Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Strategic Asset Allocation with Heterogeneous Beliefs

In this paper, I show how the presence of long-term investors using different return forecasting models and switching these models based on their past performance generates the price trends observed in the …nancial markets. I develop an asset pricing model in which agents have long horizon objectives, based on a stream of consumption. Each agent chooses a forecasting model and maximises a recursive utility function. The choice of the forecasting model in each period determines the agent type. Their types, however, change in time and the evolution is endogenous and based on the relative performance of the forecasting models. This happens because agents have an incentive to adopt the forecasting model with the best performance in the previous period to coordinate with the market. I estimate the asset pricing model using data on the international stock markets. I show that especially for very risk averse individuals, the results of the model change completely whether we consider the intertemporal demand for assets, or only its myopic component as it has been done so far in the literature on heterogeneous beliefs.
Addressing Free Riders in Collaborative Group Work: The Use of Mobile Application in Higher Education

Purpose Free-riding behaviour may threaten the success of teamwork, when one or more group members receive the benefits of other members’ achievements with little effort or cost of their own. The purpose of this paper is to investigate students’ collaborative behaviour to address the problem of free riders (FRs) in university settings. Design/methodology/approach The research is an 11-week field study of three senior finance classes and incorporates mobile learning employing Quip and Google Docs applications to facilitate group work. A comprehensive set of quantitative and qualitative methods analysing students’ perceptions, instructors’ reflections, peer reflections and mobile learning methods are used to answer questions pertaining to group work, the work experience, FRs and ways to minimise the last. Findings In this paper, the author shows that students at the university level have positive views of group work despite the presence of FRs. Students like to form their own groups; consequently, peer evaluation appears to be unreliable. The study points to free riding as a serious threat to academic productivity and calls for actions and strategies from institutions and instructors to eradicate this behaviour. Mobile applications enable instructors to track FRs and to some extent discourage their behaviour. Originality/value There are limited studies that focus on FRs in higher education and, to the researcher’s knowledge, no such investigation has been applied in the Middle East and North Africa. Likewise, there is little research available on incorporating mobile learning to assess group work in higher education. This study aims at exploring the existence and associated experiences of free riding, along with methods to curtail the problem. The findings of this study provide a good platform for inquiry into the FR phenomenon in higher education and its impact on student learning, as well as the possible roles of instructors and mobile applications. The findings of this study could be developed further through more research with a view to providing a broader perspective of the situation in Middle Eastern and North African cultures.
Variation in mitochondrial DNA in a cline of allele frequencies and shell phenotype in the dog‐whelk Nucella lapillus (L.)

Abstract Genetic constitution in the intertidal gastropod Nucella lapillus (L.) influences shell shape, growth rate and physiology. Clinal variation in these traits along a 5 km stretch of coastline in south Devon can be related to environmental variation in temperature and desiccation stress. We have examined mtDNA variation along this shore to investigate whether the cline represents primary or secondary contact. Two distinct mtDNA haplotypes were found which exhibit coincident step clines with karyotypic, allozymic and phenotypic variation and covary with the environmental pressures of temperature and desiccation. These results are interpreted in the context of the wider scale distribution of genetic and phenotypic variation in N. lapillus . It is suggested that the shore studied may represent one of a number of regions of secondary contact within a mosaic hybrid zone in N. lapillus , where coadapted phenotypic variation correlates with habitat and the position of the clines represents an environmental transition.
Packed cell volume and serum iron in subjects with HIV-malaria co-infection in Nnewi, South-Eastern Nigeria.

