Corporate governance and audit features: SMEs evidence

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of corporate governance factors on audit features, namely, audit fees and the selection of Big 4 audit firms within the UK SMEs context. Design/methodology/approach The author uses different regression models to investigate the impact of corporate governance characteristics on audit features, and employs cross-sectional time series models as well as two-stage least squares technique. In addition, the author has used logit analysis to examine the effect of corporate governance factors on the selection of Big 4 audit firms. Findings The author provides new evidence that governance mechanisms in SMEs affect different audit features. The results show that corporate governance mechanisms are important in determining audit fees. The author detects a positive impact of board independence, audit meeting and board size on audit fees. The author also reports evidence that governance factors determine the selection of Big 4 audit firms. In particular, the author reports that independent directors and audit diligence positively affect the decision to select Big 4 audit firms. Originality/value This paper investigates the under-researched relationship between audit features and corporate governance using UK SMEs. In so doing, the author aims to provide new insights into this relationship within the SMEs context

Transaction Costs and the Robustness of the Coase Theorem

We develop a model of undescribable events. Examples of events that are well understood by economic agents but are prohibitively difficult to describe in advance abound in real-life. This notion has also pervaded a substantial amount of economic literature. We put forth a model of such events using a simple co-insurance problem as backdrop. Undescribable events in our model are understood by economic agents --- their consequences and probabilities are known --- but are such that every finite description of such events necessarily leaves out relevant features that have a non-negligible impact on the parties' expected utilities. We also show that two key ingredients of our model --- probabilities that are finitely additive but fail countable additivity, and a state space that is small (discrete in our model) in a measure-theoretic sense --- are necessary ingredients of any model of undescribable events that delivers our results.Undescribable Events, Incomplete Contracts, Finite Invariance, Fine Variability.

Prediction Markets to Forecast Electricity Demand

A preference is invariant with respect to a transformation tau if its ranking of acts is unaffected by a reshuffling of the states under tau. We show that any invariant preference must be parametric: there is a unique sufficient set of parameters such that the preference ranks acts according to their expected utility given the parameters. This property holds for all non-trivial preferences, provided only that they are reflexive, transitive, monotone, continuous and mixture linear.

Public media accountability: media journalism, engaged publics and critical media literacy in the MENA

The flow of information, news and views in the Arab world is expanding exponentially, with countries like Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Iran increasing their presence through a new wave of multiplatform journalistic networks. This proliferation of news channels makes it challenging for Arab publics to navigate the available information sources and form informed views. This study examines the ways in which Arab citizens, as media users, could be enabled to influence news media conduct and thus enhance media practicioners’ commitment toward ethical journalistic practices and standards, particularly accuracy, balance and fairness. It aims to explore the possibilities of making pan-Arab news media accountable to their publics, refocusing their attention on citizens rather than sponsors and governments. The first section provides an overview of the current state of accountability of the pan-Arab news media with a focus on state-funded broadcasters. Section two looks at the current and emerging media practices and internet-based forms of professional and public accountability in Arab countries. Section three investigates the role of critical media literacy in bolstering the value and effect of current forms of public accountability. Arab media are facing new forms of professional and public accountability and, although in its infancy, critical media literacy is a central factor in fostering and shaping this. This is both essential to the development of constructive and engaging forms of critique and questioning of media performance, role, content and conduct; and in widening the practice of critical media questioning and criticism to other members of the public

Deliveries Among Teenage Females Under 18 Years Old in Al-Hindyia General Hospital

Teenage marriage and pregnancy considered a common public health issue in Iraq that associate with higher incidence of maternal and neonatal complications. We assess in this study the relation between teenage pregnancy and risk of operative delivery whether emergency or elective in comparison with older pregnant women. It is a retrospective cohort study of pregnant women admitted for delivery at the obstetric ward in Al-Hindiya general hospital during one year time. The study revealed two folds risk of primary operative delivery in teenage pregnant women than older pregnant women. Keywords: Teenage pregnancy, Caesarean section