bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Automatic identification of ramie and cotton fibers based on iodine blue reaction, Part II: Automatic identification of ramie and cotton using color, texture, shape, and stripes
Authors: Feng Jia Li , Yu Jia Xiao
Published: March 2016

A new method of automatically identifying ramie and cotton fibers using analysis of shape, color, texture, and surface stripes is here introduced. The shape, color, texture, and stripe features of the fibers were extracted by transformation from red, green, blue images to hue saturation intensity images and then to grayscale and binary images, by segmentation of the fiber from background, by edge detection of the outline of fibers, and by stripes on the surface of the fiber. Eighteen characteristic parameters suitable for identification were selected according to their probability distribution curves. A three-layer multilayer perceptron artificial-neural-network-based prediction system is here presented as a means of distinguishing cotton fibers from ramie fibers. The system training was carried out using a back propagation algorithm. The proposed system was tested on more than 2000 cotton and more than 2000 ramie fibers. The experimental results showed that the overall tolerance for false identification of cotton or ramie fiber was under 5%.
The study of knitted fabric thermal insulation using thermography and finite volume method
Authors: Puszkarz Adam K , Krucinska Izabella
Published: March 2016

The article concerns the widespread issue of thermal comfort; investigations into textiles and thermal insulation problems are presented. Materials that were tested include double-layer knitted fabrics with potential application in multi-layer garments addressed to a specific group of users. The investigated materials were constructed with the following raw materials: cotton, polypropylene, polyester, polyamide, bamboo, and viscose. The textiles with a comparable geometric structure and different composition were tested for their thermal insulation. In the experimental section the temperature gradients in specific constant ambient conditions using a thermal imaging camera were obtained. In the simulation section three-dimensional models of actual textiles were designed and the temperature gradients on the basis of performed simulations were calculated. Both measurements and simulations yielded comparable results and showed that the comparatively thick knitted fabrics’ thermal insulation strongly depends on the raw materials from which they were made and less on the parameters of the yarn.
“May Depend on Me Sending It You”
Authors: Yáñez-Bouza Nuria
Published: March 2016

In present-day standard English, verbs licensing two objects with a theme and a recipient usually allow for variation in word order between (1) I gave my sister a book, and (2) I gave a book to my sister. The former is considered the canonical word order: “[i]f both objects are present, the indirect object normally comes before” (Quirk et al. 1985:726), but with two pronominal objects the prepositional pattern like (2) is “by far the most frequent” variant (Biber et al. 1999:929). Historically, there has long been a third syntactic variant with a non-prepositional indirect object after the direct object: (3) she gave it me. With two pronominal objects this order “seems always to have been the rule” (Visser 1963:I.623), yet the sequence in (3) has gradually become restricted to linguistic contexts with two pronominal objects and to dialect use in certain varieties of British English (Yáñez-Bouza & Denison 2015). Denison (1998:239) observes that examples like (3) are “sufficient for that order to be accounted acceptable standard” in nineteenth-century English, while Poutsma (1914-1929:I.154) claims that in the early twentieth century “the indirect object almost invariably stands first,” and that with pronominal objects it is “not always” the case that the word order in (3) is preferred. The timing of change is crucial. The eighteenth and nineteenth centuries saw the publication of numerous grammars laying down rules about correct and incorrect English. Bearing in mind that normative rules have brought about change in the historical development of certain morphological and syntactic features, this paper aims to shed light on whether early grammarians were aware of syntactic variation in the double object construction, whether they were aware of regional variation, and whether they played a role in the suppression of variability concerning the pattern illustrated in (3).
Examining Racial Discrimination Frequency, Racial Discrimination Stress, and Psychological Well-Being Among Black Early Adolescents
Authors: Lanier Yzette , Sommers Marilyn S. , Fletcher Jason , Sutton Madeline Y. , Roberts Debra D.
Published: March 2016

Racial discrimination is a ubiquitous experience for Black adolescents; it has been linked to poorer psychological outcomes including higher depressive symptoms and lower self-esteem. However, the mechanisms through which racial discrimination is associated with psychological well-being are still not well understood, particularly among Black early adolescents. The current study investigated two dimensions of racial discrimination: racial discrimination frequency (RDfreq) and racial discrimination stress (RDstress). Specifically, we explored the prevalence of RDfreq and RDstress among Black youth and whether RDstress mediated the association between RDfreq and psychological well-being. Seventy-four Black middle school students (68.1% female; mean age = 12.1) completed self-report questionnaires assessing RDfreq, RDstress, depression, and self-esteem; 72 were included in the final analyses. Mediation analyses were conducted using bootstrapping. Ninety percent of the sample reported experiencing some type of racial discrimination and 99% reported that these experiences bothered them. Controlling for age, gender, and ethnicity, RDstress partially mediated the relationship between RDfreq and depression. Study findings elucidate one pathway in which racial discrimination influences psychological well-being.
Stochastic given-time H∞ consensus over Markov jump networks with disturbance constraint
Authors: Luan Xiaoli , Min Yang , Ding Zhengtao , Liu Fei
Published: March 2016

