Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Racial Enclaves and Density Zoning: The Institutionalized Segregation of Racial Minorities in the United States

Previous research on segregation stresses things like urban form and racial preferences as primary causes. The author finds that an institutional force is more important: local land regulation. Using two datasets of land regulations for the largest U.S. metropolitan areas, the results indicate that anti-density regulations are responsible for large portions of the levels and changes in segregation from 1990 to 2000. A hypothetical switch in zoning regimes from the most exclusionary to the most liberal would reduce the equilibrium gap between the most and least segregated Metropolitan Statistical Areas by at least 35% for the ordinary least squares estimates. Copyright 2011, Oxford University Press.
A low cost omnidirectional relative localization sensor for swarm applications

By enabling coordinated task execution and movement, robotic swarms can achieve efficient exploration of unknown environments. In this paper, we propose a relative localization sensor system using Ultra-wideband (UWB) radio technology for ranging. This system is light-weight and relatively indifferent to the types of surrounding environments. Infrastructure dependency such as the requirement of beacons at known locations is eliminated by making an array of sensors on a swarm agent. In this paper, a novel algorithm is implemented on hardware with limited resources and compared to a more traditional trilateration approach. Both utilize Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) to be more robust against noise and to achieve similar accuracy. The experimental results show that the proposed algorithm runs up to ten times faster than the existing trilateration approach. The sensor array which forms the localization system weighs only 56g, and achieves around 0.5m RMSE with a 10Hz update rate. Experiments show that the accuracy can be further improved if the rotational bias observed in the UWB devices are compensated for.
Managing Technology and Administration Innovations: Four Case Studies on Software Reuse

A software process innovation, such as software reuse, involves both technology and administration innovation. Following literature on organizational change, absorptive capacity, innovation assimilation stages, and software reuse, we develop a process model of the assimilation trajectory of an organization’s innovation. The model postulates that actors at different organizational levels implement strategy, process, and culture changes in order for an organization to advance through the stages of innovation assimilation. The actions at these levels instill routines that establish the absorptive capacity for implementing future innovations. Case-study data collected from four software development sites – two reporting failure in the reuse program, and two reporting success – revealed that programs that implemented change at the strategy, process and culture levels scored higher on all paths in the model than nonsuccessful programs. The right incentives help in the latter stages of innovation assimilation during which culture change by operational staff is important.
Income inequality within the U.S.A.: with emphasis on the ‘South’

This is an empirical descriptive study of income distribution within the U.S.A. , with a special detailed focus on the Southern states. Income inequality and distribution are quantified with Gini coefficient, quantile income distribution, and income polarization ratio. The overall results conclusively demonstrate that income of households in the South is less equally distributed than that of the U.S.A. as a whole.
The super-rich in global perspective: a quantitative analysis of the Forbes list of billionaires

Why are there more super-rich people in some countries than in others? Extra-ordinary wealth is often regarded with envy and might raise the suspicion that it can only be accumulated with the help of a minimalist state that does not concern itself with the plight of the many. This raises the issue whether a high number of billionaires can co-exist with a high-taxing, interventionist, social and welfare spending government? These two questions are at the heart of this paper's analysis. To answer them a quantitative analysis of the global Forbes list of billionaires is undertaken.
Analysis of long non-coding RNA expression profiles in ovarian cancer

Ovarian cancer is one of the major threats to female health. Identifying cancer cases at an early stage and selecting effective therapeutic drugs for patients is challenging. The number of studies concerning long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) is increasing rapidly; there is a large body of evidence indicating that lncRNAs are crucial in oncogenic and tumor-suppression mechanisms. Therefore, in the present study, lncRNA expression in ovarian cancer was considered. All of the existing ovarian cancer microarray datasets in the Gene Expression Omnibus database were assessed and two met the criteria for the present study; these were designated the training and validation sets. A re-annotation pipeline method was established to annotate lncRNAs from existing probe sets. When comparing ovarian cancer with normal ovarian tissues, seven lncRNAs from the RefSeq database, based on their combined ability to classify tissue in the training set, were identified and validated with the validation set. Research into the molecular functions of the seven identified lncRNAs may contribute to the understanding of ovarian cancer oncogenesis; they may also be candidates for novel ovarian cancer biomarkers.
Analysing societal regulatory control systems with specific reference to higher education in England

