Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Essays On The Effects Of Oil Price Shocks On The U.S. Stock Returns, Zeina Nashaat Alsalman

Wayne State University Dissertations

This research investigates the effect of changes in oil prices and oil price volatility on the U.S. stock returns. The first essay tests whether the sign and the size of oil price shocks matter for the U.S. stock returns. The results suggest a linear model provides a good approximation to the response of real stock returns to real oil price innovations. However, this is not the case when the model is specified in terms of the nominal price of crude oil.Using a modified structural VAR to accommodate GARCH-in-Mean errors, the second essay studies the direct effects of oil price uncertainty …

Eastern Migrations Vs Western Welfare States - (Un)Biased Fears, Kosta Josifidis, John B. Hall, Valérie Berenger

Economics Faculty Publications and Presentations

This inquiry considers some effects of migration on the labour markets and the welfare systems found in the EU-15, and from the perspectives of sustainability of the current welfare state regimes. Our inquiry aims to determine whether and to what extent different approaches in regulation of migration flows between the new and old member states are compatible with related economic and demographic findings. Within this context, our research considers regulations affecting migration flows. Our findings suggest that some effects of migration from the EU8+2 on the labour markets and social protection systems found in the EU-15, both with respect to …

The Effectiveness Of Public Development Banks: Designing Good Impact Evaluations, Alessandro Maffioli, Cesar M. Rodriguez

Economics Faculty Publications and Presentations

PDB programs have become a fundamental ingredient of productive development policy strategies in most emerging economies. Although the overall need for these interventions is rarely questioned, academics and policymakers often debate their effectiveness, as well as the optimal approaches and instruments necessary to implement them. Therefore, the need to produce rigorous evaluations of PDBs has become increasingly relevant for both government and civil society (see Chapter 2).

This chapter presents the main concepts and operational arguments regarding the execution of indepth impact evaluations of PDB initiatives and instruments. For a more practical approach, these arguments are presented with examples of …

Response To Intervention: Understanding School Counselors' Awareness, Involvement, And Experiences, Amanda Winburn

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this mixed methods study was to better clarify the role and experiences of school counselors within the Response to Intervention (RtI) model. This study explored school counselors' involvement with and understanding of the RtI model. An integrative approach of both quantitative and qualitative methods was used as part of this mixed method study. As part of the design, quantitative data collection was the priority method for the study, folloby qualitative data collection to continue to explore and expand upon the results from the quantitative section (Creswell, 2009). The quantitative data was obtained from the author originated Response …

School Quality Capitalization Into Housing Prices In Minnesota And Pennsylvania, Jonathan Taylor Smith

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation develops and estimates a spatial autoregressive with autoregressive errors model of housing prices that accounts for both the endogeneity of spatially-lagged housing prices and local school quality measured by performance on state standardized tests. Two datasets are used from Boyertown, PA and Minneapolis, MN. Homes are spatially weighted against each other using a k nearest-neighbor approach. School quality is thought to be endogenous because unobserved neighborhood amenities in the error term of a hedonic regression are very likely positively correlated with local elementary, middle, and high school quality. Following previous literature, the optimal instrument matrix is constructed as …

Three Essays On Odd-Lot Transactions, Hardy Johnson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation consists of three essays on odd-lot transactions. The first essay investigates the role odd lot trades play in equity markets, as well as how this role has changed over three distinct time periods- 2010, 2007, and 2005. In each of these time periods, we document the determinants of the proportions of odd lot transactions, the price contribution of odd lot trades, and the characteristics of odd lot trading on an intraday and intraweek basis. We find that odd lot transactions make up 8% of volume and 20-22% of trades. We find that odd lot proportions as well as …

Issue Publics Gone Wild Or The End Of Narrow Interests, Michael Calton Bowen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Issue public theory holds that individuals are more likely to base political judgments, such as the decision of who to vote for on election day, on issues that are particularly important to them. This subset of issues is presumed to be relatively small in quantity for most individuals, allowing them to specialize in information gathering and attention. There is reason to believe the nature of issue publics has significantly changed in recent years as a result of profound shifts in the information environment. Many of the traditional findings within the literature are reassessed using data primarily from the 2008 Presidential …

Religious Politics: An Individual Level-Examination Of The Political Implications Of Faith In Brazil, Thatianne A. Moreira

