bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The human face of globalization: plant closings and life transitions
Authors: Norris Lachelle
Published: June 2003

Industry in rural, agriculturally based Northwest Tennessee has traditionally been apparel, textile, and footwear. In recent years, globalization has resulted in area plant closings, plant relocations and layoffs throughout the region. This paper examines the impact on former employees interviewed four years after a major plant closing in Obion County. This study presents the case study of the Brown Shoe Company that opened in 1923 and closed in 1994. The findings from this exploratory study suggest that the impacts of plant closures in the footwear industry are similar to other textile and garment factory closings. As in previous studies, workers were concerned with financial and health benefits issues and experienced emotional trauma. Dislocated workers were predominately female, and high poverty rates for families and female heads of households still exist almost eight years after the closing. Longitudinal research is suggested to further inform policy and governmental action in the wake of further plant closings, especially as such economic restructuring affects women and communities in rural southern areas of the USA.
Empowered teams effecting positive corporate culture change
Authors: Crane Tara Christopher , Dillard Betty G. , Hamilton Jean A.
Published: June 2003

Many manufacturers have implemented a participative, team‐based approach to remain competitive in this global arena. Numerous studies have extolled the competitive advantages of implementing this approach. Few studies, however, have examined employees’ perceptions of participative management. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to examine issues of culture change from the employees’ point of view by investigating the transition from piece rate to team‐based production in a sewn‐products plant. Using the case study approach, 16 in‐depth interviews were conducted, observations were made, and written documents were analyzed. Employees’ perceptions of their work environment prior to the transition, the transition itself, and the resulting new corporate culture are discussed. The new corporate culture is described as an open, participative environment built on trust where employees feel empowered to make decisions for the betterment of their team and the plant as a whole. Negative outcomes of the participative approach are also addressed.
The purchase of children’s clothing – who has the upper hand?
Authors: Harper Sarah J.A. , Dewar Pearl‐Jane , Diack Barbara A.
Published: June 2003

This study investigated retail influence on the decision making of both parent and child during the purchase of children’s casual‐wear clothing. Principally, it analyses the impact of influential agents on the buying outcome by examining the parent‐child relationship and the retailer influence in relation to need and motivations. By means of 100 parent and child questionnaires and one retail interview, it was concluded that parents were the most influential in deciding which clothes were bought, but children were found to exert a strong influence. The importance of branding to eight to ten year olds supports previous research in that it is closely correlated to peer pressure and the need to be accepted. Retailers were found to influence decision making mainly by the use of merchandise and branding to attract both children and parents. Recommendations for further research are discussed.
What price career success?
Authors: Callanan Gerard A.
Published: June 2003

The recent financial collapses of high profile US‐based corporations owing to legally‐questionable practices have led management theorists to search for answers as to how and why these ethical lapses were able to occur. This article examines the possibility that a company’s culture and internal control systems can have such a profound influence on middle managers and executives that they are willing to violate ethical and legal standards in the name of career success. This article reviews how career success is presently defined from an individual and an organizational standpoint and how this definition can be at odds with the realities of organizational culture and internal control systems. It also discusses how perspectives on the relationship between employers and employees can affect individual career management practices. Finally, the article presents ways for individuals to view career success and manage their careers to avoid the traps of an influential corporate culture.
Human resource management careers: different paths for men and women?
Authors: Ackah Carol , Heaton Norma
Published: June 2003

This paper focuses on the career progression of human resource professionals. The perspective is that of graduates from a postgraduate programme which conferred a professional qualification in human resource management. The study explored whether the acquisition of a HR professional qualification had the same impact upon career progression for male and female managers or whether other factors have a more significant effect, regardless of formal qualifications. The findings suggest that the careers of men and women do differ, with men receiving more internal promotions, while women were more likely to seek career progression in another organisation and to be less successful in terms of earnings. The women were much more likely than their male counterparts to perceive barriers to their careers such as lack of role models and difficulties with self‐confidence. This raises issues of curriculum design regarding raising the confidence and aspirations of female managers.
Managers of SMEs – career shifts, inter‐industry mobility and wages
Authors: Hjalager Anne‐Mette
Published: June 2003

Addresses the implications of the flattening of organisations for the number of managerial jobs. In Danish enterprises there is no evidence of managerial career opportunities being under pressure or of an increase in managers changing jobs. Within the private sector there is considerable inter‐industry mobility, but the flows to and from the public sector are more limited. Managers changing jobs predominantly prefer larger categories of firms, although there is some mobility from larger to smaller enterprises. Middle managers who choose to be mobile will experience a positive impact on wages, especially when moving to larger enterprises. Concludes that SMEs may serve as “spring‐boards” for middle management careers. However for SMEs to harvest the benefits of competent and ambitious managers requires motivational measures.
Corporate education and learning: the accreditation agenda
Authors: Prince Christopher
Published: June 2003

