cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Further Considerations Regarding the Aharonov-Bohm Effect and the Wavefunction of the Entire System

In an earlier paper it was demonstrated that the hypothesized electrostatic version of the Aharonov-Bohm (“AB”) effect does not exist. The conclusion follows straightforwardly once one recognizes that interference takes place in the configuration space of the entire system, including the experimental apparatus, and the wavefunction of the apparatus cannot be ignored. Two additional results are presented here. 1. Observations of interference that had been attributed to an analogue of the electrostatic AB effect (or “scalar effect”) are actually due to a magnetic AB effect. 2. In the original magnetic AB effect itself, there is no phase shift if it is possible effectively to shield the solenoid from the influence of the passing electron. This result is not in conflict with the landmark experiments of Tonomura and colleagues if Wang’s recent claim is correct, that superconductive shielding could not have isolated the toroidal magnet from the magnetic pulse of the passing electron.
An information-theoretic, all-scales approach to comparing networks

As network research becomes more sophisticated, it is more common than ever for researchers to find themselves not studying a single network but needing to analyze sets of networks. An important task when working with sets of networks is network comparison, developing a similarity or distance measure between networks so that meaningful comparisons can be drawn. The best means to accomplish this task remains an open area of research. Here we introduce a new measure to compare networks, the Network Portrait Divergence, that is mathematically principled, incorporates the topological characteristics of networks at all structural scales, and is general-purpose and applicable to all types of networks. An important feature of our measure that enables many of its useful properties is that it is based on a graph invariant, the network portrait. We test our measure on both synthetic graphs and real world networks taken from protein interaction data, neuroscience, and computational social science applications. The Network Portrait Divergence reveals important characteristics of multilayer and temporal networks extracted from data.
A reduced complexity cross-correlation interference mitigation technique on a real-time software-defined radio GPS L1 receiver

The U.S. global position system (GPS) is one of the existing global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) that provides position and time information for users in civil, commercial and military backgrounds. Because of its reliance on many applications nowadays, it's crucial for GNSS receivers to have robustness to intentional or unintentional interference. Because most commercial GPS receivers are not flexible, software-defined radio emerged as a promising solution for fast prototyping and research on interference mitigation algorithms. This paper provides a proposed minimum mean-squared error (MMSE) interference mitigation technique which is enhanced for computational feasibility and implemented on a real-time capable GPS L1 SDR receiver. The GPS SDR receiver SW has been optimized for real-time operation on National Instruments' LabVIEW (LV) platform in conjunction with C/C++ dynamic link libraries (DLL) for improved efficiency. Performance results of said algorithm with real signals and injected interference are discussed. The proposed SDR receiver gains in terms of BER curves for several interferers are demonstrated.
Fluctuations, correlations and some other recent results from lattice QCD

I summarize recent results from lattice QCD on a few selected topics which are of interest to the heavy-ion physics community. Special emphasis is placed upon observables related to fluctuations of conserved charges and their connection to event-by-event fluctuations in heavy-ion collision experiments.
SAFS: A deep feature selection approach for precision medicine

In this paper, we propose a new deep feature selection method based on deep architecture. Our method uses stacked auto-encoders for feature representation in higher-level abstraction. We developed and applied a novel feature learning approach to a specific precision medicine problem, which focuses on assessing and prioritizing risk factors for hypertension (HTN) in a vulnerable demographic subgroup (African-American). Our approach is to use deep learning to identify significant risk factors affecting left ventricular mass indexed to body surface area (LVMI) as an indicator of heart damage risk. The results show that our feature learning and representation approach leads to better results in comparison with others.
Random phase approximation in projected oscillator orbitals

The projected oscillator orbitals (pOOs) are localized virtual orbitals constructed by multiplying localized occupied orbitals by harmonics. Following a recent paper by Mussard and Angyan (Theor Chem Acc 134:1, 2015), further developments of projected oscillator orbitals are shown, notably the equations for pOOs of general order as well as their overlaps are derived. The performance of these localized virtual orbitals is demonstrated up to third order. It is found that a good fraction of the aug-cc-pVQZ RPA correlation energy is recovered by use of a smaller number of pOOs. This is especially true where considering only the long-range correlation energy, which is important for the description of London dispersion forces.
Feynman Graphs, Rooted Trees, and Ringel-Hall Algebras

We construct symmetric monoidal categories \({\mathcal{LRF}, \mathcal{LFG}}\) of rooted forests and Feynman graphs. These categories closely resemble finitary abelian categories, and in particular, the notion of Ringel-Hall algebra applies. The Ringel-Hall Hopf algebras of \({\mathcal{LRF}, \mathcal{LFG}}\), \({{\bf H}_\mathcal{LRF}, {\bf H}_\mathcal{LFG}}\) are dual to the corresponding Connes-Kreimer Hopf algebras on rooted trees and Feynman diagrams. We thus obtain an interpretation of the Connes-Kreimer Lie algebras on rooted trees and Feynman graphs as Ringel-Hall Lie algebras.
THE POINT PROCESSES OF THE GRW THEORY OF WAVE FUNCTION COLLAPSE

