Monetary Commitment Research Articles

What do child protection social workers consider to be the systemic factors driving workforce instability within the English child protection system, and what are the implications for the UK Government’s reform strategy?

ABSTRACT In 2023, the UK Government published its long-awaited reform strategy for England’s children’s social care system. Whilst the strategy set out planned reforms for several aspects of the wider system, an area requiring particular ‘priority’ was the purported workforce instability seen within child protection social work. However, the strategy has subsequently faced criticism on the basis that the suggested reforms were not satisfactorily informed by the testimonies of practicing social workers. This paper draws from a mixed-method study to report on the lived experiences of a sample of 201 child protection social workers practicing across England, in the context of better understanding the factors which they believed were impacting on workforce stability within England’s child protection system. Implications that emerge are the need for an increase in the monetary commitment offered by the UK Government (especially in the context of tackling high caseloads, and improving local authority pay scales to reduce the allure of agency work); a targeted emphasis on challenging local cultures preoccupied with evidencing compliance over time spent with children; and the Government taking a more assertive role in tackling the often-counterproductive commentary perpetuated by politicians and media.

Pitching to Win Hearts: The Effects of Relational Communication on Entrepreneurial Funding Pitches

Entrepreneurial communication in funding pitches has long been considered a means of persuasion by which the pitching entrepreneur acquires resources. Angel investors on the receiving end of a pitch, however, report looking for more than just the attributes of an entrepreneur, prioritizing instead the ‘interpersonal chemistry’ and ‘collaborative potential’ they feel from an interaction when making investment decisions. Building on this existing literature, we introduce a relational view to funding pitches, that considers pitching as an exercise in relationship-building, as an alternative to the traditional model of communication as persuasion. In two experimental studies, we test the effects of verbal and nonverbal relational cues on perceptions of the entrepreneur’s coachability, and how willing investors are to make mentorship and/or monetary commitments to the entrepreneur. Counter to what we theorize, we find that high levels of relational communication, that builds rapport and rhetorical identification between interactants, makes an entrepreneur appear less coachable, and thereby renders them as less likely to be mentored. This relationship is further mediated by perceptions of the entrepreneur’s humility. We discuss theoretical and practical implications of these findings, and distinguish between social competence and coachability competence.

Strategic deviations in optimal monetary policy

This paper investigates the circumstances under which a central bank is more or less likely to deviate from the optimal monetary policy rule. The research question is addressed in a simple New Keynesian dynamic stochastic general equilibrium (DSGE) model in which monetary policy deviations occur endogenously. The model solution suggests that higher future central bank credibility attenuates the current period policy trade-off between a stable inflation rate and a stable output gap. Together with the loss of credibility after a policy deviation, this provides the central bank with an incentive to implement past policy commitments. The result is valid even if the central bank may recover credibility with some probability after a policy deviation. My main finding is that the central bank is willing to implement past policy commitments if a sufficient fraction of agents is not aware of the exact end date of the policy commitment. The result challenges the time-inconsistency argument against monetary policy commitments and provides a potential explanation for the repeated implementation of monetary policy commitments in reality.

Implementation of a virtual learning and simulation curriculum for orthopaedic resident training during COVID and beyond

The recent coronavirus disease of 2019 pandemic has resulted in unprecedented limitations in person-to-person contact, elective surgeries, and even traumatic injuries, leaving potential gaps in training and skill development. Surgical programs have had to adapt with the rapid implementation of surgical simulation curricula, collaborative lecture series, and greater focus on online learning. Using models, simulation, and virtual learning, we have accommodated for restrictions and operative volume from coronavirus disease of 2019. The goal was to establish a durable system of extra-clinical training that would increase patient safety and collaborative knowledge sharing. From our simulated interventions, we noted maintenance of skills despite low operative volumes, low temporal or monetary commitment especially when compared with operating room time, and engagement from both learners (medical students and junior residents) and teachers (senior residents and staff physicians). Our experience with transition to a virtual curriculum with involvement of multiple institutions has also resulted in greater diversity of lectures, increased frequency of academics, and high levels of participation. In this article, we discuss our department’s experience with these alterations and the path for surgical training moving forward. We have seen multiple benefits to advancement of nonclinical specialty-specific simulation and virtual didactics. While some of these efforts may require some early expenditure, both monetary and temporal, to establish the program infrastructure, they are easy to apply, confer substantial added value, and appear durable.

