Financial Obligations Research Articles

Influence of Strategic Planning on the Organizational Performance Among Commercial-Based Parastatals in Kenya

Purpose: To examine the influence of strategic planning on the organizational performance among commercial-based parastatals in Kenya. 
 Methodology: The study used a descriptive research design to collect data on a target population of six (6) commercial based parastatals. The respondents were 45 departmental managers and 151 administrative staff. The study obtained the sample size of 40 departmental managers and 110 administrative staff using simple random method. They were issued with closed and open-ended. Further, pre-test study was conducted at Kenya Airways where 4 departmental managers and 11 administrative staff. Additionally, descriptive analysis, frequency tables and explanation were used to illustrate the results. Further, inferential statistics were be examined using multiple regression and correlation analysis.
 Results: The dependent variable results indicated that 75(69%) respondents strongly agreed on the highest mean of 4.37 (SD of 1.04), that the management motivated the staff to go and get a higher academic qualification. Additionally, on a mean of 3.67 (SD of 1.32), 51(48%) respondents strongly agreed that the number of clients has been increasing for the last few years. That notwithstanding, 85(79%) disagreed on a mean of 2.22 (SD of 0.73), that the parastatals had enough cash to meet their financial obligations effectively. The independent variable results indicated that 38(36%) and 19(18%) respondents strongly agreed and agreed respectively on a mean of 3.81(SD of 1.01), that strategic forecasting had significantly informed their strategic planning. This was closely followed by availability of resource allocation influenced employee motivation. This question had a mean of 3.55 (SD of 1.04) where 28(26%) respondents strongly agreed and 19 (18%) agreed on the sentiments. However, 39(36%) respondents strongly disagreed while 51(48%) disagreed that bench marking had always guided their strategic planning decisions on a mean score of 2.98 (SD of 1.04). The Pearson correlation coefficient was r=0.700** at α < 0.000 and 99% significance level indicating a positive correlation between strategic planning and organization performance.
 Unique contribution to theory, policy and practice: The basis of the parastatals’ strategic planning was not supported by any bench marking but rather a specific individual’s knowledge and experience. Therefore, when the individual at any capacity left the parastatal, the remaining team did not have a clear way of formulating strategies or benchmarking them with other corporates. The study recommends that there should be developed processes of strategic planning which are well documented by the management and have a policy to guide on what should done, who should be consulted and when should that happen in case of eventualities. Further, the management should encourage work mentorship from senior management to junior employees to orient them on management issues. This would help the employees gather relevant skills and knowledge to make strategic decision, when need be, on behalf of the parastatal.

A COMPARISON STUDY OF HUSBAND AND WIFE SEPARATION

A legal separation is a court-supervised arrangement that allows couples to live separate lives. This is usually by living apart. The court directs financial obligations, child visitation, and child support.Islamic countries, such as Brunei, prefer divorce to separation. Divorce is frowned upon by the religious system. Separation procedures are often similar to separation procedures.In Korea, the law focuses on separation. The law governing separation is a minor version of the separation law. In Japan, separation is not allowed. However, nullifying marriage is provided for in law. Couples who want to separate must navigate the law to establish grounds for separation. This paper compares some aspects of separation between husband and wife in Korea, Japan, and Brunei. It provides instances of how couples in the mentioned countries have been able to use the law to separate. In an Islamic country such as Brunei, separation is preferred to divorce because divorce is frowned upon by the religious system. Separation destroys the normal flow of finance and financial management among families and may tamper with the everyday life of the affected.Separation is mainly treated as a step before the divorce. Therefore, most legal procedures attached to separation involve property division, financial obligations, child visitation, and child support. Consequently, separation procedures are often similar to separation procedures. In Korea, the law focuses on divorce. However, couples should create an agreement that outlines how they will support their children and how they will access them.The complexities and dynamics of marital relationships and families established through institutional marriage pose a significant challenge to family law. Despite the reforms in Korean Family Law, there still exist legal limitations and controversies which the law has not been able to address effectively.

