Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Bayesian Estimation of DSGE Models: Lessons from Second-order Approximations

This paper investigates a general procedure to estimate second-order approximations to a DSGE model and compares the performance with the widely used estimation technique for a log-linearized economy on a version of new Keynesian monetary model. It is done in the context of posterior distributions, welfare cost, and impulse response analysis. Our findings include the followings. First, we find that all the results of An and Schorfheide (2007) are confirmed with U.S. data. With the nonlinear estimation we can identify parameters that are neglected previously; the marginal data density evaluation shows that data support the nonlinear estimation procedure; and parameter estimates that are related to nondeterministic steady states are quite different from the linear estimates. Second, the estimated welfare differentials are more aggressive for the second-order approximations, that is, the posterior welfare differentials from the linear estimation may underestimate the welfare cost resulted from changes in the monetary policy. Third, the second-order approximation unveils quite different dynamics which are neglected in a log-linearized economy. JEL Classification: C11, C32, C51, C52, E52
Testing Continuous-Time Models of the Spot Interest Rate

Different continuous-time models for interest rates coexist in the literature. We test parametric models by comparing their implied parametric density to the same density estimated nonparametrically. We do not replace the continuous-time model by discrete approximations, even though the data are recorded at discrete intervals. The principal source of rejection of existing models is the strong nonlinearity of the drift. Around its mean, where the drift is essentially zero, the spot rate behaves like a random walk. The drift then mean-reverts strongly when far away from the mean. The volatility is higher when away from the mean.
Plasma Pro‐Endothelin‐1 Peptide Concentrations Rise in Chronic Kidney Disease and Following Selective Endothelin A Receptor Antagonism

Background Endothelin 1 (ET‐1) contributes to chronic kidney disease (CKD) development and progression, and endothelin receptor antagonists are being investigated as a novel therapy for CKD. The proET‐1 peptides, endothelin‐like domain peptide (ELDP) and C‐terminal pro‐ET‐1 (CT‐proET‐1), are both potential biomarkers of CKD and response to therapy with endothelin antagonists. Methods and Results We assessed plasma and urine ELDP and plasma CT‐proET‐1 in CKD patients with minimal comorbidity. Next, in a randomized double‐blind crossover study of 27 subjects with proteinuric CKD, we examined the effects of 6 weeks of treatment with placebo, sitaxentan (endothelin A antagonist), and nifedipine on these peptides alongside the primary end points of proteinuria, blood pressure, and arterial stiffness. Plasma ELDP and CT‐proET‐1 increased with CKD stage (both P<0.0001), correlating inversely with estimated glomerular filtration rate (both P<0.0001). Following intervention, placebo and nifedipine did not affect plasma and urine ELDP or plasma CT‐proET‐1. Sitaxentan increased both plasma ELDP and CT‐proET‐1 (baseline versus week 6±SEM: ELDP, 11.8±0.5 versus 13.4±0.6 fmol/mL; CT‐proET‐1, 20.5±1.2 versus 23.3±1.5 fmol/mL; both P<0.0001). Plasma ET‐1 was unaffected by any treatment. Following sitaxentan, plasma ELDP and CT‐proET‐1 correlated negatively with 24‐hour urinary sodium excretion. Conclusions ELDP and CT‐proET‐1 increase in CKD and thus are potentially useful biomarkers of renal injury. Increases in response to endothelin A antagonism may reflect EDN1 upregulation, which may partly explain fluid retention with these agents. Clinical Trial Registration URL: www.clinicalTrials. gov Unique identifier: NCT00810732
Relationship between Listening Comprehension Strategy Use and Listening Comprehension Proficiency

This study explores the relationship between students’ listening comprehension strategy use and their listening comprehension proficiency with regard to the group, level, and degree of strategy use. Forty-four university students of an English Language teaching department comprised the study population. Three listening comprehension tests were given to participants with two-week intervals to measure their listening comprehension proficiency. To measure the students’ listening comprehension strategy use, a listening comprehension strategy inventory developed by the researcher was used. Data analysis showed a positive correlation between the level of listening comprehension strategy use and listening comprehension proficiency. When different groups of listening comprehension strategy use of learners were taken into account, there was a statistically significant difference between the students’ listening comprehension achievements in favor of the group with high metacognitive strategy use.
The case against user interface consistency

Designers striving for user interface consistency can resemble Supreme Court justices trying to define pornography: each of us feels we know it when we see it, but people often disagree and a precise definition remains elusive. A close examination suggests that consistency is an unreliable guide and that designers would often do better to focus on users' work environments.
Self-transcending knowledge: sensing and organizing around emerging opportunities

