Ascertaining the impact of endogenous and exogenous factors on the performance of students taking non-specialist accounting courses

This study aims to evaluate the potential determinants of academic performance of non-specialist accounting students. Considering both actual and initially expected performance, in conjunction with students’ learning styles and preferences, we use two econometric methods - Ordinal Probit and Ordinary Least Squared - in order to investigate and assess the impact of endogenous and the exogenous factors on the students’ academic achievement. Eventually, based on the results of our estimations, and by dividing the non-specialist students into segments, according to their demographic characteristics, we run a series of simulations to estimate empirically the likelihood of the students to report an academic performance weaker, in line, better, and considerably better than what they expected

When Sex Doesn't Sell: Using Sexualized Images of Women Reduces Support for Ethical Campaigns

This is the final version. Available on open access from Public Library of Science via the DOI in this recordImages of scantily clad women are used by advertisers to make products more attractive to men. This “sex sells” approach is increasingly employed to promote ethical causes, most prominently by the animal-rights organization PETA. Yet sexualized images can dehumanize women, leaving an unresolved paradox – is it effective to advertise an ethical cause using unethical means? In Study 1, a sample of Australian male undergraduates (N = 82) viewed PETA advertisements containing either sexualized or non-sexualized images of women. Intentions to support the ethical organization were reduced for those exposed to the sexualized advertising, and this was explained by their dehumanization of the sexualized women, and not by increased arousal. Study 2 used a mixed-gender community sample from the United States (N = 280), replicating this finding and extending it by showing that behaviors helpful to the ethical cause diminished after viewing the sexualized advertisements, which was again mediated by the dehumanization of the women depicted. Alternative explanations relating to the reduced credibility of the sexualized women and their objectification were not supported. When promoting ethical causes, organizations may benefit from using advertising strategies that do not dehumanize women.Australian Research Counci

Does understanding individuals require idiographic judgement?

Idiographic understanding has been proposed as a response to concern that criteriological diagnosis cannot capture the nature of human individuality. It can seem that understanding individuals requires, instead, a distinct form of ‘individualised’ judgement and this claim receives endorsement by the inventor of the term ‘idiographic’, Wilhelm Windelband. I argue, however, that none of the options for specifying a model of individualised judgement, to explain what idiographic judgement might be, will work. I suggest, at the end, that narrative, rather than idiographic, understanding is a more promising response to the limitations of criteriological diagnosis

An empirical evaluation of the impact of agency conflicts on the association between corporate governance and firm financial performance

Purpose: The study aims to predict and understand the conditions under which the association between corporate governance and a company's financial performance is positive or meaningful by empirically accounting for agency conflicts. This study is motivated by the fact that the separation between ownership and control creates agency conflicts between company owners and managers. Therefore, strong corporate governance systems are expected to align the interests of conflicting parties whereby companies become more likely to improve their financial performance. However, previous research did not yield consistent results in this regard. Design/methodology/approach: Given the latent nature of corporate governance and agency conflicts, this study uses principal component and exploratory factor analyses to proxy for corporate governance and agency conflicts, respectively. Using dynamic panel data modelling, the authors estimate the change in the relationship between corporate governance and a company's financial performance as a function of the change in the level of agency conflict using data from the UK on 78 non-financial companies listed in the Financial Times Stock Exchange 100 (FTSE100) index between 1999 and 2014. Findings: The corporate governance quality of companies is significantly differed. Moreover, companies operating at high levels of agency conflict outperform the companies' counterparts operating in low levels of agency conflict only when the former improves the corporate governance quality. This implies that financial performance improves by approximately 11% if companies improve corporate governance quality due to an increase in the level of agency conflicts. Research limitations/implications: Lack of data on ownership structure for the study period (1999–2014) was the main reason the authors excluded it from the analysis. Additionally, the lack of reliable and quantifiable corporate governance data on small-medium sized enterprises limits findings on large non-financial companies. Practical implications: The authors propose a framework/tool for the impact of the level of corporate governance compliance on financial performance conditional upon the level of agency conflicts whose importance has largely been neglected by the empirical literature. By providing the right “lens” to de-fragmentise the corporate governance mechanisms and estimate empirically the unobserved agency conflicts, researchers, practitioners and investors are able to get further insights on the composing elements of financial performance and evaluate it more objectively. Managers can allocate companies' resources more efficiently and thus improve financial performance. The auditors can get further background information when they compile their report on company's directors. The study's findings offer valuable suggestions for accounting and corporate governance regulators to further put forward and improve accounting standards so as to enhance existing regulations and internal mechanisms which, in turn, could decrease the scope for managerial opportunistic behaviour as the latter can be empirically estimated through our framework. Social implications: The findings point out the need for a revised framework accounting for the principal-agent (mis)alignment and the engrained information asymmetries. By acknowledging the level of corporate governance compliance and agency conflict, managers and shareholders should actively strive for the effectiveness of companies, the efficiency of the stock markets and the minimisation of the agency costs. Furthermore, policymakers can look into the development of a code of corporate governance to effectively regulate firms rather than enforcing rigid laws that may not be value relevant. With all these settings in place, the likelihood of corporate failures, corporate scandals as well as corporate violations with the ensuing penalties is set to be reduced. Hence, valuable resources, social capital and effort can be directed into more productive activities. Originality/value: This study adds to the existing literature by offering empirical and explicit evidence on the dynamic association between corporate governance, agency conflicts and financial performance against a backdrop of high demand for strong corporate governance practices/codes. To the best of the authors' knowledge, there is no study that has yet empirically examined the moderating effect of the level of agency conflicts, given the level of corporate governance compliance on financial performance for listed and internationally aligned companies

