Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Does Beta Move with News? Systematic Risk and Firm-Specific Information Flows

This paper shows that the systematic risk (or "beta") of individual stocks increases by an economically and statistically signi…cant amount on days of firm-specific news announcements, and reverts to its average level two to five days later. We employ intra-daily data and recent advances in econometric theory to obtain daily firm-level estimates of beta for all constituents of the S&P 500 index over the period 1995-2006, and estimate the behavior of beta around the dates of over 22,000 quarterly earnings announcements. We find that the increase in beta is larger for more liquid and more visible stocks, and for announcements with greater information content and higher ex-ante uncertainty. We also find important differences in the behavior of beta across different industries. Our analysis reveals that changes in beta around news announcements are mostly driven by an increase in the covariance of announcing firms with other firms in the market. We provide a simple model of investors’ expectations formation that helps explain our empirical findings: changes in beta can be generated by investors learning about the profitability of a given firm by using information on other firms.
Influence of home exercise performance, concurrent physical activity and analgesics on pain in people with osteoarthritis

Purpose. This study investigated predictors of pain reduction in people with lower limb osteoarthritis (OA) who performed an eight-week home exercise program. Subjects. Forty-one males and 74 females aged 60 years or older with OA of knees and/or hips. Basic procedures. Simple regression models were used to investigate the influence of home exercise adherence, concurrent physical activity, the number of correctly performed home exercises and the use of analgesics on knee/hip pain frequency and intensity. Main findings. Pain frequency and intensity decreased significantly during weeks 1-4 of an 8-week home exercise program for OA. Home exercise adherence, concurrent physical activities, correctness of exercise performance and the use of analgesic medication were not associated with pain reduction. Home exercise adherence was associated with decreased knee pain intensity during weeks 1-4 yet not during weeks 5-8 of the home exercise program. Conclusions. In the early phases of a home exercise program, there was a relationship between adherence to a home exercise program and lower limb pain.
Particle transport in density gradient driven TE mode turbulence

The turbulent transport of main ion and trace impurities in a tokamak device in the presence of steep electron density gradients has been studied. The parameters are chosen for trapped electron mode turbulence, driven primarily by steep electron density gradients relevant to H-mode physics. Results obtained through nonlinear and quasilinear gyrokinetic simulations using the GENE code are compared with results obtained from a fluid model. Impurity transport is studied by examining the balance of convective and diffusive transport, as quantified by the density gradient corresponding to zero particle flux (impurity peaking factor). Scalings are obtained for the impurity peaking with the background electron density gradient and the impurity charge number. It is shown that the impurity peaking factor is weakly dependent on impurity charge and significantly smaller than the driving electron density gradient.
DESIGN AND EVALUATE ALGINATE NANOPARTICLES AS A PROTEIN DELIVERY SYSTEM

In recent years, encapsulation of drugs and antigens in hydrogels, specifically in calcium alginate particles, is an interesting and practical technique that was developed widespread. It is well known that alginate solution, under proper conditions, can form suitable nanoparticles as a promising carrier system, for vaccine delivery. The aim of this study was to synthesis alginate nanoparticles as protein carrier and to evaluate the influence of various factors on nanoparticles properties. Alginate nanoparticles were prepared by ionic gelation method. Briefly, various concentrations of CaCl2 were added to different concentrations of sodium alginate dropwisly by homogenizing magnetically at 1300 rpm. The effects of homogenization time and (-) rate were investigated on nanoparticle feature. Nanoparticles were characterized for their morphology and size distribution. Evaluation of loading capacity and loading efficiency of nanoparticles were performed by using various concentration of BSA. The concentration of 0.3%w/v sodium alginate and 0.1%w/v CaCl2 solution, homogenization time 45 min and homogenization rate 1300 rpm were observed as suitable condition - to prepare optimized nanoparticles. It can be concluded that the properties of nanoparticles are strongly dependent on the physicochemical conditions. The optimum concentrations of alginate and CaCl2and appropriate condition led to forming desirable nanoparticles that can be used as carrier for drug and vaccine delivery.
Preferencias de consum idores y disponibilidad a pagar por atributos de calidad en carne de conejo orgánico Behavior of consumers and willingness to pay for quality attributes of organic meat rabbit

