Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A New Stem Parrot from the Green River Formation and the Complex Evolution of the Grasping Foot in Pan-Psittaciformes

ABSTRACT Deposits from the Fossil Butte Member of the Green River Formation preserve exceptional fossils from one of the most diverse Paleogene avifaunas worldwide. Stem lineage parrots are well represented in this avifauna. Here we report a new species of Pan-Psittaciformes (crown clade parrots and their stem lineage relatives). The new species shares several features with extant parrots that are not present in the contemporaneous clades Halcyornithidae and Messelasturidae, including a wider pelvis, deeper trochlea cartilaginis tibialis, and larger pygostyle. Morphology of the foot suggests strong grasping ability and an arboreal ecology. Phylogenetic analysis of a combined data set of morphological and molecular sequence data resulted in limited support for a sister-group relationship between the new taxon and Quercypsittidae as well as a previously unrecognized clade including Vastanavidae, Halcyornithidae, and Messelasturidae. Regardless of whether this phylogeny or alternate hypotheses are preferred, a complex history of character evolution is inferred for key features related to the zygodactyl grasping foot within Pan-Psittaciformes.
Growth Response of Various Perennial Grasses to Increasing Salinity

ABSTRACT Although the effect of salinity on plant growth has been the focus of a substantive research effort, much of this research has failed adequately to separate the various growth-limiting aspects of salinity; thus, the results are confounded by multiple factors. Eight perennial grass species were grown in a sand-culture system dominated by sodium chloride (NaCl) [electrical conductivities (ECs) between 1.4 and 38 dS m−1], with sufficient calcium (Ca) added to each treatment to ensure that Na-induced Ca deficiency did not reduce growth. Of the eight perennial grass species examined, Chloris gayana cv. ‘Pioneer’ (Rhodes grass) was the most salt-tolerant species, while Chrysopogon zizanioides cv. ‘Monto’ (vetiver) was of only moderate tolerance. However, observed salinity tolerances tended to be lower than those expected from published values based on the threshold-salinity (bent-stick) model. This discrepancy may be due in part to differences in the evapotranspirational demand between studies; i.e., an increase in demand accelerates the accumulation of sodium (Na) in the shoots and hence decreases apparent salinity tolerance. It was also observed that the use of a non-saline growth period (to allow seed germination and establishment) results in the overestimation of vegetative salinity tolerance if not taken into consideration. This situation is particularly true for species of low salt tolerance, due to their comparatively rapid growth in the non-saline medium compared with growth at full salinity.
Climate Finance Intermediation: Interest Spread Effects in a Climate Policy Model

Interest rates are central determinants of saving and investment decisions. Costly financial intermediation distorts these price signals by creating a spread between deposit and loan rates. This study investigates how bank spreads affect climate policy in its ambition to redirect capital. We identify various channels through which interest spreads affect carbon emissions in a dynamic general equilibrium model. Interest rate spreads increase abatement costs due to the higher relative price for capital-intensive carbon-free energy, but they also tend to reduce emissions due to lower overall economic growth. For the global average interest rate spread of 5.1 percentage points, global warming increases by 0.2°C compared to the frictionless economy. For a given temperature target to be achieved, interest rate spreads necessitate substantially higher carbon taxes. When spreads arise from imperfect competition in the intermediation sector, the associated welfare costs can be reduced by clean energy subsidies or even eliminated by economy-wide investment subsidies.
Why Do Firms Use Compensation Peer Benchmarking?

We develop a cost-benefit tradeoff model to explain corporate boards’ decision whether to use compensation peer benchmarking. Peer benchmarking helps a board retain a talented but risk-averse CEO, but it weakens CEO incentives to exert effort. Consistent with high retention needs, benchmarking firms have more peer citations, operate in general business domains with more similar firms, and their CEOs are at the most marketable age. Benchmarking firms also tend to be younger and have more volatile stock returns and earnings and higher leverage, where CEO performance is riskier. Consistent with high incentive costs, CEO pay-performance sensitivities are lower and CEO pay growth is higher at benchmarking firms. To mitigate such costs, benchmarking firms award their CEOs more equity annually and are more likely to dismiss them for poor performance. When retention needs are low, peer benchmarking is associated with lower firm value. Retention needs can also explain peer selection decisions.
Stable isotope evidence for different regional source areas of common crossbill Loxia curvirostra irruptions into Britain

