Stock Market Efficiency and Price Limits: Evidence from Korea’s Recent Expansion of Price Limits

This paper examines the efficiency of the Korean stock exchange market with reference to the recent relaxation of price limits effective on June 15, 2015 for the period from January 2012 to November 2017 and compares the efficiency between sub-periods before and after the police change which saw expansion of daily price limits from 15% to 30%. The daily returns of the market index and 60 stocks selected from different industrial sectors are used to test the random walk hypothesis under two different price limits regime using the Lo-MacKinlay variance ratio tests and multiple variance ratio tests. The empirical evidence found that the market index showed weak form market efficiency along the lines of random walk hypothesis while individual sample stocks behaved differently according to the different price limits periods. The number of stocks following the random walk process increased under the 30% price limits regime in comparison with that under the 15% regime, indicating Korea’s stock market appears to become more efficient as daily price limits are expanded although the findings are rather suggestive than definitive

Extramedullary hematopoiesis presenting as a compressive cord and cerebral lesion in a patient without a significant hematologic disorder: a case report

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p>Intracranial or spinal compressive lesions due to extramedullary hematopoiesis have been reported in the medical literature. Most of the reported cases are extradural lesions or, on rare occasions, foci within another neoplasm such as hemangioblastoma, meningioma or pilocytic astrocytoma. Often these cases occur in patients with an underlying hematological disorder such as acute myelogenic leukemia, myelofibrosis, or other myelodysplastic syndromes. Such lesions have also been reported in thalassemia major.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>We report the case of a 43-year-old Iranian woman in whom extramedullary hematopoiesis presented as a compressive cord lesion and then later as an intracranial lesion.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>To the best of our knowledge, we document the first reported case of sacral, lumbar, thoracic and cranial involvement in the same patient with extramedullary hematopoiesis, which seems both rare and remarkable.</p

Increasing cardiovascular medication adherence:A Medical Research Council complex mHealth intervention mixed-methods feasibility study to inform global practice

AimsTo evaluate a mHealth intervention to increase medication adherence among Iranian coronary heart disease patients.DesignQuantitative-dominant mixed-methods study.Data SourceIranian coronary heart disease patients’ responses and most recent clinical documents as well as responses from Iranian cardiac nurses who participated in this study.MethodsThe study was conducted between September 2015–April 2016 drawing on the Medical Research Council's Framework. Phase one comprised of a patients’ survey and focus groups with cardiac nurses. The automated short message service reminder was piloted in phase two. We recruited 78 patients and randomized to receive either 12-week daily reminders or usual care. The primary outcome was the effect on medication adherence; secondary outcomes were self-efficacy, ejection fraction, functional capacity, readmission rate and quality of life.ResultsFeasibility was evidenced by high ownership of mobile phones and high interest in receiving reminders. Participants in the intervention group showed significantly higher medication adherence compared with the control group.ConclusionThe mHealth intervention was well accepted and feasible with early evidence of effectiveness that needs to be confirmed in a fully powered future randomized clinical trial

Tourism in Conflict Areas: Complex Entanglements in Jordan.

In this article the workings of tourism in areas of socio-political turmoil are critically examined. In so doing the aim is to scrutinize interconnections between tourism, safety and conflict as I contend that tourism, tourists and the danger generated by ongoing socio-political conflicts are intimately connected. The empirical focus is on tourism in Jordan, a country in a region troubled by ongoing conflicts. Fieldwork for this project was carried out in 2009 and 2010 and data was collected from local tourism industry representatives and international tourists in Jordan. Findings indicate that a safety/danger binary is destabilized by industry representatives who operate a ‘sanitization’ process in Jordan meant to erase danger and conflicts from tourism spaces. Tourists in the region also disrupt this binary as they travel to the region in spite of the conflict and downplay violent incidents

Making real progress toward more sustainable societies using decision support models and tools: Introduction to the special volume

Academics, politicians, professionals and the general public are aware that without stewarding our planet’s natural resources, man is on the pathway towards a global collapse. Over the next three decades mankind is expected to consume an estimated 140 billion tons of minerals, ores, fossil fuels and biomass per year – three times current consumption. Social welfare and human wellbeing are threatened with the scarcity of natural resources; consequently, nations and their societies are also at risk of collapse. The readers of this special volume will find a compilation of scholarly research papers with real-life applications that take the challenge of proposing decision-making models and tools to address sustainability challenges in integrative ways. The main focus of this special volume is integration of sustainability dimensions (economic, social, environmental, ethical and time) into decision-support models and to identify pathways to achieve more sustainable societies. The majority of the research in this special volume, 74 percent, focuses on environmental and economic dimensions. Only 26 percent integrated social dimensions with them. Methodologically, a range of mathematical models and tools are presented to support prescriptive decision-making, with some descriptive models integrated, to support decision-makers in solving practical problems across a variety of industries and scenarios. The breadth and complexity of issues facing organizations and society requires innovative applications of these methodologies. The concerns cover a spectrum ranging from energy to solid waste management. A multitude of levels from broad-based policy concerns to strategic inter-organizational sustainable supply chain management and significantly, shop floor operational issues are also covered. The variety of problems and solutions exemplifies the potential for modelling and operations research for addressing some of our world’s most pressing concerns