bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Reproductive Health of Young people in Côte d’Ivoire: Issues and Prospects
Authors: Touré Aminata
Published: March 2003

In Côte d’Ivoire, young people aged between 14 and 24 represent 25% of the population, and this is the age group that is particularly vulnerable to reproductive health problems. Sexually transmitted diseases and AIDS in the main affect 15 to 18‐year‐olds; the early pregnancy rate is high; and the widespread recourse to illegal abortion by women at an increasingly young age reflects the emergence of an unfilled need for family planning services among the young. To cope with this situation, the Côte d’Ivoire authorities have adopted several strategies, which include launching wide‐ranging information campaigns and making condoms generally available. However, over and beyond such actions, which are beginning to bear fruit, it seems that particular attention needs to be focused on young people not at school and on girls, whose social status is low. The promotion of equality between the sexes and the legalisation of abortion could give added force to strategies to promote the reproductive health of young people.
Models of federal power sharing
Authors: Watts Ronald
Published: March 2003

Concurrent contemporary pressures for both larger and smaller political units have contributed to the appeal of federal political systems as a way of reconciling both these pressures and of accommodating social diversity within a polity. Among the major federal institutional models that have resulted have been unions, constitutionally decentralised unions, federations, confederations, federacies, associated states, condominiums, leagues, joint functional authorities, and hybrids. Furthermore, within each of these forms there has been considerable variation. Among federations, the issues in their design that have affected their operation have been: the number and character of the constituent units, the distribution of legislative and executive authority and financial resources, the degree of symmetry or asymmetry in the powers allocated to constituent units, the form and structure of the common federative institutions, the role of courts as adjudicative bodies, the constitutional recognition of individual and collective minority rights, and the processes for intergovernmental consultation, cooperation, and coordination. The successes and failures of federations during the past half‐century point to four major lessons, which have a bearing on the ability of federations and more broadly federal systems to reconcile and manage social diversity.
Indigenous peoples: self‐government and intergovernmental relations
Authors: Hawkes David C.
Published: March 2003

The right of self‐determination of indigenous peoples within states often branches in two directions: (1) a drive for more autonomy for indigenous nations and (2) a demand for greater participation in the decision‐making institutions of the state. These two branches of indigenous self‐determination appear to fit very closely with the twin pillars of federalism ‐ self‐rule and shared‐rule. There are many aspects of federalism that can provide a context for accommodating the self‐determination of indigenous peoples within federal states. The drive for greater autonomy, or self‐rule, can be accommodated through a public form of government where indigenous people are the demographic majority in a region, or through the exercise of the aboriginal right of self‐government and the negotiation of intergovernmental agreements. The demand for greater participation in the decision‐making institutions of the state, or shared‐rule, can be met by guaranteed representation for indigenous peoples in the legislatures of federations, in the creation of Aboriginal parliaments, in the creation of state dispute resolution mechanisms to address the needs of indigenous peoples, in the development of treaty‐making and treaty‐renewal processes, and through indigenous participation in the intergovern‐mentalrelations of federal states.
The World Bank's New Social Policies: Pensions
Authors: Merrien François‐Xavier
Published: March 2003

Over the last 15 years, the world has become the scene of struggles between major inter‐national stakeholders regarding the policies required for economic prosperity and social development. The World Bank plays a dominant role here. In this article, the author highlights the epistemic revolution the policy field has undergone under the aegis of the Bank. He analyses the basic aspects of the new orthodoxy regarding pensions and the effects on the policies of the governments concerned. He concludes with an examination of the theoretical and practical relevance of the recommendations and asks to what extent the Bank is able to learn from its own mistakes.
“Terrorism” as total violence?
Authors: Sommier Isabelle
Published: March 2003

This article defends the idea that terrorism, to which the term ‘total violence’ will be preferred, namely a deliberate strategy of blind violence against the civilian population accord‐ing to the principle of disjunction between victims (‘non‐combatants‘, ‘the innocent’) and target (a government or other authority), is the civilian version of the extreme violence that is in most cases used by states. It identifies three processes that go to explain the emergence of this new form of violence. First, the historical process of the ideologisation and mythification of warfare, which permitted a substantial unleashing of state violence during the twentieth century and its civil society counterpart, arbi‐trary murder. Second, due prominence must be given in the analysis of violence to the purely technological factor, namely the new military and communication resources that hugely increase human capacity for destruction and its resultant terror effects. Lastly, there is an anthropological dimension, which, in the aggressor's relationship with the victim, places total violence in the category of extreme violence, as the conclusion of an a priori paradoxical linkage between the terrifying instrumentalisation of victims and the near mystical exaltation of their sacrifice.
Equity and Redistribution Between Generations: A Challenge for the Future of Pensions and all Social Protection Schemes
Authors: Guillemard Anne‐Marie
Published: March 2003

