bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Understanding rental prices in the UK: a comparative application of spatial modelling approaches
Authors: McCord M. , Davis P.T. , Haran M. , McIlhatton D. , McCord J.
Published: February 2014

Purpose

– Accounting for locational effects in determining price is of fundamental importance. The demise of the mainstream property market has culminated in increasing appetite and investment activity within the private rental sector. The primary purpose of this paper aims to analyse the local variation and spatial heterogeneity in residential rental prices in a large urban market in the UK using various geo-statistical approaches.

Design/methodology/approach

– Applying achieved price data derived from a leading internet-based rental agency for Belfast Northern Ireland is analysed in a number of spatially based modelling frameworks encompassing more traditional approaches such as hedonic regressive models to more complex spatial filtering methods to estimate rental values as a function of the properties implicit characteristics and spatial measures.

Findings

– The principal findings show the efficacy of the geographically weighted regression (GWR) technique as it provides increased accuracy in predicting marginal price estimates relative to other spatial techniques. The results reveal complex spatial non-stationarity across the Belfast metropole emphasizing the premise of location in determining and understanding rental market performance. A key finding emanating from the research is that the high level of segmentation across localised pockets of the Belfast market, as a consequence of socio-political conflict and ethno-religious territoriality segregation, requires further analytical insight and model specification in order to understand the exogenous spatial and societal effects/implications for rental value.

Originality/value

– This study is one of only a few investigations of spatial residential rent price variation applying the GWR methodology, spatial filtering and other spatial techniques within the confines of a UK housing market. In the context of residential rent prices, the research highlights that a soft segmentation modelling approaches are essential for understanding rental gradients in a polarised ethnocratic city.
Senior citizen's bargaining power in residential real estate markets
Authors: E. Larsen James , W. Coleman Joseph
Published: February 2014

Purpose

– Researchers have previously examined, with mixed results, whether experience in the single-family house market enhances a buyer's bargaining power by comparing prices paid by relatively young first-time buyers and experienced buyers. The present study aims to extend this basic line of inquiry, but the focus here is on both buyers and sellers at the other end of the age spectrum as the authors investigate the bargaining power of senior citizens (age 65 or older) in the single-family house market.

Design/methodology/approach

– Hedonic regression is used to analyze approximately 6,200 transactions that occurred in Montgomery County, Ohio during the years 2007 through 2009.

Findings

– No difference is discovered between prices paid for a single-family house by senior citizens and other buyers in the sample. However, senior citizens in this study sold property for 5.9 percent less than other sellers,ceteris paribus, suggesting that when they sold their homes, other factors put seniors at a bargaining power disadvantage.

Research limitations/implications

– Data limitations prevent the authors from specifying the precise reasons underlying the results concerning senior house sellers, but numerous possibilities are presented. Testing whether the results apply in other local housing markets would be a valuable extension of this research, as would identification of the factors associate with any bargaining power imbalance.

Practical implications

– The economic principle of substitution suggests that assets that provide identical utility should command identical prices, but for heterogeneous goods the relative bargaining power of the principals may be important in the price formation process. The present study offers interesting results that in the case of senior buyers support the law of one price, but in the case of senior sellers, bargaining power differences dominate.

Originality/value

– This is the first study to investigate bargaining power in residential real estate markets by comparing transaction prices involving senior citizens and other buyers and sellers.
Smoothing consumption fluctuations through household decisions on home improvement expenditure in Japan
Authors: Moriizumi Yoko , Tiwari Piyush , Yukutake Norifumi
Published: February 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to investigate the housing improvement expenditure as a consumption smoothing strategy for Japanese households.

Design/methodology/approach

– Tobit estimation method is used to empirically investigate the role of home improvement expenditure in smoothing consumption for households in Japan using data from Japan Housing Demand Survey for 2003.

Findings

– Findings suggest that: households in Japan use home improvement expenditure to adjust fluctuation in income. Income-constrained elderly households reduce their housing consumption by not improving their homesceteris paribusin order to maintain their consumption levels. The mortgage repayment burden also plays an important role in home improvement expenditure decisions.

Research limitations/implications

– An implication of the analysis is that households who do not own houses may require policy intervention to maintain their welfare. Policies such as subsidies for renters in Japan need to be devised which will provide renters opportunities to smooth consumption. Further, reduction in home improvement expenditure leads to deterioration of quality of housing stock if economic downturn persists longer. This suggests that policies such as tax reduction, tax allowance or tax credit to bolster home improvement behaviour are needed during economic downturn to sustain quality of housing stock.

