Corporate governance mechanisms and earnings management in transitional countries – evidence from Chinese listed firms

The objective of this thesis is to investigate whether the corporate governance practices adopted by Chinese listed firms are associated with the quality of earnings information. Based on a review of agency and institutional theory, this study develops hypotheses that predict the monitoring effectiveness of the board and the audit committee. Using a combination of univariate and multivariate analyses, the association between corporate governance mechanisms and earnings management are tested from 2004 to 2008. Through analysing the empirical results, a number of findings are summarised as below. First, board independence is weakened by the introduction of government officials as independent directors on the boards. Government officials acting as independent directors, claim that they meet the definition of independent director set by the regulation. However, they have some connection with the State, which is the controlling shareholder in listed SOEs affiliated companies. Consequently, the effect of the independent director’s expertise in constraining earnings management is mitigated as demonstrated by an insignificant association between board expertise and earnings management. An alternative explanation for the inefficiency of board independence may point to the pre-selection of independent directors by the powerful CEO. It is argued that a CEO can manipulate the board composition and choose the "desirable" independent directors to monitor themselves. Second, a number of internal mechanisms, such as board size, board activities, and the separation of the roles of the CEO and chair are found to be significantly associated with discretionary accruals. This result suggests that there are advantages in having a large and active board in the Chinese setting. This can offset the disadvantages associated with large boards, such as increased bureaucracy, and hence, increase the constraining effects of a large and resourceful board. Third, factor analysis identifies two factors: CEO power and board power. CEO power is the factor which consists of CEO duality and turnover, and board power is composed of board size and board activity. The results of CEO power show that if a Chinese listed company has CEO duality and turnover at the same time, it is more likely to have a high level of earnings management. The significant and negative relationship between board power and accruals indicate that large boards with frequent meetings can be associated with low level of earnings management. Overall, the factor analysis suggests that certain governance mechanisms complement each other to become more efficient monitors of opportunistic earnings management. A combination of board characteristics can increase the negative association with earnings management. Fourth, the insignificant results between audit committees and earnings management in Chinese listed firms suggests that the Chinese regulator should strengthen the audit committee functions. This thesis calls for listed firms to disclose more information on audit committee composition and activities, which can facilitate future research on the Chinese audit committee’s monitoring role. Fifth, the interactive results between State ownership and board characteristics show that dominant State ownership has a moderating effect on board monitoring power as the State totally controls 42% of the issued shares. The high percentage of State ownership makes it difficult for the non-controlling institutional shareholders to challenge the State’s dominant status. As a result, the association between non-controlling institutional ownership and earnings management is insignificant in most situations. Lastly, firms audited by the international Big4 have lower abnormal accruals than firms audited by domestic Chinese audit firms. In addition, the inverse U-shape relationship between audit tenure and earnings quality demonstrates the changing effects of audit quality after a certain period of appointment. Furthermore, this thesis finds that listing in Hong Kong Stock Exchanges can be an alternative governance mechanism to discipline Chinese firms to follow strict Hong Kong listing requirements. Management of Hong Kong listed companies are exposed to the scrutiny of international investors and Hong Kong regulators. This in turn reduces their chances of conducting self-interested earnings manipulation. This study is designed to fill the gap in governance literature in China that is related to earnings management. Previous research on corporate governance mechanisms and earnings management in China is not conclusive. The current research builds on previous literature and provides some meaningful implications for practitioners, regulators, academic, and international investors who have investment interests in a transitional country. The findings of this study contribute to corporate governance and earnings management literature in the context of the transitional economy of China. The use of alternative measures for earnings management yields similar results compared with the accruals models and produces additional findings.

Comparing the medium-term effects of exercise or dietary restriction on appetite regulation and compensatory responses

