Semiannual Report Research Articles

Influence of spin-off decision on financing risk: Empirical insight from Indonesian Islamic banks

Background Spin-offs play a significant role in organizational development strategies, particularly in Islamic banking, by fostering entrepreneurship, innovation, and Shariah-compliant management practices. Indonesia stands as a pioneer in implementing the dual banking system and has established a spin-off policy to foster the growth of Islamic banking. This study investigates whether the spin-off decision has a significant impact on financing risk in Indonesian Islamic banks. Methods Financing risk is measured by the non-performing financing ratio, while the spin-off decision is represented by a dummy variable equal to 1 for the post-spin-off period and 0 for the pre-spin-off period. This study utilizes data from semi-annual reports of 35 Indonesian Islamic banks and analyzes it using a dynamic panel model with the Generalized Method of Moments (GMM). Results The findings reveal that spin-offs significantly reduce financing risk, thereby enhancing the financial resilience and boosting investor appeal. Notably, this implies that Islamic banks operating as Islamic windows exhibit a higher level of financing risk compared to fully-fledged Islamic banks. Furthermore, a noteworthy pattern emerges that spin-off Islamic banks with substantial assets demonstrate greater risk in comparison to their counterparts with more modest assets. System GMM also confirmed the result. Conclusions Islamic banks can significantly reduce their financing risks by establishing independent Islamic banks, or spin-offs. Unlike Islamic windows, which are typically integrated within conventional banks and face higher risk levels, standalone Islamic banks offer greater flexibility and control over their operations.

Advancing justice: The impact of Brazil’s convict genetic profile identification project after 5 years

This comprehensive study analyzed the implementation and impacts of the Convict Genetic Profile Identification Project in Brazil. By examining semiannual reports from the Integrated Network of DNA Databases (RIBPG) alongside a literature review covering the period from January 2018 to February 2024, the study evaluated the project’s relevance. The project’s primary aim was to enhance DNA databases, thereby fortifying crime prevention and resolution efforts. Notably, the results revealed a substantial increase in genetic profiles of convicted offenders included into the Brazilian National DNA Database (from 2,008 in 2017 to 54,657 in 2019) − a development that aligns with legislative goals. Despite legal and ethical debates, the project demonstrated a positive impact on criminal investigations, with a notable rise in database matches (from 376 in 2017 to 1,418 in 2019). Scientific literature had highlighted the project’s effectiveness in resolving crimes. The project has matured into a well-established process, characterized by continuous insertions and advancements, emphasizing a comprehensive operational framework. Beyond quantitative milestones, it has made qualitative contributions to justice. This collaborative model serves as an example for impactful public policies under Brazil’s Ministry of Justice and Public Security.

Earning Per Share as a Market Perfomance Measure in Increasing Stock Returns of Pharmaceutical Companies

Stock prices serve as a benchmark for investors to assess a company's success. A positive stock return is an indicator of business success for a company. This study has three main objectives: to examine the influence of Earnings Per Share (EPS) on stock returns, to investigate the relationship between Return On Assets (ROA) and stock returns, and to determine the extent to which the Debt to Equity Ratio (DER) affects stock returns. The population of this study consists of 11 pharmaceutical companies listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange during the period of 2018-2023. Simple random sampling was used to randomly select samples from the population, resulting in 264 quarterly financial data samples. The type of data used in this study is quantitative data obtained from semi-annual reports downloaded from www.idx.co.id and from the respective pharmaceutical companies' websites. Data analysis was conducted using Eviews version 10. The study found that only one variable, Earnings Per Share (EPS), significantly influences stock returns. The other two variables, Return On Assets (ROA) and Debt to Equity Ratio (DER), do not have a significant effect on stock returns.

Планово-учетная деятельность и периодическая отчетность прокуратуры Кабардино-Балкарской автономной области в 1925–1926 гг.: особенности и перспективы источниковед-ческого анализа

