Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Critical Role of Conditioning Information in Determining if Value is Really Riskier than Growth

Conditional asset pricing models have been used to determine whether the value premium and other CAPM anomalies are due to risk. We show that the conclusions on whether these anomalies are due to risk are very sensitive to the choice of the information variables used to define good and bad states of the world. We use a conditional CAPM framework allowing for alternative sets of plausible conditioning information and find that value appears to be riskier than growth in only about ten to twenty percent of specifications. We find even less evidence that size, issuance, momentum, and asset growth portfolio returns are due to risk. Overall, our results suggest that common CAPM anomalies are not due to risk.
The Role of the Tourism Industry in Transforming a Rentier to a Long-Term Viable Economy: The Case of Bahrain

During the past four decades, the tourism industry has emerged as one of the leading industries worldwide. In the Arab countries, however, despite its huge potential, the tourism industry is still in its infancy phase. With the exception of only a few countries, until recently most of the Arab countries almost ignored the economic potential of tourism. Since the 1990s, their traditional attitude of neglect toward the tourism industry has undergone a transformation, a fact that was not lost by the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. Thus, since the mid-1990s, all of the GCC countries, without exception, have been trying to promote their tourism sector, which soon became a prominent economic sector. The paper concentrates on one tourism development case – that of Bahrain – the least ‘rentier’ within the GCC oil-economies. The main research question addressed by this paper is to what extent Bahrain has introduced a cohesive and economically viable tourism industry that contributes to a more sustainable economy of this country. This exploratory paper examines Bahrain's motivation to promote tourism; its tourism comparative advantage; the major difficulties facing Bahrain's further tourism expansion; and the overall role of the tourism industry in the Bahraini economy.
Commodity Taxation under Habit Formation and Myopia

Abstract This paper analyzes the pattern of consumption taxes in a two period model with habit formation and myopia. An individuals second-period needs increase with first period consumption. However, myopic individuals do not see this habit formation relation when they take their saving decision. The first-best solution is decentralized by a simple Pigouvian (paternalistic) consumption tax (along with suitable lump-sum taxes). In a second-best setting, when personalized lump-sum transfers are not available, consumption taxes may have conflicting paternalistic and redistributive effects. Taxes should discourage consumption of goods that entail negative externalities (unforeseen habits), but instead they discourage less the consumption of goods that are proportionately consumed by individuals with high net social marginal utility of income. Both myopic and farsighted individuals may benefit more from the second-best policy as the proportion of myopic agents in society increases.
Loss of p16 expression is associated with histological features of melanoma invasion

While mutations of CDKN2A are associated with melanoma predisposition, the precise role of its gene product p16 in the development of sporadic melanoma is less clearly understood. We sought to determine the prevalence of p16 expression using immunohistochemical analysis in a population-based sample of melanoma tumours, and also to identify histological, phenotypic and environmental factors associated with the presence or absence of p16 expression. We conducted face-to-face interviews with 108 patients newly diagnosed with melanoma to ascertain their history of sun exposure, and recorded various phenotypic parameters. Paraffin sections of tumours from these patients were stained with an anti-p16 monoclonal antibody following antigen retrieval. Overall, 52 (48%) tumours expressed p16; nodular melanomas had significantly lower levels of p16 immunoreactivity than superficial spreading melanomas (P = 0.015). While no association was found between p16 expression and host phenotype, loss of p16 staining was associated with thicker lesions (p = 0.084) and a high mitotic index (P = 0.013). Taken together, these findings are consistent with loss of p16 being a late event in the progression of sporadic primary melanomas, being associated with tumours of a more aggressive nature.
Demand for Marijuana, Alcohol and Tobacco: Participation, Levels of Consumption and Cross-Equation Correlations

We investigated marijuana, alcohol and tobacco consumption using micro-unit data from the Australian National Drug Strategy Household Surveys. We estimated a multivariate probit (MVP) model to allow for correlations across participations of different drugs and a sequential model to study separately the determinants of participation and the levels of consumption. The MVP results indicate significant and positive correlations across all three drugs through unobservable characteristics, with the correlation coefficient between marijuana and tobacco being the highest. The MVP approach allows for better prediction of conditional and joint probabilities, providing valuable information for policy makers in a multidrug framework.
The effects of low-level environmental tobacco smoke exposure on pulmonary function tests in preschool children with asthma

