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This paper argues that a new 'domestic regime' has taken hold in Anglo-American economies since 2008. The combination of austere fiscal policy and loose monetary policy produced sustained house-price inflation in an otherwise stagnant economy. This combined with broadband-enabled digital platforms, a highly flexible labour market, and a routinely undervalued social reproductive sector to transform how capitalism operates in these economies. Taking the United Kingdom as a central case, our goal in this paper is to articulate what constitutes a 'domestic regime', and to locate this concept within wider sociological and political-economic debates. To adequately grasp the contemporary regime, we suggest that it needs to be considered in all its multifaceted, interlocking dimensions: the financial, the infrastructural, the reproductive and the productive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In many developing countries, children are viewed as a source of old-age insurance. They help parents to smooth consumption by sending remittances when the parents are old and have relatively low income. The paper presents a model where asset accumulation and children are substitutes. Using a family planning programme as an instrument for fertility it shows that households exposed to the programme have (0.86) lower fertility and $994 worth of more assets than those who were not exposed to the programme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The explicit demand response (DR) is a key program for reinforcing the participation of end customers and making the most out of the potential of the smart grid. The DR is a key topic in the field of buildings to make use of the flexibility that they can offer. However, in order to guarantee the correct functionality of a DR system, it is fundamental to perform interoperability tests among the various components/actors. In this paper, we take into consideration the technological solutions suggested in the framework of the DRIMPAC project to enable the DR in buildings. We consider all actors/devices involved in order to reach the objective of executing a flexibility order by an asset. Following a structured interoperability testing methodology created by the Joint Research Centre, we perform interoperability tests regarding all critical links of the full chain of interacting actors to obtain the DR in buildings. The results show that the system functions properly and the benefits from the DR can be exploited. On the other hand, we provide a concrete example of how to apply the interoperability methodology in the field of testing the DR in buildings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores students’ perceptions of faculty-mentored research by drawing on the experiences of final year undergraduates sampled from a public university in Ghana. Embedded in a qualitative approach, the paper employs the cognitive interest and expectancy value theories, which model interests and satisfaction as predictors of affection and/or disaffection for an activity respectively. From these theoretical viewpoints, the paper argues that the interest and utility derived from faculty-mentored research explain students’ perceptions of this writing activity. Following this premise, students’ perceptions of faculty-mentored research defy a single characterisation. The students’ perceptions of this writing activity straddle two polar perspectives. From one end of the polarity, the students perceived faculty-mentored research as an asset. As an asset, this writing activity facilitated the development and acquisition of skills and competencies relevant to career and academic progression. Besides, faculty-mentored research broadened participants’ understanding of social processes and phenomena. However, from the opposing end of the spectrum, faculty-mentored research is perceived as a liability since it exposed students to challenges that affect overall performance and well-being. The paper highlights how interests and perceived benefits affect students’ subjective views on the place of faculty-mentored research in undergraduate education. The emergence of these divergent perceptions amplifies the call for freedom in the choice of faculty-mentored research as a component of the undergraduate course structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Asset-based approaches (ABAs) tackle health inequalities by empowering people in more disadvantaged communities, or targeted populations, to better utilise pre-existing local community-based resources. Using existing resources supports individuals to better manage their own health and its determinants, potentially at low cost. Targeting individuals disengaged with traditional service delivery methods offers further potential for meaningful cost-savings, since these people often require costly care. Thus, improving prevention, and management, of ill-health in these groups may have considerable cost implications. Aim: To systematically review the extent of current cost and economic evidence on ABAs, and methods used to develop it. Methods: Search strategy terms encompassed: i) costing; ii) intervention detail; and iii) locality. Databases searched: Medline, CENTRAL and Wed of Science. Researchers screened 9,116 articles. Risk of bias was assessed using the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) tool. Narrative synthesis summarised findings. Results: Twelve papers met inclusion criteria, representing eleven different ABAs. Within studies, methods varied widely, not only in design and comparators, but also in terms of included costs and outcome measures. Studies suggested economic efficiency, but lack of suitable comparators made more definitive conclusions difficult. Conclusion: Economic evidence around ABAs is limited. ABAs may be a promising way to engage underserved or minority groups, that may have lower net costs compared to alternative health and wellbeing improvement approaches. ABAs, an example of embedded services, suffer in the context of economic evaluation, which typically consider services as mutually exclusive alternatives. Economics of the surrounding services, mechanisms of information sharing, and collaboration underpin the success of assets and ABAs. The economic evidence, and evaluations in general, would benefit from increased context and detail to help ensure more nuanced and sophisticated understanding of the economics of ABAs. Further evidence is needed to reach conclusions about cost-effectiveness of ABAs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One-of-a-kind efforts to make the losses state’s financial