Investigating the Influence of Students’ Engagement on Subjective Well-Being in Armenian Higher Education Context: Insights From a Cross-Sectional Study

This article examines the relationship between academic engagement, social engagement, and student well-being. Participants were asked to complete a survey regarding student engagement, well-being, and provide some background information. The study found that both academic and social engagement were positively associated with student well-being, indicating that students who are more involved in their academic and social lives tend to have higher levels of well-being. These findings suggest that universities should focus not only on academic achievements but also on promoting academic and social engagement as a means of improving overall student psychological well-being. The study also shows that studying in a fee-based educational system that involves financial obligations like tuition fees and educational expenses can exert a substantial influence on students’ well-being.

Assessment of Small and Medium Enterprises Insolvency to Banks in Qatar

This research aimed to examine and identify different factors influencing Small and Medium Size Enterprises (SMEs’) failure to meet financial obligations to banks in Qatar. Based on the obtained results, the development of recommendations for regulators. As the contributions of SMEs are significant in the maintenance of economic development in the country. Nevertheless, SMEs have been struggling to finance the projects as they often lack the required funds and thus have to source from financial institutions. The authors selected Qatar Development Bank as the case study. A systematic literature review was made and a questionnaire with closed-ended questions was designed to explore the Small and Medium Size Enterprises’ causes of non-payments of loans. Authors have approached SMEs with loan default by phone, as this was the only possible way to collect data due to the social distancing during the Covid-19 pandemic. A complete list of 142 Small and Medium Size Enterprises with nonpayments of loans was taken from the Qatar Development Bank and approached for data collection, and received 85 responses. Simple descriptive statistics for the analysis were used. The findings showed that SMEs encounter challenges in the repayment of loans. Moreover, the highly competitive market affects negatively the implementation of obligations and insolvency of SMEs. The findings have a number of implications for the policy measures and mechanisms aimed at solving problems of insolvency of SMEs and their further development in the country.

Legal Design as Means of Smart Regulation

The article is dedicated to the exploration of possibilities of using legal design for smart regulation. Smart regulation aimed at obtaining the maximum effect by minimal means is connected to using a range of instruments, one of which is nudging. The nudge theory is used in behavioral economics; it is suggested to consider the peculiarities of human thought and behavior bearing in mind that in most cases humans behave irrationally, they are led by emotions, cognitive bias, they tend to follow the majority. It is suggested to form the choice architecture in such a way that a human would prefer the most sensible option while not losing the freedom of choice. An important element in forming the choice architecture is the availability of information, which provides effective communication. Availability and completeness of information provided by plain language let people fully comprehend the consequences of their actions. It is proven that comprehensibility can be achieved through legal design of documents, which implies applying different means of simplification of form and content to a legal document (a contract, a judicial act, a normative legal act). The means of simplification of form are structurization, visualization, using tables, diagrams, readable font, while the means of simplification of content is plain language of a document.
 Examples of requirements of the law to the structure and design of contracts that lead to financial obligations are listed in the article. The conclusion is drawn out that the means of legal design provide availability of information, which leads to using reflexive thinking, which implies realizing the consequences of one’s actions, making rational and informed decisions; all of it can be viewed as the aim of smart regulation.

Clearing cannabis criminal records: A survey of criminal record expungement availability and accessibility among US States and Washington DC that decriminalized or legalized cannabis.

In 2022, despite expanding state-level legalization, cannabis remained illegal at the federal level, driving drug offenses, and contact with the justice system. Cannabis criminalization disproportionately impacts minorities, and criminal records carry negative economic, health, and social consequences. Legalization prevents future criminalization but fails to assist existing record-holders. We surveyed 39 states and Washington DC where cannabis was decriminalized or legalized to determine record expungement availability and accessibility for cannabis offenders. We performed a retrospective, qualitative survey of state expungement laws allowing record sealing or record destruction where cannabis use was decriminalized or legalized. Statutes were collected between February 25, 2021, and August 25, 2022, from state websites or NexisUni. We collected pardon information for two states from online state government resources. Materials were coded in Atlas.ti to determine if states had general, cannabis, and other drug conviction expungement regimes, petitions, or automated systems, waiting periods, and financial requirements. Codes were developed via inductive and iterative coding of materials. Among places surveyed, 36 provided any conviction expungement, 34 provided general relief, 21 offered cannabis-specific relief, and 11 offered general drug relief, nonexclusively. Most states used petitions. Thirty-three general and 7 cannabis-specific programs required waiting periods. Nineteen general and 4 cannabis programs imposed administrative fees, and 16 general and one cannabis-specific program required legal financial obligations to be paid. Among the 39 states and Washington DC that decriminalized or legalized cannabis and offered expungement, more states relied on general rather than cannabis-specific systems, and the majority of these required record holders to petition for relief and imposed waiting periods and financial requirements. Research is needed to determine if automating expungement, reducing or eliminating waiting periods, and eliminating financial requirements may expand record relief for former cannabis offenders.

