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This paper examines the effect that the introduction of the FRS 9, the general disclosure standard in New Zealand, has on the level of disclosure of certain unspecified operating expenses. Generally, a low level of operating expense disclosure was found with no overall improvement recorded after the introduction of FRS 9. In many cases, companies did not disclose any unspecified operating expenses. Firm size and overseas listing/ownership appeared to be positively associated with the disclosure of unspecified operating expenses. Most companies did disclose the mandatory expenses monitored (depreciation, audit and directors' fees). Commentary is provided on the inadequacy of the discretionary aspects of accounting standards such as FRS 9, and the inadequacy of regulatory enforcement. Given the move to international harmonisation, and the level of disclosure seemingly at odds with international practice, the adoption and enforcement of International Accounting Standard 1 (IAS 1) would provide a simple solution.

With the increasing use of small unmanned aircrafts (SUAs), many countries have enacted laws and regulations to ensure the safe use of SUAs. However, there is a lack of industry-specific regulations accounting for the unique features of construction-related SUA operations. Operating SUAs in the construction industry is attributed to specific risks and challenges, which should be regulated to maximize the utility of SUAs in construction. This study, therefore, aims to develop a multi-dimensional regulatory framework for using SUAs in the construction industry.

A combination of quantitative and qualitative methods was used to compare seven selected national/regional SUA regulations to identify the applicability of implementing the existing regulations in construction. The interview surveys were then conducted to diagnose the challenges of construction-related SUA operations and gather interviewees' suggestions on the regulatory framework for SUA uses in construction.

The research found that some challenges of construction-related SUAs operations were not addressed in the current regulations. These challenges included the complex and time-consuming SUA operation permit, lack of regulation for special SUA operations in construction, insufficient regulatory compliance monitoring and a lack of construction-related remote pilots' training. A regulatory framework was then developed based on the findings of comparative analysis and interview surveys.

This study mainly compared seven representative countries/regions' regulations, leading to a small sample size. Further research should be carried out to study the SUA regulations in other places, such as South Africa, South America or Middle East countries. Besides, this study's respondents to the interviews were primarily concentrated in Hong Kong, which may cause the interview results to differ from the construction industry in other countries/regions. A large-scale interview survey should be conducted in other places in the future to validate the current findings.

The proposed regulatory framework provides a reference for the policy-makers to formulate appropriate industry-specific SUA regulations and improve the applicability of SUA regulations in the construction industry. It sheds light upon the future of SUA regulations and the development of regulatory practice in this area.

This study is the first to propose a multi-dimensional regulatory framework for operating SUAs in construction by comprehensive policy comparisons and interviews. The regulatory framework offers a fresh insight into the unexplored research area and points out the direction for subsequent studies on SUA regulations in the construction industry.

The purpose of this paper is to examine compliance with operating expense disclosure provisions contained in New Zealand approved accounting standards before and after the move to New Zealand equivalents to international financial reporting standards (NZ IFRS). Prior research showed poor disclosure practices and the paper seeks to determine if this has improved under international accounting standards for those who choose to adopt NZ IFRS prior to mandatory adoption.

An empirical archival approach is used. While the sample size of early adopters is small, it does provide the unique ability to control for any temporal effects on disclosure practices.

Full compliance with operating expenses that are mandated such as depreciation, directors and auditor fees under both NZ financial reporting standards (NZ FRS) and NZ IFRS was found. However, unspecified operating expense disclosures are still poor for those using NZ FRS. A substantial improvement was found in unspecified disclosure levels for those companies using the New Zealand equivalent to international accounting standard 1 (NZ IAS 1). However, the results also show areas of concern, for example, 14 per cent of listed companies using NZ IAS 1 did not disclose any unspecified expense items and 27 per cent of listed companies disclosed only one item.

The results should be of relevance to preparers, analysts and regulators. The preliminary results were provided to the New Zealand Securities Commission. After its own analysis, it issued a statement expressing concern with the high level of unexplained expenses in financial statements.

Adequate disclosure is considered a crucial element to help ensure efficient capital markets. The paper provides empirical insights into operating expense disclosure based on the requirements and wording contained within NZ FRS and NZ IFRS.

This guide was commissioned by the British Library Research and Development Department, on the advice of the Group for Research into Public Libraries. It was produced as the result of a research project, the first stage of which was a survey of automated issue systems in public libraries in the United Kingdom. The survey was published as a special issue of VINE (No. 52, December 1983), and showed a clear trend towards the provision of online, stand‐alone systems, often including functions other than circulation control, and usually provided on a turnkey basis. For the second stage of study, it was decided to concentrate on these systems, and to compile a guide and checklist on their selection and installation, which could be used by librarians considering automation, or in the process of replacing a system. The study was carried out over the period December 1983 — February 1984.

