bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Can Derivative Information Predict Stock Price Jumps?
Authors: Kwark Noe-Keol , Kang Hyoung-Goo , Jun Sang-Gyung
Published: February 2016

This study examines the predictability of jumps in stock prices using options-trading information, the futures basis spread, the cross-sectional standard deviation of returns on components in the stock index, and exchange rates. A stock price jump was defined as a large fluctuation in the stock price that deviated from the distribution thresholds of the past rates of return. This empirical analysis shows that the implied volatility spread between ATM call and put options was a significant predictor for both upward and downward jumps, whereas the volatility skew was less significant. In addition, the futures basis spread was moderately significant for downward stock price jumps. Both the cross-sectional standard deviation of the rates of return on component stocks in the KOSPI 200 and the won-dollar exchange rates were significant predictors for both upward and downward jumps.
From Compliance With Environmental Regulations To Pursuit Of Environmental-Based Competitive Advantages: Mediators Of The Relationship In A SME Context
Authors: Delchet-Cochet Karen , Vo Linh-Chi , Akeb Hakim
Published: February 2016

Despite the huge amount of work written about environmental practices of SMEs, what continues in the debate is the relationship between their two motivations for environmental protection: the push motivation of environmental regulation compliance and the pull motivation of pursuing competitive advantages based on the environmental protection agenda in a win-win logic. Some scholars state that environmental regulation compliance motivates SMEs to pursue opportunities that they would miss otherwise, while others claim that the conformity to regulations results in mere compliance behavior. Thus, we contribute to the literature by probing the intervening variables to uncover when and how SMEs move from a push to a pull motivation. Within the scope of our study, we consider environmental regulations that are voluntary-oriented; we also focus on the pursuit of competitiveness that is based on the development of environmental-friendly products/services. The mediators that we examine include: market expansion, monitoring of business activities, innovative capacity, and adoption of environmental behavior of suppliers. We conduct our investigation among 161 French SMEs in 2011.
Web 3.0: Governance, Risks and Safeguards
Authors: Bruwer Rikus (Hendrik Jacobus) , Rudman Riaan
Published: February 2016

Many organisations consider technology as a significant asset to generate income and control cost. The Web is recognised as the fastest growing publication medium of all time. This mass of unstructured information presents many new opportunities for organisations. The Web acts as an enabler for technological advancement, and has matured in its own unique way. From the static informative characteristics of Web 1.0, it progressed into the interactive experience Web 2.0 provides. The next phase of Web evolution, Web 3.0, is already in progress. Web 3.0 entails an integrated Web experience where the machine will be able to understand and catalogue data in a manner similar to humans. This will facilitate a world wide data warehouse where any format of data can be shared and understood by any device over any network. Organisations need to be ready, and acquire knowledge about the opportunities and risks arising from Web 3.0 technologies. The objective of this study is to investigate the risks an organisation will be exposed to when interacting with Web 3.0 technologies. The study proposes to provide insight into the risks arising from the use of Web 3.0, and to recommend possible safeguards to mitigate these risks to an acceptable level.
Dynamic Relationship Between Voluntary Disclosure And Conservatism
Authors: Mo Kyoungwon
Published: February 2016

Despite the several studies on the relationship between voluntary disclosure and conservatism, empirical findings are not conclusive. In this paper, I argue that the relation is not static but dynamic. I investigate the dynamic relation between voluntary disclosures and conservatism by examining their relation around debt financing. Debt financing can be a good natural experimental setting to examine the relation between voluntary disclosures and conservatism because both of them play an important role in reducing information asymmetry during debt financing. Particularly, I hypothesize that less conservative firms are more likely to increase voluntary disclosures around debt financing than at other times. Consistent with my hypothesis, empirical results show that less conservative firms are more likely to increase voluntary disclosures around debt financing than at other times. Overall, these results support the dynamic relationship between voluntary disclosures and conservatism.
Role Of Perceived Value, Customer Expectation, Corporate Image And Perceived Service Quality On The Customer Satisfaction
Authors: Ali Rizwan , Leifu Gao , YasirRafiq Muhammad , Hassan Mudassar
Published: February 2016

This study sets out to investigate the influence of perceived value, customer expectation, corporate image and perceived service quality on the customer satisfaction particularly in Pakistan telecommunication industry. To test the conceptual framework, multiple regression has been used to analyze the data collected from 450 respondents of Pakistan telecommunication companies operating in the Pakistan. This study reveals number of notable findings including the empirical verification that perceived value, customer expectation and corporate image significantly enhancing the customer satisfaction. We also observed that perceived service quality is negatively related to customer satisfaction but insignificant. Furthermore results shows that gender provides no basis for differentiation among variables in determining the customer satisfaction.
Are Hedge Funds Uncorrelated With Financial Markets? An Empirical Assessment
Authors: Guesmi Khaled , Jebri Saoussen , Jabri Abdelkarim , Teulon Frederic
Published: February 2016