Previous studies have shown that exercise (Ex) interventions create a stronger coupling between energy intake (EI) and energy expenditure (EE) leading to increased homeostasis of the energy-balance (EB) regulatory system compared to a diet intervention where an un-coupling between EI and EE occurs. The benefits of weight loss from Ex and diet interventions greatly depend on compensatory responses. The present study investigated an 8-week medium-term Ex and diet intervention program (Ex intervention comprised of 500kcal EE five days per week over four weeks at 65-75% maximal heart rate, whereas the diet intervention comprised of a 500kcal decrease in EI five days per week over four weeks) and its effects on compensatory responses and appetite regulation among healthy individuals using a between- and within-subjects design. Effects of an acute dietary manipulation on appetite and compensatory behaviours and whether a diet and/or Ex intervention pre-disposes individuals to disturbances in EB homeostasis were tested. Energy intake at an ad libitum lunch test meal after a breakfast high- and low-energy pre-load (the high energy pre-load contained 556kcal and the low energy pre-load contained 239kcal) were measured at the Baseline (Weeks -4 to 0) and Intervention (Weeks 0 to 4) phases in 13 healthy volunteers (three males and ten females; mean age 35 years [sd + 9] and mean BMI 25 kg/m2 [sd + 3.8]) [participants in each group included Ex=7, diet=5 (one female in the diet group dropped out midway), thus, 12 participants completed the study]. At Weeks -4, 0 and 4, visual analogue scales (VAS) were used to assess hunger and satiety and liking and wanting (L&W) for nutrient and taste preferences using a computer-based system (E-Prime v1.1.4). Ad libitum test meal EI was consistently lower after the HE pre-load compared to the LE pre-load. However, this was not consistent during the diet intervention however. A pre-load x group interaction on ad libitum test meal EI revealed that during the intervention phase the Ex group showed an improved sensitivity to detect the energy content between the two pre-loads and improved compensation for the ad libitum test meal whereas the diet group’s ability to differentiate between the two pre-loads decreased and showed poorer compensation (F[1,10]=2.88, p-value not significant). This study supports previous findings of the effect Ex and diet interventions have on appetite and compensatory responses; Ex increases and diet decreases energy balance sensitivity.

The role of cognitive and visual abilities as predictors in the Multifactorial Model of Driving Safety

Objective The current study evaluated part of the Multifactorial Model of Driving Safety to elucidate the relative importance of cognitive function and a limited range of standard measures of visual function in relation to the Capacity to Drive Safely. Capacity to Drive Safely was operationalized using three validated screening measures for older drivers. These included an adaptation of the well validated Useful Field of View (UFOV) and two newer measures, namely a Hazard Perception Test (HPT), and a Hazard Change Detection Task (HCDT). Method Community dwelling drivers (n = 297) aged 65–96 were assessed using a battery of measures of cognitive and visual function. Results Factor analysis of these predictor variables yielded factors including Executive/Speed, Vision (measured by visual acuity and contrast sensitivity), Spatial, Visual Closure, and Working Memory. Cognitive and Vision factors explained 83–95% of age-related variance in the Capacity to Drive Safely. Spatial and Working Memory were associated with UFOV, HPT and HCDT, Executive/Speed was associated with UFOV and HCDT and Vision was associated with HPT. Conclusion The Capacity to Drive Safely declines with chronological age, and this decline is associated with age-related declines in several higher order cognitive abilities involving manipulation and storage of visuospatial information under speeded conditions. There are also age-independent effects of cognitive function and vision that determine driving safety.

