68 research outputs found
Globalization and the Real Estate Industry: Issues, Implications, Opportunities
Globalization has reached the local and "non-tradable" bastion of real estate. In the last decade, cross-border transactions,
portfolio and direct investments have surged in real estate, impacting prices, volumes and industry structure. A significant
share of U.S. builders, brokers, consulting firms, real estate finance firms and investors have extended their areas of
operation beyond local markets to a world-wide base. This paper draws on prior research, published data, trade
publications, an industry workshop, interviews and a short survey to present a preliminary overview of how real estate is
globalizing. The paper reviews questions of measurement of international trade and investment in real estate, theoretical
issues surrounding the interplay of globalization and real estate, the impact on the real estate supply chain, issues of risk
diversification and contagion, and the global competitiveness of the U.S. real estate industry, particularly in emerging
economies. A survey of industry leaders indicates that while Europe has historically been a strong base for U.S. real estate
activity, Asian markets now offer diversification opportunities due to rapid economic growth, urbanization, demographic
trends and demand backlog. We point to some future research questions, such as the link between banking, capital markets
and real estate in the context of global financial integration, competitiveness in global markets and employment generation,
and the impact of offshoring and global sourcing on U.S. industrial agglomerations, among others
Case Study: Predictive Fairness to Reduce Misdemeanor Recidivism Through Social Service Interventions
The criminal justice system is currently ill-equipped to improve outcomes of
individuals who cycle in and out of the system with a series of misdemeanor
offenses. Often due to constraints of caseload and poor record linkage, prior
interactions with an individual may not be considered when an individual comes
back into the system, let alone in a proactive manner through the application
of diversion programs. The Los Angeles City Attorney's Office recently created
a new Recidivism Reduction and Drug Diversion unit (R2D2) tasked with reducing
recidivism in this population. Here we describe a collaboration with this new
unit as a case study for the incorporation of predictive equity into machine
learning based decision making in a resource-constrained setting. The program
seeks to improve outcomes by developing individually-tailored social service
interventions (i.e., diversions, conditional plea agreements, stayed
sentencing, or other favorable case disposition based on appropriate social
service linkage rather than traditional sentencing methods) for individuals
likely to experience subsequent interactions with the criminal justice system,
a time and resource-intensive undertaking that necessitates an ability to focus
resources on individuals most likely to be involved in a future case. Seeking
to achieve both efficiency (through predictive accuracy) and equity (improving
outcomes in traditionally under-served communities and working to mitigate
existing disparities in criminal justice outcomes), we discuss the equity
outcomes we seek to achieve, describe the corresponding choice of a metric for
measuring predictive fairness in this context, and explore a set of options for
balancing equity and efficiency when building and selecting machine learning
models in an operational public policy setting.Comment: 12 pages, 4 figures, 1 algorithm. The definitive Version of Record
will be published in the proceedings of the Conference on Fairness,
Accountability, and Transparency (FAT* '20), January 27-30, 2020, Barcelona,
Spai
Rebounding from disruptive events: Business recovery following the Northridge earthquake
sodC-Based Real-Time PCR for Detection of Neisseria meningitidis
Real-time PCR (rt-PCR) is a widely used molecular method for detection of
Neisseria meningitidis (Nm). Several rt-PCR assays for Nm
target the capsule transport gene, ctrA. However, over
16% of meningococcal carriage isolates lack ctrA,
rendering this target gene ineffective at identification of this sub-population
of meningococcal isolates. The Cu-Zn superoxide dismutase gene,
sodC, is found in Nm but not in other
Neisseria species. To better identify Nm, regardless of
capsule genotype or expression status, a sodC-based TaqMan
rt-PCR assay was developed and validated. Standard curves revealed an average
lower limit of detection of 73 genomes per reaction at cycle threshold
(Ct) value of 35, with 100% average reaction efficiency
and an average R2 of 0.9925. 99.7% (624/626) of Nm isolates
tested were sodC-positive, with a range of average
Ct values from 13.0 to 29.5. The mean sodC
Ct value of these Nm isolates was 17.6±2.2 (±SD).
