cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Welfare by Any Other Name: Tax Transfers and the EITC

© Cambridge University Press 2009 and 2010.What exactly are we trying to accomplish by delivering social welfare benefits through the tax system? This article will explore this systemic question, and pose two further questions. First, what and who are we targeting when we advocate tax-transfer programs like the [earned income tax credit (EITC)]? And, second, are our current efforts effectively assisting the targeted beneficiaries? In addition, this article will discuss the current political and administrative state of the EITC, and recommend several ways in which the EITC, already the largest anti-poverty program in the United States, can further expand its reach and efficacy. QUESTION #1: WHAT EXACTLY ARE WE TRYING TO ACCOMPLISH BY DELIVERING SOCIAL WELFARE BENEFITS THROUGH THE TAX SYSTEM? Historically, advocates of tax-transfer programs have perceived multiple benefits to administering social-welfare programs through the Code. These benefits include obvious, structural advantages such as lower administrative costs. In the case of the EITC, would-be tax-transfer claimants self-declare eligibility simply by filing a tax return. Delivering benefits through the Code can also be more efficient and even operate as a countercyclical device, particularly if transfer payments are reflected in regular paychecks, a feature offered – but severely underutilized – in the current EITC's “advance payment” option. The structural advantages of tax-transfer programs such as the EITC also include a less intrusive administrative presence. Unlike traditional transfer programs administered outside the tax system, taxtransfer programs do not require claimants to interact with social welfare workers to initiate or continue receiving benefits. Generally, a claimant need only prove eligibility by filing an extra form with the IRS, the Schedule EIC.
Welfare Impacts of Introducing Drought-Tolerant Soybeans

Soybean farmers continue to face a number of challenges, including a constant environmental threat brought about by prolonged periods of drought. Among the immediate consequences is a diminished crop growth or yield production. Previous experiences of major droughts in the U.S. also resulted in livestock deaths and transformation of fertile land into desserts. Increasing focus is being given to create and develop soybean varieties that are more drought-resistant. The introduction of more drought-resistant soybeans have the potential to provide farmers with improvements in productivity either through improvement in yield, reductions in costs, or both. This would eventually translate into changes in the value of soybeans as well as a response in acreage planted of both the new drought-resistant varieties as well conventional types of varieties. Equally impacted are product derivatives of soybeans as well as other related markets. Given the potential gains and losses to different markets and industries from introducing more drought-resistant soybeans, it is important to evaluate how welfare impacts are distributed through the soybean value chain due to the introduction of such new soybean seed technology. We apply comparative static analyses using a multi-market equilibrium displacement model that takes a value chain approach to estimate the economic implications of introducing more drought-resistant soybean seeds into the marketplace.
An econometric approach to general equilibrium modeling

Abstract The first objective of this chapter is to present a new approach to econometric modeling of producer behavior. Our key contribution is to represent the rate and biases of technical change by unobservable or latent variables. We also divide the rate of technical change between components that are induced by changes in prices and those that are autonomous and not affected by prices. In our dataset, production is disaggregated into 35 separate commodities produced by one or more of the 35 industries making up the US economy. Our second objective is to present a new econometric model of aggregate consumer behavior. The model allocates full wealth among time periods for households distinguished by demographic characteristics, and determines the within-period demands for leisure, consumer goods and services. An important feature of our approach is the development of a closed-form representation of aggregate demand and labor supply that accounts for the heterogeneity in household behavior that is observed in micro-level data. Our model of producer behavior is the supply side of general equilibrium models of the US. The aggregate demand functions are important components of the demand side. These general equilibrium models are used to analyze the consequences of a broad spectrum of public policies. These applications are discussed in more detail in Chapter 8 of this Handbook. The third objective of the chapter is to demonstrate an important benefit of the econometric approach to parameterization. The parameter covariances obtained in the course of estimation can be used to construct confidence intervals for endogenous variables in general equilibrium models. Confidence intervals characterize the precision of modeling results more rigorously and systematically than traditional sensitivity analysis.
Public Attitudes Towards Transportation

Views are given of the Vice Chairman of the Wisconsin Highway Commission based as a participant in the consideration of broad changes in public attitudes toward transportation. Several attitudes have been determined: (1) the only really important transportation for an individual is that which he uses; (2) as the individual's transportation considerations are highly personal, they are highly emotional; (3) because the considerations are highly personal and emotional, they are also egocentric; and (4) the individual who favors a proposal does not go far out of his way to express his support, but opponents speak up quickly. Out of the testing ground of today will come a total, balanced transportation system to serve our people well.
Is God Present in the Song of Songs

