bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Heart Rate Monitoring in Newborn Babies: A Systematic Review
Authors: Anton Oana , Fernandez Ramon , Rendon-Morales Elizabeth , Aviles-Espinosa  Rodrigo , Jordan Harriet , Rabe Heike
Published: June 2019

Background: Around 10% of newborn infants require assistance during transition after birth. Heart rate (HR) is the most important clinical indicator to evaluate the clinical status of a newborn. Aim: Our study aimed to review all established and novel methods to detect HR in babies giving special consideration to non-invasive techniques. Methods: We performed a systematic literature search on the following databases: MEDLINE, Embase, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), and CINAHL. The inclusion criteria were studies on methods to detect HR in both term and preterm infants in comparison to one of the current gold standards: pulse oximetry (PO) or electrocardiography (ECG) published in the last 15 years. Two independent reviewers screened titles and abstracts for eligibility. Data extracted in an Excel table were analysed to produce a narrative review structured around the type of monitoring, identified obstacles in use, as well as methods to overcome these limitations. Results: The search revealed 649 studies after duplicates were removed. Full article analysis was performed on 26 studies of which 25 met the inclusion criteria. Well established methods such as auscultation and palpation, although rapid and easily available, have been shown to be inaccurate. ECG and PO were both more precise but the delay in obtaining a reliable HR signal from birth often exceeded 1–2 min. Novel sensors offered the advantages of minimally obtrusive technologies but have limitations mainly due to movement artefact, bad sensor coupling, intermittent measurement, and poor-quality recordings. Conclusions: The limitations of existing methods have a potential impact on short- and long-term morbidity and mortality outcomes. The development of a technological solution to determine HR accurately and quickly in babies at birth has immense implications for further research and can guide interventions, such as placental transfusion and resuscitation.
Decisões judiciais na saúde, um campo propício para a interferência de convicções pessoais de cada juiz: análise da jurisprudência de quatro tribunais de justiça
Authors: Zebulum José Carlos
Published: June 2019

A partir da expansão do fenômeno da judicialização da saúde, os juízes vêm assumindo um importante papel na concretização do direito à saúde em nosso país. Nesse contexto, os magistrados de todas as instâncias do Poder Judiciário brasileiro passam a se defrontar com questões inusitadas inerentes à garantia efetiva do acesso aos serviços de saúde, o que suscitou, em alguns casos, diferentes posicionamentos e intensas discussões nos tribunais estaduais e federais brasileiros. Algumas questões de saúde pública levadas com frequência à apreciação dos juízes geram, de fato, intensas controvérsias, que não decorrem de uma simples oposição de interesses entre o poder público e o particular requerente, mas sim do fato de o magistrado, no momento de decidir, sofrer forte influência de seus próprios princípios morais, e nem sempre se sentir “confortável” em adotar a solução eventualmente apontada pela mera aplicação da lei. Trata-se de situações em que os juízes acabam decidindo mais em função de suas convicções pessoais, de sua sensibilidade, enquanto ser humano, à dor e ao sofrimento alheios, do que em função de seus conhecimentos técnico-jurídicos. O objetivo deste estudoé verificar  como questões dessa natureza vêm sendo enfrentadas e decididas no âmbito de quatro tribunais estaduais de justiça do país.
Teorias da justiça e saúde pública
Authors: Michel Voltaire de Freitas , Deitos Marc Antoni
Published: June 2019

Na primeira parte, este artigo procura identificar as principais soluções propostas pelas teorias da justiça contemporâneas para a distribuição de bens escassos. Na segunda parte do trabalho, busca-se aplicá-las a modelos ideais de sistemas de  saúde pública. Em outras palavras, o trabalho investiga critérios de justiça distributiva no fornecimento de serviços de saúde (tratamentos ou medicamentos), por meio de prestações, pelo Estado, para qualquer indivíduo, independentemente de sua condição financeira ou da causa da doença (involuntária ou provocada). Esses dois elementos da delimitação não são absolutamente moralmente neutros, porém, para efeitos didáticos, estão isolados e são desconsiderados na discussão que se propõe. Conclui-se que, por detrás de opções fundamentais a respeito dos limites e da distribuição de serviços de saúde, encontra-se um critério de justiça perfeitamente identificável e, por vezes, inconciliável com outras opções. O problema do trabalho consiste na delimitação do que é o justo na prestação dos tratamentos a partir do ponto de vista de diferentes concepções de justiça. A metodologia empregada é descritiva do estado atual da discussão a respeito das teorias da justiça, seguida de uma aplicação dialética ao exame de modelos ideais de sistemas de saúde.
A regulação da formação graduada de profissionais de saúde na Argentina, Paraguai e Uruguai
Authors: Kölling Gabrielle , Steffens Isadora Da Silveira , Silva Jameson Vinícius Martins da
Published: June 2019

