Investment Community Research Articles

Factors Associated With Prolonged Mental Health Admissions at US Children's Hospitals.

Mental health (MH) hospitalizations at medical hospitals are associated with longer length of stay (LOS) compared with non-MH hospitalizations, but patient factors and costs associated with prolonged MH hospitalizations are unknown. The objective of this paper is to assess patient clinical and demographic factors associated with prolonged MH hospitalizations and describe variation in MH LOS across US children's hospitals. We studied children aged 5 to 20 years hospitalized with a primary MH diagnosis during 2021 and 2022 across 46 children's hospitals using the Pediatric Health Information System database. Generalized estimating equations, clustered on hospital, tested associations between patient characteristics with prolonged MH hospitalization, defined as those in the 95th percentile or above (>14 days). Among 42 654 primary MH hospitalizations, most were aged 14 to 18 (62.4%), female (68.5%), and non-Hispanic white (53.8%). The most common primary MH diagnoses were suicide/self-injury (37.4%), depressive disorders (16.6%), and eating disorders (10.9%). The median (interquartile range) LOS was 2 days (1-5), but 2169 (5.1%) experienced a hospitalization >14 days. In adjusted analyses, race and ethnicity, category of MH diagnosis, and increasing medical and MH complexity were associated with prolonged hospitalization. Our results emphasize several diagnoses and clinical descriptors for targeted interventions, such as behavioral and inpatient MH resources and discharge planning. Expanded investment in both community and inpatient MH supports have the potential to improve health equity and reduce prolonged MH hospitalizations.

War in Ukraine and Implications for International Investment Law

Abstract Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine has sent shockwaves across the international community, not least the international investment community and the arbitration world. A flurry of disputes has arisen not only in connection to harm to the interests of foreign investors in Ukraine and Russia but also in relation to sanctions – including asset freezing measures – imposed by many western and aligned states. This article outlines the typology of arising cases, and discusses the principal arguments, outcomes and challenges of means of redress (typically, arbitration) that appear to be at play.

Impact And Interaction Between Demographic Variables and Behaviour Bias on Mutual Fund Investment Decision Among Academicians

The impact of demographic variables and biases on investment performance can guide personalized investment strategies and product development within the financial services sector, catering to the unique needs and preferences of academicians as investors. With the growing importance of mutual funds in investment portfolios and the prevalence of behavioral biases influencing decision-making processes, understanding how demographic factors intersect with these biases is crucial. Moreover, the influence of demographic factors on these biases and their subsequent impact on investment outcomes remain underexplored within this specific demographic group. By uncovering how demographic characteristics intersect with behavioral biases in mutual fund investment decisions among academicians, it can inform tailored financial education programs aimed at mitigating biases and enhancing financial literacy among this demographic. The study seeks to provide valuable insights for both academicians and financial practitioners to improve investment decision-making processes and outcomes. Despite the increasing popularity of mutual funds as investment vehicles, academicians, like many investors, are susceptible to behavioral biases that can impede rational decision-making. The author concluded that addressing these implications has the potential to foster more informed and effective investment decision-making processes, benefiting academicians and the broader investor community alike.

Soil microbial functional profiles of P-cycling reveal drought-induced constraints on P-transformation in a hyper-arid desert ecosystem

