cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The axonal sorting activity of pseudorabies virus Us9 protein depends on the state of neuronal maturation

Alpha-herpesviruses establish a life-long infection in the nervous system of the affected host; while this infection is restricted to peripheral neurons in a healthy host, the reactivated virus can spread within the neuronal circuitry, such as to the brain, in compromised individuals and lead to adverse health outcomes. Pseudorabies virus (PRV), an alpha-herpesvirus, requires the viral protein Us9 to sort virus particles into axons and facilitate neuronal spread. Us9 sorts virus particles by mediating the interaction of virus particles with neuronal transport machinery. Here, we report that Us9-mediated regulation of axonal sorting also depends on the state of neuronal maturation. Specifically, the development of dendrites and axons is accompanied with proteomic changes that influence neuronal processes. Immature superior cervical ganglionic neurons (SCGs) have rudimentary neurites that lack markers of mature axons. Immature SCGs can be infected by PRV, but they show markedly reduced Us9-dependent regulation of sorting, and increased Us9-independent transport of particles into neurites. Mature SCGs have relatively higher abundances of proteins characteristic of vesicle-transport machinery. We also identify Us9-associated neuronal proteins that can contribute to axonal sorting and subsequent anterograde spread of virus particles in axons. We show that SMPD4/nsMase3, a sphingomyelinase abundant in lipid-rafts, associates with Us9 and is a negative regulator of PRV sorting into axons and neuronal spread, a potential antiviral function.
Molecular Diversity of Glutamatergic and GABAergic Synapses from Multiplexed Fluorescence Imaging

Neuronal synapses contain hundreds of different protein species important for regulating signal transmission. Characterizing differential expression profiles of proteins within synapses in distinct regions of the brain has revealed a high degree of synaptic diversity defined by unique molecular organization. Multiplexed imaging of in vitro rat primary hippocampal culture models at single synapse resolution offers new opportunities for exploring synaptic reorganization in response to chemical and genetic perturbations. Here, we combine 12-color multiplexed fluorescence imaging with quantitative image analysis and machine learning to identify novel synaptic subtypes within excitatory and inhibitory synapses based on the expression profiles of major synaptic components. We characterize differences in the correlated expression of proteins within these subtypes and we examine how the distribution of these synapses is modified following induction of synaptic plasticity. Under chronic suppression of neuronal activity, phenotypic characterization revealed coordinated increases in both excitatory and inhibitory protein levels without changes in the distribution of synaptic subtypes, suggesting concerted events targeting glutamatergic and GABAergic synapses. Our results offer molecular insight into the mechanisms of synaptic plasticity. Significance Statement An immense number of proteins are present at synapses to regulate synaptic function. Recent efforts characterizing synaptic protein expression patterns suggest their differential expression gives rise to diverse synapse sub-populations. In this work, we use multiplexed fluorescence imaging with advanced image analysis to detect and quantify protein levels using CellProfiler. We apply our technique to develop a robust approach for unbiased synaptic subtype identification based on protein expression profiles using UMAP dimensional reduction and HDBScan clustering. Finally, we apply this approach to examine synaptic diversity in cultured hippocampal neurons and examine the molecular events of 11 proteins at excitatory and inhibitory synapses following synaptic scaling.
Soft x-ray detection for small satellites with a commercial CMOS sensor at room temperature

Recently, complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor (CMOS) sensors have progressed to a point where they may offer improved performance in imaging x-ray detection compared to the charge-coupled devices often used in x-ray satellites. We demonstrate x-ray detection in the soft x-ray band (250 to 1700 eV) by a commercially available back-illuminated Sony IMX290LLR CMOS sensor using the Advanced Photon Source at Argonne National Laboratory. While operating the device at room temperature, we measure energy resolutions (full width at half maximum) of 48 eV at 250 eV and of 83 eV at 1700 eV, which are comparable to the performance of the “Chandra” ACIS and the “Suzaku” XIS. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the IMX290LLR can withstand radiation up to 17.1 krad, making it suitable for use on spacecraft in low Earth orbit.
British Jewry and the Fight Against the International White‐Slave Traffic, 1885–1914

This article is a reprint from the following source: Bristow, Edward (1983). "British Jewry and the fight against the international white‐slave traffic, 1885–1914," Immigrants & Minorities, 2:2, 152-170. DOI: 10.1080/02619288.1983.9974547 Courtesy of the author and Taylor and Francis: www.tandfonline.com
Set-Membership Filtering-Based Leader–Follower Synchronization of Discrete-Time Linear Multi-Agent Systems