incurred by the State due to corrupt activities, is through the confiscation of the Defendant’s assets. Later it may subsequently be utilized for a form of monetary payment in lieu of State losses charged to the Defendant. On the grounds of payment of money in lieu of State losses, confiscation of the Defendant’s personal assets that had nothing to do with corruption was then carried out. The research’s main eligibility is to find out how significance proof is involved due to tribunal mechanism, as in the safetymeasureness of the defendant given right and assets as being regulated for evidences in the tipikor case. The researcher’s study applied juridical normative method employing statutory and conceptual pathways. Secondly, layered information was gathered from observation and papers, in order to ensure the quality. According to the researcher’s findings, the purpose of headlining deposition in tribunal is to support the proof of the litigant’s motion, incapable of assuring the sentence’s delivery. There is a guarantee and protection of property rights in the Indonesian constitutional written law 1945 (28H) par. (4). It demonstrates the litigant’s possession of their property being safeguarded by the state, which had unassociated an elicit act of graft as property sheltered from confiscation in the court process. Unlike the personal property of the litigant, if is employed in an unlawful conduct as graft itself, the belongings shall be seized within the tribunal proceedings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Household financial stress is a persistent problem that can be exacerbated by shocks such as the COVID‐19 pandemic. This paper finds that assets are more important than income for explaining financial stress using the Household Expenditure Survey, conducted by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Households in the bottom quintile for net assets are more likely to experience many dimensions of financial stress, with a magnitude of approximately 3 percentage points in most cases. Total income often has no identifiable impact on financial stress, all else equal, although the component of income based on investments may be a better predictor of financial stress. Further, there is a positive relationship between liabilities and financial stress. In addition, substantial financial stress is observable for recipients of payments for unemployment or disability, with lower impacts suggested for some other welfare groups. Three policy options are refining asset tests to provide higher benefits for low‐wealth households, raising benefits for particular welfare types including for those receiving unemployment and disability payments, and promoting financial literacy to avoid excessive liabilities. Financial stress likelihood varies across households. Those receiving unemployment or disability benefits are more likely to experience financial stress. Assets are more important than income in explaining financial stress. Refined policies for financial stress can therefore include higher benefits for some welfare types and greater reliance on assets in means testing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The demands for information security in higher education will continue to increase. Serious data breaches have occurred already and are likely to happen again without proper risk management. This paper applies the Comprehensive Literature Review (CLR) Model to synthesize research within cybersecurity risk by reviewing existing literature of known assets, threat events, threat actors, and vulnerabilities in higher education. The review included published studies from the last twelve years and aims to expand our understanding of cybersecurity's critical risk areas. The primary finding was that empirical research on cybersecurity risks in higher education is scarce, and there are large gaps in the literature. Despite this issue, our analysis found a high level of agreement regarding cybersecurity issues among the reviewed sources. This paper synthesizes an overview of mission-critical assets, everyday threat events, proposes a generic threat model, and summarizes common cybersecurity vulnerabilities. This report concludes nine strategic cyber risks with descriptions of frequencies from the compiled dataset and consequence descriptions. The results will serve as input for security practitioners in higher education, and the research contains multiple paths for future work. It will serve as a starting point for security researchers in the sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the European Union has made notable steps towards completion of the economic and monetary union, fiscal convergence, banking union and capital markets union, potential integration of pensions and social security has not advanced as much. As the European Union countries have experienced increased migration/refugee flows over the last decade, the question is whether migrants/refugees can influence the adequacy of member-state pension schemes and potentially allow for a Pan-European Pension Plan. Consequently, the purpose of this paper is to investigate, as a prelude to pension integration, whether immigration and emigration affect pension assets, liabilities, and the asset-liability gap and to identify the determinants of this gap. Using generalized method of moments estimation, evidence is found that increases in immigration and decreases in emigration (as a percent of the population) lead to an increase in the assets of autonomous pension funds. Analogously, increases in valid permits (as a percent of the population) and decreases in unemployment (as a percent of the labor force) result in a decrease in liabilities (benefits) of autonomous pension funds. The novelties of this study are the identification of factors that affect pension assets, liabilities and the asset-liability gap at a country level and the contribution of immigration from non-EU countries to closing the asset-liability gap. The findings can be used to draft pension and migration policies at a pan-European level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of the paper is to offer insights into university asset management (AM) and describe the impact that the various determinants have on the process of university AM. The process of university AM is influenced by a range of determinants. Design/methodology/approach – A literature review and a case study were used to achieve the research objective. The case study involved two data collection techniques – interviews and document analysis. Findings – Changing conditions of state-run universities, such as decreasing number of students and