172 research outputs found
Essays in Finance and Macroeconomics: Household Financial Obligations and the Equity Premium
No full textabstract: This dissertation is a collection of three essays relating household financial obligations to asset prices. Financial obligations include both debt payments and other financial commitments.
In the first essay, I investigate how household financial obligations affect the equity premium. I modify the standard Mehra-Prescott (1985) consumption-based asset pricing model to resolve the equity risk premium puzzle. I focus on two channels: the preference channel and the borrowing constraints channel. Under reasonable parameterizations, my model generates equity risk premiums similar in magnitudes to those observed in U.S. data. Furthermore, I show that relaxing the borrowing constraint shrinks the equity risk premium.
In the Second essay, I test the predictability of excess market returns using the household financial obligations ratio. I show that deviations in the household financial obligations ratio from its long-run mean is a better forecaster of future market returns than alternative prediction variables. The results remain significant using either quarterly or annual data and are robust to out-of-sample tests.
In the third essay, I investigate whether the risk associated with household financial obligations is an economy-wide risk with the potential to explain fluctuations in the cross-section of stock returns. The multifactor model I propose, is a modification of the capital asset pricing model that includes the financial obligations ratio as a ``conditioning down" variable. The key finding is that there is an aggregate hedging demand for securities that pay off in periods characterized by higher levels of financial obligations ratios. The consistent pricing of financial obligations risk with a negative risk premium suggests that the financial obligations ratio acts as a state variable.Dissertation/ThesisDoctoral Dissertation Economics 201
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Multiscale approach reveals that <i>Cloudina</i> aggregates are detritus and not in situ reef constructions
No full textSignificance
Little is known about how the Ediacaran index fossil
Cloudina
lived and what impact it had on its surroundings. This uncertainty is due to the fact that
Cloudina
often is preserved with the same mineralogy as the rocks in which it is found; the lack of density contrast means that traditional imaging techniques cannot be used to reconstruct and measure in situ
Cloudina
populations. Recently, researchers have suggested that
Cloudina
was a framework reef builder that actively adapted to changing environmental conditions. In this paper, we use a serial grinding and imaging technique to produce 3D models of
Cloudina
aggregates. Along with detailed field observations, we demonstrate that
Cloudina
populations are detritus and not in situ growth.
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Reconstructions of Ediacaran putative biomineralizers via a novel serial grinding and imaging technique
No full text550 million years ago [Ma], shallow water settings on Earth witnessed the rise of an entirely new kind of organism: the putatively shell-building metazoan. By the early Cambrian (beginning 539.6 Ma), when most modern phyla rst emerged, animals with hard parts were both engaging in an arms race and actively engineering their surroundings. Before we can understand why biomineralization evolved, or its immediate ecological, environmental, and/or evolutionary ramifications, we must understand the Ediacaran skeletal fossil record.
This record comprises four genera: Namacalathus, Sinotubulites, Cloudina, and Namapoikia. To date, the growth habits, environmental impacts, biological anities, and the modes and degrees of biomineralization of these organisms remain debated. Morphological analyses (including descriptions of the size, shape, and orientation of fossil elements), combined with comparisons to more recent organisms, can provide crucial insight into the paleoecology of Ediacaran putative biomineralizers.
Two-dimensional observations are subject to measurement error and misinterpretation, such that studies of morphology must be done using three-dimensional data. Unfortunately, Ediacaran putative biomineralizers largely are preserved as carbonate fossils within a carbonate matrix, precluding the use of traditional, density-based imaging techniques, such as X-ray computed tomography. A solution to this problem is to use serial grinding and optical imaging, a process in which a sample is incrementally polished and photographed to produce a stack of images for reconstruction.
