Showing papers by "Nazrul Islam published in 2019"

In Vitro Enzymatic Digestibility of Glutaraldehyde-Crosslinked Chitosan Nanoparticles in Lysozyme Solution and Their Applicability in Pulmonary Drug Delivery

Abstract: Herein, the degradation of low molecular weight chitosan (CS), with 92% degree of deacetylation (DD), and its nanoparticles (NP) has been investigated in 0.2 mg/mL lysozyme solution at 37 °C. The CS nanoparticles were prepared using glutaraldehyde crosslinking of chitosan in a water-in-oil emulsion system. The morphological characterization of CS particles was carried out using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) techniques. Using attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) and UV-VIS spectroscopy, the structural integrity of CS and its NPs in lysozyme solution were monitored. The CS powder showed characteristic FTIR bands around 1150 cm−1 associated with the glycosidic bridges (C-O-C bonds) before and after lysozyme treatment for 10 weeks, which indicated no CS degradation. The glutaraldehyde crosslinked CS NPs showed very weak bands associated with the glycosidic bonds in lysozyme solution. Interestingly, the UV-VIS spectroscopic data showed some degradation of CS NPs in lysozyme solution. The results of this study indicate that CS with a high DD and its NPs crosslinked with glutaraldehyde were not degradable in lysozyme solution and thus unsuitable for pulmonary drug delivery. Further studies are warranted to understand the complete degradation of CS and its NPs to ensure their application in pulmonary drug delivery.

The relationship between biological and psychosocial risk factors and resting-state functional connectivity in 2-month-old Bangladeshi infants: A feasibility and pilot study.

Abstract: Childhood poverty has been associated with structural and functional alterations in the developing brain. However, poverty does not alter brain development directly, but acts through associated biological or psychosocial risk factors (e.g. malnutrition, family conflict). Yet few studies have investigated risk factors in the context of infant neurodevelopment, and none have done so in low-resource settings such as Bangladesh, where children are exposed to multiple, severe biological and psychosocial hazards. In this feasibility and pilot study, usable resting-state fMRI data were acquired in infants from extremely poor (n = 16) and (relatively) more affluent (n = 16) families in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Whole-brain intrinsic functional connectivity (iFC) was estimated using bilateral seeds in the amygdala, where iFC has shown susceptibility to early life stress, and in sensory areas, which have exhibited less susceptibility to early life hazards. Biological and psychosocial risk factors were examined for associations with iFC. Three resting-state networks were identified in within-group brain maps: medial temporal/striatal, visual, and auditory networks. Infants from extremely poor families compared with those from more affluent families exhibited greater (i.e. less negative) iFC in precuneus for amygdala seeds; however, no group differences in iFC were observed for sensory area seeds. Height-for-age, a proxy for malnutrition/infection, was not associated with amygdala/precuneus iFC, whereas prenatal family conflict was positively correlated. Findings suggest that it is feasible to conduct infant fMRI studies in low-resource settings. Challenges and practical steps for successful implementations are discussed.

Metal based donepezil analogues designed to inhibit human acetylcholinesterase for Alzheimer's disease.

Abstract: Among neurodegenerative disorders, Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is one of the most common disorders showing slow progressive cognitive decline. Targeting acetylcholinesterase (AChE) is one of the major strategies for AD therapeutics, as cholinergic pathways in the cerebral cortex and basal forebrain are compromised. Herein, we report the design of some copper and other metal based donepezil derivatives, employing density functional theory (DFT). All designed compounds are optimized at the B3LYP/SDD level of theory. Dipole moments, electronic energie, enthalpies, Gibbs free energies, and HOMO-LUMO gaps of these modified compounds are also investigated in the subsequent analysis. The molecules were then subjected to molecular docking analysis with AChE to study the molecular interactions broadly. Ensemble based docking and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of the best candidates were also performed. Docking and MD simulation reveal that modified drugs are more potent than unmodified donepezil, where Trp86, Tyr337, Phe330 residues play some important roles in drug-receptor interactions. According to ensemble based docking, D9 shows greater binding affinity compared to the parent in most conformations obtained from protein data bank and MD simulation. In addition, it is observed that the π- π stacking with the residues of Trp86, Tyr337, Tyr341, Tyr124 and Trp286 may be required for strong ligand binding. Moreover, ADME/T analysis suggests that modified derivatives are less toxic and have improved pharmacokinetic properties than those of the parent drug. These results further confirm the ability of metal-directed drugs to bind simultaneously to the active sites of AChE and support them as potential candidates for the future treatment of Alzheimer’s disease.