Originality/value

– The paper contributes to the limited literature on the role of home improvement expenditure as a consumption smoothing instrument for households. Those who do not own houses are constrained in maintaining their welfare during downturn. Findings are important for policy makers and paper makes some suggestions in this regard.
Land price dynamics in a large Australian urban housing market
Authors: Costello Greg
Published: February 2014

Purpose

– Housing is a composite asset comprising land and improved components varying as proportions of total value over space and time. Theory suggests land and improvements (structures) are unique goods responding differently to economic stimuli. This paper aims to test the expectation of different overall house price changes in response to variation in land and improved components.

Design/methodology/approach

– House price dynamics are decomposed to analyse the influence of land and structure components for the city of Perth, Australia both at aggregate level and for spatially defined housing sub-regions, sample period 1995-2010.

Findings

– Values of land and improvements on that land evolve differently over time and are significantly influenced by the magnitude of land leverage. The study extends previous research through extensive spatial disaggregation of a larger more detailed data set than previously used in studies of this type confirming significant variation in land leverage ratios, overall price change and growth rates for land and improvements in sub-regional markets defined by spatial criteria.

Research limitations/implications

– The results suggest an important role for policy development with respect to housing affordability and supply side regulation of land in large urban housing markets.

Practical implications

– The results suggest important implications for hedonic price analysis of housing markets. The inclusion of land leverage variables in hedonic regression could remove coefficient bias associated with omitted location amenity variables.

Originality/value

– The paper adapts methodology from previous studies but extends previous literature through detailed analysis of a large Australian housing market (Perth) enabling extensive spatial disaggregation of the sample and providing greater insight to spatial variation of land leverage than in previous studies.
Firms' compliance with the disclosure requirements of IFRS for goodwill impairment testing
Authors: Khokan Bepari Md , F. Rahman Sheikh , Taher Mollik Abu
Published: February 2014

Purpose

– This study aims to examine the impact of the 2008-2009 global financial crisis (GFC) on Australian firms' compliance with IFRS 36/AASB 136 for goodwill impairment testing. It also examines the factors associated with the cross-sectional variations in the compliance levels.

Design/methodology/approach

– Based on a survey of disclosure notes in companies' annual reports, firm-level compliance scores were developed and further analysed applying quantitative statistical methods.

Findings

– The findings suggest that firms' compliance has increased during the GFC compared to the PCP. There was no significant intra-period change in the compliance levels during the PCP. Firms belonging to goodwill intensive industries show greater compliance levels than firms in other industries. Audit quality is also a significant determinant of firms' compliance with IFRS for goodwill impairment testing. Goodwill intensity is a significant determinant of firms' compliance level during the GFC but not during the PCP. Firm size is associated with the compliance levels when the industry effects are not controlled for. When the industry effects are controlled for, the effect of size on firms' compliance levels disappears. Profitability is also associated with firms' compliance with IFRS for goodwill impairment testing. However, firms' leverage ratio is not significantly associated with compliance levels.

Originality/value

– This is the first known study to examine the issue of compliance with IFRS for goodwill impairment testing in the context of the GFC and the PCP.
Institutional antecedents of principle-based corporate governance practices
Authors: Reddy Krishna , Sharma Umesh
Published: February 2014

Purpose

– This study aims to investigate the nature and extent of compliance to the principle-based corporate governance initiatives by the listed companies in the South Pacific Stock Exchange (SPSE) in Fiji. Three important questions are addressed: whether listed companies in Fiji have complied with the principle-based governance practices? Did compliance with principle-based recommendations lead to an improvement in the listed company's financial performance and legitimacy? How the institutional factors have contributed towards corporate governance practices in Fiji?

Design/methodology/approach

– Panel data for the SPSE companies over the period 2008-2011 are analysed using ordinary least squares (OLS) regression. Tobin's Q and return on assets (ROA) metrics are used as dependent variables.

Findings

– The findings indicate that listed companies have adopted the Capital Market Development Authority's (CMDA) recommendations by establishing subcommittees for audit and remuneration, having non-executive/independent directors on the board and separate chair and CEO positions in order to gain legitimacy from stakeholders. Results support the view that the CMDA recommendations of board sub-committees (audit and remuneration) have had positive influence on company performance measured by Tobin's Q. The findings of this study give support to the principle-based corporate governance practices adopted in Fiji to gain legitimacy.

