bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Determination of consolidation behaviour of Haliç dredged material by using a seepage‐induced consolidation test
Authors: Berilgen Saadet A. , Berilgen Mehmet M. , Özaydın Kutay
Published: January 2007

Purpose

To establish relationships between effective vertical stress‐void ratio and hydraulic conductivity‐void ratio on high water content dredged clays, which are then used to predict the field consolidation behavior.

Design/methodology/approach

The large strain consolidation model is used for numerical modeling of large‐strain self‐weight consolidation. Material parameters determined from seepage‐induced consolidation tests provided satisfactory predictions of field compression behavior.

Findings

It is shown that realistic estimates of self‐weight consolidation behavior of dredged sea bottom sediments stored on land can be made by using a seepage‐induced consolidation test system and an appropriate consolidation model such as CS2, which is very important in storage capacity design and reclamation planning of such storage areas.

Originality/value

In this paper, the findings are presented of an experimental investigation of the consolidation behavior of Golden Horn dredge material using a seepage‐induced testing system. The experimentally determined consolidation properties have yielded useful relationships for the variation of void ratio with effective stress and coefficient of permeability with void ratio, and use of these has enabled a realistic prediction of the observed behavior.
VaR stress tests for highly non‐linear portfolios
Authors: Einmahl John H.J. , Foppen Walter N. , Laseroms Olivier W. , de Vries Casper G.
Published: January 2007

Purpose

It is the purpose of this article to improve existing methods for risk management, in particular stress testing, for derivative portfolios. The method is explained and compared with other methods, using hypothetical portfolios.

Design/methodology/approach

Closed form option pricing formulas are used for valuation. To assess the risk, future price movements are modeled by an empirical distribution in conjunction with a semi‐parametrically estimated tail. This approach captures the non‐linearity of the portfolio risk and it is possible to estimate the extreme risk adequately.

Findings

It is found that this method gives excellent results and that it clearly outperforms the standard approach based on a quadratic approximation and the normal distribution. Especially for very high confidence levels, the improvement is dramatic.

Practical implications

In applications of this type the present method is highly preferable to the classical Delta‐Gamma cum normal distribution approach.

Originality/value

This paper uses a “statistics of extremes” approach to stress testing. With this approach it is possible to estimate the far tail of a derivative portfolio adequately.
Value‐at‐risk with info‐gap uncertainty
Authors: Ben‐Haim Yakov
Published: January 2007

Purpose

To study the effect of Knightian uncertainty – as opposed to statistical estimation error – in the evaluation of value‐at‐risk (VaR) of financial investments. To develop methods for augmenting existing VaR estimates to account for Knightian uncertainty.

Design/methodology/approach

The value at risk of a financial investment is assessed as the quantile of an estimated probability distribution of the returns. Estimating a VaR from historical data entails two distinct sorts of uncertainty: probabilistic uncertainty in the estimation of a probability density function (PDF) from historical data, and non‐probabilistic Knightian info‐gaps in the future size and shape of the lower tail of the PDF. A PDF is estimated from historical data, while a VaR is used to predict future risk. Knightian uncertainty arises from the structural changes, surprises, etc., which occur in the future and therefore are not manifested in historical data. This paper concentrates entirely on Knightian uncertainty and does not consider the statistical problem of estimating a PDF. Info‐gap decision theory is used to study the robustness of a VaR to Knightian uncertainty in the distribution.

Findings

It is shown that VaRs, based on estimated PDFs, have no robustness to Knightian errors in the PDF. An info‐gap safety factor is derived that multiplies the estimated VaR in order to obtain a revised VaR with specified robustness to Knightian error in the PDF. A robustness premium is defined as a supplement to the incremental VaR for comparing portfolios.

Practical implications

The revised VaR and incremental VaR augment existing tools for evaluating financial risk.

Originality/value

Info‐gap theory, which underlies this paper, is a non‐probabilistic quantification of uncertainty that is very suitable for representing Knightian uncertainty. This enables one to assess the robustness to future surprises, as distinct from existing statistical techniques for assessing estimation error resulting from randomness of historical data.
Trade size, trade frequency, and the volatility‐volume relation
Authors: Song Frederick (Fengming) , Tan Hui , Wu Yunfeng
Published: January 2007

Purpose

The Chinese stock market is a typical emerging market with special features that are very different from those of mature markets. The objective of this study is to investigate whether and how these features affect the volatility‐volume relation for Chinese stocks.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper examines the roles of the number of trades, size of trades, and share volume in explaining the volatility‐volume relation in the Shanghai Stock Exchange with high frequency trade data used.