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to analyse the nature of societal regulatory control systems developing an analytical framework drawing from Jurgen Habermas' notion of “steering” and an understanding of “performance management systems”. It seeks to provide a conceptual language of “relational” and “transactional” approaches to regulation both generally and in relation to higher education (HE). The paper aims to illustrate that different types of regulation are related to the different contexts in which they are developed. Design/methodology/approach - The paper undertakes an in-depth analysis of regulatory frameworks and financing at a general level and in the specific context of HE in England in order to analyse the nature of the processes of steering both empirically and conceptually. The paper ends with some evaluatory reflections on the conceptual framework and in relation to the regulatory processes of HE in the England following this change. Findings - The paper argues that the societal regulatory requirements, of a “relational” or “transactional” form use financing as central tools of “steering”, both generally and in HE. In HE two dominant institutional steering media are identified: regional Funding Councils, (in England, the Higher Education Funding Council of England (HEFCE)) and the Research Councils (RC). Regulation of funding flows from the two bodies is described using the conceptual framework developed. HEFCE's regulations are more “relational” in nature relative to the RCs more “transactional” systems. Located in two different Government departments until June 2007, these two funding organisations were then brought together to form the Department of Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS); they are now (since June 2009) part of the Department for Business Innovation and Skills (DBIS). Originality/value - The paper provides a conceptual framework by which to understand regulation more generally and demonstrates the significance of this framework by providing new insights into the changing societal regulatory context of HE in England.
MovementSlicer: Better Gantt charts for visualizing behaviors and meetings in movement data

Movement data collected through GPS or other technologies is increasingly common, but is difficult to visualize due to overplotting and occlusion of movements when displayed on 2D maps. An additional challenge is the extraction of useful higher-level information (such as meetings) derived from the raw movement data. We present a design study of MovementSlicer, a tool for visualizing the places visited, and behaviors of, individual actors, and also the meetings between multiple actors. We first present a taxonomy of visualizations of movement data, and then consider tasks to support when analyzing movement data and especially meetings of multiple actors. We argue that Gantt charts have many advantages for understanding the movements and meetings of small groups of moving entities, and present the design of a Gantt chart that can nest people within locations or locations within people along the vertical axis, and show time along the horizontal axis. The rows of our Gantt chart are sorted by activity level and can be filtered using a weighted adjacency matrix showing meetings between people. Empty time intervals in the Gantt chart can be automatically folded, with smoothly animated transitions, yielding a multi-focal view. Case studies demonstrate the utility of our prototype.
Minimum Wages and Social Policy: Lessons from Developing Countries

This report examines how minimum wages affect the income poverty of workers, their households, and the state. It does not question whether or not the minimum wage is a good policy: instead, it focuses on the tradeoffs in setting the minimum wage level. It takes as a starting point the literature on the wage and employment effects of minimum wages in Latin America and expands the discussion in three ways. First, the household is placed at the center of the debate. Poverty and inequality are measured at the level of the household, rather than at the individual level, to allow for employment and wage trade-offs among individuals who pool their income. Second, new research is presented on how the minimum wage affects groups whose labor market participation and success is considered "vulnerable": that is, youth, women, the low-skilled, and informal sector workers. Third, the implications of the minimum wage on wage and social expenditures of the government are measured. In the end, the report argues that the minimum wage by itself is not a sufficient tool for protecting the income of the poorest households, and that other social protection tools are necessary to complement it. The report has eight sections following the introduction. Chapter 2 presents a history of the minimum wage in LAC, the theory behind the functioning of the minimum wage, and empirical evidence from the OECD to lay a foundation for the Latin American experience. Chapter 3 presents an overview of the minimum wage in the Region, including a discussion of the definition of a minimum wage, institutional design, and who earns it. Chapter 4 focuses on the worker; it summarizes the existing literature, presents new evidence on the wage and employment effects of a minimum wage, and gives special attention to "vulnerable" labor market groups. Chapter 5 turns its attention to the household and presents the new (and only) evidence on the effects of the minimum wage on household poverty and inequality in LAC. Chapter 6 considers the state and discusses the cost of minimum wages to the government. Chapter 7 opens the discussion to the rest of the world and considers the lessons learned in other countries about setting, managing, and enforcing the minimum wage. Finally, chapter 8 concludes and presents policy considerations.
Notice of RetractionGlutathione S-Transferase, Acetolactate Synthase and Safener: A Study to Reduce Herbicidal Pollution

In growth room bioassays, safener AD-67(N-dichloroacetyl-1-oxa-4-azaspiro-4,5-decane) was determined for its effectiveness in reducing chlorsulfuron [1-(2-chlorophenylsulfonyl)-3-(4-methoxy-6-methyl-1,3,5-triazin-2-yl) urea] injury to maize seedling. The effect of AD-67(N-dichloroacetyl-1-oxa-4-azaspiro-4,5-decane) on glutathione (GSH), Glutathione S-transferase (GST), and Acetolactate synthase (ALS) in corn (Dongnong248) were examined. In the absence of AD-67 treatment, the non-enzymatic conjugation of the herbicide with glutathione exceed. We demonstrate that AD-67 act to enhance the major group of phase detoxification enzymes (GST) and ALS. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that AD-67 protect corn by enhancing GST, ALS activity which results in accelerated detoxification of chlorsulfuron via GSH conjugation. By choosing the right combination of AD-67 and plant it should be possible to enhance the tolerance of corn injury by chlorsulfuron.
Relationship of Hypertension to Coronary Atherosclerosis and Cardiac Events in Patients With Coronary Computed Tomographic Angiography

