Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
NOTES ON EXACT AND SEMI-EXACT LÉVY MODELS FOR THE VALUATION OF CDOs

We investigate the effects of certain simplifying assumptions that are often made when valuating tranches of collateralized debt obligations (CDOs) using a firm's value approach. Those assumptions are the homogeneity and largeness of the portfolio and the so-called European approximation. The error made in this way is measured by comparing the result to a model with less simplification which is evaluated by the use of Monte Carlo simulation.
On the Problem of Identifying the Appropriate Price Variable to Study the Price-Volume Relation

Model selection tests and criteria are employed to identify empirically the most appropriate price variable for the purpose of studying the price-volume relation. Five different price variables are considered as explanatory variables in model selection tests, which are carried out on a bilateral basis using data on stock prices and trading volume in eleven markets/ indices. The results show that the most appropriate price variable varies from one market to another although two price variables appear to be dominant: the extreme value variance and the absolute price change. The results do not provide much support for the notion of asymmetry in the price-volume relation. It is suggested that it may be useful to use nonnested model selection tests and criteria to identify the most appropriate price variable before testing for causality, which is the principal tool used for examining the price- volume relation.
Networking and Small Firms

JOSEPH SZARKA IS A LECTURERE IN FRENCH and managment at the university of Bath, England. His paper reviews the mangment literature on networking and puts forward and thery small firm development in terms of network formation. this model holds that it is insfficient to consider the small firm in isolation: the small firm is particulary dependent on the nature and quality of its relations with otehr firms and with the external world. these relations can be conceived in terms of exchange networks, commmunication networks and social networks. goods and services, inforamtion, ideas and values are mediated by those networks and sociocial network. Good and services information ideas and values are mediated by those networks. depending on the likages between firms, network constitutions can be based on relations of control, co-ordination or co-operation. Network constitution is shown to influenc the viability and development paths of member firms. Factors encourging network formation and development are analyssed The key issue of economic effectivness and efficiency are related to questions of concetnraion and market condition. the paper concluded by emphasising the role of network formation for the expansion of the small firm sector.
Hybrid Rice Innovation in China: A Study of Market Demand Induced Technological Innovation in a Centrally-Planned Economy

This paper uses the innovation of hybrid rice in China as a case study to test the validity of the Griliches-Schmookler hypothesis of market-demand-induced technological innovation in a centrally planned economy. The empirical evidence indicates that the size of rice acreage in a province is the major factor in determining the amount of resource allocation for rice research and the adoption intensity of hybrid rice in that province. This evidence is consistent with the implication of the Griliches-Schmookler hypothesis. Copyright 1992 by MIT Press.
The impact of public research contracts on scientific productivity

ABSTRACT We analyse a competitive research-oriented public programme established in Spain, the Ramon y Cajal Programme, intended to offer contracts in public research centres to high-quality researchers. We study the effects of the programme on the ex post scientific productivity of its recipients, relative to non-granted applicants with comparable curricula at the time of application. The full sample results demonstrate that the programme has a positive and significant effect on the scientific productivity of the recipients, as measured both by the amount of published contribution and by the impact of their publications. Consequently, receiving a contract affects the quantity, but also increases the quality, of the contract recipients’ publications.
Evaluation of Researchers: A Life Cycle Analysis of German Academic Economists

In this paper we argue that any meaningful bibliometric evaluation of researchers needs to take into account that research productivity follows distinct life cycles. Using an encompassing data set portraying the research behavior of German academic economists, we first show that research productivity crucially depends on career age and vintage. Based on the identified effects, we develop a simple formula that shows how a researcher's performance compares to that of his or her peers. This kind of information may serve as an input for performance-related remuneration and track-record-based allocation of research grants. We then go on to investigate the persistence of individual productivity. The Persistence issue is of special importance in the academic labor market because of the irrevocable nature of tenure. Finally, we show how life cycle considerations can be used in evaluations of university departments in order to render the resulting rankings insensitive to the age structure of the evaluated faculties.
Does the Confidence in the EU Spill Over to the National Level? A Longitudinal Analysis of Political Trust in Central Europe

Abstract The EU enlargement brought about a series of institutional changes in the new member-states. This article shows how the EU also shapes citizens' attitudes towards their domestic political institutions. Using survey data from the Candidate Countries and Standard Eurobarometers (2002–06), we show that political trust in national institutions in Central Europe is the effect of trust in the EU and of the expectations projected onto the evolution of the national economies. Such determinants got stronger after EU accession, thus supporting our central argument, according to which we witness a third phase in the formation of attitudes towards institutions in post-communist Europe. Keeping to these lines, our study sheds new light on the patterns and origins of political trust formation, showing that a transfer of legitimacy is possible not only from a national to a supranational level, but also in the reverse direction.
Adaptive control of underactuated systems using neural networks