Ocular characteristics of anisometropia

Animal models of refractive error development have demonstrated that visual experience influences ocular growth. In a variety of species, axial anisometropia (i.e. a difference in the length of the two eyes) can be induced through unilateral occlusion, image degradation or optical manipulation. In humans, anisometropia may occur in isolation or in association with amblyopia, strabismus or unilateral pathology. Non-amblyopic myopic anisometropia represents an interesting anomaly of ocular growth, since the two eyes within one visual system have grown to different endpoints. These experiments have investigated a range of biometric, optical and mechanical properties of anisometropic eyes (with and without amblyopia) with the aim of improving our current understanding of asymmetric refractive error development. In the first experiment, the interocular symmetry in 34 non-amblyopic myopic anisometropes (31 Asian, 3 Caucasian) was examined during relaxed accommodation. A high degree of symmetry was observed between the fellow eyes for a range of optical, biometric and biomechanical measurements. When the magnitude of anisometropia exceeded 1.75 D, the more myopic eye was almost always the sighting dominant eye. Further analysis of the optical and biometric properties of the dominant and non-dominant eyes was conducted to determine any related factors but no significant interocular differences were observed with respect to best-corrected visual acuity, corneal or total ocular aberrations during relaxed accommodation. Given the high degree of symmetry observed between the fellow eyes during distance viewing in the first experiment and the strong association previously reported between near work and myopia development, the aim of the second experiment was to investigate the symmetry between the fellow eyes of the same 34 myopic anisometropes following a period of near work. Symmetrical changes in corneal and total ocular aberrations were observed following a short reading task (10 minutes, 2.5 D accommodation demand) which was attributed to the high degree of interocular symmetry for measures of anterior eye morphology, and corneal biomechanics. These changes were related to eyelid shape and position during downward gaze, but gave no clear indication of factors associated with near work that might cause asymmetric eye growth within an individual. Since the influence of near work on eye growth is likely to be most obvious during, rather than following near tasks, in the third experiment the interocular symmetry of the optical and biometric changes was examined during accommodation for 11 myopic anisometropes. The changes in anterior eye biometrics associated with accommodation were again similar between the eyes, resulting in symmetrical changes in the optical characteristics. However, the more myopic eyes exhibited slightly greater amounts of axial elongation during accommodation which may be related to the force exerted by the ciliary muscle. This small asymmetry in axial elongation we observed between the eyes may be due to interocular differences in posterior eye structure, given that the accommodative response was equal between eyes. Using ocular coherence tomography a reduced average choroidal thickness was observed in the more myopic eyes compared to the less myopic eyes of these subjects. The interocular difference in choroidal thickness was correlated with the magnitude of spherical equivalent and axial anisometropia. The symmetry in optics and biometrics between fellow eyes which have undergone significantly different visual development (i.e. anisometropic subjects with amblyopia) is also of interest with respect to refractive error development. In the final experiment the influence of altered visual experience upon corneal and ocular higher-order aberrations was investigated in 21 amblyopic subjects (8 refractive, 11 strabismic and 2 form deprivation). Significant differences in aberrations were observed between the fellow eyes, which varied according to the type of amblyopia. Refractive amblyopes displayed significantly higher levels of 4th order corneal aberrations (spherical aberration and secondary astigmatism) in the amblyopic eye compared to the fellow non-amblyopic eye. Strabismic amblyopes exhibited significantly higher levels of trefoil, a third order aberration, in the amblyopic eye for both corneal and total ocular aberrations. The results of this experiment suggest that asymmetric visual experience during development is associated with asymmetries in higher-order aberrations, proportional to the magnitude of anisometropia and dependent upon the amblyogenic factor. This suggests a direct link between the development of higher-order optical characteristics of the human eye and visual feedback. The results from these experiments have shown that a high degree of symmetry exists between the fellow eyes of non-amblyopic myopic anisometropes for a range of biomechanical, biometric and optical parameters for different levels of accommodation and following near work. While a single specific optical or biomechanical factor that is consistently associated with asymmetric refractive error development has not been identified, the findings from these studies suggest that further research into the association between ocular dominance, choroidal thickness and higher-order aberrations with anisometropia may improve our understanding of refractive error development.

Towards automatic object segmentation with sequential multiple views

Object segmentation is one of the fundamental steps for a number of robotic applications such as manipulation, object detection, and obstacle avoidance. This paper proposes a visual method for incorporating colour and depth information from sequential multiview stereo images to segment objects of interest from complex and cluttered environments. Rather than segmenting objects using information from a single frame in the sequence, we incorporate information from neighbouring views to increase the reliability of the information and improve the overall segmentation result. Specifically, dense depth information of a scene is computed using multiple view stereo. Depths from neighbouring views are reprojected into the reference frame to be segmented compensating for imperfect depth computations for individual frames. The multiple depth layers are then combined with color information from the reference frame to create a Markov random field to model the segmentation problem. Finally, graphcut optimisation is employed to infer pixels belonging to the object to be segmented. The segmentation accuracy is evaluated over images from an outdoor video sequence demonstrating the viability for automatic object segmentation for mobile robots using monocular cameras as a primary sensor.

Experience design and interactive software in music education research

This paper examines the integration of computing technologies into music education research in a way informed by constructivism. In particular, this paper focuses on an approach established by Jeanne Bamberger, which the author also employs, that integrates software design, pedagogical exploration, and the building of music education theory. In this tradition, researchers design software and associated activities to facilitate the interactive manipulation of musical structures and ideas. In short, this approach focuses on designing experiences and tools that support musical thinking and doing. In comparing the work of Jean Bamberger with that of the author, this paper highlights and discusses issues of significance and identifies lessons for future research.

The role of anxiety and perspective-taking strategy on affective empathic responses

Empathy is an important pro-social behaviour critical to a positive clientetherapist relationship. Therapist anxiety has been linked to reduced ability to empathise and lower client satisfaction with therapy. However, the nature of the relationship between anxiety and empathy is currently unclear. The current study investigated the effect of experimentally-induced anxiety on empathic responses elicited during three different perspective-taking tasks. Perspective-taking was manipulated within-subjects with all participants (N¼ 52) completing imagine-self, imagine-other and objective conditions. A threat of shock manipulation was used to vary anxiety between-subjects. Participants in the threat of shock condition reported higher levels of anxiety during the experiment and lower levels of empathyrelated distress for the targets than participants in the control condition. Perspective-taking was associated with higher levels of empathy-related distress and concern compared to the objective condition. The present results suggest that perspective-taking can to a large extent mitigate the influence of heightened anxiety on an individual’s ability to empathise.