In this paper, we examine the correlations between hedge fund strategy indices and asset classes. Based on the Dynamic Conditional Correlation (DCC) GARCH Model, we estimate the correlations between hedge fund, stock, and bond indices during bull and bear markets. The results reveal that there are significant correlations between hedge funds and the stock market, especially during the recent financial crisis that took place from 2007 to 2009.
Diversity Management: An Organisational Culture Audit To Determine Individual Differences
Authors: Ledimo Ophillia
Published: February 2016

The purpose of this study was to conduct an organisational culture audit to determine individual differences of employees within the South African army. A quantitative study was conducted with a random sample size n=238. The participants completed the biographical questionnaire and the Organisational Culture Inventory (OCI) which was used to measure organisational culture. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to identify the existing culture type in this organisation and the statistically significant individual differences of the employees regarding their perception of the organisational culture. The findings of this study are valuable for organisational development practitioners and managers who are responsible to manage diversity in their organisation because it enables organisations to understand the culture of their diverse workforce and to propose relevant measures for improving employee performance using individual differences. These findings also provide opportunity for future research. This study also adds knowledge regarding organisational culture diagnosis and the nature of individual differences, especially within the South African work context.
The Effect Of Directors And Officers Liability Insurance On Audit Effort
Authors: Woo Sohee , Rhee Chang Seop , Woo Sanghee
Published: February 2016

This study investigates the effect of directors and officers liability insurance (hereafter, D&O liability insurance) on audit effort of auditors. D&O liability insurance is a liability insurance payable to top executives of a company as indemnification for losses or litigation costs from the lawsuits. Companies carry D&O liability insurance for the purpose of protecting their directors and officers from the legal actions. However, according to prior studies, the managers of their companies with D&O liability insurance may become more risk averse, and they take more risks for their decision. If D&O liability insurance causes more risks at the company, auditors for the companies may use the information of D&O liability insurance as a risk factor at the audit engagement. This study examines whether D&O liability insurance has a significant influence audit effort of auditors empirically. We use the mandatory disclosed Korean data of D&O liability insurance for testing the association between D&O liability insurance and audit effort. From the results, we find that auditors use D&O liability insurance information for setting the amount of audit effort. Also, both Big4 and Non-Big4 use D&O liability insurance as useful informaion.
Managerial Overconfidence And Going-Concern Modified Audit Opinion Decisions
Authors: Ji Gayoung , Lee Jong Eun
Published: February 2016

We examine how auditors perceive managerial overconfidence during audit reporting by testing the relationship between managerial overconfidence and the likelihood of issuing a first-time going-concern modified audit opinion to financially distressed firms. After controlling for the factors affecting auditor’s going-concern modified audit opinion decision, we find that the likelihood of issuing a first-time going-concern modified audit opinion is positively associated with managerial overconfidence, suggesting that auditors adversely value overconfident management in financially distressed firms and thus tend to issue a first-time going-concern modified audit opinion to them. We also find that the positive association above is reinforced with capital market uncertainty.
How People Disclose Themselves Differently According To The Strength Of Relationship In SNS?
Authors: Kim Bitna , Shin Kyung-Shik , Chai Sangmi
Published: February 2016

Self-disclosure is defined as “act of revealing personal information to others” (Archer, 1980, p.183). It plays a key role in development and maintenance of relationships.Since many companies adopt social networking services for their organizational information sharing platform, it is important to identify the process of creating and maintaining social relationship in virtual spaces for successful adoption of SNS. In this research, we identify a self-disclosure as a driving factor for initiating and maintaining online social relationships.This research assumes that the self-disclose strategy adopted by participants in a communication process would be very similar between a face to face communication and a communication through SNS. In addition, this study explores that how the strength of social relationship does affects participants’ self-discloser strategy in SNS.Self-disclosure on SNS is multidimensional and it consists of five dimensions; intent to disclose, amount, the positive-negative nature, the honesty-accuracy, and general depth-control of disclosure. Our research indicates that strength of relationship affect negatively the amount of disclosure on SNS. SNS users, in other words, less reveal themselves in terms of both frequency and duration to other user in strong tie than in weak tie. We found that strength of social ties significantly influenced dimensions of self-disclosure except for the positive-negative nature of disclosure.
A Production Planning Model For Reconfigurable Lines
Authors: Gnanendran Kingsley , Madan Manohar
Published: February 2016

