bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
MODEL KESUKSESAN PRODUK SANITER
Authors: Subagyo Andrean Emaputra Dan
Published: December 2016

A company that manufactures home decorations and sanitary products has not been able to achieve the expectedproduction utility. This was indicated by the installed production capacity (of the sink) in 2013, which has not beencompletely consumed. Therefore, studies that explore customer needs and their corresponding levels of customersatisfaction need to be done. Achieving the desired product quality and customer satisfaction can be an entrancefor achieving higher sales. This study was conducted in several stages, with the sink selected as the type of productfor the research object. First, the quality attributes of the sink were identified. Second, the importance levels ofthe quality attributes were searched by questionnaires. Third, the sink quality attributes were grouped into theclassification of quality attributes by the Kano model. This study gave some results. First, 90% of the averageimportance level of the sink quality attributes were between ‘important’ and ‘extremely important’. Second, thesurvey that used the Kano model indicated that (1) ‘performance’ was a must-be quality attribute, (2) ‘aesthetics’was not an indifferent quality attribute from ‘attractiveness’, except for ‘excellence drainage’, which was classifiedinto a must-be quality attribute, (3) features could improve customer satisfaction quickly through ‘the sink priceis competitive’, (4) the ‘durable sink color’ and ‘scratch resistant’ attributes can increase customer satisfaction, (5)‘materials that are for maintenance are included when buying the sink’ could increase consumer satisfaction veryquickly, and (6) the higher the reputation of the company, the higher the customer satisfaction
Burden of illness and research investments in translational sciences for pharmaceuticals in metastatic cancers
Authors: Wang Wei-Jhih , Robertson Justin C , Basu Anirban
Published: December 2016

Aim:
To explore whether investments in translational sciences for six metastatic cancers follow idiosyncratic returns to those investments rather than levels of burden of illness (BI).
Methods:
Associate the number of translational clinical trials in the USA involving oncolytic drugs approved during 2008–2013 and the level (in 2008) and changes (2002–2008 and 2008–2014) in cancer-specific years of life lost.
Results:
Investments in trials were positively associated only with contemporary changes in BI (2008–2014). The relationship was stronger for government-sponsored comparative-effectiveness trials than for industry.
Conclusion:
Translational research investments follow anticipated changes to BI levels. Systematic quantification of these expected returns from specific investments can help guide investment decisions in translational health sciences and generate productive dialogue across stakeholders.
Barriers to evidence-based physician decision-making at the point of care: a narrative literature review
Authors: Contreary Kara , Collins Anna , Rich Eugene C
Published: December 2016

We conduct a narrative literature review using four real-world cases of clinical decisions to show how barriers to the use of evidence-based medicine affect physician decision-making at the point of care, and where adjustments could be made in the healthcare system to address these barriers. Our four cases constitute decisions typical of the types physicians make on a regular basis: diagnostic testing, initial treatment and treatment monitoring. To shed light on opportunities to improve patient care while reducing costs, we focus on barriers that could be addressed through changes to policy and/or practice at a particular level of the healthcare system. We conclude by relating our findings to the passage of the Medicare Access and Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act in April 2015.
Periodismo de datos en Uruguay
Authors: Rodríguez Leandro
Published: December 2016

El término periodismo de datos es un término nuevo que llegó a las redacciones hace algunos años, pero ahora ningún medio quiere quedar afuera. En un país pequeño como Uruguay —a pesar de que en todas las redacciones están al tanto de su existencia y ha habido algunas iniciativas— es una práctica que en el año 2015 todavía no ha encontrado su lugar en los medios. Este trabajo busca esclarecer de qué se habla cuando se habla de periodismo de datos para luego, a través de información recabada de medios, organizaciones no gubernamentales y centros educativos, averiguar cuál es su situación actual en el país, los impulsos que ha tenido, los obstáculos que ha encontrado y el futuro que le espera.
El impacto de la tecnología digital en la industria discográfica
Authors: Arango Archila Fabián
Published: December 2016

Este artículo describe el impacto que la tecnología digital tuvo en la industria discográfica internacional desde mediados de los años noventa hasta el presente. De manera que en este trabajo se abordan los cambios en las formas de producción, comercialización y distribución de música por parte de las disqueras, al tiempo que se reseñan los nuevos hábitos de consumo de los melómanos. De esta forma, el objetivo principal del artículo es describir de qué manera una serie de invenciones de estos últimos veinte años (la banda ancha, los computadores con multimedia, los celulares con Internet y las redes online para el intercambio de archivos) hicieron posible la transformación de todo el sector musical.
Análise do Posicionamento Procrastinador como (falta de) Estratégia para o Desempenho Acadêmico: uma pesquisa com estudantes de gestão
Authors: Raasch Michele , Silveira-Martins Elvis
Published: December 2016

