The value relevance of disclosures of liabilities of equity-accounted investees: UK evidence

This study examines the value relevance of mandated disclosures by UK firms of the investor-firm share of liabilities of equity-accounted associate and joint venture investees. It does so for the six years following the introduction of FRS 9: Associates and Joint Ventures, which forced a substantial increase in such disclosures by UK firms. Since the increased disclosure requirements were partly motivated by concern that single-line equity accounting concealed the level of group gearing, and in light of previous US results, it is predicted that the mandated investee-liability disclosures have a negative coefficient in a value-relevance regression. The study also examines whether value-relevance regression coefficients on investee-liability disclosures are more negative for joint ventures than for associates and whether they are more negative in the presence of investor-firm guarantees of investee-firm obligations than in the absence of such guarantees. The study reports that the coefficient on all investee-liability disclosures taken together has the predicted negative sign, and is significantly different from zero. It finds little evidence that the negative valuation impact of liability disclosures is stronger for joint venture investees overall than for associate investees overall, or stronger for guarantee cases overall than for non-guarantee cases overall. There is, however, some evidence that the impact for joint venture guarantee cases is stronger than that for joint venture non-guarantee cases and stronger than that for associate guarantee cases

Conservative accounting and linear information valuation models

Prior research using the residual income valuation model and linear information models has generally found that estimates of firm value are negatively biased. We argue that this could result from the way in which accounting conservatism effects are reflected in such models. We build on the conservative accounting model of Feltham and Ohlson (1995) and the Dechow, Hutton and Sloan (1999) (DHS) methodology to propose a valuation model that includes a conservatism-correction term, based on the properties of past realizations of residual income and other information. Other information is measured using analyst-forecast-based predictions of residual income. We use data comparable to the DHS sample to compare the bias and inaccuracy of value estimates from our model and from models similar to those used by DHS and Myers (1999). Valuation biases are substantially less negative for our model, but valuation inaccuracy is not markedly reduced

The Basu measure as an indicator of conditional conservatism: Evidence from U.K. earnings components

Following the work of Basu in 1997, the excess of the sensitivity of accounting earnings to negative share return over its sensitivity to positive share return (the Basu coefficient) has been interpreted as an indicator of conditional accounting conservatism. Although this interpretation is supported by substantial evidence that the Basu coefficient is associated with likely demands for conservatism, concerns have arisen that it may reflect factors not directly related to conservatism, and that this may adversely affect its validity as an indicator of that phenomenon. We argue that evidence on the validity of the Basu coefficient as an indicator of conditional conservatism can be obtained by disaggregating earnings into components, classifying those components by whether or not they are likely to be affected by conditional conservatism, and examining whether the Basu coefficient arises primarily from components likely to be affected by conditional conservatism. We implement this procedure for UK firms reporting under FRS 3: Reporting Financial Performance from 1992 to 2004. Although a substantial proportion of the Basu coefficient emanates from cash flow from operating and investing activities (CFOI), which cannot directly reflect accounting conservatism, its incidence across other components of earnings is predominantly within those components likely to be affected by conditional conservatism. Also, although the bias documented by Patatoukas and Thomas in 2009 is present in all of our aggregate earnings measures, it is heavily concentrated in the CFOI component of earnings and largely absent from components classified as likely to be affected by conditional conservatism. With the important caveat that researchers should test the robustness of their results to the exclusion of the element of the Basu coefficient due to cash flows, our findings are consistent with the conditional conservatism interpretation of the coefficient

Fostering resilience-oriented thinking in engineering practice

Round tables discussing the resilience of critical infrastructure systems held in the UK, the USA and New Zealand have provided insight into how organisations are changing the basis of planning and investment decisions to enhance resilience. The events convened stakeholders to explore how resilience is embraced in their sectors and to identify how to advance practice. The overarching premise was to convene a diverse group who would not typically have an opportunity to engage with each other, to share their perspectives on putting resilience thinking into practice. The round tables identified that early-adopting organisations are implementing approaches to decision making that embrace resilience thinking, but such approaches are not yet embedded in common practice across organisations that are responsible for planning and managing critical infrastructure. The findings emphasise that multi-agency coordination and collaboration is required to advance resilience thinking in professional practice and to move beyond traditional risk-based paradigms. Governance and policy interventions will help encourage cross-sector information sharing and enforce responsibility and transparency surrounding exposure to potential shocks and stresses. It is recommended that such interventions could expand on principles and practice in existing emergency-management efforts, on the basis that such efforts are founded on coordinating various groups. </jats:p

An evaluation of preoperative CA 15-3 measurement in primary breast carcinoma.