Findings

The results confirm that the volatility‐volume relation is driven mainly by the number of trades on the Chinese stock market. The number of trades explains the volatility‐volume relation better than the size of trades. Furthermore, some results are obtained that differ from those of mature markets, such as the US market. The results show that the second largest sized trades affect the volatility more than other trades on the Chinese market.

Originality/value

The results show that, in the Shanghai Stock Exchange, informed traders camouflage their private information or manipulation behavior through the second largest sized trades. The results may have important implications for work explaining the volatility‐volume relation on the Chinese stock market, further providing a reference by which to regulate emerging markets.
Ask not for whom the bell tolls, it may toll for you next: intensified anti‐money‐laundering enforcement transforms the regulatory landscape
Authors: Santangelo Betty , Jacobs Margaret A.
Published: January 2007

Purpose

Discusses the most significant criminal prosecutions and regulatory actions in response to recent anti‐money laundering compliance lapses and the resulting concern in the financial community.

Design/methodology/approach

Reviews earlier criminal enforcement actions; the recent prosecution of Riggs Bank; non‐criminal regulatory enforcement actions toward Banco de Chile, Korea Exchange Bank, Arab Bank, and Gulf Corporation; additional consent orders and supervisory agreements requiring enhancement of PATRIOT Act and Bank Secrecy Act compliance systems at more than 20 banks; broker‐dealer actions; and other actions.

Findings

Concludes that both law enforcement and regulators have embraced stricter anti‐money‐laundering enforcement standards despite some criticism from the financial industry, and that recent criminal enforcement actions bear careful analysis by the financial community; predicts that regulators and law enforcement officials will broaden their scope from banking institutions to include broker‐dealers and other non‐bank institutions as well; and recommends that all financial institutions devote greater resources to establish effective anti‐money‐laundering policies and procedures, particularly in the areas of due diligence for high‐risk customers and suspicious activity reporting (SAR).

Originality/value

A detailed review of recent anti‐money‐laundering violations and enforcement actions along with practical recommendations for financial institutions by two expert compliance lawyers with a specialty in anti‐money‐laundering.
The New York Stock Exchange and cooperation: another precinct heard from
Authors: Indek Ben A. , Mixter Christian J. , Southerling E. Andrew
Published: January 2007

Purpose

To discuss the implications of Information Memorandum No. 05‐65, issued on September 14, 2005, in which the NYSE's Division of Enforcement explains to the Exchange community its thinking on the meaning and virtues of corporate cooperation with regulators.

Design/methodology/approach

Discusses cooperation in the context of Securities and Exchange Commission Seaboard Report and the Department of Justice Thompson Memorandum; describes the eight standards of “extraordinary cooperation” in the Information Memorandum; and discusses pitfalls such as the lack of any guarantee that a member organization and the exchange will agree on what behavior constitutes extraordinary cooperation, the need to balance prompt reporting of a problem with the need for thorough investigation, and the problem that a member firm may feel pressured to waive attorney‐client privilege to earn “cooperation points.”

Findings

The Information Memorandum is noteworthy because it attempts to fit the concept of “creditworthy” cooperation into the framework of a self‐regulatory organization by defining a new goal of “extraordinary cooperation,” and also highlights some of the dicier aspects of the “cooperative” regime under which corporate America has lived for the past four years.

Originality/value

Provides helpful interpretation of NYSE Information Memorandum No. 05‐65 and its implications for a member firm that faces an investigation.
The perils of electronic communication: results of a financial services industry survey
Authors: Johns Paul
Published: January 2007

Purpose

This article discusses the perils of electronic communication, the regulators' response to its proliferation, the findings of a recent survey by Orchestria, and the traditional solutions most companies are adopting.

Design/methodology/approach

Discusses results of a survey that illustrates the uncontrollable nature of electronic communication; recent financial services regulations concerning document retention, activity supervision, and communication approval; archiving and other costs of electronic communication; the inadequacy of many companies' risk mitigation strategies; and a recommended active policy management approach.

Findings

The challenge that management and compliance staff face with unstructured communication is twofold: 1. the speed and informality with which messaging systems are used by employees to make assertions and promises and to transfer data, and 2. the almost total absence of management visibility and control over the content of such communications. In the current regulatory climate, not knowing what employees are communicating to each other, clients, suppliers, and other contacts is a significant risk.