In this paper neural network based adaptive controller has been designed for underactuated systems. To control the actuated joint variables collocated partial feedback linearization is used while the unactuated joint variables are controlled using non-collocated partial feedback linearization. Radial Basis Function Networks are used for approximation of inertia, friction, gravitation, centrifugal and coriolis terms. The online weight update law is derived using Lyapunov analysis. The control algorithm is tested by simulation of cart-pole system and hardware implementation on Furuta pendulum system.
Liquid State Machine Learning for Resource and Cache Management in LTE-U Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Networks

In this paper, the problem of joint caching and resource allocation is investigated for a network of cache-enabled unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) that service wireless ground users over the LTE licensed and unlicensed bands. The considered model focuses on users that can access both licensed and unlicensed bands while receiving contents from either the cache units at the UAVs directly or via content server-UAV-user links. This problem is formulated as an optimization problem, which jointly incorporates user association, spectrum allocation, and content caching. To solve this problem, a distributed algorithm based on the machine learning framework of liquid state machine (LSM) is proposed. Using the proposed LSM algorithm, the cloud can predict the users’ content request distribution while having only limited information on the network’s and users’ states. The proposed algorithm also enables the UAVs to autonomously choose the optimal resource allocation strategies that maximize the number of users with stable queues depending on the network states. Based on the users’ association and content request distributions, the optimal contents that need to be cached at UAVs and the optimal resource allocation are derived. Simulation results using real datasets show that the proposed approach yields up to 17.8% and 57.1% gains, respectively, in terms of the number of users that have stable queues compared with two baseline algorithms: Q-learning with cache and Q-learning without cache. The results also show that the LSM significantly improves the convergence time of up to 20% compared with conventional learning algorithms such as Q-learning.
Identification of image and blur parameters in frequency domain using the EM algorithm

We extend a method presented previously, which considers the problem of the semicausal autoregressive (AR) parameter identification for images degraded by observation noise only. We propose a new approach to identify both the causal and semicausal AR parameters and blur parameters without a priori knowledge of the observation noise power and the PSF of the degradation. We decompose the image into 1-D independent complex scalar subsystems resulting from the vector state-space model by using the unitary discrete Fourier transform (DFT). Then, by applying the expectation-maximization (EM) algorithm to each subsystem, we identify the AR model and blur parameters of the transformed image. The AR parameters of the original image are then identified by using the least squares (LS) method. The restored image is obtained as a byproduct of the EM algorithm.
Analyst following and corporate governance: emerging‐market evidence

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to examine the association of analyst following with the strength of overall firm-specific corporate governance (CG) in an emerging-market setting. Design/methodology/approach - This paper uses empirical methodology to test the hypothesis with a sample of 753 emerging-market companies over 2001 and 2002. Findings - It is found that the effectiveness of CG has a positive impact on the level of analyst following. Further analyses indicate that this positive relation is concentrated in the countries with a common law tradition. Research limitations/implications - This paper joins prior research by providing evidence on the information intermediary role of financial analysts. It also provides supporting evidence on analysts' monitoring role in common law countries of emerging markets. Practical implications - The findings of this paper have implications for the decision making of managers and investors. By improving CG at the firm level, companies can significantly improve their information environments. The findings of this paper also have important implications for standard setters and regulators in emerging economies by shedding light on the importance of requesting firms to have good CG mechanisms in place, particularly in countries with relatively strong investor protection. Originality/value - Although prior research has documented the positive effect of country-level investor protection or a single aspect of firm-level CG on analyst following, it is unknown whether the level of analyst following is associated with the quality of firm-specific CG. This paper fills in this research gap by empirically investigating this relation.
A Monetary Policy Rule: The AMCI for the Philippines Using UECM and Bounds Test

This paper constructs the Augmented Monetary Conditions Index (AMCI) from 1982:1 to 2004:4 using Unrestricted Error Correction Model (UECM) and bounds test approach for the Philippines data. The results reveal evidence of cointegration between the real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and its determinants, namely, short-term interest rate, exchange rate, and claims on private sector that take into account three key transmission mechanism channels in the conduct of monetary policy: interest rate, exchange rate, and credit channels. The monetary condition during the study period is reflected in the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’s reaction to the prevailing economic situation, and that the AMCI tracks the inverse movements of the real GDP growth reasonably well, especially after 1990s. The paper also sheds possible light on policy implications.
Achieving high-quality impact evaluation design through mixed methods: the case of infrastructure

