bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Factor Ownership and Governmental Strategic Interaction
Authors: Lee Kangoh
Published: December 2003

A fiscal policy of a jurisdiction alters the allocation of mobile factors among jurisdictions, affecting other jurisdictions and creating an externality. Since each jurisdiction does not take into account the externality, the equilibrium fiscal policy on mobile factors is inefficient. However, individuals of a jurisdiction may own immobile factors located in other jurisdictions. The government for the jurisdiction then considers the effects of its policy on the returns to the immobile factor located in other jurisdictions. The cross–ownership of immobile factors thus affects the efficiency of fiscal policies. The present paper considers capital tax competition as an example to illustrate the effects of the ownership structure of immobile factors on the equilibrium fiscal policy, and extends the analysis to other types of fiscal competition.
External Equilibrium in Mobility and Redistribution Economies
Authors: Puy M. Socorro
Published: December 2003

We develop a simple model in which individuals, who are differentiated by skill levels, freely choose location among different regions. In each region there is a local labor market that determines the wage and a local redistributive taxation that is exogenously determined. Equilibrium requires that no agent wishes to migrate. We define some sufficient conditions for equilibrium, and we show that the greater the difference in mean skills across regions, the greater the difference in redistributive taxations across regions should be to avoid migration flows. A condition for uniqueness and stability of equilibrium is also provided.
Expenditure Competition
Authors: Wilson John Douglas , Gordon Roger H.
Published: December 2003

Given the temptation by government officials to use some of their budget for “perks,” residents face the problem of inducing officials to reduce such “waste.” The threat to vote out of office officials who perform poorly is one possible response. In this paper, we explore how the competition for residents induced by fiscal decentralization affects “waste” in government. We find that such competition reduces waste, raises the utility of residents, and increases the desired supplies of public goods (potentially above the levels that jurisdictions would choose if they could coordinate). These results are in sharp contrast to the presumed effects from “tax competition,” and suggest an additional advantage of fiscal decentralization.
Long–Run Industry Equilibrium Under Demand Uncertainty: The Locational Effect of Business Taxes
Authors: Tan Lin–Ti
Published: December 2003

This paper departs from previous work on the locational effects of business taxes under uncertainty by considering the attainment of long–run industry equilibrium. A general m input, planar–space production location model is adopted, and each individual firm is assumed to face random industry demand. I provide some interesting results which are contrary to those proposed by previous studies in the single–firm context and the relative impact of various business taxes.
Uniform Pricing Versus Mill Pricing
Authors: Wrede Matthias
Published: December 2003

This paper analyzes the coexistence of different pricing strategies. The purpose is to discuss how firms that are limited to uniform pricing affect the outcome of price competition among mill–price–setting firms. Price competition among (three) firms that are restricted to mill pricing is analyzed within the classic Hotelling framework and uniform–price–setting firms are considered as first movers. If uniform–price–setting firms deliver any good, they effectively separate mill–price–setting firms from each other. Finally, it is shown that price competition among first movers strengthens the effects of cross–type price competition.
Price Dynamics in the International Wheat Market: Modeling with Error Correction and Directed Acyclic Graphs
Authors: Bessler David A , Yang Jian , Wongcharupan Metha
Published: December 2003

In this paper we examine dynamic relationships among wheat prices from five countries for the years 1981–1999. Error correction models and directed acyclic graphs are employed with observational data to sort–out the dynamic causal relationships among prices from major wheat producing regions: Canada, the European Union, Argentina, Australia, and the United States. An ambiguity related to the cyclic or acyclic flow of information between Canada and Australia is uncovered. We condition our analysis on the assumption that information flow is acyclic. The empirical results show that Canada and the U.S. are leaders in the pricing of wheat in these markets. The U.S. has a significant effect on three markets excluding Canada.
Neural Network Modeling of Constrained Spatial Interaction Flows: Design, Estimation, and Performance Issues
Authors: Fischer Manfred M , Reismann Martin , Hlavackova–Schindler Katerina
Published: December 2003

In this paper a novel modular product unit neural network architecture is presented to model singly constrained spatial interaction flows. The efficacy of the model approach is demonstrated for the origin constrained case of spatial interaction using Austrian interregional telecommunication traffic data. The model requires a global search procedure for parameter estimation, such as the Alopex procedure. A benchmark comparison against the standard origin constrained gravity model and the two–stage neural network approach, suggested by Openshaw (1998), illustrates the superiority of the proposed model in terms of the generalization performance measured by ARV and SRMSE.
Urban Growth in the 1990s: Is City Living Back?
Authors: Glaeser Edward L , Shapiro Jesse M
Published: December 2003

