Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Adaptive Nonparametric Regression With Conditional Heteroskedasticity, Sainan Jin, Liangjun Su, Zhijie Xiao

Research Collection School Of Economics

Vector Autoregression (VAR) has been a standard empirical tool used in macroeconomics and finance. In this paper we discuss how to compare alternative VAR models after they are estimated by Bayesian MCMC methods. In particular we apply a robust version of deviance information criterion (RDIC) recently developed in Li et al. (2014b) to determine the best candidate model. RDIC is a better information criterion than the widely used deviance information criterion (DIC) when latent variables are involved in candidate models. Empirical analysis using US data shows that the optimal model selected by RDIC can be different from that by DIC.

Self-Exciting Jumps, Learning, And Asset Pricing Implications, Andras Fulop, Junye Li, Jun Yu

Research Collection School Of Economics

The paper proposes a self-exciting asset pricing model that takes into account cojumps between prices and volatility and self-exciting jump clustering. We employ a dence of self-exciting jump clustering since the 1987 market crash, and its importance Bayesian learning approach to implement real time sequential analysis. We find evidence of self-exciting jump clustering since the 1987 market crash, and its importance becomes more obvious at the onset of the 2008 global financial crisis. It is found that learning affects the tail behaviors of the return distributions and has important implications for risk management, volatility forecasting and option pricing.

A Bayesian Chi-Squared Test For Hypothesis Testing, Yong Li, Xiao-Bin Liu, Jun Yu

Research Collection School Of Economics

A new Bayesian test statistic is proposed to test a point null hypothesis based on of regular conditions and follows a chi-squared distribution when the null hypothesis is correct. The new statistic has several important advantages that make it appeal in practical applications. First, it is well-defined under improper prior distributions. Second, it avoids Jeffrey-Lindley’s paradox. Third, it is relatively easy to compute, even for models with latent variables. Finally, it is pivotal and its threshold value can be easily obtained from the asymptotic chi-squared distribution. The method is illustrated using some real examples in economics and finance.

Managing Private Vehicles In Asian Cities, Sock-Yong Phang

Research Collection School Of Economics

Asia's rapid urbanization and growing incomes have resulted in a corresponding booming market in motor vehicle sales. In 2013, an estimated 18 million new passenger cars were sold in China. Motor vehicle users generate congestion, pollution, accidents, noise and road damage. Yet, in most cities motor vehicle users often do not pay the full social costs and are therefore implicitly subsidized by non-users. According to the Tom Tom Traffic Index, which is based on GPS data, motorists in the worst congested cities in developed countries spend up to 40% more time for peak hour commutes. This level of delay is …

Is The Renminbi East Asia’S Dominant Reference Currency? A Reconsideration, Hwee Kwan Chow

Research Collection School Of Economics

Recent empirical studies show that the Chinese currency renminbi is either becoming or has become a dominant reference currency in Asia. However, the high correlation between the US dollar and renminbi movements hampers the identification of their individual effects on the Asian currencies. In particular, the application of Frankel-Wei regressions to determine the weights of the US dollar and the (unorthogonalized) renminbi in the implicit currency baskets could suffer from endogeneity problems that produce an upward bias in renminbi’s estimated weight. This paper reviews the evidence by applying country-specific VAR models to daily exchange rate data from nine Asian economies …

Specification Sensitivity In Right‐Tailed Unit Root Testing For Explosive Behaviour, Peter C. B. Phillips, Shuping Shi, Jun Yu

Research Collection School Of Economics

This article aims to provide some empirical guidelines for the practical implementation of right-tailed unit root tests, focusing on the recursive right-tailed ADF test of Phillips et al. (2011b). We analyze and compare the limit theory of the recursive test under different hypotheses and model specifications. The size and power properties of the test under various scenarios are examined and some recommendations for empirical practice are given. Some new results on the consistent estimation of localizing drift exponents are obtained, which are useful in assessing model specification. Empirical applications to stock markets illustrate these specification issues and reveal their practical …

Of Accessibility And Applicability: How Heat-Related Primes Affect Belief In “Global Warming” And “Climate Change”, Jonathon P. Schuldt, Sungjong Roh

