Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Differential game approach in the case of a polluting oligopoly

In this paper we propose an oligopolistic market model of pollution, where demand is not linear and firms are revenue maximizers. Additionally we assume that the rate of purification is very small tending to zero and that each firm accumulates a pollution share depending for example on firm’s size. The game ends up with Markov strategies employed by all firms. Our findings show that under conditions it is possible a marginal decrease on the total pollution stock to increase firms’ discounted revenues. A reallocation caused by a uniform decrease in all firms pollution, reorders the marginal change of the pollution stocks in reverse of the original order of the allowed pollution.
A Bayesian approach for noisy matrix completion: Optimal rate under general sampling distribution

Bayesian methods for low-rank matrix completion with noise have been shown to be very efficient computationally. While the behaviour of penalized minimization methods is well understood both from the theoretical and computational points of view in this problem, the theoretical optimality of Bayesian estimators have not been explored yet. In this paper, we propose a Bayesian estimator for matrix completion under general sampling distribution. We also provide an oracle inequality for this estimator. This inequality proves that, whatever the rank of the matrix to be estimated, our estimator reaches the minimax-optimal rate of convergence (up to a logarithmic factor). We end the paper with a short simulation study.
Metrology in the 3 rd Millennium June 22 − 27 , 2003 , Dubrovnik , Croatia MOTOR CONTROL MECHANISMS IN UNSTABLE TASKS

− The motor control mechanisms adopted by humans when carrying out unstable tasks are investigated in relation with 2 specific paradigms: A) Stabilisation of the standing posture; B) Stabilisation of an inverted pendulum, grasped at different heights. It is shown that stiffness control is present but is insufficient and predictive control mechanisms are filling the gap.
Study of stochastic effects in a Hall effect thruster using a test particles Monte-Carlo model

For several years now, it has been shown that classical, collisional conducti vi ty is not sufficient to expl ain the measured Hall thruster parameter. Adam et al. using a 2D (axial-azimuthal ) Particle-in-cell (PIC) have demonstrated the possible role of fluctuati ons on electron transport. Previous studies of the interaction of a lower hybri d wave wi th an ion have revealed, under some conditi ons the enhanced heati ng of the particle. The present study anal yzes the role of the force fields obtained from the PIC code, using a test particles Monte -Carlo model. For a quantitati ve descripti on, we establis h and use the mobility from the drift di ffusion approximation. We show also that by replaci ng the complex fluctuati ng field by a wave with a single mode, the obtained mobility is too low to match the real current.
The role of electron heating physics in images and variability of the Galactic Centre black hole Sagittarius A*

The accretion flow around the Galactic Center black hole Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*) is expected to have an electron temperature that is distinct from the ion temperature, due to weak Coulomb coupling in the low-density plasma. We present four two-temperature general relativistic radiative magnetohydrodynamic (GRRMHD) simulations of Sgr A* performed with the code KORAL. These simulations use different electron heating prescriptions, motivated by different models of the underlying plasma microphysics. We compare the Landau-damped turbulent cascade model used in previous work with a new prescription we introduce based on the results of particle-in-cell simulations of magnetic reconnection. With the turbulent heating model, electrons are preferentially heated in the polar outflow, whereas with the reconnection model electrons are heated by nearly the same fraction everywhere in the accretion flow. The spectra of the two models are similar around the submillimetre synchrotron peak, but the models heated by magnetic reconnection produce variability more consistent with the level observed from Sgr A*. All models produce 230~GHz images with distinct black hole shadows which are consistent with the image size measured by the Event Horizon Telescope, but only the turbulent heating produces an anisotropic `disc-jet' structure where the image is dominated by a polar outflow or jet at frequencies below the synchrotron peak. None of our models can reproduce the observed radio spectral slope, the large near-infrared and X-ray flares, or the near-infrared spectral index, all of which suggest non-thermal electrons are needed to fully explain the emission from Sgr A*.
EXECUTIVES AS AGENTS: EXPATRIATE MANAGERS IN SUBSIDIARIES OF MULTINATIONAL BANKS *

Performance and behavior between domestic and foreign-owned banks are grounded in assumptions about the ability of parent banks to provide subsidiaries with capital and knowledge and to manage asymmetric information and agency problems in the parent-subsidiary relationship. We complement research on internal capital markets and investigate how foreign owners of banks in emerging markets use their power to appoint executives at their subsidiaries to manage agency problems in the parent-subsidiary relationship. We find that perceived corruption and poor ICRG risk scores are associated with the appointment of parent-country executives as supervisors on behalf of the foreign owner. By contrast, a focus on retail clients, the absence of organizational routines and poor creditor rights are associated with the appointment of host-country executives. These bank and country characteristics create agency problems within the subsidiary, but not necessarily between the subsidiary and its parent. As such, they create a need for host-country executives’ superior knowledge of local markets and staff rather than for the supervisory role of parent-country executives.
Pulling in the Indigenous Fishery Cooperative Net: Fishing for Sustainable Livelihoods and Food Security in Garden Hill First Nation, Manitoba, Canada

