Capital Structure and Investment Behaviour of Malaysian Firms in the 1990s: A Study of Corporate Governance before the Crisis

This is an empirical study analyzing the corporate finance and governance structure in Malaysia before and after the financial crisis of 1997, utilizing the agency cost approach. The contribution of this paper is to link the corporate governance mechanism with the role of banks and corporate ownership structure taking into account the institutional framework and historical background of the Malaysian financial system. Based on data for 375 non-financial KLSE (Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange) listed companies during fiscal years 1995-99, our analysis is organized into three parts. Section 2 outlines characteristics of corporate finance in Malaysia in the 1990s using aggregated time-series data. Section 3 examines determinants of capital structure via cross-sectional regressions in terms of dependency on banks, availability of internal funds, ownership concentration, ethnic ownership structure, industry effects, etc. And in section 4, we estimate simple investment functions with panel data in order to examine the effects of debt financing on corporate investments before the crisis. Empirical results show that the commitment of banks to finance corporate debt as well as lending obviously increased debt ratios. Ownership concentration mitigates conflict between managers and owners. Foreign ownership also contributed to a reduction in the agency costs of equity financing. However, increasing ownership by native Malays (Bumiputera), both the direct and indirect holding of corporate shares, played no significant role in disciplining corporate management. Finally, high dependency on debt led to excessive corporate investment before the crisis. These results imply that the concentration of risks on the banking sector and social policy advocating the dispersion of corporate ownership weakened the corporate governance mechanism, thereby exacerbating the distress of Malaysia's corporate sector during the financial crisis.

Calibration of the Neutron Detection Efficiency of the COMPTEL NE213 Detector

This research was sponsored by the National Science Foundation Grant NSF PHY 87-1440

Tracing groundwater flow and sources of organic carbon in sandstone aquifers using fluorescence properties of dissolved organic matter (DOM)

The fluorescence properties of groundwaters from sites in two UK aquifers, the Penrith Sandstone of Cumbria and the Sherwood Sandstone of South Yorkshire, were investigated using excitation-emission matrix (EEM) fluorescence spectroscopy. Both aquifers are regionally important sources of public supply water and are locally impacted by anthropogenic pollution. The Penrith Sandstone site is in a rural setting while the Sherwood Sandstone site is in suburban Doncaster. Fluorescence analysis of samples from discrete sample depths in the Penrith Sandstone shows decreasing fulvic-like intensities with depth and also shows a good correlation with CFC-12, an anthropogenic groundwater tracer. Tryptophan- like fluorescence centres in the depth profile may also provide evidence of rapid routing of relatively recent applications of organic slurry along fractures. Fluorescence analysis of groundwater sampled from multi-level piezometers installed within the Sherwood Sandstone aquifer also shows regions of tryptophan-like and relatively higher fulvic-like signatures. The fluorescence intensity profile in the piezometers shows tryptophan-like peaks at depths in excess of 50 metres and mirrors the pattern exhibited by microbial species and CFCs highlighting the deep and rapid penetration of modern recharge due to rapid fracture flow. Fluorescence analysis has allowed the rapid assessment of different types and relative abundances of dissolved organic matter (DOM), and the fingerprinting of different sources of organic carbon within the groundwater system. The tryptophan:fulvic ratios found in the Penrith Sandstone were found to be between (0.5–3.0) and are characteristic of ratios from sheep waste sources. The Sherwood Sandstone has the lowest ratios (0.2–0.4) indicating a different source of DOM, most likely a mixture of terrestrial and microbial sources, although there is little evidence of pollution from leaking urban sewage systems. Results from these two studies suggest that intrinsic fluorescence may be used as a proxy for, or complimentary tool to, other groundwater investigation methods in helping provide a conceptual model of groundwater flow and identifying different sources of DOM within the groundwater system

The Impact of 'A - Day' on Executive Pensions and Pay for Performance

This paper evaluates the impact of the ‘A-day’ pensions simplification legislation introduced in the UK in 2006. This reform exogenously affected the cost of pension provision for firms whose executives had accumulated pensions benefits in excess of the prescribed limit. We find a strong reaction in the form of pension provision in a sample of UK executive directors. After A-day, many executives saw their defined benefit scheme replaced with supplementary cash payments. This had the unintended consequence of significantly decreasing the relationship between executive pay and firm performance for those executives affected by the reform

The position of graptolites within Lower Palaeozoic planktic ecosystems.

