Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Multipurpose Shopping Behaviour at Planned Suburban Shopping Centres: A Space—Time Analysis

There is a continual interest in research on multipurpose shopping (MPS), because it provides a further extension of rational decisionmaking, whereby consumers who combine shopping activities reduce the time and cost of travel. The literature describes the importance of this type of shopping for infrequent trips to higher order centres (Bacon, 1984) or MPS constructed around convenience, supermarket, or comparison trips (West, 1993). A study of MPS at a range of planned suburban shopping centres (PSSCs) in Sydney, Australia during 1988/89 endeavoured to relate these hypotheses to results from a space—time differential consumer-trip model (Baker, 1994). The standardised number of MPS consumers is shown to form a substantial quadratic relationship with centre scale. The model predicts positive and negative states of MPS. An investigation of the shopping patterns within the data set shows the ‘negative’ MPS is based around the supermarket visit (supporting the West hypothesis). This strategy is adopted both by low mobility and by high disposable income groups within a shopping-centre hierarchy. ‘Positive’ MPS occurs for shifts in trip purpose, where comparison shopping (such as, for gifts or clothing) is the fundamental construct behind the multipurpose trip. This study shows that distinctly different socioeconomic groups can have in common an MPS strategy independent of centre scale, and it is argued that these groups are using this strategy as a mechanism to minimise the total effort in the shopping cycle.
A Specialist's Quoted Depth and the Limit Order Book

By partitioning quoted depth into the specialist's contribution and the limit order book's contribution, the paper investigates whether specialists manage quoted depth to reduce adverse selection risk. The results show that both specialists and limit order traders reduce depth around information events, thereby reducing their exposure to adverse selection costs. Moreover, specialists' quotes may reflect only the limit order book on the side (or sides) of the market where they believe there is a chance of informed trading. Changes in quoted depth are consistent with specialists managing their inventory as well as having knowledge of the stock's future value. Copyright The American Finance Association 1999.
Analysts’ Motives for Rounding EPS Forecasts

We investigate analysts’ motives for rounding annual EPS forecasts (placing a zero or five in the penny location of the forecast). We first show that an intuitive reason for analysts to engage in rounding is in circumstances where the penny location of the forecast is of less economic significance. By rounding, analysts reveal that their forecasts are not intended to be precise to the penny. We also show that analyst incentives impact the likelihood of rounding. Specifically, we predict that analysts will exert less effort forecasting earnings for firms that generate less brokerage or investment banking business since such firms create less value for the analysts’ employers. As a consequence of this lack of effort and attention, the analyst will be more uncertain about the penny digit of the forecast and so will round. Our results are consistent with this prediction. One implication of our findings is that a rounded forecast is a simple and easily observable proxy for a more noisy measure of the market’s expectation of earnings. Consistent with this implication, we show that rounded forecasts bias down earnings response coefficients at earnings announcements.
Mapping stakeholder perceptions for a third sector organization

Few authors have examined the intellectual capital of non‐profit organizations or discussed their strategic management in terms of intangibles. The Australian Red Cross Blood Service (ARCBS), a third sector organization, is the subject of this study. The purpose of the study is to better understand the value dimensions of the ARCBS from an external stakeholder perspective. Outcomes include the creation of a value hierarchy, inclusive of the views of 11 stakeholder groups. The results show overall agreement amongst stakeholders about the four most highly valued key performance areas (KPAs) of ARCBS (safe product, product sufficiency, donor and volunteer management and public confidence). However, there were many differences between different stakeholder groups in their perceptions of the relative importance of the nine KPAs and their constituent attributes. As a result of the study ARCBS has a basis to manage strategy, organizational performance and communication with stakeholders.
The effect of derivatives trading on volatility of the underlying asset: evidence from the Greek stock market

In this article, the effects of the introduction of the futures and options into the FTSE/ASE 20 index on the volatility of the underlying index are studied. This particular issue is quite controversial since contradictory results have been found in various markets. Analysing the data (August 1997–April 2005) with the help of an EGARCH model it is shown that the introduction of derivatives has induced a reduction of the conditional volatility of the FTSE/ASE20 index and consequently it has increased its efficiency.
Capital account liberalization and financial globalization, 1890–1999: a synoptic view

An indicator of financial openness spanning the period 1890-1999 is used to evaluate policies towards the capital account of the balance of payments. Findings include that: financial globalization was deeper in 1890-1913 than subsequently; countries with liberal capital account policies recovered more quickly from the Great Depression than countries that restricted capital account transactions; the correlation between democracy and capital account openness was negative or zero during the gold standard era, in contrast to subsequent periods, when it has tended to be positive; and countries in geographic proximity to one another have tended to behave similarly in their policies towards the capital account. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Technology & School Reform: A View from Both Sides of the Tracks

