The vanishing abnormal returns of momentum strategies and 'front-running' momentum strategies

We find variations in returns from momentum strategies. Unlike most studies, we form portfolios one week prior to the end of month, called 'front-running' momentum portfolios. As expected, due to the effects of institutional momentum trading, our 'front-running' portfolios generate returns of similar magnitude but lower volatility than month-end strategies. We also show that the previously documented large-firm momentum effect is sensitive to the strategy examined, and is attributable to the abnormal returns of large NASDAQ stocks. Moreover, momentum strategies did not earn significant returns during our sample period, an indication that momentum is not an unambiguously persistent anomaly

The distortionary effects of temporal aggregation on Granger causality

Economists often have to use temporally aggregated data in causality tests. A number of theoretical studies have pointed out that temporal aggregation has distorting effects on causal inference. This paper provides a quantitative assessment of the magnitude of the distortions created by temporal aggregation by plugging in theoretical cross covariances into the limiting values of leastsquares estimates. Some Monte Carlo results and an application are provided to assess the impact in small samples. It is observed that in general the most distorting causal inferences are likely at low levels of temporal aggregation. At high levels of aggregation, causal information concentrates in contemporaneous correlations. At present, a data-based approach is not available to establishthe direction of causality between contemporaneously correlated variables

Intellectual disability, sexuality and sexual abuse prevention:A study of family members and support workers

Background: People with intellectual disability experience difficulty forming intimate relationships and are prone to sexual exploitation and abuse. This study sought information from people involved in the care of adults with intellectual disability regarding how they supported them in the areas of sexuality, relationships and abuse prevention. Methods: Semistructured interviews and focus groups were held with 28 family members and paid support workers caring for adults with intellectual disabilities. Interviews and focus groups were audio recorded, transcribed, coded and analysed qualitatively. Results: Major themes emerging included views on sexuality and intellectual disability, consent and legal issues, relationships, sexual knowledge and education, disempowerment, exploitation and abuse, sexual health and parenting. Discussion: People with intellectual disability were described as lonely, disempowered and vulnerable to abuse. The sex industry, internet and mobile telephones were identified as new forms of risk. While this study looked at the views of both family members and support workers, the sample was too small to identify any meaningful differences between the two groups.</p

IS sustainability research:A trans-disciplinary framework for a ‘grand challenge’

To address the “grand challenge” of biosphere sustainability, it is imperative that weexamine the assumptions and philosophies underlying Information Systemssustainability research and expand research approaches. Despite calls for transdisciplinaryresearch and recognition that addressing sustainability will requiremultiple perspectives, a review of the IS sustainability literature finds that fewpublications incorporate knowledge or methods from outside traditional businesscentricboundaries. Drawing on a diverse range of IS and sustainability literature, wedevelop a trans-disciplinary framework for IS Sustainability Research (ISSR) based ona view of sustainability that recognizes the environment as a critical stakeholder ratherthan a collection of resources to be managed and exploited. We identify three broadareas of inquiry and representative research questions which address the connectionsbetween human activity, the natural capital of the biosphere, and the societal goals ofhuman-environment interactions through which ISSR can contribute to the grandchallenge of biosphere sustainability

Assurance of learning:Are academics and senior leaders singing from the same hymn sheet?

Assurance of learning (AoL) is an important process in quality education, designed to measure the accomplishment of educational aims at the core of an institution's programs, whilst encouraging faculty to continuously develop and improve the programs and courses. This paper reports on a study of Australian business schools to investigate current AoL practices through semi structured interviews with senior faculty leaders followed by focus group interviews with groups of senior program leaders and groups of academic teaching staff. Initial findings indicate there are significant challenges in encouraging academic staff to commit to the process and recognise the benefits of assuring learning. The differences in understanding between the various leaders and the academics were highlighted through the different focus groups. Leaders' stressed strategic issues such as staff engagement and change, while academics focussed on process issues such as teaching graduate attributes and external accreditation.Understanding the differences in the perspectives of leaders and faculty is important, as without a shared understanding between the two groups, there is likely to be limited engagement, which creates difficulties in developing effective assurance of learning processes. Findings indicate that successful strategies developed to foster shared values on assurance of learning include: strong senior leaders commitment; developing champions among program and unit level staff; providing professional development opportunities; promoting and celebrating success and effectiveness; and ensuring an inclusive process with academics of all levels collaborating in the development and implementation of the process.<br/

Extremal Optimisation Applied to Constrained Combinatorial Multi-Objective Optimisation Problems

