Business Cycle Models and Stylized Facts in Germany

The aim of this paper is to test to what extent a benchmark real and monetary business cycle model can account for some basic stylized facts with a particular emphasis on monetary variables. We calibrate the model on German data using the method proposed by Cooley and Prescott (1995). First we will analyze the dynamic properties of the models, the Impulse Response Functions and propose a variance decomposition (for the monetary BC Models). We find that even though money is not neutral in the short run, the effect of a monetary shock is only marginal compared to the productivity shock, i.e. the share of the variance of the monetary shock in the total variance of the forecast error is small and decreases rapidly. We simulate the models and compare the properties of the model economies with those of the observed data. The evidence suggests that the benchmark RBC model can account for some stylized facts in Germany. The general pattern of the relative volatilities of investment, output and consumption is replicated by the model. Nevertheless, the overall volatility is too high and the level of the relative volatilities is not well reproduced. The introduction of exogenous monetary shocks and a cash-in-advance constraint increases the relative volatilities and the cross correlation of consumption. In general the second order moments of money (M1) and inflation are not well reproduced.business cycles; money; variance decomposition

Resilient trees as mechanisms of nitrogen retention following bark beetle attack

Watershed disturbances (a land area sharing a single drainage point for all surface and groundwater flow paths) are often accompanied by a significant increase in the export of nitrogen from the terrestrial to the aquatic ecosystem, mainly in the form of nitrate (NO3-). Unlike other watershed disturbances, infestation by the mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins) is not associated with elevated nitrate concentrations in the stream channel (Leigh Cooper, Personal Communication). The lodgepole pine ecosystem of Colorado is nitrogen-limited (Fahey et al. 1985. Biogeochemistry 1: 257-275). Across a landscape, outbreaks of the mountain pine beetle leave a patchy distribution of surviving trees. Surviving trees are nonviable hosts to the beetle. Trees of a smaller diameter at breast height are not host to the beetle, as they do not provide a sufficient food source to developing larvae in the inner bark (Cole and Amman 1969 USDA Forest Service Research Paper: INT-95). Younger, smaller lodgepole pine and spruce that survive an outbreak are, therefore, resilient to mountain pine beetle infestation. Resilient trees are potential nitrogen sinks for any release of inorganic soil nitrogen as a result of neighboring tree death. Foliar nitrogen concentrations were used as a proxy for plant nitrogen uptake of surviving trees. Of variables estimated, neighboring tree mortality was a strong predictor of foliar nitrogen concentrations of surviving trees (p\u3c0.001, R2 = 0.17). The data suggest increased nitrogen uptake by resilient trees in response to neighboring tree death. Across a watershed, resilient trees that are no longer competing for nitrogen with neighboring trees represent a nitrogen sink for available inorganic soil nitrogen, mitigating significant nitrate loss from the terrestrial to the aquatic ecosystem. Belowground measurements of soil nitrogen availability and the partitioning of nitrogen between the microbial and plan community could further explain the relative importance of resilient trees in nitrogen retention of watersheds affected by the mountain pine beetle

The Map is Useless Unless You Know Where You Are: Information Literacy Pre-Assessment as a Tool for Understanding and Collaboration

The objective of this presentation is to provide librarians with a potential outline for beginning an information literacy assessment strategy, starting with pre-assessment. Librarians unsure about where to start when it comes to assessment will find that developing a pre-test can be a great way to start such a strategy collaborating with classroom faculty. Pre-assessment also is nonjudgmental pertaining to faculty’s teaching abilities and students’ learning making it an easier sell for collaboration or even initiating collaboration where none existed. If we can’t know where students end up after a class, at least we can get a sense of where they start and focus our instruction, likely a one-shot session, on the research skill areas that students may be lacking. But a good relationship with classroom faculty could lead to new methods of post-assessing, like bibliographic analysis, focus groups or search logs. It could also lead to more sessions with the librarian if a faculty member finds that some classes are extensively deficient in information literacy skills. This presentation will highlight the pilot study conducted by College of DuPage Library and a select group of Composition faculty members. It will include study objectives, methodology, and results. Reasons for focusing only on pre-assessment versus both pre and post-tests will also be discussed. The need for using course management systems or online survey tools will made due to the need for immediate results by faculty and students. Future items will be discussed as the study continues throughout subsequent semesters

A Comparison Study Of American Indian And Caucasian Sex Offenders On Trauma And Selected Trauma Effects

