bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Are co‐operation and trust being confused with power? An analysis of food retailing in Australia and the UK
Authors: Dapiran G. Peter , Hogarth‐Scott Sandra
Published: December 2003

Category management has been promoted as a mechanism to achieve closer working relations between suppliers and retailers. The premise has been that category management should result in a reduced reliance on the use of power as an element of the relationship and increased levels of cooperation. However, power is an element of any relationship and exists even when not activated. Further, the premise rests on the notion that cooperation is a polar opposite of power. This research confirms that food industry managers perceive the use of power in solely negative terms. Power can be defined operationally as the ability of one channel member to influence the marketing decisions of another channel member and hence must be related to cooperation. This paper reviews the nature of dependence, power and cooperation and explores the role of these constructs in the practice of category management. The results of continuing research in the area of category management relationships are reported.
Cross‐cultural equivalence of price perceptions between US and Polish consumers
Authors: Moore Marguerite , McGowan Kennedy Karen , Fairhurst Ann
Published: December 2003

As the markets of Eastern Europe continue to liberalize, they are becoming increasingly important to Western retailers who seek international market opportunities. The current research compares consumer perceptions of price as a marketplace cue in Polish and US cultures. A hierarchical structural equation model (SEM) is used to assess the metric equivalence of price cue measures across a matched sample of Polish (N = 335) and US (N = 342) consumers. Results indicate a great deal of similarity between the two groups’ perceptions of price. Findings from the study suggest practical directions for strategy formulation as well as guidance in measuring perceptions of price cross‐culturally.
Exploring the working life of a female politician
Authors: Wilson Doirean
Published: December 2003

This explorative paper is based on the professional career of Councillor Gill Sargeant who completed her term of office as Mayor of the London Borough of Barnet, in May 2001. This paper chronicles the life of a twenty‐first century woman living and working in a “digitally” lead age, faced with the challenges of a traditional business environment. The paper also identifies the impact of key “drivers” and “barriers” to the development of women's careers such as, childcare responsibilities, technology, gender stereotypes and family friendly policies, as faced by a modern day Mayor.
Women's voices on developing an ethical public service
Authors: Limerick Brigid , Field Terri
Published: December 2003

A number of writers argue that discussions around ethics and moral behavior have traditionally been gender blind, with ethical behavior being conceptualised from a masculine standpoint. This paper gives voice to a group of senior women in the Queensland, Australia public service as they reflect on what is needed to develop a more ethical public service. Four main themes emerged from the messages they wished to share with their colleagues concerning the on‐going process of developing a more ethical public service. These were: the importance of role‐modeling and community engagement where ethical behavior is concerned; the importance of encouraging dialogue and open debate about work practices; the importance of understanding and enacting the move to relationship‐based management; and the importance of reaffirming that public service is about service.
Gender differences in auditors' attitudes towards lowballing: implications for future practice
Authors: Neidermeyer Presha E. , Tuten Tracy L. , Neidermeyer Adolph A.
Published: December 2003

While much of the accounting literature that addresses gender issues has focused on womens' desires for more familial benefits such as flexible working hours and child care, this study documents results illustrating fundamental differences between women and men on issues of value. In it, female and male auditors were asked to respond to their perceptions of the practice of lowballing. Women felt that the practice was less acceptable than men did and also agreed significantly more often that lowballing is a violation of the independence in appearance clause of the Code of Professional Conduct.
Women managing discourse in the workplace
Authors: Holmes Janet , Burns Louise , Marra Meredith , Stubbe Maria , Vine Bernadette
Published: December 2003

Despite the fact that women are increasingly reaching the highest levels of management in business organisations, negative stereotypes persist concerning their ability to handle the discourse of leadership. Drawing on a large database of recorded material collected from women in a variety of New Zealand workplaces by the Victoria University of Wellington Language in the Workplace Project, this paper illustrates the value of both qualitative and quantitative analysis in challenging such stereotypes. The analysis indicates that effective women managers adapt their style with sensitivity and skill to the specific setting and refutes misconceptions about the ability of women chairs to handle workplace humour, making them sociolinguistically very proficient communicators in the workplace.
Suing cops and corrections officers
Authors: Hall Daniel E. , Ventura Lois A. , Lee Yung H. , Lambert Eric
Published: December 2003

Adding to the existing research on criminal justice officers’ attitudes towards and experiences with civil liability, this study compared the attitudes and experiences of law enforcement officers and correctional officers. Logistic regression analyses were employed to examine the affects of rank, education, experience and criminal justice occupation on officers’ attitudes towards and experiences with civil liability. Statistically significant differences by occupation, years of service, rank, and education were found. Implications and future research suggestions are discussed.
Women militia officers in Ukraine
Authors: Beck Adrian , Barko Vadym , Tatarenko Alina
Published: December 2003

