COVID-19 Pandemic and the Performance of Financial Firms in Nigeria

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the performance and capital adequacy of Nigerian banks is explored in this article. The aim of the study was to see how the virus outbreak affects the performance and capital adequacy of Nigerian banks. For the purposes of this study, an actual post-research budget was used. The number of confirmed positive cases in Nigeria since 2020 is used as an indicator of the virus, with capital adequacy measured by capital adequacy ratio (CAR) and bank financial performance measured by the performance of assets (ROA). In one model, positive cases of the Covid virus were linked to the banks' CAR, while in the other, positive Covid cases were linked to the banks' ROA. Secondary statistics are included in CBN's annual report for the year ended 2020, to be released in 2021. Conventional least squares (OLS) regression estimates were used to analyze the data. . According to the results, the Covid pandemic has had a positive and significant effect on the capital adequacy of Nigerian banks. This can be seen in CBN’s announcement of a higher equity level for 2020 of 15.2%, up from 14.6% in 2019

Cost-effective clinical trial design: Application of a Bayesian sequential model to the ProFHER pragmatic trial

Background/Aims: There is growing interest in the use of adaptive designs to improve the efficiency of clinical trials. We apply a Bayesian decision-theoretic model of a sequential experiment using cost and outcome data from the ProFHER pragmatic trial. We assess the model’s potential for delivering value-based research. Methods: Using parameter values estimated from the ProFHER pragmatic trial, including the costs of carrying out the trial, we establish when the trial could have stopped, had the model’s value-based stopping rule been used. We use a bootstrap analysis and simulation study to assess a range of operating characteristics, which we compare with a fixed sample size design which does not allow for early stopping. Results: We estimate that application of the model could have stopped the ProFHER trial early, reducing the sample size by about 14%, saving about 5% of the research budget and resulting in a technology recommendation which was the same as that of the trial. The bootstrap analysis suggests that the expected sample size would have been 38% lower, saving around 13% of the research budget, with a probability of 0.92 of making the same technology recommendation decision. It also shows a large degree of variability in the trial’s sample size. Conclusions: Benefits to trial cost stewardship may be achieved by monitoring trial data as they accumulate and using a stopping rule which balances the benefit of obtaining more information through continued recruitment with the cost of obtaining that information. We present recommendations for further research investigating the application of value-based sequential designs.

Akdeniz University's Process of Becoming a Research-Oriented University: Institutional Structuring, Goals, Activities and Outcomes

Turkish universities are not among the top 500 universities in most of the world university ranking systems and have had difficulties in maintaining their current place for the last five years. The most important reason for this decline is that they cannot produce high-quality research outcome. In the literature of higher education studies, there are a limited number of studies on how state universities governed with solely public resources could follow "research-oriented strategies and policies" and what they should do in concrete terms. Based on this deficiency, in this study, experiences of the Research Development and Coordination Board (RDCB) which was established to apply the strategies of Akdeniz University to become a research-oriented university effectively and sustainably, to adapt quickly to the newly formed and developing conditions in the field of R&D, to develop strategies, and to contribute to the university's capacity at the highest level to produce qualified scientific knowledge were examined. Thus, how the institutionalization of the research-oriented university was ensured, the practices that could and could not be realized accordingly with the established policy goals, and the effects of 2017-2020 policies on research outcomes were discussed in detail. The study, in particular, provides important information on how to improve research outcomes through public research budget and which roles the board can play in improving research outcome.

The Gap Between Program Planning and Implementation: The Case of R&D Program in Indonesian RPJMN

<p>This article attempts to analyze various obstacles related to the minimal contribution of Indonesian R&amp;D Program in supporting the economic sector and national competitiveness. This was done through a review of the implementation of the document of the National Medium-Term Development Plan (RPJMN) in the S&amp;T Sector for 2015‒2019 periode. The analysis was carried out using the Grindle policy implementation model. The study shows that there are four main factors that hinder the implementation of the R&amp;D program, such as 1) the lack of integration of R&amp;D execution between LPNK and technical ministries, 2) R&amp;D program planning which tends to be technology supply-push, 3) the absence of an appropriate evaluation mechanism to measure the achievement research in support of the economic sector, and 4) limited on research budget resources and its diffusion.</p>

Optimal Allocation of Research Funds under a Budget Constraint

Purpose. Health economic evaluations that include the expected value of sample information support implementation decisions as well as decisions about further research. However, just as decision makers must consider portfolios of implementation spending, they must also identify the optimal portfolio of research investments. Methods. Under a fixed research budget, a decision maker determines which studies to fund; additional budget allocated to one study to increase the study sample size implies less budget available to collect information to reduce decision uncertainty in other implementation decisions. We employ a budget-constrained portfolio optimization framework in which the decisions are whether to invest in a study and at what sample size. The objective is to maximize the sum of the studies’ population expected net benefit of sampling (ENBS). We show how to determine the optimal research portfolio and study-specific levels of investment. We demonstrate our framework with a stylized example to illustrate solution features and a real-world application using 6 published cost-effectiveness analyses. Results. Among the studies selected for nonzero investment, the optimal sample size occurs at the point at which the marginal population ENBS divided by the marginal cost of additional sampling is the same for all studies. Compared with standard ENBS optimization without a research budget constraint, optimal budget-constrained sample sizes are typically smaller but allow more studies to be funded. Conclusions. The budget constraint for research studies directly implies that the optimal sample size for additional research is not the point at which the ENBS is maximized for individual studies. A portfolio optimization approach can yield higher total ENBS. Ultimately, there is a maximum willingness to pay for incremental information that determines optimal sample sizes.

