bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
After Geopolitics? From the Geopolitical Social to Geoeconomics
Authors: Cowen Deborah , Smith Neil
Published: January 2009

Abstract:  This paper makes two central arguments. First, the popular language of geopolitics needs to be understood as historically emerging from and helping create a “geopolitical social”, which both crosses and crafts traditional borders of internal and external to the national state. Second, we suggest that geoeconomic social forms are gradually supplanting this geopolitical social. After establishing the geopolitical social associated with traditional geopolitics, from Ratzel to Bismarck, we examine the erosion of geopolitical calculation and the rise of the geoeconomic. We trace emerging geoeconomic social forms in three domains: the reframing of territorial security to accommodate supranational flows; the recasting of social forms of security through the market; and the reframing of the state as geoeconomic agent. Neither an exercise in “critical geopolitics” nor an endorsement of Luttwakian style geoeconomics, this paper assumes no straightforward historical succession from geopolitical to geoeconomic logics, but argues that geoeconomics is nonetheless crucial to the spatial reconfiguration of contemporary political geography.
The Cultures of Capitalism: Glasgow and the Monopoly of Culture
Authors: Tretter Eliot M.
Published: January 2009

Abstract:  While many have recognized since the 1970s the strong relationship between culture and urban renewal, particularly as cities began to use cultural amenities to change their images and lure potential investors, little has been written about how and why cultural assets may be valued investments in their own right. There is at least one notable exception, in the work of David Harvey, and this approach takes as its starting point the importance of the monopoly aspects of culture, particularly for rents, competition and fixed capital. In part, I bring Harvey's theoretical insights on the political economy of culture to bear on the case of Glasgow, Scotland, in the 1980s, and particularly its nomination as the European City of Culture, with particular attention paid to how the economics of culture is related to local politics.
Life and Death Decisions in our Posthuman(ist) Times
Authors: Cadman Louisa
Published: January 2009

Abstract:  Geography, like much of social science, is witnessing a resurgence of interest in Michel Foucault's formation of biopower—the power to make live and foster life. This paper seeks to engage with this interest by staging a dialogue between the work of Nikolas Rose and Paul Rabinow on the one hand and that of Giorgio Agamben on the other. I propose that, while Rose and Rabinow provide a diagnostic for our emerging geographies of “life itself” and outline allied forms of political citizenship known as “biosociality” or “biological citizenship”, it is Agamben who enables us to consider the limit figures to this form of political inclusion. To draw out these limit figures I focus on recent debates surrounding end‐of‐life decisions and provide examples from the Dignity in Dying campaign and the Not Dead Yet movement. Throughout, I situate this paper within recent debates on posthumanism and the posthuman in geography. In doing so I effectively ask: why, in our seemingly posthuman(ist) times, does much of Western politics seek to decide on the form, the right and, inevitably, the limit of human beings?
Corporate Reputation and Women on the Board
Authors: Brammer Stephen , Millington Andrew , Pavelin Stephen
Published: January 2009

In this paper, we investigate the determinants of corporate reputation, derived from the assessments of managers and market analysts, of a sample of large UK firms. Along with the influences of a variety of firm attributes, we find a reputational effect associated with a female presence at board level. This effect varies across sectors and demonstrates the influence of a firm's stakeholder environment in determining whether a female presence on the board enhances or harms the reputation of the firm. The pattern that emerges indicates that the presence of women on the board is favourably viewed in only those sectors that operate close to final consumers. We argue that the nature of this effect reflects an imperative for equality of representation that highlights the need to reflect gender diversity among customers.
India unleashed
Authors: Kumar Nirmalya
Published: January 2009

Corporations in the developed world increasingly see India as a high‐growth market and its companies as acquirers of their assets, global competitors, partners for enhancing the competitiveness of their global value chain and a source of new energy and dreams for the world economy. How did this all happen?Nirmalya Kumar shares the essence of what he learned from 10 trips to India to interview more than 30 CEOs and top executives who are unleashing the new global power of Indian firms.
Customer challenged
Authors: Choudhury Khaled
Published: January 2009

CEOs universally wish to know what customers are experiencing and what they make of their experiences, says Khaled Choudhury. Often, they don't have a clue. Is this because most businesses haven't looked outside for competent market researchers or the best customer relationship management software? Actually, it's more basic than that. There are six common barriers that must be overcome – and they are all inside the company.
Art lessons for the global manager
Authors: Anderson Jamie , Kupp Martin , Reckhenrich Jörg
Published: January 2009

Globalization has been seen as both a threat and an opportunity whenever it has occurred. Jamie Anderson, Martin Kupp and Jörg Reckhenrich give us an artists' perspective on managing in a global business world.
Swan‐upmanship
Authors: Taleb Nassim Nicholas , Dearlove Des
Published: January 2009

The financial meltdown that started last autumn could have been avoided. That's the view of Nassim Nicholas Taleb, author of the book, The Black Swan.Des Dearlove traces the evolution of Taleb's thinking and shows that the success of his book was quite probably no accident.
China's productivity challenge
Authors: Yueh Linda
Published: January 2009

