Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Temporal Discounting of Losses

Temporal Discounting of Losses David J. Hardisty This dissertation presents a series of five papers to better understand how to measure discounting, how and why discounting of losses differs from discounting of gains, and how to apply research on discounting to public policy. Paper 1 compares two common methods of measuring discounting – titration and matching – with a dynamic "multiple staircase" method adapted from psychophysics. Paper 2 examines the robustness of the sign effect across financial, environmental, and health domains. Paper 3 explores the interaction of sign and magnitude, and offers an explanation for why losses reverse or eliminate the magnitude effect. Paper 4 investigates an explanation for the sign effect: that dread looms larger than pleasurable anticipation, and Paper 5 offers an integrative approach to intertemporal choice, with recommendations for environmental policy. Taken together, these investigations suggest that discounting of losses is both quantitatively and qualitatively different from discounting of gains. Across domains and methods losses are discounted much less than gains and losses eliminate (or reverse) the magnitude effect. These behavioral differences occur because "dread" of losses is more pronounced than pleasurable anticipation of gains. In other words, people dislike having losses hanging over their heads more than they enjoy looking forward to positive events. For this reason, while people almost universally want to have gains immediately (due to impatience and other reasons), people are divided about losses – sometimes preferring to realize them immediately, and sometimes preferring to postpone them. Theories and policies involving intertemporal choice must distinguish between losses and gains if they hope to accurately describe and predict people's choices.
Micropropagation of Salvia guaranitica Benth. through axillary shoot proliferation

ABSTRACT Nodal segments from greenhouse grown adult plants of Salvia guaranitica were used to evaluate the effect of culture media and growth regulators on the micropropagation and growth. The highest multiplication rate was obtained on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with 2.22 µ M of 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP). The best condition for rooting was MS medium with 2.85 µ M indole-3-acetic acid (IAA). Rooted plants were successfully acclimatized and exhibited a normal development until maturity. Using the described protocol, approximately 35 plants per explant were obtained after three months. Key words : growth regulators, shoot culture, axillary buds * Author for correspondence: selaguna@ucs.br INTRODUCTION Salvia guaranitica Benth. belongs to the subgenus Calosphace , characteristic of South and Central America (Harley and Heywood, 1992). It is an ornamental and medicinal plant originally from South Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and Argentina, and actually cultivated in North America and Europe. The popular names attributed to this species are: blue anise sage, Brazilian sage, anise sage, among others. It is a semi-woody perennial subshrub that exhibits a bushy, somewhat open habit with upright, branching, square, dark green stems typically growing 90-150 cm tall. Their leaves (5 to 13 cm long) are dark green, ovate, wrinkled, pointed and lightly-toothed. This species flower from mid-summer into fall and is characterized by terminal spikes (20 to 40 cm long) with 3 to 12 bilabiate, tubular, deep blue flowers (3 to 5 cm long) with purple-blue calyxes (Pereira, 1971). This giant sage species has been characterized as octaploid with 2n= 84 to 88, the largest chromosome number within the genus Salvia (Harley and Heywood, 1992; Alberto et al., 2003). Different from other species of the genus Salvia , the major components of the essential oil of S. guaranitica are sesquiterpene hydrocarbons (germacrene D, β-elemene, β-caryophyllene and β-bourbonene), whith about 4% monoterpenes (Vallverdu et al., 2005; Carrer et al., 2007). Sedative and hypnotic properties of the ethanolic extracts of S. guaranitica (Medina et al., 1989) have been associated with the presence of high concentrations of the flavonoid cirsiliol and caffeic acid ethyl ester (Mader et al., 1996). The propagation of S. guaranitica is made by the seeds or stem cutting. However, to our knowledge, there is no documented literature concerning the micropropagation of this species. Some other
Effective partnerships: building a sub‐regional network of reflective practitioners

This paper reports on a year‐long engagement in a sub‐region of South West England with public sector managers, who frequently work in partnership contexts. The purpose of the initiative was to increase the effectiveness of partnership working by exploring common issues and building a shared understanding of how they might be resolved. This was undertaken by holding a series of seminars and forums facilitated by the authors. The findings show that managers who are involved in numerous partnerships value stepping outside of their formal roles to reflect together on their experiences. Participants were able to identify many pertinent issues that affect their practice in partnership contexts and generate important insights. The findings are being used to develop approaches to support partnerships and collaboration in the sub‐region and further afield.
Effect of Demand Volume on Forecasting Accuracy

