Unqualified Use Research Articles

A look under the hood: analyzing engagement and usage data of a smartphone-based intervention

BackgroundEngagement with smartphone-based interventions stimulates adherence and improves the likelihood of gaining benefits from intervention content. Research often relies on system usage data to capture engagement. However, to what extent usage data reflect engagement is still an open empirical question. We studied how usage data relate to engagement, and how both relate to intervention outcomes.MethodsWe drew data from a randomized controlled trial (RCT) (N = 86) evaluating a smartphone-based intervention that aims to stimulate future self-identification (i.e., future self vividness, valence, relatedness). General app engagement and feature-specific engagement were retrospectively measured. Usage data (i.e., duration, number of logins, number of days used, exposure to intervention content) were unobtrusively registered.ResultsEngagement and usage data were not correlated. Multiple linear regression analyses revealed that general app engagement predicted future self vividness (p = .042) and relatedness (p = .004). Furthermore, engagement with several specific features also predicted aspects of future self-identification (p = .005 – .032). For usage data, the number of logins predicted future self vividness (p = .042) and exposure to intervention content predicted future self valence (p = .002).ConclusionsUsage data did not reflect engagement and the latter was the better predictor of intervention outcomes. Thus, the relation between usage data and engagement is likely to be intervention-specific and the unqualified use of the former as an indicator of the latter may result in measurement error. We provide recommendations on how to capture engagement and app use in more valid ways.

From dissonant dominance to synchronic sanctity: Relational extraction as counter‐resonance to extractivism

AbstractThere is a growing tendency within various disciplines of the humanities to conflate the terms extraction and extractivism. While the first word has many everyday uses—tooth extraction, vanilla “extract”—the latter term was specifically coined to identify a malevolent imaginary that indemnifies the removal of so‐called “resources,” especially when that displacement involves layers of violence and/or looks solely to satisfy a particular economic aim. Given these disparate denotations, the unqualified use of “extraction” synonymously with “extractivism” introduces unnecessary ambiguity, inviting divergent arguments that ultimately diminish an otherwise worthy discussion and losing sight of the grave issues that underlie the conversation's original intent. As such, this essay investigates the biblical origins of this false equivalency and suggests how this usage might be disentangled to properly recenter the malevolence its users are attempting to describe.

Solidarity and Public Health.

We argue that an unqualified use of the term solidarity in public health is not only equivocal but problematic toward the ends of public health. The term may be deployed normatively by public health advocates to strengthen the bonds among public health practitioners and refer to an ideal society in which the importance of interdependence among members ought to be acknowledged throughout the polity. We propose an important distinction between partisan solidarity and societal solidarity. Because any moralized belief in a vision of a broad societal solidarity will be a contested political ideal, political reality would limit solidarity based on such a vision to partisan solidarity. An idealized vision of societal solidarity is simply not politically feasible in pluralistic, liberal, democratic societies. However, although societal solidarity is unlikely with respect to any particular policy, it might be hoped for with respect to constitutional procedures that provide boundaries for the agon of the political process. We suggest that moralizing assertions of a solidaristic ideal in a pluralistic society might be counterproductive to generating the political support necessary for public health per se and establishing legitimate public health policy. A pragmatic political approach would be for public health advocates to generate sufficient strong political support for those public health policies that are most amenable to the political and social realities of a time and place.

