Search results

This paper aims to examine the dynamic relationship among energy efficiency, health expenditure and economic growth in Malaysia over the sample period of 1980–2016.

This study uses autoregressive distributed lag cointegration analysis and the causality approach by the vector error correction model to analyse the relationship among energy efficiency, which is proxied by energy intensity and the determinant factors.

The findings of this paper suggest long-run cointegration causal links between economic growth and health expenditure. However, a mixed conclusion for both determinants exists: an increase in real income contributes to more efficient use of energy sources, whereas an increase in government spending on health intensifies energy usage.

Most previous relevant research has focussed on energy efficiency as measured by economic intensity and economic growth and do not relate to the issue of health expenditure. The recent health catastrophe brought on by the COVID-19 epidemic emphasises the significance of allocating more resources to health care. The findings will be helpful in the development of energy efficiency and economic policies in pursuit of sustainable development goals.

When implemented effectively and systematically across a curriculum, high impact practices (HIP) have the potential to increase student engagement and result in higher student achievement. The United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) is a four-year military university with a large liberal education core curriculum that provides the foundation for service and officership in the United States Air or Space Forces. Building on the liberal education core, the civil engineering (CE) major’s courses begin with the cornerstone field engineering course, paired with a two-week co-curricular experience for students at an Air or Space Force installation. With its motto “construct first, design later,” the field engineering course is an HIP and quintessential experiential learning course that gives students a practical frame-of-reference for future analysis and design courses. The CE major culminates with another HIP, the capstone design course, which gives students the opportunity to demonstrate their skills, building confidence in their ability to successfully apply those skills to the increasingly complex problems they will face after graduation. This book chapter provides a case study of the CE major at the USAFA, documenting the HIPs across the majors’ program, and highlighting the key elements and benefits of each.

This study aims to examine the impact of market competition, and capital regulation on the cost of financial intermediation of banks of the Bangladesh banking industry.

This study has used a balanced panel dataset comprised of 340 firm-year observations for 34 commercial banks in the Bangladesh banking industry from 2011 to 2020. The Prais Winsten panel estimator has been used to assess the impact of market competition and capital regulation on the cost of financial intermediation of banks.

Based on the regression results, this study has documented that greater market competition results in a lower cost of financial intermediation for banks. Similarly, an increase in the regulatory capital of banks increases the cost of financial intermediation of banks. The main findings of this study are found robust by using alternative proxies for the cost of financial intermediation, market competition and capital regulation. The regression results also suggest that private commercial banks tend to have a higher cost of financial intermediation than state-owned commercial banks.

The regulatory reforms should aim to foster sustainable and optimal market competition for the Bangladesh banking industry to regulate the market power of banks to reduce the cost of financial intermediation. The regulatory authority of Bangladesh should find the optimal policy measures for implementing the capital regulation in the banking industry which would reduce the cost of financial intermediation margin of banks.

Unlike previous studies which have used structural market competition measures, this study has used non-structural market competition measures to assess the relationship between market competition and cost of financial intermediation in the Bangladesh banking industry.

A significant increase in financial crime globally emphasises the importance of forensic interviewing to obtain useful and reliable information as part of a commercial forensic investigation. Previous research has identified two interviewing strategies that are aligned with the legal framework in South Africa: the PEACE model (P = preparation and planning; E = engage and explain; A = account, clarify and challenge; C = closure; E = evaluation) and the person-centred approach (PCA). The purpose of this paper is to explore the theoretical underpinnings and application of the PEACE model and the PCA as commercial investigative strategies aligned with the legal context in South Africa.

A scoping review was undertaken to identify literature relevant to the theoretical assumptions and application of the PEACE model and the PCA.

Literature for the most part reports on the PEACE model but offers very little information about the PCA. A critical analysis revealed that the PEACE model incorporates a clear guiding structure for eliciting information but lacks content needed to create an optimal interpersonal context. To promote this, the PCA proposes that interviewers demonstrate three relational variables: empathy, congruence and unconditional positive regard. The PCA suggests a basic structure for interviewing (beginning, middle and end), while providing very little guidance on how to structure the forensic interview and what information is to be elicited in each phase.

Combining the PEACE model and PCA presents an integrated interviewing technique best suited for obtaining useful and reliable information admissible in a South African court of law. The PEACE model has a clear structure, and the PCA assists in creating an optimal interpersonal context to obtain information in an interview.

This paper introduces a hitherto unpublished 1970 paper written by Lauchlin Currie (1902–1993) on Paul Rosenstein Rodan’s famous 1943 paper on the “Big Push” which led to the balanced-unbalanced growth debate to which Albert Hirschman (1915–2012) was an important contributor. Both Currie and Hirschman had been key economic advisers to the Colombian government, and their respective views on development planning are contrasted. In particular, it is shown how Currie’s 1970 paper illuminates the theory behind the 1971–1974 national plan for Colombia that he prepared and helped deliver; and how the related institutional innovations have had an enduring impact on Colombia’s recent economic history.

This paper aims to explore the common ethical decision-making challenges faced by financial advisers and how they meet these challenges. The purpose is to identify successful decision-making tools used by investment advisers in doing business ethically. Additionally, the authors uncover common challenges and offer decision-making tools to provide support for supplemental ethics training in the future.

Questions were analyzed through a qualitative approach using individual interviews to examine a range of experiences and attitudes of active financial advisers. The sample was represented by 11 practicing financial advisers affiliated with US independent broker-dealers: six women and five men, each with 10 or more years of experience, ranging in age from 35 to 75. Grounded in four ethical decision-making models, this research examines individual ethical decision-making using individual (internal, personal) and organizational (external, situational) factors.

The method used uncovered struggles and revealed strategies used in making ethical decisions. Two research questions were examined: what are the common ethical decision-making challenges faced by financial advisers in the US financial industry? How do financial advisers handle ethical decision-making challenges? Four themes emerged that impacted ethical decision-making: needs of the individual, needs of others, needs of the firm and needs of the marketplace. Financial advisers identified moral obligation, self-control and consulting with others as major considerations when they contemplate difficult decisions.

A limitation of this review is its small sample size. A more robust sample size from investment advisers with a broader range of experiences could have widened the findings from the study.

Investment advisers can use the findings of this study as a tool for improving their own ethical decision-making or designing training for their employees to be better decision-makers.

The study explores the decision-making experiences of investment advisers to reveal multifaceted, often private struggles that qualitative methods can uncover. The study provides support for the development of additional training in ethical decision-making specific to investment advisers.