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Independence
Kinds of Independence Terms modified by Independence Selected AbstractsINDEPENDENCE DAY FOR THE ,OLD LADY': A NATURAL EXPERIMENT ON THE IMPLICATIONS OF CENTRAL BANK INDEPENDENCE,THE MANCHESTER SCHOOL, Issue 3 2007JAGJIT S. CHADHA Central bank independence is widely thought be a sine qua non of a credible commitment to price stability. The surprise decision by the UK government to grant operational independence to the Bank of England in 1997 affords us a natural experiment with which to gauge the impact on the yield curve from the adoption of central bank independence. We document the extent to which the decision to grant independence was ,news' and illustrate that the reduction in medium- and long-term nominal interest rates was some 50 basis points, which we show to be consistent with a sharp increase in policy-maker's aversion to inflation deviations from target. We therefore suggest that central bank independence represents one of the clearest signals available to elected politicians about their preferences on the control of inflation. [source] The VERNALIZATION INDEPENDENCE 4 gene encodes a novel regulator of FLOWERING LOCUS CTHE PLANT JOURNAL, Issue 5 2002Hua Zhang Summary The late-flowering, vernalization-responsive habit of many Arabidopsis ecotypes is mediated predominantly through repression of the floral programme by the FLOWERING LOCUS C (FLC) gene. To better understand this repressive mechanism, we have taken a genetic approach to identify novel genes that positively regulate FLC expression. We identified recessive mutations in a gene designated VERNALIZATION INDEPENDENCE 4 (VIP4), that confer early flowering and loss of FLC expression in the absence of cold. We cloned the VIP4 gene and found that it encodes a highly hydrophilic protein with similarity to proteins from yeasts, Drosophila, and Caenorhabditis elegans. Consistent with a proposed role as a direct activator of FLC, VIP4 is expressed throughout the plant in a pattern similar to that of FLC. However, unlike FLC, VIP4 RNA expression is not down-regulated in vernalized plants, suggesting that VIP4 is probably not sufficient to activate FLC, and that VIP4 is probably not directly involved in a vernalization mechanism. Epistasis analysis suggests that VIP4 could act in a separate pathway from previously identified FLC regulators, including FRIGIDA and the autonomous flowering promotion pathway gene LUMINIDEPENDENS. Mutants lacking detectable VIP4 expression flower earlier than FLC null mutants, suggesting that VIP4 regulates flowering-time genes in addition to FLC. Floral morphology is also disrupted in vip4 mutants; thus, VIP4 has multiple roles in development. [source] ASYMPTOTIC EFFICIENCY OF THE BLEST-TYPE TESTS FOR INDEPENDENCEAUSTRALIAN & NEW ZEALAND JOURNAL OF STATISTICS, Issue 3 2008Natalia Stepanova Summary Blest (2000, Aust. N. Z. J. Stat. 42, 101,111) proposed a new measure of rank correlation that is sensitive to discrepancies in the small ranks. This paper investigates the efficiency properties of non-parametric tests for independence based on Blest's correlation coefficient and its modifications. Pitman efficiency comparisons are made with analogous tests existing in the literature. Conditions for Pitman optimality of the Blest-type tests are established. [source] Independence in Appearance and in Fact: An Experimental Investigation,CONTEMPORARY ACCOUNTING RESEARCH, Issue 1 2003Nicholas Dopuch Abstract In this study, we use experimental markets to assess the effect of the Security and Exchange Commission's (SEC's) new independence rule on investors' perceptions of independence, investors' payoff distributions, and market prices. The new rule requires client firms to disclose in their annual proxy statements the amount of nonaudit fees paid to their auditors. The new disclosure is intended to inform investors of auditors' incentives to compromise their independence. Our experimental design is a 2 3 between-subjects design, where we control the presence (unbiased reports) or absence of auditor independence in fact (biased reports). While independence in fact was not immediately observable to investors, we controlled for independence in appearance by varying the public disclosure of the extent of nonaudit services provided by the auditor to the client. In one market setting, investors were not given any information about whether the auditor provided such nonaudit services; in a second setting, investors were explicitly informed that the auditor did not provide any non-audit services; and in a third setting, investors were told that the auditor provided nonaudit services that could be perceived to have an adverse effect on independence in fact. We found that disclosures of nonaudit services reduced the accuracy of investors' beliefs of auditors' independence in fact when independence in appearance was inconsistent with independence in fact. This then caused prices of assets to deviate more from their economic predictions (lower market efficiency) in the inconsistent settings relative to the no-disclosure and consistent settings. Thus, disclosures of fees for nonaudit services could reduce the efficiency of capital markets if such disclosures result in investors forming inaccurate beliefs of auditor independence in fact - that is, auditors appear independent but they are not independent in fact, or vice versa. The latter is the maintained position of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), which