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Capital Structure, ETF Flows, and Performance
No full textThe aim of the dissertation is to study the impact of distinct financial variables such as ETF flows and capital structure on the performance of ETFs and firms. We investigate the heterogeneous effects of decomposed ETF flows, demand-driven, arbitrage-driven, and unexpected on abnormal returns across six ETF categories. Using a sample of 424 U.S. equity ETFs from 2000 to 2023 we run panel regressions, quantile models, and two-stage least squares (2SLS) estimations. The findings of this paper are in line with return-chasing behavior and crowding dynamics, demand flows are significantly associated with underperformance in index and Smart Beta ETFs, while active ETFs show less consistent effects. These effects persist across lag structures and are most pronounced in higher-performing quantiles. Under high volatility conditions, arbitrage flows improve alpha in most ETF classes. Unexpected flows generally lack predictive power, underscoring their idiosyncratic nature but their impact is more pronounced in sector active ETFs. Our findings challenge the one-size-fits-all approach of ETF flow analysis, suggesting the importance of ETF classification when evaluating flow-performance relationships
We also study the relationship between capital structure and firm performance in the U.S. information technology (IT) sector during 2010–2022. Using panel data from 32 publicly listed IT firms (401 firm-year observations), we apply a comprehensive econometric framework including pooled OLS, fixed and random effects, quantile regression, 2SLS, and Pooled Mean Group ARDL. Return on equity and market capitalization are the two main performance measures in this paper, while capital structure is captured through total liabilities to total assets (debt ratio), cost of debt, and cost of capital. Results show a consistently negative impact of the cost of debt on both accounting- and market-based performance. At high leverage levels, debt ratio has a nonlinear and distribution-sensitive effect and is positive in long-run models. The capital structure outcomes confirm heterogeneity across firm types by using threshold and quantile regressions. Robustness checks validate the findings. Both papers highlight the distinct link between the impact of financial variables such as ETF flows and capital structure to the variation in performance level at both fund and firm level
Evaluating Immersion and Agency in AI-Assisted Live Murder Mystery Games
No full textThis thesis explores the impact of AI-assisted narrative generation on player immersion and agency in a live-action roleplaying (LARP) experience. A live-action murder mystery game was designed and run in two formats: a static version with GPT-4 generated characters, dialogue, and stage directions, and a dynamic version where players created their own characters and improvised freely, guided by AI-generated narrative beats, a story element that moves the plot forward [21], that provided a narrative scaffolding for the players. The dynamic version employed a distributed computer vision system that tracks the movement of key items in the play-space so their relevance can be weighted in the generation of narrative elements. Post-game surveys measured immersion, emotional investment, narrative clarity, and perceived Results show a significant increase in all metrics in the dynamic version, particularly in player agency and emotional connection. These findings suggest that AI can be most effective when used to scaffold player creativity and demonstrates the potential of AI to provide a narrative structure for players to express their own creativity
A Woman Of Saint-Domingue: Intimacy, Endurance and the Perpetuation of Saint-Domingue’s Class-Based Social Order in Nineteenth-Century New Orleans
No full textThis microhistory follows Eugenie Peneault (1774-1853) by means of a journal she kept during the Haitian Revolution and her subsequent relocation to New Orleans. Born the daughter of a baker, Peneault advanced through personal connections within the Creole elite to marry a member of the island-born planter class with ties to the minor nobility. With her fellow emigres, she recreated the patriarchal slave society of Saint Domingue in Cuba, then adapted its values to an urban setting in New Orleans, where she and her husband connected with local elites. This woman’s journal sheds light on experiences of pregnancy and childcare central to Peenault’s existence. After her husband’s death, Peneault cultivated respectability to preserve her husband’s status for the sake of her son, a strategy that made her utterly dependent on the labor of people she enslaved but also allowed her to pave her son’s way into an emerging political class
Double, Double, Toils and Troubles: Analyzing the “Magical” Relationships between University Leaders’ Personality Traits and their Self-Efficacy in Leadership Situations
Get PDFThis present study investigated the relationship between higher education leaders’ personality traits and their self-efficacy in leadership situations. A total of 151 leaders employed across the nine institutions within the University of Louisiana System completed a survey that prompted them to identify their personal values, traits, and skill sets, as derived from the online Pottermore quiz, the official Harry Potter Hogwarts House sorting instrument. This niche personality metric was chosen to cater to higher education’s evolving landscape, as it welcomes an influx of Millennials into leadership positions. Participants’ responses were eventually recoded to “sort” them into their respective Houses: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, or Slytherin. The survey also prompted them to indicate their feelings of adequacy in handling scenarios that fell within four situational categories: managing crises, promoting camaraderie, strategic planning, or administering discipline. Demographic data, such as current job title/position, age, and years of leadership experience were also considered in the post-data analysis, which resulted in an emergent independent variable: management levels. Means analyses and a review of the literature supported the four hypotheses’ predictions: Gryffindors felt most equipped to manage crises, Hufflepuffs preferred to promote camaraderie, Ravenclaws excelled at strategic planning, and Slytherins were comfortable with administering discipline. Spearman’s rank correlation coefficients were used but may not be a reliable measure for this study’s intentions due to the unequal distribution within the sample. This study provides implications about proper selection of statistical tests, the need for better crisis management training, team diversification, and shifts in generational references and metrics within the higher education workforce
