Proper Investment Research Articles

Optimization of Renewable Energy Company Stock Portfolio for Investment Decision Making using the Markowitz Model

This study focuses on optimizing the renewable energy company's stock portfolio using the Markowitz model, which aims to balance risk and return for proper investment decision making. With the increasing demand for clean energy, portfolio optimization in the renewable energy sector is important for investors. This research takes into account historical stock performance and applies the Mean-Variance Optimization framework to minimize risk while maximizing return. This portfolio consists of selected renewable energy companies, and the analysis runs from September 2021 to August 2024. This study aims to analyze the allocation of investment portfolios in renewable energy company stocks in Indonesia. Based on the analysis results, the investment portfolio is allocated to five main stocks, namely BUMI.JK with an investment value of IDR 17,075,844 (17.08%), INDY.JK of IDR 5,825,852 (5.83%), KEEN.JK of IDR 33,766,798 (33.77%), RAJA.JK of IDR 43,084,876 (43.08%), and WIKA.JK of IDR 246,630 (0.25%). These results indicate that most of the funds are invested in RAJA.JK and KEEN.JK stocks, which contribute more than 75% of the total investment portfolio

The Role of Blockchain Technology in Supply Chain Management

In the rapidly evolving digital era, efficiency and transparency are key to gaining a competitive edge in business. Blockchain technology has emerged as a revolutionary solution with the potential to enhance transparency, security, and efficiency in the supply chain. While many large companies have adopted it for various benefits, challenges such as scalability, interoperability, and legal uncertainties still hinder the widespread adoption of blockchain. This research utilizes a literature review to explore the challenges and benefits of implementing blockchain in the supply chain, as well as strategies to enhance data security, transparency, and efficiency. The findings indicate that blockchain can improve transparency, security, and efficiency in the supply chain, but there are still challenges to be addressed. Nonetheless, with proper investment and development, the potential benefits of blockchain in supply chain management (SCM) are significant.

Cross-modal scenario generation for stock price forecasting using Wasserstein GAN and GCN

The forecasting of stock price has always been a difficult problem, as the various inputs like company performance, technical innovation, political factors are intricate and often assessed with uncertainty. While most of the existing studies belong to deterministic forecast that focused on either the trend or exact value of future stock price, the forecasted results contain little uncertain information, thus bringing certain risks to investors. In this study, an effective scenario generation method based on wasserstein generative adversarial network (WGAN) is proposed for stock price forecasting, which can characterize the temporally and spatially correlations among different stocks, so as to help investors make proper investment strategies in complicated market environments. To the best of our knowledge, the scenario generation of stock price has been rarely studied by existing publications. Specifically, considering the inherent correlation among stocks, graph convolutional network (GCN) is used to capture the features of related stocks, whereafter the features of target stocks and related stocks are combined. In terms of feature fusion, this paper further uses a pre-trained model to obtain the key information of news headlines as text features, and fully integrates them with historical data through the attention mechanism, thus improving the overall performance of scenario generation. In summary, the proposed model can generate promising scenarios for future stock prices over time based on cross-modal information like historical data and news headlines. Numerical experiments show that our method outperforms other baseline methods in terms of root-mean-square error and average absolute percentage error (the average of several scenarios). For each part of the method, stock correlation is the most helpful for the results, followed by cross-modal information, with scenario generation contributing less to the results. Besides, experiments on a real-life portfolio selection problem also demonstrate that our method brings the highest returns, which proves its effectiveness in practical application.

