Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

2022-10 Computing Longitudinal Moments For Heterogeneous Agent Models, Sergio Ocampo, Baxter Robinson

Department of Economics Research Reports

Computing population moments for heterogeneous agent models is a necessary step for their estimation and evaluation. Computation based on Monte Carlo methods is usually time- and resource-consuming because it involves simulating a large sample of agents and potentially tracking them over time. We argue in favor of an alternative method for computing both cross-sectional and longitudinal moments that exploits the endogenous Markov transition function that defines the stationary distribution of agents in the model. The method relies on following the distribution of populations of interest by iterating forward the Markov transition function rather than focusing on a simulated sample of …

2022-11 Peter Howitt – A Keynesian Still In Recovery, David Laidler

Department of Economics Research Reports

Peter Howitt is best known for his contributions to growth theory, but his work in short-run economics, which began with his Ph.D thesis and still continues, is important and deserves attention. It lies firmly in the Keynesian macro-disequilibrium tradition of Clower and Leijonhufvud, and for a long time has been overshadowed by New-classical and New-Keynesian orthodoxy. However, the development of agent based modelling and behavioural economics will perhaps give disequilibrium macroeconomics a new lease on life.

2022-12 The Big Expansion Of Rural Secondary Schooling During The Cultural Revolution And The Returns To Education In Rural China, Mengbing Zhu, Terry Sicular

Department of Economics Research Reports

During the Cultural Revolution China embarked on a dramatic, albeit temporary, expansion of secondary education in rural areas that affected tens of millions of children who reached secondary school age in the late 1960s and 1970s. The conventional wisdom is that this expansion was politicized and low quality. Using instrumental variables estimation, we exploit variation in the expansion across localities and birth cohorts to estimate the impact of Cultural Revolution education on individual outcomes. Creative use of historical county-level information matched with rich household survey data from the mid-1990s allows analysis of multiple outcomes. We find a significant, positive effect …

2022-13 Savings After Retirement, Eric French, John Bailey Jones, Rory Mcgee

Department of Economics Research Reports

Abstract: Retired households, especially those with high lifetime income, decumulate their wealth very slowly, and many die leaving large estates. The three leading explanations for the ‘retirement savings puzzle” are the desire to insure against uncertain lifespans and medical expenses, the desire to leave bequests to one’s heirs, and the desire to remain in one’s own home. We discuss the empirical strategies used to differentiate these motivations, most of which go beyond wealth to exploit additional features of the data. The literature suggests that all the motivations are present, but has yet to reach a consensus about their relative importance

2022-14 Use It Or Lose It: Efficiency And Redistributional Effects Of Wealth Taxation, Fatih Guvenen, Gueorgui Kambourov, Burhan Kuruscu, Sergio Ocampo, Daphne Chen

Department of Economics Research Reports

How does wealth taxation differ from capital income taxation? When the return on investment is equal across individuals, a well-known result is that the two tax systems are equivalent. Motivated by recent empirical evidence documenting persistent return heterogeneity, we revisit this question. With heterogeneity, the two tax systems typically have opposite implications for both efficiency and inequality. Under capital income taxation, entrepreneurs who are more productive and therefore generate more income pay higher taxes. Under wealth taxation, entrepreneurs who have similar wealth levels pay similar taxes regardless of their productivity, which expands the tax base, shifts the tax burden toward …

Endangered Languages: A Sketch Of The Sengwer Sound System, Jamas Nandako

Journal of the Language Association of Eastern Africa

Within the next century as many as half of the world’s seven thousand languages, are poised to become extinct at an alarmingly accelerated rate (Evans 2010). This correlates to a loss of knowledge, collective and individual identities, and social values. This loss is not only one of the most serious issues facing humanity today, but also it is representative of an unspeakable loss of information invaluable to humanity. This is so because these languages are among our few sources of evidence for understanding human history and each of these languages embodies unique local knowledge of the cultures and natural systems …

Tripartheid: How Global White Supremacy Triumphs Through Neoliberalism, Arthur Scarritt

Sociology Faculty Publications and Presentations

The means of the extravagant rentier diminish daily in inverse proportion to the growing possibilities and temptations of pleasure. He must, therefore, either consume his capital himself, and in so doing bring about his own ruin, or become an industrial capitalist.

