ABSTRACT Boards of directors encourage risk-averse managers to take risky actions by providing stock options and severance pay. We demonstrate that the ability of these incentives to encourage ...risk-taking hinges on the level of uncertainty facing the manager. We confirm prior findings that stock option convexity encourages risk-taking but find that this relation only holds when market-wide uncertainty is low. We also confirm prior findings that severance pay encourages risk-taking but find that this relation only holds during high market-wide uncertainty and negative market-wide performance. Finally, we find that compensation committees respond to variation in uncertainty by adjusting the level of option grants. Our results suggest that the effectiveness of incentives to take risk varies with the market-wide uncertainty, and that boards consider this in annual compensation design. Data Availability: Data are available from the public sources cited in the text. JEL Classifications: G30; G34; K22; M40; M46.
Full text
Available for:
IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
ABSTRACT
Over the past three decades, academic research has sought to understand how cash shortfalls impact a firm's ability to take all available value‐increasing investment projects. We investigate ...whether firms facing greater financing constraints turn to tax strategies that generate lower cash effective tax rates (ETRs) to mitigate the adverse effect of these financing constraints. We use the Pension Protection Act of 2006 (PPA 2006) as an exogenous shock to financing constraints for pension firms, but not for other firms. Using a difference‐in‐differences research design, we predict and find that pension firms experience a decrease in their cash ETRs by 1.8%–2.4% after the PPA 2006, relative to other firms. These cash tax savings mitigate the investment shortfall brought about by financing constraints by 19%. We also predict and find that the decline in cash ETRs is greater among firms more adversely affected by the PPA 2006. Our paper sheds light on the direction, causality, and economic magnitude of the association between financing constraints and tax planning activities. We also provide insight into the role of tax planning activities within firms' broader corporate business strategies in responding to financing constraints.
RÉSUMÉ
Les contraintes liées au financement mènent‐elles à un surcroît de mesures de planification fiscale? Observations relatives à la Pension Protection Act of 2006
Au cours des trois dernières décennies, les chercheurs ont tenté de comprendre quelle était l'incidence des insuffisances de trésorerie sur la capacité des sociétés à mettre en œuvre tous les projets d'investissement favorisant la croissance de la valeur qui s'offraient à elles. Les auteurs se demandent si les sociétés sujettes à des contraintes plus importantes liées au financement ont recours à des stratégies fiscales qui engendrent des taux effectifs d'impôt (TEI) plus faibles pour atténuer l'incidence négative de ces contraintes. Ils utilisent la Pension Protection Act of 2006 (PPA 2006) comme choc exogène sur les contraintes liées au financement qui s'exercent sur les sociétés offrant un régime de retraite, mais non sur les autres sociétés. En recourant à une méthodologie de recherche d’écart dans les différences, les auteurs formulent et attestent l'hypothèse selon laquelle le TEI réel des sociétés offrant un régime de retraite, par rapport à celles qui n'en offrent pas, enregistre une diminution de 1,8 à 2,4 points de pourcentage après l'adoption de la PPA 2006. Ces économies d'impôt réel réduisent de 19 % le déficit d'investissement entraîné par les contraintes liées au financement. Les auteurs prédisent et constatent aussi que le fléchissement du TEI réel est plus marqué chez les sociétés pour lesquelles les conséquences de la PPA 2006 sont davantage préjudiciables. L’étude fait la lumière sur l'orientation, la causalité et l'importance économique du lien entre les contraintes liées au financement et les mesures de planification fiscale. Les auteurs livrent également des indications quant au rôle des mesures de planification fiscale dans les stratégies d'affaires plus globales des sociétés réagissant aux contraintes liées au financement.
