Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Where Governance Fails: Advanced Business Services and the Offshore World

Twenty years ago the Soviet Union was dismantled and the Cold War ended. With enlarged markets and peaceful economic co-operation the world seemed to be embarking on a path of uninterrupted development. In reality, however, we experienced two worst decades in the post WWII history in terms of world GDP growth rate, combined with the highest levels of domestic income inequalities, economic instability, and the highest greenhouse gas emissions. The 2000s was the worst decade on all of these counts, the 1990s the second worst. Why did the world economy perform so badly? The paper revisits some key concepts used in economic and social sciences to explain economic transformations of the last 20-40 years, and points to the development of the advanced business services – offshore world nexus as an area of major governance failure. Advanced business services hold considerable power, which they exercise by operating legal and financial vehicles designed to escape the control of governmental or inter-governmental organizations through the use of offshore jurisdictions. This nexus of advanced business services and the offshore world contributed to the recent global financial crisis, and has negative consequences for stability, equity and sustainability.
Ethnic Conflicts and the Informational Dividend of Democracy

Prevailing theories of democracy focus on class conflict. In contrast, we study democratic transition when ethnic tensions are more salient than the poor/rich divide, building a model where (i) ethnic groups negotiate about allocating the economic surplus and (ii) military and political mobilizations rest on the unobserved strength of ethnic attachment. Free and fair elections elicit information and restore inter-ethnic bargaining efficiency. Autocrats can rationally choose democratic transition, even if they risk losing power, as elections reduce the opposition’s informational rent. The predictions of our framework are consistent with novel country-level and ethnic group-level panel correlational evidence on democratization in the post-decolonization period.
Influence of Affective Traits on Entrepreneur's Goals and Satisfaction

Emotions are important to an individual's behavior. However, affective elements have rarely been included in the analysis of entrepreneurs' behavior. Using a sample of 335 entrepreneurs from multiple industries of the Spanish region of Castile and León, we analyze the role of emotions in entrepreneurs' statement of goals and in their satisfaction with business performance. The results show that positive affective traits influence an entrepreneur to state broad and ambitious goals, and personal negative affective traits influence an entrepreneur to state a narrow set of goals. We also find that positive (negative) affective traits are positively (negatively) related to entrepreneur satisfaction.
THE ROLE OF PLANT-POLLINATOR INTERACTIONS IN DETERMINING COMMUNITY STRUCTURE1

This paper is dedicated to the recent generation of studies on community structure that utilize systems analysis and energy flow but fail to mention, or mention only in passing, the reproductive parts of plants. Flowers and fruits are passed over because they usually represent an insignificant proportion of the standing biomass of most forests (Odum et al., 1970; Fittkau & Klinge, 1973), however, we should not lose sight of the fact that for most plant species those metric tons of standing biomass are the product of the evolution of mechanisms to provide sufficient energy for the formation of propagules. Further, the formation of propagules often involves the coevolved behaviors of plants and animals. These interactions are even more difficult to express as energy gained or lost in an ecosystem. It appears that the "importance" of community subsets cannot always be measured in terms of calories. One other expression of the importance of a set of interactions, such as plantpollinator interactions, is its contribution to the determination of community structure. Community structure may be defined by several parameters, including species diversity and dominance patterns, trophic structure, or diversity of reproductive types. To simplify analysis, I will confine this discussion to the consideration of diversity at one trophic level, the consumers of nectar or pollen, and to one reproductive type, flowering angiosperms. The question to be considered is, how important are plant-flower-visitor interactions in determining the diversity of visitors and plants that rely on animals for reproduction? This is an important question because there has been no clear demonstration that the structure of flower-visitor communities depends on the floral resources that are available. While it is obvious that animals such as bees are found where there is some nectar and pollen, it is not obvious that the structure of entire flower-visitor communities is largely a function of the number of flowers present and the way visitors partition the resource. There are at least three classes of theory explaining diversity differences among communities, and plant-pollinator interactions would be important in only one of these. One theory claims communities are not saturated with species and differences in diversity result from historical considerations (e.g. Whittaker, 1969). If flowering plant and flowervisitor species diversity are the result of historical accidents, then plant-pollinator
Multiple dormancy and maternal effect on Miconia ferruginata (Melastomataceae) seed germination, Serra de Caldas Novas, Goiás, Brazil

