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Risk Beyond Borders: How Exporters Navigate Background Risks in a Volatile Trade Landscape
No full textThis paper explores how exporting firms make production and allocation decisions when confronted with uninsurable background risks – such as abrupt policy shifts, logistical disruptions, and unforeseen compliance costs – that compound traditional exchange rate risks in global trade. Using a mean-variance (MV) utility framework, we model a representative firm’s optimal export behavior under jointly distributed risks and derive comparative static results that elucidate how changes in the magnitude and dependence structure of background risks affect export intensity. Unlike expected utility models, the MV approach offers tractable conditions that capture intuitive properties such as variance vulnerability and decreasing absolute risk aversion (DARA). To empirically validate the model, we conducted a vignette-based experimental study with 120 participants, including experienced export managers with requisite exposure. The findings confirm that firms significantly reduce export intensity in response to heightened background risks, consistent with theoretical predictions. Statistical analyses reveal robust behavioral shifts across varying risk levels. Furthermore, estimated risk aversion parameters align closely with theoretical expectations, reinforcing the model’s applicability to real-world decision-making. This study contributes to a deeper understanding of how firms internalize non-diversifiable risks in global trade environments. The insights derived from this research are particularly relevant for policymakers and managers seeking to navigate the complexities of international trade under heightened uncertainty
Is There Any Interactive Effect Between Competition and Risk Networks? Evidence from the Indian Banking System
No full textThe study investigates the dynamics of interaction between bank competition and risk networks of the Indian banking system between 2010 to 2020. It has estimated bank competition using the Lerner Index through the translog cost function and bank risk using Z-Score. The study found that bank competition and risk networks are concentrated during the economic upcycle and dispersed during the downcycle. The article also found that big and profitable banks are the least competitive but riskier. The concentrated risk network structures reveal that systemic risk spillover is quite eminent in the Indian banking system. The distance-to-default model, panel vector autoregression (PVAR) model and DCC- MGARCH model confirmed the interaction between competition and risk networks for the Indian banking system. The article observes that bank competition is positively related to the Probability of Default; a positive bi-directional causal relationship exists between the bank competition network index (CNI) and the risk network index (RNI); and finally, long-term persistence of CNI on RNI, supports the competition–fragility theory. The study recommends that regulators strike a balance between competition and stability while designing policy guidelines for the banking system
Postmortem Detection of Substance P And Met-Enkephalin Expression as a Possible Indicator for Pain Estimation Prior to Death
No full textSubstance P (SP) and Met-Enkephalin (MET) are neuropeptides critical to the central nervous system (CNS) and are released as immediate responders to physical stressors like pain. In blood, SP and MET adapt based on an incident-death time interval to suggest the potential to use these as biomarkers in the assessment of pain prior to death. The mRNA and DNA manipulations of RNA isolation, cDNA synthesis, and RT-qPCR allowed for investigation into SP and MET gene expression (TACl, TACRl, OGFR) in those who experienced chronic tissue damage (e.g. domestic abuse) as compared to those who underwent an acute pain event (e.g. sudden traumatic event). Delta cycle threshold (L\u27.iCt) values were used as an inverse measure of gene expression to recognize SP and MET expression patterns as it relates to manner of death. Clear expression profiles were found in postmortem acute pain cases where the mean L\u27.iCt values for TACl and TACRl were 16.61 ± 1.93 and 15.56 ± 1.75 respectively with OGFR notably lower at 7.42 ± 1.13. This is compared to postmortem chronic cases where the mean L\u27.iCt values for TACl and TACRl were 18.85 ± 2.88 and 18.50 ± 2.86 respectively with OGFR again lower at 6.70 ± 2.38. The differential expression patterns observed in this study suggest acute pain is linked to raised OGFR expression where TAC1 and TACRl proved increasingly variable when compared to chronic pain samples. The results of this study supply preliminary support to the hypothesis that chronic pain conditions existent perimortem may lead to more unique biomarker profiles as compared to acute pain conditions perimortem. If there is ever uncertainty surrounding the circumstances of an individual\u27s death, this study may therefore aid in the establishment of SP and MET as feasible biomarkers to understand the extent of suffering leading to death. Additional investigations constituting greater sample populations, with emphasis on chronic pain conditions, are required to further validate the study\u27s results and to generate a well-established diagnostic criterion
