bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Swiss energy policy elite: The actor constellation of a policy domain in transition
Authors: KRIESI HANSPETER , JEGEN MAYA
Published: November 2003

Abstract. In the actor–centered institutionalist approach of Fritz Scharpf (1997), ‘actorconstellations’ constitute the crucial link between substantive policy analysis and interactionoriented policy research. This paper presents an attempt to conceptualize the ‘actor constellation’ in a given policy domain and to analyze it empirically with network analysis. The empirical context is provided by the Swiss energy policy elite in the late 1990s— an example of a policy domain in transition between two policy equilibria. Based on interviews with 240 of the core actors in this policy elite, the results show a characteristic antagonism between a pro–ecology and a pro–growth coalition. On the national level, the two coalitions are of comparable size and power, which explains the current impasse in the policy domain in question. Moreover, in a federalist state like Switzerland, the energy policy elite is not concentrated at the center, but the basic antagonism is reproduced in each region nationwide. Confirming the consensus character of Swiss politics, the different components of the two antagonist coalitions not only cooperate within, but also across coalitions. These cooperative ties and the presence of honest brokers, policy enterpreneurs, and heterogeneous interests within eachm coalition provide opportunities for new alliances, which may lead out of the current impasse in the more or less near future.
The Variety of State Capital Budgets: A Survey
Authors: Hush Lawrence W. , Peroff Kathleen
Published: November 2003

In 1986 the staff of the U.S. Office of Management and Budget reviewed issues concerning the possible development of a federal capital budget. As part of this study, a survey of all 50 states was conducted concerning state capital budgets. This paper summarizes the results of the survey. According to the survey responses, 42 states have capital budgets. Of these 42, 37 generally borrow to finance some public capital and 5 generally do not. Of the 8 states that said they do not have a capital budget, 4 generally borrow to finance some public capital and 4 generally do not. The survey also found that the form of a governor's capital budget, the way legislatures enact capital spending, the coverage of the capital budget, and the method of financing capital vary widely among states, making it virtually impossible to define a state capital budget in a precise way. Large amounts of state capital spending, especially for transportation, are generally not included in state capital budgets.
The Effects of Cash Management Assistance by States to Local Governments
Authors: Coe Charles K.
Published: November 2003

In 1985 North Carolina's Local Government Commission (LGC) began a program to evaluate the percentage portfolios of the funds invested and the diversity of the investment governments and public authorities. The LGC established state's local five evaluation criteria and notified the governments and authorities of deviations from the five investment norms. This article discusses what was reported to the LGC and changes in invested funds occuring after LGC's evaluation. Principal findings include: cities over 10,000 population and counties in general are investing a high percentage of their funds; small‐sized cities and public authorities tend to avoid the higher yielding, but more complex to purchase, instruments: and most governments and authorities experienced a considerable increase in the percentage of funds invested after review by the LGC. Based on the marked increases in funds invested, other states should consider helping local governments and public authorities with cash management.
Budgeting for Time‐Bombs: Recent General Accounting Office Reports on the Crises of the Nuclear Weapons Complex and the Savings and Loan Industry
Authors: Caiden Naomi
Published: November 2003

This article discusses an emerging problem—how to budget for time‐bombs. Time‐bombs are a current or a potential disaster that requires enormous sums of funds to arrest, contain or fix. Two examples are provided: the savings and loan insolvencies and the nation's aging nuclear weapons complex. The author discusses the General Accounting Office reports on those subjects and analyzes how time‐bomb budgeting has changed budget processes and decision making.
Introduction to Jesse Burkhead Symposium
Authors: Jump Bernard
Published: November 2003

Government budgeting is one of the major processes by which the use of public resources is planned and controlled. To the extent that this is done well, governmental programs are brought increasingly to the service of its citizens, enhancing their material and cultural status.

The study of government budgeting is a study in applied economics—in the allocation of scarce resources. This study must look at operations and begin with organization and procedure, the routines which have been established for decision–making in government. It should extend to an examination of the influences, governmental and nongovernmental, that come to bear on the decision‐making process.

Ours is both an organized society and a society of organizations. The significance of organization is nowhere more evident than in the public sector. Here organizational arrangements bring together the learning of all social scientists. The patterns for decision‐making do not provide separate compartments for economic knowledge, for political knowledge, for social knowledge. These are merged in the organizational arrangements which have been established for the conduct of governmental affairs.1
Ideals and Reality in the Evolution of Fiscal Reform in Central and Eastern Europe
Authors: Straussman Jeffrey D.
Published: November 2003

Jesse Burkhead believed in the importance of institutions in policy making. This article describes the evolution of fiscal reform in central and eastern Europe within the Burkhead tradition. After reviewing the changes in budgetary and intergovernmental fiscal institutions in the region, the article will illustrate the gap between ideals and reality with a case study of some of the changes currently taking place in the financing of culture in the Czech Republic.
Covert Costs of Privatization: Lessons from the Closure of Three Public Chronic Care Hospitals in Massachusetts
Authors: Verma Kiran
Published: November 2003

