Financial intermediary distress in the Republic of Korea - Small is beautiful?

Taking the Korean experience as a laboratory experiment in systemic financial crises, the authors analyze distress in individual institutions among two groups of financial intermediaries. They pool together a group of large financial intermediaries (commercial banks, merchant banking corporations) and another group of tiny mutual savings and finance companies. Both the too-big-to-fail doctrine and the credit channel approach suggest that the probability of distress would be greater for small intermediaries. But the authors find that proportionately fewer small intermediaries were distressed than were large intermediaries. They offer two hypothetical explanations for this unexpected result: 1) Exchange rate exposure - a major shock to Korean intermediaries - was presumably negligible for the small financial intermediaries. 2) Small financial intermediaries allocated loans better, because of the"peer monitoring"natural to their mutual nature and deep local roots. Available data did not allow the authors to test the first hypothesis, but they did find support for the second one. Estimating a logit model, they find that the probability of distress was systematically smaller for the mutual savings and finance companies that stayed closer to their origins (for example, collecting many deposits as"credit mutual installment savings") and for those with a longer history of doing business in their local community.Payment Systems&Infrastructure,Banks&Banking Reform,Financial Intermediation,International Terrorism&Counterterrorism,Financial Crisis Management&Restructuring,Financial Crisis Management&Restructuring,Economic Theory&Research,Environmental Economics&Policies,Banks&Banking Reform,Financial Intermediation

Patients' perception of dignity in an Italian general hospital: a cross-sectional analysis

Background: Dignity is related to a patient’s respect, privacy, information and autonomy. Maintaining dignity is defined as ethical goal of care. Although the importance of dignity has been widely recognized, there is limited research that investigates if dignity is really maintained in clinical practice and few studies have been conducted in acute hospital settings with adults across the age range. The aim of the study was to explore inpatients’ perception of dignity in an hospital setting. Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out in 10 medical and surgical wards of a General Hospital in Modena (Italy). We collected a purposive sample of 100 patients by selecting 10 participants from each ward who met following criteria: hospitalized for more than three days, at least 18 years old, not mentally ill, willing to participate and able to speak Italian. We developed a 15-item anonymous questionnaire divided into three sections: “physical privacy”, “information and autonomy”, “nurse-patients respectful interaction”. Results: The percentages of positive (preserved dignity perception) were more frequent than negative (not preserved dignity perception) and no answers with a statistically significantly difference among the three sections (Pearson chi2 = 150.41, p < 0.0001). The frequency of positive or negative answers was statistically significantly related to the preservation of dignity according to the following questions (p < 0.005, multivariate logistic regression): “privacy to use the bathroom” and “respectful interaction”, as protective factors and “maintaining of body privacy”, “involvement in the care process”, “correct communication” as risk factors. Conclusions: Dignity was quite but not completely maintained according to the standards expected by patients. According to patients’ views, privacy of the body during medical procedures and respectful nurse-patient interactions were preserved more than information and verbal communication. Listening to patients’ views on the specific factors they consider useful to maintaining their dignity can help in this process. Recognizing and focusing on these factors will help professionals to establish practical measures for preserving and promoting patients' dignity and providing more dignified care. Dignity should be extensively and systematically pursued as other important clinical goals

The Nursing Role in the Management of Medication Overuse Headache: Realities and Prospects

This review aims to analyze the current literature to identify articles related to the role of nurses and, in general, the nursing management of patients suffering from medication overuse headache (MOH), a globally spread disease. We specifically argue for non-pharmacological approaches to pain management, such as multidisciplinary team approaches, holistic treatment, cognitive behavioral therapy and exercise. For this review, we investigated international scientific databases, including PubMed, CINAHL, Scopus and Embase, in the period between 2000 and 2024. We observed a wealth of scientific articles related to MOH, but a poverty of articles relating to the nursing management of headache. The research included the presence of academic-level training for nurses, whereas there are few institutions that train competent professionals in both pharmacological and non-pharmacological management of MOH patients. Nursing assessment and assistance strategies are indicated to plan tailored treatment paths related to the specific needs of these patients

L'apprendimento clinico in simulazione: studio osservazionale sulla soddisfazione percepita dagli studenti di infermieristica [Learning in clinical simulation: observational study on satisfaction perceived by students of nursing]

