BS, Kent State University, 2014, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Mathematical Sciences

This honors thesis explains the underlying concepts of risk assessment in a systematic way and introduces several widely-used risk assessment methodologies including standard deviation, risk premium, Sharpe ratio, Capital Asset Pricing Model and Value at Risk supplemented with straightforward examples. The purpose of this thesis is to assist students who have only basic finance and mathematics background to integrate both complicated financial and mathematical perspective of risk assessment in order to understand more advanced risk assessment methods in future studies. Real stock price data are used in examples to demonstrate the characteristics and validity of each risk assessment methodology. From all the data analyses for risk assessment methods mentioned, they reveal the fact that all the methods have their own advantages and disadvantages. All the advantages and disadvantages are explained in this thesis as well. After reading this thesis, readers should expect to be able to answer questions about basic concepts of risk assessment and characteristics of risk assessment methodologies listed above.

Master of Arts, Miami University, 2014, Economics

We use various samples of portfolios (Fama-French portfolios formed on size and book-to-market, Fama-French industry portfolios, and exchange traded funds) as test assets to investigate whether the negative relation between lagged idiosyncratic volatility (IVOL) and future average returns initially documented by Ang, Hodrick, Xing, and Zhang (2006) is due to a missing risk factor. Analytically, we show that if IVOL proxies for a missing risk factor, then the negative relation between IVOL and returns persists at a portfolio level since systematic risk is not eliminated through diversification. However, when we take it to the data, we do not find economically and statistically significant evidence of a relation between lagged IVOL and subsequent average returns. Taken together, our results suggest that the IVOL puzzle is not due to a missing risk factor.

Doctor of Philosophy, Case Western Reserve University, 2024, Management

This dissertation investigates how managers assess ambiguous emerging exposures which lie at the intersection of measurable risk and unmeasurable uncertainty. The problem is important because it has implications for organizational resilience and the efficiency and effectiveness of the risk management function. Study 1, a qualitative interview-based exploration, suggests that risk managers assessing emerging risks in the insurance industry may not evaluate front-line business managers as critically as the “Three Lines” risk governance model recommends they should. The data indicate four potential reasons for the seeming reluctance: (1) the effect of framing emerging risks as opportunities; (2) shared social identity among risk managers and business unit managers; (3) preferences for measuring ambiguous risks qualitatively instead of quantitatively; and (4) the time horizon within which a risk is expected to materialize. Study 2, an experiment with 115 financial professionals, examines two of these reasons: shared social identity and risk framing. It finds that risk managers who identify more strongly with the business units they assess tend to be less objective and that positively framed risks are evaluated less critically. Study 3, an experiment with 193 risk managers, investigates the remaining two reasons—risk quantification and time horizon—and the influence of a risk manager's numerical ability. The study tests how these factors affect the assessment of ambiguous risks indirectly through subjective processing fluency and perceived reliability of risk information. Results show significant indirect effects of information presentation format on willingness to challenge risk information, moderated by time horizon and numeracy. Specifically, controlling for numeracy, risk managers who are considering the distant future along with a quantitative presentation experience greater difficulty processing the risk information, which they then perceive as less reli (open full item for complete abstract)

Psy. D., Antioch University, 2023, Antioch New England: Clinical Psychology

This is a mixed-method study exploring Designated Forensic Psychologists' (DFPs) experiences with the violence risk assessment (VRA) of individuals diagnosed with dementia. DFPs (N = 23, 69.6% female, 87% White) completed an online survey investigating the frequency of VRA and dementia, potential change in VRA method in response to dementia, application of existing VRA instruments, and perceived benefit of tailored guidelines and VRA instruments. Most in this sample (84.2%) endorsed cases involving VRA and dementia that typically comprised 5% or less of lifetime cases. The presence of dementia had a variable impact on the approach to VRA, and thematic analysis revealed that changes in method were related to the clinical interview being impacted, the need for objective cognitive assessment, and increased reliance on collateral records or informants. Sixty-three percent reported using existing VRA instruments with perceived applicability to the population. However, many participants reported being less confident in their evaluations and an overwhelming majority reported perceiving benefit from the development of tailored guidelines or VRA instruments. These results shed light on the importance of future research to investigate the unique needs of this population concerning VRA.