The article is devoted to the peculiarities and prospects of the source analysis of planning and ac-counting activities and periodic reporting of the Prosecutor's office of the Kabardino-Balkarian Autonomous Region in 1925-1926. For this purpose, the plans of regional and district prosecutor's offices, checklists for collecting information on the current activities of regional prosecutor's of-fices, notebooks for recording the participation of public prosecutors in court sessions, statements on the movement of inquiries, investigative cases, cases of press revelations, monthly statements, survey reports, characteristics, literary (text) and "digital" (quantitative) reports (with elements of statistical generalization), summary reports on personnel and current activities, semi-annual re-ports on the work of the Prosecutor's office of the KBAO and district prosecutor's offices, crime reports, etc. It was established that information on the personnel composition, plans and account-ing of daily work, the management of assistants, the organization of the activities of prosecutors, the effectiveness of work with the rural population, the quality of supervisory activities, the state of crime, interaction with court authorities, criminal labor institutions, preventive activities to combat crime were subject to accounting etc. It is assumed that the analysis of the planning, ac-counting and reporting documentation of the Prosecutor's office of the KBAO in the second half of the 20s of the twentieth century has a further research perspective for studying the features of the formation and development of the mechanism of the young Soviet state and its system of law en-forcement agencies, the dynamics of the cadre and the regional specifics of supervisory activities for compliance socialist legality in the territory of the KBAO and the fight against crime, etc.

The Business Analysis of Pop Mart

Beijing POP MART is a leading cultural and entertainment company in China. Over the past decade, POP MART has built an integrated platform covering the whole industry chain of pop toys. In 2019, the company combined with blind boxes economy. It has become popular in the toy market. At the end of 2020, the Pop Marts shares are listed. Based on the pandemic background, the article uses some strange financial indicators collected from the companys annual and semi-annual reports to figure out why its stock price decrease in recent years. The research finally concludes about this phenomenon.

Do International Trade Frictions Influence the Competitiveness of Entity Enterprises? Evidence from the Perspective of Financialization

International trade frictions have changed the business environment of enterprises. However, how do these changes influence the behavioral decisions of enterprises, and will this further affect enterprise competitiveness? Exploring these questions will help determine the influencing mechanism of external negative impacts, such as international trade frictions, on the competitiveness of entity enterprises. In this study, the influences of China-U.S. trade friction, which served as an exogenous research event, on the competitiveness of entity enterprises were empirically analyzed via a difference-in-difference (DID) model with semiannual report information of Chinese nonfinancial A-share listed companies in 2016 to 2020 as research samples. Research results show that the China-U.S. trade friction promotes enterprises to enlarge their financial asset investment by changing the business environment of enterprises. Moreover, this friction further weakens the enterprise competitiveness, an essential element of industrial investments. As revealed by further heterogeneity analysis, the China-U.S. trade friction has generated heterogenous influences on enterprise competitiveness in the aspects of investment motives, industry, competition status, and internal governance mechanism. In this study, two types of enterprise competitiveness elements—environment and resources—were included into the same research framework, and the category of theoretical research on the connotation of enterprise competitiveness was expanded. Moreover, this research provided new scenes and evidence for identifying the causal relationships of the impacts of exogenous negative events with the financial behaviors and competitiveness of entity enterprises, Furthermore, it rendered countermeasure paths and policy suggestions for scientifically coping with international trade frictions and enhancing the competitiveness of entity enterprises. Subject Classification Codes: F51; G31; G32; L25

Outcomes of Robotic-Assisted Bariatric Surgery Compared to Standard Laparoscopic Approach Using a Standardized Definition: First Look at the 2020 Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Accreditation Quality Improvement Project (MBSAQIP) Data.

The primary objective of this study is to evaluate the outcomes of robotic-assisted (RA-) approach compared to the standard laparoscopic (L-) approach usingthe 2020 Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Accreditation and Quality Improvement Program (MBSAQIP)registry Public Use File (PUF). Our secondary objective is to establish standards for the reporting of outcomes using PUF. Using the PUF database (n = 168,568), patients were divided into sleeve gastrectomy (SG), Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB), revisions, and conversions and then analyzed separately. We created balanced covariate through propensity score matching and inverse probability treatment weighting (IPTW). We also conducted multivariable relative risk regression to confirm our results. For RYGB, the incidence of "transfusion" was significantly lower in the RA-RYGB compared to the L-RYGB. There was no significant difference in the rate of Serious Event Occurrences (SEOs) or rate of intervention at 30days. For SG, there was a higher rate of "transfusion" in the RA group. Incidence ofSEOs was also significantly higher in the RA-group. There was no significant difference in SEOs for conversions; however, revisions had a trend toward a lower rate of SEOs favoring the robotic approach. Operative times were significantly higher for all RA-groups. RA- approach in metabolic and bariatric surgery (MBS) remains controversial because of differences in outcomes. The use of SEOs as reported by MBSAQIP in its semi-annual report can be used as a composite score to assess outcomes while using PUF. Further studies are needed to compare RA- to L- MBS.

Black-versus-White racial disparities in 30-day outcomes at Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Accreditation and Quality Improvement Program-accredited centers: a needed quality indicator.

