Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
ESPECULADORES EN EL MERCADO DEL COBRE

In the last few years, we have observed a significant boot in copper prices which has been accompanied with a larger share of speculators. In fact, long positions of speculators increased from 25% in 2002 to 47% in 2005. In this work, we build a comprehensive weekly database with positions of non-commercials agents in the copper futures market for the period 1992 -2006, to analyze its association with the level and volatility of copper prices. Our results show that speculators do not have permanent effects on the level of prices, although they may play a significant role in short- term price variations. Once we explore the role in the amplitude of price fluctuations, we find a positive but no significant effect of these agents in the volatility. Based on the results, it is advisably to follow the positions of speculators to improve the understanding of short-term variations in copper and other commodity prices. // En el periodo reciente el precio del cobre ha mostrado una marcada tendencia alcista y una alta volatilidad, que han estado acompanadas por un incremento en la participacion de agentes no comerciales o especuladores. Las compras de estos agentes pasaron de representar cerca de 25% del total de operaciones del mercado de futuros de cobre en el 2002 a 47% el 2005. En este articulo se analiza una extensa base de datos de frecuencia semanal de las posiciones de agentes no comerciales en el mercado de derivados de cobre durante el periodo 1992-2006. Los resultados senalan nulos efectos permanentes de las posiciones en las variaciones de corto plazo experimentadas por el mismo metal. Asimismo, se encuentran efectos positivos pero marginalmente no significativos en la volatilidad del precio. Basado en estos resultados es aconsejable continuar un seguimiento en las posiciiones de especuladores para entender las variaciones de corto plazo en el precio del cobre y de otros productos basicos.
Knowledge Levels and Perceived Effect of Ecosystem Services and Valuation on Extension Delivery in North West Province, South Africa

A simple random sampling technique was used to select 100 extension officers in North West Province, South Africa. Data on knowledge levels and perceived effect of ecosystem services and valuation on extension delivery were collected and analyzed using percentages. The results show that a wide range of knowledge levels exists on ecosystem services and valuation issues and that extension services should change from a generalist approach to a specialist approach; “extension messages should incorporate ecosystems service information”; extension agents would benefit from “increase[s] in extension research skill” and “use of multimedia strategy”; users require new skills; “extension officers need.new training” and “extension messages should address vulnerability of ecosystem services” in response to ecosystem services and valuation issues. The results have several implications for training and educating extension officers in the areas of ecosystem services used for tourism, hedonic pricing, and governance of ecosystem services.
Long-Term Clearance Kinetics of Inhaled Ultrafine Insoluble Iridium Particles from the Rat Lung, Including Transient Translocation into Secondary Organs

Recently it was speculated that ultrafine particles (UFP) may translocate from deposition sites in the lungs to systemic circulation and whether long-term clearance differs between ultrafine and micrometer-sized particles. We have studied lung retention and clearance kinetics in 12 healthy male adult WKY rats up to 6 mo after an inhalation of 192Ir-radiolabeled, insoluble, ultrafine 15- to 20-nm iridium particles. Whole-body retention was followed by external gamma counting, and particle clearance kinetics were determined by excretion radioanalysis. Four rats each were sacrificed after 3 wk and 2 and 6 mo; all organs as well as tissues and the carcass were radioanalyzed to balance the entire deposited radioactivity of the particles. The most prominant fraction was retained in the lungs at each time point of sacrifice (26%, 15%, 6%, respectively), and clearance out of the body was solely via excretion. Extrapulmonary particle uptake did not continue to increase but decreased with time in liver, spleen, heart, and brain when compared to previous data obtained during the first 7 days after inhalation (Kreyling et al., 2002). UFP long-term lung retention derived from whole-body measurements was comparable to previously reported data using insoluble micrometer-sized particles (Bellmann et al., 1994; Lehnert et al., 1989). In addition, differential analysis including daily excretion data revealed a pattern of fractional particle clearance rate of the ultrafine iridium particles similar to that of micrometer-sized particles reported by Snipes et al. (1983) and Bailey et al. (1985).
The Influence of House Primary Election Divisiveness on General Election Margins, 1962-76

ROBERT LAFOLLETTE, principal champion of Wisconsin's pioneering direct primary law, was not. disturbed by the argument that closely contested primary battles would fractionalize political parties and impair their chances for victory in the fall election. On the contrary, it was his view that once allowed to participate directly in the nominating process, voters would be more likely to stick by their party's nominee:
Are There Oil Currencies? The Real Exchange Rate of Oil Exporting Countries

