1,721,287 research outputs found
Defined-benefit pension plan funding: does managerial ability matter?
No full textWe examine the impact of managerial ability on defined-benefit pension plans in US firms and find that plan funding levels increase with their sponsors' managerial ability. The finding is robust to various model specifications and control for endogeneity. Further analyses show that high-ability managers make higher employer contributions and adopt more conservative and prudent plan assumptions and investment strategies, and that their pension management is value-enhancing. We conclude that more able managers are cognisant of obligations toward pension beneficiaries and fulfil such obligations with better-funded plans, which ultimately benefits shareholders.</p
A survey of Deep Neural Network watermarking techniques
Full text linkProtecting the Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) associated to Deep Neural Networks (DNNs) is a pressing need pushed by the high costs required to train such networks and by the importance that DNNs are gaining in our society. Following its use for Multimedia (MM) IPR protection, digital watermarking has recently been considered as a mean to protect the IPR of DNNs. While DNN watermarking inherits some basic concepts and methods from MM watermarking, there are significant differences between the two application areas, thus calling for the adaptation of media watermarking techniques to the DNN scenario and the development of completely new methods. In this paper, we overview the most recent advances in DNN watermarking, by paying attention to cast them into the bulk of watermarking theory developed during the last two decades, while at the same time highlighting the new challenges and opportunities characterising DNN watermarking. Rather than trying to present a comprehensive description of all the methods proposed so far, we introduce a new taxonomy of DNN watermarking and present a few exemplary methods belonging to each class. We hope that this paper will inspire new research in this exciting area and will help researchers to focus on the most innovative and challenging problems in the field
Non-operating earnings and firm risk
No full textWe find that non-operating earnings reduce total earnings volatility, stock price volatility, idiosyncratic risk, and crash risk. The risk-reducing effects of non-operating earnings are higher than those of operating earnings for risk measures based on stock market data. Non-operating earnings serve to mitigate risks among firms with operating losses, high financial leverage, high growth uncertainty, and low-ability managers
A comparison of different methods to determine diffusion length in dye-sensitized solar cells
No full textA new steady state method for determination of the electron diffusion length in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs) is described and illustrated with data obtained using cells containing three different types of electrolyte. The method is based on using near-IR absorbance methods to establish pairs of illumination intensity for which the total number of trapped electrons is the same at open circuit (where all electrons are lost by interfacial electron transfer) as at short circuit (where the majority of electrons are collected at the contact). Electron diffusion length values obtained by this method are compared with values derived by intensity modulated methods and by impedance measurements under illumination. The results indicate that the values of electron diffusion length derived from the steady state measurements are consistently lower than the values obtained by the non steady-state methods. For all three electrolytes used in the study, the electron diffusion length was sufficiently high to guarantee electron collection efficiencies greater than 90%. Measurement of the trap distributions by near-IR absorption confirmed earlier observations of much higher electron trap densities for electrolytes containing Li+ ions. It is suggested that the electron trap distributions may not be intrinsic properties of the TiO2 nanoparticles, but may be associated with electron-ion interactions
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Progress in research on the stability of organometal perovskite solar cells
No full textOrganometal lead halides based perovskite solar cells (PSC) are a recent discovery in photovoltaic technology that have demonstrated impressive power conversion efficiency achieved by cost-effective solution method (e.g. roll-to-roll production) from readily available raw materials. Nevertheless, the PSC devices have shown limited operating life-times due to degradation of the perovskite materials. Since long operational durability is essential for this new and promising PV technology to fulfil its mission to deliver clean, low cost renewable energy, this review presents the most recent research on understanding of the factors that may cause the degradation process in perovskite materials and PSC devices. Strategies that may improve the stability of PSCs through optimization of the device architectures and development of new materials are also discussed
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Full text linkWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
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