The Ghirardi–Rimini–Weber (GRW) theory is a physical theory that, when combined with a suitable ontology, provides an explanation of quantum mechanics. The so-called collapse of the wave function is problematic in conventional quantum theory but not in the GRW theory, in which it is governed by a stochastic law. A possible ontology is the flash ontology, according to which matter consists of random points in space-time, called flashes. The joint distribution of these points, a point process in space-time, is the topic of this work. The mathematical results concern mainly the existence and uniqueness of this distribution for several variants of the theory. Particular attention is paid to the relativistic version of the GRW theory that was developed in 2004.
Pulsating sdB Stars: A New Approach to Probing their Interiors

Horizontal branch stars should show significant differential rotation with depth. Models that assume systematic angular momentum exchange in the convective envelope and local conservation of angular momentum in the core produce HB models that preserve a rapidly rotating core. A direct probe of core rotation is available. The nonradial pulsations of the EC14026 stars frequently show rich pulsation spectra. Thus their pulsations probe the internal rotation of these stars, and should show the effects of rapid rotation in their cores. Using models of sdB stars that include angular momentum evolution, we explore this possibility and show that some of the sdB pulsators may indeed have rapidly rotating cores.
Density shocks in the relativistic expansion of highly charged one component plasmas

In a previous paper we showed that dynamical density shocks occur in the nonrelativistic expansion of dense single component plasmas relevant to ultrafast electron microscopy; and we showed that fluid models capture these effects accurately. We show that the nonrelativistic decoupling of the relative and center of mass motions ceases to apply and this coupling leads to novel behavior in the relativistic dynamics under planar, cylindrical, and spherical symmetries. In cases where the relative motion of the bunch is relativistic, we show that a dynamical shock emerges even in the case of a uniform bunch with cold initial conditions; and that density shocks are in general enhanced when the relative motion becomes relativistic. Furthermore, we examine the effect of an extraction field on the relativistic dynamics of a planar symmetric bunch.
Protecting Locations with Differential Privacy under Temporal Correlations

Concerns on location privacy frequently arise with the rapid development of GPS enabled devices and location-based applications. While spatial transformation techniques such as location perturbation or generalization have been studied extensively, most techniques rely on syntactic privacy models without rigorous privacy guarantee. Many of them only consider static scenarios or perturb the location at single timestamps without considering temporal correlations of a moving user's locations, and hence are vulnerable to various inference attacks. While differential privacy has been accepted as a standard for privacy protection, applying differential privacy in location based applications presents new challenges, as the protection needs to be enforced on the fly for a single user and needs to incorporate temporal correlations between a user's locations. In this paper, we propose a systematic solution to preserve location privacy with rigorous privacy guarantee. First, we propose a new definition, "δ-location set" based differential privacy, to account for the temporal correlations in location data. Second, we show that the well known l1-norm sensitivity fails to capture the geometric sensitivity in multidimensional space and propose a new notion, sensitivity hull, based on which the error of differential privacy is bounded. Third, to obtain the optimal utility we present a planar isotropic mechanism (PIM) for location perturbation, which is the first mechanism achieving the lower bound of differential privacy. Experiments on real-world datasets also demonstrate that PIM significantly outperforms baseline approaches in data utility.
PERIOD ESTIMATION FOR SPARSELY SAMPLED QUASI-PERIODIC LIGHT CURVES APPLIED TO MIRAS

We develop a nonlinear semi-parametric Gaussian process model to estimate periods of Miras with sparsely sampled light curves. The model uses a sinusoidal basis for the periodic variation and a Gaussian process for the stochastic changes. We use maximum likelihood to estimate the period and the parameters of the Gaussian process, while integrating out the effects of other nuisance parameters in the model with respect to a suitable prior distribution obtained from earlier studies. Since the likelihood is highly multimodal for period, we implement a hybrid method that applies the quasi-Newton algorithm for Gaussian process parameters and search the period/frequency parameter space over a dense grid. A large-scale, high-fidelity simulation is conducted to mimic the sampling quality of Mira light curves obtained by the M33 Synoptic Stellar Survey. The simulated data set is publicly available and can serve as a testbed for future evaluation of different period estimation methods. The semi-parametric model outperforms an existing algorithm on this simulated test data set as measured by period recovery rate and quality of the resulting period–luminosity relations.
KKLT without AdS