A key indicator of the efficiency of a production line is cyclic idle time.  Manufacturers use heuristic line balancing techniques to determine the allocation of elemental tasks to workers so as to minimize labor costs.  The productive, i.e. non-idle, portion of each cycle then reflects the efficiency of the line.  Line balancing techniques determine the allocation of tasks based on a pre-specified throughput.  When demand changes however, the line may have to be reconfigured to reflect the new desired flow rate, resulting possibly in a lower efficiency and a higher per-unit labor cost.  This raises an interesting question: should one use a flow rate that corresponds to the higher efficiency, handling any mismatch with demand through the use of inventory or backordering, or should the aim be to match flow rate precisely with demand rate even though the resulting efficiency might be lower?  This paper proposes an answer to this question by embedding line balance and efficiency into the framework of a well-known production planning model.  A heuristic method for solving the extended model is developed, and its application demonstrated using numerical examples.
The Impact Of CoCo Bonds On Bank Value And Perceived Default Risk: Insights And Evidence From Their Pioneering Use In Europe
Authors: Schmidt Carolin , Azarmi Ted
Published: February 2016

Contingent convertible (CoCo) bonds convert to equity during financial distress. They help transfer the responsibility for bearing the costs of poor performance from the taxpayers to the bank owners. Our results are thus relevant for investors, financial decision-makers, and regulators. We analyze the effects of the pioneering use of CoCos in Europe by Lloyds Banking Group in 2009. The bank’s motivation for the issue is explored, considering both its economic situation and the Basel III regulations. We document a reduction in the bank’s market value following the announcement of the intention to issue CoCos. Simultaneously, the credit default swap spread goes up. This study suggests that CoCos can have a negative effect on a bank’s creditworthiness and firm value.
CEO Overconfidence And The Effectiveness Of Internal Control Over Financial Reporting
Authors: Lee Jong Eun
Published: February 2016

In this study, I investigate the association between overconfidence, a cognitive bias of chief executive officers (CEOs), and the existence of internal control weaknesses (ICWs). As suggested in the prior finance literature on the negative impact of CEO overconfidence on corporate policy, overconfident CEOs could disregard the importance of internal control over financial reporting (ICFR), which could negatively affect the firm’s investment for infrastructure to implement effective financial reporting information system (FRIS) and result in less reliable financial information. Empirical test results show that CEO overconfidence is positively associated with the existence of ICWs, particularly with ICWs related to insufficient accounting personnel or ineffective FRIS. Those ICWs subsequently lead to lower earnings quality, higher absolute value of discretionary accruals and lower quality of accruals. Furthermore, potentially negative consequences of CEO overconfidence to the effectiveness of ICFR could downgrade investors’ confidence in the credibility of financial statements.
A Criminological Profile Of White-Collar Crime
Authors: Eaton Tim V. , Korach Sam
Published: February 2016

Using criminology as a foundation, this research explores the personality, psychology, and sociology of white-collar crime. While there has been much focus on various techniques (internal controls, prevention software, employee monitoring systems, etc.) to prevent fraud within companies and organizations, other important behavioral aspects have received less attention. The goal of this manuscript is to explore the literature from other disciplines to help better identify criminological personality profiles and incorporate different behavioral features such as personality characteristics, psychology, and sociology, with application to actual cases of white-collar fraud. Examining theory from other disciplines and merging it with the technical aspects of accounting and fraud prevention allows for a greater understanding of the motivations and processes behind these crimes and, hopefully, allowing for better prevention in the future.
The Effect Of Buyer Governance Structures On Performance: Contextual Effects Of Interfirm Benevolence
Authors: Park Minhye , Choi Hanah , Hahn Donghu
Published: February 2016

Researchers identify two types of organizational governance: unilateral governance and bilateral governance. Although interfirm governance is at the core of interfirm relationships, little research exists on mechanisms that strengthen the weak spots in the dynamics of interfirm governance and multiple governance structures. This study introduces the concept of interfirm benevolence, and attempts to enhance our understanding of the conditions under which buyers rely on interfirm governance. The results indicate that the interfirm governance practices of a buyer tend to produce higher levels of supplier performance when a supplier trusts in the benevolence of the buyer. Also, this study shows that when a benevolent buyer uses both unilateral and bilateral governance simultaneously, suppliers perform positively. 
Equity: The Effects Of Tax Reform On Progressivity Features Of The Tax Structure
Authors: Brazelton Julia K. , Strobel Caroline D. , Ryan David
Published: February 2016