Abstract Objectives: Though parents of children with asthma smoke, they often avoid smoking in their homes or near their children, thus limiting exposure. It is not known if such low-level environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) results in measurable exposure or affects lung function. The objectives of this study were to measure urinary cotinine in preschool children with asthma, and to examine the relationship between low-level ETS exposure and pulmonary function tests (PFTs). Methods: Preschool children with asthma were enrolled. Parents completed questionnaires on ETS exposure and asthma control, urinary cotinine concentrations were measured and PFTs were compared between subjects with and without recent ETS exposure. Results: Forty one subjects were enrolled. All parents denied smoking in their home within the last 2 weeks, but 14 (34%) parents admitted to smoking outside their homes or away from their children. Fifteen (37%; 95%CI: 23–53) of the children had urinary cotinine levels ≥1 ng/ml, of which seven (17%; 95%CI: 8–32) had levels ≥5 ng/ml. FEV1 and FEV0.5 were lower in subjects with a urinary cotinine level ≥5 ng/ml as compared to those with levels <1 ng/ml or between 1 and 5 ng/ml; both at baseline and after inhalation of albuterol. Five of seven subjects with urinary cotinine levels ≥5 ng/ml had FEV0.5 less than 65% of predicted values. There were no significant differences in IOS measures. Conclusions: Despite parental denial of smoking near their children, preschool children may be exposed to ETS. Such low-level ETS exposure may affect lung function, possibly in a dose-dependent manner.
Effects of High Stimulus Presentation Rate on c-VEP based BCIs

This study aims at investigating the eects of high stimulus presentation rates (refresh rate of the monitor) on a c-VEP based speller BCI. To this end, a 6×6 speller BCI was designed using a monitör with a refresh rate up to 240 Hz. Six subjects participated in three dierent experiments with refresh rates of 60 Hz (E1), 120 Hz (E2) and 240 Hz (E3), where a 127-bit m-sequence is used. Information transfer rate (ITR) and accuracy values were calculated for each experiment and subject. Power spectral density (PSD) estimates of c-VEP responses and results of principal component analysis (PCA) were evaluated. Average ITR and accuracy values for E1 are 84.24 bits/min and 91%, for E2 are 90.68 bits/min and 95% and for E3 72.16 bits/min and 82% respectively. Also 5 out of 6 subjects stated that E3, and 1 subject stated that E2 is the most comfortable experiment. The c-VEP responses are band-limited although the input m-sequence is a wide-band signal. The spectral densities of c-VEP templates are concentrated on several frequency intervals, especially for E3. This periodicity leads to target misclassification. PCA shows that only 73, 52, and 26 well distinguishable responses can be obtained with a 127-bit length m-sequence for E1, E2, and E3 respectively. Considering all results and observations, we suggest that 120 Hz refresh rate is best to use in BCIs with high number of targets whereas 240 Hz refresh rate is reasonable for low number of targets.
Low-Growth Equilibrium Accompanied by High Levels of Educational Attainment

The paper demonstrates the low-growth trap associated with high educational attainment in an overlapping-generations model by examining the dual positive effect of senior educated workers in leading-edge technology: On technological progress and on young workers' on-the-job learning. If new technology is sufficiently productive, young workers will demand education to update technology when old, and high technological growth is sustained in the future. Conversely, if new technology is unproductive, they will demand education merely to improve the skills necessary for existing technology, and technological progress will stagnate. Nevertheless, vigorous investment in education occurs since young workers have little hope for on-the-job learning.
A Case Study of Drama Education for Kindergarten Children in the United States: Drama Specialists` Beliefs and Practices

This case study examines two drama specialists` perspectives on the purpose of drama education and how their visions and beliefs are reflected in their drama practices during a six-week kindergarten drama program. Two experienced drama specialists who have worked at public elementary schools located in the Midwestern United States were the main participants of this case study. Using a qualitative case study method, in-depth observations and semi-structured interviews were carried out. Findings show that the drama specialists believed the purpose of drama education to be the building of self-confidence, creativity, awareness of the arts and respect for others. Both congruent and inconsistent relations between their beliefs and their teaching practices were observed. Based on these findings, an understanding of how specialists` beliefs and practices contribute to a broader understanding of drama education is further discussed.
Independent Actor or Agent? An Empirical Analysis of the Impact of U.S. Interests on International Monetary Fund Conditions

In this paper, we analyze whether International Monetary Fund (IMF) conditionality is exclusively designed to be in line with observable economic indicators or whether it is partly driven by the IMF's major shareholder, the United States. A panel data analysis of 206 letters of intent from 38 countries, submitted during the period April 1997 through February 2003, revealed that the number of conditions on an IMF loan depended on a borrowing country’s voting pattern in the UN General Assembly. Closer allies of the United States (and other Group of 7 [G7] countries) received IMF loans with fewer conditions, especially prior to elections. These results are relevant to current public policy debates on the role and process of setting IMF loan conditions and provide broader insight into the influence of the United States and other G7 countries on international institutions.
Sustainability Indicators for Small Tourism Enterprises – An Exploratory Perspective

