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Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) Corporate Governance and Investment Decision-Making in the United Kingdom, South Africa and Nigeria
Get PDFAdopting Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) has been relatively slow due to corporate governance issues and a limited understanding of investment decision-making processes. This study aims to enhance the performance of REITs by developing a Corporate Governance Scoring Framework and improving the investment decision-making process. A mixed-method research strategy was employed to gather data on investment decisionmaking processes and corporate governance in the UK, SA, and Nigeria from 2014-2019. Qualitative data was collected through semi-structured telephone interviews with key decision-makers in the three regimes and analysed using content and discourse analysis techniques. Quantitative data was obtained from the annual financial reports of listed
REITs during the study period and analysed using OLS, fixed effects, and random effect models. The Integrated Corporate Governance Index (ICGI), a self-scoring framework,
was used to measure the quality of corporate governance strength.
The qualitative analysis identified four stages in the investment decision-making process: strategy, search, analysis and adjustment, and consultation or decision and review. The interviews revealed that the board, remuneration, and fee proxies were relevant factors across all three regimes, with audit and ownership also significant in the developing regimes of SA and Nigeria. The board's reputation, experience, and management role were highlighted as crucial during the decision-making process. Performance factors such as 'Operational Stability,' 'Tenant Quality,' 'Experience,' and metrics including 'Rental Income,' 'Dividend Payment,' and 'Yield' were identified. The quantitative analysis demonstrated that adherence to corporate governance codes was highest in the UK, followed by SA and Nigeria. Regression analysis results showed that a higher ICGI score improved return on assets (ROA) and return on equity (ROE) in the UK but not in SA and Nigeria. The index did not significantly impact firm value in the UK and pooled country analysis, but it led to better firm valuation in SA. In the Nigeria REIT regime, the ICGI harmed firm valuation. The study concluded that adherence to country-level corporate governance was more predictive of operational performance than firm valuation.
In summary, this study contributes to the existing knowledge by providing insights into the investment decision-making processes of REITs and the importance of corporate governance in improving their performance. The developed Corporate Governance Scoring Framework offers a valuable tool for evaluating the quality of corporate governance in REITs, but further refinement is necessary to keep up with evolving policies
Introduction aux Études critiques en autisme (ÉCA) issues de la recherche anglophone
Get PDFWithin the historic context of a distinct lack of autistic people’s representation in research, a body of emancipatory research is emerging under the banner of critical autism studies (CAS). The focus of CAS is the co-creation of scientific knowledge to produce research by and for the autistic community. Most CAS research emanates from the United Kingdom and Australia (e.g., Chown et al., 2017; Pellicano et al., 2014), with little present within Francophone academia in French as emancipatory design in disability research has only emerged since the 2010s. This paper aims to introduce CAS from the Anglophone academia.
We begin by stating the fundamental principles of the neurodiversity movement in which CAS has taken root (Chamak, 2010; et al.; Nicolaidis, 2012). Next, we contrast the predominant medical model with the social model of disability (Chamak, 2010, Rosqvist et al., 2020). We then discuss CAS principles such as acknowledgement of power imbalances, recognition of autistic people’s meaningful input to research, and inclusiveness through adapting the research environment (Waltz 2009; Fletcher-Watson et al. 2019; Pickard et al., 2021; Rosqvist et al., 2019). We consider potential obstacles to CAS within the academic culture, such as lack of trusting relationships, practical and systemic barriers, and limited investment to support collaborative research (Pickard et al., 2021; Rosqvist et al., 2019).
This paper concludes by discussing the need for a change in the language used to refer to autism (Fletcher-Watson et al., 2019; Woods, 2017) and environmental modifications to facilitate fair and socially just inclusion of neurodivergent people (Fletcher-Watson et al., 2019), within research and wider society
AIRBODS: Findings and guidance for airborne infection resilience, A publication of Airborne Infection Reduction through Building Operation and Design for SARS-CoV-2 (AIRBODS)
Get PDFThis guidance provides insights into airborne infection risks and proposes mitigation measures to improve airborne infection resilience of indoor and semi-outdoor spaces. In some poorly-ventilated and/or highly occupied spaces, the provision of increased ventilation performance can be the key to reducing airborne infection risk down to 'acceptable' (although currently undefined)levels. This is a complex area of study with many areas of uncertainty that form the basis of ongoing research. That said, the AIRBODS programme, in the context of the global research efforts associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, has generated a sound basis for improving airborne infection resilience. Key aspects of the guide with its many recommendations include:
• Experiments carried out in a test chamber showing how screens can improve or, even, worsen airborne infection risk.
