bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
WITTGENSTEIN ON ACCORD*
Authors: Zalabardo José L.
Published: August 2003

Abstract: The paper deals with the interpretation of Wittgenstein's views on the power of occurrent mental states to sort objects or states of affairs as in accord or in conflict with them, as presented in the rule‐following passages of the Philosophical Investigations. I shall argue first that the readings advanced by Saul Kripke and John McDowell fail to provide a satisfactory construal of Wittgenstein's treatment of a platonist account of this phenomenon, according to which the sorting power of occurrent mental states is to be explained by reference to the mind's ability to grasp universals. I contend that the argument that Kripke extracts from Wittgenstein's discussion doesn’t succeed in undermining the platonist position. Then I argue that McDowell's reading exhibits a more serious shortcoming: the position that he ascribes to Wittgenstein is indistinguishable from the platonist account. Then I put forward a proposal as to how to articulate the relationship between Wittgenstein's views and the platonist position.
The Agglomeration Dilemma: “Should I Stay or Should I Go?”
Authors: Surico Paolo
Published: August 2003

This paper presents a critical survey of some recent developments in the theory of international trade. Particular emphasis is given to the role of increasing returns to scale and labor mobility in shaping the pattern of industrial location across integrating countries. The goal is to review and discuss the novel insights and predictions of the so‐called “new” theories in order to pose and stimulate avenues for future research.
The Onset of Health Problems and the Propensity of Workers to Change Employers and Occupations
Authors: Pelkowski Jodi Messer , Berger Mark C.
Published: August 2003

Although many studies have investigated how poor health affects hours of work and labor force participation, few have examined the extent to which individuals adapt in order to remain in the labor market. Individuals experiencing health problems may move to different types of work in order to remain in the labor force or to reduce the negative labor market consequences of illness. This paper investigates the movement between employers, and among occupation categories when changing employers, using data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS). One advantage of the HRS is that its questions on life‐cycle employment and health patterns permit a long‐term perspective on job mobility that is unavailable in most other datasets. Workers with health problems are more likely than healthy workers to remain with their current employer than to switch employers. But among those who switch employers, those with health problems are more likely to change broad occupational categories than are healthy workers. While many individuals remain with the same employer after the onset of health problems, many do switch employers and occupations, even in the presence of ADA legislation.
Jobs, Houses, and Trees: Changing Regional Structure, Local Land‐Use Patterns, and Forest Cover in Southern Indiana
Authors: Munroe Darla K. , York Abigail M.
Published: August 2003

Land‐use and ‐cover change is a topic of increasing concern as interest in forest and agricultural land preservation grows. Urban and residential land use is quickly replacing extractive land use in southern Indiana. The interaction between land quality and urban growth pressures is also causing secondary forest growth and forest clearing to occur jointly in a complex spatial pattern. It is argued that similar processes fuel the abandonment of agricultural land leading to private forest regrowth, changes in topography and land quality, and declining real farm product prices. However, the impact of urban growth and development on forests depends more strongly on changes in both the residential housing and labor markets. Using location quotient analysis of aggregate employment patterns, and the relationship between regional labor market changes, the extent of private forest cover was examined from 1967 to 1998. Then an econometric model of land‐use shares in forty southern Indiana counties was developed based on the net benefits to agriculture, forestland, and urban uses. To test the need to control explicitly for changes in residential demand and regional economic structure, a series of nested models was estimated. Some evidence was found that changing agricultural profitability is leading to private forest regrowth. It was also uncovered that the ratio of urban to forest land uses is better explained by incorporating measures of residential land value and industrial concentration than simply considering population density alone.
Mergers and Acquisitions in the Telecommunications Industry
Authors: Warf Barney
Published: August 2003

The 1990s witnessed an enormous wave of mergers and acquisitions dramatically reconfigure the market structure of global telecommunications. In Europe and the U.S., telecommunications firms have steadily consolidated into a shrinking pool of providers, rapidly oligopolizing the industry. This paper reviews the number and size of mergers and acquisitions globally in the 1990s and charts the national patterns of purchasers and target firms, noting the overwhelming hegemony of American corporations. The reasons behind this process include globalization, deregulation, the convergence of digital technologies, the search for economies of scale and scope, and U.S. corporate tax laws. It also points to the impacts of this oligopolization on consumer prices, labor, equity of access to telecommunications services, and the political and cultural repercussions of increasingly concentrated ownership.
Property Values in a Low Populated Area when Dual Noxious Facilities are Present
Authors: Anstine Jeff
Published: August 2003