The 1990s were an unusually good decade for the largest American cities and, in particular, for the cities of the Midwest. However, fundamentally urban growth in the 1990s looked extremely similar to urban growth during prior post–war decades. The growth of cities was determined by three main trends: (1) cities with strong human capital bases grew faster than cities without skills, (2) people moved to warmer, drier places, and (3) cities built around the automobile replaced cities that rely on public transportation. Although the negative impact of population density diminished slightly in the 1990s, there is no real evidence for a return to large, dense cities.
Can Basic Individual Differences Shed Light on the Construct Meaning of Assessment Center Evaluations?
Authors: Collins J. M. , Schmidt F. L.. , Sanchez–Ku M. , Thomas L. , McDaniel M. A. , Le H.
Published: December 2003

The construct meaning of assessment center evaluations is an important unresolved issue in I/O psychology. This study hypothesized that Cognitive Ability and personality traits are primary correlates of evaluators’ overall assessment ratings (OARs). Meta–analysis results based on 65 correlations indicate the following mean construct–level correlations with OARs: .67 for Cognitive Ability, .50 for Extraversion, .35 for Emotional Stability, .25 for Openness, and .17 for Agreeableness; yielding a multiple R of .84. These findings support our hypothesis and cast light on the construct meaning of assessment center evaluations.
Applicant Perceptions of Selection Procedures: The Role of Selection Information, Belief in Tests, and Comparative Anxiety
Authors: Lievens Filip , De Corte Wilfried , Brysse Katrien
Published: December 2003

This study addresses the effects of the provision of information on the reliability and validity of selection procedures and the effects of test–taker attitudes (i.e., belief in tests and comparative anxiety) on fairness perceptions. Prior to an actual selection process, applicants (N= 118) were given either information about the reliability and validity of various selection procedures or no information. Next, they evaluated the fairness of eight selection procedures. No significant effect of selection information was found. Belief in tests had significant effects, with applicants high on test belief giving higher fairness ratings than applicants low on test belief. In addition, an interaction effect between test belief and selection procedure was found. For example, test belief had larger effects on fairness for structured interviews, personality inventories, and cognitive ability tests. No significant effect of comparative anxiety on fairness was found.
A Practical Procedure to Estimate the Quality and the Adverse Impact of Single–Stage Selection Decisions
Authors: De Corte Wilfried , Lievens Filip
Published: December 2003

The quandary posed by the conflicting goals of valid selection and a diverse workforce is one of the most perplexing problems facing the practice of personnel selection today. To help address the issue, the article presents a comprehensive method and a related computer program to estimate the expected adverse impact and the expected quality of the majority, the minority and the total selected work force. Compared to previous related procedures, the present method is much more general as it can address situations with both multiple predictor and multiple criterion dimensions. In addition, the expected effects can be computed given the overall selection ratio and the estimates are derived analytically and, hence, are accurate. To assist the selection practitioner, the method is made available as a free download from the Internet.
Relationships between Integrity–Related Variables, Work Performance, and Trustworthiness in English and Spanish
Authors: Posthuma Richard A. , Maertz, Jr. Carl P.
Published: December 2003

Employees (N = 92) from the USA and Mexico completed questionnaires that measured rule–breaking, drug use, and attitudes toward theft. Integrity–related variable clusters had significant intercorrelations. Rule–breaking correlated with supervisor evaluations of work performance in Spanish and with trustworthiness in English.
Organisational change and the management of training in Australian enterprises
Authors: Smith Andrew , Oczkowski Edward , Macklin Robert , Noble Charles
Published: December 2003

This article presents the findings from a study of the impact of the introduction of new management practices on the organisation of training in Australian enterprises. The study investigated the impact of five common new management practices: teamworking, total quality management, lean production, business process re‐engineering and the learning organisation, as well as a number of other organisational factors. The incidences of these practices were modelled against eight measures of the organisation of training in enterprises. The results confirm that organisational change, as represented by the five new management practices, has had a significant impact on the organisation of training. However, the most significant impact on the way training is organised appears to be on the extent to which training and human resource policy are integrated with business strategy.
Cultural myths in stories about human resource development: analysing the cross‐cultural transfer of American models to Germany and the Côte d'Ivoire
Authors: Hansen Carol D.
Published: December 2003

This exploratory study examined the cross‐cultural transferability of occupational assumptions, in the form of work myths, to a foreign setting. The research followed the premise that occupations are culturally framed by certain myths which are shaped by national socio‐cultural referents. The reaction of the German and Ivorian business communities to the myths that shape American human resource models of employee and organisational development formed a descriptive basis for practice and theoretical implications. The data were derived from the myths contained in informant stories about the need for human resource development (HRD) interventions. Societal differences in individualistic and collective orientations as well as historical variance in business development and approaches to management were reviewed in an attempt to explain disagreements in cultural assumptions. Highlighted was the need for all occupations to be cognisant of the ethnocentrism of their work myths.
Capitalising on learning: an exploration of the MBA as a vehicle for developing career competencies
Authors: Sturges Jane , Simpson Ruth , Altman Yochanan
Published: December 2003

