Modeling Credit Spreads Using Nonlinear Regression

The term structure of credit spreads is studied with an aim to predict its future movements. A completely new approach to tackle this problem is presented, which utilizes nonlinear parametric models. The Brain-Cousens regression model with five parameters is chosen to describe the term structure of credit spreads. Further, we investigate the dependence of the parameter changes over time and the determinants of credit spreads.Comment: Poster presentation at IWSM 201

Why did the woman cross the road?:The effect of sexist humor on men’s rape proclivity

Previous research has shown that exposure to sexist (vs. non-sexist) humor results in more tolerance of sexist discrimination (Ford & Fergusson, 2004). In the current research, three studies investigated the effects of exposure to sexist humor on men’s rape proclivity. In Study 1, male students were exposed to either sexist or non-sexist jokes. Males exposed to sexist jokes reported higher levels of rape proclivity in comparison to males exposed to non-sexist jokes. Study 2 was an online study in which we replicated Study 1, but also measured male participants’ levels of hostile and benevolent sexism. Study 3 was a replication of Study 2, in which we controlled for the sexual content of the jokes. Overall, the results of Study 2 and Study 3 indicated that men who scored high (vs. low) on hostile sexism reported higher levels of rape proclivity after exposure to sexist versus non-sexist jokes. No such effects were obtained for benevolent sexism

Comparing the behavioral effects of selected enrichment techniques among Hylobates lar at the Blank Park Zoo

Zoos all around the world have recently started to implement enrichment into their exhibits. Enrichment has been found to decrease stereotypic behaviors and alleviate stress in captive animals. The Blank Park Zoo in Des Moines, Iowa is one zoo that has implemented enrichment into several of their exhibits, including the Lar gibbon, also known as the white-handed gibbon (Hylobates lar). As Hylobates lar is an endangered species, it is important to find enrichment activities that mentally and physically stimulate them to maintain their health. Previous research has found that primates prefer pliable items to non-pliable ones. We hypothesized that both the male and female gibbon would prefer the phone books, a pliable item, to a non-pliable item, a hanging barrel. Since animals have an instinct for food, we also hypothesized that both the male and female would prefer the food item, cereal, to a non-food item, a mop head. I conducted my study using a focal animal sampling approach, observing each sex for 15-minute intervals. I recorded the duration of interaction with each enrichment activity. The results showed that both the male and female preferred the food item to the non-food item and the pliable item to the non-pliable item

On the SNR Variability in Noisy Compressed Sensing

Compressed sensing (CS) is a sampling paradigm that allows to simultaneously measure and compress signals that are sparse or compressible in some domain. The choice of a sensing matrix that carries out the measurement has a defining impact on the system performance and it is often advocated to draw its elements randomly. It has been noted that in the presence of input (signal) noise, the application of the sensing matrix causes SNR degradation due to the noise folding effect. In fact, it might also result in the variations of the output SNR in compressive measurements over the support of the input signal, potentially resulting in unexpected non-uniform system performance. In this work, we study the impact of a distribution from which the elements of a sensing matrix are drawn on the spread of the output SNR. We derive analytic expressions for several common types of sensing matrices and show that the SNR spread grows with the decrease of the number of measurements. This makes its negative effect especially pronounced for high compression rates that are often of interest in CS.Comment: 4 pages + reference

Mehr Beitragsgerechtigkeit in der Gesetzlichen Krankenversicherung? - Mehr Beitragsgerechtigkeit zwischen den Krankenkassen?

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The Ion Exchange Properties of Monoclinic Zirconia: A Study with Ion Selective Electrodes

The amphoteric ion exchange and sorptive properties of monoclinic zirconia are studied here in detail. Microcrystals of zirconia have been prepared and systematically charaterized to give a full understanding of the method for crystal growth. A novel algorithm for calculation of ion exchange capacity employing a single pH electrode is utilized. Results are obtained which support the Donnan model for the exchange process. Anion and cation exchange capacities are shown to be a single valued function of the acid pA or base pB. Reversibility is demonstrated and enchancement of exchange capacity is accomplished through common ion addition. A titration system is developed which incorporates additional ion selective electrodes and includes computer programs for calibration, ion exchange capacity calculations and graphic display of results. This system confirms previous work by showing chloride uptake to match proton uptake. Fluoride uptake by monoclinic crystals of zirconia is revealed to be ten times higher than typical capacities for exchangers of this kind. Again uptake is demonstrated to be reversible, and a single valued function of the acid pHF. Exchange properties of zirconia for fluoride ion are expained by ligand exchange and incorporation in the framework of the oxide