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This study investigates the impact of board independence on firm risk of Vietnamese listed firms and the moderating effect of capital expenditure on this relationship.

This paper applies fixed effects and dynamic generalized method of moments (GMM) models to examine hypothesized associations between the proportion of nonexecutive directors and stock return volatility, as well as the moderating effect of capital expenditure. The robustness tests are implemented by applying alternative measures of overinvestment and firm risk.

The results show that the presence of nonexecutive directors on board increases firm risk. However, the combination of nonexecutive ratio and capital expenditure ratio has a significant negative impact on firm risk. The result is also confirmed by the difference between the monitoring role of nonexecutive directors in overinvesting and underinvesting firms.

The results imply that Vietnamese listed firms take stock return volatility into consideration before nominating and appointing nonexecutive directors into their board, especially in overinvesting firms. From another perspective, the shift toward having a majority of nonexecutive directors on boards can play a significant role in pursuing a stable or risky business strategy.

This paper investigates the influences of nonexecutive directors on firm risk in the context of Vietnam.

The objective of this paper is to study the efficacy of the ASPECTSS Design Index's concepts as drivers of design intervention for educational environments for students on the autism spectrum. Based on the seven principles of acoustics, spatial sequencing, escape spaces, compartmentalization, transitions, sensory zoning and safety, ASPECTSS formed the basis for a preliminary post-occupancy evaluation (POE) and survey of an existing school environment.

Concepts drawn from the review of other strategies for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) friendly design were integrated with the seven ASPECTSS principles to create a design framework and consequent design retro-fit for a Pre-K-12th grade public school for students on the autism spectrum. The following design interventions were proposed: colour-coding based navigation; acoustical treatments in key circulation spaces; introduction of transition alcoves; classroom reorganisation using compartmentalization principles and the introduction of escape spaces for de-escalation. Specifically, a classroom template of modules of ASPECTSS-compliant layouts was provided to all staff. The efficacy and impact of these interventions were assessed using a whole campus online staff survey with further probing using classroom observations and subsequent interviews.

The results show alignment between the implementation of the ASPECTSS informed design interventions and responses to nine of the Likert scale items were all significantly lower than the middle response, indicating a high degree of satisfaction from survey respondents. These questions and responses related to the colour scheme facilitating ease of navigation for visitors of the school, the acoustics of the building successfully mitigating sound magnification and subsequently student distractibility, the organisation of the classrooms enhancing learning and the de-escalation zones allowing improved management of disruptive behaviours in the classroom.

This study focuses primarily on the Autism ASPECTSS Design Index as a framework for assessing classroom efficacy. Other tools and frameworks may produce different insights. A single school site was studied. Validation of these findings in other school environments is necessary before generalising these strategies at scale. The use of qualitative tools, primarily teacher and staff surveys, provides one lens into the efficacy of these design strategies. Further research using measurable biometric indicators such as heart-rate and stress levels measured through wearable technology could provide a first step towards the triangulation of these findings.

These findings could help provide more standardised best practices for designing learning environments for autism, potentially providing supportive strategies with real impact on learning quality, skill development and knowledge acquisition in school environments. This could potentially have economic implications by supporting more efficient progress for autistic students through their school curriculum.

Similar to economic impact, if validated and generalised, these findings could help with sense of accomplishment, general mental health improvement, alleviation of family stress and potential reduction of stigma in the autism community.

There is a slowly emerging field of design guidance for autism schools, but very little empirical evidence on the measurable efficacy of these strategies. This research provides one type of such evidence, as measured by the perceived impact from the point of view of staff and teachers at the school.

The purpose of this study is to explore the expectations and experiences regarding a robotic shower, from a dual user perspective.

This was an explorative qualitative study in which elderly and personnel were interviewed before the robotic shower was installed and again after four or five months of usage.

The elderly participants found the robotic shower empowering. The personnel’s experiences encompassed their own work conditions, as well as the user value for the elderly. A shared experience for both user groups was a more independent shower situation for the elderly.

Low user frequency among the elderly may have affected the results; more frequent use may lead to different user experiences. Understanding whether and to what extent long-term use affects user experience is important for future adoption and implementation.

Implementation of digital assistive technology (DAT) should focus on the user value of the DAT for all possible user groups, as the different users may experience different values over time. In addition, approaching adoption and acceptance issues of DAT from a learned helplessness perspective may help users find value in the DAT and the independence these aim to provide, helping users maintain or increase quality of life.

