Media and Fraud - Accounting and Accountability

Media can play a huge role in the decisions of individuals. However, how media coverage impacts individuals’ decisions in an accounting setting has not been addressed in the literature. My research question is: does media coverage directly influence an individual’s likelihood to commit fraud? In my study, “committing fraud� is defined as making an overly aggressive accounting choice. This study was conducted using the MBA and MSA students. After administering the survey face-to-face, I gathered 96 responses to be used for analysis. findings show that individuals are more likely to report aggressively in the control condition, where their company has a neutral portrayal in the media in comparison to a company that has either a strong positive or strong negative portrayal in the media. My study finds that positive and negative media coverage made people more likely to report less revenue, which in my scenario, represents a less aggressive accounting choice. This demonstrates the significance of media on an individual’s actions, which hasn’t been tested previously in the accounting field

A microcontroller system for investigating the catch effect: Functional electrical stimulation of the common peroneal nerve

Correction of drop foot in hemiplegic gait is achieved by electrical stimulation of the common peroneal nerve with a series of pulses at a fixed frequency. However, during normal gait, the electromyographic signals from the tibialis anterior muscle indicate that muscle force is not constant but varies during the swing phase. The application of double pulses for the correction of drop foot may enhance the gait by generating greater torque at the ankle and thereby increase the efficiency of the stimulation with reduced fatigue. A flexible controller has been designed around the Odstock Drop Foot Stimulator to deliver different profiles of pulses implementing doublets and optimum series. A peripheral interface controller (PIC) microcontroller with some external circuits has been designed and tested to accommodate six profiles. Preliminary results of the measurements from a normal subject seated in a multi-moment chair (an isometric torque measurement device) indicate that profiles containing doublets and optimum spaced pulses look favourable for clinical use

Report from magnetospheric science

By the early 1990s, magnetospheric physics will have progressed primarily through observations made from Explorer-class spacecraft, sounding rockets, ground based facilities, and shuttle based experiments. The global geospace science (GGS) element of the International Solar Terrestrial Physics program, when combined with contributions to the ESA Cluster mission and ground based and computer modeling programs, will form the basis for a major U.S. initiative in magnetospheric physics. The scientific objectives of the GGS program involve the study of energy transport throughout geospace. The Cluster mission will investigate turbulence and boundary phenomena in geospace, particularly at high latitudes on the dayside and in the region of the neutral sheet at geocentric distances of about 20 earth radii on the night side of the earth. The current state of knowledge is reviewed and the goals of these missions are briefly discussed

Petrology of the Early Cretaceous Sierra Nevada Batholith; the Stokes Mountain region, CA

Previous studies have shown that the early Cretaceous batholith (130-110 Ma) contains the least chemically and isotopically evolved lithologies of the composite Sierra Nevada batholith. Mapping at 1:24,000 of a 360 km^2 area in the foothills ESE of Fresno (the Stokes Mountain region; latitude 36°30') reveals a smoothly continuous range (SiO_2 = 44-78%) of calcic lithologies dominated by norites, hornblende gabbros, quartz diorites, tonalites and granodiorites

Exploration and confirmation of factors associated with uncomplicated pregnancy in nulliparous women: prospective cohort study

Objective: To identify factors at 15 and 20 weeks’ gestation associated with a subsequent uncomplicated pregnancy. Design: Prospective international multicentre observational cohort study. Setting: Auckland, New Zealand and Adelaide, Australia (exploration and local replication dataset) and Manchester, Leeds, and London, United Kingdom, and Cork, Republic of Ireland (external confirmation dataset). Participants: 5628 healthy nulliparous women with a singleton pregnancy. Main outcome measure: Uncomplicated pregnancy, defined as a normotensive pregnancy delivered at >37 weeks’ gestation, resulting in a liveborn baby not small for gestational age, and the absence of any other significant pregnancy complications. In a stepwise logistic regression the comparison group was women with a complicated pregnancy. Results: Of the 5628 women, 3452 (61.3%) had an uncomplicated pregnancy. Factors that reduced the likelihood of an uncomplicated pregnancy included increased body mass index (relative risk 0.74, 95% confidence intervals 0.65 to 0.84), misuse of drugs in the first trimester (0.90, 0.84 to 0.97), mean diastolic blood pressure (for each 5 mm Hg increase 0.92, 0.91 to 0.94), and mean systolic blood pressure (for each 5 mm Hg increase 0.95, 0.94 to 0.96). Beneficial factors were prepregnancy fruit intake at least three times daily (1.09, 1.01 to 1.18) and being in paid employment (per eight hours’ increase 1.02, 1.01 to 1.04). Detrimental factors not amenable to alteration were a history of hypertension while using oral contraception, socioeconomic index, family history of any hypertensive complications in pregnancy, vaginal bleeding during pregnancy, and increasing uterine artery resistance index. Smoking in pregnancy was noted to be a detrimental factor in the initial two datasets but did not remain in the final model. Conclusions: This study identified factors associated with normal pregnancy through adoption of a novel hypothesis generating approach, which has shifted the emphasis away from adverse outcomes towards uncomplicated pregnancies. Although confirmation in other cohorts is necessary, this study implies that individually targeted lifestyle interventions (normalising maternal weight, increasing prepregnancy fruit intake, reducing blood pressure, stopping misuse of drugs) may increase the likelihood of normal pregnancy outcomes.Lucy C Chappell, Paul T Seed, Jenny Myers, Rennae S Taylor, Louise C Kenny, Gustaaf A Dekker, James J Walker, Lesley M E McCowan, Robyn A North, Lucilla Posto

