Audit pricing and product differentiation in small private firms : evidence from Thailand

Purpose – There is limited evidence on how differences in economic environments affect the demand for and supply of auditing. Research on audit pricing has mainly focused on large client markets in developed economies; in contrast, the purpose of this paper is to focus on the small client segment in the emerging economy of Thailand which offers a choice between auditors of two different qualities. Design/methodology/approach – This paper is based on a random stratified sample of small clients in Thailand qualifying for audit exemption. The final sample consists of 1,950 firm-year observations for 2002-2006. Findings – The authors find evidence of product differentiation in the small client market, suggesting that small firms view certified public accountants as superior and pay a premium for their services. The authors also find that audit fees have a positive significant association with leverage, metropolitan location and client size. Audit risk and audit opinion are not, however, significantly associated with audit fees. Furthermore, the authors find no evidence that clients whose financial year ends in the auditors’ busy period pay significantly higher audit fees, and auditors engage in low-balling on initial engagements to attract audit clients. Research limitations/implications – The research shows the importance of exploring actual decisions regarding audit practice and audit pricing in different institutional and organizational settings. Originality/value – The paper extends the literature from developed economies and large/listed market setting to the emerging economy and small client market setting. As far as the authors are aware, this is the first paper to examine audit pricing in the small client market in an emerging economy.

Can we do better? Researchers' experiences with ethical review boards on projects with later life as a focus

The goal of this study was to describe researchers' experiences in submitting ethical proposals focused on older adult populations, including studies with persons with dementia, to ethical review boards. Ethical approval was granted for an online survey. Researchers were recruited via listservs and snowballing techniques. Participants included 157 persons (73% female) from Australia and the United States, with a mean age of 46 (±13). Six main issues were encountered by researchers who participated in this survey. In descending order, these included questions regarding: informed consent and information requirements (61.1%), participants' vulnerability, particularly for those with cognitive impairments (58.6%), participant burden (44.6%), data access (29.3%), adverse effects of data collection/intervention (26.8%), and study methodology (25.5%). An inductive content analysis of responses revealed a range of encounters with ethical review panels spanning positive, negative, and neutral experiences. Concerns voiced about ethical review boards included committees being overly focused on legal risk, as well as not always hearing the voice of older research participants, both potential and actual. Respondents noted inability to move forward on studies, as well as loss of researchers and participant groups from gerontological and clinical research as a result of negative interactions with ethics committees. Positive interactions with the committees reinforced researchers' need to carefully construct their research approaches with persons with dementia in particular. Suggested guidelines for committees when dealing with ethics applications involving older adults include self-reflecting on potential biases and stereotypes, and seeking further clarification and information from gerontological researchers before arriving at decisions.

Behaviour of corrugated steel roof cladding under combined wind uplift and racking

During high wind events, crest-fixed profiled steel roof claddings in low-rise buildings can be subjected to combined cyclic wind uplift and in-plane racking (shear) forces. Static and cyclic tests of corrugated steel roof claddings were carried out to investigate the effect of in-plane racking force on the uplift strength, in particular, in relation to the fatigue cracking commonly observed under cyclic wind uplift. The presence of racking force appeared to have insignificant effect on the static and cyclic wind uplift strength. It may therefore be possible to include the diaphragm strength of these claddings in the design of low-rise buildings in a similar manner to valley-fixed claddings. This may lead to a reduction in bracing requirements.

Making stories matter: Using participatory new media storytelling and evaluation to serve marginalised and regional communities

In this chapter, we draw on our experiences facilitating community storytelling workshops in regional Queensland in partnership with the Queensland branch of Oral History Association of Australia (OHAA Qld) in order to develop a best practice model for promoting creative approaches to recording oral narratives using digital tools, informed by creative writing practice and embedded evaluation (Klaebe 2012 & 2013). These experiences offer an insight into how creative approaches to training can facilitate the sharing and preservation of stories in regional communities.

Investigating the link between carbon dioxide emissions and transport-related social exclusion in rural Northern Ireland

Carbon dioxide (CO2) is considered the most harmful of the greenhouse gases. Despite policy efforts, transport is the only sector experiencing an increase in the level of CO2 emissions and thereby possesses a major threat to sustainable development. In contrast, a reduced level of mobility has been associated with an increasing risk of being socially excluded. However, despite being the two key elements in transport policy, little effort has so far been made to investigate the links between CO2 emissions and social exclusion. This research contributes to this gap by analysing data from 157 weekly activity-travel diaries collected in rural Northern Ireland. CO2 emission levels were calculated using average speed models for different modes of transport. Regression analyses were then conducted to identify the socio-spatial patterns associated with these CO2 emissions, mode choice behaviour, and patterns of participation in activities. This research found that despite emitting a higher level of carbon dioxide, groups in rural areas possess the risk of being socially excluded due to their higher levels of mobility.

