Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Psychology of Financial Decision-Making: Applications to Trading, Dealing, and Investment Analysis

This paper offers a whole range of areas in which the latest work on psychology, social psychology and behavioral finance could offer competitive advantage both to financial markets as well as individual firms. The aim is to identify potential applications of experimental and organizational psychology to improve the efficiency of financial institutions. The focus is on two major areas of application: trading and dealing in currencies, and investment decision-making. The paper reviews the seven deadly sins in individual decision-making showing how the financial decision-maker may fall prey to them. It also suggests how this knowledge can be put to use in improving efficiency in financial strategy, marketing, and human resource management (selection, training, decision-aiding, and control). The paper concludes by identifying important questions for the financial markets to consider if they are serious about improving managerial practices.
Optimal capital growth with convex shortfall penalties

The optimal capital growth strategy or Kelly strategy has many desirable properties such as maximizing the asymptotic long-run growth of capital. However, it has considerable short-run risk since the utility is logarithmic, with essentially zero Arrow–Pratt risk aversion. It is common to control risk with a Value-at-Risk (VaR) constraint defined on the end of horizon wealth. A more effective approach is to impose a VaR constraint at each time on the wealth path. In this paper, we provide a method to obtain the maximum growth while staying above an ex-ante discrete time wealth path with high probability, where shortfalls below the path are penalized with a convex function of the shortfall. The effect of the path VaR condition and shortfall penalties is a lower growth rate than the Kelly strategy, but the downside risk is under control. The asset price dynamics are defined by a model with Markov transitions between several market regimes and geometric Brownian motion for prices within a regime. The stochastic investment model is reformulated as a deterministic programme which allows the calculation of the optimal constrained growth wagers at discrete points in time.
Sub-National Revenue Mobilization in Latin American and Caribbean Countries: The Case of Colombia

This paper surveys the evolution and implications of fiscal decentralization in Colombia in recent decades. After describing the fiscal decentralization process and its impact on sub-national finances, the paper presents the evolution of departmental public finances, departmental vertical imbalances and the proposal to levy a VAT surcharge and a retail sales tax for the departments. The paper subsequently describes the evolution of municipal finances and municipal vertical imbalances, then includes calculations of the effective rates of the property and land tax and the industry and commerce tax, estimating the municipal tax burden, the efficiency rate of tax collection, and the determinants of both. The paper concludes with policy recommendations.
Exploring changing identities : a case study of Black female technikon students' understanding of themselves as users of English, and as users of other languages.

This dissertation, a qualitative case study, investigates issues oflanguage and identity among sixteen young black women studying at Technikon Natal. I examine the ways in which identities are structured by discourses of which language practices are an important part. The research participants' need to learn English is also interrogated against a scenario of South Africa during and post-apartheid. In Chapter 1, I give historical background on the educational structures and legislation which affected my research participants before 2000, and then briefly describe their present context of study. The literature on which my dissertation is based is reviewed in Chapter 2. Humanist theories of motivation for second language learning, for example, Gardner's (1985), are rejected in favour ofNorton Peirce's (1995) notion of investment in second language learning, which builds on Bourdieu' s (1977 1991) concepts of capital, and views the second language learner as inseparable from her social world. However, the emphasis in Chapter 2 is given to some of the central ideas of poststructuralist thinking, particularly those pertaining to the undermining oftotalising theories, and those arguing in favour of multiple subjectivity. Chapter 3 contains both my research methods, which were mainly social constructionist, as well as the broad discourse analysis techniques I deployed for my data analysis. Notable in Chapter Four, in which I present and analyse my findings, is the power of ethnic discourses to govern the use of their own and other languages by their subjects. Significant, too, are the shifts in subjectivity which individuals experience as they integrate new discourses into their lives. Amongst my conclusions in the final chapter is the notion that, from a poststructuralist perspective, code switching may allow the simultaneous display ofmore than one identity; that the use ofEnglish by black South Africans is fraught with contradictions, and that indigenous African languages appear vulnerable to the pressure from powerful English discourses. I also discuss the limitations of this research and make recommendations for future research, and end with the particular insights into language and subjectivity I have gained as a lecturer in my current teaching context.
BIOLOGICAL VARIATION OF IMMUNOGLOBULIN CONCENTRATIONS IN NORMAL HUMAN TEARS RELATED TO AGE AND SEX

Single radial immunodiffusion method was used to measure the concentration of IgG, IgA, IgM and IgD in tears of 220 healthy individuals aged from 2 to 86 years. Relation of the values to age and sex has been evaluated statistically by regression analysis method. Mean IgA level was 30.7 mg/100 ml. IgG could be detected in 200 samples and the level was less than 1 mg/100 ml. IgM was detected in only 7 samples and the value was less than 1 mg/100 ml. IgD could not be detected in any of the sample. The IgA level in males and that in females differs significantly, the females having a higher mean value. The IgA level appears to increase in both sexes with age. No relationship with age and sex could be established in other types of immunoglobulins.
The impact of health service variables on healthcare access in a low resourced urban setting in the Western Cape, South Africa

