SCUBA divers' underwater responsible behaviour: can environmental concern and divers' attitude make a difference?

The objective of this study is to examine the relationship between general environmental attitude and specific SCUBA diving attitude with responsible behaviour among divers underwater. The empirical data were collected from divers (N?=?413) at the five most popular islands for SCUBA diving in Malaysia using the combination of purposeful, quota and convenience sampling. The revised New Environmental Paradigm (NEP) scale [Dunlap, R.E., Van Liere, K., Mertig, A., & Jones, R. (2000). Measuring endorsement of the New Ecological Paradigm: A revised NEP scale. Journal of Social Issues, 56(3), 425–442] was utilised to measure the general environmental concern (attitude) among divers. Measurement of SCUBA diving attitude and underwater responsible behaviour was self-developed based on both literature review and expert opinions. Correlation and regression analyses were employed to examine the relationships among the constructs. Divers are mostly ecocentric and highly responsible underwater and possess a positive SCUBA diving attitude. Divers' behaviour underwater has a direct relationship with both environmental concern and specific SCUBA diving attitude. The latter partially mediates the relationship between environmental concern and responsible behaviour underwater. The cognitive and conative dimensions of specific SCUBA diving attitude are strongly related to skill diving behaviour and safety diving behaviour, respectively. The affective dimension of specific SCUBA diving attitude has a strong relationship with non-contact diving behaviour. Based on the study findings, this paper presents some of its theoretical and managerial contributions.     

Default Clustering Risks in Commercial Mortgage-Backed Securities

This paper proposes an intensity-based pricing model with default dependence structure for CMBS bonds. Three features are incorporated into the proposed model. First, default is a Poisson jump process defined by a function of mortgage rating information. Second, property risks are modeled using a high dimensional Brownian motion process that captures both systematic risk and idiosyncratic risk in property value. Third, default dependence structure is built into the extended model. Based on a set of input parameters, we simulate various pricing effects on a hypothetical CMBS using the proposed model structure. The results of the base-line intensity model show that yield spreads on CMBS bonds increase in the recovery rate, but decreases in the hazard rate. Security structured with smaller subordination tranche exposes CMBS bonds to higher default risks. The model predicts that default clustering increases required yield spreads of CMBS bonds. At a 70% recovery rate and a 3% default hazard rate, yield spreads of Junior bonds are expected to increase by 169 basis points when counterparty risks increase by 50%. The results highlight the importance of clustering risks associated with counterparty default when valuing CMBS bonds.     

The Wealth Effects of REIT Property Acquisitions and Dispositions: the Creditors’ Perspective

The Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics - Prior studies of REIT property transaction activity focus on shareholder wealth effects. This study examines the effects of property acquisitions,...     

Foreclosure Sales: The Effects of Price Expectations, Volatility and Equity Losses

Where borrowers are personally liable for shortfalls when they default on their mortgages, lenders have to exercise a duty of good faith in securing a reasonable value for the foreclosed property. The lender is entitled to recover the outstanding loan as quickly as possible, and is not bound to sell the foreclosed property at the highest price. Such an institutional setting allows us to study lender and borrower behavior, specifically the influence of price expectations, volatility and equity losses on foreclosure transactions using non-foreclosure transactions as a comparison. Our results show that differences in seller response to market expectations and equity losses exist across foreclosure and non-foreclosure transactions. Seller behavior matters. While price expectations, volatility and equity losses are influential factors for individual households, past price movements is the most important. This study also further seeks to distinguish loss aversion from disposition effect. By controlling for properties that suffered losses in equity but did not sell, we are able to examine the disposition effect in house owners. The result shows that there is disposition effect for non-foreclosure properties, where individual homeowners are reluctant to sell if the properties suffer losses.

Marital history and home ownership: Evidence from Australia

The relative cost of owning and renting housing and housing affordability have been clearly established as important determinants of home ownership. But the roles of marital status and history have been largely ignored. In this paper we show that both current marital status and past history affect ownership. Past history matters because wealth accumulation is greater among couple households than singles owing largely to economies of scale in housing consumption. Moreover, wealth is lost upon divorce. In effect, past marital history affects the affordability of owner housing. This result is shown in the estimation of model explaining wealth, leverage and tenure choice using Australian datasets.     

Organizational citizenship behaviour and turnover intention: a cross-cultural study

This study investigated the relationship between organizational citizenship behaviour (OCB) and turnover intention in 162 production workers in the same organization within Malaysia, Germany and England. Further, differences in ratings of OCB across cultures were examined. Self-report questionnaires measuring turnover intention and five dimensions of OCB (altruism, courtesy, conscientiousness, sportsmanship and civic virtue) were administered to the samples. Results illustrated that OCB related significantly to turnover intention, with sportsmanship emerging as the strongest predictor of turnover intention across cultures. Cultural differences in OCB ratings were seen, with the Malaysian sample generally scoring higher than the other two samples. However, the relationship between OCB and turnover intention was similar within each culture group. Explanations of the findings and limitations are discussed.     

REIT Institutional Ownership Dynamics and the Financial Crisis

Collectively, institutional investors hold large ownership stakes in REITs. The traditional view is that institutions are both long-term and passive investors. The financial crisis beginning in 2007 provides an opportunity to analyze the investment choices of institutional investors before, during, and after the crisis. Our results indicate that institutional ownership increased prior to the financial crisis, declined significantly during the period of market stress, but rebounded after. These results hold for four institutional investor subtypes: mutual funds/investment advisors, bank trusts, insurance companies, and other institutions, with mutual funds/investment advisors and bank trusts most clearly exhibiting this pattern. We also find evidence that institutions actively manage their REIT portfolios, displaying a “flight to quality” after the market downturn by reducing beta and individual risk exposure, and by increasing ownership in larger REITs.     

“Since You’re Asking. . . ”: Free Text Commentaries in an Epidemiological Study of Low Back Pain Consulters in Primary Care

As part of a longitudinal mixed-method study on low back pain (LBP), free-text comments were invited at the end of the 12 month follow-up survey questionnaire. 80% of respondents used this option and provided a wealth of material so that comparisons could be made with survey and interview results. People reported pain in other parts of the body apart from LBP, and illustrated the impact of LBP on physical ability and work, psychological well-being and social activities. Free-text material offers valuable insights that strengthen the findings of the survey, and the study as a whole.