Bayesian approaches to cointegration

The degree of empirical support of a priori plausible structures on the cointegration vectors has a central role in the analysis of cointegration. Villani (2000) and Strachan and van Dijk (2003) have recently proposed finite sample Bayesian procedures to calculate the posterior probability of restrictions on the cointegration space, using the existence of a uniform prior distribution on the cointegration space as the key ingredient. The current paper extends this approach to the empirically important case with different restrictions on the individual cointegration vectors. Prior distributions are proposed and posterior simulation algorithms are developed. Consumers' expenditure data for the US is used to illustrate the robustness of the results to variations in the prior. A simulation study shows that the Bayesian approach performs remarkably well in comparison to other more established methods for testing restrictions on the cointegration vectors

NBC\u27s portrayal of men\u27s and women\u27s diving at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games

Analysis of NBC\u27s nine-hour coverage of diving at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games was carried out to determine if gender bias would be found in announcer commentary. Both primetime and non-primetime coverage was examined to see if the amount of time devoted to diving was biased toward male or female divers\u27. Billings\u27 (2007) coding scheme was used to determine whether differences existed in the way NBC commentators described male and female divers performance during these Olympics. Descriptive phrases used by NBC commentators were coded independently by two coders. An advisor was used when coders disagreed on placement of descriptors in Billings coding scheme. Only descriptors that two out of three coders agreed on were used (n = 1,231) to ensure intercoder reliability. No significant difference was found regarding the amount of coverage devoted to the diving performance of men and women. However, commentators were more likely to discuss male divers\u27 experience levels more than those of female divers during non-primetime hours. These results suggest that gender bias in NBC commentator dialogues during diving competition has diminished some since the 2004 Athens Olympic Games

Lexical organization in deaf children who use British Sign Language: Evidence from a semantic fluency task

We adapted the semantic fluency task into British Sign Language (BSL). In Study 1, we present data from twenty-two deaf signers aged four to fifteen. We show that the same ‘cognitive signatures’ that characterize this task in spoken languages are also present in deaf children, for example, the semantic clustering of responses. In Study 2, we present data from thirteen deaf children with Specific Language Impairment (SLI) in BSL, in comparison to a subset of children from Study 1 matched for age and BSL exposure. The two groups' results were comparable in most respects. However, the group with SLI made occasional word-finding errors and gave fewer responses in the first 15 seconds. We conclude that deaf children with SLI do not differ from their controls in terms of the semantic organization of the BSL lexicon, but that they access signs less efficiently

A computerized financial information system for the farm supply industry

"MP 345, 73-200""Five seconds. One, two, three, four, five. That doesn’t sound like much time, but that is all it would, take the computerized financial information system to assemble and print a detailed financial summary and analysis for your firm just like the examples that are illustrated in this manual. See and study over one hundred different financial comparisons of your own business operation alongside current industry averages that are being developed from the composite records of comparable farm supply firms in the state. Receive complete and up-to-date earnings statements, balance sheets, and ratio analysis summaries for both your firm and the industry. You get this and more simply by cooperating in the computerized financial information system that has recently been developed by the University of Missouri. It is a program designed especially for the farm supply industry to summarize firm financial performance, compare firm records to those of the industry, and identify just where you are making or losing the most money within your operation. Sound interesting? Read this user information manual for further detail. It contains reproductions and descriptions of the type of financial analysis your firm can receive and it outlines the requirements that your firm must meet in order to participate in the information system."--Introduction

Testing for integration using evolving trend and seasonal models: A Bayesian approach

In this paper, we make use of state space models to investigate the presence of stochastic trends in economic time series. A model is specified where such a trend can enter either in the autoregressive representation or in a separate state equation. Tests based on the former are analogous to Dickey-Fuller tests of unit roots, while the latter are analogous to KPSS tests of trend-stationarity. We use Bayesian methods to survey the properties of the likelihood function in such models and to calculate posterior odds ratios comparing models with and without stochastic trends. We extend these ideas to the problem of testing for integration at seasonal frequencies and show how our techniques can be used to carry out Bayesian variants of either the HEGY or Canova-Hansen test. Stochastic integration rules, based on Markov Chain Monte Carlo, as well as deterministic integration rules are used. Strengths and weaknesses of each approach are indicated