Assessing Customers' Moral Disengagement from Reciprocity Concerns in Participative Pricing

Participative pricing demonstrates the basic idea of allowing customer participation in price-setting process. Nottingham Playhouse, IBIS Singapore, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Wiener Deewan, Girl Talk, 8k, Zest consulting, Radiohead band and many more have successfully implemented pay-what-you-want (PWYW), the most innovative form of participative pricing. Based on the degree of participation, PWYW is the highest form that allows buyers to select any price they want to pay for a product/service, including zero. The present study examines how customers lower their motivation to pay more for products offered under PWYW by morally disengaging themselves from reciprocity concerns. It focuses on one mechanism of moral disengagement—displacement of responsibility and tests the proposed hypotheses in PWYW context. 284 responses were gathered using structured questionnaires at a reputed public university. Data were analysed using partial least-squares structural equation modelling. Findings indicate that customers’ moral disengagement via displacement of responsibility towards reciprocity concerns is negatively associated with willingness-to-pay more (WTPM). Results corroborate the attenuating role of perceived control on the negative association between displacement of responsibility towards reciprocity concerns and WTPM. However, relaxation from monetary commitments does not have a significant moderating effect on the negative relationship between moral disengagement and WTPM. This study is possibly the first to empirically investigate the interplay among individuals’ cognitive mechanisms, moral disengagement from reciprocity concerns and socio-demographic variables under participative pricing. Findings empirically substantiate the theory of moral disengagement, moral self-regulation and social cognitive theory. Practitioners should actively engage customers’ moral self-regulation process and provide more sense of perceived control while designing participative pricing offerings.

Implementing Ethical Recruitment of Migrant Workers: Evidence from the Palm Oil Sector in Malaysia

Growing allegation of irregularities in the conduct of migrant workers’ recruitment drives global effort to eliminate unethical practices in the migration industry. As part of the international value chain, palm oil companies in Malaysia are expected to implement ethical recruitment practices. This study is an attempt to assess the employers’ commitment and practices in implementing ethical recruitment in Malaysia. Deriving from four palm oil mills (employers) and further validated through a survey conducted against 92 Nepalese workers – this study argues that while employers have committed to cover certain costs of their migrant workers’ recruitment, they lack a clear policy commitment, due diligence and monitoring against the labour recruiters. Consequently, the labour recruiters (including the intermediaries) mainly in Nepal have imposed another set of recruitment costs which already covered by the employers in Malaysia. Alarmingly, the Nepalese workers have paid even a higher cost of recruitment than the cost borne by the employers. For ethical recruitment to be effectively implemented, the employers’ monetary commitment to cover the cost of their workers’ recruitment must be complemented with efforts to engage and monitor the conduct of the labour recruiters in migrant workers’ origin country.

APPROACHES ON FINANCIAL EDUCATION IN HIGH SCHOOL: INTERFACES WITH RESEARCH IN THE AREA

It is of fundamental importance that Brazilian school institutions are concerned with financial education in people's daily lives, since this is indispensable in everyday decision-making, both school and family, because much of what is learned in the school context, is practiced at home. In this sense, the basic question raised for this work is: how to propose a financial education that favors discussions about the family budget of high school students in Brazilian schools? One of the aspects that needs to be pointed out is the problem related to the quality of students' decision-making, with regard to financial education, whether in the formal or non-formal context of teaching. The current situation points to a very significant number of people who have financial defaults, failing to meet their monetary commitments. Thus, in order to maximize studies on this theme, the work sought to collect information and trends on this theme on the national scene, through a bibliographic article, focusing on academic productions related to financial education and aimed at high school. The aim of this study was to show the importance of working on this topic with high school students, the habit since adolescence of having a healthy financial life, which later in adulthood will be put with more practice and experience.

