Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Impact of Demand and Supply Shocks on US Hospitality Index Returns

In analysing the impact of demand and supply shocks on US hospitality index returns, this study tests whether these shocks can explain the index returns of five hospitality sectors: airlines, gambling, hotels, restaurants, and travel and leisure, and, if so, whether they have a different influence on hospitality index returns and market returns. The empirical test results show that both demand and supply shocks do affect US hospitality index returns and that the significant effects of both shocks vary across sectors. This paper identifies the critical role of changes in the corporate tax rate (demand shock and fiscal policy variable), the oil price growth rate (supply shock) and the labour wage growth rate (supply shock) in affecting hospitality index returns. Consistent with previous studies, the author finds that monetary policy (demand shock) still has a strong influence on hospitality index returns. However, hospitality index returns are not significantly related to the fiscal policy variable of changes in budget deficits. The paper concludes with a discussion of the results and their managerial implications for the guidance of hospitality business managers and investors interested in hospitality sectors.
Landscape modelling of gene flow: improved power using conditional genetic distance derived from the topology of population networks

Landscape genetics is a burgeoning field of interest that focuses on how site‐specific factors influence the distribution of genetic variation and the genetic connectivity of individuals and populations. In this manuscript, we focus on two methodological extensions for landscape genetic analyses: the use of conditional genetic distance (cGD) derived from population networks and the utility of extracting potentially confounding effects caused by correlations between phylogeographic history and contemporary ecological factors. Individual‐based simulations show that when describing the spatial distribution of genetic variation, cGD consistently outperforms the traditional genetic distance measure of linearized FST under both 1‐ and 2‐dimensional stepping stone models and Cavalli‐Sforza and Edward’s chord distance Dc in 1‐dimensional landscapes. To show how to identify and extract the effects of phylogeographic history prior to embarking on landscape genetic analyses, we use nuclear genotypic data from the Sonoran desert succulent Euphorbia lomelii (Euphrobiaceae), for which a detailed phylogeographic history has previously been determined. For E. lomelii, removing the effect of phylogeographic history significantly influences our ability to infer both the identity and the relative importance of spatial and bio‐climatic variables in subsequent landscape genetic analyses. We close by discussing the utility of cGD in landscape genetic analyses.
Representative Economic Agent, Propensities to Save, and Money Demand Stability

In simple-sum aggregate money demand studies, long-run elasticities and the propensities of individuals to save are presumed to be equal and can be depicted by those of the representative economic agent. This study uses panel data to test this hypothesis within the theoretical framework of the inventory-theoretic transactions approach and finds it fails to hold. At the microeconomic level, money demand functions are not homogeneous, and the impacts of monetary policies on economic activities of households are not as stable as those suggested in aggregate money demand studies.
A profile of substance abusers using the emergency services in a tertiary care hospital in Sikkim

Background: Sikkim, a state in Northeast India with a population of more than 500,000 and inhabited by indigenous population of Lepchas, Bhutias and Nepalis, lies in the foothills of the Himalayas sharing borders with Tibet, Nepal and Bhutan. Northeast India is a major source of injection drug users (IDUs) and associated HIV/AIDS. Alcohol use is traditionally prevalent in Sikkim and recently, IDU behaviour has also been reported, although systematic information on epidemiology and treatment availability of substance abuse in Sikkim is not available. Aim: To study the sociodemographic and drug use profile of substance abusers using the emergency services in a tertiary care hospital. Methods: A retrospective chart review was used. Patients with history of current drug use seeking emergency services for any medical or surgical consequence incident to substance abuse from July 2000 to June 2005 (60 months) were included in the study. Data were generated from emergency case register, hospital records and case sheets. SPSS 10.0 was used for data analysis. Results: Out of 54 patients seeking emergency services with substance abuse (1.16% of all psychiatric consultations), alcohol abusers were 77.8% and other opioid abusers 14.8%. Prevalence of IDU was 16.66%. Common opioids abused were dextrpropoxyphene and pentazocine, both analgesics. A significant number of patients (46.3%) had a history of >20 days/month frequency of abuse. Median of duration of abuse with all drugs was 12 years, while that with IDU population was 3 years. Alcohol withdrawal was the commonest cause (57.4%) of reporting to the emergency. Psychiatric comorbidity was found among 7.4%. Commonest medications used were chlordiazepoxide and clonidine, for withdrawal and naltrexone, for substitution. No standardized treatment protocol for substitution treatment was available. Conclusions: This is an initial attempt to study the sociodemographic and drug use profile of substance abusers in Sikkim. Demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of substance abusers seeking emergency services are not significantly different from treatment-seeking substance abusers in other parts of India. IDU behaviour has been detected and low median duration of use suggests an emerging problem and need for urgent harm reduction. Alcohol withdrawal was the commonest cause of seeking emergency services, which is related to high prevalence of alcohol abuse in Sikkim. No standardized substitution treatment is available for substance abusers, which may lead to higher rates of relapse.
An Examination of Factors Affecting the Decision to Waive Audit Adjustments