We used the stable isotope composition of body feathers to show the extraordinarily varying regional provenance of an irruptive conifer seed specialist, the common crossbill Loxia curvirostra. In the boreal region of the western Palearctic, this species specialises on the seeds of Norway spruce Picea abies. The patterns of deuterium in the feathers of migrant common crossbills collected in Britain suggested that irruptions in different years originated in widely separated regions of the Palearctic boreal forest. The birds from some irruptions were relatively narrow-billed compared with those from others, but bill width was not correlated with deuterium values. However, deuterium values did co-vary with the dates that the irruptions reached Britain, with the lowest deuterium levels in years with the latest arrivals. This finding was consistent with the idea that birds with low values came further, from regions far to the northeast. This pattern was very different from that found in irruptive northern bullfinches Pyrrhula p.pyrrhula which had larger variation in deuterium values within an irruption, suggestive of a much more widespread provenance. It is argued that the difference between species is the result of their differing foraging ecology. Bullfinches have a varied summer diet and, unlike common crossbills, do not concentrate regionally to breed where a single type of food is available that year.
When Rain Matters! Investment Timing and Value Relevance

We study whether firms in the rain-sensitive sectors time their investments to generate value in response to extreme deviations in rainfall conditions. Using Indian monsoon data, we show that the market-based valuations of rain-sensitive firms significantly declines in the immediate aftermath of extreme rainfall deviations. In terms of the cross-sectional variance of the extreme rainfall conditions and consistent with investment timing economic argument, our investigations show that when compared to normal rainfall conditions, affected rain-sensitive firms tend to significantly increase their investments following excess rainfall periods. Contrarily, we observe shrinkage of investments following deficit rainfall periods. However, in both cases, firms seem to regain the lost market-based values in the lead periods of extreme rainfall deviations.
Effect of site quality and thinning management on the structure of holm oak forests in northeast Spain

Dans les forets de chene vert du nord-est de l'Espagne, la variabilite de l'intensite d'eclaircie et la grande heterogeneite de fertilite des stations, dues a leur topographie montagneuse, provoquent d'importantes differences de structure des peuplements. Dans cet article, nous analysons l'effet de la fertilite de la station et de la gestion sylvicole sur l'heterogeneite structurelle des forets de chene vert dans differentes zones des massifs de Montseny et les Guilleries (nord-est de l'Espagne). Ces deux facteurs influencent de differentes manieres les principales variables descriptives de la structure des peuplements. La hauteur a ete utilisee comme indice de fertilite de station car elle est tres peu modifiee par le type de gestion sylvicole, tandis que la densite et le nombre total de brins par souche sont tres affectes par le type de gestion. La diametre moyen synthetise l'effet de la fertilite de la station et de l'intensite d'eclaircie. La gestion sylvicole est le facteur le plus important pour expliquer les differences de structure de peuplement, tandis que la fertilite de la station peut etre un facteur limitant du developpement des peuplements, contribuant, dans les stations de moindre qualite, a augmenter les differences dues a la gestion sylvicole.
The Changing Economics of Knowledge Production

Big data technologies change the way in which data and labor combine to create knowledge. Is this a modest innovation or a data revolution? Using hiring and wage data, we estimate firms’ data stocks and their knowledge production functions. Quantifying changes in production functions informs us about the likely long-run changes in output, in factor shares, and in the distribution of income, due to big data technologies. For the investment management industry, our structural estimates predict a 5% decline in the labor share of income; that change is comparable to similar estimates for the industrial revolution.
What Will Be Popular Next? Predicting Hotspots in Two-mode Social Networks

In social networks, social foci are physical or virtual entities around which social individuals organize joint activities, for example, places and products (physical form) or opinions and services (virtual form). Forecasting which social foci will diffuse to more social individuals is important for managerial functions such as marketing and public management operations. In terms of diffusive social adoptions, prior studies on user adoptive behavior in social networks have focused on single-item adoption in homogeneous networks. We advance this body of research by modeling scenarios with multi-item adoption and learning the relative propagation of social foci in concurrent social diffusions for online social networking platforms. In particular, we distinguish two types of social nodes in our two-mode social network model: social foci and social actors. Based on social network theories, we identify and operationalize factors that drive social adoption within the two-mode social network. We also capture the interdependencies between social actors and social foci using a bilateral recursive process—specifically, a mutual reinforcement process that converges to an analytical form. Thus, we develop a gradient learning method based on a mutual reinforcement process that targets the optimal parameter configuration for pairwise ranking of social diffusions. Further, we demonstrate analytical properties of the proposed method such as guaranteed convergence and the convergence rate. In the evaluation, we benchmark the proposed method against prevalent methods, and we demonstrate its superior performance using three real-world data sets that cover the adoption of both physical and virtual entities in online social networking platforms.
Return Predictability in Federal Funds Futures: Is it There?

