Search

The United Kingdom retail banking sector has been through many changes over the past decade, driven by economic, technological and pandemic factors. This is perhaps most evident through the rationalisation of the branch networks, primarily through branch closures. There is a concern that these closures can have differential effects on certain sections of society, reducing or eliminating their access to cash and financial services. In this study we utilise comprehensive branch‐level data and a discrete time‐hazard model to identify whether certain neighbourhood types have been disproportionally affected by these closures during the period 2015 to 2021. We find that building society branches are least likely to close, and that competition and the presence of alternative banking facilities (including Post Office branches) influence likelihood of closure. Crucially, neighbourhood type matters, with rural communities continuing to be most impacted, along with those where the predominant work activities are less concentrated, or largely absent. However, in contrast to earlier studies, we find that affluent neighbourhoods were more at risk of branch closure than more diverse and economically challenged neighbourhoods. We conclude by considering these findings in the context of recently introduced legislation to protect access to basic banking and cash withdrawal and deposit facilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) are widely used for cash withdrawals and other banking transactions. However, their touchscreens pose a significant health risk due to potential contamination with various pathogens. Studies have shown that ATMs can harbor bacteria and viruses linked to diseases like influenza (25%), E. coli (18%), and Staphylococcus aureus (14%). This research proposes Gesture Vault, a touchless ATM system that leverages facial and hand gesture recognition technologies. Gesture Vault addresses hygiene concerns by eliminating the need for physical contact with the ATM screen. Facial recognition ensures secure user identification, while hand gestures provide an intuitive interface for account selection and transaction initiation. This type of authentication also strengthens security compared to traditional PIN-based systems. Gesture Vault promotes a hygienic and secure banking experience, potentially reducing the spread of infectious diseases and improving user confidence in using ATMs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mass panics can arise in response to a variety of situations, such as the spread of pathogens, bank failures, or insecurities about economic supplies. Such panics can produce contagious behaviors such as fleeing social contacts, bank withdrawals, and panic buying. In such situations, the processing of external stimuli, mediated by the perceptions and biases of the individual, can reach a threshold point at which panic behaviors are triggered. Due to the human propensity to imitate the behavior of others in uncertain crisis situations, one individual's panic behavior can spread contagiously. This paper looks at the similarities among case studies of mass panic around the world and from these cases synthesizes a conceptual model to aid our understanding. Decision-makers can use this model to strengthen national resilience against panic-generated behaviors and ensure an orderly and successful public response to future biological, financial, or economic crises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A gambler's payment behavior – the deposit and withdrawal of funds – precedes and follows the act of gambling. Given this separation, the methods and results of machine learning models built at the payment-level could be better generalized across gambling formats. With this study, we empirically evaluated this notion by validating a cluster analysis across two independent datasets of digital wallet payment transaction records. Using a discovery dataset comprising 2,286 customers of a casino-focused Internet gambling brand, the k-means algorithm revealed five distinct payment profiles. Using a validation dataset comprising 5,580 customers of a sports-focused Internet gambling brand, we evaluated the generalizability of the discovery payment profiles. Specifically, we assessed validity by (1) clustering the validation dataset using the discovery method, (2) classifying the validation dataset into the discovery clusters, and (3) assessing the stability of cluster membership. Two large low risk clusters were validated across datasets. Three smaller potential risk clusters were only partially validated. Our findings suggest that gamblers' payment behaviors are somewhat representative of their gambling behavior and may reflect dynamics of certain gambling formats. Stakeholders employing data science methods across gambling populations should be mindful of specific contexts and tailor analyses accordingly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aims to demonstrate and measure the impact of liquidity shocks on a bank's solvency, especially when the bank does not hold sufficient liquid assets. Design/methodology/approach: The proposed model is an extension of Merton's (1974) model. It assesses the bank's probability of default over one or two (short) periods relative to liquidity shocks. The shock scenarios are materialised by different net demands for the withdrawal of funds (NDWF) and may lead the bank to sell illiquid assets at a depreciated value. We consider the possibility of second-round effects at the beginning of the second period by introducing the probability of their occurrence. This probability depends on the proportion of illiquid assets put up for sale following the initial shock in different dependency scenarios. Findings: We observe a positive relationship between the initial NDWF and the bank's probability of default (particularly over the second period, which is conditional on the second-round effects). However, this relationship is not linear, and a significant proportion of liquid assets makes it possible to attenuate or even eliminate the effects of shock scenarios on bank solvency. Practical implications: The proposed model enables banks to determine the necessary