Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Bank Efficiency and Foreign Ownership in the Lebanese Banking Sector

We have compared the efficiency of banks with majority domestic ownership, banks with majority foreign ownership, and the subsidiaries of foreign banks operating in the Lebanese market between 1996 and 2005. We have implemented the DEA methodology to calculate the yearly scores for technical, allocative, and cost efficiencies for the three groups of banks. Moreover, we have extended our study to reveal the factors that shape bank efficiency, by proposing several micro and macroeconomic variables and testing their correlation with this efficiency. Firstly, our results did not prove significant differences between the efficiency of the three groups of banks. However, the evolution of the efficiency scores over the period under study shows an improvement in the performance of banks with majority foreign ownership, but some deterioration in the performance of banks with majority domestic ownership and the subsidiaries of foreign banks. Secondly, and with respect to the factors affecting bank efficiency, we found that the employed variables have different impacts according to groups, which may confirm that bank efficiency is differently determined, according to bank ownership.
Cycle-accurate evaluation of reconfigurable photonic networks-on-chip

There is little doubt that the most important limiting factors of the performance of next-generation Chip Multiprocessors (CMPs) will be the power efficiency and the available communication speed between cores. Photonic Networks-on-Chip (NoCs) have been suggested as a viable route to relieve the off- and on-chip interconnection bottleneck. Low-loss integrated optical waveguides can transport very high-speed data signals over longer distances as compared to on-chip electrical signaling. In addition, with the development of silicon microrings, photonic switches can be integrated to route signals in a data-transparent way. Although several photonic NoC proposals exist, their use is often limited to the communication of large data messages due to a relatively long set-up time of the photonic channels. In this work, we evaluate a reconfigurable photonic NoC in which the topology is adapted automatically (on a microsecond scale) to the evolving traffic situation by use of silicon microrings. To evaluate this system's performance, the proposed architecture has been implemented in a detailed full-system cycle-accurate simulator which is capable of generating realistic workloads and traffic patterns. In addition, a model was developed to estimate the power consumption of the full interconnection network which was compared with other photonic and electrical NoC solutions. We find that our proposed network architecture significantly lowers the average memory access latency (35% reduction) while only generating a modest increase in power consumption (20%), compared to a conventional concentrated mesh electrical signaling approach. When comparing our solution to high-speed circuit-switched photonic NoCs, long photonic channel set-up times can be tolerated which makes our approach directly applicable to current shared-memory CMPs.
Improving access to acute mental health services in a general hospital

Background: There is a paucity of service research on the effectiveness of short-term mental health clinics. Aims: To outline the development of the Urgent Consultation Clinic (UCC), an inter-professional, short-term, mental health program in a general hospital, and to evaluate the effectiveness of the UCC from a quality improvement perspective. Method: Participants (n = 143) completed a battery of validated measures assessing psychological and physical symptoms, quality of life, life satisfaction, and satisfaction with services at three time-points. Inter-professional team members rated participants' overall functioning and severity of mental health problems at intake and termination. Results: The median time from referral to initial UCC visit was 12 days. A significant decline in the severity of mental health symptoms was observed, with 87% of participants reporting clinically elevated symptoms at intake compared to 71% at termination. Significant improvements were observed in life satisfaction, overall functioning, and mental quality of life. Sixty-nine percent of participants rated the quality of services as good or excellent. Conclusions: The UCC model of care contributed to improved access to psychiatric evaluation and short-term treatment. This inter-professional model could be applied to other health care settings to meet the needs of patients requiring acute psychiatric services.
Developing Empathy in Sexual Offenders: The Value of Offence Re-Enactments

This paper describes an evaluation of different uses of roleplay to enhance victim-specific empathy in sexual offenders. Thirty-three men participated in a treatment program involving offence re-enactment as described by Pithers (1994) and Mann, Daniels, and Marshall (2002). A matched group of 33 men participated in a treatment program that was identical in all respects except that they did not complete offence re-enactments. Instead, they completed extra roleplays designed to enhance empathy for the short and long-term consequences for their victim(s). Results indicated that completing an offence re-enactment led to slightly better ability to identify some types of negative consequences for abuse victims, and identify cognitive distortions about their offending and women per se. Rapists in particular seemed more likely to benefit from offence re-enactment. The non-re-enactment group showed better understanding of lifestyle disruption effects for sexual abuse victims. The differences between the groups were not very marked, and the study only involved measures of cognitive empathy. Given the concerns about offence re-enactment expressed by Pithers (1997), this procedure should be used with caution and future investigations should test specifically for possible signs of damage caused by the procedure.
Acceptance of Warehouse Picking Systems: A Literature Review

