U.S. Corporate Energy Productivity, Greenhouse Gas Productivity, and Return on Equity

Corporate leaders are expected to engage in corporate social responsibility by some stakeholders, but there is no consistent evidence that corporate social performance relates to financial performance. Grounded in instrumental stakeholder theory, the purpose of this correlational study was to examine the relationship among energy productivity, greenhouse gas productivity, and return on equity. The 2016 Newsweek Green Ranking U.S. 500 was the population for this study, which consisted of the largest companies in the United States with the highest corporate social performance scores. The secondary data were collected from Newsweek.com and Morningstar.com for this study. The multiple linear regression was used in the data analysis for the study. This study\u27s model was F(2,104) = 1.028, p = .361, Adjusted R2 = .001 and represented that there was not a statistically significant relationship among energy productivity, greenhouse gas productivity, and return on equity. The implications for positive social change include the potential to provide corporate leaders with additional evidence to inform fact-based decisions related to the strategic allocation of resources to manage corporate energy productivity and greenhouse productivity. Effectively managing energy productivity and greenhouse gas productivity could contribute to reducing global warming, which would improve the quality of lives of U.S residents

A parametric multiclass Bayes error estimator for the multispectral scanner spatial model performance evaluation

The author has identified the following significant results. The probability of correct classification of various populations in data was defined as the primary performance index. The multispectral data being of multiclass nature as well, required a Bayes error estimation procedure that was dependent on a set of class statistics alone. The classification error was expressed in terms of an N dimensional integral, where N was the dimensionality of the feature space. The multispectral scanner spatial model was represented by a linear shift, invariant multiple, port system where the N spectral bands comprised the input processes. The scanner characteristic function, the relationship governing the transformation of the input spatial, and hence, spectral correlation matrices through the systems, was developed

Pediatric Insomnia and Sensory Processing: Exploring the Role of Occupational Therapy Practitoners in Sleep Medicine

Background. Since the founding of occupational therapy, the occupation of sleep has existed within the scope of practice for practitioners. Sleep disturbances in pediatric clients are estimated to be between 20% and 40% (Galland, Taylor, Elder, & Herbison, 2012; Mindell, Telofski, Wiegand & Kurtz, 2009; Meltzer, Johnson, Crosette, Ramos, & Mindell, 2010; Owens & Mindell, 2011; Sadeh, Mindell, & Owens, 2011). Deficits insensory processing of pediatric clients play a role in daily functioning and possibly in the ability to settle and transition to sleep (Dunn, 2001; Foitzik & Brown, 2018). Purpose. The purpose of this study is to explore the possible relationship between sensory processing and children who do not achieve the recommended sleep duration. Method. An exploratory quantitative research design will be used to examine trends insensory presentations in children diagnosed with insomnia. Correlational and statistical regression tests will be used to analyze the collected data. Results. All four quadrants and five of the six sensory system behaviors were significantly related to the children\u27s sleep behaviors. Predictive relationships were also confirmed between sensory behaviors, both quadrant, and sensory systems, and the sleep behaviors of thechildren. Significance. Limited literature regarding the relationship between sensory processing and sleep as an occupation exists. Thefindings of this study provide practitioners with additional information to assess and intervene with children with sleep deficits. This study informs occupational therapy’s role in the evaluation and treatment of sleep and as a member of a sleep medicine team

Movement Variability Increases With Shoulder Pain When Compensatory Strategies of the Upper Body Are Constrained

