pinecone/core-2020-05-10-deduplication huggingface dataset:
Bayesian Linear Regression

The paper is concerned with Bayesian analysis under prior-data conflict, i.e. the situation when observed data are rather unexpected under the prior (and the sample size is not large enough to eliminate the influence of the prior). Two approaches for Bayesian linear regression modeling based on conjugate priors are considered in detail, namely the standard approach also described in Fahrmeir, Kneib & Lang (2007) and an alternative adoption of the general construction procedure for exponential family sampling models. We recognize that - in contrast to some standard i.i.d. models like the scaled normal model and the Beta-Binomial / Dirichlet-Multinomial model, where prior-data conflict is completely ignored - the models may show some reaction to prior-data conflict, however in a rather unspecific way. Finally we briefly sketch the extension to a corresponding imprecise probability model, where, by considering sets of prior distributions instead of a single prior, prior-data conflict can be handled in a very appealing and intuitive way.
Spatial analyses for policy evaluation of the rural world: Portuguese agriculture in the last decade

This paper aims to contribute to the understanding of structural land use changes that
are occurring in rural environments, by using novel methodologies related to
Geographic Information Systems (GIS). The land use change analysis developed in this
study is associated with a pre-selected set of policy issues, that is, it offers a
retrospective view of the application of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) for the
Portuguese situation. The evaluation of the respective impacts from a spatial perspective
raises questions such as: 1) What are the trade-offs of rural activity in different sectors
and regions? 2) How do such trade-offs cope with urban proximity?, and 3) Which
activities or strategies are best able to balance the needs of rural and urban communities.
Methodologically, our work identifies the land use change for the period 1990 – 2000
by comparing the databases CORINE Land Cover 90 and CORINE Land Cover 2000.
Further, in order to detect those sectors that, at national or regional level, have taken
more advantage of the CAP support, we present a new model, which also takes into
account as a major assumption the proximity of rural areas to the nearest towns.
The scope of this paper is twofold: addressing a specific problem concerning the
effectiveness of the CAP, it develops an extensive empirical and methodological
framework able to serve as a model-policy lesson for the rural/agricultural European
future
A Markov Switching Re-evaluation of Event-Study Methodology

This paper reconsiders event-study methodology in light of evidences showing that Cumulative Abnormal Return (CAR) can result in misleading inferences about financial market efficiency and pre(post)-event behavior. In particular, CAR can be biased downward, due to the increased volatility on the event day and within the event window. We propose the use of Markov Switching Models to capture the effect of an event on security prices. We apply the proposed methodology to a set of 45 historical series on Credit Default Swap (CDS) quotes subject to multiple credit events, such as reviews for downgrading. Since CDSs provide insurance against the default of a particular company or sovereign entity, this study checks if market anticipates reviews for downgrading and evaluates the time period the announcements lag behind the market
Single Sign-On in Cloud Computing Scenarios: A Research Proposal

Cloud computing and Software as a Service infrastructure are becoming important factors in E-commerce and E-business processes. Users may access simultaneously to different E-services supplied by several providers. An efficient approach to authenticate and authorize users is needed to avoid problems about trust and redundancy of procedure. In this paper we will focus on main approaches in managing Authentication and Authorization Infrastructures (AAI): i.e. federated and centralized and cloud based. Then we will discuss about related some critical issues in Cloud computing and SaaS contexts and will highlight the possible future researches.Cloud computing and Software as a Service infrastructure are becoming important factors in E-commerce and E-business processes. Users may access simultaneously to different E-services supplied by several providers. An efficient approach to authenticate and authorize users is needed to avoid problems about trust and redundancy of procedure. In this paper we will focus on main approaches in managing Authentication and Authorization Infrastructures (AAI): i.e. federated and centralized and cloud based. Then we will discuss about related some critical issues in Cloud computing and SaaS contexts and will highlight the possible future researches.Monograph's chapter
A Dynamic Model of Economic Growth in a Small Tourism Driven Economy