This paper examines how the presence of dual, disparate environmental disamenities located near each other impact property values in a semi‐rural area. A heavy metals manufacturing facility and a rubber‐compounding factory operate two and one half miles apart in a small community. The heavy metals manufacturing facility uses low‐level depleted uranium in its production. The level of production is small and the production process does not emit visible air pollution or odors that can be easily identified. Thus, if the surrounding community negatively perceives a potential risk, it is not through the channels of sight or smell. The rubber‐compounding factory emits foul odors and some visible air pollution. Thus, its negative externalities and potential risks are easily perceptible. Using the hedonic price technique, this paper examines the impact of the use of a non‐perceptible hazardous material in the production of a good on housing prices in a community when another more visible, noxious facility is present. The results show that noticeable disamenities are capitalized into housing values, while non‐visible ones are not.
Some Micro‐Evidence on the “Porter Hypothesis” from Austrian VOC Emission Standards
Authors: Roediger‐Schluga Thomas
Published: August 2003

This paper presents some micro‐evidence relevant to the “Porter Hypothesis” on the techno‐economic consequences of Austrian Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) emission standards, the most restrictive of their kind in the world. Using firm‐level survey data and complementing it with highly disaggregated foreign trade data, the paper explores whether the standards had a palpable impact on the competitiveness of Austrian manufacturers of paints, coatings, printing inks, and adhesives, whether compliance stimulated innovation in this industry, whether the standards crowded out other, more productive Research and Development (R&D), and whether compliance efforts gave rise to unexpected benefits of compliance. It finds no unequivocal aggregate impact on the competitiveness of regulated firms, yet does find some interesting variation with firm size. Moreover, the standards appear to have dampened import competition. The standards gave rise to considerable changes in firms’ product range and appear to have accelerated the rate of product innovation in the regulated industry. R&D spending to develop compliant products is found to be very unevenly distributed, mainly due to technological and, to a lesser extent, organizational factors. There is evidence that compliance efforts displaced or postponed existing R&D projects. However, there is also evidence that search for compliant products yielded unexpected and beneficial ideas, knowledge, and competencies.
Coordinated bargaining: a stocktaking of its preconditions, practices and performance
Authors: Traxler Franz
Published: August 2003

Debates on coordination and centralisation of bargaining tend to neglect conceptual questions. In particular, comparative analysis often treats coordination as a ‘black box’. This makes it difficult to understand the contradictory tendencies towards both decentralisation and coordination which have prevailed across Europe. This paper provides insight into the preconditions, practices and effects of coordination, based on a crossnational comparison that mainly draws from case‐study evidence from four countries which are of particular analytical relevance to the study of coordination.
Women managers in Poland and the United States: a comparative analysis
Authors: Bliss Richard T. , Polutnik Lidija
Published: August 2003

This paper compares women managers in Poland and the United States in the context of their contrasting political and economic systems—the socialism of Central and Eastern Europe and the liberal democratic tradition of the West. We discuss the two political philosophies and their impact on gender roles and labour markets, and then compare this theory to the reality of Poland's transition. Finally, this background is used to analyse differences between Polish women managers and their American counterparts.
Union recognition in Ireland: one step forward or two steps back?
Authors: D’Art Daryl , Turner Thomas
Published: August 2003

In this paper a variety of union recognition procedures and their effect on union density levels in a number of countries are considered. The crucial importance of the national institutions that govern industrial relations are emphasised. While in Ireland, conditions such as social partnership and the buoyant economy of the 1990s would appear to favour union growth, the reverse has been the case. Recent legislation to establish more formal procedures for union recognition, we argue, is likely to be a dismal failure. Indeed, an unintended consequence of the Industrial Relations (Amendment) Act 2001 may be the exclusion of the union from the workplace and the legitimisation of a firm's non‐union status.
Occupational health and safety in transitional Lithuania
Authors: Woolfson Charles , Beck Matthias
Published: August 2003

Using the example of occupational health and safety regulation, this article examines the tensions between neo‐liberalism and social democratic policy approaches in the context of pre‐accession transitional Lithuania. It is argued that attempts to provide a ‘business‐friendly’ investment climate may be creating a ‘race to the bottom’ as legislative failures to provide for employee voice come into conflict with assumptions of the so‐called European social model.
Works council and trade unions: complementary or competitive? The case of SAGCo.
Authors: Watling Derek , Snook Jeremé
Published: August 2003

This longitudinal case study in a Japanese owned manufacturing company examines the relationship between union‐based representation and organisation and other forms of employee voice. The study covers the period before and after the passage of the Employment Relations Act 1999. During that period the Company voluntarily agreed to the recognition of an independent trade union at the same time as abandoning a pre‐existing employee works council and its replacement by a Japanese‐style company advisory board. The study investigates, inter alia, how far, and to what extent the inpending EU directive establishing mechanisms for employee information and consultation could influence existing trade union representation and organisation.
Can the Euro Ever Challenge the Dollar?
Authors: Cohen Benjamin J.
Published: August 2003