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Although Brazil is, historically, a catholic country, the Catholic Church is losing its members to the Protestant churches, mainly Pentecostal ones. Between 1940-2010, the number of Protestants increased from 2.6% to 20.2%. On the other hand, between the same period, the number of Catholics decreased from 95% to 68.5%. One of the consequences of this shift in the religious marketplace has been its impact in the political realm; more specifically, in the number of political candidates that have identified themselves as evangélicos. The presence of evangélicos in power seems to be the most studied facet of the growth of Pentecostalism …

The Politics Of Atheism In The West, Daniel Ryan Blazo

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Though the term "atheism" encompasses all persons without belief in god(s), more people claim unbelief in god(s) than describe themselves as "convinced atheists" in every society on earth. While the extant social science research on religion and secularism rigorously explores the nuances of the religion/nonreligion divide, the scholarship largely ignores the complexity of irreligion, or the rejection of all religious truth claims involving supernatural phenomena. In this dissertation, I argue that a cross-national, comparative analysis of nonbelievers and avoatheists provides an ideal opportunity to gain leverage into the poorly understood political dynamics of irreligion, particularly in the context of Western …

Psychological Flexibility In Migraine Patients: The Role Of Acceptance And Values-Based Action, Heather Lillian Wolfort Foote

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

According to the World Health Report 2001, mental and neurological disorders account for 30.80% of healthy years of life lost to disability; migraine alone accounts for 1.40% of that percentage. In addition to the functional impairment the attacks cause, migraine frequently co-occurs with other psychiatric disorders and is associated with other psychological factors. Related psychological factors include avoidance of negative private events (experiential avoidance) and persistent behaviors that are counterproductive to one's personal values. Recent studies of patients with other forms of chronic pain suggest that these behaviors are associated with poor functioning and that techniques fostering "psychological flexibility" may …

Reducing Automatic Stereotype Activation: European- And African American Photos In Situational Attribution Training, Seamus Patrick Walsh

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Previous research has shown that training rooted in attribution theory, Situational Attribution Training (SAT), is effective in reducing automatic stereotyping. reduces automatic stereotyping by asking participants to "consider the situation" when making attributional judgments of negative behaviors stereotypical of African Americans. The focus of the present research is to examine the repeated stereotype-consistent pairings of African American photos with the negative behaviors stereotypical of African Americans, seen during SAT, which may limit the maximum effectiveness of the training. As a methodological modification to the previous version of SAT, white participants were trained extensively to choose situational over dispositional explanations for …

Intersection(S) Between Sociocultural Knowledge, Classroom Discourse And Stance, John Munyui Muchira

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Speakers of all languages align their talk to that of their peers in order to create identity in social discourse. While students' interactions in class reveal awareness of their personal educational achievements, they also exhibit a desire to inform others about their socio-cultural knowledge, their beliefs, and feelings. A number of studies have shown how participants create interactional environments where they can not only expand their knowledge in instructional styles but to a great extent construct and reconstruct their personas. Sociocultural knowledge and stancetaking has a great impact on classroom discourse and language learning. My study was conducted on an …

An Analysis Of Shift Work: Compensating Differentials And Local Economic Conditions, Mary Colene Trent

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The theory of compensating differentials asserts that workers facing undesirable work conditions, such as night shift work, should receive compensating wage differentials. The theory assumes that workers can easily find jobs with desirable characteristics; thus, compensating wages are necessary to induce workers to take jobs with undesirable characteristics. This dissertation considers a variation of the theory of compensating differentials in which labor markets are weak. If workers are more likely to work night shifts in areas with weak economic conditions and if firms are less likely to offer compensating differentials for night shift work in areas with weak economic conditions, …

Empowering Communities From The Ground Up: Perspectives On A Lay Mental Health Project In Post-Earthquake Haiti, Gilberte Bastien

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Wandering The Web--Sociocultural Hobby Sites: Acquisitions And Decoration Of Dollhouses And Minature Displays As A Fun Educational Tool, Lesley L. R. Montgomery

Against the Grain

No abstract provided.

Collecting To The Core-Popular Engineering Works, Denise Brush, Anne Doherty

Against the Grain

No abstract provided.