level of liquid assets, allowing them to resist (i.e. remain solvent) different liquidity shock scenarios for both periods (including eventual second-round effects) under the assumptions considered. Therefore, it can contribute to complementing or improving current internal liquidity adequacy assessment processes (ILAAPs). Originality/value: The proposed microprudential approach consists of measuring the impact of liquidity risk on a bank's solvency, complementing the current prudential framework in which these two topics are treated separately. It also complements the existing literature, in which the impact of liquidity risk on solvency risk has not been sufficiently studied. Finally, our model allows banks to manage liquidity using a solvency approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article delves into the spectrum of conflicting views surrounding the need for the establishment of an art academy in Latvia. Authors with predominantly modernist attitudes asserted that an independent nation's cultural objectives should diverge from those of the Russian-German imperial academies, which they believed stifled creativity. Instead, they advocated for training in private or state studios, reminiscent of the "good old times of the Renaissance". Critical opinions were summarized in an open letter to the government, asserting that true art has always been revolutionary and, therefore, at odds with academic aspirations. However, opposing viewpoints argued that the future academy need not be confined to teaching drab academism. They contended that training under a single individual, without a broader educational foundation, would only produce imitators and dilet-tantes. While the verbal skirmishes between modernists and traditionalists subsided during the 1920s, the spotlight once again fell on the need for this institution, as the echoes of the Great Depression in the USA brought financial challenges. However, it was widely recognized that no viable alternatives to academic education had emerged, and the withdrawal of state funding would only result in a radical impoverishment of educational options. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

I study whether self‐fulfilling bank runs can occur when banks use sophisticated contracts and withdrawal decisions are public information. In a finite‐agent version of Diamond and Dybvig (1983) with correlated types, I first present an example in which a bank run perfect Bayesian equilibrium exists. However, its existence relies on off‐path beliefs that are unreasonable in terms of forward induction. To discipline beliefs, I use forward induction equilibrium (Cho (1987)) as the solution concept. I show that, whenever the allocation rule is strictly incentive compatible, the truth‐telling strategy is the unique forward induction equilibrium in the withdrawal game, and no bank run occurs. Therefore, with forward induction, sophisticated contracts can prevent bank runs when there is public information about withdrawal decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this book review, British historian Anna Irfan examines the relationship between Palestinian refugees and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) from the aftermath of the displacement of Palestinians in 1948 until the 1980s. Irfan argues that UNRWA's role as a quasi-state within the refugee camps has been overlooked and asserts that it played a part in promoting the internationalist nature of the Palestinian liberation movement. She contextualizes UNRWA and the refugee experience using the settler colonialist paradigm. The book provides valuable insight into the contested history of an international regime and the resistance it has faced. [Extracted from the article]

The decision of the United Kingdom government to reduce its Official Development Assistance by £ 4.6 billion in 2020 was framed by its proponents as a nationalist response to a domestic financial crisis. This Conservative‐led austerity measure triggered the early closure of hundreds of aid projects globally. Concerned British politicians equated the cuts to moral failures as humanitarian and civil society actors claimed the lost funding would devastate the world's most vulnerable populations. In the vast space between British funders and the so‐called 'beneficiaries' of aid is a diverse cadre of mid‐level actors 'doing' and, in this case, 'un‐doing' development programming. This article examines their experiences in prematurely closing British‐funded projects in one postcolonial context, Malawi. Drawing upon semi‐structured interviews, the article explores the emotional, material and relational consequences of austerity. It builds on Didier Fassin's theorization of moral economies to argue that the timing and approach of this funding withdrawal violated the accepted moral economies of aid, breaching obligations between Malawian mid‐level aid workers and community members (including family) as well as among institutions. It concludes by considering how this particular rupture to the relational infrastructure of aid has prompted demands for recalibrated resourcing futures in Malawi. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Institution Banking is a financial institution that has strategic value in a country's economy. To achieve the specified goals, the company will use procedures that are most appropriate to the activities carried out by the company, especially in providing credit to its customers. In banking practice, we will know that there are sequences of activities or processes that occur starting from the credit applicant seeking information at the bank until the withdrawal of the loan can be realized. To obtain a clearer picture, these activities can be classified into three stages, namely: those interested in credit seeking information, obtaining information, and receiving forms (forms for submitting credit applications) from the bank, those interested in credit filling in and submitting forms to until the credit application is approved by the bank, the credit applicant applies for the realization of a credit withdrawal and the credit granting bank will realize it and to realize the credit a credit agreement is made first, where