O presente artigo é um dos resultados de um projeto de pesquisa que investiga a regulação das profissões de saúde no Mercosul. A formação em saúde é pauta de constantes discussões, especialmente no âmbito do Mercosul, pela falta de uniformidade tanto dentro do bloco regional como até mesmo dentro de cada Estado que o compõe. Nota-se que há um mosaico de legislações relativas à formação em saúde no âmbito dos países-membros, enquanto a discussão acerca da incorporação da Matriz Mínima encontra-se em diferentes estágios. Assim, o objetivo deste artigo é mapear e analisar a formação graduada em saúde no Mercosul, especialmente a atual configuração jurídica, normativa e institucional de sua regulação, concentrando-se nos casos de Argentina, Paraguai e Uruguai. No que concerne à metodologia, o método de abordagem é o descritivo-analítico. As técnicas de pesquisa são a bibliográfica e a documental, além de resultados de pesquisa de campo. No que tange às considerações finais, observa-se que a integração da Matriz Mínima aos ordenamentos jurídicos dos países ora analisados ainda não foi concretizada. A excessiva autonomia das universidades e províncias na Argentina são um entrave à essa incorporação; no Uruguai, a centralização das funções na universidade pública e a baixa normatividade também dificultam uma homogeneização de regulação comum; por fim, no Paraguai, a regulação das questões de formação no nível da graduação é muito recente, portanto ainda há espaço para criação de regulações mais específicas.
Role of the Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor/ARNT/Cytochrome P450 System in Pulmonary Vascular Diseases
Authors: Kwapiszewska Grazyna , Johansen Anne Katrine Z. , Gomez-Arroyo Jose , Voelkel Norbert F.
Published: June 2019

Rationale:

CYPs (cytochrome p450) are critically involved in the metabolism of xenobiotics and toxins. Given that pulmonary hypertension is strongly associated with environmental exposure, we hypothesize that CYPs play a role in the development and maintenance of pathological vascular remodeling.

Objective:

We sought to identify key CYPs that could link drug or hormone metabolism to the development of pulmonary hypertension.

Methods and Results:

We searched in Medline (PubMed) database, as well as
http://www.clinicaltrials.gov
, for CYPs associated with many key aspects of pulmonary arterial hypertension including, but not limited to, severe pulmonary hypertension, estrogen metabolism, inflammation mechanisms, quasi-malignant cell growth, drug susceptibility, and metabolism of the pulmonary arterial hypertension–specific drugs.

Conclusions:

We postulate a hypothesis where the AhR (aryl hydrocarbon receptor) mediates aberrant cell growth via expression of different CYPs associated with estrogen metabolism and inflammation.
Taxonomy, the Cinderella of science, hidden by its evolutionary stepsister
Authors: PADIAL JOSÉ M. , RIVA IGNACIO DE LA
Published: June 2019

While taxonomy is being glorified during the Linnaean 300th anniversary (Anonymous 2007; Hopper 2007), we have observed a dangerous trend in phylogenetics: the placement of taxonomic discoveries in the appendices of science. Studies that aim to address biogeographical or evolutionary hypotheses using phylogenetic analyses have been confronted with the problem of how to proceed with the taxonomic discoveries that emerge during the analysis of the information (e. g. when discovering that a taxon that was thought to be monophyletic is instead paraphyletic). Authors of such studies may be forced by the editorial policy of high impact journals, either to ignore their own taxonomic results or to treat them marginally by including them in on-line appendices (e. g. Wiens et al. 2005; Heinicke et al. 2007). These cases are likely to be more and more common because of the increasing use of phylogenetics without classification purposes (Wheeler 2004; Franz 2005), together with the lack of complete taxonomic knowledge for most organisms (Dubois 2003a). This situation can lead to the production of “phantom taxonomies”: those that first appear in online appendices as downloadable documents, in which both the new taxonomy and the authors are difficult to track. This new term bears a strong resemblance to two other: "phantom nomina" as introduced by Vences et al. (1999) and "phantom references" (Dubois 1999). The term "phantom nomina" refers to new nomina “accidentally” published in amateur publications without proper descriptions and vouchers, while "phantom references" point to references that were quoted as "in press" or " in  preparation" but were never published.
Two new species of Batoctenus Sharp (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Pselaphinae) from French Guiana
Authors: YIN ZI-WEI
Published: June 2019

