Essays in Public and Corporate Finance

Each of the three chapters of this dissertation makes a unique contribution to the fields of public finance or corporate finance. In chapter one I show that tax-price is increasing in workplace risk due to a positive wage-risk response that is observed in the labor supply price for hazardous industries. This result implies that, holding human capital constant, workers in more dangerous industries will demand a relatively smaller public sector. I test this with county-level data on fatality rates and support for the two major party candidates in the 2004 US Presidential election. Taking Republicans to represent the party of limited government I find that industry fatality rates remain positive and significant drivers of support for smaller government through various regression specifications. These results are robust to cross-sectional data on individual contributions reported to the Federal Elections Commission for the 2004, 2008, and 2012 US Presidential elections and to panel data for individual contributions across the US Presidential elections in 2004, 2008, and 2012. Chapter two uses the above panel data to test whether political support is influenced by location. For the subsample of individuals who move across states between elections, and taking the first difference in percent of votes for the Republican between the new state in time t and the old state in time t-1 as the independent variable of interest, I find that donors who previously supported the Democrat are more likely to switch to the Republican when moving to a state where support for the Republican is greater than before, and vice versa. In chapter three, I present an event study of the Castle Bravo nuclear test, recreating a paper by Armen Alchian that was conducted, confiscated, and destroyed at RAND Corp. in 1954. Even though its use was secret at time and the effects were only theoretical, Castle Bravo innovated the use of lithium deuteride fusion fuel, and the market price of Lithium Corp, the main producer of lithium at the time, saw a return of 28.2% in the month following the test and a return of 461% for the year, providing evidence that even military secrets may be reflected in the prices of publicly-traded companies

Bewildering narrative

“Bewildering Narrative” outlines three videos, Denouement, Happy Endings (2021), and Drowning the Muse. These works critique the climactic narrative form using formal breaks in digital media to push viewers’ perceptions of storytelling into a place of bewilderment. To do so, I treat narrative conventions of continuity, character, and climax as mechanisms that articulate heterosexual desires and expectations. The videos visually, textually, and auditorily rupture this phallocentric organization of narrative storytelling. These interventions take the form of poetic fragmentation, repetition, and displaced exposition where the narrative disorients the viewers’ attention rather than determining and regulating it. Editing plays a key role in my practice, as a methodology by which cinematic styles of jump cuts, on-screen text, and still images can refuse the arc structure of traditional cinema. These editing conventions in conjunction with surrealist texts generate a sense of bewilderment for the viewer, which theorist Jack Halberstam defines as “an immersive sense of being lost or standing outside of a system of knowing” (Halberstam 66). Each video uses distancing techniques that resist formal character development, rising/falling actions, or an inciting incident that would traditionally lead to a denouement. By reorienting how Western culture unconsciously espouses and engenders heteropatriarchal norms, the videos gesture toward alternative encounters with cinema that somatically and affectively queer desire. I draw on the writing of queer theorists Jack Halberstam and Sara Ahmed and of the speculative fiction authors Ursula K. Le Guin and Anne Bogart to situate my practice. I consider these works through a framework of gender studies, narrative theory, and postmodern literature. These writers, along with several artists, contextualize the formal aspects of the videos and my practice generally in the larger landscape of visual media. By queering the site/sight of our socialization–language exchange, literature, and cinema–these videos bewilder the stability of 5 Western semiotics, exposing the constructed nature of narrative rigidity and contemporary social formulations alike

Systems building theory application within the residential housing construction market

The primary purpose of this report is to introduce the economical value in utilizing certain systems building applications. In this report I focus on integrated system methodologies that encourage residential building economy and submit such systems as a viable alternative to traditional labor intensive housing construction. The consumer market that could be particularly enhanced by these systems ranges from low income to middle income and the by-product would be classified as affordable housing. This report focuses on the New Jersey real estate market and presents certain prefabricated housing systems as an economical means of meeting the large demand for residential housing. I particularly recommend traditional type wooden modular and component systems and suggest ways of implementing their use into the New Jersey market. I also take the reader through a functional systems analysis exercise and illustrate the resulting functional design. Throughout this paper I try and touch on many levels of building economy. Particular consideration is given to the following areas: function, cost, quality, value, control, productivity, computer application, and economies of scale

Coping Responses and Mental Health Symptoms in Incarcerated Juvenile Males

Coping responses develop throughout the lifespan of an individual. Unfortunately for some, difficult life circumstances may lead to the use of maladaptive forms of coping. This study investigated coping responses amongst male incarcerated juvenile offenders and examined which specific mental health symptoms may occur with specific coping responses. The goal of this study was to determine whether male incarcerated juvenile offenders utilize avoidant coping responses over approach coping responses. Also, this study investigated whether specific mental health symptoms, such as depression, anxiety, anger, and disruptive behaviors, were more prevalent amongst those who utilize avoidant coping responses. De-identified, archival data for the Coping Responses Inventory-Youth and the Beck Youth Inventory-II, previously obtained during routine intake assessments collected from sixty-two (62) male incarcerated juvenile offenders placed in a probation camp, ages 12-18, were used in order to investigate coping and self-reported mental health symptoms. Results confirmed that incarcerated male juvenile offenders tend to utilize avoidant coping responses as opposed to approach coping responses. Furthermore, participants that utilized avoidant coping responses were more likely to endorse mental health symptoms of depression, anger, and disruptive behaviors, and were less likely to utilize approaching coping responses. The significance of these findings indicate that male incarcerated juvenile offenders are less likely to approach distress behaviorally and cognitively, and are less likely process distress in a manner that will produce emotional growth. The electronic version of this dissertation is available free at Ohiolink ETD Center, www.ohiolink.edu/et