Can the euro ever challenge the dollar as an international currency? This article argues that Europe's new money is fated to remain a distant second to America's greenback, for four reasons. First is the persistent inertia of monetary behaviour, which will inhibit any rapid switch to the euro. Second is the cost of doing business in euros, which is unlikely to decline below transactions costs for the greenback. Third is an anti‐growth bias built into EMU, which will limit returns on euro‐denominated assets. And fourth is the ambiguous governance structure of EMU, which sows doubt among prospective euro users.
The Impact of European Integration on Regional Power
Authors: Bourne Angela K.
Published: August 2003

This article seeks to unravel ambiguity in analysis about the impact of European integration on sub‐state regions' political power. In the literature there are arguments that integration empowers, disempowers and has no effect on regional power. In order to address this ambiguity and to contribute to theory‐building, I develop a theoretical framework sensitive to multiple means by which integration can affect multiple sources of regional power, and apply it to the study of the Basque Country. The conclusion that European integration undermines Basque political power suggests that integration may, in some cases, be more a danger to, than a liberator of, regions.
The Impact of EU Regional Support on Growth and Convergence in the European Union
Authors: Cappelen Aadne , Castellacci Fulvio , Fagerberg Jan , Verspagen Bart
Published: August 2003

The evidence presented in this article suggests that EU regional support has a significant and positive impact on the growth performance of European regions. Moreover, there are signs of a change in the impact of this support in the 1990s, indicating that the major reform of the structural funds undertaken in 1988 may have succeeded in making EU regional policy more effective. However, the results also indicate that the economic effects of such support are much stronger in more developed environments, emphasizing the importance of accompanying policies that improve the competence of the receiving environments.
Voting in EMU — An Experimental Study of Institutional Innovation and the Role of Communication in the Stability and Growth Pact
Authors: Irlenbusch Bernd , Leopold‐Wildburger Ulrike , Schütze Jörg , Sutter Matthias
Published: August 2003

The Stability and Growth Pact (SGP) in the EU's economic and monetary union (EMU) aims to assure sound public finances in the EMU Member States by providing for sanctions against countries with excessive deficits. We experimentally examine the voting procedure of the SGP and find that the institutional rules are not at all satisfactory. As an institutional innovation, we test a procedure where fiscal sinners are excluded from voting, as suggested by Otmar Issing. It turns out that this modification is surprisingly successful. In addition, our study shows that the opportunity to communicate has a significant impact and tends to mitigate the Pact's shortcomings.
Cultural Pluralism and European Polity‐Building
Authors: Kraus Peter A.
Published: August 2003

In view of the shortcomings of both ‘Westphalian’ and ‘cosmopolitan’ approaches to European integration, it seems advisable to follow a different path in order to grasp the relationship of political and cultural identities in the European Union (EU). The regulation of cultural pluralism at the European level is characterized by the contradictions underlying the EU's institutional development. The principle of intergovernmentalism stresses the role of nation‐states and tends to reaffirm the weight of national cultures. At the same time, however, European transnationalism offers possibilities for articulating cultural identities below and beyond the nation‐state, contributing to some extent to the ‘denationalization’ of political cultures. This can be illustrated with examples taken from the area of European language policy. In the process of constructing a European polity that is responsive to the challenges posed by cultural diversity, the principle of subsidiarity still bears considerable normative potential.
Discourse and Order in the EU
Authors: Neyer Jürgen
Published: August 2003

The article argues for an understanding of the EU as a discourse‐based multi‐level governance structure. It conceptualizes the EU as a heterarchical polity that includes the domestic, governmental and supranational levels. Heterarchical structures, however, can only be expected to perform efficiently, effectively and lead to high quality output if their mode of interaction is based on deliberation. Important institutional features of the EU can be interpreted as the means to create the necessary institutional preconditions for deliberation.
Influencing EU Politics? The Case of the Austrian Parliament
Authors: Pollak Johannes , Slominski Peter
Published: August 2003

The Austrian Parliament has at its disposal the strongest participation rights enabling it to influence European Union (EU) affairs. But does this guarantee a more powerful parliament in real terms? It turns out that the original intention of providing the Austrian Parliament with a strong instrument to contribute to the EU decision‐making process has been shattered by party‐dominated parliamentary life. After a promising start, the use of this device has decreased significantly. Today, the instrument is mainly used by the opposition parties to obtain information and — to a limited extent — to control the government.
Constructing the CFSP: The Utility of a Cognitive Approach
Authors: Tonra Ben
Published: August 2003

Traditional analyses of the European Union's common foreign and security policy (CFSP) tend to characterize it either as an effete and declaratory expression of lowest common denominator politics, or as a limited framework for median‐interest foreign policy bargaining. Even at a modest empirical level, however, these representations of CFSP fail to convince in view of its development in recent years. This article will argue that a cognitive approach towards the study of CFSP opens up new and crucial vistas for analysis, and offers some striking conclusions on the reciprocal relationship between CFSP and national foreign policies and the transforming capacity of the CFSPvis‐à‐visnational foreign policies, including their ‘Europeanization’.
Dispositional Hardiness and Women's Well-Being Relating to Gender Discrimination: the Role of Minimization
Authors: Foster Mindi D. , Dion Kenneth L.
Published: August 2003

Three studies examined whether personality-based hardiness would be associated with mental health benefits in contexts of gender discrimination. Hardy women encountering both a laboratory simulation and a hypothetical scenario of discrimination showed greater self-esteem and less negative affect than low hardy women. However, these benefits were mediated by the use of specific attributions, suggesting that well-being in hardy women may have been achieved through minimizing the pervasiveness of discrimination. The third study showed this mediation pattern occurred only for participants exposed to higher threat scenarios versus lower threat scenarios of discrimination. Thus, minimizing the pervasiveness of discrimination may have been a threat-reducing tool for high hardy women. Bandura's (1997) self-efficacy theory was used as a possible explanation for this finding.
“If Only I were Thin Like Her, Maybe I Could be Happy Like Her”: The Self-Implications of Associating a Thin Female Ideal with Life Success
Authors: Evans Peggy Chin
Published: August 2003

Women often feel dissatisfied with their appearance after comparing themselves to other females who epitomize the thin-ideal standard of beauty. The current study posits that women associate a thin-ideal female body type with positive life-success, and that it may be this psychological link that drives feelings of negativity toward the self after such upward social comparisons. The results revealed that women reported more self-dissatisfaction and less optimism about their possible future life outcomes after exposure to a thin-ideal female target that ostensibly had a successful life than when the target ostensibly had an unsuccessful life.
The New Meaning of Ms.: Single, But too Old for Miss
Authors: Lawton Carol A. , Blakemore Judith E. Owen , Vartanian Lesa Rae
Published: August 2003

We examined understanding of the title Ms., in college students and individuals surveyed via the Internet. Participants were asked to define Ms. and other titles, and rate the likely marital status and age of those using the titles. While some participants indicated that Ms. was a title for women of any marital status, a common alternative definition of Ms. was a title for unmarried women. Younger participants (those under 20) were significantly more likely to use this definition. We also asked what title women preferred for themselves. Older unmarried women were more likely to prefer Ms. as their own title than were younger unmarried women, while married women overwhelmingly preferred the use of Mrs. Perhaps this is why many younger people assume that Ms. is a title for unmarried women too old to use Miss.
The Feminist Supervision Scale: A Rational/Theoretical Approach
Authors: Szymanski Dawn M.
Published: August 2003

This article reports the development and psychometric properties of the Feminist Supervision Scale (FSS), a new scale designed to assess feminist supervision practices in clinical supervision. This 32-item measure was developed using a rational/theoretical approach of test construction and includes four subscales: (a) collaborative relationships, (b) power analysis, (c) diversity and social context, and (d) feminist advocacy and activism. Reliability estimates for the FSS full scale and subscales were acceptable. Structural validity of the FSS was supported by exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. Convergent validity was supported by positive correlations between the FSS and self-identification as a feminist supervisor, liberal gender role attitudes, and use of feminist therapy behaviors. Discriminant validity was supported by nonsignificant correlations between the FSS and social desirability and length of time as a supervisor, and by demonstrating that the FSS was related but conceptually distinct from both multicultural competence and perceived supervisory working alliance.
Calling it Rape: Differences in Experiences of Women Who do or do not Label their Sexual Assault as Rape
Authors: Kahn Arnold S. , Jackson Jennifer , Kully Christine , Badger Kelly , Halvorsen Jessica
Published: August 2003

Past research had found that one-half or more of all women who have had an experience that might meet the definition of rape do not label themselves rape victims. The present study examined the actual rape experiences of 33 women who labeled their assault experience as rape and 56 women who did not label their assault experience as rape through questionnaires and open-ended descriptions of what happened during their assault. Quantitative findings replicated past research, finding that acknowledged victims, compared to unacknowledged victims, were older, knew their assailant less well, experienced more forceful assaults, and had stronger negative emotional reactions to the experience. Qualitative analysis revealed that women were mostly likely to acknowledge their experience as rape when the assailant was not their boyfriend and they woke up with a man penetrating them or the assailant used force and dominated them to obtain intercourse. Women assaulted as children also acknowledged their experience as rape. However, when the assault involved a boyfriend, or if the woman was severely impaired by alcohol or drugs, or if the act involved oral or digital sex, the women were unlikely to label their situations as constituting rape.
Shades of Gray: A Qualitative Study of Terms Used in the Measurement of Sexual Victimization
Authors: Hamby Sherry L. , Koss Mary P.
Published: August 2003

