bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Minimization of Functional Majorant in a Posteriori Error Analysis Based on H(div) Multigrid-Preconditioned CG Method
Authors: Valdman Jan
Published: July 2009

We consider a Poisson boundary value problem and its functional a posteriori error estimate derived by S. Repin in 1999. The estimate majorizes the H1 seminorm of the error of the discrete solution computed by FEM method and contains a free ux variable from the H(div) space. In order to keep the estimate sharp, a procedure for the minimization of the majorant term with respect to the ux variable is introduced, computing the free ux variable from a global linear system of equations. Since the linear system is symmetric and positive definite, few iterations of a conjugate gradient method with a geometrical multigrid preconditioner are applied. Numerical techniques are demonstated on one benchmark example with a smooth solution on a unit square domain including the computation of the approximate value of the constant in Friedrichs' inequality.
The Emergence of Bull and Bear Dynamics in a Nonlinear Model of Interacting Markets
Authors: Tramontana Fabio , Gardini Laura , Dieci Roberto , Westerhoff Frank
Published: July 2009

We develop a three‐dimensional nonlinear dynamic model in which the stock
markets of two countries are linked through the foreign exchange market. Connections are due to the trading activity of heterogeneous speculators. Using
analytical and numerical tools, we seek to explore how the coupling of the markets may affect the emergence of bull and bear market dynamics. The dimension
of the model can be reduced by restricting investors′ trading activity, which enables the dynamic analysis to be performed stepwise, from low‐dimensional cases
up to the full three‐dimensional model. In our paper we focus mainly on the
dynamics of the one‐ and two‐ dimensional cases, with numerical experiments
and some analytical results, and also show that the main features persist in the
three‐dimensional model.
Processing and Electrochemical Property Characterization of Nanoporous Electrodes for Sustainable Energy Applications
Authors: He Jenny X. , Baharani Shruti , Gan Yong X.
Published: July 2009

Preparation and electrocatalytic reactions of nanoporous materials in biodegradable fluids were studied. Electrochemical etching was conducted to selectively extract metallic elements from alloys to form porous structures. Electrocatalytic properties of the porous electrodes were characterized. Comparative studies on the electrochemical activities of the nanoporous metallic electrodes with bulk metallic wire catalysts were performed. It is found that the current density at the nanoporous electrode is three times higher than that of the bulk electrode.
Priority-Based Inter-Vehicle Communication for Highway Safety Messaging Using IEEE 802.11e
Authors: Suthaputchakun Chakkaphong
Published: July 2009

We propose to use IEEE 802.11e in conjunction with retransmission mechanisms for priority-based Intervehicle Communication (IVC) for highway safety messaging in both vehicular infrastructure and ad hoc networks. Each IVC message, which is assigned a priority based on the safety event urgency, requires different quality of service in terms of communication reliability and average delay. To increase the communication reliability in a broadcast-based IVC, we apply retransmission mechanisms that can provide proportional reliability differentiation for each prioritized message. We evaluate the performance of our proposed protocol using OPNET Modeler, in terms of percentage of successful transmissions and average delay. The protocol performance is evaluated for (1) different system parameters such as the packet size, number of vehicles, and percentage of priority 1 vehicles, and (2) priority-based protocol parameters, such as contention window, interframe spacing and retransmission parameters. The results show that proper protocol parameter settings per priority message result in an efficient solution for priority based broadcast IVC. Moreover, the proposed protocol is fully compatible with both IEEE 802.11 and IEEE 802.11e standards.
A New Genetic Algorithm Methodology for Design Optimization of Truss Structures: Bipopulation-Based Genetic Algorithm with Enhanced Interval Search
Authors: Talaslioglu Tugrul
Published: July 2009

A new genetic algorithm (GA) methodology, Bipopulation-Based Genetic Algorithm with Enhanced Interval Search (BGAwEIS), is introduced and used to optimize the design of truss structures with various complexities. The results of BGAwEIS are compared with those obtained by the sequential genetic algorithm (SGA) utilizing a single population, a multipopulation-based genetic algorithm (MPGA) proposed for this study and other existing approaches presented in literature. This study has two goals: outlining BGAwEIS's fundamentals and evaluating the performances of BGAwEIS and MPGA. Consequently, it is demonstrated that MPGA shows a better performance than SGA taking advantage of multiple populations, but BGAwEIS explores promising solution regions more efficiently than MPGA by exploiting the feasible solutions. The performance of BGAwEIS is confirmed by better quality degree of its optimal designations compared to algorithms proposed here and described in literature.
Optimal Filtering in Pilot‐Aided Carrier Recovery
Authors: Spalvieri Arnaldo , Barletta Luca
Published: July 2009

