Do audited firms have a lower cost of debt?

The purpose of this study is to investigate if audited financial statements add value for firms in the private debt market. Using an instrumental variable method, we find that firms with audited financial statements, on average, save 0.47 percentage points on the cost of debt compared to firms with unaudited financial statements. We also find that using the big, well-known auditing firms does not yield any additional cost of debt benefits. Lastly, we investigate if there are industries where alternative sources of information make auditing less valuable in reducing the cost of debt. Here, we find that auditing is less important in lowering cost in one industry, agriculture, where one lender has a 74% market share and a 100-year history of lending to firms within that industry. As such, it seems that lenders having high exposure to a certain industry might act as an alternative to auditing in reducing the information asymmetry between the firm and the lender.

How to manage the Value of Drinking water by using Extension on the Contingent Valuation Method

This paper examines an explanatory policy in the management of drinking water in Tunisia. Indeed, the price variable, while is considered, in general way, as a confident indicator in the regulation of drinking water consumption, it seems to be insufficient since the management of drinking water is influenced by other set of variables such as: the revenue level of households, the consumption of bottled water, the alternative sources, the household size and, above all, the quality variable, which presents an enormous variability inter- and intra-regions. Through our study, we have shown, that the variation in willingness to pay (WTP) is essentially due to psychological and subjective consideration (the degree of importance of these variables in the scale of preferences of consumers).

Analysis of the availability of water resources using the Thornthwaite-Matter water balance method with dual reservoir development in residential locations in Tangerang regency

Many settlements still use groundwater sources and this can cause a decrease in the ground water level. There is a need for alternative sources of water to meet the water needs of settlements. The purpose of this study was to determine the magnitude of the surplus or deficit of water in Tangerang Regency, Indonesia and also to determine the amount of water demand for the population in the region. Therefore, it is necessary to analyze the planning of dual reservoirs in providing groundwater for residential areas in overcoming the problem of drought in the dry season. This research method uses Thornthwaite-Matter water balance analysis and multiple reservoir design planning. The results showed that the estimated water surplus occurred from January to April with a magnitude between 25.07 mm to 186.09 mm. The water deficit occurs from July to October with a magnitude between 127 mm to 219 mm. The pattern of water consumption in the household is used as a reference for making reservoirs to maintain the availability of air in residential areas. The dual reservoir will be equipped with sensors that can help determine the water level so that it is easy to detect water needs and can prevent water wastage.

Challenges Facing Undergraduates in the Use of Electronic Information Resources in Universities in Southwest Nigeria

This study aims at identifying the challenges facing undergraduates in the use of electronic information resources (EIR) in a university in Southwest Nigeria. The descriptive survey design was adopted for this study. The population for the study comprised 85,526 registered undergraduate student (2018/2019) academic session in the federal and state universities in Southwest Nigeria. The sample for the study was 398. Proportionate sampling techniques were used to draw the sample. Questionnaire was the instrument used for data collection from the respondents based on a four-point scale rating. The findings revealed high cost of access, power outage, information overload, lack of proper maintenance, funding of library services, among others. Based on the findings, the study recommended provision of alternative sources of funds, constant maintenance of e-resources, and first year students should be introduced to computer training, among others.

A mobile application for assessing the product success on crowdfunding campaign: the development and usability testing

Crowdfunding is one of the alternative sources of finance for product-based startups. Products are funded if the campaign is considered to be successful in reaching the target. The assessment of the success rate of product campaigns develops into three successive levels, namely overfunding, successful and unsuccessful. Due to the complication of setting up a product campaign on an online crowdfunding platform, a mobile application to aid campaigners needs to be developed. Moreover, it is essential to evaluate its ease to use. This study aims to (1) develop an android-based application, (2) evaluate the usability of the application based on user perceptions. The application ('POSCA') was developed by emphasizing user experience (UX), while the Use Questionnaire evaluated its usability. Ten participants were invited to evaluate the system usability and interface. The results suggest that 'POSCA' has good scores of usability: ‘efficiency’ = 49.11% in the fifth trial, ‘very-easy-to-learn’ (95%), ‘useful’ (85%), ‘easy-to-use’ (87%), and ‘satisfy-the-users’ (88%).