Two new species of the Neotropical pselaphine genus Batoctenus Sharp, 1887 are described from French Guiana, i.e., B. kawmontis sp. nov., and B. kociani sp. nov., with their habitus and major diagnostic characters illustrated.
The Kerner Commission Report: Did It Incentivize or Cause an Increase in the Production and Hiring of Black PhD Economists in Academia?
Authors: Price Gregory N.
Published: June 2019

Approximately 50 years ago, the Kerner Commission Report cited pervasive racial discrimination in training, education, and employment as a contributor to Black–White inequality and stratification in the United States. This article considers if the Kerner Commission Report incentivized and possibly caused an increase in the production and hiring of Black PhD economists in academia. With longitudinal data on counts of economic doctorates earned by Black Americans employed in economics departments between 1957 and 2018, we estimate the parameters of count data specifications that accounts for the 1968 Kerner Commission Report dichotomously. Parameter estimates from mixed and fixed effect Poisson, negative binomial, and Poisson quantile specifications suggest that while the Kerner Commission Report generally had a positive effect on the number of Black American economics doctorates employed as faculty, it had no effect on the hiring of Black economists at the typical research institution and PhD-granting economics department. Our results suggest that similar to the Kerner Commission Report characterization of the United States being two separate racially stratified societies, approximately 50 years later research institutions and PhD-granting economics departments in the United States are similarly racially stratified.
An Exploration of Youth–Parent–Mentor Relationship Dynamics in a Youth-Initiated Mentoring Intervention to Prevent Out-of-Home Placement
Authors: Van Dam L. , Bakhuizen R. E. , Schwartz S. E. O. , De Winter M. , Zwaanswijk M. , Wissink I. B. , Stams G. J. J. M.
Published: June 2019

This qualitative study explores the youth-initiated mentoring (YIM) approach for youth at risk for out-of-home placement. In this approach, a youth nominates someone from within their social network, and positions this person as a YIM to function as an ally for the youth and as a partner for parents and professional caregivers. Through interviews with six youth, six YIMs, and seven parents ( N = 19), we examined the positioning of a YIM and sustainability. The results indicated that attitudes from participants toward asking someone or being asked to become a YIM varied from enthusiastic to cautious. Participants reported increased contact intensity and relationship quality. Two parents did not experience YIM as beneficial. Most participants expected that the YIM–mentee relationship lasts after professional care terminates. The results reveal that YIM is experienced as an ally, but it also has the potential to increase relational conflicts between social network members.
Self-Esteem and Coping Styles in Polish Youths with and Without Visual Impairments
Authors: Tołczyk Sylwia , Pisula Ewa
Published: June 2019

Introduction:

The aim of this study was to compare self-esteem and coping styles in youths with and without visual impairments (i.e., blindness or low vision) and to explore relationships between self-esteem and coping styles.

Methods:

The participants were students of secondary schools in Poland: 50 with visual impairments (23 females) and 50 typically sighted (21 females). Self-esteem and coping styles were measured with the following questionnaires: Multidimensional Self-Esteem Inventory, by O’Brien and Epstein, in Polish adaptation by Fecenec and Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations, by Endler and Parker, in Polish adaptation by Strelau, Jaworowska, Wrześniewski, and Szczepaniak.

Results:

There were no group differences in global self-esteem nor in the majority of self-esteem domains excepting moral self-approval, in which the group with visual impairments scored higher than did their sighted peers. Females with visual impairments reported lower self-esteem related to body appearance than control females and males with visual impairments. There were no group differences in coping styles. Moral self-approval and self-esteem in the domain of body functioning served as predictors of an avoidance coping style.

Discussion:

Self-esteem seems to be influenced by both gender and visual impairment. The absence of differences in global self-esteem between groups with and without visual disabilities may be a result of access to rehabilitation, professional support, and education in the group with visual impairment. Body appearance seems to be a particularly important aspect of self-esteem for females with visual impairments, who scored lower than the other groups.

Implications for practitioners:

The results show the need to provide specialized psychological support to females with visual impairments aimed at developing positive body image. Further studies on factors influencing self-esteem and coping styles among youths with visual impairments could enable practitioners to better understand how to support them in coping with everyday stress.
Home Telemedicine (CoYoT1 Clinic): A Novel Approach to Improve Psychosocial Outcomes in Young Adults With Diabetes
Authors: Bakhach Marwan , Reid Mark W. , Pyatak Elizabeth A. , Berget Cari , Cain Cindy , Thomas John “Fred” , Klingensmith Georgeanna J. , Raymond Jennifer K.
Published: June 2019

Purpose

To assess the impact of a home telemedicine clinic model (CoYoT1 Clinic) on psychosocial and behavioral outcomes designed for young adults (YAs) with type 1 diabetes (T1D).

