Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
THREE MICROECONOMETRIC STUDIES OF DISPLACED WORKERS.

This thesis comprises three essays. The first two essays examine what inferences can be drawn about the structure of wages from the experiences of displaced workers using the Ontario Ministry of Labour Plant Closure Survey. The third essay examines the effect of unemployment benefits on household consumption during spells of unemployment, with a particular emphasis on durables purchases. It employs data from a second and new data source, the Canadian Out of Employment Panel. The first essay revisits the issue of what can be learned about wage tenure profiles from displaced worker data. The positive relationship between wages and tenure in cross section data is consistent with the accumulation of firm specific capital. Alternatively, it may be explained by unobserved heterogeniety across workers, or by endogenous mobility. Displaced worker data is quite helpful in correcting for the first possible bias, and less so for the second. The relationship between various estimation strategies in the literature is illustrated. Estimates that control for individual heterogeniety and endogenous mobility driven by systematic differences in the pay policies of firms are presented. In this data, 10 years of tenure appears to raise wages by about 7%. The second essay examines intra-industry wage differentials. Even after conditioning on a rich set of worker and job characteristics, firm of employment is a significant determinant of wages. Estimates that employ the longitudinal nature of data demonstrate that sorting of workers across firms by unobserved ability can explain about half of the observed differentials. Firm wage differentials are observed within narrow industries, consistent across broad occupational groups, and robust to conditioning on differences in the mix of skills or job characteristics. Further "high wage" firms exhibit high average tenures suggesting that positive wage premia are associated with reduced mobility. These observations imply that compensating wage differentials are also a poor candidate explanation for the observed differentials. The results are more consistent with models based on rents or some firm monopsony power. The results also raise questions about the interpretation of wage regressions which ignore firm heterogeneity, and about the sources of wages losses among displaced workers.
A detailed microscopic analysis of deep levels in heavily irradiated-medium resistivity silicon detectors

In this work we show a detailed deep levels analysis (an energy resolution of 50 meV was reached) of a set of medium resistivity silicon samples, irradiated up to a fluence of 2.5/spl middot/10/sup 15/ n/cm/sup 2/. In order to discriminate the large number of deep levels which appear to overlap their contributions in TSC and I-DLTS spectra, we adopted an innovative numerical procedure of data analysis which determines a set of deep levels that can account for both TSC and I-DLTS spectra. We finally obtained a consistent and detailed description of deep level population, clearly showing its evolution with fluence. Some results seem to suggest the possibility of quasi-continuous distributions of localized states inside the gap.
GMOs and Society

The discussion on GMOs and society is constructed around 12 major questions that have polarised debate on the subject, namely: What is the current status of GM crops, particularly in the Australasian region? Are the net economic benefits of GM crops likely to be positive or negative? Can the “Precautionary principle” ever be consistent with “Substantial equivalence”? How important are GM crops likely to be in poverty reduction in developing countries? Are the overall environmental benefits of GM crops positive or negative? GM crops – health hazard, health wonder or mostly irrelevant? Who really benefits – big business, farmers, or consumers? IP management – necessary for research and investment in GM crop development or only a tool for the rich to get richer? Labelling and segregation chains – consumer right to choose or unworkable apartheid? Can regulatory systems evolve that can please everyone? Is it possible not to take sides - Why is there so much opposition? Hope or hype? Has the technology been oversold? Is universal adoption inevitable? Media summary This paper summarises some of the arguments that are currently used for and against production of genetically-modified (GM) crops. It proposes a likely scenario akin to that for nuclear energy, in which some countries will be strong adopters while others will not adopt GM crops even after the technology has been available elsewhere for several decades.
A numerical study of the interaction between two ejecta in the interplanetary medium: one- and two-dimensional hydrodynamic simulations

Abstract. We studied the heliospheric evolution in one and two dimensions of the interaction between two ejecta-like disturbances beyond the critical point: a faster ejecta 2 overtaking a previously launched slower ejecta 1. The study is based on a hydrodynamic model using the ZEUS-3-D code. This model can be applied to those cases where the interaction occurs far away from the Sun and there is no merging (magnetic reconnection) between the two ejecta. The simulation shows that when the faster ejecta 2 overtakes ejecta 1 there is an interchange of momentum between the two ejecta, where the leading ejecta 1 accelerates and the tracking ejecta 2 decelerates. Both ejecta tend to arrive at 1AU having similar speeds, but with the front of ejecta 1 propagating faster than the front of ejecta 2. The momentum is transferred from ejecta 2 to ejecta 1 when the shock initially driven by ejecta 2 passes through ejecta 1. Eventually the two shock waves driven by the two ejecta merge together into a single stronger shock. The 2-D simulation shows that the evolution of the interaction can be very complex and there are very different signatures of the same event at different viewing angles; however, the transferring of momentum between the two ejecta follows the same physical mechanism described above. These results are in qualitative agreement with in-situ plasma observations of "multiple magnetic clouds" detected at 1AU.
Identity and Social Distance in Friendship Formation