UAVs have become a critical component of U.S. military operations, reducing the need to risk the life of a pilot, while performing tasks considered dull, dirty, and dangerous. UAVs currently are serving an important intelligence, surveillance, search, and destroy function in Operation Enduring Freedom. Since September 11, 2001, the public has increasingly been made aware of the role that military UAVs, such as the Predator and Global Hawk, play.

THE dc Havilland DH 121 Trident is a 600 m.p.h. airliner designed for economical short‐haul operation. It is intended to replace Viscount and Convairliners on regional networks with stages up to about 1,200 statute miles, and will be able to operate stopping services without intermediate refuelling over short‐range networks. The Trident can use runways of less than 6,000 ft. while carrying a full load and the cost per scat mile has been estimated to be 104 cents (or 09d.) while operating over stage lengths of 800 miles with a passenger complement of 101 economy class scats.

The purpose of this paper is to examine organizations’ commitment and communication of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in a developing country’s context.

The study employed an empirical quantitative approach by surveying 193 managers from multiple organizations in Ghana, and used independent sample t-test as well as descriptive statistics to examine the phenomenon.

The study established that firms operating in Ghana know about CSR and are committed to it. But the level of understanding of the concept as evidenced by their practices is limited to philanthropic activities. The study further revealed that firms operating in Ghana communicate their CSR activities to stakeholders in many forms. Additionally, organizations employ equally varied channels in communicating their CSR initiatives.

The study contributes the Ghanaian perspective of CSR to the Sub-Sahara African literature, and by that it enhances our present understanding of the commitment and communication channels of CSR activities by companies operating in Ghana.

Empirical Literature on CSR communication in developing countries is limited. The paucity of academic enquiry on the issue has stimulated this research, based on the perceptions of managers of firms operating in Ghana about their principles of CSR, their way to disclose these activities and the kind of CSR activities done. Further research directions are also articulated.

No comprehensive set of data elements for describing computer software has previously been developed. Applications determine the need for specific data elements. This article presents a comprehensive profile of data elements, and identifies their probable application in library catalogs, bibliographic references, program documentation, program front matter, program packaging, software catalogs and eye‐legible labels. The data elements are correlated with existing MARC tags, providing compatibility with current usage.

Global businesses create and sustain operational success and create value by balancing the centripetal and centrifugal organizational forces they generate. Productive efforts to achieve strategic and operational success are enabled by the balance of competing tensions not their oscillations. Internal regulators contribute to this balance when they are understood and systematically integrated into both short and long-term decision-making. Inattention to the intricacies of interactive regulating dynamics and systems dilute value creation, or worse, destroy it. The whole business organization must be greater than the sum of its parts to deliver optimum value. Anything less creates gaps which competitors will exploit to the detriment of shareholder value creation. The business landscape is replete with companies that failed to create or sustain balance. There are also examples of great companies that nurture tensions to promote proper balance.

Power converters are an integral part of the energy conversion process in solar photovoltaic (PV) systems which is used to match the solar PV generation with the load requirements. The increased penetration of renewable invokes intermittency in the generated power affecting the reliability and continuous energy supply of such converters. DC-DC converters deployed in solar PV systems impose stringent restrictions on supplied power, continuous operation and fault prediction scenarios by continuously observing state variables to ensure continuous operation of the converter.

A converter deployed for a mission-critical application has to ensure continuous regulated output for which the converter has to ensure fault-free operation. The fault diagnostic algorithm relies on the measurement of a state variable to assess the type of fault. In the same line, a predictive controller depends on the measurement of a state variable to predict the control variable of a converter system to regulate the converter output around a fixed or a variable reference. Consequently, both the fault diagnosis and the predictive control algorithms depend on the measurement of a state variable. Once measured, the available data can be used for both algorithms interchangeably.

The objective of this work is to integrate the fault diagnostic and the predictive control algorithms while sharing the measurement requirements of both these control algorithms. The integrated algorithms thus proposed could be applied to any converter with a single inductor in its energy buffer stage.

laboratory prototype is created to verify the feasibility of the integrated predictive control and fault diagnosis algorithm. As the proposed method combine the fault detection algorithm along with predictive control, a load step variation and manual fault creation methods are used to verify the feasibility of the converter as with the simulation analysis. The value for the capacitors and inductors were chosen based on the charge-second and volt-second balance equations obtained from the steady-state analysis of boost converter.