The impact of earnings quality on aspects of capital markets: evidence from UK listed firms

This thesis investigates the association between four accounting-based earnings quality proxies and three capital market aspects of UK listed firms after applying the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). The three capital market aspects are: the cost of equity capital; information symmetry; and analysts’ information environment (number of analysts following, the dispersion of analysts’ forecasts and the accuracy of analysts’ forecasts). It finds evidences that firms with low earnings quality have a higher cost of equity capital, higher information asymmetry, lower number of analysts following, a higher dispersion of analysts’ forecasts and less accurate analysts’ forecasts than firms with high earnings quality. Also, the results show that the innate component of each earnings quality proxy, driven by economic fundamentals, has a larger impact on the three aspects of capital market than the discretionary component, driven by management choices. This is consistent with the theoretical framework of IFRS which the UK adopted in 2005 for listed firms. These findings shed light on the important role of earnings quality in helping analysts and investors to make better financial investment decisions. Theory suggests that this role is achieved by increasing the informativeness of firms’ information environment, improving the precision of financial information, reducing estimation risk and information asymmetry; these are expected to lead to a lower cost of equity capital

A New Beta Power Generator for Continuous Random Variable: Features and Inference to Model Asymmetric Data

Statistical methodologies have broad applications in sports and other exercise sciences. These methods can be used to predict the winning probability of a team or individual in a match. Due to the applicability of the statistical methods in sports, this paper introduces a new method of obtaining statistical distributions. The new method is called a novel beta power-L family of distributions. Some mathematical characteristics of the new family are obtained. Based on the novel beta power-L family, a special model, namely, a novel beta power Weibull model is studied. Finally, the applicability/usefulness of the novel beta power Weibull distribution is shown by analyzing the time-to-even data taken from different football matches during 1964-2018. The data consist of seventy-eight observations and is representing the waiting time duration of the fastest goal scored ever in the history of football. The fitting results of the novel beta power Weibull distribution are compared with other models. Based on three model selection criteria, it is observed that the proposed novel beta power Weibull model provides a close fit to the waiting time data

A new flexible family of continuous distributions: the additive Odd-G family

This paper introduces a new family of distributions based on the additive model structure. Three submodels of the proposed family are studied in detail. Two simulation studies were performed to discuss the maximum likelihood estimators of the model parameters. The log location-scale regression model based on a new generalization of the Weibull distribution is introduced. Three datasets were used to show the importance of the proposed family. Based on the empirical results, we concluded that the proposed family is quite competitive compared to other models

On q-Generalized Extreme Values under Power Normalization with Properties, Estimation Methods and Applications to Covid-19 Data

This paper introduces the q-analogues of the generalized extreme value distribution and its discrete counterpart under power normalization. The inclusion of the parameter q enhances modeling flexibility. The continuous extended model can produce various types of hazard rate functions, with supports that can be finite, infinite, or bounded above or below. Additionally, these new models can effectively handle skewed data, particularly those with highly extreme observations. Statistical properties of the proposed continuous distribution are presented, and the model parameters are estimated using various approaches. A simulation study evaluates the performance of the estimators across different sample sizes. Finally, three distinct real datasets are analyzed to demonstrate the versatility of the proposed model

Sedimentation threats to Red Sea corals : an ecological study of reefs in the Hurghada Region, Egypt

