Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Do bank innovations influence profitability of commercial banks in Kenya

th , March 2013 Previous studies have produced mixed results regarding the impact of innovations on bank performance. It is at the center of such mixed conclusions that creates and necessitates the need to carry out a study from a Kenyan context to establish the effect of bank innovations on commercial banks’ profitability. The objective of this study was to establish the influence that bank innovations have on profitability of commercial banks in Kenya. Descriptive survey research design was used. The study used multiple linear regression analysis to test the statistical significance of the various independent variables (automated teller machines, debit and credit cards, point of sale terminals, mobile banking, internet banking and electronic funds transfer) on the dependent variable of profit before tax. Profit before tax was measured in Kenya shilling earnings of commercial banks while the influence of innovations was measured on a likert scale questionnaire. The data for this study was collected during the period of May to August, 2012 using questionnaires for primary data and a data collection sheet for secondary data. Three hundred and twenty five questionnaires were issued to various randomly sampled bank employees from 20 commercial banks. The questionnaires that were duly completed and returned were two hundred and two questionnaires which represented a response rate of 62%. The study results show that bank innovations have a moderate influence on profitability of commercial banks in Kenya. The analysis produced a coefficient of determination of 47.8% which shows the percentage of variations in profitability which is explained by bank innovations. The significance test showed that influence of bank innovations on bank profitability was statistically significant. This means that the combined effect of the bank innovations in this research is statistically significant in explaining the profits of commercial banks in Kenya. Banks in Kenya have achieved more than a decade of boosting their earning capability and controlling costs through adoption of innovations like the mobile banking, internet banking and recently the agency banking. Due to the growing adoption of innovations by many leading commercial banks in Kenya, it is recommended to the management of banks which are laggards of innovation adoption, to move in and adopt various innovations in their operations in order to shore up their profitability. This recommendation is well supported by the fact that in Kenya, the leading banks in terms of profitability are mostly the fast movers in adoption of new technologies.
Computerized tabletop games as a form of a video game training for old-old

ABSTRACT This research aimed at investigating the utility of a computerized version of a cognitively stimulating activity as a video game intervention for elderly. The study focused on the effect of a 6-week extensive practice intervention on aspects of cognitive functioning (vigilance, working memory (WM), inhibition, reasoning) of old-old participants (N = 29), randomly assigned to trained or active control group. The difference between groups was in the content of the extended video game practice – cognitively complex card game for trained and computerized version of a simple dice-game of chance for control participants. A pretest, posttest and a 4-month follow-up measurement was conducted. Results revealed improvements in both groups, except for improved reasoning found only in trained participants. These results suggest that: (1) improvements are dependent on the complexity of the program, (2) cognitively stimulating activity are a valid training procedure for old-old, (3) novelty of computer use is an important factor in determining training efficacy.
Predictive factors for latent tuberculosis infection among adolescents in a high-burden area in South Africa.

SETTING A high tuberculosis (TB) burden area in South Africa (notification rate for all TB cases 1400 per 100 000 population). OBJECTIVE To determine the prevalence of and predictive factors associated with latent TB infection in adolescents. DESIGN Adolescents aged 12-18 years were recruited from high schools, clinical and demographic data were collected, and a tuberculin skin test (TST) and a QuantiFERON®-TB Gold In-Tube (QFT) assay performed. RESULTS A total of 6363 (58.2%) of 10 942 adolescents at the schools were enrolled. After exclusions, of 5244 participants, 55.2% (95%CI 53.8-56.5) had TST ≥ 5 mm, while 50.9% (49.5-52.2) were QFT-positive. On multivariate analysis, Black/mixed race racial groups, male sex, older age, household TB contact, low income and low education level were predictive factors for both TST- and QFT-positive results. CONCLUSION About half of the adolescents were found to be latently infected with TB in a high TB burden area with demographic and poverty-related socio-economic factors predicting the risk of TB infection. Adolescents from deprived communities should be considered an important target group for educational interventions by TB control programmes in high-burden settings.
The effects of epidural blockade on the acute pain in herpes zoster.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the relief of acute pain and possible preventive effects on postherpetic neuralgia through the use of an epidural blockade in the acute stage of herpes zoster. DESIGN Prospective, nonrandomized, comparative clinical trial. SETTING A dermatologic clinic in a university hospital. PATIENTS Sixty-five consecutive patients with pain due to acute herpes zoster were treated for a 7-day hospitalization period from July 1, 1996, through June 30, 1997. INTERVENTION The consecutive patients were divided into 2 groups. Group A consisted of 30 patients who were seen from July 1, 1996, through December 31, 1996, and who were treated with intravenous acyclovir (5 mg/kg) for 7 days. Group B consisted of 35 patients who were seen from January 1, 1997, through June 30, 1997, and who were treated with intravenous acyclovir (5 mg/kg) and an epidural blockade for 7 days. The changes in the intensity of pain and the total duration of pain in both groups were assessed for 12 to 18 months. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES The number of days required for relief of pain and the total duration of pain. RESULTS The mean +/- SD number of days required for relief of pain, which was rated on a scale of 100 (worst pain) to 0 (no pain), was significantly fewer in group B than in group A: it took 2.6 +/- 1.1 days to go from 100 to 50 on the relief-of-pain scale in group B, but 3.8 +/- 1.1 days in group A (P = .03), and 12.5 +/- 6.4 days to go from 100 to 10 in group B, but 20.1 +/- 14.6 days in group A (P = .04). The duration of late residual pain was significantly shorter in group B (5.9 +/- 5.8 days) than in group A (11.9 +/- 7.5 days) (P = .03). The total duration of pain was also significantly shorter in group B (18.5 +/- 9.3 days) than in group A (31.6 +/- 17.6 days) (P = .04). CONCLUSIONS We believe that an epidural blockade combined with an antiviral agent is a very effective treatment modality for the pain of acute herpes zoster, and we recommend its use for the prevention of postherpetic neuralgia, with a view to shortening the total duration of pain, especially late residual pain.
Changes In The Top Management Team: Performance Implications Of Altering Team Composition