The paper deals with carrier recovery based on pilot symbols in single‐carrier systems. Wiener′s method is used to determine the optimal unconstrained filter in estimation of phase noise assuming that a sequence of equally spaced pilot symbols is available. Our analysis allows to capture two effects that are not considered in the existing literature: the impact of aliasing due to sampling of the phase noise sequence at the pilot rate and the cyclostationary nature of the estimate hence of its performance. Experimental results are derived also for the case, where the filter is constrained to the cascade of two moving averages. These results show that, in the considered example, the mean‐square phase error of the constrained filter is within 0.35 dB from the MSE of the optimal filter.
Lack of Antilipoprotein Lipase Antibodies in Takayasu's Arteritis
Authors: de Carvalho Jozélio Freire , Pereira Rosa Maria Rodrigues , Viana Vilma Santos Trindade , Bonfá Eloísa , Shoenfeld Yehuda
Published: July 2009

Background. Antilipoprotein lipase (anti-LPL) antibodies were described in rheumatic diseases. In systemic lupus erythematosus they were highly associated with inflammatory markers and dyslipidemia, and may ultimately contribute to vascular damage. The relevance of this association in Takayasu's arteritis, which is characterized by major inflammatory process affecting vessels, has not been determined.Objectives. To analyze the presence of anti-LPL antibodies in patients with Takayasu's arteritis and its association with inflammatory markers and lipoprotein risk levels.Methods. Thirty sera from patients with Takayasu's arteritis, according to ACR criteria, were consecutively included. IgG anti-LPL was detected by a standard ELISA. Lipoprotein risk levels were evaluated according to NCEP/ATPIII. Inflammatory markers included ESR and CRP values.Results. Takayasu's arteritis patients had a mean age of 34 years old and all were females. Half of the patients presented high ESR and 60% elevated CRP. Lipoprotein NCEP risk levels were observed in approximately half of the patients: 53% for total cholesterol, 43% for triglycerides, 16% for HDL-c and 47% for LDL-c. In spite of the high frequency of dyslipidemia and inflammatory markers in these patients no anti-LPL were detected.Conclusions. The lack of anti-LPL antibodies in Takayasu's disease implies distinct mechanisms underlying dyslipidemia compared to systemic lupus erythematosus.
Existence and Stability Estimate for the Solution of the Ageing Hereditary Linear Viscoelasticity Problem
Authors: Orlik Julia
Published: July 2009

The paper is concerned with the existence and stability of weak (variational) solutions
for the problem of the quasistatic evolution of a viscoelastic material under
mixed inhomogenous Dirichlet‐Neumann boundary conditions. The main novelty
of the paper relies in dealing with continuous‐in‐time weak solutions and allowing nonconvolution and weak‐singular Volterra′s relaxation kernels.
Minimally Invasive Management of Acute Biliary Tract Disease during Pregnancy
Authors: Chiappetta Porras Luis Tomás , Nápoli Eduardo Daniel , Canullán Carlos Manuel , Quesada Bernabé Matías , Roff Hernán Eduardo , Alvarez Rodríguez Juan , Oría Alejandro Salvador
Published: July 2009

Background. Acute biliary diseases during pregnancy have been classically managed conservatively. Advances in minimally invasive surgery and the high recurrence rate of symptoms observed changed this management. Methods. This is a prospective observational study. Initial management was medical. Unresponsive patients were treated with minimally invasive techniques including gallbladder percutaneous aspiration or cholecystostomy, endoscopic retrograde cholangiography, and laparoscopic cholecystectomy, depending on the pregnancy trimester and underlying diagnosis. Results. 122 patients were admitted. 69 (56.5%) were unresponsive to medical treatment. Recurrent gallbladder colic was the most frequent indication for minimally invasive intervention, followed by acute cholecystitis, choledocholithiasis, and acute biliary pancreatitis. 8 patients were treated during the first trimester, 54 during the second, and 7 during the last trimester. There was no fetal morbidity or mortality. Maternal morbidity was minor with no mortality. Conclusion. Acute biliary tract diseases during pregnancy may be safely treated with minimally invasive procedures according to the underlying diagnosis and to the trimester of pregnancy.
Receptor Function and Response of Semiconductor Gas Sensor
Authors: Yamazoe Noboru , Shimanoe Kengo
Published: July 2009

Theoretical approaches to receptor function and response of semiconductor gas sensor are described, following the illustrations of some relevant key issues such as tunneling transport. Depletion in small semiconductor crystals is characterized by the occurrence of new type depletion (volume depletion) after conventional one (regional depletion), and inclusion of both types makes it possible to formulate the receptor function and response to oxygen (air base), oxidizing gas (nitrogen dioxide), and reducing gas (hydrogen). The equations derived theoretically using physical parameters of the semiconductor side and chemical parameters of the gases side appear to reproduce satisfactorily the sensing behavior to the aforementioned gases as well as the influence of changes in physical parameters such as grain size and donor density. Extension to the semiconductor crystals dispersed with surface electron‐traps shows that the traps act as a sensitizer to promote sensor response.
Molecular Mechanisms Involved in Mesenchymal Stem Cell Migration to the Site of Acute Myocardial Infarction
Authors: Kollar Katarina , Cook Matthew M. , Atkinson Kerry , Brooke Gary
Published: July 2009

