Serum gonadal steroid hormones in young schizophrenic patients

Psychosis is reported to show a later age of onset in women than in men and its nature and course in women may also differ. Our aim was to see if levels of four steroid hormones at the start of early-onset psychosis differ from other groups of young people and if predicted low levels of estrogen (E2) are a feature of female psychosis. [We would predict that female schizophrenia patients on a child and adoelscent psychiatry ward would show low levels of E2 with its putative neuroleptic like protective properties.] Methods: Two blood samples from 22 young psychotic patients were analysed by radioimmunoassay for E2, progesterone (PROG), testosterone (TE) and dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate (DHEAS). Results: Female psychotic patients showed E2 levels lower than matched healthy cycling controls but higher than those on a contraceptive pill: they also showed higher TE levels than controls. Male psychotic patients had higher DHEAS levels than healthy or obsessive compulsive disorder subjects. Conclusions: We suggest that illness-related changes of steroids can be measured superimposed on medication - induced changes and that lower E2 levels in psychotic women may increase their vulnerability to psychosis. Changes of TE in female and DHEAS in male psychotics may be more a consequence of the illness. However we postulate that increased DHEAS levels could interfere with normal neurodevelopmental neuronal pruning processes (cf. increased DHEAS levels in male adolescents with conduct disorder, Dmitrieva et al., 1999, 2001

The role of executive capital and the market for alternative candidates in CEO dismissal and labor market consequences for dismissed chief executives

Research on the dismissal of Chief Executive Officers has primarily examined how firm performance and executive power affect dismissal. However, the process used to evaluate a CEO's capabilities is complex, as a myriad of factors affect firm performance outside of the CEO's control and the board often has minimal interaction with the CEO. Instead, the board may be forced to examine external cues or signals that help provide information regarding the CEO's capabilities. Analyzing 3,648 firm-year observations for likelihood of dismissal, this dissertation examines the role that CEO human and reputational capital play with regard to signaling the board regarding the CEO's capabilities as well as the effects of the market for alternative CEO candidates on the likelihood of CEO dismissal. Findings from probit regression analysis indicate that CEOs are less likely to be dismissed when they have greater tenure, a greater base salary, a less negative reputation in the media, and when there are fewer non-CEO inside directors serving on the board. These results suggest that the board identifies some external cues when evaluating CEOs and evaluates visible internal candidates in the decision to dismiss a CEO. Building upon this line of research, the second chapter of this dissertation examines the career consequences of dismissal on the future job prospects of executives. I argue that dismissal serves as a stigma on executive careers which reduces job future prospects. However, executives may use human, reputational, and social capital to buffer themselves from the effects of stigmatization. Examining the re-employment prospects of 88 dismissed executives, results using Cox Proportional Hazards models indicate that executive job prospects at publicly traded organizations are lessened following dismissal for reasons of violation of fiduciary duty or personal conduct. Alternatively, executive re-employment is more likely when executives have experience with prestigious organizations, have a reputation for being a top CEO, have less negative publicity, and are located in a major city. These results suggest that while dismissal may be stigmatizing, such effects can be overcome with acquired human, reputational, and social capital

Virtual Board Meetings: Reverberations Resulting from COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic has driven boards to meeting virtually. Consequently, to better understand the challenges of virtual board meetings, we conducted semi-structured interviews with eight board members. These directors had an average of 14 years of board experience while serving on 27 boards of large, publicly traded, multinational organizations. The directors offered highly consistent responses. Interviews were supplemented with a survey administered to 22 directors that provided support for the core themes identified in the interviews

Are Waterfowl Food Resources Limited during Spring Migration? A Bioenergetic Assessment of Playas in Nebraska’s Rainwater Basin

Accurate bioenergetic carrying capacity estimates of wetlands on public and private lands, as well as those managed for crop production are important for managing waterfowl populations and habitats. Given the importance of wetlands in the Rainwater Basin region of Nebraska for spring migrating waterfowl, we quantified and compared seed and aquatic invertebrate biomass and true metabolizable energy (TME) at three wetland types; public wetlands, wetlands enrolled in the Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP), and cropped wetlands. Median seed biomass estimates at public,WRP, and cropped wetlands were 593 kg/ha, 561 kg/ha, and 419 kg/ha respectively. Cumulative TME varied among wetland type, with greater TME at cropped wetlands (2431 kcal/kg) than public (1740 kcal/kg) and WRP wetlands (1781 kcal/kg). Seed biomass estimates from this study were statistically greater than those currently used for management planning in the RWB, however, TME estimates were statistically lower than estimates currently assumed for WRP and public wetlands. Our estimates for aquatic invertebrate biomass were approximately 40-fold less than seed biomass estimates. Based on spring ponding frequency at wetlands in Nebraska’s Rainwater Basin, and the caloric estimates derived for each wetland type, we concluded that the regions wetlands meet the energetic demand of spring migrating waterfowl during 10% of years

