Weight loss methods of high school wrestlers ABSTRACT PURPOSE: The purpose of this investigation was to assess the weight loss practices of Michigan high school wrestlers at all levels of competition. METHODS: A two-page survey was designed to assess weight loss behaviors of high school wrestlers. It was mailed by the Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA) midway through the wrestling season to all Michigan high schools participating in interscholastic wrestling. RESULTS: Completed surveys were received from 2532 wrestlers. Wrestlers lost an average of 6 pounds during the season. Over 50% of wrestlers lost more than 5 pounds; 27% of wrestlers lost at least 10 pounds; 72% of wrestlers engaged in at least one potentially harmful weight loss method each week of the wrestling season; 52% used at least two methods each week; 12% used at least five methods each week. Weekly use of laxatives, diet pill, or diuretics was reported by 2% of wrestlers. Vomiting to lose ...
The food and weight combat. A problematic fight for the elite combat sports athlete Abstract Weight reduction in athletes is motivated by optimisation of performance, aesthetic reasons or to achieve a pre-designated weight. Previous research has shown that dietary restraint and short term weight regulation frequently takes place among combat sports athletes such as wrestlers and judokas. The aim of this study was to explore negative experiences related to dietary strategies and weight-making practises used by elite combat sports athletes. Using semi-structured interviews, 14 Swedish national team athletes in wrestling, judo and taekwondo were asked about their dietary intake and their engagement in both long- and short-term weight regulation practises. Content analysis of the transcribed interviews, display a constant struggle regarding nutritional standpoints. Sport demands such as achieving an optimal weight and nutritional intake were considered as central in order for excellent ...
Cardiovascular Disease and Functional Foods: The Effect of Milk Derived Peptides on Hypertension Cardiovascular Disease and Hypertension Cardiovascular disease (CVD) encompasses many conditions including coronary heart disease, heart attack (myocardial infarction), stroke and hypertension. In 2003, CVD accounted for 16.7 million premature deaths worldwide (World Health Organisation (WHO), 2003), 238000 of which occurred in the UK (Sproston and Primatesta, 2003). In addition to this, CVD seriously affects physical fitness and impacts upon lifestyle resulting in restrictions upon diet, employment, recreation and travel. Hypertension refers to blood pressures above those typical for an adult. Blood pressure is measured indirectly as the highest and lowest pressures in the large artery of the arm, via a pressurised cuff. Blood pressure is presented in the non-SI., units of millimetres of mercury (mmHg). Typically normal blood pressures are below 130 mmHg (the systolic or maximum value occ ...
The role of organizational communication in structuring interpersonal relationships Abstract The efficient workplace communication gains increased importance in the success or failure of an organization, regardless of the specifics of the conducted activities. This study aims to highlight the influence that communication exerts on the structuring of interpersonal relationships. The study was carried out in a banking organization, with the main objective of identifying the possible influence of communication on the importance given to interpersonal relationships by those who worked in a front-office department and by those who worked in a back-office department. The obtained results lead us to propose the organization of an improving intervention plan for situations characterized by pronounced dysfunctions. Keywords Organizational communication, Interpersonal relationships,Banking organization, Front-office department, Back-office department نقش ارتباطات سازمانی در ساختار روابط میان ...
Risk and profitability of Islamic banks: A religious deception or an alternative solution? Abstract The aim of this paper is to examine whether Islamic finance could be an alternative to the traditional financial system and could guarantee stability in times of crisis. To this end, 78 Islamic banks in 12 countries have been studied over the 2004–2013 period. A series of bank-specific and other country-specific indicators are combined to explain the soundness of Islamic banking in terms of profitability as measured by ROA and ROE, and risk divided into credit risk measured by IMLGL and EQL, and insolvency risk measured by Z-SCORE. The aim is to estimate five regressions using dynamic panel data econometrics (GMM system). The results indicate that bank size and capital are the main factors responsible for increasing profitability and stability of Islamic banks and reducing their credit risk. However, the ratios forming the variable liquidity and asset quality often lead to inconcl ...
Exploring rating shopping for european triple a senior structured finance securities Abstract In much of the research with respect to the use of credit ratings, the notion of rating shopping features prominently. One form of rating shopping predicts that investors price the risk that arises when securities have fewer than three ratings. Inconsistent with what rating shopping would predict, our study shows that for the largest European structured finance market, the triple A sector of the senior European residential mortgage-backed market prior to 2007, investors demanded a premium for more ratings. Moreover, we find that certain characteristics unique to structured finance securities that investors perceive as complex, determine whether issuers opt for a higher number of triple A ratings. Keywords Credit ratings; Europe; Credit rating agencies; Residential mortgage-backed securities; Structured finance بررسی نرخ خرید اوراق بهادار مالی ساختار یافته سه گانه اروپا چکیده در بسی ...