The Impact of Perception of Justice on Tax Compliance Behavior through the Mediating Role of Social Support: An Empirical Study in Pakistan

The government adjusts its financial obligations and collects taxes to pay for the public through taxes. Tax behavior varies from individual to individual. Tax audits and fines are also policies to collect tax amounts. The study aims to determine tax compliance behavior. A quantitative approach is applied to obtain the respondent's perception of justice in tax laws. Overall total number of questionnaires sent to bar councils was 400, of which 325 lawyers responded. The problem is that Pakistan needs a better tax collection system; therefore, many problems are faced during tax collection. The justice system is better for recovering the tax penalties, whereas procedural justice investigates the compliance of individuals about the tax. Taxpayers also find ways to reduce the amount of tax and make deduction claims by hiding some of their assets. Tax audit is also a significant field to assess and measure fraud in the tax collection system. Results differentiate that there is a positive and significant relationship between tax compliance behavior and perception of justice. So, it rejects the null hypothesis and shows a significant relationship. If the individuals cooperate with the government and perform their duties well, then the structure of the tax system can survive and collaborate in the economy of Pakistan.

Strategi Penyelesaian Non Performing Financing Pada KSPPS BMT di Kabupaten Jepara

High number of non performing financing (NPF) has a negative impact on Islamic Microfinance (BMT), that problems affect to financial performance in low condition, liquidity problems, as well as difficulties in covering operational costs, difficulties to payback financial obligations, and BMT will eventually losses then will be converted by reducing the amount of capital. That things will be resulting in the threat of sustainability. The aims of this study, are explain the strategies used by BMT`s in Jepara to solve their NPF. The research method used a descriptive qualitative approach, this research used purposive sampling, the criteria is the key person in carrying out steps to resolve NPF in their institutions. The research finding is, there are strategies to overcome the problems of high NPF. The strategy used by 2 models, first preventive action in the form of forming strong financing organs and carrying out effective financing analysis second curative action after the financing is disbursed (1) Customer Nurturing (2) Rescheduling, (3) Reconditioning, (4) Restructuring, (5) Collateral Confiscation through litigation and non-litigation. Other findings is (6) The strategy as solution through the organizational path that became afiliation of the KSPPS BMT.

Investment Obligations and Levies on VOD Media Service Providers and Cultural Policies of Member States

Digital video streaming platforms that provide on-demand services are subject to financial contributions stemming from media policy regulations in different countries, including the majority of EU Member States. In particular, such financial obligations include direct investments in European media works or indirect levies for national film funds. In 2018, the European Union revised the Audiovisual Media Services Directive, extending the scope of the financial obligations to cover not only the domestic media service providers established in the country that requires financial contribution but also foreign media service providers targeting the audience in this state. The provision was transposed (or is considered to be transposed) in the domestic legislation of at least 14 EU Member States. Yet, the technical design of the respective domestic provisions significantly varies, which can lead to distortive effects on investments and trade in the European Union, including due to the risk of double imposition of financial obligations by several Member States on the same income. In this article, the authors analyse tax-related issues regarding financial obligations, namely how certain well-established cross-border tax mechanisms can enhance the legislative AVMSD framework to achieve a better balance between the societal policy goal of promoting European culture, on one hand, and respecting economic rights in the implementation of the financial obligations for audiovisual media service providers under article 13(2) of the AVMSD on the other. From an international tax perspective, the authors analyse whether financial obligations, in particular the levy for national film funds, can be regarded as an earmarked tax on business income, its compatibility with double tax treaties, as well as whether it is covered by the commitment of the OECD Inclusive Framework Members to remove the unilateral measures similar to digital services taxes (DSTs) for the purposes of OECD Pillar One.