A discourse of reform claims that schools must be transformed to take full advantage of computers, while a competing discourse of inequality warns that technology-enhanced reform is taking place only in wealthy schools, dooming poor and minority students to the wrong side of a digital divide. A qualitative study at an elite private school and an impoverished public school explored the relationship between technology, reform, and equality. The reforms introduced at the two schools appeared similar, but underlying differences in resources and expectations served to reinforce patterns by which the two schools channel students into different social futures.
International Organizations in Transfer of Infectious Diseases: Iterative Loops of Adoption, Adaptation, and Marketing

Over the past few years increasing attention has been given to the role of international organizations in the diffusion of policy ideas and promotion of particular macro-level policies. Much of the attention has been on the ideological driving forces behind such policies, and on the extent to which the policies are externally imposed. There has been limited discussion on the bread-and-butter, technical policies of international organizations, and how they devise, adopt, adapt, and then promote what come to be seen as policies of global "best practice. " This paper seeks to redress this gap by looking at the process of transfer of two infectious disease policies between international and national levels. It demonstrates that international organizations play different roles in policy transfer at particular stages in the process. The paper suggests that health policy transfer is a long adaptive process, made up of several iterative loops, as research and clinical practices developed in one or more countries are adopted, adapted, and taken up by international organizations which then mobilize support for particular policies, market, and promote them. Assumptions that new ideas about policies flow "rationally" into existing decision making are challenged by the processes analyzed here. Policy transfer, given the experience of these infectious diseases policies, goes through separate, "bottom-up," research-oriented, and "top-down" marketing-oriented loops. Individuals and different configurations of networks play key roles linking these loops. In the process, complex, context-specific policies are repackaged into simplified guidelines for global best practice, leading to considerable contestation within the policy networks.
Extension of Determinants of Capital Structure: Evidence from Pakistani Non-Financial Firms

This study tried to determine the influence of set of explanatory variables on the capital structure determination for Pakistani non-financial firms by using panel data. This study also finds the applicability of two capital structure theories (pecking order theory and trade-off theory) in Pakistani non-financial sector. This study used five previously studied variables (profitability, size, growth, tangibility of assets, non-debt tax shield), and added three new variables (tax, liquidity and payout), which were not used previously in Pakistani context. This research used data from 336 non-financial firms over the period of 5 years (2005-2009). This study used fixed effect random model regression analysis to analyze determinants of capital structure. The results showed that industry type play important role in determining capital structure. The results showed that out of eight variables five (size, tangibility of assets, non-debt tax shields, liquidity and payout) are statistically significantly related to leverage, remaining three are statistically insignificantly related with leverage. Two expected relation are accepted while six are rejected after empirical analysis. This study identifies that industry type, liquidity and payout ratio play important role, whereas tax does not play important role in identifying capital structure Pakistani non-financial firms.
Macroeconomic Uncertainty Through the Lens of Professional Forecasters

ABSTRACT We analyze the evolution of macroeconomic uncertainty in the United States, based on the forecast errors of consensus survey forecasts of various economic indicators. Comprehensive information contained in the survey forecasts enables us to capture a real-time measure of uncertainty surrounding subjective forecasts in a simple framework. We jointly model and estimate macroeconomic (common) and indicator-specific uncertainties of four indicators, using a factor stochastic volatility model. Our macroeconomic uncertainty estimates have three major spikes has three major spikes aligned with the 1973–1975, 1980, and 2007–2009 recessions, while other recessions were characterized by increases in indicator-specific uncertainties. We also show that the selection of data vintages affects the estimates and relative size of jumps in estimated uncertainty series. Finally, our macroeconomic uncertainty has a persistent negative impact on real economic activity, rather than producing “wait-and-see” dynamics.
An applied general equilibrium analysis of the economic effects of tourism in a quite small, quite open economy

A computable general equilibrium model is used to project the effects of tourism on the industrial and regional structures of the Australian economy. The most striking conclusion is that Queensland, usually thought to be the most tourism-oriented of the Australian states, would be a net loser from an economy-wide expansion of tourism. As well as having a relatively large share of its GSP accounted for by tourist-oriented activities, Queensland is also relatively heavily dependent on agriculture and mining, traditional export sectors which are crowded out by the expansion of international tourism.
Probabilités de Ruine pour une Classe de Modèles de Risque Semi-Markoviens