The present study was designed to assess the PCV and serum iron in HIV-malaria co-infected subjects in Nnewi, South Eastern Nigeria. 207 participants aged between 16-72 (44 ± 28) years were recruited and classified as follows based on standard screening and WHO criteria: (i) Asymptomatic HIV stage I subjects with or without malaria. (ii) Symptomatic HIV stage II subjects with or without malaria and not on (ART). (iii) HIV/AIDS subjects with or without malaria and on ART. (vi) HIV seronegative control subjects with or without malaria. Blood sample from these participants were analyzed for HIV seroreactivity, Plasmodium falciparum antigen, parasite density, serum iron concentrations and PCV using Standard Laboratory methods. The result showed that serum iron and PCV were significantly reduced amongst all the groups studied when compared with the control (p Keywords : HIV, Malaria, Serum iron, PCV.
Debt Policies for Korean SMEs After the US Financial Crisis in 2007

Purpose: Prosperity of SMEs is a national concern in Korea. Although easy financing is important for SMEs, it is the greatest barrier for them. We, therefore, study the financing policies for Korean SMEs. <br><br>Methodology: We try to explain Korean SMEs’ financing patterns during a 10-year window, using the trade-off and pecking order theories. We use 1,501 SMEs from KOSPI and KOSDAQ markets. These SMEs are additionally segregated into 4 different sub-groups in line with their size. In addition, considering an endogeneity problem when using panel data, we hire LSDV and GMM estimators. <br><br>Finding: First, SMEs reduce debt levels for our three different types of debt levels long- and short-term debt, and total debt. Second, some variables, such as tangible assets, cash level and financial deficits, indirectly present that different financing policies (or theories) are applied when SMEs are financing between short- and long-term debt. Third, although we have not found a compelling evidence in statistical terms that SMEs adjust their debt levels toward optimal, continuous reducing of debt level during our sample period is a strong evidence of the trade-off theory. <br><br>Implication: Both trade-off and pecking order theories partially explain Korean SMEs’ financial policies but not entirely. The reason is, we believe, that our models are not enough to represent the verities of SMEs’ characteristics.
The Expenses of Real Estate Funds in a Small Market: Their Determinants

This paper analyses the determinants of expenses for Portuguese real estate funds from 2007 to 2012 and is a pioneer study on the determinants of expenses concerning real estate funds. Closed-end and open-end real estate funds benefit from economies of scale. However, the most important result of this study concerns the fiscal policy implemented by the Portuguese authorities during the 1980s. Closed-end funds flourished by capturing tax benefits, even in the event that risk was not rewarded by return. Investors created financial instruments in which to allocate their real assets, instead of holding them individually.
The larval development of Argulus coregoni Thorell (Crustacea: Branchiura)

Summary The larval development of Argulus coregoni from the first to the ninth stage was studied, with special reference to the morphological changes of the appendages and some other parts of the body. A newly hatched larva is a copepodid-form measuring 0·6–0·7 mm long and approaches the shape of the adult after moulting into the second stage (0·7–0·9 mm). Throughout the larval stages, the first maxilla shows the most remarkable modification. The larvae of the first to the fifth stage are equipped with two strong, curved claws, which act as a clasping organ, at the terminal segment of the first maxilla. The basal segment expands considerably at the third stage (0·9–1·1 mm) prior to forming a sucker at the sixth stage (1·7–2·2 mm). The claws start to degenerate at the fifth stage (1·4–1·8 mm), but are still recognizable as a rudiment after the seventh stage (2·2–2·6 mm). The other distinct morphological changes that occurred are: (1) bifurcation of the anterior part of the dorsal ridges on the carapace, (2.
Nutrient requirements of protein, energy and macrominerals of Nellore cattle of three genders

