On the Objective of Corporate Boards: Theory and Evidence

Abstract: There are two views on board objectives: (i) boards act as monitors with the objective to maximize firms' long-term fundamental values; and (ii) boards act myopically with a focus on firms' short-term market values. We propose a principal-agent model linking CEO incentive pay to earnings overstatement that allows us to differentiate between these objectives empirically. In response to an increase in the cost of overstating earnings, the model predicts an increase in CEO incentives if boards act as monitors, but a decrease in CEO incentives if boards are myopic. We find strong evidence of a decrease in CEO incentives around the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. Moreover, the model predicts that capital market pressure makes boards more myopic. We document a positive relationship between capital market pressure and CEO incentives. Around SOX, CEO incentives also fall by more in firms with high capital market pressure, as predicted by the model. Our results strongly support the myopic board view.

Genetic and hormonal regulation of meristem initiation and maintenance pathways during maize vegetative and reproductive development

Plant development is driven by pools of undifferentiated stem cells called meristems. Meristems have two functions, to divide producing cells that will replenish the stem-cell niche, and cells that will differentiate into new organs. Together, the fine regulation of these divisions is referred to as meristem maintenance. Over a plant's lifetime, meristems undergo a specific developmental progression that continues to create organs throughout vegetative and reproductive development. Defects in the pathways that regulate meristem maintenance result in altered meristem size or number of organs typically produced by a specific meristem type, resulting in altered mature plant morphology. While many meristem maintenance pathways are shared between species, and thus information learned from one developmental time can be used to form another, specificity of these pathways between species can also be seen. Thus, by first chapter focuses on the similarities and differences in meristem maintenance pathways between the model species Arabidopsis and maize and touches on lessons researchers can glean from studying general patterns of development. The semi-dominant Suppressor of sessile spikelets2 (Sos2) gene in maize displays developmental defects in meristem maintenance throughout maize development. The Sos2 heterozygous mutants display a large variation of phenotypes while the Sos2 homozygous mutants and seedling lethal. The goal of Chapter 2 was to summarize the role of the Sos2 gene in known meristem maintenance pathways, as well as understand the genetic and environmental factors that influence the penetrance and expressivity of the Sos2 phenotype. In addition, an RNA-seq anlaysis uncovered additional pathways in which the Sos2 gene may directly or indirectly function, as well as identified a candidate gene for the Sos2 mutation, one that that has not yet been published to function in maize meristem maintenance pathways. Links within the literature of genes orthologous to the Sos2 candidate gene, taken alongside RNA-seq results, indicated Sos2 might act on phytohormone pathways. To further explore this link, Chapter 3 analysis results from hormone level assays and confocal analysis, which found significant differences in the cytokinin and auxin pathways. Sos2 is a member of the Sos class of mutants, along with Sos1 and Sos3. All three Sos mutants have similar mutant phenotypes, in that the structures on the ends of short branches that contain the flowers called spikelets, which are usually produced in pairs, develop singly in the heterozygote. In order to compare the meristem maintenance pathways effected by each Sos mutants, as well as determine their individual effects on phytohormone pathways during development, RNA-seq analysis was performed. This study found that Sos2 and Sos3 are more likely to share similar functions in meristem maintenance pathways than either when compared to Sos1. Chapter 4 sought to further unravel how phytohormone pathways regulate meristems, specifically at the point of axillary meristem initiation from the inflorescence meristem during reproductive development. To the end, transcriptomes of three auxin mutants barren stalk 1, barren inflroescnece2, and barren stalk 2 were performed and compared using a Weighted Gene Co- Expression Analysis (WGCNA). This study found less shared elements between these three auxin mutants, as was hypothesized, and highlighted the individual and unique targets of ba1, bif2, and ba2. These targets provide additional avenues of research that will lead to a better understanding of axillary meristem initiation during reproductive development. In summary, this study identified a possible gene involved in meristem maintenance not previously described in maize or any other monocot species, and provide insight into how that gene functions in known meristem maintenance and phytohormone pathways. In addition, research in understanding how axillary meristems develop within the context of auxin regulation uncovered unique targets of known auxin development mutants. Taken together, the results outlined in this thesis provide a more comprehensive understanding of meristem maintenance throughout maize development.Includes bibliographical references

School Food Service Costs: Does Location Matter?

