Family Control and Financing Decisions

Empirical studies examining the financing decisions of the firm focus exclusively on publicly held firms, not family-controlled firms despite their economic importance. This study investigates the external financing behavior of family-controlled firms, using a comprehensive sample of 777 large European firms during the period 1998 to 2008. We document that, unlike nonfamily-controlled firms, the external financing decisions of family-controlled firms are influenced by control incentives and information asymmetry considerations. We find that family firms have a strong preference for debt financing, a noncontrol diluting security, while they are more reluctant to raise capital through equity offerings in comparison to nonfamily firms. We also find that credit markets, view family firms as more risk-averse and that family firms invest more in low-risk (fixed-asset capital expenditures (CAPEX)), than in high-risk investments (R&D expenditures) confirming their non-risk seeking behavior.Family firms, financing decisions, equity issues, debt issues, capital structure.

Distinguishing sequences for partially specified FSMs

Distinguishing Sequences (DSs) are used inmany Finite State Machine (FSM) based test techniques. Although Partially Specified FSMs (PSFSMs) generalise FSMs, the computational complexity of constructing Adaptive and Preset DSs (ADSs/PDSs) for PSFSMs has not been addressed. This paper shows that it is possible to check the existence of an ADS in polynomial time but the corresponding problem for PDSs is PSPACE-complete. We also report on the results of experiments with benchmarks and over 8 * 106 PSFSMs. © 2014 Springer International Publishing

Timed Implementation Relations for the Distributed Test Architecture

In order to test systems that have physically distributed interfaces, called ports, we might use a distributed approach in which there is a separate tester at each port. If the testers do not synchronise during testing then we cannot always determine the relative order of events observed at different ports and this leads to new notions of correctness that have been described using corresponding implementation relations. We study the situation in which each tester has a local clock and timestamps its observations. If we know nothing about how the local clocks relate then this does not affect the implementation relation while if the local clocks agree exactly then we can reconstruct the sequence of observations made. In practice, however, we are likely to be between these extremes: the local clocks will not agree exactly but we have some information regarding how they can differ. We start by assuming that a local tester interacts synchronously with the corresponding port of the system under test and then extend this to the case where communications can be asynchronous, considering both the first-in-first-out (FIFO) case and the non-FIFO case. The new implementation relations are stronger than implementation relations for distributed testing that do not use timestamps but still reflect the distributed nature of observations. This paper explores these alternatives and derives corresponding implementation relations

Generating a checking sequence with a minimum number of reset transitions

Given a finite state machine M, a checking sequence is an input sequence that is guaranteed to lead to a failure if the implementation under test is faulty and has no more states than M. There has been much interest in the automated generation of a short checking sequence from a finite state machine. However, such sequences can contain reset transitions whose use can adversely affect both the cost of applying the checking sequence and the effectiveness of the checking sequence. Thus, we sometimes want a checking sequence with a minimum number of reset transitions rather than a shortest checking sequence. This paper describes a new algorithm for generating a checking sequence, based on a distinguishing sequence, that minimises the number of reset transitions used.This work was supported in part by Leverhulme Trust grant number F/00275/D, Testing State Based Systems, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) of Canada grant number RGPIN 976, and Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council grant number GR/R43150, Formal Methods and Testing (FORTEST)

Search for Θ+(1540)\Theta^+(1540) pentaquark in high statistics measurement of γp→Kˉ0K+n\gamma p \to \bar K^0 K^+ n at CLAS

The exclusive reaction $\gamma p \to \bar K^0 K^+ n$ was studied in the photon energy range between 1.6-3.8 GeV searching for evidence of the exotic baryon $\Theta^+(1540)\to nK^+$. The decay to $nK^+$ requires the assignment of strangeness $S=+1$ to any observed resonance. Data were collected with the CLAS detector at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 70 $pb^{-1}$. No evidence for the $\Theta^+$ pentaquark was found. Upper limits were set on the production cross section as function of center-of-mass angle and $nK^+$ mass. The 95% CL upper limit on the total cross section for a narrow resonance at 1540 MeV was found to be 0.8 nb.Comment: Submitted to Physical Review Letter

Q^2 Dependence of the S_{11}(1535) Photocoupling and Evidence for a P-wave resonance in eta electroproduction

New cross sections for the reaction $ep \to e'\eta p$ are reported for total center of mass energy $W$=1.5--2.3 GeV and invariant squared momentum transfer $Q^2$=0.13--3.3 GeV$^2$. This large kinematic range allows extraction of new information about response functions, photocouplings, and $\eta N$ coupling strengths of baryon resonances. A sharp structure is seen at $W\sim$ 1.7 GeV. The shape of the differential cross section is indicative of the presence of a $P$-wave resonance that persists to high $Q^2$. Improved values are derived for the photon coupling amplitude for the $S_{11}$(1535) resonance. The new data greatly expands the $Q^2$ range covered and an interpretation of all data with a consistent parameterization is provided.Comment: 31 pages, 9 figure

Measurement of Deeply Virtual Compton Scattering with a Polarized Proton Target

The longitudinal target-spin asymmetry A_UL for the exclusive electroproduction of high energy photons was measured for the first time in p(e,e'p\gamma). The data have been accumulated at Jefferson Lab with the CLAS spectrometer using 5.7 GeV electrons and a longitudinally polarized NH_3 target. A significant azimuthal angular dependence was observed, resulting from the interference of the Deeply Virtual Compton Scattering and Bethe-Heitler processes. The amplitude of the sin(phi) moment is 0.252 +/- 0.042(stat) +/- 0.020(sys). Theoretical calculations are in good agreement with the magnitude and the kinematic dependence of the target-spin asymmetry, which is sensitive to the generalized parton distributions H and H-tilde.Comment: Modified text slightly, added reference

First measurement of coherent ϕ\phi-meson photoproduction on deuteron at low energies

The cross section and decay angular distributions for the coherent \phi meson photoproduction on the deuteron have been measured for the first time up to a squared four-momentum transfer t =(p_{\gamma}-p_{\phi})^2 =-2 GeV^2/c^2, using the CLAS detector at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility. The cross sections are compared with predictions from a re-scattering model. In a framework of vector meson dominance, the data are consistent with the total \phi-N cross section \sigma_{\phi N} at about 10 mb. If vector meson dominance is violated, a larger \sigma_{\phi N} is possible by introducing larger t-slope for the \phi N \to \phi N process than that for the \gamma N \to \phi N process. The decay angular distributions of the \phi are consistent with helicity conservation.Comment: 6 page

Search for the Θ+\Theta^+ pentaquark in the reaction γd→pK−K+n\gamma d \to p K^- K^+ n

A search for the \thp in the reaction $\gamma d \to pK^-K^+n$ was completed using the CLAS detector at Jefferson Lab. A study of the same reaction, published earlier, reported the observation of a narrow \thp resonance. The present experiment, with more than 30 times the integrated luminosity of our earlier measurement, does not show any evidence for a narrow pentaquark resonance. The angle-integrated upper limit on \thp production in the mass range of 1.52 to 1.56 GeV/c$^2$ for the $\gamma d \to pK^-\Theta^+$ reaction is 0.3 nb (95% CL). This upper limit depends on assumptions made for the mass and angular distribution of \thp production. Using \lamstar production as an empirical measure of rescattering in the deuteron, the cross section upper limit for the elementary $\gamma n \to K^-\Theta^+$ reaction is estimated to be a factor of 10 higher, {\it i.e.}, $\sim 3$ nb (95% CL).Comment: 5 figures, submitted to PRL, revised for referee comment