Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Forecasting Austrian GDP using the generalized dynamic factor model

In this paper, a generalized dynamic factor model is utilized to produce short-term forecasts of real Austrian GDP. The model follows the frequency domain approach proposed by Forni, Hallin, Lippi and Reichlin (2000, 2003). The forecasting performance of the model with a large data set of 143 variables has been assessed relative to simple univariate time-series forecasts. The results show that the factor model can barely outperform the much simpler benchmark model, given the usuall levels of significance. Thus we followed a line of research proposed by Boivin and Ng (2003) and Watson (2000), who suggested that the use of a small data set may increase the forecasting performance. The main finding from our extensive out-of-sample forecasting experiment that we have conducted is that the best forecasting performance can be achieved with small data sets with a handful of variables only. These models perform signifi- cantly better than the large model. This result seems to contradict the basic idea of dynamic factor models, which have been constructed to exploit the potentially useful information of a large data set.
Study of heat stress and thermal environment in construction sites

Heat stress is a recognized hazard for construction workers. To ensure safety and health of the workers, it is important to study the heat stress and thermal environment in construction sites, and develop practical solutions to avoid adverse health effects and accidents. In typical construction sites, the employees have to work long hours in thermally stressful environments, and with heavy physical workload, especially during summer time. As a result, they are at high risk and this may pose special hazards of heat stress. This research examines different kinds of heat stress indices and standards in the world. The result indicates that wet bulb globe temperature (WBGT) is a major factor affecting the level of heat stress because the rate of evaporation from human body is limited when WBGT increases. It is also found that some indexes provide little common agreement for the exposure limit and time; some can only be used for preliminary heat stress evaluation. In general, metabolic rate is the most difficult part to estimate in the heat stress equation for construction workers. It is concluded that engineering and administration method is the most effective way to control heat stress. Moreover, training and education for the employees are critical to preventing accidents in construction sites.
SWOT analiza i TOWS matrica – sličnosti i razlike( SWOT Analysis and TOWS Matrix – Similarities and Differences )

Analiza okruženja ili okoline podrazumijeva istraživanje svih važnijih karakteristika kako vanjskog tako i unutarnjeg okruženja sa svrhom identifikacije strateskih cimbenika koji mogu odrediti buducnost poduzeca. Analiza okruženja i identifikacija strateskih cimbenika može se sagledati kao potpora odlucivanju kod formulacije strategija te se provodi na samom pocetku procesa strateskog menadžmenta. SWOT analiza je sredstvo za analizu situacije poduzeca. Njome se identificiraju kljucni cimbenici iz vanjskog okruženja koji se prepoznaju kao prilike ili prijetnje i cimbenici iz unutarnjeg okruženja, a mogu se opisati kao snage ili slabosti. SWOT analiza ne pokazuje razlicite veze između vanjskih i unutarnjih cimbenika, pa je stoga i razvijena TOWS matrica kojom se razvijaju strategije po TOWS-u (odnosno strateske inicijative). One mogu biti izgrađene na snagama, mogu eliminirati slabosti, iskoristiti prilike ili se suociti s prijetnjama. Identifikacija najznacajnijih strateskih cimbenika kljucni je dio SWOT analize, pa je zbog toga rasprava prosirena na modele analize okruženja te na odabir jednog adekvatnog modela ili kombinacije nekoliko njih, a u ovisnosti s obilježjima djelatnosti ili industrije o kojoj je rijec.
Hankel-Norm-Based Lumping of Interconnected Linear Systems

In this paper, we consider the problem of how and when to lump subsystems together inlarge linear interconnected systems with external inputs and outputs. The motivation for this work isthat we often want to reduce the model order of large interconnected systems, but before we do thatwe should identify what interconnection structures that are worth preserving in the reduction. For thispurpose a constrained Hankel-norm is introduced in this paper, and a so-called lumping index is derivedfrom it. A subsystem that is not a very independent subsystem in the interconnected system has a largelumping index, and we argue in the paper that it then is a good candidate for lumping. As an example,a large mechanical spring-mass system is considered.
Local food in times of crisis: The impact of COVID‐19 and two reinforcing primes