Methods

YAs self-selected to participate in the CoYoT1 Clinic or serve as a usual care control. CoYoT1 Clinic visits consisted of an individual appointment with a provider and a group appointment with other YAs with T1D using home telemedicine. Psychosocial and behavioral functioning was assessed by 4 measures: Diabetes Distress Scale, Self-Efficacy for Diabetes Scale, Self-Management of Type 1 Diabetes in Adolescence Scale, and Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale.

Results

Forty-two patients participated in the CoYoT1 Clinic and 39 patients served as controls. CoYoT1 participants reported lower levels of distress ( P = .03), increased diabetes self-efficacy ( P = .01), and improved ability to communicate with others about diabetes ( P = .04) over the study period compared to controls. YA males in the control group reported increases in depressive symptoms ( P = .03) during the study period, but CoYoT1 participants showed no changes.

Conclusion

Group home telemedicine for YAs with T1D positively affects diabetes distress, self-efficacy, and diabetes-specific communication. These positive findings have the potential to also affect the YAs’ long-term diabetes outcomes. Further investigation of the model is needed.
Nagar Panchayat Hospital
Authors: Sriram M S
Published: June 2019

The case discusses the issues of autonomy and accountability in the healthcare division of a local self-government. It highlights the underlying tension between the elected representatives' need to control the division and the executive's need for basic functional and financial autonomy in developing and maintaining the division as a useful and responsive facility to the public. It raises questions as to the concept of cost and responsibility centres in local self-governments and what happens when one of the responsibility centres starts generating revenue and becomes a truly profit centre. Since the basic nature of the service is more of a responsibility — do the surpluses generated by the new profit centre get ploughed back to the same facility or should it get into the general pool of the Panchayat? If the argument is that it should be ploughed back to the responsibility centre to improve the overall facilities of the division, then should the objectives of the division be redefined and what should be the most appropriate institutional mechanism to grant autonomy for a division that is doing well? How would these mechanisms work in the long run? The case tries to sensitize the discussants to the issues and tensions that emerge in a well-managed division of a local-self-government. It also raises the larger issue of autonomy and accountability in democratic institutions.
Beliefs, Values, and Ethics
Authors: Singh Sampat P
Published: June 2019

Ethics has been a perennial human problem: the gap between action based on reality ‘as it is’ and ideals ‘as it ought to be.’ Sometimes, the gap has been more and sometimes less, It has also differed with cultural differences. Presently, all over the world, the problem is considered serious. Earlier, the balance was in favour of collective responsibility: more reliance on norms laid down by religion, laws, and codes of conduct. Now, the emphasis is shifting towards, individual responsibility: ethical choices, compromises, moral courage, transparency, accountability, and self-awareness. This demands education and understanding which is possible through exposure to selected masterpieces of literature and their creative interpretation.
Regulating Misleading Advertisements: Legal Provisions and Institutional Framework
Authors: Verma D P S
Published: June 2019

In view of its adverse effect on consumer welfare, misleading advertising is sought to be regulated in most of the countries of the world. This note presents the legal provisions and institutional framework that regulate misleading advertisements in our country such as the MRTP Act, the Consumer Protection. Act, etc.
Knowing, Understanding, and Feeling
Authors: Singh Sampat P
Published: June 2019

In this review article, Sampat P Singh reviews two books on organizational leadership titled “Managing Dyadic Interactions in Organizational Leadership” and “Leadership and Power — Ethical Explorations.” Readers can link this review article with the earlier one by the same reviewer titled “Developing Organizational Leadership” which was published in the October-December 2000 (Vol 25, No 4) issue of Vikalpa.
Evidence of Size Effect on Stock Returns in India
Authors: Mohanty Pitabas
Published: June 2019

This paper reports the results of a study designed to examine if any firm-specific characteristics explain the cross-sectional variation in stock returns using Fama and Macbeth's methodology. It was found that size (measured by market capitalization), market leverage, price-to-book value, and earnings-to-price ratio were highly correlated with stock returns. While size and price-to-book-value were negatively correlated with stock returns, earningsto- price ratio and market leverage were found to be positively correlated with stock returns. The study also found a flat relationship between returns and beta. However, variables other than size did not have any incremental explanatory power, once the size effect had been adjusted for. On splitting the sample period into pre-95 and post-95 sub-periods, it was found that the above effects were predominant in the post-95 sub-period compared to the pre-1995 one. In the entire sample period, small firms generated an annualized excess return of 70 per cent over the large firms.
Changing the Mindsets for Success in Supply Chain Management
Authors: Sahay B S , Maini A , Gupta A K , Gupta R K
Published: June 2019

