The Reaction of Multifamily Capitalization Rates to Natural Disasters

This study analyzes the effect of the Northridge Earthquake on capitalization rates in the multifamily building market in Los Angeles, California. The results indicate that the Northridge Earthquake had a negative impact and overall capitalization rates rose. This negative effect, however, was not uniform over the entire Los Angeles area. During the first year the impact was correlated with distance to the epicenter and proximity to areas with high concentrations of damage. This negative effect, however, proved to be a temporary phenomenon. By the third year after the earthquake the negative effects of the earthquake were not significant.

Bayesian Additive Regression Trees With Parametric Models of Heteroskedasticity

We incorporate heteroskedasticity into Bayesian Additive Regression Trees (BART) by modeling the log of the error variance parameter as a linear function of prespecified covariates. Under this scheme, the Gibbs sampling procedure for the original sum-of- trees model is easily modified, and the parameters for the variance model are updated via a Metropolis-Hastings step. We demonstrate the promise of our approach by providing more appropriate posterior predictive intervals than homoskedastic BART in heteroskedastic settings and demonstrating the model's resistance to overfitting. Our implementation will be offered in an upcoming release of the R package bartMachine.Comment: 20 pages, 5 figure

Is there a Right to Physician-Assisted Suicide?

In Part I, the author explains that it is the adjudication between the conflicting claims of individual liberty, personal autonomy and self-determination versus the preservation of life as a societal value that is at the core of the issue posed by physician-assisted suicide. In Part II, author makes the case against suicide, noting that liberty is not absolute and the state retains powers of sovereignty to curtail an individual’s liberty in the face of a countervailing state interest. In Part III, the author discusses the relevant case law relating to the withdrawal of medical treatment. Part IV concludes with a discussion of active suicide as distinguished from passive suicide. The state’s interest in preventing overt acts of suicide is far more compelling that an individual’s interest in refusing medical care

Halochos of eerev Pesach which occurs on Shabbos

The vagaries of the lunar calendar are such that erev Pesach coincides with Shabbos infrequently and with an irregular pattern. The occurrence of erev Pesach on Shabbos gives rise to numerous complications with regard to the eating of chometz and its disposal, the proper mode of fulfilling the mitzvah of the Shabbos repasts and preparations for the seder. The following is intended for general guidance. The individual readers Moro de-Asro should be consulted with regard to any questions which may arise

The Physician as Conscientious Objector

This Article examines the right of doctors to object, because of conflicts with the doctor\u27s own morals, to treatment requested or refused by patients. Focusing mainly on end-of-life care, the author compares court opinions allowing or prohibiting doctors to withhold or withdraw life-sustaining treatment at the request of patients or their surrogates

Faith and state. British policy responses to Islamist extremism

El extremismo islámico ha sido objeto de intenso escrutinio global desde septiembre de 2001. Muchos Estados han respondido al desafío del terrorismo islámico con una estrategia antiterrorista común. Tal estrategia incluye políticas genéricas anti violenciIslamist extremism has been the focus of intensive global scrutiny since September 2001. Many states have responded to the challenge of Islamic terrorism with a common anti terrorist strategy. Those policies include generic anti violence policies that co

States with a history of undemocratic regimes in the 20th century are more likely to repress racist movements.

Why do some liberal democracies repress racist associations, while others tolerate their existence? Erik Bleich outlines the results of a study into the different factors that affect a state’s response to racist political parties and movements. He finds that the most significant predisposing factor to states placing restrictions on racist associations is a history of undemocratic regimes in the 20th century. The trigger for a country choosing to pass or enforce such provisions varies, however, with external pressure from international bodies, and a rise in domestic racist incidents being two of the most common precipitating events