Investment in CCUS under technical uncertainty considering investor's risk aversion: An exotic compound real-options approach

Carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) technology is effective and value-adding solution for reducing emissions. However, the development and commercialization of these technologies are challenging due to high investment costs and several uncertainties. This study develops a novel comprehensive real-options-based model to evaluate investment in CCUS projects considering the technical risk and the investor's risk aversion. This study proposed an exotic compound real options model that combines American and barrier options. First, applying the Poison process, the technical risk is explicitly modeled. Secondly, the investor's risk aversion is defined as a barrier level for the barrier option part of the proposed model. Thirdly, the value of the project is evaluated through the exotic compound real option. Finally, we assess the economic viability of the project under multiple scenarios. The results of implementing the model for a real case show that the integrated technical risk assessment and the barrier option appropriately address investors' risk aversion. Furthermore, the comparison indicates that the proposed compound real options model is more effective than the traditional NPV (Net Present Value). Regarding policymaking, the results reveal that setting an appropriate carbon tax that considers the costs of carbon capture would be more beneficial. Further, the model provides investors helpful guidance to make proper investment decisions for CCUS technology projects under uncertainties.

Sustainability as Proper Investment: Organisational and Field Level Effects of Grand Challenges in the Case of Swiss Banking

For business firms Grand Challenges (GCs) have become both a social expectation they must meet and a promising opportunity to make profits. Based on the insights of the organisation-society approach, we use the example of banks to show how social and ecological problems are translated into manageable objects and how this translation corresponds to changes at the field level. We identify new forms of collaboration, the emergence of new professionals, and the further trainings of established professionals as a promising research perspective.

Information System for Evaluation of Investments in the Field of Information Technologies

Creating an information system for evaluating investments in the field of information technology is a relevant task as it influences the efficiency of resource utilization in this strategically important sector. Information technologies are rapidly evolving, and proper investment evaluation can contribute to maximizing profitability and reducing risks. The research highlights various approaches to addressing this issue, each defined by its own characteristics. The study analyzes the investment process, proposing a mathematical model for investment problems in the form of a multi-criteria optimization task with Boolean variables. A structural approach is used to depict the principles of the system’s operation and information flows. Development tools are selected, and a prototype of the software is implemented. Further research directions include system verification and the development of additional modules to enhance functionality.

Professional loyalty and social mobility of young professionals

Introduction. Professional education in the modern information society acquires new meanings and value orientations. This is explained by the fact that increasing investment in human potential and ensuring due quality of education create a serious foundation for the formation of social mobility. At the same time, its connection with professional loyalty requires a separate conceptualisation and creation of a necessary empirical basis for assessing the economic resource and corporate responsibility and ensuring proper investments in human resource development. The purpose of the study is to reveal the main characteristics of young specialists’ professional loyalty with regard to ensuring their effective inclusion in the system of social and labour relations. Materials and methods. The online survey involved young (under the age of 35) teachers of pedagogical universities of some CIS countries (Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan). The all-Russian sample covered in total 1,295 respondents. The analysis of empirical data was based on the methods of descriptive statistics and systematisation of data on young teachers’ ambitions in terms of professional prospects. Results. The findings of the survey point to the acceptable conditions for professional growth, as viewed by many young teachers (64%). The young people’s satisfaction with their labour activity was 73%. The probability of young teachers’ voluntary dismissal decreases with their increased length of service at universities. The share of young teachers intending to link their professional activity with the university in the next 3-5 years was 73%. Conclusion. Young specialists’ professional loyalty directly conditions their success in their profile labour activities. Young specialists who develop the necessary positive attitudes and competencies in the process of their education will in most cases be more flexible at the workplace and have a higher social mobility level. In this regard, investments in professional education can be justified if young professionals have a necessary mobility potential allowing them to successfully adapt to the labour market.