Introduzione: la simulazione nel contesto del laboratorio didattico sta divenendo un’importante metodologia di apprendimento, in quanto consente di riprodurre situazioni clinicoassistenziali realistiche. Tali attività formative professionalizzanti favoriscono lo sviluppo di abilità cognitive, affettive e psicomotorie in un contesto pedagogico sicuro e privo di rischi, ma richiedono di essere valutate con strumenti validi e affidabili. Obiettivo: indagare il grado di soddisfazione degli studenti di un Corso di Laurea in Infermieristica del nord Italia riguardo le esercitazioni con simulatori statici e ad alta fedeltà e i casi clinici. Metodo: è stato condotto uno studio osservazionale prospettico che ha coinvolto un campione non probabilistico di 51 studenti del terzo anno durante tutto l'a.a. 2013/14. Lo strumento di raccolta dati si compone dei 3 questionari Student Satisfaction and Self-confidence in Learning Scale, Educational Practices Questionnaire, Simulation Design Scale e di 3 domande sulla soddisfazione complessiva. L'analisi statistica è stata condotta con i programmi SPSS vers. demo. ed Excel di Office 2003. Risultati e Conclusioni: il tasso di risposta ottenuto è dell’89,5%. L’Alfa di Cronbach, ha evidenziato un’affidabilità interna ottima ( = .982). Gli studenti sono stati complessivamente soddisfatti delle attività svolte nel laboratorio didattico, dimostrando più entusiasmo per la simulazione con i manichini statici (71%) e con i simulatori ad alta fedeltà (60%), attività per le quali hanno avvertito un significativo coinvolgimento e apprendimento attivo. La didattica con i casi clinici ha ottenuto un grado di soddisfazione minore (38%) e per questo metodo si è riscontrato il maggior numero di elementi di debolezza. Parole chiave: studenti infermieri, simulazione, strategia di apprendimento attivo, simulatori ad alta fedeltà, soddisfazioneINTRODUCTION: Simulation in the context of the educational workshop is becoming an important learning method, as it allows to play realistic clinical-care situations. These vocational training activities promote the development of cognitive, affective and psychomotor skills in a pedagogical context safe and risk-free, but need to be accounted for using by valid and reliable instruments. AIM: To inspect the level of satisfaction of the students of a Degree in Nursing in northern Italy about static and high-fidelity exercises with simulators and clinical cases. METHODS: A prospective observational study has been conducted involving a non-probabili- stic sample of 51 third-year students throughout the academic year 2013/14. The data collection instrument consists of three questionnaires Student Satisfaction and Self-confidence in Learning Scale, Educational Practices Questionnaire, Simulation Design Scale and 3 questions on overall satisfaction. Statistical analysis was performed with SPSS 20.0 and Office 2003 Excel. RESULT AND CONCLUSION: The response rate of 89.5% is obtained. The Cronbach Alfa showed a good internal reliability (α = .982). The students were generally satisfied with the activities carried out in the teaching laboratory, showing more enthusiasm for the simulation with static mannequins (71%) and with high-fidelity simulators (60%), activities for which they have experienced a significant involvement and active learning. The teaching with clinical cases scored a lesser degree of satisfaction (38%) and for this method it was found the largest number of elements of weakness

Designing a cloud and HPC based M&S platform to Investigate the IVD diseases mechanisms

The main objective of the PhD proposal consists of the creation of a platform for IVD Models & Simulations (M&S) tools and their integration into automated workflows, within the HORIZON MSCA Disc4All project. Based on the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC) vision, the expected platform will be a Cloud-based one, furnished with a front-end, to guarantee reproducibility, accessibility and easy use for experts and non-experts. The development of an automated and specialized platform can represent the best hybrid technology with perks on both healthcare data management and computational environments exploitation, given the use of Cloud infrastructures on healthcare software and databases. Though rendering automatic not only the database, but prediction and simulation models in a user-friendly integrated system, may facilitate a difficult diagnosis and forward therapy, especially considering the various forces at play in a multi-omics data analysis of its kind

Regulatory reform and banking diversity: reassessing Basel 3

none4We investigate whether and how strongly Basel 3 chief innovations jointly affected in different ways individual Eurozone banks’ stability (z-score) across six business models (BMs). We study this issue in the initial years when adaptation was most intense (2011–2014) and the Eurozone underwent a phase with sovereign crises abated by ECB policies easing financial conditions. In parallel, we run this exercise over 2000–2010 data, a time frame over which Basel 3 did not apply yet to see through the eyes of the regulator. Irrespective of BMs, we identify the leverage ratio as the most effective driver of banks’ stability. However, the impact on z-score of Basel 3 chief drivers does not seem to differ significantly on 2011–2014 vs. 2000–2010. Next, interactions with banks’ BMs suggest that Basel 3 innovations improve z-scores the most at traditionally focused banks (cooperative and savings banks), vis-à-vis diversified banks. Our results suggest Basel regulatory decisions were questionable. First, the front loading of the increased minimum capital requirements vs. the backloading of the leverage ratio phasing in may have lured banks from credit to financial assets. Second, our findings support the desirability of revising the current “one-size-fits-all” European prudential framework, which disregards BMs.Giuliana Birindelli; Paola Ferretti; Giovanni Ferri; Marco SavioliBirindelli, Giuliana; Ferretti, Paola; Ferri, Giovanni; Savioli, Marc

