De Vetula: a Medieval Manuscript Containing Probability Calculations

De Vetula , a poem that contains probability calculations on the throw of three dice, was written in the mid-thirteenth century. The poem was widely circulated, read and quoted. There is strong evidence that some of the medieval readers clearly understood how the probability calculations were obtained. Based on the discussion given here, it is put forward that an elementary probability calculus was established and known in Europe from about the year 1250. A translation of the relevant section of the poem is given.     

Young African Americans: a new generation of giving behaviour

It has been suggested that younger generations of African Americans may be the group whose giving behaviour has altered most in recent times. Primary research to establish whether this is indeed the case was conducted through focus groups to identify deviation from the extant research on giving motivations. The ages of the participants were 26–32. The theoretical foundation for this research was drawn from historical literature on African American philanthropy, relevant models of giving behaviours and contemporary research in the field. The research concludes that the notion of uplifting one's race remains a powerful motive for giving. Copyright © 2001 Henry Stewart Publications     

Facilitation of competing bids and the price of a takeover target

We present a model of corporate acquisitions in which initiallyuninformed bidders must incur costs to learn their (independent)valuations of a potential takeover target. The first biddermakes either a preemptive bid that will deter the second bidderfrom investigating or a lower bid that will induce the secondbidder to investigate and possible compete. We show that theexpected price of the target may be higher when the first biddermakes a deterring bid than when there is competitive bidding.Hence, by weakening the first bidder's incentive to choose apreemptive bid, regulatory and management policies to assistcompeting bidders may reduce both the expected takeover priceand social welfare.     

Proactive performance measures.

Adoption of a process of careful selection and implementation generating the appropriate proactive (leading) performance measures will provide an important tool with which to progress. When used in combination with traditional financial performance measures, proactive performance measures contribute to our cache of competitive weapons.     

A review of job embeddedness: Conceptual,measurement issues,and directions for future research

Job embeddedness (JE) theory is a relatively new perspective in turnover research. Although theoretical and empirical implications are encouraging, the construct of JE is still under development. In this paper, we identify five conceptualization and measurement issues warranting additional discussion and research. These are: (1) the composite measure vs. the global measure, (2) conceptual and measurement problems of community embeddedness, (3) conceptual and measurement problems associated with links, (4) discriminant validity issues and (5) the cultural boundaries of JE. For each issue, we discuss our concerns and suggest future research directions.     

THE RETURNS TO INVESTMENT IN RESEARCH ON AUSTRALIAN WOOL PRODUCTION*

A production function approach is used to estimate growth in farm productivity in the Australian wool industry from an estimated level of expenditure on wool production R & D. A market equilibrium model of the wool industry is then used to measure the share of total benefits from this productivity growth accruing to Australia and its wool growers. A net return is estimated after allowing for lags in the development and adoption of technology.     

An Empirical Comparison of the Four Channel Flow Model and Adventure Experience Paradigm

The objective of this study was to conduct empirical comparisons between two models of optimal experience within an on-site whitewater kayaking setting using a modification of the Experience Sampling Method. Four concerns are examined: (1) differences in explanatory power between the four channel flow model and the Adventure Experience Paradigm, (2) convergent validity among measures used to determine conditions within these models, (3) differences among measures of perceived challenge and risk between test times of Class I-V river difficulty, and (4) differences among measures of perceived skill and competence between test times of Class I-V river difficulty. Questionnaires were administered in the Cheat River Canyon in West Virginia to 52 whitewater kayakers at eight sites of various levels of river difficulty. Data were analyzed at the experience level, rather than between subjects, using 409 experience sampling observations. Hypothesis testing, performed with statistical analyses (stepwise regression, correlations, and repeated measures ANOVA), suggested that the explanatory powers of the four channel flow model and Adventure Experience Paradigm were similar and indicated support for convergent and ecological validity of measures used to determine conditions within each of the two models.     

Asset pricing and the role of macroeconomic volatility

Standard Real Business Cycle (RBC) models are well known to generate counter-factual asset pricing implications. This study provides a simple extension to the prior literature by studying an economy that follows a regime-switching process in conjunction with Epstein–Zin preferences for consumers. We provide a detailed theoretical and numerical analysis of the model’s predictions. We also show that a reasonable parameterization of our model conveys financial figures in line with US postwar data. Furthermore, we provide evidence in support of modeling a regime-dependent macroeconomic risk.