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Investigation of Interfacial Properties under Electrocatalytic Reduction Conditions:
Get PDFThesis advisor: Matthias WaegeleHeterogeneous electrocatalytic reduction is an environmentally friendly method for the conversion of abundant feedstock molecules into valuable products. Examples include the reduction of carbon dioxide to hydrocarbons and the reduction of nitrate to ammonia. Heterogeneous electrocatalysis occurs at the interface between an electrode and an electrolyte. Interfacial properties, such as surface morphology, interfacial electric field, interfacial water structure, and local pH, can substantially influence the activity and selectivity of electrocatalytic reduction processes. However, a comprehensive, molecular-level understanding of how these interfacial properties control electrocatalysis is still largely lacking to date. To develop such an understanding, it is essential to probe the properties of the electrocatalytic interface under operating conditions. This great experimental challenge is further compounded by the fact that the interface often undergoes dynamic changes during catalysis. In this thesis, we took a multimodal approach to characterize the aqueous electrolyte/copper interface during CO2/CO reduction and hydrogen evolution. Copper is the only pure metal that promotes the reduction of CO2/CO to hydrocarbons at significant reaction rates. The hydrogen evolution reaction is the main competing reaction in aqueous electrolytes. It is therefore essential to understand how these reactions are controlled by the properties of the interface. In the first part of this thesis, we employed in-situ surface-enhanced infrared absorption spectroscopy (SEIRAS) and surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) to investigate dynamic changes of the copper electrode surface. We found that the polycrystalline copper electrode surface undergoes a reconstruction process upon adsorption of CO. The formation of nanoscale metal clusters on the electrode manifests itself by the appearance of a new CO stretch band, which arises from a CO sub-population bound to undercoordinated copper atoms. The formation of these clusters is reversible, that is, they disappear upon desorption of CO. This work demonstratesthat a reaction intermediate such as CO can induce dynamic and reversible changes in the surface morphology of a heterogeneous catalyst. Because the changes are reversible, they would escape ex situ measurements. Our findings highlight the need for probing catalytic surfaces under operating conditions. In the second part of this thesis, we focused on how the electrolyte influences electrocatalysis at the aqueous electrolyte/copper electrode interface. Specifically, we explored the mechanisms by which cations of the supporting electrolyte affect the reduction of CO and the hydrogen evolution reaction on copper. With differential electrochemical mass spectrometry (DEMS), we determined to what extent the reduction of CO to ethylene is affected by the identity of the cations of the supporting electrolyte. Ethylene is produced in the presence of methyl4N+ and ethyl4N+ cations, whereas this product is not synthesized in propyl4N+- and butyl4N+-containing electrolytes. With SEIRAS, we found that an intermolecular interaction between surface-adsorbed CO and interfacial water is disrupted in the presence of the two larger cations. This observation suggests that this interaction promotes the hydrogenation of surface-bound CO to ethylene. This work illustrates that weak intermolecular interactions can substantially influence electrocatalytic processes. In a related study, we examined the effect of alkali metal cations of the supporting electrolyte on the hydrogen evolution reaction. We found that, in alkaline conditions, changing the cation from Na+ to Cs+ has no measurable effect on the HER. Because it is well-established that Cs+ promotes the reduction of CO2/CO to hydrocarbons, the results illustrate the changing the alkali cation enables the selective promotion of this pathway under alkaline conditions. Further, we found that in 0.1 M solutions of NaOH and CsOH of the highest commercially available purity grades, trace impurities of iron deposit on the copper electrode during the hydrogen evolution reaction. Because iron is a better catalyst for the hyrogen evolution reaction than copper, the rate of the hydrogen evolution reaction is enhanced by up to a factor of 5. These findings demonstrate that trace impurities of this ubiquitous metal pose a great challenge for the development of selective catalytic processes for CO2/CO reduction. This thesis provides a critical study of how the interfacial properties change under the electrocatalytic reduction of CO2/CO and hydrogen evolution conditions. The properties of both Cu electrode and the electrolyte contribute to the control of the selectivity of these complex electrocatalytic processes.Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2021.Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.Discipline: Chemistry
It's All Greek to Policy: An Analysis of Variation in Sexual Harrassment Policies Due to Undergraduate Greek Life Involvement