argued against the new rule. Further research is needed to assess the degree of correspondence between independence in fact and independence in appearance. [source] Audit Committee Independence and Disclosure: choice for financially distressed firmsCORPORATE GOVERNANCE, Issue 4 2003Joseph V. Carcello This study examines the relation between audit committee independence and disclosure choice for financially distressed US firms. The tenor of both the financial statement notes and Management Discussion and Analysis (MD&A) is considered. For firms experiencing financial distress, there is a significant positive relation between the percentage of affiliated directors on the audit committee and the optimism of the going-concern discussion in both the notes and the MD&A. These results add to the growing body of literature documenting a relation between audit committee independence and financial reporting quality. [source] Conditional Belonging: Farm Workers and the Cultural Politics of Recognition in ZimbabweDEVELOPMENT AND CHANGE, Issue 1 2008Blair Rutherford ABSTRACT This article examines Zimbabwean land politics and the study of rural interventions, including agrarian reform, more broadly, using the analytical framework of territorialized ,modes of belonging' and their ,cultural politics of recognition'. Modes of belonging are the routinized discourses, social practices and institutional arrangements through which people make claims for resources and rights, the ways through which they become ,incorporated' in particular places. In these spatialized forms of power and authority, particular cultural politics of recognition operate; these are the cultural styles of interaction that become privileged as proper forms of decorum and morality informing dependencies and interdependencies. The author traces a hegemonic mode of belonging identified as ,domestic government', put in place on European farms in Zimbabwe's colonial period, and shows how it was shaped by particular political and economic conjunctures in the first twenty years of Independence after 1980. Domestic government provided a conditional belonging for farm workers in terms of claims to limited resources on commercial farms while positioning them in a way that made them marginal citizens in the nation at large. This is the context for the behaviour of land-giving authorities which have actively discriminated against farm workers during the politicized and violent land redistribution processes that began in 2000. Most former farm workers are now seeking other forms of dependencies, typically more precarious and generating fewer resources and services than they had accessed on commercial farms, with their own particular cultural politics of recognition, often tied to demonstrating support to the ruling political party. [source] A pilot examination of social context and everyday physical activity among adults receiving Community Mental Health ServicesACTA PSYCHIATRICA SCANDINAVICA, Issue 3 2009B. P. McCormick Objective:, Community mental health center (CMHC) clients include a variety of people with moderate to severe mental illnesses who also report a number of physical health problems. Physical activity (PA) has been identified as one intervention to improve health among this population; however, little is known about the role of social context in PA. The purpose of this study was to examine the role of social context in everyday PA among CMHC clients. Method:, Data were collected from CMHC clients in two cultures using accelerometery and experience sampling methods. Data were analyzed using hierarchical linear modeling. Results:, Independence in housing nor culture was significantly associated with levels of PA. Being alone was significantly negatively related to PA level. Conclusion:, Social isolation appears to be negatively related to PA at the level of everyday life. Physical activity interventions with this population should consider including social components as a part of PA. [source] A Test of Wills: Jimmy Carter, South Africa, and the Independence of NamibiaDIPLOMATIC HISTORY, Issue 5 2010Piero Gleijeses Until 1975, Washington paid little attention to southern Africa, a backwater in the Cold War where weak insurgencies posed little threat to white rule in Angola, Mozambique, Rhodesia, and Namibia. The collapse of the Portuguese dictatorship in April 1974 meant the end of white rule in Angola and Mozambique. The Cuban victory in Angola the following year propelled southern Africa into the vortex of the Cold War. Between 1977 and 1981, the Carter administration engaged in a complicated minuet with South Africa and the Namibian rebels to craft a negotiated settlement that would grant Namibia its independence. Secretary of State Cyrus Vance and National Security Adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski clashed over the course the United States should follow, while Cuba and the Soviet Union strongly supported the Namibian insurgents and 20,000 Cuban soldiers were poised in neighboring Angola. I analyze the failure of Carter's Namibia policy based on US, Cuban and South African documents, as well as interviews with Namibian, US, Cuban and South African protagonists. [source] A Declaration of IndependenceECONOMIC AFFAIRS, Issue 4 2000David Graham Television was a true mass medium, its ,classic' output located within the concerns and lives of ordinary people. Television was also the amphitheatre of the nation, in which great events were played