Despite the numerical dominance of small tourism enterprises (STEs) in many destinations, little is known about their role in helping destinations progress towards sustainability objectives. The a priori assumption is that, by being small and locally owned, these enterprises automatically contribute to sustainable tourism development. This paper argues that to test this assumption, relevant indicators of sustainability (ISTs) should be developed. In contrast to destination and community ISTs, which are often stakeholder driven, the indicators developed here take an unconventional but not unprecedented approach, drawing on published frameworks and peer-reviewed case studies. The methodology of this approach has been made explicit so that potential users and researchers can assess its value and build upon it. A list of indicators that emerge from the process, covering the four broad sustainability dimensions, is given, which can be used in assessing the STE's progress towards a destination's long-term sustainability goals.
A three‐layer model for buckling of a human aortic segment under specific flow‐pressure conditions

Human aortas are subjected to large mechanical stresses because of blood flow pressurization and through contact with the surrounding tissue. It is essential that the aorta does not lose stability by buckling with deformation of the cross‐section (shell‐like buckling) (i) for its proper functioning to ensure blood flow and (ii) to avoid high stresses in the aortic wall. A numerical bifurcation analysis employs a refined reduced‐order model to investigate the stability of a straight aorta segment conveying blood flow. The structural model assumes a nonlinear cylindrical orthotropic laminated composite shell composed of three layers representing the tunica intima, media and adventitia. Residual stresses because of pressurization are evaluated and included in the model. The fluid is formulated using a hybrid model that contains the unsteady effects obtained from linear potential flow theory and the steady viscous effects obtained from the time‐averaged Navier–Stokes equations. The aortic segment loses stability by divergence with deformation of the cross‐section at a critical flow velocity for a given static pressure, exhibiting a strong subcritical behaviour with partial or total collapse of the inner wall. Preliminary results suggest directions for further study in relation to the appearance and growth of dissection in the aorta. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Goodwill Impairment Losses and CEO Compensation

Corporate acquisitions are arguably one of the most important and biggest decisions CEOs have to make; yet many acquisitions do not create value for shareholders. We examine whether CEO compensation is reduced when the fair values of the acquired business units are written down (i.e., goodwill impairment losses are recognized). We find that there is a significant reduction in cash- and option-based CEO compensation as firms recognize goodwill impairment losses. In particular, we find that the decrease in CEO option-based compensation is driven by firms that are not R&D intensive, while the decrease in CEO cash compensation is driven by firms that acquired larger targets in the recent past and have CEOs with a shorter tenure. Our results suggest that compensation committees make CEOs pay a price for non-value maximizing acquisitions and discourage them from further undertaking risky investments especially by reducing the risk-inducing component of their compensation packages.
Influence of Heavy Snow on the Feeding Behavior of Japanese Macaques (Macaca Fuscata) in Northern Japan

Natural disasters can degrade primate habitat and alter feeding behavior. Here, we examined the influence of unusually heavy snow on diet and feeding‐site use by Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata) in northern Japan. To compare the winter‐feeding behavior under different snow conditions, we recorded the plant species foraged on by macaques in multiple transects of the Shirakami Mountains from 2008 to 2012 (excluding 2011). We used cluster analysis to describe foraged plant assemblages, and applied multiple dimensional scaling and decision tree modeling to evaluate annual variation in feeding‐site use by macaques. Our cluster analysis revealed five types of foraged plant assemblages. The proportion of each type present in transects varied considerably across the years, indicating that the diet of macaques in heavy snow conditions was influenced more by resource accessibility than by preference. Multiple dimensional scaling and decision tree modeling demonstrated that heavy snow conditions restricted feeding‐site use. Moreover, the distribution of refuges relative to severe external ambient environments was a stronger limiting factor for feeding‐site use than was the availability of food resources. While most primate species facing unexpected starvation employ risk‐prone foraging tactics (i.e., choosing the option with higher pay‐off by accepting risk), Japanese macaques have a tendency to adopt risk‐averse foraging behavior (i.e., minimizing energy loss when searching for preferred diet items under long‐lasting heavy snow conditions), because winters with temperatures below freezing have higher thermoregulatory costs. Am. J. Primatol. 75:534‐544, 2013. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
On the Benefits of Multichannel/Wideband Spectrum Sensing with Non-Uniform Channel Sensing Durations for Cognitive Radio Networks

