Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Declining Price Anomaly

Abstract Data from wine auctions indicate that identical products sold sequentially typically follow a decreasing pattern of prices, known as the declining price anomaly. This is explained, for both first and second price auctions, by appealing to risk averse bidders. Earlier bids are then equal to expected later prices plus a risk premium associated with the risky future price. We show that this logic rests on the assumption of nondecreasing absolute risk aversion, which is necessary for pure strategy equilibrium bidding functions to exist. Thus, decreasing absolute risk aversion implies ex post inefficiency with positive probability. Data from wine auctions are used to confirm the existence of the declining price anomaly. Journal of Economic Literature Classification Numbers: D43, D44, D81, D82, L81.
Discovery, Connection, Nostalgia

Abstract The senior travel market may be segmented and profiled with a combination of psychological characteristicstravel motives; travel risk perceptions; cognitive age-as well as demographic characteristics. Activities-age, a measure of cognitive age related to the age a person identifies with while enjoying travel activities was able to discriminate between the four travel-motive segments identified with a large survey of the senior market: discovery and self-enhancement, enthusiastic connectors, reluctant travelers and nostalgic travelers. While nostalgia is an important travel motive for the largest segment of senior travelers, the cognitively younger, wealthier, healthier and better educated seniors are motivated to travel for discovery and self-enhancement. Each of the four travel segments provide travel marketers with opportunities for product and service development.
Somatic and Reinforcement-Based Plasticity in the Initial Stages of Human Motor Learning

As one learns to dance or play tennis, the desired somatosensory state is typically unknown. Trial and error is important as motor behavior is shaped by successful and unsuccessful movements. As an experimental model, we designed a task in which human participants make reaching movements to a hidden target and receive positive reinforcement when successful. We identified somatic and reinforcement-based sources of plasticity on the basis of changes in functional connectivity using resting-state fMRI before and after learning. The neuroimaging data revealed reinforcement-related changes in both motor and somatosensory brain areas in which a strengthening of connectivity was related to the amount of positive reinforcement during learning. Areas of prefrontal cortex were similarly altered in relation to reinforcement, with connectivity between sensorimotor areas of putamen and the reward-related ventromedial prefrontal cortex strengthened in relation to the amount of successful feedback received. In other analyses, we assessed connectivity related to changes in movement direction between trials, a type of variability that presumably reflects exploratory strategies during learning. We found that connectivity in a network linking motor and somatosensory cortices increased with trial-to-trial changes in direction. Connectivity varied as well with the change in movement direction following incorrect movements. Here the changes were observed in a somatic memory and decision making network involving ventrolateral prefrontal cortex and second somatosensory cortex. Our results point to the idea that the initial stages of motor learning are not wholly motor but rather involve plasticity in somatic and prefrontal networks related both to reward and exploration. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT In the initial stages of motor learning, the placement of the limbs is learned primarily through trial and error. In an experimental analog, participants make reaching movements to a hidden target and receive positive feedback when successful. We identified sources of plasticity based on changes in functional connectivity using resting-state fMRI. The main finding is that there is a strengthening of connectivity between reward-related prefrontal areas and sensorimotor areas in the basal ganglia and frontal cortex. There is also a strengthening of connectivity related to movement exploration in sensorimotor circuits involved in somatic memory and decision making. The results indicate that initial stages of motor learning depend on plasticity in somatic and prefrontal networks related to reward and exploration.
Contextual Differences in Interpersonal Conflict Management Styles in Japan

The aim of the present study was to investigate the influence of interpersonal category differences based on intimacy and social status (e.g., parents, close friends, acquaintances, and intimate seniors) on five conflict management styles (dominating, integrating, compromising, avoiding, and obliging). Questionnaires were administered to 195 female university students in Japan. A one-way between-subjects multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was performed to test the influence of interpersonal categories. Generally, it was found that both intimacy levels and social status variations significantly influenced interpersonal conflict management styles. The higher the social status and the lower the intimacy level, the more obliging, and avoiding styles were used. To examine combined patterns of five styles on each category, discriminant analysis was conducted. The first function distinguished between intimate-equal status and acquaintance-higher status groups. Integrating and compromising were positively correlated with intimate-equal status, while obliging and avoiding styles are negatively correlated. The second function distinguished between kinship and non-kinship groups. The latter were negatively correlated with dominating, while avoiding and integrating styles were positively related. These findings revealed that subjects changed their conflict handing styles depending on intimacy, social status, and kinship. Although extant studies posited that Japanese social interactions were more collectivistic or based on the interdependent self than American social interactions, the recent research findings have often contradicted this hypothesis (Gudykunst, Matsumoto, TingToomey, Nishida, Kim, & Heyman, 1996; Matsumoto, Weissman, Preston, Brown, & Kupperbusch, 1997). An extensive review of cross-cultural research claimed that there was an inconsistency in these findings (Matsumoto, 1999; Takano & Osaka, 1999). Even metaanalysis research revealed that the Japanese no longer maintain collectivistic tendencies (Oyserman, Coon, & Kemmelmeier, 2002). Reasons for this anomaly were claimed to be changes in the values of the Japanese (Matsumoto et al., 1997), university student samples (Gudykunst et al., 1996), the lack of cross-cultural equivalence in the instruments (Iwawaki, 1994), and the reference group effect (Heine, Lehman, Peng, & Greenholtz, 2002). This inconsistency could be due to methodological problems rather than the recent trend of the individualistic society in Japan. Many intercultural researchers have claimed that communication patterns in Asian cultures are highly contextualized according to the interpersonal relations and situations (e.g., Markus & Kitayama, 1991; Triandis, 1994, 1995). However, this very feature was not well reflected in the research methods. In the examination
Corporate governance and brand performance

Purpose - – This investigation into listed companies at the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange (HOSE) in Vietnam aims to discern whether such constructs as trust and ethics act as precursors for brand performance with the mediating role of corporate governance. Design/methodology/approach - – Three hundred and twelve responses returned from self-administered structured questionnaires relayed to 1,163 middle-level managers were dissected via ANOVAs and structural equation modelling. Findings - – From the findings emerged the interconnections between ethics of justice and calculation-based trust. Ethics of care, on the other hand, tends to cultivate knowledge-based trust and identification-based trust, which in turn positively impact corporate governance. The findings also paved the path from strong corporate governance to high brand performance. Originality/value - – From the findings of the study, the insight into the interconnection pattern of brand performance and its antecedents highlights the magnitude of ethics training program as well as the construction of knowledge-based trust, identification-based trust as well as strong corporate governance in optimizing brand performance in listed companies in Vietnam market.
Measuring Trust: Experiments and Surveys in Contrast and Combination

Trust is a concept that has attracted - significant attention in economic theory and research within the last two decades: it has been applied in a number of contexts and has been investigated both as an explanatory and as a dependent variable. In this paper, we explore the questions of what exactly is measured by the diverse survey-derived scales and experiments claiming to measure trust, and how these different measures are related. Using nationally representative data, we test a commonly used experimental measure of trust for robustness to a number of interferences, finding it to be mostly unsusceptible to stake size, the extent of strategy space, the use of the strategy method, and the characteristics of the experimenters. Inspired by criticism of the widespread trust question used in many surveys, we created a new, improved survey trust scale consisting of three short statements. We show that the dimension of this scale is distinct from trust in institutions and trust in known others. Our new scale is a valid and reliable measure of trust in strangers. The scale is valid in the sense that it correlates with trusting behaviour in the experiment. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the test-retest reliability of six weeks is high. The experimental measure of trust is, on the other hand, not significantly correlated with trust in institutions nor with trust in known others. We therefore conclude that the experimental measure of trust refers not to trust in a general sense, but specifically to trust in strangers.
Labour mobility in transition countries and the impact of institutions

The economic transformation in countries of Central and Eastern Europe as well as Asia has resulted in a diverse picture of change in agricultural labor use. Annual migration within this sector ranges between an emigration of about nearly 8 percent of the agricultural labor force, to an immigration into agriculture of about 10 percent on average. This paper considers the determinants of this occupational labor flow and separates the migration rate in an annual and a timeinvariant part. The most important determinants of the annual migration rate are the ratio of sectoral income per worker and the relative magnitude of agricultural labor. The time-invariant part of the migration is very closely related to initial conditions and the method of land privatization.
Brain–Computer Communication: Motivation, Aim, and Impact of Exploring a Virtual Apartment

The step away from a synchronized or cue-based brain-computer interface (BCI) and from laboratory conditions towards real world applications is very important and crucial in BCI research. This work shows that ten naive subjects can be trained in a synchronous paradigm within three sessions to navigate freely through a virtual apartment, whereby at every junction the subjects could decide by their own, how they wanted to explore the virtual environment (VE). This virtual apartment was designed similar to a real world application, with a goal-oriented task, a high mental workload, and a variable decision period for the subject. All subjects were able to perform long and stable motor imagery over a minimum time of 2 s. Using only three electroencephalogram (EEG) channels to analyze these imaginations, we were able to convert them into navigation commands. Additionally, it could be demonstrated that motivation is a very crucial factor in BCI research; motivated subjects perform much better than unmotivated ones.
Forecasting US Recessions: The Role of Sentiment

We study the role of sentiment variables as predictors for US recessions. We combine sentiment variables with either classical recession predictors or common factors based on a large panel of macroeconomic and financial variables. Sentiment variables hold vast predictive power for US recessions in excess of both the classical recession predictors and the common factors. The strong importance of the sentiment variables is documented both in-sample and out-of-sample.
The impact of training on productivity: evidence from a panel of Italian firms

Purpose - – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of training activity on labor productivity in a panel of Italian firms. Design/methodology/approach - – The use of a large panel data of individual firms allows the author to properly account for the possible endogeneity of training activity and avoid aggregation biases typical in industry-level data. Findings - – The paper finds that training has a positive and significant impact on productivity. While unobserved heterogeneity leads to overestimate the impact of training, failing to account for the endogeneity of training leads to underestimate its effects on productivity. Within occupational groups, training has large and significant effects for blue-collar workers, while the effects for executives and clerks are relatively small. Finally, using a measure of effective training intensity the paper finds that failing to account for training duration may lead to underestimate the effect of training on productivity. Originality/value - – Our data set is unique in terms of size and coverage and overcomes several limitations of previous research using firm-level data. Moreover, besides estimating the overall effect of training on productivity, the paper allows to address some more specific questions. Does the effect of training depend on the type of worker being trained? What is the relevance of effective participation to training activity?
Diversification, Size and Risk: The Case of Bank Acquisitions of Nonbank Financial Firms

We investigate the risk effects of bank acquisitions of insurance companies and securities firms between 1991 and 2012 using a newly constructed dataset of M&A deals. We examine risk changes before and after deal announcements by decomposing risk into systematic and idiosyncratic components. Subsequently, we investigate the relationship between risk and diversification by modelling the determinants of risks. We find that bank combinations with securities firms yield higher risks than combinations with insurance companies. Bank size is an important and consistent determinant of risk whereas diversification is not. Our results inform the continuing debate on diversification versus functional separation of bank activities.
The effects of beta, size and book-to-market on UK stock returns : risk adjustment, characteristic factors and the cross-section of expected stock returns

This research examines the cross-section of expected returns in the UK stock market for the period January 1969-December 2001, with particular reference to the role of risk adjustments and the pricing of characteristic factors. This study has three empirical parts. This first part of the empirical study is concerned with the testing for cross-sectional relationships between expected returns and firm size, book-to-market equity ratio and beta. A methodology similar to that of Fama and French (1992) is employed for this purpose. Most of the research relating the behavior of stock returns to variables such as beta, size and book-to-market equity ratio has been done for the US markets, but there has been limited research relating to the UK markets. In order to further fill the gap, this study provides new evidence by using a more up to date dataset for the UK stock market. In addition, this study further tests the relationship by employing methods not previously employed for the UK market. The cross sectional. relationships are tested using robust regressions. Because of seasonal patterns and small-firm effects detected in prior cross-sectional studies, this study also explores cross-section relations for different months of the year and different size cohorts. In the second part, this study analyses models that explain the time series of stock returns using portfolios that mimic the characteristics found to be priced in the first stage cross-section analysis. It was ascertained whether these characteristics proxy for sensitivity to risk factors in returns or whether the characteristics themselves explain the cross section of expected stock returns. This study also discriminates between these two explanations by testing whether it is the time variation in expected risk premiums as measured by the characteristic factors or time variation in the risk loadings as measured by the risk factors arising from characteristic factors.
On the International Spillovers of US Quantitative Easing

The paper analyses the global spillovers of the Federal Reserve's unconventional monetary policy measures. First, we find that Fed measures in the early phase of the crisis (QE1), but not since 2010 (QE2), were highly effective in lowering sovereign yields and raising equity markets in the US and globally across 65 countries. Yet Fed policies functioned in a procyclical manner for capital flows to emerging markets (EMEs) and a counter-cyclical way for the US, triggering a portfolio rebalancing across countries out of EMEs into US equity and bond funds under QE1, and in the opposite direction under QE2. Second, the impact of Fed operations, such as Treasury and MBS purchases, on portfolio allocations and asset prices dwarfed those of Fed announcements, underlining the importance of the market repair and liquidity functions of Fed policies. Third, we find no evidence that FX or capital account policies helped countries shield themselves from these US policy spillovers, but rather that responses to Fed policies are related to country risk. The results thus illustrate how US unconventional measures have contributed to portfolio reallocation as well as a re-pricing of risk in global financial markets.
BID: a novel BH3 domain-only death agonist.

The BCL-2 family of proteins consists of both antagonists (e.g., BCL-2) and agonists (e.g., BAX) that regulate apoptosis and compete through dimerization. The BH1 and BH2 domains of BCL-2 are required to heterodimerize with BAX and to repress cell death; conversely, the BH3 domain of BAX is required to heterodimerize with BCL-2 and to promote cell death. To extend this pathway, we used interactive cloning to identify Bid, which encodes a novel death agonist that heterodimerizes with either agonists (BAX) or antagonists (BCL-2). BID possesses only the BH3 domain, lacks a carboxy-terminal signal-anchor segment, and is found in both cytosolic and membrane locations. BID counters the protective effect of BCL-2. Moreover, expression of BID, without another death stimulus, induces ICE-like proteases and apoptosis. Mutagenesis revealed that an intact BH3 domain of BID was required to bind the BH1 domain of either BCL-2 or BAX. A BH3 mutant of BID that still heterodimerized with BCL-2 failed to promote apoptosis, dissociating these activities. In contrast, the only BID BH3 mutant that retained death promoting activity interacted with BAX, but not BCL-2. This BH3-only molecule supports BH3 as a death domain and favors a model in which BID represents a death ligand for the membrane-bound receptor BAX.
Cervical nodal metastases in squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck: What to expect

The treatment and management of malignancies of the head and neck is directly altered by the presence of metastatic cervical adenopathy. The treatment of nodal metastases in squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (HNSCCA) is determined by the lymphatic drainage of the upper aerodigestive tract. The lymphatic drainage is site‐specific and occurs in a predictable manner. The purpose of this text is to provide an overview of the normal routes of lymphatic drainage in the head and neck and correlate this with the current nodal classification system. The specific aims of this manuscript are to 1) illustrate the expected lymphatic drainage patterns of HNSCCA arising in the different subsites (nasopharynx, oropharynx, oral cavity, larynx, and hypopharynx) and 2) review the expected frequency of metastases within nodal groups for HNSCCA that arise in these locations. An understanding of the topographical distribution and incidence of cervical lymph node metastases plays an integral role in the physical examination and radiological evaluation of patients with HNSCCA. For the neuroradiologist, this information may increases the ability to identify those nodal groups at risk for metastatic involvement. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Head Neck 23: 995–1005, 2001.
Aggressive behavior in clinically depressed adolescents.

OBJECTIVE To investigate the prevalence and characteristics of aggressive behavior in adolescent inpatients and outpatients with major depressive disorder (MDD). Differences between males and females in prevalence and type of aggression, and level of parent-child agreement in report of aggression, were analyzed. METHOD Participants were 74 adolescents with MDD, aged 13 to 17 years. The Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis I Disorders was used to identify MDD. Adolescents' aggressive behavior was assessed using an adapted version of the Brown-Goodwin Assessment for Lifetime History of Aggression; the Measure of Aggression, Violence, and Rage in Children; and the Buss-Durkee Hostility Inventory-Adapted Version. RESULTS Results indicate high levels of aggressive behavior in adolescents with MDD. Amount and type of aggression did not differ by gender. Results indicate poor correspondence between parent and adolescent reports of aggression, which was most marked for females. CONCLUSIONS Aggressive behaviors are highly prevalent in depressed youths, with similar types and levels evident in males and females. Parents tend to under-report and may not be cognizant of aggressive behavior that occurs outside the home, particularly for females.
The Transition of Land to Urban Use

This paper investigates the economics of the transition of land from rural to urban use. A simple model is employed to examine the developer's problem: When and at what destiny should vacant land be developed to maximize the present value of the Land? A series of rules emerges from the analysis to the timing and density of new development. In the latter half of the paper, the rules are tested against recent Canadian experience and peform well.