Originality/value

Alerts financial services companies to the risks inherent in employees' unrestricted use of all the different electronic communications media and recommends a proactive approach to manage those risks.
Securities offering reform proposal
Authors: Sirignano David A. , Farrell Stephen P.
Published: January 2007

Purpose

To summarize changes to the communication, registration, and offering process under the Securities Act of 1933 as adopted by the Securities and Exchange Commission on June 29, 2005 – three changes that will modify and significantly enhance the communication, registration, and offering process under the Securities Act of 1933, which according to the Commission are intended to eliminate “unnecessary and outmoded restrictions” on registered offerings. This article highlights the key provisions contained in the new rule release that are likely to affect the conduct of registered offerings.

Design/methodology/approach

Discusses benefits of automatic shelf registration, new provisions that will liberalize written communications before and during registered securities offerings, new disclosure liability rules, a new “access equals delivery” model, a separate requirement that investors be notified that they have purchased securities in a registered offering, a provision that allows reporting issuers to incorporate by reference previously filed Exchange Act reports into a Securities Act registration statement, a slight expansion of safe harbors available for broker‐dealers to publish research that constitutes an offer around the time of a registered offering, and changes in Exchange Act report disclosure.

Findings

The Securities and Exchange Commission intends the new rules to make the make the communication, registration, and offering process under the Securities Act of 1933 more efficient and to eliminate unnecessary and outmoded restrictions on registered offerings.

Originality/value

A practical guide to the new communication, registration, and offering rules.
The EU Market Abuse Directive: understanding the implications
Authors: Mangelsdorf Alan
Published: January 2007

Purpose

To discuss the implications of the European Union Market Abuse Directive, which was adopted in December 2002, came into force at the close of 2003, and was adopted by member states in 2004.

Design/methodology/approach

Examines four key questions: What does the Market Abuse Directive mean to the operating model of the financial institution? How does the financial institution deal with the specific requirements of MAD organizationally, technically, and culturally? How can activities to address the MAD be integrated into current trading compliance, anti‐money‐laundering, and supervision policies and projects? What does MAD mean to the future of European compliance and what areas of focus will be needed next after this first initial step?

Findings

Without clear guidance from central regulators, a clear understanding of what is correct and what is incorrect behavior and consistent penalties, the MAD will do little but add more paperwork to the financial institution. The MAD, should not be seen as a single event that needs to be solved. Rather it needs to be part of an integrated strategy supported by enterprise technology. In this way, the MAD is merely a set of incremental requirements to an already robust strategy. The deployment of compliance and its supporting technology must be cross border and cross business unit, and must incorporate activities across the whole spectrum of compliance and operational risk exposure. Compliance, if effectively managed at a strategic level, pays for itself in a matter of months. It should not be considered cost of sale.

Originality/value

Should serve not only as a resource for compliance professionals in their efforts to address MAD, but also as tool to help enlighten non‐compliance staff on the challenges and focus the MAD requires.
Incorporating work factors in design for disassembly in product design
Authors: Desai Anoop , Mital Anil
Published: January 2007

Purpose

This paper seeks to present a methodology to design products for disassembly. This would facilitate end‐of‐life product disassembly with a view to maximizing material usage in the supply chain at a low cost to the environment.

Design/methodology/approach

The methodology presented in the paper draws on fundamentals related to task analysis and motion time measurement. The methodology was practically applied to disassemble several different consumer products with significant savings in time.

Findings

Several improvements in product design resulted from various perspectives including functionality, assembly, aesthetics and disassembly.

Research limitations/implications

The paper identifies several areas of future research including design optimization and designing work fixtures for disassembly.

Originality/value

This work presents in part an improvement in current methodologies related to disassembly as well as original work based on task analysis and suggestion of design alternatives. The paper is therefore valuable to practitioners and researchers alike.
Information subsystem congestion analysis of a wide area‐networked manufacturing system using mobile agents
Authors: Ahmed I. , Sadiq M.J.
Published: January 2007

Purpose

The manufacturing paradigm is shifting from being a central system to a distributed system and is increasingly becoming dependent on wide area networks for the management of information services. The information subsystem employed in a manufacturing setting is susceptible to getting congested when used in a wide area network setting during peak hours. The issue of information and control subsystem integration and the characterization of network congestion have been researched in this paper using faded information field architecture.

Design/methodology/approach

A wide area network was simulated with all its associated components like routers, switches, gateways, etc. by programming a simulation engine. The simulation engine mimicked a wide area network employed in a manufacturing enterprise.

Findings

The architecture holds the promise to address the integration and congestion issues in a manufacturing system by employing autonomous decentralized and autonomous information fading techniques. Results show the effectiveness of the proposed technique in addressing the issue of network congestion in a distributed wide area network.