Near end listening enhancement in realistic environments

Speech playback is harder to understand in noise. Near End Listening Enhancement algorithms try to overcomethe problem by enhancing the speech signal before it is played by a device. Different strategies have beentried, achieving variable degrees of success in specific noise conditions. Such technologies, however, are oftentested in artificial settings - with controlled noise sources and no reverberation. The purpose of this study isto compare a set of state-of-the-art algorithms based on different approaches (adaptive vs non-adaptive, withor without a compensation for reverberation) in simulated real- life scenarios. Binaural noise recordings andimpulse responses of real environments have been used to create two representative scenarios in which speechplayback may occur, namely a domestic and a public space. A preliminary study with N=24 subjects revealedthe need for higher SNRs in the realistic settings (in comparison to controlled noise conditions) in order to obtainthe same levels of intelligibility for plain speech. The goal of the main study is to assess the impact of noiseadaptivity and reverberation awareness in realistic scenarios, in order to better understand how to make speechplayback more robust to noise in real-life situations

Managerial Discretion: An Empirical Review and Focus on Future Research Directions

Scholars have long been interested in when and to what degree managers are able to exert control over their organizations. In this review, we examine managerial discretion, or the latitude of action available to managers. Since its introduction, scholars have attempted to explain when managers will have discretion, what discretion means for organizational outcomes, and how discretion may differentially influence organizational outcomes when it enables or constrains leaders. Our review indicates that while a significant number of studies have examined discretion, few have attempted to validate the prescriptions of the managerial discretion construct. Furthermore, studies to date have primarily focused on the industry task environment as a measure of discretion, with less attention focused on the manager’s characteristics and the internal organization. We then assess construct validity and the measurement of managerial discretion, offering recommendations to future researchers for improving the operationalization of this construct. Finally, we consider how discretion forces may interact as either complements or substitutes and how such interactions may have both organizational- and individual-level consequences

Organizational Responses to Say-on-Pay Votes: Results of the 2021 HR@Moore Survey of CHROs

Since the passage of the Dodd-Frank Act in 2010, US publicly traded companies subject to proxy rules must allow shareholders to submit an advisory vote on the compensation of their most highly compensated executives at least every three years (known as Say-on-Pay votes), and on how often shareholders would like to be presented with Say-on-Pay votes. Given the potential interplay between executive compensation and succession planning, as illustrated in recent Center for Executive Succession research that shows executive compensation and executive succession decisions appear to be related when it comes to the selection of internal CEO appointments, we sought to better understand how firms develop executive compensation plans and respond to sayon-pay votes. Respondents first indicated that boards sometimes consider succession plans when setting executive compensation. Additionally, executive compensation incentives are rarely tied to succession planning metrics, though this is unlikely to be a problem. In the end, however, results suggest that some boards do co-manage executive compensation and succession planning. Results also indicated that board members are perceived to be concerned with the potential for negative say-on-pay votes or negative recommendations from proxy advisory firms. This is concerning as it potentially suggests that executive compensation decisions are being driven more by the considerations of outside agencies rather than internal concerns regarding talent management or company strategy. We then sought to understand what might raise concerns regarding say-on-pay voting thresholds and how companies would likely respond to negative say-on-pay votes. Respondents most often noted that say-on-pay approval of less than 80% would be concerning, though the threshold distribution was widely dispersed. If this threshold were to be crossed, respondents indicated that changes in executive incentives would be most likely (27 instances), followed by reviews of the compensation program (19 instances), shareholder outreach (16 mentions), and compensation consultant changes (7 instances). 4 HR@MOORE The passage of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act in 2010 requires US publicly traded companies subject to proxy reporting rules to submit to shareholder advisory votes regarding the compensation of the company’s Named Executive Officers at least once every three years. These votes have subsequently been termed say-on-pay. The rise in say-on-pay, as well as growth in general shareholder activism, have also given rise to proxy advisory firms who provide data analysis, insights, and recommendations to investors regarding company policies, such as the appropriateness of executive compensation. Recent research from the Center for Executive Succession illustrates the interplay between executive compensation and executive succession planning. This research shows that when the pay disparity between the CEO and the company’s second highest paid executive officer was lower, companies were more likely to promote an inside executive to be the next CEO. Furthermore, this research found that when an inside executive was chosen, the second highest paid executive was more likely to be named CEO when the pay gap between the second highest paid executive and third highest paid executive was greater. These findings were in line with proxy advisory firms’ belief that larger pay gaps between the CEO and other executives are evidence of ineffective succession planning and an increased likelihood of having to hire the next CEO from outside the firm. They also provide an indication that executive compensation and succession planning decisions may go hand in hand in meaningful fashion, increasing the importance of managing the efforts jointly. Given the central importance of executive compensation overall, its apparent linkages to effective executive succession planning, and the growing role and power of proxy advisory firms, the 2021 HR@Moore Survey of Chief Human Resource Officers (CHROs) sought to explore issues related to say-on-pay votes and executive compensation and succession. We surveyed approximately 375 CHROs and 105 of them completed these questions for a 28% response rate

Board Committees in Corporate Governance: A Cross‐Disciplinary Review and Agenda for the Future

The importance of board committees – specialized subgroups that exist to perform many of the board\u27s most critical functions, such as setting executive compensation, identifying potential board members, and overseeing financial reporting – has grown over time due to increased legal requirements and greater complexity of the environment in which firms operate. This has resulted in a large body of work examining board committees across the accounting, finance, and management disciplines. However, this research has developed rather independently within each discipline, preventing scholars and practitioners from developing a comprehensive understanding of board committees. To address this issue, we conduct a comprehensive review of the literature that: 1) summarizes and synthesizes antecedents and outcomes associated with board committees in publicly‐traded firms in English common law countries; and 2) offers a critical analysis of existing research, providing recommendations for advancements and new directions in board committee research