Why You Don’t Get Published: An Editor’s View

The definitive version is available at http://www.wileyonlinelibrary.comThis paper uses content analysis to examine 66 reviews on 33 manuscripts submitted to Accounting and Finance. Selected extracts from reviews are provided to illustrate the issues considered important to reviewers. The main message is that papers need to be work-shopped and more care taken over editorial matters. A checklist for prospective authors is provided

The Impact of IFRS on Annual Report Length

The move to the NZ IFRS has been surrounded by complaints of too much information being provided. This is not simply a matter of the cost of providing the information, but the possibility of data overload. Data overload is an important issue as it impacts information search strategies and decision outcomes. This is relevant for assessing whether the NZ IFRS has achieved its goals of reducing the cost of financial analysis. This paper develops a model of information processing capacity and then examines the impact of the move to international financial reporting by New Zealand listed entities on the quantity of data provided in their annual reports. Our analysis shows that the annual report length increased for 92% of our sample firms. The average increase in size was 29% above the prior years’ annual report and arose through notes to the accounts and accounting policies. Even after transitional information (e.g. accounting policies and reconciliations) the increase was 15%

Sectorneutral Accounting Standards: A Ten year Experiment

In 1992, New Zealand adopted a sectorneutral approach to standard setting – where the difference in accounting treatment is driven by differences in the nature of transactions and not by ownership or the objectives of the reporting entity. In the process of adopting International Financial Reporting Standards, New Zealand standardsetters are currently struggling to maintain sectorneutrality in financial reporting because international standards are primarily developed for profitoriented entities. With the possible loss of sectorneutral financial reporting, it is appropriate to review the outcome of tenyear experiment. In particular, we focus on the impact that transactions that are common to a number of public benefit entities have on accounting standards that apply to profitorientated entities. The results of this review may be useful to future standard setters and to the joint FASB/IASB convergence project

Pacific Accounting Review – The First Twenty-Five Years

‘This article is (c) Emerald Group Publishing and permission has been granted for this version to appear here http://mro.massey.ac.nz. Emerald does not grant permission for this article to be further copied/distributed or hosted elsewhere without the express permission from Emerald Group Publishing Limited.' http://www.emeraldinsight.com/journals.htm?issn=0114-0582&volume=25&issue=3&articleid=17100708 http:dx.doi.org/10.1108/PAR-08-2013-0079Purpose – In 2012, Pacific Accounting Review (PAR) completed its 25th year of existence. This paper aims to review all articles published in PAR as a report on the “stewardship” of the journal. Design/methodology/approach – Research papers published in PAR are analysed by topic, research methodology, author and institutional affiliation. This approach follows prior reviews in PAR. A comparison is also made with PAR over the period 1988-1996 and Accounting and Finance over the period 1973-1999 and the “top accounting journals” over the period 1990-2007. Findings – The analysis indicates that PAR publishes papers across a wide range of topics, but uses research methodologies that are consistent with mainstream accounting research (as undertaken by the “top accounting journals”). The authors of PAR are concentrated in New Zealand and Australia, as is the source data. No strong trends were perceived in the data. In conclusion, PAR can be characterised as a broadly based accounting and finance journal that is primarily competing in an Australasian context. Practical implications – This review provides some insight as to how the journal has evolved and how the mission statement has been put into effect. The journal has maintained much of its original mission. The anticipated “dialogue between researchers and practitioners” has not developed, probably due to lack of sponsorship by the profession. The paper should also form a basis for informing how to further develop the journal. Originality/value – The paper updates the last review of PAR which was completed in 1997

