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Oscillating Between Fear and Relief: A Volatility-Based Aggregate Market Return-State Model
Get PDFIs there a generalizable relationship between aggregate market returns and implied volatility variables that can extend the predictions made by existing volatility forecasting models? The purpose of this study is to explore any existing implied volatility in the market return relationship. I distinguish between two state variables: implied volatility level and implied volatility changes. VIX and S&P 500 daily data were obtained for the period 1990 to 2016. The relationships are examined with linear, non-linear, and quantile regressions, a cross-sectional analysis including difference of mean tests, and multiple cross-sectional event studies to investigate market behaviour around each cross-sectional observation. This study finds evidence for significant asymmetric and non-linear relationships between implied volatility variables and macro market returns. Volatility-based macro market return-states, as described by the cross-sections, are found to rigorously filter for sign and magnitude of returns, and have significantly different return expectations. Since volatility is more easily forecast than market prices, these findings hold significant value for investors and risk managers, both in managing tail risk and in making investment decisions
The Impact of York University Faculty Association Community Projects (YUFA-CP): Funding for Jane & Finch Community Access to Post-Secondary Education
No full textIn the past 10 years, the York University Faculty Association’s Community Projects initiative (YUFA-CP) has spent a significant amount of funding on community projects targeting the Jane and Finch community in Toronto, Canada. In this study, we analyzed annual reports 2009–2017 from the communities who received more than $1500 in funding. We also gathered data from eight interviews with community program directors and past program participants in order to gauge the effectiveness of the funding in assisting students from low-income communities to access higher education at nearby York University (Toronto, Canada). Literature reviews of academic journals and various online sources were done to support the analysis. Study results showed several positive impacts from the funding initiative; improved social support and financial assistance as well as gains in student academic achievement and self-confidence were evident from the interview results. The data suggest that the faculty association’s community project funding initiative has been used effectively in the past 10 years
Canada’s Inequality Story: Racial Injustice and Young Black Men
Get PDFRacialized youth are highly overrepresented in the Canadian juvenile justice system. This study, designed to investigate the persistence of biases within the justice system, gathers information from young African-Canadian adults 19–26 from the Greater Toronto Area (Canada). Racial stereotyping and anti-Black racism are constant and communities mistrust the police. Results suggest that institutional and systemic forms of discrimination contribute to the criminalization of minority youth
“Womb for Rent”: Socio-Cultural Implications of Reproductive Tourism in India
Get PDFCommercial surrogacy in India has become an increasingly controversial human rights and global health issue. Indian women living in dire poverty are the most vulnerable group in this transnational phenomenon. Reproductive tourism can be defined as the process whereby affluent people, predominately from Global North countries (i.e., Canada) seek assisted reproduction in the Global South (in this case, India), to accomplish fertility and kinship formation goals while remaining oblivious to the inevitable social issues associated with this international trade. This study investigates how the media and academic anthropological research present current understandings of family and kinship regarding commercial surrogacy. I argue that reproductive tourism is a multi-faceted social issue with significant socio-cultural implications for kinship in India and the Global North with roots in a gendered division of labour, culture-specific belief systems, technological advancement, race and class stratification, capitalist structures, and globalization. I critically analyze diverse media sources that offer insights within these realms, and I use research in anthropology as ethnographic evidence to support, challenge, or extend claims reported by the media. The commodification of reproductive labour has had vast impacts on the cultural meanings of kinship in India and in Global North countries. Transnational surrogacy must be perceived by governments as a public matter rather than a private one, in order to adequately derive holistic solutions to halt the exploitation of vulnerable Indian women while balancing the desire of infertile individuals to utilize surrogacy as a means of kinship formation
A Patriotic Fan Letter in the Archives
Get PDFThe purpose of this project was to perform an in-depth analysis of selected materials in the Clara Thomas Archives and Special Collections (York University, Toronto). This study focused on what we, as historians and patrons of the Archives, can learn about a particular author or individual from a set of documents. The document I chose was a fan letter written to Canadian author Margaret Laurence about her book The Stone Angel. I debate whether the letter, written by Dawn E. Clarke in 1972, endures in the Clara Thomas Archives because of, or in spite of, Margaret Laurence. I approached my analysis, first and foremost, by examining the items in the Margaret Laurence Fonds. I chose Dawn E. Clarke’s letter because it was the only document in the fonds to discuss The Stone Angel. I then analyzed the letter's content, physical characteristics such as Clarke's handwriting, and considered the reasons why this particular document was archived. I deduced the following: Dawn's handwriting, word choice, and neat presentation of her letter suggest she held Laurence in high esteem. Dawn's admiration and her national pride establishes Canada as a viable literary destination. Dawn acknowledges her role as a female reader and asserts her right to this readership and even authorship by composing her document. The existence and preservation of this document show the impact of an author on an individual