According to the KKLT scenario, metastable dS vacua are formed as a result of uplifting of supersymmetric AdS vacua by $$ \overline{D3} $$ branes. I describe an extended version of this scenario where supersymmetric AdS vacua do not exist, and metastable dS vacua appear after an uplift from a state where the potential of the volume modulus in the absence of $$ \overline{D3} $$ branes would be unbounded below. This mechanism may considerably strengthen vacuum stabilization in the early universe.
Achieving high-fidelity single-qubit gates in a strongly driven charge qubit with 1/ f charge noise

Charge qubits formed in double quantum dots represent quintessential two-level systems that enjoy both ease of control and efficient readout. Unfortunately, charge noise can cause rapid decoherence, with typical single-qubit gate fidelities falling below 90%. Here we develop analytical methods to study the evolution of strongly driven charge qubits, for general and 1/f charge-noise spectra. We show that special pulsing techniques can simultaneously suppress errors due to strong driving and charge noise, yielding single-qubit gates with fidelities above 99.9%. These results demonstrate that quantum dot charge qubits provide a potential route to high-fidelity quantum computation. A study shows that pulsing techniques can suppress an important source of errors in qubits formed in semiconductor quantum dots. Quantum bits (qubits) are the building block of quantum technologies, and building high-quality qubits is thus a key objective. Semiconductor quantum dot-based charge qubits represent the quintessential two-level system, which enjoys both ease of control and efficient readout. Although a promising platform, such a system suffers from charge noise, which limits it potential use in applications. A team of researchers from University of Wisconsin-Madison use analytical methods to show that special pulsing techniques could be used to suppress the errors due to charge noise, as well as those from strong driving fields. This study reaffirms quantum dot charge qubits as a promising platform quantum computation.
A new perturbative expansion for fermionic functional integrals

We construct a power series representation of certain functional integrals involving Grassmann variables that appear in Euclidean fermionic quantum field theory on a finite lattice in dimensions greater than or equal to 2. Our expansion has a local structure, is clean, and provides an easy alternative to the decoupling expansion and Mayer-type cluster expansions in any analysis. As an example, we show the exponential decay of the two-point truncated correlation function (uniform in volume) in a massive Gross–Neveu model on a unit lattice.
THE COLOR DIFFERENCES OF KUIPER BELT OBJECTS IN RESONANCE WITH NEPTUNE

The optical colors of 58 objects in mean motion resonance with Neptune were obtained. The various Neptune resonant populations were found to have significantly different surface color distributions. The 5:3 and 7:4 resonances have semimajor axes near the middle of the main Kuiper Belt and both are dominated by ultra-red material (spectral gradient: S 25). The 5:3 and 7:4 resonances have statistically the same color distribution as the low-inclination cold classical belt. The inner 4:3 and distant 5:2 resonances have objects with mostly moderately red colors (S ~ 15), similar to the scattered and detached disk populations. The 2:1 resonance, which is near the outer edge of the main Kuiper Belt, has a large range of colors with similar numbers of moderately red and ultra-red objects at all inclinations. The 2:1 resonance was also found to have a very rare neutral colored object showing that the 2:1 resonance is really a mix of all object types. The inner 3:2 resonance, like the outer 2:1, has a large range of objects from neutral to ultra-red. The Neptune Trojans (1:1 resonance) are only slightly red (S ~ 9), similar to the Jupiter Trojans. The inner 5:4 resonance only has four objects with measured colors but shows equal numbers of ultra-red and moderately red objects. The 9:5, 12:5, 7:3, 3:1, and 11:3 resonances do not have reliable color distribution statistics since few objects have been observed in these resonances, though it appears noteworthy that all three of the measured 3:1 objects have only moderately red colors, similar to the 4:3 and 5:2 resonances. The different color distributions of objects in mean motion resonance with Neptune are likely a result from the disruption of the primordial Kuiper Belt from the scattering and migration of the giant planets. The few low-inclination objects known in the outer 2:1 and 5:2 resonances are mostly only moderately red. This suggests if the 2:1 and 5:2 have a cold low-inclination component, the objects likely had a significantly different origin than the ultra-red-dominated cold components of the cold classical belt and 5:3 and 7:4 resonances.
Integrated Optical Phased Arrays for LiDAR, Communications, Augmented Reality, and Beyond

Recent integrated optical phased array architectures, results, and applications will be reviewed, including beam steering for LiDAR and communications, near-field optical manipulation, and holographic displays for augmented reality.
Growth Slowdowns and the Middle-Income Trap

Abstract In this study we examine the middle-income trap as a special case of growth slowdowns. We identify slowdowns as large sudden and sustained deviations from the growth path predicted by a basic conditional convergence framework. We then examine their determinants by means of probit regressions, looking into the role of institutions, demography, infrastructure, the macroeconomic environment, output structure and trade structure. Two variants of Bayesian Model Averaging are used as robustness checks. The results—including some that speak to the special status of middle-income countries—are then used to derive policy implications.
The impact of CEO power on different measures of environmental disclosure: Evidence from U.S. firms

