Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Capital-Market Imperfections and Investment

Over the past decade, a number of researchers have extended conventional models of business fixed investment to incorporate a role for financial constraints' in determining investment. This paper reviews developments and challenges in this empirical research, and uses advances in models of information and incentive problems to motivate those developments and challenges. First, I describe analytical underpinnings of models of capital-market imperfections in the investment process, and illustrate the principal testable implications of those models. Second, I motivate tests and describe and critique existing empirical studies. Third, the review considers applications of the underlying models to a range of investment activities, including inventory investment, R&D, employment demand, pricing by imperfectly competitive firms, business formation and survival, and risk management. Fourth, I discuss implications of this research program for analysis of effects of investment on monetary policy and tax policy. Finally, I examine some potentially fruitful avenues for future research.
Analytical approach to the optimal linear matrix with comprehensive error metric

In digital color imaging, the color information of objects should be reproduced as accurate as possible (unless preferred color reproduction is demanded), on the other side, the intrinsic imaging noise will propagate to the captured image and affect the final image quality. Previous studies have not shown how the color accuracy or noise reduction should be emphasized. Both the noise performance and color accuracy performance should be balanced in order to achieve better total perceived image quality. In this paper, a new comprehensive error metric that is a flexible trade-off between color accuracy and RMS noise is proposed. The linear matrix that converts the device signals to device independent color signals is analytically optimized by minimizing this comprehensive error metric. By changing the weights to the color and noise components, one can expect a reproduced image that achieves better color accuracy yet more noise, or an image that has worse color accurate but less noise, depending on applications and capture conditions. The analytical approach presents a full perspective of the color and noise characteristics in digital color imaging devices.
Structure, Competitiveness and Efficiency Aspects of Jordanian Banking Industry

Development in the Jordanian banking industry has been rapid, and the level of competition has increased in recent years. In the light of this development, it is important to investigate competitive conditions through testing the structure-performance relationship in the Jordanian banking industry. Mainly, two competing hypotheses are employed in the literature to explain the positive correlation between profitability and concentration: the Structure-Conduct-Performance Hypothesis (SCP) and the Efficient-Structure Hypothesis. The two hypotheses have radically contrasting implications for merger and antitrust policy. This paper considers different degrees of market power and their relation with efficiency. X-efficiency is estimated here using stochastic frontier approach under the assumption that the inefficiency components of error terms follow half-normal distribution. Although little support is found for both the Structure-Conduct-Performance hypothesis (SCP) and X-efficiency version of the efficient-structure hypothesis, none of the two competing hypotheses could explain the positive relation between market structure and profitability in Jordan. Only size factor has a statistically significant and positive effect on bank performance, indicating that Jordanian banks operate at significant economies of scale.
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAW CONFERS RIGHTS IN RESPECT OF ONLINE DISTANCE EDUCATION, YET MOST LEARNING RESOURCES ARE STILL FREE - TRUTH OR FICTION?

Educational technologists might well describe online distance education as ‘a series of instructional events over the Internet that find their expression as learning events in a student’. As a legal construct however, ‘online distance education’ is simply ‘the intellectual property of its owner’. This description is too simplistic for educational technologists, however – for two reasons. First there can be no such thing as ‘typical intellectual property ownership in online distance education’, because there is no such thing as ‘the typical distance education course'. No single law or appellate court decision can adequately protect at once the online course and the blended course, or the stand-alone course and the Web course management system. A second, related reason why intellectual property ownership is too simplistic is that most of today’s online courses have multiple creators, each creator making a different original contribution to the course, each contribution being afforded a different type of legal protection within a jurisdiction. Ownership complexity rises with the number of contributors as well as the different types of legal protection available in the jurisdiction. This paper attempts to reconcile ongoing political rhetoric over everyone’s right to an education with recent leaks in the media about the increasing likelihood of a global lock-down of intellectual property that could criminalize contemporary online distance education for every user.
Valuing Warm Homes - Exploring New Zealanders' Home Heating Choices

New Zealand homes have a record of being poorly heated and inadequately energy efficient. While policy makers increasingly recognise the many benefits associated with energy efficient warm homes, there is currently a lack of understanding of how New Zealanders make choices about space heating. This thesis takes a mixed method approach in order to 1) understand how New Zealanders value energy efficient heating and 2) further explore how people make decisions about home heating. Capturing the economic value of the range of benefits associated with home heating is investigated through analysing a contingent valuation study undertaken by the Housing, Heating and Health Study (University of Otago). Participants show 'willingness to pay' and related values below heater market prices. It is argued that there is some indication of split incentives issues and income constraint, and increased familiarisation with space heaters may increase willingness to pay. Evidence from focus group research suggests that while attitudes and norms are conducive to efficiently heated homes, other market and non-market factors impede pro-environmental choices. The widely recognised Kiwi stoicism of living in cold homes is not evidenced; choosing to go cold in the home may instead be rationalised as mitigating the environmental impacts associated with heating. This analysis sheds light on how intervention and how provision of information to fill the 'energy efficiency gap' could move outside the 'rational person' model of how New Zealanders make home heating choices.
Indirect Controlled Phased Source