This study presents a dual user experience of a DAT in an intimate care situation and shows the importance of including both elderly and personnel to fully understand the value of DATs.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the extent of voluntary disclosures in UK higher education institutions’ (HEIs) annual reports and examine whether internal governance structures influence disclosure in the period following major reform and funding constraints.

The authors adopt a modified version of Coy and Dixon’s (2004) public accountability index, referred to in this paper as a public accountability and transparency index (PATI), to measure the extent of voluntary disclosures in 130 UK HEIs’ annual reports. Informed by a multi-theoretical framework drawn from public accountability, legitimacy, resource dependence and stakeholder perspectives, the authors propose that the characteristics of governing and executive structures in UK universities influence the extent of their voluntary disclosures.

The authors find a large degree of variability in the level of voluntary disclosures by universities and an overall relatively low level of PATI (44 per cent), particularly with regards to the disclosure of teaching/research outcomes. The authors also find that audit committee quality, governing board diversity, governor independence and the presence of a governance committee are associated with the level of disclosure. Finally, the authors find that the interaction between executive team characteristics and governance variables enhances the level of voluntary disclosures, thereby providing support for the continued relevance of a “shared” leadership in the HEIs’ sector towards enhancing accountability and transparency in HEIs.

In spite of significant funding cuts, regulatory reforms and competitive challenges, the level of voluntary disclosure by UK HEIs remains low. Whilst the role of selected governance mechanisms and “shared leadership” in improving disclosure, is asserted, the varying level and selective basis of the disclosures across the surveyed HEIs suggest that the public accountability motive is weaker relative to the other motives underpinned by stakeholder, legitimacy and resource dependence perspectives.

This is the first study which explores the association between HEI governance structures, managerial characteristics and the level of disclosure in UK HEIs.

The purpose of this paper is to obtain empirical evidence of the relationship of independence, professionalism and skepticism with the quality of audit produced.

This research was conducted with questionnaires distributed to all auditors working in KAP Surabaya and Sidoarjo. The population in this study was all auditors working in KAP 45 Surabaya and KAP 1 Sidoarjo. Hypothesis testing was performed by using the partial least square test with the help of SmartPLS software version 3.0.

The results from this study found that auditor independence is positively related to audit quality but is not significant. Variable auditor professionalism is positively related to audit quality and proved significant, while the skepticism variable of auditor professionalism is positively related to audit quality and is significant.

The results of this study indicate that auditor independence, professionalism and skepticism are positively related to audit quality.

This paper examines how board structure influences real earnings management and the interaction effect of CEO narcissism on board structure-real earnings management relationship.

The authors used panel data derived from secondary sources from publicly listed firms in Kenya during 2002–2017. Hierarchical regression analysis was used to test the hypotheses.

The results indicate that board independence, board tenure and size have significant negative effect on real earnings management, while CEO duality positively affects real earnings management. Further, the interaction results show that CEO narcissism moderates the relationship between CEO duality and real earnings management.

The results suggest that real earnings management reduces when boards are independent, large and comprising of long-tenured members. However, when the CEO plays dual role of a chairman, real earnings management increases. The authors also find that when CEOs are narcissists, the monitoring role of the board is compromised.

The study adds value to the understanding of how board structure and CEO narcissism influence the monitoring role of the board among firms listed at Nairobi Securities Exchange.

The purpose of this study is to examine the associations between board size, board independence and triple bottom line (TBL) reporting. The TBL report consists of three components, namely, environmental, social and economic indices.

This study’s sample consists of top 50 listed companies from the year 2017 to 2019 on Tadawul Stock Exchange. Ordinary least squares, quantile least squares and robust least squares are used to investigate the associations between board characteristics and TBL reporting, including its separate components.

The authors find a significant negative association between TBL reporting and board independence. Social bottom line is significantly and negatively related to board size and board independence. Results indicate that board independence negatively influences the TBL disclosure of companies. Therefore, companies are encouraged to embrace TBL reporting. This suggests that businesses should improve the quality of their reporting while ensuring that voluntary disclosures reflect an accurate and fair view in order to preserve a positive relationship with stakeholders.

The present study explains the evidence for the determinants of the TBL in Saudi Arabia.

The present study aims to assess the potential impacts of board members' characteristics, including connectedness and independence, on the level of the firm's involvement in innovation and corporate social responsibility (CSR).

Variables of board members' interlock and independence are selected for measuring the board characteristics and their association with innovation. The range of disclosure of social responsibility (SR) of the firms inside and outside the industries is also analyzed through descriptive-correlational. The selected sample includes 280 firm-years listed firms on Iraq Stock Exchange during 2012–2017 and 1,026 firm-years on the Tehran Stock Exchange. The hypotheses are examined using multivariate regression models and panel data.