Mesenchymal stem cells or multipotent mesenchymal stromal cells (both referred to as MSC) have been shown in some studies to have a beneficial effect on myocardial recovery after infarct. Current strategies for MSC delivery to heart involve intravenous, intraarterial, and intramuscular delivery. Different routes of MSC delivery and a lack of knowledge of the mechanisms that MSC utilise to migrate in vivo has most likely led to the marked variations in results that have been found. This review aims to summarise the current knowledge of MSC migratory mechanisms and looks to future methods of MSC manipulation prior to delivery in order to enhance MSC migration and engraftment.
Alternative Splicing of Transcription Factors' Genes: Beyond the Increase of Proteome Diversity
Authors: Talavera David , Orozco Modesto , de la Cruz Xavier
Published: July 2009

Functional modification of transcription regulators may lead to developmental changes and phenotypical differences between species. In this work, we study the influence of alternative splicing on transcription factors in human and mouse. Our results show that the impact of alternative splicing on transcription factors is similar in both species, meaning that the ways to increase variability should also be similar. However, when looking at the expression patterns of transcription factors, we observe that they tend to diverge regardless of the role of alternative splicing. Finally, we hypothesise that transcription regulation of alternatively spliced transcription factors could play an important role in the phenotypical differences between species, without discarding other phenomena or functional families.
Seasonal Evolution of Aleutian Low Pressure Systems: Implications for the North Pacific Subpolar Circulation*
Authors: Pickart Robert S. , Macdonald Alison M. , Moore G. W. K. , Renfrew Ian A. , Walsh John E. , Kessler William S.
Published: July 2009

The seasonal change in the development of Aleutian low pressure systems from early fall to early winter is analyzed using a combination of meteorological reanalysis fields, satellite sea surface temperature (SST) data, and satellite wind data. The time period of the study is September–December 2002, although results are shown to be representative of the long-term climatology. Characteristics of the storms were documented as they progressed across the North Pacific, including their path, central pressure, deepening rate, and speed of translation. Clear patterns emerged. Storms tended to deepen in two distinct geographical locations—the Gulf of Alaska in early fall and the western North Pacific in late fall. In the Gulf of Alaska, a quasi-permanent “notch” in the SST distribution is argued to be of significance. The signature of the notch is imprinted in the atmosphere, resulting in a region of enhanced cyclonic potential vorticity in the lower troposphere that is conducive for storm development. Later in the season, as winter approaches and the Sea of Okhotsk becomes partially ice covered and cold, the air emanating from the Asian continent leads to enhanced baroclinicity in the region south of Kamchatka. This corresponds to enhanced storm cyclogenesis in that region. Consequently, there is a seasonal westward migration of the dominant lobe of the Aleutian low. The impact of the wind stress curl pattern resulting from these two regions of storm development on the oceanic circulation is investigated using historical hydrography. It is argued that the seasonal bimodal input of cyclonic vorticity from the wind may be partly responsible for the two distinct North Pacific subarctic gyres.
Assessing Snowfall Rates from X-Band Radar Reflectivity Measurements
Authors: Matrosov Sergey Y. , Campbell Carroll , Kingsmill David , Sukovich Ellen
Published: July 2009

Realistic aggregate snowflake models and experimental snowflake size distribution parameters are used to derive X-band power-law relations between the equivalent radar reflectivity factor Ze and the liquid equivalent snowfall precipitation rate S (Ze = ASB). There is significant variability in coefficients of these relations caused by uncertainties in the snowflake bulk densities (as defined by the mass–size relationships), fall velocities, and particle size distribution parameters. The variability in snowflake parameters results in differing Ze–S relations that provide more than a factor of 2 difference in precipitation rate and liquid equivalent accumulation estimates for typical reflectivity values observed in snowfall (∼20–30 dBZ). Characteristic values of the exponent B in the derived for dry snowfall relations were generally in the range 1.3–1.55 (when Ze is in mm6 m−3 and S is in mm h−1). The coefficient A exhibited stronger variability and varied in the range from about 30 (for aircraft-based size distributions and smaller density particles) to about 140 (for surface-based size distributions). The non-Rayleigh scattering effects at X band result in diminishing of both A and B, as compared to the relations for longer wavelength radars. The snowflake shape and orientation also influences its backscatter properties, but to a lesser extent compared to the particle bulk density. The derived relations were primarily obtained for snowfall consisting of dry aggregate snowflakes. They were applied to the X-band radar measurements during observations of wintertime storms. For approximately collocated measurements, the in situ estimates of snowfall accumulations were generally within the range of radar-derived values when the coefficient A was around 100–120.
Hippolytus
Authors: Volp Ulrich
Published: July 2009