This paper explores a number of important issues surrounding accrediting work‐based learning for the award of university level qualifications. The paper is divided into sections. Section one of the paper defines accreditation and explores its historical development in the UK. This is followed in section two by a description of the various types of accreditation that are open to organisations, drawing on real life case histories. The paper concludes by highlighting a number of factors organisations should take into account when considering accrediting their corporate training and development activities.
A novel method for automating the checking and correction of digital elevation models using orthophotographs
Authors: Georgopoulos Andreas , Skarlatos Dimitris
Published: June 2003

This article presents a complete mathematical model, which translates discrepancies between two orthophotographs created from different photographs, into precise corrections of the Digital Elevation Model (DEM). These corrections are the differences from the real surface and, if applied over the existing DEM, can produce a more accurate one. The mathematical model is straightforward, and is not approximate, and therefore there is no need for iterations.

Possible applications include checking of automatically created DEMs, refinement of existing DEMs using aerial photographs and update of orthophotographs based on the previous DEM and new imagery.
Flattening the Effective Marginal Tax Rate Structure in Australia: Policy Simulations Using the Melbourne Institute Tax and Transfer Simulator
Authors: Creedy John , Kalb Guyonne , Kew Hsein
Published: June 2003

This article uses the Melbourne Institute Tax and Transfer Simulator to examine the effects of a reduction in the means‐tested benefit taper, or withdrawal, rates in Australia to 30 per cent. That is, all taper rates of 50 per cent and 70 per cent in the March 1998 benefit system are reduced to 30 per cent, while leaving all basic benefit levels unchanged. This change is therefore expected to ‘flatten’ the tax structure by reducing the high marginal tax rates applying to those with relatively low incomes and increasing the marginal tax rates of medium incomes. Simulations in which all individuals are assumed to remain at their pre‐reform labour supply levels are compared with behavioural simulations in which the majority of individuals are free to adjust the number of hours worked. The results reflect only the supply side of the labour market. The database used is the 1997‐98 Survey of Income and Housing Costs, so that weekly incomes are based on the financial year 1997‐98. The comparison shows that, for sole parents, accounting for behavioural effects of the reform results in a lower estimated expenditure for government, whereas for couples, accounting for behavioural effects results in a higher estimated expenditure.
The Social and Economic Performance of Australia's Large Regional Cities and Towns: Implications for Rural and Regional Policy
Authors: Stimson R. , Baum S. , O'Connor K.
Published: June 2003

Australia's large regional cities and towns display wide variation in how they are adjusting to the socio‐economic transitions occurring in Australia. That variation is exposed using a multi‐variate model analysing performance on a range of socio‐economic variables over the decade 1986 to 1996 for 122 cities and towns with populations of 10 000 and above at the 1996 census. Those places are classified into seven clusters of community performance reflecting opportunity/vulnerability, and their spatial patterns are mapped. The resulting framework is then used to show how the recent geography of the socio‐economic performance of the large regional cities and towns has a distinctive selectivity and contributes to opportunity in some places and the vulnerable performance of others. The influence of that selectivity can be seen in the mismatched geographic patterns evident from an analysis of shares of national population and employment change, investment in non‐residential construction, levels of welfare dependency, and the ratio between household income tax generation and transfer benefits received. The paper uses the insights drawn from that analysis to pose questions suggesting the need to rethink national policy perspectives for addressing change in non‐metropolitan Australia.
Heavy Metals in Sediments of the Upper Hawkesbury‐Nepean River
Authors: Simonovski Jim , Owens Chris , Birch Gavin
Published: June 2003

There is little published information on heavy metals in surficial sediments of the upper Hawkesbury‐Nepean River in central New South Wales, Australia. In the current investigation, the fine fraction (<62.5 µm) of 90 sediment samples taken from this section of the river was analysed by flame‐Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy for nine heavy metals (Ag, Cd, Pb, Zn, Cu Co, Fe, Ni and Mn) to determine background and enrichment.

 Sediment in the upper Hawkesbury‐Nepean River is not heavily polluted by heavy metals. Maximum enrichment over background for Ni and Ag, Cd, Pb, Zn, Cu and Mn is 3x, 5.7x, 6x, 6.7x, 12x and 13.6x, respectively. Mean heavy metal concentrations for this, the upper section of the river, are about half the mean values for the Hawkesbury River between Windsor and Broken Bay in the lower, estuarine section of the river.