In this study, the given-time H∞ consensus problem over networks with directed information flow and Markov jump topologies is addressed. Our focus is on keeping the disagreement dynamics of networks confined within the prescribed bound in the fixed time interval. Compared with the asymptotical consensus in infinite settling time, the proposed algorithm is less conservative. In addition, a new model transformation approach is presented to make the design results more advantageous in commonality. Simulation results show the effectiveness of the proposed controller, and reveal that the prescribed boundary of the disagreement trajectory has an effect on disturbance rejection performance.
The self-tuning networked control system with online delay prediction
Authors: Zuo Tao , Min Huasong , Zhang Tao , Zhang Xiongxi
Published: March 2016

This article is concerned with the prediction of time delays and a control method for networked control systems (NCSs). We propose to predict the network-induced delays online with least squares support vector machines (LSSVM) optimized by particle swarm optimization (PSO). Then self-tuning proportional–integral–derivative (PID) control with variable delays is adopted in the NCSs. The recursive least squares (RLS) method is used to identify the parameters of the controlled objects, which can adapt to changes in dynamic models. Simulations verified the excellent performance of network delay prediction and networked control, and stable closed-loop control can be realized.
Dosimetry for animals and plants: contending with biota diversity
Authors: Ulanovsky A.
Published: March 2016

Diversity of living organisms and their environmental radiation exposure conditions represents a special challenge for non-human dosimetry. In order to contend with such diversity, the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) has: (a) set up points of reference by providing dose conversion coefficients (DCCs) for reference entities known as ‘Reference Animals and Plants’ (RAPs); and (b) used dosimetric models that pragmatically assume simple body shapes with uniform composition and density, homogeneous internal contamination, a limited set of idealised external radiation sources, and truncation of the radioactive decay chains. This pragmatic methodology has been further developed and extended systematically. Significant methodological changes include: a new extended approach for assessing doses of external exposure for terrestrial animals, transition to the contemporary ICRP radionuclide database, assessment-specific consideration of the contribution of radioactive progeny to dose coefficients of parent nuclides, and the use of generalised allometric relationships in the estimation of biokinetic or metabolic parameters. The new methodological developments resulted in a revision of the DCCs for RAPs. Tables of the dose coefficients have now been complemented by a web-based software tool, which can be used to calculate a user-specific DCC for an organism of arbitrary mass and shape, located at user-defined height above the ground, and for an arbitrary radionuclide and its radioactive progeny.
Overview of ICRP Committee 2: doses from radiation exposure
Authors: Harrison J.D. , Paquet F.
Published: March 2016

The focus of the work of Committee 2 of the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) is the computation of dose coefficients compliant with Publication 103. A set of reference computational phantoms is being developed, based on medical imaging data, and used for radiation transport calculations. Biokinetic models used to describe the behaviour of radionuclides in body tissues are being updated, also leading to changes in organ doses and effective dose coefficients. Dose coefficients for external radiation exposure of adults calculated using the new reference phantoms were issued as Publication 116, jointly with the International Commission on Radiation Units and Measurements. Forthcoming reports will provide internal dose coefficients for radionuclide inhalation and ingestion by workers, and associated bioassay data. Work is in progress to revise internal dose coefficients for members of the public, and, for the first time, to provide reference values for external exposures of the public. Committee 2 is also working with Committee 3 on dose coefficients for radiopharmaceuticals, and leading a cross-Committee initiative to give advice on the use of effective dose.
How Do Evaluators Differentiate Successful From Less-Than-Successful Experiences With Collaborative Approaches to Evaluation?
Authors: Cousins J. Bradley , Shulha Lyn M. , Whitmore Elizabeth , Hudib Hind Al , Gilbert Nathalie
Published: March 2016

Objectives:

In this exploratory study, we wanted to know how evaluators differentiate collaborative approaches to evaluation (CAE) perceived to be successful from those perceived to be less-than-successful.

Method:

In an online questionnaire survey, we obtained 320 responses from evaluators who practice CAE (i.e., evaluations on which program stakeholders coproduce evaluation knowledge). Respondents identified two specific CAE projects from their own experience—one they believed to be “highly successful” and another they considered “far less successful than [they] had hoped.”—and offered their comments and reflections about them. They rated the respective evaluations on 5-point opinion and frequency scales about (i) antecedent stakeholder perspectives, (ii) the purposes and justifications for collaborative inquiry, and (iii) the form such inquiry takes.