Space experiments with particle accelerators (SEPAC): Description of instrumentation

SEPAC (Space Experiments with Particle Accelerators) flew on Spacelab 1 (SL 1) in November and December 1983. SEPAC is a joint U.S.-Japan investigation of the interaction of electron, plasma, and neutral beams with the ionosphere, atmosphere and magnetosphere. It is scheduled to fly again on Atlas 1 in August 1990. On SL 1, SEPAC used an electron accelerator, a plasma accelerator, and neutral gas source as active elements and an array of diagnostics to investigate the interactions. For Atlas 1, the plasma accelerator will be replaced by a plasma contactor and charge collection devices to improve vehicle charging meutralization. This paper describes the SEPAC instrumentation in detail for the SL 1 and Atlas 1 flights and includes a bibliography of SEPAC papers

Possible Beneficial Effect of Exercise, by Reducing Oxidative Stress, on the Incidence of Preeclampsia

We hypothesize that regular exercise enhances antioxidative enzymes in pregnant women, which reduce oxidative stress and, thus, the incidence of preeclampsia. Oxidative stress with enhanced lipid peroxide formation could lead to endothelial dysfunction in preeclampsia. Other conditions, such as increased transferrin saturation and decreased iron-binding capacity, directly and indirectly promote the process of oxidative stress and subsequent endothelial dysfunction. Exercise increases oxidative metabolism and produces a prooxidant environment. This acidic environment during exercise (at or beyond anaerobic threshold) promotes oxygen release from hemoglobin and increases in PO2 in tissues, as well as releases iron from transferrin. When exercise is repeated regularly, the body promptly adjusts so that oxidative stress is eliminated or reduced. The body's adaptations to a regular exercise habit seem to have an antioxidant effect. In humans, training effects have been identified with an enhanced activity of antioxidative enzymes. Another concerted adaptation that regular exercise brings to women's bodies is resistance against production of prooxidants by increasing the number of mitochondria. Equally important is a training effect that decreases susceptibility to lipid peroxidation. Evidence suggests that physically active women are less likely to develop preeclampsia. In theory, intracellular and extracellular conditions resulting from regular exercise should counteract the enhancement of oxidative stress, thus interfering with the process leading to endothelial dysfunction. This position paper describes a hypothesis and includes a brief review of exercise physiology and biochemical research in preeclampsia. Unlike other preventive treatments, such as aspirin or calcium supplements, a regular exercise habit leads to a positive and healthy lifestyle without concern of side effects.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/63167/1/152460901317193558.pd

The feasibility and acceptability of self-testing for proteinuria during pregnancy: A mixed methods approach.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate feasibility and acceptability of self-testing for proteinuria during pregnancy. STUDY DESIGN: Mixed methods approach which included: an accuracy study where pregnant women (n = 100) and healthcare professionals (n = 96) tested seven synthetic protein samples and completed a questionnaire, a feasibility study where pregnant women who were self-monitoring their blood pressure were asked to self-test for proteinuria (n = 30), and an online questionnaire about women's experiences of self-testing (n = 200). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Sensitivity and specificity of testing and questionnaire results. RESULTS: There were no significant differences in the accuracy of synthetic sample testing by pregnant women (sensitivity 0.81 (95% confidence intervals (CI) 0.78-0.85), specificity 0.93 (95% CI 0.91-0.95)) and healthcare professionals: (sensitivity 0.83 (95% CI 0.79-0.86), specificity 0.92 (95% CI 0.90-0.94)). Automated readers had significantly better sensitivity (0.94 (0.91-0.97) (p ≤ .001 in each case), but worse specificity 0.78 (0.69-0.85). Similar results were gained using self-tested urine samples compared to staff-testing using a reference standard of laboratory urine protein-creatinine ratio (uPCR). Women who completed the online survey with experience of self-testing (n = 39, 20%) generally found it easy, and with support from healthcare professionals felt it improved involvement in their care and reduced anxiety. CONCLUSIONS: Self-testing for proteinuria by pregnant women had similar accuracy to healthcare professional testing and was acceptable to both groups. Self-testing of urine combined with self-monitoring of blood pressure could provide a useful adjunct to clinic-based surveillance for the detection of pre-eclampsia. Such novel strategies warrant further research