Best Selling Books by Tom Roberts

The Little Lost Sock is a simple yet poignant story of hope, the power of faith, and how true friendship can make a positive difference in the life of another. It is a poetic, pun-filled fable about a lonely misplaced sock searching for purpose. After an unsuccessful attempt to receive help from other lost souls, the sock finds meaning through friendship with a book - a very special book! Illustrated by Jim Brummond.

A humorous adaptation of the classic tale in which a tired and hungry little girl helps herself to the belongings of three bears in the woods.

This manuscript examines the unintended consequences that organizational computer monitoring can foster within the firm. We apply justice and reactance theories to explain why monitoring can actually increase the occurrence of detrimental organizational behaviors. Our model suggests monitoring activities that invade employees'' privacy lead to perceived injustices, which provoke destructive behavior by employees. Empirical results obtained from 439 survey respondents employed in the banking, finance, and insurance industries provide support for most of our hypotheses. Computer monitoring was found to increase internal computer abuse but not antisocial behaviors. Privacy invasions resulting from the monitoring activities were related to perceptions of procedural injustice, which in turn influenced distributive injustice perceptions. Both injustices acted as direct precursors to internal computer abuse, but only distributive injustice was a significant antecedent to antisocial behavior. We discuss these findings and their limitations in the context of modern organizations that are inundated with information-security responsibilities.

Formative modelling of latent constructs has produced great interest and discussion among scholars in recent years. However, confusion exists surrounding the ability of researchers to validate these models especially with covariance-based structural equation modelling (CB-SEM) techniques. This manuscript helps to clarify these issues and explains how formatively modelled constructs can be assessed rigorously by researchers using CB-SEM capabilities. In particular, we explain and provide an applied example of a mixed-modelling technique termed multiple indicators and multiple causes (MIMIC) models. Using this approach, researchers can assess formatively modelled constructs as the final, distal dependent variable in structural models, which modelling is traditionally impossible due to the mathematical identification rules of CB-SEM. Moreover, we assert that researchers can use MIMIC models to assess the content validity of a set of formative indicators quantitatively -- something considered conventionally only from a qualitative standpoint. Our research example used in this manuscript involving protection-motivated behaviors (PMBs) details the entire process of MIMIC modelling and provides a set of detailed guidelines for researchers to follow when developing new constructs modelled as MIMIC structures.

I find that high home-buying costs for a typical household, relative to a cumulative city-level average, help to predict downward pressure on future real house price growth at a 1-year horizon for Canadian cities over the 1980q1 to 2016q2 sample period. This insight is relevant for broader household vulnerabilities because of their interdependence with housing market conditions -- this interdependence is illustrated, for instance, by how a decline in house prices Granger-causes an increase in mortgage arrears. Based on ease of interpretability, relevant historical context, and in- and out-of-sample performance, local housing cost (i.e. affordability) measures may have some advantages for the monitoring of household sector vulnerabilities, versus other common measures such as debt-to-income.

Stock market fundamentals would not seem to meaningfully predict returns over a shorter-term horizon -- yet some economic agents could be particularly concerned about severe tail risk, rather than just mean returns. Motivated by present value logic, and the literature''s suggestion that required equity returns have declined over time, I first estimate the cointegrating relationship between the log S&P Composite Index and log earnings over 1871 to 2016. I combine this estimate with smoothed earnings to construct a trend valuation benchmark. The price-versus-benchmark residual reflects, in part, the cyclical component of earnings, and gives an economically and statistically significant estimate of crash risk while improving on alternatives such as the dividend yield and price momentum.