O presente artigo teve por objetivo avaliar a relação da procrastinação com o desempenho acadêmico de graduandos em cursos da área de administração de uma Instituição Federal de Ensino Superior. A literatura afirma a relação da procrastinação, considerada como falta de estratégia, e o desempenho acadêmico, e logo é conceituada como sendo dissonante a um comportamento gerador de desempenho. Para tanto, a metodologia foi estruturada com base uma pesquisa quantitativa com 149 acadêmicos de uma IFES. Os resultados apontam para a relação positiva e significante entre a procrastinação e o desempenho dos acadêmicos. Estes resultados contrariam a corrente teórica proeminente, por outro lado motivam a reflexão e o debate a respeito das ações desenvolvidas pela comunidade acadêmica e os projetos pensados inicialmente e sua execução com vistas a egressos com formação adequada as necessidades da sociedade.
Relevância do uso de indicadores de gestão para a autoavaliação e o planejamento estratégico de Instituições de Ensino Superior (IES)
Authors: Andriola Wagner Bandeira , Castro Araújo Adriana
Published: December 2016

O texto relata a importância dos indicadores de gestão propostos pelo Tribunal de Contas da União (TCU), tais como: o custo corrente/aluno equivalente; a relação aluno tempo integral/docente; a relação aluno tempo integral/funcionário técnico-administrativo; a relação funcionário técnico-administrativo/docente; o grau de participação estudantil; o grau de envolvimento com a pós-graduação; os conceitos da Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) para os cursos de pós-graduação; o índice de qualificação do corpo docente e a taxa de sucesso na graduação. Estes conformam um conjunto de informações de natureza quantitativa, que pode ser empregado para a avaliação diagnóstica institucional. Aborda, ainda, a pertinência e a relevância do sistema de dados e indicadores para auxiliar os gestores na difícil tarefa de dar à luz ao planejamento estratégico, a partir das descrições e das análises das principais tendências oriundas dos indicadores de gestão do TCU, que, por sua vez, resultam da atividade de avaliação institucional.
The impact of AAOIFI accounting standards on earnings quality: The case of Islamic banks in Bahrain
Authors: Sarea Adel Mohammed
Published: December 2016

The purpose of this paper is to examine the change in earnings quality after the adoption of AAOIFI Accounting Standards in Islamic Banks of Bahrain. In this paper, we hypothesize that, adoption of AAOIFI accounting standards could lead to high level of earnings quality. However, data were collected from the annual reports of 5 Islamic banks in Bahrain during 2002-2011. The findings indicate that the change in earnings quality after the adoption of AAOIFI in Islamic Banks of Bahrain is higher due to the improvement of the quality of financial reporting. The Adoption of AAOIFI accounting standards is expected to lead to high level of earnings quality among Islamic Financial Institutions and play a significant role in attracting global investors’ interest in the local markets, especially in a developing country like Bahrain.
Foreign direct investment flows and the global economic crisis
Authors: Talamo Giuseppina
Published: December 2016

In recent years, Foreign Direct Investment has become an increasingly important feature of the globalized economy. The importance of FDI flows raises several of important questions. First of all is the question of the impact of FDI on host and home countries. Second crucial question is about FDI flows during the recent financial crisis and the role of FDI flows in promoting growth in less developed countries. Then,what can host countries do to become more attractive to foreign investors, and benefit from their activities?
Voting dissent and corporate governance structures: The role of say on pay in a comparative analysis
Authors: Esposito De Falco Salvatore , Cucari Nicola , Sorrentino Emanuele
Published: December 2016

Shareholder activism is a vibrant field. This paper explores which variables can influence the direction of the vote and if they change depending on country, rather than considering the say on pay activism as an instrumental term in which its effectiveness depends on the ability to change the executive compensation. We focus on a sample of 120 firms in three different contexts (Italy, Australia and USA) observed in a period of three years, between 2012 and 2014. We find that factors affecting dissent depend on the context of analysis. In the insider system context dissent is positively correlated to the concentration of ownership, and in an outsider system context, like the American one, the variable of remuneration is positively correlated to the dissent. Instead, we find that in the Australian context, any variable is significant: this singular result could depend on the presence of “two strikes rule” that inhibits the role of other variables.
The determinants of home bias
Authors: Baccouri Mouna , Fedhila Hassouna
Published: December 2016

Despite the well-known gains of the international diversification, investors have the tendency to overinvest in domestic equities. This irrational behavior is called home bias. It is considered by Obstfeld and Rogoff (2000) as one of the six major puzzles in the international macroeconomics. The present paper examines the different determinants to understand this major puzzle. Based on a sample of 564 observations (countries-years) that cover the period 2003 to 2013, we found that home bias is explained by the information asymmetry that exists between countries and their economic volatility (assessed by the growth rate of the gross domestic product). Furthermore, our findings indicate that home bias decreases among developed markets and countries characterized by a higher rule of law.
The performance of companies and the board’s characteristics from the new perspective of manipulation avoidance
Authors: Alabdullah Tariq Tawfeeq Yousif
Published: December 2016

