Abstract: This paper deals with heterogeneous autoregressive
models of realized volatility (HAR-RV models) on high-frequency
data of stock indices in the USA. Its aim is to capture the behavior of
three groups of market participants trading on a daily, weekly and
monthly basis and assess their role in predicting the daily realized
volatility. The benefits of this work lies mainly in the application of
heterogeneous autoregressive models of realized volatility on stock
indices in the USA with a special aim to analyze an impact of the
global financial crisis on applied models forecasting performance.
We use three data sets, the first one from the period before the global
financial crisis occurred in the years 2006-2007, the second one from
the period when the global financial crisis fully hit the U.S. financial
market in 2008-2009 years, and the last period was defined over
2010-2011 years. The model output indicates that estimated realized
volatility in the market is very much determined by daily traders and
in some cases excludes the impact of those market participants who
trade on monthly basis.
Abstract: In this paper discrete choice models, Logit and Probit
are examined in order to predict the economic recession or expansion
periods in USA. Additionally we propose an adaptive neuro-fuzzy
inference system with triangular membership function. We examine
the in-sample period 1947-2005 and we test the models in the out-of
sample period 2006-2009. The forecasting results indicate that the
Adaptive Neuro-fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS) model outperforms
significant the Logit and Probit models in the out-of sample period.
This indicates that neuro-fuzzy model provides a better and more
reliable signal on whether or not a financial crisis will take place.
Abstract: A learning management system (commonly
abbreviated as LMS) is a software application for the administration,
documentation, tracking, and reporting of training programs,
classroom and online events, e-learning programs, and training
content (Ellis 2009). (Hall 2003) defines an LMS as \"software that
automates the administration of training events. All Learning
Management Systems manage the log-in of registered users, manage
course catalogs, record data from learners, and provide reports to
management\". Evidence of the worldwide spread of e-learning in
recent years is easy to obtain. In April 2003, no fewer than 66,000
fully online courses and 1,200 complete online programs were listed
on the TeleCampus portal from TeleEducation (Paulsen 2003). In the
report \" The US market in the Self-paced eLearning Products and
Services:2010-2015 Forecast and Analysis\" The number of student
taken classes exclusively online will be nearly equal (1% less) to the
number taken classes exclusively in physical campuses. Number of
student taken online course will increase from 1.37 million in 2010 to
3.86 million in 2015 in USA. In another report by The Sloan
Consortium three-quarters of institutions report that the economic
downturn has increased demand for online courses and programs.
Abstract: Innovations in technology have created new ethical
challenges. Essential use of electronic communication in the
workplace has escalated at an astronomical rate over the past decade.
As such, legal and ethical dilemmas confronted by both the employer
and the employee concerning managerial control and ownership of einformation
have increased dramatically in the USA. From the
employer-s perspective, ownership and control of all information
created for the workplace is an undeniable source of economic
advantage and must be monitored zealously. From the perspective of
the employee, individual rights, such as privacy, freedom of speech,
and freedom from unreasonable search and seizure, continue to be
stalwart legal guarantees that employers are not legally or ethically
entitled to abridge in the workplace. These issues have been the
source of great debate and the catalyst for legal reform. The fine line
between ethical and legal has been complicated by emerging
technologies. This manuscript will identify and discuss a number of
specific legal and ethical issues raised by the dynamic electronic
workplace and conclude with suggestions that employers should
follow to respect the delicate balance between employees- legal
rights to privacy and the employer's right to protect its knowledge
systems and infrastructure.
Abstract: Smoke from domestic wood burning has been
identified as a major contributor to air pollution, motivating detailed
emission measurements under controlled conditions. A series of
experiments was performed to characterise the emissions from wood
combustion in a fireplace and in a woodstove of two common species
of trees grown in Spain: Pyrenean oak (Quercus pyrenaica) and
black poplar (Populus nigra). Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in
the exhaust emissions were collected in Tedlar bags, re-sampled in
sorbent tubes and analysed by thermal desorption-gas
chromatography-flame ionisation detection. Pyrenean oak presented
substantially higher emissions in the woodstove than in the fireplace,
for the majority of compounds. The opposite was observed for
poplar. Among the 45 identified species, benzene and benzenerelated
compounds represent the most abundant group, followed by
oxygenated VOCs and aliphatics. Emission factors obtained in this
study are generally of the same order than those reported for
residential experiments in the USA.