Supply chain strategy is at the cutting edge of contemporary business re-design. However, most organizations have not been able to realize the full potential of their supply chains. The reason is that they continue to work with traditional mindsets. To maintain sustainable competitive advantage, companies need to align business goals and objectives with their supply chain strategies. In this paper, the authors emphasize the need for organizations to break down their internal functional barriers and view the organization in a holistic manner in order to reap the benefits of an integrated supply chain. To do this, organizations need to imbibe a new mindset.
How Much Should a Person Consume?
Authors: Guha Ramachandra
Published: June 2019

Galbraith termed contemporary America as the ‘Affluent Society’ in which the single-minded pursuit of wealth led to the massive exploitation of resources and materials through the years. Contemporary India reflects the Western ethos while aggressively channelizing the natural resources of the countryside to meet the needs of the urban-industrial sector. From this biased resource-use arises the grave inequalities of consumption within the nation.

This paper addresses the dynamics of consumption in the backdrop of the global socio-ecological movement with special reference to the Indian context. It captures the asymmetries in the patterns of consumption in an analytical framework. Based on the culture and styles of consumption, the Indian population can be divided into three classes: omnivores, ecosystem people and ecological refugees. Omnivores have the capability to draw upon the natural resources of the whole of India to maintain their lifestyles. Ecosystem people, rely on resources in their vicinity. Ecological refugees are those ecosystem people who have been displaced from their homes and live in slums. It is argued that the process of development in independent India is characterized by a basic asymmetry between the omnivores and the ecosystem people. While omnivores consume too much, ecosystem people may be consuming much too little. Some of the consequences of this process are: Concentration of decision making in the hands of omnivores. Use of state machinery for diverting natural resources for omnivore prosperity, e.g., through subsidies. Indifference of omnivores to environmental degradation caused by them and passing on their costs to society. Protests by the victims of development. Creation of ‘ecological refugees’ as a result of permanent displacement of ecosystem people.

Three key ways to enhance the social power of ecological refugees and ecosystem people are: land reforms, literacy, and health care. These reforms would simultaneously force omnivores to internalize the costs of their profligate behaviour.

A retreat of the rich from overconsumption is the necessary first step towards improving the lives of an increasing number of people. One solution for the inequality in fuel consumption comes from the Spanish economist, Juan Martinez-Alier, who suggests taxation of oil consumption in rich countries while subsidizing LPG or kerosene in poor countries.

Thus, to allow the poor to ascend just one step up the hierarchies of resource consumption, what is required is a very moderate sacrifice by the rich. It echoes Gandhi's thoughts on environmental ethics: “World has enough for everybody's need, but not enough for everybody's greed.”
Measuring Retail Service Quality: An Empirical Assessment of the Instrument
Authors: Parikh Darshan
Published: June 2019

Retailing in India is growing at the rate of about 18-20 per cent per annum. As part of its strategy to gradually open it up to foreign competition, the government is also in the process of increasing foreign direct investment in the retail sector. At the same time, the urban consumer is becoming more discerning and demanding as far as the lifestyle is concerned. Urban Indian household income and purchasing power are also on the rise. Under such circumstances, the success of organized retailing in India mainly depends on delivery of services through quality improvements. In service organizations, customer-perceived service quality is considered as one of the key determinants of business performance. So far, in the Indian context, there is a dearth of tested instruments which can measure customer-perceived service quality of a retail store. At the same time, instruments developed in other countries have not been tested for their applicability in the Indian retail industry.

It is in this context that this paper reports on the application of Dabholkar, Thorpe and Rentz's (1996) retail service quality scale in measuring the gap between the customers' expectations and their perceptions about the service quality of retail stores in India. Statistical analyses were performed to test the dimensionality of service quality and to examine the reliability of the scale. Finally, the analysis of the gap scores was used to suggest relevant improvements in the retail store service quality.

The results indicate the following: Although the instrument was found to be quite reliable, the gap scores did not merge into five dimensions of service quality as proposed by the scale developers; rather, the gap scores roughly merged into nine dimensions. The instrument and the five dimensions of service quality may need considerable restructuring. A few statements which showed considerable reliability problems should be restated or substituted by more relevant statements. The instrument may not be applicable to the retail sector in India without further restructuring. Further research is necessary to understand retail store service quality in India.

