Perceived competence moderates the relation between performance-approach and performance-avoidance goals

In the present research, we conducted 4 studies designed to examine the hypothesis that perceived competence moderates the relation between performance-approach and performance-avoidance goals. Each study yielded supportive data, indicating that the correlation between the 2 goals is lower when perceived competence is high. This pattern was observed at the between- and within-subject level of analysis, with correlational and experimental methods and using both standard and novel achievement goal assessments, multiple operationalizations of perceived competence, and several different types of focal tasks. The findings from this research contribute to the achievement goal literature on theoretical, applied, and methodological fronts and highlight the importance of and need for additional empirical work in this area. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)(journal abstract)

The impact of market and supply configurations on the costs of tendering in the construction industry

The cost of tendering in the construction industry is widely suspected to be excessive, but there is little robust empirical evidence to demonstrate this. It also seems that innovative working practices may reduce the costs of undertaking construction projects and the consequent improvement in relationships should increase overall value for money. The aim of this proposed research project is to develop mechanisms for measuring the true costs of tendering based upon extensive in-house data collection undertaken in a range of different construction firms. The output from this research will enable all participants in the construction process to make better decisions about how to select members of the team and identify the price and scope of their obligations.

Farm-level performance of genetically modified cotton - A frontier analysis of cotton production in Maharashtra

In this paper, the yield increases resulting from the cultivation of Bt cotton in Maharashtra, India, are analysed. The study relies on commercial farm, rather than trial, data and is among the first of its kind to be based on real farm and market conditions. Findings show that since its commercial release in 2002, Bt cotton has had a significant positive impact on yields and on the economic performance of cotton growers in Maharashtra. This difference remains even after controlling for different soil and insecticide inputs in the production of Bt cotton. There is also significant spatial and temporal variation in this 'benefit', and much depends upon where production is taking place and on the season.

The potential for high performance design adoption in retail property portfolios

Growing legislative pressures and increasing stakeholder awareness of environmental issues are pushing the property market to consider high-performance, low-impact retail buildings. The office sector is relatively advanced in its apparent appreciation of such buildings; however, the retail sector is slow to recognize these benefits. In exploring the business case for high-performance design adoption in the retail sector, this paper examines the overlaps between office and retail sector benefits and considers the potential benefits peculiar to retailers. Barriers to high-performance design adoption are then addressed through case research, interviews with key representatives from the retail property market and a questionnaire survey of FTSE listed retail company property departments. The paper concludes that information gaps are a significant hindrance to high-performance property development and that they can be reduced, to some extent, by the forthcoming introduction of the BREEAM Retail environmental assessment tool. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.

Performance and conformance results of the deterministic DVB-T equalizer

One of the enablers for new consumer electronics based products to be accepted in to the market is the availability of inexpensive, flexible and multi-standard chipsets and services. DVB-T, the principal standard for terrestrial broadcast of digital video in Europe, has been extremely successful in leading to governments reconsidering their targets for analogue television broadcast switch-off. To enable one further small step in creating increasingly cost effective chipsets, the ODFM deterministic equalizer has been presented before with its application to DVB-T. This paper discusses the test set-up of a DVB-T compliant baseband simulation that includes the deterministic equalizer and DVB-T standard propagation channels. This is then followed by a presentation of the found inner and outer Bit Error Rate (BER) results using various modulation levels, coding rates and propagation channels in order to ascertain the actual performance of the deterministic equalizer(1).

Means, motive and opportunity? Disentangling client influence on performance measurement appraisals

This paper investigates the extent to which clients were able to influence performance measurement appraisals during the downturn in commercial property markets that began in the UK during the second half of 2007. The sharp change in market sentiment produced speculation that different client categories were attempting to influence their appraisers in different ways. In particular, it was recognised that the requirement for open‐ended funds to meet redemptions gave them strong incentives to ensure that their asset values were marked down to market. Using data supplied by Investment Property Databank, we demonstrate that, indeed, unlisted open‐ended funds experienced sharper drops in capital values than other fund types in the last quarter of 2007, after the market turning point and at the time when redemptions were at their highest. These differences are statistically significant and cannot simply be explained by differences in portfolio composition. Client influence on appraisal forms one possible explanation of the results observed: the different pressures on fund managers resulting in different appraisal outcomes.

Operator performance evaluation of controlled depth of field in a stereographically displayed virtual environment

Retinal blurring resulting from the human eye's depth of focus has been shown to assist visual perception. Infinite focal depth within stereoscopically displayed virtual environments may cause undesirable effects, for instance, objects positioned at a distance in front of or behind the observer's fixation point will be perceived in sharp focus with large disparities thereby causing diplopia. Although published research on incorporation of synthetically generated Depth of Field (DoF) suggests that this might act as an enhancement to perceived image quality, no quantitative testimonies of perceptional performance gains exist. This may be due to the difficulty of dynamic generation of synthetic DoF where focal distance is actively linked to fixation distance. In this paper, such a system is described. A desktop stereographic display is used to project a virtual scene in which synthetically generated DoF is actively controlled from vergence-derived distance. A performance evaluation experiment on this system which involved subjects carrying out observations in a spatially complex virtual environment was undertaken. The virtual environment consisted of components interconnected by pipes on a distractive background. The subject was tasked with making an observation based on the connectivity of the components. The effects of focal depth variation in static and actively controlled focal distance conditions were investigated. The results and analysis are presented which show that performance gains may be achieved by addition of synthetic DoF. The merits of the application of synthetic DoF are discussed.