out. As a result of its massive power, regulation was imposed on it. By the 1970s, the unitary power of national channels was beginning to break down, first with the arrival of the VCR, then with satellite and cable. Along with this, came a growing separation of the broadcasting from the creative or programme making function driven by ,independent' producers. This divergence is now being hastened by the end of ,spectrum scarcity'. Creative companies and teams will strive to control their work and share in the rewards of their success in a way that will create a very different kind of entertainment industry in the 21st Century. [source] Forging a nation state: The Continental Congress and the Financing of the War of American IndependenceECONOMIC HISTORY REVIEW, Issue 4 2001Ben Baack First page of article [source] Independence and nonindependence: A simple method for comparing groups using multiple measures and the binomial testEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 2 2005Craig McGarty Existing methods for conducting analyses of small group data are either highly complicated or yield low power. Both of these limitations provide disincentives for the progress of research in this field. An alternative method modelled on the sign (binomial) test which involves comparing the differences of distributions based on multiple observations of each of the groups is presented. The calculations involved in the procedure are extremely simple. It is suggested that because the method enhances researchers' ability to make sound statistical inferences easily this should stimulate research on group-level processes and on social interaction more generally. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Accountability, Control and Independence: The Case of European AgenciesEUROPEAN LAW JOURNAL, Issue 5 2009Madalina Busuioc This article points at two problematic assumptions made in some of the contemporary European agency literature. It proposes a conceptual framework, integrating accountability, autonomy and control, and aims to demonstrate how this type of conceptualisation contributes to clarifying problematic aspects of the current European agency debate. Empirical evidence from interviews with high-level practitioners is provided to illustrate the relevance of the proposed framework. The empirical information reveals that, at times, the de facto level of autonomy displayed by some European agencies is below the autonomy provided by the formal legal rules as a result of ongoing controls exercised by one (or other) of the principals. The repercussions that flow from these empirical insights for the agency debate in general, as well as for our understanding of agency accountability, will be discussed at length. [source] Central Bank Independence in the EU: From Theory to PracticeEUROPEAN LAW JOURNAL, Issue 4 2008Dr Lorenzo Bini Smaghi Four aspects of central bank independence are discussed separately: functional, institutional, personal and financial. The possible issues raised by central bank involvement in prudential supervision are touched upon. The main conclusion of the article is that a set of legal provisions is generally not sufficient to ensure proper central bank independence; a culture of respect for independence, including its limits, among all parties involved is essential. [source] Using species distribution models to identify suitable areas for biofuel feedstock productionGCB BIOENERGY, Issue 2 2010JASON M. EVANS Abstract The 2007 Energy Independence and Security Act mandates a five-fold increase in US biofuel production by 2022. Given this ambitious policy target, there is a need for spatially explicit estimates of landscape suitability for growing biofuel feedstocks. We developed a suitability modeling approach for two major US biofuel crops, corn (Zea mays) and switchgrass (Panicum virgatum), based upon the use of two presence-only species distribution models (SDMs): maximum entropy (Maxent) and support vector machines (SVM). SDMs are commonly used for modeling animal and plant distributions in natural environments, but have rarely been used to develop landscape models for cultivated crops. AUC, Kappa, and correlation measures derived from test data indicate that SVM slightly outperformed Maxent in modeling US corn production, although both models produced significantly accurate results. When compared with results from a mechanistic switchgrass model recently developed by Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), SVM results showed higher correlation than Maxent results with models fit using county-scale point inputs of switchgrass production derived from expert opinion estimates. However, Maxent results for an alternative switchgrass model developed with point inputs from research trial sites showed higher correlation to the ORNL model than the corresponding results obtained from SVM. Further analysis indicates that both modeling approaches were effective in predicting county-scale increases in corn production from 2006 to 2007, a time period in which US corn production increased by 24%. We conclude that presence-only methods are a powerful first-cut tool for estimating relative land suitability across geographic regions in which candidate biofuel feedstocks can be grown, and may also provide important insight into potential land-use change patterns likely to be associated with increased biofuel demand. [source] Politics and Society in The Gambia since IndependenceHISTORY COMPASS (ELECTRONIC), Issue 2 