bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
An Empirical Analysis of Exchange Ratio Determination Models for Merger: A Note
Authors: Bae Sung C. , Sakthivel Sivagnanam
Published: March 2003

This paper examines the empirical validity of two exchange ratio determination models for merger, the Larson and Gonedes (LG) PE model and the Yagil dividend growth model. These two models formulate exchange ratios as a function of a different factor: expected post‐merger price‐earnings multiple and expected post‐merger dividend growth, respectively. While the LG model has been tested in previous studies, the Yagil model has yet been subject to empirical testing. This paper finds empirical support for the LG model but finds weak support for the Yagil model. In particular, the results show that the number of stock mergers that result in wealth gains for both acquiring and target firms and hence conform to the rationality assumption of each model is substantially greater for the LG model than for the Yagil model. Regression analysis provides confirmatory evidence on the empirical validity of the LG model that PE‐related variables play a more significant role in explaining the actual exchange ratios than growth‐related variables.
Sources of Systematic Risk in Futures and Spot Markets: A Study of Market Integration
Authors: Miffre Joelle , Priestley Richard
Published: March 2003

This article explains the implications of asset market integration for the decision making process of market participants and tests the integration between futures and spot markets. Integration is investigated with respect to the hypothesis that the sources of systematic risk in futures and spot markets command identical risk premia. While the futures and the spot markets for currencies and equities are integrated, we present new evidence that the futures and commodity spot markets are segmented. Such results are of primary importance to investors who use asset pricing models to adjust the risk‐return trade‐off of their portfolio and evaluate portfolio performance.
Mean Reversion in the Short Horizon Returns of UK Portfolios
Authors: Chelley‐Steeley Patricia
Published: March 2003

This paper will show that short horizon stock returns for UK portfolios are more predictable than suggested by sample autocorrelation co‐efficients. Four capitalisation based portfolios are constructed for the period 1976–1991. It is shown that the first order autocorrelation coefficient of monthly returns can explain no more than 10% of the variation in monthly portfolio returns. Monthly autocorrelation coefficients assume that each weekly return of the previous month contains the same amount of information. However, this will not be the case if short horizon returns contain predictable components which dissipate rapidly. In this case, the return of the most recent week would say a lot more about the future monthly portfolio return than other weeks. This suggests that when predicting future monthly portfolio returns more weight should be given to the most recent weeks of the previous month, because, the most recent weekly returns provide the most information about the subsequent months' performance. We construct a model which exploits the mean reverting characteristics of monthly portfolio returns. Using this model we forecast future monthly portfolio returns. When compared to forecasts that utilise the autocorrelation statistic the model which exploits the mean reverting characteristics of monthlyportfolio returns can forecast future returns better than the autocorrelation statistic, both in and out of sample.
Tax Clientele Effects in the Term Structure of UK Interest Rates
Authors: Levin Eric J. , Wright Robert E.
Published: March 2003

This paper tests for tax clientele effects in the term structure of UK interest rates. Five empirical models of the term structure of interest rates, incorporating tax effects, are estimated with daily data covering the period 31 March, 1995 to 3 August, 1995. In May 1995, the British government announced its intention to eliminate the tax exemption on capital gains from government bonds, but subsequently in July 1995 backtracked on some of its initial proposals. This period therefore forms the basis of a crude natural experiment in the sense that it provides an opportunity to examine tax clientele effects ‘before’ and ‘after’ an event which should have levelled greatly the taxing of government bonds. The empirical analysis suggests large tax clientele effects. However, there is little evidence of tax‐specific term structures of interest rates.
The Sensitivity of Tests of Asset Pricing Models to the IID‐Normal Assumption: Contemporaneous Evidence from the US and UK Stock Markets
Authors: Groenewald Nicolaas , Fraser Patricia
Published: March 2003

Standard tests of asset pricing models are based on the iid‐normal assumption. We compare standard test results with those obtained from procedures that do not require iid‐normality. Analysing unconditional and conditional asset pricing models, we find that the use of tests that consider departures from the iid‐normal assumption affect probability values, sometimes by a considerable amount but that test outcomes are not affected. The results also suggest that issues surrounding the testing of joint hypothesis influence probability values and that the use of appropriate tests may be more important when analysing US data than when analysing UK data.
How Does Government Ownership Affect Firm Performance? Evidence from China’s Privatization Experience
Authors: Sun Qian , Tong Wilson H. S. , Tong Jing
Published: March 2003

