Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Decolonization : the Role of Changing World Factor

European colonialism had two key economic aspects: the extraction of colonial wealth by colonizers, and the relevance of trade for colonial economies. I build a simple model of colonialism which puts these two elements at centre stage. By controlling policy in the colony, the colonizer can appropriate part of her wealth; the colony, however, can stage a successful revolution at a stochastic cost. I assume there is some exogenous, non-contractible policy gain from independence, so that the colonizer is forced to concede it when the cost of revolution is low. I incorporate this mechanism in a three-country, HeckscherOhlin model where countries (the colonizer, the colony and a third independent country) can decide whether to trade with each other, and the colonizer can threaten to stop trading with the colony if she rebels. Thus, the attractiveness of revolution and the sustainability of colonial power come to depend on the capacity of the colony to access international markets against the will of the colonizer which, in turn, depends on the distribution of world factor endowments. I present historical evidence in support of my theory. My results have important implications for the debate on the economic legacy of colonialism. JEL Codes: D74, H77, F13, 019
Improvement of TRANSFAC matrices using multiple local alignment of transcription factor binding site sequences

This paper describes a novel approach to constructing position-specific weight matrices (PWM) based on the transcription factor binding site (TFBS) data provide by the TRANSFAC database, and the comparison of the thus generated PWMs with the original TRANSFAC matrices. Multiple local sequence alignment was performed on the TFBSs of each transcription factor. Several different alignment programs were tested and their matrices were compared to the original TRANSFAC matrices. One of the alignment programs, GLAM, produced comparable matrices in terms of the average ranking of true positive sites across the whole test set of sequences.
Center for Economic Institutions Working Paper Series

Using a comprehensive sample of equity-linked private securities offerings by Korean firms from 1989 to 2000, we examine whether such offerings can be used as a mechanism for wealth transfer between issuers and acquirers. For deals involving issuers and acquirers in the same business group (chaebol), the announcement returns for chaebol-affiliated issuers with good past performance are lower than those for other types of issuers if the price discount is larger. In contrast, this deal leads to more value creation for chaebol-affiliated acquirers than other types of acquirers. Furthermore, well-performing chaebol-affiliated acquirers experience a larger wealth loss than other types of acquirers if they buy securities from poorly performing issuers in the same chaebol. We also find that chaebol firms with good past performance tend to sell private securities at a low price to their member firms. This evidence is consistent with tunneling within business groups.
Foreign Direct Investment Under R&D Competition

We consider the preferences of a foreign firm and a welfare maximizing host country government for foreign direct investment through direct entry and acquisition in presence of innovation by the firms. We find that relatively superior technology is always used under acquisition. Though profits are higher under acquisition, consumers are better off under direct entry, which creates a tension on the host country welfare. The host country welfare is higher under acquisition if the bargaining power of the foreign firm and the slope of the marginal cost of R&D are sufficiently low. Otherwise, the host country welfare is higher under direct entry.
Determinants of Institutional Quality in Sub-Saharan African Countries

In this study, a number of factors have been considered as potential determinants of institutional quality in Sub- Saharan African countries. The empirical analysis has shown that historical factors such as state legitimacy determine the quality of current institutions in the region. Foreign aid dependence is found to erode quality of governance as measured by rule of law. Variability of aid is found to counterbalance the destructive nature of high level of aid dependence. However, the last result is not retained in the robust regression analysis performed. Countries with strong political constraints on the ruling elites, proxied by checks and balances between executive and legislative branches of governments, and press freedom, are found to have better quality of institutions. Large countries and those closer to equator are disadvantaged in their success of building better quality institutions. Unlike the popular discussions, ethnic fractionalization and identity of last coloniser do not explain variations in institutional quality in the region. The paper also devotes a section for a case study of Ethiopian institutional development to complement the cross country analysis by adding cultural, historical and political specificities.
2 A BSTRACT During the 1990 s , Vietnam ’ s economy

During the 1990s, Vietnam's economy was transformed through a series of economic, social and political reforms, resulting in an average growth rate over the decade in excess of 6% per annum. This strong growth performance was accompanied by a dramatic fall in the incidence of consumption per capita poverty. This paper examines the changes in poverty and poverty dynamics over the 1990s using a nationally representative panel of households surveyed in 1992-93 and 1997-98. We analyse how robust the reduction in poverty is to the methods used to measure poverty. We find that regardless of where the poverty line is drawn, consumption poverty fell between 1992-93 and 1997-98, but that the extent of this fall is sensitive to the choice of poverty line. We also examine changes in the distribution of living standards over time, finding that the fall in poverty was accompanied by a rise in inequality, with some subgroups of the population failing to share equally in the strong growth of the country. Finally, we examine rural poverty dynamics, presenting transition matrices of movements in and out of poverty over time and estimating a model of consumption change. We find that regional differences are important, as are access to key institutions and infrastructure, and education. We also find that shifts in employment and production patterns, especially of rice, which we argue to be induced by the economic reform process, are strongly related to changes in living standards over time.
Micronutrient Malnutrition, Obesity, and Chronic Disease in Countries Undergoing the Nutrition Transition: Potential Links and Program/Policy Implications

