Financial Expectations Research Articles

A VIEW ON THE GREEK SHADOW EDUCATION AT THE ERA OF THE ECONOMIC CRISIS. HOW DO PRIVATE TUTORS’ WORKING CONDITIONS ARE FORMED?

Shadow education is regarded by the majority of Greek students as a means to improve their school performance and maximize their chances of admission to higher education institutions. The financial crisis that struck Greece in 2009, has left its marks on all sectors of its economy; employers and employees in shadow education institutions have also been affected to a significant extend. The purpose of this study is to investigate private tutors’ working conditions as they have evolved in the period of the financial crisis. It is also examined the engagement of private tutors with financially vulnerable social groups and the degree at which the former alters their financial expectations in order not to exclude the latter from receiving complementary tutoring. 
 
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Examining the Opinions of School Principals Regarding Unethical Issues in School Management

This study aims to explore the ethical issues faced by principals working in public schools and determining their responses during and after unethical matters. This research was conducted in phenomenology design as qualitative study. Thirty school principals working in Tekirdag province, Suleymanpasa district public schools (special education, preschool, primary school, secondary school, and high school) participated in the study. Data were collected using a semi-structured interview form. The findings were analyzed by applying the content analysis method and presented by creating themes and codes with quotations. The findings show that school principals are not involved in financial processes. Their relationships with parents are more discreet and they are sensitive in their relations with staff. There is no deliberate discrimination among teachers, they are neutral in tenders and canteens, they embrace the interests of students in opening courses, and they are far from financial expectations in student enrolments. For minimizing the ethical difficulties in schools and establishing a regular school ethical chain, it has emerged that the moral principles in schools should be defined beforehand. Administrators should be trained ethically before their assignment. Simultaneously, the obligation of solving financial difficulties, which are the source of ethical problems in schools, has emerged.

Financial literacy in the Ohio K–2 classroom: a mixed methods study

ABSTRACT Financial literacy is a concept widely recognised in the middle and high school grade levels, but what does it mean to a primary elementary teacher? This study was a two-phase, mixed-methods research approach that explored Ohio’s kindergarten through second grade teachers’ perceptions regarding the curriculum and instruction of financial literacy. The findings indicated that K–2 teachers see value in teaching financial literacy concepts and skills in their classroom, but they are unsure of the expectations for implementation. Though teachers’ knowledge of financial literacy expectations is limited, teachers were still incorporating money concepts and skills into their classrooms by employing strategies they deemed appropriate. These results indicate a need to inform teachers about the written curriculum regarding financial literacy and ways that they can integrate the content into their current classroom practices.

The impact of welfare on household debt

This article aims to advance the theoretical understanding of how welfare affects household needs and willingness to take on debt across OECD countries. Previous sociological literature has attempted to explain indebtedness through the quantity of welfare spending, by searching for a tradeoff between the lack of welfare and the increase of household debt. Based on the “life cycle” hypothesis, according to which people take on debt when they are younger and pay it off as they age, this paper argues that divergence in household debt across countries is a function of the welfare state’s orientation toward old-age provisions and the insider/outsider cleavage in the labor market. A welfare state that is generous toward the youth, facilitates the possibility for people to plan ahead in life and, by stabilizing financial expectations, makes people less risk averse. Higher debt ratios are more common in Northern countries as social protection is more extensive; while in continental countries, where welfare benefits are narrower and tend to target the already employed and the elderly, people are more risk-averse toward debt. The proposed theory is supported by an illustrative empirical analysis using data from the OECD SOCX, the Comparative Welfare Entitlements Dataset (CWED2) and the ECRI statistical package.

