Statement Of Objectives Research Articles

Uloga i odgovornost eksterne revizije u otkrivanju i sprečavanju prevara u finansijskim izveštajima kompanija

Reliable, relevant and objective enterprise's financial statements are the most important sources of key information for many internal and external users. That is why the most important task is to prevent numerous financial statements manipulations. Responsibility for revealing and preventing of financial statements frauds have to be taken by take managers and bookkeepers as persons entities that are directly responsible for preparation and presentation of financial statements, as well as auditors and other control entities (forensic accountants, state authorities). Numerous examples of financial statements frauds in recent period show the fact that auditors bear huge responsibility for the control of financial statements accuracy as well as for frauds revealing. In accordance to previously mentioned reasons, the object of this paper analysis is direct and indirect auditors' responsibility and also their role in detection and prevention financial statements frauds.

Appraisal on the wound healing activity of different extracts obtained from Aegle marmelos and Mucuna pruriens by in vivo experimental models.

The use of a simple and reproducible model is inevitable for an objective statement of the effects of external factors on wound healing. Hence, the present study was conducted to evaluate wound healing activities of sequential different extracts of Aegle marmelos leaves (AM) and Mucuna pruriens seeds (MP) by in vivo experimental models. Wistar albino rats were subjected to excision, incision and dead space wounds measuring approximately 250 mm2, 3 cm and implanting sterilized polyvinyl chloride tube on the back of each rat near either side of the vertebral column respectively. The experimental animals were randomized into eight groups (n = 6), control, standard and treatment groups. Hydrogel of different extracts were applied topically once daily. The parameters observed were percentage of wound contraction, epithelization period, tensile strength, hydroxyproline content of the granulation tissue, and histological changes during wound healing. The statistical study revealed that in excision, incision, and dead space wound models all formulations have significant (P < 0.01) wound healing potential. However, methanolic extract formulation was found to be superior to all other treatments as evidenced by rapid wound contraction, lesser number of days required for complete epithelization, increased tensile strength and significant increase in hydroxyproline content. As compared to the reference standard treated group the wound healing process of the experimental groups was decelerated. All extracts obtained from AM and MP facilitated the wound healing process in all experimental models.

Promoting Competition in Digital Markets; A Case Against the Google Case, and the Futile Search of Neutralityy in On-Line Searches

The technological foundations and businesses models upon which digital companies currently function, the so-called ‘platforms’, are characterized by the sort of features that attract antitrust scrutiny. They are usually conformed as multi-sided markets; they pervasively exhibit network effects; the nature and scope of entry barriers is uncertain; dominance in each market is duly granted to the successful company; foreclosure of small firms is always wandering around. Thus, it’s no surprise that digital markets champions such as Facebook, Amazon, Google and Apple have received close attention from the regulators in both sides of the Atlantic. Accordingly, antitrust enforcement efforts both in Europe and the United States have recently increased in number of actions taken and the amount of fines imposed in high-tech industries. Recent decisions in this field have rekindled in-depth and largely unresolved debates concerning the appropriate role of antitrust enforcement in such markets. Nevertheless, the Statement of Objections sent recently by the European Commission to Google, for allegedly abusing its dominant position in the internet-search market goes a step further, jeopardizing the very goals and objectives competition policy is supposed to pursue. Against this background and in light of other recent high-profile cases (Intel, Tomra, Post Danmark, and the everlasting Microsoft) this paper seeks to set an adequate legal and economic framework for the prohibition of monopolization under article 102 of the Treaty of Functioning of the European Union (TFUE). This sort of high tech markets are usually characterised for a heavy reliance in ICT (information and communication technologies), the importance of product design and the development of platforms. In addition, on the basis of ‘winner-takes-it-all’ paradigm, the platform on which they operate may be considered as an ‘essential facility’. As a result, any discrimination or denial of access may be considered abusive.However, the legal treatment to be applied to ‘refusals to supply’ remains as one of the most contentious issues in contemporary EU competition law. It was at the heart of Microsoft’s misbehaviour in 2004 -- and all the subsequent fines that followed -- and, ten years later, if Google’s conduct regarding discrimination of competing firms in favour of its own services may walk the very same path. The four topics addressed in this paper concern three long-lasting controversies and one recent matter: i) under what circumstances a dominant firm is entitled to respond -- albeit, aggressively -- to its competitor’s challenges; ii) the precise scope -- if there’s any -- of the ‘objective justification’ defence; iii) if that sort of conduct is prohibited only when leads to anticompetitive foreclosure, without restrictive effects, is there room for a ‘by object’ interdiction of abuse of a dominant position?; iv) finally, in the specific digital industry, and given the still uncertain economics of multi-sided market and the evolving nature of prevalent businesses models, is really a ‘monopoly’ as bad and harmful as with the bricks-and-mortar or oil-well-and-pipeline predecessors? The ultimate question is, does current antitrust enforcement in these specific markets achieve its goal of fostering competition or rather the undesired effect of chilling innovation?

