Search results

This research examines the use of a number of time series model structures of a moderate allocation mutual fund, PRWCX. PRWCX was rated as the top fund in its category during the past five years. The fund invests at least 50% of its total assets that the fund manager believes that have above average potential for capital growth. The remaining assets are generally invested in convertible securities, corporate and government debt bank loans, and foreign securities. Forecasting the total NAV of such a moderate allocation mutual fund, composed of an extremely large number of investments, requires a method that produces accurate results. These models are exponentially smoothing (single, double, and Winter’s Method), trend models (linear, quadratic, and exponential) are Box-Jenkins models.

One of the most critical issues facing many industrialized countries is the lack of retirement savings among many individuals. Unfortunately, this lacking can have dire consequences for both consumers and societies in the coming years. Because of this, numerous research studies have been conducted in many disciplines such as economics, psychology, finance, and some in marketing and a number of recommendations or solutions have been made to try to address this critical issue. Yet, despite all this interest, the problem still exists and may even have become worse. In the current chapter, we examine this crisis from a consumer behavior perspective in order to derive new insights and offer additional and hopefully effective solutions to supplement previous efforts.

In this chapter I address: (a) current perspectives on the teacher–student relationship; (b) assessment issues; and (c) the implications of early student-teacher relationships for school adjustment. While substantial progress has been made on the conceptualization and measurement of the teacher–child relationship construct, it is important to empirically establish the multidimensionality of the construct across the school years. Research that examines the perspectives of both teachers and children is also critically needed in light of growing evidence that the teacher–child relationship is crucial in the early school years. The evidence on the role of the teacher–student relationship on school adjustment indicates that low relational negativity seems to particularly benefit children who present with troubling behaviors early in school. However, the nature of the association between early school adjustment and the teacher–child relationship is far from conclusive. Attention to constructs that represent warmth, closeness, caring, and nurturance is needed for research to explore what aspects of these constructs might serve as buffers against adversity.

Business ethics provide a potent source of competitive advantage, placing increasing pressure on organizations to create and maintain an ethical workforce. Nonetheless, ethical breaches continue to permeate corporate life, suggesting that there is something missing from how we conceptualize and institutionalize organizational ethics. The current effort seeks to fill this void in two ways. First, we introduce an extended ethical framework premised on sensemaking in organizations. Within this framework, we suggest that multiple individual, organizational, and societal factors may differentially influence the ethical sensemaking process. Second, we contend that human resource management plays a central role in sustaining workplace ethics and explore the strategies through which human resource personnel can work to foster an ethical culture and spearhead ethics initiatives. Future research directions applicable to scholars in both the ethics and human resources domains are provided.

The purpose of this study is to analyze structural changes that took place in the cotton industry and develop a statistical model that reflects the current drivers of U.S. upland cotton prices. This study concludes that a structural break in the U.S. cotton industry occurred in 1999, and that world cotton supply has become an important determinant of U.S. cotton prices. The model developed here forecasts changes in U.S. cotton price based on changes in U.S. cotton supply, changes in U.S. stocks-to-use ratio (S/U), changes in China's net imports as a share of world consumption, the proportion of U.S. cotton engaged in the loan program, and changes in world supply of cotton.

Implementing effective strategies for the management of online faculty contributes to the experience of online students by ensuring that faculty are prepared to facilitate courses in a manner in which students are engaged and learning outcomes are attained. Additionally, faculty management impacts the experience of online faculty by reducing isolation; providing direction, feedback, and development; and implementing rewards and recognition to increase satisfaction and engagement. Further, best practices for online faculty management impact administrators by improving the learning outcomes of programs and departments, increasing student retention, reducing faculty attrition rates, and building institutional community. Employing best practices for the management of online faculty serves to create efficiencies and improve operations. This chapter will present best practices for faculty recruitment that aim to reduce the potential for bias and increase collaborative decision making. Additionally, key aspects of effective online faculty training will be discussed, in the context of relevant literature. Further, guidelines for the delivery of engaging professional development in the virtual space will be provided. Best practices for supervision and evaluation will be explored, including expectation setting, regular feedback, and formal assessment procedures. The aforementioned facets of online faculty management will be examined through an analysis of six case studies, based on initiatives that were implemented for the online campus of a small university.