Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
International Investor Protection Regime and the Effectiveness of Outside Directorship on the Board: An Empirical Essay

We empirically identify exploratory evidence suggesting the potential for establishing an international corporate governance law protecting investors in relation to the outside directors on the board. Our conclusions are consistent with the principles proposed by OECD in 2004. Our study motivates by the institutionalizing aspects of laws pertaining to the governance of firms in international perspective. We obtain motivation from the published literature in accounting and finance domain to identify the answer to our research question. Existing evidence regarding whether outside directors on the board of directors can effectively constrain earnings management by firms leaves unaddressed the international context. We document international evidence that higher outside directorship on the board is associated with lower earnings management. We also find evidence that investor protection law does not affect the association between earnings management and board outside directorship. The results suggest that outside directors can play a similar role in monitoring the financial reporting process irrespective of whether they sit on the board in strong or weak investor protection law countries. Our findings support the internationalization of corporate regulations and practices on board governance as evinced in the OECD study.
Evaluation of Insecticides for Protecting Southwestern Ponderosa Pines from Attack by Engraver Beetles (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae)

Abstract Insecticides that might protect pine trees from attack by engraver beetles (Ips spp.) have not been rigorously tested in the southwestern United States. We conducted two field experiments to evaluate the efficacy of several currently and potentially labeled preventative insecticides for protecting high-value ponderosa pine, Pinus ponderosa Dougl ex. Laws. , from attack by engraver beetles. Preventative sprays (0.19% permethrin [Permethrin Plus C]; 0.03, 0.06, and 0.12% bifenthrin [Onyx]; and 1.0 and 2.0% carbaryl [Sevin SL] formulations) and systemic implants (0.875 g per capsule acephate [Acecap] and 0.650 g per capsule dinotefuran) were assessed on bolts (sections of logs) as a surrogate for live trees for a period of 13 mo posttreatment. The pine engraver, Ips pini (Say), was the most common bark beetle found attacking control and treated bolts, but sixspined ips, Ips calligraphus (Germar), and Ips lecontei Swain also were present. After ≈13 mo posttreatment in one experiment, the spray treatments with 2.0% carbaryl, 0.19% permethrin, and 0.06 or 0.12% bifenthrin prevented Ips attack on the bolts at a protection level of ≥70%. The acephate and dinotefuran systemic insecticides, and the 0.03% bifenthrin spray, provided inadequate (≤36%) protection in this experiment. For the other experiment, sprayed applications of 1.0% carbaryl, 0.19% permethrin, and 0.06% bifenthrin prevented beetle attack at protection levels of ≥90, ≥80, and ≥70%, respectively, when bolts were exposed to Ips beetle attack for ≈9–15 wk posttreatment. The sprays with 0.19% permethrin and 0.06% bifenthrin also provided ≥90% protection when bolts were exposed for ≈15–54 wk posttreatment. We concluded that under the conditions tested, 1.0 and 2.0% carbaryl, 0.19% permethrin, and 0.06 and 0.12% binfenthrin were acceptable preventative treatments for protecting ponderosa pine from successful engraver beetle attack for one entire flight season in the U.S. Southwest.
Don't keep your Internet customers waiting too long at the (virtual) front door

One of the primary e-commerce challenges on the World Wide Web is when users experience intolerably long waits for a website's homepage to load. Zona Research, Inc. estimates that over $4 billion in lost revenue is due to slow downloads over the Internet. When the loading time of a homepage exceeds the maximum amount of time that a Web user is willing to wait, a Web user will either redirect the web-browser to an alternative (e.g., competitor's) website or quit using the Web; an opportunity, at the moment and perhaps forever, is lost to not only serve, influence, or interact with, a potential customer, but also to advance the growth of e-commerce. Given the important role of a homepage as a portal to a website or to a host of websites, it is critical that a homepage design consider not only appearance and functionality, but also loading time. The Internet industry has been devoting significant attention to solving the waiting time problem with approaches that are technical or operational in nature, with those most promising being extremely expensive and time consuming to employ (e.g., fiber optic cable). These approaches have not, up to this point in time, yielded the desired results. This research describes a complementary marketing approach to reducing the negative impact of the waiting time problem; one that is based on the psychological theorizing of “anchoring and adjustment,” with implications that would be relatively inexpensive to implement. In experiments where all Web users experienced the same actual wait for a homepage to load, those exposed to a shorter waiting time anchor, both perceived as shorter the waiting time for, and evaluated as higher the quality of, a homepage; and when the waiting time anchor was less than the actual waiting time, the perceived waiting time was less than the actual waiting time. In addition, those exposed to the smaller waiting time anchor were more likely to continue searching the associated website as opposed to searching a different website.
Factors Driving Consumer Restaurant Choice: An Exploratory Study From the Southeastern United States