Staged homicides: An examination of common features of faked burglaries, suicides, accidents and car accidents

A staged crime scene involves deliberate alteration of evidence by the offender to simulate events that did not occur for the purpose of misleading authorities (Geberth, 2006; Turvey, 2000). This study examined 115 staged homicides from the USA to determine common elements; victim and perpetrator characteristics; and specific features of different types of staged scenes. General characteristics include: multiple victims and offenders; a previous relationship be- tween parties involved; and victims discovered in their own home, often by the offender. Staged scenes were separated by type with staged burglaries, suicides, accidents, and car accidents examined in more detail. Each type of scene displays differently with separate indicators and common features. Features of staged burglaries were: no points of entry/exit staged; non-valuables taken; scene ransacking; offender self- injury; and offenders bringing weapons to the scene. Features of staged suicides included: weapon arrangement and simulating self-injury to the victim; rearranging the body; and removing valuables. Examples of elements of staged accidents were arranging the implement/weapon and re- positioning the deceased; while staged car accidents involved: transporting the body to the vehicle and arranging both; mutilation after death; attempts to secure an alibi; and clean up at the primary crime scene. The results suggest few staging behaviors are used, despite the credibility they may have offered the façade. This is the first peer-reviewed, published study to examine the specific features of these scenes, and is the largest sample studied to date.

Low probability differentials and the cryptanalysis of full-round CLEFIA-128

So far, low probability differentials for the key schedule of block ciphers have been used as a straightforward proof of security against related-key differential analysis. To achieve resistance, it is believed that for cipher with k-bit key it suffices the upper bound on the probability to be 2− k . Surprisingly, we show that this reasonable assumption is incorrect, and the probability should be (much) lower than 2− k . Our counter example is a related-key differential analysis of the well established block cipher CLEFIA-128. We show that although the key schedule of CLEFIA-128 prevents differentials with a probability higher than 2− 128, the linear part of the key schedule that produces the round keys, and the Feistel structure of the cipher, allow to exploit particularly chosen differentials with a probability as low as 2− 128. CLEFIA-128 has 214 such differentials, which translate to 214 pairs of weak keys. The probability of each differential is too low, but the weak keys have a special structure which allows with a divide-and-conquer approach to gain an advantage of 27 over generic analysis. We exploit the advantage and give a membership test for the weak-key class and provide analysis of the hashing modes. The proposed analysis has been tested with computer experiments on small-scale variants of CLEFIA-128. Our results do not threaten the practical use of CLEFIA.

Whole-brain imaging with single-cell resolution using chemical cocktails and computational analysis

Systems-level identification and analysis of cellular circuits in the brain will require the development of whole-brain imaging with single-cell resolution. To this end, we performed comprehensive chemical screening to develop a whole-brain clearing and imaging method, termed CUBIC (clear, unobstructed brain imaging cocktails and computational analysis). CUBIC is a simple and efficient method involving the immersion of brain samples in chemical mixtures containing aminoalcohols, which enables rapid whole-brain imaging with single-photon excitation microscopy. CUBIC is applicable to multicolor imaging of fluorescent proteins or immunostained samples in adult brains and is scalable from a primate brain to subcellular structures. We also developed a whole-brain cell-nuclear counterstaining protocol and a computational image analysis pipeline that, together with CUBIC reagents, enable the visualization and quantification of neural activities induced by environmental stimulation. CUBIC enables time-course expression profiling of whole adult brains with single-cell resolution.

Towards a consistent definition of a significant delta troponin with z-scores: A way out of chaos?

Aims: We assessed the diagnostic performance of z-scores to define a significant delta cardiac troponin (cTn) in a cohort of patients with well-defined clinical outcomes. Methods: We calculated z-scores, which are dependent on the analytical precision and biological variation, to report changes in cTn. We compared the diagnostic performances of a relative delta (%Δ), actual delta (Δ), and z-scores in 762 emergency department patients with symptoms of suspected acute coronary syndrome. cTn was measured with sensitive cTnI (Beckman Coulter), highly sensitive cTnI (Abbott), and highly sensitive cTnT (Roche) assays. Results: Receiver operating characteristic analysis showed no statistically significant differences in the areas under the curve (AUC) of z-scores and Δ with both superior compared to %Δ for all three assays (p<0.001). The AUCs of z-scores measured with the Abbott hs-cTnI (0.955) and Roche hs-cTnT (0.922) assays were comparable to Beckman Coulter cTnI (0.933) (p=0.272 and 0.640, respectively). The individualized Δ cut-off values that were required to emulate a z-score of 1.96 were: Beckman Coulter cTnI 30 ng/l, Abbott hs-cTnI 20 ng/l, and Roche hs-cTnT 7 ng/l. Conclusions: z-scores allow the use of a single cut-off value at all cTn levels, for both cTnI and cTnT and for sensitive and highly sensitive assays, with comparable diagnostic performances. This strategy of reporting significant changes as z-scores may obviate the need for the empirical development of assay-specific cut-off rules to define significant troponin changes.

