Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Essays in statistical arbitrage

This three-paper thesis explores the important relationship between arbitrage and price efficiency. Chapter 3 investigates the risk-bearing capacity of arbitrageurs under varying degrees and types of risk. A novel stochastic process is introduced to the literature that is capable of jointly capturing fundamental risk factors which are absent from extant specifications. Using stochastic optimal control theory, the degree to which arbitrageurs' investment behaviour is affected by aversion to these risks is analytically characterized, as well as conditions under which arbitrageurs cut losses, effectively exacerbating pricing disequilibria. Chapter 4 explores the role of arbitrage in enforcing price parity between cross-listed securities. This work employs an overlooked mechanism by which arbitrage can maintain parity, namely pairs-trading, which is cheaper to implement than the mechanism most commonly employed in the literature on cross-listed securities. This work shows that arbitrage is successful at enforcing parity between cross-listed securities, and also documents the main limits to arbitrage in this market setting. Chapter 5 examines the extent to which arbitrage contributes to the flow of information across markets. It is shown that microscopic lead/lag relationships of the order of a few hundred milliseconds exist across three major international index futures. Importantly, these delays last long enough, and induce pricing anomalies large enough, to compensate arbitrageurs for appropriating pricing disequilibria. These results accord with the view that temporary disequilibria incentivise arbitrageurs to correct pricing anomalies.
How Much Do Firms Hedge with Derivatives?

Previous research offers little large-sample evidence on the magnitude of non-financial firms' risk exposure hedged by financial derivatives. Among 234 large non-financial derivatives users, if the median firm simultaneously experiences a three standard deviation change in interest rates, currency exchange rates, and commodity prices, its entire derivatives portfolio will generate, at most, $15 million in current cash flow and will rise in value by $31 million. These amounts are modest relative to firm size, operating cash flows, investing cash flows and other firm benchmarks. The findings indicate corporate derivatives use is a small piece of non-financial firms' overall risk profile, and suggest the need to rethink some empirical research documenting the economic importance of firms' derivative use.
Identifying Emerging Customer Requirements in an Early Design Stage by Applying Bayes Factor-Based Sequential Analysis

Rapid changes of new technologies, market dynamics, and swift fluctuation of customer tastes acerbate the needs for companies to identifying the emerging customer requirements and incorporate them in the conceptual design stage. Discovering emerging customer needs has great potential to create new product opportunities for the success of business. However, identifying customers' requirements in an early design stage has not been well addressed in the traditional design methodology. Because emerging needs are usually not obvious at the budding stage, the related observations are rare in dataset. Traditional methods fall short of providing enough support of eliciting the below-the-radar needs. This paper reports a new approach to identify emerging customer needs in the growing popular online interactive environment with customer participation. The Bayes factor, a methodology to quantify the occurrence possibility of a certain event, is used to calculate the likelihood that current offering cannot meet the customer's requirements whenever a new specification is incorporated. With the sequential input from customers, a series of the Bayes factor value can then be calculated as the weight of evidence that emerging customer needs appear. We show that the decreased value will be the potentially emerging needs which cannot be satisfied by the current product family. Numerical and analytical results are derived to demonstrate the viability and effectiveness of the proposed approach.
Estimating the Tax Advantage of Corporate Debt

This paper presents estimates of the effective tax value of incremental interest deductions for corporations taking into account that they may not be able to utilize all their interest deductions fully because of either insufficient taxable income or the availability of nondebt tax shields. After describing particular features of the tax code which may drive a wedge between statutory and effective tax rates for debt finance, we present estimates using the Treasury Corporate Tax Model of effective tax rates for a variety of industry groupings. Our estimates suggest that the after-tax cost of debt varies widely across industries. THE MAGNITUDE OF THE effective tax advantage to debt finance has important implications for corporate financial behavior. One issue which has been examined extensively in the corporate finance literature is whether the value of the firm is affected by the firm's leverage ratio. In a recent contribution, DeAngelo and Masulis [3] have shown that financing decisions can affect the value of the firm if the effective tax advantage to debt finance varies among firms or is reduced by the presence of nondebt tax shields such as investment tax credits and depreciation deductions. The effective tax advantage to debt is also an important determinant of leverage-related costs. Gordon and Malkiel [5] have recently used the statutory tax rate to estimate expected bankruptcy costs induced by the corporate tax when the firm is assumed to balance the marginal tax advantage to debt with marginal expected bankruptcy costs. If, however, the effective tax rate for interest deductions falls short of the statutory rate, the magnitude of these costs may be overstated. This paper presents detailed estimates of the marginal effective tax advantage to debt finance. Our estimates, based on data in the Treasury 1978 Corporate Master Statistical File and on simulations done with the Treasury Corporate Tax Model, quantify the impact of increasing interest deductions without changing other items on the corporation's income statement.1 We simulate the impact of a change in a firm's capital structure holding its investment and production decisions constant. This is an appropriate procedure for estimating the marginal
The Dynamics of Political Compromise

