Conditional Indexation Bias in Yields Reported on Inflation-Indexed Securities with Special Reference to UDIBONOS and TIPS

The real rate of return on inflation-indexed government securities is calculated and published as if indexation succeeded perfectly in keeping the real value of coupon and principal payments unchanged. In fact the procedure of indexing to the lagged momentum of the seasonally unadjusted CPI gives rise to three types of indexation bias that may change the expected real value of the future stream of payments in relation to the current par value. These biases are due to i) seasonality, ii) non-seasonal fluctuations in reported inflation rates, and iii) any expected “permanent” changes in future rates of inflation (or the reporting thereof) being capable of creating predictable changes in the real value of the inflation-adjusted principal with the indexation procedure actually in force. They are one more, directly quantifiable, reason why the reported yields do not provide the long-sought definite revelation of the riskless real rate of interest and hence of the expected rate of inflation by comparison with nominal interest rates.

Robustness of computer algorithms to simulate optimal experimentation problems.

Three methods have been developed by the authors for solving optimal experimentation problems. David Kendrick (1981, 2002, Ch.10) uses quadratic approximation of the value function and linear approximation of the equation of motion to simulate general optimal experimentation (active learning) problems. Beck and Volker Wieland (2002) use dynamic programming methods to develop an algorithm for optimal experimentation problems. Cosimano (2003) and Cosimano and Gapen (2005) use the Perturbation method to develop an algorithm for solving optimal experimentation problems. The perturbation is in the neighborhood of the augmented linear regulator problems of Hansen and Sargent (2004). In this paper we take an example from Beck and Wieland which fits into the setup of all three algorithms. Using this example we examine the cost and benefits of the various algorithms for solving optimal experimentation problems.

Developing Intellectual Access and Control Mechanisms for Discipline-Based Virtual Libraries that Feature Media Integration

On December 9, 1992, Case Western Reserve University Library began the work of creating its first virtual library in the geological sciences. Ten more discipline-based virtual libraries will be developed by the end of 1994. One of the most vital components of a virtual library is the intellectual access to information and knowledge resources in all formats, thus the control mechanisms enabling access become very important issues which challenge traditional approaches in the construction of classification schemes, thesauri, and other types of controlled vocabularies. This paper presents some basic and important considerations in the process of developing intellectual access and control mechanisms for discipline-based virtual libraries

To Be or Not To Be: an Academic Library Research Committee

The rise of faculty status for librarians at The Ohio State University (OSU) is reviewed. Faculty status eventually leads to greater emphasis on research and publishing as requisites for tenure and promotion. The Advisory Committee on Research (ACR) was formed in response to the research emphasis in order to: (1) promote research; (2) fund research; (3) establish a communication network; and (4) develop a policy for Assigned Research Duty (ARD), a policy which eventually led to non-assigned time. The article concludes the primary role of ACR is to promote a climate conducive to research among the faculty of OSU Libraries

Scatter of Journals and Literature Obsolescence Reflected in Document Delivery Requests

In this paper we investigate the scattering of journals and literature obsolescence reflected in more than 137,000 document delivery requests submitted to a national document delivery service. W e first summarize the major findings of the study with regards to the performance of the service.We then identify the “core” journals from which article requests were satisfied and address the following research questions: (a) Does the distribution of core) journals conform to the Bradford’s Law of Scattering? (b) Is there a relationship between usage of journals and impact factors, journals with high impact factors being used more often than the rest? (c) Is there a relationship between usage of journals and total citation counts, journals with high total citation counts being used more often than the rest?(d) What is the median age of use (half-life) of requested articles in general? (e) Do requested articles that appear in core journals get obsolete more slowly? (f) Is there a relationship between obsolescence and journal impact factors, journals with high impact factors being obsolete more slowly? (g) Is there a relationship between obsolescence and total citation counts, journals with high total citation counts being obsolete more slowly? Based on the analysis of findings, we found that the distribution of highly and moderately used journal titles conform to Bradford’s Law.The median age of use was 8 years for all requested articles. Ninety percent of the articles requested were 21 years of age or younger.Articles that appeared in 168 core journal titles seem to get obsolete slightly more slowly than those of all titles.W e observed no statistically significant correlations between the frequency of journal use and ISI journal impact factors, and between the frequency of journal use and ISI-Institute for Scientific Information, Philadelphia, PA) cited half-lives for the most heavily used 168 core journal titles.There was a weak correlation between usage of journals and ISI-reported total citation counts.No statistically significant relationship was found between median age of use and journal impact factors and between median age of use and total citation counts.There was a weak negative correlation between ISI journal impact factors and cited half-lives of 168 core journals, and a weak correlation between ISI citation halflives and use half-lives of core journals.No correlation was found between cited half-lives of 168 core journals and their corresponding total citation counts as reported by ISI.Findings of the current study are discussed along with those of other studies

Obsolescence

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The Bibliographic record and Information Technology (Book Review)

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