Originality/value

The issue of information and control subsystems of a manufacturing system has been reported earlier. However, the network‐centric problems like congestion during peak hours of operation have not been addressed in these emerging paradigms. The research reported in this paper focuses on the congestion issue and could be useful to wide area networked manufacturing system designers and managers.
Investigating the efficacy of exercising JIT practices to support pull production control in a job shop environment
Authors: Li Jing‐Wen
Published: January 2007

Purpose

Simulation experiment was employed to investigate the schemes for coordinating JIT practices to promote performance upgrade in a job shop environment with the pull system.

Design/methodology/approach

The four related essential JIT practices (job shop JIT practices) investigated include: cellular manufacturing (CM), operations overlapping (OPOVR), reduction of set‐up/processing time variability (variability reduction) and set‐up time reduction (STR).

Findings

Experiment findings suggest that coordination of CM and STR should be given the priority. While the extent of STR effected by CM substantially influences the efficacy of adopting a cellular layout, the choice of adopting a functional layout (FL) is more likely to be affected by the STR resulted from improvement of set‐up operations (set‐up improvement). Variability reduction tends to be more effective for a cellular layout. For a cellular layout without OPOVR, the effectiveness of reducing set‐up time variability is prominent and almost impervious to the extent of set‐up improvement. For a FL, the effect of variability reduction is minor; reduction of set‐up time variability is effective in this case only for a set‐up to processing time ratio of 20 or larger. The findings of this study do not justify the implementation of OPOVR in the shop environment, even with the support of the other three job shop JIT practices.

Originality/value

This study is notable in integrating STR into the job shop JIT practices to achieve overall performance improvement. In addition, the resulting strategies for variability reduction are essential for adapting the pull system to job shop manufacturing. Therefore, the findings of this study form systematic guidelines enabling exercise of the job shop JIT practices coherently to promote reform of job shop manufacturing.
Applying a strategic planning process to several supply chain partners
Authors: Sadler Ian , Gough Richard
Published: January 2007

Purpose

The ability of a team from a manufacturer and its partners to formulate strategic plans for supply chains is investigated. The research aims to improve the process of formulate strategic plans for supply chains is investigated. The research aims to improve the process of formulation using the strategic operations and logistics planning (SOLP) process.

Design/methodology/approach

SOLP involves researchers facilitating many meetings of the planning team in an action research setting at their premises. Combining knowledge from operations strategy and socio‐technical systems (STS), participant observation and semi‐structured surveys are used to obtain rich data. Team members derive order‐winning criteria and design policies along the supply chain for several product groups, using the process to craft strategies whilst researchers study it. One application included managers from supply chain partners whilst the other was limited to manufacturer managers. Working within the corporate plans of the focal company, the formulation is carried out by middle managers.

Findings

Carrying out the process twice at a heavy fabrication business (HFB) in Australia demonstrated that a team of chain managers can formulate strategic operations plans for a complete heavy industry chain. Extensive support, in the form of worksheets and facilitation, is important to formulation and extent of implementation of the plans. A case is made that assistance is probably necessary for full implementation of those plans.

Research limitations/implications

Whilst limited to cases in a heavy manufacturer, the research is believed to be applicable to a range of medium‐sized supply chains.

Practical implications

The need for the team to include supply chain partners and the effect of member's capability and authority is investigated. The extent of implementation and the effect of team attributes on execution is studied.

Originality/value

The research demonstrates that a team of chain managers can, with suitable support, formulate strategic operations plans for a complete heavy industry chain. The case sheds some light on the benefits, or drawbacks, of having members of other chain partners present.
Thoughts on e‐government
Authors: Themistocleous Marinos , Sarikas Omiros D.
Published: January 2007

Purpose

While private companies have continued to take advantage of information and communications technology to improve their businesses, services offered by government organisations have remained deficient over the years. Aims to provide an introduction to the papers within the journal issue which focus on this theme.

Design/methodology/approach

Provides an outline of the themes of the papers.

Findings

Notes that in seven the papers, contexts and problems associated with change instigated by e‐government initiatives are explored. These relate to the intersection of theory, method, empirical findings and novel systems. They discuss practices, methods and barriers associated with the challenge of realising the vision of e‐government.

Originality/value

Provides an introduction to the papers on e‐government, an evolving multidimensional and multidisciplinary field, where many mutually interdependent factors impact on its success, acceptance and perceived benefits.
An enterprise application integration methodology for e‐government
Authors: Janssen Marijn , Cresswell Anthony M.
Published: January 2007

Purpose

Achieving goals of better integrated and responsive government services requires moving away from stand alone applications toward more comprehensive, integrated architectures. As a result there is a mounting pressure to integrate disparate systems to support information exchange and cross‐agency business processes. There are substantial barriers that governments must overcome to achieve these goals and to profit from enterprise application integration (EAI).