This article offers an insight into the experiences of female officers working within the post‐Soviet Ukrainian militia, based on data collected from nearly 500 serving officers in Kyiv, interviews with staff and students at the National Academy of Internal Affairs and with senior members of the Ukrainian Ministry of Interior. It presents data showing that women officers are significantly more dissatisfied with their role, have a poorer relationship with their line managers and perceive that they receive a more authoritarian and directive style of management than their male counterparts. It goes on to propose a three‐tier model of reform designed to address gender discrimination in the Ukrainian militia.
Community characteristics and policing styles in suburban agencies
Authors: Wells L. Edward , Falcone David N. , Rabe‐Hemp Cara
Published: December 2003

Recent policing reforms have strongly emphasized the role of community context in determining the form and content of effective policing, along with the traditional influence of organizational structures. Recognizing the increasing suburbanization of US communities, this study examines the empirical support for the underlying contextual and structural premises of these reforms in a sample of midwestern suburban communities. Merging data from a telephone survey of 194 municipal police departments in the five counties of the Chicago metropolitan statistical area with data on communities from other government sources, multiple regression was used to assess the relative importance of community context and organizational structure factors in accounting for differences in departmental policing styles. The findings both support and contradict some basic assumptions of current community‐oriented policing reforms, as well as some of the findings of prior studies. They underline the importance of empirically testing our theoretical assumptions in all types of community settings.
Community policing is an epicycle
Authors: Gowri Aditi
Published: December 2003

Community policing has been described as a successful “new paradigm” and even a developing “normal science” of policing. From a detailed application of Kuhn's definitions of paradigm and normal science, this article infers that community policing is neither; but is rather an epicycle in defense of policing as a paradigm. An eight‐point definitional model of normal science – of which the first four points define paradigm – is developed and used to show that community policing is not a new paradigm; and that neither community policing nor policing itself is a normal science. Claiming to have a paradigm is an attempt to increase the prestige and dominance of policing among social sciences.
Variability in the organizational structure of contemporary campus law enforcement agencies
Authors: Paoline Eugene A. , Sloan John J.
Published: December 2003

Descriptive analyses of campus police agencies reveal that agencies’ tactical and operational features are similar to those found in municipal agencies. The problem is that none of these studies have examined, using multivariate models, the structural characteristics of these organizations. Using LEMAS data collected in 1995, this study answered two main questions: what are the organizational characteristics of campus police agencies; and what factors, both internal and external, explain variation in the structural dimensions of the agencies. The results indicated that campus police agencies possess the same structural characteristics of municipal police agencies identified by 40 years of police organizational research, and internal agency characteristics were most important in explaining variation in the organizations’ structural dimensions. The degree to which campus agencies have adopted organizational structures that are similar to those of municipal police is discussed and framed within an institutional perspective.
Police expectations and the control of English soccer fans at “Euro 2000”
Authors: Stott Clifford
Published: December 2003

This study is concerned with understanding the nature of police stereotypes and expectations and their potential role in shaping the intergroup dynamics of “hooliganism” involving England fans during the football European Championships in Belgium and Holland (Euro 2000). The paper uses a questionnaire survey of Belgian Gendarmerie officers to explore the extent to which England fans were seen as a dangerous social category who's normative behaviours were likely to be interpreted as a manifestation of hooliganism and therefore as posing a relatively uniform threat to “public order”. In so doing the study provides evidence to support a contention that the Gendarmerie at Euro 2000 held a view of England fans that was consistent with the use of relatively indiscriminate coercive force. The implications of the analysis for understanding the nature of public order policing, its role in shaping “public disorder” in football contexts and the need for interactive and historical studies of crowd events are discussed.
Quality‐of‐life policing
Authors: Golub Andrew , Johnson Bruce D. , Taylor Angela , Eterno John
Published: December 2003

In the 1990s, the New York City Police Department expanded its focus on reducing behaviors that detract from the overall quality of life (QOL) in the city. Many have credited this effort for the decline in the city's overall crime rate. They often cite the fixing broken windows argument, which maintains that reducing disorder sets off a chain of events leading to less crime. However, systematic research has not yet documented this chain of events. Looks at one of the first linkages, whether QOL policing sends a message to offenders not to engage in disorderly behaviors in public locales. The project interviewed 539 New York City arrestees in 1999. Almost all of them were aware that police were targeting various disorderly behaviors. Among those that engaged in disorderly behaviors, about half reported that they had stopped or cut back in the past six months. They reported a police presence was the most important factor behind their behavioral changes. These findings support the idea that QOL policing has a deterrent effect.
Learning how to see: doctors making judgements in the visual domain
Authors: Bleakley Alan , Farrow Richard , Gould David , Marshall Robert
Published: December 2003