We propose here a novel phase controllable oscillator to realize phase shift for the phased array. The phase of the oscillator is controlled by the phase of reference frequency of a phase locked loop. Since the reference frequency is usually lower than 100MHz, the phase shifting can be much easier, have a lower cost, and be more accurate than that in microwave phase shifters. A four-element scanning array antenna using this novel phase control technique is demonstrated with a scanning range of plusmn40deg in this letter
Ceramide profiles in the brain of rats with diabetes induced by streptozotocin

Diabetes is associated with disturbances of brain activity and cognitive impairment. We hypothesize that ceramides may constitute an important contribution to diabetes‐linked neuro‐dysfunction. In our study we used rats injected with streptozotocin (STZ) as a model of severe hyperglycemia. Using the gas–liquid chromatography technique we found a significant increase of ceramide content in brains and a decrease in plasma of diabetic rats. The inhibitor of serine palmitoyltransferase, myriocin, reduced ceramide generation in hyperglycemic brains, although injected alone it exerted a paradoxical effect of ceramide upregulation. Myriocin had no impact on ceramide concentration in the plasma of either control or diabetic rats. The level of ceramide saturated fatty acids was elevated whereas the level of ceramide poly‐unsaturated fatty acids was downregulated in brains of all experimental groups. The concentration of ceramide mono‐unsaturated fatty acids remained unchanged. The pattern of individual ceramide species was altered depending on treatment. We noted an STZ‐evoked increase of brain ceramide C16:0, C18:0 and C20:0 and a strong decline in ceramide C18:2 fatty acid levels. Some changes of brain ceramide pattern were modified by myriocin. We found a decreased amount of total ceramide‐ω‐6 fatty acids in STZ‐treated rat brains and no changes in ceramide‐ω‐3 concentration. We conclude that ceramides may be important mediators of diabetes‐accompanied brain dysfunction.
The Evolution of China's Banking System: Bank Loan Announcements 1996–2009

This study investigates China’s evolving banking systems from 1996 to 2009 by testing the market response to bank loan announcements in the China. The results show a significant negative market response to bank loan announcements in the Chinese financial market for the sample period 1996–2004. However, after a series of reforms in the Chinese banking system, the significantly negative market response to bank loan announcements disappears for the sample period 2005–2009.
Differential Vulnerability of the CA1 and CA3 Subfields of the Hippocampus to Superoxide and Hydroxyl Radicals In Vitro

Abstract: The relative roles of the superoxide and hydroxyl radicals in oxidative stress‐induced neuronal damage were investigated using organotypic hippocampal slice cultures. Cultures exposed to 100 µM duroquinone, a superoxide‐generating compound, for 3 h developed CA1‐selective lesions over a period of 24 h. The damage accounted for ∼64% of the CA1 subfield, whereas CA3 showed just 6% damage, a pattern of damage comparable to that observed following hypoxia/ischaemia. Duroquinone‐induced damage was attenuated by a spin‐trap agent. In contrast, hydroxyl radical‐mediated damage, generated by exposure to 30 µM ferrous sulphate for 1 h, resulted in a CA3‐dominant lesion. The damage developed over 24 h, similar to that observed with duroquinone, but with ∼45% damage in CA3 compared with only 7% in CA1. These data demonstrate a selective vulnerability of the CA1 pyramidal neurones to superoxide‐induced damage and suggest that of the free radicals generated following hypoxia/ischaemia, superoxide, rather than hydroxyl radical, is instrumental in producing neuronal damage.
Optimal Secession Rules

Should the constitution of a federation allow for peaceful secession? Constitutionally defined secession rules are optimal ex post if the federation breaks down. However, they may be suboptimal ex ante if the member countries receive a benefit from the perceived long-term stability of the federation and constitutionally defined secession rules increase the probability of a break-up. The optimal social contract trades off ex ante benefits and ex post losses, and it may avoid explicit secession rules. If transfers are costly, the trade off is present even if ex post renegotiation is allowed. Finally, we show that under asymmetric information it is more difficult to keep the federation together and that a secession war may occur.
Classification of MMPI Profiles using Decision Trees

