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In this dissertation I investigate and compare the impairments of long-lived operating assets under US Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (US GAAP) and International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) from different perspective, including the informativeness, determinants, and market valuation of asset impairments. A firm invests in long-lived operating assets with the expectation of generating future benefit. The decision or recognition of asset impairments implies such future benefit is expected to be lower than originally estimated. US GAAP and IFRS both require the recognition of impairment losses but their standards and accounting approaches are different in several ways. These distinctions raise the question whether the reported long-lived asset impairments under US GAAP and IFRS are comparable and motivate this dissertation. I investigate the predictive ability of reported asset write-offs for firms' future performance and find negative associations suggesting the informativeness of impairment losses. But such informativeness depends on the type of assets impaired, the accounting standards adopted, and the institutional characteristics. In general, aggregate impairments are persistently associated with future performance under IFRS but not US GAAP. The impairments of tangible assets have more predictive ability than those of intangibles. For IFRS adopters, enforcement takes a more important role in determining the informativeness of asset impairments than legal origins. I also examine the determinants and attributes of asset impairments under US GAAP and IFRS. I find both of them reflect certain economic factors and reporting incentives. Under US GAAP asset impairments strongly reflect GDP growth, unemployment rate, industry-trend and reporting incentives, including taking a big bath and income smoothing. Under IFRS the impairments reflect most economic factors but less reporting incentives. However, when enforcement is low in IFRS countries, firms tend to manage earnings through asset write-offs. I further address the market valuation of asset write-offs under US GAAP and IFRS. The reporting of asset impairments improves the explanatory power of accounting information for equity prices under IFRS but not US GAAP, especially when enforcement is high. The associations between asset write-offs and equity prices under IFRS in high enforcement countries are significantly different from those under US GAAP, implying investors weigh reported impairments under IFRS. I also use stock returns as an alternative metric of market valuation. Under US GAAP, asset write-offs are negatively associated with past, current, and future stock returns. Under IFRS in high enforcement countries the effects of impairment loss concentrate on past and current stock returns. The results of comparisons suggest asset write-offs under US GAAP and IFRS are not totally comparable from a market perspective. This dissertation contributes to literature on special items, impairment accounting, and reporting under IFRS. It is also related to the comparability of financial reporting under US GAAP and IFRS. While studies have compared overall properties of the two standards, examining the differences in a specific accounting area is also important as U.S. SEC express concern about the convergence of different accounting standards and whether U.S. should incorporate IFRS into its financial reporting systems. / Business Administration/Accounting

This thesis presents research investigating objectively and subjectively examined cognitive impairment in Bipolar Disorder (BD) in comparison to disorders with similar cognitive symptomatologies. First, a systematic review and meta-analyses compared the cognitive performance between BD and Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) or dementia. Studies included in this review and meta-analyses assessed cognitive performances using multiple objective cognitive assessments. Results from these meta-analyses found greater impairment in BD relative to MCI on motor initiative abilities. Additionally, there were similarities in cognitive deficits on delayed memory recall and visuoconstructional abilities between BD and MCI. For the comparison between BD and dementia, we analyzed the findings of studies comparing BD across different mood states with different types of dementia, where BD in acute mood episode demonstrated greater deficits in attention, working memory, verbal memory, and executive function than behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD). In contrast, overall cognitive functioning and verbal fluency was more impaired in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) in comparison to BD during euthymia. Next, we shifted the focus on examining subjective cognitive complaints in BD relative to Major Depressive Disorder (MDD). Our study is unique from previous literature with the same aim considering that it only involved patients recently diagnosed with BD, and subjective complaints were assessed with the Cognitive Complaints in Bipolar Disorder Rating Assessment (COBRA), an instrument specific to cognitive complaints detected in BD. The findings demonstrate higher subjective cognitive complaints in euthymic BD in comparison to euthymic MDD, suggesting greater self-perceived difficulties in BD, even in the beginning of the illness. Taken together, findings from the studies presented in this thesis highlight the importance of early detection and intervention of cognitive impairments in BD, with the aim of enhancing cognitive abilities, and prevention of further cognitive degradation with the progression of the disorder / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc)

Yes / Early diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is essential if treatments are to be administered at an earlier point in time before neurons degenerate to a stage beyond repair. In order for early detection to occur tools used to detect the disorder must be sensitive to the earliest of cognitive impairments. Virtual reality (VR) technology offers opportunities to provide products which attempt to mimic daily life situations, as much as is possible, within the computational environment. This may be useful for the detection of cognitive difficulties. We develop a virtual simulation designed to assess visuospatial memory in order to investigate cognitive function in a group of healthy elderly participants and those with a mild cognitive impairment. Participants were required to guide themselves along a virtual path to reach a virtual destination which they were required to remember. The preliminary results indicate that this virtual simulation has the potential to be used for detection of early AD since significant correlations of scores on the virtual environment with existing neuropsychological tests were found. Furthermore, the test discriminated between healthy elderly participants and those with a mild cognitive impairment (MCI).

Many people have visual impairment and make up a population that is increasing each year. Haptic technology is often used to assist members of this population by providing a way of understanding visual information. Although haptic technology is relatively new, it is widely applied across a variety of domains (research and industry). However, a great number of users are dissatisfied with their assistive technology applications. Unfortunately, such dissatisfaction is likely to cause abandonment of the technology devices. In particular, recent research shows that the adoption rate of haptic technology is low. Discontinuing the use of assistive technology devices ultimately results in a waste of time, money, freedom, and reduced function for individuals with disabilities. Of all the factors that lead to abandonment, the most significant is the failure to meet user needs. Whether existing design approaches properly reflect assistive technology user needs should be explored, especially for haptic technology. Existing design approaches have rarely considered the heterogeneous needs of users in the same disability category (i.e., visual disability). Most previous studies on assistive technology have been oriented towards those with total blindness as opposed to those with residual vision (also referred to as low vision). In addition, researchers have paid less attention to older adults with low vision in terms of individual differences in haptic user interface (HUI) needs. There is also some doubt about the applicability of existing design approaches in such design contexts as users with visual disabilities using haptic user interfaces. The aim of this research was to investigate individual differences in users' capabilities in the haptic modality and user needs in HUIs. Particularly, age-related and vision-related individual differences were explored. Another aim was to develop a more accessible design approach applicable to users with visual disabilities and HUIs. The magnitude estimation technique was employed to examine how participants (classified by vision and age) perceive the same objective stimulus, such as haptic perception, differently. Brain plasticity theory was primarily applied to modify the existing design approach, PICTIVE. The effectiveness of modified and original PICTIVE methods was investigated in terms of the frequency of statements, gestures, satisfaction, and time to complete a given design task. HUI user needs were elicited from participants and were analyzed to understand age-related and vision-related individual differences. It was found that the haptic perception of the same objective stimulus was not significantly different between younger and older participants with low vision. The two age groups' overall preferences for a set of HUI user needs were not significantly different. In addition, the haptic perception of the same objective stimulus was not significantly different between sighted participants and those with low vision. The two vision groups' overall preferences on a set of HUI user needs were not significantly different as well. The two design methods resulted in significantly different outcomes. First, participants in the modified PICTIVE method made a significantly higher number of statements. Second, participants in the modified PICTIVE method showed a significantly higher number of gestures. Third, participants in the modified PICTIVE method took significantly more time because they had more design ideas to deliver. Last, both groups were satisfied with a given design method. In short, the research outcomes contribute to the advancement of knowledge and understanding of more "usable" accessibility for users with visual impairment and a more "accessible" participatory design approach to nontraditional user interfaces (i.e., haptic user interfaces) for users with visual impairment. / Ph. D.