Many commentators on the Song of Songs find no reference to God nor the sound of God’s voice in the Song.1 It is understandable that against the background of pagan fertility cults, when the very air was charged with the divinization of sex, the divine presence/voice would have to be muted in the context of sexuality. Nonetheless, I am convinced that God is clearly present in the Song— and he is not silent!
Detection using clustering query results

Previously, we proposed techniques to detect the misuse of search systems using predominantly relevance feedback based techniques. Although the approaches developed achieved high detection rate, they did so with a relatively high rate of false alarm. We now present a clustering query results based approach. This approach supports a higher precision, i.e., lower false alarm rate, with only a modest compromise on detection rate, namely recall.
Equilibrium shapes of cylindrical rotating liquid drops

We will consider surfaces whose mean curvature at a point is a linear function of the square of the distance from that point to the vertical axis. We restrict ourselves here to surfaces which are cylinders over a curve in a horizontal plane. We describe the moduli space of the set of solutions which includes numerous properly immersed and embedded examples. We also analyze the stability of these cylindrical surfaces.
Industry Organization and Output Size Distribution of Cotton Gins in the U.S.

With cotton output declining by 46 percent from 2005-2008 (from 23.89 M bales in 2005 to 12.8 M bales in 2008), gins are processing less cotton. This paper examines how output size distribution of cotton gins in the U.S. has evolved and the extent to which the developments in the U.S. ethanol industry, specifically the passage of the Energy Policy Act in 2005 (and its subsequent revisions), have influenced this structural process. Markov transitional probability matrices (TPMs) are estimated for two periods: 1994-2004 and 2005-2008 to determine changes in output size distribution of gins. TPMs indicate that relative to the pre-2005 period, gins had a greater propensity to process lower outputs after 2005. It is purported that in industries constrained by declining demand, bigger firms with excess capacity operate at higher costs than smaller firms that operate closer to their minimum efficient scale.
Monoids in the mapping class group

In this article we survey, and make a few new observations about, the surprising connection between sub-monoids of the mapping class groups and interesting geometry and topology in low-dimensions. 57R17; 20F36
Production Control and Production Contracts: Why Do Integrators Control Inputs?

In broiler and hog production contracts the integrator provides or specifies major non-labor inputs. Previous work attributed this pattern to quality considerations, which does not explain widespread concern among producers regarding loss of management control. I demonstrate that integrators reduce payments to producers by controlling inputs, regardless of quality considerations. Comments and suggestions are appreciated. Contact information: email goodhue@are.berkeley.edu, phone (510) 643 5417, fax (510) 643 8911. This paper is taken from my dissertation work. I greatly appreciate the comments and advice regarding my dissertation proffered by the members of my dissertation and qualifying examination committees: Ben Hermalin, Jeff Perloff, Gordon Rausser, Leo Simon and David Zilberman. Bob Lyons and Leo Simon provided assistance with BRS, the computer simulation environment in which simulations for this paper were performed. I gratefully acknowledge the financial support provided by a National Science Foundation Graduate Fellowship.
Design of a Biomolecular Device That Executes Process Algebra

Process algebras are widely used to define the formal semantics of concurrent communicating processes. In this paper, we implement a particularly expressive form of process algebra, known as stochastic ?-calculus, at the molecular scale by providing a design for a DNA-based biomolecular device that simulates a process algebraic machine. Our design of the molecular stochastic ?-calculus system makes use of a modified form of Whiplash-PCR (WPCR) machines. In this design, we connect (via a tethering DNA nanostructure) a number of DNA strands, each of which corresponds to a WPCR machine. This collection of WPCR machines are used to execute distinct concurrent processes, each with its own distinct program. Furthermore, their close proximity enables computation to proceed via communication.
A Chandra Observation of GRO J1744–28: The Bursting Pulsar in Quiescence

We present a Chandra/Advanced CCD Imaging Spectrometer I-array observation of GRO J1744-28. We detected a source at a position of R.A. = 17h44m3309, decl. = -28°44'270 (J2000.0; with a 1 σ error of ~08), consistent with both ROSAT and interplanetary network localizations of GRO J1744-28 when it was in outburst. This makes it likely that we have detected the quiescent X-ray counterpart of GRO J1744-28. Our Chandra position demonstrates that the previously proposed infrared counterpart is not related to GRO J1744-28. The 0.5-10 keV luminosity of the source is (2-4) × 1033 ergs s-1 (assuming the source is near the Galactic center at a distance of 8 kpc). We discuss our results in the context of the quiescent X-ray emission of pulsating and nonpulsating neutron star X-ray transients.
Origami constraints on the initial-conditions arrangement of dark-matter caustics and streams