The effect of government ownership on firm performance remains a controversial issue, especially in a transitional economy like China. Government ownership is typically viewed as adversely affecting firm performance. This study of that of Mainland China’s privatization experience indicates the opposite. No matter whether it is in the form of state ownership or legal person ownership, government ownership has a positive impact on partially privatized state‐owned enterprises. However, this relationship is nonlinear and shows an inverted U‐shape. Given the situation of highly indebted, non‐performing state‐owned enterprises, we argue that too much government control is indeed bad for enterprises. But too little government ownership may not be good either. It might mean a lack of the government’s political support and business connections, which are valuable and necessary to vitalize performance.
Direct Evidence of Non‐trading on the London Stock Exchange
Authors: Clare Andrew , Morgan Gareth , Thomas Stephen
Published: March 2003

The extent of non‐trading is shown to be much greater in the UK than in the more heavily researched US equity markets. Over the period 1975 to 1995 we find that almost 44% of all stocks in our sample failed to trade on the last day of a given month, a figure which is significantly higher than for stocks in the US (see Foerster and Keim, 1993). In this paper we investigate the relationship between the non‐trading of UK stocks and the autoregressive and seasonal behaviour of UK stock returns. In addition, we find that stocks are much more likely to be recorded as not having traded on the last day of the month in the period prior to April 1981 than after this date. We trace this result to a reporting requirement change on the London Stock Exchange and investigate whether the change has any real implications for systematic risk estimates over this period. We also find that alternative methods for calculating betas, in the presence of thin trading, are very sensitive to stock size and to non‐trading.
Value of Multinationality: Internalization, Managerial Self‐interest, and Managerial Compensation
Authors: Yung Kenneth K.
Published: March 2003

In this paper, we examine the impact of managerial self‐interest on the value of multinationality. Since agency theory also suggests that a divergence between the interests of managers and shareholders can be aligned by effective managerial incentive, we also examine the effect of managerial compensation on the value of multinationality. Our results show that for high‐Q (Tobin’s Q > 1) firms, investors do not associate the spending of free cash flow on multinationality with the problem of overinvestments. For high‐Q firms, it is also found that the value of multinationality can be enhanced by effective managerial incentives. For low‐Q firms (Tobin’s Q < 1), it is found that the concern of managerial self‐interest overwhelms the benefits of internalization, making multinationality a value‐decreasing event. For low‐Q firms, managerial compensation is also ineffective in promoting value‐enhancing foreign direct investments.
The Effects of Uncertainty on the Informativeness of Earnings: Evidence from the Insurance Industry in the Wake of Catastrophic Events
Authors: Christensen Theodore E.
Published: March 2003

This study examines the effects of uncertainty associated with large‐scale catastrophes on the informativeness of earnings announcements by property and casualty insurers. It contributes to the literature on the effects of uncertainty on the informativeness of earnings announcements by distinguishing between: (1) uncertainty due to exogenous events that obscure the firm’s future prospects, and (2) uncertainty due to noise in earnings. Results suggest that heightened uncertainty associated with exposure to catastrophe losses is significantly positively associated with the market’s response to earnings reports, even after controlling for uncertainty due to noise in earnings. This implies that during periods of high uncertainty, investors find earnings information more useful in assessing the future prospects of the firm.
Stochastic Depreciation and Optimal Consumption‐Investment Decisions
Authors: Rhys Huw , Tippet Mark
Published: March 2003

Capital accumulation is viewed as the net outcome of accumulation and wasting. Accumulation is modelled by a Gaussian process whilst wasting is generated by a continuous time and continuous state‐space pseudo‐Poisson process. These assumptions imply that an economic agent’s preferences, consumption, capital accumulation and wastage are governed by a form of Hamilton‐Jacobi‐Bellman equation containing an infinite number of terms. We demonstrate the optimisation procedures applicable to consumption and the expected wastage of capital and in the process show that isoelastic preferences are consistent with the model.
Tax Costs and Signalling Benefits: The Impact of Surplus ACT
Authors: Hodgkinson Lynn
Published: March 2003

Companies with surplus ACT are faced with additional tax costs if they use dividends to signal information to investors, hence there is a trade‐off between tax costs and signalling benefits. This paper provides evidence that investors' reactions to dividend surprises are influenced by the signal generated by earnings and tax planning considerations. The results indicate that in the presence of a positive earnings signal and a binding tax constraint, decreases in dividends are value enhancing.
Implied Standard Deviations and Post‐earnings Announcement Volatility
Authors: Acker Daniella
Published: March 2003

This paper investigates volatility increases following annual earnings announcements. Standard deviations implied by options prices are used to show that announcements of bad news result in a lower volatility increase than those of good news, and delay the increase by a day. Reports that are difficult to interpret also delay the volatility increase. This delay is incremental to that caused by reporting bad news, although the effect of bad news on slowing down the reaction time is dominant. It is argued that the delays reflect market uncertainty about the implications of the news.
The Relation Between SFAS No. 95 Cash Flows From Operations and Credit Risk
Authors: Billings Bruce K. , Morton Richard M.
Published: March 2003

