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The underlying principle of the Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) is that there is a linear relationship between systematic risk, as measured by beta, and expected share returns. The CAPM attempts to describe this relationship by using beta to explain the differences between the expected returns on various shares and share portfolios. The CAPM has been the subject of considerable theoretical investigation and empirical research. The aim of this article is to establish the current knowledge of the usefulness of the CAPM, i.e. whether it provides a reasonable description of reality and whether it is a useful tool for investment decision‐making. The main conclusion drawn from the study is that the CAPM is useful and that it does describe and explain the risk/return relationship. However, other risk factors (i.e. other than beta) may also be useful for explaining share returns. Investors should therefore be cautious when using the model to evaluate investment performance.

The purpose of this paper is to document augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) training provision by clinical services in England.

A questionnaire was used to obtain the following information concerning AAC training provision; frequency, length, type, content and cost, trainee occupations and numbers, and future training priorities, and information concerning training providers – service type, geographical area.

In total, 98 clinical service training providers in England responded. Services commonly reported providing AAC training to speech and language therapists, teaching assistants and teachers. Training around “use of specific AAC products, systems and technology” and “introducing/awareness raising of AAC products” were rated as high priority for future training and were two of the three subject areas where services reported the highest percentage of training. Training was predominantly provided at a foundation (basic) level.

There is no consensus on the amount or content of AAC training which professionals in England must receive. Evidence suggests that AAC training for pre-qualification professionals is limited and this paper has identified variation in the amount and type of post-qualification AAC training. While knowledge concerning specific AAC systems is necessary, focussing training primarily on this area may not address critical gaps in knowledge. There is a need for specific recommendations regarding AAC training for professionals in this field, to ensure professionals can fully support people who use AAC.

To explain how reading, rewinding a story in reverse order, and then rereading allows a reader to contextualize information, acquiring not only major themes and events but also details and other literacy characteristics of the literature selection.

A representation of sequencing structures is discussed including world-related, concept-related, inquiry-related, learning-related, and utilization-related. In addition, the instructional design aspects of backwards sequencing are discussed.

Just as a level or stud finder uses a back-and-forth approach for finding the most suitable position, so does the backwards sequential approach to reading comprehension. By slowing down and focusing on parts before the whole, students are more likely comprehend content.

The importance of prediction towards comprehension has been recognized for decades. However, using a learning design that features reading a story once, then revisiting the story structure components in backwards order, and finally reading it again, allows for precise and complete learning. This theory has research and pedagogical implications for students of all ages.

Internet + and Electronic Business in China is a comprehensive resource that provides insight and analysis into E-commerce in China and how it has revolutionized and continues to revolutionize business and society. Split into four distinct sections, the book first lays out the theoretical foundations and fundamental concepts of E-Business before moving on to look at internet+ innovation models and their applications in different industries such as agriculture, finance and commerce. The book then provides a comprehensive analysis of E-business platforms and their applications in China before finishing with four comprehensive case studies of major E-business projects, providing readers with successful examples of implementing E-Business entrepreneurship projects.

Internet + and Electronic Business in China is a comprehensive resource that provides insights and analysis into how E-commerce has revolutionized and continues to revolutionize business and society in China.

African American student-athletes represent the largest racial minority group of athletes in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the majority of male student-athletes in football and basketball. The NCAA has partnered with It’s On Us, an awareness campaign to help end sexual violence on college campuses. Intercollegiate athletics is a viable context, then, to consider transformative Black masculinity and sexual violence prevention. Transformative Black masculinity is when an African American or Black man intentionally employs his identity in the service of social justice and purposefully engages other Black males, as well as others, for that cause. This chapter considers transformative Black masculinity as a conceptual tool for the intentional engagement of Black male student-athletes within institutions of higher education for sexual violence prevention. Recommendations for policy, education and practice, and research are provided.

Friction stir processing (FSP) as a solid-state process has the potential for the production of effective aluminum matrix composites (AMCs). In this investigation, various ceramic particles including B₄C, TiC, SiC, Al₂O₃ and WC were incorporated as the dispersed phase within AA6082 aluminum alloy by FSP. The wear rate of the composite is then investigated experimentally by making use of a design of experiments technique where wear rate is evaluated as the output parameter. The input parameters considered include tool rotational speed, traverse speed, groove width and ceramic particle type. An artificial neural network (ANN) simulation was then used to describe the wear rate of the surface composites. The weights of the network were adjusted to minimize the mean squared error using a feed forward back propagation technique. The effect of the individual input parameters on wear rate was then inferred from the ANN models. Trends are presented and related to the associated microstructures observed. The TiC infused AMC displayed the lowest wear rate whereas the Al₂O₃ infused AMC displayed the highest, within the scope of the current investigation. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

The paper used ANN for the research study.

The finding of this paper is that the wear rate of AA6063 aluminum surface composites is influenced remarkably by FSP parameters.

Original work of authors.

Internet + and Electronic Business in China is a comprehensive resource that provides insight and analysis into E-commerce in China and how it has revolutionized and continues to revolutionize business and society. Split into four distinct sections, the book first lays out the theoretical foundations and fundamental concepts of E-Business before moving on to look at internet+ innovation models and their applications in different industries such as agriculture, finance and commerce. The book then provides a comprehensive analysis of E-business platforms and their applications in China before finishing with four comprehensive case studies of major E-business projects, providing readers with successful examples of implementing E-Business entrepreneurship projects.

Internet + and Electronic Business in China is a comprehensive resource that provides insights and analysis into how E-commerce has revolutionized and continues to revolutionize business and society in China.

Poor living conditions in informal settlements may be attributed mostly, though not exclusively, to the lack of basic services. Informal settlements, which also go by the name of squatter camps, are volatile by nature. Even within relatively fixed settlement boundaries, change in urban fabric continually manifests through altering dwelling configurations. Deemed unstable and unsafe by formal criteria, these environments disclose schizophrenic characteristics: beyond the dirt, grime and smog, exist relatively functional societies capable of survival and self-regulation.

Public and private sector investment within informal settlements is restricted as a result of their illegal status. Inhabitants have no incentive to invest their own resources where they have no formal tenure over the land. Due to a rather backward approach to informality in South Africa, innovation in dealing with these settlements has been limited. Despite the fact that the rhetoric has sometimes changed from eradication to upgrading, little has been done with regards to alternative forms of settlement development that has relevance in terms of improving the lives of informal settlement dwellers.

With rising anger in poverty-stricken areas and on the peripheries of cities, what is needed is improved service delivery through immediate solutions. This article suggests a service delivery core, an architectural catalyst, rooted to the ‘energy’ of the public realm, stimulating growth of infrastructure networks. This catalyst core aims to instigate the amelioration of the surrounding environment.

The concept presented is that of a dynamic service core – universal in principle – while also being contextually-driven by responding to a specific environment and needs of a specific community. A generic architectural solution is thus presented to providing basic services and infrastructure within informal settlements, with focussed consideration for the unique situation of an informal settlement in Mamelodi, Tshwane (Pretoria), South Africa. It is important to realise that there is no final product, but rather an organic architecture that adapts in a process of continuous and progressive change.