Corporate governance, enterprise risk management, and inter-temporal risk transfer

This work is an initial attempt to describe the interconnections among corporate governance, enterprise risk management, and the phenomena of inter-firm risk transfer that occurs in combination with firms’ income smoothing. Corporate governance is conceived as a set of rules according to which a firm is managed and governed by its top managers. Extant literature on corporate governance has pointed out the benefits of the adoption, at a firm level, of a comprehensive enterprise risk management process. We note that, although such an adoption favors the smoothing of a firm’s income, in smoothing the income a firm, it also gives rise to an inter-temporal transfer of risk from the firm itself to its stakeholders, specifically to suppliers and employees. Such transfer of risk depends on the strength of a firm contractual power and on the structural relationships established by a firm with its stakeholders. We therefore argue that larger-sized organizations affiliated with a business group are likely to smooth income to a greater extent than smaller-sized organizations unaffiliated with a business group. The paper also offers some discussions of the findings and points out some important issues to be addressed in future studies

Short note on magnetic impurities in SmFeAsO1−x_{1-x}Fx_x (x=0, 0.07) compounds revealed by zero-field 75^{75}As NMR

We have performed zero-field $^{75}$As nuclear magnetic resonance study of SmFeAsO$_{1-x}$F$_x$ (x=0, 0.07) polycrystals in a wide frequency range at various temperatures. $^{75}$As resonance line was found at around 265 MHz revealing the formation of the intermetallic FeAs clusters in the new layered superconductors. We have also demonstrated that NMR is a sensitive tool for probing the quality of these materials.Comment: Revised authorshi

Open Innovation, ambiguity and technological convergence

Objectives. Current paper aims to provide a fresh conceptual framework on the relationship among open innovation, decision ambiguity, and technological convergence. We argue that there is a curvilinear relationship between open innovation and both technological convergence and ambiguity. Contained level of convergence and ambiguity foster open innovation, whilst an excess of them is an impediment to collaboration. Technological convergence further acts as a moderator for ambiguity, in light of the benefits of isomorphism. Methodology. We propose a conceptual framework for open innovation decisions after accurately reviewing the main literature antecedents. Findings. We suggest an inverse u-shaped relationship between open innovation and either ambiguity or technological convergence. Research limits. In future, the theoretical framework proposed by thus study has to be tested with robust and proper statistical techniques on large scale samples. Practical implications. The model offers a heuristic for open innovation decisions under ambiguity. Originality of the study. To the best of our knowledge, the relationship linking open innovation, technological convergence and ambiguity emerges as a literature gap. This study tackles this issue, proposing an interpretation for the analysis of alliances decision in innovation

Magnetic order in double-layer manganites (La(1-z)Pr(z))1.2Sr1.8Mn2O7: intrinsic properties and role of the intergrowths

We report on an investigation of the double-layer manganite series (La(1-z)Pr(z))1.2Sr1.8Mn2O7 (0 <= z <= 1), carried out on single crystals by means of both macroscopic magnetometry and local probes of magnetism (muSR, 55Mn NMR). Muons and NMR demonstrate an antiferromagnetically ordered ground state at non-ferromagnetic compositions (z >= 0.6), while more moderate Pr substitutions (0.2 <= z <= 0.4) induce a spin reorientation transition within the ferromagnetic phase. A large magnetic susceptibility is detected at {Tc,TN} < T < 250K at all compositions. From 55Mn NMR spectroscopy, such a response is unambiguously assigned to the intergrowth of a ferromagnetic pseudocubic phase (La(1-z)Pr(z))(1-x)Sr(x)MnO3, with an overall volume fraction estimated as 0.5-0.7% from magnetometry. Evidence is provided for the coupling of the magnetic moments of these inclusions with the magnetic moments of the surrounding (La(1-z)Pr(z))1.2Sr1.8Mn2O7 phase, as in the case of finely dispersed impurities. We argue that the ubiquitous intergrowth phase may play a role in the marked first-order character of the magnetic transition and the metamagnetic properties above Tc reported for double-layer manganites.Comment: 11 pages, 9 figures. Submitted to Phys. Rev.

