Digital Commons Network^™

Does Corporate Governance Make Financial Reports Better, Or Just Better For Equity Investors?, Dan Segal, Benjamin Segal, Shai Levi

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

Financial reports should provide useful information to both shareholders and creditors, according to U.S. accounting principles. However, directors of corporations have fiduciary duties only toward equity holders, and those fiduciary duties normally do not extend to the interests of creditors. We examine whether this slant in corporate governance biases financial reports in favor of equity investors, and in particular leads to a downward bias in reported debt that can hurt creditors. We focus on firms’ decision to issue structured debt securities that are classified as equity in financial reports and can circumvent debt covenants. We find that when the local …

Strategies For Surviving In China's Intellectual Property Minefield, David Llewelyn, Peter J. Williamson

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Despite a slowdown in China’s GDP growth from the double-digit heights of the last decade, it is still expanding at over 7% per annum – a growth rate that looks more sustainable. Growth in the other major emerging economies including India, Brazil and Russia, by contrast, has all but collapsed, at least for the present. Growth in the developed economies, meanwhile, remains fragile in the wake of their post-2008 financial crisis recessions. It is not surprising, therefore, that the Boards of many foreign companies are counting on winning share in the China market to support their top-line growth in coming …

The Singapore Directorship Report 2014, Clarence Goh

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

Directors play an important role in the governance of firms. This reportprovides a comprehensive study of 3,670 directors on the boards of 717companies, business trusts and REITs listed on the Singapore Exchange(SGX) as at the end of 2013. This report specifically examines the structureof boards and their composition, director tenure, remuneration, meetingattendance, gender diversity and multiple directorships. It also documentscompliance with key aspects of the Singapore Code of CorporateGovernance 2012 (the Code) relating to some of these matters.

Mean Variance Analysis Of Asian Hedge Funds, Zhidong Bai, Kok Fai Phoon, Yongchang Hui, Wing-Keung Wong

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

No abstract provided.

Status Reports Of The Fisheries And Aquatic Resources Of Western Australia 2013/14. State Of The Fisheries, W.J Fletcher, K. Santoro

Status Reports of the Fisheries and Aquatic Resources

The Status Reports of the Fisheries and Aquatic Resources of Western Australia (SRFAR) provide the public with an annual update on the state of the fish stocks and other aquatic resources of Western Australia (WA) managed by the Department of Fisheries (Department). These reports outline the most recent assessments of the cumulative risk status for each of the aquatic resources (assets) within WA’s six Bioregions using an Ecosystem Based Fisheries Management (EBFM) approach.

Palliative Care Nurses' Recognition And Assessment Of Delirium Symptoms: A Qualitative Study Using Critical Incident Technique, Annmarie Hosie, Meera Agar, Elizabeth Lobb, Patricia M. Davidson, Jane Phillips

Health Sciences Papers and Journal Articles

Delirium is prevalent in palliative care inpatient settings and management is often challenging. Despite nurses’ integral patient care role, little is known about palliative care nurses’ capacity to recognise, assess and respond to patients’ delirium symptoms. Objective: To explore the experiences, views and practices of inpatient palliative care nurses in delirium recognition and assessment. Settings and participants: 30 nurses from nine Australian specialist palliative care inpatient services. Design and methods: Critical incident technique (CIT) guided a series of semi-structured interviews. Prior to interviews participants were given a vignette of a palliative care inpatient with an unrecognised hypoactive delirium, to prompt …

'Workshops In Healing' For Senior Medical Students: 5 Year Overview And Appraisal, John Kearsley, Elizabeth Lobb

Health Sciences Papers and Journal Articles

We report upon the design, content and feedback from an interactive, experiential series of Workshops in Healing for senior medical students. Fifty-six final year medical students enrolled in 2×3 h workshops designed around the core themes of ‘physician know thyself’ (Workshop 1) and ‘confronting suffering’ (Workshop 2). Of the 56 students who initially enrolled, 48 students completed both workshops and provided a written openended reflection of their learning experience. The study, undertaken over a consecutive 5-year period (2008–2012), employed an emergent, qualitative design using thematic analysis of the reflective comments. We found that the design and content of both workshops …

The Importance Of Translating Evidence Into Practice In Counseling Individuals With Life-Threatening Illness, Elizabeth Lobb

Health Sciences Papers and Journal Articles

A review of Counseling Individuals with Life-Threatening Illness (2nd Edition) by Kenneth J Doka. New York: Springer Publishing Company, 2013. 324 pp. (ISBN: 978-0826195814).

