Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Research on Optimal Selection Strategy of Search Engine Keywords Based on Multi-armed Bandit

Search engine marketing provided by search engines enable companies to promote their products to internet users based on their queries is now a major online advertising channel. In most search-based advertising services, advertisers could have dozens of keywords for the same product or service, and in most instances, the reward of each keyword is unknown. Identifying the most profitable keywords becomes challenge for advertisers. In this research, we develop a new model named POKER based on multi-armed bandit problem to help solving this keyword choosing problem, we compare POKER with three currently frequently-used keyword selecting strategies by simulation. It turns out that POKER's aggregate performance overmatches other strategies.
Competitive or Coercive? The Experience of Caribbean Offshore Financial Centres with Global Governance

Abstract This article examines the readiness to be internationally competitive on the part of small vulnerable economies through a consideration of Caribbean offshore financial centres. More specifically, it analyses the space for decision making to enhance the competitiveness of financial service provision permitted by the increased institutionalization of global financial governance. The promulgation of international standards and best practices for the operation of financial services has moved beyond the concerns with global financial stability and supervision (a predominant concern in the late 1990s) to focus on measures against terrorist financing today as states seek to achieve a measure of security through financial surveillance and discipline. Collectively, increased governance produces increased costs for national financial supervisory authorities, which over-extends in particular the capacity and capability of small jurisdictions. To combine these regimes of governance with initiatives to establish an international ‘level playing field’ in financial services produces a competitive environment that privileges the larger developed economies. From this perspective, it is less a matter of competition and more a case of coercion, which then lessens the opportunity to structure an internationally competitive small economy using offshore financial services as one avenue towards economic development. At the same time, the nature of the states system continues to provide a space in which offshore financial centres may compete.
Advancing Performance Measurement: Italian Local Government vis-à-vis the IPSASB Project

Purpose - – The purpose of this paper is to analyse the implementation of performance measurement tools by medium-to-large size Italian Local Governments (ILGs) with the aim of establishing their position in comparison with the content of the International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board’s (IPSASB’s) Consultation Paper (CP) on Reporting Service Performance Information and the points of views of other countries. Design/methodology/approach - – A survey of all ILGs with more than 50,000 inhabitants has been carried out with the objective of evaluating which kind of performance management tools are implemented; moreover, these results are compared with the content of the IPSASB’s CP to evaluate the role of this guide as well as the main differences between the IPSASB’s approach and the current situation in Italy. Findings - – Data collected highlight that several performance measurement tools required by law are generally prepared in ILGs even if a limited use of them for decision-making or accountability purposes occurs. Moreover, in accordance with the opinions of the countries that submitted letters of comment to IPSASB’s CP, Italian results reveal that information on the scope of the service performance information, on the entity’s objectives and their achievement, including a narrative discussion of this achievement, are perceived as relevant. Originality/value - – The research investigates the future development of the CP by analyzing the points of view of the countries that submitted letters of comments to IPSASB. It also examines whether the current Italian situation is in line with the IPSASB’s position.
Product Recall and Liability

This article examines a firm's incentives to recall its product after learning that the product may harm consumers. It discusses whether courts should protect consumers who do not comply with recalls. Under the "no duty to return" rule, the firm bears the same liability no matter whether it has made a recall or not. The firm then may not recall the product as often as socially desired or provide insufficient reimbursement for consumers' return costs. In contrast, the "full duty to return" rule denies the firm's future liabilities after it makes a recall. More consumers then return the product, which may reduce the firm's incentives to recall the product. We show that the "full duty to return" rule may or may not generate more product recalls or higher social welfare. We also discuss the "partial duty to return" rule, which partially reduces the firm's liability after it makes a recall. The Author 2009. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Yale University. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org, Oxford University Press.
Short- and long-run effects of macroeconomic variables on the Spanish agricultural sector

This paper analyses the effect of some relevant macroeconomic variables on Spanish agricultural prices and exports. The approach used is based on the cointegration procedure, making the distinction between short- and long-run effects possible. An eight-variable system in real terms is specified. Long-run analysis indicates that both money income neutrality and agricultural price homogeneity hold. Short-run dynamics has been analysed by specifying a structural vector error correction model. The main results indicate that, in general terms, agricultural variables do not significantly affect macroeconomic variables. In the very short run, farmers will benefit from increases in money and general prices, whereas over longer horizons the agricultural terms of trade will become worse. Copyright 2000, Oxford University Press.
Architectural design exploration for neuromorphic processors with memristive synapses

Due to their nonvolatile nature, excellent scalability and high density, memristive nanodevices provide a promising solution for low-cost on-chip storage. Integrating memristor-based synaptic crossbars into digital neuromorphic processors (DNPs) may facilitate efficient realization of brain inspired computing. This paper investigates architectural design exploration of DNPs with memristive synapses by proposing two synapse readout schemes. The key design tradeoffs involving different analog-to-digital conversions and memory accessing styles are thoroughly investigated.
Crisis económica y financiera, respuestas de política y su impacto sobre las finanzas públicas: una perspectiva global

El empeoramiento de la coyuntura economica y financiera desde el verano de 2007 y, sobre todo, el drastico agravamiento de la situacion a partir de septiembre del ano pasado estan dejando profundas secuelas en las finanzas publicas de las principales economias desarrolladas y, en menor medida, de los paises en vias de desarrollo. El deterioro de las finanzas publicas refleja la intensa reaccion de las politicas economicas, a traves de planes fiscales y medidas de apoyo al sistema financiero, aunque tambien, de modo creciente, la severa caida de la actividad economica y financiera. La respuesta de politica economica no solo ha implicado a las autoridades fiscales, sino tambien a los bancos centrales y a otras entidades publicas —como los fondos de garantias de depositos e instituciones financieras de caracter publico o semipublico—. En el grafico 1 se representa de un modo simplificado el proceso de intensificacion y creciente implicacion de las distintas autoridades para el caso de Estados Unidos, mediante la cuantificacion del apoyo proporcionado por la Reserva Federal y el Tesoro al sistema financiero, asi como de las medidas de estimulo fiscal. Entre el verano de 2007 y marzo de 2008, los efectos de la turbulencia financiera sobre la actividad eran todavia relativamente moderados y su impacto se circunscribia a Estados Unidos y a un numero cada vez mayor de economias desarrolladas. En ese periodo, el apoyo financiero estuvo basado, fundamentalmente, en la ampliacion de la dotacion de liquidez por parte de los bancos centrales y en rescates ocasionales de entidades especificas. Ademas, en Estados Unidos se puso en marcha un primer paquete de estimulo fiscal, en febrero de 2008. A partir de marzo de ese ano (con el rescate de Bearn Stearns), la profundizacion de los problemas financieros llevo a una intensificacion del apoyo, que siguio estando centrado en la provision de liquidez. A mediados de septiembre, sin embargo, se produjo un gran salto cuantitativo y cuali (This abstract was borrowed from another version of this item.)
Post-announcement drift in an emerging market

This research discovers a possible pattern of market response to the degree of interim disclosure. All of the interim reports submitted by non-financial sector listed firms on the Helsinki Exchanges over the period 1985â€“1993 are examined. When a 20-day post-announcement period is clustered in five-day blocks, a possible pattern emerges. That pattern may be characterised as: event, the initial response on the day of the announcement; reaction, the market's response from the first one to three days, depending upon the degree of disclosure; association, the market's response as it gropes for the intrinsic value of the reporting security. The complete market response cycle, consisting of the entire year's information flow, may be characterised chronologically as: anticipation; event; reaction; adjustment; association; transition. The implications are that similar patterns may exist in other emerging markets and even in mature markets. It is expected that the magnitudes and speeds of adjustment will be time and venue specific, but that the elements and sequence of the pattern will be universal. It is further expected that the degree of interim disclosure will exercise some influence over the magnitude and timing of the sequence.
For Richer or Poorer? Marriage as an Anti-Poverty Strategy in the United States

Many conservative politicians in the United States are suggesting that although, as a result of sweeping reforms, states have been successful at moving welfare mothers into paid employment, they have paid too little attention to an integral anti-poverty strategy—encouraging the formation of two-parent families. Comparing the incomes of single mother families to two-parent families, they argue that marriage would reduce poverty. Using data from the Fragile Families and Child Well-being Study, we show that comparing married and single parent families results in substantial overstatement of the economic gains to marriage. We demonstrate that unmarried mothers and their partners are vastly different from married parents when it comes to age, education, health status and behaviour, employment, and wage rates. These differences translate into important differences in earnings capacities, which, in turn, translate into differences in poverty. Even assuming the same family structure and labour supply, our estimates suggest that much of the difference in poverty outcomes by family structure can be attributed to factors other than marital status. Our results also suggest that full employment is essential to lifting poor families—married or otherwise—out of poverty.
Inhibition of Ligand-independent ERK1/2 Activity in Kidney Proximal Tubular Cells Deprived of Soluble Survival Factors Up-regulates Akt and Prevents Apoptosis*