This study investigates the critical dimension of factors driving restaurant choice among 277 consumers, predominantly residents of the Southeastern United States. The food provided (quality, taste) was central to respondents' decision to favor one restaurant over another, though prior positive experience, a clean production/service environment and hospitable service are additional factors that most strongly influenced restaurant choice. Interestingly, despite the rich variety of foods/produce and agricultural background of the region, the use of local food and produce in menu development is among the least considered factors. Several implications are drawn from the findings and directions for future studies are suggested.
Contributors to schedule delays in public construction projects in Saudi Arabia : owners' perspective

This study aims at identifying the contributors to delays in public construction projects in Saudi Arabia from owners' viewpoint. To do so, 22 public owners of construction projects completed a structured questionnaire survey. 35 factors were identified through literature review. The results indicated that the top delay contributors are: bid award for lowest price, poor site management, poor communication and coordination between construction parties, payments delay, poor labor productivity, and rework. These findings can support the Government in improving the regulations to meet the construction market needs, owners in planning and designing and evaluating policy, contractors and managers in planning and taking external and internal risks when costing and scheduling contracts, consultants in applying comprehensive contract information, and workers in conducting their day-to-day activities. Results will fill an important research and practice gap and help in improving time performance in public construction projects in Saudi Arabia and other developing countries.
Relationship quality evaluation in retailers' relationships with consumers

Purpose – The purpose of the article is to investigate relationship quality in retail relationships as influenced by its antecedents (loyalty programme quality and personal interaction quality) and resulting in customer loyalty to the retailer. The focus is on loyalty programme members' perceptions and differences between segments of consumers with different levels of involvement in the product category.Design/methodology/approach – The method used was a consumer survey. Two waves of cross‐sectional telephone interviewing with 116 and 410 members of a retail loyalty club were conducted. Structural equation modelling served for the estimation of relationships in an integrated conceptual framework among constructs of loyalty programme quality, personal interaction quality, relationship quality and loyalty, relevant to the development of retail relationships.Findings – The findings suggest that loyalty programme quality is important for relationship quality; however, efforts to assure personal interaction qu.
Attitudes toward depression among a sample of Muslim adolescents in the Midwestern United States

Abstract Background: Little is known about how Muslim youth in non-Muslim countries perceive depression and its treatment and prevention. Objective: We investigated the barriers and suggest treatment models for depressive disorders in Muslim adolescents and young adults residing in the United States. Methods: We conducted a thorough literature review to identify previous study on the beliefs of American Muslim adolescents about depression and its treatment. We identified the gaps and developed a survey to ascertain this information from American Muslim adolescents. Results: The survey was administered to a convenience sample of 125 Muslim subjects (60.0% males) aged 14–21 years. The sample was ethnically diverse with Pakistani (44.8%) encompassing the majority of the sample. Most responders believed that recitation from the Koran relieves mental distress. Multiple linear regression analysis revealed that those who reported strong emotional support from parents or a greater acceptance of taking depression medication prescribed from a physician were more likely to accept a physician’s diagnosis, whereas believing in prayer to heal depression was associated with a lower likelihood of the same. Youth were accepting of Internet and preventive approaches. Conclusion: Planning of culturally sensitive mental health services is useful to accommodate the needs of Muslim youth served by primary care physicians and mental health practitioners in the United States. Muslim adolescents tend to be more traditional with family, social, and religious values. This value system plays an important role in their likelihood of seeking and accepting professional help for depression.
Convenience: a services perspective

This theoretical paper argues that the concept and construct of convenience is at the forefront of customer and user evaluation of service experiences and should play, therefore, a much more pivotal role in marketing theory than it does at present. With increasing evidence that convenience is important to customers, it is timely to revisit the concept with a view to developing a research agenda that delivers an improved understanding of the nature of convenience. Accordingly, the paper concludes by proposing a definition of convenience and offering questions for further research based on a critique of existing models of convenience, and on the positioning of convenience in relation to associated concepts such as customer value, co-production and experiential consumption.
Switching costs, alternative attractiveness and experience as moderators of relationship commitment in professional, consumer services

