Is the cryptocurrency market a hedge against stock market risk? A Wavelet and GARCH approach

This study analyses six major cryptocurrencies and four global stock markets to explore the role of cryptocurrencies as a hedge, safe haven, and diversifier in stock markets. The study employs ADCC-GARCH and Wavelet Coherence Technique, using daily data from 4 January 2017 to 28 February 2023. The study has found that stock returns and unstable cryptocurrency returns have high volatility persistence in the long run. Besides, while unstable digital currencies (Bitcoin, Ethereum, Binance Coin, and Dogecoin) serve as a hedge during stable economic periods, they have not been a hedge during economic turmoil in the stock markets. Conversely, stablecoins (Tether and USD Coin) have been shown to have acted as a hedge during normal economic times and have offered a safe haven during economic downturns. Except for Tether, all cryptocurrencies' diversification capacity is time-varying. In stable economic conditions, they serve as diversifiers, but during turmoil, they do not. However, Tether serves as a diversifier regardless of the financial situation. Finally, the present investigation is expected to offer crucial information on hedge, safe haven and diversification for quasi-investors.     

The Information Content of Magazine Advertising in Market and Transition Economies

This study examines differences in the information content of magazine advertisements across market and transition economies in Europe. Content analyses are performed on 396 advertisements that appeared in women's magazines in the Russian Federation, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. Results of statistical analyses reveal marked differences between economies with respect to the information content of advertisements. Compared to market economies, advertisements in transition economies contain significantly more product-related information, and focus less on consumers' life style. In addition, they contain more prize winning contests and their glossy magazines contain more availability information. The study also explores reasons for these differences and discusses their implications.     

Beziehen sich Medien immer mehr auf Medien?

The media are becoming more and more media-referential. This thesis has become quite common among communication scholars. When reviewing the relevant literature, however, it becomes clear that terms such as self-referentiality or media-orientation are used to decribe a great variety of different phenomena. In addition, there is a lack of empirical evidence to support the notion of a growing frequency of media references in the media. Moreover, the discussion about media reliance and its changes is based on different theoretical approaches, some of which do not make any reference to other such approaches. Against that backdrop, this article first identifies different dimensions of self-or media-referentiality. Second, empirical evidence is presented that speaks for or against an increase of self-or media-referentiality. Third, the usual theoretical approaches used in explanations of self-or media-referentiality are discussed. Fourth, it is explained how an integrative social theory — the structural-individualistic approach — can be used as a basis for the explanation of changes in self-or media-referentiality. Finally, possible effects of such a development are discussed.     

Microaggression,anxiety, trigger warnings,emotional reasoning,mental filtering,and intellectual homogeneity on campus: A study of what students think

College campus life is changing based on pressures to create safe environments for students to learn. Much of this change has been outlined in an article by Lukianoff and Haidt entitled “The Coddling of the American Mind.” The authors of the present article asked 188 students from two universities if microaggressions, trigger warnings, emotional reasoning, and mental filtering are prevalent on campus and whether colleges are promoting these concepts. The results show that the majority of students believe that universities must change the way these concepts are addressed to prevent intellectual homogeneity and to adequately prepare them for their business professions.     

Aspects of complexity in citizen–bureaucrat corruption: an agent-based simulation model

In this paper, the complexity-based approach is used to analyse corruption and its internal economics and dynamics. To better understand the drivers of corruption, we employ an agent-based model with heterogeneous agents (bureaucrats and citizens), the interactions of which determine the level of corruption in a society. The emergence of a prevailing social norm of corruption is shown to be significantly influenced by the initial conditions (i.e., history and habits). A cost analysis demonstrates that a relatively limited financial investment is required for the phase transition from the corrupt to the non-corrupt state. The concept of opportunity costs is used to express the value of information shared within an agent’s social group that improves agent decision-making. Incomplete information and uncertainty in the legal system help to reduce corruption by promoting a fear of engaging in corruption in a society. The results of this research may offer useful insights for informing an effective anti-corruption policy.

     

Von pragmatischen Post-Docs und progressiven PraktikernAbout Pragmatic Post-docs and Progressive Practitioners

Scientific journals are a key factor for the integration of a research discipline. For their integrative capacity it is mainly important how members of a discipline use these journals as readers and authors and how they assess them. To gain more insight into this topic, all members of the German Society for Journalism and Communication Science (DGPuK) were asked to take part in an online survey during the summer of 2015. Object of this survey were the three journals Publizistik, Medien & Kommunikationswissenschaft and Studies in Communication | Media. Participants were asked about the utilization of those journals, their fulfillment of general expectations towards journals in German communication science as well as about publication behavior and expectations towards the publication process. Using a cluster analysis, participants were split in five different groups, discriminant in terms of expectations, assessments and forms of utilization. Results show that the analyzed journals still do not use their full potential to create long-term commitment, especially among younger academics.     

Awards: A strategic management perspective

Research summary : Awards are a valuable strategic resource. Motivation theory and the emerging body of empirical literature suggest that awards can have a significant effect on employee motivation and corporate performance, though not always in the intended direction. Awards can also destroy value. The organizational award literature has so far largely neglected this important issue. We develop a synthesis of the dimensions critical for successful award bestowals, and analyze under which conditions awards generate firm‐specific value that is sustained and difficult for competitors to imitate. The process of value creation and capture is contingent on the given firm's organizational characteristics and nature of production. The article concludes by laying out empirical implications. JEL codes: M52, M54, J24, J30. Managerial summary : Awards are widely used in the corporate sector. They fundamentally differ from monetary incentives, which risk crowding out employees' intrinsic motivation. Among the variety of awards, two general types can be distinguished: confirmatory awards based on explicit, pre‐determined performance criteria, and discretionary awards, which rely on broad performance evaluations and may be used ex post to honor outstanding performance. Appropriately designed and adjusted to the specific firm's characteristics, awards enhance employees' motivation and corporate performance. They express recognition and support their recipients' perceived competence and social status. Awards help to retain valuable employees and to establish role models. However, awards may also backfire, for instance, when they provoke envy among coworkers. We propose when awards risk destroying value and when they are particularly useful. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.