In this paper, a set-membership filtering-based leader-follower synchronization protocol for discrete-time linear multi-agent systems is proposed wherein the aim is to make the agents synchronize with a leader. The agents, governed by identical high-order discrete-time linear dynamics, are subject to unknown-but-bounded input disturbances. In terms of its own state information, each agent only has access to measured outputs that are corrupted with unknown-but-bounded output disturbances. Also, the initial states of the agents are unknown. To deal with all these unknowns (or uncertainties), a set-membership filter (or state estimator), having the `correction-prediction' form of a standard Kalman filter, is formulated. We consider each agent to be equipped with this filter that estimates the state of the agent and consider the agents to be able to share the state estimate information with the neighbors locally. The corrected state estimates of the agents are utilized in the local control law design for synchronization. Under appropriate conditions, the global disagreement error between the agents and the leader is shown to be bounded. An upper bound on the norm of the global disagreement error is calculated and shown to be monotonically decreasing. Finally, two simulation examples are included to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed set-membership filter and the proposed leader-follower synchronization protocol.
Deep Learning of Koopman Representation for Control

We develop a data-driven, model-free approach for the optimal control of the dynamical system. The proposed approach relies on the Deep Neural Network (DNN) based learning of Koopman operator for the purpose of control. In particular, DNN is employed for the data-driven identification of basis function used in the linear lifting of nonlinear control system dynamics. The controller synthesis is purely data-driven and does not rely on a priori domain knowledge. The OpenAI Gym environment, employed for Reinforcement Learning-based control design, is used for data generation and learning of Koopman operator in control setting. The method is applied to two classic dynamical systems on OpenAI Gym environment to demonstrate the capability.
China, the United States, and central bank digital currencies: how important is it to be first?

In only a few years, central bank digital currencies (CBDC) have gone from a fringe idea promoted by cryptocurrency bloggers to an idea being seriously explored by 80% of the world’s major central ...
Expert Selection in High-Dimensional Markov Decision Processes

In this work we present a multi-armed bandit framework for online expert selection in Markov decision processes and demonstrate its use in high-dimensional settings. Our method takes a set of candidate expert policies and switches between them to rapidly identify the best performing expert using a variant of the classical upper confidence bound algorithm, thus ensuring low regret in the overall performance of the system. This is useful in applications where several expert policies may be available, and one needs to be selected at run-time for the underlying environment.
JOINT-VENTURE ANALYSIS AFTER AMERICAN NEEDLE

The basic operational premise of the U.S. antitrust system posits that one can reliably demarcate business conduct into two distinct classes, specifically unilateral and concerted behavior. Professional sports leagues and other complex ventures confound this premise, engaging in arrangements that display both unilateral and concerted qualities. In 2010, the Supreme Court decided the American Needle case, which effectively asked in which category the conduct of professional sports leagues belonged. Rejecting the lower courts' determination that the IP-licensing activities of the NFL constituted unilateral action, the Court held that much intra- and extra-league activity is concerted, and thus subject to full rule-of-reason analysis. American Needle answered a simple question correctly, but failed to address a number of crucial issues about the permissible scope of joint-venture conduct, the nature of a “single entity,” and the application of the rule of reason to sports leagues and comparable ventures. We argue that distinguishing a sports league's “core” activities from its other kinds of conduct is neither a workable nor a legitimate means of conducting antitrust analysis. If that distinction is unworkable for sports leagues, it is equally unworkable for other joint ventures. We offer some thoughts on how courts and scholars should interpret American Needle, and we formulate a framework within which to assess the antitrust legality of intra- and extra-league restraints. We conclude that, in analyzing the business conduct of joint ventures, courts should appeal to a hypothetical bargain that would occur ex ante between the prospective members of the relevant venture, at the time of the venture's formation and thus under conditions of economic uncertainty. To the extent that the members would agree to adopt a particular practice to promote the effective functioning of the league, where the league faced efficiency-ensuring competition, that practice should satisfy any antitrust concerns. This approach suggests that the NFL's exclusive licensing of its members' IP ought to pass muster under the rule of reason.
Russian Election Reform and the Effect of Social Conformity on Voting and the Party System: 2007 and 2008

In 2007 Russian voters elected representatives to the State Duma under new electoral procedures that President V. Putin had instituted. A presidential election followed in 2008 leading to Putin’s new role as Prime Minister. To many observers, the reforms and the election campaigns resulted in a party system manipulated to the advantage of the government, although Putin’s reported goal was to reduce the number of political parties. Earlier research [1,2,6] reported that social conformity exerted a strong, persistent, and predictable influence on voting in national elections from 1991 to 2003. This analysis examines how the effect of social conformity on Russian voters might have changed from earlier elections as a result of the electoral reforms and campaign practices. Specific questions addressed are how well the political party system now aligns with the interests of voters, and whether this type of analysis can speak to fairness of the elections.
Consumption and Portfolio Decisions when Expected Returns are Time Varying