a tendency to increase the proportion of scientific research activities, require flexible adjustments to the size and structure of the universities’ facility base. Reductions in government grants and increasing maintenance costs of university assets have made it necessary to manage both existing and future assets more effectively to achieve measured improvement of environmental and social performance, to fulfil strategic responsibilities and to create shared value. Research limitations/implications – The paper was limited to one practice case study. Additional cases could be studied to confirm the findings and increase the usefulness of the methodological framework and improve its application. Practical implications – Identifying the various factors that influence the process of university AM would be useful for universities and other public building owners and their decisions-makers, such as chancellors and asset managers. The experience of the Polish market also may support the development of university or public building AM in other countries. Originality/value – The process of optimising of university asset structure proposed in this paper can contribute to the better understanding and management of higher education institutions ' assets and to the greater competitiveness and efficiency of the Polish universities. The work is novel in that it provides insights into university AM and describes various determinants from an external (macro and micro) and internal (connected with the university itself) perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Investment in REITs has become significant in recent years due to the stability and sustainable performance of the investment. A study on the management perspective is very important but this perspective is very limited. Asset management will derive from the profit optimization of the investment. Therefore, it is important to assess asset management strategies to ensure the sustainable performance of the assets. This paper aims to assess asset management strategies among matured REIT companies in developed countries in comparison with Malaysian REIT companies from the perspective of the managers. This research employed qualitative analyses by using content analysis techniques. A total of 41 REIT companies from the United States (US), Japan, Singapore, Australia and Malaysia were assessed. The analyses focused on the similarities and differences between the strategy framework identified in the literature review and the strategies adopted by global REITs and Malaysian REITs under review. The study will enable all REIT stakeholders to become well-informed on global REIT asset management that will derive the maximum profit from the investment. The success of developed countries' REITs will provide guidelines for Malaysian REITs to adopt the best practice of strategic asset management from REITs in mature markets. Furthermore, this study is one of few papers that have discussed the issue of strategic property investment, particularly focusing on REITs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to identify how targeted asset transfers help to build adaptive capacity and adaptive actions of the urban extreme poor to climate change phenomena. This paper explores the theoretical debates of community-based adaptation approach and failure of such approach to address urban extreme poor. The empirical evidence of these theoretical debates will be drawn from two informal settlements of Dhaka city, where a targeted asset transfer project has been implementing since 2009. This paper explains that urban extreme poor usually work as unskilled labour and lack different livelihood capitals; and climate change is an increasingly important influence exacerbating an already vulnerable livelihood context. There is growing recognition in the literature that poor urban people and communities are adapting to climate change in physical and behavioural terms. But, in the case of urban extreme poor these adaptation approaches are delivering short-term survival strategies disregarding the notion of wellbeing in the medium to long-term perspectives. It is also evident that community level initiatives structurally reproduce the exclusion of the urban extreme poor. However, poverty literatures acknowledge that poverty-centred approaches could help to reduce vulnerability. As urban extreme poor are significantly more resource constrained, it is reasonable to assert that targeted asset transfers could be a poverty-centred adaptation approach in a changing climate. Targeted asset transfers approaches are the outcomes of recent social protection revolution that especially consider accumulation of physical, financial, human, and social capital in order to build adaptive capacity of the urban extreme poor. This adaptive capacity of the extreme poor may facilitate adjustments in assets, livelihoods, behaviours, and technologies in order to reduce future climate vulnerability. In this context, this paper seeks to answer whether targeted asset transfer approaches can be considered as effective poverty-centred adaptation approaches for the urban extreme poor or not. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the processes, tools and techniques of strategic asset information management (AIM) for built assets, and how the asset information content enhances the proficiency of asset managers to effectively manage their assets throughout their life cycle by utilising building information modelling (BIM) and asset management (AM) systems. For most asset managers, the problem is not the lack of information about their assets, but the abundance of it, and most especially the absence of established processes and protocols to effectively manage large sets of asset data. Therefore, it is crucial to develop a strategy to control and manage this information in order for asset managers to harness its potential and realise value from their organisation's information assets.. Design/methodology/approach: A qualitative case study strategy was used to investigate the effective management of asset data in an AIM system. Seven sets of interviews were conducted and nine respondents were interviewed. These were analysed through qualitative thematic analysis using the NVivo software. Findings: The paper identifies six dimensions of value that BIM contributes to AM, which are: management, commerce, efficiency, industry, user and technology value. Also, the paper demonstrates that there is real value to be derived by the asset owner from the effective management of asset information. The study highlights that the value of BIM is not inherent but would require many other