Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Nbc Peacock North Fall 2005, Peacock North Staff

NBC Peacock North Newsletter

Highlights include: Marilyn's Page -- Nancy Dickerson Whitehead -- Floyd Kalber -- Rosemary Gardner's Memories of NBC -- Bucky Gunts Wins Directing Emmy -- Silent Microphones

Soft Power: The Means To Success In World Politics (Book Review), Donna A. Cristo

WCBT Faculty Publications

Book review by Donna A. Christo.

Nye, Joseph S. Soft Power: The Means to Success in World Politics. New York: Public Affairs, 2004. ISBN 9781586482251; 9781586483067 (pbk.)

Bond Yield Compression In The Countries Converging To The Euro, Lucjan T. Orlowski, Kirsten Lommatzsch

WCBT Faculty Publications

We demonstrate that bond yield compression is under way in the countries converging to the euro and that German yields are significant drivers of local currency yields. Based on the evidence from Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic, we conclude that these new ...Member States of the European Union are ready to adopt the euro without risking a disruptive shock to their financial stability. This message transpires from investigating the daily volatility dynamics of local bond yields as a function of German yields, conditional on changes in local term spreads, exchange rates and adjustments to central bank reference rates. Similar …

Library Newsletter Volume 1, Issue 2

Library Newsletters

No abstract provided.

Nbc Peacock North Summer 2005, Peacock North Staff

NBC Peacock North Newsletter

Highlights include: Marilyn's Page -- Bill Wheatley Retires --1960 Convention Coverage --Luncheon Photos -- How I Got Started: Peter Flynn

Library Newsletter Volume 1, Issue 3

Library Newsletters

No abstract provided.

On The Measurement Of Nicotine Dependence In Adolescence: Comparisons Of The Mftq And A Dsm-Iv–Based Scale, Denise Kandel, Christine Schaffran, Pamela Griesler, Jessica Samuolis, Mark Davies, Rosaria Galanti

Psychology Faculty Publications

Objective: To compare nicotine-dependent smokers identified by the modified Fagerström Tolerance Questionnaire (mFTQ) and a scale based on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fourth edition (DSM-IV), in a multiethnic adolescent sample. Methods: A school survey was conducted on 6th- to 10th-grade students (N= 15,007) in a large urban public school system. Results: The two scales formed two distinct factors. The concordance between the two classifications of nicotine dependence was low. The DSM identified a much larger number of nicotine-dependent smokers than the mFTQ, mostly because smokers met dependence criteria at much lower levels of …

Export-Led Growth In Bangladesh: A Time Series Analysis, Hiranya K. Nath, Khawaja Mamun

WCBT Faculty Publications

This article examines time series evidence to investigate the link between exports and economic growth in Bangladesh. Using quarterly data for a period from 1976 to 2003 the article finds that industrial production and exports are cointegrated. The results of an error correction model (ECM) suggest that there is a long-run unidirectional causality from exports to growth in Bangladesh.

Nbc Peacock North Spring 2005, Peacock North Staff

NBC Peacock North Newsletter

Highlights include: Kathy Powers Retires -- Looking Back -- Looking In from Outside -- We Get letters and Pictures

Service Learning And Faculty Involvement, Peter A. Maresco

WCBT Faculty Publications

This paper begins with an overview of service learning programs at colleges of business and specifically details faculty/student involvement in the service learning process at Sacred Heart University, Fairfield, CT. and its positioning with regard to other similar programs. The paper also highlights three specific areas of program differentiation; its Problem Based Service Learning program, a Community Based Service Learning program nationally recognized by Campus Compact, and a globally focused service learning program established between its students in the College of Business and students in an elementary school in Nepal.

The Presidential Nominating Process: A Place For Us? (Book Review), Gary L. Rose

Political Science & Global Affairs Faculty Publications

Book review by Gary Rose.

Cook, R. (2004). The presidential nominating process: A place for us?. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.

ISBN 9780742525931; 9780742525948 (pbk.)

Targeting Relative Inflation Forecast As Monetary Policy Framework For Adopting The Euro, Lucjan T. Orlowski

WCBT Faculty Publications

This study proposes relative inflation forecast targeting as an operational framework of monetary policy for adopting the euro by the EU new Member States. This strategy assumes containing differentials between the domestic and the eurozone inflation forecasts as an operational target. A model prescribing the RIFT framework is presented along with a set of appropriate policy indicator variables and instrument rules. The proposed framework advances the strategy based on relatively strict inflation targeting that is currently pursued by some NMS. Several ARCHclass tests in various functional forms are employed for providing preliminary empirical evidence on convergence of inflation differentials relative …

