9,147 research outputs found
Transaction Costs in Dealer Markets: Evidence From The London Stock Exchange
This paper describes regularities in the intraday spreads and prices quoted by dealers on the London Stock Exchange. It develops a measure of spread-related transaction costs, one that recognizes dealers' willingness to price trades within their quoted spreads. This measure of transaction costs shows that trading costs are systematically related to a trade's size, characteristics of the trading counterparties, and security characteristics. Customers pay the full spread on small trades while medium to large trades receive more favorable execution. Market makers only discount very large customer trades while dealers regularly discount medium to large trades. Inter-dealer trades generally receive favorable execution, and discounts increase in size. Market makers do not discount trades with each other over the phone, but do discount when trading anonymously using inter-dealer-brokers. Quoted and touch spreads are falling in the number of market makers. The rate of decline is interpreted as reflecting economies of scale in market making.
Fermionic functional renormalization group for first-order phase transitions: a mean-field model
First-order phase transitions in many-fermion systems are not detected in the
susceptibility analysis of common renormalization-group (RG) approaches. Here
we introduce a counterterm technique within the functional
renormalization-group (fRG) formalism which allows access to all stable and
metastable configurations. It becomes possible to study symmetry-broken states
which occur through first-order transitions as well as hysteresis phenomena.
For continuous transitions, the standard results are reproduced. As an example,
we study discrete-symmetry breaking in a mean-field model for a commensurate
charge-density wave. An additional benefit of the approach is that away from
the critical temperature for the breaking of discrete symmetries large
interactions can be avoided at all RG scales.Comment: 17 pages, 8 figures. v2 corrects typos, adds references and a
discussion of the literatur
Adolescents care but don't feel responsible for farm animal welfare
Adolescents are the next generation of consumers with the potential to raise standards of farm animal welfare—to theirsatisfaction—if their preferences and concerns are translated into accurate market drivers and signals. There are no published data about adolescent views of farm animal welfare to allow meaningful design, implementation, and evaluation of educational strategies to improve consideration of—and behavior toward—farm animals. Knowledge of farm animal welfare, as well as beliefs and attitudes about farm animal welfare and behavioral intention relevant to it were determined in a sample of ukadolescents, using a survey incorporating an extended version of the theory of planned behavior and novel assessment tools. Our results indicate that adolescents have only a limited knowledge of welfare problems for farm animals and welfare-relevant product labels. Intentions to identify welfare standards for the animals from whom their food was derived were weak. Although they cared about farm animal welfare and agreed with fundamental principles—for example, the provision of space and the absence of pain and suffering—like adults they held limited belief in the power and responsibility that they possess through their choices as consumers; responsibility was often shifted to others, such as the government and farmers
The Interconnected Magmatic Plumbing System of the Natron Rift
Understanding the magmatic plumbing system of rift volcanoes is essential when examining the
interplay between magmatic and tectonic forces. Recent seismicity, volcanic activity, magma emplacement,
and volatile release make the Natron basin the ideal location to study these processes in the East African
Rift System. Here, we present the first high-resolution tomographic imaging of Oldoinyo Lengai volcano
and surrounding volcanic systems using attenuation mapping. High scattering and absorption features reveal
fluid-filled fracture networks below regions of magmatic volatile release at the surface and a close spatial
association between carbonatite volcanism and deeply penetrating, fluid-filled faults. High-absorption features
appear sensitive to fluids and thermal gradients, revealing a central sill complex and connected plumbing
system down to the mid-crust, which links volcanoes and rift segments across the developing magmatic rift
Self-similar solution of a nonsteady problem of nonisothermal vapour condensation on a droplet growing in diffusion regime
This paper presents a mathematically exact self-similar solution to the joint
nonsteady problems of vapour diffusion towards a droplet growing in a
vapour-gas medium and of removal of heat released by a droplet into a
vapour-gas medium during vapour condensation. An equation for the temperature
of the droplet is obtained; and it is only at that temperature that the
self-similar solution exists. This equation requires the constancy of the
droplet temperature and even defines it unambiguously throughout the whole
period of the droplet growth. In the case of strong display of heat effects,
when the droplet growth rate decreases significantly, the equation for the
temperature of the droplet is solved analytically. It is shown that the
obtained temperature fully coincides with the one that settles in the droplet
simultaneously with the settlement of its diffusion regime of growth. At the
obtained temperature of the droplet the interrelated nonsteady vapour
concentration and temperature profiles of the vapour-gas medium around the
droplet are expressed in terms of initial (prior to the nucleation of the
droplet) parameters of the vapour-gas medium. The same parameters are used to
formulate the law in accordance with which the droplet is growing in diffusion
regime, and also to define the time that passes after the nucleation of the
droplet till the settlement of diffusion regime of droplet growth, when the
squared radius of the droplet becomes proportionate to time. For the sake of
completeness the case of weak display of heat effects is been studied.Comment: 12 pages, 4 figure
Parent training for preschool ADHD: a randomized controlled trial of specialized and generic programs
BackgroundThe New Forest Parenting Package' (NFPP), an 8-week home-based intervention for parents of preschoolers with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), fosters constructive parenting to target ADHD-related dysfunctions in attention and impulse control. Although NFPP has improved parent and laboratory measures of ADHD in community samples of children with ADHD-like problems, its efficacy in a clinical sample, and relative to an active treatment comparator, is unknown. The aims are to evaluate the short- and long-term efficacy and generalization effects of NFPP compared to an established clinic-based parenting intervention for treating noncompliant behavior [Helping the Noncompliant Child' (HNC)] in young children with ADHD.
MethodsA randomized controlled trial with three parallel arms was the design for this study. A total of 164 3-4-year-olds, 73.8% male, meeting DSM-IV ADHD diagnostic criteria were randomized to NFPP (N=67), HNC (N=63), or wait-list control (WL, N=34). All participants were assessed at post-treatment. NFPP and HNC participants were assessed at follow-up in the next school year. Primary outcomes were ADHD ratings by teachers blind to and uninvolved in treatment, and by parents. Secondary ADHD outcomes included clinician assessments, and laboratory measures of on-task behavior and delay of gratification. Other outcomes included parent and teacher ratings of oppositional behavior, and parenting measures. (Trial name: Home-Based Parent Training in ADHD Preschoolers; Registry: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01320098; URL: ).
ResultsIn both treatment groups, children's ADHD and ODD behaviors, as well as aspects of parenting, were rated improved by parents at the end of treatment compared to controls. Most of these gains in the children's behavior and in some parenting practices were sustained at follow-up. However, these parent-reported improvements were not corroborated by teacher ratings or objective observations. NFPP was not significantly better, and on a few outcomes significantly less effective, than HNC.
ConclusionsThe results do not support the claim that NFPP addresses putative dysfunctions underlying ADHD, bringing about generalized change in ADHD, and its underpinning self-regulatory processes. The findings support documented difficulties in achieving generalization across nontargeted settings, and the importance of using blinded measures to provide meaningful assessments of treatment effects
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