In a cold dark matter universe, cosmological structure formation proceeds in rough analogy to origami folding. Dark matter occupies a three-dimensional ‘sheet’ of free-fall observers, non-intersecting in six-dimensional velocity–position phase space. At early times, the sheet was flat like an origami sheet, i.e. velocities were essentially zero, but as time passes, the sheet folds up to form cosmic structure. This paper further illustrates this analogy, and clarifies a Lagrangian definition of caustics and streams: caustics are two-dimensional surfaces in this initial sheet along which it folds, tessellating Lagrangian space into a set of three-dimensional regions, i.e. streams. The main scientific result of this paper is that streams may be coloured by only two colours, with no two neighbouring streams (i.e. streams on either side of a caustic surface) coloured the same. The two colours correspond to positive and negative parities of local Lagrangian volumes. This is a severe restriction on the connectivity and therefore arrangement of streams in Lagrangian space, since arbitrarily many colours can be necessary to colour a general arrangement of three-dimensional regions. This stream two-colourability has consequences from graph theory, which we explain. Then, using N-body simulations, we test how these caustics correspond in Lagrangian space to the boundaries of haloes, filaments and walls. We also test how well outer caustics correspond to a Zel'dovich-approximation prediction.
Nullisomic-Tetrasomic Combinations in Hexaploid Wheat

The discovery that the 21 different chromosomes of common wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) fall into seven homoeologous groups of three (Sears, 1952, 1954) was based primarily on the ability of each tetra-some to compensate for the nullisome of each of the other two chromosomes of the same group. Supporting evidence has come from the finding of Okamoto and Sears (1962) that the pairing in haploids is largely between chromosomes belonging to the same homoeologous group, and from the work of Riley and Kempanna (1963), who found only pairing of homoeologues when increased pairing was induced by the absence of chromosome 5B.
Any-Space Probabilistic Inference

We have recently introduced an any-space algorithm for exact inference in Bayesian networks, called Recursive Conditioning, RC, which allows one to trade space with time at increments of X-bytes, where X is the number of bytes needed to cache a floating point number. In this paper, we present three key extensions of RC. First, we modify the algorithm so it applies to more general factorizations of probability distributions, including (but not limited to) Bayesian network factorizations. Second, we present a forgetting mechanism which reduces the space requirements of RC considerably and then compare such requirements with those of variable elimination on a number of realistic networks, showing orders of magnitude improvements in certain cases. Third, we present a version of RC for computing maximum a posteriori hypotheses (MAP), which turns out to be the first MAP algorithm allowing a smooth time-space tradeoff. A key advantage of the presented MAP algorithm is that it does not have to start from scratch each time a new query is presented, but can reuse some of its computations across multiple queries, leading to significant savings in certain cases.
Visibility of point clouds and mapping of unknown environments

We present an algorithm for interpolating the visible portions of a point cloud that are sampled from opaque objects in the environment. Our algorithm projects point clouds onto a sphere centered at the observing locations and performs essentially non-oscillatory (ENO) interpolation to the projected data. Curvatures of the occluding objects can be approximated and used in many ways. We show how this algorithm can be incorporated into novel algorithms for mapping an unknown environment.
Normal Forms and Reduction for Theories of Binary Relations

We consider equational theories of binary relations, in a language expressing composition, converse, and lattice operations. We treat the equations valid in the standard model of sets and also define a hierarchy of equational axiomatisations stratifying the standard theory. By working directly with a presentation of relation-expressions as graphs we are able to define a notion of reduction which is confluent and strongly normalising, in sharp contrast to traditional treatments based on first-order terms. As consequences we obtain unique normal forms, decidability of the decision problem for equality for each theory. In particular we show a non-deterministic polynomial-time upper bound for the complexity of the decision problems.
The SGI/CRAY T3E: Experiences and Insights