Of the 626 Nm tested, 178 were nongroupable (NG) ctrA-negative
Nm isolates, and 98.9% (176/178) of these were detected by
sodC rt-PCR. The assay was 100% specific, with all
244 non-Nm isolates testing negative. Of 157 clinical specimens tested,
sodC detected 25/157 Nm or 4 additional specimens compared
to ctrA and 24 more than culture. Among 582 carriage specimens,
sodC detected Nm in 1 more than ctrA and
in 4 more than culture. This sodC rt-PCR assay is a highly
sensitive and specific method for detection of Nm, especially in carriage
studies where many meningococcal isolates lack capsule genes
The Human Phenotype Ontology in 2024: phenotypes around the world.
The Human Phenotype Ontology (HPO) is a widely used resource that comprehensively organizes and defines the phenotypic features of human disease, enabling computational inference and supporting genomic and phenotypic analyses through semantic similarity and machine learning algorithms. The HPO has widespread applications in clinical diagnostics and translational research, including genomic diagnostics, gene-disease discovery, and cohort analytics. In recent years, groups around the world have developed translations of the HPO from English to other languages, and the HPO browser has been internationalized, allowing users to view HPO term labels and in many cases synonyms and definitions in ten languages in addition to English. Since our last report, a total of 2239 new HPO terms and 49235 new HPO annotations were developed, many in collaboration with external groups in the fields of psychiatry, arthrogryposis, immunology and cardiology. The Medical Action Ontology (MAxO) is a new effort to model treatments and other measures taken for clinical management. Finally, the HPO consortium is contributing to efforts to integrate the HPO and the GA4GH Phenopacket Schema into electronic health records (EHRs) with the goal of more standardized and computable integration of rare disease data in EHRs
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Foreign Trade and California's Economic Growth: A Summary of Findings and Directions for Policy
California Housing in the Subprime/Credit Crisis— Overview and a Forward Look at Recovery
This article describes the effects of the subprime and credit crisis on the California housing market and the fall 2009 outlook for recovery. The article begins with a description of alternative measures for tracking home price changes and discusses how median price, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) index, and the Standard & Poors/Case-Shiller index differ as indicators. Statewide, the median price, dependent on the mix of sales, rose faster and then dropped more than the FHFA index, based on same-home sales with “conforming” loans. Trends among California’s regional markets also vary by index. The FHFA indices for San Francisco Bay Area west bay and east bay areas dropped significantly less than the Case-Shiller index for the combined area. Both FHFA indices among regions and price-per-square foot data within the San Francisco Bay Area show that lower priced markets, with high shares of subprime loans experienced higher foreclosure rates, as well as the most severe price drops early in the crisis. Higher priced markets have shown more vulnerability within the last year, as the impacts of recession are added to the softening caused by the subprime and credit crisis. Uncertainties in employment recovery, interest rates, and building activity make it difficult to predict how and when the market will recover. Present trends suggest that the California housing market may be stabilizing, but it is unlikely that prices will fully recover to the pre-crisis peak in the next five years
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Foreign Trade and California's Economic Growth: Issues and Research Approach
Factors Driving the Silicon Valley Housing Market in 2007
With Silicon Valley employment still well below the 2000 peak, and rising foreclosures nationwide, this article examines whether the area's housing market is vulnerable to a correction. Recent statistics suggest that several factors have helped support home prices, but that there are uncertainties going forward. Although the San Jose MSA has regained less than one-fifth of jobs lost since 2000, there are now strong signs that employment is in recovery, with job growth occurring in diverse sectors. The San Jose MSA's wage and salary jobs now outstrip the area's resident labor force, suggesting that there may be a pent-up demand for housing from commuters in surrounding communities. This demand may be one of several factors that kept the region's housing prices stable immediately following the dot-com bust, and allowed price increases to follow in the absence of full employment recovery. Other factors include low interest rates; a mobile younger workforce, whose departure affected rent more than home prices; and a shift in investment from stocks to homeownership following the dot-com bust. In the 2007 housing market slowdown, the greatest impact nationwide has been at the low end of the market, while Silicon Valley's expensive housing market has a foreclosure rate well below the statewide average. Nevertheless, there is some evidence of softening. The number of home sales has decreased. The same-home sales price index was down slightly first quarter, as was the median price for new homes. The median price of existing homes is rising, but in part because of the drop off in sales at the low end and in part due to sellers taking homes off the market rather than lowering prices. The paper concludes with several possible scenarios for Silicon Valley home prices going forward--a two-tiered market with price increases in some segments and declines in others; price stabilization across home-types; or a significant recession-induced price decline
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