We study the information content of issuer credit rating changes announced by a group of six Chinese credit rating agencies. We conduct an event study, and we use multivariate…
Abstract
We study the information content of issuer credit rating changes announced by a group of six Chinese credit rating agencies. We conduct an event study, and we use multivariate regression analyses to identify factors driving abnormal stock returns. Our results confirm prior findings for Western countries that downgrades are associated with significant negative abnormal returns. However, upgrades and positive or negative rating outlooks do not seem to have information content. While we cannot find differences in information content conditional on which rating agency issues the downgrade, we find that abnormal returns may vary with the target firm’s industry. In addition, the magnitude of stock price reactions to rating downgrades seems to be related to the business cycle to some extent. With respect to the role of the industry in explaining the information content of rating changes, our results may be biased due to small sample size. Nevertheless, they illustrate that the role the industry plays in explaining investor behavior may deserve special attention in future research. Our findings imply that new rating information seems to be processed quickly in the Chinese stock market, and that market reactions to rating signals are largely in line with what has been observed for Western stock markets. Both observations lend credibility to observable stock prices. The chapter sheds new light on the relevance of Chinese credit rating agencies from an equity investor’s perspective and confirms similarities between the Chinese and Western stock markets with respect to the way rating signals are processed by investors.
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Rosie Allen and Chathurika Kannangara
The aim of this chapter is to provide an overview of the student mental health crisis in Higher Education (HE), and how resilience and grit, two important positive psychological…
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The aim of this chapter is to provide an overview of the student mental health crisis in Higher Education (HE), and how resilience and grit, two important positive psychological constructs, can be beneficial for university students’ success and wellbeing. As part of a discussion around some of the current approaches to intervening in wellbeing in universities, the chapter provides evidence for the use of PPIs for wellbeing in university students, alongside some of the challenges of implementing these in HE. It also provides an overview of the Thriving Students Framework and presents a case for a multicomponent approach to monitoring and improving educational success. In particular, a wellbeing framework that, alongside resilience, also recognises the importance of strengths, persistence in the face of difficulty, a growth mindset, self-control and mental wellbeing; Academic Tenacity. The implications of utilising this framework for educational attainment in university students are discussed. The Bolton Uni-Stride Scale (BUSS), a single short measure of academic tenacity that combines the attributes enabling measurement and intervention to support university students to thrive, is also presented for educators to use.
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Sumit Narula and Dhruv Sabharwal
Researchers, business professionals, and policymakers are now focusing on how disruptive innovations affect markets and business performance in the quickly changing business…
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Researchers, business professionals, and policymakers are now focusing on how disruptive innovations affect markets and business performance in the quickly changing business landscape of today. This study investigates the complexity of disruptive innovations and how they alter established organizational strategies and market structures. The study explores the core traits of disruptive innovations and looks at how they upend established business models and alter the structure of entire industries. This study employs a comprehensive literature review to identify the primary motivators behind disruptive innovations and their diverse impacts on market dynamics. It looks into how disruptive change is sparked by evolving consumer behavior, flexible business models, and emerging technologies. Additionally, research examines how businesses use internal reorganizations and strategic alliances among other tactics to capitalize on and adjust to disruptive innovations. It also examines how market leaders deal with these difficulties in an effort to stay competitive, shedding light on the possible risks and uncertainties related to disruptive innovations. It also highlights how crucial it is for organizations to have innovative cultures and proactive adaptation in order to prosper in a time of swift technological advancements.
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Junaid Ahmed, Beata Mrugalska and Bülent Akkaya
The world is changing fast and pace of changes that are being observed since start of the twenty-first century have never been observed before. Due to such changes and their…
Abstract
The world is changing fast and pace of changes that are being observed since start of the twenty-first century have never been observed before. Due to such changes and their impact, world is described in terms of Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous (VUCA). The trend of industry 4.0 is also said to be an another contributing factor into the VUCA environment. The VUCA creates a lot of challenges for organization from the perspective of management and leadership. Both business and leadership agility are needed more than VUCA as the VUCA world is becoming old. Therefore, the purpose of this research is to review the literature and to summarize the understanding with regard to managing VUCA-RR world in an era of Industry 4.0. Since the advent of term VUCA, many researchers have provided theoretical model and framework to guide managers regarding to their action and strategies. But, current research postulates based upon the literature that agile management’s tools and techniques are highly effective in managing the situation of VUCA-RR in the era of Industry 4.0. The research concludes that Industry 4.0 together with VUCA-RR and indecently possess to change management challenges to organizations. The organization can be in better position to manage change management challenges posed by Industry 4.0 by implementing the agile management. The Industry 4.0 will latter compliment to agile management tools and techniques which will make any organization to become a better equipped to face the VUCA-RR world. The research has also concluded that agile management powered by Industry 4.0 enabling technologies presents enormous opportunity in the form of VUCA 2.0 (Vision, Understanding, Courage, Adoptability, Rapidity and Radicality) that can be used to square off the effect of VUCA-RR world.
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With the ubiquitous spread of the Selfie as a central feature of millennial digital practices, this article examines the impact of digital media on the traditional uses of the…
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With the ubiquitous spread of the Selfie as a central feature of millennial digital practices, this article examines the impact of digital media on the traditional uses of the snapshot as a record of private life, particularly in terms of the family and circles of friends. It argues that the affordances of digital photography and social media lead to a transformation of the snapshot into the Selfie. The Selfie as a kind of performance impacts the social practices of family photography in a variety of ways. Some positive, in that the affordances of digital photography put the opportunity for the public circulation of self-selected Kodak “moments” which show the individual in the best possible light; and some negative since the new emphasis on the body as a vehicle of self-expression sustains a tournament based on appearances. The resultant shift from notions of the gift economy implicit in practices of family photography leads to the personal snapshot becoming a proto-commodity form in which the competitive logic of Celebrity culture pervades the social exchange of the photograph. The chapter closes with consideration of the importance of the Selfie across the life course and the logic of self-impression management as a digital performance.