The demand for meat prod ucts, particularly specialty value-added ones, is highly segmented among different types of consumers. In this research, consumer preferences for quality-related attributes (food safety, freshness, organic and price) for rabbit meat were analyzed to discover their potential market niche. Using data from households, obtained by personal interview with a randow sample of 197 people, was carried out a statistical descriptive and correlation analysis to identify potentially explanatory variables of the consumer willingness to pay (WTP) for the organic attribute. Preferences were measured using a five categories Likert scale. The most favorite attributes, in order of importance, were the organic, safety, freshness, and the price of meat. The “organic” attribute is highly preferred by 64 % of the sample, followed by safety. The reasons to prefer organic meat are health and social responsibility. The socio demographics variables schooling, household income from, knowledge about organic food, and the safety attribute were significant (P<0.05). This reveals the importance of income level and formal education in the consumer’s decision of paying a premium for the organic attribute. The price premium that consumers would pay per kilogram of organic rabbit meat was 15 % of the average price ($13.50 more per kilogram) charged to consumers.
Benefit Transfer over Time of Ecosystem Values: the Case of Forest Recreation

We conduct a functional benefit transfer over 20 years of total willingness to pay based on car-borne forest recreation in 52 forests, using a mixed specification of a random utility model and geographic information systems to allow heterogeneous preferences across the population and for heterogeneity over space. Results show that some preferences of forest attributes, such as species diversity and age, as well as transport mode have changed significantly over the period. Updating the transfer model with present demand for recreation improves the error margins by an average of 182%. However, average errors of the best transfer model remain 145%.
Social groups and children"s intergroup prejudice: Just how influential are social group norms?

Drawing upon social identity development theory (SIDT, Nes- dale, 2007), a series of research studies examined the impact of social group norms on group members" intergroup prejudice. Studies 1-3 on pre-schoolers to 9-year olds showed that an ingroup norm of exclusion instigated outgroup dislike in ingroup members whereas an inclusion norm prompted outgroup liking. Studies 4 and 5 showed that as children increase in age during the middle childhood period, they display less and less liking for ingroup members who display traits and behaviours that are inconsistent with those expected from ingroup members. Studies 6 and 7 examined several factors that might be expected to extinguish or, at least, moderate young children"s negative outgroup attitudes. However, whereas children"s empathy was found not to moderate an ingroup exclu- sion norm, the latter was moderated by a school norm of inclusion. The findings are discussed in relation to SIDT, and possible strategies for moderating the effects of group norms.
The evolution of binary populations in cool, clumpy star clusters

Observations and theory suggest that star clusters can form in a subvirial (cool) state and are highly substructured. Such initial conditions have been proposed to explain the level of mass segregation in clusters through dynamics, and have also been successful in explaining the origin of Trapezium-like systems. In this paper, we investigate, using N-body simulations, whether such a dynamical scenario is consistent with the observed binary properties in the Orion Nebula Cluster (ONC). We find that several different primordial binary populations are consistent with the overall fraction and separation distribution of visual binaries in the ONC (in the range 67–670 au), and that these binary systems are heavily processed. The substructured, cool-collapse scenario requires a primordial binary fraction approaching 100 per cent. We find that the most important factor in processing the primordial binaries is the initial level of substructure; a highly substructured cluster processes up to 20 per cent more systems than a less substructured cluster because of localized pockets of high stellar density in the substructure. Binaries are processed in the substructure before the cluster reaches its densest phase, suggesting that even clusters remaining in virial equilibrium or undergoing supervirial expansion would dynamically alter their primordial binary population. Therefore, even some expanding associations may not preserve their primordial binary population.
Sustainable rubber production through good latex harvesting practices: stimulation based on clonal latex functional typology and tapping panel management

The purpose of this study was to characterize the long-term behaviour of the rubber tree under different ethephon stimulation treatments and under different panel management strategies. Over a period of seven years in Cote d'Ivoire, the effect of a gradient of ethephon stimulation frequencies on yield and latex cell biochemistry was compared in four rubber tree clones, IRCA130, IRCA230, GT1 and PB217. The ability of the trees to produce more latex under ethephon stimulation was related to the sucrose and inorganic phosphorus contents of the latex cells. For high-yielding clones with low sugar content and high inorganic phosphorus content like IRCA130, no stimulation was necessary to improve yield. Conversely, the effect of ethephon stimulation on latex yield increase was significant in clones with high sucrose content and low inorganic phosphorus content such as PB217. Clones IRCA230 and GT1 had an intermediary behaviour, explained by a median sucrose content. These results will help planters to optimize latex production by choosing the most adapted ethephon stimulation to clones according to their latex cells biochemistry and their position in a clonal functional typology. A comparison of two tapping panel management strategies of rubber plots was also performed, differing by the number of panel changes: 1 and 7 panel's changes over a total period of 9 years. These treatments were applied to the clones PB260, GT1 and PB217. The panel management strongly influenced annual yield in each of the clones tested. No panel changing appeared detrimental to immediate latex production after 6 consecutive years of tapping on panel BO-1. However, after 9 years, the cumulated rubber yield obtained with one panel change only was as high as that of treatments with more changes. (Resume d'auteur)
Oral Communication Apprehension among English Senior Majors at Al-Quds Open University in Palestine