The Importance Of Education-Occupation Matching In Migration Decisions, Michael A. Quinn, Stephen D. Rubb

WCBT Faculty Publications

In this article, we present and test a model that incorporates education-occupation matching into the migration decision. The literature on education-occupation matching shows that earnings are affected by how individuals' education matches that required by their occupation. Accordingly, individuals with more schooling than required by their occupation have an additional incentive to migrate: the increase in earnings that occurs with a more beneficial education-occupation match. Using data from Mexico, we found statistical support for the importance of education-occupation matching in migration decisions. Education-occupation matching provides a plausible explanation for the mixed findings in the literature on the relationship between educational …

Democracy And Its Friendly Critics: Tocqueville And Political Life Today (Book Review), Steven Michels

Political Science & Global Affairs Faculty Publications

Book review by Steven Michels.

Lawler, Peter Augustine, ed. Democracy and Its Friendly Critics: Tocqueville and Political Life Today. Lanham, Md.: Lexington Books, 2004. ISBN 9780739107614; 9780739107621 (pbk.)

Introduction, Public Policy In Connecticut: Challenges And Perspectives, Gary L. Rose

Political Science & Global Affairs Faculty Publications

An overview essay by the editor of Public Policy in Connecticut, which is published by Sacred Heart University Press, discussing the recent transfer of power to state governments and outlining the policy challenges faced by lawmakers. Following the introuction each of these challenges is taken up in a separate essay by the volume's contributors.

When Democracies Fight: Tocqueville On The Democratic Peace, Steven Michels

Political Science & Global Affairs Faculty Publications

Do democratic norms and political culture play a greater role than structural determinants in realizing a democratic peace? Alexis de Tocqueville, a hitherto unappreciated theorist of international politics, offered such a view 175 years ago. This article examines Tocqueville's perspective on civil-military relations and the connection between democracy and peace. Tocqueville concludes that the key to the pacifism of a democracy is the equality of conditions it enjoys and the education that its soldiers receive prior to entering the military. Thus, in Tocqueville's estimation, the democratic peace has little to do with the practice of democracy, and everything to do …

The Challenge Of An Aging Population, Nicole Cauvin, Elaine B. Davis

Sociology Faculty Publications

In chapter seven of Public Policy in Connecticut, Nicole X. Cauvin and Elaine B. Davis discuss the policy challenges associated with an aging or "graying" state population. Demographic data clearly demonstrate that Connecticut's population, similar to the population of other states, is becoming older. The authors propose innovative public policies designed to accommodate the long-term health care and social service needs of the state's elderly.

The Challenge Of Transportation, William B. Kennedy

History Faculty Publications

Connecticut's severely congested transportation system is explored by William B. Kennedy in chapter two of Public Policy in Connecticut. The gridlock one experiences on Connecticut's highways is not only described in this chapter, but also explained. He explores alternative transportation strategies that would alleviate congestion, and examines the possible impact of an increase in telecommuting.

Public Policy In Connecticut: Challenges And Perspectives, Gary L. Rose Ed.

Sacred Heart University Press Books

Public Policy in Connecticut examines ten of the key policy challenges that currently confront Connecticut lawmakers. Following an overview essay by the editor, discussing the recent transfer of power to state governments and outlining the policy challenges faced by lawmakers, each of these challenges is taken up in a separate essay by the volume's contributors. The first challenges considered, associated with economic growth, transportation, environmental protection, ethnic diversity, and ethics in politics, affect the Connecticut public at large. The remaining issues discussed are health care, services for the aged, prison overcrowding and recidivism, inner-city education, and higher education affect more …

The Challenge Of Prison Overcrowding And Recidivism, Pearl Jacobs

Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

The state of Connecticut is currently dealing with a growing prison population. Ex-offenders face enormous obstacle trying to reconnect with society and get a job. They have no skills and lack a family support system.Their lack of preparation for successful reintegration into society places them at risk to become repeat offenders. Overcrowding in prisons produces individuals unable to cope or survive in free society.

Many of the recommendations of The Ex-Offender Employability Task Force of the State of Illinois relate to ex-offender employment and are worthy of consideration in employment programs in Connecticut.

We will have a safer and more …

The Challenge Of Inner-City Education, Lois Libby

Education Faculty Publications

There are two Connecticuts described in public education circles: One Connecticut includes a set of school systems that are suburban, educating primarily white and/or Asian students. The other set of Connecticut schools systems is urban, comprised primarily of students of color, and of low socio-economic status. The purpose of this chapter is to focus on the latter set of schools, provide some history of their development, look at the indicators of poor progress in more detail, review options of ameliorating the urban school systems, including assessments of state efforts so far, and offer some perspectives and conclusions.