The NASA Goddard Space Flight Center is home to the fifth most powerful supercomputer in the world, a 1024 processor SGI/Cray T3E-600. The original 512 processor system was placed at Goddard in March, 1997 as part of a cooperative agreement between the High Performance Computing and Communications Program's Earth and Space Sciences Project (ESS) and SGI/Cray Research. The goal of this system is to facilitate achievement of the Project milestones of 10, 50 and 100 GFLOPS sustained performance on selected Earth and space science application codes. The additional 512 processors were purchased in March, 1998 by the NASA Earth Science Enterprise for the NASA Seasonal to Interannual Prediction Project (NSIPP). These two "halves" still operate as a single system, and must satisfy the unique requirements of both aforementioned groups, as well as guest researchers from the Earth, space, microgravity, manned space flight and aeronautics communities. Few large scalable parallel systems are configured for capability computing, so models are hard to find. This unique environment has created a challenging system administration task, and has yielded some insights into the supercomputing needs of the various NASA Enterprises, as well as insights into the strengths and weaknesses of the T3E architecture and software. The T3E is a distributed memory system in which the processing elements (PE's) are connected by a low latency, high bandwidth bidirectional 3-D torus. Due to the focus on high speed communication between PE's, the T3E requires PE's to be allocated contiguously per job. Further, jobs will only execute on the user specified number of PE's and PE timesharing is possible but impractical. With a highly varied job mix in both size and runtime of jobs, the resulting scenario is PE fragmentation and an inability to achieve near 100% utilization. SGI/Cray has provided several scheduling and configuration tools to minimize the impact of fragmentation. These tools include PScheD (the political scheduler), GRM (the global resource manager) and NQE (the Network Queuing Environment). Features and impact of these tools will be discussed, as will resulting performance and utilization data. As a distributed memory system, the T3E is designed to be programmed through explicit message passing. Consequently, certain assumptions related to code design are made by the operating system (UNICOS/mk) and its scheduling tools. With the exception of HPF, which does run on the T3E, however poorly, alternative programming styles have the potential to impact the T3E in unexpected and undesirable ways. Several examples will be presented (preceeded with the disclaimer, "Don't try this at home! Violators will be prosecuted!")
Erosive Burning Study of Composite Solid Propellants by Turbulent Boundary-Layer Approach

Erosive burning of composite solid propellants is investigated by analyzing a steady, two-dimensional, chemically reacting, turbulent boundary layer over a propellant surface. Predicted erosive burning rates agree closely with experimental data. The erosive burning rate augmentation is found to be caused by the increase in heat feedback introduced by the increase in transport coefficients, and the turbulence enhanced mixing and reaction of the oxidizer and fuel gases. The increase in freestream gas velocity brings the location of the peak turbulence intensity and the heat release zone closer to the propellant surface, thereby increasing the burning rate of a propellant.
In Defense of the Contract at Will

The persistent tension between private ordering and government regulation exists in virtually every area known to the law, and in none has that tension been more pronounced than in the law of employer and employee relations. During the last fifty years, the balance of power has shifted heavily in favor of direct public regulation, which has been thought strictly necessary to redress the perceived imbalance between the individual and the firm. In particular the employment relationship has been the subject of at least two major statutory revolutions. The first, which culminated in the passage of the National Labor Relations Act in 1935,1 set the basic structure for collective bargaining that persists to the current time. The second, which is embodied in Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964,2 offers extensive protection to all individuals against discrimination on the basis of race, sex, religion, or national origin. The effect of these two statutes is so pervasive that it is easy to forget that, even after their passage, large portions of the employment relation remain subject to the traditional common law rules, which when all was said and done set their face in support of freedom of contract and the system of voluntary exchange. One manifestation of that position was the prominent place that the common law, especially as it developed in the nineteenth century, gave to the contract at will. The basic position was well set out in an oft-quoted passage from Payne v. Western & Atlantic Railroad:
Contract Incompleteness, Contractual Enforcement and Bureaucracies

This paper explains a frequent coexistence of deficient property rights and heavy bureaucracies. We suggest that in environments with insecure ownership bureaucracies substitute for enforceable contracts. We study irreversible investment in an asset, and model the property allocation as a game between a ruler and investors. Since the ex ante ownership allocation is not enforceable, an ex post share increase is optimal for the ruler. His share adjustment is costly; the heavier the bureaucratic machine the higher his cost. Bureaucracy improves investment incentives by reducing the wedge between the ruler’s ex ante and ex post equilibrium shares.
Real-Time Forecasts of Aircraft Departure Queues

Safe and efficient management of air traffic requires accurate predictions of aircraft trajectories. In the existing air traffic system, predictions of takeoff times at congested airports are a maj...
Research directions in the evaluation and treatment of sex offenders: An analysis

A review of the research on early and current techniques for evaluating and treating male sex offenders is presented, with emphasis on biological and behavioral therapies. Biological techniques found to be most promising include two types of antiandrogen hormone therapy: medroxyprogesterone acetate and cyproterone acetate. Behavioral techniques which have produced evidence of effectiveness include methods to eliminate deviant sexual behavior and methods to increase appropriate sexual behavior. The methodological shortcomings in the research of both biological and behavioral therapies are discussed, and new directions for future research are proposed. Language: en
Improved concentration bounds for count-sketch

We present a refined analysis of the classic Count-Sketch streaming heavy hitters algorithm [CCF02]. Count-Sketch uses O(k log n) linear measurements of a vector x e Rn to give an estimate x of x. The standard analysis shows that this estimate x satisfies Vx-xV2/∞, where x[k] is the vector containing all but the largest k coordinates of x. Our main result is that most of the coordinates of x have substantially less error than this upper bound; namely for any c
Explicitly Extending Frobenius Splittings over Finite Maps