The paper introduces the concept of not‐yet‐embodied or self‐transcending knowledge. The concept of self‐transcending knowledge proposes a distinction between two types of tacit knowledge: tacit‐embodied knowledge on the one hand and not‐yet‐embodied knowledge on the other hand. The distinction is relevant because each of the three forms of knowledge – explicit, tacit‐embodied, and self‐transcending – is based on different epistemological assumptions and requires a different type of knowledge environment and learning infrastructure. Moreover, the differentiation among markets with decreasing, steady, and increasing returns suggests that, in order to successfully compete for increasing return markets, leaders need a new type of knowledge that allows them to sense, tune into and actualize emerging business opportunities – that is, to tap into the sources of not‐yet‐embodied knowledge.
Submission Number : ASSET 2009-09-00101 A Reputation-Based Theory of Spatially-Separated Duopoly Competition and Bargaining

A buyer facing two spatially-separated sellers can negotiate with only one potential seller at a time. However, with some delay, the buyer can move back and forth between the two sellers. The introduction of behavioral types, even with low probabilities, makes the equilibrium of the resulting multilateral bargaining problem essentially unique. The equilibrium has a war of attrition structure. The buyer knows the posted price in each store and chooses a seller to visit first. The maximum length of the negotiation that will take place before the buyer leaves to bargain with the other seller is an increasing function of the distance between the stores and the reputation of the second seller. If the sellers post the same initial price, the buyer will never visit one seller more than once in equilibrium. If instead the posted prices are different, a given seller may be visited twice and the buyer may choose to go first to the store with the higher posted price. Submitted: June 27, 2009. A Reputation-Based Theory of Spatially-Separated Duopoly Competition and Bargaining∗ Selçuk Özyurt† New York University
A numerical model of hydrothermal cooling and crustal accretion at a fast spreading mid‐ocean ridge

There are two competing models for lower crustal accretion at fast spreading ridges. In the gabbro glacier model, all the lower crust solidifies in a magma lens at the dike/gabbro boundary and then flows to its final level. In the sheeted sill model, the lower crust is formed by sills emplaced at a variety of depths. We present a steady state numerical representation of the sill model that explicitly includes hydrothermal circulation. The crust is accreted uniformly at the ridge axis at all depths and hydrothermal circulation occurs in crustal rocks that have cooled below a threshold temperature. The results show that when the permeability exceeds a threshold value (∼4 × 10−14 m2 for a cracking temperature of 800°C and a uniform permeability), hydrothermal circulation can cool the entire crust near the ridge axis, producing vertical isotherms in the lower crust. At lower permeabilities, the properties of seawater lead to bimodal cooling with the lowermost crust cooling more slowly than shallower depths. These results are reasonably consistent with studies of the seismic structure of the East Pacific Rise and of plagioclase crystal size distributions in gabbros from Oman. We infer that the sheeted sill model cannot be discarded on thermal grounds.
Emotions in Business Game: Case Study in Desafio Sebrae

This paper focuses in making an emotional and affective analysis of the game Desafio Sebrae, a business game that simulates the management of a virtual company. A survey was conducted in order to discover the emotions and instincts that are most present in the game, and its results were analysed based on the 6-11 Framework. This paper concludes that the "excitement" emotion, a key factor in order to achieve fun, is successfully achieved in the game, mostly due to the high level of competitivity provided in it. Moreover, other aspects of Desafio Sebrae are studied, and aspects with space for improvement are also found.
A Study on User’s Perception towards Learner-generated Comics

Similar to computer games which are formerly intended copiously for amusement purpose, the adoption of comics in education has also been a subject of great interest among the scientific community. An abundance of research have been conducted on the cognitive and affective effects of comics in the past. However, few of these studies aimed at extending our understanding towards learners’ perception, interest, and prior knowledge in educational generated comics. Therefore, this paper discusses student’s motivation, obstacles, and requirements for the implementation and design of learner-generated comics. The findings of this study contribute to the literature by providing useful information for educators and instructional designers in formulating strategies for unlocking the potential of comics within classroom environment. Keywords: Comics, Educational Comic, Instructional Design, Learner-Generated Content JEL Classifications: C610, C623, I23
Resilience and opportunistic forwarding: beyond average value analysis

