1,722,366 research outputs found
La crescita esterna delle imprese assicurative europee
Full text linkIl settore assicurativo europeo è stato nell’ultimo decennio al centro di un importante processo di concentrazione stimolato da fattori quali, tra gli altri, deregulation e cicli positivi dei mercati azionari. Una parte rilevante delle M&A che hanno interessato assicurazioni europee ha avuto inoltre carattere cross-border.
Allo scopo di contribuire alla letteratura esistente, la presente tesi di dottorato analizza, tramite la tecnica dell’event study, gli effetti di creazione di valore determinati sui prezzi azionari delle imprese coinvolte dall’annuncio di 33 operazioni di aggregazione intraprese nel periodo 1997-2006 da assicurazioni europee nei confronti di altre assicurazioni ovvero di banche o altri intermediari finanziari.
I risultati, in linea con la prevalente letteratura in materia di aggregazioni nel settore finanziario, mostrano rendimenti anomali cumulati (CAR) lievemente negativi per l’assicurazione acquirente, sensibilmente positivi per l’impresa acquisita e complessivamente identificano effetti di tenue distruzione di valore per l’operazione nel suo complesso.
L’analisi multivariata dei rendimenti anomali mette in luce la preferenza del mercato verso operazioni di aggregazione su scala transnazionale, in accordo con le evidenze della letteratura che ipotizza una sorta di specialità del settore assicurativo rispetto al grado di internazionalità dei processi aggregativi, dimostrando la presenza di minori barriere implicite ad investimenti stranieri rispetto al mercato bancario. Il mercato ha inoltre attribuito una maggiore capacità di creazione di valore alle operazioni di crescita esterna che hanno interessato target di dimensione e volume d’affari relativamente piccoli rispetto all’acquirente, scontando minori difficoltà di integrazione. Infine, i CAR della società target sono risultati tanto più positivi quanto più l’assicurazione acquirente fosse caratterizzata da dimensione rilevante e performance reddituali positive, lasciando ipotizzare un beneficio per gli azionisti dell’impresa acquisita legato allo standing dell’acquirente.European insurance industry faced in the last 10 years a relevant consolidation process that was enhanced by, among others, deregulation and positive market cycles. A significant part of M&A transactions regarding European insurers was cross-border.
In order to contribute to the existing literature, this thesis analyses through an event study technique the wealth effects on share prices related to the announcement of 33 M&As in which a European insurer acquired an insurer, a bank or another financial institution in the period 1997-2006.
The results, in accordance with the major literature regarding consolidation in financial industry, show slightly negative cumulative abnormal returns (CAR) for the acquiring insurer, material positive CARs for the target institution and identify very little wealth destruction effects for the transaction as a whole.
A multivariate analysis of CAR shows market preference for cross-border integration; this result is in line with a literary strand that assumes sort of a specialty of insurance sector as regard to the internationality of M&A activity, indicating that implicit barriers to foreign investment are less relevant than in banking market. Moreover, market judged as value enhancing the acquisitions of targets of relative lower dimension compared to the acquirer, assuming lesser integration threats. Finally, the higher the dimension and the performance of the acquirer insurer, the higher the target CAR. This may indicate the existence for target shareholders of a “benefit” related to the acquirer standing
sj-docx-1-eid-10.1177_0143831X211039012 – Supplemental material for The role of socio-economic embeddedness in promoting cooperation in the workplace: Evidence from family-owned Italian firms
No full textSupplemental material, sj-docx-1-eid-10.1177_0143831X211039012 for The role of socio-economic embeddedness in promoting cooperation in the workplace: Evidence from family-owned Italian firms by John Geary and Andrea Signoretti in Economic and Industrial Democracy</p
Screening for pancreatic cancer in high-risk individuals
Full text linkAbstract
Introduction: Surveillance programs on high-risk individuals (HRIs) can detect premalignant lesions or early pancreatic cancer (PC). We report the results of the first screening round of the Italian multicenter program supported by the Italian Association for the study of the Pancreas (AISP).
Methods: The multicenter surveillance program included asymptomatic HRIs with familial (FPC) or genetic frailty (GS: BRCA1/2, p16/CDKN2A, STK11/LKB1 and PRSS1) predisposition to PC. The surveillance program included at least an annual magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP). Endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) was proposed to patients who refused or could not be submitted to MRCP.
Results: One-hundreds eighty-seven HRIs underwent a first-round screening examination with MRCP (174;93.1%) or EUS (13;6.9%) from September 2015 to March 2018.The mean age was 51 years (range 21-80).One-hundreds sixty-five (88.2%) FPC and 22 (11.8%) GF HRIs were included. MRCP detected 27 (21.9%) presumed branch-duct intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms (IPMN), 1 invasive carcinoma/IPMN and one low-grade mixed-type IPMN, respectively. EUS detected 4 PC (2.1%): 1 was resected, 1 was found locally advanced intraoperatively and 2 were metastatic. Age>50 (OR 3.3, 95%CI 1.4-8), smoking habit (OR 2.8, 95%CI 1.1-7.5), and having >2 relatives with PC (OR 2.7, 95%CI 1.1-6.4) were independently associated with detection of pre-malignant and malignant lesions. The diagnostic yield for MRCP/EUS was 20.3% for cystic lesions. The overall rate of surgery was 2.6% with nil mortality.
Discussion: The rate of malignancies found in this cohort was high (2.6%). According to the International Cancer of the Pancreas Screening Consortium the screening goal achievement was high (1%).ABSTRACT Background: Data on surveillance for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) in high-risk individuals (HRIs) with “familiar pancreatic cancer” (FPC) and specific syndromes are limited and heterogeneous.