This paper presents an approximate analytical solution to the optimal consumption and portfolio choice problem of an infinitely lived investor with Epstein-Zin-Weil utility who faces a constant riskless interest rate and a time-varying equity premium. When the model is calibrated to U. S. stock market data, it implies that intertemporal hedging motives greatly increase, and may even double, the average demand for stocks by investors whose risk-aversion coefficients exceed one. The optimal portfolio policy also involves timing the stock market. Failure to time or to hedge can cause large welfare losses relative to the optimal policy.
Internal Capital Markets in Business Groups and the Propagation of Credit Supply Shocks

Using business registry data from China, we show that internal capital markets in business groups can propagate corporate shareholders' credit supply shocks to their subsidiaries. An average of 16.7% local bank credit growth where corporate shareholders are located would increase subsidiaries investment by 1% of their tangible fixed asset value, which accounts for 71% (7%) of the median (average) investment rate among these firms. We argue that equity exchanges is one channel through which corporate shareholders transmit bank credit supply shocks to the subsidiaries and provide empirical evidence to support the channel.
Dim Delobsom: French Colonialism and Local Response in Upper Volta

Dim Delobsom was one of the first indigenous colonial bureaucrats in the French administration of Upper Volta. Born in 1897, he rapidly rose through the ranks of colonial administration, becoming a high-level functionary. He also served as the resident anthropologist of the dominant Mossi tribe of Upper Volta, and published numerous books and articles on Mossi customs. Delobsom fell afoul of an important faction of the colonial apparatus, however, when he decided to assume the chieftaincy of his natal village upon his father's death. Colonial officials and French Catholic priests thought he would be compromised as a bureaucrat-chief, and sought to block his investiture. Delobsom died under mysterious circumstances shortly after being named chief, in 1940. His life reveals some important dimensions of the fractured colonial experience.
Does concrete language in disclosures increase willingness to invest

As part of its push for more plain English in disclosures, the SEC argues that firms should use more concrete language to make abstract concepts clearer to investors. We use two experiments to show that, when concrete language is highlighted in a prospectus, investors are significantly more willing to invest in a firm than when abstract language is highlighted. Furthermore, we show the effect of concrete language is particularly important when investors feel more psychologically distant from a firm. Drawing on psychology theory, we predict and find that concrete language increases investors’ feelings of comfort in their ability to evaluate an investment. Our study contributes to the literature on how language choices in disclosures affect investors’ judgments by demonstrating that a simple, yet potentially powerful reporting tool of emphasizing concrete language may attract investors who may otherwise be reluctant to invest.
Citizens United and the Orphaned Antidistortion Rationale

This brief Essay, written for a symposium in the Georgia State Law Review, considers liberals’ abandonment in the Citizens United case of the “antidistortion” interest for corporate campaign spending limits. Soon after his retirement, Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens gave an interview to the CBS television program 60 Minutes in which he defended corporate spending limits on antidistortion grounds. Reacting to the Stevens interview, the president of Citizens United lauded the Court’s decision on grounds that it would level the playing field. How strange that both the Citizens United prime dissenter and plaintiff described the decision in terms of antidistortion/political equality effects. The irony in this debate is that Mr. Bossie’s group argued before the Supreme Court that the First Amendment barred taking political equality concerns into account in fashioning campaign finance rules, and Justice Stevens’ dissent did its best to avoid acknowledging that it was defending corporate spending limits, in part, on political equality grounds. Justice Stevens’ failure to expressly defend corporate spending limits on political equality grounds came after the government had abandoned the rationale in the Supreme Court.This Essay argues that the antidistortion argument did not deserve to be orphaned, and remains a key animating principle in thinking about the desirability of campaign finance laws. Part I explains how the antidistortion argument became an orphan in Citizens United, laying the blame with the Solicitor General’s office and with Justice Stevens muddled Citizens United dissent. Part II explains the cost of this orphaning for the future of campaign finance and related laws: keeping the political equality rationale in the closet will make it harder to get legislative and judicial change in the campaign finance arena going forward, and it prevents a full and honest debate about the desirability and cost of campaign finance laws justified on political equality grounds.
When do high stock returns trigger equity issues

Abstract One of the most prominent stylized facts in corporate finance is that equity issues tend to follow periods of high stock returns. We document that firms exhibit such timing behavior only in response to high returns that coincide with strong institutional investor demand. When not accompanied by institutional purchases, stock price increases have little impact on the likelihood of equity issuance. The results highlight the importance of market reception for the timing of equity issues.
Policy Rules and Monetarist Arithmetic

