bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Human walking along a curved path. I. Body trajectory, segment orientation and the effect of vision
Authors: Courtine Grégoire , Schieppati Marco
Published: July 2003

Task‐related characteristics of gait and segment orientation during natural locomotion along a curved path have been described in order to gain insight into the neural organization of walking. The locomotor task implied continuous deviation from straight‐ahead, thereby requiring continuous adjustment of body movement to produce and assist turn‐related torques. Performance was compared to straight‐ahead locomotion. Subjects easily reproduced both trajectories with eyes open (EO). The actual‐to‐required trajectory difference increased blindfolded (BF), more so during turning. Stride length was unchanged for the outer but decreased for the inner leg. The feet anticipated subsequent body rotation by pivoting toward the inner side of the curve at heel strike. A shift of body centre of mass and trunk roll toward the inner side accompanied turning. The head turned more than dictated by the heading change, and the absolute range of yaw oscillation increased. Head yaw anticipated body yaw by ≈ 200 ms. Despite the minor effect of vision on the behaviour of all other segments, a difference in head pitch occurred between EO and BF; with EO, the head was flexed (P < 0.01), as to look at the path, while pitch was negligible with BF. In general, the changes in the amplitude of head, trunk and feet movements proved to be well related to the kinematics of the steering body, and constituted a sort of basic library of motor synergies.
Human walking along a curved path. II. Gait features and EMG patterns
Authors: Courtine Grégoire , Schieppati Marco
Published: July 2003

We recorded basic gait features and associated patterns of leg muscle activity, occurring during continuous body progression when humans walked along a curved trajectory, in order to gain insight into the nervous mechanisms underlying the control of the asymmetric movements of the two legs. The same rhythm was propagated to both legs, in spite of inner and outer strides diverging in length (P < 0.001). There was a phase lag in limb displacement between the inner and outer leg of 7% of the total cycle duration (P = 0.0001). Swing velocity was greater for outer than inner foot (P < 0.001). The duration of the stance phase diminished and increased in the outer and inner leg (P < 0.01), respectively, and was associated with trunk leaning toward the inside of the path. Muscle activity was not dramatically altered during curved walking. The amplitude of soleus burst during stance increased in the outer (P < 0.05) and decreased in the inner leg (P < 0.05), without changes in timing. Tibialis anterior activity increased in both legs during the swing phase (P < 0.05); it was advanced on the outer and delayed on the inner side (P < 0.01; 2% of the cycle). The peroneus longus burst decreased in both legs, but more in the inner than the outer leg, and lasted longer in the inner leg at the onset of swing. Closing the eyes did not affect the gait pattern and muscle activity during turning. The command to walk along a curved path may exploit the basic mechanisms of the spinal locomotor generator, thereby limiting the computational cost of turning.
Meta‐ecosystems: a theoretical framework for a spatial ecosystem ecology
Authors: Loreau Michel , Mouquet Nicolas , Holt Robert D.
Published: July 2003

This contribution proposes the meta‐ecosystem concept as a natural extension of the metapopulation and metacommunity concepts. A meta‐ecosystem is defined as a set of ecosystems connected by spatial flows of energy, materials and organisms across ecosystem boundaries. This concept provides a powerful theoretical tool to understand the emergent properties that arise from spatial coupling of local ecosystems, such as global source–sink constraints, diversity–productivity patterns, stabilization of ecosystem processes and indirect interactions at landscape or regional scales. The meta‐ecosystem perspective thereby has the potential to integrate the perspectives of community and landscape ecology, to provide novel fundamental insights into the dynamics and functioning of ecosystems from local to global scales, and to increase our ability to predict the consequences of land‐use changes on biodiversity and the provision of ecosystem services to human societies.
Pollinators as mediators of top‐down effects on plants
Authors: Suttle Kenwyn B.
Published: July 2003

This paper explores the idea that predators may disrupt plant–pollinator relationships and consequently inhibit reproduction in flowering plants. Amidst growing evidence that predators influence plant–pollinator interactions, I suggest that such pollinator‐mediated indirect effects may be a common feature of terrestrial communities, with implications for research into top‐down effects and pollination ecology. Experimental evidence of such an effect from a riparian system in northern California is provided, where crab spiders decreased seed production in inflorescences of the invasive plantLeucanthemum vulgareby reducing the frequency and duration of floral visits by pollinating insects.
Biodiversity loss, trophic skew and ecosystem functioning
Authors: Duffy J. Emmett
Published: July 2003

