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Prior research finds that clients of high-quality auditors report higher-quality GAAP earnings. We extend this research to investigate whether auditor quality is associated with the quality of voluntarily disclosed non-GAAP earnings measures. Using a sample of Australian firms disclosing annual non-GAAP metrics, we find that clients of high-quality auditors are more likely to voluntarily disclose non-GAAP earnings numbers. However, clients of high-quality auditors make adjustments in calculating non-GAAP earnings (non-GAAP exclusions) that are less predictive of future earnings and less value relevant than those of other firms. These results indicate that their adjustments are of higher quality. We also find similar results for U.S. firms using a sample of quarterly non-GAAP earnings disclosures. Overall, our evidence indicates that commonly used indicators of audit quality for GAAP reporting are positively associated with the quality of voluntarily disclosed non-GAAP earnings measures. JEL Classifications: J33; M41.

Introduction Long-term orthodontic retention using removable or fixed retainers is needed to maintain the outcome of orthodontic treatment. The aim of this article is to describe how long-term retention is managed and to report on a survey of general dental practitioners (GDPs) as to how this management currently operates in the UK. Materials and methods GDPs were invited to complete a short online survey on orthodontic retention using an open notice posted in the British Dental Journal and a direct email to the members of a local dental clinical society. Results Fifty-six GDPs completed the online survey. Overall, the findings highlighted poor levels of communication between orthodontists and GDPs with respect to the latter assuming responsibility for the management of long-term retention. Conclusion The management of long-term retention could be improved by more effective communication between the orthodontist and GDP. One solution might be a retention management pro forma. GDPs are in some instances willing to undertake more of the management of retention following further training and possible remuneration., Key points Outlines why long-term orthodontic retention is needed for stability of tooth positions after orthodontic treatment. Highlights the importance of the general dental practitioner's role in long-term orthodontic retention and the need for good communication between orthodontists and general dental practitioners. Suggests how communication between orthodontists and general dental practitioners might be improved.

Background and Aim: Nonsuicidal selfinjury (NSSI) was observed in both males and females, with higher rate among females. NSSI could increase the risk of future suicide attempts. Adolescence is considered as stressful period because of identity crisis, physical growth, coupled with set of decision regarding future profession and personality traits. The study is aimed to find suicidal thoughts, suicidal attempts, extent of the NSSI and its impact on the undergraduate health professionals. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out among medical, dental, and physiotherapy undergraduate college students of Jamnagar, Gujarat. A total of 1850 students were approached, out of them 1050 medical, 500 dental and 300 were physiotherapy students. Participants were requested to fill the pro forma containing following parts: (1) Demographic details, (2) Inventory of Statements about Self-injury, (3) Impact of Non-Suicidal Self-Injury Scale. Results: A total of 1408 students completed the pro forma. Overall 13.99% prevalence rate of NSSI was reported. Female participants had higher prevalence of self-harming behavior than male participants (χ2 = 24.226, P < 0.001). NSSI was related to suicidal thoughts and suicidal attempts with (χ2 = 263.050, P < 0.001) and (χ2 = 197.777, P < 0.001), respectively. A negative correlation was observed with age of onset of NSSI behaviors with and numbers of NSSI behavior (r = −0.317, P < 0.001). Conclusions: Participants engaged in different NSSI behaviors for affect regulation, interpersonal boundaries, sensation seeking, self-punishment, revenge, and self-care. High prevalence of NSSI among young health professionals needs independent clinical attention. There is a need of crisis interventions for the management of self-harming behaviors and to prevent future fetal suicidal attempts.