This study focuses on the performance implications of changes in the top management team using an eleven-year period longitudinal research design with a sample of 45 of the largest corporations in the Netherlands. The central argument of this paper builds on the idea that exits and entries of top management team members have a significant impact on subsequent firm performance due to the resulting changes in the composition of the team. Two aspects of team composition â€“ organizational tenure and age - are examined in more detail. Specifically it is argued that changes in the top team which lead to higher degrees of dissimilarity between members of the team on the two aspects examined, will have a negative effect on performance. Results indicate that exits and entries indeed have performance implications in the years following the change. These performance effects can, however, not be attributed to increasing age or tenure dissimilarity.
The relationship between corporate governance mechanisms and accounting measures of performance of the accepted companies in Tehran stock exchange

Relationship between corporate governance and company performance is an important topic in Accounting. Performance of an economic company depends on different factors. One of them is corporate governance which has a greet effect on performance. Our purpose is to study the relationship between corporate governance and accounting measures of performance of the accepted companies in Tehran stock exchange. In our study corporate governance is an independent variable and accounting measure of performance is a dependant variable. Considering limited samples, 109 companies accepted in Tehran Stock Exchange have been reviewed since 2006 to 2010 accounting to the ranking of the data. To test the hypothesis we have used the Spearman correlation coefficient for measurement of the impact of controlled variables on the relationship of independent chi-square test. Findings show that there is no meaningful relationship between percentage of independent directors of board and company performance while company performance has a meaningful relationship with institutional investors.
Critical competitive methods, generic strategies, and firm performance

This paper reports research findings on the relationship between competitive methods, generic strategies, and firm performance. It was found that competitive methods in the banking industry correspond to Porter's generic strategy types and that a cost leadership strategy provides a statistically significant performance advantage over banks that are stuck‐in‐the‐middle. Alternatively, firms that used competitive methods to pursue a broad differentiation, customer service differentiation, or focus strategy were unable to realize a performance advantage over firms that are stuck‐in‐the‐middle. This study suggests that in the banking industry it may be difficult to generate superior returns using a differentiation or focus strategy.
The effects of television commercial pacing on viewers' attention and memory

This study investigated the effects of advertising pacing (i.e. the number of visual cuts in an advertisement) on viewers' voluntary and involuntary attention to an advertisement, as well as its effects on the recall of claim-related and non-claim-related components of the advertisement. Using a limited capacity model of information processing/retrieval as its theoretical base and physiologically oriented measures of attention, this study provided some evidence that fast-paced advertisements (as compared to slower paced ones) may have a positive effect on viewers' involuntary (automatic) attention towards an advertisement, but have little differential effect on their voluntary attention. Furthermore, it appeared that the enhanced involuntary attention gained through the use of fast-paced advertisements comes in the form of attention directed towards the non-claim (advertisement executional) elements of an advertisement as opposed to the message-based (copy) elements of the advertisement. The practical and theoretical implications of these findings are discussed.
The Changing Racial and Ethnic Composition of the US Population: Emerging American Identities.

