Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Real Options Analysis: Empirical Testing of Real Options in Residential Real Estate Development

From a real options analysis perspective, the modern theoretical view is that development land represents a perpetual call option to the landowner on the conversion and subsequent development of the land. In the research literature, modeling this process typically follow institution-free assumptions, allow for unconstrained land use mix, density, exercise timing, and other assumptions that otherwise influence “optimal” development decisions. However, in real property markets analysis of land development options are significantly more constrained by institutions than typical stylized land development options encountered in academic literature and research. Hong Kong practices the leasehold system of land management, through which land use and improvements are controlled through leasehold contract conditions in conjunction with urban planning regulations. Developers speculatively purchase long-term land leases with the intention to apply successfully to convert land use and changes in development density, in practice similar to systems that operate under freehold systems, with one important exception: land development options are not perpetual American calls but instead are very long-dated American calls. This paper reports on the experimental application of the perpetual American call option model in the Hong Kong market for very long-dated land development options, and tests if the model explains the behavior of developers through the analysis and testing of option values in ten cases that involved the purchase of development land, holding the land over long periods, and converting and developing the land. Despite it being a perpetual model and not a term-specific long-dated call as the leasehold land management system would specify, in eight out of ten cases the perpetual call model yields “optimal” results that match actual developer behavior. This finding could complicate significantly the standard expectation that American call options with no dividend should not be exercised early. This constitutes the research question for the second phase of this research (not reported on here), which aims to compare these results with results obtained from a study of the same sample but with options valued with a long-dated American call option model with consideration of potential early exercise.
Human signatures derived from nighttime lights along the Eastern Alpine river network in Austria and Italy

Abstract. Understanding how human settlements and economic activities are distributed with reference to the geographical location of streams and rivers is of fundamental relevance for several issues, such as flood risk management, drought management related to increased water demands by human population, fluvial ecosystem services, water pollution and water exploitation. Besides the spatial distribution, the evolution in time of the human presence constitutes an additional key question. This work aims at understanding and analysing the spatial and temporal evolution of human settlements and associated economic activity, derived from nighttime lights, in the Eastern Alpine region. Nightlights, available at a fine spatial resolution and for a 22-year period, constitute an excellent data base, which allows one to explore in details human signatures. In this experiment, nightlights are associated to five distinct distance-from-river classes. Our results clearly point out an overall enhancement of human presence across the considered distance classes during the last 22 years, though presenting some differences among the study regions. In particular, the river network delineation, by considering different groups of river pixels based on the Strahler order, is found to play a central role in the identification of nightlight spatio-temporal trends.
Changes in Fish Diversity and Fisheries in Ziway-Shala Basin: The Case of Lake Ziway, Ethiopia

Lake Ziway is an economically important lake in the country. However, the physico-chemical parameters of the lake seem to be threatened by anthropogenic and climatic factors, which in turn affect biotic factors as reflected in fish catch. A study was made to assess the status and trends of fish diversity and fishery during October 2012 to September 2014 in Lake Ziway. Ten fish species were identified with low species diversity for the lake (H′ value of 1.67). The composition of the fishes has undergone some changes as compared to the last few decades.
Determinants of Happiness and Academic Performance of Economics Students

In this paper, using sample of economics students at Chulalongkorn University, we study the following questions: (i) what are the determinants of happiness and academic performance of these students? (ii) is there any relationship between happiness and academic performance (measured by grade)? We find that the determinants of happiness and grades of differentstudentgroupsvary.Thevariablesthatsignificantlyaffecthappinessinmostsample groups are income, age, academic year and romantic relationship. More income and higher academicyearsincreasehappiness.However,anincreaseinageandmoreromanticrelationship decrease happiness. In addition, we find that the variables that significantly affect grades of studentsareincomeandIQ.Asexpected,IQpositivelyaffectsgrades.However,highincomeis bad for grades. Surprisingly, we find that optimism negatively affects grades in some sample groups.ThisresultisoppositetotheresultsreportedinSeligman(1990).
The new economic geography versus urban economics : an evaluation using local wage rates in Great Britain

This paper tests two competing models, one deriving from new economic geography theory (NEG) emphasising varying market potential, the other with a basis in urban economics theory (UE) in which the main emphasis is on producer service linkages. Using wage rate variations across small regions of Great Britain, the paper finds that, taking commuting into account, it is UE theory rather than NEG theory that has explanatory power. However since the two hypotheses are non-nested, the evaluation of the competing hypotheses is difficult and therefore the conclusions are provisional. Nevertheless this paper provides evidence that we should be cautious about the ability of NEG to work at all levels of spatial resolution, and re-emphasises the need to focus on supply-side variations in producer services inputs and labour efficiency variations, including the role of commuting, in local economic analysis.
Effects of metal contaminants on the development of the common Antarctic sea urchin Sterechinus neumayeri and comparisons of sensitivity with tropical and temperate echinoids