Objetivou-se determinar as exigencias de energia metabolizavel para mantenca, as exigencias liquidas de proteina, energia e macrominerais para ganho de peso e a eficiencia de transformacao de exigencias liquidas de proteina para ganho em exigencias de proteina metabolizavel em bovinos Nelore. Foram utilizados 27 animais (nove machos castrados, nove machos nao-castrados e nove femeas). Tres animais de cada classe foram abatidos ao inicio do experimento como grupo referencia. Os 18 animais remanescentes receberam concentrado (1 ou 1,25% do peso vivo) durante 112 dias e foram abatidos ao final, para determinacao de sua composicao corporal. As exigencias liquidas para ganho de peso foram obtidas derivando-se a equacao de predicao do conteudo corporal de cada nutriente em funcao do logaritmo do peso de corpo vazio. As exigencias de energia metabolizavel para mantenca foram estimadas a partir da regressao linear da energia retida em relacao ao consumo de energia metabolizavel, enquanto a eficiencia de uso da proteina metabolizavel para ganho de peso foi estimada pela equacao da proteina bruta retida em relacao ao consumo de proteina metabolizavel. As exigencias liquidas de minerais estao de acordo com os valores encontrados na literatura. As exigencias liquidas de energia para ganho aumentam de acordo com o peso vivo e as exigencias liquidas de proteina para ganho diminuem com o aumento do peso. A eficiencia de conversao das exigencias liquidas de proteina em exigencias de proteina metabolizavel e de aproximadamente 50%.
Preference Reversals in Willingness-to-Pay and Choice

A fundamental contribution of consumer behavior research is to help marketing scholars develop an understanding of how people think about and express their preferences. In this article we find that two commonly used preference elicitation procedures, willingness to pay (WTP) and choice, are consistently associated with different expressed preferences. Specifically, choices are associated with a relatively greater preference for hedonic goods, while WTP is associated with a relatively greater preference for utilitarian goods. We find that this is caused, in part, by the greater reliance on deliberation in determining WTP values, while preferences in choices are determined by an affect heuristic. Unlike other choice and WTP preference reversals, we find that this effect is not caused by mechanical determinants such as scale compatibility, as the effect persists with continuous scale measures that rely on affect and with choice-based scale measures that rely on determining valuation.
Determinants of lepidopteran community composition and species diversity in eastern deciduous forests: roles of season, eco‐region and patch size

Summerville, K. S. and Crist, T. O. 2003. Determinants of lepidopteran communitycomposition and species diversity in eastern deciduous forests: roles of season,eco-region and patch size. – Oikos 100: 134–148.Ecologists have long recognized that factors operating at both local and regionalscales inﬂuence whether a given species occurs in an ecological community. Therelative roles of variables manifested at local and regional scales on communitystructure, however, remain an unexplored issue for many faunas. To address thisquestion, we compared the community composition and species diversity of forestLepidoptera between (i) large forest tracts in historically glaciated and unglaciatedregions of the eastern deciduous forest in North America, and (ii) large and smallforest patches within a highly fragmented forest landscape. Speciﬁcally, we usedseasonally stratiﬁed sampling to test whether regional and local differences in mothcommunities were related to variation in stand structure and ﬂoristic composition. Atthe local scale, we tested three alternative hypotheses describing the effects of patchsize on moth species richness: species impoverishment, species replacement, or speciessupplementation.Cluster analysis revealed signiﬁcant compositional differences in moth communitiessampled between (i) early and late seasons, (ii) glaciated and unglaciated foresteco-regions, and (iii) large and small forest patches. Canonical correspondenceanalysis suggested that ﬂoristic variation at regional scales had a greater role indetermining moth community composition than local vegetation or patch-size effects.Species richness was higher in the glaciated North Central Tillplain, and wasattributable to a more diverse herbaceous feeding moth assemblage. Finally, wefound evidence that both species impoverishment and species replacement processesstructure the moth fauna of small woodlots; the richness of moths with larvae thatfeed on woody plants decreased with patch area, but herbaceous feeding speciesincreased in diversity in smaller patches. Thus, our results suggest that local andregional differences in moth community structure are mediated by differences inhost-plant resources attributable to regional biogeographic history and local differ-ences in patch size. Because community composition appeared to be more sensitive toenvironmental variation than species richness, we suggest that monitoring lepi-dopteran species diversity in forests will not detect signiﬁcant changes in speciescomposition due to environmental change.
Not Only are Protectionist Measures Harmful for Economic Development but the Recent Changes in the Global Trading System have Rendered them Irrelevant

