PowerPoint and concept maps: a great double act

This article explores how concept maps can provide a useful addition to PowerPoint slides to convey interconnections of knowledge and help students see how knowledge is often non-linear. While most accounting educators are familiar with PowerPoint, they are likely to be less familiar with concept maps and this article shows how the tool can be used by students to construct their own concept maps and how educator-constructed concept maps can be used as quizzes to encourage more student participation in class

Efficient contracting, earnings smoothing and managerial accounting discretion

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine whether the contracting incentives (i.e. bonus plans, debt covenants, political costs hypotheses), and income smoothing can explain accounting choices in an emerging country, Egypt. Design/methodology/approach – The paper uses the ordinary least square regression model to examine the relationship between earnings management and reporting objectives. A sample of 438 non-financial firms listed on the Egyptian Exchange over the period 2005-2007 is used. Findings – The paper finds that the contracting objectives explain little of the variations in accounting choices (i.e. discretionary accruals) in the Egyptian context. However, the paper finds that mangers are likely to smooth the reported earnings by managing the accrual component in an attempt to reduce the fluctuation in reported earnings by increasing (decreasing) earnings when earnings are low (high) in attempt to reduce the variability of the reported earnings. Research limitations/implications – The empirical results rely on the ability of earnings management proxies to adequately capture earnings manipulation activities. Practical implications – The findings of the study should be of substantial interest to regulators and policy makers. The results implicitly contribute to the ongoing argument in relation to the optimal flexibility permitted by standard setting and the argument that tightening the accounting standards and mandating International Financial Reporting Standards are likely to improve reporting quality and reduce opportunistic earnings management. The results reveal that many of the weaknesses related to corporate reporting in emerging countries may result from the inadequate enforcement of the law and the weak legal protection of minority shareholders. The results also highlight the crucial role of understanding the reporting incentives, which is mainly shaped by institutional and market forces and the legal environment, in explaining accounting choices. Originality/value – Unlike previous studies that tested an individual objective, this study examines the trade-offs among various reporting objectives in an emerging economy

A Quarkyonic Phase in Dense Two Color Matter?

We present results from simulations of Two Color QCD with two Wilson quark flavors in the presence of a quark chemical potential mu at two different lattice spacings. The equation of state, conformal anomaly, superfluid order parameter and Polyakov line are all discussed. Our results suggest that the transition from hadronic to quark matter, and that from confined to deconfined matter occur at distinct values of mu, consistent with the existence of a quarkyonic phase in this model.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, references added and discussion of conformal anomaly extende

Quark Matter in QC(2)D

Results are presented from a numerical study of lattice QCD with gauge group SU(2) and two flavors of Wilson fermion at non-zero quark chemical potential mu >> T. Studies of the equation of state, the superfluid condensate, and the Polyakov line all suggest that in addition to the low density phase of Bose-condensed diquark baryons, there is a deconfined phase at higher quark density in which quarks form a degenerate system, whose Fermi surface is only mildly disrupted by Cooper pair condensation.Comment: 3 pages, 4 figures, contributed talk at "Quarks and Nuclear Physics", Madrid, 5th-10th June 200

Using formal game design methods to embed learning outcomes into game mechanics and avoid emergent behaviour

This paper offers an approach to designing game based learning experiences inspired by the Mechanics-Dynamics-Aesthetics (MDA) model (Hunicke et al, 2004) and the elemental tetrad (Schell, 2008) model for game design. A case for game based learning as an active and social learning experience is presented including arguments from both teachers and game designers concerning the value of games as learning tools. The MDA model is introduced with a classic game- based example and a non-game based observation of human behaviour demonstrating a negative effect of extrinsic motivators (Pink, 2011) and the need to closely align or embed learning outcomes into game mechanics in order to deliver an effective learning experience. The MDA model will then be applied to create a game based learning experience with the goal of teaching some of the aspects of using source code control to groups of Computer Science students. First, clear aims in terms of learning outcomes for the game are set out. Following the learning outcomes the iterative design process is explained with careful consideration and reflection on the impact of specific design decisions on the potential learning experience, and the reasons those decisions have been made and where there may be conflict between mechanics contributing to learning and mechanics for reasons of gameplay. The paper will conclude with an evaluation of results from a trial of computer science students and staff, and the perceived effectiveness of the game at delivering specific learning outcomes, and the approach for game design will be assessed

Halos around edge-on disk galaxies in the SDSS

We present a statistical analysis of halo emission for a sample of 1047 edge-on disk galaxies imaged in five bands by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). Stacking the homogeneously rescaled images of the galaxies, we can measure surface brightnesses as deep as mu_r~31 mag/arcsec^2. The results strongly support the almost ubiquitous presence of stellar halos around disk galaxies, whose spatial distribution is well described by a power-law $\rho\propto r^{-3}$, in a moderately flattened spheroid (c/a~0.6). The colour estimates in g-r and r-i, although uncertain, give a clear indication for extremely red stellar populations, hinting at old ages and/or non-negligible metal enrichment. These results support the idea of halos being assembled via early merging of satellite galaxies.Comment: 15 pages, 9 figures. Accepted for publication on MNRAS. Version with full resolution images available at http://www.mpa-garching.mpg.de/~zibetti/papers/halos_edgeon.pd