Originality/value

– The study adds to the governance literature by focusing on the principle-based governance practices in a small remote island country, Fiji which has relatively small economy, capital market and company size. Finally, the study adds to institutional theory by showing how companies' corporate governance choices are affected by the severity of agency conflicts and the way corporate governance is regulated.
Empirical investigation of wireless sensor network performance in noisy environments
Authors: Teneng Kiyang Silvanus , Van Zyl Robert
Published: February 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this work is to assess the influence of ambient noise on the performance of wireless sensor networks (WSNs) empirically and, based on these findings, develop a mathematical tool to assist technicians to determine the maximum inter-node separation before deploying a new WSN.

Design/methodology/approach

– A WSN test platform is set up in an electromagnetically shielded environment (RF chamber) to accurately control and quantify the ambient noise level. The test platform is subsequently placed in an operational laboratory to record network performance in typical unshielded spaces. Results from the RF chamber and the real-life environments are analysed.

Findings

– A minimum signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) at which the network still functions was found to be of the order 30 dB. In the real-life scenarios (machines, telecommunications and computer laboratories), the measured SNR exceeded this minimum value by more than 20 dB. This is due to the low ambient industrial noise levels observed in the 2.4 GHz ISM band for typical environments found at academic institutions. It, therefore, suggests that WSNs are less prone to industrial interferences than anticipated.

Originality/value

– A predictive mathematical tool is developed that can be used by technicians to determine the maximum inter-node separation before the WSN is deployed. The tool yields reliable results and promises to save installation time.
Interlinkages and paths of German factories' manufacturing and R&D strategies in China
Authors: Kinkel Steffen , Kleine Oliver , Diekmann Janis
Published: February 2014

Purpose

– As a consequence of the sluggish growth in Europe caused by the Euro-crisis, many German companies are currently expanding their manufacturing and innovation activities in fast-growing China – or intend to do so. The paper aims to provide new practical and theoretical insights on how German manufacturing companies are readjusting and further developing their production and innovation strategies in China and which future paths they plan to follow to make the most out of their foreign factories in this market.

Design/methodology/approach

– Based on in-depth interviews with the top management of 18 German manufacturing companies in China, this paper analyzes the present state, interlinkages and future development paths of their local manufacturing and innovation strategies, employing Ferdows' framework of foreign factory roles.

Findings

– The authors find that up to now most of the surveyed factories represent an additional type of an advanced server factory, characterized by a “Chinese gap” in new product development (NPD) and basic innovations. Based on that the authors propose five guiding principles on how foreign factories in China can cope with the upcoming challenges in China and make the most of their local strategies.

Originality/value

– The research provides unexpected insights of a high strategic relevance for practitioners currently engaged in optimising their global production and innovation footprint. It challenges established frameworks on foreign production and innovation modes by comparing them to the established practice of frontrunner companies from key sectors of the German manufacturing industry.
Technical-economic cost modeling as a technology management tool
Authors: Taleb Ali , Maine Elicia , Kjeang Erik
Published: February 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to show how technical-economical cost modeling can help in steering research and development to target key production cost elements of new products based on emerging technologies.

Design/methodology/approach

– The authors demonstrate the development and use of a technical-economic cost model (TCM) of the proton exchange membrane (PEM) in fuel cells to steer research to produce more economical and reliable products. A TCM is developed to depict how the production cost per unit varies depending on the different fabrication methods, production rate limitations, material selection, labor distribution, energy consumption, financial parameters and the target production volume. By using such an approach in the design, research time and resources can be saved by prioritizing R&D and production scale-up options at an early stage.

Findings

– The results of this study show the importance of applying technical-economic cost model (TCM) techniques on early stage research projects to steer the development for resolving key problematic figures. As a case study, a cost analysis platform has been established to apply this technique by analyzing different manufacturing and R&D options for producing durable PEM fuel cells. The projected manufacturing cost of the PEM is found to be lower than previously estimated and the enhanced durability does not significantly impact this production cost.

Originality/value

– Production is an important factor in informing NPD targets and R&D direction. And yet it is difficult to estimate scaled up production cost for prototype products and components in the R&D lab. Technical-economic cost models (TCM) are a tool to assist decision-making in technology portfolio management and NPD.
Shall we buy and hold? Evidence from Asian real estate markets
Authors: Hui Eddie , Yam Philip , Wright John , Chan Kevin
Published: February 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this study is to verify whether the trading strategy can beat the “buy-and-hold” strategy for the securitized real estate indices of six Asian economies: Hong Kong, China, Japan, Taiwan, Thailand and Malaysia.

Design/methodology/approach

– This paper constructs a trading strategy from the Shiryaev-Zhou index and tests the strategy on the securitized real estate indices of six emerging Asian economies: Hong Kong, China, Japan, Taiwan, Thailand and Malaysia. The authors compare the resulting profits from using the trading strategy with the resulting profits from using the “buy-and-hold” strategy. The authors consider three cases: no transaction costs, 0.1 percent transaction costs, and 0.2 percent transaction costs.