Determinant of Ethical Financial Behavior Among Under Undergraduate Students: A Conceptual Framework

The university years will experience a significant transitional moment in which parental monitoring and oversight are diminished, and the students attain a degree of financial independence. When entering college, many students face their first financial obligations, such as paying bills, budgeting, and establishing credit. University students are also more vulnerable to making unwise financial management. Poor financial management can trigger financial problems and stress for university students. This study examines the impact of financial knowledge, money attitude, financial self-efficacy, and locus of control on ethical financial behavior among university students. The aim of this paper is to propose Ethical Financial Behavior Among Under Undergraduate Student. Methodology used by the study is based from the literature search and secondary data to come out with the suggested framework. The expected findings of the study are four segments of Ethical Financial Behavior Among Under Undergraduate Students. This study provides complementary insight regarding financial-related understanding and assists in developing financial management-associated ideas, which are beneficial not only to students but also to society.

Why does happiness respond differently to an increase vs. decrease in income?

The answer is that people's evaluations of their income situation are based on different considerations when the economy is expanding and when it is contracting. When, in the course of economic growth, incomes generally are rising, evaluations of one's own income—whether it is satisfactory –tend to be dominated by comparisons with the incomes of others—by “social comparison”. If one's income is just “keeping up with the Joneses”, happiness is unchanged. But in a recession, as incomes decline and people increasingly have difficulty satisfying consumption habits and fixed financial obligations acquired when incomes were higher, the benchmark for income evaluations shifts to comparisons with one's past experience– how current income compares with one's previous peak income. The greater the shortfall, the less one's happiness. The shift when income declines, from comparison with others to comparison with one's past experience, is typically forced on individuals by the growing pressure of meeting fixed financial obligations.There is thus an asymmetry in the psychological roots of income evaluations when income is rising vs. falling, and this causes a corresponding asymmetry in the response of happiness to income change. When income is rising and social comparison is the basis for evaluating one's income situation, changes in income have, on average, a nil effect on happiness. When income falls below its previous peak and past personal experience is the basis for evaluating one's income situation, happiness goes down and up with income.

ANALISIS RASIO LIKUIDITAS, PROFITABILITAS, SOLVABILITAS DAN AKTIFITAS SEBAGAI ALAT PENILAIAN SERTA IMPLEMENTASINYA TERHADAP KINERJA KEUANGAN PERUSAHAAN PADA PT. ANEKA TAMBANG TBK

A company's financial performance is assessed using financial ratio analysis. PT. Aneka Tambang Tbk is a company that operates in the mining sector with a fairly wide market. The purpose of this study is to analyze the financial performance of PT. Aneka Tambang Tbk by using liquidity, profitability, solvency, and activity ratios as assessment tools. The data used in this research are the financial statements of PT. Aneka Tambang Tbk for the period 2017-2019 which were obtained from the official website of the Indonesia Stock Exchange. The analysis of ratios is conducted using the ratios of liquidity, profitability, solvency, and activity. The research results show that the financial performance of PT. Aneka Tambang Tbk in the period 2017-2019 showed an increase in the liquidity ratio, profitability, solvency, and activity. This increase shows that the company is able to manage assets well, increase operational efficiency, and have the ability to meet its financial obligations. The study found that PT. Aneka Tambang Tbk has good and healthy financial performance. The implications of these findings are that the company can continue to improve its financial performance by optimizing asset management and maintaining its financial obligations. This study can also serve as a reference for those interested in knowing the financial performance of a company in the mining sector.