Soil water conditions are known to influence soil nutrient availability, but the specific impact of different conditions on soil phosphorus (P) availability through the modulation of P-cycling functional microbial communities in hyper-arid desert ecosystems remains largely unexplored. To address this knowledge gap, we conducted a 3-year pot experiment using a typical desert plant species (Alhagi sparsifolia Shap.) subjected to two water supply levels (25 %–35 % and 65 %–75 % of maximum field capacity, MFC) and four P-supply levels (0, 1, 3, and 5 g P m−2 y−1). Our investigation focused on the soil Hedley-P pool and the four major microbial groups involved in the critical phases of soil microbial P-cycling. The results revealed that the drought (25 %–35 % MFC) and no P-supply treatments reduced soil resin-P and NaHCO3-Pi concentrations by 87.03 % and 93.22 %, respectively, compared to the well-watered (65 %–75 % MFC) and high P-supply (5 g P m−2 y−1) treatments. However, the P-supply treatment resulted in a 12 %–22 % decrease in the soil NH4+-N concentration preferred by microbes compared to the no P-supply treatment. Moreover, the abundance of genes engaged in microbial P-cycling (e.g. gcd and phoD) increased under the drought and no P-supply treatments (p < 0.05), suggesting that increased NH4+-N accumulation under these conditions may stimulate P-solubilizing microbes, thereby promoting the microbial community's investment in resources to enhance the P-cycling potential. Furthermore, the communities of Steroidobacter cummioxidans, Mesorhizobium alhagi, Devosia geojensis, and Ensifer sojae, associated with the major P-cycling genes, were enriched in drought and no or low-P soils. Overall, the drought and no or low-P treatments stimulated microbial communities and gene abundances involved in P-cycling. However, this increase was insufficient to maintain soil P-bioavailability. These findings shed light on the responses and feedback of microbial-mediated P-cycling behaviors in desert ecosystems under three-year drought and soil P-deficiency.

Making Space: A New Way for Community Engagement in the Urban Planning Process

The current research shifts from the tradition of researcher-generated and directed community study and explores a new model for data collection based on citizen-directed participation and restorative economies. This is important because the scholarship of urban planning is often separated from the practice, in which scholars undertake the bulk of the academic research and professional planners work in the field, engaging with the community and creating and implementing plans around local issues and opportunities. While urban planning trends support diverse, equitable, and inclusive engagement in visioning and shaping local development, few operationalized examples exist for citizen-led scholarship with local community application. The work outlined herein explicitly partners with local residents to collect data on both community and academic interests, and it also promotes a citizen sense of agency. Community leaders worked with the local public university to design and implement a study to solicit park use ideas and visions among three groups: youth; adults; and returning citizens. Results identify an overall theme of a lack of engagement with the community, relative to other local parks, and they also highlight four common areas of thought between the three populations—concerns about safety among park users, functional use of park space, demand for widespread park access, and desire for natural environment conservation. This work represents a viable local engagement approach including demonstrated investment in a local community and resultant increased trust; also, this work contributes valuable new knowledge about local history and the use of a community resource to inform land use planning and policy around community sustainability.

Cell and gene therapy investment: evolution and future outlook on investor perspectives

Background aimsTo better understand the attitudes and behaviors of investors involved in funding cell and gene therapy (CGT) businesses, the Business Development and Finance) subcommittee of International Society for Cell and Gene Therapy, in collaboration with Truist Securities, conducted a broad survey of the investment community in late 2021. MethodsThis survey follows a similar study that this group executed in 2018, and the longitudinal comparisons between the two time periods provide insights into how investor behavior in the CGT field has evolved. ResultsThe vast majority of investor respondents are specialist biotech investors who are primarily active in deploying capital in North America and Europe. There was a notable increase in the proportion of investors actively deploying capital in China and Japan between 2018 and 2021. The percentage of respondents’ portfolios dedicated to CGT companies has also increased in this period, reflecting a noteworthy trend in the therapeutic landscape. ConclusionsClinically significant data remain the dominant force behind investment decisions, whereas competition from other drug modalities has now emerged as the most-cited barrier to making a CGT investment, eclipsing safety concerns as the most significant barrier to investment in 2018. Concerns around manufacturing and scale-up have also increased in prominence amongst the investment community. Gene-editing technologies are attracting investors as the most compelling new CGT technology. This survey also revealed that most investors expect to increase their level of investment in allogeneic technologies relative to autologous products in the coming years.

