Japanese Import Demands for Meat

International Relations/Trade,

Impacts of Wheat Export Strategies on Market Shares

Marketing, International Relations/Trade,

Impact of Trade Liberalization on the Korean Rice Market

International Relations/Trade,

Impacts of Removing Fertilizer Subsidy and Procurement Program on the Indonesian Rice Economy

Agricultural and Food Policy,

Entrepreneurship and the Barrier to Exit: How Does an Entrepreneur-Friendly Bankruptcy Law Affect Entrepreneurship Development at a Societal Level?

Does an entrepreneur-friendly bankruptcy law encourage more entrepreneurship development at a societal level? How does bankruptcy law affect entrepreneurship development around the world? Drawing on a real options perspective, we argue that if bankrupt entrepreneurs are excessively punished for failure, they may pass potentially high-return but inherently high-risk opportunities. Amassing a longitudinal, cross-country data base from 35 countries spanning ten years, we find that a lenient, entrepreneur-friendly bankruptcy law encourages entrepreneurs to take risks and thus let entrepreneurship prosper. Components of an entrepreneur-friendly bankruptcy law are: (1) the availability of a reorganization bankruptcy option, (2) the time spent on bankruptcy procedure, (3) the cost of bankruptcy procedure, (4) the opportunity to have a fresh start in liquidation bankruptcy, (5) the opportunity to have an automatic stay of assets, (6) the opportunity for managers to remain on the job after filing for bankruptcy, and (7) the protection of creditors at the time of bankruptcy.

Thermal activation energy of 3D vortex matter in NaFe1-xCoxAs (x=0.01, 0.03 and 0.07) single crystals

We report on the thermally activated flux flow dependency on the doping dependent mixed state in NaFe1-xCoxAs (x=0.01, 0.03, and 0.07) crystals using the magnetoresistivity in the case of B//c-axis and B//ab-plane. It was found clearly that irrespective of the doping ratio, magnetoresistivity showed a distinct tail just above the Tc, offset associated with the thermally activated flux flow (TAFF) in our crystals. Furthermore, in TAFF region the temperature dependence of the activation energy follows the relation U(T, B)=U_0 (B) (1-T/T_c )^q with q=1.5 in all studied crystals. The magnetic field dependence of the activation energy follows a power law of U_0 (B)~B^(-{\alpha}) where the exponent {\alpha} is changed from a low value to a high value at a crossover field of B=~2T, indicating the transition from collective to plastic pinning in the crystals. Finally, it is suggested that the 3D vortex phase is the dominant phase in the low-temperature region as compared to the TAFF region in our series samples

Reconceptualization of English Ideology in Globalizing South Korea.

M.A. Thesis. University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa 2018

Spatial Equilibrium Analysis of the World Durum Industry Under Alternative Export Policies

International Relations/Trade,

lordif: An R Package for Detecting Differential Item Functioning Using Iterative Hybrid Ordinal Logistic Regression/Item Response Theory and Monte Carlo Simulations

Logistic regression provides a flexible framework for detecting various types of differential item functioning (DIF). Previous efforts extended the framework by using item response theory (IRT) based trait scores, and by employing an iterative process using group--specific item parameters to account for DIF in the trait scores, analogous to purification approaches used in other DIF detection frameworks. The current investigation advances the technique by developing a computational platform integrating both statistical and IRT procedures into a single program. Furthermore, a Monte Carlo simulation approach was incorporated to derive empirical criteria for various DIF statistics and effect size measures. For purposes of illustration, the procedure was applied to data from a questionnaire of anxiety symptoms for detecting DIF associated with age from the Patient--Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System.