A Study on the Motivation to Transfer Training in the Banking Industry of Bangladesh

Abstract: Training and development activities in the banking sector of Bangladesh are quite extensive due to the compliance requirements for the central bank and other banks. These training programme...

Excipient Interactions in Glucagon Dry Powder Inhaler Formulation for Pulmonary Delivery.

Abstract: Purpose: This study describes the development and characterization of glucagon dry powder inhaler (DPI) formulation for pulmonary delivery. Lactose monohydrate, as a carrier, and L-leucine and magnesium stearate (MgSt) were used as dispersibility enhancers for this formulation. Methods: Using Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), and Raman confocal microscopy, the interactions between glucagon and all excipients were characterized. The fine particle fractions (FPFs) of glucagon in different formulations were determined by a twin stage impinger (TSI) using a 2.5% glucagon mixture, and the glucagon concentration was measured by a validated LC-MS/MS method. Results: The FPF of the glucagon was 6.4%, which increased six-fold from the formulations with excipients. The highest FPF (36%) was observed for the formulation containing MgSt and large carrier lactose. The FTIR, Raman, and DSC data showed remarkable physical interactions of glucagon with leucine and a minor interaction with lactose; however, there were no interactions with MgSt alone or mixed with lactose. Conclusion: Due to the interaction between L-leucine and glucagon, leucine was not a suitable excipient for glucagon formulation. In contrast, the use of lactose and MgSt could be considered to prepare an efficient DPI formulation for the pulmonary delivery of glucagon.

Inhaled Micro/Nanoparticulate Anticancer Drug Formulations: An Emerging Targeted Drug Delivery Strategy for Lung Cancers

Abstract: Local delivery of drug to the target organ via inhalation offers enormous benefits in the management of many diseases. Lung cancer is the most common of all cancers and it is the leading cause of death worldwide. Currently available treatment systems (intravenous or oral drug delivery) are not efficient in accumulating the delivered drug into the target tumor cells and are usually associated with various systemic and dose-related adverse effects. The pulmonary drug delivery technology would enable preferential accumulation of drug within the cancer cell and thus be superior to intravenous and oral delivery in reducing cancer cell proliferation and minimising the systemic adverse effects. Site-specific drug delivery via inhalation for the treatment of lung cancer is both feasible and efficient. The inhaled drug delivery system is non-invasive, produces high bioavailability at a low dose and avoids first pass metabolism of the delivered drug. Various anticancer drugs including chemotherapeutics, proteins and genes have been investigated for inhalation in lung cancers with significant outcomes. Pulmonary delivery of drugs from dry powder inhaler (DPI) formulation is stable and has high patient compliance. Herein, we report the potential of pulmonary drug delivery from dry powder inhaler (DPI) formulations inhibiting lung cancer cell proliferation at very low dose with reduced unwanted adverse effects.

Preconcentration and SERS-based determination of infliximab in blood by using a TNF-α-modified gold-coated copper oxide nanomaterial.

