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This paper uses a resource-based perspective and balanced panel data analysis to explore whether the representation of women on the boards of directors of Spanish companies is associated with an increase in voluntary disclosure of information concerning intellectual capital [IC]. We find that gender diversity is a complementary corporate governance mechanism that has a significant positive effect on levels of disclosure of IC information. This appears due to the presence of women on boards serving to prompt stronger monitoring and oversight behaviour. Our findings should encourage support for policies that will increase current levels of representation of women on corporate boards and influence the setting of corporate governance requirements relating to disclosure by capital market regulators.

This study uses stakeholder theory to explore how corporate governance [CG] characteristics influence corporate social responsibility disclosure [CSRD] in the context of a global financial crisis [GFC]. Empirical data are drawn from Portugal, a country strongly affected by the GFC. Portuguese companies are characterized by high ownership concentration. The largest shareholder is often the CEO and Board Chair (a phenomenon known as CEO duality). We analyse the association between CSRD (measured by a 40-item disclosure index) and CG variables (board size, CEO duality, board independence, ownership concentration and presence of an audit committee or CSR committee) for 48 of the 51 listed companies in Portugal. The control variables are company size and industry type. We find that CSRD is affected positively by board size, CEO duality, company size and industry type. This accords with suggestions implicit in stakeholder theory that a larger board will represent a broader diversity of stakeholders and will promote better monitoring, more assertive stakeholder management, greater transparency, and increased levels of CSRD. Larger companies and companies close-to-consumers are associated with high levels of CSRD, ostensibly because they are more visible and subject to greater societal monitoring during a period of financial crisis. We reveal that in a country characterized by high ownership concentration, CEO duality has a positive effect on CSRD.

Despite being widely pilloried, bureaucratic processes are present in many organizations as a form of neo-bureaucracy. In this paper, we analyse whether a technique used in Management Accounting Systems (MAS), known as the Balanced Scorecard (BSC), represents a bureaucratic order. We propose the following set of concepts to identify a bureaucratic order: authority, jurisdiction, professional qualifications, knowledge, rationality, discipline, accountability, systematization and transparency. We discuss the presence of such a set of concepts in the design and implementation of the BSC and conclude that the BSC is an example of a neo-bureaucratic order. This paper also underlines another important finding, the value of bureaucracy in attaining good MAS. The theme we explore is overlooked in the accounting literature. This paper can be a starting point for further research.

We explore influences on unlisted companies when Portugal moved from a code law, rules-based accounting system, to a principles-based accounting system of adapted International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). Institutionalisation of the new principles-based system was generally facilitated by a socio-economic and political context that increasingly supported IFRS logic. This helped central actors gain political opportunity, mobilise important allies, and accommodate major protagonists. The preparedness of unlisted companies to adopt the new IFRS-based accounting system voluntarily was explained by their desire to maintain social legitimacy. However, it was affected negatively by the embeddedness of rule-based practices in the ‘old’ prevailing institutional logic.

This synopsis provides a concise historical contextualisation of current risk disclosure issues, highlights major factors influencing contemporary risk reporting practices, and engages in a reflective overview of four recently published papers on aspects of corporate risk-related disclosures in a code law country, Portugal. The breadthand depth of our analysis is modest. Nonetheless we report findings indicating that risk-related disclosures are inadequate, lack transparency, and compound the difficulty of assessing the risk profile of a company. We contend that recent regulation initiatives have been of dubious effectiveness in improving the quality of riskinformation disclosed. In respect of the Portuguese context, we find that companies disclose risk-related information principally to reduce agency costs and to enhance corporate reputation. We contend that enhanced corporate accountability would be more likely to ensue if further disclosures of relevant risk-related information were mandated. One mechanism to do so would be through regulations recommended by the International Integrated Reporting Committee (IIRC).

In many undersampled imaging systems, spatial integration from the individual detector elements is the dominant component of the system point spread function (PSF). Conventional focal plane arrays (FPAs) utilize square detector elements with a nearly 100% fill factor, where fill factor is defined as the fraction of the detector element area that is active in light detection. A large fill factor is generally considered to be desirable because more photons are collected for a given pitch, and this leads to a higher signal-to-noise-ratio (SNR). However, the large active area works against super-resolution (SR) image restoration by acting as an additional low pass filter in the overall PSF when modeled on the SR sampling grid. A high fill factor also tends to increase blurring from pixel cross-talk. In this paper, we study the impact of FPA detector-element shape and fill factor on SR. A detailed modulation transfer function analysis is provided along with a number of experimental results with both simulated data and real data acquired with a midwave infrared (MWIR) imaging system. We demonstrate the potential advantage of low fill factor detector elements when combined with SR image restoration. Our results suggest that low fill factor circular detector elements may be the best choice. New video results are presented using robust adaptive Wiener filter SR processing applied to data from a commercial MWIR imaging system with both high and low detector element fill factors.

Although social studies or language arts classes may offer more natural settings for "global studies," the author's students have engaged in projects demonstrating that mathematical topics can work well at furthering the goal of increasing students' cultural literacy. The author describes one project here, where students working in groups use trigonometry, Google Earth™, and Google Maps™ to design walking tours of UNESCO World Heritage sites. Project work involving mathematics and using twenty-first-century skills (collaboration, communication, information skills, global awareness) helps prepare students for a diverse workplace. These projects count as a win for everyone.

Palatal fistulae are a recognised complication in individuals who have undergone surgical repair of a cleft palate, however, congenital or idiopathic palatal fistulae are rare. This report discusses the presentation and treatment of a 16-year-old female with a submucous cleft palate, who presented with a recent onset change in speech and evidence of a new palatal fistula. There was no history of recent infection or known trauma, and the patient had not undergone any previous palatal surgery. This report discusses the clinical presentation, recommended management and relevant literature for this rare phenomenon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective : To investigate the relationship between patient-related factors (sex, cleft type, cleft extent, and Robin Sequence [RS]) and speech outcome at 5 years of age for children born with a cleft palate ± lip (CP ± L). Participants : 3157 Children (1426 female:1731 male) with a nonsyndromic CP ± L, born between 2006 and 2014 in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Outcome Measure : Perceptual speech analysis utilized the Cleft Audit Protocol for Speech–Augmented (CAPS-A) rating and UK National Speech Outcome Standards: Speech Standard 1 (SS1)—speech within the normal range, SS2a—no structurally related speech difficulties or history of speech surgery, and SS3—speech without significant cleft-related articulation difficulties. Results : Odds of achieving SS1 were lower among boys (aOR 0.771 [CI 0.660-0.901]), those with clefts involving the lip and palate (vs palate only) (UCLP—aOR 0.719 [CI 0.591-0.875]; BCLP—aOR 0.360 [CI 0.279-0.463]), and clefts involving the hard palate (incomplete—aOR 0.701 [CI 0.540-0.909]; complete—aOR 0.393 [CI 0.308-0.501]). Similar relationships with these patient factors were observed for SS3. SS2 was affected by the extent of hard palate involvement (complete; aOR 0.449 [CI 0.348-0.580]). Although those with CP and RS were less likely to meet all 3 standards than those without RS, odds ratios were not significant when adjusting for sex and cleft extent. Conclusion : Sex, cleft type, and extent of hard palate involvement have a significant impact on speech outcome at 5 years of age. Incorporating these factors into risk-adjustment models for service-level outcome reporting is recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]