Evidence for a Weak Galactic Center Magnetic Field from Diffuse Low Frequency Nonthermal Radio Emission

New low-frequency 74 and 330 MHz observations of the Galactic center (GC) region reveal the presence of a large-scale (6\arcdeg\times 2\arcdeg) diffuse source of nonthermal synchrotron emission. A minimum energy analysis of this emission yields a total energy of $\sim (\phi^{4/7}f^{3/7})\times 10^{52}$ ergs and a magnetic field strength of $\sim 6(\phi/f)^{2/7}$ \muG (where $\phi$ is the proton to electron energy ratio and $f$ is the filling factor of the synchrotron emitting gas). The equipartition particle energy density is $1.2(\phi/f)^{2/7}$ \evcm, a value consistent with cosmic-ray data. However, the derived magnetic field is several orders of magnitude below the 1 mG field commonly invoked for the GC. With this field the source can be maintained with the SN rate inferred from the GC star formation. Furthermore, a strong magnetic field implies an abnormally low GC cosmic-ray energy density. We conclude that the mean magnetic field in the GC region must be weak, of order 10 \muG (at least on size scales \ga 125\arcsec).Comment: 12 pages, 1 JPEG figure, uses aastex.sty; Accepted for publication, ApJL (2005, published

Post-mortem as preventative medicine in Papua New Guinea: a case in point

A B S T R A C T Context: Sorcery-related killing and violence has increased in Papua New Guinea (PNG) in recent years. The international community has condemned the violence and a number of non-government organisations have called for action; however, effective and appropriate interventions at a community level remain elusive. It has been suggested within some communities and in the literature that post-mortems may help to reduce fears of sorcery and associated violence by providing an alternative biomedical explanation of death. Evidence to support this proposal, however, is limited. Issue: In 2012 the author was working in Ok Tedi Hospital, Tabubil, a remote mining town in the Star Mountains of PNG. The area is notable for a recent rise in sorcery-related violence and murders since 2009. In March 2012 a family from a nearby village requested a post-mortem following a relative's sudden death. They clearly stated that violence and killings against suspected perpetrators of sorcery had occurred due to a similar sudden death only a year before. As such they were concerned that the nature of their relative's death would rouse suspicions of sorcery and result in violence. The family hoped that a medical explanation of their relative's death would prevent rumours of sorcery developing and reduce the risk of violence against suspected perpetrators of sorcery. Lessons learned: The post-mortem, led by a consultant surgeon and performed in Ok Tedi Hospital, Tabubil, concluded that death was due to complications from an acute myocardial infarction. As requested these results were presented at the funeral to a congregation of approximately 80 people. Following the funeral presentation the author received feedback that fears of sorcery had been alleviated and during a 2-week follow-up period no related violence against suspected perpetrators of sorcery was observed. This case is a unique and intriguing example of biomedical and sociocultural integration in the Highlands of PNG. The presence of Ok Tedi Mine, which has provided wealth, education, transport and medical resources to the area for over 30 years, no doubt can partly explain the family's actions. For the family, however, a recent increase in sorcery-related violence would appear to be the primary reason for requesting a post-mortem. Whether these actions reduced suspicions of sorcery and the risk of subsequent © NR Haslam, 2015. A licence to publish this material has been given to James Cook University, http://www.rrh.org.au 2 violence as the family had anticipated is unclear. However, given a recent rise in post-mortem requests from regions of PNG with some of the highest rates of sorcery-related killings it seems prudent to further investigate the role of post-mortems in the prevention of sorcery-related violence and killings

Acoustic emission monitoring of a soil slope: comparisons with continuous deformation measurements

Acoustic emission (AE) has become an established approach to monitor the stability of soil slopes. However, the challenge has been to develop strategies to interpret and quantify deformation behaviour from the measured AE. This paper presents the first comparison of continuous AE (measured using an active waveguide) and continuous subsurface deformation measurements. The active waveguide is installed in a borehole through a slope and comprises a metal waveguide rod or tube with a granular backfill surround. When the host slope deforms, the column of granular backfill also deforms, generating AE that can propagate along the waveguide. This paper presents results from a field trial at a reactivated soil slope in North Yorkshire, UK. The measurements confirm that AE rates generated are directly proportional to the velocity of slope movement (e.g. the AE rate versus velocity relationship determined for a series of slope movement events produced an R 2 value of 0·8) and demonstrate the performance of AE monitoring of active waveguides to provide continuous information on slope displacements and displacement rates with high temporal resolution