Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
THE HISTORY OF ATTITUDES TOWARDS INTERDEPENDENT PREFERENCES

The notion of interdependent preferences has a long history in economic thought. In its general form, it can be found in the works of authors such as Hume, Rae, Genovesi, Smith, Marx, and Mill, among others. In the twentieth century, the idea became more widespread mainly through the works of Veblen and Duesenberry. Recently, an increasing number of theorists are interested in issues such as reference income, relative consumption, and positional goods, which are all based on the concept of interdependent preferences. However, such preferences were never part of the corpus of orthodox theory. For instance, although Pareto and Marshall were aware of their existence, they did not advocate their incorporation into orthodox economic theory. This paper argues that the structure of mainstream economic methodology and the challenging theoretical implications of adopting interdependent preferences were two possible reasons for the mainstream rejection. The discussion includes the more recent orthodox attitudes towards such preferences.
Bunyaviruses are common in male and female Ixodes scapularis ticks in central Pennsylvania

The blacklegged tick Ixodes scapularis is widely distributed in the United States and transmits multiple pathogens to humans, wildlife and domestic animals. Recently, several novel viruses in the family Bunyaviridae (South Bay virus (SBV) and Blacklegged tick phlebovirus (BTPV)) were identified infecting female I. scapularis ticks collected in New York State. We used metagenomic sequencing to investigate the distribution of viruses infecting male and female I. scapularis ticks collected in Centre County, Pennsylvania. We identified both SBV and BTPV in both male and female ticks from all collection locations. The role of male I. scapularis in pathogen epidemiology has been overlooked because they rarely bite and are not considered important pathogen vectors. However, males may act as reservoirs for pathogens that can then be transmitted to females during mating. Our data highlight the importance of examining all potential avenues of pathogen maintenance and transmission throughout the vector-pathogen life cycle in order to understand the epidemiology of tick-borne pathogens.
Art in context: the massive metalworking tradition of North-East Scotland

The ancient Celtic world evokes debate, discussion, romanticism and mythicism. On the one hand it represents a specialist area of archaeological interest, on the other, it has a wide general appeal. The Celtic world is accessible through archaeology, history, linguistics and art history. Of these disciplines, art history offers the most direct message to a wider audience. This volume of 37 papers brings together a truly international group of pre-eminent specialists in the field of Celtic art and Celtic studies. It is a benchmark volume the like of which has not been seen since the publication of Paul Jacobsthal’s Early Celtic Art in 1944. The papers chart the history of attempts to understand Celtic art and argue for novel approaches in discussions spanning the whole of Continental Europe and the British Isles. This new body of international scholarship will give the reader a sense of the richness of the material and current debates. Artefacts of rich form and decoration, which we might call art, provide a most sensitive set of indicators of key areas of past societies, their power, politics and transformations. With its broad geographical scope, this volume offers a timely opportunity to re-assess contacts, context, transmission and meaning in Celtic art for understanding the development of European cultures, identities and economies in pre- and proto-history.
Incentive Alignment through Performance-Focused Shareholder Proposals on Management Compensation

We investigate an emerging pay-performance activism under a natural setting of performance-focused shareholder proposals rule (PSPs) (Rule 14a-8) established by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for top management compensation. We find that: (1) PSP sponsors successfully identify firms that suffer from a misalignment of managers and shareholders’ interests; (2) CEOs’ pay-for-performance sensitivity increases in the post-proposal period; and (3) shareholders benefit through positive stock returns as related to proposal filing dates; while (4) bondholders suffer significant negative returns and even more so for high-leverage firms. Our additional analyses suggest that perceived risk increase is the main driver of observed negative abnormal bond returns. However, we fail to find similar results for shareholder proposals not focused on performance (NPSPs). Collectively, our results indicate that shareholders benefit from this pay-performance activism through PSPs (but not NPSPs), but potentially at the expense of bondholders.
Applied logistics knowledge impact on financial performance

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationships between internal process improvement investments, applied channel logistics knowledge, and financial performance for make‐to‐order (MTO) and make‐to‐stock (MTS) manufacturers. This study takes the position that knowledge, specifically tacit or applied knowledge, may serve as a key indicator of organizational performance. In this study, the tacit knowledge exhibited in intentional logistics integration activities is captured in the construct applied channel logistics knowledge.Design/methodology/approach – A structural equation model, controlling for firm size and demand uncertainty, is used to examine these relationships. A sampling frame of 1,264 senior manufacturing “executives” provided 222 usable surveys representing 210 firms.Findings – The results show that for MTO firms, higher investments in internal process improvement relate to higher applied channel logistics knowledge, whereas for MTS firms, the relationship does not hold, and.
Profitability and technical efficiency of aquaculture systems in pampaanga, philippines

Abstract We evaluate the profitability and technical efficiency of aquaculture in the Philippines. Farm‐level data are used to compare two production systems corresponding to the intensive monoculture of tilapia in freshwater ponds and the extensive polyculture of shrimps and fish in brackish water ponds. Both activities are very lucrative, with brackish water aquaculture achieving the higher level of profit per farm. Stochastic frontier production functions reveal that technical efficiency is low in brackish water aquaculture, with a mean of 53%, explained primarily by the operator's experience and by the frequency of his visits to the farm. In freshwater aquaculture, the farms achieve a mean efficiency level of 83%. The results suggest that the provision of extension services to brackish water fish farms might be a cost‐effective way of increasing production and productivity in that sector. By contrast, technological change will have to be the driving force of future productivity growth in freshwater aquaculture.
Effects of News About Genetics and Obesity on Controllability Attribution and Helping Behavior

This study tested the effects of news stories that offer gene-based explanations of obesity compared to behavior-based and complex (combining genetic and behavioral) explanations on Korean undergraduate students. Controllability attribution and willingness to help obese people were expected as outcomes of the 3 different news types based on attribution theory. The study results indicate significant interactions between news types and audiences' predispositions (i.e., health control beliefs) on the outcome measures. Genetic explanations of obesity, compared to behavioral explanations, tend to decrease the public's perceived controllability of obesity, yet increase their willingness to help obese people. These effects were particularly strong for people who had lower prior health control beliefs. The theoretical and practical implications of the study are further discussed.
Informative value of firm capital structure

In this paper, the informative value of firm capital structure is analyzed. In the first part, a theoretical background regarding capital structure theories is presented. In the second (empirical) part, the Ohlson (1995) valuation framework is used in order to analyze the informative value of firm capital structure on a sample of data for the Czech (non-financial) companies. A contextual approach is adopted and the value relevance of debt is analyzed considering the signalling and the optimal capital structure theories. According to the results and in accordance with the optimal capital structure theory, debt is more penalized in case of the companies that deviate from the target debt level. Moreover, debt proves to be a positive signal for the firms with a higher earnings growth potential. This, in turn, is consistent with the signalling theory.
Does the Stock Market See a Zero or Small Positive Earnings Surprise as a Red Flag?

Manipulation of earnings or analyst earnings expectations is costly to firms. Manipulators of earnings and/or analyst earnings expectations therefore are likely to report earnings that precisely meet or narrowly beat analyst earnings forecasts, resulting in a zero or small positive earnings surprise. We predict that investors see such an earnings surprise as a red flag in their attempt to identify manipulators of earnings and/or analyst earnings expectations. Consistent with our prediction, we find the coefficient in the regression of abnormal stock returns on the earnings surprise (known in the literature as the earnings response coefficients or ERC) is significantly lower for zero and small positive earnings surprises than for earnings surprises in adjacent ranges. We find evidence that analysts see a zero or small positive earnings surprise as a red flag as well. The coefficient in the regression of analyst revisions of next-quarter earnings forecasts on the earnings surprise (the analyst ERC) is significantly lower for zero and small positive earnings surprises than for earnings surprises in adjacent ranges.
Relationship quality in a coproduction context and the moderating effects of relationship orientation

Despite the much discussed link between relationship quality (RQ) and loyalty, the complexity of the connection and the distinct roles various RQ-constructs play circumstantially merit further investigation. This study examines the RQ effect on attitudinal and behavioural loyalty in a coproduction context, as well as the antecedents of RQ. The results demonstrate that trust is the key factor for increasing the behavioural loyalty of customers, while satisfaction primarily impacts on attitudinal loyalty. Service quality and relationship investment are two major drivers of customer trust and satisfaction. For the moderating effect of relationship orientation, we tested the proposed model on both the relational and transactional segments. We found that trust is the key determinant of loyalty outcomes for the relational segments, while satisfaction is more influential for the transactional segment. Moreover, communication quality pleases the relational segment more than it does the transactional segment. Service firms can use these findings as guidelines to locate resources while implementing customer relationship management programs.
TAXATION AND ECONOMIC GROWTH: THE CASE OF TAIWAN

The effects of vorious tax policies on economic growth are recx amined on the basis of the recently developed endogenous growth therory The assertion of Henry George that the structure of taxation is more important than the level of taxation in explaining economic growth is elaborated and verified Annual data for Taiwan from 1954 to 1986 shows that the aggregate tax rate does not have significant effect on the long run growth rates of private ouptup, consumption and production factor inputs This result is due to the poostivie effect of consumption taxation offsetting the negative effect of factor taxation on economic growth
Process Innovation Activity in a Mixed Oligopoly: The Role of Cooperatives

This article develops a sequential game-theoretic model of heterogeneous producers to examine the market and welfare effects of cooperative involvement in process innovation activity in the agricultural sector. The analysis examines an open-membership, input-supplying cooperative (co-op) that maximizes member welfare and finances its innovation activity through retained earnings. Analytical results show that the presence of the co-op can increase the arrival rate of innovations while reducing the price of agricultural inputs. Cooperative involvement in innovation activity can thus be welfare enhancing and socially desirable with its effectiveness being determined by the degree of producer heterogeneity and the size of innovation costs.
Microstructure and asset pricing

Market microstructure and asset pricing both consider the behavior and formation of prices in asset markets. Yet neither literature explicitly recognizes the importance and role of the factors so crucial to the other approach. This survey seeks to join the two literatures by surveying the work linking microstructure factors to asset price dynamics. In the short run, these dynamics involve issues such as the auto-correlation and cross-correlation structure of stocks, and our survey will examine the literature relating these correlation structures to microstructure factors such as non-synchronous trading and dealer behavior. In the longer run, issues such as liquidity and the relation of private information to asset price dynamics are important. We survey the theoretical work linking microstructure factors to long-run returns, and we consider why stock prices might be expected to reflect premia related to liquidity or informational asymmetries. We also survey the empirical literature testing these relationships. We then discuss what issues remain contentious, and we provide some guidance for future research. We hope to show in this survey that asset-pricing dynamics may be better understood by recognizing the role played by microstructure factors, and that microstructure research can be enhanced by a greater understanding of its linkages with fundamental economic variables.
Asthma, allergy, the athlete and the Olympics

As the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing approach, both the general public and health care professionals are gaining interest in the potential health implications of sport. When asthma and allergy are present in athletes, this may affect their performance and achievements and justify the special attention of health care professionals who specialize in taking care of top athletes. However, the impact of allergy and asthma on sport and exercise goes further than just top athletes. The Editors of Allergy decided that in this issue they would focus the attention of allergy and asthma specialists by presenting a series of articles on the relationship between sport, asthma and allergy in the hope that an increased awareness of these problems would be highlighted not only for sports medicine doctors but also for all practicing allergists. Exercise-induced asthma (EIA) is a general concern for growing children and adolescents. In most international guidelines, one of the main objectives of treating asthma during childhood is for the child to be able to master EIA. Also among athletes, and especially elite athletes, EIA and bronchial hyperresponsiveness (BHR) have become major problems with regard to the correct diagnosis and to treatment. EIA is increasingly common among the top athletes of several different types of sport. Traditionally this has been reported mainly in athletes competing in endurance sports in cold climates, especially among crosscountry skiers (1, 2) and swimmers (3, 4), but also among endurance athletes in summer sports (5). A surprisingly high prevalence of asthma (56%) diagnosed by the reversibility of lung function to inhaled s2-agonists (56%) was reported among professional Canadian football players (6). The prevalence of EIA among top athletes has increased over the past decades. Weiler et al. reported 11% prevalence of EIA among American athletes participating in the 1984 Summer Olympic Games (7) and an increase to a prevalence of more than 20% was noticed among American participants in the 1996 Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta (8).
A prospective study of predictors of adherence to combination antiretroviral medication

AbstractOBJECTIVE: Adherence to complex antiretroviral therapy (ART) is critical for HIV treatment but difficult to achieve. The development of interventions to improve adherence requires detailed information regarding barriers to adherence. However, short follow-up and inadequate adherence measures have hampered such determinations. We sought to assess predictors of long-term (up to 1 year) adherence to newly initiated combination ART using an accurate, objective adherence measure. DESIGN: A prospective cohort study of 140 HIV-infected patients at a county hospital HIV clinic during the year following initiation of a new highly active ART regimen. MEASURES AND MAIN RESULTS: We measured adherence every 4 weeks, computing a composite score from electronic medication bottle caps, pill count and self-report. We evaluated patient demographic, biomedical, and psychosocial characteristics, features of the regimen, and relationship with one’s HIV provider as predictors of adherence over 48 weeks. On average, subjects took 71% of prescribed doses with over 95% of patients achieving suboptimal (<95%) adherence. In multivariate analyses, African-American ethnicity, lower income and education, alcohol use, higher dose frequency, and fewer adherence aids (e.g., pillboxes, timers) were independently associated with worse adherence. After adjusting for demographic and clinical factors, those actively using drugs took 59% of doses versus 72% for nonusers, and those drinking alcohol took 66% of doses versus 74% for nondrinkers. Patients with more antiretroviral doses per day adhered less well. Participants using no adherence aids took 68% of doses versus 76% for those in the upper quartile of number of adherence aids used. CONCLUSIONS: Nearly all patients’ adherence levels were suboptimal, demonstrating the critical need for programs to assist patients with medication taking. Interventions that assess and treat substance abuse and incorporate adherence aids may be particularly helpful and warrant further study.
Estimating Transport Energy Demand Using Ant Colony Optimization

Abstract This study proposes a heuristic algorithm based on ant colony optimization for estimating the transport energy demand (TED) of Turkey using gross domestic product, population, and vehicle-km. Three forms of the improved ant colony optimization transport energy demand estimation (IACOTEDE) models are used for improving estimating capabilities of TED models. Performance of IACOTEDE is compared with the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources (MENR) projections. Sensitivity analysis is also carried out for testing the effects of the parameters. The quadratic form provided a better-fit solution to the observed data, and it underestimates Turkey's TED by about 28% less than the MENR projection in year 2025. Thus, it may be used with a highest correlation coefficient and considerably lower relative error according as the MENR projection in the testing period. It is also expected that this study will be helpful in developing highly applicable and productive planning for transport energy policies.
Race and the Structure of School Districts in the United States

Abstract We believe that tastes for association could play an important role in determining the structure, conduct, and performance of the system of local governments in the United States. Accordingly, we incorporate racial discrimination into a model of jurisdiction formation. If one group is prejudiced, the model demonstrates that as the population of a region becomes more racially heterogenous a greater number of jurisdictions is required to satisfy their taste for disassociation. Using state and metropolitan area panel data, we test this implication of the model. We find that, controlling for other relevant variables, increasing racial heterogeneity of a state population increases the number of school districts. We discuss the robustness of our results. We compare the impact of racial heterogeneity on special districts with its impact on school districts. In sharp contrast to our school district result, we find no evidence that increasing racial heterogeneity affects the formation of special districts.
Commodity prices: policy target or information variable?

The relationship between growth of the monetary aggregates and growth of nominal GNP has become less dependable in the 1980s. Deposit deregulation and large fluctuations in interest rates have produced sharp changes in the income velocity of money. These velocity shifts have, at times, caused the Federal Reserve to miss or modify its money growth ranges. Because of the undependable relationship between money growth and economic activity, some policymakers and economic analysts have argued that the Federal Reserve should pay more attention to commodity price fluctuations. This paper examines the proper role for commodity prices in the formation of monetary policy.
The Politics of Administrative Reforms in Ghana: Perspectives from Path Dependency and Punctuated Equilibrium Theories

Since 1957, various Ghanaian governments have made, and continue to make, attempts to reform the administrative state for development. In spite of this, not much seems to have been achieved over the years. Why has the passion of successive governments for reforming the administrative system failed to yield the desired outcomes? What is the nexus between regime turnover and frequent administrative reforms? Where do we want to go, and what will take us there or at least close to our intended destination? What approach is likely to maximize the chances of success and minimize those of failure? We argue that administrative reforms in Ghana have been consistently undermined by the discontinuity of reform initiatives undertaken by successive governments; the inability to have a “national agenda for development”; continuous reliance on expatriates as consultants and advisers; over-reliance on multinational institutions for financial support; and by the absence of a “developmental state. ”
Active Control of Aircraft Cabin Noise

Abstract : The noise levels in the passenger cabin of turbopropeller-driven aircraft are typically higher than the noise levels in comparable turbofan-powered aircraft. The sources of noise in a turboprop aircraft include boundary layer flow noise, structure-borne noise due to engine vibration, and acoustic excitation of the fuselage due to the propeller, with the latter being dominant for most turboprop aircraft. Possible noise reduction approaches encompass passive methods, such as structural modification, damping treatment, and active methods, which range from synchrophasing of the propellers to control of either the acoustic field or the structural vibration transmission path. An active noise control approach discussed in this paper is designed to weaken the coupling between the exterior and interior acoustics of turboprop aircraft. In this approach, the transmission of sound is impaired before it enters the cabin, which is superior to treating the problem further down the transmission path. Piezoceramic elements were used for structural actuation and vibration and/or acoustic sensing was employed. Full-scale testing was performed to evaluate the performance of the active noise control system. Significant reductions in noise level of up to 28 dB were achieved. Moreover the reduction in noise was global, leading to lower noise throughout the cabin. The results of this investigation demonstrate that Active Structural Acoustic Control Systems are capable of providing significant noise reduction and vibration suppression of aircraft to improve the habitability of the cabin.