This paper reports the findings from a structured review of the research literature on individual warehouse workers' (pickers') acceptance of order picking support systems (OPSS), such as Pick by Vision, Pick by Voice, or Pick by Light. Summarizing 17 publications, it becomes clear that OPSS deliver significant value with regard to performance increases but that social influences among workers and various facilitating conditions have to be taken into account when implementing such solutions and expecting ware-house workers to use them.
Introducing the Relativity To Traditional Importance-Performance Analysis

The ability to identify critical operating issues has been a challenge for service organizations. Many approaches have utilized the combination of importance and performance scores. These approaches typically involve a direct question on the importance of, and performance on, various service attributes. The results are then separated into various classifications. There has been some debate about whether consumers can accurately indicate what is important in their evaluation of a service organization. Research in this area suggests using correlation or regression to identify relative importance of attributes. This research introduces the concept of relative importance to the traditional importance-performance analysis. Importance- performance classifications using both methods are discussed.
Investigation on the role of power electronic controlled constant power loads for voltage support in distributed AC systems

Distributed AC power systems with large percentage of constant power loads (CPL) are susceptible to potential voltage stability problems under abnormal operating conditions. The design of the control system of the CPL can greatly influence the power system stability. Regulated converters with high bandwidth control systems can act as CPLs, exhibiting a negative incremental resistance in a wide frequency range. This article first investigates the effect that a large share of CPLs will have on the voltage stability of distributed AC systems during voltage dips. The influence of introducing reactive current control by active rectifiers on the CPL instability, and the resulting contribution to the overall voltage stability is investigated and evaluated. Results of time domain simulations show how the design and tuning of the converter control structure greatly affects the stability of the system. The critical clearing time of the system is selected as a measure of the transient stability limit for investigating and comparing the cases of CPLs with and without reactive current control. The increased transient stability limit observed is enabled by reactive current control capability of the power converter with minor modifications on the control strategy. Centralized reactive compensation by a STATCOM is used as reference to compare with distributed compensation by the CPLs. Results shows that required distributed injection of reactive current is lower compared to the rating of a centralized STATCOM.
Unfolding and translocation pathway of substrate protein controlled by structure in repetitive allosteric cycles of the ClpY ATPase

Clp ATPases are ring-shaped AAA+ motors in the degradation pathway that perform critical actions of unfolding and translocating substrate proteins (SPs) through narrow pores to deliver them to peptidase components. These actions are effected by conserved diaphragm-forming loops found in the central channel of the Clp ATPase hexamer. Conformational changes, that take place in the course of repetitive ATP-driven cycles, result in mechanical forces applied by the central channel loops onto the SP. We use coarse-grained simulations to elucidate allostery-driven mechanisms of unfolding and translocation of a tagged four-helix bundle protein by the ClpY ATPase. Unfolding is initiated at the tagged C-terminal region via an obligatory intermediate. The resulting nonnative conformation is competent for translocation, which proceeds on a different time scale than unfolding and involves sharp stepped transitions. Completion of the translocation process requires assistance from the ClpQ peptidase. These mechanisms contrast nonallosteric mechanical unfolding of the SP. In atomic force microscopy experiments, multiple unfolding pathways are available and large mechanical forces are required to unravel the SP relative to those exerted by the central channel loops of ClpY. SP threading through a nonallosteric ClpY nanopore involves simultaneous unfolding and translocation effected by strong pulling forces.
The long-range dependence phenomena in asset returns: the Chinese case

This paper studies the segmented structure of the Chinese stock market, which is a unique opportunity to investigate the possible sources of the long-range dependence phenomena in asset returns. Using the Hurst's exponent evaluated by the Local Whittle method as the measure of long-range dependence, evidence is found supporting that while type B shares present strong evidence of the long-range dependence phenomena, type A shares present only weak evidence of such dependence. This result suggests that liquidity and information transmission play a role in explaining results of market efficiency tests.
Revisiting Russian Serfdom: Bonded Peasants and Market Dynamics, 1600s–1800s