 The highest Cu, Pb and Zn concentrations (214, 108 and 334 mg kg−1, respectively) occur in surficial sediments in Peachtree Creek at Penrith and the Nepean River near Jacksons Lane, Castlereagh. These metal concentrations are possibly associated with industrial activity at Penrith. Two of the six sewage treatment plants on the upper Hawkesbury‐Nepean River are associated with high metal concentrations (Cu, Zn, Fe and Mn) in sediments, that is, the West Camden and Penrith sewage treatment plants. Other possible sources of heavy metals are coal mining and washing which occurs at several places in the upper catchment.

 The highest Cd, Co and Fe concentrations (1.7, 27.6 mg kg−1 and 4.81%, respectively) were found in sediments 400 m downstream of the Nepean Dam and the highest concentrations of Ni and Mn (54 and 790 mg kg−1, respectively) were located in sediment from the Nepean River at Moresby Hill Road Bridge, near Robertson and at the Avon Dam Road Bridge. The source of these metals is unknown.
Why People Fail to Recognize Their Own Incompetence
Authors: Dunning David , Johnson Kerri , Ehrlinger Joyce , Kruger Justin
Published: June 2003

Successful negotiation of everyday life would seem to require people to possess insight about deficiencies in their intellectual and social skills. However, people tend to be blissfully unaware of their incompetence. This lack of awareness arises because poor performers are doubly cursed: Their lack of skill deprives them not only of the ability to produce correct responses, but also of the expertise necessary to surmise that they are not producing them. People base their perceptions of performance, in part, on their preconceived notions about their skills. Because these notions often do not correlate with objective performance, they can lead people to make judgments about their performance that have little to do with actual accomplishment.
Cognitive Activity and Risk of Alzheimer's Disease
Authors: Wilson Robert S. , Bennett David A.
Published: June 2003

Recent research suggests that frequent participation in cognitively stimulating activities may reduce risk of Alzheimer's disease in old age. We review epidemiological evidence of such an association. We then consider whether cognitive activity can account for the association between higher educational and occupational attainment and reduced risk of Alzheimer's disease. Finally, we discuss the behavioral and neurobiological mechanisms that may underlie the association between cognitive activity and risk of Alzheimer's disease.
Imitation by Animals
Authors: Zentall Thomas R.
Published: June 2003

Imitation is of psychological interest in part because it has cognitive implications for how organisms view the behavior of others, relative to their own behavior. It implies the ability to take the perspective of another. For this reason, researchers have tried to distinguish imitation from other kinds of social learning and influence. In the two-action procedure, one of two response topographies is demonstrated, and the correlation between the topography demonstrated and the topography later used by the observer is a measure of imitation. Both pigeons and Japanese quail show response matching, despite the fact that from their perspective, their own behavior appears quite different from that demonstrated. Although imitation has been demonstrated in birds and several species of primates, researchers are still not certain what mechanisms underlie this ability.
Spanking Children
Authors: Kazdin Alan E. , Benjet Corina
Published: June 2003

Whether or not to spank children as a discipline practice is controversial among lay and professional audiences alike. This article highlights different views of spanking, key conclusions about its effects, and methodological limitations of the research and the resulting ambiguities that fuel the current debate and plague interpretation. We propose an expanded research agenda to address questions about the goals of parental discipline; the role, if any, that punishment plays in achieving these goals; the effects and side effects of alternative discipline practices; and the impact of punishment on underlying developmental processes.
Modernising Old Labour?
Authors: Shaw Eric
Published: June 2003

Books reviewed:

John O'Farrell, Things Can Only Get Better

Philip Gould, The Unfinished Revolution: How the Modernisers Saved the Labour Party

Colin Hay, The Political Economy of New Labour

J. E. Mortimer, Life on the Left

George Soros, The Crisis of Global Capitalism

Natasha Walter, The New Feminism

John Tusa, Art Matters: Reflecting on Culture

David Seawright, An Important Matter of Principle: The Decline of the Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party

Peter Hall, Cities in Civilisation: Culture, Innovation and the Urban Order

Tamar Liebes and James Curran (eds), Media, Ritual and Identity

Alan Wilkinson, Christian Socialism: Scott Holland to Tony Blair

Yasmin Alibhai‐Brown, True Colours: Public Attitudes to Multi‐Culturalism and the Role of the Government

Thomas Blom Hansen, The Saffron Wave: Democracy and Hindu Nationalism in Modern India
Basic Social Rights, Constitutional Justice, and Democracy
Authors: Arango Rodolfo
Published: June 2003

Abstract The theory of rights is crucial as a means of relieving the tension between basic rights and democracy, and as a means of resolving the problem of allocating competence between the constitutional court and the legislature. To some theorists, no tension between basic rights and democracy exists, for the latter presupposes the former. To others, among whom I include myself, tension does exist, for basic rights, in lending protection to certain persons and groups, limit the possibilities of political decision. In this connection it is important to take up the problem of the necessary conditions for realizing basic rights. One of these conditions concerns the delimiting of the scope of institutional action that is found, so to speak, in the space between the constitutional justices and the legislature, the latter as representative of the popular will.
Supremacy of the Constitution, Separation of Powers, and Judicial Review in Nineteenth‐Century German Constitutionalism
Authors: Heun Werner
Published: June 2003

Abstract Judicial review of statutes presupposes the establishment of a clear hierarchical supremacy of the constitution, which can serve as a standard of review, as well as an independent and assertive judiciary. The conditions for such a hierarchical supremacy of the constitution were only partly fulfilled in nineteenth‐century Germany. In addition, the concept of the separation of powers was rejected and the judiciary was in a weak position. Therefore the judicial review of ordinances was slow to develop. The judicial review of statutes began only at the end of the nineteenth century and was restricted to formal review as opposed to a review of the content of statutes.
The Genesis of the Austrian Model of Constitutional Review of Legislation
Authors: Öhlinger Theo
Published: June 2003

Abstract The European model of the constitutional review of legislation, characterized by the concentration of the constitutional review power in a single constitutional court, had its origin in the Austrian Federal Constitution of 1920. This is all the more remarkable when one considers that this Constitution established at the same time a parliamentary system of government in a fairly radical form. As the author explains, this “invention” of a constitutional court is attributable to two factors. One factor is the federal aspect. The Court was conceived by the framers of the Austrian Federal Constitution of 1920 as an umpire between federal legislation and the legislation of the states or Länder. In this respect it was meant as a substitute for the principle of the priority of federal law over state or Land law. This is manifest in the initial draft of the Constitution, where actions on questions of the constitutionality of legislation could only be brought by the Federal government (against the legislation of one or another of the states or Länder) and by the State or Land governments (against federal legislation). Right from the beginning, however, the Court could examine a parliamentary act ex officio when it had to apply such an act in another proceeding. It was this power of the Court that triggered the development of constitutional review. Its exercise gradually transformed the Court into a guardian of the Constitution as a whole, in particular, the fundamental rights of citizens. The author traces this development in the context of the concept of state and law that prevailed in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. This concept included specific restrictions on constitutional review. On the basis of a different understanding of the functions of a constitution, the Court gave up these restrictions and followed the examples of the European Court of Human Rights, the German Constitutional Court and—indirectly—the American Supreme Court.
Constitutional Review in the United States and Austria: Notes on the Beginnings
Authors: Paulson Stanley L.
Published: June 2003

Abstract Despite far‐reaching historical and political differences, and despite legal systems that reflect altogether different traditions, the United States and Austria manifest striking similarities where some aspects of their respective development of constitutional review are concerned. For example, on the constitutional review of federalist issues (competing claims of federal and state law), the review power was there from the beginning in both countries. And both countries developed a power of constitutional review reaching to the enactments of the federal legislature. In a brief sketch of aspects of the early development of constitutional review in both countries, the author looks, in particular, to the kinds of arguments made on behalf of constitutional review in the American and Austrian legal systems.
The Constitutional Court of the Republic of Austria 1918–1920
Authors: Schmitz Georg
Published: June 2003

Abstract Constitutional review was the most original idea stemming from the Austrian Federal Constitution of 1920. It is argued that the politician Karl Renner gave birth to the idea of a constitutional court. Hans Kelsen played the predominant role in the drafting of constitutional provisions. The new Constitutional Court provided for a centralized system of review, with an eye to a number of politically important issues. Owing to the pressure that stemmed from various discussions between and among the politicians of the national state and the Länder, Kelsen was obliged to depart from the German model of the federal state and to develop in its place a new theory.
Youth and the Environmental Movement – Symbolic Inclusions and Exclusions
Authors: Strandbu Åse , Krange Olve
Published: June 2003

The present study set out to use qualitative interviews in an effort to understand why young people from highly educated groups, especially from ‘non-productive’ sectors of the economy (public services, teaching, etc.), are found to have a relatively strong affinity to the environmental movement. Young people aged 15–20, who were members of organizations associated with the protection of or use of nature, were interviewed. In conclusion, we suggest that to some extent the class differences can be interpreted in the light of forms of symbolic inclusions and exclusions. There are a number of ‘symbolic fences’ that working-class youngsters have to cross in order to become members of an environmental organization. These fences are related to: the style and cultural identity of the members, expectations of a sort of self-enclosure as part of participation in the organization, the somewhat androgynous gender-identity of the members, the perceptions of nature that are dominant among the members and the organization's intellectual image.
Low Expectations, Sexual Attitudes and Knowledge: Explaining Teenage Pregnancy and Fertility in English Communities. Insights from Qualitative Research
Authors: Arai Lisa
Published: June 2003