Here, I present a new, semi-automated method for serially grinding, imaging, and reconstructing samples with low density contrast. This method comprises both a hardware and software component: data are first collected using a computer numerical control surface grinder that has been retrofitted with an imaging apparatus and then is processed through a neural-network based imaging pipeline. In addition to providing case studies that leverage this newly developed method, I apply it to the examination of two Ediacaran putative biomineralizers. Combining three-dimensional reconstructions of Cloudina and Namapoikia with field-based observations, I demonstrate that Cloudina likely was a weakly-to-non-biomineralized annelid and that Namapoikia was not an animal at all, but a microbial construction. On the basis of my findings, I suggest that rigid skeletons did not emerge until the midst of the Cambrian Period
The Romanticization of Mental Illness and Substance Abuse in Young Adult Media
No full textabstract: The following creative project defends that, whether intentionally or not, mental illness and substance abuse are inevitably romanticized in young adult media and discusses the dangers of this romanticization. This project is divided into three parts. The first part consists of psychological evaluations of the main characters of two popular, contemporary forms of young adult media, Catcher in the Rye by J.D Salinger and Euphoria by Sam Levinson. These evaluations use textual evidence and the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5) to determine what symptoms of psychopathology the characters appear to display. The second part consists of a self-written short story that is meant to accurately depict the life of a young adult struggling with mental illness and substance abuse. This story contains various aesthetic techniques borrowed from the two young adult media forms. The final part consists of an aesthetic statement which discusses in depth the aesthetic techniques employed within the short story, Quicksand by Anisha Mehra. (abstract
Dismantling Entrenched Citadels in LIS: Critical Autoethnographic “Voices” in Resistance and Survival
No full textCritical/ethical perspectives in resistance/survival within entrenched social structures in library and information science (LIS) (education/practice) provide potentially valuable opportunities to rectify wrongdoings/promote fairness, justice, and equity (Cooke & Sanchez, 2019; Jaeger et al., 2011). Historically LIS has inherited systemic exclusions, elitism, and social injustices toward diversely construed underserved populations (Jaeger et al., 2015; Mehra, 2022). For example, LIS largely derives its canons of theory and practice from Europe and a white Australasia, overlooking any alternate authority, such as Asian, African, Aboriginal, or other sources (Gray & Mehra, 2021). Anglo/Eurocentricity in LIS also bestows privilege to positivistic/postpositivist research and theorization/abstraction of realities, thereby, marginalizing everyday life experiences or overlooking humanist/interpretive approaches, action research, and other methods (Mehra, 2021). How can LIS gain insights toward balanced growth from those challenging such entrenched mechanisms? Diverse LIS panelists present glimpses of their navigating treacherous paths of entrenched citadels within and beyond the academy. They share critical autoethnographic “voices” towards dismantling entrenched mechanisms broadly immersed in white-IST (white + elitist) American culture (Boylorn & Orbe, 2020, Giroux & McLaren, 1986; Mehra and Gray, 2020). The panel marks a homage to Audre Lorde’s (1984) essay “The Master’s Tools Will Never Dismantle the Master’s House” and extends its argument that for implementing social justice against racism (and other isms: sexism, heterosexism, ageism, ablism, etc.), it is urgent to dismantle the foundational structures that facilitate their operationalization (Mehra, 2024).
The goal of this panel is to identify past/current entrenched dysfunctions experienced in LIS and strategies to dismantle systemic structures in pursuit of social justice. The following panelists give brief talks leading to audience reflections on issues related to the presented concerns:
Vanessa Irvin (“Becoming and Being \u27Better\u27 in the LIS Academy”): LIS practitioner inquiry is a stance that asks, “How can I contribute my best research in the field? How can I bring my best teaching to students?” This talk explores what it means to become “better” as entrenched in an ongoing quest to present our authentic selves as librarian educators (Lytle, 2008). However, with librarianship being a field whose racist heritage remains unreconciled, practitioner inquiry often feels like a self-preservative response to the -isms (Irvin, 2019) rather than a stance of collegiality that is reflective, inclusive, and contributory to our field’s discourse.
Kimberly Black (“Can LIS Education be Decolonized?”): This talk shares a response from the perspective of a person who led a successful effort to gain initial ALA accreditation at a Predominantly Black Institution. My experience with the process led to the (unsurprising) understanding that accreditors/professional associations like ALA are “captured” elite organizations, enabling the socially advantaged to gain control over benefits meant for everyone, and functioning to colonize and preserve the status of the colonizers (Alessandrini, 2023; Táíwò, 2022). Postsecondary education accreditation (including in LIS) is an inherently colonizing and political process in higher education – it is an integral part of the infrastructure of the citadel.
Kaurri C. Williams-Cockfield (“From the Funding Trenches: A Public Library Director’s Conundrum”): This presentation focuses on my personal experiences serving as the public library director in Blount County, TN, during a contentious funding battle over library staff longevity pay. I narrate advocating for staff raises, petitioning the local government through the EveryLibrary platform, and the fallout given the entrenched misogyny and white male privilege existent in local politics. Deciding to challenge the status quo always comes with consequences, so understanding the political culture and being prepared for any repercussions is vital.
Joseph Winberry (“If We Suffered It Doesn\u27t Mean Our Students Should: Modeling a Critical/Empathetic Doctoral. Education”): It has been estimated that less than 2% of the global population has a doctoral degree. Many others might start the degree but decline to finish, for reasons as benign as simply realizing the degree was not for them. But what if the failure of institutions and individual advisors are to blame for education-related grief and trauma that continues to perpetuate within the academy? This talk draws on the author’s own experience to imagine what critical and empathetic doctoral education might be like and how it can create a better experience for all LIS students going forward.
Africa S. Hands (“Giving Notice”): There’s a saying: “You teach people how to treat you.” These words are not limited to individual interactions. They have relevance for collective bodies, such as professional organizations and faculty bodies. In a collective, these words may be activated to put students on notice regarding how they are expected to treat faculty as a whole or to put reviewers on notice for how they are expected to provide feedback to authors. This talk asks: What does it look like to dismantle white supremacy—from day one—in the classroom, in our professional organizations, and in our journals?
