bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Analysis of polymorphic variants of CFTR (rs 113993960), IL-4 (rs 2243250), PRSS1 (rs 111033565), SPINK1 (rs ID 6690) and TNF-α (rs 1800629) Genes in Patients with Edematous Pancreatitis Living in Northern Bukovyna region
Authors: Ivashchuk Sergei , Sydorchuk Larysa
Published: December 2016

The occurrence of gene mutations affecting the formation of acute pancreatitis or exacerbation of chronic pancreatitis differs in different populations and ethnic groups.The objective of the research was to study the incidence of CFTR (rs 113 993 960), IL-4 (rs 2243250), PRSS1 (rs 111 033 565), SPINK1 (rs ID 6690) and TNF-α (rs 1800629) gene mutations in Northern Bukovyna region and their dependence on etiological factor, sex and type of pancreatitis.Material and methods. Determination of IL-4 (C-590T), TNF-α (G-308A), PRSS1 (R122H), SPINK1 (N34S) and CFTR (delF508) genes polymorphisms was performed in 123 patients with acute pancreatitis and the exacerbation of chronic pancreatitis and in 40 healthy individuals.Results. The relative incidence of PRSS1, CFTR, SPINK1 and TNF-α genes polymorphisms in patients with acute pancreatitis and the exacerbation of chronic pancreatitis did not significantly differ. Carriers of CC genotype of IL- 4 gene were present among the patients with acute pancreatitis and in the control group by 22.39% and 21.76% more often than among the patients with the exacerbation of chronic pancreatitis. Acute alcohol-related pancreatitis was observed in men significantly more often than gallstone pancreatitis, namely by 53.58% in carriers of “wild” GG-genotype of PRSS1 gene, by 29.64% in carriers of CC genotype of IL-4 gene, by 42.40% in carriers of NN-genotype of CFTR gene, and by 38.74% in carriers of GG-genotype of SPINK1 gene, respectively.Conclusions. The mutation of CFTR (rs 113 993 960), PRSS1 (rs 111 033 565), SPINK1 (rs ID6690) and TNF-α (rs1800629) gene in the homozygous state among the population of Northern Bukovyna was not detected. Acute alcohol-related pancreatitis was more often diagnosed in men in case of “wild” genotypes of PRSS1, CFTR and SPINK1 genes, whereas gallstone pancreatitis was more often diagnosed in women.
“Caritas”: Irrupción de la acogida.
Authors: Reyes Gacitúa Eva Pamela
Published: December 2016

This research has sought to emphasize the charity and the Holy Spirit as relevant issues in the conception of a mystical theology. Our author notes that the spiritual life consist of access to God’s likeness from charity. William, twelfth-century theologian perceives that the Holy Spirit transforms us into the Christian life, where love is the engine that energizes and penetrates the same man loving. This statement highlights that the Christian experience in not feasible from human forces, because it is the quintessential work of God in man.
El cuerpo sin exclusión.
Authors: Lombardo Tombolini Patricio
Published: December 2016

Is the time of inclusion and the human body is considered one of the emerging phenomena of the twentieth century, to the extent that Ortega y Gasset was able to speak of the resurrection of the flesh as one of the defining features of this century. To the problems of contemporary appropriation of the human body, Gaudium et Spes of Vatican II may represent a starting point for theological reflection on this reality and a correction to spread Christian Platonism in the collective imagination of the Catholic religion.
Misiones en el Natre.
Authors: Troncoso Delpiano Isabel Margarita
Published: December 2016

The story begins on a mission en Natre loading with the poverty of the mission and the poverty of the Mapuche people, who successfully took on the job. Every missionary seeks to evangelize and the result is onculturation, that is dialogue and respect between cultures, peoples and individuals. Everyone has to give and receive. Trust and respect are fundamental, even though we know that social life takes uncertainty. Only then can we live with joy the differences among us.
Identidad religiosa en jóvenes universitarios.
Authors: González Ford María Adriana , Álvarez Castillo Fernando Aurelio , Cereceda Ramos Nancy
Published: December 2016

Religious identity in university students. First report on the religious identity of first years students, entrance 2009, of the Universidad Católica del Norte Abstract In this study, we analyze data collected through the application of a survey provided by the Catholic University of Chile, used for a similar study by the School of Psychology and the Faculty of Theology at that institution. This consists of 86 Likert items in 9 dimensions: Interest and use of leisure time, social and political attitudes, beliefs and meaning, religious identity, religious practices, history of beliefs, attitudes toward religious and nonreligious groups, university’s formation, Background. The instrument was applied to 100% of students admitted to first year of the 2009 in the Universidad Católica del Norte (Antofagasta). The results were worked by a multivariate descriptive analysis, in order to build the profile of religious identity in terms of major practices, beliefs and socio-cultural variables of the students surveyed. We show here the results.
A discriminant analysis approach to classifying adopters and non-adopters of internet-banking services
Authors: Mavetera Nehemiah , Moroke Ntebogang Dinah
Published: December 2016

