Perceptions of Human Capital Measures: From Corporate Executives and Investors

Purpose

This study compared the perceptions of executives and investors in terms of the importance to disclose human capital measures and their knowledge of those measures.

Design/methodology/approach

Forty-nine senior-level executives (41% response rate) from service-oriented, public-listed companies in Australia and 33 investors (47% response rate) from various fund management companies responded to our survey.

Findings

The investors indicated the importance to disclose certain human capital measures more than the executives. The executives appeared to show a better understanding than the investors on indicators such as staff satisfaction index, staff capacity, motivational index, workforce stability, and workforce competence profile.

Implications

To date, researchers have explored human capital from a piecemeal perspective. A more integrated and multifaceted measure of human capital has the potential to benefit fund managers and executives. Disclosure of value added by employees, composition of staff (full-time, contract, or temporary), staff turnover, average years of experience, and average age of management and operational staff would shed some light on investment decisions for fund managers. Executives could utilize the measures to reflect on an assortment of human capital issues that are relevant to their organizations and stakeholders, especially the investment community.

Originality/value

This study proposed a more inclusive measure of human capital by integrating traditional measures of human capital and non-accounting measures (e.g., educational level, experience, and motivation). A comparison of the perspectives of executives and investors revealed preferences for certain information, which can help to improve the perception of transparency and accountability.     

Trait BIS predicts alpha asymmetry and P300 in a Go/No‐Go task

Inspired by the revised Behavioural Inhibition System (BIS) theory the present study probed the association between individual differences in Trait BIS and electroencephalogram indicators of conflict processing/inhibition. Sixty‐nine male participants either high or low in Trait BIS completed a Go/No‐Go task while the electroencephalogram was recorded. As expected, Trait BIS was associated with the No‐Go‐anteriorisation of the P300 event‐related potential (i.e. an index of response inhibition presumably generated in the dorsal anterior cingulate—an area implicated in conflict processing) and with No‐ Go‐related changes towards left frontal alpha activity (i.e. presumably more activity in right prefrontal cortex—an area implicated in response inhibition). These findings support the role of conflict processing attributed to BIS functioning in the revised theory. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Creativity and Ethics: The Relationship of Creative and Ethical Problem-Solving

Students of creativity have long been interested in the relationship between creativity and deviant behaviors such as criminality, mental disease, and unethical behavior. In the present study we wished to examine the relationship between creative thinking skills and ethical decision-making among scientists. Accordingly, 258 doctoral students in the health, biological, and social sciences were asked to complete a measure of creative processing skills (e.g., problem definition, conceptual combination, idea generation) and a measure of ethical decision-making examining four domains, data management, study conduct, professional practices, and business practices. It was found that ethical decision-making in all four of these areas was related to creative problem-solving processes with late cycle processes (e.g., idea generation and solution monitoring) proving particularly important. The implications of these findings for understanding the relationship between creative and deviant thought are discussed.     

Investigating and facilitating children's graphic, geographic, and spatial development: An illustration of Rodney R. Cocking's legacy

Presented here is a case history of an interdisciplinary program of research on children's graphic, geographic, and spatial development that integrates approaches from developmental psychology, geography, and education. Some of the theoretical and historical roots of this work are discussed, with a particular emphasis on the roles that Rodney R. Cocking played in the evolution of this work. Described are findings from basic research on children's developing understanding of place representations, such as maps, educational interventions designed for public television and elementary school classrooms, and efforts aimed at national educational reform. Taken together, the work illustrates Rodney Cocking's profound, diverse, and continuing legacy to the scholarship of the academy and to the lives of children.     

Observed increases in positive affect during behavioral treatment

A 15‐year‐old female diagnosed with mental retardation was admitted to an inpatient facility for the assessment and treatment of a severe behavior disorder. A behavioral treatment to reduce destructive behavior consisting of enriched environment, differential reinforcement, and time‐out was evaluated in a reversal design. Data on affect were collected during baseline and treatment phases. In addition to achieving clinically significant reductions in problem behavior, collateral improvements in positive affect were observed during treatment phases. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Spousal understanding and marital satisfaction in pain patients and their spouses

The current study tested the hypotheses that knee osteoarthritis (OA) patients and spouses who report more spousal understanding of patient's pain would report greater marital satisfaction. A total of 124 couples completed interviews at three time points across 18 months. Results from dyadic analyses showed that patients who felt more understood by their spouse report, and have spouses who report, higher marital satisfaction concurrently. In addition, patients who felt more understood by their spouse reported higher marital satisfaction over time. Spouses' reports of understanding also had a significant influence on the patients' and their own marital satisfaction concurrently. Results highlight the importance of spouses understanding knee OA patients' pain for both dyad members' marital satisfaction.     

The role of internal inhibition and the frontal lobes in child development

The theory that children show a predominance of excitation over internal inhibition and that this is due to inadequate development of the frontal lobes is explored and extended. Experimental results show that children resemble leucotomised monkeys in their difficulty in overcoming an initial preference in discrimination tasks.     

MOTHER, CHILD, AND FAMILY FACTORS RELATED TO EMPLOYMENT OF SINGLE MOTHERS WITH LBW PRESCHOOLERS

The purpose of this study was to identify maternal, child, and family factors related to the employment status and employment history of single mothers of low-birth-weight (LBW) and full-term preschoolers. A sample of 121 female-headed, single-parent families with 3-, 4-, and 5-year-old LBW and full-term children was recruited through admission records to three Level III neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) and birth records of two normal newborn nurseries. Results show that the birth of an LBW infant was not related to employment status, number of hours employed per week, or employment history for single mothers. Employed mothers had significantly more education and more positive attitudes toward employment. Controlling for other factors, never being married, and having more children, more federal income, and less positive employment attitudes were predictive of nonemployment. Both employed and nonemployed women expressed preference for employment.