processes to deliver value to the organisation. Originality/value: The key value of the paper is that it identifies important techniques for managing asset data and how asset information is collected, organised, stored, controlled, analysed, secured, shared and reported within a virtual AIM system for strategic management-based decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper suggests a new type of enterprise models called fractal enterprise models (FEM), with accompanying methodological support for their design. FEM shows interconnections between the business processes in an enterprise by connecting them to the assets they use and manage. Assets considered in the model could be tangible (buildings, heavy machinery, etc.) and intangible (employees, business process definitions, etc.). A FEM model is built by using two types of patterns called archetypes: a process-assets archetype that connects a process with assets used in it, and an asset-processes archetype that connects an asset with processes aimed to manage this asset (e.g., hiring people, or servicing machinery). Alternating these patterns creates a fractal structure that makes relationships between various parts of the enterprise explicit. FEM can be used for different purposes, including finding a majority of the processes in an enterprise and planning business change or radical transformation. Besides discussing FEM and areas of its usage, the paper presents results from a completed project in order to test the practical usefulness of FEM and its related methodological support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies an asset-liability management (ALM) problem under mean-variance criterion with inside information. The asset-liability manager is allowed to invest in a financial market composed of a bond and a stock. The stock price process is governed by a diffusion process with random parameters. The uncontrolled liability process is described by a general diffusion process with hedgeable risks and unhedgeable risks. We model the inside information by a general random variable related to the future values of financial assets and liabilities. By using the Donsker Delta functional technique and the BSDE method, we derive the analytic expressions of efficient strategy and efficient frontier. To illustrate the general result, an example is provided in which the efficient strategy and efficient frontier are obtained in closed form. The comparison of efficient frontiers with and without inside information demonstrates that taking advantage of inside information can improve the efficient frontier. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Digital labour platforms act as intermediary agents between users and are imbued with the power to determine the rules of interaction within their own digital ecosystem. As the labour market has become increasingly integrated into the platform economy, digital enterprises have been able to use their concentration of power to experiment with new structures of labour regulation and management. The key transformation of labour by platform enterprises is the fragmentation of labour contracts into minute by minute tasks, with noteworthy implications for our understanding of human capital investment in the digital age. As individuals are required to sell their abilities as micro-skills such as photo-tagging and copy editing, long-term human capital investments such as higher education are devalued. These long-term assets are replaced by highly volatile and short-term human capital assets such as reputation scores and platform metrics. This paper will investigate these new forms of human capital, exploring how they are held hostage by platform enterprises to lock users in and structure how labour is practiced in the new digital economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given the seemingly never-ending debates about what "Agile" or "agile" is or is not, here is some new thinking on this question that makes a credible case that Agile or "agile" is a methodology that is not only older than project management, dating back over a million years ago to the taming of fire or 6000 years ago to the invention of the wheel, but is actually a stand alone alternative Asset Delivery System that is equal to Project and Operations Management, when viewed from the perspective of "creating, acquiring, expanding, upgrading, maintaining and eventually disposing of organizational assets.". [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Theoretical developments in the Architectural Engineering and Construction (AEC) industry have been deficient, especially for the operations and use phase. The need for asset owners to understand the Building Information Modelling (BIM) process and to realise business value from BIM implementation cannot be over emphasised. This study investigates a BIM-based Asset Management (AM) system to examine how business value can be created for the asset owner. The BIM-based AM system is evaluated from the Transformation-Flow-Value (TFV) generation view to define the characteristics and functions. This is followed by the grounding of data to develop a novel explanatory theory through the development of conceptual categories. A qualitative research approach based on a grounded theory methodology is utilised to generate a proposition on how BIM can create value in an AM system. The study involves a five-stage research design using interviews and document analysis to inform the phenomenon of BIM business value creation in AM. The paper highlights that BIM business value generation in AM is dependent on three main categories, which are: development of the information requirements, creation of the information content and management of the information content. From the grounded data, the study finds that it is crucial for asset owners to develop their information requirements since the information requirements development category guides the data creation, data management and value generation. Furthermore, the development of a sound rationale that appropriately translates the organisational business objectives is critical to value generation. The paper studies how BIM can create business value in an AM system using a grounded theory methodology. The results show that the rationale for developing BIM-based information requirements determines the value that will be generated by the AM system. The key contribution of the paper is that it presents a novel theory for BIM-based AM. One of the contributions of this study is the demonstration of the application of grounded theory within the AEC industry. Also, the study demonstrates the relationships