The value of audit services is determined by an auditor's ability to both (1) discover misstatements in the client's accounting system and (2) report those misstatements (DeAngelo [1981a, 1981b]). Audit adjustments reflect the auditor's discovery of a potential breach in the client's accounting system. The decision to waive an audit adjustment is important, since it can potentially lead to misleading financial statements. Waiving an adjustments) may also result in litigation and loss of auditor reputation. Despite its importance, we have very little empirical evidence on the decision to waive an adjustment. The purpose of this study is to initiate an understanding of the importance placed by auditors on a number of factors noted in the literature in determining whether a proposed audit adjustment is waived. The study reported here utilizes archival data gathered from actual audit engagements to examine variables that may explain the decision to waive an audit adjustment. The findings reveal that in addition to materiality, a number of factors appear to be considered, including directional impact on income, the nature of the adjustment (objective versus subjective), and size of the client. Finally, a number of adjustments exceeding materiality were waived, highlighting the need for future research to more fully understand factors affecting this important decision and to ensure that business decisions (e.g., client pressures) do not overly influence the auditor.
Clinical text classification under the Open and Closed Topic Assumptions

This paper investigates multi-topic aspects in automatic classification of clinical free text in comparison with general text. In this paper, we facilitate two different views on multi-topics: the Closed Topic Assumption (CTA) and the Open Topic Assumption (OTA). Experimental results show that the characteristics of multi-topic assignments in the Computational Medicine Centre (CMC) Medical NLP Challenge Data is strongly OTA-oriented but general text Reuters-21578 is characterised in the middle of the OTA and CTA spectrum.
Denaturing and refolding of protein molecules on surfaces

Keeping protein molecules in the active state on a solid surface is essential to protein microarrays and other protein‐based biosensors. Here, we show that the 2‐D chemical environment controls the refolding of the denatured green fluorescent proteins tethered to solid surfaces. Refolding occurs readily on the repulsive PEG functionalized surface but is inhibited on the attractive –NH2 functionalized surface. This result shows the critical importance of the 2‐D chemical environment in the maintenance and revival of protein activity on surfaces and opens the door to designing 2‐D molecular chaperones for protein folding.
Should Consumers Be in Love With Brands?: An Investigation Into the Influence That Specific Consumer-Brand Relationships Have on the Quality of the Bonds That Consumers Develop With Brands

This research investigates the influence that specific consumer-brand relationships have on the quality of the bonds that consumers develop with brands. This is important since disasters in the brand-consumer relationship will cause different consumer responses dependent on whether the relationship is built on a passion or intimacy-loyalty bond. Consumer-brand relationships were studied according to the interpersonal relationship theory. A SEM analysis, involving a sample of eight known brands of different product categories gave support to the theory. Results suggested that brand relationships of Intimacy-Loyalty influenced relationship strength in an indirect way through partner quality inferences and that these relationships might hold up better under brand disruption situations. Passion relationships were related to relationship strength but at a lesser extent and they did not appear to involve issues of partner quality. It would seem that due to a weaker bond these relationships are more susceptible to tendencies of non-repurchase after brand disruptions occur.
The tables have turned on the European Commission: the changing nature of the pre-negotiation phase in EU bilateral trade agreements

