bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
BCMA Is Essential for the Survival of Long-lived Bone Marrow Plasma Cells
Authors: O'Connor Brian P. , Raman Vanitha S. , Erickson Loren D. , Cook W. James , Weaver Lehn K. , Ahonen Cory , Lin Ling-Li , Mantchev George T. , Bram Richard J. , Noelle Randolph J.
Published: January 2004

Long-lived humoral immunity is manifested by the ability of bone marrow plasma cells (PCs) to survive for extended periods of time. Recent studies have underscored the importance of BLyS and APRIL as factors that can support the survival of B lineage lymphocytes. We show that BLyS can sustain PC survival in vitro, and this survival can be further enhanced by interleukin 6. Selective up-regulation of Mcl-1 in PCs by BLyS suggests that this α-apoptotic gene product may play an important role in PC survival. Blockade of BLyS, via transmembrane activator and cyclophilin ligand interactor–immunoglobulin treatment, inhibited PC survival in vitro and in vivo. Heightened expression of B cell maturation antigen (BCMA), and lowered expression of transmembrane activator and cyclophilin ligand interactor and BAFF receptor in PCs relative to resting B cells suggests a vital role of BCMA in PC survival. Affirmation of the importance of BCMA in PC survival was provided by studies in BCMA−/− mice in which the survival of long-lived bone marrow PCs was impaired compared with wild-type controls. These findings offer new insights into the molecular basis for the long-term survival of PCs.
Towards inflation in string theory
Authors: Shamit Kachru  , Renata Kallosh  , Andrei Linde  , Juan Maldacena  , Liam McAllister  , Sandip P Trivedi
Published: January 2004

We investigate the embedding of brane inflation into stable compactifications of string theory. At first sight a warped compactification geometry seems to produce a naturally flat inflaton potential, evading one well known difficulty of brane–antibrane scenarios. Careful consideration of the closed string moduli reveals a further obstacle: superpotential stabilization of the compactification volume typically modifies the inflaton potential and renders it too steep for inflation. We discuss the non-generic conditions under which this problem does not arise. We conclude that brane inflation models can only work if restrictive assumptions about the method of volume stabilization, the warping of the internal space, and the source of inflationary energy are satisfied. We argue that this may not be a real problem, given the large range of available fluxes and background geometries in string theory.
Braneworld models of dark energy
Authors: Varun Sahni  , Yuri Shtanov
Published: January 2004

We explore a new class of braneworld models in which the scalar curvature of the (induced) brane metric contributes to the brane action. The scalar curvature term arises generically on account of one-loop effects induced by matter fields residing on the brane. Spatially flat braneworld models can enter into a regime of accelerated expansion at late times. This is true even if the brane tension and the bulk cosmological constant are tuned to satisfy the Randall–Sundrum constraint on the brane. Braneworld models admit a wider range of possibilities for dark energy than standard LCDM. In these models the luminosity distance can be both smaller and larger than the luminosity distance in LCDM. Whereas models withdL⩽dL(LCDM) implyw=p/ρ ⩾ −1 and have frequently been discussed in the literature, models withdL>dL(LCDM) have traditionally been ignored, perhaps because, within the general-relativistic framework, the luminosity distance has this propertyonly ifthe equation of state of matter is strongly negative (w< −1). Within the conventional framework, `phantom energy' withw< −1 is beset with a host of undesirable properties, which makes this model of dark energy unattractive. Braneworld models, on the other hand, have the capacity to endow dark energy with exciting new possibilities (includingw< −1) without suffering from the problems faced by phantom energy. For a subclass of parameter values, braneworld dark energy and the acceleration of the universe aretransientphenomena. In these models, the universe, after the current period of acceleration, re-enters the matter-dominated regime so that the deceleration parameterq(t) → 0.5 whent>>t0, wheret0is the present epoch. Such models could help reconcile an accelerating universe with the requirements of string/M-theory.
Mapping and Initial Analysis of Human Subtelomeric Sequence Assemblies
Authors: Riethman Harold , Ambrosini Anthony , Castaneda Carlos , Finklestein Jeffrey , Hu Xue-Lan , Mudunuri Uma , Paul Sheila , Wei Jun
Published: January 2004

