Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Impact of a Multiple Listing Service

type="main"> This article offers a theoretical investigation of the impact of a multiple listing service (MLS) and its optimal size. We study a principal-agent model of real estate brokerage with multiple agents, where the entry of new agents imposes externalities on the other agents. We solve simultaneously for the equilibrium and socially efficient levels of agents’ effort choices, the size of the MLS and the commission rate. Introducing an MLS reduces the number of agents, increases agents’ effort levels and improves total surplus. Current commission rates of 5–7% appear much higher than the competitive commission rate, leading to too many agents, too much effort by agents and a lower overall surplus. We also find that giving a greater portion of the commission to the selling agent increases effort levels, reduces the number of agents and improves total surplus.
Who Transfers Credit Risk? Determinants of the Use of Credit Derivatives by Large US Banks

Abstract Credit derivatives enable banks to transfer selected credit risks to third parties. An empirical model is developed for the motivation for bank participation in credit derivative markets and, conditional on participation, the factors that determine the volume of business transacted. Participation appears to be closely related to bank size, but there is only limited evidence that entry barriers related to franchise value or past experience in dealing in derivatives are important. There is evidence that banks use credit derivatives as part of their overall risk management strategy. However, the use of credit derivatives does not appear to be influenced by the extent of managerial share ownership.
Forecasting the Relative Direction of Economic Growth by Using the Purchasing Managers` Index*

This paper aims to predict the relative direction of the growth rate of Turkish real gross domestic product (GDP) by using the purchasing managers` index (PMI) data and to quantify the predictive performances of three alternative models: naive, constant and variable models. Naive model employs only the GDP data while the other two use both GDP and PMI data. The median growth rate is chosen as the main reference rate. In this case, the success rate of the forecasts by the variable (constant) model is 17.2 (3.4) percentage points higher than that of the naive model. The calculations for 8 other reference rates also lead to similar findings. The variable model has a higher success rate than the constant model at 4 out of 9 reference rates, while the constant model outpaces the variable model at only 2 reference rates. Moreover, the time-invariant PMI threshold that corresponds to a stagnant economic activity is found to be 47.5, any PMI reading above (below) which implies an expansion (a contraction)
Perspectives on contractual relationships and the move to best value in local authorities

This article is concerned with the nature of the contracting relationship in local authorities. After considering some of the implications of a basic model of contracting (principal‐agent theory) and questioning some of its implications, we briefly examine whether the Compulsory Competitive Tendering (CCT) regime is likely to have forced many clients and contractors into the more adversarial style of contract management that the theory predicts. We then assess the degree to which parties to local authority contracts act, or wish to act, in a more relational manner and consider some of the implications of the Best Value regime. We conclude by suggesting that there are some important requirements which need to be placed upon public sector contracting behaviour to limit the implementation of ‘full’ relational styles in practice.
Tests of Asset Pricing with Time‐Varying Expected Risk Premiums and Market Betas

Tests of asset-pricing models are developed that allow expected risk premiums and market betas to vary over time. These tests exploit the relation between expected excess returns and current market values. Using weekly data for 1963-82 on ten common stock portfolios formed according to equity capitalization, a single risk-premium model is not rejected if the expected premium is time varying and is not constrained to correspond to a market factor. Conditional mean-variance efficiency of a value-weighted stock index is rejected, and the rejection is insensitive to how much variability of expected risk premiums is assumed. Copyright 1987 by American Finance Association.
Homelessness and theory reconsidered

Abstract Theory will not directly explain the development of policy and provision for homeless people, but it is an important consideration and one deserving of careful attention. In the UK, however, homelessness has often been explained simplistically and somewhat atheoretically as either a housing or a welfare problem, caused either by structural or by individual factors. Likewise, homeless people have been frequently classified as either deserving or undeserving. Such dualistic explanations are less than adequate and any policy and provision influenced by them will, consequently, also likely be less than optimal. Accordingly, this paper explores the potential of alternative theoretical perspectives (feminism, post‐structuralism, postmodernism, structuration and critical theory) for increasing our understanding of homelessness and so potentially improving policy and provision for homeless people in the future.
The association of adiponectin allele 45T/G and -11377C/G polymorphisms with Type 2 diabetes and rosiglitazone response in Chinese patients.

WHAT IS ALREADY KNOWN ABOUT THIS SUBJECT Rosiglitazone is able to increase serum adiponectin levels significantly in Type 2 diabetic patients. :The role of genetic factors that determine the marked interindividual variability in glucose-lowering efficacy of rosiglitazone in Chinese patients is not known. The current study was designed to evaluate the impact of the adiponectin common allele 45T/G and -11377C/G polymorphisms on the response to rosiglitazone monotherapy in Chinese patients with Type 2 diabetes (T2D). WHAT THIS STUDY ADDS The genetic polymorphisms of adiponectin alleles 45T/G and -11377C/G as well as their common diplotypes are significantly associated with an attenuated fasting plasma glucose, postprandial plasma glucose and homeostasis model assessment for insulin resistance as well as an enhanced adiponectin concentration in Chinese patients with T2D after rosiglitazone treatment. AIMS The aim of the present study was to evaluate the impact of adiponectin allele T45G and C-11377G genetic polymorphisms on efficacy of rosiglitazone in Chinese patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D). METHODS Patients with T2D (n = 255) and 120 healthy volunteers were enrolled to identify 45T/G and -11377C/G genotypes by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism assay. Forty-two T2D patients with different 45T/G or -11377C/G genotypes received orally rosiglitazone as a single-dose therapy (4 mg day-1 p.o.) for 12 weeks. Serum triglyceride, fasting plasma glucose (FPG), postprandial plasma glucose (PPG), glycated hemoglobin, fasting serum insulin, postprandial serum insulin, total cholesterol, homeostasis model assessment for insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-c) and adiponectin concentration were determined before and after rosiglitazone treatment. RESULTS We showed an attenuated rosiglitazone effect in patients with -11377CG+GG heterozygote genotype on FPG, PPG, HOMA-IR compared with -11377CC homozygote genotype. However, we found an enhanced rosiglitazone effect on serum adiponectin concentration in patients with -11377CC homozygote genotype compared with -11377CG+GG heterozygote genotype (P = 0.000) and in patients with 45TG + GG heterozygote genotype compared with 45TT homozygote genotype (P = 0.018). Finally, our results showed that there was an enhanced effect in patients with -11377/45 CGTT diplotype compared with other discovered diplotypes on FPG (P = 0.001) and PPG (P = 0.003) after rosiglitazone treatment. CONCLUSIONS These data suggest that the adiponectin allele 45T/G and -11377C/G polymorphisms are significantly associated with the therapeutic efficacy of multiple-dose rosiglitazone in Chinese patients with T2D.
Isovaleryl-homoserine lactone, an unusual branched-chain quorum-sensing signal from the soybean symbiont Bradyrhizobium japonicum

Many species of Proteobacteria communicate by using LuxI-LuxR–type quorum-sensing systems that produce and detect acyl-homoserine lactone (acyl-HSL) signals. Most of the known signals are straight-chain fatty acyl-HSLs, and evidence indicates that LuxI homologs prefer fatty acid-acyl carrier protein (ACP) over fatty acyl-CoA as the acyl substrate for signal synthesis. Two related LuxI homologs, RpaI and BtaI from Rhodopseudomonas palustris and photosynthetic stem-nodulating bradyrhizobia, direct production of the aryl-HSLs p-coumaroyl-HSL and cinnamoyl-HSL, respectively. Here we report that BjaI from the soybean symbiont Bradyrhizobium japonicum USDA110 is closely related to RpaI and BtaI and catalyzes the synthesis of isovaleryl-HSL (IV-HSL), a branched-chain fatty acyl-HSL. We show that IV-HSL induces expression of bjaI, and in this way IV-HSL functions like many other acyl-HSL quorum-sensing signals. Purified histidine-tagged BjaI was an IV-HSL synthase, which was active with isovaleryl-CoA but not detectably so with isovaleryl-ACP. This suggests that the RpaI-BtaI-BjaI subfamily of acyl-HSL synthases may use CoA- rather than ACP-linked substrates for acyl-HSL synthesis. The bjaI-linked bjaR1 gene is involved in the response to IV-HSL, and BjaR1 is sensitive to IV-HSL at concentrations as low as 10 pM. Low but sufficient levels of IV-HSL (about 5 nM) accumulate in B. japonicum culture fluid. The low levels of IV-HSL synthesis have likely contributed to the fact that the quorum-sensing signal from this bacterium has not been described elsewhere.
Hierarchical Screening for Capacity Allocation in Supply Chains: The Role of Distributors

We consider a two‐stage principal–agent screening environment in a decentralized supply chain with retailers, distributors, and a supplier. The retailers possess private information regarding their local market profitabilities. The distributors can partially observe the retailers' profitabilities and are heterogeneous with regard to the precision of that information. The supplier determines the level of production, but knows neither the local market profitabilities nor the precision of the distributors' information. The supplier first allocates finished products to distributors, and the distributors then contract with local retailers with a capacity constraint. We find that due to the distributors' superior information, the quantity distortion on the retailers' side is mitigated, and the upstream information asymmetry subsequently affects the quantity allocation among the downstream retailers. The supplier may not benefit from contracting with the distributors. In addition, no distributor is excluded based on the heterogeneity of the information precision, even though some distributors do not have better information than the supplier. In the numerical examples, we further analyze how the local market heterogeneity and inventory costs affect the capacity allocation, the retailers' payoffs, and the supply chain profits. We document some counter‐intuitive quantity allocation rules that arise from the distributors' information advantage.
Leverage and Dividend Irrelevancy under Corporate and Personal Taxation

IN "DEBT AND TAXES," Merton Miller argues that the marginal personal tax disadvantage of debt combined with supply-side adjustments by firms will override the corporate tax advantage of debt and drive market prices to an equilibrium impying leverage irrelevancy to individual firms. Miller's seminal work has significantly enhanced our understanding of the effects of personal taxes on corporate financial decisions and has already stimulated a substantial body of research (e.g., see Kim-Lewellen-McConnell (1979) and Miller-Scholes (1979)). In this paper, we generalize Miller's work in a number of dimensions and conclude that: 1. There are two key properties of the demand-supply interactions of investors and firms which lead to firm level leverage irrelevancy in market equilibrium (section 2). 2. The key demand-side property reveals that the leverage irrelevancy theorem is robust to alternative assumptions about the personal tax code. Moreover, no single security ownership clientele effect is uniquely associated with the theorem. Many different (simple or complex) personal tax codes lead to the theorem and are associated with different (simple and complex) ownership patterns (section 3). 3. In market equilibrium, leverage is irrelevant for firms which issue risky debt even though part of the corporate debt tax shelter is lost in default and recapture is not allowed (section 4).
Line managers and the management of workplace conflict: evidence from Ireland

In an effort to improve understanding of the role played by line managers in firms, this article examines the role of line managers and supervisors in the management of workplace conflict in firms in the Republic of Ireland. The article finds that while line managers are commonly seen as playing a significant role, they are also seen to do so often without organisational supports in areas such as training and performance monitoring and are seen often to lack the confidence to act independently. Line and supervisory ‘engagement’ in conflict management is found to be positively associated with a series of organisational outcomes, including relative labour productivity, relative absence rates and the capacity to handle change compared with other firms in the same industry. Line and supervisory management engagement in conflict management is found in turn to be associated with the use of commitment-oriented HR practices and with the adoption by firms of a proactive approach to conflict resolution.
European finance in the American mirror: financial change and the reconfiguration of competitiveness