After capturing the world's attention with the 2008 Olympics, what's next for China?Linda Yueh says the answer can be found by tracking China's labour productivity.
Coming attraction
Authors: Cornelli Francesca , D'Aveni Richard , Kakabadse Andrew , Kanter Rosabeth Moss , Reitzig Markus , Trompenaars Fons , Warren Kim
Published: January 2009

Francesca Cornelli, Richard D'Aveni, Andrew Kakabadse, Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Markus Reitzig, Fons Trompenaars and Kim Warren share their latest research.
Can authentic leadership survive the downturn?
Authors: Blausten Peter
Published: January 2009

At a time of financial crisis, the need to have confidence in institutions and leaders is even more important than usual, argues Peter Blausten. Reliability, integrity and authenticity will be especially required of our business leaders.
Examples Illustrating the Use of Renormalization Techniques for Singularly Perturbed Differential Equations
Authors: O'Malley, Jr. Robert E. , Kirkinis Eleftherios
Published: January 2009

With nine examples, we seek to illustrate the utility of the Renormalization Group approach as a unification of other asymptotic and perturbation methods.
Stability Properties and Nonlinear Mappings of Two and Three‐Layer Stratified Flows
Authors: Chumakova L. , Menzaque F. E. , Milewski P. A. , Rosales R. R. , Tabak E. G. , Turner C. V.
Published: January 2009

Two and three‐layer models of stratified flows in hydrostatic balance are studied. For the former, nonlinear transformations are found that map [baroclinic] two‐layer flows with either rigid top and bottom lids or vertical periodicity, into [barotropic] single‐layer, shallow water free‐surface flows. We have previously shown that two‐layer flows with Richardson number greater than one are nonlinearly stable, in the following sense: when the system is well‐posed at a given time, it remains well‐posed through the nonlinear evolution. Here, we give a general necessary condition for the nonlinear stability of systems of mixed type. For three‐layer flows with vertical periodicity, the domains of local stability are determined and the system is shown not to satisfy the necessary condition for nonlinear stability. This means that there are wave‐motions that evolve into shear unstable flows.
Asymptotic Analysis of a Loss Model with Trunk Reservation II: Trunks Reserved for Slow Traffic
Authors: Morrison John A. , Knessl Charles
Published: January 2009

We consider a model for a single link in a circuit switched network. The link has C circuits, and the input consists of offered calls of two types, that we call primary and secondary traffic. Of the C links R are reserved for primary traffic. We assume that both traffic types arrive as Poisson arrival streams. Assuming that C is large and R=O(1), the arrival rate of secondary traffic is O(C) while that of primary traffic is smaller, of the order . The holding times of the secondary calls are assumed exponentially distributed with unit mean. Those of the primary calls are exponentially distributed with a large mean, that is . The loads for both traffic types are thus comparable (O(C)) and we assume that the system is “critically loaded,” i.e., the system's capacity is approximately equal to the total load. We analyze asymptotically the steady state probability that n2 (resp. n1) circuits are occupied by primary (resp. secondary) calls. In particular, we obtain two‐term asymptotic approximations to the blocking probabilities for both traffic types. This work complements part I, where we assumed that the secondary traffic had an arrival rate that was and a service rate that was . Thus in part I the R trunks were reserved for the “fast traffic,” whose arrival and service rates were O(C) and O(1).
Floating Body Problems in Two Dimensions
Authors: Várkonyi Péter L.
Published: January 2009

Stanislav Ulam asked if the sphere is the only object floating in neutral equilibrium in every orientation and a negative answer was provided recently. Here, several related problems are discussed. The same question is asked for two‐dimensional objects whose centroid is pinned and it is demonstrated that the answer is similar to the case of freely floating bodies. We also discuss the minimal number of equilibria of homogenous planar floating objects (either freely or with pinned centroid) representing duals of Ulam's Floating Body Problem. The nonexistence of shapes with less than four equilibria is proven in special cases including infinitesimal perturbations of a circle, however the general question remains open. The paper is complemented with remarks on analogous problems in three dimensions; connections to the family of Four‐Vertex theorems are also pointed out.
Multinational Enterprises and Foreign Direct Investment: Introduction
Authors: Görg Holger , Jabbour Liza
Published: January 2009

This study uses firm‐level data on a large sample of European manufacturing firms to investigate the links between opening up foreign affiliates and firms’ productivity. The analysis is guided by recent theoretical models of international trade with firm heterogeneity. The paper finds that while only a small share of euro area firms locate affiliates abroad, these firms account for over‐proportionally large shares of output, employment and profits in their home countries. They have higher survival rates and their productivity growth is also higher. The strongest contribution is by productivity growth of existing firms with a multinational status rather than entry into the multinational status. finally, there are performance premia for multinationals with a large number of affiliates abroad relative to those with a small number.
Adapting the Knowledge‐capital Model of the Multinational Enterprise to Trade and Investment in Business Services
Authors: Markusen James R. , Strand Bridget
Published: January 2009

At some conceptual level, trade in goods and services are not that much different. However, the speed at which trade and foreign investment in services is growing, along with the fact that the barriers to these activities are quite different from those for trade in goods, prompts us to take a more careful look. The paper begins with a general discussion about the various policies and technological constraints that impact foreign trade and the establishment of foreign commercial presence in intermediate business services. We then discuss which characteristics an accurate modelling approach must capture. Following that, we develop a model that allows for different regimes of trade and/or foreign affiliate production in services using Markusen's knowledge‐capital model. Simulations show that the pattern of service firm headquarters and office locations can differ considerably depending on whether it is trade, investment, or both that are either liberalised or become technologically feasible. Our results find that the welfare and factor‐price consequences are quite similar across the different scenarios.
The Effect of Tax Treaties on Multinational Firms: New Evidence from Microdata
Authors: Davies Ronald B. , Norbäck Pehr‐Johan , Tekin‐Koru Ayça
Published: January 2009

This paper uses affiliate‐level data from Swedish multinationals to examine the impact of tax treaties on both overall affiliate sales and the composition of those sales. In line with previous results, we find little evidence for an effect of treaties on the level of total sales. We do, however, find that a tax treaty increases the probability of investment by a firm in a given country. In addition, we find that a treaty reduces exports to the parent but increases imports of intermediate inputs from the parent. This is consistent with treaties increasing the effective host tax. This suggests that tax treaties impact the behaviour of multinationals along some dimensions but not along others.
FDI, Productivity and Financial Development
Authors: Alfaro Laura , Kalemli‐Ozcan Sebnem , Sayek Selin
Published: January 2009

This paper examines the effect of foreign direct investment (FDI) on growth by focusing on the complementarities between FDI inflows and financial markets. In our earlier work, we found that FDI is beneficial for growth only if the host country has well‐developed financial institutions. In this paper, we investigate whether this effect operates through factor accumulation and/or improvements in total factor productivity (TFP). Factor accumulation – physical and human capital – does not seem to be the main channel through which countries benefit from FDI. Instead, we find that countries with well‐developed financial markets gain significantly from FDI via TFP improvements. These results are consistent with the recent findings in the growth literature that shows the important role of TFP over factors in explaining cross‐country income differences.
In Search of Environmental Spillovers
Authors: Albornoz Facundo , Cole Matthew A. , Elliott Robert J. R. , Ercolani Marco G.
Published: January 2009

There is an extensive literature that examines the relationship between foreign direct investment (FDI) and the productivity and competitiveness of domestic firms. Using estimation techniques from the productivity spillover literature, this paper tests for the presence of environmental spillovers from foreign firms. On the basis that foreign‐owned firms may encourage firms in their extended supply chain to improve their environment‐related management practices, evidence for the existence of environmental spillovers should be easier to find than productivity spillovers where firms naturally attempt to minimise intra‐industry knowledge leakage. In this paper we show that, first, foreign‐owned firms are more likely to implement environmental management systems (EMS) and, second, that the presence of foreign‐owned firms in those sectors that a firm supplies can encourage good environmental practice. This is especially true if a firm is foreign, has high absorptive capacity, and operates in the presence of formal and informal networks.
The Effects of Foreign Acquisition on Domestic and Export Markets Dynamics in China
Authors: Du Jun , Girma Sourafel
Published: January 2009

Using recent data from Chinese manufacturing industry and the generalised propensity score, this paper establishes economically significant causal effects of foreign acquisition on domestic and export market dynamics.
ARE LOCAL MILIEUS THE KEY TO INNOVATION PERFORMANCE?*
Authors: Czarnitzki Dirk , Hottenrott Hanna
Published: January 2009

ABSTRACT This study investigates how local milieus foster innovation success in firms. We complement the common practice of linking firm performance indicators to regional characteristics with survey evidence on the perceived importance of locational factors. While the former approach assumes that location characteristics affect all firms in the same way, the survey allows us to model how firms judge the attractiveness of locations using a heterogeneous set of criteria. It turns out that the availability of highly skilled labor and the proximity to suppliers matter for firms' innovation performance. Interestingly, location factors obtained from the survey provide a more accurate explanation of how local milieus facilitate innovation.
EXITS FROM HOMEOWNERSHIP: THE EFFECTS OF RACE, ETHNICITY, AND INCOME*
Authors: Turner Tracy M. , Smith Marc T.
Published: January 2009

ABSTRACT This paper examines the extent to which populations experiencing low homeownership rates in the U.S. also experience high homeownership exit rates. We determine whether low‐income Hispanic and black households that achieve homeownership are as likely as white and high‐income households to sustain it. Using the Panel Study of Income Dynamics spanning the years 1970–2005, we find that low‐income homeowners consistently have higher homeownership exit rates, Hispanic households have higher raw exit rates prior to but not subsequent to 1997, and a black/white sustainability gap appears to arise post‐1997.
SPATIAL MOBILITY AND COMMUTING: THE CASE OF TWO‐EARNER HOUSEHOLDS*
Authors: Deding Mette , Filges Trine , Van Ommeren Jos
Published: January 2009

ABSTRACT We examine the effects of the spatial configuration of workers' residence and workplace location on intraregional residential and job moving decisions of workers belonging to two‐earner households. We hypothesize that two‐earner households' residential mobility depends positively on the commuting distance of both spouses, but negatively on the distance between workplaces. Further, we hypothesize that workers' job mobility depends positively on the worker's commuting distance, negatively on the spouse's commuting distance, and positively on the distance between workplaces. Using data for Denmark, it appears that these hypotheses hold, and that the effects of the spatial configuration are rather large.
Migration, Motherhood, Marriage: Cross‐Cultural Adaptation of North American Immigrant Mothers in Israel
Authors: Sigad Laura I. , Eisikovits Rivka A.
Published: January 2009

This study probes the cross‐cultural adaptation patterns of North American women who immigrated to Israel with their Israeli‐born husbands (or married there) and are mothers in their new country. In order to undertake a cultural analysis of the interplay between immigration, motherhood and bicultural marriage, we examine: the effects of motherhood and North American culture of origin on cross‐cultural adaptation; the effects of immigration to Israel on motherhood and childrearing; the influence of family of origin on the immigrant motherhood experience; and the role of Israeli husbands and their families in the women’s cross‐cultural adaptation process. We study patterns for the entire group as well as bringing out individual differences. Our main finding is that motherhood serves as the principal social link to the Israeli host society. The high status of North American culture and English proficiency facilitate cross‐cultural adaptation in Israel. Our findings reveal transnationalist tendencies co‐existing with various adaptation strategies. We propose an expansion of previous acculturation models to accommodate this dualmodus vivendi.
The Europeanisation of Integration Policies
Authors: Rosenow Kerstin
Published: January 2009

This article analyses the development of integration policies concerning third country nationals at the level of the European Union (EU). Starting with the discovery of recent policy developments at the European level, including new European directives mainly granting social rights to non‐EU citizens, the paper proceeds to examine the reasons that enabled this shift from the national to the European level of decision making. It concludes that integration policies have been created as a new EU policy field amidst the also fairly new policy field of immigration policies. In light of the theoretical concept of “organisational fields,” the interests and motives of the main actors involved in the emergence of this policy field are analysed. The research combines neo‐functionalist and intergovernmentalist assumptions, and it results in the following conclusions: First, a European integration policy could only be established within the emerging field of immigration policies, which laid the groundwork for member state collaborations in this highly sensitive policy area. Secondly, the European Parliament, the Council of Europe, several non‐governmental organisations and most notably the European Commission played an important role in promoting integration policies at the European level. Their engagement is interpreted as a necessary but not as a sufficient condition for the establishment of this policy field. Thirdly, these actors tried to strengthen the status of integration policies by emphasising the linkage between successful integration policies and economic and social cohesion. This semantic strategy, among other discussed reasons, facilitated the member states’ decision at the European summit in Tampere 1999 that all third country nationals shall be granted comparable rights to EU citizens.
Nitrogen losses from outdoor pig farming systems
Authors: Williams J.R. , Chambers B.J. , Hartley A.R. , Ellis S. , Guise H.J.
Published: January 2009

Abstract. Nitrogen losses via nitrate leaching, ammonia volatilization and nitrous oxide emissions were measured from contrasting outdoor pig farming systems in a two year field study. Four 1‐ha paddocks representing three outdoor pig management systems and an arable control were established on a sandy loam soil in Berkshire, UK. The pig management systems represented: (i) current commercial practice (CCP) ‐ 25 dry sows ha−1 on arable stubble; (ii) ‘improved’ management practice (IMP) ‐ 18 dry sows ha−1 on stubble undersown with grass, and (iii) ‘best’ management practice (BMP) 12 dry sows ha−1 on established grass. Nitrogen (N) inputs in the feed were measured and N offtakes in the pig meat estimated to calculate a nitrogen balance for each system. In the first winter, mean nitrate‐N concentrations in drainage water from the CCP, IMP, BMP and arable paddocks were 28, 25, 8 and 10 mg NO3 l−1, respectively. On the BMP system, leaching losses were limited by the grass cover, but this was destroyed by the pigs before the start of the second drainage season. In the second winter, mean concentrations increased to 111, 106 and 105 mg NO3‐N l−1 from the CCP, IMP and BMP systems, respectively, compared to only 32 mg NO3‐N l−1 on the arable paddock. Ammonia (NH3) volatilization measurements indicated that losses from outdoor dry sows were in the region of 11 g NH3‐N sow−1 day−1. Urine patches were identified as the major source of nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions, with N2O‐N losses estimated at less than 1% of the total N excreted. The nitrogen balance calculations indicated that N inputs to all the outdoor pig systems greatly exceeded N offtakes plus N losses, with estimated N surpluses on the CCP, IMP and BMP systems after 2 years of stocking at 576, 398 and 264 kg N ha−1, respectively, compared with 27 kg N ha−1 on the arable control. These large N surpluses are likely to exacerbate nitrate leaching losses in following seasons and make a contribution to the N requirement of future crops.
Nitrate leaching from the Broadbalk Wheat Experiment, Rothamsted, UK, as influenced by fertilizer and manure inputs and the weather
Authors: Goulding K.W.T. , Poulton P.R. , Webster C.P. , Howe M.T.
Published: January 2009

Abstract. Nitrate leaching was measured over the eight drainage seasons spanning the nine years from 1990–1998 on the 157‐year old Broadbalk Experiment at Rothamsted, UK. The weather pattern of two dry, three wet and three dry years was the dominant factor controlling nitrogen (N) loss. Both the concentration of nitrate in the drainage waters and the amount of N leached increased with the amount of N applied, mostly because of long‐term, differential increases in soil organic matter and mineralization. On average, losses of N by leaching were 30 kg ha−1yr−1 when no more than the optimum N application was applied and were typical of amounts leached from arable land in the UK. Losses increased significantly in both amounts and as the percentage of N applied for supra‐optimal applications of N and from autumn‐applied farmyard manure (FYM). Extra spring‐applied fertilizer was very effective at increasing yields on plots given FYM in the autumn but at the expense of leaching losses three times those from optimum fertilizer N applications. Losses increased after potatoes because they left significant amounts of mineral N in the soil, and decreased after forage maize because it used applied N more effectively. Losses measured 120 years ago from identical treatments were 74% greater than current losses because of today's larger yields and more efficient varieties and management practices. Average concentrations of nitrate in drainage waters did not exceed the EU limit of 11.3 mg NO3‐N l−1 until supra‐optimal amounts of N fertilizer (>150–200 kg ha−1yr−1) were applied in spring or FYM was applied in autumn. However some drainage waters from all plots, even those that have not received fertilizer for >150 years, exceeded the limit when rain followed a dry summer and autumn. Nitrate leaching into waters will remain a problem for profitable arable farming in the drier parts of Eastern England and Europe despite increased N use efficiency.
A temperature correction procedure for field‐based soil denitrification experiments
Authors: Gardner P.J. , Flynn N. , Maltby E.
Published: January 2009

Abstract. An equation is developed to permit temperature correction (to some chosen reference temperature) for field‐based soil columns that measure the depletion of nitrate in the water column above a soil layer where denitrification occurs. The derivation is based on the assumption that the overall nitrate depletion is diffusion controlled by the nitrate flux from the water column into the soil and the soil denitrification obeys Michaelis‐Menten kinetics. The expression is tested on results from a large soil column maintained in a greenhouse where natural temperature cycling occurred.
Investigating preferential flow in a large intact soil block under pasture
Authors: Williams A. , Scholefield D. , Dowd J. , Holden N. , Deeks L.
Published: January 2009

Abstract. A large soil block was constructed to determine the importance of preferential flow routes compared with matric flow pathways at a pasture site in mid‐Devon. The sandy loam soil was well structured and uniform. The soil block measured 5 m×3 m×1 m and was instrumented with an array of 54 tensiometers, TDR wave guides and suction samplers connected to an in situ chloride analysis system. Four steady state irrigation experiments were conducted with a range of rainfall intensities. During each experiment chloride and nitrate tracers were applied and the patterns of movement were observed. Although the application of tracer was uniform and the soil was relatively homogeneous, there was large variability across the block in terms of time taken to reach the peak concentration (TPC) and the peak concentration itself. About 44 samplers operated at the greatest intensities (10–2 mm h−1) and only 35 at the smallest (1 mm h−1). No relationship was found between TPC and depth. The fastest TPC and largest concentrations were associated with the greatest rainfall intensities. Relative importance of the individual water pathways was a function of soil heterogeneity: parts of the soil block were highly active with several pathways having short TPCs and conductivities in excess of 4 m day−1 whereas other areas had longer TPCs and conductivities of 1–2 m day−1. The pattern was also dynamic, with conductivities of the pathways changing through time, though most of the faster pathways maintained their greater conductivities for more than one year.
Analysing Tax–Benefit Reforms Using Non‐Parametric Methods*
Authors: Fiorio Carlo V.
Published: January 2009

Static tax–benefit microsimulation models (MSMs) are widely used and well‐regarded tools for public policy analysis, but it is essential to use them very carefully. This paper focuses on the analysis of MSM output, suggesting the use of non‐parametric methods as a useful, informative and relatively straightforward complement to detect effects not always captured by measures often used to present MSM results.

