Search

The academic, career and personal needs of students of Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma-Nigeria were surveyed. A total of 920 undergraduates participated in this study. The results of the study revealed that irrespective of students' residential status, gender, age and relationship status, the students ranked time-management as the most pressing counseling need. This was followed in this order: drug concerns, family problems, career needs, relationship problems, finance, sexual harassment, academic ability, personality types, anxiety/depression, differential treatment and self-evaluation. The results further indicated among others that female students were more in need of financial counseling than their male counterparts. Single students had more assertive/communication needs than their married colleagues. In addition, the study also revealed that students residing on the campus had more counseling needs on how to foster and sustain a stable relationship than those not residing on the campus. In view of these, counseling interventions for implementation that are geared towards helping students meet with their needs were further provided.

Because high‐status employees make disproportional contributions to firms, prior literature suggests that their departure would undermine various organizational outcomes. Building on recent literature, however, we suspect that a high‐status employee may have seized disproportional resources and credits from coworkers, thereby restricting them from performing, particularly when the work context is more independent and contested. As a result, the departure of a high‐status employee may bring staying coworkers more resources and incentives to perform, causing their performance to improve. To test this possibility, we examine the effect of high‐status analysts' departure on the individual performance of analysts who remain, using a sample of sell‐side analysts in Chinese financial brokerage firms. Employing a before‐and‐after treatment research design, we find evidence that after the departure of a high‐status analyst, the staying coworkers' individual performance is significantly improved. It is particularly so when they share greater industry overlap with the departing analyst. Our extensional analyses also investigate additional contingencies, which helps provide valuable hints about possible mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Contemporary Accounting Research is the property of Canadian Academic Accounting Association and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Announcements of mergers very often discuss the immediate impact of the deal on the acquirer's earnings per share (EPS). We argue that the focus on EPS reflects the difficulty of evaluating and communicating deal synergy in mergers and acquisitions (M&A) practice and provide supporting evidence. We show that the acquirer's EPS focus affects how deals are structured, the premium that is paid, and the types of deals that are done. EPS-driven M&A decisions are also associated with costly distortions in the acquirer's financial and investment policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Little is known about nursing home (NH) financial status in the United States even though most NH care is publicly funded. To address this gap, this descriptive study used 2019 Medicare cost reports to examine NH revenues, expenditures, net income, related-party expenses, expense categories, and capital structure. After a cleaning process for all free-standing NHs, a study population of 11,752 NHs was examined. NHs had total net revenues of US$126 billion and a profit of US$730 million (0.58%) in 2019. When US$6.4 billion in disallowed costs and US$3.9 billion in non-cash depreciation expenses were excluded, the profit margin was 8.84 percent. About 77 percent of NHs reported US$11 billion in payments to related-party organizations (9.54% of net revenues). Overall spending for direct care was 66 percent of net revenues, including 27 percent on nursing, in contrast to 34 percent spent on administration, capital, other, and profits. Finally, NHs had long-term debts that outweighed their total available financing. The study shows the value of analyzing cost reports. It indicates the need to ensure greater accuracy and completeness of cost reports, financial transparency, and accountability for government funding, with implications for policy changes to improve rate setting and spending limits.

In response to a financial crisis, many organizations adjust their pay systems to reduce labor costs. In this research, we focus on the use of delayed pay (the postponement of employees' contractual compensation) and examine its effect on employee voluntary turnover outcomes. In a field study (Study 1) with data collected from the executive managers of 129 Chinese hotels experiencing a financial crisis caused by coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19), we find a positive relationship between delayed pay and the voluntary turnover rate at the organizational level. In addition, this relationship becomes weaker when delayed pay consists of a larger proportion of pay‐for‐performance (PFP). We then conduct an experiment (Study 2) to extend our theoretical framework to the individual level, establish causality, and examine the underlying mechanism. The results show that the perceived negative instrumentality of stay (i.e., expected economic losses associated with staying in an organization) explains why individuals intend to leave organizations adopting delayed base pay but not delayed PFP. We further replicate these findings in a critical incident technique study (Study 3). We also discuss the theoretical and practical implications of these findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present article, we propose the concept of the HR function's relational activities and examine its influence on the firm's human capital resources (HCRs) and performance. Integrating insights from various streams of research in strategic human resource management (HRM) and strategic human capital, we develop a relational perspective of the HR function and propose the relational activities as the HR function's advisory and informative activities toward its internal stakeholders (i.e., line managers, employees, and