The use of accruals to manage reported earnings: theory and evidence

This paper develops a model in which firm managers maximize their own compensation by using accruals to manage reported earnings. The results of the model suggest that the form of the managerial compensation function and managerial time preferences may have an important influence on the relationship between accruals and latent earnings. Among the possible relationships suggested by the model are strategies we call Smooth Income, Occasional Big Bath, Live for Today, and Maximize Variability, each of which suggests a different reporting strategy pursued by managers. Most empirical tests of accruals are inconsistent with this and other theoretical models because they include a single earnings variable in a linear regression analysis. Instead, we document the reporting of accruals by two firms, Sunbeam and Citicorp, that is consistent with the “Live for Today” and “Occasional Big Bath” strategies.Investments

#dssf16+1: Library-led Digital Scholarship for Undergraduates at a Small Institution

Librarian R.C. Miessler and Digital Scholarship Fellows Keira Koch, Julia Wall, and Lauren White were invited to speak to at the Pennsylvania Library Association, College and Research Division, Spring Conference about their experiences with the first cohort of the Digital Scholarship Summer Fellowship

#dssf16: Library-led Digital Scholarship for Undergraduates at a Small Institution

In the summer of 2016, Gettysburg College’s Musselman Library piloted the Digital Scholarship Summer Fellowship (DSSF), a library-led, student-centered introduction to digital scholarship. The Fellowship, a 10-week, paid, summer program for rising sophomores and juniors, is programmatic, based on a curriculum designed to introduce the student fellows to digital tools, project management, documentation, and the philosophy behind digital scholarship. The Fellowship aimed to create a digital scholarship community of practice at Gettysburg College, collaborating with educational technologists and faculty engaged in digital scholarship to support the needs of the first cohort; in addition, the Fellowship supported the digital scholarship activities of students participating in other summer research programs. R.C. Miessler, coordinator of the Digital Scholarship Summer Fellowship, will discuss the creation, development, implementation, and future of the program. The student fellows, Keira Koch, Julia Wall, and Lauren White, will reflect on their experience and present the digital projects they created

The Perceptions of Four Novice Occupational Therapists\u27 Preparedness and Ability to Perform Occupation-Based Practice in Pediatric Practice

Although occupation-based practice (OBP) is considered best practice within the occupational therapy profession, practitioners continue to have a difficult time actively implementing OBP into treatment. The Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE) standards necessitate the implementation of OBP. Within the literature, there are gaps in the research investigating novice therapists’ perceptions of incorporating OBP in practice, especially in the United States. Since children and youth is a rapidly growing area of practice, this study focused on investigating how novice therapists are implementing OBP in pediatric settings. This qualitative study therefore investigated the perceptions of four novice pediatric occupational therapists’ preparedness and ability to perform OBP in practice. By following a qualitative methodology, the following four themes emerged from the data: My academic program introduced me to the principles of OBP, but specific types of learning activities solidified my understanding; I generally know what OBP is, and it is important; but can be difficult to describe succinctly to others; The type of setting where I work influences how occupation-based I can be during intervention; and While I have every intention of providing OBP, the cultural environment of the workplace influences my progress. These findings can add an in-depth understanding of the four participants’ experiences as they relate to this profession-wide call to action

Dynamic modeling of uteroplacental blood flow in IUGR indicates vortices and elevated pressure in the intervillous space - a pilot study

Ischemic placental disease is a concept that links intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) and preeclampsia (PE) back to insufficient remodeling of uterine spiral arteries. The rheological consequences of insufficient remodeling of uterine spiral arteries were hypothesized to mediate the considerably later manifestation of obstetric disease. However, the micro-rheology in the intervillous space (IVS) cannot be examined clinically and rheological animal models of the human IVS do not exist. Thus, an in silico approach was implemented to provide in vivo inaccessible data. The morphology of a spiral artery and the inflow region of the IVS were three-dimensionally reconstructed to provide a morphological stage for the simulations. Advanced high-end supercomputing resources were used to provide blood flow simulations at high spatial resolution. Our simulations revealed turbulent blood flow (high-velocity jets and vortices) combined with elevated blood pressure in the IVS and increased wall shear stress at the villous surface in conjunction with insufficient spiral artery remodeling only. Post-hoc histological analysis of uterine veins showed evidence of increased trophoblast shedding in an IUGR placenta. Our data support that rheological alteration in the IVS is a relevant mechanism linking ischemic placental disease to altered structural integrity and function of the placenta