Mouse kidney proximal tubular epithelial (MK-PT) cells die by apoptosis over 7–10 days when deprived of all survival factors. We show here that withdrawal of all survival factors from MK-PT cells is associated with a progressive increase in the activity of extracellular signal-regulated kinase-1 and -2 (ERK1/2) and a progressive decrease in phosphorylated Akt, a kinase critical to cell survival. Pharmacological inhibition of MEK1/2, the immediate upstream kinase for ERK1/2, not only prevented the decrease in phosphorylated Akt, but also prolonged MK-PT cell survival. Inhibition of ERK1/2, by itself, in the absence of any other known survival factors, was as potent as epidermal growth factor in maintaining MK-PT cell viability. ERK1/2 co-immunoprecipitated with Akt in a multimolecular assembly of signaling molecules, containing at a minimum ERK1/2, Akt, Rsk, and 3-phosphoinositide dependent kinase 1 (PDK1). We hypothesize that the kinase Rsk, whose activation requires phosphorylation by both ERK1/2 and PDK1, acts as a bridge bringing ERK1/2 into proximity with PDK1-associated Akt. Although a number of interactions between the Raf-MEK-ERK and PI3K-Akt signaling pathways have been described, our results are the first to show modulation of Akt activity by signaling events originating with ERK1/2. Spontaneous activation of ERK1/2 occurs via MEK1/2 and appears to depend on oxidant stress, accompanying induction of the default pathway of apoptosis. Together, these data suggest that the spontaneous activation of ERK1/2, in the absence of known extracellular stimuli, represents a previously unrecognized major regulatory pathway determining the fate of cells destined to die by the default pathway of apoptosis.
Cultural resistance and the gradual emergence of modern marketing and retailing practices in Spain, 1950–1975

The backwardness and autarky of early Francoism explain why Spain failed to enter the age of mass consumption before the late 1960s. The modernization of commercial practices lagged behind the rapid growth in income per capita. This article examines the different ways in which modern marketing methods were introduced in Spain during the 1950s and the 1960s. It demonstrates that marketing as both concept and practice faced fierce cultural resistance, manifest in the derided image of the salesman and an enduring distrust of advertising.
The Disappearing Openness-Inflation Relationship: A Cross-Country Analysis of Inflation Rates

The robust negative correlation between openness and inflation found in cross-country data for the 1970s and 1980s has disappeared in the 1990s. There is now a strong negative correlation of inflation with per capita GDP, as higher-income countries have achieved significant disinflation not emulated by lower-income countries. Since 1973, the most consistent finding is that floating exchange rate regimes are associated with inflation rates at least 10 percent a year higher than pegged exchange rate regimes, after allowing for other factors. There is also a consistent positive correlation between land area and inflation.
Maternal Stress During Pregnancy and Allergic Diseases in Children During the First Year of Life

BACKGROUND: Many recent studies indicate that prenatal maternal distress increases the risk of allergic diseases in children. The mechanisms that favor it are still unclear. OBJECTIVES: We aimed to assess the association between exposure to different kinds of prenatal stress and the occurrence of atopic dermatitis, food allergy, wheezing, and recurrent respiratory tract infections in children. METHODS: The study population consisted of 370 mother–child pairs from a Polish Mother and Child Cohort (REPRO_PL). The analysis was restricted to the women who worked at least one month during the pregnancy period. Maternal psychological stress during pregnancy was assessed based on the Subjective Work Characteristics Questionnaire, the Perceived Stress Scale, and the Social Readjustment Rating Scale. The presence of atopic dermatitis, food allergy, wheezing, and recurrent respiratory tract infections in children was evaluated by doctors at 12 months of age. RESULTS: In a univariate model, we showed significant association between maternal life stress (according to the Perceived Stress Scale) and stressful life events (according to the Social Readjustment Rating Scale) and infant wheezing (at least 1 episode of wheezing during the first year of life). A multivariate model of logistic regression analysis revealed that maternal stress during pregnancy, described by the Social Readjustment Rating Scale, increased the risk of wheezing in children (OR 1.09, 95% CI 1.01–1.02) independently from other predictors of wheezing previously determined in this cohort, such as the number of infections and maternal smoking. We observed also significant positive association between maternal life stress during pregnancy measured by the Perceived Stress Scale and the risk of recurrent respiratory tract infections in the first year of life, however it was not significant after adjustment for confounding variables. CONCLUSIONS: Maternal stress during pregnancy increases the risk of childhood wheezing. The effects of stress during pregnancy on the onset of allergic diseases in children should be developed and translated into early prevention strategies.
Efficient Public-Private Capital Structures

