The HIH Collapse: A Costly Catalyst for Reform

This paper examines the corporate governance and audit law reforms wrought in the wake of recent corporate scandals such as the HIH collapse. It considers the cost of these reforms and, using HIH as a principle reference point, the likely benefits. In particular, it questions reforms in the areas of auditor independence and audit standards. Do the new independence requirements go far enough? Does audit practice regulation now go too far? Indeed, is the audit function inherentlysusceptible to legislated sanction – or does this denigrate the veryessence of auditing as a profession

Business Cycle Theory and Econometrics

We outline in turn criticisms made by econometricians of the methods used in empirical business-cycle research and then criticisms made by business-cycle researchers of some methods used by econometricians. The aim is to clarify and in some cases correct these criticisms. Overall there is no conflict in using rigourous statistical procedures to study modern dynamic stochastic general equilibrium models. We also provide a concise bibliography of recent research on statistical methods for business-cycle models.business cycles, time-series econometrics

South Pacific Security and the Emerging Doctrine of \u27Co-operative Intervention\u27: the Pacific way or Howard\u27s way

The end of the Cold war catalysed considerable recalibration in the world\u27s security architecture. In Australia, whilst this entailed a closer embrace of Asia, the South Pacific did not initially engage Australian security interests. However, post 11 September 2001 and post the terrorist attacks in Bali of October 2002, much has changed. The notion of \u27comprehensive security\u27—in which Pacific security is seen as a function of a wide variety of social, political and strategic phenomena—has assumed such prominence it has ushered in an expanded justification for one state to intervene in the affairs of another. Although, as in the case of the Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands, such intervention has required invitation and multinational coalitions under the rubric \u27cooperative intervention\u27, the extent and nature of Australian-led initiatives in the South Pacific has raised concerns. Key amongst these concerns is the extent to which policies such as tied-aid and \u27extended cooperation\u27 might erode South Pacific sovereignty and the consensus politics of the Pacific Way. This article considers these issues against the backdrop of very significant changes to the region\u27s key political body, the Pacific Forum. It suggests that although Australia is commendably active in strengthening the Pacific\u27s security net, greater sensitivity to Pacific concerns might better effect her longer-term security objectives

Information-Theoretic Estimation of Preference Parameters: Macroeconomic Applications and Simulation Evidence

This paper investigates the behaviour of estimators based on the Kullback-Leibler information criterion (KLIC), as an alternative to the generalized method of moments (GMM). We first study the estimators in a Monte Carlo simulation model of consumption growth with power utility. Then we compare KLIC and GMM estimators in macroeconomic applications, in which preference parameters are estimated with aggregate data. KLIC probability measures serve as useful diagnostics. In dependent data, tests of overidentifying restrictions in the KLIC framework have size properties comparable to those of the J-test in iterated GMM, but superior size-adjusted power.KLIC estimation, generalized method of moments, Monte Carlo

Can standardized patients replace physicians as OSCE examiners?

BACKGROUND: To reduce inter-rater variability in evaluations and the demand on physician time, standardized patients (SP) are being used as examiners in OSCEs. There is concern that SP have insufficient training to provide valid evaluation of student competence and/or provide feedback on clinical skills. It is also unknown if SP ratings predict student competence in other areas. The objectives of this study were: to examine student attitudes towards SP examiners; to compare SP and physician evaluations of competence; and to compare predictive validity of these scores, using performance on the multiple choice questions examination (MCQE) as the outcome variable. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study of third-year medical students undergoing an OSCE during the Internal Medicine clerkship rotation. Fifty-two students rotated through 8 stations (6 physician, 2 SP examiners). Statistical tests used were Pearson's correlation coefficient, two-sample t-test, effect size calculation, and multiple linear regression. RESULTS: Most students reported that SP stations were less stressful, that SP were as good as physicians in giving feedback, and that SP were sufficiently trained to judge clinical skills. SP scored students higher than physicians (mean 90.4% +/- 8.9 vs. 82.2% +/- 3.7, d = 1.5, p < 0.001) and there was a weak correlation between the SP and physician scores (coefficient 0.4, p = 0.003). Physician scores were predictive of summative MCQE scores (regression coefficient = 0.88 [0.15, 1.61], P = 0.019) but there was no relationship between SP scores and summative MCQE scores (regression coefficient = -0.23, P = 0.133). CONCLUSION: These results suggest that SP examiners are acceptable to medical students, SP rate students higher than physicians and, unlike physician scores, SP scores are not related to other measures of competence

