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Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of Research and Development (R&D) disclosures on earnings management practices. Design/methodology/approach This study has been conducted by using a longitudinal archival data set of French companies belonging to the CAC All-Tradable index and instrumental variable estimations. Findings The results of the research highlight the moderating effect of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) adoption and the financial crisis in this relationship. It also shows that R&D disclosures are negatively associated with earnings management. The findings also show that the IFRS adoption is complementary in its monitoring role of managerial behavior in reducing earnings management in the presence of R&D disclosures. Furthermore, this study finds that the negative effect of R&D disclosures on earnings management is more prevalent during the global financial crisis. Originality/value This study examined the consequences of the voluntary disclosure of R&D information in the French context. It introduces a measurement for the disclosure of R&D activities in annual reports through the construction of an R&D disclosure index.

The higher education institutions in the study programs and during the learning and teaching process should ensure the inclusion of digital skills. The digital skills should be delivered to students along the three pillars of the European Qualification Framework. If the higher education institutions fail to integrate and deliver the digital skills in the curriculum will devastate also the employment perspectives of its graduates. The information itself does not represent knowledge and today students have access to a large amount of information. In the long run this trend may diminish the focus skills of students and it poses a risk for creation of reflexive learner instead of the reflective ones. Thus, it is important that the teaching methodologies, which integrate various digital utilities to help students develop their reflective thinking instead of reflexive one.

One of the most important challenges of the higher education sector in Kosovo, in Europe and elsewhere, is the development and updating of the curricula (study programs), which is consistent with the needs of labour market, comparable with the similar universities abroad, along with Bologna Declaration and with recent trends in European higher education. The aim of this study is to analyse system of higher education in Kosovo: legal framework and managerial accountability of the public and private higher education institutions in the process of curriculum development (study programs), and the case study regarding to the curriculum development is conducted at University "Haxhi Zeka" in Peja. The study is developed based on two main research methods: 1) Survey method, and 2) Roundtable discussion. In addition, a great importance is dedicated to the research, analysis, use of national and international strategic documents that consequently, administrate the process of curriculum development, respectively the higher education in Kosovo. The survey results shows that, decision-making process on curricula development undergo through different levels at public higher education institutions comparing with private ones. Further, curriculum of University "Haxhi Zeka" is developed based on market researches and is consistent with the labour market needs.

The aim of this paper is to analyse the effect of the mobile phone penetration rate on inequality in Western Balkan countries and to provide empirical evidence. We explore the question of whether cell phone diffusion helps to decrease inequality and whether it has a positive income equality effect. In the developed conceptual framework, we consider that people with access to mobile telephony also have access to Wi-Fi and GPS and that individuals can perform different activities, such as engaging in e-commerce, e-governance, health, and education; paying bills; saving money; and transferring money to other persons. This represents a good foundation for poor persons exit the cycle of deprivation and leads to the development of equal opportunities. We analyse the impact of mobile phone penetration on inequality in Western Balkan countries by using ordinary least squares and two-stage least squares models (Asongu, 2015). Our results confirm the income-redistributive effect of mobile phone penetration.