The framing of financial decisions: a pilot study

We continually need to make decisions, but it is clear that, in so doing, we do not act in accordance with strict rules of rationality. For example, the effect of framing (i.e. the choice of particular words to present a given set of facts) can influence our choices, which raises some serious questions about our real freedom of choice. An increasing body of literature on framing supports a tendency for people to take more risks when seeking to avoid losses as opposed to securing gains. This is explained by framing and the value function within Tversky & Kahneman’s prospect theory. An empirical study was undertaken within a Business School to test the hypothesis that framing influenced subjects’ choices in four simple financial decisions (A,B,C,D) as indicated in the previous paragraph. The results, based on a sample of 51 adults, partly supported the hypothesis (cases B and D), but the anticipated outcomes were not found in cases A and C. It is probably a high level of risk aversion, irrespective of framing, on the part of the subjects which explains these unexpected findings since subjects exhibited a clear tendency to favour certainty over risky options

Some thoughts on marketing controllership

“It is paradoxical that while many of the most significant financial and accounting activities within any company start with the forecasts of market opportunities, sales volumes, prices and anticipated revenues, the explicit role of accounting and finance in the control of the marketing function itself has been neglected.” (Anthony Hopwood in Vernon (1976: p.227).) Whilst there is an increasing trend towards an interdisciplinary approach to managerial problem-solving, there still appears to be an absence of mutual understanding between marketing and control people due to (in Boulding’s terms) ‘specialised ears’ and ‘generalised deafness’

Conceptualising financial literacy

The term financial literacy is one that is not new. Financial literacy is perceived as important and as something to be encouraged in those who are not financially literate. These perceptions are exemplified by the existence of centres or bodies dedicated to financial literacy. These include the Financial Literacy Centre, University of Warwick, the National Endowment for Financial Education (USA), Financial Literacy Center (USA), and programmes such as the Start Right Coalition for Financial Literacy (Canada) and the Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy (USA). In the UK the Money Management Council is involved in a number of projects aimed at raising the financial literacy of consumers. And yet what does the term financial literacy actually mean ? What distinguishes a financially literate individual from one who is financially illiterate ? This paper explores literature examining aspects of individuals’ financial literacy in particular contexts. Use of the term literacy is also explored. Current definitions were found to be lacking (clearly having implications for the operationalisation of the concept of financial literacy). These limitations are explored and suggestions are offered towards developing an explicit conceptualisation of financial literacy

The valuing of Information Assets in UK companies

The primary focus of this study is on the impact of the UK financial reporting standard for goodwill and intangible assets (FRS10) on information assets. It was anticipated that the identification of methods already in use under the terms of FRS10 for valuing information assets would be identified. It was anticipated that once UK companies have recognised information as an asset for valuation purposes this would bring information assets within the compass of financial appraisal. Interviews were conducted with accounting and information professionals as well as with representatives of their professional and regulatory bodies focusing on the valuation of information as an asset. Of the 24 organisations in which interviews were carried out, eight were FTSE 100 companies which were identified as being information-intensive organisations, thus likely to represent the state of the art with regard to the valuation of information assets. The main method of data gathering was by individual interview using a semi-structured approach. The most surprising finding was that UK companies appear not to be using FRS10 to value their information assets. Moreover, many of those interviewed did not believe that information should be categorised as an asset or valued for inclusion on the balance sheet. One difficulty identified in using FRS10 to value information assets was that it specifically excludes internally-generated intangibles which do not have a 'readily ascertainable market value'. The information assets considered most important by interviewees were internally-generated. These were typically not valued for internal purposes, hence one reason why there is little impetus to include information assets on the balance sheet maybe because it could be unwise to report externally that which has not been addressed internally

Valuation of Information Assets

Information is an important asset for organisations. The concepts of intellectual capital and knowledge management have focused managers' attention on how organisations can exploit information assets for commercial gain. Yet, without acceptance of the need for or means of evaluation of information assets, it is difficult to highlight the benefits of such concepts in commercial terms. This paper deals with some of the conceptual issues relating to this issue. The term 'information assets' can be defined as data that is or should be documented, and which has value or potential value. Information is often seen as a raw material and knowledge is an end result achieved through learning. However, knowledge is also raw material, and information an end result through formalisation. Among the identifying attributes of information one can include expandable, compressible, substitutable, easily transportable, diffusable and shareable. These attributes are manifest in organisational activities such as monitoring how processes are performed, integrating different business processes, customising products and services, and creating information products as the primary output of a business. It is evident, therefore, that the scope of information assets within organisations can be extremely far reaching. The accounting concept of assets does not easily accommodate information assets. Since information cannot be readily measured in monetary terms, and since cost is not a measure of value, there is the problem of how the value of information assets might be ascertained. Approaching this issue requires a consideration of the two main reasons for valuing information assets. The first is for financial reporting purposes whilst the second is to encourage the better management of information assets. With regard to the former, there are two potential paths which financial reporting may take in the future which may accommodate information assets. The first is for a major review of accounting practice to include intellectual capital, and the second involves reporting information assets which may impact on the performance of a company as an additional commentary in a company's annual Operating and Financial Review. With regard to the latter, a possible approach might be to value information in the light of its contribution to making improved decisions, although this has both conceptual and measurement problems associated with it

Prospectus, September 21, 1989

https://spark.parkland.edu/prospectus_1989/1020/thumbnail.jp

Prognostic DNA Methylation Biomarkers in High-risk Non–muscle-invasive Bladder Cancer:A Systematic Review to Identify Loci for Prospective Validation