iEcology: Harnessing Large Online Resources to Generate Ecological Insights

Digital data are accumulating at unprecedented rates. These contain a lot of information about the natural world, some of which can be used to answer key ecological questions. Here, we introduce iEcology (i.e., internet ecology), an emerging research approach that uses diverse online data sources and methods to generate insights about species distribution over space and time, interactions and dynamics of organisms and their environment, and anthropogenic impacts. We review iEcology data sources and methods, and provide examples of potential research applications. We also outline approaches to reduce potential biases and improve reliability and applicability. As technologies and expertise improve, and costs diminish, iEcology will become an increasingly important means to gain novel insights into the natural world.Peer reviewe

Rapid characterization of binding specificity and cross-reactivity of antibodies using recombinant human protein arrays.

Antibodies are routinely used as research tools, in diagnostic assays and increasingly as therapeutics. Ideally, these applications require antibodies with high sensitivity and specificity; however, many commercially available antibodies are limited in their use as they cross-react with non-related proteins. Here we describe a novel method to characterize antibody specificity. Six commercially available monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies were screened on high-density protein arrays comprising of ~10,000 recombinant human proteins (Imagenes). Two of the six antibodies examined; anti-pICln and anti-GAPDH, bound exclusively to their target antigen and showed no cross-reactivity with non-related proteins. However, four of the antibodies, anti-HSP90, anti-HSA, anti-bFGF and anti-Ro52, showed strong cross-reactivity with other proteins on the array. Antibody-antigen interactions were readily confirmed using Western immunoblotting. In addition, the redundant nature of the protein array used, enabled us to define the epitopic region within HSP90 of the anti-HSP90 antibody, and identify possible shared epitopes in cross-reacting proteins. In conclusion, high-density protein array technology is a fast and effective means for determining the specificity of antibodies and can be used to further improve the accuracy of antibody applications

Acute intestinal failure: international multicenter point-of-prevalence study

Background & aims: Intestinal failure (IF) is defined from a requirement or intravenous supplementation due to failing capacity to absorb nutrients and fluids. Acute IF is an acute, potentially reversible form of IF. We aimed to identify the prevalence, underlying causes and outcomes of acute IF. Methods: This point-of-prevalence study included all adult patients hospitalized in acute care hospitals and receiving parenteral nutrition (PN) on a study day. The reason for PN and the mechanism of IF (if present) were documented by local investigators and reviewed by an expert panel. Results: Twenty-three hospitals (19 university, 4 regional) with a total capacity of 16,356 acute care beds and 1237 intensive care unit (ICU) beds participated in this study. On the study day, 338 patients received PN (21 patients/1000 acute care beds) and 206 (13/1000) were categorized as acute IF. The categorization of reason for PN was revised in 64 cases (18.9% of total) in consensus between the expert panel and investigators. Hospital mortality of all study patients was 21.5%; the median hospital stay was 36 days. Patients with acute IF had a hospital mortality of 20.5% and median hospital stay of 38 days (P > 0.05 for both outcomes). Disordered gut motility (e.g. ileus) was the most common mechanism of acute IF, and 71.5% of patients with acute IF had undergone abdominal surgery. Duration of PN of ≥42 days was identified as being the best cut-off predicting hospital mortality within 90 days. PN ≥ 42 days, age, sepsis and ICU admission were independently associated with 90-day hospital mortality. Conclusions: Around 2% of adult patients in acute care hospitals received PN, 60% of them due to acute IF. High 90-day hospital mortality and long hospital stay were observed in patients receiving PN, whereas presence of acute IF did not additionally influence these outcomes. Duration of PN was associated with increased 90-day hospital mortality