Socioeconomic status and weight control practices in British adults

Study objective-Attitudes and practices concerning weight control in British adults were examined to test the hypothesis that variation in concern about weight and deliberate weight control might partly explain the socioeconomic status (SES) gradient in obesity. Higher SES groups were hypothesised to show more weight concern and higher levels of dieting.Setting-Data were collected as part of the monthly Omnibus Survey of the Office of National Statistics in March 1999.Participants-A stratified, probability sample of 2690 households was selected by random sampling of addresses in Britain. One randomly selected person in each household was interviewed at their home.Main results-As predicted, higher SES men and women had higher levels of perceived overweight, monitored their weight more closely, and were more likely to be trying to lose weight. Higher SES groups also reported more restrictive dietary practices and more vigorous dietary physical practices activity.Conclusions-The results are consistent with the idea that part of the protection against weight gain in higher SES groups could be a higher frequency of weight monitoring, a lower threshold for defining themselves as overweight, and a greater likelihood of deliberate efforts at weight control

The Question Concerning Technology in Compliance

In this symposium Essay, I apply insights from philosophy and psychology to argue that modes of achieving compliance that focus on technology undermine, and are undermined by, modes of achieving compliance that focus on culture. Insisting on both may mean succeeding at neither. How an organization resolves this apparent contradiction in program design, like the broader question of optimal corporate governance arrangements, is highly idiosyncratic. Firms should therefore be accorded maximum freedom in designing their compliance programs, rather than being forced by enforcement authorities into a set of de facto mandatory compliance structures

The Question Concerning Technology in Compliance

In this symposium Essay, I apply insights from philosophy and psychology to argue that modes of achieving compliance that focus on technology undermine, and are undermined by, modes of achieving compliance that focus on culture. Insisting on both may mean succeeding at neither. How an organization resolves this apparent contradiction in program design, like the broader question of optimal corporate governance arrangements, is highly idiosyncratic. Firms should therefore be accorded maximum freedom in designing their compliance programs, rather than being forced by enforcement authorities into a set of de facto mandatory compliance structures

Wallum on the Nabiac Pleistocene barriers, lower North Coast of New South Wales

Wallum is widespread on coastal dunefields, beach ridge plains and associated sandy flats in northern NSW and southern Queensland. These sand masses contain large aquifers, and the wallum ecosystem is considered to be generally groundwater-dependent. This study describes the floristic composition and environmental relations of wallum on a Pleistocene barrier system at Nabiac (32˚ 09’S 152˚ 26’E), on the lower North Coast of NSW. Despite their minimal elevation and degraded relief, the Nabiac barriers maintain floristic patterns related to topography and hence groundwater relations. Comparative analyses identified the Nabiac wallum as representative of the ecosystem throughout large parts of its range in eastern Australia. The Nabiac wallum and nearby estuarine and alluvial vegetation supports species and communities of conservation significance. A borefield is proposed for development on the Nabiac barriers, thereby providing a valuable opportunity for research into mechanisms of groundwater utilisation by the wallum ecosystem

The Missing Monitor in Corporate Governance: The Directors\u27 & Officers\u27 Liability Insurer

This article reports the results of empirical research on the monitoring role of directors\u27 and officers\u27 liability insurance (D&O insurance) companies in American corporate governance. Economic theory provides three reasons to expect D&O insurers to serve as corporate governance monitors: first, monitoring provides insurers with a way to manage moral hazard; second, monitoring provides benefits to shareholders who might not otherwise need the risk distribution that D&O insurance provides; and third, the bonding provided by risk distribution gives insurers a comparative advantage in monitoring. Nevertheless, we find that D&O insurers neither monitor corporate governance during the life of the insurance contract nor manage litigation defense costs once claims arise. Our findings raise significant questions about the value of D&O insurance for shareholders as well as the deterrent effect of corporate and securities liability. After exploring various explanations for these findings, we conclude that the absence of monitoring is due, at least in part, to the agency problem in the corporate context. Our analysis thus suggests that the existing form of corporate D&O insurance both results from and contributes to the relatively weak constraints on corporate managers. Corporate managers buy D&O coverage for self-serving reasons, and the coverage itself because it does not control moral hazard, reduces the extent to which shareholder litigation aligns managers\u27and shareholders\u27 incentives

