Costs and benefits of mandatory auditing of for-profit private and not-for-profit companies in Australia

This paper addresses the paucity of research surrounding the mandatory auditing of for-profit private and not-for-profit companies in Australia. We document the various mandatory auditing provisions under the Corporations Act and identify over 22 000 companies that lodge audited accounts with the regulator under federal law. In 2011, 6339 large proprietary companies, 186 small proprietary companies, 2797 foreign-owned companies, 3985 unlisted public companies and 8404 public companies limited by guarantee had an obligation under the Corporations Act to lodge audited accounts. While large proprietary and foreign-owned companies have an option to apply to the Australian Securities and Investment Commission for audit relief, we estimate that less than 10% are granted audit exemption. We document that since 1995 an additional 1500 large proprietary companies that should have lodged under the size provisions of the Corporations Act have been granted exemption from doing so (i.e., grandfathered), although these firms appear to be subject to an annual audit even though they do not lodge accounts. We estimate the costs and discuss the potential public interest and firm-level benefits associated with the mandatory auditing of for-profit private and not-for-profit companies in Australia.

Costs of raising equity capital for U.S. REITs

The direct and indirect costs of raising equity capital by U.S. REITs through IPOs average 8.43% and 3.07%, respectively while these costs through SEOs average 4.63% and 1.18%, respectively. Ownership limit and the number of adverse risk factors identified in the IPO prospectus and underwriting syndicate structure determine such costs.

Primary healthcare costs associated with sleep problems up to age 7 years: Australian population-based study

This article studies Australian 0-7-year olds with and without sleep problems and compares the type and costs to government of non-hospital healthcare services and prescription medication in each year of age and  the cumulative costs according to persistence of the sleep problem.

Protocol for a home-based integrated physical therapy program to reduce falls and improve mobility in people with Parkinson’s disease

Background The high incidence of falls associated with Parkinson’s disease (PD) increases the risk of injuries and immobility and compromises quality of life. Although falls education and strengthening programs have shown some benefit in healthy older people, the ability of physical therapy interventions in home settings to reduce falls and improve mobility in people with Parkinson’s has not been convincingly demonstrated.
Methods/design 180 community living people with PD will be randomly allocated to receive either a home-based integrated rehabilitation program (progressive resistance strength training, movement strategy training and falls education) or a home-based life skills program (control intervention). Both programs comprise one hour of treatment and one hour of structured homework per week over six weeks of home therapy. Blinded assessments occurring before therapy commences, the week after completion of therapy and 12 months following intervention will establish both the immediate and long-term benefits of home-based rehabilitation. The number of falls, number of repeat falls, falls rate and time to first fall will be the primary measures used to quantify outcome. The economic costs associated with injurious falls, and the costs of running the integrated rehabilitation program from a health system perspective will be established. The effects of intervention on motor and global disability and on quality of life will also be examined.
Discussion This study will provide new evidence on the outcomes and cost effectiveness of home-based movement rehabilitation programs for people living with PD.

Understanding the sources of uncertainty to reduce the risks of undesirable outcomes in large-scale freshwater ecosystem restoration projects: an example from the Murray–Darling Basin, Australia

There are a growing number of large-scale freshwater ecological restoration projects worldwide. Assessments of the benefits and costs of restoration often exclude an analysis of uncertainty in the modelled outcomes. To address this shortcoming we explicitly model the uncertainties associated with measures of ecosystem health in the estuary of the Murray– Darling Basin, Australia and how those measures may change with the implementation of a Basin-wide Plan to recover water to improve ecosystem health. Specifically, we compare two metrics – one simple and one more complex – to manage end-of-system flow requirements for one ecosystem asset in the Basin, the internationally important Coorong saline wetlands. Our risk assessment confirms that the ecological conditions in the Coorong are likely to improve with implementation of the Basin Plan; however, there are risks of a Type III error (where the correct answer is found for the wrong question) associated with using the simple metric for adaptive management. 

The energetic and survival costs of growth in free-ranging chipmunks

The growth/survival trade-off is a fundamental aspect of life-history evolution that is often explained by the direct energetic requirement for growth that cannot be allocated into maintenance. However, there is currently no empirical consensus on whether fast-growing individuals have higher resting metabolic rates at thermoneutrality (RMRt) than slow growers. Moreover, the link between growth rate and daily energy expenditure (DEE) has never been tested in a wild endotherm. We assessed the energetic and survival costs of growth in juvenile eastern chipmunks (Tamias striatus) during a year of low food abundance by quantifying post-emergent growth rate (n = 88), RMRt (n = 66), DEE (n = 20), and overwinter survival. Both RMRt and DEE were significantly and positively related to growth rate. The effect size was stronger for DEE than RMRt, suggesting that the energy cost of growth in wild animals is more likely to be related to the maintenance of a higher foraging rate (included in DEE) than to tissue accretion (included in RMRt). Fast growers were significantly less likely to survive the following winter compared to slow growers. Juveniles with high or low RMRt were less likely to survive winter than juveniles with intermediate RMRt. In contrast, DEE was unrelated to survival. In addition, botfly parasitism simultaneously decreased growth rate and survival, suggesting that the energetic budget of juveniles was restricted by the simultaneous costs of growth and parasitism. Although the biology of the species (seed-storing hibernator) and the context of our study (constraining environmental conditions) were ideally combined to reveal a direct relationship between current use of energy and future availability, it remains unclear whether the energetic cost of growth was directly responsible for reduced survival.

The energetic and oxidative costs of reproduction in a free-ranging rodent

1. As understanding of the energetic costs of reproduction in birds and mammals continues to improve, oxidative stress is an increasingly cited example of a non-energetic cost of reproduction that may serve as a proximal physiological link underlying life-history trade-offs.

2. Here, we provide the first study to measure daily energy expenditure (DEE) and oxidative damage in a wild population. We measured both traits on eastern chipmunks (Tamias striatus) and assessed their relationships with age, reproductive status, litter size and environmental conditions.

3. We found that both physiological traits were correlated with environmental characteristics (e.g. temperature, seasons). DEE tended to increase with decreasing temperature, while oxidative damage was lower in spring, after a winter of torpor expression, than in autumn. We also found that DEE decreased with age, while oxidative damage was elevated in young individuals, reduced in animals of intermediate age and tended to increase at older age.

4. After controlling for age and environmental variables, we found that both female DEE and oxidative damage increased with litter size, although the latter increased weakly.

5. Our results corroborate findings from laboratory studies but highlight the importance of considering environmental conditions, age and reproductive status in broader analyses of the causes and consequences of physiological costs of reproduction in wild animals.

Development and delivery of the appropriate assessments items for power systems related PBL subjects

Problem Based Learning (PBL) as a teaching method has been around for many years. It is one of the most effective ways of learning and teaching. It uses real world problems as a learning method and encourages learners to learn independently while a mentoring support is provided by the academic. However, various academic institutions develop the assessments items in many ways; the implementation and delivery become a challenge in ensuring the right assessment and implementation. This paper discusses some of the practical experiences of the development and delivery of the appropriate assessment items for power systems related PBL subjects.

Sex does not matter: gender bias and gender differences in peer assessments of contributions to group work

This paper considers the possibility of gender bias in peer ratings for contributions to team assignments, as measured by an online self-and-peer assessment tool. The research was conducted to determine whether peer assessment led to reliable and fair marking outcomes. The methodology of Falchikov and Magin was followed in order to test their finding that gender has no discernable impact on peer ratings. Data from over 1500 participants at two universities enrolled in four different degree programmes were analysed. The research indicates an absence of gender bias in six case studies. The research also found that women received significantly higher ratings than men.