GHGSat Constellation: The Future of Monitoring Greenhouse Gas Emissions

As the effects of greenhouse gas (GHG) and issues resulting from air quality (AQG) become more prevalent, there is increasing motivation for industrial operators to quantify and ultimately reduce their emission footprint. GHGSat Inc., utilizing novel satellite technology developed in partnership with the Space Flight Laboratory, intends to become the global leader of remote sensing of GHG, AQG, and other trace gas emissions. Phase one: GHGSat-D (Claire) launched in June 2016, becoming the first microsatellite with a high-resolution instrument designed to measure greenhouse gas emissions from point sources. With over 3000 site measurements made worldwide, GHGSat-D has proven how effective satellite technology is paving the way forward for a worldwide monitoring initiative: GHGSat Constellation. Phase two: GHGSat-C1 and GHGSat-C2 are in development as first in a fully operational constellation allowing continued enhancement of the satellite design. These enhancements include hardware redundancy and improved electromagnetic compatibility to increase performance and reliability, upgrades to the primary optical payload to reduce the effects of stray light, allow for onboard calibration and improved radiation mitigation, and an optical downlink to increase the downlink capacity of the platform. GHGSat-C1 is scheduled for launch in Q3 2019 with GHGSat-C2 following in 2020

Refining rodent models of spinal cord injury.

This report was produced by an Expert Working Group (EWG) consisting of UK-based researchers, veterinarians and regulators of animal experiments with specialist knowledge of the use of animal models of spinal cord injury (SCI). It aims to facilitate the implementation of the Three Rs (Replacement, Reduction and Refinement), with an emphasis on refinement. Specific animal welfare issues were identified and discussed, and practical measures proposed, with the aim of reducing animal use and suffering, reducing experimental variability, and increasing translatability within this critically important research field

Chemical Toxicity Correlations For Several Fish Species Based on the Abraham Solvation Parameter Model

Article on chemical toxicity correlations for several fish species based on the Abraham solvation parameter model

Does fish larval dispersal differ between high and low latitudes?

Author Posting. © The Author(s), 2013. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of The Royal Society for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences 280 (2013): 20130327, doi:10.1098/rspb.2013.0327.Several factors lead to expectations that the scale of larval dispersal and population connectivity of marine animals differs with latitude. We examine this expectation for demersal shorefishes, including relevant mechanisms, assumptions, and evidence. We explore latitudinal differences in: 1) biological (e.g., species composition, spawning mode, pelagic larval duration (PLD)), 2) physical (e.g., water movement, habitat fragmentation), and 3) biophysical factors (primarily temperature, which could strongly affect development, swimming ability, or feeding). Latitudinal differences exist in taxonomic composition, habitat fragmentation, temperature, and larval swimming, and each could influence larval dispersal. Nevertheless, clear evidence for latitudinal differences in larval dispersal at the level of broad faunas is lacking. For example, PLD is strongly influenced by taxon, habitat, and geographic region, but no independent latitudinal trend is present in published PLD values. Any trends in larval dispersal may be obscured by a lack of appropriate information, or use of ‘off the shelf’ information that is biased with regard to the species assemblages in areas of concern. Biases may also be introduced from latitudinal differences in taxa or spawning modes, as well as limited latitudinal sampling. We suggest research to make progress on the question of latitudinal trends in larval dispersal.TK was supported by the Norwegian Research Council through project MENUII #190286. JML was supported by ARC Discovery Grant DP110100695. JEC and RRW were supported by the Partnership for the Interdisciplinary Study of Coastal Oceans, funded by The David and Lucille Packard Foundation and the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation.2014-03-2

Resolving issues with environmental impact assessment of marine renewable energy installations

Growing concerns about climate change and energy security have fueled a rapid increase in the development of marine renewable energy installations (MREIs). The potential ecological consequences of increased use of these devices emphasizes the need for high quality environmental impact assessment (EIA). We demonstrate that these processes are hampered severely, primarily because ambiguities in the legislation and lack of clear implementation guidance are such that they do not ensure robust assessment of the significance of impacts and cumulative effects. We highlight why the regulatory framework leads to conceptual ambiguities and propose changes which, for the most part, do not require major adjustments to standard practice. We emphasize the importance of determining the degree of confidence in impacts to permit the likelihood as well as magnitude of impacts to be quantified and propose ways in which assessment of population-level impacts could be incorporated into the EIA process. Overall, however, we argue that, instead of trying to ascertain which particular developments are responsible for tipping an already heavily degraded marine environment into an undesirable state, emphasis should be placed on better strategic assessment.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe