Empirical Aspects Research Articles

A methodology to estimate the optimal debt ratio when asset returns, and default probability follow stochastic processes

The purpose of this paper is to propose a methodology that allies both theoretical and empirical aspects to model and solve the problem of finding the optimal market-based corporate financial structure in a risky environment; the firm's asset value follows a geometric Brownian motion with a return adjusted by the probability of default which is stochastic and follows an Ornstein-Uhlenbeck process. We consider a decision manager to optimize the financial structure of his company, maximizes the expected utility of the shareholders' final wealth by solving a dynamic programming problem. The value function obeys a quadratic Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman (HJB) equation and the explicit solution gives the optimal debt ratio. The Kalman filter approach is used to estimate the model parameters. We empirically examined the implications of the credit ratings on the optimal capital structure decision. The data used are daily, obtained from the 'Data Stream' database and cover a sample of 16 U.S companies of various sectors and different rating categories over the period from January 01, 2015, to December 31, 2015. The estimated average optimal debt ratios are relatively high showing different patterns between and within investment and speculative-grade firms. In fact, the evolution of the optimal debt ratio according to the rating is influenced by a restrictive or an easy entry into the debt market and by the value of the estimated rate of return.

Smart Access to the Past: Studying Digital Applications for Interaction with Cultural Heritage

The last decades witnessed an amalgamation between cultural heritage practises and digital technology, resulting in a new heritage experience. The presented research addresses the problem of lacking in specific guidelines or frameworks for generating efficient and memorable experiences for heritage sites using digital technologies (like VR and AR). Subsequently, it investigates the preservation of heritage and its impacts on different users. The study answers two main questions: How do new immersive technologies enhance the efficiency and attractiveness of experiencing cultural heritage sites? And how does new technological integration with heritage sites communicate the cultural significance of tangible and intangible heritage? In doing so, the study focuses on theoretical and empirical aspects of users’ engagement in digital heritage applications by investigating the impact of a virtual tour of the cultural heritage site of Abu Simbel Temple in Aswan, Egypt. The results of the literature investigation and the empirical experiment resulted in the development of a conceptual model for generating an interactive digital experience for heritage sites to facilitate the analysis and evaluation of the presented digital projects.

Introduction. Some New Approaches to Knowledge Representation in Multidimensional Perspective: From Theory Through Experience to Scientific Practice

Abstract This special issue offers a multidimensional perspective on the recent inquiries into knowledge representation. Multidimensionality exposes the complexity of knowledge representation and helps distinguish between different approaches and research tools. On the one hand, the presented research focuses on the theoretical and empirical aspects of knowledge representation (taking into account cognitive processes and capacities, including linguistic skills needed to generate and express knowledge); on the other, the articles included in the issue discuss the practical discourse, analyzing actions from the point of view of cognitively oriented semantics and the scientific practice broadly understood. The issue consists of five papers that show how certain ideas in the research area of knowledge representation inspired the authors to look for new approaches to modelling concepts and practical reasoning, constructing theory of signs using the tools of data science, and dealing with cognitive artifacts in scientific practice and its dynamics. What these approaches have in common is their attempt at capturing the multidimensionality of knowledge representation in such a way that integrates them. Our goal is to emphasize some innovative aspects of those approaches with respect to the dynamics of knowledge representation in both the cognitive system and scientific practice.

Documenting, Accounting, and Valuing Material Damages Caused by Armed Aggression to the Non-Current Assets of the Company

Apart from massive losses in human capital, armed aggression in Ukraine commenced in the late February 2022 has brought about significant negative material consequences to the business. These include interruptions or termination of operations, damages non-current and other assets, disruptions in supply chains, etc. This in turn aggravated certain accounting and valuation challenges as well. In Ukrainian practice, for such matters as documentation, accounting, and valuation of damages, there were no established and generally accepted approaches and algorithms. The purpose of this study is to explore theoretical and methodological, as well as empirical aspects of documenting, accounting, and valuing of material damages caused by armed aggression to the non-current assets of the business. Methods of theoretical cognition and empirical research constitute a methodological basis of the study, particularly systematization and generalization, induction and deduction, comparison and measurement, analysis, and synthesis. The paper systematises the opinions of the local experts on recording the damages, namely provides a joint step-by-step algorithm for identification of affected assets and documentation of damages. The analysis outlines key accounting treatment issues related to affected non-current assets such as necessity to conduct impairment and revaluation, loss of control or significant influence over assets, going concern uncertainty and provided the basis for further more detailed investigation of each of the matters in next research. The practical significance of the study is to present extent and nature of disclosures provided regarding the impact of armed aggression by Ukrainian companies in their interim financial reports. Such empirical analysis is possible to repeat and broaden later in the next studies after publication of annual financial statements

FINANCIAL CULTURE OF STUDENT YOUTH

The article deals with theoretical and empirical aspects of the study of the financial culture of modern students. It is presented as a complex socio-economic phenomenon, largely based on parental financial behavior. The connection between the development of youth consciousness, in general, and its financial level, in particular, with global socio-economic and information-digital realities, the speed and nature of their flow is emphasized. The importance of financial culture formation and development in the context of social well-being and successful current and future socialization is highlighted. The results of the study (N=174 people) in two Far Eastern Russian regions show a fairly high degree of pragmatism in the consciousness of today's youth; desire to learn more about the financial market, its opportunities and risks, and apply this knowledge in practice. Students are distinguished by a pronounced orientation towards the acquisition of their own housing; increase in earnings; hedonism; income stability and focus on reasonable, not spontaneous, expenses. Personal qualities associated with this - the ability to effectively plan and distribute, practicality, responsibility, developed critical thinking. The main conclusion of the research work: in the assessments of young students, relations in the material and monetary sphere require specific and relevant knowledge and skills, and the majority of respondents, recognizing the insufficiency of their own, wish to expand and develop them. At the same time, the expressed desire for development in this area is superimposed on a low level of real activity. The financial culture of young people, in general, is a phenomenon subject to continuous development in the context of the uncertainties and transitivity of modern social reality.

Industrial Structure Upgrading, Technological Progress, and Regional Carbon Emission Intensity

At present, China is in a critical period of transformation from high-speed development to high-quality development.Energy conservation and emission reduction conform to the concept of high-quality development in China. The upgrading of industrial structure and technological progress are important factors affecting carbon emission intensity. Based on the provincial panel data from 2010 to 2019, this paper explores the relationship between industrial structure upgrading, technological progress and regional carbon emission intensity from both theoretical and empirical aspects by building a mediation effect model. The results show that the upgrading of industrial structure has a significant inhibitory effect on carbon emission intensity; Technological progress has a significant inhibitory effect on carbon emission intensity; Technological progress plays a part of intermediary effect between industrial structure upgrading and carbon emission intensity.Finally, it puts forward policy suggestions such as reasonably promoting industrial structure adjustment, promoting industrial structure optimization, establishing an effective mechanism to promote technological progress, and tackling environmental pollution from the source.

Evidence-supported Rural Community-based Tourism and Social Impact

Rural tourism is an activity that can provide farmers with a second income, which is often required due to the small size of some farms. Examples of rural tourism are allowing the public to visit the farm or providing social benefits such as educational experience services where visitors experience farm operations, creating income opportunities for farmers and also teaching about food production and rural life. Professor Yasuo Ohe, based in the Department of Agribusiness Management, Tokyo University of Agriculture, Japan, leads a team of researchers committed to expanding understanding about the economics and mechanics of rural tourism. The team has adopted a microeconomic approach to community-based rural tourism and entrepreneurship and Ohe has proposed a theoretical framework supported by quantitative empirical evidence. The goal is to advance the progress of the theoretical and empirical aspects of rural tourism studies. In one study, Ohe and the team are performing theoretical and empirical evaluations of the efficiency of educational dairy farms that provide educational tourism. Ohe has published a book entitled ‘Community-based Rural Tourism and Entrepreneurship’ which is helping advance the field and considers how to make rural tourism practices sustainable. Next, he will explore hospitality issues in rural tourism, with a view to contributing to building rural hospitality in rural tourism both conceptually and empirically. Ohe also plans to work on evidence-supported rural community-based tourism and the social impacts, looking at the rice harvest in paddy fields.