2008David Perfect This article examines politics in The Gambia since it achieved its independence from Britain in 1965. The Gambia was the longest continuously surviving multi-party democracy in Africa until a successful military coup in 1994, with civilian rule being restored in 1996. The article explores political developments under its two post-colonial leaders, Sir Dawda Jawara (1965,94) and Yahya Jammeh (1994,) in detail, discussing the major Gambian political parties and their performance in national elections; the military coups of 1981 and 1994; and other key events. The overall performance of both governments, in terms of economic and social developments and human rights, is also assessed. [source] Auditor Independence in Canada: A Historical Perspective , From Shareholder Auditors to Modern-Day Audit Committees,ACCOUNTING PERSPECTIVES, Issue 1 2006DUNCAN L. GREEN ABSTRACT This paper uses the theoretical framework of Goldman and Barlev (1974) to examine auditor independence in Canada. It traces the historical development of the auditor's role in the 19th century and the beginning of the auditor's relationship with shareholders and management. It shows how, following the separation of management from shareholding, management's ability to influence auditors undermined auditor independence. The paper traces attempts by legislators and regulatory bodies to limit management's influence over auditors and to correct the asymmetry of their relationship. It notes that recent changes to legislation and rules of professional conduct are no longer proactive, but are reactions to corporate scandals in Canada and the United States. The paper argues that although future changes will occur to redress the imbalance, only structural changes are likely to provide a real solution to auditor independence problems. However, it is likely that such changes will be resisted by the accounting profession. [source] CFD-based optimization of aerofoils using radial basis functions for domain element parameterization and mesh deformationINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR NUMERICAL METHODS IN FLUIDS, Issue 8 2008A. M. Morris Abstract A novel domain element shape parameterization method is presented for computational fluid dynamics-based shape optimization. The method is to achieve two aims: (1) provide a generic ,wrap-around' optimization tool that is independent of both flow solver and grid generation package and (2) provide a method that allows high-fidelity aerodynamic optimization of two- and three-dimensional bodies with a low number of design variables. The parameterization technique uses radial basis functions to transfer domain element movements into deformations of the design surface and corresponding aerodynamic mesh, thus allowing total independence from the grid generation package (structured or unstructured). Independence from the flow solver (either inviscid, viscous, aeroelastic) is achieved by obtaining sensitivity information for an advanced gradient-based optimizer (feasible sequential quadratic programming) by finite-differences. Results are presented for two-dimensional aerofoil inverse design and drag optimization problems. Inverse design results demonstrate that a large proportion of the design space is feasible with a relatively low number of design variables using the domain element parameterization. Heavily constrained (in lift, volume, and moment) two-dimensional aerofoil drag optimization has shown that significant improvements over existing designs can be achieved using this method, through the use of various objective functions. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Auditor Independence: A Comparative Descriptive Study of the UK, France and ItalyINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF AUDITING, Issue 2 2002Joanna E. Stevenson The independence of the external auditor has long been a subject of great debate, particularly by UK and US interested parties. With the growth and globalisation of the large multi-disciplinary firms, it has again been pushed to the fore: new ethical guidance issued by international bodies such as La Fédération des Experts- Comptables Européens (FEE) and The International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) and the activities of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Independence Standards Board in the US have encouraged a wider consideration of the issue. In Europe, the European Commission has issued a Consultative Paper containing fundamental principles for adoption into Member States' own regulation on statutory auditor independence. Increasing pressure for the removal of obstacles to a single European audit market have resulted in safeguards of auditor independence in some countries being described as undesirable barriers. This paper considers the issue of statutory auditor independence across three EU Member States: the UK, France and Italy, by comparing the ethical guides and the legal and professional regulations in place, highlighting and discussing areas of divergence, and contrasting them with the EC's Consultative Paper. It takes into account factors such as culture and the historical development of auditing in order to explore the differences found. The paper demonstrates that positions taken in France and Italy on the issue of auditor independence differ markedly from that taken by the UK profession. Of the three countries reviewed, the UK viewpoint has most obviously influenced the drafting of the EC Paper. The