Rafia Afroz | International Islamic University Malaysia (original) (raw)

Papers by Rafia Afroz

Waste Management & Research, Nov 26, 2009

This paper examines the factors that might influence recycling behaviour of the households in Dha... more This paper examines the factors that might influence recycling behaviour of the households in Dhaka city, Bangladesh. Information on recycling activity, socio-economic characteristics, and attitudes of the households towards recycling were obtained from interviews with 456 households in Dhaka. Logistic regression analysis was used to determine the dominant factors that might influence the recycling behaviour of the households. The results showed that environmental consciousness, the availability of storage space, and age (25—35 years) are significant positive predictors of recycling behaviour (at the 1% level). Another variable Income 2 (TK3,000—15,000) is also positively correlated with recycling (at the 5% level). Establishment of a recycling programme could be an effective strategy in implementing sustainable waste management in Bangladesh. For this strategy to succeed, however, active partnership between households and the waste management service department is required. The households’ attitudes toward recycling should, therefore, be taken into consideration as should the results of this study, which are important indicators of households’ positive attitudes toward sustainable waste management in Dhaka.

Research Journal of Applied Sciences, Mar 1, 2010

Research Journal of Applied Sciences, 2010

This article examines the economic viability of waste minimization through reuse and recycling in... more This article examines the economic viability of waste minimization through reuse and recycling in the city of Dhaka, Bangladesh. To achieve the objective of the study, this study carries out the cost-benefit analysis (CBA). The cost-benefit ratio (BCR) of waste minimization is 1.23 which reveals that waste minimization is economically justified and capable of generating. This study shows that minimization of solid waste in the city of Dhaka is not only a social or environmental imperious, an economically feasible mitigation and, therefore, can be a good alternate to conventional options for solid waste management, reducing the amount of waste transported to and unloaded and recovering valuable materials.

This study aimed to estimate willingness to pay of households for air quality improvement and mar... more This study aimed to estimate willingness to pay of households for air quality improvement and marginal benefits that household derived from the improved air- quality management plan in Klang Valley, Malaysia. A choice experiment study was administered to 300 households and the data was analysed using the multinomial logit model. It was found that number of sick days, air pollution index, medical expenditure, outdoor activities, ethnic, city, age, and respiratory symptoms are significant variables, which affected the willingness to pay of the respondents in Klang Valley. The mean willingness to pay for the new air quality management programme derived from choice experiment multinomial logit model is MYR1.99 per litre of fuel, consumer-compensating surplus is 0.04 and estimated marginal benefit is 1.83. The results reveal that households are willing to pay significant amounts in terms of higher fuel price to ensure the air quality improvement and reduce environmental and health risks ...

