Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Stochastic Volatility Jump-Diffusions for Equity Index Dynamics

This paper examines the ability of twelve different continuous-time two-factor models with mean-reverting stochastic volatility to capture the dynamics of the S&P 500 and three European equity indices. The stochastic volatility models are the square root variance, GARCH, and log volatility diffusions, and each is augmented with price and volatility jump extensions. Parameter estimation is by Markov Chain Monte Carlo using daily spot index returns from 1987 to 2010. For each index we find that GARCH diffusions augmented with correlated price and volatility jumps outperform other specifications with respect to all the tests we perform. The European indices have similar dynamics, which are relatively easy to capture using several of our specifications, but the S&P 500 index has different dynamics and here the GARCH-jump specification is very clearly superior.
Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Involved in Technology Transfer to China

Technology transfer is a frequent component of foreign direct investment and cross-border cooperative agreements. Little is known concerning the comparative effectiveness of technology transfer accomplished by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in developing countries. The goal of this study is to compare small and large organizations on measures of learning accomplished by their respective partners during technology transfer. Twenty-eight Canadian manufacturing firms involved in technology transfer to China were surveyed and seven case studies were conducted in China. Learning in recipient firms was not significantly associated with the size of their Canadian transferors. The case study results revealed other factors that seemed to influence learning.
International acquisition and other growth strategies: Some lessons from the food and drink industry

This article explores profitable international growth strategies when markets are mature through a two-stage study of companies in the food and drink industry. The first stage assessed 400 announcements about such strategies made by medium- and large-sized food and drink firms in the period 1998–2001. The second stage examined in depth the international growth strategies of the world's 35 leading food and drink companies over the period 1985–2001. Both stages showed that acquisition was the most widely used method of international expansion. The second stage suggested that organic international growth (i.e., based on the company's current product portfolio) was the other main option for such expansion. Importantly, the international acquisition route was usually focused on the existing product portfolio of a company. In this sense, there was clear convergence between the purpose of an international acquisition (i.e., to support or enhance the existing product portfolio outside the home country) and the broader company purpose of delivering successful organic growth from its current range of products. The second study also suggested that international acquisitions can bring faster sales growth than organic activity but come with greater risk and other potential problems. The research identified some practical lessons derived from such strategies in the food and drink industry. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Confirming Management Earnings Forecasts, Earnings Uncertainty, and Stock Returns

In this study we examine the association among confirming management forecasts, stock prices, and analyst expectations. Confirming management forecasts are voluntary disclosures by management that corroborate existing market expectations about future earnings. This study provides evidence that these voluntary disclosures affect stock prices and the dispersion of analyst expectations. Specifically, we find that the market's reaction to confirming forecasts is significantly positive, indicating that benefits accrue to firms that disclose such forecasts. In addition, although we find no significant change in the mean consensus forecasts (a proxy for earnings expectations) around the confirming forecast date, evidence indicates a significant reduction in the mean and median consensus analyst dispersion (a proxy for earnings uncertainty). Finally, we document a positive association between the reduction of dispersion of analysts' forecasts and the magnitude of the stock market response. Overall, the evidence suggests that confirming forecasts reduce uncertainty about future earnings and that investors price this reduction of uncertainty. Copyright University of Chicago on behalf of the Institute of Professional Accounting, 2003.
Work Attitudes and Intergenerational Mobility

The phenomenon of systemic changes in the fortunes of social groups is hard to reconcile with traditional macroeconomic models of intergenerational income mobility. This paper, therefore, proposes a theory of intergenerational mobility whereby instilling strict work attitudes is an instrument to address moral hazard in poor families more so than in rich families, which is consistent with empirical regularities pertaining to work attitudes. The mechanism implies that hard‐working children of the poor converge to and may eventually overtake leisure‐prone children of the rich.
Regulating Corporate Responsibility in the American Market: A Comparative Analysis of Voluntary Certifications

Voluntary standard and certification systems are proliferating in the United States and around the world. While the majority of certification research draws on case studies, we pursue a cross-sectional empirical analysis of an original database of 108 certifications operating in the United States. We analyse the rise and configuration of private regulatory initiatives, variations in programme breadth and focus, and variations in programme participation and oversight requirements. We highlight the predominance of international and multi-stakeholder initiatives in the United States. Our research identifies substantial convergence in the ecological and social priorities of certification programmes and even greater convergence in their assessment and oversight procedures. Statistical analysis helps explain the prevalence of multi-stakeholder initiatives, but we find no significant differences between these and industry-led initiatives in their foci or procedures. We argue that there is a standardization of certification norms and practices which may mask important programme differences.
The Impact of Just‐in‐time on Production System Performance: An Analytical Framework