[DE] This cross-sectional study analyzed the influence of chronic shoulder pain (CSP) on movement variability/kinematics during humeral elevation, with the trunk and elbow motions constrained to avoid compensatory strategies. For this purpose, 37 volunteers with CSP as the injured group (IG) and 58 participants with asymptomatic shoulders as the control group (CG) participated in the study. Maximum humeral elevation (Emax), maximum angular velocity (Velmax), variability of the maximum angle (CVEmax), functional variability (Func_var), and approximate entropy (ApEn) were calculated from the kinematic data. Patients' pain was measured on the visual analogue scale (VAS). Compared with the CG, the IG presented lower Emax and Velmax and higher variability (i.e., CVEmax, Func_var, and ApEn). Moderate correlations were achieved for the VAS score and the kinematic variables Emax, Velmax and variability of curve analysis, Func_varm, and ApEn. No significant correlation was found for CVEmax. In conclusion, CSP results in a decrease of angle and velocity and an increased shoulder movement variability when the neuromuscular system cannot use compensatory strategies to avoid painful positions.This work was funded by the Spanish Government and cofinanced by EU FEDER funds (Grant DPI2013-44227-R)Lopez Pascual, J.; Page Del Pozo, AF.; Serra Añó, P. (2017). Movement Variability Increases With Shoulder Pain When Compensatory Strategies of the Upper Body Are Constrained. Journal of Motor Behavior. 1-8. https://doi.org/10.1080/00222895.2017.1371109S1

Development of the banking sector and economic growth in Morocco: Econometric modeling with the ARDL model

Résumé L’objectif du présent article est d’étudier la relation entre le développement du système bancaire marocain et la croissance économique.  Pour ceci, nous avons adopté une démarche économétrique basée sur l’estimation d’un modèle autorégressif à retards distribués. Ce modèle, qui fait partie de la classe des modèles dynamiques, permet de capter les effets temporels dans l’explication d’une variable endogène. Les résultats issus des estimations des coefficients des modèles montrent que l’effet du développement du  secteur  bancaire  sur  la  croissance  économique  au  Maroc  est  un  effet  positif et significatif à court terme. Toutefois, et à long terme, les effets du développement du secteur bancaire sur la croissance économique au Maroc affichent des signes négatifs et significatifs. Des résultats qui restent valable quel que soit la variable retenue pour capter le développement du système bancaire. Mots clés  Développement financier, secteur bancaire, croissance économique, crédit, investissement privé, taille bancaire, causalité     Abstract The objective of this article is to study the relationship between the development of the Moroccan banking system and economic growth. For this, we adopted an econometric approach based on the estimation of an autoregressive model with distributed delays. This model, which belongs to the class of dynamic models, makes it possible to capture the temporal effects in the explanation of an endogenous variable. The results from the estimates of the coefficients of the models show that the effect of the development of the banking sector on economic growth in Morocco is a positive and significant effect in the short term. However, and in the long term, the effects of the development of the banking sector on economic growth in Morocco show negative and significant signs. Results that remain valid regardless of the variable used to capture the development of the banking system. Keywords Financial development, banking sector, economic growth, credit, private investment, bank size, causality..

An empirical analysis of job seekers' perception of corporate social performance as a measure of organisational attractiveness

A research dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Master of Commerce (Business Sciences/ Management). Johannesburg South Africa March 2016Corporate Social Performance is both a prominent notion that the business world views as strategic and a well-known concept in academia that has been assessed in relation to different constructs. Several scholars have suggested the relationship between corporate social performance and its capability to attract numerous superior job applicants at the organisational level, yet, there is no corresponding evidence at the individual level of analysis. Thus, based on suggestions from the social identity theory and the signaling theory, this study hypothesized that job seekers’ perception of Carroll’s (1979) four dimensions of corporate social performance of an organisation are positively related to the organisation’s attractiveness as an employer and aimed to assess these relationships. Carroll’s (1979) four dimensions of corporate social performance consist of an organisation’s economic, legal, ethical and philanthropic responsibility. This study was quantitative in nature; therefore, the data for this study was collected through the use of previously developed questionnaires that had obtained high Cronbach’s alpha values thus confirming their reliability. Survey results were collected from a sample of 216 final year undergraduate and honours students who were selected via probability sampling technique. These results indicated that job seekers are more likely to pursue jobs from socially responsible organisations; with economic responsibility having the greatest impact on organisational attractiveness. Two Statistical packages, namely, the statistical package of the social sciences and Amos were used to test the conceptual model and to arrive at these findings. The implications of the empirical findings for researchers and South African organisations as well as the study’s contributions to practice and theory are discussed. Just like most studies, this study had several limitations such as the size of the sample and time, just to mention a few, which led to recommendations that future research could take into consideration.MT201