Monetary-fiscal policies interactions and optimal rules in Egypt

Purpose This paper aims to estimate a New Keynesian small open economy dynamic stochastic general equilibrium (DSGE) model for Egypt using Bayesian techniques and data for the period FY2004/2005:Q1-FY2015/2016:Q4 to assess monetary and fiscal policy interactions and their impact on economic stabilization. Outcomes of monetary and fiscal authority commitment to policy instruments, interest rate, government spending and taxes, are evaluated using Taylor-type and optimal simple rules. Design/methodology/approach The study extends the stylized micro-founded small open economy New Keynesian DSGE model, proposed by Lubik and Schorfheide (2007), by explicitly introducing fiscal policy behavior into the model (Fragetta and Kirsanova, 2010 and Çebi, 2011). The model is calibrated using quarterly data for Egypt on key macroeconomic variables during FY2004/2005:Q1-FY2015/2016:Q4; and Bayesian methods are used in estimation. Findings The results show that monetary and fiscal policy instruments in Egypt contribute to economic stability through their effects on inflation, output and debt stock. The monetary policy Taylor rule estimates reveal that the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) attaches significant importance to anti-inflationary policy and (to a lesser extent) to output targeting but responds weakly to nominal exchange rate variations. CBE decisions are significantly influenced by interest rate smoothing. Egyptian fiscal policy has an important role in output and government debt stabilization. Additionally, the fiscal authority chooses pro-cyclical government spending and counter-cyclical tax policies for output stabilization. Again, past values of the fiscal instruments are influential in the evolution of the future fiscal policy-making process. Originality/value A few studies have examined the interaction between monetary and fiscal policy in Egypt within a unified framework. The presented paper integrates the monetary and fiscal policy analysis within a unified dynamic general equilibrium open economy rational expectations framework. Without such a framework, it would not be easy to jointly analyze monetary and fiscal transmission mechanisms for output, inflation and debt. Also, it would be neither possible to contrast the outcome of monetary and fiscal authorities commitment to a simple Taylor instrument rule vis-à-vis optimal policy outcomes nor to assess the behavior of monetary and fiscal agents in macroeconomic stability in context of an active/passive policy decisions framework.

Estimating benefits of C‐ITS deployment, when legacy roadside systems are present

Cooperative systems which rely on vehicle-to-infrastructure communications are designed to tackle important road transport issues, such as safety, traffic efficiency and pollution. Since the associated monetary commitment to invest is substantial, a clear understanding of the likely costs, impacts and benefits is necessary before investment decisions can be made. A tool for estimating the costs and benefits, from both business and the societal point of view, was developed in the ANACONDA project, ‘assessment of user needs for adapting COBRA including online database’, to assist National Road Authorities (NRAs) during their decision processes. This study presents an approach for determining societal benefits by taking into account the presence of legacy roadside systems, which affect the size of the benefit reaped when cooperative intelligent transport systems (C-ITS) services are deployed. This study develops closed-form solutions for determining benefits to NRAs, taking into account the presence of legacy roadside systems. The COBRA + Tool incorporates these aspects, enabling NRAs to carry out ‘what-if’ scenarios for C-ITS deployment. The study provides examples of application of the Tool.

Infrastructure Alone is Not Enough: Identifying Gaps in the Literature Regarding First Nations Water Governance

In 2015, the federal government committed to ending drinking water advisories in First Nations communities across Canada by 2021. Their approach involves an increase in monetary commitments to improving water quality infrastructure in priority First Nations communities. The perception surrounding water-based infrastructure investments in First Nations communities is that infrastructure grants will solve the issues related to boil water advisories and allow for all individuals in communities to access clean water. While the investments are overdue and necessary, infrastructure alone does not address the institutional issues related to governance of water for First Nations reserves. Furthermore, as Indigenous peoples have constitutionally protected Aboriginal and treaty rights, and international rights (e.g. UNDRIP) of which many are tied to safe water, Indigenous peoples are seeking to incorporate Indigenous laws into their local water governance systems. The goal of this research is to examine gaps in the literature related to First Nations water governance and policy and investigate alternative models of community level water governance. Focusing in Ontario, this research will investigate, the historical context which influences current water governance and created the framework for water management in First Nations communities. By identifying gaps in the planning and implementation projects, this research aims to add to the toolkit of potential solutions and improve the holistic approach to water management within First Nations communities across Ontario.

