Risk Self-Selection and the Concept of Equilibrium in a Competitive Insurance Market

The purpose of this paper is an analysis of the presence of self-selection mechanisms on the market that could bring the market closer to the separating equilibrium state, in line with the Rothschild–Stiglitz equilibrium model and its subsequent modifications. An example is the Polish market of compulsory third-party liability insurance of vehicle owners. This paper describes this market in terms of both its structure and its financial results. The main focus is on describing the assumptions of the Rothschild–Stiglitz model for markets operating under the conditions of information asymmetry and based on the self-selection mechanism, allowing for an unequivocal determination of the insured’s profile without the need to actually observe the insured’s behaviour. Finally, we show that thanks to the self-selection induced by the possibility of driving behaviour monitoring, the industry can minimise the negative effect information asymmetry has on the motor insurance market. This can be achieved, for example, by observing the choices made by the insured after being offered a new voluntary contract with a premium based on telematics data. Our analysis was carried out with the use of three selected characteristics that can determine the insured’s risk profile, i.e., distance covered, self-assessment, and insurance premium paid; the significance of the latter—although it may be intuitive—is questionable at commonly accepted significance levels. Therefore, the main result is that although there is some evidence on the disputed matter, there can be no definitive conclusion—especially in terms of risk as measured by insurance premium.

The Influence of English Teachers’ Competency on Students’ Learning Achievement

This correlation study aimed to investigate a correlation between English teacher competency and students’ learning achievement at State Junior High School 1 Tempuling, Indragiri Hilir Regency, Riau. There was 1 English teacher who has certified as a professional teacher. Seventy-five students taught by the English teacher became the sample through random sampling technique; meanwhile, the English Teacher Performance Assessment documentation and evidence of students’ learning achievement in their report card were used to collect the data. The data were analyzed using serial correlation. The finding shows that the correlation (rxy) score = 0.438 compared to rt. Because rxy was higher at 5% and 1% significance levels, it was possible to conclude a significant correlation between English teacher competency and students’ learning achievement.

Investigating the Effect of COVID-19 Infection on P300 Based BCI Application Performance

The COVID-19, which has rapidly spread and infected millions of people from all over the world, causes various problems including psychiatric, economic, educational as well as health. Many studies have been reported that COVID-19 can be characterized by vascular damage predominantly involving micro vessels. In this study, we proposed a method to examine whether COVID-19 effects on brain computer interface (BCI) performance or not. We collected P300 based electroencephalogram (EEG) signals from six subjects before and after the COVID-19 infection. For classifying the P300 and non-P300 EEG signals, single output and two-layer artificial neural network was utilized. Based on the t-test analysis, it was observed that there was a significant difference between the before and after COVID-19 infection test groups especially on Oz channel in occipital region for alpha=0.05 percent while that of for alpha=0.01 percent shows no statistical difference for P300 classification results. The latency values, on the other hand, before and after COVID-19 infection did not represent any difference for both significance levels. It is clearly understood from the literature that COVID-19 negatively effects to the microvascular bed. Therefore, it might be expected that it could cause to reduce the P300 based BCI performance. This was the first study to investigate the impact of COVID-19 on P300-based BCI performance, taking into account the EEG signals of the COVID-19 infection. The obtained results showed that although the COVID-19 infection did not generally effected P300 based BCI application performance and latency values, the performance of the occipital region electrodes slightly effected.

VALUE AT RISK AS A TOOL FOR ECONOMIC-MANAGERIAL DECISION-MAKING IN THE PROCESS OF TRADING IN THE FINANCIAL MARKET

Research background: Risk is an integral part of the world of financial markets today. One of the best known and widespread methods of quantifying the risk of a securities portfolio is the concept of value at risk (VaR). The method quantifies the maximum possible loss of a securities portfolio for specific variables. We used the work of Carol Alexander as a basis for our contribution, whence we borrowed mathematical formulas and derivatives of normal linear VaR and VaR scaling. Purpose of the article: The aim of this study is to design our own method of using the VaR calculation in the trading process and to practically verify the explanatory power of such calculation. To meet this goal, we used our own designed and adjusted formulas to calculate normal linear VaR and scaling VaR. Methods: The purpose of these adjusted formulas is to calculate specific levels of significance of specific scenarios of the course of trading positions, which represent the probability of their occurrence. Subsequently, we used regression analysis and constructed two regression models to verify that the significance levels themselves were significant variables, and that they could explain the variability of the explanatory variable to such an extent that they could be considered as strong predictors in the trading process. Findings & Value added: Based on such research, we find that the resulting levels of significance of our proposed VaR calculation formulas are significant. Based on the compiled regression models, we also find that the dependence we identified is a strong one and can therefore be considered as systematic. Nevertheless, the materiality levels could explain only a small proportion of the variability of the variable being explained, and therefore could not be considered as strong predictors and thus involved in the trading process itself.

Does extracellular DNA mask microbial responses to a pulse disturbance?

