Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Water Poverty and Rural Development: Evidence from South Africa

Using household data from the 2009 General Household Survey, this paper examines the role of natural resource scarcity in rural development in South Africa, with a particular focus on water scarcity. It seeks to examine whether there is a direct link between household water and economic poverty of rural households, with householdsâ€™ total monthly income used as an indicator of economic poverty. An adaptation of a comprehensive water poverty index, which considers water access, quality, use, and water-related environmental aspects is used to measure household-level water poverty. The empirical analysis uses an instrumental variable estimation framework in order to deal with the potential endogeneity between water and economic poverty. Results support the existence of a direct link between water and economic poverty, with water-poor households likely to be economically poor. In particular, the results suggest that access to good quality water from a reliable source significantly enhances rural householdsâ€™ economic status. Also, access to water determines the realized impact of overall water poverty on a householdâ€™s economic status. The paper thus cautions development policy not to treat water and economic poverty in isolation; there is need for development policy in South Africa to streamline water use in rural development. In addition, development policies need to take into account the role of household heterogeneity in conditioning both household water and economic poverty levels.
On the Direct Versus Indirect Taxation Controversy

the well-known Atkinson and Stiglitz (1976, section 5) theorem on the superiority of nonlinear direct taxation over nonlinear indirect taxation is proved to hold under the second order approach, even on intervals where the monotonicity constraint is binding. this confirms for the nonlinear case previous findings by Kaplow (2006) and Laroque (2005), who considered a joint combination of linear indirect taxes and, possibly suboptimal, nonlinear income taxation. the intuition behind is that, when indirect taxation is not restricted to linearity, its elimination is only justified if the income taxation scheme becomes optimally chosen, as happens in Atkinson and Stiglitz (1976). In addition, our analysis allows for a more general class of sub-utility functions than the one in the Atkinson and Stiglitz theorem, which includes work done or income further to consumption goods and services. Finally, the possibility that optimal llocations fail to be differentiable, or continuous, is also contemplated unlike in the standard literatura.
What do we know about the incidence of group work (if anything)

Whereas group work has been much discussed throughout the 1980s and 1990s, there are few statistical studies about its incidence. The available surveys have adopted a variety of methodological approaches. This paper discusses these studies to investigate two questions: Are there differences in the incidence of group work in different countries? Is its popularity indeed increasing?
Adherence to physical and mental activity interventions: coping plans as a mediator and prior adherence as a moderator.

OBJECTIVE Adherence to behavioural intervention programmes is a necessary condition for beneficial outcomes to be achieved. This study tested whether social cognitive variables and coping plans predict adherence. DESIGN AND METHODS Adherence was examined in a randomized controlled trial with healthy older women (age range: 70-93 years), who were randomized to a physical (N= 86) or a mental (N= 85) activity intervention. Intentions, self-efficacies, coping plans, and objectively measured adherence levels were assessed. A moderated mediation analysis evaluated the power of coping plans to translate intention into behaviour, depending on levels of prior adherence. RESULTS Adherence to the physical activity programme (65%) was significantly lower than adherence to the mental activity programme (84%, p < .001). Intentions (β= .22) weakly predicted adherence in the initiation period of the physical activity programme (6 weeks); pre-action self-efficacy predicted adherence in the initiation period of the mental activity programme (β= .35). In both groups, coping plans predicted mid-period adherence (10 weeks) and long-term adherence (20 weeks), moderated by prior adherence (all ps < .01). Coping plans mediated the relationship between intentions and behaviour only in the exercise condition. CONCLUSIONS Instructing older individuals to generate coping plans facilitated their adherence to physical and mental activity programmes. This effect was larger for participants with lower levels of prior adherence--and may have prevented them from dropping out of the programme.
Tick sizes and relative rates of price discovery in stock, futures, and options markets: Evidence from the Taiwan stock exchange

This study examines the competition in price discovery among stock index, index futures, and index options in Taiwan. The price‐discovery ability of the Taiwan Top 50 Tracker Fund, an exchange‐traded fund based on the Taiwan 50 index is examined. The authors find that, after the minimum tick size in the stock market decreases, the bid–ask spreads of the component stocks of the stock index and the Taiwan Top 50 Tracker Fund get lower, and the contribution of the spot market to price discovery increases. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Jrl Fut Mark 29:74–93, 2009
Heavy Alcohol Use and Crime: Evidence from Underage Drunk‐Driving Laws