Cooperatives offer a vehicle for community development in less-developed countries as well as in economically challenged indigenous communities in developed countries. The authors engaged in a participatory community development research project involving students and faculty working with the Island Lake Opakitawek Cooperative (ILOC), a fishery cooperative in the remote community of Garden Hill First Nation (GHFN) in Manitoba, Canada. The project included four general components: (a) a sustainable livelihoods assessment; (b) a basic community food security assessment; (c) strategic business analysis; and (d) a business plan. The analysis shows that traditional foodways and livelihoods take advantage of prodigious natural capital, and that this indigenous cooperative offers potential to improve the fishers' quality of life. However, we also found that fishers' livelihoods and the ILOC were not sustainable without significant changes. Together, high operating expenses and low prices for whole fish are impoverishing fishers. Despite the poor return on investment, commercial fishing has continued for decades due to its connection with traditional hunting and fishing activities and the region's high unemployment level. Working collaboratively with the ILOC and GHFN community we have been able to reinvigorate the cooperative based on local food provision and fair trade.
Investigating Iranian Language Learners’ Use of Circumlocution for Culture-Specific Referents

This study investigated Iranian English language learners’ use of circumlocution for culture-specific referents. A discourse completion test (DCT) was designed in English and Persian, consisting of items dealing with Iranian culture-specific notions and distributed among 3 groups. The Persian language group received the Persian version, whereas the English language learners, divided into high and low, received the English version of the DCT. Data were analyzed according to Salazar’s (2006) categorization of circumlocution, namely description, function, superordination, location, and combination. Results revealed that the high group had a stronger tendency to use circumlocution, in general, and in terms of its categories of description, function, and combination, in particular, as compared to the low group. Furthermore, cross-linguistic analysis suggested signs of linguistic transfer with regard to circumlocution. Our findings revealed that it is not so much the familiarity of learners with cultural concepts as it is their knowledge of linguistic and communicative strategies that enables them to overcome communicative problems. Finally, this study points to the facilitative role of compensatory strategies, particularly circumlocution, as a tool to cope with communication breakdowns in an L2.
Concentration Levels of Heavy and Trace Metals in the Fish and Relevant Water from Rawal and Mangla Lakes

A study was carried out to investigate the quality of drinking water for which water and fish samples of Rawal and Mangla lakes were analyzed for heavy and trace metals by Flame atomic absorption spectrometer. The metals present in the highest concentration were in the order of Fe>Ni>Mn>As>Cu in the water samples of Rawal lake, whereas Fe>As>Cu>Cr>Pb were high in the water samples of Mangla lake. In general, the metals were present in higher concentration in water samples as compared to fish samples caught from both lakes. The higher concentration of various metals in water and fish samples of Rawal lake is probably due to the addition of untreated domestic wastes. The reason for higher concentrations of various metals in the water and fish samples of Mangla lake is due to geological weathering of those areas. On the basis of results obtained we can predict that if present situation of water pollution continues then in the future survival of fish population and other animals will be extremely difficult.
Occupancy Urbanism: Radicalizing Politics and Economy beyond Policy and Programs

This article proposes a narrative of city contestations beyond policy and programs. It considers why Indian metro elites, large land developers and international donors paradoxically lobby for comprehensive planning when confronting 'vote bank politics' by the poor. Poor groups, claiming public services and safeguarding territorial claims, open up political spaces that appropriate institutions and fuel an economy that builds complex alliances. Such spaces, here termed 'occupancy urbanism', are materialized by land shaped into multiple de-facto tenures deeply embedded in lower bureaucracy. While engaging the state, these locality politics remain autonomous of it. Such a narrative views city terrains as being constituted by multiple political spaces inscribed by complex local histories. This politics is substantial and poses multiple crises for global capital. Locally embedded institutions subvert high-end infrastructure and mega projects. 'Occupancy urbanism' helps poor groups appropriate real estate surpluses via reconstituted land tenure to fuel small businesses whose commodities jeopardize branded chains. Finally, it poses a political consciousness that refuses to be disciplined by NGOs and well-meaning progressive activists and the rhetoric of 'participatory planning'. This is also a politics that rejects 'developmentalism' where 'poverty' is ghettoized via programs for 'basic needs' allowing the elite 'globally competitive economic development'. Copyright (c) 2008 The Author. Journal Compilation (c) 2008 Joint Editors and Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
Major contribution of neutral clusters to new particle formation in the free troposphere