This paper discusses the potential long-term effects of micronutrient malnutrition in early childhood on obesity and related disease outcomes. The links between early micronutrient malnutrition, stunting, and subsequent short adult stature — emerging risk factors for obesity and associated chronic diseases—are reviewed. This paper also explores recent literature linking micronutrient malnutrition in adults to increased risk and severity of chronic disease. Finally, this paper discusses the program and policy implications of these relationships. This paper is not the result of a systematic literature review, but rather discusses relevant literature to bring attention to links between under- and over-nutrition that have not been widely considered. Conclusions: In children, micronutrient malnutrition is a cause of stunting and may be accompanied by metabolic adaptations that increase the risk of later obesity and related disease. In adults, deficiencies in key micronutrients may promote oxidative stress, folate deficiency may increase risk for heart disease, and zinc deficiency may be exacerbated in the presence of diabetes while also affecting glucose transport. Low fruit and vegetable consumption may additionally increase the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and cancer through a variety of mechanisms. The importance of supporting programs and policies that address the spectrum of malnutrition, including micronutrient malnutrition and emerging obesity together, is stressed. ". -- Author's Abstract
Shifting time: recent changes to the phenology of Australian species

: Phenology is the study of the timing of recurrent biological events and their biotic and abiotic drivers. There is considerable evidence, mostly from temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere, of recent changes to phenological trends, likely to be in response to anthropo genic climate disruption. Here, we assess recent evidence of climate-related phenological shifts among Australian species, across environments ranging from alpine to semi-arid. While detailed knowledge of the phenology of many Australian species has a rich history among indigenous cultures, long-term recording of phenology has focused mostly on birds and plants, particularly agricultural crops, with few records for other taxa. Combined, datasets demonstrate that over recent decades there has been a strong trend towards advanced spring phenology associated with increases in temperature. However, precipitation also plays a key role in driving trends among numerous species, particularly where the onset of the phenophase is now occurring later in the season. In general, our understanding of changes to phenology is superficial: more complicated issues, such as identifying constraints to species responses, thermal sensitivity across life-cycle stages, non-climatic drivers of phenological trends, and disruptions to interacting species, remain poorly explored. Carefully designed studies, along with renewed interest in establishing observation networks supplemented with citizen science programs, can address some of these knowledge gaps.
Electron Ion Collider: The Next QCD Frontier - Understanding the glue that binds us all

This White Paper presents the science case of an Electron-Ion Collider (EIC), focused on the structure and interactions of gluon-dominated matter, with the intent to articulate it to the broader nuclear science community. It was commissioned by the managements of Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) and Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility (JLab) with the objective of presenting a summary of scientific opportunities and goals of the EIC as a follow-up to the 2007 NSAC Long Range plan. This document is a culmination of a community-wide effort in nuclear science following a series of workshops on EIC physics and, in particular, the focused ten-week program on"Gluons and quark sea at high energies"at the Institute for Nuclear Theory in Fall 2010. It contains a brief description of a few golden physics measurements along with accelerator and detector concepts required to achieve them, and it benefited from inputs from the users' communities of BNL and JLab. This White Paper offers the promise to propel the QCD science program in the U.S., established with the CEBAF accelerator at JLab and the RHIC collider at BNL, to the next QCD frontier.
The relationship between red tide outbreaks, nutrient distribution and tidal current intensity in Bisan-Seto, Japan

Coastal waters experience direct infl uences from land, such as nutrient loading. It has been suggested that red tide outbreaks in Bisan-Seto, Japan and the associated damage to aquatic resources, such as Nori ( Porphyra ) culture, are due to nutrient loading. To clarify the relationship between nutrient transport and red tide outbreaks the results of a numerical model were compared with data for red tides. Red tide outbreaks occurred around the coast of Kasaoka when nutrient concentrations were high and the tidal current intensity was weak. On the other hand, when tidal current intensity was strong around Kojima-Wan, red tide outbreaks were few. Nonetheless, nutrient concentrations in this area were still high. Thus, it is clear that both nutrient concentration and tidal current intensity were important factors for red tide outbreak in Bisan-Seto.
EFECTO FIN DE SEMANA Y FIN DE MES EN EL MERCADO BURSATIL CHILENO