School enrollment effects in a South-South migration context

In contrast to the heavily studied South-North migration of Latin Americans to the United States, this investigation assesses the lesser-studied influence of South-South labor migration on left-behind children’s educational attainment. Specifically, it asks the question, ‘Does the migration of Nicaraguan parents to Costa Rica contribute to better or worse education outcomes for their left-behind children?’ Based on migration and education data for 3951 children from 1858 distinct households collected within Nicaragua’s 1998 and 2001 Living Standards Measurement Studies, fixed effect model results indicate that paternal migration has a depressive effect on school enrollment but has no effect on school attendance or grade-for-age progression. Given the relatively low bar to migration establishment vis-à-vis the lack of barriers that necessitate significant monetary commitments and time delays, school enrollment results are unexpected.

Strategies for Trypanosoma brucei gambiense elimination.

Strategies for Trypanosoma brucei gambiense elimination.

Securing safe food, order in cities and protected urban livelihoods: Modelling of preference for regulations of informal street food trade in Kumasi

Inability to isolate and target informal food trader priorities in compliance behaviour, in the face of multi-attribute regulations, has made food control in developing countries ineffective (low food quality and disorderly urban-space usage persist) and costly (high time and money cost to vendors). Using systematically sampled informal street food vendors in Ghana’s second largest urban space, we assess preference patterns and dynamics of informal sector operators for regulatory aspects/scenarios through Discrete Choice Experiment. We unearthed contrasting preferences for aspects of improved regulation such that vendors gravitated towards improved siting regulations but abhorred improved health certification. Preference patterns were mainly explained by economic stature of enterprises, profiteering motives of operation, distrust of Local Assemblies and abuse of discretional power among food control officers. Our study implies that, informal sector is, less likely to accept mandatory licensing with costly preconditions/higher monetary commitments. Also, cost-effective improvements in siting regulations are primers of improved regulatory regime with vendor associations as essential entry point. Specific to street food trade, holistic approach rather than improved perceptions and relations among vendors and food control officers is more likely to ensure implementation of higher street food safety standards.

EMPIRICAL EXAMINATION OF THE ASSOCIATION OF WORKING CAPITAL MANAGEMENT AND FIRMS’ PROFITABILITY OF THE LISTED FOOD AND BEVERAGES FIRMS IN NIGERIA

