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Benefits of portfolio diversification transpire from the motivation of risk minimization and maximization of the expected return. Potential for global portfolio diversification has been recognized by the investors in recent years. A portfolio with the highest level of expected return for a given level of risk is said to be mean-variance efficient. Therefore, the risk-reward ratio of a globally diversified portfolio is expected to be optimum. This paper proposes a method of portfolio selection on the basis of partial correlation criterion by seeking market relationship that is independent of world market. Portfolios are constructed using both partial correlation approach and Markowitz (or correlation) approach in the EU for two different home markets France and Germany. The performance of these portfolios has been measured for three different strategies to determine the proportion of asset allocation in the portfolio. The findings of this study suggest that the optimum strategy that minimizes the coefficient of variation to determine the proportion of asset allocation has a better potential for diversification. Furthermore the results reveal that, the partial correlation approach produces superior portfolios as opposed to Markowitz approach based on Sharpe's performance measure., INTRODUCTION The benefits of global portfolio diversification have been largely accepted and recognized by the investors in recent years. An extensive literature discussion in this research area appears in Solnik [...]

In this paper, we study Turkey's current and future economic conditions and shade some prospects into the prognosis of its probable European Union (EU) membership. Turkey's most recent effort to enter the European Union has been denied on the ground of not achieving union's standard on various aspects. Turkey's socio-political standing is so unique that it offers a very interesting model for economic integration. Turkey's drive to join the union has faced numerous challenges over the years. Primary inspiration for European Union integration transpires from the idea of creating a single market for goods, services, and capital among the union members. Since this is the intention of EU integration, we have evaluated Turkey on the basis of their economic profile for integration into the union and investigated a prognosis for future prospect by analyzing the similarity of their economy with that of eleven other longstanding European Union (EU) member countries. Multivariate analyses of Mahalanobis squared distance, canonical correlation, and canonical discriminant analysis show that currently Turkey do not have similar economic status nor the prognosis in near future for them to be a member of the union on the basis of economic profile that we have considered in this paper. Given that, Greece is also drifting apart in the future from rest of the union member countries and can be classified as a separate group provides an opportunity in Turkey's favor. Therefore, Turkey would like to place a considerable emphasis on their long-term economic stabilization in a cohesive manner by implementing necessary policy modifications and win their spot in the union., INTRODUCTION Socio-political standing of Turkey is so unique that it offers a very unique and interesting model for European Union integration. Its desire to enter Single Market Europe was intensified [...]

Alaska is an expansive and complex geographic area with many rural communities of small villages and few towns in remote locations. In addition, inadequate healthcare facilities in these locations makes health care management a challenging task in the state of Alaska. Therefore, it is important to find an effective alternative, such as telemedicine, for delivering health care in remote regions of rural Alaska. The objective of this paper is to create a baseline result from the pre-telemedicine data that is important in measuring telemedicine effectiveness after its implementation. In this paper, we focus on data gathered before implementation of the telemedicine to identify factors significant to patients' satisfaction. Four different regions: Maniilaq, Norton Sound, Yukon Kuskokwim, and Bristol Bay Area are selected for the implementation of telemedicine. Regression analysis is used for identifying factors that are important to patients' satisfaction. Regression models are estimated separately for each region, and a separate model is used for all regions combined. The most important factor revealed from the analysis in terms of magnitude and statistical significance is 'the perceived level of prescribed treatment' across all regions. The 'amount of time that health care provider spent with the patient' is also emerged as an important factor. Another important factor is the 'ability to communicate'. All these factors are found statistically significant regardless of the geographic region considered in this paper. Therefore, these important factors may be used for the post-telemedicine effectiveness measure., INTRODUCTION Alaska's expansive and complex geographic features have created communities that are characterized by many small villages in remote locations. Alaska encompasses a land area close to 20% of the [...]

ABSTRACT This paper investigates the impact of the intervention of Tax Reform Act on the business failure momentum. The data covers the period January 1967 through December 1986 and divided [...]

ABSTRACT This paper presents evidence suggesting interest rates have dissimilar effects on the large firm and small business failures. We examine monthly time-series data for the period 1984-1998 and find [...]