Earnings Management in Australian Not-for-Profit Disability Services

The Australian not-for-profit and charitable sector is an important component in that country’s social capital. It delivers services and supports to some of the most vulnerable people in the community. However, up until recently, poor data sets related to the sector’s financial performance and position have meant that the examination of its financial capacity has been unable to be undertaken. This paper reports on our findings relative to earnings management in the context of Not-for-profit disability service providers. Assessing a longitudinal data set providing financial data relative to 154 such not-for-profits, we have identified that the sector is subject to earnings management, that such activities are aimed at reducing reported profit likely in order for these organisations to meet the normative financial expectations of stakeholders including public sector funders and philanthropists. This finding has significant implications for our understanding of not-for-profit financial, regulatory and audit arrangements in place and accounting standards as they apply to this sector.

House of Quality-Based Analysis of New Service Development Using Context Free Grammar Evaluation-Enhanced Fuzzy Hybrid Modelling

The purpose of this study is to analyze new service development competencies based on house of quality (HoQ) in the healthcare industry by using a hybrid interval-valued intuitionistic decision-making approach with fuzzy linguistic information modelled by hesitant fuzzy linguistic term sets (HFLTSs) and linguistic 2-tuples. The novelty of the manuscript is to identify a list of criteria, dimensions, and alternatives for HoQ-based new service development used for the investment decisions in healthcare industry. Thus, a hybrid model with HFLTSs has been proposed, considering 2-tuple linguistic information, Interval-Valued Intuitionistic Fuzzy Sets (IVIFSs) and a defuzzification process with an attitudinal expected score function. Hence, a DEMATEL extension dealing with HFLTSs, linguistic 2-tuple and IVIFS has been developed and used to weigh the criteria and dimensions of customer needs. Similarly, a TOPSIS extension dealing with the same type of information is introduced and applied in order to rank the technical requirements, the so- called “new service development competencies in healthcare industry”. Thus, this study contributes to the literature of health economics and management by proposing an original methodology. It is identified that financial expectations play the most significant role for demanders of healthcare services. Hence, competitive pricing strategies should be generated to obtain consumer loyalty in the healthcare industry. Moreover, technological infrastructure is found as the best ranked technical requirement of new service development competencies.

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic: economic insecurity and coping strategies of Italian households

PurposeThis paper offers a contribution to the authors’ understanding of the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on living conditions of Italian households. A large part of the research, analysis, comments focused on the relation between the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic and income of the Italian households does not capture the extent of the current changes. The focus on the highly differentiated impacts of the pandemic on three core dimensions of social integration (the sphere of work, that of welfare and that of the family) could help the authors to grasp the current transformations.Design/methodology/approachThe research draws on Castel's distinction between three “zones” of post-Fordist employment societies with the aim to identify the processes and the conditions that carry individuals from one “zones” to the other. Theoretical considerations are supported by the findings of several qualitative and quantitative research carried out during the pandemic mainly by government agencies and international organizations as OECD and WHO. The analysis of healthcare expenditure, labour market and economic conditions of households is based on data of system of health accounts – SHA and from consumer studies undertaken by the Italian National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT). The data on the financial situation and expectations of households during the crisis used in the article were drawn from special surveys carried out by the Bank of Italy.FindingsWhat the authors observe in Italian society is not a collapse of the three pillars of social and system integration of contemporary societies: work, family and welfare. The COVID-19 pandemic has reversed two social and institutional trends, that in last two decades had damaged these spheres of life and that seemed relentless. First, what has been reversed are: the progressive privatization of welfare and the enhancement of the politics of retrenchment; second, values and styles of life, radical processes of individualization, that undermined mutual relations of support and care, and households' ability to cope with old and new risks. At the same time, the pandemic is radicalizing the long-lasting tendency towards job insecurity, a high incidence of low-paid workers and a high proportion of undeclared work. The highly differentiated impacts of the pandemic on these three spheres of life are creating a wider plurality of living conditions and risks.Social implicationsThe findings suggest that what the authors need is to reopen the debate on welfare priorities, programmes and areas of intervention, on public-private relationship that have been established in many sectors of welfare in the last decades in many European countries. The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance welfare programmes capable of recognising the autonomous capacities of the family and informal relations to produce well-being, to cope with the crisis and to produce supportive relationships.Originality/valueThe pandemic highlighted that a progressive reduction of expenditure and politics of retrenchment produced welfare not able to face the needs of a large part of households. The pandemic highlighted that the changes that have taken place in the sphere of work, welfare and of the family in the last years have produced less and less governable effects.