Findings

– The results show that the trading strategy the authors constructed generally outperforms the “buy-and-hold” strategy even in the presence of transaction costs. In particular, the authors have a new finding as follows: Thailand and Malaysia's securitized real estate indices fell drastically during the period of observation. However, applying the trading strategy to these two securitized real estate indices can still earn a profit.

Practical implications

– The trading strategy is particularly useful in protecting investors from huge loss in adverse market conditions. The results can be applied to the field of finance/investment that investors can construct a trading strategy similar to the authors to earn more profits.

Originality/value

– This study will consider cases where both buying and selling costs exist, so the scenario is more like stock transactions in real-life equity markets. Furthermore, in this paper, for each securitized real estate index, the authors plot a graph to show the holding and non-holding periods under the trading strategy. This would help the authors explain the resulting profit under the trading strategy. This kind of graphical analysis was neglected by Hui and Yam.
Testing alternative models of property derivatives: the case of the City of London
Authors: Lecomte Patrick
Published: February 2014

Purpose

– The paper aims to conduct an empirical study of three models of property derivatives: index-based derivatives, factor hedges, and combinative hedges based on index and factors. The objective is to test whether the latter two models introduced by Lecomte dominate the index-based model used for existing property derivatives such as EUREX futures contracts.

Design/methodology/approach

– Based on investment property database (IPD) historical database covering 224 individual office properties from 1981 to 2007, the study assesses ex ante hedging effectiveness of the three models. Nine simulations are run under different hypotheses involving individual buildings and portfolios. The 17 factors included in the study cover both macro-factors (e.g. macroeconomic indicators) and micro-factors linked to the properties (e.g. age).

Findings

– Atomization and periodic rebalancing of property derivatives' underlying make it possible to substantially increase hedging effectiveness for a large majority of buildings in the sample. However, combinative hedges are overall superior to factor hedges owing to the overriding role played by IPD indices in capturing risk.

Research limitations/implications

– Due to confidentiality requirements inherent to the use of property level data, the study downplays the role of micro-factors on real estate risk at the property level.

Practical implications

– The paper introduces a typology of optimal hedges aimed at individual property owners and portfolio holders in the City office property market.

Originality/value

– This is the first time a comprehensive analysis of different models of property derivatives is conducted. The value of the paper stems from the use of property level data.
Adaptive-WFCNNs-backstepping force/motion control system for mobile-manipulator robot
Authors: Thang Mai Long , Yao Wang Nan
Published: February 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to improve the flexibility and tracking errors of the controllers-based neural networks (NNs) for mobile manipulator robot (MMR) in the presence of time-varying uncertainties.

Design/methodology/approach

– The conventional backstepping force/motion control is developed by the wavelet fuzzy CMAC neural networks (WFCNNs) (for mobile-manipulator robot). The proposed WFCNNs are applied in the tracking-position-backstepping controller to deal with the uncertain dynamics of the controlled system. In addition, an adaptive robust compensator is proposed to eliminate the inevitable approximation errors, uncertain disturbances, and relax the requirement for prior knowledge of the controlled system. Besides, the position tracking controller, an adaptive robust constraint-force is also considered. The online-learning algorithms of the control parameters (WFCNNs, robust term and constraint-force controller) are obtained by using the Lyapunov stability theorem.

Findings

– The design of the proposed method is determined by the Lyapunov theorem such that the stability and robustness of the control-system are guaranteed.

Originality/value

– The WFCNNs are more the generalized networks that can overcome the constant out-weight problem of the conventional fuzzy cerebellar model articulation controller (FCMAC), or can converge faster, give smaller approximation errors and size of networks in comparison with FNNs/NNs. In addition, an intelligent-control system by inheriting the advantage of the conventional backstepping-control-system is proposed to achieve the high-position tracking for the MMR control system in the presence of uncertainties variation.
The effects of ontology-based and password-protected blog access control on perceived privacy benefit and perceived ease of use
Authors: Liu Chi-Lun
Published: February 2014

Purpose

– This work empirically evaluates the effectiveness of the novel ontology-based access-control mechanism and the common password-protected access-control mechanism for social blogs. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

– The ontology-based access-control scheme is designed to fit two characteristics of blog activities: social relationships and tags. A laboratory experiment is conducted to assess the perceived privacy benefit and perceived ease of use of the two mechanisms.

Findings

– Analytical results indicate that, with the ontology-based access-control scheme, users perceive more privacy benefit than with the password-protected access-control scheme. The perceived ease of use with the ontology-based and password-protected access-control systems did not differ significantly.

