Behavioral finance approach to resource allocation

The three essays that comprise this thesis address the behavioral factors that impact resource allocation, more specifically trade and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), around the globe. The first essay analyses the impact of language similarity on trade, measuring the effect on specific types of products. It extends earlier research on common language network externalities by measuring language similarity effect on bilateral trade from the point of view of the 10 most influential global languages. The findings provide evidence that the impact of language similarity is greater than that of language commonality, and both have a significant impact on bilateral trade. The results also show that language effect on trade varies within the 10 languages, and that this impact is product-specific: culturally sensitive products benefit from a greater language effect. The second essay is a macro level study of foreign direct investment (FDI). It uses an extended gravity model, data spanning 12 years (2000–2012), to shed new light on the impact on FDI of linguistic and technological similarities between countries. The model includes technological commonality, as measured by the aggregate production of intellectual property, at the country level. An analysis of 71 309 pairs of FDI relationships showed that language is positively associated with a high level of FDI. Technological differences do impede the flow of FDI between countries, and information flow is crucial for large flows of FDI. Information flow diminishes the negative impact of distance. The results also show different attitudes toward investment among high income and low income countries’ multinational corporations (MNCs). The third essay address Chief Executive Officer’s (CEO’s) demographic characteristics (e.g. age, education) which impact greenfield investment location decisions. Using a hierarchical model (e.g. binomial and linear), data spanning 10 years (2003–2012), the analysis of 49 138 global firm-level greenfield investments shows that CEO’s level of education is crucial to the decision of which country to select and the amount invested. The more educated a CEO is the more likely to invest in developing countries. The results also show that CEOs from developing and emerging countries (DECs) are more risk-prone than their peers from developed countries. They are also more likely to invest in countries considered risky. In addition, the results show that CEOs’ power is associated with less risky choices, that is, the more powerful a CEOs the more likely to invest in developed markets.Os três artigos que compõem esta tese analisam os factores “comportamentais” que influenciam a alocação de recursos (e.g., comércio e investimento directo estrangeiro (IDE)) a nível global. O primeiro artigo analisa o efeito da similaridade linguística no comércio mundial e em particular em certos produtos. Esta análise é feita do ponto de vista das 10 línguas mais influentes a nível global. Os resultados desta análise oferecem uma interpretação inequívoca sobre o positivo efeito da língua no comércio. E ainda nos permitiu aferir da superioridade da similaridade linguística sobre a língua comum. Os resultados também demonstram que o efeito da língua é diferenciado entre as 10 línguas globalmente mais influentes e que este impacto é específico a certos produtos. Também verificamos que os produtos “culturais” são mais sensíveis ao efeito da língua. O segundo artigo é uma análise a nível macro do IDE. Para a análise referida utilizamos o modelo gravitacional, dados de 2000 – 2012 para analisar o efeito da assimetria de informação, similaridade linguística e tecnológica. Para índice de similaridade tecnológica utilizamos dados de propriedade intelectual a nível do país. A análise de 71309 pares de IDE entre países revelou o efeito positivo da língua sobre IDE. Verificamos que a diferença tecnológica impede o elevado fluxo de IDE e que o fluxo de informação é crucial para um elevado nível de IDE. Mais, verificamos que elevado fluxo de informação diminui o efeito negativo da distância. Ainda verificamos que a atitude em relação ao investimento varia consoante o nível de recursos dos países de origem. O terceiro artigo analisa o impacto das características demográficas dos gestores sob a decisão de IDE (i.e. greenfield). Usando modelos hierárquicos, dados de 2003 – 2012, a análise de 49138 dados de greenfield empresarial revela que o nível de educação dos gestores determina a escolha do país e o montante a investir. Também verificamos que quanto mais educado o gestor mais provável é investimentos nos países emergentes e em vias de desenvolvimento. Mais, também verificamos que os gestores originários dos países emergentes e em vias de desenvolvimento assumem mais riscos, i.e., é mais provável investirem em países emergentes ou em vias de desenvolvimento. Também verificamos que os gestores mais poderosos tendem a ter uma atitude mais conservador e assumir menos riscos

