David M. Vetter and Marcia Vetter
The purpose of this paper is to explore how Monte Carlo Simulation (MCS) could have enhanced understanding of the risks involved in the financial strategy for revitalization of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore how Monte Carlo Simulation (MCS) could have enhanced understanding of the risks involved in the financial strategy for revitalization of Rio de Janeiro’s central city based on the capture of value generated by government interventions.
Design/methodology/approach
The study first describes the process involved in developing the financial strategy and model without MCS. Then, it shows how the MCS could have been integrated into this process and evaluates its potential impacts on the quality of risk analysis.
Findings
If MCS is fully integrated into the decision-making process, it can serve as a heuristic tool that helps team members to better understand risks by generating forecasts of land value and other variables as a probability distributions. By showing the variance of the forecasted variable, MCS integrates elements of modern risk analysis into financial model development in a cost-effective manner.
Research limitations/implications
MCS covers only the risks associated with the variables in the financial model. Events that seem extremely unlikely (i.e. “black swans”) can occur and must be assessed separately.
Practical implications
MCS can help analysts to understand the financial risks of large-scale development projects involving value capture, even in the prefeasibility stage.
Social implications
By facilitating value capture, MCS could help close the financing gap for sustainable urban development and subsidies for lower income families.
Originality/value
The study “retrofits” MCS on a successfully completed financial prefeasibility study to assess its usefulness as a heuristic tool.
Details
Keywords
Khalil Gholami and Sonia Faraji
Identity is a disputed concept. A clear-cut, unitary definition of identity is impossible as it “bears a multivalent, even contradictory theoretical burden” (Brubaker & Cooper…
Abstract
Identity is a disputed concept. A clear-cut, unitary definition of identity is impossible as it “bears a multivalent, even contradictory theoretical burden” (Brubaker & Cooper, 2000, p. 8). Existing literature shows that teacher identity or teacher professional identity is defined differently. In some cases, there is no definition at all. This chapter summarizes how research on teacher identity evolved in the last two decades. A total of 33 papers on teacher identity were reviewed. To analyze the data, we developed a conceptual framework on teacher identity based on the reviewed papers. In reviewing the literature, we found four lines of studies that have attracted more attention from educational researchers: (1) research on factors shaping teachers' professional identities, (2) studies highlighting the tensions and crises in teachers' professional identities, (3) approaches and models to the construction of teachers' professional identities, and (4) research on students' and beginning teachers' identities. Two different conceptions of teacher identity were found in these lines of research: strong and soft approaches. Strong conception of identity emphasizes sameness over time or across persons. Soft or weak conception of teacher identity, in contrast, is based on the premise that identity is flexible and unstable over time and across persons. Most of the research adopted the soft conception. Thus, the strong conception of teacher identity was understudied. Hence, we do not know what counts as the core professional values or meaning in strong conception of teacher identity. Relying on general pedagogy, we propose a framework based on moral, aesthetic, and rational foundations for developing a strong conception of teacher identity.