this study examines technical efficiency in iran's banking system using unbalanced panel data for 17 state and private banks during the 1997-2009 period. therefore, technical efficiency of banks was measured through estimating a translog cost function in the form of a panel sfa error compound model. then, the effect of underlying factors including both individual and structural (ownership/...

The Banks Peninsula tree weta, Hemideina ricta Hutton, is the rarest of the seven species of tree weta. Prior to our study it was known from only two locations on Banks Peninsula: Okains Bay (R. Bigelow, formerly Canterbury University, pers. comm.) and in totara (Podocarpus totara (G. Benn ex D. Don.)) logs near Purple Peak (P. Johns, Canterbury University, pers. comm.). The only other publishe...

BACKGROUND The primary objective was to enhance the content coverage of some of the pediatric self-report item banks for ages 8-17 years from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS®), and extend the range of precise measurement to higher levels of physical functioning. METHODS Data from 1,419 pediatric patients with cancer, chr...

If examinees were to know, beforehand, part of the content of a computerized adaptive test, their estimated trait levels would then have a marked positive bias. One of the strategies to avoid this consists of dividing a large item bank into several sub-banks and rotating the sub-bank employed (Ariel, Veldkamp & van der Linden, 2004). This strategy permits substantial improvements in exposure co...

BACKGROUND National legislation in Pakistan regulating blood banks has been introduced several times, but has never been passed. To support provincial-level efforts to develop legislation we conducted a study to evaluate blood-banking practices in Karachi, Pakistan, to identify areas that could be improved. METHODS Thirty-seven blood banks were randomly selected from a list of 87 Karachi bloo...

Iran's banking industry has faced a wide range of changes during recent years and its banks' performance has been affected by these changes. On the one hand, the entry of private banks to the industry has made various changes in the industry's concentration and the market share of banks, on the other hand, banking technologies and strengthened competitive environment have led banks to increase ...

during the last two decades, financial institutions worldwide have witnessed a lot of stress in managing their margins in wake of the new risks, challenges and increase in the competition posed to them by the factors of liberalization and deregulation. the key to create value and achieve competitive edge lies in the better operational efficiency and productivity of these institutions under such...