Dream, Bliss, and the Shaping of Emotional Meaning in Beowulf

<i>Dream</i>, <i>Bliss</i>, and the Shaping of Emotional Meaning in <i>Beowulf</i>

The Dialogical Self Analogy for the Godhead: Recasting the “God is a Person” Debate

May God may be understood and referred to as a “person”? This is a live debate in contemporary theological and philosophical circles. However, despite the attention this debate has received, the vital question of how to account for God’s trinitarian nature has been mostly overlooked. Due to trinitarian concerns about the unqualified use of “person” as an analogy for the Godhead, I intervene in this debate with a two-fold proposal. The first is that proponents of using a person as an analogy for the Godhead will be better served by using a psychologically informed analogy of a “self” instead. In particular, the Dialogical Self model of a person holds much promise. In what follows, I argue that the “Dialogical Self Analogy” for the Godhead is more likely to uphold God’s trinitarian nature, avoid trinitarian confusion and related problems than “person” analogies do. The primary benefit of speaking of God as a Dialogical Self is that it offers a psychologically modelled analogy for God, whilst avoiding the language of person, yet strongly taking into account God’s trinitarian nature. This has the important benefit of preserving the concept and language of “person” for the trinitarian persons (the prosopa/hypostases), and hence avoiding the linguistic, conceptual and ecumenical confusion that arises when referring to the Godhead as a person. The strength of using the model and language of a Dialogical Self as an analogy for the Godhead (instead of person) is demonstrated by showing its compatibility with Erickson’s criteria for describing the Trinity.

Processes Influencing Autocompaction Modulate Coastal Wetland Surface Elevation Adjustment With Sea-Level Rise

The fate of coastal wetlands and their ecosystem services is dependent upon maintaining substrate elevations within a tidal frame that is influenced by sea-level rise. Development and application of morphodynamic models has been limited as few empirical studies have measured the contribution of key processes to surface elevation change, including mineral and organic matter addition, autocompaction of accumulating sediments and deep subsidence. Accordingly, many models presume that substrates are in equilibrium with relative sea-level rise (RSLR) and the composition of substrates are relatively homogenous. A 20-year record of surface elevation change and vertical accretion from a large tidal embayment in Australia coupled with analyses of inundation frequency and the character of sediments that have accumulated above mean sea level was analyzed to investigate processes influencing surface elevation adjustment. This study confirms the varying contribution of addition, decomposition and compression of organic material, and mineral sediment consolidation. Autocompaction of substrates was proportional to the overburden of accumulating sediments. These processes operate concurrently and are influenced by sediment supply and deposition. Vertical accretion was linearly related to accommodation space. Surface elevation change was related to vertical accretion and substrate organic matter, indicated by carbon storage above mean sea level. Surface elevation change also conformed to models that initially increase and then decrease as accommodation space diminishes. Rates of surface elevation change were largely found to be in equilibrium with sea-level rise measured at the nearest tide gauge, which was estimated at 3.5 mm y–1 over the period of measurements. As creation of new accommodation space with sea-level rise is contrary to the longer-term history of relative sea-level stability in Australia since the mid-Holocene, striking stratigraphic variation arises with deeper sediments dominated by mineral sands and surficial sediments increasingly fine grained and having higher carbon storage. As the sediment character of substrates was found to influence rates of surface elevation gain, we caution against the unqualified use of models derived from the northern hemisphere where substrates have continuously adjusted to sea-level rise and sediment character is likely to be more homogenous.

Проблема правомірності застосування зброї до цивільних повітряних суден у польоті: сучасне міжнародно-правове регулювання та практика застосування

Стаття присвячена дослідженню сучасного міжнародно-правового регулювання та практики правомірності застосування зброї до цивільних повітряних суден в польоті. Розглядаються та аналізуються різні доктринальні позиції щодо профільної проблематики, в контексті доктринальних підходів розглядаються профільні норми міжнародного права, що містяться в міжнародних багатосторонніх конвенціях спеціального порядку. Визнається, що міжнародне право встановило універсальну заборону негайного, безпідставного тобто некваліфікованого права застосування зброї державою до цивільного повітряного судна, тільки в силу самого факту порушення правил польотів в повітряному просторі певної держави. Констатується, що як екстраординарний захід, держави можуть застосувати зброю до цивільного повітряного судна, однак з метою запобігання реальної небезпеки у відповідності до положень статті 51 Статуту ООН, за умови що цивільне повітряне судно використовується всупереч цілям, встановленим в Чиказькій конвенції, після вжиття всіх інших заходів, з метою примушення судна-порушника виконувати правила польотів в повітряному просторі та запобіганню імовірній загрозі, що несе таке судно-порушник.

