Public Information Research Papers - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Downloadable! Urban water utilities are a typical case of a public service with regulated prices. This paper examines the costs of the service, which must be understood if rates are to be set and controlled on an appropriate basis. We... more

Downloadable! Urban water utilities are a typical case of a public service with regulated prices. This paper examines the costs of the service, which must be understood if rates are to be set and controlled on an appropriate basis. We adopt a highly practical approach. In the first place ...

We find that option listings are associated with a decrease in the variance of the pricing error, a decrease in the adverse selection component of the spread, and an increase in the relative weight placed by the specialist on public... more

We find that option listings are associated with a decrease in the variance of the pricing error, a decrease in the adverse selection component of the spread, and an increase in the relative weight placed by the specialist on public information in revising prices for the underlying stocks. We also find that there is a decrease in the spread and increases in quoted depth, trading volume, trading frequency, and transaction size after option listings. Overall, our results suggest that option listings improve the market quality of the underlying stocks.

Business strategies and policies which proved to be successful in increasing internet penetration in the early days may no longer be appropriate. This is likely to be highly probable in countries where the majority of people are already... more

Business strategies and policies which proved to be successful in increasing internet penetration in the early days may no longer be appropriate. This is likely to be highly probable in countries where the majority of people are already connected to the internet. As more people have the ability to be connected online, it becomes more likely that the remaining fraction of non-adopters is either difficult to convince, under-skilled or simply lacking the financial resources to afford a connection. In view of this problem, this paper proposes a policy approach aimed at increasing personal computer and internet acceptance in collaboration with industry. The measures developed within this approach are based on strategies of segmentation and differentiation. This entails the specific targeting of product offerings towards different socio-demographic groups within the population. In addition, our approach not only concentrates on removing barriers, as most e-inclusion policies do, but also ...

In this study, we test whether the overconfidence bias explains several stylized market anomalous, including a short-term continuation (momentum), a long-term reversal in stock returns, high levels of trading volume and excessive... more

In this study, we test whether the overconfidence bias explains several stylized market anomalous, including a short-term continuation (momentum), a long-term reversal in stock returns, high levels of trading volume and excessive volatility. Using data of French stocks market, we find empirical evidence in support of overconfidence hypothesis. First, based on a restricted VAR framework, we show that overconfident investors overreact to private information and underreact to public information. Second, by performing Granger-causality tests of stock returns and trading volume, we find that overconfident investors trade more aggressively in periods subsequent to market gains. Third, based on a two GARCH specifications, we show that self attribution bias, conditioned by right forecasts, increases investors overconfidence and trading volume. Fourth, the analysis of the relation between return volatility and trading volume shows that the excessive trading of overconfident investors makes a...

With the widespread growth of applications of Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs), the need for reliable security mechanisms these networks has increased manifold. Many security solutions have been proposed in the domain of WSN so far. These... more

With the widespread growth of applications of Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs), the need for reliable security mechanisms these networks has increased manifold. Many security solutions have been proposed in the domain of WSN so far. These solutions are usually based on well-known cryptographic algorithms. In this paper, we have made an effort to survey well known security issues in WSNs and study the behavior of WSN nodes that perform public key cryptographic operations. We evaluate time and power consumption of public key cryptography algorithm for signature and key management by simulation. Keywords—Wireless Sensor Networks, Security, Public Key Cryptography, Key Management.

This paper discusses the channels between openness and productivity and trade hampering factors. The stylized facts from the heterogeneous firms literature suggests that firms face market entry costs for each new product they export and... more

This paper discusses the channels between openness and productivity and trade hampering factors. The stylized facts from the heterogeneous firms literature suggests that firms face market entry costs for each new product they export and to each new export market. Transport costs, border costs and retail and wholesale distribution costs might add up to 170% of the export value, but formal import tariffs and duties are relatively unimportant. The results by the Observatory of European SMEs survey, which has firm-level data for the whole European Union confirm this result. Lack of knowledge on export markets and regulations in other countries are important trade barriers for European firms. From these outcomes it could be derived that EU trade policies should be directed to deep integration with other countries, preferably by implementing internal market policies for goods and services trade and foreign direct investment. These policies can deal with reducing regulations heterogeneity,...

The soundscape, which is defined as the entire acoustic environment of an area, is a relevant biosemiotic ingredient of environmental complexity. It is composed of geophonies, anthrophonies, and biophonies where, in temperate biomes,... more

The soundscape, which is defined as the entire acoustic environment of an area, is a relevant biosemiotic ingredient of environmental complexity. It is composed of geophonies, anthrophonies, and biophonies where, in temperate biomes, birds are the major producers of the latter. The soundscape is heterogeneous in terms of space and time, and is affected by landscape features such as vegetation

... Valle Santos, University of Valladolid, Valladolid, Spain. ... Rational investors combine different sources of information using Bayes rule: the weights placed on the different pieces of information should be proportional to their... more

... Valle Santos, University of Valladolid, Valladolid, Spain. ... Rational investors combine different sources of information using Bayes rule: the weights placed on the different pieces of information should be proportional to their respective accuracy (Daniel and Titman, 1999). ...

