A model for adoption of mobile banking services using classification and regression trees

The analysis and improvements of bank performance is a challenging issue for bank managers. Among various banking services, mobile banking is one of the most risky fields that is prone to customer resistance. Mobile banking is a form of banking transaction carried out via a mobile phone. Mobile banking allows bank customers to check their account balances and perform credit card transaction, as well as provide information on the latest transaction made by customers. This paper summarizes experiences and results of productively using knowledge discovery and data mining techniques in a large detail bank data. Data mining is the process of extracting patterns from data. We review prior literature on mobile payments, analyze the various factors that impact mobile payment services markets, and suggest directions for future research in this risk management field. Our research work demonstrates the effectiveness and efficiency of data mining in analysis of retailing bank performance. We use classification and regression tree learning algorithm for proposing a customer adoption model of mobile banking according to some personal characteristics of customers.     

IAS/IFRS and insurance： A gradual shifting from insurance to finance

Financial year 2005 marks the gradual introduction of the international accounting standard （IAS） as part of a broad project promoted by the EU to achieve consistency and comparability and, consequently, greater transparency in corporate accounts, with benefits for the users and institutions who make use of, or exercise control over them. The present paper will not address all the related complex profiles （e.g., actuarial methodologies, financial evaluation models, cash-flows scenarios generation techniques）. Actual aim is to bring evidence for the gradual shifting of perspective promoted by the financial community as far as the insurance companies are concerned： Once considered as unknown ＂black-boxes＂ because of their peculiarities, western countries＇ most authoritative agencies and largest private investors felt for a long time uneasy to manage insurance companies＇ disclosures. More recently, since the industry has been absorbed in the world-wide trend toward global conglomerate encompassing banking, finance and insurance, western regulators have undertaken a sound effort to move insurance disclosures from a technical to a financial view, boosting a dramatic homologation to other financial institutions （Cesarini ＆ Varaldo, 1992; Forestieri ＆ Moro, 1993; Locatelli, et al., 1999）. The trade-off, the authors intend to show, is now between more transparent outlook and an insider＇s knowledge of an industry whose peculiarities are inescapable.     

A wave of psychological forces in second language learning： An Arabic experience at IIUM

Psychological bases of success deal with relatively inner-self factors. The paper presents basic understandings of learning process as well as a model of identifying factors of second language learning success. There are a number of reasons why some students learn Arabic much more quickly than the others. Learner＇s psychological situation is one of the most expected determination factor. Therefore, its nature has to be described, its function needs to be identified and analyzed, especially in term of motivating students to have better performance in learning Arabic as a second language in the context of International Islamic University Malaysia （IIUM）.     

区域软实力的概念、要素及评估指标体系

区域软实力在中国受到越来越多的关注,不少学者对其概念、涵盖的要素及评估指标进行了探讨。文章认为,区域软实力是指在一个国家内一个区域可用以动员区内外的资源来实现其经济、社会、文化等全面发展的非物质力量。其构成要素主要有:政府管理和服务、区域文化、人力素质、区域形象和生活环境。为此,应构建由三级指标构成的区域软实力评估体系。     

广西农业巨灾风险保险机制探析

树立和落实科学发展观,建立农业巨灾风险保险机制,是解决我国"三农"问题的一条重要措施。广西是农业巨灾频繁而又严重的地区,因而广西的"三农"问题更为突显。在国家还没有健全和完善农业巨灾风险管理机制的情况下,广西应该借鉴国内外的成功经验,尽快地建立起适应本地区农村、农民、农业发展需要的巨灾风险保险机制,以保障农业生产发展,促进农村社会稳定,推进社会主义新农村建设。     

人民警察心理健康研究的新视角——心理弹性

心理弹性是个体在面临严重压力或逆境时,其心理功能没有受到损伤性影响,相反表现出良好发展的现象。人民警察因其职业特点,经常面临压力或逆境,对其进行心理弹性研究有重要意义。文章探讨了心理弹性对人民警察心理健康的必要性和影响行为的机制,并提出了人民警察心理弹性的培养措施。     

地方政府公共服务供给能力:影响因素与实现路径

公共服务均等化是和谐社会的重要内容,而地方政府公共服务供给能力提升是公共服务均等化目标实现的重要保障。传统观点认为,地方经济或财政实力决定地方政府公共服务供给能力,但是,我们认为公民参与、社会组织、信息沟通、电子政务技术等对地方政府公共服务供给能力提升更具影响力。在公共治理理论框架下,本文分析了影响地方政府公共服务供给能力提升的经济、政治与社会综合因素,并在此基础上,提出了系统提升地方政府公共服务供给能力的实现路径。     

危害铁路运输高危人群概念、构成要素及特征之研究

对危害铁路运输高危人群的研究必须植根于对高危人群这一概念内涵及外延的准确把握,因此,研究现有危害铁路运输安全的高危人群的组成结构,对高危人群做一个明确的界定,是"高危人群的识别和控管"这一论题的重要基础。在此基础上通过进一步研究其构成要件、特点,为铁路公安机关实践工作提供客观统一的认定判断标准。这个问题的解决,将有助于铁路公安机关制定有针对性的预防、控制危害铁路运输安全高危人群的对策。     

The roadmap to net-zero emission: Do geopolitical risk and energy transition matter?

Global crises have heightened policy uncertainties and efforts to address global climate change. Limited evidence exists in the literature on geopolitical risk's direct and indirect roles in addressing global emissions. In this study, we examine whether geopolitical risk could impede or facilitate efforts to attain a net-zero emissions target through energy transition using panel data for 42 countries from 1990 to 2020. Various econometric techniques were applied in this study to present robust findings and reliable conclusions. Estimates from the Driscoll-Kraay, Lewbel two-stage least squares and method of moment regression techniques consistently showed that countries' geopolitical risk directly increases emissions (total greenhouse gas, carbon, methane, and nitrous oxide). At the same time, energy transition, measured with renewable energy consumption, mitigates these emissions. In addition, evidence from the partial linear functional-coefficient model technique indicates that renewable energy consumption consistently mitigates emissions when geopolitical is minimal (at a minimum and mean level). However, the role of renewable energy consumption in reducing emissions becomes weaker when geopolitical risk is heightened—thus, when geopolitical risk reaches its maximum level. We recommend that efforts to sustain renewable energy transition and maintain geopolitical stability are vital for achieving net-zero emissions and climate change mitigation.     

Uneven local implementation of federal policy after disaster: Policy conflict and goal ambiguity

As climate change continues to increase both the frequency and intensity of environmental hazards and disasters, the need for a cohesive national mitigation policy grows. As the environmental federalism scholarship indicates, the inherent tension in federal, state, and local policy implementation highlights that despite a national need, environmental quality is a local public good. To complicate matters, there is disagreement about the optimal level of decision-making regarding the adoption and implementation of environmental policy. This study addresses this gap by considering the role of policy ambiguity and conflict in policy implementation. The analysis relies on primary qualitative data collected from open-ended interviews with 22 local government officials in 12 municipalities following Hurricane Harvey. Through the lens of policy ambiguity and conflict, we find confirmatory support for the idea that policies with less ambiguous goals are more likely to be implemented. Furthermore, we find that policy conflict arises when local governments perceive there is little for the community to gain by implementing the federal program. Thus, the level of protection afforded to citizens varies greatly between communities and is influenced heavily by politics. This research supports the Ambiguity-Conflict Model of policy implementation, an oft-cited but rarely tested theoretical framework for assessing the intergovernmental politics of policy implementation. It also demonstrates the barriers to local implementation of federal environmental policy in a nested system of government.