Experiencia pedagógica: escenario de simulación de entrevista psiquiátrica con la participación de actores del grupo de teatro representativo Altergesto

IntroductionSimulation has been used as a learning tool in different disciplines and professions, including medicine and its specialties. Its usefulness is directly related to the integration of objectives, contents, methodologies and specific resources in each area of knowledge. ObjectiveTo describe the development of an educational experience implemented in the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana Cali (Cali, Colombia) with medical students of Human Behavior II program, between 2012 and 2013. This experience was performed with simulated patients played by actors of the Altergesto theater group, that were interviewed by students under the supervision of psychiatrists and teachers of the subject, using the Simulated Hospital of the University. MethodsA historical development recall of the teaching sequence was made from the first half of 2012 to the second half of 2013, a statement of pedagogical objectives, and a description of the teaching-learning strategies. Results158 interviews were conducted over a period of two years during which it was necessary to raise methodological solutions to adapt this teaching sequence to the content and objectives of the subject. ConclusionsThe high-fidelity simulation, integrating actors who represent psychiatric patients mixed with the technology of a Simulated Hospital was useful to achieve compliance with the objectives proposed in the course of Human Behavior II, as a part of the program of Medicine at the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana Cali. In parallel, the construction of experience as an interdisciplinary project and the practical approach of this strategy may impact on cognitive, emotional, behavioral dimensions of the participants, encouraging meaningful learning. An easy access database for the collected material and the study of the effects of this strategy in the formation of long-term students is needed.

The Settlement Procedure in EC Cartel Cases: An Empirical Assessment

In June 2008, the European Commission (EC) was enabled to introduce a settlement procedure that aims at promoting the procedural efficiency of cartel enforcement in the European Union (EU). We use a data set consisting of 84 cartels decided by the EC from 2000 to 2014 to empirically investigate the impact of the EU settlement procedure on the duration of cartel investigations. Separating the enforcement process into two consecutive stages, we find that the introduction of the settlement procedure is followed by a substantial shortening of the second stage – reaching from the statement of objections (SO) to the decision – while it leaves the duration of the first stage from the beginning of the case to the SO unaffected. Subsequent to a discussion of further evaluation approaches we conclude that the EU Settlement Procedure has increased procedural efficiency of cartel enforcement in the European Union substantially.

Implementation of a framework for multi-species, multi-objective adaptive management in Delaware Bay

Decision analytic approaches have been widely recommended as well suited to solving disputed and ecologically complex natural resource management problems with multiple objectives and high uncertainty. However, the difference between theory and practice is substantial, as there are very few actual resource management programs that represent formal applications of decision analysis. We applied the process of structured decision making to Atlantic horseshoe crab harvest decisions in the Delaware Bay region to develop a multispecies adaptive management (AM) plan, which is currently being implemented. Horseshoe crab harvest has been a controversial management issue since the late 1990s. A largely unregulated horseshoe crab harvest caused a decline in crab spawning abundance. That decline coincided with a major decline in migratory shorebird populations that consume horseshoe crab eggs on the sandy beaches of Delaware Bay during spring migration. Our approach incorporated multiple stakeholders, including fishery and shorebird conservation advocates, to account for diverse management objectives and varied opinions on ecosystem function. Through consensus building, we devised an objective statement and quantitative objective function to evaluate alternative crab harvest policies. We developed a set of competing ecological models accounting for the leading hypotheses on the interaction between shorebirds and horseshoe crabs. The models were initially weighted based on stakeholder confidence in these hypotheses, but weights will be adjusted based on monitoring and Bayesian model weight updating. These models were used together to predict the effects of management actions on the crab and shorebird populations. Finally, we used a dynamic optimization routine to identify the state dependent optimal harvest policy for horseshoe crabs, given the possible actions, the stated objectives and our competing hypotheses about system function. The AM plan was reviewed, accepted and implemented by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission in 2012 and 2013. While disagreements among stakeholders persist, structured decision making enabled unprecedented progress towards a transparent and consensus driven management plan for crabs and shorebirds in Delaware Bay.