Several technology acceptance theories have been proposed and used to study the adoption of IB services world over. However, TAM has gained wide popularity compared to other behavioral theories. This study uses some constructs from TAM and IDT to investigate the factors that distinguish between IBA in Gaborone. Multivariate techniques such as factor and discriminant analyses were used in this study. The results indicate that, trust, awareness and compatibility proved to have more discriminatory power in IB. The groups tend not to differ much in relation to PEOU and PU. However, IB awareness can be improved in order to increase IB usage in Botswana. The authorities are also urged to entice customers into using internet in order to help improve their PEOU and PU. Training on the use of this service can be provided to the 62.7% or more who have shown interest in using IB in the future. Authors would like to suggest an exploratory study using structural equation modeling as a technique. This can reveal more insights into the data. However, if this is to be done, the sample size needs to be increased. Sample size is one of the weaknesses of this study hence we cannot generalize the findings to the whole of Botswana.
Corporate governance and dividend payout policy: A study of KSE listed firms of Pakistan
Authors: Arslan Muhammad , Zaman Rashid
Published: December 2016

In recent years corporate governance has become promising area of research. The main objective of this study is to determine the relationship between corporate governance and payout policies. The study used the data of 100 KSE listed companies for the period of year 2007 to 2013. The advanced level of statistical methods are employed, consist of logic regression analysis and the comparative average of various groups. The corporate governance index includes the ratio of non-duty members of the board, board size, the dual responsibility of the CEO, the amount of stock owned by institutional investors, size of the auditing company, audit report quality and auditor replacement. Results of this study suggest that dividend is the result of the quality of corporate governance, and in companies where the rights of shareholders are not observed; opportunistic directors employ free flowing funds to invest in projects and fields that enhance their own prestige, grandeur and reputation. Biphasic results showed a meaningful correlation between the profitability of operations, liquidity, asset structure, corporate size and financial leverage and the payout policy. A relatively weak relationship exists between asset structure dividend payout policy while no meaningful relationship exists between growth opportunities and the latter.
Mobile banking adoption: a rural Zimbabwean marketing perspective
Authors: Mbengo Pinigas , Phiri Maxwell A.
Published: December 2016

The purpose of this paper is to explore and discuss the determinants that inhibit mobile banking adoption by the rural unbanked in Zimbabwe. The researchers conducted an extensive literature search. The references consulted were categorically analysed and articles were considered to compile the findings of this paper. The study provides a contribution to practice by providing a better understanding of issues associated with mobile banking diffusion mechanisms that aid the adoption of mobile banking systems. The main findings of the research indicate that there is a slow and often annoying adoption of mobile banking within Zimbabwe by the rural unbanked due to a considerable number of inhibitive factors. This research reveals the nature of adoption that may reliably inform service providers about strategies to consider when appealing to this market segment. The study also shows that mobile banking adoption cannot ignore the use of marketing oriented factors in order to avoid the assumption of being myopic by considering only the product based variables to assess behavioural intention to adopt mobile banking services as identified in Technology Acceptance Model. However, the literature review also reveals that there are virtually no substantive theoretical researches which adequately extend the TAM using all the marketing mix elements. Therefore Technology Acceptance Model is extended using the marketing mix elements to better predict the behavioural intention to adopt mobile banking by the rural unbanked. This research, having studied the behaviour of the rural unbanked, argues that mobile banking service providers are likely to develop tailor-made integrated marketing mix strategies in order to financially include this market segment. The paper recommends for future research to use the additional marketing mix elements of physical evidence, processes and people in the adoption of mobile banking services by the rural unbanked.
Bank disclosure practices: Impact of users’ perspective of financial governance
Authors: Hooi George , Boolaky Pran
Published: December 2016

This paper investigates the influence of the legal framework, national income and quality of financial governance on bank disclosure practices at a macro level. 104 developed and developing countries were examined in 2004. The findings indicate that in addition to investor protection and national income, quality of financial governance (accounting and audit) is positively associated with bank disclosure practices globally. Furthermore, this paper has explored and extended La Porta et al.’s (1998) findings on the association between national income and the quality of a country’s accounting standards to the banking disclosure model.
Productivity efficiency of the systemic banks: Evidence from Greece
Authors: Kyriazopoulos George
Published: December 2016