A good-quality impact evaluation is based on an analysis of the theory of change for the intervention. Analysis of different parts of this causal chain, and the underlying assumptions, necessarily requires use of a variety of research methods. The method should fit the question, not the other way round. The challenge is to genuinely mix these methods rather than conduct parallel studies. The analysis needs to be rooted in a good understanding of context, which may come from anthropology or political science and political economy. Qualitative information sheds light on factors behind programme placement and self-selection. A key contribution from other disciplines is a proper understanding of the nature and distribution of benefits, enabling an impact evaluation design that captures the full range of benefits and socially-mediated impact heterogeneity.
Web‐based horizon scanning: concepts and practice

Purpose – In this review, the aim is first to define horizon scanning and then outline the general approach currently employed by many organisations using web‐based resources. It then aims to discuss the benefits and drivers of horizon scanning, to identify some organisations currently undertaking activities in the field, and explain in detail how the web‐based horizon scanning approach is implemented. The aim is then to conclude with a discussion of good practice and areas for further research.Design/methodology/approach – The basis for this review is a symposium held at the UK Defence Science and Technology Laboratory in March 2010, where groups undertaking horizon scanning activities shared practices and reviewed the state of the art. Practitioners from both public sector and private organisations attending this symposium, as well as others, were invited to contribute to the manuscript, developing this as an iterative exercise over the last year.Findings – Structured processes of web‐based horizon scan.
White Ginseng Protects Mouse Hippocampal Cells Against Amyloid‐Beta Oligomer Toxicity

Amyloid‐beta oligomer (AβO) is a soluble oligomer form of the Aβ peptide and the most potent amyloid‐beta form that induces neuronal damage in Alzheimer's disease. We investigated the effect of dried white ginseng extract (WGE) on neuronal cell damage and memory impairment in intrahippocampal AβO (10 μM)‐injected mice. Mice were treated with WGE (100 and 500 mg/kg/day, p.o.) for 12 days after surgery. WGE improved memory impairment by inhibiting hippocampal cell death caused by AβO. In addition, AβO‐injected mice treated with WGE showed restoration of reduced synaptophysin and choline acetyltransferase intensity and lower levels of ionized calcium‐binding adaptor molecule 1 in the hippocampus compared with those of vehicle‐treated controls. These results suggest that WGE reverses memory impairment in Alzheimer's disease by attenuating neuronal damage and neuroinflammation in the AβO‐injected mouse hippocampus. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Augmented feedback reduces jump landing forces.

STUDY DESIGN Randomized, experimental design using a 1-way ANCOVA to determine the influence of various forms of feedback on jump landing forces. OBJECTIVE To investigate the effects of augmented feedback versus sensory feedback on the reduction of jump landing forces. BACKGROUND Several investigators have reported an increased risk of lower extremity injury associated with landing from a jump. METHODS AND MEASURES Nonimpaired college students (N=63) were randomly assigned to 1 of 4 feedback groups. Subjects were instructed to perform maximal vertical jumps onto a force plate for 3 testing sessions (baseline, 2-minute post-test, and 1-week post-test). Three feedback groups (augmented, sensory, and control I) were tested during all 3 testing sessions, while a fourth feedback group (control II) was evaluated at only 2 sessions (baseline and 1-week post-test). Subjects in the augmented feedback condition were provided information via video and verbal analysis of how to land softer. Subjects in the sensory feedback condition were asked to use the experience of their baseline jumps to document how they could land softer. Subjects in each of the control groups were not provided any extraneous feedback. Peak vertical ground reaction force data were collected for analysis. RESULTS The subjects in the augmented feedback group significantly reduced their peak vertical ground reaction force in both post-test conditions (2-minute post-test reduction, 0.85+/-0.62; 1-week post-test reduction, 0.74+/-0.58) as compared to the sensory, control I, and control II feedback groups. CONCLUSIONS High impact landing forces may be reduced by the implementation of augmented feedback information instructing individuals about how to land properly. The reduction of jump landing forces with the use of augmented feedback may prove beneficial in the creation of instructional landing programs.
Lateral cradling preferences in humans (Homo sapiens): similarities within families.