Big games in small places: the African Youth Games and organisational capacity in Botswana sport federations

ABSTRACT Research Question With more transition or developing economies hosting major sports events (MSE), it is increasingly relevant to research how they can impact sport organisations’ capacity in such environments. Using the Gaborone 2014 African Youth Games (AYG) as its research setting, the goal of this paper is to investigate how hosting a MSE can impact the perceived organisational capacity of sporting organisations within the context of a developing or transition economy. Research Method Data were gathered through 13 semi-structured interviews. Results are deductively coded and presented according to Hall et al.’s (2003) conceptualisation of organisational capacity. Results and Findings Results show that individuals perceived positive capacity outcomes related to skill development, international relationships and, in some instances, material resources. Conversely, adverse outcomes included lack of opportunities to apply new skills, strained relationships, and unmet financial expectations. Moreover, the findings reveal that the AYG generated similar capacity outcomes as other MSEs, but that the relative impact of those outcomes may differ. Implications The findings re-emphasise the need for hosts to engage in strategic management to maximise positive capacity outcomes. Researchers are encouraged to investigate the impact of MSEs on sport organisations using multiple methods and settings.

Analyzing financial hardships faced by students in pursuing of management post graduate programs from Tier 2 Business Schools in India

Purpose of the study is to analyse financial hardships faced by students in pursuing of management post graduate programs from Tier 2 Business Schools in India. Compounding and discounting techniques are used for estimation of program expenses and program returns. Study concluded that high opportunity cost, uncontrolled personal expenses and low pay packages are the major reasons for longer reclaim tenure or payback period. This study should help to society in determining more realistic financial expectations of pursued from specific category of management private institutions in India.

Retirement perception and workers’ behavior: a comparative study between workers of the public and private sectors of some selected enterprises in the Bamenda Municipality

Many employees often approach retirement with mixed feelings as they exit service. To many, it represents a transition from the known to the unknown. After retirement, income becomes irregular and financial expectations become less visible. This is because policies are not well implemented to the letter, leaving retirees’ lives hanging in the balance in their old age. Management of life after retirement entails planning for the unpredictable and unavoidable new lifestyle when one is still in active service. This study was aimed at assessing the retirement perception of workers of the public and private sector in Bamenda Municipality and their consequent economic and social behavior towards the concept of retirement.The study employed an Ex post facto research design with a sample of 400 working individuals ranging from the ages of 30 to 60 years that were randomly selected. A questionnaire and interview guide were the instruments used to collect data for the study. Responses revealed that retirement age perception (F =32.56, df=398, P<0.01), pre- counselling (F =46.64, df=398, P<0.01) and post counseling services (F =36.13, df=398, P<0.01) significantly predicted workers’ behavior. The findings revealed an important level of misunderstanding of what retirement is all about. Potential conflict in retirement, knowledge, planning, attitude toward retirement and retirement goal clarity are the significant predictors of retirement social and economic behavior. Key words : Retirement, pre-retirement, post-retirement, perception, workers’ behavior, enterprises, post counselling services. DOI: 10.7176/JEP/11-27-16 Publication date: September 30 th 2020

Why Zumba?