Abstract The notion of the “second serfdom” has to be revisited. I claim that the introduction, the evolution, and the abolition of serfdom in Russia should be seen as a long-term process, beginning no later than the late sixteenth century and ending at the eve of the First World War. In particular, I show that serfdom was never officially institutionalized in Russia and that the rules usually evoked to justify this argument actually were not meant to “bind” the peasantry but to distinguish noble estate owners from state-service nobles and “bourgeois. ” Contrary to what has been argued by Witold Kula and Immanuel Wallerstein, the rise of capitalism in the West did not exploit the rise of serfdom in the East, but both East and West were part of the same global wave of commercialization, protoindustrialization, and industrialization.
Secondary health service care and second line drug costs of early inflammatory polyarthritis in Norfolk, UK.

OBJECTIVE To estimate the secondary health service care and second line drug costs (including drug monitoring costs) for a cohort of people with early inflammatory polyarthritis (IP) and the subgroup classified as having rheumatoid arthritis (RA) recruited to a population based register. METHODS The study population consisted of 344 people with IP who had enrolled on the Norfolk Arthritis Register (NOAR) in 1990-91, an average of 24 weeks after onset of their symptoms. Utilizing resource use data from NOAR, augmented by unit cost data from other sources, the average (per person) and cumulative secondary care and second line drug costs were estimated for Years 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 following registration with NOAR. RESULTS The total secondary health service care and second line drug costs were 472,125 (338,704 for RA subgroup) (1990-91 prices) over the 5 year study period, with inpatient stays, outpatient visits, and second line drugs accounting for 58, 9, and 33%, respectively. Nineteen percent of the study population neither visited hospital nor were prescribed second line drugs. CONCLUSION Overall, inpatient stay costs represented the largest proportion of secondary health service care and second line drug costs, making 21% of the total study cohort responsible for 80% of the total 5 year costs incurred.
Foreign Direct Investment and Economic Growth: Theory and Application to China

The paper investigates the relationship between foreign direct investment and economic growth. A model of endogenous growth first highlights the transfer of foreign technology as a key determinant of economic growth, and suggests that economic growth may conversely influence the inflows of foreign capital. Simultaneous-equation model estimation based on a sample of 24 Chinese provinces, from 1985 to 1996, confirms the fundamental role played by foreign investment in provincial economic growth in China, and stresses the importance of potential growth in foreign investment decisions.
Pitfalls in implementing a strategic early warning system

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the reasons why the concept of a “strategic early warning system” (SEWS) has not been widely introduced and why it fails to be implemented successfully in German corporations. The aim of such systems is to detect changes in an organizational environment ahead of time by scanning the environment for “weak signals”, which come in the form of trends.Design/methodology/approach – The questions that arise, particularly because the concept of SEWS is not entirely new, are: What are the pitfalls in implementing these systems, why do they occur, and how can they be overcome? To answer these questions, a single case study was conducted.Findings – The study suggests that the failure of SEWS is due mainly to a lack of participation of potential future users in the implementation phase, a lack of joint understanding of the nature of trends, differing and unrevealed requirements of trends by various interested parties, a broad misconception of the “weak signals” concep.
A passive EMI filter for the reduction of active filter generated network distortions

EMI - Electro Magnetic Interference-filtering represents an anti-distortion measure used in the mitigation of the conducted interference, i.e. electromagnetic perturbations on the supply cord, data or signal lines. The paper reviews the design of the magnetic circuit of a three-phase EMI filter, neglecting the displacement current. The designed EMI filter is meant to mitigate harmonic components injected in the power grid by a perturbation source (a PWM - Pulse Width Modulation - controlled power converter). The principles of design are confirmed by simulation and conducted interference tests on the filter.
THE EFFECT OF INCREASING EARNINGS DISPERSION ON SOCIAL SECURITY PAYROLL TAX RECEIPTS