• Field studies undertaken as part of the Events Research Programmewhichunderpinned the opening up of the UK hospitality sector in the summer of 2021. Good practice advice is provided on how to drive high-resolution CO2 and microbiological studies and then appropriately interpret results.
• Analyticalmodelswere developed to understand how infection risk, using a mass balance approach with many different parameters, might be mitigated in some circumstances when compared to reference spaces. These models were then developed into a 'full building' tool which can be downloaded as part of this guidance.
• Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) models were developed to provide insights into the physics of droplets or aerosols at microscale. Following completion of a test chamber validation exercise, models were developed to investigate breathing or coughing mannequins at single human moving towards audience or crowd scale. Local ventilation effectiveness and associated airborne infection risk aspects of some real spaces may significantly differ from assumed 'fully-mixed' equivalent spaces. This, along with a number of other issues, will form part of ongoing research activities.
• Focus groups were also used to provide some wider context and support some of our recommendations.
AIRBODS has produced a repository of data and modelling methods with the mindset of enabling building professionals to inform their design and operation decisions towards improving airborne infection resilience in their buildings
Book Review: Principles and Practice of Nurse Prescribing: Gould and Bain
Get PDFBook Review: Principles and Practice of Nurse Prescribing: Gould and Bai
Evaluating the implementation of IBA interventions with students in a university setting
Get PDFThis programme of research reports a series of studies aimed at examining Identification and Brief Advice (IBA) interventions in university settings, among those delivering and receiving interventions. Three studies utilising both quantitative and qualitative methods investigated a) the motivations for alcohol use amongst students in two university settings, b) the views, opinions and reflections of interventionists and recipients of IBA, and c) the feasibility of implementing an IBA intervention and its effect on alcohol consumption amongst pre-partiers and drinking gamers.
The first study used quantitative e-questionnaires to examine alcohol motivations using a cross-sectional design. The main findings demonstrated that motivations for pre-partying and drinking games differed from general drinking motivations, with pre-partiers and drinking gamers reporting increased AUDIT-C measures. Using a series of focus groups comprised of students, recipients of IBA and IBA interventionists, the second study provided a qualitative exploration of views, opinions, and reflections on IBA interventions. Recipients of IBA interventions reported more problematic usage compared to students and IBA interventionists. Thematic analysis highlighted two common themes across all focus groups. The first theme, Intervention Approach / Reflection, included evaluations on how interventions were constructed, developed, and implemented. The second theme, Social Convention of drinking included reflections on how alcohol experiences differ in social settings and the need to tailor interventions to groups specifically with the use of opportunistic methods.
The third study was a feasibility study implementing an IBA intervention with students. Findings demonstrated that IBA interventions were associated with lower AUDIT-C scores at a 2-month follow up.