Initial results are presented from an ongoing, work‐based collaborative inquiry between three medical consultants (a pathologist, a radiologist and a dermatologist) and three experienced visual artists into processes of clinical and aesthetic judgements in the visual domain. The doctors’ habitual conventions are challenged through the interventions of the artists, leading to a re‐education of the senses through a revitalised clinical imagination. Outcomes include self‐assessed improvement of clinical acumen through systematic review of the clinical reasoning process looking specifically at the aesthetic dimension. A central research interest is how forms and styles of judgement construct identities of the expert practitioner in work settings. The papers describes a change in practice from “looking” to “seeing” as the development of a “connoisseurship” of informational images informed by tolerance of ambiguity, creating a practice identity against the grain of the normative technical‐rational discourse of clinical reasoning.
The interrelationships between informal and formal learning
Authors: Malcolm Janice , Hodkinson Phil , Colley Helen
Published: December 2003

This paper summarises some of the analysis and findings of a project commissioned to investigate the meanings and uses of the terms formal, informal and non‐formal learning. Many texts use these terms without any clear definition, or employ conflicting definitions and boundaries. The paper therefore proposes an alternative way of analysing learning situations in terms of attributes of formality and informality. Applying this analysis to a range of learning contexts, one of which is described, suggests that there are significant elements of formal learning in informal situations, and elements of informality in formal situations; the two are inextricably inter‐related. The nature of this inter‐relationship, the ways it is written about and its impact on learners and others, are closely related to the organisational, social, cultural, economic, historical and political contexts in which the learning takes place. The paper briefly indicates some of the implications of our analysis for theorising learning, and for policy and practice.
Worker responses to technological change in the Canadian public sector: issues of learning and labour process
Authors: Hennessy Trish , Sawchuk Peter H.
Published: December 2003

This article reports selected findings from a study on the changing nature of work, learning and technology in the Canadian public sector (Ontario). Vis‐à‐vis the involvement of a major management consultant firm, these findings mirror the experiences at the nexus of policy, labour process and technology, seen in several other western countries. The authors examined workers’ learning responses to management‐led introduction of a leading edge, Web‐based social service delivery system. The paper shows how neo‐Taylorist principles have shaped work design, and argues that the result has been a high‐tech form of “de‐skilling” (Braverman) in which semi‐professionalized case management workers’ skill/knowledge sets have been systematically broken down. The process has been contested however. Workers have sought to learn and re‐skill, generating not only specific computer‐based skills (or “work‐arounds”) but more general, collective cultures of learning within the everyday life of work. This learning is sometimes in keeping with managerial interests, and sometimes not.
“I don’t think I am a learner”: acts of naming learners at work
Authors: Boud David , Solomon Nicky
Published: December 2003

The terms “learning” and “learner” are used in discussions of workplace learning as if they were unproblematic and as if workers, organisations and researchers had a common, shared view about what these terms mean. A study of four different workgroups within an organisation in which the discourse of learning was pervasive suggests that having an identity as a learner may not be compatible with being regarded as a competent worker. The politics of naming oneself as a learner are considered and the power of naming learning and learners are discussed. The broader implications for research on workplace learning of such a discursive approach are noted.
Learning to talk: from manual work to discourse work as self‐regulating practice
Authors: Scheeres Hermine
Published: December 2003

In the new work order, more and more work is talk, and much of the new kinds of textual or discourse work that employees, including production line workers, are undertaking, is enacted during team meetings. Learning to be a team member involves learning to talk. This paper presents ethnographic and discourse data from a large, Australian manufacturing workplace to argue that central to the participatory practices of working in teams is the development of discursive networks of participation, constructed to elicit “bottom up” engagement with work‐related problems and issues, and produce offers of worker involvement, rather than relying on more traditional, “top down” management commands and control of workplace knowledge. In the case presented here, the team members are production line workers from different areas of the workplace and thus they hold, and (can) contribute, different kinds of knowledge to the team meetings. The developing discourses of offers and suggestions for improvements can be seen as producing self‐regulating (organisational) workers.
Integrating theory and practice? Employees’ and students’ experiences of learning at work
Authors: Collin Kaija , Tynjälä Päivi
Published: December 2003

The integration of theory and practice has been recognised as one of the key questions in the development of professional expertise and vocational competence. In this study the question of how theory and practice meet each other during professional development was approached from the point of view of two different groups of learners: employees with varying length of work experience and university students taking a working life project course. Altogether 18 employees and 51 students were interviewed, after which transcribed interviews were qualitatively categorised. The opinions expressed by the informants indicate that work‐based learning is not a unified phenomenon but varies in different contexts and between actors. The findings suggest, however, that the transformation of students’ explicit “book knowledge” into implicit or tacit knowledge may begin already while the student is still in education, provided that formal knowledge is used for authentic problem solving.
Boundary crossing and learning in creation of new work practice
Authors: Kerosuo Hannele , Engeström Yrjö
Published: December 2003

