Foreign Members Research Articles

Does foreign board increase the company’s performance? the evidence from Indonesia

This study examined the effect of foreign board members in promoting corporate governance and performance. This study used the fixed effect model from the panel data of 4,282 company-observations over the period of 2007-2017.. This study found that the presence of foreign board has a significant and positive effect on the company’s performance measured by return on asset and return on equity ratios. On the other hand, the presence of Asian nationality board member was found to have negative significant effect on the company’s performance, and this is due to the companies having Asian Board members coming mostly from developing countries. In gen3eral, this research show that the presence of a foreign board member can bring differences to the companies and this affects their performance. The implications of this research is that it provides additional literature about foreign nationals diversity in board composition, as a reference for government to revisit the laws and permits for foreign workers and for the company’s considerations to use the service of foreign board member.

Special issue of MAPS in honor of Wolf Uwe Reimold on occasion of his 65th birthday

Special issue of <i>MAPS</i> in honor of Wolf Uwe Reimold on occasion of his 65th birthday

The state of russian library and information sciences from the perspective of academic journals

Scientific challenge: A study of the current state of library and information sciences via bibliometric analysis of scientific journals and their editorial board members, i. e. geographic distribution and bibliometric analysis of their scholarly output resulting in additional approaches to evaluate serials and scientific area.Purpose: Bibliometric analyses of journals and scholarly output and geographic distribution of their editorial board members being the most authoritative experts over the last 5 years; detection of large scientific centers of library and information science; detection of a core of academic journals.Originality: For the first time in Russian literature results of the analysis of editorial boards are described for additional evaluation of library and information science journals and relevant scientific areas in general. Due to a limited number of papers on analysis of editorial boards this paper can be used as methodological one as well.Findings: Analysis of geographic distribution enabled us to detect a share of foreign members of almost 25 percent. The largest groups of Russian experts are located in Moscow and Saint-Petersburg, but also in two regional centers of the European part of Russia – Voronezh and Samara, while only Novosibirsk is the center of the Siberian expert group in library and information science. Experts mainly work at universities, followed by research organizations of The Ministry of Science and Higher Education. Wide range of bibliometric indices of editorial board members correlates with that of relevant journals. Some approaches of editors to enhance journal indices are detected including publication of their own high-level papers in journals which they are working for since these papers are attracting a larger amount of citations as compared with papers of other authors. Another strategy assumes that editorial board members cite their own journal in other serials. Co-citation data of analyzed journals predominantly demonstrate the absence of strong connections between journals.Conclusions: Editorial boards play a significant role in enhancing bibliometric indices of journals, and stronger integration of Russian library and information science society is necessary which may result in increasing currently low ranks of the studied journals among international serials.

CanShariahboard characteristics influence risk-taking behavior of Islamic banks?

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to study whether the characteristics of theShariahSupervisory Board (SSB) can influence the risk-taking behaviors of Islamic banks.Design/methodology/approachThe data on governance were collected from 70 Islamic banks’ annual reports across 18 countries for the period from 2000 to 2011 to investigate the relationship between SSB’s characteristics including size, busyness and foreign board and the Islamic banks’ risk activities.FindingsThe size of SSB and the proportion of busy board in SSB positively and significantly influence Islamic banks’ asset return and insolvency risks. Foreign members are more effective in monitoring banks’Shariahcompliance. Further analysis provides some evidence that most of the findings on the associations between the SSB structure and bank risk are derived from countries in the Gulf Cooperation Council whereShariahgovernance is ruled internally at the bank level.Practical implicationsThere is a need for betterShariahboard characteristics in place that complement with other governance mechanisms to well comprehend the main purpose of Islamic banks.Originality/valueSSB board busyness and foreign characteristics appear to influence the risk-taking behaviors of Islamic banks.

Bulgaria’s Foreign Policy and EU Sanctions against Russia

The adoption of the EU sanctions on Russia provides a good case study to assess Bulgarian foreign policy under the conditions imposed by EU membership. This paper emphasizes the limits of both the foreign policy and Europeanization approaches when looking at national foreign policy and EU membership. It underlines the need to develop alternative approaches. These alternative approaches relate, in the first area, to the use of the concept of politicization of EU foreign policy; and in the second, to the conduct of a small country’s foreign policy within the EU framework. Although each of these approaches taken separately accounts poorly for the understanding of how EU membership affects the conduct of national foreign policy, each of them offers potentially interesting insights, without however being entirely conclusive.

A User Feedback Centric Approach for Detecting and Mitigating God Class Code Smell Using Frequent Usage Patterns

Code smells are the fragments in the source code that indicates deeper problems in the underlying software design. These code smells can hinder software evolution and maintenance. Out of different code smell types, the God Class (GC) code smell is one of the many important code smells that directly affects the software evolution and maintenance. The GC is commonly defined as a much larger class in systems that either know too much or do too much as compared to other classes in the system. God Classes are generally accidentally created overtime during software evolution because of the incremental addition of functionalities to it. Generally, a GC indicates a bad design choice and it must be detected and mitigated in order to enhance the quality of the underlying software. However, sometimes the presence of a GC is also considered a good design choice, especially in compiler design, interpreter design and parser implementation. This makes the developer’s feedback important for the correct classification of a class as a GC or a normal class. Therefore, this paper proposes a new approach that detects and proposes refactoring opportunities for GC code smell. The proposed approach makes use of different code metrics in combination along with utilizing user feedback as an important aspect while correctly identifying the GC code smell. The proposed approach that considers combined use of code metrics, is based on two newly proposed code metrics in this paper. The first newly proposed metric is a new approach of measuring the connectivity of a given class with other classes in the system (also termed as coupling). The second newly proposed code metric is proposed to measure the extent to which a given classes make use of foreign member variables. Finally, the proposed approach is also empirically evaluated on two standard open-source commonly used software systems. The obtained result indicates that the proposed approach is capable of correctly identifying the GC code smell.

“Wearing a Bullet-Proof Vest”: Social Media Use in Journalism Production Within African–Intercontinental Investigative Networks

ABSTRACTToday’s “networked journalism” is blurring physical boundaries, with practice progressively negotiated through digital and communication technologies. This paper explores social media use within African–Intercontinental investigative journalism networks (IJNs), as journalists practice amid surveillance and censorship. Rooted in theories of Power in the Age of Social Media and augmented with elements of Structural Holes theory, data were elicited through in-depth interviews with 12 journalists from west and southern African IJNs. The findings are that various encrypted, team-based social media apps are deployed to minimize/evade physical harm and state interference at the initial contact, researching, reporting and writing stages of the production chain. Thematic data analysis revealed a typology of four brokerage roles undertaken by foreign members of IJNs filling structural holes—as Boundary spanners, Bridges, Brokers and Go-betweens. Furthermore, challenges affecting social media use include journalists’ skill set, Internet penetration, foreign members’ decisions, fear of state surveillance, and exposure by adversaries and colleagues. In contributing an empirical narrative of the African perspective to global literature on investigative journalism, this paper concludes that further scholarly attention is warranted, not solely into social media use in African investigative journalism production, but with a deliberate incorporation of the wider socio-political contexts in which practice is occurring.

Prof. Ib Friis elected Foreign Member of the Linnaean Society, London

In my capacity of Editor in Chief of Webbia, I am glad and honoured to introduce to the international readers of this journal the election in 2019 of Prof. Ib Friis of the Natural History Museum of...