This paper studies return predictability in federal funds futures. I show that over the period 1990 to 2018, predictor variables from the literature do not consistently outperform the expectations hypothesis when evaluated out-of-sample. Further, while forecasts from advanced forecasting methods such as Dynamic Model Averaging and Complete Subset Regressions are considerably more accurate than those from simple linear prediction models, they do not generate systematic economic value to investors. These results suggest that federal funds futures do not need adjustment for time-varying risk premia.
Value at Risk and the Cross-Section of Expected Returns: Evidence from China

In the Chinese stock market, we find that the cross-sectional relation between value-at-risk (VaR) and expected returns is unclear, which is different from the recent findings in the United States. Additionally, VaR is negatively related with expected returns and cannot be explained by idiosyncratic volatility, momentum, short-term reversal, or maximum daily return during a high consumer confidence period. In contrast, no significant relation is observed between VaR and expected returns during a period of low consumer confidence.
Exercise-related Mental Health Problems and Solutions during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Introduction Most people will find it challenging to maintain their mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic. People with a history of mental illness, including anxiety disorders, mood disorders, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and related disorders are now forced to navigate the fear and trauma of living through a pandemic, often in isolation. Even individuals with no history of anxiety, depression, or PTSD may experience a level of stress during the pandemic that makes it difficult to maintain their mental health. Exercise is a control mechanism for many living with mental illness and a protective factor in the lives of those without mental illness. Mental health and physical health are closely intertwined when it comes to exercise. However, exercise routines are heavily disrupted by this pandemic. Our focus is to highlight how the disruption in individual exercise programs requires distinctive solutions to protect and enhance mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic using a case-based approach.
Intertemporal Income Shifting for Investment Reasons: Evidence From Private Firms

This paper examines the intertemporal income-shifting behavior of private firms, as well as the level and efficiency of aggressive intertemporal income shifters’ investments in the wake of corporate tax cuts. Earlier research has focused mainly on public firms. However, research into private firms is especially relevant since these companies tend to finance future growth through internal financing. Using a sample of 2,650 firm-year observations of private Spanish firms, our results thus show that private companies engaged in intertemporal income shifting to gain additional tax savings in the presence of corporate tax cuts. This was particularly observed in the presence of significant investment opportunities and timing pressures to shift income. Additionally, we provide evidence that aggressive intertemporal income shifters invested more in labor capital after tax reforms than other firms and that such investments were efficient. Data Availability: Data are available from the public sources cited in the text. JEL Classifications: M41; M48; H21; H32.
Moderating Effect of Alliance Network on the Relationship between Competitive Strategies and Firm Performance in the Telecommunication Industry in Kenya

Organizations on telecommunication platforms are heavily impacted by increased competition globally due to the industry’s dynamic nature especially in technology. Therefore, this has resulted in formation of alliance networks with the aim of entering new markets, developing new products faster, and meeting the growing market demands. Alliance networks enable firms respond to technological changes with greater efficiency and speed in order to remain relevant to the market scene. Hence, the current investigated moderating effect of alliance networks on the relationship between competitive strategy and firm performance in telecommunication industry in Kenya. The descriptive research design was adopted and primary data collected through issue of questionnaires. Study findings revealed positive moderating effect of alliance networks on the relationship between competitive strategy and firm performance in the telecommunication industry in Kenya.
What are the Risk-Taking Properties of Long-Term Incentive Plans Based on Relative Performance?

This paper analyzes the risk-taking properties of long-term incentive plans based on relative performance. In stark contrast to traditional time-vested stock options, these incentive plans give undiversified, risk-averse managers an incentive to pursue projects characterized by idiosyncratic rather than systematic risk. My key prediction is that this effect manifests synergistically through two plan characteristics: payout convexity and peer group difficulty. I present empirical evidence consistent with this prediction. I further show that the choices for payout convexity and peer group difficulty are consistent with moral hazard considerations. Collectively, my study highlights several new dimensions to consider in assessing whether and how incentive-compensation contracts alter firms’ risk profiles.
BIOCHEMICAL COMPOSITION AND FATTY ACID CONTENT OF FILAMENTOUS NITROGEN‐FIXING CYANOBACTERIA

The biochemical composition and fatty acid content of twelve strains of filamentous, heterocystous, nitrogen‐fixing cyanobacteria have been determined. When grown under diazotrophic conditions, protein, carbohydrate, lipid, and nucleic acids comprised 37–52%, 16–38%, 8–13%, and 8–11% of the dry weight, respectively. The presence of a combined nitrogen source resulted in an increase in the protein content of the cells and a decrease in the levels of lipids and carbohydrates, although biomass productivity was not affected significantly. Biochemical composition also changed during culture growth, with the highest levels of proteins and lipids occurring as the culture entered stationary phase, whereas the highest levels of carbohydrate and nucleic acids were found during the exponential phase. Total fatty acid levels in the strains assayed ranged between 3 and 5.7% of the dry weight. With regard to fatty acid composition, all strains showed high levels of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) and saturated fatty acids (SAFAs), with values of 24–45% and 31–52% of total fatty acids, respectively, whereas the levels of monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs) were in general lower (11– 32%). Palmitic acid (16:0) was the most prevalent SAFA, whereas palmitoleic (16:1n‐ 7) and oleic acid (18:1n‐9) were the most abundant MUFAs in all the strains. Among PUFAs, γ‐linolenic acid (GLA, 18:3n‐6) was present at high levels (18% of total fatty acids) in Nostoc sp. (Chile) and at lower levels (3.6% of total fatty acids) in Anabaenopsis sp. The presence of GLA has not been previously reported in these genera of cyanobacteria. The rest of the strains exhibited high levels (12–35% of total fatty acids) of α‐linolenic acid (ALA, 18:3n‐3). Linoleic acid (18:2n‐6) was also present at a substantial level in most of the strains. Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA, 20:5n‐3) was also detected in Nostoc sp. (Albufera). Some filamentous nitrogen‐fixing cyanobacteria therefore represent potential sources of commercially interesting fatty acids.
The Effect of Job Loss and Unemployment Insurance on Crime in Brazil