This study delves into the productivity efficiency of Greek systemic banks for the years 2013 and 2014, that is, the two years following the recapitalization process of the Greek banking system. Greece’s ongoing debt crisis has severely inflicted domestic banks by causing significant losses in their bond portfolio through the PSI scheme. The immediate consequences were loan portfolio restructurings and capital injections from the Hellenic Financial Stability Fund (HFSF) in order to rebuild the banking system. Employing Data Envelope Analysis to test banking efficiency, we calculate the Malmquist productivity indices for the post-recapitalization period. Our results display that all Greek systemic banks enjoy a remarkable productivity increase of 17.3% according to the geometric mean approach and 18% according to the weighted mean approach.
Effects of personal values on ethical judgments in an auditor-client conflict scenario: The case of Kenya
Authors: Mbuki Jane , Endrawes Medhat , Hellmann Andreas
Published: December 2016

This study examines the effects of personal values on ethical judgments of auditors in Kenya in relation to an auditor-client conflict scenario. It utilizes Schwartz’s (1992) personal value theory and measures ethical judgments by using both single-items and the Multidimensional Ethics Measure developed by Reidenbach and Robin (1988, 1990). The results show some significant differences in the ethical judgments of auditors in Kenya when exposed to an auditor-client conflict scenario. Specifically, auditors who rank high on values such as universalism are likely to not resolve auditor-client conflicts by acceding to clients’ wishes because they perceive such behavior as unethical. In addition, auditors who rank low on power also perceive such behavior as unethical. As such, the results provide support for a relationship between specific values and ethical judgments in the context of auditor-client conflict scenarios.
Perspectives and obstacles of the shareholder activism implementation: A comparative analysis of civil and common law systems
Authors: Raja Khurram Parvez , Kostyuk Alex
Published: December 2016

The paper outlines shareholder activism development in common law and civil law countries and identifies features of these legal systems that create preconditions and obstacles for shareholder activism. Our findings show that tendencies of shareholder activism depend on the type of the legal system, but also vary within the countries that share the same legal system. Thus, we conclude that the type of legal system is not the chief determinant of shareholder activism. A comparative analysis of shareholder activism in Germany and Ukraine (civil law countries) and the USA and the UK (common law countries) shows that the system of domestic corporate regulation, development of the stock market, companies’ capitalization and corporate governance influence the development of shareholder activism in equal measure.
CEO remuneration, board composition and firm performance: empirical evidence from Australian listed companies
Authors: Ndayisaba Gilbert , Ahmed Abdullahi D.
Published: December 2016

Classical economic theories establishing a relationship between CEO remuneration and firm performance has paid particular attention to solve conflict of interest between managerial team and firm shareholders, by designing an optimum CEO remuneration that motivate executives to work in the best interest of shareholders. Many international and less Australian empirical researches suggest that there is overwhelming evidence that firm performance is strongly linked with CEO remuneration. In this paper, we reassess the association of firm performance and CEO remuneration variables using dynamic econometric models and comprehensive data from Australian Stock Exchange (ASX). We find a positive and strong association between CEO pay of top 200 Australian public listed companies and company performance. Obtained findings are similar to USA, UK and Canada studies results. We further test the effect of board and ownership features on CEO remuneration–performance sensitivity in the top 200 Australian public companies listed on ASX. Specifically, for the period of 2003-2007, our results highlight the importance of ownership structure in influencing remuneration–performance relationship. Monitoring block holders boost the responsiveness of long term incentives (LTI) remuneration to performance, thus straightening shareholder and manager welfares. However, based on a short term investment horizon strategy, insider block holders increase (decrease) the sensitivity of short-term incentives remuneration (long term incentives pay). Surprisingly, for the period 2008-2013, our findings suggest that ownership and board features did not influence significantly CEO pay-performance sensitivities. Finally, we find that larger boards increase (decrease) the responsiveness of CEO’s known remuneration (long term incentives) to performance.
Aligning profit making organisations’ strategy to the public sector for improved performance: Market orientation
Authors: Chigudu Daniel
Published: December 2016

This study is a review of the market orientation concept in relation to performance in the public sector. Related literature reveals a positive correlation of market orientation and public sector performance. Although the MARKOR scale, a process approach and the behavioural approach show a significant organisational performance in the profit making organisation, these models appear to have focussed mainly on generic issues in the public sector. The SERVQUAL instrument attempts to only gauge service delivery quality and not the implementation of the marketing concept which defines market orientation. This paper attempts to fill this gap by examining public sector benefits of market orientation. The contribution prompts public sector organisations to embrace market orientation and in turn enhance performance.
Two consecutive hot market periods: Is the IPO market in South Africa changing over time?
Authors: Smit Van Aardt
Published: December 2016

