Roadmap to a PhD: Navigating the Application Process

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Bovine dendritic cells & their interaction with E.coli 0157:H7

E. coli O157:H7 is the most important serotype of enterohaemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC) which is of concern to public health worldwide. As a common cause of haemorrhagic colitis, EHEC infection can progress to life threatening sequelae including haemolytic uraemic syndrome (HUS) in humans. Human infection rates are higher in Scotland than found in the rest of the UK. Cattle are asymptomatic carriers of EHEC and are an important reservoir from which disease outbreaks can spread. The terminal rectum has been indicated as a site of E. coli O157:H7 colonisation in the bovine intestinal tract. This is the location of numerous lymphoid follicles which contain dendritic cells (DCs) which are professional antigen presenting cells and important directors of immune responses. DCs are likely to come into contact with EHEC and therefore could be key in this location for enabling EHEC to colonise the bovine host. The first aim of this project was to characterise dendritic cells within the bovine intestinal tract at various anatomical locations, including the terminal rectum, using immunohistochemistry techniques. Following this, work to extract and further phenotype dendritic cells from terminal rectal tissues was undertaken. Finally, a widely-used bovine dendritic cell model was employed to generate dendritic cells from circulating blood monocytes. This model was utilised to investigate the interactions of dendritic cells with EHEC strains compared with responses to bovine enterotoxigenic (ETEC) and bovine commensal E. coli strains. Early work identified that there are potentially numerous DCs within the bovine intestinal tissues and these cells were found in greater numbers at the terminal rectum. Protocols to extract and further characterise these cells were developed but proved inconsistent, with large variation between animals. Using the monocyte derived dendritic cells (moDCs), differences were observed between immunological responses to challenge with E. coli O157:H7 strains and bovine pathogenic or commensal E. coli strains. Cytokine production, cell surface molecule expression, cell phenotype and viability as well as intracellular bacterial counts were compared. The data presented here shows that the bovine moDCs respond differently to EHEC strains when compared with commensal or pathogenic E. coli in several key areas. This has important implications for the responses of the bovine host to various E. coli strains. This work also indicates that dendritic cells could be central to these responses and if studied further still, may hold the key to reducing the colonization and persistence of E. coli O157:H7 in cattle, and subsequent human disease outbreaks

Internal audit outsourcing in small organizations: An exploratory study

Few papers have studied internal audit outsourcing in general, and significantly fewer have limited their analysis to small organizations. This study examines the association between small organizations’ propensity to outsource internal audit activities and (1) audit committee involvement, (2) organizational financial health, and (3) need for expertise. Prior studies find mixed evidence when analyzing both large and small organizations concurrently. This study utilizes the Institute of Internal Auditors Research Foundation 2015 Common Body of Knowledge (CBOK) survey results data from chief audit executives (CAEs) of small organizations (<500 employees) based in seven Anglo-culture countries. We find significant associations between both audit committee involvement and organization financial health and internal audit outsourcing in small organizations

The Effects of Board and Audit Committee Characteristics on Real Earnings Management: Do Boards and Audit Committees Play a Role in its Constraint

This study, using a unique, hand-collected dataset of board and audit committee characteristics from the post-SOX period, examines the effects of corporate governance structures on real earnings management (REM). Results from logistic regression analysis of 148 REM and 148 non-REM firms indicate there is some support for the expectation that audit committee and board characteristics are associated with the probability of REM activity. Specifically, I find that the number of audit committee meetings and independent board members’ stockholdings are negatively associated with REM. Additionally, the number of outside directorships held by audit committee members, the number of outside directorships held by independent board members, and nonindependent board members’ stockholdings demonstrate a positive association with REM. The results offer some potentially valuable information to policymakers seeking to enhance the effectiveness of corporate governance mechanisms, as well as highlight the need for additional governance reform

Big 4 Auditor Office Size, Analysts\u27 Annual Earnings Forecasts and Client Earnings Management Behavior

Prior research finds support for clients of larger Big 4 audit offices having less aggressively managed earnings as evidenced by a lower likelihood of meeting the earnings benchmarks of small profits and small earnings increases. We extend this research by examining the analysts’ forecasts earnings benchmark. The extant literature provides evidence that failing to meet analysts’ forecasts results in severe negative market reactions and auditors are less likely to book audit differences that affect the client’s ability to meet analysts’ expectations. Specifically, we examine the relationship between Big 4 auditor office size and two measures of earnings management relative to analysts’ earnings forecasts: (1) minimization of analysts’ forecast error and (2) just meeting or beating analysts’ forecasts. Using a sample of 9,789 U.S. companies audited by the Big 4 auditors, we find that the reported earnings of clients audited by larger Big 4 offices are associated with increased absolute levels of analysts’ forecast error and a decreased likelihood of just meeting or beating analysts’ earnings forecasts. These results suggest that auditors in larger Big 4 offices are more likely to constrain management’s ability to manage earnings to meet analysts’ forecasts, providing further evidence that auditors of the same Big 4 accounting firm are not achieving consistent audit quality across the firm’s offices. Our results can be useful for investors, researchers, and regulators interested in auditor influence on analysts’ forecast error as well as Big 4 accounting firms seeking to ensure consistency of audit outcomes across offices