The impact of the Tax Reform Act of 1986 (TRA86) on equity is examined using a simulation program and statistical analysis. Specifically, a sample of tax returns was manipulated to calculate taxable income for 1987 and 1988. The results were then compared to determine the degree to which effective and average tax rates changed within discrete income levels. Using both t-test and z statistics, the results confirm the hypothesis that the degree of progressivity has been affected by TRA86. A graphic analysis illustrates this change at various income levels for both the average and effective tax rates. These findings are significant for tax policy decision purposes.
Discipline: Still A Four Letter Word?
Authors: Gibson Jane Whitney , Cotterman Susan P. , Johnson Robert E.
Published: February 2016

Discipline is an unpleasant part of the manager’s job and often handled poorly.  This article examines the reason for this phenomenon and focuses on the need for due process.  The traditional  and nonpunitive discipline systems are compared and contrasted.  Guidelines are presented for setting up workable discipline systems and for becoming more proficient at handing discipline situations.
Maximizing The Value Of Your Small Business
Authors: Mullins Terry , Adam Michael , Thornton Barry
Published: February 2016

This paper offers business owners a step-by-step valuation process for establishing the fair market value of their firms and stresses the importance of preparing for the due diligence process.
Knowledge-Based Entrepreneurship: Analyzing A Start-Up
Authors: Smith Alan D. , Manna Dean R.
Published: February 2016

Successful entrepreneurial companies are those that realize the benefit technology can provide before the competition does.  Additionally, there are intangible benefits for companies that utilize technology before their competitors.  While the competition is attempting to catch up, companies can build off of their current technology and continue to out-distance themselves from the competition.  Although there are many positive and negative forces associated with entrepreneurial start-ups today, there exists a multitude of opportunities for entrepreneurialism to grow.  A start-up company’s staff located in Pittsburgh was interviewed for their insights and several strategies were examined in this paper.
The Supply Of Community Supported Agriculture
Authors: Polimeni John M. , Polimeni Raluca Iorgulescu , Shirey Richard L. , Trees Christina L. , Trees W. Scott
Published: February 2016

Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) has undergone both a rapid increase in growth and interest over the last two decades.  As such, the amount of literature on the subject has also increased.  However, there are few, if any, theoretical models of supply for CSA memberships (shares) that have been developed from CSA farm data.  This paper uses both survey and anecdotal data from the Roxbury Biodynamic Farm, one of the largest CSA in the United States, to present a theory of supply for CSA membership.  Included in the discussion is the consideration that CSA farms are not profit maximizing and that the farmers (i.e. the suppliers) knowingly take on the responsibilities and earnings associated with a CSA.
The Senior Internet User: Lessons From The Cybernun Study
Authors: Smith Deborah J.
Published: February 2016

 How do senior citizens view computers? What can help or hinder their use of today’s digital technologies? “The Cybernun Study: Religious Sisters, Life Satisfaction and Computer Use” examined computer use and life satisfaction of senior religious sisters; also addressing computer usability concerns of senior citizens. A sample was obtained of 103 nuns in Upstate New York.; self-identified as computer users (CU) or non-users (NU). Nuns completed demographic information, two structured surveys and responded to additional semi-structured questions in selected interviews. Analysis of the open-ended responses found interesting differences in sister’s perceptions of computer use.
Political Competition And Campaign Contributions
Authors: Dodonova Anna
Published: February 2016

This paper presents a theoretical model of political competition that can explain the positive correlation between money spent by a political party on the election campaign and the number of votes received. The model does not assume that money can be used to fool voters or to buy votes. It shows that such correlation arises because of the existence of unobservable factors that affect both campaign spending and the result of the campaign. It analyzes how wealth inequality among political parties and the costs of information dissemination affect the choice of political platforms and amounts of money spent by each party and shows that all parties have incentives to spend money on the election campaign.
Strategically Comparing Selected Major College Basketball Powerhouses Through The Resource Based View Of The Firm
Authors: Synowka David P. , Smith Alan D. , Manna Dean R.
Published: February 2016

The key to sustaining a competitive advantage through effective management is working with people.  Especially dealing with sport management and marketing, concepts such as organizational culture and reputation are identifying strategic assets that are intangible resources.  These concepts form the basis on the strategic theory behind the Resource-based View (RBV) of the firm.  Strategic assets are intangible since they are inherently hard to duplicate, since duplication requires the inputs of how an object reacts with all the senses.  Intangible assets are, by their very nature, ‘unknowable’ in the purest sense and, thus, difficult to duplicate.  In addition, intangible assets are rare in that the variations that will be found within will be profound from owner to owner.  The organizational cultures and reputations of the Duke University and the University of Cincinnati were compared, since they have petitions for national level basketball, but radically different organizational cultures.  What constitutes organizational culture in one organization will have differences not present in another’s culture, thus allowing for some teams to maintain a sustainable competitive advantage.
Portfolio Issues Of Mobilization Insurance: What Went Wrong And Candidate New Offerings
Authors: Jalbert Terrance , Jalbert Mercedes , Hammes David
Published: February 2016