Various authors, such as Gao, Ritter and Zhu (2012), Weild (2011) and Fama and French (2004) reported increasing underpricing and a dramatic decline in both the profitability and the survival rates of Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) over the last few decades internationally. This study seeks to determine whether the IPO landscape in South Africa has shown similar trends focusing on two consecutive hot market periods (1997-99 and 2006-07). The findings are, contrary to expectations, that the level of underpricing has actually improved significantly over time with very little change in the size of the listings, the offer price or the years in existence prior to listing. There is, however, a significant change in the sectors these IPOs were listed in with relatively more listings in the Alternative Board (AltX), but less emphasis in the Consumer and Technology Sectors. Although not significant, it even seems as if the success and failure rate of IPOs in South Africa has improved marginally, providing some explanation for the improvement in the level of underpricing over time. A note of caution is also mentioned regarding the use of mean MAARs as a measure of underpricing, given the typically skewness of IPO data.
Market concentration in U.S. milk processors and his influence at price paid to cow milk producers
Authors: Cavalheiro Everton Anger , Vieira Kelmara Mendes , Costa Carlos
Published: December 2016

In this paper, we analyzed the influence of the four American biggest milk processors into the price paid to producers from 2002 to 2013. Also, we tried to identify the parameters to explain the change in prices paid to producers. The results suggest a moderate concentration. Besides, the industrial concentration of four biggest firms shows a causal flow on the milk’s national price in short time (one year) and that the causal flow in the opposite direction in two years, evidently due to the milk’s production cycle, i.e., the insertion of new milk plants producing in the production cycle will have an impact after a relatively long time, which explains the short-term inelasticity. In other hand, we can see that the international prices have an important influence to U.S. prices paid to producers, indicating some auction characteristics of this product, too confirmed by the influence of the variation of industrial concentration of the four biggest milk processors in this country.
FDI location and exchange rates. is there really a relationship between the two?
Authors: Tsaurai Kunofiwa
Published: December 2016

The exchange rate led foreign direct investment (FDI), FDI led exchange rates and feedback effect hypotheses summarise the literature around the nature of the relationship between FDI and exchange rates. So many authors on this subject over a long period have been found to generally side with of the above-mentioned hypothesis or another without a consensus. Despite this lack of consensus with regard to the exact nature of the causal relation between these two variables, what is coming out clearly from the literature is that there indeed exist a relationship between FDI and exchange rates. The lack of consensus has prompted this current study that used the ARDL (Autoregressive distributed lag)-bounds testing approach. The study revealed the existence of causality from (1) the rand value to FDI in the long run and (2) FDI to the rand value only in the short run in South Africa. The author recommends that policies which strengthen the value of the rand should be put in place in order to attract FDI in the long run. The flow of FDI into South Africa will in turn not only stabilises the value of the rand.
CEO resistance: The role of BOD dependence/independence and CEO profile
Authors: Seifzadeh Pouya
Published: December 2016

The relationship between boards of directors and CEOs has been at the center of attention in the literature on Corporate Governance. However, little has been done to identify sources of friction and possible outcomes in this relationship. In this paper, drawing on the literature on Agency/Stewardship Theory, Upper Echelons perspective, and Corporate Governance, I have addressed this gap. To do so, this paper recognizes the distinction between founder and non-founder CEOs and dependent and independent boards of directors. I have hypothesized that founder CEOs will demonstrate higher resistance than non-founder CEOs in the presence of independent boards of directors and lower than non-founder CEOs in the presence of dependent boards of directors to takeover proposals.
Effects of corporate governance on sustainable development reporting in Thailand
Authors: Suttipun Muttanachai , Saelee Sirima
Published: December 2016

The aims of this research are to investigate the extent of sustainable development reporting (SDR) by listed companies in the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET), to determine the differences in the intra-group SDR scores, and to test for the relationships between corporate governance and the SDR scores. The study population was top-100 SET-listed companies and the research data were collected from their 2011-2013 annual reports. The results showed that the SET-listed sampled companies earned an average SDR score of 33.5 (out of a total of 70) during the study period of 2011-2013; and that state-owned companies had higher scores on SDR than private firms. In addition, significant relationships existed between the variables of family ownership, audit type and industry type and the SDR scores. The limitations include the sole dependence on the annual reports as the credible source of data, the length of study, and the type of research information. This research study is the first that attempts to examine the influence of corporate governance on SDR in the Thai context.
Corporate monitoring and voting disclosure choices: A study of UK asset managers
Authors: Kogan Theodore Benjamin , Salganik-Shoshan Galla
Published: December 2016

This paper investigates the link between voting transparency and voting behaviour in asset managers, and its implications for corporate monitoring. Our results show that the more effort asset managers put into disclosure, the higher their dissention rate, suggesting that the duty asset managers have to represent their clients’ interests is not taken equally seriously across the board. When factoring in voting rationales, we find that 1) the more accepted a rationale for dissent by full-disclosure managers, the greater the overall opposition to management, and that 2) the partial-disclosure and the non-disclosure investors are significantly more complacent than the full disclosure ones. Collectively, our results suggest that when non-disclosure and partial-disclosure asset managers constitute a significant majority of investors, the core accountability mechanism between shareholders and corporate management – namely, stewardship through voting – is malfunctioning.
Corporate governance practices in emerging markets: Evidence from Kazakhstan financial system
Authors: Moldasheva Gulnara
Published: December 2016