Estimation of fiber diameters in the spinal dorsal columns from clinical data

Lack of human morphometric data regarding the largest nerve fibers in the dorsal columns (DCs) of the spinal cord has lead to the estimation of the diameters of these fibers from clinical data retrieved from patients with a new spinal cord stimulation (SCS) system. These patients indicated the perception threshold of stimulation induced paresthesia in various body segments, while the stimulation amplitude was increased. The fiber diameters were calculated with a computer model, developed to calculate the effects of SCS on spinal nerve fibers. This computer model consists of two parts: (1) a three-dimensional (3-D) volume conductor model of a spinal cord segment in which the potential distribution due to electrical stimulation is calculated and (2) an electrical equivalent cable model of myelinated nerve fiber, which uses the calculated potential field to determine the threshold stimulus needed for activation. It is shown that the largest fibers in the medial DCs are significantly smaller than the largest fibers in the lateral parts. This finding is in accordance with the fiber distribution in cat, derived from the corresponding propagation velocities. Moreover, it is shown that the mediolateral increase in fiber diameter is mainly confined to the lateral parts of the DCs. Implementation of this mediolateral fiber diameter distribution of the DCs in the computer model enables the prediction of the recruitment order of dermatomal paresthesias following increasing electrical stimulation amplitud

Aplicación de las 5S para incrementar la productividad en la fabricación de rodillos galleteros en el área de mecanizado de la Empresa Metal Mecánica Yarlequé, Independencia, 2016

La presente tesis tiene como título “Aplicación de las 5s para incrementar la productividad en la fabricación de rodillos galleteros en el área de mecanizado de la empresa metal mecánica Yarlequé, Independencia, 2016”.Tiene como objetivo determinar las causas que originan la baja productividad en la fabricación de los rodillos galleteros y para dar solución a esta problemática se aplicó la metodología de las 5S para mejorar tanto la eficiencia como la eficacia en un periodo determinado. Como variable independiente tenemos la metodología japonesa de las 5S, y sus dimensiones son: Seiri, Seiton, Seiso, Seiketsu y Shituke y como variable dependiente tenemos la productividad con sus indicadores como es la eficiencia y la eficacia, La productividad tiene que ver con los resultados obtenidos en la fabricación de los rodillos galleteros, al incrementar la productividad voy a obtener mejores beneficios midiendo el cociente de los resultados logrados y los recursos empleados. Aplicar la metodología de las 5S fue necesaria, se observaron demasiados tiempos improductivos, demoras en encontrar las herramientas y sin clasificar lo útil de lo inútil, la falta de limpieza y desorden de los equipos y herramientas en lugares inapropiados y como consecuencia tenemos baja productividad. Esta tesis su diseño es cuasi – experimental y la validez la firmaron tres ingenieros y fueron evaluadas por el juicio de expertos, y como población tenemos 24 técnicos en el área de mecanizado. Su muestra es la misma que la población por ser su diseño cuasi-experimental. La conclusión después de realizar la medición del año 2016 respecto al 2015 la productividad se incrementó en 36.5%, la mejora de tiempos fue un éxito y económicamente su incremento fue superior al del año anterior, su eficiencia se ha incrementado en 12.67% y la eficacia en 5.17%.Recomendamos promover la participación del personal ya que ellos son los encargados de que tenga éxito la metodología de las 5S

Identifying Developmental Language Disorder in Deaf Children with Cochlear Implants: A Case Study of Three Children

(1) Background: While spoken language learning delays are assumed for deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) children after cochlear implant (CI), many catch up with their hearing peers. Some DHH children with CIs, however, show persistent delays in language, despite protective factors being in place. This suggests a developmental language disorder (DLD). However, at present there is little consensus on how to diagnose DLD in DHH children. (2) Methods: Given the lack of consensus in this area, a set of case studies provides an appropriate first step. The goal of this paper is to show the plausibility of a DLD diagnosis, following careful analysis of protective and risk factors. A retrospective case study review was conducted for three children. Their long-term language outcomes up to four years after CI were considered in the context of access to sound, speech sound discrimination, social skills and non-verbal cognition. (3) Results: It was possible to posit DLD in one child who had experienced good access to sound, alongside good speech discrimination abilities and social development, and normal non-verbal cognition, but who presented with severe language learning difficulties. (4) Conclusions: Finding markers for DLD in DHH children is important for diagnosis and intervention. The implications for clinical practice are discussed