The forecasting of international tourist arrivals is normally done on a per country basis. The volume of tourist flow varies widely among countries, largely depending on their population size but also on their openness to tourism. This paper uses data for Austria, China (PRC), Canada, the Cook Islands, Cyprus, Japan, the Maldives, Malta, New Zealand, Singapore, Slovenia and Thailand over a quarterly estimation period from 1995 to 1999 to forecast ahead for 2000 to 2002. In addition, the total arrivals to Japan from 24 different countries of origin are also examined with the same estimation and forecast periods. The topic explored is whether it is possible to examine the structure of the time-series data to determine why particular forecasting is more or less accurate. As a starting point, forecasts are obtained from larger data volumes relative to smaller volumes. The forecasting comparison uses the short-term time series methods of the basic structural model and the Holt–Winters model, with a comparison for base accuracy against the naïve model. The results show in the forecasting comparison that the volume of flow and volatility and seasonality do not directly influence the accuracy of the forecast.
‘Breaking the backbone of farmers’: contestations in a rural employment guarantee scheme

This paper examines narratives about the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGA) to reveal people's interpretations of changes to agrarian relations in Andhra Pradesh. Through narratives, we are able to reveal more than just the material relations of production, unveiling internalised modes of control, how these have come under threat in recent times, and discursive strategies to restore them – albeit in modified form. It argues that the MGNREGA has become a site of ideological contestation, in which the scheme means either an entitlement to government support, or alternatively a threat to existing modes of control that can only be reinstated through the scheme itself.
Spillover Effect between the Regional and the National Housing Markets in the UK

Tsai I-C. Spillover effect between the regional and the national housing markets in the UK, Regional Studies. This study uses regional and national data from the UK housing market to analyse the spillovers between these markets and to test whether a ripple effect exists in UK housing prices. Cross-market return spillovers are determined by performing spillover indices. An analysis of the direction and magnitude of return spillovers can be used to discriminate the transmission mechanism of information between the regional and the national housing markets over different areas and different time spans. Empirical findings indicate that the difference in housing prices between the northern and southern regions of the UK will increase each time a new financial crisis occurs.
Extension Strategies for Poverty Alleviation: Lessons from China and India

Abstract This paper discusses the transition from a national focus on food security during the last half of the 20th century to an emerging strategy on helping small-scale farm households increase farm income to reduce rural poverty. The basic proposition is that if extension is going to help increase farm incomes and rural employment, then it must shift from being a ‘supply-driven’ to a more ‘market-driven’ extension system. This shift requires at least three major institutional changes. First, extension must give higher priority to high-value, labor-intensive crops/products where there is real demand in domestic and/or export markets. Second, small-scale producers must get organized into groups to achieve economies of scale and to become linked with the ‘value chains’ that supply these markets. Third, extension planning and decision-making must become decentralized to determine the most suitable crops and/or enterprises vis-à-vis the interests and resources of different farmer groups, in light of agro-ecological conditions and available markets for different products.
Sleight of Hand? Practice Opacity, Third-party Responses, and the Interorganizational Diffusion of Controversial Practices

We examine the role of a practice’s opacity (versus transparency) in the interorganizational diffusion of organizational practices. Though the opacity of a practice is typically thought to impede diffusion, a political-cultural approach to institutions suggests that opacity can sometimes play a positive role. Given that adoption decisions are embedded in a web of conflicting interests, transparency may bring negative attention that, when observed by prospective adopters, inhibits them from following suit. Opacity, in contrast, helps avoid that cycle. Using the curtailment of health benefits for retirees among large U.S. employers (1989 to 2009), we compare the diffusion of transparent adoptions (i.e., partial or complete benefit cuts) with opaque adoptions (i.e., spending caps that trigger disenrollment). We find that transparent adoptions reduce subsequent diffusion of the practice to other organizations. This effect is fully mediated by negative media coverage, which is itself conditioned by the presence of opposition from interest groups. Opaque adoptions, in contrast, increase subsequent diffusion to other organizations and are facilitated by the involvement of professional experts. Thus, in addition to providing findings on practice opacity, our study contributes insight into how organizational fields shape diffusion by illuminating the role of third parties in the spread of controversial practices.
Shorting at Close Range: A Tale of Two Types

We examine returns, order flow, and market conditions in the minutes before, during, and after NYSE and Nasdaq short sales. We find two distinct types of short sales: those that provide liquidity, and those that demand it. Liquidity-supplying shorts are strongly contrarian at intraday horizons. They trade when spreads are unusually wide, facing greater adverse selection. Liquidity-demanding shorts trade when spreads are narrow and tend to follow short-term price declines. These results support a competitive rational expectations model where both market-makers and informed traders short, indicating that these two shorting types are integral to both price discovery and liquidity provision.
The Effect of Routine Maintenance Intravenous Therapy on Hemoglobin Concentration and Hematocrit during Anesthesia in Adults.