The relevance, or function, of a protectionist measure continues to be its ability to shield a particular industry from harm caused by these domestic or international distortions; compared to its predecessors, this new protectionism resorts to forms of discrimination less well regulated by multilateral trade rules and treaties, like those of financial services, (Evenett, pp. 19-20). Whether harm can be attributed to the measure depends on the context, location and price of harm; there is no reason to suppose that the optimum situation is one in which there is no harm (Coase, p. 27). This essay will attempt to discuss these questions of relevance and harm in two parts. It will begin by elaborating on the continued relevance of the use of protectionist measures in the current global system by focusing on the transition that the form of the measure has undergone; from its simple beginnings to its more creative existence and the relationship that these two primary forms have had to economic development. Elaborating on this continued relevance, the essay it will place primacy on a country’s need to ‘manufacture’ advantage as the reason for this continued relevance. Whether or not these types of measures are harmful, will be confronted in the context of the ‘relativity’ of harm in contrast it to the harm caused by an open or liberal measure. Finally, in conclusion, the essay will question the antagonism towards such measures in a world replete with such measures.
Income-Tax Transparency and Its Effect Towards Redistribution Evidence From a Natural Experiment in Norway

Taking advantage of the natural experiment in Norway, this paper shows the effect of the online publication of income-tax record on people’s attitude towards redistribution. The analysis employs a two-stage least square regression method and uses data from the International Social Survey Program (ISSP) 1999 and 2009. This study finds that online publication leads to a more efficient level of support for redistributive policies. This result offers an alternative for the government to boost the redistribution initiative to an optimal level without any conflict with political interest. It also adds a new perspective to the rich literature in economic inequality.
Deleveraging Risk

Deleveraging risk is the risk attributable to investing in a security held by levered investors. When there is an aggregate negative shock to the availability of funding capital, securities with a greater presence of levered investors experience extreme return realizations as these investors unwind their positions. Using data on equity loans as a proxy for the degree of levered positions in a given stock, we find robust evidence of deleveraging risk. Stocks with a high degree of short selling experience large positive returns and a decrease in short selling around periods of funding capital scarcity.
Financial Literacy and Saving for Retirement among Kenyan Households

In this paper I examine financial literacy and saving for retirement in Kenya using the household survey of 2016 from FinAccess Kenya. I use probit regressions to determine the effect financial literacy has on individuals saving regularly as well as saving for retirement. My findings show that households with higher levels of financial literacy will tend to have a higher likelihood to save on a regular basis and subsequently save for retirement. I find that women, the less educated, rural and lower income households tend to have lower levels of financial literacy measured by both knowledge of financial concepts and effective numeracy. Inasmuch as this disparity exists between the groups with regard to levels of financial literacy, there is interestingly neither location disparity between rural and urban households nor gender disparity with reference to saving. To investigate the nexus of causality between financial literacy and saving for retirement, I develop an instrumental variable approach by using the proximity of a household to the nearest public secondary school. I find a positive effect of financial literacy on saving for retirement.
Comparative phylogeography of endemic cyprinids in the south-west Iberian Peninsula: evidence for a new ichthyogeographic area

The comparative phylogeography and evolutionary history of three native cyprinid genera, Squalius (subfamily Leuciscinae), Chondrostoma (subfamily Leuciscinae) and Barbus (subgenus Luciobarbus; subfamily Cyprininae), were examined focusing mainly in the South-Western region of the Iberian Peninsula, where recently described endemic species are present with considerably restricted distribution areas. In order to accomplish that the variation at the complete cytochrome b gene (1140 bp) was analysed for specimens from the South-Western region, and also for representatives of the three genera from all over the Iberian Peninsula. Data indicate different evolutionary histories, with distinct time periods of colonization between the two cyprinid subfamilies in the Iberian Peninsula. Four new Iberian ichthyogeographic areas are accordingly proposed based on congruent phylogeographic and geological evidences: the South-Western, the South-Eastern, the Atlantic and the Mediterranean. Evidence was provided for the older isolation of the South-Western area in the Miocene during the Endorheic Drainages phase, designating a clearly defined and distinct ichthyogeographic area. A new molecular clock calibration is proposed for the subgenus Luciobarbus.
EFFECTS OF INJECTION OF GONADOTROPIN-RELEASING HORMONE ON SOW FERTILITY