Hurghada coastal reefs have encountered a huge modification in the last three decades, associated with an increase in sediment input from coastal development. The aim of this study was to examine the impact of sediment on reef health at a number of sites along the coast of Hurghada encountering differing sedimentation loads. A range of physicochemical parameters were measured in the field and related to a variety of reef health indicators. This was supported by laboratory based experiments examining the direct impact of sediment on coral bleaching and mucus production. Annual and seasonal patterns of sedimentation were investigated along the Hurghada coastal area of the Red Sea using sediment traps. Suspended particulate matter (SPM) and the percentage of non-carbonate sediment in bottom sediment were sampled. Physicochemical parameters measured in the field included temperature, salinity, depth, pH, specific conductivity SPC, dissolved oxygen DO, total dissolved salts TDS, percentage of dissolved oxygen DO% and turbidity using a multprobe. Inorganic phosphates, silicate, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate concentrations were determined. Reefs were surveyed to determine a number of reef health indicators including coral cover, percentage of live and dead coral, new recruits, abundance, species richness, the percentage of r-strategist, Diversity Index, Deterioration Index (DI) and disturbance. Three species of Acropora were transplanted in this study and their survival was investigated. Six fish families were surveyed using belt transects to examine changes in community structure. Zooxanthellae density was measured in transplanted corals in field and laboratory conditions to determine the effect of sedimentation on coral bleaching. In addition, direct feeding experiments were performed using fluorescein-isothiocyanate sediment to assess coral ability to cope with higher sedimentation. Mucous secretion by corals was measured in field and laboratory to test variations under different sedimentation condition. Significant differences between sites in sedimentation rate, SPM and the percentage of non-carbonate sediment were observed. Sedimentation and SPM were also shown to reduce coral cover, species richness, diversity, mean colony size of branched corals and the abundance of algal feeding fish. Other parameters such as non-carbonate sediment, turbidity and percentage of mud in bottom sediment affected corals and fish to various degrees. Sedimentation did not appear to reduce the number of live or dead corals or new recruits. In addition, it did not affect the distribution of r-strategist as a pioneer group of corals. It did not affect transplant survival or macroborer distribution, although it did reduce zooxanthellae density and increase mucus secretion and sediment uptake by Lobophyllia hemprichii. Coral abundance, mean colony size of massive corals and coral feeder abundance were not reduced under the observed sedimentation conditions. The Deterioration Index did not provide a strong tool to gauge coral condition in this study. Although many indicators did not show significant correlations with sedimentation, SPM, turbidity or non carbonate sediment, it was found that sites with the highest readings of these parameters has the lowest biological quality. These finding support early studies that showed that low sedimentation levels do not have significant impact on coral health. Some sites showed continuous degradation and increased level of sedimentation from land sources and need urgent mitigation measures to be followed by coral restoration and transplantation

Modelling Coronavirus and Larvae Pyrausta Data: A Discrete Binomial Exponential II Distribution with Properties, Classical and Bayesian Estimation

In this article, we propose the discrete version of the binomial exponential II distribution for modelling count data. Some of its statistical properties including hazard rate function, mode, moments, skewness, kurtosis, and index of dispersion are derived. The shape of the failure rate function is increasing. Moreover, the proposed model is appropriate for modelling equi-, over- and under-dispersed data. The parameter estimation through the classical point of view has been done using the method of maximum likelihood, whereas, in the Bayesian framework, assuming independent beta priors of model parameters, the Metropolis–Hastings algorithm within Gibbs sampler is used to obtain sample-based Bayes estimates of the unknown parameters of the proposed model. A detailed simulation study is carried out to examine the outcomes of maximum likelihood and Bayesian estimators. Finally, two distinctive real data sets are analyzed using the proposed model. These applications showed the flexibility of the new distribution

Control of root rot disease of sugar beet using certain antioxidants and fungicides

This study was carried out to investigate the effect of five chemical inducers i.e. salicylic acid, ascorbic acid, catechol, citric acid and potassium silicate and six fungicides i.e. Actamyl70%, Chlorothalonil 50%, Evito 48%, Shenzy 34%, Pyrus 40% and Fentobein 32.5% in order to control Rhizoctonia solani and Macrophomina phaseolina which infect sugar beet roots. The antioxidants, catechol and salicylic acid achieved the best disease control at all rates of application followed by citric acid and potassium silicate, respectively. Concerning fungicides, Shenzy 34% gave noticeable control in disease reduction followed by Evito 48% and Fentobein 32.5%, respectively. Usage of antioxidants as chemical inducers for enhancing plant resistance and capability of defying diseases is well recommended as fungicide alternatives due to their safe influence on human health. But, fungicides are still the most widespread used compounds in disease management strategies, based on their compliant application, reliable and efficient results than any other safer chemical or natural compound which controls the disease by reducing the losses, not by eradicating the disease in which fungicides can do successfully