ABSTRACT We argue that one prime source of Commission autonomy in bilateral trade negotiations was the informational advantage that it acquired during the pre-negotiations, which is the phase preceding the adoption of negotiating directives by the Council. Initially, the Commission was entirely unmonitored owing to the lack of Treaty provisions applying to this stage in the negotiations. The Commission used this information asymmetry strategically vis-à-vis the Council to move outcomes closer to its ideal point. Later, member states have stepped up police-patrol monitoring manifesting itself empirically through two different channels. First, they have shifted the institutional arena for more political aspects to annual ministerial meetings. Second, preparatory works on a technical level are today followed by national experts. We examine this argument by adopting a principal–agent perspective and against the backdrop of EU–India relations.
The Jakes fading model for antenna arrays incorporating azimuth spread

A new method for simulating the multiplicative fading of the narrow-band, flat wireless channel for antenna array receivers is presented. The new approach produces a set of fading waveforms, one waveform associated with each receiver element, in which the waveforms are appropriately correlated to take into account the spread, or dispersion, in the azimuth (arrival angle) of the received signal. The new method is an extension of the Jakes (1974) method of simulating fading in which the appropriate correlation of the set of waveforms is accomplished by directly considering the azimuth of scatterers in a particular distribution about the mobile transmitter. The models used for this cluster of scatterers are a ring and a disk of scatterers. Further modifications of the disk model permit the generation of fading waveforms which are correlated in a manner which reflect actual field measurements of azimuth dispersion. Analytical correlation of these models is reviewed for purposes of verification with the waveforms generated by the method.
Migrate when necessary: toward partitioned reclaiming for soft real-time tasks

This paper presents a new strategy for scheduling soft real-time tasks on multiple identical cores. The proposed approach is based on partitioned CPU reservations and it uses a reclaiming mechanism to reduce the number of missed deadlines. We introduce the possibility for a task to temporarily migrate to another, less charged, CPU when it has exhausted the reserved bandwidth on its allocated CPU. In addition, we propose a simple load balancing method to decrease the number of deadlines missed by the tasks. The proposed algorithm has been evaluated through simulations, showing its effectiveness (compared to other multi-core reclaiming approaches) and comparing the performance of different partitioning heuristics (Best Fit, Worst Fit and First Fit).
The Resource-Based View of the Firm

In this essay, the authors discuss the link between the new resource-based view of the firm and the old structure-conduct-performance (S-C-P) paradigm. The authors find that the resource-based view of the firm, like the S-C-P paradigm, is based on the assumptions that demand is known and constant and that competition is a state. This limits the applicability and predictability of the model. Therefore, to further the positive and normative research goals of the strategic management discipline, these assumptions must be abandoned. The authors suggest adopting a model based on uncertain, constantly changing demand and competition as a process. The authors show how this will allow us to get inside the "black box" and examine the essential role of the manager in sustaining competitive advantage.
Complexity of Distributed Resource Allocation Optimization