Objective: We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of PDAC surveillance studies.
Methods: Prevalence of solid/cystic pancreatic lesions and of lesions considered a successful target of surveillance (proven resectable PDAC and high-grade precursors) was pooled across studies. The rate of lesions diagnosed by EUS/MRI and across different HRIs groups were calculated.
Results: Sixteen studies incorporating 1588 HRIs included. The pooled prevalence of pancreatic solid and cystic lesions was 5.8% and 20.2%, respectively. The pooled prevalence of patients with lesions considered a successful target of surveillance was 3.3%, being similar with EUS or MRI and varied across subgroups, being 3% in FPC, 4% in hereditary pancreatitis, 5% in familiar
melanoma, 6.3% in hereditary breast/ovarian cancer and 12.2% in Peutz Jeghers. The pooled estimate rate of lesions considered a successful target of surveillance during follow-up was 5/1000 person-years.
Conclusion: Surveillance programs identifiy successful target lesions in 3.3% of HRIs with similar yield of EUS and MRI and an annual risk of 0.5%. A higher rate of target lesions was reported in HRIs with specific DNA mutations.Background and Aims: Different pancreatic abnormalities (e.g. chronic pancreatitis like features, cystic lesions, solid lesions) have been reported in in high-risk individuals (HRIs) with “familiar pancreatic cancer” (FPC) and specific syndromes undergoing surveillance protocols for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). Previous studies compared pancreatic parenchymal alterations detected by endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS) in HRIs to those seen in controls reporting that abnormal changes occur more frequently in HRIs than in controls. However, while magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with Magnetic Resonance Cholangiopancreatography (MRCP) is the most frequently employed method for HRI surveillance, no studies compared the rate of abnormal pancreatic finding in HRIs investigated by MRI/MRCP to those seen in controls. We therefore conducted a case-control study enrolling HRIs who underwent surveillance with MRI/MRCP and controls without pancreatic disorders to compare the rate and type of pancreatic abnormalities.
Methods: A single-centre case control study was conducted. Cases were HRIs meeting the CAPS criteria who underwent surveillance for the risk of pancreatic cancer and controls were consecutive patients undergoing MRI/MRCP for benign biliary disease without history of pancreatic disorders.
The rate of pancreatic findings was compared with Fisher extact test and logistic regression analysis was performed to examine factors associated with pancreatic findings.
Results: 28 HRIs and 26 controls were included in the study. HRIs were subjects belonging to FPC families (70%), Peutz-Jeghers syndrome (14%), familial atypical multiple mole melanoma syndrome (7%) , BRCA1/2 mutation carriers (7%) . Cases and controls did not differ in terms of sex distribution and age (male 50% vs 53.6, p=0.5; mean age 55.6 vs 59.6 years p = 0.1). The overall rate of any pancreatic abnormality was similar between cases and controls (64.3% vs 53.8%; p=0.58) and parenchymal atrophy was the most common abnormal finding (32% vs 38%, p= 0.8). Branch-duct IPMNs were diagnosed in 25% of cases and 23% of controls (p= 1)(mean diameter 6.4 vs 5 mm respectively). Notably, however, at the first year of follow-up two further HRIs were diagnosed with IPMNs, bringing this rate to 32%.
Conclusion: The rate of pancreatic changes observed in HRIs at the first round of surveillance with MRI/MRCP does not differ from that of controls. Most abnormalities do not have clinical significance, the most common being parenchymal atrophy and small BD-IPMNs without worrisome features. These results differ from those previously reported regarding EUS, possibly suggesting that EUS might diagnose more frequently subtle pancreatic changes as compared to MRI in HRIs.Background & Aims: Pancreatic cystic lesions (PCLs) are frequent incidental findings. As most PCLs require costly diagnostic evaluation and active surveillance, it is important to clarify their prevalence in asymptomatic individuals. We therefore aimed at performing a systematic review and meta-analysis to determine it.
Methods: a systematic search was conducted and studies meeting inclusion criteria were included. The prevalence of PCLs was pooled across studies. A random effect model was used with assessment of heterogeneity.
Results: 17 studies, with 48,860 patients, were included. Only 3 were prospective; 5 studies were conducted in the US, 7 in Europe, 4 in Asia and 1 in Brazil. The pooled prevalence of PCLs was 8% (95% CI 4-14) with considerable heterogeneity (I2=99.5%). This prevalence was higher in studies of higher quality, examining older subjects, smaller cohorts, and employing MRCP (24.8%
vs 2.7% with CT-scan). The pooled rate of PCLs was four times higher in studies conducted in the US than in Asia (12.6% vs 3.1%). 7 studies reported the prevalence of mucinous lesions, with a
pooled rate of 4.3% (95% CI 2-10; I2=99.2%), but of 0.7% only for worrisome features or high risk stigmata.
Conclusion: The rate of incidentally detected PCLs is of 8%. Mucinous lesions are the most common incidentally detected PCLs, although they rarely present with potential indication for surgery. The observed different rates in the US and other geographic Areas suggest that different protocols might be necessary to help balancing costs and effectiveness of follow-up investigations in asymptomatic subject
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Full text linkWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
Acontece na UFRGS
No full textAo longo do mês de fevereiro, a Sala de Cinema Redenção apresenta o ciclo "Cinema, Sonho e Fantasia". A mostra apresenta filmes clássicos do cinema mundial, voltados para o público infanto-juvenil. O ciclo possui curadoria especial da bolsista do Departamento de Difusão cultural, Renata Signoretti
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