Exploring public perceptions and support for green infrastructure funding mechanisms: a study of the Oxford–Cambridge Arc, England

The uptake of green infrastructure is challenged by a lack of access to financing. Studies have investigated individuals’ economic valuation of green infrastructure but understanding public perceptions of a range of potential funding mechanisms is a fundamental step in developing funding measures. Using data collected from a sample of residents in the Oxford–Cambridge Arc, England, this study addresses a gap in our understanding of public perceptions of green infrastructure funding by investigating support for several funding mechanisms, and the extent to which support is associated with attitudinal, contextual and personal capability variables. Results indicate that respondents prefer the funding of small and large-scale infrastructure to be covered by developers, with most opposition being levelled at those involving additional financial obligations from citizens. Altruistic-biospheric values, pro-environmental behaviour and trust in the government significantly affected support. These findings provide valuable insight to policymakers attempting to introduce sustainable green infrastructure funding streams.

The Development of Financial Obligation Assistance in Inter-State Relations Regarding Environmental Protection: a Review of The Paris Agreement 2015

Abstract
 The increasing global environmental issues affect how countries view international environmental policy. This insists countries carry out joint international responsibility on environmental law issues which later developed as Common but Differentiated Responsibility and Respective Capabilities principle (Principle of CDR-RC). The implementation of the principle should be seen as the aspect of financial assistance from developed countries to developing countries in the Paris Agreement 2015. This research aims to determine the development of the relation-interaction of the financial assistance between developed countries and developing countries in the context of international environmental law, especially regarding climate change issues as well as the obligation and financial mechanism in the Paris Agreement 2015. The result shows a development of universal responsibility into a shared international responsibility in overcoming climate change issues. Several different principles in each international instrument affect relation-interaction and financial assistance. Furthermore, the financial assistance is regulated in detail in Article 9 of the Paris Agreement 2015 with financial mechanisms referred to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
 Keywords: financial assistance, developed and developing countries, Paris Agreement 2015

Broadening the Lens of Procedural Justice Beyond the Courtroom: A Case Study of Legal Financial Obligations in the Juvenile Court

Procedural justice research has shown how people’s experiences with courtroom actors, such as judges, defense attorneys, and prosecutors, shape their views of the justice system and its legitimacy. However, less is known about how people’s experiences outside the courtroom that relate to their cases shape their views of this system. Based on forty-one interviews with twenty-one youths and twenty parents in Dane County, Wisconsin about their legal financial obligations (also known as monetary sanctions), this study broadens the focus of procedural justice to include another key aspect to people’s experiences with the law beyond the courtroom: their experiences navigating bureaucratic aspects to their youths’ cases and their interactions with non-court staff (e.g., clerks, Human Services, and community agencies), otherwise known as “auxiliary personnel” (Feeley 1979) or “street-level bureaucrats” (Lipsky 2010/1980). We focus on legal financial obligations as a case study to show this multi-agency view of procedural justice as it reveals the families’ often disjointed experiences with justice staff both inside and outside of the courtroom.

A legal dispute resolution intervention for patients with substance use disorders: a study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

BackgroundSubstance use disorders (SUDs) represent major public health concerns and are linked to enhanced risk of legal consequences. Unresolved legal issues may prevent individuals with SUD from completing treatment. Interventions aimed at improving SUD treatment outcomes are limited. Filling that gap, this randomized controlled trial (RCT) tests the ability of a technology-assisted intervention to increase SUD treatment completion rates and improve post-treatment health, economic, justice-system, and housing outcomes.MethodsA randomized controlled trial with a two-year administrative follow-up period will be conducted. Eight hundred Medicaid eligible and uninsured adults receiving SUD treatment will be recruited at community-based non-profit health care clinics in Southeast, Michigan, USA. Using an algorithm embedded in a community-based case management system, we randomly assign all eligible adults to one of two groups. The treatment/intervention group will receive hands-on assistance with a technology aimed at resolving unaddressed legal issues and the control group receives no treatment. Upon enrollment into the intervention, both treatment (n = 400) and control groups (n = 400) retain traditional options to resolve unaddressed legal issues, such as hiring an attorney, but only the treatment group is targeted the technology and offered personalized assistance in navigating the online legal platform. To develop baseline and historical contexts for participants, we collect life course history reports from all participants and intend to link those in each group to administrative data sources. In addition to the randomized controlled trial (RCT), we used an exploratory sequential mixed methods and participatory-based design to develop, test, and administer our life course history instruments to all participants. The primary objective is to test whether targeting no-cost online legal resources to those experiencing SUD improves their long-term recovery and decreases negative health, economic, justice-system, and housing outcomes.DiscussionFindings from this RCT will improve our understanding of the acute socio-legal needs faced by those experiencing SUD and provide recommendations to help target resources toward the areas that best support long-term recovery. The public health impact includes making publicly available a deidentified, longitudinal dataset of uninsured and Medicaid eligible clients in treatment for SUD. Data include an overrepresentation of understudied groups including African American and American Indian Alaska Native persons documented to experience heightened risk for SUD-related premature mortality and justice-system involvement. Within these data, several intended outcome measures can inform the health policy landscape: (1) health, including substance use, disability, mental health diagnosis, and mortality; (2) financial health, including employment, earnings, public assistance receipt, and financial obligations to the state; (3) justice-system involvement, including civil and criminal legal system encounters; (4) housing, including homelessness, household composition, and homeownership.Trial registrationRetrospectively registered # NCT05665179 on December 27, 2022.