Modification of magnetic and transport properties of manganite layers in Au/La_0.67Sr_0.33MnO_3/SrTiO_3 interfaces

The effect of gold capping on magnetic and transport properties of optimally doped manganite thin films is studied. An extraordinary suppression of conductivity and magnetic properties occurs in epitaxial (001) La_0.67Sr_0.33MnO_3 (LSMO) films grown on SrTiO_3 upon deposition of 2 nm of Au: in the case of ultrathin films of LSMO (4 nm thick) the resistivity increases by four orders of magnitude while the Curie temperature decreases by 180 K. Zero-field 55Mn nuclear magnetic resonance reveals a significant reduction of ferromagnetic double-exchange mechanism in manganite films upon the gold capping. We find evidence for the formation of a 1.9-nm thick magnetic "dead-layer" at the Au/LSMO interface, associated with the creation of interfacial non double-exchange insulating phases.Comment: 4 figure

Critical chain length and superconductivity emergence in oxygen-equalized pairs of YBa2Cu3O6.30

The oxygen-order dependent emergence of superconductivity in YBa2Cu3O6+x is studied, for the first time in a comparative way, on pair samples having the same oxygen content and thermal history, but different Cu(1)Ox chain arrangements deriving from their intercalated and deintercalated nature. Structural and electronic non-equivalence of pairs samples is detected in the critical region and found to be related, on microscopic scale, to a different average chain length, which, on being experimentally determined by nuclear quadrupole resonance (NQR), sheds new light on the concept of critical chain length for hole doping efficiency.Comment: 7 RevTex pages, 2 Postscript figures. Submitted to Phys. Rev.

Enterprise Risk Management, Corporate Governance And Systemic Risk: Some Research Perspectives

The general goal of Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) processes is to generate economic value through the coverage of firm business risk, on the one hand, and by exploiting the positive side of uncertainty conditions, on the other hand. The increasing attention attributed to ERM in the creation of economic value has led to even greater interactions between risk management mechanisms and the corporate governance system. In other words, in the last two decades, the relationships between corporate governance and ERM increased since the ERM processes have been considered more and more as critical drivers to combine strategic objectives with relative low volatility of company performance. The basic idea is that a good corporate governance system must deal about specific risks along with their interactions and, at the same time, the firm’s business risk as a whole. Moreover, an efficient and effective ERM system provides clear information about linkages between strategic opportunities and risk exposure and offers tools able to manage in an optimal way the negative side of business risk (or downside risk) as wellas its positive side (or upside risk). Accordingly, extant studies concerning the relationships between ERM and corporate governance have been focusing on a micro-level of analyses (i.e., the individual organization) and, specifically, on a firm’s benefits that stem from the adoption of proper ERM processes that are consistent with corporate governance goals and are able to sustain the increase of economic value while maintaining a bearable business risk over time. From our initial analyses, a gap in literature arises. We argue that the interdependence between ERM and corporate governance may be analyzed from a broader point of view as well (i.e., the firm and its task environment composed by its suppliers, customers, and partners). In particular, our research idea is to enlarge traditional studies about interrelations between corporate governance and ERM taking into account whether such interrelations could be a driver of risk transfer from the focal organization to other organizations that belong to its task environment. Moreover, this study aims to deepen the mechanisms by which the transfer of risk from a focal organization to its task environment may foster the emergence of systemic risk, i.e., a macro risk coming from domino and/or network effects. Therefore, our paper aims to find new research areas by combining micro and macro issues tied to corporate governance, ERM and systemic risk. The starting point of our work is the three following assumptions: 1) The compliance of a firm to ERM processes as well as to corporate governance rules implies the reduction as much as possible of firm business risk; 2) The reduction of the firm business risk leads to externalizing the firm business risk through risk-sharing mechanisms; 3) The risk-sharing may arise like a driver of systemic risk especially in those industries featured by strong network interrelations. Starting from the above assumptions, the paper goal is to open a new research area which combines four academic fields (ERM, corporate governance, corporate finance, and macro-finance). So far, our initial findings tell us that the following research questions arise: RQ1: What are the conditions under which the transfer of business risk towards organizations that belong to a firm task environment is likely to become a source of systemic risk in a specific industry? RQ2: How does the capital structure of a focal firm affect its propensity to transfer business risk not only to commercial but also to financial stakeholders included in firm task environment? RQ3: How does the transfer of business risk influence the capital cost of the focal firm as well as of the organizations that absorbed such risk

New approaches to probing Minkowski functionals

We generalize the concept of the ordinary skew-spectrum to probe the effect of non-Gaussianity on the morphology of cosmic microwave background (CMB) maps in several domains: in real space (where they are commonly known as cumulant-correlators), and in harmonic and needlet bases. The essential aim is to retain more information than normally contained in these statistics, in order to assist in determining the source of any measured non-Gaussianity, in the same spirit as Munshi & Heavens skew-spectra were used to identify foreground contaminants to the CMB bispectrum in Planck data. Using a perturbative series to construct the Minkowski functionals (MFs), we provide a pseudo-C based approach in both harmonic and needlet representations to estimate these spectra in the presence of a mask and inhomogeneous noise. Assuming homogeneous noise, we present approximate expressions for error covariance for the purpose of joint estimation of these spectra. We present specific results for four different models of primordial non-Gaussianity local, equilateral, orthogonal and enfolded models, as well as non-Gaussianity caused by unsubtracted point sources. Closed form results of nextorder corrections to MFs too are obtained in terms of a quadruplet of kurt-spectra. We also use the method of modal decomposition of the bispectrum and trispectrum to reconstruct the MFs as an alternative method of reconstruction of morphological properties of CMB maps. Finally, we introduce the odd-parity skew-spectra to probe the odd-parity bispectrum and its impact on the morphology of the CMB sky. Although developed for the CMB, the generic results obtained here can be useful in other areas of cosmology