in banking the credit agreement can be made by notarial deed and private agreement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study explored whether the critical incident management systems (CIMS) model can predict the EMS performance in the COVID-19 context. Past research has established the significance of early detection and response (ER) in the context of Ebola virus disease (EVD), prompting a question of whether the model can also be helpful in the COVID-19 context. Consequently, the authors assessed whether ER influences the impact of communication capacity (CC), reliable information channel (RC) and environment (EN) on COVID-19 EMS performance. Assessing these relationships will advance emerging infectious disease (EID) preparedness. Design/methodology/approach: The authors employed standardized measurement instruments of the CIMS model (CC, ER, RC and EN) to predict the performance of COVID-19 EMS using structural equation modeling (SEM) in a study of 313 participants from frontline responders. Findings: The results show that the relationship of ER and EN with COVID-19 EMS performance is positive, while that of EN on CC is negative. The relationship between EN and COVID-19 EMS performance was insignificant. Contrary to the hypothesis, CC was negatively significant to COVID-19 EMS performance due to poor communication capacities. Research limitations/implications: The authors acknowledge some limitations due to challenges faced in this study. First, Data collection was a significant limitation as these questionnaires were built and distributed in June 2020, but the response time was prolonged due to the recurring nature of the pandemic. The authors had wanted to implore the inputs of all stakeholders, and efforts were made to reach out to various Ministry of Health, the local CDC and related agencies in the region via repeated emails explaining the purpose of the study to no avail. The study finally used the frontline workers as the respondents. The authors used international students from various countries as the representatives to reach out to their countries' frontline workers. Second, since the study was only partially supported using the CIMS model, future studies may combine the CIMS model with other models or theories. Subsequent research reassesses this outcome in other contexts or regions. Consequently, further research can explore how CC can be improved with COVID-19 and another future EID in the region. This may improve the COVID-19 EMS performance, thereby expanding the lesson learned from the pandemic and sustaining public health EID response. Additionally, other authors may combine the CIMS model with other emergency management models or theories to establish a fully supported theoretical model in the context of COVID-19. Practical implications: The findings have practical implications for incident managers, local CDCs, governments, international organizations and scholars. The outcome of the study might inform these stakeholders on future direction and contribution to EID preparedness. This study unfolds the impact of lessons learned in the region demonstrated by moderating early detection and responses with other constructs to achieve COVID-19 EMS performance. The findings reveal that countries that experienced the 2013–2016 Ebola outbreak, were not necessarily more prepared for an epidemic or pandemic, judging by the negative moderating impact of early detection and response. However, these experiences provide a foundation for the fight against COVID-19. There is a need for localized plans tailored to each country's situation, resources, culture and lifestyle. The localized plan will be to mitigate and prevent an unsustainable EID management system, post-epidemic fund withdrawals and governance. This plan might be more adaptable and sustainable for the local health system when international interventions are withdrawn after an epidemic. Public health EID plans must be adapted to each country's unique situation to ensure sustainability and constantly improve EID management of epidemics and pandemics in emergency response. The high to moderate importation risk in African countries shows Africa's largest window of vulnerability to be West Africa (Gilbert et al., 2020). Therefore, they should be in the spotlight for heightened assistance towards the preparedness and response for a future pandemic like COVID-19. The West African region has a low capacity to manage the health emergency to match the population capacities. The COVID-19 outbreak in West Africa undoubtedly inflicted many disruptions in most countries' economic, social and environmental circumstances. The region's unique challenges observed in this study with CC and reliable information channels as being negatively significant highlight the poor maintenance culture and weak institutions due to brain drain and inadequate training and monitoring. This outcome practically informs West African stakeholders and governments on aspects to indulge when trying to improve emergency preparedness as the outcomes from other regions might not be applicable. Originality/value: This study explored the relevance of the CIMS model in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, revealing different patterns of influence on COVID-19 EMS performance. In contrast to the extant literature on EVD, the authors found the moderating effects of ER in the COVID-19 context. Thus, the authors contribute to the COVID-19 EMS performance domain by developing a context-driven EMS model. The authors discuss the theoretical and practical implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines policy change in the EU's financial assistance regime through a collective learning perspective. By defining a financial assistance regime as the set of rules governing the disbursement and withdrawal of funding to the member states in the context of crisis management, the article seeks to address the following research question: How can we explain the exact form of change in the EU's financial assistance regime between the euro crisis and the Covid-19 pandemic? The article finds that financial assistance in the EU moved from "intergovernmental coordination" with the European