Early Infant Feeding And Adiposity Risk: From Infancy To Adulthood, W H. Oddy, T A. Mori, R C Huang, J A. Marsh, C E. Pennell, Paola Chivers, Beth Hands, P Jacoby, P Rzehak, B V. Koletzko, L J. Beilin

Health Sciences Papers and Journal Articles

Introduction: Systematic reviews suggest that a longer duration of breast-feeding is associated with a reduction in the risk of later overweight and obesity. Most studies examining breast-feeding in relation to adiposity have not used longitudinal analysis. In our study, we aimed to examine early infant feeding and adiposity risk in a longitudinal cohort from birth to young adulthood using new as well as published data.

Methods: Data from the Western Australian Pregnancy Cohort (Raine) Study in Perth, W.A., Australia, were used to examine associations between breast-feeding and measures of adiposity at 1, 2, 3, 6, 8, 10, 14, 17, and …

The Challenge To Deliver Cost Effective Care For Patients With Gestational Diabetes Mellitus, Julie Quinlivan

Health Sciences Papers and Journal Articles

The global rise in obesity and gestational weight gain, along with recent trials demonstrating improved pregnancy and neonatal outcomes associated with the treatment of mild hyperglycaemia, have resulted in a clinical challenge to deliver cost effective healthcare to manage the epidemic of Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM). Whilst clinicians now have clear criteria by which to diagnose GDM, and the glycaemic targets to achieve, less clear are the pathways to achieve these outcomes in a cost effective manner. The value of using allied health providers such as dieticians compared to less trained patient educators, the effectiveness of individualised versus group dietician …

Integrative Taxonomy Of Acrapex Stem Borers (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae: Apameini): Combining Morphology And Poisson Tree Process Analyses, Bruno P. Le Ru, Claire Capdevielle-Dulac, Emmanuel F.A. Toussaint, Desmond Conlong, Johnnie Van Den Berg, Beatrice Pallangyo, George Ong'amo, Gilson Chipabika, Richard Molo, William A. Overholt, James P. Cuda, Gael J. Kergoat

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Ten morphologically similar species of Acrapex from eastern and south-eastern Africa belonging to the A. stygiata and A. albivena groups are reviewed. Six species are described as new: A. brunneella, A. mitiwa, A. mpika, A. salmona, A. sporobola and A. yakoba. The Poaceae host plants of eight species are recorded; four species, A. mitiwa. A. subalbissima, A. syscia and A. yakoba, were found developing exclusively on Imperata cylindrica (L.) Beauv., (Andropogoneae); two species, A. sporobola and A. salmona, on I. cylindrica and Sporobolus macranthelus Chiov. (Zoysieae); and A. albivena on I. cylindrica, Miscanthus capensis (Nees) Andersson (Andropogoneae) and Cymbopogon sp. …

Molecular Markers Reveal Narrow Genetic Base And Culturing-Associated Genetic Drift In Teretrius Nigrescens Lewis Populations Released For The Biological Control Of The Larger Grain Borer In Africa, B. A. Omondi, J. Van Den Berg, D. Masiga, F. Schulthess

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

In biological control, successful establishment of a natural enemy species depends on its adaptability in the introduced range including its ability to re-establish desired ecological interactions with the pest. These are affected by genetic parameters hitherto largely unresolved in biological control. The larger grain borer (LGB), Prostephanus truncatus, an invasive species from meso-America, is the most important post-harvest pest of maize in Africa. We studied the genetic structure of Teretrius nigrescens, a predatory beetle previously released for the control of the pest in Africa, to test the hypothesis that establishment patterns were a result of ecotype-environment mismatch and to follow …

Integrated Decision Support For Sustainable And Profitable Land Management In The Lowlands Of Central Asia, Nodir Djanibekov, Rolf Sommer

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Land use and crop production in the Khorezm region in western Uzbekistan, exemplarily for the irrigated lowlands of Central Asia, are challenged by the excessive, non-sustainable use of irrigation water and repeated water shortages on one hand, and soil degradation by secondary salinization on the other hand. One of the research objectives of the German-Uzbek Khorezm project, funded by the German Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF) and led by Center of Development Research (ZEF) of Bonn University, was to better understand options for land use and choice of technology at the farm level in order to evaluate and propose …

Odorant And Gustatory Receptors In The Tsetse Fly Glossina Morsitans Morsitans, George F.O. Obiero, Paul O. Mireji, Steven R.G. Nyanjom, Alan Christoffels, Hugh M. Robertson, Daniel K. Masiga