No full textThesis advisor: Alyssa GoldmanThis research aims to investigate if the undergraduate Greek life involvement percentage on college campuses can influence the vernacular and phrasing found in sexual harassment policies in universities. A matching approach is utilized to compare schools with similar geographic locations, undergraduate population sizes, religious affiliation and status as a public or private school, who only differ in what percentage of their undergraduate population is involved in Greek life.Thesis (BA) — Boston College, 2021.Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences.Discipline: Departmental Honors.Discipline: Sociology
Squatting the Promised Land: Homeowner Mobilization in Urban China
No full textThesis advisor: Julia ChuangIn China’s overheating housing market, citizen grievances over “unfinished housing” (lanweilou) have become widespread. In lanweilou cases, developers presell housing units in high-rise apartments, initiate construction, then abscond without completing construction and renovation of these housing units. This paper documents the rise of a new social media-driven mode of mobilization now popular among homeowners of lanweilou housing. Based on ethnography and interviews with aggrieved homeowners in a southwestern Chinese city, this thesis argues that social media enables homeowners to report their grievances to a wider audience while providing diverse information about their cases for them to refine mobilizational targets. By combining authentic storytelling with self-censorship, homeowners can transform public attention in media channels into state intervention.Thesis (BA) — Boston College, 2021.Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences.Discipline: Departmental Honors.Discipline: Sociology
High-Throughput Particle Display Screening of RNA-Protein Interactions ; Prime Editor-Mediated Programmable Insertion of UAAs into Endogenous Proteins:
No full textThesis advisor: Jia NiuHigh-Throughput Particle Display Screening of RNA-Protein Interactions
RNA-protein binding interactions have essential roles in many biological processes including transcriptional and translational control; thus, it is important to quantify the binding affinities of these biological complexes through functional binding assays. Although conventional binding assays have provided significant insight to these dynamic networks, they generally provide a relatively low throughput for a limited number of samples. To overcome the limitations of these conventional binding assays to study RNA-protein binding interactions, we propose to develop an in vitro, high-throughput particle display-based for RNA aptamer screening of RNA-protein complexes for the subsequent identification and characterization of novel RNA aptamers that influence protein binding. With this technique, we will be able to profile large numbers of binding events based on binding-induced fluorescence-enhancement for a more holistic understanding of the corresponding RNA-protein network. So far, we have confirmed that this particle display-based technique can be used to estimate the binding affinity of the well-characterized MS2-MCP model system, and plan to advance this technique to screen a library of MS2 variants for mutational analysis.
Prime Editor-Mediated Programmable Insertion of UAAs into Endogenous Proteins
The introduction of unnatural amino acids (UAAs) to endogenous cell surface proteins for site-specific bioconjugation reactions allows for the incorporation of clickable, fluorescent handles in vivo; however, the transient expression of proteins harboring UAAs is limited by its transfection efficiency. Thus, we propose to employ prime editors and tRNA/aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase technologies to introduce an UAA to endogenous proteins for downstream bioconjugation applications. Briefly, we propose to stably incorporate a stop codon into mammalian cells by prime editing which will be confirmed with a reporter system, such that this stop codon can mediate the introduction of an UAA through the associated tRNA/aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase technology. By permanently introducing a bioorthogonal, clickable handle onto an endogenous protein, its cellular signaling and localization patters can be monitored in vivo for further classification of the behaviors of these proteins. So far, we identified a promising fluorescent reporter construct to validate the introduction of a stop codon into the mammalian genome by prime editing.Thesis (MS) — Boston College, 2021.Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.Discipline: Chemistry
ThePlace of Trust in Plato's Republic:
No full textThesis advisor: John SallisThe power and the problem of trust, πίστις, is nearly central to Plato’s Republic – in at least two senses. In the first sense, trust receives its most explicit consideration and treatment by Socrates in the central images of the Republic, specifically in the divided line image of Book VI, which Socrates uses to lay out the various powers and affections of knowing and opining in the soul and their corresponding objects. The line is divided into two proportional segments, both of which are divided again in turn. Trust, in its relation to the relative truth and clarity of objects of knowledge, is situated above imagination (εἰκασία), which relates to images, and by which Socrates means “first shadows, then appearances produced in water and in all close-grained, smooth, bright things, and everything of the sort.” Trust comes next in line, in the third place in relation to the truth itself. According to Socrates, trust, as a kind of power and affection of the soul, is related to “the animals around us, and everything that grows, and the whole class of artifacts (σκευαστὸν).” These are the things, Socrates says, that the objects of imagination are related to by way of likeness. Trust then, in this most basic sense, indicates the power of the soul by which human beings are primarily related to the objects in their environment – the everyday sorts of things which human beings encounter as they navigate their daily lives within the πόλις and the broader horizon of the κόσμος. They are the sorts of things that human beings generally take for granted. We are generally of the opinion that such things are what they are, as they appear. In another sense, trust is nearly central to the narrative of the Republic as it is situated within the divided line image itself. It is one of the two powers of the human soul that share a common border with the center of the divided line – the main division between the powers that relate to matters of opinion in the visible realm and the powers that are related to the intelligible realm, which is situated beyond the visible. On the other side of this major line of division lies the power of thought, διάνοια. Trust then, given where Socrates situates it along the divided line, although it is a lesser power in terms of its relationship to intelligible truths, still by way of its position and the border that it shares with thought, points to the very limit of the visible – perhaps the very limits of the κόσμος itself – the place where the visible gives way to the order of the intelligible. The power of trust, I will show by way of this work, is the power of the soul which can stretch opinion all the way out to its very limit – to the border of the visible and the intelligible which it shares with the power of thought.
However, I argue that the power of trust is not only manifest in the nearly central treatment it receives in the central images of the Republic, it is also very much front and center, albeit often times implicitly, in the periphery of the Republic’s narrative, on either side of the central books. Much of this work constitutes an attempt draw out the power and the problem of trust as it arises in the periphery so that it may be seen not only in its tertiary relationship to truth in the divided line, but also in the immense import it holds for human beings in their lives within the πόλις and in the greater context of the κόσμος itself. Indeed, the power of trust may seem somewhat small in relation matters of the intelligible as they arise along the divided line; however, it will appear rather large when it is considered in relation to the lives of human beings as they find themselves born into a κόσμος and situated within a πόλις. By way of this situation, human beings find themselves fundamentally related to one another. Although trust, according to the divided line, is not strictly a matter of intelligence or that which is knowable in relation to truth in the intelligible realm, it is very much a matter of learning and coming to know – to the extent that this is possible – within the realm of becoming. The power of trust is critically important insofar as it informs our relation to our surroundings, the πόλις, and the κόσμος itself. Moreover, trust has an enormous impact on the kinds of lives that we choose to lead, that we find worth choosing, and it helps us determine in whom and in what we can ultimately place our trust.
As such, the question of trust seems to, quite naturally, raise problem of judgment (κρίσις) in its turn. The question of judgment will run parallel to the theme of trust throughout this work. For, in many ways the two, trust and judgment, are inseparable. The two will arise quite frequently alongside one another, joined together as if in a kind of partnership. This is because, it seems, that in the order of the intelligible, and according to the power of knowing (νόησις) as it is developed in the divided line image, things that are known are simply known. Once a person, in the strictest sense, comes to know that something or other is true, he or she can take it for granted as something that is known – whatever it may be; however, in the realm of appearances and becoming, on the side of opinion, imagination, and trust, it is often the case that things must be judged, judgments must be made, and opinions must be formed on the basis of appearances alone – in the absence of any definitive sort of knowledge. And although trust constitutes a way of taking something for granted on the side of appearances, it is a kind of taking for granted that is at the same time held open – in a kind of suspension – provided that one does not confuse one’s judgments and opinions in accordance with trust with matters of knowing. That is, judgments which are made according to the power of trust, judgments that determine that something may or may not be taken for granted as it appears, are left decidedly unsettled in the way that matters of knowing and of knowledge are not.