This paper presents a rationale for hybrid public-private capital structures in public utilities. The public sector can borrow money cheaper, while private investors can spawn life-cycle cost savings. When investment vehicles enable the internalization of the financial advantage of the public sector and the managerial advantage of the private sector, a Pareto-efficient capital structure is achieved with both the public and private parties as shareholders. I show how different knowledge transfer schemes determine the optimal shareholding structure for the utility company.
High-level transcription from the adenovirus major late promoter requires downstream binding sites for late-phase-specific factors

The adenovirus major late promoter (MLP) is active during both the early and late phases of infection. During the early phase the activity of the MLP is similar to those of the other early viral promoters, but during the late phase the rate of transcription from the MLP becomes much greater by comparison. We report here that sequence-specific binding proteins are induced during the late phase which interact with three regions in the first intron of the MLP transcription unit from positions +37 to +68, +80 to +105, and +105 to +125 relative to the transcription initiation site. To measure the significance of these binding sites for transcription during the late phase, we constructed MLP-beta-globin fusions and substituted them for early region 3 in adenovirus recombinants. Deletion of the binding sites caused significant reductions in the rate of transcription, specifically during the late phase of infection. Deletion of all three sites reduced the rate of transcription 25- to 50-fold and the accumulation of cytoplasmic MLP-beta-globin RNA 200-fold. These results indicate that the high rate of transcription from the MLP during the late phase of infection results from the interaction of virus-induced transcription factors with three binding sites in the first intron of the major late transcription unit.
The Factor Structure of Tourist Satisfaction at Sun and Sand Destinations

Using European tourists to sun and sand destinations, this article analyzes the factor structure of tourist satisfaction. The factors that define tourist services can be classified into three types: those factors that increase tourist satisfaction, those that only prevent the tourist from feeling dissatisfied, and those factors that can work both ways. Placing attributes of the sun and sand product on the proposed three groups should allow destinations to identify key drivers of satisfaction. To do this, two methods have been used: the importance grid and the penalty—reward analysis. The penalty—reward analysis appears to be more appropriate, allowing for the identification of the three-factor structure.
Ecosystem Externalities in Fisheries

ABSTRACT The economics literature on fisheries has focused primarily on stock externalities and, to a lesser degree, on crowding externalities. Yet for many fisheries, harvesting activities may affect the underlying biological productivity of the fish stock by impacting the forage or habitat quantity or quality. We refer to this as an “ecosystem externality. ” Ecosystem externalities may be positive as well as negative. While fishing may damage habitat in ways that reduce productivity, in some cases it may increase food availability and thereby increase productivity of the target species of a fishery. Extending the model of Smith (1968), we use three equations to characterize dynamics of a resource stock, profit-maximizing individual behavior, and vessel entry/exit. We use this simple model to show how ecosystem externalities, in conjunction with stock externalities and crowding externalities, affect system dynamics, open-access equilibria, and optimal fishery regulation implemented through a tax. JEL Code: Q22, Q57.
Beyond the unemployment rate: labour underutilisation and underemployment in Australia and the USA

In this paper, William Mitchell and Ellen Carlson outline the distinction between underutilisation and underemployment and discuss the limitations of the official unemployment rate as a measure of these sources of resource inefficiency. They then compute a range of measures for Australia based on the BLS seven indicators, which are designed to provide better indication of labour slack. The authors extend the BLS concepts to take into account data variations in Australia compared to the USA. The measures provide a better indication of the extent to which existing and potential labour resources are being under-utilised and therefore, arguably, give a more accurate indication of the degree of tightness in the labour market.
Structure and Function of Basement Membranes

Basement membranes (BMs) are present in every tissue of the human body. All epithelium and endothelium is in direct association with BMs. BMs are a composite of several large glycoproteins and form an organized scaffold to provide structural support to the tissue and also offer functional input to modulate cellular function. While collagen I is the most abundant protein in the human body, type IV collagen is the most abundant protein in BMs. Matrigel is commonly used as surrogate for BMs in many experiments, but this is a tumor-derived BM–like material and does not contain all of the components that natural BMs possess. The structure of BMs and their functional role in tissues are unique and unlike any other class of proteins in the human body. Increasing evidence suggests that BMs are unique signal input devices that likely fine tune cellular function. Additionally, the resulting endothelial and epithelial heterogeneity in human body is a direct contribution of cell-matrix interaction facilitated by the diverse compositions of BMs.