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P. Ng, P.S.V. Lee and J.C.H. Goh
The traditional way of making a prosthetic socket is by draping a heated thermoplastic sheet over the positive mould, or by applying layers of woven materials together with…
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The traditional way of making a prosthetic socket is by draping a heated thermoplastic sheet over the positive mould, or by applying layers of woven materials together with acrylic resins over the positive mould. This process is extremely labour intensive, and it usually takes two to three days to make one socket. This paper presents the development of a prosthetics Computer‐Aided‐Manufacturing (CAM) system that utilises Rapid Prototyping (RP) technology. The system reduces the socket making time from days to less than 4 h. Clinical and biomechanical studies are conducted to evaluate the comfort and fit of the new socket during gait. Preliminary investigation of the new socket shows that its functional characteristics are very similar to that of a traditional socket
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This study examines rating agency explanations that accompany changes in credit ratings for nonprofit hospitals. A national sample of Standard & Poor’s revision announcements is…
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This study examines rating agency explanations that accompany changes in credit ratings for nonprofit hospitals. A national sample of Standard & Poor’s revision announcements is used to identify hospital characteristics that purportedly motivate credit rating changes. Significant differences in agency-cited performance dimensions, such as profitability, liquidity, service-mix, capital structure and market share, are observed across upward and downward revisions. The relative usefulness of these citations for explaining and classifying credit changes is also evaluated. The results suggest that agency explanations provide limited value relative to conventional, multivariate information sets.
Frank Elter, Paul N. Gooderham and Inger G. Stensaker
A number of prominent European multinational mobile telephony companies (MNMTCs) have their origins in state-owned monopolies that successfully undertook radical transformation in…
Abstract
A number of prominent European multinational mobile telephony companies (MNMTCs) have their origins in state-owned monopolies that successfully undertook radical transformation in the late 1980s to late 1990s. Not only did they face liberalization of their domestic markets but they also moved from fixed-line telephony to mobile telephony prior to rapid expanded overseas. This study focuses on Telenor whose operations currently span the Nordic region and Southeast Asia. Like other MNMTCs, Telenor currently faces another period of radical change as global digital services providers are set to ride on the connectivity MNMTCs supply thereby reducing them to “dumb-pipes.” This study indicates that Telenor has abandoned radical transformation for “modernization” of its extant operations. For an understanding of why this second radical change is proving arduous for MNMTCs, the authors argue that there is a need to take into consideration institutional change.
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Inas Zaki Hadi Al-Araji, Meenaloshini A/P Satgunam, Abreeza Noorlina Bt Abd Manap, Kadhim K. Resan and Ahmed K. Muhammad
The purpose of this study was to fabricate a flexible inner socket with enhanced stiffness and hardness distribution by using the functional gradient method (FGM). The FGM…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study was to fabricate a flexible inner socket with enhanced stiffness and hardness distribution by using the functional gradient method (FGM). The FGM technique can improve the comfort and flexibility of amputees through the use of a socket that is built via the direct method.
Design/methodology/approach
Six flexible inner socket samples were fabricated with varying weight fractions of rice husk ash-to-silicone rubber. The tensile strength and hardness of each sample were assessed. Then, numerical analyses were conducted using SOLIDWORKS software to evaluate the pressure distribution on the inner and outer layers of the flexible socket.
Findings
The hardness and stiffness of the fabricated flexible inner socket gradually increased with the weight ratio of rice husk ash-to-silicone rubber, so when it was in contact with the skin, it approximated the stiffness and hardness of the skin to ensure comfort, and when reaching a higher value in the socket contact layer, it prevented penetration through the flexible inner socket. In addition, the pressure distribution at the external layer of the flexible inner socket has improved.
Research limitations/implications
A budget of US$500 limited the research to create a flexible inner socket that keeps the socket from penetrating the skin.
Practical implications
The FGM technique created a flexible inner socket that balances hardness and stiffness to ensure comfort and prevent wounds for its users, lower limb amputees. The commercial value resides in the accessibility of a secure and comfortable flexible inner socket for amputees worldwide, enabling them to overcome the issue of excessive stiffness typically associated with sockets made using the direct method.
Originality/value
This study introduces the use of FGM to fabricate a flexible inner prosthetic socket with enhanced stiffness and hardness distribution. The approach of using varying weight fractions of rice husk ash-to-silicone rubber to improve the comfort and flexibility of prosthetic sockets is a novel contribution to the field. Given the high stiffness of flexible internal sockets and their ability to maintain flexibility in the part in contact with the skin, such sockets manufactured using this method prevent pain and skin ulcers that previously occurred when sockets are manufactured via the direct method.
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M. Tarik Arafat, Ian Gibson and Xu Li
This paper aims to review the advances in additive manufactured (AM) scaffolds for bone tissue engineering (TE). A discussion on the state of the art and future trends of bone TE…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to review the advances in additive manufactured (AM) scaffolds for bone tissue engineering (TE). A discussion on the state of the art and future trends of bone TE scaffolds have been done in terms of design, material and different AM technologies.
Design/methodology/approach
Different structural features and materials used for bone TE scaffolds are evaluated along with the discussion on the potential and limitations of different AM scaffolds. The latest research to improve the biocompatibility of the AM scaffolds is also discussed.
Findings
The discussion gives a clear understanding on the recent research trend in bone TE AM scaffolds.
Originality/value
The information available here would be useful for the researchers working on AM scaffolds to get a quick overview on the recent research trends and/or future direction to work on AM bone TE scaffolds.