Our research concerns psychometric data coming from the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) test. MMPI is one of the most frequently used personality tests in clinical mental health as well as psychopathology (mental and behavioral disorders). We are developing the Copernicus system, a tool for the analysis and classification of MMPI profiles of patients with mental disorders. In this system, different quantitative groups of methods useful for differential interprofile diagnosis are selected and implemented. In the paper, we test different classification algorithms based on decision trees. Especially, for each algorithm, we take into consideration its ability to classify new cases. Results are important for selection of suitable algorithms to create a base for the Copernicus system.
The missing links: cultural, software, task and personal influences on computer self-efficacy

Culture exerts a fundamental effect on employees and their use of technologies. We examine the influence of culture (and other factors) on computer self-efficacy (CSE). CSE, or employees' judgments about their capabilities to use a specific software system, is important given its relationship with work performance. By drawing a sample from two different countries, we show that culture affects CSE indirectly through employees' preferences for individualism and task interdependence. Furthermore, individualism, task interdependence and software personal innovativeness relate positively, whereas task ambiguity and software complexity associate negatively with CSE. Finally, we discuss several implications for human resource management.
Visualizing and Measuring Intellectual Capital in Capital Markets: A Research Method

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to describe a research method successfully used to study intellectual capital (IC) and IC flows through a highly networked marketplace. Design/methodology/approach – The method integrates computer-assisted content analysis (CA) and multivariate statistics. The CA is performed on a large source of business and analyst reports. The method is successful in enabling the elements of IC to be related to firm performance, using 156 firms in the global information technology market as a testing ground. Findings – Computer-assisted CA techniques could be successfully used to analyse the larger samples of firms for IC attributes like human capital, internal capital and external or relational capital, than have previously been feasible using manual CA methods. Research limitations/implications – Several limitations of the method are identified and relate to the computer-assisted CA method used. First, the method relies on the existence of a large body of content, in this case business reports and articles, to create the indices for the IC attributes. A second limitation is that the IC attributes are constructed from public sources (i.e. they represent the view of external reporters, rather than internal to the organisation reporters). The method presented combines and extends the benefits of both qualitative and quantitative methods. The richer source of IC content for a larger sample of firms is made accessible through computer-assisted CA. The overall method enables insights to be explored in relating firm IC to firm performance in the market place. Originality/value – The integrated research method presented is the result of original research. The value to researchers is the opportunity it provides to study the IC/performance relationship across markets, rather than be limited to small sample or limited attribute studies.
Budget Type and Performance — The Moderating Effect of Uncertainty

Calls for improvements to traditional yearly corporate budgeting practices have a common thread, the failure of these practices to provide adequate plans in uncertain environments. Rolling budgets that require continuously updated forecasts have been suggested as a means to improve the traditional budget process. We hypothesise that when the environment is highly uncertain, learning effects from rolling forecasting result in superior performance. In the same environment, traditional budgeting results in poorer performance because there is no systematic method for exploring and understanding environmental uncertainty. Alternatively, rolling forecasting causes inferior performance in low uncertainty conditions because commitment to the budget goal is more important than the benefits of learning from forecasting.
THE IMPACT OF ABSORPTIVE CAPACITY ON SMEs' COLLABORATION

Absorptive capacity plays a key role in determining firms' capability to access and make use of external knowledge. However, little evidence has been provided about this important determinant of knowledge acquisition in the context of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). This article investigates the importance of absorptive capacity created and accumulated in R&D efforts and in qualified human resources, on SMEs' capabilities to collaborate with other firms, with universities and with technology transfer centres. The empirical evidence is based on a survey of interviews with 276 manufacturing SMEs located in the Lombardy region (Italy). Probit model estimations demonstrate that even in SMEs absorptive capacity has a relevant impact on the ability of firms to establish collaborations with external organisations.
Mathematics and Gender: Heterogeneity in Causes and Consequences

We exploit an institutional reduction in the costs of acquiring advanced high school mathematics to assess the causes and consequences of fewer girls choosing advanced mathematics. Girls at the top and boys at the middle of the mathematics ability distribution took more mathematics because of the cost reduction. We estimate a positive average earnings effect encompassing girls completing more advanced and more mathematics intensive college degrees, choosing more competitive careers and climbing higher up the corporate hierarchy. Encouraging more students to opt for advanced mathematics has a sizeable positive earnings effect for girls, but no effect for boys at the margin.
Non-Meritocratic Job Requirements and the Reproduction of Class Inequality: An Investigation

