Christos C. Frangos

Problematic Internet Use among Greek university students: an ordinal logistic regression with risk factors of negative psychological beliefs, pornographic sites, and online games.

The aim of this paper is to investigate the relationships between Problematic Internet Use (PIU) among university students in Greece and factors such as gender, age, family condition, academic performance in the last semester of their studies, enrollment in unemployment programs, amount of Internet use per week (in general and per application), additional personal habits or dependencies (number of coffees, alcoholic drinks drunk per day, taking substances, cigarettes smoked per day), and negative psychological beliefs. Data were gathered from 2,358 university students from across Greece. The prevalence of PIU was 34.7% in our sample, and PIU was significantly associated with gender, parental family status, grade of studies during the previous semester, staying or not with parents, enrollment of the student in an unemployment program, and whether the student paid a subscription to the Internet (p < 0.0001). On average, problematic Internet users use MSN, forums, YouTube, pornographic sites, chat rooms, advertisement sites, Google, Yahoo!, their e-mail, ftp, games, and blogs more than non-problematic Internet users. PIU was also associated with other potential addictive personal habits of smoking, drinking alcohol or coffee, and taking drugs. Significant risk factors for PIU were being male, enrolment in unemployment programs, presence of negative beliefs, visiting pornographic sites, and playing online games. Thus PIU is prevalent among Greek university students and attention should be given to it by health officials.

Assessing eating disorder risk: the pivotal role of achievement anxiety, depression and female gender in non-clinical samples.

The objective of the present study was to assess factors predicting eating disorder risk in a sample of undergraduate students. A structured questionnaire was employed on a random sample (n = 1865) consisting of the following sections: demographics, SCOFF (Sick, Control, One stone, Fat, Food) questionnaire for screening eating disorders and the Achievement Anxiety Test and the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale. The students at risk for eating disorders (SCOFF score ≥2) were 39.7%. Eating disorder risk was more frequent in females, students with divorced parents, students who lived alone, students who were seeking a romantic relationship or were married, students who were at a post-secondary vocational institute/college (private-public) educational level and who were more likely to have marks under merit level. Also, the mean scores for the psychological factors of depression, stress and anxiety were higher in students with eating disorder risk. A logistic regression model was produced depicting that depression, stress, female gender, being married and searching for a romantic relationship were risk factors of having an eating disorder risk. The suggested psychological model examined with structural equation modelling signified the role of academic anxiety as an immediate precursor of general anxiety. Hence, college populations in Greece need organized infrastructures of nutrition health services and campaigns to assist in reducing the risk of eating disorders.

Publication Bias in Meta-Analysis: Confidence Intervals for Rosenthal’s Fail-Safe Number

The purpose of the present paper is to assess the efficacy of confidence intervals for Rosenthals fail-safe number. Although Rosenthals estimator is highly used by researchers, its statistical properties are largely unexplored. First of all, we developed statistical theory which allowed us to produce confidence intervals for Rosenthals fail-safe number. This was produced by discerning whether the number of studies analysed in a meta-analysis is fixed or random. Each case produces different variance estimators. For a given number of studies and a given distribution, we provided five variance estimators. Confidence intervals are examined with a normal approximation and a nonparametric bootstrap. The accuracy of the different confidence interval estimates was then tested by methods of simulation under different distributional assumptions. The half normal distribution variance estimator has the best probability coverage. Finally, we provide a table of lower confidence intervals for Rosenthals estimator.

Jackknife estimation of the bootstrap acceleration constant

Abstract Efron (1987) describes a new procedure for obtaining better bootstrap confidence intervals, involving the “acceleration” constant, a . He estimates a using the infinitesimal jackknife (a finite sample version of the first order influence function) of the estimator θ for a parameter θ. In this paper, the ordinary positive and negative jackknife estimates of the influence function, which involve adding or deleting single observations, are used to obtain alternative estimators of a . Aspects of the performance of the resulting confidence intervals are compared in a simulation study for the variance and the correlation coefficient. One conclusion is that the accelerated bootstrap does result in improved coverage. However, it is neither uniformly so in all cases nor enough to correct the entire shorfall from the nominal. Secondly, the ordinary jackknife is the preferred approach to the problem of estimating a . Additional simulations compare various versions of bootstrap t intervals with a modified jackknife and normal theory intervals. The studentized intervals are significantly better quantities to bootstrap, yielding much closer agreement with nominal coverage.

Factors Affecting Customers’ Decision for Taking out Bank Loans: A Case of Greek Customers

The concept of loyalty has received much consideration from both academics and practitioners in various industries and is a predominant research topic in the banking industry. Identifying the factors that affect customers’ decision to take out a loan from a particular bank has become an essential asset for many banks in their effort to attract new customers and to maintain existing ones. The purpose of the present study is to identify factors that influence Greek customers’ decision to take out a loan from commercial banks. A number of variables (demographics, service quality and satisfaction) have been examined as potential factors influencing customers’ decision to take out a loan. A randomly selected sample of Greek citizens (n=277) was chosen in order to test our hypotheses. A questionnaire with self-determined scales was created after ensuring the instrument’s validity through confirmatory factor analysis. Logistic regression results show that personal marital status, customer service, shop design and interest rates are the most significant predictors of taking loans. Several managerial implications suggest bank managers should focus on giving loans to single individuals as well as change their interest rates policies by decreasing rates for all kinds of loans, especially housing loans.

