Ian Pownall and Victoria Kennedy
The purpose of this study is to explore the influences that shape the intention of a grading decision at the point at which it is made. This can be particularly important when…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to explore the influences that shape the intention of a grading decision at the point at which it is made. This can be particularly important when those influences may vary during the marking process making reflective analyses also difficult to explore.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors draw upon a small sample of assessed scripts from two UK higher educational institutions and undertake a factor analysis of potentially important influences that shape the grading decision at the cognitive point it is made.
Findings
The authors’ findings indicate that for the sample analysed, the marker’s most important influences were those associated with the normative view of marking, although they also suggest potential influences from when the script was graded and the fatigue of the marker concerned.
Research limitations/implications
The work is confined to management students and limited by the sample size. A factor analysis reveals the cluster of influences that contribute to observed grade outcomes but provides less clarity upon relative inter-dependencies between those factors. There are additional constraints in that the constructed data collection tool was self-administered.
Practical implications
The data collection instrument (VBA Excel workbook) is, the authors believe, quite innovative in capturing immediate cognitive reflections. It could be developed for other decision-making research. The authors also believe there are staff developmental outcomes from the work, to sustain and enhance assurance in the grading process.
Originality/value
As far as the authors can determine, research that has explored the influences shaping grading and mark allocation tends to be reflective or undertaken after the event. The authors’ research data are constructed at the same time as the grade/mark is determined.
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Regional policy instruments are typically driven by economic rationales, from either a firm or industrial perspective. Yet too often, these rationales are taken as ex ante to the…
Abstract
Regional policy instruments are typically driven by economic rationales, from either a firm or industrial perspective. Yet too often, these rationales are taken as ex ante to the contexts within which firms and industries compete. Recent regional development research has urged a better link be developed between the individual, the firm, and their context, so as to understand the role of regions in supporting effective competitiveness of organizations. In this article, recent research themes are explored that may shed light on the nature of this relationship and that can be developed into an investigative methodology that could aid policy practitioners in generating policy instruments that reflect differing societal constructions of SME reality.
It has often been said that a great part of the strength of Aslib lies in the fact that it brings together those whose experience has been gained in many widely differing fields…
Abstract
It has often been said that a great part of the strength of Aslib lies in the fact that it brings together those whose experience has been gained in many widely differing fields but who have a common interest in the means by which information may be collected and disseminated to the greatest advantage. Lists of its members have, therefore, a more than ordinary value since they present, in miniature, a cross‐section of institutions and individuals who share this special interest.
In a recent issue of the Municipal Journal there appeared a short but apparently inspired article on the subject of London Government, in which is foreshadowed another drastic and…
Abstract
In a recent issue of the Municipal Journal there appeared a short but apparently inspired article on the subject of London Government, in which is foreshadowed another drastic and apparently imminent alteration of the system of local administration at present in operation in the Metropolis.
Ioannis Tsalavoutas and Dionysia Dionysiou
The purpose of this paper is to address recent calls for research regarding the valuation implications of mandatory disclosure requirements (cf. Hassan et al., 2009; Leuz and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to address recent calls for research regarding the valuation implications of mandatory disclosure requirements (cf. Hassan et al., 2009; Leuz and Wysocki, 2008; Schipper, 2007).
Design/methodology/approach
The paper measures compliance with all International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) mandatory disclosure requirements for a sample of firms. The paper subsequently explores whether the compliance scores (i.e. the mandatory disclosure levels) are value relevant and whether the value relevance of accounting numbers differs across high- and low-compliance/disclosure companies.
Findings
The paper finds that the levels of mandatory disclosures are value relevant. Additionally, not only the relative value relevance (i.e. R2) but also the valuation coefficient of net income of high-compliance companies is significantly higher than that of low-compliance companies.
Research limitations/implications
This paper is an indicative single country case study that focuses on the IFRS adoption year (2005) in the EU. It forms a new avenue for research regarding the valuation implications of mandatory disclosure requirements. It remains to future research to examine whether the findings also hold in other countries and periods.
Practical implications
These findings are expected to be particularly relevant to standard setters and regulatory bodies that are concerned about the implications of mandatory disclosure requirements (Schipper, 2007).
Originality/value
To the best of authors’ knowledge, this is the first paper that examines the value relevance implications of IFRS mandatory disclosure requirements, focusing on European country after 2005. The authors indicate that IFRS mandatory disclosures do lead to more transparent financial statements (cf. Pownall and Schipper, 1999), mitigating concerns about companies’ fundamentals (cf. Anctil et al., 2004).
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Helen Rhodes and Jacqueline Chelin
A survey carried out during 1998 investigated the use of the World Wide Web for user education in 68 UK university libraries. Almost three‐quarters of the libraries surveyed make…
Abstract
A survey carried out during 1998 investigated the use of the World Wide Web for user education in 68 UK university libraries. Almost three‐quarters of the libraries surveyed make use of the Web for this purpose. The Web is used as a supplement to existing user education, in order to support independent, student centred learning and to reach parttime and distance learners. Just ten percent of user education is delivered solely via the Web, but libraries indicated that use will grow in the future. It was found that greater use is made of the Web for information skills training than for library induction. The authors suggest a number of reasons why more use is not being made of the Web for user education and propose future developments in this area. Web‐based instruction is unlikely to completely replace traditional methods, but it can be used to supplement and extend existing provision.
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Karol Marek Klimczak and Grzegorz Szafranski
Value relevance studies, in particular international comparative studies, use market values sampled at different dates relative to the fiscal year-end. This paper aims to…
Abstract
Purpose
Value relevance studies, in particular international comparative studies, use market values sampled at different dates relative to the fiscal year-end. This paper aims to contribute a theoretical and empirical analysis of the relationship between value relevance and the month of market value sampling.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper examines two components of value relevance, coincident relevance and forecast relevance, which the paper develops on the basis of the Ohlson model. The paper measures value relevance by estimating separate panel-data regressions for each of the 12 months around fiscal year-end. The sample consists of companies listed in two continental European countries, France and Germany, over the 1989-2008 period.
Findings
In both country panels, the paper finds that overall value relevance is higher when market value is sampled before or close to fiscal year-end, but incremental value relevance varies between domestic and International Financial Reporting (IFRS) accounting standards. Regression results reveal significant variations in coefficients over the following months of market value in French panel and its IFRS sub-sample only.
Research limitations/implications
The scope of the study is limited to the average value relevance parameters of companies listed on stock exchanges in France and Germany. Future research may be devoted to other countries and study additional determinants of value relevance.
Practical implications
The study shows that the selection of the month of market value sampling can have significant impact on value relevance regression results. Therefore, sensitivity analysis needs to be included in research studies which rely on the value relevance approach.
Originality/value
The paper contributes the first systematic analysis of the variation in value relevance parameters in response to the selection of the month in which market value is sampled.