Non‐parametric methods are used here to analyse the output of an MSM applied to the 1998 Italian personal income tax reform, the main change in which concerned the tax schedule: the first tax rate was increased from 10 per cent to 18.5 per cent and the top one was reduced by 4.5 percentage points. Non‐parametric methods highlight that the effects of this reform were very different for different types of households, with low‐income pensioner households among the main losers. Results are checked for robustness by standard statistical methods and compared with empirical results obtainable using quintile histograms.
El trabajo informal. Dos asuntos clave para los programas políticos
Authors: KUCERA David , RONCOLATO Leanne
Published: January 2009

Los autores estudian dos cuestiones de mucho relieve que levantan cierta polémica: la índole del trabajo informal denominado «voluntario» y la tesis de que las leyes laborales fomentan indirectamente la actividad informal. Presentan un análisis crítico de las teorías al respecto y hacen un repaso muy amplio de los estudios empíricos publicados acerca de los efectos de las leyes laborales en la informalidad. También exploran la pertinencia de los cuatro objetivos del trabajo decente en las esferas del trabajo informal y del desarrollo económico, haciendo hincapié en la importancia de que se organicen los trabajadores de la economía informal y en las posibilidades reales de que lo hagan.
Un planteamiento estratégico de la inspección del trabajo
Authors: WEIL David
Published: January 2009

La OIT, en un informe publicado en 2006, puso de relieve los problemas con que tropezaba la inspección del trabajo en los Estados Miembros y propugnó diversas medidas para hacerla más eficaz. El autor sostiene que los organismos de inspección deben irmás allá de las peticiones de aumento del número de inspectores, e idear una estrategia capaz de atender las quejas que les llegan y deplaneary seleccionar los objetivos de sus investigaciones. Sólo asílograrán la máxima eficiencia de sus recursos, que son de por sí limitados. Paraello, sulabor debe regirse por cuatro principios: establecimiento de prioridades, disuasión, perdurabilidad y actuaciones «sistémicas». En la parte de conclusiones se esbozan los requisitos que debe satisfacer una estrategia de inspección coherente.
Protección social en Chile: Reformas para mejorar la equidad
Authors: MESA‐LAGO Carmelo
Published: January 2009

A comienzos del decenio de los ochenta Chile fue pionero en América Latina en acometer reformas estructurales que privatizaron total o parcialmente los sistemas de pensiones y salud e inspiraron cambios similares en la mitad de la región y en otros países del mundo. Las reformas fueron implantadas sin diálogo social, redujeron la solidaridad y la equidad, y agudizaron lapobreza y la desigualdad. Los gobiernos democráticos han subsanado durante los últimos dieciocho años muchas fallas de diseño en las reformas originales de salud, pensiones y asistencia sociales. El autor analiza el progreso realizado, las inequidades sociales que persisten en cuanto a cobertura, género y financiamiento, y los retos pendientes.
El indicador de normas del trabajo del Banco Mundial. Averiguaciones y críticas recientes
Authors: Lee Sangheon , McCann Deirdre , Torm Nina
Published: January 2009

Los autores reseñan las últimas novedades acerca del estudioDoing Businessdel Banco Mundial, haciendo hincapié en el indicador de las normas del trabajo: la dificultad de contratación, la rigidez de la jornada de trabajo y la dificultad y costo del despido de trabajadores. Primero pasan revista a los estudios que inspiraron la concepción del indicador y a los que lo han usado o se han visto influidos por él. Analizan después las críticas vertidas contra el mismo, y ponen de relieve los problemas conceptuales y empíricos que plantea. Por último, proponen ideas alternativas y líneas de investigación para el futuro.
Topical treatment of uveitis resulting in adrenal insufficiency
Authors: Kröger Liisa , Kotaniemi Kaisu , Jääskeläinen Jarmo
Published: January 2009

The adverse effects of corticosteroids are well‐known and occur more frequently when corticosteroids are used perorally or intravenously. The management of uveitis, which normally consists of topical corticosteroids and mydriates, can be challenging. We report a case in which continuous use of topical corticosteroids resulted in adrenal insufficiency and obesity.

Conclusion: When topical corticosteroids are used over longer periods, hypophysis‐pituitary‐adrenal (HPA) function should be carefully monitored.
Myocardial cell injury is common in children with septic shock
Authors: Lodha Rakesh , Arun Sasi , Vivekanandhan Subbiah , Kohli Utkarsh , Kabra Sushil K
Published: January 2009

Objective: To determine the prevalence of myocardial cell injury in children with septic shock by estimating the levels of biochemical markers of myocardial injury, troponin I (TnI) and creatine kinase MB (CK‐MB).

Patients: Children aged 3 months to 16 years were admitted to paediatric intensive care unit (PICU) with septic shock. Children with sepsis without shock and children with hypovolaemic shock were enrolled as controls.

Measurements and Main Results: Serum TnI and CK‐MB levels were measured at admission and serially at 24 h, 48 h and 96 h in children with septic shock, while baseline measurement of the same markers was taken from the controls. In total, 88% (15/18) of children with septic shock had elevated TnI levels compared with 25% (5/20) with sepsis and 6.7% (1/15) with hypovolaemic shock (p < 0.001). Serial TnI levels at admission, 24 h, 48 h and 96 h were higher in the nonsurvivors. There was a positive correlation between the baseline TnI levels and the predicted mortality using the paediatric index of mortality (PIM2) scores at admission (r = 0.51, p = 0.03).