If we do not mistake the judgments that we make on the basis of trust with a certain kind of knowing, then the question of judgment as it relates to trust proves, by nature, to always be something of an open question. Trust in its relation to judgment, and the opinions that we form on the basis of this relation, can potentially become an opening onto the order of the intelligible. By way of its most basic operation, trust can be that power by which human beings can be made open to questions and inquiries that reach beyond the order of the visible and into the realm of the intelligible, questions concerning the truth of what is and not what merely appears; however, if matters of trust are mistaken for knowledge, then trust becomes a matter of enclosure. If one mistakes the opinions that one forms on the basis of trust for a kind of knowledge, then one mistakenly closes off the possibility of any further inquiry and further questioning into that which lies beyond appearance. And so, as I argue in this work, trust is both a source of great potential for the human being and a source of great risk. In Chapter I, I examine Socrates’ exchanges with Cephalus and Polemarchus respectively, as they occur in Book I. I argue that, even in these initial exchanges surrounding the question of justice, the question of trust in relation to judgment is already made manifest within the narrative of the Republic. I also discuss the way in which each interlocutor’s opinion about justice somehow mediates and informs his character in turn, especially in relation to the question of trust. Both Cephalus’ and Polemarchus’ formulations of justice, I argue, are somehow reflective of the trust each places in himself and in others. The way in which one relates to trust, then, will deeply inform the kind of person one becomes. In Chapter II, I continue this discussion of trust as it relates to issues of character, judgment, and justice in the context of Socrates’ exchange with Thrasymachus in Book I. I show how the tyrant is characterized and plagued by a fundamental sense of mistrust in others. This pervasive distrust is that which both propels the tyrant into a position of power over the πόλις, and it is also that which leads to his or her seemingly inevitable decline. I also make the case that this attitude is reflected by Thrasymachus in his own conduct in Book I, especially in the way in which he thinks about λόγος and the way in which he engages in dialogue with others. In Chapter III, I begin with a consideration of the various challenges that Glaucon and Adeimantus raise surrounding the question of justice, particularly as it relates to the themes of trust and judgment. I consider Glaucon’s depiction of the perfectly unjust individual. Then, I examine Adeimantus’ claim that in a πόλις, justice is either praised merely for its appearance, for the reputation it provides, or justice is simply forgone in favor of a conventional kind of injustice. I also examine the way in which the first πόλις that is constructed by Socrates in λόγος – the one that he calls the true and healthy πόλις but Glaucon calls a “πόλις of sows” – is characterized and made possible by the sense of trust that prevails within it. The citizens of this πόλις seem to have an unquestioning sense of trust in one another insofar as they each can be trusted to provide for the basic needs of each other without taking more than is needed in return. This sense of trust is extended beyond the boundaries of the healthy πόλις in its relations with its neighbors. Socrates initial account of the origin of the πόλις, I argue, gives way to what I call a “cosmopolis of trust.” In Chapter IV, I examine the πόλις in λόγος as it passes into the unhealthy πόλις of the relishes, which are introduced by Glaucon in Book II. I consider the various lines that need to be drawn within the πόλις, in addition to the various laws and programs of education that are instituted, so as to restore a sense of trust amongst the citizens of the πόλις – especially the guardians – in the face of the temptation and the threat posed by the relishes themselves. I argue that a similar gesture is made for the same underlying reasons in Book V in relation to ἔρος. I conclude with a detailed consideration of trust as it is treated by Socrates in the divided line image and how this informs trust’s relationship to judgment. In Chapter V, by way of conclusion, I consider the issues of trust and judgment as they relate to the central figure of the philosopher-king. For, as Socrates says in Book V, in order for the πόλις in λόγος to become a reality, a philosopher must come to rule in the πόλις. I reflect upon the way in which, in relation to trust and to judgment, the philosopher-king comes to constitute at once the highest aspiration of the πόλις and perhaps its greatest risk. I then consider what I take to be two separate attempts to situate the πόλις in λόγος within the boundaries of the κόσμος. The first of these takes place in Books VIII-IX of the Republic, in which the πόλις ruled by philosophical monarchy or aristocracy inevitably declines into timocracy, oligarchy, democracy, and down into tyranny itself. I examine in outline, the way in which this decline is set underway by way of mistrust and various failures in judgment along the way. I then situate this discussion in relation to the narrative of the Timaeus, in which, at least as far as it seems, a separate attempt to situate the πόλις of the Republic within the boundary of the κόσμος is made. I argue that, in the face of the decline of the πόλις that we see in the Republic, the Timaeus might provide us with a model of soul and of κόσμος which, when placed in relation to the πόλις of the republic, resists the seeming inevitability of this decline and thereby vindicates the power of trust.Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2021.Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.Discipline: Philosophy