The purpose of this paper is to investigate if the detriment to environmental (E) disclosures as a result of a chief executive officer’s (CEO) power is different for outcome versus intention-oriented disclosure characteristics. This paper creates four measures to capture the diverse nature of E disclosures that vary in the degree of accountability and comparability they provide: a)qualitative, b)quantitative, c)effectiveness, and d)effort. Seemingly unrelated regression is used on a sample of over 2,200 U.S. publicly traded companies. Findings suggest that the relationship between CEO power and E disclosures is not uniform. Powerful CEOs suppression of the most comparable outcome-based environmental disclosures (effectiveness) is greater than the suppression of other environmental disclosures. This is a particularly relevant relationship given shifts in corporate priorities as demonstrated by the proliferation of impact investing, the growth in E reporting, and the CEO’s stated commitment to maximizing stakeholder wealth that was discussed at the August 2019 Business Roundtable.
PTM-Shepherd: analysis and summarization of post-translational and chemical modifications from open search results.

Abstract Open searching has proven to be an effective strategy for identifying both known and unknown modifications in shotgun proteomics experiments. Rather than being limited to a small set of user-specified modifications, open searches identify peptides with any mass shift that may correspond to a single modification or a combination of several modifications. Here we present PTM-Shepherd, a bioinformatics tool that automates characterization of post-translational modification profiles detected in open searches based on attributes, such as amino acid localization, fragmentation spectra similarity, retention time shifts, and relative modification rates. PTM-Shepherd can also perform multiexperiment comparisons for studying changes in modification profiles, e.g., in data generated in different laboratories or under different conditions. We demonstrate how PTM-Shepherd improves the analysis of data from formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded samples, detects extreme underalkylation of cysteine in some data sets, discovers an artifactual modification introduced during peptide synthesis, and uncovers site-specific biases in sample preparation artifacts in a multicenter proteomics profiling study.
Analysis of XMM-Newton Observations of Supernova Remnant W49B and Clues to the Progenitor

W49B is a supernova remnant (SNR) discovered over 60 years ago in early radio surveys. It has since been observed over the entire wavelength range, with the X-ray morphology resembling a centrally-filled SNR. The nature of its progenitor star is still debated. Applying Smoothed Particle Inference techniques to analyze the X-Ray emission from W49B, we characterize the morphology and abundance distribution over the entire remnant. We also infer the density structure and derive the mass of individual elements present in the plasma. The morphology is consistent with an interaction between the remnant and a dense medium along the eastern edge, and some obstruction towards the west. We find a total mass of 130 $(\pm 16)$ M$_{\odot}$ and an estimated ejecta mass of 1.2 $(\pm 0.2)$ M$_{\odot}$. Comparison of the inferred abundance values and individual element masses with a wide selection of SN models suggests that deflagration-to-detonation (DDT) Type Ia models are the most compatible, with Fe abundance being the major discriminating factor. The general agreement between our abundance measurements and those from previous studies suggests that disagreement between various authors is more likely due to the choice of models used for comparison, rather than the abundance values themselves. While our abundance results lean toward a Type Ia origin, ambiguities in the interpretation of various morphological and spectral characteristics of W49B do not allow us to provide a definitive classification.
Fertility monotonicity and average complexity of the stack-sorting map

Abstract Let D n denote the average number of iterations of West’s stack-sorting map s that are needed to sort a permutation in S n into the identity permutation 123 ⋯ n . We prove that 0 . 62433 ≈ λ ≤ lim inf n → ∞ D n n ≤ lim sup n → ∞ D n n ≤ 3 5 ( 7 − 8 log 2 ) ≈ 0 . 87289 , where λ is the Golomb–Dickman constant. Our lower bound improves upon West’s lower bound of 0.23, and our upper bound is the first improvement upon the trivial upper bound of 1. We then show that fertilities of permutations increase monotonically upon iterations of s . More precisely, we prove that | s − 1 ( σ ) | ≤ | s − 1 ( s ( σ ) ) | for all σ ∈ S n , where equality holds if and only if σ = 123 ⋯ n . This is the first theorem that manifests a law-of-diminishing-returns philosophy for the stack-sorting map that Bona has proposed. Along the way, we note some connections between the stack-sorting map and the right and left weak orders on S n .
The Effect of Letter versus Number Cues on Distance Perception

People experience the world through distance perceptions, such as perceiving distance when moving through store aisles, locating movie theater seats, spotting parking spaces, or navigating airport gates. The distance can be perceived using letter (e.g., qualitative) or number (e.g., quantitative) cues. In this research, we focus on how the type of cues can influence consumers’ distance perceptions and affect their everyday judgments. Specifically, we suggest that in pre-task estimates (referred to as the pre-action stage), letter cues lead to lesser distance perceptions. However, in post-task estimates (referred to as the post-action stage), letter cues lead to greater distance perceptions. We explain the result pattern in the pre-action stage using naive beliefs about the ease of computation and magnitude judgments (i.e., computational fluency). In the post-action stage, we propose that expectation–disconfirmation causes such a reversal in distance perceptions. We test the proposed patterns of results and theoretical accounts across two lab studies and two field studies.
When Will Gradient Methods Converge to Max-margin Classifier under ReLU Models?