This note demonstrates the existence of an important equilibrium path overlooked in the literature on monetarist arithmetic. Pleasant monetarist arithmetic is possible when the interest-elasticity of money demand exceeds unity. In this case, tight money may lead to a transitory increase in seigniorage, the retirement of government debt, and lower inflation in both the short run and the long run. The set of equilibrium paths is sensitive, however, to the form of the policy rule. Pleasant monetarist arithmetic is not an equilibrium if the policy rule fixes the share of the fiscal deficit financed by seigniorage. Both pleasant monetarist arithmetic and the tight-money paradox are equilibrium paths when the government's commitment to low money growth is conditional on inflation remaining below its previous level.
Board independence and firm performance in China

Abstract We provide the first comprehensive and robust evidence on the relationship between board independence and firm performance in China. We find that independent directors have an overall positive effect on firm operating performance in China. Our findings are robust to a battery of tests, including endogeneity checks using instrumental variables, the dynamic generalized method of moments estimator, and the difference-in-differences method. The positive relationship between board independence and firm performance is stronger in government-controlled firms and in firms with lower information acquisition costs. We also document that Chinese independent directors play an important role in constraining insider self-dealing and improving investment efficiency.
Team production, endogenous learning about abilities and career concerns

Abstract This paper studies career concerns in teams where the support a worker receives depends on fellow team members׳ efforts and abilities. In this setting, by exerting effort and providing support, a worker can influence her own and her teammates׳ project outputs in order to bias the learning process in her favor. To manipulate the market׳s assessment, we argue that in equilibrium, a worker has incentives to help or even sabotage her colleagues in order to signal that she is of higher ability. In a multiperiod stationary framework, we show that the stationary level of work effort is above and help effort is below their efficient levels.
The Neutered Mother

This article evaluates the consequences for Mothers of the de-gendering of family law, particularly in the context of child custody. It traces the history of child custody in family law from the early Anglo-American rules that extended paternal property rights to the development of the best interests of the child standard with the supplemental “tender years” doctrine that often favored Mothers. The shift away from paternal rights towards a presumption of maternal custody was due in part to the powerful cultural image of Mother as nurturer and caretaker. However, Professor Fineman argues this shift actually reinforced patriarchical norms as fathers’ rights groups in the 1970s absorbed and redeployed liberal legal feminists’ arguments against gender-specific tests in law. Pushing the symbolic Mother to the periphery of family law discourse in the name of gender neutrality has tended to harm the most vulnerable mothers. “Parenting” has replaced Mothering in family law discourse. The valorization of the individual as an unencumbered economic actor by liberal legal feminists and the emphasis on the heterosexual couple as the basic unit of the family in legal discourse give no consideration to the unique role of Mothers in child rearing. In fact, the sexualized family marks as deviant and dangerous the family unit of mother and child. While gender-neutrality in legal rule-making represents the triumph of the assimilationists, it also means that any preferences based on the gendered concept of Motherhood have to be purged from the law. This purge leaves Mothers vulnerable before the law. Fineman argues that the results from the neutering of Motherhood in law should make feminists wary of equality. In her view, feminist legal theory cannot be gender-neutral and cannot strive for equality in the traditional, formal, and legal sense of that word if it is to address the needs of Mothers. Instead, feminist legal theory should incorporate the gendered experiences of women’s lives to demonstrate that the concept of differences is necessary to remedy the harms to women. The contest over the definition of Mother in law will of necessity challenge patriarchy’s core concepts such as equality
Mental Impairments and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973

This article examines the question of whether an asserted mental disorder should be regarded as a statutory impairment. The article begins by outlining the Rehabilitation Act and by discussing the diagnostic difficulties that exist in the mental health field. It then surveys specific cases arising under the Rehabilitation Act. Selected cases reviewing state statutory language are also examined. The article provides a broad discussion of the questions and concerns that must be considered when formulating a nondiscrimination policy protecting mentally impaired persons. It concludes by suggesting an approach for handling cases alleging discrimination due to a mental impairment.
Forward and Falsely Induced Reverse Information Cascades

This study is the first to empirically test both forward and (falsely induced) reverse information cascades in an experimental setting using real-time instant feedback to participants. We find that, on average, individuals abandon their private information sets in favor of the group's as early as three steps and as late as five steps into the information discovery process. These findings are important to the fields of both finance and real estate in that we document a personality trait that causes individuals to be swayed from their independently chosen course of action. The results have ramifications for herding behavior and when modeling the spread of society's willingness to strategically default.
Managing Rollover Risk with Capital Structure Covenants in Structured Finance Vehicles