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Research shows that exposure to heat-related cues (e.g., warm temperatures, “fry” and “boil”) influences the belief that global warming exists and poses a serious threat to humans. Drawing on social-cognitive principles of concept accessibility and applicability, we hypothesized that these effects may depend on how the issue is framed, given that heat-related concepts are more compatible with “global warming” than “climate change.” Exploring this possibility, we asked campus passersby about their belief in global warming or climate change shortly after a real-life unseasonably cold weather event (i.e., snowfall during Spring; Study 1). A controlled Web experiment …

Extremal Quantile Regressions For Selection Models And The Black White Wage Gap, Xavier D'Haultfoeuille, Arnaud Maurel, Yichong Zhang

Research Collection School Of Economics

We consider the estimation of a semiparametric location-scale model subject to endogenous selection, in the absence of an instrument or a large support regressor. Identification relies on the independence between the covariates and selection, for arbitrarily large values of the outcome. In this context, we propose a simple estimator, which combines extremal quantile regressions with minimum distance. We establish the asymptotic normality of this estimator by extending previous results on extremal quantile regressions to allow for selection. Finally, we apply our method to estimate the black-white wage gap among males from the NLSY79 and NLSY97. We find that premarket factors …

Does Latitude Hurt While Longitude Kills? Geographical And Temporal Separation In A Large Scale Software Development Project, Patrick Wagstrom, Subhajit Datta

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Distributed software development allows firms to leverage cost advantages and place work near centers of competency. This distribution comes at a cost -- distributed teams face challenges from differing cultures, skill levels, and a lack of shared working hours. In this paper we examine whether and how geographic and temporal separation in a large scale distributed software development influences developer interactions. We mine the work item trackers for a large commercial software project with a globally distributed development team. We examine both the time to respond and the propensity of individuals to respond and find that when taken together, geographic …

Is The Nfl Responsible For Concussions Sustained By Players?, Lindsey Reid

Masters Theses

National Football League (NFL) players have sustained concussions while playing football (Casson & Viano, 2010). There is a growing controversy between NFL players, their immediate families, and the league regarding alleged claims that management should be held responsible for the physical deterioration of former players including compensatory damages for suffering. Family members of current and past NFL players claim league officials provided inadequate education regarding risks associated with playing professional football. Former players are experiencing health issues such as dementia, early Alzheimer's, chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), trouble concentrating and inability to work; in some cases these debilitating life-changing events have …

Idealism And Pragmatism In The Rhetoric Of John Boehner: A Weaverian Analysis Of Congressional Discourse, Cody Hawley

Masters Theses

American political rhetoric is characterized by a synthesis of contradictory idealistic and pragmatic elements, both of which are necessary if there is to be convincing persuasion. The way in which politicians rhetorically approach this dichotomy is significant, however, current studies on the topic are limited to presidential discourse. There is little research on this topic in other settings such the United States House of Representatives. This criticism analyzes John Boehner's congressional rhetoric in the idealistic-pragmatic dichotomy. The critical method utilized is Richard Weaver's four forms of argument-genus, similitude, consequence, and circumstance. Eight speeches of John Boehner, four from his position …

The Social And Economic Effects Of Mortality Salience In Modern Americans, Brian Saxton

All Student Scholarship

A study of the effects of the awareness of personal mortality, The Social and Economic Effects of Mortality Salience on Modern Americans is an exploration of the subtle effects of the humanity's unique awareness of our own imminent deaths.

From Print Culture To Digital Culture: Effects On Communication, Culture, And Technology, Brent Weber

Communication Studies

No abstract provided.

Perceptions Of The Communications Studies Major: Is There A Female Stereotype?, Kyle Petersen, Karina Almaguer

Communication Studies

This paper investigates whether there is or is not a correlation between feminine perceptions of Communications and the relevance of the major. One Hundred Cal Poly San Luis Obispo students were asked to complete a survey that included basic student demographics as well as if they have taken courses within the major or know anyone within it, their perceived relevance of the major, and whether they believed it to be for males or females. The test between the two variables was shown as approaching statistical significance. After analyzing these results, using feminine perceptions as the independent variable and the relevance …

The Power Of Plur: Edmc As A Reflection Of A New Generation, Nichole Lorenz

Communication Studies

With such a broad amount of musical expression and cultural appeal, EDM has quickly become a captivating phenomenon in the United States in recent years. There is a significant trend going on with EDM culture and what it represents for youth today. For this reason, I want to dig further into the growing phenomenon of EDMC (Electronic Dance Music Culture) in the United States. I want to better understand what is going on beneath the surface façade of costumes and drug use. Why does this culture appeal to so many young people? In addition, I seek to find out whether …

Gender Representation In Sports Communication, Michelle R. Stiller

Communication Studies

No abstract provided.