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Tsetse flies use olfactory and gustatory responses, through odorant and gustatory receptors (ORs and GRs), to interact with their environment. Glossina morsitans morsitans genome ORs and GRs were annotated using homologs of these genes in Drosophila melanogaster and an ab initio approach based on OR and GR specific motifs in G. m. morsitans gene models coupled to gene ontology (GO). Phylogenetic relationships among the ORs or GRs and the homologs were determined using Maximum Likelihood estimates. Relative expression levels among the G. m. morsitans ORs or GRs were established using RNA-seq data derived from adult female fly. Overall, 46 and …

Serological Surveillance Development For Tropical Infectious Diseases Using Simultaneous Microsphere-Based Multiplex Assays And Finite Mixture Models, Yoshito Fujii, Satoshi Kaneko, Samson Muuo Nzou, Matilu Mwau, Sammy M. Njenga, Chihiro Tanigawa, James Kimotho, Anne Wanjiru Mwangi, Ibrahim Kiche, Sohkichi Matsumoto, Mamiko Niki, Mayuko Osada-Oka, Yoshio Ichinose, Manabu Inoue, Makoto Itoh, Hiroshi Tachibana, Kazunari Ishii, Takafumi Tsuboi, Lay Myint Yoshida, Dinesh Mondal, Rashidul Haque, Shinjiro Hamano, Mwatasa Changoma, Tomonori Hoshi, Ken Ichi Kamo, Mohamed Karama, Masashi Miura, Kenji Hirayama

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Background:A strategy to combat infectious diseases, including neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), will depend on the development of reliable epidemiological surveillance methods. To establish a simple and practical seroprevalence detection system, we developed a microsphere-based multiplex immunoassay system and evaluated utility using samples obtained in Kenya.Methods:We developed a microsphere-based immuno-assay system to simultaneously measure the individual levels of plasma antibody (IgG) against 8 antigens derived from 6 pathogens: Entamoeba histolytica (C-IgL), Leishmania donovani (KRP42), Toxoplasma gondii (SAG1), Wuchereria bancrofti (SXP1), HIV (gag, gp120 and gp41), and Vibrio cholerae (cholera toxin). The assay system was validated using appropriate control samples. The assay …

Volatile Phytochemicals As Mosquito Semiochemicals, Vincent O. Nyasembe, Baldwyn Torto

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Plant biochemical processes result in the release of an array of volatile chemical substances into the environment, some of which are known to play important plant fitness enhancing functions, such as attracting pollinators, thermal tolerance of photosynthesis, and defense against herbivores. Cunningly, phytophagous insects have evolved mechanisms to utilize these volatiles to their own advantage, either to colonize a suitable host for feeding, reproduction and oviposition or avoid an unsuitable one. The volatile compounds involved in plant-insect chemical interactions have been widely exploited in the management of agricultural pests. On the other hand, use of plant volatiles in the management …

Thinking About My Generation: The Impact Of Large Congressional Cohorts, Burdett Loomis, Timothy J. Barnett

Research, Publications & Creative Work

Large partisan congressional “classes,” once common, have become more the exception than the rule over the past 60 years. Thus, when they come along, as in 1974 and 1994 (and perhaps 2010), they receive a lot of attention. Moreover, they often do help to change the institution of the House in dramatic ways. After a few years, all such classes lose their distinctiveness and meld into the legislative flow of the era. Still, these cohorts may have lasting effects in a host of ways, from movement into House power positions, to successful attempts to run for the Senate in large …

Spatial Analysis Of Human-Induced Vegetation Productivity Decline Over Eastern Africa Using A Decade (2001-2011) Of Medium Resolution Modis Time-Series Data, Tobias Landmann, Olena Dubovyk

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Climate variation and land transformations related to exploitative land uses are among the main drivers of vegetation productivity decline and ongoing land degradation in East Africa. We combined analysis of vegetation trends and cumulative rain use efficiency differences (CRD), calculated from 250-m MODISNDVI time-series data, to map vegetation productivity loss over eastern Africa between 2001 and 2011.The CRD index values were furthermore used to discern areas of particular severe vegetation productivity loss over the observation period. Monthly 25-km Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) datametrics were used to mask areas of rainfall declines not related to human-induced land productivity loss. To …