This study examines the relevance of Financial Accounting Standards (SFAS) No. 95 operating cash flow disclosures for assessing a primary component of firm risk, namely credit risk. We find that SFAS No. 95 operating cash flows is an important determinant of credit risk, measured by debt ratings, incremental to other profitability and risk–related information. We also find that operating cash flows have a stronger incremental relation to credit risk for firms with a larger proportion of long–term debt and larger firms with lower operating uncertainty. Interestingly, cash flows appear to have less incremental importance for firms in high tech and regulated industries.
The Information Content of Nonfinancial Performance Measures in the Airline Industry
Authors: Liedtka Stephen L.
Published: March 2003

This research extends the literature on nonfinancial performance measures (NFPMs) by assessing (1) the information content of a broader set of NFPMs and (2) whether NFPMs provide information not provided by financial performance measures (FPMs) from all previously identified FPM categories, rather than just earnings and book value. Specifically, exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis results presented in this paper demonstrate that nineteen NFPMs of major airlines capture seven underlying constructs not captured by eighteen common FPMs. Additionally, this research develops reliable composite measures of the identified performance measure constructs, which prior research argues are superior to individual performance measures.
The Governance Approach to European Integration
Authors: Jachtenfuchs Markus
Published: March 2003

This article argues that the study of European integration is divided into two distinct approaches: classical integration theory for which the shape of the Euro‐polity is the dependent variable; and the governance approach for which it is the independent variable. An historical and conceptual overview of the approach focuses on the efficiency side of governance and excludes issues of democracy and legitimacy. From a sociology of knowledge perspective, the first part traces the roots of the present discussion back to three bodies of literature, namely studies on Europeanization, regulatory policy‐making and network concepts. The second part presents the achievements of the approach: putting EU studies in a comparative perspective, directing attention towards democratic governance and bypassing old dichotomies on the future of the nation‐state. The final section evaluates present shortcomings, most notably a bias toward problem‐solving, the proliferation of case studies and the lack of a coherent theoretical perspective.
Institutions, Inertia and European Union Research Policy
Authors: Banchoff Thomas
Published: March 2003

Explanations of the failure of integration are a natural preserve of intergovernmentalism. It is not difficult to blame the failure to integrate on recalcitrant states — and they are in fact often largely responsible. This article examines how European institutions can impede deeper integration. It sets out an analytical framework that distinguishes three pathways of institutional resistance to change, and applies the framework to the case of EU research policy. In the face of American scientific and technological superiority, European leaders have long articulated the goal of better research policy co‐ordination. But distinct national research policies persist; no significant supranational integration has taken place. The institutionalization of EU research policy in the framework programme (FP) — a funding stream for researchers alongside much larger national programmes — is part of the reason. Since the 1980s, increasingly large and complex programmes have absorbed the administrative and political energies of the Commission and generated clienteles attached to the status quo. European institutional legacies, and not simply national interests, have undercut efforts to create a ‘European Research Area’ marked by the better co‐ordination and integration of national policies.
Reassessing Legitimacy in the European Union
Authors: Moravcsik Andrew
Published: March 2003

Concern about the EU’s ‘democratic deficit’ is misplaced. Judged against existing advanced industrial democracies, rather than an ideal plebiscitary or parliamentary democracy, the EU is legitimate. Its institutions are tightly constrained by constitutional checks and balances: narrow mandates, fiscal limits, super–majoritarian and concurrent voting requirements and separation of powers. The EU’s appearance of exceptional insulation reflects the subset of functions it performs — central banking, constitutional adjudication, civil prosecution, economic diplomacy and technical administration. These are matters of low electoral salience commonly delegated in national systems, for normatively justifiable reasons. On balance, the EU redresses rather than creates biases in political representation, deliberation and output.
Learning Processes for Crisis Management in Complex Organizations
Authors: Lagadec Patrick
Published: March 2003

Safety practices and preparations for limited emergencies are common activities in complex systems. In contrast, the vital task of planning for a crisis is usually poorly handled. This paper seeks to provide a better understanding of the prerequisites for successful learning processes to deal with crisis situations. It reveals the barriers that emerge during the process of developing satisfactory learning practices.