Financial hardships experienced by those in the military are well documented.  Mobilization insurance has the potential to reduce the financial burdens of being called to active military duty.   Reducing the financial burden of being called to active duty can provide numerous benefits to the military and Reservists including improved recruiting, lower attrition, and reduced stress on activated Reservists. In this paper, the Ready Reserve Mobilization Income Insurance Program and the reasons for its failure are discussed.  The portfolio characteristics of the stakeholders involved in the Reserve system are analyzed in an options pricing framework and a discussion of how a new mobilization insurance product might be structured is examined. While the concept of offering such insurance is simple enough, no known academic research has analyzed the financial positions of Reserve system stakeholders.
Private And Public Sector Ethics
Authors: Richards Clinton H. , Corney William
Published: February 2016

Differences between public and private-sector organizations were proposed to lead to different ethical perceptions, principles and judgments.  As expected, employees working in the public and private sector and enrolled in a night MBA program did display significantly different ethical judgments that appeared to be partially, but not completely explained by significant differences in the ethical principles they reported emphasizing. Ethical decision-making models suggest, as we do, that differing ethical perceptions also played a part in the different judgments found.
Follower Effects In The Visionary Leadership Process
Authors: Kantabutra Sooksan , Avery Gayle C.
Published: February 2016

This study examined relationships between followers’ use of their leader’s vision and their own emotional commitment to the vision, and associated organizational performance in retail stores, exploring the rarely investigated follower role in a visionary leadership process. Findings endorse the importance of vision guiding and emotional commitment to a vision.  Both were significantly associated with organizational performance, although emotional commitment was more important. 
Governance: Role Of Boards In Women Owned Businesses
Authors: Bledsoe M. Tony , Wessels Susan B.
Published: February 2016

According to Astrachan, et al.  (2003), family businesses “generate no less than 64 percent of USA gross domestic product, and … employ a whopping 62 percent of the nation’s work force.” While the economic impact is evident, the state of governance may not be so apparent. In light of this information, two questions bearing examination are: (1) Is governance a critical issue for family owned businesses; (2) If so, how may these firms address these questions? Researchers at the University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh developed and administered a survey to collect data about family business boards. A companion study, with its focus on women business owners, was conducted by Meredith College researchers. This paper compares and reports the results.
Is It Time For An Exchange Traded Futures Contract Based On A Housing Price Index?
Authors: Kane Stephen A. , McCoy John D.
Published: February 2016

There is not a good hedging instrument to absorb housing price risk. An exchange traded futures contract based on a hedonic or repeat sale housing price index would help homeowners, originators, home builders, and others hedge housing price risk, but it does not exist, yet. We discuss the need and why it may be time for its introduction.
The Bankruptcy Reform Act Of 2005
Authors: Moore Tom
Published: February 2016

The new changes in the Bankruptcy Code make it significantly more difficult for a debtor to eliminate his obligations under Chapter 7.   Many filers will be required to pay some or all of their unsecured debts for a five year period by being forced into Chapter 13.  The Act also makes other modifications to filing requirements, exemption changes, and non-dischargeable debts which also tend to favor the creditor.  The changes make filing for Bankruptcy more expensive and may reduce the number of cases.
Differences In Work-Related Values Between The Mexican-American And Anglo-American Accounting Professionals
Authors: Moyes Glen D. , Cortes Angelica C.
Published: February 2016

This study examines differences in job satisfaction work-related values between the Mexican-American and Anglo-American Accounting Professionals.  Survey instruments were sent to accounting alumnae of two universities: (1) a primarily Mexican-American university and (2) a primarily Anglo-American university.  Factor analysis and logistic regression were performed.  When analyzing between groups, the findings indicated that while Mexican-American respondents are less satisfied with compensation, benefits and supervisors, they have greater overall job satisfaction than the Anglo-American respondents.  These results are also statistically significant when the two groups are compared by gender and age.  However, within group the results indicated that Anglo-Americans females are more satisfied with benefits and coworkers than their male counterparts; whereas there is no significant difference within the Mexican-American group by gender.  One explanation is that the Mexican-Culture includes values such as loyalty to one’s employer and appreciation for job longevity, whereas Anglo-American has a greater appreciation for job mobility.
Cases For Asset Allocation
Authors: Choi Ducksang
Published: February 2016