Experiments testing biodiversity effects on ecosystem functioning have been criticized on the basis that their random‐assembly designs do not reflect deterministic species loss in nature. Because previous studies, and their critics, have focused primarily on plants, however, it is underappreciated that the most consistent such determinism involves biased extinction of large consumers, skewing trophic structure and substantially changing conclusions about ecosystem impacts that assume changing plant diversity alone. Both demography and anthropogenic threats render large vertebrate consumers more vulnerable to extinction, on average, than plants. Importantly, species loss appears biased toward strong interactors among animals but weak interactors among plants. Accordingly, available evidence suggests that loss of a few predator species often has impacts comparable in magnitude to those stemming from a large reduction in plant diversity. Thus, the dominant impacts of biodiversity change on ecosystem functioning appear to be trophically mediated, with important implications for conservation.
The power of time: spatiotemporal scaling of species diversity
Authors: Adler Peter B. , Lauenroth William K.
Published: July 2003

The species–area relationship (SAR) provides the foundation for much of theoretical ecology and conservation practice. However, by ignoring time the SAR offers an incomplete model for biodiversity dynamics. We used long‐term data from permanent plots in Kansas grasslands, USA, to show that the increase in the number of species found with increasing periods of observation takes the same power‐law form as the SAR. A statistical model including time, area, and their interaction explains 98% of variation in mean species number and demonstrates that while the effect of time depends on area, and vice versa, time has strong effects on species number even at relatively broad spatial scales. Our results suggest equivalence of underlying processes in space and time and raise questions about the diversity estimates currently used by basic researchers and conservation practitioners.
Niche differentiation in Mexican birds: using point occurrences to detect ecological innovation
Authors: Peterson A. Townsend , Holt Robert D.
Published: July 2003

The development of quantitative models of species’ distributions has largely ignored the potential for intraspecific variation in species’ niche requirements. Application of such models may nevertheless provide a rich, untapped opportunity to address the basic issue of niche conservatism vs. evolution. We illustrate this potential using genetic algorithms coupled with geographical information systems, which provide a powerful and novel approach to characterizing species’ ecological niches and geographical distributions. Our example consists of several species of Mexican birds with recognized subspecies, and associated climatic and vegetation data. Our basic protocol is to develop an ecological niche model for each subspecies, and use this model to predict distributions of other subspecies. In some cases, the ecological niche model inferred for one subspecies provides an excellent descriptor of other subspecies’ ranges, whereas in other cases the prediction is rather poor. We suggest that the latter may reveal the potential existence of evolved, intraspecific niche differentiation. We discuss alternative, non‐evolutionary explanations, and point out potential implications of our results for predictive models of species’ invasions.
Vasopressin‐induced facilitation of adrenergic responses in the rat mesenteric artery is V1‐receptor dependent
Authors: Streefkerk J. O. , Pfaffendorf M. , Van Zwieten P. A.
Published: July 2003

1 The present study was designed to analyse the possible involvement of V1‐ and V2‐receptors in vasopressin (AVP)‐induced facilitation of the sympathetic nervous system. Furthermore, we aimed to determine whether the site of facilitation by AVP is located pre‐ or postsynaptically.

2 Electrical field stimulation (EFS) was applied on the rat mesteric artery to activate the sympathetic nervous system. In addition, we evaluated the direct vascular effects of AVP. The postsynaptic effect of AVP on the sympathetic nervous system was investigated by exposing the vessels to exogenous noradrenaline. These experiments were performed in the absence or presence of selective V1and V2receptor antagonists SR 49059 and SR 121463, respectively. Desmopressin was applied as a selective V2agonist.

3 The direct vasoconstrictor effect of AVP was antagonized by SR 49059 and not by SR 121463. Desmopressin neither showed any direct vasoconstrictor effect nor produced vasodilatation after a precontraction induced by noradrenaline (10 μm). The EFS‐induced rise in vascular tone could be increased by a sub‐pressor concentration of AVP. This fascilitation could be antagonized by SR 49059, but not by SR 121463. Desmopressin did not influence the increase in vascular tone during EFS. Vasoconstriction induced by exogenous noradrenaline could be facilitated by a sub‐pressor concentration of AVP and this selective postsynaptic effect could be antagonized by V1‐receptor blockade.

4 In conclusion, the AVP‐induced facilitation of the sympathetic nervous system is completely V1‐receptor dependent and at least partly postsynaptically mediated.
Responsiveness, affinity constants and 2‐adrenoceptor reserves for isoprenaline on portal veins from normo‐ and pre‐ and hypertensive rats
Authors: Chen Y.‐Y. , Doggrell S. A.
Published: July 2003

1 This study used contractility methods with the portal veins of 5‐ and 14‐week‐old Wistar–Kyoto normotensive rats (WKY) and spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs). The SHRs are prehypertensive at 5 weeks.

2 The first part of our study was to determine whether the responsiveness to isoprenaline and forskolin was altered in the maturation of portal veins from normo‐ and prehypertensive rats. The responses to forskolin were similar on the portal veins of 5‐ and 14‐week‐old WKY and SHRs.

