A Productivity analysis of Eastern European banking taking into account risk decomposition and environmental variables

This paper develops a new Luenberger productivity which is applied to a technology where the desirable and undesirable outputs are jointly produced and are possibly negative. The components of this Luenberger productivity index - the efficiency change and the components of the technological shift - are then decomposed into factors determined by the technology, adjusted for ‘risk and environment’, ‘risk management’ and ‘environmental effects’. The method is applied to Central and Eastern European banks operating during 1998–2003 utilising three alternative input/output methodologies (intermediation, production and profit/revenue). Additionally, the comparative analysis of the sensitivity of the productivity indices in the choice of the methodologies is undertaken using statistical and kernel density tests. It is found that the main driver of productivity change in Central and Eastern European banks is technological improvement, which, in the beginning of the analysed period, hinged on the banks’ ability to capitalise on advanced technology and successfully take into account risk and environmental factors. Whereas, in the later sampled periods, we show that one of the most important factors of technological improvement/decline is risk management. Finally, the tests employed confirm previous findings, such as Pasiouras (2008) in this journal, that different input/output methodologies produce statistically different productivity results. Indeed, we also find that external factors, such as a risk in the economy and banking production, and a ‘corruption perception’ affect the productivity of banks.Luenberger productivity index; DEA; banking; undesirable outputs; negative data.

Accounting for environmental factors, bias and negative numbers in efficiency estimation: A bootstrapping application to the Hong Kong banking sector

This paper examines the evolution of Hong Kong’s banking industry’s technical efficiency, and its macroeconomic determinants, during the period 2000-2006 through the prism of two alternative approaches to efficiency estimation, namely the intermediation and production approaches. Using a modified (Sharp, Meng and Liu, 2006) slacks-based model (Tone, 2001), and purging the efficiency estimates for random errors (Simar and Zelenyuk, 2007) , we firstly analyse the trends in bank efficiency. We then identify the ‘environmental’ factors that significantly affect the efficiency scores using an adaptation (Kenjegalieva et al. 2009) of the truncated regression approach suggested by Simar and Wilson. 2007). The first part of the analysis reveals that the Hong Kong banking industry suffered a severe downturn in estimated technical efficiency during 2001. It subsequently recovered, posting average efficiency scores of 92 per cent and 85 percent under the intermediation and production approaches respectively by the end of 2006. As for the sub-group analysis, commercial banks are, on average, shown to be the most efficient operators, while the investment bank group are shown to be the least efficient. Finally, with respect to the truncated regression analysis, the results suggest that smaller banks are more efficient than their larger counterparts, although larger banks are still able to enjoy gains from scale economies and benefit from the export of financial services. Moreover, private housing rent and the net export of goods and services are found to be negatively correlated with bank efficiency, while private consumption is shown to be positively correlated.Hong Kong Banks; DEA; Slacks; Environmental factors, Negative numbers; Bias.

Nutritional peak week and competition day strategies of competitive natural bodybuilders

Bodybuilders utilize peaking strategies in a bid to fine-tune their aesthetics for competition day. The most prevalent peaking strategies utilized by natural bodybuilders are unreported in the current literature. Eighty-one (M - 59, F - 22) natural bodybuilders were recruited from competitions during the 2016 and 2017 British Natural Bodybuilder Federation seasons. Competitors completed a 34-item questionnaire designed to investigate peaking and contest day strategies. The questionnaire listed commonly utilized peaking strategies and provided additional space for qualitative information. Analysis of the data indicated that carbohydrate (CHO), water and sodium manipulation were the most commonly utilized peak week strategies. The consumption of high glycemic index CHO was the most common competition day strategy. Only 6.2 % of competitors reported following their regular diet the week prior to competition. The CHO manipulation strategies were similar to classical CHO loading, whereby bodybuilders attempt to maximize muscle glycogen concentrations. Furthermore, bodybuilders attempted to remove superfluous water by exploiting the diuretic/polyuria effect associated with water loading/restriction. The potentially deleterious effects of peaking on bodybuilders' health is considered and the efficacy of these strategies to enhance appearance is discussed. The findings of the present investigation are likely to be of interest to bodybuilders and their coaches

Weight ‘locus of control’ and weight management in an urban population

Background: To assess the extent to which Weight Locus of control relates to BMI and socio-economic status in an urban population. Methods: 232 people responded to a questionnaire relating to bodyweight, health, weight management and the ‘weight locus of control’. Questionnaires were sent to a sample of 2600 people in Sheffield, United Kingdom. The questionnaires were distributed into diverse 'ward' areas; data was collected in 2016. Results: In the present investigation BMI correlated with ward area (P<0.001) (BMI was 27.5kg/m² ± 6.8 in ward area 1 versus 23.6kg/m² ± 4.1 in ward area 4). The higher an individual's BMI the more 'external' they were in relation to their perception of factors affecting weight control (P=0.024). Higher status occupation was correlated with a greater likelihood of having an internal weight locus of control (P=0.004). Having a high BMI was correlated with concern over health (P=0.041). Conclusions: People of higher weight and lower occupational status have more external loci of control. Key theoretical and clinical approaches to behaviour change (e.g. Self-Determination Theory and Motivational Interviewing) suggest that 'internality' is a desirable locus of control orientation. Consideration of the findings from the present investigation conclude that for weight management practice, professionals could focus on developing 'internality'