The present work corroborates the existence of two anomalies that question the hypothesis of efficient markets in the Chilean stock market, these are the “effect weekend” or “effect monday” and the “effect month end”. Using the daily values of closing of stock-exchange index IPSA, and following the methodology used by Kenneth R. French, the hypotheses “Trading Time” and “Calendar Time” were checked to contrast the “effect weekend”. In order to contrast the “effect month end” it was made an analysis of averages and variances and, later, a study of temporary windows.
Too Busy to Mind the Business? Monitoring by Directors with Multiple Board Appointments

We examine the number of external appointments held by corporate directors. Directors who serve larger firms and sit on larger boards are more likely to attract directorships. Consistent with Fama and Jensen (1983), we find that firm performance has a positive effect on the number of appointments held by a director. We find no evidence that multiple directors shirk their responsibilities to serve on board committees. We do not find that multiple directors are associated with a greater likelihood of securities fraud litigation. We conclude that the evidence does not support calls for limits on directorships held by an individual. Copyright 2003 by the American Finance Association.
A primary study on one of "bilateral" red tide at Chi Bay of Pearl River Estuary

From June 4th to 13th of 2002, a red tide occurred from Chi Bay to Gui Shan online of Pearl River Estuary. Based on the monitoring information, a correlation analysis between the amount of the predominant organisms causing the red tide and the main environmental factors was made. The results showed that the organisms causing the bilateral red tide were two kinds of algae, Gyrodinium instriatum and Skeletonema costatum. The results of correlation analysis also showed that during the course of the red tide, there were not obvious correlations between pH values and the amount of Gyrodinium instriatum , as well as Skeletonema costatum , the same as DO. There was a notably negative correlation between the amount of Gyrodinium instriatum and silicate, but a obvious relation was not found between phosphate and nitrate. There was a negative correlation between the amount of Skeletonema costatum and phosphate, but a obvious relation was not found between silicate and nitrate. It was concluded that the main for the red tide was the eutrophication in the marine area; and the succession between Skeletonema costa~ tum and Gyrodinium instriatum was correlated with the competition in two organisms.
Decomposing the Value of Word-of-Mouth Seeding Programs: Acceleration versus Expansion

In word-of-mouth seeding programs, customer word of mouth can generate value through market expansion; in other words, it can gain customers who would not otherwise have bought the product. Alternatively, word of mouth can generate value by accelerating the purchases of customers who would have purchased anyway. This article presents the first investigation exploring how acceleration and expansion combine to generate value in a word-of-mouth seeding program for a new product. The authors define a program's “social value” as the global change, over the entire social system, in customer equity that can be attributed to the word-of-mouth program participants. They compute programs’ social value in various scenarios using an agent-based simulation model and empirical connectivity data on 12 social networks in various markets as input to the simulation. The authors show how expansion and acceleration integrate to create programs’ social value and illustrate how the role of each is affected by factors such as competition, program targeting, profit decline, and retention. These results have substantial implications for the design and evaluation of word-of-mouth marketing programs and of the profit impact of word of mouth in general.
Displacement controlled behaviour of asymmetrical buildings

Seismic assessment has traditionally been based on trading off strength with displacement (ductility) to provide sufficient energy dissipation capacity to structures. However, the energy demand on a structure from small to medium magnitude earthquakes will generally subside when the structure has been displaced to a certain limit. The significance of the concept of displacement-controlled behaviour in the seismic evaluation of a structure is that the peak drift demand of the structure can be constrained by a peak displacement demand which is solely a function of the properties of the ground shaking. In this paper, this concept has been extended for the seismic evaluation of asymmetrical structures. It is shown that a torsional amplification factor of 1.6 and 2.0 can be applied for estimating the peak drift demands of one-way and two-way asymmetric system respectively. By applying the new approach, the drift demand at the edges of the building can be estimated without applying the conventional force-based analysis.
Permissive Influence of Stress in the Expression of a U-Shaped Relationship between Serum Corticosterone Levels and Spatial Memory Errors in Rats

