Effect of Mobile Marketing on Customer-oriented Brand Equity in Insurance Industry

According to privatization of insurance companies and regarding the competitive climate over insurance industry in next years, undoubtedly there are some effective factors to obtain a proper place in customers’ mind such that they remain loyal to the insurance company. One of these is ‘brand equity’. The purpose of this paper is to study the effect of mobile marketing on creating and enhancing brand equity dimensions. Brand equity is a multidimensional notion that may be increased by enhanced dimensions. In this regard, mobile marketing and customer-oriented brand equity are defined according to Aaker model. This is a descriptive field study as it states research title and deals with it through descriptive data; in addition, the relationship between mobile marketing and brand equity dimensions are investigated using a researcher made 24-item questionnaire. The questionnaire’s reliability (74%) was determined by Cronbach alpha coefficient. Research statistical population was clients of insurance industry. Since the population was infinite, research sample included 384 individuals measured by Cochran formula. Collected data were analyzed using analytical statistics. The significance relationship between research variables was tested by Pearson correlation coefficient and regression analysis through SPSS software.  Results indicate that mobile marketing is one of effective factors influencing awareness, association and perceived quality. Moreover, mobile customer relationship management (CRM) causes increased customer loyalty and provides the opportunity for the return of. As a result, insurers, in order to increase the value of brand equity, must invest on mobile marketing

The effect of Social Responsibility Disclosure on Audit Risk

According to the Auditing Standards, the entity may attempt to disclosing financial and non-financial information about its operation, and the auditor is required to evaluate this information. Social responsibility performance is typically included in this regard, and the independent auditor should attention to such specific information in adequately assessing audit risk. The primary purpose of this academic paper is to promptly investigate the possible relationship between social responsibility disclosure and audit risk in the Tehran Stock Exchange. In this regard, the content analysis method is used to measure social responsibility disclosure, and audit risk is calculated by the audit fees. To examine the hypotheses, Based on a sample of 93 firms data are gathered covering the period 2012–2019 applies ordinary least squares regression (OLS). We subsequently observe a direct association between social responsibility disclosure and audit risk. This relationship is confirmed in a sensitivity analysis employing panel methods with random effects as well as generalized least squares. Expanding the disclosure of social responsibility may end in the higher audit risk; hence, audit fees increase. This issue warns users of financial statements, including investors, that attention to not only the positive aspects of social responsibility disclosure in Iran forgetting social responsibility disclosure can be used as a mechanism to conceal poor performance

Application of Deep-Learning-Based Models for Prediction of Stock Price in the Iranian Stock Market

The capital or stock market along with the money market is one of the most important parts of financial sector of the nation’s economy, providing long-term financing required for efficient production and service activities. The total stock price index as reflector of stock market fluctuation is important for finance practitioners and policy-makers. Therefore, in this research, a comparative investigation was presented on two superior deep-learning-based models, including long short-term memory (LSTM), and convolutional neural network long short-term memory (CNN)-LSTM, applied for analysing prediction of the total stock price index of Tehran stock exchange (TSE) market. The complete dataset utilized in the current analysis covered the period from September 23, 2011 to June 22, 2021 with a total of 3,739 trading days in the TSE market. Forecasting accuracy and performance of the two proposed models were appraised using root mean square error (RMSE), mean absolute error (MAE), and mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) criteria. Based on the results, the CNN-LSTM showed the lowest values of the aforementioned metrics compared to the LSTM model, and it was found that the CNN-LSTM model could be effective in providing the best prediction performance of the total stock price index on the TSE market. Eventually, graphically and numerically, various prediction results obtained from the proposed models were analysed for more comprehensive analysis

Cryopreservation of Limited Sperm Using A Combination of Sucrose and Taurine, Loaded on Two Different Devices, and Thawed at Two Different Temperatures

