bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Developing a heat stress model for construction workers
Authors: Chan Albert P.C. , Yam Michael C.H. , Chung Joanne W.Y. , Yi Wen 
Published: February 2012

PurposeHeat stress, having caused preventable and lamentable deaths, is hazardous to construction workers in the hot and humid summers of Hong Kong. The purpose of this paper is to develop a heat stress model, based on the Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) index.Design/methodology/approachField studies were conducted during the summer time in Hong Kong (July to September 2010). Based upon 281 sets of synchronized meteorological and physiological data collected from construction workers in four different construction sites between July and September 2010, physiological, work‐related, environmental and personal parameters were measured to construct and verify the heat stress model.FindingsIt is found that drinking habit, age and work duration are the top three significant predictors to determine construction workers' physiological responses. Other predictors include percentage of body fat, resting heart rate, air pollution index, WBGT, smoking habit, energy consumption, and respiratory exchange rate. The accuracy of the model is verified against data which have not been used in developing the model. The accuracy of the heat stress model is found to be statistically acceptable (Mean Absolute Percentage Error=5.6 percent, Theil's U inequality coefficients=0.003).Practical implicationsBased on these findings, appropriate work‐rest pattern can be designed to safeguard the well being of workers when working in a hot and humid environment.Originality/valueThe model reported in this paper provides a more scientific and reliable prediction of the reality which may benefit the industry to produce solid guidelines for working in hot weather.
Do CEO compensation incentives affect firm innovation?
Authors: Sheikh Shahbaz 
Published: February 2012

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine if the structure and design of CEO compensation has any effect on firm innovation. It further investigates the effectiveness of each component of portfolio of compensation incentives in encouraging innovation.Design/methodology/approachThis study uses systems of simultaneous equations to model the interdependence between compensation incentives and measures of firm innovation.FindingsResults indicate that the pay‐performance sensitivity of the CEO portfolio of compensation incentives is positively related to investment in R&D expenditures, number of patents and citations. Options in general are more effective than stocks. However, within the options portfolio, recently awarded and unvested options are more effective than previously awarded and vested options. Restricted stock is more effective than unrestricted stock.Research limitations/implicationsMeasuring innovation output is difficult as innovation could take different forms, including business model innovation, which does not appear in the patent data.Practical implicationsStock options encourage investment in value‐increasing innovations and should remain a significant part of managerial compensation. If the firm awards stock, it should only award restricted stock.Originality/valueThis study uses comprehensive measures of compensation incentives and firm innovation. It views incentives as a portfolio of stock and options and uses incentives in their entirety. It examines the effectiveness of each component of the portfolio in encouraging innovation. It measures innovation as investment into the innovation process (R&D expenditures) and the resulting success of that investment (patents and citations).
Option grants and investor reaction to restatement‐induced litigation
Authors: Amoah Nana Y. 
Published: February 2012

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the relation between CEO option grants at the beginning of the class period (BCP) and investor reaction to announcement of restatement‐induced securities litigation.Design/methodology/approachUsing a restatement‐induced lawsuit sample over the period 1997‐2005, this study performs cross‐sectional linear regressions of three‐day litigation announcement cumulative abnormal returns (CARs) on CEO option grants, cash compensation, corporate governance and control variables. CARs are calculated over the three‐day (−1,1) interval relative to the lawsuit announcement date using a single‐factor market model, the CRSP equally‐weighted market index, and a 255‐day estimation period ending 45 days prior to the announcement.FindingsA negative association is reported between CEO option grants and investor reaction around restatement‐induced lawsuit announcement.Research limitations/implicationsIt is possible that some restatements may have triggered a securities lawsuit but because it was not explicitly stated, they were not included in the restatement‐induced lawsuit sample. Another limitation of the study is that the qualitative aspects of the internal corporate governance variables may not have been sufficiently captured in the analyses.Originality/valueThe reported result suggests that the market considers CEO option grants as an indication that a restatement‐induced securities lawsuit has merit. The finding also implies that although CEO option grants may not be exercised during the class period, the market imposes higher penalties on firms that offer higher equity compensation to their CEOs at the beginning of the class period.
Analysts' estimates
Authors: Aubert François , Grudnitski Gary 
Published: February 2012

