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The Effects of Catastrophes on Insurance and Reinsurance Markets
Get PDFIn recent years, we have seen quite a few large catastrophes, ranging from natural disasters to pandemics, have a huge impact on the lives of everyday Americans. In particular, the devastating effects of the Coronavirus have shown how important it is to prepare for these catastrophes. Both insurance and reinsurance companies must ensure they can transfer some of the risk of these low-frequency, high-severity events to other entities. However, it is difficult to know how much risk-sharing is needed, considering it is tough to predict future catastrophes. Therefore, this paper analyzes the effects of catastrophes on the insurance and reinsurance markets, explores different methods that are used to manage catastrophic losses, and investigates how catastrophe models are built and used in the insurance industry
Corporate Social Responsibility in Professional Sports: Perceptions and Demographics
Get PDFIn America, businesses are looking for ways to truly connect with their customers and key publics. This concept is especially prevalent in sports organizations such as the National Football League (NFL), Major League Baseball (MLB), the National Basketball Association (NBA), and professional tennis. These leagues utilize corporate social responsibility (CSR) messaging to encourage engagement both in the stadium and at home, all the while trying to promote something everyone can enjoy. But, how effective is this messaging? Does utilizing these messaging strategies correlate with increased positive attitudes and greater engagement in sports? There has been some research done into the sociology of sports, which discusses why sports organizations are believed to carry so much weight. The purpose of this research is to determine if certain types of CSR messaging will resonate differently with various groups, which vary with respect to personality, psychographic disposition, or demographics. A survey was conducted where change in attitude about a sports team was measured. Respondents were asked a series of questions related to their engagement with sports. They were then shown a series of CSR promotions developed by the NFL. Upon seeing those promotions, they were asked the same survey questions. The goal was to determine if the CSR messaging influenced participants’ likelihood to watch the sports team. Business owners and social media professionals can benefit from this study because it gives them insight into consumer preferences and what types of messaging motivates consumers to continue engaging with a certain business or team. This knowledge could aid in guiding businesses decisions with respect to consumer engagement via CSR messaging. The methodology is a survey that will be sent to members of the student body, the faculty and the alumni who accepted to take part in the survey. The survey analyzes questions about social causes the participant feels close to, and then they are asked questions about their feelings toward the National Football League’s use of corporate social responsibility (CSR) messaging. They are then shown multiple examples of NFL messages featuring CSR initiatives, and they are asked to comment on them (their effectiveness, their likeability, etc.)
Macroeconomic Indicators of National Subjective Well-being
Get PDFSubjective well-being (SWB), the self-reported evaluation that people’s lives are enjoyable and proceeding well (Diener et al., 2015), has been gaining attention in the study of macroeconomics as a useful indicator to assess quality of life within a country. In the literature, socioeconomic factors ranging from income level to perceived corruption to inflation have been found to have a relationship with national SWB. This study analyzes the research that has been done on macroeconomic indicators that have been linked to national SWB and provides context to evolution of interest toward national SWB in economics. This study also attempts to identify statistically significant variables of SWB by conducting a multiple regression analysis for a sample of 90 countries for the year 2017
Fine Arts Integration in Early Childhood Education Classrooms
Get PDFThis study seeks to define the place of fine arts in all early childhood classrooms regardless of subject. This research explored how fine arts can enhance a lesson or a student’s learning experience and the perceived effects of art integration on students and teachers. Research methodology included conducting interviews with practicing teachers in both general and special area education to understand their perspectives on fine arts integration
The Influence We Have Over Our Own Happiness
No full textThis interview encompasses several key words of wisdom in life, particularly in how to promote happiness in one\u27s own life through how we perceive the people and things around us
Quiet Riots: Latino Mennonites and the Politics of Belonging
No full textFelipe Hinojosa provides an overview of Latino religious politics in the Mennonite Church in the 1960s and 1970s, as discussed in his book Latino Mennonites: Civil Rights, Faith, and Evangelical Culture . He focuses on how Latino Mennonites forged coalitions with Black Mennonites to both push back against the racism they experienced in the church and to fight for a seat at the Anabaptist table. Felipe Hinojosa is an associate professor of history at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas. He serves as director for the Carlos H. Cantu Hispanic Education & Opportunity Endowment at Texas A&M and is editor for the interdisciplinary, peer-reviewed, and online moderated forum Latinx Talk. His work has appeared in Zócalo Public Square, Western Historical Quarterly, American Catholic Studies, Mennonite Quarterly Review, and in multiple edited collections on Latinx Studies
Synthesis of an Amino Functionalized Extended Nucleobase for Triple Helix Formation and Recognition of the A-U base pair in double-stranded RNA
Get PDFResearch has uncovered previously unknown roles for non-coding RNA as enzymes, gene regulators, and post-transcriptional modifiers. However, additional undiscovered functions of non-coding RNA likely remain. To better understand the function of non-coding RNA, we design triplex-forming peptide nucleic acid (PNA), with modified nucleobases, that binds sequence-specifically to double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) and potentially inhibits the function of the dsRNA. PNA contains a neutral amide backbone that has favorable binding to negatively-charged dsRNA. Our modified nucleobases subsequently allow for sequence specific molecular recognition.
