Who is helped by Help to Buy?

What's not to like about a policy which can expand home ownership and boost the supply of housing? Geoff Meeks and J.Gay Meeks recount some of the doubts about the efficacy of the government's Help to Buy scheme. They present new evidence on some of its regressive distributional consequences, and touch on the opportunity cost of the subsidy programme

The Merger Mystery

Statistical studies over the last forty-five years show that, although there are success stories, very many mergers and acquisitions do not result in the increased operating profits that economics textbooks would lead one to expect. As consultancy McKinsey have put it, ‘Anyone who has researched merger success rates knows that roughly 70% fail’. Yet—mysteriously—M&A activity has boomed across the globe, with a forty-fold increase in deals done each year now compared with four decades ago, in spite of the adverse general evidence. How can it be that talented, energetic, highly skilled, law-abiding, income-maximising participants in the M&A market will often promote mergers that lead to no operating gains, frequently with adverse effects on the wider economy too? Drawing on findings from a wealth of statistical analyses and case evidence from many businesses, the book presents answers to this merger mystery. In a synthesis of ideas from several disciplines, solutions are detected in misaligned incentives, distorted financial engineering and information asymmetry. By revealing how weaknesses at multiple points can interact and cumulate to produce inefficient outcomes, the discussion serves as a corrective to the overwhelmingly positive tone of most commentary on M&A, whilst also advocating changes in participants’ contracts, in taxation, and in regulation which could significantly reduce the number of mergers that fail. Designed to be accessible to a wide readership, the book will be of interest to investors, to M&A practitioners and commentators, to researchers and students of economics, political economy, finance, management and accounting, and—importantly—to policy makers working in these areas

Interest rates rise to highest level since 2009 – are there any silver linings?

Geoff Meeks and J. Gay Meeks discuss the potential effects of rising interest rates on income distribution and mergers and acquisitions

The curious case of bank tax since the bailout

In a decade when the public made a massive contribution to ensure the banks survived, the amount these institutions have paid in corporation tax are of special interest. In this article, Geoff and J. Gay Meeks find a significant decline in receipts following the bailout, which presents some questions as well as answers

Color from Shadows: A Narrative of the Life and Work of Hyun-Sook Lee Kim of Korea

Women on the frontline of efforts to end violence and secure a just peace seldom record their experiences, activities and insights – as generally there is no time or, perhaps, they do not have formal education that would help them record their stories. The Women PeaceMakers Program is a selective program for leaders who want to document, share and build upon their unique peacemaking stories. Selected peacemakers join the IPJ for an eight-week residency. Women PeaceMakers are paired with a Peace Writer to document in written form their story of living in conflict and building peace in their communities and nations. The peacemakers’ stories are also documented on film by the IPJ’s partner organization Sun & Moon Vision Productions. While in residence at the institute, Women PeaceMakers give presentations on their work and the situation in their home countries to the university and San Diego communities. Currently the executive director of the Women\u27s Forum for Peace and Diplomacy, Lee was raised in post-World War II Korea in a Confucian society marked by extreme poverty, heightened tension and militarization due to the political division between the North and South. As a student at the Hanshin Theological Seminary, Lee studied globally conscious theology which focused on politics and international affairs. She is the youngest member of the Presidential Advisory Committee for Reunification and the chairperson of the Advisory Committee of the Reunification Ministry. Through her work as chief of the Women\u27s Desk at the Korea Christian Academy, Lee, in collaboration with her colleagues, was responsible for initiating a program aimed at raising awareness and eradicating domestic violence in South Korea. The Korea Women\u27s Hotline provides guidance and support to victims of domestic violence and has served as a catalyst for the progressive women\u27s movement in Korea. The hotline was instrumental in establishing domestic and sexual violence as criminal acts in South Korea. As co-founder and former executive director of Women Making Peace, an NGO established in 1997, with the goal of creating a culture of peace on the Korean peninsula, Lee has helped to open the door between the two Koreas by getting humanitarian aid to the North and encouraging the first people-to-people visits. Women Making Peace is a multi-dimensional organization that views gender equality, demilitarization, denuclearization, respect for human rights and the eventual reunification of North and South Korea as several of the necessary steps to making peace a reality. In the 10 years since its inception, Women Making Peace has forged new ground by bringing peace, gender and reunification issues to the forefront of Korean society. Lee served until 2008 as the vice president of the Korean Red Cross, where she engaged in humanitarian activities, which included her participation in the reunion of separated families across the divide of the peninsula. Inspired by her time at the IPJ, Lee recently initiated a 1325 Peace Club, which works toward implementing in Korea the agreed-upon commitments as outlined by the U.N. Security Council Resolution. The 1325 Peace Club activities also include visits to training centers for defectors from North Korea, of which approximately 70 percent are women, and the submission of recommendations to the minister of unification and related officials on appropriate measures for the successful resettlement of women. Lee has received the prestigious National Reconciliation Award from the Korean Council of Reconciliation and Cooperation, made up of leaders from NGOs and government, and a National Decoration from the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family.https://digital.sandiego.edu/ipj-research/1054/thumbnail.jp

