Introduction An agency of the U. S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has designed a new confidentiality approach in order to maximize the amount of information published in response to a mandatory reporting law–while protecting the identity of reporting entities. The approach is based on the randomness of actual reported data. Procedures have been established for constantly reviewing the report...

In Sweden, pertussis was excluded from the national vaccination programme in 1979 until acellular vaccination was introduced in a highly endemic setting in 1996. The general incidence dropped 10-fold within a decade, less in infants. Infant pertussis reached 40-45 cases per 100,000 in 2008 to 2012; few of these cases were older than five months. We present an observational 15-year study on the ...

This study explores the implications of portfolio opacity for the design of asset management contracts. This is a case of particular interest given the growing importance of ‘alternative’ assets like hedge funds and private equity funds in institutional portfolios. The alternative assets are often characterized by relatively illiquid or non-publicly traded holdings, proprietary strategies, and ...

BACKGROUND Child maltreatment is underreported in the United States and in North Carolina. In North Carolina and other states, mandatory reporting laws require various professionals to make reports, thereby helping to reduce underreporting of child maltreatment. This study aims to understand why emergency medical services (EMS) professionals may fail to report suspicions of maltreatment despite...

After the massive outbreak of infections with Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) of serotype O104:H4 in Germany in the summer of 2011, post-outbreak surveillance for further infections with this type of STEC was maintained until the end of 2011. This surveillance was based on national mandatory reporting of STEC infections and the associated complication of haemolytic uraemic syndrom...

Background. High quality reporting of endoscopic procedures is critical to the implementation of colonoscopy quality assurance programs. Objective. The aim of our research was to (1) determine the quality of colonoscopy (CS) reporting in "usual practice," (2) identify factors associated with good quality reporting, and (3) compare CS reporting in open-access and non-open-access procedures. Meth...

Body packing, pushing and stuffing are methods by which individuals conceal illicit drugs for the purposes of transporting them across borders or evading police discovery. Body packers swallow drugs in rubber or latex packets for trafficking; body pushers insert drug packets into their rectum or vagina, and body stuffers swallow wrapped or unwrapped drugs to dispose of the evidence when fearing...

Using the mandatory adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) as an exogenous improvement to mandatory financial reporting, we document evidence supporting a complementary effect between mandatory and voluntary disclosures. We find that firms in countries that adopted IFRS in 2005 experience an increase in both the likelihood and frequency of management earnings forecasts r...

Abstract This study collates potential economic effects of mandated disclosure and reporting standards for corporate social responsibility (CSR) sustainability topics. We first outline key features CSR reporting. Next, we draw on relevant academic literatures in accounting, finance, economics, management to discuss evaluate the consequences a requirement U.S. firms, including capital markets, s...