Hypertension is an atherosclerosis factor and is associated with cardiovascular risk. We investigated the relationship between hypertension and the presence, extent, and severity of coronary atherosclerosis in coronary computed tomographic angiography and cardiac events risk. Of 17 181 patients enrolled in the CONFIRM registry (Coronary CT Angiography Evaluation for Clinical Outcomes: An International Multicenter Registry) who underwent ≥64-detector row coronary computed tomographic angiography, we identified 14 803 patients without known coronary artery disease. Of these, 1434 hypertensive patients were matched to 1434 patients without hypertension. Major adverse cardiac events risk of hypertension and non-hypertensive patients was evaluated with Cox proportional hazards models. The prognostic associations between hypertension and no-hypertension with increasing degree of coronary stenosis severity (nonobstructive or obstructive ≥50%) and extent of coronary artery disease (segment involvement score of 1–5, >5) was also assessed. Hypertension patients less commonly had no coronary atherosclerosis and more commonly had nonobstructive and 1-, 2-, and 3-vessel disease than the no-hypertension group. During a mean follow-up of 5.2±1.2 years, 180 patients experienced cardiac events, with 104 (2.0%) occurring in the hypertension group and 76 (1.5%) occurring in the no-hypertension group (hazard ratios, 1.4; 95% confidence intervals, 1.0–1.9). Compared with no-hypertension patients without coronary atherosclerosis, hypertension patients with no coronary atherosclerosis and obstructive coronary disease tended to have higher risk of cardiac events. Similar trends were observed with respect to extent of coronary artery disease. Compared with no-hypertension patients, hypertensive patients have increased presence, extent, and severity of coronary atherosclerosis and tend to have an increase in major adverse cardiac events.
Neo-liberal or Third Way? What Planners from Glasgow, Melbourne and Toronto Say

This article focuses on the work and views of planners. Taking a neo-liberal position and in the context of inter-city competition, one might expect the current metropolitan plans for Glasgow, Melbourne and Toronto would pay scant attention to the people and places marginal to the ‘new economy’. Proponents of ‘third-way’ thinking, however, argue plans can be designed to be both competitive and socially inclusive. So what do the planners who drafted the plans say?
Does Capital Structure Matter? Revisiting Modigliani and Miller's Empirical Work Using Latin American and North American Data

ABSTRACT Modigliani and Miller (M-M) performed the first empirical test of their capital structure irrelevance propositions in 1958. Their results confirmed the irrelevance hypothesis. In this paper, the M-M tests are replicated with contemporary data from Latin American and North American firms, but with two fundamental differences from M-M's original work: (a) the CAPM is used for estimating the cost of a firm's equity and (b) fuller specifications for the empirical models are adopted in order to improve their statistical quality. The results do not lend support to M-M's 1958 model, but are in line with their corrected 1963 propositions. RESUMEN.En 1958, Modigliani y Miller (M-M) realizaron el primer ensayo empírico sobre la irrelevancia de las propuestas sobre la estructura de capital. Sus resultados confirman la hipótesis de su poca importancia. En este estudio, los ensayos M-M se reprodujeron utilizando los datos contemporáneos obtenidos de empresas latinoamericanas y norteamericanas usando, sin embargo, dos diferencias esenciales del trabajo original realizado por M-M: (a) el CAPM se utiliza para estimar el costo del capital social de una empresa y (b) para mejorar la calidad estadística se han adoptado especificaciones más amplias para los modelos empíricos. Los resultados no respaldan el modelo M-M de 1958, pero se encuentran alineados con las propuestas corregidas en 1963. RESUMO:Modigliani e Miller (M-M) apresentaram o primeiro ensaio empírico de suas proposições sobre a irrelevância da estrutura do capital em 1958. Os resultados confirmaram a irrelevância da hipótese. Neste estudo, os ensaios de M-M são reproduzidos com dados contemporâneos das empresas da América Latina e da América do Norte, mas com duas diferenças fundamentais do seu trabalho original: (a) o CAPM é utilizado para estimar o custo do capital social de uma empresa e (b) especificações mais completas dos modelos empíricos são adotadas para melhorar a sua qualidade estatística. Os resultados não sustentam o modelo de M-M de 1958, mas estão de acordo com as suas proposições revistas de 1963.
Behavior Is Everything: Towards Representing Concepts with Sensorimotor Contingencies