Coping Responses and Mental Health Symptoms in Incarcerated Juvenile Males

Coping responses develop throughout the lifespan of an individual. Unfortunately for some, difficult life circumstances may lead to the use of maladaptive forms of coping. This study investigated coping responses amongst male incarcerated juvenile offenders and examined which specific mental health symptoms may occur with specific coping responses. The goal of this study was to determine whether male incarcerated juvenile offenders utilize avoidant coping responses over approach coping responses. Also, this study investigated whether specific mental health symptoms, such as depression, anxiety, anger, and disruptive behaviors, were more prevalent amongst those who utilize avoidant coping responses. De-identified, archival data for the Coping Responses Inventory-Youth and the Beck Youth Inventory-II, previously obtained during routine intake assessments collected from sixty-two (62) male incarcerated juvenile offenders placed in a probation camp, ages 12-18, were used in order to investigate coping and self-reported mental health symptoms. Results confirmed that incarcerated male juvenile offenders tend to utilize avoidant coping responses as opposed to approach coping responses. Furthermore, participants that utilized avoidant coping responses were more likely to endorse mental health symptoms of depression, anger, and disruptive behaviors, and were less likely to utilize approaching coping responses. The significance of these findings indicate that male incarcerated juvenile offenders are less likely to approach distress behaviorally and cognitively, and are less likely process distress in a manner that will produce emotional growth. The electronic version of this dissertation is available free at Ohiolink ETD Center, www.ohiolink.edu/et

研究発表 『伊勢物語器水抄』における秘伝の意義 ―帰納的なアプローチによって―

The problem of fiction in the Ise Monogatari is central to its mystery, and had a large effect on the interpretation of the text in pre-modern commentary. The recognition of the genre of the Ise Monogatari by the commentator -was it originally biographical, was it entirely fiction, or was it a poetic collection? -can be said to determine what parts are carefully examined, how they are interpreted, and what is thought to be the basic purpose of the Ise Monogatari.The late medieval Nijou school commentators from the era so-called “transitional commentary”, era were highly critical of the preposterous interpretations involving assigning the names of actual people to each character in the tales found in the old commentaries from the Kamakura and early Muromachi periods. However, when examining the Nijou school commentaries, there are many instances where interpretations conveniently match those of the old commentaries. This can be thought to be closely connected with the leveled structure of secret teachings used to increase the value of teachings by the school.This presentation will introduce Ise Monogatari Kisuishou, a commentary copied in Keichou 13 (1608) by Karasuma Mitsuhiro (assumed) which anthologizes many previous commentaries, as a possible key to unlocking the system of secret teachings. Ise Monogatari Kisuishou is based on the chief commentaries from the Nijou school, identifying the Nijou line interpretations as “our school”, thereby identifying itself as its legitimate successor. At the same time, it must be noted that it includes over 70 “oral transmissions” not found in other commentaries that are very suggestive. The origin and originator of these oral transmissions is unclear, as is their connection to the Nijou school, however the oral transmissions in the Ise Monogatari Kisuishou, especially those connected with problems of fiction, represent one aspect of the history of how Ise Monogatari was received in the early Edo period. While making a detailed examination of the character of these oral transmissions, I will look at how the generation of moral and ideological value from the Ise Monogatari connects to the problem of genre

The Ursinus Weekly, March 11, 1940

Election board sets April 3, 4, 5 for voting on campus officers • Penn law dean to speak on Monday • Old-age security next forum topic • Co-eds elect Bunny Harshaw to reign over May festivities • Cast announced for Outward bound • Betty Urich stars in booster melodrama • Eleven fellowships are awarded by AAUW • Youth and dynamic world is Blum\u27s vespers talk topic • Two speakers secured for all-U. conference • 110 couples hear Guy Albany in Hawaiian setting at hop • Students list leading 1940 campaign issues • Student opinion surveys summary reveals sentiments on 38 questions • Jing Johnson praises Ursinus sportsmanship • Rosicrucians to extend invitations to women • Former issues of March Weekly show Ursinus different in news and opinions • State physical ed. and health teachers meet here April 18 • Bob Keehn\u27s 190 points best scoring record for basketeers • Ursinus College\u27s 1939-40 basketball team • Grosseck shatters MacMahon\u27s mark • Bears beat Drexel in season\u27s finale • Co-ed courtsters top Chestnut Hill, 48-22 • Cubs down Drexel frosh in season\u27s last game • Battery candidates in light workouts • Mattern discusses Nietzsche and fascism for faculty clubhttps://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/weekly/1837/thumbnail.jp

The Corporate Financing Effects of the Temporary Tax Deduction for Repatriated Dividends

Finance_With the intent of stimulating domestic investment and employment, the American Jobs Creation Act of 2004 included a provision under section 965 that allowed for a one-time tax deduction on repatriated dividends. In accordance with the law, qualifying repatriated funds were to be allocated to specific types of investment-related expenditures. However, since money is fungible, there is a question as to whether the law increased domestic investment spending or simply freed up cash that was to be allocated to investment, allowing corporations to increase other types of expenditures instead which were unrelated to capital investment and labor demand. Drawing from the 10-k filings of about 60 repatriating corporations, this paper analyzes the effect of the tax deduction on five types of corporate expenses, only three of which were permitted uses of qualifying funds. I find that the temporary tax deduction coincided with an increase in share repurchases and dividend payments to shareholders, both expressly unpermitted uses of qualifying repatriations. I find no evidence of a boost to the approved expenses of research and development, capital investment, or long term debt repayments. This suggests that the Act was ineffective at stimulating domestic investment, merely freeing up cash for other uses

Exploring complementary strategies of economic and social mobility : education and emigration of Haitians, 1972-1985

Thesis (M.C.P.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, 1997.Includes bibliographical references (p. [788]-[80]).by Sandra Dupuy-Newhard.M.C.P