Measuring interaction: An empirical comparison of three OLS regression models

The capacity to correctly assess the existence of interaction is a high-value modeling capability among researchers of information systems (IS), especially those focusing on behavioural paradigm studies. Interaction is a notable aspect for the major theoretical frameworks of the IS field, particularly the adoption theories. Allowing for crossover effects in the Theory of Planned Behaviour resulted in improvements in model prediction (Taylor & Todd, 1995b). This study presents the trimmed model, which does not permit crossover effect relations among variables. In complex models, as mentioned by Pedhazur (1997), one variable may affect another variable indirectly through multiple paths. According to him, it stands to reason that indirect effects, through certain paths, may be more meaningful and/or stronger than others. The findings of this quantitative study lead one to conclude that crossover effect models are more capable of showing the interaction among models’ variables, as well as explaining the highest percentage of variation for a single dependent variable, in comparison to the full and trimmed model

The Role of Individual Characteristics, CSR Information, Financial and Non-Financial Compensation to Job Seekers Interests in A Company

Abstract: Human resources are the key to achieving and maintaining corporate goal(s). Obtaining high-quality human resources is a challenging task for every corporation. Therefore, corporations compete in providing attractive compensation packages to both its current and prospective employees. The objective of this study is three folds. Firstly, this study seeks to explore the effect of information on compensation and corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosures toward fresh-graduate job seekers interests of a company. Next, the objective of this study is to examine the interactional effects between the prior mentioned independent variables. Lastly, this study is conducted to examine the role of moral reasoning as a moderating variable in the relationship between those mentioned above independent and dependent variables. In examining the relationship, this study uses the moderated regression analysis. This study is an experimental study that adopts 2x2 designs amongst subjects. Information on compensation and CSR disclosures are manipulated in this study. The total of thirty-seven people consisted of the final semester undergraduate students and recent bachelor degree graduates participated in this study. In analyzing the collected data, this study uses ANOVA. This study finds that only corporate CSR disclosures affect fresh-graduate job seekers work intention in a corporation. Abstrak: Sumber daya manusia adalah kunci untuk mencapai dan mempertahankan tujuan perusahaan (s). Memperoleh sumber daya manusia berkualitas tinggi adalah tugas yang menantang bagi setiap perusahaan. Oleh karena itu, perusahaan bersaing dalam menyediakan paket kompensasi yang menarik bagi karyawan saat ini dan calon karyawannya. Tujuan dari penelitian ini adalah tiga kali lipat. Pertama, penelitian ini berusaha untuk mengeksplorasi efek informasi tentang kompensasi dan tanggung jawab sosial perusahaan (CSR) pengungkapan terhadap minat pencari kerja fresh-graduate perusahaan. Selanjutnya, tujuan dari penelitian ini adalah untuk menguji efek interaksional antara variabel independen yang disebutkan sebelumnya. Terakhir, penelitian ini dilakukan untuk menguji peran penalaran moral sebagai variabel moderasi dalam hubungan antara yang disebutkan di atas variabel independen dan dependen. Dalam memeriksa hubungan, penelitian ini menggunakan analisis regresi moderat. Penelitian ini merupakan penelitian eksperimental yang mengadopsi desain 2x2 di antara subjek. Informasi tentang kompensasi dan pengungkapan CSR dimanipulasi dalam penelitian ini. Sebanyak tiga puluh tujuh orang terdiri dari mahasiswa sarjana akhir semester dan lulusan gelar sarjana baru berpartisipasi dalam penelitian ini. Dalam menganalisis data yang dikumpulkan, penelitian ini menggunakan ANOVA. Studi ini menemukan bahwa hanya pengungkapan CSR perusahaan yang mempengaruhi niat kerja pencari kerja lulusan baru dalam suatu perusahaan

Valid Two-Step Identification-Robust Confidence Sets for GMM

In models with potentially weak identification, researchers often decide whether to report a robust confidence set based on an initial assessment of model identification. Two-step procedures of this sort can generate large coverage distortions for reported confidence sets, and existing procedures for controlling these distortions are quite limited. This paper introduces a generally applicable approach to detecting weak identification and constructing two-step confidence sets in GMM. This approach controls coverage distortions under weak identification and indicates strong identification, with probability tending to 1 when the model is well identified