Solid Waste Management for Environmental Sustainability and Human Health

The paper titled "Solid Waste Management for Environmental Sustainability and Human Health" provides a comprehensive exploration of strategies for the industry to embrace environmentally sustainable practices while safeguarding human health. The foundation is laid through a meticulous assessment of the industry's waste landscape, followed by the establishment of principles grounded in the 3R approach, circular economy integration, and life cycle thinking. The model emphasizes the adoption of advanced technologies, such as efficient recycling and innovative waste-to-energy solutions, along with compliance with stringent policies and regulations. Recognizing the pivotal role of community engagement, the model encourages industry collaboration with local communities, proactive education initiatives, and transparent reporting. Monitoring and evaluation mechanisms, including key performance indicators and regular audits, ensure the effectiveness of waste management initiatives.&#x0D; Moreover, the model underscores the importance of innovation and future-readiness, calling for industry investment in research and development to address emerging challenges. Corporate social responsibility is seamlessly integrated, extending sustainable practices to the supply chain and fostering community investments. The model embraces a philosophy of continuous improvement and adaptation, urging industry players to solicit feedback, learn from mistakes, and remain agile in the face of evolving environmental and social landscapes. By incorporating these elements, the model provides a holistic framework for industry-wide adoption, fostering a paradigm shift towards sustainable solid waste management practices that prioritize both environmental well-being and human health.

STUDY ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN FIRMS’ PERFORMANCE AND STOCK MARKET RETURNS IN SELECT NSE LISTED COMPANIES

Purpose: An investor considers lot of factors while investing his money into the Stocks. Money is majorly invested in BSE or NSE in India. BSE is established in the year 1875 and NSE established in the year 1992. Apart from this some stocks are traded in local exchange market in each city. Earlier we had manual trading. However, it is more organized and digitalized now. Every investor does some survey prior to investing their hard-earned money. The reason behind investment is to earn profits over the invested money. The returns over the stock market are dependent on various micro and macro-economic factors. Panel data analysis was conducted using data from the top 50 companies listed on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) over a 10-year period. The analysis explored the impact of various financial ratios on stock market returns, considering individual-specific effects and time variations. The study found that certain financial ratios, including Earnings per Share (EPS), Earning Yield, Debt to Equity ratio, and Market Capitalization to Sales ratio, significantly influenced stock market returns.&#x0D; &#x0D; Method: Panel data analysis, also known as longitudinal data analysis or panel regression, is a statistical method used to analyze data collected from a group of individuals, entities, or subjects over time. In panel data analysis, observations are made on the same subjects or entities repeatedly at multiple time points, creating a panel or panel dataset. Panel data analysis is particularly useful in social sciences, economics, and other fields where researchers are interested in studying the dynamics of individual units over time and accounting for both cross-sectional and time-series variations.&#x0D; &#x0D; Results and Conclusion: The findings from this study provide valuable guidance for individual investors, financial advisors, and policymakers in optimizing investment strategies. However, it is essential to acknowledge the limitations of this research, including the static nature of data collection and the focus on the Indian stock market. Future research should explore longitudinal effects and consider macroeconomic factors to deepen our understanding of the complex relationship between financial ratios, risks, and stock returns. The random effects model shows that the independent variables have a significant relationship with the dependent variable, meaning they are related to each other. The regression models confirm that certain financial ratios, like EPS, Price_To_Cash_Flow, and Cash_Flow_TO_Assets, have a significant impact on stock returns. The model considers the influence of time-specific factors, and the fixed effects model better captures the differences between entities, suggesting that each entity behaves differently in the analysis. In conclusion, this study highlights the multifaceted nature of the Indian stock market and the diverse factors that influence investors' decision-making processes. Enhancing financial literacy, promoting risk management, and understanding investor sentiment are crucial for building a robust and informed investor community. By addressing these aspects, investors and policymakers can contribute to the overall growth, stability, and efficiency of the Indian stock market.&#x0D; &#x0D; Implications of research: The key advantage of panel data analysis is that it allows researchers to control for individual heterogeneity and unobserved time-invariant factors, which can lead to more accurate and efficient estimates of the relationships between variables. By incorporating both within-unit and between-unit variations, panel data analysis provides a more comprehensive understanding of the data and can help identify causal relationships. Originality/value: the current paper aims to study the relationship between firms’ performance and stock market returns in select NSE listed companies.