Fachbericht Ökobilanz der Mobilitätskonzepte der Stadt Essen

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.13154/RUB.71.77 Um die deutschen Klimaschutzziele zu erreichen, sind Einsparungen in allen energierelevanten Verbrauchssektoren nötig. Dazu werden in diesem Fachbericht kommunale Mobilitätskonzepte untersucht. Dabei liegt der Fokus auf der energetischen sowie ökobilanziellen Betrachtung und Bewertung ausgewählter Mobilitätsmaßnahmen des Wettbewerb „Energieeffiziente Stadt“. Betrachtet wird die Nutzungsphase dieser Maßnahmen, wodurch die Auswirkungen sich verändernder Mobilitätskonzepte quantifiziert werden können. Wettbewerb "Energieeffiziente Stadt" Website: https://www.wettbewerb-energieeffiziente-stadt.de/ Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Lehrstuhl Energiesysteme und Energiewirtschaft:http://www.lee.ruhr-uni-bochum.de

Theoretical model for ultracold molecule formation via adaptive feedback control

We investigate pump-dump photoassociation of ultracold molecules with amplitude- and phase-modulated femtosecond laser pulses. For this purpose a perturbative model for the light-matter interaction is developed and combined with a genetic algorithm for adaptive feedback control of the laser pulse shapes. The model is applied to the formation of 85Rb2 molecules in a magneto-optical trap. We find for optimized pulse shapes an improvement for the formation of ground state molecules by more than a factor of 10 compared to unshaped pulses at the same pump-dump delay time, and by 40% compared to unshaped pulses at the respective optimal pump-dump delay time. Since our model yields directly the spectral amplitudes and phases of the optimized pulses, the results are directly applicable in pulse shaping experiments

The VMC survey - XI : Radial Stellar Population Gradients in the Galactic Globular Cluster 47 Tucanae

Copyright American Astronomical SocietyWe present a deep near-infrared color-magnitude diagram of the Galactic globular cluster 47 Tucanae, obtained with the Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy (VISTA) as part of the VISTA near-infrared Y, J, Ks survey of the Magellanic System (VMC). The cluster stars comprising both the subgiant and red giant branches exhibit apparent, continuous variations in color-magnitude space as a function of radius. Subgiant branch stars at larger radii are systematically brighter than their counterparts closer to the cluster core; similarly, red-giant-branch stars in the cluster's periphery are bluer than their more centrally located cousins. The observations can very well be described by adopting an age spread of ~0.5 Gyr as well as radial gradients in both the cluster's helium abundance (Y) and metallicity (Z), which change gradually from (Y = 0.28, Z = 0.005) in the cluster core to (Y = 0.25, Z = 0.003) in its periphery. We conclude that the cluster's inner regions host a significant fraction of second-generation stars, which decreases with increasing radius; the stellar population in the 47 Tuc periphery is well approximated by a simple stellar population.Peer reviewe

Increasing stomatal conductance inresponse to rising atmospheric CO2

Background and Aims: Studies have indicated that plant stomatal conductance (gs) decreases in response to elevated atmospheric CO2, a phenomenon of significance for the global hydrological cycle. However, gs increases across certain CO2 ranges have been predicted by optimisation models. The aim of this work was to demonstrate that under certain environmental condition, gs can increase in response to elevated CO2. Methods: When using (i) an extensive, up-to-date, synthesis of gs responses in FACE experiments, (ii) in situ measurements across four biomes showing dynamic gs responses to a CO2 rise of ~50ppm (characterising the change in this greenhouse gas over the past three decades) and (iii) a photosynthesis-stomatal conductance model, it is demonstrated that gs can in some cases increase in response to increasing atmospheric CO2. Key Results: Field observations are corroborated by an extensive synthesis of gs responses in FACE experiments showing that 11.8% of gs responses under experimentally elevated CO2 are positive. They are further supported by a strong data-model fit (r2=0.607) using a stomatal optimization model applied to the field gs dataset. A parameter space identified in the Farquhar-Ball-Berry photosynthesis-stomatal conductance model confirms field observations of increasing gs under elevated CO2 in hot dry conditions. It was shown that contrary to the general assumption, positive gs responses to elevated CO2, although relatively rare, are a feature of woody taxa adapted to warm, low-humidity conditions, and that this response is also demonstrated in global simulations using the Community Land Model (CLM4). Conclusions: The results contradict the over-simplistic notion that global vegetation always responds with decreasing gs to elevated CO2, a finding that has important implications for predicting future vegetation feedbacks on the hydrological cycle at the regional level.Irish Research CouncilScience Foundation Irelan