Abstract: Infliximab (INF) is a chimeric monoclonal immunoglobulin acting against tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α). The drug is used for the treatment of chronic autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. A target-specific nanomaterial is presented for the extraction of INF from human plasma along with a label-free surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) method for its determination using a handheld device. A gold-coated copper oxide chip was functionalized with TNF-α and used to extract the drug from plasma. INF was recovered from the extractor by lowering the pH value to 2.5. The disulfide bond structure of the drug was then reduced and used for its oriented chemisorption onto a gold-coated copper oxide substrate for SERS measurements using the INF-specific band at 936 cm −1. The working range of the SERS method was between 10 −7 and 10 −14 M of reduced INF. The relative standard deviation (RSD), between three different measurements was 4.2% (intra-day) and 7.1% (inter-day). The quantification and detection limits of the assay (LOQ, LOD) were 0.01 pM and 1.4 fM respectively. The SERS detection was cross-validated against ELISA where 99% agreement was found between the two methods. [Figure not available: see fulltext.]

Factors Affecting Customers’ Experience in Mobile Banking of Bangladesh

Abstract: Bangladesh is a densely populated country of the world. More than 170 million people live in this country. Mobile banking is a very important and new phenomenon in Bangladesh. In recent years, mobile banking has got highest importance by the customers in the country as it provides immense scope for consumers for banking transactions at any time with the option to access bank’s facilities anywhere of the country. It is a subset of electronic banking, the use of which is increasing day by day in Bangladesh. Hence, this paper aims at indentifying the factors that influence the customer experience in mobile banking in Bangladesh. This study is based on a survey of 231 mobile banking customers of nine private commercial banks of Bangladesh. Literature review identified some factors related to mobile banking like convenient and responsive system, transaction speed and accuracy, reliability, transaction security in ATM booth and technological difficulty that affect customers’ experience in mobile banking systems etc. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze the data. Descriptive statistics were used to describe the present situation of the mobile banking systems in Bangladesh. Inferential statistics like factor analysis, multiple regression analysis and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) were used to identify the relationships between the overall experience of the mobile banking customers and the specific factor(s) that affect customers experience in mobile banking. Results show that the convenient and responsive system, transaction security in ATM booth and technological difficulty are significant factors that affect the customers experience in mobile banking of Bangladesh. This study suggests that the policymakers should focus on the convenient and responsive system of mobile banking, transaction security in ATM booth and technological difficulty factors that affect customers experience in doing mobile banking for the improvement of the mobile banking services in Bangladesh.

The Measurement of Employee Turnover Intentions in Telecom Industry of Bangladesh

Abstract: Telecom industry is a booming industry in Bangladesh. This industry has seen a tremendous growth in mobile penetration that has exceeded all expectations with over 154 million subscribers as of August 2018 versus only 4 million in 2004. To ensure sustainable growth of this large industry, the organizations have to recruit and retain their intellectual resources. In this age of highly volatile business environment, telecom companies of Bangladesh are continuously exposed by the job changing attitude of their valued employees. The employees are prone to switch their jobs to make their career advancements rather than focusing on the fundamental development of their organizations. They leave organizations for numerous reasons ranging from financial to personal ambition and in some case supervisor’s behavior, organizational culture and the working environment. Hence, this paper aims at identifying the significant factors that influence employee turnover in telecom industry of Bangladesh. The purpose of the study is to identify the factors that lead to employee turnover in these organizations. To conduct this research, 206 telecom employees at different levels were selected from three largest telecom companies of Bangladesh and interviewed. The sampled companies are: Grameen Phone Ltd, Robi Axiata Ltd, Banglalink Digital Communications Ltd. A structured questionnaire was used to collect primary information which was scored according to the liker-scale. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used in analyzing data collected from survey. Multivariate analysis technique like factor analysis was performed to identify the factors of the turnover intention of the telecom employees in Bangladesh. Multiple regressions were run to identify the relationships between the factors identified and the overall turnover intention of the employees in this sector. The results show that there are seven factors concerning the turnover intension of the telecom sector industry of Bangladesh. The factors are: dishonesty and conflict with the supervisor, fulfillment of personal demand and promotion, supervisor change induces job switch, unfair performance influence turnover, alternative employee affects turnover, geographic location affects turnover decision, and fringe benefits help staying in the company.