Nigerian Petroleum Industry Act 2021 &amp; Host Communities Development: Issues &amp; Challenges

The signing of the Nigerian Petroleum Industry Act in 2021 by the Buhari administration signified a paradigm shift from voluntary to statutory mandated community investment strategy of oil and gas companies in Nigeria. In order words, the discretionary Community investment strategies (Memorandum of Understanding) hitherto employed by oil and gas production and exploration companies to ameliorate the squabbles between them and their respective host community, and thereby gain unhindered access to operate no longer obtains. The deployment framework, processes and procedures to guide its (PIA) implementation is stated in the ACT. Also, further clarifications on gray areas in the ACT were expounded in the Nigeria Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) guidelines. However, despite the robustness of the ACT and the NUPRC guidelines, settlors and host communities alike have raised pertinent questions regarding its implementation. The paper is aimed at objectively identifying the existing gaps in the Petroleum Industry Act and the NUPRC guideline as it relates to the host community component with a view to suggests/recommends possible solutions.

New Developments in Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG): A Corporate Disclosure About India's Top ESG Scorer

Nowadays, companies across all assiduity around the world face the challenges of extraordinary dislocation due to climate changes and other social dislocation. It is the responsibility of standard setters and controllers of the fiscal sector to constantly encourage industries to follow and respond rather of ignoring the dislocation. The present study is an independent and methodical analysis of reporting and evaluation of ESG factors and exposure performance of selected Indian companies. This study investigates how top ESG scorer declared Environmental, Social and Governance factors and BRR in their sustainability report. Environmental, Social and Governance disclosure is one of the main arising corporate disclosures aspects. The other ideal of the study is to produce a mindfulness so that appreciation for ESG becomes communicable and becomes hardwired in the organizational foundation. It will further enable gap analysis and drive companies to achieve leadership status within their assiduity and achieve better performance. The corporate sector and the investment community are crucial players towards achieving sustainable development. It ‘ll also give investors a ready-made tool to measured standard of companies. For the compliance of the objective each ESG factors divided into components and analyzed. The study concluded that the Companies having high scored on policy disclosures followed by governance factor, compared to environment and social factors.

Peran Zakat dalam Pengentasan Kemiskinan di Indonesia

This research aims to determine the role of zakat in alleviating poverty in Indonesia. This research uses a descriptive qualitative approach with content analysis techniques and library research. The research results show that zakat has an important role in reducing poverty rates in Indonesia. With professional management of zakat funds, it is possible to increase the level of demand and purchasing power of the community, so that the community becomes more prosperous. Apart from that, zakat funds are also able to increase investment activities and community productivity in business activities, so that in the end, professional management of zakat funds can reduce poverty rates.

A multidimensional analysis of corporate governance mechanisms and their impact on sustainable economic development: A case study of Ghana’s financial sector

Efficiency remains pivotal to the banking sector, serving as a linchpin for resource allocation and competitive prowess. This study delves into the intricate dynamics between corporate governance and banking efficiency in Ghana, with an analytical lens on cost efficiency (CE) and total efficiency (TE). Utilizing Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), our investigation spans over a decade (2008–2019) and encompasses a data set of 23 Ghanaian banks.The study findings unveils that rigorous corporate governance mechanisms, as quantified by the Corporate Governance Index (CGI), exert a salutary influence on both cost and total efficiencies. Moreover, a well-defined Risk Management Index (RMI) positively correlates with cost efficiency, albeit without a substantial impact on total efficiency. Conversely, the study identifies a counterintuitive effect: the current make-up of supervisory boards, as gauged by the Supervisory Board Index (SBI), inversely impacts both efficiency metrics, signaling sub-optimal governance structures.Significantly, the research also highlights a pressing concern: the average total efficiency of Ghanaian banks lags behind the global benchmarks prescribed by the World Bank. This discrepancy underscores an exigency for efficiency optimization within the sector.The study thereby offers invaluable insights for multiple stakeholders—including regulatory bodies, investment communities, and policymakers—by delineating the governance variables that can enhance or impede banking efficiency. It also identifies actionable avenues for improvement, specifically in the realms of risk management and board composition, with the potential to catalyze a transformation in Ghana's banking landscape.

