How Sensitive Are Bank Managers to Shareholder Value?

Cataloged from PDF version of article.We test for the existence of market discipline by shareholders of banks with a wide range of ownership structures. Discipline by shareholders manifests itself through monitoring banks’ level of risk as well as through influencing banks’ management actions. We find that shareholders utilize the relation between stock returns and different types of risk measures to monitor risky banks. Shareholders partially influence bank management by responding to decreasing stock returns with a demand to improve loan quality. Moreover, the influence on management in small banks is more pronounced compared to large banks

Digital maturity and its determinants in General Practice: a cross- sectional study in 20 countries

Background: The extent to which digital technologies are employed to promote the delivery of high-quality healthcare is known as Digital Maturity. Individual and systemic digital maturity are both necessary to ensure a successful, scalable and sustainable digital transformation in healthcare. However, digital maturity in primary care has been scarcely evaluated. Objectives: This study assessed the digital maturity in General Practice (GP) globally and evaluated its association with participants' demographic characteristics, practice characteristics and features of Electronic Health Records (EHRs) use. Methods: GPs across 20 countries completed an online questionnaire between June and September 2020. Demographic data, practice characteristics, and features of EHRs use were collected. Digital maturity was evaluated through a framework based on usage, resources and abilities (divided in this study in its collective and individual components), interoperability, general evaluation methods and impact of digital technologies. Each dimension was rated as 1 or 0. The digital maturity score was calculated as the sum of the six dimensions and ranged between 0 to 6 (maximum digital maturity). Multivariable linear regression was used to model the total score, while multivariable logistic regression was used to model the probability of meeting each dimension of the score. Results: One thousand six hundred GPs (61% female, 68% Europeans) participated. GPs had a median digital maturity of 4 (P25–P75: 3–5). Positive associations with digital maturity were found with: male gender [B = 0.18 (95% CI 0.01; 0.36)], use of EHRs for longer periods [B = 0.45 (95% CI 0.35; 0.54)] and higher frequencies of access to EHRs [B = 0.33 (95% CI 0.17; 0.48)]. Practicing in a rural setting was negatively associated with digital maturity [B = −0.25 (95%CI −0.43; −0.08)]. Usage (90%) was the most acknowledged dimension while interoperability (47%) and use of best practice general evaluation methods (28%) were the least. Shorter durations of EHRs use were negatively associated with all digital maturity dimensions (aOR from 0.09 to 0.77). Conclusion: Our study demonstrated notable factors that impact digital maturity and exposed discrepancies in digital transformation across healthcare settings. It provides guidance for policymakers to develop more efficacious interventions to hasten the digital transformation of General Practice

Healthy diet in primary care: views of general practitioners and nurses from Europe

Background: Most of the national colleges of general practitioners (GPs) do not have their own dietary/nutritional tools, and GPs and nurses do not have the time, knowledge, or skills to advise their patients about desirable dietary practices. Objective: To assess the usefulness of a simple and practical guide on healthy diet to be used by European GPs and nurses. Design: A postal survey was mailed to 171 GPs and nurses from 12 European countries to obtain information about the usefulness of a guide on healthy diet developed by EUROPREV. Results: The perception of health professionals is that the main source of information on healthy diet for the population was the media. In all, 95% of GPs and nurses reported that the guide was useful; 93, 95, and 82% reported that the concepts were concise, easy to understand, and realistic, respectively. Also, 77% reported that the type of counselling recommended was feasible and could be applied, 94% reported that the implementation measures proposed could be effective and 88% reported that the Traditional Mediterranean Diet Pyramid is useful, but some concerns about the content were mentioned. Conclusions: GPs and nurses from Europe think that a practical guide on healthy diet developed by EUROPREV could be used to advise patients in primary care, although the Traditional Mediterranean Diet Pyramid should be modified

AIDS knowledge and attitudes in a Turkish population: an epidemiological study

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to investigate and present some pertinent comments concerning Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) knowledge, attitudes and misconceptions among the general population in a city of west Turkey. This study was deemed important and relevant due to the increasing importance of AIDS in Turkey and the other countries. METHODS: Using a multistage area sampling method, a random sample of individuals aged 11–83 years, living in 65 different quarters in the city of Eskisehir, Turkey during September, October and November 2004 were interviewed. RESULTS: In all, 1048 respondents completed the survey. In most items, respondents displayed a fairly good to excellent degree of knowledge about HIV/AIDS. Individuals with higher degrees of education indicated more correct responses in all items relating to knowledge of HIV/AIDS. In general, the respondents' attitudes towards AIDS and people with AIDS were found to be tolerant and positive, with one answer choice showing that the majority of the respondents agreed with the statement that those with HIV/AIDS must be supported, treated and helped (90.7%). Moreover, the proportions of the respondents' misconceptions were found to be significantly low for all the items. However, nearly one fourth of the respondents agreed with the misconceptions 'AIDS is a punishment by God' and 'One is not infected with HIV/AIDS if engaged in sport and well nourished'. CONCLUSION: In general HIV/AIDS related knowledge was high and people showed positive attitudes. However, people continue to hold misconceptions about AIDS and these need to be addressed by health education programs targeting those at higher risk