Introduction: Emotional intelligence (EI) impacts many different aspects of daily life, such as the way one behaves and interacts with others. Empathy, one of the five elements of EI, is considered to be the most important psychosocial factor of inpatient care. An assessment of EI and empathy would help health-care professionals give better patient-centered care. Aims and Objectives: This study aims to assess the various components of EI among medical students and professionals and study its relation with personal and social factors. Materials and Methods: This is a cross-sectional study conducted with a sample that consists of 200 participants in Mamata Medical College, Khammam and Pratima Medical College, Karimnagar, Telangana during a period of 6 months (2018). A semi-structured pro forma is used to collect sociodemographic profile and the emotional quotient self-assessment checklist by Sterrett is used to measure EI and empathy. Results: There is a significant negative correlation between work hours and empathy, individuals with lesser work hours scored higher on empathy and social competence. There is also a significant negative correlation between motivation and sleep hours, individuals with more number of sleep hours scored lesser on motivation. Those who exercised scored higher on self-awareness and social competence as compared to those who never exercised. Individuals with a greater number of friends in the workplace scored significantly higher in confidence and motivation. Conclusion: The current study supports that good work relations, empathy, and exercise have a positive correlation with various domains of EI.

Aims and Objectives: The aim and objective of this study are to study the major barriers to seeking mental health care among medical undergraduates and to understand the correlation between barriers and demographic factors. Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional study that was conducted with a sample that consists of 100 participants in Mamata Medical College, Khammam and Pratima Medical college, Telangana, India, during the period of 6 months (2019). A semi-structured pro forma was used to collect the sociodemographic details, and the Barriers to Access to Care Evaluation Scale was used to assess the reasons for not seeking mental health services. Results: This study found that 26% of the participants did not seek any kind of mental health care despite needing it. The analysis revealed that stigmatizing beliefs, difficulty in sharing one's concerns, preference for self-reliance, and difficulty in accessing help were the prominent barrier themes among responders. Conclusions: This study highlights the vast discrepancy in the number of individuals in need of mental health care and the actual number of people seeking it. The present findings indicate that interventions are required to improve mental health literacy and knowledge of local services.

Refereed/Peer-reviewed Through systems thinking it is recognised that human error is not a matter of personal control, but an emergent property of overall system design. In the context of rail, Signal Passed at Danger (SPAD) incidents are a weak link in an otherwise safe system and one of the few points where a single failure can have catastrophic consequences. One area overlooked in SPAD research is the investigation process itself, specifically in terms of what investigators do and do not look at when investigating incidents. The aim of this study was to examine the document (i.e. pro forma) investigators use to capture information and attribute SPAD causation, in order to determine the extent which systems thinking is reflected in the information captured. A qualitative cross-sectional multiple-case design was used to categorise a large dataset comprising completed SPAD pro formas (n = 208) from 10 rail organisations across Australasia. Conventional content analysis identified two types of SPAD pro forma (modulated, narrative) varying in length (long, short), and a comprehensive hierarchical description revealed shallow methods of analysis, and the tendency to emphasise and attribute SPAD causation to the individual-level (human error, personal factors) without identification of deeper underlying factors and other system influences. Findings are discussed in relation to the idea that SPAD pro formas are educative tools shaping the focus of investigations, and the observed deficiencies limit the learning that can be drawn from incidents and real change that can be achieved. SPAD pro forma development is needed, scaffolded by further research

This article explores the theoretical foundations for a social justice���centric global law clinic movement. Our starting position is that law clinics, a type of clinical legal education (CLE), are in a unique position to engage in, and potentially promote, social justice issues outside their immediate communities and jurisdictions. To achieve this aim, it is necessary for law clinics to adopt a universal pro forma underpinned by the key concepts of CLE, namely social justice education and promoting access to justice through law reform. We argue that the main features of CLE are aligned with those of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) on issues such as human dignity and social justice. Incorporating UDHR values into CLE serves three purposes. First, it acts as a universal pro forma, which facilitates communication between clinics across jurisdictions, irrespective of their cultural or legal background. Second, it allows clinics to identify sources of global injustices and to share resources and expertise to collectively address injustices. Third, the theoretical approach advocated in this article argues that clinics have a Kantian moral right to engage in transnational law reform., Asian Journal of Legal Education, vol. 9, no. 1, p. 23

