Deborah Levy and Edward Schuck
This study aims to consider the theoretical potential for client influences to bias valuations, and assess the validity of the resulting framework by seeking input from practising…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to consider the theoretical potential for client influences to bias valuations, and assess the validity of the resulting framework by seeking input from practising valuers and commissioning clients.
Design/methodology/approach
Reports upon a series of individual interviews with senior New Zealand property executives responsible for the management of large portfolios of institutional‐grade property assets.
Findings
The results indicate that clients with expertise and a high level of knowledge of the property market are able to influence valuers by way of expert and information power. Opportunities to exert influence are afforded by the control the client has over the valuation process including the common practice in New Zealand of permitting clients to review draft valuations prior to their formalisation.
Research limitations/implications
The general aim of this paper is to build on the theory as opposed to testing theory. In order to achieve this aim a qualitative approach was taken, this permits a focus on the search for meaning and understanding. As in most qualitative research therefore it does not claim that the findings can be generalised to a wider population, but it provides theory for later testing. The results however, not only provide a more in‐depth understanding of the process, motivation and opportunities for client influence but also help to highlight the justification for further theoretical and empirical research in this area in order to achieve a more in‐depth knowledge of the valuation process.
Originality/value
This paper succeeded in its objective of developing an holistic and deeper understanding of valuation by gaining insights from clients involved directly in the commissioning of valuations for property funds in New Zealand. The results suggest that there are a number of specific influences that have not been previously documented, but appear to have the potential to affect valuation outcomes and valuations that are ultimately reported to stakeholders.
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Suggests that a form of modified variable rate mortgage (VRM) should bethe type of mortgage that is most attractive to the majority ofowner‐occupiers in New Zealand. VRMs are…
Abstract
Suggests that a form of modified variable rate mortgage (VRM) should be the type of mortgage that is most attractive to the majority of owner‐occupiers in New Zealand. VRMs are shown to be lenders′ choice of mortgage because their traditional reliance on retail deposits and other forms of short‐term finance necessitates that their assets be of similar duration. In exchange for unilateral rate‐setting powers, lenders compensate borrowers (to a degree) with relatively low administration costs. Though it appears that the range of mortgage products available in New Zealand is now too narrow, this is beginning to be rectified by new products that offer more conservative borrowers the ability to reduce risk. Finally, analysis of historic mortgage margins indicates that there are differences between lenders. Solely on the basis of rate‐setting practice, though no lender appears to have been able to charge significantly higher margins than all of the other lenders, one institution has offered significantly lower margins.
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In a recent article, Dr Michael J. Crean (1993) asserts thatreinvestment rates of interest must be explicitly taken into accountwhen using internal rate of return (IRR) to compare…
Abstract
In a recent article, Dr Michael J. Crean (1993) asserts that reinvestment rates of interest must be explicitly taken into account when using internal rate of return (IRR) to compare mutually exclusive investment opportunities. To that end and to measure the risk perceived to be associated with reinvestment, Dr Crean presents two new concepts, namely the combined result of externally averaged numbers (CREAN) and the reinvestment rate risk ratio (R4). Presents a response to Dr Crean′s article. Begins by showing that the bulk of Dr Crean′s analysis is a reproduction of research that appeared in the finance literature more than two decades ago. It is also shown that variants of IRR which explicitly take reinvestment opportunities into account are of low economic validity. Such measures offer no benefit to naïve investors, since they are forced to assume that the spot rates of interest determined in the financial markets already incorporate a consensus view of future reinvestment opportunities. Selective investors are also not well served by such measures as the CREAN, as they (just like IRR) cannot be used as an absolute measure of investment attractiveness or to compare mutually exclusive alternatives in the absence of information on the market price of risk. Concludes by taking issue with Dr Crean′s assertion that duration and the R4 should both be used to gauge and compare the attractiveness of investments.
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Deborah Levy and Edward Schuck
The literature on appraisal smoothing and valuer behaviour contains frequent references to the “political pressures” faced by valuers. However, the vast majority of these are…
Abstract
The literature on appraisal smoothing and valuer behaviour contains frequent references to the “political pressures” faced by valuers. However, the vast majority of these are either unsubstantiated or based on anecdotal evidence or media reports. Recent research focusing on the issue of pressure similarly suffers from either a lack of formal evidence that particular sources of pressure (e.g. client) actually exist or preconceptions concerning the effect of such pressures. This paper reports on the results of a study which seeks to redress these shortcomings by identifying the non‐methodological factors that affect the values reported to, and ultimately accepted by, clients. The study consists of a series of individual in‐depth interviews with senior New Zealand Registered Valuers addressing the topic of “non‐methodological factors affecting reported values to clients”. Our results indicate that the primary factors affecting the degree to which clients influence valuations, are the type of client, the characteristics of valuers and valuation firms, the purpose of a valuation and the information endowments of clients and valuers.
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Amie M. Schuck and Cara E. Rabe-Hemp
This study explored women police leaders’ (n = 503) attitudes and experiences relative to men police leaders (n = 3,359) and women police officers (n = 1,153) with no supervisory…
Abstract
Purpose
This study explored women police leaders’ (n = 503) attitudes and experiences relative to men police leaders (n = 3,359) and women police officers (n = 1,153) with no supervisory responsibilities.
Design/methodology/approach
Self-reported survey data were collected from 5,015 officers in 85 United States law enforcement agencies.
