IPOs cycle and investment in high-tech industries

This paper analyses the effects of the Initial Public Offering (IPO) market on real investment decisions in emerging industries. We first propose a model of IPO timing based on divergence of opinion among investors and short-sale constraints. Using a real option approach, we show that firms are more likely to go public when the ratio of overvaluation over profits is high, that is after stock market run-ups. Because initial returns increase with the demand from optimistic investors at the time of the offer, the model provides an explanation for the observed positive causality between average initial returns and IPO volume. Second, we discuss the possibility of real overinvestment in high-tech industries. We claim that investing in the industry gives agents an option to sell the project on the stock market at an overvalued price enabling then the financing of positive NPV projects which would not be undertaken otherwise. It is shown that the IPO market can however also lead to overinvestment in new industries. Finally, we present some econometric results supporting the idea that funds committed to the financing of high-tech industries may respond positively to optimistic stock market valuations

Influence of emotional intelligence on performance in an emotionally Laden Cognitive Task: an ERP Study.

A higher level of emotional intelligence (EI), understood as a greater ability to perceive, use, understand, and manage emotions, is associated with an increase in performance on emotionally laden cognitive tasks. The main objective of this research was to study the neural basis underlying the execution of an emotional cognitive control task (GoNogo) as a function of ability EI. Forty-four participants were divided into two groups depending on EI level (High EI vs. Low EI). The participants’ task consisted of an emotional face GoNogo task, in which happy, fear and neutral facial expressions were the go and no go stimulus. Results showed a larger N170 and smaller N2 amplitude for the low EI group than for the high EI one. Greater levels of cognitive control were associated to participants with high EI. Our findings show the importance of studying emotion and cognition interaction to explain our behavior and performance. This work was partially supported by the project Innovation and Development Agency of Andalusia, Spain (SEJ-07325) to Pablo Fernández-Berrocal. Alberto Megías is supported by a Juan de la Cierva postdoctoral fellowship from the Spanish MINECO (FJCI-2015-25600).Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Asymptotic Analysis for Optimal Dividends in a Dual Risk Model

The dual risk model is a popular model in finance and insurance, which is often used to model the wealth process of a venture capital or high tech company. Optimal dividends have been extensively studied in the literature for the dual risk model. It is well known that the value function of this optimal control problem does not yield closed-form solutions except in some special cases. In this paper, we study the asymptotics of the optimal dividends problem when the parameters of the model go to either zero or infinity. Our results provide insights to the optimal strategies and the optimal values when the parameters are extreme.Comment: 23 page

Geocaching History Challenge: Using High-Tech Toys to Learn History

Do you love local history? Do you love a good treasure hunt? Do you love high-tech gadgets? Put them together to get your library patrons out and about in your local area. Learn how the Ramsey County Library teamed up with the White Bear Lake Area Historical Society to teach about local historic sites using geocaches in this Legacy-funded program. Learn to play the high-tech game yourself using handheld GPS receivers or smartphones! Participants will go outside for the last half of the session so be prepared for the weather

Human Resource Management Practices, Workforce Alignment, and Firm Performance

Small business leaders are charged with delivering high levels of company performance. There is no shortage of potentially fruitful investments available for consideration; these include developing new products or services, improving product or service quality, and enhancing marketing and sales. Another possible investment - improving the way a company manages its people - tends to receive less attention. This is somewhat surprising, however, when one considers that the human resource management practices a company uses can dramatically impact the bottom-line. One study of large publicly traded firms, for example, found that companies using high performance human resource practices have market values that range from between $16,000 and$40,000 per employee higher than firms that do not use such practices. A study of high tech start-ups showed that for firms going public with a high level of human resource value, the probability of survival is .79; for firms going public with low levels of human resource value, however, the probability is only .60. So, what human resource management practices foster small business success? The problem in answering this question is that prior studies often disagree about which human resource management practices are effective and which ones aren\u27t. Furthermore, even if scholars could agree about which practices are best, there is no reason to believe that the practices used by large Fortune 500 firms or small high-tech start-ups would translate to many (if not most) small businesses. After all, small businesses (i.e., those with fewer than 200) employees, typically compete in areas other than high-tech, and are generally unlikely to go public any time soon. The Cornell University/Gevity study of human resource management practices in small businesses is the first study we know of to provide definitive answers to two critical questions facing small business leaders: (1) Do people contribute to the success of small businesses?, and (2) What human resource management strategies (and practices) can the leaders of small businesses employ to foster firm success? The results of the study are presented as follows. First, we provide a visual depiction of the study\u27s findings. Second, we show that workforce alignment is strongly related to small business success. Third, we demonstrate how various employee selection, management, and motivation strategies affect workforce alignment. Fourth, we present four key takeaways from the study. Finally, we provide a section that allows you to compare your company\u27s results on all study variables to those of the other 250 companies that participated in the study