The shadow banking system comprises special purpose vehicles (SPVs) characterized by high debt, illiquid long-maturity assets funded predominantly by short-maturity debt, and tranched liabilities, also known as the capital structure of the SPV. These three features lead to an adversarial game among senior-note holders, who solve for an optimal rollover policy based on the other senior tranches with varying rollover dates. This rollover policy is, in turn, taken into account by capital-note holders (i.e., investors in the equity tranche) when choosing the capital structure (i.e., the assets-to-debt ratio) of the SPV. Rollover risk increases in the number of time tranches, resulting in a lower equilibrium level of debt and higher cost of debt. The expected life of the SPV may also be shortened. We propose a covenant-based capital structure that mitigates these problems and is Pareto-improving for equity and debt holders in the SPV.
Structuring the Smartphone Industry: Is the Mobile Internet OS Platform the Key?

With the launch of the original iPhone, Apple redefined the “smartphone” product category and accelerated the convergence of traditional mobile telephony, Internet services, and personal computing into a new industry. As these sectors merge into a single device, formerly separate industry architectures and their constituent firms are being forced into direct competition. We test theories of industry architecture and technological platforms regarding their ability to explain the strategies of key entrants in navigating the transition. We analyze in detail the actions and strategies of four major competitors, including Apple, Google, Microsoft, Nokia, and, more briefly, Research in Motion and HP/Palm, from the framework of technological platform theory. Our analysis suggests that currently some competitors are following traditional platform strategies, but that Google and Apple appear to have adopted strategies at odds with platform literature. We examine how the dynamics of this convergence may lead to a reconsideration of certain tenets of platform theory.
Agency Costs of Overvalued Equity

The recent dramatic increase in corporate scandals and value destruction is due to what I call the agency costs of overvalued equity. I believe these costs have amounted to hundreds of billions of dollars in recent years. When a firm's equity becomes substantially overvalued it sets in motion a set of organizational forces that are extremely difficult to manage, forces that almost inevitably lead to destruction of part or all of the core value of the firm. The first step in managing these forces lies in understanding the incongruous proposition that managers should not let their stock price get too high. By too high I mean a level at which management will be unable to deliver the performance required to support the market's valuation. Once a firm's stock price becomes substantially overvalued managers who wish to eliminate it are faced with disappointing the capital markets. This value resetting (what I call the elimination of overvaluation) is not value destruction because the overvaluation would disappear anyway. The resulting stock price decline will generate substantial pain for shareholders, board members, managers and employees. The prospect of this value resetting pain makes it difficult for managers and boards to short circuit the forces leading to destruction of part or all of the core value of the firm. And in many cases managers choosing to defend the overvaluation instead end up destroying part or all of the core value of the firm. WorldCom, Enron, Nortel, and eToys are only a few examples of what can happen if these forces go unmanaged. Control markets cannot solve the problem because you cannot buy up an overvalued firm, eliminate the overvaluation and make money. Equity-based compensation cannot solve the problem because it makes the problem worse, not better. While it is puzzling that short selling was unable to resolve the problem the evidence seems to be consistent with the Shleifer and Vishny (1997) arguments for the limits of arbitrage. It appears the solution to these problems lies in the board of directors and the governance system, and there is substantial evidence that weak governance systems have failed widely. It also appears that boards and audit committees would be well served by communicating with and carefully evaluating the information that could be provided by short sellers of the firm's securities.
Legal Bargaining Theory's New "Prospecting" Agenda: It May Be Social Science, But Is It News?

In the good old days legal bargaining scholarship was based mostly on negotiator war stories exuberantly told. The social-scientific study of the subject did not begin in earnest until the nineteen-seventies. Since then, however, the literature of storytelling has gone into a pronounced eclipse and social-scientific study is now the principal scholarly game in town. This article questions the wisdom of this shift, almost seismic in its proportions, and argues that it is too soon to jump on the social science bandwagon. Discussion focuses on the uses made of the Prospect Theory of Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky and the Theory’s central concept of Anchoring. Anchoring is the most thoroughly analyzed of the Prospect Theory concepts and difficulties encountered in incorporating it into legal bargaining theory will recur many times over in working with other parts of the Prospect Theory framework. It is an exemplary test case.
Dilemmas of Indissoluble Parenthood: Legal Incentives, Parenting, and the Work-Family Balance

