Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Write down'

Orientador: Maria Irma Hadler Coudry<br>Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Estudos da Linguagem<br>Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-16T22:00:41Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Ghirello-Pires_CarlaSalatiAlmeida_D.pdf: 8350925 bytes, checksum: c59c67c66fc682717cb565e3964b4fdf (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010<br>Resumo: Esta tese apresenta e analisa o acompanhamento fonoaudiológico longitudinal de duas crianças com Síndrome de Down: ML e AM. Objetiva compreender a relação estabelecida entre linguagem oral e escrita no início dessas crianças do mundo das letras. Buscou-se identificar como os sujeitos da pesquisa adquiriram autonomia na fala por meio da mediação considerando, para tanto, o papel do outro/interlocutor. No início desse processo, a escrita funcionou como sustentação da materialidade da fala e, posteriormente, ganhou corpo como uma nova possibilidade de linguagem. Este trabalho tem ancoragem teórica na Neurolinguística Discursiva que concebe a linguagem, sintaticamente, como indeterminada e heterogênea, e semanticamente, humana, como lugar de interação e de interlocução em uma relação dinâmica e constitutiva entre sujeitos. A análise dos dados foi feita com base no conceito de dado-achado, produzido no momento da interação, e, no momento da análise, como um achado acionado pela teorização. No início do trabalho, observou-se que ML e AM apresentavam diferenças significativas em relação à oralidade indicando uma discrepância em relação à fala e seu funcionamento. Este fato, porém, não foi impeditivo e nem demarcou diferenças significativas em relação à leitura e à escrita. Além disso, constatou-se que os processos intermediários de significação realizados por essas crianças para domínio do sistema alfabético se estendessem por um tempo maior do que o esperado em relação às crianças tidas como normais e da mesma idade. Os sujeitos demonstraram avanços significativos em relação ao domínio e à autonomia na escrita, devido à mediação e à intervenção do adulto ao materializar e dar visibilidade à suas dificuldades com desafios a serem avançados com segurança, respeitando o ritmo e a individualidade. No final do trabalho, essas crianças, que não sabiam ler e nem escrever, demonstraram certa autonomia nesse domínio que, no entanto, necessita de acompanhamento para um avanço contínuo<br>Abstract: This research presents and analyzes the development of the speech of two children with Down syndrome: named as M.L. and A.M. It aims to understand the children's conception between oral and written language. It searches to identify how the subjects acquire speech autonomy considering an adult's interference. At the beginning of the process, the writing was a support of the materiality of speech, and later on as a new possibility of language. This work has basis on the foundations of Discursive Neurolinguistics theories that conceive language, syntactically, as indeterminate and heterogeneous, semantically, human, as a place of interaction and dialogue in a dynamic and constitutive relationship between subjects. Data analysis was based on the concepts of interaction theory. In early work, the children showed oral differences indicating a discrepancy in relation to speech and its functioning. That fact, however, was not relevant and did not cause meaningful differences to reading and writing processes. It took a longer period to achieve the results than expected comparing to children conceived as normal and with the same age. The subjects showed significant improvements in writing autonomy, caused by adults' intervention in order to materialize and to recognize their difficulties with challenges, respecting their rhythm and individuality. At the end of the study, the children who could neither read nor write have shown some independence requiring supervision for continuous development<br>Doutorado<br>Neurolinguistica<br>Doutor em Linguística

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2008.<br>Title from electronic title page (viewed Sep. 16, 2008). "... in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of English and Comparative Literature." Discipline: English; Department/School: English.

At the end of the 20th century and beginning of the 21st century, China implemented several new asset write-down regulations. This study addresses the claim that these regulations significantly enhanced the usefulness of financial statements for investors in China. The effect of the regulations on usefulness of financial statements has implications for financial accountants, standard-setters, educators, and auditors. This study derives and tests some of the empirical implications of the claim. I operationalize usefulness of accounting information in terms of the valuerelevance framework, in which information usefulness is construed as a tradeoff between relevance and reliability. These two dimensions are the primary criteria underlying the FASB’s Conceptual Framework for choosing alternative accounting rules. Asset write-down, if correctly applied to over-stated assets, should increase the decision relevance to investors; however, measurement errors due to either unintentional mistakes involving professional judgment or intentional misrepresentations involving earnings management may decrease the reliability of reported amounts. While there is substantial value-relevance research, the role of reliability is generally absent. Reliability of regression estimates, also known as measurement error, is often implicitly assumed and not measured. Following nonnested model selection techniques and relative measurement error research, I explicitly measure the relative reliability of asset write-down accounting in various valuation models. Therefore, this study contributes to value-relevance research. First, I examine the incremental value relevance of asset write-down estimates through their associations with market values: the ability of asset write-down provisions to explain market value of equity; the ability of asset write-down gains and losses to explain annual market-adjusted return; and the ability of both the above provisions and earnings to explain market value of equity. All the models provide evidence for value relevance of asset write-down estimates, indicating an acceptable level of information usefulness with mixed effects of relevance and reliability. I apply my tests to a balanced panel sample of exchange-listed firms in China over the period 1998-2001. The sample is limited to A shares—the shares subject to the new rules. Next, the above three valuation models are applied again in a reliability analysis. Model appropriateness tests, i.e. non-nested model tests, are used to answer the question: did asset write-down practices improve reliability in the valuation models? I find that the asset write-down practices are approximately comparable in reliability to historical cost methods in the balance sheet valuation model but somewhat less reliable in the income statement valuation model. The results are ambiguous when both assets and earnings are included in a third valuation model. My relative measurement error tests yield similar results. I conclude that the asset write-down regulations in China have not improved the usefulness of financial statements to investors in terms of reliability. Because the asset write-down rules are subject to interpretation and judgment, I consider the motivation for write-downs in the final part of the study. The results support a relation between discretionary motivations and the amount of current or cumulative write down. A sub-sample analysis shows that asset write-down rules improve usefulness of financial information in the absence of discretionary motivations.