The paper studies the dynamics of economic growth caused by an increase in the growth rate of tourism
demand.
We develop a simple dynamic model of a small open economy, which is completely specialized in the
production of tourism services (island economy model), populated by a large number of intertemporally
optimizing agents, deriving utility from consuming an imported good. Tourism services are produced by
means of a simple AK technology by using imported capital, its accumulation associated with adjustment
costs. Moreover, the economy can lend or borrow at the international financial markets at the given world
interest rate. Adjustments in the relative price of tourism services ensure market clearance for tourism
services.
The long-run growth rate of the economy is tied to the growth rate in tourism demand. An increase
in the latter increases thus the economy’s long-run balanced growth rate. In contrast to the standard
one-good small open economy endogenous growth model, where the economy is always on its balanced
growth path, we show that there are transitional dynamics after an increase in the growth rate of tourism
demand. In particular, the short-run growth rate of output rises gradually towards its higher long-run
level, and the market price of tourism increases during transition. Thus, an increase in the growth of
tourism demand, say, caused by higher economic growth abroad, leads to a boom in the small open
economy and increasing terms of trade. Adjustments of the relative price of tourism services (i. e. the
real exchange rate) can therefore not protect the economy from demand disturbances.
A Dynamic Correlation Approach of the Swiss Tourism Income

We apply cross-spectral methods, dynamic correlation index of comovements and a VAR model to study the cyclical components of GDP and tourism income of Switzerland with annual data for the period 1980 – 2007. We find evidence of 4 dominant cycles for GDP and an average duration between 9 and 11 years. Tourism income is characterized by more cycles, giving an average cycle of about 8 years. There are also common cycles both in the typical business cycle and in the longer-run frequency bands. Lead / lag analysis shows that the two cyclical components are roughly synchronized. Simulations via a VAR model show that the maximum effect of 1% GDP shock on tourism income is higher than the maximum effect of 1% tourism income shock on GDP.  The effects of these shocks last for about 12-14 years, although the major part of the shocks is absorbed within 5-6 years.
Dimensionality reduction for samples of bivariate density level sets: an application to electoral results

The final publication is available at link.springer.comA bivariate densities can be represented as a density level set containing a fixed amount of probability (0.75, for instance). Then a functional dataset where the observations are bivariate density functions can be analyzed as if the functional data are density level sets.We compute distances between sets and perform standard Multidimensional Scaling. This methodology is applied to analyze electoral results.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft
Analysis of serious games implementation for project management courses

Previous researches in pedagogy and project management have already underlined the positive contribution of serious games on project management courses. However, the empirical outcome of their studies has not been translated yet into functional and technical specifications for "serious games" designers. Our study aims at obtaining a set of technical and functional design guidelines for serious game scenario editors to be used in large classes of project management students. We have conceived a framework to assess the influence of different serious games components over student's perceived acquired competency. Such frameworks will allow us to develop a software module for reflective learning, which is meant to extend theory of serious games design
New frontiers of managerial training: the LiVES project

The evolution of the Internet allowed the Web to become, among the different media, the most global, inter-active and dynamic medium to share information. Therefore, in the last decades, e-Learning has been widely used not only in the academic community, but also in the business sector. Within this context, thanks to their own competences, people can develop specific characteristics which may provide a competitive advantage for their organizations. The development and use of new technologies for the creation of three-dimensional (3D) Virtual Worlds set new challenges and enlarge the very idea of ‘learning environment’. This paper aims at inves-tigating the characteristics of training activities directed at the managerial class, in such a way as to increase their efficacy; it also analyses how the use of specific innovative technologies may be an effective solution.The evolution of the Internet allowed the Web to become, among the different media, the most global, inter-active and dynamic medium to share information. Therefore, in the last decades, e-Learning has been widely used not only in the academic community, but also in the business sector. Within this context, thanks to their own competences, people can develop specific characteristics which may provide a competitive advantage for their organizations. The development and use of new technologies for the creation of three-dimensional (3D) Virtual Worlds set new challenges and enlarge the very idea of ‘learning environment’. This paper aims at inves-tigating the characteristics of training activities directed at the managerial class, in such a way as to increase their efficacy; it also analyses how the use of specific innovative technologies may be an effective solution.Monograph's chapter
Homological algebra for Schwartz algebras of reductive p-adic groups

Let G be a reductive group over a non-Archimedean local field. Then the
canonical functor from the derived category of smooth tempered representations
of G to the derived category of all smooth representations of G is fully
faithful. Here we consider representations on bornological vector spaces. As a
consequence, if V and W are two tempered irreducible representations and if V
or W is square-integrable, then Ext_G^n(V,W) vanishes for all n>0. We use this
to prove in full generality a formula for the formal dimension of
square-integrable representations due to Schneider and Stuhler.Comment: 34 pages, version 2 contains, in addition, a discussion about formal
  dimensions from the point of view of Schwartz algebras and von Neumann
  algebra
Promoting dental care to children using traditional and interactive media following threat appeals