The analysis of the gap scores indicates that the highest perceived service gap lies in the policies of the retail stores, particularly, parking facilities provided by them. Apart from this, all other statements also show a negative gap implying the need for considerable improvements in retail service quality. Therefore, as organized retailing develops in India, retail stores in India will have to improve the quality of their services significantly in order to compete successfully in the global marketplace.
Predictive Power of Financial Risk Factors: An Empirical Analysis of Default Companies
Authors: Jayadev M
Published: June 2019

This paper provides empirical evidence on the significance of financial risk factors in predicting default companies. Traditionally, credit decision process is built on accounting ratios derived from financial statements of the borrower. Combining various ratios through application of multivariate statistical techniques and testing their predictive power has been popular in credit risk quantification. Altman's Z-score model is the most acceptable model in this category.

In this paper, three forms of Z-score models are applied: The first equation is developed by surveying the internal credit rating models of the Indian banks and the ratios selected are: current ratio, debt-equity ratio, and operating margin. The second equation is similar to that of Altman's (1968) original equation with a slight modification: instead of debt-to-market value of equity, debt-to-book value of equity is considered. The other three ratios of the second equation are working capital to total assets, retained earnings to total assets, and earnings before interest and taxes to total assets. The third equation is called as Altman, Hartzell and Peck's ‘Emerging Market Score Model.’ Except the asset turnover ratio, all the ratios of the second equation are considered.

In all the three equations, the coefficients are estimated by using the development sample of 112 companies.

The dominant variables discriminating the default companies from non-default ones are: current ratio, debt-equity ratio, operating margin, working capital to total assets, earnings before interest and tax to total assets, net worth to debt, and asset-turnover ratio. The classification accuracy of the second and the third equations is 82 per cent while that of the first equation is only 57 per cent. It implies that the most widely used two ratios — current ratio and debt-equity ratio — are relatively poor in predicting the default companies. Similarly, the ROC accuracy ratio is the highest for Altman's equation whereas the variables considered in internal credit rating models of banks is having a relatively low accuracy ratio.

To test the ability of the model in identifying the defaulting companies correctly, an unbiased diagnostic test of the model is conducted on two separate sets of defaulted firms. The results reveal the following : The Altman's model is capable of predicting default in most of the sample companies. The hold-out sample accuracy results show that the selected variables are capable of predicting default. The analysis shows that the financial risk factors being considered by banks in their internal rating models are not very effective in comparison to other two models in discriminating the firms into default and non-default categories.

Banks can map the internal ratings with the Z-scores and scale this up to assign various credit ratings. By arriving at the coefficients on the basis of their own database, banks can develop Z-score calculators for various segments of borrowers.
Developing Curricula Across Cultures
Authors: Sanzgiri Jyotsna
Published: June 2019

In this paper, the author describes the process of developing a doctoral curriculum in Organizational Psychology involving the participation of a team comprising administrators, faculty, and students which combined seemingly opposing elements. In order to define a curriculum for the future, the members had to resolve conflicts amongst themselves at the personal, philosophic/ideological, and organizational/structural levels.

At the personal level, they learned to reconcile: content and ‘hard’ quantitative skills with process and ‘soft’ personal skills short-term individualistic approaches with long-term strategic thinking monoculturalism with one dominant culture and multiculturalism with pluralistic thinking.

At the philosophical levels, they learned to: combine content and process traditional and experiential approaches diversity awareness and the management of cross-cultural differences.

At the organizational/structural levels, they were able to: combine hierarchical and collegial or consensus-based approaches develop an identity that is unique combined with identity of the larger university culture create resources for empirically-based and experientially-based scholarship.

After these differences were reconciled, the members were able to develop synergistic approaches that allowed them to evolve from their ethnocentric biases to more multicultural approaches. They learned that multiple bases of power would allow them to influence their colleagues to accept the approaches they could potentially offer the university even though they would not have the formal authority to do so.

By practising what was preached, the team was able to define a mission and a vision that was considerably broader than the one it would have if it were to work individualistically. Their mission was to: develop curricular sequences that focus on seminal works in organizational theories, values, research, and practice have an interdisciplinary focus that draws on the fields of psychology, sociology, systems thinking, experimental, and quasi-experimental design emphasize on integrating and differentiating knowledge simultaneously emphasize on theory-in-action and reflective practice.
Measuring Retail Service Quality: Examining Applicability of International Research Perspectives in India
Authors: Kaul Subhashini
Published: June 2019

Service quality is being increasingly perceived as a tool to increase value for the consumer; and as a means of positioning in a competitive environment to ensure consumer satisfaction, retention, and patronage. Existing research indicates that consumers satisfied with the store�s service quality are most likely to remain loyal. However, despite its strategic importance, Indian retailers do not have an appropriate and established instrument to measure service quality.