The objective of IAS 36 is to guide a company on how to apply procedures to ensure that its assets are carried at no more than their recoverable amount. The standard IAS 36 is however obscure and full of gaps to be filled with assumptions made by the CFO. Considering the obscurity of IAS 36, the audit of goodwill impairment tests and possible write downs can have different outcomes depending on the relationship between the auditor and CFO. This paper contributes to the literature by investigating how the auditor-CFO relationship influences the audit of goodwill impairment tests and possible write downs. The primary data consist of eight semi-structured interviews with four auditor-CFO pairs, in four Swedish listed companies. The auditor- CFO relationship and related negotiations are found to highly influence the audit of goodwill impairment tests and possible write downs. The findings indicate that the respondents view the auditor-CFO relationship as being proactive. Depending on what role the auditor is ascribed in the relationship by the CFO, the goodwill impairment tests and possible write downs have a different outcome, where optimistic values of the impairment tests are either upheld by implementation of relevant strategies or write downs are conducted.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-02T19:46:21Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 4918.pdf: 18586280 bytes, checksum: f4242981207296c56231cd79a6dacceb (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-02-18<br>Financiadora de Estudos e Projetos<br>Literature presents that students with Down Syndrome (DS) learn to write and read in a slower pace than students without the disability. From these considerations, the present work considers the following question: to what extent the proposition and application of stimulator activities of the reading and writing, based on Emília Ferreiro theory, about the four levels of writing develops and enhances the knowledge of a young DS group? To answer this question, the present study was divided into two stages. In Stage one the goal was to conduct a survey of Dissertations, Theses and Articles (national and international) concerning the DS thematic, focusing on reading, writing and literacy in the period from 2001 to 2011. Bibliographic research was used. The tools used for search were: Portal Capes, SciELo, Google Scholar e Journal Portal Capes. In short, the life sciences showed a large concentration of Dissertations, Theses and Articles in Biological area, followed by the Humanities. In Stage two the goals was to investigate the acquisition of reading and writing of a young DS group from a specialized institution, checking on what level of writing and reading it was. The case study had six young DS participants, being two of the male gender and four of the female. Fictitious names were used to preserve their identity. The tools used for the research were: notes of interventions; document of activities developed on week; document of students attendance; Test of the 4 words and one phrase ; An adapted test from a new magazine (Test of reading); Literacy Pre-syllabic Program; Literacy Syllabic Program; and Literacy Syllabic-alphabetic Program. The materials used were assembled to provide functional support for the proposed activities. After prior approval by the Ethics Committee, the data collection was done thought three testes and a number of intervention sessions. The data was qualitatively analyzed for the identification of an evolution (or not) in writing and reading of the students. A quantitative analysis was also done trough a compilation of data about the reading aptitude of students who were in syllabic and syllabic-alphabetic level. Results were divided in three parts: writing of the name; writing of four words and a phrase; and textual reading. Fabiana regarding the writing of the name passed from syllabic level to syllabic-alphabetic; regarding the writing of four words and a phrase passed too from syllabic level to syllabic-alphabetic; regarding textual reading passed from 20% to 51% of reading units present inside the text. Raquel regarding the writing of the name and regarding the writing of four words and a phrase stayed on pre-syllabic level, showing improvement in her fine motor skills; regarding textual reading she started to identify letters A, I, O U. Lucas regarding the writing of the name and regarding the writing of four words and a phrase stayed on pre-syllabic level, but began to write down the letter A; regarding textual reading the student didn t identify any letter. Talita regarding the writing of the name passed from syllabic-alphabetic level to alphabetic; regarding the writing of four words and a phrase stayed on pre-syllabic level (initially presenting differentiation between words , with posterior differentiation between words and letters ); regarding textual reading started to