Asymmetric Cost Behavior: Exploring Ethical Issues Facing Management

Asymmetric cost behavior or cost stickiness is a relatively new phenomenon in accounting. Cost accounting initially assumed that traditional cost behaviors follow a symmetrical pattern, whereas sales and costs rise and fall equivalently with each other. Extending the research of Anderson, Banker and Janakiraman (2003) which introduced a theory that contradicted the normal symmetrical cost behavior by suggesting that internal factors, such as management decisions impact spending resulting in asymmetric cost behavior or cost stickiness. The objective of this paper is to explore whether asymmetric cost behavior or cost stickiness impacts corporate earnings of enterprises and if so, does this inadvertently create ethical issues for decision-making by management, as they may benefit in compensation from these decisions. By examining the link between Sales General and Administrative expenses (SG&A) and earnings, this paper shows how asymmetrical behavior influences management decision making cost. The conclusions, recommendations and implications reached in this study are generalizable and appropriate for use in developing best practices

Do Tactile Activities During Good Citizenship Lessons Minimize Misbehavior More Than Activities Using Traditional Strategies?

https://scholarworks.moreheadstate.edu/student_scholarship_posters/1195/thumbnail.jp

Blue Growth: A Transitions Approach to Developing Sustainable Pathways

The sustainable management of Blue Growth is an urgent issue for coastal states. Marine industries have rapidly expanded over the last two decades and this is projected to continue with the European Green Deal and post-COVID economic recovery policies. The intensification of Blue Growth could have adverse socio-ecological implications and must, therefore, be managed in terms of sustainability, natural resource boundaries, and coastal community well-being. Managing Blue Growth in a sustainable manner however, is challenging due to the longstanding inefficiencies and inertia of existing marine governance regimes. Adopting a transitions approach has been advanced as a way of steering regime change so that it is not inhibited by these persistent problems. This paper reports on four case studies that adopt transitions thinking and use the multi-level perspective as a broad analytical framework through which to understand institutional dynamics, drivers and responses within core marine sectors. Our case studies analysis reveals several significant pressures for regime change within key marine sectors. These pressures need to be addressed through the adoption of a transition management approach. By adopting this approach and engaging key stakeholders, national and EU marine governance authorities can develop sustainable Blue Growth pathways that minimize the impact of continued growth on communities and the marine environment, maximizing the implementation of sustainable practices and addressing issues such as biodiversity loss and climate change

Genes linking copper trafficking and homeostasis to the biogenesis and activity of the cbb3-type cytochrome c oxidase in the enteric pathogen Campylobacter jejuni

Bacterial C-type haem-copper oxidases in the cbb3 family are widespread in microaerophiles, which exploit their high oxygen-binding affinity for growth in microoxic niches. In microaerophilic pathogens, C-type oxidases can be essential for infection, yet little is known about their biogenesis compared to model bacteria. Here, we have identified genes involved in cbb3-oxidase (Cco) assembly and activity in the Gram-negative pathogen Campylobacter jejuni, the commonest cause of human food-borne bacterial gastroenteritis. Several genes of unknown function downstream of the oxidase structural genes ccoNOQP were shown to be essential (cj1483c and cj1486c) or important (cj1484c and cj1485c) for Cco activity; Cj1483 is a CcoH homologue, but Cj1484 (designated CcoZ) has structural similarity to MSMEG_4692, involved in Qcr-oxidase supercomplex formation in Mycobacterium smegmatis. Blue-native polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of detergent solubilised membranes revealed three major bands, one of which contained CcoZ along with Qcr and oxidase subunits. Deletion of putative copper trafficking genes ccoI (cj1155c) and ccoS (cj1154c) abolished Cco activity, which was partially restored by addition of copper during growth, while inactivation of cj0369c encoding a CcoG homologue led to a partial reduction in Cco activity. Deletion of an operon encoding PCuAC (Cj0909) and Sco (Cj0911) periplasmic copper chaperone homologues reduced Cco activity, which was partially restored in the cj0911 mutant by exogenous copper. Phenotypic analyses of gene deletions in the cj1161c–1166c cluster, encoding several genes involved in intracellular metal homeostasis, showed that inactivation of copA (cj1161c), or copZ (cj1162c) led to both elevated intracellular Cu and reduced Cco activity, effects exacerbated at high external Cu. Our work has therefore identified (i) additional Cco subunits, (ii) a previously uncharacterized set of genes linking copper trafficking and Cco activity, and (iii) connections with Cu homeostasis in this important pathogen

