SERVICE QUALITY ATTRIBUTES AFFECTING THE SATISFACTION OF RAILWAY PASSENGERS OF SELECTIVE ROUTE IN SOUTHWESTERN PART OF BANGLADESH

With increased pace of urbanization and economic growth, attraction and dependency between different linking regions has also increased. Transportation have performed very crucial roles from very early accelerating the sharing of economic and development benefit of connecting spatial regions. Railway has been proved as a potential sector for drawing economic and development benefits for various countries. But less emphasis have been given in improvement of railway sector mainly in railway service in Bangladesh compare with road and which cause failed to draw proper economic benefit from the sector. This study has aimed to focus on the railway transportation sector and to develop a model defining the relationship between overall satisfaction and service quality attributes in a selective route from Khulna to Rajshahi in southwestern zone of Bangladesh so that it can reinforce further improvement process. Findings show that, overall service satisfaction depend on eight distinct service quality attributes. It implies the service with worst situation, overall satisfaction of service and need for priority improvement to support further orientation, addition and betterment of service to draw maximum economic and development benefit for those linking regions.Urbanization, Economic growth, Attraction, Linking region, Overall satisfaction

Managerial share ownership and discretionary accruals in Australia : do independent and executive directors have different incentives?

We examine the relation between managerial share ownership (MSO) and discretionary accruals in Australia. We find a positive relation between MSO and discretionary accruals up to a certain level of MSO followed by a negative relation (inverse U-shaped). We suggest that these unique results are a result of certain Australian institutional features that are markedly different to those in the US and the UK and imply that the ownership-discretionary accruals relation is context specific with the wider corporate governance systems influencing the theorised incentive effects. We also posit that executive directors and independent directors have different ownership-discretionary accruals incentives and report results consistent with this proposition.<br /

The value of executive director share ownership and discretionary accruals

Purpose &ndash; The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relation between the value of executive director share ownership and discretionary accruals.Design/methodology/approach &ndash; This study uses a dataset of 1,173 firm-year observations drawn from 188 Australian listed companies for the period 2000-2006. The analysis is based on multivariate regression analysis and ordinary least square models were used to investigate the relation between the value of managerial ownership and discretionary accruals. The issue of potential endogeneity is addressed by using a simultaneous equation system.Findings &ndash; A negative relation is found between value of managerial share ownership and discretionary accruals at lower levels of value of ownership, which is consistent with the theorised incentive alignment that as the managers commit more resources to their firms, stakeholders impose less contractual constraints specified in terms of accounting numbers and managers make lower accrual adjustments. After a certain level of value of ownership is attained, a positive relations seen, consistent with increased discretionary accrual adjustments associated with stakeholders anticipating managerial entrenchment. Also, it is found that these results are driven by firms with income increasing, as opposed to income decreasing, discretionary accruals.Practical implications &ndash; Shares and options are forming an increasing proportion of executive remuneration that continues to be the subject of much debate amongst regulators and in the media. Showing that the value of share ownership may be an effective internal governance mechanism to help align incentives adds to the debate and has policy implications.Originality/value &ndash; The paper\u27s primary contribution is finding that the value (as opposed to proportion) of share ownership, typically representing a sizeable proportion of managers\u27 undiversified wealth, is a potentially direct driver of theorised incentive alignment and entrenchment effects associated with share ownership

Corporate social responsibility disclosures and earnings quality: Are they a reflection of managers’ opportunistic behavior?

Purpose &ndash; This paper aims to explore the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosures and earnings quality proxied by earnings accruals. Specifically, we examine whether CSR disclosures are context-specific, that is, whether companies dominated by powerful stakeholders are obliged to behave in a responsible manner to constrain earnings management, thereby reporting higher-quality earnings to investors. Design/methodology/approach &ndash; This paper explores the relationship between CSR disclosures and earnings quality proxied by earnings accruals. Specifically, we examine whether CSR disclosures are context-specific, that is, whether companies dominated by powerful stakeholders are obliged to behave in a responsible manner to constrain earnings management, thereby reporting higher-quality earnings to investors. Findings &ndash; Results show that managers in an emerging economy manage earnings when they provide more CSR disclosures. Such earnings management is achieved through income increasing discretionary accruals. Furthermore, companies from export-oriented industries dominated by powerful stakeholders (international buyers) disclosing more CSR activities, provide transparent financial reports through constraining earnings management. Originality/value &ndash; The findings of this study are significant for both investors and policymakers. Investors should not take for granted that firms engage in CSR activities, behave ethically and provide transparent financial reports. As we document that firms might manipulate earnings through discretionary accruals and provide less transparent financial reports to shareholders, the credibility of firms&rsquo; CSR policies should be assessed with caution. Policies directing at promoting socially responsible practices instead of motivating the desired behaviour, may provide managers with additional incentives to utilise CSR for opportunistic behaviour. Thus, policymakers need to be cautious about this opportunistic behaviour and enhance monitoring to enforce social compliance. Possibly, some guidelines can be introduced to confirm that CSR disclosures are based on actual practice and not just a &ldquo;green wash&rdquo; statement to deceive stakeholders