Stability Mechanism to a form of "limited supranational delegation" with the Recovery and Resilience Facility and argues that such a change is due to a collective policy-learning process. This finding suggests that the EU tends to learn from past crisis experiences, freeing itself from established institutional constraints, only when the next crisis becomes a concrete cause for concern. However, when the next crisis strikes, the EU is indeed able to radically alter its practices based on previous policy failures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By employing a novel, hand-collected sample of withdrawn and completed share issue privatizations, we show that both groups undergo comparable restructuring processes over the 3 years preceding the event. We employ matching procedures to explicitly control for the restructuring effect, isolating the effect of the ownership transfer from state to private investors on corporate policies and performance. We document that, absent the ownership transfer, most of the gains realized during the restructuring process are reabsorbed over the posttreatment period. The transition from state to private ownership thus represents a necessary condition for the long-term success of privatization programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The study focused on verifying the impact of the calendar and seasonal effects on the accuracy of forecasts of cash withdrawals from automated teller machines (ATMs). In this article, we investigated a possible use of the so-called trigonometric seasonality, the Box-Cox transformation, ARMA errors, trend, and seasonal components (TBATS) models to forecast withdrawals from ATMs. In practice, the SARIMA model is widely used as a forecasting tool. However, the major limitation of SARIMA models is that it allows just one single seasonality pattern to be taken into account, e.g., weekly seasonality. At the same time, cash withdrawals from ATMs display overlapping multi-seasonality. Therefore, the goal of this article is to compare the SARIMA model with the TBATS model, both in basic forms and forms extended with event-specific dummies. Research Design & Methods: Empirical research was conducted by means of fitting SARIMA and TBATS models to daily time series of withdrawals from 74 ATMs managed by one of the largest ATM operators in Poland. The dataset covered the period of 2017-2019. Findings: Forecasting levels of cash withdrawals plays a crucial role in the management of ATM networks, both in the case of a single ATM as well as the whole network. Prediction accuracy has a direct impact on the operational costs of the network. These costs result from activities such as freezing cash in an ATM, preparing it, and transporting it to an ATM. Therefore, the choice of a proper forecast model is of special importance. According to statistical evidence in our study, the basic TBATS model gives more accurate forecasts than the basic SARIMA model widely used in practice. Implications & Recommendations: The multi-seasonality of ATM withdrawals means that it is necessary to use techniques that take such phenomena into account in a single joint model. Multi-seasonality can be modelled using TBATS models. The study confirmed that TBATS models can be considered useful alternatives in planning cash replenishments in ATM networks. Contribution & Value Added: This article is an extensive empirical study on the selection of proper methods and forecasting models necessary to predict withdrawals from ATMs with overlapping multi-seasonalities and calendar effects. We proved that taking seasonal and calendar effects into account when forecasting withdrawals from ATMs significantly reduces forecast errors. Statistically significant improvement in forecast accuracy was observed both for SARIMA and TBATS. After taking calendar effects into account, TBATS forecast errors were slightly smaller than those resulting from corresponding SARIMA models. However, this result is statistically insignificant. The results of this study imply a need for further studies on the applications of TBATS models in forecasting the required cash level in ATMs, which in turn may help improve the efficiency of ATMs network management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From antiquity to the present day, the contribution of small businesses to the economic development of a country is overwhelming. Nowadays, COVID-19 lockdown restrictions have exerted an outrageous impact on small businesses survival. In developing countries where government-supporting capacity is low, the severity is substantial. The present study predicts the impact of COVID-19 lockdown restriction and government supporting schemes on small business survival. To meet this purpose, the study primarily used PLS-SEM and binary logit models. The results confirmed that over 44% of small businesses would fail in the first month of lockdown restriction. Moreover, only 6% have cash reserve to survive twelve months. In this regard, the present study suggested that the government should have to abstain from total lockdown measures, without government-supporting schemes. As such, the study has examined the relative importance of COVID-19 based special loan, suspension of payments, withdrawal of restricted funds, and exemption of tax and penalty payments. Among these supporting schemes, COVID-19 based special loan is the most important government-supporting scheme followed by the suspension of interest and principal payments. However, the exemption of tax payments and withdrawal of restricted funds were not significant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study uses Monte Carlo simulation to examine the success of the monthly withdrawal of funds from portfolios consisting of U.S. large capitalization stocks, U.S. corporate bonds, and real estate investment trusts (REITs). The objective of this research is to provide an empirical examination of the effect of diversification with REITs on the withdrawal of funds from a retirement portfolio. We compare portfolios consisting of large capitalization stocks and corporate bonds to portfolios consisting of large capitalization stocks, corporate bonds, and REITs. We examine