INVITED PAPER: AN INTEGRATED THEORY OF HOUSEHOLD BEHAVIOR

This paper presents an integrated model of household behavior, in which households derive utility not only from flow choices (of goods and leisure activities) but also from stock variables representing the status in health, psychological stress, social standing/reputation, political affiliation, religious identity, and any other status deemed relevant for their well-being. To attain the status in any of these dimensions, proper investment is necessary in accordance with a suitable mediating function that connects flow choices to the status in question. We depart from the position that statuses activate motivation, thereby affecting the efficiency of activities including working time. In particular, health not only yields utility of its own kind but also affects the productivity of households, thereby expanding their budget sets and raising the utility they attain now and in the future. Health, however, must be attained and maintained, and this has to be accomplished in accordance with a plausible health-production function defined on the space of goods and leisure activities. The same can be said about knowledge and skill acquisition, which requires investment of certain activities and goods through an appropriate mediating function. Similar relationships also hold for social, psychological, and other statuses, which can only be acquired through proper mediating functions. While the utility calculus appears complex, we demonstrate that the optimum choice of goods and leisure activities is guided by the rationality principle that requires that the composite marginal utility, defined as the total of all marginal utilities from the entire sources of utility, direct or mediated, be balanced with properly measured cost of acquiring it, which is shown to equal, the price or the wage rate on the market adjusted for a change in the efficiency of working time mediated through health enhancement and/or an increase in the productive efficiency of working hours due to knowledge and technology acquisition. Because our model includes utility arising from status-orientation in multiple dimensions, and because the extent and the range of such utility are socio-cultural-regime-specific while also being shaped by the household-specific receptivity and orientation to this regime, our model can potentially explain a diverse range of choice behavior some of which appear anomalous or even counter-intuitive to the rationality principle in the traditional sense. This added explanatory power helps close a gap between economics and other social sciences.

Human Capital Investment and Organizational Performance: A Theoretical Review

Skill and capacities present in the workforce, if put to productive use, can be vital determinants of a nation's long-term profit gains. Building employees' competence through skill acquisition is an important yardstick in measuring an organization's performance. Keeping into account the importance of investing in human resources in an organization, the current study tries to review existing literature and research work on human capital and organization investment with a main focus on human capital accumulation, human capital depletion and human capital drivers. The study reviewed existing literature that shows the relationship between human capital and organization investment, which shows either a firm performing well or projecting poor performance. The review has shown that human capital accumulation, human capital depletion and human capital drivers have a positive influence on the performance of an organization when proper investment strategies are adopted. The findings also show that organizations that invest in developing their human capital project growth, positive performance and survival of firms in very competitive environments.

Dynamics of Ageing in Akoko Area of Ondo State Nigeria: Challenges of Public Welfare for the Aged

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to investigates the dynamics of ageing in Akoko Land of Ondo State Nigeria and challenges of public welfare for the aged. The Study was anchored on disengagement theory to explain the inevitable process of disengagement as a rewarding and universal that must be mutually agreed upon. Methods: Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected from randomly selected respondents and key informant participants numbering one hundred and forty (140). The quantitative data collected from 120 respondents were analyzed with statistical package for the social sciences, while the qualitative data collected from 20 participants were analyzed using content analysis. Results: Findings revealed that the aged were relatively neglected in term of care and social security. Majority of the respondents 94.2% agreed that extended family system alone cannot stand as a social insurance for the aged. 90% agreed that improvement in the social care and security policies across public and private organization would help to alleviate most aged poverty level. Conclusions: This study recommends, among others, that every family should extend mutual love and care gesture towards their ageing cohort, the aged should themselves engage in proper future savings and investments, while the society, through the non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and the Government should intensify their efforts to provide social security, public infrastructure, medical facility, prompt pension and retirement benefit payment in order to assure graceful ageing for every aged cohort in the society.

E-Bicycle for Food Delivery

Abstract: The rise of urban food delivery services has led to an increased demand for efficient and environmentally sustainable transportation methods. This study explores the implementation of sustainable electric bicycles (e-bikes) for food delivery, examining their potential to reduce carbon emissions, traffic congestion, and operational costs. E-bikes, powered by rechargeable batteries, offer a viable alternative to traditional delivery vehicles, particularly in densely populated urban areas. Key factors influencing the adoption of e-bikes include battery life, charging infrastructure, load capacity, and regulatory support. The research also highlights successful case studies from various cities, demonstrating the environmental and economic benefits of integrating e-bikes into delivery fleets. The findings suggest that with proper investment and supportive policies, ebikes can significantly contribute to more sustainable urban logistics, promoting a greener and more efficient food delivery ecosystem.