Research limitations/implications

– Cross-boundary collaborations need an appropriate approach to control communication access. Further study is required to evaluate the ontology-based access-control scheme applied in cross-organizational and cross-departmental collaborations.

Practical implications

– From a knowledge management perspective, blogs can store personal and organizational knowledge and experiences. The ontology-based access-control scheme encourages knowledge sharing for appropriate persons.

Originality/value

– The new ontology-based access-control mechanism can help online users keep secrets from selected people to gain more privacy benefits than the existing password-protected access-control mechanism.
Healthy organizations: toward a diagnostic method II
Authors: Iván Tarride Mario , González Julia
Published: February 2014

Purpose

– To contribute to the search for new viewpoints that will enrich the understanding of the complex organizational phenomenon, in particular by contributing to the development of a method that allows qualifying, in the fullest possible way, whether an organization can be said to be healthy. So the objective of this work has been to experiment with the diagnostic method of the organizational health situation – proposed in a previous paper published in this journal – through applications that allowed backfeeding it and offering a new improved version of it. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

– The present work takes up the challenge of advancing in the development of the method of determining the health condition of an organization, revising the general homomorphism as well as the information that will be considered, its sources, the way of obtaining it, and the way of making the synthesis that will allow issuing the final overall judgement of healthy or not of the organization that is being studied. To that end, recourse is made to the experience obtained from eight applications made to different kinds of small organizations in the city of Santiago, Chile, from 2008 to 2012.

Findings

– The human-being/organization homomorphism was reformulated, going from eight component systems of the human body to 13, by reformulating some and incorporating others. Although a set of indicators may be used in different kinds of organizations, each one of them also presents a specificity that makes it highly complicated to make comparisons; the health situation of an organization is related only to itself. Consequently, the set of indicators that are selected to determine the health condition of an organization depends on itself. Not all the variables, systems and dimensions have the same weight for those interested in the overall health judgement to be issued, so this task of searching for the weights becomes a key aspect of the method: what was found to be most advisable was to set up a group of experts composed of key informants belonging to the organization itself and of external analysts. The symptoms – perceptions of the key informants – must be transformed into signs that allow objectifying the judgement of healthy or not of an organization.

Originality/value

– The work contributes new elements that enrich the method for diagnosing organizational health proposed earlier, starting from the homomorphism established between the way in which allopathic physicians study their patients and the way the analyst operates with an organization.
“I couldn’t have done it on my own.” Perspectives of patients preparing for discharge from a UK high secure hospital
Authors: Ann Sheryl Madders Sarah , Amanda George Cheryl
Published: February 2014

Purpose

– Discharge preparation from high to medium levels of security has received little attention from researchers to date, but is a critical stage in a patient's pathway. This paper aims to capture the perspectives of patients who are preparing to move on from high to medium security.

Design/methodology/approach

– Nine patients who were in the “discharge preparation” stage of their pathway were interviewed to capture their perspectives on the process. Interview transcripts were analysed using thematic analysis.

Findings

– Nine themes were identified as representing the patient interviews: trust and support, feeling empowered, journey of self-acceptance, skilling-up, getting to know the Medium Secure Unit (MSU), feeling disempowered and unvalued, issues with the system, anxiety about endings, and stigma and society.

Originality/value

– This paper gives voice to patients across clinical directorates at a UK high secure hospital regarding their perspectives on what has helped and hindered their discharge preparation. It presents some new findings, and recommended good practice, which should be of use to clinicians and managers who wish to enhance discharge preparation interventions for patients within high secure services.
Harmful or helpful? The role of the internet in self-harming and suicidal behaviour in young people
Authors: Bell Jo
Published: February 2014

Purpose

– The internet plays an important role in the lives of self-harming and suicidal young people yet little is known about how internet use influences this behaviour. The purpose of this paper is to examine the evidence base with a view to determining directions for future research and practice.

Design/methodology/approach

– Literature relating to self-harming and suicidal behaviour, young people, and the internet is reviewed with a focus on content and methodology.

Findings

– The internet provides access to: “how-to” descriptions of suicide; unregulated/illegal online pharmacies; forums to spread this information; access to others seeking to end their own lives. Such sites are believed to elevate risk amongst vulnerable individuals. Conversely, the internet provides access to intervention and prevention activity, online support groups, advice, and personal chat. These can be a key resource in helping young people. There is a lack of consensus on what constitutes harmful and helpful online exchange, often evidenced in disparity between the perceptions of professionals and users.