We study the implicit bias of gradient descent methods in solving a binary classification problem over a linearly separable dataset. The classifier is described by a nonlinear ReLU model and the objective function adopts the exponential loss function. We first characterize the landscape of the loss function and show that there can exist spurious asymptotic local minima besides asymptotic global minima. We then show that gradient descent (GD) can converge to either a global or a local max-margin direction, or may diverge from the desired max-margin direction in a general context. For stochastic gradient descent (SGD), we show that it converges in expectation to either the global or the local max-margin direction if SGD converges. We further explore the implicit bias of these algorithms in learning a multi-neuron network under certain stationary conditions, and show that the learned classifier maximizes the margins of each sample pattern partition under the ReLU activation.
Symmetric, Robust, and High-Voltage Organic Redox Flow Battery Model Based on a Helical Carbenium Ion Electrolyte

Redox flow batteries (RFBs) represent a promising technology for grid-scale integration of renewable energy. However, cross-contamination problems, encountered with distinct catholyte and anolyte, ...
POVERTY, NON‐WHITE POVERTY, AND THE SEN INDEX

This paper investigates the impact of economic growth, and more specifically robust economic growth along with other macroeconomic determinants, on poverty levels using both the U.S. official measure of poverty and an estimated time series of Sen indices of poverty. The results reveal that the period of robust economic expansion that the U.S. economy experienced during the 1990s did not have a significant impact on poverty using either measure. In addition, we find that the impact of growth and other macro controls is dramatically different when a subset of the poverty population, namely non-white poverty, is investigated. The percentage of households headed by women is shown to be a significant factor in examining poverty for this subgroup.
POVERTY, PRICES, AND PLACE: HOW SENSITIVE IS THE SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION OF POVERTY TO COST OF LIVING ADJUSTMENTS?

This article examines how accounting for cost-of-living differences across metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas affects measured rates of poverty. The spatial price index used is based on the Fair Market Rent data and was developed by the Census Bureau for use in its experimental poverty research program. Following U.S. federal definitions, poverty in nonmetro areas has been consistently higher than it has been in metro areas. Using the Fair Market Rent index to adjust for differences in cost of living results in a complete reversal of nonmetro-metro rankings in terms of prevalence, depth, and severity of poverty for every year examined (1991 to 2002). (JEL I32, R1, C81)
Science Deserves Better: The Imperative to Share Complete Replication Files

In April 2013, a controversy arose when a working paper (Herndon, Ash, and Pollin 2013) claimed to show serious errors in a highly cited and influential economics paper by Carmen Reinhart and Kenneth Rogoff (2010). The Reinhart and Rogoff paper had come to serve as authoritative evidence in elite conversations (Krugman 2013) that high levels of debt, especially above the “90 percent [debt/GDP] threshold” (Reinhart and Rogoff 2010, 577), posed a risk to economic growth. Much of the coverage of this controversy focused on an error that was a “perfect made-for-TV mistake” (Stevenson and Wolfers 2013) involving a simple error in the formula used in their Excel calculations. The real story here, however, is that it took three years for this error and other issues to be discovered because replication files were not publicly available, nor were they provided to scholars when asked. If professional norms or the American Economic Review had required that authors publish replication files, this debate would be advanced by three years and discussions about austerity policies would have been based on a more clear-sighted appraisal of the evidence.
Stock option grant vesting terms: economic and financial reporting determinants

Option grant vesting terms are a contractual provision that is shaped by accounting standards and other economic factors. We examine the effect of accounting standards, specifically SFAS 123(R), on the vesting terms of stock option grants while also modeling other economic determinants of this contract feature. We document significant variation in stock option grant vesting periods and patterns suggesting that firms actively choose vesting terms. Consistent with financial reporting incentives influencing contract design, we find that firms simultaneously lengthen vesting periods and alter vesting patterns after the adoption of SFAS 123(R). The changes in vesting patterns are consistent with firms trying to defer recognition of the option expense, while limiting the incremental risk imposed on the CEO. In addition, we find that vesting schedules are longer in growth firms where lengthening the executive’s investment horizon is more important and that firms with more powerful CEOs and weaker governance grant options with shorter vesting periods.
How and why do small firms manage interest rate risk