This article examines the implications of financialisation for the conceptual status of, and the relationship between, the continental European and Anglo-American financial systems. After a theoretical discussion of the issue of institutional variety and convergence, the essay outlines the trajectory of financialisation processes from their American origins to the UK and continental Europe. It emphasizes that in key respects Anglo-American capitalism is a more rather than less ‘embedded’ model of finance and reinterprets the transition to neoliberalism in this light. It proceeds to unpack the concept of financialisation and present an approach that conceptualizes institutional variety not by opposing national systems to globalizing financial markets, but precisely by locating them within that process. The essay then takes a closer look at the reconfiguration of financial competitiveness since the bursting of the dot-com bubble. The conclusion offers some thoughts on the implications of the analysis for the present situation.
PELUANG PENDIDIKAN DAN HUBUNGAN ANTARETNIK: PERSPEKTIF PENDIDIKAN KRITIS

This article was written to provide an overview of the opportunities of education and inter-ethnic relations in the perspective of critical education. The author conducted in-depth study of literature, especia lly in relation to critical education perspective on inter-ethnic relations and educational opportunities. Thoughts on the critical education of modernism to the postmodernism marks optimism into the role of education as cultural tr ansformation and production area, not as reproduction of culture. Meanwhile, inter-ethnic relations deepens national integration, among other things: (1) promote community life in harmony, (2) realizing cultural relatio nship model, (3) appreciating the differences, (4) repairing the emergence of social prejudices, (5) valuing diversity and foster democracy. In this context, the school holds a very important role as a venue for the empowerment and liberation of individuals and groups in a just society by promoting individual and collective autonomy in participatory democratic system that respects the diversity and plurality of social and cultural groups. Democracy as a celebration of difference and diversity, not to serve the agenda of the elite minority and the majority of the ruling ideology.
Earthquakes and the Quality of Life in Japan

Japan is famous for its earthquakes. How do households and firms respond to this potentially devastating risk? How does earthquake risk affect housing costs and wages? To answer these questions, we construct a Quality of Life Index (QOLI) and estimate the social cost of earthquake risk among cities/counties in Japan. The regional QOLI is obtained through estimating the hedonic wage and housing rent regressions using household longitudinal data covering all Japan. From the estimated results, we find that earthquake risk has a significant impact on the overall quality of life in Japanese prefectures, and that there are large city/county differences in terms of the social cost of earthquake risk. Finally, we argue that the large regional variation in the social cost of earthquakes arises from earthquake insurance market imperfections – crude and rough geographical risk rating – and propose a possible remedy for enhancing earthquake insurance risk assessment.
Show Me the Money

The continued presence of educational management organizations (EMO) is explained as an inevitable and continued component of the public school landscape. This article discusses both why EMOs are here to stay and the benefits of EMOs in public education. Statistics are shared showing a 420% increase in the number of EMOs over the past 11 years as well as the Obama administration’s commitment to choice and entrepreneurship in education. EMOs’ role of providing a quality education option for students living in low-income urban neighborhoods and students of color was discussed using evidence and research showing that EMOs serve students of color in the urban centers of districts. In addition, the benefit of being free from the bureaucratic control of traditional public school districts is examined. Last, research findings that suggest significant academic gains for students attending EMO-run schools are presented. Together, these findings suggest that EMO-run schools are a beneficial component to the educational landscape.
Detection and Orientation Estimation for Cyclists by Max Pooled Features

In this work we propose a new kind of HOG feature which is built by the max pooling operation over spatial bins and orientation channels in multilevel and can efficiently deal with deformation of objects in images. We demonstrate its invariance against both translation and rotation in feature levels. Experimental results show a great precision gain on detection and orientation estimation for cyclists by applying this new feature on classical cascaded detection frameworks. In combination of the geometric constraint, we also show that our system can achieve a real time performance for simultaneous cyclist detection and its orientation estimation.
Population Pharmacokinetics of Polymyxin B