This research examines the influence of corporate governance practices on leverage and financial performance of firms in financial system of Kazakhstan. The research employs level data for financial institutions, listed on Kazakh Stock Exchange by using multivariate regression analysis under fixed effect model approach. Results of panel study showed that board size is significantly positively correlated with debt to equity ratio, and with the number of independent directors. Private investors’ shareholding is significantly negatively correlated with debt to equity ratio. CEO/Chair duality is significantly positively correlated with the debt to equity ratio. The size of form has also significant effect on the leverage level. Analysis of the banking sector showed a negative relationship between managerial ownership (MO) and both market value (Tobin’s Q) and performance (ROA and ROE). Moreover, there are statistically significant relationship between bank performance and stock market capitalization, scaled to GDP of country, and there is statistically significant negative relationship between Tobin’s Q and net interest income to total operating income as a proxy for income diversity. The findings also show higher risk-taking behavior (capital market indicators as risk measure, Z-score and the percentage of non-performing loans in total loans as NPL/L). There is a positive relation between MO and Z - scores, and negative relationship between MO and NPL. Moreover, there are significant relationship between banking risk and development of the financial markets which is proxy by private credit and stock market capitalization, both scaled by GDP of country, and, there is statistically significant negative relationship between debt intensity and risk.
An empirical analysis of corporate governance impact on outreach of microfinance institutions (MFIs)
Authors: Thrikawala Sujani , Locke Stuart , Reddy Krishna
Published: December 2016

This study examines the impact of corporate governance practices of microfinance institutions (MFIs) on outreach to the poor people in Sri Lanka by using three outreach variables: Breadth of outreach, percentage of women borrowers and depth of outreach. Data for 54 MFIs are analysed using regression analysis of unbalanced panel data from 2007 to 2012. The findings of this study revealed several significant relationships: Breadth of outreach in Sri Lankan MFIs improve when they have a female chair on the board but decreases when they have more female directors and client representation on the board, and female borrowers get more loans when the firm has women representation and international/donor directors on the board, but less loans if they have a female chair. This study provides a direction for future researchers to explore more, and recommend good corporate governance practices for MFIs to reach more poor clients.
The effects of business group control advantages and affiliate level advantages on affiliate performance
Authors: Bugador Roderick
Published: December 2016

This study views the network of control in a corporate business group as its source of competitive advantages. These control advantages are distributed among the business group affiliates and eventually influence their performance. This paper examines this by providing a reconceptualization of both the nature of business group and affiliate level advantages using the data of the top 20 Philippine corporate groups. The study found out that the group level control advantage affects the affiliate performance more than their individual level advantages. This result confirms the capability of business groups to influence and control their group internal market. This also implies that the business group affiliates have not yet developed significant capabilities which are independent to that of their business group.
Corporate governance in middle east family businesses
Authors: Khalil Samer , Safieddine Assem
Published: December 2016

This study examines governance-related issues within Middle East family businesses. The absence of proper external monitoring mechanisms – governmental or other – to protect shareholder rights, and the absence of any pre-existing literature on the Middle East market provides the motivation to evaluate the corporate governance practices of Middle East family businesses. Using a sample of 124 family businesses, we construct a governance index and use a probit model to examine whether family-related variables can explain the level of corporate governance. It is found that the majority of boards had a prevalence of family members and a low proportion of independent directors. Family businesses, still being run by the first generation, have a limited number of independent members on their boards and tend to adopt poorer governance practices than other firms where the third or fourth generations are involved. Instituting a family council has a positive governance impact, however, much work is needed, especially that it seems to lack clear vision as it is rendering the involvement of new generations ineffective.
Auditors characteristics and audit delay: Evidence from Indonesian regional governments
Authors: Sutaryo Sutaryo , Lase Yediel
Published: December 2016

Overdue financial statements reporting, more specifically audit delay, can cause losses in its capacity in decision making. We investigate the effects of auditor characteristics on local governments’ audit delay by studying 127 Indonesian local governments. We find that auditor professional proficiency and auditor educational background have significant effect on the audit delay of local government financial statements. Our results also indicate the intersection of some auditor characteristics in affecting audit delay. Our findings mainly suggest that the auditor professional proficiency should be improved to shrink audit delay.
Anna M. Gade dan MTQ di Indonesia: Sebuah Kajian Metodologis
Authors: Rohman Nur
Published: December 2016

This article constitutes to repeatedly reading the orientalists research findings on the practice of the holy Qurans reading in Indonesia. It is very important, especially related to the methodology used, because at the same time both of those who are interested to study the holy Quran and the cultural observers see the various daily activities of the people showing the natural phenomenon that can be approached through the social-humanities disciplines. This article explained that Anna M. Gade operated Clifford Geertzs theory on religion as cultural system. Anna Gade said that the practical reading of the Quran (in Indonesia) is constituted by several things, which then grouped into motivation and mood.
Dye removal from artificial wastewater using heterogeneous bio-fenton system
Authors: Shojaat Rahim , Karimi Afzal , Saadatjoo Naghi , Aber Soheil
Published: December 2016