Frequency response in short thermocouple wires

Theoretical expressions are derived for the steady state frequency response of a thermocouple wire. In particular, the effects of axial heat conduction are demonstrated for a nonuniform wire with unequal material properties and wire diameters across the junction. The amplitude ratio at low frequency omega approaches 0 agrees with the results of Scadron and Warshawsky (1952) for a steady state temperature distribution. Moreover, the frequency response for a nonuniform wire in the limit of infinite length l approaches infinity is shown to reduce to a simple expression that is analogous to the classic first order solution for a thermocouple wire with uniform properties. Theoretical expressions are also derived for the steady state frequency response of a supported thermocouple wire. In particular, the effects of axial heat conduction are demonstrated for both a supported one material wire and a two material wire with unequal material properties across the junction. For the case of a one material supported wire, an exact solution is derived which compares favorably with an approximate expression that only matches temperatures at the support junction. Moreover, for the case of a two material supported wire, an analytical expression is derived that closely correlates numerical results. Experimental measurements are made for the steady state frequency response of a supported thermocouple wire. In particular, the effects of axial heat conduction are demonstrated for both a supported one material wire (type K) and a two material wire (type T) with unequal material properties across the junction. The data for the amplitude ratio and phase angle are correlated to within 10 pct. with the theoretical predictions of Forney and Fralick (1991). This is accomplished by choosing a natural frequency omega sub n for the wire data to correlate the first order response at large gas temperature frequencies. It is found that a large bead size, however, will increase the amplitude ratio at low frequencies but decrease the natural frequency of the wire. The phase angle data are also distorted for imperfect junctions

Clinical Decision-Making of Nurses Regarding Elder Abuse

A descriptive correlational design based on an adapted model of Donabedian’s Structure, Process, Outcome model and Benner’s Novice to Expert theory was used to examine the clinical decision-making of nurses regarding elder abuse. The relationship of the nurses applied knowledge (assessment cues) of elder abuse; demographic questions (e.g. years of experience as a Registered Nurse (RN) and their clinical level of practice status), the use of intuition in nursing practice; and clinical decision outcomes (interventions) for patients in cases of suspected elder abuse was examined. A convenience sample of RNs who worked in the emergency department (ED) in three acute care hospitals, in southeastern United States were asked to complete questionnaires on education about elder abuse, their intuition use, demographic information, applied knowledge of elder abuse, and clinical decision outcomes for suspected elder abuse. The majority of the nurses had participated in the clinical level of practice status program.The convenience sample of 84 RNs consisted of 68 females (81%) and 16 males (19%). The average age of the respondents was 41.43 years. The mean number of years worked as a RN was 13.87 years. Multiple regression results indicated an overall model of two predictors (RNs applied knowledge (assessment cues) and years worked as a RN) significantly predicted clinical decision outcomes (interventions). The model accounted for 25.1% variance in clinical decision outcomes. The t-test revealed there was no difference (applied knowledge (assessment cues) of elder abuse, intuition use in nursing, years working as a RN, clinical level of practice status, and clinical decision outcomes (interventions)) between RNs who received elder abuse education at orientation and those who did not receive the education. The study results suggest that years of working as a nurse supported elder abuse recognition and intervention. The clinical level of practice status of nurses was found not to be a sensitive indicator. Elder abuse education during orientation varied between the hospital settings. The results indicate the educational need for nurses regarding suspected elder abuse

Monthly Parent Involvement Reading Packet

The importance of parent involvement in reading with their child at home was studied. A review of literature was done on this topic. Many researchers strongly supported the importance of parents reading with their child and many suggestion were given. The author put together nine monthly parent involvement reading packets (September-May) and implemented them in a self-contained first grade classroom. The parents spent quality time, each month, completing the packet with their child