High frequency trading and end-of-day price dislocation : [Version 28 Oktober 2013]

We show that the presence of high frequency trading (HFT) has significantly mitigated the frequency and severity of end-of-day price dislocation, counter to recent concerns expressed in the media. The effect of HFT is more pronounced on days when end of day price dislocation is more likely to be the result of market manipulation on days of option expiry dates and end of month. Moreover, the effect of HFT is more pronounced than the role of trading rules, surveillance, enforcement and legal conditions in curtailing the frequency and severity of end-of-day price dislocation. We show our findings are robust to different proxies of the start of HFT by trade size, cancellation of orders, and co-location

Exchange trading rules, surveillance and insider trading : [draft 15 oct 2013]

We examine the impact of stock exchange trading rules and surveillance on the frequency and severity of suspected insider trading cases in 22 stock exchanges around the world over the period January 2003 through June 2011. Using new indices for market manipulation, insider trading, and broker-agency conflict based on the specific provisions of the trading rules of each stock exchange, along with surveillance to detect non-compliance with such rules, we show that more detailed exchange trading rules and surveillance over time and across markets significantly reduce the number of cases, but increase the profits per case

Towards establishing a research tradition in accounting : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Business Studies in Accounting at Massey University

Perhaps the most significant event to have affected accounting since the beginning of the 20th century was the stock market crash of 1929. Although the event took place in the U.S.A. and so only directly affected the American accounting profession the subsequent influence of the American profession on the professions in many other countries (England, Australia, Canada etc.) can be traced to this event. The significance of this event lies in the fact that it witnessed the beginning of a new era in the accounting discipline in which the general attitude toward the profession was transformed from one of disinterest to one quite the opposite. Although the attitude fostered was one of extreme disdain, the immediate consequence of which was widespread criticism of accounting practitioners and their practices, accounting was to its advantage never again to rest on its laurels. Notwithstanding the fact that the profession may have received a disproportionate amount of the blame for the events which took place at that time, the heavy criticism which the profession endured pointed unmistakably to many previously ignored responsibilities and inadequacies. Perhaps the most significant inadequacy was the fact that the profession was at a loss to answer or explain to its critics the rationale for the practices they were then using. Unable to successfully answer its critics and prompted by the threat of legislative sanctions and controls, accountants for the first time began to see the need for a critical examination of the practices which made up their discipline. Apart from the work of one or two individuals (e.g. Sprague, Paton) this amounted to the first recognition by accountants en masse of the need for research in accounting. This need for introspection was recognised by most professional bodies by the mid 1940's. The method of research adopted to facilitate this critical investigation centred around the wholesale gathering of data on what accountants were doing. The expected objective of this research was that one would from the collected information be able to establish common ways of doing things which could then, by the authoritative decree of the profession, be established as rules. This method of research continued largely unchallenged up until the 1950's and even today continues to dominate the way accountants conduct research. Concern had been expressed that research was not "organised" but this was not concerned with an organised plan of matters to be investigated or ways in which answers were to be sought but rather the questions of whether research should be an individual or group effort and whether certain issues deserved discussion with others (arguments of grouping). Since the 1950's however, concern has been expressed among the academic branch of the profession that the sort of research referred to above was not only ad hoc in nature, but hardly even deserving of the term 'research'. Sir Alexander Fitzgerald was one to come to this conclusion after considerable personal endeavour along these lines. He commented "Research is not merely an exposition of practices currently followed." (Fitzgerald, 1957, 2) Supporting Fitzgerald and also attacking the notion of authoritative rule-making, Chambers commented "We [must] question the formulation of rules before adequate analysis of the matters in respect of which they are made" (Chambers, 1966, 353). In efforts to provide a solution to the now wide open question - What is the best research method for accounting purposes?, reference has subsequently been made to the physical sciences which are thought, by virtue of the fact that they have the only well-developed research tradition, to have the only research method of any consequence. Evidencing this belief, Chambers, referring to his own particular efforts to outline a methodology for accounting, commented "... there was no pattern to follow except that of the well-developed sciences" (Chambers, 1966, 4). Following further investigation of the physical sciences however, what is now apparent is that there appears to be more than one explanation for their success and so more than just one finite method of research than that implied by the phrase 'scientific method'. In this thesis the intention is to investigate these latest developments with a view to deciding whether any or all of the explanations referred to have some relevance for accounting

Using Cognitive Assessment Testing to Evaluate and Improve a University Program in Communication Studies

This article attempts to demonstrate how cognitive assessment may be used to empower both faculty and students by offering pedagogical and administrative strategies that enhance student learning in the U.S. The faculty limited its cognitive test, the Pre-Communication Assessment Measure to the four competencies--critical thinking, interpersonal, decision-making and theoretical competencies--common to two of five required courses. The components of the cognitive test are: critical thinking competence, interpersonal competence, decision-making competence and theoretical competence

The Seven Words of the Virgin: Identifying Change in the Discourse Context of the Concept of Virginity in Early Modern English

No abstract available

Description of Immundisolibacter cernigliae gen. nov., sp. nov., a high-molecular-weight polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon-degrading bacterium within the class Gammaproteobacteria, and proposal of Immundisolibacterales ord. nov. and Immundisolibacteraceae fam. nov.