In the UK, youthful pregnancy and parenthood is considered an important social and health problem and is the focus of current government intervention. Contemporary policy approaches depict early unplanned pregnancy as a consequence of relative deprivation and a lack of opportunity, leading to ‘low expectations’ among youth, and as the result of sexual ‘mixed messages’ or poor knowledge about contraception. This small scale, qualitative study explores how well these explanations accord with accounts of pregnancy and motherhood provided by young mothers and Teenage Pregnancy Local Co-ordinators in diverse English localities. The results suggest that structural factors may be more important in explaining early pregnancy than those relating to sexual attitudes and knowledge. The tension between the idea of early motherhood as problematic, or even pathological, and early motherhood as rational is also considered.
‘Playing’ Doctors and Nurses? Competing Discourses of Gender, Power and Identity in the British National Health Service
Authors: Leonard Pauline
Published: June 2003

This paper adopts a feminist poststructuralist approach to demonstrate the ambiguities and complexities which exist in the relationship between work and subject. Recent studies in organizational sociology have argued that the discourses of work, and changing working cultures, have had a powerful effect on the production of subjectivities. New forms of working behaviour have been constructed as desirable, which often draw on personal qualities such as gender. This paper draws on research conducted with doctors and nurses in the British National Health Service to reveal the ambiguities which exist in the ways in which individuals position themselves in relation to these discourses. The discourses of work and organization are constantly mediated through, and destabilised by, the intertextuality that exists with competing discourses such as those of professionalism, gender, home and performance. Although organizational discourses are clearly powerful in the construction and performance of subjectivities, the interplay between discourses means that these are constantly destabilised and undermined.
A (Macro) Sociology of Fear?
Authors: Tudor Andrew
Published: June 2003

A proper sociological approach to fear is of both empirical and theoretical significance in understanding late modern society. Normally fear has been explored psychologically, as one of the emotions, but recently a sociology of emotions has begun to emerge. Furthermore, there have also been attempts to examine fear macro-scopically, arguing for the existence of a distinctive ‘culture of fear’ in contemporary societies. Furedi's argument to this effect is explored here, suggesting the need for a more systematic theorising of fear in its social contexts. Via an analysis of the elementary characteristics of fear, a model is constructed of the ‘parameters of fear’. This model serves as a guide to the classes of phenomena within which fear is constituted and negotiated. It is also used to further examine the virtues and failings of ‘culture of fear’ approaches to fearfulness in modern societies.
Stjepan Meštrović and Michel Maffesoli's ‘Implosive’ Defence of the Durkheimian Tradition: Theoretical Convergences around Baudrillard's Thesis on the ‘End’ of the Social
Authors: Fish Jonathan S.
Published: June 2003

This paper critically examines Meštrović and Maffesoli's attempt to understand postmodernity through émile Durkheim's nonrational link between society, religion and morality. Meštrović (1991, 1997) and Maffesoli's (1996) work draws upon this emotional element when attempting to refute Baudrillard's (1983) cognitively focused, if implicit, critique of the Durkheimian tradition. Despite their best intentions, Meštrović and Maffesoli still fail to exploit the partialities of Baudrillard's critique to the full. While both have some appreciation of the link between emotion and religion as found in Durkheim's The Elementary Forms of Religious Life (1912) they, nevertheless, fall short of grasping its full conceptual importance. This leads them to an implicit acceptance of Baudrillard's thesis on the ‘end’ of the social. This pitfall could have been avoided if Meštrović and Maffesoli had built their respective analyses of the postmodern condition on a closer reading of The Elementary Forms. Reading this text alongside those other insights on emotion and social life as contained within Durkheim and Mauss's Primitive Classification (1903) and Talcott Parsons's subsequent writings on the sociological problem of religion, would have helped to distance the work of Meštrović and Maffesoli from that of Baudrillard, and allowed them to offer a stronger and more comprehensive defence of the said tradition.
‘Will the Real Niklas Luhmann Stand up, Please’. A Reply to John Mingers
Authors: King Michael , Thornhill Chris
Published: June 2003

This article is a critical response to John Minger's recently published piece ‘Can social systems be autopoietic?’. It draws attention to instances in this piece where Mingers has misconstrued Luhmann's theory – especially in the central concepts of openness and closure, system-environment relation, interaction, and functionality, but also in the interpretation of the role which Luhmann ascribes to the political system – and it attempts to give a more accurate analysis of these terms, and of their place in Luhmann's overall sociology. The article also asserts, more generally, that to criticize Luhmann from the perspective of action-centred theory, as Mingers has done, fails to reflect on and integrate Luhmann's direct challenge to perspectives of this kind. The article concludes with the argument that legitimate criticism of Luhmann should set out a more immanent account of his sociology, and should not simply have recourse to the more traditional sociological perspectives, which Luhmann has already effectively called into question.
How do children read multisyllabic words? Some preliminary observations
Authors: Duncan Lynne G. , Seymour Philip H.K.
Published: June 2003