This paper provides new evidence on the causal effect of alcohol use and crime. I use variation induced by the adoption of strict zero‐tolerance (ZT) drunk‐driving laws, which significantly reduced binge drinking by males aged 18–20 years but did not affect slightly older males aged 22–24 years. I use age‐specific arrest data for police agencies in metropolitan statistical areas to estimate the effect of ZT laws on crime, controlling for both year and police agency fixed effects. I find that ZT laws significantly increased the fraction of adult male arrests for driving under the influence attributable to 18–20‐year‐olds and decreased the fraction of nuisance and property crime arrests attributable to 18–20‐year‐olds, with no effects on violent crime. These results are validated by important null findings: ZT laws did not affect arrests in any crime category for males aged 22–24 years. These results suggest that heavy alcohol use causes the commission of property and nuisance crimes.
Feasibility Study on a Scheme for Coexistence of DSP-Based PON and 10-Gbps/λ PON Using Hierarchical Star QAM Format

This paper presents a downlink scheme that permits the coexistence, on a passive optical network branch, of future DSP-based optical network units (ONUs) that can receive advanced modulation signals and legacy ONUs that can receive only on-off keying (OOK) signals. In the proposed scheme, the two types of signals, advanced modulation signals and OOK signals, are multiplexed by using a hierarchical star quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) format and transmitted simultaneously on a single carrier. The design criteria and the feasibility of the proposal are discussed. The coexistence of 10G-class ONUs and DSP-based ONUs using hierarchical star 8-QAM format is numerically analyzed and experimentally evaluated. The results confirm that a 10-Gbps OOK signal and 30-Gbps star 8-QAM signal can be received with 30.5-dB loss budget by an APD and intradyne detector with DSP, respectively. The ability of the proposed approach to expand the coverage area is also introduced.
DS-rough set in Object-oriented Data Base System and its application

In Object-Oriented Data Base (OODB), attributions and methods are encapsulated together to form class and the instances of class form object. Affected by methods, the attribute values of the object are changing constantly settling in or moving out of the sets. The object sets being studied become bidirectional DS-sets. By analyzing the characteristic of class and S-rough set, the object-oriented DS-rough set which based on the dynamic characteristic is defined. DS-rough set has the encapsulation and concealment characteristic of class, which is the general form and the further expansion of S-rough set and rough set. By the end of the paper, the application of DS-rough set in Object-Oriented Data Base (OODB) has been explained by a simple example
Start-up Competitions as an Instrument of Entrepreneurship Policy: The German Experience

The number of aspiring entrepreneurs in high-tech industries who successfully complete the transition from a nascent start-up project towards an operational new venture is comparatively low in Germany. Since the mid-1990s, policy-makers have initiated numerous start-up competitions (SUCs or business plan competitions) to facilitate this important step in the venture creation process. SUCs have two key objectives. They are aimed at increasing start-up activity by motivating potential entrepreneurs, while they should also help to increase the likelihood of subsequent entrepreneurial success through providing necessary entrepreneurial skills to prospective entrepreneurs. With our explorative study, we provide the first comprehensive empirical evidence from a cross-sectional survey of existing SUCs in Germany. Overall, 71 SUCs are identified which are analysed regarding their development, regional distribution, and main structural characteristics. Finally, we outline an agenda of future research questions concerning the effectiveness and efficiency of SUCs as an instrument of entrepreneurship policy.
Re-examining the risk–return relationship in banks using quantile regression

Financial data for the US banks listed during 2001–2007 are analysed to re-examine the risk–return relationship in the banking industry. A key feature of this study is the analysis of the changing distribution of return on equity across banks and over time by the quantile regression (hereafter QR) model and a meaningful comparative analysis with the results of the ordinary least squares estimates is examined. The following conclusions are drawn from the empirical results. First, while a positive risk–return relationship is presented for the profitable banks, the risk–return relationship is negative for the profitless banks. Second, the ‘V’ shape relationship between bank risk and profitability identified by this study could satisfactorily explain the existing risk–return puzzle among the prior empirical studies.
Fungal‐specific subunits of the Candida albicans mitochondrial complex I drive diverse cell functions including cell wall synthesis