There are a great number of writings attributed to one Hippolytus of Rome. According to the traditional nineteenth-century view they were all written by a presbyter-bishop involved in some major theological controversies in Rome at the beginning of the third century. If this is correct — and the following overview explores the plausibility of such claims — the corpus comprises the first major exegetical works by a Christian author, the first elaborate Christian liturgy and the first systematic heresiology, but also constitutes an important witness of the dawn of the trinitarian controversy. Anyone interested in the beginnings of Christian `theology' must therefore look into this diverse legacy from possibly the last Greek Church Father in the west.
Paul in Philippi: Reflections on Mission in the light of the Apostle's Hermeneutics
Authors: Sourbut Revd Dr Catherine
Published: July 2009

I suggest that Paul's mission context in Philippi has interesting similarities to our own in twenty-first century Britain. His hermeneutic and its relationship to his mission work are examined: we could usefully look again at the flexibility of Paul's approach and his willingness to allow fresh experience to impact on his interpretation of the scriptures and traditions available to him. Encounters with individuals in Philippi are examined illustrating that key features of mission include inclusivity, humility and courage. Kingdom values of discerning and trusting God's spirit and seeking justice for the oppressed should take precedence over convention. These values are particularly important for emergent churches.
The Dark Knight and the Evilness of Evil
Authors: Cocksworth Ashley
Published: July 2009

The problem of evil is a recurring cinematic motif. However, in the theatres as much as in theology, evil is often misunderstood. Its peculiar ontology (as neither created nor divine) and its problematic presence (as defeated yet hostile) makes evil conceptually hard to speak of. Surprisingly, then, the latest Batman movie, The Dark Knight , offers a very good (or rather, very evil) account of wickedness that aims not to `solve' the problem of evil but to expose wickedness in all its savaging awfulness. This article will discuss some of the issues that stand behind the account of evil proffered by Batman's archenemy and Gotham City's agent of chaos, the Joker.
`I want hold Postman Pat': An investigation into the acquisition of infinitival marker `to'
Authors: Kirjavainen Minna , Theakston Anna , Lieven Elena , Tomasello Michael
Published: July 2009

Infinitival-to omission errors (e.g., * I want hold Postman Pat) are produced by many English-speaking children early in development. This article aims to explain these omissions by investigating the emergence of infinitival-to, and its production/omission in obligatory contexts. A series of corpus analyses were conducted on the naturalistic data from one to 13 children between the ages of approximately 2;0 and 3;1 testing three hypotheses from two theoretical viewpoints. The data suggest that the errors are associated with different verb sequences (e.g., going-to and going-X) and their frequencies in the language to which children are exposed. The article concludes that these constructions compete for output when children are producing those verbs and that this supports the usage-based/constructivist account of the omission errors.
Measuring Change in a Short-Term Educational Program Using a Retrospective Pretest Design
Authors: Moore Debra , Tananis Cynthia A.
Published: July 2009

The Pennsylvania Governor's School for International Studies is an intensive summer program designed to give talented high school students a challenging introduction to the study of international affairs. One focus of the evaluation seeks to understand the effect of the program on the students' perception of their knowledge concerning core issues. Across the long history of the program, a variety of measures were used (and subsequently discarded) to assess changes in knowledge and perception of competence. Four years ago the program instituted a retrospective pre-post design. Results from these years, indicate that these students have consistently overestimated their pre-test understanding of core competencies emphasized in the program and that they seem better able to assess their knowledge gains and their initial inflated sense of knowledge as a result of the program. This article offers an overview of the development, application, use and analysis of a retrospective pre-post instrument to address response shift bias.
Human Resource Development (HRD) Evaluation and Principles Related to the Public Interest
Authors: Russ-Eft Darlene F.
Published: July 2009

This paper examines the issues involved in the use of ethical standards related to social responsibility using the two ethical codes: the American Evaluation Association Guiding Principles for Evaluators and the Academy of Human Resource Development Standards on Ethics and Integrity. This examination will take the perspective of an internal evaluator working within a private organization. Using that perspective, the discussion will consider the complex issues involved in following such standards, particularly when undertaking evaluations within organizational settings.
Li3V2(PO4)3/C Composite Material with Porous Structure and Nano-carbon Webs Synthesized through Liquid Nitrogen Quenching
Authors: Zheng Jun-chao , Li Xin-hai , Wang Zhi-xing , Li Ling-jun , Li Jin-hui , Wu Ling , Guo Hua-jun
Published: July 2009

Li3V2(PO4)3/C composite material with a porous structure and nano-carbon webs are synthesized through a chemical reduction–lithiation and liquid nitrogen quenching method. Li3V2(PO4)3/C sample was characterized by XRD, SEM, and TEM. X-ray diffraction results show Li3V2(PO4)3 is monoclinic with a space group of P21⁄n. SEM and TEM images indicate that the Li3V2(PO4)3 particles are about 200 nm in diameter, have porous structure, and are coated with nano-carbon webs. Electrochemical measurement results indicate that the Li3V2(PO4)3/C cathode exhibits high-rate characteristic and delivered a stable discharge capacity of 131.57 mA h g−1 at 0.1 C (14 mA g−1), in the range of 2.6–4.5 V.
Peter Sís: A Quest for a Life in Truth
Authors: Scharioth Barbara
Published: July 2009