recognize letter E, besides further the others that she already knew. Ricardo regarding the writing of the name and regarding of writing of four words and a phrase keep on pre-syllabic level, starting to write letter A and I; regarding textual reading on the first test identified letter A and on the final test the letters A, E, I, O and U. Rose regarding the writing of the name stayed on alphabetic level; regarding the writing of four words and a phrase passed syllabic-alphabetic level to alphabetic level; regarding textual reading improved from 51,1% to 64% the reading of the units presents inside the text. To summarize, the structure activities helped the young DS students to improve their reading and writing, given that stimulating activities of reading and writing were always concrete and/or adapted. Therefore, the students learned.<br>A literatura aponta que a aprendizagem da leitura e escrita em estudantes com Síndrome de Down (SD) ocorre de uma forma mais lenta quando comparada a estudantes sem deficiência qualquer. A partir destas considerações surgiu a seguinte problemática: até que ponto a proposição e aplicação de atividades estimuladoras de leitura e escrita fundamentadas na teoria de Emília Ferreiro sobre os níveis de escrita desenvolvem e aprimoram os conhecimentos de um grupo de jovens com SD? Para responder esta questão o presente estudo compreendeu duas etapas. A etapa um teve como objetivo realizar um levantamento de Dissertações, Teses e Artigos (nacionais e internacionais) que se relacionem com a temática da SD, com vertentes para escrita, leitura e alfabetização. Foi utilizada a pesquisa bibliográfica e como ferramentas o Portal Capes, SciELo, Google Acadêmico e Portal de Periódicos da Capes. A prevalência na identificação da produção foi na área de Biológicas seguida pela área de Humanas. A etapa dois teve como objetivo investigar como está se dando a aquisição da leitura e da escrita de um grupo de jovens com SD de uma instituição especializada, verificando em que nível de escrita e leitura ele se encontra. O presente estudo de caso teve seis participantes jovens com SD, dois do gênero masculino e quatro do feminino, com nomes fictícios para a preservação da identidade. Os instrumentos da pesquisa foram: diário de campo; ficha das atividades desenvolvidas na semana; ficha de frequência dos estudantes; Prova das 4 palavras e uma frase ; Texto adaptado de uma notícia jornalística (Prova de Leitura); Programas de alfabetização Pré-silábico; de Alfabetização Silábico; e de Alfabetização Silábico-Alfabético. Os materiais utilizados foram construídos e serviram como apoio funcional para as atividades previstas. Após a aprovação pelo Comitê de Ética foi realizada a coleta de dados através de três provas e sessões de intervenção. Os dados foram analisados qualitativamente pela identificação de uma evolução ou não na escrita e leitura e quantitativamente pelo levantamento de dados sobre a leitura das estudantes que se encontravam no nível silábico e silábicoalfabético. Os resultados foram divididos em três partes: escrita do nome; escrita das quatro palavras e uma frase; e leitura textual. Fabiana quanto à escrita do nome passou do nível silábico para o silábico-alfabético; quanto à escrita das quatro palavras e uma frase passou do nível silábico para o silábico-alfabético; quanto à leitura textual sua leitura passou de 20% para 51% das unidades presentes no texto. Raquel quanto à escrita do nome e quanto à escrita das 4 palavras e uma frase se manteve no nível présilábico, apresentando melhora em sua coordenação motora fina; quanto à leitura textual passou a identificar as letras. Lucas, quanto à escrita do nome e quanto à escrita das 4 palavras e uma frase se manteve no nível pré-silábico, passando a escrever a letra A; quanto à leitura textual não identificou nenhuma letra. Talita, quanto à escrita do nome passou silábico-alfabético para o alfabético; quanto à escrita das 4 palavras e uma frase se manteve no nível pré-silábico (inicialmente com diferenciação interfigural e, posteriormente, com diferenciação inter e intrafigural); quanto à leitura textual passou a reconhecer as vogais. Ricardo quanto à escrita do nome e quanto à escrita das 4 palavras e uma frase se manteve no nível pré-silábico, passando a escrever vogais; quanto à leitura textual na primeira prova identificou a letra A e na última as vogais. Rose quanto à escrita do nome se manteve no nível alfabético; quanto à escrita das 4 palavras e uma frase passou do nível silábico-alfabético para o alfabético; quanto à leitura textual passou de 51,1% para 64% para a leitura das unidades presentes no texto. Foi possível concluir que atividades estruturadas favoreceram no aprendizado da leitura e escrita de jovens com SD, visto que as estimulações de leitura e escrita partiram sempre de atividades concretas e/ou adaptadas. Desta forma, os estudantes fizeram aquisições.

