Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The impact of hedge fund indices on portfolio performance

The purpose of this paper is to assessthecombination of investable hedge funds indices with a traditional portfolio of 60% stocks and40% bonds.The S&P 500 Index,the Barclays US Aggregate Bond Index, and threeinvestable hedge fund indices,the MEBI Maximum Sharpe Ratio L1Index, the MEBI Zero Beta Strategy L1Index, and the Eurekahedge ILS Advisers Index, were considered to conduct performance comparison, using time windows of two, five and ten years, from the 1st of January,2006,to the 1st 2of February, 2016. Significant reduction of the beta of the overall portfolio is reached. The findings showed that the investable hedge fund indices under analysis can be used as an easy way to protect a portfolio during different market conditions, diversifying the risks of the traditional investment portfolios.The paper provides evidence of how investable hedge fund indices lead to an improvement in the performance results,when compared with the traditional global equity-bond portfolio alone.
The human capital: education and the green economy

According to the Russia’s Innovative Development Strategy until 2020 (Strategy) [1], one of the main goals of innovative growth of the Russian Economy lays in the advanced studies in the fields of renewable energy and low-carbon economy, genome medicine, and implementation of new technologies in agriculture, the fields in which Russia still faces with sufficient technological backlog. In general, the Strategy and following National Science project [2] approved in 2018 is aimed at Russia’s transition from one of the most energy- and carbon-intensive countries to a sustainable low-carbon economy. Russia needs to attract additional resources in human and knowledge capital in order to eliminate or decrease this technological backlog and to join international scientific community’s efforts in the field of green economy. This paper studies how influencing one of two pillars of the Global Innovation Index (GII), knowledge and technology output pillar, by implementing innovations in Russian higher education affects Russian innovative infrastructure and provides technical and resource baseline in reaching main strategic indicators of innovative development in Russia. This paper proposes a framework for attracting and retaining human resources and creating knowledge capital for transition to a sustainable low-carbon economy on the basis of micro and meso level changes.
Forward and Inverse Dynamics of a Unicycle-Like Mobile Robot

In this research work, a new method for solving forward and inverse dynamic problems of mechanical systems having an underactuated structure and subjected to holonomic and/or nonholonomic constraints is developed. The method devised in this paper is based on the combination of the Udwadia-Kalaba Equations with the Underactuation Equivalence Principle. First, an analytical method based on the Udwadia-Kalaba Equations is employed in the paper for handling dynamic and control problems of nonlinear nonholonomic mechanical systems in the same computational framework. Subsequently, the Underactuation Equivalence Principle is used for extending the capabilities of the Udwadia-Kalaba Equations from fully actuated mechanical systems to underactuated mechanical systems. The Underactuation Equivalence Principle represents an efficient method recently developed in the field of classical mechanics. The Underactuation Equivalence Principle is used in this paper for mathematically formalizing the underactuation property of a mechanical system considering a particular set of nonholonomic algebraic constraints defined at the acceleration level. On the other hand, in this study, the Udwadia-Kalaba Equations are analytically reformulated in a mathematical form suitable for treating inverse dynamic problems. By doing so, the Udwadia-Kalaba Equations are employed in conjunction with the Underactuation Equivalence Principle for developing a nonlinear control method based on an inverse dynamic approach. As shown in detail in this investigation, the proposed method can be used for analytically solving in an explicit manner the forward and inverse dynamic problems of several nonholonomic mechanical systems. In particular, the tracking control of the unicycle-like mobile robot is considered in this investigation as a benchmark example. Numerical experiments on the dynamic model of the unicycle-like mobile robot confirm the effectiveness of the nonlinear dynamic and control approaches developed in this work.
Measurement of the W-boson helicity in top-quark decays from ttˉ production in lepton+jets events in pp collisions at s√= 7 TeV

The W-boson helicity fractions in top-quark decays are measured with TeX events in the lepton+jets final state, using proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 7 TeV, collected in 2011 with the CMS detector at the LHC. The data sample corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 5.0 fb−1. The measured fractions of longitudinal, left-, and right-handed helicity are F 0 = 0.682 ± 0.030 (stat.) ± 0.033 (syst.), F L = 0.310 ± 0.022 (stat.) ± 0.022 (syst.), and F R = 0.008 ± 0.012 (stat.) ± 0.014 (syst.), consistent with the standard model predictions. The measured fractions are used to probe the existence of anomalous Wtb couplings. Exclusion limits on the real components of the anomalous couplings g L , g R are also derived.
Price Momentum and Political Uncertainty

