The Wealth Defence Industry:A Large-scale Study on Accountancy Firms as Profit Shifting Facilitators

Corporations increasingly engage in innovative ‘tax planning strategies’ by shifting profits between jurisdictions. In response, states try to curtail such profit shifting activities while at the same time attempting to retain and attract multinational corporations. We aim to open up this dichotomy between states and corporations and argue that a wealth defence industry of professional service firms plays a crucial role as facilitators. We investigate the subsidiary structure of 27,000 MNCs and show that clients of the Big Four accountancy firms show systematically higher levels of aggressive tax planning strategies than clients of smaller accountancy firms. We specify this effect for three distinct strategies and also uncover marked differences across countries. As such we provide empirical evidence for the systematic involvement of auditors as facilitators in corporate wealth defence

Is the tetraneutron a bound dineutron-dineutron molecule?

In light of a new experiment which claims a positive identification, we discuss the possible existence of the tetraneutron. We explore a novel model based on a dineutron-dineutron molecule. We show that this model is not able to explain the tetraneutron as a bound state, in agreement with other theoretical models already discussed in the literature.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figures, J. Phys. G, in pres

Mental health literacy in an educational elite – an online survey among university students

BACKGROUND: Mental health literacy is a prerequisite for early recognition and intervention in mental disorders. The aims of this paper are to determine whether a sample of university students recognise different symptoms of depression and schizophrenia and to reveal factors influencing correct recognition. METHODS: Bivariate and correspondence analyses of the results from an online survey among university students (n = 225). RESULTS: Most participants recognised the specific symptoms of depression. The symptoms of schizophrenia were acknowledged to a lower extent. Delusions of control and hallucinations of taste were not identified as symptoms of schizophrenia. Repeated revival of a trauma for depression and split personality for schizophrenia were frequently mistaken as symptoms of the respective disorders. Bivariate analyses demonstrated that previous interest in and a side job related to mental disorders, as well as previous personal treatment experience had a positive influence on symptom recognition. The correspondence analysis showed that male students of natural science, economics and philosophy are illiterate in recognising the symptoms depression and schizophrenia. CONCLUSION: Among the educational elite, a wide variability in mental health literacy was found. Therefore, it's important for public mental health interventions to focus on the different recognition rates in depression and schizophrenia. Possibilities for contact must be arranged according to interest and activity (e.g., at work). In order to improve mental health literacy, finally, education and/or internship should be integrated in high school or apprenticeship curricula. Special emphasis must be given towards the effects of gender and stereotypes held about mental illnesses

The Evolution of the Epidemic of Charcoal-Burning Suicide in Taiwan: A Spatial and Temporal Analysis

Shu-Sen Chang and colleagues describe the epidemiology of an epidemic of suicide by charcoal burning in Taiwan and discuss possible reasons for its spread

Hostility, Physical Aggression and Trait Anger as Predictors for Suicidal Behavior in Chinese Adolescents: A School-Based Study

Purpose: This study explored the extent to which trait aggression is associated with suicidal behavior in a nationwide school-based sample of adolescents. Methods: A nationwide sample of 14,537 high school students in urban areas of China was recruited. Information concerning suicide ideation, plans, attempts, trait aggression and other risk factors was collected by a self-reported questionnaire. Multivariate regression analyses were employed to predict suicidal behavior. Results: Approximately 18.5 % of students reported suicide ideation, 8.7 % reported suicide plans, and 4.1 % reported attempts during the past one year. Hostility and trait anger had a significant positive association with suicidal ideation. Hostility and physical aggression were positively related to suicide plans. Hostility had a positive correlation with suicide attempts, while trait anger was inversely associated with suicide attempts. Conclusions: This study suggests that hostility, physical aggression and trait anger may be able to be used to predict suicidal behavior among adolescents. Suicide prevention programs should target at attenuating the severity of hostility, anger and physical aggression. But teachers and parents should also give close attention to students with low trait anger

Differences between unipolar mania and bipolar-I disorder: Evidence from nine epidemiological studies.

Although clinical evidence suggests important differences between unipolar mania and bipolar-I disorder (BP-I), epidemiological data are limited. Combining data from nine population-based studies, we compared subjects with mania (M) or mania with mild depression (Md) to those with BP-I with both manic and depressive episodes with respect to demographic and clinical characteristics in order to highlight differences. Participants were compared for gender, age, age at onset of mania, psychiatric comorbidity, temperament, and family history of mental disorders. Generalized linear mixed models with adjustment for sex and age as well as for each study source were applied. Analyses were performed for the pooled adult and adolescent samples, separately. Within the included cohorts, 109 adults and 195 adolescents were diagnosed with M/Md and 323 adults and 182 adolescents with BP-I. In both adult and adolescent samples, there was a male preponderance in M/Md, whereas lifetime generalized anxiety and/panic disorders and suicide attempts were less common in M/Md than in BP-I. Furthermore, adults with mania revealed bulimia/binge eating and drug use disorders less frequently than those with BP-I. The significant differences found in gender and comorbidity between mania and BP-I suggest that unipolar mania, despite its low prevalence, should be established as a separate diagnosis both for clinical and research purposes. In clinical settings, the rarer occurrence of suicide attempts, anxiety, and drug use disorders among individuals with unipolar mania may facilitate successful treatment of the disorder and lead to a more favorable course than that of BP-I disorder

Preliminary spatiotemporal analysis of the association between socio-environmental factors and suicide

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The seasonality of suicide has long been recognised. However, little is known about the relative importance of socio-environmental factors in the occurrence of suicide in different geographical areas. This study examined the association of climate, socioeconomic and demographic factors with suicide in Queensland, Australia, using a spatiotemporal approach.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Seasonal data on suicide, demographic variables and socioeconomic indexes for areas in each Local Government Area (LGA) between 1999 and 2003 were acquired from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Climate data were supplied by the Australian Bureau of Meteorology. A multivariable generalized estimating equation model was used to examine the impact of socio-environmental factors on suicide.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The preliminary data analyses show that far north Queensland had the highest suicide incidence (e.g., Cook and Mornington Shires), while the south-western areas had the lowest incidence (e.g., Barcoo and Bauhinia Shires) in all the seasons. Maximum temperature, unemployment rate, the proportion of Indigenous population and the proportion of population with low individual income were statistically significantly and positively associated with suicide. There were weaker but not significant associations for other variables.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Maximum temperature, the proportion of Indigenous population and unemployment rate appeared to be major determinants of suicide at a LGA level in Queensland.</p