This article reports the findings of a study of Canadian MBA graduates that explores the skills, knowledge and capabilities which they gained from the programme within the context of a career‐competency framework. It concludes that the development of knowing‐why career competencies (relating to career values, meanings and motivations) were the most important outcome of the course for the graduates. Knowing‐how career competencies (relating to skills and job‐related knowledge) were also valued highly. Increased self‐confidence was a valuable form of career capital for the graduates, although the antecedents and consequences of this appear to be somewhat different for men and women.
International briefing 13: Training and development in Spain—the politics of modernisation
Authors: Martínez Lucio Miguel , Stuart Mark
Published: December 2003

The article will address the issue of training and development in Spain. First, the general economic and labour market context will be outlined. Second, the public policy context of training and development and the institutions of regulation will be considered in terms of the way challenges have been responded to by the state and social actors, with an emphasis on developments in lifelong learning and the reality of corporate strategy and practice. Finally, the article will provide an outline of the relevant institutions, networks and sources with regard to the issue of training and development, showing how a new constituency of interests have emerged and coalesced. There is a tendency in the literature and debates related to training and development to speak in terms of binarisms. On the one hand, there are social systems that are deemed to exalt the virtues of training and create high levels of economic investment and political involvement in this area, whilst there are others who fail both to prioritise it and develop extensive systems of social engagement. These types of approaches tend to have difficulty dealing with some of the more complex realities of training, and the myriad of typologies and hybrids, that constitute national training systems such as Spain's.
The Impact of SFAS No. 131 on Information and Monitoring
Authors: Berger Philip G. , Hann Rebecca
Published: December 2003

We investigate the effect of the Financial Accounting Standards Board's (FASB) new segment reporting standard on the information and monitoring environment. We compare hand‐collected, restated SFAS 131 segment data for the final SFAS 14 fiscal year with the historical SFAS 14 data. We find that SFAS 131 increased the number of reported segments and provided more disaggregated information. Analysts and the market had access to a portion of the new segment information before it was made public, but analyst and market expectations were still altered by the mandated release of the new data. By increasing information disaggregation, the new standard induced firms to reveal previously “hidden” information about their diversification strategies. The newly revealed information affected market valuations and lead to changes in firm behavior consistent with improved monitoring following adoption of SFAS 131.
Disclosure Practices, Enforcement of Accounting Standards, and Analysts' Forecast Accuracy: An International Study
Authors: Hope Ole‐Kristian
Published: December 2003

Using a sample from 22 countries, I investigate the relations between the accuracy of analysts' earnings forecasts and the level of annual report disclosure, and between forecast accuracy and the degree of enforcement of accounting standards. I document that firm‐level disclosures are positively related to forecast accuracy, suggesting that such disclosures provide useful information to analysts. I construct a comprehensive measure of enforcement and find that strong enforcement is associated with higher forecast accuracy. This finding is consistent with the hypothesis that enforcement encourages managers to follow prescribed accounting rules, which, in turn, reduces analysts' uncertainty about future earnings. I also find evidence consistent with disclosures being more important when analyst following is low and with enforcement being more important when more choice among accounting methods is allowed.
Privacy in E‐Commerce: Development of Reporting Standards, Disclosure, and Assurance Services in an Unregulated Market
Authors: Jamal Karim , Maier Michael , Sunder Shyam
Published: December 2003

Government regulation of financial reporting by publicly listed firms, coupled with a punitive regime for violation of generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), has been in place in the United States for seven decades. Whether this regime is effective or useful is an open question, especially in the absence of data on the behavior of unregulated economies. Privacy disclosure in e‐commerce is essentially an unregulated environment with some parallels to financial disclosure. A study of privacy standards, disclosures practices, and demand for audits can help accountants and security regulators project the consequences of a competitive regime sans regulation for accounting standards, disclosure and audit practices. In this article we set up a framework for such a study, gather data from the field, and analyze privacy standards, privacy disclosure practices, and the effectiveness of opt‐out practices of 100 high‐traffic e‐commerce Web sites. We observe four diverse sets of privacy standards (TRUSTe, BBB Online, WebTrust, and PWC Privacy) competing in this market, attracting clienteles of their own as reflected in privacy policies and the disclosure of such policies. With a few exceptions, actual disclosure and opt‐out practices correspond reasonably well to stated policies in e‐commerce. There is little evidence that the prevailing competitive regime induces a race to the bottom with respect to privacy standards and disclosures. We explore the implications of these results for the consequences of a competitive regime for regulation of financial reporting.
Discussion of ADRs, Analysts, and Accuracy: Does Cross‐Listing in the United States Improve a Firm's Information Environment and Increase Market Value?
Authors: Leuz Christian
Published: December 2003