Doctor of Philosophy, Case Western Reserve University, 2023, Epidemiology and Biostatistics

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive neurologic disorder characterized by cognitive decline, brain atrophy, and cell death. It is known for its severe impact on memory and cognition, especially in advanced stages. AD is the most common type of dementia. It affects approximately 6 million people in the United States and is becoming increasingly prevalent due to population aging. The estimated cost of caring for people with AD has surpassed $300 billion annually in the US and is expected to increase to over $1 trillion by 2050. Risk for AD is multifactorial, including both environmental and genetic risk factors. Beyond the well-characterized APOE region, more than 50 additional loci are associated with AD based on the largest genome-wide association study (GWAS). By using GWAS results, a polygenic risk score (PRS) can be calculated to represent an individual's relative risk of a specific phenotype or outcome. However, introduction of PRSs into research settings has been met with limitations pertaining to their utility within a population and transferability across populations. PRSs for AD have been applied with varying levels of success. However, there are clear weaknesses in their transferability and widespread application as a result of a lack of diversity in genetic studies. This dissertation aimed to investigate the performance of PRSs for AD in diverse and founder populations by applying various PRS techniques to two large study populations: the Alzheimer's Disease Sequencing Project (ADSP) and the Collaborative Amish Aging & Memory Project (CAAMP). Each of these datasets included consensus clinical phenotyping of AD in addition to either genotyping or sequencing data. The ADSP focused on recruitment of diverse populations while the CAAMP ascertained individuals from Amish communities within Indiana and Ohio. The findings from studying these two populations quantified the shortcomings of current PRS use for AD both within and across populations. We emp (open full item for complete abstract)

PHD, Kent State University, 2022, College of Business and Entrepreneurship, Ambassador Crawford / Department of Accounting

This dissertation consists of two essays on the impact of negative prospects on firm cost structures. It focuses on cost behavior for two reasons. First, cost structures, also known as operating leverage, play an important role in the level and the risk of a firm's profitability, and second, a firm's cost structure is largely determined by its managers' decisions and mirrors a vast range of operating decisions. The prospect theory argues that people may exhibit different behaviors on the same issue depending on whether these people frame the results as gains or losses. Specifically, based on prospect theory, people are risk-averse in the gain frame, preferring a sure gain to a speculative gamble, but are risk-seeking in the loss frame, tending to choose a risky gamble rather than a sure loss. It is important to investigate whether negative prospects can cause firms' risk-taking behavior because such risk-taking behaviors are usually value-destroying and associated with inferior subsequence performance. Given the evidence provided by the prospect theory literature, I conjecture and prove a controversial argument that when firms and their executives face negative prospects, these firms will adopt a rigid cost structure. In this dissertation, I examine two examples of negative prospects. The first essay examines the association between earnings or demand downside risks and firms' cost behavior and argues that firms may adopt rigid cost structures when they face earnings or demand downside risks. Traditional wisdom believes that when firms face high risk, especially high downward risk, they should adopt a flexible cost structure. Konchitchki et al. (2016) estimate a firm's earnings downside risk by comparing the realized earnings with the expected ones. Following their method, this essay develops an estimate for demand downside risk and proves that it is associated with firms' subsequent demand as well as subsequent operating performance. According to the prospect the (open full item for complete abstract)

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2022, Civil Engineering

Throughout the last several years, the number of detrimental accidents is still considered high and not going below a certain verge. One of the main problems that may put people's safety in danger is the lack of real-time detection, assessment, and recognition of predictable safety risks. Current real-time risk identification solutions are limited to proximity sensing, which lacks in providing meaningful values of the overall safety conditions in real-time. The overall objective of this research is to envision, design, develop, assemble, and examine an automated intelligent real-time risk assessment (AIR) system. A holistic safety assessment approach is followed to include identification, prioritization, detection, evaluation, and control at risk exposure time. Multi-sensor technologies based on Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) are integrated with a risk assessment intelligent system. The intelligent system is based on fuzzy fault tree analysis (FFTA), a deductive approach that comprehensively systemizes possible concurrent basic and conditional risk events, not risk symptoms, from major subgroups of triggering, enabling, and environment-related risks. System prototype is developed and examined for functionality and deployment requirements to prove the concept for on-foot building construction worker at site. The experimental examination results showed that the AIR system was able to detect, assess, and sound deliver combined evaluation of concurrent diverse risks presented in a worker's range at real-time of exposure. The AIR system performance has met the criteria of validity, significance, simplicity, representation, accuracy, and precision and timeliness. The reliability of the AIR system to deliver quantitative values of risk proximity was limited due to the RF signal attenuation caused by different materials at site. Nevertheless, AIR system was reliable in real-time assessment and declaration of risk types, values, and proximity in a subjective lingu (open full item for complete abstract)