This article explores in depth the themes that resonate through the life and work of Peter Sís, particularly the dualisms of growing up in the Cold War era. More than many other contemporary artists, Sís's way of seeing the world, as well as choice of artistic media, are determined by his reflection on state-ordained and controlled propaganda and the attempt to evade their influence.
My Life with Censorship
Authors: Sís Peter
Published: July 2009

Author and illustrator Peter Sís writes about his own experiences growing up under Communism and how censorship infl uenced his work and mindset; indeed how it continues to ripple through his life and his work.
We Can Work It Out: Challenge, Debate and Acceptance
Authors: Shannon Patrick
Published: July 2009

This essay weaves together personal and political reflections in considering how one takes a stance for and against censorship, particularly when it comes to the needs of children.
Behind the Wall under the Red Star
Authors: Maeots Olga
Published: July 2009

In this article, the author looks at how three books for children depict the experience of growing up under totalitarian governments.
Picturing the Prophets: Should Art Create Doubt?
Authors: Bluitgen Kåre
Published: July 2009

In this essay, the author explores the controversy surrounding the writing and illustrating of his children's book about Muhammad, raising interesting questions about art, doubt, freedom and censorship.
Chanted Word
Authors: Wharehoka Dorothy
Published: July 2009

Traditions, myths, and history were carved or woven into the walls and rafters of meeting houses and celebrated along with chanting and waiata (songs) of the Maori culture of New Zealand. There was a time when it seemed the Te Reo language would die out due to conflict and a lack of understanding on the part of early European colonizers, but a resurgence from 1970 onwards has changed this situation. Now even the school curriculum contains wider use of tikanga—all aspects of Maori culture.
The Bewildering World of William De Brahm: An Eighteenth-Century Map Maker Surveys the End of Time
Authors: Paulett Robert E.
Published: July 2009

William De Brahm first rose to prominence in the 1750s as a scientific cartographer in southeastern North America. By the 1790s, he had become a mystical prophet, using his religious works as a means to criticize the imperialist tendencies of the century. Studying his written geographical work reveals a surprising continuity between these two careers. Understanding this continuity also helps to shed new light on the relationship between imperialism, science, cartography, and religion.
Kant and the Feelings of Reason
Authors: Wellmon Chad
Published: July 2009

This essay brings Kant's notion of a philosophical medicine or a practical dietetics to bear on his ethics and, more precisely, the place of feeling within it. It argues that Kant offers up a dietetic regime in his Kritik der praktischen Vernunft designed to prevent a pathological subjectivity or, what he terms, solipsism by cultivating moral feelings. But this ethical discipline involves not so much the extirpation of feelings or affect than the modification of their place in the larger human economy. Kant's moral regimens cultivate particular feelings as necessary and indispensable elements of moral being. For Kant, reason not only legislates: it needs, it feels, it suffers, and disciplines, and a disciplined reason is an embodied reason, a reason bound to particular human beings and particular practices.
Arne, Handel, the Beautiful, and the Sublime
Authors: Gilman Todd
Published: July 2009

Although Thomas Arne (1710–78) was the greatest native-born English composer of his day, today he is largely forgotten. Arne's loss of reputation can be traced to the lasting effect on nineteenth-century critical aesthetics of the eighteenth-century distinction between the beautiful and the sublime as applied to music. Critics and audiences regarded Arne in aesthetic terms as an exemplar of the musically beautiful during his lifetime and long after; however, they regarded Handel as exemplifying the musical sublime, the highest peak to which music could ascend, and this aesthetic hierarchy persisted well into the nineteenth century.
"An Air of Grandeur & Modesty": James Thornhill's Painting in the Dome of St. Paul's Cathedral
Authors: Johns Richard
Published: July 2009

James Thornhill's eight New Testament scenes in the inner dome of St. Paul's Cathedral constitute one of the most ambitious displays of painting in British art. However, the scheme's "decorative" associations mean that it has consistently fallen between two disciplines—disliked by architectural historians and overlooked by historians of eighteenth-century painting in equal measure. Combining previously unpublished documentary evidence with a fresh analysis of Thornhill's painting, this essay proposes a new understanding of the later stages in the rebuilding and decoration of St. Paul's, and points to the pictorial sophistication behind the apparent simplicity of the artist's designs.
Kant, Non-Conceptual Content and the Representation of Space
Authors: Allais Lucy
Published: July 2009

Der Raum is kein empirischer Begriff, der von äußeren Erfahrungen abgezogen worden. Denn damit gewisse Empfindungen auf etwas außer mir bezogen werden, (d.i. auf etwas in einem andern Orte des Raumes, als darinnen ich mich befinde,) imgleichen damit ich sie als außer und neben einander, mithin nicht bloß verschieden, sondern als in verschiedenen Orten vorstellen können, dazu muß die Vorstellung des Raumes schon zum Grunde liegen. (A23/B39)
Early Retirement in the Government Sector in Egypt: Preferences, Determinants, and Policy Implications
Authors: El-Hamidi Fatma
Published: July 2009