Throughout Europe today, the problems of employment and the prospects of pronounced demographic ageing combine to raise a number of questions on the future of pensions and on the underlying principles of redistribution between generations. Everywhere a new debate has arisen on intergenerational equity. It has often served as the justification for pension scheme reforms introduced or pending in most countries. Some clarification is needed on what is actually meant by intergenerational equity, all the more so with the ongoing complexity of the scientific and political arguments on the subject. In this paper I attempt to show, on the basis of information derived from my research, why a financial view of intergenerational redistribution seems inadequate and how, in discussing the future of such redistribution, there are new forms of life cycle organization and redistribution of worktime and compensated inactivity across this life cycle that need to be considered. This paper aims to show that in considering the future of pension schemes and the prospects of a contract between generations one must take into account the manner in which the distribution of work operates between all ages and across the whole life cycle, in relation to the structure of social security. Welfare states today constitute an inextricable tangle of risks and coverage systems. In such circumstances it would seem rash to countenance the kind of public pension reforms that have been envisaged by a number of member countries of the European Union, not leastFrance, without taking into account the close relationship that now exists between pensions, unemployment insurance and disability. Reform in one sector cannot meet the challenge of the ageing population in our developed societies.
The development of some characteristics for equitable national retirement income systems
Authors: Knox David , Cornish Roslyn
Published: March 2003

The objective of this paper is to establish and apply a set of characteristics or benchmarks for a nation’s total retirement income system to be considered equitable. It must be stressed that the suggested characteristics do not, by themselves, design a national retirement income system. Indeed, it is recognized that the political, historical, economic and cultural context of each country will always influence such designs. However, this paper will demonstrate that different designs of national retirement income systems are not equally effective when subjected to these equity criteria. Hence, in putting forward these characteristics, the aim is to develop clear distinctions between equitable and inequitable national retirement income systems.
Reforming health insurance: A question of principles?
Authors: Dror David M.
Published: March 2003

Most industrialized countries have financed health services through health insurance. Two systems prevail: private, or public (social) health insurance. The theoretical differences between them are reviewed. It is argued that most health systems are, however, hybrids and that health insurance reform in Europe and the United States has accentuated this trend because the principles distinguishing the two systems have often been ignored. This is illustrated through the evolution of voluntary vs. compulsory affiliation, coping with moral hazard, and provider regulation.
Geschäfts- und Risikopolitik von Hedgefonds im Vergleich zu anderen Finanzintermediären: Sind Hedgefonds besonders gefährlich?
Authors: Franke Günter
Published: March 2003

Hedge funds are characterized by short-term investments in over- or undervalued financial instruments. Their policy is highly dynamic as opposed to the more long-term investments of mutual funds. On average, the risk taken by hedge funds appears to be higher than that taken by mutual funds, although quite risky mutual funds also exist. Banks sometimes take large default risks, as evidenced by various banking crises. Also banks trade heavily on the term structure of interest rates. Hence, in these respects it appears that banks take risks that are at least as high as hedge funds. In short-term proprietary trading, banks and hedge funds face similar challenges. Overall, hedge funds cannot be regarded as more dangerous than banks.

Since hedge funds trade with professional investors and banks, there is little reason to protect these counterparties by special regulation. Moreover, most hedge funds are rather small players and do not seem to act in herds. Therefore, the probability of systemic risks created by hedge funds appears to be very low. As a consequence, market control of hedge funds supported by more transparency appears to be preferable to specific hedge fund regulation.
A study of antecedents of organizational commitment
Authors: Tao Masao , Takagi Hiroto , Ishida Masahiro , Masuda Kei
Published: March 2003

Various theories of organizational behaviors suggest that there should be significant relationships between the work‐related variables and commitment to an organization. This study shows that, for a sample of 203 Japanese industrial workers, four components (attachment, internalization, normative, and continuance) of organizational commitment are predicted by organizational climate, supervisory behavior, organizational tenure, and role clarity. Implications for future research are discussed.
Keeping a diary in cyberspace
Authors: Kawaura Yasuyuki , Kawakami Yoshiro , Yamashita Iyomi
Published: March 2003

