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The purpose of this paper is to examine the potential impact of two affiliation factors, as encapsulated by the chief financial officer's (CFO) prior organizational (alumnus vs non‐alumnus) and professional background (audit vs non‐audit ex‐partner), on auditor independence in post‐Enron and post‐HIH era.

The study is a 2×2 factorial between subjects experimental design with 52 audit partners and managers as participants. The two manipulated independent variables are client CFO prior firm affiliation (alumni vs non‐alumni) and professional background (audit partner vs non‐audit partner providing taxation, accounting and other non‐audit services).

The results of the study do not appear to signal loss of independence and professional skepticism in auditors' judgment when dealing with an alumni or ex‐auditor CFO. On average, auditors' endorsement of the client's preferred aggressive accounting treatment is low and the audit adjustment is material and significantly greater than the client's proposed adjustment.

The 2001 corporate collapses of Enron in the USA and HIH in Australia have reshaped the auditing profession. HIH, the most publicized corporate fraud in Australia resulting in estimated losses of $5 billion, was partly blamed on Arthur Andersen yielding to management's aggressive accounting policies and failure to display independence as a result of close relationships between the former partners and the audit team. As distinct from a number of prior studies conducted pre‐Enron and pre‐HIH, the results of this study, conducted with experienced audit professionals in Australia, do not support a loss of independence and professional skepticism by auditors in the current post‐Enron and post‐HIH environment and are consistent with the findings of the only other recent experimental study by Kerler III and Killough examining the closeness of the auditor‐client relationship. The results are also consistent with results of recent archival studies which find a decline in earnings management behavior, either because of reduced management incentives or reduced auditor willingness to consent. The evidence of this study lends supports to the latter explanation.

This study investigates whether corporate executives, who are university alumni, influence each other's firm corporate social responsibility (CSR) performance.

Drawing on social network theory, the authors hypothesise that a firm's CSR performance is positively associated with its peer firms' average CSR performance when the executives of the firm and its peer firms are university alumni. The study employs data from 1,685 listed firms and 4,906 executives who graduated from 585 different universities in China and runs multivariate regressions.

The results reveal a sizeable university peer influence on CSR performance. Such influence is even stronger for executives who graduated from elite universities (e.g. 985 or 211 universities), and universities or programmes that provide more opportunities for alumni reunions or networking (e.g. MBAs/EMBAs). Executives who are more influential in making firm decisions (e.g. CEOs/CFOs), as well as firms that are more likely to mimic the behaviour of others, also show higher degrees of university peer influence.

The results highlight the role of education in ethical decision-making.

This study documents evidence on a new determinant of firm CSR performance. The study sheds light on the impact of non-institutionalised personal ties, for example, university alumni networks, on CSR performance.

The purpose of this paper is to understand the roles that social capital and real-world learning may play in enhancing the effects of university education for sustainable development (ESD) on social sustainability.

A conceptual framework that identifies the plausible effects of university ESD on social sustainability along three outcome dimensions (think-act-leverage), broadening desirable program learning outcomes and proposing enabling roles for social capital and real-world learning, is substantiated and validated through qualitative insights from a focus group. The framework serves to structure a survey to alumni of a postgraduate program in sustainability (2011–2018). Hierarchical clustering analysis is used to identify differences in perceived, sustainability-related effects of the program on direct beneficiaries and their relationship with stakeholders in their communities.

Implementation of real-world learning in partnership with organizations in the community that actively involves alumni not only extends desirable effects beyond individual program learning outcomes and outside the academia but may also renew them over time.

University administrators should foster the creation of new social capital of students and alumni and their commitment with service learning and other credit-bearing opportunities as actionable enablers to enhance the social sustainability effects of university ESD.

The paper contributes to a dual theoretical and empirical void related to the effects of university ESD on the social dimension of sustainability through the proposal of a conceptual framework and quantitative assessment of the dynamic effects of university ESD at the local level.

This paper aims to investigate the influence of social interactions on mutual fund portfolios from the perspective of alumni network in China.