This article analyzes the process of applying cost/benefit analysis to decisions about privatizing public services. This process is examined in the context of a decision by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to save costs by closing three of its seven public chronic hospitals. A postaudit of the outcomes from the closure showed that the realized cost savings were less than those projected in the original proposal. This shortfall could be traced to a failure to include certain relevant costs in the original proposal. Based on the findings, the article concludes with a discussion of policy recommendations for better analyses of similar decisions.
Monitoring Single‐Source Revenue Funds throughout the Budgeting Process
Authors: Nelson Ray D. , Cornia Gary C.
Published: November 2003

Unexpected revenue shortfalls that occur during budget execution create serious problems for public agencies and programs. This is especially true for agencies and programs that rely upon a single source of revenue. This article implements a revenue monitoring process that combines ideas from statistical process control and exploratory data analysis into a spreadsheet environment. The methodology builds on principles used to monitor manufacturing processes. This simple application helps public managers detect revenue surpluses and deficits early enough in the budget execution process to take corrective action. The methodology also adapts to the data problems and avoids many of the pitfalls that arise when using “real world” budget data. An example of the benefits of this methodology is offered using an example of a state agency funded by a single revenue source.
Accelerating Municipal Bond Market Development in Emerging Economies: An Assessment of Strategies and Progress
Authors: Leigland James
Published: November 2003

The advantages of using municipal bonds to finance urban infrastructure are increasingly evident to policymakers in emerging economies, some of whom are undertaking efforts to accelerate the development of municipal bond markets in their countries. Many of these efforts use the strengths of the U.S. municipal market as a guide to suggest the kinds of market characteristics necessary to attract issuers as well as investors to the marketplace. Features of the U.S. market are often difficult to recreate in these countries in the short run, but policymakers are using a variety of innovative techniques to approximate essential market characteristics. This article reviews these efforts in four emerging economies: Indonesia, the Philippines, Poland, and South Africa.
The Interest Cost Implications of the Financial Advisor Turned Underwriter
Authors: Clarke Wes
Published: November 2003

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (MSRB) does not prohibit municipal financial advisors from participating in the bidding process to serve as underwriter on issues for which they provided advisory services. Some municipalities prohibit the practice, viewing such an arrangement as a conflict of interest. Using data from nearly one thousand competitively sold municipal debt issues in the state of Texas from 1991 to 1995, I test whether or not competition alone in the bidding process is sufficient to protect the interests of the issuer. For general obligation debt and state‐backed school district debt these data indicate that there are no interest cost implications for the practice. For municipal and special district revenue debt I find weak evidence of some additional interest (about six basis points) when the advisor serves as underwriter, but the effect is not consistent enough throughout the data to reach statistical significance at the p<0.001 level (see note 10). What I do find is that unrated issues are much more likely to be bid on and won by the advisor, indicating that cities should be concerned about the guidance of their advisor when that advice is to take an unrated issue to market.
Litigation Costs, Budget Impacts, and Cost Containment Strategies: Evidence from California Cities
Authors: MacManus Susan A.
Published: November 2003

Litigation costs are straining many municipalities' budgets and creating more uncertainty and flux in their annual budgetary processes. A 1996 mail survey of California cities conducted by the League of California Cities, to which 210 cities (45 percent) responded, shows that the level of litigation‐driven budgetary strain is intensifying. The budgetary impacts of litigation have been quite substantial, no matter whether measured in terms of overall impact, percent increase, frequency and magnitude of budget amendments, actual dollar costs, or the tendency to settle cases just to save money. Population size makes a lot of difference in the level and type of impact as well as the cost containment strategies implemented by a city. Generally, the larger the city (and the more diverse), the greater the strain litigation costs have put on the budget. A higher percentage of big cities (over 100,000) than smaller ones blame rising costs on police liability, personal injury, civil rights, tort, Americans With Disabilities Act, Fourteenth Amendment and Fourth Amendment claims. Frivolous cases are a problem for cities of all sizes. So, too, are the rising incidences of rights‐related cases being filed against cities by their own employees as well as private individuals. This trend will likely increase as the nation's population ages and diversifies ethnically and racially.
Budgetary Incentives for Retail Activities at Military Bases
Authors: Clay‐Mendez Deborah
Published: November 2003

The Department of Defense (DoD) operates an extensive system of retail activities at military bases for active duty, retired, and reserve personnel and their families. DoD stores employ 96,000 civilian workers and sell $14 billion of goods and services annually at below‐market prices. DoD resists efforts to reduce its role in retail activities, arguing that even within the United States stores with below‐market prices are a cost‐effective alternative to higher cash compensation for military personnel. This article examines the budgetary incentives that make inefficient, government‐operated stores attractive to DoD and describes options that would change those incentives. Because most of DoD's retail stores are controlled by nonappropriated fund instrumentalities of the federal government, reforming those incentives could require changes in the treatment of these poorly understood federal entities.
Budgetary Consequences of Selling Federal Power Assets
Authors: Farmer Richard D.
Published: November 2003