Waste Management, 2011

ABSTRACT This column comprises notes and info not subjected to peer-review focusing on waste mana... more ABSTRACT This column comprises notes and info not subjected to peer-review focusing on waste management issues in different corners of the world. Its aim is to open a window onto the solid waste management situation in any given country, major city or significant geographic area that may be of interest to the scientific and technical community. Some perspectives on progress and problems regarding recycling and waste management by the non-profit organization Akumal Centro Ecológico in Akumal Playa, Yucatán The Yucatán peninsula is an environmentally-sensitive region which consists of extensive karst systems and is bounded by the Meso-American Coral Reef. The region is a major global environmental resource. The development of the eastern peninsula for tourism began as a federal economic project in the late 1960s. By the mid 2000s, six million tourists visited the region annually and an additional 2–3 million internal workers had migrated to support construction and services (Murray, 2007). It is well recognized that there are significant regional problems in solid waste disposal (e.g., Krekeler et al., 2007) and there are no peer-review papers regarding recycling efforts in the Yucatán peninsula. Recycling has the potential to be a deeply transformative economic and environmental activity in the region by adding economic diversity and preserving resources. Here, a qualitative description of recycling efforts made by a local non-profit organization is reviewed and a critical assessment of the gaps is presented. Centro Ecológico Akumal (CEA) is a non-profit environmental organization located in Akumal Playa, whose mission is to protect the Meso-American Reef. CEA operates several programs which are staffed primarily by Mexican University students. Distinct programs identified include a Marine and Coastal Program whose aim it is to preserve the Meso-American Reef, a sea turtle program, an environmental education program and a reef monitoring program. One program that is also operated, but not illustrated in CEA&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;#39;s information, are its recycling efforts. Recycling has been an activity advocated by CEA since approximately mid 2001. Initially, three collection barrels were placed in a centralized location. There was no real recycling as such, but the waste materials collected at that time were either placed in a vacant road aggregate quarry just north of Pueblo Akumal, or sent to another quarry approximately 10 km to the south on Route 307 near the biopreserve of Aktun Chen. During December of 2001, both quarries were visited and the quarry near Pueblo Akumal was a simple dump site, whereas at the quarry near Aktun Chen, materials were being partially sorted, with the intention of storage until capabilities increased. CEA staff at the time justified the activity as being important because it teaches the habit of recycling. Visits between 2003 and 2005 to the village saw a minor increase in recycling collection containers and materials with approximately five receptacle sites being located throughout Akumal Playa. During this time period recycled materials were deposited in the quarry near Aktun Chen. During a period of time between 2005 and 2007 more receptacles were installed and after 2007 sorting efforts increased. During a recent visit in June and July 2011, the recycling infrastructure was observed and had been further developed (Fig. 1). Playa Akumal currently hosts all collection sites. A large and visible cluster of collection receptacles is concentrated near the entrance and commercial center of the village with the remainder scattered at several other locations Fig. 1. Images of recycling activities in Akumal Playa: (A) small receptacles, (B) larger common receptacles; (C) plastic bags of glass bottles in the sorting areas behind CEA dormitories, (D) organic composting in tented bins, (E) organic bin, and (F) glass and compact fluorescent bulbs.

Introduction South East Asian countries, in particular Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, Singapore and... more Introduction South East Asian countries, in particular Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, Singapore and Thailand and Philippines were badly affected by smoke haze caused by forest and peat fires from July to October 1997. Since 1980, five major haze episodes have been reported i.e. April1983, August 1990, June 1991, October 1991, and August to October 1994 (Hassan et al., 2000, 2001). The 1997 haze episode was the worst and unprecedented, affecting some 300 million people across the region. The countries affected most were Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. All the major haze episodes were associated with significant increases in the concentration of suspended particulate matter (SPM), in particular PMIO (Awang et al., 1997).

IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science, 2021

This research aims to assess the economic impact of climate change on the poverty of rice farmers... more This research aims to assess the economic impact of climate change on the poverty of rice farmers in Kedah. A personal interview was conducted in a sample of 400 farm households in Kedah, Malaysia. To achieve the goal of the analysis, a logit model was used. The findings indicate that education and non-farm have major positive effect on the probability of being poor for the rice farmers. For Malaysian policymakers, the evidence from this study may be useful in promoting greater preventive measures during the key and off-seasons to counteract climate instability and vulnerability.

Malaysian Journal of Science, 2014

Electronic waste (e-waste) is increasing rapidly in Malaysia to the effect that e-waste managemen... more Electronic waste (e-waste) is increasing rapidly in Malaysia to the effect that e-waste management has now become a major environmental concern in Malaysia, especially Kuala Lumpur. In a step towards remedying this problem, this study seeks to ascertain household awareness, knowledge and risk perception of e-waste and its impact on attitudes and recycling behaviours in Kuala Lumpur. The result shows that three factors, namely, awareness, knowledge and risk perception of e-waste management have positive and significant influence on attitudes towards e-waste mangement. Furthermore, attitudes towards e-waste mangement has a positive influence on recycling behavior. This study provides valuable insights to policy makers so that they may take appropriate steps to increase recycling behaviour among households in Kuala Lumpur.