Physical mapping data were combined with public draft and finished sequences to derive subtelomeric sequence assemblies for each of the 41 genetically distinct human telomere regions. Sequence gaps that remain on the reference telomeres are generally small,well-defined,and for the most part,restricted to regions directly adjacent to the terminal (TTAGGG)n tract. Of the 20.66 Mb of subtelomeric DNA analyzed, 3.01 Mb are subtelomeric repeat sequences (Srpt),and an additional 2.11 Mb are segmental duplications. The subtelomeric sequence assemblies are enriched >25-fold in short,internal (TTAGGG)n-like sequences relative to the rest of the genome; a total of 114 (TTAGGG)n-like islands were found,55 within Srpt regions,35 within one-copy regions,11 at one-copy/Srpt or Srpt/segmental duplication boundaries,and 13 at the telomeric ends of assemblies. Transcripts were annotated in each assembly,noting their mapping coordinates relative to their respective telomere and whether they originate in duplicated DNA or single-copy DNA. A total of 697 transcripts were found in 15.53 Mb of one-copy DNA,76 transcripts in 2.11 Mb of segmentally duplicated DNA,and 168 transcripts in 3.01 Mb of Srpt sequence. This overall transcript density is similar (within ∼10%) to that found genome-wide. Zinc finger-containing genes and olfactory receptor genes are duplicated within and between multiple telomere regions.
Hierarchical Scaffolding With Bambus
Authors: Pop Mihai , Kosack Daniel S. , Salzberg Steven L.
Published: January 2004

The output of a genome assembler generally comprises a collection of contiguous DNA sequences (contigs) whose relative placement along the genome is not defined. A procedure called scaffolding is commonly used to order and orient these contigs using paired read information. This ordering of contigs is an essential step when finishing and analyzing the data from a whole-genome shotgun project. Most recent assemblers include a scaffolding module; however, users have little control over the scaffolding algorithm or the information produced. We thus developed a general-purpose scaffolder, called Bambus, which affords users significant flexibility in controlling the scaffolding parameters. Bambus was used recently to scaffold the low-coverage draft dog genome data. Most significantly, Bambus enables the use of linking data other than that inferred from mate-pair information. For example, the sequence of a completed genome can be used to guide the scaffolding of a related organism. We present several applications of Bambus: support for finishing, comparative genomics, analysis of the haplotype structure of genomes, and scaffolding of a mammalian genome at low coverage. Bambus is available as an open-source package from our Web site.
A Cross-Genomic Approach for Systematic Mapping of Phenotypic Traits to Genes
Authors: Jim Kam , Parmar Kush , Singh Mona , Tavazoie Saeed
Published: January 2004

We present a computational method for de novo identification of gene function using only cross-organismal distribution of phenotypic traits. Our approach assumes that proteins necessary for a set of phenotypic traits are preferentially conserved among organisms that share those traits. This method combines organism-to-phenotype associations,along with phylogenetic profiles,to identify proteins that have high propensities for the query phenotype; it does not require the use of any functional annotations for any proteins. We first present the statistical foundations of this approach and then apply it to a range of phenotypes to assess how its performance depends on the frequency and specificity of the phenotype. Our analysis shows that statistically significant associations are possible as long as the phenotype is neither extremely rare nor extremely common; results on the flagella,pili, thermophily,and respiratory tract tropism phenotypes suggest that reliable associations can be inferred when the phenotype does not arise from many alternate mechanisms.
Analysis of Sequence Variations in Several Human Genes Using Phosphoramidite Bond DNA Fragmentation and Chip-Based MALDI-TOF
Authors: Smylie Kevin J. , Cantor Charles R. , Denissenko Mikhail F.
Published: January 2004

The challenge in the postgenome era is to measure sequence variations over large genomic regions in numerous patient samples. This massive amount of work can only be completed if more accurate, cost-effective, and high-throughput solutions become available. Here we describe a novel DNA fragmentation approach for single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) discovery and sequence validation. The base-specific cleavage is achieved by creating primer extension products, in which acid-labile phosphoramidite (P-N) bonds replace the 5′ phosphodiester bonds of newly incorporated pyrimidine nucleotides. Sequence variations are detected by hydrolysis of this acid-labile bond and MALDI-TOF analysis of the resulting fragments. In this study, we developed a robust protocol for P-N-bond fragmentation and investigated additional ways to improve its sensitivity and reproducibility. We also present the analysis of several human genomic targets ranging from 100-450 bp in length. By using a semiautomated sample processing protocol, we investigated an array of SNPs within a 240-bp segment of the NFKBIA gene in 48 human DNA samples. We identified and measured frequencies for the two common SNPs in the 3′UTR of NFKBIA (separated by 123 bp) and then confirmed these values in an independent genotyping experiment. The calculated allele frequencies in white and African American groups differed significantly, yet both fit Hardy-Weinberg expectations. This demonstrates the utility and effectiveness of PN-bond DNA fragmentation and subsequent MALDI-TOF MS analysis for the high-throughput discovery and measurement of sequence variations in fragments up to 0.5 kb in length in multiple human blood DNA samples.
Ordered Partitioning Reveals Extended Splice-Site Consensus Information
Authors: Weir Michael , Rice Michael
Published: January 2004

Using recently available cDNA and genomic data (Berkeley Drosophila Genome Project; http://www.fruitfly.org), we computed a large sample of 10,057 Drosophila splice sites. An information-theoretic analysis of the nucleotide sequences adjacent to these splice sites showed a strong correlation between the sizes of introns and exons and the levels of information, which is a measure of sequence conservation. The strong correlation permitted us to determine extensive consensus sequences at the donor and acceptor sites of longer introns. These sequences were further refined and extended by examining the information in regions around splice sites that only partially matched the consensus. The correlation between length and information provided the basis for determining alternative consensus arrangements associated with shorter introns, as well as general base-composition preferences that likely promote spliceosome function. We also observed a correlation between information near splice sites and the lengths of nonadjacent introns, indicating that there are long-range effects spanning multiple introns. The ordered partitioning approach used in this analysis may become increasingly useful as large genomic data sets become available.
A Whole-Genome Mouse BAC Microarray With 1-Mb Resolution for Analysis of DNA Copy Number Changes by Array Comparative Genomic Hybridization
Authors: Chung Yeun-Jun , Jonkers Jos , Kitson Hannah , Fiegler Heike , Humphray Sean , Scott Carol , Hunt Sarah , Yu Yuejin , Nishijima Ichiko , Velds Arno , Holstege Henne , Carter Nigel , Bradley Allan
Published: January 2004

Microarray-basedcomparative genomic hybridization (CGH) has become a powerful methodfor the genome-wide detection of chromosomal imbalances. Although BAC microarrays have been usedfor mouse CGH studies, the resolving power of these analyses was limitedbecause high-density whole-genome mouse BAC microarrays were not available. We therefore developed a mouse BAC microarray containing 2803 unique BAC clones from mouse genomic libraries at 1-Mb intervals. For the general amplification of BAC clone DNA prior to spotting, we designed a set of three novel degenerate oligonucleotide-primed (DOP) PCR primers that preferentially amplify mouse genomic sequences while minimizing unwantedamplification of contaminating Escherichia coli DNA. The resulting 3K mouse BAC microarrays reproducibly identified DNA copy number alterations in cell lines andprimary tumors, such as single-copy deletions, regional amplifications, and aneuploidy.
An Abundance of Bidirectional Promoters in the Human Genome
Authors: Trinklein Nathan D. , Aldred Shelley Force , Hartman Sara J. , Schroeder Diane I. , Otillar Robert P. , Myers Richard M.
Published: January 2004

The alignment of full-length human cDNA sequences to the finished sequence of the human genome provides a unique opportunity to study the distribution of genes throughout the genome. By analyzing the distances between 23,752 genes, we identified a class of divergently transcribed gene pairs, representing more than 10% of the genes in the genome, whose transcription start sites are separated by less than 1000 base pairs. Although this bidirectional arrangement has been previously described in humans and other species, the prevalence of bidirectional gene pairs in the human genome is striking, and the mechanisms of regulation of all but a few bidirectional genes are unknown. Our work shows that the transcripts of many bidirectional pairs are coexpressed, but some are antiregulated. Further, we show that many of the promoter segments between two bidirectional genes initiate transcription in both directions and contain shared elements that regulate both genes. We also show that the bidirectional arrangement is often conserved among mouse orthologs. These findings demonstrate that a bidirectional arrangement provides a unique mechanism of regulation for a significant number of mammalian genes.
Traditions of governance: interpreting the changing role of the public sector
Authors: Bevir Mark , Rhodes R. A. W. , Weller Patrick
Published: January 2004

The role of the state is changing under the impact of, for example, globalization. The changes have been variously understood as the new public management (NPM), the hollowing–out of the state and the new governance. This special issue of Public Administration explores the changing role of the state in advanced industrial democracies. It focuses on the puzzle of why states respond differently to common trends.

This introductory article has three aims. First, we provide a brief review of the existing literature on public sector reform to show that our approach is distinctive. We argue that the existing literature does not explore the ways in which governmental traditions shape reform. Second, we outline an interpretive approach to the analysis of public sector reform built on the notions of beliefs, traditions, dilemmas and narratives. We provide brief illustrations of these ideas drawn from the individual country articles. Finally, we outline the ground covered by all the chapters but we do not summarize and compare their experiences of reform. That task is reserved for the concluding article.
Twenty–first century United States governance: statecraft as reform craft and the peculiar governing paradox it perpetuates
Authors: Stillman Richard J.
Published: January 2004

The United States is commonly referred to as the last global superpower, exercising unrivalled political, economic, military and social influence. Yet, paradoxically, unlike any other nation, Americans were – and remain – radically antistatist. Until roughly the twentieth century the United States did not want, need, nor create a powerful administrative state to govern itself, let alone others abroad. This essay explores that peculiar paradox, namely how Americans govern as the last global superpower today, yet retain an inherently fierce hostility to government. The thesis that is developed argues that it is a deep–rooted reformist faith which ultimately shapes US statecraft as a unique style of reformcraft, with both benign and not–sobenign consequences.
Searching for civil society: changing patterns of governance in Britain
Authors: Bevir Mark , Rhodes R. A. W.
Published: January 2004