Findings:

The results showed that successful evaluations, relative to their less-than-successful counterparts, tended to reflect higher levels of agreement among stakeholders about the focal program; higher intentionality estimates of evaluation justification and espoused purposes; and wider ranges and deeper levels of stakeholder participation. No differences were found for control of technical decision-making, and evaluators tended to lead evaluation decision making, regardless of success condition.

Discussion:

The results are discussed in terms of implications for ongoing research on CAE.
“Whose Science? Whose Fiction?” Uncanny Echoes of Belonging in Samosata
Authors: Stingl Alexander I. , Weiss Sabrina M.
Published: March 2016

This is the first of two special issues and the articles are grouped according to two themes: This first issue will feature articles that share a theme we call Technologies and the Political, while the second issue will feature the theme Subjectivities. However, we could equally consider them exercises in provincialization in the (counter)factual register in the first issue, and by affective historiography as conceptual-empirical labor(atory) in the second issue. What we have generally asked of all authors is to consider that the relation between science and society is often heavily influenced by and identified in the intermediary figurations portrayed in the genre of science fiction.
Making climates comparable: Comparison in paleoclimatology
Authors: Schinkel Willem
Published: March 2016

This article foregrounds comparison as a key practice in science by discussing the case of chronological comparability in paleoclimatology. Based on an ethnographic study of a paleoclimate research project, I illustrate how paleoclimatologists are able to produce comparative data on and images of past climates through the use of ‘proxies’. I focus on the calibration of a type of algae as a proxy for climate variables. Such comparability is one illustration of the myriad ways in which relatively standardized forms of comparison underlie conceptions of ‘climate change’ and of ‘climate’ itself. The work of comparison discussed here has relevance for a variety of practices of qualification, quantification, monitoring, and evaluation.
Trends in the Presentation, Management, and Outcomes of Little League Shoulder
Authors: Heyworth Benton E. , Kramer Dennis E. , Martin Daniel J. , Micheli Lyle J. , Kocher Mininder S. , Bae Donald S.
Published: March 2016

Background:

With rising participation in youth sports such as baseball, proximal humeral epiphysiolysis, or Little League shoulder (LLS), is being seen with increasing frequency. However, there remains a paucity of literature regarding the causes, natural history, or treatment outcomes of LLS.

Purpose:

To analyze the demographic, clinical, and diagnostic features of a population of LLS patients, with an emphasis on identifying underlying risk factors for the development and recurrence of LLS after nonoperative treatment.

Study Design:

Case series; Level of evidence, 4.

Methods:

A departmental database at a high-volume regional children’s hospital was queried to identify cases of LLS between 1999 and 2013. Medical records were reviewed to allow for analysis of age, sex, athletic information, physical examination and radiologic findings, treatment details, clinical course, and rates of recurrence.

Results:

Ninety-five patients (93 males, 2 females; mean age, 13.1 years; range, 8-16 years) were diagnosed with LLS. The number of diagnosed cases increased annually over the study period. All patients had shoulder pain with overhead athletics; secondary symptoms included elbow pain in 13%, shoulder fatigue or weakness in 10%, and mechanical symptoms in 8%. While the majority of patients (97%) were baseball players (86% pitchers, 8% catchers, 7% other positions), a small subset (3%) were tennis players. On physical examination, 30% were reported to have glenohumeral internal rotation deficit (GIRD), defined as a decreased arc of rotational range of motion of the shoulder. Treatment recommendations included rest in 99% of cases, physical therapy in 79% (including 100% of patients with GIRD), and position change upon return to play in 26%. Average time to full resolution of symptoms was 2.6 months, while average time to return to competition was 4.2 months. Recurrent symptoms were reported in 7% of the overall cohort at a mean of 7.6 months after initial diagnosis. The odds of recurrence in the group with diagnosed GIRD (14%) were 3.6 times greater than those without GIRD (5%; 95% CI: 0.7-17.1), but this difference was not statistically significant ( P = .11).

Conclusion:

Little League shoulder is being diagnosed with increasing frequency. While most common in male baseball pitchers, the condition can occur in females, youth catchers, other baseball positions players, and tennis players. Concomitant elbow pain may be seen in up to 13%. After rest and physical therapy, recurrent symptoms may occur in a small subset of patients (7%), generally 3 to 6 months after return to sports. Almost one-third of LLS patients had GIRD, and this group had approximately three times higher probability of recurrence compared with those without GIRD.
Are Student Ratings of Teaching Effectiveness Influenced by Instructors' English Language Proficiency?
Authors: Finegan T. Aldrich , Siegfried John J.
Published: March 2016