Many real-world optimisation problems, both in the scientific and industrial world, can be classified as constrained combinatorial optimisation problems (CCOPs). Some of the most representative examples of these are: assignment, allocation, scheduling,timetabling, layout, design, routing and distribution problems. These sorts of problems usually have a considerable number of either integer or binary decision variables to which finite and discrete ranges of possible values are assigned. This assignation process has to take into account a set of capacity constraints that must be satisfied (e.g. weight, volume, workload, resources). Additionally, there exists an increasing demand in these sorts of problems to derive solutions that strike a balance between two or more desirable but incompatible objectives, such as maximising component strength while minimising component weight, maximising distance while minimizing resource consumption or maximising productivity while minimising runtime. These are commonly referred to as multi-objective problems. Constrained problems, either single or multi-objective, are difficult tasks to be modelled and solved by conventional mathematical techniques. As such, an important area of research is in the domain of novel meta-heuristics that can efficiently solve such problems

Optimised Conditioning Practices for Load Carriage Tasks

Protective service personnel are often required to carry loads as part of their occupation. Law enforcement officers, firefighters, and most notably, military personnel often carry loads of varying weight while have influenced the nature of warfare, reduced the available fighting strength of whole armies, and led to soldier injuries and mortalities in previous and current conflicts. While the initial risk prevention strategy would be to reduce the load, two millennia of history suggest that a reduction in combatant loads in the near future is unlikely. in fact, the absolute loads carried by soldiers are thought to be increasing with Australian, British, and American service personal carrying mean loads of over 45kg while on operations. on this basis, if the combatant's load (and indeed those of other protective services) cannot be reduced than every effort needs to be taken to prepare personnel to withstand the strain from carrying these loads. However, load carriage conditioning can lead to injuries if poor progression in training is used. Commanders and tactical facilitators need to endure that the conditioning measures taken to prepare personnel for load carriage tasks meets with evidence-based best practices. This requirement is vital if lead carriage conditioning is to be an effective risk prevention strategy, rather than a source of risk.Prior to the establishment of a specific conditioning dose and programming guidelines, key principles of conditioning need to be considered. These principles are specificity, reversibility, recovery, and overload

Creating tangible cultural learning opportunities for indigenous dance with motion detecting technologies

Witnessing and imitating a dance instructor facilitates improved learning opportunities compared with textual, auditory or video reproductions. Learning a complex dance from a verbal description is difficult, as spoken words are slow and cannot encapsulate all the details of a precise maneuver. Unfortunately, in a museum environment, visitors are not afforded the opportunity to become fully immersed in ancient and endangered forms of dance with a live instructor because having instructions inside the museum is not logistically feasible. Instead prerecorded video or paper-based images and notes are presented for perusal. This neither assists in the communication of the importance of this type of cultural heritage nor preserves the performances by passing on skills to future generations. The lack of knowledge transfer in this domain means each year many indigenous dances and their particular movements are lost in time as they become irrelevant and no longer practiced. This is a disgrace as cultural dance represents an expression, social interaction and sometime spiritual representation of a feeling or even an historical narrative in some cultures. It is an important part in understanding a culture, as much as the tangible that remains so highly soughtout by archeologists, yet dance, like other Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH), without human practice, cannot be preserved in the same manner. To address this issue, we propose herein a system using motion-sensing and gaming technology thatcan assist in the preservation and knowledge transfer of indigenous dances. GLIDE is an application based on motion detecting technology that targets children in a heritage-related environment in order to create awareness about indigenous dance movements. It will offer kinesthetic clarity and playfulness in a domain very much dominated by flat, non-interactive video content.</p

Assessing occupant comfort in an iconic sustainable education building

The building that houses the Mirvac School of Sustainable Development at Bond University is the first educational building to achieve a six Green Star rating from the Green Building Council of Australia. It has won numerous awards since opening in August 2008 including being judged the RICS (Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors) Sustainable Building of 2009. After more than two years in use a post-occupancy evaluation study was carried out to assess the performance of the building from the viewpoint of the users; both resident staff and transient students. Results for factors such as lighting, thermal comfort, noise and air quality were compared to benchmarks established by the Usable Buildings Trust. The evaluation also assessed the occupants' perceptions of the building's impact on their own productivity. Users generally find the building provides a comfortable work environment although a number of areas of performance were noted as posing some concerns. These included intrusive noise in some parts of the building and some issues with glare in daylit teaching spaces. Such concerns were found to be in accord with the results of previous studies and they highlight some recurrent problems in "green" buildings designed to maximise the use of natural ventilation and natural light. These design challenges and how occupant satisfaction is to be measured and benchmarked are also discussed in the context of this comparative building study.</p

Real-life reporting: Authentic journalism assessment, student motivation and active learning

There is a substantial body of literature detailing the advantages ofexperiential and authentic learning opportunities, and evidence that theyare common within tertiary journalism education. However, researchabout practical journalism assessment is limited (Steel, Carmichael,Holmes, Kinse &amp; Sanders, 2007). This paper uses Gulikers, Bastiaens andKirscher's (2004) Five-Point Framework for Authentic Assessment todesign a practical body of assessment for a Journalism Research Methodsclass. Although the level of support first-year journalism studentsrequired impacted on the fidelity of the exercise, students' reflections onthe experience support scholars' claims that authentic and experientialassessment opportunities increase motivation and prompt students toplay a more active role in learning