A major goal in microbial ecology is to predict how microbial communities will respond to global change. However, DNA-based sequencing that is intended to characterize live microbial communities includes extracellular DNA (exDNA) from non-viable cells. This could obscure relevant microbial responses, particularly to pulse disturbances which kill bacteria and have disproportionate effects on ecosystems. Here, we characterize bacterial communities before and after a drying-rewetting pulse disturbance, using an improved method for exDNA exclusion. We find that exDNA removal is important for detecting subtle yet significant changes in microbial abundance, diversity, and community composition across the disturbance. However, inclusion of exDNA did not obscure results to a large extent, only sometimes altering statistical significance but rarely changing the direction of the response or general conclusions about bacterial disturbance dynamics. Although there may be instances where exDNA removal is essential for accurate representation of microbial communities, our study suggests these scenarios will be difficult to predict a priori. Overall, we found no evidence that certain time points across the distrubance were more affected by exDNA inclusion, nor did the size or composition of exDNA pools accurately predict when exDNA would alter significance levels. However, exDNA dynamics did vary strongly across the two soil types tested.

The readiness of human resources and organization in implementing total quality management (TQM) in Indonesia’s manufacturing industries

Total Quality Management (TQM) is a method of organizational improvement that is quite widely used in the world. Unfortunately, there are still many failures in its implementation, especially in Indonesia, for many reasons. The aim of this study was to determine the readiness of organizations and individuals in implementing TQM and its influence on the quality performance in Indonesia's manufacturing industries. The sample of this research consisted of 48 employees from about 20 privately owned companies at Jakarta, Bogor, Depok, Tangerang, and Bekasi (Jabodetabek) areas, Indonesia. The data were collected through interviews and questionnaires, followed by statistical analysis with Structural Equation Modelling using Partial least squares (PLS) method. The results of this study indicated that, within the sector, the individual and organizational readiness in implementing TQM, as well as their quality performance, was found to be at a good level. Furthermore, the level of individual and organizational readiness in implementing TQM showed a significant effect on the quality performance, with the significance levels of 84% and more than 99%, respectively. Accordingly, 43% variation on quality performance was influenced by the individual and organizational readiness in implementing TQM, and the rest (57%) was influenced by other factors.

Analysis of the packaging labels of cream cracker added with cashew nuts

The objective of this work was to analyze packaging labels of cream crackers added with cashew nut flour, using the information contained on the label (low saturated fat content; source of unsaturated fats; no addition of trans-fats). An online questionnaire was applied, aimed at the adult population of the city of Fortaleza, State of Ceará of both sexes. The questionnaire obtained 424 responses. The association between variables was analyzed using significance levels of 5% (p-value <0.05) and 10% (p-value <0.10). Most participants said they had information on trans-fats (87.03%) and unsaturated fats (69.10%). They also said they had the habit of reading the food label (75%), observing mainly the expiration date, brand, and price in labels on biscuit packaging. The cream cracker label option number 3 (51.65%), with the information “trans-fats free” was the most preferred among them. An association was found between schooling and choice of the label (p = 0.040), as well as between choice of label and knowledge about trans-fats (p = 0.063) and unsaturated fats (p = 0.012). The inclusion of additional information on the label implied a greater possibility of purchasing the product, while the absence of this information reduced its choice.

More on the Supremum Statistic to Test Multivariate Skew-Normality

This review is about verifying and generalizing the supremum test statistic developed by Balakrishnan et al. Exhaustive simulation studies are conducted for various dimensions to determine the effect, in terms of empirical size, of the supremum test statistic developed by Balakrishnan et al. to test multivariate skew-normality. Monte Carlo simulation studies indicate that the Type-I error of the supremum test can be controlled reasonably well for various dimensions for given nominal significance levels 0.05 and 0.01. Cut-off values are provided for the number of samples required to attain the nominal significance levels 0.05 and 0.01. Some new and relevant information of the supremum test statistic are reported here.

Dynamics and Numerical Simulation of Contaminant Diffusion for a Non-Flushing Ecological Toilet

The poor indoor air quality (IAQ) of severely polluted toilets is associated with increased risk of severe disease. This study aimed to evaluate the overall IAQ according to the contaminant removal efficiency, volume average concentration, and breathing zone control level. The characteristics of contaminant transmission in a non-flushing ecological toilet (NFET) were analyzed using the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) methodology, and the proposed model was further validated based on experimental measurements. Both an orthogonal experimental design and CFD were used to analyze factors such as exhaust fan position (EFP), air change rate per hour (ACH), natural vent location (NVL), and grid height (G-h). The EFP and ACH were demonstrated to be the dominant factors affecting the IAQ, whereas NVL and G-h were found to play key roles. Single-factor analysis based on the significance levels of the ACH, EFP, and NVL was conducted using the CFD methodology to define three exhaust behaviors—namely, “ineffective”, “enhanced”, and “excessive”. These results provide key insights that may be used to improve the IAQ of NFETs.

The relationship between positive and negative emotional states and motivation of high school students doing sports

The aim of this research was to The Relationship Between Positive And Negative Emotional States And Motivation Of High School Students Doing Sports. The sample of the research consists of 441 students in total, 290 Male and 151 Female, studying at high schools. With the personal information form to determine demographic characteristics, the Panas scale which was developed by Watson et al. (1988) and adapted into Turkish by Gençöz (2000) and which examines emotional states with positive and negative dimensions, and The Sports Motivation Scale which was developed by Pelletier et al. (1995) and adapted into Turkish by Kazak (2004), were used. The data obtained were analyzed with SPSS 23.0 statistical package program. In the evaluation of the data, t-test for independent samples and One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) tests for differences between groups and the “Tukey Post Hoc” test and Pearson Correlation test were used. As a result of the research; sports-specific success and motivation levels of students who are constantly engaged in sports; significance levels were examined according to gender, age, education, income level, place of residence, duration of doing sports, doing sports with license, frequency of doing sports, and being interested in different branches, and it was seen that there was no statistically significant difference.