The Effect of Changes in Relative Humidity on the Dimensions of Toolmarks in Wood
Get PDFToolmark evidence consists of striated and impressed toolmarks. Striated toolmarks are composed of individualizable striations that are produced to a tool’s surface irregularities when it is scraped against another material. Impressed toolmarks are typically evaluated for valuable class characteristics, such as the size and shape of the mark, which can provide investigators with the type and size tool that was used. At crime scenes, toolmarks are often found around points of entry in wooden doors and window frames. Wood, as relatively unstable substrate, retains impressed toolmarks with little chance of retention of any individualizable characteristics. The hygroscopic properties of wood can cause toolmark’s class characteristics to be distorted or eliminated with any change in relative humidity, such as the change in relative humidity that toolmark evidence undergoes when collected from a crime scene and stored in an evidence storage area. Understanding the changes that occur when toolmark evidence is collected and store could improve methods of collection and inform the evaluation of toolmark evidence. This research investigates how toolmark evidence distorts due to change in relative humidity during the collection and storage process and how factors, such as the change in relative humidity the wood is exposed to the wood species, whether the wood has a coating or how the toolmark is oriented in relation to the grain. Toolmarks were created by a screwdriver, crowbar, and hammer in uncoated, primer and oil-based paint coated, and primer and water-based paint coated white oak, southern yellow pine, eastern white pine and Douglas fir wood. The wood was allowed to acclimate to low, moderate or high humidity conditions, marked, transferred to low humidity conditions, and measured every other day for a month. Toolmarks in wood initially acclimated to moderate humidity conditions exhibited the greatest variation. There were no clear trends in toolmark variation across wood species. Toolmarks in uncoated wood exhibited greater variation than toolmarks in coated wood. Across all toolmarks, the greatest variation was observed in the tangential direction
Investigating Odor Signatures of Electronic Storage Devices
No full textDogs have a long history of being used as scent trackers. They\u27ve tracked game for hunters, sniffed out hidden drugs, and even found hidden criminals and missing victims. More recently, police K-9 dogs have demonstrated the ability to locate individual electronic storage devices (ESDs) - such as laptops, cell phones, and USB drives - by scent. This ability, which gained mass media attention when a dog found a hidden USB drive during the raid on Jared Fogle\u27s residence, is possible due to a dog\u27s significantly heightened sense of smell when compared to that of a human.
Knowledge regarding the detection of ESDs is still rudimentary and being researched. Current K-9 training programs train the dogs on either the target material, or, if the target material is unavailable, chemical surrogates that mimic the scent profile of their targets. The former approach is used for K-9 training programs that include detection of ESDs. If surrogate chemicals can be used to produce odor profiles consistent with the ESD odor profiles, these manufactured odor profiles can then be incorporated into future K-9 training programs, avoiding the need to purchase expensive ESDs solely for scent training.
In order to develop the optimal method for ESD odor profile analysis, a method must first be developed to identify the odor profile ofESDs. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC MS) is a valuable method for the analysis of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) anticipated to be present in the odor profiles of ESDs. However, determination of an optimal sampling method to perform this type of analysis is needed. In cooperation with the Connecticut State Police and NOBLE, two different sampling methods were evaluated for identifying a specific target odor using GC-MS: Direct headspace and solid phase microextraction (SPME). After determining the best sample method, this optimized method was then used to evaluate the odor profile of an ESD sample using GC-MS, to determine whether the target odor in question was present in the odor profile
A Comprehensive Analysis of the Production of Biofuels from NANNO 3600 Microalgae and Algae Native to Connecticut via Greener Alternative Extraction Solvents for Lipid Recovery
