BRAC University Institutional Repository
Preserving Knowledge, Advancing Research, Sharing Scholarship
A digital platform for collecting, preserving, and sharing BRAC University’s scholarly, academic, and institutional outputs.
Contribute to the Repository
Faculty members and students are invited to submit their research publications, theses, dissertations, and scholarly works to increase visibility, access, and long-term preservation.
Recent Submissions
Smart finance meets smart HR: Enhancing financial efficiency in employee retention at TalentTracker Limited through the intelligent reward mechanisms of HolyLoy
(BRAC University, 2026-05) Rahman, Afrida; Siddiqui, Sayla Sowat; BRAC Business School
The internship report focuses on employee motivation, reward systems and financial efficiency in employee retention with respect to organizational contexts of TalenTracker Limited and Alive Spectra Limited. The paper also examines how the HOLYLOY loyalty platform, which is a strategic venture conceived by Alive Spectra Ltd., can be used to advance the smart reward system to improve employee retention.
Employee turnover has emerged as a major issue of concern to organizations all over the world, not to mention that human capital is one of the key strategic assets in the knowledge-based industry. The high turnover may result in high recruitment, training and productivity inconveniences. As such, there is a growing trend among organizations to find new ways of engaging workers to boost their morale and at the same time achieve better financial results.
The main aim of the research work is to discuss the effects of conventional incentive systems on employee motivation and to discuss whether smart reward systems can be a more viable solution to employee retention. In a bid to fulfill this goal, the research adopted a qualitative research design that relied on the responses as the questionnaires administered to the employees in various organizational capacities.
The results of the research indicate that conventional types of rewards, especially systems based on bonuses, frequently do not provide long-term motivation to employees. These were some of the main motivational factors that employees identified and they were recognition, career growth opportunities, work-life balance, and job security. The results also show that the staff turnover is creating significant financial and operation expenses to organizations.
The analysis also indicates that reward systems that are technologically based like HOLYLOY can enhance transparency, fairness and efficiency when distributing rewards. Through the combination of smart reward systems and human resource management processes, organizations will be in a better position to enhance the level of employee engagement, turnover, and overall financial performance.
In general, the report suggests a conceptual framework of Smart Finance x Smart HR, which proves that AI-based reward platforms may help to implement sustainable employee retention policies and enhance organizational performance.
In silico identification of phytochemical inhibitors against the S1 dihydrofolate reductase variant of Staphylococcus aureus: Overcoming trimethoprim resistance
(BRAC University, 2026-05) Ahmed, Safuan; Omer, Humair Bin Md.; School of Pharmacy
This study addresses the critical challenge of trimethoprim (TMP) resistance in Staphylococcus aureus mediated by the plasmid encoded S1 DHFR variant. Using protein crystal structure (PDB ID: 2W9S), in silico molecular docking was performed to identify phytochemical inhibitors capable of overcoming the structural barriers of the S1 variant, such as a widened active site and M20 loop displacement. A library of phytochemicals from the Jahangirnagar University campus flora was screened against the mutant enzyme. Virtual screening results identified Rutin (−9.5 kcal/mol), Neferine (−9.2 kcal/mol), and Rosmarinic acid (−8.95 kcal/mol) as top candidates with better binding affinities than the standard Trimethoprim (−7.8 kcal/mol). These compounds demonstrate high binding affinity and stability, suggesting their potential to bridge the altered active site of the S1 variant. These early findings provide a molecular docking approach for potentially developing next-generation "resistance-breaking" antibiotics to combat multidrug-resistant methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).
HALP: A hybrid anonymous login protocol
(BRAC University, 0031-08) Tonay, Zunaed Sazzad; Ajmotgir, Elham M.; Ferdous, Md Sadek; Department of Computer Science and Engineering
The current research demonstrates the design and implemention of the Hybrid
Anonymous Login Protocol (HALP), which attempts to overcome the main shortcomings
of existing privacy-preserving authentication systems. Reliance on fixed
identifiers in conventional authentication systems implies that the attributes associated
with a user’s privacy are exposed to tracking and profiling threats. HALP
combines Zero-Knowledge Proofs (ZKPs), pseudonymous identifiers and selective
revocation protocols to accomplish unlinkability, scalability, and privacy protection.
The ability to log in to the system without revealing identifiable information allows
the user to maintain their privacy, while selective revocation provides the ability
to prevent compromised credentials from gaining access to services. HALP is designed
modularly and conforms to decentralized identity specifications (most notably
W3C Verifiable Credentials), enabling its use in privacy-oriented applications such
as healthcare, e-voting and decentralized applications (DApps). The framework’s
performance and scalability are thoroughly evaluated through benchmarking tests,
and security is analyzed in terms of cryptographic properties and security games,
through which HALP was found to be effective for deployment in real-life scenarios
Diagnostic delay and initial healthcare-seeking pathways in childhood cancer: A cross-sectional study at the National Institute of Cancer Research and Hospital, Dhaka, Bangladesh
(BRAC University, 2026-06) Das, Siddhartha Sankar; Ahmed, Syed Masud; BRAC James P Grant School of Public Health
Background: In Bangladesh approximate 9000 cases of childhood cancer are diagnosed each year; however, however, only 5% of them receive treatment. Over 80% of children with cancer are not diagnosed or appropriately treated in Bangladesh, highlighting the need to investigate diagnostic delays and health-seeking pathways.
Objectives: To identify the factors associated with diagnostic delay among childhood cancer patients in Bangladesh and to assess how caregiver’s initial healthcare-seeking pathways influence the time to diagnosis.
