The Information Content of Earnings Announcements in Regulated and Deregulated Markets: The Case of the Airline Industry

Most of the accounting research examining the information content of earnings assumes a competitive market framework. Little research has been devoted to the value relevance of earnings announcements in regulated markets. This paper examines the information content of earnings releases under two economic conditions facing the airline industry: regulation and deregulation (i.e., competition). We hypothesize that in a deregulated (competitive) environment, there is greater competition, causing more risk and uncertainty for the investor in setting security prices. Therefore, earnings\u27 releases provide more useful information in resolving uncertainties and in formulating and revising the investor\u27s beliefs regarding future earnings and prices in deregulated than for regulated markets. Three critical event periods are examined: the regulation period (1973 - 1975), the transition period (1976 - 1978), and the deregulation period (1979 - 1981). A revaluation index (RI) and a standardized revaluation index (SRI) are used to examine the extent of airline stock price revaluation in response to quarterly accounting earnings releases during the three critical event periods. The results indicate that earnings announcements have value relevance in setting security prices in both regulated and deregulated market conditions. However, the level of the market revaluation to earnings releases is dependent on market structure. The market revaluation to earnings releases is greater in a deregulated (competitive) period than in a regulated one. This result confirms the hypothesis that earnings have more value relevance in competitive markets than in regulated ones. The findings of this research have direct implications for the level of accounting disclosure and the extent of financial reporting in a given market structure. Since financial reporting is a costly process, it becomes important to identify the circumstances under which the level of financial disclosure should be expanded or reduce

Student Engagement as a General Factor of Classroom Experience: Associations with Student Practices and Educational Outcomes in a University Gateway Course

The purpose of this study was to evaluate a model for considering general and specific elements of student experience in a gateway course in undergraduate Financial Accounting in a large university on the East Coast, USA. Specifically, the study evaluated a bifactor analytic strategy including a general factor of student classroom experience, conceptualized as student engagement as rooted in flow theory, as well as factors representing specific dimensions of experience. The study further evaluated the association between these general and specific factors and both student classroom practices and educational outcomes. The sample of students (N = 407) in two cohorts of the undergraduate financial accounting course participated in the Experience Sampling Method (ESM) measuring students' classroom practices, perceptions, engagement, and perceived learning throughout the one-semester course. Course grade information was also collected. Results showed that a two-level bifactor model fit the data better than two traditional (i.e., non-bifactor) models and also avoided significant multicollinearity of the traditional models. In addition to student engagement (general factor), specific dimensions of classroom experience in the bifactor model at the within-student level included intrinsic motivation, academic intensity, salience, and classroom self-esteem. At the between-student level, specific aspects included work orientation, learning orientation, classroom self-esteem, and disengagement. Multilevel Structural Equation Modeling (MSEM) demonstrated that sitting in the front of the classroom (compared to the sitting in the back), taking notes, active listening, and working on problems during class had a positive effect on within-student variation in student engagement and attention. Engagement, in turn, predicted perceived learning. With respect to between-student effects, the tendency to sit in front seats had a significant effect on student engagement, which in turn had a significant effect on perceived learning and course grades. A significant indirect relationship of seating and active learning strategies on learning and course grade as mediated by student engagement was found. Support for the general aspect of student classroom experience was interpreted with flow theory and suggested the need for additional research. Findings also suggested that active learning strategies are associated with positive learning outcomes even in educational environments where possibilities for action are relatively constrained