This study examines the Retail Service Quality Scale (RSQS) developed in the US for applicability in India. RSQS has five dimensions and six sub-dimensions and has been found appropriate in a variety of settings — across different countries such as South Africa and Singapore and across a variety of store types such as supermarkets, department stores, and hyper stores. The five dimensions — Physical Aspects, Reliability, Personal Interaction, Problem Solving, and Policy�are believed to capture distinct though correlated aspects of retail service. Each of the first three dimensions has two sub-dimensions. These six sub-dimensions, also called the first-order factors, are labelled as Appearance, Convenience, Promises, Doingit-Right, Inspiring Confidence, and Courteousness/Helpfulness.

The dimensions and sub-dimensions provide strategic focus areas for retailers, enabling them to improve certain aspects of store service where performance is relatively poor.

Data using a survey questionnaire from 144 adult shoppers at large format apparel stores in the city of Bangalore indicates that: The RSQS dimensions and sub-dimensions are not clearly identifiable. The dimension of �Physical Appearance� is the only one that is relatively clear. All other dimensions are ill-defined. The dimension of ‘Problem-Solving’ is hazy and all the remaining dimensions of RSQS comprise one factor. RSQS has limited diagnostic application. Consequently, retailers would find RSQS a poor instrument to help identify strategic areas requiring focus to improve service levels. The scale can, at best, be employed to assess overall service quality levels and for tracking overall improvements over a period of time. RSQS is inappropriate for application in Indian retail. Pre-test interviews of shoppers indicate that several service aspects mentioned by shoppers during interviews are not included in RSQS.

Much future research is needed to develop a scale appropriate for the Indian context.
Influence of Board Size and Independence on Firm Performance: A Study of Indian Companies
Authors: Garg Ajay Kumars
Published: June 2019

Corporate governance issues have attracted a good deal of public interest because of their apparent importance for the economic health of corporations and society in general, especially after the plethora of corporate scams and debacles in recent times.

Corporate governance issues flow from the concept of accountability and governance and assume greater significance and magnitude in the case of corporate form of organization where the ownership and management of organizations are distanced. And, it is in this context that the pivotal role played by the board of directors in maintaining an effective organization assumes much importance. A major part of the debate on corporate governance centres around board composition especially board size and independence. Various committees have mandated a minimum number of independent directors and have given guidelines on board composition. However, the relationship of board characteristics such as composition, size, and independence with performance has not yet been established.

This paper addresses this question: Does the board size and independence really matter in terms of influencing firm's performance?

The findings suggest that: There is an inverse association between board size and firm performance. Different proportions of board independence have dissimilar impact on firm performance. The impact of board independence on firm performance is more when the board independence is between 50 and 60 per cent. Smaller boards are more efficient than the larger ones, the board size limit of six suggested as the ideal. Independent directors have so far failed to perform their monitoring role effectively and improve the performance of the firm. The guidelines on corporate governance should take into account the ‘cross-board’ phenomenon while defining the criteria for eligibility for appointment as an independent director. Lack of training to function as independent directors and ignorance of the procedures, tasks, and responsibilities expected of them could be reasons for the independent directors' non-performance. A bad performance leads to an increase in board size, which in turn, hampers performance.

Guidelines are provided for future studies to include different variables to see which board composition is suitable for different companies at different stages of life cycle.
Effect of Organizational Culture on Creating Learned Helplessness Attributions in R&D Professionals: A Canonical Correlation Analysis
Authors: Saxena Sharad , Shah Hardik
Published: June 2019

Organizations must make effective use of their resources in order to succeed in today's global marketplace. To get the most out of their human resources, organizations empower employees to allow them to work to their highest potential. In doing so, firms are attempting to make employees aware that there is a link between their efforts and subsequent performance. In other words, employers are making employees responsible for their behaviour and then rewarding those who show signs of the most appropriate behaviour; however, these strategies will not work with all employees. One specific reason, empowerment may not work, is because some individuals exhibit learned helplessness behaviours. Due to such negative impact of learned helplessness attributions on performance in organizations, it is important to understand how people develop learned helplessness attributions and what role organizational culture plays towards developing or helping to cope up with such negative way of thinking which essentially impairs the performance of individuals. Learned helplessness as a deed per se is highly influenced by the philosophical foundations, value systems, and ethos of the organization and therefore the basic premise of the study is that the organizational culture is one of the fundamental causes of creating learned helplessness attributions.