Part of a research programme being undertaken in Italy on the applicability of the just‐in‐time (JIT) approach. The programme includes both the development of methodological concepts to evaluate JIT applicability and an extensive survey of the value of JIT implementation as seen by Italian industry. Two levels of performances are identified: o First, the various performances at system level (critical manufacturing tasks) where the dimensions and measurement of productivity, service, quality and flexibility are defined; o Second, “operating conditions” being the variables describing the characteristics of single production factors and their interconnection (such as efficiencies, capability, process flexibility and lead times) The set of JIT techniques in the area of product, process, organisation, planning and control and supply are classified, the ways the techniques impact on operating conditions and, through them, on performance at production system level are analysed. A paradigm of JIT approach results.
Agents Monitoring Their Manager: A Hard‐Times Theory of Producer Cooperation

type="main"> We model the producer cooperative as a firm where a single class of individuals supplies an essential input and monitors managerial behavior. We show how this contractual structure reduces the incidence of equilibrium credit rationing, even assuming a cost disadvantage relative to a firm where these roles are specialized. Our model provides an explanation for producer and worker buyouts in the face of exit by investor owners, and, more generally, for cooperative entry in low-return economic environments not serviced by investor-financed firms. Further, our model predicts that a cooperative firm is less prone to monitor-manager collusion, and that it monitors excessively in high-return environments.
Executive Directors' Pay, Networks and Operating Performance: The Influence of Ownership Structure

This paper examines how ownership structure affects the director networking-compensation relationship. Furthermore, we measure the subsequent impact of this relationship on future operating performance of firms. As in previous research, our study also finds empirical evidence suggesting that higher network activity of executive directors conveys to larger compensation figures. Our data set of Spanish listed companies, with high average ownership concentration, show that this compensation is higher for firms with dispersed ownership than for firms with concentrated ownership. Also, the relationship of overcompensation with future operating performance is contingent on the ownership structure. The implications for executive directors are that networking leads to higher compensation. For dispersed ownership firms, the consequence is that promoting executive networking could be harmful unless other corporate governance mechanisms prevent this outcome. For concentrated ownership firms, this structure allows to capture increases in operating performance. Finally, policy recommendations on corporate governance regulation are that self-regulation is better than imposing the same limit on the number of directorships to all firms if an effective control mechanism operates. Our results suggest that the presence of controlling owners is a strong corporate governance mechanism.
Concentrations of Calcitonin Gene‐Related Peptide and Neuropeptide Y in Plasma Increase During Flushes in Postmenopausal Women

Objective: To assess whether the plasma concentrations of calcitonin gene‐related peptide (CGRP), neuropeptide Y (NPY), or neurokinin A (NKA) increase during hot flushes in postmenopausal women with vasomotor symptoms. Design: Eight postmenopausal women (age range = 49‐63 years) with vasomotor symptoms were included. During 1 day, repeated blood samples were taken between and during flushes; four samples were taken during each flush. The samples were analyzed for CGRP, NPY, and NKA using radioimmunoassay technique. Results: The serum concentrations of CGRP and NPY increased significantly‐73% and 34%, respectively‐during the flushes (p = 0.018; p = 0.028), whereas the concentrations of NKA did not change significantly. Conclusions: CGRP and NPY may be involved in the mechanisms that cause vasomotor symptoms. (Menopause 2000;7:25‐30. © 2000, The North American Menopause Society.)
Scandcleft randomised trials of primary surgery for unilateral cleft lip and palate: 3. Descriptive study of postoperative nursing care following first stage cleft closure

Abstract Background: Cleft lip and palate is one of the most common congenital anomalies requiring surgical treatment in children, normally commenced in the first year of life. Following the initiation of a group of multicentre surgical trials of primary surgery, variations in postoperative recovery and management became apparent. An agreement was made for a nurse-led survey in eight surgical centres to document postoperative care and recovery. Materials and methods: A postoperative recovery clinical report form was developed to capture relevant data for the children participating in the four arms of the trials. This included the age and weight at admission, the postoperative recovery setting, pain management, postoperative feeding, post-operative complications, and length of hospital stay. Results: Four hundred and three nursing forms from the first surgical procedure were returned for analysis. Differences in important aspects of care such as postoperative analgesia and postoperative feeding were evident. Postoperative care was influenced by local custom and practice, as little firm clinical evidence exists to guide optimal management. Conclusion: Postoperative recovery may play a significant role in the future selection of surgical protocols, and future trials need to consider cross-study site training to familiarise nurses, prior to any changes in surgical methods. Trial registration: ISRCTN29932826.
Hydropolitics and Inter-Jurisdictional Relationships in China: The Pursuit of Localized Preferences in a Centralized System*

