Narcissism in Public Accounting Firms

Similar to other characteristics, narcissism is a personality trait that varies by individuals. While the management literature has examined narcissism, there is limited research of narcissism of professionals in public accounting firms. Using the Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI), we assess the level of narcissism in practitioners of public accounting firms by examining differences by gender, age, practice area and position. We also compare our results with a prior study that examined narcissism of accounting majors. Our findings show there are differences between accounting students and accounting professionals for certain traits and gender. We also find there are differences for professionals by age, practice area and position for certain traits. Implications for practice are discussed

Defending Paine’s agrarian justice and the “Ground-rent”

Thomas Paine’s Agrarian Justice deserves more attention than it has received, for in it Paine providesa foundational case for a broad social welfare program that is absent in his better-known Rights ofMan. In this paper, I explain Paine’s case in Agrarian Justice, and consider the objection that the mainrevenue source Paine proposes—the “ground-rent”—is insufficient to fund the social welfareprograms he proposes because in the production of value the contribution attributable to naturalresources is insignificant. I argue that the ground-rent justifies levying a tax not just on the value ofthe natural resources used in the production of value, but on a portion of the value of the labor appliedto those resources, and therefore can be a significant revenue source. Similar considerations apply toresource-based taxation schemes suggested by others, including Henry George, Thomas Pogge, andsome modern “left-libertarians”.A Justiça Agrária de Thomas Paine merece mais atenção do que aquela que até agora lhe foidedicada, pois nela Paine estabelece um argumento fundacional para um programa abrangente debem-estar social que não se encontra no seu mais famoso Os Direitos do Homem. Neste artigo,explico o argumento de Paine em Justiça Agrária e considero a objecção segundo a qual a principalfonte de receitas aí proposta – a “renda fundiária” – seria insuficiente para financiar o programa debem-estar social que propõe, na medida em que a contribuição dos recursos naturais para a produçãode valor é insignificante. Argumento que a renda fundiária justifica a imposição de um imposto nãoapenas sobre o valor dos recursos naturais usados na produção de valor, mas sobre uma porção dovalor do trabalho aplicado sobre esses recursos, e que, portanto, ela pode ser uma fonte significativade receitas. Considerações similares são aplicáveis aos sistemas de taxação baseados em recursosnaturais propostos por outros autores tais como Henry George, Thomas Pogge e alguns libertários deesquerda contemporâneos

Direct Assessment of Juvenile Atlantic Bluefin Tuna: Integrating Sonar and Aerial Results in Support of Fishery-Incident Surveys

There is a clear need for direct assessment approaches for Atlantic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus, ABFT), including formulation of experimental designs and pilot surveys for abundance estimation. In the western Atlantic, aerial surveys are highly feasible for juvenile ABFT because of their surface availability in summer and autumn on the mid-Atlantic shelf. Our goals are to design, implement, and analyze a fisheries-independent survey of juvenile ABFT and to assess the feasibility of biomass estimation in the Gulf of Maine (USA). From initial field trials using sonar and aerial mapping we demonstrated feasibility of determining size, area, and total biomass of schools as well as sizes of individuals within schools. We used aerial imagery to determine the school’s surface shape and to enumerate bluefin tuna visible in the upper few meters of the water column. The sonar data provided information on school height and number of individuals not captured in aerial photographs. By integrating sonar and aerial data we can estimate school biomass, number and sizes of individuals in schools, and aggregation behavior. In 2015 we plan to use a marine hexacopter to obtain more highly resolved aerial images of schools, with improved geo-rectification required for automated target recognition and objective counts of individuals. Current bluefin surveys rely primarily on observer and spotter pilot estimates of school metrics. Although not without challenges, the analytical techniques we’re developing will provide more objective, multi-dimensional information on ABFT schools and less biased estimates of biomass. Direct assessment also offers a means of tracking shifts in coastal distribution of highly mobile ABFT, especially as traditional indices of abundance may no longer be appropriate

