data and its management has been increasingly recognized by policy makers and higher education institutions. A deep understanding of disciplinary practices is vital to develop culturally-sensitive policy, tools and services for successful data management. Previous research has shown that data practices vary across sub-fields and disciplines. However, much less is known about how disciplinary cultures shape data practices. There is a need to theorise research data practices based on empirical evidence in order to inform policy, tools and services. The aim of the thesis is to examine the interrelation between data practices and disciplinary cultures within geography. Geography is well-established and multidisciplinary, consisting of elements from the sciences, social sciences and humanities. By examining a single discipline this thesis develops a theoretical understanding of research data practices at a finer level of granularity than would be achieved by looking at broad disciplinary groupings such as the physical and social sciences. Data collection and analysis consisted of two phases. Phase one was exploratory, including an analysis of geography department websites and researcher web profiles and a bibliometric study of collaboration patterns based on co-authorship. Phase one aimed to understand the disciplinary characteristics of geography in preparation for Phase two. The second phase consisted of a series of 23 semi-structured interviews with researchers in geography, which aimed to understand researchers data practices and their attitudes toward data sharing within the context of the sub-discipline(s) they inhabited. The findings of the thesis show that there are contrasting intellectual, social and data differences between physical and human geography. For example, intellectually, these two branches of geography differ in terms of their research objects and methods; socially, they differ in terms of the scale of their collaborative activities and the motivations to collaborate; furthermore, the nature of data, how data is collected and data sharing practices are also different between physical and human geography. The thesis concludes that differences in the notion of data and data sharing practices are grounded in disciplinary characteristics. The thesis develops a new three-dimensional framework to better understand the notion of data from a disciplinary perspective. The three dimensions are (1) physical form, (2) intellectual content and (3) social construction. Furthermore, Becher and Trowler s (2001) disciplinary taxonomy i.e. hard-soft/pure-applied, and the concepts urban-rural ways of life and convergent-divergent communities, is shown to be useful to explain the diverse data sharing practices of geographers. The thesis demonstrates the usefulness of applying disciplinary theories to the sphere of research data management.

Thesis (M.A. in Security Studies (Europe, Eurasia))--Naval Postgraduate School, December 2008.
Thesis Advisor(s): Siegel, Scott. "December 2008." Description based on title screen as viewed on January 29, 2009. Includes bibliographical references (p. 67-74). Also available in print.

Thesis (M.S. in Systems Engineering)--Naval Postgraduate School, December 2009.
Thesis Advisor(s): Goshorn, Rachel E. Second Reader: Shebalin, Paul V. "December 2009." Description based on title screen as viewed on January 27, 2010. Author(s) subject terms: Systems engineering, systems architecture, network-centric systems, network-centric warfare, NCW, network-centric operations, NCO, information sharing, information discovery. Includes bibliographical references (p. 101-103). Also available in print.

Book and paper conservation integrates several disciplines, including traditional handcrafts, hard sciences, and art and book history, each with distinct methodologies and epistemic cultures. In order to examine how book and paper conservators straddle these varied fields and methodologies, a large-scale survey was conducted to investigate information sharing within the field. This examination of both formal publication and informal, lateral communication was inspired by the work of sociologists of science such as Derek J. de Solla Price and Diana Crane, including their concept of invisible colleges. A sample of one hundred book and paper conservators was questioned on methods of information sharing and attitudes towards topics such as publication and peer review. The result shows a field with great respect for formal methods of publication but still largely centered around informal methods of information sharing. Based on the survey results, potential methods of information sharing that may be well suited to the singularities of the field are discussed.
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