Lang, Lins, and Miller [2002] investigate the relation between cross‐listing in the United States and information intermediation by analysts. The results suggest that cross‐listing in the United States increases analyst following and forecast accuracy and that both variables are associated with Tobin's Q. These findings are interesting and advance the cross‐listing literature in several ways. This discussion raises two issues. First, I highlight that the sources of cross‐listing effects are not obvious and are difficult to disentangle. To illustrate this point, I replicate the analysis using cross‐listed Canadian firms, for which mandated disclosures are held constant. Thus, if disclosure effects are important for documented cross‐listing effects, I expect to find no relation in the Canadian sample. The findings for forecast accuracy are consistent with this hypothesis. However, analyst following continues to be significantly higher for cross‐listed Canadian firms. These findings suggest that the sources of cross‐listing effects differ for analyst coverage and forecast accuracy. Second, I discuss the link between analyst variables, firm value, and cost of capital. As they are only tenuously related, I draw attention to some unresolved questions and areas for future research.
How Representative Are Firms That Are Cross‐Listed in the United States? An Analysis of Accounting Quality
Authors: Lang Mark , Raedy Jana Smith , Yetman Michelle Higgins
Published: December 2003

We provide evidence on the characteristics of local generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) earnings for firms cross‐listing on U.S. exchanges relative to a matched sample of foreign firms currently not cross‐listing in the United States to investigate whether U.S. listing is associated with differences in accounting data reported in local markets. We find that cross‐listed firms differ in terms of the time‐series properties of earnings and accruals, and the degree of association between accounting data and share prices. Cross‐listed firms appear to be less aggressive in terms of earnings management and report accounting data that are more conservative, take account of bad news in a more timely manner, and are more strongly associated with share price. Furthermore, the differences appear to result partially from changes around cross‐listing and partially from differences in accounting quality before listing. We do not observe a similar pattern for firms cross‐listed on other non‐U.S. exchanges or on the U.S. over‐the‐counter market, suggesting a unique quality to cross‐listing on U.S. exchanges.
Enforceable Accounting Rules and Income Measurement by Early 20th Century Railroads
Authors: Sivakumar Kumar , Waymire Gregory
Published: December 2003

We investigate the extent to which income measurement by major early 20th‐century U.S. railroads shows evidence of lower income smoothness and increased conservatism following new fixed asset accounting rules issued by the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) in 1907 and 1908 and concurrent rate regulation regime shifts. Accounting rules promulgated by the ICC after the Hepburn Act of 1906 are the first accounting rules in U.S. history in which regulators could enforce such rules under federal law to increase compliance. Our samplewide results are more consistent with increased conservatism than with income smoothing. Additional tests indicate these effects are more pronounced for firms subject to more intense rate regulation by the ICC, which suggests that the tie‐in between accounting regulation and product/service market regulation influences how managers respond to new accounting rules.
Better Holmes and Gardens: Sense of Place in the Sherlock Holmes Stories
Authors: Groves Derham
Published: December 2003

“I thought it as well,” said Holmes, as we climbed the stile, “that this fellow should think we had come here as architects…It may stop his gossip.”’
The World Ozymandias Made: Utopias in the Superhero Comic, Subculture, and the Conservation of Difference
Authors: Wolf‐Meyer Matthew
Published: December 2003

Revolution is the triumph of freedom; its organization is based on spontaneity, not on the dictates of a “hero” who imposes himself through violence. It is a continuous and systematic elevation of a people, following the lines of a hierarchy, and creating for itself one by one the organs that the new social life demands.
Bombs From Coke Cans: Appropriating Mass Culture in Bobbie Ann Mason's In Country
Authors: DoCarmo Stephen N.
Published: December 2003

Things ain't just black and white, Sam.
Pseudo Market Timing and the Long‐Run Underperformance of IPOs
Authors: Schultz Paul
Published: December 2003

Numerous studies document long‐run underperformance by firms following equity offerings. This paper shows that underperformance is very likely to be observed ex‐post in an efficient market. The premise is that more firms issue equity at higher stock prices even though they cannot predict future returns. Ex‐post, issuers seem to time the market because offerings cluster at market peaks. Simulations based on 1973 through 1997 data reveal that when ex‐ante expected abnormal returns are zero, median ex‐post underperformance for equity issuers will be significantly negative in event‐time. Using calendar‐time returns solves the problem.
Cross‐Border Listings and Price Discovery: Evidence from U.S.‐Listed Canadian Stocks
Authors: Eun Cheol S. , Sabherwal Sanjiv
Published: December 2003

We examine the contribution of cross‐listings to price discovery for a sample of Canadian stocks listed on both the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSE) and a U.S. exchange. We find that prices on the TSE and U.S. exchange are cointegrated and mutually adjusting. The U.S. share of price discovery ranges from 0.2 percent to 98.2 percent, with an average of 38.1 percent. The U.S. share is directly related to the U.S. share of trading and to the ratio of proportions of informative trades on the U.S. exchange and the TSE, and inversely related to the ratio of bid‐ask spreads.
Evidence of Information Spillovers in the Production of Investment Banking Services
Authors: Benveniste Lawrence M. , Ljungqvist Alexander , Wilhelm William J. , Yu Xiaoyun
Published: December 2003