Major contribution of neutral clusters to new particle formation in the free troposphere C. Rose, K. Sellegri, E. Asmi, M. Hervo, E. Freney, H. Junninen, J. Duplissy, M. Sipilä, J. Kontkanen, K. Lehtipalo, and M. Kulmala Laboratoire de Météorologie Physique CNRS UMR6016, Observatoire de Physique du Globe de Clermont-Ferrand, Université Blaise Pascal, France Finnish Meteorological Institute, P.O. Box 503, 00101 Helsinki, Finland Dept. of Physics, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland Airmodus Ltd, Gutaf Hällströmin katu 2, 00560 Helsinki, Finland
Preservice Agricultural Education Teachers' Sense of Teaching Self-Efficacy.

The purpose of this study was to perform a longitudinal examination of the teaching self-efficacy of preservice agricultural education teachers. Data were collected for two years at The University of Georgia and Texas A&M University during the Fall 2004 and Spring 2005 and the Fall 2005 and Spring 2006 semesters (N = 102). Data were collected at the following three collection points: (1) before methods class, (2) after methods course/before student teaching, and (3) after student teaching. Teacher efficacy scores in student engagement, instructional strategies, and classroom management improved at each point of data collection. Preservice teachers were the most efficacious in instructional strategies and classroom management and the least efficacious in student engagement.
Kinetic investigations of the oxidation of Methyl Orange and substituted arylazonaphthol dyes by peracids in aqueous solution

Kinetic and product analyses have been made of the oxidation of an activated azo dye, 4-(4-sulfophenylazo)-N,N-dimethylaniline (Methyl Orange, 1) and a series of tautomeric arylazonaphthol dyes by peracids at 40 °C in alkaline media, particularly peroxosulfate. The arylazonaphthol dyes are readily degraded into fragments (k2E = 102–103M–1 s–1) whereas the azo link in Methyl Orange is relatively inert (k2E 10–1M–1 s–1) consistent with the view that dyes that contain the azo or hydrazo link are more resistant to oxidation than the common anion form of arylazonaphthol dyes. Methyl Orange is decolourised by peroxosulfate (k2E = 7.6 M–1 s–1) simply via oxidation of the tertiary amine to amine oxide, resulting in a shift of the spectrum into the UV region. The reaction site in arylazonaphthol dyes has been pinpointed by investigating k2E for substituted dyes with the 1-arylazo-2-naphthol and 2-arylazo-1-naphthol structural motifs. In direct contrast to results for oxidation by hydrogen peroxide, the presence of an ortho-sulfonate in the aryl ring retards oxidation but an ortho-sulfonate in the naphthol ring does not. This suggests oxidation is initiated by electrophilic reaction by the negatively charged peroxosulfate at the nitrogen atom of the common dye anion that is in close proximity to the aryl ring. In contrast to oxidation by hypochlorite, the introduction of an amino group into the 8-position of 2-arylazo-1-naphthol dyes protects the dye against oxidation, via its influence upon the dye pKA.
IDENTIFYING MEDIATING MECHANISMS IN THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN

ATTACHMENT STYLE AND RISKY SEXUAL BEHAVIORS by CATHRINE ARNDT (Under the Direction of Leslie Gordon Simons) ABSTRACT Previous research indicates that participation in or abstinence from certain sexual behaviors can be associated with attachment style. Furthermore, attachment style can be related to communication and communication can be related to participation in or abstinence from certain sexual behaviors. Based on the existing research addressing the development and stability of attachment styles, I develop a model to explain the possible relationship between these variables. Results show that there are few consistent patterns in the relationship between attachment style and sexual behavior. There is some consistency with regard to number of partners and vulnerability to sexual coercion. Results also indicate that condom use during penile/vaginal intercourse is the same across groups regardless of control factors. These findings have implications for education, prevention, and intervention and increase the demand for future research in this area to better understand the views and behaviors of adolescents and young adults today.
New Approach to Analyzing Monetary Policy in China