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2019, Environment and Natural Resources

The holistic judgments that people make about the risks associated with hazards (or their “risk perceptions”) are an integral part of many theoretical models of how people respond to natural and technological hazards that threaten them. Over the last four decades we have seen an enormous body of research on the factors that make up and impact risk perceptions across individuals, cultures, hazards and contexts. Despite the importance of perceptions and the large body of work investigating the ways in which it operates, there is surprisingly little consensus on how to measure perceived risk. Some measures are extremely general while others only cover a specific risk belief (for instance, the probability of a negative outcome), or a specific process through which risk beliefs may be interpreted (for instance, how much fear or concern a hazard creates). These differences in measurement cause us to miss the opportunity to make comparisons between the individual populations and hazards studied in hazards research. In this dissertation, we address this gap by developing a generalizable way of thinking about and measuring risk perception that can be used across populations and hazards. To do so, we build on existing research by establishing four key factors that comprise the building blocks for risk perception (Chapter 1) and developing empirically supported and parsimonious measures for each of these building blocks (Chapter 2). We then seek to establish a structure for a model using these building blocks to assess if risk is perceived simultaneously through analytic and affective processes using both correlational (Chapter 3) and experimental (Chapter 4) methods. The goal of this dissertation is to develop a generalizable model and measure for perceived risk that can account for the most current theoretical insights into how people make holistic judgments about the risks associated with the hazards that threaten them.

MS, Kent State University, 2016, College of Education, Health and Human Services / School of Health Sciences

PATEL, KRISHNA D., M.S., December 2016 Nutrition KNOWLEDGE, PERCEPTION, AND RISK REDUCING BEHAVIORS OF FEMALE COLLEGE STUDENTS WITH FAMILY HISTORY OF OSTEOPOROSIS (197 pp) Director of Thesis: Eun-Jeong (Angie) Ha, Ph.D. Family history of osteoporosis (FHO) has been recognized as one of the most important risk factors for osteoporosis development (Iqbal, 2000). The amount of bony tissue present at the end of skeletal maturation, known as peak bone mass, has been identified as a crucial component for osteoporosis prevention (Rizzoli, & Bonjour, 1999; Valimaki et al., 1994). The primary objective of this study was to assess knowledge and perception about osteoporosis and risk reducing behaviors of female college students with family history of osteoporosis in comparison with those without FHO. The secondary purpose of this study was to compare modifiable risk factors between the two groups. Inclusion criteria was limited to female college students enrolled at Kent State University in spring 2016 semester ages 18 and older. Family history was determined by self-reported data from participants indicating a FHO or fragility fractures in first- or second-degree relatives. Analysis of the data revealed that 95 students had FHO, making up 16.4% of the sample. Results showed there were significant differences in general knowledge and modifiable risk factors of osteoporosis, and risk perception between female college students with FHO and female college students without FHO (P=0.05). However, no significant differences in perception in risk reducing behaviors and modifiable risk factors were noted between the two groups (P=0.05). Future studies with a more consistent method of recording calcium intake and including calcium/vitamin supplementation questions are needed to reconfirm the findings of this study.

Master of Arts, The Ohio State University, 2016, Psychology

Recent research has demonstrated that acetaminophen reduces affective reactivity. Because affect is a critical determinant of risk perception and risk-taking, this drug taken by 23% of Americans each week could potentially impact these important judgments and decisions. To test this hypothesis, we examined the effects of acetaminophen on well-validated risk perception and risk-taking tasks. In Study 1 (N = 142) and Study 2 (N = 189), we demonstrated that acute doses of acetaminophen increase risk-taking behavior. This increase in risk-taking emerged on post-loss trials, not on the first trial, suggesting acetaminophen may be affecting how individuals respond to experiences of loss. However, acetaminophen did not affect self-reports of reactivity to loss events, motivation to avoid loss, focus on gains or losses, or perceived probability of a loss. In Study 2, but not Study 1, we also found evidence that acetaminophen reduced the negative correlation between perceived risk and benefit in some risk perception domains, suggesting less reliance on the “affect heuristic.” To examine the neurochemical mechanism underlying this effect, Study 3 tested whether the increase in risk-taking extends to the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug ibuprofen. We did not find an effect of ibuprofen on risk-taking overall, but did see a significant increase in risk-taking among those who reported higher recent illness and who received ibuprofen. Taken together, the results suggest acetaminophen, an over-the-counter drug, can impact critically important risk judgment and risk-taking behavior.