The following theoretical challenges concerning learning in organizations and at work are examined in the study. First, organizational learning is not only the formation of collective routines; it is also tool‐creation and implementation. Second, tools evolve as they are implemented. Third, tools become powerful when they become an interconnected instrumentality and constellations. Tool‐creation and implementation are examined when a new set of tools is being appropriated for collaboration between primary and secondary health care. Boundary crossings in the interaction of the multiple providers are focused as an essential context of tool‐creation during implementation. The findings concerning the tool‐creation during implementation process include the productivity of the resistance, the importance of turning points, the formation of the new instrumentality, the discovery of gaps, and the necessity of stabilization and maintenance in organizational learning. Finally, conclusions about learning in the creation of work practice will be proposed.
Hidden dimensions of work and learning: the significance of unpaid work and informal learning in global capitalism
Authors: Livingstone David W.
Published: December 2003

Over the past two centuries capitalist social relations and their underlying dynamics have become increasingly pervasive in the spaces of human life, and in particular in the relationships between employment and organized forms of education. The massive scope of this commodification has tended to obscure the enduring significance of other aspects of social practice, especially unpaid work and informal learning and their interrelations with education, employment and each other. These hidden dimensions continue to constitute large parts of our social lives and represent very substantial resources for progressive change in established forms of paid work and formal education. This paper develops this argument and provides some supportive evidence from a Canadian national survey on learning and work.
The new generation of corporate universities – co‐creating sustainable enterprise and business development solutions
Authors: Campbell Ian , Dealtry Richard
Published: December 2003

Captures the researches, experience and current thoughts of two leading professional corporate university and corporate academy solutions designers and developers. Provides a provocative commentary on the quality of current management perspectives and practice in the area of corporate university management and comments on some of the popular misconceptions of what the corporate university is all about. Moves forward, from a critique perspective, with comments on a proactive modality for configuring intellectual properties and implementing intervention programmes. This process involves the development of dynamic scenarios around “thinking schools” properties and their manifestation through management processes defined as the BLU way. Emphasises the vital strategic management role being undertaken by the new generation of corporate university managers and the nature of the skills and competencies necessary in renewing and sustaining intelligence based enterprise cultures in organisations.
The collapse of Enron and the role of intellectual capital
Authors: Chatzkel Jay
Published: December 2003

The collapse of Enron was almost entirely unexpected and shockingly rapid. While the major cause of this and other mega meltdowns has been determined to be financial manipulation and questionable accounting practices, the fall of these organizations has also raised questions about whether, and to what extent, their intellectual capital/intangible asset intensive business models contributed to their failure. This paper examines three core issues affecting the role of intellectual capital that have been highlighted by Enron's business failure: the linked issues of the effect of moving from a more traditional trading model to an intangible intensive trading model and the requirements for a viable intellectual capital/intangibles business model; changes in the accounting framework to ensure the integrity of an intellectual capital/intangibles‐based organization; and the implications of the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) mandated changes in measuring and managing for goodwill and intangibles
Identifying and managing IC: a new classification
Authors: Leliaert Philippe J.C. , Candries Wim , Tilmans Rob
Published: December 2003

The importance of financial assets in the determination of a company's market value is decreasing fast and it is equally recognised that non‐financial (or intangible) assets are now the main drivers of performance and market value. To date, however, there exists little or no objective, quantitative measures of intangible assets, and where they are claimed to exist (e.g. in the valuation of brands, intellectual property, patents, etc.) they are very specific and limited in scope. Based on the seminal work by Leif Edvinsson at Skandia AFS, the present authors have developed a model for identifying and quantifying intangibles as components of intellectual capital (IC). This model serves to evaluate a company's return on all the capital it employs, helping to explain the difference between book and market value. It also provides guidance as to how and where management should put its attention to grow the organization's overall IC. The 4‐Leaf Model® identifies the sources of added value and competitive advantage in businesses and in particular of virtual organizations – collaborative networks of otherwise independent economic entities – that build their business models around the Internet using minimal financial assets. The quantification of IC will be illustrated using examples of information and communication technology and financial services companies.
Intellectual capital and firm performance of US multinational firms
Authors: Riahi‐Belkaoui Ahmed
Published: December 2003

The resource‐based view of the firm maintains that firms achieve a sustainable comparative advantage and earn superior profits by owning or controlling tangible as well as intangible strategic assets. The stakeholder view recommends that a better measure of financial performance than accounting profit is the total wealth created or net value added. Accordingly, this study examines the relationship between a return on total assets based on net value added (à la stakeholder view) and the specific intangible asset of intellectual capital to test the resource‐based view of the firm. The results, using a sample of US multinational firms, are statistically significant in support of both the resource‐based and stakeholder views.
Induced Oscillations in the Alpha Band: Functional Meaning
Authors: Pfurtscheller G.
Published: December 2003