Full text
Available for:
FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
Climate warming is projected to affect forest water yields but the effects are expected to vary. We investigated how forest type and age affect water yield resilience to climate warming. To answer ...this question, we examined the variability in historical water yields at long‐term experimental catchments across Canada and the United States over 5‐year cool and warm periods. Using the theoretical framework of the Budyko curve, we calculated the effects of climate warming on the annual partitioning of precipitation (P) into evapotranspiration (ET) and water yield. Deviation (d) was defined as a catchment's change in actual ET divided by P AET/P; evaporative index (EI) coincident with a shift from a cool to a warm period – a positive d indicates an upward shift in EI and smaller than expected water yields, and a negative d indicates a downward shift in EI and larger than expected water yields. Elasticity was defined as the ratio of interannual variation in potential ET divided by P (PET/P; dryness index) to interannual variation in the EI – high elasticity indicates low d despite large range in drying index (i.e., resilient water yields), low elasticity indicates high d despite small range in drying index (i.e., nonresilient water yields). Although the data needed to fully evaluate ecosystems based on these metrics are limited, we were able to identify some characteristics of response among forest types. Alpine sites showed the greatest sensitivity to climate warming with any warming leading to increased water yields. Conifer forests included catchments with lowest elasticity and stable to larger water yields. Deciduous forests included catchments with intermediate elasticity and stable to smaller water yields. Mixed coniferous/deciduous forests included catchments with highest elasticity and stable water yields. Forest type appeared to influence the resilience of catchment water yields to climate warming, with conifer and deciduous catchments more susceptible to climate warming than the more diverse mixed forest catchments.
Full text
Available for:
BFBNIB, FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
Various prevalence figures have been reported for inter-arm differences in blood pressure (IAD); variation may be explained by differing population vascular risk and by measurement method.
To review ...the literature to derive robust estimates of IAD prevalence relevant to community populations.
Systematic review and meta-analysis.
MEDLINE, Embase, and CINAHL were searched for cross-sectional studies likely to represent general or primary care populations, reporting prevalence of IAD and employing a simultaneous method of measurement. Using study-level data, pooled estimates of mean prevalence of systolic IADs were calculated and compared using a random effects model.
Eighty IAD studies were identified. Sixteen met inclusion criteria: pooled estimates of prevalence for systolic IAD ≥10 mmHg were 11.2% (95% confidence interval CI = 9.1 to 13.6) in hypertension, 7.4% (95% CI = 5.8 to 9.2) in diabetes, and 3.6% (95% CI = 2.3 to 5.0) for a general adult population (P<0.001 for subgroup differences). Differences persisted for higher cut-off values. Prevalences were lower for East Asian than for Western populations and were overestimated by sequential measurement where this could be compared with simultaneous measurement within studies (relative risk for IAD: 2.9 95% CI = 2.1 to 4.1). Studies with higher mean absolute systolic pressures had higher prevalences for a systolic IAD ≥10 mmHg (P = 0.04).
Prevalences of IADs rise in relation to underlying cardiovascular comorbidities of the population studied, and are overestimated threefold when sequential measurement is used. Population-specific variation in prevalences of IAD should be taken into account in delivering clinical care and in planning future studies.
Climate change has the potential to alter streamflow regimes, having ecological, economic, and societal implications. In the northeastern United States, it is unclear how climate change may affect ...surface water supply, which is of critical importance in this densely populated region. The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of climate change on the timing and quantity of streamflow at small watersheds at the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest in New Hampshire. The site is ideal for this analysis because of the availability of long‐term hydroclimatological records for analyzing past trends and ample data to parameterize and test hydrological models used to predict future trends. In this study, future streamflow projections were developed with the forest watershed model PnET‐BGC, driven by climate change scenarios from statistically downscaled outputs of atmospheric‐ocean general circulation models. Results indicated that earlier snowmelt and the diminishing snowpack is advancing the timing and reducing the magnitude of peak discharge associated with snowmelt. Past increases in precipitation have caused annual water yield to increase significantly, a trend that is expected to continue under future climate change. Significant declines in evapotranspiration have been observed over the long‐term record, although the cause has not been identified. In the future, evapotranspiration is expected to increase in response to a warmer and wetter environment. These increases in evapotranspiration largely offset increases in precipitation, resulting in relatively little change in streamflow. Future work should aim to decrease uncertainty in the climate projections, particularly for precipitation, obtain a better understanding of the effect of CO2 on vegetation, determine if climate‐induced changes in tree species composition will influence discharge, and assess the impacts of changing hydrology on downstream water supplies.