This article reports on an analysis of the long‐term budgetary effects of selling federal power programs at market value. The analysis looks at changes in future budgetary receipts and costs for power operations and at changes in future federal taxes as a result of new ownership. Under current rate‐setting policy, federal agencies must generate a future operating surplus (and hence, budgetary income) worth about $46 billion in today's dollars to repay past capital investments. With optimistic assumptions about rising power rates, market values for all federal power assets (including the power‐generation assets of the Bureau of Reclamation and the Corps of Engineers) could be as high as $62 billion. In that case, their sale would produce long‐term budgetary savings of about $16 billion, in today's dollars. The analysis also notes that budgetary savings are not a measure of the gains in economic efficiency from privatization. Such considerations as efficiency or fairness to particular groups will be important in any debate about the future of federal power programs.
Identification and Characterization of Phytoplasmal Genes, Employing a Novel Method of Isolating Phytoplasmal Genomic DNA
Authors: Melamed Sharon , Tanne Edna , Ben-Haim Raz , Edelbaum Orit , Yogev David , Sela Ilan
Published: November 2003

Phytoplasmas are unculturable, insect-transmissible plant pathogens belonging to the class
Mollicutes
. To be transmitted, the phytoplasmas replicate in the insect body and are delivered to the insect's salivary glands, from where they are injected into the recipient plant. Because phytoplasmas cannot be cultured, any attempt to recover phytoplasmal DNA from infected plants or insects has resulted in preparations with a large background of host DNA. Thus, studies of the phytoplasmal genome have been greatly hampered, and aside from the rRNA genes, only a few genes have hitherto been isolated and characterized. We developed a unique method to obtain host-free phytoplasmal genomic DNA from the insect vector's saliva, and we demonstrated the feasibility of this method by isolating and characterizing 78 new putative phytoplasmal open reading frames and their deduced proteins. Based on the newly accumulated information on phytoplasmal genes, preliminary characteristics of the phytoplasmal genome are discussed.
Cosmid-Based System for Transient Expression and Absolute Off-to-On Transcriptional Control ofEscherichia coliGenes
Authors: Cronan John E.
Published: November 2003

Cosmids are plasmids that contain the phage λ sequences (cos) required for packaging of the phage DNA into the virion. Induction of a λ prophage in anEscherichia colistrain carrying a cosmid results in lysates containing phage particles that are filled with cosmid DNA. However, the lysates also contain a large excess of infectious phage particles which complicate use of the packaged cosmids. I report that cosmids packaged by induction of a strain carrying a prophage with an alteredcosregion results in lysates containing very high levels (>1010/ml) of particles that contain cosmid DNA together with very few infectious phage particles. These lysates can be used to transduce cosmid DNA into all of the cells of a growing culture with minimal physiological disturbance. When the cosmid carries a conditionally active origin of replication, transductional introduction of the cosmid under nonreplicative conditions provides a system of transient expression. Transient expression has been used to make arecAstrain temporarily recombination proficient and to temporarily introduce a site-specific recombinase. Transductional introduction of a cosmid also allows absolute off-to-on transcriptional control of nonessential genes. Two examples are given showing that when a strain carrying a null mutation in the gene of interest is transduced with a packaged cosmid carrying a functional copy of that gene, the expression of the gene rapidly goes from absolutely off to high-level expression. Additional possible uses of in vivo-packaged cosmids are proposed.
Assembly of TolC, a Structurally Unique and Multifunctional Outer Membrane Protein of
Escherichia coli
K-12
Authors: Werner John , Augustus Anne Marie , Misra Rajeev
Published: November 2003

TolC is a multifunctional outer membrane protein of
Escherichia coli
that folds into a novel α-β-barrel conformation absent in the other model outer membrane proteins used in assembly studies. The data presented in this work show that the unique folded structure of TolC reflects a unique assembly pathway. During its assembly, the newly translocated nascent TolC monomers are released in the periplasm. Maturation of these nascent monomers, and possibly their oligomerization, in the periplasm precedes their insertion in the outer membrane. The completion of the assembly process is signaled by the development of a characteristic proteinase K-resistant fragment generated by cleavage at a single, periplasmically exposed, protease-sensitive site of the membrane-anchored trimer. None of the assembly steps of TolC is affected by known folding factors, such as SurA, Skp, and lipopolysaccharide, which have profound effects on the assembly of other model trimeric outer membrane proteins. Two assembly-defective TolC mutants were isolated and characterized. One of the mutants (TolC
I106N
) was defective in the folding of nascent monomers, while the other (TolC
S350F
) was impaired in steps involving trimerization and membrane insertion of folded monomers.
MtaR, a Regulator of Methionine Transport, Is Critical for Survival of Group B Streptococcus In Vivo
Authors: Shelver Daniel , Rajagopal Lakshmi , Harris Theresa O. , Rubens Craig E.
Published: November 2003

