"The Fed's Real Reaction Function: Monetary Policy, Inflation, Unemployment, Inequality-and Presidential Politics"

Using a VAR model of the American economy from 1984 to 2003, we find that, contrary to official claims, the Federal Reserve does not target inflation or react to "inflation signals." Rather, the Fed reacts to the very "real" signal sent by unemployment, in a way that suggests that a baseless fear of full employment is a principal force behind monetary policy. Tests of variations in the workings of a Taylor Rule, using dummy variable regressions, on data going back to 1969 suggest that after 1983 the Federal Reserve largely ceased reacting to inflation or high unemployment, but continued to react when unemployment fell "too low." Further, we find that monetary policy (measured by the yield curve) has significant causal impact on pay inequality-a domain where the Fed refuses responsibility. Finally, we test whether Federal Reserve policy has exhibited a pattern of partisan bias in presidential election years, with results that suggest the presence of such bias, after controlling for the effects of inflation and unemployment.

The relationship of interpersonal problem-solving skills to adjustment

This experimental study examined the effects of different methods of training and verbal cognitive ability on second-grader\u27s acquisition of social problem-solving skills and teacher-rated behavioral adjustment. Subjects were assigned by classroom to either classroom training only, classroom training with parent training, classroom training without parent training (those parents who were offered training but did not participate) or control. The 25-lesson Rochester Social Problem-Solving curriculum was taught three times per week for nine weeks by classroom teachers and a four session parent training component was taught by mental health prevention staff members and this researcher. Consistent with previous research, classroom instruction in Social Problem-Solving produced significantly greater increases in problem-solving skills for subjects in the classroom training, classroom training/parent training and classroom/no parent training groups than for subjects in the control group. In addition, all treatment groups improved on both behavioral adjustment variables while the control group scores decreased. Significant pre to post results were also seen on the problem variable for subjects in the classroom and classroom/parent training groups while similar gains were seen on the competency variable for subjects in the classroom training group. No correlation was discovered between social problem-solving skills and verbal cognitive ability, however a significant correlation was evident between the problem-solving and behavioral adjustment variables.;The significant cognitive problem-solving skills/behavioral adjustment relationship was believed due to the use of experienced teachers, the use of dialoguing by teachers and the age of the students.;The lack of consistent improvement of subjects cognitive and behavioral skills as the result of different training methods is thought to be due to the shortness of parental training, the need for increased behavioral practice and the brief time between the completion of training and posttreatment assessment.;Suggestions for further research in social problem-solving include an examination of subjects sociodemographic characteristics and the set of cognitive problem-solving skills as they relate to students adjustment, the generalization of cognitive and behavioral skills beyond training, the development of alternative and more psychometrically sound instruments to measure this construct, and improved methods for parent training. Finally, implications for education and counseling are explored

Social Movement and Reaction: the Joe Rogan Experience and Making Sense of #MeToo with Standup Comedian Podcasters

This thesis explores standup comedian podcaster reactions to the #MeToo Movement (2017-2020). The Joe Rogan Experience podcast is used as a database to explore commentary on #MeToo from 12 standup comedian podcasters (SCPs). The exploration seeks to answer if and how SCPs represent a dominant social group using discourse to pushback against, accept, or, at the least, critically reflect on the #MeToo movement as it relates to appropriate sexual conduct and appropriate reactions to inappropriate sexual conduct. With the understanding that frames provide schema for making sense of issues, a rhetorical framing analysis was conducted to looked at how standup comedian podcasters used rhetoric and techniques of argumentation which—through repetition and pattern—ultimately culminated in frames for understanding #MeToo. Three subthemes of SCP discourse (discussions on the accused, on the accuser, and on public reaction) and eight frames were found, all centering around the central SCP theme of whether or not #MeToo went ‘too far’ as a social movement. The combination of frames mostly represent a discursive backlash to #MeToo’s calls for action to listen, reflect and contribute to change (Flood, 2019). These frames are summarized and then positioned within a discussion of media influence and effects, leading to a conclusion that discursive backlash to #MeToo from standup comedian podcasters may have led to similar resistance among their overwhelmingly young adult male audiences

Alien Registration- Russo, James V. (Brunswick, Cumberland County)

https://digitalmaine.com/alien_docs/31818/thumbnail.jp

The impact of a short test-wiseness intervention on standardised numeracy assessment scores: A cautionary tale about using NAPLAN growth data to evaluate primary schools

Building on the rich tradition of ‘teacher as researcher’ in mathematics education, I describe a study undertaken whilst working as a mathematics specialist in an Australian primary school. The focus of the study was on examining whether explicitly teaching students test-taking strategies (‘test-wiseness’) improved their performance on a standardised numeracy assessment; specifically a practice version of the Year 3 National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN). The study was unusual for teacher-research in that it adopted an experimental design. Thirty-eight Year 2 students (7 and 8 year olds) were randomly allocated to either an intervention condition (n=19) focused on developing test wiseness, or a ‘business as usual’ control condition (n=19). It was found that exposure to test-taking strategies improved student numeracy performance, with the intervention group significantly out-performing the control group. Implications of the findings are discussed, with a particular focus on what they mean in an environment where schools are increasingly held to account through the use of ‘value-add’ metrics