Overall, the original contributions from this programme of research have been the sequence of research studies that have identified, evaluated, and feasibly implemented IBA initiatives. The evidence provided by the research has illustrated the need for intervention with pre-partiers and drinking gamers given the differing motivations and increased AUDIT-C measures. The research conducted in this thesis contributes to the alcohol motivations and IBA intervention implementation literature
‘The Great Unknown’- Thea von Harbou’s script for Dr Mabuse, der Spieler (Fritz Lang, Germany,1922)
Get PDFThe article investigates the collaboration on the script for Dr Mabuse, the Gambler (Germany, 1922) between Fritz Lang an d his scriptwriter Thea von Harbou
Spatial regulation of the glycocalyx component podocalyxin is a switch for prometastatic function
Get PDFThe glycocalyx component and sialomucin podocalyxin (PODXL) is required for normal tissue development by promoting apical membranes to form between cells, triggering lumen formation. Elevated PODXL expression is also associated with metastasis and poor clinical outcome in multiple tumor types. How PODXL presents this duality in effect remains unknown. We identify an unexpected function of PODXL as a decoy receptor for galectin-3 (GAL3), whereby the PODXL-GAL3 interaction releases GAL3 repression of integrin-based invasion. Differential cortical targeting of PODXL, regulated by ubiquitination, is the molecular mechanism controlling alternate fates. Both PODXL high and low surface levels occur in parallel subpopulations within cancer cells. Orthotopic intraprostatic xenograft of PODXL-manipulated cells or those with different surface levels of PODXL define that this axis controls metastasis in vivo. Clinically, interplay between PODXL-GAL3 stratifies prostate cancer patients with poor outcome. Our studies define the molecular mechanisms and context in which PODXL promotes invasion and metastasis
Developing an evidence-Informed decolonising curriculum wheel – A reflective piece
Get PDFDecolonising the curriculum is not a fad (Moosavi, 2020) nor a metaphor (Tuck and Yang, 2012). It is the deep interrogation of curriculum with Black and minoritised students, to expose how the colonialist patriarchal epistemological worldview has shaped the curriculum, the results of which are seen in the different educational outcomes for these groups compared to their white peers. Thus, this approach to curriculum transformation decentres the hegemony disadvantaging and harming Black and minoritised students. Decolonising the curriculum reinserts knowledges and authors that are pushed to the margins/devalued, so that Black and minoritised students can be represented in the curriculum, representation leads to belonging, a contributor for student success (Pedler et al., 2022). This paper reflects on the development of an evidence informed ‘decolonising the curriculum wheel – a reflection framework’, as a method to support and guide engagement and continuous evaluation of decolonising curricula activity/ies across a higher education institution, to potentially improve belonging for Black and minoritised students. The article shares how through a scoping literature review and thematic analysis of reports from student focus groups, components for a decolonising method were identified. The article also lays bare the challenges that occurred in this journey towards developing the wheel
An innovative tool to evaluate and optimize GHG emissions in the food supply
Get PDFFood systems’ contribution to GHG emissions is estimated to be around 30% of the total emissions. Heating and cooling technologies in food supply chains are highly important in maintaining the safety and quality of perishable food, but these operations are also energy-intensive and GHG emitters.
Simulation tools can be essential for the evaluation of the efficiency and sustainability of food supply chains.
Such tools can help in identifying critical points in those chains where efforts should be concentrated to reduce energy consumption and emissions. The software tool presented in this paper can perform a detailed analysis of the food supply chains with a focus on quality, energy consumption, and CO2 emissions. Based on a tool previously developed in the European FRISBEE project about refrigeration technologies, the software is extended to the simulation of non-perishable foods, heating processes, use of renewable energy sources, and use of heat recovery. This simulation tool will suggest possible improvements of simulated chains to reduce GHG emissions, based on roadmaps developed in ENOUGH European project
Fabrication and testing of a multifunctional SiO2@ZnO core-shell nanospheres incorporated polymer coating for sustainable marine transport
Get PDFWe report the development of a coating system relying on the incorporation of SiO2@ZnO coreshel nanospheres in polyurethane media as a novel approach to achieve longevity and sustainability in marine transport. This polymeric coating showed significant improvement in surface abrasion resistance, the transition from a hydrophilic state to a hydrophobic state (~125.2± 2°), improved antifungal, antibacterial and antialgae effects which make the proposed
coating ideal to protect steel surfaces against biofouling. To substantiate our claims, we performed X-Ray diffraction, Transmission electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning acoustic microscopy, Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), contact angle measurements, antimicrobial (antialgal, antibacterial, antifungal) tests and Taber abrasion tests (ASTM D1044 and D4060) to highlight the mechanical and biological functionality as well as the bonding configuration of this coating. The wear analysis of the Taber abraded coating using SEM and optical microscopy showed significant improvement in the adhesion and shear resistance achieved by the SiO2@ZnO core-shell nanospheres incorporated PU coating which was a contrasting feature
compared to using PU alone. The overall investigations we performed led us to find out that the addition of 4% (wt.) SiO2@ZnO core-shell nanoparticles to the PU media deposited on the low carbon steel surface demonstrated remarkable antimicrobial performance with almost no bacterial growth, significant reductions in growth for algae to about 9.2% and fungus to about 10.2%