INTRODUCTION:Food and Beverages Sector is undoubtedly among the most vibrant sectors that contribute significantly to the economy growth and development of the Nigerian economy. It is the third after Oil and service Industries contributing to about 17.72%, 18.21% and 19.10% in the first, second and third quarter in 2014, which is approximately contributing about 20% to GDP of the country, (National Bureau of Statistics, 2014). As an important sector in the overall economy growth, Food and Beverages requires in depth analysis both at industrial as well as at firm level.Working capital also known as circulating capital or revolving capital is that organizational capital which is used to invest in the current assets as well as settlement of current liabilities. A healthier working capital explains that the corporation is in a sound financial condition capable of subduing its short-term obligations. On the other hand, a negative working capital is where the most liquid assets of the corporation are not sufficient to fulfill its current monetary commitments. It is evidently and crystal clear that the prime responsibility of financial managers is to ensure efficacy, efficiency and or judiciously utilizations of the available meager wherewithal at the company's disposal. A well-managed working capital promotes a company's well -being in the market in terms of liquidity and it also acts in favor for the growth of shareholders value (Jeng-Ren, Li & Han-Wen, 2006).The central intent of running corporate outfits is mostly to make a positive return on investment. However, it is generally accepted that ample liquidity is of paramount importance when it comes to the issue of corporate survival and growth. For all countries, both developed and developing, one of the fundamental objectives of working capital management is to ensure that the organization has sufficient, regular and consistent cash flow to fund its activities. The way that working capital is managed has a significant impact on profitability and cash holdings of firms (Deloof, 2003). Undoubtedly, efficient working capital management is associated with lots of advantages amongst which include but not limited to speedy payment of short term commitments on firms (Peel and Wilson, 2000); facilitates owner financing; reduces working capital as a cause of failure among small businesses (Berryman, 1983); ensures a sound liquidity for assurance of long term economic growth and attainment of profit generating process (Wignaraja and O'Neil ,1999); and ensures acceptable relationship between the components of firms working capital for efficient mix which guarantee capital adequacy, (Osisioma, 1997). On the other hand, inefficient working capital management leads to abysmal failures of many corporate organizations. This might not be unconnected to the fact that fund management is sine qua nonn to organizations' prosperity (Berryman, 1983), overtrading signs (Appuhami, 2008), and inability to propel firm liquidity and profitability, (Eljielly, 2004; Peel and Wilson, 1996; Shin and Soenen, 1998).From accessible data one can authoritatively state that there are many studies been conducted on this area but there have been no consensus as to whether or not working capital management effect organizational profitability negatively or positively. There was myriad of results some showing positive relationships others negative. For instance, the works of Hina Aqha, Alipour, Rahman all test the effect of working capital and profitability and find out that there is positive relationship, Tharshiga (2013) report a negative relationship and other studies like that of Erik (2012), Benjamin and Samuel (2010) did not show any relationship while the work of Daniel and Ambrose (2013) found a positive relationship between profitability and account receivable and cash conversion cycle and a negative relationship between profitability and inventory and account payable. So because of disharmony among various researchers and for the facts that few other researches we were able to lead hands on uses manufacturing companies, textile industries, pharmaceutical companies we did not come across any that use food and beverages and of course food and beverages is one of the most contributory company in the case of Nigerian Capital Market. …

Longitudinal mediation in the PACE randomised clinical trial of rehabilitative treatments for chronic fatigue syndrome: modelling and design considerations

Background Clinical trials require large monetary and time commitments and should provide information on both whether and how treatments work. Treatment mechanisms can be studied using mediation analysis, allowing refinement of treatments. Mediation studies often use only single contemporaneous measures of mediator and outcome limiting the conclusions that can be drawn. Longitudinally measured mediators and outcomes, such as those in the Pacing, Graded Activity, and Cognitive Behaviour Therapy: A Randomised Evaluation trial (PACE, ISRCTN 54285094) allow for more realistic estimates of mediated effects.

The Regional Monitoring Program for Water Quality in San Francisco Bay, California, USA: Science in support of managing water quality

The Regional Monitoring Program for Water Quality in San Francisco Bay (RMP) is a novel partnership between regulatory agencies and the regulated community to provide the scientific foundation to manage water quality in the largest Pacific estuary in the Americas. The RMP monitors water quality, sediment quality and bioaccumulation of priority pollutants in fish, bivalves and birds. To improve monitoring measurements or the interpretation of data, the RMP also regularly funds special studies. The success of the RMP stems from collaborative governance, clear objectives, and long-term institutional and monetary commitments. Over the past 22 years, high quality data and special studies from the RMP have guided dozens of important decisions about Bay water quality management. Moreover, the governing structure and the collaborative nature of the RMP have created an environment that allowed it to stay relevant as new issues emerged. With diverse participation, a foundation in scientific principles and a continual commitment to adaptation, the RMP is a model water quality monitoring program. This paper describes the characteristics of the RMP that have allowed it to grow and adapt over two decades and some of the ways in which it has influenced water quality management decisions for this important ecosystem.

Monetary commitment and structural reforms: a dynamic panel analysis for transition economies

This paper examines the contemporaneous relationship between the exchange rate regime and structural economic reforms for a sample of CEEC/CIS transition countries. We investigate empirically whether structural reforms are complements or substitutes for monetary commitment in the attempt to improve macroeconomic performance. Both EBRD and EFW data suggest a negative relationship between flexible exchange rate arrangements and external liberalization. Another finding from the EFW sample is that economic liberalisation has tended to be stronger under better macroeconomic fundamentals, suggesting that the impact of good macroeconomic conditions as facilitating structural reforms outweighs countervailing effects in the sense of lower reform pressure.