Decision-making for road infrastructures in a network based on a policy gradient method

Developing proper maintenance and rehabilitation investment plans is vital for prolonging the service life of road infrastructures while preserving required service level under capital constraints. This paper proposes a reinforcement learning approach for determining an optimal policy of selecting maintenance, repair, and rehabilitation alternatives for a network of road infrastructure facilities. The proposed approach is based on a policy gradient method and overcomes the computational complexity of optimization problems due to a large number of possible combinations of the network conditions and maintenance, repair, and rehabilitation alternatives. The developed optimal management policy takes into consideration interdependencies among infrastructure facilities in a road network. Numerical studies on concrete bridge decks in road networks are performed to demonstrate the advantage, feasibility, and capability of the proposed approach.

The Impact of Brand Awareness on Purchase Intention

The degree of brand awareness (BA) exerts a strong impact on the behavior and choices made by consumers. To comprehensively understand how brand awareness influences decision making on the part of consumers, this detailed review assesses the effect that awareness has on a person's intention to purchase. A large number of studies were analysed by this paper to explore the relationship between these two aspects in great detail. The results confirms that BA is significantly related with purchase intention(PI). The association implies that the higher degree of brand awareness, the more are consumers who would consider whether to buy a company's products or services. Additional variables, such as product quality, individual specifications, and customer happiness with past purchases, impact this relation between BA and intention to buy. Findings from this research highlight the significance of brand awareness and its ability to influence purchasing decisions. Getting a high degree of public recognition for their brand is something businesses should pay particularly close attention to if they hope that purchases will actually be made by consumers. However, with proper investment in marketing strategy, organisations can effectively affect the customer decisionmaking process and raise brand awareness. Also, the effectiveness of brand awareness at affecting purchase intentions can be further improved by focusing marketing efforts on certain age groups.In summary, this study points out the great importance of brand consciousness for what it contributes to customers 'purchase intentions. It gives marketers what they need to inculcate customer loyalty and design effective brand strategies.

Pressure injury prevalence in critical care settings: An observational pre-post intervention study.

To explore pressure injury prevention practices and evaluate the impact of an educational intervention on PI prevalence before and after an educational intervention. A multi-centre observational study. Data were collected at two time points in May 2021 and April 2022 using a Qualtrics® online form. Two Registered Nurses at each site collected observational data at each time point by diagnosing and staging any identified pressure injuries as part of a prevalence study. Patients admitted to participating units were included. A total of 181 patients in critical care units were included at the two-time points. Pressure injury prevalence was 60.9% at the outset, with 52.9% hospital-acquired, 37.9% unit-acquired and 23.0% medical device-related. Post-intervention prevalence decreased significantly to 28.7%, including 21.3% hospital-acquired, 14.9% unit-acquired, and 8.5% medical device-related. Pressure injuries were prominent in the sacral region, head area, and heels. Stages I and II pressure injuries were the most common. Increased age and longer ICU stays are linked to a heightened risk of pressure injury development in critically ill patients, whereas higher haemoglobin levels show an inverse relationship with the development of both pressure injury and severe stages in the univariate analysis. The predictive models revealed that increased age and longer ICU stays are predictors for both pressure injury development and progression to severe stages, while Braden scores predict the likelihood of developing severe stages of pressure injuries. This study has identified a benchmark for pressure injury prevalence in critical care units in Saudi Arabia. The results demonstrate that pressure injuries can be prevented in critically ill patients when evidence-based education strategies are implemented. Pressure injuries are an important issue for critically ill patients and can be prevented with proper investments. Strategies to prevent pressure injuries from admission will result in fewer pressure injuries. Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) guidelines and the Template for Intervention Description and Replication (TIDieR) checklist. No patient or public contribution.