Assessment of the Influence of Foreign Directors on Integrated Sustainability Reporting of Consumer Goods Firms Listed on Nigerian Stock Exchange

The purpose of this paper is to explore the influence of foreign directors on integrated sustainability reporting of listed consumer goods firms in Nigeria. Specifically, the study investigated the impact of foreign directors on the economic, social, and governance disclosure of listed consumer goods firms in Nigeria. The study used the ex post facto research design. Population and sample size comprised of 21 listed consumer goods firms on the Nigerian Stock Exchange. The duration of the study is from 2011 to 2017 financial year. Multiple regressions analysis was adopted in testing the formulated hypotheses. The dependent variable sustainability integrated reporting was measured using an Economic, Social, and Governance (ESG) index. The independent variable was measured as the number of foreign directors on board. The results show a significant influence of foreign directors on the economic, social, and governance disclosure of listed consumer goods firms in Nigeria. Based on this, the study recommends the adoption of a genetic heterogeneous board structure to leverage the diverse set of skills brought by foreign board members to decision–making.

Losing Self to Discover National Citizenship: Contestations over Parental Rights among the post-Soviet Foreign Wives in China

ABSTRACT Drawing on the life stories of post-Soviet women from Ukraine and Russia who married Chinese citizens and moved their married lives to China, this article examines how these women engage in intimate geopolitics in the adverse immigration environment for foreign family members. The elaborated argument maintains that the women – driven by the uncertainty surrounding their legal and socio-economic status and the fear of forced separation from their children – resort to their home citizenship or informal dual citizenship arrangements as leverage to defend parental rights against the backdrop of China’s strict single citizenship regime. The women develop strategies to ensure their parental rights through citizenship structures available to them, and seek to remedy their emotional uncertainties amid the environment of limited and tenuous immigrant and family statuses in China. This paper develops analytical potential of intimate geopolitics through an analysis of post-Soviet wives’ subjectivities constituted through the interplay of geopolitical structures and their emotional intensities.

The Effect of Board Diversity on Real Earnings Management: Empirical Evidence From Jordan

This study considers the effect of foreign board members and age diversity on real earnings management (REM), by controlling the firm size, leverage and growth. This study employed quantitative methodology and longitudinal data for non-financial business firms, quoted on the Amman Stock Exchange from 2011 to 2015. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics and Panel Corrected Standard Errors (PCSE) regression. This study found that foreign boards member, age diversity, leverage and growth had negative and significant associations with REM. Based on the results, a firm should appoint young members to the board in addition to older members to pave the way to cross-ideology that can deter REM activities. At least one foreign director should exist within the board of directors because a foreign board member has different qualifications and experiences that may help to deter REM practices.

Effects of Foreign Directors’ Nationalities and Director Types on Corporate Philanthropic Behavior: Evidence from Korean Firms

Addressing the fact that there are few studies exploring the relationship between board characteristics and corporate social responsibility (CSR) in non-Western contexts, this study examines the relationship in South Korean corporate contexts. We concentrate on foreign directors as a board attribute, which is reported as a remarkable change in Korean corporate boards, and propose that foreign directors have different impacts on CSR investment depending on their nationality (Anglo-Americans vs. non-Anglo-Americans) and director types (insiders vs. outsiders). In detail, the presence of directors from Anglo-American countries (e.g., the United States, the United Kingdom) decreases firms’ CSR involvement, whereas the presence of directors from non-Anglo-American countries (e.g., France, Germany) increases firms’ CSR involvement. Moreover, the effects of Anglo-Americans on CSR are strengthened when they are inside (rather than outside) directors. Empirical analyses using a sample of 1828 Korean firms from 2002 to 2015 provide evidence to support the predictions. This study theoretically contributes to CSR and corporate governance literature in that it sheds light on the CSR in non-Western companies and reveals varied effects of foreign directors contingent upon their individual attributes. It also has practical implications for policymakers and corporate managers by providing insights of the changes generated by foreign members in a boardroom.

The Role of Foreign Directors in Corporate Risk Disclosure: Empirical Evidence From Jordan

The current study examined the role of foreign directors in enhancing the level of risk disclosure in the annual reports of Jordanian listed companies. The content analysis method was used to measure the level of risk disclosure by computing the number of risk-related sentences in annual reports. To achieve the study’s objective, random effect model have been applied on a sample of 376 firm-year observations of Jordanian non-financial companies for the period of 2014-2017. The findings are in line with the argument of agency theory and resource dependence theory, which posits that existence of foreign members on the board contributes in increasing the level of risk disclosure. The study aimed to fill the gap in the literature of risk disclosure regarding the relationship between foreign directors and risk disclosure. It is expected that the findings will be useful to researchers, authorities and investors alike in understanding the important role of foreign directors in improving practices of risk disclosure in Jordan.