Species with mostly asexual reproduction are interesting subjects for germination studies since variation would be more easily linked to environmental factors. Miconia ferruginata DC. is an apomictic treelet in Brazilian cerrado areas on rocky outcrops. Germination of seeds collected from individuals occurring in the Serra de Caldas Novas State Park, Goias, was studied in three experiments under controlled conditions. Germination characteristics differed among individuals and were correlated with altitude and soil Al content. Seeds from plants growing at lower altitudes, with lower soil aluminium content, presented malformed seeds with absence of embryo which rendered lower, but better synchronized germination. The nested analysis showed that from the total variance, 78.14% for germinability, 54.56% for uncertainty of the germination process, and 68.30% for the quantity of seeds without embryo was attributed to the altitudinal effect. Individuals nested within altitude contributed up to 16.93% for the total variance. It means that there is low variability among individuals of the same altitude and high variability among individuals from different points of the slope, making clear that for the studied population the environmental effect is stronger than the genetic component to determine the seed quality. The testa of the seeds provides a mechanical dormancy which seems to be associated also with phenolic compounds, which help to disperse germination through time. Photoblastism was also registered for seeds of this species.
Knowledge of Catalan, Public/Private Sector Choice and Earnings: Evidence from a Double Sample Selection Model

This paper explores the earnings return to Catalan knowledge for public and private workers in Catalonia. In doing so, we allow for a double simultaneous selection process. We consider, on the one hand, the non-random allocation of workers into one sector or another, and on the other, the potential self-selection into Catalan proficiency. In addition, when correcting the earnings equations, we take into account the correlation between the two selectivity rules. Our findings suggest that the apparent higher language return for public sector workers is entirely accounted for by selection effects, whereas knowledge of Catalan has a significant positive return in the private sector, which is somewhat higher when the selection processes are taken into account.
Antibacterial and antioxidative activities of the various solvent extracts of banana (Musa paradisiaca cv. Mysore) inflorescences

The inflorescence of Mysore banana (Musa paradisiaca cv. Mysore) was investigated for its antibacterial and antioxidant activities using various solvent extractions. Buds and bracts of the inflorescence showed a wide spectrum of inhibition against foodborne pathogenic bacteria such as Staphylococcus aureus (SA), Bacillus cereus (BC), Listeria monocytogenes (LM) and Vibrio parahaemolyticus (VP). The antioxidant activity was found higher in extracts with higher polarity. Methanolic extract of buds proves to have the strongest antibacterial and antioxidant activities. The 1 mg inL Â¯Â¹ of the methanolic buds extracts were able to scavenge l,l-diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazyl (DPPH) radical up to 77.8% and inhibit the Lipid Peroxidation (LPO) at 67.2%. Meanwhile, the TEAC, FRAP and TPC values of the bud extracts were 137.71 umolg Â¯Â¹ extract Trolox equivalent, 2114.70 umol g Â¯Â¹ extract Fe Â²â�o equivalent, 122.03 GAE mg g Â¯Â¹ extract, respectively. Pearson's correlation indicated significant positive correlation (r>0.9, p<0.01) between antibacterial activity, antioxidant values and TPC. The Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) values of the buds methanolic extracts were determined at 16.5 and 31.0 mg mL Â¯Â¹ against SA and LM. It is concluded that banana inflorescence extracts could be potentially be exploited as a source of natural antibacterial and antioxidants.
Inflation Protection from Homeownership: Long-Run Evidence: 1814-2008