LOST IN TRANSLATION: PRESENT-DAY TERMS IN THE MAINTENANCE TEXTS OF THE NADIÄ€TU FROM OLD BABYLONIAN NIPPUR

Present-day terms such as the usufruct – in civil law systems – and its equivalent, the life-right – in common law systems – were foreign to ancient Near Eastern legal texts. Prima facie both terms – usufruct and life-right – direct the “time-limited interest” of the use and enjoyment by a person over the property of another. However, mainstream ancient Near Eastern scholars’ unqualified use of the foreign terms – diverged in time and space – affect the translation and our insight into ancient texts. In addition, differences in land ownership institutions and philosophies in present-day law systems and those of ANE contribute to variances in the meaning and interpretation of the intrinsic aspects of property and as such “time-limited interest” applicable: a usufruct, life-right or even a hybrid form of both. In the article, I focus on the maintenance – a time-limited interest – of the nadītu priestess in the Old Babylonian city-state of Nippur. The application of Stone’s theory on Nippur’s land ownership – the institutions’ economy – prima facie shows that the nadiātu of Nippur held a freestanding life-right, rather than a usufruct which the majority of ANE scholars assigned to the nadiātu’s maintenance. However, I propose a deviation with the superficial overlay of present-day terms on the maintenance of the nadiātu by presenting a time-limited interest framework. The framework serves as a delineation method of identifying the characteristics of the maintenance-construction of the nadiātu from OB Nippur: communicating a “unitary concept” in context of the ancient texts – rather than only assigning coined terms – taking recognition of the influences of Nippur’s land ownership philosophy.

Introduction: Reflecting on the human right to social security

AbstractThe United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948 asserts that social security is an inalienable human right. Realizing this human right is often considered, simply, as a matter of political will and of administrative aptitude. In these terms, the progressive realization of the human right to social security may be viewed as the outcome of an appropriately‐resourced political and bureaucratic process. Such a perspective, however, is clearly inadequate. Characteristically, bureaucracies are designed to cater to the needs of all, based on common procedures and common deliverables designed for the “typical” case. Yet such approaches often lack the necessary flexibility and resources to make a distinction between individuals, which acknowledge their respective differences and needs. To meet the international commitment to progressively realize universal social security coverage, social security administrations are key actors. However imperative this role may be, if the pursuit of this commitment fails to respect people's differences this will put at risk the meeting in full of what is envisioned by the human right to social security. To this end, this special issue aims to foster an understanding that the goal of universal coverage must necessarily also respect and respond to the individual needs of each and every person.

Treaty Conclusion &amp; Incorporation into Greek Law: A Brief Discussion of the Constitutional Requirements

Greek constitutional law on the conclusion of treaties and their incorporation into domestic law has triggered heated debates among scholars and politicians. Since the 1975 major constitutional revision, it has seemed that only the last few years has the state mechanism achieved an acceptable level of consistency in applying the process. Nevertheless, the relevant constitutional provisions continue to be far from clear, on more than one point. Systematizing the process through the inclusion of unambiguous verbiage will help resolve unnecessary discrepancies between theory and practice, caused by inconsistent, interchangeable and ultimately unqualified use of jargon. This article discusses the main provisions of the Greek constitution on this topic, as they currently stand. These are articles 28.1, 36.1 and 36.2 of the 1975 constitution. An English translation of these articles is included at the end of this publication.