This research was conducted into people who post their diaries on the Internet (hereinafter referred to as Web diaries) to reveal the psychological implications of writing a diary in cyberspace. A total of 1,529 people were extracted from full‐text search engines and collections of Web diary links and surveyed. Invitations to participate were sent to the authors of the extracted home pages by e‐mail and the survey itself was conducted with the use of a home page form. There were 377 valid responses, giving a response rate of 24.7%. The Web diaries were broken down into four types: (a) self‐conscious records of fact (memoirs); (b) records of fact conscious of a relationship with the reader (journals); (c) self‐conscious expressions of sentiment (“(narrowly defined) diaries”); (d) expressions of sentiments conscious of a relationship with the reader (“open diaries”). The four types were described bidimensionally as (a) a record of fact or an expression of sentiment, and (b) the authors' consciousness is either self‐oriented or reader‐oriented. Moreover, these dimensions are closely intertwined with utility and self‐consciousness.
On Being Holier‐Than‐Thou or Humbler‐Than‐Thee: A Social‐Psychological Perspective on Religiousness and Humility
Authors: Rowatt Wade C. , Ottenbreit Alison , Nesselroade, Jr. K. Paul , Cunningham Paige A.
Published: March 2003

This research examined the association between religiousness and humility. Participants in Studies 1 and 2 completed measures of religiousness, socially desirable responding, and their own and other people’s adherence to biblical commandments. Participants in Study 2 also rated how characteristic nonreligious positive and negative trait terms were of the self and others. Humility was operationalized as the magnitude of difference between individuals’ evaluations of self and other. Overvaluing the self in relation to others or undervaluing others in relation to the self was considered evidence of less humility. Participants rated the self to be more adherent to biblical commandments than others (the holier‐than‐thou effect) and rated the self to be more positive and less negative than others (the self‐other bias). In both studies, intrinsic religiousness was associated with an increase in the tendency to rate the self as more adherent to biblical commandments than others. Quest was associated with a slight decrease in the magnitude of the holier‐than‐thou effect. Religious motivations did not account for unique variation in the general self‐other bias. Irrespective of motivations for being religious, however, highly religious people (i.e., upper thirds on general religiousness and religious fundamentalism) more so than less religious people (i.e., lower thirds on general religiousness and religious fundamentalism) rated the self to be better on nonreligious attributes than others.
Sexuality and Religious Commitment in the United States: An Empirical Examination
Authors: Sherkat Darren E.
Published: March 2003

I provide an empirical assessment of the religious commitments of gays, lesbians, and bisexuals in the United States. I compare the religiosity of gay men and lesbians and bisexuals to each other and to male and female heterosexuals, while controlling for a host of sociodemographic factors that may contribute to differences across the gender/sexuality groups. To accomplish this, I examine data from the 1991–2000 General Social Surveys (GSS). During this period, the GSS asked respondents for the sex of their sex partners over the last five years. The GSS finds that 4.3 percent of men and 3.1 percent of women report same‐sex sexual partners in the five years preceding the interview—this is a larger proportion than members of “other” races, Episcopalians, or Jews. I find that gay men have high rates of religious participation, while lesbians and bisexuals have significantly lower rates of participation. Nonheterosexuals are more likely to become apostates when compared to female heterosexuals, but no more so than are heterosexual men. My findings are at odds with religious pundits who suggest that alternative sexuality mixes with religion more often for females than for males. The results are in concert with contemporary theories regarding the formation of religious preferences, and risk preferences and religiosity.
As the Flocks Gather: How Religion Affects Voluntary Association Participation
Authors: Lam Pui–Yan
Published: March 2003

This study investigates the relationship between different dimensions of religiosity and voluntary association participation using data from Queen’sUniversity’s 1996 “God and Society in North America” survey. I look at the participatory, devotional, affiliative, and theological dimensions of religiosity and examine how they affect voluntary association participation at three different levels: membership, volunteering, and serving on a committee. The results show that all four religious dimensions have considerable, but distinctive, influences on secular voluntary association participation.
Assessing Conventional Wisdom about Religion and Politics: A Preliminary View from the Pews
Authors: Brewer Mark D. , Kersh Rogan , Petersen R. Eric
Published: March 2003

Given religious leaders’ frequent opportunities to communicate to a large and receptive audience, political messages delivered during religious services have the potential to make a considerable impact on American politics—with particular significance for political education and mobilization. Social scientists routinely conclude that such messages are indeed disseminated, a claim we test in this study. Is it in fact true that church– and temple–going Americans regularly receive political messages from their ministers, priests, and rabbis during worship services? If so, what forms do these pronouncements take? How intense are they? Is this communication limited to messages from the service leader or does it come from other parts of the service, either informal or ritualistic? Existing empirical assessments of this topic depend heavily on survey research, asking congregants (or, less often, members of the clergy) about the frequency and content of political messages. Although such studies are certainly valuable, we approach religious political communications in a more immediate way: by observing them directly. Our conclusions are based on two waves of attendance at weekly services during 1998–1999, varying by religious tradition and denomination, region, and other dimensions. We find that “political” messages, broadly defined, are indeed delivered quite often. However, content analysis of these messages reveals that they typically address matters of social justice and rarely other types of political activity or belief, such as specific public policies or civic involvement (including voting). Political references during services only very occasionally constituted calls to direct political action on the part of the worshiper. Ultimately, our findings suggest that political content does occur relatively frequently during U.S. religious services, supporting the accounts of other social scientists. Our analysis offers new insight as to the content and nature of the political messages Americans are exposed to during religious services.
Religious Switching: Preference Development, Maintenance, and Change
Authors: Loveland Matthew T.
Published: March 2003