Methodological analyses of sexual victimization research are still rare, despite the explosion of interest in this topic and widely varying rates across studies. In-depth analysis of the meaning of differences in rates is especially lacking. A series of five ethnically and geographically diverse focus groups were held to explore how wording in sexual victimization surveys affects the reporting of various types of negative sexual experiences. Participants provided rich formulations about sexual intercourse that suggest there is a wide range of coercion, from peer pressure to lose one's virginity to partner pressure to demonstrate one's commitment to stereotypical forced rape. Focus group participants asserted that many terms that are often used synonymously, such as unwanted, nonvoluntary, and forced, have distinct meanings. They also described how different social pressures on women and men, and differences in physical size lead to inevitable differences in perceptions of coerciveness. Although recent sexual victimization surveys have increased the specificity of descriptions of sexual acts, these findings suggest that it is equally important to be precise in communicating what is meant by coercion.
Gender-Role Attitudes in University Students in the United States, Slovenia, and Croatia
Authors: Frieze Irene Hanson , Ferligoj Anuš;ka , Kogovšek Tina , Rener Tanja , Horvat Jasna , Šarlija Nataša
Published: August 2003

Determinants of gender-role attitudes were examined in samples of university students from Pittsburgh in the United States, Ljubljana in Slovenia, and Osijek in Croatia. Surveys including items from the Attitudes Toward Women Scale and the Neosexism Scale were administered to a total of 1,544 U.S. students, 912 Slovene students, and 996 Croatian students between the years of 1991 and 2000. As predicted, men held less egalitarian or more sexist attitudes about the appropriate roles for women and men, and those with more frequent attendance at religious services held more sexist attitudes. No changes in attitudes were found for women over time, but Slovene males were found to become more traditional over time.
The Use of Self-Pleasure: Masturbation and Body Image Among African American and European American Women
Authors: Shulman Julie L. , Horne Sharon G.
Published: August 2003

The current investigation examined the relationship between masturbation and body image among 96 women seeking services at a local family planning clinic in a mid-southern U.S. city. Participants completed a questionnaire that assessed body image and masturbatory practices. Ethnic differences were found with European American women reporting greater masturbation frequencies and higher rates of body dissatisfaction than African American women. Among European American women, there was a positive relationship between women's sexual self-pleasuring and positive body image. For African American participants, body image was not related to masturbation practice or frequency.
Structural power, agency and national liberation: the case of East Timor
Authors: Glassman James F
Published: August 2003

The struggle for independence in East Timor, which came to fruition in 1999, illustrates both that agency can be exercised in ways that change social structures and that changing structural relations are necessary for the effective exercise of agency. This paper presents a basic Marxist theoretical framework for analysing structural power, contrasting this with the understanding of structure developed by structurationists. It then examines the Timorese independence struggle at two crucial turning points, showing how differing structural contexts enabled different outcomes at those turning points.
Convergence space: process geographies of grassroots globalization networks
Authors: Routledge Paul
Published: August 2003

This paper considers grassroots globalization networks, which comprise a diversity of social movements working in association to engage in multi‐scalar political action. Drawing upon David Harvey's notion of militant particularism (regarding the problems of effecting politics between different geographical scales), and recent research on networks and their relationship to places, the paper analyses People's Global Action, an international network of social movements opposing neoliberal globalization. From an analysis of the process geographies of People's Global Action, the paper proposes the notion of convergence space as a conceptual tool by which to understand and critique grassroots globalization networks. The paper argues that contested social relations emerge in such convergence spaces and considers the implications of these for theorizing such networks, and for political action.
‘Power in place’: viticultural spatialities of globalization and community empowerment in the Languedoc
Authors: Jones Alun
Published: August 2003

This paper explores the ways in which economic globalization processes produce new spatio‐temporalities. It emphasizes how the exercise of different modes of power, in particular instrumental and associational powers, is critical to understanding the distinct formations that are produced by globalization dynamics. Using the empirical context of globalization in the wine industry, and the efforts made by one of the industry's leading wine corporations, Robert Mondavi of Napa valley California, to extend its production base to one of Europe's foremost wine‐producing regions, the paper provides a crucial interpretative angle on spatio‐temporal disruptions caused by globalization processes.
State Fiscal Responses to Welfare Reform during Recessions: Lessons for the Future
Authors: Chernick Howard , Reschovsky Andrew
Published: August 2003

The 1996 welfare reform transformed open‐ended matching grants to states to fixed block grants. This article considers whether, given the new regime, states will be able and willing to meet the need for public assistance during recessions. The accumulation of large balances of unspent federal welfare funds helped states weather the first year or so of the current recession without having to cut programs for needy families. While new fiscal rules promoted positive reform during a period of economic prosperity, they may be leaving states and their most vulnerable citizens at serious risk as the economic and fiscal slowdown continues.
Performance Funding in Federal Agencies: A Case Study of a Federal Job Training Program
Authors: Courty Pascal , Marschke Gerald
Published: August 2003

