Three Generative, Lexicalised Models for Statistical Parsing

In this paper we first propose a new statistical parsing model, which is a generative model of lexicalised context-free grammar. We then extend the model to include a probabilistic treatment of both subcategorisation and wh-movement. Results on Wall Street Journal text show that the parser performs at 88.1/87.5% constituent precision/recall, an average improvement of 2.3% over (Collins 96).Comment: 8 pages, to appear in Proceedings of ACL/EACL 97

Pursuing the American Dream: Homeownership and the Role of Federal Housing Policy

Homeownership has always been a strong component of housing and housing policy in the United States. Owning a home is considered an important social and economic indicator, as well as a symbol of having a stake in society and contributing to the stability to the community. The system for producing housing units suitable for homeownership, and for financing home mortgages, has changed dramatically in recent decades. Technology and innovations have increased speed, efficiency and volume, resulting in more families finding mortgage financing than ever before and new homes being produced in record numbers. While homeownership rates are near all-time highs, particular demographic and economic populations, as well as distressed areas, lag behind. Despite greater access to mortgage credit for most families and communities, increased risks, and higher costs of credit, are being shouldered by consumers.This paper attempts to provide an overview of U.S. housing policies related to homeownership, an analysis of the barriers to homeownership, and background on pressing federal policies, programs, and regulations that could be refined to better support homeownership. As the Millennial Housing Commission considers recommendations regarding federal homeownership policy, several issues are paramount:1. What more can the federal government do to encourage and support homeownership?2. What can the federal government do to encourage innovations in the mortgage market, while adequately protecting consumers?3. What can the federal government do to help ensure that mortgage borrowers understand the rights and responsibilities of homeownership and are prepared to assume them?4. What can the federal government do to encourage the production and preservation of homes affordable to those with lower-incomes?Buying a home is typically the largest and most complicated financial commitment most households ever make. Would-be first-time buyers face many barriers to qualify for a conventionally-priced mortgage, including an inability to afford monthly payments, lacking sufficient savings for a downpayment and closing costs, having high debts or an unstable income. Even if they qualify, potential buyers may be hampered by a lack of affordable homes in a desirable area, or even information on how to buy a home or negotiate the best deal. Veiled or overt discriminatory practices still employed by some in the real estate and financial industries also conspire against some potential homebuyers. In combination, these hurdles, especially among low-income and minority populations, keep homeownership, and its ancillary social and economic benefits, out of reach.Policy makers and practitioners should understand the risks and implications of expanding homeownership to lower-income families. Unlike in the rental housing market, individual families must be able to successfully maintain their homes and their mortgages. Individual households need to have the capacity to stay current on their loans and to undertake needed repairs and upkeep. When families fail at homeownership, entire neighborhoods can be affected in addition to the substantial losses individual households must endure. To the extent that expanding homeownership to low- and very-low income people is a priority, correlated issues of access banking services, personal financial management and education policy must be considered.Based on interviews with leading practitioners, focus groups and other research, a series of policy changes are explored. Generally, policy prescriptions can be grouped into three categories:1.) Expanding the reach of mortgage markets for sustainable homeownership;2.) Educating and protecting consumers engaged in mortgage and home equity markets; and3.) Producing and preserving units suitable for affordable homeownership

Ab initio lattice dynamics of nonconducting crystals by systematic fragmentation

A systematic method for approximating the ab initio electronic energy of crystal lattices has been improved by the incorporation of long range electrostatic and dispersion interactions. The effect of these long range interactions on the optimization of the crystal structure is reported. The harmonic lattice dynamics have been evaluated to give phonon frequencies and neutron scattering intensities. Exemplary results are reported for diamond, silicon, and α-quartz using Hartree-Fock, Möller-Plesset perturbation, and coupled-cluster levels of ab initio theory

Organisational Control an English Commercial Bank Lending to Industry in the decades before Wowrld War I

Editada en la Fundación Empresa PúblicaLos años 1880-1914 fueron de crecimiento institucional y de sistemática consolidación en el sector bancario inglés. A principios del siglo XIX se produjeron una serie de crisis que afectaron seriamente a los bancos de Inglaterra y Gales. Una de sus consecuencias fue generar preocupación sobre la liquidez de los bancos, planteándose simultáneamente interrogantes sobre la adecuada composición de los créditos al sector privado. El artículo examina los procedimientos utilizados por los bancos para minimizar los riesgos y estudia algunos aspectos de las prácticas crediticias que se aplicaron en las regiones más industrializadas de Gran Bretaña. En la primera parte se resume la organización y los métodos de control adoptados por las principales sociedades anónimas bancarias. La segunda presenta un esquema para la evaluación y seguimiento de los créditos. Y la tercera analiza las prácticas de los bancos en sus préstamos al sector industrial.The years 1880-1914 were years of institutional growth and systemic consolidation for English banks. In the early and middle decades of the nineteenth century there had been a number of crises which had affected the banks of England and Wales. On effect was to raise anxieties about the liquidity of bank balance sheets, including fundamental questions about the composition of lending to the private sector. In particular, the paper discusses the procedures used by the banks to minimise risk and examines some aspects of actual lending practice as it applied to the industrial regions of Britain. There are three parís to the paper. The fírst briefly summarises the organisational and control structures that were introduced by the large joint-stock banks to standardise lending at their numerous branches. The second section introduces a schema íot the assessment and monitoring of loans, and the third discusses some of the banks' pre-1914 practices with regard to loans to industry.Publicad

Measuring the Delivery Costs of Prepurchase Homeownership Education and Counseling

In order to understand the roles that public policy and the business and consumer sectors play in paying for homeownership education and counseling, the costs, benefits and beneficiaries of the education and training must be fully accounted for. This paper estimates the total costs of delivering homeownership education and counseling and discusses proven and implied benefits to stakeholders. Based on one set of assumptions, and depending on the level of activities offered, homeownership education and counseling costs range from $500 to$1,500. Empirical and anecdotal evidence suggest that homeownership education and counseling offer important benefits to borrowers, lenders, real estate professionals and communities. Many nonprofit organizations providing such services, however, remain underfunded. Providers, financial institutions and policy makers must increase their knowledge of what works, what costs are incurred, who benefits, and what value is created by homeownership education and counseling activities in order to develop a sustainable delivery system.This paper uses information from NeighborWorks organizations that offer homeownership education and counseling programs as illustration of the cost structure of the homeownership education and counseling industry. Part 2 provides background information on the homeownership education and counseling industry. Part 3 explains the methodology and assumptions used for this analysis. Part 4 reviews cost accounting and presents a framework for the cost analysis. Part 5 discusses the value proposition for homeownership education and counseling while Part 6 offers conclusions and implications