Suppose that π: Y → X is a finite map of normal varieties over a perfect field of characteristic p > 0. Previous work of the authors gave a criterion for when Frobenius splittings on X (or more generally any p −e -linear map) extend to Y. In this paper we give an alternate and highly explicit proof of this criterion (checking term by term) when π is tamely ramified in codimension 1. Some additional examples are also explored.
A stabilized proper orthogonal decomposition reduced-order model for large scale quasigeostrophic ocean circulation

In this paper, a stabilized proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) reduced-order model (ROM) framework is developed for the barotropic vorticity equation. Two different closure ideas are utilized in order to model truncated modes in the ROMs. We apply the POD-ROMs to mid-latitude simplified oceanic basins, which are standard prototypes of more realistic large-scale ocean dynamics. Two closure schemes are used to model the effects of the discarded POD modes: a mode dependent eddy viscosity closure model and a Smagorinsky-type model. A sensitivity analysis with respect to the free eddy viscosity stabilization parameter is performed for various POD-ROMs with different numbers of POD modes. The POD-ROM results are validated against the Munk layer resolving direct numerical simulations using a fully conservative fourth-order Arakawa scheme. A comparison with the standard Galerkin POD-ROM without any stabilization or closure is also included in our investigation. For a four-gyre ocean circulation problem, the new POD-ROM closure models show significant improvements in accuracy over the standard Galerkin model. This first step in the numerical assessment of the POD-ROMs shows that they could represent a computationally efficient tool for large scale oceanic simulations over long time intervals.
Self‐serving biases: evidence from a simulated labour relationship

A self‐serving bias occurs when people subconsciously alter their perceptions about what is fair or right in a manner that serves their own interests. Perceptions of what constitutes “fair performance” may well vary according to one’s role in the employment relationship. While it is clear that employee satisfaction affects job performance, and that wage affects employee satisfaction, it is not only wage per se that determines morale, but also the perceived fairness of the received wage. Evidence from a laboratory experiment indicates these views differ significantly between participant “employers” and “employees.” We compare choices (hypothetical in the case of employers) for the amount of costly “effort” to provide in response to a wage that has been determined outside the employment relationship. In the field, managers must be aware of the relationship between fairness in compensation and employee morale, as well as their own biases regarding the fairness reference point.
Estimating economic impact using ex post econometric analysis: Cautionary tales

This paper provides an overview of techniques that can be used to estimate the economic impact of stadiums, events, championships, and franchises on local economies. Utilizing data from National Collegiate Athletic Association championships, this paper highlights the potential problems that can be made if city and time effects are not handled and unit-roots are not accounted for. In addition, the paper describes the technique for estimating dynamic panel data and the advantages that come with these modeling techniques.
Hölder Continuous Solutions of Active Scalar Equations

We consider active scalar equations $$\partial _t \theta + \nabla \cdot (u \, \theta ) = 0$$ , where $$u = T[\theta ]$$ is a divergence-free velocity field, and T is a Fourier multiplier operator with symbol m. We prove that when m is not an odd function of frequency, there are nontrivial, compactly supported solutions weak solutions, with Holder regularity $$C^{1/9-}_{t,x}$$ . In fact, every integral conserving scalar field can be approximated in $${\mathcal {D}}'$$ by such solutions, and these weak solutions may be obtained from arbitrary initial data. We also show that when the multiplier m is odd, weak limits of solutions are solutions, so that the h-principle for odd active scalars may not be expected.
Toward Photon-Efficient Key Distribution over Optical Channels

United States. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. Information in a Photon (InPho) Program (Contract HR0011-10-C-0159)
Increasing Returns, Industrialization, and Indeterminacy of Equilibrium

This paper asks whether adjustment processes over real time help to "select" the long-run outcome in a model of industrialization, where multiple stationary states exist because of increasing returns in the manufacturing sector. "History" alone cannot in general determine where the economy will end up. Self-fulfilling expectations often make the escape from the state of preindustrialization (the takeoff) possible. The global bifurcation technique is used to determine when an underdevelopment trap exists and when a takeoff path exists. The role of government policy and agricultural productivity in industrialization are then considered.
Consistent Quantum Realism: A Reply to Bassi and Ghirardi

A recent claim by Bassi and Ghirardi that the consistent (decoherent) histories approach cannot provide a realistic interpretation of quantum theory is shown to be based upon a misunderstanding of the single-framework rule: they have replaced the correct rule with a principle which directly contradicts it. It is their assumptions, not those of the consistent histories approach, which lead to a logical contradiction.
Escherich and Escherichia.

