Board nationality diversity: its measurement, determinants, and impacts on firm value and accounting conservatism

The composition of corporate boards has been under intense scrutiny by regulators since the collapse of Enron in 2002. An aspect of board composition is board diversity, which has gained the attention of regulators since 2003. Yet, empirical evidence on the outcomes of board diversity is inconclusive. One potential reason for the inconclusive results on board nationality diversity is that it has upside and downside aspects that should be accounted for simultaneously. In particular, I propose that any outcome of this diversity is the sum of the effects of two opposing forces: the level of diversity and the strength of cultural separation. Drawing on theories of resource dependence and groupthink, the level of dissimilarity in directors’ nationalities expands the pool of resources at the board’s disposal and mitigates the harmful behaviour of groupthink. However, nationality diversity among board members is accompanied by differences in their cultural backgrounds, which may serve as bases for cultural separation. This separation may cause poor communication, internal conflicts, and lack of trust between board members. The objective of this thesis is to provide a better understanding of how the above contrasting aspects of board nationality diversity may shape its outcomes. To this end, I distinguish between the upside and downside aspects of diversity in the first essay of this thesis. In this essay, I review the theoretical and empirical constructs of board diversity. I then introduce dissimilarity of director nationalities as a multi-categorical measure that accounts for the composition of foreign board members, to capture the level of board nationality diversity. The second essay investigates the determinants and the performance outcome of board nationality diversity, after accounting for its upside and downside aspects. Firm value is chosen to be the first outcome variable in this thesis as it is one of the most widely used proxies for board performance. In the third essay, accounting conservatism is chosen to be my second outcome variable. This is because diverse boards are found to adopt less risky financial policies. Therefore, I expect nationality-diverse boards and audit committees to demand greater accounting conservatism. The empirical tests in this thesis are based on large samples of UK firms over the period from 1999 to 2018. On the determinants of board nationality diversity, I find that the level of diversity is driven by the magnitude of foreign activities (measured by the proportion of foreign sales), rather than the number of geographical regions in which a firm operates. On the outcomes of board nationality diversity, I find that the level of diversity is associated with higher firm value. This association is not significantly mitigated by the strength of board cultural separation, but it is mitigated by the level of operational complexity. In addition, I find that levels of nationality diversity on the board and its audit committee positively impact accounting conservatism, whereas the strength of board cultural separation is not significantly related to accounting conservatism. This thesis makes five main contributions to the literature on board diversity, firm performance, and accounting conservatism. First, it proposes that the upside of diversity in multi-categorical attributes, such as nationality, is captured by the level of diversity. This level is maximized when each board member is unique in terms of the attribute under investigation. Second, it extends prior work on why foreign nationals exist on corporate boards by exploring why firms choose a given level of nationality diversity on their boards. Third, it accounts for both the positive and the negative aspects of board nationality diversity simultaneously, to identify its net impacts on firm value and accounting conservatism. Fourth, it provides robust evidence that board nationality diversity is positively associated with firm value and this association is moderated by levels of firm complexity. Fifth, it provides robust evidence that nationality diversity on the board and its audit committee positively impact accounting conservatism. The findings of this thesis have implications for board diversity in both research and practice. First, it suggests that both the positive and the negative aspects of board diversity should be accounted for simultaneously. Second, it reviews a set of theoretical and empirical constructs of diversity that could be applied to diversity within other workgroups (e.g., top management teams and audit teams). Third, it cautions against the use of empirical proxies that do not map onto the theoretical construct under investigation. Fourth, it directs companies’ attention to unique boards, in which, each board member is dissimilar to other board members in terms of a non-binary diversity attribute. This board structure maximizes (minimizes) the positive (negative) aspect of diversity in a non-binary attribute such as nationality. Fifth, it shows that board nationality diversity provides net benefits to shareholders only under certain circumstances (i.e., when firms are complex). Sixth, it identifies a new source of variation in accounting conservatism by providing robust evidence that nationality diversity on the board and its audit committee matter for conservatism in financial reporting. This study could therefore be of interest to academics, companies, investors, and regulators

