Privatization and the Market for Corporate Control

We study the wealth effects of the mergers of privatized firms. Our sample entails 39 privatized firms that subsequently become targets of a takeover and 52 privatized firms that become bidders in mergers. Our results indicate that target firms experience a 12 percent increase in equity value at the announcement of a merger. The bidding firms experience a positive but insignificant change in equity value at merger announcement. The results indicate that mergers result in net wealth creation for privatized firms and are consistent with property rights/agency cost theory. The results also offer global, non-U.S. evidence that mergers create wealth.

Privatization and the Market for Corporate Control

We study the wealth effects of the mergers of privatized firms. Our sample entails 39 privatized firms that subsequently become targets of a takeover and 52 privatized firms that become bidders in mergers. Our results indicate that target firms experience a 12 percent increase in equity value at the announcement of a merger. The bidding firms experience a positive but insignificant change in equity value at merger announcement. The results indicate that mergers result in net wealth creation for privatized firms and are consistent with property rights/agency cost theory. The results also offer global, non-U.S. evidence that mergers create wealth

Handwriting at Different Paces and Sizes With Visual Cues in Persons With Parkinson’s Disease

Background: Persons with Parkinson’s disease (PD) typically have small handwriting, especially when writing faster and/or larger. However, visual cues can help persons with PD increase their handwriting size. This study tested if lined paper would improve handwriting in persons with PD, even when writing faster and/or larger. Secondarily, we wanted determine if persons with PD perceived handwriting as stressful, and if perceived stress was associated with writing performance. Methods: The study included 22 subjects with Parkinson’s disease and 11 age-gender-matched controls. Participants completed eight trials (2 × 2 × 2) of printing a “P” and “d”, at a comfortable speed and also as fast as possible in two different sizes (1, 2 cm). The participants wrote with a ballpoint pen on lined paper. Bipolar electromyography (EMG) sensors recorded muscle activity from the index finger extensor (extensor digitorum communis (EDC)) and flexor (first dorsal interosseous (FDI)). Participants completed all of the trials for a particular pace (conditions were randomized) before completing all the trials of the other pace (order was counterbalanced). Results: Handwriting height was smaller for persons with PD when required to write fast. There was also a trend for patients with PD to write slower and have smaller peak pen accelerations, but these were not statistically significant. Persons with PD found handwriting to be more stressful than healthy older adults did; and perceived stress negatively correlated with letter height and EMG activity. Conclusions: Our study found that visual cues did not normalize handwriting height in persons with PD when writing large and/or fast. Persons with PD find handwriting to be stressful, and stress may negatively influence their handwriting

Repetitive finger movement and circle drawing in persons with Parkinson’s disease

Little is known regarding how repetitive finger movement performance impacts other fine motor control tasks, such as circle drawing, in persons with Parkinson’s disease (PD). Previous research has shown that impairments in repetitive finger movements emerge at rates near to and above 2 Hz in most persons with PD. Thus, the purpose of this study was to compare circle drawing performance in persons with PD that demonstrate impairment in repetitive finger movement and those that do not. Twenty-two participants with PD and twelve healthy older adults completed the study. Only participants with PD completed the repetitive finger movement task. From the kinematic data for the repetitive finger movement task, participants were grouped into Hasteners and Non-Hasteners. Participants with PD and the healthy older adults completed a series of circle drawing tasks at two different target sizes (1 cm and 2 cm) and three pacing conditions (Self-paced, 1.25 Hz, and 2.5 Hz). Kinematic and electromyography data were recorded and compared between groups. Results revealed that, in general, persons with PD demonstrate impairments in circle drawing and associated electromyography activity compared to healthy older adults. Moreover, persons with PD that hasten during repetitive finger movements demonstrate significantly increased movement rate during circle drawing, while those persons with PD that do not hasten demonstrate a significant increase in width variability. This suggests that differing motor control mechanisms may play a role in the performance of fine motor tasks in persons with PD. Continued research is needed to better understand differences in circle drawing performance among persons with PD to inform future development of patient-centered treatments

A Review of Pragmatics: Teaching Speech Acts

Book review of Pragmatics: Teaching Speech Acts

Move for thought Pre-K and K

The Move for Thought Pre-K & K (M4T pre-K & K) was developed mainly for children (3-6 years old) in the preschool environment. However, all activities are developmentally appropriate for children in kindergarten classroom. Iowa Team Nutrition and the Iowa Department of Education would like to thank you for using the M4T pre-K & K program

A Comparison of an International Student and an Immigrant Student: Experiences with Second Language Writing

This study is a comparison of an immigrant student and international student’s experiences with L2 writing acquisition. The study examines a teacher of a basic writing course at a community college in the US and two of the students in the class. The students are one female Korean student who attended high school in Korea, and one male Korean student who attended high school in the US. To explore these issues, this study utilized a modified version of analytic induction and a combination of qualitative methods. The findings indicate that some differences exist between the two students. Some of these differences might be explained by using Bourdieu’s concept of linguistic habitus. The study concludes by suggesting that teachers acknowledge students’ feelings about literacy acquisition, and that it is vital to develop more principled student assessments

Lessons and challenges of trials involving ancillary therapies for Parkinson’s disease

Progressive impairment, particularly related to gait, postural control and cognitive decline, are not effectively treated by the current pharmacological and surgical management of Parkinson\u27s disease (PD). This has led many patients and treating physicians to explore concomitant therapeutic modalities such as aerobic exercise, resistance training, physical therapy, massage, dance and music therapy, tai chi and others to aid in reducing symptomatology and improving patient quality of life

Disclosure\u27s Limits

Special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) have exploded in popularity, luring both adventurous retail investors and sophisticated institutional investors. In a SPAC, a publicly traded shell corporation acquires a private target, thereby taking it public in a manner that circumvents the rigors of a traditional initial public offering (IPO). Proponents vaunt SPACs’ ability to simplify the process of accessing the public markets and democratize capitalism, but in their current form they pose risks to retail investors and to the market as a whole. Using a hand-collected dataset, this Article fills a gap in the literature by providing new empirical data regarding a critical feature of SPACs—the redemption right. SPACs allow their shareholders to vote for an acquisition target while simultaneously pulling their money out—a species of empty voting, where a vote is decoupled from any economic substance. We document a disturbing level of empty voting in SPACs and demonstrate an inverse correlation with stock performance: SPACs with more empty voting perform worse. Backed by this empirical support, we propose a tailored reform that we believe could make SPACs a viable and valuable alternative to traditional IPOs