The Challenge Of Environmental Protection, Jennifer Mattei

Biology Faculty Publications

Connecticut is in the midst of a demographic transition to a period of lower population growth. These demographic changes will help check the pressures exerted on the state's natural resources by population growth. Water, air, soil, energy sources, food, fisheries, forests, and biodiversity are common pool resources upon which we depend in ways that transcend political boundaries. Those governing Connecticut should help turn the state into a model of how to manage natural resources by halting forest fragmentation, reducing pollution, and promoting environmental science education.

Beyond 'Hot Lips' And 'Big Nurse': Creative Writing And Nursing, Sandra Young

English Faculty Publications

This essay describes a special topics creative writing course designed for nursing students, and argues that creative writing strategies work to improve nurses' compositional skills. Also discussed are other potential benefits from creatively writing patients' lives, notably, the blending of arts and sciences, and the ways in which medical schools are encouraging their students to study the humanities, especially literature and creative writing. The essay includes student creative writing samples.

The essay also discusses the depiction of nurses in popular culture. M*A*S*H*, Richard Hooker’s black comedy about the antics of doctors and nurses during the Korean War, gave us “Hot …

The Challenge Of Ethnic Diversity, Gary L. Rose

Political Science & Global Affairs Faculty Publications

As the census data reveals, the state of Connecticut will experience a sizeable increase in the percentage of Blacks and Hispanics by the year 2025. The projected increase in Blacks and Hispanics will most certainly have political and public policy ramifications in the years ahead.

Demographic trends in Connecticut pose distinct challenges for both political parties. The ability to understand the policy needs of the state's increasingly diverse population, an understanding of how policy needs translate into political behavior will be required among those who seek public office in Connecticut.

The Challenge Of Higher Education, Steven Michels

Political Science & Global Affairs Faculty Publications

The spiraling cost of education, the spread of technology, and the competitive nature of the job market have changed the very notion of what education should be and who should pay for it.

This chapter proposes a series of practical reforms, designed to work within the existing structure of higher education. The underlying assumption is that higher education in Connecticut is best served by allowing the natural forces of the market to determine the direction of growth and development. Minimal government interference will mean the greatest amount of choice and the highest quality of education for students in the state.

Library Newsletter Volume 1, Issue 1

Library Newsletters

No abstract provided.

A System Dynamics Approach To Assessing Public Policy Impact On The Sustainable Growth Rate Of New Ventures, Jeff W. Trailer, Kuau Garsson

New England Journal of Entrepreneurship

The growth of firms is fundamentally based on self-reinforcing feedback loops, one of the most important of which involves cash flow. When profit margin is positive, sales generate cash, which may then be reinvested to finance the operating cash cycle. We analyze simulations of a sustainable growth model of a generic new venture to assess the importance of taxes, and regulatory costs in determining growth. The results suggest that new ventures are particularly vulnerable to public policy effects, since their working capital resource levels are minimal, and they have few options to raise external funds necessary to fuel their initial …

Irony And Organizations: Epistemological Claims And Supporting Field Stories, Ulla Johansson, Ed., Jill Woodilla, Ed.

WCBT Faculty Publications

"Irony, in the writings of these scholars from different parts of the world, demonstrates once again that ""what"" we know is tenuous and at the same time closely intertwined with ""how"" we know and represent that knowledge. And while each chapter approaches irony from a slightly different angle, they share a common assumption - that irony can be used to enhance practice."

An Empirical Review Of Us Corporate Default Swap Valuation: The Implications Of Functional Forms, Kwamie Dunbar

WCBT Faculty Publications

This paper first develops a reduced form three-factor model for valuing credit default premia that is used to provide implicit prices which are then compared with market prices of credit default swaps to determine if swap rates adequately reflects market risks. This model extends Jarrow (2001) two-factor model by adding three new features to enhance the effectiveness of the model and add to the growing debate on the empirical pricing of credit default swap and the effectiveness of reduce form models. Firstly, the extended model retains Jarrow's mean reverting properties but will be extended to be arbitrage free because of …

Social Marketing Applications And Transportation Demand Management: An Information Instrument For The 21st Century, Enda Mcgovern

WCBT Faculty Publications

Concern has been expressed by planners and policy-makers that the “add capacity” strategy used in building more roads to resolve traffic-induced problems is no longer a feasible option. This article explores private transport behavior in understanding how users can be persuaded to adopt a more blended approach (i.e., integrating car, public transportation, and alternative modes on a daily basis). The research methodology adopted focus groups and travel diaries in presenting a number of social marketing message appeals aimed at inducing a change in participants’ travel behaviors. While weaknesses are identified in the social marketing materials, this research concludes that social …