Separation Logic for Small-step Cminor

Cminor is a mid-level imperative programming language; there are proved-correct optimizing compilers from C to Cminor and from Cminor to machine language. We have redesigned Cminor so that it is suitable for Hoare Logic reasoning and we have designed a Separation Logic for Cminor. In this paper, we give a small-step semantics (instead of the big-step of the proved-correct compiler) that is motivated by the need to support future concurrent extensions. We detail a machine-checked proof of soundness of our Separation Logic. This is the first large-scale machine-checked proof of a Separation Logic w.r.t. a small-step semantics. The work presented in this paper has been carried out in the Coq proof assistant. It is a first step towards an environment in which concurrent Cminor programs can be verified using Separation Logic and also compiled by a proved-correct compiler with formal end-to-end correctness guarantees.Comment: Version courte du rapport de recherche RR-613

Why Do Banks Ask for Collateral and Which Ones ?

This paper aims at testing empirically the three major theoretical reasons why banks resort to collateral: reduction of loan loss in the event of default, adverse selection, and moral hazard. This investigation is performed by testing whether the reasons vary according to the type of collateral. We use a unique dataset of bank loans granted to French distressed firms, which contains the full information on debt contract characteristics, including the cause of default, the type and the value of all collaterals. Our work suggests that information asymmetries are not of prime importance in the decision of the bank to secure a loan, as no type of collateral helps to solve adverse selection and moral hazard problems. The reduction of the loan loss and the observed-risk hypothesis may however explain the use of collateral.Collateral, Bank, Credit Risk.

Bankruptcy Law: a Mechanism of Governance for Financially Distressed Firms.

This paper explores the various governance models for financially distressed firms. We offer a new typology of major bankruptcy models and provide a connection between this bankruptcy law puzzle and the variables depicting the governance of healthy firms in order to shed light on two topics: (1) the factors that the lawyer should consider before removing its national bankruptcy law, and (2) the risks associated with each bankruptcy model according to the economic literature on bankruptcy law. Our final aim is to test whether the various bankruptcy models detailed in the paper perform in separate economic and legal environments.Bankruptcy, Governance, Law and Economics.

Spatial issues in the context of the slow city movement

The Slow City movement or Cittaslow began with an association of four Italian cities in 1999, and is developing very rapidly in Europe and beyond. In Poland at the moment it associates 20 cities. This movement aims at the development of small towns based on criteria designed to respect the quality of life in the spirit of the ideology of „slow life”. Its program contains a prototype system for quantifying factors that determine granting a city the title of Slow City. Such town are to become ideal places for a more hygienic and harmonious way of life, in line with our biological clock. The author made an attempt in this article to look at the philosophy of the movement from the perspective of spatial issues. The text presents selected solutions in the area of spatial planning and urban design in line with the ideological demands of the association.Ruch Slow City lub Cittaslow rozpoczął się od stowarzyszenia czterech włoskich miast w 1999 roku. Od tej pory rozwija się niezwykle prężnie w Europie i poza jej granicami. W Polsce w chwili obecnej stowarzysza on 20 miast. Ruch ten zmierza do rozwoju małych miasteczek w oparciu o kryteria mające na celu poszanowanie jakości życia w duchu ideologii „slow life”. W swoim programie zawiera prototypowy system kwantyfikacji czynników, które decydują o nadaniu miastu tytułu Slow City. W odniesieniu do zagadnień przestrzennych przedmiotowe miasteczka mają stać się miejscami idealnymi dla prowadzenia niepowtarzalnego – zgodnego z naszym zegarem biologicznym, bardziej higienicznego i harmonijnego sposobu życia. Autor w swoim artykule podjął próbę spojrzenia na filozofię ruchu z punktu widzenia zagadnień przestrzennych. Tekst jest przykładem przedstawienia wybranych rozwiązań przestrzennych i urbanistycznych w odniesieniu do postulatów ideowych stowarzyszenia

THE EFFECTS OF PROJECT LEAD THE WAY LAUNCH CURRICULUM ON ELEMENTARY GIRLS’ PERCEPTION AND CAREER INTERESTS IN SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING, AND MATHEMATICS

The United States has examined the quality of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education since before the turn of the century. STEM educators are still having the conversation around why more women are not joining STEM pathways. Girls and boys as early as birth are curious about the world; through their own lens they learn about gravity from dropping spaghetti on the floor or seeing a small insect on the wall. As children get older they are influenced by the perceptions of their parents and peers. This study looked at the perception and career interests of girls in STEM and non-STEM schools. Student surveys included the Career Interest Questionnaire (CIQ) and the Semantics survey. The CIQ asked participants about their interests in STEM careers and college, and the Survey items were designed to measure understanding how girls feel about STEM. The participants in the study were from the same school district. One group of participants was from a non-STEM school (i.e., an art magnet school), and the other group was from a STEM magnet school. All participants were females from grades 4 or 5. The STEM group of participants in the study had access to Project Lead the Way (PLTW) Launch curriculum designed for kindergarten through 5th grade. The STEM students had access to PLTW Launch curriculum beginning in kindergarten, and the other group in the study did not have access to PLTW Launch or other STEM curriculum

Personal Bankruptcy Law, Fresh Starts, and Judicial Practice

We explore the ways French judges respond to the possibility of discharging personal debts in exchange for liquidation of debtors’ assets. We present empirical results on the determinants of judicial selection between debtors whose debts are wiped out and those who have to reimburse them. We find that French judges tend to disqualify debtors with multiple creditors from debt discharge, and are sensitive to regional labor market conditions. These empirical results help us understand better how French personal bankruptcy laws perform compared to other national systems. Finally, our results serve to fill the gap between bankruptcy rules and judicial practice.Personal bankruptcy, over-indebtedness

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Financial versus Social Efficiency of Corporate Bankruptcy Law: the French Dilemma?

We study the French dilemma associated with court administered resolution of corporate financial distress of firms, in which bankruptcy courts have to combine both social efficiency (maintaining employment) and ex post financial efficiency (determining the best issue for financial distress, proxied here by the global recovery rate). We discuss this dilemma empirically, using a large sample of decisions of French commercial courts concerning the future of bankrupt firms (reorganization, sale as a going concern or liquidation). Addressing this dilemma, we discuss the determinants of bankruptcy courts’ selection between rival offers in sales as a going concern. Finally, we evaluate the financial cost of the French pro debtor system through the recovery rates of various claimants. Our main results are: (1) French commercial courts actively work to protect employment by facilitating continuation and reducing the domino effects of bankruptcy. (2) the courts’ choice between rival buyout offers confirms that social considerations prevail in the arbitration of bankruptcy courts. (3) Continuations through reorganization plans generate the highest recovery rates for all classes of creditors. (4) Contrary to the expected trade-off between social and financial efficiency, courts also enact measures to increase debt recovery once continuation has been chosen. However, for sales, recovery rates are inhibited by asset illiquidity and/or by the courts’ attempt to promote a firm’s continuation through sales at a low price.Bankruptcy, Reorganization; Liquidation; Recovery rate.