between concepts and how they emerge from the grounded data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores asset based approaches in the support, protection and empowerment for learners in Child Headed Households (CHH) in the context of parental migration in Zimbabwe. Left-behind children in the context of parental labour migration are perceived to be disadvantaged in terms of healthy behaviours and psychosocial functioning because of parental absence. It therefore becomes critical that education and community stakeholder organisations explore the environment of CHH learners in the scope of Ubuntu with the objective of establishing sustainable, roots-driven interventions. This study followed the qualitative research approach and data was collected through a focus group discussion organised, as an information sharing session. Six purposively selected learners in CHH arrangements and seven key community informants from a secondary school in the Shurugwi district of Zimbabwe, informed the study. The study revealed that the optimal utilisation of available environmental assets, capacities and skills that are rooted in culture goes a long way in building resilience. This in turn becomes an important mediating resource in improving the wellbeing and educational experiences of left behind children in Zimbabwe. The understanding is that parents will continue to be absent, hence, harnessing the best out of their circumstances is cardinal in building sustainable support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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This paper proposes a new planning method for interconnected smart distribution networks based on total supply capability (TSC), which provides better utilization of existing assets. The specific five steps of the proposed TSC-based planning are: 1) analysis of the power supply problem; 2) calculation of the TSC value; 3) verification and adjustment of TSC and total load; 4) verification between distributed TSC and each feeder load; and 5) N-1 simulation. The load allocation problem is solved with a model that is capable of searching optimized load allocation considering N-1 security constraints. Two planning cases are presented to illustrate this method and to compare it with traditional substation-network two-step planning. It is shown that the TSC-based planning can exploit existing networks efficiently and save money. The proposed planning approach is suitable for urban smart distribution networks featured by distribution automation and large-scale interconnection. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

With the evolution of information, communications, and technologies, modern industrial control systems (ICSs) face more and more cybersecurity issues. This leads to increasingly severe risks in critical infrastructure and assets. Therefore, risk analysis becomes a significant yet not well investigated topic for prevention of cyberattack risks in ICSs. To tackle this problem, a dynamic impact assessment approach is presented in this paper for risk analysis in ICSs. The approach predicts the trend of impact of cybersecurity dynamically from full recognition of asset knowledge. More specifically, an asset is abstracted with properties of construction, function, performance, location, and business. From the function and performance properties of the asset, object-oriented asset models incorporating with the mechanism of common cyberattacks are established at both component and system levels. Characterizing the evolution of behaviors for single asset and system, the models are used to analyze the impact propagation of cyberattacks. Then, from various possible impact consequences, the overall impact is quantified based on the location and business properties of the asset. A special application of the approach is to rank critical system parameters and prioritize key assets according to impact assessment. The effectiveness of the presented approach is demonstrated through simulation studies for a chemical control system. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper studies a mean-variance asset–liability management (ALM) problem with uncertain time horizon and partial information. The ALM can invest in an incomplete financial market consisting of one riskless asset and n risky stocks. The stocks price process is described by a multidimensional diffusion process with random coefficients. The uncontrollable liability process is modelled by a general diffusion process with hedgeable risks and unhedgeable risks. The uncertainty of the time horizon is assumed to come from randomness of financial assets and the liability and some other stochastic factors. The ALM may get only partial information about the liability. We derive efficient strategies and efficient frontiers in terms of the solutions of two BSDEs under complete and partial information. The closed-form expressions of efficient strategies and efficient frontiers are obtained under some special cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on a rich empirical description of processes of soybean commodification in Argentina, the article puts a neglected technological device at the centre of the analysis: 'silobolsas,' allowing farmers to conserve their harvest in plastic bags with specific properties. Storing soybeans in 'silobolsas' opens up the possibility of (precariously) preserving their value or holding up commercial exchanges waiting for better conditions. The politics of silobolsa exhibits that commodities and assets nestle beside each other, but also incorporate each other's characteristics, change into each other, or confuse different actors about their commodity-versus-asset identities. Three particular contributions to the existing literature on commodities can be singled out: first, immobility can be as illuminating as movement to make sense of the sociotechnical context of commodities. Second, the lack of exchange is a form of politics that participates in the social practices configuring the value of commodities. Third, complex temporal processes of commodification and assetization can significantly mark the social life of the same 'thing.' These findings speak to the most recent mutations of contemporary capitalism that is itself increasingly characterized by the (re)configuration of a range of things as assets or capitalized property. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Achieving wider recognition is part of the development agenda of contemporary cities, which are all confronted with the need to stand out and compete against one another. City branding reads as and plays an important role in this struggle for recognition. The identity of a city is generated over a long period, as it undergoes historical change, resulting in cultural diversity as the product of a specific environment. This paper discusses the possibility of using the cultural and historical heritage of Trebinje and its identity as an asset to create its city brand. Trebinje is a small city situated in the vicinity of Dubrovnik, a major tourist destination with a rich cultural and historical heritage and an excellent city brand. Dubrovnik may be seen as jeopardising the development of Trebinje's authentic identity; on the other hand, the strong historical ties between the two cities can actually be used as an asset to develop Trebinje's city brand. The material and non-material heritage which helped the formation of Trebinje's identity, is analysed. The Mediterranean region in which it is located, its rich history, authentic architecture and different cultural influences, including the national poet Jovan Dučić, have all helped create Trebinje's genius loci. The same factors may be used to communicate its new image. After that, the paper outlines models of the possible use of the recognised assets to brand the city and emphasise the importance of the effective presentation of these assets for creating a recognisable city image. It also proposes specific actions and interventions that may contribute to branding the city. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores what it takes for research laboratories to produce valuable knowledge in academic institutions marked by the coexistence of multiple evaluative frameworks. Drawing upon ethnographic fieldwork carried out in two UK-based epigenetics research laboratories, I examine the set of practices through which research groups intertwine knowledge production with the making of scientific, health, and wealth value. This includes building and maintaining a portfolio of valuable resources, such as expertise, scientific credibility, or data, and turning these resources into assets by carefully organizing and managing their value. Laboratories then put these assets to productive use within and outside their labs toward the creation or extraction of value. I identify two models for producing value within academic science: a commodity-based model whereby laboratories mobilize their assets to produce results, which can be converted into publications for the accumulation of credibility capital, and a rentier model of accumulation whereby laboratories own valuable assets, which they rent out to others outside their lab against revenue. Following recent developments in Science and Technology Studies on value production in the bioeconomy, I argue that the concepts of asset and rent are essential analytical tools for getting to grips with the origins of value within academic science. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Zurri waqf stands as an alternative for estate planning upon the death of one’s parents. Despite having current alternative such as will writing, faraid and hibah, zurri waqf is viable as instrument to distribute wealth to the loved ones. Data given by Jabatan Ketua Pengarah Tanah dan Galian (JKPTG) in 2019 shows a total of RM60 billion of unclaimed property had been recorded. Amongst of the causes are; absence of will writing and little knowledge of wealth management from the heirs. Thus, zurri waqf stand as one mechanism which can be practiced to assist the parentless child in surviving their lifes. Therefore, the objective of this study is to identify the zurri waqf instrument as an estate planning and to identify the zurri waqf management procedures in Malaysia. This study is a qualitative nature in the form of interview and content analysis. This paper benefits readers and researchers involved in gaining more knowledge about zurri waqf as a suitable instrument for the estate planning of Muslim property such as land cultivated as agriculture and involving the participation of beneficiaries in waqf assets development that can bring significant impact in the future. In addition, the zurri waqf management procedures need to be improved in order to encourage its implementation in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The prevailing exchange rate and its volatility has been always an important issue in an open economy and freely floating exchange rate system, such as in Indonesia. In this system, the exchange rate is allowed to fluctuate based on the interaction between demand for and supply of foreign currency in the foreign exchange market. Its fluctuation may influence many economic activities and can be transmitted to the inflation rate. This shows that the prevailing exchange rate and its volatility become a crucial variable that must be taken into account by all economic actors. This paper aims to describe the application of asset approach in determining the equilibrium exchange rate Rupiah against US$ and analyze the factors that influence its volatility. The analysis method used is the applied method based on the theory of Uncovered Interest Parity (UIP) condition. The result shows that the actual exchange rate is completely different from the equilibrium exchange rate where Rupiah is undervalued towards US$. It reflects that the demand for US$ is greater than its supply which means that foreign exchange market is not in equilibrium. When all else equal, a decreasing of Rupiah interest rate, an increasing of US$ interest rate and a rising of expected future exchange rate, respectively, will depreciate Rupiah against US$. The changing of these three factors can show and describe clearly its effect on the volatility of exchange rate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main purpose of this research is to present a detailed comparison between the 1996-2001 Dotcom and 2014-2018 AI landscapes, by comparing the evolution of Dotcom and AI through a regression model aimed at testing the relationship between these two phenomena, which have similar characteristics, but also distinct features. In a period when the academic and the business environment discourse is focused on the potential effects of diminishing funding and interest in AI and even a bubble burst, our investigation demonstrates the contrary. Having in mind the strengths of the AI market and its interrelations with significant sectors of the world economy, our paper denies the hypothesis of a potential AI crisis, in spite of some hints that AI companies are in the early stages of high risk. Our paper brings also another novelty element related to a different type of Schumpeterian creative destruction identified in the case of AI. The big players