This study was conducted to determine the reasons behind the students’ preferring an activity that would teach them how to perform and teach Zumba effectively and safely as a leisure activity and to what extent the activity met their expectations. The Subjects:This qualitative research consisted of 22 face to face interviews with students of the Rumeli University Faculty of Sport Sciences, Coaching Education, Sports Management and Recreation departments. Materials and Method:The participants were selected with the convenience sampling method and consisted of 16 women and 6 men between the ages of 18-22 years. The Zumba event included 8 one hour Zumba classes given by a specialist in this area. The data was coded separately by two researchers and the consistency rate was found to be 75 percent. Descriptive and content analysis was used and transferred to NVIVO 10 software for data analysis. The themes of reasons for participating in and expectations of students from the Zumba classes that resulted from the interviews conducted prior to and following the event were collected and evaluated. Conclusions: As a result of the data analysis prior to the event, the desire to become a specialist, adding another dimension to their specialty, being ready to branch out, importance future planning, increased financial expectation and popularity of Zumbaemerged as the leading themes in choosing Zumba. The participant’s thoughts after the event were that their initial expectations were met and extra themes of health protection and entertainment were added as gains from the event.

Neither an Optimist Nor a Pessimist Be: Mistaken Expectations Lower Well-Being.

This article speaks to the classic view that mental health requires accurate self-perception. Using a representative British sample (N = 1,601) it finds that, as measured by two established well-being indicators, those with mistaken expectations, whether optimistic or pessimistic, do worse than realists. We index unrealistic optimism as the difference between financial expectations and financial realizations measured annually over 18 years. The effects are not small, with those holding the most pessimistic (optimistic) expectations experiencing a 21.8% (13.5%) reduction in long-run well-being. These findings may result from the decision errors and counteracting emotions associated with holding biased beliefs. For optimists, disappointment may eventually dominate the anticipatory feelings of expecting the best while for pessimists the depressing effect of expecting doom may eventually dominate the elation when the worst is avoided. Also, plans based on inaccurate beliefs are bound to deliver worse outcomes than would rational expectations.

How to value a real estate company? Alexander &amp; Baldwin, Inc. (ALEX)

PurposeThis study aims to provide students an opportunity to analyze the financial performance of a publicly listed real estate company and estimate its instinct value by applying appropriate financial models and approaches.Theoretical basisThree major valuation models/approaches generated by financial theory and practice to estimate the intrinsic value of a security: discounting cash-flows valuation (DCF and NPV) – valuation through adjusted net asset and liquidation value (NAV) – relative valuation through price and value multiples (valuation multiple analysis and precedent transactions analysis). Wholly owned subsidiaries versus and joint venture ones.Research methodologyAnalyze financial information of all segments in a multiple-business firm, and apply suitable financial models and approaches among net asset value model (NAV), discounted cash flow (DCF) or net present value (NPV) model, valuation multiple analysis and precedent transactions analysis to estimate the intrinsic value of the whole firm.Case overview/synopsisThis decision-based case allows students to explore the business valuation process for a public listed real estate company, Alexander &amp; Baldwin, Inc. (NYSE: ALEX). Based on financial statements analysis and forward-looking financial expectation on ALEX, this case elevates students' understanding and practice of valuating this multiple-business firms by applying appropriate financial models and approaches among NAV, DCF or NPV, valuation multiple analysis and precedent transactions analysis and enable students to make their investment decisions of buying, holding or selling the company’s stocks.Complexity academic levelThis case is most appropriate for graduate courses such as corporate finance, investments, personal finance, real estate finance and financial markets and institutes.

Small is Beautiful? Niche Entrepreneurship with a Swiss Touch

Entrepreneurship in Switzerland seems to be the exact opposite of that in Silicon Valley and can be described as low-impact entrepreneurship, or niche-centric entrepreneurship. We used an online survey to investigate the characteristics of Swiss entrepreneurs, their business performance, activities in securing investments, as well as their expectations from supporting institutions. In addition, as an effective example of utilizing the ecosystem, we investigated the entrepreneurs&amp;rsquo; activities in venture competitions. We provide empirical evidence that supports the view that Switzerland, at least regarding high-tech, early stage companies, has a unique ecosystem &amp;ndash; low financial expectations, niche technology specialists, mostly angel and self-financed, high survival rates and clear success, defined via great products and innovation, and positive social/environmental impact.

What Happens When Equity Investors Disagree with the FOMC?

