Month: April 2024

Heterogeneity in the volatility spillover of cryptocurrencies and exchanges

Latest Results

Abstract

This study examines the volatility spillovers in four representative exchanges and for six liquid cryptocurrencies. Using the high-frequency trading data of exchanges, the heterogeneity of exchanges in terms of volatility spillover can be examined dynamically in the time and frequency domains. We find that Ripple is a net receiver on Coinbase but acts as a net contributor on other exchanges. Bitfinex and Binance have different net spillover effects on the six cryptocurrency markets. Finally, we identify the determinants of total connectedness in two types of volatility spillover, which can explain cryptocurrency or exchange interlinkage.

Heterogeneity in the volatility spillover of cryptocurrencies and exchanges

Latest Results

Abstract

This study examines the volatility spillovers in four representative exchanges and for six liquid cryptocurrencies. Using the high-frequency trading data of exchanges, the heterogeneity of exchanges in terms of volatility spillover can be examined dynamically in the time and frequency domains. We find that Ripple is a net receiver on Coinbase but acts as a net contributor on other exchanges. Bitfinex and Binance have different net spillover effects on the six cryptocurrency markets. Finally, we identify the determinants of total connectedness in two types of volatility spillover, which can explain cryptocurrency or exchange interlinkage.

Charting pathways to holistic development: challenges and opportunities in the Navajo Nation

Latest Results

Abstract

This research delves into the complex interplay between infrastructure development, service enrichment, and the socio-economic and cultural fabric within the Navajo Nation. By conducting a comprehensive sector-wise analysis covering electricity, water, internet, transportation, education/training, and recreation facilities, the study thoroughly evaluates the hurdles and opportunities faced by Navajo communities in accessing essential services. The delineation of best practices and recommended strategies also serves as a guide for fostering sustainable and stable infrastructure growth while nurturing the rich cultural legacy of the Navajo people. Ultimately, this research paves the way for transformative changes, advocating for infrastructure that is not merely functional but reflective of the ethos and aspirations of the community it serves. The insights gleaned from this study offer valuable guidance for policymakers, stakeholders, and community leaders in shaping strategic infrastructure plans, launching initiatives to enrich services, and formulating policies aimed at fortifying service access. These efforts collectively aim to bolster socio-economic growth and uplift the overall well-being of individuals and families within the Navajo Nation.

Charting pathways to holistic development: challenges and opportunities in the Navajo Nation

Latest Results

Abstract

This research delves into the complex interplay between infrastructure development, service enrichment, and the socio-economic and cultural fabric within the Navajo Nation. By conducting a comprehensive sector-wise analysis covering electricity, water, internet, transportation, education/training, and recreation facilities, the study thoroughly evaluates the hurdles and opportunities faced by Navajo communities in accessing essential services. The delineation of best practices and recommended strategies also serves as a guide for fostering sustainable and stable infrastructure growth while nurturing the rich cultural legacy of the Navajo people. Ultimately, this research paves the way for transformative changes, advocating for infrastructure that is not merely functional but reflective of the ethos and aspirations of the community it serves. The insights gleaned from this study offer valuable guidance for policymakers, stakeholders, and community leaders in shaping strategic infrastructure plans, launching initiatives to enrich services, and formulating policies aimed at fortifying service access. These efforts collectively aim to bolster socio-economic growth and uplift the overall well-being of individuals and families within the Navajo Nation.

Polycentric governance of commons through multi-stakeholder platforms: insights from two case studies in India

Latest Results

Abstract

Commons governance is complex and polycentric, involving a range of actors, working at different scales with different concepts of development, and different types of power. Multistakeholder platforms (MSPs) have generated considerable attention as a way to address these tensions among multiple and overlapping decision-making centers operating on different administrative levels. Yet establishing MSPs that effectively involve community, various government actors, and private sector actors is far from straightforward. This paper analyzes the Indian NGO Foundation for Ecological Security’s (FES) experience of strengthening polycentric governance through case studies of two MSPs in Gujarat and Odisha working at the block (sub-district) level—encompassing multiple communities situated around a commons landscape. We gather information from a variety of sources including a survey of MSP participants, focus groups and semi-structured interviews with stakeholders, media articles, as well as institutional knowledge such as FES project reports. By analyzing local environments, institutional arrangements, stakeholder interactions, governance processes and the evolution of MSPs in the two cases, it distills lessons on the tangible and intangible benefits of multi-stakeholder engagement, scale, and enabling conditions useful for scaling up MSPs. We argue that the groundwork carried out to build community-level collective action supports effective polycentric governance of resources on the landscape-level, especially through block-level MSPs that facilitate inter-community collaboration and learning, strengthening local voices and building trust between stakeholders over time. The cases also highlight that MSPs can evolve in different ways as the various actors interact and exercise influence. External actors like NGOs thus play an important role as facilitators and through mobilizing communities to help them claim their agency. We find that nesting village-level institutions in federations and federations in larger MSPs is important for robust and sustainable collective action and bridging sectoral and institutional boundaries.

Exploring the determinants of disaster and climate resilience building in Zimbabwe’s rural communities

Latest Results

Abstract

With the burgeoning threats from natural hazards and extreme weather events driven by climate change in every section and sector of society, building resilience against disasters and risks posed by climate change has become an unescapable discourse. The study’s main thrust is to establish the determinants of resilience building in Zimbabwe’s rural communities. The study adopted the qualitative constructivist grounded theory approach in conjunction with participatory action research to gain insights from community members and traditional leaders. A total of forty-six participants from Chimanimani District, Zimbabwe participated in the study. The findings revealed that the availability of natural and human resources, collective efficacy, government and development agency support systems, indigenous knowledge systems, and livelihood diversification were crucial determinants of resilience building for rural communities in Zimbabwe. The identified determinants for resilience building signal that these determinants need to be harnessed to inform policy and practice interventions. Furthermore, the availability of the identified determinants implies that rural communities can minimise, and prevent losses, reduce exposure to natural hazards, disasters and climate change risks and manage the impacts of natural hazards whenever they emerge. The study recommends that these determinants be complemented by access to technology, resilient community infrastructures, robust social protection systems, and hazard risk assessment participatory processes by rural communities. In addition, effective emergency and health services, among other contingent measures essential to improve community resilience.