We analyze a network formation model where agents belong to different communities. Both individual benefits and costs depend on direct as well as indirect connections. Benefits of an indirect connection decrease with distance in the network while the cost of a link depends on the type of agents involved. Two individuals from the same community always face a low linking cost and the cost of forming a relationship for two individuals of different communities diminishes with the rate of exposure of each of them to the other community. We derive a number of results with regard to equilibrium networks. In particular, socialization among the same type of agents can be weak even if the within-type link cost is very low and oppositional identity patterns can arise for a wide range of parameters. Our model also suggests that policies aiming at reducing segregation are socially desirable only if they reduce the within-community cost differential by a sufficiently large amount.
Extension programme participation and smallholders livelihood: Evidence from Awassa Zuria District, SNNPR, Ethiopia

In this paper the extension organization that promotes packages of technologies and practices was closely examined in line with its impact to mediate the use of household resources which determine the type of livelihood strategies perused at household level and their ultimate outcomes either in more secured or vulnerable livelihoods. For this study, a survey data were collected in 2006 from a randomly selected 65 participant and 27 dropout farm households living in Maqibassa and Dure-Bafano peasant associations in Awassa Zuria district, SNNPR, Ethiopia. Empirical estimation models like limited dependent variable and switching regression analyses methods were employed to analyse the data. Marginal effects of the independent variables were also considered in the limited dependent variable estimation approaches. Estimation results show that household participation status in the extension programme significantly depends on household head characteristics (like age and level of education), family size, household wealth status and duration of stay in the programme. Household food security status increases with program participation as the use of purchased external inputs and technical advice enhance crop yield for participant households in the extension programme. Marginalizing the poor rural households from the current extension programme aggravates rural livelihood insecurity and rural poverty for which it was meant as a remedy. This capitalizes the need to consider a paradigm shift from production oriented agricultural extension to livelihood extension approach which comprises agricultural and non-agricultural rural interventions with the objective of giving the opportunity to the poor rural farm households in securing their livelihoods by making use of available resources at hand. Key words: Livelihood extension, agricultural extension, participants, dropouts, food security.
UvA-DARE ( Digital Academic Repository ) Application of GIS and logistic regression to fossil pollen data in modelling present and past spatial distribution of the Colombian savanna

Climate changes affect the abundance, geographic extent, and floral composition of vegetation, which are reflected in the pollen rain. Sediment cores taken from lakes and peat bogs can be analysed for their pollen content. The fossil pollen records provide information on the temporal changes in climate and palaeo-environments. Although the complexity of the variables influencing vegetation distribution requires a multi-dimensional approach, only a few research projects have used GIS to analyse pollen data. This paper presents a new approach to palynological data analysis by combining GIS and spatial modelling. Eastern Colombia was chosen as a study area owing to the migration of the forest–savanna boundary since the last glacial maximum, and the availability of pollen records. Logistic regression has been used to identify the climatic variables that determine the distribution of savanna and forest in eastern Colombia. These variables were used to create a predictive land-cover model, which was subsequently implemented into a GIS to perform spatial analysis on the results. The palynological data from the study area were incorporated into the GIS. Reconstructed maps of past vegetation distribution by interpolation showed a new approach of regional multi-site data synthesis related to climatic parameters. The logistic regression model resulted in a map with 85.7% predictive accuracy, which is considered useful for the reconstruction of future and past land-cover distributions. The suitability of palynological GIS application depends on the number of pollen sites, the distribution of the pollen sites over the area of interest, and the degree of overlap of the age ranges of the pollen records.
Retrieval of thermospheric parameters from routine ionospheric observations: assessment of method’s performance at mid-latitudes daytime hours

A new method has been developed to retrieve neutral temperature T n and composition [O], [N 2 ], [O 2 ] from electron density profiles in the daytime mid-latitude F 2 -region under both quiet and disturbed conditions. A comparison with CHAMP neutral gas density observations in the vicinity of Millstone Hill Incoherent Scatter Radar (ISR) has shown that the retrieved neutral gas densities coincide with the observed ones within the announced accuracy of CHAMP observations, provided that accurate N e ( h ) ISR profiles are used for the retrieval. The performance of the method has also been tested ingesting Digisonde N e ( h ) profiles. In this case the agreement with CHAMP neutral gas density observations is less successful. Possible factors that can influence the performance accuracy are investigated. These are mostly related to limitations due to the ionogram scaling and inversion methods, including performance limitations of the sounding technique itself, like for instance during G-conditions. Several tests presented here demonstrate that discrepancies in the hmF2 values provided by the Digisondes could have an important impact on the performance of the method. It should be noted that in all tests performed here using Digisonde N e ( h ) profiles, the topside part is approximated with the NeQuick model and any assessment concerning the impact of the topside profiler on the accuracy of the method is beyond the scope of this investigation. Despite the limitations related to the use of Digisonde profiles, the proposed method has the potential to monitor the thermosphere at least with ISR N e ( h ) profiles. Digisonde electron density profiles can also be used if quality improvements are made concerning the ionogram inversion methods.
The Account of the Reign of Manasseh in II Reg 21,1 18 and the Redactional History of the Book of Kings

