Web-Based Investor Relations Disclosures: a Communication Perspective

Using the Internet as a tool for carrying out investor relations disclosure was examined heavily in the last two decades. Prior studies examining corporate web-based practices regarding the disclosure of financial information followed a relatively similar pattern which viewed these practices as an electronic version of paper based disclosures. As a result, the disclosure of investor relations information on websites relied mainly on the content and presentation of information disclosed on the internet (as described by IASC, 1999 and FASB, 2000). However, the internet as a communication tool provides a rich environment by which companies can use it not only to disseminate information, but also to create a dialogue with investors and stakeholders, which as a result is expected to enhance transparency in the business environment and make investors more informative about corporate activities. The purpose of this paper is to provide a conceptual framework to assess corporate investor relations disclosure by blending the guidelines provided by IASC (1999), FASB (2000) with a communication essence that takes into account levels of communication the internet might provide for its users. Key Words: Investor Relations, Internet Financial Reporting, Financial Communication, Financial Reporting, Web Financial Reporting

Corporate Governance in Asia: A Comparative Study

The World Bank has done 10 Report on the Observance of Standards and Codes (ROSC) studies of corporate governance for Asi an countries. The template it used was based on the categories used in an Organisation for Economic Co operation and Development publication (OECD, 2004)

Financial Reporting and Corporate Governance in Developing Countries: A literature Review

Transparency is one of those terms that have many facets. It is used in different ways. It can refer to the openness of governmental functions. It can also refer to a country’s economy. Or it can refer to various aspects of corporate governance and financial reporting. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD, 1998) lists transparency as one element of good corporate governance. Kulzick (2004) and others (Blanchet, 2002; Prickett, 2002) view transparency from a user perspective. According to their view, transparency includes the following eight concepts: accuracy, consistency, appropriateness, completeness, clarity, time- liness, convenience, and governance and enforcement. This paper focuses on just one aspect of transparency – timeliness

Bacterial inhibition of Orobanche aegyptiaca and Orobanche cernuaradical elongation

The ability of different bacteria to inhibit Orobanche radical elongation was examined. Seeds of Orobanche aegyptiaca Pers. and O. cernua Loefl. were induced to germinate with the Growth Regulator GR24 in the presence or absence of test bacterium. Radical lengths were estimated microscopically on a scale relative to seed length (0 5 seed lengths) after 5 days of incubation at 258C. The results indicated that Pseudomonas aeruginosa QUBC1, P. fluorescens QUBC3, Bacillus atrophaeus QUBC16, and B. subtilis QUBC18 significantly inhibited radical elongation (P50.01) of both O. aegyptiaca and O. cernua relative to control radicals, whereas Microbacterium hydrocarbonoxydans QUBC11 and Ochrobactrum anthropi QUBC13 showed less inhibitory effects. Other bacterial isolates had no inhibitory effects. Bacterial isolates were identified using the universal method in addition to morphological and biochemical features. The establishment of the inhibitory effect of the most promising isolates, B. atrophaeus QUBC16 and P. aeruginosa QUBC1 on radical elongation of both Orobanche spp. is a step towards utilizing such bacteria as biocontrol agents against O. aegyptiaca, O. cernua, and potentially other Orobanche species.This work was supported by DFG grant 885-2341 and Al-Quds University

Spectrophotometric determination of fluoride in drinking water using aluminium complexes of triphenylmethane dyes

A sensitive spectrophotometric determination of fluoride in drinking water has been developed using aluminium complexes of triphenylmethane dyes (chrome azurol B and malachite green) as spectrophotometric reagents. The method allowed a reliable determination of fluoride in the range of 0.5–4.0 mg·l-1 for chrome azurol B and 0.0–2.0 mg·l-1 for malachite green. The molar absorptivity for the complexes of chrome azurol B at 582 nm and malachite green at 622 nm is 1.44 × 104 and 2.56 × 104 l·mol-1·cm-1, respectively. The sensitivity, detection limit, quantitation limit, and percentage recovery for 1.5 mg·l-1 fluoride for the method using chrome azurol B were found to be 0.125 ± 0.003 µg·ml-1, 0.2 mg·l-1, 0.5 mg·l-1, and 97.1 ± 4.2, respectively, and for malachite green were 0.143 ± 0.002 µg·ml-1, 0.1 mg·l-1, 0.3 mg·l-1, and 97.9 ± 4.1, respectively