Full text
Available for:
BFBNIB, CEKLJ, FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
Assessments of future climate change impacts on ecosystems typically rely on multiple climate model projections, but often utilize only one downscaling approach trained on one set of observations. ...Here, we explore the extent to which modeled biogeochemical responses to changing climate are affected by the selection of the climate downscaling method and training observations used at the montane landscape of the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest, New Hampshire, USA. We evaluated three downscaling methods: the delta method (or the change factor method), monthly quantile mapping (Bias CorrectionâSpatial Disaggregation, or BCSD), and daily quantile regression (Asynchronous Regional Regression Model, or ARRM). Additionally, we trained outputs from four atmosphereâocean general circulation models (AOGCMs) (CCSM3, HadCM3, PCM, and GFDLâCM2.1) driven by higher (A1fi) and lower (B1) future emissions scenarios on two sets of observations (1/8º resolution grid vs. individual weather station) to generate the highâresolution climate input for the forest biogeochemical model PnETâBGC (eight ensembles of six runs).The choice of downscaling approach and spatial resolution of the observations used to train the downscaling model impacted modeled soil moisture and streamflow, which in turn affected forest growth, net N mineralization, net soil nitrification, and stream chemistry. All three downscaling methods were highly sensitive to the observations used, resulting in projections that were significantly different between stationâbased and gridâbased observations. The choice of downscaling method also slightly affected the results, however not as much as the choice of observations. Using spatially smoothed gridded observations and/or methods that do not resolve subâmonthly shifts in the distribution of temperature and/or precipitation can produce biased results in model applications run at greater temporal and/or spatial resolutions. These results underscore the importance of carefully considering field observations used for training, as well as the downscaling method used to generate climate change projections, for smallerâscale modeling studies. Different sources of variability including selection of AOGCM, emissions scenario, downscaling technique, and data used for training downscaling models, result in a wide range of projected forest ecosystem responses to future climate change.
Full text
Available for:
BFBNIB, FZAB, GIS, IJS, INZLJ, KILJ, NLZOH, NMLJ, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK, ZRSKP
Sensor networks are revolutionizing environmental monitoring by producing massive quantities of data that are being made publically available in near real time. These data streams pose a challenge ...for ecologists because traditional approaches to quality assurance and quality control are no longer practical when confronted with the size of these data sets and the demands of real-time processing. Automated methods for rapidly identifying and (ideally) correcting problematic data are essential. However, advances in sensor hardware have outpaced those in software, creating a need for tools to implement automated quality assurance and quality control procedures, produce graphical and statistical summaries for review, and track the provenance of the data. Use of automated tools would enhance data integrity and reliability and would reduce delays in releasing data products. Development of community-wide standards for quality assurance and quality control would instill confidence in sensor data and would improve interoperability across environmental sensor networks.
Full text
Available for:
BFBNIB, DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NMLJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Display omitted
•Langmuir-Hinshelwood model describes the hydrogenation activity on Pd, Pt and Rh.•Kinetic model adsorption energy matches adsorption isotherm measurements.•X-ray absorption under ...reaction conditions explains behavior of Pd/C.
The mechanisms of aqueous-phase thermal catalytic hydrogenation (TCH) and electrocatalytic hydrogenation (ECH) of organic molecules over Pt group metals are not as well-understood as gas-phase thermal catalytic hydrogenation. In gas-phase, the reactions generally occur via a Langmuir-Hinshelwood mechanism with adsorbed hydrogen adding to adsorbed organics. Here, we show that the rates, reaction orders and activation energies for TCH and ECH of phenol and benzaldehyde on Pd, Pt, and Rh can be explained with a simple kinetic model based on similar Langmuir-Hinshelwood mechanisms. For Pt/C, the adsorption equilibrium constants for the organics needed to fit the rate data are consistent with independently-measured values, provided we assume that the rates are dominated by (1 1 1)-like sites, in agreement with reported particle size effects. The reaction rate of Pd in the ECH of benzaldehyde increases with the surface hydrogen coverage. The state of Pd during ECH of phenol and benzaldehyde are very different, with a high concentration of adsorbed H in the presence of phenol, but not in the presence of benzaldehyde, consistent with benzaldehyde’s stronger binding to the surface. In consequence, Pd is converted to β-PdHx during the hydrogenation of phenol but not benzaldehyde. This is proposed to explain the much lower activity of Pd for hydrogenation of phenol compared to benzaldehyde. The measured low coverage of H on Pd in the presence of benzaldehyde is in agreement with the high selectivity/Faradaic efficiency of protons to benzaldehyde hydrogenation to benzyl alcohol. The decrease in apparent activation energy for ECH versus TCH can also be understood within this same kinetic model. The combination of ECH and TCH kinetics and spectroscopy has, thus, allowed to deduce a microkinetic model for these hydrogenation reactions.
