The question of whether ratings agencies convey new information to financial markets when they assign new ratings or change previous ratings has been debated for at least 40 years. In this study I first examine equity market, bond market and CDS market reactions to long and short term rating changes from S & P, Fitch and Moody's. I find that not all the credit rating changes affect the market but only those classified as unanticipated. Subsequently, I study whether the regulatory setting, in which the Credit Ratings Agencies work, can possibly affect the financial markets reactions. Lastly I show that the probability of a future rating change is severely affected by different factors proportional hazard rate models.

Presenting original studies and rich conceptual analyses, this volume reports on theoretical issues involved in the use of simulations and games in educational assessment. Chapters consider how technologies can be used to effectively assess, modify, and enhance learning and assessment in education and training. By highlighting theoretical issues arising from the use of games and simulations as assessment tools for selection and classification, training, and evaluation across educational and workplace contexts, the volume offers both broad conceptual views on assessment, as well as rich descriptions of various, context-specific applications. Through a focus that includes both quantitative and qualitative approaches, policy implications, meta-analysis, and constructs, the volume highlights commonalities and divergence in theoretical research being conducted in relation to K-12, post-secondary, and military education and assessment. In doing so, the collection enhances understanding of how games and simulations can intersect with the science of learning to improve educational outcomes. Given its rigorous and multidisciplinary approach, this book will prove an indispensable resource for researchers and scholars in the fields of educational assessment and evaluation, educational technology, military psychology, and educational psychology.

This book provides an overview of concepts and challenges in intis investigated using structural equation modeling. The conveyed understanding of gaming QoE, empirical eraction quality in the domain of cloud gaming services. The author presents a unified evaluation approach by combining quantitative subjective assessment methods in a concise way. The author discusses a measurement tool, Gaming Input Quality Scale (GIPS), that assesses the interaction quality of such a service available. Furthermore, the author discusses a new framework to assess gaming Quality of Experience (QoE) using a crowdsourcing approach. Lastly, based on a large dataset including dominant network and encoding conditions, the evaluation method is investigated using structural equation modeling. The conveyed understanding of gaming QoE, empirical findings, and models presented in this book should be of particular interest to researchers working in the fields of quality and usability engineering, as well as service providers and network operators.

The capabilities and possibilities of emerging game-based learning technologies bring about a new perspective of learning and instruction. This, in turn, necessitates alternative ways to assess the kinds of learning that are taking place in the game-based environments. The field has been broadening the focus of assessment in game environments (i.e., what we measure), developing processes and methodologies that go beyond psychometrics practices (i.e., how we go about assessment in games), and implementing the game-based assessment (GBA) in real contexts. The current state of the field calls for a revisit of this topic to understand what we have learned from the research on this topic, and how the GBA work changed how the field thinks about assessment beyond game environments. Accordingly, this comprehensive volume covers the current state of research, methodology, and technology of game-based assessment. It features four major themes: what we are measuring in games, how GBA has influenced how people do assessment beyond games, new methods and practices, and implementations of GBA. The audience for this volume includes researchers, graduate students, teachers, and professional practitioners in the areas of education, instructional design, educational psychology, academic and organizational development, and instructional technology.

The capabilities and possibilities of emerging game-based learning technologies bring about a new perspective of learning and instruction. This, in turn, necessitates alternative ways to assess the kinds of learning that is taking place in the virtual worlds or informal settings. accordingly, aligning learning and assessment is the core for creating a favorable and effective learning environment. The edited volume will cover the current state of research, methodology, assessment, and technology of game-based learning. There will be contributions from international distinguished researchers which will present innovative work in the areas of educational psychology, educational diagnostics, educational technology, and learning sciences. The edited volume will be divided into four major parts.

"This book explains how digital environments can easily become familiar and beneficial for educational and professional development, with the implementation of games into various aspects of our environment"--Provided by publisher.