Academy of Reading® Impact on Student Achievement in Extended Learning Program

The purpose of this casual-comparative study was to assess the effectiveness of Academy of READING® (AOR) on eighth grade Response to Intervention students using third nine-week benchmark scaled score and Criterion Reference Competency Test scaled score. The data collected from a public middle-school in rural Georgia revealed how student achievement, gender, and socioeconomic status were impacted by AOR. AOR participants, the treatment group, received 45 minutes of research-based computer intervention while the control, non-participating AOR, did not receive computer-based instruction during extended learning. This study compared differences in the mean scaled scores for at-risk students using an independent samples t-test. The findings for this research study indicated AOR participants’ third nine-week reading benchmark scores were slightly higher than non-participating AOR. No significant differences were revealed between third nine-week reading benchmark based on gender. High SES AOR participants scored slightly higher than low SES AOR participants although the sample size was small. Non-participating AOR participants’ student achievement outcomes were marginally higher than AOR participants on the CRCT. The researcher concludes that Academy of READING® did not impact student achievement. Furthermore, the researcher recommends that this study be replicated for a longer period with students from different ethnicities, more diverse economic population, and provide more feedback from students and teachers. Keywords: at-risk, benchmarks, comprehension strategies, extended learning time, low- achieving, standardized test scores, response to interventio

Correlational Evidence between the Processing Speed Index, Coherent Motion Threshold, and Achievement Scores of Children With and Without Learning Disabilities

The purpose of this study was to determine the responses to three research questions. Is there an inverse relationship between PSI and CMT? Is a score on PSI associated with a child’s performance on math fluency and math calculation? Is CMT associated with PSI on math fluency and math calculation? Academic performance in math was measured by tests of math fluency and calculation. The study investigated the likelihood that a child with a slow PSI will have a high coherent motion threshold (CMT). The diagnostic status groups were comprised of 33 children from 2nd to 8th grades. The children were divided into three groups. One group of children with a learning disability in math only, one group of children with a learning disability in reading and in math, and one group of typically developing children. The group of typically developing subjects served as the control group, and the remaining two groups served as the experimental groups. A correlational research model was used to determine if a relationship exists between Coherent Motion and PSI. A linear regression analysis was conducted to test the correlation between CMT and PSI to gather data relative to the first research question. An Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was conducted to further test Hypothesis One. Results indicated that there is a moderate negative relationship that exists between PSI and CMT. It was further hypothesized that PSI is associated with a child’s score on math fluency and math calculation, and that CMT is associated with PSI on math fluency and math calculation. A regression analysis was conducted to gather data relative to the second and third research question. Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was conducted and the findings suggested a moderate negative relationship exist between CMT and PSI. A regression analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to show the relationship between math fluency and PSI, math calculation and PSI, and math calculation along with math fluency and PSI. The results revealed that a strong direct relationship exists between math fluency, math calculation and processing speed. A regression model was created to determine if PSI and CMT, along with being identified as disabled, can be used as a predictor for math fluency and math calculation scores. When CMT is combined with PSI and students identified as having a disability, the findings revealed that it was not a strong predictor of math fluency and math calculation abilities

The Relationship Between Core Knowledge Sequence Curriculum and Smarter Balance Assessment English Language Arts Scores

The purpose of this study was to examine student achievement as measured by the English language arts (ELA) Smarter Balance Assessment (SBAC) between students who were taught the Core Knowledge Sequence curriculum and students taught the Houghton Mifflin Harcourt’s Journeys curriculum. The 11,493 participants were third through sixth grade students in the 2014-2015, 2015-2016, and 2016-2017 school years. The study used a multiple regression model to examine the extent to which the students’ gender, ethnicity, socioeconomic status (SES), disability status, English language learner (ELL) status, and curriculum predicted SBAC ELA scores. The findings of this study suggest that curriculum did not predict SBAC ELA scores. The multiple regression model indicated that demographic variables offer more predictive information on SBAC ELA scores

Relative Use of Phonaesthemes in the Constitution and Development of Genres

My research question is Does the presence of phonaesthemes in words play a role in the constitution and evolution of genres? A phonaestheme is a phonemic grouping that correlates well above chance with a particular semantic quality in etymologically unrelated words; phonaesthematic words are generally seen as vivid, expressive, and involved. I explore the nature of phonaesthemes and genres and the role of features such as phonaesthemes in the constitution of genres. I select a set of phonaesthemes to evaluate and choose a representative set of lemmas and matching non-phonaesthematic lemmas. I survey these in six genres over three time periods in the US and the UK. I analyze the results and their implications for phonaesthemes and for genre constitution, finding, among other things, that phonaesthemes are important in the social positioning of genres. The summary answer to my research question is thus found to be Yes, it does

EXPLORING THE ROLE OF PERCEPTUAL REASONING IN THE ORGANIZATION OF WRITTEN TEXT

Written expression has long been viewed as a verbal task. Although there is evidence that written expression requires a fluid interaction of multiple cognitive skills, including verbal comprehension, long-term memory, and working memory, there has been little or no attention paid to the role of perceptual reasoning skills. This study aimed to fill that gap by examining the hypothesis that writing is a problem-solving task that requires perceptual thinking in actively synthesizing or transforming knowledge into written text. When students translate their ideas into written language, they construct sentences out of words, paragraphs out of sentences, and essays out of paragraphs, a multi-level constructive process that is hypothesized to require perceptual reasoning. A correlational study was conducted on retrospective data from seventh grade students on verbal comprehension, perceptual reasoning, and written expression. The results suggest that for some aspects of written expression, perceptual reasoning has a significant contribution even after controlling for verbal comprehension skills. The results are discussed with respect to the inclusion of perceptual reasoning skills in interventions aimed at improving students’ written expression