Pitfalls of Quantitative Surveys Online

With the development of the Internet in the last two decades, its use in all phases of field survey is growing very quickly. Indeed, it reduces costs while allowing exploration of relatively large files and enables effective use of a variety of research tools. The academic research is more reserved towards developing online surveys. Demands on the quality of data are the main cause; Internet surveys do not meet them and thus do not allow drawing objective conclusion about the populations surveyed. Unqualified use of the Internet may significantly influence data and information obtained from their analysis. The problematic definition of the population that is under investigation may result in a fault of its coverage. Its existence can be shown, for example, on a confrontation of the total and Internet population of the Czech Republic, the total and Internet population of the Czech households, etc. Representation of the population through an online panel may cause bias, depending on how the panel is created. A relatively new source of error in an online survey is the existence of “professional” respondents. The sampling method from a population or an online panel can lead to the emergence of such a sample that is not representative and does not allow inference to the population at all, or only in a very limited way. Even probability sampling, however, can be problematic if it is affected by a higher rate of non-responses. The aim of this paper is to summarise the possible sources of bias associated with any sample survey, but also to draw attention to those that are relatively new and are associated with the implementation of just quantitative surveys online.

Neuroendocrine Carcinoma of the Cervix: Review of a Series of Cases and Correlation With Outcome.

Introduction Neuroendocrine carcinoma (NEC) of the cervix is associated with a poor prognosis despite multimodal treatment. The correct diagnosis of this tumor type is imperative to provide clinicians and patients with prognostic information and ensure that appropriate treatment is provided. Methods A clinicopathological study was undertaken on all cervical tumors registered as NEC with the West Midlands Cancer Intelligence Unit between January 1, 1998 and December 31, 2009. Of the 45 cases diagnosed during the study period, the tumor samples of 41 cases were traced, anonymized, and then independently reviewed by 2 gynecological pathologists. Results The review confirmed 31/41 (78%) cases to be NEC, which overall, represented 1.3% of all the cervical cancers registered in the West Midlands over the period of the study. In the correct histological context, synaptophysin was the most sensitive and specific positive immunohistochemical marker of NEC differentiation. The cases that on review were confirmed as NEC had a significantly worse outcome than the non-NEC cases: median survival for NEC cases was 33.3 months versus 315.0 months for the non-NEC cases, P = .013. Conclusions Histological review of a series of NECs has shown significantly reduced survival in those patients with confirmed NEC in comparison with those patients where a diagnosis of NEC was not confirmed. We propose morphological and immunohistochemical criteria for the diagnosis of cervical NEC; and discourage unqualified use of the term "small cell carcinoma" as this does not accurately convey the diagnosis of SCNEC. We urge pathologists to use the 2014 World Health Organization classification when reporting these tumors.

Black Legacies: Race and the European Middle Ages by Lynn T. Ramey (review)