This paper examines the inflation hedging capacity of the private home. We employ unique long-term data for inflation, house price dynamics and rents for Amsterdam dating back to 1814. We analyze inflation protection using various methodological approaches, periods, and investment horizons. Our Amsterdam data show that homeownership offers protection against expected inflation for relatively long investment horizons, especially in periods when inflation is persistent. The hedging capacities of housing regarding unexpected inflation are weak.
The Allelopathic Potentials of the Non-Native Invasive Plant Microstegium vimineum and the Native Ageratina altissima: Two Dominant Species of the Eastern Forest Herb Layer

Abstract Allelopathy is one explanation for non-native plant invasion, but native plants also can be allelopathic. We tested the allelopathic potentials of the non-native, invasive grass Microstegium vimineum (Japanese Stilt-grass) and the native herb Ageratina altissima (White Snakeroot), which both can dominate the herb layer in central New Jersey forests. Aqueous extracts from roots and shoots of both species negatively affected the speed of germination and the percent germination of Lettuce and Radish seeds in Petri dishes, and White Snakeroot shoot extract had the strongest effect. In a factorial experiment in pots of forest soil that combined extract treatments with activated carbon addition (to manipulate allelochemicals) and soil sterilization (to investigate indirect allelopathic effects via the soil microflora), Lettuce and Radish seedling establishment was reduced by extracts, especially from the native White Snakeroot. However, growth of surviving seedlings was unaffected by the extracts or their interactions with carbon or soil sterilization. These results show that a native species had stronger allelopathic potential than an aggressive, non-native invader from the same forest and that allelopathy was effective on the earliest developmental stages of the target plant species. In addition, activated carbon and sterilization interacted to directly influence plant growth. Growth was greater in sterilized than unsterilized soils, but only when carbon was added, suggesting caution in using these techniques in allelopathy studies.
Regulating Product Return Policies: The Trade-off between Efficiency and Distribution

The proliferation of product returns entails substantial financial and environmental costs. Nonetheless, regulators typically restrict firms from charging consumers high fees for returning products, which facilitates returns. To analyze the consequences of such interventions, we consider a market in which consumers have private information about their expected consumption utility. We show that monopolistic sellers have an incentive to inefficiently trigger too many returns even without regulation, as low return fees enable them to screen consumers and reap their surplus. Regulators then face a trade-off: upper bounds on return fees exacerbate inefficiency by causing sellers to trigger even more returns but also lead to a redistribution of wealth from monopolistic sellers to consumers. This trade-off also arises when consumers have an endowment effect. However, if sellers can induce overoptimistic beliefs about the utility from consumption (for example, through advertisements), upper bounds on return fees may also lead to higher social welfare.
Do Takeover Targets Under-Perform? Evidence from Operating and Stock Returns

Financial economists seem to believe that takeovers are partly motivated by the desire to improve poorly-performing firms. However, prior empirical evidence in support of this inefficient management hypothesis is rather weak. We provide a detailed reexamination of this hypothesis in a large-scale empirical study. We find little evidence that target firms were performing poorly before acquisition, using either operating or stock returns. This result holds both for the sample as a whole and for sub-samples of takeovers that are more likely to be disciplinary. We conclude that the conventional view that targets perform poorly is not supported by the data.
A Forecast Comparison of Volatility Models: Does Anything Beat a Garch(1,1)?

We compare 330 ARCH-type models in terms of their ability to describe the conditional variance. The models are compared out-of-sample using DM-$ exchange rate data and IBM return data, where the latter is based on a new data set of realized variance. We find no evidence that a GARCH(1,1) is outperformed by more sophisticated models in our analysis of exchange rates, whereas the GARCH(1,1) is clearly inferior to models that can accommodate a leverage effect in our analysis of IBM returns. The models are compared with the test for superior predictive ability (SPA) and the reality check for data snooping (RC). Our empirical results show that the RC lacks power to an extent that makes it unable to distinguish 'good' and 'bad' models in our analysis.
Comportamento produtivo e características nutricionais do capim-braquiária cultivado em consórcio com milho