From the outlook of regional development in the Middle East, a current exploration of the relationship between the corporate governance system and the performance of companies is extremely important and timely, especially after the impact of the latest financial crises, as a means of enhancing and improving the region’s business efficiency leading to economic growth of the region. The aim of this paper is to investigate the effect of the board’s characteristics in association with the performance of companies in the context of the business environment in the Middle East and specifically by examining the country of Jordan. In addition to examining the board’s characteristics, this study also investigates the relationship between the board’s characteristics of managerial ownership and the duality or the non-duality of the role of the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) as one of the important mechanisms of corporate governance and a company’s performance using both traditional measurements of return on assets (ROA) and return on equity (ROE) and contemporary ones of market share measurement of a company’s performance to avoid manipulation. The data for the current study is obtained from one source, namely the secondary data of the annual reports. The sample companies comprise 50 non-financial companies listed on the Amman Stock Exchange (ASE) website for the fiscal year ended in 2013. Multiple regression analysis is used to evaluate the relationship between the variables. The results of the previous studies have revealed that managerial ownership and non-duality in various segments have an inverse association with monitoring costs as mentioned in the agency theory. This finding is consistent with findings of the current study for market share measurement and not consistent, however, with ROA and ROE. The current study presents a unique contribution to the corporate governance area relating to the effect of the board’s characteristics in relation to the performance of Jordanian companies. Previous studies examining developed and developing countries have placed an emphasis on financial measurements to measure the financial performance of companies without mentioning the considerable role of manipulation methods in financial statements. The manipulation methods include income smoothing, earnings’ management, creative accounting and big bath accounting, which is an earning management strategy that may affect a real picture of a company’s performance being given. Thus, the current study provides evidence that supports the notion that this fundamental issue of manipulation methods and avoidance of manipulation has been neglected in prior research in the Middle East as well as in Western countries. Accordingly, this study provides evidence to compare the traditional methods with ones that avoid manipulation
Using triangulation to view internal audit’s governance functioning
Authors: Ackermann Christo
Published: December 2016

Internal audit departments of organisations are regarded as an integral component of the combined assurance model alongside the audit committee, management and the external auditors. The primary users of the work of internal audit are the audit committee, senior management, other levels of management and to some extent, the external auditors. This wide audience served by internal audit reinforces the importance of IAFs’ work, which deals with important aspects facing the entity. Internal audit is therefore able to reduce the lack of information availability for the audit committee on matters concerning risk management, internal control and governance. However, a study conducted on audit committee effectiveness, it was found that 40% of audit committees in national government departments in South Africa are not fully effective and are failing to contribute towards improving internal control, risk management, governance and financial reporting practices. Audit committees’ effectiveness in contributing to risk management, internal control and governance was measured at 63%, 76% and 62% respectively, in a comprehensive study on audit committees in the South African public sector. This indicates that their oversight in these areas, especially risk management and governance, is not yet effective. These findings are concerning given that audit committees have a legal mandate to assist government departments in these areas. Internal audit functions are key in assisting audit committees in their governance oversight responsibility. The present study reports on the extent to which internal audit in the eight metropolitan municipalities in South Africa assists audit committees in their governance oversight responsibility, focusing on the scope of work of internal audit with reference to its governance mandate. A data transformation triangulation design was followed to describe internal audit’s functioning
Agency cost of type I and accounting numbers in Australia and India
Authors: Ntoung Agbor Tabot Lious , Chettah Outman Ben , Masárova Eva
Published: December 2016

This paper has as objective to assess the agency cost of type I on the value relevance of accounting numbers (earnings and book value) for all listed firms in the manufacturing, retailing and service industries in Australia and India from 2005 to 2012 using the modified version of the Ohlson’ model in Faud and Mohd, (2008) where price is express as a linear function of earnings, book value and various accounting numbers. As predicted, the results show that both earnings and book value are value relevance for the manufacturing, retailing and servicing industry in Australia and India. The presence of the free cash flow agency problem caused the value relevance of earnings and book value to decline in Australia and India. However, the effect is not stable across the difference industries. The results show that in the manufacturing industry, the effect caused by the free cash flow agency problem is relatively higher for Australia and India than in the retail and service industries. As a result, the firms in the manufacturing with free cash flow agency problem have lower earnings (book value) coefficients than those without free cash flow agency problem
Exporting family firms in Spain: The role of women
Authors: Giraldez Pilar , Berenguer Cárceles Emma
Published: December 2016