Heating Features of Interesting Supra-Arcade Downflows

Supra-arcade downflows (SADs) have been observed above flare loops during the decay phase of flare. They appear as tadpole-like dark plasma voids traveling towards the Sun. In areas surrounding where they appear, temperatures are often high. We aim to investigate temperature and heating mechanism of SADs. We apply our analysis to the M1.7 flare that occurred on 2012 July 12 and was observed by the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) on the Solar Dynamics Observatory. There are many obvious SADs above the arcade during this event in the AIA 131 channel. We calculate the differential emission measure and emission measure weighted temperature with AIA data in the region where SADs are concentrated. We find that the temperature in SADs region tends to be lower than the surrounding plasma. We also calculate velocities of SADs using the Fourier Local Correlation Tracking (FLCT, Fisher & Welsch, 2008) method to derive velocities in the supra-arcade region. Using corks to track the calculated velocities, we find our velocity results are consistent with the SAD motions in the AIA 131 intensity movie. We use the velocities to derive the adiabatic heating caused by the compression of plasma. Preliminary results indicate that there is adiabatic heating in front of the SADs

Organocatalyzed Ring‐Opening Polymerization of ( S )‐3‐Benzylmorpholine‐2,5‐Dione

Abstract A 3‐benzylmorpholine‐2,5‐dione monomer is synthesized from the natural amino acid l ‐phenylalanine and characterized by means of nuclear magnetic resonance and infrared spectroscopy, electrospray ionization mass spectrometry, and elemental analysis. Subsequent to preliminary polymerization studies, a well‐defined poly(ester amide) homopolymer is synthesized via ring‐opening polymerization using a binary catalyst system comprising 1,8‐diazabicyclo[5.4.0]undec‐7‐ene (DBU) and a 1‐(3,5‐bis(trifluoromethyl)phenyl)‐3‐cyclohexylthiourea (TU) cocatalyst with a feed ratio of M/I/DBU/TU = 100/1/1/10. Kinetic studies reveal high controllability of the dispersities and molar masses up to conversions of almost 80%. Analysis by mass spectrometry hints toward excellent end‐group fidelity at these conditions. In consequence, utilization of hydroxyl‐functionalized poly(ethylene glycol) and poly(2‐ethyl‐2‐oxazoline) as macroinitiators results in amphiphilic block copolymers. Bulk miscibility of the building blocks is indicated by differential scanning calorimetry investigations. As more and more promising new drugs are based on hydrophobic molecules featuring aromatic moieties, the novel polyesteramides seem highly promising materials to be used as potential drug delivery vehicles

VAMPIR: Visualization and Analysis of MPI Resources

Performance analysis most often is based on the detailed knowledge of program behavior. One option to get this information is tracing. Based on the research tool PARvis, the visualization environment VAMPIR was developed at KFA which now supports the new message passing standard MPI. VAMPIR translates a given trace file into a variety of graphical views, e.g., state diagrams, activity charts, time-line displays, and statistics. Moreover, it supports an animation mode that can help to locate performance bottlenecks, and it provides flexible filter operations to reduce the amount of information displayed. The most interesting part of VAMPIR is the powerful zooming feature that allows to identify problems at any level of detail

Is it time to reappraise blood pressure thresholds and targets? Statement from the international society of hypertension - a global perspective

No abstract available

Determination of a Tentative Epidemiological Cut-Off Value (ECOFF) for Dalbavancin and Enterococcus faecium