Abstract We consider particular semi-Markov risk models M/SM and /SM for which the interarrival distributions are exponential with parameters depending of the risk type. We obtain theoretical expressions for the ruin probabilities on an infinite horizon. In the special case of exponential distributions for the claim amounts, ruin probabilities are in both models solutions of linear differential systems. These systems are explicitly solved when there are only two risk types.
Earnings and Risk Changes Surrounding Primary Stock Offers

Several recent studies, including Asquith and Mullins [1986], Masulis and Korwar [1986], Mikkleson and Partch [1986], and Schipper and Smith [1986], document stock price declines at seasoned equity offer announcements. One explanation proposed for these price declines is that managers' equity offer decisions convey new information to investors on firms' prospects.1 Our paper examines this hypothesis and provides evidence on the nature of the information revealed by equity offers by analyzing postoffer changes in asset and equity betas, financial leverage, unsystematic risk, earnings levels, and analysts' earnings forecasts.
The European Employment Strategy and National Core Executives: Impacts on activation reforms in the Netherlands and Germany

The European Employment Strategy (EES) has opened up new dynamics of Europeanization in the area of social policy. This article proposes to pay more attention to national core executives and their strategic use of the EES when considering its impact. Through core executives, the EES may not only affect domestic policy agendas, but also decision-making on reform. A comparative case study of activating employment policy reforms in the Netherlands and Germany evaluates expectations about how these agents upload and download ideas to and from the EU level. The findings indicate that uploading is facilitated by holding the EU presidency and a good fit with EES prescriptions, while downloading does not seem to depend on prior uploading and degree of fit but on other domestic factors. True strategic use of the EES by core executives following a sequence of uploading and downloading appears to be contingent on several contextual factors.
Sectoral Shifts and Cyclical Unemployment

A substantial fraction of cyclical unemployment is better characterized as fluctuations of the "frictional" or "natural" rate than as deviations from some relatively stable natural rate. Shifts of employment demand between sectors of the economy necessitate continuous labor reallocation. Since it takes time for workers to find new jobs, some unemployment is unavoidable. This paper presents evidence that most of the unemployment fluctuations of the seventies (unlike those in the sixties) were induced by unusual structural shifts within the U.S. economy. Simple time-series models of layoffs and unemployment are constructed that include a measure of structural shifts within the labor market. These models are estimated and a derived natural rate series is constructed.
The dynamics of company profits: A latent growth model

Existing literature on profit dynamics focuses mainly on the erosion of profit differentials as a result of competitive pressures while largely ignoring the processes by which such differentials arise. Neoclassical models of competition and market equilibrium provide the theoretical base for such literature. We argue, on the contrary, for a view of competitive dynamics that encompasses both the emergence and the erosion of economic rents—a view rooted in strategic insights into how firms can create abnormal profits. Accordingly, we define a trend-based model explicitly acknowledging that firms differ in their ability to improve performance, which gives rise to heterogeneous profitability trends. We express the model as a multilevel latent growth curve, which allows us to address the significant challenges present in modeling profit dynamics. We employ such a model to analyze the dynamics of profitability in a sample of Spanish manufacturing firms from 1991 to 2008.
ADVANCED OXIDATION OF REFRACTORY ORGANICS IN LEACHATE – POTENTIAL METHODS AND EVALUATION OF BIODEGRADABILITY OF THE REMAINING SUBSTRATE

Abstract An assessment of potential methods suitable for degradation and/or reduction of refractory organics was performed on landfill leachate from SYSAV AB, Malmö, Sweden. Pretreatment of the leachate was performed in a sequence batch reactor designed for nitrification in activated sludge. Oxidation of the leachate was then O3, O3/pH adjustment (pH 9 and 10), H2O2, O3/H2O2 and performic acid in lab‐scale reactors. The degradation of organic material was followed with chemical oxygen demand (COD) measurements for all experiments except for the performic acid treatment for which total organic carbon (TOC) measurements were used. The potential degradation of refractory organics into biodegradable organic material was analysed by subsequent oxygen uptake rate (OUR) measurements in laboratory batch reactors. Ozonation of biologically pre‐treated leachate increased reduction of the organic material. The most biodegradable organic material was produced after oxidation with only ozone and ozonation at pH 9. Performic acid did not reduce the content of organic material in the leachate. However, a combination of biological pretreatment, chemical oxidation with O3/H2O2 and a subsequent biological process resulted in the most efficient oxidation method for the tested leachate.
Retinal image quality in the rodent eye