Background Health care access is complex and multi-faceted and, as a basic right, equitable access and services should be available to all user groups. Objectives The aim of this article is to explore how service delivery impacts on access to healthcare for vulnerable groups in an urban primary health care setting in South Africa. Methods A descriptive qualitative study design was used. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with purposively sampled participants and analysed through thematic content analysis. Results Service delivery factors are presented against five dimensions of access according to the ACCESS Framework. From a supplier perspective, the organisation of care in the study setting resulted in available, accessible, affordable and adequate services as measured against the District Health System policies and guidelines. However, service providers experienced significant barriers in provision of services, which impacted on the quality of care, resulting in poor client and provider satisfaction and ultimately compromising acceptability of service delivery. Although users found services to be accessible, the organisation of services presented them with challenges in the domains of availability, affordability and adequacy, resulting in unmet needs, low levels of satisfaction and loss of trust. These challenges fuelled perceptions of unacceptable services. Conclusion Well developed systems and organisation of services can create accessible, affordable and available primary healthcare services, but do not automatically translate into adequate and acceptable services. Focussing attention on how services are delivered might restore the balance between supply (services) and demand (user needs) and promote universal and equitable access.
The Role of Technology in Agricultural Intensification: The Evolution of Maize Production in the Northern Guinea Savanna of Nigeria

A major concern in the agricultural development of West Africa is the inability of food production to keep up with population growth. This article focuses on one aspect of the problem: the way in which production systems in West Africa evolve in response to increasing population pressure. In most parts of the region the pattern of evolution has led to increased food production, but a decline in per capita food production. In this article we describe an exception to this scenario by focusing on a case from northern Nigeria where production systems have evolved in a way that has resulted in a highly productive system and substantial increases in farmer welfare. We show how infrastructure such as good road systems and extension services provided the preconditions for this phenomenon, but the crucial driving force was a technological breakthrough that enabled farmers to achieve significant increases in income by expanding production of a crop in which the area had an ecological comparative advantage. We identify the characteristics of this technological breakthrough that enabled it to play a
On the Wrong Side of the Law - Causes and Consequences of a Corrupt Judiciary

Empirical research on the determinants of corruption has made substantial progress over the last decade. To date, the consequences of different structures of the legal enforcement institutions have, however, only played a marginal role. This contribution deals with both the determinants of corruption in the judiciary and the consequences of judicial organization for corruption at large. Regarding the latter, it is shown that the actual independence of the judiciary as well as that of prosecution agencies is correlated with lower levels of corruption. This is also true for a third indicator that measures the degree to which judges are held accountable for their decisions (“judicial accountability”). Furthermore, independence and accountability function as complements in preventing corruption – judicial accountability without independence appears to be ineffective, whereas judicial or prosecutorial independence alone can even have adverse effects.
Are Mapmakers Able to Target and Protect Congressional Incumbents?

Can those in charge of redistricting foster electoral competitiveness by targeting some congressional incumbents while protecting others from potent competition? We provide an answer by presenting the dynamic redistricting thesis, which holds that the type of redistricting plan and the time passed since its enactment affect the emergence of high-quality congressional candidates. We demonstrate that the effect of redistricting on competition depends on whether incumbents belong to the party that controlled the redistricting process. We show that partisan plans have predictable systematic effects, with incumbents in the minority more likely to face strong opponents. Moreover, the effect of redistricting on competition is highest at the beginning of the 10-year redistricting cycle and diminishes in a nonlinear fashion over the course of the cycle. The implications of our theory and findings for democracy are apparent: Institutions are an important determinant of the variation of electoral competition across time and space.
Identification of MicroRNAs as Breast Cancer Prognosis Markers through the Cancer Genome Atlas