Exploring Best Practices For Research Data Management In Earth Science Through Collaborating With University Libraries, Ting Wang, Benjamin D. Branch

Libraries Faculty and Staff Presentations

To address the growing demand for managing earth science data, the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) partners with the Library and Technology Services (LTS) of Lehigh University and Purdue University Libraries (PUL) on hosting postdoctoral fellows in data curation activity. This inter-disciplinary fellowship program funded by the SLOAN Foundation innovatively connects university libraries and earth science departments and provides earth science Ph.D.s opportunities to use their research experiences in earth science and data curation trainings received during their fellowship to explore best practices for research data management in earth science and find out answers to:

How can the …

Providing Educators Authentic Scientific Research Opportunities Through Integration Of Research Content And Technology With Globe Teacher Workshops Using An Integrated Model Of Professional Development, Steven Smith, Kristin Wegner, Benjamin D. Branch, Bridget Miller, Darrell G. Schulze, Ann M. Bessenbacher

Libraries Faculty and Staff Presentations

No abstract provided.

A Library Approach To Establish An Educational Data Curation Framework (Edcf) That Supports K-12 Data Science Sustainability, Benjamin D. Branch, Kristin Wegner, Steven Smith, Darrell G. Schulze, Venkatesh Merwade, Jinha Jung

Libraries Faculty and Staff Presentations

It has been the tradition of the libraries to support literacy. Executive Order, Making Open and Machine Readable the New Default for Government Information, May 9, 2013, implies new roles for libraries. The library has the responsibility to support geospatial data, big data, earth science data or cyber infrastructure data that may support STEM for educational pipeline stimulation. (More information can be found at http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2013/05/09/executive-order-making-open-and-machine-readable-new-default-government-.)

Provided is an Educational Data Curation Framework (EDCF) that has been initiated in Purdue research. The EDCF may be applied to geospatial data service, engagement and outreach endeavors to augment the data science and climate …

Does Competition Within The Military Reduce Expropriation?, Madhav S. Aney, Giovanni Ko

Research Collection School Of Economics

How can agents in the military, which control the means of coercion, commit not to expropriate from producers? In this paper we propose competition within the military as one of the mechanisms that can deter predation and consequently create commitment. In our model, even if agents within the military could expropriate all output costlessly, it is attractive to protect producers from predating military units. This is because there is a marginal defensive advantage and consequently defense is an e ective way to potentially eliminate other military units, reducing competition and leading to higher future payo s. The model predicts that …

Arrow-Fisher-Hanemann-Henry And Dixit-Pindyck Option Values Under Strategic Interactions, Tomoki Fujii, Ryuichiro Ishikawa

Research Collection School Of Economics

We extend the Arrow–Fisher–Hanemann–Henry (AFHH) and Dixit–Pindyck (DP) option values to a game situation. By reinterpreting the AFHH option value as a change in the surplus from conservation because of the prospect of future information, we deal with a conceptual difficulty associated with the AFHH option value in the presence of strategic interactions. We then introduce the DP option value into a game situation. We show that the equivalence between the expected value of information and the DP option value in the standard model does not hold under strategic interactions.

Four-Cornered Fight A Blessing In Disguise For Wp, Tan K. B. Eugene

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

SMU Assistant Professor of Law and NMP Eugene Tan said that much is at stake for the four political parties contesting the Punggol East by-election. Regardless of how the parties seek to characterise the by-election, it will be fought on both local and national issues. Although it is a four-cornered contest, the race will effectively be a two-horse race between the Workers' Party (WP) and the incumbent People's Action Party (PAP). The by-election is also a way station for PAP and WP as they move towards the next General Election, which promises to be the real watershed election. Assistant Prof …

Collectivistic Norms And International Entrepreneurship: A Tale Of Two Clans, The Wenzhounese From China And The Chettiars From India, Wee Liang Tan

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

There is a need in the field of international entrepreneurship for ideas and theory developed from within the SME field and less reliance on that developed in the field of international business and large firms. This paper seeks to address this gap but examining the two groups of international entrepreneurs from China and India: the Wenzhou people and the Chettiars. These two groups began internationalising in the past before globalisation became a norm in the colonial days and before when ships sailed along trade winds. It seeks to draw lessons from these two groups: their collectivistic norms and practices.