The group B streptococcus (GBS) is an important human pathogen that infects newborns as well as adults. GBS also provides a model system for studying adaptation to different host environments due to its ability to survive in a variety of sites within the host. In this study, we have characterized a transcription factor, MtaR, that is essential for the ability of GBS to survive in vivo. An isogenic strain bearing a kanamycin insertion in
mtaR
was attenuated for survival in a neonatal-rat model of sepsis. The
mtaR
mutant grew poorly in human plasma, suggesting that its utilization of plasma-derived nutrients was inefficient. When an excess of exogenous methionine (200 μg/ml) was provided to the
mtaR
mutant, its growth rate in plasma was restored to that of the wild-type strain. The
mtaR
mutant grew poorly in chemically defined medium (CDM) prepared with methionine at a concentration similar to that of plasma (4 μg/ml) but was able to grow normally in CDM prepared with a high concentration of methionine (400 μg/ml). Both the wild-type strain and the
mtaR
mutant were incapable of growth in CDM lacking methionine, indicating that GBS cannot synthesize methionine de novo. When the abilities of the strains to incorporate radiolabeled methionine were compared, the
mtaR
mutant incorporated fivefold less methionine than the wild-type strain during a 10-min period. Collectively, the results from this study suggest that the ability to regulate expression of a methionine transport system is critical for GBS survival in vivo.
MgrA, an Orthologue of Mga, Acts as a Transcriptional Repressor of the Genes within therlrAPathogenicity Islet inStreptococcus pneumoniae
Authors: Hemsley Carolyn , Joyce Elizabeth , Hava David L. , Kawale Amita , Camilli Andrew
Published: November 2003

Streptococcus pneumoniaenormally resides in the human nasopharynx in a nondisease state. In response to unknown triggers this organism can descend to the lower respiratory tract and/or invade the bloodstream. Regulation and activation of virulence genes play essential roles in this process of disease development. Characterization ofS. pneumoniaeregulatory networks has been a recent area of interest, but despite inroads little is known about regulation of virulence genes in this pathogen. A putative transcriptional regulator inS. pneumoniae,mgrA, which exhibits homology to the virulence gene activatormgaof group A streptococcus, was previously identified as a regulator that is required for development of pneumonia in a murine model. In this study we confirmed thatmgrAplays a role in both nasopharyngeal carriage and pneumonia. Transcriptional profiling by microarray technology was used to show thatmgrAacts as a repressor of the previously characterizedrlrApathogenicity islet. This is manifested phenotypically by a decrease in adherence to epithelial cells in tissue culture since therlrApathogenicity islet contains genes mediating adherence.
Flavobacterium johnsoniae
GldH Is a Lipoprotein That Is Required for Gliding Motility and Chitin Utilization
Authors: McBride Mark J. , Braun Timothy F. , Brust Jessica L.
Published: November 2003

Cells of
Flavobacterium johnsoniae
move rapidly over surfaces by gliding motility. The mechanism of this form of motility is not known. Six genes (
gldA
,
gldB
,
gldD
,
gldF
,
gldG
, and
ftsX
) that are required for gliding have been described. Tn
4351
mutagenesis was used to identify another gene,
gldH
, which is required for cell movement. GldH mutants formed nonspreading colonies, and individual cells lacked the cell movements and ability to propel latex spheres along their surfaces that are characteristic of wild-type cells.
gldH
mutants also failed to digest chitin and were resistant to bacteriophages that infect wild-type cells. Introduction of pMM293, which carries wild-type
gldH
, restored to the
gldH
mutants colony spreading, cell motility, the ability to move latex spheres, phage sensitivity, and the ability to digest chitin.
gldH
encodes a predicted 141-amino-acid protein that localized to the membrane fraction. Labeling studies with [
3
H]palmitate demonstrated that GldH is a lipoprotein. GldB and GldD, which were previously described, also appear to be lipoproteins. GldH does not exhibit significant amino acid similarity to proteins of known function in the databases. Putative homologs of
gldH
of unknown function are found in motile (
Cytophaga hutchinsonii
) and apparently nonmotile (
Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron
,
Bacteroides fragilis
,
Tannerella forsythensis
,
Porphyromonas gingivalis
, and
Prevotella intermedia
) members of the
Cytophaga
-
Flavobacterium
-
Bacteroides
group.
Flagellin Glycosylation Island in
Pseudomonas syringae
pv. glycinea and Its Role in Host Specificity
Authors: Takeuchi Kasumi , Taguchi Fumiko , Inagaki Yoshishige , Toyoda Kazuhiro , Shiraishi Tomonori , Ichinose Yuki
Published: November 2003