Up to one–third of Americans switch religions at some time during their lives. What are the predictors of this religious mobility? This article addresses this question using a modified rational choice framework to explain the development, maintenance, and change of religious preferences. Although classical rational choice theory assumes that preferences are stable, this article suggests that preferences are variable and that social interaction works to maintain or change an individual's preferred religious choice. A cultural theory of preference formation is applied to allow for the social constraint rational choice theory often ignores. Findings suggest that childhood socialization does not cement religious preference, that formally joining a church while growing up acts to stabilize preferences, that lapsing in practice increases the likelihood of switching, and that “distinctive” denominations generate religious preferences that reduce individual switching.
Religiosity and Mental Health: A Meta–Analysis of Recent Studies
Authors: Hackney Charles H. , Sanders Glenn S.
Published: March 2003

A meta–analysis was performed in an attempt to clarify the proposed relationship between religiosity and psychological adjustment. Specific focus was given to the issue of definition, namely, whether differences in researchers’ conceptualizations of religiosity and mental health could account for the various contradictory findings by psychologists of religion. Analysis of 34 studies conducted during the past 12 years revealed that the definitions of religiosity and mental health utilized by psychologists in this field were indeed associated with different types and strengths of the correlations between religiosity and mental health. Discussion of results assesses the fit between relevant theory and the pattern of change in effect size across categories of religion and adjustment, and concludes with implications for therapeutic uses of religious involvement.
Verbal Discrimination: A Neglected Chapter in the Social Psychology Of Aggression
Authors: Graumann Carl F.
Published: March 2003

While in our culture it is a common experience that hurting others is done more frequently by means of words than by physical force, the phenomena of verbal aggression and verbal discrimination have largely been neglected in the psychology of aggression. Connecting the research fields of aggression, discrimination, and discourse, and discussing the common definition of aggression as intentional harmdoing, it is argued that verbal discrimination, i.e., the verbal treatment of others as members of an allegedly inferior group or category, must be considered a case of aggression as this practice is a violation of other persons’ rights or dignity.
Bodies of Knowledge: Beyond Cartesian Views of Persons, Selves and Mind
Authors: Burkitt Ian
Published: March 2003

In this piece, I argue against the Cartesian trend of seeing persons, selves and mind as something distinct from the body. It is claimed that Descartes realized the importance of the link between body and mind, but never pursued this connection, and this then becomes the aim of the paper. Another effect of Cartesian modes of thinking is to divorce human knowledge from its material contexts, driving a wedge between mind and matter. Some forms of social constructionism appear to fall into this latter trap and instead I argue for a view of persons as embodied beings whose selves are intimately connected to the body. Using the work of Bourdieu, Elias, Merleau‐Ponty, and Ilyenkov, I also suggest that thought cannot be disengaged from a human body active in its world and that knowledge not only partly separates us from the materiality of existence, but connects us to it in deeper ways, as another dimension of human existence. Human beings can then be regarded as bodies of knowledge – active thinkers and persons engaged with the multi‐dimensional world around them and capable of producing change.
The Individualism‐Holism Problem in Sociological Research
Authors: Dahlbäck Olof
Published: March 2003

This paper treats the problem of which type of units, individuals or whole societies, should be used when explaining societal phenomena. It is argued that factors operating at the individual level in principle form societies, and that societal phenomena therefore should ideally be explained at this level. However, it is also argued that many societal phenomena cannot in practice be analyzed at the individual level in a clear and strict way, but rather must be analyzed holistically, because it is not known how they are related to individual factors due to the complexity of societies. For societies to be described and analyzed in a clear and strict way, they must as a rule be much simplified, and such simplification is often made easier by abandoning the individualistic perspective. If researchers still wish to describe a connection between individual factors and a societal phenomenon, they often must do so in vague terms. There are also other problems with the individualistic perspective that make it difficult to use. However, using the holistic perspective may be risky, as shown by two hypothetical examples.
How to Silence One’s Conscience: Cognitive Defenses Against the Feeling of Guilt
Authors: Miceli Maria , Castelfranchi Cristiano
Published: March 2003