HRD Climate and its Outcomes of Academics: A Study of Professional Institutions in India

Retaining competent faculty and faculty stability has been a major cause of concern affecting the quality of professional higher education in India particularly in the private sector. Conducive work climate and higher job satisfaction level are essential for better performance of both faculty members and the institute and also stability of the competent faculty members. This paper seeks to explore and examine the influence of ownership on HRD Climate, Job Satisfaction and Academic Achievements level and also Intention to Stay/Quit behavior of faculty members across public and private academic institutions offering professional degree courses in India.It is also sought to explore the inter-relationship between HRD Climate, Job Satisfaction and Academic Achievements level, and Intention to Stay/Quit behavior and the effect of HRDClimate dimensions on the level of both Job Satisfaction (JS) and Academic Achievements (AA).The paper is based on a survey among 972 faculty members in engineering and management institutes across three Provinces in India. Findings of the study revealed that ownership has significant influence on the HRD climate, JS and AA level and Intention to Stay/Quit behavior. Facultyin most private institutes expressed less desire to stay (the current employer) compared to their counterparts in government. The results support to both theoretical and empirical aspects for the proposed hypotheses.

Tantangan Pengaturan Anti-treaty Shopping di Indonesia Setelah Berlakunya Multilateral Instrument

This paper reviews the rapidly growing empirical literature on anti-treaty shopping arrangements after the adoption of multilateral instruments, especially those relating to the application of the Principal Purpose Test (PPT). The absence of a Principal Purpose Test definition in the agreement, or an international understanding of how the PPT should be interpreted means that various parties may act differently and provide different interpretations of a transaction or arrangement. In addition, the inequalities of evidence between the tax authorities and taxpayers on the justification of transaction motives or arrangements solely for the benefit of the agreement raises the potential for tax disputes that are getting bigger because of the different perspectives built by the tax authorities and taxpayers. The purpose of this study is to examine the theoretical and empirical aspects of the challenges and obstacles in implementing the PPT arrangement in Indonesia, as well as to see the development of the arrangement from a global perspective. The research approach used in this study is to use qualitative methods with data collection techniques through documentation and literature review or literature study by providing an understanding of a social phenomenon related to the implications of implementing the Principal Purpose Test. The results and conclusions of this study lead to the urgency that the Tax Authority increasingly needs to issue regulations related to the implementation of the Principal Purpose Test in order to create legal certainty for taxpayers.

Digital Transformation of a Country’s Image: The Case of the Astana International Finance Centre in Kazakhstan

A strong positive image is an important asset for all countries around the world. Simple recognition of a name or geographic location is not enough to make a successful brand. People should want to visit, live, and preferably work and invest in the country. The research methodology for this article used Simon Anholt’s approach. Anholt is the author of the widely recognized system Nation Brands Index which measures the power and quality of each country’s “brand image” by combining the following six dimensions: Exports, Governance, Culture and Heritage, People, Tourism, and Investment and Immigration. In this article, the authors selected one important dimension, “Investment and Immigration,” using the case of the Astana International Finance Centre (AIFC), which was created to enhance and promote Kazakhstan’s investment image. The expected outcomes of the study include assessing the perception of how the AIFC used digital technologies to build its brand as a part of the country’s image, and discussing the digital context of developing investment attractiveness. It also covers a short literature review on the theoretical and empirical aspects of digital transformation and presents a case study and a questionnaire-based survey to illustrate the impact of digital transformation, and especially the use of digital technologies for the AIFC’s image promotion. The conclusion summarizes the findings of this research and discusses some implications for investment and immigration attractiveness and the image of the AIFC.

School Education Financing in the Context of Decentralization: Cases of Ukraine

The article explores the issues of school education financing in the context of decentralization in Ukraine. School education in Ukraine is funded from different sources. About a third of the total education budget consists of the education subvention for teachers' salaries, which is an inter-budget transfer from the state budget to local budgets. For the purpose of our research, we selected a network of schools in the Zaporizhia region of Ukraine and its financing for the period of 2014-2021. This region is typical, plain, and without significant geographical features (unlike, for example, areas with mountainous or inaccessible areas). To identify the framework of financing school education in Ukraine within the decentralization process, we utilized methods of empirical analysis of statistical indicators, as well simulation to assess the relationship between a number of indicators such as the number of students in the school, class size and the average costs of education per student using educational subvention. The purpose is to determine opportunities to increase the efficiency of budget expenditures on education. Our analysis of the use of educational subvention funds by the different types of local budgets shows that the schools financed from city budgets use these funds with the most efficiency. The schools funded from regional budgets and district budgets use the funds with the least efficiency. Our research is very valuable for improving theoretical and empirical aspects of the calculation of the projected amount of the educational subvention, as well as for the optimization of the school network.