This research explores an alternative explanation for the equity premium associated with Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) announcement days that accounts for a sizable fraction of annual equity returns. My evidence shows that investor expectations formulated prior to FOMC announcements have a significant impact on equity prices, particularly when these expectations are not aligned with the FOMC decision. Furthermore, I document an even larger impact around FOMC announcements where the level of interest rates remained unchanged. When monetary policy is neutral, the observed investors’ disagreement towards the FOMC decisions represents a further layer of uncertainty in the dynamics of equity markets. My results reconcile past findings on the monetary policy surprise literature and more recent empirical findings on the effect of FOMC announcements, which are difficult to explain with standard asset pricing theories. Moreover, as I find little effects on equity returns when the FOMC decision is anticipated by the market, a practical implication of my study is that monetary policy authorities should take into account market expectations when formulating disclosure policy in order to improve alignment with financial market expectations and smooth out their economic consequences.

One Man's Freedom Fighter on Film is Another Man's Terrorist During the Classroom Discussion: The Advantages and Unintended Consequences of Using Film to Teach Terrorism

People are often startled that I teach a course on terrorism. They half jokingly ask if I teach students how to commit it. Yet, the interdisciplinary study of terrorism has grown over the last decade and will continue to do so. Colleges and Universities have expanded their offerings on the subject. Terrorism is often cross listed with criminal justice, and intelligence studies. However, a constant challenge of teaching terrorism is the mixed audience of students and differing expectations of course content. The online course at Penn State is made up of traditional students, returning adults, active and retired military, and once I had an FBI agent who specialized in counter terrorism. Such a diverse audience begs the question of how are we to teach the course? Is there a difference between the academic studies and theoretical discussions on one side and the practitioner on the other? This problem has been exacerbated both online, and in the classroom by a generation of visual learners. Think about how powerful it is for students to watch news coverage of 9/11, or have students with combat experience in Afghanistan. These experiences are far more powerful than reading a quantitative study of terrorist activities and then finding the flaws in its methodologies. It behooves the teacher to find new ways to mix up the curriculum.This paper examines the pedagogical strategies of using fictional films in a course on terrorism (both in residence and online). It is the hope that these films can bring life to the abstract concepts that students wrestle with in their readings. In this paper I examine the use of three particular films: First, is the famous Battle of Algiers (1966), which explores the Algerian war of independence against France, and specifically addresses issues of urban guerrilla warfare, and the limitations of counter terrorism still relevant today. After all the French won the battle but lost the war. The film also helps visualize what David Rapoport (2002) calls the second wave of terrorism. The second chosen is the Palestinian film, Paradise Now (2005), about the journey of two suicide bombers heading to Israel. This film not only speaks to the literature of scholars like Robert Pape, but serves as a window to the study of psychology and religion. I use Paradise Now as the springboard for role of religion in terrorism (though it is important to point out that religion is not what necessarily drives these two Palestinian men). Finally, I examine In the Name of the Father (1993), while ostensibly about the wrongfully arrested Guilford Four and the United Kingdom's war against the IRA, the film allows a broader class room discussion of the problematic of fighting terrorism in a democracy that values civil liberties. A perfect illustration is how students react to Daniel Day Lewis as Gerry Conlon and compare that to young Arab men wrongfully arrested after 9/11.By examining these three films this paper also hopes to continue expanding the study of film use in the classroom. Films are a dynamic and interactive process over how social reality will be perceived. While most of these films are based on true stories, they have to some extent been fictionalized to suit the dramatic needs of the audience and the financial expectations of the industry. For Americans the war on terrorism has been fought in the modern 24 hour/7 days a week news cycle. I argue that if done properly, popular films about terrorism can serve as a stimulating jumping off point to illustrate the theories, concepts, and issues discussed in the course.

Financial Expectations and Household Consumption: Does Middle Inflation Matter?