This paper investigates whether the real oil price has an impact on the real exchange rates of three main oil-exporting countries: Norway, Russia and Saudi Arabia. We create our measure of the real effective exchange rates for Norway and Saudi Arabia (1980-2006) and for Russia (1995-2006), testing if real oil prices and productivity differentials against 15 OECD countries influence exchange rates. In the case of Russia it is possible to establish a positive long-run relationship between the real oil price and the real exchange rate. However, we find virtually no impact of the real oil price on the real exchange rates of Norway and Saudi Arabia. The diverse exchange rate regimes cannot help in explaining the different empirical results on the impact of oil prices across countries, which instead may be due to other policy responses, namely the accumulation of net foreign assets and their sterilisation, and specific institutional characteristics. JEL Classification: F31, C22
Success in African social development: Some positive indications

Negativism pervades the general perception of development efforts. The view of those efforts in Africa labels them as the nadir.2 Yet a retrospective consideration will show that this perception is wrong, particularly if non-economic development is considered. Africa has made social development progress on a wide variety of fronts. Much of the credit can be attributed to self-generated advances, although development assistance has often played a positive role. An oft-repeated synopsis of African development is that 'the facts are grim: in material terms, the average African is poorer today than at independence',3 or that Africa 'has become a continent-sized beggar, hopelessly dependent on the largesse of outsiders'. 4 In purely economic terms, these are defendable statements. The Gross National Product (GNP) per capita has fallen 1% annually in the last two decades averaged across sub-Saharan African countries. This general economic failure comes in the face of massive structural adjustment reforms that have been forced upon African governments, giving credence to the argument that the reforms are ill-conceived in the African context. One major criticism of the structural adjustment dogma is that it is context-free, and therefore generically insensitive to the distinctiveness of African life. Media attention to Africa paints a generally negative picture since it largely focuses on disease, conflict and famine. A further additive to the perception of African development failure is the catalogue of disasters that befell specific development projects. From the old days of the Groundnut Scheme in Tanganyika,6 to the more recent debacles of the fishless Lake Turkana Fish Plant (a Norwegian Aid Agency blunder) or the new and awkward Nigerian capital of Abuja large-scale externally funded development projects have had a pathetic history in Africa. Yet these large, capital-intensive showcase development efforts are only part of the development assistance that occurs, and other efforts have been more beneficial. People do not live (and thrive) by GNP and development projects alone. Even setting aside the measurement problems involved in GNP calculation, one could argue that, in fact, aggregate economic indicators may mean less to the average African than they do to other global citizens. The average African rarely shares in the fruits of rising national incomes, often fuelled by export crop earnings.
Erratum to “A 10-Year Longitudinal Investigation of Strategy, Systems, and Environment on Innovation in Family Firms”

This article studies innovation in family firms ,fi lling in some gaps in existent literature. The research addresses the idea of shifting leadership, different mechanisms of facilitating communication, and the importance to the firm of technical progress, linking each to innovation. Shifting leadership is addressed through the longitudinal design. Communication mechanisms are monitored through two constructs: scope of information and timeliness of information. Technical progress is included in an environmental uncertainty factor technoeconomic uncertainty. The findings suggest that linkages between established family firms and innovation may be substantially stronger than currently assumed by many.
Estimating Circuit Fault-Tolerance by Means of Transient-Fault Injection in VHDL

We present a new approach to estimate the reliability of complex circuits used in harmful radiation environments. This goal can be attained in an early stage of the design process. Usually, this step is performed in laboratory, by means of radiation facilities (particle accelerators). In our case, we estimate the expected tolerance of the complex circuit with respect to SEU during the VHDL specification step. By doing so, the early-estimated reliability level is used to balance the design process into a trade-off between maximum area overhead due to the insertion of redundancy and the minimum reliability required for a given application. This approach is being automated through the development of a CAD tool.
Developing New Forms of Partnership With the `Market¿ in the Procurement of Public Services

This article provides a conceptual framework for understanding the key differences between newly emerging ‘market’ relationships and more traditional forms of procurement by public sector organizations. It highlights how multiple relationships between service clients in the public sector and other stakeholders mean that service clients may often co-produce welfare changes in their communities in ways which professional and commercial providers cannot easily control and may not fully understand. It highlights the very different nature of collaborations which affect single commissioners and contractors (relational contracting), multiple commissioning bodies with a unified procurement policy (partnership procurement) and multiple commissioning bodies with diverse procurement policies empowered by a single purchasing body (distributed commissioning). The article suggests that traditional conceptions of the ‘market’ and of ‘market management’ are now outdated and need to be revised to take into account the potential of collaborative relationships between multiple stakeholders in the public domain.
Le statut changeant de la corrélation en économétrie (1910-1944)