A toxicity test was developed to examine the effects of metal contaminants on the sen- sitive early life history stages of the common Antarctic echinoid Sterechinus neumayeri (Meissner). Embryos and larvae of the sea urchin were exposed to the metals copper, cadmium, zinc and lead, and the effects of each metal on development to hatched blastulae after 6 to 8 d, and to 2-arm plutei after 20 to 23 d were monitored. These metals are common in Antarctic marine environments and are often found at elevated levels at sites subject to anthropogenic inputs. For all metals tested, the long- term test to the 2-arm pluteus stage was more sensitive than the short-term test. Copper was the metal most toxic to developing embryos and larvae of S. neumayeri with EC50s of 11.4 µg l -1 and 1.4 µg l -1 following 6 to 8 d and 20 to 23 d exposure respectively. Exposure to cadmium at concentra- tions greater than 2 mg l -1 caused a significant decrease in the proportion of embryos developing nor- mally to hatched blastulae (EC50 = 6.9 mg l -1 ) and concentrations greater than 0.2 mg l -1 , caused a decrease in normal 2-arm plutei. EC50 values calculated for zinc were 2230 and 326.8 µg l -1 for the short- and long-term tests respectively. Lead had no effect on development of embryos following 7 d exposure at all concentrations tested (up to 3.2 mg l -1 ). As the concentration of Cu shown to inhibit development of S. neumayeri is similar to levels found at impacted sites in Antarctic nearshore envi- ronments, results of this study indicate that this metal may have an impact on the development of S. neumayeri. The sensitivity of S. neumayeri to copper and cadmium in tests based on development to hatched blastulae (6 to 8 d) are generally comparable to results of tests on echinoids from tropical and temperate regions that use development to 2-arm plutei (2 to 4 d) as the end-point. However, the Antarctic species is more sensitive to copper and cadmium than the tropical and temperate species if the tests are continued to the same stage of development, the pluteus larva (20 to 23 d for the Antarc- tic species). Comparing the tolerance of a key developmental stage common to all planktotrophic sea urchins may be more ecologically relevant than simply comparing exposure over a fixed period of time, because for an embryo to survive to adulthood it must successfully complete all development stages. This is the first reported evidence that Antarctic species could be more sensitive to contami- nants than species from warmer regions.
Gender identity and social change: the experience of female migrants from the MENA region

Using the status of women from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, this paper presents empirical observations to analyse the effects of migration on gender roles. The region is globally well-know by unique gender characteristics such as patriarchy, a typical pattern of male breadwinner model and women’s low employment level. The paper analyzes employment status of migrant women from the MENA region living in the multiethnic and multicultural setting of Australia where they often observe different gender characteristics including a high rate of women’s employment. This contrast provides the opportunity to examine whether this new experience and observation change their employment status upon migration. Moreover, due to the fundamental role of religion in the MENA region, the paper explains the association between religion (Islamic affiliation) and women status. Finally, the paper discusses plausible explanations for the observed patterns on the employment status of women from the MENA
ON METRIC SPACES INDUCED BY FUZZY METRIC SPACES

For a class of fuzzy metric spaces (in the sense of George and Veeramani) with an H-type t-norm, we present a method to construct a metric on a fuzzy metric space. The induced metric space shares many important properties with the given fuzzy metric space. Specifically, they generate the same topology, and have the same completeness. Our results can give the constructive proofs to some problems for fuzzy metric spaces in the literature, which are shown by examples in this paper.
Stellar binaries in galactic nuclei: tidally stimulated mergers followed by tidal disruptions

We investigate interactions of stellar binaries in galactic nuclear clusters with a massive black hole (MBH). We consider binaries on highly eccentric orbits around the MBH that change due to random gravitational interactions with other stars in the nuclear stellar cluster. The pericenters of the orbits perform a random walk, and we consider cases where this random walk slowly brings the binary to the Hills tidal separation radius (the so-called empty loss-cone regime). However, we find that in a majority of cases the expected separation does not occur and instead the members of the binary merge together. This happens because the binary's eccentricity is excited by tidal interactions with the MBH, and the relative excursions of the internal eccentricity of the binary far exceed those in its internal semimajor axis. This frequently reduces the pericenter separation to values below typical stellar diameters, which induces a significant fraction of such binaries to merge ($\gtrsim 75\%$ in our set of numerical experiments). Stellar tides do not appreciably change the total rate of mergers but circularise binaries, leading to a significant fraction of low-eccentricity, low-impact-velocity mergers. Some of the stellar merger products will then be tidally disrupted by the MBH within $\sim 10^6$ years. If the merger strongly enhances the magnetic field of the merger product, this process could explain observations of prompt relativistic jet formation in some tidal disruption events.
SUCCESSION STRATEGY AND PERFORMANCE OF SMALL AND MEDIUM FAMILY BUSINESSES IN NAIROBI, KENYA