To understand governance, we ask who is telling the story from within which tradition. We argue there is no essentialist notion of governance but at least four conceptions each rooted in a distinctive tradition. The first section of the paper describes the relevant traditions: Tory, Liberal, Whig and Socialist. The second section describes the different notions of governance associated with each tradition; intermediate institutions, marketizing public services, reinventing the constitution and trust and negotiation. We explain these distinct conceptions of governance as responses to the dilemmas of inflation and state overload. In the conclusion, we summarize how and why traditions change, concluding, there is no such thing as governance, but only the differing constructions of the several traditions.
State, administration and governance in Germany: competing traditions and dominant narratives
Authors: Jann Werner
Published: January 2004

The article explores the evolution of competing views on state, administration and governance in Germany from an historical perspective, with an emphasis on the last five decades. To understand the governance discourse in Germany one has to start from different notions of the state. The first part therefore offers a brief, somewhat polemic, overview about different state traditions in Germany in the twentieth and twenty–first centuries. The second part looks at how discourses about the proper role, the appropriate structures and processes of the public sector and its interactions with its environment have changed during the history of the Federal Republic. The analytic focus is on the different narratives about administrative policies, understood as the various scenarios, assumptions and arguments on which competing policy–suggestions for the public sector have been based. The article argues that it is not sufficient to interpret the ups and downs of different discourses and Leitbilder as more or less erratic, post–modern fashions and fads. Instead, the line up of the central catch–phrases, from democratic via active and lean to the activating state, reflect learning processes, driven above all by the political competition creating a continuous demand for ‘better’, more appropriate narratives to guide and explain current policies.
Beneath consensual corporatism: traditions of governance in the Netherlands
Authors: Kickert Walter J.M.
Published: January 2004

This article begins with a historical account of the various styles of governance in The Netherlands from the post–war period to date. That overview reveals the persistence of an underlying more traditional form of governance, that is, the tradition of consensual corporatism. Although conventionally believed to be an invention of the Catholic Church and subsequent political theorists, the present twentieth and twenty–first–century historical review of this corporatist style of governance leads to the conclusion that its historical roots are, instead, the age–old Dutch state traditions of tolerance, pragmatism and consensus. It looks as though the worn–out clichés of ‘images of the Dutch’ are indeed the fundamentally underlying core–concepts behind the Dutch style of governance. The ruling, merchant, partrician families of the Dutch Republic, in order to defend their international trade interests, in the midst of somewhat dogmatic Protestant preachers, were pragmatically tolerant of deviant ideas and groups and thus were able to reach a feasible compromise.
Governance traditions and narratives of public sector reform in contemporary France
Authors: Elgie Robert
Published: January 2004

This article explores the basic traditions of governance in contemporary France and the narratives of public sector reform associated with them. It should be stressed right from the outset that this article does not aim to describe the set of public sector reforms that have been implemented in France in the last ten years or so. Instead, the aim is to demonstrate the similarities and differences between the narratives of the left and the right with regard to these reforms and to show how these narratives help to explain the types of reform that have been enacted. The basic argument is that there is a certain commonality to both the left and the right with regard to their narratives of public sector reform. At the same time, though, there are differences of emphasis both within each tradition and between the two main traditions themselves. Except where indicated, all translations are the author's own.
Narratives of Norwegian governance: elaborating the strong state tradition
Authors: Christensen Tom
Published: January 2004

Any account of Norwegian governance must engage with four different state traditions (Olsen 1988): the sovereign rationality–bounded or centralised state, the institutional state, the corporatist–pluralist state and the supermarket state. The first three traditions are historically interconnected, while the supermarket state is a fundamental and recent challenge to them. These traditions have co–existed in different combinations and their significance has changed several times, since the Constitution of 1814. In this article, first, I outline each tradition, tracing its historical roots, dominant actors and the competing definitions and interpretations. Second, I discuss the problems or dilemmas that confronted these traditions and the reforms enacted in response to them. Finally, I assess the consequences of these reforms. I focus on the post–World War II period. I finish by discussing the dynamic interdependence of the different state traditions.
Comparative governance: prospects and lessons
Authors: Bevir Mark , Rhodes R. A. W. , Weller Patrick
Published: January 2004