With increasing scrutiny over standards of financial statement transparency, this paper attempts to resolve misconceptions about effects of negative special items on future earnings. Value investor Benjamin Graham advises students to avoid firms that consistently post special items, because it is indicative of the volatility of the business. Using panel data from 2003 to 2014 and a regression structure used by Burghstaler et al. (2002), I find in contrast to Graham’s warning, that negative special items significantly increase earnings in the four quarters following its occurrence. Furthermore, I analyze results by sector and find that negative special items in the Information Technology sector have the most dramatic positive effects on future earnings. This study gives investors more insight as to what negative special items mean for future earnings of a company.

Big bath accounting är en strategi där beslutsfattarna i ett företag manipulerar det redovisade resultatet efter ens egna preferenser, ofta för att påverka resultatet negativt genom nedskrivning av immateriella tillgångar. Tidigare forskning har visat att fenomenet uppstår mer frekvent i samband med en nytillsatt VD.Uppsatsen syftar till att undersöka förekomsten av Big bath genom nedskrivning av goodwill bland börsnoterade bolag i Sverige, och ifall en nytillsatt VD kan vara en av förklaringarna till fenomenet. Studien har en deduktiv ansats och studiens frågeställningar har analyserats med hjälp av en kvantitativ dataanalys.Studiens insamlade data har hämtats ifrån företagens årsredovisningar under tidsperioden år 2005-2013. Den insamlade datan ligger till grund för de statistiska testerna som utförts. Resultatet visar att det finns ett samband mellan goodwillnedskrivningar och en nytillsatt VD samt goodwillnedskrivningar och ett negativt resultat. Vidare upptäcks ett positivt samband mellan Big bath och en nytillsatt VD samt Big bath och ett negativt resultat vilket tyder på att strategin existerar på Stockholmsbörsen.<br>Big bath accounting is a strategy where the decision makers of a company manipulates the stated result according to their own preferences, most often to influence the result negatively by writing down its intangible assets. Earlier studies have shown that this phenomenon occurs more frequently in connection with a newly appointed CEO.This paper aims to investigate the occurrence of Big bath by writing down goodwill among public companies in Sweden, and to investigate if a newly appointed CEO could be one of the explanations to this phenomenon. This study has a deductive approach and the research questions have been analyzed with a quantitative data analysis.The data in this study have been collected from the companies financial statements during the time period between 2005-2013. The collected data have been used for the statistical tests that this paper contains. The result shows a positive connection between writing down goodwill and a newly appointed CEO and also between writing down goodwill and a negative result. Furthermore, a positive connection was found between Big bath and a newly appointed CEO and also between Big bath and a negative result which indicates that this strategy exists on the Stockholm stock exchange.The essay is written in Swedish.

Research on whole-school bullying programs shows some effectiveness in creating awareness and a reduction in overall bullying with vigilant supervision. Roleplaying games repeatedly taught to students help them deal with bullying in specific situations, but all these interventions leave a great deal to be desired when conditions are not in line with the training, most of which most are not (Smith, Schneider, Smith, & Ananiadou, 2004). In addition, student perceptions can differ from the staff and administration. A wide gap exists between how students, parents, teachers, and administrators perceive bullying. Students remain confused and flounder in the moment when they feel bullied, while bystanders are statistically shown to be scared and even help the bully in many cases (Mishna, Pepler, & Wiener, 2006). This study examines research from the past 10 years on the effectiveness of whole-school programs. Two main criteria include: (1) A comprehensive “macro” comparison study of research leading to a “micro” examination of specific school research, and (2) an examination of the importance of recognizing perception and creating interventions that any student can utilize no matter their level of fear. In addition, an introduction and an explanation of the ideas and concepts of the I’m Gonna Write That Down program are included.

Mestrado em Finanças<br>A última crise financeira provou a incapacidade dos produtos que absorvem perdas e a necessidade de reforçar os níveis de capital das instituições financeiras. Nesse sentido, um novo produto híbrido foi lançado em 2009 - Obrigações Convertíveis Contingentes. O seu objetivo é serem convertidas automaticamente em ações ou levarem um corte no seu valor nominal quando uma certa condição ocorre. Neste estudo, uma das abordagens possíveis, Equity Derivatives, relativas à avaliação dos CoCos é estendida dos produtos que são convertidos em ações para os que levam um corte no valor nominal. Através de uma análise de sensibilidade aos parâmetros, é demostrada a grande variabilidade do preço, mesmo usando o modelo de Black-Scholes. Através de uma simulação de Monte Carlo, estes produtos apresentam uma baixa probabilidade de atingirem o trigger mas, quando o atingem, as perdas são elevadas, principalmente para os produtos que levam um corte no valor nominal. Por último, é aplicado o modelo a produtos reais e este apresenta uma sobrestimação nos preços por contraste aos preços de mercado.<br>The last financial crisis proved the inability of loss-absorbing products and the need of reinforcing the financial institutions' capital buffers. In that sense, a new hybrid product was launched in 2009 - Contingent Convertible Bonds. Their aim is automatically convert either into common equity or their face value suffers a write-down when some pre-specified trigger is reached. In this study it is extended one of the approaches of CoCos' valuation, the Equity Derivatives, from the equity conversion to write-down CoCos. Through a parameters' sensitivity analysis it is demonstrated the great sensitivity of the price even in a Black-Scholes world. Also, through a Monte Carlo Simulation, these products show a low probability of hitting the trigger but, once this happens, the losses are high, especially for write-down products. Finally, applying the model to real products, it presents an overestimation of prices towards its market prices.