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine whether mandatory adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) in the European Union reduced earnings manipulation, as proxied by the difference between a firm's reported earnings and ex post estimate of earnings by financial analysts.Design/methodology/approachControlling for firm and institutional factors and drawing upon a sample of 15,034 firm‐year observations from 20 European countries, the research design entailed examining the change in the earnings manipulation proxy during pre‐ and post‐IFRS adoption periods.FindingsThe principal finding from this analysis was a decline in the magnitude of the proxy for earnings manipulation coincidental with IFRS adoption, which suggests that a uniform financial reporting regime may have contributed to exposing the use of temporary activities to manipulate earnings.Originality/valueThe results of this study make an important contribution to the extant literature on the outcomes of IFRS adoption, and should be of value to investors and standard setters, who want honest and comparable financial reporting but are opposed to regulatory intervention. Of equal significance is the innovative model introduced to proxy for earnings manipulation.
Evidence of voluntary accounting disclosures in the Athens Stock Market
Authors: Iatridis George , Alexakis Panayotis 
Published: February 2012

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the motives for providing voluntary accounting disclosures and investigate the financial differences between voluntary and non‐voluntary disclosers. The paper also examines the association between the provision of voluntary disclosures and earnings management.Design/methodology/approachThe study utilises logistic regressions to test the hypothetical relations set up in the study. The categorisation of firms into those that report the minimum required by law and those that provide voluntary accounting information is based on the examination of firms' financial statements. Company categorisation is based on the construction of an index similar to the disclosure index formulated by the Center for International Financial Analysis and Research. Each sample firm obtains a score, with a higher score reflecting a more significant level of disclosure.FindingsThe findings show that voluntary disclosers exhibit higher profitability and growth and appear to be good news bearers. They also display a change in their management and a higher share trading volume. The results provide evidence that the provision of voluntary accounting disclosures is negatively associated with earnings management.Research limitations/implicationsThe study indicates that sound financial indicators and good news and prospects are likely to motivate firms to provide voluntary disclosures in order to attract investors' attention and communicate their managerial superiority or potential. Less information asymmetry and earnings management would lead to the disclosure of informative accounting information and would subsequently assist investors in making efficient decisions.Originality/valueThe contribution of the study lies in the fact that Greece is a particular case because it is a “rules‐based” code‐law country that involves high levels of standardisation and that has adopted IFRSs that are “principles‐based” and involve flexibility in financial reporting and judgment. Also, financial reporting in Greece is less restrictive in terms of disclosure requirements. The findings of the study are useful for financial analysts and investors, as they enable them to understand the financial attributes and motives of firms that provide voluntary disclosures as well as their earnings management inclination.
Does other information improve the usefulness of management earnings forecasts for analysts?
Authors: Blouin Marie C. 
Published: February 2012

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate whether other information included with management earnings forecasts can help analysts to formulate better earnings predictions.Design/methodology/approachThis study uses ordinary least squares regression analysis of 373 management earnings forecasts and compares changes in analyst forecast characteristics surrounding the release of a management forecast of earnings from the same firms which sometimes include other information with their forecasts and sometimes do not.FindingsAnalysts make larger forecast revisions when other information is included with a surprising management earnings forecast, especially if the forecast contains good news. This information reduces subsequent analyst forecast error for firms with negative earnings.Research limitations/implicationsResults of this study may not extend to smaller firms or to firms that have disclosure policies of always including other information with their forecasts.Originality/valuePrior research has yielded mixed results on whether other information included with management forecasts of earnings is useful to the market directly by examining stock market reactions to forecast announcements. This study reveals that this information may be useful to the market through the filter of financial analysts since they are able to use the other information in management forecasts to improve their own predictions.
Long term versus warm phase, part I: hurricane frequency analysis
Authors: Daneshvaran Siamak , Haji Maryam 
Published: February 2012