The objective of this work was to evaluate the chemical characteristics of the whole plant and the leaf and stem fractions of signal grass in different sowing arrangements to determine the productive performance of the corn/signal grass intercrop. The production of dry matter (DM), crude protein (CP) and total digestible nutrients (TDN) per area was evaluated, as well as the concentration of CP, digestible crude protein (CPD), neutral detergent insoluble crude protein (NDICP), neutral detergent fiber (NDF), lignin (LIG) non-fiber carbohydrate (NFC) and TDN in DM and the leaf:stem ratio (L:S) at different sowing arrangements and culture age. The sowing arrangements tested were: two lines of signal grass in the corn inter-lines, hand-sowed signal grass in the corn inter-lines, one line of signal grass in the same line of corn, one line of signal grass in the corn inter-lines, exclusive signal grass and exclusive corn culture. The culture age effect was evaluated by sampling plants at 128, 141, 174 and 199 days after sowing. The largest production of DM, CPD and TDN was obtained for signal grass in exclusive culture. During the period when the corn culture shadowed the signal grass, the leaf:stem ratio of intercropped signal grass was lower than the signal grass in exclusive culture. Forages from arrangements with higher shadowing (hand-sowed signal grass and one line of signal grass at the same line of corn) were less productive and presented higher CP concentration in the DM. In general, higher concentrations of CP and lower of NDF and LIG were found in the leaf fraction in relation to the stem fraction, regardless the sowing arrangements. The intercrop did not affect the LIG, NFC and TDN concentration in the DM of the signal grass, but the age had an effect on these variables. The corn production was not affected by the intercrop or by the different arrangements.
Effect of nitrogen and farmyard manure on insect pests of pearl millet in northern Ghana

Increasing the rate of N applied to millet increased the incidence of stem borer, Coniesta ignefusalis, and cotton stainers, Dysdercus volkeri. Controlled studies confirmed that when C.ignefusalis larvae were reared on millet grown on high doses of N, their survival and subsequent crop damage increased. However, nitrogen applications reduced the incidence of the head miner, Heliocheillus albipunctella. Farmyard manure, even at 10 kg/ha, had no significant effect on pest incidence. Copyright © 2004 Whurr Publishers Ltd
Acúmulo e distribuição de metais pesados nas raízes, caule e folhas de mudas de árvores em solo contaminado por rejeitos de indústria de zinco

An experiment was carried out in greenhouse to evaluate total content and distribution of heavy metals in seedlings of twenty different tree species growing in a soil contaminated by Zn, Cd, Cu and Pb. Plantable size seedlings were transfered to 3.3 kg pots containing a contaminated soil mixture and to a control soil without contamination where they were allowed to grow for ninety days. Metal foliar concentrations for plants grown in the contaminated soil were high, ranged from (mg kg-1): Zn= 154 to 1177; Cd = 0.6 to 54.6 and Cu= 2.8 to 134. In most cases, these concentrations were superior to what has been considered as critical toxic levels, whereas foliar Pb concentrations ranged from 0.1 to 4.3 mg kg-1, below the critical toxic level. In some species that were highly affected by contamination such as Machaerium nictidans, Myroxylon peruiferum, Piptadenia gonoacantha, Senna macranthera and Trema micrantha it was found high translocation index for Zn and/or Cd. However, Dendropanax cuneatum that was only slightly affected by contamination, exhibited high translocation of Zn and Cd to shoots. In contrast to others species, Dendropanax cuneatum retained these elements in the stems. Other group of plants that were only slightly affected by soil contamination such as Acacia mangium, Copaifera langsdorffi and Cedrella fissilis accumulated more Zn and Cd in the roots than in the shoots, therefore indicating that reduced translocation is involved in their tolerance to the excess of heavy metal in soil. The proportional distribution pattern of Zn and Cd in the roots and shoots of the studied plant species is related to their behavior to the excess of heavy metals in soil.
Dual Holders: Valuation, Default Policy, and Capital Structure