OBJECTIVE To investigate the decrease in hemoglobin concentration and hematocrit during elective surgery. METHODS This was a prospective study being performed in Nemazee Hospital of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences. We included a total of 50 American Society of Anesthesiology (ASA) I and II patients undergoing elective minor surgeries. Perioperative fluid administration was performed for all the patients and hemoglobin and hematocrit levels were measured three times: Once before the operation, once one hour after start of operation and once in the recovery room. Values were compared using paired sample t-test. RESULTS The mean age of the patients and controls was 39.66 ± 8.27 years. Hemoglobin level decreases significantly after one hour (p<0.001) and after the end of operation (p<0.001). In the same way hematocrit level was decreased significantly after one hour (p<0.001) and after the end of operation (p<0.001). CONCLUSION In this patient population undergoing elective minor operations, there was significant decrease in the hemoglobin and hematocrit levels in response to the IV fluids administration.
Pricing a scenic view: the case of Singapore's East Coast Park

Landscapes and scenic views are often changed by economic development. This paper uses a contingent evaluation survey to determine the total economic value of a major park in Singapore—the East Coast Park. Given the small size of Singapore, the paper shows how values for option, existence and use can be derived from the frequency of visits to the park. It highlights the socio-economic characteristics of environmentally conscious Singaporeans. The results show that the value of the East Coast Park is 0.1% to 0.3% of Singapore's 1997 GDP. When the estimates are assumed to grow with income, the present value of this perpetual flow of benefits amounted to between S$2.1 to S$7.2 billion. The feasibility, usefulness and applicability in an Asian setting of the contingent valuation method is demonstrated.
Shh expression in developing and regenerating limb buds of Xenopus laevis

The zone of polarizing activity (ZPA) is a specialized region involved in the antero‐posterior (A‐P) axis formation in chick and mouse limb buds. The existence of ZPA in the posterior margin is suggested in Xenopus hindlimb buds because 180° rotation of the distal limb tip induces the supernumerary limb. In this study, we investigated the expression of Sonic hedgehog (shh), a molecular marker for ZPA, in Xenopus developing limb buds and regenerating blastemas by whole‐mount in situ hybridization. Although shh was expressed in the posterior margin of the limb bud like in chicks, its expression domain did not correspond to the ZPA map of Xenopus hindlimb buds. shh expression was distant from the ZPA at stage 53 in particular. To clarify the difference between the shh expression domain and ZPA, we examined shh expression in 180° rotated limb buds. As a result, ectopic shh expression was newly induced in the proximal region to its original expression domain. These results suggest that ZPA is accompanied by shh expression as in chick limb buds. Furthermore we examined shh expression in regenerating blastemas. shh was reexpressed in the posterior margin of the blastema. This result supports the possibility that ZPA also exists in the regenerating blastema. Dev. Dyn. 209:227–232, 1997. © 1997 Wiley‐Liss Inc.
Democracy and Revolution: Latin America and Socialism Today

Acknowledgements Preface 1. The Disinherited Left: From Dogmatic Orthodoxy to Romantic Anti-Capitalism 2. Democracy, Formal or Substantive: When Liberalism Becomes Counter-Revolutionary 3. Socialism or Popular Power: Revolutionary Reality in a Globalised World 4. Originality and Relevance of the Cuban Revolution 5. Hugo Chavez and the Bolivarian Revolution in Venezuela 6. Revolutions Aborted: Chile, Nicaragua, Portugal 7. Leadership, Movement and Representation: Populism and Revolutionary Strategy 8. The Way Forward: Democracy, Popular Power and Revolution Bibliography Index.
Congenital unilateral perisylvian syndrome: radiological basis and clinical correlations.

DESIGN--Advances in neuroimaging have allowed correlations between radiological patterns and clinical features of brain malformations. This paper reports clinical, prognosis, and electroencephalographic features of six children with a previously unrecognised neuroimaging picture of unilateral widening and verticalisation of the sylvian fossa associated with an abnormal ipsilateral perisylvian cortex. RESULTS--All children had reduced hemisphere size and thalamostriatal hypoplasia ipsilateral to the cleft and hemiplegia. Cognitive development was mostly impaired. Epilepsy occurred in two patients and was mainly characterised by partial seizures. Studies with EEG showed hemispheric slowing of background activity homolateral to the perisylvian dysplasia. Occurrence of the malformation among their siblings was not found. CONCLUSION--Similar brain malformations occasionally reported in older patients confirm the clinical picture, sporadic occurrence, and prognosis found, allowing the validation of a unilateral perisylvian syndrome.
COMPARATIVE ETHNIC POLITICS IN THE UNITED STATES: Beyond Black and White

▪ Abstract The study of race in American politics has largely been confined to the examination of African-Americans and their relations with whites. Demographic changes in the American population necessitate that we broaden this perspective to include other nonwhite groups. In this essay, we examine the similarities and differences between African-Americans on the one hand and Latinos and Asian-Americans on the other. In particular, we identify factors that are likely to distinguish the political experiences of these groups, focusing particularly on the roles of immigration and group identity. We also examine the state of knowledge regarding circumstances under which intergroup competition and cooperation are likely to occur. We suggest that neither competition nor cooperation is inevitable; rather, the emergence of either will be contingent on the specific historical and demographic circumstances of the community and the choices and attitudes of both political elites and mass publics.
Analysing the Relationship between New Housing Supply and Residential Construction Costs with the Regional Heterogeneities