Succession is an inevitable event in the life of a family business. The mode and the strategies employed to facilitate the trans-generational transition of ownership and control have been observed to have a significant influence on the survival and performance of family businesses. Against the background of minimal research on family business succession in Kenya, and rich entrepreneurship, this study aimed at determining the nature of business succession strategies and their influence on the performance of small and medium family businesses in Nairobi. Data on the businesses’ transition strategies and their performance were obtained from 249 SMEs through a structured questionnaire and interviews. The results indicate that family owned SMEs in Nairobi did not explicitly document their succession strategy. However contrary to expectations regarding the nature of succession, it was evident that they make significant unwritten plans for trans-generational succession. While the study did not indicate a strong and significant relationship between succession and firm performance, it emerged from the case studies that firms that went through smooth succession also recorded significant growth post transition. The results are discussed in terms of their implications for the pertinent theories, previous research findings and family business management.
Northern Exposure: How Canadian Micro-Cap Stock Investments Can Benefit Investors

Micro-cap stocks, a subset of small stocks, have the potential to provide additional diversification benefits and increased returns to investors. The ways that micro-cap stocks can contribute to investors’ actual portfolios have not been rigorously investigated. In this study, we examine micro-cap stocks in Canada and consider investability constraints and transaction costs that are overlooked in most other size-effect studies. We find that micro-cap stocks in Canada have relatively high returns and a low correlation to large stocks in Canada, the United States, and other developed markets. We conclude that these findings demonstrate that Canadian micro-cap stocks appear to represent a unique asset class and that investing in this unique asset class can improve the risk-return characteristics for global investors’ overall portfolios. We therefore suggest that global investors consider adding Canadian micro-cap stocks to their portfolios.
Using laddering to understand the social media network Google

This study seeks to explore why Google+ is utilized by its members, by drawing conclusions to their underlying motives and values. The behavior on this growing and influential, albeit very recent platform has not been investigated throughout at this point of time yet. In this context an exploratory study using the means-end approach was applied to a group of identified heavy users, consisting of 17 male and 14 female respondents. Consequently 31 semi-standardized qualitative one-on-one interviews were conducted by using Google+’s text-based online chat. Some of the main findings of this study have been that members of Google+ are utilizing the network first and foremost for social exchange, with the objective of having fun and enjoying oneself, for example by sharing pictures with friends. The most significant attributes are “chat”, “pictures”, “mobile application” as well as “circles” and are very closely linked to values such as “fun”, “well being” or “hedonism”. This approach could make a valuable contribution to business research, as well as help corporations and individuals to improve their social media activities based on the results. The study was the first to successfully apply the laddering technique to the issue of the social media network Google+. Keywords: social media, social networks, expectations, laddering, Google+
Origin and Distribution of the VRN-A1 Exon 4 and Exon 7 Haplotypes in Domesticated Wheat Species

The high adaptive potential of modern wheat to a wide range of environmental conditions is determined by genetic changes during domestication. Genetic diversity in VRN1 genes is a key contributor to this adaptability. Previously, the association between the transitions C->T within the fourth and seventh exons of VRN-A1, the distinguishing pair haplotypes Ex4C/Ex4T and Ex7C/Ex7T, and the modulation of such agronomically valuable traits as the vernalization requirement duration, frost tolerance and flowering time of wheat have been shown. However, this polymorphism was analyzed in only a few cultivars of Triticum aestivum L. , and not in other wheat species. In the present study, VRN-A1 exon 4 and exon 7 were investigated in six tetraploid and five hexaploid wheat species carrying different VRN-A1 alleles. An allele-specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay was optimized to identify the VRN-A1 exon 7 haplotypes. It was found that polymorphism of the VRN-A1 exon 7 originated in wild tetraploid wheat of Triticum dicoccoides Körn, while the mutant exon 4 of this gene originated later in domesticated hexaploid wheat of T. aestivum. Both these polymorphisms are found in all hexaploid wheat species. Analysis of the VRN-A1 exon 4 and exon 7 haplotype combinations found that intact exon 7 and mutant exon 4 are associated with analogous types of exon 4 and 7, respectively. With the exclusion of the Vrn-A1c (IL369) and Vrn-A1j alleles, identified only in hexaploid wheat, all dominant VRN-A1 alleles carry intact exons 4 and 7 (Ex4C/7C haplotype). The Ex4C/4T/7T haplotype was detected in numerous accessions of hexaploid wheat and is associated with the presence of multiple copies of VRN-A1. Overall, modern domesticated hexaploid wheat T. aestivum includes most possible combinations of the VRN-A1 exon 4 and exon 7 haplotypes among polyploid wheat, which are present in different proportions. This contributes to the high adaptive potential to a broad range of environmental conditions and facilitates the widespread distribution of this species throughout the world.
LINEAR WEINGARTEN HYPERSURFACES IN RIEMANNIAN SPACE FORMS