An integrated approach has been used to assess the palaeoecology of graptolites both as a discrete group and also as a part of the biota present within Ordovician and Silurian planktic realms. Study of the functional morphology of graptolites and comparisons with recent ecological analogues demonstrates that graptolites most probably filled a variety of niches as primary consumers, with modes of life related to the colony morphotype. Graptolite coloniality was extremely ordered, lacking any close morphological analogues in Recent faunas. To obtain maximum functional efficiency, graptolites would have needed varying degrees of coordinated automobility. A change in lifestyle related to ontogenetic changes was prevalent within many graptolite groups. Differing lifestyle was reflected by differing reproductive strategies, with synrhabdosomes most likely being a method for rapid asexual reproduction. Direct evidence in the form of graptolithophage 'coprolitic' bodies, as well as indirect evidence in the form of probable defensive adaptations, indicate that graptolites comprised a food item for a variety of predators. Graptolites were also hosts to a variety of parasitic organisms and provided an important nutrient source for scavenging organisms

The Magnetic Field of the Solar Corona from Pulsar Observations

We present a novel experiment with the capacity to independently measure both the electron density and the magnetic field of the solar corona. We achieve this through measurement of the excess Faraday rotation due to propagation of the polarised emission from a number of pulsars through the magnetic field of the solar corona. This method yields independent measures of the integrated electron density, via dispersion of the pulsed signal and the magnetic field, via the amount of Faraday rotation. In principle this allows the determination of the integrated magnetic field through the solar corona along many lines of sight without any assumptions regarding the electron density distribution. We present a detection of an increase in the rotation measure of the pulsar J1801$-$2304 of approximately 160 \rad at an elongation of 0.95$^\circ$ from the centre of the solar disk. This corresponds to a lower limit of the magnetic field strength along this line of sight of $> 393\mu\mathrm{G}$. The lack of precision in the integrated electron density measurement restricts this result to a limit, but application of coronal plasma models can further constrain this to approximately 20mG, along a path passing 2.5 solar radii from the solar limb. Which is consistent with predictions obtained using extensions to the Source Surface models published by Wilcox Solar ObservatoryComment: 16 pages, 4 figures (1 colour): Submitted to Solar Physic

Characterising spoken responses to an intelligent virtual agent by persons with mild cognitive impairment

The diagnosis of Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) characterises patients at risk of dementia and may provide an opportunity for disease-modifying interventions. Identifying persons with MCI (PwMCI) from adults of a similar age without cognitive complaints is a significant challenge. The main aims of this study were to determine whether generic speech differences were evident between PwMCI and healthy controls (HC), whether such differences were identifiable in responses to recent or remote memory questions, and to determine which speech variables showed the clearest between group differences. This study analysed recordings of 8 PwMCI (5 female, 3 male) and 14 HC of a similar age (8 female, 6 male). Participants were recorded interacting with an intelligent virtual agent: a computer-generated talking head on a computer screen which asks pre-recorded questions when prompted by the interviewee through pressing the next key on a computer keyboard. Responses to recent and remote memory questions were analysed. Mann-Whitney U tests were used to test for statistically significant differences between PwMCI and HC on each of twelve speech variables, relating to temporal characteristics, number of words produced and pitch. It was found that compared to HC, PwMCI produce speech for less time and in shorter chunks, they pause more often and for longer, take longer to begin speaking and produce fewer words in their answers. It was also found that the PwMCI and HC were more alike when responding to remote memory questions than when responding to recent memory questions. These findings show great promise and suggest that detailed speech analysis can make an important contribution to diagnostic and stratification systems in patients with memory complaints

Green nanosilicas for monoaromatic hydrocarbons removal from air

We demonstrate a novel application of green nanosilicas (GN), prepared via an environmentally friendly route, in removing volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Herein, we aim to establish GN as viable alternatives to traditional mesoporous silicas for the removal of monoaromatic hydrocarbons (MAHC). The results show that the GN have high extraction efficiencies comparable to those previously reported for mesoporous silicas. It was demonstrated that bespoke GN can be syntheised readily with the ability to tailor their physical properties and MAHC adsorption. In order to understand the MAHC adsorption by GN, their porosity, morphology and pore structure were characterised. It was observed that the combination of broad pore size distribution and, in particular, the presence of meso- and micro-porosity in GN contributed to high MAHC extraction efficiencies and selectivity. Although from a commercial viewpoint, further optimisation of GN is desirable in order to replace traditional sorbents, this work clearly highlights a new family of “green” sorbents, which can be prepared with a substantial reduction in secondary pollution with potential applications in selective gas separation

Thin-shell wormholes in Einstein-Maxwell theory with a Gauss-Bonnet term

We study five dimensional thin-shell wormholes in Einstein-Maxwell theory with a Gauss-Bonnet term. The linearized stability under radial perturbations and the amount of exotic matter are analyzed as a function of the parameters of the model. We find that the inclusion of the quadratic correction substantially widens the range of possible stable configurations, and besides it allows for a reduction of the exotic matter required to construct the wormholes.Comment: 13 pages, 6 figures; v2: minor changes and new references added. Accepted for publication in General Relativity and Gravitatio