Should Google's Secret Sauce Be Organic?

This commentary discusses the European antitrust investigation into Google and the international implications of the case. It focuses on Google's alleged dominance and the allegations concerning Google’s self-preferencing of its Google Shopping results on general web search result pages, which form the subject matter of the Statement of Objections that the Commission sent on 15 April 2015. The EU Commission's international jurisdiction to prescribe is found to be unproblematic. However, the tendency towards overenforcement resulting from the cumulation of national and supranational investigations by competition authorities worldwide counsels caution in borderline cases. And Google is a borderline case. While it seems possible to construct a story of dominance and consumer harm, the paper doubts Google's ability to act to an appreciable extent independently of its competitors and customers. Ultimately, this is an empirical question, and the Commission may have sufficient evidence at its disposal. However, the publicly available evidence does not seem to support a finding of dominance, despite Google's high share of user searches. A finding of abuse would require changing the goalposts: one would have to accept that instead of a constructive refusal to deal, it is already abusive if services are not provided to third parties on identical conditions, or that instead of requiring coercion of consumers to acquire a tied product or service, it is already abusive if consumers are merely nudged to preferring the vertically integrated firm's products. These changes would amount to a paradigm change. Traditionally, competition is to force producers to be responsive to consumer preferences. Consumer choices are taken to reveal their preferences unless coercion can be shown. Allowing intervention already below the threshold of coercion, when consumers are merely nudged to make particular choices, risks substituting the competition authority's assessment for consumer preferences.

Human Rights Aspects of the Hungarian Competition Enforcement in the Practice of the Courts

Increasingly more focus is placed on the human rights aspects of competition enforcement in the past years also in Hungary. By now, the Hungarian courts clarified the human rights aspects of Hungarian competition law from various perspectives. The goal of this study is to give practical insight as to how the Hungarian courts interpret the human rights aspects of Hungarian competition law in particular regarding the application of criminal law procedural guarantees in the context of competition enforcement, the confidential treatment of the data of the protected witness, the statement of objections, the standards of proof, notices issued by the competition authority, dawn raids and fines.

A methodology for design space exploration of real-time location systems

Scope of Research. This paper deals with the problem of design space exploration for a particular class of networked embedded systems called Real-Time Location Systems (RTLS). Methods. The paper contains a clear and detailed plan of anongoing research and could be considered as a review, a vision and a statement of objectives. Analytical and formal methods, simulation and automated verification will be involved in the research. Main Results. Analysis of the state of the art (current design flow, existing simulation tools and verification techniques) has revealed several limitations for performing efficientdesign space exploration of RTLS, especially for safety-critical applications. The review part of the paper also contains a clear problem statement. The main outcome of this research is the proposed vision of a novel methodology for determining the best-suited technology and its configuration from the space of potential solutions. In particular, it is planned to extend an existing simulation framework and apply automated verification techniques. The latter will be used for checking simulation results and also for exploring different system configuration alternatives, that is, to optimize the design, which is a novel approach. A case study for validating the methodology is also proposed. Practical Significance. The proposed methodology will highly increase the breadth of design space exploration of RTLS as well as the confidence on taken design decisions. It will also contribute to optimizing the design.

Using Twitter to engage with customers: a data mining approach

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore customer engagement in Twitter via data mining. Design/methodology/approach – This study’s intended contributions are twofold: to find a clear connection among customer engagement, presumption, and Web 2.0 in a context of service-dominant (S-D) logic; and to identify social networks created by prosumers. To this end, the study employed data mining techniques. Tweets about IKEA were used as a sample. The resulting algorithm based on 300 tweets was applied to 4,000 tweets to identify the patterns of electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM). Findings – Social networks created in IKEA’s tweets consist of three forms of eWOM: objective statements, subjective statements, and knowledge sharing. Most objective statements are disseminated from satisfied or neutral customers, while subjective statements are disseminated from dissatisfied or neutral customers. Satisfied customers mainly carry out knowledge sharing, which seems to reflect presumption behavior. Research limitations/implications – This study provides partial evidence of customer engagement and presumption in IKEA’s tweets. The results indicate that there are three forms of eWOM in the networks: objective statements, subjective statements, and knowledge sharing. It seems that IKEA successfully engaged customers in knowledge sharing, while negative opinions were mainly disseminated in a limited circle. Practical implications – Firms should make more of an effort to identify prosumers via data mining, since these networks are hidden behind “self-proclaimed” followers. Prosumers differ from opinion leaders, since they actively participate in product development. Thus, firms should seek prosumers in order to more closely fit their products to consumer needs. As a practical strategy, firms could employ celebrities for promotional purposes and use them as a platform to convert their followers to prosumers. In addition, firms are encouraged to make public how they resolve problematic customer complaints so that customers can feel they are a part of firms’ service development. Originality/value – Theoretically, the study makes unique contributions by offering a synergic framework of S-D logic and Web 2.0. The conceptual framework collectively relates customer engagement, presumption, and Web 2.0 to social networks. In addition, the idea of examining social networks based on different forms of eWOM has seldom been touched in the literature. Methodologically, the study employed seven algorithms to choose the most robust model, which was later applied to 4,000 tweets.