This paper decomposes trends in the distribution of earnings over the period 1982-2009 and calculates the effect of increases in dispersion in wage and salary earnings on revenues from the U.S. Social Security Old-Age and Survivors Insurance payroll tax. This tax is levied on earnings, up to a maximum that, with minor changes, has been indexed since 1975 to movements in average wages. If the earnings of very high earners increase more rapidly than those of individuals with earnings below the taxable maximum, the percentage of total earnings that is subject to the tax will decrease and tax revenues will be lower than would otherwise be the case. Using the Continuous Work History Sample (CWHS), we show that most of the increase in the dispersion of wage and salary earnings over the above period was the result of increases of within-cohort, rather than between-cohort, earnings disparities. Between–cohort disparities increased among women, but not among men. The increases in earnings dispersion would have resulted in a substantial decline in the percentage of workers earning more than the taxable maximum, had it not been for the aging of the outsize boomer cohort into their peak earning years. The percentage of total earnings subject to the payroll tax has declined substantially. To restore this percentage to the 1982 level would require an increase in the 2009 taxable maximum from $106,800 to $144,248, which would approximate the 97th percentile of the earnings distribution, well above historic norms. We estimate that, if there had been no increase in earnings dispersion, 2009 payroll tax receipts from wage and salary earnings would have been 6 percent higher, of which 4 percent can be attributed to increases in within-cohort dispersion.
Price negotiation for capacity sharing in a two-factory environment using genetic algorithm

Uncertain and lumpy demand forces capacity planners to maximize the profit of individual factory by simultaneously taking advantage of outsourcing to and/or being outsourced from its supply chain and even competitors. This study develops a resource-planning model of a large manufacturer with two profit-centered factories. The proposed model enables a collaborative integration for resource and demand sharing which is highly attractive to the high-tech industries against the challenges of short product life cycle, intensive capital investment and decreasing marginal profit. Each of the individual factories applies an economic resource-planning model and a genetic algorithm to improve its objective while purchasing extra capacity requirement from its peer factory or selling extra capacity of resources to the others through a negotiation algorithm. This study makes a contribution in successfully building a mutual negotiation model for a set of customer tasks to be realized by the negotiating parties, each with private information regarding company objectives, cost and price. Experimental results reveal that near-optimal solutions for both of the isolated (a single factory) and negotiation-based (between two factories) environments are obtained.
NATIONAL TRENDS AND LOCAL DIFFERENCES: THE 2006 LOCAL ELECTIONS

In 2006 local council elections were held for 176 authorities, mainly across urban England (there were no elections in Scotland and Wales). There were whole council elections in 32 London boroughs (three of which also held mayoral elections), which saw contests for 1,861 seats. Elsewhere, in 36 metropolitan boroughs, 20 unitary councils and 88 shire district councils, about a third of all seats were contested at this stage of the electoral cycle. Although this involved elections for over 4,000 seats in more than 3,000 wards this was not a busy year – only one in five council seats countrywide were at stake. However, because the elections were concentrated in urban areas some 21.7 million electors, 58 per cent of the English electorate, had the opportunity to vote. All three main party leaders were under strong pressure during the campaign. Labour’s long-term lead in the national polls was at an end. In the weeks leading to polling day there was widespread media coverage of the Deputy Prime Minister’s private life that damaged Labour’s cause. The Prime Minister’s opponents, both outside and within his party, anticipating widespread council losses, began preparing the ground for his subsequent departure. But these were important tests too for the newly elected leaders of both main opposition parties. David Cameron’s Conservative Party to an extent was recovering in the polls, but it was not doing particularly well at the ballot box at either parliamentary or local by-elections. If the Conservatives could not inflict significant losses on Labour during such troubled times, there would be little hope of reversing the succession of general election defeats. The Liberal Democrats, often successful at local elections, could not be complacent. The new leader, Sir Menzies Campbell, was struggling to make an impact, both in the cauldron of Parliament and with the public at large. The party continued to fight on two electoral fronts. It engaged with Labour directly in the cities outside London while simultaneously battling with the Conservatives, largely in southern England. Spreading slender resources, it risked losing both battles. Establishing prior electoral benchmarks was difficult because the baseline comparison year was different for different authorities. For most, the baseline year was 2002, reflecting the fact that councillors are normally elected for a four-year term. In that year, Labour performed relatively well and the scope for losses in 2006 was large. For more than 50 authorities, however, the baseline year was 2004, because ward boundary changes had interrupted the normal local electoral cycle. Those particular elections were fought against a backdrop of government difficulties stemming from the war in Iraq. For Labour, having posted one of its worst ever set of local election results, it was correspondingly more difficult for its stock to fall even lower. The government hoped that the post-election media focus would be on how the party had not done worse than it had in 2004. Equally, the opposition parties wished for comparisons to be made with 2002. Potentially a
CSR and the development of CSR reporting in the Chinese banking sector

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