Determinants of the demand for urban transport: results of a case study

This paper presents some empirical results stemming from the estimation of a random utility model. With regard to the case study, the main findings are that notwithstanding the existence of a mediocre transport urban service, people would be in favour of using buses in the future. But this shift towards public transport needs to be encouraged through appropriate policies which could culminate in the achievement of a greater sustainability, otherwise we will most certainly have a difficult future characterised by higher car ownership and car usage.http://www.sietitalia.org/wpsiet/Venezia_paper_SIET.pdf

Factors influencing travellers. mode choices: case study of Bari

At present, the structural reform of the Italian local public transport is aimed at a potential re-launching of the sector which should make the engaged resources more productive, and, at the same time, at the achievement of more general objectives linked to sustainable mobility. In this light, on the one side, in this paper the case of Bari will be examined in depth as an example of in house assignment of transport service. On the other side, this paper presents some empirical results stemming from the estimation of a random utility model. The main findings are that notwithstanding the existence of a mediocre transport urban service, people would be in favour of using buses in the future. But this shift towards public transport needs to be encouraged through appropriate policies which could culminate in the achievement of a greater sustainability, otherwise we will most certainly have a difficult future characterised by higher car ownership and car usage.urban transport; random utility model; sustainability

Do professional investors behave differently than amateurs after the weekend?

This paper compares the trading patterns of amateurs to that of professional investors during the days following the weekend. The comparison is based on all the daily transactions of a sample of both amateurs and professionally managed investors in a major brokerage house in Israel between 1994-1998. We find that weekends influence both amateurs and professional investors, however they affect professionals and amateurs in opposite directions. The results are consistent with previous hypotheses about the effects of the weekend on individuals and institutions in the US and with the way these differences may explain the weekend effect in returns in the US and in other markets. The results are also consistent with the absence of a weekend effect in returns in Israel during the period examined, since the conflicting effects of the weekend on individuals and professionally managed investors may have canceled each other. --

Experimental study of implications of SFAS 131: The effects of the new standard on the informativeness of segment reporting

This paper analyzes whether the new business segment reporting disclosure rules, SFAS 131, will actually provide capital market participants with more predictive ability than the previous rules. For this we conduct three experiments. Two experiments with advanced accounting students as subjects, where the experiments differ in the firm the subjects analyze, and the third with professional financial analysts. In each experiment we provide one group of subjects with accounting reports based on the new standard (New Rules Group, NRG), and another group with reports based on the old standard (Old Rules Group, ORG). We ask both groups to forecast several accounting and market values of a firm. We then compare the performance predictions and analyses of the two groups. Most of the forecasts of the NRG are neither significantly different from those of the ORG, nor significantly more accurate. Subjects also report the variables that they consider important in their analysis. 25% of the NRG students in Experiment I mention the segment data as being central in their decisions and 33% say they used segment or sector data. Among the analysts in Experiment II the corresponding percentages are 0% and 60%, respectively. Also in experiment III, where the subjects rank the top 4 variables they use in their predictions according to importance, segment repots receive a mediocre rank. It therefore appears that the reports according to the new rules, whereas noticeable by the subjects, do not have a major positive impact on their responses. The subjects also exhibit a considerable degree of overconfidence. --segment reporting,FASB 131,experimental economics,overconfidence

Yahoo! And The Chinese Dissidents: A Case Study Of Trust, Values, And Clashing Cultures

This case involves the global business ethics of two distinctly different cultures whose definition of human rights is embedded within their differing historical traditions. The Constitution of the United States guarantees individual rights for each of its citizens, including free speech and the right to petition the government. The People’s Republic of China traces its roots to the ancient tradition of Confucius and the Mandate of Heaven that advocated the Emperor’s responsibility to provide economic justice to instill social harmony. This perspective is echoed by the Communist’s party of the PRC with its insistence on the prohibition of public dissent.  How then should an American firm address these issues while remaining competitive in the global arena and should they be held responsible for abiding to foreign law? This case presents the ethical dilemma faced by democratic multinationals conducting business globally

Persistence of poor sleep predicts the severity of the clinical condition after 6months of standard treatment in patients with eating disorders

Clinical evidence suggests that eating disorder (ED) patients experience poor sleep even if they rarely complain of it. However, direct empirical evidence supporting this relationship is still sparse. In order to provide direct evidence, poor sleep, severity of the ED symptoms and depression were obtained in 562 ED patients at treatment admission (T0). For 271 patients out of them, data were also available after 6 months of standard treatment (T1). Results evidence that at T0 poor sleep predicts severity of ED symptoms through the mediation of depression. Persistence of poor sleep at T1 directly predicts the severity of the ED symptoms both directly and through the mediation of depression. These findings suggest that the treatment of ED may benefit from addressing poor sleep since its presence and persistence increase comorbidity and attrition to the standard treatment

