Probability weighting functions obtained from Hong Kong index option market

In this paper we estimate the pricing kernel from the Hong Kong index option market and obtain the empirical probability weighting functions based on the rank-dependent expected utility. The empirical pricing kernel is estimated semi-parametrically as the ratio of the risk-neutral and objective densities. We employ a two-step estimation procedure to estimate the objective and risk-neutral densities under a consistent parametric framework of the non-affine generalised autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity (G.A.R.C.H.) diffusion model. In the first step, we develop a continuous particle filters-based maximum likelihood estimation method to estimate the objective parameters of the G.A.R.C.H. diffusion model using the Hang Seng Index (H.S.I.) returns. In the second step of our estimation, we depart from the usual pure calibration approach and use the H.S.I. option prices to estimate the risk-neutral parameters of the G.A.R.C.H. diffusion model by constraining certain parameters to be consistent with the time-series behaviour of H.S.I. returns. Based on the estimated objective and risk-neutral parameters, the objective and risk-neutral densities are obtained by inverting the corresponding characteristic functions. Empirical results indicate that the empirical pricing kernel estimated from the Hong Kong index option market is non-monotonic and the estimated probability weighting functions are S-shaped, which implies that investors underweight small probability events and overweight large one

To connect or not to connect: exploring communication professionals’ perceptions of using social media for internal organisational communication.

A large proportion of the studies on social media (SM) used by organisations, address how organisations use SM for external communication (e.g., for marketing purposes) to gain the attention and communication with external audiences. Compared with such studies, there are relatively few that address the use of SM for internal communication (IC). The research reported in this thesis applied a general inductive approach to explore how communication professionals (i.e., communication practitioners and communication consultants) treat using SM for IC. To explore their attitudes toward using SM for IC and the experience upon which these are founded, I designed an online survey and recruited 40 professionals from a range of different organisations. The data gathered was coded according to whether it referred to strengths (S), weaknesses (W), opportunities (O) or threats (T), and then a theme frequency analysis was undertaken to discover the most prominent attitudes about using SM for IC. Data on personal and organisational factors were examined to establish if any of these factors appeared to be linked to the range of participant attitudes. The findings from the practitioners were then compared with those from consultants to identify the differences and similarities between the two groups. The study produced five initial findings. Firstly, this study identified three key strengths, one fundamental weakness, three key opportunities, and five critical threats of using SM for IC. Secondly, most practitioners and consultants believed SM would play an essential role in the long term, and most of the participants in both groups thought positively about the benefits of building SM into the intranet (i.e., saw SM as having many strengths that could be harnessed for IC). Thirdly, most practitioners accepted there was value in applying SM to IC but did not advocate relying on using it. Fourthly, the age, gender, and personal connectivity were three factors that affected both practitioners and consultants’ attitudes toward the proposition of using SM for IC. Lastly, the experience and the scale of the organisation were two factors that were detected as affecting practitioners’ attitudes. This research used SWOT analysis and theme frequency analysis to identify the benefits and shortcomings of SM for IC from the perspective of communication professionals. In doing so, it contributes to the relatively scant literature on the use of SM for IC. While the findings align with existing general theories of SM’s use, they provide some new insights that apply specifically to IC. The research is the first to compare the attitudes towards using SM for IC of communication practitioners with those of communication consultants, identifying the similarities and differences as well as exploring the factors that appeared to affect their attitudes/ or choices. The findings of this study fill a gap in the current literature on the use of SM within organisations and have practical implications for organisations contemplating incorporating SM in the IC

Ways of Tackling Emotional Exhaustion: Attitudes of School Teachers in China

Mental health problems and emotional exhaustion have always been major problems faced by employees in industry and business. In recent years, this problem has been exacerbated by economic and technological developments, as well as the recent impact of the epidemic. The teaching profession has been one of the professions most affected by the problem of emotional exhaustion, especially in the Chinese context. In order to alleviate the significant harm that emotional exhaustion causes to teachers, as well as to students and schools, there is a need to find reasonable ways to address the problem. This study uses a quantitative approach, using a questionnaire to collect and analyse data from a sample of Chinese teachers. The main findings are that seven factors (relationship with students, relationship with colleagues, workload, staff voice and fair treatment, organizational support, work-family conflict, and support on family) were negatively and significantly associated with teachers' emotional exhaustion. One of these factors, organisational support, which was influenced by factors such as industry and country, had a positive impact on alleviating teachers' emotional exhaustion, unlike the different results of some of the previous studies. Therefore, individuals and organisations should improve these factors in order to reduce teachers' emotional exhaustion

On the Security Bootstrapping in Named Data Networking

By requiring all data packets been cryptographically authenticatable, the Named Data Networking (NDN) architecture design provides a basic building block for secured networking. This basic NDN function requires that all entities in an NDN network go through a security bootstrapping process to obtain the initial security credentials. Recent years have witnessed a number of proposed solutions for NDN security bootstrapping protocols. Built upon the existing results, in this paper we take the next step to develop a systematic model of security bootstrapping: Trust-domain Entity Bootstrapping (TEB). This model is based on the emerging concept of trust domain and describes the steps and their dependencies in the bootstrapping process. We evaluate the expressiveness and sufficiency of this model by using it to describe several current bootstrapping protocols