We characterize efficient self‐enforcing divisions of political or economic surplus between two parties that interact repeatedly. The party in power can decide the allocation, and the parties' political strength changes according to a Markov process. We find that the share of the party currently in power depends not only on its current strength but also on whether it had previously been even stronger since it last came to power. We find that the constitutional supermajority requirements that attempt to constrain the use of power can counterproductively create less compromise.
Duration of treatment effect after tobramycin solution for inhalation in young children with cystic fibrosis

Among young children with cystic fibrosis (CF), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (Pa) airway infection is associated with increased morbidity and mortality. Early intervention strategies include tobramycin solution for inhalation (TSI), which can eradicate lower airway Pa from cultures obtained at the end of 28 days of treatment in young children.
Ethics in and for Education in the Built Environment

In a thought-provoking article entitled ‘Ethics ‘in’ and ‘for’ Higher Education’, Scott (2004, p. 439) confronts what he identifies as a “conspiracy of silence and/or culture of disinterest with regard to ethical issues in higher education”. In effect, he suggests that the perceived relative absence of debate in relation to the nature of the ethics that underpin academic activities in practice, on the one hand, and the ambiguity of asserting specific normative ambitions for higher education, on the other, can potentially diminish the role that universities exercise in shaping and defending social values. Yet, arguably, in the context of the built environment, where professional standards and ethics obtain, values play a critical role. Perhaps any apparent void in this sphere stems from our individual values being too diverse to make an impact or being whispered rather than shouted loudly. In this editorial, I begin to make the case for a more clamorous articulation of ethics in pedagogical research as a foundation for research integrity in built environment education.
Managerial effectiveness in small enterprises: implications for HRD

The vast majority of indigenous Irish enterprises can be classed as small (less than 50 employees). Latest figures from the census of industrial production indicate a figure of 90 per cent. However the Irish small firm sector is notoriously volatile in that a large percentage of new companies “die” in the first five years. For those that survive there are many barriers to growth. Therefore the potential of our small firm sector in aiding employment creation and economic development is not realised. Studies on life cycle and growth indicate that internal managerial capabilities are a significant factor in constraining growth. This paper details an investigation into a particular aspect of management; HRMs and highlights how managerial behaviour in this respect can affect the success of a small firm. Implications for providers of HRD are also analysed and discussed.
A fully-on-chip wideband low noise amplifier for radio telescope applications

This paper presents the design and implementation of a fully on-chip wideband LNA using 0.25-micron Silicon-on-Sapphire (SOS) technology for the next-generation radio telescope application, the Square Kilometre Array (SKA), which demands ultra low noise and wideband operation. The proposed LNA design employs a cascaded inductive degeneration architecture with intermediate LC architecture, resulting in a broadband input matching. The LNA is optimised for minimum noise figure (NF) by employing an external gate-source capacitor which is perfectly matched with a high quality factor (Q) inductors. After optimisation, the LNA achieved a NF from 0.56dB to 0.67dB over 1.1GHZ-band with a minimum gain of 14.9dB at a 2.5-V power supply.
Coordination of multiple-power tapping from existing HVDC link

DC-link transmission of VSC HVDC system has shown to play a vital role for power tapping to serve distributed loads that are near to the link corridor. However, enormous power tapping if not curtailed could have detrimental effect on the main VSCs operation, control and stability. In this paper, single- and multi- power tapping limit determination together with a supervisory optimal control of the power tapping on the dc link of VSC HVDC system is proposed. The effectiveness of the proposed technique is applied to a case study, demonstrated in Matlab/Simulink program and simulation results presented.
Complementary Shifts of Technology and Development

I show how multiple equilibria or development traps occur in a two sector partial equilibrium model given an externality among intermediate inputs. The final goods sector achieves a higher productivity by adopting more roundabout ways of production. The growing demand by the final goods sector, in turn, induces more and more firms to enter the intermediate goods sector facilitating a wider range of production services to become available. This leads to a circularity or a self-fulfilling mechanism that triggers the economy to take off. The positive externality that arises because of the interaction between the sectors is the key to my model. Although the complementarity of newly arrived technologies effect the degree of the externality the equlibrium path of the economy is determined only by the initial degree of the intermediate input variety. JEL classification: 03
Published Papers, Tacit Competencies and Corporate Management of the Public/Private Character of Knowledge