Images and interpretations of the past, present, and future of the American racial and ethnic landscape are contradictory. Many accounts focus on the increasing diversity that results from immigration and differential natural increase as well as the proliferation of racial and ethnic categories in census data. Less attention has been paid to the formation and erosion of racial and ethnic identities produced by intermarriage and ethnic blending. The framers and custodians of census racial classifications assume a "geographic origins" definition of race and ethnicity, but the "de facto" measures in censuses and social surveys rely on folk categories that vary over time and are influenced by administrative practices and sociopolitical movements. We illustrate these issues through an in-depth examination of the racial and ethnic reporting by whites, blacks, Asians, and Hispanics in the 2000 census. The emerging pattern, labeled here as the "Americanization" of racial and ethnic identities, and most evident for whites and blacks, is of simplified racial identities with little acknowledgment of complex ancestries. National origin is the predominant mode of reporting racial and ethnic identities among Asians and Hispanics, especially first-generation immigrants. The future of racial and ethnic identities is unknowable, but continued high levels of immigration, intermarriage, and social mobility are likely to blur contemporary divisions and boundaries. Copyright (c) 2009 The Population Council, Inc.
Executive compensation structure and company performance

An examination of the executive compensation structure of 1397 different U.S. companies between 1999-2006 provides evidence supporting incentive compensation. In this paper I find evidence that the level of total compensation positively effects the performance of a company, as measured by Tobin‘s Q. Further this research shows that firm performance is positively related to the percentage of compensation of CEOs that is equity-based. I found a much stronger relationship between equity-based compensation and company performance, than total compensation and company performance. This implies that structure rather then the level tends to have a greater impact on the performance of a company.
Metabolic adaptations to a "stuff and starve" feeding program. I. Studies of adipose tissue and liver glycogen in rats limited to a short daily feeding period.

Many obese people consume most of their food within a relatively short period each day. These people eat little or no breakfast or lunch but eat voraciously during the evening (1, 2). Stunkard, Grace and Wolff (3) have used the term, "nighteating syndrome" to describe this pattern of eating and suggested that this pattern is the result of psychological factors. Some strains of rats can be trained to eat sufficient food in 1 hour each day to permit normal rates of growth (4) and studies of the respiratory quotients of these animals indicate increased lipogenesis (5). Tepperman and Tepperman (6) have shown that liver slices from rats trained in this way show increased incorporation of acetate1-C'4 and glucose-U-C14 in vitro, as well as a threeto fourfold increase in hexose monophosphate shunt dehydrogenase activity. However, lipogenesis in liver represents only a small fraction of the total lipid synthesis in the intact animal. Adipose tissue contributes the major portion (7). These observations coupled with the unusual eating pattern seen in many obese people prompted this study of adipose tissue and liver in rats allowed access to more food than they were able to consume for 2 hours out of each 24, for periods of 1 to 7 days. Studies were made of acetate-l-C'4 incorporation into lipids by adipose tissue and liver slices in vitro, free fatty acid (FFA) content of adipose tissue, glucose-6phosphate (G-6-P) dehydrogenase and 6-phosphogluconic (6-P-G) dehydrogenase activity of adipose tissue and liver homogenates and liver glycogen.
Creating value through alliance experience : an empirical investigation of R&D alliances in the biopharmaceutical industry

This thesis investigates the effect of alliance experience onto stock-market value creation. Building on existing research, this thesis centres on the distinction between general alliance experience (i.e. the overall experience of managing alliances) and relational experience (i.e. the experience of managing alliances with the same partner). As existing research has identified significant heterogeneity in value creation from these types of alliance experience, the purpose of this thesis is to investigate conditions under which alliance experience is more valued by investors. This thesis therefore disentangles alliance experience into three further dimensions, namely the quality of previous relational experiences, the interrelationship among the two experience types and a temporal dimension of how the two experience types are accumulated in different rhythms over time.Firstly, by using signalling theory, I hypothesize that the quality of the previous partnerships emphasized at announcement positively influences value creation and this effect is moderated by signaller, receiver, and intermediary characteristics. Secondly, in order to investigate the interrelated effect of both types of experience, resource-based, learning and trust-based arguments are used to build an interrelated alliance experience theory. I argue that high levels of general alliance experience create overconfidence in alliance management processes and this negatively affects the value creation of relational experiences. This effect is hypothesized to vary based on firm characteristics. Thirdly, building on organizational learning, resource-based and trust-based perspectives, I propose that both general alliance and relational experiences are negatively affected by irregularity in the rhythm in which they are accumulated.This thesis investigates the effect of these quality, interrelationship and temporal dimensions onto value creation through multiple event studies in the global biopharmaceutical industry in a sample of R&D alliances between 2003 and 2012. Results indicate general support for the arguments and provide evidence that experience-related contingencies affect firms’ ability to create value from alliance experiences.
The Role of Competitive Action in Market Share Erosion and Industry Dethronement: A Study of Industry Leaders and Challengers

