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This analysis aims to empirically investigate the impact of different forms of Fintech on the financial performance of banks in Kosovo from 2010 to 2021. The research is based on secondary data, accounting for 48 observations at quarterly frequencies. The model treats bank performance (i.e., net profits of the bank sector) as an endogenous variable of ATMs, POS, and e-payments. The methodology applied in the research is based on the OLS technique and diagnostic tests for evaluating the normality of distribution, multicollinearity, autocorrelation, specification error, and heteroscedasticity. Results show that the variability of ATMs and e-payments determines bank performance variability. In particular, e-payments show a significant positive impact on bank profitability, whereas ATM payments display a negative impact on bank profitability. In addition, an increase in ATM payments by 1% decreases bank profitability by 0.367%. While an increase in e-payments by 1% increases bank profitability by 0.11%. The POS payments were found to have no significant relationship with bank profitability. Doi: 10.28991/ESJ-2023-07-03-016 Full Text: PDF

AbstractThis study attempts to identify whether government ownership has an effect on corporate performance, such as Return on Assets (ROA), Price to Book value, and Profits for a sample of 102 listed companies on the UAE stock exchanges and a subsample of 17 banks listed on the same bourses over a period of 31 quarters. In the case of the sample of 102 companies, government ownership has a positive impact on some of the corporate performance indicators, as well in the banking subsample. In addition, the analysis evaluates the impact of state ownership on debt accumulated across the two samples. The results indicate that state ownership reduced the need to accumulate debt in general across the larger sample. However, focusing on banks, state ownership facilitates borrowing and accumulating debt. The results point to the positive effect of state ownership on corporate performance. Further, state ownership eases constraints on banks' borrowing as it boosts confidence in the outlook, facilitating higher ratings and cheaper sources of funding. In the case of the UAE, similar to some other countries, where there is a strong trend toward government ownership in listed companies and banks, it has a positive effect on their performance for the period 2008–2016, i. e., there is a positive relationship between the block-holder ownership and firms' performance, subject to efficiency control measures.

In this article the author analyses the evolution of Latin American agriculture from a long-term point of view. He highlights the importance of domestic relative prices and the significant impact of policies relating to the form of the insertion of the region into the international economy

AbstractWe re‐examine the introduction of social dimensions into the economic conception of individual rationality. Most contributions in this area adopt the rational utility maximizer by adding social aspects into the domain of the agent's consideration. Thus, an inconsistency is created between sociality and opportunism. We overcome this by employing the Weberian distinction between instrumental and expressive rationality. It does not require the increase in the domain of agent's considerations and it captures society in a richer way with heterogeneity of social attitudes both to society as a system and to its management.

How do individual agents enact the institutions that govern collective behavior in a social situation? How do individuals come to share self-enforcing expectations about collective behavior, so that societal rules and constraints have an effect on individual choice? Conventional accounts, such as contract and evolutionary theories or the analysis of conventions and social conflict, cannot explain the origins of social institutions because they do not address the origins of shared and self-enforcing expectations about collective behavior in a social situation. I analyze two separate stages of institutionalization. First, agents must imagine collective intentionality, so that an 'imagined institution' entailing a symbolic representation of collective behavior becomes common knowledge. Second, they must 'enact' it through shared and self-enforcing expectations on the path of play. In my model, the agents are goal-oriented, so the process is strategic throughout. [Reprinted by permission of Sage Publications Ltd., copyright holder.]

Drawing upon student narratives gleaned through qualitative interviews, this paper argues that teaching and learning 'sensitive' issues surrounding gender and sexualities through 'creative' pedagogies can be a mode of resistance against the reproduction of problematic social discourses, and to the negative impacts of neoliberalism on student's learning within higher education. The findings point to the importance of speaking about sensitive issues; the value of creative approaches for enhancing learning; and that together these can enable students to articulate an agenda for social change. Students saw the 'personal as political' – of sharing personal journeys around sensitive issues as important. They further spoke of 'apathy' in an neoliberal era of student 'consumers' and how this could curtail 'creative' teaching and jeopardise learning. Overall, it is argued that creative approaches to teaching and learning sensitive issues can invoke a resistant potentiality which exposes the 'hidden injuries' of the neoliberal university.

All of us, as Canadians, are touched throughout our lives by some aspect of social welfare, either as recipients, donors, or taxpayers. But despite the importance of the social network in our country, there has been no single source of information about this critical component of our society. Even professionals in the field of social work or social services have not had a comprehensive volume addressing the myriad features of this critical societal structure. The Encyclopedia of Canadian Social Work fills this need. Over five hundred topics important to Canadian social work are covered

This paper focuses on analyzing the range of factors that influence the transformation of leadership styles by technologies. The aim is to evaluate the level of transformation achieved by influence of technologies in certain post-socialist countries in Southeastern Europe (SEE). The theoretical part of the research identifies two sets of factors (endogenous and exogenous) that are important in understanding the influence of technologies on leadership transformation. Key factors were identified, including readiness of organization, perceived-easy of use, customer pressure, law regulations, and leader's attitude. In the quantitative section of the research, the impact of these factors on the transformation of leadership styles was evaluated. The hypothesis is that these factors significantly impact leadership style transformation in the selected countries, and by understanding their advantages, leaders can improve their performance. The multiple linear regression method was used to research the perception of the impact of selected factors. A mathematical model based on multiple linear regression analysis was created to explain the relationship between the dependent variable (the level of transformation of leadership style) and the selected independent variables. The results have confirmed the validity of the hypothesis and, consequently, the selected factors have the high influence to the transformation of leadership styles in the analyzed countries. The study concludes that the evaluation of the current status of selected factors presents opportunities that leaders should consider to survive the effects of globalization and open markets. The selected factors explain the situation in leadership to a great extent in the observed countries.

In the past, researchers in the field of environmental psychology have explained environmental perceptions primarily through socioeconomic and demographic factors. However, knowledge of and support for protecting specific natural features of the landscape should also be influenced by one's location, setting, and proximity to such features. This article focuses on residents'familiarity with and concern for two creeks passing through San Antonio, TX. Using Geographic Information Systems analytical techniques, we expand on previous studies by introducing driving distance from the creeks to identify the effects of this location-based variable on environmental perceptions. Specifically, we test the degree to which the actual driving distance respondents live from two creeks affects respondents' knowledge and perceptions of the water bodies. We show that when controlling for socioeconomic and geographic contextual variables, the residential distance variable remains a significant factor in explaining both familiarity with the creeks and views on the level of water pollution in them. Based on the results, we discuss the implications of incorporating proximity factors in watershed planning and policy.