both portfolio compositions using a variety of portfolio weights, fund withdrawal rates, and fund withdrawal periods. The results of the study indicate that, in general, portfolios with REITs had a greater likelihood of sustaining a given number of withdrawals over this time. The results of this study can be used for retirement planning since they provide a historical perspective on the success of various withdrawal rates. Our results indicate that REITs, when added to a portfolio of stocks and bonds, can increase the success rates for a withdrawal portfolio. This indicates that individuals and large investment funds would likely benefit from adding REITs to a withdrawal portfolio of stocks and bonds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Boletín Económico de ICE is the property of S.G.E.E.I.P.C., Secretaria de Estado de Comercio, Ministerio de Industria, Comercio y Turismo 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.)

It can seem paradoxical that someone who evades the use of a debit card still wants access to cash and is willing to use their mobile device at an ATM. The cardless cash technology delivers a solution that is an improvement over the traditional form of cash delivery. This study explores the influential factors that affect the preference of cardless cash over cards. A cross-sectional survey was utilised to collect both data through a self-administered questionnaire. A total of 521 bank customers from one of the largest banks in India participated in the study employing a convenience sampling technique. The responses were analysed using a predictive analytics approach with various statistical and data mining techniques. Customers preferred cardless cash because of its usefulness over the Card rather than perceived ease of use, customer trust, or perceived security. This paper contributes to the banking world's ways of pre-stage access to cash, reducing customer contact at ATMs. It highlights the main factors that influence customer's preference towards using cardless cash technology at ATMs, helping banks spread the newest technology used to provide a financial instrument that has been here for centuries—cash. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic was an unprecedented exogenous shock for the European Union (EU) and its Member States, one that demanded a joint response at the EU level rather than several differentiated responses at the Member State level. As such, the pandemic crisis opened up a "window of opportunity" for institutional change in the EU's financial assistance regime. This change pertains to the development of a set of rules governing the disbursement and withdrawal of funding to Member States in the context of crisis management. The paper thus aims to answer the following question: How did the COVID-19 pandemic affect the EU's financial assistance regime? Drawing on a revisited historical institutionalist framework that allows for the examination of different types of institutional development, the paper argues that the COVID-19 pandemic constitutes a "critical juncture" for the EU's financial assistance regime, resulting in a shift from intergovernmental coordination (with the European Stability Mechanism) to a form of limited supranational delegation (with the Recovery and Resilience Facility). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the intertemporal choice preference for long-term savings of cocoa farmers in Ghana. We test the uptake of two pension products: with one, famers are free to withdraw 50% of their savings with no penalties prior to retirement age; with the other, only 30%. Using a randomised controlled trial we test the difference in uptake of two pensions products where we vary the flexibility of cash withdrawals from the pension account. We find an overall higher uptake of the more flexible pensions account, especially for women, who cannot inherit land titles in Ghana. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Antalya Bilim University Law Review is the property of Antalya International University 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.)

Purpose: Capital controls restrict cash withdrawals and international transfers, among other restrictions. The purpose of the study is to explore how capital controls have influenced m-banking usage and disclose the underlying factors that explain m-banking usage intentions. Design/methodology/approach: Grounded on the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), this study assumes that usage behavior may be different from intentions to adopt. In-depth interviews (study 1) were employed with both consumers and bank employees to explore the factors of m-banking adoption under capital controls, followed by an online survey (study 2) pertaining to examine the relationships between underlying factors. Findings: Study 1 reveals that the growth of m-banking usage is strongly associated with capital controls that perceived ease of use, usefulness, risk, technology anxiety and decision comfort are significant attributes in influencing usage intention. Study 2 verifies that most underlying factors are important predictors of m-banking usage intention, except technology anxiety does not impact m-banking usage. Research limitations/implications: The respective effects on usage intentions may be different in the absence of capital controls. A similar study could examine the importance of the respective constructs in conditions of no forced use. The case of forcing consumers to adopt a technological innovation could be further explored. Practical implications: Retail banking consumers have changed their banking and financing behaviors because of capital controls. Forced usage may cause customers to cultivate positive attitudes towards the technology and consider it for continuous usage. Originality/value: Capital controls were found to impact positively customer behavior towards m-banking. It is revealed that capital controls have forced bank customers to adopt and use m-banking for their financial needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Zeitschrift für das Gesamte Genossenschaftswesen is the property of De Gruyter 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.)