Reviewed by: Black Legacies: Race and the European Middle Ages by Lynn T. Ramey Jorge Carlos Arias Lynn T. Ramey, Black Legacies: Race and the European Middle Ages (Gainesville: University Press of Florida 2014) xii + 176 pp. Black Legacies: Race and the European Middle Ages is a valiant effort of scholarship in the current academic environment. The criticisms of the so-called linguistic turn, the complex history of the modern concept of race, and the weight of the idea of a clean break between the medieval and renaissance periods have made the study of “race” in a pre-modern setting a dangerous endeavor. Ramey’s goal is to point out that many important elements that would become much more explicit in “scientific racism” and nineteenth-century European colonialist discourses were already present in the Middle Ages. She supports this point armed with post-colonial and literary analyses of a wide variety of sources: medieval prose and verse, Classical ethnographies, medieval commentaries on the Bible, fifteenth-century colonial debates and, most surprisingly, modern films and nineteenth-century depictions of the Middle Ages. [End Page 289] Given that few scholars today would consent to the un-qualified use of the term race before the modern period, Ramey’s first task is to explain how she plans to use it and what she really intends to study. She settles on treating racism as “a form of xenophobia,” often utilizing the concept of “the Other” (1). She describes medieval culture not as “color blind” as many older studies of this topic have asserted but as “proto-racial” and containing a “cacophony of discourses” regarding race, before modern conceptions of phenotypic difference cemented a hegemonic idea of race (2). Ramey focuses on “prejudice against darker-skinned persons from non-Western cultures precisely because of their skin color and their usually imagined, always unfamiliar, cultural practices” (1). Lest there be some confusion, Ramey explicitly states that she is not arguing that racial consciousness was born in the Middle Ages, but that the medieval period did play an important role in its subsequent development (3). There are two central critiques in the book: first, of the scholarly tradition that asserted that a categorical rupture existed between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance; second, of the role of the nineteenth century in shaping not only our modern conceptions of race but also of the medieval period itself. The first tradition helped to isolate the study of race solely to the modern era and consequently resulted in the interpretation of the medieval period as a “golden age of cohabitation,” and erased “the history of prejudice that was present from what many consider to be the foundation of European civilization” (3). Writers of the nineteenth century displayed a particularly Romanticized view of the Middle Ages, for example evident in the development of professional history and its relationship to the creation of the modern nation-state based on supposed and Romanticized ties to medieval predecessors. This view became intertwined with a search for essentialist origins and a scientific racism that reflected certain nineteenth-century concerns on race back into the medieval period. Chapter 1 looks at various examples of this Romanticized view of the Middle Ages in the nineteenth century. Washington Irving’s tales of medieval Spain in The Alhambra (1832) are imbued with a fear of “racially linked degeneration more appropriate to his own American culture” (9). For example, his praise of the Arab elite of Muslim Spain, which he portrays as white and worthy of intermarriage with the “Gothic” Christian elite, is contrasted with depictions of the decay of the monarchy of Granada through its intermarriage with Berber groups, characterized as dark and governed by emotion. Eugène-Emmanual Viollet-le-Duc, as the architect in charge of restoring many of France’s most famous medieval structures (Vézelay Abbey, Mont Saint-Michel, Notre Dame Cathedral) between 1838 and 1879, not only had an immense influence in the representation and re-interpretation of medieval architecture, but he also helped to strengthen the notion that “elementary characteristics of… race” and environment were linked to ethnically essentialist aesthetic and architectural choices (23). Chapter 2 is an overview of how race has...

Reconsidering Hamartia as “Sin” in 1 Corinthians

English translations of the New Testament (nt) consistently render the Greek termhamartiaand its cognates as “sin.” English translations of other Greek texts dated to roughly the same time period, however, provide a variety of English words such as “mistake,” error,” or “things we get wrong,” to accommodate contextual nuances. This essay argues that this bifurcation has several unappealing consequences for the study of Christian beginnings. The palpable difference in translation portrays thenttexts as unique departures from the moral discourse of the time and reifies an unnecessary divide between early Christian and other kinds of moral literature, while the unqualified use of the English word sin brings with it the possibility that readers will import more unified theological doctrines about sin onto texts written well before the doctrines were even developed.

Manipulation of the Microbiota for Treatment of IBS and IBD—Challenges and Controversies

There is compelling rationale for manipulating the microbiota to treat inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs). Although studies of animal models of intestinal inflammation produced promising results, trials in humans have been disappointing. In contrast to IBD, the role of the microbiota in the development of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) only recently has been considered, but early stage results have been encouraging. As pharmaceutical companies develop fewer truly novel agents for treatment of these disorders, consumers seek safer, long-term strategies to deal with chronic symptoms. We assess the rationale for modulating the microbiota for treatment of IBD and IBS, and discuss whether current concepts are simplistic and overstated or simply under-researched. Are claims exaggerated and expectations unrealistic? Difficulties with microbiota terminology and technologies, as well as differences among patients and the heterogeneity of these diseases, pose additional challenges in developing microbiota-based therapies for IBD and IBS.