AI has seen remarkable progress in recent years, due to a switch from hand-designed shallow representations, to learned deep representations. While these methods excel with plentiful training data, they are still far from the human ability to learn concepts from just a few examples by reusing previously learned conceptual knowledge in new contexts. We argue that this gap might come from a fundamental misalignment between human and typical AI representations: while the former are grounded in rich sensorimotor experience, the latter are typically passive and limited to a few modalities such as vision and text. We take a step towards closing this gap by proposing an interactive, behavior-based model that represents concepts using sensorimotor contingencies grounded in an agent's experience. On a novel conceptual learning and benchmark suite, we demonstrate that conceptually meaningful behaviors can be learned, given supervision via training curricula.
Understanding Taxation in Poor African Countries: A Critical Review of Selected Perspectives

The purpose of this article is to provide a critical review of some recent, comparative and longitudinal studies of various aspects of tax—aid—democracy linkages in poor aid-dependent African countries. Each study represents various perspectives on this, namely the importance of economic structure; of regime type and incentives; of political institutions; and of the political economy of aid. The main features and problems of each approach are highlighted, and five issues central to a better understanding of tax—aid—democracy linkages are identified: the extent of informalisation of the economy structure (not just the sectoral composition of GDP); the reciprocity between taxation and service provision (the importance of which may be overrated in current literature on taxation); the composition and conditionality of aid (not just its relative size); and the extent of coercion and conflict in taxation (especially in local government taxation, which affect many more citizens than central government taxation does).
The Development of Labour Disputes and the Regulation of Industrial Relations in China

Abstract: Using the labour dispute mediation and arbitration data in the China Labour and Social Security Statistical Yearbook, this paper analyses and describes the development of labour disputes in China since the Labour Law came into effect. It shows that under the influence of many factors, labour disputes in China will continue to increase and be characterized by an increase in collective disputes and antagonism, and conflict between competing interests. This paper puts forward some suggestions and policy ideas for directing and regulating labour relations effectively and improving the labour dispute resolution system.
Lane Detection and Tracking Using a Linear Parabolic Model

iii OZ v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS vii LIST OF FIGURES x INTRODUCTION 1 1.1 Lane Detection Overview 2 1.2 Related Work on Lane Detection 3 Lane Detection Based On Hough Transform 10 2.1 Lane Detection Background 10 2.2 Lane Detection Algorithm (LDA) Overview 10 2.2.1 Features of Lane Marking 13 2.2.2 Types of Road Lines 13 2.3 Lane Detection Using Hough Transform 13 2.3.1 Defining and Conversion of RGB into Gray Scale 14 2.3.2 Canny Edge Detection 14 2.4 Hough Transform Line 16 2.4. 1 Finding Straight Lines 16 LANE TRACKING APPROACHES 19 3.1 Linear Parabolic Model 19 3.1.1 The Proposed Lane Boundary Model 20 3.1.2 Fitting the Lane Model 20 3.2 Connected Component Method 23 SIMULATION RESULTS 25
Another Hurdle for Married Women: Private Tutoring of Children and Women's Labor in Korea

Abstract Using data from Seoul and six major cities in Korea, this study examines the relationship between the cost of children's private tutoring and the employment of their mothers. The results indicate that private tutoring for children is a barrier for participation in the labor force by women with school-aged children, as social norms require them to bear the burden of supporting children's educational activities in the household alone. Specifically, empirical results suggest that every one standard deviation increase in the tutoring cost is associated with a 6.5 percent decrease in employment probability of married women with school-aged children. It is noteworthy that the negative effect of the cost of private tutoring appears to be greater for women with higher education or with relatively higher non-labor income than for their counterparts. Different responses from groups with different levels of education and income may be due to differences in “productivity’ for generating “quality’ children and market opportunities.
Doing Business with Islam: Can Corporate Social Responsibility Be a Bridge between Civilisations?

We investigate the differences in attitudes towards Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) between Muslims and non-Muslims. Using a sample of nearly 20,000 observations across 21 countries we show that Muslims are less concerned about CSR than non-Muslims and that these differences do not appear to be explained by demographics, socio-political factors or cultural differences. Nonetheless, Islamic teaching on business ethics is very much in line with the CSR agenda and Islamic laws require high standards from all stakeholders. We suggest that this paradox opens up an opportunity for the CSR paradigm to build bridges between the Muslim World and the West.
Embedded color image coding using SPIHT with partially linked spatial orientation trees

This paper describes a variation of the set partitioning in hierarchical trees (SPIHT) scheme for color image coding. By using partially linked spatial orientation tree structures across different spectral planes, the new color-SPIHT scheme is able to embed both chrominance and luminance data in the coded bit stream. The performance is comparable to that of a SPIHT-based coding scheme but with significantly lower computational complexity.