23,874 research outputs found
Determinants of the Closing Probability of Residential Mortgage Applications
After allowing applicants to "lock" the interest rate, mortgage originators are concerned with protecting themselves from adverse outcomes due to interest-rate changes. One may expect applicants would strive to close applications when rates rose, while letting themselves fall out when rates decline. Our results show that applicant response to interest-rate changes and volatility are modest. The most important predictor of closing probability is the length of the lock period, with shorter locks being more likely to close. Applications for single-family are more likely to close than are those for multiunit dwellings. Applications for owner-occupied properties are more likely to close than are those for investment properties. Applicant characteristics such as loan affordability, education and age have a small influence on closing rate. Gender has an effect for some loan programs, and marital status appears to be irrelevant. Discount points affect refinance mortgages more than purchase mortgages. Conventional applications are more likely to close than FHA and VA, and applications for refinance, in general, are less likely to close. Results are mixed for ARM and fifteen-year applications, as well as for whether it was the original application, or a relock.
Continuing education: The 1998 survey of the Royal Australasian College of Dental Surgeons
The document attached has been archived with permission from the Australian Dental Association. An external link to the publisher’s copy is included.Background: Continuing education (CE) is an essential professional activity. In the last decade, CE has been actively pursued by the medical profession in Australia and abroad. However, the uptake of CE in dentistry has been much slower and there is minimal Australian data on dental CE. Methods: To determine the level of CE activity, in 1998, postal questionnaires were sent to all fellows of the Royal Australasian College of Dental Surgeons. The responses were analysed. Results: There was a high reponse rate (90 per cent) but a moderate usable rate (54 per cent). The results show a biphasic distribution between high and low CE activity. The average amount of activity of those involved in CE was 116 hours per year, above the usually accepted minimum of 100 hours/year. Some groups, particularly members of the specialist divisions of oral and maxillofacial surgeons (215 hours) and periodontists (205 hours), have high levels of CE. However, approximately 25 per cent of college fellows reported little or no CE activity. The survey revealed that inactive fellows are more likely to be older and in general practice. Inactive fellows were also tardy in replying to the questionnaire. Conclusion: The high activity CE group needs to be recognised and encouraged to continue. Specific plans to help the low CE activity group should be developed. Although these findings relate directly to the Royal Australasian College of Dental Surgeons, they are presented as they have implications for the dental profession at large.P Sambrook, D Thomson, R Bastiaan and A Gos
The Influence of Race in Residential Mortgage Closings
This study examines how applicants identified as Asian, Black or Hispanic differ in mortgage closing outcomes compared to the remaining applicants. First, the findings show that minority applicants are somewhat less likely to close a loan for purchase, but equally likely to close a loan for refinance. A more important question this study addresses is whether minority borrowers have less efficient closing outcomes. The findings show no statistical difference between minority and non-minority applicants. This indicates that originators do not demonstrate a ‘‘taste for discrimination’’ by basing their loan approval for minorities on whether the loan can be profitably sold.
Conceptual design of an airborne laser Doppler velocimeter system for studying wind fields associated with severe local storms
An airborne laser Doppler velocimeter was evaluated for diagnostics of the wind field associated with an isolated severe thunderstorm. Two scanning configurations were identified, one a long-range (out to 10-20 km) roughly horizontal plane mode intended to allow probing of the velocity field around the storm at the higher altitudes (4-10 km). The other is a shorter range (out to 1-3 km) mode in which a vertical or horizontal plane is scanned for velocity (and possibly turbulence), and is intended for diagnostics of the lower altitude region below the storm and in the out-flow region. It was concluded that aircraft flight velocities are high enough and severe storm lifetimes are long enough that a single airborne Doppler system, operating at a range of less than about 20 km, can view the storm area from two or more different aspects before the storm characteristics change appreciably
Tablet computers in assessing performance in a high stakes exam : opinion matters
The authors would like to thank Dr Craig brown, University of Aberdeen for assistance with data analysis.Peer reviewedPublisher PD
Deconstruction as political practice : a study of Derrida's politics of friendship and related texts
Vaccination of Cattle with the N Terminus of LppQ of Mycoplasma mycoides subsp. mycoides Results in Type III Immune Complex Disease upon Experimental Infection
