Neighborhood effects of concentrated mortgage foreclosures

As the national mortgage crisis has worsened, an increasing number of communities are facing declining housing prices and high rates of foreclosure. Central to the call for government intervention in this crisis is the claim that foreclosures not only hurt those who are losing their homes to foreclosure, but also harm neighbors by reducing the value of nearby properties and in turn, reducing local governments’ tax bases. The extent to which foreclosures do in fact drive down neighboring property values has become a crucial question for policy-makers. In this paper, we use a unique dataset on property sales and foreclosure filings in New York City from 2000 to 2005 to identify the effects of foreclosure starts on housing prices in the surrounding neighborhood. Regression results suggest that above some threshold, proximity to properties in foreclosure is associated with lower sales prices. The magnitude of the price discount increases with the number of properties in foreclosure, but not in a linear relationship.     

Reflecting on Teacher Development in Technology Education: Implications for Future Programmes

This paper reflects on the outcomes of teacher professional development programmes in technology education. These programmes were based on a model which emphasised the importance of teachers developing an understanding of both technological practice and technology education. Two different programmes have been developed and trialed in the New Zealand context. They are the Facilitator Training programme, and the Technology Teacher Development Resource Package programme. This paper will focus on the outcomes of these programmes. The Facilitator Training programme was a year long programme, and ran in 1995 and 1996. It involved training a total of 30 educators – 15 each year, from all over New Zealand. The Resource Package was trialed in 14 schools over a 3–6 month period in 1996. The evaluations indicate the successful nature of these programmes and the usefulness of the model as a basis for the development of teacher professional development in technology education. The programmes reported on in this paper were developed and evaluated as part of two New Zealand Ministry of Education contracts held by the Centre for Science, Mathematics and Technology Education Research. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Bubbles or convenience yields? A theoretical explanation with evidence from technology company equity carve-outs

This paper offers an alternative explanation for what is typically referred to as an asset pricing bubble. We develop a model that formalizes the Cochrane (2002) convenience yield theory of technology company stocks to explain why a rational agent would buy an “overpriced” security. Agents have a desire to trade but short-sale restrictions and other frictions limit their trading strategies and enable prices of two similar securities to be different. Thus, divergent prices for similar securities can be sustained in a rational expectations equilibrium. The paper also provides empirical support for the model using a sample of 1996–2000 equity carve-outs.     

Marketing extends beyond humans

This comment seeks to answer the following question. Is marketing - as most marketing textbooks define the term - something that is limited to humans, or do other non-human species also engage in marketing? To answer this question this comment reviews literature on animal behavior which suggests that at least some non-human animals do engage in exchange processes in order to mutually satisfy needs and wants. This comment therefore concludes that marketing is an activity that extends beyond humans to other members of the animal kingdom.     

Open-mindedness in diverse team performance: investigating a three-way interaction

Studies have shown that open-minded dynamics contribute to diverse team effectiveness; however, there are few studies on the factors that influence the impact of open-mindedness. Survey data from 218 members of 47 professionally diverse teams support a significant relationship between open-mindedness and performance. Professional identification and professional salience were found to moderate the relationship with opposing effects. The study data indicate that although open-mindedness provides a context that facilitates the open exchange and discussion of diverse ideas and perspectives in interprofessional teams, this is less influential when members strongly identify with their profession. Conversely, member focus on professional differences enhances the value of team interaction characterised by receptiveness and openness. Analysis confirms a three-way interaction between open-mindedness, professional identification and salience on performance.     

Social policy and women in accounting: A cross-cultural comparison

Unless "family-friendly" policies are developed, women will continue to leave public accounting in larger numbers than men. Affirmative action, family leave, and child care policies in Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the U.S. are compared. The greater strength and duration of U.S. affirmative action policy may partially explain the superior progress of women in the labor force as compared to the other nations. In contrast, maternity leave and child care policies in Australia and Canada surpass those in the U.K. and the U.S. The weaker government provisions for family leave and child care in the latter two nations increase the importance of policies in the private sector for persons attempting to balance employment and family commitment.