Our published research has focused on the role of Goa1p, an apparent regulator of the Candida albicans mitochondrial complex I (CI). Lack of Goa1p affects optimum cell growth, CI activity and virulence. Eukaryotic CI is composed of a core of 14 alpha‐proteobacterial subunit proteins and a variable number of supernumerary subunit proteins. Of the latter group of proteins, one (NUZM) is fungal specific and the other (NUXM) is found in fungi, algae and plants, but is not a mammalian CI subunit protein. We have established that NUXM is orf19.6607 and NUZM is orf19.287 in C. albicans. Herein, we validate both subunit proteins as NADH:ubiquinone oxidoreductases (NUO) and annotate their gene functions. To accomplish these objectives, we compared null mutants of each with wild type (WT) and gene‐reconstituted strains. Genetic mutants of genes NUO1 (orf19.6607) and NUO2 (orf19.287), not surprisingly, each had reduced oxygen consumption, decreased mitochondrial redox potential, decreased CI activity, increased reactive oxidant species (ROS) and decreased chronological ageing in vitro. Loss of either gene results in disassembly of CI. Transcriptional profiling of both mutants indicated significant down‐regulation of genes of carbon metabolism, as well as up‐regulation of mitochondrial‐associated gene families that may occur to compensate for the loss of CI activity. Profiling of both mutants also demonstrated a loss of cell wall β‐mannosylation but not in a conserved CI subunit (ndh51Δ). The profiling data may indicate specific functions driven by the enzymatic activity of Nuo1p and Nuo2p. Of importance, each mutant is also avirulent in a murine blood‐borne, invasive model of candidiasis associated with their reduced colonization of tissues. Based on their fungal specificity and roles in virulence, we suggest both as drug targets for antifungal drug discovery.
Standards of the Present for People of the Past: Height, Weight, and Mortality among Men of Amherst College, 1834–1949

Whether anthropometric-mortality risk relationships as found in present day populations also characterized past populations is disputed. This article finds U-shaped body mass index (BMI)-mortality risk relationships among nineteenth-century men that were similar to such relationships as found in twentieth-century men. No relationship between height and mortality could be detected. This article infers from the socioeconomic homogeneity of the sample that the BMI-mortality risk relationship, although apparently invariant with respect to time, is driven by noneconomic factors.
Online Optimal Control of Reactive Sources in Wind Power Plants

This paper suggests a novel approach to the problem of online optimal control of reactive sources in wind power plants (WPPs). Based on measurements tracking the actual conditions of each wind generator and the settings of transformers and compensation equipment within the WPP facility, the key idea is to incorporate reactive power optimization into a global WPP's control loop so that it can be used online to determine the optimal distribution of reactive power, which is needed to meet grid code requirements, among the available Var sources. The optimization problem is handled using an enhanced version of the mean-variance mapping optimization algorithm. A test case, based on a representative offshore WPP, is presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed control strategy.
Spectrum agile radio: capacity and QoS implications of dynamic spectrum assignment

Radio spectrum is very scarce today because a considerable amount of the spectrum is set aside for licensed wireless applications. With the rapid growth of wireless technologies, spectrum scarcity has become a serious problem as more and more wireless applications compete for very little spectrum. On the other hand the licensed spectrum allocated to applications like television, cellular telephony and public safety show very little usage over time at different geographical locations. The evolution of newer technologies has been seriously impaired because of current regulatory constraints on the operation of these networks in licensed spectrum, such as TV bands, and is being addressed by FCC through its recent rule making. With the goal of ubiquitous communication in mind, we look into spectrum agile radio, a new technology enabled by such FCC rule making, and study its advantages over conventional radios. In this paper, we first show the utilization achievable by agile radios through simple analysis. Then we will outline two types of agile radios and derive their maximum capacities. Then we will go ahead and derive the rules that increase the spectrum utilization using agile radios. We then highlight how spectrum agile radio impacts quality of service as defined in conventional sense
Estimating asymmetric output cost of lowering inflation for Australia

The purpose of this paper is to estimate the output cost associated with lowering inflation for Australia. The paper is particularly motivated by a strand of theoretical and empirical evidence in the literature suggesting nonlinearity in the output-inflation relationship, namely, a nonlinear Phillips curve. To accommodate this potentially important departure from linearity, a vector autoregression (VAR) model of output, inflation, and the terms of trade is augmented with logistic smooth transition autoregression specifications. My empirical results indicate that the model captures the nonlinear features present in the data well. Based on this nonlinear approximation, the output costs for reducing inflation are found to vary, depending critically on the state of the economy, the size of intended inflation change, and whether policymakers seek to disinflate or prevent inflation from rising. This implies that inferences based on the conventional linear Phillips curve may provide misleading signals about the cost of lowering inflation and thus the appropriate policy stance.
Modulation frequency as a cue for auditory speed perception