Diversification is one of the most important parts of the successful portfolio investment.  Within a diversified portfolio an investor should have wide array of assets diversified across multiple classes, including but not limited to stocks, bonds, commodities, currencies, real estates, and limited partnerships.  There are also numbers of different investment strategies to consider when approaching the management of these assets.  Among these management approaches are the techniques of using separately managed accounts, individual securities or brokerage accounts and mutual funds, or a combination of any or all of these.  In addition to these management approaches, there are forces in the financial and global economic universes that need to be appropriately addressed to have effective management of these assets.   It is also important for investors to have the appropriate diversifications as well as asset allocations across multiple asset classes within any portfolios.  “Asset allocation policy explains, on average, 93.6 percent of total variation in quarterly returns; in particular plans, it explains no less than 75.5 and up to 98.6 percent of total return variation” (Jahnke, William W. 1997).   The allocation and selection of these assets needs to be weighted and selected carefully.
The Effect Of Government Debt Quantity Shocks On The Term Structure Of Interest Rates
Authors: Emekter Riza , Geppert John , Jirasakuldech Benjamas
Published: February 2016

In this paper, the effect of the maturity composition of marketable public debt on the term structure of interest rate is explored.  The research has shown that this effect is relatively small.  Unlike previous research, the yield changes around the quantity shocks are analyzed in relation to these shocks.  Our results show that yields respond significantly to the auctioning of new bonds.  The announcements of auctions do not have any impact on yields.  A two-factor affine yield model is used to explain the relationship between quantity shocks in public debt and term structure of interest rates.  The parameters are estimated using Generalized Method of Moments.  While the relationship between quantities and yields is weak, yields can be related to the event of the auctioning process.
Trading With A Day Job: Can Automated Trading Strategies Be Profitable?
Authors: Stone Robert W. , Lyman R. Ashley
Published: February 2016

The focus of the research is the profitability of using automated trading strategies. In other words, can trading strategies that are automatically executed in financial markets be profitable? In this study, three strategies are traded in a simulated environment under two different types of market conditions and on two different underlying assets. The trading strategies are based on a moving average crossover system with 5, 10, and 20 day moving averages. The first strategy uses only this moving average crossover system. The second strategy uses this same moving average system requiring increasing volume confirmation to make a trade. The final strategy uses this moving average crossover system but requires confirmation by a relative strength index to make a trade. The two market conditions used are an upward trending market and a consolidating market. The assets traded are the NASDQ 100 (i.e., QQQQ) and the S&P Deposit Receipts Trust (SPY). These assets tend to have different levels of volatility over time.

 

The automated trading strategies are simulated using historical data and the trading software TradeStation. TradeStation allows for trading strategies to be implemented and tested on historic data at various time intervals and using a variety of time charts. A number of numeric values are also calculated by TradeStation including the number of trades and the profit or loss produced by these trades. The simulation results indicated that for both assets in markets that trend upwards, the moving average strategy with confirmation by the relative strength index dominated the other two strategies in terms of profits. During consolidating market periods, the simulation results are less clear. The magnitude of the profits when trading the relatively stable S&P varied across the three strategies and various time charts. However for the more volatile NASDQ 100, profits tended to be greater for the simple moving average strategy than the other two strategies.
Constructing Confidence Intervals For Flexible Budget Cost Estimates
Authors: Raiborn Mitchell H. , Scott Robert C. , Cluskey Jr. G. R.
Published: February 2016

A multiple-cost flexible budget can be constructed using either the Aggregate Cost Analysis Method or the Component Flexible Budget Method.  This paper derives and illustrates the use of a confidence interval formula for an annual cost estimate that is developed by summing 12 monthly flexible budget estimates.
Intensity Of Energy Use In The U.S.A.: 1949 - 2003
Authors: Chima Christopher M.
Published: February 2016

The particular role that energy plays in the economy of a country, and the relationship between energy consumption and economic growth are of interest to researchers, analysts, and policymakers. Energy consumption can be seen as either a cause of, or a symptom of economic growth. Therefore, understanding the nature of the interactions between energy consumption and gross domestic product (GDP) can help guide energy policies. This paper examines the energy-GDP relationship in the U.S.A. One common method used in analyzing the energy-GDP relationship is energy intensity (also called the intensity of energy use (IEU)), which is the amount of energy required to produce a unit of income (GDP). The paper begins with a substantial literature review of energy intensity studies from around the world. A summary of the findings is discussed, including the factors that were found to directly influence the intensity of energy use. The Kuznets environmental curve is then presented and used in developing a model for the IEU. The model is then tested with data for the U.S.A. from 1949 – to 2003. The results show that energy consumption is very sensitive to energy prices, which in turn impacts the GDP, and that the IEU has declined in the U.S.A. for the period tested, fitting the downward slopping segment of the Kuznets curve.  These results imply that energy conservation policies are desirable.
Music Industry: Toward A New Business Model?
Authors: Koster Alexis
Published: February 2016