PurposeBy reviewing recent literature, it is noticeable that considerable attention has been given to the relationship between all Atlantic hurricanes and those that make landfall in the USA. However, less research has been done regarding landfall frequency and identifying spatial areas that are statistically more likely to produce landfalling hurricanes. The purpose of this paper is to provide a better prediction method for US landfalling hurricanes.Design/methodology/approachThis work is based on the hypothesis that landfall variations along the US coast can be better explained in terms of hurricane origination points over more susceptible areas on the North Atlantic Ocean. Simulation techniques are used to spatially quantify the landfall probability.FindingsResults indicate the existence of a landfall corridor in the Atlantic Basin, which explains some of the variances observed in the landfall process. Two different hypotheses of climate are examined. A long‐term assumption is based on the historical data from 1940 to 2010. The second assumption is based on the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation. Since 1995, we are in a warm phase and we assume that sea surface temperatures remain warmer than the long‐term average over the next several years. Results indicate that the average increase on landfall frequency is about 13 per cent.Originality/valueThis paper is the first paper that introduces the concept of landfall origination corridor. It spatially identifies the differences between long term and warm phase of the atmosphere in terms of US landfall occurrence using hurricane origination points.
Long term versus warm phase, part II: hurricane loss analysis
Authors: Daneshvaran Siamak , Haji Maryam 
Published: February 2012

PurposeIn general, the insurance industry accepts large risks due to the frequency and severity of extreme events. Because of the short record on hazard data for such events, a large amount of uncertainty has to be dealt with. Given this large uncertainty it is important to better quantify the hazard parameters that are defined as inputs to the catastrophe models. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the hurricane risk from loss point of view in the USA for both long‐term and warm phase conditions using a simulation‐based stochastic model.Design/methodology/approachA Poisson process is used to simulate the occurrence of events for both conditions. The generated event‐sets were used along with vulnerability and cost models to estimate the loss to an insurance industry portfolio. The paper discusses the statistics of events categorized by the Saffir‐Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale, annualized and return period losses and compares the results for both assumed long‐term and warm phase climate states.FindingsThe analysis shows that the population of landfall data for the two climate conditions is not statistically different. However, if we accept that a difference in the frequency of landfall occurrence between the two assumptions exists, the increase in average annual loss is about 17 per cent.Originality/valueThis paper provides insights to the difference between the two states of atmosphere from the point of view of insured losses for hurricanes and is one of the first papers that offers conclusion on the uncertainty associated with the warm phase data.
Determinants of narrative risk disclosures in UK interim reports
Authors: Elzahar Hany , Hussainey Khaled 
Published: February 2012

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to contribute to the existing disclosure literature by examining the determinants of narrative risk information in the interim reports for a sample of UK non‐financial companies.Design/methodology/approachThis study uses the manual content analysis to measure the level of risk information in interim report narrative sections prepared by 72 UK companies. It also uses the ordinary least squares regression analysis to examine the impact of firm‐specific characteristics and corporate governance mechanisms on narrative risk disclosures.FindingsThe empirical analysis shows that large firms are more likely to disclose more risk information in the narrative sections of interim reports. In addition, the analysis shows that industry activity type is positively associated with levels of narrative risk disclosure in interim reports. Finally, the analysis shows statistically insignificant impact of other firm‐specific characteristics (liquidity, gearing, profitability, and cross‐listing) and corporate governance mechanisms on narrative risk disclosure.Practical implicationsThe study's findings have practical implications. It informs investors about the characteristics of UK companies that disclose risk information in their interim reports. For example, the findings show that narrative risk disclosures are affected by firm size and industry type rather than firms' risk levels (e.g. financing risk measured by the gearing ratio or liquidity risk measured by lower liquidity ratios). Practical implications for managers from these findings are that, in order to keep investors satisfied, companies with high levels of financing and liquidity risks should look at investors' demands for risk disclosure. This will help investors when making their investment decisions.Originality/valueThe determinants of narrative risk disclosure in interim reports have not been explored so clearly in prior research and, therefore, this paper is the first of its kind to examine this research issue for a sample of UK companies.
Measuring risk and financial support for NPPs using Monte Carlo simulation
Authors: Piranfar Hosein , Masood Omar 
Published: February 2012

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to work out the risk of cost overruns in nuclear power plants (NPPs) and its mitigation through public financial support.Design/methodology/approachThe stochastic process of overruns is simulated and compared with the private company investment to work out the amount of subsidy.FindingsAt higher levels of risk proportionately more public finance is sucked in.Research limitations/implicationsInternational comparison would be valuable.Practical implicationsThe paper could provide useful guidance in developing countries regarding how to work out the public or international subsidy.Social implicationsPeople may justifiably resist the public subsidy for a foreign investor.Originality/valueThe original calculation using Matlab will certainly be of value.
To be or not: feeding information in standard minority games
Authors: Corelli Angelo 
Published: February 2012

