The Mitigated Neighborhood: Exploring Homeowner Associations’ Role in Resident Wildfire-Mitigation Actions

Abstract Considerable research has explored homeowner wildfire-mitigation efforts identifying many salient factors that help predict acceptance and behaviors. A growing body of literature is unlocking the dynamics of formal associations’ roles in promoting fire adapted communities. This mixed-method study adds to the research by using a planned behavior theoretical lens, to explore homeowner associations’ (HOAs’) role in resident wildfire mitigation. Through HOA key informant interviews and a survey study of a Western midsized city, our results show that HOAs have a significant impact by providing important information linkages and reducing barriers to completing home mitigation. Most importantly, HOAs act as a neighborhood champion, taking on time-consuming tasks involved in becoming and maintaining a Firewise USA® community status. Many non-HOA neighborhoods lack the capacity to take on such tasks limiting their access to benefits provided by the designation. We take these results and propose avenues to engaging non-HOA neighborhoods.

Asymmetric information linkages across select futures and spot indices

PurposeThe study investigates the amplitude and direction of the movement of information between spot and futures indices. The study progresses to account for the investor's heterogeneity and compare the evolving structure of investors in emerging and developed economies. Further, the structural linkages in terms of returns and variance have been explored for the futures indices to contribute to meteor shower literature as explained by Engle et al. (1990); Yarovaya et al. (2017).Design/methodology/approachTo facilitate the purpose, the Indian and Chinese markets were selected to represent emerging economies and the United States for developed one. The bivariate wavelet cum BEKK-GARCH (1,1) model was estimated.FindingsFor the developed markets, like the United States, the spot market improves its information transmission role with time horizon while exactly opposite holds for the Chinese market. A bidirectional overnight information spillover was found for all three pairs. The Indian futures market was vulnerable to bad news from the other two markets. Evidence suggesting the dominance of institutional investors in the Chinese futures market and retail investors in the Indian futures market is found.Originality/valueThe spot–futures relation has been studied on both the time and frequency domains considering different investment horizons. Due consideration has been taken to account for the overlapping trading hours.

Information Linkages Among BRICS Countries: Empirical Evidence from Implied Volatility Indices

In this article, we examine the information linkages of the forward-looking measure of volatility, the volatility index (VIX), for underlying equity market indices of BRICS countries—Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. A study of the information transmission process confirmed a long-run equilibrium relationship between pairs of BRICS countries. The multivariate generalised autoregressive conditional heteroscedasticity (MGARCH) model revealed strong intertemporal linkages between sample VIX. Return and volatility spill-over matrix show the varying degree of connectedness of BRICS VIX across the study period. This study contributes to the international finance literature and has important implications for investors, portfolio managers, policymakers and academia. JEL Classification: C58, F36, G11, G14, G15

Information and volatility linkages across energy and financial markets

This study examines information and volatility linkages across energy and financial markets. In a world economy so connected, the impacts of climate change are likely to be transmitted through interlinked global markets. Hence, uncovering and understanding the interaction across these markets is a fundamental concern during the energy transition as it helps to understand how to strengthen incentives to facilitate energy investments. Based on the relation between information flows and volatility, this study employs a simple correlation approach based on implied volatility measures and the trading model of Fleming et al. to measure the common information linkages, as gauged by the correlation of return volatilities. The results suggest that volatility linkages across these markets are strong due to common information sharing and cross-market hedging. JEL Classification: G12, G14

The Care Ecosystem: Promoting self-efficacy among dementia family caregivers

Objectives To illustrate specific psychosocial interventions aimed at improving self-efficacy among family caregivers enrolled in the Care Ecosystem, a model of navigated care designed to support persons with dementia and their primary caregivers. Enrolled family caregivers work with unlicensed care team navigators who are trained in dementia care and provide information, linkages to community resources, and emotional support by phone and email. Method We conducted focus groups and interviews with the care team navigators to identify the approaches they used to target caregiver self-efficacy. We assessed mean self-efficacy scores in a sample of 780 family caregivers and selected three exemplary cases in which the caregivers had low self-efficacy scores at baseline with significantly higher scores after six months of participation in the Care Ecosystem intervention. Results Multiple psychosocial strategies were utilized by care team navigators working with patients with dementia and their family caregivers. Using thematic coding we identified three categories of Care Team Navigator intervention: emotional, informational, and instrumental support. These are consistent with a psychosocial approach to building self-efficacy. Discussion Self-efficacy represents a family caregiver’s knowledge and preparedness in managing the challenges of care. Psychosocial support shows benefit in improving caregiver self-efficacy that in turn, may positively influence caregiver health and well-being. The findings in this manuscript demonstrate how a model of navigated care can positively impact self-efficacy among dementia family caregivers.

Domestic and International Information Linkages for the US Dollar/Indian Rupee Contracts: An Empirical Study

This study examines price discovery and volatility linkages between USD/INR spot and futures contracts in India and between USD/INR futures contracts on National Stock Exchange of India Limited (NSE), India and on three international exchanges, namely Singapore Exchange (SGX), Dubai Gold and Commodity Exchange (DGCX) and Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), from 29 August 2008 to 30 March 2015. Findings show that, at domestic level, the futures dominate spot in the Indian currency market; these findings are stronger than those in an earlier study, indicating improved pricing as well as hedging efficiency in the Indian currency market. At international level, NSE is dominated by both CME and DGCX in price discovery and in short-term volatility spillovers, while NSE dominates both exchanges in long-term volatility spillovers. Further, NSE dominates SGX in the international information process. The dominance of CME and DGCX over NSE may be on account of their several advantages such as longer trading hours, operations being open even after NSE has shut business, much lower trading costs as well as lower regulatory restrictions. The study provides several significant policy suggestions for improving efficiency of the Indian currency market and is also relevant for foreign portfolio investors (FPIs), domestic investors, researchers and academicians. It contributes to literature on information transmission relating to currency markets in emerging economies.