This study looks at factors affecting the decision of early retirement for Egyptian government sector employees. The empirical analysis is based on 2005 nationally representative sample of government sector workers. Among the findings of this study are: women are more likely to retire earlier than men; good health status is associated with longer stay on the job; the level of education is not a determining factor for women, but it is for men; men plan to work after their early retirement; the presence of the working wife has a positive effect on her husband to retire early, yet a working husband discourages his wife from retiring early. Policy implications discussed timing of the announcement of the plans; the potential outcome of excessive payouts, as well as the need for the government to provide early retirees with necessary skills and training to plan their after retirement years.
How Can Education Policy Improve Income Distribution?: An Empirical Analysis of Education Stages and Measures on Income Inequality
Authors: Keller Katarina R.I.
Published: July 2009

This paper examines the individual effects of primary, secondary and higher education on income distribution, using different measures of investment rates in education: enrollment rates, public expenditures and public expenditures per student, in each education stage. The panel data method is utilized in estimating the effects of different stages and measures of investment rates in education on income inequality across countries and among sample splits for developed and less developed countries since 1960. The results reveal that expenditures per student in primary education highly significantly improve income distribution especially globally and for less developed countries. Moreover, secondary education, for enrollment rates, and public expenditures particularly among already developed countries, has statistically significant equalizing effects. These results imply that education policy would improve income distribution by ensuring that expenditures per student in primary school are kept up with increases in student cohorts, and by promoting enrollment in secondary education.
Productivity and Growth in Turkish Manufacturing Industry: 1980–2001
Authors: Alvan Arzu , Ghosh B. N.
Published: July 2009

The objective of this study is to analyze and explain the factors influencing the value added growth in Turkish public and private manufacturing sectors during 1980–2001. With this aim in view, a Two-Deflator Growth Accounting (TDA) method is applied in the study. It is revealed that industries as a whole have positive value added growth with no negative contribution of capital. Although human capital’s contribution to the industrial sector’s growth as a whole and especially to public sector industries is not very significant, its contribution to the private sector industries remains significantly high. The overall contribution of raw labor is able to explain most of the contribution of labor to value-added growth in Turkish manufacturing industry during the period 1980–2001.
Effects of Increased Trade and Investment on Human Development in the U.S. and Mexican Border Communities
Authors: Anderson Joan B.
Published: July 2009

This paper analyzes the effects of increased trade and investment on population growth and the quality of life in the U.S. and Mexican border regions. The analysis on quality of life changes is based on 1990 and 2000 U.S. and Mexican census data. Quality of life is measured by a Border Human Development Index. We find that increased trade and investment has had a major impact on population growth and migration, especially in the Mexican border communities. With respect to changes in the quality of life, there is evidence of improvement on both sides of the border, but only the gains on the Mexican side appear to be linked to trade and investment. The evidence indicates that the increased U.S.-Mexican trade and investment has affected the border communities on the Mexican side of the border more so than those on the U.S. side.
Consumpiton Difference Between Microcredit Borrowers and Non-borrowers: A Bangladesh Experience
Authors: Rahman Sayma
Published: July 2009

This paper investigates the consumption behaviour of borrowers of two major microcredit institutions in Bangladesh and compares that with non-borrowers. Primary data has been collected from borrowers of the Grameen Bank and Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC) operating in three major districts in Bangladesh. Along with borrowers, non-borrowers data has also been collected from non-program village to avoid endogeneity. Control-group method (non-borrowers from non-program villages) has been used to compare the differences in consumption patterns between the two groups. This study analyses the impact of per capita monthly expenditure and other household characteristics on the budget share of eleven items (food and non-food) consumed by borrowers and non-borrowers. Results from the estimation on linear and quadratic model suggest that borrowers of microcredit programs are better off in terms of consumption than non-borrowers.
Monetary Policy and International Remittances
Authors: Ruiz Isabel , Vargas-Silva Carlos
Published: July 2009

This article studies the response of Mexico’s monetary policy to inflows of workers’ remittances. Previous studies have shown that remittances can have an impact on several macroeconomic variables of the receiving country (e.g. exchange rate, inflation and output, among others). Mexico has the largest inflow of remittances in Latin America and the second largest inflow in the world. As such, it may be the case that the monetary authority in Mexico is taking these flows into account when selecting their monetary policy stance. Overall, the results of this study indicate that remittance shocks do not have a large impact on Mexico’s monetary policy variables. This seems to suggest that Mexico’s Central Bank main concern is inflation and that the potential appreciation of the Mexican currency as a result of increased remittance inflows might not be a priority.
Vertical Specialization with Developed and Developing Countries
Authors: Clark Don P.
Published: July 2009

