Government consumption and private consumption correlations

This paper examines whether the introduction of government consumption expenditure in a standard one good model of the international real business cycle is sufficient to reconcile the theory with the existing pattern of international consumption and output correlations. I calibrate the model to two different pairs of countries and generate the simulated distribution of consumption and output correlations implied by several specifications of the model. It is shown that the model can account for existing international consumption correlations only under very specific assumptions about the size of effect of government expenditure on agents' utility or the variability of government expenditure shocks. Crucial parameters are identified and the sensitivity of the results discussed.Government expenditure, risk sharing, consumption correlations, international real business cycles

Sources and propagation of international cycles: Common shocks or transmission?

This paper studies the generation and transmission of international cycles in a multi-country model with production and consumption interdependencies. Two sources of disturbance are considered and three channels of propagation are compared. In the short run the contemporaneous correlation of disturbances determines the main features of the transmission. In the medium run production interdependencies account for the transmission of technology shocks and consumption interdependencies account for the transmission of government shocks. Technology disturbances, which are mildly correlated across countries, are more successful than government expenditure disturbances in reproducing actual data. The model also accounts for the low cross country consumption correlations observed in the data.Technology and government disturbances, production interdependencies, consumption interdependencies, transmission

Associations between college students\u27 social media use and psychological well-being during COVID-19: is gender a moderator?

This study\u27s purpose was to examine to what extent social media use is associated with psychological well-being among undergraduates amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, and whether gender moderates this relationship

American Beauty Standards: “Paling” in Comparison to the White Norm

America has a culturally accepted norm of what makes someone beautiful. A standard that is hard to meet. Being light-skinned, blonde and blue-eyed is the benchmark of beauty, of what is most desirable. But is that really what it takes to be attractive in America? This research examines the relationship between race, birth-place, ethnicity and self-rated attractiveness. The General Social Survey (2016) provides the quantitative data for this study. While past literature explores the connections between identity, self-esteem, and attractiveness, it does not explore the intersection of different identifying characteristics. Group position and Colourism approaches provide the theoretical foundations for the hypothesis and the research conducted in this paper. These theories also help explain why certain physical attributes are more valuable in American society. So how does the privileging of White America, specifically when measuring beauty, influence one’s opinion of their own attractiveness? This study has 1,622 respondents—non-institutionalized, English or Spanish speaking adults, who live in the country. Multiple regression analysis was used to examine the individual and collaborative relationships between the variables. The results from this study concur with some of findings from the literature. Yet, they do not support the hypotheses. The results concluded that being Non-White had little influence on one\u27s self-rated attractiveness. Similarly, birthplace and ethnicity had no statistical significance. However, the controls, age and sex, are significant. This research explores the role identity plays in one’s view of their own beauty. Especially during a period of controversial leadership and drastic shifts in the social norms of society

AN INVESTIGATION OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN LEARNING STYLES OF FIFTH GRADE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL STUDENTS AND THEIR MUSIC COMPOSITION PROCESSES AND PRODUCTS

This researcher sought to investigate the relationship between perceptual learning modalities of fifth grade elementary school students and their compositional processes and products. Music composition, at the elementary school level, has been studied for many years, as the creation of new music can give students a more active role in learning, and in many cases, a greater understanding of musical concepts than can performing and responding alone. However, there is no research to suggest that learning styles play an important role in music composition processes and products of the elementary school student. The purpose of this study was to determine if a relationship existed between students’ preferred learning modalities and their music composition products, and if students articulated a heightened sense of confidence in the process of composing when creating music through their preferred learning modalities. Research indicates that innovative techniques to music composition are necessary to allow students opportunities to think in sound. It is agreed that while there may be multiple ways of teaching students to compose original music, often the methods of doing so dampen the motivation and creativity of children by being too structured to allow exploration and the development of musical decision-making, or, are so unstructured that they frustrate the children. This study utilized the qualitative design, as the intent was to examine not only the products developed by the subjects, but the processes the subjects went through while composing. Each subject (n = 11) composed four musical compositions, initiated through each of the four learning modalities, (visual, auditory, tactual, and kinesthetic). Compositions were scored using a 6-point rating scale on the dimensions of aesthetic appeal, originality, craftsmanship, and proportion by independent music experts. Following the music composition tasks, subjects completed a learning styles instrument, Learning Style: The Clue to You! (LS:CY!), to detect preferred perceptual modalities. The perceptual modality scores derived from the LS:CY! were then compared to the scores from the music composition tasks. During the second phase of this study, semi-structured interviews allowed the researcher insight into subjects’ music composition processes as they related to preferred learning modalities. An implication of this study is that by studying the optimal conditions by which students achieve success in music composition, educators might design appropriate composition tasks and assessments to further students’ musical understanding

Velopharyngeal Insufficiency: Diagnosis and Management

Journal articles relevant to the diagnosis and treatment of velopharyngeal insufficiency were reviewed. All studies ascertained by PubMed search were included. Recent findings: Studies reported on the application of magnetic resonance scanning, reliability tests of the International Working Group diagnostic protocol, the use of nasometry, and techniques designed to assess the function of the velopharyngeal mechanism. Treatment studies focused on outcomes in small samples of cases and complication rates from pharyngeal flap. One study discussed ineffective speech therapy procedures. Summary: There were relatively few studies this past year. Those that were published were hindered by small and heterogeneous sample sizes and occasionally by inappropriate methods for assessing outcomes. None of the findings will have a major impact on the current state-of-the-art for diagnosis of velopharyngeal insufficiency. The speech therapy study has a very important message that should be taken to heart by all clinicians involved in the management of children with clefts and craniofacial disorders

Telescoping tube assembly

An extensible and retractable telescoping tube positions test devices that inspect large stationary objects. The tube has three dimensional adjustment capabilities and is vertically suspended from a frame. The tube sections are independently supported with each section comprising U-shaped housing secured to a thicker support plate. Guide mechanisms preferably mounted only to the thicker plates guide each tube section parallel to a reference axis with improved accuracy so that the position of the remote end of the telescoping tube is precisely known