A MAN OF GREATNESS RETURNS TO HIS NATIVE OPATIJA

This report deals with a school project that prompted the organisation of the international scientific symposium «Dr. Leo H. Sternbach: Life and Work of Valium Inventor» (Opatija, Villa Angiolina,18th May 2006.), and the unveiling of the commemorative plaque on the house in Opatija where Dr. Leo Henryk Sternbach, an eminent American scientist originating from Opatija, spent his childhood. The project was realised by the pupils of The Eugen Kumičić Grammar School in Opatija; Ana Petrovčić, David Deszô, Dominik Pažin, Davor Dujmić, Marin Dujmić and Hrvoje Tramontana during the 2005/6 academic year, as an assignment of the school history group. The project stemmed from a special curriculum on the holocaust and human rights education including the research into the history of pre-war Jewish community in Opatija, of which the Sternbach family was a part. It was based on the research of original archive material, biographic literature and the application of the historiographic method of oral history. The project was expounded through PowerPoint presentation in the course of the symposium during which both foreign and Croatian presenters shed light on facts pertaining to life and scientific work of Dr. Leo Henryk Sternbach, emphasising his exceptional contribution to the development of the medical science of the 20th century. On 18th May 2006, under the auspices of Roche Croatia and the Town of Opatija, the scientific symposium “Dr. Leo Henryk Sternbach: Life and Work of Valium Inventor” was held at the Villa Angiolina in Opatija. Also, the unveiling of the commemorative plaque on the building at 114 Maršal Tito Street in Opatija, where Dr. Leo Henryk Sternbach spent his childhood was ceremoniously performed, marking thus the perennial memory of this distinguished scientist (picture 14).U prikazu je riječ o školskom projektu kojim je potaknuto održavanje međunarodnoga znanstvenog simpozija “Dr. Leo Henryk Sternbach: Život i djelo izumitelja Valiuma” (Opatija, Villa Angiolina, 18. svibnja 2006.) te postavljanje spomen-obilježja na kuću u Opatiji u kojoj je dr. Leo Henryk Sternbach, ugledni američki znanstvenik rodom iz Opatije, proveo djetinjstvo. Projekt su realizirali učenici Gimnazije Eugena Kumičića u Opatiji: Ana Petrovčić, David Dezsô, Dominik Pažin, Davor Dujmić, Marin Dujmić i Hrvoje Tramontana tijekom školske godine 2005./06., u okviru rada povijesne grupe. Projekt je proizišao iz posebnog programa edukacije o holokaustu i ljudskim pravima, koji uključuje i istraživanje povijesti predratne židovske zajednice Opatije, čijim je dijelom bila i obitelj Sternbach. Temelji se na istraživanju izvorne arhivske građe, biografske literature i periodike te primjeni historiografske metode usmene povijesti (oral history). Predstavljen je PowerPoint prezentacijom tijekom programa simpozija u kojem su strani i domaći izlagači osvijetlili činjenice iz života i znanstvenog djelovanja dr. Lea Henryka Sternbacha, istaknuvši njegov izvanredni doprinos razvoju medicinske znanosti XX. stoljeća

Environmental Factors Affecting Hong Kong Banking: A Post-Asian Financial Crisis Efficiency Analysis

Within the banking efficiency analysis literature there is a dearth of studies which have considered how banks have ‘survived’ the Asian financial crisis of the late 1990s. Considering the profound changes that have occurred in the region’s financial systems since then, such an analysis is both timely and warranted. This paper examines the evolution of Hong Kong’s banking industry’s efficiency and its macroeconomic determinants through the prism of two alternative approaches to banking production based on the intermediation and services-producing goals of bank management over the post-crisis period. Within this research strategy we employ Tone’s (2001) Slacks-Based Model (SBM) combining it with recent bootstrapping techniques, namely the non-parametric truncated regression analysis suggested by Simar and Wilson (2007) and Simar and Zelenyuk’s (2007) group-wise heterogeneous sub-sampling approach. We find that there was a significant negative effect on Hong Kong bank efficiency in 2001, which we ascribe to the fallout from the terrorist attacks in America in 9/11 and to the completion of deposit rate deregulation that year. However, post 2001 most banks have reported a steady increase in efficiency leading to a better ‘intermediation’ and ‘production’ of activities than in the base year of 2000, with the SARS epidemic having surprisingly little effect in 2003. It was also interesting to find that the smaller banks were more efficient than the larger banks, but the latter were also able to enjoy economies of scale. This size factor was linked to the exportability of financial services. Other environmental factors found to be significantly impacting on bank efficiency were private consumption and housing rent.Finance and Banking; Productivity; Efficiency.

Effectiveness of training final-year undergraduate nutritionists in motivational interviewing

Objectives - To assess the efficacy of a motivational interviewing (MI) training programme on trainee nutritionists. Methods - A repeated measures design was applied to assess clinician behaviours in a ‘helping’ conversation. Participants were 32 nutrition students, assessed at baseline and one-month follow-up. Results - The training significantly reduced the use of closed questions and MI non-adherent behaviours (MINA) (P for both = <0.001). Trainees significantly increased reflections, affirmations, summaries (P for all = <0.001) and the use of open questions (P = <0.013) which are all key indicators of MI beginner-competence. The talk-time ratio of the nutritionists also changed significantly, in favour of the client which serves as an indication of MI being used effectively. There were also significant increases in ‘global' scores for empathy, direction, autonomy/support, collaboration and evocation. Conclusions - Newly trained nutritionists 1 month post-training have a consultation style which suggested positive outcomes for clients. The trainees' scores at the one month post-training assessment were verifiable as ‘beginning proficiency'. Practice implications - Behaviour change counselling skills for nutritionists were enhanced, at one month post-training. MI training workshops with video feedback enhances communication skills which are likely to lead to positive consultation-behaviour changes in the trainee nutritionists