Factor Affecting Behavioral Intentions Towards Private Brand

Purpose: The aim of this research is to investigate the factors affecting the purchase intention towards private brands in Karachi. Methodology: This study is quantitative in nature and a questionnaire was used as a research tool to gather data and SPSS is used for data analysis. The sampling technique that was used for this research was non-probability convenience sampling. Research primary data was gathered by adopting a survey method in the form of a questionnaire that was designed using Google Docs. It was then used to administer 400 respondents. The survey consisted of 31 structured questions that were based on 5 points Likert scale. Findings: Results suggest that perceived price, quality, and packaging are fundamental factors that influence the purchase intention of purchasers for private brands in Pakistan.  Conclusion: The study concludes that storekeepers in Pakistan should concentrate on delivering excellent store brands at fair prices in order to increase their profits from private brands. Store owners can also formulate methodologies based on this research in order to make their current private brands successful. &nbsp

From Riches to Rags: The Political Economy of the Natural Resource Curse

The natural resource curse paradox has given rise to a wide range of explanations, which look at the economic, social and political characteristics of resource-rich countries. This paper focuses on the political economy of natural resources and finds that controlling for sociopolitical factors eliminates the natural resource curse. The analysis then turns to these sociopolitical factors and examines the significant, complex and varied effects of democratization on economic growth in general, as well as in resource-rich countries in particular. I conclude that the type of institutions needed for economic development in resource-rich countries are not specific to either democratic or autocratic systems, but are equally likely to be adopted by either regime, so that no one ideology is more suitable than the other. A corollary to this, however, is the case of weak democracies or low democratization levels. Such states are unable to adopt the necessary strategies and institutions and, thus, pose the greatest threat to economic growth in resource-rich countries. On the other hand, highly autocratic systems in resource-rich countries, such as those in Bahrain and UAE, or perfectly democratic systems, such as those in Norway and Iceland, utilize resources more efficiently for economic development

Pengaruh Earning Per Share dan Return On Asset terhadap Harga Saham pada PT. Gudang Garam, Tbk.

Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui Pengaruh Return on Asset dan Debt to Asset Ratio Terhadap Earning Per Share Pada PT. Gudang Garam, Tbk. Metode yang digunakan adalah explanatory research. Teknik analisis menggunakan analisis statistik dengan pengujian regresi, korelasi, determinasi dan uji hipotesis. Hasil penelitian ini Return on Asset tidak berpengaruh signifikan terhadap Earning Per Share sebesar 4,0%, uji hipotesis diperoleh t hitung < t tabel atau (0,577 < 2,306). Debt to Asset Ratio berpengaruh signifikan terhadap Earning Per Share sebesar 66,7%, uji  hipotesis diperoleh t hitung > t tabel atau (4,005 > 2,306). Return on Asset dan Debt to Asset Ratio secara simultan berpengaruh signifikan terhadap Earning Per Share diperoleh persamaan regresi Y = 246,871 + 6,945X1 + 31,668X2 dan nilai determinasi sebesar 77,1%, uji hipotesis diperoleh nilai F hitung > F tabel atau (8,593 > 4,350). Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui Pengaruh Return on Asset dan Debt to Asset Ratio Terhadap Earning Per Share Pada PT. Gudang Garam, Tbk. Metode yang digunakan adalah explanatory research. Teknik analisis menggunakan analisis statistik dengan pengujian regresi, korelasi, determinasi dan uji hipotesis. Hasil penelitian ini Return on Asset tidak berpengaruh signifikan terhadap Earning Per Share sebesar 4,0%, uji hipotesis diperoleh t hitung < t tabel atau (0,577 < 2,306). Debt to Asset Ratio berpengaruh signifikan terhadap Earning Per Share sebesar 66,7%, uji  hipotesis diperoleh t hitung > t tabel atau (4,005 > 2,306). Return on Asset dan Debt to Asset Ratio secara simultan berpengaruh signifikan terhadap Earning Per Share diperoleh persamaan regresi Y = 246,871 + 6,945X1 + 31,668X2 dan nilai determinasi sebesar 77,1%, uji hipotesis diperoleh nilai F hitung > F tabel atau (8,593 > 4,350)

Three essays on style drift in mutual funds : a dissertation presented in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Finance at Massey University, School of Economics and Finance, Albany Campus, New Zealand

This thesis seeks to enhance our collective understanding of style drift in mutual funds. The first essay of this thesis provides a critical review of the current literature on the topic of style drift and presents newer ways of viewing the concept. In particular, it provides a detailed analysis of the U.S. mutual funds industry and proposes a conceptual framework to present a fuller picture of the phenomenon. This framework introduces the concept of style enhancement and presents a newer way of viewing style drift. The proposed framework offers insights beyond the traditional notion that classifies all types of deviations under one broad phenomenon of “style drift.” This thesis then, in Essay Two, attempts to identify a threshold level of deviation beyond which a fund is likely to be classified as misclassified. This essay provides practical implications to investors as it helps them in identifying when their portfolio is likely to move toward a point beyond which they should be watchful about the investment activities carried out by their fund managers. The deviations beyond this threshold level may expose them to risk adversely affecting their investment portfolio. The final essay of this thesis, Essay Three, investigates the relationship between the frequency of mutual fund holdings disclosure and style drift. This essay uses a difference-in-difference test to examine the impact of disclosure frequency on the style drift of mutual funds. The evidence suggests that style drift decreases with an increase in disclosure frequency and vice versa. The essay provides implications for the standard setting authorities, such as the Securities and Exchange Commission, to consider the impact of disclosure frequency on the style drift of mutual funds when determining optimal disclosure frequency. Keywords: Mutual Funds, Investment Style, Style Drift, Style Enhancement, Style Misclassification, Risk-Shifting Behavior, Style Misclassification, Investment Style, Performance, Tracking Error Mutual Funds; Portfolio Holdings Disclosure; Portfolio Disclosure Frequency, Style Drift, SEC Regulation, Difference-In-Difference Tes

Protectbot: A Chatbot to Protect Children on Gaming Platforms

Online gaming no longer has limited access, as it has become available to a high percentage of children in recent years. Consequently, children are exposed to multifaceted threats, such as cyberbullying, grooming, and sexting. The online gaming industry is taking concerted measures to create a safe environment for children to play and interact with, such efforts remain inadequate and fragmented. Different approaches utilizing machine learning (ML) techniques to detect child predatory behavior have been designed to provide potential detection and protection in this context. After analyzing the available AI tools and solutions it was observed that the available solutions are limited to the identification of predatory behavior in chat logs which is not enough to avert the multifaceted threats. In this thesis, we developed a chatbot Protectbot to interact with the suspect on the gaming platform. Protectbot leveraged the dialogue generative pre-trained transformer (DialoGPT) model which is based on Generative Pre-trained Transformer 2 (GPT-2). To analyze the suspect\u27s behavior, we developed a text classifier based on natural language processing that can classify the chats as predatory and non-predatory. The developed classifier is trained and tested on Pan 12 dataset. To convert the text into numerical vectors we utilized fastText. The best results are obtained by using non-linear SVM on sentence vectors obtained from fastText. We got a recall of 0.99 and an F_0.5-score of 0.99 which is better than the state-of-the-art methods. We also built a new dataset containing 71 predatory full chats retrieved from Perverted Justice. Using sentence vectors generated by fastText and KNN classifier, 66 chats out of 71 were correctly classified as predatory chats