bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
A Futures Market Response to Oil Price Volatility
Authors: Levine Alan H. 
Published: January 2017

The volatility of oil prices has expanded dramatically over the past twenty years. New mechanisms, including futures and forward contracts, options on futures and “over-the-counter” options have been developed to deal with the uncertainty of buying or selling of petroleum in the highly competitive markets that now characterize the oil situation. Futures contracts — agreements to buy or sell oil at a particular time in the future — are the core of the new mechanisms. Since futures market prices move in concert with cash (“wet”) market prices, futures can be an effective substitute for wet barrel transactions. Buyers of options gain the advantage of futures trading — the right to buy without the obligation to do so — for a fee. Futures markets provide open pricing, not subject to special, hidden arrangements. Contracts are available for crude oil, heating oil, gasoline, propane and natural gas. All contract terms are fixed so that only price need be negotiated. This is how so many contracts are traded rapidly. Financial institutions are learning that futures, when used in a competent hedge program, provide safety and allow for business expansion.
Global Implications of U.S. Power Deregulation
Authors: Maschoff Dean C. 
Published: January 2017

With U.S. power deregulation remaining a topic that is dominating the entire North American energy marketplace, this paper provides an update of events occurring in U.S. electric power markets, offering some observations about changes due to increasing competition in electric power markets, and discusses some reasons why the events in U.S. electric power markets will soon transform global energy markets. How quickly is the move from local service territory to global markets proceeding? More than fifty U.S. utility companies with revenues of over $1 billion (U.S.) will soon be actively seeking and participating in global business opportunities. Using the same logic that led them to pursue utility initiatives nationally, U.S. utilities will use their core capabilities to compete in global energy services markets. In connection with these global initiatives, U.S. utilities will bring the same fuel-neutral, gas-electric perspective to international electric power and natural gas markets.
The Financial Implications of In-Substance Defeasance
Authors: Roden Peyton Foster 
Published: January 2017

In November 1983, the Financial Accounting Standards Board issued Statement No. 76, Extinguishment of Debt. The Statement permits corporations completing an in-substance defeasance to recognize an increase in earnings and earnings per share. High interest rates in 1984 and the Statement encouraged corporate managers to defease debt in substance and to show the associated increase in earnings per share. The financial impact contrasts with those of accounting. Although in-substance defeasance leads to an increase in reported earnings, financial theory suggests that it leads to a decrease in the price of the defeasing corporation's common stock by doing the following: decreasing the amount of future cash flows, decreasing corporate liquidity, redistributing wealth from common shareholders to bondholders, and decreasing the debt-equity ratio. Only the change in the debt-equity ratio may lead to an expected increase in stock price. The other three influences lead to an expected decrease.
Accounting Standard-Setting Institutions and the Governance of Incomplete Contracts
Authors: King Ronald , Waymire Gregory 
Published: January 2017

“A constant problem of the accounting profession lies in the development of procedures to keep pace with changing economic conditions.” Charles Couchman, President, American Institute of Accountants, 1932.1 “New and extremely difficult problems are constantly arising in the wake of innovative business techniques.” The Wheat Committee, 1972.2 “The Board recognizes that financial reporting must adapt to a world in which change is a continuing, even accelerating process.” Dennis Beresford, Chairman, Financial Accounting Standards Board, 1991.3
The Impact of Materiality Decisions on Financial Ratios: A Computer Simulation
Authors: Turner Jerry L. 
Published: January 2017

