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A number of U.S. studies have documented an optimistic bias in analysts’ forecasts of earnings. This study investigates whether the optimistic bias and asymmetric behavior of forecast errors found in most U.S. studies exists in Japan. We find that for firms reporting profits, Japanese analysts’ forecasts have much greater accuracy and exhibit a small pessimistic bias in comparison to firms reporting losses, where analysts’ forecasts exhibit extremely poor accuracy and an extremely significant optimistic bias. The lack of ability to forecast losses is due to their transitory nature and not due to earnings management. Forecast accuracy and bias are not related to firm size, but are related to the magnitude of reported lossess and profits.

In the course of development of human communities towards industrially advanced societies of today, there have been changes not only in economic conditions in the majority of fields of human activity but also in the ways of providing for food, which went hand in hand with changes in living conditions. Large‐scale industrial production has brought about major changes in the way of life of the population. The development of industrial agglomerations results in a growing number of city dwellers, most of whom have no chance of producing foodstuffs of their own in kind. The distance between residential and industrial areas has been growing, the number of employed women has risen considerably. These are but a few factors affecting the way of boarding, particularly in households.

THE use of liquid oxygen as an oxidizer for various fuels in liquid rocket propellent systems is not new. Professor Goddard used liquid oxygen in his rocket experiments and the well known German V‐2 rockets used this material as an oxidizer. However, its effect on non‐metallic materials ordinarily used in rocket systems was not investigated until recent years. This investigation was prompted by phenomena which had been experienced by rocket engine and rocket aircraft manufacturers and by suppliers of the material. It was observed that when some organic materials came in intimate contact with liquid oxygen they became prone to detonation when subjected to certain impact energies. This was undoubtedly due to the formation of unstable organo‐peroxide compounds which when impacted released high levels of energy resulting in an explosion. Specifically, when liquid oxygen was accidently spilled on asphalt and inadvertently stepped on, the asphalt would often explode. Also, leather gaskets immersed in liquid oxygen and subjected to surge impact detonated with disastrous effects.

In the paper the optimization procedure of a direct current motor with a hybrid excitation has been presented. The excitation system consists of a shunt field winding disposed around field pole and permanent magnet, both acting in parallel. The field distribution in motor for various magnet and field pole dimensions has been determined using finite element method. The flux linkage with the armature winding has been computed. Demagnetizing effect of armature current was taken into account. The optimal permanent magnet and the field pole dimensions, ensuring minimum total cost of purchase and work during assumed period of time were calculated. Motor characteristics e.g. rated torque, rated current, speed regulation limit were used as constraints. In worked up algorithm and computer program Carroll internal penalty function method was used. Some basic suggestions tor design of optimal hybrid excited dc motors with parallel permanent magnet and electromagnetic excitation are given.

I‐V characteristics of GaAs n‐i‐n structures are calculated by considering impact ionization of carriers. Impact ionization at reverse‐biased n‐i junction becomes a cause of steep current rise when an acceptor density in the i‐layer is high. It is shown that an optimum acceptor density exists to keep a good isolation. Photoconduction transients of GaAs n‐i‐n structures are also simulated, and are shown to be strongly affected by existence of n‐i junctions.

Economic effects are only one aspect of the total impact of tourism. For example, the development of a tourist industry in a particular country has varying repurcussions on the long term socio‐cultural, environmental and ecological development of the local community as a whole. This article examines the main non‐economic aspects of tourism in Greece.

This study introduces a multi-vaccine multi-echelon supply chain (MVMS) framework designed to ensure sustainable vaccine distribution during outbreaks. The framework aims to minimize the total costs of vaccine distribution and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to mitigate environmental impacts while maximizing job opportunities within the network.

Our proposed appraoch employs a multi-objective mixed-integer linear programming model.

The findings indicate that incorporating uncertainties related to demand and inspection errors significantly facilitates timely responses to unexpected shortages, fulfills the requirements of healthcare facilities, and enhances the supply chain’s resilience against future uncertainties. This study also explores managerial implications and suggests avenues for future research to further advance this field.

Existing literature on MVMS often relies on simplifying assumptions of perfect vaccines and primarily focuses on demand uncertainty. However, real-world supply chains are typically marked by imperfections, disruptions, and a variety of uncertainties beyond demand. In this work, we address several sources of parameter uncertainty, including demand variability, inspection errors, vaccine waste, and defective treatments rates to enhance the robustness of our model.

Projects in the oil and gas (O&G) industry are complex, and their sustainability is crucial for the organizations involved. Achieving project success (PS) is particularly challenging in O&G matrix project organizations where resources are shared across multiple projects. This study aims to identify PS criteria based on two dimensions – project efficiency and effectiveness.

A case study was employed as the research strategy. Through an interpretivist lens, 20 O&G project managers from a local refinery in the Kingdom of Bahrain were interviewed to understand their perceptions of project success. The collected data were analyzed using thematic analysis with the aid of NVIVO 12.

The study conveys the measures that constitute sustainable project success, categorizing them within the spectrum of project efficiency and effectiveness. Consequently, project professionals are encouraged to not only think about PS criteria “efficiently” but also “effectively”.

The research highlights the importance of integrating project efficiency and effectiveness criteria into project management practices in the O&G industry. A key implication for O&G project managers is the advocacy for a holistic project management approach that improves resource allocation and aligns with organizational goals. By understanding these dimensions, decision-making can be enhanced, thereby leading to better outcomes and promoting sustainability in the sector.

The O&G industry, particularly matrix project organizations in the downstream segment, remains under-researched. While there is extensive literature on project success in other sectors, the multidimensional nature of project success criteria specific to the O&G industry has received comparatively little attention.