Abstract Inter-jurisdictional water resource issues constitute a growing political and economic challenge in China. This article examines three such cases of hydropolitics, namely large dam construction, water resource allocation, and downstream water pollution, through the lens of central–local relations. It argues that the hydropolitics in China are characterized by the pursuit of localized preferences within the constraints imposed by a centralized political system. In each case, the primary actors are sub-national administrative units, who adopt various competitive strategies to pursue their own localized interests at the expense of neighbouring jurisdictions. This article argues that although vertical control mechanisms in the Chinese system effectively limit central–local preference divergence, they do little to contain horizontal conflicts between sub-national administrative units. The paucity of formal inter-jurisdictional dispute resolution mechanisms is a major barrier to meeting water resource challenges, and inter-jurisdictional collective action problems are likely to pose growing difficulties for the Chinese political system. 摘要 跨辖区水资源问题对中国的政治和经济是一个严峻的挑战。 本文从中央与地方关系的角度, 分析中国大坝建设、水资源分配以及下游水质污染所牵涉的水资源政治。 作者认为, 中国水资源政治的特点在于, 尽管各个管辖区受制于中央集中制, 仍然偏好各自的利益。 在所有案例中, 中央以下各行政单位皆采取各种竞争策略来争取自己管辖区的利益, 而不惜牺牲相邻管辖区的利益。 虽然中国垂直式管制机制有效地限制了中央与地方的分歧, 但并没有解决中央以下各行政单位之间的横向冲突。 缺乏一个正规机制来解决辖区之间的争端, 对中国水资源问题的解决极为不利。 同时, 各个管辖区行动不一致, 很有可能对中国的政治制度造成更多的困难。
Design of compact electromagnetic impulse radiating antenna for melanoma treatment

ABSTRACT Cancer therapy is one of the several new applications which use nanosecond and subnanosecond high voltage pulses. New treatment based on electromagnetic (EM) fields have been developed as non-surgical and minimally invasive treatments of tumors. In particular, subnanosecond pulses can introduce important non-thermal changes in cell biology, especially the permeabilization of the cell membrane. The motivation behind this work is to launch intense subnanosecond pulses to the target (tumors) non-invasively. This works focuses on the design of a compact intense pulsed EM radiating antenna. In tense EM waves radiated at the first focal point of the Prolate Spheroidal Reflector (PSR) are focused at the second focal point where the target (tumor) is present. Two antennas with PSR but fed with different compact wave radiator are designed to focus pulsed field at the second focal point. The PSR with modified bicone antenna feed and PSR with elliptically tapered horn antenna feed are designed. The design parameters and radiation performance are discussed.
A throughput fair SLNR scheduling algorithm for hybrid Fi-Wi indoor downlink MU-MIMO

Indoor downlink communication contributes to a large part of the data traffic generated in today's world. Enormous high data rate supporting devices are entering todays market. They demand for high rate wireless indoor coverage for their uninterrupted service. The main challenge lies in working with the existing wireless technologies while providing a future proof centralized optical fiber indoor backhaul for efficient indoor coverage. Fiber to the room paradigm is gaining a lot of attention in this regard. For supporting high data rates indoor, multiuser MIMO (MU-MIMO) is definitely a prominent choice. While quality of service serves as the most attractive feature that should be ensured among the mobile terminals (MTs). In this work we propose a throughput fair successive signal to leakage and noise ratio (SLNR) precoding algorithm for such a fiber-wireless (Fi-Wi) MU-MIMO indoor. The network capacity and individual MT data rate for our proposed scheme are compared against the greedy SLNR scheme and a random selection based SLNR precoding scheme. The Jains fairness index value for our scheme is shown to achieve maximal fairness.
Asset Pricing and Dual Listing on Foreign Capital Markets: A Note

