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Abstract: Skin tone is a known influencer of earnings and social status. Its role in marketing has been primarily studied within the context of advertising while focusing on differences between Whites and Blacks. Three experiments were conducted to determine the effect of skin tone on customer evaluations of Black, Hispanic, and White males and females across two industries. In Studies 1 and 2, the Hispanic male was deemed less competent, professional, and worthy of repatronage compared to other service providers. In Study 3, the Hispanic male received higher evaluations when portrayed with a darker skin tone than lighter skin tone. Skin tone identity, ethnic identity, and colorism are found to influence the observed relationship. The research demonstrates that ethnicity matters, gender matters, and skin tone matters when evaluating service providers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Multiple Critical Zone Observatories (CZO) have been established in recent years in the U.S.A. and elsewhere to conduct collaborative, multidisciplinary research on the earth's critical zone (CZ). As a result, a large amount of scientific data over space and time has been collected. However, heterogeneities in data documentation impede our ability for cross-site comparisons and for integrated analysis. To promote efficient data sharing, publishing, and integration, we developed a sample-based measurement ontology (SMO) to formalize data structures and unify variable terms in data documentations for the CZOs. "Sample" is the core of the SMO. Each sample is part of a "Medium" that represents an entity of the CZ such as soils. Characteristics of a sample are analyzed and the results are reported as values and errors. Based on the concepts of the SMO and geochemical data model of Lehnert et al. (2000), we created a relational database to accommodate CZ regolith geochemical data, namely CZchemDB, to bridge the gap between data collection, documentation and sharing among the CZOs. The CZchemDB has now been successfully implemented in the MS Access database management system for individual or small group uses. However, our ultimate goal is to integrate the CZchemDB with the online global geochemistry data portal, EarthChem, for broader data accessibility and reusability. Finally, we emphasize that the SMO is extensible to all media within the CZ and so CZchemDB can be used to store any sample-based chemical data measured on any medium such as minerals, water, gas, or biota in the CZ. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We document a link between U.S. credit supply and rising personal bankruptcy rates. We exploit the exogenous variation in market contestability brought on by banking deregulation—the relaxation of entry restrictions in the 1980s and 1990s—at the state level. We find deregulation explains at least 10% of the rise in bankruptcy rates. We also find that deregulation leads to increased lending, lower loss rates on loans, and higher lending productivity. Our findings indicate that increased competition prompted banks to adopt sophisticated credit rating technology, allowing for new credit extension to existing and previously excluded households. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous research suggests that the market for index-linked bonds is not entirely efficient and that these inefficiencies can be exploited by including inflation forecasts in trades on break-even inflation. Inspired by those results, we test the informational content of inflation expectations using survey data generated by the Survey of Professional Forecasters. We develop trading strategies speculating on the movement of break-even inflation. The results indicate that the market for US inflation-indexed government bonds offers the possibility to obtain excess returns. These results are fairly consistent regardless of market frictions introduced in the return calculation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We construct a quarterly time series of the rent-price ratio for the aggregate stock of owner-occupied housing in the United States, starting in 1960, by merging micro data from the last five Decennial Censuses of Housing surveys with price indexes for house prices and rents. We show that the rent-price ratio ranged between 5 and 5.5 percent between 1960 and 1995, but rapidly declined after 1995. By year-end 2006, the rent-price ratio reached a historic low of 3.5 percent. For the rent-price ratio to return to its historical average over, say, the next five years, house prices likely would have to fall considerably. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Barberis and Shleifer (2003) suggest that US investors classify assets into different styles based on, for example, market capitalization or B/M ratios. They find that prices can deviate substantially from fundamental values as a style's popularity changes over time. In this paper, we discuss implications of this prediction and empirically investigate the profitability of style momentum strategies for the UK stock market. Results suggest that a simple trading rule can generate significant positive returns, but for our sample of FTSE 350 stocks those strategies are less profitable and more risky compared to regular momentum strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article investigates how well the observed market smile can be explained by using a generalized GARCH option valuation model driven by a skewed fat-tailed distribution for the return shocks. Pricing performance in- and out-of-sample is analyzed using DAX index options, and the model is compared to a closed-form GARCH option pricing model and an ad hoc Black-Scholes model. Models that allow correlation between volatility and spot returns and path dependence in volatility together outperform deterministic methods. We also show that skewness, leptokurtosis, asymmetry in the volatility process, and the asset risk premium together determine the shape of the volatility smile. The improvement in pricing performance is particularly remarkable for out-of-the-money options. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evaluates the efficacy of highway crosswalk structures at reducing deer-vehicle collisions in Utah. Results of different strategies in reducing deer mortality; Description of the method; Factors contributing to the collisions.

The article discusses what the authors refer to as the key elements that are needed to conduct vaccination exercises as part of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC's) Public Health Emergency Preparedness (PHEP) program, and it mentions pandemic influenza-related preparedness and the CDC's "Checklist of Best Practices for Vaccination Clinics Held at Satellite, Temporary, or Off-Site Locations." Vaccine handling and storage guidelines are also addressed.

Comments on issues concerning the practice of law in the U.S., compiled as of September 1981. Victims of crimes committed by probationers and parolees; Liability claims against psychiatrists for hospital-based suicides; Efforts to promote improvements in the administration of justice and advancements in jurisprudence; Effect of discovery abuse on clients and the public; Opposition to the structure of the Legal Services Corporation.