This work presents an analysis of the feeling of guilt and in particular of the cognitive defenses against it. It shows how the need to avoid or mitigate the feeling, with the suffering implied, affects the perception and judgment of oneself and others. It is in fact claimed that to copy with their guilt people try to alter the appraisal processes implied by the emotion. Once described the main cognitive components of the feeling of guilt, an analysis is offered of the interventions of the cognitive defenses on such components, to alter the original appraisal processes underlying the feeling.
The Concept of Consciousness
Authors: Natsoulas Thomas
Published: March 2003

Considered here is the last one of the six basic concepts of consciousness that The Oxford English Dictionary identifies in its several entries under consciousness. The referent of the sixth concept, which I call “consciousness6”, is rightly understood to be a certain general operating mode of the mind. Any psychological account of consciousness6 must distinguish this operating mode from (a) the “particular consciousness or awarenesses”, i.e., the specific thoughts, feelings, perceptions, intentions, and the like (including William James's succession of total states of consciousness), that occur while the mind is so operating, and from (b) the other, alternative, general operating modes of the mind: such as those that are sometimes in force in place of consciousness6, when one is awake.
Towards a Paradigm for Research on Social Representations
Authors: Bauer Martin W. , Gaskell George
Published: March 2003

Based on Moscovici’s (1961) classical study on the cultivation of psychoanalytic ideas in France in the 1950’s and our own research on modern biotechnology, we propose a paradigm for researching social representations. Following a consideration of the nature of representations and of the ‘iconoclastic suspicion’ that haunts them, we propose a model of the emergence of meaning relating three elements: subjects, objects, and projects. The basic unit of analysis is the elongated triangle of mediation (SOPS): subject 1, object, project, and subject 2, captured in the image of a ‘Toblerone’. Such social units cultivate, that is produce, circulate and receive representation which may be embodied in four modes–habitual behaviour, individual cognition, informal communication and formal communication–and in three mediums–words, visual images or non‐linguistic sounds. We propose an operational definition of a ‘social representation’ as the comparison of four characteristics of communication systems: the content structures (anchorings and objectifications; core and peripheral elements), the typified processes (diffusion, propagation, propaganda etc.), and their functions (identity, attitude, opinion, resistance, ideology etc.), within the context of segmented social milieus. Seven implications for research on social representations are outlined: (1) content and process; (2) segmentation by social milieus rather than taxonomies; (3) cultivation studies within social milieus; (4) multi‐method (mode and medium) analysis; (5) time structures and longitudinal data; (6) the crossover of cultural projects and trajectories; (7) the disinterested research attitude. This ideal type paradigm leads to an operational clarification to identify new research questions, and to guide the design and evaluation of studies on social representations.
Some Problems with Gadamer's and Habermas' Dialogical Model of Sociological Understanding
Authors: Harrington Austin
Published: March 2003

Despite differences between them, Gadamer and Habermas both argue that in order to understand the practices and beliefs of other cultures and periods of history fully and critically, researchers should enter into imaginary ‘dialogue’ with their subjects about the nature of the world. Objectivity of understanding in their view consists not in prior suppression of our contemporary preconceptions and interests but in a process of actively seeking agreement (Verständigung) with others over appropriate world‐views and normative beliefs. This paper challenges Gadamer's and Habermas' thesis on three fronts. It argues that, (i) the notion of 'dialogue' with past personages and abstract social totalities is not clear, even when qualified as 'imaginary'; (ii) to derive normative Verständigung from descriptive Verstehen is not conceptually well‐founded, nor pertinent to the thematic goals of research; and (iii) however deeply interpreters remain tied to the culture of their upbringing, they are not thereby licensed to incorporate value‐judgments into the research process. Rather than providing any methodological norms for research, dialogue ought best be seen as characterising certain moral and political responsibilities of scientists in relation to civil society and the public sphere.
Group Problem‐Solving Processes: Social Interactions andIndividual Actions
Authors: Chiu Ming Ming
Published: March 2003

To help consider why some groups solve problems successfully but others do not, this article introduces a framework for analyzing sequences of group members' actions. The dimensions of evaluation of the previous action (supportive, critical, unresponsive), knowledge content (contribution, repetition, null), and invitational form (command, question, statement) organize twenty‐seven individual actions, each with specific functions and conditions of use. Evaluations, repetitions and invitational forms link actions together to create coherent social interactions, and thereby serve as possible quantitative measures of collaboration quality. Specific individual action also helps constitute specific social interactions. Six types of social interactions that occur during group problem‐solving are organized by problem knowledge distribution (no one knows a problem approach, some know, or everyone knows) and degree of cooperation (independent or cooperative). This framework's mutually exclusive categories and multi‐function individual actions allow statistical analyses of many group interactions both in their entirety and infine detail.
Solitude: An Exploration of Benefits of Being Alone
Authors: Long Christopher R. , Averill James R.
Published: March 2003

Christopher R. Long and James R. Averill, Solitude: An Exploration of Benefits of Being Alone, pp. 21–44.