This thesis discusses whether price momentum returns differ in stable times compared to times when there is political uncertainty. First, this thesis investigates whether price momentum returns are still significantly positive. Furthermore, price momentum returns are compared over different years in Belgium, when there was no government active at that time period. The years 2008 up until 2011 are taken into account. I used t-tests to investigate whether the returns of the different years differ from each other. I found that price momentum positive returns still exist, but there is not enough evidence to state that price momentum returns differ significantly during times of uncertainty.
Consumers’ and farmers’ characteristics in short food supply chains: an exploratory analysis

A “farmers’ market” identifies a common area where farmers meet periodically to sell food products which do not need to be processed before consumption. Farmers’ markets have recently experienced steady growth mainly due to increasing demand for traditional foods and rising consumers’ interest towards locally produced food products. It is also the case that they provide transparency along the supply chain and decrease information asymmetries. This study attempts to define the farmers and consumers of farmers’ markets in terms of both their socio-demographic and their attitudinal characteristics. Data gathering was performed carrying out face-to-face interviews with sixty farmers and consumers. The study findings show that the majority of consumers purchasing at farmers’ markets are women, with an average age of 49 and with a high level of education. They attach great value to the availability of fresh and organic products with a good value for money. Farmers, by contrast, are mainly male, with an average age of 45 years, a high school degree and several years of experience in farming. They value more the creation of a direct and durable relationship with consumers in order to convey information about the quality and authenticity of their products. The study offers useful implications to policy makers on how to encourage the creation of farmers’ markets as well as spread the shared value created among farmers and consumers.
Building organizational reputation in the European regulatory state: An analysis of EU agencies' communications

Abstract Organizational‐reputation literature has advanced our understanding about the U.S. regulatory state and its agencies. However, we lack contributions on what a reputational account can add to our knowledge about the European regulatory state, the strategic behavior of supranational agencies, and their endeavors to legitimize themselves in a multilevel political system. We know little of how reputation‐management strategies vary across EU agencies and why. The study offers the very first mapping of organizational‐reputation‐management patterns across all EU agencies, as well as the first empirical assessment on how reputational considerations guide supranational agencies' legitimation strategies. The results indicate that EU agencies facing higher reputational threats revert to their avowed raison d'être (i.e., technical conduct). We find that regulatory agencies utilize a more diverse set of reputational strategies by emphasizing the technical, procedural, and moral reputations more than nonregulatory agencies, whereas social‐policy agencies foster their technical reputation more than economic‐policy agencies.
Developing a Robust Water Strategy for Monterrey, Mexico: Diversification and Adaptation for Coping with Climate, Economic, and Technological Uncertainties

Mexico's third-largest metropolitan area, Monterrey, faces future water security challenges as the region grows. Tecnologico de Monterrey and RAND Corporation researchers used RAND's Robust Decision Making (RDM) framework to organize an analysis of long-term trends and vulnerabilities in water management in Monterrey and to help design a long-term water strategy.
Economics and Apologetics—The Ideology/Utopia of Laissez-Faire and its Discontents

Abstract: This article explores elements of apologetics in conventional economics. It argues that much of the latter is apologetics in the form of the ideology or utopia of laissez-faire, and many of its representatives are apologists of the latter. The article first examines instances of unconditional laissez-faire apologetics and extreme apologists. Then it presents cases of qualified laissez-faire apologetics and moderate apologists. Lastly, it identifies some examples of laissez-faire non- and anti-apologetics and critics expressing discontent with apologetic economics. The article aims to contribute to a fuller understanding of the relationship between economics and social science overall and ideology, politics, and related non-scientific elements.
Enhancing Democratic Accountability in Health and Social Care: The Role of Reform and Performance Information in Health and Wellbeing Boards

The UK government passed the Health and Social Care Act in 2012, and a key element of this legislation was the introduction of Health and Wellbeing Boards (HWBs) in local government. HWBs were argued to have the potential to both improve democratic accountability and give greater autonomy to health and social care leaders to strengthen local health outcomes. This paper explores how members of HWBs construct and discharge accountability for better health outcomes to a local population. We find that there are multiple types of accountability present and that democratic accountability can be complemented by and compete with other types of accountability.
Assessing the Amenity Value of Forest Ecosystem Services: Perspectives from the Use of Sustainable Green Spaces