present on the market are able to purchase the firms that Schumpeter suggested would replace the existing firms, therefore the creative destruction occurs in the case of start-ups, which are undertaken by stronger companies present on the market, even survivors of the Dotcom crisis, not vice versa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Purpose: Microcredit scheme was introduced to provide credit facilities for poor people to start a business activity. Microcredit creates income-generating self-employment activities that allow poor people to venture into small businesses and achieve economic independence. The scheme has been recognised as a successful tool to uplift the socio-economic status among the poor. Amanah Ikhtiar Malaysia (AIM) is the largest microfinance institution in Malaysia and therefore, its impact on the beneficiaries is crucial to be studied. This paper aims at reviewing the economic impact of AIM based on the existing literature. Methodology: Four electronic databases, which are Scopus, Science Direct, Springer and Ebscohost were used to search the literature. Subsequently 118 articles were generated from this search. However, only 13 articles which met the selection criteria were analysed. We selected only empirical studies that focused on the economic impact of AIM. Findings: Results of the review showed that income has dominated the economic impact assessment followed by asset, economic vulnerability and spending. Low concentration on the indicators other than income should be noted especially on spending as it provides a clear evidence that the recipients enjoy the economic well-being in terms of consumption expenditure. Contribution: This review reveals that microcredit has a great potential to uplift the economic status of the poor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Virtual (VR), augmented (AR), mixed reality (MR) and haptic interfaces make additional avenues available for surgeon assessment, guidance and training. We evaluated applications for open trauma and emergency surgery to address the question: Have new computer-supported interface developments occurred that could improve trauma training for civilian and military surgeons performing open, emergency, non-laparoscopic surgery?Design: Systematic literature review.Setting and Participants: Faculty, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore., Maryland; Womack Army Medical Center, Fort Bragg, North Carolina; Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences, and Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Bethesda, Maryland.Methods: Structured literature searches identified studies using terms for virtual, augmented, mixed reality and haptics, as well as specific procedures in trauma training courses. Reporting bias was assessed. Study quality was evaluated by the Kirkpatrick's Level of evidence and the Machine Learning to Asses Surgical Expertise (MLASE) score.Results: Of 422 papers identified, 14 met inclusion criteria, included 282 enrolled subjects, 20% were surgeons, the remainder students, medics and non-surgeon physicians. Study design was poor and sample sizes were low. No data analyses were beyond descriptive and the highest outcome types were procedural success, subjective self-reports, except three studies used validated metrics. Among the 14 studies, Kirkpatrick's level of evidence was level zero in five studies, level 1 in 8 and level 2 in one. Only one study had MLASE Score greater than 9/20. There was a high risk of bias in 6 studies, uncertain bias in 5 studies and low risk of bias in 3 studies.Conclusions: There was inadequate evidence that VR,MR,AR or haptic interfaces can facilitate training for open trauma surgery or replace cadavers. Because of limited testing in surgeons, deficient study and technology design, risk of reporting bias, no current well-designed studies of computer-supported technologies have shown benefit for open trauma, emergency surgery nor has their use shown improved patient outcomes. Larger more rigorously designed studies and evaluations by experienced surgeons are required for a greater variety of procedures and skills.Competencies: Medical Knowledge, Practice Based Learning and Improvement, Patient Care, Systems-Based Practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) aims to improve national 'health and wealth' by providing infrastructural support to enable clinical research in National Health Service settings in England and Wales. Cognisant of the consequences of studies' failure to achieve required numbers of participants, it also actively campaigns to promote patient awareness of research, and willingness to participate in trials. In this paper, we analyse recent NIHR campaigns and policies designed to encourage patients to participate in clinical research to interrogate how they are implicated in the national bioeconomy. In doing so we expand the notion of 'clinical labour' to include the work of patient recruitment and highlight an emergent obligation on patients to contribute to research processes. Whereas once patient knowledge and experience may have been devalued, here we draw on the concept of 'assetisation' (Birch 2012) to explore the emergent relationship between healthcare system and patient as research participant. We consider how patients' contribution goes beyond the provision of standardised objects of valuation so that patients themselves may be perceived as assets to, not only recipients of, the national healthcare system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Financial statements as a specific form of general purpose financial reports provide information about the economic resources of the reporting entity, the claims against the entity and the changes in these resources and claims which correspond to the definitions of the elements of financial statements according to the Conceptual Framework of March 2018 (the Framework). The article illustrates, in outline, the information relationships between the items discussed in Chapter One and the five elements of the financial statements, i.e. assets, liabilities, equity, income and expenses, highlighting the changes in their definitions as compared with the previous Framework and the considerations (bases for conclusion) of the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB). Discussing the aspects of the definitions of an asset and an economic resource and the criteria for the existence of a liability, as well as the criteria for recognition of the five elements of the financial statements, the paper shows the direct relationship of the concept of the elements of the financial statements with the objective