Civilization, National Culture And Ethical Work Climates: A Comparative Study Of CPA Firms In China And Taiwan

The emergence of China as an economic power has prompted the question, what impact if any has globalization and market liberalization had on the ethical climate of organizations within China and its neighbor Taiwan? Cross-strait tensions have eased over the past few years due to closer economic integration. Although both countries differ in political, as well as organizational design, they share core cultural values embedded within civilization; Confucianism. This study attempts to understand how the correlation established between ethical climates and National culture by Parboteeah, Cullen, Victor, and Sakano are played out against the backdrop of a shared civilization. Will the ethical climates retain or deviate from the core civilization cultural values theorized by Samuel P. Huntington? To answer that question, we collected data from C.P.A. firms in China and Taiwan using the 36-item revised version of the Ethical Climate Questionnaire developed by John B. Cullen, Bart Victor (1988), and James W. Bronson (1993). The results indicated a significant difference in four areas: 1) principal-individual, 2) principle-cosmopolitan, 3) benevolence-individual, and 4) egoism-individual. When correlated with national culture and their core civilizational cultural value of Confucianism, deviations showed that Taiwan moved away from Confucian values by scoring higher in Egoism while retaining Confucianism with a more particularistic culture. China demonstrated a shift away from Confucian values by scoring higher in principle while retaining Confucian values through its score in benevolence

Improvement of the Rotation Arch of the Posterior Interosseous Pedicle Flap Preserving Both Reverse Posterior and Anterior Interosseous Vascular Sources.

Abstract PURPOSE: The reverse posterior interosseous artery flap has several advantages, not sacrificing any major blood vessel, but its relatively short pedicle limits the use to cover defects up to the metacarpophalangeal joint. Our purpose is to demonstrate that the ligature of the anterior interosseous artery (AIA), proximal to the communicating branch with the posterior interosseous artery, leads to an improved flap rotation arch, preserving both vascular sources. METHODS: Sixteen fresh cadavers with latex perfusion were analyzed before and after our technique of elongation, and the so-obtained measures were standardized in "percentage of elongation of the pedicle." Eight patient with the loss of substance at the dorsal aspect of the hand have been treated with this technique, and results were evaluated in terms of flap survival and complication rates. RESULTS: The medium length of the pedicle in the normal flap was 10.8\u2009cm, and after the section of the AIA, the medium length of the pedicle was 13.6\u2009cm with a medium increase of 2.8\u2009cm. It means a medium increase of 24% of the length of the pedicle. In all patients treated, full coverage of the defect was obtained, and we did not experience major complications. CONCLUSIONS: This anatomical study supported by our clinical experience demonstrates that the use of the variant described above permits to reach more distal part of the hand without being afraid to stretch the pedicle because of the connection with the anastomotic arcades of the AIA at the wrist reducing the risk of ischemia of the flap

A Comparative Study Of Ethical Work Climates Among Public And Private Sector Asian Accountants

The purpose of this study is to determine whether a significant difference exists in the ethical behavior between public and private sector accountants. Current research has either focused on one sector or the other, leaving scant data for comparative studies. The public sector’s focus on the intricacies of bureaucracy, emphasis on serving the public and sworn oaths to constitutions is bound and constrained by rules and law. The private sector, on the other, hand emphasizes entrepreneurship and risk-taking, encouraging creative approaches that challenge the parameters of the law, as well as answering to stake-holders. These differences toward decision-making influence their respective ethical choices. The 36-item revised version of Ethical Climate Questionnaire, developed by Bart Victor, John B. Cullen, (1987-1988), and James W. Bronson (1993), was the instrument used to evaluate the ethical perceptions of the accountants. Factor analysis results extracted seven dimensions and all of them originally identified from the based theory of Ethical Work Climate of Cullen, Victor, and Bronson (1993). They are Rules/Codes, Caring, Self-Interest, Social Responsibility, Efficiency, Instrumentalism, and Personal Morality. The results reflected the differences between the public and private sectors, emphasizing what is considered to be of optimum to each. The public sector showed a higher perception in rules/codes, caring, self-interests, social responsibility, and instrumentalism, while efficiency and personal morality were perceived higher in the private sector