On the resistance to extinction of fear conditioned to angry faces

The present study investigated whether, like fear conditioned to pictures of snakes and spiders, fear conditioned to angry faces resists extinction even after verbal instruction and removal of the shock electrode. Participants were trained in a differential Pavlovian fear conditioning procedure with angry face or happy face conditional stimuli (CSs). Prior to extinction, half the participants in each group were informed that no more unconditional stimuli would be presented and the shock electrode was removed. In the absence of this manipulation, participants showed resistance to extinction after training with angry face CSs, but not after training with happy face CSs. Instructed extinction and electrode removal abolished fear conditioning regardless of the emotion expressed by the CS faces. This finding suggests that fear conditioned to angry faces, like fear conditioned to racial out-group faces, is more malleable than fear conditioned to snakes and spiders.

The effect of emotional and attentional load on attentional startle modulation

The interactive effects of emotion and attention on attentional startle modulation were investigated in two experiments. Participants performed a discrimination and counting task with two visual stimuli during which acoustic eyeblink startle-eliciting probes were presented at long lead intervals. In Experiment 1, this task was combined with aversive Pavlovian conditioning. In Group Attend CS+, the attended stimulus was followed by an aversive unconditional stimulus (US) and the ignored stimulus was presented alone whereas the ignored stimulus was paired with the US in Group Attend CS−. In Experiment 2, a non-aversive reaction time task US replaced the aversive US. Regardless of the conditioning manipulation and consistent with a modality non-specific account of attentional startle modulation, startle magnitude was larger during attended than ignored stimuli in both experiments. Blink latency shortening was differentially affected by the conditioning manipulations suggesting additive effects of conditioning and discrimination and counting task on blink startle.

Defining the role of phytoene synthase in carotenoid accumulation of high provitamin A bananas