Work Smarter, Not Harder, Amy Jo Hunsaker

Library Faculty Presentations

Academic institutions’ digital collections often face the challenging issue of not having enough professionals to create metadata for the thousands of digital objects that exist in their collections. Anybody can scan, but not everyone is cut out for metadata creation. However, universities abound with intellectual and energetic pre-professionals, a.k.a. students. Instead of assigning student workers and volunteers to perform purely menial tasks, why not tap into their ability to learn and train them to do more “professional” jobs, such as metadata creation and website maintenance? With an entire campus filled with students eager to gain experience and willing to study, …

Customer Satisfaction Index Of Singapore 2014: Q1 Results, Institute Of Service Excellence, Smu

Research Collection Institute of Service Excellence (2007-2024)

The Customer Satisfaction Index of Singapore (CSISG) computes customer satisfaction scores at the national, sector, sub-sector, and company levels. The CSISG serves as a quantitative benchmark of the quality of goods and services produced by the Singapore economy over time and across countries. These Q1 results for the Retail and Infocommunications sectors begin the CSISG’s eighth year of measurement.

Failed States And The Origins Of Violence: A Comparative Analysis Of State Failure As A Root Cause Of Terrorism And Political Violence, Tiffiany O. Howard

Political Science Faculty Research

What makes a terrorist? Is an individual inherently predisposed to be attracted to political violence or does exposure to a certain environment desensitize them in such a way that violence represents a viable mode for addressing political grievances? Identifying state failure as the impetus for political violence this book addresses these questions and focuses on why existing extremist groups find failed states so attractive. Utilizing global barometer data, Tiffiany Howard examines the underpinnings of individual support for political violence and argues that an insidious pattern of deprivation within failed states drives ordinary citizens to engage in and support extreme acts …

Assessment Of First-Year Composition Students' Information Literacy Skills, Erin E. Rinto

Lied Library Open House for the 2014 American Library Association Conference

One of the ways we have been assessing the information literacy skills of our first year students is through developing and applying rubrics to a sample of annotated bibliography projects from the required English Composition course at UNLV. The annotated bibliography assignment consists of a paper proposal and the annotations for 5 sources the student plans on using in their final research paper. The "source evaluation rubric" was applied to each individual annotation (totaling 1358 annotations) and the rubric examined the extent to which students were using the evaluative criteria of currency, relevance, and authority when selecting and evaluating an …

Unlv Libraries: Partners In Student Learning, Melissa Bowles-Terry

Lied Library Open House for the 2014 American Library Association Conference

The University Libraries play a central educational role at UNLV. Librarians offer workshops for faculty on assignment design and research on student learning. The workshops emphasize learning outcomes, active learning, and assessment of student learning. Institutes leverage UNLV Librarians’ expertise with facilitation and information literacy learning outcomes.

Learning Outcomes for Faculty Institutes:

• To understand how research-based learning approaches support student success.
• To articulate goals and learning outcomes for research assignments in order to communicate expectations to students and form the basis for assessment of student work.
• To investigate research-based learning activities that integrate library and information resources.
• To discover technology …

Curriculum Mapping At Unlv Libraries: Strategic Integration Of Library Instruction, Nancy E. Fawley

Lied Library Open House for the 2014 American Library Association Conference

Curriculum mapping is a strategy to integrate information literacy into the undergraduate curriculum by identifying key courses within the disciplines for targeted, library instruction.

Librarians identify high impact, beginning, middle and end-level courses within their disciplines. These may or may not be courses they currently work with.

Information competencies are introduced at a beginning level, then reinforced (mid-level) and enhanced (end) throughout a student’s academic career in an intentionally scaffolded manner. Assessment strategies are included the map, as well.

Librarians use curriculum maps to inform decisions on courses and content taught so instruction efforts are not duplicated.

Bridging The Skills Gap: Enhancing The Student Employee Experience, Rosan Mitola, Amanda Melilli, Amy Jo Hunsaker

Lied Library Open House for the 2014 American Library Association Conference

Academic libraries have a unique opportunity to contribute to the success of their student employees by teaching and developing skill sets necessary for students to be successful throughout their academic careers. A co-curricular workshop program was developed and implemented to prepare student employees for the real world challenges they will face during their academic careers as well as after graduation.