Based on a data set that consists of 162 actively managed equity funds in China during the time period of 2003–2014, this study employs multiple linear regression model to control for organization- and location-based interpersonal connections as well as other confounding factors and clarify the causality relationship between alumni networks of mutual fund managers and their portfolios.

After controlling for organization- and location-based interpersonal connections, we find that mutual fund managers who graduated from the same college/university have more similar stock holdings and are more likely to buy or sell the same stocks contemporaneously. As a result, alumni managers exhibit a higher correlation of fund returns. Moreover, the effect of alumni relationship on mutual fund investments becomes weaker when more managers are connected within the network. We also find that valuable information is shared among alumni managers: (1) the average returns for the alumni common holdings portfolios is significantly higher than those for non-alumni holdings portfolios and (2) a long-short strategy composed of stocks purchased minus sold by alumni managers yields positive and significant risk-adjusted returns.

The findings suggest that information dissemination among connected fund managers could be one of the driving forces for mutual fund herding behavior, and that a portfolio of funds whose managers are educationally connected could be highly exposed to certain stocks and risks.

This paper contributes to the growing finance literature addressing the influence of personal connections on information dissemination that specifically contributes to price formation. It corresponds more closely to Cohen et al. (2008), who investigate college alumni connections between fund managers and corporate board members. Since the authors simultaneously examine three potentially overlapped social networks, which are based on education, locality and fund family, the authors are able to disentangle their effects on fund managers' investment decisions. Moreover, the findings suggest that institutional investors make investment decisions based on share private information, and therefore, it also contributes to the literature on fund herding behaviors (Grinblatt et al., 1995; Wermers, 1999).

Investigates the effect of alumni ownership of university insignia goods and related alumni contribution behavior. Two distinct measures of alumni contribution behavior‐willingness to give and actual contribution behavior‐were used in this study. Willingness to give is a measure of the desire or sentiment to contribute. Contributions are behavioral manifestations of that sentiment. The results of the study indicate the importance of alumni identification with the university both to alumni willingness to give and donor behavior and suggests that identification with the university results in ownership of university insignia goods. Discusses programmatic strategies to increase alumni contributions stemming from the findings of this study.

The purpose of this paper is to reveal the potential use of faba bean husk as natural dye, to create a color gamut and to observe the effect of different mordants. Dyeing properties of polyamide/elastane fabric using faba been husk were investigated. The effect of alum [KAl(SO₄)₂], iron II sulfate Fe(SO₄)7H₂O, tin II chloride (SnCI₂2H₂O), copper II sulfate (CuSO₄), citric acid (C₆H₈O₇), tartaric acid (C₄H₆O₆), oxalic acid (H₂C₂O₄), ammonium sulfate [(NH₄)₂SO₄], sodium acetate (C₂H₃NaO₂), combination of alum-iron, iron-tin and alum-tin were evaluated in terms of color yield, color coordinates and wash fastness.

Mainly, dyeings were conducted in accordance with a simultaneous mordanting method. However, pre-mordanted dyeings were also implemented with selected concentration (0.8 g/L) of metallic mordants to enrich color gamut. Control sample (without mordant) was used as a reference for examining the effect of different mordants. Dyed samples were compared mutually in the light of visual evaluation and color measurements and alternatives to metallic mordants were also assessed.

Significant differences occurred in color coordinates of dyed samples. The biggest color difference and completely different color shades were achieved with tin II chloride. The type of acid did not create visible color differences. As alternatives to metallic mordants; all of them may be used instead of alum (0.8 g/L). Tartaric acid and oxalic acid, instead of iron II sulfate (0.2 g/L), and ammonium sulfate (0.2 g/L) and sodium acetate (0.8 g/L), instead of alum (0.8 g/L), can be used. Sodium acetate cannot be replaced with iron. A combination of alum-iron and iron-tin can be the alternative to 0.2 and 0.8 g/L copper, respectively. All the samples provided good wash fastness (4/5) values.