senior managers) to help the stakeholders meet their goals and needs. In our framework, we theorize how the HR function's relational activities lead to superior firm performance by enhancing the firm's HCRs and identify the firm's strategic HR systems and human capital losses as factors that complement and necessitate the HR function's relational activities, respectively. Using a five‐wave, nationally representative panel dataset covering 1415 firm observations, we find robust support for our hypotheses: the HR function's relational activities were positively related to HCRs, which was more pronounced when coupled with high levels of strategic HR systems and human capital losses. The HCRs, in turn, transmitted the effects of the relational activities on the firm's subsequent operational and financial performance. Overall, these findings develop strategic HRM theory by contributing a more comprehensive conceptualization of the HR function's role in the strategic HRM process and by revealing its effects on firm performance along with key moderators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fierce market competition and consumers' environmental awareness prompt manufacturers to gain competitive advantages through low-carbon production. However, many firms stay away from low carbon because of financial constraints. Considering chain-to-chain competition, this paper constructs three financing strategic models. The impacts of market competition intensity and consumers' low-carbon preference on equilibrium decisions and corporate profits are analyzed. Then, comparative analysis is conducted to find the optimal financing strategy. Finally, numerical simulation is used for further analysis and robustness tests. It is indicated that under chain-to-chain competition, low-carbon production cannot improve the negative impact of increased competition intensity on corporate profits. Intense competition weakens the manufacturer's emission reduction efforts. Moreover, the manufacturer does not always benefit more from internal financing though the low-carbon level is high. When the probability of obtaining a bank loan exceeds the threshold, bank financing is superior to internal financing. An increased low-carbon investment cost coefficient will lower the threshold, which is counterintuitive. Since the preference interval for the downstream retailer to provide prepayments is larger than the interval for the low-carbon manufacturer to choose internal financing, both parties have the incentive to negotiate prepayments. Under internal financing, the wholesale price discount does not affect corporate profits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Retirement planning strategies, decisions, and actions are linked to different phases of the life cycle, but late-in-life issues require complex decisions and actions that can easily be forgotten in planning. This article focuses on four main topics—health and longterm care; financial management; housing and transportation; and support systems— and provides information about resources to help in dealing with them. Advisors need to decide which decisions and actions they will help clients address. Retirement and retirement planning is certainly about money, but it is also about how clients will live their lives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Determining the EBITDA margin allows us to demonstrate the sustainability of the company in a more precise way, and businesses that include a significant part of depreciation costs for machinery and other long-term assets in their primary costs can think about financial sustainability. The research is represented by analysis of the influence of the degree of indebtedness and the intensity of capital on the financial indicator EBITDA margin, study carried out on retail companies in Romania. After the analysis, it was found that between the capital intensity rate, the debt level and the EBITDA margin, analysis carried out on a panel data set over a period of 10 years.

This paper is an in-depth study that starts from a preliminary one, where we surveyed 141 ranchers from the town of Coto-Coto in Peru to obtain as much information as possible about the relationship between two economic variables, Activity Cost and Financial Management. Furthermore, we study the correlation of the first one of them with three other economic variables. To do this, we process the survey data using logical operators with the support of the plithogenic statistics theory. These results given in the form of plithogenic values are logically aggregated and were converted to crisp values and studied through the use of statistical tools, specifically Kendall's Tau b. The study of economic variables within the field of cattle farming is of great importance because it allows us to improve the productivity of this economic sector, which is also part of the most accepted human diet worldwide. A substantial advantage in the use of plithogeny is that linguistic values that are more natural for livestock farmers were processed, in addition, uncertainty and indeterminacy were taken into account by the use of neutrosophic numbers.

This study looks into how market accessibility, digital integration, financial management, and environmental practices affect the sustainability and resilience of Micro, Small, and Medium-Sized Enterprises (MSMEs) in Indonesia. Data analysis is done using Structural Equation Modeling with Partial Least Squares (SEM-PLS) in a quantitative manner using a sample of 274 MSMEs. The diversity of the sample with respect to industry sectors, geographic regions, and company sizes is demonstrated by descriptive statistics. The structural model findings show positive and substantial correlations between the elements under investigation and company resilience and sustainability, while the measurement model analysis validates the validity and reliability of the constructs. The results are stable, as supported by bootstrapping analysis, and the model fit indices show good predictive relevance. The findings are interpreted in the discussion, which also provides policymakers and business practitioners with useful insights. The study adds to our theoretical understanding of MSME dynamics and offers guidance on how to develop resilient and sustainable business practices.