The deduced amino acid sequences of the flagellins of
Pseudomonas syringae
pv. tabaci and
P. syringae
pv. glycinea are identical; however, their abilities to induce a hypersensitive reaction are clearly different. The reason for the difference seems to depend on the posttranslational modification of the flagellins. To investigate the role of this posttranslational modification in the interactions between plants and bacterial pathogens, we isolated genes that are potentially involved in the posttranslational modification of flagellin in
P. syringae
pv. glycinea (glycosylation island); then defective mutants with mutations in these genes were generated. There are three open reading frames in the glycosylation island, designated
orf1
,
orf2
, and
orf3
.
orf1
and
orf2
encode putative glycosyltransferases, and mutants with defects in these open reading frames, Δ
orf1
and Δ
orf2
, secreted nonglycosylated and slightly glycosylated flagellins, respectively. Inoculation tests performed with these mutants and original nonhost tobacco leaves revealed that Δ
orf1
and Δ
orf2
could grow on tobacco leaves and caused symptom-like changes. In contrast, these mutants failed to cause symptoms on original host soybean leaves. These data indicate that putative glycosyltransferases encoded in the flagellin glycosylation island are strongly involved in recognition by plants and could be the specific determinants of compatibility between phytopathogenic bacteria and plant species.
In Vivo Effect of Mutations at the PRPP Binding Site of the
Bacillus subtilis
Purine Repressor
Authors: Rappu Pekka , Pullinen Terhi , Mäntsälä Pekka
Published: November 2003

The
Bacillus subtilis
PurR mediates adenine repression and guanosine induction of
purA
. PRPP inhibits binding of PurR to DNA in vitro. Mutations in the PRPP binding motif of PurR caused strong repression regardless of purine exclusions or additions, establishing the role of PRPP as regulator of PurR.
Structure of Haloacetate-Catabolic IncP-1β Plasmid pUO1 and Genetic Mobility of Its Residing Haloacetate-Catabolic Transposon
Authors: Sota Masahiro , Kawasaki Haruhiko , Tsuda Masataka
Published: November 2003

The self-transmissible plasmid pUO1 from
Delftia acidovorans
strain B carries two haloacetate-catabolic transposons, Tn
Had1
and Tn
Had2
, and the
mer
genes for resistance to mercury. The complete 67,066-bp sequence of pUO1 revealed that the
mer
genes were also carried by two Tn
402
/Tn
5053
-like transposons, Tn
4671
and Tn
4672
, and that the pUO1 backbone regions shared 99% identity to those of the archetype IncP-1β plasmid R751. Comparison of pUO1 with three other IncP-1β plasmids illustrated the importance of transposon insertion in the diversity and evolution of this group of plasmids. Mutational analysis of the four outermost residues in the inverted repeats (IRs) of Tn
Had2
, a Tn
21
-related transposon, revealed a crucial role of the second residue of its IRs in transposition.
The Syntax and Prosody of Weak Pronouns in Chamorro
Authors: Chung Sandra
Published: November 2003

In the modular linguistic theory assumed by many generative linguists, phonology and syntax are interconnected but fundamentally independent components of grammar. The effects of syntax on phonology are mediated by prosodic structure, a representation of prosodic constituents calculated from syntactic structure but not isomorphic to it. Within this overall architecture, I investigate the placement of weak pronouns in the Austronesian language Chamorro. Certain Chamorro pronominals can be realized as prosodically deficient weak pronouns that typically occur right after the predicate. I showthat these pronouns are second-position clitics whose placement is determined not syntactically, but prosodically: they occur after the leftmost phonological phrase of their intonational phrase. My analysis of these clitics assumes that lexical insertion is late and can affect and be affected by prosodic phrase formation-assumptions consistent with the view that the mutual interaction of phonology and syntax is confined to the postsyntactic operations that translate syntactic structure into prosodic structure.
General-Purpose Computation with Neural Networks: A Survey of Complexity Theoretic Results
Authors: Šíma Jiří , Orponen Pekka
Published: November 2003

We survey and summarize the literature on the computational aspects of neural network models by presenting a detailed taxonomy of the various models according to their complexity theoretic characteristics. The criteria of classification include the architecture of the network (feedforward versus recurrent), time model (discrete versus continuous), state type (binary versus analog), weight constraints (symmetric versus asymmetric), network size (finite nets versus infinite families), and computation type (deterministic versus probabilistic), among others. The underlying results concerning the computational power and complexity issues of perceptron, radial basis function, winner-take-all, and spiking neural networks are briefly surveyed, with pointers to the relevant literature. In our survey, we focus mainly on the digital computation whose inputs and outputs are binary in nature, although their values are quite often encoded as analog neuron states. We omit the important learning issues.
Differences in Spiking Patterns Among Cortical Neurons
Authors: Shinomoto Shigeru , Shima Keisetsu , Tanji Jun
Published: November 2003

Spike sequences recorded from four cortical areas of an awake behaving monkey were examined to explore characteristics that vary among neurons. We found that a measure of the local variation of interspike intervals, LV, is nearly the same for every spike sequence for any given neuron, while it varies significantly among neurons. The distributions of LV values for neuron ensembles in three of the four areas were found to be distinctly bimodal. Two groups of neurons classified according to the spiking irregularity exhibit different responses to the same stimulus. This suggests that neurons in each area can be classified into different groups possessing unique spiking statistics and corresponding functional properties.
Lateral Neural Model of Binocular Rivalry
Authors: Stollenwerk Lars , Bode Mathias
Published: November 2003