Background: Cryopreservation of sperm is essential for patients with low sperm counts and couples undergoing infertilitytreatment. The aim of this study was to compare the effects of Taurine (T) and Sucrose (S) in individual spermcryopreservation utilizing cryotop and petri dish and thawing at 37 and 42°C.Materials and Methods: In this experimental study, 17 normospermic semen samples were processed using the"Swim-up" procedure and progressively motile sperm were then isolated from these samples using an inverted microscope.Sperm were added to droplets of "sucrose medium" with 25 mM Taurine antioxidant (S+T) and the commercialcryoprotectant "Sperm Freeze" (CPA), loaded on a petri dish and cryotop. After rapid freezing of the samples, theywere thawed at two different temperatures (37°C and 42°C), and the sperm classical parameters, viability, and DNAfragmentation were assessed.Results: Statistical analysis displayed a significant increase in total and progressive motility in individual spermfreezing on cryotop with CPA and thawing at 42°C (P<0.05). Other parameters did not show any differences betweenthe CPA and S+T groups and two thawing temperatures in either of the cryopreservation methods.Conclusion: Although, both cryoprotectants (CPA and S+T) may preserve individual sperm effectively using cryotop,the CPA and thawing at 42°C showed a better effect on the motility percentage of the small number of sperm

Pharmacological treatments of COVID-19

The viral infection due to the new coronavirus or coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), which was reported for the first time in December 2019, was named by the World Health Organization (WHO) as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome-Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV2), because of the very similar genome and also its related symptoms to SARS-CoV1. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic with significant mortality, morbidity, and socioeconomic impact is considered by the WHO as a global public health emergency. Since there is no specific treatment available for SARS-CoV2 infection, and or COVID-19, several clinical and sub-clinical studies are currently undertaken to find a gold-standard therapeutic regimen with high efficacy and low side effect. Based on the published scientific evidence published to date, we summarized herein the effects of different potential therapies and up-to-date clinical trials. The review is intended to help readers aware of potentially effective COVID-19 treatment and provide useful references for future studies. © 2020, Maj Institute of Pharmacology Polish Academy of Sciences

Oxidation of Sperm DNA and Male Infertility

One important reason for male infertility is oxidative stress and its destructive effects on sperm structures and functions. The particular composition of the sperm membrane, rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids, and the easy access of sperm DNA to oxidative damage due to sperm cell specific cytologic and metabolic features (no cytoplasm left and cells unable to mount stress responses) make it the cell type in metazoans most susceptible to oxidative damage. In particular, oxidative damage to the spermatozoa genome is an important issue and a cause of male infertility, usually associated with single- or double-strand paternal DNA breaks. Various methods of detecting sperm DNA fragmentation have become important diagnostic tools in the prognosis of male infertility and such assays are available in research laboratories and andrology clinics. However, to date, there is not a clear consensus in the community as to their respective prognostic value. Nevertheless, it is important to understand that the effects of oxidative stress on the sperm genome go well beyond DNA fragmentation alone. Oxidation of paternal DNA bases, particularly guanine and adenosine residues, the most sensitive residues to oxidative alteration, is the starting point for DNA damage in spermatozoa but is also a danger for the integrity of the embryo genetic material independently of sperm DNA fragmentation. Due to the lack of a spermatozoa DNA repair system and, if the egg is unable to correct the sperm oxidized bases, the risk of de novo mutation transmission to the embryo exists. These will be carried on to every cell of the future individual and its progeny. Thus, in addition to affecting the viability of the pregnancy itself, oxidation of the DNA bases in sperm could be associated with the development of conditions in young and future adults. Despite these important issues, sperm DNA base oxidation has not attracted much interest among clinicians due to the lack of simple, reliable, rapid and consensual methods of assessing this type of damage to the paternal genome. In addition to these technical issues, another reason explaining why the measurement of sperm DNA oxidation is not included in male fertility is likely to be due to the lack of strong evidence for its role in pregnancy outcome. It is, however, becoming clear that the assessment of DNA base oxidation could improve the efficiency of assisted reproductive technologies and provide important information on embryonic developmental failures and pathologies encountered in the offspring. The objective of this work is to review relevant research that has been carried out in the field of sperm DNA base oxidation and its associated genetic and epigenetic consequences

Influences of Annealing Temperature on the Optical and Structural Properties of Manganese Oxide Thin Film by Zn Doping from Sol-Gel Technique