Contagious bovine pleuropneumonia (CBPP) is a serious respiratory disease of cattle caused by Mycoplasma mycoides subsp. mycoides. Current vaccines against CBPP induce short-lived immunity and can cause severe postvaccine reactions. Previous studies have identified the N terminus of the transmembrane lipoprotein Q (LppQ-N') of M. mycoides subsp. mycoides as the major antigen and a possible virulence factor. We therefore immunized cattle with purified recombinant LppQ-N' formulated in Freund's adjuvant and challenged them with M. mycoides subsp. mycoides. Vaccinated animals showed a strong seroconversion to LppQ, but they exhibited significantly enhanced postchallenge glomerulonephritis compared to the placebo group (P = 0.021). Glomerulonephritis was characterized by features that suggested the development of antigen-antibody immune complexes. Clinical signs and gross pathological scores did not significantly differ between vaccinated and placebo groups. These findings reveal for the first time the pathogenesis of enhanced disease as a result of antibodies against LppQ during challenge and also argue against inclusion of LppQ-N' in a future subunit vaccine for CBPP
Mn L edge resonant x-ray scattering in manganites: Influence of the magnetic state
We present an analysis of the dependence of the resonant orbital order and
magnetic scattering spectra on the spin configuration. We consider an arbitrary
spin direction with respect to the local crystal field axis, thus lowering
significantly the local symmetry. To evaluate the atomic scattering in this
case, we generalized the Hannon-Trammel formula and implemented it inside the
framework of atomic multiplet calculations in a crystal field. For an
illustration, we calculate the magnetic and orbital scattering in the CE phase
of \lsmo in the cases when the spins are aligned with the crystal lattice
vector (or equivalently ) and when they are rotated in the
-plane by 45 with respect to this axis. Magnetic spectra differ
for the two cases. For the orbital scattering, we show that for the former
configuration there is a non negligible ()
scattering component, which vanishes in the 45 case, while the () components are similar in the two cases. From the
consideration of two 90 spin canted structures, we conclude there is a
significant dependence of the orbital scattering spectra on the spin
arrangement. Recent experiments detected a sudden decrease of the orbital
scattering intensity upon increasing the temperature above the N\' eel
temperature in \lsmo. We discuss this behavior considering the effect of
different types of misorientations of the spins on the orbital scattering
spectrum.Comment: 8 figures. In the revised version, we added a note, a reference, and
a few minor changes in Figure 1 and the text. Accepted in Physical Review
The functional integral with unconditional Wiener measure for anharmonic oscillator
In this article we propose the calculation of the unconditional Wiener
measure functional integral with a term of the fourth order in the exponent by
an alternative method as in the conventional perturbative approach. In contrast
to the conventional perturbation theory, we expand into power series the term
linear in the integration variable in the exponent. In such a case we can
profit from the representation of the integral in question by the parabolic
cylinder functions. We show that in such a case the series expansions are
uniformly convergent and we find recurrence relations for the Wiener functional
integral in the - dimensional approximation. In continuum limit we find
that the generalized Gelfand - Yaglom differential equation with solution
yields the desired functional integral (similarly as the standard Gelfand -
Yaglom differential equation yields the functional integral for linear harmonic
oscillator).Comment: Source file which we sent to journa
The Impact Of Skills And Training Interventions On The Unemployed: Phase II Report
This report is the latest in a series of studies that analyse the returns to FE learning using matched ILR-WPLS administrative data. A recent study in this series (Bibby et. al. 2014) uses the matched data to produce robust estimates of the labour market returns to achievement of learning aims whilst studying in English Further Education (FE), relative to those who have the same highest learning aim, but do not achieve. Whilst survey-based studies had suggested that some vocational qualifications (for instance, NVQ2) were associated with negligible, or even negative, earnings returns; Bibby et. al find that FE qualifications are associated with good labour market returns. The authors provide compelling evidence that the previous less favourable findings at Level 2 were a result of data limitations, rather than truly insignificant value added.
This report investigates labour market returns for a specific subgroup within the wider populations that form the focus of study within this ongoing programme of research. We identify the returns to FE Learning for the unemployed in England. For this study it is essential to use an approach to estimation of value added that is appropriate for learning at Level 2 and below, as many of the interventions targeted at the unemployed are at this level
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