A cost-effective way to monitor for ophthalmic complications during prone surgery T Roberts1, D Burckett-St-Laurent2, October 20161.tSpecialist Registrar, Welsh School of Anaesthesia2.tConsultant, Royal Gwent Hospital, Newport, UKAim1. To identify a cost-effective and safe way to monitor patientsu2019 eyes during prone surgery.2. To demonstrate that introducing new equipment into clinical use can be achieved without great difficulty. BackgroundVision loss following spinal surgery is a rare but life-changing complication and has been documented since the early 20th century (1). There are several mechanisms of post-operative vision loss (POVL) associated with surgery in the prone position.Overall, estimates for the incidence of POVL range from 0.028 to 0.2% (2) making it an extremely rare complication, however the devastating nature of the effects on the patient means that prevention of POVL should be a high priority for this patient group. We describe a novel and cost-effective way to monitor for ophthalmic complications during prone surgery.Products such as the Dupaco Proneviewu00ae (3) allow visualisation of the eyes during surgery to guard against external ocular pressure and direct trauma to the eye. However, in some circumstances, particularly in cervical spine surgery, the patient is positioned with their head at the opposite end of the theatre to the anaesthetic machine. The head is often covered in drapes and it can be difficult to gain access to regularly assess the eyes. It was suggested that a more cost-effective way to allow clear, regular monitoring of the eyes could be developed. Dupaco also manufacture a face mask incorporating video monitoring, however the cost is prohibitively expensive for many centres. MethodWe identified a commercially available (non-medical) camera and video monitor which had the ability to focus as close as 5mm, operate in very low light and that could be easily attached to the Proneviewu00ae (or alternative) mask. The total cost of these items was u00a324. The camera itself was u00a37, a low enough cost to be considered a disposable item in case of contamination. Permission to use the equipment was sought from the hospital EBME department (Electrical and Biomechanical Engineering). The equipment was exempt from formal testing as it was battery-powered and was CE marked. Two positions for the positioning of the camera were identified. The camera can either be placed directly underneath the eyes, facing upwards, or can be taped to the side of the Proneviewu00ae face mask, pointing at the mirror below. The equipment was tested using simulated conditions prior to being used on real patients.Users were provided with comprehensive instructions for the setup and use of the device. Individual users could choose to either leave the screen on constantly, or to turn it on to look at the eyes at regular intervals. Evaluation and FeedbackFeedback was sought from a number of consultants and trainees in the local anaesthetic department. In summary:u2022tThere is no benefit in using this equipment routinely for lumbar spinal surgery.u2022tIn situations where the patientu2019s head is positioned away from the machine, particularly for cervical spine surgery, the camera makes it easier to monitor the eyes. u2022tAnaesthetists were likely to check the eyes more regularly when using the camera than they would have done without it. u2022tDiathermy can cause interference when using the monitor. The interference is reduced by shielding the video cable within a 2m length of breathing circuit tubing. In addition, the monitor can be switched off when diathermy is in use.u2022tPlacing the camera directly below the eyes facing upwards is more likely to lead to contamination from blood, cleaning fluid etc. ConclusionFor selected surgical cases where the patient is in the prone position, our equipment has been shown to provide an effective and low-cost method of monitoring for ophthalmic complications. Whilst rare, ophthalmic complications can have a devastating impact on a patientu2019s quality of life and further development of these types of products will contribute to patient safety initiatives. Introducing new equipment can be straightforward and anaesthetists should not be put off by perceived bureaucratic hurdles in the pursuit of innovation. 1.tEcker A. Kneeling position for operations on the lumbar spine. Surgery 1949; 25: 1122.tChang SH, Miller NR. The Incidence of vision loss due to peri-operative ischemic optic neuropathy associated with spine surgery: The John Hopkins Hospital Experience. Spine 2005; 30: 1299-3023. www.dupacoinc.com.

Three clever billy goats outwit a big, ugly troll that lives under the bridge they must cross on their way up the mountain. Includes cassette.

"Stock market fundamentals would not seem to meaningfully predict returns over ashorter-term horizon--instead, the author shifts focus to severe downside risk (i.e., crashes). The author uses the cointegrating relationship between the log S & P Composite Index and log earnings over 1871 to 2015, combined with smoothed earnings, to first construct a counterfactual valuation benchmark. The price-versus-benchmark residual shows an improved, and economically meaningful, logit estimation of the likelihood of a crash over alternatives such as the dividend yield and price momentum. Rolling out-of-sample estimates highlight the challenges in this task. Nevertheless, the overall results support the common popular belief that a higher stock market valuation in relation to fundamentals entails a higher risk of a crash"--Abstract, p. ii.

64 letters to A.H. Fullwood, 1902-30, including 10 letters from Kineton Parkes who managed Fullwood''s affairs in London in the 1920s. Other correspondents include Tom Roberts, Frederick McCubbin, Julian Ashton and Hardy Wilson. The collection also includes copies of some letters written to Geoffrey Fullwood after the death of his father in 1930. Bound volume containing a long illustrated letter entitled "Sketching tour through New England, N.S. Wales". Although undated, this letter would have been produced in the late 1880s in connection with Fullwood''s work on the ''Picturesque Atlas of Australasia''