implications of these variances for EU harmonisation are discussed, and the paper concludes that there is a clear need for empirical study of this important issue in Europe to better understand the reasons for differing perceptions and attitudes, and the repercussions of these differences on the process of European audit harmonisation. [source] Improving Auditor Independence Through Selective Mandatory RotationINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF AUDITING, Issue 2 2002Miles B. Gietzmann When an auditor receives significant fee income from one client it has often been suggested that reappointment concerns may dilute auditors incentives to maintain independence from management. A possible response to this issue could be to mandate the rotation of auditors. However this is costly since new auditors must repeatedly invest in learning a new clients accounting system. In this research we build a model to formally analyze this trade-off. We find that the desirability of rotation depends critically upon characteristics of the audit market structure and to what extent an individual client dominates an auditors' client portfolio defined in terms of total fees. We show that although rotation is costly, in audit markets with relatively few large clients (thin markets), the resulting improved incentives for independence outweigh the associated costs. Our research is timely because although historically it may not have been economically desirable to adopt mandatory rotation, currently with increased corporate merger activity taking place, for instance in the oil sector, markets may now have become sufficiently thin to warrant the introduction of rotation. [source] Two Factors Affecting Internal Audit Independence and Objectivity: Evidence from SingaporeINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF AUDITING, Issue 2 2001Jenny Goodwin This study examines two factors that may influence the independence and objectivity of internal audit. The first, affecting the organizational independence of the internal audit function, is its relationship with the audit committee. The second is the use of the function as a management training ground. It is argued that this practice might affect individual objectivity because internal auditors may be reluctant to withstand pressure from an auditee who could be their future supervisor. A survey of chief internal auditors in Singapore was undertaken to establish current practice in these areas and to identify relationships between these variables. A strong relationship between the audit committee and the internal audit function was found, with the level of interaction being greater when the audit committee was comprised solely of independent directors. The use of the internal audit function as a management training ground was also found to be quite widespread in Singapore. [source] Risk management dilemmas in dementia care: an organizational survey in three UK countriesINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF OLDER PEOPLE NURSING, Issue 2 2009Charlotte L. Clarke PhD Aims and objectives., The overall project aimed to understand the variability of the construction of risk in dementia care from the perspective of the person with dementia, family carers and practitioners with the intention of developing negotiated partnerships in risk management. This paper focuses on the objective of identifying the understandings of risk by practitioners. Background., Risk management can result in a ,safety first' approach to care practices, but this may be disempowering for people with dementia. Design., This paper describes the results of the first stage of the study: a survey to service managers or equivalent in health, social and voluntary sector care organizations in three countries of the UK. Methods., Data from this stage was collection by postal questionnaire (n = 46). Results., Risk was portrayed as a multidimensional concept and clustered around three themes: (1) Risk and Independence, (2) Risk and Resource, and (3) Organizational Risk Management. Conclusions., Very wide understandings of risk are identifiable, ranging from avoidance of physical harm through to managed risk taking to improve quality of life, and to an appreciation of the impact of organizational and professional patterns of behaviour resulting in harm to the person with dementia. Relevance to clinical practice., Obtaining information about the perspectives of others may help to illuminate some of the dilemmas experienced by staff in this study, and the development of risk assessment frameworks may assist staff to resolve some of these. [source] Does Opinion Shopping Impair Auditor Independence and Audit Quality?JOURNAL OF ACCOUNTING RESEARCH, Issue 3 2006TONG LU ABSTRACT This study investigates how companies' threats to dismiss auditors and their engagement in opinion shopping influence auditor independence and audit quality, which in turn affect misstatements in financial statements. It also examines how outsiders' reactions to auditor switching influence opinion shopping. The results indicate that neither the predecessor auditor's nor the successor auditor's independence is compromised by dismissal threats and opinion shopping. Further, the successor auditor's audit quality exceeds the predecessor auditor's audit quality. In addition, auditor switching decreases potential understatements and increases potential overstatements in financial statements, and the capital market's and the successor auditor's reactions