Financing of CPEC Projects: Implications for Pakistan

The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is the biggest economic cooperation initiative undertaken in the history of Pakistan. The strong fraternal bonds between Pakistan and China have, since 2015, galvanized into a shared economic future. The corridor will link China’s western region of Xinjiang to Pakistan through the Karakoram crossings, traversing Gilgit Baltistan (GB), through Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab, Sindh and all the way to Gwadar in Balochistan at Pakistan’s south western coastline. The projects envisaged under CPEC are estimated to be worth US$ 62 billion including energy projects, railway lines, road networks, with the Gwadar port as the culmination point. Several other projects, such as Special Economic Zones (SEZs), knowledge exchanges and optic fibre network, are also part of CPEC. Financing all the CPEC projects, planned between 2015-2030, will be a huge undertaking for Pakistan’s economy, which continues to suffer from chronic structural issues, a burgeoning external debt, low revenue, negative balance of trade and negative current account deficit. While CPEC has been termed as a “game changer” for Pakistan’s economic future, it has faced criticism on account of its financial sustainability and lack of transparency, with fears that it may lead Pakistan into a Chinese “debt trap”. This research paper examines whether the issues related to financing of CPEC could outweigh the socio-economic benefits to Pakistan’s economy. A deeper examination of this topic reveals that Pakistan’s financial obligations arising out of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) include direct loan repayments of US$ 5.8 billion. This is in addition to the sovereign guarantees, subsidies and other concessions etc. that have been offered by the Government of Pakistan to Chinese firms investing in CPEC. Economic growth projections reveal that successful execution of CPEC projects will generate sufficient fiscal space for the Government to pay off these liabilities by 2035. This will be made possible due to higher growth rates, creation of employment and higher trade volume (both bilaterally with China as well as through enhanced regional trade). While there may be no “debt trap” for Pakistan from CPEC, however, policy makers in Islamabad must remain mindful that it is essentially a commercial undertaking. Pakistan, therefore, needs concrete policy measures to ensure best use of this opportunity to build its infrastructure and human capital. This paper offers several policy recommendations to the Government of Pakistan, including regular followup of progress at leadership level, pursuing regional integration to expand CPEC to Afghanistan and Central Asia, macroeconomic reforms to stabilize the economy, use of innovative methods to manage CPEC debt and liabilites, counter the negative narrative against CPEC, capacity building and technology transfer, capitalize on industrial development through SEZs, early implementation of ML-1 and inclusion of Diamer Bhasha dam in CPEC.
 