Market share erosion and dethronement of market leaders are examined through the lens of “Austrian” economics. Our results suggest that leaders are more likely to experience market share erosion and/or dethronement when—relative to industry challengers—they are less competitively aggressive, carry out simpler repertoires of actions, and carry out competitive actions more slowly. These findings, based on seven years of data collected in 41 industries, contribute to research on hypercompetition, organizational decline, and competitive dynamics.
The Effects of Learning on Relationship Value in a Business Network Context

ABSTRACT In today's intense global competition, a firm's ability to learn from its networks of business relationships is an important source of sustainable competitive advantage. Learning in a network of relationships involves a constellation of resource linkages among business partners tied together by interconnected resources. This has the potential of increasing the relationship value of a firm in terms of knowledge created through interactions among firms in the business network. Prior research has not yet examined the effects of learning in and through relationships in a business network context. Interdependence of firms in business networks gives rise to learning effects of adaptation and coordination that can have implications for relationship value. An empirical study of 215 business relationships from a network of nine high-technology companies in the United Kingdom shows that learning in and through relationships as a result of interactions and resource interdependencies in networks of relationships has a positive effect on a firm's relationship value. Furthermore, an understanding of the network context through interactions among firms facilitates learning and development of the firm's learning capabilities that enhance relationship value.
The Entrepreneurial Rationalities of Governing and the Construction of the Enterprising Nurse

Drawing from a wider study exploring the role of registered nurses (RNs) in managing hospital care of older people, I present an analysis of some discursive mechanisms through which an enterprising nursing subjectivity was cultivated in RNs working in an Australian hospital. Data comprised information from the hospital Web site, policy documents, job descriptions, and interviews with 26 RNs. The analysis highlighted how texts such as nursing vision statements and job descriptions were not neutral or innocuous, but mechanisms that individually and collectively specified norms of enterprising conduct for RNs working in that hospital. Although the findings detailed how entrepreneurial rationalities and discourses governing health care actively transformed the meaning and practice of nursing, they also illustrated how factors such as role location and ward culture diluted the take up of enterprise discourses, suggesting that it was not possible to guarantee RNs as particular kinds of enterprising subjects.
An Empirical Exploration of Financial Covenants in Large Bank Loans

Financial covenants in large bank loans are used to study how banks use contractual restrictions to reduce potential agency problems and financial distress costs. Using an extensive database developed from bank loan contracts written between 1992 and 1994, we find that financial covenant use and “tightness” are affected by potential agency problems, information asymmetries, incentives to monitor, and growth opportunities. Consistent with previous research, collateral signals higher risk is associated with more covenants. Other factors affecting covenant tightness, which have been elusive in the literature due to a general lack of data, are reported.
Oral nabilone capsules in the treatment of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting and pain

Background: Nabilone has been approved to treat chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting. Recent studies have explored cannabinoids in pain management. Objectives: To review the evidence for the use of cannabinoids in general and nabilone in particular; i) in managing chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting; and ii) in treating pain. Method: A systematic review of published English literature used the terms: cancer, cannabinoid, nabilone, nausea, pain, tetrahydrocannabinol and vomiting as search terms. Reviews, meta-analyses and treatment trials were reviewed. Results/conclusions: Nabilone is superior to placebo, domperidone and prochlorperazine but not metoclopramide or chlorpromazine. Cannabinoids do not add to benefits of 5-HT3 receptor antagonists. Side effects are greater for nabilone than for prochlorperazine, in most studies patients prefered nabilone over prochlorperazine. Nabilone is ineffective in acute pain but benefits in neuropathic pain and central hypersensitization. Recent guidelines place nabilone as a second to fourth line drug for neuropathic pain.
Should therapy of ovarian cancer patients be individualized based on underlying genetic defects?

This year in the United States, ∼26,800 women will be newly diagnosed with ovarian cancer, and 14,500 will die from the disease [(1)][1] . The dismal prognosis for ovarian cancer patients results from an inability to detect the tumor at an early, treatable stage as well as from lack of effective