to auditor switching reduce the benefits of opinion shopping to companies. Additionally, the study sheds some light on the potential effects of both the Sarbanes-Oxley's restriction on non-audit services and mandatory auditor rotation or retention. The paper also derives a rich set of empirical implications. [source] Stopping to Rest During a 400-Meter Walk and Incident Mobility Disability in Older Persons with Functional LimitationsJOURNAL OF AMERICAN GERIATRICS SOCIETY, Issue 2 2009Sonja Vestergaard PhD OBJECTIVES: To examine the association between stopping to rest during a 400-m usual-pace walk test (400-MWT) and incident mobility disability in older persons with functional limitations. DESIGN: Prospective cohort study. SETTING: Community based. PARTICIPANTS: Four hundred twenty-four participants in the Lifestyle Intervention and Independence for Elders Pilot (LIFE-P) Study aged 70 to 89 with functional limitations (summary score ,9 on the Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB)) but able to complete the 400-MWT within 15 minutes. MEASUREMENTS: Rest stops during the 400-MWT were recorded. The onset of mobility disability, defined as being unable to complete the 400-MWT or taking more than 15 minutes to do so, was recorded at Months 6 and 12. RESULTS: Fifty-four (12.7%) participants rested during the 400-MWT at baseline, of whom 37.7% experienced mobility disability during follow-up, versus 8.6% of those not stopping to rest. Performing any rest stop was strongly associated with incident mobility disability at follow-up (odds ratio (OR)=5.4, 95% confidence interval (CI)=2.7,10.9) after adjustment for age, sex, and clinic site. This association was weaker, but remained statistically significant, after further adjusting for SPPB and time to complete the 400-MWT simultaneously (OR=2.6, 95% CI=1.2,5.9). CONCLUSION: Stopping to rest during the 400-MWT is strongly associated with incident mobility disability in nondisabled older persons with functional limitations. Given the prognostic value, rest stops should be recorded as part of the standard assessment protocol for the 400-MWT. [source] Self-Reported Napping and Duration and Quality of Sleep in the Lifestyle Interventions and Independence for Elders Pilot StudyJOURNAL OF AMERICAN GERIATRICS SOCIETY, Issue 9 2008Jennifer L. Picarsic MD OBJECTIVES: To determine the prevalence of self-reported napping and its association with subjective nighttime sleep duration and quality, as measured according to sleep-onset latency and sleep efficiency. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. SETTING: Lifestyle Interventions and Independence for Elders Pilot Study. PARTICIPANTS: Community-dwelling older adults (N=414) aged 70 to 89. MEASUREMENTS: Self-report questionnaire on napping and sleep derived from the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) scale. RESULTS: Fifty-four percent of participants reported napping, with mean nap duration of 55.0±41.2 minutes. Nappers were more likely to be male (37.3% vs 23.8%, P=.003) and African American (20.4% vs 14.4%, P=.06) and to have diabetes mellitus (28% vs 14.3%, P=.007) than non-nappers. Nappers and non-nappers had similar nighttime sleep duration and quality, but nappers spent approximately 10% of their 24-hour sleep occupied in napping. In a multivariate model, the odds of napping were higher for subjects with diabetes mellitus (odds ratio (OR)=1.9, 95% confidence interval (CI)=1.2,3.0) and men (OR=1.9, 95% CI=1.2,3.0). In nappers, diabetes mellitus (,=12.3 minutes, P=.005), male sex (,=9.0 minutes, P=.04), higher body mass index (,=0.8 minutes, P=.02), and lower Mini-Mental State Examination score (,=2.2 minutes, P=.03) were independently associated with longer nap duration. CONCLUSION: Napping was a common practice in community-dwelling older adults and did not detract from nighttime sleep duration or quality. Given its high prevalence and association with diabetes mellitus, napping behavior should be assessed as part of sleep behavior in future research and in clinical practice. [source] Effects of Provider Practice on Functional Independence in Older AdultsJOURNAL OF AMERICAN GERIATRICS SOCIETY, Issue 8 2004Elizabeth A. Phelan MD Objectives: To examine provider determinants of new-onset disability in basic activities of daily living (ADLs) in community-dwelling elderly. Design: Observational study. Setting: King County, Washington. Participants: A random sample of 800 health maintenance organization (HMO) enrollees aged 65 and older participating in a prospective longitudinal cohort study of dementia and normal aging and their 56 primary care providers formed the study population. Measurements: Incident ADL disability, defined as any new onset of difficulty performing any of the basic ADLs at follow-up assessments, was examined in relation to provider characteristics and practice style using logistic regression and adjusting for case-mix, patient and provider factors associated with ADL disability, and clustering by provider. Results: Neither provider experience taking care of large numbers of elderly patients nor having a certificate of added qualifications in geriatrics was associated with patient ADL disability at 2 or 4 years of follow-up (adjusted odds ratio (AOR) for experience=1.29, 95% confidence interval (CI)=0.81,2.05; AOR for added qualifications=0.72, 95% CI=0.38,1.39; results at 4 years analogous). A practice style embodying traditional geriatric principles of care was not associated with a