[eng] We study how the concept and measurement of correlation has been transformed as econometrics methodology was introduced. They were first imported from British biometrics studied at the turn of the century, then played a major part in the building of the economic barometers in the twenties, until they were abandonned in the forties, to be partly replaced by the theory of hypothesis testing in the Cowles Commission structural approach. We emphasize the fact that econometricians have to adapt correlation measurement to the economics objects and topics, and stress the fact that they do not have the same approach to the meanings and usages of correlation. [fre] Nous suivons les avatars d'un concept - la correlation - et d'un outil - le coefficient de correlation lineaire - dans les differentes etapes de la mise en place de la methode econometrique, depuis leur importation a partir des travaux de la biometrie anglaise dans les premieres annees du siecle, jusqu'a leur abandon au profit de la theorie des tests dans l'approche structurelle de la Cowles Commission des annees 1940, en passant par la periode des barometres economiques qui leur donna un role essentiel. Et nous montrons a la fois le travail des econometres pour adapter la mesure de correlation aux objets et aux questions de l'economie, et la diversite des interpretations et des usages qu'ils lui ont attribuee.
2008 Lawrence R. Klein Lecture - Comparative Economic Development: Insights from Unified Growth Theory

This paper explores the implications of Unified Growth Theory for the origins of existing differences in income per capita across countries. The theory sheds light on three fundamental layers of comparative development. It identifies the factors that have governed the pace of the transition from stagnation to growth and have thus contributed to contemporary variation in economic development. It uncovers the forces that have sparked the emergence of multiple growth regimes and convergence clubs, and it underlines the persistent effects that variations in pre-historical biogeographical conditions have generated on the composition of human capital and economic development across the globe.
DESIGNING EFFECTIVE TRANSITIONS FOR NEW CORRECTIONAL LEADERS

Leadership transitions in corrections pose both risks and opportunities. A four phase model of the transition process is presented which identifies key issues of each phase. Two directions for action are recommended. First, a structured support network of correctional leaders across state lines can be strengthened to share experiences and advice. Second, internal strategies are offered that help a new commissioner join with the department both to build effective working relationships and to identify the major challenges to the organization. Copyright 1982 by The Policy Studies Organization.
Costs of Control: The Source of Economic Rents for McDonald's Franchisees

The main purpose of this article is to establish empirically, using financial data, that there are both ex ante and ex post rents left downstream at McDonald's. We find that the present value of the ex ante rents is around $300K-$455K 1982 dollars. Ex post rents are, of course, even larger. We argue that the ex post rents represent an incentive mechanism that complements the use of profit-sharing rights at McDonald's. We also argue that ex ante rents arise here because franchisees' wealth constraints prevent the up-front extraction of the full present value of the ex post rents. Finally, we note that McDonald's desire for a particular type of individual to operate its franchises--namely, owner-operators whose livelihoods are tied to the success of their outlets--increases the likelihood that downstream operators face liquidity constraints. This in turn contributes to the need for McDonald's to leave ex ante rents downstream.
In Planta Production of Indole-3-Acetic Acid by Colletotrichum gloeosporioides f. sp. aeschynomene

ABSTRACT The plant pathogenic fungus Colletotrichum gloeosporioides f. sp. aeschynomene utilizes external tryptophan to produce indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) through the intermediate indole-3-acetamide (IAM). We studied the effects of tryptophan, IAA, and IAM on IAA biosynthesis in fungal axenic cultures and on in planta IAA production by the fungus. IAA biosynthesis was strictly dependent on external tryptophan and was enhanced by tryptophan and IAM. The fungus produced IAM and IAA in planta during the biotrophic and necrotrophic phases of infection. The amounts of IAA produced per fungal biomass were highest during the biotrophic phase. IAA production by this plant pathogen might be important during early stages of plant colonization.
The Destination Promotion Triad: Understanding Asymmetric Stakeholder Interdependencies Among the City, Hotels, and DMO

At the heart of urban tourism promotion lies a triad of powerful players—the city, the hotels, and the destination marketing/management organization (DMO). This article explores the relationships between the DMO, charged with crafting and executing destination promotion, and its two most powerful stakeholders—the city (or urban government) and hotels (or accommodation sector). Empirical insights are derived from an examination of three major North American city destinations. In each setting, in-depth key informant interviews were conducted with leaders of each member of the triad (the city, the hotels, and the DMO). The triad is found to be asymmetrical with each member bringing a unique and complementary resource. The extent to which members of the triad can effectively relate to one another and combine their complementary resources is posited to be an important determinant of success in destination promotion.
Global Current Account Imbalances and Exchange Rate Adjustments