Historically, philosophers, artists, and spiritual leaders have extolled the benefits of solitude; currently, advice on how to achieve solitude is the subject of many popular books and articles. Seldom, however, has solitude been studied by psychologists, who have focused instead on the negative experiences associated with being alone, particularly loneliness. Solitude, in contrast to loneliness, is often a positive state—one that may be sought rather than avoided. In this article, we examine some of the benefits that have been attributed to solitude—namely, freedom, creativity, intimacy, and spirituality. In subsequent sections, we consider the environmental settings and personality characteristics conducive to solitude, how time spent alone is experienced differently across the life span, and the potential dangers related to the attractiveness of solitude. We conclude with a brief discussion of the theoretical and practical implications of solitude.
The Time to Punish and the Problem of Moral Luck
Authors: Statman Daniel
Published: March 2003

Christopher New recently argued for the seemingly paradoxical idea that there is no moral reason not to punish someone before she commits her crime (‘prepunishment’), provided that we can be sure that she will, in fact, commit the crime in the future. I argue that the air of paradox dissolves if we understand the possibility of prepunishment as relying on an anti‐moral‐luck position. However, New does not draw the full conclusions from such a position, which would allow prepunishment even prior to the formation of a wrongful intention, on the basis of the idea that bad character is enough to entail blameworthiness. I conclude by examining a legal system which seems to use the idea of prepunishment, i.e. the Talmudic idea that we might punish a child who has not yet sinned in order to save him from sinning in the future.
Contractarianism and Animal Rights
Authors: Rowlands Mark
Published: March 2003

It is widely accepted, by both friends and foes of animal rights, that contractarianism is the moral theory least likely to justify the assigning of direct moral status to non‐human animals. These are not, it is generally supposed, rational agents, and contractarian approaches can grant direct moral status only to such agents. I shall argue that this widely accepted view is false. At least some forms of contractarianism, when properly understood, do, in fact, entail that non‐human animals possess direct moral status, independently of their utility for rational agents, and independently of whatever interests rational agents may have in them. The version of contractarianism I shall focus upon is that defended by John Rawls.
The Perplexing Conclusion: The Essential Difference between Natural and Artificial Intelligence is Human Beings’ Ability to Deceive
Authors: Barzel Alexander
Published: March 2003

As opposed to the computer, the human being can intentionally mislead in many different ways, can behave chaotically, and whenever he has the motivation can choose also by improvisation, non‐consequent misleading, and spontaneous manners of reasoning and articulation. Human perception and the elaboration of the experience are existentially interest‐related, and distorted if found necessary. The arbitrariness is unlimited; human beings can initiate and produce absurd combinations, contextual failures and deceptive expressions, and do so also by intonation and body‐language. These are the sources of social behaviour, of literature, arts, jurisprudence, politics, etc., all representing systems of meaning constructed by human beings, present in their ‘Lebenswelt’. Human beings are flexible, sensible of emotions and well‐trained to code and decode hidden fallacies, to produce wild associations, capricious‐temporary conclusions, tasks that the rigid computer cannot fulfil. They can choose incorrect and dysfunctional answers; the exactness of their reasoning can be logically invalid. The computer has only inner horizons; human beings have also outer ones, in which they are able to produce multidimensional relationships. They are not truth‐conditioned.

The reduction of organic human thinking to the computer’s mechanisms can end up in humankind’s dehumanisation.
Uniqueness, Individuality, and Human Cloning
Authors: Elliott David
Published: March 2003

This paper challenges two main arguments often presented to show that cloning a human being would be morally wrong per se. These arguments are that human cloning would be intrinsically wrong 1) because it involves manufacturing a person rather than creating or reproducing one, and 2) because it violates some claim or right that individuals have to be biologically unique. I argue that while cloning may involve genetic selection, it need not always be a decision to select for a certain type of individual. Furthermore, I contend that the notion of biological uniqueness is inadequate to ground either the idea that biologically non‐unique individuals are morally worse off than unique ones or that biological uniqueness itself constitutes a criterion of moral value or status.
Twin Authors. How to Write Novels in Tandem
Authors: Jung Joachim
Published: March 2003

Classical aesthetics cherishes the image of a self‐contained author who expresses himself by creating a work of art. This definition is markedly challenged by authors who create their work in co‐operation with a congenial partner. Twin authors are a rare phenomenon but they show that it is possible to split up a literary project and to write novels in tandem. In 1997 I approached some joint authors, questioning them on their common experience, on the distribution of their work load and the harmonisation of the style and content of their novels, as well as the individual steps of production. The material I accumulated was complemented by investigations on late writers such as the brothers Goncourt and the double author Ellery Queen.