We develop and test a multi‐stakeholder perspective of intrafamily CEO succession by exploring how family CEO successors affect post‐succession firm performance under conditions of sustainable human resource management (sustainable HRM) practices toward employees and top managers, as well as corporate philanthropic activities in the broader community. Using a sample of 414 CEO successions in family firms listed on China's stock exchanges during 2008–2016, we find an insurance‐like effect of both sustainable HRM and corporate philanthropy in enhancing firm performance of family CEO successors. Our results also show that firms with family CEO successors will outperform those with nonfamily counterparts under conditions of high employee compensation, low top management team (TMT) compensation, and long TMT tenure. Our findings suggest that sustainable HRM and corporate philanthropy complement rather than substitute in strengthening family leadership during CEO succession. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on decisions to exercise and hold company stock at the maturity of a broad‐based employee stock options plan. It investigates why some participants choose an uncertain and risky future reward when an immediate and certain increase in wealth could be secured at exercise. It draws on and expands the "mixed gambles" perspective in behavioral agency theory, utilizing a combination of stock price data and employee survey data from British companies with tax‐approved stock option plans. It is found that the decision to take a gamble is influenced (negatively) by the extent of stock price lows (relative to prices at exercise) in the year prior to exercise, and by the risk preferences of the option holder. The findings contribute to further development of the "mixed gambles" perspective as an explanation of stock option behavior, showing that individual characteristics as well as some stock price movements affect behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heightened trait impulsivity in both subclinical and pathological senses is becoming increasingly recognised in Parkinson's disease (PD). Impulsive behaviours and impulse control disorders (ICDs) are a consequence of perturbation to the rewards pathway leading individuals to conduct activities in a repetitive, excessive, and maladaptive fashion. Commonly linked to PD, heightened trait impulsivity has been found to primarily manifest in the forms of hypersexuality, pathological gambling, compulsive shopping, and binge eating, all of which may significantly impact social and financial standing. Subsequent burden to quality of life for both individuals with PD and caregivers are common. Although risk factors and indicators for ICDs in PD are currently lacking, it is recognised that the condition is often precipitated by dopamine replacement therapies, primarily dopamine agonist administration. While this nonmotor symptom is being increasingly diagnosed in PD populations, it remains relatively elusive in comparison to its motor counterparts. Through discussion of impulsivity characteristics, neuroanatomy, and neurochemistry, in addition to reviewing existing research on the potential contributing factors to impulsivity in PD, this review highlights impulsivity as a significant and detrimental PD symptom. Thus, emphasising the imperative need to establish efficacious diagnostic tools and treatments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study combined ecological, environmental, nature-based, and epistemic interpretations of older adulthood to gain a previously unresearched look at how older adults feel that their relations with nature are treated by others. Sixty older adults were interviewed in-depth, and data was analyzed using the Eco-Appreciation framework and Thematic Content Analysis. The results indicate the concurrence of processes of withdrawal of older adults from spaces of nature and discourse about nature. These processes obstruct older adults' wellbeing; entail the infliction of existential epistemic injustices and "eco-ageism" toward them; and emphasize the crucial role social work can play in responding thereto. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change poses significant risks to health and health systems, with the greatest impacts in low- and middle-income countries - which are least responsible for greenhouse gas emissions. The Conference of Parties 28 at the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference led to agreement on the need for holistic and equitable financing approaches to address the climate and health crisis. This paper provides an overview of existing climate finance mechanisms - that is, multilateral funds, voluntary market-based mechanisms, taxes, microlevies and adaptive social protection. We discuss these approaches' potential use to promote health, generate additional health sector resources and enhance health system sustainability and resilience, and also explore implementation challenges. We suggest that public health practitioners, policy-makers and researchers seize the opportunity to leverage climate funding for better health and sustainable, climate-resilient health systems. Emphasizing the wider benefits of investing in health for the economy can help prioritize health within climate finance initiatives. Meaningful progress will require the global community acknowledging the underlying political economy challenges that have so far limited the potential of climate finance to address health goals. To address these challenges, we need to restructure financing institutions to empower communities at the frontline of the climate and health crisis and ensure their needs are met. Efforts from global and national level stakeholders should focus on mobilizing a wide range of funding sources, prioritizing co-design and accessibility of financing arrangements. These stakeholders should also invest in rigorous monitoring and evaluation of initiatives to ensure relevant health and well-being outcomes are addressed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Whereas clinical experience in dementia indicates high risk for financial mismanagement, there has been little formal study of real world financial errors in dementia. Objective: We aimed to compare caregiver-reported financial mistakes among people with Alzheimer's disease, behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD), and primary progressive aphasia (PPA). Methods: Caregivers reported whether participants with dementia had made financial mistakes within the last year; and if so, categorized these as resulting from: (a) being too trusting or gullible, (b) being wasteful or careless with money, or (c) trouble with memory. In a pre-registered analysis ), we examined the hypotheses that (1) financial mistakes due to impaired socioemotional function and diminished sensitivity to negative outcomes are more prevalent in bvFTD than in Alzheimer's disease, and (2) financial mistakes due to memory are more prevalent in Alzheimer's disease than in bvFTD. Exploratory analyses addressed vulnerability in PPA and brain-behavior relationships using voxel-based morphometry. Results: Concordant with our first hypothesis, bvFTD was more strongly associated than Alzheimer's disease with mistakes due to being too trusting/gullible or wasteful/careless; contrary to our second hypothesis, both groups were similarly likely to make mistakes due to memory. No differences were found between Alzheimer's disease and PPA. Exploratory analyses indicated associations between financial errors and atrophy in right prefrontal and insular cortex. Conclusions: Our findings cohere with documented socioemotional and valuation impairments in bvFTD, and with research indicating comparable memory impairment between bvFTD and Alzheimer's disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many autistic adults are likely to experience poor financial wellbeing and hardship due to unemployment and under-employment. Research in the general population demonstrates that subjective financial wellbeing—how people perceive their financial situation—influences quality of life. There is no research, however, examining the subjective financial wellbeing of autistic people. This study therefore aimed to (1) understand the subjective financial wellbeing of a sample of autistic adults living in Australia compared to a general Australian population sample and (2) identify the predictors of subjective financial wellbeing in this sample of autistic adults. To this end, 191 autistic adults aged 18–83 years (mean = 39.28, standard deviation = 11.74) completed an online survey about their economic status, financial wellbeing, financial behaviors, confidence in money management skills, and anxiety and depression symptoms. Almost half of our sample felt it was a struggle to make ends meet, whereas only one-third of the general Australian population felt this way. Similar to the general population, autistic people's income and their financial behaviors (specifically, saving and not borrowing for everyday expenses) predicted their sense of financial wellbeing. Our findings have implications for both research and practice. Researchers have found the way people feel about their financial situation is related to their quality of life. We know that many autistic people find it hard to find a job. And for those autistic people who have a job, they are often underpaid. Not having a job or being underpaid often means having low income. Having low income is likely to influence how autistic people feel about their financial situation. However, no research has looked at these issues for autistic people. This is the first study that helps us learn more about what autistic adults think about their financial situation. We looked at autistic people's thoughts on this issue compared to people from the general Australian population. We also looked at what things might impact how autistic people feel about their financial situation—which might be how much money they earn, what they do with that money, and their mental health. Many autistic adults felt they were struggling with financial wellbeing and this was connected both to the level of their income and how they said they managed their money. Those who were able to save and not borrow for everyday expenses reported feeling a greater sense of financial wellbeing. Concrete changes might help to improve autistic people's financial wellbeing. We need to investigate how we can help autistic people find and keep well-paying jobs. And we need to work out the best ways of equipping autistic people with the skills they need in financial matters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Financial wellbeing is an important component of people's overall wellbeing, reflecting the capacity to live a comfortable and fulfilling life. Yet virtually nothing is known about this topic for autistic people. This study addressed this gap using a two-phase sequential mixed-methods design. Here, we report on findings from the Phase 2 qualitative study. In this study, 21 autistic participants were purposively selected based on the status of their financial wellbeing, including 12 people with high, and 9 with low, financial wellbeing, and interviewed by an autistic researcher. We identified four themes through reflective thematic analysis. Having access to a stable income made an enormous difference to people's financial wellbeing. Participants emphasised how their broader social supports, especially family support, shaped their financial wellbeing. Yet, planning financially was often challenging, especially for people who had insufficient money to meet their basic needs. Nevertheless, our participants reported a strong drive to stay in control and avoid unnecessary risk. Our findings revealed how much money matters in autistic people's lives. Future research should investigate the ways in which autistic people could secure more reliable incomes and identify the most effective ways to support them to achieve financial resilience. Money matters in people's lives. It helps to meet people's basic needs (food, clothes, shelter) and live the lives they want to. When people talk about 'financial wellbeing', they mean how much you feel in control over day-to-day finances and how much freedom you have to make choices to enjoy life. We don't know what autistic people think about these things. That's why we did our study. We spoke to 21 autistic adults (24–69 years) about how they felt about their financial situation. We deliberately spoke to people who had told us previously they felt 'financially well' or 'financially unwell' so we could hear a range of opinions. Autistic people told us financial wellbeing meant having enough money to pay for their basics needs, to have a safety net for unexpected bills and not having to worry about money now or in the future. But many felt that good financial wellbeing was not possible for them. They often did not have a stable income to cover day-to-day expenses. This limited the choices they could make. Despite these challenges, autistic people told us they worked hard to budget and save money when they could – because feeling financial insecure was just too stressful, especially when they could not rely on family or friends for support. It made them feel mentally unwell. Our study shows there are many factors that influence autistic people's financial wellbeing. We need more research to help us understand how autistic people can be supported to achieve financial security. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives Low-cost debt can potentially enhance wealth and indirectly benefit health, yet Black Americans disproportionately lack this type of debt, which may constrain their ability to accumulate wealth throughout their lives and across generations. Our objectives are to develop a novel debt–asset measure, use it to quantify the Black–White differential in debt–asset profiles, and estimate its contribution to the racial gap in cognition. Methods Using the Health and Retirement Study (1998–2020), we grouped individuals based on debt and asset information during the preretirement period of ages 55–61, including the absence of debt and the relative amount of debt compared to assets. Linear mixed models were used to examine the extent to which cognition in later life (ages 62–80) differs across these debt–asset profiles and its role in explaining the racial disparity in cognition. Results Compared with Whites, Blacks were more likely to fall into categories characterized by high debt-to-asset ratio (DAR) or limited asset ownership. Low-asset nonborrowers displayed the poorest cognition, followed closely by high-DAR borrowers. The Black–White differential in debt–asset profiles contributed to the racial gap in cognition. Discussion There were 2 unfavorable debt–asset profiles: high debt relative to assets and little or no debt due to a lack of assets, which was more prevalent among Blacks than Whites. We discuss how institutional and structural racism shapes Black–White disparities in debt–asset profiles, such as limited access to borrowing opportunities, thereby contributing to health inequalities, including cognition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Financial wellbeing in retirement is contingent on realizations of financial expectations developed earlier in life and may differ substantially by gender. People's standard of living in retirement is tied to stability in work and income trajectories during working years along with retirement benefits and savings. Women have a greater overall income disadvantage relative to men, including reduced life course labor force exposure that may restrict retirement savings and benefits. Using the Canadian Longitudinal and International Study of Adults (LISA) and 20 years of linked tax record data (N = 2,353), we explore the association between instability in work and income histories and lower perceived retirement standard of living (PRSOL), net of retirement benefits, for women and men in Canada. Results show that for women, life course effects shaping PRSOL are driven by cumulative disability exposure and bouts of social assistance. For men, PRSOL is influenced more by cumulative unemployment. Although retirement benefits do not offset histories of work and income instability for either gender, income assistance is protective for women in retirement while personal investments are protective for men. Overall, our findings suggest that despite Canada's relatively generous pension program in later life, life course instability in work and income have persisting, gendered effects on financial wellbeing in retirement that underscore financial and health disadvantage for women across the life course. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The review had two purposes. The first was to examine the nature and extent of published literature on student loan and the second was to systematically review the literature on student loans and mental health. Data from academic databases (1900–2019) were analyzed using two methods. First, topic modeling (a text-mining tool that utilized Bayesian statistics to extract hidden patterns in large volumes of texts) was used to understand the topical coverage in peer-reviewed abstracts (n = 988) on student debt. Second, using PRISMA guidelines, 46 manuscripts were systematically reviewed to synthesize literature linking student debt and mental health. A model with 10 topics was selected for parsimony and more accurate clustered representation of the patterns. Certain topics have received less attention, including mental health and wellbeing. In the systematic review, themes derived were categorized into two life trajectories: before and during repayment. Whereas stress, anxiety, and depression dominated the literature, the review demonstrated that the consequences of student loans extend beyond mental health and negatively affect a person's wellbeing. Self-efficacy emerged as a potential solution. Across countries and samples, the results are uniform and show that student loan burdens certain vulnerable groups more. Findings indicate diversity in mental health measures has resulted into a lack of a unified theoretical framework. Better scales and consensus on commonly used terms will strengthen the literature. Some areas, such as impact of student loans on graduate students or consumers repaying their loans, warrant attention in future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is an in-depth study that starts from a preliminary one, where we surveyed 141 ranchers from the town of Coto-Coto in Peru to obtain as much information as possible about the relationship between two economic variables, Activity Cost and Financial Management. Furthermore, we study the correlation of the first one of them with three other economic variables. To do this, we process the survey data using logical operators with the support of the plithogenic statistics theory. These results given in the form of plithogenic values are logically aggregated and were converted to crisp values and studied through the use of statistical tools, specifically Kendall's Tau b. The study of economic variables within the field of cattle farming is of great importance because it allows us to improve the productivity of this economic sector, which