Our case study highlights important details that enter into developing performance contingent budgeting schemes—details that do not emerge in more general discussions of the subject—and shows how the handling of these details can be crucial to these schemes' success. We study a federal job training program that gives state and local decision makers discretion over the program's operation, but through performance funding holds them accountable for achieving specific objectives. We find that states' modifications to the scheme's construction produced over time highly individualized performance funding schemes that likely varied in their effectiveness.
Trust, Trusts, and Accountability: The Role of States in College Saving Plans
Authors: McCoskey Melanie G. , Bellar Stephanie , Bennett Lisa Blair
Published: August 2003

With the adoption of Section 529 plans, states have played an increasing role in college savings. When parents prepay for their children's college education, states invest the proceeds with the expectation that the investment returns will cover tuition increases. In times of fiscal stress, states decrease funding for higher education, causing schools to increase tuition. Because current investment returns have not kept pace with tuition increases, state managers have an even greater burden to ensure that these funds are managed properly. Our research interest is the fiduciary role of state governments in managing these plans in a volatile investment market.
What Stabilizes State General Fund Expenditures in Downturn Years—Budget Stabilization Fund or General Fund Unreserved Undesignated Balance?
Authors: Hou Yilin
Published: August 2003

This article strictly defines the budget stabilization fund (BSF) as a counter‐cyclical reserve, and with a panel data set examines the effects of BSF and general fund unreserved undesignated balances (UUB) on stabilizing state general fund expenditure during downturns. The article finds that BSFs bolster spending in lean years: each percentage point increase of BSF balance as a percent of general fund expenditure can minimize negative expenditure gap by a quarter percentage point. But the article does not find evidence that UUB is a counter‐cyclical fiscal tool, indicating that wide adoption of BSF may have changed the nature and use of UUB.
Do State Bond Banks Have Cost Advantages for Municipal Bond Issuance?
Authors: Robbins Mark D. , Kim Daehwan
Published: August 2003

State bond banks are created to extend management expertise, subsidies, and economies of scale to local government issuers, but bond banks incur issuance and program costs. This research examines whether state bond banks appear to achieve lower than average borrowing costs, once the costs of issuance are controlled for. We find that bond banks are associated with significantly lower borrowing costs for two of the three programs we examine, and determine that these savings are due largely to reductions in costs of issuance.
Risk and the Outsourcing of Risk Management Services: The Case of Claims Management
Authors: Young Peter C. , Hood John
Published: August 2003

Outsourcing of risk management activities is a well‐established practice, involving a range of services from actuarial audits to loss control training to risk financing management to claims administration services. Surprisingly, little work has been done to examine the risks associated with outsourcing risk management activities. This article examines the outsourcing of claims management services by reviewing the research on outsourcing risks and by interviewing leading practitioners. In doing so, the authors draw some provisional observations about risks and risk costs associated with outsourcing claims management services—observations that seem generalizable to all risk management outsourcing.
Accruing Retirement Costs for Federal Employees
Authors: Torregrosa David
Published: August 2003

The president's 2003 budget proposed that federal agencies pay the full cost of their employees' pension and retiree health benefits as such benefits are earned starting in 2003. The main reason for the proposed change is to provide policymakers and agency managers with a more complete measure of the cost of providing current services. The main disadvantage of the proposal is that estimates of the accrual costs of retiree health benefits are subject to large errors. The proposed change would not increase total outlays, nor would it affect the budget deficit or surplus.
Pyruvate Modulates Cardiac Sarcoplasmic Reticulum Ca2+ Release in Rats Via Mitochondria‐Dependent and ‐Independent Mechanisms
Authors: Zima Aleksey V. , Kockskämper Jens , Mejia‐Alvarez Rafael , Blatter Lothar A.
Published: August 2003

