DIFFERENTIAL CHANGES IN THE VALUE-RELEVANCE OF EARNINGS AND BOOK VALUES OVER TIME: FINANCIAL VERSUS OTHER INDUSTRIES

We investigate the change in the value-relevance of earnings and book value information in the financial industry compared to other industries from 1970 to 2005. Prior literature provides mixed evidence as to whether value-relevance reduces over time. Using Ohlson’s model, we find increasing value-relevance for earnings and book value for the financial and other industries. However, the increasing trend is less evident for financial firms. More importantly, we document that the slower growth trend for the financial industry improves compared to other industries after firms adopt SFAS 133 (as amended by SFAS 137 and 138) in 2001. Financial institutions typically hold more derivative instruments and hedging portfolios than other industries. Our results are thus consistent with the view that SFAS 133 may help financial institutions improve the value-relevance of accounting information. Our results have implication for policy makers when they evaluate the benefit of SFAS 133.Value-relevance; accounting information; comparative change; SFAS 133; financial industry; non-financial industry.

Cross-cultural bridges : closing the gaps in direct services with immigrant and diverse populations

The shifting cultural, racial, ethnic, and linguistic makeup of the United States is expected to become more diverse in the coming decades. This has important implications for direct service professionals, including social workers and educators. An overview of culturally sensitive, responsive, and competent practices is provided for work with immigrant and diverse populations to assist professionals in the process of crossing cultural bridges, overcoming privilege, and building bridges

Bt Corn Farmer Compliance with Insect Resistance Management Requirements: Results from the 2002 Minnesota and Wisconsin Farm Polls

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reregistered Bt corn in 2001 with mandatory Insect Resistance Management (IRM) requirements in order to promote sustainable use by farmers. Since then studies report IRM compliance rates ranging from 80 to 90 percent. Using survey data from Minnesota and Wisconsin, we show that previous compliance rate estimates are likely too high because they do not use a comprehensive measure for compliance. With a more comprehensive measure, we find compliance rates ranging between 60 to 75 percent.Bt corn, compliance, Insect Resistance Management, refuge, Crop Production/Industries,

Testing for a difference in means of a single feature after clustering

For many applications, it is critical to interpret and validate groups of observations obtained via clustering. A common validation approach involves testing differences in feature means between observations in two estimated clusters. In this setting, classical hypothesis tests lead to an inflated Type I error rate. To overcome this problem, we propose a new test for the difference in means in a single feature between a pair of clusters obtained using hierarchical or $k$-means clustering. The test based on the proposed $p$-value controls the selective Type I error rate in finite samples and can be efficiently computed. We further illustrate the validity and power of our proposal in simulation and demonstrate its use on single-cell RNA-sequencing data

How a Beginning Science Teacher Deals with Practical Work:An Explorative Study through the Lens of Identity

Through the lens of teacher professional identity, in this case study, we examine how a beginning science teacher deals with practical work in a physics classroom. We explore how various interactions occurred between personal, interpersonal, and situational dimensions of his identity as a beginning physics teacher when dealing with practical work. Various kinds of data were collected over a period of 10 months: 3 semi-structured interviews, 26 classroom observations, 32 brief interviews, as well as various artifacts and lesson plans. The analysis was done through a constant comparative method, and it was grounded within the three-dimensional framework of professional identity: personal, social, and situational. Four main themes emerged through the analysis of the data that represent the main features of the participant’s identity enactment as a beginning physics dealing with practical work: (a) personal characteristics, (b) sense of agency, (c) contextual constraints, and (d) ongoing interpretation of experiences with practical work. These findings are presented through a narration of the participant’s identity with regard to practical work alongside authentic extracts and quotes from the data. Drawn upon these findings, we offer a set of recommendations for future research