This article introduces a two-dimensionally extended, neuron-based model for binocular rivalry. The basic block of the model is a certain type of astable multivibrator comprising excitatory and inhibitory neurons. Many of these blocks are laterally coupled on a medium range to provide a two-dimensional layer. Our model, like others, needs noise to reproduce typical stochastic oscillations. Due to its spatial extension, the noise has to be laterally correlated. When the contrast ratio of the pictures varies, their share of the perception time changes in a way that is known from comparable experimental data (Levelt, 1965; Mueller & Blake, 1989). This is a result of the lateral coupling and not a property of the single model block. The presentation of simple and suitable inhomogeneous stimuli leads to an easily describable perception of periodically moving pictures like propagating fronts or breathing spots. This suggests new experiments. Under certain conditions, a bifurcation from static to moving perceptions is predicted and may be checked and employed by future experiments. Recent “paradox” (Logothetis, 1999) observations of two different neuron classes in cortical areas MT (Logothetis & Schall, 1989) and V4 (Leopold & Logothetis, 1996), one that behaves alike under rivaling and nonrivaling conditions and another that drastically changes its behavior, are interpreted as being related to separate inhibitor neurons.
Suprathreshold Intrinsic Dynamics of the Human Visual System
Authors: Purushothaman Gopathy , Öğmen Haluk , Bedell Harold E.
Published: November 2003

Intrinsic high-frequency neural activities have been observed in the visual system of several species, but their functional significance for visual perception remains a fundamental puzzle in cognitive neuroscience. Spatiotemporal integration in the human visual system acts as a low-pass filter and makes the psychophysical observation of high-frequency activities very difficult. A computational model of retino-cortical dynamics (RECOD) is used to derive experimental paradigms that allow psychophysical studies of high-frequency neural activities. A reduced-parameter version of the model is used to quantitatively relate psychophysical data collected in two of these experimental paradigms. Statistical analysis shows that the model's account of the variance in the data is, in general, highly significant. We suggest that psychophysically measured oscillations reflect intrinsic neuronal oscillations observed in the visual cortex.
Selecting Informative Data for Developing Peptide-MHC Binding Predictors Using a Query by Committee Approach
Authors: Christensen Jens Kaae , Lamberth Kasper , Nielsen Morten , Lundegaard Claus , Worning Peder , Lauemøller Sanne Lise , Buus Søren , Brunak Søren , Lund Ole
Published: November 2003

Strategies for selecting informative data points for training prediction algorithms are important, particularly when data points are difficult and costly to obtain. A Query by Committee (QBC) training strategy for selecting new data points uses the disagreement between a committee of different algorithms to suggest new data points, which most rationally complement existing data, that is, they are the most informative data points. In order to evaluate this QBC approach on a real-world problem, we compared strategies for selecting new data points. We trained neural network algorithms to obtain methods to predict the binding affinity of peptides binding to the MHC class I molecule, HLA-A2. We show that the QBC strategy leads to a higher performance than a baseline strategy where new data points are selected at random from a pool of available data. Most peptides bind HLA-A2 with a low affinity, and as expected using a strategy of selecting peptides that are predicted to have high binding affinities also lead to more accurate predictors than the base line strategy. The QBC value is shown to correlate with the measured binding affinity. This demonstrates that the different predictors can easily learn if a peptide will fail to bind, but often conflict in predicting if a peptide binds. Using a carefully constructed computational setup, we demonstrate that selecting peptides with a high QBC performs better than low QBC peptides independently from binding affinity. When predictors are trained on a very limited set of data they cannot be expected to disagree in a meaningful way and we find a data limit below which the QBC strategy fails. Finally, it should be noted that data selection strategies similar to those used here might be of use in other settings in which generation of more data is a costly process.
An Adaptive Sharing Elitist Evolution Strategy for Multiobjective Optimization
Authors: Costa Lino , Oliveira Pedro
Published: November 2003

Almost all approaches to multiobjective optimization are based on Genetic Algorithms (GAs), and implementations based on Evolution Strategies (ESs) are very rare. Thus, it is crucial to investigate how ESs can be extended to multiobjective optimization, since they have, in the past, proven to be powerful single objective optimizers. In this paper, we present a new approach to multiobjective optimization, based on ESs. We call this approach the Multiobjective Elitist Evolution Strategy (MEES) as it incorporates several mechanisms, like elitism, that improve its performance. When compared with other algorithms, MEES shows very promising results in terms of performance.
"THE QUEEN WHO SERVES THE SLAVES": FROM POLITICS TO METAPOETICS IN THE POETRY OF QĀSIM HADDĀD
Authors: Huri Yair
Published: November 2003