Long-distance staple transport in western Mesoamerica: Insights through quantitative modeling

Conceptualizations of pre-Hispanic staple transport remain underdeveloped. Conventional wisdom has long maintained that while prestige goods could demand long-distance transport, staple transport was short distance. A quantitative model reveals the fallacy of that argument and establishes the possibility of long-distance, overland staple transport in Mesoamerica by using maize tribute transport between Zempoala and Tenochtitlan as an example. This conclusion has implications for understanding Mesoamerican interregional exchange, ecology, and society

Challenges in measuring indicators of progress for the Atlantic Action Plan

The EU Atlantic Action Plan (AAP) has recently been updated and revised to support ‘blue growth’ along Europe’s western coastal regions. The revisions reflect recent challenges facing the Atlantic Arc maritime economies including the Covid-19 crisis, Brexit and the new requirements of the European Green Deal. This new revision, termed AAP 2.0, also addresses some of the weaknesses highlighted in the original Atlantic Action Plan particularly regarding identifying indicators that may be used to measure progress in the achievement of the Plan’s objectives. Using a database with comparable marine socio-economic data across the Atlantic regions, a number of indicators are identified that may be used to monitor progress of the AAP 2.0. Recent trends and spatial distributions across the Atlantic Arc region are shown for these indicators. The challenges in measuring progress are also highlighted, including where some AAP objectives and associated indicators may conflict with other EU policy aims and where the current monitoring framework can be bolstered with the inclusion of new indicators

Preventing Chronic Disease in the Workplace: A Workshop Report and Recommendations

Chronic disease is the leading cause of death in the United States. Risk factors and work conditions can be addressed through health promotion aimed at improving individual health behaviors; health protection, including occupational safety and health interventions; and efforts to support the work–family interface. Responding to the need to address chronic disease at worksites, the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention convened a workshop to identify research priorities to advance knowledge and implementation of effective strategies to reduce chronic disease risk. Workshop participants outlined a conceptual framework and corresponding research agenda to address chronic disease prevention by integrating health promotion and health protection in the workplace

Disordered Eating among Preadolescent Boys and Girls: The Relationship with Child and Maternal Variables

Objective: (i) To analyze the eating behaviors and body satisfaction of boys and girls and to examine their mothers’ perceptions of these two domains; and (ii) to evaluate eating problem predictors using child body mass index (BMI), self-esteem, and body satisfaction as well as maternal BMI, eating problems, and satisfaction with their child’s body. The participants included 111 children (54.1% girls aged between 9 and 12 years old) and their mothers. Assessment measures included the Child Eating Attitude Test, the Self-Perception Profile for Children, the Eating Disorders Questionnaire, and the Child Eating Behavior Questionnaire. Child and maternal measures also included BMI and Collins Figure Drawings. Results: (i) No association between child and maternal BMI for either sex was found; (ii) no difference was found between boys and girls with regard to eating behavior; (iii) most children revealed a preference for an ideal body image over their actual body image; (iv) most mothers preferred thinner bodies for their children; (v) greater BMI was related to higher body dissatisfaction; and (vi) child BMI and dissatisfaction with body image predicted eating disturbances in boys, whereas self-esteem, maternal BMI, and eating behavior predicted them in girls. Discussion: Maternal eating problems and BMI were related to female eating problems only