Nurse-supported breastfeeding promotion: a framework for economic evaluation

Increasingly, economic evaluation results are considered by policymakers, although few nurse-led interventions have undergone such an evaluation. Nurse-supported breastfeeding promotion is used as an exemplar to illustrate economic evaluation. Past work is critiqued and lessons learned are described.     

Technology and Realtor® Income

The ever-expanding use of the Internet and various other information technologies may directly impact the income levels of the real estate brokerage community. With a database of more than 6,000 usable observations from the 1999 National Association of Realtors® member profile, we examine the impact of technology usage on the incomes of Realtors®. In a two-step procedure, we first develop factor loadings, using factor analysis, for multifaceted technology usage by Realtors®. Then we perform a regression analysis of Realtors® income incorporating a variety of independent variables representing licensee (brokers and salespersons) demographics and brokerage firm characteristics as well as the factor score for technology usage. Our results show that the use of the Internet and other information technologies is positively related to the earnings of Realtors®. In a second regression analysis, we use our technology factor score to determine which of a variety of individual Realtor® demographic and brokerage firm characteristics are more related to technology usage than other characteristics. We find that technology usage increases with schooling, number of firms for which the agent has worked, marriage, franchise affiliation, firm size, ownership interest, and hours worked. By contrast, technology usage falls with age, and usage is lower for females and nonwhites. The results of this paper expand our knowledge concerning familiarity with and use of real estate technology and related income.     

A social institutionalist perspective on HR diffusion: historical and cultural receptivity to HRM in a post-communist context

This research considers cross-national diffusion of international human resource management (IHRM) ideas and practices by applying an emergent frame of sociological conceptualisation – ‘social institutionalism’ (SI). We look at cultural filters to patterns of diffusion, assimilation and adoption of IHRM, using Romania as a case study. The paper considers the former Communist system of employment relations, suggesting that through institutionalisation former ways of thinking have a residual influence on definitions and practice of people management in post-Communist Eastern Europe. The paper provides a new perspective on HRM by discussing the value of SI as a general model for understanding cross-cultural receptivity to HR ideas, sensitising the HR practitioner and academic to institutionalised culture as a historical legacy influencing absorption of international management ideas.     

Portfolio maturity choice of Australian cash management trusts

Money Market Mutual Funds, known in Australia as Cash Management Trusts (CMTs), provide potential benefits for retail investors from pooling of funds and superior portfolio (maturity) management skills. The average maturity of CMT assets exhibits significant variation both cross sectionally and over time, but there is significant correlation between the asset maturities of different CMTs. These variations could reflect decisions about optimal asset maturity by CMT management, given their expectations of future interest rate movements. This paper examines (and rejects) the hypothesis that CMT management has superior interest rate forecasting ability by testing whether asset maturity of CMTs provides any information about future interest rate movements. The correlation between CMT maturity decisions appears to reflect the tendency of some CMTs to adjust maturity in response to current changes in market interest rates.     

Academic Dishonesty: An Exploratory Study Examining Whether Insurance Students Are Different From Other College Students

This exploratory study compares academic dishonesty scores for insurance students in one insurance program to those for other college students using survey data from business and nonbusiness students at two universities. Academic dishonesty was measured using a modified version of a scale developed by McCabe and Trevino , with a higher score indicating greater academic dishonesty. The average score on total academic dishonesty was significantly higher for insurance students than for other business students and lower, but not significantly so, than the scores for nonbusiness students. Regression analysis indicates that a significant predictor of academic dishonesty for both insurance students and other business students is the perceived relevance of the work to the student's major coursework. There were some differences, however, in the other significant predictors for insurance students versus other business students. Specifically, year in school was significant only for insurance majors, while membership in a Greek social organization and a belief that there was a low risk of getting caught were significant only for other business majors. Furthermore, the significant predictors of academic dishonesty were different for insurance students and nonbusiness students. Overall, the results indicate that insurance students are more likely to engage in academically dishonest behavior than other business students, and the motivation for academic dishonesty differs for insurance students and other students (both nonbusiness and other business). This suggests a need for insurance educators to address academic dishonesty using an approach that is somewhat different than that used for other students.     

Capital shocks, bank asset allocation, and the revised Basel Accord

In contrast to the 1988 Basel Accord (Basel I), the revised risk-based capital standards (Basel II) propose regulatory capital requirements based on credit ratings. This paper develops a theoretical model to analyze how banks will adjust their low and high credit risk commercial loans under the proposed newer standard. Capital-constrained banks respond to an adverse capital shock by reducing high credit risk loans, while under certain circumstances, low credit risk loans may actually increase. When compared to Basel I, it is shown that high-risk loans are reduced more under Basel II, but whether a bank reduces total lending more under Basel I or under the revised standards depends on a complex interaction of factors.     

Mandatory Financial Reporting Processes and Outcomes

In an extension to the mandatory financial reporting literature, we consider compliance and applicability as intermediate stages in the disclosure decision process, and investigate to what extent these measures explain any variance in the quantity of disclosure. We use financial instruments disclosures as our empirical context because of the level of complexity and diversity of the mandatory requirements. We find that neither applicability nor compliance show statistically significant association with disclosure quantity. By contrast we find that a firm's financial instruments management programme is an important determinant of both applicability and quantity. Finally, we demonstrate the economic consequences of applicability, compliance and quantity through their association with audit fees. For companies that use financial instruments management programmes to a greater extent, audit fees are higher. In contrast, the quantity of financial instruments disclosures appears to reduce audit fees.     

Rao’s quadratic entropy and maximum diversification indexation

This paper proposes a new formulation of the maximum diversification indexation strategy based on Rao’s Quadratic Entropy. It clarifies the investment problem underlying this diversification strategy, identifies the source of its out-of-sample performance, and suggests new dimensions along which this performance can be improved. We show that these potential improvements are quantitatively important and are robust to portfolio turnover, portfolio risk, estimation window, and covariance matrix estimation.     

Home Capital Group—The High Cost of Dishonesty

This instructional case presents the problems that began in the summer of 2015 when Home Capital Group (HCG) announced it had cut ties with 45 mortgage brokers for falsifying figures on mortgage applications regarding the earnings of prospective home purchasers in Canada. The case details the subsequent investigation by the Ontario Securities Commission in 2017 that resulted in a run on the bank and consequent efforts by HCG to stay afloat. While emphasizing the importance of strong corporate governance and corporate social responsibility initiatives, this case also stresses the influence of various stakeholders including short‐sellers, regulators, shareholders, management, depositors, and customers in the evolution of subsequent events. As a whole, this case provides an interesting context for the discussion of stock market efficiency.