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Information Flow (information + flow)
Selected AbstractsQuality of Information Flow in the Backend of a Product Development Process: a Case StudyQUALITY AND RELIABILITY ENGINEERING INTERNATIONAL, Issue 4 2004Jaring Boersma Abstract The increasing need for products that are able to reliably deliver complex functionality with a high degree of innovation presents a major challenge to the modern day product creation processes. In order to be able to use information on the field behaviour of previous products in the design of new products, increasingly detailed information needs to be retrieved from the market in an increasingly shorter time. The purpose of this study is to analyse, in a typical case in the consumer electronics industry, whether the underlying business process is able to generate this information with adequate quality sufficiently quickly. Information models of the company's service centre and call centre were developed using the concepts of maturity index on reliability. The results showed that the structure of the information handling process resulted in a massive data loss (up to 60% of the data gathered by the service centres) and also in serious data quality degradation. Would this information have not been lost, it could have been used by development teams for preventive and corrective actions. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Improving the Quality of Information Flows in the Backend of a Product Development Process: a Case StudyQUALITY AND RELIABILITY ENGINEERING INTERNATIONAL, Issue 2 2005Jaring Boersma Abstract Considerable research has gone into designing effective product development processes. This, coupled with the increasing need for products that are able to deliver reliable, complex functionality with a high degree of innovation, presents a major challenge to modern day industries in the business of developing products. In order to incorporate relevant field experience in the design and manufacturing of new products, increasingly detailed information needs to be retrieved from the market in a very short amount of time. In one particular consumer electronics industry, business process models describing the information flow in the backend of the product development process indicated massive data loss and also serious data quality degradation. This paper attempts to show how such losses can be mitigated and also proposes a business model that can adequately capture information of a higher quality and in a more structured manner. The end result will be a product development process that provides better feedback on current product performance and is more responsive to future market needs. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Information flows and option bid/ask spreadsTHE JOURNAL OF FUTURES MARKETS, Issue 12 2005Fredrik Berchtold This study analyzes two types of information flows in financial markets. The first type represents return information, where informed investors know whether the stock price will increase or decrease. The second type is labeled volatility information, where the direction of the stock price is unknown, but informed investors know that the stock price either will increase or decrease. Both information flows are estimated within the GARCH framework, approximated with the use of Swedish OMX stockindex and options strangle return shocks, respectively. The results show significant conditional stock-index and options strangle variance, although with notable differences. Stock-index return shocks exhibit a high level of variance persistence and an asymmetric initial impact to the variance. Option strangle shocks have a relatively low persistence level, but a higher and more symmetric initial impact. A time-series regression of call and put option bid/ask spreads is performed, relating the spreads to the information flows and other explanatory variables. The results show that call and put option bid/ask spreads are related to stock-index and options strangle return shocks, as well as the conditional stock-index variance. This is consistent with the view that market makers alter option spreads in response to return and volatility information flows, as well as the conditional stock-index variance.© 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Jrl Fut Mark 25:1147,1172, 2005 [source] Mobile Construction Supply Chain Management Using PDA and Bar CodesCOMPUTER-AIDED CIVIL AND INFRASTRUCTURE ENGINEERING, Issue 4 2005H. Ping Tserng However, extending the construction project control system to job sites is not considered efficient because using notebooks in a harsh environment like a construction site is not particularly a conventional practice. Meanwhile, paper-based documents of the site processes are ineffective and cannot get the quick response from the office and project control center. Integrating promising information technologies such as personal digital assistants (PDA), bar code scanning, and data entry mechanisms, can be extremely useful in improving the effectiveness and convenience of information flow in construction supply chain control systems. Bar code scanning is appropriate for several construction applications, providing cost savings through increased speed and accuracy of data entry. This article demonstrates the effectiveness of a bar-code-enabled PDA application, called the mobile construction supply chain management (M-ConSCM) System, that responds efficiently and enhances the information flow between offices and sites in a construction supply chain environment. The advantage of the M-ConSCM system lies not only in improving the efficiency of work for on-site engineers, but also providing the Kanban-like visual control system for project participants to control the whole project. Moreover, this article