In recent years, computer games have become an important part of children’s lives. Gaming is not only one of their favorite pastime activities, but games are also increasingly used by marketers in an attempt to influence children’s purchase behavior. Today, almost every food and beverage brand targeting children has an advergame on its website. Advergames are “computer games specifically created to function as advertisements to promote brands”, containing brand identifiers such as logos and brand characters (Kretchmer, 2005: 7). Games can also be powerful learning tools. Several authors (e.g., Gee, 2003; Prensky, 2001) argue that computer games can be more enjoyable, more interesting and thus more effective than traditional learning modes to increase children’s knowledge. Empirical studies that evaluated the impact of the use of games within disciplines such as mathematics, science, language, geography and computer science show positive outcomes in terms of learning effectiveness in relation to curricular objectives (e.g., Papastergiou, 2009; Rosas et al., 2003). However, these authors mainly focus on the learning ability of games rather than their persuasive impact for social marketing purposes. In the area of health education, playing computer games has often been seen with skepticism (e.g., Bale, 1994; Funk and Buchman, 1995)
IAS 20 Accounting for Government Grants and Disclosure of Government Assistance - A Closer Look

The International Accounting Standards Committee issued the the International Accounting Standard 20, Accounting for Government Grants and Disclosure of Government Assistance. The objective of IAS 20 is to prescribe the accounting treatment for, and disclosure of, government grants and other forms of government assistance. Government assistance takes many forms varying both in the nature of the assistance given and in the conditions which are usually attached to it. The purpose of the assistance may be to encourage an entity to embark on a course of action which it would not normally have taken if the assistance was not provided. This article presents a closer look of standard (objective, scope, definitions, recognition, presentation and disclosures).
IAS 8, Accounting Policies, Changes in Accounting Estimates and Errors – A Closer Look

The International Accounting Standards Board issued the revised version of the International Accounting Standard 8, Accounting Policies, Changes in Accounting Estimates and Errors. The objective of IAS 8 is to prescribe the criteria for selecting, applying and changing accounting policies, together with the accounting treatment and disclosure of changes in accounting policies, changes in accounting estimates and the corrections of errors. This article presents a closer look of the standard (objective, scope and application, definitions, prescribed accounting treatment and disclosures).
Modeling and Optimization of a Swarm-Intelligent Inspection System

We present a simple, behavior-based, distributed control algorithm to inspect a regular structure with a swarm of autonomous, miniature robots, using only on-board, local sensors. To estimate intrinsic advantages and limita- tions of the proposed control solution, we capture its characteristics at a higher abstraction level using non-spatial probabilistic microscopic and macroscopic models. Both models achieve consistent prediction on the chosen swarm metric and deliver a series of interesting qualitative and quantitative insights on further, counterintuitive, improvement of the distributed control algorithm. Modeling results were validated by experiments with one to twenty robots using a realistic simulator in the framework of a case study concerned with the inspection of a jet turbine
Root Causes of The Housing Bubble

In this chapter we investigate root causes of the recent U.S. housing bubble which has been caused a serious downturn in U.S. economic growth since autumn of 2008. We propose a simple model of housing markets in order to indicate the possible determinants of recent housing prices. Utilizing the model, we verify a number of hypotheses which have been proposed in the recent literature on the housing bubbles. We suggest that the main causes of the housing bubble from 2000 to 2006 are (i) non-elastic housing supply in the metropolitan areas, and (ii) declines in the mortgage loan rate and the housing premium by the massive mortgage credit expansion. We also suggest that these factors were strongly influenced by policies that governments and the Federal reserve Board performed.
Chapter 5 : A fresh consideration of development strategies for smaller island states and territories

Much of the literature on the development prospects of small, often island, ­jurisdictions is steeped in pessimism, driven by a serious concern as to the ability of such players to exploit the opportunities of an increasingly globalised world and its emergent liberalised trade rules (e.g. Briguglio 1995: 1615–1620; Encontre 1999: 265; UNCTAD 2004; WTO 1999). It is common to argue that small size, islandness, vulnerability, and a low governance capacity conspire to exacerbate the existing marginalisation of small economies, and is a condition which therefore justifies calls for special treatment. These arguments, however, “… are by no means uncontentious, and are part of an ongoing debate” (Horscroft 2005: 41). This paper aligns itself with a more optimistic view of the prospects for these territories and their citizens, who continue to exploit opportunities and maximise economic gains in a turbulent and dynamic external environment (e.g. Streeten 1993; Easterly and Kraay 2000; Page and Kleen 2004: 82, 89–90). Unable to reap economies of scale, they practice economies of scope. They do so also by keeping alive a portfolio of skills and revenue streams which enables these actors to migrate both inter-sectorally, as well as trans-nationally.peer-reviewe
PROJECTION Algorithm for Motif Finding on GPUs