This paper investigates the communication complexity of distributed resource allocation problems. Communication complexity, which has emerged from computer science, measures the minimal number of communicated bits needed to solve some classes of problems regardless of the used algorithm, when the communication is lossless. We introduce two complexity measures for finding primal/dual saddle point solutions of resource allocation problems. The first measure is -complexity, which quantifies the minimal number of bits needed to find an -accurate solution. The second measure is b-complexity, which quantifies the best possible solution accuracy that can be achieved from communicating b bits. We find the exact and b-complexity of a class of resource allocation problems where a single supplier allocates resources to multiple users. For both the primal and dual problems, the -complexity grows proportionally to log2(1/ ) and the b-complexity proportionally to 1/2 . We also introduce a variant of the and b-complexity measures where only algorithms that ensure primal feasibility of the iterates are allowed. Such algorithms are often desirable because overuse of the resources can overload the respective systems, e.g., by causing blackouts in power systems. We provide upper and lower bounds on the convergence rate of these primal feasible complexity measures. In particular, we show that the b-complexity cannot converge at a faster rate than O(1/b). Therefore, the results demonstrate a trade-off between fast convergence and primal feasibility. We illustrate the result by numerical studies.
Interest Rates and Investment Spending: Some Empirical Evidence for Postwar U.S. Producer Equipment, 1947-1980

The empirical evidence on the effect of interest rates on aggregate investment behavior is ambiguous. The early neoclassical models of investment (e.g., Hall and Jorgenson 1967; Jorgenson and Stephenson 1967) and the putty clay extensions (e.g., Bischoff 1969, 1971) imposed various nonlinear restrictions on demand shifters and the user cost of capital. Some studies use the nominal interest rate in constructing user cost whereas others use a proxy for the real rate. Given these restrictions and different definitions of user cost of capital, it is difficult to distinguish the interest rate effect, nominal or real, from other effects on investment behavior. Moreover, some writers (e.g., Eisner and Nadiri 1968; Eisner 1978; Clark 1979) concluded that interest rates are not empirically relevant. The latter authors' empirical findings point to the accelerator effect to be the most critical determinant of investment spending. This paper explores the dynamic effect of interest rates on investment spending utilizing vector autoregressions. Nominal interest rate innovations have a strong and persistent effect on investment, overshadowing "animal spirit" or own-investment innovations and GNP innovations. This result is robust to different ordering of the contemporary innovations. By imposing cross-equation restrictions, we test the Fama-Litterman-Weiss hypothesis that nominal yields affect investment since they provide information on future GNP. This hypothesis cannot be rejected at high significant levels. The strong and persistent nominal interest rate effect on investment is eliminated when we include a rational expectations predictor of future GNP in the VAR system. The results therefore support the accelerator model of investment. * We acknowledge financial assistance from NSF grant no. SES-84-11396 and Columbia Business School. We are indebted to Joe Altonji, Robert B. Litterman, Laurence Weiss, James Poturba, and an anonymous referee for their valuable comments. We would also like to thank participants at workshops at Columbia, Minnesota, Princeton, CUNY, NYU, Queens, Carleton, and Montreal for helpful suggestions.
Old and Cold: Older People and Policies Failing to Address Fuel Poverty

Research, funded by the British Gas Help the Aged Partnership and carried out by the Institute of Gerontology, King's College London, explored the multidimensional issues of fuel poverty. A sample of older homeowners and private renters living in England, Scotland and Wales were interviewed in the Spring of 2003 to explore their experiences of keeping their homes warm in the preceding winter. It was found that almost half of the sample for whom full information was available were in fuel poverty. Government schemes failed to address some important issues. Grants were only available to those with “passport benefits”, excluding those who had minimal occupational pensions. Although most respondents had central heating, it was often old and ineffective, yet grants were not available to modernize them. Government schemes did not extend to paying for external and internal insulation for solid wall properties yet many older people live in such property. Several older people lived in rural areas not connected to mains gas. As mains gas currently provides the cheapest fuel, they faced high bills, yet government policies do not address the differential fuel costs in these areas. The culture of many older people in the study contributed to their living in cold homes. They lived frugally and usually turned heating off in daylight hours during winter. It was also a common practice to sleep in an unheated bedroom during winter and to keep the window open at night. Such practices are acknowledged to be unhealthy.
The effects of simultaneous dual focus lenses on refractive development in infant monkeys.