We provide evidence that firms attempting IPOs condition offer terms and the decision whether to carry through with an offering on the experience of their primary market contemporaries. Moreover, while initial returns and IPO volume are positively correlated in the aggregate, the correlation is negative among contemporaneous offerings subject to a common valuation factor. Our findings are consistent with investment banks implicitly bundling offerings subject to a common valuation factor to achieve more equitable internalization of information production costs and thereby preventing coordination failures in primary equity markets.
The Value Spread
Authors: Cohen Randolph B. , Polk Christopher , Vuolteenaho Tuomo
Published: December 2003

We decompose the cross‐sectional variance of firms' book‐to‐market ratios using both a long U.S. panel and a shorter international panel. In contrast to typical aggregate time‐series results, transitory cross‐sectional variation in expected 15‐year stock returns causes only a relatively small fraction (20 to 25 percent) of the total cross‐sectional variance. The remaining dispersion can be explained by expected 15‐year profitability and persistence of valuation levels. Furthermore, this fraction appears stable across time and across types of stocks. We also show that the expected return on value‐minus‐growth strategies is atypically high at times when their spread in book‐to‐market ratios is wide.
The Level and Persistence of Growth Rates
Authors: Chan Louis K. C. , Karceski Jason , Lakonishok Josef
Published: December 2003

Expectations about long‐term earnings growth are crucial to valuation models and cost of capital estimates. We analyze historical long‐term growth rates across a broad cross section of stocks using several indicators of operating performance. We test for persistence and predictability in growth. While some firms have grown at high rates historically, they are relatively rare instances. There is no persistence in long‐term earnings growth beyond chance, and there is low predictability even with a wide variety of predictor variables. Specifically, IBES growth forecasts are overly optimistic and add little predictive power. Valuation ratios also have limited ability to predict future growth.
How Sensitive Is Investment to Cash Flow When Financing Is Frictionless?
Authors: Alti Aydoḡan
Published: December 2003

I analyze the sensitivity of a firm's investment to its own cash flow in the benchmark case where financing is frictionless. This sensitivity has been proposed as a measure of financing constraints in earlier studies. I find that the investment–cash flow sensitivities that obtain in the frictionless benchmark are very similar, both in magnitude and in patterns they exhibit, to those observed in the data. In particular, the sensitivity is higher for firms with high growth rates and low dividend payout ratios. Tobin's q is shown to be a more noisy measure of near‐term investment plans for these firms.
The Finite Moment Log Stable Process and Option Pricing
Authors: Carr Peter , Wu Liuren
Published: December 2003

We document a surprising pattern in S&P 500 option prices. When implied volatilities are graphed against a standard measure of moneyness, the implied volatility smirk does not flatten out as maturity increases up to the observable horizon of two years. This behavior contrasts sharply with the implications of many pricing models and with the asymptotic behavior implied by the central limit theorem (CLT). We develop a parsimonious model which deliberately violates the CLT assumptions and thus captures the observed behavior of the volatility smirk over the maturity horizon. Calibration exercises demonstrate its superior performance against several widely used alternatives.
The Term Structure with Semi‐credible Targeting
Authors: Farnsworth Heber , Bass Richard
Published: December 2003

The Federal Reserve sets targets for interest rates which it enforces through direct market intervention. These targets are changed periodically. In this paper, we develop a term structure model in which the short rate is subject to a control which keeps it close to a target which changes from time to time. The probability of target changes is not constant in the model, but changes as a function of observables. The model performs well at explaining the shifts in the yield curve that accompany target changes.
Excessive Dollar Debt: Financial Development and Underinsurance
Authors: Caballero Ricardo J. , Krishnamurthy Arvind
Published: December 2003

We propose that the limited financial development of emerging markets is a significant factor behind the large share of dollar‐denominated external debt present in these markets. We show that when financial constraints affect borrowing and lending between domestic agents, agents undervalue insuring against an exchange rate depreciation. Since more of this insurance is present when external debt is denominated in domestic currency rather than in dollars, this result implies that domestic agents choose excessive dollar debt. We also show that limited financial development reduces the incentives for foreign lenders to enter emerging markets. The retarded entry reinforces the underinsurance problem.
Investor Protection and Firm Liquidity
Authors: Brockman Paul , Chung Dennis Y.
Published: December 2003

The purpose of this study is to investigate the relation between investor protection and firm liquidity. We posit that less protective environments lead to wider bid‐ask spreads and thinner depths because they fail to minimize information asymmetries. The Hong Kong equity market provides a unique opportunity to compare liquidity costs across distinct investor protection environments, but still within a common trading mechanism and currency. Our empirical findings verify that firm liquidity is significantly affected by investor protection. Regression and matched‐sample results show that Hong Kong‐based equities exhibit narrower spreads and thicker depths than their China‐based counterparts.
Pharmacorefractory Status Epilepticus Due to Low Vitamin B6 Levels during Pregnancy
Authors: Schulze‐Bonhage Andreas , Kurthen Martin , Walger Peter , Elger Christian E.
Published: December 2003

