Asset Sales, Firm Performance, and the Agency Costs of Managerial Discretion

We argue that management sells assets when doing so provides the cheapest funds to pursue its objectives rather than for operating efficiency reasons alone. This hypothesis suggests that (1) firms selling assets have high leverage and/or poor performance, (2) a successful asset sale is good news and (3) the stock market discounts asset sale proceeds retained by the selling firm. In support of this hypothesis, we find that the typical firm in our sample performs poorly before the sale and that the average stock-price reaction to asset sales is positive only when the proceeds are paid out.

Psykiske aspekter ved kronisk leddegigt

The paper gives a historical outline of the psychological theories of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). In the classical era of psychosomatic medicine, RA was considered a psychosomatic disease, in its narrow definition. Thus, research was concentrated on the possible psychological causes of the so-called »arthritis-personality«. Today these theories of specifity are relinquishedto a integrativ approach. RA is understood as a multi-factorial conditioned disease, where bio-physiological, psychoneuroimmunological, and psychodynamic mechanisms are significant. On the basis of this historical account, the psychosocial aspects of RA are discussed, such as social isolation, anxiety and depressive symptoms, marital problems,and inadequate coping with aggression. Finally, some considerations concerning psychotherapy in connection to chronic, non-malignant pain syndromes are provided. The advantages of group therapy are emphasized in preference to individual therapy with regard to somatic patients.Artiklen giver et historisk rids af de psykologiske teorier om kronisk leddegigt (reumatoid artrit). 1 den klassiske psykosomatiske medicins æra blev kronisk leddegigt betragtet som en psykosomatisk sygdom i snæver forstand. Man forskede således i de mulige psykologiske årsager til den såkaldte »artritis-personlighed«. I dag er disse specifitetsteorier opgivet til fordel for en integrativ opfattelse. Kronisk leddegigt forstås som en multifaktorielt betinget lidelse, hvor både biofysiologiske og psykoneuroimmunologiske og psykodynamiske forhold spiller afgørende ind. På baggrund af denne forståelse diskuteres de psykosociale aspekter ved leddegigt i form af social isolation, angstog depressionssymptomer, samlivsproblemer og inadækvat aggressionsforvaltning.Endelig fremlægges nogle overvejelser om psykoterapeutisk behandling ved kronisk, ikke-maligne smertetilstande. Derargumenteres specielt for fordelene ved gruppeterapi fremfor individualterapi i forhold til somatisk syge

“<em>That Guy, Is He Really Sick at All?</em>” An Analysis of How Veterans with PTSD Experience Nature-Based Therapy

Serving in the military leads to mental diseases, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), for a percentage of soldiers globally. The number of veterans with PTSD is increasing and, although medication and psychological treatments are offered, treatment results could be improved. Historically, different forms of nature-based therapy have been used for this target group. However, in spite of anecdotally good results, studies measuring the effect of this form of therapy are still lacking. The aim of this study is to explore how veterans with PTSD manage their everyday lives during and after a ten-week nature-based intervention in a therapy garden. Methods: Eight veterans participated in qualitative interviews, which were conducted during a one-year period and were analyzed using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). Results: Five themes emerged from the IPA analysis: Bodily symptoms; relationships; building new identities; the future; and lessons learned. All the participating veterans gained a greater insight into and mastering of their condition, achieved better control of their lives, and developed tools to handle life situations more appropriately and to build a new identity. This improved their ability to participate in social activities and employment. Conclusion: The results should be considered in the future treatment of veterans with PTSD