American Indian/Alaskan Natives (AI/AN) have a long history of documented trauma experiences. In addition, AI/AN individuals are likely to have fewer economic resources and are faced with increased traumatic experiences in comparison to the general population. Further, the American Indian population is also affected by overrepresentation with incarceration rates in federal and state government detention centers. These data support the need to address non-sexual recidivism issues in the American Indian population. Little research has examined trauma experiences, selected trauma effects, and unique differences for American Indian sex offenders. Treatment employed for American Indian sex offenders is conducted based on data supporting Caucasian sex offender treatment. However, there is a need to examine the unique differences among American Indian sex offenders, as they may require more trauma-informed care or other specific treatment needs. This study hypothesized American Indian male sex offenders would report more adverse childhood experiences, trauma experiences, higher current PTSD rates in relation to their most distressing traumatic event, more selected trauma effects, and higher non-sexual re-offense risks factors than Caucasian male sex offenders. Results indicated American Indian sex offenders reported significantly more adverse childhood experiences, higher rates of underreported trauma symptoms, impulsive/problematic sexual behaviors, higher rates of suicidal behavior in the past 6 months, and higher non-sexual re-offense risk factors than Caucasian sex offenders. Additional analyses were conducted on the data and are described in the results section

Trauma Experiences And Symptoms Reported By American Indian And Caucasian Sex Offenders

American Indian/Alaskan Native (AI/AN) people are known to have a history of man-made trauma that corresponds to the colonization of the Americans. Trauma experienced by AI/AN sex offenders has not been evaluated in the research as it relates to their treatment planning. The lack of data reflecting intervention needs for AI/AN sex offenders is problematic. The current study hypothesized that American Indian sex offenders would report a greater number of trauma experiences, endorse increased symptoms of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), display more traumatic cognitions, and endorse higher dissociative experiences than Caucasian sex offenders. Statistical results yielded did not support the proposed hypotheses. Additional analyses conducted on the data revealed that American Indian sex offenders reported more adverse childhood experiences that Caucasian sex offenders and contact sex offenders reported experience higher levels of dissociation when compared to non-contact sex offenders

Towards Cartographic Portrayal Interoperability – the Revision of OGC Symbology Encoding Standard

International audienceAs Standard Working Group chairs at the Open Geospatial Consortium, this presentation shares our experiences and our results concerning the ongoing revision of the Symbology Encoding standard

A new species of Sagiolechia (Sagiolechiaceae) from Norway, with lirelliform ascomata and 1-septate ascospores

The new species Sagiolechia monoseptata is described from the northern boreal zone of Norway where it was found on a shaded siliceous rock under a boulder in a north-facing, small, steep scree. It is characterized by the pale greyish-green thallus, black, lirelliform ascomata, and 1-septate ascospores of (11–) 12–16 × (4–) 5–6 (– 7) µm, all features unique within the genus. Despite the unusual combination of morphological characters, phylogenetic analyses using nuLSU, mtSSU and RPB2 sequences place the new lichen in the genus Sagiolechia with full support.publishedVersio

Spotting The Elusive Prospect Customer: Exploratory Study Of A Web-Powered Customer Relationship Management Framework

Research on how Web-Mining (WM) optimizes marketing, is sparse. Especially absent, is research on WM usefulness for Customer Relationship Management (CRM). The purpose of this research, is to propose a Web Mining-enabled knowledge acquisition framework for analytical CRM. An exploratory study consisting of eleven in-depth interviews with marketing scholars and practitioners revealed that, WM methods and techniques - currently available to practitioners - are well-suited for identifying the profile of web prospects according to their browsing behaviour and to classify them into homogeneous groups. Besides, the nascent technologies regarding opinion mining, sentiment analysis or natural language parsing, and which underlie WM, seem sufficient to acquire knowledge pertaining to attitudinal and other more psychometrically-based characteristics about web prospects. Such tools enable to better understand the so-often termed elusive prospects, by crafting fine-grained online marketing strategies to acquire those would-be customers. The authors discuss the managerial implications that derive from these findings

Phylogenetic placement of the lichenicolous, anamorphic genus Lichenodiplis and its connection to Muellerella-like teleomorphs

Lichenicolous fungi are a specialized group of taxa which inhabit lichens and develop diverse degrees of specificity and parasitic behaviour towards their hosts. They are recognized only by their phenotypic symptoms and sexual or asexual spore-producing structures on the lichen thalli. Only recently, molecular data and culture dependent approaches have helped in uncovering the species diversity and in verifying the phylogenetic position and anamorpheteleomorph relationships of some taxa. Here, we studied the phylogenetic placement of representative taxa of two lichenicolous genera, the coelomycete Lichenodiplis and the ascomycete Muellerella. We obtained molecular data for three nuclear and mitochondrial loci (28S, 18S, and 16S), both from fresh collected specimens and culture isolates. Our multilocus phylogeny places Lichenodiplis and Muellerella samples in one monophyletic, fully supported clade, sister to Epibryon (Epibryaceae) in Chaetothyriales (Eurotiomycetes). Morphological analyses of axenically cultured fungi show the formation of conidiomata and conidiospores in both Lichenodiplis and Muellerella isolates. We suggest that the species Lichenodiplis lecanorae and Muellerella atricola represent, respectively, the anamorphic and teleomorphic stages of the same fungus and discuss their relationships with the other fungal families in Chaetothyriomycetidae