Browsing by Author "Karim, Rejaul"

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Audit Committee Characteristics and Sustainable Firms' Performance: Evidence From the Financial Sector in Bangladesh
(Scopus, 2024-12-25) Karim, Rejaul; Roshid, Md. Mustaqim; Dhar, Bablu Kumar; Nahiduzzaman, Md.; Kuri, Bapon Chandra
This study examines how audit committee characteristics influence sustainable firms' performance within Bangladeshi commercial banks. Using data from 26 publicly traded banks over 13 years (2011–2023), this research investigates the impact of audit committee size, independence, and meeting frequency on both financial and market-based performance metrics. Specifically, the findings reveal that larger audit committees (ACs) are associated with higher market valuation, indicating that committee size contributes to strategic oversight and governance effectiveness. Independent audit committee members also enhance both financial (Return on Assets) and market-based (Tobin's Q) performance, underscoring their role in promoting transparency, accountability, and alignment with sustainable goals. However, frequent audit committee meetings correlate with diminished performance, suggesting that overly frequent sessions may lead to inefficiencies rather than improved oversight. These results indicate that structuring ACs with balanced size and independence and avoiding excessive meetings, is essential to support sustainable growth, particularly in emerging economies such as Bangladesh. The study contributes to corporate governance and sustainability literature by providing empirical insights into audit committee practices that align governance structures with long-term corporate strategy and sustainable growth. Practical implications include the potential for regulatory reforms that enhance corporate governance, focusing on committee composition and meeting practices to foster sustainable firm performance in the financial sector.
Mucosal delivery of vaccines
(BRAC Univeristy, 2015-08) Karim, Rejaul; Sheikh, Zara
Vaccines are capable of inducing cellular and humoral immune responses which could provide prophylactic and therapeutic responses against various diseases such as those that are infectious in nature and other that are malignant in nature such as cancer. These responses can also be stimulated systemically and at the mucosal surfaces by activating the mucosal immune process. However most licensed vaccines are administered parenterally and fail to elicit protective mucosal immunity. Immunization by mucosal routes may be more effective at inducing protective immunity against mucosal pathogens at the site of entry. Different challenges are associated with different varieties of vaccines. The present review summarizes the various delivery strategies that can improve the mucosal delivery of the vaccines, the carrier systems and the adjuvants that can be used along with the vaccines to overcome these challenges and thereby enhance the mucosal vaccination. The usage of particulate delivery is an effective method that can be taken up to enhance mucosal vaccination. This is done by protecting the immunogenic material during the delivery, facilitating specific target oriented delivery system, and by allowing incorporation of various adjuvant materials. Efforts are focused on efficient delivery of vaccine antigens to mucosal sites that facilitate uptake by local antigen-presenting cells to generate protective mucosal immune response. Future issues regarding mucosal vaccine development have also been pointed out that includes targeting mucosal dendritic cells as an effective and safe strategy for inducing antigen-specific immunity as well as finding out new routes of mucosal immunization and antigen delivery systems along with novel mucosal adjuvants.