When Competition Fails to Optimise Quality: A Look at Search Engines

The European Commission’s Statement of Objections forms the latest addition to the ongoing debate on the possible misuse of Google’s position in the search engine market. The scholarly debate, however, has largely been over the exclusionary effects of search degradation. Less attention has been attributed to the dimension of quality – whether and how a search engine, faced with rivals, could degrade quality on the free side. We set out to address this fundamental issue: With the proliferation of numerous web search engines and their free usage and availability, could any search engine degrade quality? We begin our analysis with a review of the network effects that may impact the relative power of a search engine. We next identify three necessary, but not sufficient, variables for quality degradation to occur in search results. With these three variables in mind, we consider instances when a search engine could degrade quality despite competition from rival engines.

Reporting numeric values of complete crowns. Part 1: Clinical preparation parameters

Statement of problemAn implemented objective measuring system for measuring clinical tooth preparations does not exist. PurposeThe purpose of this study was to compare clinically achieved tooth preparations for ceramic crowns by general dentists with the recommended values in the literature with an objective measuring method. Material and methodsTwo hundred thirty-six stone dies prepared for anterior and posterior complete ceramic crown restorations (IPS e.max Press; Ivoclar Vivadent) were collected from dental laboratories. The dies were scanned and analyzed using the coordinate geometry method. Cross-sectioned images were captured, and the average total occlusal convergence angle, margin width, and abutment height for each preparation was measured and presented with associated 95% confidence intervals. ResultsThe average total occlusal convergence angles for each tooth type was above the recommended values reported in the literature. The average margin widths (0.40 to 0.83 mm) were below the minimum recommended values (1 to 1.5 mm). The tallest preparations were maxillary canines (5.25 mm), while the shortest preparations were mandibular molars (1.87 mm). ConclusionsComplete crown preparations produced in general practice do not achieve the recommended values found in the literature. However, these recommended values are not based on clinical trials, and the effects of observed shortfalls on the clinical longevity of these restorations are not predictable.

BREAK IT UP

LEARNING OBJECTIVE & SUMMARY STATEMENT Sedentary behavior will be defined and differentiated from physical inactivity. The reader will learn about the negative health implications associated with sedentary behavior and how to break up continuous bouts of sedentary activities with physical movement. Excessive periods of sedentary behavior can be detrimental to one’s health, independent of achieving recommended amounts of daily physical activity. Simply reducing sedentary time by incorporating multiple short breaks of physical movement at least every 60 minutes during continuous bouts of sedentary behavior may reduce the risk for disease.

Asset Allocation of Portfolio Management

This review article mentioned about introduction of asset allocation, assets allocation models, determination of asset allocation, portfolio management process, policy statement of asset allocation, return objectives and investment constraints, need for a policy statement, constructing a policy statement, preliminaries of financial plan, individual investor life cycle, life cycle investment goals and, conclusion of asset allocation.

Patient-focused websites related to stress urinary incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse: a DISCERN quality analysis.

