Incentives facing UK-listed companies to comply with the risk reporting provisions of the UK Corporate Governance Code

Recent changes made to the UK Corporate Governance Code require UK firms to report new or enhanced narrative information concerning their principal risks, their risk management processes and their future viability. This paper analyses whether the level and nature of voluntary compliance with these new requirements is consistent with alternative economic and political visibility incentives. We analyse relevant sections of financial reports produced by industry matched samples of large-, mid-and small-cap UK listed firms during the transitional 2013-14 financial reporting years. Both specific and generic readability attributes of the reports are measured. We find that virtually no firm in our sample has provided any viability statement. Empirical analysis of disclosures concerning principal risk assessment and review processes appear to be primarily motivated by political visibility reasons. Examples of particularly good and cases of poor corporate risk reporting practices are also discussed. Possible implications for the actuarial profession are discussed

Assessing the SNAP Consumer Environment at Farmers Markets

The SNAP at Farmers Market Environmental Assessment was developed as a tool for market managers to examine SNAP participant accessibility for redeeming SNAP benefits at farmers markets. By completing the SNAP at Farmers Market Environmental Assessment, the tool can serve as a guide for providing practical next steps for market improvement. Extension practitioners and researchers, including SNAP-Ed staff, can use the assessment tool to support policy, systems, and environment change efforts that promote access to local, high-quality foods by SNAP consumers, the redemption of SNAP benefits, and potentially increased sales at farmers markets

The structural architecture of seismogenic faults, Sierra Nevada, California; implications for earthquake rupture processes

Earthquake ruptures along tectonically active faults nucleate predominantly at depths of 5 to 12km in the crust, so the portions of faults that slip in these events cannot be directly observed. The geometry and composition of seismogenic faults controls the nucleation, propagation and termination of the earthquake rupture process. This study aims to place constraints on the geometry and composition of seismogenic faults by examining ancient faults exhumed from the depths at which earthquakes are observed to nucleate. Faults exposed in the Sierra Nevada, California, show that the internal architecture of earthquake faults is heterogeneous at a variety of scales. Field and microstructural observations are used to describe in detail the architecture of two pseudotachylyte-bearing fault systems in the Granite Pass region of Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park; the Granite Pass fault (GPF) and associated faults, and the Glacier Lakes fault (GLF) and faults that splay from the GLF. The GPF and sub-parallel faults are 1 to 6.7km long with left-lateral strike-slip displacements up to 80m. The GPF and GPF-parallel faults have architectures that are heterogeneous along strike. They are composed of one to four fault core strands containing cataclasites and ultracataclasites that cross-cut early localized crystal-plastic deformation. Slip surfaces developed at the edges of, within and between fault cores are defined by pseudotachylytes and cataclasites with thicknesses of ~0.01 to 20mm. Fault-related subsidiary structures are developed on either side of fault cores, and comprise damage zones with widths orthogonal to the fault of up to 30m. The GLF and splay faults have architectures that are more homogeneous along strike. These faults are composed of a tabular volume of heavily fractured and altered host rock between approximately planar fault core strands. The fault cores are centimetres wide and contain cataclasites and foliated cataclasites that are cross-cut by pseudotachylytes. Fault-related damage is limited in extent to several metres beyond the bounding fault cores. The GLF contains additional cataclasites, ultracataclasites and pseudotachylytes in a fault core strand within the tabular zone of fractured rock. Thermochronologic analyses of the host rock granodiorite, combined with previously published palaeogeobarometry and apatite fission track data, define the temperature and pressure changes associated with cooling and exhumation of the pluton. The P-T conditions prevalent during the deformation history of the GPF fault system are evaluated by relating recrystallisation mechanisms in quartz to temperature, showing that the early stages of deformation occurred at temperatures of 450 to 600ºC. Dating of pseudotachylytes by the K-Ar isotopic method suggests subsequent brittle deformation took place at temperatures <350ºC and pressures ≤150MPa. A model for the architecture of the GPF architecture therefore has well constrained environmental controls, and should be transferrable to faults with comparable deformation histories. Small faults (cumulative displacements <1m) in the Mount Abbot Quadrangle, 55km north of Granite Pass, have been examined to illustrate the processes associated with the earliest stages of slip in the Sierra Nevada faults. The faults have branched or straight fault traces. Pseudotachylytes in branching faults show that these faults accumulated displacement in high velocity slip events, rather than by quasi-static fault growth. Branching faults without pseudotachylytes contain chlorite breccias interpreted to have formed in response to slip along faults with elevated pore fluid pressure. Straight faults also likely underwent slip events, but contain cataclased chlorite and epidote, suggesting low fluid pressures during slip. The small faults show that fluid-rock interactions are critical to fault geometry, and that lateral structural heterogeneity is established after small finite displacements. Field and thin section observations of exhumed seismogenic faults show that fault architecture and fault rock assemblage are critical to the earthquake rupture process. The heterogeneous composition of slip surfaces in the GPF faults imply that melt lubrication cannot account for all of the dynamic slip weakening as there are no continuous pseudotachylyte generation surfaces through the fault zones. Multiple slip weakening mechanisms must have been active during single rupture events. Slip weakening mechanisms also change at a given point on the fault in response to continued deformation. Splay faults at the GLF termination suggest that structural complexity observed at the terminations of fault surface traces can also be expected at depth. The off-fault damage at the termination of the GLF will change the bulk elastic properties of the host rock and must be accounted for in models of rupture propagation beyond fault terminations, or across geometrical discontinuities. Additionally, aftershock distributions and focal mechanisms may be controlled by the geometry of structures present at fault terminations.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Climate warming, marine protected areas and the ocean-scale integrity of coral reef ecosystems