The influence of climate resilience governmentality on vulnerability in regional Australia

Australia is already experiencing climate change losses and damages. Australian governments and other institutional actors acknowledge vulnerability, yet they centre building resilience to climate change. Resilience is frequently used as a synonym for vulnerability reduction, but important ideological differences exist. Indeed, scholars have suggested that resilience, as a politico-ideological tool of subject formation, can be considered a type of governmentality. While there is much research on the political and ideological dimensions of resilience, there is less focus on illuminating how resilience, as a form of climate governmentality, interacts with vulnerability to climate change. Drawing on a climate ethnography in regional Australia, I ask how do resilience discourses and interventions influence vulnerability to climate change in regional Australia? To answer this question, I explore examples of the historical–structural, intersectional and psychosocial determinants of vulnerability, identify key resilience discourses and interventions and examine how, what I term, climate resilience governmentality is influencing vulnerability to climate change. Unable to identify clear causality, I instead show how resilience governmentality is working to reinforce rather than redress the root causes of vulnerability in regional Australia. I observe that resilience discourses emphasise shared responsibility, but in practice, this translates into a focus on individual capacities. Subjects’ psychological dispositions are targeted and neoliberal rationalities are desired outcomes. Climate resilience governmentality is not linked to a withdrawal of the state. Instead, it is a top-down process based on government prioritisation, subject formation strategies and the building of non-governmental institutional landscapes to provide services. I argue that climate resilience governmentality is a form of governmental gaslighting because it denies the lived experiences of precarity, insecurity and structural violence throughout regional Australia. I suggest that significant government investment in regional communities, critical societal reflection and truth-telling are urgently needed to reduce vulnerability in regional Australia.

Path Analysis of Factors Related to Burnout for Campus-Based Victim Advocates

Abstract Campus-based victim advocates provide support and assistance to victims of interpersonal violence in the college context. In this study of professional campus-based victim advocates, structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to assess the direct and indirect effects of factors related to burnout. A total of 208 full-time victim advocates employed at four-year college campuses across the United States participated in an online survey in the summer of 2021. SEM analysis found that secondary traumatic stress and organizational support had significant direct effects on the level of burnout in this population. Also, organizational support served as a mediating factor between perceptions of leadership and burnout, and secondary traumatic stress served as a mediating factor between organizational support and burnout. Higher education institutions can make changes at the organizational level to address burnout of victim advocates through manageable work hours, control over workload, fair compensation, and increased sense of community investment in interpersonal violence response.

Climate risk and commercial mortgage delinquency

AbstractNatural disasters such as hurricanes, floods, heatwaves, and wildfires are projected to become more prevalent in the foreseeable future. Climate risk is, therefore, increasingly recognized as an important factor by policy makers, the investment community, and financial markets. Due to the immobility of assets, the commercial real estate industry is especially vulnerable to climate risk, and there is an increasing interest to understand the impact of climate risk on the value of commercial real estate. For commercial real estate lenders, changes in collateral value are only of partial importance. The ability of borrowers to meet their payment obligations is equally, if not more important. By combining historical data on two major climate‐related disasters—Hurricanes Harvey and Sandy—with longitudinal information on commercial mortgage performance, this paper identifies the impact of climate risks on mortgage delinquency rates for commercial real estate mortgages. The results show that both Harvey and Sandy led to elevated levels of commercial mortgage delinquency, with significant heterogeneity based on the extent of damage in the Census block group. Information provided through FEMA 100‐year floodplain maps partially mitigates the effects, an indication that lenders incorporate flood risk information in the underwriting process. An analysis of potential mechanisms indicates a decrease in property income during the 2‐year period following the event for Hurricane Harvey, but no evidence of income effects for Sandy.

Investor Education and Decision-Making in the Indian Stock Market: Empowering Users for Informed Trading

This research explores the nexus between investor education and decision-making in the Indian stock market, emphasizing the crucial role of financial literacy in shaping prudent investment behaviours. Through a mixed-methods approach involving surveys and data analysis, the study unveils a positive correlation between advanced financial knowledge and a 25% increase in portfolio diversification. Additionally, it evaluates the impact of investor education programs, revealing a commendable 20% reduction in impulsive trading behaviours. Emotional biases such as fear and overconfidence emerge as influential factors in decision-making, echoing the principles of Behavioural Finance. The findings underscore the need for a comprehensive and adaptive educational approach, addressing cognitive and emotional dimensions. Recommendations include enhanced outreach strategies, digital education platforms, and collaborative efforts between regulatory bodies and industry stakeholders. This research contributes actionable insights for policymakers and market participants, fostering an informed and empowered investor community in the dynamic Indian stock market.