Design/methodology/approach

In the research presented here we develop and test a methodology aimed at overcoming the barriers blocking adoption of EAI. This methodology is based on a discrete‐event simulation of public sector structure, business processes and applications in combination with an EAI perspective.

Findings

The testing suggests that our methodology helps to provide insight into the myriad of existing applications, and the implications of EAI. Moreover, it helps to identify novel options, gain stakeholder commitment, let them agree on the sharing of EAI costs, and finally it supports collaborative decision‐making between public agencies.

Practical implications

The approach is found to be useful for making the business case for EAI projects, and gaining stakeholder commitment prior to implementation.

Originality/value

The joint addressing of the barriers of public sector reform including the transformation of the public sector structure, gaining of stakeholders' commitment, understanding EAI technology and dependencies between cross‐agency business processes, and a fair division of costs and benefits over stakeholders.
Realising e‐government in the UK: rural and urban challenges
Authors: Choudrie Jyoti , Weerakkody Vishanth , Jones Stephen
Published: January 2007

Purpose

The considerable success achieved with information and communications technologies (ICTs) within the private sector has influenced various stakeholders (including the government) to link up public sector services with the internet revolution. This is being achieved by making expeditious attempts to provide online public sector products and services on a nationwide basis. However, there are certain regions and groups of the populace in a country where this aim will not be achieved. Aims to focus on this.

Design/methodology/approach

Using two comparative case studies and a combination of qualitative and quantitative data, this research identifies the challenges being faced by the UK government in ensuring e‐government products and services to both the rural and urban areas. The London Borough of Hillingdon is used to illustrate the case of the urban area, whilst Conwy County Borough Council is the rural case.

Findings

The research found that while citizens' backgrounds influenced accessibility to e‐government services in the urban area, geographic location related issues were posing problems to the same in the rural area.

Practical implications

While illustrating a digital divide, this implies that the UK government still has challenges to overcome, as it has to obtain and convince the citizens to attain internet access that will allow them to acquire the online products and services offered by the government. Amongst other challenges to be encountered are how to overcome the organisational and technical issues that could impede the desired integration of business processes and technologies across government institutions for effective e‐governance.

Originality/value

Addresses issues that the UK has to overcome in providing online public sector products and services offered by the government.
Computer‐supported G2G collaboration for public policy and decision‐making
Authors: Karacapilidis Nikos , Loukis Euripides , Dimopoulos Stavros
Published: January 2007

Purpose

This paper investigates whether and how G2G collaboration for policy and decision‐making can be effectively supported by an appropriately developed information system.

Design/methodology/approach

The research method adopted in this paper follows the “Design Science Paradigm”, which has been extensively used in information systems research.

Findings

As resulted from the case study described in this paper, the proposed system has significant potential for supporting G2G collaboration for policy and decision‐making. It can support the collaborative understanding of social problems and needs, and the development of alternative actions or solutions for them. In addition, it can support the collaborative development of detailed action plans for the selected alternative(s). During the implementation of these actions, the system can be used for the collaborative monitoring of them, the identification of implementation problems and issues, and the development of alternatives for managing them. Finally, it can be also used for the collaborative evaluation of these actions by the involved public organizations, as well as the citizens and groups who are their recipients.

Practical implications

Enhanced public policy and decision‐making through the use of the proposed web‐based system.

Originality/value

The main contribution of this paper lies in the development of a web‐based system for supporting the G2G collaboration required for public policy and decision‐making in the public administration, as well as the creation, leveraging and utilization of the relevant knowledge. The proposed system allows for distributed, synchronous or asynchronous, G2G collaboration and aims at aiding the involved public organizations by providing them a series of argumentation, decision‐making and knowledge management features.
A multidimensional framework for SME e‐business progression
Authors: Alonso Mendo Fernando , Fitzgerald Guy
Published: January 2007

Purpose

This paper sets out to critique the applicability of e‐commerce staged models in explaining the progression of small and medium‐sized businesses (SMEs) in their use of internet technologies. The premise of this study is that examining the evolution of web sites over time gives us insights into actual evolving strategies and motivations behind internet investments.

Design/methodology/approach

An alternative multidimensional framework is proposed that combines three different dimensions of organizational change (process, content, and drivers). The content or categories of the dimensions are defined and justified. A study of 192 web sites and their evolution is described. This helps to demonstrate the relevance and applicability of the dimensions of the framework.