Coral reefs have emerged as one of the ecosystems most vulnerable to climate variation and change. While the contribution of a warming climate to the loss of live coral cover has been well documented across large spatial and temporal scales, the associated effects on fish have not. Here, we respond to recent and repeated calls to assess the importance of local management in conserving coral reefs in the context of global climate change. Such information is important, as coral reef fish assemblages are the most species dense vertebrate communities on earth, contributing critical ecosystem functions and providing crucial ecosystem services to human societies in tropical countries. Our assessment of the impacts of the 1998 mass bleaching event on coral cover, reef structural complexity, and reef associated fishes spans 7 countries, 66 sites and 26 degrees of latitude in the Indian Ocean. Using Bayesian meta-analysis we show that changes in the size structure, diversity and trophic composition of the reef fish community have followed coral declines. Although the ocean scale integrity of these coral reef ecosystems has been lost, it is positive to see the effects are spatially variable at multiple scales, with impacts and vulnerability affected by geography but not management regime. Existing no-take marine protected areas still support high biomass of fish, however they had no positive affect on the ecosystem response to large-scale disturbance. This suggests a need for future conservation and management efforts to identify and protect regional refugia, which should be integrated into existing management frameworks and combined with policies to improve system-wide resilience to climate variation and change

The valuation of guaranteed lifelong withdrawal benefit options in variable annuity contracts and the impact of mortality risk

n light of the growing importance of the variable annuities market, in this paper we introduce a theoretical model for the pricing and valuation of guaranteed lifelong withdrawal benefit (GLWB) options embedded in variable annuity products. As the name suggests, this option offers a lifelong withdrawal guarantee; therefore, there is no limit on the total amount that is withdrawn over the term of the policy because if the account value becomes zero while the insured is still alive, he or she continues to receive the guaranteed amount annually until death. Any remaining account value at the time of death is paid to the beneficiary as a death benefit. We offer a specific framework to value the GLWB option in a market-consistent manner under the hypothesis of a static withdrawal strategy, according to which the withdrawal amount is always equal to the guaranteed amount. The valuation approach is based on the decomposition of the product into living and death benefits. The model makes use of the standard no-arbitrage models of mathematical finance, which extend the Black-Scholes framework to insurance contracts, assuming the fund follows a geometric Brownian motion and the insurance fee is paid, on an ongoing basis, as a proportion of the assets. We develop a sensitivity analysis, which shows how the value of the product varies with the key parameters, including the age of the policyholder at the inception of the contract, the guaranteed rate, the risk-free rate, and the fund volatility. We calculate the fair fee, using Monte Carlo simulations under different scenarios. We give special attention to the impact of mortality risk on the value of the option, using a flexible model of mortality dynamics, which allows for the possible perturbations by mortality shock of the standard mortality tables used by practitioners. Moreover, we evaluate the introduction of roll-up and step-up options and the effect of the decision to delay withdrawing. Empirical analyses are performed, and numerical results are provided

Vertebral body stenting: a new method for vertebral augmentation versus kyphoplasty

Vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty are well-established minimally invasive treatment options for compression fractures of osteoporotic vertebral bodies. Possible procedural disadvantages, however, include incomplete fracture reduction or a significant loss of reduction after balloon tamp deflation, prior to cement injection. A new procedure called “vertebral body stenting” (VBS) was tested in vitro and compared to kyphoplasty. VBS uses a specially designed catheter-mounted stent which can be implanted and expanded inside the vertebral body. As much as 24 fresh frozen human cadaveric vertebral bodies (T11-L5) were utilized. After creating typical compression fractures, the vertebral bodies were reduced by kyphoplasty (n = 12) or by VBS (n = 12) and then stabilized with PMMA bone cement. Each step of the procedure was performed under fluoroscopic control and analysed quantitatively. Finally, static and dynamic biomechanical tests were performed. A complete initial reduction of the fractured vertebral body height was achieved by both systems. There was a significant loss of reduction after balloon deflation in kyphoplasty compared to VBS, and a significant total height gain by VBS (mean ± SD in %, p < 0.05, demonstrated by: anterior height loss after deflation in relation to preoperative height [kyphoplasty: 11.7 ± 6.2; VBS: 3.7 ± 3.8], and total anterior height gain [kyphoplasty: 8.0 ± 9.4; VBS: 13.3 ± 7.6]). Biomechanical tests showed no significant stiffness and failure load differences between systems. VBS is an innovative technique which allows for the possibly complete reduction of vertebral compression fractures and helps maintain the restored height by means of a stent. The height loss after balloon deflation is significantly decreased by using VBS compared to kyphoplasty, thus offering a new promising option for vertebral augmentation

COVID-19-associated hyperinflammation and escalation of patient care: a retrospective longitudinal cohort study

Background: A subset of patients with severe COVID-19 develop a hyperinflammatory syndrome, which might contribute to morbidity and mortality. This study explores a specific phenotype of COVID-19-associated hyperinflammation (COV-HI), and its associations with escalation of respiratory support and survival. / Methods: In this retrospective cohort study, we enrolled consecutive inpatients (aged ≥18 years) admitted to University College London Hospitals and Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals in the UK with PCR-confirmed COVID-19 during the first wave of community-acquired infection. Demographic data, laboratory tests, and clinical status were recorded from the day of admission until death or discharge, with a minimum follow-up time of 28 days. We defined COV-HI as a C-reactive protein concentration greater than 150 mg/L or doubling within 24 h from greater than 50 mg/L, or a ferritin concentration greater than 1500 μg/L. Respiratory support was categorised as oxygen only, non-invasive ventilation, and intubation. Initial and repeated measures of hyperinflammation were evaluated in relation to the next-day risk of death or need for escalation of respiratory support (as a combined endpoint), using a multi-level logistic regression model. / Findings: We included 269 patients admitted to one of the study hospitals between March 1 and March 31, 2020, among whom 178 (66%) were eligible for escalation of respiratory support and 91 (34%) patients were not eligible. Of the whole cohort, 90 (33%) patients met the COV-HI criteria at admission. Despite having a younger median age and lower median Charlson Comorbidity Index scores, a higher proportion of patients with COV-HI on admission died during follow-up (36 [40%] of 90 patients) compared with the patients without COV-HI on admission (46 [26%] of 179). Among the 178 patients who were eligible for full respiratory support, 65 (37%) met the definition for COV-HI at admission, and 67 (74%) of the 90 patients whose respiratory care was escalated met the criteria by the day of escalation. Meeting the COV-HI criteria was significantly associated with the risk of next-day escalation of respiratory support or death (hazard ratio 2·24 [95% CI 1·62–2·87]) after adjustment for age, sex, and comorbidity. / Interpretation: Associations between elevated inflammatory markers, escalation of respiratory support, and survival in people with COVID-19 indicate the existence of a high-risk inflammatory phenotype. COV-HI might be useful to stratify patient groups in trial design. / Funding: None

Spatial Patterns of Parrotfish Corallivory in the Caribbean: The Importance of Coral Taxa, Density and Size

The past few decades have seen an increase in the frequency and intensity of disturbance on coral reefs, resulting in shifts in size and composition of coral populations. These changes have lead to a renewed focus on processes that influence demographic rates in corals, such as corallivory. While previous research indicates selective corallivory among coral taxa, the importance of coral size and the density of coral colonies in influencing corallivory are unknown. We surveyed the size, taxonomy and number of bites by parrotfish per colony of corals and the abundance of three main corallivorous parrotfish (Sparisoma viride, Sparisoma aurofrenatum, Scarus vetula) at multiple spatial scales (reefs within islands: 1–100 km, and between islands: >100 km) within the Bahamas Archipelago. We used a linear mixed model to determine the influence of coral taxa, colony size, colony density, and parrotfish abundance on the intensity of corallivory (bites per m2 of coral tissue). While the effect of colony density was significant in determining the intensity of corallivory, we found no significant influence of colony size or parrotfish abundance (density, biomass or community structure). Parrotfish bites were most frequently observed on the dominant species of reef building corals (Montastraea annularis, Montastraea faveolata and Porites astreoides), yet our results indicate that when the confounding effects of colony density and size were removed, selective corallivory existed only for the less dominant Porites porites. As changes in disturbance regimes result in the decline of dominant frame-work building corals such as Montastraea spp., the projected success of P. porites on Caribbean reefs through high reproductive output, resistance to disease and rapid growth rates may be attenuated through selective corallivory by parrotfish