A Compilation of Financial Accounting Case Studies

This thesis will cover varies accounting subjects. Subject matter was provided by the Patterson School of Accountancy. Topics discussed include proposed accounting changes, tax regulations, a case study of a public company, and an analysis of the 2008 financial crisis

Visions from Revelation

Visions from Revelation is a sketch of Revelation 4 portrayed through piano and fixed media. The pianism makes tribute to several composers. Eleven Echoes of Autumn by George Crumb influenced the inside-of-the-piano operations. In the second piece, the extended techniques go nearly as far as the musique concrète instrumentale writing in Helmut Lachen- mann’s Guero. Naturally, the concept of prepared piano in movement one comes from John Cage, but the soundscape is in the vein of Crumb’s Makrokosmos using a thimble to mute strings.  The pitch organization for the movements vary. In the first movement, the pitch content is a cross between intervallic harmonic techniques and pandiatonicism. The scale is similar to D Major, but the tendency toward tritones raises the 4th scale degree while lowering the 7th. Furthermore, the scale occasionally lowers the 2nd and 6th scale degree for the sake of intervallic integrity as well as for bringing a strong pull down to the 1st and 5th scale degree. The second movement applies Messiaen’s third mode of limited transposition, which is one of the most chromatic of his modes. Using this mode and carefully designing the melodic contour, the pitch material imitates the sound quality of the inside piano operations. The third movement is more intuitive with the horizontal pitch structure, but vertically there are general guidelines. The harmonic intervals consist of minor 2nds and perfect 5ths at the beginning. By measure 71, the minor 2nds invert to major 7ths, and by measure 122, the perfect 5ths invert to perfect 4ths.  Overall, this piece has a triumphal nature prompted by the programmatic material of the throne room from Revelation 4. Musically it displays virtuosic writing in the style of composers like Crumb and Lachenmann. The pitch material derives from several different 20th century techniques as well as some more intuitive approaches that evoke the triumphant feel

Can Online Sentiment Help Predict Dow Jones Industrial Average Returns?

In this paper, we explore the relationship between a Global Mood Time Series, provided by Wall Street Birds, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) from April 2011 to December 2011. My econometric results show that there is no long run equilibrium relationship between the level of global mood and the level of the DJIA. These results apply to the whole period, as well as in the six-month subperiods. Furthermore, daily changes in global mood do not Granger cause DJIA returns. However, changes in global mood do appear to be useful in forecasting the volatility of the DJIA, and my results suggest that GARCH models of volatility of large-cap indexes, and potentially the market as a whole, could be strengthened by including online sentiment measures of Big Data. Measuring global mood, and quantifying its impacts, can potentially lead to superior portfolio construction as forecasting volatility is an important input in portfolio optimization. The results, as a whole, suggest that Big Data can have important implications for investment decision-making

Surface Energy in Bond-Counting Models on Bravais and Non-Bravais Lattices

Continuum models in computational material science require the choice of a surface energy function, based on properties of the material of interest. This work shows how to use atomistic bond-counting models and crystal geometry to inform this choice. We will examine some of the difficulties that arise in the comparison between these models due to differing types of truncation. New crystal geometry methods are required when considering materials with non-Bravais lattice structure, resulting in a multi-valued surface energy. These methods will then be presented in the context of the two-dimensional material graphene in a way that correctly predicts its equilibrium shape

Developing a Computer Model and Its Application in Evaluating Forward Cleaner Sequences

The objection of this work was to establish a useable format for developing an idea into a working model and to verify that format by example. The format is outlined as follows: Establish a need Set Objectives/Criteria Synthesis Analysis Selection Decision/Action Communication The example used to verify the format was a comparison of various forward cleaner sequences to determine if an improvement could be made over the current cascade system. After completion of the model format, it was determined that an alpha/alpha cleaning system would prove more cost effective than a cascade system if it was run at feed consistencies greater than .55%. The incremental cleaning efficiency would allow for lower cost stocks to be used, thus defraying the increased capital costs. The overall application of the model format proved very effective

Conflicting interests but filtered key targets : Stakeholder and resource-dependency analyses at a University of Applied Sciences

Abstract: Stakeholder theory (SHT) emphasizes that different stakeholders and their interests need to be identified and addressed to maximize firm performance. This emphasis can make the design of performance measurement systems (PMS) challenging because the interests of stakeholders are often in conflict. Based on previous research and using stakeholder and resource dependency theories, we develop a theoretical model suggesting that resource dependency acts as a “filter” in selecting which of the PMS design measures are emphasized for decision making. We find various conflicting interests between stakeholders in our case organization (a unit of University of Applied Sciences in Finland) that affected PMS design. Contrary to the earlier studies, however, we found that despite conflicting interests, all of the different stakeholders considered one nonfinancial indicator to be the most important: attractiveness, or the number of applicants divided by number of new students. As suggested by resource-dependency theory (RDT), the stakeholder providing the most resources had the most significant impact on the selection of the key performance indicators used. The key resource provider may also have had some effect on the expectations of other stakeholders