The following article deals with the poetry of the Bahraini poet Qāsim Haddād, one of the most prominent modernist Arab poets of our time. One of Haddād's main characteristics in his habit of recurrently changing his poetic style and poetic themes over the years, and this article seeks to highlight the significant transformations Haddād's poetry underwent during his career. The article argues that one of the most important transformations is the shift Haddād made from leftist committed poetry in the 1970s toward a highly modernist poetics in the 1980s and 90s. Influenced by Adonis, the key figure among Arab modernist poets, Haddād tends to reflect upon meta-poetic themes in his later poetic works—themes such as the exploration of the creative process, the poem as a creator of a new world, the innate gap between language and the poet's personal and poetic experience, etc. Haddād tackles these themes by using an innovative poetic style and a low-key tone, and succeeds in drawing the reader's attention to the complexity and the poignancy of his poetry.
Cellwise Residual Analysis in Two-Way Contingency Tables
Authors: García-pérez Miguel A. , Núñez-antón Vicente
Published: November 2003

MacDonald and Gardner reported the results of a comparative study of two post hoc cellwise tests in 3 X 4 contingency tables under the independence and homogeneity models. Based on their results, they advised against the use of standardized residuals and in favor of adjusted residuals. Here the authors show that the comparison was biased in favor of adjusted residuals because of a failure to consider the nonunit variance of standardized residuals. The authors define a moment-corrected standardized residual that overcomes this bias and present the results of a thorough study including two-way tables of all dimensions between 2 X 2 and 8 X 12 that aimed at comparing moment-corrected standardized residuals with adjusted residuals. Across the entire set of table dimensions included in this study, the results reveal that both residuals yield essentially the same pat-tern of cell-by-cell and experimentwise Type I error rates when the data come from variables with uniform marginal distributions. When the data come from variables with peaked marginal distributions, adjusted residuals behave minimally better than moment-corrected residuals.
Psychometric and Psychological Effects of Item Selection and Review on Computerized Testing
Authors: Revuelta Javier , Ximénez M. Carmen , Olea Julio
Published: November 2003

Psychometric properties of computerized testing, together with anxiety and comfort of examinees, are investigated in relation to item selection routine and the opportunity for response review. Two different hypotheses involving examinee anxiety were used to design test properties: perceived control and perceived performance. The study involved three types of administration of a computerized English test for Spanish speakers (adaptive, easy adaptive, and fixed) and four review conditions (no review, review at end, review by blocks of 5 items, and review item-by-item). These were applied to a sample of 557 first-year psychology undergraduate students to examine main and interaction effects of test type and review on psychometric and psychological variables. Statistically significant effects were found in test precision among the different types of test. Response review improved ability estimates and increased testing time. No psychological effects on anxiety were found. Examinees in all review conditions considered more important the possibility of review than those who were not allowed to review. These results concur with previous findings on examinees' preference for item review and raise some issues that should be addressed in the field of tests with item review.
Does Emotional Intelligence Assist in the Prediction of Academic Success?
Authors: Barchard Kimberly A.
Published: November 2003

Some authors have claimed that emotional intelligence predicts success at work, at school, and in relationships, as well as or better than IQ. Little research exists to support or refute this claim at present. In this study, the ability of emotional intelligence to predict academic achievement was examined in a sample of undergraduate psychology students, using year-end grades as the criterion. The predictive validity of emotional intelligence was compared with the predictive validity of traditional cognitive abilities and the Big Five dimensions of personality. In addition, the incremental predictive validity of each of these three domains was assessed. In this setting, only some measures of Emotional Intelligence predicted academic success, and none of these measures showed incremental predictive validity for academic success over and above cognitive and personality variables. It may be that the overlap between many emotional intelligence measures and traditional measures of intelligence and personality limits their incremental predictive validity in this context.
A Monte Carlo Study Investigating the Impact of Item Parceling on Measures of Fit in Confirmatory Factor Analysis
Authors: Nasser Fadia , Wisenbaker Joseph
Published: November 2003

A simulation study was conducted to examine the effect of item parceling on goodness-of-fit indices at different levels of sample size, number of indicators per factor, factor structure/pattern coefficients, interfactor correlations, and item-level data distribution. Results revealed that the use of item parcels yielded more nonconverged solutions and Heywood cases than individual items. The likelihood of nonconverged solutions and Heywood cases increased as the number of indicators per factor (more items per parcel) decreased. Meanwhile, parcel solutions as compared with item solutions resulted in better fit as measured by the chi-square to degrees-of-freedom ratio, Goodness-of-Fit Index (GFI), Expected Cross-Validation Index (ECVI), and root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA), as well as two incremental fit indices, the Non-Normed Fit Index (NNFI) and Comparative Fit Index (CFI). The same pattern of results was found with data that varied in terms of skewness and kurtosis at the item level. However, the likelihood of nonconverged solutions and Heywood cases was more pronounced when data were extremely skewed/kurtotic at the item level.
The Structure of the Bem Sex Role Inventory: A Summary Report of 23 Validation Studies
Authors: Choi Namok , Fuqua Dale R.
Published: November 2003

