Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Cash Holdings Of S&P Firms Over The Past Decade, Mary Fischer, Treba Marsh, Todd A. Brown

Faculty Publications

Over the past decade, financial research suggests US firms hold a significant amount of cash. This growing amount of cash has attracted attention from economists, the business press and government. A firm’s cash balance could well indicate the firm elects to hold cash rather than invest in suboptimal investments. There are trade-offs between holding too much cash and holding too little. This exploratory study attempts to find financial relationships that explain the cash held by S&P 100 firms over the decade from fiscal year 2002 to 2011.

Macroeconomic Variables Effect On Us Market Volatility Using Mc-Garch Model, Jang Hyung Cho, Ahmed Elshahat

Faculty Publications

Forecasting equity volatility was thoroughly investigated during the past three decades. The majority based their forecasts on the dynamics of the underlying equity time series. They helped better understand the dynamics of these time series and understand different aspects of volatility. Other models went a step further to include the effect of news announcement on equity volatility. The vast majority ignored the effect of macroeconomic variable or the state of the economy. This paper proposes a volatility-forecasting model that accounts for effect of fundamental macroeconomic variables that reflect the state of the economy. The explanatory variables used measure the stage …

Performance Analysis Of Banks Headquartered In Hollywood Versus Silicon Valley., Stoyu Ivanov

Faculty Publications

In this study we examine the performance of banks headquartered in Hollywood and banks headquartered in Silicon Valley in the period - first quarter 2008 until second quarter 2012, which includes the period of the Great Recession - December 2007 to June 2009. We find that during the financial crisis both Silicon Valley and Hollywood banks suffered but Silicon Valley banks much less than Hollywood banks. After the recession, banks in both regions improved performance again Silicon Valley banks recovering faster. We also find that the level of deposits, the leverage ratio and total loan chargeoffs consistently play a role …

Effects Of Ad-Valorem Taxes On Location Decision Under Free Entry Cournot Oligopoly, Yeung-Nan Shieh

Faculty Publications

This paper examines the impact of the ad-valorem commodity tax as a policy device on the location decision of undifferentiated oligopolistic firms with free entry. It shows that: (1) When the distance between the plant location and the output market is held constant, the optimum location for the oligopolistic firm would be independent of the ad-valorem tax if the production function is homothetic, and (2) when the distance between the plant location and the output market is a decision variable, the optimum location for the oligopolistic firm will move closer to the output market if the demand function is linear …

The Correspondence Between Irving Fisher And Nathaniel Terry Bacon At The James P. Adams Library Rhode Island College, Richard Vangermeersch, Marlene L. Lopes, Editor

Faculty Publications

This project brings together the correspondence between Yale economist Irving Fisher and entrepreneur-industrialist, philanthropist and gentleman scholar Nathaniel Terry Bacon. In doing so it provides a window into the thoughts and interactions of two intelligent and influential men, related by marriage but very different in terms of personality, social outlook, and economic theory. Spanning the first quarter of the 20th century, these letters have as their backdrop key events such as the First World War, the impending stock market crash, and the eve of the great depression.

Professor Emeritus Richard Vangermeersch initiated this undertaking and made us aware of the …

Targeting The ‘Invisible’: Improving Entrepreneurship Opportunities For Informal Sector Women, Tonia Warnecke

Faculty Publications

In the wake of global economic downturn, policymakers in many developing countries are turning their gaze upon two things: private sector-led strategies for economic growth and women’s potential to contribute to this growth. As a consequence, female entrepreneurship has been an area of particular interest to policymakers, businesses, and non-governmental organizations, and many female-targeted policies and programs have been implemented, ranging from microfinance and subsidized loans to training and incubator programs. However, the focus on entrepreneurship as a development strategy conceptualizes entrepreneurship in a particular way—as opportunity entrepreneurship. Opportunity entrepreneurs can identify available opportunities and exploit them; they are often …

Diversity Symposium On Cultural Intelligence: Are You Culturally Competent?, Michele Lucero

Faculty Publications

Have you ever wondered if you are culturally competent and how important it is in the workplace? Have you ever considered if librarians and your stakeholders are culturally competent and how it impacts you? The 2012 AALL Diversity Symposium this past July addressed just that – with insights from presenter and AALL Diversity Committee member, Michele Lucero.