Solving Solar: How Past Policy Collides With Future Technology

This Comment discusses the importance of developing a solar waste management plan. Specifically, this Comment presents the argument that the United States should not create a large federal regulatory framework that includes expansive subsidies for solar panel recycling, but instead should invest in solar recycling technologies that offer solar recyclers the opportunity to profitably recycle junk panels. Ultimately, the federal government’s role should be limited to one of investment and support as states craft solar waste management systems that work for them.
 In support of this argument, this Comment explores the history and future of solar panel development, the current state of solar production and recycling, and the magnitude of the threat solar waste presents. Additionally, this Comment discusses how nations outside the United States are addressing the solar waste problem, the advent of new solar recycling technologies, how Congress may adapt the existing Resource Conservation and Recovery Act to include solar panels and encourage recycling of junk panels, the success story of lead-acid battery recycling, and what the solar recycling network of the future may look like.
 Ultimately, this Comment concludes that given recent advancements in recycling technology, with proper planning, encouragement, and investment from both state and federal governments, the private sector will be incentivized to recycle used solar panels without burdensome government intervention while sustaining a profitable business. Such a result will create a truly clean and renewable source of energy and relieve American taxpayers from bearing the cost of expensive solar recycling subsidy programs.

METHODOLOGICAL APPROACHES TO ASSESSING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF INVESTMENT SUPPORT FOR THE INTELLECTUALIZATION OF ENTERPRISES

The article analyzes the features of evaluating the effectiveness of investment support of intellectualization of enterprises. The features of the development of the concept of intellectualization of enterprises are substantiated. It is determined that the intellectualization of the economy affects economic growth and competitiveness directly and indirectly. It is substantiated that the combination of information and communication technologies with intellectualization allows enterprises not only to optimize their activities, but also opens the way to new opportunities for creating value, innovation and sustainable development in a rapidly changing business environment, which necessitates proper investment support for the intellectualization of enterprises. The main aspects of investment support of intellectualization of enterprises are defined. A model for assessing the effectiveness of investment support for the intellectualization of enterprises has been substantiated, which provides a structured approach to assessing the effectiveness of investment support for the intellectualization of enterprises, helping to understand the impact of technological innovations on business processes and economic results. As a result of the study, the following conclusions were made: (1) the use of a systematic approach to evaluation allows you to find out not only the financial aspects, but also the impact of intellectualization on various areas of business, such as production, marketing and customer interaction; (2) taking into account key performance indicators allows you to specify goals and objectively measure the achievement of the tasks set by the enterprise in the field of intellectualization; (3) consideration of innovative approaches to evaluation allows you to get a more accurate picture of the impact of intellectualization on the enterprise; (4) taking into account the qualitative and quantitative aspects of evaluation makes it possible to understand not only financial indicators, but also the social and strategic impact of intellectualization on the enterprise; (5) constant updating of methodological approaches reflects the need to adapt to a rapidly changing environment and the development of new tools for assessing the results of investment support for the intellectualization of enterprises.

Isolation and Identification of Green Microalgae from Northern Jordan

In light of the rapid and extreme changes in climate and the steady depletion of natural resources, there is an urgent need to find innovative and sustainable solutions to these problems. Microorganisms such as microalgae can offer viable solutions to these challenges. Proper investment in such organisms requires the identification of the algal species that inhabit the region. Therefore, this study aimed to isolate and molecularly characterize green microalgae that inhabit freshwater at different locations in the governorates of Irbid and Ajloun in the northern region of Jordan. Water samples collected from these regions were used to isolate single colonies, some of which exhibited different morphological characteristics. Genomic DNA was extracted from the isolates and used as a template for PCR amplification of the 18S ribosomal DNA gene (18S rDNA) and the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region. Phylogenetic trees were constructed based on 18S rDNA and ITS PCR product sequences, which were used to identify the isolates at the genus level. The obtained isolates belonged to three genera; Coelastrella, Desmodesmus, and Monoraphidium. The latter species has not been previously reported in Jordan.