3 The sensitivity and maximum responses to isoprenaline were similar on portal veins of 5‐ and 14‐week‐old WKY. The sensitivity and maximum responses to isoprenaline were lower on the portal veins of 5‐week‐old SHRs (pD2 = 8.25, maximum = 85%) than age‐matched WKY (pD2 = 8.79, maximum = 96%); these differences are not caused by hypertension. At 14 weeks, the sensitivity was similar (WKY pD2 = 8.74, SHR pD2 = 8.65) but the maximum responses to isoprenaline were lower on the portal veins SHRs (77%) than WKY (97%). Thus, the sensitivity to isoprenaline increases with the development of hypertension in the SHR portal vein.

4 The second part of the study was to determine whether the affinity for isoprenaline at β2‐adrenoceptors and the fractional β2‐adrenoceptor occupancy–response relationships on the portal vein were altered in maturation from normo‐ and pre‐hypertensive rats. The effects of bromoacetylalprenololmenthane (BAAM), an irreversible β‐adrenoceptor blocker, on the isoprenaline responses of 5‐ and 14‐week‐old WKY and SHRs were studied. Maturation of the WKY portal vein between 5 and 14 weeks was associated with a loss of affinity for isoprenaline (from pKA of 7.13 to 7.87), and increase in β2‐adrenoceptor reserve (from 72 to 92% at the 95% response). There were similar affinity and reserve findings in the maturation of the SHR portal vein. Thus, there are major changes in β2‐adrenoceptor structure and reserve in maturation on the portal vein that are irrespective of the development of hypertension.
Autonomic innervation of immune organs and neuroimmune modulation
Authors: Mignini F. , Streccioni V. , Amenta F.
Published: July 2003

1 Increasing evidence indicates the occurrence of functional interconnections between immune and nervous systems, although data available on the mechanisms of this bi‐directional cross‐talking are frequently incomplete and not always focussed on their relevance for neuroimmune modulation.

 2 Primary (bone marrow and thymus) and secondary (spleen and lymph nodes) lymphoid organs are supplied with an autonomic (mainly sympathetic) efferent innervation and with an afferent sensory innervation. Anatomical studies have revealed origin, pattern of distribution and targets of nerve fibre populations supplying lymphoid organs.

 3 Classic (catecholamines and acetylcholine) and peptide transmitters of neural and non‐neural origin are released in the lymphoid microenvironment and contribute to neuroimmune modulation. Neuropeptide Y, substance P, calcitonin gene‐related peptide, and vasoactive intestinal peptide represent the neuropeptides most involved in neuroimmune modulation.

 4 Immune cells and immune organs express specific receptors for (neuro)transmitters. These receptors have been shown to respond in vivo and/or in vitro to the neural substances and their manipulation can alter immune responses. Changes in immune function can also influence the distribution of nerves and the expression of neural receptors in lymphoid organs.

 5 Data on different populations of nerve fibres supplying immune organs and their role in providing a link between nervous and immune systems are reviewed. Anatomical connections between nervous and immune systems represent the structural support of the complex network of immune responses. A detailed knowledge of interactions between nervous and immune systems may represent an important basis for the development of strategies for treating pathologies in which altered neuroimmune cross‐talking may be involved.
Combining Inferences from Models of Capture Efficiency, Detectability, and Suitable Habitat to Classify Landscapes for Conservation of Threatened Bull Trout
Authors: Peterson James T. , Dunham Jason
Published: July 2003

Abstract: Effective conservation efforts for at‐risk species require knowledge of the locations of existing populations. Species presence can be estimated directly by conducting field‐sampling surveys or alternatively by developing predictive models. Direct surveys can be expensive and inefficient, particularly for rare and difficult‐to‐sample species, and models of species presence may produce biased predictions. We present a Bayesian approach that combines sampling and model‐based inferences for estimating species presence. The accuracy and cost‐effectiveness of this approach were compared to those of sampling surveys and predictive models for estimating the presence of the threatened bull trout (  Salvelinus confluentus ) via simulation with existing models and empirical sampling data. Simulations indicated that a sampling‐only approach would be the most effective and would result in the lowest presence and absence misclassification error rates for three thresholds of detection probability. When sampling effort was considered, however, the combined approach resulted in the lowest error rates per unit of sampling effort. Hence, lower probability‐of‐detection thresholds can be specified with the combined approach, resulting in lower misclassification error rates and improved cost‐effectiveness.
Resistance and Resilience to Coral Bleaching: Implications for Coral Reef Conservation and Management
Authors: West Jordan M. , Salm Rodney V.
Published: July 2003