The Impacts of Oil Sand Operations on the Development, Survival, and Reproductive Capabilities of Fathead Minnows (Pimephales Promelas) in Alberta, Canada
Get PDFToxic contaminants discharged from oil sands mining processes are accruing in and around freshwater environments. The aim of this review is to arrive at a consensus regarding the impacts that these toxic pollutants have on the development, survival, and reproductive capabilities of fathead minnows or Pimephales promelas—a species of ray-finned fish in Alberta, Canada. The choice to focus specifically on fathead minnows was based on the fact that they are an indicator species, commonly used in environmental toxicology assessments. Additionally, they are both abundant and native to the oil sands region of Alberta. Based on my findings, toxic pollutants such as naphthenic acid fraction components, can either induce increased mortality of fathead minnow embryos or increase developmental abnormalities (typically cardiovascular irregularities) during hatching. Furthermore, wastewater generated from oil-sand handling can, for example, increase their hematocrit levels (ratio of red blood cells), decrease their leucocrit levels (ratio of white blood cells), and circulate lymphocytes in the blood. This suite of potential developmental complications has been observed to reduce the survivorship of fathead minnows. Lastly, large quantities of toxic pollutants, such as naphthenic acid accumulating in freshwater ecosystems, impairs the reproductive physiology of fathead minnows. The accumulation of toxic pollutants released by oil sands mining operations in freshwater ecosystems is significantly impairing the life cycle of the fathead minnow. It appears that even the smallest doses of such pollutant, can cause in detrimental effects on fathead minnow populations
Deforestation: How Tree Loss Affects Climate
No full textDeforestation and climate change are two of the biggest environmental disasters facing the planet today. It is important to understand the interaction between these threats. Using metaanalysis, we looked at the effect that deforestation has on climate as well as on climate change. Ten research papers were selected from a pool of twenty-five on large rain forests, and these were used for statistical analysis. In order to produce relevant and applicable results, the studies were restricted to the last five years. We found that deforestation has both regional and global impacts on climate. This result has significant implications because it shows that slowing deforestation is critical not only for the local environment but also for the entire global climate.
 
Discrimination Against Transgender Nonbinary Applicants During the Hiring Process
No full textTransgender and genderqueer people regularly face discrimination, especially when it comes to employment and the hiring process (Hebl et al., 2002; Nadler & Kufahl, 2014; Reed et al., 2015); however, these groups are often underrepresented in psychological research. The current study aims to add to the research literature by investigating potential hiring biases against transgender nonbinary individuals (TNBIs) applying for teaching positions. More specifically, do participants feel comfortable hiring TNBIs as teachers, especially when the job involves working with younger children? A total of 276 participants between the ages of 18 and 53 were randomly assigned to read one of two teaching applicants’ résumés, which contained their work experience, education, and additional qualifications. The résumés of both job applicants were differentiated only by the pronouns they used (she/her or they/them), as well as by their membership in a teachers’ association (the Association for Teachers of Toronto or the Association for Transgendered Teachers of Toronto). In the current study, the independent variable was the gender identity of the applicant (TNBI or cisgender woman) and the dependent variable was the grade level that participants recommended the applicant teach. We conclude that TNBIs were significantly more likely to be recommended for teaching positions involving older children when compared to equally qualified cisgender applicants, thus revealing underlying discrimination during the hiring process
Impact of Socioeconomic Status (SES) and Bilingualism on French Language Development in Early French Immersion
Get PDFAs part of a larger longitudinal study evaluating the impact of Early French Immersion on English and French language and cognitive development, a group of children were recruited in 2017 and tested annually while progressing through grades one, two, and three. The current thesis tracked the French language proficiency and development of these students who attended public and Catholic schools across Toronto. Considering the increasing diversity of students enrolled in Early French Immersion, the purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of home language experience and parental education on language learning abilities. Narrowing the focus to French language tasks administered, data was analyzed for performance on semantic and phonological verbal fluency, sentence-to-picture matching, and standardized vocabulary tests over the three years. Background measures assessed intelligence, English vocabulary, and included a questionnaire filled out by parents providing information relevant to demographics as well as details on the child’s language and social background. Based on parents’ responses to the questionnaire, children were assigned to (a) monolingual or bilingual groups and (b) middle socioeconomic status (SES) or high SES groups. Following the categorical designations of these variables, the results showed effects of bilingualism and SES on different aspects of children’s developing French language proficiency. The findings suggest that there is no harm in enrolling children of diverse language backgrounds in the program, however future research could explore educational supports to optimize student success in the program across SES groups