Cross-sectional performance and investor sentiment in a multiple risk factor model

Economists have long recognized the importance of information veracity in valuing risky securities. Market participants concerned about the credibility of information measures may require additional compensation to entice them to hold stocks with less transparent information. These same securities are expected to display greater sensitivities to measures of market sentiment. We find that investor sentiment sensitivities increase directly with multiple measures of opacity in the cross-section. Next we examine the extent to which sentiment sensitivities are priced in an asset pricing context. Using the Jha et al. (2009) model of conditional performance evaluation, we find an inverse relation between ex ante known investor sentiment and the marginal performance of opaque stocks. In contrast, translucent stocks exhibit relatively little variability in performance across levels of sentiment.     

The miners and new technology

In this article the authors develop a theoretical framework for the analysis of issues raised by the new technology and report on research undertaken for the NUM into automation in coal mining. Alternative strategies are introduced which may be considered by the NUM to cope with new technology in the pits.     

Building a leadership brand

How do some firms produce a pipeline of consistently excellent managers? Instead of concentrating merely on strengthening the skills of individuals, these companies focus on building a broad organizational leadership capability. It's what Ulrich and Smallwood--cofounders of the RBL Group, a leadership development consultancy--call a leadership brand. Organizations with leadership brands take an "outside-in" approach to executive development. They begin with a clear statement of what they want to be known for by customers and then link it with a required set of management skills. The Lexus division of Toyota, for instance, translates its tagline--"The pursuit of perfection"--into an expectation that its leaders excel at managing quality processes. The slogan of Bon Secours Health System is "Good help to those in need." It demands that its managers balance business skills with compassion and caring. The outside-in approach helps firms build a reputation for high-quality leaders whom customers trust to deliver on the company's promises. In examining 150 companies with strong leadership capabilities, the authors found that the organizations follow five strategies. First, make sure managers master the basics of leadership--for example, setting strategy and grooming talent. Second, ensure that leaders internalize customers' high expectations. Third, incorporate customer feedback into evaluations of executives. Fourth, invest in programs that help managers hone the right skills, by tapping customers to participate in such programs. Finally, track the success of efforts to build leadership bench strength over the long-term. The result is outstanding management that persists even when individual executives leave. In fact, companies with the strongest leadership brands often become "leader feeders"--firms that regularly graduate leaders who go on to head other companies.     

Towards an Integrative Model of Small Firm Internationalisation

Firm internationalisation has long been regarded as an incremental process, wherein firms gravitate towards psychologically close markets and increase commitment to international markets in a gradual, step-wise, manner through a series of evolutionary stages. However, much of the recent literature provides clear evidence of rapid and dedicated internationalisation by born global firms. Typically, these are smaller entrepreneurial firms that internationalise from inception, or start to shortly thereafter. Their main source of competitive advantage is often related to a more sophisticated knowledge base. In addition, the authors have found evidence of firms supporting this born global pattern of behaviour but also evidence of firms that suddenly internationalise after a long period of focusing on the domestic market. These born-again globals appear to be influenced by critical events that provide them with additional human or financial resources, such as changes in ownership/management, being taken over by another company with international networks, or themselves acquiring such a firm. Based upon the extant literature and our own research, we propose an integrative model that recognises the existence of different internationalisation pathways. We then explore differences in behaviour due to the firm's internationalisation trajectory and discuss the strategic and public policy implications.     

Learning to do: Facilitating practice in a large introductory macroeconomics class

Contemporary pedagogy encourages instructors to move away from memorization to teaching the ability to “do economics.” In such an environment, students are taught to apply knowledge of economic measurement, the economic model, and economic policy to analyze current events and policies. In this article, the authors build on existing literature describing independent activities by sharing a set of class exercises and assignments that comprise an entire course. The course discussed in this article is a large enrollment introductory course and presents a novel approach to active learning, adapted to this often-challenging context. The course emphasizes engaging students by encouraging them to practice using macroeconomic tools.     

Transdisciplinary research partnerships: making research happen!

Health care professionals are expected to do more with less. Partnerships can be formed to gather information for research. Numerous opportunities exist for health care professionals to work with students in a wide variety of disciplines. Forming partnerships can result in a win-win situation for all involved.     

在最能影响消费者决策的时候出现

消费者正在摆脱原有的“漏斗式”选购法,开始改变他们研究和购买商品的方式。如果你的营销方式还没有做出相应的改变,现在正值其时。     

Petrophysical characterization and natural fracturing in an olivine-dolerite aquifer

As part of a study investigating the naturally-occurring fractures in mafic rocks, two holes were drilled 450 m apart through the Palisades dolerite sill in New York. Well-2 is 229 m deep and Well-3 was drilled to 305 m, both penetrating through the sill and into the underlying Triassic sediments of the Newark Basin. Both holes were logged with downhole geophysical tools, including the BHTV, which acoustically images fractures intersecting the well. Understanding the fracture pattern, density, and porosity in the sill is essential for identifying possible zones of active fluid flow and high permeability. Using the BHTV logs, 96 and 203 fractures were digitally mapped within the sill in Well-2 and Well-3, respectively. Most fractures appear to dip steeply (76-78°). There is a shift in fracture orientation, however, and these fractures may or may not be continuous over the short lateral distance between Well-2 and Well-3. The lithology of the sill as identified by drill chips is nevertheless continuous between the holes. Both intersect a 7 m thick olivine-rich layer about 15 m above the bottom of the sill. Several fractures identified in Well-2 have large apparent aperture (>6cm) which correspond to high porosity zones (6-14%) observed in the logs. Resistivity logs were used to compute porosity using Archie's law and match well with the neutron porosity log in Well-2. We use the relationship between porosity and fracture aperture within the sill at Well-2 to infer the porosity in Well-3. High-porosity, large-aperture zones, including the target olivine layer, are identified in both holes. Changes in the temperature gradient log indicate active fluid flow in the sill, although flow appears to be most active in the sediments. Direct field measurements of bulk permeability, hydrologic modeling of fluid flow and calibration of fracture and log porosity will be undertaken in the future.