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Poverty reduction remains the most important challenge for policy makers in Islamic communities. The World Bank (2010: Poverty profile in Muslim world, from http://www.worldbank.org) estimates that approximately 3 billion people are living in poverty and 46 million more people will come under the income level of US$1.25 a day due to the recent global economic meltdown and slow economic growth rates. Thirty‐five percent of these people are Muslims from Islamic countries. The global Muslim community has an essential role to play in addressing the injustice of global poverty through zakat. Zakat is an Islamic faith‐based institution and is being underutilized for poverty reduction in many of these poor Muslim countries. Since zakat constitutes one of the pillars of Islam, it is logical to assume that policy makers among Muslims should pay serious attention to it. However, that is not the case for many Muslim countries and this paper will show that not all Muslim countries are seriously applying zakat in its strategy of combating poverty. This paper will specifically examine the role and effect of zakat in three Muslim countries (Bangladesh, Malaysia and Indonesia) providing the facts of countries that practise zakat in comparison with those that do not.

Women's empowerment has been one of the declared goals of Bangladesh's national development program, and microfinance is playing a leading role in bringing about the realization of this program. Since one of the intended goals of microfinance is to empower women, this concept paper attempts to investigate the success rate — does microfinance truly empower or is it a case of disempowering through "empowerment"? The effectiveness of microfinance today has been a debatable subject in the economic and social work realms, in which it is considered a viable tool for women's empowerment. Although there are scores of studies that demonstrate that microfinance has a significant impact on livelihood and improves the living standards of women by reducing poverty, this paper contests those claims.

The Purposes of this study are to explore the existing quality status and analyze the gaps between existing practices and formal quality assurance and accreditation (QAA) systems, and to assess and tap the institutional learning and challenges of introducing QAA mechanism in Bangladesh. However, the intention is to explore the preparedness to introduce formal QAA mechanism and their implications on the institutional performance in the context of Bangladeshi Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). The Mix method approach is applied here, where the primary data are collected from the university faculty members in order to determine the perceptions towards quality improvement initiatives in HEIs. The study revealed that HEIs in Bangladesh face a number of challenges in terms of formal quality assurance practices. The key variables brought from formal QA framework fell into six quality areas: leadership and institutional governance, curriculum, facilities, student, staff, and quality assurance process development. The study suggests that the main challenge lies with quality assurance process development to introduce formal QAA in HEIs. Existing quality status from this study shows that quality areas of student, curriculum and facilities remain above the average level of standard, but the quality areas of leadership and institutional governance, staff and quality assurance process development are below the average conditions. The findings would assist academicians to enhance quality assurance framework at national level as well as institutional level. However, the challenges the individual higher education institution would encounter to implement the formal QAA mechanism are addressed at length.

Bangladesh has been a severe victim of its various sporadic natural disasters—flood, cyclone and storm surge, flash flood, drought, tornado, riverbank erosion, and landslide. Familial and societal lives and security of people are being seriously disturbed by these natural calamities every year. They also bring deadly damage to the economy and general environment of the country. Natural disasters cannot be pre‐empted at all, but their damage can be mitigated with effective responses. Social work has been a profession notably known for its intervention of people's vulnerability to natural and man‐made disasters. This concept paper discusses relevant intervention strategies and approaches to transform the local capacity of communities on natural disaster risk reduction in light of the social work profession.

AbstractHebei, one of China's most populous provinces, is facing increasing pressure on its elderly care services due to a rapidly aging population. Home‐Based Elderly Care (HBEC) has emerged as a potential solution to alleviate this pressure. However, this care model is significantly impacted by various external environmental changes. The study employed a literature analysis method, conducting a PEST analysis, to examine the environmental factors influencing the progress of HBEC in Hebei Province, China. The findings offer novel research perspectives to inform strategic development in the HBEC industry. The study identified 19 environmental factors, both favorable and adverse, shaping the development of HBEC in Hebei Province. Based on these findings, the study recommends integrating laws, regulations, and systems, clarifying government roles, optimizing funding structure, expanding service delivery channels, enhancing public awareness of elderly care, and broadening professional talent development pathways. These insights can be valuable for policymakers, educators, and researchers seeking to understand the challenges and opportunities in the field, ultimately improving the well‐being of China's elderly population.

AbstractAs a significant social subject force, social work plays a unique role in the new pattern of community governance. Through continuous practice and exploration, it has accumulated particular practical experience and theoretical foundation with considerable application value, which provides good references and references for the study. This study is based on a review of published articles that reflect 10 years of research on social work participation in community governance. After an extensive literature review, a total of 24 peer‐reviewed articles were included. These were searched among papers published in different journals of Web of Science and Scopus databases on social work practices in community governance for the period of 2011–2021. A systematic review of literature studies allows the researcher to get a more comprehensive picture of the state of research in the field, especially the research results and findings that have been made. In the process, literature gaps, challenges, impediments, and possibilities for future research directions were examined. In this context, a framework and insight for future researchers on social work engagement in community governance regarding content areas, theoretical models, outcomes, methodologies, and evaluation tools are provided.

The global lockdown due to COVID-19 is a major concern as all higher educational institutions face disruption in teaching, learning and assessment. Social work educators in Malaysia's higher educational institutions are not spared of this disruption. Conventional teaching methods are now being replaced by non-conventional modes of teaching, which include online teaching and assessment using various platforms such as Zoom, WebEx and others. In embarking on online methods of teaching, social work educators will have to undergo many changes. It is particularly so as social work has a practice component that involves field training, which will be a different challenge to educators and students in this new and unexpected environment. This paper aims to discuss the implications of COVID-19 on the changes that have taken place in social work teaching and learning in Malaysia and potential responses.