Summary:  We report a patient with pyridoxine‐dependent epileptic seizures during early childhood. She had been completely seizure free for 23 years until she became pregnant. During the week 14 of her pregnancy, status epilepticus developed and was refractory to antiepileptic drugs but responded to intravenous administration of vitamin B6. Vitamin B6 levels were found to be decreased during pregnancy, although the patient reported continued and regular oral supplementation. Possible reasons for decreased vitamin B6 levels leading to status epilepticus are discussed.
Functional MRI and Wada Determination of Language Lateralization: A Case of Crossed Dominance
Authors: Ries Michele L. , Boop Frederick A. , Griebel May L. , Zou Ping , Phillips Nicholas S. , Johnson Sterling C. , Williams Jane P. , Helton Kathleen J. , Ogg Robert J.
Published: December 2003

Summary:  The Wada test has historically been the conventional procedure for determining language lateralization before neurosurgery. However, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) offers a less invasive alternative to the Wada procedure. Research indicates that the two techniques used together may provide comparable, and sometimes complementary, information that results in improved prediction of postsurgical language ability. We present a case in which use of fMRI in conjunction with Wada testing provided complementary information about language lateralization before neurosurgical resection of a mesial temporal subependymoma for seizure control in a patient with schizencephaly.
Indices of Resective Surgery Effectiveness for Intractable Nonlesional Focal Epilepsy
Authors: Blume Warren T. , Ganapathy Gobi R. , Munoz David , Lee Donald H.
Published: December 2003

Summary:  Among 70 patients with intractable focal epilepsy and no specific lesion, as determined by both MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) and histopathology, outcome after resective surgery was polarized: 26 (37%) became seizure free (SF), and 27 (39%) were not helped. Eighteen (42%) of 43 standard temporal resections rendered patients SF, somewhat more than eight (30%) of 27 other procedures. To seek reliable prognostic factors, the subsequent correlative data compared features of the 26 SF patients with those of the 27 not helped. Although ictal semiology guided the site of surgical resection, it and other aspects of seizure and neurologic history failed to predict surgical outcome. However, two aspects of preoperative scalp EEGs correlated with SF outcomes: (a) among 25 patients in whom >50% of clinical seizures arose from the later resected lobe and no other origins, 18 (72%) became SF compared with seven (28%) of 25 with other ictal profiles; (b) 13 (93%) of 14 temporal lobe patients whose interictal and ictal EEGs lacked features indicative of multifocal epileptogenesis became SF compared with five (33%) of 15 with such components. The considered need for subdural (SD) EEG reduced SF outcome from 18 (90%) of 20 patients without SD to eight (24%) of 33 with SD; this likely reflected an insufficient congruity of ictal semiology and interictal and ictal scalp EEG for localizing epileptogenesis. Within this SD group, >50% of clinical seizure origins from a later resected lobe increased SF outcome somewhat: from two (14%) of 14 without this attribute to six (40%) of 15 with it; 100% of such origins increased SF outcome from two (12%) of 16 to six (46%) of 13.
Fate of Newborn Dentate Granule Cells after Early Life Status Epilepticus
Authors: Porter Brenda E. , Maronski Margaret , Brooks‐Kayal Amy R.
Published: December 2003

Summary:  Purpose: To determine the fate of newborn dentate granule cells (DGCs) after lithium‐pilocarpine–induced status epilepticus (SE) in an immature rat.

Methods: Postnatal day 20 (P20) rats were injected with lithium and pilocarpine to induce SE, and then with bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) 4, 6, and 8 days later (P24, 26, and 28), and killed 1 day (P29), 1 week (P34), and 3 weeks (P50) after the last dose of BrdU for cell counts. Immunohistochemistry and TUNEL staining were performed to assess the fate of newborn DGCs.

Results: Pilocarpine‐treated animals had significantly more BrdU‐labeled DGCs than did littermate controls at all times. The day after the final BrdU injection (P29), sixfold more cells were found in pilocarpine‐treated animals than in controls, which was reduced to threefold, 3 weeks later. A decrease in the BrdU‐labeled cell density was noted from P29 to P50 in the control and pilocarpine‐treated animals. Evidence of DGC cell death was seen in pilocarpine and control animals, with threefold more TUNEL‐positive cells in the pilocarpine‐treated than in the control animals at P29. The surviving newborn DGCs became mature neurons; expressing the neuronal marker NeuN in both control and pilocarpine‐treated animals.