Communication is an essential part in languages. It is the purpose of learning a second or a foreign language. Oral communication is of the aspects that need to be developed among English learners. The study focused on investigating the factors of apprehension among English language students in Palestine. The Study aimed to investigate the degree of oral communication apprehension among English senior majors at Al-Quds Open University in Palestine. In order to achieve the study objectives, the researchers used the descriptive approach. Therefore, as to collect data, the study used the Personal Report of Communication Apprehension Measurement (PRCAM) as the main tool of the study. PRCAM was distributed to a sample of (64) English language seniors at Al-Quds Open University in Palestine in Rafah and Khan Younis branches. The major findings of the study revealed that the degree of oral communication apprehension among English senior majors at Al-Quds Open University in Palestine was moderate and that there was no any statistically significant difference at (a ≤ 0.05) in the oral communication apprehension among English senior majors at Al-Quds Open University in Palestine due to gender (male or female).
“They have God on their side”: the impact of public sector attitudes on the development of social enterprise

Purpose – To study the reasons why UK social enterprises are not yet fulfilling their potential due to the lack of support and trust on the part of key decision makers.Design/methodology/approach – The study was based in Tees Valley, the southernmost sub‐region in northeast England, which has suffered from a decline in its traditional industries over the past 30 years. Reports the results of in‐depth qualitative interviews with 18 local authority economic regeneration officers and leading local strategic partnership managers across the five borough councils as key stakeholders across Tees Valley to explore potential barriers to the development of the social enterprises sector in this sub‐region. Explains that each interview focused on: perceived differences in the culture of the social enterprise sector compared with private business and the public sector; representation of the sector in key decision making in the sub‐region; the potential for developing entrepreneurship and foresight in the sector; and o.
Microclimatic and soil moisture responses to gap formation in coastal Douglas-fir forests

The effects of gap formation on solar radiation, soil and air temperature, and soil moisture were studied in mature coniferous forests of the Pacific Northwest, U.S.A. Measurements were taken over a 6-year period in closed- canopy areas and recently created gaps in four stands of mature (90-140 years) and old-growth (>400 years) Douglas- fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco) forest in the western Cascade Range of central Oregon and southern Wash- ington. Gap sizes ranged from 40 to 2000 m 2 . Summer solar radiation levels and soil temperatures differed signifi - cantly among gap sizes and positions within gaps and were driven primarily by patterns of direct radiation. Nevertheless, effects on air temperature were slight. Soil moisture was more abundant in gaps than in controls, was most abundant in intermediate gap sizes, and tended to decline during the growing season in single-tree gaps and on the north edges of large gaps. However, there was substantial variation in moisture availability within individual gaps, primarily related to the variety of organic substrates present. Moisture in gaps declined over multiple years, likely caused by encroachment of vegetation within and around gaps. Low light levels probably limit filling of natural gaps in these forests, but the variety of microenvironments in large gaps may facilitate diverse plant communities.
Estimating returns to soil and water conservation investments - an application to crop yield in Kenya

Productivity gains from soil and water conservation (SWC) have empirical support in research stations. Previous empirical results from on-farm adoption of SWC are, however, varied. This study investigated the impact of soil conservation investment on farm productivity in three regions in Kenya. Using plot-level survey data, we focused on land productivity on plots with and without SWC. We tested the overall soil conservation hypothesis that increased SWC is beneficial for yield, as well as more specific hypotheses that SWC affects levels of inputs, returns from these inputs, and crop characteristics. The results showed a mixed picture where plots without SWC generally have higher yield values per hectare. However, plots with SWC are significantly steeper and more eroded than plots without SWC. A more careful analysis of a two-stage random effects–switching regression estimation comparing three SWC technologies to plots without SWC indicated that SWC increased the returns from degraded plots and sometimes from other inputs. A simulation exercise based on these estimations also showed that, in most cases, adoption has been beneficial for those who have done it and would be beneficial for those who have not.
An automatic collocation writing assistant for Taiwanese EFL learners: A case of corpus-based NLP technology

