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SSH...DON’T TELL THE CHILDREN! NO DUTY TO WARN DESCENDANTS THAT THEY MAY HAVE INHERITED A SERIOUS MEDICAL CONDITION
In this edition of the Denning Law Journal we are celebrating the 800 years of the Magna Carta, but compared to some declarations the Magna Carta is a mere fledgling. Those with knowledge of the medical profession will be well versed in the Hippocratic Oath, which garnered a fundamental role in medical training during the Hellenic period. In more recent years, the Hippocratic Oath has been revitalised in the form of the Declaration of Geneva, and is still used as part of medical training today. Over time the Oath has been modified to adopt a more progressive stance, nevertheless in one key ethical principle remains untouched, that of confidentiality.
THE PROBLEM OF THE NON-JUSTICIABILITY OF RELIGIOUS DEFAMATIONS
English law has long held the principle that religions should be free from interference by the state in certain matters. The original 1215 edition of the Magna Carta proclaimed, as its first article, ‘THAT WE HAVE GRANTED TO GOD, and by this present charter have confirmed for us and our heirs in perpetuity, that the English Church shall be free, and shall have its rights undiminished, and its liberties unimpaired.’This article was intended to protect the established Catholic Church from the powers of the state, specifically from interference in church elections by the executive in the form of the person of the monarch. The notion that religions were institutions with practices and beliefs that were outside the control of the state in certain respects was adopted by the common law and is found in modern times in the principle of non-justiciability on the matter of religion in certain types of civil case.
Examining the forecasting performance of a modified affine model with macroeconomic and latent factors
Various studies model the dynamics of the yield curve assuming that some of the yields are measured without error but this methodology lacks economic interpretation. We overcome this problem by estimating a modified affine model with macroeconomic and latent factors which introduces measurement noise on both yields and macroeconomic determinants. Our results suggest that under the proposed model there is a significant reduction in the persistence of the latent factors and an increase in the effect of macroeconomic shocks to the entire yield curve. We provide a comparative analysis of these models, and we conduct out of sample comparative forecasts to investigate if our specification has a superior performance. We find important differences concerning the magnitude of the dynamics that move the yield curve. Our model provides better forecasts for the entire yield curve while it also beats random walk in many cases. This is an important finding since according to the relative literature it is very difficult for any affine model to outperform random walk.
FINAL-NASAL DELETION IN AKAN (ASANTE TWI) REDUPLICATION
In this paper, I examine the phenomenon of reduplicant-nasal deletion observed in some reduplicative prefixes of Akan (a Niger-Congo, Kwa language). In the Akan phonology, nasals are among non-vowel sonorants that are permitted syllable or word-finally (Dolphyne 1988, Abakah 2005). However, it is observed that these nasals, particularly [m], are sometimes deleted in some reduplicants final position. In this paper, I show that verb bases of CVN or CVVN structures are of two different morphemic structures in the underlying representation; monomorphemic verb base and bimorphemic verb base. The latter structure, on which this paper focuses, has the composition: morpheme1 + morpheme2. It is observed that while the former preserve their ‘final’ nasals in the reduplicants, the latter lose them in their reduplicants. We analyse this phonological phenomenon as resulting from the language’s desire to satisfy a high-ranking template satisfaction constraint (after McCarthy and Prince 1994a) within the Optimality Theory framework. Keywords: Nasal deletion, Akan, reduplication, Optimality Theory, phonology
GORDON GOLDBERG
Gordon Goldberg, LLB, MA, Barrister, (1938-2015) former Reader in Law and Master of Moots at the University of Buckingham died on 13 June 2015. The University received many tributes from Alumni and former academic colleagues. We cannot print them all but we are sure our readers would wish to share in some of them
MAGNA CARTA AND ACCESS TO JUSTICE IN FAMILY PROCEEDINGS
We had a surprise in January 2012 when a practising QC was parachuted straight into the Supreme Court (as the Judicial Committee of the House of Lords became in 2009). But if there were expressions of discontent they were definitely sub rosa since the man in question, Jonathan Sumption QC, was then, and has since proved himself to be, pre-eminently qualified for the position. He is one of our foremost medieval historians, a Fellow of Magdalen College who taught History, before leaving to pursue a career at the Bar, where he rose to dizzy heights. His as yet uncompleted history of the Hundred Years’ War has received the highest praise. So it perhaps was not surprising that in this octocentenial year he should have been asked by the Friends of the British Library (an audience I warrant as challenging as this) to speak to them about Magna Carta on 9 March 2015. If I may say so, his address ‘Magna Carta then and now’ is a masterpiece. It completes the destruction of the hermeneutical myth originated by Sir Edward Coke which had been commenced by William McKechnie in his landmark essay published in 1905.