—Karl Marx, Economic & Philosophic Manuscripts

The seeds of the fiasco of an election in November 2016 in the United States, where the less affluent of European descent, including more than half of the women of this group, found their tribune in a vulgar billionaire, has roots in the cross-class coalition that spearheaded colonial settlement in the seventeenth century …

Buying Their Way In: Redistribution Of Campaign Resources As A Path To State Legislative Leadership For Women, Jaclyn J. Kettler

Political Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

Women continue to be underrepresented in legislative leadership. This is concerning in U.S. legislatures, where leaders have substantial control over resources and policymaking. As an outgroup, women face additional barriers to power in politics, making it difficult to become a legislative leader. How can women gain influence within their political party? I argue one potential path for overcoming these barriers is the redistribution of campaign resources to other party actors, which helps facilitate connections in the party. These relationships help candidates gain influence, and they can draw on them for support in the legislature. Do women candidates redistribute funds to …

Great Lakes Paleoclimate Review, Luke Atma, Melinda C. Higley

Summer Research

The picture of Great Lakes Region (GLR) climate since deglaciation (about 14,000 years ago) is unclear, especially in terms of the hydroclimate (how dry, or rainy, or windy it has been). It is important to have information about past environments, and periods of past climate changes, to inform how we think about current/future climate changes, especially at regional scales. Understanding the climate of the past requires proxies for past environmental conditions, such as charcoal, pollen, or microfossils preserved in lake mud. But assessing climate change over geological time scales in the GLR is complicated by a lack of such sedimentary …

Rural Towns: Arts & Cultural Life, Presented At Making Connections. Dublin School Of Architecture Research Seminar Series 2021/22. Feb 1st 2022., Bernadette Quinn

Presentations

This presentation focuses on arts festivals in Irish towns, arguing the importance of arts festivals in regenerating towns. It thinks about festivals in terms of social, cultural and digital infrastructure and asks how they can be addressed in town planning terms.

Cyberpolicing In Canada: A Scoping Review, Laura Huey, Lorna Ferguson

Sociology Publications

A recent stream of government efforts have surfaced in an attempt to tackle cybercrime in Canada and improve law enforcement responses to cybercrime, such as funding, actionable intelligence, and the creation of new policing response units. However, we know little of ‘what works’ with respect to cyberpolicing, meaning that these endeavours, and policymakers and funding organizations, are operating without such insights. Therefore, this study sought to conduct an evidence assessment into research on cybercrime-related topics through a scoping review. Our findings show that the overall volume of Canadian cyberpolicing literature is low, and many important subjects are entirely lacking in …

Another Digital Divide: Cybersecurity In Indigenous Communities, Laura Huey, Lorna Ferguson

Sociology Publications

The Indigenous ‘digital divide’ relates to community-level disparities in access and use of online technologies, a prominent public policy issue that federal governments have attempted to address. Following from such efforts is an expected increase in communication and other technologies. However, concurrently, cybersecurity becomes a matter warranting consideration, as increased access means increased exposure to online harms for which many Indigenous communities may lack awareness, education, and prevention skills. To offer key insights relevant to this matter, this study conducted a systematic review of research pertaining to Indigeneity and cybersecurity issues. Findings show that critical subject areas, such as human …

Creating And Optimizing Employment Opportunities For Women In The Clean Energy Sector In Canada, Bipasha Baruah

Data and Test Instruments

Women are a minority in the energy sector everywhere in the world—and Canada is no exception. Concerns about climate change and fossil fuel insecurity have ensured significant interest in Canadain the technologies and financing for transitioning to clean energy, but far too little attention is being paidto the employment equity implications of such a transition. Despite growing awareness that renewableslike wind, solar, and bioenergy generate a much larger volume of employment than fossil fuels, evenorganizations committed to advocating for social justice in debates about environmental sustainabilityin Canada have never specifically mentioned gender inequity. This article identifies opportunities andconstraints for women’s …

The Right To Sleep, Perchance To Dream, Sharon Sliwinski

Data and Test Instruments

No abstract provided.