Publisher Summary The purpose of this chapter is threefold: (1) to give an outline of the life and the various achievements of Theodor Escherich, (2) to provide a background to the discovery of Bacterium coli commune (now Escherichia coli ), and (3) to indicate the enormous impact of studies with this organism. Theodor Escherich's success in discovering Bacterium coli commune stemmed from a mixture of luck and of the limitations in bacteriological techniques available at the time. Luck came in three forms: the preponderance of this organism in the stools of infants in contrast to adults, the obligate, rather than what he called facultative, presence of this organism in all the stools that he examined, and above all the remarkable ease with which it could be cultivated. The discovery of Escherichia coli in 1885 occurred at a time that saw the confluence of a number of factors. This discovery occurred during the so-called golden age of bacteriology when it became abundantly clear that newly discovered pathogenic bacteria caused many diseases—for example, tuberculosis was shown to be due to an infectious bacterium and cholera was shown to be due to the so-called comma bacillus.
A Novel radiation to test foundations of quantum mechanics

We point out that a new mechanism for radiation should exist if the Bohm theory of quantum mechanics is taken seriously. By traversing a quantum potential, an electron will necessarily be accelerated and radiate. For an illustration, we show that in the double-slit experiment this radiation yields a characteristic spectrum and a distinct pattern on the screen that is complementary to the pattern of the electrons. Experimentally, either the existence or the nonexistence of such a radiation would have important implications for the foundations of quantum mechanics.
Disequilibrium economic dynamics: A post-Schumpeterian contribution

Abstract Adaptive economizing in a decentralized economy with alternative technologies and scarce resources leads to various kinds of locally unstable behavior. Economic disequilibrium is the rule in such a world and requires the presence of market mechanisms that make possible continued viability. If in addition to local instability economies are also globally unstable, as considerable evidence suggests, then the discovery and application of new structure is essential. A complete dynamic theory of economic change must therefore be based not only on conventional rationality and routinely adapting behavior but on a superior faculty which may perhaps best be called creative intelligence.
Reciprocal Recommendation System for Online Dating

Online dating sites have become popular platforms for people to look for potential romantic partners. Different from traditional user-item recommendations where the goal is to match items (e.g., books, videos, etc) with a user's interests, a recommendation system for online dating aims to match people who are mutually interested in and likely to communicate with each other. We introduce similarity measures that capture the unique features and characteristics of the online dating network, for example, the interest similarity between two users if they send messages to same users, and attractiveness similarity if they receive messages from same users. A reciprocal score that measures the compatibility between a user and each potential dating candidate is computed and the recommendation list is generated to include users with top scores. The performance of our proposed recommendation system is evaluated on a real-world dataset from a major online dating site in China. The results show that our recommendation algorithms significantly outperform previously proposed approaches, and the collaborative filtering-based algorithms achieve much better performance than content-based algorithms in both precision and recall. Our results also reveal interesting behavioral difference between male and female users when it comes to looking for potential dates. In particular, males tend to be focused on their own interest and oblivious towards their attractiveness to potential dates, while females are more conscientious to their own attractiveness to the other side of the line.
Homogeneous Solutions of Pluriclosed Flow on Closed Complex Surfaces

Streets and Tian introduced a parabolic flow of pluriclosed metrics. We classify the long time behavior of homogeneous solutions of this flow on closed complex surfaces including minimal Hopf, Inoue, Kodaira, and non-Kahler, properly elliptic surfaces. We also construct expanding soliton solutions to the flow on the universal covers of these surfaces by taking blowdown limits of these homogeneous solutions.
Rational Function Frequency Extrapolation in Ultrasonic Tomography

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses rational function frequency extrapolation in ultrasonic tomography. The procedure for solving the inverse scattering problem is ultrasonic imaging. The derivation of the method is based on the Helmholtz equation model; it is applicable to any model for which the special sound pressure satisfies an asymptotic equality of the form. A perturbation method for correcting for curved ray paths is also described in the chapter. The algorithm can also be modified to image materials with more complicated frequency dependent attenuation. Examples of images reconstructed from computer simulated data with and without Gaussian additive noise are given. The beneficial effect of a noise tolerant first norm data-fitting algorithm in improving image quality is presented. The chapter discusses integral equation formulation of the Helmholtz equation. The analytic properties of the solution are discussed. The Thiele algorithm for constructing a rational function, which interpolates ϕk is discussed in the chapter.
Paying on the Margin for Medical Care: Evidence from Breast Cancer Treatments

