Earnings management and corporate social responsibility

By drawing on stakeholder-agency theory and the earnings management framework, we hypothesize a positive connection between corporate social responsibility and earnings management. We argue that earnings management damages the interests of stakeholders. Hence, managers who manipulate earnings can deal with stakeholder activism and vigilance by resorting to corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices. Furthermore, CSR is a powerful tool that can be used to garner support from stakeholders and, therefore, provides an avenue for entrenchment to those managers that manipulate earnings, so as to reduce significantly their chances of being fired. Finally, we expect that the positive connection between corporate social responsibility and financial performance is negatively moderated when combined with earnings management practices. We demonstrate empirically our theoretical contention by making use of a database comprising 593 firms from 26 nations for the period 2002-2004

Recent developments for the calculation of elastic and non-elastic breakup of weakly-bound nuclei

In this contribution, we review some recent theoretical advances for the calculation of breakup cross sections in reactions induced by weakly-bound nuclei.Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad FIS2013-41994-P, CSD2007-00042Junta de Andalucía FQM160, P07-FQM-02894European Commission 60037

Core excitation effects in the breakup of halo nuclei

The role of core excitation in the structure and dynamics of two-body halo nuclei is investigated. We present calculations for the resonant breakup of 11Be on protons at an incident energy of 63.7 MeV/nucleon, where core excitation effects were shown to be important. To describe the reaction, we use a recently developed extension of the DWBA formalism which incorporates these core excitation effects within the no-recoil approximation. The validity of the no-recoil approximation is also examined by comparing with DWBA calculations which take into account core recoil. In addition, calculations with two different continuum representations are presented and compared.Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación FIS2011-28738-c02-01, FPA2009- 07653, FPA2009-08848, CSD2007-00042Junta de Andalucía FQM160, P07-FQM-0289

School life, from episteme to doxa. Findings from a case study

Se presenta una síntesis general de las conclusiones extraídas en un trabajo de investigación desarrollado en el marco del Máster Universitario en Profesorado en Enseñanza Secundaria Obligatoria y Bachillerato, Formación Profesional y Enseñanzas de Idiomas (MAES), de la Universidad de Sevilla. En concreto esta investigación se ha centrado en la problemática de la convivencia escolar utilizando como instrumento de análisis el constructo discurso-realidad. Esto supuso hacer una comparación entre dos objetos de estudio: por una parte, un conjunto de textos curriculares y organizativos seleccionados específicamente por constituir el marco legislativo del contexto escolar estudiado; y, por otra, la situación de convivencia real existente en un Centro Público de Secundaria de la ciudad de SevillaWe present an overview of the conclusions drawn in a research developed under the Master in Secondary School Teaching, Baccalaureate, Job Training and Language Teaching (MAES) of the University of Seville. Specifically, this research has focused on the problem of school life using as an analytical tool the speech-reality construct. This concerned a comparison between two objects of study: first, a set of curricular and organizational texts specifically selected because of constitute the legislative framework of the studied school context; secondly, the actual living situation existing in a public secondary school in Sevill

Adaptation of residential solar systems for domestic hot water (DHW) to hybrid organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) distributed generation

This is an open access article under the CC BY licenseAmong the portfolio of energy systems for local power generation, Organic Rankine cycles (ORCs) for residential applications are an opportunity for local cogeneration based on synergies with existing thermal heating and storage systems. They can be highly competitive for isolated installations and the refurbishment of existing solar heating installations based on solar domestic hot water. This article evaluates the potential for hybrid solar ORC integration in residential buildings. The analyses focus on the annual yields of a domestic 1 kW ORC cycle to assess the advantages and disadvantages of the variation of demand and the availability of solar resources. The models are developed, integrating TRNSYS and EES to allow a detailed evolution characterisation. Performance and impact of CHP adaptation are considered based on demand, storage volume-collectors area ratio, and production strategies. The analysis is completed with a thermo-economic analysis under different ranges of thermodynamic parameters. Positive IRR results of 8.61% are obtained for the installation located in Seville, Spain, operating the ORC 15% of the year. It also reduces the overheating associated with the lack of heat demand and excess solar irradiation in the solar system for the warm months by 20%.Fundación de Investigación de la Universidad de Sevilla FIUS20/012

Learning Bayesian network classifiers for multidimensional supervised classification problems by means of a multiobjective approach

A classical supervised classification task tries to predict a single class variable based on a data set composed of a set of labeled examples. However, in many real domains more than one variable could be considered as a class variable, so a generalization of the single-class classification problem to the simultaneous prediction of a set of class variables should be developed. This problem is called multi-dimensional supervised classification. In this paper, we deal with the problem of learning Bayesian net work classifiers for multi-dimensional supervised classification problems. In order to do that, we have generalized the classical single-class Bayesian network classifier to the prediction of several class variables. In addition, we have defined new classification rules for probabilistic classifiers in multi-dimensional problems. We present a learning approach following a multi-objective strategy which considers the accuracy of each class variable separately as the functions to optimize. The solution of the learning approach is a Pareto set of non-dominated multi-dimensional Bayesian network classifiers and their accuracies for the different class variables, so a decision maker can easily choose by hand the classifier that best suits the particular problem and domain

Alteraciones patológicas y prevalencia de Trypanosoma cruzi en zarigüeyas en el occidente de México

There are scarce reports about lesions and pathological alterations by Trypanosoma cruzi infections on opossums (Didelphis virginiana), considered some of the most important reservoir hosts for T. cruzi in western Mexico. After two serological analyses (Serodia and IHA), 12 (24%) of 50 collected opossums in two small towns in western Mexico were positive for the presence of T. cruzi. Eight had some kind of organ alterations: four with alterations in only one organ, three in two organs and one with alterations in three organs. Splenomegaly was the most common alteration in the examined opossums. In light of the present findings, it is possible that organ alterations on studied opossums may have been associated with T. cruzi infections.Hay escasos informes sobre lesiones y alteraciones patológicas de las infecciones por Trypanosoma cruzi en zarigüeyas (Didelphis virginiana), consideradas algunos de los reservorios más importantes para T. cruzi en el oeste de México. Utilizando de dos análisis serológicos (Serodia e IHA), 12 (24%) de 50 zarigüeyas capturadas en dos pequeños pueblos en el occidente de México fueron positivas para la presencia de T. cruzi. Ocho tenían algún tipo de alteraciones de órganos: cuatro con alteraciones en un solo órgano, tres en dos órganos y uno con alteraciones en tres órganos. La esplenomegalia fue la alteración más común en las zarigüeyas examinadas. A la luz de los actuales resultados, es posible que las alteraciones de órganos en zarigüeyas estudiadas, puedan haber estado asociadas con las infecciones por T. cruz

A New Methodology for Decision-Making in Buildings Energy Optimization

[Abstract] When designing or retrofitting a building, not too many tools let architects and engineers to define the optimal conditions to reduce energy consumption with the minimal economic investment. This is because different software resources must be employed and an iterative calculation must be done which, most of times, is not possible. The present study aims to define an original methodology that let researchers and architects to select the best option between different possibilities. To reach this objective, Monte Carlo method is employed on the ISO 13790 standard reaching the probability distribution of the energy consumption of each building after each possible modification. From main results, two mathematical models were obtained from a real case study showing the relation between annual energy consumption and economic investment of each different building retrofits. What is more, in disagreement with the expected result, the best retrofit option was not the one with the highest cost and qualities. In conclusion, this methodology can be a useful tool for researchers and professionals to improve their decision-making