A Lower Bound for the Centered <Emphasis Type="Italic">L</Emphasis><Subscript>2</Subscript>-Discrepancy on Asymmetric Factorials and its Application

The role of uniformity measured by the centered L ₂-discrepancy (Hickernell 1998a) has been studied in fractional factorial designs. The issue of a lower bound for the centered L ₂-discrepancy is crucial in the construction of uniform designs. Fang and Mukerjee (2000) and Fang et al. (2002, 2003b) derived lower bounds for fractions of two- and three-level factorials. In this paper we report some new lower bounds for the centered L ₂-discrepancy for a set of asymmetric fraction factorials. Using these lower bounds helps to measure uniformity of a given design. In addition, as an application of these lower bounds, we propose a method to construct uniform designs or nearly uniform designs with asymmetric factorials.     

Homeownership and Housing Equity: An Examination of Native- Immigrant Differences in Housing Wealth

This paper examines the differences in homeownership between immigrants and native-born residents using the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 (NLSY79) data. We estimate the preference for homeownership and the amount of home equity held by households using a two-stage procedure. The results indicate that, although immigrants are less likely to be homeowners, immigrants who make the decision to own homes are more likely to have greater housing equity than native-born residents. About 66 to 70% of the disparity in homeownership can be explained by the difference in characteristics. The remaining disparity results from different homeownership functions estimated for the two groups. We discuss the implications of these findings for policy makers, real estate market researchers, and scholars of consumer behavior.     

The nation in heterogeneous time

Following a critique of homogenous time, one that is so central to Benedict Anderson's reading of social history, the paper builds on the notion of heterogeneous time, with particular reference to governmentality, in the narrativization of the nation. The examples of B.R. Ambedkar and the fictional character of Satinath Bhaduri's Dhorai are then brought in to show the continuing tension between the utopian dimension of the homogeneous time of capital and the real space constituted by the heterogeneous time of governmentality and the effects produced by this tension on efforts to narrativize the nation. The paper ends with the claim that it is morally illegitimate to uphold the universalist ideals of nationalism without simultaneously demanding that the politics spawned by governmentality be recognized as an equally legitimate part of the real time-space of the modern political life of the nation.     

Capital utilization, economic growth and convergence

Optimal decisions by economic agents regarding the utilization of capital lead to empirically plausible speeds of convergence in one-sector models of economic growth. The relationship between depreciation and capital utilization plays a crucial role in slowing down convergence to the steady state. Cross-country differences in the extent to which the capital utilization decision is internalized along the transition path may lead to differences in convergence rates, even for countries with similar initial and terminal conditions. Finally, by assuming a constant depreciation rate and full capital utilization, standard growth models may be overstating the magnitude of the steady-state equilibrium.     

Impact of peer influence and government support for successful adoption of technology for vocational education: A quantitative study using PLS-SEM technique

Quality & Quantity - Government of India (GOI) has introduced Vocational Education and Training (VET) program. Technology adoption along with peer influence and government support are perceived...     

Corporate social responsibility performance,financial distress and firm life cycle: evidence from Australia

This study examines the association between corporate social responsibility (CSR) performance and financial distress and additionally the moderating impact of firm life cycle stages on that association. Based on a sample of 651 publicly listed Australian firm‐years’ data covering the 2007–2013 period, our regression results show that positive CSR activity significantly reduces financial distress of the firm. In addition, the negative association between positive CSR performance and financial distress is more pronounced for firms in mature life cycle stages. Our results are robust to alternative proxy measures of financial distress, CSR performance and life cycle stages.     

The strategy-shareholder value relationship: Testing temporal stability across market cycles

This study examines the stability of the relationship between diversification and shareholder value across contiguous time periods, organized so as to highlight three distinct market cycles. By defining value as a two-dimensional construct, separating the concurrent economic phenomena of cycle and trend, and controlling for other factors that influence risk and return, this study finds that the best way to protect shareholder value against economic downturns is to diversify in a manner such that ‘all of one's eggs are in similar baskets’.     

Take that jam! An analysis of winning percentage for NBA teams

The won-loss percentage for all games played in a season by NBA teams is modeled as a function of team performance statistics. Four variables field goals, free throws, rebounds, and turnovers are found to be statistically significant and account for more than 90% of the variation in the data. The regression coefficients also appear to be stable from year to year. Predictions for four years obtained from the estimates of one season show good agreement with the observed data. Forecasts for the 1993 season are also given based on mid-season statistics. Predictions for play-off winners are also briefly discussed. The analysis is carried out in the spirit of exploratory data analysis using graphical methods.