We present a simple graphical framework to illustrate the potential welfare gains from a "top-up" health insurance policy requiring patients to pay the incremental price for more expensive treatment options. We apply this framework to breast cancer treatments, where lumpectomy with radiation therapy is more expensive than mastectomy but generates similar average health benefits. We estimate the relative demand for lumpectomy using variation in distance to the nearest radiation facility, and estimate that the "top-up" policy increases social welfare by $700-2,500 per patient relative to two common alternatives. We briefly discuss additional tradeoffs that arise from an ex-ante perspective.
A finite element-boundary integral method for cavities in a circular cylinder

The authors extend the FEM-BI (finite-element boundary-integral) method formulation for aperture antennas conformal to a cylindrical metallic surface. Formulas required for the computation of the matrix entries, excitation due to an obliquely incident plane wave, and the far-zone scattered field are given. To verify the accuracy of the finite elements used to discretize the cavity, the authors compare numerically computed resonant wavenumbers with their exact values. The percent error is within the expected bounds. >
Homology decompositions for classifying spaces of compact Lie groups

Let p be a prime number and G be a compact Lie group. A homology decomposition for the classifying space BG is a way of building BG up to mod p homology as a homotopy colimit of classifying spaces of subgroups of G. In this paper we develop techniques for constructing such homology decompositions. In (6) Jackowski, McClure and Oliver construct a homology decomposition of BG by classifying spaces of p-stubborn subgroups of G. Their decomposition is based on the existence of a nite-dimensional mod p acyclic G CW-complex with restricted set of orbit types. We apply our techniques to give a parallel proof of the p-stubborn decomposition of BG which does not use this geometric construction.
Just Two Nonorthogonal Quantum States

From the perspective of quantum information theory, a system so simple as one restricted to just two nonorthogonal states can be surprisingly rich in physics. In this paper, we explore the extent of this statement through a review of three topics: (1) “nonlocality without entanglement” as exhibited in binary quantum communication channels, (2) the tradeoff between information gain and state disturbance for two prescribed states, and (3) the quantitative clonability of those states. Each topic in its own way quantifies the extent to which two states are “quantum” with respect to each other, i.e., the extent to which the two together violate some classical precept. It is suggested that even toy examples such as these hold some promise for shedding light on the foundations of quantum theory.
The Design of a COM-Oriented Module System

We present in this paper the preliminary design of a module system based on a notion of components such as they are found in COM. This module system is inspired from that of Standard ML, and features first-class instances of components, first-class interfaces, and interface-polymorphic functions, as well as allowing components to be both imported from the environment and exported to the environment using simple mechanisms. The module system automates the memory management of interfaces and hides the IUnknown interface and QueryInterface mechanisms from the programmer, favoring instead a higher-level approach to handling interfaces.
GLAST Status and Application to Microquasars

The Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope (GLAST) is a next generation high energy gamma-ray observatory due for launch in Fall 2007. The primary instrument is the Large Area Telescope (LAT), which will measure gamma-ray flux and spectra from 20 MeV to > 300 GeV and is a successor to the highly successful EGRET experiment on CGRO. The LAT will have better angular resolution, greater effective area, wider field of view and broader energy coverage than any previous experiment in this energy range. An overview of the LAT instrument design and construction is presented which includes performance estimates with particular emphasis on how these apply to studies of microquasars. The nature and quality of the data that will be provided by the LAT is described with results from recent detailed simulations that illustrate the potential of the LAT to observe gamma ray variability and spectra.
State export data: origin of movement vs. origin of production

For data (Exports From Manufacturing Establishments Bureau of the Census, U.S. Department of Commerce), see http://www.census.gov/mcd/exports/. Also: Data is proprietary. However some data is publicly available at http://www.wisertrade.org/home/index.jsp 1987 State totals from Coughlin and Mandelbaum (1991) 1991 data from Center for International Data at UC Davis:
Chemo-Dynamical Evolution of Disk Galaxies, Smoothed Particles Hydrodynamics Approach

A new Chemo-Dynamical Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamic (CD-SPH) code is presented. The disk galaxy is described as a multi-fragmented gas and star system, embedded into the cold dark matter halo. The star formation (SF) process, SNII, SNIa and PN events as well as chemical enrichment of gas have been considered within the framework of standard SPH model. Using this model we try to describe the dynamical and chemical evolution of triaxial disk-like galaxies. It is found that such approach provides a realistic description of the process of formation, chemical and dynamical evolution of disk galaxies over the cosmological timescale.
Results of advanced battery technology evaluations for electric vehicle applications