The Declining Use of the Hallervorden-Spatz Eponym

Despite efforts to the contrary, the use of eponyms remains widespread in medical practice and research. Eponyms appear to collectively function as a form of medical shorthand in communication that also serves to highlight and concretely recall a temporally far removed historical context. The actual assignation of eponyms occurs somewhat haphazardly and typically reflects the explicit recognition of a primacy of discovery and description to those deemed worthy of ‘‘eponymic glory.’’ Thus eponyms do serve as a mechanism or form of honoring medical pioneers who through astute clinical observation or scientific pursuit enabled a recognition of a particular disease entity or clinical phenomena or furthering an understanding of pathogenesis. Hallervorden-Spatz disease is but one example of a longexistent eponym within pediatric neurology. Julius Hallervorden and Hugo Spatz were indeed the first to describe a familial neurodegenerative condition characterized pathologically by progressive iron deposition in the basal ganglia. Coincidentally, these 2 individuals were also ‘‘giants’’ of neuropathology in its descriptive heyday. Their meticulous histopathologic observations, combined with thorough clinical correlation, fostered considerable progress in disease classification and pathogenesis in the first half of the 20th century. However, both of these pillars of the ivory tower of continental academic neuroscience were complicit in some of the most egregious atrocities committed by medicine in the Third Reich. While we typically consider these atrocities to be restricted to horrific experiments conducted in the charnel houses that were the concentration camps, in actuality medical abuses were more pervasively and systematically distributed in mainstream medicine. These included targeted extermination programs directed at disabled German children and chronically ill institutionalized German adults. These ‘‘euthanasia’’ programs were precursors and proving grounds for the Holocaust to come in occupied Europe. These targeted extermination programs were on occasion utilized by academic neuroscientists such as Hallervorden and Spatz to procure rare pathologic specimens that were then used to further their own research agendas. The article by Zeidman and Pandey in this issue of the Journal of Child Neurology systematically and objectively documents the effects of awareness by the neurologic community of the above roles of Hallervorden and Spatz during the Third Reich. Specifically, the authors have documented the frequency of the ‘‘unqualified’’ use of the Hallervorden-Spatz eponym in journal publications and relevant textbooks. ‘‘Unqualified’’ use refers to using the Hallervorden-Spatz disease eponym instead of an alternative nomenclature or if the eponym is used in the absence of any mention of Hallervorden’s or Spatz’s role in the atrocities of the Third Reich. The first widely distributed detailed account of their wartime activities was made directly available to the neurologic community in 1992. Reaction was immediate and subsequent letters to the editor in the publishing journal voiced a desire to remove the eponym from general use. Similar pleas occurred with future advances in the genetic understanding of the disorder—first with its chromosomal localization and subsequently with the actual identification of the pantothenate kinase gene defect. Similar pleas for eponymic reconsideration were voiced in editorials in such authoritative journals at the New England Journal of Medicine and Lancet. Zeidman and Pandey document a statistically significant decline in the unqualified use of the eponym. Indeed its use has declined by half between the intervals of 1990-1999 and 2000-2010. A similar trend was also apparent in the few textbooks they reviewed. What is intriguing about this trend is that it speaks of an unconscious collective decision by the neurologic community to ‘‘do the right thing.’’ After all, there is no central body regulating the use of eponyms. Any changes in designation or use thus must reflect a naturally occurring, emerging, and broadly based consensus. The declining trend in unqualified use of the Hallervorden-Spatz eponym documented by Zeidman and Pandey is in effect a reflection of a decision by a neurologic ‘‘court’’ of opinion. This court has weighed the evidence before it without explicitly doing so and has rendered a judgement that Hallervorden’s and Spatz’s later actions effectively negate the honor of their original discovery of a novel disease and its