We use data from norming the third edition of the Test of Understanding College Economics to exam ine whether instructors for whom English is a second language (ESLs) receive lower student ratings of teaching effectiveness in principles of economics courses, holding constant what students learn in the course. The results suggest that student ratings of ESL instructors are, on average, about 0.4 points lower, on a scale of 1.0 to 5.0, than the ratings of native English speaking instructors. Most of this deficit can be attributed to differences in how the two groups of instructors teach their courses and evaluate the knowledge of their students.
The Relationship between Aid and Debt in Developing Countries
Authors: Cahill Miles B. , Isely Paul N.
Published: March 2016

This paper constructs a model in which debt and aid are complementary. Specifically, the model shows how aid can be extracted from industrialized country governments by LDCs to finance debts. Policy implications for understanding debt crises are outlined. Using recent World Bank data, the fundamental equations of the model are estimated. While it is found that the model overestimates the actual amount of aid and debt, the relationship between aid, GDP and absorption; and debt, aid, GDP and absorption is of the predicted direction.
Experiments with Financial Markets: Implications for Asset Pricing Theory
Authors: Bossaerts Peter
Published: March 2016

This article surveys financial markets experiments from a particular vantage point, namely, asset pricing theory. The goal is to assess to what extent these experiments have (and could) shed light on the validity of the basic principles of asset pricing theory, namely (i) that markets equilibrate to the point that expected returns are proportional to covariance with aggregate risk, (ii) that markets aggregate dispersed information. There appears to be solid support for (i), yet the evidence regarding (ii) is mixed. The reason for the latter is hard to determine, because of features in the experimental design that are at odds with standard asset pricing theory (e.g., the payoff on a security depends on the identity of the holder). Where we can interpret the results, the article demonstrates that the occasional aggregation failures (“mirages”) agree with rational learning. More specifically, their number is consistent with the mistakes one expects a Bayesian to make even when she has full knowledge of the likelihood function (of any signals conditional on the value of the state variable that she is learning).
Essay versus Multiple Choice Exams; An Experiment in the Principles of Macroeconomics Course
Authors: O'Neill Patrick B.
Published: March 2016

Examining the impact of test type in Principles of Macroeconomics via two-stage estimation of an education production function, I find that students do better on a post–course TUCE when they take multiple choice exams throughout the semester instead of taking essay exams. The type of test, however, does not impact the student's attitude toward economics or the decision to complete the course.
Economists' Publication Patterns
Authors: Hartley James E. , Monks James W. , Robinson Michael D.
Published: March 2016

The results presented in this paper give a comprehensive picture of the extent of publishing by economists. While it is obvious that the traditional emphasis on refereed journal articles captures only a part of economists' research output, to date it has been difficult to determine how large a part of that output was not being measured. This note provides the necessary perspective and presents information on the relative productivity of faculty at different institutional types and with different years of experience.
Segregation and the Provision of Spatially Defined Local Public Goods
Authors: Wasserman Henry , Yohe Gary
Published: March 2016

Racial separation may be the result of many factors: variation in income, occupational differences, and individual preference come to mind immediately. Indeed, Thomas Schelling argued in 1969 that even mild individual preference for like neighbors could produce dramatic segregation in neighborhoods. This paper examines the robustness of his conclusion in two slightly more realistic environments. One adds the complication of vacant lots and more diverse utility-based agents. Each of the cases simulated here produced equilibria with some degree of racial segregation. The results therefore sustained Schelling's conjecture that individual intent is not necessarily related to the collective result of neighborhood segregation. In all of the simulations, each individual would have been content with a local neighborhood in which approximately half of the residents were of the same race; but all individuals acting together with this motive seemed to produce segregated neighborhoods. The Schelling conjecture was undermined to some degree by inclusion of local public goods, but only if they were highly valued. In those cases, proximity to the public goods worked against the disutility of mixed neighborhood so integrated neighborhoods became more likely. If the public goods were not highly valued, though, the segregation persisted or unstable and chaotic neighborhoods persisted.
The Shortage of Registered Nurses in Monopsony: A New View from Efficiency Wage and Job-Hour Models
Authors: Lin Chung-Cheng
Published: March 2016

It has been argued that a monopsonist would like to hire more workers at the equilibrium wage that he or she offers. The labor market equilibrium in monopsony is therefore characterized by “reported vacancies.” This property is claimed to be perfectly consistent with the persistent shortage of registered nurses. By using the famous Solow (1979) efficiency wage monopsony model and a job-hour monopsony model, this paper examines the validity of this argument. It is shown that a monopsonist may not report vacancies since the labor market equilibrium in monopsony may be in a state of excess labor supply. As a consequence, the theoretical explanation of the shortage of registered nurses must be found beyond the simple textbook monopsony model.
A Simple Algebraic Approach to Teaching Oligopoly Models
Authors: Chaudhuri Ananish
Published: March 2016

