Open-economy central banking: Explaining Australia's recommitment to central bank independence

Why do governments offload major instruments such as monetary policy to an independent central bank? This article answers this question in relation to the Australian case, a case which reflects wider global developments. The article challenges the methodology of quantitative approaches to explaining central bank independence and instead argues that a model of 'embedded statism' is the most fruitful explanatory approach.

Auditor independence and fee dependence

This study investigates whether fee dependence within the audit firms' offices jeopardises auditor independence. Fee dependence is examined at both the national audit firm level as well as the local office level and in a setting where public disclosure of fees is mandatory. We focus our tests on audit fee dependence and at the same time we control for the effects of non-audit service fee dependence post the 1989 mergers. We operationalise the exercise of independent judgement in auditing by the propensity to issue qualified audit opinions. If fee dependence affects auditors' independent judgement, then auditors are less likely to qualify the accounts. The study's results show that the level of auditor fee dependence does not affect auditor propensity to issue unqualified audit opinions. The findings remain robust to a number of sensitivity tests including the analyses controlling for the effects of non-audit service fee dependence and other settings in which there is heightened pressure on auditors to confront the effects of fee dependence on exercising independent audit judgement. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Knee muscle strength, balance and functional independence in persons with stroke

Purpose: to investigate the relationship between knee muscle strength, balance and functional independence within the first month after stroke. Relevance: cerebral vascular disease is one of the main causes of morbidity, disability and mortality in developed countries. Problems with movement control are frequent after stroke. Lower limb weakness and impaired balance are common problems that are related with the risk of falls and are likely to interfere with the ability to perform daily life activities. Physiotherapy intervention usually starts early after stroke and addresses impairments related to movement and posture in order to improve motor recovery and restore function.

Muscle strength, balance and functional independence in persons with stroke

Cerebral vascular disease is one of the main causes of morbidity, disability and mortality in developed countries. Problems with movement control are frequent after stroke. Lower limb weakness and impaired balance are common problems that are related with the risk of falls and are likely to interfere with the ability to perform daily life activities. Physiotherapy intervention usually starts early after stroke and addresses impairments related to movement and posture in order to improve motor recovery and restore function. Purpose: to investigate the relationship between knee muscle strength, balance and functional independence within the first month after stroke.

Relationship of balance to function independence in stroke survivors

Cerebral vascular disease is the primary cause of permanent disability in Portugal. Impaired stability is considered an important feature after stroke as it is related with higher risk of falls and functional dependence. Physiotherapy intervention usually starts early after stroke in order to direct motor recovery and help patients to improve their ability to perform activities of daily living (ADL). Purpose: to investigate the relationship of balance to functionality in acute stroke patients. Methods: 16 subjects (8 women and 8 men), mean age 63,62 ± 2,16y, with unilateral ischemic stroke in the middle cerebral artery territory, who were admitted to physiotherapy department of Fernando Fonseca Hospital in Portugal, within the first month after stroke were recruited to participate in this study. All subjects have no cognitive impairment according to Mini Mental State, no history of lower extremity orthopedic problems and no other disease that could interfere with treatments. All patients gave their inform consent to participate in this study. Subjects were assessed with the Modified Barthel Index (MBI) and the Berg Balance Scale (BBS).

Board independence and innovation

Legislation introduced in the U.S. in 2002/2003 significantly changed board composition of public firms by imposing a 50% independent directors’ ratio. Research on the effect of independent directors is not consensual, implying that this exogenous shock is a unique opportunity to study their importance. This study answers the question of whether or not independent directors can effectively mitigate agency conflicts between shareholders and the management, having a positive impact on the choice of successful R&D projects. We find that an increase of board independence has a positive impact on patent counts. Hence, the results support that independent directors truly spur innovation and risk taking.