What happens when fiction is considered as a space for art, and when art is considered as a space for fiction? This thesis addresses these questions through a practice-led study of the fictional writings of Don DeLillo. DeLillo has been publishing novels since 1971, each of which have engaged with aspects of art production and art criticism. The formal implications of this have played a polarising role in the criticism that has gathered around his work, with some critics reading DeLillo's fictional artworks as evidence of a highly post-modem and plural production, whilst others have seen these works as more modernist reflections on the writing process. In this thesis propose that by reading DeLillo's writing through the art-historical oeuvre of Thomas Crow, and his notion of the 'advanced-artwork', that a new model of practice can be defined, where writing becomes the site for the production of visual art, and visual art becomes the site for writing. The 'advanced-artwork', according to Crow is formed by multiple practices that operate within a single work, and incorporates elements of critical thought within its physical production - qualities in DeLillo's fiction that have energised his critics, but have yet to be analysed using an analogous model from another field. After a review of the aspects of DeLillo criticism that that set the ground for these questions, and a parallel review of Crow's art-historical writings, I address the potential for synthesising these areas on two fronts. Firstly, by a detailed study of DeLillo's 1988 novel Libra, reading it through art-theory and proposing that the novel fulfils many of the criteria of the advanced-artwork, as well as showing how this reading allows many of the problematic questions in existing DeLillo criticism to be addressed. My second means of approaching Libra in these terms is the practical component of my thesis. This takes the form of a vi sual artwork made up of wri ting, produced in response to an archive ofDeLillo's drafts and working papers. Using a manual typewriter, like DeLillo himself, I reproduce successive drafts of sections of the novel that are conceptually related to the questions that in the rest of the thesis I have addressed in theoretical terms. In using this dual method of questioning of art's potential relationship to writing, I have attempted to use the work of a single author to reflect on the possibilities of writing as a medium for contemporary art-practice, and the potential of art to become a site of literary criticism. But by grounding my critique of DeLillo's fiction in the raw materials of the medium I have also attempted to question the space of the page in wider terms, as an expansive site of inter-disciplinary practice that allows its component parts to be set in critical discourse.

År 2005 blev det obligatoriskt för noterade bolag inom EU att upprätta sin koncernredovisning enligt IFRS. Dessa internationella redovisningsstandarder har som mål att skapa jämförbara, transparenta, relevanta, tillförlitliga och begripliga finansiella rapporter vilka behövs för att fatta ekonomiska beslut. Användandet av IFRS ökar inte bara inom EU utan också länder utanför EU, så som Kanada, Ryssland och Japan. Vid införandet av IFRS gick många bolag från att redovisa avskrivning av goodwill, till att göra nedskrivningstest enligt IAS 36 p. 134 och skriva ned goodwill vid behov. Användningen av nedskrivning av goodwill istället för avskrivning kan ge en klarare bild av företagen för intressenter. Det existerar dock kritik mot hur IAS 36 p. 134 och dess föreskrivningar för nedskrivningar tillämpas i redovisningspraxis. Tidigare studier i ämnet harmonisering, har visat att arbetet med att skapa jämförbarhet i praxis inte alltid lyckas. Samtidigt är differentieringen mellan anglosaxiska och kontinentala redovisningssystem inte lika tydliga idag som de varit i det förflutna. Detta gör det intressant att undersöka harmoniseringen och jämförbarheten i redovisningspraxis i företag, med länder som inte är medlemmar i EU. Genom en komparativ studie mellan länderna Kanada, Ryssland och Japan undersöks till vilken grad de tillämpar IFRS och vilken skillnad som existerar mellan de olika länderna.Studien använder sig av ett abduktivt förhållningssätt och syftar till att göra en komparativ studie över hur 85 företag redovisar nedskrivning av goodwill i länderna Kanada, Japan och Ryssland. En kvalitativ ansats, med en komparativ design används i första hand eftersom denna studie syftar till att undersöka harmoniseringsprocessen och dess kontinuerliga utveckling.Resultatet i studien visar att företagen i de tre länderna skiljer sig åt i vilken utsträckning som de redovisar enligt IAS 36 p. 134, som behandlar nedskrivning av goodwill. De kanadensiska företagen följer i genomsnitt paragraferna under IAS 36 p. 134 bättre än de andra länderna, medan resultatet för de företag som tillämpar nedskrivning av goodwill visar att de japanska företagen följer underparagraferna bäst.Slutsatsen som kan dras är att beroende på ett lands redovisningstradition samt vilka redovisningsprocesser som länderna använder, så kommer företagen följa internationella redovisningsprinciper i olika utsträckning.<br>In 2005, it became mandatory for listed companies within the EU to prepare their consolidated financial statements in accordance with IFRS. These international accounting standards aim at creating comparable, transparent, relevant, reliable and comprehensible financial statements that are needed to make financial decisions. The use of IFRS increases not only within the EU but also in countries outside the EU, such as Canada, Russia and Japan. When introducing IFRS, many companies failed to write impairment tests under IAS 36, p. 134, and write down goodwill if necessary. The use of goodwill write-downs instead of depreciation can provide a clearer picture of the companies for stakeholders. However, there is criticism of how IAS 36, p. 134, and its provisions for impairment are applied in accounting practice.Earlier studies in the subject of harmonization have shown that the work of creating comparability in practice does not always succeed. At the same time, the differentiation between Anglo-Saxon and Continental accounting systems is not as clear today as they have been in the past. This makes it interesting to investigate the harmonization and comparability of accounting practices in companies, with non-EU countries. A comparative study between Canada, Russia and Japan examines the extent to which they apply IFRS and the difference that exists between the different countries.The study uses an abductive approach and aims to make a comparative study of how 85 companies report goodwill impairment in the countries of Canada, Japan and Russia. A qualitative approach, with a comparative design, is used primarily because this study aims at examining the harmonization process and its continuous development.The result of the study shows that companies in the three countries differ to what extent they report in accordance with IAS 36, p. 134, which deals with write-downs of goodwill. Canadian companies, on average, follow the paragraphs of IAS 36, paragraph 134, better than the other countries, while the results of the goodwill impairment show that the Japanese companies comply best with the under-paragraphs.The conclusion that can be drawn is that depending on the country's accounting tradition and the accounting processes used by the countries, companies will comply with international accounting principles to a varying degree.