Valorization of industrial, agricultural and domestic wastes as novel natural dye sources is an ecological and sustainable approach. Moreover, the use of man-made fibers in natural dyeing is an issue that needs to be developed and expanded. Few literatures have been found concerning the use of husks of faba bean as a natural colorant. In this initial study, husks of faba been as a vegetable waste were utilized in natural dyeing of polyamide/elastane fabric. It is suggested that this waste can be turned into an economic value through its valorization in natural dyeing.

The purpose of this study is to manufacture composites from sawdust and polymer high-density polyethylene (HDPE) with different loading from alum as natural and cheap flame retardant and subsequently characterized using standard analytical tools.

Artificial wood plastic composites (WPCs) were prepared by mixing HDPE with sawdust as a filler with constant ratio (2:1) using hot press. Polyethylene-graft-maleic anhydride (PE-g-MAH) used as a coupling agent between two parents of the composites with different ratios (2.5, 5, 7 and 10). Alum as a flame retardant was incorporated into HDPE with 5 phr polyethylene grafted with maleic anhydride (PE-g-MAH) with different ratios (10, 15 and 20). Flame retardant efficiency was investigated using differential scanning calorimetry, thermal gravimetric analysis and the technique of ASTM E162.

The results revealed that the composite containing 5 phr from (PE-g-MAH) exhibited higher mechanical properties and this proved that (PE-g-MAH) act as an efficient coupling agent using the aforementioned ratio. The results also revealed that incorporation of alum as a flame retardant increased the thermal stability of the composites.

Artificial WPCs are ecofriendly materials with a wide range of applications in the constructions field. Moreover, they have high mechanical and physical properties with low cost. Evaluate alum as a natural and cheap flame retardant.

The purpose of this study was to explore whether the transformational classroom leadership concept could describe the notion of the inspiring professor that the Gallup–Purdue survey (2014) found to be a major factor in enhancing college and university graduates’ workplace engagement.

Surveys of existing students and alumni of Lingnan University in Hong Kong were conducted to ascertain whether transformational classroom leadership is a proxy for the inspiring professor notion and to gauge the possible effect that transformational classroom leadership has on alumni workplace engagement.

The results of the study suggested a potential link between the experience of transformational classroom leadership and alumni subsequent levels of workplace engagement.

The results should be treated as indicative only, given that the Hong Kong study was limited to one university, and the sample sizes were similarly limited.

Should further investigations confirm the Hong Kong results, this could trigger a shift in emphasis and resources in higher education from research to teaching. Furthermore, the nature of transformational classroom leadership provides tremendous scope for establishing a professional development framework based on the model.

This is the first study that has explored the link between transformational classroom leadership and alumni levels of workplace engagement.

This paper aims to examine the relationships between organizational purpose, leadership practices and sustainable outcomes for universities in emerging economies. We propose that a strong sense of purpose is a fundamental and defining feature in the leadership practices of these institutions, which ultimately contributes to their success.

The authors present a research model that defines the relationships between a sense of purpose, leadership practices, student success outcomes, alumni involvement outcomes and societal reputation outcomes. Over 200 higher education administrators in India participated in the study.

The institutions' sense of purpose directly relates to their leadership engagement practices and their student success outcomes. Student success outcomes are a crucial linkage between leadership engagement practices and alumni involvement outcomes to achieve their societal reputation.

As competitiveness intensifies, educational institutions under resource constraints must differentiate their organizational practices. This paper demonstrates how their core purpose and leadership actions result in achieving effective outcomes and overall sustainable societal reputation.

There is a significant difference between having an organizational purpose and enacting that purpose through their leadership practices. These results highlight the cascading effect from the institution's fundamental sense of purpose to their leadership practices and the positive outcomes of student success, alumni involvement and societal reputation.

The objective of this work is studying the use of chemicals to enhance primary treatment in municipal wastewater treatment plants, thereby reducing the cost of the secondary treatment stage. Jar tests using chemicals, polymers and sea water have been conducted to determine the best performing chemicals, alone and in combinations. The process performance parameters studied were pH, type and dosage of coagulant, mixing intensity, detention time, settling time and addition of coagulant aid. The efficiency of the process has been measured as percentage removals in COD, TSS, turbidity, settleable matter and removals of heavy metals. The results proved the improvement of removal efficiencies.