Research limitations/implications

– Research is needed to map out a more accurate picture of suicide and self-harm resources on the internet and to establish a consensus about what constitutes harmful and helpful exchange. This needs to be based on: a comprehensive and informed range of search terms; a clear distinction between types of resource; a clear and consistent rationale for distinguishing and categorizing sites; a systematic replicable methodology for plotting the scope, content, accessibility, and popularity of web resources at a given point in time; the views of young people who use these sites, as well as practitioners and professionals.

Practical implications

– Practitioners need to: regularly assess the quantity, quality, and nature of self-harm/suicide focused internet use amongst service users; be aware of which sites are most appropriate for particular individuals; promote sites directed at young people that enhance effective coping. Professional mental health organizations need to find ways of ensuring that: they are consistently well represented amongst search results online; sites are readily accessible; more practitioners are trained in text-based communications.

Originality/value

– This paper offers a framework and rationale for future research and for those involved in service provision, policy, and practice.
Tax avoidance and firm value: evidence from China
Authors: Chen Xudong , Hu Na , Wang Xue , Tang Xiaofei
Published: February 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this study is to examine whether corporate tax avoidance behavior increases firm value in Chinese context. A large number of studies conduct their designs on the consumption that tax avoidance represents wealth transfer from government to enterprises and therefore enhances firm value. This study argues that, contrast to developed countries, tax avoidance does not necessarily add value to opaque Chinese firms relative to transparent counterparts due to higher agency costs.

Design/methodology/approach

– Using a large sample of Chinese listed-firms data for the period 2001-2009 and fixed effects regression model, this study examines the relation between tax avoidance and firm value. A series of robustness checks are conducted to alleviate the concern of endogeneity.

Findings

– The authors find that tax avoidance behavior increases agency costs and reduces firm value. The authors further find that information transparency interacts with corporate tax avoidance, moderating the relation between tax avoidance and firm value. Investors in China react negatively to corporate tax avoidance behavior, but this negative reaction could be mitigated by information transparency. The results are robust to a series of alternative treatments, including varied measures, first-order differential approach and 2SLS.

Originality/value

– The results suggest that tax avoidance does not necessarily increase firm value, part of gains are encroached by self-serving managers. Moreover, investors in China downplay the significance of tax avoidance, although corporate information transparency could soften their negative tone.
Share repurchases: does frequency matter?
Authors: De Ridder Adri , Råsbrant Jonas
Published: February 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to examine differences in market performance of Swedish firms that initiate repurchase programs infrequently (1-2 programs), occasionally (3-4 programs) and frequently (5 or more programs) over the sample period and examine the relationship between abnormal return and repurchase size in repurchase months.

Design/methodology/approach

– Standard event study methodology is used to detect abnormal return surrounding initiation announcements of repurchase programs. Ibbotson's RATS-methodology and the calendar-time portfolio methodology are used to estimate long-term abnormal performance.

Findings

– The authors find differences in market performance of firms that initiate repurchase programs infrequently, occasionally and frequently. As with Jagannathan and Stephens, the authors find that infrequent repurchase programs are greeted with a stronger positive reaction than occasional and frequent programs. However, over long term, infrequent repurchase programs show no abnormal return, while occasional and frequent repurchase programs show a significant positive abnormal return. A positive relationship between abnormal return and repurchase size in repurchase months is documented on average for all types of repurchase programs.

Originality/value

– By using the detailed data on repurchase activities, the authors are able to examine share repurchases with high precision and relate the performance to repurchase size. Since the duration of a repurchase program is pre-determined in Sweden, the authors are able to classify the programs by frequency and study market performance within the programs.
The use of discretionary loan loss provisions by Islamic banks and conventional banks in the Middle East region
Authors: Ben Othman Hakim , Mersni Hounaida
Published: February 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to study earnings management practices of Islamic banks and conventional banks in the Middle East region. First, the authors examine factors that may influence Islamic banks managers' use of discretion in reporting loan loss provisions (LLP). Second, the authors investigate differences that may exist between Islamic banks and non-Islamic banks in terms of discretionary loan loss provisions (DLLP) used to manipulate accounting earnings.

Design/methodology/approach

– This empirical study uses an unbalanced panel data of 21 Islamic banks, 18 conventional banks with Islamic windows and 33 conventional banks, from seven Middle East countries during a period that ranges from 2000 to 2008. The authors use a two-stage approach in order to examine factors that may influence the use of discretion by Islamic banks' managers.

Findings

– The empirical results reveal that Islamic banks use DLLP for both earnings and capital management. External financing is also found to be a determinant of DLLP. Additional findings show no significant differences among Islamic banks, conventional banks with Islamic windows and conventional banks in using DLLP. These three groups of banks behave similarly in terms of discretion based on DLLP.