In this study of 500 patients with breast carcinoma, we have prospectively assessed the role of preoperative CA 15-3 as a marker of disease burden over a 7 year period. CA 15-3 levels at presentation correlate with stage of disease, tumour size, lymph node status, the presence of metastases and lymphocyte infiltration into the tumour. CA 15-3 alone is not an independent prognostic indicator, although a serum level of > 40 U ml-1 has a positive predictive value of 83% for the presence of advanced disease. We recommend the routine use of this marker in the preoperative assessment of primary breast carcinoma

A Randomised Controlled Trial of a Brief Online Mindfulness-Based Intervention in a Non-clinical Population: Replication and Extension

Building on previous research, this study compared the effects of two brief, online mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs; with and without formal meditation practice) and a no intervention control group in a non-clinical sample. One hundred and fifty-five university staff and students were randomly allocated to a 2-week, self-guided, online MBI with or without mindfulness meditation practice, or a wait list control. Measures of mindfulness, perceived stress, perseverative thinking and anxiety/depression symptoms within were administered before and after the intervention period. Intention to treat analysis identified significant differences between groups on change over time for all measured outcomes. Participation in the MBIs was associated with significant improvements in all measured domains (all ps < 0.05), with effect sizes in the small to medium range (0.25 to 0.37, 95% CIs 0.11 to 0.56). No significant changes on these measures were found for the control group. Change in perseverative thinking was found to mediate the relationship between condition and improvement on perceived stress and anxiety/depression symptom outcomes. Contrary to our hypotheses, no differences between the intervention conditions were found. Limitations of the study included reliance on self-report data, a relatively high attrition rate and absence of a longer-term follow-up. This study provides evidence in support of the feasibility and effectiveness of brief, self-guided MBIs in a non-clinical population and suggests that reduced perseverative thinking may be a mechanism of change. Our findings provide preliminary evidence for the effectiveness of a mindfulness psychoeducation condition, without an invitation to formal mindfulness meditation practice. Further research is needed to confirm and better understand these results and to test the potential of such interventions

Clinical and Nutritional Care Pathways of Patients with Malignant Bowel Obstruction: A Retrospective Analysis in a Tertiary UK Center

We describe a retrospective cohort study of patients with malignant bowel obstruction to examine their nutritional care pathways between 1.1.16 and 31.12.16 with readmissions until 31.12.17. Data were analyzed by comparing patients who were referred (R) and not referred (NR) for PN. We identified 72 patients with 117 MBO admissions (mean ± SD age:63.1 ± 13.1yrs, 79% female). 24/72 patients were in R group. Predominant primary malignancies were gynaecological and lower-gastrointestinal cancers (76%). 83% patients had metastases (61% sub-diaphragmatically). All patients were at high-risk of malnutrition and baseline mean weight loss was 7%. Discussion of PN at multidisciplinary team meeting (MDT) (22% vs.5%, P = 0.02) and dietetic contact (94% vs. 41%, P < 0.0001) were more likely to occur in the R group. In 13/69 MBO admissions in NR group, reasons for non-referral were unclear. Median baseline and follow-up weight was similar (55–55.8 kg). Overall survival was 4.7 (1.4–15.2)months, with no differences by referral groups. We compared a sub-sample of patients who ‘may have’ required PN (n = 10) vs. those discharged on home PN (n = 10) and found greater survival in the HPN group (323vs.91 day, P < 0.01). Our findings highlight disparity in care pathways suggesting that nutritional care should be integrated into clinical management discussion(s) at MDT to ensure equal access to nutritional services

Phase-plane analysis of Friedmann-Robertson-Walker cosmologies in Brans-Dicke gravity

We present an autonomous phase-plane describing the evolution of Friedmann-Robertson-Walker models containing a perfect fluid (with barotropic index gamma) in Brans-Dicke gravity (with Brans-Dicke parameter omega). We find self-similar fixed points corresponding to Nariai's power-law solutions for spatially flat models and curvature-scaling solutions for curved models. At infinite values of the phase-plane variables we recover O'Hanlon and Tupper's vacuum solutions for spatially flat models and the Milne universe for negative spatial curvature. We find conditions for the existence and stability of these critical points and describe the qualitative evolution in all regions of the (omega,gamma) parameter space for 0-3/2. We show that the condition for inflation in Brans-Dicke gravity is always stronger than the general relativistic condition, gamma<2/3.Comment: 24 pages, including 9 figures, LaTe

On the limits of Brans-Dicke spacetimes: a coordinate-free approach

We investigate the limit of Brans-Dicke spacetimes as the scalar field coupling constant omega tends to infinity applying a coordinate-free technique. We obtain the limits of some known exact solutions. It is shown that these limits may not correspond to similar solutions in the general relativity theory.Comment: LaTeX, 16 pp, report DF/UFPB/02-9

Hyperextended Scalar-Tensor Gravity

We study a general Scalar-Tensor Theory with an arbitrary coupling funtion $\omega (\phi )$ but also an arbitrary dependence of the ``gravitational constant'' $G(\phi )$ in the cases in which either one of them, or both, do not admit an analytical inverse, as in the hyperextended inflationary scenario. We present the full set of field equations and study their cosmological behavior. We show that different scalar-tensor theories can be grouped in classes with the same solution for the scalar field.Comment: latex file, To appear in Physical Review