To date, empirical and conceptual models of relationship marketing have focused almost exclusively on a range of direct antecedents and mediator variables to explain variations in a dependent variable – usually relationship commitment. No attempt has been made to examine under what conditions these various antecedents have a stronger/weaker impact on relationship commitment. This paper extends the relationship marketing literature by testing a contingency model to assess the impact of trust and service satisfaction on relationship commitment under conditions of varying switching costs, alternative attractiveness and experience‐based norms, in the context of a professional consumer service. Employing a sample of 201 clients of financial planning services, we test 11 hypotheses formulated on the basis of a review of the services and relationship marketing literature, and a series of qualitative interviews with clients. The results clearly indicate that the impact of trust and satisfaction vary according to contingency conditions of switching costs, attractiveness of alternatives and client experience.
Evolving Legal Frameworks for Private Sector Development in Central and Eastern Europe

The legal framework in a market economy has at a minimum four basic economic functions: to define the universe of property rights in the system; to set a framework for exchanging those rights; to set the rules for the entry and exit of actors into and out of production activities; and to oversee market structure and behavior to promote competition. These basic areas of law are joined by other important ones - such as labor, taxation, and banking, to name just three, that comprise the complex legal frameworks for private sector activity in advanced market economies. This discussion paper uses this general classification to analyze the evolving legal framework for private sector development in six transforming socialist economies of Central and Eastern Europe - Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and Slovenia. It suggests some fundamental questions such analysis should address and provides a summary of developments in these countries. The most difficult and contentious challenge involves allocating real property rights, designing rules for the exit of ailing firms, and creating the conditions for free and fair competition. Although the legal structure is evolving rapidly in most areas, practice is still vey uncertain. The wide discretion and general lack of experience create legal uncertainty that hampers private sector development in the short-run.
How perceived supervisor support effects workplace deviance? Mediating role of perceived organizational support

Employee-organization relationship has become a topic of prime concern for many firms across world, particularly in developing nations. However, little is known about its predictors in banking industry. Moreover, there is scarcity of literature regarding the underlying mediating mechanisms. Thus, purpose of this study is to investigate the mediating role of perceived organizational support on relationship between perceived supervisor support and workplace deviance within a non-western context. After preliminary pilot testing, via convenience sampling technique, survey questionnaires were distributed among 800 front-line employees working in the top banks of Pakistan, and 614 completely filled instruments were received back. SEM results verify that perceived organizational support partially mediates the impact of supervisor support and workplace deviance, implying that employees perceive more support when their organizations offer commensurate rewards, opportunities for growth and participation in decision making. This study is imperative for policy making in order to overcome counter-productive behaviors among front-line employees in both public and private banks of Pakistan. However, outcomes of this research are limited to the Pakistani context.
Enterprise risk management and firm value within China’s insurance industry

Orientation : The article discusses the relationship between enterprise risk management (ERM) and firm value. Research purpose : The purpose of the study is to empirically examine the relationship between ERM and firm value. The study is undertaken within the context of the Chinese insurance industry. Motivation for the study : Recent attempts to link ERM with firm value have been undertaken primarily in the USA and Europe and have produced ambiguous and inconclusive findings. Research design, approach and method : Data was obtained from the China Insurance Regulatory Commission, a government body responsible for regulating insurance products and services in China. The data sample consisted of 135 insurance companies operating in China (in 2010). Regression modelling is employed to analyse the data. Main findings : The results show the relationship between ERM and firm value at first appears statistically significant within a Pearson correlation matrix but then falls below statistical significance on closer scrutiny through regression analysis. Accordingly, it is recommended that insurers in China should not look to aggressive investment in ERM as a strategy for producing quick gains in firm value. Practical/managerial implications : Risk managers should plan ERM development from a risk management maturity perspective, which equates the highest level of ERM development with ERM’s capacity to improve firm resilience to the unknown and serve as a mechanism for strategic decision-making. Contribution/value-add : The study employed return on equity as a proxy for firm value, utilising ordinary least squares regression modelling to test propositions of the relationships between variables. Normal 0 false false false EN-GB ZH-CN AR-SA
A comparison of users and non‐users of banking self‐service technology in Portugal

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the behaviour of Portuguese users and non‐users of self‐service technologies (SSTs) in banking services.Design/methodology/approach – An empirical study is conducted by means of a survey questionnaire. Data are collected from a sample of 300 respondents chosen to represent the Portuguese adult population in terms of age, gender, and geographical place of residence.Findings – The results show that Portuguese users of SST banking services are likely to be young to middle‐aged individuals, with medium to high levels of education. They have a greater propensity to complain and are more price‐sensitive than non‐users of such services.Research limitations/implications – Only six dimensions of consumer behaviour were investigated: price sensitivity, satisfaction, word‐of‐mouth, repurchase intention, propensity to change banks, complaint behaviour. Only three forms of SST contact were examined (ATMs, telephone banking, and internet banking). Other behaviours and S.
Theoretical and Computational Fluid Dynamics Nonnormal Effects in the Taylor – Couette Problem ∗