This paper develops simple algebraic model which provides a new perspective on (1) how we teach the interaction between firms in a Stackelberg model; and (2) how the same framework can be extended to a discussion on entry into an industry. Besides providing a different approach to teaching the Stackelberg model, my framework has the additional advantage that it is intuitive, technically simple and thus readily accessible to students who may not have a background in calculus.
Recent Developments in and Future Prospects for Public Economics
Authors: Poterba James M.
Published: March 2016

This paper describes several of the most important research advances in public economics during the last three decades. These include an improved theoretical understanding of the incentive problems in tax design, an expanded base of knowledge on how taxes and social insurance programs affect household and firm behavior, and a heightened recognition of the political economy of tax and expenditure policy design. The paper closes with several suggestions for promising directions for future research in the field of public economics.
‘The Game of Life’: Using a Student Developed Course Project to Create a Learning Community in the Classroom
Authors: McGoldrick KimMarie
Published: March 2016

In the fall of 2000, students in a Women and Gender Issues in Economics course were asked to develop a program that would enlighten college residents regarding women in business and the glass ceiling. At the start of the semester, students were simply told that it would be their responsibility to develop, plan, and present this hour and a half program. The instructor's role was that of facilitator, providing feedback, generating summaries of work completed, identifying issues yet to be tackled, and keeping the class on task. Students decided to create an interactive game based on The Game of Life that would follow the life and career decisions of three women with decidedly different educational backgrounds. Through a variety of life stages, students showed how decisions are influenced by a variety of factors (education, location, family, etc.) and that decisions early in one's life can have compounding effects throughout. This paper describes the process by which the students decided on mimicking The Game of Life, how they divided up workloads, generated life stages (with specific topics to be addressed), and advertised and evaluated their project. Throughout this discussion it will be evident that students had full ownership of the project and the instructor (and author) suggests that this process is one that is consistent with many of the ideals of an engaged pedagogy.
The Sensitivity Analysis of the FHA Technique of Housing Market Analysis: The Effect of Ratios and Variables, and Their Perturbations on Family and Elderly Demand Estimates
Authors: Ramrattan Lall , Szenberg Michael
Published: March 2016

This paper applies the sensitivity analysis to the Federal Housing Administration's (FHA) techniques for reviewing family and elderly housing market conditions through the perturbations of its fundamental parameters. Models are presented for estimating the demand on the family and the elderly housing, and empirical illustrations for the practitioners of a housing market analysis are indicated. We elevate the FHA technique from a descriptive level within an engineering paradigm that did not change for over half a century to an evolutionary statistical model. Housing market analysts will find the model a useful supplement to their regular operations in terms of the diagnostic checks for their estimates.
The Relation between Student Attitudes toward Graphs and Performance in Economics
Authors: Cohn Elchanan , Cohn Sharon , Balch Donald C. , Bradley James
Published: March 2016

This study examines student attitudes about graphs used in the macro- and microeconomic sections of the one-semester principles of economics course at a large southeastern state university. In addition, we investigate the relation between attitudes about graphs and student performance in the course, controlling for a variety of factors, such as SAT scores, college GPA, and a number of other student characteristics (e.g., sex, race, college major, and term standing). Employing a probit regression model, we also study the factors that predict student attitudes toward graphs. Our sample includes data collected from 663 students during the period 2000–2001.
A Non-Singular Peaked Laffer Curve: Debunking the Traditional Laffer Curve
Authors: Spiegel Uriel , Templeman Joseph
Published: March 2016

This paper has two purposes: first, to demonstrate a utility function of consumption and leisure that leads to a backward-bending supply of labor. The second purpose is to show that in spite of the fact that a Laffer curve of any individual in a society may have one-peak point where tax revenue is at its maximum, the aggregate (macro) Laffer curve is very likely to have multi (or at least dual) peaks. This is caused by the high degree of inequality in wage distribution in most western countries.
Workers' Remittances, Remittance Decay and Financial Deepening in Developing Countries
Authors: Hunte C. Kenrick
Published: March 2016

Using a model and crosscountry, panel-data for eighteen developing countries, this paper confirms the remittance decay hypothesis, in which remittances decrease as household income increases. A one percent increase in household income results in a 0.8 percent decrease in remittances. Migrant workers respond to negative shocks to household income by increasing remittance flows, after accounting for the marginal propensity to remit times the difference between the threshold income level and household income. The paper demonstrates that remittances have a positive impact on financial deepening and policymakers should consider adding incentives for enhancing remittance flows, as remittances influence saving behavior.
Student Quantitative Literacy: Importance, Measurement, and Correlation with Economic Literacy
Authors: Schuhmann Peter W. , McGoldrick KimMarie , Burrus Robert T.
Published: March 2016