This study examines the extent to which immaterial uncorrected errors may combine to affect specific financial ratios. A simulation is performed in which three balance sheet accounts and three related income statement accounts are seeded with immaterial errors. The magnitudes of the errors are controlled so the financial statement account balances are materially correct both individually and in the aggregate. The study examines six materiality heuristics for each of three industry classifications and three different error distribution patterns. For each heuristic/industry combination and error distribution pattern, a 95 percent confidence interval is generated for nine financial ratios. Results indicate that immaterial errors may combine to create substantial variances in some ratios. Profitability ratios based on income statement accounts display wide confidence intervals, while solvency ratios based on balance sheet accounts display relatively narrow intervals. Comparison between a standard normal distribution and a nonsymmetrical error distribution indicates that ratio variances are substantial and sensitive to error patterns even when errors are immaterial. Tests for equality of variances identify significant differences between heuristic methods and between industries. When making the decision regarding requiring entry or waiving discovered errors, the auditor should consider the impact of such errors not only on financial statement balances, but on the ways users may combine those balances.
Accounting Estimation Disclosures and Firm Valuation in the Property-Casualty Insurance Industry
Authors: Anthony Joseph H. , Petroni Kathy R. 
Published: January 2017

Accounting earnings are subject to estimation error. Under GAAP, corrections to estimates are included in current and future earnings, but characteristics of previous errors are not disclosed. An exception exists for property-casualty insurers. SEC mandated disclosures reveal errors in previous claim expense estimates as well as the correction for those errors in current earnings. An important issue is whether these detailed disclosures are value-relevant. We examine the information content of the SEC disclosures by testing their valuation implications. We investigate whether estimation errors in previous earnings influence the reflection of current earnings in price. Results suggest that investors use these disclosures in valuation decisions. Insurers with more variable estimation errors have smaller earnings response coefficients. Apparently investors assume that the precision of previous earnings is indicative of the precision in current earnings. We also find that stock returns are associated with revisions of previous estimations included in current earnings. Our research has implications for regulation, suggesting that similar disclosures should be considered for other estimates.
Development Economics: An Institutional Bastion
Authors: Cameron John , Ndhlovu Tidings P. 
Published: January 2017

What binds most of the disparate writings by institutional economists (broadly defined), from the earlier progenitors, such as Veblen, Keynes and Galbraith, to the modern institutionalists, including Means, Fusfield and Hodgson, is their questioning of many of the tenets of neoclassical theory. Within this same broad paradigm, there has also been an emergence of ‘new institutional economics’, whose chief protagonists are Oliver Williamson and Douglas C. North. However, for the latter, the relationship between institutions and markets across time and space starts from the basic propositions of rational individualism and competition pertaining to neoclassical economics, with the inclusion of more institutional detail than is usual for neoclassical models. This paper seeks to explore as yet an uncharted area, that is, that development economics, from the writings of Arthur Lewis to those of Amartya Sen, has long been the bastion of institutional economics. Despite the concerted attacks by neoclassicists on the discipline in the early 1980s, development economics has never been persuaded by the strength of argument of the mainstream neoclassical case. Arguably, the common ground of development economics as an identifiable branch of the discipline has been its concern with the impact of institutional factors (cultural values in civil society, politico-bureaucratic states, global economic organisations) on resource allocation. Concepts such as dependency, unequal exchange, entitlements the neo-colonial state, urban bias, the East Asian miracle and transnational corporations have strong institutional roots. This paper will examine the shifting views on institutional factors in development economics and attempt to integrate the New Institutional Economics into a more general theory.
An Investigation of UK Companies Practices in the Determination, Interpretation and Usage of Cost of Capital
Authors: Al-Ali Jasim , Arkwright Tony 
Published: January 2017

There has been extensive discussion regarding the influence of the cost of capital on the value and investment decisions of a firm. The important role thought to be played by the cost of capital has resulted in considerable academic debate as to how the cost of capital should be calculated. This study was designed to enhance the debate by an investigation into how firms, derive, interpret and use the cost of capital in practice. The study adopted a survey approach to obtain information from large UK companies. Seventy three UK companies gave detailed responses revealing interesting issues for both academics and practitioners.
Book review: Competition in Theory and Practice
Authors: Meyer F.V. 
Published: January 2017