Summary:  The phenomena of event‐related desynchronization (ERD) and synchronization (ERS) reflect the dynamics of neural networks and can be observed on different scalp locations at the same moment of time. Whereas on one cortical area a focal 10‐Hz ERD can be found, other areas can display a 10‐Hz ERS. This phenomenon is called focal ERD/surround ERS and is interpreted as a correlate of an activated cortical area (ERD) and simultaneously deactivated or inhibited other areas. The induced oscillations (ERS) are dominant in the 10‐ to 13‐Hz band and very likely mediated by thalamic gating.
Advances in Understanding the Process of Epileptogenesis Based on Patient Material: What Can the Patient Tell Us?
Authors: Engel Jerome , Wilson Charles , Bragin Anatol
Published: December 2003

Summary:  Many different types of epileptic seizures and epileptic syndromes exist. The process of epileptogenesis and the progressive nature of epilepsy, however, can most easily be investigated in the acquired epilepsies, in which a brain insult presumably gives rise to changes in neuronal systems that ultimately become capable of generating spontaneous ictal events. Invasive in vivo and in vitro research can be carried out in patients with acquired epileptogenic lesions in the course of epilepsy surgery; however, such studies are possible only for those epileptic conditions that can be treated surgically, and can be used only to examine an end stage of the epileptogenic process. Consequently, experimental animal models of human epileptic conditions are still required to study mechanisms by which specific cerebral insults initiate the epileptogenic process and the progression of an epileptic disturbance. Most current parallel human/animal invasive research has been focused on temporal lobe epilepsy, and particularly that form associated with hippocampal sclerosis, the most common human epileptogenic lesion. Studies indicate that epileptogenesis in this condition is initiated by specific types of cell loss and neuronal reorganization, which results not only in enhanced excitation, but also in enhanced inhibition, predisposing to hypersynchronization. Even within this single, well‐studied epileptic disorder, evidence is found for more than one type of ictal onset, and individual seizures can demonstrate a transition from one ictal mechanism to another. Recent in vivo and in vitro parallel, reiterative investigations in patients with mesial temporal lobe epilepsy, and in rats with intrahippocampal kainate‐induced hippocampal seizures, have revealed the presence of interictal epileptiform events, termed “fast ripples,” which appear to be unique in tissue capable of generating spontaneous seizures. Pursuit of the fundamental mechanisms underlying these abnormalities should elucidate the neurobiologic basis of epileptogenicity in this disorder. Furthermore, if these events are markers for epileptogenicity, they may have clinical value for diagnosis and pharmacologic, as well as surgical, treatment. Further research is needed to determine if these observations are relevant to other types of epilepsies.
Noninvasive Methods for Evaluating the Localization and Propagation of Epileptic Activity
Authors: Gotman Jean
Published: December 2003

Summary:  There are multiple approaches to analyzing the scalp EEG to obtain information on the intracerebral generators of epileptic activity. We review here a few of these methods, as they have been applied in various research projects carried out at the Montreal Neurological Institute. The areas covered include the validation of dipole models of epileptic spikes and of seizure discharges, the EEG microscope of Kobayashi, the analysis of rapid spread of epileptic seizures, and the recently developed method of combining EEG and functional magnetic resonance imaging to obtain activation regions at the time of spikes.
Models and Mechanisms of Experimental Epilepsies
Authors: Jefferys John G. R.
Published: December 2003

Summary:  Purpose: To review the value of experimental models of epilepsy to help us understand the underlying basic neuronal mechanisms.

Methods: The methods addressed here include a variety of acute and chronic experimental epilepsies and their investigation in vitro, in vivo, and in computer simulations.

Results: Epileptic discharges are emergent properties of neuronal networks, depending crucially on intrinsic neuronal properties, and on the structural and functional organisation of the synaptic networks that interconnect them. Fast oscillations are another emergent property of these networks; while they are involved in normal function, they can play a crucial role in the initiation of at least some kinds of focal seizure.

Discussion: Brief “interictal” epileptic events are now relatively well understood. Rather less so are the mechanisms of chronic epileptic foci, and particularly of the prolonged hypersynchronous hyperexcitability characteristic of focal seizures, but here too progress is being made, offering the prospect of better targeted treatments.
Sleep Oscillations Developing into Seizures in Corticothalamic Systems
Authors: Steriade M. , Amzica F.
Published: December 2003

Summary:  Purpose: The aim of this article is to discuss the neuronal substrates of sleep oscillations leading to seizures consisting of spike–wave (SW) complexes at 2–4 Hz, mimicking those seen in absence epilepsy, or SW and polyspike–wave (PSW) complexes at 1.5–2.5 Hz, often associated with fast runs at 10–15 Hz, as in the Lennox–Gastaut syndrome.