Declining Use of the Hallervorden–Spatz Disease Eponym in the Last Two Decades

There has been a movement to rename Hallervorden-Spatz disease to pantothenate kinase-associated neurodegeneration given Hallervorden and Spatz's complicity in murderous Nazi programs. Similar controversy surrounds Reiter syndrome, and 2 studies demonstrated decreased unqualified use of that eponym in the literature, but not in textbooks. There have been no similar studies regarding Hallervorden-Spatz disease. The authors performed a MEDLINE search (1990-2010) looking for unqualified use of Hallervorden-Spatz disease and performed statistical analysis. They defined "unqualified" as having no reference to the eponym's disfavored use. They then looked in 6 neurology textbooks. The authors identified 156 of 278 articles (56.1%) containing unqualified use of Hallervorden-Spatz disease. But there was a declining trend (P = .000), with 70/80 (87.5%) of articles from 1990 to 1999 and 86/198 (43.4%) from 2000 to 2010. There was also decreased unqualified use of the eponyms in textbooks, with all recent editions using pantothenate kinase-associated neurodegeneration instead. The significant decrease in unqualified use of Hallervorden-Spatz disease is reassuring.

The Effects of Demand Characteristics on Research Participant Behaviours in Non-Laboratory Settings: A Systematic Review

BackgroundThe concept of demand characteristics, which involves research participants being aware of what the researcher is investigating, is well known and widely used within psychology, particularly in laboratory-based studies. Studies of this phenomenon may make a useful contribution to broader consideration of the effects of taking part in research on participant behaviour. This systematic review seeks to summarise data from studies of the effects of demand characteristics on participant behaviours in non-laboratory settings.Methodology/Principal FindingsElectronic databases were searched to identify eligible studies. These had to be purposely designed to evaluate possible effects of demand characteristics on at least one behavioural outcome under the autonomous control of the participants and use longitudinal study designs. Only 7 studies were included, 6 providing observational data and 1 experimental study, with 5 studies involving examination of possible effects on health behaviours. Although studies provided some evidence of effects of demand characteristics on participant behaviour, heterogeneous operationalisation of the construct, the limited number of studies and poor quality of study designs made synthesis and interpretation of study findings challenging.Conclusions/SignificanceAlthough widely accepted as important in psychology, there have been few dedicated studies of the effects of demand characteristics on research participant behaviours outside laboratory settings. This body of literature does not currently contribute to the wider study of research participation effects. A systematic review of data from laboratory-based studies is needed, as are high-quality primary studies in non-laboratory settings. We suggest that unqualified use of the term demand characteristics should be abandoned.

An Unintended Consequence of SFAS 133: Promoting Speculation

ABSTRACT The Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 133 (SFAS 133) allows firms to apply hedge accounting only to qualified hedges that pass effectiveness tests. Unqualified hedges (speculations) are required to be marked to market, and the unrealized gains/losses are to be recognized in earnings immediately. The purpose of SFAS 133 is to improve the timeliness of the information about financial derivatives risk. This paper, however, shows through a specific agency model that the early recognition of the unqualified use of derivatives may change the risk allocation in the manager's compensation and motivate speculation. Speculation is modeled as engaging in high-risk, high-return derivatives contracts, while hedging activities are modeled as engaging in low-risk, low-return contracts (the low return is normalized to be zero for simplicity). The higher expected return from speculation makes it possible for the principal to offer a lower incentive in the early stage of derivative contracts. The lower incentive, in return, makes speculation less detrimental when the induced volatility is recognized earlier than the maturity date of the contracts because the induced risk premium is decreased with the lower incentive.

The “West” in Literacy

This paper analyzes a construct that, while pervasive, is not often questioned or defined in literacy studies: the “West.” Through a review of pertinent literature, I explore the ways in which problematical assumptions have undergirded its unqualified use in literacy theory. What is the “West,” who is it, in literacy research? I argue against the assumption of “unmarkedness” of the “West” and some derived terms along three axes: by bringing attention to the geographicalspatial dimension of the construct, through the problematization of the alphabet, and by highlighting the colonial inheritance of the construct. My analysis explores some fundamental biases in the notion of "West," and invites its reassessment to arrive at a more particular and critically rigorous stance in literacy scholarship.