This paper investigates country and industry-level determinants of vertical specialization-based production and trade between the United States and both developed and developing countries. Industries engaged in vertical specialization are identified through their use of offshore assembly provisions in the U.S. tariff code. The main difference between developed and developing countries is that educational attainment of the workforce exerts a positive effect on vertical specialization with developed countries and a negative effect with developing countries. Most industry-level determinants exert similar influences on the decision to conduct vertical specialization with developed and developing countries. Global firms must choose between developed and developing countries when deciding where parts and components will be produced and where final products will be manufactured.
Hospital Competition and Prescribing Behaviors: Empirical Evidence from Taiwan
Authors: Liu Ya-Ming , Yang Yea-Huei Kao , Ou Huang-Tz
Published: July 2009

This study empirically examines the effect of hospital competition on prescribing behaviors of oral hypoglycemic agents (OHAs) for ambulatory care in a market setting where hospitals are classified into three levels according to the Taiwanese accreditation system. Without distinguishing the types of market structures and hospital levels, there might be no significant relationship between hospital competition and prescribing behavior. However, the relationship between competition and prescribing behaviors may differ among hospitals at various levels under each type of market structure. Our findings suggest that a market mechanism may improve the prescribing quality of regional and district hospitals under a market structure composed of three level hospitals where more medical resources and information are likely allocated.
Trade Liberalization’s Impact on Agriculture in Low Income Countries: A Comparison of El Salvador and Costa Rica
Authors: Gingrich Chris D. , Garber Jason D.
Published: July 2009

Due to both deepening economic crises and pressure from external lenders, Costa Rica and El Salvador implemented trade and market liberalization reforms in the 1980s. This study explores whether these policy changes shifted production toward each country’s presumed comparative advantage in agriculture. For Costa Rica, trade and market liberalization strengthened the country’s ability to generate agricultural trade surpluses while liberalization caused a decline in El Salvador’s agricultural sector. Liberalization also affected how prices and exchange rates influence agriculture in both countries. The findings demonstrate that agriculture’s response to liberalization can vary widely among countries. Overall market conditions in the rural sector, including El Salvador’s postconflict challenges, during liberalization’s introduction partly explain the different responses. Other potential factors include the pace that governments implement policy reforms and that liberalization will only stimulate agriculture if the country has a clear comparative advantage in that sector.
Concentration of Exports and Patterns of Trade: A Time-Series Evidence of Malaysia
Authors: Hamid Zarinah
Published: July 2009

This paper investigates the magnitude of geographic as well as commodity concentration for Malaysia from 1970 to 2003 and how the pattern of trade and instability has changed over time. The instability index is regressed upon a set of explanatory variables including commodity concentration, geographic concentration and share of primary commodity exports. The results indicate that the commodity concentration appears as a significant variable in explaining the export earnings instability. The paper recommends Malaysia takes several measures in order to remain immune from negative effects of instability. They include the continuous effort to stay competitive by maintaining productivity higher than production cost, to diversify as well as broaden its industrial base and constantly find new markets for new products. These measures, in the presence of right macro-economic policies supplemented by increasing foreign direct investment with intra-regional trade paved the way for market-friendly approach backed by a number of liberalization measures.
Access to Finance and Small Enterprise Growth: Evidence from East Java
Authors: McPherson Michael A. , Rous Jeffrey J.
Published: July 2009

The widespread acknowledgement of the centrality of micro and small businesses in the development process has led to a proliferation of projects and programs designed to assist and promote these businesses. This research examines the common assumption that access to credit from formal financial institutions is an important determinant of growth at the firm level. Our data are from a recent survey of 858 small businesses in East Java. We employ a full information maximum likelihood approach known as discrete factor method. The results indicate that access to credit is not a significant determinant of small firm growth; instead, other observable and unobservable characteristics of firms appear to cause growth.
Modeling the Dynamics of Money Income from a Vector Correction Model
Authors: Hasan Mohammad S.
Published: July 2009

The purpose of this paper is to re-examine the empirical relationship among alternative monetary aggregates (M1 and M2), output, prices, interest rates and exchange rates in India. The results of a five-variate vector error correction model are indicative of a bi-directional causality between each of the monetary aggregates and prices. Our findings of a feedback relationship make each of the monetary aggregates a poor intermediate target and informational variable. Moreover, contrary to most recent research in this area, the results are supportive of the real business-cycle view and the Keynesian monetary accommodation hypothesis rather than the monetarists’ theory of the business cycle.
Gender and Agricultural Productivity in a Surplus Labor, Traditional Economy: Empirical Evidence from Nepal
Authors: Aly Hassan Y. , Shields Michael P.
Published: July 2009