Abstract: The massive scale of the 1997–1998 El Niño–associated coral bleaching event underscores the need for strategies to mitigate biodiversity losses resulting from temperature‐induced coral mortality. As baseline sea surface temperatures continue to rise, climate change may represent the single greatest threat to coral reefs worldwide. In response, one strategy might be to identify ( 1 ) specific reef areas where natural environmental conditions are likely to result in low or negligible temperature‐related bleaching and mortality ( i.e., areas of natural “resistance” to bleaching ) and ( 2 ) reef areas where environmental conditions are likely to result in maximum recovery of reef communities after bleaching mortality has occurred ( i.e., areas of natural community “resilience” ). These “target areas,” where environmental conditions appear to boost resistance and resilience during and after large‐scale bleaching events, could then be incorporated into strategic networks of marine protected areas designed to maximize conservation of global coral reef biodiversity. Based on evidence from the literature and systematically compiled observations from researchers in the field, this paper identifies likely environmental correlates of resistance and resilience to coral bleaching, including factors that reduce temperature stress, enhance water movement, decrease light stress, correlate with physiological tolerance, and provide physical or biological enhancement of recovery potential. As a tool for identifying reef areas that are likely to be most robust in the face of continuing climate change and for determining priority areas for reducing direct anthropogenic impacts, this information has important implications for coral reef conservation and management.
The Impact of Turtle Excluder Devices and Fisheries Closures on Loggerhead and Kemp's Ridley Strandings in the Western Gulf of Mexico
Authors: Lewison Rebecca L. , Crowder Larry B. , Shaver Donna J.
Published: July 2003

Abstract: The Sea Turtle Stranding and Salvage Network has been monitoring turtle strandings for more than 20 years in the United States. High numbers of strandings in the early to mid‐1980s prompted regulations to require turtle excluder devices ( TEDs ) on shrimping vessels ( trawlers ). Following year‐round TED implementation in 1991, however, stranding levels in the Gulf of Mexico increased. We evaluated the efficacy of TEDs and other management actions ( e.g., fisheries closures ) on loggerhead ( Caretta caretta ) and Kemp's ridley (  Lepidochelys kempii ) turtle populations by analyzing a long‐term, stranding data set from the western Gulf of Mexico. Our analyses suggest that both sea turtle population growth and shrimping activity have contributed to the observed increase in strandings. Compliance with regulations requiring turtle excluder devices was a significant factor in accounting for annual stranding variability: low compliance was correlated with high levels of strandings. Our projections suggest that improved compliance with TED regulations will reduce strandings to levels that, in conjunction with other protective measures, should promote population recoveries for loggerhead and Kemp's ridley turtles. Local, seasonal fisheries closures, concurrent with TED enforcement, could reduce strandings to even lower levels. A seasonal closure adjacent to a recently established Kemp's ridley nesting beach may also reduce mortality of nesting adults and thus promote long‐term population persistence by fostering the establishment of a robust secondary nesting site.
Hotspots of Insect Diversity in Boreal Forests
Authors: Komonen Atte
Published: July 2003

Abstract: Insect diversity patterns in boreal forests are largely unknown, and many specific microhabitats have been overlooked in the past. I reviewed some of the evidence on species richness, host specificity, and rarity of insects confined to one such specific microhabitat, namely the fruiting bodies of wood‐decaying macrofungi. I concluded that the insect communities occurring within the fruiting bodies are rich in species, many of which show preference for a specific fungal host. The relatively high number of rare insect species underscores the importance of fungal fruiting bodies for biodiversity maintenance in boreal forests. In the light of this importance and the fact that fruiting bodies occur as distinct, species‐rich islands in the boreal forest landscape, I suggest that the fruiting bodies of wood‐decaying macrofungi can be considered hotspots of insect diversity. Because many forest insects are negatively affected by forestry, practical forest management should pay more attention not only to fungal fruiting bodies but also to other similar microhabitats.
Myocardial Contrast Echocardiography in the Assessment of Patients With Chronic Coronary Artery Disease
Authors: De Isla Leopoldo Pérez , Serra Viviana , Rodrigo José Luis , Almería Carlos , Aubele Adalia , Zamorano José Luis
Published: July 2003