Methods: Extracellular recordings were done in permanently implanted animals during the natural waking–sleep cycle. Single and dual simultaneous recordings from cortical neurons, cortical and thalamic neurons, or cortical neurons and glial cells were performed in cats under ketamine–xylazine anesthesia.

Results: (a) The minimal substrate of SW seizures is the neocortex because such seizures may occur in thalamectomized animals, in which spindles are absent. In intact‐brain animals, SW seizures are initiated in neocortex and spread to the thalamus after a few seconds. The majority of thalamocortical (TC) neurons are steadily hyperpolarized throughout the cortical SW seizures. (b) In the Lennox–Gastaut syndrome, the paroxysmal depolarizing shifts (PDSs) associated with the EEG “spike” of SW/PSW complexes contain an important inhibitory component, whereas the hyperpolarization during the EEG “wave” component is not due to γ‐aminobutryic acid (GABA)ergic inhibitory postsynaptic potentials (IPSPs) but is ascribed to a mixture of disfacilitation and K+ currents. As is also the case with seizures consisting of pure SW complexes, the majority of TC neurons are hyperpolarized during the cortical paroxysms and disinhibited after the cessation of cortical seizures.

Conclusions: Seizures with SW complexes and of the Lennox–Gastaut type preferentially evolve from sleep oscillations. They are initiated in neocortex and spread to the thalamus after a few seconds. The majority of TC neurons are inhibited during these seizures.
Toward a Neurodynamical Understanding of Ictogenesis
Authors: Quyen Michel Le Van , Navarro Vincent , Martinerie Jacques , Baulac Michel , Varela Francisco J.
Published: December 2003

Summary:  Although considerable information on cellular and network mechanisms of epilepsy exists, it is still not understood why, how, and when the transition from interictal to ictal state takes place. The authors review their work on nonlinear EEG analysis and provide consistent evidences that dynamical changes in the neural activity allows the characterization of a preictal state several minutes before seizure onset. This new neurodynamical approach of ictogenesis opens new perspectives for studying the basic mechanisms in epilepsy as well as for possible therapeutic interventions.
Temporal Lobe Epileptogenesis and Epilepsy in the Developing Brain: Bridging the Gap Between the Laboratory and the Clinic. Progression, But in What Direction?
Authors: Velíšek L. , Moshé S. L.
Published: December 2003

Summary:  The origins of human mesial temporal lobe epilepsy and hippocampal sclerosis are still not well understood. Hippocampal sclerosis and temporal lobe epileptogenesis involve a series of pathologies including hippocampal neuronal loss and gliosis, axonal reorganization, and maybe hippocampal neoneurogenesis. However, the causality of these events is unclear as well as their relation to the factors that may precipitate epileptogenesis. Significant differences between temporal lobe epileptogenesis in the adult and immature brain may require differential approaches. Hereditary factors also may participate in some cases of hippocampal sclerosis. The key point is to identify the significance of these age‐dependent changes and to design preventive treatments. Novel strategies for the prevention and treatment of mesial temporal lobe epilepsy and hippocampal sclerosis may include rational use of neuroprotective agents, hormonotherapy, immunizations, and immunotherapy.
Non parametric VaR Techniques. Myths and Realities
Authors: Barone‐Adesi Giovanni , Giannopoulos Kostas
Published: December 2003

VaR (value‐at‐risk) estimates are currently based on two main techniques: the variance‐covariance approach or simulation. Statistical and computational problems affect the reliability of these techniques. We illustrate a new technique – filtered historical simulation (FHS) – designed to remedy some of the shortcomings of the simulation approach. We compare the estimates it produces with traditional bootstrapping estimates.

(J.E.L.: G19).
Consistent High‐precision Volatility from High‐frequency Data
Authors: Corsi Fulvio , Zumbach Gilles , Muller Ulrich A. , Dacorogna Michel M.
Published: December 2003

Estimates of daily volatility are investigated. Realized volatility can be computed from returns observed over time intervals of different sizes. For simple statistical reasons, volatility estimators based on high‐frequency returns have been proposed, but such estimators are found to be strongly biased as compared to volatilities of daily returns. This bias originates from microstructure effects in the price formation. For foreign exchange, the relevant microstructure effect is the incoherent price formation, which leads to a strong negative first‐order autocorrelation ρ(1)≃40 per cent for tick‐by‐tick returns and to the volatility bias. On the basis of a simple theoretical model for foreign exchange data, the incoherent term can be filtered away from the tick‐by‐tick price series. With filtered prices, the daily volatility can be estimated using the information contained in high‐frequency data, providing a high‐precision measure of volatility at any time interval.

