Digital Commons Network^™

Group-Lasso Estimation In High-Dimensional Factor Models With Structural Breaks, Yujie Song

Major Papers

In this major paper, we study the influence of structural breaks in the financial market model with high-dimensional data. We present a model which is capable of detecting changes in factor loadings, determining the number of factors and detecting the break date. We consider the case where the break date is both known and unknown and identify the type of instability. For the unknown break date case, we propose a group-LASSO estimator to determine the number of pre- and post-break factors, the break date and the existence of instability of factor loadings when the number of factor is constant. We …

Estimation In High-Dimensional Factor Models With Structural Instabilities, Wen Gao

Major Papers

In this major paper, we use high-dimensional models to analyze macroeconomic data which is in influenced by the break point. In particular, we consider to detect the break point and study the changes of the number of factors and the factor loadings with the structural instability.

Concretely, we propose two factor models which explain the processes of pre- and post- break periods. Then, we consider the break point as known or unknown. In both situations, we derive the shrinkage estimators by minimizing the penalized least square function and calculate the estimators of the numbers of pre- and post- break factors …

A Place To Call Home: African American Immigration And The Aftermath Of The Underground Railroad 1850-1870, John-Michael Markovic

Major Papers

With the turn of the 19th century, the United States continued and expanded its persecution of African Americans through the institution of slavery. Many African Americans took it upon themselves to act on their own and flee from slavery in the early 1800s in what was known as the Underground Railroad; however, after the conclusion of the Civil War, a substantial portion decided to return back to the US. Scholars have attempted to explain why these men and women decided to return to the United States despite the experiences they endured. While numerous reasons have been offered, this paper contends …

Topological Vector Spaces, Chunqing Li

Major Papers

This major paper is a report on author’s study of some topics on topological vector spaces. We prove a well-known Hahn-Banach theorem and some important consequences, including several separation and extension theorems. We study the weak topology on a topological vector space X and the weak-star topology on the dual space X* of X. We also prove the Banach-Alaoglu theorem. Consequently, we characterize the closed convex hull and the closed linear span for sets in X and X* , identify the dual of a subspace of X with the quotient of its annihilator, and obtain the Goldstine theorem as well …

Green Behaviors In The Laboratory, Environmental Donations In The Field, Taberah Michelle D Couto

Major Papers

Behavior within an experiment is generally explained by either a pure profit motive or a response to the context of the experiment which is likely driven by different factors such as individuals' environmental friendliness. Are participants in laboratory experiments responding to the context of the experimental setting and not merely to a profit motive? Using a preliminary analysis, I draw evidence from data collected in a two-stage laboratory experiment designed and conducted by Palm-Forster et al. (In Press) at the University of Delaware. In the first stage of the experiment, participants performed a series of tasks concerning their tradeoffs between …

Election Cycles And The Allocation Of Foreign Aid, Darren Michael James Larue

Major Papers

In this study, I explore the political budget cycle effect on foreign aid spending on the extensive and intensive margins. I find evidence to support the statement that foreign aid is not neutral to the existence of elections but is in fact manipulated by the incumbent government one year before an election. This study is an improvement from the recent literature in two distinct ways. First, I explore the overall election cycle effect for the different sub-categories of official development assistance (ODA): debt relief, infrastructure, humanitarian aid, multi-sector aid, production aid, program aid, and social infrastructure aid. Second, I …

The Economic Impact Of The University Of Windsor On The Tri-County Region Through Education, Christian James George

Major Papers

We improve upon the groundwork that began with “The Economic Impact of the

University of Windsor on the Tri-County Region” by Tselmuun Tserenkhuu (2017). We

quantify the economic impact of education, measured by the aggregate income differential

of graduates of the University of Windsor who have stayed within the tri-county region and

found employment and those who graduate from the local college. Using data provided by

the University of Windsor, Leddy Library and tri-county census data, we estimate (1)

number of graduates the university has produced each year, (2) fraction of graduates who

remain in the tri-county region, (3) fraction …

Usage-Based Insurance Or The Implications Of Taking Big Brother For A Ride, Devina Lakhtakia

