Texas A&M International University: Research Information Online (RIO)
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Going beyond composites: Conducting a factor-based PLS-SEM analysis
No full textThere has been a long and ongoing debate, at points resembling an acrimonious dispute, among proponents and detractors of the use of the partial least squares (PLS) approach for structural equation modeling (SEM). The compositefactor estimation dichotomy has been the epicenter of this debate. In this chapter, we briefly discuss the implementation of a new method to conduct factor-based PLS-SEM analyses, which could be a solid step in the resolution of this debate. This method generates estimates of both true composites and factors, in two stages, fully accounting for measurement error. Our discussion is based on an illustrative model in the field of e-collaboration.AMonte Carlo experiment suggests thatmodel parameters generated by the method are asymptotically unbiased. The method is implemented as part of the software WarpPLS, starting in version 5.0. This chapter provides enough details for the method’s implementation in other venues such as R and GNU Octave
A data analytics framework for key financial factors
No full textPurpose: The purpose of this paper is to identify a subset of key financial ratios and factors that provide the best discriminating power to distinguish between creditworthy companies (CWCs) and less creditworthy companies (LCWCs) in the USA with the proposed method. Design/methodology/approach: A proposed framework of Bisection Method Based on Tabu Search + Support Vector Machines (BMTS + SVM) is used to select subset of financial ratios from a pool of candidate ratios. The selected ratios and their corresponding financial factors are considered as the key financial ratios and factors that provide the best discriminating power to distinguish between CWCs and LCWCs. The authors collected financial data for the US companies and then identify the key financial ratios and factors which the selected key financial ratios belong. Findings: It is found that the four selected financial ratios from the proposed method and eight financial ratios which are used by Standard & Poor for their credit-rating system can be attributed to the same four financial factors, namely, cash flow factor, profitability factor, solvency factor and leverage factor. This result lends support that the proposed method can be applied to identify key financial factors to differentiate CWCs and LCWCs. Practical implications: This study provides a tool for managers in financial institutions to gain better understanding about the credit risk of their applicants by focusing on a parsimonious model with fewer ratios in the key financial factors. In addition, companies that attempt to borrow money from financial institutions can also use these key financial ratios and factors as reference to attain clearer vision on what are the most important factors for being considered a creditworthy company and thus develop specific strategies to improve their financial performance. Originality/value: Based on data analytic techniques, this paper identifies key financial ratios and factors for examining the creditworthiness of US companies with the proposed framework using BMTS + SVM method
Product market competition and cost stickiness
No full textExtant literature on cost stickiness has focused on how firm-specific characteristics affect the asymmetric cost behavior. In this paper, we explore how a firm’s operating environment affects the firm’s cost stickiness. Specifically, we examine the effect of product market competition on cost stickiness since a firm’s investment and cost retention decisions partly depend on how the firm interacts with its rival firms in the product markets. Using two firm-level text-based product market competition measures extracted from management disclosures in firms’ 10-K filings (Li et al. in J Account Res 51(2):399–436, 2013; Hoberg and Phillips in Rev Financ Stud 23(10):3773–3811, 2010; J Polit Econ, 2015), we find strong evidence consistent with cost asymmetry increasing in competition after controlling for known economic determinants of cost stickiness. In additional analyses, we also find that the effect of product market competition on the degree of cost stickiness increases in firms’ financial strength, likely because management in financially stronger firms has more resources for investment expenditures in spite of a sales fall. We also find that cost stickiness is increasing in competition if management is optimistic about future demand, whereas competition is not associated with cost asymmetry if management is pessimistic about future demand. Finally, we find that the relationship between competition and cost stickiness, although statistically insignificant at conventional levels, is more pronounced for single-segment firms relative to multi-segment firms
Task effects in bilingual idiom comprehension
No full textThe purpose of the experiments reported here is to explore the effects of task (implicit vs. explicit) on the activation of literal and figurative meanings of English idiomatic expressions in the course of their processing by Spanish-English bilinguals varying along their dominance in English or Spanish. Two experiments were carried out using a rapid serial visual presentation (RSVP) task: an implicit lexical decision task and an explicit meaningfulness judgment task. Stimuli included literally plausible English idioms (e.g. kick the bucket, which has both a figurative meaning - \u27to die\u27, and a literal interpretation - \u27to strike a pail with one\u27s foot\u27). Mixed Linear Model analyses were conducted on the lexical decision and meaningfulness judgment data, with context (literal vs. figurative vs. control) and target type (literal vs. figurative) as within-subject factors, and bilingual dominance (Spanish-dominant vs. English-dominant) as a between-subject factor. Results showed strong salience effects in the implicit task and strong context effects in the explicit task. Specifically, only literal target activation was found for Spanish-dominant participants in the implicit, lexical decision task, as opposed to English-dominant participants, where both literal and figurative meanings were equally strongly activated. In the explicit, meaningfulness judgment task, regardless of language dominance, congruent targets (both literal-congruent and figurative-congruent) were recognized faster than incongruent ones, both by English- and Spanish-dominant participants
Constraining SWAT Calibration with Remotely Sensed Evapotranspiration Data