Robotic versus laparoscopic approach in colonic resections for cancer and Benign diseases. Systematic review and meta-analysis

Objectives The aim of this systematic review and meta-Analysis is to compare robotic colectomy (RC) with laparoscopic colectomy (LC) in terms of intraoperative and postoperative outcomes. Materials and Methods A systematic literature search was performed to retrieve comparative studies of robotic and laparoscopic colectomy. The databases searched were PubMed, Embase and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials from January 2000 to October 2014. The Odds ratio, Risk difference and Mean difference were used as the summary statistics. Results A total of 12 studies, which included a total of 4,148 patients who had undergone robotic or laparoscopic colectomy, were included and analyzed. RC demonstrated a longer operative time (MD 41.52, P<0.00001) and higher cost (MD 2.42, P<0.00001) than did LC. The time to first flatus passage (MD-0.51, P = 0.003) and the length of hospital stay (MD-0.68, P = 0.01) were significantly shorter after RC. Additionally, the intraoperative blood loss (MD-16.82, P<0.00001) was significantly less in RC. There was also a significantly lower incidence of overall postoperative complications (OR 0.74, P = 0.02) and wound infections (RD-0.02, P = 0.03) after RC. No differences in the postoperative ileus, in the anastomotic leak, or in the conversion to open surgery rate and in the number of harvested lymph nodes outcomes were found between the approaches. Conclusions The present meta-Analysis, mainly based on observational studies, suggests that RC is more time-consuming and expensive than laparoscopy but that it results in faster recovery of bowel function, a shorter hospital stay, less blood loss and lower rates of both overall postoperative complications and wound infections. Copyright: © 2015 Trastulli et al.OBJECTIVES: The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis is to compare robotic colectomy (RC) with laparoscopic colectomy (LC) in terms of intraoperative and postoperative outcomes. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A systematic literature search was performed to retrieve comparative studies of robotic and laparoscopic colectomy. The databases searched were PubMed, Embase and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials from January 2000 to October 2014. The Odds ratio, Risk difference and Mean difference were used as the summary statistics. RESULTS: A total of 12 studies, which included a total of 4,148 patients who had undergone robotic or laparoscopic colectomy, were included and analyzed. RC demonstrated a longer operative time (MD 41.52, P<0.00001) and higher cost (MD 2.42, P<0.00001) than did LC. The time to first flatus passage (MD -0.51, P = 0.003) and the length of hospital stay (MD -0.68, P = 0.01) were significantly shorter after RC. Additionally, the intraoperative blood loss (MD -16.82, P<0.00001) was significantly less in RC. There was also a significantly lower incidence of overall postoperative complications (OR 0.74, P = 0.02) and wound infections (RD -0.02, P = 0.03) after RC. No differences in the postoperative ileus, in the anastomotic leak, or in the conversion to open surgery rate and in the number of harvested lymph nodes outcomes were found between the approaches. CONCLUSIONS: The present meta-analysis, mainly based on observational studies, suggests that RC is more time-consuming and expensive than laparoscopy but that it results in faster recovery of bowel function, a shorter hospital stay, less blood loss and lower rates of both overall postoperative complications and wound infections

Early Iron Age metal circulation in the Arabian Peninsula: the oasis of Tayma as part of a dynamic network

The oasis of TaymāΜ, located in north-western Arabia, between the Дijāz mountains and the great Nafūd desert, was strategically situated on one of the branches of the main trade routes that connected southern Arabia and the Mediterranean Sea during the first millennium BC. During archaeological excavations at this site — a project carried out by a Saudi Arabian-German team — an architectural complex of public character dated to the Early Iron Age (eleventh–ninth centuries BC) was investigated in Area O, in the southwestern section of the ancient settlement. Among other finds, a significant concentration of luxury goods (i.e. objects made of ivory, wood, bone, and faïence) was discovered there, together with a few iron and several copper-based artefacts. Of this assemblage, fifty-eight copper-based objects have been analysed by portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF), while sixteen have undergone trace element and lead isotope analyses. The objects chosen to be analysed included everyday items, such as rivets and fragments of rods, three small metal lumps, and a bracelet. The data on their elemental composition and lead isotope signatures combined to indicate that different metal sources were used, suggesting the existence of a highly dynamic metal trade in the wider region during the Early Iron Age