The project made it evident that twin authors display a number of common features which are characteristic of their trade. All authors asked reported that writing in tandem required a pervasive internal harmony and mutual calculability. A close personal relationship appears to be vital, in the sense that the partners complement each other in their skills and views. When they assemble the material for their plots, most twin authors draw on journalistic research rather than on inspiration and empathy. Their novels normally appeal to a down‐to‐earth taste and avoid digressions into poetry or copious descriptions of feelings and moods.
Is Act‐Utilitarianism the ‘Ethics of Fantasy’?
Authors: Scarre Geoffrey
Published: March 2003

Act‐utilitarianism is often criticised as an unreasonably demanding moral philosophy that commits agents to a life of ceaseless and depersonalizing do‐gooding. In this essay I argue in Sidgwickian vein that the strenuousness of act‐utilitarianism has been greatly exaggerated, and that the practical demands of the doctrine in the contemporary world are closer to those of common‐sense morality than such critics as Derek Parfit and Brad Hooker allow.
Morally we Roll Along: (Optimistic Reflections) on Moral Progress
Authors: Godlovitch Stan
Published: March 2003

Changes over time in many large scale human practices such as science and technology seem best understood in terms of progress. Further, regarding such practices as slavery, we seem to have moved on and for the better, that is, to have progressed morally. But moral progress seems something different from other forms of progress. If possible at all, in what can it consist? Progress is understood as falling into three distinguishable categories; namely, progress as mere change, as change culminating in some end‐state, and as change involving improvement or betterment. While scientific or economic progress seem of the last sort, moral progress is best understood as a hybrid of culminative change and improvement, a variety of progress labelled millenarian. Though there is an end towards which moral progress must tend, we do not know what it is. Further, moral progress must occupy a special superordinate and regulatory role regarding other progressive practices; that is, for moral progress to be possible, other progressive practices must come under the aegis of increasingly stringent moral regulation. This paper elaborates a model of moral progress, speculates upon signs of its presence, considers various relativist objections, and makes an exhortative plea for the need to have such a notion as a condition of the very possibility of moral progress.
John Gray’s Pluralist Critique of Liberalism
Authors: Crowder George
Published: March 2003

John Gray claims that ‘value pluralism’, or the plurality and incommensurability of basic values, undermines any attempt to make a reasoned case for the superiority of liberalism (or any other ideology) over its rivals. Incommensurable values, he says, cannot be subjected to a rational ranking, except in particular cases, yet liberalism appears to advocate the promotion of certain values rather than others in general terms. I argue that Gray’s critique has force against some traditional justifications of liberal politics, but that he exaggerates its reach against other, more recent forms of liberal theory. In particular, Gray’s view of liberalism as merely one form of life among others, with no rational claims to precedence, rests on a mistaken understanding of the implications of value pluralism. The incommensurability of values does not imply the absolute incommensurability of forms of life, such as those of liberal and non‐liberal cultures. Far from being incompatible with the reasoned advocacy of liberalism, value pluralism may itself provide liberalism with a rational grounding.
Professional Education and Professional Ethics Right to Die or Duty to Live?
Authors: Carr David
Published: March 2003

Despite the undeniable ethical dimensions of paid occupations — trades and services — other than the traditional professions, it is still natural to associate courses of professional ethics with medicine, law, nursing or teaching, rather than auto‐repair, supermarket assistance or window‐cleaning. Indeed, it seems plausible to hold that if there is anything more to the traditional distinction of professions from trades or other services than considerations of social and economic status, it might well reside in the distinctive ethical or moral character and implications of such occupations as medicine, law and education. This paper undertakes to explore, via examination of some of the commonly suggested criteria of professionalism, the nature of such implications and the extent to which they justify continued deployment of a distinctive occupational category of ‘profession’. On the assumption that they do, however, the paper is also concerned to examine critically the consequences for education in professional ethics of any such distinctive ethics of profession.
In Partnership with Industry: The Educational — Industrial Interface
Authors: MacDonald Alastair S , O’Neil Lynne
Published: March 2003

The paper discusses the long‐term strategic approach to collaboration between education and industry initiated by Glasgow School of Art's Department of Product Design, and examines the opportunities and benefits of the investment in the post of an Industrial Liaison Officer (ILO) over a four year period which furthered this partnership. The paper shows the need for a professionally and adequately resourced approach to provide mutual benefits to industry and education, and to the economy in general
The Trouble with Post‐modernism
Authors: MacDonald Stuart W.
Published: March 2003