The glycolytic product pyruvate has beneficial effects on cardiac contractile function. The postulated cellular mechanisms underlying the positive inotropic effect of pyruvate, however, are contradictory or have remained elusive. Therefore, we studied the effects of pyruvate on cardiac Ca2+ regulation, intracellular pH (pHi) and flavoprotein oxidation using fluorescence confocal microscopy in intact and permeabilized rat ventricular myocytes and single channel recordings from rat cardiac ryanodine receptors (RyRs) incorporated into planar lipid bilayers. In intact cells extracellular pyruvate (10 mm) elevated diastolic [Ca2+]i, which was due, at least in part, to a concomitant acidification of the cytosol. Furthermore, pyruvate increased the amplitude and slowed the kinetics of the electrically evoked [Ca2+]i transient, and augmented sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) Ca2+ content. Recording of flavoprotein (FAD) fluorescence indicated that pyruvate caused a reduction of mitochondrial redox potential, which is proportional to an increase of the rate of ATP synthesis. Inhibitors of mitochondrial monocarboxylate transport (α‐cyano‐4‐hydroxycinnamate, 0.5 mm), adenine nucleotide translocation (atractyloside, 0.3 mm) and the electron transport chain (cyanide, 4 mm) abolished or attenuated the pyruvate‐mediated increase of the amplitude of the [Ca2+]i transient, but did not change the effect of pyruvate on diastolic [Ca2+]i. Results from experiments with permeabilized myocytes indicated a direct correlation between ATP/ADP ratio and SR Ca2+ content. Furthermore, pyruvate (4 mm) reduced the frequency of spontaneous Ca2+ sparks by ≈50 %. Single RyR channel recordings revealed a ≈60 % reduction of the open probability of the channel by pyruvate (1 mm), but no change in conductance. This effect of pyruvate on RyR channel activity was neither Ca2+ nor ATP dependent. Taken together, these findings suggest that, in cardiac tissue, pyruvate has a dual effect on SR Ca2+ release consisting of a direct inhibition of RyR channel activity and elevation of SR Ca2+ content. The latter effect was most probably mediated by an enhanced SR Ca2+ uptake due to an augmentation of mitochondria‐dependent ATP synthesis.
Ghrelin Induces Fasted Motor Activity of the Gastrointestinal Tract in Conscious Fed Rats
Authors: Fujino Kazunori , Inui Akio , Asakawa Akihiro , Kihara Naoki , Fujimura Masaki , Fujimiya Mineko
Published: August 2003

Ghrelin is a newly discovered orexigenic peptide originating from the stomach. However, its action in regulating the fed and fasted motor activity of the digestive tract is not fully understood. In the present study, we examined the effects of intracerebroventricular (i.c.v.) and intravenous (i.v.) injection of ghrelin on the physiological fed and fasted motor activities in the stomach and duodenum of freely moving conscious rats. i.c.v. and i.v. injection of ghrelin induced fasted motor activity in the duodenum in normal fed rats, while i.v. injection of ghrelin induced fasted motor activity in both the stomach and duodenum in vagotomized rats. The effects of i.c.v. and i.v. injected ghrelin were blocked by growth hormone secretagogue receptor (GHS‐R) antagonist given by the same route and also blocked by immunoneutralization of neuropeptide Y (NPY) in the brain. The effects of i.v. injected ghrelin were not altered by i.c.v. injection of GHS‐R antagonist in vagotomized rats. Injection of GHS‐R antagonist blocked the fasted motor activity in both the stomach and duodenum in vagotomized rats but did not affect the fasted motor activity in normal rats. Low intragastric pH inhibited the effect of ghrelin. The present results indicate that ghrelin is involved in regulation of fasted motor activity in the stomach and duodenum. Peripheral ghrelin may induce the fasted motor activity by activating the NPY neurons in the brain, probably through ghrelin receptors on vagal afferent neurons. Once the brain mechanism is eliminated by truncal vagotomy, ghrelin might be primarily involved in the regulation of fasted motor activity through ghrelin receptors on the stomach and duodenum. The action of ghrelin to induce fasted motor activity is strongly affected by intragastric pH; low pH inhibits the action.
Electrical Coupling between the Myenteric Interstitial Cells of Cajal and Adjacent Muscle Layers in the Guinea‐Pig Gastric Antrum
Authors: Cousins H. M. , Edwards F. R. , Hickey H. , Hill C. E. , Hirst G. D. S.
Published: August 2003

Intracellular recordings were made from short segments of the muscular wall of the guinea‐pig gastric antrum. Preparations were impaled using two independent microelectrodes, one positioned in the circular layer and the other either in the longitudinal layer, in the network of myenteric interstitial cells of Cajal (ICCmy) or in the circular layer. Cells in each layer displayed characteristic patterns of rhythmical activity, with the largest signals being generated by ICCmy. Current pulses injected into the circular muscle layer produced electrotonic potentials in each cell layer, indicating that the layers are electrically interconnected. The amplitudes of these electrotonic potentials were largest in the circular layer and smallest in the longitudinal layer. An analysis of electrical coupling between the three layers suggests that although the cells in each layer are well coupled to neighbouring cells, the coupling between either muscle layer and the network of ICCmy is relatively poor. The electrical connections between ICCmy and the circular layer did not rectify. In parallel immunohistochemical studies, the distribution of the connexins Cx40, Cx43 and Cx45 within the antral wall was determined. Only Cx43 was detected; it was widely distributed on ICCmy and throughout the circular smooth muscle layer, being concentrated around ICCIM, but was less abundant in the circular muscle layer immediately adjacent to ICCmy. Although the electrophysiological studies indicate that smooth muscle cells in the longitudinal muscle layer are electrically coupled to each other, none of the connexins examined were detected in this layer.
Spike‐Dependent Intrinsic Plasticity Increases Firing Probability in Rat Striatal Neurons In Vivo
Authors: Mahon Séverine , Casassus Guillaume , Mulle Christophe , Charpier Stéphane
Published: August 2003