Duties And Responsibilities Of Customary Functionaries In The Implementation Of The Indigenous Government System In Nafri Village

The purpose of writing this article is to find out the role of customary functionaries in running the customary government system and the cooperative relations between these traditional partners in carrying out the customary government system for the indigenous people in Nafri Village. Both traditional partners from Nafri Village and also traditional partners from outside Nafri Village. This research can be categorized in the type of research with empirical aspects, because here we see the role of customary functionaries in the implementation of customary government law in the Nafri customary law community who sees the role of customary functionaries being carried out in reality. From the results of the study, it was revealed that customary functionaries have a very important role in carrying out the customary government system in the indigenous people of Nafri Village, both on ontofro and whase ontofro. And also these traditional functionaries have a cooperative relationship with traditional partners, both those from within the Nafri village itself and also traditional partners with villages from outside the Nafri village.

Role of visionary leadership in enhancing strategic investment decisions

Purpose: This research sought to diagnose and measure the logical relationships between the research variables represented by visionary leadership and their relationship to strategic investment decisions. The research aims to increase the limitations of research based on the cognitive, organizational and empirical aspects of these relationships by surveying some of the previous studies. Research design: The research was designed with an analytical descriptive approach through deductive analysis in the cognitive and empirical field of the research model and hypotheses.The research sample was limited to a sample of workers in these banks, the questionnaire tool was designed on the five-point Likert scale, as the researcher relied on solid standards whose validity and stability were tested through statistical means and methods in the method of factor analysis.Confirmatory data, and data were processed through the use of advanced statistical software (Smart Pulls) and the program (Spss v.21). Results: The results of the applied analysis of the research community showed that visionary leadership has a strong relationship in enhancing the effectiveness of strategic investment decisions, as the banking sector operates within an environment characterized by continuous and complex dynamics accompanied by risks and threats that the managements of these institutions must avoid or confront.

Towards Integrated Design and Operation of Complex Engineering Systems With Predictive Modeling: State-of-the-Art and Challenges

Abstract Growing trends towards increased complexity and prolonged useful lives of engineering systems present challenges for system designers in accounting for the impacts of post-design activities (e.g., manufacturing, condition monitoring, remaining life prediction, maintenance, service logistics, end-of-life options, etc.) on system performance (e.g., costs, reliability, customer satisfaction, environmental impacts, etc.). It is very difficult to develop accredited lifecycle system performance models because these activities only occur after the system is built and operated. Thus, system design and post-design decision-making have traditionally been addressed separately, leading to suboptimal performance over the systems lifecycle. With significant advances in computational modeling, simulation, sensing & condition monitoring, and machine learning & artificial intelligence, the capability of predictive modeling has grown prominently over the past decade, leading to demonstrated benefits such as improved system availability and reduced operation and maintenance costs. Predictive modeling can bridge system design and post-design stages and provide an optimal pathway for system designers to effectively account for future system operations at the design stage. In order to achieve optimal performance over the system’s lifecycle, post-design decisions and system operating performance can be incorporated into the initial design with the aid of state-of-the-art predictive modeling approaches. Therefore, optimized design and operation decisions can be explored jointly in an enlarged system design space. This article conducted a literature review for the integrated design and operation of engineering systems with predictive modeling, where not only the predictive modeling approaches but also the strategies of integrating predictive models into the system design processes are categorized. Although predictive modeling has been handled from data-driven, statistical, analytical, and empirical aspects, and recent design problems have started to evaluate the lifecycle performance, there are still challenges in the field that require active investigation and exploration. So, in the end, this article provides a summary of the future directions that encourages research collaborations among the various communities interested in the optimal system lifecycle design.