Context: High-risk non–muscle-invasive bladder cancer (HR-NMIBC) represents over 30% of all incident urothelial bladder cancers (BCs); patients are at risk of progression, and 20–30% will die from BC within 5 yr. Current guidelines recommend induction and maintenance of intravesical bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) or upfront radical cystectomy for highest-risk disease, treatments with markedly different morbidity, mortality, and patient burden. There are no validated biomarkers to facilitate such treatment decisions. Alterations in DNA methylation are commonplace in BC; hence, measurable changes in DNA methylation represent an opportunity for the discovery of such biomarkers.Objective: To systematically assess the evidence regarding DNA methylation markers as prognosticators for HR-NMIBC.Evidence acquisition: Standard systematic review methods were employed with searches undertaken in MEDLINE, EMBASE, and PubMed up to January 2019. Studies that included patients with HR-NMIBC and investigated the utility of DNA methylation biomarkers as prognostic tools were included.Evidence synthesis: Of 63 prognostic biomarker studies identified, 21 met the protocol-driven inclusion criteria and were directly relevant to HR-NMIBC patient outcomes: tumour recurrence (TR), tumour progression (TP), disease-specific survival (DSS), and overall survival (OS). These studies described 140 methylation markers; of these, the most promising were cadherin-13 (CDH13; hazard ratios [HRs]: 5.1 for TR, 6.6 for TP, 3.8–8.0 for OS), protocadherins (PCDHs; HRs: 4.7 for TR, 2.5 for TP, 3.0–4.8 for OS), Runt domain transcription factor 3 (RUNX3; HR: 5.1 for TP), Homeobox 9 (HOXA9; HR: 1.9 for TR), Islet-1 (ISL1; HRs: 1.7 for TR, 3.3 for TP), and PAX6 (HR: 2.2 for TR).Conclusions: This systematic review identifies a number of potentially useful prognostic methylation markers for HR-NMIBC. These loci (CDH13, PCDHs, RUNX3, HOXA9, ISL1, and PAX6) should be validated in prospective studies in order to translate benefit to patients.Patient summary: Early bladder cancer represents a more complex spectrum of disease than can be assessed by conventional methods Emerging studies on molecular markers will improve our understanding of this disease, and may enable more precise and personalised treatment.</p

Prognostic DNA Methylation Biomarkers in High-risk Non–muscle-invasive Bladder Cancer:A Systematic Review to Identify Loci for Prospective Validation

Context: High-risk non–muscle-invasive bladder cancer (HR-NMIBC) represents over 30% of all incident urothelial bladder cancers (BCs); patients are at risk of progression, and 20–30% will die from BC within 5 yr. Current guidelines recommend induction and maintenance of intravesical bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) or upfront radical cystectomy for highest-risk disease, treatments with markedly different morbidity, mortality, and patient burden. There are no validated biomarkers to facilitate such treatment decisions. Alterations in DNA methylation are commonplace in BC; hence, measurable changes in DNA methylation represent an opportunity for the discovery of such biomarkers.Objective: To systematically assess the evidence regarding DNA methylation markers as prognosticators for HR-NMIBC.Evidence acquisition: Standard systematic review methods were employed with searches undertaken in MEDLINE, EMBASE, and PubMed up to January 2019. Studies that included patients with HR-NMIBC and investigated the utility of DNA methylation biomarkers as prognostic tools were included.Evidence synthesis: Of 63 prognostic biomarker studies identified, 21 met the protocol-driven inclusion criteria and were directly relevant to HR-NMIBC patient outcomes: tumour recurrence (TR), tumour progression (TP), disease-specific survival (DSS), and overall survival (OS). These studies described 140 methylation markers; of these, the most promising were cadherin-13 (CDH13; hazard ratios [HRs]: 5.1 for TR, 6.6 for TP, 3.8–8.0 for OS), protocadherins (PCDHs; HRs: 4.7 for TR, 2.5 for TP, 3.0–4.8 for OS), Runt domain transcription factor 3 (RUNX3; HR: 5.1 for TP), Homeobox 9 (HOXA9; HR: 1.9 for TR), Islet-1 (ISL1; HRs: 1.7 for TR, 3.3 for TP), and PAX6 (HR: 2.2 for TR).Conclusions: This systematic review identifies a number of potentially useful prognostic methylation markers for HR-NMIBC. These loci (CDH13, PCDHs, RUNX3, HOXA9, ISL1, and PAX6) should be validated in prospective studies in order to translate benefit to patients.Patient summary: Early bladder cancer represents a more complex spectrum of disease than can be assessed by conventional methods Emerging studies on molecular markers will improve our understanding of this disease, and may enable more precise and personalised treatment.</p

Prospectus, November 8, 1989

https://spark.parkland.edu/prospectus_1989/1027/thumbnail.jp

Measurements of the Sigma_c^0 and Sigma_c^{++} Mass Splittings

Using a high statistics sample of photoproduced charmed particles from the FOCUS experiment at Fermilab (FNAL-E831), we measure the mass splittings of the charmed baryons Sigma_c^0 and Sigma_c^{++}. We find M(Sigma_c^0 - Lambda_c^+) = 167.38 +/- 0.21 +/- 0.13 MeV/c^2 and M(Sigma_c^++ - Lambda_c^+) = 167.35 +/- 0.19 +/- 0.12 MeV/c^2 with samples of 362 +/- 36 and 461 +/- 39 events, respectively. We measure the isospin mass splitting M(Sigma_c^++ - Sigma_c^0) to be -0.03 +/- 0.28 +/- 0.11 Mev/c^2. The first errors are statistical and the second are systematic.Comment: 10 pages, 2 figure