Drivers of fund performance: a panel data analysis

The principle aim of this research is to elucidate the factors driving the total rate of return of non-listed funds using a panel data analytical framework. In line with previous results, we find that core funds exhibit lower yet more stable returns than value-added and, in particular, opportunistic funds, both cross-sectionally and over time. After taking into account overall market exposure, as measured by weighted market returns, the excess returns of value-added and opportunity funds are likely to stem from: high leverage, high exposure to development, active asset management and investment in specialized property sectors. A random effects estimation of the panel data model largely confirms the findings obtained from the fixed effects model. Again, the country and sector property effect shows the strongest significance in explaining total returns. The stock market variable is negative which hints at switching effects between competing asset classes. For opportunity funds, on average, the returns attributable to gearing are three times higher than those for value added funds and over five times higher than for core funds. Overall, there is relatively strong evidence indicating that country and sector allocation, style, gearing and fund size combinations impact on the performance of unlisted real estate funds.

Means, motive and opportunity? Disentangling client influence on performance measurement appraisals

This paper investigates the extent to which clients were able to influence performance measurement appraisals during the downturn in commercial property markets that began in the UK during the second half of 2007. The sharp change in market sentiment produced speculation that different client categories were attempting to influence their appraisers in different ways. In particular, it was recognised that the requirement for open-ended funds to meet redemptions gave them strong incentives to ensure that their asset values were marked down to market. Using data supplied by Investment Property Databank, we demonstrate that, indeed, unlisted open ended funds experienced sharper drops in capital values than other fund types in the second half of 2007, after the market turning point. These differences are statistically significant and cannot simply be explained by differences in portfolio composition. Client influence on appraisal forms one possible explanation of the results observed: the different pressures on fund managers resulting in different appraisal outcomes.

A geography of the UK commercial property market

This paper revisits some ideas that were first raised seriously in the mid-90s; that it should be possible to establish linkages (in spatial terms) between local economic factors and sector performance in commercial real estate markets. There have been a number of developments in the quality and quantity of relevant data over the intervening period that make it appropriate to return to have another look at some of these ideas in a more ‘modern’ technological context. Using data from several sources this exploratory paper seeks therefore to look at some of the spatial patterns that can be derived from the data. It examines the extent to which it is possible to make linkages and visualise the geographical structure of those markets and their change over time. Naturally there remain strong limitations on the extent to which it is possible to achieve ‘good’ results in this kind of analysis, and one major intention of the paper is to encourage a debate about how data sets can be developed and improved to allow these methods to be taken further.

Individual assets, market structure and the drivers of return

Much prior research on the structure and performance of UK real estate portfolios has relied on aggregated measures for sector and region. For these groupings to have validity, the performance of individual properties within each group should be similar. This paper analyses a sample of 1,200 properties using multiple discriminant analysis and cluster analysis techniques. It is shown that conventional property type and spatial classifications do not capture the variation in return behaviour at the individual building level. The major feature is heterogeneity - but there may be distinctions between growth and income properties and between single and multi-let properties that could help refine portfolio structures.

The production and consumption of commercial real estate market forecasts

Whilst the vast majority of the research on property market forecasting has concentrated on statistical methods of forecasting future rents, this report investigates the process of property market forecast production with particular reference to the level and effect of judgemental intervention in this process. Expectations of future investment performance at the levels of individual asset, sector, region, country and asset class are crucial to stock selection and tactical and strategic asset allocation decisions. Given their centrality to investment performance, we focus on the process by which forecasts of rents and yields are generated and expectations formed. A review of the wider literature on forecasting suggests that there are strong grounds to expect that forecast outcomes are not the result of purely mechanical calculations.

Holding periods and investment performance: analysing UK office returns 1983-2003

Drawing on a unique database of office properties constructed for Gerald Eve by IPD, this paper examines the holding periods of individual office properties sold between 1983 and 2003. It quantifies the holding periods of sold properties and examines the relationship between the holding period and investment performance. Across the range of holding periods, excess returns (performance relative to the market) are evenly distributed. There are as many winners as there are losers. The distribution of excess returns over different holding periods is widely spread with the risk of under-performance greater over short holding periods. Over the longer term, excess performance is confined to a narrow range and individual returns are more likely to perform in line with the market as a whole.

Analysing UK real estate market forecast disagreement

Given the significance of forecasting in real estate investment decisions, this paper investigates forecast uncertainty and disagreement in real estate market forecasts. Using the Investment Property Forum (IPF) quarterly survey amongst UK independent real estate forecasters, these real estate forecasts are compared with actual real estate performance to assess a number of real estate forecasting issues in the UK over 1999-2004, including real estate forecast error, bias and consensus. The results suggest that real estate forecasts are biased, less volatile compared to market returns and inefficient in that forecast errors tend to persist. The strongest finding is that real estate forecasters display the characteristics associated with a consensus indicating herding.