Using British panel data, we explore the finding that households often expect their financial position to remain unchanged compared to other alternatives, using a gener- alised middle inflated ordered probit (GMIOP ) model. In doing so we account for the tendency of individuals to choose 'neutral' responses when faced with attitudinal and opinion-based questions, which are a common feature of survey data. Our empirical analysis strongly supports the use of a GMIOP model to account for this response pattern. Expectations indices based on competing discrete choice models are then ex- ploited to explore the role that financial expectations play in driving the consumption of different types of durable goods and the amount of expenditure undertaken. Whilst financial optimism is significantly associated with consumption, indices which fail to take into account middle-inflation are found to overestimate the impact of financial expectations.

Prediction of gold-bearing localised occurrences from limited exploration data

Inaccurate drill-core assay interpretation in the exploration stage presents challenges to long-term profit of gold mining operations. Predicting the gold distribution within a deposit as precisely as possible is one of the most important aspects of the methodologies employed to avoid problems associated with financial expectations. The prediction of the variability of gold using a very limited number of drill-core samples is a very challenging problem. This is often intractable using traditional statistical tools where with less than complete spatial information certain assumptions are made about gold distribution and mineralisation. The decision-support predictive modelling methodology based on the unsupervised machine learning technique, presented in this paper avoids some of the restrictive limitations of traditional methods. It identifies promising exploration targets missed during exploration and recovers hidden spatial and physical characteristics of the explored deposit using information directly from drill hole database.

Prediction of gold-bearing localised occurrences from limited exploration data

Inaccurate drill-core assay interpretation in the exploration stage presents challenges to long-term profit of gold mining operations. Predicting the gold distribution within a deposit as precisely as possible is one of the most important aspects of the methodologies employed to avoid problems associated with financial expectations. The prediction of the variability of gold using a very limited number of drill-core samples is a very challenging problem. This is often intractable using traditional statistical tools where with less than complete spatial information certain assumptions are made about gold distribution and mineralisation. The decision-support predictive modelling methodology based on the unsupervised machine learning technique, presented in this paper avoids some of the restrictive limitations of traditional methods. It identifies promising exploration targets missed during exploration and recovers hidden spatial and physical characteristics of the explored deposit using information directly from drill hole database.

Zaangażowanie nauczycieli w rolę zawodową a ich oczekiwania gratyfikacji finansowej za wykonywaną pracę

&lt;p&gt;Badanie rozpoczęto od założenia, że człowiek może wykorzystywać w różnym stopniu swoje uwarunkowania psychofizyczne: emocjonalne, poznawcze i behawioralne (aktywność). Czynniki te kształtują osobiste zaangażowanie i zachowanie ludzi oraz oddziałują zarówno na doświadczenia własne, jak i na funkcjonowanie w roli zawodowej. Badania przeprowadzono wśród 380 losowo wybranych nauczycieli szkół podstawowych z terenów wschodniego Mazowsza, północnej Lubelszczyzny oraz południowego Podlasia (teren ściany wschodniej). Analizy posłużyły do określenia korelacji pomiędzy oczekiwaną finansową gratyfikacją za pracę a zaangażowaniem zawodowym nauczyciela. W artykule przeanalizowano cztery rodzaje zaangażowania: emocjonalne, poznawcze, dydaktyczne i administracyjne, i skorelowano je z oczekiwaną przez nauczycieli gratyfikacją finansową za pracę zawodową. Na podstawie współczynnika korelacji gamma Goodmana i Kruskala (ϱ = 0,676; p &amp;lt; 0,001) oraz testu rang rho-Spearmana (γ = 0,650; p &amp;lt; 0,001) można wykazać, że siła związku pomiędzy zmiennymi jest wysoka, istotna statystycznie i dwustronna na poziomie 0,01. Stwierdzono, że ambiwalentny stosunek nauczyciela do wynagrodzenia generuje niższy poziom jego zaangażowania. Im wyższy jest poziom oczekiwań finansowych za wykonywaną pracę, tym wyższy stopień angażowania się w działalność zawodową nauczyciela ze szkoły podstawowej.&lt;/p&gt;