This article revisits the country case studies and seeks to answer two questions. What are the strengths and weaknesses of an interpretive approach? What lessons can we draw from our analysis of public sector reform? To assess an interpretive approach, we discuss: the issues raised in identifying beliefs; the meaning of explanation; how to select traditions; the shift from prediction to informed conjecture and policy advice as storytelling. To assess the lessons, we outline our preferred story of public sector reform. We seek to show that an interpretive approach produces insights for students of public administration. We argue it remains feasible to give policy advice to public sector managers by telling them stories and providing rules of thumb (proverbs) to guide managerial practices.
Facts, Fictions or Reasoning. Law as the Subject Matter of Jurisprudence
Authors: Niemi Matti Ilmari
Published: January 2004

This paper deals with the problems involved in the concept of knowledge in the sphere of law. Traditionally, the idea of knowledge has dealt with the presumption of given objects of information. According to this approach, knowing means finding these objects. This is the natural and understandable foundation of metaphysical or philosophical realism. Cognition and cognitive interest are directed outside the sentences by which they are described. This is the point of departure of legal positivism as well. However, it is not possible to see valid law as totally independent of language and concepts. This makes the idea of legal facts as institutional facts vague. From a practical viewpoint, the sentences of judges and legal scholars, when they present valid law, justify rather than describe. Their crucial function is interpretation. Hence, the objectivity of these sentences cannot be based on the presumption of separate objects either. Instead, it has to be based on the principles of acceptable reasoning. Moreover, the author claims that this kind of approach, united with the utilization of human rights and substantial legal principles, leads one to acknowledge objective values.
Legalist Fictions and the Problem of Scientific Legitimation
Authors: Přibáň Jiří
Published: January 2004

The author analyzes fictions of legal positivist philosophy and their role in the scientific legitimation of modern law and political domination. The original function of legalist fictions was the establishment of legal science, which would be autonomous and independent of other social sciences and public morality. In the second half of the 20th century, legal positivist philosophy has nevertheless adopted the fiction of the just law as its scientific legitimation fiction and incorporated moral and political discourse into legal science, again.

Legal positivism and its critiques within the discourse of the sociology of law and critical legal science keep the image of a hierarchical and centralized legitimation of law. Paradoxically, current legal philosophy and theory searching for a universally valid legitimation scheme is full of many different legitimations and reveals their growing plurality and the impossibility of establishing one sovereign legitimation scheme in the current social, theoretical and political condition.
On Punishing Emotions
Authors: Rosebury Brian
Published: January 2004

This paper challenges recent influential arguments which would encourage legislators and courts to give weight to an assessment of the “evaluative judgements” expressed by the emotions which motivate crimes. While accepting the claim of Kahan and Nussbaum and others that emotions, other than moods, have intentional objects (“the cognitive conception”), and are not mere impulses which bypass cognition (“the mechanistic conception”), it suggests the following criticisms of their analysis. First, the concept of an emotional “evaluative judgement” tends to elide the distinction between (misleadingly named) “judgements” that are merely the sense of an emotion, and do not have the character of acts, and deliberative emotional judgements that do resemble acts and so properly fall within the corrective scope of the law. Second, intentional emotions are empowered by pre–intentional psychological resources which are less amenable than intentional states to the agent's conscious supervision: The traditional recognition of “infirmity” in mitigation of crimes uncharacteristic of the criminal's overall conduct towards others is justified by the unpredictable action of these pre–intentional elements and can survive the abandonment of the mechanistic conception of emotion.
Norms that Confer Competence
Authors: Spaak Torben
Published: January 2004

The author maintains that norms that confer competence (or power) on persons should be understood as duty–imposing norms addressed to legal officials, rather than as special competence norms whose sole function is to confer competence, and which are addressed to the competence–holders themselves. The argument is that only duty–imposing norms are genuine norms in the sense that they give complete reasons for action. En route to this conclusion the author analyzes norms in terms of reasons for action, and considers the problem of norm–individuation and the action–guiding capacity of norms.
On the Tension between Moral Autonomy and the Rational Justification of Norms
Authors: Sieckmann Jan–R.
Published: January 2004

Within the framework of autonomous morality, the validity of a norm depends on the consent of autonomous agents. However, such a consent will often not be obtained. Approximative criteria can be formulated, stating when a norm, although not consented completely, should be accepted as objectively valid. Such criteria, however, restrict moral autonomy. Hence, demands of autonomy and of rationality collide. This collision must be resolved by restraining autonomous judgement in order to make commonly binding norms possible.
Labor Market Developments in Albania: An Analytical Overview
Authors: Çuka Elida , Papapanagos Harry , Polo Natasha , Sanfey Peter
Published: January 2004

Rising unemployment and falling living standards are two of the main problems facing policymakers in economies in transition. The case of Albania is distinctive, because high unemployment has been associated with a very large private sector and by far the greatest scale of temporary emigration compared with other transition countries in Europe. The authors develop a model that characterizes the path of unemployment in the presence of temporary emigration. They analyze the emigration decision and the factors that affect registered unemployment emigration, and highlight how changes in flow probabilities between sectors affect the time paths of registered unemployment and emigration.
Eco‐Labeling and Stages of Development
Authors: Basu Arnab K. , Chau Nancy H. , Grote Ulrike
Published: January 2004