Board nationality diversity: its measurement, determinants, and impacts on firm value and accounting conservatism

The composition of corporate boards has been under intense scrutiny by regulators since the collapse of Enron in 2002. An aspect of board composition is board diversity, which has gained the attention of regulators since 2003. Yet, empirical evidence on the outcomes of board diversity is inconclusive. One potential reason for the inconclusive results on board nationality diversity is that it has upside and downside aspects that should be accounted for simultaneously. In particular, I propose that any outcome of this diversity is the sum of the effects of two opposing forces: the level of diversity and the strength of cultural separation. Drawing on theories of resource dependence and groupthink, the level of dissimilarity in directors’ nationalities expands the pool of resources at the board’s disposal and mitigates the harmful behaviour of groupthink. However, nationality diversity among board members is accompanied by differences in their cultural backgrounds, which may serve as bases for cultural separation. This separation may cause poor communication, internal conflicts, and lack of trust between board members. The objective of this thesis is to provide a better understanding of how the above contrasting aspects of board nationality diversity may shape its outcomes. To this end, I distinguish between the upside and downside aspects of diversity in the first essay of this thesis. In this essay, I review the theoretical and empirical constructs of board diversity. I then introduce dissimilarity of director nationalities as a multi-categorical measure that accounts for the composition of foreign board members, to capture the level of board nationality diversity. The second essay investigates the determinants and the performance outcome of board nationality diversity, after accounting for its upside and downside aspects. Firm value is chosen to be the first outcome variable in this thesis as it is one of the most widely used proxies for board performance. In the third essay, accounting conservatism is chosen to be my second outcome variable. This is because diverse boards are found to adopt less risky financial policies. Therefore, I expect nationality-diverse boards and audit committees to demand greater accounting conservatism. The empirical tests in this thesis are based on large samples of UK firms over the period from 1999 to 2018. On the determinants of board nationality diversity, I find that the level of diversity is driven by the magnitude of foreign activities (measured by the proportion of foreign sales), rather than the number of geographical regions in which a firm operates. On the outcomes of board nationality diversity, I find that the level of diversity is associated with higher firm value. This association is not significantly mitigated by the strength of board cultural separation, but it is mitigated by the level of operational complexity. In addition, I find that levels of nationality diversity on the board and its audit committee positively impact accounting conservatism, whereas the strength of board cultural separation is not significantly related to accounting conservatism. This thesis makes five main contributions to the literature on board diversity, firm performance, and accounting conservatism. First, it proposes that the upside of diversity in multi-categorical attributes, such as nationality, is captured by the level of diversity. This level is maximized when each board member is unique in terms of the attribute under investigation. Second, it extends prior work on why foreign nationals exist on corporate boards by exploring why firms choose a given level of nationality diversity on their boards. Third, it accounts for both the positive and the negative aspects of board nationality diversity simultaneously, to identify its net impacts on firm value and accounting conservatism. Fourth, it provides robust evidence that board nationality diversity is positively associated with firm value and this association is moderated by levels of firm complexity. Fifth, it provides robust evidence that nationality diversity on the board and its audit committee positively impact accounting conservatism. The findings of this thesis have implications for board diversity in both research and practice. First, it suggests that both the positive and the negative aspects of board diversity should be accounted for simultaneously. Second, it reviews a set of theoretical and empirical constructs of diversity that could be applied to diversity within other workgroups (e.g., top management teams and audit teams). Third, it cautions against the use of empirical proxies that do not map onto the theoretical construct under investigation. Fourth, it directs companies’ attention to unique boards, in which, each board member is dissimilar to other board members in terms of a non-binary diversity attribute. This board structure maximizes (minimizes) the positive (negative) aspect of diversity in a non-binary attribute such as nationality. Fifth, it shows that board nationality diversity provides net benefits to shareholders only under certain circumstances (i.e., when firms are complex). Sixth, it identifies a new source of variation in accounting conservatism by providing robust evidence that nationality diversity on the board and its audit committee matter for conservatism in financial reporting. This study could therefore be of interest to academics, companies, investors, and regulators

Oleuropein and oleic acid: A novel emerging dietary target for human chronic diseases