Opportunistic networks are systems with highly distributed operation, relying on the altruistic cooperation of heterogeneous, and not always software- and hardware-compatible user nodes. Moreover, the absence of central control makes them vulnerable to malicious attacks. In this paper, we take a fresh look at the resilience of opportunistic forwarding to these challenges. In particular, we introduce and promote the use of metric envelopes as a resilience assessment tool. Metric envelopes depart from the standard practice of average value analysis and explicitly account for the differentiated impact that a challenge may have on the forwarding performance due to node heterogeneity (device capabilities, mobility) and attackers' intelligence. The use of metric envelopes is demonstrated in the case of three challenges: jamming, hardware/software failures and incompatibilities, and free-riding phenomena. For each challenge, we first devise heuristics to generate worst- and best-case realization scenarios that can approximate the metric envelopes. Then we derive the envelopes of common performance metrics for three popular forwarding protocols under a comprehensive range of mobility patterns. The metric envelope approach enables more informed choices in opportunistic forwarding whenever network resilience considerations become important.
Techno-economical analysis and comparison of legacy and ultra-dense small cell networks

Network densification has been identified as one key enabling technology to address the 1000x mobile data challenge. This article analyzes network densification from the different deployment options perspective by looking into three mainstream technologies; Macrocells, Microcells, and Femtocells. The technologies are evaluated in a suburban neighborhood with modern residential houses. As majority of the data traffic in the network is believed to be generated by indoor users, we make a techno-economic analysis and comparison of the different deployment strategies from the indoor local area service provisioning viewpoint. Results show superior performance of low power indoor femtocell based deployment solutions in terms of coverage, capacity, energy and cost efficiency as compared to the outdoor solutions. Densifying the traditional pure Macro or Micro layers does provide improvement in the indoor coverage levels, however, due to the closer proximity of the co-channel interfering sites, the achievable capacity in the indoor environment deteriorates, which in turn also affects the energy and cost efficiency. These findings strongly motivate towards ultra dense deployments, based on indoor femtocell solutions, for addressing the local area capacity needs of the emerging future 5G networks.
Differential Effect of Acute Stress on Visuospatial Working Memory and Sexual Motivation in Male Rats

Working memory is an executive function that is highly dependent on the functioning of the prefrontal cortex. Several studies using food or drink as rewards have demonstrated that rats are capable of performing tasks that involve working memory. Sexual behavior is another highly-rewarding, motivated behavior that has proven to be an efficient incentive in classical operant tasks. Considering that both sexual behavior and working memory are sensitive to the effects of stress, the aim of this study was to determine the effect of acute stress on visuospatial working memory during a sexually-motivated task (a nonmatching-to-sample task in a T-maze) in male rats. Thirty-two male Wistar rats were trained in the T-maze using sexual interaction (intromission and ejaculation) as a reinforcer during a 4-day training period (training sessions held every 4th day). On the basis of their performance, the rats were classified as good-learners (n = 12) and bad-learners (n = 20), and on the fifth day, 6 good-learners and 10 bad-learners were subjected to stress using the cold water immersion model (CWI, 15°C) for 15 minutes before they were evaluated in the T-maze. The remaining rats made up the control group (i.e., they performed the task without previous stress). Results showed that acute stress by CWI improved working memory in the bad-learners but did not affect the performance of the good-learners, although in both groups (good- and bad-learners) stress decreased the sexual motivation to perform the task. It is probable that the increased levels of corticosterone in the stress situation could activate glutamatergic transmission in the prefrontal cortex, thus facilitating working memory and, simultaneously, decreasing testosterone levels, which exerts a negative effect on sexual motivation in these male rats.
The Term Structure of Announcement Effects

We analyse high-frequency responses of the US yield curve to macroeconomic announcements, exploiting the high signal-to-noise ratios of these events. Surprises in the announcements evoke relatively weak reactions from the short maturities and the strong ones from the intermediate maturities. Thus the term structure of announcement effects is hump-shaped. We fit an affine-yield model to the yield changes, using the announcement surprises as instruments for the Generalised Method of Moments (GMM). The model estimates imply that the announcements impose larger shocks on an expected future target interest rate than on the current short-term interest rate and that different types of announcements generate different expectations about this target rate, how rapidly it will be approached, and how long it will be maintained
What Attract Gen Y to Stay in Organization? HR Practices, Organizational Support or Leadership Style

This study examines the direct relationship between human resource practices such as training and development, compensation and benefits, career development and performance appraisal, perceived organizational support, leadership style such as transformational, transactional and laissez-faire and intention to stay. A total of 400 questionnaires were disributed to participants who had agreed to participate in this study. However, only 200 questionnaire were returned and usable for further analyses. Hypotheses for direct effect were tested using multiple regression analyses. Results showed that only training and development, compensation and benefits, and transformational leadership style were significantly positively associated with intention to stay. Implications of the findings, potential limitations, and directions for future research are discussed.
Goal orientation and perceived motivational climate in Hungarian athletes with physical and visual disabilities and in able-bodied athletes