Dual holders own debt and equity in the same firm. By maximizing the total value of the dual holders' assets, we derive optimal default policies and show that dual holdership reduces default risk. We analyze the two most common priority structures: 1) Dual holders' private debt rank junior to external debt, typically found in small and medium sized companies. 2) Private debt ranks pari-passu to external debt, typically the case for publicly traded debt. The reduction in default probability is larger for the junior-senior case. We calculate the value of debt and other claims, and by the standard approach of trading off tax benefits from debt with bankruptcy costs, we analyze firms' optimal capital structure. Total firm value in the pari-passu case is lower or equal to total firm value in the junior-senior case. Private debt displaces equity financing and equity values can be negative. Any negative equity values are more than offset by positive values of private debt. Without exogenous restrictions, dual holders always prefer to increase private debt. For fixed, sufficiently high levels of private debt, the optimal use of external debt is proportional to the use of private debt. This case illustrates an odd, non-sustainable economic situation for high levels of private debt. Tax benefits from debt decrease the total cost of financing and removes default risk. In this case, the bankruptcy cost is zero, so there is no cost of including debt in the capital structure. All debt is therefore risk-free and credit spreads vanish. In addition, any differences between the two priority structures disappear in this case.
Exploring Relationships Between Technology Use and Time Spent in the Financial Planning Process

Using a nationwide online survey capturing detailed information on the backgrounds and practices of 654 financial planners, this study examines the associations between the use of technologies by financial planners and self-reported time spent within various stages of the six-step financial planning process. Surprisingly, in many cases, use of technology is associated with an increase rather than a decrease in time spent within various stages of the financial planning process. These results suggest that although technologies may provide efficiencies in completing certain tasks, these efficiencies do not necessarily result in net reductions in time spent within the financial planning process.
The pattern of seed banks during secondary succession on poor soils

Studies on the soil seed banks of fallow lands of different ages were carried out on poor soil abandoned fields and in a fresh coniferous forest in north-eastern Poland. The size and diversity of seed banks was studied with the seedling emergence method. Species abundance (i), density (ii), number of species from different biological groups (iii) and distribution and mean LI value (iv) were analysed as the function of fallow land age. It was found that: (i) species diversity, number of species and ln of density are linear declining function of the fallow land age; (ii) for approx. 25 years the share of diaspores of identified species groups has been relatively similar. Seed banks of 40-50-year-old fallow lands are dominated by Calluna vulgaris, while the seed bank of the old fresh coniferous forest is dominated by dicotyledonous perennials and grasses; (iii) within the first 50 years of succession the persistence of seed banks measured by the Longevity Index increases gradually.
Return and Risk-Return Ratio Based Momentum Strategies: A Fresh Perspective

In this study, we contribute to existing literature on momentum strategies by assessing a modified version of risk-return ratio based security selection criterion in an untested market – the KOSPI 200 over June 2006 to June 2012. Besides conventional risk-return ratios such as the Sharpe ratio, we also employ the use of risk-return ratio based ranking criterion first introduced in Biglova et al. (2004) when ranking securities to form portfolios for these strategies. These ratios take into account the non-normality and kurtosis that are ubiquitous in equity time series returns. In contrast to their approach however, we invert the ordinal ranking of negative risk-return ratios to be consistent with the interpretation of negative ratios presented in Sharpe (1994). Applying these methods, this study quantifies and compares the performance of returns based and risk-return ratio based momentum strategies while estimating the transaction costs involved in implementing such strategies. For return based momentum strategies, we show that most strategies involving a 3 or 6 month formation period exhibit statistically significant positive returns, while those with a 9 or 12 month formation period do not. In addition, all risk-return ratio based strategies failed to generate returns that are significantly greater than zero.