Findings

The study describes the different approaches (monitoring, content analysis and case studies) and the characteristics of changes on these web sites. It was found that the main evolution strategies were “content updates” and “dormant sites”. In addition, the majority of companies seem to have evolved their web sites to refresh the image and change navigation protocols and not to add transactional e‐commerce features.

Practical implications

The proposed framework is argued to be useful to academics, providing multiple perspectives, enabling more insightful study of SMEs' e‐business adoption and progression, and avoiding over‐simple a priori theory, e.g. staged models. The framework is also argued to be useful for SME managers seeking to make the most of their limited resources in this context.

Originality/value

The paper provides a multidimensional framework which is new and comprehensive. It also provides some research findings using the framework relating to a pilot study of 192 SME web sites. Little prior research has been carried out on the evolution of SMEs' web sites, in terms of the type of drivers, the features that have been incorporated over time, and how they have changed.
An empirical investigation of the prevalence of spyware in internet shareware and freeware distributions
Authors: Kucera Kyle , Plaisent Michel , Bernard Prosper , Maguiraga Lassana
Published: January 2007

Purpose

Spyware is a controversial software technology that allows the surreptitious collection of personal information from computers linked to the internet. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of spyware in internet shareware and freeware and to investigate the personal information collected.

Design/methodology/approach

The methodology was a two‐phase, multi‐case study. The first phase determined that five of the 50 most popular pieces of Windows®‐based freeware and shareware available to internet users from CNETDownload.com were suspected of containing spyware: these were included as data sources for phase two. The purpose of phase two was to confirm the existence of spyware and to identify the types and frequencies of any personal data transmissions. For this phase, data were collected and analyzed utilizing a passive network monitor program to examine packets of data transmitted from a personal computer to external destinations on the internet.

Findings

The findings confirmed the existence and use of spyware in three of five suspected cases. However, the data indicated that there was a low occurrence of spyware and that these programs have the capability to collect numerous types of personal data. The main limitation is that these results are based on a snapshot of data obtained during five days.

Practical implications

The study has practical implications for internet users, who should be aware that spyware exists and understand its potential threat. Spyware developers should provide the user with an effective removal tool. Finally, marketers are cautioned that spyware might alienate customers.

Originality/value

This paper confirms the potential for misuse of these programs.
The advent of open source unionism?
Authors: Freeman Richard B.
Published: January 2007

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine innovative union use of the internet in the 2000s and to see whether the major union innovations in the USA and UK mark the advent of “open source” union structures.

Design/methodology/approach

Reviews two important innovations,www.workingamerica.organdwww.unionreps.org.ukExamines how they may fit with the open source union design.

Findings

Both the AFL‐CIO and US union efforts to develop open source union forms and the TUC and UK union efforts to improve services to workers and members through the internet mark the advent of the open source union form. The two countries have different approaches to this innovation, which reflect the differing problems faced by unions in the USA and UK. In both countries, unions will have to find the appropriate mix of on‐line and off‐line activities to create stable open source organizations.

Originality/value

No other paper has examined union use of the internet in terms of creating the new open source union form.
Academia, the G8 and other misfortunes: notes on two journeys
Authors: Böhm Steffen , Cairns George
Published: January 2007

Purpose

Aims to discuss the relationship between the recent G8 summit of 2005, held at Gleneagles, Scotland, and events occurring around the same time in the world of academe and in the global media.

Design/methodology/approach

Draws upon personal experience and interpretation in order to raise issues for critical discussion and reflection, in relation to the impact and effectiveness of resistance movements within academe, activist counter‐movements, and in society at large.

Findings

It is argued that high‐profile media presentations of “big wins” and of major change to “first world” policy in relation to “third world” poverty and development mask a situation of no real change to structural factors of global economics and political power, and that this is an area which should be addressed by the academic community.

Originality/value

Discusses issues of contemporary relevance, and seeks to stimulate further debate and discourse in the academic arena.
Editorial introduction: the value and scope of the financing decision process
Authors: Michayluk David , Zurbruegg Ralf
Published: January 2007

Purpose

This paper introduces readers to the International Journal of Managerial Finance, highlighting its value and scope to the academic and professional community.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper provides opinions of the editors on the nature and context of Managerial Finance as a research field.

Findings

Managerial Finance incorporates a broad number of subjects and the journal will provide a forum for the timely dissemination of research material in this area.

Research limitations/implications

The International Journal of Managerial Finance will actively promote research in the area of managerial finance and support, through conferences and special issues, the growth and interest in researching the financial decision‐making process.