Améry and the Twilight of Being: A Tale of Resentment, Protest, and Forgiveness
Get PDFThesis advisor: Gregory FriedThe topic of resentment has experienced a resurgence recently in various fields (philosophy of race, moral psychology, transitional justice, critical theory and political philosophy). The republication and English translation of Jean Améry's work Jenseits von Schuld und Sühne: Bewältigungsversuche eines Überwältigten [Beyond Guilt and Atonement: The Effort to Overcome by One Who Has Been Overcome], better known now as At the Mind's Limit: Contemplations by a Survivor on Auschwitz and its Realities, is in large part credited for such a resurgence. Much of the literature takes Améry's chapter on “Resentments” as being geared towards establishing an “embodied ethic of resistance” which defies the “hegemony” of forgiveness in the Western tradition. What I argue is that Améry's own usage of the term implies a plurality of meanings, which itself forces us to go beyond this discussion. As we explore each facet of his Resentments, we come to see that it is only through a larger conceptual framework that we can make sense of their plurality and as well as what is ultimately at stake for Améry in them. Through doing so we can see that Améry's “resentments” are much more oriented towards establishing what Arendt defines precisely as “forgiveness”: an action which requires a radical re-conception of time and a re-presentation of the past within the present, directed towards the future. This dissertation will show how accepting the virtues of Améry's Resentment does not require forgoing forgiveness as a political concept, even in the context of genocide. In contradistinction to some of the literature on Arendt, it will also show that even in such circumstances, when punishment is impossible or inadequate, the virtues of Arendt's conception of forgiveness still shine forth. In fact, counter to what we might initially assume to be a limit of forgiveness, it is in the context of genocide that we can see the real possibility of “power”—as Arendt defines it within the context of the potential of people coming together to create something new—through the process of “forgiveness” writ large on the world stage. The limits of forgiveness come to appear as the conditions of its possibility. We will illustrate how Resentment and “forgiveness” in fact exist in a complementary relationship which binds them together. Améry's “resentments” manifest themselves as a call for repentance, but also in the realization of a need for such a call to be answered in turn. This call is not limited to the capacity to punish. We will conclude with an exploration of how ‘Resentments,’ ultimately guided towards reconciliation and processes of communal forgiveness, can be understood as serving a vital function in contemporary contexts of post-conflict and post-genocide societies.Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2021.Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.Discipline: Philosophy
Examining the practices of school counselors and school social workers in the implementation of an integrated student support model:
Get PDFThesis advisor: Mary E. WalshNon-academic factors significantly impact the achievement of students living in poverty (Ladd, 2012; Rothstein, 2010), with experts arguing for a systemic approach to address the complex factors associated with the growing opportunity gap (Bryk et al., 2010; Walsh & Murphy, 2003). In response, the integrated student support (ISS) model has emerged as one effective school-based method (Moore et al., 2017). Notably, both school social workers (SSWs) and school counselors are uniquely positioned to implement ISS models (Olsen, 2016; Teasley & Richard, 2017). School social work reflects a history of working primarily within the family and mental health domains, utilizing community partnerships to deliver intensive interventions to individual, at-risk students (Kelly et al., 2015a). Meanwhile, school counseling reflects a history of emphasizing the academic and social-emotional domains, utilizing individual, whole-school prevention and early intervention (Galassi & Akos, 2012). There is, however, little research on how these distinct professional histories influence systemic intervention implementation. Sequential explanatory mixed methods analyses examined how SSWs and school counselors implemented one systemic ISS model, City Connects, in high-poverty urban schools. Quantitative analyses examined the developmental domain (academic, mental health, family), intensity level (prevention/early, intensive intervention), and provider (school, community, Coordinator) of service referrals to determine differences depending on profession, while controlling for years of practice with City Connects and number of students served. Qualitative analyses bolstered quantitative findings. Post-hoc quantitative analyses further explored outcomes. Findings revealed no differences between school social workers’ and school counselors’ referrals across developmental domains, intensity levels, and service providers, irrespective of the number of years of practice and number of students served. Both professions believed the City Connects model increased the range of their responsibilities, impact on students, and satisfaction compared to their previous, more traditional roles. SSWs reported spending more time supporting families than school counselors in post-hoc analyses. Codified models of practice, like City Connects, may reduce potential practice differences associated with profession, develop and shift professional dispositions, encourage mindset shifts, and increase perceptions of increased impact and satisfaction.Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2021.Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education.Discipline: Counseling, Developmental and Educational Psychology