Poverty is multidimensional in nature and exists in every part of the world. Microfinance is considered one of the most important programs to achieve poverty reduction, particularly in Bangladesh. It has been estimated that nearly 45% of Bangladesh's population lives below the poverty line. This qualitative research study was conducted in order to determine the effectiveness of microfinance programs and the contributing factors to the high‐level of poverty among microfinance beneficiaries in the district of Bogra, Bangladesh. Study findings indicated that microfinance programs were ineffective as a result of high interest rates; insufficient loans; unproductive use of loans; corruption and poor skills of microfinance institution staff; weekly repayment schedules; and physical and mental harassment of poor women. Additionally, the lack of employment opportunities, education, healthcare facilities and social safety nets; natural disasters; the dowry system; and the rising cost of basic daily needs have also contributed to chronic poverty.

The coronavirus outbreak has significantly affected the health and well-being of several people around the world. In a similar vein, Bangladeshi medical professionals have also been affected by several severe physical and mental health complications resulting from their frequent contact with COVID-19 patients. This exposes them to a greater risk of infection with the lethal virus, which can substantially impact their job performance. Therefore, this research aims to investigate the manner in which the COVID-19 pandemic affects the occupational health and safety of medical employees. The researchers deployed a descriptive qualitative technique to investigate the complexities of the COVID-19 crisis amongst medical practitioners. Employing purposeful sampling and in-depth interview techniques, the researchers collected data from a total of 32 healthcare professionals and investigated their state of occupational health, their exposure to stress and trauma, and the effects of stress and trauma on their livelihood, health and well-being. The data revealed the occupational health of healthcare workers as being fragile, resulting to stress and trauma, and eventually, a depressed state of mind. To address this issue, relevant government and non-governmental organizations should concentrate on reducing COVID-19-related risks and repercussions in hospital settings. In addition, policymakers, social workers, public health practitioners and psychologists must work together to ensure that healthcare workers are healthy and safe at work.

The objective of this study was to compare "professional" (PW) and "functional alternative" (FA) social workers. The findings suggested that there were no significant differences between PWs and FAs in intervention, evaluation methods, work ethics, and values. The PWs, in clients' eyes, were better at delivering services, while FAs' services were more satisfactory to the clients. While PWs were supposed to be "professional," FAs were more "professional" than PWs in their performance despite their lack of recognition as "professional social workers". These critical findings should encourage academics and practitioners for further discussion on conceptual implications of both practices and expand future research.

AbstractFamilies play a significant role in the development of their children. Nearly 16% of children in the industrialized world live in single‐parent households, which are mostly comprised of single mothers. Although motherhood is the most beautiful feeling a woman cherishes, this experience can be challenging when the woman has to raise their special‐needs child on her own, without the support of her spouse or partner. This study aims to understand the challenges and coping strategies of single mothers while raising their special‐needs children. To this end, in‐depth case interviews were conducted with three single mothers selected purposively from the Srinagar area in Kashmir, India. The results revealed that multiple roles and responsibilities had an adverse effect on the psychological well‐being of single mothers who had to deal with the financial burden of caring for their child's condition, including expenses for doctor visits, special therapies and medication, among other. In addition, they had to experience the social pressure and stigmatization attached to being a single mother. The most widely employed coping strategies include support from family and friends, religious faith, and self‐coping. The study recommends the creation of welfare packages like free counseling, stipend support, inclusive education, free medical treatment, and therapies for Children with Special Needs (CWSNs) and their mothers.

The Purposes of this study are to explore the existing quality status and analyze the gaps between existing practices and formal quality assurance and accreditation (QAA) systems, and to assess and tap the institutional learning and challenges of introducing QAA mechanism in Bangladesh. However, the intention is to explore the preparedness to introduce formal QAA mechanism and their implications on the institutional performance in the context of Bangladeshi Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). The Mix method approach is applied here, where the primary data are collected from the university faculty members in order to determine the perceptions towards quality improvement initiatives in HEIs. The study revealed that HEIs in Bangladesh face a number of challenges in terms of formal quality assurance practices. The key variables brought from formal QA framework fell into six quality areas: leadership and institutional governance, curriculum, facilities, student, staff, and quality assurance process development. The study suggests that the main challenge lies with quality assurance process development to introduce formal QAA in HEIs. Existing quality status from this study shows that quality areas of student, curriculum and facilities remain above the average level of standard, but the quality areas of leadership and institutional governance, staff and quality assurance process development are below the average conditions. The findings would assist academicians to enhance quality assurance framework at national level as well as institutional level. However, the challenges the individual higher education institution would encounter to implement the formal QAA mechanism are addressed at length. Article visualizations:

This article discusses needs and problems and resources in the Haor (wetland) region in Bangladesh and the potential for employing smart village ideas to address a few identified needs and problems. The study was conducted on 12 villages of the Tanguar Haor of Sunamganj District. A total of 20 key informant interviews (KIIs) and 12 focus group discussions (FGDs) were conducted following purposive sampling. The findings indicated that Haor people experience acute poverty, ill health, low level of education and endemic unemployment which are being worsened by frequent floods and climate-induced damages. The Haor area occupies some potential resources, including land, livestock, marshlands, electricity and mobile telephones, all of which could be mobilised to improve the quality of Haor people's lives. The paper suggests applying the smart village model that touches every facet of wetland life, including agriculture, education, employment and healthcare to improve the living standard of the people of the Haor region.