Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Macroeconomic Consequences of Global Endogenous Migration: A General Equilibrium Analysis

In this paper, we analyze the demographic and economic consequences of endogenous migrations flows over the coming decades in a multi-regions overlapping generations general equilibrium model (INGENUE 2) in which the world is divided in ten regions. Our analysis offers a global perspective on the consequences of international migration flows. The value-added of the INGENUE 2 model is that it enables us to analyze the effects of international migration on both the destination and the origin regions. A further innovation of our analysis is that international migration is treated as endogenous. In a first step, we estimate the determinants of migration in an econometric model. We show, in particular, that the income differential is one of the key variables explaining migration flows. In a second step, we endogenize migration flows in the INGENUE 2 model. In order to do so, we use the econometrically estimated relationships between demographic and income developments in the INGENUE model, which enables us to project long-run migration flows and to improve on projections of purely demographic models.
The case for ISO 9000

Summarizes the arguments for and against the ISO 9000 standard and examines the perceived advantages and disadvantages of implementing it. Reports the results of a survey of over 100 quality managers/representatives of ISO 9000‐certified organizations in the service and manufacturing sectors of UK industry. Too many ISO 9000 surveys in the past have sought the opinions of organizational managers who have had little or no operational experience of the standard on a day‐to‐day basis. This paper aims to redress this anomaly. Survey results indicate quite conclusively that most quality professionals are content with ISO 9000’s contribution to quality improvement, dismissing many of the past criticisms of the standard as inappropriate. These results can form the basis of a case for the implementation of the standard for those organisations currently trying to decide whether to implement it or not.
RF excitation of an oscillator with several tunneling devices in series

An oscillator with several tunneling devices connected in series has a demanding excitation condition due to the DC instability of the series connection. An RF source with a frequency close to the oscillation frequency may be used to overcome this problem. The experimental demonstration of an RF source excitation of an oscillator with two tunnel diodes in series at 2 GHz is described here. The RF power necessary for the excitation is about 15 dB lower than the output power of the oscillator. <<ETX>>
Commodity Markets and Bond Markets in a Small, Fixed-Exchange-Rate Economy

Commodity markets and bond markets in a small, fixed-exchange-rate economy. This paper opens up Metzler's macro-model for the small-country, fixedexchange-rate case by explicitly disaggregating between traded and non-traded goods and between domestic bonds and foreign bonds. The distinction between stocks and flows carries over to that between the stock capital account (the level of reserves) and the flow capital and trade accounts (the balance of payments). Fiscal policy in non-traded goods causes an increase in reserves and has an ambiguous influence on the trade account. Monetary policy in domestic bonds worsens the trade account and has an ambiguous effect on the level of reserves.
Bubbles, Crises, and Policy

In many recent cases financial liberalization has led to a bubble in asset prices. The bursting of the bubble results in a banking crisis and recession. It is suggested such bubbles are caused by an interaction of the risk-shifting problem arising from agency relationships in intermediaries and uncertainty concerning the expansion of credit. Two important policy objectives are identified. The first is the prevention of bubbles in asset prices. The second is minimizing the impact of spillovers on to the real economy during post-bubble banking crises. The different policy approaches taken in Norway and Japan are compared. Copyright 1999 by Oxford University Press.
Locational marginal price forecasting in deregulated electric markets using a recurrent neural network

Recently, deregulation has had a great impact on the electric power industry in various countries. Bidding competition is one of the main transaction approaches after deregulation. Locational marginal prices (LMPs) resulting from bidding competition signal electricity values at a node or in an area. This paper presents a method using recurrent neural networks (RNNs) for forecasting LMPs. These RNNs were trained/validated and tested with historical data from the PJM power system. It was found that the proposed neural networks are capable of forecasting LMP values efficiently.
THE JOINT EFFECTS OF BUDGETARY SLACK AND TASK UNCERTAINTY ON SUBUNIT PERFORMANCE

Even though managers may build slack into their budgets to enhance their prospects for reward, the literature proposes that there may be circumstances when budgetary slack may be utilized by subunits to provide them with a degree of flexibility in responding effectively to changes in operating conditions. This suggests that the use to which budgetary slack is put, in contrast to any dysfunctional reason for its creation, may have implications for subunit performance particularly when task uncertainty is high. A theory was developed and an empirical assessment was conducted to evaluate whether slack moderates the relation between task uncertainty and subunit performance, paying specific attention to the effects of the task difficulty and task variability dimensions of task uncertainty. The results of the study suggest that slack has a positive role to play in Influencing the relation between task difficulty and subunit performance. There was no evidence, however, that slack and task variability jointly influence performance.
Sports Stadiums and Area Development: A Critical Review

Should local governments subsidize the construction and operation of sports stadiums? This is being debated in cities throughout North America, and several factors have conspired to elevate this issue to headline status. Local government officials, burdened by the deteriorating financial health of their cities, have sought ways to mollify critics. Since some political strategists have argued that the presence of professional sports imparts economic prosperity, some local political leaders have hitched their wagons to the sports star. But is professional sports a panacea for sagging urban economic fortunes? Many are skeptical that subsidizing sports stadiums is worth the costs. We examine published and unpublished literature as well as our own research to chronicle, analyze, and critique the use of publicly financed sports stadiums as a vehicle for economic progress. We provide information for both the academic and the practitioner on the types of questions that should be posed when making decisions about stadiums. In the first section we detail and analyze the recent history and future plans for city financial involvement in sports stadium projects. We discuss the costs and benefits of stadium-based development rationale in the second section, and the next section analyzes its validity. Factors that may prove decisive in determining the economic successfulness of an individual stadium project are observed in the fourth section, and the last section concludes the article.
QTL analysis of a rapidly evolving speciation phenotype in the Hawaiian cricket Laupala

In mate recognition systems, the functional necessity to coordinate traits involved in sexual communication should result in reduced pairing potential for new variants outside the distribution of common reproductive signals. Yet, many closely related, sexual species differ in mate recognition traits, suggesting that directional selection influences the divergence of mate recognition systems. Species of the endemic Hawaiian cricket genus Laupala are morphologically and ecologically cryptic, although both male calling song and female acoustic preference have diverged rapidly between closely related species. These mate recognition phenotypes are therefore often likely to be speciation phenotypes, i.e. traits whose divergence contributes, directly or indirectly, to a reduction of gene flow during speciation, given their frequent participation in early lineage divergence. We conducted a replicated, quantitative trait loci (QTL) mapping study of the genetic basis of differences in male calling song between two closely related species, Laupala paranigra and Laupala kohalensis, allowing us to examine the genetic basis of traits involved in rapid speciation. We found statistical support for eight QTL in one replicate, with at least four of these QTL mapping to the same regions in a second replicate. QTL effects ranged between 3.0% and 10.7% of the difference in pulse rate between L. paranigra and L. kohalensis, and are thus of moderate to small effect. All QTL identified show directional effects consistent with the hypothesis of directional selection. Thus, we conclude that rapid speciation can occur under the influence of many genes of moderate to small effect. This study implicates the role of directional selection in the divergence of mate recognition traits and speciation the Hawaiian cricket genus Laupala.
What Do Unions Do to Productivity? A Meta-Analysis

The impact of unions on productivity is explored using meta-analysis and meta-regression analysis. It is shown that most of the variation in published results is due to specification differences between studies. After controlling for differences between studies, a negative association between unions and productivity is established for the United Kingdom, whereas a positive association is established for the United States in general and for U.S. manufacturing.
Decades of daily data versus one week data with ultra-high frequency: a note on estimating expected rate of return and volatility

Are twodecades of daily observations more plausible thana set of hourly data of the same size? Is it true that the more data there is the better the estimate? To answer those questions, an understanding of two types of consistency associated with estimates of return andvolatility is fundamental. The first consistency depends critically upon the total length of observation period and reciprocates with estimation of return; while the second emphasizes the role of sampling frequency and is more relevant when dealing with estimation of volatility. This letter addresses certain important issues from estimating return and volatility with focuses on the nature and the distinction of these two consistencies as well as their respective empirical implications.
Negotiations Under the Threat of an Auction

Many takeovers occur after one-on-one negotiations, which suggests a troubling lack of competition. We seek to determine whether acquirers in such friendly deals are truly insulated from competitive pressures. We study two countervailing influences: (1) potential but unobserved latent competition, i.e., the likelihood that rival bidders could appear, and (2) anticipated auction costs when negotiations fail. Using various proxies, we find that latent competition increases the bid premium offered in negotiated deals and that auction costs reduce the premium.
Growth trend during the first six months of life in male infants with different type of feeding.

AIM The aim of the study was to assess the differences in the growth trend of male infants fed with human milk (HM), formula feeding (FF) and both (HM+FF), focusing the attention on weight increase in the first six months of life. METHODS We enrolled 146 healthy male infants born from a spontaneous delivery; exclusion criteria were all conditions that required parenteral nutrition; the follow-up visits were at 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 months of life. All infants were subsequently divided into three groups depending on the three feeding type (HM, FF, HM+FF) and then in other three subgroups depending on birth weight and gestational age (A, B, C). RESULTS The three feeding type groups appeared homogeneous for gestational age and birth weight at every time of follow-up. The weight differences between subgroup A, B, C were not statistically significant, showing a regular growth trends. CONCLUSION It is possible to assess the nutritional balance and the adequacy in composition of formula. This suggests that, in our population, the possible factors that could influence the rapid weight gain, characterized by a peak in the growth trend profile, do not concern the nutrition during the first six months of life but at most the weaning.
Association and linkage analyses of restriction fragment length polymorphisms for the human renin and antithrombin III genes in essential hypertension.

Essential hypertension is a highly hereditable disorder in which genetic influences predominate over environmental factors. The molecular genetic profiles which predispose to essential hypertension are not known. In rats with genetic hypertension, there is some recent evidence pointing to linkage of renin gene alleles with blood pressure. The genes for renin and antithrombin III belong to a conserved synteny group which, in humans, spans the q21.3-32.3 region of chromosome I and, in rats, is linkage group X on chromosome 13. The present study examined the association of particular human renin gene (REN) and antithrombin III gene (AT3) polymorphisms with essential hypertension by comparing the frequency of specific alleles for each of these genes in 50 hypertensive offspring of hypertensive parents and 91 normotensive offspring of normotensive parents. In addition, linkage relationships were examined in hypertensive pedigrees with multiple affected individuals. Alleles of a REN HindIII restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) were detected using a genomic clone, lambda HR5, to probe Southern blots of HindIII-cut leucocyte DNA, and those for an AT3 PstI RFLP were detected by phATIII 113 complementary DNA probe. The frequencies of each REN allele in the hypertensive group were 0.76 and 0.24 compared with 0.74 and 0.26 in the normotensive group. For AT3, hypertensive allele frequencies were 0.49 and 0.51 compared with normotensive values of 0.54 and 0.46. These differences were not significant by chi 2 analysis (P greater than 0.2). (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Teachers Matter: Connecting Work, Lives And Effectiveness

"Teachers Matter" offers the most definitive portrait of teachers' lives and work to date. At a time when teaching standards are high on the political and social agenda, the quality and commitment of teaching staff is seen as paramount and they are viewed as pivotal to the economic and social well being of society. But: What are the influences that help or hinder teachers' commitment? Is there an association between commitment and pupil attainment? Why are teachers' identities important? What are teachers' needs and concerns in different professional life phases? Does school context count? Based on a DfES funded study of 300 teachers in 100 primary and secondary schools in England, the authors identify different patterns of influence and effect between groups of teachers, which provide powerful evidence of the complexities of teachers' work, lives, identity and commitment, in relation to their sense of agency, well-being, resilience and pupil attitudes and attainment. This, in turn, provides a clear message for teachers, teachers' associations, school leaders and policy makers, in understanding and supporting the need to build and sustain school and classroom effectiveness. The book addresses issues such as the importance of career development, the relationships between school leadership, culture and teachers' lives, maintaining a work-life balance, identity and well-being and the connection between commitment, resilience and effectiveness in the classroom. Original and highly relevant, "Teachers Matter" is invaluable reading for teachers, head teachers, researchers and teacher educators.
The New ‘Comprador Class’: the re-emergence of bureaucratic capitalists in post-Deng China

The past two decades have witnessed increasing use of the concept of ‘bureaucratic capitalism’ to explain various endemic problems in China, including corruption and social inequalities. Yet, scant attention has been paid to the rise of key bureaucratic capitalists and the state corporations under their control. Neither has there been adequate discussion of the recent form of bureaucratic capitalism in contradistinction to that of the previous forms evolving in the republican and early reform periods. In question therefore is a small circle of bureaucratic bourgeoisie who are children, close relatives or protégés of top political leaders. They have come to control key state-corporation apparatuses, and some of whom possess close ties with the military. In conclusion, the future implications of this emergent form of bureaucratic capitalism on Chinese politics will also be discussed.
Cash Compensation and Earnings' Components Around CEO Turnover: Does the Compensation Committee See Over the Horizon?

Managers in their terminal years have an incentive to manipulate earnings to enhance earnings based bonuses. We examine this horizon problem by considering the role of the compensation committee in setting terminal-year compensation. We predict that compensation committees are aware of the horizon problem and intervene when setting pay in terminal years. We find that the relation between cash compensation changes and discretionary accruals changes is significantly reduced. This finding is similar for both positive and negative discretionary accrual changes. Our findings suggest that compensation committees do not act naively when setting CEO compensation in the terminal year.
Estimating elasticities of demand and willingness to pay for clean drinking water: empirical evidence from a household level survey in northern Pakistan

This study estimates income and price elasticities of demand for improved drinking water quality in Peshawar, Pakistan. The estimates indicate that improved water can be described as a necessity but normal and an ordinary and price elastic service. Confidence intervals show however that the classification as a necessity is statistically significant. Income elasticities of willingness to pay for drinking water are estimated. The study finds that income and willingness to pay vary directly and significantly. The elasticity estimates, in general, are greater than zero, but less than unity. The study concludes that improvements in drinking water are more beneficial to low‐income groups than for high‐income groups.
Comparison of the Wells and Revised Geneva Scores for the diagnosis of pulmonary embolism: an Australian experience

Background/Aims: Clinical prediction rules form an integral component of guidelines on the diagnostic approach to pulmonary embolism (PE). The Wells Score is commonly used but is subjective, while the newer Revised Geneva Score is based entirely on objective variables. The aim of this study was to compare the diagnostic accuracy of the Wells and Revised Geneva Scores for the diagnosis of PE.
Hospitality Education at the Crossroads

As hospitality educators, it is our mandate to seek solutions, to do research, to get involved, to teach students new ideas and new ways of doing things, and to be visionaries of the industry. Yet, if we examine many of the courses we are teaching, we will probably find that the bulk of them emphasize the same concerns today as they did twenty years ago
The effects of adding real estate into mixed‐asset portfolios in South Africa

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the performance of asset classes in the South African investment market and assess the diversification benefits from adding listed property stock into domestic mixed‐asset portfolios.Design/methodology/approach – The data sets comprise of quarterly returns on property listed stock, all share, all bond and 90 day Treasury bill for the period of January, 1999 to December, 2009. Return‐risk performance of all the assets were compared using mean return, standard deviation, mean standard deviation ratio, coefficient of variation and correlation coefficient. To determine return enhancement and risk reduction benefits of property listed stock in mixed‐asset portfolios, 22 naive portfolios (17 with property stock and five without) were constructed and, their return and risk levels, obtained using Markowitz's mean variance analysis, were compared.Findings – The results showed that there was evidence of superior return and risk‐adjusted performance of real estate st.
An Investigation of the Demographic, Psychological, Psychographic, and Behavioral Characteristics of Chinese Senior Leisure Travelers

This study was designed to investigate those variables that would provide a fuller description as well as a segmentation of the views of Chinese senior leisure travelers from the People's Republic of China. The empirical data of this study suggest that Chinese seniors comprise a collection of submarkets based on travel frequency, each with its own characteristics with respect to demographic variables, reasons or motivations for leisure travel, attitudes toward leisure travel, perceived barriers preventing them from taking leisure trips, activities they do during a leisure trip, criteria used to select a travel destination, and the use of the Internet in their travel behavior. The findings of this study provide a foundation for a variety of marketing strategies aimed at the market for Chinese senior leisure travel as well as for cross-cultural comparisons. This study thus makes significant contributions to senior tourism by extending our understanding of senior travel behavior in an important, emerging market; it is also hoped that the study will provoke more discussion on senior leisure travel in developing countries as well as cross-cultural comparisons between developing and developed regions.
Governance and State Power: A Network Analysis of European Security

A growing number of scholars argue that the development of the common security and defence policy (CSDP) should be analysed as the institutionalization of a system of security governance. Although governance approaches carry the promise of a sophisticated, empirically grounded picture of CSDP, they have been criticized for their lack of attention to power. This is because governance approaches focus on institutional rules and ideas rather than the social structure that underpins them. To refine the notion of security governance, this article analyses co-operation patterns through social network analysis. Confirming the governance image, it maps out a complex constellation of CSDP actors that features cross-border and cross-level ties between different national and EU policy actors. It is also found, however, that CSDP is dominated by a handful of traditional state actors in particular, Brussels-based national ambassadors who retain strategic positions vis-a-vis weaker supranational and non-state actors. These actors are not giving up on state power, but reconstituting it at the supranational level.