Abstract. In this note, we generalize the weak maximum principle in[4] to the case of complete linear Weingarten hypersurface in Riemannianspace form M n+1 (c) (c = 1,0,−1), and apply it to estimate the normof the total umbilicity tensor. Furthermore, we will study the linearWeingarten hypersurface in S n+1 (1) with the aid of this weak maximumprinciple and extend the rigidity results in Li, Suh, Wei [13] and Shu [15]to the case of complete hypersurface. 1. IntroductionIt is well known that many rigidity results have been obtained for hyper-surfaces in spheres ([1, 6, 10, 17]) and in space form ([2, 3, 12]) with constantscalar curvature or with constant mean curvature. As a natural generaliza-tion of hypersurface with constant scalar curvature or with constant meancurvature, linear Weingarten hypersurface has been studied in many places([5, 8, 9, 11, 13, 15, 16]). Recall that a hypersurface in a Riemannian spaceform is said to be linear Weingarten if its normalized scalar curvature R andmean curvature H satisfy R = aH +b for some constants a,b ∈ R. In [13], Li,Suh and Wei proved the ﬁrst rigidity result for linear Weingarten hypersurfacein S
High-speed 1.3 μm1.3μm tunnel injection quantum-dot lasers

1. 3μm tunnel injection quantum-dot lasers are demonstrated. The laser heterostructures are grown by molecular-beam epitaxy. The InAs self-organized quantum dots are p doped to optimize the gain. The lasers are characterized by Jth=180A∕cm2, T0=∞, dg∕dn≈1×10−14cm2, f−3dB=11GHz, chirp of 0.1A, and zero α parameter.
How resource inputs and atmosphere affect relationship performance

Purpose of the paper and literature addressed Firms invest in relationships with their customers to make the relationships work effectively and efficiently as conduits for transmitting and integrating resources. This paper reports on a study that assesses how the expected level of input of resources by sellers such as manufacturers and distributors into buyer-seller relationships affects the extent to which they then get future access to the intangible resources in their buyers, such as retailers. The paper also investigates how relationship atmosphere, in terms of commitment and trust, affects the level of that access to the buyers’ resources. The theoretical grounding for the study derives largely from the IMP stream of research with some use of concepts from other frameworks such as the service-dominant logic (S-DL) of marketing, and the resource based view of the firm.
EVALUATION OF CYCLIC ADENOSINE MONOPHOSPHATE AND NEUROTRANSMITTERS IN EXPERIMENTAL OBESITY: IMPACT OF BLACK PEPPER AND COFFEE AQUEOUS EXTRACTS

ABSTRACT Objective: This study aims to evaluate the effect of black pepper and coffee extracts on chronic and acute experimental-induced obesity and energy homeostasis. Methods: Rats were divided into 10 groups including control, high-fat diet (HFD), triton, HFD+triton, black pepper+HFD, black pepper+HFD+triton, coffee+HFD, coffee+HFD+triton, mixture+HFD, and mixture+HFD+triton groups. Blood glucose, serum insulin, and insulin resistance were estimated. Body mass index, food efficiency intake, and body weight gain were calculated. Lipid profile, liver and kidney functions were measured, serum and brain cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) was estimated, and brain neurotransmitters were measured by high-performance liquid chromatography. Furthermore, histopathology of liver was performed. Results: Findings showed that blood glucose, insulin resistance, lipid profile, kidney and liver functions as well as brain cAMP and neurotransmitters were significantly increased, concomitant with a significant decrease in insulin resistance and serum cAMP in both HFD and triton-induced obesity groups compared to control. Conclusion: Supplementation with black pepper extract, coffee extract, and a mixture of both significantly improved these findings. In conclusion, black pepper and coffee extracts are overlooked as promising weight reduction and antihyperlipidemic agents. Keywords : Energy homeostasis, Obesity, Black pepper extract, Coffee extract, Cyclic adenosine monophosphate, Neurotransmitters.