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The present study aimed to examine children's and adults' performance and strategies in volume estimations. Three tasks were designed and presented to 40 adults and 40 6th grade children who were asked to estimate: (a) the number of unit measures (bricks/rice spoons) that may be put in a container, (b) the quantity of bricks/rice, between two different quantities of bricks/rice, that could fit in a container, and (c) the container, between two containers, that may hold a quantity given. Participants were – randomly and in equal numbers from each age group – assigned to four groups differing in their opportunity for trial condition and the presence of the half reference point in the containers. Although the majority of participants showed quite low performance rates in estimating volume, their estimations were more successful when the trial condition was available to them as well as when the trials referred to small containers and discrete quantities. The mental counting strategy was mainly used by both age groups. Adults, however, often used the algorithm and processed precise volume measurement. These results are further discussed in relation to educational implications as well as to the perspective of early supporting children's abilities for estimations at the primary school. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate the impact of organizational religiosity on the earnings quality of listed banks in the Middle East and North Africa region. We analyze Islamic banking institutions, which operate within strict religious norms and extended accountability constraints, and compare them with their conventional counterparts during 2008–2013. We find that Islamic banks are less likely to manage earnings and that they adopt more conservative accounting policies. Based on these findings, we argue that religious norms and moral accountability constraints in these organizations have a significant impact on financial reporting quality and agency costs, which have implications for both regulators and market participants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether bank managers of countries within the European Union (EU) engage in signalling, especially after implementation of international financial reporting standards (IFRS) commencing 2005. Design/methodology/approach – "Signaling" is the use of loan loss provisions (LLPs) to convey signals of fiscal prudence and future profitability to investors. The authors use data from 18 countries across the EU covering the pre and post IFRS regimes and apply univariate and multivariate tests in order to test signaling behavior under both accounting regimes. Findings – The findings indicate insufficient evidence that financially healthy banks engage in signaling behavior. However, banks facing financial distress appear to engage in aggressive signaling relative to healthy banks. Finally, the propensity to engage in signaling behavior is more pronounced for financially distressed banks in the post IFRS regime. While IFRS, under IAS 39 sort to mitigate the discretionary component of LLPs, our finding may be attributable to lax enforcement of IFRS. Practical implications – The findings have implications for both investors and regulators. Investors should be aware that troubled banks engage in signaling to convey positive information about their future prospects. Regulators should be aware that financially stressed banks have a greater propensity to engage in signaling and need to ensure that the provisions of IFRS (which attempts to limit discretion in estimating LLPs) are enforced more stringently. Originality/value – The paper contributes to the growing literature on bank signaling in a number of ways. First, the authors use a sample from 18 countries within the EU which has not been done before. Second, unlike prior studies which only examined healthy banks, the authors also include financially distressed banks in the sample. Third, the authors examine signaling behavior in the pre and post IFRS regimes to understand the influence of IFRS on the propensity to engage in signaling by bank managers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In this paper, a new technique for the determination of M–H loop and λ–H loop is proposed, based on the magnetostrictive delay line (MDL) technique and used for long magnetostrictive ribbons, wires and rods of uniform cross-section. The principle of the M–H loop determination is based on the biasing field effect at the MDL search coil, while the principle of the λ–H loop is based on the biasing and pulsed field effects at the MDL excitation point. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]