EXPECTED VALUES AND VARIANCES IN BOOKMAKER PAYOUTS: A THEORETICAL APPROACH TOWARDS SETTING LIMITS ON ODDS
This paper is available as Open-Access thanks to a donation from Pinnacle SportsThis study summarizes the key methods of displaying probabilities as odds and provides simple mathematical derivation of a number of key statements in setting odds. Firstly it estimates the expected bookmaker profit as a function of wagers placed and bookmaker margin. Moreover it shows that odds set by bookmakers should have implied probabilities that add up to at least one, otherwise arbitrage is present. Bookmakers can increase profitability by offering more multiples, also known as accumulators, and can lower variation in payouts by maintaining the ratio of wagers and implied probability per outcome
Prediction markets vs polls – an examination of accuracy for the 2008 and 2012 elections
Which technique is more accurate in predicting the outcome of U.S. presidential elections, polls or prediction markets? Several studies on this have been conducted in the past. We use market data and poll numbers, included adjusted version of the poll numbers, to reexamine this question based on the two last American presidential elections, in 2008 and 2012. We find that the market predictions outperformed the polls for these elections, and that adjusting the polls makes them less accurate relative to prediction markets, if anything
FACILITATING PLAYER CONTROL IN GAMBLING
Research indicates that gamblers frequently set self-imposed limits on how much time and money they wish to gamble in a given gambling session, yet consistently gamble more than initially intended. The emotional and arousing impact of gambling, as well as dissociative states gamblers experience whilst gambling, may contribute to this behavioural shift which reflects a failure in self-control. Essential then, is the need for harm minimisation strategies aimed at allowing a gambler to stay in control of their decisions and behaviour during gambling, whilst concurrently limiting the negative impact this may have on the gambling experience for those who frequently stay in control. The following article evaluates the use of limit setting and pre-commitment, the use of ‘cooling off’ periods, and restricting access to additional funds as harm minimisation strategies, in terms of their efficacy in facilitating self-control in problem and non-problem gambling populations. As with any potential mass intervention, such as the use of mandatory limit setting, the need for robust empirical evidence to prove its efficacy is essential. Existing research, while providing promise, falls short of this criterion, indicating a requirement for more stringent empirical research to best guide responsible gambling practices aimed at facilitating player control during gambling
CHINESE GAMBLERS’ PERCEPTIONS OF E-MARKETING MIX ELEMENTS FOR ONLINE CASINOS
Internet ubiquity has revolutionized numerous industries, making online shopping and auctions a profitable business sector that is now impacting on the casino industry. Different e-marketing approaches have been widely adopted by online casinos to facilitate betting transactions. The uniqueness of e-marketing is characterized via a series of specific and relational functions that are combined with the traditional 4Ps (Product, Price, Place and Promotion) to form the e-marketing mix elements. The renown and popularity of gambling on internet casinos is growing rapidly, with the online casino business seeing significant growth in Europe, Asia and South America. In China, there are twice as many online gamblers as there are online shoppers. In this study, the perceptions of Chinese gamblers are analyzed to find out: i) the demographic effect on their perceptions of e-marketing mix elements offered by online casinos; ii) the relationships between their perceptions of e-marketing mix elements. The results can provide a reference strategy for the investors in online casinos to develop e-marketing plans for the online businesses