Due to the fragility of forest ecosystems, developing forest recreational resources must consider sustainable ecological, economic, and social development, and reduce impacts from recreational activities. Diverse forests with different biodiversity could promote forest ecosystem services and resistance to the pressure of tourism development. Under such circumstance, it is important to ensure that the travel and tourism industry develops under the principle of sustainable management and assists ecosystem conservation. Forest ecosystem services (FES) have received increasing attention. Especially, the amenity value provided by FES is beneficial for enhancing human health, and has gained popularity. Huisun National Forest Park (HNFP) has the greatest natural forests in Taiwan, and tourists visit the HNFP for the well-preserved environment, abundance of green space, cleanliness, beautiful scenery, and quietness. This study assessed the amenity value of the Huisun National Forest Park (HNFP) by adopting the payment card method via face-to-face survey data of 223 respondents. The annual amenity value of the HNFP per person is NT$2884 in winter and NT$2905 in summer. The total annual amenity value of the HNFP is NT$473,978,430–474,755,774. The results showed that gender, age, education level, monthly income, place of residence, participation in environmental groups, frequency of visiting the HNFP, and stay period significantly influence willingness to pay (WTP). This study concludes that an ecologically sustainable forest with ecosystem services could provide multiple benefits to different stakeholders.
Exploring customer online reviews for new product development: The case of identifying reinforcers in the cosmetic industry

This study analyzes online customer reviews in order to investigate customers' preferences regarding cosmetic products. Based on the marketing firm theory, this research explores the possibility of enhancing the bilateral contingent relationships between the customer and the marketing firm within the cosmetics domain. Hence, this study applies market‐search concepts by extracting customer reviews and employing text analytics to identify reinforcers and factors in cosmetic products, which customers are expecting, and their sentiments towards them. Our results suggest that some reinforcers are shared among all customers, but some vary among the different customer segments based on their age and skin tone.
Cortical Processing of Speech in Children with Dyslexia.

Objective of the study: The present study evaluated the performance of children with dyslexia in comparison to typically developing children on speech evoked auditory late latency response. Method: A total number of 20 children (40 ears) in the age range of 10-12 years were taken for the study. Out of 20 children, there were 10 typically developing children and 10 children with dyslexia. Results: Multivariate analysis of variance was carried out to compare the latency and amplitude measures of speech evoked auditory late latency response between the groups. Results revealed prolonged latencies of P1, N1, P2, and N2 (p < 0.001) and reduced amplitude of all peaks of speech evoked late latency responses except for wave N1 (p < 0.05) in individuals with dyslexia. Conclusion: Speech evoked auditory late latency response is easily traceable in all children with dyslexia and typically developing children. However, children with dyslexia exhibited prolonged latencies and reduced amplitudes of speech evoked auditory late latency response in the present study. The deviancies appeared in the study may be attributed to the abnormal encoding of speech signal at the cortical level in children with dyslexia.
Remote Surgeon Hand Motion and Occlusion Removal in Mixed Reality in Breast Surgical Telepresence: Rural and Remote Care

Mixed reality in surgical telepresence has not been practically implemented as yet and research done, until now, is only theoretical. Aiming to implement a proposed new solution by merging virtual and augmented realities and bringing about improvements by removing occlusion and the noise caused by hand motions during surgery. The proposed system consists of an extended Camshift algorithm for the detection of the remote expert surgeon’s hand during surgery and enhancement of an image synthesization algorithm to remove the occlusion by including two Red-Green-Blue-Depth (RGBD) cameras. The experimental results from 10 breast samples reduce the average accuracy error of the video frame image overlay from 1.44 mm to 1.28 mm with average processing time enhanced to 76 sec compared to the state-of-the-art method. The proposed system provides a satisfactory outcome in terms of accuracy and operating time, which allows surgeons in local and remote sites to collaborate more effectively.
RETRACTED ARTICLE: Two decades of the Journal of Marketing Channels: Impacting the present and directing the future of marketing channel research

Abstract We, the Publisher of Journal of Marketing Channels, have retracted the following article: Zemanek Jr., J. E. , Taylor, E. C. , Tran, T. P., & Loomis, D. C. (2019). Two decades of the Journal of Marketing Channels: Impacting the present and directing the future of marketing channel research. Journal of Marketing Channels. Advance online publication. doi:10.1080/1046669X.2019. 1647914 This article has been retracted as it was published in error by the publisher whilst still in the peer review process. The authors have been notified of the retraction. We have been informed in our decision-making by our policy on publishing ethics and integrity and the COPE guidelines on retractions. The retracted article will remain online to maintain the scholarly record, but it will be digitally watermarked on each page as “Retracted. ”
An Empirical Study on Postgraduate Education of Business English in China

The development of business English (BE) program cannot separate from that of its closely-related discipline. However, little is known about business English disciplinary development from the angle of postgraduate education in China. Through questionnaires and interviews on 64 postgraduate students of Guangdong University of Foreign Studies (hereinafter referred to as GDUFS), this paper conducts empirical research on and analysis of its postgraduate education from the perspectives of curriculum setting, teacher construction, and tutorial system. The results show that most respondents are content with these dimensions of the postgraduate education of business English, which demonstrates the current postgraduate education in GDUFS is highly recognized and satisfied. It aims to have some implications for the reform and practice of postgraduate education and disciplinary construction in terms of business English in China. This research also discovers some noteworthy problems and put forward some suggestions.
An Artificial Neural Network Representation of the SABR Stochastic Volatility Model