Aquaporins Are Critical For Provision Of Water During Lactation And Intrauterine Progeny Hydration To Maintain Tsetse Fly Reproductive Success, Joshua B. Benoit, Immo A. Hansen, Geoffrey M. Attardo, Veronika Michalková, Paul O. Mireji, Joel L. Bargul, Lisa L. Drake, Daniel K. Masiga, Serap Aksoy

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Tsetse flies undergo drastic fluctuations in their water content throughout their adult life history due to events such as blood feeding, dehydration and lactation, an essential feature of the viviparous reproductive biology of tsetse. Aquaporins (AQPs) are transmembrane proteins that allow water and other solutes to permeate through cellular membranes. Here we identify tsetse aquaporin (AQP) genes, examine their expression patterns under different physiological conditions (blood feeding, lactation and stress response) and perform functional analysis of three specific genes utilizing RNA interference (RNAi) gene silencing. Ten putative aquaporins were identified in the Glossina morsitans morsitans (Gmm) genome, two more than …

Laboratory Colonisation And Genetic Bottlenecks In The Tsetse Fly Glossina Pallidipes, Marc Ciosi, Daniel K. Masiga, Charles M.R. Turner

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Background:The IAEA colony is the only one available for mass rearing of Glossina pallidipes, a vector of human and animal African trypanosomiasis in eastern Africa. This colony is the source for Sterile Insect Technique (SIT) programs in East Africa. The source population of this colony is unclear and its genetic diversity has not previously been evaluated and compared to field populations.Methodology/Principal Findings:We examined the genetic variation within and between the IAEA colony and its potential source populations in north Zimbabwe and the Kenya/Uganda border at 9 microsatellites loci to retrace the demographic history of the IAEA colony. We performed classical …

Annual Giving: Recommended Practices For Universities Based On Current Literature, Conversations With Professionals, And Personal Experience, Paige Berry

Honors College Theses

Development, or fundraising, is essential to non-profit institutions. Hospitals, universities, and charity groups rely on the support of individuals, corporations, foundations, and government agencies to fund their endeavors. Educational fundraising has existed in America as long as the higher education system itself. Private institutions like Harvard College originally gained funding by sending solicitors from America to England. (Worth, 1993, p. 18) Throughout the years, departments that focus exclusively on development have been established in universities and non-profits, with subdivisions focused on various constituent segments. At educational institutions, alumni relations departments often form partnerships with development offices because of the similarities …

Adverse Health Effects Of Spousal Violence Among Women Attending Saudi Arabian Primary Health-Care Clinics, H. M. Eldoseri, K. A. Tufts, Q. Zhang, J. N. Fish

Ellmer School of Nursing Faculty Publications

This study aimed to investigate the frequency of spousal violence among Saudi women and document the related health effects and injuries, as well as their attitudes to gender and violence. Structured interviews were conducted with 200 ever-married women recruited from primary-care centres in Jeddah. Nearly half of the surveyed women (44.5%) reported ever experiencing physical violence from their spouse. Although 37 women (18.5%) had received violence-related injuries, only 6.5% had reported these injuries to a health-care provider. Victims of spousal violence had poor perceptions of their overall health, and reported pain or discomfort, antidepressant use and suicidal thoughts. Women mostly …

Telehealth: Preparing Advanced Practice Nurses To Address Healthcare Needs In Rural And Underserved Populations, Carolyn M. Rutledge, Tina Haney, Michele Bordelon, Michelle Renaud, Christianne Fowler

Ellmer School of Nursing Faculty Publications

Healthcare is being confronted with questions on how to deliver quality, affordable, and timely care to patients, especially those in rural areas, in systems already burdened by the lack of providers. Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRNs) have been challenged to lead this movement in providing care to these populations through the use of technologies, specifically telehealth. Unfortunately, APRNs have limited exposure to telehealth during their educational experience, thereby limiting their understanding and comfort with telehealth. To address this problem, a telehealth program was developed at a large university that prepares Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) APRN students. The telehealth program, …

Predicting Post-Deployment Family Adaptation In U.S. Navy Families, Micah A. Scott, Esther H. Condon, Arlene J. Montgomery, Spencer R. Baker

Ellmer School of Nursing Faculty Publications

Background: Although military families worldwide face changes that include adapting to peace and wartime deployments, few studies have explored how military families adapt to the post-deployment return of a service member.

Objectives: To identify variables that predicted post-deployment adaptation of U.S. Navy families.