The development of new contrast agents and new imaging methods has lead to an emerging field of applications for myocardial contrast echocardiography (MCE) in patients suffering from chronic ischemic heart disease. Echo contrast allows the assessment of myocardial perfusion (MP) by imaging the coronary microcirculation. Several echocardiographic modalities are available, the main difference between them being the acoustic power needed to perform the study. MP is evaluated by assessing the changes in myocardial videointensity that occur after intravenous contrast injection. Evaluation of these patients is performed by using different techniques. Evaluation of coronary stenosis may be performed by using stress tests or without its use. Coronary artery stenosis >50% of the coronary luminal diameter reveals a decreased hyperemic response when myocardial oxygen demand is increased. Different methods to evaluate the presence of relevant coronary stenosis have been developed: evaluation of myocardial blood flow reserve, evaluation of myocardial blood volume, and evaluation of the transmural distribution of myocardial blood flow. The combination of wall motion analysis with MCE assessment has been demonstrated to achieve the best balance between sensitivity (86%) and specificity (88%), with the highest accuracy (86%). Without the need of any stress, the ratio systolic/diastolic myocardial blood volume has been described to increase with the presence of a epicardial coronary stenosis and it may be measured by MCE. Myocardial viability is also one of the potentials of MCE. Microvascular integrity, demonstrated by MCE, is an indicator of preserved viability and predicts functional recovery that has been validated in the setting of chronic left ventricular dysfunction secondary to chronic coronary artery disease and in the setting of post acute myocardial infarction left ventricular dysfunction. In conclusion: contrast echocardiography provides an interesting tool that offers the potential of a complete evaluation of patients with chronic coronary artery disease. This includes both diagnostic and prognostic evaluation. (ECHOCARDIOGRAPHY, Volume 20, Supplement 1, 2003)
ROCK and Nuclear Factor-κB–dependent Activation of Cyclooxygenase-2 by Rho GTPases: Effects on Tumor Growth and Therapeutic Consequences
Authors: Benitah Salvador Aznar , Valerón Pilar F. , Lacal Juan Carlos
Published: July 2003

Rho GTPases are overexpressed in a variety of human tumors contributing to both tumor proliferation and metastasis. Recently, several studies demonstrate an essential role of transcriptional regulation in Rho GTPases-induced oncogenesis. Herein, we demonstrate that RhoA, Rac1, and Cdc42 promote the expression of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) at the transcriptional level by a mechanism that is dependent on the transcription factor nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB), but not Stat3, a transcription factor required for RhoA-induced tumorigenesis. With respect to RhoA, this effect is dependent on ROCK, but not PKN. Treatment of RhoA-, Rac1-, and Cdc42-transformed epithelial cells with Sulindac and NS-398, two well-characterized nonsteroid antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), results in growth inhibition as determined by cell proliferation assays. Accordingly, tumor growth of RhoA-expressing epithelial cells in syngeneic mice is strongly inhibited by NS-398 treatment. The effect of NSAIDs over RhoA-induced tumor growth is not exclusively dependent on COX-2 because DNA-binding of NF-κB is also abolished upon NSAIDs treatment, resulting in complete loss of COX-2 expression. Finally, treatment of RhoA-transformed cells with Bay11-7083, a specific NF-κB inhibitor, leads to inhibition of cell proliferation. We suggest that treatment of human tumors that overexpress Rho GTPases with NSAIDs and drugs that target NF-κB could constitute a valid antitumoral strategy.
The Neuropsychology of Aesthetic, Spiritual, and Mystical States
Authors: D'Aquili Eugene G. , Newberg Andrew B.
Published: July 2003

An analysis of the underlying neurophysiology of aesthetics and religiousexperience allows for the development of an Aesthetic‐Religious Continuum. This continuumpertains to the variety of creative and spiritual experiences available to human beings. This mayalso lead to an understanding of the neurophysiological mechanism underlying both“positive” and “negative” aesthetics. An analysis of this continuumallows for the ability to understand the neurophenomenological aspects of a variety of humanexperiences ranging from relatively simple aesthetic experiences to profound spiritual and unitarystates such as those obtained during meditation. However, it may be possible through aneuropsychological analysis to determine the similarities that exist across such experiences.Thus, certain parts of the brain may be functioning in similar ways during different experiences.It may be the case that the specific neuropsychological components of a given experience maydepend on the strength of the affectual response of the person and the ability to mark suchexperiences as significant. Further, even though similar structures may be functioning duringdifferent experiences, their inhibitory and excitatory interactions may be different. Finally, byconsidering the Aesthetic‐Religious Continuum, we may eventually arrive at a betterunderstanding of how we experience and define reality.
On the Symbiosis of Science and Religion: A Jewish Perspective
Authors: Samuelson Norbert M.
Published: July 2003

Three theses are explored, the first two historical and the third philosophical‐theological: (1) throughout most of the history ofWestern civilization, science and religion have been closely connected with each other, and each has benefited from the connection; (2) the belief that science and religion have always been in conflict is not based on the actual history of either set of institutions; and (3) structurally a relationship between the two institutions is in the interest of both. By religion here I mean specifically, but not exclusively, Judaism.
What Game Is Being Played? The Need for Clarity about the Relationships Between Scientific and Theological Understanding
Authors: Pailin David A.
Published: July 2003

This paper investigates the relationship between theology and the natural sciences by considering four realist and five nonrealist interpretations of theological understanding. These are that theology expresses biblical affirmations, the faith of the community, revelatory declarations, or a prioriconclusions, and that it is reducible to expressions of feelings, attitudes, naturalism, liberating praxis, or moral convictions. Because these views are unsatisfactory, the author calls for an imaginative form of natural theology that shows how faith's understanding of the purpose, value, and meaning of reality fits how the world is actually found to be.
Rural telework: case studies from the Australian outback
Authors: Simpson Lyn , Daws Leonie , Pini Barbara , Wood Leanne
Published: July 2003