The relationship between glucocorticoids (GCs) and memory is complex, in that memory impairments can occur in response to manipulations that either increase or decrease GC levels. We investigated this issue by assessing the relationship between serum corticosterone (the primary rodent GC) and memory in rats trained in the radial arm water maze, a hippocampus-dependent spatial memory task. Each day, rats learned a new location of the hidden escape platform and then 30 min later their memory of the location of the platform was tested. Under control conditions, well-trained rats had excellent spatial memory and moderately elevated corticosterone levels (∼26 μg/dl versus a baseline of ∼2 μg/dl). Their memory was impaired when corticosterone levels were either reduced by metyrapone (a corticosterone synthesis inhibitor) or increased by acute stress (predator exposure), forming an overall U-shaped relationship between corticosterone levels and memory. We then addressed whether there was a causal relationship between elevated corticosterone levels and impaired memory. If elevated corticosterone levels were a sufficient condition to impair memory, then exogenously administered corticosterone, alone, should have impaired performance. However, we found that spatial memory was not impaired in corticosterone-injected rats that were not exposed to the cat. This work demonstrates that an intermediate level of corticosterone correlated with optimal memory, and either a decrease or an increase in corticosterone levels, in conjunction with strong emotionality, impaired spatial memory. These findings indicate that fear-provoking conditions, which are known to engage the amygdala, interact with stress levels of corticosterone to influence hippocampal functioning.
Enterprise Culture and Accountancy Firms: New Masters of The Universe

Purpose - This paper aims to argue that enterprise culture is producing negative effects. Companies and major accountancy firms are increasingly willing to increase their profits through indulgence in price fixing, tax avoidance/evasion, bribery, corruption, money laundering and practices that show scant regard for social norms and even laws. Design/methodology/approach - The paper locates business behaviour within the broader dynamics of capitalism to argue that hunger for higher profits at almost any cost is not constrained by rules, laws and even periodic regulatory action. Findings - The paper uses publicly available evidence to show that accountancy firms are engaged in anti-social behaviour. Evidence is provided to show that in pursuit of higher profits firms have operated cartels, engaged in tax avoidance/evasion, bribery, corruption and money laundering. Practical implications - The paper seeks to bring the anti-social activities of accountancy firms under scrutiny and thus extend possibilities of research in social responsibility, ethics, accountability, claims of professionalism, social disorder and crime. Originality/value - It is rare for accounting scholars to examine predatory practices of accounting firms. It shows that predatory practices affect a variety of arenas and stakeholders.
Exports, International Investment, and Plant Performance: Evidence from a Non-Parametric Test

This paper compares the performance of purely domestic plants, domestic exporters and domestic multinationals. For our empirical analysis we utilise a non-parametric approach based on the principle of first order stochastic dominance. Comparing the cumulative distributions of the measures of plant performance across the three types of plants we find that the distributions for multinationals dominate that of domestic exporters and non-exporters, while we do not find clear differences in plant performance between domestic exporters and nonexporters, although the latter finding may be due to the lack of many very small plants in our data set.
Blue Ocean Strategy : What ’ s the Role of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Cancer Care ?

Tsai-Ju Chien* Division of Hemato-Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine, Branch of Zhong-xing, Taipei City Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan With the advancement of the diagnosis tools and explosive knowledge in oncology, cancer has been more prevalent than decades ago. It is not too much to emphasize that cancer will be another chronic disease in the the twenty-first century [1]. As been observed, chemotherapy is dominant for more than 20 years; target therapy emerged promptly as more cancer pathways have been well defined. Furthermore, immune-oncology grasps public’s attention in recent years [2,3]. Nevertheless, there is still another branch of medicine, existing for more than thousands years, though not dominant in the world, never fade away, that is Traditional Chinese Medicine with potential [4-6].
Luxembourg Income Study

In this study, we examined to what extent family policies differently affect poverty among single-parent households and two-parent households. We distinguished between reconciliation policies (tested with parental leave and the proportion of unpaid leave) and financial support policies (tested with family allowances). We used data from the Luxembourg Income Study Database, covering 514,019 households in 18 OECD countries from 1978 to 2008, combined with data from the Comparative Family Policy Database. Our findings suggest that singleand two-parent households are less likely to be poor in countries that have longer parental leave, a smaller proportion of unpaid leave, and higher amounts of family allowances. Most notably, family policies reduced poverty to a greater extent among single-parent households. Paid leave more effectively facilitated the employment of single parents, thereby reducing their poverty more than among two-parent households. Family allowances decreased the risk of poverty of single-parent households relative to two-parent households in the Nordic countries, the Netherlands and Belgium, while increasing this relative risk in for instance Luxembourg, France, Germany and Ireland. Nevertheless, in absolute terms, in most countries family allowances were found to reduce a larger share of the poverty among single-parent households than among two-parent households.
Analyzing Millions of Submissions to Help MOOC Instructors Understand Problem Solving

We present an analytics framework that helps analyze student behavior during problem solving in Massive open online courses. There are some important differences in how students solve problems online when compared to on campus education. However, massive amounts of information, at a very high granularity, capturing how students access the content and solve problems is currently stored. We present a structured way for assembling, aggregating, visualizing and statistical approaches to analyze this data. We are developing a comprehensive set of tools that will help and inform instructors. This paper presents our first few steps towards achieving that goal.