No full textHistorically, many watershed studies have been based on using the streamflow flux, typically from a single gauge at the basin\u27s outlet, to support calibration. In this setting, there is great potential for equifinality of parameters during the optimization process, especially for parameters that are not directly related to streamflow. Therefore, some of the optimal parameter values achieved during the autocalibration process may be physically unrealistic. In recent decades a vast array of data from land surface models and remote sensing platforms can help to constrain hydrologic fluxes such as evapotranspiration (ET). While the spatial resolution of these ancillary datasets varies, the continuous spatial coverage of these gridded datasets provides flux measurements across the entire basin, in stark contrast to point-based streamflow data. This study uses Global Land Evaporation: the Amsterdam Model data to constrain Soil and Water Assessment Tool parameter values associated with ET to a more physically realistic range. The study area is the Little Washita River Experimental Watershed, in southern Oklahoma. Traditional objective metrics such as the Nash-Sutcliffe coefficients record no performance improvement after application of this method. However, there is a dramatic increase in the number of days with receding flow where simulations match observed streamflow
Rosas Mantecón, Ana (2017), Ir al cine: antropología de los públicos, la ciudad y las pantallas, CDMX: Gedisa Editorial/UAM Iztapalapa
No full textAfter seventy years of an almost complete hegemony, in 2000 the Institutional Revolutionary Party lost the presidency of the Republic to the oppositional National Action Party. That moment was considered the hallmark of the political transition that started in certain regions two decades ago. According to a group of American scholars, the transformation of the political system involved the modernisation of the media system as well, as the Mexican press as a whole was moving towards its professionalization. Nonetheless, diverse case studies focused on specific regions have found empirical evidence that prove otherwise: that local and regional journalism is still determined by the customs of the authoritarian model. Based upon a content analysis of the coverage of the 2015 parliamentary elections in both national and state newspapers, we found that although national media showed a more professional performance than those located in other regions, both groups shared a similar political bias and a limited coverage of those elections. Therefore, the main conclusion is that instead of a general transformation or stagnation, Mexican press develops an asynchronous modernisation process in which there are simultaneously liberal and authoritarian features
Differentiating the impact of CSR strengths and concerns on firm performance: An investigation of MNEs and US domestic firms
No full textPurpose: The purpose of this paper is to assess the Kinder, Lydenberg, Domini & Co. (KLD) dimensions by distinguishing between corporate social responsibility (CSR) strengths and concerns and examine their individual effects on firm financial performance. Additionally, the study distinguishes between US domestic firms and multinational enterprises (MNEs) to provide additional insights and explore if any differences exist. Design/methodology/approach: Data from the KLD and Compustat databases are analyzed for a sample of 562 US firms, of which 359 are multinational corporations, and 203 operate solely in the USA. A path analysis was used to examine the effect of CSR strengths and concerns on firm financial performance. Findings: The findings show that increases in CSR strengths as well reductions in CSR concerns are positively linked to firm financial performance. The results also suggest that addressing concerns would be more beneficial to MNEs as opposed to US domestic firms. Research limitations/implications: First, it should be noted that this study is cross-sectional, thus limiting confirmation of causality. Future studies can confirm causality by conducting longitudinal analysis. Also, some country-specific regulations require firms to make certain CSR-related information publicly available. Future studies can focus on countries that have such regulations and make comparisons with countries that allow firms to decide for themselves whether or not to make CSR-related activities publicly available. Originality/value: When measuring CSR, previous studies have combined the CSR strengths and concerns latent variables of the KLD database. This can potentially be a problem because CSR strengths and concerns are not meant to measure the same issues. By separating them into two distinct latent variables, the authors can better understand their individual effects on firm performance
Common method bias: A full collinearity assessmentmethod for PLS-SEM
No full textIn the context of structural equation modeling employing the partial least squares (PLS-SEM) method, common method bias is a phenomenon caused by common variation induced by the measurement method used and not by the network of causes and effects in the model being studied. Two datasets were created through a Monte Carlo simulation to illustrate our discussion of this phenomenon: one contaminated by common method bias and the other not contaminated. A practical approach is presented for the identification of common method bias based on variance inflation factors generated via a full collinearity test. Our discussion builds on an illustrative model in the field of e-collaboration, with outputs generated by the softwareWarpPLS.We demonstrate that the full collinearity test is successful in the identification of common method bias with a model that nevertheless passes standard convergent and discriminant validity assessment criteria based on a confirmation factor analysis
From cognitive maps to transparent static web maps: Tools for indigenous territorial control in La Muskitia, Honduras
No full textAs indigenous groups claim a fundamental role in the governance and management of the territories they inhabit, the evolution of digital and Web-based maps continues to offer tools that support these activities, while demonstrating to state governments, educators, and others the distinct indigenous concepts and practices inscribed on the Earth\u27s surface. However, making map vector files available to the public can be problematic, because the indigenous stakeholders and their academic colleagues must relinquish control of how the data are displayed by the end user. The indigenous Miskitu, Tawahka, and Pech of Honduras, with university-based geographers, are developing a solution for keeping the original and intended design: transparent static maps (overlays) created in a GIS and made publicly viewable as raster tiles over a free virtual globe. The pioneering Río Plátano Biosphere Reserve participatory research mapping (PRM) project produced and published large-scale paper maps of the communities and their land use in and around the reserve in 1998-1999. Due to their limited circulation and use, and requests from indigenous authorities for the information they contained, in 2010 indigenous Miskitu and Tawahka leaders and University of Kansas geographers agreed to convert them to digital format for use in the long-term management of their lands, digitizing the PRM hard copy maps into GIS vector files first by 2012, and then finally to Web-based transparent static maps in 2013-2014. The PRM mapping experiences parallel contemporaneous shifts in political and territorial strategies among Honduras\u27 indigenous peoples