Social mobility research has consistently demonstrated that a strong link exists between an individual's social class origins and their social class destination. Yet, in absolute terms, the relationship between class origins and destinations does appear to be weaker now than it was in the past. There has been a increase in the numbers of those of all class origins entering higher-level service class occupations, and a decrease in those entering manual employment. However, while this would appear to be evidence of a high degree of fluidity in the class structure, these patterns can largely be explained by changes in the occupational structure: the expansion of non-manual occupations while manual ones have contracted (Goldthorpe 1987:59). When these structural effects are controlled for by looking at relative mobility rates, it is clear that there has been virtual stability in such rates over time. A relationship between origins and destinations is still in evidence (Goldthorpe 1987; Erikson and Goldthorpe 1992). The relationship between class origins and destinations has therefore become widely established in social mobility research, and as a result, the emphasis is now moving towards explaining how these trends are created (Saunders 1995; Breen and Goldthorpe 1999).
Regulation of Natural Monopolies

This chapter provides a comprehensive overview of the theoretical and empirical literature on the regulation of natural monopolies. It covers alternative definitions of natural monopoly, regulatory goals, alternative regulatory institutions, price regulation with full information, regulation with imperfect and asymmetric information, and topics on the measurement of the effects of price and entry regulation in practice. The chapter also discusses the literature on network access and pricing to support the introduction of competition into previously regulated monopoly industries.
Former Enron vice president Sherron Watkins on the Enron collapse

Introduction to the address by Academy President Jone L. Pearce It is my pleasure to introduce Sherron Watkins, the Academy of Management's 2003 Distinguished Executive Speaker. By now, her story as the former vice president of Enron Corporation who tried to bring what she called “an elaborate accounting hoax” to the attention of Enron's chief executive officer is well known. In August 2001, responding to his invitation to employees to put any concerns in a comment box, she did so. When he did not address her explosive charges at a subsequent company-wide meeting, she sought a face-to-face meeting with him. A month later the CEO announced to employees that “our financial liquidity has never been stronger,” while exercising his own $1.5 billion in stock options, just ahead of the company's announcement of a $618 million quarterly loss. When United States Congressional investigators uncovered her letter buried in boxes of documents, they brought Ms. Watkins before the United States Senate in February 2002 t.
Testing Linear Hypotheses on National Account Data

Stock adjustment models of money demand have employed either the nominal or real adjustment process, but they have not been tested statistically due to their nonnested- ness. This paper formulates a general stock adjustment model which includes both nominal and real adjustment processes as its nested subsets. Each process is then tested against the general specification. The paper also examines the homogeneity of money demand with respect to price level and income in the general model.
A Specific Deficit of Imitation in Autism Spectrum Disorder

Imitation is a potentially crucial aspect of social cognitive development. Although deficits in imitation ability have been widely demonstrated in autism spectrum disorder (ASD), the specificity and significance of the findings is unclear, due largely to methodological limitations. We developed a novel assessment of imitation ability, using objective movement parameters (path length and action duration) derived from a touch‐sensitive tablet laptop during drawing actions on an identical tablet. By direct comparison of the kinematics of a model's actions with those of the participant who observed them, measures of imitation accuracy were obtained. By replaying the end‐point of the movement as a spot on the screen, imitation accuracy was compared against a “ghost control” condition, with no human actor but only the end‐point of the movement seen [object movement reenactment (OMR)]. Hence, demands of the control task were closely matched to the experimental task with respect to motor, memory, and attentional abilities. Adolescents with ASD showed poorer accuracy for copying object size and action duration on both the imitation and OMR tasks, but were significantly more impaired for imitation of object size. Our results provide evidence that some of the imitation deficit in ASD is specific to a self‐other mapping problem, and cannot be explained by general factors such as memory, spatial reasoning, motor control, or attention, nor related to the social demands of the testing situation. Autism Res 2013, 6: 522–530. © 2013 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Structure, 5'‐Upstream Sequence and Chromosomal Assignment of the Human 14.3.3 η Chain Gene in Relation to the Effects of Methamphetamine a

TATSUYUKI MURATAKE,h SHIGENOBU HAYASHI,b TOM10 ICHIKAWA,' TOSHIRO KUMANISHI,' YUKA ICHIMURA: RYOZO KUWANO,d SHINSEI MINOSHIMA,' NOBUYOSHI SHIMIZU,' AND YASUO TAKAHASHI,b.c,f bNational Saigata Hospital Ogata Town, Nakakubikigun Niigata Prefecture 949-31, Japan CBrain Research Institute and dResearch Laboratory for Molecular Genetics Niigata University Niigata City 951, Japan eDepartment of Molecular Biology Keio University School of Medicine 'Shinanomachi, Shinjuku Tokyo 160, Japan
Severe chronic urticaria is associated with elevated plasma levels of D‐dimer

Background: Patients with chronic urticaria (CU) frequently show signs of thrombin generation as a result of the activation of the extrinsic pathway of coagulation and signs of fibrinolysis as shown by slightly increased mean D‐dimer plasma levels. Here, we studied patients with severe CU to see whether the activation of coagulation and fibrinolysis parallels the severity of the disease.