PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine whether gendered differences in occupational aspirations still appear when considering students with similar abilities who study competitively in the same achievement‐oriented educational setting.Design/methodology/approachThe hypotheses stipulated an interaction between gender and year of study on students' career aspirations and on career‐style preferences. An interactive expression was constructed, multiplying gender by year of study (i.e. a female student in her freshman year, a female student in her senior year, and so on). A sequence of logistic regressions was used to test the hypotheses. The hypotheses were tested by cross‐sectional analysis of the data, using 802 valid questionnaires collected from a sample of 1,000 Israeli accounting students from the accounting programs at three institutions of higher learning.FindingsIt was hypothesized that differences between the sexes in occupational aspirations and career style preferences would evolve and increase with years of study and especially as students approached the end of the academic track. In other words, it was expected that an interaction between gender and year of study would affect students' occupational aspirations and career‐style preferences. The findings supported the hypothesis. In their freshmen year, the sexes shared a similar pattern of aspirations and goals. However, during their later academic years, females reduced their occupational aspirations and revealed a stronger preference for a convenient balance between work and other facets of life. Logistic regressions demonstrated the statistically significant effect of the interaction between gender and academic year on student occupational aspirations and career‐style preferences.Originality/valueThe study demonstrates the decrease in female students’ occupational aspirations during the educational period, and that encouraging young women to obtain male‐type professional education might be insufficient in order to eliminate inequality between the sexes.

The study investigates changes in Israeli accounting students' career aspirations during their course of studies, and the relationship between these and their perceptions of professional accountancy firms. We employed a cross-sectional analysis of students across consecutive educational levels from the first year to the end of their formal education. We assumed that revealed differences between the accounting student cohorts, in terms of their perceptions of professional accountancy firms and their career aspirations, could be interpreted as reflecting changes over time in students' attitudes. Results from the sample show that accounting student' aspirations to pursue a career with a professional accountancy firm decline significantly between the first and postgraduate years, while their desire to work in the business sector increases. The results show the same trend with regard to the student's positive perceptions of the above firms as future workplaces. Non-parametric tests demonstrate significant relationships between students' career aspirations and their perceptions of professional accountancy firms. We suggest that the change in students' perceptions and aspirations is a symptom of something similar to a 'reality shock', and that it results from the students' exposure to the accounting profession. Professional accountancy firms need to implement innovative policies to meet the challenge.Accounting education, career aspirations, perceptions, students, reality shock,

The declining prices of new technology products often results in a tendency for many decision makers to wait for lower prices, and to postpone a capital investment. This paper makes a distinction between the prices of technology elements and the prices of components and systems. There are many cases where the price reduction over time applies only to some elements of the system, while the total price of the improved system remains almost the same.For those cases, a DECLINING PRICE PARADOX is spelled out. The Paradox suggests that the more the price of the investment is subject to future reduction, the more urgent it is to invest in this technology.The paper incorporates learning considerations in the investment decision making, and states the conditions where the paradoxox applies. There is no doubt that in today's marketplace a delay in investment may yield better prices in the future. In order toshow that this passive approach is not always correct, this paper presents a step by step analysis, which will provide insights for decision makers. The simple classical approach examines the myopic dilemma whether to buy the system today or tomorrow. If we buy the system today, the price is A; if we buy it "tomorroww the discounted price will be B, and the natural assumption is that B < A.On the other hand, there are benefits gained from applying the new technology. If we apply the system today, the Net PresentValue (NPV) of the benefits will be X; tomorrow, Y, assuming X>Y. The decision criteria according to the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) evaluation is as follows:This DCF approach, like other financial performance measures, Most of the literature deals with the learning benefits of the producer of a product or a service. In this paper we focus on the user's learning process.It is common to assume a logarithmic relationship (Yelle, [1979]) between the production cost (or time) of a unit and the number of units produced (or time of use of the new system) according to The experience advantage of Firm I is represented by the shaded area --designated L(t*, t2) --may be calculated as follows:Let us assume that the prices are declining according to Invest today if Moreover, if (3.4) or (3.5) is positive, and given a certain t*, dictated by the market, we can maximize the NPV. Optimization yields the best timing (t2) for the investment: There may be an optimal time T for investment. Do not invest ifThe evaluating of (3.7) results in some important conclusions for the decision makers:o At some point of time, t*, we measure the benefits. As t* is smaller, the learning benefits are higher and may dominate the decision. In our ever changing markets, where t* becomes shorter from year to year, the firm has much incentive to apply the new technology early. Yelle, 1979 andGloberson, 1980). Figure 3.3 illustrates the model. 12-have shown to be worthwhile. By time t2, Mr. I1 decides to invest in the modern technology. Mr. I, willing to keep his competitive edge in the market upgraded his system, and apparently has paid...

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In recent years, we have witnessed increasing acceptance of embedded value (EV) reporting as the most robust measure of shareholder value for life and health insurance businesses. Therefore, the Commissioner of Insurance in Israel decided to request insurance companies to disclose the EV of their life, pension and health insurance business annually, beginning with the annual statements for FY 2007. Even though the insurance and financial community expected the publication of the EV data and emphasized its importance, the reaction of the capital market seemed to ignore the EV data. All things being equal, if an insurer is writing profitable new business, its market capitalization should exceed its EV. However, the market capitalization of all listed insurance companies in Israel is far below their reported EV, and the gap is growing. The purpose of this article is twofold: (a) to suggest several explanations for this apparent EV “puzzle,” both competing and complementary; (b) to argue that although the question of whether the EV report and market-consistent EV methodology really indicate the fair value of the insurance company remains controversial, the EV report contains data that give better insights into the forces driving operating performance and the impact of management actions. “The EV analysis should also be considered when evaluating management performance and remuneration schemes.”