In this study we have focused on the export activity of family firms, to see if women in governance positions have a positive effect on it. In order to clarify these effects, we have divided such positions in three different roles: ownership, boards of directors and the executive management. Data were collected from System for Analysis of Iberian Balances database (SABI) and the Spanish High Council of Chamber (SHCC) website to build a sample of Small and Medium Sized Spanish firms with some exporting activity between years 2000 and 2011. Our results suggest that female executive managers are less risk-averse and more growth-oriented than female owners and directors. Also, family firms show a worse export activity behaviour related to the number of countries and to the exported volumes than family firms. Since family SMEs play an vital role in both, the national and international economies, this study draws attention to the importance of the presence of women in government bodies in search of other markets, as internationalization is a key strategic decision for them
Ownership structure and environmental disclosure in MENA emerging countries
Authors: Akrout Mejda Mahmoudi , Othman Hakim Ben
Published: December 2016

This study examines the association of ownership structure with the environmental disclosure of listed companies in the Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) emerging markets. A self-constructed environmental disclosure score based on the framework of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) was used. Investigating a sample of 347 annual reports, we calculate the score for listed companies pertaining to 10 MENA countries. Our results revealed that the majority of companies in our study provide a separate section for environmental issues on their annual reports. In addition, multivariate analysis shows that there is a negative association between family ownership and environmental disclosures. However, the presence of the government ownership is likely to improve corporate environmental reporting practice. This paper is of value in that it enlarges the scope of previous studies on environmental disclosure through its inclusion of other regions of the world.
Institutional ownership and returns on investment
Authors: Bjuggren Per-Olof , Eklund Johan E. , Wiberg Daniel
Published: December 2016

This paper examines how institutional investors influence investment decisions and returns on investment. To measure investment performance, we use marginal q, which measures the ratio of the return on investment to the cost of capital. Institutional owners are found to have a positive but marginally diminishing effect on performance. Our paper uses longitudinal data on Swedish firms from 1999 to 2005; during this period, the ownership structure of Swedish firms underwent dramatic changes as institutional investors increased their ownership shares, while ownership by Swedish households decreased. However, controlling owners - who were often founding families - maintained their control of firms by resorting to extensive use of dual-class shares. This was an important determinant of firm performance that eradicated the positive influence of institutional ownership
Business competition: Does it contribute to the SMME development?
Authors: Cant Michael Colin
Published: December 2016

Business Plan Competitions are a powerful learning tool that can stimulate creativity but more importantly, prepares participants for the real world of entrepreneurship (Desplaces et al., 2008:926). It can be argued that such competitions reflect the imperative elements of any successful entrepreneurship program by fostering experiential learning, networking, mentoring, partnership with entrepreneurship organisations and community involvement (Desplaces et al., 2008:926). Globally, there has been an enormous growth in encouraging entrepreneurship and innovation as a means to foster economic health (Russell et al., 2008:123). As this is not the only concern within nations, these Business Plan Competitions are seen to provide a platform for emerging entrepreneurs to learn through actual participation. South Africa, as a developing country, has embraced this platform and has developed its own competitions. These competitions vary from industry to industry, and all have dissimilar aims and objectives.
The stated Business Plan Competition was meant to provide a platform from which aspiring entrepreneurs could receive exposure for their business ideas and developing entities. The investigation found that 59.2% of respondents had already started their businesses and 40.8% had not yet started their business. On both fronts, the competition would prove to be beneficial and the exposure worthwhile in nature. It was found that 10.7% of respondents started their businesses after the Business Plan Competition, and if this percentage were to be projected to the entire entree population, it can be estimated that 556 individuals were enabled to start their business. If the competition were to be repeated it is imperative that annual evaluation be conducted based on the objectives and aims set out by the host organisation for the Business Plan Competition itself. From the research results obtained, suggestions were derived indicating where the competition can be improved upon.
A comparative study of efficiency and its determinants in Islamic, conventional, and socially responsible banks
Authors: Alharthi Majed
Published: December 2016

This study empirically estimates efficiency and its determinants in 190 Islamic (IBs), conventional (CBs), and socially responsible banks (SRBs) in 22 countries during the period 2005-2012. The study first uses non-parametric approaches to estimate the efficiency measures (scale efficiency (SE), technical efficiency-constant returns to scale (CRS), and technical efficiency-variable returns to scale (VRS)) and second employs ordinary least squares, fixed effects, random effects, and TOBIT models to get the efficiency determinants. The findings indicate that the average efficiency is 0.966, 0.952, and 0.983 for the SE, CRS, and VRS, respectively. However, efficiency measures show that the SRBs are most efficient banks whereas, the least efficiency scores archived by Islamic banks. Islamic bank efficiency is positively correlated with size, loan intensity, ROA, inflation rates, market capitalization and financial crisis. However, conventional banks’ TE and CRS efficiency are positively and significantly correlated with size, ROA, and market capitalization, while their VRS efficiency is negatively and significantly related to capital ratio, age and GDP. In addition, SRBs’ efficiency is increased by size, capital ratio, loan intensity, ROA, foreign ownership, domestic ownership, inflation and financial crisis. Furthermore, the financial crisis affects the SE and CRS efficiency measures in Islamic banks while socially responsible banks SE efficiency measure is positively affected by the financial crisis, which means that socially responsible banks were stabled and resisted during the crisis period. Finally, there is no significant correlation between financial crisis and efficiency indictors in conventional banks during the period
SMEs and social media opportunities: An organizational outlook
Authors: van Scheers Louise
Published: December 2016

