Large-N Baryons, Chiral Loops, and the Emergence of the Constituent Quark

Meson loop corrections to baryon axial currents are computed in the 1/N expansion. It is already known that the one-loop corrections are suppressed by a factor 1/N; here it is shown that the two-loop corrections are suppressed by (1/N)^2. To leading order, these corrections are exactly what would be calculated in the constituent quark model. Some applications are discussed

Disclosure Of Nonaudit Services Fees: Perceptions Of Investors And Accounting Professionals

This study examines investors’ and accounting professionals’ perceptions related to the necessity and form of disclosure of nonaudit service (NAS) fees pursuant to the Security and Exchange Commission’s Final Rule on auditor independence. A between-subjects design was used to examine participants’ opinions as to the need for disclosure of the performance of NAS and the particular form of disclosure that was preferred. The design incorporated four types of NAS (actuarial services, internal audit outsourcing, legal services, and software training), two levels of materiality (40 percent and 3 percent), and three categories of participants (non-Big 5 CPA firm professionals, Big 5 CPA firm professionals, and investors). A larger percentage of investors favored disclosure of NAS fees than either non-Big 5 CPA firm professionals or Big 5 CPA firm professionals. In addition, of those who favored disclosure, investors favored disclosure of the amount of NAS along with the total audit fees, regardless of the amount, while non-Big 5 CPA firm professionals and Big 5 CPA firm professionals both favored disclosure of the amount of NAS alone and only if those services exceeded a specified threshold. The investor results lend support to the SEC’s revised auditor independence rules

GJ 581 update: Additional Evidence for a Super-Earth in the Habitable Zone

We present an analysis of the significantly expanded HARPS 2011 radial velocity data set for GJ 581 that was presented by Forveille et al. (2011). Our analysis reaches substantially different conclusions regarding the evidence for a Super-Earth-mass planet in the star's Habitable Zone. We were able to reproduce their reported \chi_{\nu}^2 and RMS values only after removing some outliers from their models and refitting the trimmed down RV set. A suite of 4000 N-body simulations of their Keplerian model all resulted in unstable systems and revealed that their reported 3.6\sigma detection of e=0.32 for the eccentricity of GJ 581e is manifestly incompatible with the system's dynamical stability. Furthermore, their Keplerian model, when integrated only over the time baseline of the observations, significantly increases the \chi_{\nu}^2 and demonstrates the need for including non-Keplerian orbital precession when modeling this system. We find that a four-planet model with all of the planets on circular or nearly circular orbits provides both an excellent self-consistent fit to their RV data and also results in a very stable configuration. The periodogram of the residuals to a 4-planet all-circular-orbit model reveals significant peaks that suggest one or more additional planets in this system. We conclude that the present 240-point HARPS data set, when analyzed in its entirety, and modeled with fully self-consistent stable orbits, by and of itself does offer significant support for a fifth signal in the data with a period near 32 days. This signal has a False Alarm Probability of <4% and is consistent with a planet of minimum mass of 2.2 Earth-masses, orbiting squarely in the star's Habitable Zone at 0.13 AU, where liquid water on planetary surfaces is a distinct possibilityComment: 15 pages, 7 figures, 10 tables, to appear in Astronomische Nachrichten (Astronomical Notes), published version available on-line on July 20, 201

The influence of firm performance and (level of) assurance on the believability of management’s environmental report.

Purpose – This study empirically examines perceptions of environmental report believability based on a firm’s relative performance and level of assurance obtained on environmental activities under the recently clarified and recodified attestation standards in the United States. Design/methodology/approach – The paper uses a 2 3 3 between-subjects experiment to identify differences in 153 non-expert environmental report users’ perceptions of report believability based on positive or negative firm performance and (level of) assurance provided by an accounting firm. Findings – Results show a main effect in that negative performance reports are perceived to be more believable than positive performance reports, as driven by negative performance reports being significantly more believable when no assurance is present. The firm performance effect is eliminated once limited or reasonable assurance is provided. Further, positive performance reports with limited, but not reasonable, assurance are perceived to be more believable than reports without assurance. No differences are identified within the negative performance condition. Practical implications – Limited assurance might be used as an impression management tool to enhance the believability of positive performance environmental reports. Users, practitioners, and standard-setters should also be aware that users might believe environmental reports are assured, even when no such assurance has been provided. Originality/value – This paper examines the impact of assured environmental reporting on users that review firms’ environmental reports outside of a shareholder/investor role. The study also demonstrates conditions in which firm performance and assurance impact perceptions of report believability

The influence of firm performance and (level of) assurance on the believability of management’s environmental report

Purpose – This study empirically examines perceptions of environmental report believability based on a firm’s relative performance and level of assurance obtained on environmental activities under the recently clarified and recodified attestation standards in the United States. Design/methodology/approach – The paper uses a 2 3 3 between-subjects experiment to identify differences in 153 non-expert environmental report users’ perceptions of report believability based on positive or negative firm performance and (level of) assurance provided by an accounting firm. Findings – Results show a main effect in that negative performance reports are perceived to be more believable than positive performance reports, as driven by negative performance reports being significantly more believable when no assurance is present. The firm performance effect is eliminated once limited or reasonable assurance is provided. Further, positive performance reports with limited, but not reasonable, assurance are perceived to be more believable than reports without assurance. No differences are identified within the negative performance condition. Practical implications – Limited assurance might be used as an impression management tool to enhance the believability of positive performance environmental reports. Users, practitioners, and standard-setters should also be aware that users might believe environmental reports are assured, even when no such assurance has been provided. Originality/value – This paper examines the impact of assured environmental reporting on users that review firms’ environmental reports outside of a shareholder/investor role. The study also demonstrates conditions in which firm performance and assurance impact perceptions of report believability

Microsofts Monopoly: Anti-Competitive Behavior, Predatory Tactics, And The Failure Of Governmental Will

Thirty years ago, Microsoft Corp. was founded by Bill Gates and Paul Allen.  To understand how the company has gained competitive advantage we examine how the company used unfair, anti-competitive, and predatory approaches in their business.  We discuss how we have come to the belief that the government settlement in United States and State of New York, et al., v. Microsoft Corporation imposing restrictions on Microsoft’s behavior and monitoring its actions for compliance is not enough to keep it from abusing its monopolistic power and does too little to prevent it from dominating the software and operating system industry today

Monitoring the Accounting Profession under the AICPA Code of Professional Conduct: An Analysis of State Board of Accountancy Participation

We study state board of accountancy participation in monitoring the conduct of accounting professionals under the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants’ (AICPA) Code of Professional Conduct (CPC). In doing so, we examine all sanctions imposed by the AICPA under its CPC from 2008 to 2016 to determine the extent to which a state board’s reporting of violations to the AICPA is associated with its full, partial, or non-adoption of the AICPA’s CPC. Our findings suggest that widespread full adoption of the AICPA’s CPC might not result in enhanced state board participation in reporting violations to the AICPA, as might otherwise be expected. Indeed, we find that state boards that partially adopt the AICPA’s CPC report the most violations. We also highlight the variability of state board participation in monitoring the misconduct of accounting professionals and provide suggestions for enhanced monitoring