The credibility of monetary policy announcements: Empirical evidence for OECD countries since the 1960s

Monetary policy rules have been considered as fundamental protection against inflation. However, empirical evidence for a correlation between monetary commitment to rules and price stability is relatively weak. We discuss likely causes for this weak link and argue that monetary commitment is not necessarily credible by itself without adequate policy assignment and an institutional framework enforcing the commitment. We further propose a proxy variable for monetary credibility in an empirical assessment of our theoretical arguments based on panel data covering 22 OECD countries and five decades. Results confirm the crucial role of a credibly backed monetary commitment for price stability.

Putting Your Money Where Your Mouth Is: The Value of Low Purchase Intention Consumers to Product Pricing

Hypothetical bias is a common research problem in measuring intentions. This study examines differences in individuals' hypothetical and nonhypothetical willingness to pay (WTP) based on purchase intention level. The purpose of Study 1 is to see if hypothetical bias is affecting all groups of individuals when segmented by purchase intentions. The contingent valuation method (CVM) was used to assess to individuals' purchase intentions and hypothetical WTP for an environmentally friendly (EF) offering. Individuals then participated in an auction that required them to bid on the same offering, thus requiring an actual monetary commitment. Through segmenting individuals into three purchase intention groups (high, moderate, and low), WTP biases were found to be positively related to stated intention level. High and moderate purchase intenders significantly overstated their hypothetical WTP. However, low purchase intenders did not. Further, no significant differences existed in nonhypothetical WTP between the three groups. The price that low purchase intenders were willing to pay through the CVM represented closely what they and the rest of the market were willing to pay in practice.The purpose of Study 2 was to examine several reasons why higher purchase intenders may be overstating their hypothetical WTP, with normative pressure and social desirability bias taken into consideration. Individuals indicated their purchase intentions and hypothetical WTP for an EF and a non‐EF product, and then participated in an auction. The higher purchase intenders again overstated their actual WTP for both products, whereas low purchase intenders did not. Results suggest that both normative pressure and social desirability bias contribute to hypothetical bias for products that carry a normative dimension (EF products). Controlling for these two factors eliminated the differences between hypothetical and nonhypothetical WTP. For products that did not have a normative component (non‐EF products), controlling for social desirability eliminated the gap between the hypothetical and nonhypothetical WTP amounts.A main implication from this research is that hypothetical bias is not a universal phenomenon and does not operate equally in all groups of purchase intenders. Marketers may want to consider only using lower purchase intenders in their pricing estimates for new products, especially for those that carry a normative component. Further, the CVM has received much criticism for measuring hypothetical WTP. However, estimates produced by the CVM were nearly exact for the low purchase intender group and were reliable when controlling for social desirability bias and normative pressure for the higher purchase intenders.

Structures, Roles, and Procedures of State Advisory Committees on Immunization

Advisory committees have the potential to play a critical role in decision making and implementation at the state level. Many states have advisory committees for their immunization programs to assist in decision making on topics such as implementing new vaccines in their states, school and childcare requirements and exemptions and addressing concerns about vaccine safety. This article describes how immunization advisory committees work; their roles, formation, organization, and structure; membership; the issues they address; and their benefit to state immunization programs. In 2011, the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials, in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, conducted an online survey of immunization program managers to determine which states have immunization advisory committees, how these committees function, and the perceived benefits of the committees to state immunization programs. Follow-up half-hour telephone interviews were conducted with 5 states to gain in-depth information on specific advisory committees. One hundred percent of states and 3 territories responded, giving an overall response rate of 91%. Thirty-four of the 53 respondents (64%) reported having an advisory committee for immunization issues. Membership is composed of physicians, public health representatives, and nurses as well as public advocates and members of the public. States reported a variety of issues their committee has worked on; the most frequently mentioned issue was school and childcare vaccination requirements. Others included immunization information systems and vaccination of health care personnel. Overall, states with immunization advisory committees reported that the committees were helpful on issues faced by the program and worth the time and monetary commitment. Given the reported benefits of state immunization advisory committees and the complex program and policy decisions that states face in the dynamic immunization environment, additional states may want to consider establishing immunization advisory committees.