Social media usage in SMEs and the impact thereof is viewed as an essential part of modern day organisational operations for SMEs to promote their business both domestically and globally. Social media is interactive and consumer-generated media, new media or citizen media, while conventional media is company generated media which flows in one direction. The research design chosen for this research is descriptive research in conjunction with a quantitative approach. The population will include all SMEs in Gauteng. The sample for the study encompassed of 400 SME owners who currently manage the small businesses in the Gauteng area. The respondents all agree that a large audience can be reached via social media, followed by the ability to create product/service awareness. The conducted research recommends that social media can be cost effective if the SMEs make use of their social networks (professional and personal) and use best practises that enable them to get their adverts or posts shared across social networks. The respondents report a sales, product awareness, consumer support and overall productivity increase. There seems to be an effect of age on the percentage increase in sales, product awareness, consumer support and overall productivity. Although the results show that most SMEs have access to internet only 54.8 % of the respondents use social media to promote their businesses. The research established that that the largest proportion of respondents are new to using social media to create awareness for their products
A methodological contribution to the representation of the function of leadership and its impact on organizational cooperation and company results
Authors: Zanda Stefania
Published: December 2016

The objective of this work is to offer a contribution to conceptual clarity on the nature of leadership and the elements that compose it. It also develops a model that systematically represents the relationship between leadership styles, the quality of the management process and business results. The following approach is interdisciplinary but based on the classical theory of management in order to maintain realism and concreteness
SME owners and debt financing: Major challenges for emerging market
Authors: Cameron Jonathan , Hoque Muhammad Ehsanul
Published: December 2016

The purpose of this qualitative study was to unpack the different aspects of the financial obstacles that small medium entrepreneurs (SMEs) face in South Africa. Data were collected by conducting one on one interview’s among four financial specialists from financial institution. The financial specialists reported risk was seen as a contributing factor for loans being declined. Other reasons to decline loan were not having business management skills, lack of financial management, experience in an industry and passion for what they do, poor credit record keeping, and lack of collateral. The opportunities leading from the study suggest that entrepreneurs have the potential to improve their chances of accessing finance by enrolling in entrepreneurial and business management studies, thereby learning to overcome poor financial management, and improve their business management skills
Good corporate governance and earnings management in Indonesian initial public offerings
Authors: Gumanti Tatang Ary , Nastiti Ari Sita , Lestari Ayu Retsi
Published: December 2016

This study investigates the relationship between corporate governance mechanisms and earnings management (as measured by discretionary current accruals) for Indonesian IPO firms. Previous studies have mainly focused on an examination of the effect of corporate governance on the earnings management of publicly traded firms, whilst this study examines newly listed firms. It employs a modified Jones model to measure earnings management as developed by Tykvova (2006). The hypothesis predicts that Indonesian IPO firms with good corporate governance will engage in less earnings management in the periods prior to the IPO year. The sample consists of 75 IPOs and the results show that the proportion of board of commissioners, public ownership, institutional ownership and managerial ownership constrain the extent of earnings management of IPO firms. This study contributes to the literature in showing that corporate governance mechanism is an important determinant in earnings management practices for Indonesian IPO firms.
Informal finance as alternative route to SME access to finance: Evidence from Ethiopia
Authors: Fanta Ashenafi Beyene
Published: December 2016

The problem of SME financing has received attention of policy makers and academics in recent years owing to the role of the sector in reducing unemployment, narrowing income gap and alleviating poverty. Alternative financing schemes were suggested but their success depends to a large extent on the development of legal, informational, and institutional frameworks. Existing body of literature grossly undermines SME ability in reacting towards financial restraint and generally assumes they are passive participants in the credit market. Through a survey of 102 randomly selected firms across 10 industrial sectors in the manufacturing sector, we examined how the Ethiopian manufacturing SMEs reacted to acute shortage of formal credit. We found that SME owners actively react towards financial restraint by resorting to alternative schemes such as iqqub(variant of rotating saving and credit association), customer advances, and trade credit. Although the alternative financing schemes are not the best but they are useful in evading the impact of credit restraint on their operation and growth.
Corporate governance, regulation and bank risk-taking behaviour in developing Asian countries
Authors: Luu Hiep Ngoc
Published: December 2016