The study explored the influence of principals’ leadership styles on senior secondary school students’ achievement in chemistry in the Kogi State of Nigeria. It was guided by one research question and three hypotheses. Correlation survey research design was used. The target population was Senior Secondary Class Three chemistry teachers and students in all the public secondary schools in Kogi State. The sampling technique used was multiple stage samplings which included purposive and simple random sampling techniques. Based on the sampling technique, 42 teachers of 264 and 420 students of 4100 were selected. Two instruments were used to collect data, namely a questionnaire titled “Principals’ Leadership Style Questionnaire” (r = 0.88), and a pro forma designed to collect student’s results from the principal’s offices. Data were analyzed using mean, standard deviation, and Pearson product moment correlation coefficient. The results revealed that authoritarian leadership was the dominant leadership style used by the senior secondary school principals in Kogi State. In addition, chemistry students under the leadership of democratic principles performed better than their counterparts under authoritative and laissez-faire principals. It is recommended, among others, that principals of senior secondary schools adopt a democratic leadership style and that principals should be given orientation on the use of democratic leadership.

Background: Personality of an individual can be influenced by a variety of factors, including parenting and mother–child interactions in childhood. Reduced time spent with mother due to early employment of mother can affect the personality development in a positive or negative way. Personality, in turn, can influence academic performance, learning, and coping in Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) students. This study aims at exploring the association of mother's employment in the initial period of life and personality traits in MBBS students. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study conducted in a tertiary care center. Consecutively selected 200 MBBS students of all the academic years were interviewed using a semi-structured pro forma and big five inventory scale. Data were statistically analyzed using mean, standard deviation, Chi-square test, and other tests. A P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: Mothers of 21% of the students worked during pregnancy, and mothers of 33% of the students started working within the first 6 months of delivery. Significantly, high score of extraversion, agreeableness, and openness was found in students whose mothers started working within the first 6 months of delivery. No significant correlation was found between early employment of mother and scores of neuroticism and conscientiousness. Neuroticism score was higher in final MBBS students, students living away from home, and those staying in nuclear families. Conclusion: Early employment in mother was associated with high extraversion, agreeableness, and openness in MBBS students.

Background: Major depressive disorder (MDD) is among the most common mental disorders. Apart from the high prevalence, depression has been found to contribute to a high degree of impairment in functioning, equalling or exceeding that associated with debilitating medical conditions. Despite this, research shows a large treatment gap and demonstrable benefits on addressing this gap. Hence, it becomes important to study the factors affecting help-seeking behaviors among patients with MDD. Our study aims to assess these factors. Methods: It was a cross-sectional study conducted on 100 consecutive consenting patients of MDD in the department of psychiatry of a tertiary care hospital. The instruments used were semi-structured pro forma for sociodemographic details, Big Five Inventory-10 Scale for personality traits, K10 rating scale for psychological distress, and Depression Stigma Scale to assess the stigma faced. Results: In our study, we found (a) sociodemographic factors such as higher family income, joint family type, and rural locality to be statistically significantly associated with late help seeking and (b) patient-related factors of higher levels of perceived stigma to be statistically significantly associated with late help-seeking behavior. Conclusions: Factors such as family type, stigma, and living in a rural area were significantly associated with late help seeking. Psychoeducation of family members and increased awareness and access to mental health-care professionals may help address these issues. Studying factors affecting help seeking on a larger scale may help with policy formulation in future.

Introduction: According to the World Health Organization, more than 300 million people were estimated to suffer from depression in 2017. Many studies have observed that medical personnel have a higher level of depression, but studies among dentists are scarce. Early diagnosis will help in controlling the morbidity and mortality due to depression. Hence, this study was undertaken to estimate the prevalence of depression among students of Government Dental College (GDC), Thiruvananthapuram, the capital city of the state of Kerala, India. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted at GDC, Thiruvananthapuram, for a period of 3 months from September to December 2017, using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) and a pro forma comprising 37 questions. Students having PHQ scores >9 were considered to have depression. The questionnaire was administered on 364 students comprising undergraduate students, paradental students, house surgeons, and postgraduates. Separate sessions were arranged for each group and four reminders were given. Results: The prevalence of depression was estimated as 26.9% (95% confidence interval: 22.4–31.8). Being married, having high and average level of course satisfaction, and having close friends were found to act as independent protective factors, whereas female gender and breakups in relationships were found to be independent risk factors. Conclusion: It is high time we provide supportive programs and implement preventive measures to help professional students, especially those who are at higher risk of mental ill-health. Further studies need to be conducted to explore the academic reasons for depression.