Breast cancer is the second-most common cancer and second-leading cause of cancer mortality in American women. The dysregulation of microRNAs (miRNAs) plays a key role in almost all cancers, including breast cancer. We comprehensively analyzed miRNA expression, global gene expression, and patient survival from the Cancer Genomes Atlas (TCGA) to identify clinically relevant miRNAs and their potential gene targets in breast tumors. In our analysis, we found that increased expression of 12 mature miRNAs—hsa-miR-320a, hsa-miR-361-5p, hsa-miR-103a-3p, hsa-miR-21-5p, hsa-miR-374b-5p, hsa-miR-140-3p, hsa-miR-25-3p, hsa-miR-651-5p, hsa-miR-200c-3p, hsa-miR-30a-5p, hsa-miR-30c-5p, and hsa-let-7i-5p —each predicted improved breast cancer survival. Of the 12 miRNAs, miR-320a, miR-361-5p, miR-21-5p, miR-103a-3p were selected for further analysis. By correlating global gene expression with miRNA expression and then employing miRNA target prediction analysis, we suggest that the four miRNAs may exert protective phenotypes by targeting breast oncogenes that contribute to patient survival. We propose that miR-320a targets the survival-associated genes RAD51, RRP1B, and TDG; miR-361-5p targets ARCN1; and miR-21-5p targets MSH2, RMND5A, STAG2, and UBE2D3. The results of our stringent bioinformatics approach for identifying clinically relevant miRNAs and their targets indicate that miR-320a, miR-361-5p, and miR-21-5p may contribute to breast cancer survival.
Will Private Equity and Hedge Funds Replace Real Estate in Mixed-Asset Portfolios?

The role of commercial real estate in the investment portfolios of institutional investors is now well established, and allocations towards real estate are increasing. However, fund managers are also gaining interest in alternative asset classes such as hedge funds, private equity, commodities, and infrastructure. This raises the question of whether real estate could fall out of favor with institutional investors. To investigate this issue, the authors examine historical return data from a wide range of asset classes. They find strong support for increasing allocations towards real estate and that real estate has significantly better risk-hedging characteristics than any of the other asset classes studied.
Why Did Britain's Households Get Richer? Decomposing UK Household Income Growth between 1968 and 2008-09

Â Average real UK household income has almost doubled over the past forty years. With four decades of micro-data on household incomes, and relatively simple decomposition methods, we document the contribution to this growth in the mean net household income of working-age households from different income sources, and break down further changes in employment income by household member and into separate participation, hours and hourly wage effects. We also perform such analyses for the mean income of the richest working-age households, and among a group defined by having a low household income but a strong connection to the labour market.
WHY DO INTERNATIONAL JOINT VENTURES FAIL? A STRATEGIC MISMATCH EXPLANATION

Why do so many international joint ventures fail? This paper aims at answering this question and contribute to the research concerning alliance dynamics by combining ele-ments from research considering alliance formation and alliance outcomes. This paper draws on the widely accepted exploitation/exploration dichotomy, suggesting the exis-tence of a continuum of choices related to strategic motivation for alliance formation. However, by integrating the exploitation/exploration arguments into a set of knowledge-related strategic motives for IJV formation, the main arguments focus on the relationship between initial strategic motivation for alliance formation and outcome in terms of knowledge. Essentially, it is argued that IJVs fail due to mismatches between strategic motives and rationales among the partners. Ultimately, a series of testable propositions are derived to guide future empirical investigation. Finally, the paper provides sugges-tions for future theoretical development and empirical exploration.
Political Diversity and Participation: A Systematic Review of the Measurement and Relationship

This study reviews existing research on the measurement of and the relationship between political diversity and political participation. It addresses the inconsistency in the arguments of existing studies researching the influence of political diversity on political participation. It attempts to find the cause in the variety of approaches to conceptualize and operationalize the two variables. As the measure of political diversity, political network heterogeneity and network attributes are discussed in detail in specific relation to political participation. As for political participation, an in-depth analysis of various ways to understand different forms of political involvement is presented. Implications for public opinion research are discussed.
Evaluation of adherence to therapy in patients of chronic kidney disease

Objective: To evaluate adherence to medication and study factors associated with non-adherence in chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients. Methods: A prospective, cross-sectional, questionnaire based study was conducted in Nephrology department of a super specialty hospital. Patients above 18 years of age, suffering from CKD from six months or more were interviewed using self-designed, semi-structured questionnaire to get information about adherence to medication, diet restriction and lifestyle modification (n = 150). Morisky medication adherence questionnaire was used to calculate overall adherence. In this higher score indicates poor adherence. Main outcome measures included prevalence of non-adherence and factors associated with the same. Results: Average number of medicines taken by each patient was 8.0+1.612 (mean+SD) per day. Non-adherence to medication schedule was reported in 34% patients. Common causes of non-adherence were high cost (21.3%), complex dosing schedule (20%), fear of adverse effects (16%). Sixty-eight% patients were not aware about importance of taking each medicine. Sixteen% stopped taking medicines due to high cost. Forty-two% suggested that government should adopt measures to provide free medicines to poor patients. In Morisky medication adherence questionnaire high, medium and low adherence was reported in 7.3%, 55.3% and 37.3% of patients, respectively. Moderately positive correlation was observed between poor adherence and number of concurrent illnesses and number of medicines taken. Conclusion: Since majority of patients were not aware about importance of taking each medicine, creating awareness about the same is essential for improving adherence to therapy. Measures to provide free medicines to non-affording patients need to be implemented since high cost was other major cause of non-adherence.
Should Commodity Exporters Peg to the Export Price?