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2015, Civil Engineering

International construction projects carried out by foreign construction organizations may be subject to various risks due to the nature of the construction industry and business environment of the host country. The regulations of Kuwait oblige foreign organizations to create joint venture relations with qualified local partners to conduct business in Kuwait. A joint venture is a business strategy used to reduce expected risks when expanding into an international market; however, new sources of risk are created via this strategy. This research produced a risk management model for international construction in Kuwait (RIMMICK) designed to facilitate the success of international public construction projects in Kuwait. The aim of this research was to support various governmental agencies such that their projects can be successfully completed. The goal of this work was to reveal and assess the most critical risk factors that can influence the success of international construction projects in Kuwait. RIMMICK is a risk management model designed to identify the risk associated with international construction joint venture (ICJV) projects, assess the identified risk factors and provide project-specific risk ratings, reveal the consequences of the assessed risks, and suggest adequate risk mitigation and response strategies. This model focuses on the most critical phases of a construction project's lifecycle: the bidding and construction phases. RIMMICK can help sustain a risk-controlled environment by continuously monitoring a project's progress and providing reliable risk assessment. The risk intelligent system for construction in Kuwait (RISCK) is a tool designed to facilitate risk evaluation and control processes in RIMMICK. This knowledge-based system was tailored to ICJV projects in Kuwait that are owned by Kuwaiti governmental agencies. The RISCK tool can be utilized during two critical phases of a construction project: bidding and construction. During the bidding ph (open full item for complete abstract)

Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, 2014, Psychology/Industrial-Organizational

Entrepreneurs' attitudes toward risk have been researched in the past with mixed and often contradictory results. Utilizing Blais and Weber's (2006) domain specific approach to understanding risk taking attitudes (DOSPERT), the present study investigated the relation of risk taking attitudes of entrepreneurs across risk-taking domains. In addition, we examined the relation of domain-specific risk attitudes to self-reported entrepreneurship. Results show that entrepreneurs show the greatest amount of risk taking in the social domain, and are generally more risk taking than non-entrepreneurs on most DOSPERT dimensions. Of the outcome variables examined (self-report success, firm creation, & business survival), financial risk taking and self-report success showed a significant relation. Contrary to what was hypothesized, there were no other significant relations between entrepreneurship, financial risk taking and any of the outcome variables, nor was there any interactional effect between financial risk taking and entrepreneurship. Additional analyses show that social risk taking is a significant predictor of self-reported entrepreneurship. Also, social risk taking provided significant incremental variance in the prediction of entrepreneurship above and beyond the Big Five.

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2014, Environment and Natural Resources

Words, phrases, and data must be framed in some way, and a growing body of risk communication research indicates that any message frame chosen exerts some predictable effect on the audience. Likewise, construal level theory states that not only is there no neutral level of construal, but one's current construal level effects numerous other cognitive processes. Any portrayal of information will necessarily assume a relatively general or specific frame, which will influence how the audience construes the message. Therefore, it is not possible to neutrally present any risk data, and whatever message frame is chosen will exert some effect on the audience. In this dissertation I explain the construal level theory of psychological distance (CLT), discuss its role in risk communication, demonstrate how it can be used to increase the effectiveness of risk messages, and conclude with a theoretical investigation into how construal levels and psychological distance interact with other constructs typically measured and manipulated in the field of risk communication. In chapter one, I review the relevant literature on CLT and risk communication, give practical suggestions for risks communication practitioners and pose research questions in hopes of spurring inquiry in this new and promising direction. Integrating construal levels and psychological distance into risk communication efforts can be done at little to no cost. This chapter provides a baseline of knowledge suitable for risk communication practitioners and scientists outside the field of social psychology to draw from when formulating new risk messages. In chapter two, I test the effectiveness of using general versus specific message frames in communicating the risks associated with radon gas. Contrary to risk communication conventional wisdom, I demonstrate that a general message frame, with more global data, encouraged a greater amount of mitigation behavior than a specific frame with localized data for tho (open full item for complete abstract)