This paper focuses on the movement of scientific and technological knowledge. It explores companies' reasons for publishing in the scientific and technical literature; reasons that turn on the need to link with other research organizations. The analysis begins by establishing that firms do indeed publish. Such publishing mediates links with other organizations, serving to signal the presence of tacit knowledge and to build the technical reputation necessary to engage in the barter-governed exchange of scientific and technical knowledge. Similar processes are seen in other areas of technical knowledge exchange. Copyright 1995 by Oxford University Press.
Financial integration and parity reversion in real exchange rates of emerging markets

Johansen's cointegration technique was utilized with annual data on exchange rates and GDP deflators to investigate the validity of long-run PPP (power purchasing parity) in emerging markets during the 1955–2005 period. We found support for PPP. Given the globalization of financial markets and their impacts on the macroeconomy, PPP is a useful guide for exchange rate policy reforms.
Low Unemployment and Bad Jobs for New Immigrants in Italy

The article analyses the incorporation of immigrants into the Italian labour market and the difficulties they encounter in accessing both employment and qualified occupations. The analysis is based on the Italian Labour Force Survey and highlights the fact that the great majority of immigrants entering Italy are hardly disadvantaged in comparison to Italians as regards the risk of unemployment, but, in contrast, they are highly disfavoured as regards the socio-professional status of their jobs. Unlike what would happen with the old European immigration, nowadays the segregation of immigrant workers in the lowest ranks of the occupational ladder is not due to their poor education. On the contrary, their disadvantage increases if educational attainment is taken into account. The leading role of low-skilled labour demand and underground economy in shaping immigrants’ integration in the Italian labour market is confirmed by the fact that they have fairly easy access to unskilled and semi-skilled manual jobs, whereas they experience serious difficulties in entering self-employment and in obtaining non-manual jobs.
The Larger They Get: The Changing Size Distributions of Private Human Service Organizations

Although systematic studies on trends in the size distributions of private human service organizations do not exist, most observers assume that the dominant trend parallels that of the U.S. economy’s movement to a higher proportion of smaller organizations. This article investigates this assumption and finds evidence that calls its validity into question. Explanations of the trend to larger organizations are offered, and it is suggested that more attention needs to be given to the repercussions of the presence in the private human services sector of higher numbers of large organizations.
A Model of Rental Housing Choices in the Korean Market

The main purpose of this study is to propose and estimate a model of Korean rental housing choice using hierarchical logit analysis. The study focuses on the examination of how households choose their dwelling units in a complex rental housing market. The decision is viewed as a partial sequence process, beginning with the choice of rental housing tenure and finishing with a decision on the type of occupation. To examine an additional step in the urban spatial structure, hedonic price technique is incorporated into a hierarchical logit model. In addition, the separate effects of permanent and transitory components of measured income are examined through the instrumental variables method based on human capital theory. It is shown that the proposed model provides a potentially more useful method than another model, the multinomial logit, in analysing the Korean rental housing market.
TIPE2 deficiency accelerates neointima formation by downregulating smooth muscle cell differentiation

Phenotypic switching of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) is known to play a key role in the development of atherosclerosis. However, the mechanisms that mediate VSMC phenotypic switching are unclear. We report here that TIPE2, the tumor necrosis factor (TNF) α-induced protein 8-like 2 (TNFAIP8L2), plays an atheroprotective role by regulating phenotypic switching of VSMCs in response to oxidized low-density lipoprotein (ox-LDL) stimuli. TIPE2-deficient VSMCs treated with ox-LDL expressed lower levels of contractile proteins such as SMαA, SM-MHC and calponin, whereas the proliferation, migration and the synthetic capacity for growth factors and cytokines were increased remarkably. Furthermore, TIPE2 inhibited VSMCs proliferation by preventing G1/S phase transition. Interestingly, these effects of TIPE2 on VSMCs were dependent on P38 and ERK1/2 kinase signals. As a result, neointima formation was accelerated in the carotid arteries of TIPE2-deficient mice. These results indicate that TIPE2 is a potential inhibitor of atherosclerosis.
Poverty and the Distribution of Material Hardship

Public concern with poverty derives in large part from the assumption that low income families cannot afford necessities. Yet official poverty statistics focus on measuring income, not on measuring material hardship. Two surveys of Chicago residents measure whether families could afford food, housing and medical care. A family's official income-to-needs ratio explained 24 percent of the variance in the amount of material hardship it reported. Adjustments for family size, age, health, noncash benefits, home ownership, and access to credit explain another 15 percent. Variations in permanent income explain almost none of the remaining variance in hardship. Among families with the same official income-to-needs ratio, material hardship varies by age, family size and composition.
Osteopontin Participates in Th1-Mediated Host Resistance against Nonlethal Malaria Parasite Plasmodium chabaudi chabaudi Infection in Mice

ABSTRACT Osteopontin (OPN) knockout mice (OPN-KO mice) died of Plasmodium chabaudi chabaudi infection, although wild-type (WT) mice had self-limiting infections. OPN was detected in the WT mice at 2 days postinfection. OPN-KO mice produced significantly smaller amounts of interleukin-12 and gamma interferon than WT mice produced. These results suggested that OPN is involved in Th1-mediated immunity against malaria infection.
Neuroimaging parameters in early open spina bifida detection. Further benefit in first trimester screening?