Over 30 million lunches and 9.8 million breakfasts are served every day to children in participating American schools through the USDA National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs. It is challenging for participating local school food authorities (SFAs) to serve appealing, healthful meals while covering food, labor, and other operating costs with USDA reimbursements. But it may be more difficult for some SFAs than others due to cost differences across locations. Analysis of data from a large national sample reveals that after controlling for differences in SFA characteristics, sharp differences in costs remained among rural, urban, and suburban SFAs and across regions. The highest costs occurred in Mid-Atlantic, suburban SFAs and the lowest cost existed in southwest, urban SFAs. Differences in food costs explained the largest share of this variation.school meal costs, cost function, SFA, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,

USDA School Meal Programs Face New Challenges

Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,

The National School Lunch Program: Background, Trends, and Issues

The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) is the Nation’s second largest food and nutrition assistance program. In 2006, it operated in over 101,000 public and nonprofit private schools and provided over 28 million low-cost or free lunches to children on a typical school day at a Federal cost of $8 billion for the year. This report provides background information on the NSLP, including historical trends and participant characteristics. It also addresses steps being taken to meet challenges facing administrators of the program, including tradeoffs between nutritional quality of foods served, costs, and participation, as well as between program access and program integrity.National School Lunch Program, child nutrition, obesity, food assistance, Agricultural and Food Policy, Health Economics and Policy, Public Economics,

When Traumatic Stressors are Not Past, But Now: Psychosocial Treatment to Develop Resilience with Children and Youth Enduring Concurrent, Complex Trauma

The article discusses a project called the Empowering Counseling Program (ECP) conducted in community schools using participatory action and consumer evaluation designs. It addressed the elements of treatment theories used by mental health providers such as values, assumptions and concepts. It cites findings that clients suffering from complex trauma in under-resourced communities, unavoidably traumatized concurrently with treatment do not benefit from treatment guidelines

Non-inherited maternal human leukocyte antigen alleles in susceptibility to familial rheumatoid arthritis.

OBJECTIVES: Some patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) lack RA-associated human leukocyte antigen (HLA) alleles. Prior studies investigated non-inherited maternal HLA alleles (NIMA) in RA risk with conflicting results. METHODS: We examined NIMA in a large cohort of families from the North American Rheumatoid Arthritis Consortium (NARAC). RESULTS: Among 620 patients with 1 or both parents having a HLA genotype, patients with RA informative for analysis included 176 without HLA-DRB1*04 and 86 without the HLA shared epitope (SE). The frequency of NIMA encoding HLA-DR4 or the SE was compared to the non-inherited paternal allele (NIPA). DR4-encoding NIMA vs NIPA revealed no significant difference (27% vs 20%). However, parity is known to modulate RA risk and analyses stratified by sex and age of onset showed significant variation among women. Interestingly, among women with onset or =45 years at onset the reverse was observed (31% vs 16% compared to 10% vs 60%, p = 0.008). DR4 encoding NIMA vs NIPA did not differ in men. The SE did not differ in men or women. CONCLUSIONS: Risk of RA was associated with HLA-DR4 encoding NIMA in younger-onset women but not in older-onset women or men. These observations could help explain conflicting prior results of NIMA in RA

Clients’ Hope Arises from Social Workers’ Compassion: Young Clients’ Perspectives on Surmounting the Obstacles of Disadvantage

While social workers strive to build disadvantaged African American youths’ resilience by improving services, rarely are those youths’ perspectives included in research. In a previous evaluation of an after-school program, disadvantaged African American youths prioritized instructors’ compassion and said compassion engendered hope. This study explores their connection between compassion and hope more deeply. Focusing on Snyder’s hope theory, this study examines the connection between compassion and hope as individual traits (using standardized scales) and as relational, action-based experiences (using qualitative analysis of interview data). Instructor actions that youths identified as compassionate and as engendering hope were encouragement, problem solving, responsive empathy, and affirming that good choices could bring about good futures. Youths built their hope by internalizing their instructors’ compassion