A number of papers in the theoretical auction literature show that the release of information regarding the seller’s valuation of an item can cause bidders to bid more aggressively. This widely accepted result in auction theory remains... more

A number of papers in the theoretical auction literature show that the release of information regarding the seller’s valuation of an item can cause bidders to bid more aggressively. This widely accepted result in auction theory remains largely untested in the empirical literature. Recent theoretical work has also shown that this effect can be more pronounced in auctions with larger

In most countries, a key figure in the provision of public information at the central government level is the government information officer (GIO). These individuals may be known as spokespersons, press officers, press attaches, public... more

In most countries, a key figure in the provision of public information at the central government level is the government information officer (GIO). These individuals may be known as spokespersons, press officers, press attaches, public affairs officers, or public information officers. A GIO contributes to public understanding of government policies and raises awareness of the roles of decision makers and purview of state institutions, the availability of social services, noteworthy trends, and risks to public health and safety. In Central and Eastern Europe, a GIO's responsibilities typically include: monitoring media coverage of public affairs; briefing and advising political officials; managing media relations; providing information directly to the public; sharing information across the administration; formulating communication strategies and campaigns; and researching and assessing public opinion. Because of the region's communist heritage, GIOs in Central and Eastern Eur...

The aim of this interdisciplinary research was to see whether American presidents can reach Millennials more effectively in the digital age while publicly advancing the legislative agenda of their administration. The rationale is that... more

The aim of this interdisciplinary research was to see whether American presidents can reach Millennials more effectively in the digital age while publicly advancing the legislative agenda of their administration. The rationale is that presidents need to gain public support to pressure Congress into passing their legislation; while doing that, they can capture the public’s interest in politics and educate civically the most inattentive audience. To accomplish the task, strategic messaging adequate to digital media is necessary. Millennials appear as having modest interest and knowledge of politics despite their intense presence on digital media. On the other hand, they represent a third of the electorate— also projected to become the most important economic contributors in society — thus constituting an audience that cannot be ignored. Because metaphors are credited with an important role in processing new information and in branding leadership, I propose a category of new metaphors, labeled High Definition (HD) Metaphors that have three characteristics: they concentrate the policy contained in the message, are novel, and are relevant to the targeted audience.
The most important claim is that HD Metaphors catch the eye of the audience by increasing the message visibility; the corresponding hypothesis is (H1) Presidential messages containing High Definition Metaphors are more salient than their literal counterparts. Second, I argue that HD Metaphors facilitate the understanding of the message as they have a contribution to the acquisition of new information; hence the second hypothesis: (H2) Presidential messages
containing High Definition Metaphors produce more political knowledge. Last, I claim that metaphors can influence the audience, by producing more agreement with the message; this is reflected in the third hypothesis: (H3) Presidential messages containing High Definition Metaphors are more persuasive than their literal counterparts.
To test these claims I conducted an experiment with 251 students in a large American university in the southeast, in which two groups were exposed to written, fictitious metaphorical messages sourced by a fictitious president of the U.S. and two groups received the non metaphorical versions of the messages (literal counterparts). One pair of messages was constructed on a topic of high involvement and the other pair was on a topic of low involvement, as determined at a previous date.
Statistical analysis indicated that HD Metaphors increase the visibility of the message especially for audiences less interested in the topic. This is a key finding because it suggests that presidents can capture the attention of Millennials who are in general apathetic to the political discourse. On the other hand, HD Metaphors did not produce more political knowledge or more persuasion, in this particular design.
The importance of this study is theoretical and practical. It advances a new concept, High Definition Metaphors that was empirically tested with the power of an experiment; future work can build on these findings by detecting other effects. This research also connects theoretical models and concepts from various disciplines, thus enriching the scholarly understanding of issues that are not satisfied within the boundaries of a single field. Most importantly, this research has applicability to practice by informing presidential communication in the digital era; additionally, it can enhance the external strategic communication of leadership in non- governmental and international organizations since HD Metaphors can be adapted to fit other audiences whose attention is desired.

Diseases like rotavirus afflict both upper- and lower-income countries, but most serious illnesses and deaths occur among the latter. It is a vital public health issue that vaccines for these types of global diseases can recover research... more

Diseases like rotavirus afflict both upper- and lower-income countries, but most serious illnesses and deaths occur among the latter. It is a vital public health issue that vaccines for these types of global diseases can recover research and development (R&D) costs from high-priced markets quickly so that manufacturers can offer affordable prices to lower-income nations. Cost recovery depends on how high R&D costs are, and this study attempts to replace high, unverified estimates with lower, more verifiable estimates for two new vaccines, RotaTeq (Merck) and Rotarix (GlaxoSmithKline or GSK), based on detailed searches of public information and follow-up interviews with senior informants. We also offer a new perspective on “cost of capital” as a claim for recovery from public bodies. Our estimates suggest that companies can recover all fixed costs quickly from affluent markets and thus can offer these vaccines to lower-income countries at prices they can afford. Better vaccines are a shared project between companies and public health agencies; greater transparency and consistency in reporting of R&D costs is needed so that fair prices can be established.

The purpose of this project was to assess the relationship between reported drinking habits and three driving behaviors: drinking and driving, using safety belts, and observing the speed limits. The data base consisted of the results of... more

The purpose of this project was to assess the relationship between reported drinking habits and three driving behaviors: drinking and driving, using safety belts, and observing the speed limits. The data base consisted of the results of annual surveys of a representative sample of the American adult population, conducted over an 11-year period from 1985 to 1995.Over the 11-year period there was a consistent positive trend in refraining from drinking and driving: from 71.6% reporting they never drink and drive in 1985 to 79.1% in 1995; i.e., a relative improvement of 10%. The tendency to refrain from drinking and driving was negatively associated with the reported frequency of drinking and – to a lesser degree – with the reported amount of drinking done in a drinking session. The more often and more alcohol people drank, the less likely they were to report that they never drink and drive. Two other safety behaviors that were available – use of safety belts and observing the speed lim...