Multisyllabic words have been neglected in determining the relationship between spelling and sound in reading development. In a preliminary exploration of this topic, sensitivity to the phonological and orthographic composition of multisyllabic words and nonwords is examined amongst a group of English‐speaking 11‐year‐olds. The nature of the English language suggests that the syllable structure and stress pattern of words may influence the acquisition of higher‐order reading skills. A phonological awareness task confirms that syllable boundaries are ambiguous in certain English words. Furthermore, accuracy at reading multisyllabic words and nonwords appears sensitive to this ambiguity as a small advantage emerges for stimuli with more stable syllable structures. Nonword but not word reading is affected by syllable length, and nonwords are assigned stress patterns which appear to be related to the lexical syllables that were used to construct these items. These findings are related to current connectionist models of word recognition.
Long‐term effects of a psycholinguistic treatment for dyslexia
Authors: Tijms Jurgen , Hoeks Jan J. W. M. , Paulussen‐Hoogeboom Marja C. , Smolenaars Anton J.
Published: June 2003

Short and long‐term effects of a treatment for dyslexia are evaluated. The treatment is based on psycholinguistic theory and assumes that dyslexia is due to poor lexico‐phonological processing of words. The treatment is computer‐based and focuses on learning to recognise and to make use of the phonological and morphological structure of Dutch words. The results of the treatment were clear improvements in reading words, reading text and spelling. Effect sizes of standardised treatment gains were large (Cohen's d>0.80 for all variables). Following the treatment, participants attained an average level of text‐reading and spelling. The attained level of reading words and reading text was found to be stable over a four‐year follow‐up period. Spelling showed a slight decline one year after the treatment, but remained stable thereafter.1
Aye, aye, aye, aye: orthography enhances rapid word reading in an exploratory study
Authors: Neuhaus Graham F. , Post Yolanda
Published: June 2003

Rapid Word Reading, a novel word‐reading efficiency measure, was used to determine if articulations or processing times associated with reading the word ‘aye’ were enhanced through the phonological or orthographic qualities contained in the preceding word. In the experiment, ‘aye’ followed either an identical ‘aye’, the homophones ‘I’ or ‘eye’ or high‐frequency (HF) unrelated English words. The words that preceded ‘aye’ were chosen to provide a graduated degree of phonological and orthographic information available to enhance the efficiency of recognising the following word. Semantically, phonologically, and orthographically independent high‐frequency words preceded ‘aye’ and served as a baseline measure of the articulation and processing times of ‘aye’. ‘I’ preceded ‘aye’ to provide enhanced recognition through phonological association alone. Phonological and partial orthographic associations were provided by ‘eye’ before ‘aye’, and complete phonological and orthographic associations were provided by ‘aye’ before ‘aye’. Repeated measures analysis showed that ‘aye’ was processed fastest when it followed an identical ‘aye’. The processing time enhancement for this condition was significantly faster than all other conditions. Additionally, the mean articulation duration of ‘aye’ was significantly slower when ‘aye’ followed an identical ‘aye’ than when it followed HF words. The findings documented the importance of separating phonological and orthographic information in English homophones.
Regularisation of nonwords in dyslexia: contributions of visual orthographic and phonological onsets
Authors: Caney Annaliese , Martin Frances Heritage
Published: June 2003

This study investigated the contributions of visual orthographic (analogy) and phonological processes in mediating nonword reading in children with dyslexia. Three groups of primary school age children (n=15 in each group) were recruited. The first group were children with dyslexia (mean age 11 years 3 months, mean reading age 8 years 3 months), the second group were chronological age controls (mean age 11 years 3 months, mean reading age 11 years 8 months) and the third group were reading age matched controls (mean age 7 years 11 months, mean reading age 8 years 3 months). All participants were required to read aloud a list of nonwords. Nonwords in the list were derived from paired regular and irregular keywords in which onsets were manipulated to be either phonologically or visually similar to keyword onsets. ANOVAs revealed firstly that children with dyslexia were the least likely to regularise nonword pronunciation and secondly, that all groups displayed an overall preference for words that were phonologically manipulated. These findings have been interpreted within the context of dual‐route theory.
Serial naming speed and the component elements of speech time and pause time: relationships with the development of word‐level reading in children aged four to five years
Authors: Cobbold Shirley , Passenger Terri , Terrell Colin
Published: June 2003