Women (Homo sapiens) tend to cradle infants on the left side of the body. We report the results of a survey of family photograph albums. We found that left-side cradling frequencies (LCFs) are higher in women than in men and that there are strong significant correlations between the LCFs of mothers and daughters, sisters, and maternal grandmothers and granddaughters. There may be a genetic influence on lateral cradling tendencies; women's left-side cradling preferences were found to be repeated with subsequent children. Heritability of women's LCF has an upper limit of 0.82, and the regression of daughters' mean LCF on mothers' LCF gives a heritability of 0.93 +/- 0.29. The data may be interpreted in two ways: There may be sex-limited genes (i.e., genes that express themselves only in women) for lateral cradling preferences, or women may learn cradling preferences from their mothers and other female relatives.
Qualitative Analysis and Comparison of Firm and System Incumbents in the New ICT Global Innovation Network

This paper presents a qualitative analysis of the changing fortunes of firms and territorial innovation systems in the emergent handheld devices segment of the global innovation network (GIN) in information and communication technology (ICT). The conceptual approach draws fairly lightly upon evolutionary complexity theory from which important concepts such as “path interdependence” “strange attractors” and system “self-organization” derive. In this version of a suite of papers on the GINs topic, particular emphasis is placed upon supply chain displacements of western chipmakers by Asian chipmakers from the first and second versions of the Apple “smartphone”, forerunner of its equally successful “tablet” technology. These are the apotheosis of innovative “convergence” in which knowledge recombination produces unanticipated novelty in products and services. It is shown how Apple, like earlier transitioning ICT firms such as IBM, Microsoft and, more recently, Hewlett Packard, engaged in “modularization” largely by acquisition in order to re-position themselves in new global markets. Spatial proximities and policies are seen as crucial to many of the processes described.
RNA Sequence and Two-dimensional Structure Features Required for Efficient Substrate Modification by the Saccharomyces cerevisiae RNA:Ψ-Synthase Pus7p*

The RNA:pseudouridine (Ψ) synthase Pus7p of Saccharomyces cerevisiae is a multisite-specific enzyme that is able to modify U13 in several yeast tRNAs, U35 in the pre-tRNATyr (GΨA), U35 in U2 small nuclear RNA, and U50 in 5 S rRNA. Pus7p belongs to the universally conserved TruD-like family of RNA:Ψ-synthases found in bacteria, archaea, and eukarya. Although several RNA substrates for yeast Pus7p have been identified, specificity of their recognition and modification has not been studied. However, conservation of a 7-nt-long sequence, including the modified U residue, in all natural Pus7p substrates suggested the importance of these nucleotides for Pus7p recognition and/or catalysis. Using site-directed mutagenesis, we designed a set of RNA variants derived from the yeast tRNAAsp(GUC), pre-tRNATyr(GΨA), and U2 small nuclear RNA and tested their ability to be modified by Pus7p in vitro. We demonstrated that the highly conserved U-2 and A+1 residues (nucleotide numbers refer to target U0) are crucial identity elements for efficient modification by Pus7p. Nucleotide substitutions at other surrounding positions (-4, -3, +2, +3) have only a moderate effect. Surprisingly, the identity of the nucleotide immediately 5′ to the target U0 residue (position -1) is not important for efficient modification. Alteration of tRNA three-dimensional structure had no detectable effect on Pus7p activity at position 13. However, our results suggest that the presence of at least one stem-loop structure including or close to the target U nucleotide is required for Pus7p-catalyzed modification.
Lexical Ontology Model Based on SBVR Representations

The paper presents a model of lexical ontology, based on SBVR representations, which is related to domain ontology used for semantic search in Lithuanian Internet corpus. The advantage of using SBVR based lexical ontology is the support of various relations among different types of meanings and representations, considering phrases instead of single words, and possibility of transformations to (and from) ontologies. We make an assumption that such ontology model is capable to encompass features contained in current lexical ontologies, and may be used in semantic search and Natural Language Processing techniques.
Impact of Price Level Changes on Financial Accounting Measurement

This study discussed the impact of price level changes on financial accounting numbers. Previous studies on the subject have merely reproduced historical financial statements alongside inflation-adjusted financial statements without any scientific methodology and empirical analyses to allow for reliable conclusions. It is this gap that this study seeks to fill. A sample of ten firms was drawn for period between 2003 and 2012. The OLS regression estimated at nominal and adjusted levels in two separate models showed that both models have a high goodness of fit (R2). However, the adjusted estimate exhibited a higher explanatory power and thus shows a better fit. This suggested that adjusted accounting estimates may after all be able to provide better and more realistic insight into a firm’s state of affairs. The study recommends that historical financial accounting information should be presented side-by-side with their corresponding adjusted financial statement to disclose the effect of price level changes. Additionally, the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria and other regulatory agencies should as a matter of necessity set up a system of accounting for price level changes to enhance the value relevance of accounting information.