New Belgian Stock Market Returns: 1832–1914

The limited availability of high quality and computer readable data seriously impedes research in history and finance. We introduce a new monthly return series for Belgian owned equity based on Brussels Stock Market data for the period 1832–1914 as an improvement to the popular Drappier index. Over this period, our dataset includes 446,374 prices, 23,976 dividends, 371 stock and reverse splits (or other capital operations) on 2037 stocks of 1387 (foreign and Belgian) companies. Our dataset includes all shares and bonds but also high-quality information on prices, dividends, shares outstanding and market capitalization. In addition, company, country and sector information is available. We construct value weighted, price weighted and equally weighted indices as well as dividend yields. We find three important results. First, total nominal returns hover between 3.29% and 5.35% per annum, depending on how individual stocks are aggregated into the index. Second, dividend income constitutes the major part of total return and dividend distributions have a clear seasonal pattern. Third, the results highlight several drawbacks of the Drappier indices, especially an upward bias in expected equity performance.     

Weiter behandeln oder nicht?

Ein Fallbeispiel - Frau Schneider erkrankte im Alter von 73 Jahren an einer akuten myeloischen Leuk?mie (AML). Die eingeleiteten Therapien griffen nicht. Schlie?lich stimmte sie der Therapiebegrenzung zu. Vor welchen klinischen und normativen Herausforderungen stand das Behandlungsteam? Welche L?sungsans?tze für das praktische Vorgehen k?nnen aus diesem Fall geschlussfolgert werden?     

» Mehrwertkommunikation erfordert nach vollziehbare Kriterien für den Kunden «

Schweizer Konsumenten setzen sich sehr kritisch mit Lebensmitteln auseinander und sch?tzen Produkte, die über einen erkennbaren und relevanten Mehrwert verfügen. Mit einer innovativen Produktpalette an hochwertigen Frischeprodukten ist es Emmi gelungen, im In- und Ausland zu einem führenden Anbieter von Mehrwertprodukten aufzusteigen. Urs Riedener erkl?rt diesen Mehrwert und wieso Authentizit?t eine unabdingbare Voraussetzung für Glaubwürdigkeit ist.     

The supportive expatriate spouse: An ethnographic study of spouse involvement in expatriate careers

Previous research on the influence of accompanying expatriate spouses has emphasized the negative impact on the business expatriates that could contribute to unsuccessful outcomes of the foreign assignments. But spouses’ influences could also be positive. Applying ethnographic field-work methodology, this study investigated female spouses’ involvement in the career of a sample of Danish business expatriates living in the same compound in Saudi Arabia. Results showed that the accompanying partners were active in trying to support and further their expatriate husbands’ immediate careers and repatriation opportunities by using social strategies, such as creating alliances and establishing social networks with influential others through social contacts and dinner parties. The female trailing partners also tried as a group to influence company decisions regarding working schedules, pay, and holidays. These findings are consistent with recent theoretical developments focusing on positive outcomes of the work–family interface and social capital theory and are in line with empirical research on repatriation and post-assignment careers.     

Improving Service Quality in Person-to-Person Encounters: Integrating Findings from a Multi-disciplinary Review

Although the core of most services is a person-to-person encounter, we still know very little about its underlying mechanisms as very few models or theories have been developed for these dynamic interactions between persons. An holistic approach to quality improvement is therefore suggested. Different prototypical person-to-person encounters may be studied on different levels and interfaces in service operations to eliminate inconsistencies. The aim of this contribution is to review some recent research findings for person-to-person encounters from the neighbouring management fields of services, operations and human resources in order to draw together their strategic implications for service managers. Some ontological and methodological considerations of studying person-to-person encounters from a qualitative perspective are discussed. The outline of a multi-disciplinary and learning-centred research approach is also suggested. Findings are integrated by a model of four generic and strategic processes for quality improvement in service operations. Finally, some implications for managers are proposed.     

Gene-environment interactions and the complexity of human genetic diseases

In the assessment of mortality and morbidity risk, the ability of family history and genetic test results to predict the age of occurrence, severity, and long-term prognosis of 'genetic' diseases is important. An increasing number of gene-gene and gene-environment interactions have been demonstrated in a number of monogenic Mendelian diseases. These interactions can significantly modify the clinical presentation (disease phenotype) of diseases previously regarded purely as 'genetic.' As a result, 'genetic' diseases can be positioned in a continuum between classic Mendelian and complex disease where the extremes, pure genetic or solely non-genetic, do not exist. The position of any given disease in this continuum is defined by three components: the major gene(s) contributing to the phenotype, the variability added by modifier genes and the significance of environmental factors influencing the phenotype. As the predictive value of genetic test results can be significantly influenced by additional genetic and environmental risk factors, a better understanding of these factors may influence the quantification of mortality and morbidity risk.