Any attempt to model monetary policy in China has to take into account two ‘specifics’ of the Chinese monetary policy: the reliance on several operational instruments, both quantitative (open market operations, discount rate, reserve requirement) and qualitative (selective credit allowances, window guidance etc.), as well as the combined strategy pursued by the People’s Bank of China, i.e. the two intermediate targets - the exchange rate and the money growth. In this paper we analyze monetary policy in China using a small, three-equation New Keynesian model, considering these issues as follows: first, the qualitative instruments are estimated by using the Kalman filter, as no data on them exist. Then, a monetary-policy index is created as a weighted average of the quantitative and the qualitative instruments, which is in turn included in the model instead of the interest rate. Finally, the two intermediate targets (monetary growth and exchange rate) are included in the monetary-policy rule. Our results suggest that monetary authorities in China consider stabilizing inflation and output gap when making their decisions. Intermediate targets, in particular the growth of the monetary aggregates, appear to be important determinants of the monetary-policy behaviour, implying that their omission might be a serious drawback of any analysis. We also find that omitting the qualitative instruments can lead to wrong conclusions about monetary-policy conduct.
Risk Aversion and Emotions

Abstract: We consider the relationship between emotions and decision-making under risk. Specifically, we examine the emotional correlates of risk-averse decisions. In our experiment, individuals' facial expressions are monitored with facereading software, as they are presented with risky lotteries. We then correlate these facial expressions with subsequent decisions in risky choice tasks. We find that the valence of one’s emotional state is negatively correlated, and the strength of a number of emotions: fear, happiness, anger, and surprise, is positively correlated, with risk-averse decisions.
A broad absorption feature in the X-ray spectrum of the isolated neutron star RBS1223 (1RXSJ130848.6+212708)

X-ray spectra of the isolated neutron star RBS1223 obtained with the instruments on board XMM-Newton in December 2001 and January 2003 show deviations from a Planckian energy distribution at energies below 500 eV. The spectra are well fit when a broad, Gaussian-shaped absorption line with σ = 100 eV and centered at an energy of 300 eV is added to an absorbed blackbody model. The resulting equivalent width of the line is −150 eV. However, the spectral resolution at these low energies of the EPIC detectors and the lower statistical quality and restricted energy band of the RGS instruments are not sufficient to exclude even broader lines at energies down to 100 eV or several unresolved lines. The most likely interpretation of the absorption feature is a cyclotron absorption line produced by protons in the magnetic field of the neutron star. In this picture line energies of 100-300 eV yield a magnetic field strength of 2-6 × 10 13 G for a neutron star with canonical mass and radius. Folding light curves from different energy bands at a period of 10.31 s, which implies a double peaked pulse profile, shows different hardness ratios for the two peaks. This confirms that the true spin period of RBS1223 is twice as long as origi- nally thought and suggests variations in cyclotron absorption with pulse phase. We also propose that changes in photo-electric absorption seen in phase resolved spectra of RX J0720.4−3125 by Cropper et al. (2001), when formally fit with an absorbed blackbody model, are caused instead by cyclotron absorption varying with pulse phase.
The changing rainfall pattern and the associated impacts on subsistence agriculture in Laikipia East District, Kenya

Farmers in Laikipia East District of Kenya rely on subsistence agriculture as their livelihood source which in turn depends on the amount and distribution of rainfall. The main growing season occur during the peak rainfall season, that is, between March and May while the secondary growing season occurs between October and December. Annual rainfall trend between 1976 and 2005 showed that rainfall in Laikipia East District increased a condition suitable for the good subsistence agricultural performance. On contrary, subsistence agriculture in the district performed dismally. This was caused by changing rainfall patterns. The annual numbers of rain days declined but the intensity of rain increased. During the main growing season, the number of rain days declined in March and May but remained constant in April. Rainfall intensities declined in March but increased in April and May. The effect of the changing pattern in rainfall on subsistence agriculture was evidenced by decreased growing period and ineffective rainfall with overall negative effects on yields. This paper examines the changing pattern of rainfall and the associated impact on subsistence agriculture in Laikipia East District, Kenya. Key words: Climate change, rainfall patterns, growing seasons, subsistence agriculture.
Combining Imprecise or Conflicting Probability Judgments: A Choice-Based Study

Sources of uncertainty appear to affect attitude towards ambiguity. For instance, when two advisors agree on a range of probabilities and, when they disagree - one advisor predicting the upper bound of the range while the other predicts the lower bound of the range †decision-makers might have different beliefs about the risk although in both case the mean probability is the same. This study draws upon prospect theory and ambiguity research to empirically test how sources of uncertainty affect decision-makers†beliefs. It contrasts revealed beliefs †the precise probability leading to the same choice as an uncertain probability forecast †with judged beliefs †decision-makers†best estimate of the probability of the risk. It also equips beliefs with two properties - pessimism and likelihood sensitivity†to allow them to vary as a function of the source of uncertainty. Two experiments compare beliefs across sources of uncertainty and across elicitation methods (judged vs. revealed beliefs). Findings support the predictions that the source of ambiguity matters in particular for low and high probability events and that revealed and judged beliefs differ.