Master of Arts, University of Toledo, 2013, Psychology

Risk information can provide a useful tool for changing self-evaluations and motivating behavioral change. For instance, learning that you are at high risk for gum disease may lead to more negative self-evaluations, more worry, and greater intentions to change one’s habits. However, risk information is often ambiguous and vague, requiring a relevant reference point for interpretation. According to social comparison theory, much of what we desire to learn about ourselves can only be accomplished by examining information about others. Despite this logical premise, the evidence is mixed with regard to whether social comparative risk information is more influential than absolute or self-risk information alone. In the current work, we examined the moderating role of self-threat vs. self- affirmation in terms of changing people’s interest in and sensitivity to social comparison information. In the study, participants answered health-relevant questions upon which feedback was ostensibly based. After this, participants completed a supposedly unrelated writing task wherein we manipulated self-affirmation vs. -threat by having participants write about displaying a valued trait (self-affirmation), not displaying a valued trait (self-threat), or a situation where another person displays a non-valued trait (control). After this, participants received above- or below- average risk feedback for periodontal (gum) disease and answered questions related to their self-evaluations of dental health, emotional reactions to the risk information, behavioral intentions, and behaviors aimed at reducing the risk. Thus, participants were randomly assigned to a 3 (self-threat: threat, control, affirmation) X 2 (comparative risk: above or below average). Results did not reveal any systematic main effects or interactions for self-evaluations, emotions, or behavioral intentions; however, on the behavioral measure (taking a dental health pamphlet) there was tentative evidenc (open full item for complete abstract)

MS, University of Cincinnati, 2006, Allied Health Sciences : Genetic Counseling

This study explores the impact of the type of genetic risk estimate (qualitative or quantitative) given in hereditary breast cancer counseling on risk perception, intention to test, and satisfaction with the genetic counseling session. These measures were assessed in 91 patients who completed pre- and post-counseling questionnaires. Participants randomly received either a qualitative or quantitative estimate of their chance for carrying a gene mutation. The type of estimate given was compared with each of the outcome measures and analyzed for statistical significance. The type of estimate provided was not significantly associated with any of the outcomes measured in this study. Risk perception became more accurate after genetic counseling, although this perception was more strongly correlated with a participant's pre-counseling risk perception than with the actual risk given during the counseling session. Qualitative and quantitative estimates do not appear to have an impact on risk perception, intention to test, or satisfaction.

Master of Science in Civil Engineering, University of Toledo, 2008, Civil Engineering

Large quantities of industrial by-products like steel slag, fly ash and bottom ashare produced as residues. A fraction of these by-products are being reused in structural fills and roads while the rest is being disposed in landfills. If the use of these by-products in roads as base layers is encouraged then we can save on the environmental contamination that the extraction of natural aggregates causes. Large areas of land are allocated for landfill sites. If the by-products are reused in roads then we can save on the land sites and also save on the costs of extraction (mining, crushing etc) of the natural aggregates. This research calculates the possible human health risks to construction workers working with the by-products in road construction. This thesis also calculates the risk to groundwater due to the placing of these by-products in road base layers. The risk model was created to assess the risk to construction workers and groundwater also incorporates results from a fate and transport model, HYDRUS for assessing the risk to groundwater In risk assessment for construction workers, average daily dose (intake) of each constituent metal of the industrial waste material to a construction worker was calculated. The calculated average daily dose was compared with reference dose and slope factors of that metal to find the carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic risk pertaining to the ingestion, dermal contact and inhalation of by-products. The industrial by-products placed in the base layers of the roads can seep through the soil profile and enter the ground water table. The concentrations that ultimately reach the ground water were calculated using HYDRUS. The results from HYDRUS were plugged back in the excel model to assess the risk to ground water. The concentrations of the metals in ground water were multiplied with their slope factors to obtain carcinogenic risk, and the same concentrations in ground water were divided over the reference dose to obtain the noncarcin (open full item for complete abstract)

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2011, Nuclear Engineering

The development of methods of dynamic probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) is an ongoing topic of research at the Ohio State University. Recently, the ADAPT (Analysis of Dynamic Accident Progression Trees) software tool was developed to provide a flexible framework in which to perform a dynamic event tree analysis. Dynamic PRA methodologies have the advantage over conventional PRA methodologies in that a more realistic and mechanistically consistent analysis can be performed of a system in question. Dynamic PRA methodologies are designed to take the timing of events explicitly into account which can become very important especially when uncertainties in complex phenomena are considered. Despite the advantages that dynamic event methodologies offer, there is still considerable question in the community as to how dynamic methodologies can provide “better” results than classical methods, whether there is really a need the detailed modeling that dynamic methodologies provide within the context of a full PRA, and whether the implementation of dynamic methodologies on a real system is practical as dynamic methodologies can be computationally expensive. The purpose of this work is to address those concerns just noted by performing a comparison of the results obtained for a particular scenario on a real system by using classical PRA analysis and a parallel analysis performed using a particular dynamic PRA method. In late 1980's the NUREG-1150 study was commissioned to perform a full PRA using the best methods available at the time of five U.S. nuclear power plants. The power plants that were chosen were: Surry Unit 1 (PWR), Zion Unit 1 (PWR), Grand Gulf Unit 1 (BWR), Peach Bottom Unit 1 (BWR), and Sequoyah Unit 1 (PWR). For each of these plants, a detailed analysis of all systems and potential accident pathways was performed using conventional PRA methodology. For this study, the results obtained in NUREG-1150 for the Zion Unit 1 plant will be compared to the results obtaine (open full item for complete abstract)