Factors Affecting the Loyalty of Public Bank Employees of Bangladesh

Abstract: The Banking sector is the most stable sector compared to other industrial units of Bangladesh. Presently, there are fifty-nine scheduled banks, including nine public banks in Bangladesh. A large number of people as employees are being connected with these banks. Their loyalty towards their jobs, along with other factors has an impact on the bank’s overall performance in this sector. Hence, this paper aims at evaluating the factors affecting the loyalty of public bank employees in Bangladesh. The Literature review found that various intrinsic and extrinsic factors impacts the fidelity of Public Bank employees in Bangladesh. Some innate factors like level of satisfaction, verbal performance appraisal, organizational reputation plays a major impact on the loyalty of the employees. Moreover, some extrinsic factors like compensation, training, career development, working environment impacts directly on the fealty of the employees. These factors are independent variables. Moreover, organizational well-being, financial performance are dependent variables. This study has been based on a survey of 200 employees of five leading public banks of Bangladesh.

Insulin pump therapy, pre-pump hemoglobin A1c and metabolic improvement in children with type 1 diabetes at a tertiary Canadian children's hospital.

Abstract: BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Indications for insulin pump therapy (IPT) in children with type 1 diabetes (T1D) are relatively non-specific and therefore subject to provider discretion. Health professionals' perceptions of which people will have difficulty with IPT, for example, those with higher hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c ), may not be correct. This study examined the effect of IPT on HbA1c , and the role of pre-pump HbA1c on this effect. METHODS All children with T1D started on IPT at British Columbia Children's Hospital from January 2011 through June 2016 were included if they had HbA1c values available both before and after IPT (n = 125). Generalized estimating equations was used to estimate the effects of IPT on HbA1c , stratified by pre-pump HbA1c levels (good: 9.0% [>75 mmol/mol]). RESULTS After adjusting for potential confounders, mean HbA1c decreased by 0.48% [5.2 mmol/mol] (95% confidence interval: -0.64, -0.33% [-7.0, -3.6 mmol/mol]; P < 0.0001) after IPT initiation. The adjusted mean HbA1c decreased by 0.14% [1.5 mmol/mol] (-0.35, 0.07% [-3.8, 0.8 mmol/mol]; P = 0.188), 0.54% [5.9 mmol/mol] (-0.74, -0.34% [-8.1, -3.7 mmol/mol]; P < 0.0001), and 1.08% [11.8 mmol/mol] (-1.69, -0.46% [-18.5, -5.0 mmol/mol]; P = 0.0006) after pump initiation in the good, moderate, and poor pre-pump metabolic control groups, respectively. CONCLUSIONS Pre-pump HbA1c appears to play a significant role in the effects of IPT on HbA1c , with the largest decrease in HbA1c seen in the poor pre-pump HbA1c group. Eligibility and consideration for IPT should be expanded to routinely include these children.