reduced likelihood of ADL disability over 4 years of follow-up (AOR for prescribing no high-risk medications=0.56, 95% CI=0.16,1.94; AOR for managing geriatric syndromes=0.94, 95% CI=0.40,2.19; AOR for a team care approach=1.35, 95% CI=0.66,2.75). Conclusion: Taking care of a large number of elderly patients, obtaining a certificate of added qualifications in geriatrics, and practicing with a traditional geriatric orientation do not appear to influence the development of ADL disability in elder, community dwelling HMO enrollees. [source] Professionalism vs Commercialism: The Association Between Non-Audit Services (NAS) and Audit IndependenceJOURNAL OF BUSINESS FINANCE & ACCOUNTING, Issue 5-6 2001Divesh S. Sharma The implications of the provision of NAS to audit clients on audit independence have attracted considerable regulatory and research attention. This study contributes to this topical issue by investigating the association between NAS and audit independence using actual fee data and a more appropriate context that enables a proper ex post assessment of the correctness of the auditor's opinion decision. The results are consistent with the notion that auditors exhibit low propensity to issue a going-concern qualification to clients generating higher proportions of NAS fees to total fees and raise independence implications regarding the joint provision of audit and NAS. [source] Central Bank Independence: An Update of Theory and EvidenceJOURNAL OF ECONOMIC SURVEYS, Issue 1 2001Helge Berger This paper reviews recent research on central bank independence (CBI). After we have distinguished between independence and conservativeness, research in which the inflationary bias is endogenised is reviewed. Finally, the various challenges that have been raised against previous empirical findings on CBI are discussed. We conclude that the negative relationship between CBI and inflation is quite robust. [source] Escape behaviour and ultimate causes of specific induced defences in an anuran tadpoleJOURNAL OF EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY, Issue 1 2005C. Teplitsky Abstract Induced defences, such as the predator avoidance morphologies in amphibians, result from spatial or temporal variability in predation risk. One important component of this variability should be the difference in hunting strategies between predators. However, little is known about how specific and effective induced defences are to different types of predators. We analysed the impact of both pursuing (fish, Gasterosteus aculeatus) and sit-and-wait (dragonfly, Aeshna cyanea) predators on tadpole (Rana dalmatina) morphology and performance (viz locomotive performance and growth rate). We also investigated the potential benefits of the predator-induced phenotype in the presence of fish predators. Both predators induced deeper tail fins in tadpoles exposed to threat of predation, and stickleback presence also induced longer tails and deeper tail muscles. Morphological and behavioural differences resulted in better escape ability of stickleback-induced tadpoles, leading to improved survival in the face of stickleback predation. These results clearly indicate that specific morphological responses to different types of predators have evolved in R. dalmatina. The specific morphologies suggest low correlations between the traits involved in the defence. Independence of traits allows prey species to fine-tune their response according to current predation risk, so that the benefit of the defence can be maximal. [source] Establishing Independence in Low-Income Urban Areas: The Relationship to Adolescent Aggressive BehaviorJOURNAL OF MARRIAGE AND FAMILY, Issue 3 2003Kathleen M. Roche Although adolescents in poor urban areas often assume independent, adult-like roles, relatively little is known about the relationship between these roles and other adolescent behaviors. This research examines the association between independent roles occurring within different contexts (e.g. family, peer, work) and aggressive behavior among 516 low-income, urban middle school students. Overall, adolescent employment is related to increases in aggressive behavior. However, associations that familial and peer independent roles have with aggression differ by the extent of youth involvement in paid work. Greater engagement in familial independent roles is associated with decreased aggression among employed adolescents, but with increased aggression among unemployed youth. Also, peer independent roles are related to significantly greater increases in aggression among unemployed, compared with employed, adolescents. [source] The Impact of Central Bank Independence on Political Monetary Cycles in Advanced and Developing NationsJOURNAL OF MONEY, CREDIT AND BANKING, Issue 7 2009SAMI ALPANDA political monetary cycles; central bank independence This paper examines the extent to which monetary policy is manipulated for political purposes during elections. We do not detect political monetary cycles in advanced countries or developing nations with independent central banks. We do find evidence, however, in developing countries that lack central bank independence. Furthermore, we find some evidence that these cycles are not caused by monetization of election-related fiscal expansions. This suggests that pressure by politicians on the central bank to exploit the Phillips curve may be an important factor in generating political monetary cycles. [source] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||