Conclusion: A majority of children with septic shock have evidence of myocardial cell injury. The estimation of serum TnI levels may help in better prognostication of children with septic shock.
Quantitative study on cerebral blood volume determined by a near‐infrared spectroscopy during postural change in children
Authors: Kim Yasuko Taeja , Tanaka Hidetaka , Takaya Ryuzo , Kajiura Mitsugu , Tamai Hiroshi , Arita Mikio
Published: January 2009

Aim: To investigate changes in cerebral blood volume during standing in healthy children with or without abnormal cardiovascular responses.

Methods: We studied 53 children (age, 10–15 years). Cerebral oxygenated haemoglobin (oxy‐Hb) and deoxygenated Hb (deoxy‐Hb) were non‐invasively and continuously measured using near‐infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) (NIRO 300, Hamamatsu Photomedics, Shizuoka, Japan) during active standing. Beat‐to‐beat arterial pressure was monitored by Portapres.

Results: Of 49 children with complete data acquisition, 33 had a normal cardiovascular response to the test (Group I) and 16 showed an abnormal response (Group II); nine with instantaneous orthostatic hypotension, three with postural tachycardia syndrome, three with neutrally mediated syncope and one with delayed orthostatic hypotension. At the onset of standing, Group II showed a significantly larger fall of oxy‐Hb than Group I did (−2.9 ± 2.8 μmol/L vs. −6.4 ± 7.2 μmol/L, respectively, p < 0.05). During min 1 to 7 of standing, with one exception, changes in oxy‐Hb were normally distributed over the level of −4 μmol/L in Group I. Group II also showed a significantly marked decrease in oxy‐Hb compared to Group I. Decreases in oxy‐Hb were not correlated with blood pressure changes.

Conclusion: This study shows that precise change in cerebral blood volume caused by orthostatic stress can be determined by NIRS in children in a quantitative manner of NIRS. Children with abnormal circulatory responses to standing showed a significant reduction of oxy‐Hb compared with normal counterparts, suggesting impairment of cerebral autoregulation in these children.
Alcohol Use Among Rural Middle School Students: Adolescents, Parents, Teachers, and Community Leaders’ Perceptions*
Authors: DeHaan Laura , Boljevac Tina
Published: January 2009

BACKGROUND:  Although rural adolescents use of alcohol is at some of the highest rates nationally, rural adolescent alcohol use has not been studied extensively. This study examines how community attitudes and behaviors are related to adolescent drinking in rural environments.

METHODS:  Data were gathered in 22 rural communities in the Upper Midwest (North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin, and Wyoming). Surveys were collected from 1424 rural sixth‐ to eighth‐grade adolescents and 790 adults, including parents, teachers, and community leaders. Census data were also collected.

RESULTS:  Drinkers differed from nondrinkers by the following factors: higher perceptions of peer, parental, and overall community drinking, as well as lower levels of parental closeness and religiosity. Factors distinguishing binge and nonbinge drinkers were increased drinking to reduce stress, drinking to fit in, perceptions of peer drinking, and perceived lack of alternatives to drinking. Parents were significantly less likely to perceive adolescent alcohol use as a problem than other community adults; school officials were most likely to perceive it as a problem. Parental perceptions were also the least correlated to actual adolescent use, while adolescent perceptions were the most highly correlated.

CONCLUSIONS:  Community fac tors such as overall prevalence of drinking, community support, and controls against drinking are important predictors of reported use in early adolescence. School officials were more likely to view adolescent alcohol use as a problem than were parents. School officials’ perceptions of adolescent use were also more related to actual adolescent use than were parental perceptions of adolescent use.
Exchange Rate Pass‐through in China
Authors: Shu Chang , Su Xiaojing
Published: January 2009

During the second half of 2007 and early part of 2008 when there were intense inflationary pressures in China, RMB appreciation was advocated as a means of helping to curb inflation. The effectiveness of appreciation in controlling inflation depends on the impact of exchange rate movements on import and domestic prices. Our analysis finds fairly large and speedy exchange rate pass‐through (ERPT) to import prices: 50 and 60 percent for the short run and long run, respectively. However, the degree of ERPT decreases along the price chain from upstream to downstream prices. ERPT for consumer prices, the most downstream prices, is much milder and has substantial lags. A 10‐percent rise in the nominal effective exchange rate will dampen consumer prices by 1.1 percent within a year, with very little pass‐through in the first half year, and by 2.0 percent over the long run. These findings, particularly the ERPT to consumer prices, suggest that RMB appreciation can help to reduce inflationary pressures over the longer term. However, it is unlikely to provide rapid relief to the current round of high inflation because of the long lags in ERPT. The RMB needs to strengthen in effective terms to exert the desired dampening impact on prices.
How Good Is Corporate Governance in China?
Authors: Lu Tong , Zhong Jiyin , Kong Jie
Published: January 2009

Based on the revised OECD Principles of Corporate Governance of 2004 and China's regulatory framework, we develop a corporate governance index (CGI) to measure overall corporate governance and disclosure practices of the 100 largest listed companies in China. The results show that Chinese companies have been making progress in corporate governance reform and there is significant difference in CGI between the top and the bottom companies' performance. Among the six parts of CGI, Chinese listed companies perform better in disclosure and transparency, but show weakness in board of supervisor and stakeholders roles. Further tests show that the improvements in corporate governance of state‐owned enterprises have resulted in some initial signs of success.
The Place of Modeling in Cognitive Science
Authors: McClelland James L.
Published: January 2009

