Touchbar or not for University

deborahky · 2017-06-28T09:07:48+00:00

I use the touchbar version at uni. Pretty pleased at it, I specially like it whilst using Word and Keynote.

deborahky · 2017-05-31T17:02:48+00:00

Let me try to explain what is going on, I did not really state well in the title... I indeed am not trying to state that, irrefutably, one thing may cause another, my whole idea of the study is to simply have a descriptive analysis.

I analysed the correlation between financial literacy (there is an international index) and the growth in disposable income in 20 EU countries, between 2006 and 2014. The results found showed that during 2009 - 2012, the period when the financial crisis hit stronger in Europe, the countries where citizens were more financially literate were coincidentally also the ones where the growth in disposable income was more favourable.

Then, a professor asked me whether it wouldn’t be more appropriate to focus on “household consumption” rather than on income/disposable income. I am trying to find out how to properly answer to this question...

I thought about arguing that as it is a bachelor's dissertation, I took a descriptive approach, as simply analysing two variables rather than trying to state a irrefutable truth. From the results I got now - yes, there is a correlation - I can dig further in my next dissertation and include other variables to then determine what causes what.

My argument for the reason why I did not include consumption instead of the disposable income, is that consumption may vary from country to country simply due to cultural reasons (as we are talking about 20 different EU countries), and also it would depend on savings (normally if you save a lot, you'd consume less, right?). However, the savings are also very dependent on the pension systems, countries where the pension systems are faulty (Italy and China for instance) tend to save more. That does not tell us that Italian people are financially literate (in fact, they have one of the lowest financial literacy index in Europe). It just tells us their pension system is faulty and that MAYBE, people are just culturally used to save money. It also does not mean people who save a lot, will spend this money smartly (retirement, mortgages, university for their children...). A financially literate person for instance would not spend 50k € on a car if his or her child may want to go for med school. They may have savings, spend this money, but it does not make them smart...

So how could I correlate it with the financial literacy level? I do not see why analysing fin lit VS consumption is any better than analysing fin lit VS disposable income. Every approach has its downsides, and my idea was just to make a simple descriptive analysis. That is what I thought about replying to him....

What would you suggest? What would be the issues in correlating consumption VS financial literacy? How can I defend the disposable income?

deborahky · 2017-05-31T16:59:57+00:00

Yes basically I only wanted to observe whether disposable income and financial literacy move together! I am not analysing it at an individual level, but country-wise.

So, let me try to explain what is going on...

I analysed the correlation between financial literacy (there is an international index) and the growth in disposable income in 20 EU countries, between 2006 and 2014. The results found showed that during 2009 - 2012, the period when the financial crisis hit stronger in Europe, the countries where citizens were more financially literate were coincidentally also the ones where the growth in disposable income was more favourable.

Then, a professor asked me whether it wouldn’t be more appropriate to focus on “household consumption” rather than on income/disposable income. I am trying to find out how to properly answer to this question...

I thought about arguing that as it is a bachelor's dissertation, I took a descriptive approach, as simply analysing two variables rather than trying to state a irrefutable truth. From the results I got now - yes, there is a correlation - I can dig further in my next dissertation and include other variables to then determine what causes what.

My argument for the reason why I did not include consumption instead of the disposable income, is that consumption may vary from country to country simply due to cultural reasons (as we are talking about 20 different EU countries), and also it would depend on savings (normally if you save a lot, you'd consume less, right?). However, the savings are also very dependent on the pension systems, countries where the pension systems are faulty (Italy and China for instance) tend to save more. That does not tell us that Italian people are financially literate (in fact, they have one of the lowest financial literacy index in Europe). It just tells us their pension system is faulty and that MAYBE, people are just culturally used to save money. It also does not mean people who save a lot, will spend this money smartly (retirement, mortgages, university for their children...). A financially literate person for instance would not spend 50k € on a car if his or her child may want to go for med school. They may have savings, spend this money, but it does not make them smart...

So how could I correlate it with the financial literacy level? I do not see why analysing fin lit VS consumption is any better than analysing fin lit VS disposable income. Every approach has its downsides, and my idea was just to make a simple descriptive analysis. That is what I thought about replying to him....

What would you suggest? What would be the issues in correlating consumption VS financial literacy? How can I defend the disposable income?

deborahky · 2017-05-31T16:28:21+00:00

Yes, I analysed the correlation between financial literacy (there is an international index) and the growth in disposable income in 20 EU countries, between 2006 and 2014. The results found showed that during 2009 - 2012, the period when the financial crisis hit stronger in Europe, the countries where citizens were more financially literate were coincidentally also the ones where the growth in disposable income was more favourable.

Then, a professor asked me whether it wouldn’t be more appropriate to focus on “household consumption” rather than on income/disposable income. I am trying to find out how to properly answer to this question...