Purpose: This study investigates the relationship between financial literacy, that is, financial knowledge and financial skills, and market discipline, with financial behavior as the mediating variable. The study uses data from Indonesian depositors in commercial banks to estimate the relationship between the variables. Design/methodology/approach: This study applied an explanatory method with a quantitative approach by surveying 343 Indonesian commercial bank depositors, in both public and private banks. The responses were collected using the purposive sampling technique. This study applied structural equation modeling (SEM) using AMOS software to analyze the data and then to estimate the relationships between financial literacy and market discipline. Findings: This study shows that financial knowledge, financial skills, and financial behavior can improve market discipline. This study also provides empirical evidence that financial behavior has a mediation effect on the relationship between financial skills and financial knowledge to the market discipline. Research limitations/implications: The results show that all financial literacy latent variables have a significant positive effect on market discipline. Financial behavior has a mediation effect on the relationship of financial skills and financial knowledge with market discipline. Depositors with good knowledge of financial products and services, who are skillful in managing their money and who demonstrate good financial behavior can effectively discipline the market. They will punish imprudent banking by actions such as the withdrawal of their funds. Financial literacy significantly enhances market discipline. Practical implications: This study provides recommendations for regulators, practitioners, academics, and depositors, that is, the actors in the financial industry, on the need to empower consumers with financial literacy, while also promoting market discipline to recognize the importance of these two aspects for the sustainability of financial stability. Originality/value: This study provides empirical evidence for the market discipline literature, using a behavioral approach, namely, the action of withdrawal of funds. The study then estimates the relationship between financial literacy, that is, financial knowledge and financial skills, and market discipline, with financial behavior as the mediating variable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Researchers have doubted Islamic funds' ability to provide promising financial returns due to the shariah screening procedures. Despite its popularity, Islamic funds are still in doubt to generate attractive returns. Survival of Islamic funds is highly contingent on their capacity to foresee Shariah compliance opportunities in economic shifts. Investors defer fund withdrawal of the worst-performing funds and anticipate the manager will adjust the fund's investing strategy for a future with higher yields. Thus, this paper aims to investigate investors' reactions to the Islamic equity fund results (IEs) according to the opportunity motive of Warren Buffet. This is accomplished by evaluating the relationship between fund flow and performance. This allows us to determine whether investors behave toward the greatest and worstperforming funds by transferring cash into or out of the funds. This study uses panel data analysis to investigate 134 IEs from 2007 through 2019. The findings revealed that the link between fund flow and performance of IEs is incompatible with the asymmetric relationship, implying that the cash outflow for poorly performing funds declined. In contrast, cash inflow fell for funds that performed the best. Consistent with Warren Buffet's advice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista Nuestra América is the property of Edicoes Universidade Fernando Pessoa 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.)