Findings
Compared with men police leaders, women police leaders were more likely to identify inequalities in the workplace, empower community members’ voices in defining legitimate forms of policing, elevate the importance of police misconduct and reject a tough physical approach. Women police leaders were also more likely than male police leaders to think that effective leadership influences the behavior of subordinates and more likely to feel that the rules leave room for interpretation. Black women police leaders reported different attitudes and experiences than White women police leaders, including recognizing greater inequalities, prioritizing increased law enforcement activities and experiencing less occupational burnout. Except for the seriousness of misconduct, there were no differences between women police leaders and women police officers without supervisory responsibilities.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the ongoing conversation about women in policing and how increasing the number of women in leadership roles affects law enforcement agencies and the public’s experiences with policing. As policing continues to face calls for reform and employment challenges, increasing the number of women in leadership plays a vital role in producing law enforcement agencies that are equitable and efficacious.
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Amaia Palencia-Esteban and Pedro Salas-Rojo
This chapter explores the relation between personal well-being – measured with life satisfaction – and intergenerational mobility in Spain (2017). We start by applying machine…
Abstract
This chapter explores the relation between personal well-being – measured with life satisfaction – and intergenerational mobility in Spain (2017). We start by applying machine learning techniques to overcome traditional data limitations and estimate intergenerational income mobility. Then, by means of several econometric specifications, we find the relation between personal well-being and intergenerational income mobility to be non-significant. This result is robust to several measures of educational and occupational mobility. Contrary to the comparison theory, if Spanish citizens derive well-being benefits or losses from intergenerational mobility, these effects are not permanent and dissipate with time. We find other variables, such as enjoying good health, higher income levels and marriage, to be positively associated with life satisfaction. Overall, personal well-being in Spain is more related to materialistic aspects rather than to the comparison of individuals’ current position against the previous generations’ socio-economic status.
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Shauhin Talesh and Jérôme Pélisse
This article explores how legal intermediaries facilitate or inhibit social change. We suggest the increasing complexity and ambiguity of legal rules coupled with the shift from…
Abstract
This article explores how legal intermediaries facilitate or inhibit social change. We suggest the increasing complexity and ambiguity of legal rules coupled with the shift from government to governance provide legal intermediaries greater opportunities to influence law and social change. Drawing from new institutional sociology, we suggest rule-intermediaries shape legal and social change, with varying degrees of success, in two ways: (1) law is filtered through non-legal logics emanating from various organizational fields and (2) law is professionalized by non-legal professionals. We draw from case studies in the United States and France to show how intermediaries facilitate or inhibit social change.
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Jessica L. Collett and Kayla D. R. Pierce
We show political divisions in perceptions of police officers even before the divisive political and social events of 2016. We do so using respondents' interpretations of…
Abstract
Purpose
We show political divisions in perceptions of police officers even before the divisive political and social events of 2016. We do so using respondents' interpretations of surprising and ambiguous headlines involving police officers (e.g., assumptions about what happened or who was involved).
Methodology/Approach
We use affect control theory's ABO event structure and derivations of this structure to construct a set of headlines that describe ostensibly good people (A) doing bad things (B) to other good people (O) or are ambiguous on one or more of these components. We present 517 MTurk respondents with a set of seven headlines and collect quantitative and qualitative data on their reactions to, and interpretations of, these headline events.
Findings
Police headlines generate interest among readers. When interpreting events, respondents are less likely to modify or redefine police officers compared to other actors. However, assumptions related to ambiguous events involving police differ by political orientation. Liberals view police more negatively than conservatives, in part because they imagine them doing worse things to slightly better people. Qualitative analyses support and shed light on the mechanisms underlying this and other partisan effects.
Research Limitations
The research was designed to examine interest in headline structure, not specific actors. Thus, the patterns unique to police and political differences were not an original focus. We believe these inductive results are informative, but a study expressly designed to test hypotheses regarding perceptions of events with police officers is recommended for future work.
Practical and Social Implications
Understanding the political divide in perceptions of police and the potential of media coverage for exacerbating these effects is essential and related to ACTs growing interest in meaning divergence.
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In the present discourse of university politics, collegiality has come to be viewed as a slow force – seemingly inefficient and conservative compared to popular management models…
Abstract
In the present discourse of university politics, collegiality has come to be viewed as a slow force – seemingly inefficient and conservative compared to popular management models. Concerns have thus been raised regarding the future prospects of such a form of governance in a society marked by haste and acceleration. One way to bring perspectives on this contentious issue is to perceive it in the light of the long history of the university. In this article, I derive insights about the shifting state of collegial governance through a survey of an intense period of reforms in Sweden c. 1850–1920 when higher education was allegedly engaged in a process of modernization and professionalization. Drawing on recent work in historical theory and science and technology studies (STS), I revisit contests and debates on collegiality in connection to a number of governmental commissions. Focusing on the co-existence – and collisions – of multiple temporalities reveals that overcoming potential problems associated with heterogeneous rhythms required an active work of synchronization by universities in order to make them appear timely, as higher education expanded along with the mounting ambitions of national politics, focused on centralization, efficiency, and rationalization. The analysis is structured around three focal issues for which collegial ideals and practices, including their temporal characteristics, were particularly questioned: (a) the composition of the university board, (b) the employment status of professors, and (c) hiring or promotion practices. Pointing at more structural challenges, this study highlights how collegiality requires a constant maintenance paired with an awareness of its longer and complex history.