Methods: A mixed method study guided by the Roy Adaptation Model included a convenience sample of 142 spouses of service members recently returned from deployment. The degree to which length of deployment, prior deployments, and years married, number of children, participation in religious and family support groups, communication, race, and interdependence predicted post-deployment family adaptation was tested. …

Accurate Calculations Of Rotationally Inelastic Scattering Cross Sections Using Mixed Quantum/Classical Theory, Alexander Semenov, Dmitri Babikov

Chemistry Faculty Research and Publications

For computational treatment of rotationally inelastic scattering of molecules, we propose to use the mixed quantum/classical theory, MQCT. The old idea of treating translational motion classically, while quantum mechanics is used for rotational degrees of freedom, is developed to the new level and is applied to Na + N₂ collisions in a broad range of energies. Comparison with full-quantum calculations shows that MQCT accurately reproduces all, even minor, features of energy dependence of cross sections, except scattering resonances at very low energies. The remarkable success of MQCT opens up wide opportunities for computational predictions of inelastic scattering cross sections …

On Readout Of Vibrational Qubits Using Quantum Beats, Dmytro Shyshlov, Eduardo Berrios, Martin Gruebele, Dmitri Babikov

Chemistry Faculty Research and Publications

Readout of the final states of qubits is a crucial step towards implementing quantum computation in experiment. Although not scalable to large numbers of qubits per molecule, computational studies show that molecular vibrations could provide a significant (factor 2–5 in the literature) increase in the number of qubits compared to two-level systems. In this theoretical work, we explore the process of readout from vibrational qubits in thiophosgene molecule, SCCl₂, using quantum beat oscillations. The quantum beats are measured by first exciting the superposition of the qubit-encoding vibrational states to the electronically excited readout state with variable time-delay pulses. …

A Systems Biology Approach To Detect Eqtls Associated With Mirna And Mrna Co-Expression Networks In The Nucleus Accumbens Of Chronic Alcoholic Patients, Mohammed Mamdani

Theses and Dissertations

Alcohol Dependence (AD) is a chronic substance use disorder with moderate heritability (60%). Linkage and genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have implicated a number of loci; however, the molecular mechanisms underlying AD are unclear. Advances in systems biology allow genome-wide expression data to be integrated with genetic data to detect expression quantitative trait loci (eQTL), polymorphisms that regulate gene expression levels, influence phenotypes and are significantly enriched among validated genetic signals for many commonly studied traits including AD.

We integrated genome-wide mRNA and miRNA expression data with genotypic data from the nucleus accumbens (NAc), a major addiction-related brain region, of 36 …

Symptoms, Cytokines, And Quality Of Life Of Patients With Chronic Graft-Versus-Host Disease Following Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation, Debra Kelly

Theses and Dissertations

Introduction: Chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGVHD) is a serious complication following allo-HSCT characterized by immune dysregulation, organ dysfunction, risk for infection, and distressing symptoms. Complications may include scleroderma, hepatic dysfunction and bronchiolitis obliterans. Advances in allo-HSCT for many hematologic dyscrasias (e.g. acute and chronic leukemias, aplastic anemia, and myelodysplastic syndrome) have improved survival which has generated a renewed focus on survivorship issues. Distressing symptoms are noted as negatively impacting quality of life (QoL). The relationship between inflammation and behavioral responses may impact symptoms. Examining patterns and levels of inflammation with symptoms is relevant. Objective: The aims of this study were to …

Identifying Organizational Containment And Its Effect On The Career Paths Of Black Educators, Risha Berry

Theses and Dissertations

The racial composition of the school workforce is the product of a complex interaction of social forces. School constituencies such as parents, students, and teachers impact new leader preferences. Their ideas influence decisions regarding who fits into school administration and who doesn't (Williams & Loeb, 2012). These "fit" preferences can shape school district ethos, which then influences access to social networks (Tooms, 2010). Limited entry to these networks may produce multiple disadvantages, particularly for Black educators. One way to think of this access is through the concept of containment. Restricted data from the 2011-12 Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS) will …

Unloosed: Designing Participatory Objects, Laura Schlifer

Theses and Dissertations

The ubiquity of technology has mediated the means of receiving content through digital networks; users have complete control over receiving, shaping, and sharing information. In contrast to the inherent elasticity of these networks, physical pieces of communication often manifest through a closed and highly controlled process. However, the increased prominence of user-interaction with media provides an opportunity to evaluate the design process as it applies to the creation of physical objects. Throughout much of my work, I investigate the potential for unloosening the control of designed objects by inviting others into the design process. By considering the audience as active …