This study reports on a summary of 23 separate exploratory factor analytic validation studies of the Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI) conducted during the 25 years since its publication. The ERIC and PsycLit databases were used to locate those validation studies. Number of items factor analyzed, sample characteristics, extraction and rotation methods used, names of factors, and factor structures reported in each of 23 studies were tabulated and analyzed. Two to four factors were retained in most of the studies, with masculine factors showing more factorially complex tendencies. Findings from this study suggest that masculinity and femininity have not been adequately operationalized in the BSRI and that the true structure of masculinity/femininity may be more complex than it appears when measured by the BSRI, which suggests that the BSRI may not capture the complex nature of masculinity/femininity. Implications of the results and the potential usefulness of the BSRI are discussed.
Staff Development for the Youth Development Professionalm
Authors: Huebner Angela J. , Walker Joyce A. , McFarland Marcia
Published: November 2003

Despite escalating interest in positive youth development, there is little agreement on what comprises the actual “work” of youth development and even less on the role of staff development for youth workers. To strengthen professional practice and hence the quality of youth development programs, an understanding must be developed of the distinguishing features or the essential elements of positive youth development work and the ways in which these elements can best be communicated to the field through staff development. This article suggests a framework for critical reflection on practices that encourage community-based youth workers to explore and apply the lessons of positive youth development in their programs. The article discusses the experience of facilitating adult learning within this curriculum, the responses of participants, and the implications for the youth development field.
The Effect of Ethnicity on Juvenile Court Decision Making in Hawaii
Authors: MacDonald John M.
Published: November 2003

Delinquency referrals to family courts in the state of Hawaii were analyzed to examine whether ethnic disparity existed in juvenile court processing. Drawing on conflict theory, it was hypothesized that socially disadvantaged ethnic groups (Hawaiian, Filipino, and Samoan) would experience more severe outcomes than White and East Asian youth with similar backgrounds and legal histories. The findings show that Hawaiian and Samoan youth experienced different treatment compared to White youth. Although the ethnic effects diminished when additional extralegal and legal factors were included, it was found that Hawaiian and Samoan youth were significantly more likely than White youth to receive more severe court outcomes. The implications ofthis research for understanding the general issue of ethnic disparity in an increasingly diverse juvenile justice system are discussed.
Generational Differences in Resistance to Peer Pressure among Mexican-Origin Adolescents
Authors: Umaña-Taylor Adriana J. , Bámaca-Gómez Mayra Y.
Published: November 2003

This study examined whether Mexican-origin adolescents (N = 1,062) who varied by generational status in the United States would differ with regard to their resistance to peer pressure. After controlling for sex, results indicated that resistance to peer pressure varied significantly by generational status. Adolescents who reported no familial births in the United States were significantly more resistant to peer pressure than those who reported one or more familial births in the United States. No significant differences in resistance to peer pressure emerged among adolescents who reported one familial birth in the United States and those who reported two or more familial births in the United States.
The Concept of Public Space and Its Democratic Manifestations
Authors: Goodsell Charles T.
Published: November 2003

The term public space has multiple meanings depending on the scholarly discipline. One aim ofthis article is to develop a unified concept of public space that draws on varied pertinent literatures, while at the same time expanding the idea’s coverage to incorporate the impacts oftele vision and information technology. A second objective is to utilize the concept to explore empirically the practical possibilities for making public space more democratic, using for this purpose several photographs of actual public spaces.
Better Tools, Better Workers
Authors: Haines David W.
Published: November 2003

This article examines one government agency’s experience with a new kind of technology— computerization—andhow that fostered a newoperational rationality that, in turn, permitted significant improvements in the agency’s work. Those improvements were enabled by computerization itself and by a new lateral alignment of technology, policy, labor, and management. That kind of lateral alignment— although often contested—has important implications for public administration, especially for envisioning a world of work that avoids the limits of hierarchical and compartmentalized bureaucratic structures.
Citizen Organizing in Cyberspace
Authors: Brainard Lori A.
Published: November 2003

This article investigates two examples ofcitizen cyber-organizing in the context ofthe literatures on social capital and organizing. It asks, What can cyber-organizations teach us about the current state of social capital? What are the implications ofcyber -organizing for the context ofpublic administration? What implications do cyber-organizations hold for the role of the public administrator? The author concludes that the continuous communication ofparticipants in cyber-organizations, as well as their transitory and informal roles and rules, their social and emotional support, and their development of a shared understanding of the issues they face function as forms of social capital that facilitate civic engagement. Furthermore, cyber-organizations add to the fragmented and fluid social and political environment confronting public administration. Finally, to realize the potential power and significance of cyberorganizing, public administrators should begin to see such organizations through a lens that is different fromthe professional orientation to interest groups that has pervaded the field. Public administrators must reimagine themselves as agents of the social bond.