Mapping Mutual Fund Investor Characteristics and Modeling Switching Behavior

Securing a mutual fund that meets investment goals is an important reason why some investors exclusively stay with a particular mutual fund and others switch funds within their fund family. This paper empirically investigates investor attitudes toward mutual funds. Our model, based on investor responses, develops an investor\u27s risk profile variable. Results indicate that regardless of whether the investors invest in nonemployer plans or in both employer and nonemployer plans, they consider their investment risk, fund performance, investment mix, and the capital base of the fund before switching funds. The model developed in this study can also assist in predicting investors\u27 switching behavior

An Intelligent Spreadsheet to Teach the Student the Basics of Audit Planning

It is important that the auditor properly plan engagements for several reasons: to obtain sufficient competent evidence for the circumstances, to keep audit costs reasonable, and to avoid misunderstandings with the client (Arens and Loebbecke, 1997). The student learns about audit planning through the audit risk model. An intelligent worksheet, designed for student use, has been developed using information from a previously written hybrid system for going concern evaluation (Lenard et al., 1998). The expert system logic and the statistical program that were part of the hybrid system have been incorporated into a menu-driven spreadsheet that uses the technology of Excel (statistical modeling, links, and logical statements) to provide the student with a summary of important concepts of audit planning

Initial conditions from the shadowed Glauber model

The two component Monte-Carlo Glauber model predicts a knee-like structure in the centrality dependence of elliptic flow $v_2$ in Uranium+Uranium collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}=193$ GeV. It also produces a strong anti-correlation between $v_2$ and $dN_{ch}/dy$ in the case of top ZDC events. However, none of these features have been observed in data. We address these discrepancies by including the effect of nucleon shadowing to the two component Monte-Carlo Glauber model. Apart from addressing successfully the above issues, we find that the nucleon shadow suppresses the event by event fluctuation of various quantities, e.g. $\varepsilon_2$ which is in accordance with expectation from the dynamical models of initial condition based on gluon saturation physics.Comment: version accepted for publication in Physics Letters

Thermal photon to dilepton ratio in ultra-relativistic heavy ion collisions

The ratio of transverse momentum distribution of thermal photons to dilepton has been evaluated. It is observed that this ratio reaches a plateau beyond a certain value of transverse momentum. We argue that this ratio can be used to estimate the initial temperature of the system by selecting the transverse momentum and invariance mass windows judiciously. It is demonstrated that if the radial flow is large then the plateau disappear and hence a deviation from the plateau can be used as an indicator of large radial flow. The sensitivity of the results on various input parameters has been studied.Comment: 9 pages with 11 eps figure

Pathways to antibiotics in Bangladesh: a qualitative study investigating how and when households access medicine including antibiotics for humans or animals when they are ill

Background To understand how to reduce antibiotic use, greater knowledge is needed about the complexities of access in countries with loose regulation or enforcement. This study aimed to explore how households in Bangladesh were accessing antimicrobials for themselves and their domestic animals. Methods In-depth interviews were conducted with 48 households in one urban and one rural area. Households were purposively sampled from two lower income strata, prioritising those with under 5-year olds, older adults, household animals and minority groups. Households where someone was currently ill with a suspected infection (13 households) were invited for a follow-up interview. Framework analysis was used to explore access to healthcare and medicines. Findings People accessed medicines for themselves through five pathways: drugs shops, private clinics, government/charitable hospitals, community/family planning clinics, and specialised/private hospitals. Drug shops provided direct access to medicines for common, less serious and acute illnesses. For persistent or serious illnesses, the healthcare pathway may include contacts with several of these settings, but often relied on medicines provided by drug shops. In the 13 households with an unwell family member, most received at least one course of antibiotics for this illness. Multiple and incomplete dosing were common even when prescribed by a qualified doctor. Antibiotics were identified by their high cost compared to other medicines. Cost was a reported barrier to purchasing full courses of antibiotics. Few households in the urban area kept household animals. In this rural area, government animal health workers provided most care for large household animals (cows), but drug shops were also important. Conclusions In Bangladesh, unregulated drug shops provide an essential route to medicines including those prescribed in the formal sector. Wherever licensed suppliers are scarce and expensive, regulations which prohibit this supply risk removing access entirely for many people