WIL-power: Developing journalism students' intercultural communications and international reporting skills on field trips to Vietnam

This article examines journalism students' learning experience that is intercultural, immersive and intensive. Accounts of 'intercultural' experience date back to Herodotus of Halicarnassus; 'immersion' is integral to contemporary practice in language learning; and 'intensive' delivery has been refined to an art by postgraduate business education. Together they can be grouped under the broader pedagogical concept of work-integrated learning (WIL). This article examines two WIL projects that involved field trips by journalism students to Vietnam in 2012 and 2014, and their implications for future WIL initiatives.

More human than you: Attributing humanness to self and others

People typically evaluate their in-groups more favorably than out-groups and themselves more favorably than others. Research on infrahumanization also suggests a preferential attribution of the “human essence” to in-groups, independent of in-group favoritism. The authors propose a corresponding phenomenon in interpersonal comparisons: People attribute greater humanness to themselves than to others, independent of self-enhancement. Study 1 and a pilot study demonstrated 2 distinct understandings of humanness—traits representing human nature and those that are uniquely human—and showed that only the former traits are understood as inhering essences. In Study 2, participants rated themselves higher than their peers on human nature traits but not on uniquely human traits, independent of selfenhancement. Study 3 replicated this “self-humanization” effect and indicated that it is partially mediated by attribution of greater depth to self versus others. Study 4 replicated the effect experimentally. Thus, people perceive themselves to be more essentially human than others.

Practice-based learning in community contexts: A collaborative exploration of pedagogical principles

The primary focus of this chapter is an exploration of four pedagogical principles emerging from a practice-based learning lab. Following an overview of community engaged learning and the Lab approach, the chapter is structured around a discussion of pedagogical principles related to (1) collaboration, (2) interdisciplinarity, (3) complexity and uncertainty and (4) reflection. Through a participatory action research (PAR) framework, students, academics and community partners have worked to identify and refine what it takes to support students negotiate complexity and uncertainty inherent in problems facing communities. It also examines the pedagogical strategies employed to facilitate collaboration across disciplines and professional contexts in ways that leverage difference and challenge values and practices.

Peripapillary choroidal thickness in childhood

Changes in the thickness of the invivo peripapillary choroid have been documented in a range of ocular conditions in adults; however, choroidal thickness in the peripapillary region of children has not been examined in detail. This study therefore aimed to investigate the thickness of the peripapillary choroid and the overlying retinal nerve fibre layer (RNFL) in a population of normal children with a range of refractive errors. Ninety-three children (37 myopes and 56 non-myopes) aged between 11 and 16 years, had measurements of peripapillary choroidal and RNFL thickness derived from enhanced depth imaging optical coherence tomography images (EDI-OCT, Heidelberg Spectralis). The average thickness was determined in a series of five 0.25 mm width concentric annuli (each divided into 8 equal sized 45° sectors) centred on the optic nerve head boundary, accounting for individual ocular magnification factors and the disc-fovea angle. Significant variations in peripapillary choroidal thickness were found to occur with both annulus location (p<0.001) and sector position (p<0.001) in this population of children. The innermost annulus (closest to the edge of the optic disc) exhibited the thinnest choroid (mean 77 ± 16 μm) and the outermost annulus, the thickest choroid (191 ± 52 μm). The choroid was thinnest inferior to the optic nerve head (139 ± 38 μm) and was thickest in the superior temporal sector (157 ± 40 μm). Significant differences in the distribution of choroidal thickness were also associated with myopia, with myopic children having significantly thinner choroids in the inner and outer annuli of the nasal and temporal sectors respectively (p<0.001). RNFL thickness also varied significantly with annulus location and sector (p<0.001), and showed differences in thickness distribution associated with refractive error. This study establishes the normal variations in the thickness of the peripapillary choroid with radial distance and azimuthal angle from the optic nerve head boundary. A significant thinning of the peripapillary choroid associated with myopia in childhood was also observed in both nasal and temporal regions. The changes in peripapillary RNFL and choroidal thickness associated with refractive error are consistent with a redistribution of these tissues occurring with myopic axial elongation in childhood.

Implementing improvements to health care services in the US

In a previous blog I was critical of the US health care system for not using cost-effectiveness information to plan their services. Today I’m going to talk about the implementation of innovation in health services, something the US does really well compared to Australia.