INTERNATIONAL CAPITAL FLOWS CAN be hampered by a variety of barriers such as transaction costs, information costs, and legal restrictions. These barriers can be severe enough to produce segmentation of capital markets along national borders, thereby producing incentives for firms to adopt financial policies that can effectively reduce the associated negative effects. According to Stapleton and Subrahmanyam [6, p. 313], dual listing of the firm's securities on foreign capital markets is one such policy.1 However, adoption of this policy will bring forth asset-pricing adjustments. The purpose of this note is to provide and analyze a closed-form solution to the equilibrium asset-pricing problem that arises in this situation.2 Once the solution is obtained, comparative statics are provided.3 The model presented assumes that one of the domestic securities is dually listed on a foreign capital market, while none of the foreign securities is dually listed on the domestic capital market. This scenario often characterizes the initial stages of capital market integration, in which a country with relatively scarce capital or a relatively underdeveloped capital market allows a small number of domestic securities (or a fund of domestic securities) to be listed on a foreign capital market while simultaneously forbidding its citizens to invest in foreign securities. This point can be illustrated by the emergence of a variety of "country" funds in the U.S. capital market, such as the Japan Fund in the 1960's, the
Bank Holding Company Characteristics and the Upstreaming of Bank Funds: Note

The premise of integration underlies the current trend in the regulatory approach to bank holding companies (BHCs), reflecting the supervisors' concern that financial problems may be transferred among affiliates to the detriment of the subsidiary banks. There are several ways by which this may be accomplished, but the one that is central to this study is for the parent to require its banking subsidiaries to pay dividends beyond what would normally be considered pradent (in terms of the banks' own needs for internally generated capital) or to levy fees in excess of the value of services it provides them. Evidence was reported in [6] that banks affiliated with holding companies have followed significantly more liberal dividend policies in recent years than have comparable independent banks. The present investigation extends the prior study and represents the first attempt to analyze intraholding company funds flows for a large number of banks in a systematic fashion. The specific bypothesis tested states that there are observable characteristics of a holding company system, such as the financing techniques of the parent and the comparative importance of nonbanking organizations within the group, that are influential in determining the degree of upstreaming of funds by banking subsidiaries to the parent firm. Since such payments have the potential for adversely affecting a bank's capital position and its soundness, the identification of variables related to these payments should be important to regulators in their surveillance of banking firms.
Linking firm and managers' characteristics to perceived critical success factors for innovative entrepreneurial support

Purpose – This paper aims to examine perceived critical success factors (CSFs) affecting the performance of small to medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) and their relationship with firm characteristics. The paper also seeks to investigate the interdependence relationship among the perceived CSFs themselves using correlation coefficients.Design/methodology/approach – This paper is part of a wider study that was designed to investigate the perceived critical success/failure factors (PCSFs) affecting the development of SMEs. The study is based on a review of the literature, which provided a theoretical understanding of both CSFs and firm characteristics. This theoretical linkage was then tested using primary data that were collected through a two‐page questionnaire survey of 203 SMEs randomly selected from three cities in the Republic of Botswana. Principal component analysis (PCA) with Varimax rotation was used to reduce the data. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was conducted to test the relationship between firm .
Information Technology, Education, and the Sources of Economic Growth across U.S. Industries

This paper generates new industry-level data to examine the sources of the U.S. economic resurgence after 1995. We employ a production possibility frontier to aggregate across industries and show that investment in information technology (IT), increases in the employment of non-college educated workers, and productivity gains account for the surge in output. A closer look at the underlying industry data shows enormous variation in patterns of input accumulation and productivity growth. We conclude that failure to account for this variation can create a misleading perception of the sources of economic growth.
High affinity and low affinity heteromeric nicotinic acetylcholine receptors at central synapses

Most neuronal heteromeric nicotinic receptors seem able to adopt two different stochiometries depending on the ratio of α and β subunits. In recombinant receptors these two stoichiometries have been associated with different affinities to ACh, but it is not known which stoichiometry is present at nicotinic synapses in the nervous system. One possible clue to this identification is the speed of decay of the synaptic currents. In many ionotropic receptors this speed has been linked to the dissociation rate of the transmitter, which is itself related to its affinity. On this basis we propose that, at the synapse between motoneuron and Renshaw cells, the heteromeric nicotinic receptors are mostly low affinity receptors and suggest that, in contrast, the very slow decay of some synaptic currents recorded in other parts of the brain signs the presence of high affinity receptors rather than volume transmission.
Dynamic Hours of Work Functions for Husbands, Wives, and Single Females

Hours of work equations are derived from the constrained maximization of a utility function that is not separable over time and that varies with a household's demographic structure. These equations are fitted to observations on wage rates, nonlabor income, and other variables for husbands, wives, and unmarried women. The dependence of each household's current work and consumption behavior upon its work and consumption behavior in the past is examined closely and different interpretations of the relationship are confronted with the data.