This paper examines the concept of Post‐modernism as applied to art and design education. It looks at the lack of models and cogent ideas. It suggests that whilst Post‐modernism is problematic there are Post‐modernisms that offer a way forward.
The Future of Nation‐Wide Testing in the Visual Arts
Authors: Schönau Diederik
Published: March 2003

Final examinations and compulsory testing are powerful means to support educational reforms. In order to be really supportive, these tests have to do justice to both the intentions of the reform and the characteristics of the discipline. In Dutch educational reform titled ‘Basic education’ the classroom teaching should give more attention to skills and abilities and less to knowledge in itself. Although the visual arts have always been skill‐oriented, the introduction of compulsory testing of practical work has raised new issues. Is it possible to compare students’ work when the assessment is made by the students’ teachers only? Here the idea is presented to have collections published as part of the test that exemplify the visual possibilities and the levels of accomplishment.
Grief – The Expression of Romanian Artistic Spirituality
Authors: Dragut Adrian
Published: March 2003

This paper expresses a personal point of view of the main features of Romanian artistic spirituality based on the writings of Romanian philosopher, Emil Corian, on personal knowledge of Romanian folk art, of the art of the initiated, and on teaching and art‐making experience.
A Dual Inheritance: The Politics of Educational Reform and PhDs in Art and Design
Authors: Candlin Fiona
Published: March 2003

This paper examines the changing relationship of art practice to academic research in higher education since 1960. Whereas art practice was often conceived of as divorced from any notion of academic or theoretical work in the post 1960 art school, by the 1990s the ground had changed to such a degree that it was possible to pursue doctoral study in art practice. This emergence of practice‐based PhDs can be considered as part of a larger shift in art education and its acceptance of theory.
Ownership Differences and Firms' Income Smoothing Behavior
Authors: Carlson Steven J. , Bathala Chenchuramaiah T.
Published: March 2003

This paper examines the association between differences in ownership structure and income smoothing behavior in firms. The underlying constructs affecting this association include agency relationships, managerial incentives, information asymmetry, and firm profitability. A logistic regression model is used to test the association between income smoothing and variables related to inside ownership, institutional holdings, leverage, managerial compensation, profitability, and firm size. The evidence suggests that ownership differences, managers' incentive structures, and firm profitability are important in explaining income smoothing behavior in firms. By separating inside ownership and levels of debt into different levels, we are able to show the existence of a non‐monotonic relationship between ownership differences and firms' income smoothing behavior.
Do Assumptions About Factor Structure Matter in Empirical Tests of the APT?
Authors: Garrett Ian , Priestley Richard
Published: March 2003

The effect of assumptions about factor structure on empirical tests of multifactor models such as the Arbitrage Pricing Policy Theory has received little attention in the literature. Using data on securities traded on the London Stock Exchange, we examine whether returns are best described by an approximate factor structure and whether assumptions about correlations across idiosyncratic returns have a significant impact on estimated prices of risk and their significance. Our findings suggest that returns are best described by an approximate factor structure and, if this is taken into account when empirically testing the APT, six factors carry significant prices of risk. However, if a strict factor structure is imposed, no factors carry significant prices of risk. These findings suggest that assumptions about factor structure matter in empirically testing the APT.
Target Firm Returns: Does the Form of Payment Affect Abnormal Returns?
Authors: Davidson III Wallace N. , Cheng Louis T.W.
Published: March 2003

Research indicates that at the time of a takeover announcement, target firm shareholders receiving cash earn larger abnormal returns than those receiving stock. Our work confirms that cash targets receive larger direct payments from bidders and that the size of target firm abnormal returns is related to the relative size of this direct payment. Once we control for the size of the payment, however, we find the target firm abnormal returns to be unrelated to the payment method. Thus the relationship between payment method and target firm abnormal returns is indirect. This finding is important because it casts doubt on the signaling (asymmetric information) hypothesis. That is, cash offers do not seem to be valued by the market as a means of reducing this uncertainty. Something else, such as the tax implication differences between cash and stock offers, drives cash target firms to demand larger payments from bidding firms.
Multidivisional Structure and Productivity: The Contingency of Diversification Strategy
Authors: Riahi‐Belkaoui Ahmed
Published: March 2003

This study examines the relationship between multidivisional (M‐form) structure and productivity. The relationship is hypothesized to vary with diversification strategy. Findings based on longitudinal analysis of productivity data from 62 firms in industries, indicate that following M‐form implementation, productive efficiency decreases for vertically integrated firms and increases for related diversified firms. For unrelated diversifiers the moderate increase in productivity is not significant.