The Economic Consequences of IFRS: The Impact of IAS 32 on Preference Shares in the Netherlands

The consequences of international accounting standards are likely to reach beyond the impact on financial statements. This paper demonstrates one of the economic implications of international standards. We focus on the impact of the IFRS regulation on preference shares (IAS 32) in the Netherlands. IAS 32 causes most preference shares to lose their classification as equity and these shares will hence be classified as liabilities. We document that for Dutch firms with preferred stock outstanding, the reclassification will on average increase the reported debt ratio by 35%. We find that 71% of the firms that are affected by IAS 32 buy back their preference shares or alter the specifications of the preference shares in such a way that the classification as equity can be maintained. The main determinant of the decision whether to give these consequences to IAS 32 is the magnitude of the impact of IAS 32 on a firm’s debt ratio. We conclude that IFRS does not only lead to a decrease in the use of financial instruments that otherwise would have added to the capital structure diversity, but also changes firms’ real capital structure.IFRS;Accounting Changes;Economic Consequences;IAS 32;Magnitude Effect;Preference Shares

Mitochondrial DNA signature for range-wide populations of Bicyclus anynana suggests a rapid expansion from recent refugia

This study investigates the genetic diversity, population structure and demographic history of the afrotropical butterfly Bicyclus anynana using mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA). Samples from six wild populations covering most of the species range from Uganda to South Africa were compared for the cytochrome c oxidase subunit gene (COI). Molecular diversity indices show overall high mtDNA diversity for the populations, but low nucleotide divergence between haplotypes. Our results indicate relatively little geographic population structure among the southern populations, especially given the extensive distributional range and an expectation of limited gene flow between populations. We implemented neutrality tests to assess signatures of recent historical demographic events. Tajima's D test and Fu's FS test both suggested recent population growth for the populations. The results were only significant for the southernmost populations when applying Tajima's D, but Fu's FS indicated significant deviations from neutrality for all populations except the one closest to the equator. Based on our own findings and those from pollen and vegetation studies, we hypothesize that the species range of B. anynana was reduced to equatorial refugia during the last glacial period, and that the species expanded southwards during the past 10.000 years. These results provide crucial background information for studies of phenotypic and molecular adaptation in wild populations of B. anynan

Ik ben die Marokkaan niet!: Onderzoek naar identiteitsvorming van Marokkaans-Nederlandse hbo-studenten

Ghorashi, H. [Promotor]Kamsteeg, F.H. [Copromotor

Geographic variation and thermal adaptation in Bicyclus anynana

This thesis investigates mechanisms of adaptation to climate, and in particular temperature, in the African butterfly Bicyclus anynana. The work takes an integrated approach and brings together studies at the phenotypic, physiological and genetic level. By examining geographical variation among wild populations, the thesis investigates how B. anynana is adapted to geographically varying thermal conditions. The first half of the thesis is focused on phenotypic plasticity, which is a major component of adaptation to climate in B. anynana. Chapter 2 compares the plasticity response to temperature of two populations, and reveals a population-specific response for wing pattern but very small to no differences in the response of life history traits. Chapter 3 shows that a discontinuous regulatory hormone signal during development underlies the seasonal plasticity in B. anynana. In the second half of the thesis, I take a molecular genetic approach by studying geographic patterns of neutral and adaptive evolution in wild populations. Chapter 4 indicates that the B. anynana species area expanded southwards after the last ice age from glacial equatorial habitat refugia. Chapter 5 identifies clinal variation in genes coding for metabolic enzymes, indicating a putative role of these genes in thermal adaptation.UBL - phd migration 201

Verbindingsmaatlat voor de landbouw : ontwikkeling van een indicator die een beeld geeft van de verbinding tussen een biologisch landbouwbedrijf en zijn omgeving : onderdeel van koepelproject Duurzaamheidprestaties Biologische Landbouw

Eén van de kenmerken van duurzaamheid, in de traditionele people, plant, profit indeling, is de mate waarin landbouw zich weet te verbinden aan de maatschappij. Deze studie focust zich op de ontwikkeling van een indicator die de mate van verbinding weergeeft. Omdat verbinding het resultaat is van een complexe sociale interactie die lastig meetbaar is, is er geen indicator beschikbaar die direct iets zegt over de mate van verbinding die een bedrijf of een sector weet te realiseren. Omdat er weinig informatie wordt vastgelegd over verbindingen die ondernemers aangaan in bestaande databases is ervoor gekozen om een indicator te ontwikkelen die direct door de ondernemer ingevuld kan worden. In deze studie is een eerste aanzet gedaan voor de ontwikkeling van deze duurzaamheidsindicator voor verbindingen

Strategic Debt: Evidence from Bertrand and Cournot Competition

We investigate how competitive behavior affects the capital structure of a firm. Theory predicts that the impact of different types of output market uncertainty (in particular, unanticipated shocks in demand and costs) on a firm’s leverage depends on the type of competition in an industry. We test these predictions in a sample of U.S. manufacturing firms by classifying firms into Cournot competition (strategic substitutes), and Bertrand competition (strategic complements). We show that demand uncertainty is positively related to leverage for firms in both the Cournot and the Bertrand sample. Cost uncertainty has a significantly positive impact on the leverage of Cournot firms, but plays a negligible role for Bertrand firms. Our results support the strategic use of debt and highlight the role of firms’ competitive behavior in the product market in their capital structure decisions

Inhibin in immature rat Sertoli cell conditioned medium: a 32 kDa αβ-B dimer

Abstract Conditioned medium of cultured Sertoli cells from 21-day-old rats was used as starting material for the isolation of inhibin. Inhibin activity was monitored by the dose dependent suppression of the folliclestimulating hormone release of cultured rat pituitary cells. Sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis analysis of the highly purified inhibin preparation revealed a 32 kDa protein after silver staining, which could be separated in subunits of 18 kDa and 12 kDa after reduction. Western blot analysis with an antibody recognizing the 22 N-terminal amino acids of the α-subunit of 32 kDa bovine inhibin confirmed the presence of a 32 kDa inhibin molecule under non-reducing conditions, whereas an 18 kDa a-subunit was found after reduction. An antibody recognizing the β-A subunit of inhibin did not yield a signal after Western blotting. N-terminal amino acid sequence analysis of two highly purified preparations of inhibin obtained using different methods yielded the sequence predicted for a 32 kDa αβ-B dimer on basis of cDNA nucleotide sequence. This result is in agreement with the large excess of β-B over β-A mRNA in the rat testis

Emotional expression in oral history narratives: comparing results of automated verbal and nonverbal analyses

Audiovisual collections of narratives about war-traumas are rich in descriptions of personal and emotional experiences which can be expressed through verbal and nonverbal means. We complement a commonly used verbal analysis with a nonverbal one to study emotional developments in narratives. Using automatic text, vocal, and facial expression analysis we found that verbal emotional expressions do not correspond much to nonverbal ones. This observation may have important implications for the way narratives traditionally are being studied. We aim to understand how different modes of narrative expression relate to each other, and to enrich digital audiovisual interview collections with emotion-oriented tags