College Enquiry Chatbot

In the earlier days, students had to visit the college to enquire about details like courses, fee structure, admission process and other information's about the college, which is a tiresome and long process . This is where we thought of using an intelligent bot delivering the information. College Enquiry Chatbot is a simple python web application which aims to provide the information regarding college asked by the user. Keywords: Chatbot, Python, ChatterBot, Django

Finding the Correct Pesticide Applicator License in Florida

It can be difficult to determine which pesticide license is needed for an applicator's specific situation. Each license has unique study material, a different fee structure, and varied CEU requirements. This new 71-page publication utilizes a "dichotomous key" for the pesticide license process to help guide users to the correct license. Each license category page will also provide all the relevant information needed to get and maintain a license in the state of Florida.https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/pi292

Plumbing of Securities Markets: The Impact of Post-trade Fees on Trading and Welfare

We analyze how market design choices about counterparty information and costs related to the “plumbing” (i.e., clearing, settlement, and custody) of securities markets affect market quality and welfare. Our model compares two post-trade fee structures for allocating these costs. One charges a uniform fee for all trades and the other, marginal cost–based structure a reduced fee for internalized trades (which, both traders being from the same broker, is less costly to process). Both market design and fee structure affect quote aggressiveness and trading volume and its composition. With marginal cost–based fees and counterparty information being available, traders decide which counterparties to target through quote aggressiveness, trading off execution probability against fee. A social planner can maximize welfare by requiring marginal cost–based fees and providing traders the choice to disclose counterparty information. This paper was accepted by Gustavo Manso, finance.

Fees, Reputation, and Information Production in the Credit Rating Industry

We compare a credit rating agency’s incentives to acquire costly information when it is only paid for giving favorable ratings to the corresponding incentives when the agency is paid up-front, i.e., irrespective of the ratings assigned. We show that, in the presence of moral hazard, contingent fees provide stronger dynamic incentives to acquire information than up-front fees and may induce higher social welfare. When the fee structure is chosen by the agency, contingent fees arise as an equilibrium outcome, in line with the way the market for credit rating actually works. (JEL D21, D82, D83, G24)

Analyse d’impact du moment de décaissement d’un produit avec garantie de rachat viager

The extant literature on the Guaranteed Lifetime Withdrawal Benefits (GLWB) financial risk is abundant, however, few articles investigate the option offered to the policyholder with respect to the initiation of the contract and examine this impact on the profitability of the product for the insurer. We extend the analysis carried out by Huang et al. (IME, 2014) on the optimal initiation of the product with GLWB. First, we add an additional dimension in the analysis to account for the insurer losses as a function of the age for disbursement chosen by the policyholder. Then, we develop a novel analytical framework to determine by numerical methods the extent to which an insurer, expecting his client to choose when to receive benefits to maximize the value of his variable annuity contract, should change its actuarially fair fee structure. We show that the fair premium is a function of the insured policyholder age when he bought the contract. This result runs counter to the current fee structure and practice in the Canadian insurance industry with insurers charging a uniform level of fees regardless of the policyholder biological age when the contract is issued.

Simplified Comparison of Oversize and Overweight Vehicles Permit Fee Structure in the U.S. Western States

This paper provides a simplified comparative assessment of oversize/overweight (OS/OW) vehicle permits and fees in the U.S. western states and includes a review of current permitting practices, fee structures, fines, and available information on revenue generation. The study was motivated by an urgent need to revise permit structures in the State of New Mexico because of escalating demand for OS/OW vehicle permits. The research team surveyed the Departments of Transportation, Motor Vehicle Divisions, and Offices of Public Safety in 14 states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. In addition, the state regulations related to OS/OW vehicles were reviewed. Comparison of the OS/OW permit structures revealed significant differences in the fees and fines charged in the western states. It is recommended that the current permit structure should be overhauled to accommodate the demand for higher maximum permitted weights and to generate the funds necessary to maintain and rebuild the affected transportation infrastructure including pavements and bridges. A scientific study is needed in each state to quantify the costs associated with the operation of OS/OW vehicles and to develop a revenue-neutral fee structure. In particular, the determination of permit fees requires a comprehensive study to evaluate the damage to bridges and pavements caused by OS/OW vehicles. Findings from this research provide a contextual framework to compare current permitting structures and their implications on the revenues generated from OS/OW permits across the U.S. western states.

Anatomy of the Fund Management Industry

In the ever-growing realm of fund/investment management, there are various stakeholders involved. This paper has identified the significant factors that lead to issues coming up in the fund management industry within the working and operations. The paper consists of an extensive literature review from the perspective of the investor. It consists of a research framework that involves steps like factor recognition, problem recognition, possible solutions, and conclusion. The result of this study shows that various factors influence the working of these organizations, which include the organization hierarchy, fee structure, risk involved, information privacy, and level of professionalism. These factors affect the industry image as well as the level of trust in the minds of the investor. It can all very well translate to the betterment of an organization's workflow.