In the present study, GOx/MnFe2O4/calcium alginate nano-composite was prepared by the trapping enzyme/nanoparticles in calcium alginate. The prepared absorbent was applied for decolorization of artificial dye wastewater of acid red 14 (AR14) by heterogeneous bio-Fenton system. Kinetic and isotherm studies were carried out. The decolorization of acid red 14 followed the Michaelis- Menten, pseudo-first order and pseudo-second order kinetic models. Good correlation coefficients were obtained by fitting the experimental data to Michaelis- Menten and pseudo-second order kinetic models. The adsorption isotherms were described by Langmuir, Freundlich and Temkin isotherms. Among the three isotherm models, the Freundlich model was fitted with the equilibrium data obtained from adsorption of AR14 onto MnFe2O4/calcium alginate; while Temkin isotherm gave the best correlation for adsorption on MnFe2O4 nanoparticles. The effect of various parameters such as initial pH of solution, initial dye concentration, and contact time on the adsorption of AR14 on MnFe2O4 and MnFe2O4/ /calcium alginate as well as dye enzymatic decomposition was studied. The decolorization of AR14 with initial concentration of 10 mg.L?1 by using GOx/ /MnFe2O4/calcium alginate was 60.17%.
Auditor Ratification: Can't Get No (Dis)Satisfaction
Authors: Cunningham Lauren M.
Published: December 2016

SYNOPSIS

The auditor ratification vote provides shareholders with an opportunity to voice their opinions about the company's choice of auditor, but, historically, less than 2 percent of shareholders express dissent in their vote. Motivated by regulatory attention on the importance of shareholder involvement and the institutional power of proxy advisors on voting outcomes, I examine the proxy advisor's role in the auditor ratification vote. I find that proxy advisors have a statistically significant influence over shareholder voting outcomes when they recommend against auditor ratification, but the Against recommendation is rare, and the qualitative significance is less clear. Proxy advisor Against recommendations are based on concerns about auditor independence and poor audit quality, but there appears to be variation in the extent to which proxy advisors issue Against recommendations for each of these criteria. I discuss the implications of the findings, which should be of interest to regulators, investors, public companies, and audit firms.
“In the Image and Likeness of God”: Christianity and Public Opinion on Abortion inThe Globe and Mailduring the 1960s
Authors: Stettner Shannon , Douville Bruce
Published: December 2016

During the 1960s, Canadians were grappling with the social and legal changes that directly affected women’s reproductive lives. One of the contexts in which these changes were occurring was the growing secularization of society. The authors’ analysis of letters to the editors of the Globe and Mail on abortion, however, reveals that over 70% of the letters referenced religious beliefs or institutions. The authors use these letters to explore the ways that readers who commented on abortion referenced religion to legitimize their positions. Specifically, they explore the expressions of the place of Christian beliefs and institutions in discussions of law reform and ideas about women’s roles in a modernizing Canadian society. Examination of the readers’ letters on abortion illuminates perceptions of the churches’ place in a modernizing society, and the degree to which churches were seen as responsive and responsible to their constituents. While religion was a contested field in the abortion law reform debate of the 1960s, it was not ignored; this analysis helps to complicate our understandings of secularization in Canada during the 1960s.
Assessing the Medical Teachers Role in Practicing Instructional Events in the Lecture Classes of Selected Medical Colleges
Authors: Rahman Md Mahbubur , Talukder Md Humayun Kabir , Ferdousi Shahnila , Habib Md Ahsan , Alam Md Kazi Khairul , Kabir Md Fazlul
Published: December 2016