We investigate the impact of job loss on crime and the mitigating role of unemployment benefits, exploiting detailed individual‐level data linking employment careers, criminal records, and welfare registries for the universe of male workers in Brazil. The probability of committing crimes increases on average by 23% for workers displaced by mass layoffs, and by slightly less for their cohabiting sons. Using causal forests, we show that the effect is entirely driven by young and low‐tenure workers, while there is no heterogeneity by education and income. Regression discontinuity estimates indicate that unemployment benefit eligibility completely offsets potential crime increases upon job loss, but this effect vanishes completely immediately after benefit expiration. Our findings point to liquidity constraints and psychological stress as the main drivers of criminal behavior upon job loss, while substitution between time on the job and leisure does not seem to play an important role.
Organizational Adaptation

Organizational adaptation is equivocal. On the one hand, the concept is ubiquitous in management research and acts as the glue binding together the central issues of organizational change, performance, and survival. On the other hand, it lurks around in various guises (e.g., “fit,” “alignment,” “congruence,” and “strategic change”) studied from multiple theoretical streams (e.g., behavioral, resource based, and institutional) and at different levels of analysis (e.g., organization and industry levels). In a novel approach to reviewing 443 adaptation articles that leverages both computational and hand-coded analysis, we produce an interactive visual of the themes most studied by adaptation scholars. We inductively draw out a definition of adaptation as intentional decision making undertaken by organizational members, leading to observable actions that aim to reduce the distance between an organization and its economic and institutional environments. We then review the literature across three main areas of inquiry and six theoretical perspectives that surfaced from our analysis and identify 11 difficulties that have hampered adaptation research in the past 50 years. Our review suggests ways to address these difficulties to enable future research to develop and cumulate.
Will You Work Less, Mommy? The Effect of Air Pollution on Labor Supply in South Korea

Han, Aharam; Kim, Taejong; Ten, Gi Khan; Wang, Shun.April, 2020.Will you work less, mommy? The effect of air pollution on labor supply in South Korea,Report,[Sejong]KDI School of Public Policy and Management,KDI School Working Paper Series/20-15,35
The Missing Trade Elasticities and the Floating Size of the Gains from Trade

Multi-sector variants of standard gravity models typically predict much larger gains from trade than their one-sector counterparts. This paper explores to what extent this result is due to the relevant cross-sector variation observed in trade elasticity and to what extent it is instead an artifact of (discretionary) sectoral disaggregation. Numerical calculations are performed based on standard sufficient statistics for a specific class of gravity models (i.e. perfect competition models). Results suggest that, for benchmark values of the trade elasticity that applies to the one-sector specification, heterogeneous elasticities across sectors are, by far, the main source of the gains magnification effect, at least under standard levels of sectoral disaggregation at which input-output tables are commonly publicly available. Yet, when using more disaggregated data from tables available for the U.S. only, the effect of sectoral deconstruction per se substantially increases, leaving the issue on the "true" size of the gains still widely open.
The Hedging Channel of Exchange Rate Determination

We document the exchange rate hedging channel that connects country-level measures of net external financial imbalances with exchange rates. In times of market distress, investors increase their currency hedging activities in proportion to their overall net foreign asset exposure by purchasing forward contracts. Countries with large positive external imbalances (e.g. Japan) experience domestic currency appreciation, and crucially, forward exchange rates appreciate relatively more than the spot after adjusting for interest rate differentials. Countries with large negative foreign asset positions experience the opposite currency movements. We present a model demonstrating that exchange rate hedging coupled with intermediary constraints can explain these observed relationships between net external imbalances and spot and forward exchange rates. We find empirical support for this currency hedging channel of exchange rate determination in both the conditional and unconditional moments of exchange rates, option prices, and large institutional investors’ disclosure of hedging activities. The currency hedging channel also explains the observed cross-sectional heterogeneity in the usage of the Federal Reserve dollar liquidity swap lines during the COVID-19 financial turmoil.