Competition in Theory and Practice, Revised and Updated by Terry Burke, Angela Genn-Bash and Brian Haines. Published by Routledge, 1991. ISBN 0-415-05292-0. The Nature of the Transnational Firm, Edited by Christos N. Pitelis & Roger Sugden. Published by Routledge, 1990. ISBN 0-415-05271-8 (hbk) and 0-415-05748-5 (pbk).
Studies on the V2O5-TiO2 System. IV. Oxygen Chemisorption
Authors: Rey L. , Martino R. , Gambaro L. , Thomas H. 
Published: January 2017

The chemical adsorption of oxygen on V2O5 and V2O5 -TiO2 over the temperature range 100–450°C and at pressures between 10−2 and 3 Torr has been studied. Assays have been performed using a volumetric method, the isotherms obtained being in accordance with Langmuir's adsorption model. Isobaric plots at 1.5 Torr of these isotherms exhibit two maxima, at 250 and 400°C, respectively. These maxima have been interpreted in terms of the surface chemisorption of O2− and its diffusion into the bulk solid. The amount adsorbed at the 250°C maximum depends on the sample composition in the following decreasing adsorption order: VT80, VT50, VT10, VT20 and VT0. At the 400°C maximum, the same amount of O2 is adsorbed experimentally by all the TiO2-containing samples, this value being quite different from that corresponding to pure V2O5 (VTO). Possible explanations for this observation are based on (i) the relative magnitudes of the V/Ti surface ratios and (ii) the presence of Ti4+ in V2O5 crystals.
Reversible Adsorption and Diffusion of Molybdenum during Drying of Alumina Spheres Impregnated with Molybdenum Solutions
Authors: Cáceres C.V. , Blanco M.N. , Thomas H.J. 
Published: January 2017

The influence of reversible adsorption and diffusion of molybdenum during the drying step on the redistribution of molybdenum which had been previously impregnated on alumina spheres is presented. Two approximate theoretical models are postulated to interpret this phenomenon. The first assumes that redistribution is due solely to the diffusion of molybdenum in the solution within the pores towards the centre of the pellet, while the other is based on the assumption that solvent evaporation also has an influence on the process, since this leads to a consequent increase of solute in the interior of the pores. In both models it is assumed that equilibrium between adsorbed molybdenum and that in the solution, as a consequence of reversible adsorption, occurs simultaneously with molybdenum diffusion. A good fit between the theoretical profiles and the experimental points was observed in all samples dried slowly at room temperature and humidity.
Adsorption of Tungsten on Alumina from Sodium Tungstate Solutions. Estimation of Equilibrium and Kinetic Parameters
Authors: Pizzio L.R. , Cáceres C.V. , Blanco M.N. 
Published: January 2017

The tungsten adsorption isotherm from aqueous solutions of sodium tungstate on to alumina at 20°C has been studied. The isotherm shape was in agreement with that predicted by the classic Langmuir equation. This model was therefore fitted to the experimental data in order to determine the adsorption equilibrium constant and the total concentration of adsorption sites. Kinetic parameters of adsorption were also determined. To do so, a theoretical model that predicts the tungsten concentration profiles in impregnated thin layers was fitted to the experimental profiles. The diffuse reflectance spectra of dried samples used for isotherm determination and of thin alumina layers impregnated with tungsten solutions exhibit a band at 215 nm which is accompanied by a shoulder at 250 nm. For samples having a greater tungsten concentration, the shoulder develops and then transforms into a second band. The maximum at the lowest wavelength (first maximum) is assumed to correspond to tungsten in a tetrahedral coordination (monomeric species) while the second maximum is due to distortion in the tetrahedral symmetry caused by strong interactions between the support and the monomeric species.
Catalytic Decomposition of H2O2 over Pure and Li2O-Doped Co3O4 Solids
Authors: El-Shobaky Gamil A. , Radwan Nagi R.E. , Radwan Farouk M. 
Published: January 2017