This paper examines the effects of infrastructure and isolation on rural telework, and the potential of telework for rural communities. It draws on findings from two Australian case studies: a government initiative and a community‐initiated training project. Differences between the experiences of rural and urban teleworkers are highlighted.
Can compute, won’t compute: women's participation in the culture of computing
Authors: Wilson Fiona
Published: July 2003

This paper is designed to enlarge our understanding of how computing is perceived. It uses findings from a quantitative and qualitative study of Computer Science and Psychology students. The paper shows how students believe they have an equal chance in Computing Science and are failing to acknowledge inequality.
The Impact of Institutional Differences on Derivatives Usage: a Comparative Study of US and Dutch Firms
Authors: Bodnar Gordon M. , Jong Abe de , Macrae Victor
Published: July 2003

This paper examines the influence of institutional differences on corporate risk management practices in the USA and the Netherlands. We compare results to surveys in each country using a strategy that corrects for differences over industry and size classes across the Dutch and US samples. We document several differences in the firms’ uses and attitudes towards derivatives and attempt to attribute them to the differences in the institutional environments between the USA and the Netherlands. We find that institutional differences appear to have an important impact on risk management practices and derivatives use across US and Dutch firms.
Incorporating Collateral Value Uncertainty in Loss Given Default Estimates and Loan‐to‐value Ratios
Authors: Jokivuolle Esa , Peura Samu
Published: July 2003

We present a model of risky debt in which collateral value is correlated with the possibility of default. The model is then used to study the expected loss given default, primarily as a function of collateral. The results obtained could prove useful for estimating losses given default in many popular models of credit risk which assume them constant. We also examine the problem of determining sufficient collateral to secure a loan to a desired extent. In addition to bank practitioners, regulators might find our analysis useful in reviewing banks’ lending standards relative to current collateral values. In particular, the current proposals for The New (Basel) Capital Accord involve options for the use of banks’ own loss given default estimates which might benefit from the analysis in this paper.
Strategic Management of Cost Efficiencies in Networks: Cross‐country Evidence on European Branch Banking
Authors: Hensel Nayantara D.
Published: July 2003

This paper examines the role of cost efficiencies on efficient management of branch networks in the contemporary European commercial banking industry. The analysis, which could be generalised to other industries, indicates that larger banks are more likely to have heavily utilised branch networks than smaller banks and to exhibit fewer cost efficiencies from building more branches. The finding of this result within each country suggests the role of internal firm size regardless of competitive conditions. The similar cross‐country finding suggests the impact of factors such as market structure/concentration levels and type of non‐price competition. Larger banks can generate less income per unit asset deployed. Cross‐border efficiency might be improved by greater use of banks with under‐used networks by banks with over‐used networks.
Paying People to Lie: the Truth about the Budgeting Process
Authors: Jensen Michael C.
Published: July 2003

This paper analyzes the counterproductive effects associated with using budgets or targets in an organisation's performance measurement and compensation systems. Paying people on the basis of how their performance relates to a budget or target causes people to game the system and in doing so to destroy value in two main ways: (a) both superiors and subordinates lie in the formulation of budgets and, therefore, gut the budgeting process of the critical unbiased information that is required to coordinate the activities of disparate parts of an organisation, and (b) they game the realisation of the budgets or targets and in doing so destroy value for their organisations. Although most managers and analysts understand that budget gaming is widespread, few understand the huge costs it imposes on organisations and how to lower them.

My purpose in this paper is to explain exactly how this happens and how managers and firms can stop this counter‐productive cycle. The key lies not in destroying the budgeting systems, but in changing the way organisations pay people. In particular to stop this highly counter‐productive behaviour we must stop using budgets or targets in the compensation formulas and promotion systems for employees and managers. This means taking all kinks, discontinuities and non‐linearities out of the pay‐for‐performance profile of each employee and manager. Such purely linear compensation formulas provide no incentives to lie, or to withhold and distort information, or to game the system.