Polymyxin B is used as a last treatment resort for multidrug‐resistant Gram‐negative bacterial infections. The objectives of this study were to examine the population pharmacokinetics of polymyxin B and investigate factor(s) influencing pharmacokinetic variability. Four serial blood samples each were collected from 35 adult patients at steady state. The concentrations of individual polymyxin B components were analyzed using a validated liquid chromatography / tandem mass spectrometry assay and combined to derive total concentrations. A maximum likelihood expectation maximization approach was used to fit the data. Various demographic variables were investigated as potential covariates for clearance and volume of distribution (Vd) using linear regression analysis. A one‐compartment model fit to the data satisfactorily (r2 = 0.96). The best‐fit mean ± SD for clearance and Vd were 2.5 ± 1.1 L/h and 34.3 ± 16.4 L, respectively. Creatinine clearance was found to be a statistically significant covariate of clearance, but the magnitude was deemed clinically insignificant.
Housing Allowance and the Rent of Low-Income Households

This paper analyses the effect of a housing allowance programme on the rent paid by assisted low-income households. The data consist of 12,000 rental households in the free-market and municipal sectors. The effect is estimated using the programme reform of 2002 as an instrument. The reform increased the allowance of the assisted households depending on housing characteristics, but it had little effect on the eligibility. Results suggest that in the private sector, one additional euro of allowance increases the rent of claimants by 60–70 cents. The effect is zero in the municipal sector, as rents are tied to the housing costs.
Toddlers later diagnosed with autism exhibit multiple structural abnormalities in temporal corpus callosum fibers

Interhemispheric functional connectivity abnormalities are often reported in autism and it is thus not surprising that structural defects of the corpus callosum (CC) are consistently found using both traditional MRI and DTI techniques. Past DTI studies however, have subdivided the CC into 2 or 3 segments without regard for where fibers may project to within the cortex, thus placing limitations on our ability to understand the nature, timing and neurobehavioral impact of early CC abnormalities in autism. Leveraging a unique cohort of 97 toddlers (68 autism; 29 typical) we utilized a novel technique that identified seven CC tracts according to their cortical projections. Results revealed that younger (<2.5 years old), but not older toddlers with autism exhibited abnormally low mean, radial, and axial diffusivity values in the CC tracts connecting the occipital lobes and the temporal lobes. Fractional anisotropy and the cross sectional area of the temporal CC tract were significantly larger in young toddlers with autism. These findings indicate that water diffusion is more restricted and unidirectional in the temporal CC tract of young toddlers who develop autism. Such results may be explained by a potential overabundance of small caliber axons generated by excessive prenatal neural proliferation as proposed by previous genetic, animal model, and postmortem studies of autism. Furthermore, early diffusion measures in the temporal CC tract of the young toddlers were correlated with outcome measures of autism severity at later ages. These findings regarding the potential nature, timing, and location of early CC abnormalities in autism add to accumulating evidence, which suggests that altered inter-hemispheric connectivity, particularly across the temporal lobes, is a hallmark of the disorder.
The Loser’s Curse: Accounting for the Transaction Costs of Takeover and the Distortion of Takeover Motives

Studies for major stock markets of share price movements in the period around a takeover show that target company shareholders typically experience large gains in wealth but that acquiring company shareholders do not. The reasons for this asymmetry–and, in particular, for the absence of gains for the shareholders of the companies which initiate the deal–are imperfectly understood. This note suggests one factor contributing to those results. It argues that accounting practice prescribed by the main standard setters is non‐neutral towards ‘successful’ and ‘unsuccessful’ bidders with respect to reporting the transaction costs of bidding. It shows how the prescribed accounting treatment of these costs affects performance measures used in salary contracts as well as in the markets for executives and for corporate control. The result is that the managers of bidding companies will have an ‘arti ? cial’ incentive to in ? ate their bid price or to go ahead with a bid which offers no bene ? t to their shareholders. Ironically, the main standard setters seem minded soon to prohibit the only accounting technique which does not distort these incentives.