(J.E.L.: C13, C22, C81).
Deterministic and Stochastic Methods for Estimation of Intra‐day Seasonal Components with High Frequency Data
Authors: Beltratti Andrea , Morana Claudio
Published: December 2003

We introduce a model for the analysis of intra‐day volatility based on unobserved components. The stochastic seasonal component is essential to model time‐varing intra‐day effects. The model is estimated with high frequency data for Deutsche mark–US dollar for 1993 and 1996. The model performs well in terms of coherence with the theoretical aggregation properties of GARCH models, it is effective in terms of both forecasting ability and describing reactions to macroeconomic news.

(J.E.L.: C14, C53, F31).
Value‐at‐risk Trade‐off and Capital Allocation with Copulas
Authors: Cherubini Umberto , Luciano Elisa
Published: December 2003

This paper uses copula functions to evaluate tail probabilities and market risk trade‐offs at a given confidence level, dropping the joint normality assumption on returns. Copulas enable one to represent distribution functions separating the marginal distributions from the association structure. We present an application to two stock market indices: for each market we recover the marginal probability distribution. We then calibrate copula functions and recover the joint distribution. The estimated copulas directly give the joint probabilities of extreme losses. Their level curves measure the trade‐off between losses over different desks. This trade‐off can be exploited for capital allocation and is shown to depend on fat tails.

(J.E.L.: C14, G19, G29).
Hedging a Portfolio of Derivative Securities: A Simulation Approach
Authors: Tebaldi Claudio
Published: December 2003

We illustrate a numerical simulation method to decompose a portfolio of derivative securities in a linear combination of dynamical risk factors. The price of the portfolio and its sensitivities are linear functions of these factors.

The method generalizes the static hedging theory proposed by Madan and Milne (1994) and applies to a dynamically complete, arbitrage free market with purely Brownian fluctuating assets. The extension to a class of market models whose volatility dynamics shows long memory and scaling behaviour is discussed and shown to be possible.

(J.E.L.: G12).
Credit Risk: Constructing the Basic Building Blocks
Authors: Hughston Lane P. , Turnbull Stuart M.
Published: December 2003

This paper uses three basic results to address three problems. The first problem concerns the pricing of corporate bonds, when in the event of default the claim of the bond holders is on the principal of the bond plus accrued interest. The second concerns the pricing of revolver loans, and the third problem we address is the valuation of the collateral associated with a loan.

(J.E.L.: G12, G13)
Fuzzy Value‐at‐risk: Accounting for Market Liquidity
Authors: Cherubini Umberto , Della Lunga Giovanni
Published: December 2003

In this paper we present a value‐at‐risk measure which accounts for market liquidity. We show that taking into account market liquidity implies a decoupling of valuation of long and short positions. We present a pricing model, named fuzzy measure model, that yields different values for positions of different sign and that can be usefully exploited to account for liquidity risk. This methodology is well‐suited to price options when the distribution of the underlying asset is not known precisely, as in the case of implied options in corporate claims or real options. As an example, we apply our pricing technique to an option based model of value‐at‐risk, in line with the Merton and Perold approach, and we recover different value‐at‐risk figures for long and short positions.

(J.E.L.: C00, D81, G12).
The relative contribution of outcome domains in the total economic benefit of addiction interventions: a review of first findings
Authors: McCollister Kathryn E. , French Michael T.
Published: December 2003

Aims This paper provides a focused summary of the relative contribution of addiction intervention outcomes to total economic benefit, based upon a compilation of published economic studies from the United States.

Design The relevant literature was searched extensively, and 11 economic studies were selected for review.

Setting The selected addiction interventions address both alcohol use/abuse and illicit drug use/abuse and represent various treatment modalities, including a brief physician intervention and long‐term residential programs.

Participants Study participants included community‐based drug users, pregnant and/or parenting women, problem drinkers, and criminal offenders.

Measurements These studies estimated the economic benefits of an addiction intervention(s) in terms of one or more of the following outcome domains: criminal activity, health services utilization, employment earnings, and expenditures on illicit drugs and alcohol.

Findings The primary finding of this review was that avoided criminal activity was the greatest economic benefit of addiction interventions and contributed more, as a separate outcome domain, to the total economic benefit of addiction interventions than any other outcome domain. Reduced utilization of health care services was also a noteworthy economic benefit of addiction interventions.

Conclusions This study provides a detailed exposition of economic benefits estimation and highlights the potential impact of individual outcomes, thus providing a useful resource for substance abuse researchers and administrators as they design and evaluate future interventions.
Areca quid chewing by Taiwanese adolescents: application of the Attitudes Social Influence Self‐efficacy (ASE) model
Authors: Li Shih‐Ming , Yu S. Rwei‐Ling , Hu Hsing‐Chia , Huang Jehn‐Shyun
Published: December 2003

Aims  To investigate the factors associated with areca quid‐chewing behaviour using the Attitudes–Social influence–Self‐efficacy (ASE) model as a theoretical framework.