Two optimal frameworks for multichannel spectrum sensing in cognitive radio networks are presented. Both frameworks search for multiple secondary transmission opportunities over a number of narrowband channels, enhancing the secondary network performance while respecting the primary network integrity and keeping the interference limited. Considering a sequential periodic sensing scheme with non-uniform channel sensing durations, the original sensing problems are formulated as optimization problems to maximize the throughput capacity of the secondary network subject to some bounds/limits on the interference to the primary network. The first framework, referred to as sequential multichannel joint detection, considers the aggregate (weighted) interference on the primary network as the constraint. The second framework, known as decoupled sequential multichannel joint detection, assumes that interference is limited in each channel separately (i.e. independently). The non-convex sensing problems are transformed into convex optimization problems under certain practical conditions. Simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of both the proposed frameworks and attest to their superior performances compared to contemporary strategies.
Growth and Distribution: A Guyana Case Study

The principal contribution of this article is that it provides evidence of recent trends of inequality in Guyana, but the article goes beyond this and describes the evolution of inequality since 1974 to 2013. This is done within a Kaleckian framework to derive profit and wage rates, since recent Gini coefficients data are absent. The evidence implies that inequality is on the rise. The article argues that the mining and quarrying sector regulates Guyana’s growth performance and ignites growth in the non-tradable services sector, which are characterized by low-wage-low-employment opportunities. Thus, a greater share of the gains in income in these sectors goes to profits when growth is sustained.
Intellectual capital: Measurement effectiveness

Intellectual capital (IC), knowledge management and intangible assets are important factors in determining the value of an organization, as reflected in the growth of the knowledge management industry. There is however, a lack of effective measurement techniques to specify and optimize the value of IC. This paper presents a detailed review of existing techniques and establish the need for a more comprehensive approach. The proposed framework addresses IC valuation issues across the IC cycle. People, process, and technology are measured and correlated in the final step with social and financial measures, thus providing a new framework.
Corporate Risk Management and the Incentive Effects of Debt

This paper demonstrates how the incentive of manager-equityholders to substitute toward riskier assets, commonly referred to as the "asset substitution problem," is related to the level of observable risk in the firm. When observable and unobservable risks are sufficiently positively correlated, increases (decreases) in observable risk generate the incentive for manager-equityholders to increase (decrease) unobservable risk. Thus, credible commitments to hedge observable risk can benefit the firm's manager-equityholders by reducing the incentive to shift risk and the associated agency cost of debt. This provides a positive rationale for hedging diversifiable risk at the firm level. Copyright 1990 by American Finance Association.
Call centres and beyond: a thematic evaluation

This introduction aims to place the articles in this special edition in the context of the wider literature on call centres. The discussion is arranged around four themes: the characteristics and organisational features of call centre work, the choices and strategies that are available to manage the work, the effects of this type of work on employees and, finally, the responses and reactions of call centre staff to their work experiences. The articles selected, which are drawn from a conference sponsored by this journal, are then summarised.
English Workers' Real Wages During the Industrial Revolution: Some Remaining Problems

In recent years there has been a substantial amount of new work on the behavior of British wages and prices during the Industrial Revolution. ' In the most striking revisionist article Peter Lindert and Jeffrey G. Williamson concluded that "After prolonged wage stagnation, real wages . nearly doubled between 1820 and 1850. This is a far larger increase than even past 'optimists' had announced. It is also large enough to resolve most of the debate over whether real wages improved during the Industrial Revolution. ' 2 The findings were based on a wider range of evidence on wage rates and a more carefully weighted cost-of-living index (using new data for clothing and rent) than appeared in earlier studies. It is apparent that the major reason for Lindert and Williamson's greater optimism lies in the behavior of their cost-of-living index.3 I argue below that there are still important data problems that make real wage measurement hazardous. Lindert and Williamson's cost-of-living index is not acceptable and its deficiencies lead to serious bias in their results. In particular, it seems likely that real wage growth between 1821 and 1851 was about 1 percent per year lower than they estimate.
Corruption, Political Instability and Economic Development in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS): Is There a Causal Relationship?

Despite the abundant research on economic development, corruption and political instability, little research has attempted to examine whether there is a causal relationship among them. This paper examines the causal relationship among corruption, political instability and economic development in the ECOWAS using the Granger causality test within a multivariate cointegration and error-correction framework for the 1996-2012 period. The findings indicate that political instability Granger-causes economic development in the short term, while political instability and economic development Granger-cause corruption in the long term. In addition, we employed the forecast error variance decomposition and impulse response function analyses to investigate the dynamic interaction between the variables. The results demonstrate positive unidirectional Granger causality from political instability to economic development in the short term and positive unidirectional Granger causality from political instability and economic development to corruption in the long term in ECOWAS countries. Thus, ECOWAS governments should employ policies to promote political stability in the region.