Disruption of Lateral Efferent Pathways: Functional Changes in Auditory Evoked Responses

The functional consequences of selectively lesioning the lateral olivocochlear efferent system in guinea pigs were studied. The lateral superior olive (LSO) contains the cell bodies of lateral olivocochlear neurons. Melittin, a cytotoxic chemical, was injected into the brain stem using stereotaxic coordinates and near-field evoked potentials to target the LSO. Brain stem histology revealed discrete damage to the LSO following the injections. Functional consequences of this damage were reflected in depressed amplitude of the compound action potential of the eighth nerve (CAP) following the lesion. Threshold sensitivity and N1 latencies were relatively unchanged. Onset adaptation of the cubic distortion product otoacoustic emission (DPOAE) was evident, suggesting a reasonably intact medial efferent system. The present results provide the first report of functional changes induced by isolated manipulation of the lateral efferent pathway. They also confirm the suggestion that changes in single-unit auditory nerve activity after cutting the olivocochlear bundle are probably a consequence of disrupting the more lateral of the two olivocochlear efferent pathways.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/41379/1/10162_2002_Article_3018.pd

Impurity-related linear and nonlinear optical response in quantum-well wires with triangular cross section

ABSTRACT: The 1s-like and 2p-like donor impurity energy states are studied in a semiconductor quantum wire of equilateral triangular cross section as functions of the impurity position and the geometrical size of the structure. Linear and nonlinear coefficients for the optical absorption and relative refractive index change associated with 1s-2p transitions are calculated for both the x-polarization and y-polarization of the incident light. The results show a mixed effect of redshift and blueshift depending on the location of the donor atom. Also, strong nonlinear contributions to the optical absorption coefficient are obtained for both polarizations in the on-center impurity case

The effect of the intense laser field on the intersubband transitions in Ga1-xInxNyAs1-y/GaAs single quantum well

The effect of the intense laser field on the intersubband optical absorption for (1-2) transition in a Ga1-xInxNyAs1-y/GaAs single quantum well for different nitrogen and indium concentrations is investigated. The numerical calculations are performed in the effective-mass approximation. We have found that the increase of the nitrogen and indium concentrations with intense laser field leads to important effects on the optical properties of a quantum well. The obtained results show that the desired energy range corresponding to the subbands may be tuned by changing the laser intensity and the nitrogen and indium concentrations. This tunability gives a possibility for near-infrared electro-absorption modulators and quantum well infrared detectors. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Nonlinear optical properties of a quantum well with inversely quadratic Hellman potential

A theoretical investigation of intraband nonlinear optical properties of a GaAs quantum well with inversely quadratic Hellman potential have been performed. It considers the presence of external electric and magnetic fields. In addition to this, the effects of the adjustable physical parameters ($$\eta$$ and $$V_0$$) of the system on the optical properties of this structure were also investigated. For these numerical calculations, firstly, the conduction subband energy levels and the corresponding wave functions are obtained by solving the Schrödinger equation using the diagonalization method within the framework of effective mass and parabolic band approximations. Based on this information, results of numerical calculations for the linear, third-order nonlinear, and total optical absorption and relative refractive index change coefficients are presented. The obtained numerical results show the increase of the resonance peaks amplitudes with applied external electric and magnetic fields, as well as the shifting of their position the towards higher energies. It was also observed that the variations in $$\eta$$ and $$V_0$$ have important effects on the magnitude and position of the resonance peaks. We believe that these results can be helpful in the design and practice of the optoelectronic devices used in the terahertz electromagnetic spectrum

Donor impurity states and related optical responses in triangular quantum dots under applied electric field

The linear and nonlinear coefficients for the optical absorption and relative refractive index change associated with transitions between donor impurity states in a two-dimensional quantum dot of triangular shape under applied electric field are calculated for y-polarization of the incident light. Both the effective mass and parabolic band approximations have been considered. The results show that the application of a DC electric field strengthens the impurity-related optical absorption response, with particular relevance in the case of the nonlinear contribution to it. However, for a fixed donor atom position inside the triangular quantum dot, the calculations show that the in-plane orientation of the applied field can becomes a critical parameter that may lead to a strong quenching of the interstate light absorption. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved