Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Repeat Sales as a Matching Estimator

The most common approaches for constructing house price indices — hedonic price functions and the repeat sales estimator — focus on changes over time in mean prices. Though the hedonic approach is less wasteful of data than the repeat sales estimator, it relies on an accurate specification of the underlying econometric model. I suggest using a matching estimator as an alternative to the hedonic and repeat sales approaches. Like the repeat sales approach, a matching estimator uses pairs of sales from different dates to estimate the mean difference in sales prices over time. The matching approach preserves much larger sample sizes than the repeat sales estimator while requiring less preimposed structure than the hedonic approach. The matching approach makes it easy to characterize changes in the full distribution of house prices.
Balancing the global methane budget: constraints imposed by isotopes and anthropogenic emission inventories

The doubling of atmospheric methane (CH4) during the twentieth century due largely to growth in anthropogenic emissions has made CH4 the second largest contributor behind carbon dioxide to anthropogenic forcing of climate change. However, the global CH4 budget and its decadal evolution remain poorly quantified despite re-evaluations that include the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report. Potentially, the aggregation of national anthropogenic emission inventories as reported to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change could document the changing anthropogenic emission since 1990, as could other “bottom–up” inventories such as EDGAR. As an examination of the recent CH4 budget evolution, we compare two constructions of CH4 source history, one based on an aggregation of national emission inventories, the other version 4 of EDGAR, each in combination with alternative natural CH4 emissions, for consistency with observed atmospheric mixing ratio and carbon isotope content (δ13C(CH4)). We conclude that despite the utility of isotopic constraints on budget evolution, the level of uncertainty in sink strengths and their isotopic fractionation limits the confidence in constructing anthropogenic emission histories over recent decades.
Displacement by Development: Ethics, Rights and Responsibilities

Acknowledgements List of tables 1. Introduction Part I. Fundamentals: 2. Problems of polarization 3. Defining displacement by and for development Part II. From Cost-Benefit Analysis to Ethics: 4. Development planning, cost-benefit analysis, and displacement 5. Guidelines and rights 6. The development ethics framework Part III. From Values to Responsibilities: 7. Ethical outcomes 8. Ethical procedures 9. Agents, harms, and responsibilities 10. International responsibilities and rights regarding displacement Part IV. Realizing Responsibilities: 11. Narmada revisited 12. Starting points and future directions Bibliography.
Identification of Liechtenstein's Historic Economic Growth and Business Cycles by Econometric Extensions of Data Series

Several economic data series of Liechtenstein are backwardly estimated in order to achieve consistent historic time series. The generated series consist for instance of the national income for the years 1954 to 1992 (by regressive inter- and retropolation with indicators) and 1993 to 1997 (by approximative computation after national accounting scheme). Also, the sectoral and total employment of some missing years in the 70s, 80s and 90s is complemented and the gross domestic product from 1972 until 1997 is provided by an approximative computation/estimation relying on the identity of the generation of income account as part of the national accounts. These methods and the presented series are being evaluated with respect to their accuracy, which turns out to be satisfying, and can be linked with the released results from the official national accounts, which were introduced for the year 1998 and have been published until 2009 so far. Along with the provision of these figures, Liechtenstein’s economic growth pattern is being identified, the business cycles are detected and first analytical insights are obtained.
The Dynamics of Labour's Income Shares and the Wage Curve - Phillips Curve Controversy

Based on a re-parameterised BlanchflowerOswald model this paper uses long macro-data from the OECD countries to discriminate between the Philips curve and the wage curve and examines whether there are any differences in wage dynamics between Europe and the United States. The evidence gives support for the Phillips curve and shows that wage dynamics are no different between the United States and Europe.
Effects on stock investments of information about short versus long price series

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether stock price predictions and investment decisions improve by exposure to increasing price series. Design/methodology/approach - The authors conducted three laboratory experiments in which undergraduates were asked to role-play being investors buying and selling stock shares. Their task was to predict an unknown closing price from an opening price and to choose the number of stocks to purchase to the opening price (risk aversion) or the closing price (risk taking). In Experiment 1 stock prices differed in volatility for increasing, decreasing or no price trend. Prices were in different conditions provided numerically for 15 trading days, for the last 10 trading days, or for the last five trading days. In Experiment 2 the price series were also visually displayed as scatter plots. In Experiment 3 the stock prices were presented for the preceding 15 days, only for each third day (five days) of the preceding 15 days, or as five prices, each aggregated for three consecutive days of the preceding 15 days. Only numerical price information was provided. Findings - The results of Experiments 1 and 2 showed that predictions were not markedly worse for shorter than longer price series. Possibly because longer price series increase information processing load, visual information had some influence to reduce prediction errors for the longer price series. The results of Experiment 3 showed that accuracy of predictions increased for less price volatility due to aggregation, whereas again there was no difference between five and 15 trading days. Purchase decisions resulted in better outcomes for the aggregated prices. Research limitations/implications - Investors performance in stock markets may not improve by increasing the length of evaluation intervals unless the quality of the information is also increased. The results need to be verified in actual stock markets. Practical implications - The results have bearings on the design of bonus systems. Originality/value - The paper shows how stock price predictions and buying and selling decisions depend on amount and quality of information about historical prices.
Population growth: Implications for environmental sustainability

The impact of population growth on environment and its implication for survival is an important issue. Although considerable attention has been paid to this problem but systematic studies have been inadequate. Rapid population growth and economic development and daily demand for natural resources for domestic and industrial use are growing at an increasing rate, especially in an urban centre. This has led to the disruption of natural cycles of land resources which is undermining the sustainability of the ecosystems. Thus, sustainable development can only be pursued if population size and growth are in harmony with the changing productive potentials of the ecosystem. The purpose of this study is to discuss the implication of Nigerian population growth on environmental sustainability.
Cancer and colorectal cancer: knowledge, beliefs, and screening preferences of a diverse patient population.

BACKGROUND Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States, with African Americans having the highest incidence and mortality of all racial and ethnic groups. CRC screening is widely recommended but remains underused, especially in minority populations. This study's purpose was to enhance our understanding of factors contributing to low screening rates among patients from a variety of racial and ethnic groups. METHODS We conducted individual interviews with 30 participants, ages 50 or above, with an equal number of African Americans, Hispanics, and whites at a university-based family medicine clinic. We used open-ended interviewing techniques to elicit patient knowledge and beliefs regarding cancer, CRC, screening, and CRC screening tests. RESULTS All groups, but particularly minority groups, lack knowledge of cancer, CRC, and screening. They did not understand the concept of screening, had difficulty listing common cancer and CRC screening tests, and had trouble understanding simplified medical terms and procedure names. Patients were hopeful about the benefit of early cancer diagnosis but remained reluctant to get tested if they are symptom free. CONCLUSIONS Lack of understanding of cancer, screening, and routine terminology is a barrier to CRC screening, especially among minority groups. Effective communication strategies that address these issues may help increase CRC screening rates.
Tourism, the environment, and welfare in a dual economy

Tourism promotion has greater significance for developing or emerging countries, which are experiencing extensive unemployment, than for developed countries. Therefore, the spread of tourism and the accompanying introduction of foreign tourists have been top priorities in some labor-surplus developing economies. On the other hand, the destruction of the environment due to tourism promotion has been a serious problem in those countries. Thus, this paper formulates a general equilibrium model with unemployment à la Harris–Todaro and a tourism sector that generates environmental pollution. The effects of tourism promotion and a pollution tax on pollution emission, unemployment, and welfare are examined.
Jag2‐Notch1 signaling regulates oral epithelial differentiation and palate development

During mammalian palatogenesis, palatal shelves initially grow vertically from the medial sides of the paired maxillary processes flanking the developing tongue and subsequently elevate and fuse with each other above the tongue to form the intact secondary palate. Pathological palate–mandible or palate–tongue fusions have been reported in humans and other mammals, but the molecular and cellular mechanisms that prevent such aberrant adhesions during normal palate development are unknown. We previously reported that mice deficient in Jag2, which encodes a cell surface ligand for the Notch family receptors, have cleft palate associated with palate–tongue fusions. In this report, we show that Jag2 is expressed throughout the oral epithelium and is required for Notch1 activation during oral epithelial differentiation. We show that Notch1 is normally highly activated in the differentiating oral periderm cells covering the developing tongue and the lateral oral surfaces of the mandibular and maxillary processes during palate development. Oral periderm activation of Notch1 is significantly attenuated during palate development in the Jag2 mutants. Further molecular and ultrastructural analyses indicate that oral epithelial organization and periderm differentiation are disrupted in the Jag2 mutants. Moreover, we show that the Jag2 mutant tongue fused to wild‐type palatal shelves in recombinant explant cultures. These data indicate that Jag2‐Notch1 signaling is spatiotemporally regulated in the oral epithelia during palate development to prevent premature palatal shelf adhesion to other oral tissues and to facilitate normal adhesion between the elevated palatal shelves. Developmental Dynamics 235:1830–1844, 2006. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
The Impact of Working Capital Turnover on Jordanian Chemical Industries’ Profitability

The chemical industry is of long-term importance to the maintain development of local economies and consider the largest industrial sectors in Jordan in terms of the exports volume which accomplished JD 1049000S in 2012. Working capital considers being a measure of company’s efficiency and its short-term financial health; moreover, it is a critical component for a business survival and a main item for the hall boost in profitability. While Chemical Industries plays a vital role in Jordanian economic and compose a large portion in the total local output; this study conduct to approve the impact of capital turnover as a measure of efficiency on Chemical companies’ profitability expressed by Return On Assets (ROA). A simple liner regression applied to test a period 2009-2011 in order to conclude the extent of the impact of working capital turnover on Jordanian Chemical industries’ profitability through Return On Assets (ROA). The study showed a significant impact of independent variable working capital turnover on dependent variable return on assets among Chemical Industries listed on Amman Stock Exchange during the period from 2009 to 2011.
In a Different Way: Social Unionism in the Nonprofit Social Services-An Australian/Canadian Comparison

Drawing on comparative, qualitative data, this article explores unionization in the Canadian and Australian nonprofit social services. The article shows that the growth of unionization in this sector in Canada had little to do with deliberate strategies for union renewal. Instead, union growth and activism rose organically from the values orientation of the predominantly female workforce and the curtailment of workplace opportunities for social justice struggles. The Australian example reflects the conflux of legal contexts, political parties, managerial approaches, and the servicing model of unionism. The article concludes with a discussion of possibilities for those seeking to revitalize the union movement.
A comparative study of the returns on Mudhārabah deposit and on equity in Islamic banks

Purpose - The paper aims to compare the return on Design/methodology/approach - The summary statistics of the ROMD and the ROE is used to make a comparison between them with a sample of nine Islamic banks, from seven countries, over the last five years. Regression analysis is also undertaken to unveil the variables affecting the behaviour of ROMD and ROE at Kuwait Finance House. Findings - The results show that the ROE tend to be at least two times higher than the ROMD. In most of the investigated cases the ROMD are more correlated to the corresponding conventional interest rate than to ROE. The regression analysis suggests that the return on assets affects more significantly the ROE than the ROMD. Originality/value - The originality of the paper resides in the size of the sample and in the design and the findings.
Aberrant MHC class II expression in mouse joints leads to arthritis with extraarticular manifestations similar to rheumatoid arthritis

Genetic susceptibility to rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is associated with certain MHC class II molecules. To clarify the role of these determinants in RA, we generated the D1CC transgenic mouse that expressed genes involved in antigen processing and presentation by the MHC class II pathway in joints. The class II transactivator, which was transcribed from the rat collagen type II promoter and enhancer, directed the expression of these genes. In D1CC mice congenic for the H-2q (DBA/1) background, small amounts of bovine collagen type II in adjuvant induced reproducibly an inflammatory arthritis resembling RA. Importantly, these stimuli had no effect in DBA/1 mice. Eighty-nine percent of D1CC mice developed chronic disease with joint swelling, redness, and heat in association with synovial proliferation as well as pannus formation and mononuclear infiltration of synovial membranes. Granulomatous lesions resembling rheumatoid nodules and interstitial pneumonitis also were observed. As in patients with RA, anticyclic citrullinated peptide antibodies were detected during the inflammatory stage. Finally, joints in D1CC mice displayed juxtaarticular demineralization, severe joint space narrowing, and erosions, which led to ankylosis, but without the appearance of osteophytes. Thus, aberrant expression of MHC class II in joints facilitates the development of severe erosive inflammatory polyarthritis, which is very similar to RA.
Cut Elimination for Propositional Dynamic Logic without

The aim of this paper is to extend the semantic analysis of tense logic in Rescher/Urquhart [3] to propositional dynamic logic without*. For this we develop a nested sequential calculus whose axioms and rules directly reflect the steps in the semantic analysis. It is shown that this calculus, with the cut rule omitted, is complete with respect to the standard semantics. It follows that cut elimination does hold for this nested sequential calculus. MSC: 03B45.
Convertible Bond Pricing Models

Convertible bonds are an important segment of the corporate bond market, with worldwide outstandings approaching US$235 billion. Simple pricing models value a convertible bond as being equivalent to a straight bond with an embedded option that enables the bond holder to convert to a specific amount of common stock. The straight bond is subject to both interest rate and credit risk, whereas the option to convert is dependent on the underlying stock price, which exposes the convertible bond holder to equity risk. The complexity of these features means that convertible bonds tend to be treated casually in major derivatives and corporate finance textbooks. This paper presents a survey of the theoretical and empirical aspects of convertible bond pricing. The limitations of these studies are highlighted to identify those areas of research that may improve the valuation process and facilitate the application of these securities for corporate financing.
Mesophyll cells of C4 plants have fewer chloroplasts than those of closely related C3 plants.