According to l 2 Kings, Manasseh was the worst king of Judah; moreover, his deeds angered the deity to the extent that God's response to them was an irrevocable sentence of punishment against Judah. Consequently, the account of his reign is one of the most important pieces in l 2 Kings and one of the most important test cases for any comprehensive theory about the redactional history of the Book of Kings. Does this account support or contradict the idea that there was a basic and comprehensive historiographico/theological work (dtr-H) that was reinterpreted and partially reshaped by two redactional traditions, one »prophetic« oriented (dtr-P) and the other »Torah« (Deuteronomy) oriented (dtr-N)?
Effects of Exchange Benefits, Security Concerns and Situational Privacy Concerns on Mobile Commerce Adoption

Few empirical studies have examined both privacy and security concerns in the context of mobile commerce (m-commerce) while accounting for the effects of situational privacy concerns specific to the context of m-commerce. This research fills this gap in research by exploring users’ exchange perceptions specific to the context of m-commerce in China and by examining the inhibitors and drives of m-commerce adoption in China from the perspectives of social exchange. Particularly, this research develops an integrated research model in which users’ perceptions on value added of and usefulness of m-commerce, and users’ privacy concerns and security concerns of m-commerce are examined. The research model is empirically tested by using the survey data collected in a large city in China. Our findings confirmed the conceptualization of the research model and indicated that users’ perceived exchange benefits are the drivers of m-commerce use. Users’ security concerns hinder their intention to conduct m-commerce. Surprisingly, users’ privacy concerns seem not to have a significant impact on users’ favorable attitude toward m-commerce, but situational privacy concerns including location tracking and personalized use of user information significantly impact users’ general privacy concerns.
The Determinants of Capital Structure in a Regulatory Industry: The Case of Kenyan Banks

This paper shows the standard cross-sectional determinants of banks' leverage in Kenya using annual financial statements from 2001 to 2009. Applying a fixed effect model, the authors find a remarkable consistency in sign, significance and economic magnitude. Like non-financial firms, banks appear to have stable capital structures at levels that are specific to each individual bank. The results suggest that large banks tend to be highly leveraged and the more profitable the bank is, the less debt it has. There has been inconclusive debate over the significance of regulatory capital and the extent counter-cyclical factors influence financial stability in banks. Our result also shows that regulatory capital is significant in determining leverage level; that is, the more regulatory capital, the less leveraged the bank is. The authors also found that growth in gross domestic product (GDP) offers a significant positive influence on the leverage level.
Two-Sector Stochastic Growth Models

This paper develops the study of two-sector growth models of the form introduced by Arrow and Kurz (1970). We extend their deterministic model by allowing the population process to become random and by allowing the population to choose their level of effort. We find that under suitable conditions the government is able to tax and borrow in such as way as to induce the private sector to invest and consume along the path which the government considers optimal. Moreover, we also find that in some important cases the model can be solved explicitly in closed form, to the extent that we can write down expressions for tax rates and interest rates. This leads to new one-factor interest rate models, with related taxation policies; numerical examples show very reasonable behaviour.
The Forest of Romania: a Social - Economic's Dramma

Forests were covering at the start of the third millennium around 26.5% of Romania's territory. Comprised into forest zones expanded in all historical provinces of the country, they are representing an important economic resource, an also an essential factor of the man-environment equilibrium. The organization of the rational exploitation of the forestry fund, adopted ever since the XIX Century, was abandoned after the forests nationalization, imposed by the communist regime in 1948. Urbanization and industrialization, held in view by this regime, did not take into account the ecological requirements and neither those linked to the renewal of the natural economic resources. The transition coming after the fall of communism, with pervert economic, psychological and sociological effects, has led to a savage exploitation of the forestry fund, the lack of some compensation measures (re-forestations, young forest protection), under the context of statal authority's dissolution (after the excessive communist authoritarism), having catastrophic consequences: land slides, desertification, pollution. The remake of the forest ownership structure, from before nationalization, is not, as a consequence, sufficient, the putting into possession having to be accompanied, in the goal of remaking the natural harmony of man with his existential environment, by a series of economic, legislative, educational initiatives, which the EU integration could facilitate.
Monetary Union in West Africa: An Agency of Restraint for Fiscal Policies?

