Carina the Comic vs. The Lit Review

In this comic, the student reflects on the process of writing a “literature review,” a requirement for a course taught by Dean Scheibel called “Introduction of Research in Communication Studies.” The comics were created by students as a final course assignment. Students were instructed to create comics using photographs, drawings, or a computer program called Comic Life 3. The idea of reflection is important in education. These comics could be viewed as a response to reflective learning (or metacognition) about the idea of the literature review, or “research as inquiry.” Through reflection on what we do, we learn more deeply about our everyday experiences of life, death, love, God, and even literature reviews. Although “comix” have been the objects of critique by academics, these comics subject the work of the academy—the faculty member as teacher—to critique. Research is a process, and by having students reflect on the fears, errors, or mistakes made during that process they will experience new insights and discoveries

The informational consequences of good and bad mergers

We study the information production dynamics in financial markets in response to Mergers and Acquisitions (M&As) announcements. We find that acquirers with low levels of pre-announcement stock price informativeness experience a substantial increase in their corresponding post-announcement stock price informativeness in response to positive Cumulative Abnormal Returns (CAR). We show that this increase is due to the enhanced prospect of deal completion. By contrast, high levels of acquirer pre-announcement stock price informativeness limit traders' incentives to search for, and acquire, new information. We also find that similar dynamics apply to the changes in acquirers' analyst coverage. Emphasizing the important role of information acquisition costs in influencing informed trading, a positive acquirer CAR increases the acquiring firm's post-announcement stock price informativeness in M&As involving public rather than private and subsidiary targets. Overall, we show that M&As have important informational consequences beyond their immediate effects on stock prices

Hepatitis B antibody titers in Indonesian adolescents who received the primary hepatitis B vaccine during infancy

Backgi-ound Hepatitis B (HB) has been classified as moderate-tohighly endemic in Indonesia. HB vaccination, the most effective method to prevent HB viral transmission, induces protective antibodies against HB surface antigen (anti-HBs). However, these antibodies decline in titer over time. Studies on the duration of protection and the prevalence of n on-responders in Indonesian adolescents have been limited. Objectives To determine anti-HBs titers in 15-17-year old Indonesian adolescents given primary HB vaccine during infancy and the prevalence of non-responders after a HB vaccine booster dosage. Methods This cross-sectional study was performed from February to September 2008 on adolescents aged 15-17 years in three senior high schools in Jakarta who received complete primary HB vaccines during infancy, based on parents' recall. Investigations included HB vaccination history, anthropometric measurements, and blood tests for anti-HBs before and 4-6 weeks after a booster dose ofHB vaccine. Results Of 94 subjects, 35 had protective anti-HBs and 59 had undetectable anti-HBs. A booster dose was administered to 5 8 of the n on-protected subjects, of which 33 showed anamnestic responses. However, 25 subjects failed to generate protective anti-HBs. Taking into consideration the adolescents with protective anti-HBs before and after the booster dose, serologic protection was demonstrated in 73%. Non-responder prevalence was 27%. The high prevalence of non-responders may indicate bias of parents' recall. Conclusion Protective anti-HBs is detected in less than half of Indonesian adolescents given primary HB vaccine during infancy. Following booster dosage, anamnestic responses are n oted in onethird of subjects. The prevalence of non-responders is 27%, but confirmation with further study is needed

The valuation effects of investor attention in stock-financed acquisitions

Limited investor attention allows overvalued companies to engage in stock-financed acquisitions of listed target firms without experiencing significant reductions in existing valuations. Our robust findings show that overvalued stock-paying acquirers that are subject to limited investor attention do not experience significant announcement period wealth losses. However, the overvaluation of these acquirers is corrected in the post-announcement period. By contrast, the overvalued acquirers that receive high investor attention and use stock as the payment method in their listed target acquisitions experience negative announcement period abnormal returns. The widely documented evidence that stock-financed acquisitions are associated with significant announcement period wealth losses is primarily driven by deals in which the acquirers are subject to high investor attention

Do corporations learn from mispricing? Evidence from takeovers and corporate performance

In this article we form the simple prediction that mispricing encourages traders to collect costly information that guides managerial decisions at corporate level. Our findings support this prediction based on evidence derived from both the US market for corporate control and the overall variation in aggregate corporate profits. The trading activity in response to the temporary mispricing of the merging companies provides useful information that leads to the design of high-synergy deals. Such synergies are reflected in an increase in the announcement period acquirer abnormal returns and are not reversed in the long-run. At the market-wide level, our results suggest that the growth in the overall stock trading volume in response to market mispricing is associated with high future corporate profit growth. Overall, after controlling for several economic and financial conditions, the temporary mispricing in a developed and generally efficient stock market stimulates informative trading, ultimately leading to value- and performance-enhancing corporate decisions

Treatment of unresectable intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma with yttrium-90 radioembolization: a systematic review and pooled analysis.