of financial reporting and the other concepts of the Framework. The article proposes a scheme of the relationships of the elements of the financial statements in the process of their recognition which illustrates the interconnectedness of the elements, the statement of financial position and the statement(s) of financial performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global deterioration in environmental quality from continuous anthropogenic activity is the impetus for innovations in conventional environmental technology. Nanotechnology provides a promising opportunity to revolutionise environmental remediation techniques, produce sustainable devices for effective alternative energy sources and perform safe industrial technology. Nanotechnology uses the special properties of nanoscale materials or particles such as high surface area, firmness, low weight, small size and the ability to catalyse and to penetrate cell membranes. Innovative technology based on nanomaterials can bring significant cost and time reduction, decreased or no adverse effects on the environment and more effective methods. Despite such promising expectations, the nanotechnology, and especially environmental technology, used in remediation techniques have not been applied as rapidly as desired. This may have been because of worries about nanomaterials' ultimate effects following their release into the environment. This paper provides a brief overview of the benefits and possible threats of nanomaterials introduced in environmental technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This document is a compilation of academic articles and journals that explore the conversion of conventional banks to Islamic banks in Indonesia and other countries. The articles cover a range of topics including the reasons for conversion, the effects on assets and market share, challenges faced during the process, and the performance of Islamic banks compared to conventional banks. The articles provide valuable insights into the factors influencing conversion, customer preferences, and the legal aspects of the process. [Extracted from the article]

The purpose of this article is to assess whether correct application of robust estimators in construction of minimum variance portfolios' (MVP) allows to achieve better investment results in comparison with portfolios defined using classical MLE estimators. Theoretical robust portfolios properties and portfolios investment effect are compared. This paper proposes a practical methodology of comparing alternative estimation methods, based on random portfolio selection. This approach enables to analyse investment effects of various portfolios. The empirical analysis shows that for MVP portfolios with nonnegative constraints created using robust methods, there is no significant risk improvement, and that even for most robust methods, there is an observable significant risk increase compared to the risk of classical portfolios. This paper also shows that robust portfolio estimators cause higher transaction cost. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Cuadernos de Contabilidad is the property of Pontificia Universidad Javeriana and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Environment & Urbanization is the property of Sage Publications Inc. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In this post-Enron era, we have heard much talk about the need for integrity. Today's employees perceive it as being in short supply. A recent survey by the Walker Consulting Firm found that less than half of workers polled thought their senior leaders were people of high integrity. To combat the perceived lack of corporate integrity, companies are stressing their probity. This stress is problematic because executives tend to instrumentalize the value of integrity. This paper argues that integrity needs to be better defined because the current mode of talking about the subject is misleading. The paper considers three traditions' understanding of the idea of integrity, argues that integrity is intrinsically valuable, and concludes with some reflections on the way in which integrity, properly understood, functions as a business asset. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Knowing the moment when an asset must be replaced has a great relevance for the good economic health of any business, for this reason, the main goal of this paper is to define the opportune moment of replacement the assets, supported by an economic approach. The Replacement Profitability Index was used, this index means what percentage of the investment is pay back every year, by replacing an asset, it allows to take the best solution when is necessary to decide between continuing the exploitation of the asset and carry out the corresponding maintenance actions, or replace it in whole, or in part. The calculation of this index measures the economic advantage of doing the replacement just now, instead of postponing it for one more year. This investigation analyzed the possible replacement of the current Kholer 500 kW main generator set in an electric power generation system of canned tuna industry. Finally, it was concluded that the current main generator set should be replaced by the proposed one, because the Replacement Profitability Index was 14,96 percent per year, this value justifies the replacement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main purpose of this research is to present a detailed comparison between the 1996-2001 Dotcom and 2014-2018 AI landscapes, by comparing the evolution of Dotcom and AI through a regression model aimed at testing the relationship between these two phenomena, which have similar characteristics, but also distinct features. In a period when the academic and the business environment discourse is focused on the potential effects of diminishing funding and interest in AI and even a bubble burst, our investigation demonstrates the contrary. Having in mind the strengths of the AI market and its interrelations with significant sectors of the world economy, our paper denies the hypothesis of a potential AI crisis, in spite of some hints that AI companies are in the early stages of high risk. Our paper brings also another novelty element related to a different type of Schumpeterian creative destruction identified in the case of AI. The big players present on the market are able to purchase the firms that Schumpeter suggested would replace the existing firms, therefore the creative destruction occurs in the case of start-ups, which are undertaken by stronger companies present on the market, even survivors of the Dotcom crisis, not vice versa.