Serial naming speed and its association with reading ability was examined in a longitudinal investigation. Participants were 68 children aged between 4.0 and 4.5 years when the study began and between 5.0 and 5.5 years when the study ended. Serial naming speed was measured at three equidistant time points over the 12‐month period as children progressed from a pre‐literate to early‐literate stage. Children's responses were digitally recorded to computer to enable analysis of the sound files. During analysis, the articulation time for each word and the length of each pause between the spoken words were measured independently. At the end of the study, children's word‐level reading ability was measured. Results suggest that children aged 4.0 to 5.5 years show wide variability in serial naming speed that is predominately attributable to the length of the pauses between the articulated words. There appears to be a developmental association between the duration of the pauses and word‐level reading ability.
Reading strategy use and motivation among Chinese good and poor readers in Hong Kong
Authors: Lau Kit‐ling , Chan David W.
Published: June 2003

Eighty‐three good readers and 76 poor readers were compared on their ability to use reading strategies in Chinese reading comprehension and on various reading motivation variables. Poor readers scored lower than good readers in using all reading strategies, and especially in using sophisticated cognitive and metacognitive strategies. Poor readers also had lower intrinsic motivation in reading than had good readers. While the ability to use reading strategies had the strongest relation with reading comprehension, intrinsic motivation and strategy attribution might facilitate reading development through their positive relations with strategy use. Implications of these findings for implementing effective reading instruction in Hong Kong Chinese language teaching are discussed.
The development of orthographic and phonological strategies for the decoding of words in children
Authors: Martin Frances , Claydon Elizabeth , Morton Adam , Binns Sonia , Pratt Chris
Published: June 2003

This study examined the use of orthographic and phonological deletion strategies by children in the 6–16‐year age range. Children from Grades 1 to 10 (n=191) were presented either visually or orally isolated words and were asked to pronounce these words using either an orthographic (spelling) strategy following mental deletion of one letter, or a phonological (sounding) strategy following mental deletion of one sound. All children performed additional reading and spelling tasks in which they read and spelt all the words and derivatives from the deletion tasks. Analysis of variance revealed that younger readers were more accurate when using phonological strategies than when using orthographic strategies, whereas older readers showed superior orthographic and phonological processing abilities. Generally the results supported the suggestion that phonological and orthographic processing ability increase with age, and that the increase in these abilities with age is not solely dependent on reading and spelling ability.
The Effects of Consumption Variability on Saving: Evidence from a Panel of Muscovite Households**
Authors: Guariglia Alessandra , Kim Byung‐Yeon
Published: June 2003

Due to the high uncertainty characterizing them, transition economies provide an extraordinary opportunity to test the precautionary saving hypothesis. This paper represents an attempt to exploit this opportunity. We use a panel of 2,346 Muscovite households, over the 12 months of 1996, to construct two time‐varying measures of consumption growth variability, which we use as proxies for households’ perceived uncertainty. We then regress household saving on these uncertainty variables using a GMM‐system estimator. We find that both uncertainty measures generally have a positive and statistically significant effect on saving. This result, which is robust to the use of different measures of saving, supports the precautionary saving hypothesis.
Does Tax Evasion Affect Occupational Choice?*
Authors: Parker Simon C.
Published: June 2003

This paper presents a novel micro‐econometric procedure that identifies the extent to which occupational choices are distorted by opportunities for tax evasion. Previous studies claim to have found significant and substantial effects, but analysis and replication of their methods reveals that they generate conflicting and misleading results. The paper then implements the new procedure using several British micro‐data sets. A thorough empirical investigation reveals that occupational choice between self‐employment and paid employment is not robustly related to pecuniary factors in general, and is invariant to tax avoidance and evasion opportunities in particular.
Tax Discounting in a High‐debt Economy*
Authors: Pozzi Lorenzo
Published: June 2003

This paper estimates a consumption function for Belgium that allows for government debt discounting and for the overall discounting of the future (reflecting the consumers’ planning horizon or precautionary savings). It also allows for substitutability or complementarity effects from government expenditures. Results suggest that consumers do take into account (future) government activity. Ricardian Equivalence is rejected however, since we cannot reject a relatively short planning horizon or a precautionary savings motive for the consumers. We use bootstrapped distributions for inference since the instrumental variables estimators used may have non‐standard distributions. This procedure also helps to tackle potential endogeneity and sample size problems.
Resources at Marriage and Intrahousehold Allocation: Evidence from Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Indonesia, and South Africa*
Authors: Quisumbing Agnes R. , Maluccio John A.
Published: June 2003

We test the unitary versus collective model of the household using specially designed data from Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Indonesia, and South Africa. Human capital and individual assets at the time of marriage are used as proxy measures for bargaining power. In all four countries, we reject the unitary model as a description of household behaviour, but fail to reject the hypothesis that households are Pareto‐efficient. In Bangladesh and South Africa, women's assets increase expenditure shares on education, while in Ethiopia it is men's assets that have this effect. These increases have different implications for boys and girls across countries, however.
Some Lessons from Transaction‐Cost Politics for Less‐Developed Countries
Authors: Dixit Avinash
Published: June 2003