Conclusions: These findings suggest that SE during postnatal development increases the birth and death of DGCs. A subset of the newborn DGCs survive and mature into dentate granule neurons, resulting in an increased population of immature DGCs after SE that may affect hippocampal physiology.
Transplants of Cells Engineered to Produce GABA Suppress Spontaneous Seizures
Authors: Thompson Kerry W. , Suchomelova Lucie M.
Published: December 2003

Summary:  Purpose: Cell transplantation into the brain is an aggressive clinical alternative. The hopes of treating diseases like intractable temporal lobe epilepsy have been subdued because the preclinical successes thus far have shown only slowing of epileptogenesis, or suppression of electrically induced seizures. Because the hallmark of epilepsy is spontaneous seizures, the clinical relevance of these studies has been questioned. The purpose of this study was to establish that cells genetically engineered to produce γ‐aminobutyric acid (GABA) could suppress spontaneous seizures in an accepted model of temporal lobe epilepsy.

Methods: Conditionally immortalized neurons were engineered to produce GABA under the control of tetracycline. These cells were transplanted into the substantia nigra of spontaneously seizing animals. After transplantation, the animals were monitored for 3 days immediately after surgery and again for 3 days beginning 7–8 days after surgery. Seizures and epileptiform spikes were recorded and later analyzed with detection software combined with video monitoring.

Results: Animals that received genetically engineered GABA‐producing cells had significantly fewer spontaneous seizures than did animals that received control cells, or animals that received GABA‐producing cells plus doxycycline at the observation period starting 1 week after transplantation. A significant suppression of epileptiform spikes also was noted between the group that received GABA‐producing cells and the group that received the same cells but were given doxycycline. The engineered cells show evidence of integration with the host but limited survival.

Conclusions: These data demonstrate that genetically engineered cells have the ability to suppress spontaneous seizures when transplanted into seizure‐modulating nuclei. This is an important step toward defining a clinical potential for this approach in epilepsy. The fact that the gene of interest can be regulated suggests that individualizing transplant therapy may be possible.
The Relative Influence of Epileptic EEG Discharges, Short Nonconvulsive Seizures, and Type of Epilepsy on Cognitive Function
Authors: Aldenkamp Albert , Arends Johan
Published: December 2003

Summary:  Purpose: This study addressed whether cognitive impairment in children with epilepsy is caused by disease‐related stable factors, such as the type of epilepsy, or by acute effects of paroxysmal epileptic activity such as epileptic EEG discharges. We studied a nonselected group with short nonconvulsive seizures, as these seizures may elude detection and may therefore persist over a longer period. In this group, the diagnostic issue is to differentiate between the combined effects of several epilepsy‐related factors on cognition.

Methods: All children were assessed with 32‐channel EEG, synchronized with a computerized cognitive test system and a video‐monitoring system. Recording time was 2 h. The primary inclusion criteria were unclear seizures and fluctuations in cognitive performance and/or frequent epileptic EEG discharges in a recent EEG.

Results: One hundred fifty‐two patients met the inclusion criteria; 31 patients appeared not to have a diagnosis of epilepsy and were used as a nonepilepsy control group. Our results show that type of epilepsy has an impact on stable cognitive functions, such as educational achievement. Paroxysmal epileptic activity (acute effects of seizures and epileptic EEG discharges) affects primarily transient mechanistic cognitive processes (alertness, mental speed).

Conclusions: These results suggest that the effects of paroxysmal epileptic activity on transient cognitive mechanisms may accumulate over time and consequently affect the more stable aspects of cognitive function such as educational achievement. The clinical relevance is that early detection of the cognitive impact of seizure‐related activity and subsequent treatment may prevent its detrimental impact on cognitive and educational development.
Depression and Altered Quality of Life in Women with Epilepsy of Childbearing Age
Authors: Beghi Ettore , Roncolato Maurizio , Visonà Giovanni
Published: December 2003

Summary:  Purpose: To calculate the prevalence of depression in a referral population of women of childbearing age, to define the factors associated with depression, and to assess health‐related quality of life (HRQOL) in the same population.

Methods: The 642 consecutive women with epilepsy aged 18–55 years were enrolled by 40 neurologists over an 8‐month period and asked to give details on selected demographic and clinical features regarding the disease, any associated clinical condition, and any drug treatment. Depression was diagnosed by using the Hamilton depression scale and HRQOL was measured through the SF‐36 form. Demographic, clinical, and therapeutic risk factors for depression were searched for within the study population.

Results: Depression (any severity) was present at interview in 242 women, giving a prevalence rate of 37.7%[95% confidence interval (CI), 33.9–41.6]. Mild depression was reported by 18.5% of women, moderate depression by 8.6%, major depression by 10.3%, and severe depression by 0.3%. Factors found to be independently associated with depression (any severity) included treatment of associated conditions [relative risk (RR), 1.5; 95% CI, 1.2–1.8), concurrent disability (RR, 1.3; 95% CI, 1.0–1.6), seizures in the preceding 6 months (RR, 1.4; 95% CI, 1.1–1.7), and being unemployed or a housewife (RR, 1.3; 95% CI, 1.0–1.5). Factors associated with moderate to severe depression included treatment for associated conditions (RR, 2.0; 95% CI, 1.4–2.7), seizures in the preceding 6 months (RR, 1.7; 95% CI, 1.2–2.5), and being unemployed or a housewife (RR, 1.6; 95% CI, 1.1–2.2). Compared with normal women of similar age, patients with epilepsy tended to present lower scores for each HRQOL domain (mostly Role Physical, General Health, Social Functioning, and Role Emotional). However, when the analysis was limited to nondepressed women with epilepsy, any difference disappeared.