Practical implications

Research in the area of managerial finance will benefit from a journal committed to enhancing and developing research and professional know‐how for managing financial decisions.

Originality/value

This introduction provides a synopsis of what the International Journal of Managerial Finance is interested in publishing as well as how it intends to support researchers in this area.
Honest EPS: a measure of GAAP earnings relative to pro forma earnings
Authors: Coté Douglas E. , Qi Rong
Published: January 2007

Purpose

This study empirically examines whether there is an anomalous factor return to a stock's Honest EPS.

Design/methodology/approach

Honest EPS captures any large discrepancy between a company's primary earnings per share and the company's Pro‐forma earnings per share, normalized by price. Pro‐forma earnings issued in a company's press release have become a pejorative word to investors and the financial media alike.

Findings

Honest EPS is rigorously tested for the top 1,000 largest market capitalization stocks and the broader top 3,000 largest market capitalization stocks from 1987 through 2002. It was rebalanced monthly, quarterly, semi‐annually, and annually. We show a portfolio long the highest or top decile Honest EPS and short the most negative or bottom decile in which Honest EPS produced significant excess return with a commensurate high information ratio.

Practical implications

Investors can use this simple formula for Honest EPS to identify companies that are abusing pro‐forma quarterly reporting to inflate their earnings relative to primary earnings reported to the S.E.C. according to generally accepted accounting principles.

Originality/value

An investor can choose to punish the worst Honest EPS companies by short selling their stock, reward the best Honest EPS companies by buying their stock long, or add this as a risk to be aware of in their stock selection.
Underpricing, share retention, and the IPO aftermarket liquidity
Authors: Li Mingsheng , Xiaofan Zheng Steven , Melancon Melissa V.
Published: January 2007

Purpose

To test the effects of underpricing and share retention (i.e. the proportion of shares retained by the pre‐initial‐public‐offering (IPO) owners) on IPO aftermarket liquidity.

Design/methodology/approach

Uses both percentage spread and turnover ratio to measure liquidity. The percentage spread is the quoted bid‐ask spread divided by the quoted midpoint and measures the trading cost relative to share price. Turnover ratio is the daily trading volume divided by the number of shares offered and measures the speed of transaction. Both non‐parametric analyses and multiple regressions are conducted to investigate the effects of underpricing and share retention on liquidity.

Findings

Results indicate that initial return is positively related to turnover ratio and negatively related to percentage spread. These relations are significant even after controlling for other factors. Also finds that the pre‐IPO owners’ retention rate is positively related to turnover ratio and negatively related to percentage spread. High retention rates attract more trades, provide quality assurance, and improve IPO aftermarket liquidity.

Originality/value

This paper investigates the theoretical links between underpricing and liquidity and provides direct evidence on Booth and Chua's liquidity theory. In addition, this is one of the first empirical studies to analyze the effect of share retention on aftermarket liquidity.
Robust multivariate modeling in finance
Authors: Vaz de Melo Mendes Beatriz , Pereira Câmara Leal Ricardo
Published: January 2007

Purpose

Proposes a new covariance matrix robust estimator able to capture the correct orientation of the data and the large unconditional variance caused by occasional high volatility periods.

Design/methodology/approach

Derives easy‐to‐compute estimates for the center and covariance matrix of a data set. The method finds the correct orientation of the data through a robust estimator and the variances through the classical sample covariance matrix.

Findings

Simulation experiments confirm the good performance of the proposed estimator under ε‐contaminated normal models and multivariate t‐distributions.

Practical implications

Provides illustrations of the usefulness of this practical tool for the finance industry, in particular when constructing efficient frontiers. Shows that robust portfolios yield higher cumulative returns and possess more stable weights compositions.

Originality/value

It provides an alternative estimator for the covariance matrix able to find a good fit for the bulk of the data as well as for the extreme observations, which could be plugged in widely used financial tools.
Valuing investment projects with expansion options
Authors: Kish Richard J. , Weng Wenlong
Published: January 2007

Purpose

This article proposes an evaluation of capital investments that accounts for not only the initial assets, but also any potential growth options.

Design/methodology/approach

Using a piecewise linear approximation, a robust valuation technique is demonstrated for analyzing capital investment opportunities containing expansion options in a finite time horizon.

Findings

This process not only recognizes the option‐like characteristics of the initial investment opportunity, but also recognizes the option‐creating characteristics of the investment. This analysis shows that the value of capacity expansion options created by the initial investment has different dynamic characteristics from the assets in place. Although the growth options do not appear in the early investment premium, its impact on the investment decision is embedded in the investment threshold. When the time to expiration is short and the cost to delaying the assets in place is low, this analysis suggests that the initial investment decision might be made by ignoring the growth options.