Building upon three main points developed by Patrick Parkinson in Family Law and the Indissolubility of Parenthood (2011), this paper shows that globally there is great legal interest in protecting parenting and parent-children relations; that issues grounded in the indissolubility of parenthood arise during ongoing marriages as well as after marital breakup (or nonformation); and that legal reforms to reduce or eliminate laws creating perverse incentives that impede effective, committed parenting should consider regulations regarding intact families as well as never-married and post-divorce families. This article reviews evidence of the deterioration of families and of parenting in society, including rising cohabitation, increasing non-marital child-bearing, consistently high (and socially accepted) divorce, and growing single-parenting, with attendant high social cost, all indicating a need for laws that support indissoluble parenting. Provisions in the national constitutions of 180 (out of 193 sovereign) nations that protect parents, children and parent-child relations, are reviewed and discussed; they manifest wide global recognition of the principle of indissoluble parenthood and its importance to societies and nations. The silent abandonment of children by time-fragmented parents who are pulled by and focused on other interests and responsibilities is discussed; research about the impact of mothers' employment and fathers' non-parenting upon quality of family life and child development is reviewed to suggest the need for policies that encourage commitment to parenting and reward career and other sacrifices made for children. Some examples of specific legal rules that create perverse incentives to neglect parenting and others that reinforce good parenting are discussed. Persistence in crafting laws to promote recognition of and commitment to the responsibilities of indissoluble parenthood, even despite temporary setbacks and problems, is recommended.
Between corporate development and public service: the cultural system reform in the Chinese media sector:

If the cultural system reform in the 1980s and 1990s was peripheral and sluggish, in the 21st century it has become a central part of China’s unswerving reform and noticeably gained velocity after ...
Liquidity, assets and business cycles

Abstract The objective here is to evaluate the quantitative importance of financial frictions in business cycles. The analysis shows that a negative financial shock can cause aggregate investment, employment and consumption to fall with output. Despite this realistic comovement among macro quantities, a negative financial shock generates an equity price boom as the shock tightens firms׳ financing constraint. This counterfactual response of the equity price is robust to a wide range of variations in how financial frictions are modeled and whether financial shocks affect asset liquidity or firms׳ collateral constraints. Some possible resolutions to this puzzle are discussed.
Content-Based Copyright Denial

No principle of First Amendment law is more firmly established than the principle that government may not restrict speech based on its content. It would seem to follow, then, that Congress may not withhold copyright protection for disfavored categories of content, such as violent video games or pornography. This Article argues otherwise. This Article is the first to recognize a distinction in the scope of coverage between the First Amendment and the Copyright Clause. It claims that speech protection from government censorship does not imply speech protection from private copying. Crucially, I argue that this distinction in the scope of coverage between copyright and free speech law does not suggest a tension between them. To the contrary, the distinction enables copyright to further the purpose of free speech under the marketplace-of-ideas speech theory. Through copyright, Congress may alleviate failures in that marketplace which stem from individuals determining the value of speech for the collective. Furthermore, the possibility of Congress abusing this discriminatory power poses relatively minimal threat to speech because copyright denial does not altogether prevent speakers from realizing profit from their speech. This fact, coupled with viewpoint-neutrality and rational-basis restraints, alleviates the usual risks associated with government influencing content in the marketplace. Additionally, free-speech doctrine leaves room for the sort of discrimination that Congress would exercise in defining copyright eligibility according to content. Doctrines governing limited-public forums and congressional funding allow for content discrimination akin to content-based copyright denial.
Prisons in Africa: An evaluation from a human rights perspective

While prisons in Africa are often considered the worst in the world many other prisons systems are worse off in terms of violence, overcrowding and a host of other problems. This is not to argue that African prisons are human rights friendly. Many are in a deficient condition and their practises are at odds with human rights standards. However, prisons in many parts of the world are in crisis. Never before have there been so many problems within penal systems and such large numbers of people in institutions of incarceration. This article examines the historical development of African prisons from colonial times and considers the legacy that colonialism has left in prisons on the continent. The article also examines a range of issues in prisons throughout Africa including pretrial detention, overcrowding, resources and governance, women and children in prison, and rehabilitation. A substantial amount of space is devoted to the reforms that are occurring across the continent, and recommendations are made with regard to what further reforms are necessary. The role of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights as well as the Special Rapporteur on Prisons and Conditions of Detention in Africa are also considered. Original in English.
The Information Content of Investors' Expectations for Risk and Return

This study reveals the information content of individual investors' risk-adjusted return expectations. Although individual investors overestimate the performance of their stock purchases on an average, the cross-sectional variation in their risk-adjusted return expectations is predictive of future risk-adjusted stock performance. Stock purchases that investors expect to outperform the most do outperform the stock purchases that investors expect to outperform the least by an annualized alpha of 16%. The best performing stocks are those that investors with excellent experience expect to outperform the most while the worst performing stocks are those that investors with limited experience expect to outperform the least. The most experienced investors appear to be successfully using information gathered from personal experience with the company's products or services, contact with someone who works for or with the company on a regular basis, and proximity to the company's operations.
Religion, Longevity, and Cooperation: The Case of the Craft Guild.