碩士<br>國立高雄大學<br>金融管理學系碩士班<br>103<br>This thesis examines how market reacts to the announcements of asset write-downs. To compare the write-down of various types of assets, I further split the write-down announcements by the types of assets written-down including fixed assets, identifiable intangible assets, financial assets, and goodwill. I find that the stock market reacts significantly and negatively to the write-downs of the announcements of fixed assets and identifiable intangible assets; but not significantly to the announcements of the write-downs of financial assets or goodwill. The write-downs of fixed assets and/or identifiable intangible assets are associated with the decline of the economic value of the firms leading to the negative reactions to the amount of asset write-downs. However, the write-downs of financial assets or goodwill are not directly related to the economic value of the firms because the managers have high degree of discretions over the recognition of write-downs.

碩士<br>國立交通大學<br>財務金融研究所<br>107<br>In this paper, we introduce a new kind of write-down (WD) bond by designing a partially continuously write-down mechanism. By using the idea of occupation time, we derive the closed-form pricing formula of the WD bond. We analyze a firm’s optimal capital structure where the straight debt (SD) and junior WD bond are included. First, we find that there is a substitutive relationship between the SD and WD bond in determining a firm’s optimal capital structure. Second, the optimal capital structure of our model is different from that of the model with the principal one-time write-down bond. Finally, issuing our WD bond can reduce the spreads of the SD and can significantly increase the firm’s optimal leverage.

碩士<br>國立雲林科技大學<br>財務金融系碩士班<br>94<br>Abstract This study examines (1) The timing of fixed asset disposal and earning management (2) Differential behavior of financial distress and non-financial distress companies (3) whether director''s and supervisor''s stock pledged ratio is related to earnings management via fixed asset disposal. The data includes 48 paired companies samples of 1995 to 2004. The results show (1) the fixed asset disposal gain or loss has positive relation with prior period EPS-Net Income and debt equity ratio (2) the fixed asset disposal gain or loss of financial distress companies has significant positive relation with prior period EPS-Net Income (3) the relation between fixed asset disposal gain or loss and prior period EPS-Net Income turns to be weak in the financial distress company with higher pledged director''s stock. Compared to financial distress companies, the non-financial distress company with higher pledged ratio has positive relation between fixed asset disposal gain-loss and current year EPS-Net Income.And most of time, the disposal gain or loss of non-financial distress company has significant relation with firm characteristics. Keywords：Earnings Management、Financial Distress、Pledged Shares of Directors