In this article, the Universal Approximation Theorem of Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) is applied to the SABR stochastic volatility model in order to construct highly efficient representations. Initially, the SABR approximation of Hagan et al. [2002] is considered, then a more accurate integration scheme of McGhee [2011] as well as a two factor finite difference scheme. The resulting ANN calculates 10,000 times faster than the finite difference scheme whilst maintaining a high degree of accuracy. As a result, the ANN dispenses with the need for the commonly used SABR Approximation.
Exenatide as a novel treatment for Parkinson's Disease

PD is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that results in intolerable disability for most patients despite the best current medical and surgical therapies. A treatment that slows, or stops clinical progression is the major therapeutic goal of current PD research. Multiple avenues of research including epidemiology, molecular genetics and cell biology have identified links between Parkinson’s disease (PD) and Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Several recent discoveries have highlighted common cellular pathways that potentially relate neurodegenerative processes with abnormal mitochondrial function and abnormal glucose metabolism. In parallel with these advances, a treatment for insulin resistance (Exenatide) has been evaluated as a possible disease modifying drug in PD, which forms the core of my PhD. Exenatide is the synthetic version of Exendin-4, confirmed to be an agonist of the Glucagon-like-peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor, and resistant to the normal GLP-1 enzymatic degradation processes. The aim of this thesis is the evaluation of Exenatide’s possible role as a potential neuroprotective/disease modifying agent in PD (with only preliminary insights regarding its mechanisms of action in neurodegeneration). This study presents the following data: 1. Methods used to obtained proof of concept data from patients with moderate PD treated with Exenatide to provide preliminary support for its further study. 2. An exploration of possible objective measures of differences resulting from Exenatide exposure in a PD biomarker- SPECT imaging, using statistical parametric mapping of a subgroup of patients treated with Exenatide. 3. Prolonged follow up of these patients to further try and help distinguish placebo effects from possible biological effects of Exenatide in PD. 4. An attempt to identify a possible mechanism of action of Exenatide in our cohort of patients. Glucose tolerance tests were performed as an indirect measure of insulin resistance.
Risk versus resilience: an exploratory study of factors influencing the development of posttraumatic stress symptoms in pediatric burn patients

Approved: ____________________________________ Thesis Supervisor ____________________________________ Title and Department ____________________________________ Date ____________________________________ Thesis Supervisor ____________________________________ Title and Department ____________________________________ Date 1 RISK VERSUS RESILIENCE: AN EXPLORATORY STUDY OF FACTORS INFLUENCING THE DEVELOPMENT OF POSTTRAUMATIC STRESS SYMPTOMS IN PEDIATRIC BURN PATIENTS by Sarah Elizabeth Powers A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy degree in Psychological and Quantitative Foundations (School Psychology) in the Graduate College of The University of Iowa
Le Management des connaissances, levier de l’innovation managériale dans les entreprises apprenantes

Ce travail de recherche traite de la relation entre le management des connaissances et les innovations manageriales dans les entreprises apprenantes tunisiennes. A cet effet, l’approche par les connaissances, ancree dans l’approche par les ressources, a ete mobilisee. Quatre dimensions sous-tendent le management des connaissances dans les entreprises apprenantes : les dimensions, strategique, technologique, organisationnelle et identitaire. Plus precisement, nous nous interrogeons sur la maniere dont les entreprises apprenantes integrent le management des connaissances pour ancrer une culture d’innovations manageriales en leur sein.Nous avons realise une recherche qualitative basee sur l’etude de trois cas d’entreprises apprenantes tunisiennes du secteur agroalimentaire. Nos resultats empiriques suggerent que le niveau d’apprenance d’une entreprise est d’autant plus eleve que celle-ci deploie simultanement les quatre dimensions de management des connaissances ce qui est de nature a faciliter la generation/adoption des innovations manageriales.
Fairness matters when responding to disasters: An experimental study of government legitimacy

Governments worldwide are regularly faced with severe weather conditions and disasters caused by natural hazards. Does the way in which governments respond to disasters affect their legitimacy? The current study investigated how evaluations of authorities were influenced by four aspects of a governmental response to a hypothetical disaster. In a survey experiment participants read a scenario in which a government distributed aid in the aftermath of a flooding. Data were collected from the Netherlands, France, Poland, Ukraine, and Russia (N = 2,677). Results showed that the government was seen as more legitimate when it was described as distributing resources fairly, following fair procedures, and providing a material benefit to the participant. However, in contrast to predictions derived from system‐justification theory, results showed that outcome dependence was associated with reduced legitimacy. These findings suggest that response policies that address both instrumental and fairness concerns might help maintain positive evaluations of governments.