Creating a metric in the Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Accreditation and Quality Improvement Program (MBSAQIP) to assess Black-versus-White disparities is critical if we are to ensure equitable care for all. To investigate Black-versus-White disparities while replicating MBSAQIP methodology with regard to covariates and modeling so that the results can serve as the foundation to create a benchmarked site-level Disparities Metric for MBSAQIP. United States and Canada. Across the 2015-2019 MBSAQIP cohorts, 543,976 adults underwent primary or revision sleeve gastrectomy or Roux-en-Y gastric bypass and were reported as either White or Black. Using a set of covariates derived from published MBSAQIP performance models, we performed multivariable logistic modeling with 10-fold cross-validation for the 11 outcomes evaluated in MBSAQIP Semiannual Reports, plus venous thromboembolism (VTE) and death. We analyzed primary and revision cases separately. After risk adjustment, Black patients experienced higher odds of all-occurrence morbidity (odds ratio [OR], 1.22; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.19-1.25; P < .001), serious events (OR, 1.08; 95% CI, 1.04-1.13; P < .001), all-cause intervention (OR, 1.31; 95% CI, 1.24-1.37; P < .001), related intervention (OR, 1.29; 95% CI, 1.22-1.37; P < .001), all-cause readmission (OR, 1.37; 95% CI, 1.33-1.41; P < .001), related readmission (OR, 1.41; 95% CI, 1.36-1.46; P < .001), venous thromboembolism (OR, 1.49; 95% CI, 1.34-1.65; P < .001), and death (OR, 1.59; 95% CI, 1.34-1.89; P < .001) after primary procedures. Black patients experienced lower odds of morbidity (OR, .94; 95% CI, .91-.98; P = .004) and surgical-site infection (OR, .72; 95% CI, .66-.78; P < .001). Black patients experienced a higher risk for serious complications and required more readmissions, reoperations, and postoperative interventions. This study supports the creation of a site-level Disparities Metric for the MBSAQIP and provides the framework to do so.

The Growth of Information Asymmetry Between Earnings Announcements and Its Implications for Reporting Frequency

I demonstrate that, on average, information asymmetry grows between earnings announcements and falls right after each new earnings announcement. I estimate that percent effective spreads typically grow 3.1% over the course of the inter-announcement period. I demonstrate that this inter-announcement growth in information asymmetry occurs gradually throughout the entire inter-announcement period and not just right before each new earnings announcement. This inter-announcement growth has implications for reporting frequency decisions. A semiannual reporter that switches to quarterly reporting cuts the growth time in half by cutting each semiannual reporting period into two quarterly reporting periods. As a result, it reduces information asymmetry in what would have been the second half of the semiannual reporting period. I confirm this in a European setting, showing that the average reduction in bid-ask spreads from the inter-announcement growth channel is 1.6% when firms switch from semiannual to quarterly reporting. This paper was accepted by Suraj Srinivasan, accounting. Funding: The author gratefully acknowledge financial support from the Yale School of Management and Columbia Business School. Supplemental Material: The data files are available at https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2022.4408 .

Social network analysis of publication collaboration of accelerating change in MedEd consortium

Introduction The American Medical Association formed the Accelerating Change in Medical Education Consortium through grants to effect change in medical education. The dissemination of educational innovations through scholarship was a priority. The objective of this study was to explore the patterns of collaboration of educational innovation through the consortium’s publications. Method Publications were identified from grantee schools’ semi-annual reports. Each publication was coded for the number of citations, Altmetric score, domain of scholarship, and collaboration with other institutions. Social network analysis explored relationships at the midpoint and end of the grant. Results Over five years, the 32 Consortium institutions produced 168 publications, ranging from 38 papers from one institution to no manuscripts from another. The two most common domains focused on health system science (92 papers) and competency-based medical education (30 papers). Articles were published in 54 different journals. Forty percent of publications involved more than one institution. Social network analysis demonstrated rich publishing relationships within the Consortium members as well as beyond the Consortium schools. In addition, there was growth of the network connections and density over time. Conclusion The Consortium fostered a scholarship network disseminating a broad range of educational innovations through publications of individual school projects and collaborations.

Comprehensive History of the International Society for Sexual Medicine-Journals and Communication.