Conclusions: Women with epilepsy of childbearing age are at high risk of depression. Factors associated with depression include lack of occupation, the presence of an underlying disabling condition (with treatment), and the severity of epilepsy. Compared with the general population, depressed women have greater impairment of HRQOL with epilepsy, which reflects the physical, social, and emotional implications of the disease.
Editors’ Introduction: The Effects of New Work Practices on Workers
Authors: Handel Michael J. , Levine David I.
Published: December 2003

The effects of employee involvement have been widely studied, including a special issue of this journal (Ichniowski et al. 1996). This issue examines the effects of involvement and related programs on employees. This introduction examines several relevant theories and describes the methodological challenges. Of the many outcomes of interest ranging from employee satisfaction to health and safety, we focus our literature review on one: wages. The results of the studies we review vary widely, as do the programs those studies examine. Our reading is that many programs have no effect on wages, while on average, the effect is a small increase in wages after companies introduce new work systems with higher employee involvement.
How Workers Fare When Employers Innovate
Authors: Black Sandra E. , Lynch Lisa M. , Krivelyova Anya
Published: December 2003

Complementing existing work on firm organizational structure and productivity, this article examines the impact of organizational change on workers. We find evidence that employers do appear to compensate at least some of their workers for engaging in high‐performance workplace practices. We also find a significant association between high‐performance workplace practices and increased wage inequality. Finally, we examine the relationship between organizational structure and employment changes and find that some practices, such as self‐managed teams, are associated with greater employment reductions, whereas other practices, such as the percentage of workers involved in job rotation, are associated with lower employment reductions.
Is There a Wage Payoff to Innovative Work Practices?
Authors: Handel Michael J. , Gittleman Maury
Published: December 2003

During the 1980s, wage inequality increased dramatically, and the economy lost many high‐wage jobs that had provided middle‐class incomes to less skilled workers, increasingly restricting these workers to low‐wage jobs lacking union or other institutional protections. A number of scholars have suggested that a new paradigm of work, often calledhigh performance, is emerging that offers such workers more skilled jobs and higher wages. Using a unique national dataset, we find little evidence that practices associated with high‐performance work systems are associated with higher wages.
Who Benefits from Teams? Comparing Workers, Supervisors, and Managers
Authors: Batt Rosemary
Published: December 2003

This article offers a political explanation for the diffusion and sustainability of team‐based work systems by examining the differential outcomes of team structures for 1200 workers, supervisors, and middle managers in a large unionized telecommunications company. Regression analyses show that participation in self‐managed teams is associated with significantly higher levels of perceived discretion, employment security, and satisfaction for workers and the opposite for supervisors. Middle managers who initiate team innovations report higher employment security but otherwise are not significantly different from their counterparts who are not involved in innovations. By contrast, there are no significant outcomes for employees associated with their participation in off‐line problem‐solving teams.
Managerial Responsiveness to Union and Nonunion Worker Voice in Britain
Authors: Bryson Alex
Published: December 2003

Over the last two decades, there has been a switch in British workplaces away from union voice and representative worker voice more generally toward direct employee involvement and nonunion representative forms of voice. This article assesses the implications of this switch for the effectiveness of worker voice, as measured by employee perceptions of managerial responsiveness. In general, perceptions of managerial responsiveness are better among employees with nonunion voice than they are among employees with union voice.
“Flexible” Work Practices and Occupational Safety and Health: Exploring the Relationship Between Cumulative Trauma Disorders and Workplace Transformation
Authors: Brenner Mark D. , Fairris David , Ruser John
Published: December 2003

This article matches establishment‐level data on workplace transformation (e.g., quality circles, work teams, and just‐in‐time production) with measures of cumulative trauma disorders at these same establishments to explore the relationship between “flexible” workplace practices and workplace health and safety. The results reveal a positive, statistically significant, and quantitatively sizable relationship between cumulative trauma disorders and the use of quality circles and just‐in‐time production.
Social Partnership Agreements in Britain: Labor Cooperation and Compliance
Authors: Kelly John
Published: December 2003

This article reviews evidence on the outcomes of British social partnership agreements using matched comparisons. It concludes that in industries marked by employment decline, partnership firms often have shed jobs at a faster rate than nonpartnership firms. However, in expanding sectors, partnership firms have created jobs at a faster rate than nonpartnership rivals. There is no discernible impact of partnership on either wage settlements or union density. It is argued that we need evidence on information sharing, trust, and power and suggested that partnership agreements are unlikely to contribute significantly to union revitalization.