Major Papers

The use of telematics in the automobile industry has been growing recently to resolve the problem of asymmetric information in the insurance market related to the identification of the type of a driver. This paper aims to study the impact of the introduction of usage-based insurance on the market participants taking into account the privacy costs associated with the installation of such a behaviour-monitoring device. We assume that UBI is offered as part of the contract to the agents and is voluntary to install. Our findings suggest that no matter how highly an agent values her privacy, there will always …

Challenges Faced By Non-Profit Associations In Laos: A Case Study Of Huam Jai Asasamak, Raminder Kaur

Major Papers

This paper looks at the case study of Huam Jai Asasamak, a Non-Profit Association operating in Laos in order to understand various challenges faced by Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in the socialist regime of the Laos. It uses participant observation as a research method based on time spent living in Laos as well as other qualitative research methods including document analysis, observation, and interviews. The paper gives a contextual overview of Laos and shows that civil society is a new phenomenon in Laos linked to social and political consequences of opening up of the Laos economy in 1980s. Furthermore, the …

Exploring Math Education In China And Ontario, Tian Lan

Major Papers

As math education is one of the most vital subjects required in school and society in the 21st century (European Commission, 2011), the student’s math competence has the potential to influence the development of economic, political and social policies of their own country (Hanushek, Woessmann, Jamison, & Jamison, 2008). Students’ engagement in math is influenced by many factors. Many studies show that the students’ engagement in math may influenced by parents’ attitude toward math and other studies show that the gender stereotype may influence students’ engagement in math. In this paper, according to the expectancy-value theory, students’ engagement with math …

Immigration Reform In Contemporary America: Why It May Never Happen., Amina Philbert-Ives

Major Papers

There have been several key moments in immigration reform in the United States since the 1960s, starting with major change in immigration policy that took place under President Johnson in 1965. This paper will examine two key moments of successful reform in US history - The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, and the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act. In recent times however, Americans have seen the failure of Congress to enact immigration reform, and the use by Presidents Obama and Trump of executive authority in order to bring about any sort of changes. Consequently, this paper will also …

Built Ford Tough: Masculinity, Gerald Ford's Presidential Museum, And The Macho Presidential Style, Dustin Jones

Major Papers

In Cold War America, spanning roughly from 1945-1991, masculinity was in crisis. The rise of Communism and the Soviet Union had led to a fear of spies, infiltrators, and defectors known most commonly as the Red Scare. Americans were encouraged to be hyper vigilant in sussing out deviant behaviour. Alongside this scare came the Lavender Scare. It was suggested that homosexuals were deviant peoples and were therefore more susceptible to being turned Communist than their heterosexual counterparts. This led to a crisis of masculinity where even the smallest suggestion of femininity could lead to accusations of potential compromise, an effect …

A Tale Of Two Ftzs: Reforming Canada's Foreign Trade Zone Program, Kyle Sousa

Major Papers

Foreign Trade Zones are a means of importing and exporting goods while avoiding the payment of tariffs on goods. This is done though the institution of zones that are solely relegated for this purpose which are operated outside of the government. The ultimate goal of FTZs is the abatement of tariffs and excise taxes within the zone, thus stimulating economic growth in the area that the zone is located by attracting foreign business interests. FTZs offer a level of flexibility to those who wish to make use of them, as they allow for money to be free rather than in …

Markushevich Bases And Auerbach Bases In Banach Spaces, Apala Mandal

Major Papers

This paper studies Markushevich bases and Auerbach bases in Banach spaces. Firstly, a countable 1-norming Markushevich basis is constructed for any infinite-dimensional separable Banach space. Secondly, an Auerbach basis is constructed for any finite-dimensional Banach space. Thirdly, a Markushevich basis is constructed for a class of non-separable Banach spaces by applying projectional generators and projectional resolution identities, and the transfinite induction on the density character of the space.

Biofuels Are Good Politics But Translate Into Bad Policy, Dharni Grover

Major Papers

Abstract

In the past decade, the usage of biofuels as an alternative transportation fuel has grown in manifolds. This rise in the production and use of biofuels is owed to energy insecurity, high prices of gasoline, and constantly increasing greenhouse gas emissions. Therefore, biofuels have become the all-encompassing solution to all these issues. Likewise, the benefits of biofuels include their renewable nature, energy security, and a means to rural prosperity. However, the increase usage of biofuels was not just because of their benefits but also a combination of political instruments like government targets, mandates, blending quotas, as well as subsidies …

A Study Of Electronic Logging Devices And Mandatory Entry Level Training In Ontario And Their Effects On The Shortage Of Truck Drivers In Windsor-Essex, Corey Isaac Shenken

Major Papers

North America, and more specifically, Windsor-Essex are currently in the midst of a truck driver shortage. This is happening in a time when more drivers are needed for today’s increased capacity and necessity of trucks on the road. Both the federal government of Canada and the provincial government of Ontario have introduced recent legislation that will have negative effects on the current shortage of truck drivers.