The evolution of C(4) photosynthesis from C(3) ancestors eliminates ribulose bisphosphate carboxylation in the mesophyll (M) cell chloroplast while activating phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP) carboxylation in the cytosol. These changes may lead to fewer chloroplasts and different chloroplast positioning within M cells. To evaluate these possibilities, we compared chloroplast number, size and position in M cells of closely related C(3), C(3) -C(4) intermediate and C(4) species from 12 lineages of C(4) evolution. All C(3) species had more chloroplasts per M cell area than their C(4) relatives in high-light growth conditions. C(3) species also had higher chloroplast coverage of the M cell periphery than C(4) species, particularly opposite intercellular air spaces. In M cells from 10 of the 12 C(4) lineages, a greater fraction of the chloroplast envelope was pulled away from the plasmalemma in the C(4) species than their C(3) relatives. C(3) -C(4) intermediate species generally exhibited similar patterns as their C(3) relatives. We interpret these results to reflect adaptive shifts that facilitate efficient C(4) function by enhancing diffusive access to the site of primary carbon fixation in the cytosol. Fewer chloroplasts in C(4) M cells would also reduce shading of the bundle sheath chloroplasts, which also generate energy required by C(4) photosynthesis.
Attitudes to ICTs and approaches to studying in higher education

This article reviews the literature on the relationship between students'attitudes to ICTs and the approaches to studying that they adopt on theirprogrammes of study in higher education. There is a consistent fi nding that students who have more positive attitudes to ICTs are more likely to adopt desirable approaches to studying. This is true of younger and older students, and it is true both in face-to-face education and in distance education. The implication is that in both kinds of setting and whatever their age today's students regard the use of ICTs as an integral part of their experience ofhigher education.
Macroeconomics: Imperfections, Institutions and Policies

The distinctive feature of this book is that it provides a unified framework for the analysis of short- and medium-run macroeconomics. This gives students a model that they can use themselves to understand a wide range of real-world macroeconomic behaviour and policy issues. The authors introduce a new graphical model (IS/PC/MR) based on the 3-equation New Keynesian model used in modern macroeconomics. The three equations are BL the IS curve BL the Phillips curve and BL an interest rate-based monetary policy rule. The use of a common framework throughout for closed and open economies helps readers develop the economic intuition with which to address a diversity of macroeconomic problems. Applied chapters show how the models can be used to analyse performance in OECD economies over the past twenty-five years. The chapters on growth present an in-depth coverage of the Solow-Swan, endogenous and Schumpeterian models that allow the reader to understand how these approaches can be used to answer the big questions of growth: why some countries are rich and others, poor; why some catch up and others do not. Since the book is based on the mainstream 3-equation model used at the research frontier, the book gives students the economics background necessary for accessing advanced macroeconomics. It is also designed to appeal to graduate students, non-specialists in macroeconomics, professional economists and those from related disciplines who want a guide to the complexities of modern macroeconomics and to understand contemporary policy debates. Online Resource Centre For lecturers: password-protected solutions and diagrams from the text. For students: exercises and checklist questions.
Momentum in Weekly Returns: The Role of Intermediate‐Horizon Past Performance

Gutierrez and Kelly (2008) recently documented momentum in weekly returns. Using the Australian market as a setting, we find that stocks with high 1-week returns exhibit a continuation in returns up to 1 year after a brief initial return reversal. However, after controlling for the intermediate-horizon past performance, the continuation in returns after 1-week returns disappears. These findings suggest that different past investment horizons contain separate information about price momentum and that intermediate-term trends dominate short-term trends in driving future returns. Overall, we show that understanding momentum over different horizons facilitates the design of more profitable trading strategies.
Objectively best or most acceptable? Expert and lay knowledge in Swedish wind power permit processes

This article analyses legal aspects of the Swedish wind power development, theoretically based on how different types of knowledge are represented in legal contexts, mainly in the courts. A sample of appealed wind power permits is analysed, a handful of relevant informants are interviewed – including two judges in the Land and Environment Court and the appeal court – and the legal setting is analysed. Of key interest here is the interplay between expert and lay statements in the court cases, which here is related to the concepts of calculating and communicative rationalities that are developed in the planning literature. The results indicate that the juridification – which takes place as a permit issue is appealed in the judiciary system – supports the calculating rationality more than the communicative, and that the plaintiffs often attempt to adapt in how they shape their argumentation.