Терористичні загрози закордонним дипломатичним установам України

Стаття присвячена розгляду проблем забезпечення безпеки закордонних дипломатичних установ (ЗДУ) України в умовах виникнення терористичних загроз у країні акредитації. Зокрема, автором проаналізовані вирішення завдань забезпечення безпеки ЗДУ під час терористичних акцій в їх оточенні, при блокуванні представництв терористами та захопленні приміщень установ і їх співробітників як заручників.&#x0D; Метою статті став пошук ефективних шляхів забезпечення безпеки закордонних дипломатичних установ України та їх персоналу під час терористичних акцій в країнах акредитації.&#x0D; Наукова новизна статті полягає у дослідженні можливостей розробки сучасної системи організації в ЗДУ, адекватної протидії наявним викликам і загрозам терористичного характеру, а також відповідної актуалізації відповідних правових норм та інструкцій. У статті відпрацьовані конкретні рекомендації щодо дій в екстремальних ситуаціях під час терористичних акцій в оточенні ЗДУ, зокрема, при блокуванні представництв терористами чи захопленні їх приміщень злочинцями, а також утримуванні дипломатичних співробітників як заручників.&#x0D; Висновки. Негативні тенденції сучасного світового розвитку такі як: прояви міжнародного тероризму, організованої злочинності, контрабанда наркотиків і зброї, нелегальна міграція і торгівля людьми; зростання екологічних і природних катастроф, загроз епідемій та пандемії; збереження ескалації заморожених конфліктів і поява нових джерел напруженості, виникнення кризових ситуацій, зокрема, активізація щодо України внаслідок подій на сході терористичної та розвідувально-підривної діяльності спецслужб РФ, покладають на СЗР України та інші спеціальні державні органи завдання належним чином забезпечувати національну безпеку держави, її закордонних дипломатичних установ, їх співробітників і членів сімей, а також відряджених за кордон українських громадян, обізнаних з відомостями, що становлять державну таємницю. Напрацьована світова практика та удосконалення нормативного регулювання у сфері зазначених питань сприятимуть вирішенню завдань забезпечення безпеки ЗДУ під час терористичних акцій в їх оточенні, при блокуванні представництв терористами та захопленні приміщень установ і їх співробітників як заручників.

The impact of corporate governance characteristics on banks’ corporate social responsibility disclosure

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the extent and trend of corporate social responsibility (CSR) reporting in commercial banks in Poland and examine the link between corporate governance characteristics, namely size of the bank, ownership, boards size, board diversity and CSR disclosures in the banks.Design/methodology/approachThe annual reports and CSR reports of the banks were examined between 2008 and 2015 using content analysis and panel data analysis.FindingsThe results indicate that banks improved their CSR reporting practices during examined period. There are statistically significant differences in the level of CSR disclosures between banks with a different ownership structure. Both foreign majority shareholder group as well as state majority shareholder group have a positive influence on CSR as compared with Polish majority shareholder (PMS) group (excluding State). Moreover, being listed on stock exchange has a positive influence on CSR as compared with not being listed. Further, the results also revealed that there is a significant positive effect of almost all variables related to the management board, namely, size, female board leadership and foreign board members on CSR disclosure, whereas all supervisory board variables and all considered ownership variables have no statistically significant impact on CSR disclosure.Originality/valueThis research contributes to the existing literature because the banking sector is often excluded from CSR studies due to its specific legal regulations and seemingly little environmental impact. Moreover, there are only few studies analysing the effect of boards characteristics on the banks CSR disclosure, especially in emerging countries. This study is also the first of this kind focusing on the two-tier system. Furthermore, the study provides the instrument to measure CSR in the banking industry. Finally, the research stresses the crucial implications for banking sector, shareholders and regulatory bodies.