Corporate Governance System and Its Role in Activating Islamic Bank’s Management and Supervision

This paper examines corporate governance (CG) characteristics and relates them to earnings management (EM) behaviours in the context of a large emerging sector, Islamic banking industry. Main differences are found with regard to philosophical aspects, including objectives of the bank, natures of contract involved, key players in theCG practice as well as the relationships between the players. We verified that these aspects provide strong justification for an additional layer in the CG of an Islamic bank being the Shari'ah Supervisory Board (SSB). The mechanism and tools for the effective implementation of CG are relatively the same as the conventional system

Patient Satisfaction: Comparative Study between Joint Commission International Accredited and Non-accredited Palestinian Hospitals

Background: Patient satisfaction is one of the important indicators in the health system that should be considered when evaluating the quality of health services provided and the impact of accreditation systems. This study aims to assess the level of patient satisfaction in accredited and non-accredited hospitals in Palestine. Methods: Quantitative descriptive cross-sectional design used to compare patient satisfaction in two Palestinian hospitals. The researcher measured the patient satisfaction between October and November 2016 using the SERVQUAL tool to assess five dimensions of quality (reliability, assurance, tangibility, empathy and responsiveness). The sample size included was 332 inpatients, who were recruited by the researcher through convenient sampling method, and the data was analyzed using SPSS version 18. Results: The patients have a high level of satisfaction with a total mean of (4.34) out of (5) and a (0.70) standard deviation. The results indicated that there are statistically significant differences at the level (P ≤ 0.05) between the means of patient satisfaction relating to patient demographic characteristics (with the exception of gender), and also indicated that there are no statistically significant differences related to hospital characteristics. Moreover, for all satisfaction dimension patients have more satisfaction in non-accredited hospitals than accredited ones. Conclusion: The study indicated that there are no significant differences between the means of patient satisfaction attributed to accreditation status. The results reinforce that the patient perspective should also be given much importance in the health system, and certifies that it should be taken into consideration to ensure the quality of services provided by healthcare organizations

Estimation of the Cost of the Direct Damage on Human Resources Caused by Water Pollution

A set of simple models is proposed in this study to measure the cost of the direct effects of water pollution on human resources. Inductive reasoning is used while developing and applying the models on a hypothetical case to demonstrate the feasibility and practicability of the proposed models. By testing the validity and applicability of the proposed models, a professional accountant may recognize the accounting transactions tangibly in the financial statements of the polluted companies. This will improve the quality of companies’ financial reporting

Competitive Advantage of Palestinian Economy in Light of Porter Model

This paper examines work as guidance in formulating the relationship between Israeli and Palestinian Economy, in the context of fulfilling the requirements of Palestinian state as there are two scenarios related to trade relations between Palestinians & Israeli Economy, if it’s custom union or free trade area, the shape of this relation Consist a framework for Economic Policies for Palestinian state. By reason of the findings of Michael Porter in 1998, this research focused on the determinants of competitive advantage as written by Michael Porter is done. In determining if the Palestinian economy has improved through the years, the parameters used in 1998 were adopted. The researcher adopted the determinants used by Porter in his study of the Palestinian Economy in 1998. Using these as parameters, the programs under the different areas in the PIF was assessed to come up with a paradigm to establish a competitive advantage for the State of Palestine based on the different areas of investment

Overview of the Basel Capital Adequacy Framework

This paper examines Capital Adequacy Framework that specifies the approaches for quantifying the Risk- Weighted Assets (RWA) for credit risk, market risk and operational risk. The computation of the risk-weighted assets is consistent with Pillar 1 requirements set out by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) and the Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB) in their respective documents - “International Convergence of Capital Measurement and Capital Standards: A Revised Framework” issued in June 2006 and the “Capital Adequacy Standard (CAS)” issued in December 2005. While the Bank believes that such customization could be justified, a pragmatic approach is adopted for implementation. Higher prudential requirements and risk management standards would be introduced gradually taking into consideration industry feedback during the consultation process