Pure and doped Co3O4 samples were prepared by the thermal decomposition at 500–900°C of pure and lithium nitrate-treated basic cobalt carbonate. The amounts of dopant added were varied in the range 0.75–6 mol% Li2O. The effects of this treatment on the surface and catalytic properties of cobaltic oxide solid were investigated using nitrogen adsorption at −196°C and studies of the decomposition of H2O2 at 30–50°C. The results obtained revealed that Li2O doping of Co3O4 followed by heat treatment at 500°C and 600°C resulted in a progressive increase in the value of the specific surface area, SBET, to an extent proportional to the amount of dopant present. However, the increase was more pronounced in the case of solid samples calcined at 500°C. This increase in the specific surface areas has been attributed to the fixation of a portion of the dopant ions on the uppermost surface layers of the solid leading to outward growth of the surface lattice. The observed increase in SBET due to Li2O doping at 500°C might also result from a narrowing of the pores in the treated solid as a result of the doping process. Lithium oxide doping of cobaltic oxide followed by heat treatment at 700–900°C resulted in a significant decrease in the SBET, Vp and r̄ values. Pure and doped solids precalcined at 500°C and 600°C exhibited extremely high catalytic activities which were not much affected by doping with Li2O. On the other hand, doping followed by calcination at 700–900°C brought about a considerable and progressive increase in the catalytic activity of the treated solids. This treatment did not modify the activation energy of the catalysed reaction, i.e. doping of Co3O4 solid followed by heating at 700°C and 900°C did not alter the mechanism of the catalytic reaction but increased the concentration of catalytically active constituents taking part in the catalytic process without altering their energetic nature.
Influence of the Vanadium and Zinc Contents in DESONOX Catalysts on the Course of the DESOX Reaction
Authors: Marcewicz-Kuba Agnieszka , Nazimek Dobiesław 
Published: January 2017

The catalytic process of SO2 removal from combustion gases takes place on the grain plane of hard coal. This process is competitive relative to classical desulphurization processes. The method proposed for the removal of SO2 from combustion gases described in this paper is quite different from wet classical desulphurization methods. This paper reports studies of the influence of vanadium and zinc concentration on the catalytic activity of a number of DESONOX catalysts (in the course of the DESOX reaction). Investigations of the influence of the total surface area and other physicochemical properties of the catalyst on its behaviour are also reported.
On the Nature of the Phenomenon of Oscillatory Adsorption
Authors: Patrylak K.I. , Taranookha O.M. 
Published: January 2017

The authors have recently advanced a hypothesis for the phenomenon of oscillatory adsorption suggesting that it is caused by a number of factors such as the competitive filling of the surface by A and B components, the ‘spotty’ nature of component adsorption, the dramatic change in the configuration of such ‘spots' at a certain step during surface filling with one of the components resulting in a transition of the adsorption layer from an ‘ A in B’ state to a ‘B in A’ state and vice versa, and the dependence of the values of the chemical potential of A and B on the configuration of the adsorption ‘spot’ causing a change in the direction of the sorption process. In the present communication, an attempt is made to examine the phenomenon from the viewpoint of non-equilibrium thermodynamics. By relying on the Gibbs equation, particularly with respect to the flux and affinity equations, and taking account of the equality of the reciprocal influence coefficients, it is possible to conclude that the chemical potentials of the competitive components are either equal or approximately equal at the periphery of the sorption ‘spots’. This indicates that the entropy of the system remains constant (i.e. dS = 0) leading to the possibility of sustained oscillations occurring in the adsorption process.
The Effects of Heparin on Cultured Explants of Varicose Long Saphenous Vein
Authors: Hollingsworth S. J. , Tang C. B. , Barker S. G. E. 
Published: January 2017