Using data from ten selected developing Asian countries, this paper investigated empirically the influences of corporate governance and regulations on bank risk-taking behaviour. We found sufficient evidence that corporate governance mechanism has strong effect on the level of risk taken by bank: bank with large owner(s) is associated with higher risk-taking, while board size is found to be negatively related to bank risk level, indicating that the bigger the size of the board, the less risk the bank is willing to take. Additionally, we also found that banks with more powerful CEO tend to engage in less risky activities. Meanwhile, an increase in board independence forces banks to assume more risk. Nevertheless, managerial shareholdings appear to have no direct impact on the level of risk banks undertake. Our results further showed that regulatory pressure brought about by the host-country regulators influences neither banks’ risk-taken levels nor their capital adequacy ratios. However, raising regulatory capital adequacy ratio, instead of forcing banks to reduce their risk level, does induce them to take more risk. Thus, banking regulations do not appear to be effective in developing Asian countries. Other variables, such as loan loss reserve and GDP growth also help to predict bank risk-taken pattern. Nonetheless, bank size has no direct impact on shaping the risk-taking behaviour of banks.
The public healthcare sector and governance in South Africa
Authors: Brauns Melody
Published: December 2016

This article reviews literature on governance in order to facilitate an analysis of the governance of the South African public healthcare sector. Some of the key theoretical perspectives have been presented on how best to organise the state and its bureaucracy. Theorists have long interrogated in what way public institutions foster or impede economic growth. Evans and Rauch point out for example, that the role of bureaucratic authority structures in facilitating economic growth has been a sociological concern since Max Weber’s classic contributions almost 100 years ago. These debates and others are explored in this article with specific reference to the provision of equitable public healthcare. Weber’s theory on rational bureaucracy as well as New Public Management will be reviewed as these theories offer two distinct approaches to governance
Risk and/or resilience management
Authors: Louisot Jean-Paul
Published: December 2016

Risk management aims at managing all the uncertainties that may interfere with the objectives and missions of the organization. Resilience engineering aims at building its capacity to get over disturbances or stress while keeping the functionalities needed to survive, and possibly thrive. A recently open debate on an Internet blog launched by the risk managers of the Scottish Widows Bank seems to arise from what some professionals see as two competing branches of the management sciences. Whereas through the development of ERM – Enterprise-wide Risk Management – risk management is emerging at last to become a science, as well as an art and a practice, the mentioned above centered on the role of a newly forged name “resilience management”. This opens a new front of the many debates that could derail the path to maturity of Risk Management as a science and reopen new silos much as Business Impact Analysis, BIA, or continuity management, might do if a clear distinction is not made between science, objectives and tools. However, because organizations are so interconnected today in the supply cloud that it is inevitable that they will face catastrophic risk and this is why resilience needs to be a core objective of any risk management plan? Whereas traditional risk management techniques alone may not be adequate to deal with such pervasive and insipient risk scenarios, resilience is ingrained into ERM.
The enhancement of the deteriorated South African bond options market
Authors: Erasmus Coert Frederik
Published: December 2016

Investments, especially those in the bond market, carry a level of risk. Risks in the bond market can be mitigated by transacting in option contracts. In the developing South African economy, trading activity of over-the-counter (OTC) bond options decreased significantly. Possible deteriorating factors and interventions to enhance OTC bond options were investigated in this research. Experts in the OTC bond option market were surveyed and the quantitative data collected was analysed with descriptive statistical methods. Results indicated that three factors were positively identified as deteriorating factors in the OTC bond option market and that five different interventions were possible to possible enhance this market.
The impact of fiscal and monetary policies on unemployment problem in Nigeria (managerial economic perspective)
Authors: Attamah Nick , Igwe Anthony , Ukpere Wilfred Isioma
Published: December 2016

This paper investigates the impact of fiscal and Monetary Policies on Unemployment Problem in Nigeria and covers the periods 1980 to 2013. To achieve this, fiscal policy was captured here by government expenditures and revenues respectively while monetary policy was proxied by broad Money Supply (M2), Interest and Exchange rates respectively. The methodology adopted was econometric analysis employing OLS techniques and unit roots of the series were examined using the Augmented Dickey-Fuller after which the co-integration tests was conducted using the Engle Granger approach. Error correction models were estimated to take care of the short run dynamics. It was found that while government expenditure had a positive relationship with unemployment problem in Nigeria, the result of government revenue was negative and insignificant on unemployment problem. For monetary policy, it was found that money supply and exchange rate had positive and significant impact while interest rate has only a positive relationship on unemployment problem in Nigeria. This meets the a priori expectation. The study also revealed that increases in interest and exchange rates escalate unemployment by increasing cost of production which discourages the private sector from employing large workforce. On the other hand, national productivity measured by real GDP had a negative and significant impact on unemployment rate in Nigeria. This paper recommends that for an effective combat to unemployment problem in Nigeria, there should be a systematic diversion of strategies, thus more emphasis should be laid on aggressively pursuing entrepreneurial development and increased productivity. Again government should aggressively focus on investment, employment generation and economic growth that has mechanism to trickle does to the masses.
Improvement of operational risk measurement under the Solvency II framework
Authors: Stepchenko Darja , Pettere Gaida , Voronova Irina
Published: December 2016