ABSTRACT The Tax Reform Act of 1986 discouraged private workout arrangements in favor of corporate bankruptcy reorganization. We hypothesize by channeling failing firms into the more protracted Chapter 11 procedure, [...]

ABSTRACT This paper investigates endogenous dependence in the business failure process for large and small businesses. After controlling for systemic growth, we find the momentum in business failures from their [...]

A significant body of research is dedicated to decreasing the product return rate by applying management measures that identify the factors and causes of returns. These studies examine how consumers' product return behavior can be explained by studying the information on retailers' websites. However, these studies have not shown how website information (WI) is linked to product returns. The study by Lee's work observed how product returns are motivated by consumers' need to mitigate postpurchase dissonance (PPD). However, a clear understanding of the relationship between WI and PPD is lacking. Therefore, our research examines the impact of WI on PPD in the product returns context. In our research, PPD serves as a key factor in understanding the linkage between WI and product returns. Our results showed that higher‐quality WI is associated with a lower level of PPD. In addition, a lower perceived risk (PR) or attractiveness of alternatives strengthens the association between WI and PPD. We also observed that PR partially mediated the moderation effect of the attractiveness of alternatives. These findings will help e‐retailers better understand customers' PPD, easing the process of reducing product returns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the key determinants of the demand for instructional technology support services. To provide insight to the technology managers for better resource planning, we first study key categories of technology support services to predict the frequency of service demand. To this end, we apply an autocorrelated error corrected time-series regression model of support services demand on the various support services. Our research results show the existence of key determinants positively impacting the support services' demand. Results from this research also confirm that service demand for onsite support service is time dependent and as expected exhibit seasonality. These results match the scheduling dynamics of an academic calendar and illustrate how policymakers can use key determinants of demand to focus attention to high-demand and high-frequency service categories. Understanding the analytics of these key determinants prove advantageous when identifying new best practices for technology managers preparing a policy design to establish efficient technology operations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Secondary caries lesions are the main late complication of dental restorations, limiting their life span and generating costs by repeated reinterventions. Accurate detection of secondary lesions is crucial for estimating the true burden of the disease and allocating appropriate treatments. We aimed to assess the accuracy of detection methods for secondary caries lesions. Clinical or in vitro studies were included that investigated the accuracy of 5 detection methods--visual, tactile, radiography, laser fluorescence, quantitative light-induced fluorescence--of natural or artificially induced secondary lesions, as verified against an established reference test. Sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative likelihood ratios, as well as diagnostic odds ratios were calculated and publication bias assessed. From 1,179 screened studies, 23 were included. Most studies were performed in vitro, on permanent posterior teeth, and had high risk of bias or applicability concerns. Lesions were on proximal (14 studies) or other surfaces and adjacent to amalgam (16 studies) or tooth-colored materials. Visual (n = 11), radiographic (n = 13), and laser fluorescence detection (n = 8) had similar sensitivities (0.50 to 0.59) and specificities (0.78 to 0.83), with visual and laser fluorescence assessment being more accurate on nonproximal surfaces and adjacent to composites, respectively. Tactile assessment (n = 7) had low accuracy. Light-induced fluorescence (n = 3) was sensitive on nonproximal surfaces but had low specificities. Most analyses seemed to suffer from publication bias. Despite being a significant clinical and dental public health problem, detection of secondary caries lesions has been assessed by only a few studies with limited validity and applicability. Visual, radiographic and laser-fluorescence detection might be useful to detect secondary lesions. The validity of tactile assessment and quantitative light-induced fluorescence remains unclear at present. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present article, the radial and peripheral velocity components are determined for mono-metal rod extrusion through conical dies and then they are extended to extrusion process of initially bonded bimetal rods. By optimizing the total power with respect to the shape of the inlet shear boundary, the amount of extrusion force is obtained. The obtained solutions are tested with other ones found in the literature about this theme and with the results produced by the finite element method. It is found that all of the predicted results are in good agreement with the values computed by the finite element method and experimental results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]