Originality/value

This real option methodology provides a continuous solution to the optimal investment threshold and is a viable alternative to the traditional finite difference approach.
Management accounting change and the changing roles of management accountants: a comparative analysis between dependent and independent organizations
Authors: Yazdifar* Hassan , Tsamenyi Mathew
Published: January 2007

Management accounting change and the changing roles of management accountants have dominated both the professional and academic accounting literature in recent years. This paper aims to contribute to these debates by providing evidence from a sample of management accountants working in both dependent (group) and independent (non‐group) organizations in the U.K. One thousand (qualified) members of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA), U.K., were randomly selected from the association’s database for a postal survey questionnaire. In all, 279 professionally qualified management accountants in both types of organizations responded to a postal survey questionnaire (58 percent from dependent and 42 percent from independent organizations respectively). A Mann‐Whitney analysis of the responses indicates that while some significant differences exist between the views of the two groups, these management accountants agree on several of the management accounting practices and the roles of the management accountant investigated. The study provides further insight into MAS and the changing roles of management accountants. It was earlier hypothesized that significant differences would exist in the perceptions between the two groups. However the weak support for the hypotheses could be explained by the influence of other institutional forces apart from the head office control which is focused on in the paper. Thus, it was recognized that other institutional forces are likely to be at play in shaping the perceptions of the management accountants. This is a limitation of the paper and future research to study the impacts of other institutional factors is recommended.
Chemically Bonded Phosphate Ceramics: II, Warm‐Temperature Process for Alumina Ceramics
Authors: Wagh Arun S. , Grover Susan , Jeong Seung Y.
Published: January 2007

This is the second of three papers on a dissolution model that describes the formation of chemically bonded phosphate ceramics. In this paper, we discuss the kinetics of formation of aluminum phosphate ceramics between 100° and 150°C. Using basic thermodynamic formulations, we calculated the temperatures of maximum solubility of alumina and its hydrated phases and predicted the temperatures of formation of ceramics. Differential thermal and X‐ray diffraction analyses on samples made in the laboratory confirm these temperatures. The resulting ceramics of alumina bonded with aluminum phosphate (berlinite) show a high compressive strength of 16 000 psi. We have concluded that rapid evaporation of excess water in the slurry generates porosity in the ceramics, and that better processing methods are needed. A consolidation model is presented that describes the microstructure of the ceramic. It predicts that a very small amount of alumina must be converted to form the bonding phase; hence, the product is mostly alumina with a thin coating of berlinite on the surface of alumina particles.
Roles of Alumina in Zirconia for Functional Applications
Authors: Guo Xin
Published: January 2007

The Al2O3 addition to stabilized ZrO2 has been studied for more than 20 years. In this article, literature and new results on the positive and negative effects of Al2O3 additions on the electrical properties of ZrO2 are summarized and analyzed. In particular, a comprehensive grain‐boundary conduction model is proposed. The Al2O3 addition always increases the bulk resistivity, mainly because of the formations of defect associates and insulating Al2O3 second‐phase particles. The Al2O3 addition within the solubility limit increases the grain‐boundary resistivity, as a result of increased grain‐boundary space‐charge potential; the Al2O3 addition above the solubility limit, however, scavenges the silicon‐rich second phase from the grain boundaries, thereby decreasing the grain‐boundary resistivity.
Kinetic Process of Reoxidation of Base Metal Technology BaTiO3‐Based Multilayer Capacitors
Authors: Opitz Mathew R. , Albertsen Knuth , Beeson James J. , Hennings Detlev F. , Routbort Jules L. , Randall Clive A.
Published: January 2007

Base metal technology, mainly using Ni electrodes in multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCCs), is now well established. This technology requires a so‐called reoxidation treatment after sintering the MLCCs in a reducing atmosphere to guarantee a sufficient electrical reliability. Large numbers of electrodes, and production of physically larger components for high‐voltage components, are two technological trends that make the control of the reoxidation process rather difficult. The reoxidation process has been studied to determine oxygen diffusion pathways into commercial MLCCs, using 18O tracer diffusion and finite element calculations. In MLCCs oxygen diffusion mainly occurs along the Ni electrodes. Furthermore, the reoxidation process is mostly controlled by the thermodynamic potential of the Ni/NiO equilibrium in the interior of the capacitor, but it is the short circuit diffusion along the interface of the electrode that controls the kinetics of the oxygen transport into the interior of the capacitor device.