The paper examines the effectiveness of eco‐labeling in providing a market‐based solution to the under‐consumption of eco‐friendly products in developing and developed countries. The authors show that whether labeling is an effective device in solving the problem of asymmetric information between sellers and buyers, or whether false labeling severs the link between willingness to pay and environmental conscious production choices, depends crucially on how monitoring intensities respond endogenously to economic growth, openness to trade, and technology transfers. In particular, by accounting for endogenous policy responses to economic growth, it is shown that an inverted‐U relationship exists between consumer spending on eco‐unfriendly products and national income. In addition, while international trade unambiguously benefits the environment in the presence of eco‐labeling with perfect enforcement, trade openness may nevertheless delay the turning point of the growth and environment relationship, when the cost of enforcement falls disproportionately on developing countries, and when environmental policies are employed to reap terms‐of‐trade gains.
Does Financial Depth Improve Aggregate Savings Performance? Further Cross‐Country Evidence
Authors: Cook Christopher J.
Published: January 2004

The paper examines whether financial depth can encourage savings. The main issue concerns how best to measure financial depth. A variety of proxies have been used in the past, mostly in the form of financial intermediation ratios (FIRs). A second issue concerns specification. Misspecification in earlier work may have overstated the importance of financial depth. A final issue concerns the effect of outliers, which are dealt with using robust estimation techniques. Based on a broadly specified lifecycle regression model and data from 122 countries, it is concluded that, although financial depth has a positive influence on savings, its strength continues to be open to question. Only one FIR and a non‐FIR proxy (bank offices per person) are unambiguously significant. These results suggest that further work could be fruitful, especially if directed toward improving the accuracy and consistency of existing FIR data.
Endogenous, Efficient Long‐Run Cyclical Unemployment, Endogenous Long‐Run Growth, and Division of Labor
Authors: Du Julan
Published: January 2004

The paper uses a dynamic equilibrium model to explain the concurrence of economic growth and business cycles. Introducing durable goods into a model with ex‐ante identical consumer–producers and economies of specialized learning‐by‐doing, the author shows that when job‐shifting costs, economies of specialized learning‐by‐doing, and trading efficiency are sufficiently large, a dynamic equilibrium with business cycles and unemployment might be Pareto superior to noncyclical growth patterns. Long‐run cyclical unemployment still exists when the credit market is imperfect. Extending the model into overlapping generations framework, the author shows that complete division of labor with business cycles would still occur in equilibrium.
Does Investing in Technology Affect Exports? Evidence from Indian Firms
Authors: Hasan Rana , Raturi Mayank
Published: January 2004

The authors use firm‐level data from Indian manufacturing industries to explore the determinants of exports, focusing on the role played by technology. The empirical analysis, which distinguishes between a firm's decision to export and the volume of its exports conditional on its having decided to export, reveals that investments in technology via R&D and technology transfer agreements can facilitate the entry of Indian firms into export markets. However, their influence on the volume of exports is fairly limited. Factors with a more broad‐based influence on both export participation and volumes include labor intensity and, especially, firm size.
Human Capital, Study Effort, and Persistent Income Inequality
Authors: Fan Chengze Simon
Published: January 2004

The paper shows that if an individual's cost of human capital accumulation depends on his parents’ human capital and there exists a “raw labor” sector of production, individuals with low parental human capital may devote little effort in study and become unskilled workers. Further, if an individual exerts little effort in study, the human capital he accumulated may be even less than his parents’. Consequently, his children will have even lower parental human capital than him and they will therefore also become unskilled. Thus, the model shows that even when education is free, income inequality can persist across generations.
The Labor Market as a Smoothing Device: Labor Supply Responses to Crop Loss
Authors: Cameron Lisa A. , Worswick Christopher
Published: January 2004

The paper studies the way in which labor supply responses enable households to smooth consumption in the face of crop loss. The 1993 Indonesian Family Life Survey is unusual because it contains self‐reported information on crop loss and on household responses to crop loss. Of those households that report a crop loss, 41.6% also report that they responded by taking an extra job. Using these self‐reported measures, the authors find evidence which suggests that the income associated with this shock‐induced labor supply is important in allowing the household to avoid reducing consumption expenditure. Household members, however, do not seem to increase their total hours of work. They appear to just reallocate their time from household farming to other labor market activities.
Local/Global Institutional Systems of Environmental Public Action
Authors: Allaire Gilles , Blanc Michel
Published: January 2004