Objective: To examine the effects of heparin on smooth muscle cells (SMCs) in explants of varicose, long saphenous vein (LSV). Procedures: Explants of varicose LSV were cultured for 7 days either alone, or with heparin at 10, 100 or 1000 IU/ml (Monoparin). At 7 days, cultured explants were analysed for changes in intimal and medial thickness and by immuno-histochemistry. Comparisons were made with explants at initial isolation and with similar, cultured explants of normal LSV. Results: In normal LSV, by day 7, SMC-derived neo-intimal hyperplasia developed ( p<0.01) with an increase in intimal thickness ( p<0.02) and a decrease in medial thickness ( p<0.001). Heparin at 10 and 100 IU/ml further enhanced this neo-intima formation ( p<0.001). In contrast, at 1000 IU/ml, heparin inhibited neo-intima formation. In varicose explants, the pattern of intimal and medial changes was different. At isolation, varicose LSVs had substantially thicker intimal layers ( p<0.001). When cultured alone, a thicker media developed ( p<0.001) but there was little change in intimal thickness. Heparin at all concentrations had no effect on the thicker medial development seen in controls but did, however, reduce intimal thickness ( p<0.005). Conclusions: The response to heparin in explants of varicose LSV is different from that of normal LSV, which is biphasic and complex.
Primary Varicose Veins in the Presence of an Intact Sapheno-Femoral Junction
Authors: Hollingsworth S. J. , Tang C. B. , Barker S. G. E. 
Published: January 2017

Objective: To determine the incidence of primary varicose veins (VVs) occurring in the presence of a competent sapheno-femoral junction. Methods: A retrospective analysis of venous duplex scans was performed for all patients referred to the Vascular Unit, The Middlesex Hospital, London, for assessment of primary VVs, over an 18 month period from 1998 to 2000. Results: One thousand nine hundred and eleven patients with primary VVs referred to hospital for treatment were assessed. Their median age was 52 years (interquartile range 39–64 years). The female:male ratio was 1.92:1. Of these, 43.5% had primary VVs in the presence of a competent sapheno-femoral junction (of whom 70.2% were female). Of those patients with primary VVs in the presence of an incompetent sapheno-femoral junction, 62.4% were female. The incidence of primary VVs did not increase overall with age. The peak incidence for women was between 31 and 60 years of age, whilst that for men was between 51 and 70 years. A similar pattern for age distribution was seen irrespective of sapheno-femoral junction status. Men had a reduced incidence of primary VVs in the presence of an intact sapheno-femoral junction compared with incompetent junctions over the age range of 31–60 years. Conclusions: Primary VVs can readily develop in the presence of a competent sapheno-femoral junction. This occurs most frequently in women below the age of 50 years.
Effects of Intermittent Sequential Compression in Venous Hypertensive Microangiopathy
Authors: Belcaro G. V. , Nicolaides A. N. 
Published: January 2017

Objective: To investigate the acute effects of sequential compression on the microcirculation in limbs with chronic venous hypertension causing venous microangiopathy. Design: One group of patients with venous hypertension and a group of normal, comparable subjects were treated with intermittent sequential pneumatic compression applied for 30 min. Skin blood flow was measured by laser Doppler flowmetry at the perimalleolar region at rest (horizontal position) and on standing. The measurements were repeated at 0, 30 and 60 min after cessation of the compression. As criteria of inclusion, only limbs with high perimalleolar skin flux and decreased venoarteriolar response were included. Setting: St Mary's Hospital, London (teaching hospital). Patients, participants: Sixteen limbs in 16 patients with chronic venous hypertension and 12 limbs of comparable healthy volunteers were studied. Results: At rest, in the normal controls, the mean (SD) flux was 0.56 (0.3) units; it decreased on average by 35% on standing (venoarteriolar response). There was normal vasomotor activity. In patients, the mean flux was 1.45 (0.8) ( p < 0.025) and the median venoarticular response only 7%. There was very limited vasomotor activity. Vasomotor activity started 10 min after the commencement of compression. At the end of the compression period there was a marked change towards normality. Resting flux was 0.90 (0.5) (significantly decreased) and the venoarteriolar response had increased to 23% ( p < 0.025) with an improvement in vasomotor activity. These changes persisted at 30 and 60 min. Conclusions: The findings offer an explanation of the effect of sequential compression on the healing of leg ulcers in chronic venous insufficiency.