Many rodents do not see well. For a target to be resolved by a rat or a mouse, it must subtend a visual angle of a degree or more. It is commonly assumed that this poor spatial resolving capacity is due to neural rather than optical limitations, but the quality of the retinal image has not been well characterized in these animals. We have modified a double-pass apparatus, initially designed for the human eye, so it could be used with rodents to measure the modulation transfer function (MTF) of the eye's optics. That is, the double-pass retinal image of a monochromatic (λ = 632.8 nm) point source was digitized with a CCD camera. From these double-pass measurements, the single-pass MTF was computed under a variety of conditions of focus and with different pupil sizes. Even with the eye in best focus, the image quality in both rats and mice is exceedingly poor. With a 1-mm pupil, for example, the MTF in the rat had an upper limit of about 2.5 cycles/deg, rather than the 28 cycles/deg one would obtain if the eye were a diffraction-limited system. These images are about 10 times worse than the comparable retinal images in the human eye. Using our measurements of the optics and the published behavioral and electrophysiological contrast sensitivity functions (CSFs) of rats, we have calculated the CSF that the rat would have if it had perfect rather than poor optics. We find, interestingly, that diffraction-limited optics would produce only slight improvement overall. That is, in spite of retinal images which are of very low quality, the upper limit of visual resolution in rodents is neurally determined. Rats and mice seem to have eyes in which the optics and retina/brain are well matched.
Sustainable Mi'kmaw cultural tourism development in Nova Scotia, Canada: examining cultural tourist and Mi'kmaw perspectives

This study assessed tourists' motivations and satisfaction in participating in authentic Mi'kmaw tourism activities in Nova Scotia, Canada, as well as the ideas, perceptions and components of sustainable cultural tourism development from the Mi'kmaw perspective. To solicit the tourists' perspective, surveys were administered to tourists visiting the existing Mi'kmaw cultural tourism sites in Nova Scotia, while the Mi'kmaw perspective was obtained through key informant interviews. The results of the survey suggest that tourists visiting the Mi'kmaw cultural tourism sites were highly educated and deeply interested in learning about culture and participating in authentic cultural experiences. Tourists were also highly satisfied with their experience and were interested in participating in aboriginal tourism again. Findings regarding the Mi'kmaw perspective indicate a focus on cultural tourism's ability to educate both tourists and the Mi'kmaw people on the Mi'kmaw culture as well as provide economic opportunities for Mi'kmaw communities. Of greater importance to the Mi'kmaw people is the preservation and protection of the Mi'kmaw culture. Conclusions drawn from the research include recommendations for the future success and sustainability of the Mi'kmaw cultural tourism sector. This study's findings may also inform other Canadian aboriginal communities seeking to develop robust and sustainable cultural tourism in their own settings.
Globalization vs. Europeanization: A Business Cycles Race

This paper examines the relative cyclical affiliation in six industrialized economies. While the broad conclusions are consistent with the existing literature, the proposed empirical framework is not based on correlations and permits the analysis of relative groupwise synchronization under very few assumptions. The results allow us to conclude that an English-speaking club (Canada, UK, USA) is emerging in the last decades, whereas explicit and formal commitments seem to have had a relatively weaker power in determining Euro-zone (France, Germany, Italy) business cycle comovements. Altogether, the business cycle race is a cause for concern as regards the entry of the UK into the Euro-zone.
MicroRNA-33b Inhibits the Proliferation and Migration of Osteosarcoma Cells via Targeting Hypoxia-Inducible Factor-1α

Recently, microRNA (miR)-33b has been demonstrated to act as a tumor suppressor in osteosarcoma. However, the regulatory mechanism of miR-33b in osteosarcoma cell proliferation and migration remains largely unknown. In this study, real-time PCR showed that miR-33b was significantly downregulated in osteosarcoma tissues compared to their matched adjacent nontumor tissues. Its expression was also decreased in several common osteosarcoma cell lines, including Saos-2, MG63, U2OS, and SW1353, when compared to normal osteoblast cell line hFOB. Overexpression of miR-33b suppressed U2OS cell proliferation and migration. HIF-1α was further identified as a target of miR-33b, and its protein levels were reduced after overexpression of miR-33b in U2OS cells. Moreover, overexpression of HIF-1α significantly reversed the suppressive effect of miR-33b on U2OS cell proliferation and migration. In addition, HIF-1α was found to be significantly upregulated in osteosarcoma tissues compared to adjacent nontumor tissues, and their expression levels were inversely correlated to the miR-33b levels in osteosarcoma tissues. According to these findings, miR-33b plays a suppressive role in the regulation of osteosarcoma cell proliferation and migration via directly targeting HIF-1α. Therefore, we suggest that the miR-33b/HIF-1α axis may become a promising therapeutic target for osteosarcoma.