Design  Cross‐sectional survey.

Setting and participants  A total of 400 students from a junior high school participated in the study in 2001 in Chia‐Yi city (Taiwan).

Measurements  Expectancy scales (for the attitude component of the ASE), a self‐efficacy scale (for the self‐efficacy component of the ASE) and a social norm scale (for the social influence component of the ASE) were utilized. These measures displayed good reliability and validity.

Findings  Forty‐seven students (11.75%) reported that they had tried chewing areca quid previously, eight of them practicing chewing it every day. Positive and negative expectancy (r = 0.43, r=− 0.20), self‐ efficacy (r = − 0.65), and subject social norm (r = 0.53) were significantly correlated with participants’ intentions to chew areca quid. In a regression model, self‐efficacy (β = − 0.46, P < 0.001), social norm (β = 0.22, P < 0.001), positive expectancy (β = 0.18, P < 0.001) and negative expectancy (β = − 0.08, P = 0.040) all made independent contributions to predicting intentions to chew and explained 46.8% of the variance in areca quid‐chewing behaviour.

Conclusions  Areca quid chewing appeared to be linked to positive expectancy and social norms pertaining to areca quid chewing associated with adolescents. However, high negative expectancy and high self‐efficacy encouraged contrary behaviour. The application of the ASE model as the scenario could improve our understanding of the intention of the areca quid chewing among these adolescents.
A hierarchy of gambling disorders in the community
Authors: Toce‐Gerstein Marianna , Gerstein Dean R. , Volberg Rachel A.
Published: December 2003

Aims  To help refine the definition and diagnosis of gambling disorders, we investigated the distribution among US gamblers of the 10 DSM‐IV criteria for Pathological Gambling.

Design  We drew data from two stratified random surveys (n = 2417, n= 530) of gambling behavior and consequences among community‐based samples of US adults. A fully structured questionnaire, administered by trained lay interviewers, screened for the life‐time prevalence of problem and Pathological Gambling. Per DSM‐IV definitions, anyone meeting five or more of 10 itemized criteria was considered a pathological gambler. We analyzed these criteria among all gamblers who met one or more criteria (n = 399).

Findings  Most gamblers who met only one or two criteria reported ‘chasing their losses’. At subclinical levels (three to four criteria), gamblers also reported elevated rates of gambling‐related fantasy: lying, gambling to escape and preoccupation. Pathological gamblers with five to seven criteria reported marked elevations of loss of control, withdrawal symptoms and tolerance (internalizing dimensions of dependence); risking their social relationships and needing to be bailed out financially (externalizing dimensions). Most of the highest‐level pathological gamblers (eight to 10 criteria) reported committing illegal acts to support gambling.

Conclusion  Dependence in a biobehavioral sense appears to be a hallmark of Pathological Gambling, but it marks only one threshold in a qualitative hierarchy of disorders beginning with a common subclinical behavior, ‘chasing’. Epidemiological assessments and future DSM revisions might consider explicit recognition of a problem gambling disorder, identifying people presenting some cognitive symptoms of Pathological Gambling but not clear signs of dependence. Pathological gamblers in turn appear to have two distinct levels of severity.
Chronic depersonalization following illicit drug use: a controlled analysis of 40 cases
Authors: Medford Nicholas , Baker Dawn , Hunter Elaine , Sierra Mauricio , Lawrence Emma , Phillips Mary L. , David Anthony S.
Published: December 2003

Aims  To examine demographic and clinical features of a group of patients reporting chronic depersonalization (DP) following illicit drug use, and to assess whether depersonalization arising in these circumstances constitutes a distinct clinical syndrome.

Design  Case–control comparison using self‐reports, standardized questionnaires and clinical assessments in a specialized clinic.

Setting  A tertiary referral depersonalization clinic and research unit affiliated to a psychiatric hospital and research centre.

Participants  A total of 164 individuals with chronic DP symptoms who had been in contact with the clinic. Forty of these individuals related the onset of symptoms to an episode of illicit drug use.

Measurements  A wide range of demographic and clinical variables measured using questionnaires and standardized rating scales.

Findings  The drug‐induced DP group were significantly younger and had a preponderance of males compared to the non‐drug group. Certain clinical and phenomenological differences were found between these groups, but in general the groups are strikingly similar. This is reinforced by the fact that when the drug‐induced group was compared with an age and sex‐matched subset of the non‐drug group, differences between groups largely disappeared.

Conclusions  Drug‐induced DP does not appear to represent a distinct clinical syndrome. The neurocognitive mechanisms of the genesis and maintenance of DP are likely to be similar across clinical groups, regardless of precipitants.