Determinants of voluntary disclosure of segment information: A re-examination of the role of diversification strategy

This paper explores the determinants of management's decision to voluntarily disclose segment information. It is an extension of McKinnon and Dalimunthe (1993) who investigate the role of six hypothesised determinants. Their results indicate that firm size, industry membership, ownership diffusion, and the level of minority interest are related to the voluntary disclosure of segment information. However, they find that leverage and diversification into related versus unrelated industries are not related to this disclosure. It is the diversification finding that motivates our work. This paper explores the effect of differences in data, differences in samples, and differences in the measurement of diversification on the McKinnon and Dalimunthe (1993) results. Using an alternative definition of diversification, we find diversification strategy, firm size, and the level of minority interest to be related to segment disclosure while the results for ownership diffusion and industry are mixed. We find no support for a leverage effect.     

Cost of hospital care for elderly at risk of falling

The variables that relate to cost of hospital care for a large sample of elderly patients at risk for falling are examined. The chief predictors of cost of hospitalization were medical, pharmacy, and nursing interventions. Use of nursing interventions, on average, raised the median hospital cost less than use of medical or pharmacy interventions. Using a standardized nursing language with the hospital's information system can provide nurses with information that demonstrates the cost effectiveness of their interventions.     

Evaluating Constructive Lease Capitalization and Off‐Balance‐Sheet Financing: An Instructional Case with FedEx and UPS

This case illustrates the effects of the proposed new lease standard by the Financial Accounting Standards Board and the International Accounting Standards Board on existing outstanding operating leases. Specifically, the case examines the effects of the proposal that all firms report existing operating leases as capital leases upon the initial adoption of the proposed standard. By applying a constructive capitalization model to two firms who rely on operating leases for financing, FedEx and UPS, we found that both companies would have to record billions of dollars of liabilities that had only appeared in the footnotes of their financial statements under the current lease standards. In addition, the firms would experience a decline in retained earnings and key financial ratios, such as the debt‐to‐equity, return‐on‐assets, and interest coverage ratios, by reporting operating leases as capital leases under the new proposed standard. Furthermore, the magnitude of the lease capitalization impact is much smaller for UPS than for FedEx.     

The ERA: A Brave New World of Accountability for Australian University Accounting Schools

This study examines the potential impact of Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA) on Australian university accounting schools through a series of in-depth interviews with Heads of Schools. Using an institutional theory framework we find that the pending introduction of the ERA has brought about changes in school structures, processes and systems. A creeping isomorphism is apparent as evidenced by a sector-wide movement towards targeting publications in highly ranked North American journals. While participants were generally positive about the overall aims of the ERA many felt that it would marginalise non-mainstream research. Furthermore, they were of the opinion that the ERA would lead to a reduction in the standing of accounting schools within Australian universities relative to other disciplines.     

The forest transition: Towards a more comprehensive theoretical framework

Building on the contributions of Mather and others, this paper offers an approach for developing a more comprehensive theory of the forest transition. We argue that long-run changes in forest cover in a country or region cannot be separated from the overall pattern of land use changes. Moreover, this pattern is determined by relative land values; forest cover changes over time as the value of one land use relative to the value of its competing use changes over time. However, the actual values that are used to allocate land may be far from optimal; that is, the presence of market, policy and institutional failures can distort economic and political incentives that can lead to bias in favour of one type of land use over the other, and may ultimately explain why a forest transition may be delayed unnecessarily in some countries and regions.     

Huddled Masses Yearning to Buy Postcards: The Politics of Producing Heritage at the Statue of Liberty–Ellis Island National Monument

Located prominently in New York harbour, Ellis Island is part of the Statue of Liberty National Monument, which was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1984. Formerly an immigration station, Ellis Island is now a powerful commemorative landscape. More than 100 million living Americans can trace their US roots to a man, woman or child who passed through its doors. Because of its popular significance and appeal, hundreds of museum producers endeavoured to create an inclusive, balanced and populist history of the 'peopling of America' within the spaces of the abandoned former immigration station. As part of continuing geographical research this paper draws on in-depth interviews with heritage professionals to explore how complex international immigrant histories have been mobilised by its various producers.     

The Influence of Credit Union and Savings and Loan Competition on Bank Deposit Rates in Idaho and Montana

This study examines the effect of S & L and credit union competition on bank behaviorin Idaho and Montana. A structure-performance OLSmodel is used to estimate bank interest rates oncertain deposits. Two key independent variables arelocal market share of credit unions and S & Ldeposits. Overall, previous studies found littleevidence that thrift competition affects bankperformance. We found some evidence that thriftcompetition, especially from credit unions, resultsin higher interest rates for bank CDs. Theseresults have policy implications as banking groupscurrently seek to restrict credit union competition.