To account for the specific situation of commodity exporters, pegging to export prices (PEP) has been proposed elsewhere as an alternative to other conventional monetary regimes such as an exchange rate peg or inflation targeting. PEP is supposed to deliver automatic accommodation to terms-of-trade shocks, while retaining the credibility gain from a nominal anchor. This paper analyzes the PEP proposal in a dynamic general-equilibrium model and compares it with a standard Taylor rule, consumer price index (CPI)-level targeting and a nominal exchange rate peg. Judged by the degree of output stabilization, PEP performs very similar to CPI targeting for export demand as well as domestic demand shocks and underperforms in the case of shocks to the export price. The results suggest that PEP is not superior to conventional CPI targeting from a macroeconomic stabilization perspective.
Treatment of Churg-Strauss syndrome without poor-prognosis factors: a multicenter, prospective, randomized, open-label study of seventy-two patients.

OBJECTIVE To assess the efficacy of systemic corticosteroids (CS) alone as first-line treatment in patients with Churg-Strauss syndrome (CSS) without poor-prognosis factors, as defined by the Five-Factors Score (FFS), and to compare the efficacy and safety of oral azathioprine (AZA) versus intravenous pulse cyclophosphamide (CYC) as adjuvant immunosuppressive therapy for treatment failure or relapse. METHODS This multicenter, prospective, randomized, open-label therapeutic trial included 72 patients with newly diagnosed CSS (FFS of 0) treated with CS alone. At treatment failure or relapse, patients were randomized to receive 6 months of oral AZA or 6 pulses of CYC. Analyses were performed according to an intent-to-treat strategy. RESULTS The mean +/- SD followup was 56.2 +/- 31.7 months. Among the 72 patients studied, 93% achieved remission with CS therapy alone, and 35% relapsed, mainly during the first year of treatment. Among the 19 patients randomized to additional immunosuppression because of treatment failure or relapse, 5 of 10 receiving AZA and 7 of 9 receiving pulse CYC achieved remission, but the difference was not statistically significant. Survival rates in all patients at 1 and 5 years were 100% and 97%, respectively. At the end of followup, 79% of the patients whose disease was in remission required low-dose CS therapy, mainly to control respiratory disease. CS-related adverse events were observed in 31% of the 72 patients. CONCLUSION In CSS patients with an FFS of 0, survival was excellent, confirming the predictive value of the FFS in this disease. First-line therapy with CS achieved remission in most patients, but relapses were common, and one-third of them required additional immunosuppressive therapy. AZA or pulse CYC was fairly effective in treating CS-resistant disease or major relapses. Over the long term, most patients continued to take oral CS, which might explain the high rate of CS-related adverse events.
Terrorism in the Context of Civil War

Although scholars have focused primarily on transnational terrorism, much of the terrorism occurring worldwide is domestic terrorism carried out by rebel groups fighting in civil wars. This article examines variation in terrorism across civil wars, asking why some rebel groups use terrorism, while others do not. Rebel groups make strategic calculations, assessing how their government opponents and their own civilian constituencies will react to terrorism. Rebel groups challenging democratic governments are more likely to use terrorism, believing that their opponents will be sensitive to civilian losses and, therefore, likely to make concessions in response to violence. Rebel groups also consider the costs of violence, which depend on characteristics of the rebel group’s civilian constituency. Rebel groups with broad civilian constituencies select lower-casualty civilian targets to minimize public backlash. Evidence from a new data set on rebel-group terrorism in civil wars from 1989 to 2010 provides support for these arguments
Nucleation: measurements, theory, and atmospheric applications.

New experiments have succeeded in measuring actual rates of nucleation and are revealing the shortcomings of classical nucleation theory, which assumes that the molecular-scale regions of the new phase may be treated using bulk thermodynamics and planar surface free energies. In response to these developments, new theories have been developed that incorporate information about molecular interactions in a more realistic fashion. This article reviews recent experimental and theoretical advances in the study of nucleation of liquids from the vapor and of crystals from the melt, with particular emphasis on phenomena that relate to particle formation in the atmosphere.
SYDNEY MEAT MARKETING MARGINS - AN ECONOMETRIC ANALYSIS

Simultaneous equation techniques are used to examine the behaviour of wholesale and retail margins for beef, lamb, mutton and pork in Sydney. Hypotheses tested relate to price levelling and price averaging, and to marketing cost and turnover effects. Additionally, an attempt is made to discern the differences, if any, in the determination of retail margins between high- and low-income locations, and between traditional butcheries and supermarkets.