Abstract Using an online survey experiment and a sample of 1650 participants from the Mid‐Atlantic region in the United States, we investigate the effects of COVID‐19 and two reinforcing primes on preferences for local food and donations to support farmers, farmers markets, and a food‐relief program. At the beginning of the survey, we induce a subset of participants to think about the impact of the COVID‐19 pandemic on either their personal life, finances, and health or on their local community and its members. Both primes increase participants’ levels of anxiety and slightly reduce their sense of community. Additionally, both primes significantly decrease the hypothetical price premium participants are willing to pay for local food, that is, both for fruits and vegetables and for meat products. The primes do not significantly affect the amount donated to charitable organizations, except when controlling for participants’ own experiences with COVID‐19. While priming increases donations for some participants, it decreases donations for those with a “strong” COVID‐19 experience, especially for the food relief program. [EconLit Citations: C90, Q19].
Recommendations for the U.S. Coast Guard Survival Prediction Tool

Abstract : The U. S. Coast Guard (USCG) Research and Development Center (R&DC) has developed new tools to estimate the survival of immersed and stranded (i.e., in survival craft) victims by search and rescue (SAR) planners. The tools include a thermal and dehydration model developed by the U. S. Army Research Institute for Environmental Medicine (USARIEM), an empirical model developed by the University of Portsmouth (UP), UK, and a maximum search time guideline. A panel of survival physiology subject matter experts (SMEs) was convened to provide critical reviews and discuss limits for use and set points for the models. The R&DC and its contractor Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) also developed operational requirements for a software system containing these tools. The requirements are based on USCG SAR Program policies and feedback obtained from several Rescue Coordination Centers. The requirements and functionality were also presented to SAR planners for refinement and review. This report documents the requirements and describes a proposed system that meets the requirements. It includes a "strawman" graphical user interface (GUI) presented to facilitate subsequent software design. The GUI depicts inputs, outputs, and victim status summaries that should be included, consistent with the requirements, along with other supporting information.
Right-hemisphere coherence to speech at pre-reading stages predicts reading performance one year later

ABSTRACT Neural entrainment to the low-frequency modulations of speech might contribute significantly to reading acquisition. Still, no previous study has actually attempted to establish a longitudinal link between them. The present study tested Basque-speaking children twice: once before reading was formally instructed (t 1; 5–6 years old) and once after they had received a full school year of reading instruction (t 2; 6–7 years old). At t 1, speech-brain coherence was recorded via EEG. At t 2, in addition to the coherence measure, reading performance was assessed. Our results show that children with larger pre-reading delta-band (<1 Hz) speech-brain coherence at right sites of the scalp performed better in the reading tasks one year later. Overall, our results provide preliminary support for a relevant contribution of right-hemisphere speech-brain coherence to successful reading development and point towards pre-reading neural coherence indexes as useful tools for the early detection of developmental reading disorders.
Traveling the Silk Road: A Measurement of a Large Anonymous Online Marketplace

Abstract : We perform a comprehensive measurement analysis of Silk Road, an anonymous, international online marketplace that operates as a Tor hidden service and uses Bitcoin as its exchange currency. We gather and analyze data over eight months between the end of 2011 and 2012, including daily crawls of the marketplace for nearly six months in 2012. We obtain a detailed picture of the type of goods being sold on Silk Road, and of the revenues made both by sellers and Silk Road operators. Through examining over 24,400 separate items sold on the site, we show that Silk Road is overwhelmingly used as a market for controlled substances and narcotics, and that most items sold are available for less than three weeks. The majority of sellers disappears within roughly three months of their arrival, but a core of 112 sellers has been present throughout our measurement interval. We evaluate the total revenue made by all sellers, from public listings, to slightly over USD 1.2 million per month; this corresponds to about USD 92,000 per month in commissions for the Silk Road operators. We further show that the marketplace has been operating steadily, with daily sales and number of sellers overall increasing over our measurement interval. We discuss economic and policy implications of our analysis and results including ethical considerations for future research in this area.
A new process technique for complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor [CMOS] compatible sensors

A new sacrificial-etching-window (SEW) structure is reported for the first time, which can be used for most complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) compatible sensor structures. Using a buried sacrificial layer, the etching windows of the substrate can be extended beneath the membrane. The SEW technique combines the advantages of both surface micromachining by using a sacrificial layer structure and bulk micromachining by anisotropic etching of a silicon substrate. Using the SEW structure, one can speed up the etching rate and design a larger membrane with a larger active area. Several sensors are fabricated by 1.2 μm industrial CMOS IC technologies combined with subsequent anisotropic front-side etching stops. Three kinds of SEW thermoelectric sensors are reported in this paper, and the characteristics of the sensors are analyzed and measured.
Unified Behavior Framework in an Embedded Robot Controller

Abstract : Recent technological advances produce small, inexpensive, embedded hardware platforms that are powerful enough to match robots from just a few years ago. The Unified Behavior Framework is a flexible, responsive control architecture that has not been applied on embedded systems in robots. This thesis presents a development of the Unified Behavior Framework on the Mini-WHEGSTM, a biologically inspired, embedded robotic platform, which is a small robot that utilize wheel-legs to emulate cockroach walking patterns. Wheel-legs combine wheels and legs for high mobility without the complex control system required for legs. Also included is a color camera and a rotary encoder, enabling the Mini-WHEGSTM to identify color objects and track its position. A hardware abstraction layer designed for the robot in this configuration decouples the control system from the hardware and provides the interface between the software and the hardware. The result is a highly mobile embedded robot system capable of exchanging behavior modules with much larger robots while requiring little or no change to the modules.
“TRAP is legit!” using self-regulated strategy development to teach reading comprehension in a residential treatment facility

ABSTRACT This study investigated the effectiveness of the self-regulated strategy development (SRSD) instructional approach with middle school youth with behavior challenges served in a residential treatment facility. Youth were taught the TRAP (Think before reading, Read a paragraph, Ask what is the main idea/important details, Paraphrase the paragraph; Mason et al.) mnemonic as a means of increasing reading comprehension as measured through oral retell. Using a multiple-probe across participant single case design, a functional relation between the TRAP mnemonic and oral retell scores was observed. Treatment fidelity, social validity, and academic engagement are presented. Implications for practitioners, limitations, and areas for future directions are outlined.
An investigation of effective factors on effort estimation of software projects inside the organization

Management of software projects has become a challenging issue during the last decade. The latest published statistics related to the status of software projects shows a substantial rate of fail, which has raised a critical challenge for project managers. In prior studies, inaccurate effort estimation has been mentioned as the most important reason behind the fail of software projects. The latest published papers in this area reported that the accuracy of existing estimation models are not convincing and the flexibility of models is not enough to be utilized for different types of project. Considering an estimation process (estimation model, materials, techniques and so on) to be used in a wide range of organizations regardless of the capabilities and specifications of organization is the main problem leads the current estimation models towards inaccurate and unreliable estimates. As a solution, each organization must know its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats, capabilities and all aspects related to effort estimation. In other words, the real status of organization in terms of effort estimation must be clarified so that the reasonable decisions can be made to reach an efficient process of effort estimation. This research conducts a survey in which the important aspects of effort estimation including estimation process, limitations, management issues and project attributes are evaluated. Unlike prior survey-based studies conducted in the past, this research focuses on importance of project attributes and management issues. In addition, this research tries to integrate the concepts considered by prior studies separately. Moreover the relationships between the key concepts related to effort estimation are evaluated and discussed. Finally, a form is designed in which the results are efficiently summarized, which clearly depicts the real status of organization if field of effort estimation. This survey is conducted on a sample of 135 developers working in a large software company.
Designing stainless exhaust systems

With the ever-increasing price of automobiles, durability and reduced operating costs have become major concerns in North America, Europe, and Japan. In the US, the exhaust system was once thought of as disposable every 3--4 years, but it is now considered a nonreplaceable item for at least 5--7 years, the average time an initial owner keeps a vehicle. Through the mid-1980s, the only stainless steel on most US car exhausts was the downpipe and catalytic converter, and these were due to government warranty mandates. Today, most US passenger car exhaust systems are almost entirely stainless steel, and with the 1996 model year switch of GM light trucks, the average use of stainless alloys in US vehicles will exceed 23 kg per vehicle. The US experience with stainless has shown that certain design considerations can further increase system life and reduce manufacturing problems. Such considerations may also benefit the European situation, which has seen an increase in the use of stainless alloys in exhaust components since tighter pollution laws began taking effect in 1990.
Evaluation of the SNAPSHOT 3D Head-Related Transfer Functions Measurement System