Unlike vision, the mechanisms underlying auditory motion perception are poorly understood. Here we describe an auditory motion illusion revealing a novel cue to auditory speed perception: the temporal frequency of amplitude modulation (AM-frequency), typical for rattling sounds. Naturally, corrugated objects sliding across each other generate rattling sounds whose AM-frequency tends to directly correlate with speed. We found that AM-frequency modulates auditory speed perception in a highly systematic fashion: moving sounds with higher AM-frequency are perceived as moving faster than sounds with lower AM-frequency. Even more interestingly, sounds with higher AM-frequency also induce stronger motion aftereffects. This reveals the existence of specialized neural mechanisms for auditory motion perception, which are sensitive to AM-frequency. Thus, in spatial hearing, the brain successfully capitalizes on the AM-frequency of rattling sounds to estimate the speed of moving objects. This tightly parallels previous findings in motion vision, where spatio-temporal frequency of moving displays systematically affects both speed perception and the magnitude of the motion aftereffects. Such an analogy with vision suggests that motion detection may rely on canonical computations, with similar neural mechanisms shared across the different modalities.
Entrepreneurs and funding decisions: evidence from Australian SMEs

This paper investigates the decision by Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to raise funding via the sale of equity. Prior theoretical and empirical work on the 'pecking order' of funding has indicated that we should not expect SMEs to prefer equity funding over internal funding and external debt, except under particular circumstances relating to the risk aversion and autonomy aversion of the owner-manager. We utilise data from the Business Longitudinal Survey undertaken by the Australian Bureau of Statistics to investigate relationships suggested by the literature. We found that only about 5% of SMEs intended to raise funds from the sale of equity. Of these, the decision to seek equity funding was significantly and positively related to the owner-manager's intention to sell the firm; to the firm's intention to increase the number of markets targeted; and to the firm's growth intentions. The decision was also negatively related to the firm being a family business.
Trade Reform, Capital Mobility, and Efficiency Wage in a Harris-Todaro Economy

The main purpose of this paper is to analyse the impact of trade reform on unemployment and social welfare in a Harris-Todaro (1970) economy with efficiency wage and capital mobility. The analysis shows that capital mobility plays an important role to influence the impact of trade reform on unemployment and social welfare. We find that trade reform raises urban unemployment and produces an ambiguous effect on social welfare when capital is perfectly mobile among the three sectors. However, such policy lowers unemployment and raises social welfare when capital is imperfectly mobile.
Sovereignty and Human Rights: Re-examining Carter’s Foreign Policy Towards the Third World

This analysis examines the evolution of Jimmy Carter’s human rights policy towards the Third World during the course of his Administration. By exploring the impact of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and the Soviet-backed Vietnamese invasion of Cambodia, it analyses how Carter responded to international outcry by pairing sovereignty as a human right, which specifically appealed to the concerns of newly independent nations in the late 1970s. Carter’s shift is explained first by a brief outline of his initial human rights policy and stumbling blocks; second, by examining Third World responses to the dual invasions; and, finally, exploring how this affected Carter’s human rights policy. It moves beyond claims that Carter abandoned his human rights agenda as he encountered an increasingly volatile international environment, instead examining the very real ways that he re-imagined this policy in the face of a changing global landscape.
Crime Problems Related to Gambling: an Overview

This chapter focuses the relationship between crime and gambling. It gives an overview of the different ways in which crime may be related to gambling. The chapter examines the way in which gambling is offered illegally. It explores the penetration of criminals into the legal betting and gaming sector. The chapter discusses in detail how criminals can make improper use of legal gambling channels. It also focuses on crime committed by gamblers and gambling addicts. With the emergence of modern nation states, from the late 19th century on, governmental authorities in Europe and North America began imposing more and more restrictions on gambling. Instead of providing gambling services illegally, criminals can also try to penetrate the legitimate betting and gaming sector. Keywords: crime; gambling; gaming sector; legal betting
Dynamic evolution of antibody populations in a rhesus macaque infected with attenuated simian immunodeficiency virus identified by surface plasmon resonance

Background Increasing evidence suggests that an effective AIDS vaccine will need to elicit broadly neutralizing antibody responses. However, the mechanisms of antibody‐mediated neutralization have not been defined. Previous studies from our lab have identified significant differences in the rates of antibody binding to trimeric SIV envelope proteins that correlate with neutralization sensitivity. Importantly, these results demonstrate differences in monoclonal antibody (MAb) binding to neutralization‐sensitive and neutralization‐resistant envelope proteins, suggesting that one mechanism for virus neutralization may be related to the stability of antibody binding. To date, little has been done to evaluate the binding properties of polyclonal serum antibodies elicited by SIV infection or vaccination.
Stock Prices and Earnings: A History of Research

Accounting earnings summarize periodic corporate financial performance and are key determinants of stock prices. We review research on the usefulness of accounting earnings, including research on the link between accounting earnings and firm value and research on the usefulness of accounting earnings relative to other accounting and nonaccounting information. We also review research on the features of accounting earnings that make them useful to investors, including the accrual accounting process, fair value accounting, and the conservatism convention. We finish by summarizing research that identifies situations in which investors appear to misinterpret earnings and other accounting information, leading to security mispricing.