Ao longo da presente dissertação analisamos, com base em conceitos e na metodologia dos Estudos Pós-Coloniais, de que forma o conceito de identidade e o questionar de metanarrativas (como história ou nação) permitem contradizer os supostos valores e princípios da hegemonia cultural britânica nos romances Midnight`s Children (1981), de Salman Rushdie, e The Buddha of Suburbia (1990), de Hanif Kureishi. Ambos os romances, representativos da ficção pós-colonial e pós-moderna britânica, são escolhidos para demonstrar como o conceito de identidade e como estratégias narrativas, como o humor, o realismo mágico ou a fantasia, são usadas para subverter expectativas e criticar leituras únicas de universos culturais como o britânico. Ambos desafiam quer as expetativas de encontrar a defesa de uma etnia/cultura, quer a demonização ou culpabilização de uma outra cultura, permitindo questionar leituras etnocêntricas e perspetivas estabelecidas.<br>Based on Post-Colonial concepts and methodology, this dissertation analyzes how the concept of identity and the questioning of metanarratives (such as history or nation) allows for the contradiction of the (supposed) values and principles of British cultural hegemony in Midnight`s Children (1981), by Salman Rushdie, and The Buddha of Suburbia (1990), by Hanif Kureishi. These two novels, which are representative of British post-colonialism and postmodernism, are chosen in order to demonstrate how their depiction of identity and how narrative strategies like humour magical realism or fantasy are used to subvert expectations and criticize single interpretations of cultural universes like the British one. Both novels defy the reader`s expectations of finding the defence of one ethnicity/culture as opposed to the demonization or culpability of another which allows the questioning of established perspectives

碩士<br>國立成功大學<br>會計學系碩博士班<br>96<br>The Ministry of Finance in China announced two major accounting acts in 1999 and 2000 respectively. In 1999, the “Additional Regulation on Accounting Systems for the Limited Companies” was issued, which marked a change in accounting rules for asset write-downs from the “voluntary” regime to the “mandatory” regime. Moreover, the “Enterprise Accounting Systems” was issued in 2001, which increased additional four asset items that an enterprise can choose to write down. In this study, these new items are referred as “New Four Items” and their old counterparts are referred as “Traditional Four Items”. In this setting of accounting changes, the purpose of this research is to examine the influences of the aforementioned accounting regulation changes in China on the determinants of asset write-downs and the resulted value relevance changes in accounting information. The empirical results for the influences of the accounting change on the determinants of asset write-downs suggest that: (1) After the enactment of Additional Regulation on Accounting Systems for the Limited Companies in 1999, the magnitude of asset write-downs is mainly explained by managers’ opportunistic reporting incentives but not the firm’s economic conditions; (2) The “New Four Items” of asset write-downs regulated by Enterprise Accounting Systems in 2001, has encouraged management to recognize asset write-downs based on the firm’s economic substance. As to the influences on the value relevance changes in accounting information, our results indicate: (1) After the enactment of Additional Regulation on Accounting Systems for the Limited Companies in 1999, investors placed more weights on accounting earnings but less weights on book values in their valuation decision; (2) The “New Four Items” of asset write-downs regulated by Enterprise Accounting Systems in 2001 has increased the value relevance of both accounting earnings and book value in the same time. In the sensitivity analysis, I applied the “return model” to examine the value relevance of accounting information and found that the earnings-return relationship is lower after the enactment of Additional Regulation on Accounting Systems for the Limited Companies in 1999, indicating that earnings’ informativeness has diminished after then. Moreover, the earnings-return relationship is higher after the enactment of Enterprise Accounting Systems in 2001, indicating that earnings’ informativeness has increased after then.

博士<br>國立臺灣大學<br>會計學研究所<br>96<br>Nissim and Penman (2006), and Ohlson (2006) notice that extant GAAP mixes both balance sheet and income statement perspectives in measuring earnings and thus will decrease accounting earnings’ usefulness in securities valuation. For example, asset write-offs are recognized under balance sheet perspective, and they not only decrease current earnings, but will also increase the future earnings due to the reduction in subsequent depreciation expenses accompanied by the asset write-offs. The purpose of this study is to address whether investors understand the implications of decreased depreciation expense due to write-downs recognition, and hence the market will not react to the increase in reported earnings in the following year. The sample includes all U.S.A firms in Compustat database that recognized write-offs in their financial reports during the period of 2002-2006. The security return - earnings change regression results indicate that the decreases in depreciation expense accompanied by the write-down recognition is positively related to security return in the next year. The hedge return results also support the findings of regression analysis. As expected, hedge returns are significantly different from zero when based upon write-down amount or the decreased depreciation expense. This is consistent with that investors do not anticipate correctly the earnings increase after write-downs period. However, this study also examines the future security returns for a sample of firms reported goodwill write-down which has no effect on the subsequent earnings, and finds the amount of goodwill write-offs is positively correlated with security return in the next year. It means that the possibility of reversal of overreaction in the year of write-down cannot be ruled out. Overall, the results are consistent with that investors cannot assess the implication of asset write-offs for future earnings in an unbiased way. To avoid the misevaluation by investors, the accounting standard boards might want to consider adopting the pure income statement approach in earnings measurement (Ohlson, 2006).