The impact of clawback provisions on information processing and investment behaviour Abstract Proposals after the last financial crisis in 2008 have called for an extension of the scope of clawback provisions in compensation contracts beyond what is commonly legally required. Under such an extended scope, managers would be held accountable for losses. The reason for such an extended scope is to counter incentives for excessive risk-taking that are currently present in many bonus contracts. We argue that such a call for an extended scope of clawback provisions ignores implications from prospect theory and motivated reasoning. We propose that if an investment decision can lead to either a gain or a loss for a company, then clawback provisions have a restraining effect on risk-taking compared to bonus-only contracts. In contrast, if the outcome of a decision affects only the potential size of a company’s loss, then clawback provisions lead to additional risk-taking compared to bonu ...
How does working in a finance profession affect mortgage delinquency? Abstract This paper uses a dataset from a leading American subprime lender, which contains detailed information on borrower and loan characteristics. We find that financial professionals are less likely to become delinquent. This effect cannot be explained by borrower characteristics, such as income, education, loan terms, property characteristics, geographic effects, or strategic default. We also find variation in the effect of working in a financial profession across borrowers of different ages and income levels. We discuss explanations for these results. Keywords Mortgage; Financial crisis; Household finance; Financial professional چگونه کار در حرفه امور مالی تخلف وام رهنی را تحت تاثیر قرار می دهد؟ چکیده این مقاله از یک مجموعه داده وام دهنده وام های بدون پشتوانه آمریکایی پیشرو، شامل اطلاعات دقیق در مورد ویژگی های وام گیرنده و وام استفاده کرده است. یافته های نشان داد که در حرفه مالی احتمال تخلف اندک است. این ا ...
ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE AND ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITMENT: SERBIAN CASE Abstract: The paper presents the results of the impact of certain dimensions of organizational culture (Future Orientation, Power Distance, Human Orientation and Performance Orientation) on organizational commitment in companies in Serbia. Through a survey, responses were obtained from a total of N = 400 middle managers from 129 companies. The results show a statistically significant correlation between the observed dimensions of organizational culture and organizational commitment dimensions. Also, there is a statistically significant predictive effect of certain dimensions of organizational culture on the dimensions of organizational commitment. The biggest influences on the dimensions of organizational commitment have dimensions Future Orientation - FO and Performance Orientation - PO. On the other hand, under the most affected dimension of organizational culture is the dimension of organizational commitment Organi ...
A model that connects information technology and hotel performance Abstract Despite vast investments in IT, there is scant research and empirical data that connects, in depth, IT with firm performance in the hospitality industry. However, the literature does show partial evidence and examples of particular technologies. After an extensive literature review, we posit four global paths through which IT can impact hotel performance and, for each one, the precise mechanisms that cause these influences. These four proposals are further developed and refined using in-depth interviews with a group of 30 managers of different areas from several hotels. A final comprehensive model that shows the specific routes that IT can follow in order to improve hotel organizational performance is presented. This model can be taken as a frame of reference by academics and can also be used by both practitioners and IT producers to assess particular IT options. Keywords Information technology, Hotels, Organ ...
If You Want Strategic Change, Don’t Forget to Change Your Cultural Artifacts Abstract Strategists must manage a number of factors when executing strategy. One of the most important of these is organizational culture. And to successfully manage organizational culture, strategists must manage cultural artifacts. Cultural artifacts include myths and sagas about company successes and the heroes and heroines within the company; language systems and metaphors; rituals, ceremonies, and symbols; certain physical attributes such as the use of space, interior and exterior design, and equipment; and the defining values and norms. In managing execution by managing culture, strategists usually think in terms of managing values and norms. But as it turns out, if they don't also manage existing cultural artifacts, then they build in barriers to failure. Why? Because existing cultural artifacts support the old strategy not the new one. To be successful, strategists must create new cultural arti ...
Oil price volatility and stock returns in the G7 economies Abstract This study examines the relationship between oil price volatility and stock returns in the G7 economies (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK and the US) using monthly data for the period 1970 to 2014. In order to measure oil volatility we consider alternative specifications for oil prices (world, nominal and real prices). We estimate a vector autoregressive model with the following variables: interest rates, economic activity, stock returns and oil price volatility taking into account the structural break in the year 1986. We find a negative response of G7 stock markets to an increase in oil price volatility. Results also indicate that world oil price volatility is generally more significant for stock markets than the national oil price volatility. Keywords Stock returns, Oil price volatility, G7 economies, Vector autoregressive (VAR) model نوسانات قیمت نفت و بازده سهام در اقتصاد G7 چکیده این پژوهش به بررس ...