This is a comprehensive history of the International Society for Sexual Medicine (ISSM) and its founding organizations regarding the publications, including the journals and the publication committee, and the communication tools of the organization since its inception. The object of this review is to provide a detailed and comprehensive history of the publication and communication tools of the ISSM and the people who have participated in production of these efforts. Recorded Publication Committee minutes, filed letters, the various journals themselves, printed News bulletins, and Publishers reports to the society served as source documents to produce this history. The author has participated in many of the journal establishments and has kept an extensive personnel file of the events related in this history. All written history has not only relied on personal memories of these events but have been verified from the stored personal files. Printed and website stored journal and News bulletin have served as source material for this history. Also, Power Point presentations by the editors of the journals at the Publication Committee meetings have served as source material. Finally, annual, and semi-annual reports of the Publishers presented at Publication Committee meetings of the ISSM are source material. After extensive review of the historical material listed in the Methods section of this abstract, this comprehensive history of the communication efforts of this society has provided a rich and dynamic historical document for this society. This extensive, detailed, and comprehensive history of the communication tools of this society help us to record and remember the events and the people involved in this process. Sharing scientific information and information regarding the life of the International Society for Sexual Medicine have been an important function of this society from early. Lewis RW. Comprehensive History of the International Society for Sexual Medicine-Journals and Communication. Sex Med Rev 2021;9:542-567.

Using NSQIP Data to Reduce Institutional Postoperative Pneumonia Rates in Non-ICU Patients: A Plan-Do-Study-Act Approach

The American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS NSQIP) is a program designed to measure and improve surgical care quality. In 2015, the study institution formed a multidisciplinary team to address the poor adult postoperative pneumonia performance (worst decile). The study institution is a 450+ bed tertiary care center that performs 12,000+ surgical procedures annually. From January 2016 to December 2019, the institution abstracted surgical cases and assigned postoperative pneumonia as a complication per the NSQIP operations manual. Using a plan-do-study-act approach, a multidisciplinary postoperative pneumonia prevention team implemented initiatives regarding incentive spirometry education, anesthetic optimization, early mobility, and oral care. The team measured the initiatives' success by analyzing semiannual reports (SAR) provided by the ACS NSQIP and regional adjusted percentile rankings provided by the Georgia Surgical Quality Collaborative (GSQC). The 2015 SAR postoperative pneumonia rate was 4.20% (odds ratio [OR] 3.86, confidence interval [CI] 2.92-5.11). After project initiation, the postoperative pneumonia rates decreased for all NSQIP cases, from 2.51% (OR 2.67, CI 1.89-3.77) in 2016 to 2.08% (OR 2.61, CI 1.82-3.74) in 2017, to 0.85% (OR 1.10, CI 0.69-1.75) in 2018, and then increased slightly to 1.14% (OR 1.27, CI 0.84-1.92) in 2019. The institution's adjusted percentile regional rank of participating regional ACS NSQIP hospitals' postoperative pneumonia rate improved from 14/14 (July 2015-June 2016) to 6/14 (July 2018-June 2019). The multidisciplinary postoperative pneumonia prevention team successfully decreased the postoperative pneumonia rate, therefore improving surgical patients' outcomes. Furthermore, this quality improvement project also saved valuable revenue for the hospital.

Infection prevention plan to decrease surgical site infections in bariatric surgery patients.

Surgical site infections (SSI) are one of the most common complications of bariatric surgery. The Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Accreditation and Quality Improvement (QI) Program (MBSAQIP) allows accredited programs to develop processes for quality improvement based on data collection. The objective of this study was to decrease SSI rates in patients undergoing bariatric surgery at an accredited MBSAQIP center. Using the MBSAQIP semiannual report, SSI rates were retrospectively reviewed. Baseline SSI rates were collected from 01/01/2014-12/31/2015. On 01/01/2016, the first infection prevention protocol (IPP-1) was created that included 4% chlorhexidine gluconate (CHG) showers, CHG wipes immediately prior to surgery, and routine cultures of SSIs. An updated IPP (IPP-2) was implemented on 09/01/2016, which discontinued routine surgical drain placement and broadened antibiotic coverage for penicillin allergic patients. During baseline data collection, SSI rates were 5.1%. After the implementation of IPP-1, SSI rates trended down to 2.5%. After implementation of IPP-2, SSI rates decreased significantly to 1.5%, a 66% relative risk reduction in SSIs from baseline. On multivariate regression analysis, the perioperative factors associated with an increased risk for SSIs included diabetes mellitus, intraoperative surgical drain placement, the number of hypertension medications prior to bariatric surgery, and an open approach. Our study demonstrates that the implementation of a specific protocol for reducing SSIs is safe and feasible in patients undergoing bariatric surgery. We also identified that the success of the IPP is likely centered on the elimination of routine drain placement during primary bariatric procedures.