The objectives of this paper are twofold. The first aim is operational: how can one develop adequate learning processes despite the challenges involved? The second aim is theoretical: what light do these efforts and the resistance they arouse shed on the debate between ‘High Reliability Theorists’ and ‘Normal Accident Theorists’, in which the status of learning processes is a key element. The author refers to his personal experience with crisis research and consultation.
Preparing Policy Makers for Crisis Management: The Role of Simulations
Authors: ’t Hart Paul
Published: March 2003

This article describes and reflects upon practical experiences in using simulations to increase the crisis preparedness of policy makers and government agencies in the Netherlands. Basic issues in crisis simulation design are discussed in view of the various functions that simulations may perform in crisis management planning. A concrete example of simulation is provided to explain its design and modus operandi. The article concludes with a number of practical recommendations.
Disasters and Political Unrest: An Empirical Investigation
Authors: Drury A. Cooper , Olson Richard Stuart
Published: March 2003

A connection between disasters and political unrest has often been suggested, but only case studies/anecdotes have been offered as evidence. To test statistically for a disaster‐political unrest relationship, a causal model is developed that posits a direct and positive linkage between disaster severity and ensuing levels of political unrest. The model further specifies that increased levels of development, income equality, and regime repressiveness dampen post‐disaster political unrest. Using a time‐series between 1966 and 1980, Poisson regression results strongly corroborate the model. The exception is income equality, which has the opposite of the originally hypothesized effect.
Proactive Contingency Planning vis‐à‐vis Declining Water Security in the 21st Century
Authors: Bruins Hendrik J.
Published: March 2003

This article examines the theoretical and practical risks to water security, which is rapidly declining in many parts of the world, particularly in drylands. Water security is threatened by current land‐use developments and over‐utilization of groundwater. About 70 per cent of freshwater resources is globally used by irrigation agriculture. Interrelated water and food shortages may occur in the 21st century as the predictable outcome of current developments. This may lead to regional famine and political instability. Unpredictable contingencies, such as drought, earthquakes, terrorism, conflict and war, can also affect water security in a negative and dangerous way. Predictable and unpredictable, adverse developments vis‐à‐vis water security require more theoretical and practical studies. The important linkage between contingency planning and crisis management has to be developed and refined, including terminology. Safe underground water resources must be identified and developed in every nation and province as strategic reserves in civil emergency planning.
Pavlovian Policy Responses to Media Feeding Frenzies? Dangerous Dogs Regulation in Comparative Perspective
Authors: Lodge Martin , Hood Christopher
Published: March 2003

The first part of this article, based on a comparative analysis of recent policies on dangerous dogs among a set of Western European states, shows that small‐scale events – like one dog‐bite – can produce circumstances that confront policy‐makers with a type of ‘forced choice‘, given a particular set of political conditions. The second part, based on a more in‐depth comparison of German and UK approaches, probes beyond the ‘Pavlovian’ level of political response to dog‐bite crises to explore how institutions mediate responses to ‘forced choices’. Dog‐bite crises may temporarily remove normal blockages and constraints on policy development, but this article shows how institutions can still shape policy responses in at least three different ways.
Effects of Crisis‐Triggered Demographic Depletion on Organizational Change: The Case of Israeli Kibbutzim
Authors: Rosenblatt Zehava , Sheaffer Zachary
Published: March 2003

This study postulates that, in addition to economic triggers and organizational age, demographic depletion is an equally significant catalyst of change during crisis. The study analyzes 23 changes measured annually over a six‐year span in 53 Israeli kibbutzim. Employing longitudinal econometric analyses, demographic depletion was found to be significant in estimating change intensity, followed by return on sales and organizational age.
Individual and Group Learning in Crisis Simulations
Authors: Borodzicz Edward , Van Haperen Kees
Published: March 2003

Simulated crisis scenarios are frequently cited as effective tools for organisational and individual learning. The issue is raised that simulation exercises may concentrate learning outcomes for exercise designers, facilitators and observers (the consultants). In contrast, learning outcomes for players (the clients) may be more difficult to define or measure. The authors wish to challenge the notion of organisational learning as a package to be delivered fait accompli, and offer a rival argument that the role of consultants is to empower organisations to learn for themselves and continue after the consultants have left. The paper reviews contemporary theories of learning and considers the commercial and ethical questions about the relationship between consultants and the teams targeted for training.
The separateness of social and emotional loneliness in childhood
Authors: Qualter Pamela , Munn Penny
Published: March 2003

Background: Much of the childhood loneliness research is misleading because it confounds objective and subjective measures of loneliness. The overall aim of this research was to examine the relationship between social isolation and emotional loneliness. Method: Three extreme groups were identified in a sample of 640 4–9‐year‐old children. There were two (`rejected' [N=60] and `lonely' [N=146]) in which social and emotional loneliness were unrelated. The first were socially isolated (rejected) but they did not feel lonely. The second group felt lonely but they were not socially isolated. The third group (`rejected/lonely') consisted of 61 children who were rejected and also felt lonely. Results: Felt loneliness and social rejection were experienced together by 61 children, but 206 children experienced either one or the other, but not both. The fourth and largest group [N=374] were neither rejected nor lonely. Differences between the groups were found on direct observation measures of solitariness, sociability, and aggression; peer reports of shyness, aggression, prosocial behaviour, disruptive behaviour and inability to take teasing; self‐reports of self‐worth and competence, self‐reports of supportive relationships; and measures of language use. Conclusions: The results indicate that it is loneliness and not rejection that co‐occurs with emotional problems.
High motion coherence thresholds in children with autism
Authors: Milne Elizabeth , Swettenham John , Hansen Peter , Campbell Ruth , Jeffries Helen , Plaisted Kate
Published: March 2003