Vitamin A deficiency (VAD) is a serious problem in developing countries, affecting approximately 127 million children of preschool age and 7.2 million pregnant women each year. However, this deficiency is readily treated and prevented through adequate nutrition. This can potentially be achieved through genetically engineered biofortification of staple food crops to enhance provitamin A (pVA) carotenoid content. Bananas are the fourth most important food crop with an annual production of 100 million tonnes and are widely consumed in areas affected by VAD. However, the fruit pVA content of most widely consumed banana cultivars is low (~ 0.2 to 0.5 ìg/g dry weight). This includes cultivars such as the East African highland banana (EAHB), the staple crop in countries such as Uganda, where annual banana consumption is approximately 250 kg per person. This fact, in addition to the agronomic properties of staple banana cultivars such as vegetative reproduction and continuous cropping, make bananas an ideal target for pVA enhancement through genetic engineering. Interestingly, there are banana varieties known with high fruit pVA content (up to 27.8 ìg/g dry weight), although they are not widely consumed due to factors such as cultural preference and availability. The genes involved in carotenoid accumulation during banana fruit ripening have not been well studied and an understanding of the molecular basis for the differential capacity of bananas to accumulate carotenoids may impact on the effective production of genetically engineered high pVA bananas. The production of phytoene by the enzyme phytoene synthase (PSY) has been shown to be an important rate limiting determinant of pVA accumulation in crop systems such as maize and rice. Manipulation of this gene in rice has been used successfully to produce Golden Rice, which exhibits higher seed endosperm pVA levels than wild type plants. Therefore, it was hypothesised that differences between high and low pVA accumulating bananas could be due either to differences in PSY enzyme activity or factors regulating the expression of the psy gene. Therefore, the aim of this thesis was to investigate the role of PSY in accumulation of pVA in banana fruit of representative high (Asupina) and low (Cavendish) pVA banana cultivars by comparing the nucleic acid and encoded amino acid sequences of the banana psy genes, in vivo enzyme activity of PSY in rice callus and expression of PSY through analysis of promoter activity and mRNA levels. Initially, partial sequences of the psy coding region from five banana cultivars were obtained using reverse transcriptase (RT)-PCR with degenerate primers designed to conserved amino acids in the coding region of available psy sequences from other plants. Based on phylogenetic analysis and comparison to maize psy sequences, it was found that in banana, psy occurs as a gene family of at least three members (psy1, psy2a and psy2b). Subsequent analysis of the complete coding regions of these genes from Asupina and Cavendish suggested that they were all capable of producing functional proteins due to high conservation in the catalytic domain. However, inability to obtain the complete mRNA sequences of Cavendish psy2a, and isolation of two non-functional Cavendish psy2a coding region variants, suggested that psy2a expression may be impaired in Cavendish. Sequence analysis indicated that these Cavendish psy2a coding region variants may have resulted from alternate splicing. Evidence of alternate splicing was also observed in one Asupina psy1 coding region variant, which was predicted to produce a functional PSY1 isoform. The complete mRNA sequence of the psy2b coding regions could not be isolated from either cultivar. Interestingly, psy1 was cloned predominantly from leaf while psy2 was obtained preferentially from fruit, suggesting some level of tissue-specific expression. The Asupina and Cavendish psy1 and psy2a coding regions were subsequently expressed in rice callus and the activity of the enzymes compared in vivo through visual observation and quantitative measurement of carotenoid accumulation. The maize B73 psy1 coding region was included as a positive control. After several weeks on selection, regenerating calli showed a range of colours from white to dark orange representing various levels of carotenoid accumulation. These results confirmed that the banana psy coding regions were all capable of producing functional enzymes. No statistically significant differences in levels of activity were observed between banana PSYs, suggesting that differences in PSY activity were not responsible for differences in the fruit pVA content of Asupina and Cavendish. The psy1 and psy2a promoter sequences were isolated from Asupina and Cavendish gDNA using a PCR-based genome walking strategy. Interestingly, three Cavendish psy2a promoter clones of different sizes, representing possible allelic variants, were identified while only single promoter sequences were obtained for the other Asupina and Cavendish psy genes. Bioinformatic analysis of these sequences identified motifs that were previously characterised in the Arabidopsis psy promoter. Notably, an ATCTA motif associated with basal expression in Arabidopsis was identified in all promoters with the exception of two of the Cavendish psy2a promoter clones (Cpsy2apr2 and Cpsy2apr3). G1 and G2 motifs, linked to light-regulated responses in Arabidopsis, appeared to be differentially distributed between psy1 and psy2a promoters. In the untranscribed regulatory regions, the G1 motifs were found only in psy1 promoters, while the G2 motifs were found only in psy2a. Interestingly, both ATCTA and G2 motifs were identified in the 5’ UTRs of Asupina and Cavendish psy1. Consistent with other monocot promoters, introns were present in the Asupina and Cavendish psy1 5’ UTRs, while none were observed in the psy2a 5’ UTRs. Promoters were cloned into expression constructs, driving the â-glucuronidase (GUS) reporter gene. Transient expression of the Asupina and Cavendish psy1 and psy2a promoters in both Cavendish embryogenic cells and Cavendish fruit demonstrated that all promoters were active, except Cpsy2apr2 and Cpsy2apr3. The functional Cavendish psy2a promoter (Cpsy2apr1) appeared to have activity similar to the Asupina psy2a promoter. The activities of the Asupina and Cavendish psy1 promoters were similar to each other, and comparable to those of the functional psy2a promoters. Semi-quantitative PCR analysis of Asupina and Cavendish psy1 and psy2a transcripts showed that psy2a levels were high in green fruit and decreased during ripening, reinforcing the hypothesis that fruit pVA levels were largely dependent on levels of psy2a expression. Additionally, semi-quantitative PCR using intron-spanning primers indicated that high levels of unprocessed psy2a and psy2b mRNA were present in the ripe fruit of Cavendish but not in Asupina. This raised the possibility that differences in intron processing may influence pVA accumulation in Asupina and Cavendish. In this study the role of PSY in banana pVA accumulation was analysed at a number of different levels. Both mRNA accumulation and promoter activity of psy genes studied were very similar between Asupina and Cavendish. However, in several experiments there was evidence of cryptic or alternate splicing that differed in Cavendish compared to Asupina, although these differences were not conclusively linked to the differences in fruit pVA accumulation between Asupina and Cavendish. Therefore, other carotenoid biosynthetic genes or regulatory mechanisms may be involved in determining pVA levels in these cultivars. This study has contributed to an increased understanding of the role of PSY in the production of pVA carotenoids in banana fruit, corroborating the importance of this enzyme in regulating carotenoid production. Ultimately, this work may serve to inform future research into pVA accumulation in important crop varieties such as the EAHB and the discovery of avenues to improve such crops through genetic modification.