Thin films of $MnO_2$, $Mn_2O_3$, and $Mn_3O_4$ have been grown from single precursor solution by varying the post-annealing condition on the glass and corning substrate using a sol-gel technique. By annealing in air and at temperature between 600 and 800°C, cubic $Mn_2O_3$ films could be formed. The films were thermally annealed at different temperatures between 300 and 800C to create different crystalline structure. Even under the air-annealing condition, Zn doping results in a structural transformation from cubic $Zn_{x}Mn_{2-x}O_3$ to tetragonal $Zn_{x}Mn_{3-x}O_4$. X-ray diffraction, atomic force microscopy, and UV-visible spectra were used to characterize the effect of thermal annealing on the optical and structural properties of a Zn doped manganese oxide thin film. Optical properties of the $Mn_2O_3$ and $Mn_3O_4$ films have been investigated by pointwise unconditioned minimization approach

National Culture and Public Sector Budgeting: The Mediating Role of Country-Level Institutions Using a Structural Equation Modelling Approach

Purpose – Despite cultural dimensions being included in hundreds of business and management research studies, there have been relatively few studies in public sector accounting that include the use of cultural dimensions. It is posited that national cultural variables impact the institutions, which in turn have an influence on the public sector budgeting. This study contributes to the literature by examining these relations in 31 countries. Design/methodology/approach – These relationships are empirically evaluated by structural equation modelling using measures of national culture from the GLOBE study and Worldwide Governance Indicators (WGI) measures named institutions from the World Bank. Furthermore, measures of public sector budgeting are evaluated in which public sector budgeting is classified according to the legislative power of the purse and budget transparency. Findings – Generally, findings reveal that institutions mediate the relationship among national cultural variables and budgeting at the national level. By that means, budgeting in a given nation is linked to the nation’s supporting institutions which, in turn, are influenced by the national culture of those who maintain them. Particularly, power distance and uncertainty avoidance impact budgeting through the full mediation of institutions. Research limitations/implications – The World Bank’s database used for the institutions contained over 200 countries (Kaufmann et al., 2007/2019); the GLOBE cultural database (House et al., 2004) contained data for 62 societies; the public sector budgeting (Qi and Mensah, 2011) included power of the purse and budgeting transparency country scores for 49 countries; and the datasets comprised 31 nations, mostly from OECD countries. While smaller than we would have preferred, the size is consistent with other international studies (for instance: Waldman et al., 2006; Kwok and Tadesse, 2006). Practical implications – The findings of this paper suggest that any plan to improve a nation’s budgeting should consider the links between budgeting, supporting institutions and the culture of those that run them. The formal adoption of new methods and standards by supporting institutions may not be enough without accompanying efforts to transform national culture

The fit between GLOBE cultural dimensions, budget transparency and performance management across emerging economies

Purpose- There is a dearth of research that investigates the impact of national culture on budgeting and management indexes in the public sector across developing countries. Limited studies in accounting and management have explained the role of national culture in shaping organisational and individual values. It is posited that national cultural variables impact budget transparency and performance management. This study contributes to the literature by examining these relations in 16 developing countries. Design/methodology/approach- Adopting an unbalanced timing framework, the current paper seeks to fulfill this gap and applies four cultural dimensions from the GLOBE study (House et al. 2004) as explanatory variables to investigate whether national culture is associated with budget transparency and performance management or not; particularly in the context of developing countries. The paper uses budget transparency as the first dependent variable, based on the OECD database from Qi and Mensah (2011), along with performance management as the second dependent variable, from the BTI Project (2016), according to the leadership’s political performance management. Findings- Generally, the empirical findings reveal a minimal relation among GLOBE cultural variables with budget transparency and performance management. Particularly, the empirical findings indicate that only performance orientation has a significant relation with budget transparency and performance management. Research implications– The findings of this paper suggest that any plan to improve a nation’s budget transparency should consider the links between budgeting, performance management and the culture of those that run them. Originality/value –The formal adoption of new methods by performance management may not be enough without accompanying efforts to transform performance orientation as an index of national culture