Background: We assessed motion processing in a group of high functioning children with autism and a group of typically developing children, using a coherent motion detection task. Method: Twenty‐five children with autism (mean age 11 years, 8 months) and 22 typically developing children matched for non‐verbal mental ability and chronological age were required to detect the direction of moving dots in a random dot kinematogram. Results: The group of children with autism showed significantly higher motion coherence thresholds than the typically developing children (i.e., they showed an impaired ability to detect coherent motion). Conclusions: This finding suggests that some individuals with autism may show impairments in low‐level visual processing – specifically in the magnocellular visual pathway. The findings are discussed in terms of implications for higher‐level cognitive theories of autism, and the suggestion is made that more work needs to be carried out to further investigate low‐level visual processing in autism.
Non‐human primate models of childhood psychopathology: the promise and the limitations
Authors: Machado Christopher J. , Bachevalier Jocelyne
Published: March 2003

Although non‐human primate models have been used previously to investigate the neurobiology of several sensory and cognitive developmental pathologies, they have been employed only sparingly to study the etiology of childhood psychopathologies for which deficits in social behavior and emotion regulation are major symptoms. Previous investigations of both adult human and non‐human primates have indicated that primate social behavior and emotion are regulated by a complex neural network, in which the amygdala and orbital frontal cortex play major roles. Therefore, this review will provide information generated from the study of macaque monkeys regarding the timing of normal social and emotional behavior development, the normal pattern of anatomical and functional maturation of the amygdala and orbital frontal cortex, as well as information regarding the neural and behavioral effects of early perturbations of these two neural structures. We will also highlight ‘critical periods’ of macaque development, during which major refinements in the behavioral repertoire appear to coincide with significant neural maturation of the amygdala and/or orbital frontal cortex. The identification of these ‘critical periods’ may allow one to better predict the specific behavioral impairments likely to appear after neonatal damage to one or both of these neural areas at different time points during development. This experimental approach may provide a new and important way to inform and stimulate research on childhood psychopathologies, such as autism, schizophrenia and Williams syndrome, in which the development of normal social skills and emotional regulation is severely perturbed. Finally, the promise and limitations inherent to the use of non‐human primate models of childhood psychopathology will be discussed.
Autism and a deficit in broadening the spread of visual attention
Authors: Mann Tania A. , Walker Peter
Published: March 2003

Background: This study examines if visual attention in autism is spatially overfocused (Townsend & Courchesne, 1994) and if there is an associated deficit in broadening the spatial spread of attention.

Method: Two crosshairs were presented on each trial separated by a brief (500 ms) interval. There was a modest difference in the lengths of the two hairs in each crosshair and participants had to decide which one was longest. Previous research (Mack & Rock, 1998) has revealed that in making this judgement people spread their visual attention to embrace the whole crosshair. Varying the overall size of each crosshair was intended to control participants’ spread of attention. The impact of the size of the first crosshair gave an indication of participants’ default setting for the spread of attention. The impact of the size transition between the first and second crosshair gave an indication of the fluency with which participants could change the spatial spread of visual attention.

Results: Based on the first proposal it was predicted that individuals with autism (N=13), relative to ability‐matched moderately learning disabled (N=15) and typically developing individuals (N=15), would be more accurate and quicker to respond when the first crosshair was small rather than large. However, the results revealed no effects of the size of the first crosshair and no group differences. Based on the second proposal it was predicted that individuals with autism, relative to both control groups, would be less accurate and slower to respond to the second crosshair when the size transition from the first crosshair involved a change from small to large (in comparison with large to large), but would not differ when the change was from large to small (in comparison with small to small). This prediction was confirmed.

Conclusion: Autism is associated with a deficit in broadening the spatial spread of visual attention. The implications of this for other visual and attentional anomalies observed in autism are discussed.
The Rett Syndrome Behaviour Questionnaire (RSBQ): refining the behavioural phenotype of Rett syndrome
Authors: Mount Rebecca H. , Charman Tony , Hastings Richard P. , Reilly Sheena , Cass Hilary
Published: March 2003

Background:Although physical features, including loss of hand skills, deceleration of head growth, spasticity and scoliosis, are cardinal features of Rett syndrome (RS), a number of behavioural features are also associated with the disorder, including hand stereotypies, hyperventilation and breath holding. No study has tested the specificity of these behavioural features to individuals with RS, compared to individuals with severe to profound mental retardation (SMR).