Background. In Bhutan, Traditional Medicine (TM) is a part of the government-sponsored free healthcare system and Traditional Medicine Units (TMUs) are colocated with allopathic hospitals. Prevention of healthcare-associated infections and patient safety must apply to all institutionalized healthcare settings including TMUs. This study assessed the knowledge, attitude, and practice of TM practitioners in Bhutan in the field of infection control and waste management practices. Methods. This was a descriptive study among TM practitioners selected through simple random sampling. Data were collected using a structured pro forma and entered in EpiData 3.1 and analyzed in STATA 13.1. Results. There were 132 respondents (response rate 98%). The majority (64%) knew the seven steps of handwashing but their knowledge of WHO’s Five Moments for Handwashing was poor, especially handwashing after aseptic procedures (17%) and handwashing after touching patient surroundings (5%). Handwashing before palpation of the pulse (37%) and using gloves while dispensing medicines (9%) were poor; but the proportions of handwashing before performing moxibustion (96%), correct disposal of sharps (84%), and disinfection of cupping sets (78%) were high. The majority of participants hold a positive attitude towards the adoption of infection control and waste management practices for the benefit of patients. Only 23% had received preservice and 44% had received in-service training on infection control. Conclusions. The knowledge and practices of infection control and waste management are optimal only in select domains of practice. The practitioners hold a positive attitude towards the adoption of infection control and waste management standards.

Distributed solar photovoltaic (DPV) under net-energy metering with volumetric retail electricity pricing has raised concerns among utilities and regulators about adverse financial impacts for shareholders and ratepayers. Using a pro forma financial model, we estimate the financial impacts of different DPV deployment levels on a prototypical Western U.S. investor-owned utility under a varied set of operating conditions that would be expected to affect the value of DPV. Our results show that the financial impacts on shareholders and ratepayers increase as the level of DPV deployment increases, though the magnitude is small even at high DPV penetration levels. Even rather dramatic changes in DPV value result in modest changes to shareholder and ratepayer impacts, but the impacts on the former are greater than the latter (in percentage terms). The range of financial impacts are driven by differences in the amount of incremental capital investment that is deferred, as well as the amount of incremental distribution operating expenses that are incurred. While many of the impacts appear relatively small (on a percentage basis), they demonstrate how the magnitude of impacts depend critically on utility physical, financial, and operating characteristics.

Labour-only procurement system is gaining fast popularity among construction clients who want to make savings by procuring materials themselves, leaving the contractor to provide only the labour needed. This study, therefore, appraised this procurement system by assess­ing its cost performance, its suitability, construction par­ticipant’s willingness to use it for subsequent projects and its merits and demerits. Using a survey design approach through the use of questionnaire and a pro forma, data were gathered from a total of 98 construction profes­sionals and contractors who have been involved in the use of this procurement system. Analyses of data were done using percentage, mean item score, Mann-Whitney U test and paired samples t-test. The study revealed that this procurement system is best for procuring residential buildings and minor alteration works. Construction participants who have used this system before are willing to still use it for subsequent works, as it delivers projects within budget and discourages short-changing of specifi­cations and standard by contractors. However, the need for the time commitment and reduction in contractor’s profit are its major disadvantages. For its cost perfor­mance, an overall cost saving of about 2% was discovered for the assessed 32 projects. The findings of this study will be beneficial to various interest groups such as clients and estate developers in selecting the right procurement option to use.

Rework is a menace that leads to undesired and unnecessary loss of efforts, it degrades project cost and schedule performance of construction projects, both at design and construction phases. This study therefore, analyzed the impact of cost of rework on time and cost performance of building construction projects in Nigerian, using selected commercial building project within the country’s capital. A pro forma was adopted for gathering data on rework cost, project cost and time of selected building projects, while structured questionnaire was used to collect information on the likely measures for reducing rework incidences from construction professionals that were involved in the delivery of the identified projects. Regression analysis, relative importance index and Kruskal-Walis test were employed for data analysis. The study revealed a significant relationship between the cost of rework and initial and final project cost of delivering commercial buildings, as an average of 3.53% impact on the initial project cost, 46.60% contribution to cost overrun, and p-value of 0.000 was observed on all assessed projects. For the project delivery time, a significant relationship between the cost of rework and initial and final project duration, as an average of 7.35% impact on the initial delivery time, extra 19 days and p-value of 0.000 was observed on all assessed projects. Team building and education, management commitment, employee involvement, were some of the best possible measures to minimized rework problems.