Introduction: Lecture is an important method of instruction through which the undergraduate medical students acquire knowledge, experience, skill and attitude. There are however, serious questions regarding the effectiveness of the traditional lecture approach. Yet, it is agreed upon that this can be more effective by making this approach methodical and more interactive.Objectives: This study was conducted to assess medical teachers skills in instructional events in their lecture classes.Materials and Methods: A descriptive, crosssectional study was conducted from July 2013 to June 2014 at conveniently selected six medical colleges of the country. At those selected institutions 30 lecture classes were observed and views of 1500 students were collected. A checklist with rating scale having rubric was used by the researchers to record the necessary observations while attending the lectures covering 8 instructional events. Out of 30 lecture classes, 13 were of preclinical subjects and 17 were of paraclinical area. Views of 1500 students were collected on a self administered structured questionnaire just after attending observed classes, covering 11 areas of performance. Out of them 732 were preclinical students and 768 were paraclinical students.Results: In this study, majority of the respondents (67%) agreed that the teachers successfully gained attention. In mentioning objective, the observer marked more than half (53.3%) of the teachers as unsatisfactory. The mean score of observers opinion in mentioning objective was 0.97±1.35. More than one fourth (23.55%) of the student respondents did not agree that the teachers stimulated prior knowledge in the lecture class. More than one fourth (26.15%) of the respondents did not agree that necessary feedback were taken by the teachers. Forty two percent of the respondents did not agree that the teachers provided a good summary at the end. More than one fourth of the respondents (26.85%) did not agree that the lecture was interesting. In this study, some of the key performances of the teachers like mentioning objective of the lesson, providing summary, legibility of teaching aids were scored less than 2, indicating that those were the problem areas and should be emphasized more. In this regards, continued medical education/continued professional developmental program of medical colleges should be valued and exercised properly.Conclusion: Effectiveness of a lecture largely depends on the knowledge of the teachers in teaching methodologies, their individual skills in presentation and their ability in classroom management. This study revealed that the teachers of medical colleges had been missing some important characteristics of effective lecture.Journal of Armed Forces Medical College Bangladesh Vol.11(1) 2015: 19-24
A Socio-demographic Survey on Infertile Couples of Selected Villages in Dhaka
Authors: Ali Mohammad , Ahmad Mushtaq , Haque Md Mahmudul , Airin Jinnatul
Published: December 2016

Introduction: Infertility is a public health issue; it is defined as not having conceived after one year of unprotected sexual intercourse. In developing countries, there are severe social, psychological and economic consequences for infertile men and women.Objectives: This study was designed to find out socio-demographic attributes and treatment seeking pattern about the infertile couple (either of the couple).Materials and Methods: This survey was carried out in some selected villages of Ashulia, Saturia and Baliati of Dhamrai Upazilla in Dhaka. A total of 52 couples were included in the study. Purposive sampling technique was adopted. Couple who gave consent to participate in the study was interviewed. A structured questionnaire was used to collect the relevant information. Data were analyzed later on.Results: Among husbands 18(34.6%) were between age 40-49 years, 16(30.8%) were in the age group 30-39 years, 14(26.9%) were in the age group 20-29 years. Regarding age of the wives, majority, 32(61.5%) were in the age group 20-29 years, 14(26.9%) had age 30-39 years and rest 6(11.6%) were in the age group 40-49 years. About education of the husbands it was seen that 20(38.5%) passed SSC, 14(26.9%) had education from class VI to class X and 6(11.5%) were illiterates. Among wives, 32(61.4%) had education on class VI to class X, 10(19.2%) had primary level of education, 4(7.7%) were illiterates. Thirty four (65.4%) couples lived in nuclear families, 16(30.8%) were joint families and the rest 2(3.8%) were extended families. Twenty eight (53.8%) of the couples had marital life >10 years, 20(38.5%) had 6-10 years and the rest 4(7.7%) had marital life of 1-5 years. About 16(31%) had monthly income 5001-10000 taka, 10(19.2%) had 15001-20000 taka, another 10(19.2% had >20000 taka, 16(30.8%) had 5001-10000 taka and 2(3.8%) had monthly income upto 5000 taka. Twenty (38%) husband were involved in business and 44(76%) wives are house wives. Thirty two (61.5%) couple used contraceptives. Forty two (80.8/%) couples sought for treatment.Conclusion: In developing countries, Infertility has profound effects on individuals as the production of children is often highly socially valued and is vital for social security and for family income generation. National level active planning is needed to overcome this social problem.Journal of Armed Forces Medical College Bangladesh Vol.11(1) 2015: 25-29
Antibiotic Resistance Pattern in Pseudomonas Aeruginosa Isolated from Different Clinical Specimens
Authors: Hoque Md Monirul , Ahmad Mushtaq , Khisa Suman , Uddin Md Nizam , Jesmine Rezina
Published: December 2016