Investigating Catalytic Selectivity of Nanoparticles encapsulated in MOFs:
Get PDFThesis advisor: Chia-kuang TsungThesis advisor: Dunwei WangCoating porous materials is a potential pathway to improve Catalytic performance of heterogeneous catalysts. The unique properties of Metal organic frameworks (MOFs) like huge surface area, long range order and high tenability make them promising coating materials. However, two traditional MOF encapsulation methods have their own issues. Herein, we synthesized Pt/Pd metal nanoparticles @UiO-66-NH2 via a one-pot in situ method which has good control of nanoparticles size while avoids the introduction of capping agent. The catalytic performance of synthesized Pt@UiO-66-NH2 is tested via selective hydrogenation of Crotonaldehyde. And the selectivity of our desired product achieves 70.42% which is much higher than merchant Pt catalysts. A step further, we used linker exchange to replace the original NH2-BDC linker of which amine group plays an important role in the coating process. After linker exchanging, the significant decreasing in selectivity of our target product demonstrates that the interaction between Pt and amine group does have some positive impacts on their catalytic performance. We hope our research could provide some insights of the MOFs and nanoparticles interface and help rational design of catalysts with high performance.Thesis (MS) — Boston College, 2021.Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.Discipline: Chemistry
Essays in Market Design:
Get PDFThesis advisor: M. Utku ÜnverThesis advisor: M. Bumin YenmezThis dissertation consists of two essays in market design. In the first chapter, we study affirmative action policies in college admissions and hiring. A college or firm makes admissions or hiring decisions in which each candidate is characterized by priority ranking and type, which may depend on race, gender, or socioeconomic status. The admissions or hiring committee faces a trade-off between meritocracy and diversity: while a merit-first choice rule may admit candidates of the same type, a diversity-first choice rule may be unfair due to priority violations. To formalize this trade-off, we introduce a measure of meritocracy and a measure of diversity for choice rules. Then, we investigate how to resolve the tension between them. A choice rule that uses both reserves and quotas can be viewed as a compromise and is a generalization of the two extreme rules. The first result is comparative statics for this class of choice rules: we show that as parameters change and the choice rule becomes more meritorious, it also becomes less diverse. The second result is a characterization of the choice rule, which may help admissions or hiring committees to decide their policies.
In the second chapter, we introduce a method to measure manipulability of a matching mechanism and use theory and simulation to study constrained mechanisms in school choice. First, we show that the implications from existing measures are strongly dependent on the full preference domain assumption. Our measure is more robust. The implications from existing measures can be carried over as well: while the recent school admissions reforms did not fully eliminate incentives to manipulate, they discouraged manipulation. Second, we use simulations for quantitative analysis. Our results support the recent school admissions reforms quantitatively, as well as qualitatively: they largely eliminated the incentives to manipulate. In addition, while the qualitative implications from theory are parallel to existing measures, the quantitative implications from simulations confirm a significant difference.Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2021.Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.Discipline: Economics
Essays in Empirical Asset Pricing:
Get PDFThesis advisor: Jeffrey J.P. PontiffMy dissertation includes three chapters on the value premium. In the first chapter, I study whether seemingly innocuous decisions in the construction of the original HML portfolio (Fama and French, 1993) affect our inference on the value premium. I find that the value premium is dramatically smaller than we thought. In sample, the average estimate of the value premium is 0.09% per month smaller than the original estimate of the value premium. Out of sample, however, the difference is statistically insignificant. The results suggest that the original value premium estimate is upward biased because of a chance result in the original research decisions.
In the second chapter, I propose an estimate for intangible assets and growth opportunities and examine if this estimate improves book-to-market equity as a measure of value. I find that portfolios sorted on book equity plus the estimate to market equity have lower returns than portfolios sorted on book-to-market equity. The results suggest that intangible assets and growth opportunities diminish book-to-market equity as a measure of value because investors value intangible assets and growth opportunities in an overly optimistic way.
In my third chapter, I simultaneously study nine explanations of the value effect to better understand what the dominant value explanation is. I find that duration accounts for most of the value effect and that the eight other explanations account for a negligible part of it. The results suggest that duration is the dominant explanation of the value effect.Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2021.Submitted to: Boston College. Carroll School of Management.Discipline: Finance