What about clonidine for diarrhoea? A systematic review and meta-analysis of its effect in humans

Background: Clonidine is considered an alternative treatment for refractory diarrhoea. The evidence in the literature is scarce and not conclusive. The present paper’s purpose is to gather available evidence and provide a systematic answer regarding the effectiveness of clonidine for diarrhoea. Method: We performed a systematic review of clonidine and its effect on diarrhoea. Meta-analysis was performed with a random effects model of the standardized mean difference (SMD) or the weighted mean difference and heterogeneity was quantified with I2 and publication bias was assessed with Egger’s and Begg’s test. Subgroup analyses and meta-regression were performed to investigate sources of heterogeneity. Any empirical study describing use of clonidine for diarrhoea in humans independent of age was included. For the meta-analysis, papers had to provide sufficient data to produce an effect measure, while case reports were not included in the meta-analysis and are discussed narratively only. Results: A total of 24 trials and seven case reports were identified. Clonidine (median dose 300 μg/day) has been used for treatment of diarrhoea in irritable bowel syndrome, faecal incontinence, diabetes, withdrawal-associated diarrhoea, intestinal failure, neuroendocrine tumours and cholera; studies were also performed on healthy volunteers. Results indicate a strong effect of clonidine on diarrhoea (SMD = −1.02, 95% confidence interval [CI] −1.46 to −0.58) with a decrease of stool volume by 0.97 l/day, stool frequency by 0.4 times/day and increase in transit time by 31 minutes. In a sensitivity analysis of studies with functional diarrhoea and sample size over 10 subjects, the effect was similar −0.99 (95% CI −1.54 to −0.43). There is however significant heterogeneity and publication bias. Heterogeneity decreased in subgroup analyses by condition but not with other factors examined. A limitation of the present study includes small study effects. Conclusion: Clonidine is effective for treatment of diarrhoea and should be considered as an alternative when all other medications have failed.

Online and mobile customer behaviour: a critical evaluation of grounded theory studies

With the rapid increase in electronic and mobile commerce over the last few years, the academic literature on online and mobile customer behaviour has been fairly plentiful with a great deal of quantitative studies testing variations of existing customer behaviour theories. However, little attention has been given to qualitative studies in the field, which seek to explore new aspects of online or mobile customer behaviour, adding to existing theories or even creating new ones. Thus, the purpose of the present paper is to critically evaluate studies employing Grounded Theory (GT), a method commonly used for theory building in qualitative social research. Nine studies were identified examining online or mobile customer behaviour under this approach, providing theories based on emerging categories. Results of their studies seem to be very similar to existing customer behaviour theories, occasionally adding new categories to the existing theory nomenclature. Studies presented weaknesses regarding the accurate methodological conduct of GT and the process of generating theory, attributed predominantly to methodological, verification and reporting bias. Nevertheless, the main advantage of GT studies remains the generation of theory that can be applied in practice, reinforced by the presentation of conceptual prospects for testing new variables in quantitative studies. Overall, the contribution of GT studies to online and mobile customer behaviour research should be based on more rigorous methodology and aim to challenge rather than confirm existing theories with the purpose of advancing knowledge in the field.

The International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and Financial Stability: The Case of Russian and East Asian Financial Crises

The role of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank (WB) in providing financial stability to countries with financial problems has received conflicting views from different social and political groups. The purpose of this paper is to examine whether these two international organizations provide financial stability by focusing on the case of the Russian and East Asian financial crises. After a comprehensive analysis (graphs, tables and statistical regression models), the researchers found that the support of both the IMF and the WB was mostly without success in these two crises; thus promoting financial instability. This finding comes from both a descriptive analysis of financial stability in terms of unemployment, inflation and changes in GDP and GDP per capita and quantitative calculations by performing multiple linear regressions in PASW 18.0 with certain indicators [GDP Annual growth rate, Interest rate spread (lending rate minus deposit rate, %), Inflation, GDP deflator (annual %), Annual industrial value and GINI Index]. The intervention of these international organizations appears to have been followed by unemployment and inflation rises, as a result of their financial policies. These results provide important incentives for international policy changes in dealing with financial crises, emphasizing the importance for less destabilizing practices.

P02-246 - Factors predicting the use of internet at work for non-work purposes for a random sample of company workers in Greece

Indroduction Internet is an important means of communication but its use must be monitored to prevent inefficiency in the working places and to become a behavioral disorder for workers. Objectives The aim of this paper is to investigate the relationships between the use of Internet at work for non-work purposes (Cyberloafing) and factors such as gender, age, years of work at company, education, excessive use of Internet at home, company salary and certain psychological attitudes such as loneliness and lack of self-esteem. Methods A random sample of 409 workers (180 men, 229 women) was interviewed using a questionnaire with demographics, applications of Internet and Youngs criteria of Internet addiction sections. We performed a binary logistic regression analysis using the SPSS 18 with depended variable the amount of time spent every day on using the internet at work for non-work purposes. Results The following factors were found statistically significant predictors of the depended variable. Sex, Length of time for viewing Sports news at work, General Information, Buying pages, Playing games and Gambling. The mean age of the Cyberloafers was 35 years and the percentage of the workers who could use Internet at work for non-work purposes was 9.1%. The percentage of men who were using Internet at work for non-work purposes was 12.2%, whereas the analogues percentage for women was 6.6%. Conclusions Specific steps of monitoring the Internet use and organizing companies seminars for avoiding the dependence on the internet are recommended for maximum efficiency.

George Higoumenakis (1895-1983): Greek dermatologist.

This paper describes the Higoumenakis sign, enlargement of the sternal end of the clavicle in patients with late congenital syphilis and the dermatologist after whom it is named. Several professors and doctors from the Medical School of the University of Athens opposed his actions especially at the University in Greece. His persistence led him to productive scientific activity in syphilis, leishmaniasis and psoriasis. He became a member of the Greek Parliament from 1964 to 1967 and eventually Minister of Hygiene - even though this may have been an imprudent political choice, due to the unstable sociopolitical status of that period. He died on 27 December 1983 at the age of 88.