Procurement method over time has proven to have significant influence on the successful delivery of construction projects. Making the right decision in the selection of a procurement option to adopt is therefore crucial if a project is to succeed. This study therefore assessed the cost and time performance of selected public building projects procured using traditional, direct labour and management procurement options in Ondo State, Nigeria. A pro forma was used to gather cost and time data from government procuring entities in the state. In addition, a structured questionnaire was used to obtain information from construction professionals in these procuring entities, in order to ascertain the factors influencing the choice of procurement options adopted. The cost and time data gathered were analyzed using percentages and the paired-samples t-test, while those gathered on the factors influencing the choice of procurement options were analyzed using mean item scores and analysis of variance (ANOVA). The results revealed that although there is no significant difference between the initial and final costs of the assessed projects, some measure of cost overrun still exists. In addition, a considerable amount of time overrun was experienced on projects executed using the three different procurement options. The most significant factors influencing the choice of a procurement option are price competition, speed, time certainty and complexity of the project. It is believed that the findings of this study will provide public procuring entities with insight on the cost and time capability of these procurement methods and aid them in selecting the procurement option that will help in delivering public building projects within the budget and on schedule.

Construction bond administration involves management of bond issues from inception of obtaining bond from guarantor to the point of release of contractor by the client. This process has posted a lot of challenges to construction stakeholders; it is therefore, necessary to examine the relationship between bond administration and project success. Archival data of completed bonded building projects were gathered through a pro forma developed for this purpose. Using Pearson product moment of correlation, it was revealed that the cost of securing a construction bond has a positive and significant effect on the initial and final costs of the project, while the number of days needed to secure a construction bond has no significant effect on the initial and final durations of the construction project. In order to establish the relationship between project delivery indices of cost and time and the construction bond administration variables, iteration of linear regression was adopted to arrive at the best-fit equation. Factors affecting the cost of securing construction bonds from guarantors should be identified and given adequate attention by construction stakeholders in order to minimize the effect of construction bond administration on project delivery.

This study evaluates EBITDA as a financial performance measure and investigates the use of EBITDA in financial reporting. First, we take issue with recent comments that both the SEC and the IASB have levied against non-GAAP earnings numbers, and in particular EBITDA. While EBITDA allegedly provides an accurate reflection of the operations and abstracts from how assets are financed, we argue that (net) operating profit already provides this information without the necessity of making subjective adjustments. Also, our evidence suggests that EBITDA paints a rosy picture of the firm’s profitability and cash-generating ability. Next, using textual analysis, we investigate the prevalence of EBITDA in financial disclosures based on a large sample of 15,895 annual reports and 51,758 earnings releases from S&P 1500 firms between 2005 and 2016. We find that 14.8% of sample firms disclose and emphasize EBITDA numbers. EBITDA disclosures modestly increase over time and tend to be rather sticky in nature. In our cross-sectional analyses, we find that, consistent with our hypotheses, EBITDA-reporting firms are smaller, more leveraged, more capital-intensive, less profitable and have longer operating cycles than non-EBITDA reporting firms. They also exhibit higher forecast errors and a higher likelihood of missing the analyst forecast benchmark. Additional tests further underscore the opportunistic nature of EBITDA disclosures as we find that these firm characteristics are more strongly associated with the disclosure of adjusted EBITDA measures, and less strongly associated with the disclosure of EBITA and EBIT.