Operational risk is one of the core risks of every insurance company in accordance to the solvency capital requirement under the Solvency II regime. The target of the research is to investigate the improvement possibilities of the operational risk measurement under Solvency II regime. The authors have prepared the algorithm of the operational risk measurement under Solvency II framework that helps improve the understanding of the operational risk capital requirements. Moreover, the authors have prepared the case study about a practical usage of the suggested algorithm through the example of one non-life insurance company. The authors use, in order to perform the research, such corresponding methods as theoretical and methodological analysis of scientific literature, analytical, statistical and mathematical methods.
Stock jumps: Analyzing traditional and behavioral perspectives
Authors: Corea Francesco , Cervellati Enrico Maria
Published: December 2016

Our aim is to define the concept of stock jumps from a practitioner’s perspective and to give an insightful overview of the topic. We provide different technical and practical definitions from distinct points of view: mathematical, risk managerial, trading and investing. We verify the robustness of some common stylised facts for three major stock indices, and we derive an approximated jumps distribution. We finally provide some innovative insights from a behavioral perspective, and how to account for behavioral biases in this context
Effectiveness of teams: Lessons from biomimicry, an ecological inquiry E=MC
Authors: Mashingaidze Sivave
Published: December 2016

Team effectiveness in swarms like bees, colonies of ants, schools of fish, flocks of birds, and fireflies flashing synchronously are all as a result of highly coordinated behaviors that emerge from collective, decentralized intelligence. The purpose of this article was to conduct an ecological research inquiry of what lessons business can borrow from biomimicry especially by studying ants’ colonies, swarm of bees and packs of wild African dogs. A systems science theory borrowed from Albert Einstein E = mc2 was used, where effectiveness of teams was equal to mastery of each individual x coordination x communication (collective intelligence). The author used using secondary data analysis to obtain information on team effectiveness and collective intelligence. The research found out that, team effectiveness is a function of mastery of individual x coordination x communication (collective intelligence). The research further recommended corporate to mimic the biosphere especially to adopt collective intelligence strategies from ants, swarm of bees and wild dogs for business sustainability
Prosthesis ventral colpo-recto-pexy for the restoration of the recto-anal anatomic disorders
Authors: Xynos Evanghelos
Published: December 2016

There is a variety of anatomical deformities of the posterior pelvic
compartment that associate functional disorders of the anorectum. The most
common are: anterior rectocele, internal rectal prolapse (recto-anal
intussusception), sigmoidcele and enterocele and overt rectal prolapse. There
are a number of procedures employed in the treatment of mentioned disorders.
One of them is laparoscopic prosthesis ventral colpo-rectopexy. Current
evidence on this procedure is rather limited, because quality of studies is
of low level and comparative trials are very few. Nevertheless, it is well
documented that this procedure for mentioned is a safe procedure with very
low morbidity, one death reported so far, and low conversion-to-open approach
rate. Complications associated with the synthetic prosthesis (erosion or
sepsis) are rare, and use of biological mesh does not seem to offer any
advantage. Conversion is very low and usually as a result of previous pelvic
surgery. The procedure is safe with low morbidity, short hospital stay and
very low recurrence rate of overt rectal prolapse. Functional outcomes,
namely constipation, obstructed defecation syndrome, incontinence and sexual
dysfunction decrease in rates postoperatively.
Gigantic large bowel lipoma of hepatic flexure
Authors: Ðurdjevic S. , Barisic G. , Dimitrijevic I. , Krivokapic Z.
Published: December 2016