Here we report an extended nucleobase derived from isoorotic acid containing an amino group, that when protonated should exhibit favorable hydrogen bonding to the Hoogsteen face of the A-U base pair while also imparting cationic character to the PNA for increased binding affinity. The synthesis of the target nucleobase involves alkylation of isoorotic acid and protection of 2-aminobenzylamine. The alkylated isoorotic acid and protected aniline are coupled through amide bond formation, followed by hydrogenation to form a carboxylic acid for coupling with the PNA backbone. Upon synthesis of the extended nucleobase, we will incorporate it into PNA and determine the binding affinity and sequence selectivity of the nucleobase for the A-U base pair of dsRNA
Low-Cost, Biomimetic, Vibrotactile Stimulation for Non-Invasive Sensory Feedback
No full textProsthetic limbs provide individuals with amputations the ability to regain function in lost body parts. However, most prostheses are seen as tools rather than the embodiment of the user’s missing limb. To strengthen the connection between prosthesis and user, a sense of touch can be enabled via vibrotactile feedback. The goal of our experiment is to find the just-noticeable-difference (JND) in stimuli that an individual can distinguish while using two different waveforms: biomimetic and traditional. The biomimetic waveform mimics rapidly and slowly adapting receptors in the body by encoding rate-of-change in stimuli at the onset and offset of a more traditional 1.6 sec square wave. A graphical user interface was programmed in Matlab to control an Arduino Nano and an inexpensive coin vibrator. During the JND experiment, various pulse-wave-modulation (PWM) duty cycles were compared to a standard (58.8%) and the subject was asked to respond whether the first or second stimuli felt stronger. Although only pilot tests have been conducted, our data suggests that the biomimetic waveform yields a lower JND and could provide a more refined sense of touch. Future work includes integrating vibrators with a virtual hand for real-time sensory feedback
The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on K-12 School Teachers\u27 Stress, Coping and Burnout: Identification of Protective and Exacerbating Factors
Get PDFThe COVID-19 pandemic caused many changes and challenges for K-12 teachers and students alike. The changes in teaching modality, need for safety precautions, and challenges in maintaining contact with students contributed to heightened stress levels for teachers (Jones, 2020). Job stress has the potential to lead to burnout among teachers (de Vera Garcia & Gambarte, 2019). The present study sought to survey the stressors experienced by K-12 teachers in the U.S., the impact of teachers’ job-related stress on their burnout, and factors, such as resiliency, coping styles, resources, and social support, that might buffer against the effects of stress on burnout. Results of a quantitative survey (n = 74) and qualitative interview (n = 4) revealed that most teachers reported a moderate level of stress and burnout while teaching during the pandemic. Stress was significantly correlated with burnout, and teachers’ burnout-related exhaustion was higher than their disengagement. Resiliency, but not coping or social support, served to buffer against the negative effects of stress on burnout. Many participants found that they did have necessary resources for their students, but not enough support as educators. Overall findings suggest teachers were feeling stress and burnout despite any coping skills, social support or resilience