presents a generic system architecture and its implementation. [source] Normal dendrite growth in Drosophila motor neurons requires the AP-1 transcription factorDEVELOPMENTAL NEUROBIOLOGY, Issue 10 2008Cortnie L. Hartwig Abstract During learning and memory formation, information flow through networks is regulated significantly through structural alterations in neurons. Dendrites, sites of signal integration, are key targets of activity-mediated modifications. Although local mechanisms of dendritic growth ensure synapse-specific changes, global mechanisms linking neural activity to nuclear gene expression may have profound influences on neural function. Fos, being an immediate-early gene, is ideally suited to be an initial transducer of neural activity, but a precise role for the AP-1 transcription factor in dendrite growth remains to be elucidated. Here we measure changes in the dendritic fields of identified Drosophila motor neurons in vivo and in primary culture to investigate the role of the immediate-early transcription factor AP-1 in regulating endogenous and activity-induced dendrite growth. Our data indicate that (a) increased neural excitability or depolarization stimulates dendrite growth, (b) AP-1 (a Fos, Jun hetero-dimer) is required for normal motor neuron dendritic growth during development and in response to activity induction, and (c) neuronal Fos protein levels are rapidly but transiently induced in motor neurons following neural activity. Taken together, these results show that AP-1 mediated transcription is important for dendrite growth, and that neural activity influences global dendritic growth through a gene-expression dependent mechanism gated by AP-1. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Develop Neurobiol, 2008 [source] The Accuracy and Completeness of Data Collected by Prospective and Retrospective MethodsACADEMIC EMERGENCY MEDICINE, Issue 9 2005J. Tobias Nagurney MD Abstract Objectives: To describe and test a model that compares the accuracy of data gathered prospectively versus retrospectively among adult emergency department patients admitted with chest pain. Methods: The authors developed a model of information flow from subject to medical record to the clinical study case report form, based on a literature review. To test this model, a bidirectional (prospective and retrospective) study was conducted, enrolling all eligible adult patients who were admitted with a chief complaint of chest pain. The authors interviewed patients in the emergency department to determine their chest pain history and established a prospective database; this was considered the criterion standard. Then, patient medical records were reviewed to determine the accuracy and completeness of the information available through a retrospective medical record review. Results: The model described applies the concepts of reliability and validity to information passed on by the study subject, the clinician, and the medical record abstractor. This study was comprised of 104 subjects, of which 63% were men and the median age was 63 years. Subjects were uncertain of responses for 0,8% of questions and responded differently upon reinterview for subsets of questions 0,30% of the time. The sensitivity of the medical record for risk factors for coronary artery disease was 0.77 to 0.93. Among the 88 subjects (85%) who indicated that their chest pain was substernal or left chest, the medical record described this location in 44%. Timing of the chest pain was the most difficult item to accurately capture from the medical record. Conclusions: Information obtained retrospectively from the abstraction of medical records is measurably less accurate than information obtained prospectively from research subjects. For certain items, more than half of the information is not available. This loss of information is related to the data types included in the study and by the assumptions that a researcher performing a retrospective study makes about implied versus explicitly stated responses. A model of information flow that incorporates the concepts of reliability and validity can be used to measure some of the loss of information that occurs at each step along the way from subject to clinician to medical record abstractor. [source] A design-variable-based inelastic hysteretic model for beam,column connectionsEARTHQUAKE ENGINEERING AND STRUCTURAL DYNAMICS, Issue 4 2008Gun Jin Yun Abstract This paper presents a design-variable-based inelastic hysteretic model for beam,column connections. It has been well known that the load-carrying capacity of connections heavily depends on the types and design variables even in the same connection type. Although many hysteretic connection models have been proposed, most of them are dependent on the specific connection type with presumed failure mechanisms. The proposed model can be responsive to variations both in design choices and in loading conditions. The proposed model consists of two modules: physical-principle-based module and neural network (NN)-based module in which information flow from design space to response space is formulated in one complete model. Moreover, owing to robust learning capability of a new NN-based module, the model can also learn complex dynamic evolutions in response space under earthquake loading conditions, such as yielding, post-buckling and tearing, etc. Performance of the proposed model has been demonstrated with synthetic and experimental data of two connection types: extended-end-plate and top- and seat-angle with double-web-angle connection. Furthermore, the design-variable-based model can be customized to any structural component beyond the application to beam,column connections. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Intra-Patriline Variability in the Performance of the Vibration Signal and Waggle Dance in the Honey Bee, Apis melliferaETHOLOGY, Issue 7 2008Nhi Duong We examined intra-patriline behavioral plasticity in communication behavior by generating lifetime behavioral profiles for the performance of the vibration signal and waggle dance in workers which were the progeny of three unrelated queens, each inseminated with the semen of a single, different drone. We found pronounced variability within each patriline for the tendency to produce each signal, the ontogeny of signal performance, and the persistence with which individual workers performed the signals throughout their lifetimes. Within each patriline, the number of workers that performed each signal and the distribution of onset ages for each signal were significantly different. In each patriline, workers of all ages could perform vibration signals; vibration signal production began 3,5 d before waggle dancing; and some workers began performing waggle dances at ages typically associated with precocious foraging. Most workers vibrated and waggled only 1,2 d during their lifetimes, although each patriline contained some workers that performed the signal persistently for up to 8 or 9 d. We also found marked variability in signal performance among the three worker lineages examined. Because the vibration signal and waggle dance influence task performance, variability in signaling behavior within and between subfamilies may help to organize information flow and collective labor in honey bee colonies. Inter-patriline variability may influence the total number of workers from different partrilines that perform the signals, whereas intra-patriline variability may further fine-tune signal performance and the allocation of labor to a given set of circumstances. Although intra-patriline behavioral variability is assumed to be widespread in the social insects, our study is the first to document the extent of this variability for honey bee communication signals. [source] Investor Attention and Time-varying ComovementsEUROPEAN FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT, Issue 3 2007Lin Peng G14 Abstract This paper analyses the effect of an increase in market-wide uncertainty on information flow and asset price comovements. We use the daily realised volatility of the 30-year treasury bond futures to assess macroeconomic shocks that affect market-wide uncertainty. We use the ratio of a stock's idiosyncratic realised volatility with respect to the S&P500 futures relative to its total realised volatility to capture the asset price comovement with the market. We find that market volatility and the comovement of individual stocks with the market increase contemporaneously with the arrival of market-wide macroeconomic shocks, but decrease significantly in the following five trading days. This pattern supports the hypothesis that investors shift their (limited) attention to processing market-level information following an increase in market-wide uncertainty and then subsequently divert their attention back to asset-specific information. [source] Inhibition of superior colliculus neurons by a GABAergic input from the pretectal nuclear complex in the ratEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE, Issue 12 2004Gesche Born Abstract The mammalian pretectal nuclear complex (PNC) is a visual and visuomotor control structure which is strongly connected to other subcortical visual structures. This indicates that the PNC also controls subcortical visual information flow during the execution of various oculomotor programs. A prominent, presumably GABAergic, projection from the PNC targets the superficial grey layer of the superior colliculus (SC), which itself is a central structure for visual information processing necessary for the generation of saccadic eye movements. In order to characterize the pretecto-tectal projection in vitro, we performed whole-cell patch-clamp recordings from SC and PNC neurons in slices obtained from 3,6-week-old pigmented rats. Focal glutamate injections into the PNC and electrical PNC stimulation were used to induce postsynaptic responses in SC neurons. Electrical stimulation of the SC allowed electrophysiological identification of PNC neurons that provide the inhibitory pretecto-tectal input. Only inhibitory postsynaptic currents could be elicited in SC neurons both by pharmacological and by electrical activation of the ipsilateral PNC. Concomitantly, a small number of PNC neurons could be antidromically activated from the ipsilateral SC. Most SC cells postsynaptic to the prectectal input showed the dendritic morphology of wide-field and narrow-field cells and are therefore regarded as projection neurons. All inhibitory currents evoked by PNC activation could be completely blocked by bath application of the selective GABAA receptor antagonist bicuculline. Together these results indicate that SC projection neurons receive a direct inhibitory input from the ipsilateral PNC and that this input is mediated by GABAA receptors. [source] AMPA receptor-mediated presynaptic inhibition at cerebellar GABAergic synapses: a characterization of molecular mechanismsEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE, Issue 9 2004Shin'Ichiro Satake Abstract A major subtype of glutamate receptors, AMPA receptors (AMPARs), are generally thought to mediate excitation at mammalian central synapses via the ionotropic action of ligand-gated channel opening. It has recently emerged, however, that synaptic activation of AMPARs by glutamate released from the climbing fibre input elicits not only postsynaptic excitation but also presynaptic inhibition of GABAergic transmission onto Purkinje cells in the cerebellar cortex. Although presynaptic inhibition is critical for information processing at central synapses, the molecular mechanisms by which AMPARs