The observations show that board interlock and independence in both countries are willing to improve firms' innovation. Moreover, having controlled the industry index, the authors find that business environment innovation is willing to be transmitted into the firms through outside industry sources in Iran. In the Iraq country, regardless of industry index, the positive association between interlocked boards and firm innovation is established. Further analyses also articulate that board interlock is not considered a mechanism to transmit information and experiences about CSR activities.

This paper is a pioneer study to assess the relationship between board member characteristics and the firms' innovation and SR both in Iran and Iraq. Also, it extends the literature by considering the industry index as a significant source of knowledge and experience to gain more precise results. Therefore, the current paper may contribute to the development of knowledge in this field of study.

本研究擬評估董事會成員的特性 (這包括其連通性及自主性) ，如何潛在地影響公司投入創新和承擔企業社會責任的程度。

董事會成員的相互扣連和自主獨立這些變數、被挑選來量度董事會的特性以及其與創新的關聯。本研究亦以描述性關連性研究法、來分析和透視公司在企業內外參與企業社會責任的範圍。被挑選的研究樣本包括於2012年至2017年間在伊拉克股票交易所280公司年上市公司，以及在德黑蘭股票交易所1026公司年。各假設均以多變量迴歸模型和縱橫資料來作分析研究。

觀察的結果、證明在這兩個國家，富連通性和自主性的董事會均樂意改善公司的創新；而且，我們在控制行業指數後，發現在伊朗、企業環境創新會積極地透過外部行業資源訊息而發送至公司。在伊拉克，相互扣連的董事會與公司創新之間的正面關聯得到確立。而這關聯是不受行業指數影響的。而且，進一步的分析、明確顯示董事會的相互扣連不被認為是一個發送關於企業社會責任的資訊或經驗的機制。

本研究乃為先鋒研究、來評估在伊朗和伊拉克兩地董事會成員的特性，與公司創新和企業社會責任之間的關係。再者，本研究使有關的文獻得以伸延，方法是把行業指數當作是一個能提供更準確的研究結果的知識和經驗的重要來源；因此，本研究會為有關的研究領域、提供更多知識。

The main aim of the present study is to assess the moderating effect of joint audit (JA) on the relationship between audit committee effectiveness (ACEFF) and audit quality (AQ) in Egypt.

The sample included 61 non-financial corporations listed on the Egyptian Exchange from 2016 through 2020. The results are estimated using panel data analysis with fixed-effect models.

The findings exhibit that audit committee (AC) independence, ACEFF; and audit firm size negatively affect AQ. Conversely, the influence of AC meetings on AQ is positive and significant. The findings also reveal that JA moderates the relation between the ACEFF and AQ.

The study offers theoretical contributions to corporate governance mechanisms, JA; and AQ by using data from listed firms in Egypt. The study is the first one that examines the moderating role of JA on ACEFF and AQ.

The study has practical implications for investors, board members, practitioners, academicians; and policymakers. Moreover, the study contributes using a composite measure for the ACEFF score.

The findings, supported by agency, resource dependence; and signaling theories, contribute to a better understanding of the relationship between ACEFF, AQ; and JA. The evidence about JA is still unknown in developing countries. Further, revisiting AQ with different measures, particularly accounting conservatism, has not been a subject of prior studies.

This study aims to examine the challenges for green retrofitting implementation in existing residential buildings to lower the running cost and achieve a better energy-efficient system.

This study adopted a qualitative approach by interviewing conveniently selected 16 construction professionals, made up of architects, quantity surveyors and engineers. Data received were analysed using the content analysis method.

The findings revealed that the main barriers to incorporating green retrofitting in the existing residential buildings as the nature of the existing structures, limited knowledge, not being a priority and high costs involved in the process. Moreover, other factors influencing property developers’ decision to apply energy-efficient principles in a residential home include cost (initial capital and maintenance), level of knowledge, nature of the climate in the area, local legislation, more independence and increasing the property’s market value and environmental aspect.

This study is limited to South Africa; thus, the literature available was limited.

People’s perceptions, either wrong or correct, affect their ability to make an informed decision to adopt green retrofitting principles, thereby denying them the opportunity to reap the associated benefits. Therefore, there is an urgent need for the construction industry stakeholders and government to increase educational opportunities for property owners on the importance of green retrofitting.

This study provides the occupants with the possible barriers and problem areas with implementing these principles. They will thus make an informed decision when implementing sustainable design methods.