OBJECTIVE Morphological investigation of the central nervous system (CNS) in fetuses with positive markers for open spina bifida (OSB) detection, visualized by ultrasound during the first trimester of pregnancy. MATERIALS AND METHODS Data from fetuses that underwent routine first trimester ultrasound scan in our center during September 2007-March 2011 and presented abnormal aspects of the fourth ventricle, also referred as intracranial translucency (IT), provided the morphological support to evaluate CNS features. A neuro-histological study of posterior cerebral fossa illustrated anatomical features of the structures involved in the sonographic first trimester detection of neural tube defects. RESULTS Abnormal IT aspects were found in OSB cases examined in the first trimester, but also in other severe cerebral abnormalities. Brain stem antero-posterior diameter (BS) and brain stem to occipital bone (BSOB) ratio may be more specific for OSB detection. Correlations between histological aspects of posterior brain fossa and ultrasound standard assessment have been made; highlighting the anatomical features involved by the new techniques developed for OSB early detection. CONCLUSIONS Preliminary results show that modern sonographic protocols are capable to detect abnormalities in the morphometry of the posterior brain. First trimester fourth ventricle abnormalities should be followed by careful CNS evaluation because are likely to appear in OSB affected fetuses, but also in other CNS severe anomalies; in such cases, normal BS and BSOB ratio may serve as indirect argument for spine integrity, if specificity is confirmed in large series of fetuses.
Continuous theta-burst stimulation over the primary somatosensory cortex modulates interhemispheric inhibition

One mechanism thought to mediate hand and upper limb control across motor cortices is called interhemispheric inhibition (IHI). Somatosensory cortices are important in the motor control of the hand, although the neural mechanisms by which somatic loci act are not fully understood. In the present study, we study the possibility that the primary somatosensory cortex (SI) influences IHI as one mechanism to modulate hand control. IHI from the motor cortices was measured before and after continuous theta-burst stimulation (cTBS) was delivered over the left-hemisphere SI. IHI was evoked using paired-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation and measured using electromyography electrodes over the first dorsal interosseous muscles of both hands at short (10 ms) and long (40 ms) intervals to evoke short interval IHI and long interval IHI, respectively. Measures were taken before and for up to 1 h after 600 pulse cTBS was delivered over SI. Results indicate that cTBS over SI increases short interval IHI in the left hand (i.e. ipsilateral to cTBS) for 45–60 min after stimulation. These results indicate that SI is indeed able to modify IHI, and this is therefore one neural mechanism by which SI may influence hand control.
A counter-example in the development of Great Lakes shipping: the case of Kingston Shipping Company Limited

This paper examines the early-twentieth century development of shipping on the Great Lakes in the context of one organisation, Kingston Shipping Company Limited (KSCO). While Great Lakes shipping expanded, and its market base switched from forest products to agricultural and manufactured goods, KSCO proved to be a short-lived and non-profitable entity. An organisational-economics framework is adopted to examine KSCO’s evolution, its strategies and the role of the accounting system. While contributing to our general historical understanding of shipping on the Great Lakes, the research informs methodological debates in accounting history by utilising a theoretical framework to guide the analysis and to draw conclusions. Lastly, the study underscores the role of accounting records in business history research. Accounting records are prepared within a specific organisational context. Their analysis and interpretation provide insights into actions of individual firms. It is at this level that choices and decisions were made in terms of the environmental context.
An Empirical Study on the Relationship Between Ownership Structure and Corporate Performance: from the Perspective of Endophytism

Based on the statistics of Chinese listed companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchange from 2001 to 2004, selecting 900 companies as the study sample which totally contains 3600 observation samples after screening, this paper carries on a deeply analysis on the relationship between ownership structure and corporate performance from the endogenous points of view. The results indicate that the relationship between state-owned shares and corporate performance is significantly Ushaped, however, other variables of ownership structure in the framework of endophytism do not pass the significance test. The formation and constraints of ownership structure are unique in our listed companies. Moreover, there is significant difference in corporate governance compared with both mature capital market and emerging ones. Thus it comes to a conclusion that there is no so-called optimal ownership structure and then ownership structure itself maybe endogenous.