The federal government of Canada is introducing a mandatory Electronic Logging Device mandate to take place in December 2019, that will require all commercial transport truck drivers to install an electronic log that will …

Multi-State Modeling Of Hospital Frequent Users, Yu Liang

Major Papers

The top 1% of frequent users account for 34% of public health system expenditures in Ontario, while the top 5% account for 66%. In this paper, we explore the efficacy of an intervention aimed at reducing hospital utilization for a group of patients defined as frequent users, by using Multi-state modeling. We employ time-homogeneous, time-inhomogeneous, parametric and semi-parametric Markov processes to study the transitions of the patients between hospital, ER and outside during a follow up period of one year. The results do not indicate any strong evidence that the intervention was beneficial.

Creating A Livable Region Through Sustainable Development Practices: Reorienting Development In Windsor-Essex Through The Implementation Of Light Rail Transit, Justin Morgan Appler

Major Papers

Windsor-Essex County lacks proper regional transportation, a major sustainability issue compounded by poor land use strategies, resulting in low-density suburban communities defined by extensive sprawl and heavy dependence on private automobile use. The current development direction of Windsor-Essex County is unsustainable on multiple levels, turning the region into space in which residents have limited options for how they can efficiently travel within their own municipality and to other municipalities. The downtown core of Windsor needs serious regeneration and the communities that make up the larger metropolitan region need an effective means of travel that is both environmentally sustainable and affordable. …

The Experiences And Contributions Of Women Following The British Army During The Seven Years’ War, James Dennison

Major Papers

For much of history women followed with European armies on campaign. They filled auxiliary roles for the army and supported their men. Though history has often overlooked them, they are consistently present in primary material. Camp women during the Seven Years’ War (1754 to 1763) lived a hard life, much like soldiers. Yet despite attempts by officers to limit their numbers, as well as the difficult and dangerous living conditions, women continued to follow the army and proved to be both helpful and a hindrance to military officials. This paper examines the experiences of these women and in doing so …

Functional Accessibility On The Web: How The Aoda Fails End Users, Jamie V. Kramer Ma, Chrp

Major Papers

The Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 (AODA) impacts the way persons with disabilities are able to access goods and services in Ontario. With more than 3 million people living with disabilities in Ontario, it is essential to enact the legislation to create equity. The AODA equates “obtainable” with “accessible” without recognizing the stark contrast between having access to something and being able to keep informed because the content is created with persons with disabilities in mind. This paper focuses on the effectiveness of the AODA’s website compliance standards under the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) as required by …

Queues With Server Utilization Of One, Robert Aidoo

Major Papers

In most queueing systems of type GI/G/1, the stability condition requires that the server utilization be strictly less than 1. The standard exception is a D/D/1 system in which stability still holds for server utilization equal to 1. This paper presents other cases when server utilization can equal 1, and discusses their characteristics.

Seniors Living With Alzheimer's Disease And Dementia: The Promise Of App Technology, Angelica Lu

Major Papers

The purpose of this paper considers the potential of seniors with Alzheimer’s Disease and dementia using “apps” on Mobile Application Technology that may assist their daily issues. Based on the Ontario 2017 budget, the government’s plan to improve health care services by providing additional funding will significantly impact citizens who use these services on a regular basis. Unfortunately, the number of Canadian citizens that will develop Alzheimer’s and dementia are projected to double in the next decade. Because of this projection, the Dementia Strategy is meant to assist those affected by the illness as well as ensuring their quality of …

Refuting The Sharing Economy: An Examination Of Mainstream And Critical Perspectives, Samar El-Khatib

Major Papers

This Major Research Paper analyzes dominant corporate narratives of the sharing economy, as well as offers a critical perspective to the key tenants of this new economic model.