The collision of pre‐ and postynaptic activity is known to provide a trigger for controlling the gain of synaptic transmission between neurons. Here, using in vivo intracellular recordings of rat striatal output neurons, we analyse the effect of a single action potential, generated by ongoing synaptic activity, on subsequent excitatory postsynaptic potentials (EPSPs) evoked by electrical stimulation of the cerebral cortex. This pairing induced a short‐term increase in the probability that cortically evoked EPSPs caused striatal cells to fire. This enhanced EPSP‐spike coupling was associated with a decrease in the voltage firing threshold with no apparent change in the synaptic strength itself. Antidromic action potentials in striatal cells were also able to induce the facilitation while subthreshold EPSPs were ineffective, indicating that the postsynaptic spike was necessary and sufficient for the induction of the plasticity. A prior spontaneous action potential also enhanced the probability with which directly applied current pulses elicited firing, suggesting that the facilitation originated from changes in the intrinsic electrical properties of the postsynaptic cell. Using whole‐cell recordings in cortico‐striatal slices, we found that the increase in membrane excitability as well as in EPSP‐spike coupling was abolished by low concentration of 4‐aminopyridine. This suggests that the intrinsic plasticity results from a time‐dependent modulation of a striatal voltage‐dependent potassium current available close to the firing threshold. Action potentials thus provide a postsynaptic signal, not only for associative synaptic plasticity but also for activity‐dependent intrinsic plasticity, which directly controls the efficacy of coupling between pre‐ and postsynaptic neurons.
Revisiting the Inhibition of Vanadium-Induced Hot Corrosion in Gas Turbines
Authors: Rocca E. , Steinmetz P. , Moliere M.
Published: August 2003

Since the 1970s, nothing substantially new has been published in the gas turbine community about the hot corrosion by vanadium and its inhibition, after the “inhibition orthodoxy” based on the formation of magnesium vanadate, was established. However, the experience acquired since the late 1980s with heavy-duty gas turbines burning ash-forming fuels in southern China, shows that the combustion of very contaminated fuels does not entail corrosion nor abundant ash-deposit on gas turbines buckets. Analyses of deposits collected from gas turbines fired with these crude oils showed that the ash-deposit contains a large amount of nickel. These new facts led to revisit the role played by nickel and envisage its possible inhibiting action against the vanadium-induced hot corrosion. A thorough review of the literature on the vanadium-induced corrosion have been carried out, and the study of the nickel effects with respect to magnesium effects on the ash deposit have been performed. Results show that nickel presents an interesting way to substitute magnesium for the inhibition of vanadium-induced hot corrosion. The advantages of nickel with respect to magnesium are to be efficient at alow Ni/V ratio, to produce less abundant, less adherent ash and to act, to some extent, as a self-cleaning agent for the blades of the turbine.
Computing CHEMKIN Sensitivities Using Complex Variables
Authors: Butuk N. , Pemba J.-P.
Published: August 2003

This paper discusses an accurate numerical approach based on complex variables for the computation of the Jacobian matrix of complex chemical reaction mechanisms. The Jacobian matrix is required in the calculation of low dimensional manifolds during kinetic chemical mechanism reduction. The approach is suitable for numerical computations of large-scale problems and is more accurate than the finite difference approach of computing Jacobians. The method is demonstrated via a nonlinear reaction mechanism for the synthesis of Bromide acid and a H2/Air mechanism using a modified CHEMKIN package. The Bromide mechanism consisted of five species participating in six elementary chemical reactions and the H2/Air mechanism consisted of 11 species and 23 reactions. In both cases it is shown that the method is superior to the finite difference approach of computing derivatives with an arbitrary computational step size h.
Application of Fuzzy Logic for Fault Isolation of Jet Engines
Authors: Ganguli R.
Published: August 2003

A fuzzy logic system is developed for gas turbine module fault isolation. Inputs to the fuzzy logic system are measurement deviations of gas path parameters from a “good” baseline engine. The gas path measurements used are exhaust gas temperature, low and high rotor speed, and fuel flow. These sensor measurements are available on most jet engines. The fuzzy logic system uses rules developed from performance influence coefficients to isolate the module fault while accounting for uncertainty in the gas path measurements. Tests with simulated data show the fuzzy system isolates module faults with accuracy of over 95%. In addition, the fuzzy logic system shows good performance even with poor quality data. Additional pressure and temperature measurements between the compressor and before the burner help to increase the accuracy of fault isolation at high levels of uncertainty and when modeling assumptions weaken.