While the evidence on the costs of these systems is not extensive, I believe that solving the problems could easily result in large productivity and value increases – sometimes as much as 50–100% improvements in productivity. I believe the less intensive reliance on such budget/target systems is an important cause of the increased productivity of entrepreneurial and LBO firms. Moreover, eliminating budget/target‐induced gaming from the management system will eliminate one of the major forces leading to the general loss of integrity in organisations. People are taught to lie in these pervasive budgeting systems because if they tell the truth they often get punished and if they lie they get rewarded. Once taught to lie in this system people generally cannot help but extend that behaviour to all sorts of other relationships in the organisation.
Independent Movement or Government Subcontractor? – Strategic Responses of Voluntary Organizations to Institutional Processes
Authors: Johansson Staffan
Published: July 2003

The purpose of this paper is to identify factors that can explain differing responses of voluntary organizations to the pressure of homogenization that follows from interaction with public authorities. The paper is theoretically based on institutional organization theory and resource dependence theory, and empirically on research on voluntary organizations in the social sector. It is asserted that the following factors may explain voluntary organizations’ ability to maintain autonomous in relation to public organizations: the characteristics of the organizational field, the focal organization's relations to the dominating organization in the field, organization characteristics and intra–organizational processes and strategies.
Fighting Heroes, Repair–workers or Collaborators? Strategies of NPOs and Their Consequences
Authors: Simsa Ruth
Published: July 2003

This paper wants to contribute to two questions: Firstly, it analyses why NPOs are gaining importance today. It argues that many NPOs possess a particular integrative potential because of their specific position in society. Secondly, the question of the way in which NPOs excert influence is raised. It is argued, that the form of influence of those NPOs that are oriented towards social change are distinguished according to a typology of cooperation, confrontation, and limitation of damage.
Research Techniques and Their Use in Managing Non–profit Organisations – An Illustration of DEA Analysis in NPO Environments
Authors: Vakkuri Jarmo
Published: July 2003

This article examines nonprofit organisations from the managerial viewpoint. The objective is to study the applicability of efficiency information in managing NPOs. For this purpose important conceptual and methodological aspects are addressed. An efficiency measurement technique (DEA) is then analysed as a case in point, and its main characteristics critically reviewed. DEA applications in four NPO environments are examined. The aim is to pinpoint possibilities and limitations in using DEA–based efficiency information in the management process of NPOs. The article argues in favour of a more profound comprehension of the use of efficiency information and the application of research techniques.
Tools, Techniques and Tightropes: The Art of Walking and Talking Private Sector Management in Non–profit Organisations, is it Just a Question of Balance?
Authors: Myers Jan , Sacks Ruth
Published: July 2003

The focus of this paper, first presented at a European Institute for Advanced Studies in Management workshop on challenges of managing in the third sector, is the experiences of small to medium non–profit organisations and their relationship with management tools and techniques. It seeks to raise debate around implications for the creative use of private sector management tools and to contribute to understanding of non–profit management practice. While lessons may be learned from business techniques and processes, the paper contends that execution of business enhancing tools needs to be considered in contexts relevant to the sector's interests and primary aims.
A marginal maximum likelihood method for the vector threshold model to analyze dichotomous choice data
Authors: Hojo Hiroshi
Published: July 2003

Abstract:At least two types of models, the vector model and the unfolding model can be used for the analysis of dichotomous choice data taken from, for example, the pick any/nmethod. The previous vector threshold models have a difficulty with estimation of the nuisance parameters such as the individual vectors and thresholds. This paper proposes a new probabilistic vector threshold model, where, unlike the former vector models, the angle that defines an individual vector is a random variable, and where the marginal maximum likelihood estimation method using the expectation‐maximization algorithm is adopted to avoid incidental parameters. The paper also attempts to discuss which of the two models is more appropriate to account for dichotomous choice data. Two sets of dichotomous choice data are analyzed by the model.
Remy Belleau's La Reconnue and Niccolò Machiavelli's Clizia
Authors: Braybrook J
Published: July 2003

This article compares and contrasts the ways Machiavelli and Belleau use their common source, Plautus' Casina. Machiavelli produces a comedy in prose, and Belleau one in verse. They are concerned with the notion of recognition, although in very different ways, they each feature women, and they adapt Plautus to their own age and their own language. It is suggested that Belleau produces an important innovation in showing his Juguenot heroine on stage. Through her in particular he expresses, towards the beginning of the Wars of Religion, his belief in the importance of toleration. The complexity of Belleau's imitative processes is also highlighted: he has, notably, borrowed much from French farce. This is particularly significant as he was a member of the Pléiade, which claimed to have turned its back on things medieval.
Spatial Stochastic Simulation Offers Potential as a Quantitative Method for Pest Risk Analysis
Authors: Rafoss Trond
Published: July 2003

Pest risk analysis represents an emerging field of risk analysis that evaluates the potential risks of the introduction and establishment of plant pests into a new geographic location and then assesses the management options to reduce those potential risks. Development of new and adapted methodology is required to answer questions concerning pest risk analysis of exotic plant pests. This research describes a new method for predicting the potential establishment and spread of a plant pest into new areas using a case study, Ralstonia solanacearum, a bacterial disease of potato. This method combines current quantitative methodologies, stochastic simulation, and geographic information systems with knowledge of pest biology and environmental data to derive new information about pest establishment potential in a geographical region where a pest had not been introduced. This proposed method extends an existing methodology for matching pest characteristics with environmental conditions by modeling and simulating dissemination behavior of a pest organism. Issues related to integrating spatial variables into risk analysis models are further discussed in this article.
Bacon, Boole, the EPA, and Scientific Standards
Authors: Root David H.
Published: July 2003