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2005, Natural Resources

This cross-cultural study between China and the U.S. examined how people's perceptions of environmental risk, preferences in risk management, and perspectives of participatory decision processes and quality vary within the different social, cultural, and political systems. A structural equation model (SEM) with social trust, social value, and risk experience was constructed to explore social processes of environmental risk perceptions and preferences in risk management. A 2´2 experiment with four decision scenarios was designed to examine people's perspectives of successful participatory decision processes and quality. College students from The Ohio State University (n=240) in the U.S. and Beijing Normal University (n=280) in China were participants in the research. The results indicated that both the Americans and Chinese considered that good decision quality depends on effective public input in the decision, good participation process and outcome, and outcome was thought to be the most important factor to affect their evaluation of the decision quality. The Chinese were more concerned about environmental risks, and they perceived the environmental issues to be more risky to health, to the environment, and to economic development in China than Americans. Both groups were less likely to support the policies that require them to participate financially, such as paying increased taxes on gasoline. The respondents from the two cultures desired transparent communication processes and were more likely to support educational strategies to help people change behavior to reduce environment. However, there were significant differences between the Chinese and Americans about support for or opposition to a specific risk management strategy. For the structural equation model, the American data showed that social trust, social value, and risk experience had significant impacts on perception of environmental risks, and risk experience, social value, and risk perception significan (open full item for complete abstract)

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2004, Economics

This dissertation is composed of two empirical studies on risk management. The first part is an empirical study on income risk and portfolio choice of investors. Recent theoretical work has shown that uninsurable labor income risk likely reduces the share of risky asset investment. Little empirical work has been done to examine this effect. This empirical study on the issue has three novel features. First, the long labor income history in NLSY79 is used to estimate the labor income risk. Second, the study distinguishes between permanent and transitory labor income risk, and estimates them for individuals. Third, I explicitly consider human capital as a component of the portfolio. Human capital is treated as a risk-free asset and estimated using signal extraction technique to labor income data. The study finds strong empirical support for the theory that labor income risk significantly reduces the share of risky assets in the portfolio of an investor. Furthermore, as economic theory suggests, permanent income risk has a significant effect on portfolio choice while transitory income risk has little effect. The second part of the dissertation is an empirical study on the interest rate risk management of banks. Using a rolling sample of bank holding companies from 1986 to 2002, the study investigates how banks adjust their balance sheet maturity structure according to their perception of current and future interest rate changes. Banks tend to lengthen the maturity of net assets when the yield curve is steeply sloped and shorten it when they expect the interest rate to increase in the future. To account for the off-balance-sheet activity effect on interest rate risk exposure, the sample is divided into those with high and low interest rate derivative activities. For banks with little off-balance-sheet interest rate derivative activities, the cross-sectional variation in their responsiveness of maturity structure to interest rate changes explains the stock market risk and (open full item for complete abstract)

Master of Science (MS), Ohio University, 2007, Psychology (Arts and Sciences)

Current measures of sexual risk taking are either too narrowly focused to be used with college students or do not have adequate psychometric properties. The goal of the current study was to develop a broad and psychometrically sound measure of sexual risk taking. Three hundred and ten undergraduate students at a mid-sized Midwestern university were surveyed to develop and gather reliability and validity information on a new measure of sexual risk, the Sexual Risk Survey. Sex differences were also explored throughout the study. The measure was found to be multidimensional with five factors. The measure demonstrated good internal consistency and test-retest reliability as well as convergent, discriminant, and concurrent validity. Although there were no sex differences in total sexual risk taking behaviors reported over the past 6 months, differences emerged in the variables that predicted sexual risk taking. Implications for these findings are discussed.