The importance of quantitative skills in learning economics cannot be overstated. Many previous studies have attempted to measure the degree to which such skills impact performance in economics classes. Typically these studies have relied on a proxy for measuring quantitative skills, such as the number and type of math courses a student has completed. Yet it is the proficiency in math rather than the exposure to it that is expected to impact the learning of economics and performance in economics courses. In this paper we use a pre and post course math quiz to address two major research questions. First, we examine the degree to which students who have greater math aptitude also have a better grasp of basic economics concepts prior to taking a principles of economics course. Second, we explore the degree to which this math aptitude is correlated with higher economic learning. Our results indicate that (prior to taking a principles of economics course) students do not fare well on simple quantitative questions and hence do not possess an adequate working knowledge of the “language” we often speak during our economics courses. Our analysis shows, however, that quantitative literacy is a very important determinant of economic literacy in both the pre and post course surveys. More specifically, we have shown that having skills such as being able to solve a system of equations and compute a percentage, and being able to interpret increases and decreases on a graph will lead to higher economic knowledge at the end of the semester.
The Academic Review Process: How Can We Make it More Efficient?
Authors: Azar Ofer H.
Published: March 2016

Recently many editors try to reduce the turnaround times of academic journals. Shorter turnaround times, however, will induce many additional submissions of low-quality papers, increasing significantly the workload of editors and referees, and the number of rejections prior to publication. I suggest several ideas how editors can shorten turnaround times and four ideas how they can still avoid frivolous submissions, thus improving the review process efficiency: higher submission fees; requiring authors to review papers in proportion to their submissions; using differential editorial delay—letting low-quality papers wait more; and banning papers from being submitted after a certain number of rejections.
Endowment Shock and its Welfare Effects in Open Market Economies
Authors: Shachmurove Yochanan , Spiegel Uriel
Published: March 2016

This paper presents a simple static model of a world economy with two countries, two goods, and two representative agents. Initial endowments are the source of each good. Given that the endowments of the two goods across the two countries are asymmetric, the countries have an incentive to trade. Under certain conditions, it is possible that a onetime increase in a good of one country may be called an endowment shock that reduces the welfare of its trading partner. This endowment shock is the equivalent of manna from heaven.
Global Competition and the United States Pharmaceutical Industry
Authors: Ramrattan Lall , Szenberg Michael
Published: March 2016

Within the background of the global economy, the authors evaluate competition among domestic firms, and ascertain impact on the domestic pharmaceutical industry. This paper analyzes the industry's structure, conduct and performance to show that the pharmaceutical industry did not escape the effects of free trade areas and global competition, despite the general view that it is a high-profit industry. The U.S. government aided the industry in the areas of lengthening of patents life, allowing mergers, and the negotiation of international property rights. Also, firms have come to embrace increased rivalries in the areas of non-price tactics. We found small firms reacting to a leader, such as Merck, previous R&D and advertising outlays, and that they find a haven in the area of generics rather then basic research. The industry embraces an array of price strategies, relating to generics and the lack of information about prices at home, and unfair competition from abroad, an area where the government could play a larger role. Several hypotheses based on the literature have been advanced to ascertain these results.
On the “Orthodoxy” of Leon Hirsch Keyserling: Selected Major Analytical and Policy Concepts and Advice to Presidents
Authors: Brazelton W. Robert
Published: March 2016

This paper discusses major selected tenets of the economic analysis and policy prescriptions of Leon H. Keyserling, the major economic advisor to President Truman and a prolific letter writer to later Presidents, Vice-Presidents and others. This paper is an analysis of (1) of Keyserling's major analytical, and policy beliefs stressing full employment growth from his papers and publications; including a discussion of Keyserling's beliefs concerning economic analysis of Keynes and other forms of analysis such a rational expectations, econometrics, etc.; (2) selected letters to Presidents and others, concerning his advice to them; and (3) a brief conclusion. The analysis below is from his personal files deposited in the archives of the Truman Presidential Library, Independence, Missouri.
Foreign-Born Teaching Assistants and Student Achievement: An Ordered Probit Analysis
Authors: Marvasti Akbar
Published: March 2016

This paper deals with a wide spread perception that foreign-born teaching assistants (FBTA) have an adverse effect on American undergraduate students. The maximum likelihood technique is used to arrive at an unbiased and efficient estimate of the grade function. It is demonstrated that while the FBTA appears to have an adverse effect on the academic performance of American students, the effect does not seem to be due to the lack of language proficiency of the FBTA. Furthermore, the adverse effect is not uniform among students with different performance levels in the course and is absent in more rigorous classes. (JEL A22, J00)
“See How They Learn”: The Impact of Faculty and Student Learning Styles on Student Performance in Introductory Economics
Authors: Boatman Kara , Courtney Richard , Lee William
Published: March 2016