We innovatively devised a cardio-oncology echocardiogram report pro forma to promote evidence-based reporting, achieve standardisation and incorporate checklist practices. The report pro forma was based on the case report form for the ERIC-ONC cardio-oncology cancer cardioprotection trial. It

For determining the correctness of an import declaration lodged by a declarant within international shipping, customs authorities rely on manual cross-validation of the declaration with other trade documents. However, the sheer volume of import declarations lodged annually makes it impossible to manually cross-validate each declaration. Smart contracts have the potential to automatically aggregate relevant information from blockchain-based ledgers for lodging and cross-validation. In this paper we explore how such smart contract could be implemented. We demonstrate that a smart import declaration can be used to automatically aggregate information from different sources (e.g., pro forma invoice data elements stored on the blockchain ledger). However, technical and organizational considerations that are inherent to blockchain technology need to be addressed for the smart import declaration to be acceptable for both customs authorities and declarants. It is therefore suggested that future work focusses on data standards required to enable automatic aggregation of relevant trade information and the generation of the import declaration and governance of the smart import declaration by customs authorities to assure correctness.

This paper is the first to show that financial institutions may be effectively undercapitalized as a result of incomplete consolidation of minority ownership. Using two approaches – consolidating the minority-owned affiliates with the parent or deducting equity investments in minority ownership from the parent's capital – we find that the effective capitalization ratios of small US bank holding companies (BHCs) are substantially lower than the reported ratios. Empirical evidence suggests that the effectively lower capitalization ratios are associated with higher riskiness at the BHC level. Capital adjustments following pro forma consolidation better capture the additional risks than capital adjustments in the form of equity deductions for investments in minority-owned affiliates. These findings have important implications for the regulation of bank capital.

Introduction: The research knowledge translation along with evidence-based learning in health systems has increased during the last decade, particularly because of the recognition of its importance for achieving many of the Millennium Development Goals. Till now, no studies have highlighted the learning atmosphere in dental learning institutions. Aim: To assess learning culture in a dental institution in National Capital Region of India applying the dimensions of the learning organization questionnaire (DLOQ). Materials and Methods: DLOQ pro forma was distributed among 236 employees at all levels of the dental institution. Data were analyzed using SPSS software version 19.0; Chicago; IL, USA and was subjected to quantitative analysis and nonparametric tests. Results: The dimension “embedded system” scored the lowest mean of 2.36, while the dimension “systems connection” scored the highest mean of 4.02 in general. A significant difference (P ≤ 0.05) between the means of the different professions was noted, whereas on comparison of the relation between each of the professions were performed and a significant difference (P ≤ 0.05) with respect to all the seven dimensions was also noted. Conclusion: The results provided sufficient inputs about the multidimensional learning organization capacity of a dental school in a rapidly developing country like India. This tool can be used as a reliable assessment technique in a dental learning setting to inculcate a wave of individual and organizational learning.

This study aimed (1) to estimate the impact of an incremental reduction in excess readmissions on a hospital’s Medicare reimbursement revenue, for hospitals subject to penalties under the Medicare’s Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program and (2) to evaluate the economic case for an investment in a readmission reduction program. For 2,465 hospitals with excess readmissions in the Fiscal Year 2016 Hospital Compare data set, we (1) used the Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program statute to estimate hospital-specific Medicare reimbursement gains per an avoided readmission and (2) carried out a pro forma analysis of investment in a broad-scale readmission reduction program under conservative assumptions regarding program effectiveness and using program costs from earlier studies. For an average hospital, avoiding one excess readmission would result in reimbursement gains of $10,000 to $58,000 for Medicare discharges. The economic case for investments in a readmission reduction effort was strong overall, with the possible exception of hospitals with low excess readmissions.

This paper describes an enhancement to MetroScope, the land-use model component of an integrated model suite used to answer current- and next-generation policy questions facing Oregon Metro (the Portland regional planning organization) and other public agencies. The enhancement is designed to simulate more-detailed housing developer decision processes within an overall aggregate spatial equilibrium model (SEM) framework via a pro forma paradigm. The paper enumerates the policy questions that motivated the enhancement, discusses the integrated model framework, briefly reviews levels of detail available in existing models as context, and frames potential future research directions for additional decision process detail that would be helpful in the consumer modules of the model and potentially other SEMs currently in use.

The aim of this quality improvement project was to determine whether introducing a standardised ward round pro-forma would result in improved documentation standards and increase the consideration of a number of selected areas (thromboprophylaxis, oxygen prescription, fluid status, antibiotic review, ceiling of treatment, DNACPR status, NEWS etc). A baseline audit was performed on a busy respiratory …