The last ten years have seen many changes in the music industry, mainly caused by Internet music downloading, legal and illegal.   The traditional business model of the recording music industry, based on the sales of CDs in retail stores, seems to be on its way out.   No clear new model has emerged yet, but several trends are noticeable for the recording music industry.  First, the decline of CD sales since the peak year of 2000 has accelerated, totaling 30% in the USA.  Second the recording music industry is going through a restructuring, marked by sell offs and mergers among the recording labels, by the disappearance of music retail stores, and by the foray of the majors in new directions, such as concerts.  Finally, revenues from digital music sales are increasing, partially compensating for the decrease in CD sales.  Whereas the providers of content, namely the labels and the artists, can be seen as victims of music downloading, the providers of the technology have benefited.  The sales of its iPod/iTunes systems have provided Apple’s more revenues than the sales of its computers.  Other manufacturers are also entering this market.  Meanwhile, academics and policy makers have been studying new types of copyright licenses.  One idea is to impose a global license, paid by Internet service providers, and repaid to them by Internet users.  Many technological and legal questions must be resolved for such a scheme to become viable.
An Alternative Strategy For Building Sales Of Computers: Generic Advertising
Authors: Lu Min , Thompson Steven , Tu Yanbin
Published: February 2016

Frequent upgrading and aggressive price-cutting have become standard practice in the computer sector. While necessitated in part by declining production costs and a highly competitive market, these strategies have also served to make computers more affordable, growing the size of the overall market. Recently downturns in the sales of computers motivate us to examine the impact of these strategies on overall sales growth. We find evidence to suggest that excessive upgrading and overly aggressive price-cutting can be detrimental to overall sales growth. We also find that the computer sector exhibits characteristics that suggest that generic advertising would be an effective mechanism to enhance overall sales growth.
An Analysis Of Brand Equity Determinants: Gross Profit, Advertising, Research, And Development
Authors: Smith David J. , Gradojevic Nikola , Irwin W. Sean
Published: February 2016

The topic of brand equity continues to be of great importance to private sector firms in the creation and development of both product and company brand strategy. This study analyzes the relationship of different variables and brand equity with the purpose of providing useful insight into brand management and advancement. This research approach is unique in its use of private sector generated measures of brand equity as the main data source. The methodology entails collecting financial information from a list of publicly traded companies evident on the annual Interbrand ranking of top brand values, then executing statistical analysis using correlation and regression. Results make evident a significant positive correlation between brand equity and gross profit, advertising expense, and research and development expense. However, findings reveal that advertising is not as important a driver of brand equity in the short-term as put forward in previous research and evidence suggesting the presence of dynamics and non-linear effects exists. 
Rational Escalation: The Real Option Perspective
Authors: Chulkov Dmitriy V.
Published: February 2016

Escalation is generally defined in investment context as continuation of an investment project after receiving negative signals about the outcome. This study demonstrates that under conditions of uncertainty about project outcome there is a rational incentive for the manager to continue a project to receive more information. Taking this real option on continuing the project has value for the firm. Simulations results from the option value model of investment demonstrate that likelihood of escalation is higher when signals have higher quality which increases the value of getting an additional signal. Likelihood of escalation also increases when the prior expectation of success is low, and when project termination cost is low. Continuing the project to receive additional information is shown to be more profitable than the simple net present value rule that excludes option value. The model implies that escalation may be value-maximizing for the firm, and managers should not automatically be discouraged to continue a project when new signals about its success may appear in the future.
A Formula For Job Creation: Tax Law Changes For Small Businesses
Authors: Papachristou Patricia T. , Parker James O.
Published: February 2016

The Bush tax cuts in 2001 (Economic Growth and Taxpayer Relief Reconciliation Act, (EGTRRA) and in 2003 (Job Growth and Taxpayer Relief Reconciliation Act, JGTRRA) are touted as providing an aid to the economy's recovery and job creation. The data shows that George Bush's first administration had the most anemic job expansion in decades and actually saw negative net jobs created. We advocate four tax changes for small businesses that would postpone the timing of taxes and make it easier for small businesses to survive. As small businesses provide more than two-thirds of the net new jobs created each year, insuring their sustainability will go a long way to foster small business expansion and more job growth among suppliers. Currently a third of new small businesses fail within their first two years and the failure rate exceeds 60 percent by the end of the sixth year. These tax proposals for small businesses resemble “laser surgery” for the economy instead of the “chemotherapy” of tax cuts for the whole economy. These proposals focus where two-thirds or more of new jobs are created each year and will help small businesses manage their cash flow more effectively and encourage their long term sustainability. It is time for Congress to enact measures that help provide small businesses with a source of capital rather than draining them of the vital cash that they need. Such measures would not require government handouts or loans but, rather, would for the most part, merely entail postponing the taxation of business profits so long as those profits remained in the business to help insure its survival and growth.
Determining Optimal Corporate Capital Structure
Authors: Benson Clark T. , Lowenthal Franklin
Published: February 2016

