A web-based system architecture for ontology-based data integration in the domain of IT benchmarking

In the domain of IT benchmarking (ITBM), a variety of data and information are collected. Although these data serve as the basis for business analyses, no unified semantic representation of such data yet exists. Consequently, data analysis across different distributed data sets and different benchmarks is almost impossible. This paper presents a system architecture and prototypical implementation for an integrated data management of distributed databases based on a domain-specific ontology. To preserve the semantic meaning of the data, the ITBM ontology is linked to data sources and functions as the central concept for database access. Thus, additional databases can be integrated by linking them to this domain-specific ontology and are directly available for further business analyses. Moreover, the web-based system supports the process of mapping ontology concepts to external databases by introducing a semi-automatic mapping recommender and by visualizing possible mapping candidates. The system also provides a natural language interface to easily query linked databases. The expected result of this ontology-based approach of knowledge representation and data access is an increase in knowledge and data sharing in this domain, which will enhance existing business analysis methods.     

Size-corrected inference in fiscal policy reaction functions: a three country assessment

As a reflection of both strong persistence of debt-to-GDP ratios and correlation of respective innovations with governments’ primary surpluses, standard t-tests in policy reaction functions show actual significance levels that are up to five times larger than their nominal reference. Adopting size-controlled inference by means of Monte Carlo-based and asymptotic Bonferroni critical values, we diagnose fiscal policies in the US and the UK to be sustainable in samples covering more than 100 years. Conditioning on post-WWII subsamples and 5% nominal significance, conventional t-tests signal fiscal sustainability for these countries. In contrast, size-corrected inference hints at a lack of fiscal sustainability and, thus is recommended for the ‘real-time’ monitoring of public debt. The fiscal policy of Portugal is found to lack sustainability irrespective of the considered sample period.     

An Input–Output Analysis of the Nonprofit Sector in the USA and Germany

This paper presents an exploratory input–output analysis of the nonprofit sectors in former West Germany and the USA based on the conceptual and data structure provided by the System of National Accounts. When compared with the USA, the West German nonprofit sector catered more to government demands. A higher proportion of West German nonprofit services went to government and a smaller proportion went to households. In terms of the multiplier effect of nonprofit output, we find that an additional dollar of nonprofit services delivered to households and/or government induced indirectly an additional 83 cents of business output in the USA. By comparison, West Germany's nonprofit sector had a lower multiplier effect, with 43 Pfennig per DM1. We also find that businesses have a much larger stake in nonprofit production as intermediate suppliers when compared to their role as intermediate consumers. The economic position the nonprofit sector occupies in both countries is that of a producing sector, taking inputs from businesses and providing outputs for households and governments. This general structural characteristic suggests that the nonprofit sector is particularly sensitive to changes in government policies as well as to shifts in private household incomes, yet relatively insensitive to demand changes in other industries.     

Brauchen wir eine europäische Rating-Agentur?

L?sungsvorschlag Die Rating-Agenturen stehen weiterhin in der ?ffentlichen Kritik, weil ihnen vorgeworfen wird, die Finanzkrise durch falsche Bewertungen mitverursacht zu haben. Aktuell stehen verschiedene Reformvorschl?ge im Raum. Die Autoren schlagen einen Europ?ischen Rating-Fonds vor.     

Wer z?hlt die Toten, kennt die Orte

Results of news research generally show that, apart from the countries?? status, regionalism is the most dominant factor in foreign reporting. Such results are usually based on studies that exclude the effect the characteristics of events can have on news coverage. Therefore, the relevance of these results is limited because they do not allow comparing the influence of country characteristics and event characteristics. Our study takes a different path by attempting to isolate the effect of event characteristics from that of country characteristics. To this end we analyzed the coverage on earthquakes in three leading German news media. The results show: The effect of event characteristics heavily outweighs the effect of country characteristics. Nevertheless, the latter also proved to be relevant, especially for television, sometimes disassociated and sometimes interacting with event characteristics to manifest their effect.     

Measuring Spot Variance Spillovers when (Co)variances are Time‐varying – The Case of Multivariate GARCH Models

We propose global and disaggregated spillover indices that allow us to assess variance and covariance spillovers, locally in time and conditionally on time‐t information. Key to our approach is the vector moving average representation of the half‐vectorized ‘squared’ multivariate GARCH process of the popular BEKK model. In an empirical application to a four‐dimensional system of broad asset classes (equity, fixed income, foreign exchange and commodities), we illustrate the new spillover indices at various levels of (dis)aggregation. Moreover, we demonstrate that they are informative of the value‐at‐risk violations of portfolios composed of the considered asset classes.     

Exploring the ethical behavior of managers: A comparative study of four countries

Donaldson and Dunfee's (1994) social contracts theory of economic ethics was subjected to empirical scrutiny to determine whether it can explain differences in behavior between cultures. Data collected utilizing a series of vignettes developed by Fritzsche and Becker (1984) were examined for differences in indicated ethical behavior among American, Japanese, Korean and Taiwanese managers. Rationale for the behavior was classified according to hyper and community norms which were supported or violated. The results suggest that the three East Asian countries do not neatly cluster together in relation to the U.S. in terms of their patterns of ethical behavior. Nonetheless, when we examined the specific rationale for the decisions provided by the managers, the effects of Asian cultural characteristics became more notable. We also found that the social contracts theory provided a much needed bridge between ethical universalists and relativists. The specific reasons underlying their decisions are discussed in the light of cultural and social differences.This research project was partially supported by a research grant from the School of Business and Management, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.