Choices and Constraints over Retirement Income Streams: Comparing Rules and Regulations

The new Simplified Superannuation regulations for Australian superannuation provide tax concessions to retirement income streams which comply with legislated minimum drawdown rules. We evaluate these new drawdown rules against four alternatives, including three formula-based ‘rules of thumb’ and the previous legislated minimum drawdown limits for allocated pensions. We find that the new regulations are a substantial improvement on the previous rules for allocated pensions and, when compared with the four formula-based rules, are a good compromise in terms of simplicity, adequacy and risk. We also find that welfare is lower for most individuals who follow the Simplified Superannuation compared with welfare under an optimal path or a simple fixed percentage drawdown rule, but that outcomes could be improved through a further simplification of the rules.

Choices and constraints over retirement income streams: comparing rules and regulations

The new Simplified Superannuation regulations for Australian superannuation provide tax concessions to retirement income streams which comply with legislated minimum drawdown rules. We evaluate these new drawdown rules against four alternatives, including three formula-based ‘rules of thumb’ and the previous legislated minimum drawdown limits for allocated pensions. We find that the new regulations are a substantial improvement on the previous rules for allocated pensions and, when compared with the four formula-based rules, are a good compromise in terms of simplicity, a dequacy and risk. We also find that welfare is lower for most individuals who follow the Simplified Superannuation compared with welfare under an optimal path or a simple fixed percentage drawdown rule, but that outcomes could be improved through a further simplification of the rules.

The involvement of nurses and midwives in screening and brief interventions for hazardous and harmful use of alcohol and other psychoactive substances

This report provides details of a review of the literature on the involvement of nurses and midwives in screening and brief interventions for hazardous and harmful use of alcohol and other psychoactive substances

Are chicken minds special?

The number of publications on chicken cognition and emotion exceeds that on most birds and is comparable to the number of publications on some more “advanced” mammals. We argue that the chicken is an excellent model for this type of research because of (1) the presence of well-established fundamental mental processes in the chicken, (2) a challenging ethological environment and (3) social pressures that may have facilitated the evolution of cognitive abilities similar to those of some mammals. Marino’s (2017) review provides an excellent foundation for the continued study of complex mental abilities in this species

Hydraulics are a first order control on CO2 efflux from fluvial systems

Evasion of carbon dioxide (CO2) from fluvial systems is now recognized as a significant component of the global carbon cycle. However the magnitude of, and controls on, this flux remain uncertain and improved understanding of both are required to refine global estimates of fluvial CO2 efflux. CO2 efflux data show no pattern with latitude suggesting that catchment biological productivity is not a primary control and that an alternative explanation for inter-site variability is required. It has been suggested that increased flow velocity and turbulence enhance CO2 efflux, but this is not confirmed. Here, using contemporaneous measurements of efflux (range: 0.07 – 107 µmol CO2 m-2 s-1), flow hydraulics (mean velocity range: 0.03 – 1.39 m s-1) and pCO2 (range: 174 – 10712 µatm) at six sites, we find that flow intensity is a primary control on efflux across two climatically different locations (where pH is not a limiting factor) and that the relationship is refined by incorporating the partial pressure of CO2 (pCO2) of the water. A remaining challenge is how to upscale from point to reach or river basin level. Remote imaging or river surface may be worth exploring if subjectivity in interpreting surface state can be overcome

Controlled human infection models in COVID-19 and tuberculosis: current progress and future challenges

Controlled Human Infection Models (CHIMs) involve deliberately exposing healthy human volunteers to a known pathogen, to allow the detailed study of disease processes and evaluate methods of treatment and prevention, including next generation vaccines. CHIMs are in development for both tuberculosis (TB) and Covid-19, but challenges remain in their ongoing optimisation and refinement. It would be unethical to deliberately infect humans with virulent Mycobacteria tuberculosis (M.tb), however surrogate models involving other mycobacteria, M.tb Purified Protein Derivative or genetically modified forms of M.tb either exist or are under development. These utilise varying routes of administration, including via aerosol, per bronchoscope or intradermal injection, each with their own advantages and disadvantages. Intranasal CHIMs with SARS-CoV-2 were developed against the backdrop of the evolving Covid-19 pandemic and are currently being utilised to both assess viral kinetics, interrogate the local and systemic immunological responses post exposure, and identify immune correlates of protection. In future it is hoped they can be used to assess new treatments and vaccines. The changing face of the pandemic, including the emergence of new virus variants and increasing levels of vaccination and natural immunity within populations, has provided a unique and complex environment within which to develop a SARS-CoV-2 CHIM. This article will discuss current progress and potential future developments in CHIMs for these two globally significant pathogens

Economic Rationality, Risk Presentation, and Retirement Portfolio Choice.

This research studies the propensity of individuals to violate implications of expected utility maximization in allocating retirement savings within a compulsory de- �ned contribution retirement plan. The paper develops the implications and describes the construction and administration of a discrete choice experiment to almost 1200 members of Australias mandatory retirement savings scheme. The experiment �nds overall rates of violation of roughly 25%, and substantial variation in rates, depend- ing on the presentation of investment risk and the characteristics of the participants. Presentations based on frequency of returns below or above a threshold generate more violations than do presentations based on the probability of returns below or above thresholds. Individuals with low numeracy skills, assessed as part of the ex-periment, are several times more likely to violate implications of the conventional expected utility model than those with high numeracy skills. Older individuals are substantially less likely to violate these restrictions, when risk is presented in terms of event frequency, than are younger individuals. The results pose significant questions for public policy, in particular compulsory de�ned contribution retirement schemes, where the future welfare of participants in these schemes depends on quantitative decision-making skills that a signi�cant number of them do not possess.discrete choice; retirement savings; investment risk; household finance; financial literacy

Tipping the scales: ambidexterity practices on e-HRM projects

Purpose: We examine and conceptualise the ways in which a balance can be achieved between optimising the efficiency and effectiveness of electronic HRM (e-HRM) systems for human resource management (HRM) and enabling innovation to occur during the system implementation. Design/methodology/approach: An intepretive case study of a UK local authority e-HRM system implementation is examined using the notion of ambidexterity as an analytical device. Ambidexterity relates to how an organisation develops the ability to operate efficiently in the now, while at the same time being able to adapt to environmental changes around and ahead of them in order to grow into the future. Findings: As an intra-organisational capability, ambidexterity is found to derive from the simultaneous interplay and balancing of dual capabilities: exploitation and exploration.. E-HRM exploitation concerned the capability to generate new knowledge with innovatory effects, created through the everyday practices performed by practitioners at all levels in the organisation. E-HRM exploration, rather than being a purposeful act, was found to be an accidental consequence of engaging in exploitation to maintain the status quo. Originality/value: There is a lack of detailed investigation of how organisations actually achieve ambidexterity, particularly in three under-researched areas: ambidexterity in the public sector, at HR functional level and e-HRM systems implementation. Bundling these three areas into an integrated examination allows us to both identify how exploitation and exploration play out in the ambidextrous practices of an e-HRM project and also to identify the dimensions of ambidexterity in balancing e-HRM work