I consider the role of cognitive modeling in cognitive science. Modeling, and the computers that enable it, are central to the field, but the role of modeling is often misunderstood. Models are not intended to capture fully the processes they attempt to elucidate. Rather, they are explorations of ideas about the nature of cognitive processes. In these explorations, simplification is essential—through simplification, the implications of the central ideas become more transparent. This is not to say that simplification has no downsides; it does, and these are discussed. I then consider several contemporary frameworks for cognitive modeling, stressing the idea that each framework is useful in its own particular ways. Increases in computer power (by a factor of about 4 million) since 1958 have enabled new modeling paradigms to emerge, but these also depend on new ways of thinking. Will new paradigms emerge again with the next 1,000‐fold increase?
Homo Heuristicus: Why Biased Minds Make Better Inferences
Authors: Gigerenzer Gerd , Brighton Henry
Published: January 2009

Heuristics are efficient cognitive processes that ignore information. In contrast to the widely held view that less processing reduces accuracy, the study of heuristics shows that less information, computation, and time can in fact improve accuracy. We review the major progress made so far: (a) the discovery of less‐is‐more effects; (b) the study of the ecological rationality of heuristics, which examines in which environments a given strategy succeeds or fails, and why; (c) an advancement from vague labels to computational models of heuristics; (d) the development of a systematic theory of heuristics that identifies their building blocks and the evolved capacities they exploit, and views the cognitive system as relying on an “adaptive toolbox;” and (e) the development of an empirical methodology that accounts for individual differences, conducts competitive tests, and has provided evidence for people’s adaptive use of heuristics. Homo heuristicus has a biased mind and ignores part of the available information, yet a biased mind can handle uncertainty more efficiently and robustly than an unbiased mind relying on more resource‐intensive and general‐purpose processing strategies.
HowDoesthe Mind Work? Insights from Biology
Authors: Marcus Gary
Published: January 2009

Cognitive scientists must understand not just what the mind does, buthowit does what it does. In this paper, I consider four aspects of cognitive architecture: how the mind develops, the extent to which it is or is not modular, the extent to which it is or is not optimal, and the extent to which it should or should not be considered a symbol‐manipulating device (as opposed to, say, an eliminative connectionist network). In each case, I argue that insights from developmental and evolutionary biology can lead to substantive and important compromises in historically vexed debates.
Worked Examples and Tutored Problem Solving: Redundant or Synergistic Forms of Support?
Authors: Salden Ron J. C. M. , Aleven Vincent A. W. M. M. , Renkl Alexander , Schwonke Rolf
Published: January 2009

The current research investigates a combination of two instructional approaches, tutored problem solving and worked examples. Tutored problem solving with automated tutors has proven to be an effective instructional method. Worked‐out examples have been shown to be an effective complement to untutored problem solving, but it is largely unknown whether they are an effective complement to tutored problem solving. Further, while computer‐based learning environments offer the possibility of adaptively transitioning from examples to problems while tailoring to an individual learner, the effectiveness of such machine‐adapted example fading is largely unstudied. To address these research questions, one lab and one classroom experiment were conducted. Both studies compared a standard Cognitive Tutor with two example‐enhanced Cognitive Tutors, in which the fading of worked‐out examples occurred either in a fixed way or adaptively. Results indicate that the adaptive fading of worked‐out examples leads to higher transfer performance on delayed posttests than the other two methods.
From Member of the Company to Registered Auditor: The Role of the External Auditor in Corporate Governance
Authors: Baker C. Richard
Published: January 2009

Corporate governance has often been defined in a narrow way as comprising ‘the range of control mechanisms that protect and enhance the interests of shareholders of business enterprises’ (Fama and Jensen 1983). In the corporate governance literature there has also been a general focus on the structure and functioning of boards of directors and the responsibilities of audit committees in relation to external auditing (Rosenstein and Wyatt 1990;Shleifer and Vishny 1997). This article looks at the evolution of the role of external auditing in corporate governance. The role of the external auditor has changed through time, and consequently it should not be assumed that the role of external auditing is fixed or that it cannot be changed to meet societal needs and expectations. This observation leads to the primary argument of our article, which is that the role of the external auditor in corporate governance ought to be expanded in order to enhance the effectiveness of corporate governance for the benefit of a wider spectrum of stakeholders and society generally.
The South Pacific Stock Exchange: Is it a Market or Status Symbol?
Authors: Mala Rajni , White Michael
Published: January 2009

Listing on a stock exchange is one of the most significant events in a company's life cycle. Using a case study approach we examine why companies in Fiji list on a stock exchange. The various factors that have been found to motivate companies to list include enhancing their image and reputation, increasing the firm's value and introducing better financial and managerial practices. Importantly, the accessing of new sources of finance has not been a determinant of a company's listing decision. The findings imply that in emerging economies, stock exchange listing can be perceived as a status symbol.