Asymmetric Probability Mass Function for Count Data Based on the Binomial Technique: Synthesis and Analysis with Inference

In this article, a new probability mass function for count data is proposed based on the binomial technique. After introducing the methodology of the newly model, some of its distributional characteristics are discussed in-detail. It is found that the newly model has explicit mathematical expressions for its statistical and reliability properties, which is not the case with many well-known discrete models. Moreover, it can be used as an effectively probability tool for modeling asymmetric over-dispersed data with leptokurtic shapes. The parameters estimation through the classical point of view have been done via utilizing the technique of maximum likelihood and Bayesian approaches. A MCMC simulation study is carried out to examine the performance of the estimators. Finally, two distinct real data sets are analyzed to prove the flexibility and notability of the newly model

Sedimentation threats to Red Sea corals : an ecological study of reefs in the Hurghada Region, Egypt

Hurghada coastal reefs have encountered a huge modification in the last three decades, associated with an increase in sediment input from coastal development. The aim of this study was to examine the impact of sediment on reef health at a number of sites along the coast of Hurghada encountering differing sedimentation loads. A range of physicochemical parameters were measured in the field and related to a variety of reef health indicators. This was supported by laboratory based experiments examining the direct impact of sediment on coral bleaching and mucus production. Annual and seasonal patterns of sedimentation were investigated along the Hurghada coastal area of the Red Sea using sediment traps. Suspended particulate matter (SPM) and the percentage of non-carbonate sediment in bottom sediment were sampled. Physicochemical parameters measured in the field included temperature, salinity, depth, pH, specific conductivity SPC, dissolved oxygen DO, total dissolved salts TDS, percentage of dissolved oxygen DO% and turbidity using a multprobe. Inorganic phosphates, silicate, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate concentrations were determined. Reefs were surveyed to determine a number of reef health indicators including coral cover, percentage of live and dead coral, new recruits, abundance, species richness, the percentage of r-strategist, Diversity Index, Deterioration Index (DI) and disturbance. Three species of Acropora were transplanted in this study and their survival was investigated. Six fish families were surveyed using belt transects to examine changes in community structure. Zooxanthellae density was measured in transplanted corals in field and laboratory conditions to determine the effect of sedimentation on coral bleaching. In addition, direct feeding experiments were performed using fluorescein-isothiocyanate sediment to assess coral ability to cope with higher sedimentation. Mucous secretion by corals was measured in field and laboratory to test variations under different sedimentation condition. Significant differences between sites in sedimentation rate, SPM and the percentage of non-carbonate sediment were observed. Sedimentation and SPM were also shown to reduce coral cover, species richness, diversity, mean colony size of branched corals and the abundance of algal feeding fish. Other parameters such as non-carbonate sediment, turbidity and percentage of mud in bottom sediment affected corals and fish to various degrees. Sedimentation did not appear to reduce the number of live or dead corals or new recruits. In addition, it did not affect the distribution of r-strategist as a pioneer group of corals. It did not affect transplant survival or macroborer distribution, although it did reduce zooxanthellae density and increase mucus secretion and sediment uptake by Lobophyllia hemprichii. Coral abundance, mean colony size of massive corals and coral feeder abundance were not reduced under the observed sedimentation conditions. The Deterioration Index did not provide a strong tool to gauge coral condition in this study. Although many indicators did not show significant correlations with sedimentation, SPM, turbidity or non carbonate sediment, it was found that sites with the highest readings of these parameters has the lowest biological quality. These finding support early studies that showed that low sedimentation levels do not have significant impact on coral health. Some sites showed continuous degradation and increased level of sedimentation from land sources and need urgent mitigation measures to be followed by coral restoration and transplantation.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceFord Foundation (Sponsor)GBUnited Kingdo