“See How They Learn”: The Impact of Faculty and Student Learning Styles on Student Performance in Introductory Economics

This paper reports the results of a recent study completed at Saint Mary's College of California, in which the TUCE was administered to introductory economics students. Students and instructors also completed the VARK questionnaire to identify which of the sensory modalities they prefer to use to learn information. Results suggest that a strong visual learning preference positively influences student performance. Our finding that neither ethnicity nor gender influence student performance confirms results of prior research, and suggests that ethnicity- and gender-based differences in student performance may be at least partially caused by differences in learning style preferences.
Low Flu Shot Rates Puzzle—Some Plausible Behavioral Explanations
Authors: Shahrabani Shosh , Gafni Amiram , Ben-Zion Uri
Published: March 2016

The paper presents an economic model to analyze an individual's decision about whether or not to be vaccinated against influenza. It shows that based upon objective parameters, the vaccination rate should be high. Yet, empirical findings indicate low vaccination rates. Therefore, we use the behavioral approach and subjective variables to explain the empirical findings. The subjective variables in the model include perceived infection probability, time preference, subjective costs of vaccination, perceived severity of illness and perceived vaccination effectiveness. A low vaccination rate has a negative externality on society. The paper discusses potential policies that can be applied to changing the situation.
Determinants of the Time-Variation in Emerging-Market Closed-End Fund Premiums: A Comparison between Equity and Bond Funds
Authors: Ismailescu Iuliana
Published: March 2016

This paper explores the determinant factors of the time-variation in emerging markets closed-end fund premiums, price returns, and NAV returns. After controlling for variables previously proposed in the emerging market closed-end funds literature, such as the U.S. stock market risk, local stock market return, and the percentage change in exchange rates, two hypothesis are used to explain the variation in fund premiums: the U.S. investor sentiment and the market segmentation theory. The results of the time-series analyses show that country funds, regional equity funds, and global bond funds are influenced quite differently by the suggested factors.
The Influence of Economists on Public Attitudes toward Government
Authors: Beaulier Scott A. , Boyes William J. , Mounts William S.
Published: March 2016

One of John Maynard Keynes's most quoted statements (1935, p. 383) is:

… the ideas of economists and political philosophers, both when they are right and when they are wrong, are more powerful than is commonly understood. Indeed the world is ruled by little else. Practical men, who believe themselves to be quite exempt from any intellectual influences, are usually the slaves of some defunct economist.

The number of economists per capita in the United States has risen in the past few decades. At the same time, the public has become more comfortable with big government. This raises intriguing questions regarding just how economists are influencing public opinion; we are left wondering whether economists are instilling a desire in the public for more government or whether, in opposition to Keynes's statement, economists are losing influence. In this paper, we provide some answers. We find that the increased role of economists in society and in policymaking has led to an increase in favorable attitudes toward government intervention.
The Global Recession and Jewish Law
Authors: Levine Aaron
Published: March 2016

This paper puts the current global recession in the context of Jewish theological thought. We will show that the failed conduct of the players in the subprime sector violates specific moral principles. Moreover, no amount of wrongdoing by these players could spiral into an international financial meltdown without the legal underpinning of the holder-in-due-course doctrine. We demonstrate that Jewish law rejects this doctrine. To prevent the recurrence of the current debacle, Jewish law's imitatio Dei principle calls for the restructuring of the incentive system economic actors face. It consists of replacing the perverted system of incentives now in place with sticks and carrots designed to tilt economic actors toward virtue and away from wrongdoing. Beyond fixing the incentive system, the current malaise tells us that we are living in a society of broken promises. Improving the moral climate of society hence entails reinforcing the values of integrity and taking responsibility seriously. Jewish religious thought puts the onus on parents and the educational system to accomplish this.
Hinduism and Economic Crises
Authors: Ramrattan Lall
Published: March 2016

The Hindu doctrine has broad covering laws for the description and management of crises. Economic swings are covered under a theory of long cycles that parallels the Golden, Silver, Bronze, and Iron ages of the West. Order breaks down in each cycle, and society is reconstituted anew. The individuals and ruler produce, accumulate, and distribute wealth in each epoch in accordance with scriptural injunctions, and crises occur when the codes of eternal religion are broken. In the process of their everyday experiences, people are urged to adhere to the truth, to be conscious of their true nature, and to pursue happiness. The ruler is charged with managing economic affairs with proper council. Within that broad framework that has been morphing over history from foreign invasion-to-invasion, operational elements can be drawn out for any crises situation.
Public Spending on Maintenance and Imperfect Competition
Authors: Lee Jin-Wen
Published: March 2016