Radioembolization with yttrium-90 microspheres offers an alternative treatment option for patients with unresectable intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC). However, the rarity and heterogeneity of ICC makes it difficult to draw firm conclusions about treatment efficacy. Therefore, the goal of the current study is to systematically review the existing literature surrounding treatment of unresectable ICCs with yttrium-90 microspheres and provide a comprehensive review of the current experience and clinical outcome of this treatment modality. We performed a comprehensive search of electronic databases for ICC treatment and identified 12 studies with relevant data regarding radioembolization therapy with yttrium-90 microspheres. Based on pooled analysis, the overall weighted median survival was 15.5 months. Tumour response based on radiological studies demonstrated a partial response in 28% and stable disease in 54% of patients at three months. Seven patients were able to be downstaged to surgical resection. The complication profile of radioembolization is similar to that of other intra-arterial treatment modalities. Overall survival of patients with ICC after treatment with yttrium-90 microspheres is higher than historical survival rates and shows similar survival to those patients treated with systemic chemotherapy and/or trans-arterial chemoembolization therapy. Therefore, the use of yttrium-90 microspheres should be considered in the list of available treatment options for ICC. However, future randomized trials comparing systemic chemotherapy, TACE and local radiation will be required to identify the optimal treatment modality for unresectable ICC.S-S Liau is in receipt of the MRC Clinician Scientist Fellowship. He is also funded by University of Cambridge Parke-Davis Fellowship, Royal Society of Medicine Ellison-Cliffe Fellowship, Dowager Countess Eleanor Peel Fellowship, HCA International Foundation Fellowship, European Society of Surgical Oncology Minor Fellowship, and MRC Centenary Early Career Award.This is the final published version. It first appeared at http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S074879831401097X#

The impact of monetary policy on M&A outcomes

Monetary policy influences a wide range of Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) outcomes. First, an increase in the federal funds rate predicts a negative market reaction to M&A announcements, an increase in the likelihood of deal withdrawal, and significant financing challenges for the acquirer in the post-acquisition phase. Second, M&As announced during periods of high monetary policy uncertainty are associated with significant declines in acquirer value. This negative market reaction reflects a unique discount to compensate for the high riskiness of M&As in an uncertain monetary environment. Finally, we show that monetary contraction, rather than monetary policy uncertainty, is a key contributor to the decline in the aggregate M&A activity

Macroeconomic news and acquirer returns in M&As : the impact of investor alertness

We investigate the extent to which the scheduled release of macroeconomic indicators affects the acquirer's value in Mergers and Acquisitions (M&As). We find that M&As announced on days of the release of key macroeconomic indicators (i.e. indicator days) realize higher announcement period risk-adjusted returns compared to counterparts announced on non-indicator days. The positive wealth effect is due to the higher market attention on indicator days, which is particularly relevant for smaller M&As that are not usually exposed to significant investor scrutiny. The results hold after addressing self-selection bias concerns. We also find that firms announcing M&As on indicator days are more likely to “listen” to the market's feedback

Geopolitical risk and corporate payout policy

In this study, we examine the effects of geopolitical risk on corporate payout policy. Exploiting a news-based index of geopolitical risk, we find that firms adopt a more conservative payout policy by reducing share repurchases in response to greater geopolitical risk, whereas the effects of geopolitical risk on cash dividends are insignificant. Further analysis suggests that cash flow uncertainty and financial distress risk are two potential channels through which geopolitical risk affects corporate payout policy. We also show that the effects of geopolitical risk on share repurchase are more pronounced for firms with greater exposure to product market competition and those facing higher threats of financial distress. Overall, our study emphasizes the implications of geopolitical risk for corporate payout choice