Abstract Although small firms are particularly sensitive to interest rates and other shocks, empirical work on corporate risk management has focused instead on large public companies. This paper studies fixed-rate and adjustable-rate loans to see how small firms manage their exposure to interest rate risk. Credit-constrained firms are found to match significantly more often with fixed-rate loans, consistent with prior research that shows the supply of credit shrinks during periods of rising interest rates. Banks originate a higher share of adjustable-rate loans than other lenders, ameliorating maturity mismatch and exposure to the lending channel of monetary policy. Time-series patterns in the fixed-rate share are consistent with recent evidence on debt market timing.
Fibonacci and the Financial Revolution

This paper examines the contribution of Leonardo of Pisa [Fibonacci] to the history of financial mathematics. Evidence in Leonardo's Liber Abaci (1202) suggests that he was the first to develop present value analysis for comparing the economic value of alternative contractual cash flows. He also developed a general method for expressing investment returns, and solved a wide range of complex interest rate problems. The paper argues that his advances in the mathematics of finance were stimulated by the commercial revolution in the Mediterranean during his lifetime, and in turn, his discoveries significantly influenced the evolution of capitalist enterprise and public finance in Europe in the centuries that followed. Fibonacci's discount rates were more culturally influential than his famous series.
Common shocks in stocks and bonds

Abstract We propose an approach to identify economic shocks (monetary, growth, and risk premium news) from stock returns and Treasury yield changes, which allows us to study the drivers of asset prices at a daily frequency since the early 1980s. We apply the identification to examine investors’ responses to news from the Fed and key macro announcements. We uncover two risk premium shocks—time-varying compensation for discount rate and cash flow news—which have distinct effects on stocks and bonds. Since the mid-1990s, the Fed-induced reductions in both risk premium sources have generated high average stock returns but an ambiguous response in bonds on FOMC days.
The Responsibility to Protect and the Plenitudinal Mindset of International Humanitarian Law

The Responsibility to Protect is almost fifteen years old and yet opinions diverge widely about its utility as a tool of international humanitarian law. Scholars and diplomats continue to debate its most discussed feature – the secondary responsibility of the international community to aid suffering populations of internal disputes when the host State or United Nations Charter system fails to do the same. This paper argues that much of the current debate is out of focus and at cross purpose and is due to disconnected strands of a plenitudinal mindset in law, found elsewhere as well in humanitarian law, which tend to view humanitarian law either from structural or substantive perspectives, but not from both perspectives. A unified understanding of the plenitudinal mindset re-focuses the discussion around an important common denominator, the need to bridge legal gaps and avoid the appearance of non liquet in the development of international humanitarian law. Disconnected discussions on the Responsibility to Protect are not as disconnected as they appear because opposing views regard as equally odious the silences and gaps of the United Nations Charter system. Borrowing somewhat from social process theory, this paper highlights the need and ability of international humanitarian law to re-forge the broken chain that can strengthen the Responsibility to Protect.
At Home with Nature: Early Reflections on Green Building Laws and the Transformation of the Built Environment

Green building, which was formalized only fifteen years ago to promote healthier and more efficient building practices, has exceeded virtually all predictions of its potential. Green building has entered markets in almost every major city in the United States, while developing as a sophisticated basis for investment, human health, and conservation. Stated otherwise, green building is no longer a fringe environmental policy and, as argued in this Article, is even shedding its markings as a political ideology. This Article examines two parallel but distinct consequences of the green building movement. First, by considering the major challenges to green building, this Article examines the conditions for success of the movement – how green building has become acceptable to consumers, the construction industry, and building regulators. Second, this Article explores the relationship between the goals and methods of green building laws and argues that green building compels a transformative, constructivist effect on humans’ place and position in nature. This Article ultimately argues that green building is special because of its pluralistic approach to regulation, ethics, and even to nature itself.
Optimizing Commercial Flight Fuel Consumption Through Changes in Federal Regulations and Pilot Techniques

Significant consequences exist when aircraft are designed to idealized flight conditions but operated according to non-optimal flight planning. This paper explores FAA requirements, and textbook aircraft performance equations through numerical flight profile simulations and interviews with actual flight operators. We seek to better understand the effect operational constraints have on the fuel consumption of commercial transport aircraft. Regulations require operators to carry a significant margin of reserve fuel and abide by certain speed limitations. Every additional gallon of fuel consumed, through suboptimal flight planning, pilot discretion or design features that are incompatible with air traffic control, represents added operating cost to the airline. Every additional pound of fuel required for flight (whether consumed or held in reserve) represents a pound of potential revenue generating payload. Our studies lead us to believe that improved pilot training can reduce operational fuel burn. They also indicate that current regulations are adequate, but that the reserve fuel regulations 14 CFR § 91.167, 14 CFR § 121.639, 14 CFR § 121.619 and low-altitude climb speed regulations 14 CFR § 91.117 should be re-evaluated as NextGen air traffic control system comes into operation.
Divorce and the Financial Performance of Small Family Businesses: An Exploratory Study