PURPOSE We investigated the effects of two simultaneously imposed, competing focal planes on refractive development in monkeys. METHODS Starting at 3 weeks of age and continuing until 150 ± 4 days of age, rhesus monkeys were reared with binocular dual-focus spectacle lenses. The treatment lenses had central 2-mm zones of zero power and concentric annular zones with alternating powers of +3.0 diopter [D] and plano (pL or 0 D) (n = 7; +3D/pL) or -3.0 D and plano (n = 7; -3D/pL). Retinoscopy, keratometry, and A-scan ultrasonography were performed every 2 weeks throughout the treatment period. For comparison purposes data were obtained from monkeys reared with full field (FF) +3.0 (n = 4) or -3.0 D (n = 5) lenses over both eyes and 33 control animals reared with unrestricted vision. RESULTS The +3 D/pL lenses slowed eye growth resulting in hyperopic refractive errors that were similar to those produced by FF+3 D lenses (+3 D/pL = +5.25 D, FF +3 D = +4.63 D; P = 0.32), but significantly more hyperopic than those observed in control monkeys (+2.50 D, P = 0.0001). One -3 D/pL monkey developed compensating axial myopia; however, in the other -3 D/pL monkeys refractive development was dominated by the zero-powered portions of the treatment lenses. The refractive errors for the -3 D/pL monkeys were more hyperopic than those in the FF -3 D monkeys (-3 D/pL = +3.13 D, FF -3D = -1.69 D; P = 0.01), but similar to those in control animals (P = 0.15). CONCLUSIONS In the monkeys treated with dual-focus lenses, refractive development was dominated by the more anterior (i.e., relatively myopic) image plane. The results indicate that imposing relative myopic defocus over a large proportion of the retina is an effective means for slowing ocular growth.
The Case Against an Early Lunar Dynamo Powered by Core Convection

Paleomagnetic analyses of lunar samples indicate that the Moon had a dynamo‐generated magnetic field with ~50 μT surface field intensities between 3.85 and 3.56 Ga followed by a period of much lower (≤ ~5 μT) intensities that persisted beyond 2.5 Ga. However, we determine herein that there is insufficient energy associated with core convection—the process commonly recognized to generate long‐lived magnetic fields in planetary bodies—to sustain a lunar dynamo for the duration and intensities indicated. We find that a lunar surface field of ≤1.9 μT could have persisted until 200 Ma, but the ~50 μT paleointensities recorded by lunar samples between 3.85 and 3.56 Ga could not have been sustained by a convective dynamo for more than 28 Myr. Thus, for a continuously operating, convective dynamo to be consistent with the early lunar paleomagnetic record, either an exotic mechanism or unknown energy source must be primarily responsible for the ancient lunar magnetic field.
Detection of Visible and Latent Fingerprints Using Micro‐X‐ray Fluorescence Elemental Imaging *

ABSTRACT: Using micro‐X‐ray fluorescence (MXRF), a novel means of detecting fingerprints was examined in which the prints were imaged based on their elemental composition. MXRF is a nondestructive technique. Although this method requires a priori knowledge about the approximate location of a print, it offers a new and complementary means for detecting fingerprints that are also left pristine for further analysis (including potential DNA extraction) or archiving purposes. Sebaceous fingerprints and those made after perspiring were detected based on elements such as potassium and chlorine present in the print residue. Unique prints were also detected including those containing lotion, saliva, banana, or sunscreen. This proof‐of‐concept study demonstrates the potential for visualizing fingerprints by MXRF on surfaces that can be problematic using current methods.
Cost-Saving Production Technologies and Strategic Delegation

This work analyses a managerial delegation model in which firms choose between two production technologies: a low marginal cost technology and a high marginal cost technology. For the former to be adopted more investment is needed than for the later. By giving managers of firms an incentive scheme based on a linear combination of profit and sales revenue, we find that Bertrand competition provides a stronger incentive to adopt the cost-saving technology than the strict profit maximisation case. However, the results may be reversed under Cournot competition. If the degree of product substitutability is sufficiently low (high), the incentive to adopt the cost-saving technology is larger under strict profit maximisation (strategic delegation).