The Missing Monitor in Corporate Governance: The Directors\u27 & Officers\u27 Liability Insurer

This article reports the results of empirical research on the monitoring role of directors\u27 and officers\u27 liability insurance (D&O insurance) companies in American corporate governance. Economic theory provides three reasons to expect D&O insurers to serve as corporate governance monitors: first, monitoring provides insurers with a way to manage moral hazard; second, monitoring provides benefits to shareholders who might not otherwise need the risk distribution that D&O insurance provides; and third, the bonding provided by risk distribution gives insurers a comparative advantage in monitoring. Nevertheless, we find that D&O insurers neither monitor corporate governance during the life of the insurance contract nor manage litigation defense costs once claims arise. Our findings raise significant questions about the value of D&O insurance for shareholders as well as the deterrent effect of corporate and securities liability. After exploring various explanations for these findings, we conclude that the absence of monitoring is due, at least in part, to the agency problem in the corporate context. Our analysis thus suggests that the existing form of corporate D&O insurance both results from and contributes to the relatively weak constraints on corporate managers. Corporate managers buy D&O coverage for self-serving reasons, and the coverage itself because it does not control moral hazard, reduces the extent to which shareholder litigation aligns managers\u27and shareholders\u27 incentives

Wetland biodiversity in coastal New South Wales: the Wallis Lake catchment as a case study

The floristic composition and environmental relations of wetland vegetation in the Wallis Lake catchment (32˚ 09’S; 152˚ 20’E), area 1292 km2, on the lower North Coast of NSW are described. The catchment supports wetlands listed as Endangered Ecological Communities (NSW Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995) and plant species of high conservation value. A methodology of air photo interpretation, site-based sampling (114 quadrats) and landscape differentiation was developed. A total of 393 vascular plant taxa were recorded (including 10% exotics). Wetland vegetation formations and subformations including mangrove forest, swamp sclerophyll forest, wet heathland, chenopod shrubland, tussock grassland, sedgeland and rushland are described using numerical classification. 31 plant species of national or regional conservation significance are identified. Four Endangered Ecological Communities are discussed – Coastal Saltmarsh, Swamp Oak Floodplain Forest, Swamp Sclerophyll Forest on Coastal Floodplains, and Freshwater Wetlands on Coastal Floodplains. A key recommendation is the completion of reliable wetland vegetation and soil landscape mapping for all land tenures in the catchment – to assess wetland condition and conservation significance, and representation in formal conservation reserves, thereby directing future priorities for the protection of wetland biodiversity on both public and private lands. The methodology developed can be applied to the survey and conservation of wetland biodiversity in other parts of coastal NSW

The Market for Preclusion in Merger Litigation

The recent finding that corporate litigation involving Delaware companies very often takes place outside of Delaware has disturbed the long-settled understanding of how merger litigation works. With many, even most, cases being filed and ultimately resolved outside of Delaware, commentators warn that the trend is a threat to shareholders, to Delaware, and to the integrity of corporate law generally. Although the out-of-Delaware trend suggests that litigants are seeking to use the procedural rules of other jurisdictions to their advantage, we argue that the result need not threaten the interests of any of the stakeholders in deal litigation. We reframe the process of resolving merger litigation as a market for preclusion, in which plaintiffs seek to sell and defendants seek to buy an important element of transactional certainty. Moreover, this market has the potential to efficiently process and price shareholder complaints while also providing benefits to Delaware and to corporate law more generally. We are not blind to reality, however, and also address how a well-functioning market for preclusion can be distorted by the opportunistic conduct of plaintiffs’ and defense attorneys alike. Greater judicial oversight is necessary to preserve the benefits of this market while preventing the distortions brought on through opportunistic conduct. In order to make this a reality, however, judges in different courts must have a means of communicating and coordinating across state lines. We therefore offer a theory of horizontal comity in which judges build trust and cooperation through communication across jurisdictional boundaries. We use this theory to suggest a set of concrete policy proposals designed to provide for a more efficient market for preclusion