Practical implications

– The findings are potentially useful for regulators, auditors and investors. This study provides regulators with insights to strengthen their financial regulations in order to improve accounting quality. In addition, it helps auditors when considering the provisioning policies adopted by banks in order to detect specific manipulations of accounting earnings. The results may also help investors to focus on the impact of managerial discretion on accounting earnings for evaluation purposes.

Originality/value

– This study contributes to the literature on Islamic banking. On the one hand, it extends prior research by examining the discretionary component of LLP, instead of being restricted to total LLP. On the other hand, it compares the use of discretion among three groups of banks: full Islamic banks, conventional banks with Islamic windows and full conventional banks.
Quality management systems development based on a production systems taxonomy
Authors: Leopoulos Vrassidas , Chatzistelios Georgios
Published: February 2014

Purpose

– This paper aims to propose a method for the development of quality management systems (QMS) that allows the consultant that undertakes the support of the organisation to take advantage of a corporate memory. The consultant develops a new QMS based on a preliminary draft that is created using suitable reference processes from a library, selected according to the features of the organisation's production system.

Design/methodology/approach

– The method adopts a taxonomy of production systems, based on a set of features (e.g. degree of the products’ customisation, form of purchasing, etc.) and creates a library of reference processes that satisfy the requirements of the standard and are suitable for each particular type of production system.

Findings

– The QMS developed according to the proposed method satisfy both the requirements of the standard ISO 9001 and the needs of the organisation in which the QMS is installed in the biggest possible degree. The duration and cost of the project for the new QMS is reduced and the effort is oriented towards the process adaptation and improvement.

Research limitations/implications

– The proposed approach is general and can be applied to several types of industries. However, the proposed taxonomy is applicable to manufacturing companies. For other types of organisations specific taxonomies should be developed.

Originality/value

– The originality of the paper stems from the development of a QMS based on reference processes rather than the modelling and reviewing of as-is processes.
A generic model for integration of Quality, Environment and Safety Management Systems
Authors: Ferreira Rebelo Manuel , Santos Gilberto , Silva Rui
Published: February 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to propose a generic model of Integrated Management System of Quality, Environment and Safety (IMS-QES) that can be adapted and progressively to assimilate various Management Systems, of which highlights: ISO 9001 for Quality; ISO 14001 for Environment; OHSAS 18001 for Occupational Health and Safety.

Design/methodology/approach

– The model was designed in the real environment of a Portuguese Organization and 160 employees were surveyed. The rate response was equal to 86 percent. The conceived model was implemented in a first phase for the integration of Quality, Environment and Safety Management Systems.

Findings

– Among the main findings of the survey the paper highlights: the elimination of conflicts between individual systems with resources optimization; creation of added value to the business by eliminating several types of wastes; the integrated management of sustainability components in a global market; the improvement of partnerships with suppliers of goods and services; reducing the number of internal and external audits.

Originality/value

– This case study is one of the first Portuguese empirical researches about IMS-QES and the paper believes that it can be useful in the creation of a Portuguese guideline for integration, namely the Quality Management Systems; Environmental Management Systems and Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems among others.
Perturbation methods for two special cases of the time‐lapse seismic inverse problem
Authors:  Innanen Kristopher A. , Naghizadeh Mostafa , Kaplan Sam T. 
Published: February 2014

Scattering theory, a form of perturbation theory, is a framework from within which time‐lapse seismic reflection methods can be derived and understood. It leads to expressions relating baseline and monitoring data and Earth properties, focusing on differences between these quantities as it does so. The baseline medium is, in the language of scattering theory, the reference medium and the monitoring medium is the perturbed medium. The general scattering relationship between monitoring data, baseline data, and time‐lapse Earth property changes is likely too complex to be tractable. However, there are special cases that can be analysed for physical insight. Two of these cases coincide with recognizable areas of applied reflection seismology: amplitude versus offset modelling/inversion, and imaging. The main result of this paper is a demonstration that time‐lapse difference amplitude versus offset modelling, and time‐lapse difference data imaging, emerge from a single theoretical framework. The time‐lapse amplitude versus offset case is considered first. We constrain the general time‐lapse scattering problem to correspond with a single immobile interface that separates a static overburden from a target medium whose properties undergo time‐lapse changes. The scattering solutions contain difference‐amplitude versus offset expressions that (although presently acoustic) resemble the expressions of Landro (). In addition, however, they contain non‐linear corrective terms whose importance becomes significant as the contrasts across the interface grow. The difference‐amplitude versus offset case is exemplified with two parameter acoustic (bulk modulus and density) and anacoustic (P‐wave velocity and quality factor Q) examples. The time‐lapse difference data imaging case is considered next. Instead of constraining the structure of the Earth volume as in the amplitude versus offset case, we instead make a small‐contrast assumption, namely that the time‐lapse variations are small enough that we may disregard contributions from beyond first order. An initial analysis, in which the case of a single mobile boundary is examined in 1D, justifies the use of a particular imaging algorithm applied directly to difference data shot records. This algorithm, a least‐squares, shot‐profile imaging method, is additionally capable of supporting a range of regularization techniques. Synthetic examples verify the applicability of linearized imaging methods of the difference image formation under ideal conditions.
Leaf life span and the leaf economic spectrum in the context of whole plant architecture
Authors: Edwards Erika J. , Chatelet David S. , Sack Lawren , Donoghue Michael J.
Published: February 2014