is also part of the most accepted human diet worldwide. A substantial advantage in the use of plithogeny is that linguistic values that are more natural for livestock farmers were processed, in addition, uncertainty and indeterminacy were taken into account by the use of neutrosophic numbers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many organizations serving survivors of commercial sexual exploitation (CSE) have begun economic empowerment programs, providing financial literacy education, vocational training, and/or employment opportunities for survivors. Yet, very little research has examined these programs, especially those that employ survivors. This project draws on a qualitative, multi-method study of 15 organizations that serve and employ CSE survivors to examine how economic empowerment is constructed through organizational discourse and practices, what tensions emerge in these processes, and how organizational actors frame and respond to them. The findings outline the components of "economic empowerment" and explicate the key tensions of authority-autonomy and compassion-accountability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractObjectivesMethodResultsConclusionPrevious research has noted that a person-centered approach to financial capacity assessment is feasible. This study of personal finance included a review of 12 months of checking account statements followed by research interviews to investigate income, spending, financial literacy, and financial decision-making. The objective of the study was to determine the convergent validity of excess spending to contextual aspects of financial decision-making, financial literacy, and early memory loss.Participants were 114 adults over the age of 60 who came primarily from two research registries; the Healthier Black Elders registry and the Michigan Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center registry. After sharing their checking statements participants completed two telephone interviews. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were used to compare those with no memory loss to the memory loss group, and to determine which measures were significantly related to excess spending.There was a significant difference in excess spending between those with early memory loss and those with no memory loss. There was a significant difference in financial decision-making risk scores between the groups, as well as on a memory measure and a financial literacy measure. In a hierarchical regression analysis financial decision-making was the only measure significantly related to excess spending.This study documented the convergent validity of person-centered measures of personal spending and financial decision-making with early memory loss. Early memory loss was related to both excess spending and contextual aspects of financial decision-making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this study is to explore the impact of working capital management on firms' financial performance in China's agri-food sector from 2006 to 2021. In addition, we analyze whether this impact is the same during the 2008 financial crisis and the 2020 COVID-19 crisis. Working capital management is measured by working capital investment policy (measured by current assets to total assets ratio), working capital financing policy (measured by current liabilities to total assets ratio), cash conversion cycle, and net working capital ratio. The results reveal that current assets to total assets ratio and net working capital ratio positively influence financial performance measured through return on assets (ROA), while current liabilities to total assets ratio and cash conversion cycle negatively influence ROA. We also find that the relationship between working capital management and financial performance is more affected during COVID-19 than in the 2008 financial crisis. The findings might provide important implications for company managers to make optimal working capital management practices, depending on the economic environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the rapid development of information technology, Internet of Things technology has become a hot topic in today's society. This study aims to explore how IoT technology impacts various aspects of financial management, in particular how it changes the collection, processing, and parsing of financial data. Through in-depth literature review, questionnaire survey and experimental design, the research found that IoT technology has a significant positive effect on sales, transaction times and inventory control. But at the same time, data security, privacy concerns and initial technology investment are also challenges that enterprises need to consider when adopting these technologies. Overall, IoT technology offers tremendous opportunities for financial management, but businesses must fully assess the potential risks and benefits when implementing it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agriculture is crucial for economic and social development, with rural producers playing a vital role in sustaining life. Various types of rural organizations exist, fostering diverse objectives among producers. Over the past fifty years, significant transformations have occurred in Brazil's agriculture, with farmers facing the challenge of producing more and better with less. This study aims to identify factors influencing the decision-making of rural producers. It employed a Systematic Literature Review to extract factors divided into four dimensions: technology, learning, market, and governance. These dimensions interfere with the decision-making process and are considered decisive for the success or failure of any rural producer. The primary outcome underscores the significance of understanding how to produce and all aspects encompassing the administrative and financial management of rural properties. Enhancing managerial capabilities is essential for rural producers. Faced with the implications of technological advances, rural producers must behave appropriately to manage their activities and property to remain and grow stronger in an increasingly competitive market, where efficiency and effectiveness are essential for survival. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objectives: To understand the relationship between Lean implementation in information technology (IT) departments and hospital performance, particularly with respect to operational and financial outcomes. Methods: Primary data were sourced from 1222 hospitals that responded to the National Survey of Lean (NSL)/Transformational Performance Improvement, which was fielded to 4500 general medical-surgical hospitals across the United States. Secondary sources included hospital performance data from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). We performed 2 sets of multivariable regressions using data gathered from US hospitals, linked to AHRQ and CMS performance outcomes. We examined 10 different outcomes measuring financial performance, quality of care, and patient experience, and their associations with Lean adoption within hospital IT departments. We then focused only on those hospitals that adopted Lean in IT to identify specific practices associated with performance. Results: Controlling for other factors, adoption of Lean IT management was associated with lower length of stay (b= -0.098, P= .018) and inpatient expense per discharge (b= -0.112, P= .090). Specifically, use of visual management tools (eg, A3 storyboards, status sheets) was associated with lower adjusted inpatient expense per discharge (b= -0.176, P= .034) and higher earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization margin (b= 0.124, P= .042). Such tools were also associated with hospital participation in bundled payment programs (odds ratio = 2.326; P= .046; 95% confidence interval, 0.979-5.527) and percentage of net revenue paid on a shared risk basis (b= 0.188, P= .031). Conclusions: Lean IT management was associated with positive financial performance, particularly with hospital participation in value-based payment. More detailed study is needed to understand other influential factors and types of work processes, activities, or mechanisms by which high-functioning IT can contribute to financial outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The principle of finding out the truth is one of the fundamental principles of the criminal process. Within it, the reactions of the individual who harm the values protected by criminal norms are analyzed, aiming to guarantee the rights of the parties and other participants, as well as the efficient exercise of the duties of the judicial bodies. Although the purpose of criminal proceedings is no longer effectively enshrined in the Code of Criminal Procedure, the notion is nevertheless found in Article 8 of the Code of Criminal Procedure under the title "Fairness and reasonable term of criminal proceedings". It stipulates that criminal prosecution and trial must be conducted in compliance with procedural guarantees and the rights of parties and procedural subjects in such a way that facts constituting criminal offences are ascertained in a timely and complete manner, no innocent person is held criminally responsible and any individual who has committed a crime is punished according to law, within a reasonable time. According to Article 97 para. (1) Code of Criminal Procedure, evidence is those realities, events, circumstances that serve to establish the existence or non-existence of a crime, as well as to the identity of the person who committed it. Thus, evidence comprises three interconnected and interdependent elements: evidence, means of proof and evidentiary procedures. The literature states that by introducing this system, "a more effective control over the manner of taking evidence can be established. Moreover, the analysis of the evidence will be possible only in terms of form, so that it complies with the law, while the analysis of the evidentiary procedures will concern the technical operation by which that means of evidence was obtained." The use of technical supervision as an evidentiary procedure in criminal proceedings is a topical topic, given the technological leap in communication and information that has taken place in recent years. We note that in the title dedicated to evidence (Title IV) of the New Code of Criminal Procedure we find a new chapter (Chapter IV), which refers to special surveillance or investigation techniques. This legislation seeks to strike a balance between ensuring the State's right to use new evidentiary procedures and respecting the right to privacy and the secrecy of correspondence. Thus, Article 138 para. (1) The Code of Criminal Procedure expressly and exhaustively provides for special technical surveillance techniques, as follows: letter (a) interception of conversations and communications; lit.(b) access to an information system; lit.(c) video, audio or photographic surveillance; (d) tracking or tracing by technical means; lit.(e) obtaining data on a person's financial transactions. Interception is defined as the intervention of authorized bodies in any kind of conversations or in any other electronic means of communication involving the idea of confidentiality. The results of the technical surveillance activity are recorded in the report, which will thus become a genuine means of evidence, being concluded in accordance with the provisions of Article 143 of the Criminal Procedure Code. Also, Articles 139-146 of the Code of Criminal Procedure provide for the cases that allow such restrictive measures against human rights and freedoms to be taken, the conditions to be met, the bodies authorized to carry out these activities, as well as the ways of verifying these means of evidence. Obtaining evidence by means of these special evidentiary procedures requires a carefully organized activity consisting in tracking the data subjects, the activities they carry out, the individuals with whom they come into contact, as well as the interception of any communication dip between them. This type of evidence was appreciated as a real modernization of the evidentiary system in criminal proceedings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of the research was to find out the role of the control and internal auditing department in dealing with financial errors and the reasons for and type of such errors. The opinions of a group of staff of the control and internal auditing department of the University of Kerbala were taken. The findings of the researcher through the research sample responses showed that the Internal Audit Section has a significant role to play in detecting and processing financial errors that occur at work at all stages of the accounting cycle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses a QI project focused on the development and