Method:A novel checklist of characteristic RS behavioural and emotional features, the Rett Syndrome Behaviour Questionnaire (RSBQ), was developed to test the type and specificity of behavioural features of RS against those found in girls with SMR.

Results:After controlling for the effects of RS‐related physical disabilities, the RSBQ discriminated between the groups. Some aspects of the behaviours found to be specific to RS are included in the necessary or supportive RS diagnostic criteria, notably hand behaviours and breathing problems. Additional behavioural features were also more frequently reported in the RS than the SMR group, including mood fluctuations and signs of fear/anxiety, inconsolable crying and screaming at night, and repetitive mouth and tongue movements and grimacing.

Conclusions:Full validation of the scale requires confirmation of its discriminatory power and reliability with independent samples of individuals with RS and SMR. Further delineation of the specific profile of behaviours seen in RS may help in identification of the function of the MECP2 gene and in improved differential diagnosis and management of individuals with RS.
Is there a core national doctrine?
Authors: Benner Erica
Published: March 2003

National doctrines are notoriously diverse, and often embody contradictory political values and criteria for membership. This article asks whether there is a ‘core’ national doctrine that connects republican, cultural, ethnic and liberal concepts of nationality. It considers two attractive candidates: one locating the ‘core’ in a doctrine about the political and psychological significance of pre‐political cultural identities, the other in the constitutional principle of popular sovereignty. After assessing the limitations of both, I sketch a different core national doctrine. This doctrine is constitutive and geopolitical, not constitutional or cultural. It has deep roots in the security concerns specific to the modern, pluralistic system of sovereign states, and prescribes in general terms the form that any community should take in order to survive or distinguish itself in that system. It says very little about the appropriate basis for such communities; the choice of political, cultural, ethnic or even racial criteria is left wide open. More than other versions, this ‘core’ is able to identify the common ground between cultural, constitutional, and other national doctrines. It also puts a sharp focus on the reasons why, historically, national and liberal values have been so hard to combine.
Myth and mobilisation: the triadic structure of nationalist rhetoric
Authors: Levinger Matthew , Lytle Paula Franklin
Published: March 2003

Drawing on the theory of collective action frames, this essay analyses the use of images of a primordial ‘golden age’ in the rhetoric of national mobilisation. Such idealised images of the past, juxtaposed with exaggerated depictions of a degraded present and a utopian future condition, constitute a rhetorical triad that is an effective instrument for motivating mass political movements. The model developed here emphasises the links between identity formation and political mobilisation, analysing how narratives of communal decline and redemption play a central role in defining the agendas of nationalist movements.
Types of democracy and modes of conflict management in ethnically divided societies
Authors: Smooha Sammy
Published: March 2003

The Western democratic nation–state is a model state in the world state system. It appears in two variants: individual–liberal and republican–liberal. Both are grounded on individual rights only. In the West there are also several cases of consociational democracy in which separate national communities and their collective rights are recognised. Since World War II the liberal nation–state has been under global and internal pressures to change. It has kept its basic character but partially decoupled nation and state and recognised group differences. Along with individual–liberal democracy, republican–liberal democracy and consociational democracy, multicultural democracy and ethnic democracy are taking shape as alternative types of democracy. This fivefold typology can contribute to the fields of comparative politics and comparative ethnicity. It serves as a broad framework for the analysis of five states in this special issue: Northern Ireland, Estonia, Israel, Poland and Turkey.
Global Capitalism, Deflation and Agrarian Crisis in Developing Countries
Authors: Patnaik Utsa
Published: March 2003

Periods of economic crisis for agriculture in developing countries have been marked in history by declining incomes and worsening employment possibilities, resulting in adverse outcomes of loss of land rights against debt and declining nutrition levels for the poorer majority of populations. This paper argues that a similar conjuncture of agrarian crisis has become visible in recent years, as had been seen in the prelude to the inter–War Depression, owing to the income–deflation inherent in current macroeconomic policies driven by the dominant global neo–liberal agenda. The argument is illustrated primarily with reference to the experience of India under economic reforms. The question of land rights and gender equity are strongly affected by the dominant policy regime; hence the paper, while not addressing these questions directly, seeks to contextualize them through its critique of the dominant neo–liberal policy regime.
The Relational Health Indices: A Study of Women's Relationships
Authors: Liang Belle , Tracy Allison , Taylor Catherine A. , Williams Linda M. , Jordan Judith V. , Miller Jean Baker
Published: March 2003

