The numbers game : 80- 200m2 Pigs, Pokes and Horses

The Highland Housing Expo, Scottish architects and low carbon dwellings

The numbers game : 206 GigaWatts – beam me up Scottie!

Renewable energy in Scotlan

Pollution fears are misplaced while toxins thrive indoors air filters can reduce heart and lung disease, a new study reveals, because air quality is so poor inside modern houses

Following the smoking ban, advocates of clean air might have believed that the battle was largely won. However, worrying new research highlights the pernicious effects of other life-threatening pollutants. Most worrying is the fact that these are pollutants that occur inside the home.A Danish study of non-smokers aged between 60 and 75 found that the use of an air filter in the home for only 48 hours improved vascular function in the participants as much as stopping smoking would do in a smoker. When the high-efficiency particle air (HEPA) filters were used to clean the air in the apartments of 21 older couples, their bloodvessel function improved by about 8%

The numbers game : 24 hours (to Tulsa?)

To build anything requires a variety of statutory approvals and co-operation from a significant number of utilities. Such complexity invariably produces stumbling blocks and delays to the process, but of all of these hurdles, gaining planning permission is undoubtedly the most fraught

The numbers game - 102333

Linking Scottish football to community regeneration is a bold and intrepid initiative, for the association is far from obvious. A quick glance at the environs of most Scottish football stadia will reveal a less than impressive urban landscape, both visual and economic. The mounting trepidation of tenement dwellers in Mount Florida on the approach of a major international was tangible. It took weeks to get the smell of urine out of the closes. So although it may be opportune to exploit the Scottish populaces' obsession with football, is private corporatism the best template for community regeneration

The nature and implications of the part-time employment of secondary school pupils

This paper reports on the results of a review of existing measures of enterprising skills and attitudes. The review was undertaken firstly to identify definitions of enterprising skills and attitudes and secondly to inform the design of the questionnaire of school pupils and of the focused studies. It has been written by Linda Brownlow and Sheila Semple, both members of the research team. This paper is being circulated to advisory group members only at this stage [2004]

Post-16 Curriculum and Qualifications Reform in England and Scotland: lessons from home international comparisons

In this article we compare Curriculum 2000 and Higher Still, recent reforms of post-16 education in England and Scotland respectively. We draw on current and earlier research on the unification of academic and vocational learning in England, Scotland and other European countries in order to suggest areas for mutual learning to inform future curriculum and qualifications reform north and south of the Border. We highlight five of these - the conduct of the policy process, issues of progression, assessment, approaches to vocational education and key/core skills. In our conclusion we speculate on the possibility of either convergence or divergence of the English and Scottish upper secondary education systems as both evolve

The numbers game - 2 big bangs... one big mess

We have a problem with a lack of mass (or liquidity?) in the universe from the first big bang that occurred circa 15 billion years ago. The Hadron collider has been designed to provide us with some new insights into the origins of the universe by unlocking the mysteries of the strange world that is sub-atomic particle physics. But for now lets set this fabulous experiment to one side and concentrate on the fallout from the second big bang that occurred circa 1986.The recent gymnastics in the banking system have generated a veritable cornucopia of hypothesis as to what went wrong and who should now be consigned to the stocks. Fred and Fanny, spivs and speculators, buccaneering be-knighted bankers, those damn productive Chinese with their $2 trillion export surplus and of course, G. Dubya Bush. Financial commentators with a reputation for sober analysis,have been forced to stretch hyperbole beyond its natural elasticity.These economists appear to be truly astounded by what has happened, for they all come from the same tradition that has imbued them - like Voltaire's Candide - with an intrinsic belief that the so called, 'free market' is 'the best of all possible worlds'

The Impact of Voluntary Disclosures on Sell-Side Analyst Stock Recommendations: Australian Experience

This paper investigates the impact of voluntary disclosures on sell-side analyst stock recommendations. It uses content analysis method to measure quality of information disclosures and emphasis on particular themes. The focus of this study is on changes in analyst recommendations and the new information disclosures that have been made public since the previous revision of recommendation. The proxies for voluntary disclosures are information released by firms via company announcements and associated media reports. The characteristics of these disclosures are examined to explore their impact on the changes in analystsÌ stock recommendations. Based on a sample of over 200 recommendation revisions of 40 listed Australian companies, the results suggest that voluntary disclosures do contribute to analyst stock revisions. The findings reveal that the quantity of disclosures is positively associated with the number of recommendation revisions, and that disclosures with favourable signals or with price-sensitive contents are significantly related to the direction and type of analyst revisions. In addition, disclosure of specific themes (e.g., dividend and product) in company announcements and news are significantly associated with the recommendation change. This has implications for both the formulation of accounting policies and the regulation of financial disclosure. Acknowledgements: The authors acknowledge the support of Thomson Financial in the conduct of this research through their provision of data from the Institutional Brokers Estimate System (I/B/E/S) service. This data has been provided as part of a broad academic program to encourage earnings expectation research. The authors acknowledge the helpful comments from participants at the BAA Annual Conference (2004), University of York.Thai takeovers, bidding firms, control portfolios, bootstrapped t-tests