Get PDFAs the world continues to evolve and expand in both technology and population, the energy demand continues to increase as well to keep up with the production of new products and higher production rates. The depletion of fossil fuels and the considerable amount of greenhouse gases from the use of nonrenewable energy sources fuel the demand for renewable energy sources. These renewable energy sources originate from a variety of places, such as wind power, hydroelectric, and solar. Biomass continues to grow in the renewable energy sector due to its versatility in high lipid content and minimal competition with other biomass resources. Although algae serve as a strong and viable source of energy, major hurdles need to be overcome in the conversion of biofuels from algae. One of these main hurdles comes from the high energy demand in the downstream processing to convert the extracted lipids into biodiesel. This study analyzes the use of the green solvent, 2-Methyltetrahydrofuran for the extraction of Nanno 3600 microalgae for a more efficient and eco-friendly production process and its related energy inputs. This new solvent system is then used in the extraction of Connecticut native algae to determine how this specific strain compares to the current industry standards. Extraction experiments were carried out with NANNO 3600 at 20oC and 30oC with traditional solvents such as hexane and were compared to the greener alternative of 2-methyltetrahydrofuran. Results show that extractions carried out with 2-methyltetrahydrofuran at 30oC have an increase in yield of 77.69% with a corresponding extraction efficiency of 36.54% when compared to the traditional extraction solvent, hexane. These findings support the possible alternative for a greener extraction solvent for the conversion of microalgae to biodiesel
Pilot/ Validation of Protocol for an Alternative to Clinical
Get PDFAll across the country, Clinical Microbiology laboratories are being consolidated into one location for an entire hospital network10. Though this helps reduce cost and staffing needs, it creates issues for the next generation of Medical Laboratory Scientists (MLS) trying to find clinical sites to complete clinical practicum rotations to complete the necessary certification processes. To combat this issue, it was proposed that MLS programs create alternative curriculums to offer in place of clinical rotations to reduce the amount of time students need in these rotations from three weeks to one week. This study investigated one alternative with the intent that it can be implemented into the curriculum and reduce the amount of time students will need on-site in microbiology rotations while providing valuable hands-on experience, therefore allowing students to get the experience they need. This study investigated organisms from soil samples, due to the ease of obtaining this specimen. The testing completed focused on the identification of gramnegative organisms from the Enterobacteriaceae family
Information Content of an Open Limit-Order Book: Indian Evidence
Get PDFUsing the 5-year period (2014-18) limit-order book and trade book data from NSE, this paper investigates the contribution of an open limit-order book towards price discovery and market efficiency. In particular, the paper examines two interesting questions: (a) the information content of the limit-order book beyond the best prices and (b) the order submission choices of informed traders. The results indicate that the deeper levels of the order book significantly contribute to short-term return predictability, even after controlling for the return autocorrelations, volume, and trade imbalances. Furthermore, this return predictability is time-varying and relatively high around lower quantiles of the return distribution. There is evidence to suggest that informed trading is more pronounced during the environments characterized by low liquidity and high uncertainty. The information share (Hasbrouck, 1995) and component share (Gonzalo & Granger, 1995) measures show that, out of the total contribution of the limit-order book to price discovery, the deeper levels’ share is nearly 50%
Emotion Analysis and Topic Modelling of Supply Chain Discussion during the COVID-19 Pandemic
Get PDFThis study aims to investigate the supply chain discussion during the COVID-19 pandemic using the supply chain tweets collected between March 2020 and May 2022 globally. The findings reveal an evolving sentiment trajectory: while the users’ sentiment remained neutral in 2020 and 2021, a negative sentiment surged starting in January 2022. Moreover, an emotion analysis indicates a mix of sadness and optimism among Twitter users, with anger gradually intensifying from June 2021 onward. Furthermore, topic modeling reveals distinct themes discussed each year. In 2020, major topics centered around the government’s response to COVID-19, food and medical supply chain crises. By 2021, discussions shifted to inflation/gas prices, government handling of supply chain crisis, and vaccination/recovery efforts. The first half of 2022 witnessed dominant discussions on the war in Ukraine, inflation and human rights, the US election and border crossing issues. The implications of these findings were discussed at the end
The Movement
No full textThis work of art is colored pencil and acrylic highlights on mixed media paper, 18” by 24”.
This artwork captures the powerful essence of women from diverse cultures worldwide, uniting in a vibrant display of strength and solidarity. It depicts their courageous struggle to assert their rights and embrace their individuality, breaking free from the constraints that society has traditionally imposed upon them. The piece symbolizes a profound sense of unity woven together with threads of love, resilience, and empowerment. Each figure radiates determination, reflecting the unique stories and journeys of women who boldly carve their own paths and claim their rightful place in the world.https://digitalcommons.newhaven.edu/digital-exhibits/1065/thumbnail.jp