The bacterial strain TR3.2T was isolated from aerobic bioreactor-treated soil from a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH)-contaminated site in Salisbury, NC, USA. Strain TR3.2T was identified as a member of ‘Pyrene Group 2’ or ‘PG2’, a previously uncultivated cluster of organisms associated with the degradation of high-molecular-weight PAHs by stable-isotope probing. Based on its 16S rRNA gene sequence, the strain was classified as a member of the class Gammaproteobacteria but possessed only 90.5 % gene identity to its closest described relative, Methylococcus capsulatus strain Bath. Strain TR3.2T grew on the PAHs pyrene, phenanthrene, anthracene, benz[a]anthracene and fluorene, as well as the azaarene carbazole, and could additionally metabolize a limited number of organic acids. Optimal growth occurred aerobically under mesophilic temperature, neutral pH and low salinity conditions. Strain TR3.2T was catalase and oxidase positive. Predominant fatty acids were C17 : 0 cyclo and C16 : 0. Genomic G+C content of the single chromosome was 67.79 mol% as determined by complete genome sequencing. Due to the high sequence divergence from any cultivated species and its unique physiological properties compared to its closest relatives, strain TR3.2T is proposed as a representative of a novel order, family, genus and species within the class Gammaproteobacteria, for which the name Immundisolibacter cernigliae gen. nov., sp. nov. is proposed. The associated order and family are therefore proposed as Immundisolibacteralesord. nov. and Immundisolibacteraceaefam. nov. The type strain of the species is TR3.2T (=ATCC TSD-58T=DSM 103040T)

Surfactant-induced bacterial community changes correlated with increased polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon degradation in contaminated soil

Bioremediation as a method for removing polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from contaminated environments has been criticized for poor removal of potentially carcinogenic but less bioavailable high-molecular-weight (HMW) compounds. As a partial remedy to this constraint, we studied surfactant addition at sub-micellar concentrations to contaminated soil to enhance the biodegradation of PAHs remaining after conventional aerobic bioremediation. We demonstrated increased removal of 4- and 5-ring PAHs using two nonionic surfactants, polyoxyethylene(4)lauryl ether (Brij 30) and polyoxyethylene sorbitol hexaoleate (POESH), and analyzed bacterial community shifts associated with those conditions. Eight groups of abundant bacteria were implicated as potentially being involved in increased HMW PAH removal. A group of unclassified Alphaproteobacteria and members of the Phenylobacterium genus in particular showed significantly increased relative abundance in the two conditions exhibiting increased PAH removal. Other implicated groups included members of the Sediminibacterium, Terrimonas, Acidovorax, and Luteimonas genera, as well as uncharacterized organisms within the families Chitinophagaceae and Bradyrhizobiaceae. Targeted isolation identified a subset of the community likely using the surfactants as a growth substrate but few of the isolates exhibited PAH-degradation capability. Isolates recovered from the Acidovorax and uncharacterized Bradyrhizobiaceae groups suggest the abundance of those groups may have been attributable to growth on surfactants. Understanding the specific bacteria responsible for HMW PAH removal in natural and engineered systems and their response to stimuli such as surfactant amendment may improve bioremediation efficacy during treatment of contaminated environmental media

Enrichment of Fusobacteria in Sea Surface Oil Slicks from the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill

The Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill led to rapid microbial community shifts in the Gulf of Mexico, including the formation of unprecedented quantities of marine oil snow (MOS) and of a massive subsurface oil plume. The major taxa that bloomed in sea surface oil slicks during the spill included Cycloclasticus, and to a lesser extent Halomonas, Alteromonas, and Pseudoalteromonas—organisms that grow and degrade oil hydrocarbons aerobically. Here, we show that sea surface oil slicks at DWH contained obligate and facultative anaerobic taxa, including members of the obligate anaerobic phylum Fusobacteria that are commonly found in marine sediment environments. Pyrosequencing analysis revealed that Fusobacteria were strongly selected for when sea surface oil slicks were allowed to develop anaerobically. These organisms have been found in oil-contaminated sediments in the Gulf of Mexico, in deep marine oil reservoirs, and other oil-contaminated sites, suggesting they have putative hydrocarbon-degrading qualities. The occurrence and strong selection for Fusobacteria in a lab-based incubation of a sea surface oil slick sample collected during the spill suggests that these organisms may have become enriched in anaerobic zones of suspended particulates, such as MOS. Whilst the formation and rapid sinking of MOS is recognised as an important mechanism by which a proportion of the Macondo oil had been transported to the sea floor, its role in potentially transporting microorganisms, including oil-degraders, from the upper reaches of the water column to the seafloor should be considered. The presence of Fusobacteria on the sea surface—a highly oxygenated environment—is intriguing, and may be explained by the vertical upsurge of oil that provided a carrier to transport these organisms from anaerobic/micro-aerophilic zones in the oil plume or seabed to the upper reaches of the water column. We also propose that the formation of rapidly-sinking MOS may have re-transported these, and other microbial taxa, to the sediment in the Gulf of Mexico