Exploring the determinants of disaster and climate resilience building in Zimbabwe’s rural communities

Latest Results

Abstract

With the burgeoning threats from natural hazards and extreme weather events driven by climate change in every section and sector of society, building resilience against disasters and risks posed by climate change has become an unescapable discourse. The study’s main thrust is to establish the determinants of resilience building in Zimbabwe’s rural communities. The study adopted the qualitative constructivist grounded theory approach in conjunction with participatory action research to gain insights from community members and traditional leaders. A total of forty-six participants from Chimanimani District, Zimbabwe participated in the study. The findings revealed that the availability of natural and human resources, collective efficacy, government and development agency support systems, indigenous knowledge systems, and livelihood diversification were crucial determinants of resilience building for rural communities in Zimbabwe. The identified determinants for resilience building signal that these determinants need to be harnessed to inform policy and practice interventions. Furthermore, the availability of the identified determinants implies that rural communities can minimise, and prevent losses, reduce exposure to natural hazards, disasters and climate change risks and manage the impacts of natural hazards whenever they emerge. The study recommends that these determinants be complemented by access to technology, resilient community infrastructures, robust social protection systems, and hazard risk assessment participatory processes by rural communities. In addition, effective emergency and health services, among other contingent measures essential to improve community resilience.

“I’d Say, Transfer Schools are Revolutionary”: Alternative Schools as Revolutionary Spaces Under Assault

Latest Results

Abstract

This paper documents the hopes, desires and structural betrayals experienced by young people attending transfer schools in New York City. Transfer schools enroll more than 15,000 students each year who are disproportionately young people of color, poor and working-class youth, from immigrant families, and youth with disabilities. Most have fallen behind on academic benchmarks. Many have been systematically pushed out of school through zero tolerance policies, high stakes testing cultures, and a lack of culturally relevant approaches to curriculum and pedagogy. This paper explores survey responses from 842 transfer school students, collected as part of a broader participatory action research study. Our analysis reveals that many transfer school students persist in the face of multiple obstacles that disrupt their educational progress, including material insecurity, previously alienating school experiences, housing insecurity, violence and struggles with mental health. Moreover, we find that students experience the transfer schools in this study as relationally rich, caring, intellectually rigorous, and mutually accountable learning communities that help them overcome obstacles that previously held them back. Our analysis confirms transfer school students’ desires and persistence in the face of adversity and demonstrates the academic and socio-emotional commitments and impact of educators and counselors in transfer schools. Under current federal and state accountability frameworks, transfer schools are threatened by one-size-fits all metrics, punitive policies, and racialized austerity. As such, their importance and impact is consistently mismeasured and under-acknowledged. In this paper, we present evidence that these schools represent the radical rim of what is possible in public education, and we argue that we must support their efforts, honor their commitments, and establish a more equitable system for evaluating the essential work they do.

“I’d Say, Transfer Schools are Revolutionary”: Alternative Schools as Revolutionary Spaces Under Assault

Latest Results

Abstract

This paper documents the hopes, desires and structural betrayals experienced by young people attending transfer schools in New York City. Transfer schools enroll more than 15,000 students each year who are disproportionately young people of color, poor and working-class youth, from immigrant families, and youth with disabilities. Most have fallen behind on academic benchmarks. Many have been systematically pushed out of school through zero tolerance policies, high stakes testing cultures, and a lack of culturally relevant approaches to curriculum and pedagogy. This paper explores survey responses from 842 transfer school students, collected as part of a broader participatory action research study. Our analysis reveals that many transfer school students persist in the face of multiple obstacles that disrupt their educational progress, including material insecurity, previously alienating school experiences, housing insecurity, violence and struggles with mental health. Moreover, we find that students experience the transfer schools in this study as relationally rich, caring, intellectually rigorous, and mutually accountable learning communities that help them overcome obstacles that previously held them back. Our analysis confirms transfer school students’ desires and persistence in the face of adversity and demonstrates the academic and socio-emotional commitments and impact of educators and counselors in transfer schools. Under current federal and state accountability frameworks, transfer schools are threatened by one-size-fits all metrics, punitive policies, and racialized austerity. As such, their importance and impact is consistently mismeasured and under-acknowledged. In this paper, we present evidence that these schools represent the radical rim of what is possible in public education, and we argue that we must support their efforts, honor their commitments, and establish a more equitable system for evaluating the essential work they do.

Real Feeling and Fictional Time in Human-AI Interactions

Latest Results

Abstract

As technology improves, artificial systems are increasingly able to behave in human-like ways: holding a conversation; providing information, advice, and support; or taking on the role of therapist, teacher, or counsellor. This enhanced behavioural complexity, we argue, encourages deeper forms of affective engagement on the part of the human user, with the artificial agent helping to stabilise, subdue, prolong, or intensify a person’s emotional condition. Here, we defend a fictionalist account of human/AI interaction, according to which these encounters involve an elaborate practise of imaginative pretence: a make-believe in which the artificial agent is attributed a life of its own. We attend, specifically, to the temporal characteristics of these fictions, and to what we imagine artificial agents are doing when we are not looking at them.