Progress on the Fifteenth General Review of Quotas—Report of the Executive Board to the Board of Governors (April 2018)

Following the guidance on the Board of Governors Resolution No. 72-1 (December 2016), on April 3, 2018, the Executive Board discussed and adopted its second semi-annual report on progress on the Fifteenth Review. The report covered issues relating to both the adequacy of Fund resources and the quota formula and realigning quota shares, discussed in an informal meeting on February 2, 2018 and building on the earlier discussions in the fall of 2017.

Progress on the Fifteenth General Review of Quotas—Report of the Executive Board to the Board of Governors (September 2018)

Following the guidance on the Board of Governors Resolution No. 72-1 (December 2016), on September 21, 2018, the Executive Board discussed and adopted its third semi-annual report on progress on the Fifteenth Review. The report covered additional issues relating to both the adequacy of Fund resources and the quota formula and realigning quota shares, discussed in an informal meeting on July 30, 2018.

Progress on the Fifteenth General Review of Quotas—Report of the Executive Board to the Board of Governors (October 2017)

Following the guidance on the Board of Governors Resolution No. 72-1 (December 2016), on October 4, 2017, the Executive Board discussed and adopted its first semi-annual report on progress on the Fifteenth Review. The report covered issues related to the quota formula and realigning quota shares as well as issues related to the adequacy of Fund resources, discussed in informal meetings on September 1 and on September 15, 2017, respectively.

Progress on the Fifteenth General Review of Quotas—Report of the Executive Board to the Board of Governors (April 2019)

Following the guidance on the Board of Governors Resolution No. 72-1 (December 2016), on April 3, 2019, the Executive Board discussed and adopted its fourth semi-annual report on progress on the Fifteenth Review. The report described that it had become evident that it would not be possible to secure the required support for a quota increase under the Fifteenth Review.

Switching to Semi-annual Financial Statement Reports - Market Reaction, Audit Fee and Corporate Governance Quality

The aim of the research is to examine the reaction of market participants (investors and firms) to a regulatory exogenous shock of easing financial reporting statement regulations. Since 2017, small cap firms, publicly traded on Tel-Aviv stock exchange, are required to publish only Semi-annual reports hence any firm may opt to switch from formerly mandatory quarterly reporting to the currently required semi-annual financial reporting statement. We show that 2/3 of the firms chose to adopt the relief in regulation. In the group of firms that chose to apply the regulation relief, we find a significant negative abnormal market reaction of -2% to the announcement of adopting the relief. In the group of firms that waive the regulation relief and chose to stay on quarterly reporting, we observe a significant positive abnormal market reaction of +2.5% to the announcement of voluntary continuing with the quarterly financial reports. Moreover, for the firms that switch to semi-annual reports, we show a significant decrease of 19.8% in the number of external auditing hours and a significant decrease of 16% in the annual external total audit fee in 2017 as compared to 2016. No significant change in the annual external total audit fee has been observed for the firms that opted not to adopt the abovementioned regulation. We also collect additional information about institutional investor holdings and outside directors which serves on these boards (financial expertise, gender and "busyness") as signals to corporate governance quality. We find positive and significant associations between the voluntarily continue the quarterly financial reporting and high quality corporate governance. The findings of the event study provide a valuable contribution to the ongoing debate on the relevance of the quarterly financial reports to investors. The additional finding of lower corporate governance quality and decreased external audit effort which characterized the firms that adopt the relief represent an increased risk for information asymmetry for investors in such firms thus further reinforces the importance of frequent financial reporting.

World Bank: The Economy in the Time of Covid 19: Semiannual Report of the Latin America and Caribbean Region

No abstract available

Monitoreo Comunitario y Participativo de los Manglares bajo Acuerdos de Uso y Custodia de Manglar en Ecuador

The regulations on the sustainable use and custody agreements of mangrove forests (SUCAM) proposes the elaboration of semiannual reports as an instrument to inform the MAE about the management of the mangroves, leaving the responsibility of collecting the information and formulating or these reports in the hands of the fishermen organizations with whom these mangrove agreements are signed. This study analyzed; based on the experience of 10 organizations of the Province of El Oro, elements of the regulations, and literature, if this way of reporting can be contemplated within the framework of “Participatory and Community Monitoring of natural resources”. It was concluded that it can be considered as participatory and community monitoring, and if it is complemented by including indicators on the status of mangroves under SUCAM, among others, this monitoring could serve as an input of relevant information for decision-making processes on mangrove conservation.