Community Investment In Youth and Its Relationship to Rationalizing The Cost of Achieving Sustainable development goals

Community Investment In Youth and Its Relationship to Rationalizing The Cost of Achieving Sustainable development goals

How should we govern digital innovation? A venture capital perspective

Ethical and governance issues regarding digital innovations developments like Artificial Intelligence have attracted abundant debate and research. Many perspectives – societal, engineering, research, management and policymaking – have been extensively analysed in an attempt to understand the role of the different stakeholders in minimising risks and amplifying opportunities. Interestingly, however, the investment community has been scarcely studied, despite the critical role of financing in technology innovation. This paper attempts to characterize investors' perceptions around the concept of digital innovation governance. We present insights derived from qualitative research using constructivist grounded theory, based on a series of interviews to 23 venture capital investment managers. Analysis of the data collected suggests several categories of important factors regarding how venture capital managers engage in Digital Innovation Governance (DIG): legitimacy of involvement, opportunity of conducting and capability to lead DIG initiatives in the invested startups. We offer a structured inventory of venture capital manager insights and perceptions on innovation governance. According to our research, venture capital managers, and investors in general, find themselves capable of and see opportunities and relevance in effectively fostering a digital innovation governance that takes into account the potential risks of Artificial Intelligence and identifies business and societal opportunities.

Nancy Pelosis Visit to Taiwan and Stock Indices Responses: An Event Study and Panel Data Analysis for Asia-Pacific and Selected Markets

Traditional financial market-based analyses of the anticipated effects of policy changes have only ever been retrospective. In this study, we provide an example to illustrate how prediction markets enable markets to be used to estimate policy effects in the future. In this article, we use an event study approach to empirically study the effect of Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan on stock indices performance in the Asia-Pacific region, the United States, and selected indices in Europe. The observed window comprises 10 days post the Nancy Pelosi’s visit, and the estimation window consists of 150 days before the event date. We found that the effect of visit has not been significant on the stock indices except Hong-Kong and China that too for very short-term. Our analysis enables us to identify how not all the news would be having an impact on stock indices. The investment community and academics can predict stock return behaviour and the dynamics of the first two minutes during crises by observing how stock return behaviour changes in response to financial crises.

Інноваційні підходи до підтримки та розвитку малого і середнього бізнесу в регіонах України

The aim of this article is to study innovative approaches to the support and development of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the regions of Ukraine. The development of SMEs is a prerequisite for the realization of Ukraine’s economic and innovative potential. An analysis and a generalization of scientific works of many scientists considering the integration of innovative instruments into the activities of small and medium-sized businesses have been carried out. The main aspects of the influence of small and medium-sized enterprises on the development of the country are systematized. Small and medium-sized businesses in Ukraine are a instrument for creating new jobs and self-realization of citizens, reducing unemployment, developing innovative business methods, influencing competition, saturating the market for goods, services and labor, and are the basis for the development of the national economy. It is determined that a perspective innovative way to stimulate the development of Ukrainian SMEs is the organization of an ecosystem of their support. Social, resource and cognitive factors motivate SMEs to participate in the ecosystem. By participating in the ecosystem, SMEs benefit from networking, collaboration, communication and information sharing. These include various factors related to social interactions between ecosystem participants that contribute to business growth and development. Other factors include access to resources, formal and informal support, and market access. Finally, cognitive factors are related to the goals and values shared by the participants in the ecosystem. Another important instrument is business incubation. The current status of business incubation in the policy of supporting SMEs should be recognized as the initial stage in the development of a distinctive local economy. In addition, start-ups are becoming increasingly important, especially given the need to implement modern, profitable and innovative projects in the form of innovative SMEs. To stimulate venture capital investments at the national level, it is proposed to intensify efforts to create favorable conditions for generating business ideas and turning them into innovations in demand by the investment community. In the future, it is recommended to consider the issue of attracting innovative technologies in the post-war reconstruction of the economy.