Visitors Perception about the Entertainment Parks in Dhaka City of Bangladesh

Abstract: Now-a-days, entertainment parks are one of the important segments of tourism industry of any country. Bangladesh is also a country with a full of attractive places for the visitors and tourists. Some of the entertainment parks are also made by the private sector entrepreneurs in Bangladesh. Due to very fast growth of urbanization, people are deprived of enjoying natural attractive places due to their time constraints. Therefore, the entertainment park concept is becoming important in developing countries like Bangladesh. Along with natural tourists’ spots, there are four main private sector entertainment parks in Bangladesh such as, Fantasy kingdom, Nandan Park, Sishu Park, and Foyez Lake that are located in Dhaka and Chittagong. The tourism sector’s contribution to the economy is also increasing day by day. In 2017, it was 2.20 percent of the GDP and is expected to be 6.20 percent in 2018 . To develop this sector, a diversified approach with the concentration on theme-based entertainment parks might be more attractive to the urban people of Bangladesh. A large number of visitors look for entertainment parks especially in Dhaka city. But the parks are extremely inadequate in numbers and also not in a good condition. Hence, this study identifies the visitors’ perceptions about the entertainment parks located in Dhaka city – capital city of Bangladesh. This study has been conducted among the visitors who already visited entertainment parks of Dhaka city. To conduct this study, a total of 214 visitors were interviewed with the help of a structured questionnaire. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze the data. Multivariate analysis techniques like factor analysis was performed to identify the factors related to the entertainment parks of Dhaka city. Multiple regression analysis was performed to identify the relationships between the factors and the overall conditions of the entertainment parks of Dhaka city. Results show that there are twelve factors that are important to the people of Dhaka city who frequently visit entertainment parks. The factors are: medical and first aid services, rides price and mobile network, road transport and discount facilities, trees and gardens, park employees behavior & sitting facilities, food and toilet facilities, picnic spot facilities, drinking water facilities, attractiveness of the park, quiet and noiseless, open for all ages of people, and availability of the rides. It is suggested that the park authority should focus on the mentioned factors to make the entertainment parks more attractive to the increased number of visitors of Dhaka city.

Relating anthropometric indicators to brain structure in 2-month-old Bangladeshi infants growing up in poverty: a pilot study

Abstract: Anthropometric indicators, including stunting, underweight, and wasting, have previously been associated with poor neurocognitive outcomes. This link may exist because malnutrition and infection, which are known to affect height and weight, also impact brain structure according to animal models. However, a relationship between anthropometric indicators and brain structural measures has not been tested yet, perhaps because stunting, underweight, and wasting are uncommon in higher-resource settings. Further, with diminished anthropomorphic growth prevalent in low-resource settings, where biological and psychosocial hazards are most severe, one might expect additional links between measures of poverty, anthropometry, and brain structure. To begin to examine these relationships, we conducted an MRI study in 2-3-month-old infants growing up in the extremely impoverished urban setting of Dhaka, Bangladesh. The sample size was relatively small because the challenges of investigating infant brain structure in a low-resource setting needed to be realized and resolved before introducing a larger cohort. Initially, fifty-four infants underwent T1 sequences using 3T MRI, and structural images were segmented into gray and white matter maps, which were carefully evaluated for accurate tissue labeling by a pediatric neuroradiologist. Gray and white matter volumes from 29 infants (79 ± 10 days-of-age; F/M = 12/17), whose segmentations were of relatively high quality, were submitted to semi-partial correlation analyses with stunting, underweight, and wasting, which were measured using height-for-age (HAZ), weight-for-age (WAZ), and weight-for-height (WHZ) scores. Positive semi-partial correlations (after adjusting for chronological age and sex and correcting for multiple comparisons) were observed between white matter volume and HAZ and WAZ; however, WHZ was not correlated with any measure of brain volume. In examining the role of poverty, no associations were observed between income-to-needs or maternal education and brain volumetric measures, suggesting that risk factors previously linked with poverty were not associated with total brain tissue volume pre- or peri-natally in this sample. Overall, these results provide the first link between diminished anthropomorphic growth and white matter volume in infancy. Challenges of conducting a developmental neuroimaging study in a low-resource country are described.

Relationship between Job Stress and the Turnover Intention of Private Sector Bank Employees in Bangladesh