碩士<br>東海大學<br>會計學系<br>101<br>This study investigates the effect of insider trading on value relevance of assets write-downs (asset impairment). Managers play a critical role in the treatment of impairment of assets, involving discretions and judgments. The process is undisclosed and unknown to outsiders. Prior researches suggest that insider trading reflects insiders’ private information on future prospects of firms. If insider trading reflects private information of managers, insider trading could convey information about the value relevance of asset write-downs. This study uses the samples occuring impairment of assets and insider trading in the same year. The sample covers firms listed on TSE and OTC from 2004 to 2012. Price model and return model are used to investigate whether insider trading affects the value relevance of asset write-down. The results shows that insider trading affect value relevance of asset write-downs. In addition, the effect of insider net buying is greater than insider net selling. The results also hold if the sample is limited to electric industry. In sum, the results support that insider trading conveys information to enhance the value relevance of asset write-downs.

This study examines the timeliness of write-downs taken by U.S. financial institutions during the financial crisis of 2007-2008. The timeliness of write-downs is measured by benchmarking the quarterly accounting write-down schedule with the devaluation schedule implied by credit indices such as the ABX. The results show that accounting write-downs are less timely than the devaluations implied by credit indices. In a cross-sectional analysis of the determinants of the timeliness of write-downs, I document that higher corporate governance quality is positively related to timelier write-downs. Furthermore, I observe that regulatory investigations and litigation pressure are positively related to the timeliness of write-downs, whereas the write-downs by firms with more complex exposures, higher financial leverage, and tighter regulatory constraints are less timely. In addition, I control for numerous exposure-specific characteristics and document that less risky exposures, and exposures that were affected later during the financial crisis, were written down later. Regarding the consequences of timeliness, this study finds that the exposure to risky assets is reflected faster in stock returns for firms with timelier write-downs.

碩士<br>中原大學<br>會計研究所<br>94<br>Taiwan’s Financial Accounting Standards Committee of the Accounting Research and Development Foundation issued SFAS No.35, “Accounting for Asset Impairment,” in July 2004. This accounting standard was effective for financial year ending after December 31, 2005, with early adoption encouraged. The primary objective of this paper is to contrast the earnings management incentives and corporate governance mechanisms of impaired asset write-down firms that adopt the standard in 2004 (early adopters) and 2005 (late adopters). Based on the literature before, there are two characteristics about write-downs. One is the information signaling perspective, write-downs help managers to convey the private information about the underlying economics beyond the historical cost accounting (Rees et al. 1996；Minnick 2004). The other is the opportunistic behavior perspective, write-downs are employed by managers to engage in “big bath” or “income smoothing” reporting behavior (Zucca et al. 1992；Riedl 2004). The issuance of SFAS No. 35 allows managers to exercise discretion over the timing and amount of asset write-downs. We investigate whether corporate governance mechanisms are likely to reduce information asymmetry problems and agency cost problems. The contrast of impaired asset write-downs across the two years is an interesting question. This study adapts a methodology proposed by Riedl (2004) to examine whether earnings management incentives and corporate governance mechanisms dominate the reported write-down firms between 2004 and 2005. The stacking of the equations allows statistical tests of differences in coefficient estimates across the two years. In our research, earnings management incentives variables include BATH, SMOOTH and DEBT; corporate governance mechanisms variables include IB, IS, SAME, BN and BH. Empirical results reveal that early adopters are associated with lower earnings management incentives and better corporate governance mechanisms, and late adopters are associated with higher earnings management incentives and worse corporate governance mechanisms. These results imply that early adopters use reporting flexibility to reveal their private information about the true value of the firm; alternatively, late adopters use this discretion opportunistically distort the underlying economics of the firm. Moreover, these results suggest that corporate governance mechanisms are introduced to communicate private information and reduce the information asymmetry between the firm and its investors. Meanwhile, the mechanisms are also designed to limit opportunistic behavior and reduce the agency cost between managers and all stakeholders. We argue that corporate governance mechanisms restrict earnings management incentives on the impaired asset write-downs. This paper contributes to the literature on asset impairments and corporate governance limit earnings management. The results of this study should be of interest to Taiwan’s Financial Accounting Standards Committee due to the multiyear adoption policy.

Despite the need for accurate oil and gas reserves estimates which honor disclosure requirements of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), a number of exploration and production companies have allegedly overstated and subsequently written down their reserves during the last 20 years. Reserves write-downs are of great interest to numerous groups involved in the reserves estimation process and outcome, including estimators, managers, investors, creditors, and regulators. Considering the magnitude and nature of some alleged overstatement cases, it appears that some of these parties may benefit from a better understanding of reserves reporting, the relative risk of overstatements, the regulatory environment and enforcement procedures, and identifying questionable reserves data. After discussing the context and importance of reserves and write-downs, there is a detailed examination of the SEC, including the agency's reserves reporting requirements, and their enforcement methods. A number of alleged overstatement and write-down "case studies" are presented, with details on the specific Federal Laws alleged to have been violated by corporations or individuals and then cited by the SEC and shareholder lawsuits. We also conclude that there may be greater write-down potential due to the updated SEC reserves reporting guidelines. A comprehensive series of systematic questions have been compiled and quick-look graphical techniques have been developed that may be used to gain insight into -and potentially raise questions about- an operator's reserves data.