263-268The human chronic metabolic disease is predominantly associated with the disturbance in the lipid, proteins and nucleic acid biological balance due to the attack of free radicals generated from oxidative stress. Currently, the available synthetic antioxidants are synthesized by food industries are very effective and inexpensive but as chronic use, it exhibits many toxicological health effects like synthetic drugs. Hence, plant origin antioxidants gained increasing attention all over the world. In this regards, Olive tree (Olea europaea L.) belongs to Oleaceae family and its by-products such as olive leaves and olive oil are highly focused by many researcher due to its potential therapeutic effects in a reversal of various chronic diseases without any side effects. Oleuropein and Oleic acid are the major components in the olive by products and attributes olive as a holly natural remedy and also olive oil considered as a potential food ingredient in the Mediterranean diet. The fat content in olive fruits is higher than olive leaves. Whereas, the protein ratio is higher in olive leaves and more abundance of Oleuropein, which contributes major health benefits as compared to olive oil. Oleic acid with high MUFA ratio contributes to the major health benefits of olive oil to several human chronic diseases

The human presence of the University of Michigan Biological Station and the growth of Acer saccharum.

General EcologyWith humans building new cities, roads, and public transportation projects, we are disturbing habitats around the world. To study the effect human actions have on these habitats, we used the University of Michigan Biological Station (UMBS) as a model. Although UMBS was established to study biological and ecological processes uninhibited in nature, there is a very real possibility that our actions from building and living at UMBS have left a tangible mark on the surrounding environment. To test whether our presence here has a significant effect, we chose Acer saccharum, or Sugar Maple, as our model plant species. We identified several perturbations linked to human actions such as vegetation removal, transportation, building developments and agricultural uses. These variables were measurable by testing for soil density, soil moisture, soil nutrient levels (nitrate, phosphate, ammonium), light intensity, and total neighboring tree biomass. We found that there was a significant difference in average annual tree growth between two test sites: on and off-campus. The trees off-campus had a higher average annual growth rate than the trees on-campus. All of the variables excluding phosphate levels were significantly different between both test sites. The results we obtained can be explained partly by differing levels of soil density which could have reduced soil moisture and thus affect tree growth. The difference in nutrient levels could be due to the human action of clearing out trees at UMBS to build cabins, research laboratories, and other buildings as well as the constant removal of leaf litter on-campus grounds. Our findings can be applied to help UMBS in future landscape architecture decisions, or even be applied to larger cities to ensure that they are doing as much as possible to minimize adverse disturbances to flora, fauna, and ecological processes related to human actions.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/95924/1/Leasia_Berkery_Sedlar_Metwally_2012.pd

A phase II study of high-dose celecoxib and metronomic 'low-dose' cyclophosphamide and methotrexate in patients with relapsed and refractory lymphoma

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVESRelapsed, histologically aggressive non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) has a poor prognosis; relapsed patients who do not respond to second line therapy or are unfit for BMT have a worse prognosis. Angiogenesis is increased in aggressive NHL and could be targeted by selective cyclooxygenase-2 inhibition and metronomic chemotherapy. We assessed the toxicity of metronomic chemotherapy and the response and progression-free survival in patients with relapsed/refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL).PATIENTS AND METHODSWe prospectively studied 41 patients with a diagnosis of relapsed and/or refractory DLBCL who may have received any number of preceding therapies (as long as one included an anthracycline) and were not candidates for bone marrow transplantation. They received oral cyclophosphamide (50mg every day), oral methotrexate (2.5mg 4 times/week) and high-dose oral celecoxib (400mg twice daily) until there was disease progression or unacceptable toxicity.RESULTSAll 41 patients (median age, 56 years) were evaluable for toxicity and response, with a median follow up of 9.1months (range, 4-35 months). At relapse, 51.2% had a high international prognostic index. The treatment protocol was well tolerated with no major toxicities. The most common toxicities were fatigue (61%), nausea (22%), neutropenia (19.5%), and anemia (22%). In 31.7% there was a partial response and 48.8% had stable disease. Progression-free survival was 12 months. The median response duration was 10 months.CONCLUSIONSWe conclude that metronomic chemotherapy can be used for patients with relapsed and or refractory DLBCL with reasonable outcome and acceptable toxicity. Standard approaches such as hematopoietic stem cell transplantation and chemo-immunotherapy combinations should be explored prior to a decision on metronomic chemotherapy