Harvey Williams Cushing - founder of anesthetic monitoring, pioneer of neurosurgery (to the 150th of birthday

Harvey Williams Cushing (1869–1939) graduated from Yale College and Harvard Medical School, and worked at the Massachusetts General Hospital of Boston. He created the first anesthesia card, introduced the term “regional anesthesia” into medical practice, described the Cushing triad, and in 1901, the second in the world, performed a successful operation on the pituitary gland for acromegaly. In 1910, he accepted the offer to become the head of the department of surgery at Harvard Medical School and the chief surgeon at Peter Benton Brigham Hospital, located on the campus. In 1933, Cushing moved to Yale, where from 1933 to 1937. was a professor of neurology. In the US, Harvey Williams Cushing is honored as a pioneer of neurosurgery and the greatest neurosurgeon in world history. Cushing developed and improved the technique of many neurosurgical operations, proved the right to the very existence of intracranial surgery as a separate medical specialty. In 1939, he was honored to become an Honorary Member of the Royal Medical College in London. Harvey Williams Cushing died on October 7, 1939 from myocardial infarction. He was awarded honorary degrees in nine American and thirteen European universities; several state orders and medals; as well as many different awards and prizes. Harvey Williams Cushing was a member of the American Philosophical Society, the National Academy of Natural Sciences, and the American Academy of Humanities and Natural Sciences, a foreign member of the Royal Society of London, and also an honorary member of about seventy medical, surgical, and scientific communities in Europe, USA, South America and india.

An Open Knowledge System for Navigational Science: Zheng He’s Maritime Expeditions and Sino-Foreign Overseas Exchange

The first section of this article begins by investigating the term “going down to the Western Oceans” (xia xiyang 下西洋), which was used as early as the time of Zheng He. It also discusses the origin of the concepts of the Eastern and Western Oceans. The second section discusses the influx of overseas geographical knowledge into China before the time of Zheng He, especially over two important periods: first, the coming of Indian geographical knowledge along with Buddhism to China from the Wei-Jin period (220–420 ce), and second, the advent of Islamic geographical knowledge during the Mongol-Yuan period (ca. 1206–1368). The third section discusses the contributions of foreign members in Zheng He’s fleet, especially fanhuozhang 番火長 (foreign pilot). Through an analysis of the records of three military encounters—the suppression of the pirate Chen Zuyi 陳祖義, the attack on Ceylon, and the battle with pirates on a return journey—we find that the term fanhuozhang appears in all three cases, showing that foreign experts were commonly present in all branches or segments of Zheng He’s fleet, and that it must have been their job to navigate in the Indian ocean portion of the journey. Based on these findings, the author suggests that even before the beginning of Ming, Chinese people had developed an understanding of navigation technology and absorbed expertise from other peoples, and that this knowledge formed the technological foundation of Zheng He’s long-distance voyages, evident of the fact that China’s ancient navigational technology was an open knowledge system.

Editorial introductions

Editorial introductions

Effect of Board Diversity on Financial Performance of the Vietnamese Listed Firms

This study investigated the impact of board diversity on the financial performance of listed firms on the Vietnamese stock exchange. Four demographic characteristics of board members (gender, nationality, level of education and level of age) were used as the proxies for diversity. The data were analyzed by different methods including Pooled OLS regression, Fixed Effect Model (FEM), Random Effect Model (REM) and Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) using a sample of 482 companies listed in the period from 2015 to 2017. The results showed that the percentages of female members, foreign members and members with post-graduate degrees on the board, were statistically associated with improvement in financial performance. However, there was no evidence that the percentage of members under 45 years old on the board affected the performance of listed firms on the Vietnamese stock exchange.

How does the use of a foreign language affect team processes and member stress and satisfaction?

How does the use of a foreign language affect team processes and member stress and satisfaction?