take part in such actions are not known. This study therefore aimed at further examining the properties of AMPAR-mediated presynaptic inhibition at GABAergic synapses in the rat cerebellum. Our data provide evidence that the climbing fibre-induced inhibition of GABA release from interneurons depends on AMPAR-mediated activation of GTP-binding proteins coupled with down-regulation of presynaptic voltage-dependent Ca2+ channels. A Gi/o -protein inhibitor, N-ethylmaleimide, selectively abolished the AMPAR-mediated presynaptic inhibition at cerebellar GABAergic synapses but did not affect AMPAR-mediated excitatory actions on Purkinje cells. Furthermore, both Gi/o -coupled receptor agonists, baclofen and DCG-IV, and the P/Q-type calcium channel blocker ,-agatoxin IVA markedly occluded the AMPAR-mediated inhibition of GABAergic transmission. Conversely, AMPAR activation inhibited action potential-triggered Ca2+ influx into individual axonal boutons of cerebellar GABAergic interneurons. By suppressing the inhibitory inputs to Purkinje cells, the AMPAR-mediated presynaptic inhibition could thus provide a feed-forward mechanism for the information flow from the cerebellar cortex. [source] Organization of connections of the basal and accessory basal nuclei in the monkey amygdalaEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE, Issue 6 2000Eva Bonda Abstract PLEASE NOTE: Expression of Concern (EJN, 12:11, p4153) The present study investigated the intrinsic connections of the basal and accessory basal nuclei of the Macaca fascicularis monkey by means of the anterograde tracers Phaseolus vulgaris-leucoagglutinin (PHA-L) and biotinylated dextran amine (BDA). Analysis of the intranuclear connections of the basal nucleus indicates that there are five modules: dorsal, intermediate, ventral lateral, ventral medial and periamygdaloid sulcal cortex. The dorsal division projects to the intermediate division. Laterally, the intermediate division projects to the ventral lateral division and dorsal parts of the ventral medial division. Ventrally, the ventral lateral division projects to the ventral medial division and periamygdaloid sulcal cortex, which appears to constitute a medial extension of the basal nucleus onto the cortical surface of the amygdala. Medially, the ventral medial division projects to the intermediate and dorsal divisions. Thus, the connections between these modules form functional microcolumns within the nucleus with distinct patterns of information flow that are dorsal to ventral laterally, lateral to medial ventrally, and ventral to dorsal medially. Observations on the intranuclear connections of the accessory basal nucleus suggest that they are organized into two relatively distinct domains: the dorsal division projects to the ventral division and the ventral division projects primarily to the ventromedial division. Projections to other amygdaloid areas originate in select divisions of the basal and accessory basal nuclei, and are topographically distributed. The organization of intrinsic connections of the basal nuclei correlates with specific amygdalo-cortical connections and suggests that extensive convergence of information takes place within the amygdala, which potentially influences activity at both the temporal and parietal pathways and hippocampal fields. [source] Intramembrane-sensing histidine kinases: a new family of cell envelope stress sensors in Firmicutes bacteriaFEMS MICROBIOLOGY LETTERS, Issue 2 2006Thorsten Mascher Abstract Two-component signal-transducing systems (TCS) consist of a histidine kinase (HK) that senses a specific environmental stimulus, and a cognate response regulator (RR) that mediates the cellular response. Most HK are membrane-anchored proteins harboring two domains: An extracytoplasmic input and a cytoplasmic transmitter (or kinase) domain, separated by transmembrane helices that are crucial for the intramolecular information flow. In contrast to the cytoplasmic domain, the input domain is highly variable, reflecting the plethora of different signals sensed. Intramembrane-sensing HK (IM-HK) are characterized by their short input domain, consisting solely of two putative transmembane helices. They lack an extracytoplasmic domain, indicative for a sensing process at or from within the membrane interface. Most proteins sharing this domain architecture are found in Firmicutes bacteria. Two major groups can be differentiated based on sequence similarity and genomic context: (1) BceS-like IM-HK that are functionally and genetically linked to ABC transporters, and (2) LiaS-like IM-HK, as part of three-component systems. Most IM-HK sense cell envelope stress, and identified target genes are often involved in maintaining cell envelope integrity, mediating antibiotic resistance, or detoxification processes. Therefore, IM-HK seem to constitute an important mechanism of cell envelope stress response in low G+C Gram-positive bacteria. [source] The Asset Pricing Palette: Cash Flows, Returns and Trading BehaviorFINANCIAL REVIEW, Issue 4 2001Andrea J. Heuson G12 Abstract Asset pricing is the topic of the 2001 Eastern Finance Association Symposium and the five papers selected for this collection, which are summarized below, span a broad range of subjects that fall under the umbrella of the determinants of market prices. For example, the Schwartz and Moon article that introduces the symposium uses real options methodology to value firms whose cash flows are subject to multiple sources of uncertainty while the Luders and Peisl and Mixon analytical models that close the selections incorporate dual stochastic processes to derive relationships between information flow, trading volume and price volatility that are consistent with empirical evidence. In between, Mishra and O'Brien present new evidence on the important of index