When the mortality rate is high, repeated interaction alone may not sustain cooperation, and religion may play an important role in shaping economic institutions. This insight explains why during the fourteenth century, when plagues decimated populations and the church promoted the doctrine of purgatory, guilds that bundled together religious and occupational activities dominated manufacturing and commerce. During the sixteenth century, the disease environment eased, and the Reformation dispelled the doctrine of purgatory, necessitating the development of new methods of organizing industry. The logic underlying this conclusion has implications for the study of institutions, economics, and religion throughout history and in the developing world today.
An application of the two-stage Bivariate Probit-Tobit model to corporate financing decisions

Most of the previous studies on the firms’ debt-equity choice utilize the standard single equation Probit (or Logit) model as if firms face a single dichotomous decision to issue debt or equity, but not both. The main purpose of this study is to use a two stage Bivariate Probit–Tobit model to examine the factors affecting the choice between internal and external funding and between debt and equity as well as the size of issues. Our results indicate that the Bivariate-Probit estimation is more efficient than that of two independent Probit equations. An examination of factors that affect the choice of financing form and the size of issue support the predictions of trade-off theory. The pecking order’s prediction that, if external funding is needed, firms issue debt first and then equity finds no support in this study as firms with higher information asymmetry have propensity to issue equity rather than debt. While information asymmetry affects the choice between debt and equity, we find no evidence that it influences the size of issue.
The Effects of an Auditor's Communication Mode and Professional Tone on Client Responses to Audit Inquiries

Abstract In this study, we investigate whether receiving an auditor inquiry via e-mail differentially affects client responses as compared to more traditional modes of inquiry, and whether those responses are affected by the auditor's professional tone. In an experiment, experienced business professionals respond to an auditor's information request regarding a potential accounting adjustment. We varied the communication mode of the request (e-mail, audio, or visual) and the professional tone of the communication (more versus less professional) and then measured the extent to which participants revealed information that either supported or did not support the client's accounting position. We find that if an auditor asks for information via e-mail, client responses are more biased towards information that supports the client's position as compared to audio or visual inquiries. In addition, we find that clients respond in a more biased manner when the inquiry is worded in a less professional tone as compared to a more professional tone. Further underscoring the implications of these findings for audit outcomes, our results suggest that if an auditor's request leads clients to provide a response that is biased towards client-supporting information, clients may be less likely to agree with an auditor's proposed income-decreasing adjustment.
TRADE SANCTIONS AND HUMAN RIGHTS - PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE

The relationship between the international law of trade and the international law of human rights has commanded an increasing amount of scholarly attention in the past few years, perhaps spurred by the well-known events at Seattle in 1999. This article offers some reflections on this relationship, focusing on the permissibility under international law of imposing trade sanctions against nations that commit violations of international human rights. Part I begins with some reflections on the historical relationship between these two bodies of law. Part I also considers why the human rights community appears to feel threatened by the international trade system, and not the other way around. Part II considers whether, under current trade norms, trade concessions may be suspended in response to human rights violations. Part III turns to the normative question: how should the WTO address human rights? Oxford University Press 2003, Oxford University Press.
Research on Idea Generation and Selection: Implications for Management of Technology

Idea generation and selection are fundamental activities in innovation. Scholars in many disciplines have written about these activities, addressing diverse perspectives. In this paper, we synthesize the research findings most applicable to the management of technology. First, we present findings on the process of idea generation: the importance of problem recognition and the many decisions made in organizing the effort. Second, we present findings about the process of idea selection, focusing on the different types of information that can be used in that decision. Third, we turn our attention to the organizational context in which both idea generation and selection occur: the corporate culture, use of incentives, organizational structure, and use of teams. Finally, we conclude, emphasizing that although idea generation and selection are as old as human decision making, changes in technology still affect these fundamental processes. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Managerial attitudes and corporate actions

Abstract We administer psychometric tests to senior executives to obtain evidence on their underlying psychological traits and attitudes. We find US CEOs differ significantly from non-US CEOs in terms of their underlying attitudes. In addition, we find that CEOs are significantly more optimistic and risk-tolerant than the lay population. We provide evidence that CEOs' behavioral traits such as optimism and managerial risk-aversion are related to corporate financial policies. Further, we provide new empirical evidence that CEO traits such as risk-aversion and time preference are related to their compensation.
Trade Secret Litigation and Free Speech: Is It Time to Restrain the Plaintiffs?

