News & Press Releases

The Department of Accounting & Finance announces the following research seminar. Speaker: Professor. Yanhua Sunny Yang (University of Connecticut) Title: The Impact of Reduced In-Person Contact on Information Quality: The Case of Analyst Forecast Accuracy during Covid Lockdowns Date: Friday, November 22, 2024 Time: 10:00-11:15 AM Location: via Zoom Meeting Meeting ID: 438 755 1509 Abstract: This paper examines whether and how in-person communication influences the quality of information available to market participants. We utilize the lockdown periods during the Covid-19 pandemic as a proxy for the exogenous reduction in in-person communication, and analyst forecast accuracy as a proxy for information quality. We document that when firms headquarter states undergo lockdowns, analyst forecasts for these firms issued in the lockdown periods are significantly less accurate than for other firms or other periods, with an average difference of about 7% of the mean value of absolute forecast errors. Supplemental analyses show greater differences when companies convert from in-person to virtual events despite holding more of the latter, and insignificant differences when firms maintain virtual-to-virtual events. The difference is also greater when analysts have less firm-specific experience or cover more industries, or when firms are smaller or younger. In addition, analysts input more effort and display more divergent opinions during the lockdown periods. The collective results indicate that when there is less in-person communication forecast quality is lower despite more effort and similar or higher frequency of virtual communication. For additional information, please contact Prof. Hongkang Xu at hxu5@umassd.edu.

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Join us in celebrating International Education Week! Enjoy a delicious Cape Verde cuisine lunch in partnership with CVSA! Questions? Email dining@umassd.edu or connect with us on social @UMassDEats

The Grove

Topic: Geo-Positioning with Underwater Acoustics in a Changing Arctic Speaker: Dr. Lora Van Uffelen, Associate Professor, Department of Ocean Engineering with joint appointment with the Graduate School of Oceanography, University of Rhode Island (URI), South Kingstown, RI Location: Science & Engineering Building (SENG), Room 222 Abstract: We have constant access to accurate geo-positioning on our ever-present mobile devices courtesy of electromagnetic signals from GPS satellites. Vehicles navigate using these signals on the roads, in the air, in space, and on the seas. These signals are quickly attenuated below the sea surface, however, complicating geo-positioning for vehicles and other platforms under water and under ice. Low-frequency acoustic signals can travel for hundreds of kilometers in the ocean, offering an acoustic analog to GPS. In recent decades, warming of the surface layers of the Beaufort Sea in the Arctic has led to the formation of a subsurface acoustic duct which enables sound transmission to longer ranges. Here we explore the use of acoustic signals for vehicle geo-positioning in the Beaufort Sea as well as across the Arctic Ocean, and the impact of ocean temperature structure on the propagation and interpretation of these signals. Biography: Lora Van Uffelen is an Associate Professor in the Department of Ocean Engineering at the University of Rhode Island with a joint appointment in the Graduate School of Oceanography. She has a PhD in Oceanography from Scripps Institution of Oceanography and is a recipient of the 2023 Early Career Faculty Research and Scholarship Excellence Award at URI in Life Sciences, Physical Sciences, and Engineering. Dr. Van Uffelen is interested in acoustic propagation and the effects of oceanographic variability at long ranges. She is particularly interested in acoustic receiving on mobile platforms and the use of long-range acoustic signals for underwater positioning. Her recent work focuses on sound-propagation in the Arctic. In addition to mentoring graduate students, she teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in underwater acoustics and ocean engineering. The Seminar is open to the public free of charge. *For further information, please contact Dr. John R. Buck via email at jbuck@umassd.edu.

Science and Engineering Building

Financial Aid Services wants to remind all students to file their FAFSA! Join Financial Aid Services for FAFSA Help Labs in LARTS 203 on Wednesdays and Fridays from 3-4pm for help filing your FAFSA and learning more about financial aid. Contact Mark Yanni, myanni@umassd.edu

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Grab a snack as you learn about climate change, sustainability, and everything in between through the Sustainability Movie Series here on campus held by the Office of Campus Sustainability. Movie Synopsis: In Burning, Academy & Emmy-award winning Australian filmmaker Eva Orner takes an unflinching look at the unprecedented, catastrophic Australian bushfires of 2019-2020 and shines a light on the global issue of climate change. The documentary delves into the disaster that unfolded across Australia, analyzing the irreversible damage, and the roles played by the federal government and media. Sticker(s) Available: Sustainability Movie Series

Charlton College of Business, Room 149

Observatory Open House No Moon - Saturn, Jupiter & Uranus

Hirshfeld Dowd Observatory