This work is devoted to the study of transient growth of perturbations in the Taylor–Couette problem due to linear nonnormal mechanisms. The study is carried out for a particular small gap case and is mostly focused on the linearly stable regime of counter-rotation. The exploration covers a wide range of inner and outer angular speeds as well as axial and azimuthal modes. Significant transient growth is found in the regime of stable counter-rotation. The numerical results are in agreement with former analyses based on energy methods and other independent numerical studies. The optimal energy transient growth factor appears to be consistent with experimental observations. This study might shed some light on the subcritical transition to turbulence which is found experimentally in Taylor–Couette flow when the cylinders rotate in opposite directions.
The Impact of WTE Facility on Housing Value

This study makes a contribution to ongoing compensation debates by providing empirical findings whether siting a WTE facility changes the housing value of a given community and what the important attributes are in determining the housing value. To answer these questions this paper examines a WTE facility siting case in Korea employing a Hedonic Pricing Method. The study found that the following variables impact the value of housing: distance to parks, distance to the WTE facility, the number of parking lots per apartment, and total number of floors in the apartment. With regard to the variable Distance to WTE Facility Site, only apartments located within 300m showed a statistically significant relationship. These results support the current government compensation policy that households located within 300m from a WTE facility are eligible to receive fringe benefits including reduction of heating cost, free of charge, and discounted welfare facilities.
Bank Dividends, Agency Costs and Shareholder and Creditor Rights

Using data on listed bankes in 51 countries, we analyze whether banks’ dividend payouts are influenced by the relative strengths of the agency conflicts faced by their shareholders and creditors. We show that dividend policy depends on the relative strengths of these agency conflicts, but with a more decisive role played by the agency cost of equity than the one of debt, in contrast to results found in the literature on non-financial firms. We then further investigate whether those relationships are shaped by differences in funding structure, levels of capitalization and capital stringency, and potential differences in external corporate governance mechanisms.
Structural and functional state of heart left ventricle depending on polymorphism rs966221 phosphodiesterase 4D gene in emergency workers of the Chornobyl NPP suffering from coronary heart disease.

OBJECTIVE This study consisted in examination the features of structural and functional state of the cardiovascular system in emergency workers (EW) of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant (ChNPP) who suffered from coronary heart disease (CHD) and having different genotypes due to polymorphism rs966221 phosphodiesterase 4D (PDE4D) gene. MATERIALS AND METHODS The study involved 121 EW and 63 non irradiated patients with CHD. Standardized survey included echo doppler cardiography (EchoCG) that was done by Diagnostic Ultrasound System DS N3 (Mindray). Polymorphism rs966221 PDE4D determined by polymerase chain reaction followed by restriction reaction products. RESULTS The distribution of genotypes PDE4D in EW was as follows: CC - 42, CT - 49 and TT - 30 patients. In the con trol group, carriers of the same genotypes were 27, 21 and 15 persons respectively. All echocardiographic parame ters in EW workers and non irradiated patients did not differ significantly. Amongst TT genotype carriers of both groups the proportion of patients with increased myocardial mass index was the highest (82.9%) compared to CC genotype (78.4%) and CT (71.4%). The concentric type of left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy was found in 54.9% of patients with CC genotype, in 51.8% with CT genotype and 45.7% with TT genotype, while the eccentric type in 23.5, 21.4 and 37.1% respectively. The relative number of people with high LV end diastolic volume (EDV) normalized by body surface area (BSA) was 27.5% in CC genotype carriers, 26.8% in CT genotype and 40% in TT genotype carriers (p > 0.05). The increase of BSA indexed LV end systolic volume (ESV) was found in 27.5, 30.4 and 28.6%, and the ejection fraction in 15.7, 23.2 and 22.9% respectively. The largest number of CHD patients with inadequate dias tolic function was in carriers of TT genotype (75%) compared with the data in CC (66.7%) and CT genotypes (42.9%) carriers. CONCLUSIONS In patients with the same genotype, both EW and non irradiated persons there were virtually no dif ferences in indicators of the structural and functional status of LV. The analysis of changes of LV structure the fol lowing feature was revealed: eccentric type of LV hypertrophy was more common for patients with TT genotype, but concentric type for CC genotype carriers. In one third of patients with CC and CT genotypes and in 40% of TT geno type carriers it was observed LV systolic function disorders. Diastolic dysfunction manifested as often in patients with TT genotype compared with CC and CT genotypes carriers.