Telfer School Researchers Help Undergraduates Experience Research First Hand
Professors Sandra Schillo, Jonathan Linton, and Magda Donia will supervise three of the students selected for the Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program (UROP), helping them gain valuable experience in their field of study. Flipus Kurniawan Tjong of the Telfer School will work with professor Sandra Schillo; Amund Desmarais from the Faculty of Engineering will work with professor Jonathan Linton; and Talib Karamally of the Faculty of Social Sciences will work with Magda Donia.
The Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program provides undergraduate students with unique and exciting opportunities to explore research at the University of Ottawa while they define their professional goals. By participating in UROP, the students each receive a $1,000 award and devotes, during one academic term, at least 50 hours to the research project conducted by the faculty sponsor he or she has chosen. Each faculty sponsor receives $500 in research funds to support his or her involvement in the program. Since its inception, the program has doubled the number of placements it offers, rising from 140 in 2010 to 287 in 2012.
Professor Wojtek Michalowski Granted Polish State Professorship
Professor Wojtek Michalowski was granted state professorship from the President of Poland upon the recommendation of the Polish Academy of Sciences and after a rigorous process. This is the highest academic title in Poland and it’s given for research accomplishments recognized internationally.
David Doloreux Launches Comparative Study of Innovation Practices in Canada and France
David Doloreux will lead a study examining the relationships between territory, innovation and economic development within the manufacturing and service sectors through a $40,000 grant from the International Research Acceleration Program and the Telfer School of Management. The researchers will draw on emerging theories of innovation in a comparative study of innovation practices in different regions in Canada and France. The project is titled, “Les logiques spatiales de l’innovation: regards croisés sur le Canada et la France.”
Dr. Doloreux, a Full Professor and the Research Chair in Canadian Francophonie at the Telfer School, will work with colleagues from l’Institut national de la recherche scientifique (INRS)–Centre Urbanisation Culture Société and Université Montesquieu Bordeaux IV in France. The researchers will develop an analytical framework enabling them to evaluate whether the lessons drawn from Canadian cases can be applied to France, and vice-versa. As such, the results are expected to have an important public policy impact.
The recent literature has explored innovation systems, institutional supports, and resources at the level of the region to explain the capacity of firms to innovate. But it has also focused on the pivotal role of connectedness to larger networks in terms of transportation and communication links to industrial hubs. This study will bring together these two complimentary strands in the research. The team will base their analyses on unique data from the Canadian “Survey of Innovation and Business Strategy” and its equivalent in France.
New Research by Shujun Ding: Does IFRS Adoption Improve Private Firms’ Access to Debt Financing?
A new study by Professor Shujun Ding funded by the University of Ottawa’s Research Development Program and the Telfer School examines which factors lead private firms’ to voluntarily adopt the international financial reporting standards, or IFRS. The research also asks if the adoption of IFRS improves access to external capital.
Implementation of IFRS — mandatory for publically listed firms since 2011 — remains optional for private firms, which must weigh the pros and cons of implementation. These companies might consider it too costly, demanding resources and skills that they might not have. On the other hand, private firms that have adopted IFRS may have improved accounting information, which may increase their chances of obtaining bank loans, all else being equal. The study will take a closer look at the issue.
Shujun Ding teaches both management and financial accounting. His main research interests include judgment and decision-making in accounting contexts, corporate governance, and accounting and finance issues in small business. He was recently awarded a $12,000 grant for this study.
Differences Between IFRS and CGAAP Values Widespread and Significant, Reveals CGA-Canada Report
A new report by the Certified General Accountants Association of Canada (CGA-Canada) reveals that the adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) has had a noticeable impact on the financial statements of Canadian-listed companies. The source of the differences in financial reporting is linked to a broad range of accounting adjustments. The study looked at 150 companies listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX), which mandatorily adopted IFRS in 2011, and used their audited financial statements as the basis of the analysis.
The analysis was by Michel Blanchette, professor of accounting with the Université du Québec en Outaouais, François-Éric Racicot, associate professor of finance at the Telfer School of Management, and Komlan Sedzro, professor of finance at Université du Québec à Montréal.