In this paper, an attempt has been made to explore the relationship among different dimensions of organizational culture and learned helplessness attributions for R&D professionals of pharmaceutical industry of India. Different strategies to manage R&D professionals have been suggested based on the results. The study revealed that: the organizational culture variables were negatively related to the learned helplessness attributions the role of organizational culture was significant in order to create or remove learned helplessness the attributions played an important role in causing depression and vulnerability situations that eventually results in learned helplessness all learned helplessness attributions were quite closely related and created a well-defined dimension for representing LH attributions the outcome dimension of learned helplessness was fairly well predicted by the set of organizational culture profile variables when acting as a set learned helplessness was brought on by a handful of uncontrollable, stress-creating factors including time and performance pressures, lack of free time, the competitive and demanding nature of research projects, and lack of opportunity to socialize or engage in recreation.
Dilemma of Corporate Action: Empirical Evidences of Bonus Issue vs. Stock Split
Authors: Shirur Srinivas
Published: June 2019

Corporate action is usually believed to offer some good news to the investors, particularly in case of amalgamation and mergers. In many cases, corporate actions do not involve any potential future positive benefits to the company as is the case with bonus issue and stock splits. Such types of actions of the companies could be called as fictitious corporate actions. It has been noticed by many empirical studies that the market react positively to the announcement of bonus shares and stock splits.

This study analyses the reasons for the issue of bonus shares and stock splits on a sample of 165 companies which have issued bonus shares and 134 companies which have gone for stock splits during January 2000 to September 2006. An effort is also made to find the distinguishing conditions under which a company has to decide whether to issue bonus shares or to go for stock splits. Five variables have been considered for the study: rate of growth of sales and profit, beta and share price increase, and promoter stake. Effort has been made to explore whether there is any significant difference in these variables as applicable to stock split and bonus shares.

The study reveals that top management of the companies decide to issue bonus shares when the investors undervalue the company while they go for stock split when the investors overvalue the company for a long time and promoters have to step in to correct these anomalies. This merely goes on to prove that capital markets are not inherently efficient even in the long run and promoters have to intervene to manage the prices of their stocks through corporate actions. This puts a question mark on the Market Efficiency Hypothesis and an effort has been made to test the ability of NSE to depict semi-strong and strong form of Market Efficiency Hypothesis.

As far as policy implications are concerned, the author suggests that: Companies may resort to bonus shares issue if the rate of growth of share price lag behind the market index and the rate of growth of sales and profit is higher than the companies included in the index. In contrast, they may resort to stock split if the rate of growth of share price is higher than that of the index while the growth in sales and profit is less than the companies included in the index. One should also be cautious while applying this rationale. There are significant number of companies (negative companies) which may resort to fictitious corporate actions even if their rate of growth of sales or profit or both are negative in order to mislead the investors by resorting to false signaling.
SEBI's Regulation of the Indian Securities Market: A Critical Review of the Major Developments
Authors: Sabarinathan G
Published: June 2019

Since the empowerment of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) through an Act of Parliament in 1992, SEBI has come up with a number of initiatives aimed at regulating and developing the Indian securities market and improving its safety and efficiency. These initiatives have made an impact on nearly every aspect of the market. Some of those initiatives have transformed the market fundamentally. Particularly noteworthy is the growth in the following: Market capitalization Number of listed firms Trading volumes and turnover both in the spot and futures markets.

There is a growing network of financial intermediaries that operate in a highly competitive environment while being governed by a tight set of norms. India has one of the most sophisticated new equity issuance markets. Disclosure requirements and the accounting policies followed by listed companies for producing financial information are comparable to the best regimes in the world.

The Indian securities market is among the safest and the most efficient trading destinations internationally. The Indian corporate governance code is compared to the Sarbanes Oxley Act of the USA. India has one of the fastest growing and well-developed asset management businesses in the world, with state-owned as well as private sector players. That said, the Indian market is often hostage to some scam or the other from time to time. Effective enforcement of compliance is cited as one of the reasons for these unsavoury episodes.

The role that SEBI's initiatives have played in bringing about this transformation of the market has not been researched comprehensively so far. Literature that has analysed the efficiency and the design of the Indian securities market has examined the role of certain specific regulatory provisions on the functioning of the securities market. So also the various annual reports of SEBI discuss the regulatory and other institutional developments that took place during the year under review. However, no attempt seems to have been made to take stock of all the various initiatives of SEBI so far and assess its impact on the activity in the securities market.

This paper identifies some of the major interventions of SEBI relating to each of these aspects of the market and critically examines the economic consequences of the same. Such a stock-taking will enable a well-rounded and objective review of SEBI's performance. It is also likely to suggest interesting areas for further research.