Trade secret misappropriation litigation is often criticized for its negative effects on competition and speech. In particular, some accuse plaintiff trade secret owners of filing complaints for the purpose of running competitors out of business, or restraining individuals from discussing matters which are unfavorable. This Article enters the discussion to critically assess whether there is reason to consider restricting these actions. It concludes that trade secret litigation on the whole does not inappropriately impinge on speech rights. Even if certain cases come closer to offending defendants’ free speech rights, these occasions and the concerns they raise are not unique to trade secret law. Instead, they stem from the broader issue of litigation misuse in civil and intellectual property cases. Indeed, there are particular reasons not to be overly concerned about trade secret actions because existing litigation safeguards, when properly applied, minimize the risk of free speech incursions.
The Supreme Court’s Regulation of Civil Procedure: Lessons from Administrative Law

In this Article, we argue that the U.S. Supreme Court should route most Federal Rules of Civil Procedure issues through the notice-and-comment rulemaking process of the Civil Rules Advisory Committee instead of issuing judgments in adjudications, unless the Court can resolve the case solely through the deployment of traditional tools of statutory interpretation. While we are not the first to express a preference for rulemaking on civil procedure issues, we advance the position in four significant ways. First, we argue that the Supreme Court in the civil procedure arena is vested with powers analogous to most administrative agencies. Second, building upon this insight, we present a justification for favoring rulemakings over adjudications by analogy to administrative law. Third, we couple this preference for rulemaking over adjudication with three criteria detailing when this presumption should apply. Namely, we conclude that civil procedure issues are better resolved by reference to the Advisory Committee if the issue (a) requires an interpretation of a rule that rests substantially upon legislative facts, (b) calls for the resolution of a Chevron step-two-like ambiguity, or (c) seeks a resolution that approximates a legislative rule. Only when traditional tools of statutory interpretation—text, history, and purpose—will resolve a case should the Court retain its disposition in the adjudicatory form. Fourth, we offer the mechanisms for pragmatically achieving this preference for rulemaking both under existing law as well as through a new “referencing” procedure, without unduly constraining the flexibility needed by lower courts to implement the civil rules effectively. In so doing, we contend that expanding the Court’s use of rulemaking not only should result in better rules but should also bolster the democratic legitimacy of the Court’s civil-rules decisionmaking.
The information content of the term structure of risk-neutral skewness

Abstract We seek to reconcile the debate about the price effect of risk-neutral skewness (RNS) on stocks. We document positive predictability from short-term skewness, consistent with informed-trading demand, and negative predictability from long-term skewness, consistent with skewness preference. A term spread on RNS captures different information from long- and short-term contracts, resulting in stronger predictability. The quintile portfolio with the lowest spread outperforms that with highest spread by 14.64% annually. The term structure of RNS predicts earnings surprises and price crashes. We extract the slope factor from RNS term structure, estimate its risk premium, and explore its relation with several macroeconomic variables.
Is Black Market Exchange Rate a Good Indicator of Equilibrium Exchange Rate? A Simple Test With Evidence From South Asia

The black market exchange rate premium is widely used in the empirical literature as an indicator of trade and exchange rate distortions. This paper presents a simple test of the null hypothesis that the black market exchange rate is a reliable indicator of the equilibirum exchange rate. The evidence from India and Sri Lanka rejects the null, and thus raises serious doubts about the validity of the current empirical practice.
Situations, Frames, and Stereotypes: Cognitive Barriers on the Road to Nondiscrimination

The psychological literature enhances our understanding of discrimination. This essay discusses three examples of how that literature can contribute to limiting destructive gender bias in the workplace, in private interactions, and in the courtroom. First, situational pressures have a powerful influence on our actions and must be taken into account in combating employment discrimination. A workplace designed for traditional male needs (limited parenting and home responsibilities) will continue to pressure females out of the workplace or childbearing despite formal equality rules. Second, the use of the term “disorder” as a frame for describing persons with an intersex condition may not achieve the ultimate goals of the movement, despite its perceived short-term advantages for communicating with the medical community. This frame may provoke reflexive images that hinder communications with a number of other groups, including parents and the community at large. Finally, although transsexual plaintiffs have been able to take advantage of Title VII under the Supreme Court’s “sex stereotyping” theory in Price Waterhouse, that theory ultimately reinforces stereotyping by requiring the plaintiffs to set up stereotypes for comparison, and that condition may ultimately reinforce the stereotypes. Rooting out gender inequality requires an understanding of how these inequalities are embedded in our thinking processes.