The Use of Music Elements in the Lessons by Teachers of Students with Mental Disabilities and Their Music-Based Competencies

The field of special education for people with mental disabilities is a discipline that is constantly evolving and changing as well as being inclusive. Teachers working in this field are guiding the way as long as they improve their professional qualifications. Even if special education processes are under state guarantee, it is always a lifelong process that brings a financial obligation for families. Therefore, the field teachers should be a complementary element for the student in many areas such as development, change, education and rehabilitation. Music elements also find a prominent place among these complementary elements. However, the field teacher can only support this process on the basis of music to the extent that he/she realizes his/her own music-based competence professionally. In this direction, it was aimed to determine the music-based competencies of field teachers and their utilization of music elements in their lessons and the data were collected for this purpose. Because music is present in all areas of special education. However, it is not possible to employ a music professional for every special education institution. Therefore, the field teacher is expected to handle the process within the framework of inclusiveness. Within the framework of this idea, the study was conducted with 10 volunteer teachers who were reached during the 2021-2022 academic year. In order to obtain the data, 26 three-point Likert-type instructions were prepared and online interviews were conducted with each participant teacher. This study is a case study. The data were described on the axis of interpretive paradigm and categorized in the findings section. The validity and reliability of the instructions were ensured in line with the opinions of special education experts. As a result, it was found that the field teachers who participated in the study have music-based competence and consciously utilize music elements in their lessons. However, it was also seen that field teachers need music-based professional development. Therefore, it is an evident that they need professional development trainings on how to use music elements more effectively for non-musical purposes. It is essential to conduct this study with a group of more participants. Nevertheless, it is believed that the findings obtained have a quality that will pave the way for new researchers.

Abstract P652: Higher Self-Perceived Financial Stress is Associated With Increased Allostatic Load Among African American Women: The Jackson Heart Study

Introduction: African American women have higher rates of financial stress as well as higher allostatic load compared to non-Hispanic White women. Financial stress is the psychological, subjective perception of hardship, experienced with limited access to material resources and an inability to meet financial obligations. Differences in financial stress have been observed between sexes, as women are more likely to report experiencing this stressor as compared to men. Allostatic load has been used to quantify the effects of chronic stress on the body. Among those with higher allostatic load, there is an increased risk for cardiovascular disease and mortality. The purpose of this study was to assess the association between financial stress and allostatic load among African American women in the Jackson Heart Study. Hypothesis: We hypothesized that the composite score of allostatic load would be positively associated with self-reported financial stress. Methods: Data were included from African American women within Exam 1 of the Jackson Heart Study, a longitudinal observational cohort study of African Americans in the Jackson, Mississippi metropolitan area. Financial stress, the exposure variable, was based on participants’ self-reported experiences, rated as “ did not experience stress,”” no stress,” “mild stress,” and “moderate to high stress .” The survey questions were gathered from the Weekly Stress Index which is a self-reported measure developed to estimate the overall stressfulness of distinct individual financial stressors experienced throughout the past week. Allostatic load, the outcome variable, was calculated using the following measures: cortisol, glycosylated hemoglobin A1c, total cholesterol, waist circumference, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, heart rate, C-reactive protein, and white blood cell count. The composite measure of allostatic load consisted of the sum of the total number of biomarkers that were found to be within high-risk quartiles. Logistic regression models with relevant covariates were used to estimate the association. Results: Among the total sample of 1,867, 15% reported moderate to high financial stress and 37.17% had a composite measure indicative of high allostatic load. After controlling for social economic status, access to care, health behaviors, and psychosocial variables, those who reported moderate to high financial stress were 1.85 (95% CI 1.32, 2.59) times more likely to have high allostatic load. Conclusions: Financial stress may be one mechanism contributing to increased production of physiological biomarkers of stress in the body. Further analysis should be conducted on financial stress and the incidence of cardiovascular disease among African American women.

Factoring in Family: Considerations of Parenthood in the Assessment, Enforcement, and Collection of Legal Financial Obligations (LFOs).

Prior research has yet to address how criminal legal system actors take parenthood into account when imposing and enforcing LFOs. Drawing on evidence from 205 semi-structured interviews conducted across four states, this study explores the relationship between monetary punishment and parenthood from the perspectives of court and community corrections professionals. Engaging Kathleen Daly's framework of familial paternalism (1987a, 1987b, 1989a, 1989b), we find that system actors obtain and interpret information about defendant circumstances to (1) consider family complexity, (2) construct deservingness and (3) curb spill-over punishment. Ultimately, we find that system actors consider parental status in relation to LFOs and defendants' ability to pay, though their decisions also hinge on gender and the nature of parental involvement.