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to analyse a standard grand canonical minority game (MG).Design/methodology/approachAgents are divided into two groups: speculators, who trade adaptively, and producers who trade deterministically. Information acts on the amount of the two types in the system, modifying the share.FindingsWhen the system is out of equilibrium, stylized facts arise, such as fat tailed distribution of returns and volatility clustering. If speculators abandon price taking behavior, stylized facts disappear.Originality/valueThe modified MG presented here is able to reproduce qualitatively a whole range of stylized facts. Most importantly, its quite rich behavior can be studied analytically.
New venture start‐ups and technological innovation
Authors: Blazenko George W. , Pavlov Andrey D. , Eddy‐Sumeke Freda 
Published: February 2012

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to compare investment in innovation (e.g. R&D) between new venture start‐ups before commercialization and operating businesses after commercialization.Design/methodology/approachReal options methods were used to model a new venture start‐up as a perpetual call option on an operating business that grows with R&D. The operating business uses R&D to improve actual earnings while the start‐up uses R&D to improve prospective earnings. When the start‐up entrepreneur commercializes his/her new product, device, or service with conventional investment (e.g. plant, property, and equipment to begin production), prospective earnings convert into actual earnings.FindingsThe ability of the start‐up entrepreneur to avoid commercialization costs upon failed R&D makes R&D more valuable to the start‐up entrepreneur than to the manager of the already operating business (for whom commercialization costs are sunk) and despite R&D costs that the start‐up incurs without the revenues that only commercialization generates. The value of R&D to the start‐up can be so great that the entrepreneur invests in R&D before the manager of an otherwise similar operating business in similar business conditions.Originality/valueWithout favoring eithera priori, the authors show that under broad circumstances, a new venture start‐up undertakes R&D before an already operating business. The authors also discuss the empirical implications of the results.
Combining structural models and accounting‐based models for measuring credit risk in real estate companies
Authors: Samuel Baixauli J. , Alvarez Susana , Módica Antonina 
Published: February 2012

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to, first, analyse to what extent the default probability based on structural models provides additional information and that accounting ratios do not contemplate. Second, to design hybrid models by including the default probability from structural models as explanatory variable, in addition to accounting ratios, in order to evaluate the differences in the accuracy of default predictions using an accounting‐based model and a hybrid model.Design/methodology/approachThe authors calculated the scores from the accounting models annually during the period from 2003 to 2007 and estimated several structural models.FindingsThe results show that the market information obtained from the structural models includes additional information not reflected in the accounting information. Also, it can be concluded that including default probability from structural models as an explanatory variable allows the out‐sample predictive capacity of accounting‐based models to be improved.Practical implicationsThe study highlights the importance of combining a structural model with an accounting model rather than expending energy on determining which of the two provides a greater predictive capacity. In fact, recent literature demonstrates no superiority of one approach over the other because both approaches capture different aspects related to the risk of bankruptcy in companies and they should be combined to improve credit risk management.Originality/valueThis study expands on the existing literature on the probability of business failure in the real estate sector. The authors present a comparative analysis of the accuracy of default predictions using accounting‐based models and hybrid models which will consider the default probability implicit in market information.
Influence of creativity and knowledge sharing on performance
Authors: Wu Chao‐Sen , Lee Cheng‐Jong , Tsai Li‐Fen 
Published: February 2012

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the influence of technological creativity for sports and knowledge sharing on individual performance, and to analyze the correlation among creativity for sports technologies, knowledge sharing, and individual performance, via the mediating effect of athletes' self‐efficacy.Design/methodology/approachThis study selected 250 current athletes, including tennis players, track and field athletes, volleyball players, etc. as the subjects. Statistical methods, such as Cronbach's α, factor analysis, Pearson's correlation, regression analysis, and path analysis, were used to perform analyses.FindingsIt was found that among the technological creativity for sports, athletes' creativity and analytic capacity had significant positive influence on task performance and team performance in athletes' individual performance. In other words, the improvement in athletes' self‐efficacy may improve their creativity and level of technological capacity, which further improves team performance and task performance.Originality/valueFor coaches it is necessary to constantly strengthen athletes' self‐efficacy and provide them with the space for the development of creativity and technological capacity in order to specifically improve their athletic performance. This study integrated relevant theories of technological creativity with those of self‐efficacy to investigate issues regarding improvements in athletes' performance. At present, there is a lack of relevant studies on technological creativity for sports. The research results can serve as a reference to future studies for continuous clarification of investigations into technological creativity for sports.