Asset Management Performance and Reputation Building for Large US Firms

Corporate audiences construct the reputation of firms by interpreting informational signals about the firms from various monitors. Of importance to these parties are signals about asset management. The results of our empirical study of 114 large US firms supported the general hypothesis that corporate audiences construct reputations on the basis of information about firms' asset management performance, specifically using market and accounting signals indicating size of the assets, market assessment of the value of the assets in place, asset turnover and profit margin.     

Estimating the extent and degree of Gambling related problems in the Australian population: A national survey

A stratified random doorknock method was used to interview 2744 respondents in four state capitals in Australia. The interview was in 3 parts with the latter two only administered to regular, once per week or more often gamblers (N=290). The measures completed by this group included the South Oaks Gambling Screen and a range of psychological measures. A conservative interpretation of the results was that problem gamblers, defined in terms of a range of personal and interpersonal gambling-related costs, comprised 1.16% (±0.34%) of the Australian population. It was estimated that problem players losses may account for about one quarter of all expenditures on gambling.     

Solving the Stochastic Growth Model by Linear-Quadratic Approximation

I describe a method that can be used to approximate the solution of the stochastic growth model. The method relies on approximating the return and transition functions of the original problem by taking second-order and first-order Taylor expansions around the steady state of the system. The result is the optimal linear regulator problem.     

Flexible estimation of serial correlation in nonlinear mixed models

In the conventional linear mixed-effects model, four structures can be distinguished: fixed effects, random effects, measurement error and serial correlation. The latter captures the phenomenon that the correlation structure within a subject depends on the time lag between two measurements. While the general linear mixed model is rather flexible, the need has arisen to further increase flexibility. In addition to work done in the area, we propose the use of spline-based modeling of the serial correlation function, so as to allow for additional flexibility. This approach is applied to data from a pre-clinical experiment in dementia which studied the eating and drinking behavior in mice.     

Childhood Ethics: An ontological advancement for childhood studies

We describe an ontological approach to childhood studies that we refer to as Childhood Ethics. This involves an interdisciplinary hermeneutic orientation towards examining the morally meaningful dimensions of matters that affect young people. We draw on our empirical research with young people from 3- to 17-years old, examining their experiences in a diversity of contexts and geographical settings. Our investigations challenge dominant binary conceptions of young people along lines of decisional in/capacity and im/maturity. We argue for a view of children as active agents with meaningful relational engagements and participation interests and capacities and outline corresponding implications for research and practice.     

Approximating the equilibrium quantity traded and welfare in large markets

We consider the efficient outcome of a canonical economic market model involving buyers and sellers with independent and identically distributed random valuations and costs, respectively. When the number of buyers and sellers is large, we show that the joint distribution of the equilibrium quantity traded and welfare is asymptotically normal. Moreover, we bound the approximation rate. The proof proceeds by constructing, on a common probability space, a representation consisting of two independent empirical quantile processes, which in large markets can be approximated by independent Brownian bridges. The distribution of interest can then be approximated by that of a functional of a Gaussian process. This methodology applies to a variety of mechanism design problems.     

Staffing for Electronic Resource Management

Abstract

The authors offer the results of an informal survey of library staffing trends related to the acquisition and maintenance of electronic resources. They test their hypothesis that the problem of staffing for e-resources has reached a critical level. Serials Review 2002; 28:316–320.     

Subjective Well-Being by Partnership Status and Its Dependence on the Normative Climate

This study first examines the relationship between partnership status and subjective well-being in 45 European countries by analyzing the European Values Study 2008. It was expected and empirically confirmed that married individuals have the highest level of well-being, followed by (in order) cohabiting, dating, single, and finally widowed and divorced individuals. In addition, this study examines to what extent the well-being gaps depend on the normative climate in which an individual lives. It is hypothesized that: (a) being in a non-married relationship (especially cohabitation and divorce) lowers well-being compared to being married in societies that reject non-traditional partnership statuses; and (b) not having a partner is especially detrimental for well-being levels in familialistic societies, which emphasize the importance of a strong, close-knit family. The normative climate appears to hardly affect well-being gaps between partnership statuses. Only the gap between divorced and married women is significantly wider in familialistic societies. It is concluded that the weak dependence of well-being on the normative climate may point at high autonomy in private, relationship-related decisions.