Audit Committee: A Summary of the Findings of Some Existing Literature

This paper attempts to provide a summary of findings of the fast-growing theoretical and empirical literature on audit committee mainly basing on several available articles. Particular emphasis was given on the issues like the conflicts arising from the relationship between managers and shareholders, earnings management, formation of audit committee, auditors’ independence and quality of financial reporting and their relationship with audit committee. The study also aims at exploring the key success factors in the introduction and implementation of audit committees in the corporate world

Orbital Factory II: a 3D Printer CubeSat with Self-repairing Purposes

A spacecraft in orbit might experience undesired events such as electron charges and debris impacts that can damage the solar cells. If this occurs, the Electric Power System of the CubeSat will fail to provide energy to the system, and as a result, the whole Satellite will be unable to keep operating. In 2016, the Center for Space Exploration and Technology Research of UTEP planned to develop a 1U small satellite (commonly termed CubeSat) that will 3D print a conductive trace to repair a damaged solar cell using additive manufacturing techniques. Such a CubeSat was proposed to the United Launch Alliance initiative that would award free rides to space of 1U CubeSats. The UTEP team obtained the first place to be launched to GTO in an Atlas V rocket. The concept is innovative and challenging in several senses: as of May 2018, no University-developed CubeSat has traveled to GTO and face the difficult radiation environment of Van Allen Radiation Belt, and attempting to 3D print in space is challenging due to the reduced gravity, vacuum and extreme temperatures environment. The 3D printer includes three main subsystems, the material dispenser, the gantry table mechanism and the motion controller. This paper describes the development of the 3D printed including the conductive ink material selection, the design of the printer mechanism, the assembly and integration of the components as well as prelaminar tests results

Audit Committee: A Summary of the Findings of Some Existing Literature

This paper attempts to provide a summary of findings of the fast-growing theoretical and empirical literature on audit committee mainly basing on several available articles. Particular emphasis was given on the issues like the conflicts arising from the relationship between managers and shareholders, earnings management, formation of audit committee, auditors’ independence and quality of financial reporting and their relationship with audit committee. The study also aims at exploring the key success factors in the introduction and implementation of audit committees in the corporate world

Laboratory Verification of Electric Double Layer Capacitor Based Power System for a Simple CubeSat Mission

With the coming of CubeSat standard, it has become very attractive venture or endeavor for many universities or schools as an easy approach in conducting research on space related science or education. The nucleus of CubeSat’s mission is the electrical power system which is critical to the spacecraft’s bus and payload. This paper details the testing and sizing of an electric double layer capacitor (EDLC) based CubeSat power system using direct energy transfer topology with utmost consideration for simplicity, ease to handle and durability attributes of EDLC

Effect of Atomic Oxygen Exposure on Surface Resistivity Change of Spacecraft Insulator Material

Spacecraft surface charging can lead to arcing and a loss of electricity generation capability in solar panels or even loss of a satellite. The charging problem may be further aggravated by atomic oxygen (AO) exposure in Low Earth orbits, which modifies the surface of materials like polyimide, Teflon, anti-reflective coatings, cover glass etc, used on satellite surfaces, affecting materials properties, such as resistivity, secondary electron emissivity and photo emission, which govern the charging behavior. These properties are crucial input parameters for spacecraft charging analysis. To study the AO exposure effect on charging governing properties, an atomic oxygen exposure facility based on laser detonation of oxygen was built. The facility produces AO with a peak velocity value around 10-12km/s and a higher flux than that existing in orbit. After exposing the polyimide test material to the equivalent of 10 years of AO fluence at an altitude of 700-800 km, surface charging properties like surface resistivity and volume resistivity were measured. The measurement was performed in a vacuum using the charge storage decay method at room temperature, which is considered the most appropriate for measuring resistivity for space applications. The results show that the surface resistivity increases and the volume resistivity remains almost the same for the AO exposure fluence of 5.4×1018 atoms cm-2