This paper considers the mathematical relationship between two variables: independent variable is corporate debt as a percentage of corporate assets while the dependent variable is the present value of the tax savings on the interest paid on the corporate debt. We examine this relationship for any fixed number of future states under the Cox-Rubinstein model. The functional relationship is a saw-tooth function with a discrete set of discontinuities. By examining the behavior of this function we find that there is for each number of states always a unique debt to asset percentage between 0 and 100% for which the present value of the tax savings is a maximum.
Corporate Governance And Fraud
Authors: Weston Rae
Published: February 2016

The main bank fraud cases of the past decade are examined to identify warning signs that could and should have been recognised. Brown (2001 and 2004) has rightly highlighted doubling as a key feature of the Leeson and National Australia Bank derivatives losses. This paper takes a wider view of this and other similar events-the Allied Irish fraud, the Sumitomo copper case, the Daiwa Bank losses and the National Australia Bank case – and examines the other warning signs that could and should have been recognised. If these can be seen as easier to identify while the fraud is in progress than the doubling of transactions, then these may be used to structure an early warning system of some potency.
Research Methods
Authors: Williams Carrie
Published: February 2016

This paper discusses three common research approaches, qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods, along with the various research designs commonly used when conducting research within the framework of each approach. Creswell (2002) noted that quantitative research is the process of collecting, analyzing, interpreting, and writing the results of a study, while qualitative research is the approach to data collection, analysis, and report writing differing from the traditional, quantitative approaches. This paper provides a further distinction between quantitative and qualitative research methods. This paper also presents a summary of the different research methods to conduct research in quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods studies.
Tight Money And Loose Credit In An Open Economy
Authors: Cosgrove Michael , Marsh Daniel
Published: February 2016

The U.S. Federal Reserve has been following a tight money policy, defined by growth in the quantity of money compared to nominal GDP growth since the first quarter of 2004. The Fed has also increased the federal funds rate 17 times in a row by August 8, 2006. Normally, this degree of tightening would be reflected in a slowing of real economic activity by mid-2006, with subsequent lowering of inflation pressures. Yet evidence of a slowdown only materialized in the second quarter of 2006. The housing sector illustrated signs of softening as the inventory numbers started to rise. Are there different factors influencing the effectiveness of monetary policy in this tightening cycle from prior tightening cycles in the Greenspan era? Our thesis is that the linkage between money and credit has become weaker in this cycle. Money appeared to be tight over the relevant time period, while credit was loose. Normally the two move in the same direction – when monetary policy tightens, credit conditions also tighten. But that didn’t occur until very late in the tightening cycle, as credit remained plentiful. Long term interest rates remained low, compared to prior tightening cycles over the cycle. This divergence, in the assessment of the authors, is due to three factors: 1) an increase in monetary base velocity, 2) large net inflows of capital into the U.S., in particular from the Far East – Japan and China, and 3) the expansion of the markets for securitized assets. Rising incomes and high saving rates in the Far East combined with a relaxation of international capital controls resulted in a flood of savings washing up on America’s shores. The securitization of bank-originated assets—originally home mortgages, but now including auto finance loans and credit card debt—has loosened the link between bank reserves and the level of credit in the economy.  These factors combined to explain why credit is loose in the U.S. while money appeared tight. A U.S. economy with these characteristics explains in part why the connection between domestic money policy and credit market conditions has been weakened.
Do Under-Managed Portfolios Outperform Over-Managed Portfolios?
Authors: Ahmadi Hamid Z. , Khoroujik Janna , Rafiq Rafiqul B.
Published: February 2016

How often should a portfolio be rebalanced?  This is the question our study attempts to answer.  The Internet stock bubble and its aftermath made portfolio mangers very sensitive to their management styles.  Specifically, they had to reassess how often to evaluate a client’s portfolio.  This work examines the performance of portfolios that were aggressively managed and compares their risk-adjusted returns with those of portfolios that were managed infrequently.  To accomplish this, we change the rebalancing frequency of a well-diversified portfolio and track its performance over time.  This study will not only enable us to determine whether the performance of an actively-managed portfolio surpasses the performance of an under-managed or unmanaged portfolio, but it will also allow us to determine the optimal rebalancing period for maximizing risk-adjusted returns.  The asset selection and portfolio optimization methodologies applied to the portfolios in this study are identical to maintain consistency and comparability of results.  To evaluate the performance of each portfolio, we used daily observations from September 2000 to September 2006 and applied various rebalancing frequencies using the QuantAnalysis application at www.fundsformation.com.