TV Casualties: The Negative Impact Of Political Messages In Non-News Programs

Prior works in the social sciences have demonstrated the importance that television can have in shaping the views and outlooks of viewers. Studies have examined how it is that overtly political broadcasting, such as political commercials or ideological cable news channels, can impact viewers. However, precious little scholarship in the field of political science has been devoted to examining how non-news programming, the lion\u27s share of what is shown on television, can shape and mold viewers\u27 outlooks and opinions. Television programming is often built around conflict, presenting a distorted view of the world wherein certain in-groups, mainly the assumed audience of the broadcast, are invited to ridicule or feel hostility towards certain out-groups. It is hypothesized that non-news programming can influence how television viewers feel toward the out-groups targeted for ridicule or exclusion in their broadcasts. In order to test this hypothesis, both statistical analysis of pre-assembled data and an experimental design will be utilized. Cross-sectional data assembled by GSS and Annenberg will be analyzed using logit and ordinary least square models. Controlling for the socio-demographic, partisan, and ideological characteristics of a typical viewer of late-night satirical broadcasting or religious broadcasting, it is demonstrated that increased viewing of these types of television programs is significantly correlated with increased antipathy toward the out-groups or public figures held up for scorn or ridicule during these programs. The experimental design involves an online survey where respondents answered a series of questions pertaining to their political views, political knowledge, and socio-demographic characteristics. Respondents were then randomly selected to be exposed to one of three video clips, one of religious broadcasting discussing California\u27s Proposition 8, one of satirical broadcasting discussing California\u27s Proposition 8, and a sample of network news discussing the same issue. A post-screening questionnaire regarding feelings towards targeted out-groups was then administered to the subjects. Exposure non-news television programming increased antipathy toward the out-groups targeted for hostility or ridicule within the television clips

A Study Of Two Divergent Series With A Convergent Minimum

We investigate the phenomenon of divergent series of positive terms having convergent minimum. As entry into this topic, we look at Exercise twenty-three from chapter two of Karl R. Stromberg’s ”Introduction to Classical Real Analysis”, which addresses this very case. The exercise calls for the construction of two in?nite divergent series, Pan and Pbn, having strictly positive, non-increasing terms, such that the series Pcn, the nth term of which is the minimum of the nth terms of the original two series, converges. We then establish that it is not possible that one of the original two series in such a construction can be the harmonic series. Along the way, we consider Exercise forty-seven, part b from chapter two of the same text, which asks: if we have an in?nite, divergent series Pdn, then what can be said of the in?nite series dn/1+ndn? We also utilize the properties of upper and lower density in formulating the ?nal proof

Digital Twins and Cultural Heritage Preservation: A Case Study of Best Practices and Reproducibility in Chiesa dei SS Apostoli e Biagio

The use of digital twin technologies to preserve cultural heritage has become increasingly common over the past two decades. Evolving from the use of virtual environments (VE) and digital reconstructions that required multiple phases of workflow and multiple software applications and various hardware to output a useable experience to the immediacy of 3D artificial intelligence (AI) generative content and the latest generation of photogrammetric scanning, non-specialists are now able to more easily create digital twins. At the same time, the destruction of cultural heritage has accelerated due to geopolitical instability, seen in examples such as the invasion of Ukraine by Russia (2022). Even with advances in user-friendly and commercially available technologies, digital art history and the digital humanities are in a race against time to train and equip enough individuals onsite to create digital twins before more irreplaceable cultural artifacts and sites are lost to natural disasters, accelerated by climate change, or through armed conflict. However, there remain no international standards for methodological reproducibility and the techniques used currently by many scholars include specialized training and knowledge. As such, this paper presents a case study that addresses reproducibility and explainability in the digital humanities through a detailed workflow of the creation of a digital twin of Chiesa dei SS Apostoli e Biagio in Florence, Italy. A model is presented that is scalable and leverages widely available, user-friendly 360 cameras and photogrammetry with LiDAR to capture cultural heritage sites with best practices on how to quickly and effectively train non-specialists to create site-specific digital twins of a variety of cultural heritage structures

Synthesis and Localization of a Development-Specific Protein in Sclerotia of \u3ci\u3eSclerotinia sclerotiorum\u3c/i\u3e

A development-specific protein (SSP) makes up about 35 to 40% of the total protein in sclerotia of the fungus Sclerotinia sclerotiorum. The protein consists of three charge isomers, with one isomer making up 80 to 90% of the total. In vitro translation of poly(A)+ RNA isolated from cells in early stages of sclerotia formation revealed that 44% of the amino acids incorporated was into SSP. In vivo- and in vitro-synthesized forms of SSP migrated at identical rates on both isoelectric focusing and denaturing polyacrylamide gels, indicating that SSP was not synthesized as a larger precursor. This was significant because SSP accumulated in membrane-bound, organellelike structures which resemble protein bodies found in seeds of many higher plants