The scientific standards of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) include the use of retrospective meta‐analysis. This analysis entails a use of the theory of probability that is only a simulation and cannot accurately measure the confidence that should be placed in the results. The uncertainty necessary for probability is, in a retrospective study, simulated rather than real. There are three logical forms for establishing a proposition. In the logic of the syllogism, a proposition is established by deduction from assumed propositions. In the logic of the physical sciences, a proposition is established by its ability to predict the outcomes of future experiments. In the logic of the courtroom, a proposition is established by its ability to explain past events. The logic of the courtroom operates under the handicap of working with nonrepeatable events. It is more subject to the preferences of the judge than the logic of the physical sciences or that of the syllogism. Because the logic of the courtroom is less reliable than either the logic of the physical sciences or that of the syllogism, it is the logic of last resort, i.e., it is used only when the other two are not applicable. Under the EPA scientific standards, the logic of the courtroom is accepted for establishing propositions about the physical world. As the logic of the courtroom is less reliable than that of the physical sciences, this practice increases the likelihood of errors.
Test of a Trust and Confidence Model in the Applied Context of Electromagnetic Field (EMF) Risks
Authors: Siegrist Michael , Earle Timothy C. , Gutscher Heinz
Published: July 2003

Trust is an important factor in risk management. There is little agreement among researchers, however, on how trust in risk management should be studied. Based on a comprehensive review of the trust literature a “dual‐mode model of social trust and confidence” is proposed. Trust and confidence are separate but, under some circumstances, interacting sources of cooperation. Trust is based on value similarity, and confidence is based on performance. According to our model, judging similarity between an observer's currently active values and the values attributed to others determines social trust. Thus, the basis for trust is a judgment that the person to be trusted would act as the trusting person would. Interpretation of the other's performance influences confidence. Both social trust and confidence have an impact on people's willingness to cooperate (e.g., accept electromagnetic fields or EMF in the neighborhood). The postulated model was tested in the applied context of EMF risks. Structural equation modeling procedures and data from a random sample of 1,313 Swiss citizens between 18 and 74 years old were used. Results indicated that after minor modifications the model explained the data very well. In the applied context of EMF risks, both trust and confidence had an impact on cooperation. Results suggest that the dual‐mode model of social trust and confidence could be used as a common framework in the field of trust and risk management. Practical implications of the results are discussed.
Trust in Risky Messages: The Role of Prior Attitudes
Authors: White Mathew P. , Pahl Sabine , Buehner Marc , Haye Andres
Published: July 2003

Risk perception researchers have observed a “negativity bias” for hazard‐related information. Messages indicating the presence of risk seem to be trusted more than messages indicating the absence of risk, and risk perceptions seem more affected by negative than positive information. Two experiments were conducted to examine alternative explanations of this finding within the area of food additives. Study 1 (N= 235) extended earlier work by (a) unconfounding message valence (positive or negative) from message extremity (definite or null finding) and (b) exploring the role of prior attitudes. Results suggested that negative/risky messages were indeed trusted more even when extremity was taken into account. However, prior attitudes significantly moderated the effect of message valence on trust. Positive messages were distrusted only by those with negative prior attitudes. Study 2 (N= 252), further explored the role of prior attitudes and extended the work by examining reactions to risky messages about a positively viewed additive—a vitamin. The results again found a moderating effect of prior attitudes on message valence. Participants had greater confidence in messages that were more congruent with their prior attitudes, irrespective of valence. Furthermore, positive messages had a greater impact on risk perception than negative messages. These findings suggest that greater trust in negative messages about hazards may be a product of a “confirmatory” rather than a “negativity” bias.
The “Trust Gap” Hypothesis: Predicting Support for Biotechnology Across National Cultures as a Function of Trust in Actors
Authors: Priest Susanna Hornig , Bonfadelli Heinz , Rusanen Maria
Published: July 2003

Using results from the 1999 Eurobarometer survey and a parallel telephone survey done in the United States in 2000, this study explored the relationship between levels of knowledge, educational levels, and degrees of encouragement for biotechnology development across a number of medical and agricultural applications. This cross‐cultural exploration found only weak relationships among these variables, calling into question the common assumption that higher science literacy produces greater acceptance (whether or not mediated by lower perceived risk). The relationship between encouragement and trust in specific social institutions was also weak. However, regression analysis based on “trust gap” variables (defined as numerical differences between trust in specific pairs of actors) did predict national levels of encouragement for several applications, suggesting an opinion formation climate in which audiences are actively choosing among competing claims. Differences between European and U.S. reactions to biotechnology appear to be a result of different trust and especially “trust gap” patterns, rather than differences in knowledge or education.