Do School-To-Work Programs Help the "Forgotten Half"?

This paper tests whether school-to-work (STW) programs are particularly beneficial for those less likely to go to college in their absence%u2014%u2014often termed the %u201C%u201Cforgotten half%u201D%u201D in the STW literature. The empirical analysis is based on the NLSY97, which allows us to study six types of STW programs, including job shadowing, mentoring, coop, school enterprises, tech prep, and internships/apprenticeships. For men there is quite a bit of evidence that STW program participation is particularly advantageous for those in the forgotten half. For these men, specifically, mentoring and coop programs increase post-secondary education, and coop, school enterprise, and internship/apprenticeship programs boost employment and decrease idleness after leaving high school. There is less evidence that STW programs are particularly beneficial for women in the forgotten half, although internship/apprenticeship programs do lead to positive earnings effects concentrated among these women.

Do School-to-Work Programs Help the “Forgotten Half�

This paper tests whether school-to-work (STW) programs are particularly beneficial for those less likely to go to college in their absence—often termed the “forgotten half†in the STW literature. The empirical analysis is based on the NLSY97, which allows us to study six types of STW programs, including job shadowing, mentoring, coop, school enterprises, tech prep, and internships / apprenticeships. For men there is quite a bit of evidence that STW program participation is particularly advantageous for those in the forgotten half. For these men, among the strongest evidence is that mentoring and coop programs increase post-secondary education, and coop, school enterprise, and internship / apprenticeship programs boost employment and decrease idleness after leaving high school. There is less evidence that STW programs are particularly beneficial in increasing schooling among women in the forgotten half, although internship / apprenticeship programs do lead to positive earnings effects concentrated among these women.

First-Principle Dynamic Electro-Thermal Numerical Model of a Scanning Radiometer for Earth Radiation Budget Applications

Low Earth Observing instruments that are used to monitor the incoming solar and outgoing long wave radiation have been a crucial part of studying the Earths radiation budget for the past three decades. These instruments go through several robust design phases followed by vigorous ground calibration campaigns to set their baseline characterization spectrally, spatially, temporally and radiometrically. The knowledge from building and calibrating these instruments has aided in technology advancements and the need for developing more accurate instruments has increased. In order to understand the on-ground instrument performance, NASA Langley Research Center has partnered with the Thermal Radiation Group of Virginia Tech to develop a first-principle, dynamic, electrothermal, numerical model of a scanning radiometer that can be used to enhance the interpretation of an Earth radiation budget-like instrument on orbit. This paper will summarize the current efforts of developing this high-fidelity end-to-end model and also highlight how it can be applied to an Earth radiation budget instrument

ACUTA eNews January 2013 Vol. 42, No. 1

In this issue... 1 The ACUTA Conference it Forum: What\u27s in it for You? 2 Ruth A. Michalecki Leadership Award j Developing Funding Model 4 Wi-Fi goes Gigabit-802.1 1AC 5 Add Names from Your Campus to Your ACUTA Roster 5 Revised Webcasting Royalty Rates for 2010-15 6 Why 2013 Career Plans Must Go High-Tech 7 Info Links 7 Windstream Provides Calling Service to ACUTA / 8 Board Report \u27 Thanks to Event Sponsors for 2012 9 Welcome New Members 9 Check It Ou