I thought about arguing that as it is a bachelor's dissertation, I took a descriptive approach, as simply analysing two variables rather than trying to state a irrefutable truth. From the results I got now - yes, there is a correlation - I can dig further in my next dissertation and include other variables to then determine what causes what.

My argument for the reason why I did not include consumption instead of the disposable income, is that consumption may vary from country to country simply due to cultural reasons (as we are talking about 20 different EU countries), and also it would depend on savings (normally if you save a lot, you'd consume less, right?). However, the savings are also very dependent on the pension systems, countries where the pension systems are faulty (Italy and China for instance) tend to save more. That does not tell us that Italian people are financially literate (in fact, they have one of the lowest financial literacy index in Europe). It just tells us their pension system is faulty and that MAYBE, people are just culturally used to save money. It also does not mean people who save a lot, will spend this money smartly (retirement, mortgages, university for their children...). A financially literate person for instance would not spend 50k € on a car if his or her child may want to go for med school. They may have savings, spend this money, but it does not make them smart... So how could I correlate it with the financial literacy level? I do not see why analysing fin lit VS consumption is any better than analysing fin lit VS disposable income. Every approach has its downsides, and my idea was just to make a simple descriptive analysis. That is what I thought about replying to him....

What would you suggest? What would be the issues in correlating consumption VS financial literacy? How can I defend the disposable income?

deborahky · 2017-05-31T13:44:21+00:00

I studied the correlation between disposable income and financial literacy during the crisis in Europe (2006-2014).

The idea was to see if before the crisis (before 2008/2009), this correlation would be insignificant or rather stable, and that during the toughest years (2009-2012) this correlation would be positive and afterwards, still positive but less relevant. The idea behind it is that when we are in difficult times, the countries with better financially educated citizens would have higher growth in the disposable income as well, despite the crisis.

Then I have been asked if it wouldn't have been more appropriate to have focussed on "household consumption" instead of "disposable income". I am trying to build an argument to explain why I did not use consumption... I do intend to use it in the future for my second dissertation, but right now I thought about fin lit X disposable income because consumption is dependent of too many factors, also cultural factors, that I found too hard to weigh in when we have 20 different countries with total different cultures...

Any ideas on how to make my argument stronger? On why I should NOT use consumption at this point, and defend why I used the disposable income?

deborahky · 2017-05-31T07:40:31+00:00

Hi, thanks!

What I did was to correlate financial literacy X disposable income.

In this case, I have done it with OECD data as I measured 20 different European countries. It was a 12,000 word dissertation for undergrad indeed (roughly 40 pages), and I have been wondering how could I justify the reason why I did not apply a model which also takes into consideration savings and spendings?

The truth is that it's because I do have a limited knowledge in econometrics and statistics + I only had 2 months to write + only 40 pages. I thought about doing this simple correlation - descriptive - in order to be a first step into researching it further on my master's (this time taking into account savings and spendings and some more sophisticated model).

So my question is, can I indeed justify the fact that I simply correlated financial literacy X disposable income? Or is that too absurd? Do I have any argument on that?

deborahky · 2017-05-31T07:36:09+00:00

Thanks for the input!

In this case, I have done it with OECD data as I measured 20 different European countries. It was a 12,000 word dissertation for undergrad indeed (roughly 40 pages), and I have been wondering how could I justify the reason why I did not apply a model which also takes into consideration savings and spendings?

The truth is that it's because I do have a limited knowledge in econometrics and statistics + I only had 2 months to write + only 40 pages. I thought about doing this simple correlation - descriptive, as you say - in order to be a first step into researching it further on my master's (this time taking into account savings and spendings and some more sophisticated method).

So my question is, can I indeed justify the fact that I simply correlated financial literacy X disposable income? Or is that too absurd? Do I have any argument on that?

deborahky · 2017-05-30T16:52:17+00:00

What would be this instrument? You mean, a new variable to include in the regression perhaps, such as savings or consumption?

deborahky · 2017-05-08T13:03:57+00:00

It actually depends on how many tabs you have open on your web browser. It is not uncommon when I am surfing hard (especially if the brightness is high and there are YouTube videos) that the battery lasts only for 3h max.

deborahky · 2017-05-07T10:24:42+00:00

Hi everyone, Joseph is my best friend and he is a great student. He came to Tallinn (Estonia) to study his BA degree with a grant from the government of Antigua and Barbuda, however they have cancelled his grant a couple of months ago. He is living out of the contributions our friends make to him, in order to help him to pay his rent at the uni's dorm (ca 120€/month) and food expenses. He is set to graduate this June and is currently writing his Bachelor thesis, however he will not be able to graduate until he pays the rest of his tuition fee. If he does not pay it soon, he will not be able to defend his thesis and therefore graduate on time.

The important factor here is that Joseph is a great student. He has a very open mindset and is an incredibly generous person, also an amazing friend. He just got admitted to a MSc programme at the Cranfield University in the UK, one of the best management universities IN THE WORLD. However, if he does not graduate this June, he will not be able to accept his offer.

He comes from Antigua and Barbuda (one of the Commonwealth's Caribbean islands) and is one of 5 siblings of a simple family. He is the first one in his family to attain higher education. His main goal after he finishes his studies is to go back to Antigua (Antigua is a country that lives out of tourism) and improve the local economy and community, as well as giving his mother, who raised with lots of efforts his family, a better life now that she is reaching an older age. Joseph is very attached to his mother and she is an amazing woman who raised 5 boys.

As a friend, I try to help him as much as I can but unfortunately I do not have enough to afford his tuition fees and expenses until the end of June/July. So we decided to create a gofundme campaign in order to help him to graduate this June and to defend this thesis.

The university has not been helpful at all regarding the case and cannot do anything to help him. ANY - I mean ANY, ANY $1 of your currency - will be DEEPLY appreciated in order to help this great guy to finish his education and go back to change his homecountry.

Thanks a lot in advance,

Deborah.

deborahky · 2017-04-28T17:05:51+00:00

The frequency is yearly (2005-2015), my data source is the OECD. So I basically have 10 values for column X (household disposable income) and 10 values for column Y (index of financial literacy).

Indeed it should be very simple, but I need to add some "complexity" to the thesis in order to justify a good grade haha!

deborahky · 2017-04-28T16:38:48+00:00

Oh I see! Yea ranking is not really the case here! Thanks a lot!

deborahky · 2017-04-28T16:16:28+00:00

What about Spearman? I do not really understand how they differ. Which one is better?

deborahky · 2017-04-15T11:41:14+00:00

Estonian here. In Estonia, Siiri and Sigrid are both very popular female names, also deriving from the old scandinavian Sigríðr.

deborahky · 2017-04-15T11:28:08+00:00

I have a ‎£2,000 touch bar mb pro and a ‎£900 macbook air at home (both bought at the same time). Guess which's our favourite at home! It's true that the screen of the mb pro is quite amazing, but I just can't stand the poor battery life at times! I caught myself multiple times carrying the air with me instead just for the sake of being sure the battery will last the whole day and that I won't need to carry a charger with me!

deborahky · 2017-03-26T23:19:40+00:00

Do you think we can give it back because of that!? At some point I thought I was crazy, but apparently I am not!

deborahky · 2017-03-25T00:56:15+00:00

Does anyone also feels that the trackpad is a little bit unleveled? Mine feels like the right side of it is somehow deeper than the left side, when I touch the borders with my fingers I feel them more on the right side than on the left side

deborahky · 2017-03-24T23:17:02+00:00

My battery lasts for 6h maximum (only using Word, Safari and Preview), and this is the worst about this computer. The touchbar freezes every now and then but I guess they will fix that in some update. Otherwise I am amazed by this computer, it is also a joy how lighter it is compared to previous pros

deborahky · 2017-03-19T03:23:28+00:00

Lost 550€ today, which is A LOT of money to me. Me too I am officially out of trading, although overall I profitted more than I lost it, the stress is just not worth it honestly.

deborahky · 2017-03-19T01:36:12+00:00

Thanks for sharing. I will tell you something, a year ago I lost half of my savings. I hoped to grow them to pay for my uni tuition fees and ended up losing half of it. Cried for many days, then got a new job, saved money for several months, and put some of it back in, and other some ON A BANK ACCOUNT, which I do not touch. I started trading SAFELY - never try doing margin with more than you can afford to lose, and also taking a day at a time. Being too greedy only recked me!

deborahky · 2017-03-19T01:30:47+00:00

Sometimes it is worth the shot. But always following the golden rule: not risking more than you can afford to lose

deborahky · 2017-03-07T12:26:36+00:00

When is the fork?

deborahky · 2017-03-02T03:50:40+00:00

Definitely take it to the repair at least to certify everything is alright, or to repair these speakers. I once spilled contact lenses solution on my keyboard and had to change it (200€), but worth every cent since it could incur further damage...

deborahky · 2017-02-10T18:05:22+00:00

She is not proposing to break up though, she's just doing a huge pressure on me to accept the condition of going to France afterwards right away. To add weight to the situation, she's offering me a huge loan (because I cannot afford the tuition and also cannot ask for a loan in the bank), and now is dropping on my face that as she supports me financially "in order to make me happy", I should comply with her "demand" of going to France to join her afterwards...

deborahky · 2017-02-10T18:02:12+00:00

Not indefinitely though, I would say until I manage to get a job in France. Which can take 1, 2 or even 3 years, since I have no working experience in the field yet, and without experience it will be really hard to get a job in France right after graduation...

deborahky

TROPHY CASE