The study focuses on answering the following question: To what extent does the municipal government of Toronto’s Sharing Economy webpage provide a favourable representation of the sharing economy, one that aligns closely with the dominant corporate narrative?

With a Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) of The City of Toronto’s Sharing Economy webpage found within the Policy, Research, Public Consultation and Events section of their website, this research aims to obtain an in-depth understanding …

Exploring Chinese International Students’ Sense Of Belonging In North American Postsecondary Institutions, Jia Chen

Major Papers

Since 2000, an increasing number of Chinese international students have been entering North American universities, and many have experienced issues with a sense of belonging, which can in turn impact their academic, social performance, and psychological wellbeing. However, there is limited research on this topic that is exclusively focused on Chinese international students. Therefore, in order to establish the direction that future research should take, a thorough literature review has been conducted with the aim of establishing the factors that shape this phenomenon, the impact it has on students and institutions, and strategies that help to overcome this issue. Based …

Lgbtq Youth’S Development In Ontario Schools, Sijia Li

Major Papers

Abstract

In order to support lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) students, the Ontario government recently introduced a new sex education curriculum that seeks to educate all students about the LGBTQ community. Through a progressive initiative, the rise of social media and information technology have changed the way in which students interact and learn, so it is critical to develop a current understanding of struggles that LGBTQ students face, whether it be with conventional forms of discrimination and bullying, or instances of cyberbullying. It is likewise important to understand how these issues impact their self-perceptions and development. To understand …

Manufacturing The Mythology Of "Be-Leaf": A Thematic Analysis Of 2017 Playoff Coverage In The Toronto Star, Erin S. Forbes

Major Papers

For the better part of a century, Canadians have gathered around television sets and radios on Saturday nights for Hockey Night in Canada. Each viewer connected to every other viewer during the game in a dense imagined community. In the new media era, Canadians at home and abroad gather around computers and tablets to partake in the same rituals of an even greater imagined community. Spurred by globalization however, the game of hockey, a vastly important component in Canada’s cultural identity, becomes increasingly commodified and exclusionary. Nowhere is this exclusion more problematic than in Toronto, where the Maple Leafs …

Teaching English As A Foreign Language (Efl) Learners In China Through A Multiliteracies Theoretical Framework Using Picture Books, Simin Ma

Major Papers

The current English as a Foreign Language (EFL) education in China uses a teacher-centered and examination-oriented approach. Chinese EFL teachers emphasize teaching in relation only to examination content such as vocabulary and grammar. Currently, it is uncommon to utilize picture books in EFL teaching beyond elementary school and little attention is given to visual literacy. This research explores the importance of developing meaning-making between illustrations and linguistic texts in picture books to augment language acquisition skills. For example, by teaching the metalanguage of the Elements of Design (line, form, texture, etc.), students can learn this terminology to enhance their visual …

Factors That Contribute To Acculturative Stress Of Chinese International Students, Fei Xue

Major Papers

Chinese international students in English-speaking countries experience an array of culturally-based stressors while adjusting to different pedagogical styles and cultural environments. Consequently, Chinese international students experience substantial levels of acculturative stress. Because this is a relatively new phenomenon, at least with respect to scale, insufficient research has been done on developing effective programs to address this issue. Thus, the current study conducts a literature review on Chinese international students’ experiences and challenges to determine the possible causes of the acculturative stress. Based on this research, it is clear that the acculturative stress is often a result of insufficient English, cultural …

The Price Of Stocks, Geometric Brownian Motion, And Black Scholes Formula, Fatimah Fathalden Asiri

Major Papers

In this paper, we discuss the stock price model as Geometric Brownian motion.

After that, we obtain a closed form solution to the model using It^o's Lemma.

Moreover, we use this solution to derive the Black Scholes formula.

Exploring The Relationship Between Executive Compensation And Corporate Mergers And Acquisitions, Akiva Stern

Major Papers

Corporate Governance is one of the most important aspects of corporate life. The role requires individuals to have a moderate, if not excellent command of not only the industry they are operating within, but the basic tenants of many disciplines including law and finance. It is therefore important to not only view how these disciplines contribute to their knowledge individually, but also how they might work together to provide a better insight into governing a company on a day-to-day basis.

A predominant decision that often comes under scrutiny is the relationship between executive compensation and M&A Activity. This paper takes …