The quality of information related to pelvic floor disorders is varied and understudied. Using a validated instrument we evaluated the quality of selected websites addressing treatment options for pelvic organ prolapse (POP) and stress urinary incontinence (SUI). English-language, patient-focused professional, governmental, and consumer websites related to POP and SUI were identified using the International Urogynecology Association (IUGA) list of continence societies worldwide, search terms, and provider nomination. Websites were evaluated by 10 providers at an academic medical center, representing urogynecology (6), urology (3), and general gynecology (1). Quality assessment utilized the DISCERN instrument, a validated instrument consisting of 16 questions addressing the quality of consumer health information. Websites of 13 organizations met inclusion criteria and were assessed, 12 relating to SUI and 8 to POP. The websites with the highest mean total DISCERN score for POP were those of the IUGA, the American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons, and the American Urogynecologic Association, and for SUI, the National Association For Continence, the American Urological Association, and the IUGA. High correlations were obtained for the total DISCERN score and the overall quality scores for POP (0.76) and SUI (0.82). The most commonly omitted components of the DISCERN instrument were a clear statement of the content objectives, references or sources of the content, and a discussion of what patients could expect if they opted for no intervention. Available English-language professional websites written to inform patients about management choices for SUI and POP miss key components of quality patient information.

A good deal of humility: Cochran on observational studies

A good deal of humility: Cochran on observational studies

Developing Objectives with Multiple Stakeholders: Adaptive Management of Horseshoe Crabs and Red Knots in the Delaware Bay

Structured decision making (SDM) is an increasingly utilized approach and set of tools for addressing complex decisions in environmental management. SDM is a value-focused thinking approach that places paramount importance on first establishing clear management objectives that reflect core values of stakeholders. To be useful for management, objectives must be transparently stated in unambiguous and measurable terms. We used these concepts to develop consensus objectives for the multiple stakeholders of horseshoe crab harvest in Delaware Bay. Participating stakeholders first agreed on a qualitative statement of fundamental objectives, and then worked to convert those objectives to specific and measurable quantities, so that management decisions could be assessed. We used a constraint-based approach where the conservation objectives for Red Knots, a species of migratory shorebird that relies on horseshoe crab eggs as a food resource during migration, constrained the utility of crab harvest. Developing utility functions to effectively reflect the management objectives allowed us to incorporate stakeholder risk aversion even though different stakeholder groups were averse to different or competing risks. While measurable objectives and quantitative utility functions seem scientific, developing these objectives was fundamentally driven by the values of the participating stakeholders.

A Critical Review of Recent Substantive and Procedural Developments in EU Cartels

The aim of this article is to explore the most recent appeals concerning illegal cartels under Article 101 TFEU by revealing the relevant principles underpinning both the substantive and the procedural review of price-fixing agreements. Arguments advancing a perceived ‘criminalisation’ of the EU fines on cartels coupled with the success rate of appeals on the basis of an erroneous calculation of the level of fines, as well as the overall length of cartel proceedings, raise other pertinent issues regarding the need for institutional reform, in particular a specialised EU Competition Tribunal. The present contribution seeks to highlight several hurdles in appeals as reflected by the interpretation of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, in particular the right to good administration of justice before an independent and impartial tribunal, the right to a fair presentation of evidence through the sending of a Statement of Objections (SO), the right to have access to the file, the right to a reasoned decision and within a reasonable time, and the proportionality of the administrative fine. Therefore, such rights of defence as are enjoyed by corporations and mirrored by the human rights catalogue enshrined in the EU Charter make them even more contestable before the EU Courts.

Autism research funding allocation: can economics tell us if we have got it right?

There is a concern that the allocation of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) research funding may be misallocating resources, overemphasizing basic science at the expense of translational and clinical research. Anthony Bailey has proposed that an economic evaluation of autism research funding allocations could be beneficial for funding agencies by identifying under- or overfunded areas of research. In response to Bailey, we illustrate why economics cannot provide an objective, technical solution for identifying the "best" allocation of research resources. Economic evaluation has its greatest power as a late-stage research tool for interventions with identified objectives, outcomes, and data. This is not the case for evaluating whether research areas are over- or underfunded. Without an understanding of how research funding influences the likelihood and value of a discovery, or without a statement of the societal objectives for ASD research and level of risk aversion, economic analysis cannot provide a useful normative evaluation of ASD research.

An Evaluation of English for Specific Purposes (ESP) As a Modern Trend in English Language Teaching (ELT)

English Language Teaching (ELT) has come a long way, moving from grammatical or linguistic approach to communicative approach (which ESP is all about). This study looked into the origin, and development of ELT, the concept of English for specific purposes (ESP) as an approach to language teaching, and the differences between ESP and General English. Effort was also made at highlighting the steps in this modern trend in ELT which distinguishes from other trends, ranging from needs analysis, statement of goals and objectives of the language course, converting the needs into syllabus, and the evaluation of the teaching process. ESP was shown as a learner/learning-centred approach to the English language pedagogy.