In this paper we propose an analytical approach to the provision of local environmental services. These services, that seek to provide public goods, imply the undertaking of technical actions that modify, in some way, the local environment. The public goods in question always combine both local and ‘global’ dimensions. Under the latter, their production can benefit from policies elaborated at higher territorial levels that are managed and implemented by what we called ‘institutional sectors’. The analytical approach offered by Thévenot and Botanski's ‘model of cities’ is employed here in the study of these ‘institutional sectors’. It allows us to explain the tensions arising between them and to identify the conditions for effective co–ordination between sectors.
From Stilton to Vimto: Using Food History to Re‐think Typical Products in Rural Development
Authors: Tregear Angela
Published: January 2004

Typical products — foods with special characteristics due to local ingredients and traditional production techniques — have been the focus of many studies in rural sociology and geography. Shared suppositions have emerged regarding the historic, artisanal properties of these products and their beneficial contributions to rural development. However, extant studies tend to be fixed in certain theoretical contexts, and they under‐appreciate the historic dynamics shaping food‐territory links. The present study addresses these gaps by tracing, over time, the evolution of food‐territory links in the UK, taking account of critical social, economic and political forces. This leads to a classification of typical products grounded in UK conventions, whose contributions to rural development are contrasted with those of ‘classic’ Mediterranean products, with some challenging results. The paper concludes that typical products need to be conceptualized from a broader perspective, and that face‐value assumptions regarding their contribution to rural development need to be treated with caution.
Forging Linkages in the Commodity Chain: The Case of the Chilean Salmon Farming Industry, 1987–2001
Authors: Phyne John , Mansilla Jorge
Published: January 2004

In this paper we use the global commodity chain perspective to analyse the Chilean salmon farming industry. This industry reflects current shifts in the global agro‐food sector in that food distribution and retail sectors assume a significant role at the ‘back‐end’ of the farmed salmon global commodity chain. Economic concentration is also occurring along the ‘front‐end’ of the chain; foreign fish feed capital is integrating forwards into production and thereby assuming greater influence. This is matched by greater economic concentration by foreign and local salmon farming companies in the middle of the chain. Local capital is meeting the challenge of foreign capital by using flexible strategies in the service sector of the salmon farming industry. We also discuss the impact of the farmed salmon global commodity chain on class and gender relations at the point of production. In our conclusions, we discuss the limitations of the global commodity chain perspective as well as the consequences of salmon farming for livelihoods in rural Chile.
Migrants in Rural Greece
Authors: Kasimis Charalambos , Papadopoulos Apostolos G. , Zacopoulou Ersi
Published: January 2004

In early 1990s Greece became one of the prime destination countries for the migrant peoples of the collapsing regimes of the Balkan and Eastern European countries, experiencing, thus, a historical reversal of the massive exodus, in the 1950s and 1960s, of Greeks to the labour markets of Germany, Australia and the USA. This historical reversal seems to identify a pattern that is common to the Southern European countries. Over the last ten years, immigrant population has grown to attain approximately one tenth of the population of Greece. This development occurs at a time when pressures are being exerted on agricultural incomes following the reform of the CAP and subsequent evidencing of the first consequences of market liberalization in the context of a globalizing international economy. This paper aims at analyzing and interpreting the main findings of an empirical research programme on the economic and social implications of migrant settlement and employment in rural Greece. The research was carried out in three paradigmatic regions of the country: a) in a mountainous, less favoured region, b) in a region with dynamic agriculture, and c) in an insular region of agricultural and tourist development. The paper draws from a qualitative study of administrators and opinion leaders. It is divided into four parts: the first part presents the main elements of migration in rural Southern Europe in the frame of what is known as the South European model of migration. The second part discusses migration towards Greece and reviews research work relating to rural migration. With reference to methodology and the main research hypotheses, the third part presents the analysis of empirical findings concentrating on the importance of migrant labour for the operation of the farm and rural restructuring followed by a discussion of the position and role of migrants in rural society and development. The final part summarizes the main conclusions of this analysis.
Reconciling the Pedagogical Goal and the Measurement Goal of Evaluation: The Perspectives of Teachers in the Context of National Standards
Authors: Bulterman-Bos Jacquelien , Verloop Nico , Terwel Jan , Wardekker Wim
Published: January 2004

The intense conflict about whether standardized tests and national standards are appropriate is related to the goals one ascribes to student evaluation: a measurement goal for selection decisions or a pedagogical goal to support the learning process. This study focuses on how teachers balance these two goals. We interviewed 25 teachers who work in a context in which national standards in the final year are combined with classroom evaluation in the first years. The teachers’ perspectives show that both goals can coexist. The national standards cause classroom evaluation to have a measurement function, but many teachers use it to implement a pedagogical goal. Teachers adjust classroom evaluation to encourage better performance in the long run. Referring to the literature, we discuss first whether this practice is appropriate from a pedagogical perspective and then from a measurement perspective. We found that national standards may function as a common reference point when developing a qualitative framework necessary for the interpretive measurement of higher order skills. The side effect of discouraging low achievers is counterbalanced by the use of adjustment strategies to circumvent failing grades. At the same time, national standards counterbalance grade inflation and cause the function of evaluation in stimulating student effort to be retained. This shows that it is possible to reconcile the advantages of the measurement approach and the pedagogical approach to a large extent.
Who Values the GED? An Examination of the Paradox Underlying the Demand for the General Educational Development Credential
Authors: Smith Thomas M.
Published: January 2004