We develop a three-region economic model to assess how a significant reduction in global current account imbalances might impact dollar, euro, and Asian real exchange rates under alternative scenarios. Sizable exchange rate shifts appear to be a necessary corollary of adjustment even under otherwise relatively benign scenarios where appropriate policy actions are taken (for example, to raise U.S. national saving or to make Asian exchange rates more flexible). Our baseline estimate suggests that a halving of the U.S. current account deficit would entail nearly a 20 percent appreciation of Asian real exchange rates versus the dollar and a slightly smaller rise in European currencies. Although an adverse scenario is not the most likely outcome, the risks appear to be significantly higher than they were five years ago.
Motivations and support for single nested scoping in Ravenscar-Java

This paper presents an alternative approach to memory management in the Ravenscar-Java profile, a high integrity subset of Java and the real-time specification for Java (RTSJ). The profile was engineered for maximum predictability and reliability, which means that any features that incur run-time overheads and difficulties in analysis are cast out. This has led to a memory management model that is not subject to the unpredictable garbage collection mechanism of Java, and allows only one scoped memory area per thread. Each time an application thread is released, it enters its memory area created in the initialization phase. However, this model is limited in a sense that the size of each memory area must be the maximum a thread will use in each release because the size cannot be modified during the execution. This value is the worst case and pessimistic since such areas cannot be reclaimed and reused. We raise some concerns with Ravenscar-Java in terms of memory usage, resulting in motivations for an alternative approach. Our proposed memory allocation scheme, the single nested scoping approach, allows dynamic yet predictable allocations of memory in each release. It is also safe in a sense that memory areas cannot be shared between application threads, and the single-parent rule of the RTSJ is no longer required. A realistic example is provided at the end as a means of illustrating the use of the single nested scoping approach
Evaluating multidimensional prices

The price at which a product is offered often does not consist of a single item of information, for example VW Golf, price; DM25,476. Instead, a multidimensional pricing system is used, e.g. the price comprises a down payment, monthly installments and a repayment period in months. Despite the considerable significance of offers of this type for marketing policy, no information is presently available to describe how a consumer integrates the individual price dimensions (e.g. down payment, monthly installments and number of repayment periods) to form a global judgment. This article derives hypotheses to explain the formation of a price judgment about multidimensional prices. Then, an empirical study designed to verify the formulated hypotheses is described. Finally, this article discusses the implications of the results of the study.
Anterior Cervical Plating Enhances Arthrodesis after Discectomy and Fusion with Cortical Allograft

OBJECTIVE Anterior plate fixation has gained widespread acceptance for the treatment of cervical spondylosis, theoretically enhancing the rate of arthrodesis. There are few studies comparing fusion rates after anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) with and without a plate. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of anterior cervical plating for fusion enhancement after one- and two-level ACDF with cortical allograft. METHODS A retrospective review was performed with 251 patients who underwent one- or two-level ACDF with cortical allograft and plate stabilization between 1993 and 1999. An independent surgeon reviewer determined fusion status and complications. A successful fusion was defined by the absence of lucency around the graft, evidence of bridging bone between the endplate and the graft, and the absence of movement on dynamic imaging scans. Follow-up data, ranging from 9 months to 3.6 years, were available for 233 patients. A control group of 289 patients who underwent ACDF without plating was described in a previously published report by the senior author (RWH). Therefore, a total of 540 patients were evaluated for determination of the efficacy of anterior cervical plating with cortical allograft bone. Statistical significance was determined by &khgr;2 test. RESULTS The fusion rates for one- and two-level ACDF with anterior fixation were 96 and 91%, respectively, compared with 90 and 72% for one- and two-level ACDF without anterior fixation. The observed increases in fusion rates for both one- and two-level procedures proved to be statistically significant (P < 0.05). There were no recorded infectious, neurological, or graft-related complications among the cohort treated with anterior cervical plating. Compared with the results for the cohort treated without anterior cervical plates, there was a statistically significant decrease in the graft-related complication rate with the application of plates (P < 0.001). Two patients who received plates were noted to have adjacent-segment degenerative changes that required surgical intervention. No hardware fractures were noted; however, one patient was noted to have a single displaced screw, without clinical consequences. CONCLUSION The use of anterior cervical plating after one- and two-level ACDF with allograft cortical bone significantly enhanced arthrodesis. The improved fusion rate and negligible complication rate associated with anterior cervical plating are compelling factors justifying its use in the treatment of cervical spondylosis.