LaVerne Gray (“‘The Matter Is Life’: Black Feminist Narratology/Collectivism in Resistance”): In the 1991 collection of fictional stories about the Black experience (“The matter is life”), author J. California Cooper prophetically situates a movement centered on matter. It is this matter that manifests the space for wisdom centered in narration, storytelling, and life experiences, hallmarks of Black Feminist/Womanists knowledge and resistance. Exploring the collision of matter, life, voice, and lived experience, this talk offers creative autoethnographic tools to layer narratives in the exposition of the perpetual resistance of Black women from personal/observed narratives.
Bharat Mehra (“Deconstructing “One Brick at a Time” in LIS to Dismantle an Entrenched Citadel”): The talk proposes a thematic deconstruction “one brick at a time”, applying Critical Race Theory (CRT), to dismantle systemic, white- centered entrenched power structures in American LIS educational programs immersed in exclusionary academic institutions. This talk integrates individual experiences and identifies foundational units (i.e., bricks) via which racism is maintained by LIS educators/practitioners to implement authentic antiracist praxis.
Structure of the 90-minute session:
Activity
Minutes
Panel introduction (Mehra: Moderator)
2
Seven glimpses (maximum 10 minutes each)
70
Audience reactions
15
Conclusion
3
By the panel conclusion, participants gain understanding of how systemic entrenchment is manifested in LIS and effective strategies to support/empower marginalized experiences
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Three‐Dimensional Morphometry of Ooids in Oolites: A New Tool for More Accurate and Precise Paleoenvironmental Interpretation
No full textThis dataset is too large to download directly from this item page. You can access and download the data via Globus at this link: https://app.globus.org/file-manager?origin_id=dc43f461-0ca7-4203-848c-33a9fc00a464&origin_path=%2F4ycs-g270%2F (See https://docs.globus.org/how-to/get-started/ for instructions on how to use Globus; sign-in is required). The data files consist of 2 3D models of segmented oolites in .raw format and 2 corresponding image stacks in .tif format. Please refer to the README file for more details.The prevalence of ooids in the stratigraphic record, and their association with shallow-water carbonate environments, make ooids an important paleoenvironmental indicator. Recent advances in the theoretical understanding of ooid morphology, along with empirical studies from Turks and Caicos, Great Salt Lake, and The Bahamas, have demonstrated that the morphology of ooids is indicative of depositional environment and hydraulic conditions. To apply this knowledge from modern environments to the stratigraphic record of Earth history, researchers measure the size and shape of lithified ooids on two-dimensional surfaces (i.e., thin sections or polished slabs), often assuming that random 2D slices intersect the nuclei and that the orientation of the ooids is known. Here we demonstrate that these assumptions rarely are true, resulting in errors of up to 35% on metrics like major axis length. We present a method for making 3D reconstructions by serial grinding and imaging, which enables accurate measurement of the morphology of individual ooids within an oolite, as well as the sorting and porosity of a sample. We also provide three case studies that use the morphology of ooids in oolites to extract environmental information. Each case study demonstrates that 2D measurements can be useful if the environmental signal is large relative to the error from 2D measurements. However, 3D measurements substantially improve the accuracy and precision of environmental interpretations. This study focuses on oolites, but errors from 2D measurements are not unique to oolites; this method can be used to extract accurate grain and porosity measurements from any lithified granular sample
On the Existence and Representation of Equilibrium in an Economy with Growth and Nonstationary Consumption.
No full textIn this paper, the author generalizes R. E. Lucas's asset pricing model to allow for nonstationary consumption. He defines the e quilibrium in this setting and demonstrates its existence and represe ntation as a competitive equilibrium. The author believes that these extensions will facilitate the empirical testing of consumption-based , asset-pricing models in the Lucas-Prescott research tradition. Copyright 1988 by Economics Department of the University of Pennsylvania and the Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association.
Working to improve the fire exhibit at the Australian Aboriginal cultures gallery [AACG]
No full textIn this chapter, Jared Thomas, a Nukunu person from the Southern Flinders Ranges and a Research Fellow at the South Australian Museum and University of South Australia, reflects on his efforts to enhance the Fire Exhibit within the Australian Aboriginal Cultures Gallery [AACG], which has not been updated in 20 years. Thomas draws from an international precedent of involving Indigenous communities in museum displays. The author outlines the limitations of renovations in terms of budget, space, and Indigenous protocols, while considering the potential impact of the proposed Tarrkarri Centre for First Nations Culture. He emphasises the importance of fostering relationships between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal peoples, allowing Indigenous voices to speak for themselves. Thomas focusses on the Fire Exhibit, discussing its significance in Aboriginal culture, the lack of contextualisation, and the need for improved representation. He proposes short-term actions such as adding QR-code-based text for context, and long-term ambitions like incorporating audio-visual and augmented reality elements. He highlights the importance of Aboriginal fire land management practices, especially in the aftermath of the 2019 Australian bushfires. Thomas proposes strengthening the exhibit’s connection to foods, medicines, and fixatives that benefit from cultural burning. He envisions collaboration with the Adelaide Botanic Gardens and acknowledges the resource constraints faced by the museum. He concludes by envisioning a template for extending improvements across the museum and fostering better understanding and representation of Aboriginal cultur
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