This study formally examines the relationship between marital dissolution and the short‐term financial performance of small closely held family businesses. Fifty‐two cases of divorce where a small ...
I'm the mayor of my house: examining why people use foursquare - a social-driven location sharing application

There have been many location sharing systems developed over the past two decades, and only recently have they started to be adopted by consumers. In this paper, we present the results of three studies focusing on the foursquare check-in system. We conducted interviews and two surveys to understand, both qualitatively and quantitatively, how and why people use location sharing applications, as well as how they manage their privacy. We also document surprising uses of foursquare, and discuss implications for design of mobile social services.
The Problem of Local Methods in Cross-Border Insolvencies

A major and frequent criticism of the current cross-border insolvency framework is that international cooperation is likely to break down whenever significant local interests are at risk. The Model Law on Cross-Border Insolvencies, adopted in Chapter 15 of the Bankruptcy Code, and the commentary thereon have largely focused on such instances when states might be unwilling to cede control over local property, i.e., sovereignty-related problems. This article is the first to explore a separate set of problems in cross-border insolvencies that have little or nothing to do with sovereignty-related concerns. Cross-border insolvency law also faces acculturation problems as states attempt to synthesize the Model Law into already existing legal structures. Cultural differences between the Model Law and domestic laws may impede the Model Law’s goals of promoting legal certainty in this field. These cultural differences may include terminology and interpretation issues, as well as case management and procedural issues.This article examines two recent opinions from the Second Circuit Court of Appeals to illustrate these acculturation problems. It then considers the degree to which the Model Law (and Chapter 15) are currently equipped to minimize such defections. UNCITRAL, when drafting the Model Law, created a Guide to Enactment and Interpretation in order to promote consistent interpretation. I conclude that this Guide may be effective at dealing with some issues, but that it is ill-suited to address differences in the manner of interpretation.
On Jordan Peterson, Postmodernism, and PoMo-Bashing

Jordan Peterson says that postmodernists say no interpretation is better than another. I would no sooner identify Peterson’s adversaries as those who have been misled by “postmodernism” than I would identify them as misled by “sustainability,” “diversity,” “multiculturalism,” or “intersectionality.” Such fare is mainly symptomatic. “Postmodern” invocations are often like “sustainability” invocations: inessential. This piece is not a defense of postmodernism. It is a critique of PoMo-bashing.
Hα ABSORPTION IN TRANSITING EXOPLANET ATMOSPHERES

Absorption of stellar H{alpha} by the upper atmosphere of the planet HD 189733b has recently been detected by Jensen et al. Motivated by this observation, we have developed a model for atomic hydrogen in the n = 2 state and compared the resulting H{alpha} line profile to the observations. The model atmosphere is in hydrostatic balance, as well as thermal and photoionization equilibrium. Collisional and radiative transitions are included in the determination of the n = 2 state level population. We find that H{alpha} absorption is dominated by an optical depth {tau} {approx} 1 shell, composed of hydrogen in the metastable 2s state that is located below the hydrogen ionization layer. The number density of the 2s state within the shell is found to vary slowly with radius, while that of the 1s state falls rapidly. Thus while the Ly{alpha} absorption, for a certain wavelength, occurs inside a relatively well defined impact parameter, the contribution to H{alpha} absorption is roughly uniform over the entire atomic hydrogen layer. The model can approximately reproduce the observed Ly{alpha} and H{alpha} integrated transit depths for HD 189733b by using an ionization rate enhanced over that expected for the star by an order of magnitude.more » For HD 209458b, we are unable to explain the asymmetric H{alpha} line profile observed by Jensen et al., as the model produces a symmetric line profile with transit depth comparable to that of HD 189733b. In an appendix, we study the effect of the stellar Ly{alpha} absorption on the net cooling rate.« less
How firms organize for successful innovation in a hostile environment

Managers in a business environment marked by rapid technological change face major challenges when making strategic decisions. A risk-averse, conservative strategy may be a safe route, but might lead to missing marketplace opportunities. This paper investigates whether a hostile business environment adversely affects either a firm's rate of technological innovation or its rate of success with new product launches. It also examines what successful innovating firms do, in terms of strategic posture and organizational structure, to adapt to hostile conditions. A model depicting relationships between environmental conditions, firm responses, innovation rates, and new product success was constructed and tested in an empirical study of 142 U.S. firms involved in technological innovation. The final section discusses managerial implications of the findings.
Risk Beliefs and Preferences for E-cigarettes

Drawing on evidence from a new nationally representative survey, this article examines several measures of risk beliefs for e-cigarettes. For both lung cancer mortality risks and total smoking mort...
The Law and Social Norms of Pay Secrecy