Monitoring Distressed Companies through Cash Flow Analysis Abstract The purpose of this paper is to examine the importance of cash flow ratios in determining financial distress companies. Using a logistic regression, this paper analyses the data of 52 distressed and 52 non-distressed companies for three years prior to distress years between 2009 until 2012. The results found that five cash flow ratios are significant predictors of financial distress with the overall predictive accuracy of 82.1 percent. This suggests that cash flow ratios are reliable tools to predict financial distress for Malaysian context. Keywords cash flow ratiosfinancial distresslogistic regression analysisMalaysia نظارت بر شرکت های بحرانی از طریق تجزیه و تحلیل جریان وجوه نقد چکیده هدف از این مقاله بررسی اهمیت نسبت جریان نقدی در تعیین شرکت های با بحران مالی است. با استفاده از یک رگرسیون لجستیک، این مقاله به تحلیل داده های 52 شرکت بحرانی و 52 شرکت غیر بحرانی برای سه سال قبل از سال های بحران بین 2009 تا 2012 پ ...
Monetary policy, accounting conservatism and trade credit Abstract Using a sample of A-share listed firms in China during the 2003–2012 period, this paper investigates the effect of accounting conservatism on trade credit, taking changes in monetary policy into account. We find that corporations with higher accounting conservatism obtain more trade credit and that accounting conservatism has a greater influence on trade credit under tight monetary policy. Furthermore, the backgrounds of the supplier and customer influence the positive relationship between accounting conservatism and trade credit. This influence is more evident when a company is privately owned and has greater market power, and less evident when the supplier or customer is the controlling shareholder. Keywords Monetary policy; Accounting conservatism; Trade credit سیاست های پولی، حسابداری محافظه کاری و اعتبار تجاری چکیده با استفاده از یک نمونه سهام شرکت های فهرست شده در چین در طول دوره 2003-2012، این مقاله به ...
Modeling customer value perceptions in cross-cultural business markets Abstract Even as customer value research in business-to-business markets burgeons, scholars still circumscribe its progress to studies performed in domestic, Western markets and call attention to the ongoing lack of consensus for how to model customer value. To advance the validity and usefulness of this emerging core construct in marketing, this study investigates the measurement equivalence and modeling of customer value perceptions with business managers across five culturally-diverse countries. Analyses draw clarity to the divergent modeling of customer value in the literature by exploring alternative measures and model specifications within structural equations modeling (SEM) and partial least squares (PLS). Comparisons of eight models reveal several valid and invalid conceptualizations reported previously in the literature and generate guidance for managers and scholars modeling customer value in various rese ...
SWOT Analyze and e –learning Abstract This paper present a SWOT Analyze for the project ‘ENGLISH and ICT COMPETENCES FOR THE UNEMPLOYED’ targets people in disadvantaged positions in the society, the unemployed, regardless their age, sex or previous work experience. All the activities are aimed at helping learners improve their communication skills in English and assist them in improving their professional skills. They will also increase the participants’ ability to understand and appreciate different points of view, and provide them with more adequate ways of coping with different social and cultural environments, thus possibly influencing their personal and professional spheres positively. Keywords E-learningSWOT AnalyseQuality managementChange management تجزیه و تحلیل SWOT و آموزش الکترونیکی چکیده این مقاله یک تجزیه و تحلیل SWOT برای " پروژه مهارت های زبان انگلیسی و ICT برای بیکاران " جامعه هدف در موقعیت های محروم جامعه، بیکاران، بدون در نظر گرفتن ...
Abstract Today, the field of Human Resource Management (HR) is experiencing numerous pressures for change. Shifts in the economy, globalization, domestic diversity, and technology have created new demands for organizations, and propelled the field in some completely new directions. However, we believe that these challenges also create numerous opportunities for HR and organizations as a whole. Thus, the primary purposes of this article are to (a) examine some of the challenges and opportunities that should influence the future of HR, and (b) provide an overview of the very interesting articles included in the special issue. We also consider implications for future research and practice in the field. Keywords Future of human resource managementGlobalizationKnowledge economyDiversityTechnology چالش ها و فرصت های مؤثر بر آینده مدیریت منابع انسانی چکیده امروزه، رشته مدیریت منابع انسانی (HR) فشارهای زیادی را برای تغییر تجربه کرده است. تغییرات در اقتصاد، جهانی شدن، تنوع داخل ...
Relationship between management information systems and corporate performance Abstract The literature review on the success of management information systems (IS) provides empirical evidence that mere investment in IS and New Management Tools (NMTs) does not guarantee better business results. Aiming to contribute to the knowledge of the factors explaining the success of IS implementation, this paper classifies them through cluster analysis, with a sample of Spanish companies according to the valuation given by their finance directors (CFOs) to the quality of such systems and their use for strategic purposes. This classification helps to answer three questions: do companies that better rate their IS improve their performance? How do IS quality and strategy affect results? Is there a positive relationship between the use of NMTs and improvement in performance? Through the non-parametric Kruskal–Wallis test and a partial least squares (PLS) model results are yielded that support t ...