Abstract : The SNAPSHOT MX is a system designed to collect individualized Head-Related Transfer Functions (HRTFS) quickly and efficiently in non-anechoic rooms. The system, which consists of a signal processing workstation, a speaker stand, and a pair of microphones that are inserted into the ears of the subject, uses Golay codes to measure the time-domain impulse response of the transfer function from the speaker to the in-ear microphones. The impulse responses are then windowed to eliminate the effects of room reverberation and stored in an acoustic head map (AHM) file for rendering with the Convolvotron virtual audio display. This report outlines the SNAPSHOT system and presents the results of a study comparing auditory localization performance with individualized HRTFs measured with the SNAPSHOT to generic HRThs measured with the SNAPSHOT on the Knowles Electronics Manikin for Acoustic Research (KEMAR) and to the genetic SDO transfer functions packaged with the Convolvotron. The results indicate that localization performance is significantly worse with the individualized SNAPSHOT HRThs than with the genetic SDO HRThs.
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Drought stress is a major factor limiting crop yield. Nitric oxide (NO) is an important signal molecule that plays diverse roles in plant growth and defensive responses. However, little is known about the role of NO produced by plants under drought stress. In this study, we investigated the effects of sodium nitroprusside (SNP), an NO donor, on root growth and polyethylene glycol (PEG)-induced drought stress in bananas. Exogenous supply of NO improved root growth. We then applied a gel-based proteomic approach to investigate the root responses of bananas to define the role of NO. Ten proteins from 26 protein spots were identified using mass spectrometry. The majority of these proteins were stress-response and carbohydrate and energy metabolism-related proteins. PEG treatment significantly reduced plant growth. However, the application of SNP significantly alleviated the inhibiting effect of the drought stress in a dose-dependent manner. In contrast, the cPTIO (an NO scavenger) at a concentration equimolar to the SNP reversed the effect, suggesting that the promotive effects may be due to NO itself. These findings suggest that exogenously applied NO can appreciably improve drought tolerance in bananas, affirming its role in this stress-survival mechanism.
Vehicular Networks: From Theory to Practice

In spite of their importance and potential societal impact, there is currently no comprehensive source of information about vehicular ad hoc networks (VANETs). Cohesively integrating the state of the art in this emerging field, Vehicular Networks: From Theory to Practice elucidates many issues involved in vehicular networking, including traffic engineering, human factors studies, and novel computer science research. Divided into six broad sections, the book begins with an overview of traffic engineering issues, such as traffic monitoring and traffic flow modeling. It then introduces governmental and industrial efforts in the United States and Europe to set standards and perform field tests on the feasibility of vehicular networks. After highlighting innovative applications enabled by vehicular networks, the book discusses several networking-related issues, including routing and localization. The following section focuses on simulation, which is currently the primary method for evaluating vehicular networking systems. The final part explores the extent and impact of driver distraction with in-vehicle displays. Encompassing both introductory and advanced concepts, this guide covers the various areas that impact the design of applications for vehicular networks. It details key research challenges, offers guidance on developing future standards, and supplies valuable information on existing experimental studies.
Disclosure, Betas and Information Quality*

We consider managers’ disclosures in an exchange economy where the risk premium of stocks’ expected returns is the product of two factors: the firm-specific beta and the equity premium (the expected return on the market portfolio in excess of the return on risk-free bonds). First, we show how managers’ disclosures affect both the betas and the equity premium. Specifically, we establish that disclosure by one firm’s manager affects the betas of other firms. Second, we find that the information quality of the managers’ disclosures, as measured by the variance of the measurement error, also affects the betas and the equity premium. Finally, while the standard representation of the betas arises in the absence of disclosure as well as under mandatory full disclosure, we establish that this representation does not extend to discretionary disclosure. In its place we provide an appropriate “disclosure adjusted” representation for the betas when disclosure is discretionary. * We would like to thank seminar participants at the Burton, Columbia finance, and NYU/Columbia accounting workshops, at Washington University in St. Louis and at Yale Universities for helpful comments. ** Copenhagen Business School and the University of Illinois at Chicago, respectively.
Russia's Chechen Wars 1994-2000: Lessons from Urban Combat

Abstract : This report provides an analysis of Russian combat in Chechnya beginning with the first modern Chechen war of 1994-1996 and comparing and contrasting it with the ongoing conflict that began in 1999. While the focus is on combat in urban areas, more general aspects of the Chechnya wars are also discussed. The research reported here was initiated with the goal of better understanding what Russia's urban experience in Chechnya indicates both about Russian capabilities and operations specifically and about urban warfare generally, with lessons to be drawn for other states, including, of course, the United States. This effort was undertaken as a component of a project on military operations on urbanized terrain. The project was co-sponsored by the Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army for Research and Technology and the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence, U.S. Army. The project was conducted jointly in the Force Development and Technology Program and the Strategy, Doctrine, and Resources Program of RAND Arroyo Center, a federally funded research and development center sponsored by the United States Army. It should be of interest to policymakers and analysts concerned with the operational aspects of modern urban conflict and to those who seek to better understand the military capabilities, strategy, and tactics of the Russian Federation.