Exploring the Student Perspective: Assessing Technology Readiness and Acceptance for Adopting Large Language Models in Higher Education

Digital technologies are changing and will continue to change how we learn and teach today and in the future. With the latest developments in the field of generative artificial intelligence (AI), particularly large language models (LLMs), the question of using AI-based tools in academic education is ruling the current discussions about the transformative impact of AI in higher education (HE).
 These discussions range from banning these technologies for learning and teaching in HE to guided study support. This study avoids taking up these multifarious and partly controversial debates. Instead, we show how students perceive using AI-based tools for automated text generation for their studies. Drawing on a synthesis of two theories: the 'Technology Readiness Index' (TRI) and 'Technology Acceptance Model' (TAM). The model is validated based on survey data collected among undergraduate first-semester students (N=111) of a computer science-related study programme in Germany in winter 2022/23. The students had to evaluate their relationship to that new technology focusing on their readiness for technology adoption and acceptance. By analysing the collected data with a partial least squares model, we find that the optimism toward the new technology positively influences technology acceptance, while discomfort with the technology negatively influences perceived ease of use. The paper concludes with recommendations for action for adopting LLMs in HE. A proper investment in building AI skills in academic teaching plays a valuable role in fostering the students' positive attitude and innovativeness towards this new technology. Additionally, there is a need for more education about the risks and challenges of using this technology to reduce the impact of factors such as discomfort on ease of use. This requires a factual discourse, away from the current hype-induced exaggerated and hyperbolic statements, for instance, in developing formal guidance for universities.

Analysis of Active Vs Passive Investment Behavior in Emerging Markets

Responses from 480 Indian respondents, 240 each investing in Mutual Funds and Exchange Traded Funds were studied to assess individual investors behavioral biases with the help of factors of herding, market, prospect, overconfidence and availability bias by using one way MANOVA approach. Results indicate that the Mutual Fund (active investment) investors show significantly higher behavioral biases as compared to Exchange Traded Fund (passive investment) investors in emerging markets. Behavioral biases effect on investments has been extensively studied on individual products, but this article is the first attempt to make comparative analysis of behavioral biases on active and passive investments. Behavioral biases have received little attention in the developing markets and results of this paper have practical implications for policymakers in understanding the dynamic behavior of the active and passive investors and educate the investors for proper investment decisions.

The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Investment Management in the Housing Market in Turkey

COVID-19 significantly impacted the management of investments in the residential property market. Changes in property demand, shifts in market volatility, financing challenges, changes in property management and changes in local regulations and policies are presented. The pandemic created a more challenging and unpredictable investment management (IM) environment in the residential property market. However, with proper knowledge management (KM) and investment strategies, investors may have opportunities to thrive in this changing market. Investment KM refers to identifying, capturing, organising and sharing information and expertise related to investment activities within an organisation. KM in residential investment involves developing a system for gathering, organising and using information and expertise related to buying, owning, and selling a property. COVID-19 significantly affected the property market. Effective KM in residential investment can help individuals make informed decisions, identify potential risks, and maximise the value of their investment. Like many others worldwide, the Turkish residential market was hit by COVID-19. The Turkish residential market has a few key points: financing, shifts in buyer preferences, and regulation changes. The pandemic hit Turkey's residential property market, leading to property price changes. The Turkish government implemented several residential policies to support the residential market and help individuals and families facing financial challenges due to the pandemic. Those policies did not eliminate the challenges but mitigated some of the negative effects of the pandemic on the market and helped individual investors. This article discusses house price changes in Turkey during the COVID-19 period, the factors affecting price changes, and the property policies that affect property price changes. This article analyses IM challenges and explores how KM can help individual property investors.