The Acoustics Of Civil Resistance: Summoning The Spirit Of The Law With A Smartphone, Sharon Sliwinski

Data and Test Instruments

Inspired by Diamond Reynolds’s radical gesture to open a live broadcast in the moments after Philando Castile was shot by police in 2016, this paper explores the ways smartphones have become a critical tool of civil resistance. The paper situates this tool in a historical context, tracking the role of visual testimony in the long struggle for Black liberation, drawing special attention to the acoustic dimension and posing questions about how attending to the sonic environment modifies our understanding of bearing witness as embodied practice and our understanding of civil resistance.

International Law 3201g: Cycle Link - Singapore, Tushar P. Nair

Community Engaged Learning Final Projects

No abstract provided.

Ua19/16/1/5 Hilltopper Golf 2021-22 Season Statistics, Wku Athletic Media Relations

WKU Administration Documents

Statistical analysis of the 2021-22 men's golf team season.

Ua19/16/2 Volleyball Press Releases, Wku Athletic Media Relations

WKU Administration Documents

Press releases, photos and game statistics for WKU volleyball team in 2022.

Ua19/16/2 Soccer Press Releases, Wku Athletic Media Relations

WKU Administration Documents

Press releases, photos and game statistics for WKU soccer team in 2022.

Ua19/16/2 Athletics Press Releases, Wku Athletic Media Relations

WKU Administration Documents

Press releases regarding general activities of the WKU Athletics Department for 2022.

Feed The Little Children Evaluative Research Report: Somebody Cares, Anne Poelina, Vennessa Poelina, Ian Perdrisat, Sandra Wooltorton, John Guenther

Nulungu Reports

The purpose of the report is to investigate the social, cultural and health impacts on Broome children and families who are supported through Feed the Little Children Inc. (FTLC) bi-weekly food relief program, and to try to determine what the optimum level of support should be. Researchers have taken an Indigenist research approach, which means that Aboriginal ways, values and goals support research implementation. The research framework focused on the lived experience of the FTLC users and data was collected via conversations with FTLC users’ aunties, grandparents, and long-term Broome residents. The report concludes that Broome children would benefit from …

On The Feasibility Of Speed Limits In Ocean Container Shipping, Manwo Ng

Information Technology & Decision Sciences Faculty Publications

The maritime industry is witnessing an increasingly loud call to contribute to the global trend towards environmental sustainability and decarbonization. One possible policy measure is the use of speed limits to reduce harmful emissions from ocean shipping. While the idea of slowing down ships to obey speed limits might seem intuitive, one key distinguishing characteristic of container shipping is that it is designed to adhere to a fixed, typically weekly, sailing schedule. This paper contributes to the literature investigating the feasibility of speed limits by demonstrating that speed limits are not always feasible in container shipping because of the rigid …

Views Of Well-Being In Nonmetropolitan Nebraska: 2022 Nebraska Rural Poll Results, Rebecca J. Vogt, Heather Akin, Cheryl A. Burkhart-Kriesel, Bradley Lubben, L. J. Mcelravy, Timothy Meyer, Steven A. Schulz, Amanda Tupper

Nebraska Rural Poll

This year, rural Nebraskans are more pessimistic about their current situation than they’ve been in the past nine years. The proportion believing they are worse off than they were five years ago was 21 percent, up from the 11 percent reported last year. This is the highest level since 2013, when 26 percent believed they were worse off. This increase in pessimism did not translate into a decrease in optimism, however. This year, one-half of rural Nebraskans believe they are better off compared to five years ago, similar to 52 percent last year. The corresponding change occurred in a decrease …

Nebraska Annual Social Indicators Survey (Nasis) 2022 Methodology Report, Bureau Of Sociological Research

Nebraska Annual Social Indicators Survey (NASIS)

No abstract provided.