Internationalization As De-Westernization Of The Curriculum: The Case Of Journalism At An Australian University, Rhonda Breit, Levi Obijiofor, Richard Fitzgerald

Graduate School of Media and Communications

Internationalization of the curriculum points to the interdependent and interconnected (globalized) world in which higher education operates. However, while international awareness is crucial to the study of journalism, in practice this often means an Anglo-American curriculum based around Western principles of journalism education and training that are deeply rooted in Western values and traditions. This tendency to privilege Western thought, practice, and values obscures from view other journalism practices and renders Western models of journalism desirable, replicable, and transplantable to any part of the world. This article discusses the engagement of a small group of staff in the process of …

Olfactory Preference For Ethanol Following Social Interaction With An Intoxicated Peer In Adolescent Rats Exposed To Ethanol In-Utero, Samanta M. March, Ricardo M. Pautassi, Michael Nizhnikov, Juan Fernandez-Vidal, Norman E. Spear, Juan C. Molina

Psychology Faculty Scholarship

Background: Prenatal exposure to ethanol and later socially mediated exposure predicts ethanol intake in human adolescents. Animal rat models indicate that brief interactions with an ethanol-intoxicated peer result in heightened preference for ethanol odor and ethanol intake. Methods: This study assessed preference for ethanol odor in adolescent male rats (observers) following social interaction with an ethanol intoxicated peer (demonstrators) as a function of prenatal ethanol exposure (gestational days 17-20, 1.0 g/kg, intragastric). Social behavior and locomotion during social interaction was also measured. Results: Social investigation was greater in observers that interacted with an intoxicated demonstrator in comparison to those that …

Predictive Validity Of The Savry Within A Diverse Population Of Juvenile Offenders, Scarlet Paria Woods

Psychology Theses

The current study examined the predictive validity of the SAVRY in African American and White recently adjudicated juvenile offenders in Louisiana. The sample consists of 267 community-based, male juvenile offenders, whom were tracked for an average follow-up period of 18 months. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analyses on the overall sample and African Americans, specifically, showed the numeric score predicted recidivism. Chi-square analyses found the SRR did not have a significant relationship with reoffending for general recidivism petitions. However, it was significant for all other forms of recidivism in the overall sample and African Americans. Hierarchical Cox regressions identified significant differences …

Predicting Sexual Satisfaction From Self-Objectification And Alcohol Consumption, Nicole M. Nelson

Psychology Theses

This study was conducted to examine if gender, self-objectification and alcohol consumption were predictors of sexual satisfaction. It was expected that females would self-objectify more than males and self-objectification would negatively relate to satisfaction. It was expected that drinking alcohol would also negatively relate to satisfaction. Undergraduate participants (n=235) who reported a heterosexual sexual encounter within the past three months completed an online survey. Multiple linear regression analyses were conducted separately for males and females. It was found that gender was not a predictor of satisfaction; self-objectification did however negatively relate to sexual satisfaction for males and females, and alcohol …

The Camera’S Eye: Effects Of Video-Recording Perspectives And Double Blind Procedures On Perceptions Of Eyewitnesses And Lineup Administrators, Geno Salomone

Psychology Theses

Mistaken identification is the leading cause of convicting the innocent. To help reduce erroneous convictions associated with eyewitness error, video recording of the lineup procedure and identification has been recommended. There is little research however, on how video recording influences perceptions of the witness and detective. The present study was a 2 (Administration of Lineup: Single-Blind v. Double-Blind) X 4 (Perspective: Detective focus v. Eyewitness focus vs. Focus on Both v. Audio Only) between subjects design examining the differential impact of camera angle and knowledge of suspect by the detective on perceptions of the eyewitness and detective. Eyewitnesses were perceived …

Hunger Strike: The Body As Resource, Reecia Orzeck

Faculty Publications - Geography, Geology, and the Environment

[In the absence of an abstract the beginning of the Introduction is provided.] The first coordinated hunger strike at the Guantanamo Bay detention facility began in February of 2002, and the last of these strikers were the first to be fed against their will by the United States Department of Defense (Dao 2002). During the June/ July 2005 strike, approximately 50 of the 52 to 200 detainees on strike were fed intravenously (Gutierrez 2005: 9, 11). When the strike recommenced in August as many as 20 of its 76 to 210 participants were being kept at the camp hospital and …

Examining Female And Male International Students' Perceptions Of Their Body Image, Myriam Brasseur

Summer Community of Scholars Posters (RCEU and HCR Combined Programs)

No abstract provided.