Could a West African monetary union (either of the non-CFA countries, or all ECOWAS members) be an effective "agency of restraint" on fiscal policies? We discuss how monetary union could affect fiscal discipline and the arguments for explicit fiscal restraints considered in the European Monetary Union literature, and their applicability to West Africa. The empirical evidence, EMU literature, and CFA experience suggest that monetary union could create the temptation for fiscal profligacy through prospects of a bailout, or costs diluted through the membership. Thus, a West African monetary union could promote fiscal discipline only if the hands of the fiscal authorities are also tied by a strong set of fiscal restraints.
Effect of Moisture Content on some Engineering properties of Groundnut Pods and Kernels

Effect of moisture content on some engineering properties of groundnut pods and kernels were investigated. Two groundnut varieties were used namely; Manipintar and Ex-Dakar . The properties investigated were principal dimensions, porosity, bulk density, true density, angle of repose and static coefficient of friction as dependent variables while moisture content is the independent variable. At an increasing moisture content of 7.3 – 25.2 % d.b. , the mean length, thickness, width, geometric mean diameter, arithmetic mean diameter and surface area for Ex-Dakar pods were 30.6 - 33.46, 12.55 - 14.89, 12.8 - 14.03, 16.88 – 18.71, 18.61 - 20.75 mm and 904.86 – 1099.73 cm 2 , respectively. The corresponding mean values for the Manipintar pods were 18.60 – 30.89, 11.62 – 15.01, 11.72 – 14.05, 13.63 – 18.68, 13.98 - 19.98 mm and 583.78 – 1095.80 cm 2 , respectively. However, for Ex-Dakar kernels, the mean length, thickness, width, geometric mean diameter, arithmetic mean diameter and surface area recorded within moisture range of 8.5 – 28.1 % were 12.92 – 13.01, 8.81 – 9.35, 10.73 – 11.71, 10.72 – 11.14, 10.82 – 11.36 mm and 360.96 – 389.68 cm 2 , respectively. Similarly, mean values for the Manipintar kernels were 18.60 – 30.89, 11.62 – 15.01, 11.72 – 14.05, 8.97 – 11.03, 9.19 – 11.38 mm, and 252.89 – 382.16 cm 2 , respectively. The porosity for Ex-Dakar pods increases from 30.23 – 61.77 % and from 11.65 – 18.63 % for the kernels, from 31.37 – 59.41 % and 11.65 – 33.82 % for Manipintar pods and kernels. True density increases from 0.35 – 0.72 and 0.84 – 1.13 g/cm 3 for Ex-Dakar pods and kernels, from 0.39 – 0.62 and 0.98 – 1.29 g/cm 3 for Manipintar pods and kernels. However, the bulk density shows a decrease from 0.33 – 0.24 and 0.92 – 0.55 g/cm 3 for Ex-Dakar pods and kernels, and from 0.53 – 0.21 and 1.12 – 0.75 g/cm 3 for Manipintar pods and kernels. Angle of repose increases from 25.1 – 28.9 o and 24.7 – 27.1 o for Ex-Dakar pods and kernels, and for Manipintar pod and kernels, it increases from 26.3 – 29.5 o and 25.0 – 29.0 o . The mean static coefficient of friction on plywood, galvanize sheet and glass increased at varying moisture content for both pods and kernels. The establishment of these parameters would serve as reference that is required to achieve the desired results in successful design and operation of groundnut processing equipment.
The Impact of Identification on Adherence to Group Norms in Team Sports: Who Is Going the Extra Mile?

The present research investigates the applicability of the Normative Conflict Model of Dissent (NCMD; Packer, 2008) in the context of team sports. The core assumption of the NCDM is that strongly identified group members adhere to group norms less (i.e., deviate more) when these norms are potentially harmful for the team. We accompanied a football team over the course of a season (22 time points) and assessed players’ (n 11) identification with their team, adherence as the overlap between individual and team goals, and disengagement as willingness to leave the team. Results showed that weakly identified players adhered to, but strongly identified players deviated from, unambitious—thus potentially harmful—team goals. Moreover, deviance elicited disengagement among weakly but not among strongly identified players. Our findings demonstrate the relevance of the NCMD in sports teams. Implications are discussed with respect to the beneficial aspects of deviance for teams.
Changing on the Inside: Restorative Justice in Prisons: A Literature Review

In recent years there has been increasing interest in the use of restorative justice, including its use within the prison environment. This literature review first considers some of the theory and practice of restorative approaches in general terms before turning to consider their application in the Bahamian and wider Caribbean setting, particularly Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago. The literature review was undertaken collaboratively with the College of The Bahamas faculty involved in a profiling study of the inmates held at Her Majesty’s Prison Fox Hill, Nassau. The findings of that study relating to restorative justice are referred to in the review of sources.