Motif finding is one of the NP-complete problems in Computational Biology.
Existing nondeterministic algorithms for motif finding do not guarantee the
global optimality of results and are sensitive to initial parameters. To
address this problem, the PROJECTION algorithm provides a good initial estimate
that can be further refined using local optimization algorithms such as EM,
MEME or Gibbs. For large enough input (600-1000 bp per sequence) or for
challenging motif finding problems, the PROJECTION algorithm may run in an
inordinate amount of time. In this paper we present a parallel implementation
of the PROJECTION algorithm in Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) using CUDA. We
also list down several major issues we have encountered including performing
space optimizations because of the GPU's space limitations.Comment: Workshop on Computation: Theory and Practice. Theory and Practice of
  Computation, Volume 5 of the series Proceedings in Information and
  Communications Technology pp 101-115 (2012
Probing the Early Universe with the CMB Scalar, Vector and Tensor
  Bispectrum

Although cosmological observations suggest that the fluctuations of seed
fields are almost Gaussian, the possibility of a small deviation of their
fields from Gaussianity is widely discussed. Theoretically, there exist
numerous inflationary scenarios which predict large and characteristic
non-Gaussianities in the primordial perturbations. These model-dependent
non-Gaussianities act as sources of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB)
bispectrum; therefore, the analysis of the CMB bispectrum is very important and
attractive in order to clarify the nature of the early Universe. Currently, the
impacts of the primordial non-Gaussianities in the scalar perturbations, where
the rotational and parity invariances are kept, on the CMB bispectrum have been
well-studied. However, for a complex treatment, the CMB bispectra generated
from the non-Gaussianities, which originate from the vector- and tensor-mode
perturbations and include the violation of the rotational or parity invariance,
have never been considered in spite of the importance of this information. On
the basis of our current studies, this thesis provides the general formalism
for the CMB bispectrum sourced by the non-Gaussianities not only in the
scalar-mode perturbations but also in the vector- and tensor-mode
perturbations. Applying this formalism, we calculate the CMB bispectrum from
two scalars and a graviton correlation and that from primordial magnetic
fields, and we then outline new constraints on these amplitudes. Furthermore,
this formalism can be easily extended to the cases where the rotational or
parity invariance is broken. We also compute the CMB bispectra from the
non-Gaussianities of the curvature perturbations with a preferred direction and
the graviton non-Gaussianities induced by the parity-violating Weyl cubic
terms. We also present some unique impacts to the violation of these
invariances on the CMB bispectrum.Comment: The final version will be published in Springer Theses
  http://www.springer.com/astronomy/book/978-4-431-54179-
Invariant Differential Operators for Non-Compact Lie Groups: the Sp(n,R)
  Case

In the present paper we continue the project of systematic construction of
invariant differential operators on the example of the non-compact algebras
sp(n,R), in detail for n=6. Our choice of these algebras is motivated by the
fact that they belong to a narrow class of algebras, which we call 'conformal
Lie algebras', which have very similar properties to the conformal algebras of
Minkowski space-time. We give the main multiplets and the main reduced
multiplets of indecomposable elementary representations for n=6, including the
necessary data for all relevant invariant differential operators. In fact, this
gives by reduction also the cases for n<6, since the main multiplet for fixed n
coincides with one reduced case for n+1.Comment: Latex2e, 27 pages, 8 figures. arXiv admin note: substantial text
  overlap with arXiv:0812.2690, arXiv:0812.265
The Ruijsenaars Self-Duality Map as a Mapping Class Symplectomorphism

International audienceThis is a brief review 1 of the main results of our paper arXiv:1101.1759 that contains a complete global treatment of the compactified trigonometric Ruijsenaars-Schneider system by quasi-Hamiltonian reduction. Confirming previous conjectures of Gorsky and collaborators, we have rigorously established the interpretation of the system in terms of flat SU (n) connections on the one-holed torus and demonstrated that its self-duality symplectomorphism represents the natural action of the standard mapping class generator S on the phase space. The pertinent quasi-Hamiltonian reduced phase space turned out to be symplectomorphic to the complex projective space equipped with a multiple of the Fubini-Study symplectic form and two toric moment maps playing the roles of particle-positions and action-variables that are exchanged by the duality map. Open problems and possible directions for future work are also discussed