Abstract: Private sector banks are important segments of the economy of Bangladesh. This sector has already been recognized as a significant industry for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) of Bangladesh. However, managing private organizations has become very challenging due to highly competitive market and higher level of employee turnover especially in the private banking sector. It is observed that to attain the competitive advantage, private bank employees are undertaking heavy workload that leads to higher level of stress at work and is increasing turnover intention among the employees. This study has been designed to explore the factors that are accountable to create stress among the private bank employees in Bangladesh which are creating turnover intention among them. Hence, this study identified the relationships between job stress factors and the increase of turnover intensions among the bank employees in Bangladesh. A total of 206 bank employees at different levels of the banks were interviewed from ten private commercial banks of Bangladesh. A structured questionnaire was designed through literature review to collect the information from the respondent employees. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze the data. Multivariate analysis techniques were used to identify the work stress factors having influence on the turnover intention among the private bank employees in Bangladesh. Results show that there are four stress factors that increase the turnover tension among the private bank employees in Bangladesh such as, (i) long hours and fast work, (ii) clearness of goals and objectives of work, (iii) workload and change in mindset, and (iv) flexibility at work. This study suggests that the policymakers of the private commercial banks should address the issues like long hours and fast work, clearness of goals and objectives of work, workload and change in mindset and flexibility at work for reducing turnover intensions of the bank employees in Bangladesh.

The Effect of Work Stress on the Performance of Readymade Garment Workers in Bangladesh

Abstract: In last few decades, Bangladesh Readymade Garment (RMG) Industry of Bangladesh has become a leading manufacturing industry in the world with its constant growth. The Industry is of major importance to the national economy of Bangladesh as it contributes more than 80% of the country’s export earnings that amounts to about USD nineteen billion. The number of workers currently in this industry is more than 4.2 million and the number of factories is 5000 in different sizes. Despite this impressive growth, the performance of the workers in this industry is poor. Hence, this study aims at identifying the work stress factors and their impact on work performance of the RMG workers in Bangladesh. This used both qualitative and quantitative research methods. Respondent workers were selected by simple random sampling method from ten garment companies that are located in the periphery of Dhaka city. The impact of the stress of the workers was assessed by structured questionnaires. Two hundred ten readymade garment workers were interviewed from ten companies of different sizes for this study. Factor analysis was conducted to identify the factors related to stress of the workers that have impact on the work performance of the workers. Regression analysis was carried out to examine the impact of stress on workers’ performance. The results show that the factors concerned with work stress symptoms are frustration and feeling of inefficiency, decrease satisfaction at work, problem of concentration at work and decrease of decision making ability. The performance impact factors are work pressure and frustration, understaffed workplace and work in holidays, job insecurity and pressure to complete the assignments. This study suggests that the policy makers should focus on the stress factors identified in this research that have impact on the performance of the workers in this industry.

Effectiveness of Manpower Planning Practices in Commercial Banks of Bangladesh

Abstract: Banking sector is the most prominent and stable sector compared to other industrial sectors of Bangladesh. At present there are 59 scheduled banks including 48 private commercial banks in Bangladesh operating under the regulation of Bangladesh Bank. There is a paramount importance of manpower planning in these commercial banks for achieving competitive advantage and banks’ strategic objectives. The basic function of manpower planning in a bank is to identify the future needs and availability of human resources along with the skills required to perform bank’s activities to achieve their strategic goals. Hence, this paper aims at evaluating the impact of manpower planning in the banks’ overall performance of Bangladesh. This study is based on a survey of 206 employees of different levels of the commercial banks of Bangladesh. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze the data. Descriptive statistics were used to describe the present manpower planning practices of the commercial banking sector in Bangladesh. Inferential statistics like factor analysis and multiple regression analysis were used to identify the relationships between the manpower planning practices and the factors that are concerned with effectiveness of manpower planning practices of the commercial banks in Bangladesh. Results show that Delphi technique and skill inventory practices and key position auditing techniques are the significant manpower planning of the banks. Factors like timely planning and audit, evenly distribution of work, addressing job turnover, adequate workload, and comprehensive recruitment plan are significantly related to the overall manpower planning effectiveness of the commercial banks in Bangladesh. This study suggests that the policymakers of the commercial banks of Bangladesh should give importance on timely planning and audit, evenly distribution of work, addressing job turnover, providing adequate workload, and comprehensive recruitment plan in order to bring effectiveness of manpower planning of the banks.