The General Educational Development (GED) credential is the most widely recognized form of alternative secondary certification in the United States today. Unlike other educational credentials, however, GED certification does not require school attendance or mastery of any specific curriculum. Although the requirements for certification are notably different from traditional high school diplomas, the GED is widely viewed as the functional equivalent of the high school diploma. While surveys of employers have shown that they generally consider the GED equivalent to the traditional high school diploma in hiring decisions, much of the literature on the economic returns to GED attainment indicate that these returns are significantly below those of traditional high school graduates and not much higher than those of other dropouts. This article examines the paradox of strong individual demand and strong institutional support for this credential despite educational and economic returns markedly lower than those of traditional high school graduates. The literature on the history of the GED, as well as the cognitive, educational, and economic outcomes associated with it, is examined through the lenses of several economic and sociological paradigms. This article suggests that the GED's potential as a signal of a recipient's basic cognitive skills may be negated by the inability of a test-based credential to signal at least minimal internalization of institutional norms, particularly those most valued in the workplace. The analysis suggests that the GED serves as a systemic safety valve for a system with comparatively high dropout rates. The GED program is a low-cost way to integrate hundreds of thousands of off-track individuals back into the mainstream of society, while at the same time providing an efficient means for the educational system to appear to meet its goals of equality of educational opportunity.
Fighting for Respect in Urban High Schools
Authors: Hemmings Annette
Published: January 2004

This article explores the crisis of respect needed to establish authority in two urban public high schools. The crisis was fueled by discourses with conflicting speech and normative codes that undermined the moral order in classrooms and corridors and caused students and teachers to fight for respect. In classrooms, the battles for respect were fought in defense of the dominant educational regime and control over the daily regimen of pedagogical practice. In corridors, students moved between the opposing poles of mainstream respectability and streetwise reputation as they vied for power in peer relations. The article concludes with recommendations for resolving the fight based on school-wide reform efforts and for addressing the conflicting discourses in a manner that engenders mutual respect between teachers and students in urban public high schools.
Effects of Early Acceleration of Students in Mathematics on Attitudes toward Mathematics and Mathematics Anxiety
Authors: Ma Xin
Published: January 2004

This study examined the effects of early acceleration of students in mathematics on the development of their attitudes toward mathematics and mathematics anxiety across junior and senior high school. Data were derived from the Longitudinal Study of American Youth (LSAY). Hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) analyses showed that attitudes declined in the same degree between accelerated and nonaccelerated gifted and honors students, but declined significantly faster in accelerated than nonaccelerated regular students. Accelerated gifted students did not increase their anxiety. Anxiety grew at a similar rate between accelerated and nonaccelerated honors students, but accelerated regular students increased their anxiety significantly faster than nonaccelerated regular students. Once students were accelerated, most variation in rates of attitude and anxiety change was at the student rather than school level. Racial/ethnic background was the most important factor influencing rate of change at the student level. School contextual characteristics were major factors influencing rate of change at the school level.
Equity for Linguistically and Culturally Diverse Students in Science Education: A Research Agenda
Authors: Lee Okhee
Published: January 2004

As the student population in the nation's schools becomes more linguistically and culturally diverse, it is essential to establish a knowledge base that promotes academic achievement and equity for all students. Based on the conception of equity from a cultural anthropology or cross-cultural perspective, the article addresses issues of equity in science learning and teaching for students from diverse languages and cultures. It provides a synthesis of major issues and research findings for effective classroom practices in the multicultural science education literature. Recommendations are also offered for a research agenda that contributes to achieving the goal of science for all, including students from diverse languages and cultures.
The Adequacies and Inadequacies of Three Current Strategies to Recruit, Prepare, and Retain the Best Teachers for All Students1
Authors: Zeichner Kenneth M.
Published: January 2004

This paper analyzes the strengths and weaknesses of three of the major approaches to teacher education reform in the United States: the professionalization agenda, the deregulation agenda, and the social justice agenda. Although each of these approaches to reform has contributed in positive ways to improving teacher education in a manner that would lessen the achievement gap in U.S. public schools, they each have certain weaknesses that undermine this goal. There are also important issues of inequality in U.S. society that are not addressed by any of the reform agendas.