Methods: A cross-sectional quantitative study was conducted from January, 2026 to June, 2026. Face-to-face interviews were done with the primary caregivers of childhood cancer patients admitted at the in-patient department of the pediatric hematology and oncology, National Institute of Cancer Research and Hospital, using Kobo Toolbox and 152 data were collected. Non-parametric tests (Mann-Whitney U and Kruskal-Wallis tests) were used to test and find association between independent variables and outcome variable (total interval) while the data was summarized by descriptive statistics. Data analysis was performed using STATA version 17 software, and p-values <0.05 were considered statistically significant. Institutional Review Board of BRAC James P Grant School of Public Health, BRAC University (IRB Ref: MPH-2025-009) approved the study and written informed consent was obtained from all participants.
Results: The median total interval (time from symptom recognition to confirmed diagnosis) was 91 days (IQR: 52.5-188.5 days). The diagnostic interval was the major component of delay (median: 82.5 days, IQR: 44.2-149.7), while the patient interval was short (median: 2 days, IQR:1-7 days). Significant difference in diagnostic delay was observed across cancer types, with longer intervals for retinoblastoma (234 days), CNS tumors (145 days) and bone tumors (121 days), compared to renal tumors (35 days) and leukemia (65 days). There was a significant relationship between the total interval and family income, with the lowest income group having a median interval of 105 days and the highest income group having a median interval of 23 days (p = 0.030). Longer intervals were significantly associated prolonged time interval between first and subsequent healthcare visits (p = 0.0001), multiple healthcare facility visits (p= 0.002), and higher pre-diagnostic expenditure (p=0.002) Higher proportions of delay was associated with care pathways, where informal sector providers were the first point of contact.
Conclusions: Diagnostic delay in childhood cancer patients is primarily influenced by health-system barriers, alongside socio-demographic and clinical factors. The findings suggest the need to strengthen referral system across care continuum that will allow early recognition of symptoms and timely diagnosis of cancer. Integrating referral support, reducing financial obstacles, training of frontline healthcare providers, decentralizing pediatric oncology services may help to reduce the diagnostic delay.
The role of parental communication, gender norms, and adolescent menstrual health in Bangladesh: A secondary longitudinal analysis
(BRAC University, 2026-06) Silvia, Sadia Aktar; Hasan, Md. Tanvir; BRAC James P Grant School of Public Health
Background: Adolescent girls are a vulnerable group in terms of menstrual and reproductive health information and management. Around the world, many adolescent girls face social norms or stigma, taboo, gender norms, limited access to menstrual health information and negative attitudes from their family as well as the community. It directly affects their menstrual health and overall reproductive health, which shows a public health concern. Many research studies suggested that adolescent girls pursue their menstrual health-related education and training from their parents. Depending on their (guardians') knowledge, attitudes, and norms regarding menstruation, adolescent girls' perspectives can vary. As a result, this study aims to examine the changes in gender and social norms, menstrual knowledge and attitudes among guardians over time and how it changes the perception of their adolescent girls.
Objectives: The main objective of this study was to examine the changes in parental gender social norms, knowledge and attitudes about menstrual & reproductive health from 2023 to 2025 and how these changes affected girls' perceptions. The specific objectives were: 1) to assess the changes in the outcomes over the years, 2) to assess the association between the outcomes and the socio-demographic status of guardians, 3) to determine the changes in their adolescent girls' perspectives and to see whether parental communication mediates the relationship between guardians' menstrual knowledge and girls menstrual health literacy.
Methods: The study was conducted using secondary analysis of the Adolescent Menstrual Experiences and Health Cohort (AMEHC) study, a longitudinal research project currently being carried out in the sub-division of Khulna, Bangladesh. The AMEHC began with 2015 adolescent girls and their guardians in 2023 and continued till now (2026). This study focused on the baseline (2023) and wave 2 (2025) datasets of both guardians and girls. A longitudinal analysis was done using GSEM to examine how parental views on menstrual knowledge influence adolescent girls' perspectives. Additionally, a mediation analysis involving 1000 times bootstrapping iterations was performed to explore the pathways through which menstrual health information is transmitted from guardians to girls.
Results: The mean age of the adolescent girls was 11.95 years (± 0.0206) at baseline. The result showed positive changes over time with progressive gender norms perception, reduced negative menstrual attitudes among guardians, but over the years, menstrual knowledge shifted into a lower category and social restriction increased among guardians (from baseline to wave 2). There was a significant association observed between the socio-demographic status of guardians and reducing gender (p<0.05) and social norms restrictions (p<0.05), improving a high level of menstrual knowledge (p<0.05) and increasing positive attitudes (p<0.05) on menstruation, except for religion. The longitudinal analysis revealed that gender norms (β= -0.45, SE= 0.03, p <0.05) reduced in wave 2 by 0.45 times from baseline, menstrual knowledge (β= 1.86, SE= 0.07, p <0.05) increased by 1.86 times and social norms (restrictive) increased by 9.48 times from 2023 to 2025 among adolescent girls. The results also showed significant changes in guardians' perceptions regarding gender norms (β= 0.10, SE= 0.02, p <0.05), menstrual knowledge (β= 0.13, SE= 0.06, p <0.05) and social norms (OR= 1.37, p<0.05) in relation to their girls. Moreover, mediation analysis showed that parental communication did not function as a potential mediator (β= 0.11, SE= 0.08, p = 0.172), but also guardians' menstrual knowledge did not associate with girls' menstrual health literacy (OR= 1.11, p = 0.106).
Conclusions: Guardians are key individuals for the majority of adolescents to whom they can talk about their menstruation and reproductive health. And if mother-daughter communication is strong, it can impact on gaining better menstrual knowledge, attitudes and menstrual health management (MHM). When they can talk freely, this helps to reduce the gender norms restrictions and increase social acceptance by reducing stigma related to menstruation management. Policy makers and programme implementers should design programmes that emphasise parental involvement, address the root causes of stigma and promote an equitable society.