An introduction to security returns

The equity premium - the difference between the return achievable from investment in the equity market (R_M ) and the risk-free rate of return (R_F )- plays an important part in corporate finance. The expression equity premium (sometimes referred to as the equity risk premium) is used to denote the ex ante expectation of investors. The term excess return refers to the ex post achievement of stock returns over and above the risk-free return. If we compare US and UK returns, we find that total returns, real returns and the value of (R_M - R_F ) are all marginally higher for the UK. Summarized evidence appears in Table 1 and Table 6. Such greater returns may be due to an increased risk premium related to increasing unexpected inflation. Particularly important in estimating the equity risk premium is whether excess returns are measured using a geometric or an arithmetic mean return. To a significant extent, this question revolves around mean reversion in stock returns. Evidence of mean reversion is substantial, although it cannot be proved unequivocally. Given the weight of evidence of mean reversion, there may be a strong case for the use of a geometric mean with an equity premium of between 3% and 5% - or even less.     

Villous adenoma of the common bile duct

A villous adenoma of the common bile duct (CBD) causing obstructive jaundice was demonstrated by sonography and ERCP in a 34-year-old man. The radiological and clinical features of this rare tumor are herein presented.     

The implications of meta‐qualities for HR roles

A great deal has been written about the types of competencies that HR managers need. However, there is little known about how these might be acquired and which ones prove most valuable in carrying out HR tasks. This article provides insights into this issue from a study carried out in Ireland. The study examined HR managers' perceptions of the ways in which their competencies changed over the timespan of a management education process and the ways that they utilised these competencies within their work situations. The study suggests that the acquisition and development of ‘meta‐qualities’(Pedler et al, 1994) can be important to HR professionals in managing the complexity and ambiguity in their roles.     

Framing the constructive alignment of design within technology subjects in general education

Design is core element of general technology education internationally. While there is a degree of contention with regards to its treatment, there is general consensus that the inclusion of design in some form is important, if not characteristic, of the subject area. Acknowledging that design is important, there are many questions which need to be considered in order to guide policy and practice, such as whether a singular general design ability can be explicitly defined empirically beyond an implicit verbal definition, and whether it can be taught and assessed. In order to address these questions in a systematic fashion, a framework is needed in order to guide relevant investigations. Having such a framework would allow for theory to be generated, hypotheses to be tested, and assumptions to be challenged. In response to this apparent need, this article presents a theoretical discussion pertaining to the constructive alignment of learning to design, wherein theories of knowledge, variation theory, knowledge transfer, and assessment validity and reliability are reflected upon.

     

HOUSING AND INCOME DISTRIBUTION IN RUSSIA: ZHIVAGO'S LEGACY

The inadequacy of housing and its effect on the quality of lifego a long way toward explaining many aspects of Russian life,but little data has been available to determine how housingaffected the relative well-being of the citizenry. This paperpresents comprehensive data examining for the first time theeffect that seventy years of a socialist housing allocationscheme had on the distribution of income. It seems clear thathousing provided by the government or by employers has a valuethat can be measured to yield useful inferences about the distributionof income and wealth. This article shows that housing allocation had a progressiveeffect on the distribution of income in Russia. In addition,when the imputed value of housing is added to household income,the increase in income inequality that occurred in recent yearsis significantly reduced. The analysis concludes with a discussionof how housing policy could be used to address poverty concerns,an important aspect of the transition process.      

Potential Discrimination in Structured Employment Interviews

This experimental study examines the effects of bias toward persons with disabilities (PWDs) upon the employment interview decision process. The design and operationalization of the study permitted examination of the effects of specific disabilities, interview performance, and the resulting interaction between disability and interview performance, using 630 undergraduate students at a major university in the southwestern United States as subjects. The results indicate that (1) interview performance has a favorable, significant main effect upon subsequent HRM decisions, (2) specific disabilities, that is, child care demands, HIV-positive status, and being wheelchair-bound, have unfavorable, significant main effects upon subsequent HRM decisions, and (3) the presence of any of the disabilities decreased the favorable impact of superior interview performance. The limitations of the structured interview to mitigate bias were demonstrated. Given the pervasive, unfavorable treatment directed toward PWDs, it appears that the enactment of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (1993) is warranted. The public policy implications of these results and recommendations for future research were discussed.     

Constitutional Confusion: Slavery,Abortion, and Substantive Constitutional Analysis

A comparison of two U.S. Supreme Court cases about fundamental rights, one on slavery, the other on abortion, sheds light on constitutional law and the principles undergirding liberal constitutional democracy. The Dred Scott case in 1857 denied constitutional rights to enslaved Africans and their descendants living in the United States. The Roe v. Wade decision in 1973 created a constitutional right to abortion that denied constitutional personhood to human beings prior to birth. Both cases involved applications of what legal scholars call “substantive due process”—that is, a substantive interpretation of the constitutional requirement that governments provide persons with “due process of law” that moves beyond procedural formalism. Although many constitutional scholars deny the legitimacy of substantive due process as a legal doctrine, this article proposes that the judicial system cannot ultimately avoid substantive moral questions in constitutional interpretation. In both cases examined here, the crucial question was about who counts as part of the people whom the Constitution protects, and that question could not be answered in purely formal terms. Both Dred Scott and Roe v. Wade erred not by engaging substantive moral questions but rather by denying, in different ways, the natural rights of human persons.     

Policy models in accounting: A critical commentary

The accounting profession, through its rule-making apparatus, employs a particular choice model for identifying and resolving policy issues. This model is referred to in this article as the “constitional” approach. It is of interest to inquire why accountants have adopted this paradigm and eschewed other policy models, such as the “legal” or “scientific” approaches, even though the latter have generated considerable advocacy within the recent history of the profession. This paper examines the interesting hypothesis that the choice of the “constitutional” approach is consistent with the Group Self-Interest Hypothesis. By forming an associative group the major accounting firms have a primary interest in achieving higher prices for the industry's products. These higher prices can be achieved in three ways: (1) restricting entry, (2) restraining supply and (3) increasing demand. The “constitutional” approach is more efficacious in achieving these results than are the proposed alternative policy models.