Medical Travel Facilitator Websites: An Exploratory Study Of Web Page Contents And Services Offered To The Prospective Medical Tourist, Dan Cormany, Seyhmus Baloglu

Faculty Publications

The growing trend of traveling outside of one's country for medical services, commonly known as “medical tourism” is expected to continue to grow exponentially in the next ten years (Keckley, 2008). With multiple destinations from which to select, and available information representing this type of travel being of variable reliability, many prospective medical travelers turn to the use of a “medical tourism facilitator”, who perform a variety of trip coordination responsibilities for the medical traveler. These medical tourism facilitators, themselves a new phenomenon to support travel to various global regions, may operate within the traveler's home country or the destination …

Mergers And Beliefs, Todd A. Brown, Thomas Zorn, Geoff Freissen

Faculty Publications

We study the combined effects of managerial optimism and market overvaluation on merger premiums and the chosen form of payment. Our empirical results are consistent with market overvaluation and the target manager‘s optimism as having the most influence on mergers. The observed form of payment corresponds to the acquiring manager‘s preferences, suggesting that the acquiring manager dictates the method of payment. Lastly, our model demonstrates why cash mergers are more likely to be hostile, and provides an explanation for why a combination of cash plus stock may be optimal.

Firm And Industry Effects In Accounting Versus Economic Profit Data, Matthew J. Holian, Ali M. Reza

Faculty Publications

This article presents estimates of firm and industry fixed-effects on profit rates for large US corporations, using both Economic Value Added (EVA), the popular measure of profits produced by Stern Stewart and Company, as well as simple (unadjusted) accounting measures as the dependent variable. We find that the improvement in explanatory power of the fixed-effect model is substantially greater when using EVA than has been documented with alternative measures.

Hospitality And Destination Marketing's Role In Medical Tourism: A Call For Research, Dan Cormany

Faculty Publications

Like business travel, where the primary focus is on business and travel is the simply the conduit by which it is performed, medical tourism is a growing trend in which individuals journey to foreign countries primarily to secure specific medical procedures or health benefits. The medical tourist is a newly defined segment of the travel industry, and while still small in numbers, is growing rapidly. This paper seeks to identify research questions related to the hospitality elements that contribute to the medical tourism experience. The answers to these may aid hoteliers, tourism operations, and visitor bureaus better understand, service and …

The 2010 Racial And Gender Report Card: National Basketball Association, Richard Lapchick, Christopher Kaiser, Christina Russell, Natalie Welch

Faculty Publications

The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport (TIDES) at the University of Central Florida publishes the Racial and Gender Report Card to indicate areas of improvement, stagnation, and regression in the racial and gender composition of professional and college sports personnel and to contribute to the improvement of integration in front office and college athletics department positions. Each year the National Basketball Association (NBA) has made progress in almost all categories examined for both race and gender.

The NBA continues to set the standard for the industry as the leader on issues related to race and gender hiring practices. …

The Persistence Of Accounting Versus Economic Profit, Matthew J. Holian, Ali M. Reza

Faculty Publications

Drawing on Schumpeterian theory, this article presents estimates of a first-order autoregressive model of profit persistence for large US firms, using Economic Value Added (EVA), the popular measure of profits produced by Stern Stewart and Company, and simple (unadjusted) accounting measures from the Compustat database. We hypothesize about the differences we should expect to find between these two sets of estimates, and also provide a fresh normative assessment of the dynamic competitiveness of the US economy.

Corporate Social Responsibility In Emerging Markets - The Importance Of The Governance Environment, Marc Fetscherin, Shaomin Li, Ilan Alon, Christoph Lattemann, Kuang Yeh

Faculty Publications

• This study examines how country-level, industry-level, and firm-level factors affect the extent of corporate communication about CSR in Brazil, Russia, India, and China (BRIC). In particular, using the data of 105 largest MNCs from BRIC, we investigate the CSR motives, processes, and stakeholder issues discussed in corporate communications.
• On the country level, we use a newly developed framework of the governance environment which differentiates between rule-based and relation-based governance. Our study reveals that the governance environment of a country is the most important driving force for the communication intensity about CSR.
• Our results show that firms communicating …

Tao Of Downfall: The Failures Of High-Profile Entrepreneurs In The Chinese Economic Reform, Wenxian Zhang, Ilan Alon

Faculty Publications

Through historical reviews and case studies, this research seeks to understand why some initially successful entrepreneurs failed in the economic boom of past decades. Among various factors contributed to their downfalls are a unique political and business environment, fragile financial systems, traditional cultural influences and personal characteristics. Notwithstanding that these factors should be further tested through empirical studies, those high-profile entrepreneurs are oblivious but essential actors in the grand theatre of China's economic transformation and their failures have contributed to the swift development of the Chinese entrepreneurship over the last 30 years.