and factor selection when estimating the required return on equity and Spahr and Schwebach revisit the issue of time diversification by reintroducing a statistical construct from earlier times. Each of the works included here makes an important contribution to our understanding of the asset pricing process in a distinct area and opens new doors onto avenues for future research. [source] Improving transfer of mental health care for rural and remote consumers in South AustraliaHEALTH & SOCIAL CARE IN THE COMMUNITY, Issue 2 2009Judy Taylor BA Dip Soc Wk MSW PhD Abstract In Australia, it is commonplace for tertiary mental health care to be provided in large regional centres or metropolitan cities. Rural and remote consumers must be transferred long distances, and this inevitably results in difficulties with the integration of their care between primary and tertiary settings. Because of the need to address these issues, and improve the transfer process, a research project was commissioned by a national government department to be conducted in South Australia. The aim of the project was to document the experiences of mental health consumers travelling from the country to the city for acute care and to make policy recommendations to improve transitions of care. Six purposively sampled case studies were conducted collecting data through semistructured interviews with consumers, country professional and occupational groups and tertiary providers. Data were analysed to produce themes for consumers, and country and tertiary mental healthcare providers. The study found that consumers saw transfer to the city for mental health care as beneficial in spite of the challenges of being transferred over long distances, while being very unwell, and of being separated from family and friends. Country care providers noted that the disjointed nature of the mental health system caused problems with key aspects of transfer of care including transport and information flow, and achieving integration between the primary and tertiary settings. Improving transfer of care involves overcoming the systemic barriers to integration and moving to a primary care-led model of care. The distance consultation and liaison model provided by the Rural and Remote Mental Health Services, the major tertiary provider of services for country consumers, uses a primary care-led approach and was highly regarded by research participants. Extending the use of this model to other primary mental healthcare providers and tertiary facilities will improve transfer of care. [source] Hydro-meteorological variability in the greater Ganges,Brahmaputra,Meghna basinsINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CLIMATOLOGY, Issue 12 2004MD. Rashed Chowdhury Abstract The flows of the Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna (GBM) are highly seasonal, and heavily influenced by monsoon rainfall. As a result, these rivers swell to their banks and often overflow during the monsoon months. This is most pronounced in the downstream regions, particularly in Bangladesh, which is the lowest riparian country. The objective of this paper is to study this hydro-meteorological variability in the greater GBM regions, including the headwater regions in India and their role in streamflows in Bangladesh, and explore the large-scale oceanic factors affecting this hydro-meteorological variability. Global precipitation data, Bangladesh rainfall and streamflow records have been analysed and related to large-scale climate patterns, including upstream rainfall, regional atmospheric circulation and patterns of sea-surface temperature. The findings have quantified how the streamflows of these rivers in Bangladesh are highly correlated with the rainfall in the upper catchments with typically a lag of about 1 month. Therefore, streamflows in Bangladesh could be reasonably estimated for 1 to 3 months in advance (especially for the Ganges and Brahmaputra rivers) by employing simple correlation, if rainfall data from countries further up are available on a real-time and continuous basis. In the absence of rainfall data, streamflow forecasts are still possible from unusually warm or cold sea-surface temperatures in the tropics. The study concludes that hydro-meteorological information flow between Bangladesh and other neighbouring countries is essential for developing a knowledge base for evaluating the potential implications of seasonal streamflow forecast in the GBM basins in Bangladesh. Copyright © 2004 Royal Meteorological Society [source] Addressing agent loss in vehicle formations and sensor networksINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ROBUST AND NONLINEAR CONTROL, Issue 15 2009Tyler H. Summers Abstract In this paper, we address the problem of agent loss in vehicle formations and sensor networks via two separate approaches: (1) perform a ,self-repair' operation in the event of agent loss to recover desirable information architecture properties or (2) introduce robustness into the information architecture a priori such that agent loss does not destroy desirable properties. We model the information architecture as a graph G(V, E), where V is a set of vertices representing the agents and E is a set of edges representing information flow amongst the agents. We focus on two properties of the graph called rigidity and global rigidity, which are required for formation shape maintenance and sensor network self-localization, respectively. For the self-repair approach, we show that while previous results permit local repair involving only neighbours of the lost agent, the repair cannot always be implemented using only local information. We present new results that can be applied to make the local repair using only local information. We describe implementation and illustrate with algorithms and examples. For the robustness approach, we investigate the structure of graphs with the property that rigidity or global rigidity is preserved after removing any single vertex (we call the property as 2-vertex-rigidity or 2-vertex-global-rigidity, respectively). Information architectures with such properties would allow formation shape maintenance or self-localization to be performed even in the event of agent failure. We review a characterization of a class of 2-vertex-rigidity and develop a separate class, making significant strides towards a complete characterization. We also present a characterization of a class of 2-vertex-global-rigidity. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] The importance of information flows temporal attributes for the efficient scheduling of dynamic demand responsive transport servicesJOURNAL OF ADVANCED TRANSPORTATION, Issue 1 2006Marco Diana The operation of a demand responsive transport service usually involves the management of dynamic requests. The underlying algorithms are mainly adaptations of procedures carefully designed to solve static versions of the problem, in which all the requests are known in advance. However there is no guarantee that the effectiveness of an algorithm stays unchanged when it is manipulated to work in a dynamic environment. On the other hand, the way the input is revealed to the algorithm has a decisive role on the schedule quality. We analyze three characteristics of the information flow (percentage of real-time requests, interval between call-in and requested pickup time and length of the computational cycle time), assessing their influence on the effectiveness of the scheduling process. [source] CREATING VALUE IN THE OIL INDUSTRYJOURNAL OF APPLIED CORPORATE FINANCE, Issue 1 2004Nick Antill In contrast with current thinking that conglomerates are inefficient, this article begins by presenting arguments in favor of the size and structure of the large integrated oil companies, also known as "the supermajors." Among the advantages are tax efficiency, information flow, political and technological know-how, broad supplier and customer relationships, scale economies, cross-business economies of scope, brand power, and the ability to coordinate strategic initiatives across businesses. These advantages all translate into a lower cost of capital. One problem, however, is that this lower cost of capital does not seem to be reflected in the target returns on capital currently set by the supermajors. Observing that the financial goal of a corporation is to maximize not its return on capital but rather the net present value of expected future cash flows and earnings, the authors argue that the majors need to make two major changes to current practice. First, their investment hurdle rates should be reduced from their current level of 14,15% to the weighted average cost of capital, which is estimated to run about 8,9%. Second, the actual returns on capital reported in published accounts are largely meaningless; and when evaluating new investments and existing operations alike, the companies must find an annual performance measure that better reflects the economic realities of the business. This paper recommends use of a performance measurement framework based on economic profit that should serve two critical purposes: it will encourage managers to undertake all value-increasing projects (not just those that will maintain or increase reported return on capital), and it will help the companies communicate their strategy and results to the investment community. [source] The predictive value of temporally disaggregated volatility: evidence from index futures marketsJOURNAL OF FORECASTING, Issue 8 2008Nicholas Taylor Abstract This paper examines the benefits to forecasters of decomposing close-to-close return volatility into close-to-open (nighttime) and open-to-close (daytime) return volatility. Specifically, we consider whether close-to-close volatility forecasts based on the former type of (temporally aggregated) data are less accurate than corresponding forecasts based on the latter (temporally disaggregated) data. Results obtained from seven different US index futures markets reveal that significant increases in forecast accuracy are possible when using temporally disaggregated volatility data. This result is primarily driven by the fact that forecasts based on such data can be updated as more information becomes available (e.g., information flow from the preceding close-to-open/nighttime trading session). Finally, we demonstrate that the main findings of this paper are robust to the index futures market considered, the way in which return volatility is constructed, and the method used to assess forecast accuracy. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] A Study of Corporate Disclosure Practice and Effectiveness in Hong KongJOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT & ACCOUNTING, Issue 1 2001Simon S. M. Ho The recent economic turmoil in Asia has led to a wider recognition of the importance of corporate transparency and disclosures in financial dealings. The objective of this study is to provide comprehensive and up-to-date evidence of current practice and perceived effectiveness of corporate disclosure of listed companies in an emerging economy,Hong Kong. The study compares the perceptions of chief financial officers (CFOs) and financial analysts about a variety of information flow, disclosure and capital market efficiency issues. It also seeks to determine whether there is a perceived need for increased financial reporting regulations and to what extent this and other alternative means might improve market functioning. While both subject groups believed that a majority of firms only adopt a conservative one-way disclosure strategy and the existence of a communication