Full text
Available for:
GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
Predicting Incident Multimorbidity Mounce, Luke T.A., PhD; Campbell, John L., MD; Henley, William E., PhD ...
Annals of family medicine,
07/2018, Volume:
16, Issue:
4
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
Abstract Purpose Multimorbidity is associated with adverse outcomes, yet research on the determinants of its incidence is lacking. We investigated which sociodemographic, health, and individual ...lifestyle (eg, physical activity, smoking behavior, body mass index) characteristics predict new cases of multimorbidity. Methods We used data from 4,564 participants aged 50 years and older in the English Longitudinal Study of Aging that included a 10-year follow-up period. Discrete time-to-event (complementary log-log) models were constructed for exploring the associations of baseline characteristics with outcomes between 2002-2003 and 2012-2013 separately for participants with no initial conditions (n = 1,377) developing multimorbidity, any increase in conditions within 10 years regardless of initial conditions, and the impact of individual conditions on incident multimorbidity. Results The risks of developing multimorbidity were positively associated with age, and they were greater for the least wealthy, for participants who were obese, and for those who reported the lowest levels of physical activity or an external locus of control (believing that life events are outside of one's control) for all groups regardless of baseline conditions (all linear trends <.05). No significant associations were observed for sex, educational attainment, or social detachment. For participants with any increase in conditions (n = 4,564), a history of smoking was the only additional predictor. For participants with a single baseline condition (n = 1,534), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma, and arrhythmia showed the strongest associations with subsequent multimorbidity. Conclusions Our findings support the development and implementation of a strategy targeting the prevention of multimorbidity for susceptible groups. This approach should incorporate behavior change addressing lifestyle factors and target health-related locus of control.
Full text
Available for:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Telephone triage represents one strategy to manage demand for face-to-face GP appointments in primary care. Although computer decision-support software (CDSS) is increasingly used by nurses to triage ...patients, little is understood about how interaction is organized in this setting. Specifically any interactional dilemmas this computer-mediated setting invokes; and how these may be consequential for communication with patients. Using conversation analytic methods we undertook a multi-modal analysis of 22 audio-recorded telephone triage nurse–caller interactions from one GP practice in England, including 10 video-recordings of nurses' use of CDSS during triage. We draw on Goffman's theoretical notion of participation frameworks to make sense of these interactions, presenting ‘telling cases’ of interactional dilemmas nurses faced in meeting patient's needs and accurately documenting the patient's condition within the CDSS. Our findings highlight troubles in the ‘interactional workability’ of telephone triage exposing difficulties faced in aligning the proximal and wider distal context that structures CDSS-mediated interactions. Patients present with diverse symptoms, understanding of triage consultations, and communication skills which nurses need to negotiate turn-by-turn with CDSS requirements. Nurses therefore need to have sophisticated communication, technological and clinical skills to ensure patients' presenting problems are accurately captured within the CDSS to determine safe triage outcomes. Dilemmas around how nurses manage and record information, and the issues of professional accountability that may ensue, raise questions about the impact of CDSS and its use in supporting nurses to deliver safe and effective patient care.
•First study using real-time audio-visual data to analyse telephone triage with CDSS.•Nurses rarely side-stepped constraints of CDSS to follow-up patients' own agendas.•Nurses may need to manage interactional dilemmas and issues of accountability.•Nurses, patients and CDSS function as multiple participants in triage interactions.•Our findings reveal potential limits to software development and nurse training.
Full text
Available for:
GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK
PDF