In order to solve the complex and recurrent problem of chronic pelvic inflammation disease (CPID) in the process of the clinical treatment, a method of understanding the influencing factors of CPID by investigating the actual situation of clinical cases and using logistics regression analysis was proposed in this study. A total of 204 outpatients were selected from a certain hospital. The ratio of the cases in the experimental group to those in the control group stands at 1 : 1. The results were obtained as follows. According to the data of CPID patients collected in the paper, the majority of patients had a high school education background or below technical secondary school education background, accounting for 66.7%. And the majority of patients were manual workers, accounting for 69.1%. All the exp (B) values of the frequency of sex life per month ≥ 9 times, frequent sex life during menstruation, IUD contraception, no contraception, abortion ≥ 3 times, vaginal irrigation per week ≥ 1 time, and intrauterine surgery ≥ 3 times were more than 1. These seven factors were the risk factors for chronic pelvic inflammation. Oral contraceptives were a weak protective factor of chronic pelvic inflammation. These factors including early drug withdrawal (53.1%), without understanding the condition of the disease (35.7%), no time to review the disease (24.5%), and irregular medication (21.4%) accounted for a large proportion. They were associated with the recurrence of CPID. This method is aimed at providing some foundations for establishing effective prevention and control measures for chronic pelvic inflammation and providing a recognized clinical diagnosis and efficacy evaluation criteria for the treatment of chronic pelvic inflammation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Determining the optimal amount of cash stock reserved in each bank branch is a strategic decision. A certain level of cash stock must be kept and ready for cash withdrawal needs at a branch. However, holding too much cash not only forfeits opportunities to make profit from the exceeding amount of cash in the stock but also increases insurance cost. This paper presents cash stock strategies for bank branches by using deep learning. Deep learning models were applied to historical data collected by a retail bank to predict the cash withdrawals and deposits. Data preparation and feature selection to identify important attributes from the bank branch data were performed. In the prediction process, two Recurrent Neural Network techniques—Long Short-Term Memory and Gated Recurrent Units methods—were compared. Then prediction errors were measured and statistically tested for their probability distributions. These distributions together with the predicted values were used in determining the lower and upper bounds for holding the cash stock. These bounds were employed to recommend the cash stock level strategies by having two options for different situations. The impacts of COVID-19 were also tested and discussed. According to the bank under this study, the proposed strategies can reduce the amount of cash stock by more than 10% for which was their initial target. Hence, the costs of cash management such as insurance cost and cash transportation cost were reduced. Moreover, the excess cash could be used for other purposes of the bank. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Non-operative management of uncomplicated acute appendicitis is an option, but omission of antibiotics from the regimen has not been tested. C:\Users\PC\OneDrive\Desktop\files\JUNE 2022\16.06.22\1VH_20220601Methods: A double-blind, placebo-controlled, superiority RCT in adults with CT-confirmed uncomplicated acute appendicitis was designed to compare placebo with antibiotics (intravenous ertapenem followed by oral levofloxacin and metronidazole). The primary endpoint was treatment success (resolution resulting in discharge without appendicectomy within 10 days); secondary outcomes included pain scores, complications, hospital stay, and return to work. C:\Users\PC\OneDrive\Desktop\files\JUNE 2022\16.06.22\1VH_20220601Results: FromMay2017 to September 2020, 72 patients with a mean(s.d.) age of 37.5 (11.1) years were recruited at five hospitals. Six were excluded after randomization (5 early consent withdrawals, 1 randomization protocol violation), 35 wereassigned to receive antibiotics, and 31 to receive placebo. Enrolment challenges (including hospital pharmacy resources in an acute-care surgery setting) meant that only the lowest sample size of three predefined scenarios was achieved. The 10-day treatment success rate was 87 (95 per cent c.i. 75 to 99) per cent for placebo and 97 (92 to 100) per cent for antibiotics. This clinical difference of 10 (90 per cent c.i.-0.9 to 21) per cent was not statistically different for the primary outcome (1-sided P=0.142), and secondary outcomes were similar. C:\Users\PC\OneDrive\Desktop\files\JUNE 2022\16.06.22\1VH_20220601Conclusion: The lack of antibiotic superiority statistically suggests that a non-inferiority trial against placebo is warranted in adults with CT-confirmed mild appendicitis. Registration number: EudraCT 2015-003634-26 (https://eudract.ema.europa.eu/eudract-web/index.faces), NCT03234296 (http://www.clinicaltrials.gov). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We use novel and comprehensive monthly data on electronic payments, by municipality and sector, together with cash withdrawals, to study the impact of Covid‐19 in Portugal. Our difference‐in‐differences event study identifies a causal decrease of 17 and 40 percentage points on the year‐on‐year growth rate of overall purchases in March and April 2020. We document a stronger impact of the crisis in more central and more urban municipalities, due to a combination of the sectorial composition effect of the local economy and the sharper confinement behavioral effect in these locations. We discuss the importance of tourism for the results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The administration of 5-fluorouracil (5FU) in the treatment of gastrointestinal (GI) malignancies is associated with common side effects such as mucositis, diarrhoea, and myelosuppression, which are easily managed with supportive measures and dose adjustments. Cardiotoxicity and neurotoxicity are rare but reversible side effects of 5-FU and are treated with withdrawal of the drug and conservative measures. The presenting symptoms of 5-FU-induced leukoencephalopathy are often confusing and pose a diagnostic dilemma in routine clinical practice. Methods: We report a series of five patients with GI malignancies who developed 5-FU-induced leukoencephalopathy. Results: All (n = 5) had Naranjo scores of 6–7, predictive of 5-FU-related adverse effects, with clinical and radiological findings suggestive of 5-FU-induced encephalopathy as described in prior literature. The median time to onset of symptoms from initiation of 5FU was 3 days (range: 2–4 days). All patients improved after conservative management with complete neurological recovery. Conclusion: Prompt recognition of this rare yet severe adverse effect of 5-FU-based chemotherapy aids early withdrawal of the offending agent (5-FU) and timely initiation of supportive measures and helps plan alternative oncological interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information on estimating the disparate cumulative impact of the Covid-19 pandemic in administrative unemployment insurance data. It mentions that pandemic had a staggering impact on the labor market in the U.S. and many other countries, with extensive job loss and long-term unemployment (LTU) affecting particularly less advantaged workers.