This paper presents an endogenous growth model with monopolistic competition in the intermediate-goods sector. Maintenance spending on public capital not only increases the durability of public and private capital, but also raises the efficiency of infrastructure, as in Agenor (2005). We show that the growth-maximizing tax rate and the share of public maintenance spending may be both affected by the mark-up. However, when private depreciation is exogenous, the result is consistent with Agenor's basic model (2005), that is, the growth-maximizing tax rate and the share of maintenance spending are irrelevant to the degree of monopoly power.
Optimal Debundling Policy: The Case of Non-Homogeneous Demands
Authors: Spiege U. , Templeman J.
Published: March 2016

When agricultural or industrial products are grown or produced such that a variety of quality levels or product characteristics come bundled together, the seller must decide whether or not to undertake the time and expense required to debundle or sort them by component and sell them separately. We analyze this issue both from the perspective of a monopolistic seller and a social planner desiring to maximize social welfare, and show the conditions under which segmentation would be preferred by both the monopolist and the social planner.
The Baland-Robinson Theory of Child Labor Efficiency: A Proposed Extension
Authors: Gao Feng , Wahid Abu N.M.
Published: March 2016

This paper is an extension of the Baland and Robinson theory of child labor efficiency which studies the problem of child labor using a two period model with a general equilibrium approach. To the original theory, we seek to incorporate a non-negative cost of education and an indicator for school quality. Our findings suggest that an increase in costs of education invariably raises the level of child labor. Furthermore, when school quality is poor, improvement in it can decrease the equilibrium level of child labor. In the welfare analysis we find that the conditions for education subsidies to be welfare-increasing suffice for a ban on child labor to be Pareto improving.
Discrimination against Europeans in the National Hockey League: Are Players Getting Their Fair Pay?
Authors: Bruggink Thomas H. , Williams Daniel
Published: March 2016

The recent influx of European hockey players in the North American professional hockey league raises questions of wage discrimination. For decades the National Hockey League has seen wage discrimination against French Canadians on English Canadian teams, and the European players face a similar labor environment as the French Canadians. In this study we examine this issue by estimating pay for performance salary equations for NHL players, interacting country of birth with location of team. This enables us to determine the extent of wage discrimination that Europeans face in the NHL.
Influential Macromonetary Publications and Economists
Authors: Spencer Roger W. , Huston John H. , Branyan Rachel
Published: March 2016

We endeavor in this paper to ascertain, for the field of macromonetary economics, the most influential economists, articles, textbooks, and journals. The syllabi of all faculty of the top twenty-five economics departments teaching graduate macromonetary courses were obtained. The syllabi were culled to produce 1527 articles and a number of other publications, including textbooks. The ensuing macromonetary rankings are the first, for this category alone, in more than two decades. Although article rankings by syllabi count and citation count are uncorrelated, the names of top economists by decades produced by syllabi count are generally well known for their accomplishments in research.
A Model of Investment Timing for Developing Childhood Health Capacity
Authors: Setren Elizabeth M.
Published: March 2016

The increasing prevalence of obesity yields numerous social costs in the form of lower productivity, higher Medicare and Medicaid costs, and higher insurance premiums. These negative externalities create a public interest for societal investment to reduce the shared costs of obesity related healthcare and efficiency losses. Understanding that health preferences and skills developed in childhood greatly impact adult outcomes, this paper provides a framework for evaluating the optimal timing of investment in childhood health for the prevention of obesity. The two period model provides a means to evaluate how economical early preventative investments are compared to later reparative health investments. It is likely that preventative health investments in childhood would prove cost effective compared to the high costs of adulthood obesity and its resulting comorbidities.
The Development of Water Rights in Colorado: An Empirical Analysis
Authors: Penn David A. , Zietz Joachim
Published: March 2016

According to Anderson (1982), property rights will be more carefully defined and enforced when the value of a resource rises or the probability of losing it increases. This theory is applied to the development of water rights during the early years of irrigated farming in Colorado. Water rights enforcement is measured as the number of court cases. An empirical model is estimated on data for the years 1884 to 1920. The estimates suggest that the property rights theory cannot fully explain the empirical facts. It appears necessary to also take into account the predictions of the theory of agricultural protection.
The Effects of Option Introduction on Analyst Coverage and Earnings Estimates
Authors: Yu Susana , Tandon Kishore , Webb Gwendolyn
Published: March 2016

Option introduction is associated with increased analyst coverage and a generally enhanced information environment for the underlying stocks. We hypothesize that these effects are more significant for Nasdaq than NYSE/Amex stocks because the Nasdaq stocks that are optioned tend to be smaller, traded less, and receive less analyst attention. Consistent with this, we document larger increases in analyst coverage, larger reductions in earnings forecast error, and more significant improvements in the timeliness of reaction to positive earnings announcements for Nasdaq stocks. We conclude that option introduction still has significant beneficial effects on stocks' trading and informational environment, even in a world where the great majority of large stocks have already been optioned.