Study of food preferences of an elderly population receiving meals on wheels in Nottinghamshire

A survey of 900 meals on wheels (MOW) recipients (20% total client sample) in all areas of the county of Nottinghamshire (East Midlands of England with a population approximately one million) aimed to evaluate consumer food preferences in the existing MOW provision of both main and sweet courses. A self-completed questionnaire was administered by Nottinghamshire County Council Social Services Department in November 1992. A response rate of 52% allowed calculations of preference rating on a scale of 1 to 5 (poor to excellent) to be made for the seven districts and two city areas of the county. Overall for the whole county there was a distinctive pattern of main course preference, the most popular being the sliced meat courses but in different areas of the county and city of Nottingham there was a very big range in preference rating for various types of main meal provision. In a similar manner the sweet courses provided an overall distinctive preference pattern across the county with apple pie and ‘Blackwell’ tart achieving the highest grades. Across the various districts and areas of Nottingham, however, these preference ratings were very variable with some areas giving almost all dishes scores above average while others gave nearly all dishes scores below average. The reasons for these variations in food preference are not known in the various areas but if poor preference rating leads to low food intake then these elderly people are very likely to be at nutritional risk.     

One-Time Cash Flow Announcements and Free Cash-Flow Theory: Share Repurchases and Special Dividends

The leading explanation for the positive price response surrounding tender offer share repurchase and specially designated dividend (SDD) announcements is the information signaling hypothesis. This paper reexamines these announcements to determine if Jensen's free cash-flow theory also has explanatory power. Lang and Litzenberger's (1989) findings suggest an important role for the free cash-flow theory in explaining the market's reaction to dividend changes. In contrast, we find the market's reaction to share repurchases and SDDs is approximately the same for both high-Q and low-Q firms. We thus have an empirical puzzle: If Jensen's free cash-flow theory applies to dividend changes, it is difficult to see why it does not also apply to the analogous events examined here.     

Employee Ownership and Company Performance

This paper investigates how Britain's largest employee-owned firm, the John Lewis Partnership, performs relative to its major competitors. In the context of John Lewis's unique constitutional structure, employee ownership appears to offer significant advantages in the market place. It is difficult to assess the relative importance of particular policies; as a group, employee ownership, open information flows, high wages, and profit share are clearly associated with high productivity.     

THE BEHAVIOUR OF CERTIFICATE OF DEPOSIT RATES IN THE UK

Using a number of maturities of up to one year and weekly highquality data on UK, CD rates, 1975–92, we provide a varietyof tests of the expectations hypothesis (EH) of the term structure.Our results appear to give more support to the EH than do earlierstudies, which often use longer maturities and data of a lowerfrequency on coupon paying bonds and yield data on ‘bundlesof bonds’. If one is willing to assume that noise traderspredominate in the bond market at very short horizons, we canprovide some insights into empirical results, found in the literature.     

Winning in Small Claims Courts: An Empirical Analysis

Small claims courts provide consumers with a potentially effective method for complaint resolution. Little is known, however, about the factors which influence the probability of consumers winning their cases in court or of successfully settling their cases out of court. This study estimated these probabilities using 1975–76 data from the Syracuse, New York Small Claims Court. A major goal of the research was to determine if plaintiffs' demographic characteristics, the amount and type of advice sought by plaintiffs and the specific characteristics of the cases differentially affected the probability of successful consumer outcomes. Major findings were that economic variables such as the amount of the claim and the amount offered by way of settlement of the claim primarily determined the probability of settling out of court. Neither sex nor race had any impact on the probability of winning in court. Advice from the small claims court staff and from lawyers both were found to lower the probability that the consumer would win in court. The results point to the need for more empirical analyses of small claims court cases and may aid educators in advising consumers on the use of the institution and policy makers concerned with court reform.