New housing supply in Australia has been experiencing a low rate of increase in conjunction with a dramatic increase in residential construction costs since the 1990s. This study aims to estimate the relationship between new housing supply and residential construction costs with the regional heterogeneities. Based on a panel error correction model, it can be identified that there is a causal link as well as a significant correlation between new housing supply and construction costs in the Australian sub-national housing construction markets. The model developed in this research assists policy makers to better understand the nature of the supply side of the housing sector and then enact appropriate policies to improve the new housing supply in Australia.
Perverse incentives under the CDM: an evaluation of HFC-23 destruction projects

The clean development mechanism (CDM) under the Kyoto Protocol allows industrialized countries to use credits from greenhouse gas (GHG) abatement projects in developing countries. A key requirement of the CDM is that the emission reductions be real, measurable and additional. This article uses data from registered projects to evaluate the extent to which these objectives are met by projects that reduce hydrofluorocarbon-23 (HFC-23) emissions in the production of hydrochlorofluorocarbon-22 (HCFC-22). The data show that HCFC-22 plants produced significantly less HFC-23 during periods when no emission credits could be claimed compared with periods when HFC-23 destruction could be credited under the CDM. Moreover, the total amount of HCFC-22 produced appears to be determined mainly by CDM rules. This suggests that the claimed emission reductions may partly not be real and that the CDM provides perverse incentives to generate more HFC-23. The accelerated phase-out of HCFCs under the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer could worsen this situation. To address these issues an ambitious emission benchmark for the baseline HFC-23 emissions is proposed.
Regime-switching approach to monetary policy effects

Even though monetary policy has kept interest rates at historically low levels, the Japanese economy has experienced long lasting recessions since the 1990s. In this paper, Japanese data are employed to conduct an empirical analysis of changes in the effects of monetary policy on the real economy. It is found that monetary policy effects vary depending on the phase of the business cycle and the lending attitudes diffusion indices. More precisely, policy effects are larger in recession but diminish in extreme recession, and monetary policy is more effective when lenders’ attitudes are severe but less effective when they are excessively severe.
Social Cognitive Theory and Physical Activity Among Korean Male High-School Students

The most critical step in developing and implementing effective physical activity interventions is to understand the determinants and correlates of physical activity, and it is strongly suggested that such effort should be based on theories. The purpose of this study is to test the direct, indirect, and total effect of social cognitive theory constructs on physical activity among Korean male high-school students. Three-hundred and forty-one 10th-grade male students were recruited from a private single-sex high school located in Seoul, South Korea. Structural equation modeling was used to test the expected relationships among the latent variables. The proposed model accounted for 42% of the variance in physical activity. Self-efficacy had the strongest total effect on physical activity. Self-efficacy for being physically active was positively associated with physical activity (p < .01). Self-efficacy also had positive indirect effects on physical activity through perceived benefits (p < .05) and goal setting (p < .01). The results of this study indicated that the social cognitive theory is a useful framework to understand physical activity among Korean male adolescents. Physical activity interventions targeting Korean male high-school students should focus on the major sources of efficacy.
Power shifts in organizations: the role of high-performance work systems

This paper analyses the effects of high-performance work systems (HPWS) on the rent appropriation of employees and shareholders in firms from the viewpoint of appropriation theory. Applying a meta-analytical approach I test the hypothesis that HPWS shift the balance of power between stakeholder groups in an organization, favouring employees over other stakeholders. This hypothesis is confirmed. However, the overall results of HPWS are positive for both stakeholder groups, as HPWS also increase firm value creation. My study also emphasizes the need to decompose the construct ‘firm performance’ into value creation and value distribution among stakeholder groups. Directions for future research and recommendations for management practice conclude the paper.
Organized Civil Society and Democratic Legitimacy in the European Union

Structural limitations in models of representative democracy have enhanced the space for other mechanisms of legitimacy in the European Union, including participatory models in which organized civil society interests are significant players. To some observers, such actors are likely only to aggravate already problematic input legitimacy. A range of less hostile approaches also prevail, from a neutral standpoint through to those sharing the perspective of EU policy practice where such actors are seen as a complementary mechanism of democratic input. Whilst concerns about the impact of asymmetries of power between different types of organized civil society interests arise as potential issues in any democratic setting, a particularly vigorous neo-pluralist regime, in which EU institutions actively create and develop as well as empower citizen interest groups, effectively mitigates these asymmetries in an EU context, although it can give rise to paradoxical tensions of elitism.