Impediments of Supply Chain Management Application in Readymade Garments Industry of Bangladesh

Abstract: There is a paramount importance of the Readymade Garments (RMG) industry of Bangladesh as it is the highest contributor in earning foreign exchange for the country. But the industry is facing stiff competition from other RMG producing countries including China, India, and Sri Lanka of the world. Hence, competitiveness especially at the manufacturing level became important for this industry. An efficient Supply Chain Management can increase the competitiveness and the satisfaction of the customers. Nowadays, SCM plays an integral part of a firm’s success as it allows firms to quickly deliver products to the end-user for a low cost. Hence, RMG companies have very limited options other than implementing SCM as a strategy in order to remain competitive. This study intends to identify the impediments in applying sound SCM in the RMG industry. A mixed research method with a questionnaire survey has been employed for determining the impediments objectively. Use of descriptive analysis and Kendall Coefficient of Concordance have been made for ranking the challenges. This study found workplace safety, unavailability of raw materials and political instability are the major impediments for SCM applications in the RMG industry of Bangladesh.

Factors Influencing Strategic Options Of Managed Service Adoption By Telecommunication Operators: The Case Of Sri Lanka

Abstract: The market pressure on the mobile operators to improve bottom line, network performance, competence needs and rapid changing business environment led the operators to adopt managed services at different levels in their operation. Transferring value chain activities to an expert service provider is called a “managed service”.Managed services are a spectrum of solutions offering incremental levels. Existing practices indicate five levels of managed services in the spectrum viz transaction, task, project, service management, service and capacity management based.The purpose of this research is to identify the factors influencing managed services at different levels in the context of a developing country. For this intent, this research adopted a case study approach of the Sri Lankan telecom industry covering all mobile operators of the country.The findings of this study show a clear pattern between levels from Level-1 to Level-5. Level 1 is almost as subset of level 2, and level 4 is a subset of level 5. Five levels of managed services can be divided into three distinct groups, levels 1&2, level 3 and levels 4 & 5. Organizational and industry dynamics factors influence all levels. However, national regulatory environment factors are very important in adopting managed services at levels 4&5. The existing studies look the factors influencing managed services in general. This study is unique as it identifies the factors influencing managed services at each level and prioritized them. This will help operators to select a level of adoption instead of adopting managed services on a trial and error basis.

Measurement of the Effectiveness of Off-the-Job Training Methods in Commercial Banks of Bangladesh

Abstract: Banks and financial institutions of Bangladesh invest a large amount of money for training purposes in building and enhancing capacity of their human resources. But whether this investment is effective or not is a question often asked by the policymakers of these institutions. These institutions usually train their employees by using off-the-job training methods like seminars, workshops, lectures, etc. along with on-the-job training methods to improve the performance of the employees. A lion’s share of training budget is usually used for off-the-job training purposes that add value for the development of knowledge, skills and abilities (KSA) of the employees’. But the effectiveness of these training methods is often questioned due to traditional lecture-based training sessions. To make the employees more attractive to training programs, interactive and value adding training methods can increase the effectiveness of the training. Hence, this paper aims at identifying the factors that can improve the effectiveness of the off-the-job training methods in commercial banks of Bangladesh. This study used both qualitative and quantitative research methods. A survey was conducted among the bank officers who received off-the-job training with structured questionnaire. A total of 300 bank officers at different levels of the banks were interviewed. Eight leading private and public commercial banks were included in the survey. Factor Analysis was used to identify the factors related to the effectiveness of off-the-job training methods while Multiple Regression was used to identify the relationships between the overall effectiveness of the training and the effectiveness factors related to off-the-job training. Results show that the effectiveness of the off-the-job training methods depends on four significant factors such as, acquiring knowledge and skills, logistics support, invitation of comments by the trainers and participation of the trainees, and participation of the trainees in Training Needs Assessment (TNA). This study suggests that off-the-job training methods can be made more effective by ensuring effective delivery of knowledge, providing proper logistics supports, engaging trainees in training sessions, and ensuring participation of the trainees in training need assessment processes of the banks.