A total of 159 Landrace × Yorkshire sows were used to study the effects of an intramuscular injection of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) at estrus on reproductive performance. Artificial insemination at 24 h or 24 and 40–44 h following treatment, resulted in similar conception rates for GnRH-treated (77.5 and 69.2%) and control sows (70.0 and 67.5%). Conception rates were not affected by insemination regime. GnRH treatment resulted in slightly improved litter sizes in comparison with control sows (10.45 vs 9.92; P > 0.20) whether inseminated once or twice, but had no effect on piglet weight at birth. Litter size and piglet weight at weaning were also not influenced by treatment. GnRH treatment (100 μg) induced increases in serum concentrations of luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) from the anterior pituitary within 30 min and maximal serum concentrations were observed 90–120 min postinjection. The induced release of both LH and FSH was of short duration (< 4 h), compared.
Production of lettuce and carrot in an intercropping system

Com o objetivo de avaliar as culturas de cenoura e alface no sistema de consorcio, foram conduzidos dois experimentos na estacao experimental da Pesagro-Rio em Campos dos Goytacazes, RJ, em cultivo de inverno nos anos de 1995 e 1996. As alfaces foram cultivadas em monocultivo e em consorcio com a cultura de cenoura. Utilizou-se delineamento experimental de blocos ao acaso com quatro repeticoes. Para cenoura foram analisados seis tratamentos (cenoura em monocultivo e em consorcio com cinco cultivares de alface). Para a alface foi utilizado esquema fatorial com dois sistemas de cultivo e cinco cultivares. As parcelas experimentais possuiam dimensoes de 1 m x 1,5 m. No primeiro experimento, foram utilizadas as cultivares de alface Baba-de-verao, Regina-71, Vitoria, Brasil-303 e Carolina e no segundo experimento, as cultivares Carolina, Elisa, Regina-71, Vitoria e Marisa. A cultivar de cenoura utilizada foi a Brasilia. A eficiencia do consorcio foi avaliada pelo calculo da Razao de Area Equivalente (RAE). Em ambos experimentos, tanto para monocultivo quanto para consorcio, as culturas apresentaram producao adequada para comercializacao. Apenas houve prejuizo a cenoura no sistema de consorcio quando esta foi cultivada com a alface cv. Marisa. Os valores da RAE, 1,74 e 1,76, evidenciaram que a utilizacao do consorcio foi vantajosa nos dois ensaios, ou seja, para obter-se a mesma producao de alface ou cenoura em monocultivo seria necessario um acrescimo em area de 74% e 76%, considerando o primeiro e segundo ano de experimentacao, respectivamente.
Nontax Country Characteristics and Tax Avoidance

This study tests the role of national culture in tax avoidance by multinational corporations (MNCs). Hofstede’s four cultural dimensions are used to measure cultural differences across countries: uncertainty avoidance, individualism, masculinity, and power distance. The level of tax avoidance is estimated based on the worldwide effective tax rate (ETR) of corporate groups. A sample of group years domiciled in 31 countries for the years 2008 to 2015 is used to test the association between culture and tax avoidance. The empirical results of the study imply that MNCs headquartered in countries with low uncertainty avoidance, low individualism, high masculinity, and low power distance engage in a higher level of tax avoidance than MNCs in countries with high uncertainty avoidance, high individualism, low masculinity, and high power distance. In addition, the cultural features of the parent company generally have a stronger influence on group-level tax avoidance than those of its subsidiaries. This study contributes to the literature by presenting empirical evidence of culture as a determinant of tax avoidance by MNCs. The study also suggests that policymakers consider cultural factors when setting anti-avoidance regulations for MNCs.