The short term debt vs. long term debt puzzle: a model for the optimal mix

This paper argues that the existing finance literature is inadequate with respect to its coverage of capital structure of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). In particular it is argued that the cost of equity (being both conceptually ill defined and empirically non quantifiable) is not applicable to the capital structure decisions for a large proportion of SMEs and the optimal capital structure depends only on the mix of short and long term debt. The paper then presents a model, developed by practitioners for optimising the debt mix and demonstrates its practical application using an Italian firm's debt structure as a case study

D8.4 – Second RAGE Evaluation Report

This document presents the results of the summative evaluation and validation studies carried out in WP8 of the RAGE project. Summative evaluation by definition represents evaluation at the end of the development process and aims at collecting information on the outcomes of the implementation. Correspondingly, the summative evaluations in RAGE aimed at obtaining a concluding statement and evidence on the quality and effects of the final versions of (a) the RAGE components, (b) the Ecosystem portal, and (c) the games at the end of the project. Overall, the summative evaluation studies have demonstrated the usefulness and potential benefits of the technologies and methodologies developed in the project for applied game development and for educational application, and argue for the usefulness and significance of the RAGE approach. In addition, valuable suggestions for further improvement or enrichment of the games, game components, and Ecosystem portal could be collected and, thus meaningful information and inspiration for future work beyond the RAGE project lifetime could be obtained

The forms of repetition in social and environmental reports: insights from Hume's notion of ?impressions?

This paper focuses on the use of repetition, both in narrative and visual forms, in social and environmental reports. It investigates the forms of repetition as a rhetorical device adopted by the preparer of a social and environmental report in helping the process of knowledge acquisition, as outlined by Hume (1739). Drawing from Hume?s (1739) philosophical idea of an ?impression?, and the work of Davison (2014a) we classify repetitions into ?identical?, ?similar? and ?accumulated? forms. It is argued that the rationale for distinguishing between the different forms of repetition can be linked to their different potential or intensity in acting on different stimuli with a view to enhance learning. The empirical element of this study is based on the stand-alone social and environmental reports of a sample of 86 cooperative banks in Northern Italy; the analysis of these reports indicates that repetition is widespread and that cooperative banks use all forms of repetition, albeit to a varying extent within the different reported themes. The paper contributes to the literature by offering an alternative interpretation of repetition using an interdisciplinary perspective and by providing new insights on social and environmental reporting practices in the cooperative banking sector

Niobium aggregation and vacancylike defect evolution in nanostructured Nb-doped Mg: Their role in the kinetics of the hydride-to-metal phase transformation

The structural evolution of nanostructured Nb-doped magnesium film samples and its correlation with the change of the H2 desorption kinetics after successive H2 sorption cycles at 623 K was investigated by different techniques. The variation of the dispersed Nb fraction and the Nb clusterization was followed by extended x-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS), while the progressive Mg nanostructuring was monitored by x-ray diffraction. The presence of vacancylike defects and their evolution was studied using positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy and Doppler broadening spectroscopies. It was found that, with successive H2 sorption cycles: (i) the H2 desorption kinetics progressively becomes slower until stationary conditions are reached and (ii) the Nb dopant atoms, dispersed in the nanocrystalline Mg layers, aggregate, forming nanoclusters. Our results show that the progressive Nb aggregation drives the H2 desorption kinetics. EXAFS analysis show that fast desorption kinetics is due to the presence of small (\u2dc1 nm) Nb aggregates rather than Nb atoms dispersed into the Mg matrix. With cycling, the Nb aggregates progressively grow, forming larger bcc Nb nanoclusters and the H2 desorption kinetics becomes slower. In the as-deposited Nb-doped Mg samples, analysis of the positron data reveals the presence of intragranular vacancylike defects and of vacancy clusters which are inferred to be mainly located at the grain boundaries of the nanocrystalline Mg layers. With H2 cycling: (i) a decrease of the atomic fraction of the intragranular vacancylike defects after the first two sorption cycles was observed, and (ii) an increase of the atomic fraction of vacancy clusters at grain boundaries and the appearance of vacancylike defects located at the interface between the Nb aggregates and the Mg matrix was probed. It was also found that the kinetics follows a nucleation and growth mechanism and, under stationary conditions, the Mg nucleation is controlled by vacancy-decorated bcc Nb nanoclusters rather than by vacancy clusters, as in undoped Mg samples