Previous work in the literature reveals that EFL learners were deficient in collocations that are a hallmark of near native fluency in learner's writing. Among different types of collocations, the verb-noun (V-N) one was found to be particularly difficult to master, and learners' first language was also found to heavily influence their collocation production. In this paper, we develop an online collocation aid for EFL writers in Taiwan, aiming at detecting and correcting of learners' miscollocations attributable to L1 interference. Relevant correct collocation as feedback messages is suggested according to the translation equivalents between learner's L1 and L2. The system utilizes natural language processing (NLP) techniques to segment sentences in order to extract V-N collocations in given texts, and to derive a list of candidate English verbs that share the same Chinese translations via consulting electronic bilingual dictionaries. After combining nouns with these derived candidate verbs as V-N pairs, the system makes use of a reference corpus to exclude the inappropriate V-N pairs and single out the proper collocations. The system can effectively pinpoint the miscollocations and provide the learner with adequate collocations that the learner intends to write but misuses. It is hoped that this online assistant can facilitate EFL learner-writers' collocation use and help them transfer this essential knowledge to their future writing.
Impacts of deforestation on the livelihood of smallholder farmers in Arba Minch Zuria Woreda, Southern Ethiopia.

The ever increasing demand of farmland, fuel wood and charcoal production coupled with population growth has accelerated the rate of forest reduction in Ethiopia. This has resulted in soil erosion and land degradation. This study was conducted at Arba Minch Zuria Woreda Gamo Gofa Zone, Southern Nations and Nationalities Peoples’ Region (SNNPR), with the aim of assessing impacts of deforestation on the livelihood of small holder farmers. Both qualitative and quantitative data were collected from primary and secondary data sources. Data on the socio-demographic variables as well as farmers’ perception towards impacts of deforestation, were collected using structured questionnaire from 180 randomly selected households from each study sites. The overall average age of respondents was 46.29, where the highest age was recorded in Mille site as compared to other sites (P<0.001). The average household (HH) size of each site was 6.62, 5.52 and 4.82, respectively (P<0.001). About 89.4% of the respondents from all study sites indicated the existence of unwise utilization of forest resources which led to environmental degradation of the area. The result indicated that 27.2% of the forest resources are common woodland, while 72.8% was open access. All the respondents (100%, N= 180) across the study sites reported that the increased trends of degradation of forest resources. Generally, the results of the study indicated that the effects of deforestation on land productivity; agriculture and livestock production had a negative effect on livelihoods of the community. Based on the present study, it is appropriate to undertake the large-scale natural resource management by incorporating community-based watershed management, thereby reducing the adverse impact of deforestation. Key words: Deforestation, farmers perception, land degradation, livelihoods.
Does the regulation of the insurance industry have a pernicious effect on innovation by the sector in South Africa

Financial regulation could be a double edged sword in that despite its major thrust being that to secure the financial sector and bring about financial stability; it might have the unintended consequence of stifling innovation by the sector. We investigate the nexus between financial regulation and innovation by specifically focusing on the insurance industry in South Africa. We demonstrate that there are plethora pieces of legislation that govern the insurance industry in South Africa. As such this has driven the cost of compliance to unsustainable levels thereby curtailing the spending by companies on innovation. We thus would like to caution the policy makers’ that this “heavy-touch” regulatory mode is having a pernicious effect on research and development by the insurance sector. As such we encourage them to embrace the “light-touch” regulatory mode whereby self-regulation and moral suasion are other avenues to be considered.
A Theory of Urban Growth

In an economy experiencing endogenous economic growth and exogenous population growth, we explore two main themes: how urbanization affects efficiency of the growth process and how growth affects patterns of urbanization. Localized information spillovers promote agglomeration and human capital accumulation and fosters endogenous growth. Individual city sizes grow with local human capital accumulation and knowledge spillovers; and city with empirical evidence. We analyze whether local governments can successfully internalize local dynamic externalities. In addition, we explore how growth involves real income differences across city types and how urbanization can foster income inequality.
Reaping the Benefits of Long Term Relationship with Suppliers: An Evidence from the Saudi Chemical Industry

Long term relationship with suppliers is broadly considered a vital contributor to supply chain performance by both practitioners and researchers. This paper investigates the role of long term relationship in strategic supplier partnership and financial performance (SSP-LR-P model). Specifically, it has observed the role of long-term supplier relationship as the driver of integration. Using structural Equation modeling (SEM) to analyze the data from 401 Saudi chemical and petrochemical firms, it is found that strategic supplier partnership has a significant direct and indirect effect on firms’ performance through the mediation of long term relationship.