The effect of time pressure on auditor attention to qualitative aspects of misstatements indicative of potential fraudulent financial reporting

Motivated by recent concern regarding the auditor's role in fraud detection, this study predicts that (1) under time pressure auditors' attention will become focused on the dominant task at the expense of attention to the subsidiary task and (2) the task of accumulating documentary evidence regarding frequency of misstatements will dominate the task of attending to qualitative aspects of misstatements. Results from an experiment were consistent with expectations.     

Risk measurement distortion: an improved model of return smoothing

We examine the effects of smoothed hedge fund returns on standard deviation, skewness, and kurtosis of return and on correlation of returns using a MA(2)-GARCH(1,1)-skewed-t representation instead of the traditional MA(2) model employed in the literature. We present evidence that our proposed representation is more consistent with the behavior of hedge fund returns than the traditional MA(2) representation and that the traditional method tends to overstate the degree of smoothing observed in hedge fund returns. We examine methods for correcting the distortive effects of smoothing using our representation.     

Telecommunications technology in rural health care

Areas of low population density present special problems with respect to the delivery of health services. In this article, an overview is given of some technological approaches to solving these problems. The author's remarks are based on several years of experience of managing a research programme in health care telecommunications, and, more recently, a review of selected Rural Health Initiative and Health underserved Rural Areas projects that utilize a combination of innovations involving telecommunications and computer technologies.     

Prediction of decomposition limits for ethylene oxide-nitrogen vapor mixtures

A decomposition limit equation applicable to liquid ethylene oxide storage conditions based on recently obtained data is presented. Comparison is made with a second correlation equation developed from literature data. Adjustment of predicted decomposition limits to produce recommended safe operating limits is discussed.     

Doppler echocardiographic changes found in diastolic dysfunction

Diastolic dysfunction may be associated with increased morbidity and mortality. In this article, an overview of the pathophysiology of diastolic dysfunction is discussed and the findings of Doppler echocardiography used to aid in its diagnosis are reviewed.