implementation of a financial and budgeting educational program to strengthen the financial skills of nurse leaders. Results demonstrated improvements in knowledge acquisition and self-efficacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Unpredictable income poses a significant threat to economic stability for many U.S. households. While budgeting may help to mitigate some of the negative effects of unpredictable income, the process of budgeting can also be more challenging under such circumstances. This paper presents new descriptive evidence on the relationship between income predictability, financial wellbeing, and budgeting behavior using data from a nationally‐representative survey of nearly 4000 U.S. adults. We document a strong negative relationship between income unpredictability and financial wellbeing. However, the strength of this negative relationship is substantially attenuated for those who budget. This suggests that budgeting may be a useful tool for mitigating the adverse effects of unpredictable income. Despite these benefits, the propensity to budget is significantly lower among those with the most unpredictable income. These findings indicate the need for policy reforms that insure households against unpredictable income in addition to efforts targeting individual‐level financial management strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Anesthesiology has a relevant carbon footprint, mainly due to volatile anesthetics (scope 1 emissions). Additionally, energy used in the operating theater (scope 2 emissions) contributes to anesthesia-related greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Objectives: Optimizing the electricity use of medical devices might reduce both GHG emissions and costs might hold potential to reduce anaesthesia-related GHG-emissions and costs. We analyzed the electricity consumption of six different anesthesia workstations, calculated their GHG emissions and electricity costs and investigated the potential to reduce emissions and cost by using the devices in a more efficient way. Methods: Power consumption (active power in watt , W) was measured with the devices off, in standby mode, or fully on with the measuring instrument SecuLife ST. Devices studied were: Dräger Primus, Löwenstein Medical LeonPlus, Getinge Flow C, Getinge Flow E, GE Carestation 750 and GE Aisys. Calculations of GHG emissions were made with different emission factors, ranging from very low (0.09 kg CO2-equivalent/kWh) to very high (0.660 kg CO2-equivalent/kWh). Calculations of electricity cost were made assuming a price of 0.25 € per kWh. Results: Power consumption during operation varied from 58 W (GE CareStation 750) to 136 W (Dräger Primus). In standby, the devices consumed between 88% and 93% of the electricity needed during use. The annual electricity consumption to run 96 devices in a large clinical department ranges between 45 and 105 Megawatt-hours (MWh) when the devices are left in standby during off hours. If 80% of the devices are switched off during off hours, between 20 and 46 MWh can be saved per year in a single institution. At the average emission factor of our hospital, this electricity saving corresponds to a reduction of GHG emissions between 8.5 and 19.8 tons CO2-equivalent. At the assumed prices, a cost reduction between 5000 € and 11,600 € could be achieved by this intervention. Conclusion: The power consumption varies considerably between the different types of anesthesia workstations. All devices exhibit a high electricity consumption in standby mode. Avoiding standby mode during off hours can save energy and thus GHG emissions and cost. The reductions in GHG emissions and electricity cost that can be achieved with this intervention in a large anesthesiology department are modest. Compared with GHG emissions generated by volatile anesthetics, particularly desflurane, optimization of electricity consumption of anesthesia workstations holds a much smaller potential to reduce the carbon footprint of anesthesia; however, as switching off anesthesia workstations overnight is relatively effortless, this behavioral change should be encouraged from both an ecological and economical point of view. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The financialization of the U.S. economy has had important implications for household well-being, but the mechanisms connecting financialization and precarity have not been fully identified. This research identifies mortgage foreclosure as a nexus connecting macro-level financialization to an array of downstream consequences for homeowners and asks (1) how mortgage securitization, a key technology of financialization, enabled new foreclosure practices; and (2) how these practices affect housing precarity among homeowners at risk of foreclosure. To answer these questions, I analyze court records, interviews with key participants, and primary source documents to examine the evolution of mortgage foreclosure in Cook County, Illinois, from 1992 to 2006. I find that as mortgage securitization transformed the social and economic relations between borrowers and lenders, foreclosure became actively managed as both a driver of costs and a source of profits, and loan administrators and their attorneys worked to reduce costly borrower protections. These changes increased housing precarity by making foreclosure more frequent and more rapid. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Family violence imposes tremendous costs on victims and society. Rarely are policies focused on the primary prevention of family violence. Given the prevalence of family violence—including child maltreatment and intimate partner violence (IPV)—during the perinatal period, policies targeting this vulnerable time period may be successful in primary prevention. Paid family leave (PFL) programs provide income-replacement during particularly stressful family events, such as the birth of a child. Method: In this commentary, we describe the conceptual links between PFL, child maltreatment, and IPV, suggesting that PFL may be a promising strategy for the primary prevention of child maltreatment and IPV. Results: There is emerging evidence that policies targeting the early years of life may reduce child maltreatment and IPV. Conclusion: Addressing the concrete and economic challenges faced by caregivers is one promising strategy for the prevention of family violence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]