The typical cases of funded development projects are donor-funded. One of the major problems faced by donor-funded projects is that after the withdrawal of donor funding, the projects are not sustainable. Literature has identified some of the factors that cause lack of sustainability including low stakeholder ownership and commitment, lack of understanding of community context, lack of community empowerment, leadership, technology choice, and overambitious objectives. I use the social constructivist approach to study the Limpopo IDC Nguni Cattle Development Project in Limpopo Province of South Africa which I got in contact with through student supervision. The project is based on a livestock pass-on system using the indigenous Nguni cattle. The objectives of the project are to reintroduce the Nguni cattle to their original owners, to contribute to livelihoods, to alleviate poverty, and to contribute towards food security. I collected data from three key informants who have been involved with project formation and management and are still involved with it. I collected data through recorded interviews and analyzed them using thematic analysis. I concluded that this project, not only demonstrates the ability of the government to take over projects from donors and run them successfully/sustainably, but it also provides a model of how this can be done. The critical question is: Can the projects for which this model is appropriate be identified a priori as this would increase their sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ketogenic diet (KD) is a type of diet in which the intake of fats significantly increases at the cost of carbohydrates while maintaining an adequate amount of proteins. This kind of diet has been successfully used in clinical therapies of drug-resistant epilepsy, but there is still insufficient evidence on its safety when used in pregnancy. To assess KD effects on the course of gestation and fetal development, pregnant females were fed with: (i) KD during pregnancy and lactation periods (KD group), (ii) KD during pregnancy replaced with ND from the day 2 postpartum (KDND group) and (iii) normal diet alone (ND group). The body mass, ketone and glucose blood levels, and food intake were monitored. In brains of KD-fed females, FTIR biochemical analyses revealed increased concentrations of lipids and ketone groups containing molecules. In offspring of these females, significant reduction of the body mass and delays in neurological development were detected. However, replacement of KD with ND in these females at the beginning of lactation period led to regainment of the body mass in their pups as early as on the postnatal day 14. Moreover, the vast majority of our neurological tests detected functional recovery up to the normal level. It could be concluded that the ketogenic diet undoubtedly affects the brain of pregnant females and impairs the somatic and neurological development of their offspring. However, early postnatal withdrawal of this diet may initiate compensatory processes and considerable functional restitution of the nervous system based on still unrecognized mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study analyzes the early desistance narratives of a sample of 44 male offenders, between 20 and 50 years old, incarcerated in Spain for serious crimes. In particular, two types of the inmates' stories are evaluated: 1) their narratives of personal change toward a non-criminal life (identity change, perceived self-efficacy and willingness for desistance); 2) their perceptions on those transitional or facilitator factors for desistance available to them (new learning, support and social bonding). Participants' accounts show how many subjects, despite being still in prison, claim to have experienced favorable changes and have different facilitating factors to abandon their previous criminal life. Despite this, such early narratives of withdrawal are not exempt from ambivalences and contradictions, both between subjects and within subjects. The process of desistance and their contradictions was interpreted, in accordance with the reviewed literature, as a long journey which is often traversed in a circular and zigzagging manner. Finally, it has been discussed how the correctional system should play a major role in facilitating the personal changes and the social support necessary for the ex-offenders' journey to desistance to be successful. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]