Kaintock
Get PDFKaintock is a series of connected essays about generational trauma, geography, nature, genealogy, culture, mental health, identity, neurodivergence, addiction, grief, acceptance, the power of language, divine coincidence, and healing
Design and Development of an Ionic Liquid–Halloysite Nanohybrid Palladium Nanoparticle Catalyst: Synthesis and Catalytic Applications in Mizoroki–Heck, Suzuki–Miyaura, and Copper Free Sonogashira Reactions
Get PDFRecent progress in catalyst design has emphasized the development of innovative support systems to improve catalytic performance and support more sustainable synthetic strategies. Among these, hybrid inorganic–organic support materials, particularly those derived from aluminosilicate clays such as halloysite, have gained considerable attention. Halloysite\u27s unique nano scrolled structure and chemically modifiable surfaces make it an attractive platform for heterogeneous catalysis. In this study, selective functionalization of the halloysite lumen with an imidazolium-based ionic liquid enabled the encapsulation of palladium nanoparticles, resulting in a fine-tuned nanohybrid catalyst that demonstrated both high reactivity and stability. A reliable and environmentally friendly method was developed to synthesize ionic liquid-modified, halloysite-supported palladium nanoparticles (Pd@Hal-IL). This process involved grafting an imidazolium ionic liquid into the halloysite lumen, followed by in situ reduction of palladium acetate using ascorbic acid under mild aqueous conditions. The resulting nanocomposite was then evaluated across a series of palladium-catalyzed cross-coupling reactions.
The Pd@Hal-IL catalyst efficiently facilitated the Mizoroki–Heck olefination reaction in water, producing a broad range of cinnamic acid derivatives in excellent yields over reaction times ranging from six to twenty-four hours. The catalyst displayed excellent water stability and could be recovered and reused without significant loss of activity. In Suzuki–Miyaura cross-coupling reactions between benzoyl chlorides and various arylboronic acids, Pd@Hal-IL enabled the synthesis of benzophenone derivatives in moderate to high yields. The reactions proceeded with high selectivity and clean product formation, underscoring the system’s efficiency and environmentally friendly characteristics. The nanohybrid catalyst also proved effective in promoting copper-free Sonogashira couplings, enabling the synthesis of diphenylacetylenes and ynones through the reaction of terminal alkynes with aryl and acyl halides. The transformations of α,β-acetylenic ketones occurred efficiently under ambient conditions, demonstrating the mild and versatile nature of the Pd@Hal-IL system in C–C bond-forming reactions, even in the absence of a copper co-catalyst. Overall, Pd@Hal-IL represents a robust and green catalytic platform with broad applicability in fundamental organic transformations
Additive Manufacturing of Antibacterial Surface Topographies and Nanocomposites
Get PDFAdditive manufacturing processes are gaining popularity for producing patient-specific biomedical equipment. For these applications, it is important that the materials are not prone to spreading infection. Herein, we examine how the fused filament fabrication process influences the morphology of surface grooves and how this affects bacterial adhesion and growth. Additionally, we made a silver nanoparticle and polylactic acid nanocomposite filament to determine its antimicrobial potential and silver ion release kinetics. For chapter three, we measured the growth of Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus on polylactic acid surfaces printed with differing infill geometries and layer heights. In chapter four, we measured the silver ion concentrations released from samples made with the nanocomposite as functions of time and depth as well as the antibacterial effects of these samples. The findings of this research can be used to better understand how to manufacture objects with surfaces that inhibit microbial adhesion and growth
Avenging Chief Sam: A Missed Opportunity in Galveston’s Commemorative Landscape
Get PDFThis work centers on Chief Alfred Sam and the Oklahoma Blacks who were followers of his 1914 Back-to-Africa Movement. While public memory has portrayed return to Africa movements as disconnected moments in Black history, my work reinterprets Sam’s movement as foundational and revisits Galveston as the space utilized by nearly five hundred of his followers. It further asserts, that Galveston should be considered as the historical extraction point for the United States’ only Back-to-Africa movement of the twentieth century. While the Galveston landscape holds more than 200 historical markers and is the commemorated home of Juneteenth, no commemorative markers exist on the island to note the historical presence of Sam’s movement - a missed opportunity for the City of Galveston, African American history, and ultimately – U.S. history
Flatter or Annihilate, A Focus on the Act of Collaboration in a Production of Jen Silverman\u27s Gothic Comedy The Moors
Get PDFThis Thesis is an exploration of the methods of collaboration employed while directing a production of Jen Silverman’s The Moors at The University of New Orleans. I will discuss my work as the director, leading a team of designers that included both faculty and students, as well as working with a cast of actors whose skill set ranged from professional performers to an actor making their stage debut. I will examine various methodologies of collaboration and directing I employed throughout the process, determine in what areas I was successful or not, as well as the overall response to the production