The leaf economics spectrum (LES) has been an organizing framework of plant functional ecology for the past decade. The LES describes a set of trade‐offs among traits related to plant carbon balance. Species with a long leaf life span (LLS) invest additional material for leaf protection and structural support and consequently tend to have a lower leaf photosynthetic rate per unit mass than species with a shorter LLS.

While the LES is most apparent in comparing species with extreme differences in their traits, it has nonetheless been adopted as a general explanation of leaf trait variation at all scales and in all plants. It highlights the ‘trait‐based’ approach to plant ecology, which has generally used a small set of traits to predict whole organism and even whole ecosystem attributes. Few studies have investigated the relationships between LES traits and organismal attributes not directly related to carbon economy.

We explored the LES in 32 deciduous woody species of Viburnum (Adoxaceae). We found no evidence for any mass‐based LES trade‐offs. Rather, on an area basis, photosynthetic rates were positively correlated with leaf mass per area (LMA); higher LMA was associated with greater investment in photosynthetic tissue, with most of the variation due to changes in the thickness of photosynthetic mesophyll.

Species’ mean LLS varied between 19 and 26 weeks and was not correlated with other LES traits. Instead, LLS was strongly associated with the diverse set of whole‐plant branching patterns in Viburnum. In the most common growth pattern, LLS was significantly correlated with flowering time, because branches end in terminal inflorescences, and all leaves and inflorescences are pre‐formed in overwintering buds.

Synthesis. Plants may recover the cost of their leaves early in the growing season, allowing LLS to vary independently of the plant carbon budget. In deciduous species, LLS may be strongly influenced by whole plant architecture, which, in Viburnum, is evolutionarily conserved. In general, positive area‐based LES trait relationships will limit the relevance of LLS to this spectrum and allow LLS to vary for reasons that are not directly related to carbon economy.
Identifying genetic loci controlling neonatal passive transfer of immunity using a hybrid genotyping strategy
Authors: Rohrer G. A. , Rempel L. A. , Miles J. R. , Keele J. W. , Wiedmann R. T. , Vallet J. L.
Published: February 2014

Colostrum intake is critical to a piglet's survival and can be measured by precipitating out the γ‐immunoglobulins from serum with ammonium sulfate (immunocrit). Genetic analysis of immunocrits on 5312 piglets indicated that the heritabilities (se) for direct and maternal effects were 0.13 (0.06) and 0.53 (0.08) respectively. To identify QTL for direct genetic effects, piglets with the highest and lowest immunocrits from 470 litters were selected. Six sets of DNA pools were created based on sire of the litter. These 12 DNA pools were applied to Illumina Porcine SNP60 BeadChips. Normalized X and Y values were analyzed. Three different SNP selection methods were used: deviation of the mean from high vs. low pools, the deviation adjusted for variance based on binomial theory and ANOVA. The 25 highest ranking SNPs were selected from each evaluation for further study along with 12 regions selected based on a five‐SNP window approach. Selected SNPs were individually genotyped in the 988 piglets included in pools as well as in 524 piglets that had intermediate immunocrits. Association analyses were conducted fitting an animal model using the estimated genetic parameters. Nineteen SNPs were nominally associated (P < 0.01) with immunocrit values, of which nine remained significant (P < 0.05) after Bonferroni correction, located in 16 genomic regions on 13 chromosomes. In conclusion, the pooling strategy reduced the cost to scan the genome by more than 80% and identified genomic regions associated with a piglet's ability to acquire γ‐immunoglobulin from colostrum. Each method to rank SNPs from the pooled analyses contributed unique validated markers, suggesting that multiple analyses will reveal more QTL than a single analysis.