gap, analysts perceived a much higher need than CFOs for increased financial reporting regulations. Neither group thought that enhancing disclosure requirements alone would suffice to close this gap. Instead, they suggested an improvement in the quality of the communication and disclosure processes through means such as choosing more appropriate communication media, formulating a more proactive disclosure strategy, enhancing investor relationship, and voluntarily reporting more information desired by users. [source] Multiobjective combinatorial optimization: some approachesJOURNAL OF MULTI CRITERIA DECISION ANALYSIS, Issue 3-4 2008Murat KöksalanArticle first published online: 9 FEB 200 Abstract There have been many developments in multiple criteria decision-making (MCDM) during the last 50 years. Researchers from different areas have also recognized the multiple-criteria nature of problems in their application areas and tried to address these issues. Unfortunately, there has not always been sufficient information flow between the researchers in the MCDM area and the researchers applying MCDM to their problems. More recently, multiobjective combinatorial optimization (MOCO) and multiobjective metaheuristic areas have been enjoying substantial developments. These problems are hard to solve. Many researchers addressed the problem of finding all nondominated solutions. This is a difficult task for MOCO problems. This difficulty limits many of the studies to concentrate on bicriteria problems. In this paper, I review some MCDM approaches that aim to find only the preferred solutions of the decision maker (DM). I argue that this is especially important for MOCO problems. I discuss several of our approaches that incorporate DM's preferences into the solution process of MOCO problems and argue that there is a need for more work to be done in this area. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Corticosteroid Effects on Serotonin Responses in Granule Cells of the Rat Dentate GyrusJOURNAL OF NEUROENDOCRINOLOGY, Issue 3 2001Y. J. G. Karten Abstract Granule cells in the rat dentate gyrus contain mineralocorticoid and glucocorticoid receptors to which the adrenal hormone corticosterone binds with differential affinity. These cells also express various receptor-subtypes for serotonin (5-HT), including the 5-HT1A receptor which mediates a membrane hyperpolarization accompanied by a decrease in membrane resistance. Earlier studies have shown that removal of corticosterone by adrenalectomy, particularly in the dentate gyrus, results in enhanced expression of the 5-HT1A receptor mRNA and increased 5-HT1A receptor binding capacity. This was normalized by activation of mineralocorticoid receptors or concurrent activation of both receptor types. In the present, intracellular recording study in vitro, we examined if the altered levels of 5-HT1A receptor mRNA and protein are associated with changes in the response to 5-HT. We found that the hyperpolarization and resistance decrease induced in granule cells by a submaximal (10 µM) dose of 5-HT were unaltered 2,4 days after adrenalectomy, indicating a dissociation between corticosteroid actions on 5-HT1A receptor mRNA/protein levels and functional responses to 5-HT. Subsequent occupation of mineralocorticoid receptors in vitro significantly suppressed the 5-HT induced change in resistance, 1,4 h after steroid application. Compared to this, concurrent activation of glucocorticoid receptors led to large responses to 5-HT. This modulation by steroids was not observed with a higher dose of 5-HT (30 µM). The data suggest that with moderate amounts of 5-HT, corticosteroids affect the information flow through the dentate gyrus such that excitatory transmission is promoted with predominant mineralocorticoid receptor activation and attenuated with additional glucocorticoid receptor occupation. [source] Price Dynamics in the International Wheat Market: Modeling with Error Correction and Directed Acyclic GraphsJOURNAL OF REGIONAL SCIENCE, Issue 1 2003David A Bessler In this paper we examine dynamic relationships among wheat prices from five countries for the years 1981,1999. Error correction models and directed acyclic graphs are employed with observational data to sort,out the dynamic causal relationships among prices from major wheat producing regions: Canada, the European Union, Argentina, Australia, and the United States. An ambiguity related to the cyclic or acyclic flow of information between Canada and Australia is uncovered. We condition our analysis on the assumption that information flow is acyclic. The empirical results show that Canada and the U.S. are leaders in the pricing of wheat in these markets. The U.S. has a significant effect on three markets excluding Canada. [source] The need for integration of drought monitoring tools for proactive food security management in sub-Saharan AfricaNATURAL RESOURCES FORUM, Issue 4 2008Tsegaye Tadesse Abstract Reducing the impact of drought and famine remains a challenge in sub-Saharan Africa despite ongoing drought relief assistance in recent decades. This is because drought and famine are primarily addressed through a crisis management approach when a disaster occurs, rather than stressing preparedness and risk management. Moreover, drought planning and food security efforts have been hampered by a lack of integrated drought monitoring tools, inadequate early warning systems (EWS), and insufficient information flow within and between levels of government in many sub-Saharan countries. The integration of existing drought monitoring tools for sub-Saharan Africa is essential for improving food security systems to reduce the impacts of drought and famine on society in this region. A proactive approach emphasizing integration requires the collective use of multiple tools, which