La jurisdicción internacional directa en el Derecho Internacional Privado con especial referencia al Art. 57 de la ley 19.920

The regulation of international private situations involves the determination of three empirical aspects. The substantive law applicable to the case, the courts that will have jurisdiction and the rules of legal continuity of judgments and arbitral awards, as well as the various mechanisms of international civil for criminal procedural cooperation. In this paper we will analyze the new bases of international jurisdiction determined in Law No. 19.920, as they represented a substantive transformation of the international legal landscape. The repeal of the Appendix to the Civil Code, especially article 2401 (which contained two criteria of bilateral jurisdiction), brought with it almost twenty criteria of direct jurisdiction, where party autonomy and forum of necessity stand out, among many other parameters without direct antecedents in the pre-existing Private International Law system of conventional and autonomous source. In this paper we address the new bases of jurisdiction and the limits provided in the light of General International Law.

DRIVERS AND CHALLENGES IN MUNICIPAL SDGS FROM COLLABORATIVE GOVERNANCE PERSPECTIVE

Collaborative governance is gaining attention as a model for improving public administration and increasing citizens' trust in government. Over the past two decades, theoretical and empirical studies have considered mechanisms for new forms of governance, and a variety of evidence assures that stakeholders can come together and work cooperatively to solve mutual problems. Existing research indicates that collaborative governance can be a possible alternative to command-and-control or adversarial policymaking and its implementation. In addition, there is interest in research that recognizes the variables that influence collaborative governance outcomes and whether collaboration is successful. These include the initial conditions of a collaborative process and essential elements of collaborative placemaking, such as trust-building and facilitative leadership. This study analyzes the literature on collaborative governance in terms of theoretical and empirical aspects, focusing on municipal SDGs in Japan. The SDGs are aimed at sustainable development in both developed and developing countries, and recently even in Japan, some local governments have been actively working to rethink their existing policies in terms of SDGs. This study examines the drivers, conditions, and challenges of collaborative governance from the perspective of municipal SDGs.

Living with the Other: The Ethic of Inner Retreat

Living with the Other: The Ethic of Inner Retreat

Dědické právo po přijetí občanského zákoníku a reflexe vybraných nových aspektů dědického práva v řízení o pozůstalosti

The article deals with selected theoretical and empirical aspects of inheritance law after enactment of Act No. 89/2012 Sb., Civil Code and new aspects of inheritance proceedings brought about to the proceedings due to Act No. 89/2012 Sb., Civil Code. These new aspects culminate in questions of reflection of authonomy of freewill in succession law in inheritance proceedings, and the respect of the freewill of the deceased in this proceedings, transition of debts to successors from the deceased and litigation of succession.

Review and Prospect of Leader Humor Research

Leader humor is a new type of leadership that integrates humorous behavior into leadership. It is characterized by breaking the traditional dogmatic management and aims to adopt humorous and interesting interactive ways to manage and stimulate the benign behaviors of subordinates. Although the research on leader humor has made some progress in both theoretical and empirical aspects, people gradually begin to pay attention to the overview of leader humor. Through literature review, this paper summarizes some outcome variables of leader humor, and analyzes the positive effects of different types of leader humor from measurement. Finally, the essential difference between the leader humor and the leader humor duality, how to choose the mediating variable, how to choose the Y variable and how to choose the moderating variable are discussed. This paper launches the research from the perspective of the positive role of leader humor, and provides a systematic and in-depth research framework and ideas on related issues.

Complementarity-entanglement tradeoff in quantum gravity

The quantization of gravity remains one of the most important---yet extremely elusive---challenges at the heart of modern physics. Any attempt to resolve this long-standing problem seems to be doomed, as the route to any direct empirical evidence (i.e., detecting gravitons) that sheds light on the quantum aspect of gravity is far beyond the current capabilities. Recently, it was discovered that gravitationally induced entanglement, tailored in the interferometric frameworks, can be used to witness the quantum nature of gravity. Even though these schemes offer promising tools for investigating quantum gravity, many fundamental and empirical aspects of the schemes are yet to be discovered. Considering the fact that, besides quantum entanglement, the quantum uncertainty and complementarity principles are the two other foundational aspects of quantum physics, the quantum nature of gravity needs to manifest all of these features. Here, we lay out an interferometric platform for testing these nonclassical aspects of quantum mechanics in the quantum gravity setting, which connects gravity and quantum physics in a broader and deeper context. As we show in this work, all of these fundamental features of quantum gravity can be framed and thoroughly analyzed in an interferometric scheme.