Transaction‐cost politics views economic policy‐making as a political process constrained by asymmetric information and limited commitment possibilities. This paper examines some implications of this perspective for less‐developed countries (LDCs) considering policy reform. It emphasizes that success requires reform of the rules and institutions which govern the strategic interaction of the participants in the political game, and that reforms must cope with the special interests and asymmetric information which already exist. In this light, it examines some broad issues of the design of constitutions and institutions (definition and enforcement of property rights, control of inflation, and of government expenditures, federalism, and redistribution), as well as some specific issue of the design of organizations and incentives (problems posed by the interaction of multiple tasks and multiple interests, and their interaction with the limitations on auditing and administration that exists in many LDCs).
Are Hispanic Immigrants in English‐Only States at a Homeownership Disadvantage? Evidence from the 1980 and 1990 U.S. Censuses
Authors: Dávila Alberto , Méndez Rika , Mora Marie T.
Published: June 2003

Utilizing data from the 1980 and 1990 U.S. census, this study investigates whether the passage of official‐English legislation at the state level during the 1980s affected the housing acquisition of foreign‐born Hispanics. The results suggest that both limited‐English‐proficient (LEP) and English‐fluent Hispanic immigrants who resided in states that passed English‐only legislation were less likely to acquire a home during the 1980s compared to their counterparts in other areas. Consistent with economic theory, however, the group that seemed to be most affected included older LEP residents. One explanation for these findings is that the official‐English legislation mirrored growing xenophobia against foreign‐born Hispanics, resulting in additional social stratification on the basis of ethnicity in housing markets.
Does Public Lands Policy Affect Local Wage Growth?
Authors: Lewis David J. , Hunt Gary L. , Plantinga Andrew J.
Published: June 2003

The effects on wage growth of management practices applied on public lands in the Northern Forest region of the United States are quantified. A central objective is to determine if the management of public lands for preservationist uses results in lower average wages. This is a frequent claim made by critics of land preservation who argue that preservationist management, by prohibiting resource extraction, causes the composition of employment to shift from high‐wage jobs in resource‐based manufacturing to low‐wage jobs in the service sector. A model of simultaneous employment and net migration growth is estimated with data on non‐metropolitan counties over the period 1990 to 1999 and applied in a recursive relationship to wage growth. In earlier studies, models of this type have typically been specified in levels. Time‐series evidence that supports a preference for growth rates is provided as the form for such models. Exogenous variables in this model include the 1990 shares of the county land base that are publicly owned and managed for preservationist (non‐extractive) uses and multiple (including extractive) uses. It was found that wage growth rates are not significantly affected by the shares of land under either management regime. As well, recent declines in national forest timber sales are found to have no effect on wage growth.
The Call of the Wild: Call Centers and Economic Development in Rural Areas
Authors: Richardson Ranald , Gillespie Andrew
Published: June 2003

This paper attempts to reflect critically on the role which telephone call centers might play in the economic development of rural places in the ‘information age’, drawing mainly on a case study of the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. It argues that although call center employment tends mainly to be urban‐based, the growth of this form of work does present opportunities for some rural areas. The paper considers the locational factors rural areas would have to possess or develop in order to attract such work. It suggests call centers can make a valuable, though limited, contribution towards rural economic development, principally through the creation of additional employment opportunities and the stimulation of new skills and competencies. It also suggests that call centers do not represent a panacea for rural areas and that, indeed, it would be dangerous for rural areas to become over‐reliant on employment in this sector.
Telecommunications Infrastructure in the Southeastern United States: Urban and Rural Variation
Authors: Malecki Edward J. , Boush Carlton R.
Published: June 2003

The capabilities of central office (CO) telephone switches in four southeastern states (Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, and Tennessee) provide detail on spatial variation in telecommunications technologies. A proposed six‐level hierarchy of switch capability was used. Switches with digital capability are concentrated disproportionately in metropolitan areas, largely in response to larger numbers of business establishments. The overall picture in the Southeast is one of tremendous variation—variation across states and variation within the four states being studied. Rural (nonmetro) counties generally, but not always, have both fewer switches overall and fewer switches with digital capability. North Carolina and Tennessee, the two most urban of the four states, also have seen the greatest entry by new telecommunications competitors. These two states have the largest percentages of advanced (digital) switches in both metro and rural counties. At the county level, the number of switches is primarily a function of a county's population but, even more significantly in three states, of the number of business establishments in the county. On the whole, it is residents of metropolitan—not rural—areas who are most likely to be served by newer forms of digital telecommunications.
Book Review
Authors: Hoyle Brian S.
Published: June 2003

Constantinos I. Chlomoudis and Athanasios A. Pallis, European Union Port Policy: The Movement Towards A Long Term Strategy