Introduction: Lipoma is the third most common benign colonic neoplasm
following hyperplastic and adenomatous polyps with a reported incidence of
0.2-4.4%. In 90% of cases, submucosa of the right colon is involved. These
neoplasms are usually asymptomatic and require no treatment. However, giant
lipomas, more than 4 cm in diameter are symptomatic in 75% of cases, causing
intestinal obstruction and intussusception. Case report: 48-year-old man,
with no significant medical history, nonsmoker, with unremarkable family
history was admitted to hospital. Three weeks prior to admission, the patient
experienced intermittent epigastric pain that lasted for 3 hours (8-9/10 on a
pain scale). He also reported heartburn and flatulence following meals, as
well as having change in appearance and stool frequency. Patient reported
liquid stools with no traces of blood. Upper GI endoscopy showed no
abnormalities. Colonoscopy revealed submucosal tumor at the level of hepatic
flexure, 5.5 x3.5 cm in diameter with no other pathological finding.
Abdominal MDCT reveals colonic wall thickening at the level of hepatic
flexure 4.5 cm in diameter, interposition of transversal colon prehepatically
and high below the diaphragm (Chialiditi syndrome). CEA values were within
normal range. We performed laparscopical exploration followed by colotomy
with tumor excision, through minimal upper midline incision. Histological
finding confirmed the diagnosis of lipoma. Postoperative recovery was
complicated due to pseudomembranous clostridial colitis but treated
successfully with antibiotics. The patient is doing well, has no complaints 6
months after surgery. Conclusion: Reported incidence of colonic lipoma is
rather low. However, giant ones are associated with high risk of intestinal
obstruction, so we believe that detailed diagnostic work-up followed by
elective operative treatment should be considered.
Aram Khachaturian and socialist realism: A reconsideration
Authors: Schultz Joseph
Published: December 2016

Aram Khachaturian remains a neglected figure in scholarship on Soviet music,
his work often held as exemplifying Socialist Realism at its most conformist.
In this article I suggest that folk music strongly influenced his style well
before the imposition of Socialist Realism, and that his musical language and
aesthetics have much more in common with those of contemporary composers in
the West than has previously been assumed. A central focus of the paper will
be to examine the role played by Soviet musicologists in placing questionable
critical constructs on Khachaturian?s career and creative achievement.
Traditional vocal music as a reference in contemporary Serbian art song
Authors: Stefanovic Ana
Published: December 2016

The article examines the relation between traditional vocal music and
contemporary compositional poetics in Serbian art song, created in the last
two decades. The special relationship between the ?eastern? Balkans
inheritance and ?western? compositional practices which characterized Serbian
music throughout the 20th century is considered in a contemporary,
post-modern context and within a particular genre framework. The status of
the reference itself, as well as of referential relationships, are examined
through examples taken from three works: Dve tuzbalice (1997) for soprano,
viola and piano by Djuro Zivkovic (1975), Da su meni oci tvoje (2008) for
soprano, flute and piano by Ivan Brkljacic (1977) and Rukoveti (2000) for
soprano and orchestra by Isidora Zebeljan (1967).
A. Hepatica in European ground squirrel (Citellus Citellus) compared to other experimental animals
Authors: Blagojevic Milos , Prokic Bogomir , Cupic-Miladinovic Dejana
Published: December 2016

European ground squirrel is the only representative of its genus in Serbia.
It is used as experimental animal in microbioogy, parasitology, pharmacology
and immunology. The objective of this work was to investigate a part of
cardiovascular system of ground squirrel so in that way to contribute to a
better knowledge of this animal body structure and accordingly to comparative
anatomy in general. The investigation included 6 ground squirrels, of both
gender, body weight 200-300 grams. For obtaining the liver arterial
vascularization, after exsanguination of the animal, contrast mass of gelatin
coloured with tempera was injected into abdominal aorta (Aorta abdominalis).
After injecting, the blood vessels were prepared and photographed. In ground
squirrel A. celiaca is odd, larger vessel that exits the abdominal aorta. It
is divided into three branches: A. lienalis, A. gastrica sinistra and A.
hepatica. A. hepatica is divided into A. hepatica propria and A.
gastroduodenalis. A. hepatica propria further gives A. cystica, Rami cardiaci
and small branches for Lnn. portales. A. gastroduodenalis is divided into A.
pancreaticoduodenalis and A. gastroepiploica dextra. A. celiaca in nutria and
rat is an odd artery, divided into A. lienalis, A. gastrica sinistra and A.
hepatica. In rabbits, celiac artery (A. celiaca) is divided into A. lienalis
and short trunk from which A. gastrica sinistra and A. Hepatica emerge. A.
celiaca in golden hamster does not exist in the form of tripus coeliacus (A.
lienalis, A. gastrica sinistra and A. hepatica), but from A. celiaca it is
firstly separated A. hepatica, and then short trunk from which A. gastrica
sinistra and A. Lienalis emerge. In guinea-pig, from abdominal aorta a joint
tree branches off into A. celiaca and A. mesenterica cranialis (Truncus
celiacomesentericus). Based on the above mentioned results, it can be
concluded that A. celiaca in European ground squirrel, nutria and rat
branches from abdominal aorta as a separate blood vessel. In these animals A.
celiaca branches are: A. lienalis, A. gastrica sinistra and A. hepatica.

 This article has been corrected. Link to the correction 10.2298/VETGL1702141E