Advanced battery technology evaluations are performed under simulated electric-vehicle operating conditions at the Analysis & Diagnostic Laboratory (ADL) of Argonne National Laboratory. The ADL results provide insight Into those factors that limit battery performance and life. The ADL facilities include a test laboratory to conduct battery experimental evaluations under simulated application conditions and a post-test analysis laboratory to determine, In a protected atmosphere if needed, component compositional changes and failure mechanisms. This paper summarizes the performance characterizations and life evaluations conducted during 1991--1992 on both single cells and multi-cell modules that encompass eight battery technologies [Na/S, Li/MS (M=metal), Ni/MH, Ni/Cd, Ni/Zn, Ni/Fe, Zn/Br, and Pb-acid]. These evaluations were performed for the Department of Energy, Office of Transportation Technologies, Electric and Hybrid Propulsion Division, and the Electric Power Research Institute. The ADL provides a common basis for battery performance characterization and life evaluations with unbiased application of tests and analyses. The results help identify the most-promising R&D approaches for overcoming battery limitations, and provide battery users, developers, and program managers with a measure of the progress being made in battery R&D programs, a comparison of battery technologies, and basic data for modeling.
An Agenda for Research on Urbanization in Developing Countries : A Summary of Findings from a Scoping Exercise

This paper assesses the state of research and examines priorities for future work in the area of urbanization and growth. This is done by reviewing and summarizing the findings of five scoping papers covering the following topics: urban poverty, the political economy of urban poverty, urban real estate and housing, urban infrastructure finance, and external assistance for urban development.
“No Hints, No Forecasts, No Previews”: An Empirical Analysis of Supreme Court Nominee Candor from Harlan to Kagan

Criticism of Supreme Court confirmation hearings has intensified considerably over the past two decades. In particular, there is a growing sense that nominees are now less forthcoming and that the hearings have suffered as a result. In this article, we challenge that conventional wisdom. Based on a comprehensive content analysis of every question and answer in all of the modern confirmation hearings—nearly 11,000 in total—we find only a mild decline in the candor of recent nominees. Moreover, we find that senators ask more probing questions than in the past, and that nominees are now more explicit about their reasons when they choose not to respond—two factors that may be fueling the perception that evasiveness has increased in recent years. We close with a discussion of the normative implications of our findings as well as an outline for future research into this issue. Over the past two decades, criticism of Supreme Court confirmation hearings has intensified considerably. In particular, there is a growing sense among Court observers that nominees are now more reluctant to answer questions during their Senate testimony, and that the quality of the hearings has deteriorated as a result. Recent proceedings have been described as “a vapid and hollow charade” (Kagan 1995: 941), an “exercise in obfuscation” (Yalof 2008: 141), and even a carefully choreographed “‘kabuki’ dance” (Fitzpatrick 2009). In short, the message from critics is clear: Nominees now say “nothing of value” during their testimony (Lemieux 2010), and the hearings are no longer what they used to be. The origins of this recent trend toward nominee evasiveness are generally traced to Robert Bork’s 1987 hearings (Lemieux 2010; see also Carter 1994; Kagan 1995). Observers argue that
Rents and Resources: A Market Process Perspective

While characteristically ‘Austrian' themes such as entrepreneurship, economic calculation, tacit knowledge and the temporal structure of capital are clearly relevant to the business firm, Austrian economists have said relatively little about management, organization, and strategy. This innovative book features 12 chapters that all seek to advance the understanding of these issues by drawing on Austrian ideas.
Totally nonnegative and oscillatory elements in semisimple groups

We generalize the well known characterizations of totally nonnegative and oscillatory matrices, due to F. R. Gantmacher, M. G. Krein, A. Whitney, C. Loewner, M. Gasca, and J. M. Pefia to the case of an arbitrary complex semisimple Lie group.
An International Perspective on the Determinants of Local Government Fragmentation

The main questions addressed in this paper are the identification of the main determinants of jurisdictional fragmentation as presently observed across countries and how well those findings line up with the predictions of the expanded standard model of optimal jurisdiction size. To our knowledge, to date, there does not exit a rigorous study analyzing the cross-country determinants of fragmentation in the way this issue has been previously analyzed for some particular countries. At the outset, country fixed effects can be expected to loom large and powerful. Each country with its own history conditioned by a myriad of details, including colonial legacies, geography or ethnic and linguistic fragmentation, are likely to have contributed to heterogeneous levels of fragmentation. These factors could all be summarized in what is often termed the long shadow or the “dead hand” of history. Indeed, some countries may still have the same vertical structure of government that they had many decades ago. But there are also many countries that have changed their governmental structures over the years. So in this paper we would like to find out what may the common determinants that have led to those changes, and also perhaps to help us better understand if those common determinants can also be used to explain why other countries have changed so little. The rest of this paper is organized as follows. In section 2 we offer a simple extension of the conventional model for optimal jurisdiction size. In section 3 we review the literature on government fragmentation and its impact. In section 4 we outline the empirical model proposed for the analysis of jurisdictional fragmentation. In section 5 we present the results from our estimations. We conclude in section 6.