Dalbavancin is a lipoglycopeptide antibiotic that shows potent activity against Gram-positive bacteria. It circumvents vanB-type glycopeptide resistance mechanisms; however, data on the in vitro activity of dalbavancin for Enterococcus faecium (E. faecium) are scarce, and thus, no breakpoints are provided. In recent years, there has been a continuing shift from vanA-type to vanB-type vancomycin-resistance in enterococci in Central Europe. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the in vitro activity of dalbavancin against different van-genotypes, with particular focus on vanB-type E. faecium. Dalbavancin susceptibility was determined for 25 van-negative, 50 vanA-positive, and 101 vanB-positive clinical E. faecium isolates (typed by cgMLST). Epidemiological Cut-Off Values (ECOFFs) were determined using ECOFFinder. For vanB-type E. faecium isolates, dalbavancin MICs were similar to those of vancomycin-susceptible isolates reaching values no higher than 0.125 mg/L. ECOFFs for van-negative and vanB-positive isolates were 0.5 mg/l and 0.25 mg/L respectively. In contrast, E. faecium possessing vanA predominantly showed dalbavancin MICs >8 mg/L, therefore preventing the determination of an ECOFF. We demonstrated the potent in vitro activity of dalbavancin against vancomycin-susceptible and vanB-type E. faecium. On the basis of the observed wildtype distribution, a dalbavancin MIC of 0.25 mg/L can be suggested as a tentative ECOFF for E. faecium.Dalbavancin is a lipoglycopeptide antibiotic that shows potent activity against Gram-positive bacteria. It circumvents vanB-type glycopeptide resistance mechanisms; however, data on the in vitro activity of dalbavancin for Enterococcus faecium (E. faecium) are scarce, and thus, no breakpoints are provided. In recent years, there has been a continuing shift from vanA-type to vanB-type vancomycin-resistance in enterococci in Central Europe. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the in vitro activity of dalbavancin against different van-genotypes, with particular focus on vanB-type E. faecium. Dalbavancin susceptibility was determined for 25 van-negative, 50 vanA-positive, and 101 vanB-positive clinical E. faecium isolates (typed by cgMLST). Epidemiological Cut-Off Values (ECOFFs) were determined using ECOFFinder. For vanB-type E. faecium isolates, dalbavancin MICs were similar to those of vancomycin-susceptible isolates reaching values no higher than 0.125 mg/L. ECOFFs for van-negative and vanB-positive isolates were 0.5 mg/l and 0.25 mg/L respectively. In contrast, E. faecium possessing vanA predominantly showed dalbavancin MICs >8 mg/L, therefore preventing the determination of an ECOFF. We demonstrated the potent in vitro activity of dalbavancin against vancomycin-susceptible and vanB-type E. faecium. On the basis of the observed wildtype distribution, a dalbavancin MIC of 0.25 mg/L can be suggested as a tentative ECOFF for E. faecium.Peer Reviewe

Longitudinal trajectories of mental health problems and their association with reoffending in a Dutch pre-trial prison cohort.

The burden of mental health problems in detained persons is high. At the same time, mental health problems are discussed as possible predictors of criminal recidivism. During detention, mental health tends to improve. The aims of the study were twofold: First, to identify group-based trajectories of mental health problems over the course of detention; second, to test the association between trajectories and criminal recidivism. A prospective cohort of 1,904 adult males detained in Dutch pre-trial detention facilities was assessed at three time points after imprisonment (week 3, month 3, and month 9). Mental health problems were measured using the Brief Symptom Inventory. Recidivism was defined as reconviction and re-incarceration up to 18 months post-release. We used group-based trajectory modeling and logistic regressions for the analyses. On average, self-reported mental health improved during incarceration. Two distinct groups of mental health trajectories were identified: The majority (81%) reported relatively low levels of mental health problems, remaining stable over time. A small group (19%) reported high distress after prison entry with improvements over time. Older age, pre-existing functional impairment due to alcohol or drug use, diagnosis of psychiatric disorders, debts, use of psychiatric care during detention, and a more severe experience of detention were associated with membership in the second group. Group membership did not predict reoffending. The study confirms prior findings illustrating a generally positive change in mental health symptoms during detention. The course of mental health was associated with pre-existing socio-demographic and psychological characteristics that seem worthy to be considered in correctional treatment plans. Changes in mental health did not result in better legal outcomes. An interesting avenue for future research would be to examine changes in specific mental health symptoms or disorders in relation to recidivism risk