A new measure of women's relationships, the Relational Health Indices (RHI), comprises three scales that assess growth-fostering connections with peers, mentors, and communities. The RHI was developed using the Relational Model (Jordan, Kaplan, Miller, Stiver, Surrey, 1991; Miller & Stiver, 1997), a theory of women's psychological development. The 37-item measure assesses three conceptual dimensions of growth-fostering relationships: engagement, authenticity, and empowerment/zest. This study examined the psychometric properties of the RHI with a group of 450 students at a women's liberal arts college, providing evidence for the reliability, validity, and utility of the new measure. The factor analyses confirmed a three-subscale structure: engagement, authenticity, empowerment/zest. The RHI's components generally demonstrate good overall internal consistency. Furthermore, associations between RHI scales and convergent validation scales were significant and in the direction hypothesized. Correlations with adjustment scales varied across the RHI components. The RHI has potential for enriching our understanding of important, subtle qualities and complex dynamics of both dyadic and group relationships, especially among women. The instrument is available for use by researchers interested in continuing the scale and theory development.
Emotional Reactions of Rape Victim Advocates: A Multiple Case Study of Anger and Fear
Authors: Wasco Sharon M. , Campbell Rebecca
Published: March 2003

This research explores the emotional reactions of a rarely studied group of women who work closely with survivors of sexual violence: rape victim advocates. Women who assist rape victims in obtaining medical, criminal justice, and mental health services were interviewed about their experiences, and qualitative analysis was used to delineate the situational context of the advocates' emotional reactions. Results indicate that respondents experienced anger and fear in response to both individual (e.g., a perpetrator's menacing glare) and environmental (e.g., community denial of a problem) cues. Additionally, some experienced rape victim advocates perceived their emotional reactions to be an important part of their work with rape victims. These findings suggest that intense emotional reactions, previously conceptualized within a vicarious trauma framework, may at times serve as resources for women working with rape survivors.
Brazilian attitudes toward English: dimensions of status and solidarity
Authors: El‐Dash Linda Gentry , Busnardo JoAnne
Published: March 2003

The implications of the prestige and vitality of English as a foreign language in Brazil were investigated using both direct and indirect measures of attitudes and beliefs (a subjective vitality questionnaire and a classic matched‐guise instrument). Aspects of solidarity and status identi ?ed by factor analysis were investigated in a Brazilian adolescent population, and four statistically distinctive pro ?les were found. Approximately half of the subjects evaluated English‐speaking guises more favorably than those of the native Portuguese in terms of status,which is typical of the adult population, who tend to feel the prestige of English as an international language, but half also valued this guise in terms of solidarity, a totally unexpected result which was attributed to the symbolic use of English within the adolescent peer group.
Warranty Cost Analysis With Heterogenous Usage Intensity
Authors: Kim C.S. , Djamaludin I. , Murthy D.N.P.
Published: March 2003

Models for cost analysis of one‐dimensional warranty policies assume that the usage intensity (or rate) is the same for all users. In real life the usage intensity varies across the population of users. This paper deals with some simple models to study the expected warranty cost for products sold with free replacement warranty with varying usage intensity.
Household Characteristics and the Distribution of Income In Italy: An Application of Social Distance Measures
Authors: D’ambrosio Conchita
Published: March 2003

The Lorenz criterion of preferable distributions fails to distinguish adequately between convergence to the global mean and clustering around local means. This concern has motivated independent work by Wolfson, and Esteban and Ray on the notion of polarization. In this paper I build on this recent work by providing a new method that characterizes changes in the entire distribution, rather than focussing only on dispersion. In particular, the approach proposed offers a new decomposition method of within‐ and between‐group components that differs from the classical method of additively decomposable inequality indices. The new method can monitor which factors modified the entire distribution, where precisely on the distribution these factors had an effect, and what determined the variation in the level of social distance between groups or geographic areas. Summary statistics of the observed movements and of distance between and divergence among the estimated and the counterfactual distributions are provided as well as a new index of social distance. The new method is then applied to Italian data on income distribution between 1987 and 1995.
What Can Child Anthropometry Reveal About Living Standards and Public Policy? An Illustration from Central Asia
Authors: Micklewright John , Ismail Suraiya
Published: March 2003

The paper considers the case for the use of data on weight and height of children to assess living standards and public policy, contrasting them with monetized measures of welfare based on household incomes or expenditures. Data on child anthropometry are then used from Uzbekistan, the most populous of the Central Asian republics of the former Soviet Union, to investigate rural–urban differences in living standards, the impact of kindergartens on nutritional status, and the targeting of means‐tested social assistance. Conclusions are drawn for the use of information on child anthropometry in the design of public policy.
Barcelona as imagined community: Pasqual Maragall’s spaces of engagement
Authors: McNeill Donald
Published: March 2003