Through participation in a series of one-hour workshops, students acquire skills that aid them in accomplishing academic, personal and professional goals. This workshop series also provides opportunities for the library to engage in the development of their employees in a …

Mountain Monitor - 1st Quarter 2014, Kenan Fikri, Mark Muro

Mountain Monitor Quarterly

The quarter’s Mountain Monitor finds that the rate of economic recovery in the major metropolitan areas of the Mountain West is no longer impervious to national trends.

The previous edition of the Mountain Monitor observed that the regional rate of recovery seemed to be converging toward that of the nation. This edition of the Mountain Monitor suggests that the trend has progressed further.

The rate of economic recovery broadly slowed across the region from the fourth quarter of 2013 to the first quarter of 2014, just as it did nationally. The national headlines in the first three months of the …

Learning From Las Vegas: Gambling, Technology, Capitalism, And Addiction, David T. Courtwright

Occasional Papers

Gambling has always led to addictive behavior in some individuals. However, the number and types of addicted gamblers have changed over time and in response to specific gambling environments. Recent work by historians, journalists, and anthropologists, reviewed in this paper, suggests that the situation worsened during the modern era, and that it has become worse still during the last half century. Technological, organizational, and marketing innovations have “weaponized” gambling, increasing both the likelihood that people will gamble and that they will gamble compulsively—a phenomenon with parallels to several other consumer products, including processed food, digitized games, and psychoactive drugs.

Services For Parentally Placed Catholic School Students Under The Individuals With Disabilities Education Improvement Act, Julie Cantillon Phd

Dissertations

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), which Congress enacted in 1975 with subsequent revisions, states that school districts are to provide a free and appropriate public education (FAPE) to all students with disabilities in the least restrictive environment. Public local education agencies (LEAs) including school districts have an obligation to identify, locate, and evaluate private school students suspected of having a disability—the "child find" process. Students enrolled by their parents in private schools are not entitled to a FAPE if they choose for their children to remain in private school after the children have been identified as having a …

Effectiveness Of A Football Over Helmet Padding System In Reducing Peak Acceleration Of The Head And Severity Index 2014, Nicole Cuccurullo

Master's Theses

The purpose of this study was to determine if: (a) a football helmet equipped with the Guardian Cap meets the National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment (NOCSAE) football helmet standards and (b) if the Severity Indexes and peak accelerations produced during the NOCSAE impact tests were smaller for a football helmet equipped with the Guardian Cap over-helmet padding system than for the same helmet without the Guardian Cap. A total of 54 drop impact tests were completed, 27 on the football helmet alone and 27 on the football helmet equipped with the Guardian Cap. Tests were completed on …

How Not To Get Lost In The Shuffle: Producing The Most Effective And Eye-Catching Press Release, Erica Derrico

Journalism

The following study investigates how to produce the most effective and eye-catching press release on a national level for Summit Outdoor Supply (S.O.S). Winter quarter of 2014, my partner and I worked on a local campaign for S.O.S., using traditional text-based press releases to get media coverage. Although we did see some success with the traditional press release, there were often times our releases would get lost in the shuffle of the many releases that media outlets received each day. My goal with this project is to learn how to produce a press release that will get noticed out of …

Blogging In The Fashion Industry: A Descriptive Study Of The Use Of The Two-Step Flow Communications Theory By Professional And Citizen Bloggers To Become Opinion Leaders, Mia Alexandra Mendola

Journalism

This study analyzes the differences between professional and citizen bloggers in the fashion industry, and their use of the two-step flow communications theory and certain tactics to become opinion leaders in the industry. With the rise of blogging as a popular medium for consumption of fashion news, thousands of bloggers have begun blogs hoping to become part of the fashion industry. With this rise comes bloggers with different levels of expertise and experience. With this comes a blurring of lines between a professional blogger with credible knowledge of the fashion industry, and a citizen blogger with no formal training or …

Manufacturing News: Exploring How Public Relations Content Is Presented As News From An Agenda-Setting Perspective, Katharine R. Gore

Journalism

This study, conducted in San Luis Obispo, California, analyzes and investigates the relationship between public relations professionals and journalists, the role of public relations in news and how often content developed by the public relations industry is later portrayed as news.

Public relations-developed content has a growing presence in news. This is due, in part to the fact that more people work in the public relations industry than do in journalism fields. There is also a symbiotic relationship between the two industries, which is confirmed by existing studies and scholarly texts.

An effort was made by the author to track …