can be used to detect trends in food availability and provide early indicators at local, national, and regional scales on the likely occurrence of food crises. In addition, improving the ability to monitor and disseminate critical drought-related information using available modern technologies (e.g., satellites, computers, and modern communication techniques) may help trigger timely and appropriate preventive responses and, ultimately, contribute to food security and sustainable development in sub-Saharan Africa. [source] Managing information sharing within an organizational setting: A social network perspectivePERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENT QUARTERLY, Issue 4 2009John-Paul Hatala Information sharing is critical to an organization's competitiveness and requires a free flow of information among members if the organization is to remain competitive. A review of the literature on organizational structure and information sharing was conducted to examine the research in this area. A case example illustrates how a social network approach was used to explore the process of measuring the social structure of an organization and the implementation of change interventions to increase connectivity and manage information sharing. The process of conducting social network analysis is described using the case example. Interventions for increasing information flow are discussed. The authors provide an information-sharing model that demonstrates the various domains of connectivity within an organization at any given state. The benefits of using social network analysis for information sharing and the implications for further research and practice are discussed. [source] Improving the Quality of Information Flows in the Backend of a Product Development Process: a Case StudyQUALITY AND RELIABILITY ENGINEERING INTERNATIONAL, Issue 2 2005Jaring Boersma Abstract Considerable research has gone into designing effective product development processes. This, coupled with the increasing need for products that are able to deliver reliable, complex functionality with a high degree of innovation, presents a major challenge to modern day industries in the business of developing products. In order to incorporate relevant field experience in the design and manufacturing of new products, increasingly detailed information needs to be retrieved from the market in a very short amount of time. In one particular consumer electronics industry, business process models describing the information flow in the backend of the product development process indicated massive data loss and also serious data quality degradation. This paper attempts to show how such losses can be mitigated and also proposes a business model that can adequately capture information of a higher quality and in a more structured manner. The end result will be a product development process that provides better feedback on current product performance and is more responsive to future market needs. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Supply and Demand Shifts in the Shorting MarketTHE JOURNAL OF FINANCE, Issue 5 2007LAUREN COHEN ABSTRACT Using proprietary data on stock loan fees and quantities from a large institutional investor, we examine the link between the shorting market and stock prices. Employing a unique identification strategy, we isolate shifts in the supply and demand for shorting. We find that shorting demand is an important predictor of future stock returns: An increase in shorting demand leads to negative abnormal returns of 2.98% in the following month. Second, we show that our results are stronger in environments with less public information flow, suggesting that the shorting market is an important mechanism for private information revelation. [source] An examination of the complementary volume,volatility information theoriesTHE JOURNAL OF FUTURES MARKETS, Issue 10 2008Zhiyao Chen The volume,volatility relationship during the dissemination stages of information flow is examined by analyzing various theories relating volume and volatility as complementary rather than competing models. The mixture of distributions hypothesis, sequential arrival of information hypothesis, the dispersion of beliefs hypothesis, and the noise trader hypothesis all add to the understanding of how volume and volatility interact for different types of futures traders. An integrated picture of the volume,volatility relationship is provided by investigating the dynamic linear and nonlinear associations between volatility and the volume of informed (institutional) and uninformed (the general public) traders. In particular, the trading behavior explanation for the persistence of futures volatility, the effect of the timing of private information arrival, and the response of institutional traders to excess noise trading risk is examined. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Jrl Fut Mark 28:963,992, 2008 [source] Benchmark tipping and the role of the swap market in price discoveryTHE JOURNAL OF FUTURES MARKETS, Issue 10 2007Russell PoskittArticle first published online: 14 AUG 200 The author uses a high-frequency data set to investigate the roles of the sterling swap and futures markets in price discovery at the short-end of the sterling yield curve. Information flows between the futures and swap markets are found to be largely contemporaneous. Causal information flows are bidirectional, although the futures market dominates the information flow over the very short term. Thus, the futures market remains the primary locus of price discovery despite the increased use of swaps as a pricing benchmark and hedging instrument in recent years. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Jrl Fut Mark 27:981,1001, 2007 [source] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||