This paper looks at how cities can function in much the same way as nations in the construction of political projects. Taking Pasqual Maragall’s mobilization of Barcelona during his period as mayor of the city (1982–97) as an example, it explores how locally dependent politicians attempt to exploit ‘spaces of engagement’ (Cox 1998) to escape from the territorial and scalar limitations which city councils have to operate within. It argues that mayors can embody cities, and explores how Maragall located himself within a set of performatively, discursively and institutionally constructed visions of Barcelona embedded in wider economic, political and cultural spaces.
Earnings Performance and Discretionary Disclosure
Authors: Miller Gregory S.
Published: March 2003

While the influence of earnings performance on disclosure is a fundamental issue in the disclosure literature, our understanding of this influence is limited. In this paper, I examine a comprehensive set of disclosures from a sample of firms experiencing an extended period of seasonally adjusted earnings increases. I study how these firms adjust disclosure in response to earnings increases, how disclosure changes as the period of strong earnings performance nears an end and how firms disclose during a subsequent period of earnings decline. I find an increase in disclosure during the period of increased earnings. This increase is pervasive across all types of disclosure and tends to be bundled with earnings announcements. The market responds positively to this disclosure. Firms continue to disclose at a high level as they approach earnings declines. However, they shift to disclosures that focus on the positive short‐term results and do not discuss the impending decreases. While this behavior is systematic, the market does not appear to anticipate the subsequent earnings declines. Once the firms announce earnings declines, the magnitude of disclosure returns to the level provided prior to the increased earnings.
Real Investment Implications of Employee Stock Option Exercises
Authors: Bens Daniel A. , Nagar Venky , Wong M. H. Franco
Published: March 2003

This paper examines a real cost of awarding employee stock options. Based on the observation that managers are extremely concerned about earnings‐per‐share dilution in equity related compensation, we predict and find that firms experiencing significant employee stock option (ESO) exercises shift resources away from real investments towards the repurchase of their own stocks. We further find weak evidence of a decline in subsequent firm performance (as measured by return on assets) for several years following the cut in discretionary investments as a result of stock option exercises, though this result is sensitive to the metric used to measure performance. Collectively, our findings indicate that ESO exercises potentially impose a real cost on the firm in terms of foregone investment opportunities.
Performance Impact of the Elimination of Direct Labor Variance Reporting: A Field Study
Authors: Banker Rajiv D. , Devaraj Sarv , Schroeder Roger G. , Sinha Kingshuk K.
Published: March 2003

Using a field study approach, we examine two competing perspectives on direct labor variance reporting: some argue that direct labor variance reporting is costly and cumbersome, and should be eliminated; whereas others contend that without direct labor variance information, managers will not be able to monitor workers effectively, causing workers to shirk and worker productivity to decline. Specifically, we investigate the productivity and quality impacts of eliminating direct labor variance reporting with panel data containing 36 months of data from seven experimental plants that eliminated direct labor variance reporting and 11 control plants that did not. The experimental plants experienced a significant decline in labor productivity compared to the control plants. Also, the experimental plants showed an improvement in product quality, indicating that workers reallocate their efforts to other tasks as a result of the change in the information set available to evaluate them.
Classifications Manipulation and Nash Accounting Standards
Authors: Dye Ronald A.
Published: March 2003

This paper studies a model of “classifications manipulation” in which accounting reports consist of one of two binary classifications, preparers of accounting reports prefer one classification over the other, an accounting standard designates the official requirements that have to be met to receive the preferred classification, and preparers may engage in “classifications manipulation” in order to receive their preferred accounting classification. The possibility of classifications manipulation creates a distinction between the official classification described in the statement of the accounting standard and the de facto classification, determined by the “shadow standard” actually adopted by preparers. The paper studies the selection and evolution of accounting standards in this context. Among other things, the paper evaluates “efficient” accounting standards, it determines when there will be “standards creep,” it introduces and analyzes the notion of a Nash accounting standard, and it compares the standards set by sophisticated standard–setters to those set with less knowledge of firms’ financial reporting environments.
Estimating Actor, Partner, and Interaction Effects for Dyadic Data Using PROC MIXED and HLM: A User–Friendly Guide
Authors: Campbell Lorne , Kashy Deborah A.
Published: March 2003

Data collected from both members of a dyad provide abundant opportunities as well as data analytic challenges. The Actor–Partner Interdependence Model (APIM; Kashy & Kenny, 2000) was developed as a conceptual framework for collecting and analyzing dyadic data, primarily by stressing the importance of considering the interdependence that exists between dyad members. The goal of this paper is to detail how the APIM can be implemented in dyadic research, and how its effects can be estimated using hierarchical linear modeling, including PROC MIXED in SAS and HLM (version 5.04; Raudenbush, Bryk, Cheong, & Congdon, 2001). The paper describes the APIM and illustrates how the data set must be structured to use the data analytic methods proposed. It also presents the syntax needed to estimate the model, indicates how several types of interactions can be tested, and describes how the output can be interpreted.