Curative and protective potentials of Moringa oleifera leaf decoction on the streptozotocin-induced diabetes mellitus in albino rats

The present study was designed to investigate the protective, and curative potentials of Moringa oleifera (MO) leaves powder against streptozotocin (STZ) induced type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) in rats. Fifty adult Wistar male albino rats were randomized and divided into five equal groups: The normal control group, the Moringa group, The diabetic group, the therapeutic group, and the diabetic rats (3 days after STZ injection) were received-MO-for successive 8 weeks and the prophylactic group, the rats were received-MO-for 2 weeks before STZ induced diabetic rats and lasted for 8 weeks. The protective or treated oral administration of 1 ml freshly prepared aqueous leaf decoction of-MO-revealed a significant upregulation of the mRNA expression of PDX-1, Ngn3, VEGF, IGF-1, and GLUT-2. Additionally, it induced a significant downregulation of FBG level compared to that of the diabetic group, a significant reduction in MDA level and a significant elevation in the TAC level. Furthermore, the histopathological observations of pancreas, liver, and kidney tissues affirmed the improvement in treated and prophylactic groups compared to STZ-diabetic groups, and the improvement in the prophylactic group was more distinct than the treated group. MO-aqueous leaf extract can treat and protect against STZ-induced T1DM; via its antioxidant action (increase the TAC and decrease MDA). Thus, it has the potential for utilization as a prophylactic against diabetes

Dual stimuli-responsive polypyrrole nanoparticles for anticancer therapy

We report the development of dual stimuli-responsive nanoparticles with potential for anticancer therapy. The nanoparticles are composed of a conjugated polymer (polypyrrole, PPY) loaded with an anticancer drug (allicin), and were characterized by a variety of physicochemical techniques. The dual stimuli-responsive nature of the PPY nanoparticles was validated in vitro: the PPY nanoparticles delivered an anticancer drug (allicin) in response to exposure to an electric field in vitro as demonstrated with UV–vis spectroscopy; and the PPY nanoparticles exhibited photothermal activity upon irradiation with near infrared light which resulted in resulted in toxicity towards HEP G2 cells in vitro. We believe that such nanoparticles have long term potential for application in cancer therapy in a variety of tissue niches (e.g. breast cancer, liver cancer, lung cancer, skin cancer)

Burnout among surgeons before and during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic: an international survey

Background: SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has had many significant impacts within the surgical realm, and surgeons have been obligated to reconsider almost every aspect of daily clinical practice. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study reported in compliance with the CHERRIES guidelines and conducted through an online platform from June 14th to July 15th, 2020. The primary outcome was the burden of burnout during the pandemic indicated by the validated Shirom-Melamed Burnout Measure. Results: Nine hundred fifty-four surgeons completed the survey. The median length of practice was 10 years; 78.2% included were male with a median age of 37 years old, 39.5% were consultants, 68.9% were general surgeons, and 55.7% were affiliated with an academic institution. Overall, there was a significant increase in the mean burnout score during the pandemic; longer years of practice and older age were significantly associated with less burnout. There were significant reductions in the median number of outpatient visits, operated cases, on-call hours, emergency visits, and research work, so, 48.2% of respondents felt that the training resources were insufficient. The majority (81.3%) of respondents reported that their hospitals were included in the management of COVID-19, 66.5% felt their roles had been minimized; 41% were asked to assist in non-surgical medical practices, and 37.6% of respondents were included in COVID-19 management. Conclusions: There was a significant burnout among trainees. Almost all aspects of clinical and research activities were affected with a significant reduction in the volume of research, outpatient clinic visits, surgical procedures, on-call hours, and emergency cases hindering the training. Trial registration: The study was registered on clicaltrials.gov "NCT04433286" on 16/06/2020