Introduction: Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a major clinical microbiological problem affecting the hospitalized and non-hospitalized patients throughout the world. The susceptibility patterns of P. aeruginosa vary geographically and with clinical presentation. Pseudomonas can rapidly develop resistance especially when single drug is employed due to frequent mutation and its own innate mechanisms of antibiotic resistance.Objectives: This cross sectional study was carried out to determine in-vitro resistance pattern of Pseudomonas isolates to common antimicrobial agents by disc diffusion method. Various clinical samples were collected from Combined Military Hospital (CMH), Dhaka.Materials and Methods: This study was carried out in the Department of Microbiology, Armed Forces Institute of Pathology (AFIP) from 01 March 2012 to 31 August 2012. Identification and antibiogram were performed for Pseudomonas isolates following standard microbiological laboratory procedure.Results: A total of 198 P. aeruginosa were isolated from the various specimens. The highest number (76) of P. aeruginosa were isolated from wound swab/pus (38.38%), followed by urine (56, 28.28%), bronchial wash (23, 11.62%). In present study, maximum number of P. aeruginosa are resistant to penicillin (98.98%) followed by cephalosporins (89.85%), aminoglycosides (80.04%), carbapenems (76.08%). The most sensitive antibiotic was combination of piperacillin and tazobactam (only 3.37% resistant) followed by ciprofloxacin (54.04%) and azithromycin (59.18%).Conclusion: To prevent the spread of the resistant bacteria, it is critically important to have strict antibiotic policies. The surveillance programmes for multidrug resistant organisms and infection control procedures need to be implemented properly. The antibiotic susceptibility pattern of P. aeruginosa needs to be continuously monitored in specialized clinical units and the results readily made available to the clinicians so as to minimize the resistance.Journal of Armed Forces Medical College Bangladesh Vol.11(1) 2015: 45-49
Development of a Sequential Restoration Strategy Based on the Enhanced Dijkstra Algorithm for Korean Power Systems
Authors: Goo Bokyung , Jung Solyoung , Hur Jin
Published: December 2016

When a blackout occurs, it is important to reduce the time for power system restoration to minimize damage. For fast restoration, it is important to reduce taking time for the selection of generators, transmission lines and transformers. In addition, it is essential that a determination of a generator start-up sequence (GSS) be made to restore the power system. In this paper, we propose the optimal selection of black start units through the generator start-up sequence (GSS) to minimize the restoration time using generator characteristic data and the enhanced Dijkstra algorithm. For each restoration step, the sequence selected for the next start unit is recalculated to reflect the system conditions. The proposed method is verified by the empirical Korean power systems.
The Kullback–Leibler Information Function for Infinite Measures
Authors: Bakhtin Victor , Sokal Edvard
Published: December 2016

In this paper, we introduce the Kullback–Leibler information function ρ ( ν , μ ) and prove the local large deviation principle for σ-finite measures μ and finitely additive probability measures ν. In particular, the entropy of a continuous probability distribution ν on the real axis is interpreted as the exponential rate of asymptotics for the Lebesgue measure of the set of those samples that generate empirical measures close to ν in a suitable fine topology.
Testing for the Equality of Integration Orders of Multiple Series
Authors: Wang Man , Chan Ngai
Published: December 2016

Testing for the equality of integration orders is an important topic in time series analysis because it constitutes an essential step in testing for (fractional) cointegration in the bivariate case. For the multivariate case, there are several versions of cointegration, and the version given in Robinson and Yajima (2002) has received much attention. In this definition, a time series vector is partitioned into several sub-vectors, and the elements in each sub-vector have the same integration order. Furthermore, this time series vector is said to be cointegrated if there exists a cointegration in any of the sub-vectors. Under such a circumstance, testing for the equality of integration orders constitutes an important problem. However, for multivariate fractionally integrated series, most tests focus on stationary and invertible series and become invalid under the presence of cointegration. Hualde (2013) overcomes these difficulties with a residual-based test for a bivariate time series. For the multivariate case, one possible extension of this test involves testing for an array of bivariate series, which becomes computationally challenging as the dimension of the time series increases. In this paper, a one-step residual-based test is proposed to deal with the multivariate case that overcomes the computational issue. Under certain regularity conditions, the test statistic has an asymptotic standard normal distribution under the null hypothesis of equal integration orders and diverges to infinity under the alternative. As reported in a Monte Carlo experiment, the proposed test possesses satisfactory sizes and powers.
Multi-Attribute Technological Modeling of Coal Deposits Based on the Fuzzy TOPSIS and C-Mean Clustering Algorithms
Authors: Gligorić Miloš , Gligorić Zoran , Beljić Čedomir , Torbica Slavko , Štrbac Savić Svetlana , Nedeljković Ostojić Jasmina
Published: December 2016

The main aim of a coal deposit model is to provide an effective basis for mine production planning. The most applied approach is related to block modeling as a reasonable global representation of the coal deposit. By selection of adequate block size, deposits can be well represented. A block has a location in XYZ space and is characterized by adequate attributes obtained from drill holes data. From a technological point of view, i.e., a thermal power plant’s requirements, heating value, sulfur and ash content are the most important attributes of coal. Distribution of attributes’ values within a coal deposit can vary significantly over space and within each block as well. To decrease the uncertainty of attributes’ values within blocks the concept of fuzzy triangular numbers is applied. Production planning in such an environment is a very hard task, especially in the presence of requirements. Such requirements are considered as target values while the values of block attributes are the actual values. To make production planning easier we have developed a coal deposit model based on clustering the relative closeness of actual values to the target values. The relative closeness is obtained by the TOPSIS method while technological clusters are formed by fuzzy C-mean clustering. Coal deposits are thus represented by multi-attribute technological mining cuts.