Use of fruit epicarps to formulate pectin-based bioactive films / Utilização de epicarpos de frutos para formulação de filmes bioativos à base de pectinas

The functional properties of biofilms can vary according to the biopolymer used as the raw material; thus, in the search for alternative sources for preparation of biodegradable films, fruits and vegetables have been used to extract compounds of interest with applications in the food industry. The objective of this work was to obtain and characterize bioactive films based on pectin extracted from the epicarps (skin) of the fruit. The genipap (Genipa americana), red pitaya (Hylocereus polyrhizus) and star fruit (Averrhoa carambola) were collected, washed, pulped and dried at 50 °C for 24 h, and their epicarps were ground and subjected to pectin extraction using the casting method. The films were characterized as to their visual appearance, moisture, pH, water solubility and antioxidant activity. The pectin-based films of G. americana and H. polyrhizus showed a yellowish color, while A. carambola was dark brown. The highest pectin yield (29%) and moisture content (13.9%) were obtained from the H. polyrhizus film, while A. carambola showed the highest solubility in water (98.6%) and had the highest pH (3.9). Additionally, the film based on A. carambola showed greater antioxidant potential against ABTS (30.5%) and DPPH (34%), as well as greater reducing power (0.262 absorbance at 750 nm) and content of total phenolic compounds (553 mg GAE/100 g), whereas H. polyrhizus had a higher percentage of chelating ability (27%). The physicochemical characteristics and bioactive properties exhibited make the film formulation a viable alternative for the food industry.

Preliminary Evaluation of Quality and Rank of Banik Coal, Zakho, Duhok Governorate, Kurdistan Region, Iraq

This study aims to evaluate the rank (or grade) and economic value of so–called coal horizons outcropping in the vicinity of Banik and Shiranish-Islam villages of Zakho District, Duhok Governorate. These coal-like beds (locally known as Banik Coal) make up few meters within the upper part of the Jurassic Naokelekan Formation. The evaluation was mainly based on standard chemical tests of coal (proximate and ultimate analyses) achieved in foreign and local laboratories. The test results were assessed according to the standard coal tests introduced by the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM). The latest stratigraphic studies revealed that the presumable coal horizons were thin beds of limestone and dolomitic limestone alternated with frequent shales all impregnated with bituminous materials, mostly of hydrocarbon source. The bituminous beds were traced in both upper and lower parts of Naokelekan Formation. The standard proximate coal analysis has shown low percent of fixed carbon and high percent of volatiles and ash which support the hydrocarbon source of these bituminous beds. Consequently, it would be difficult to classify these bituminous beds similarly to the standard coal ranks of ASTM. The high values of mineral matter display the dominance of minerals rather than the carbon in the local samples. However, the Gross Calorific Value (heating value) of these beds would imply that they can be used as relatively poor quality source of fuel. Besides, the exploitation of Banik coals would be influenced by the cost of extraction (or mining), the expected prices of produced coal, and the prices of alternative sources of energy.

Impact of Replacing Different Levels of Panicum maximum in Rabbit Diets on Growth Performance, Hemato-Biochemical Profile, and Histological Responses of Some Internal Organs

There has been an interest in alternative sources in rabbit feeding. Therefore, the current study aimed to estimate the health status, growth performance, hemato-biochemical, and histological picture of some important internal organs in growing Newziland rabbits as a result of replacing different levels of Panicum maximum (PM) in its pelleted diet. A total of 35 weaned rabbits (20 males and 15 females) aged 5 weeks were purchased with an average body weight of 839.7 ± 7.05 g and 771.20 ± 9.19 g for males and females, respectively. Randomly, five equal rabbit groups were formed (7 rabbits in each group). The first group (control) was fed a basal diet without PM. The second, third, fourth, and fifth groups were fed pelleted diets containing PM with a replacing percent of 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100% of clover hay, respectively. All groups were fed ad libitum of pelleted feed for two months. The blood was aspirated individually three times, including at the beginning of the experiment (as zero time), after one month, and at the end of the experiment, respectively. The whole blood was used for the measurement of hemoglobin concentration, hematocrit percentage, erythrocytes, and total leukocyte counts. At the experimental end, in each group, 3 male rabbits were sacrificed and their internal organs including liver, kidney, cecum, and rectum were collected for histopathology. The live body weight was significantly affected by sex where males were heavier than females, also feed conversion ratio, growth rate, and feed intake were significantly affected by feeding on different levels of PM. Blood hemoglobin, hematocrit, and the total leukocytic count had a non-significant effect while the erythrocyte count increased significantly in all experimental groups. There were insignificant changes in plasma total protein, albumin, globulin, ALT, AST, creatinine, and glucose concentrations when different levels of PM were added. furthermore, the plasma total cholesterol and triglycerides were significantly decreased in rabbits fed PM, 75% and 100% when compared with 25%, 50%, and control groups. Finally, replacement PM instead of clover hay in pelleted diets till 75% was found to be the safety and optimum percentage for biological and healthy rabbits.