Achievement orientation and perception of motivational climate were studied in 59 athletes with physical disabilities (46 men and 13 women) and 58 able-bodied university athletes (23 men and 35 women). The study was based on the Achievement Goal Theory (Nicholls, 1984). Participants completed two questionnaires on the basis of which four dependent measures were recorded: task orientation and ego orientation, and mastery-oriented and performance-oriented climates. Results showed that women, regardless of the group, perceived a more performance-oriented climate in their sports than men and that athletes with disabilities reported a more mastery-oriented climate than able-bodied athletes. These results show that athletes with disabilities in Hungary exhibit as adaptive, if not more adaptive, motivational orientations than able-bodied athletes.
Dynamic Self controllable Surfing for Differential on-chip wave-pipelined serial interconnect

In the literature, surfing technique has been proposed for differential wave-pipelined serial interconnects with uniform repeaters (UR) and non-uniform repeaters (NUR) to increase the data transfer rate. In this paper, a new surfing circuit called „Dynamic self controllable inverter pair‟ is proposed for differential wave-pipelined serial interconnects with UR and NUR to increase the data transfer rate further. The method of logical effort is used for the design of surfing circuits both UR and NUR. To evaluate the efficiency of these techniques, 40 mm metal 4 interconnects using the proposed surfing techniques are implemented along with transmitter, receiver and delay locked loop(DLL) in UMC 180nm technology and their performances are studied through post layout simulations. From this study, it is observed that the proposed surfing technique using UR and NUR achieve 3.53 times and 3.76 times higher data transfer rates respectively compared to the single ended scheme. The proposed scheme using UR and NUR has 1.18 times and 1.25 times higher data transfer rates respectively compared to differential scheme. Key-Words: Controllable inverter pair, Differential interconnect, Method of logical effort, Repeater insertion, Self controllable, Serial link, Surfing, Wave-pipelining
The role of peer-facilitated reflection in critical incident analysis amongst physical therapist assistant students

This research examines the role that peer-facilitated reflection (PFR) plays in influencing the abilities of physical therapist assistant (PTA) students to cope with critical incidents in their academic and clinical coursework. Physical therapist assistants are expected to possess well-developed critical thinking abilities upon graduation that will guide them through professional practice. Several scholars contend that critical thinking abilities should be developed within the curriculum, and that they are best cultivated through reflective practice. However, traditional modes of curricular-based reflective practice have come under scrutiny, revealing shortcomings in their efficacy. These include: a theory-practice gap, ineffective facilitation, and deficient models of assessment. Consequently, a model of PFR was proposed as a more utile reflective approach to develop critical thinking amongst PTA students. An interpretivist investigation was carried out through an action research methodology using Flanagan’s critical incident technique, which favors reflection and planning based upon a significant event. Peer-reflective discussions were implemented into the curriculum of a PTA program. Student participants collectively reflected and developed action plans to put into practice. Data gleaned from post-discussion interviews and questionnaires was examined in light of the criticisms levied against reflective practice and was used to determine the effectiveness of the PFR approach. Findings indicated that students viewed PFR positively, and that they felt the discussion helped them cope with challenges confronted in their academic program. Observational analysis revealed challenges with facilitating reflective discussions, such as having faculty present and keeping discussions focused. Ameliorating steps were implemented for subsequent The Role of Peer-Facilitated Reflection iv discussions that removed faculty from the reflective process and that trained students to effectively lead their own discussions. An assessment model was adapted for this study that examined outcomes based upon the students’ own assessments. Though still in its development, it offers promise as a means for faculty and students to interpret the efficacy of reflective approaches. Finally, study findings informed practice recommendations for the implementation of pedagogical PFR in an academic PTA program. These include affording flexibility for discussion topics, conducting student-led discussions, managing discussion frequency and group composition, and encouraging faculty participation. Keywords: Reflective practice, peer-facilitated reflection, critical thinking, physical therapy, physical therapist assistant, action research, critical incident analysis
Indirect Evidence on Sex Reversal of Sinonovacula constricta (Bivalvia: Euheterodonta) and Gomphina veneriformis (Bivalvia: Veneridae)

This study attempts to propose the possibility of the sex reversal in Sinonovacula constricta and Gomphina veneriformis by confirming the changes in the sex ratio with the shell length in the same population level. For analysis of sex ratio, 100 individuals of S. constricta (SL 26.5-95.0 mm) and 2385 individuals of G. veneriformis (SL 15.1-60.1 mm) were used. Sex was analyzed histologically. Both species displayed the tendency of increase in the female proportion with increase in shell length. In this study, changes in the sex ratio in accordance with the growth of S. constricta and G. veneriformis are determined to be indirect evidence that signifies their sex reversal.