This paper is a response to Leonard Bierman & Rafael Gely, "Love, Sex and Politics? Sure. Salary? No Way": Workplace Social Norms and the Law, 25 Berkeley Journal of Labor & Employment Law 167 (2004). In this paper, Professor Edwards first questions the strength of salary and pay secrecy norms in the U.S. workplace. In addition, he argues that, even if pay/salary secrecy norms exist, the beneficial effects of such norms cannot be assumed. Those evaluating pay secrecy norms must analyze the effects of various pay disclosure or non-disclosure systems and explicitly identify the normative standard that they are using to judge the social practice of pay secrecy.
Non-Competition Agreements and Research Productivity in the Biotechnology Industry

This paper examines the impact of the state-level legal structure, namely the legal support for noncompetition agreements, on research productivity. Specifically, we study how California’s unique lack of non-competition agreement laws influences product develop when controlling for local munificence and firm-level technological capability. Our results indicate that California’s unique legal structure is negatively associated with research productivity as measured by the number of products in development at the time a biotechnology firm goes public. Further, firm size moderates this relationship such that the effect is stronger for smaller biotechnology firms.
Sen and the Hart of Jurisprudence: A Critique of the Economic Analysis of Judicial Behavior

This Comment argues that economic analysis provides an inadequate account of judicial behavior because economic models are incompatible with a jurisprudence that recognizes basic rule-of-law values. Whereas standard economic theory is committed to thinking of a judge as exclusively self-interested, two fundamental problems with this conception exist. First, as application of Amariya Sen's critique of the behavioral foundations of economic theory to judicial behavior reveals, the decision of a judge who meets her judicial obligations may fail to maximize her self-interest. Second, even if the self-interest-maximizing decision coincides with the behavior that her judicial obligations require; economic models still fail to provide an accurate explanation of judicial decision making. This inability is attributable to economic theory's failure to recognize the distinguishing feature of judicial behavior--what H.L.A. Hart compellingly describes as relating to a rule from the internal point of view. In Overcoming Law Richard Posner anticipates this Comment's challenge to the economic analysis of judicial behavior, but significant problems exist with his attempt to meet it. Because Posner assumes away the problem of obligation and reduces judicial motivation to self-interest, his method neglects Hart's concern with the internal aspect of obligatory social rules. It is thus incompatible at the theoretical level with the liberal ideal of the rule of law. Additionally, Posner's approach is anti-empirical by methodological necessity. Thus, his assertions notwithstanding, his theory of judicial behavior is no more empirically grounded than the liberal jurisprudence whose conception of the judge he derides. Nevertheless, this reality does not absolve adherents of liberal legal philosophy from the responsibility of empirically testing their own understandings of judicial behavior. Rather, researchers need to test empirically both Hart's and Posner`s accounts of why judges follow institutional rules. In particular, in addition to observing judicial behavior; investigators need to persuade judges to introspect about and communicate their experiences of themselves and each other on the bench.
When the PCAOB Talks, Who Listens? Evidence from Stakeholder Reaction to GAAP-Deficient PCAOB Inspection Reports of Small Auditors

SUMMARY: Section 104 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) created the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB). The PCAOB conducts inspections of registered public accounting firms that provide audits for publicly traded companies. The results of the inspection process are summarized in publicly available reports at the PCAOB website. Using these reports, we categorize the inspection reports into three levels of increasing severity: clean, GAAS-deficient, and GAAP-deficient. We examine the potential use of GAAP-deficient PCAOB inspection reports as perceived audit quality signals for the clients of GAAP-deficient auditors that are inspected on a triennial basis by the PCAOB. Our investigation is predicated on the notion that audit quality is generally not directly observable. Thus, the clients of these auditors may seek to signal their desire for audit quality by dismissing their GAAP-deficient auditors. Our results suggest that the clients of GAAP-deficient, triennially inspected auditors are more li...
Is Race an Important Factor in Bank–Customer Preferences? The Case of Mortgage Lending

This paper tests whether there is a preference by borrowers and lenders of a particular ethnic or racial group that may predispose them to borrow and lend from each other. Using a narrow geographic area called zip code clusters, this paper groups minority-owned and non-minority-owned banks to allow for a homogenous applicant pool from which both borrower and lender preferences can be determined. This study compares Asian-owned, black-owned and Hispanic-owned banks versus white-owned banks that are located in the same zip code and adjacent zip codes. The results show that borrowing preferences exist between all applicant groups and banks from the same racial classification. In addition, some cross-racial borrowing preferences exist. The results show that across sample lending preferences exist for both black and white applicants with black-owned banks and white applicants with white-owned banks that are located in the same area as Asian-owned banks. Also, the results of the within sample lending preference model shows that white-owned banks have a preference for white applicants, at the expense of Hispanic applicants and both white-owned and Asian-owned banks exhibit a preference for Asian applicants.