Aall Review: Beyond Copyright: How License Agreements & Digital Rights Management Post Challenges To Fair Use & The Provision Of Electronic Or Media Services, Michele Lucero

Faculty Publications

License agreements and Digital Rights Management (DRM) technologies are common among content suppliers. DRM is the use of technological means to control digital content. Librarians need to understand the connection between copyright and contract, and the implications of fair use.

Executive Perks: Compensation And Corporate Performance In China, Ilan Alon, Pattarin Adithipyangkul, Tianyu Zhang

Faculty Publications

Many studies have examined CEO compensation in developed countries, where a long tradition of disclosure renders data readily available. In emerging economies, particularly in China, where market-based compensation is a relatively new phenomenon, there are few studies of CEO compensation. In addition, information on the use of non-cash compensation is almost absent. Building on the general literature on CEO compensation, and Chinese economic and management studies, this article singularly contributes to the extant literature by (1) examining the motivational determinants of CEO perk compensation, on the one hand, and (2) exploring the relative contribution of perks to performance. We anticipate …

Digital World Update For Nlu Cmb, May 2009 Revised, Kathleen A. Walsh

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Intro To The Digital World -- For Nlu Academic Cabinet, August 2008, Kathleen A. Walsh

Faculty Publications

Designed as a "beginner's intro" to online life and online learning; themed around 3 questions: what's going on in the digital world?, what's wrong with these kids today (Gen M)?, and what could all of this mean for online teaching and learning at NLU?

Understanding The Effectiveness Of Product Placement: The Roles Of Placement Congruency And Information Processing, Kavita Jayaraman, Jing Zhang

Faculty Publications

This project examined the influence of placement congruency and information processing on the effectiveness of product placement in a TV sitcom. In an experiment, we found that compared to an incongruently placed product, a congruently placed product elicited lower level of product recall, but more favorable product attitudes among respondents. Moreover, this attitudinal effect was more pronounced when the respondents engaged in incidental (vs. deliberate) information processing when they watched the TV program.

An Overview Of The Near-Death Experience Phenomenon, David San Filippo Ph.D.

Faculty Publications

Near-death experiences appear to be universal phenomena that have been reported for centuries. A near-death encounter is defined as an event in which the individual could very easily die or be killed, or may have already been considered clinically dead, but nonetheless survives, and continue his or her physical life. Reports of near-death experiences date back to the Ice Age. There are cave paintings, in France and Spain that depict possible after life scenes that are similar to reported scenes related to near-death experiences. Plato's Republic presents the story of a near-death experience of a Greek soldier named Er. In …

The Ethics Of Taxation, Fred Foldvary

Faculty Publications

The judgment of taxation by ethical standards requires a universally applicable ethic. Such an ethic, natural moral law, can be derived using the Lockean framework based on equality. By this universal ethic, persons have property rights in their bodies and lives, and thus in their labor. The taxation of wages and of products of labor are therefore morally wrong. The equality premise, combined with the Lockean proviso on land, leads to the conclusion that public revenues may be justly obtained from the rental benefit of natural resources. Voluntary user fees and invasion penalties such as pollution charges are also morally …

Aggregate Vote Functions For The Us. Presidency, Senate, And House, Henry W. Chappell, Motoshi Suzuki

Faculty Publications

Estimates vote functions for presidential, House and Senate elections following the premise that vote functions are likely to be related. Use of a seemingly unrelated regressions technique adapted to the case of unequal numbers of observations across equations; On-year versus mid-term congressional elections parameters; Influence of economic variables on election outcomes; Incumbency effects.

Privatize Deposit Insurance, Jeffrey Rogers Hummel

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.