Investigating British Asian accents : studies from Glasgow

Despite the substantial Asian community in the UK, there has been very little phonetic work on British Asian accents. The complementary results from two small-scale studies of Glasgow Asian accent confirm the identification of Glasgow Asian as an recognizable accent, identify accent features particular to Glasgow Asian and not found in Glaswegian more generally, and confirm their use - with specific social-indexical functions - in everyday speech.casl[1] Alam, F. 2007. Language and identity in 'Glaswasian' adolescents. Unpublished MLitt Dissertation. University of Glasgow. [2] Bhatia, T. K. 1993. Punjabi - A Cognitive-Descriptive Grammar. London: Routledge. [3] Eckert, P. 2000. Linguistic Variation as Social Practice. Oxford: Blackwell. [4] Foulkes, P. and Docherty, G. 1999. Urban voices - overview. In Foulkes, P. and Docherty, G. (eds), Urban Voices, London: Arnold, 1-24. [5] Heselwood, B & McChrystal, L 2000. Gender, Accent Features and Voicing. Leeds Working Papers in Linguistics and Phonetics, 8: 45-69. [6] Khan, A. 2003. Reading revisited: dialect levelling within a multi-ethnic British community. Unpublished MA dissertation. University of Reading. [7] Ladefoged, P. and Maddieson, I. 1996. The Sounds of the World's Languages. Oxford: Blackwell. [8] Lambert, K. The Asian Glaswegian accent. Unpublished Undergraduate Dissertation. University of Glasgow. [9] Rogers, H. 2000. The sounds of English. Essex: Pearson. [10] Scobbie, J. and Gordeeva, O. 2006. Phonetic conditioning of word-final ejective stops in the speech of Scottish English pre-school children. BAAP, University of Edinburgh. [11] Shackle, C. 1972. Punjabi: A complete course for beginners. New York: Hodder. [12] Wells, J. C. 1973. Jamaican Pronunciation in London. Oxford: Blackwell. [13] Wells, J. C. 1982. Accents of English. Cambridge: CUP.pub32pu

Efficacy of rifaximin among non-constipated irritable bowel syndrome patients with or without small intestinal bacterial overgrowth: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial

Background: IBS is a functional gastrointestinal disorder marked by abdominal pain and changes in stool frequency or form. Recent studies indicate a link between IBS, especially the diarrhea-predominant subtype, and small intestinal bacterial overgrowth. This study aimed to evaluate symptom resolution among IBS patients with or without SIBO on rifaximin treatment as compared with placebo. Methods: A double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized clinical trial took place at the Department of Gastroenterology, Dhaka Medical College and Hospital, from January to December 2019. In the study 104 non-constipated IBS patients were assessed for SIBO using gut aspirate culture. Those with SIBO (≥105 CFU/ml) and those without were randomly assigned (computer-generated) to receive either 1500 mg/day of rifaximin for 14 days or a placebo. Results: Among 104 non-constipated IBS patients, 39% had SIBO, with IBS-D patients more associated (83% vs. 60%). Rifaximin significantly improved symptoms in the SIBO group at 4 and 16 weeks (90% vs. 20%, p<0.001; 66% vs. 15%, p<0.001). In the non-SIBO group, significant improvement was observed at 4 weeks (38.7% vs. 18.8%, p<0.001) but not at 16 weeks (25.8% vs. 18.8%, p=0.501). Rifaximin significantly improved abdominal pain, stool form, and frequency in the SIBO group compared to placebo. However, there was no significant improvement in the non-SIBO group. Conclusions: Rifaximin is superior to placebo in relieving symptoms of non-constipated IBS patients with SIBO