Phenological changes in six Australian subalpine plants in response to experimental warming and year-to-year variation

The likely phenological responses of plants to climate warming can be measured through experimental manipulation of field sites, but results are rarely validated against year-to-year changes in climate. Here, we describe the response of 1-5 years of experimental warming on phenology (budding, flowering and seed maturation) of six common subalpine plant species in the Australian Alps using the International Tundra Experiment (ITEX) protocol.2. Phenological changes in some species (particularly the forb Craspedia jamesii) were detected in experimental plots within a year of warming, whereas changes in most other species (the forb Erigeron bellidioides, the shrub Asterolasia trymalioides and the graminoids Carex breviculmis and Poa hiemata) did not develop until after 2-4 years; thus, there appears to be a cumulative effect of warming for some species across multiple years.3. There was evidence of changes in the length of the period between flowering and seed maturity in one species (P. hiemata) that led to a similar timing of seed maturation, suggesting compensation.4. Year-to-year variation in phenology was greater than variation between warmed and control plots and could be related to differences in thawing degree days (particularly, for E. bellidioides) due to earlier timing of budding and other events under warmer conditions. However, in Carex breviculmis, there was no association between phenology and temperature changes across years.5. These findings indicate that, although phenological changes occurred earlier in response to warming in all six species, some species showed buffered rather than immediate responses.6. Synthesis. Warming in ITEX open-top chambers in the Australian Alps produced earlier budding, flowering and seed set in several alpine species. Species also altered the timing of these events, particularly budding, in response to year-to-year temperature variation. Some species responded immediately, whereas in others the cumulative effects of warming across several years were required before a response was detected.

The internal validity of web-based studies

Honing and Ladinig (2008) make the assertion that while the internal validity of web-based studies may be reduced, this is offset by an increase in external validity possible when experimenters can sample a wider range of participants and experimental settings. In this paper, the issue of internal validity is more closely examined, and it is agued that there is no necessary reason why internal validity of a web-based study should be worse than that of a lab-based one. Errors of measurement or inconsistencies of manipulation will typically balance across conditions of the experiment, and thus need not necessarily threaten the validity of a study’s findings.

A simulation to describe the effects of in-shoe orthoses

The subtalar joint has been presumed to account for most of the pathologic motion in the foot and ankle, but research has shown that motion at other foot joints is greater than traditionally expected. Although recent research demonstrates the complexity of the kinematic variables in the foot and ankle, it still fails to expand our knowledge of the role of the musculotendinous structures in the biomechanics of the foot and ankle and how this is affected by in-shoe orthoses. The aim of this study was to simulate the effect of in-shoe foot orthoses by manipulation of the ground reaction force (GRF) components and centre of pressure (CoP) to demonstrate the resultant effect on muscle force in selected muscles during both the rearfoot loading response and stance phase of the gait cycle. We found that any medial wedge increases ankle joint load during gait cycle, while a lateral wedge decreases the joint load during the stance phase.

Creating and evaluating IT-related business value in developing markets : part 1

There is no doubt that information technology (IT) resources are important for organisations in any jurisdiction to manage their processes. Organisations consume considerable financial resources to acquire and manage their IT resources with various IT governance structures. Investment in IT, thus, is a strategic necessity. IT resources, however, do not contribute fully to business value on their own. Business value considers performance impacts of resources at various organisational levels (e.g., processes and firm levels). ITs are biased resources in that they require some form of manipulation to attain their maximum value. While we know that IT resources are important, a deeper understanding on two aspects of use of IT resources in organisations is important. First, is how to leverage the IT resources to attain its maximum value, and second, is where to evaluate IT-related business value in the organisation’s value chain. This understanding is important for organisation to sustain their operations in an ever-changing business environment. We address these issues in two parts. This paper discusses the first aspect of ways in which organisations can create and sustain their IT-related business value.

Analysing environmental acoustic data through collaboration and automation

Monitoring environmental health is becoming increasingly important as human activity and climate change place greater pressure on global biodiversity. Acoustic sensors provide the ability to collect data passively, objectively and continuously across large areas for extended periods. While these factors make acoustic sensors attractive as autonomous data collectors, there are significant issues associated with large-scale data manipulation and analysis. We present our current research into techniques for analysing large volumes of acoustic data efficiently. We provide an overview of a novel online acoustic environmental workbench and discuss a number of approaches to scaling analysis of acoustic data; online collaboration, manual, automatic and human-in-the loop analysis.