International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy, 2021

The situation of solar energy in Malaysia is examined in this article, with a focus on solar phot... more The situation of solar energy in Malaysia is examined in this article, with a focus on solar photovoltaic (PV) installations in Malaysian homes. It examines Malaysia's historical solar energy initiatives in terms of R&D, deployments, and national policy during the previous two decades, all of which have affected PV installation in the country. The New Energy Metering system (NEM) policy, as well as a cost-benefit analysis of PV installations for Malaysian homes are addressed. A preliminary survey of public opinion was performed to better understand public perceptions of clean energy policies and advantages, as well as an evaluation of public willingness to join in the NEM policy by installing PV on their homes. The NEM policy will give a reasonable return on investment, according to the cost-benefit analysis. While PV solar energy has the potential to be a viable alternative, Malaysian families face a number of challenges, including high costs, a lack of physical and financial resources, a lack of expertise, and a lack of social support. According to the survey, the majority of respondents are ignorant of the government's clean energy subsidies and strategies, and are unable to participate in the NEM policy.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the links between renewable energy (RE), non-renewabl... more The purpose of this paper is to investigate the links between renewable energy (RE), non-renewable energy (NRE), capital, labour and economic growth, using the Non-linear Auto Regressive Distributive Lag (NARDL) model in Malaysia for the period of 1980–2018. The results of NARDL confirm the asymmetric effect of RE and NRE consumption on the economic growth in the long run as well as short run in Malaysia. The findings also show that in the long and short-run, positive shocks of NRE are greater than the positive shocks of RE. It indicates that Malaysia's economic growth is highly dependent on NRE which is not a good indication as NRE consumption increases carbon dioxide (CO2) emission in the country. Moreover, the empirical results of this study demonstrated that RE consumption reduction accelerates economic growth whereas NRE consumption reduction decreases economic growth. It can have claimed that in Malaysia RE is still more expensive than NRE. In conclusion, this study offere...

Ecofeminism and Climate Change, 2020

PurposeTo achieve proper waste management, the disposal of electronic waste (e-waste) is one suit... more PurposeTo achieve proper waste management, the disposal of electronic waste (e-waste) is one suitable method. Most developing countries, including Malaysia, are facing lack of e-waste recycling facilities and low household participation. Using a survey method using a questionnaire, this study aims to examine the intention of Malaysian households to drop-off their mobile phones to the nearest collection boxes (n= 600).Design/methodology/approachThis study expanded the theory of planned behavior by adding environmental awareness and knowledge. In addition, the cost of disposal and the convenience of the available disposal infrastructure were measured as two parts of the perceived behavioral control.FindingsThe results of this study show that environmental knowledge and awareness have a significant impact on attitudes toward recycling intention of the households. In addition, it was also found that the attitude and cost of disposal infrastructure is positively related to household inte...

International Finance and Banking, 2020

Corporate governance is the system by which organizations are directed, monitored and controlled.... more Corporate governance is the system by which organizations are directed, monitored and controlled. It is an oversight mechanism to ensure the management team efficiently allocates the organizational resources, so as to protect the interest of shareholders and stakeholders. There is a need for good corporate governance practice to stabilize the performance of financial institutions. This study investigated the influence of corporate governance in banking performance. Panel data analysis has been conducted for the top nine public and private commercial banks operating in Bangladesh for a period of 2009 to 2017. Board size, structure of internal audit committee and capital adequacy ratio were being taken as independent variables to measure the effects of corporate governance whereas return on asset, return on equity and earnings per share were being taken as dimensions for measuring bank performance. Correlation and regression analysis techniques were being used to examine the relations...

Journal of the Asia Pacific Economy, 2018

International Journal of ADVANCED AND APPLIED SCIENCES, 2017

Environment and Urbanization ASIA, 2015

This article observes how the individual values and attitudes of consumers in Kuala Lumpur, Malay... more This article observes how the individual values and attitudes of consumers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia influence their purchase intention of electric vehicles (EVs) using the well-known theory of reasoned action (TRA). This study analyzed the data collected from 200 respondents from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. These respondents were asked about their views concerning their value sets, attitudes and purchase intention of EV using the structural equation modelling (SEM) technique. Findings of this study indicate that individual consequences relating to cost and convenience of consumers is negatively related to intention to purchase EVs. Environmental consequences are not a significant predictor of purchase intention. Conservation value was found to be positively related to the attitude of the respondents on environmental consequences but less intensely with individual consequences, while both self-transcendence value and self-enhancement value were positively related to individual consequen...