Underlying Contribution of Executive Functioning to Cognition and Academic Achievement in Individuals with Dystrophinopathy

Dystrophinopathy is a genetic disorder that results in the lack of or abnormal expression of the protein dystrophin. It is a disorder that alters cell structure and function, impacts the developing brain and brain function, presents with multi-domain cognitive deficits, and influences both mood and behavior. Cognitive impairments appear to be more localized to specific areas of functioning rather than a global deficit; however, deficits have been identified across multiple cognitive domains including language and aspects of executive functioning. A careful examination of the cognitive phenotype and its association to mutations affecting CNS isoforms is necessary to clarify the neuropsychological profile. Executive functions that may contribute to overall IQ performance have not been fully examined for their contribution to cognitive efficiency as well as to real world functioning. A three-step investigation was used to examine potential areas of executive weakness, the association with mutation position, and their impact on everyday functioning for children with dystrophinopathy. First, an investigation of executive skills including behavior was conducted in children with dystrophinopathy. Additionally, the association between these executive skills and the dystrophin gene mutation position was studied. Second, the implications of these executive deficits to real world functioning were studied by examining academic performance in boys with dystrophinopathy as well as the association with mutation position. Finally, given the consistent finding of reduced digit span, specific executive weaknesses were examined for their contribution to digit span performance to further specify compromised cognitive constructs. Clearly defining cognitive functioning among individuals affected by the dystrophinopathies and the association with molecular abnormalities will help to further understand how the absence of dystrophin in the central nervous system (CNS) impacts brain development and function, influencing cognition and everyday functioning for individuals with the disorder

Deep Evolutionary Generative Molecular Modeling for RNA Aptamer Drug Design

Deep Aptamer Evolutionary Model (DAPTEV Model). Typical drug development processes are costly, time consuming and often manual with regard to research. Aptamers are short, single-stranded oligonucleotides (RNA/DNA) that bind to, and inhibit, target proteins and other types of molecules similar to antibodies. Compared with small-molecule drugs, these aptamers can bind to their targets with high affinity (binding strength) and specificity (designed to uniquely interact with the target only). The typical development process for aptamers utilizes a manual process known as Systematic Evolution of Ligands by Exponential Enrichment (SELEX), which is costly, slow, and often produces mild results. The focus of this research is to create a deep learning approach for the generating and evolving of aptamer sequences to support aptamer-based drug development. These sequences must be unique, contain at least some level of structural complexity, and have a high level of affinity and specificity for the intended target. Moreover, after training, the deep learning system, known as a Variational Autoencoder, must possess the ability to be queried for new sequences without the need for further training. Currently, this research is applied to the SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) spike protein’s receptor-binding domain (RBD). However, careful consideration has been placed in the intentional design of a general solution for future viral applications. Each individual run took five and a half days to complete. Over the course of two months, three runs were performed for three different models. After some sequence, score, and statistical comparisons, it was observed that the deep learning model was able to produce structurally complex aptamers with strong binding affinities and specificities to the target Covid-19 RBD. Furthermore, due to the nature of VAEs, this model is indeed able to be queried for new aptamers of similar quality based on previous training. Results suggest that VAE-based deep learning methods are capable of optimizing aptamer-target binding affinities and specificities (multi-objective learning), and are a strong tool to aid in aptamer-based drug development

Semantic Web Enabled Software Engineering

Ontologies allow the capture and sharing of domain knowledge by formalizing information and making it machine understandable. As part of an information system, ontologies can capture and carry the reasoning knowledge needed to fulfill different application goals. Although many ontologies have been developed over recent years, few include such reasoning information. As a result, many ontologies are not used in real-life applications, do not get reused or only act as a taxonomy of a domain. This work is an investigation into the practical use of ontologies as a driving factor in the development of applications and the incorporation of Knowledge Engineering as a meaningful activity into modern agile software development. This thesis contributes a novel methodology that supports an incremental requirement analysis and an iterative formalization of ontology design through the use of ontology reasoning patterns. It also provides an application model for ontology-driven applications that can deal with nonontological data sources. A set of case studies with various application specific goals helps to elucidate whether ontologies are in fact suitable for more than simple knowledge formalization and sharing, and can act as the underlying structure for developing largescale information systems. Tasks from the area of bug-tracker quality mining and clone detection are evaluated for this purpose