Perceptions Of Emotional Functionality: Similarities And Differences Among Dignity, Face, And Honor Cultures, Angela T. Maitner, Jamie Decoster, Per A. Andersson, Kimmo Eriksson, Adam W. Stivers

Psychology Faculty Scholarship

Emotions are linked to wide sets of action tendencies, and it can be difficult to predict which specific action tendency will be motivated or indulged in response to individual experiences of emotion. Building on a functional perspective of emotion, we investigate whether anger and shame connect to different behavioral intentions in dignity, face, and honor cultures. Using simple animations that showed perpetrators taking resources from victims, we conducted two studies across eleven countries investigating the extent to which participants expected victims to feel anger and shame, how they thought victims should respond to such violations, and how expectations of emotions …

Eye-Movements Of Vocal Performers Across Experience Levels, Charlotte Kelly

Honors Program Theses

Expertise, such as music expertise, is commonly studied through an analysis of eye-movements. Experts typically have fewer fixations, longer saccade amplitudes, and thus greater perceptual spans when reading music than non-experts. Most musical expertise literature is focused on instrumentalists and sight-reading. The current study aimed to extend the research to include vocalists and to see if there are still expertise effects when both experts and non-experts are familiar with the piece of music. Participants were recruited to sing a piece from their choir once when they had first started learning the piece and again right before their concert. They were …

Anti-Abortion Crisis Pregnancy Centers In Central Florida, Isabel Adamus

Honors Program Theses

Anti-abortion pregnancy centers, also known as crisis pregnancy centers (CPCs), are nonprofit organizations that target pregnant women and aim to dissuade them from considering abortion. In the U.S., CPCs are increasing in prevalence, accumulating government/state funding and support, and becoming more medicalized. Medicalization includes offering limited medical services, such as pregnancy testing, limited ultrasounds, and testing for sexually transmitted infections (STIs). CPCs are largely unlicensed and unregulated, frequently advertising in misleading ways and providing inaccurate health information. The goal of this research is to (1) understand how CPCs in Central Florida utilize rhetorical strategies to frame their services and health …

Getting Proactive With Police Proactivity: The Benefits Of Computer-Aided Dispatch For Directing Police Resources To Areas Of Need, Kris Henning, Christian Peterson, Greg Stewart, Kimberly Kahn, Yves Labissiere, Brian Renauer, Renee Mitchell, Sean Sothern

Criminology and Criminal Justice Faculty Publications and Presentations

Sherman and colleagues (2014) argue that crime reductions associated with hot spot policing can be maximized by carefully managing the dosage of supplemental resources delivered. Fully achieving this goal in prior studies has been difficult due to resistance by officers, the use of atypical strategies for directing patrols to target locations, and insufficient attention to the measurement of treatment dosages. This has led to calls for process research examining the implementation of hot spot policing in law enforcement agencies. The current study represents one such effort. The computer-aided dispatch (CAD) system for a large U.S. police department was pre-programmed with …

Case Study: Does Following Updated Best Practices Increase Libguides Usage?, Denise Brush

Libraries Scholarship

This case study describes the work of a library task force led by the author to implement best practices for the design of web-based library guides using the LibGuides platform. The task force’s goal was to increase usage of guides. The task force learned that students were primarily finding library guides through searching on the open web, which has significant implications for guide design. It was hoped that incorporating usability research and search engine optimization (SEO) techniques into guide design would drive more traffic to the guides. Statistics available from the LibGuides platform were compared between the 2020-21 academic year …

No. 84: Small-Town Xenophobia And Migrant Anxieties In South Africa’S Limpopo Province, Godfrey Tawodzera, Jonathan Crush

Southern African Migration Programme

South Africa’s major cities are regularly wracked by large-scale xenophobic violence directed at migrants and refugees from other countries. Informal-sector businesses and their migrant owners and employees are particularly vulnerable targets during these attacks. Migrant-owned businesses are also frequently targeted in smallerscale looting and destruction of property. There is now a large literature on the characteristics and causes of xenophobic violence and attitudes in South Africa, based on quantitative and qualitative research in the country’s major metropolitan areas. One of the consequences of big-city xenophobia has been a search for alternative markets and safer spaces by migrants, including relocating to …