It is noticeable that environmental problems are now becoming global issue. Automotive industries... more It is noticeable that environmental problems are now becoming global issue. Automotive industries are one of the major contributors to environmental problems. Harmful gases released and waste of automobile polluted the quality of air and damaging the environment. Because of excessive consumption of fossil fuels leads to greenhouse gases emission and causing various environmental problems. Since Malaysia's automotive production increasing rapidly compared to other Asian countries. Therefore, there is a pressing need to examine Malaysian vehicle users' level of intention, major factors to influence to buy and barriers for green technology. Hence, the aim of this research paper is to investigate vehicle users' level of intention, major influencing factors and obstacles to purchase green car in Malaysia. The findings of this study indicate that there is a significant relationship between age group, education and attitudes towards EVs. It also revealed that the significant relationship between purchase intention and demographic variables such as age group, education and gender. Therefore, the results from this study can be used to provide important insights for policymakers in developing programs or projects to increase consumers' awareness, removing obstacles and focus on major influential factors for having environment friendly automotive industries in Malaysia.

Environment and Urbanization ASIA, 2012

The aim of this article is to estimate the perception, knowledge and attitude of the respondents ... more The aim of this article is to estimate the perception, knowledge and attitude of the respondents towards electrical and electronic equipment waste (e-waste) management. It also tried to identify current e-waste management practiced by households in Kuala Lumpur. In order to ensure a higher response rate, face-to-face survey was employed. In this study, it has been found that 69 per cent of the respondents were satisfied with Kuala Lumpur’s environmental quality, while 31 per cent were not satisfied. More than one third of the respondents informed that they send their electric and electronic equipment (EEE) to charity or transfer the EEE to relatives if they cannot repair them. Only a small fraction of the used EEE finds its way to recycling facilities and manufacturer as there is no efficient take back scheme for consumers. It has also been found in this study that more than 81 per cent of the respondents are unenthusiastic to pay for the recycling of their e-waste. It is interestin...

Desalination and Water Treatment, 2015

Environmental problems are a major global concern. In this global problem, water pollution is per... more Environmental problems are a major global concern. In this global problem, water pollution is perhaps one of the more threatening causes of environmental problems. Water pollution significantly affects public health. Hence, this paper investigates household risk perception of water pollution and examines the demographic and socioeconomic factors that influence their risk perception. The data was collected using a structured questionnaire and analysed by SPSS. The findings indicate that gender, age, education, income, AWN and ATT significantly affect household risk perception of water pollution. Upon discussing the water resource policies in Malaysia, we offer recommendations that will be helpful for policymakers to improve river water quality in Malaysia.

World Review of Intermodal Transportation Research, 2014

The rising energy demand has compounded with fuel subsidies and a volatility of oil prices has se... more The rising energy demand has compounded with fuel subsidies and a volatility of oil prices has set the transport sector on an unsustainable course and posed a threat to national energy security in Malaysia. Moreover, it contributes significantly to the green house gas (GHG) emission and causes health as well as environmental damages. Green transport is a feasible transportation technology capable of setting the transportation sector in a sustainable course. The focus of this study is to develop an electric car driven by an electrical motor powered by 84.6 kWh of LiFePO 4 battery with an evaporative cooling battery thermal management system (EC-BThMS). The EC-BThMS has been able to keep the battery temperature in the range of 25°C to 40°C. The justification of the introduction of green vehicle was made by the investigation of public preference and attitude towards green transport. The results of the survey indicate that 54% of respondents seriously like to purchase environmental friendly green transport.