The effectiveness of team-based learning in nursing education: A systematic review

Aim: Team-Based Learning (TBL) is an active teaching methodology, recently implemented also in the field of nursing education. The main objective of this study was to identify, appraise and summarize primary studies on the effectiveness of TBL in achieving learning outcomes in undergraduate nursing students. The secondary objective was to explore the generic competencies the students developed, and their reactions and attitudes.Study design: A systematic review of experimental and quasi-experimental studies.Databases sources: Cochrane Library, Pubmed/Medline, Cinahl, PsycINFO, and Eric; Google Scholar was used to search for grey literature and the reference lists of the retrieved papers.Review methods: A research protocol was developed according to the PRISMA-P guidelines. Two reviewers conducted the selection process. The "JBI Critical Appraisal Checklist" was used to check the quality of the selected studies.Results: We included 12 studies: 2 monocentric randomized controlled trials and 10 quasi-experimental studies. Nine out of 12 studies produced significant results in favour of TBL in terms of academic performance and skills development, however results were divergent when TBL was compared with other teaching methods. The results of 7 studies highlighted the effectiveness of TBL in improving the development of communication skills, inter professional learning, and self-directed learning. Divergent results were obtained with regard to problem solving and critical thinking skills. TBL promoted classroom engagement, however it did not seem to be associated with better learning outcomes.Conclusions: Overall, TBL was found to be effective in achieving undergraduate nursing students' learning outcomes, but evidence was not sufficiently strong to warrant that it is more effective than other teaching methods. The results of this review are in favour of the implementation of TBL in nursing education, however studies with more rigorous methods and with a mixed method design are required to improve the transferability of results

The effect of repeated online Team-Based Learning on undergraduate nursing students: a quasi-experimental study

Background: Little is known about how students’ experiences with online Team-Based Learning (TBL) may have changed over time during the COVID-19 pandemic. Aims: to examine the performance of undergraduate nursing students in online TBL; to evaluate the change in students’ attitudes about teamwork and their accountability, preference and satisfaction with online TBL between 1st and 2nd year. Methods: A one-group pretest-posttest design was used. A cohort of thirty-three undergraduate nursing students attended online TBL sessions during 1st and 2nd year. Students’ performance in individual versus team readiness assurance tests in 2nd-year online TBL sessions was compared. Results from a structured questionnaire on students’ attitudes about teamwork and from the Team-Based Learning Student Assessment Instrument (TBL-SAI) were collected at different time points. Results: A statistically significant improvement was identified in students’ performance and in the categories “Overall satisfaction with Team Experience” and “Team Impact on Clinical Reasoning Ability” of the structured questionnaire. T-test of TBL-SAI mean scores showed no statistical significance. Conclusions: In repeated online TBL, teamwork increased students’ satisfaction and clinical reasoning ability. Group performance was higher than individual results. Students’ accountability, preference and satisfaction with online TBL remained high

Workplace violence in different settings and among various health professionals in an Italian general hospital: a cross-sectional study

Background: Workplace violence (WPV) against health professionals is a global problem with an increasing incidence. The aims of this study were as follows: 1) to examine the frequency and characteristics of WPV in different settings and professionals of a general hospital and 2) to identify the clinical and organizational factors related to this phenomenon. Methods: The study was cross-sectional. In a 1-month period, we administered the “Violent Incident Form” to 745 professionals (physicians, head nurses, nurses, nursing assistants), who worked in 15 wards of a general hospital in northern Italy. Results: With a response rate of 56%, 45% of professionals reported WPV. The most frequently assaulted were nurses (67%), followed by nursing assistants (18%) and physicians (12%). The first two categories were correlated, in a statistically significant way, with the risk of WPV (P=0.005, P=0.004, multiple logistic regression). The violent incidents more frequently occurred in psychiatry department (86%), emergency department (71%), and in geriatric wards (57%). The assailants more frequently were males whereas assaulted professionals more often were females. Men committed physical violence more frequently than women, in a statistically significant way (P=0.034, chi-squared test). Verbal violence (51%) was often committed by people in a lucid and normal state of consciousness; physical violence (49%) was most often perpetrated by assailants affected by dementia, mental retardation, drug and substance abuse, or other psychiatric disorders. The variables positively related to WPV were “calling for help during the attack” and “physical injuries suffered in violent attack” (P=0.02, P=0.03, multiple logistic regression). Conclusion: This study suggests that violence is a significant phenomenon and that all health workers, especially nurses, are at risk of suffering aggressive assaults. WPV presented specific characteristics related to the health care settings, where the aggression occurred. Prevention programs tailored to the different care needs are necessary to promote professional awareness for violence risk