Experiences of Negotiations for Improving Research Environment and Burnout among Young Physician Researchers in Japan

Physician scientists in Japan are often too busy to be sufficiently involved in research work. This cross-sectional study aimed to investigate their experiences negotiating with their superiors to improve their research environment and determine its relationship with psychological burnout. Among 1790 physician awardees of Grants-in-Aid for Young Scientists in 2014–2015, 490 responded (response rate 27.4%) and 408 were eligible for analysis. Outcome measures included two negotiation experiences: for reduction of clinical duty hours/promotion opportunities and for increased space or equipment/increased research budget. The main explanatory variables were personal, patient-related, and work-related burnout measured by the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory. The percentages of the above-mentioned two types of negotiations were 20–24% in women and 17–20% in men. Multivariable stepwise logistic regression analyses demonstrated that (1) the negotiation for reduction of clinical duty hours/promotion opportunities was significantly associated with physician scientists who had a short amount of weekly research time and high patient-related burnout score, and (2) the negotiation for increased space or equipment/increased research budget was significantly associated with older age, single status, and high personal and patient-related burnout scores. High burnout is related to negotiation experiences among physician researchers in Japan.

IN ACHIEVING THE MOST OF LIMITED RESEARCH BUDGET FOR ENGINEERING RESEARCH PROJECTS: A CASE STUDY AT SULTAN QABOOS UNIVERSITY

Motivating engineering research in universities with limited or tight research budgets is a challenging task. There is always a conflict between researchers attempting to secure enough funds to ease their own research, and funding bodies and universities trying to achieve high quality research while lowering research expenses. This conflict leads to a situation where universities and researchers cannot achieve their goals altogether. This study attempts to partially resolve this issue by optimizing research expenditure for the benefit of both universities and researchers and suggests some policies regarding what type of research (modelling based or experimental based) universities should support. Other factors related to the components of research expenditure (effect of local and international collaboration, hiring research assistants (RAs), establishing research laboratories, and buying professional engineering software) are also considered.

Inovasi Madrasah Melalui Penyelenggaraan Madrasah Riset

The research entitled Madrasah Innovation Through the Implementation of Madrasa Research (Case Study at MAN 1 Jembrana Bali) was motivated by the 2013 Ministry of Religion's Suryadarma Ali policy on the Research Madrasah Program. But apparently this policy is not accompanied by other policies that support it such as the preparation of implementation guidelines as a reference for the implementation, budgeting policies, provision/guidance of personnel, and the provision of adequate infrastructure. This then raises problems for madrasas that are starting to pilot research madrasas, so that the implementation cannot be carried out optimally. This study aims to see how the implementation of research madrassas in MAN 1 Jembrana is seen from several components such as infrastructure, staffing, financing, curriculum and madrasa head policies in administration. This study uses qualitative methods, with approaches phenomenological and socio historical. Data collection was carried out through in-depth interviews, participatory observation, and document study. The results showed that the pioneering research madrasas at MAN 1 Jembrana had been carried out seriously, but the research activities had not been running optimally because there were still several obstacles such as the lack of a special research budget available from DIPA, there was no special research space available, there was no available research supervisors, limited laboratory staff, and the absence of operational guidelines/technical guidelines as guidelines for implementation. AbstrakPenelitian berjudul Inovasi Madrasah Melalui Penyelenggaraan Madrasah Riset (Studi Kasus di MAN 1 Jembrana Bali) dilatarbelakangi oleh adanya kebijakan Kementerian Agama Suryadarma Ali tahun 2013 tentang Program Madrasah Riset. Namun ternyata kebijakan ini tidak dibarengi dengan kebijakan lain yang mendukungnya seperti penyusunan pedoman pelaksanaan sebagai acuan penyelenggaraan, kebijakan penganggaran, penyediaan/pembinaan ketenagaan, maupun penyediaan sarana prasarana yang memadai. Hal ini kemudian menimbulkan persoalan bagi madrasah-madrasah yang mulai melakukan rintisan penyelenggaraan madrasah riset, sehingga dalam penyelenggaraannya tidak dapat dilakukan secara maksimal. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk melihat bagaimana penyelenggaraan madrasah riset di MAN 1 Jembrana dilihat dari beberapa komponen seperti sarana prasarana, ketenagaan, pembiayaan, kurikulum dan kebijakan kepala madrasah dalam penyelenggaraan. Penelitian ini menggunakan metode kualitatif, dengan pendekatan fenomenologis dan sosio historis. Pengumpulan data dilakukan melalui in-depth interview, participatory observation, dan document studies. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa rintisan penyelenggaraan madrasah riset di MAN 1 Jembrana sudah dilaksanakan dengan serius, namun kegiatan riset belum berjalan maksimal karena masih adanya beberapa kendala seperti belum tersedia anggaran khusus riset dari DIPA, belum tersedia ruang khusus riset, belum tersedia tenaga pembimbing riset, terbatasnya tenaga laboran, dan belum adanya juklak/juknis sebagai pedoman penyelenggaraan.