In this paper, two approaches (labor efficiency and separate factors approach) and two production functions ( a ray-homothetic function and the Cobb-Douglas function), are used to estimate the productivity of female versus male farm laborers in the traditional agricultural economy of Nepal. The hypothesis that female laborers would be less productive than males due to the disparities in physical and human capital, originating from economic and socio-cultural discrimination, is tested. The study results confirm this expectation. However, the study suggests that once differences in irrigation and type of seeds used by male and female farmers are included in the model, the magnitude of the difference is reduced and the estimated coefficient becomes insignificant. The ray-homothetic function does best in yielding realistic results suggesting that congestion is an important feature of Nepalese agriculture supporting the notion that there may be disguised unemployment in the sense that too much labor is used in agriculture and that empirical analysis should accommodate this possibility when considering functional form.
The Analysis of Transitions in Economic Performance Using Covariate Dependent Statistical Models
Authors: Baharum Adam , Islam M. Ataharul
Published: July 2009

The GDP or GNP as a measure of economic performance of a country changes continuously. We can identify the factors that precede its ups and downs. For such forecasting, the use of Markov models are not new, but in this paper, an attempt is made to propose a covariate-dependent Markov model to identify the factors that contribute to the estimation of transition probabilities. The proposed model is employed to estimate the transition probabilities, the factors that contribute to transitions in economic performance, and other relevant characteristics. The cross-country data have been employed for the period 1980–2000 for fitting the model. This can provide a useful model for forecasting the economic performance in both developing and developed countries.
Is Donors’ Concern About the Fungibility of Foreign Aid Justified?: A Panel Data Analysis
Authors: Sobhee Sanjeev K. , Nath Shyam
Published: July 2009

This paper addresses donors’ policy of providing external assistance to developing countries using an inter-temporal framework, over a finite horizon. While the framework adopted tracks the motivation of providing foreign aid, it is altogether consistent with the paradigm of forward-looking governments in developed economies. Given uncertainties surrounding income flows, and the gradual convergence towards generational accounting conventions in public finances of donor countries, an attempt is made to empirically ascertain whether foreign assistance is provided on a random basis or is backed by a systematic foreign aid policy. Our findings from a panel of 27 developing countries clearly contest the hypothesis that grants are provided on a random basis. This would otherwise suggest the existence of a consistent policy characterising granting behaviour, urging the need for recipient governments to incorporate grants in their budgetary decision-making.
Democratization by Elections? A Mixed Record
Authors: Lindberg Staffan I.
Published: July 2009

Abstract: This article summarizes some of the key findings from a forthcoming book, Democratization by Elections: A New Mode of Transition? (Johns Hopkins, 2009, edited by the author). Building on Robert Dahl's insight that "the more the cost of suppression exceeds the costs of toleration, the greater the chance for a competitive regime," this article argues that when repetitive electoral processes contribute to changing the costs that rulers must face when either using oppression or (alternatively) accepting more opposition and competition, then elections may be broadly said to serve as causal factors in both democratization and its reverse: "autocratization." Electoral contests thus can become not only (or even mainly) about winning votes or offices, but about changing the expected costs and benefits of allowing or resisting democratic transition.
China Since Tiananmen: Middle-Class Mobilization
Authors: Wasserstrom Jeffrey N.
Published: July 2009

Abstract: Some of the many China stories to attract attention recently have involved NIMBY (Not in My Backyard) protests by largely middle class crowds gathering to demand a greater say in urban development plans. This article argues that such protests a) are a significant addition to the already complex landscape of Chinese collective action (and signal a shift in some quarters from worrying about obstacles to modernization to worrying about the social costs of such modernization); but b) should not be interpreted as suggesting China's imminent democratization (simply because restive middle classes have contributed to the end of authoritarian rule elsewhere).
China Since Tiananmen: The Massacre's Long Shadow
Authors: Béja Jean-Philippe
Published: July 2009

Abstract: Twenty years after the June 4 massacre put an end to the demonstrations for democracy, its impact is still felt as much by the government as by the opposition. In order to recapture the legitimacy that it had lost in 1989, the Party launched a policy of cooptation of the elites which revealed itself quite efficient. It has kept absolute control over the political field and has tried to erase the memory of the 1989 prodemocracy movement. The massacre and the repression that followed have forced the opposition to renounce demonstrations. A new category of dissidents emerged, which expresses itself through petitions demanding the respect of human rights and democratization of the regime, while members of the young generation have turned to the law to promote rights awareness in society.
Democratization by Elections? Postcommunist Ambiguities
Authors: Bunce Valerie J. , Wolchik Sharon L.
Published: July 2009

Abstract: In the Balkans and the countries of the old Eastern Bloc, the years from 1996 to 2009 saw no fewer than fourteen major attempts to oust semiauthoritarian regimes by means of elections. Eight of these attempts actually toppled authoritarian leaders, bringing to power more-democratic political forces. In the remainder the opposition mounted a strong electoral challenge to dictatorial rule, but failed to secure victory. In order to tease out the relationship between elections and democratic development, we compare various political and economic aspects of the successful and unsuccessful cases. Yet where structural and institutional factors cannot fully explain why some elections brought down dictators and others did not, two variables that may prove more telling: regime vulnerability and the implementation of what we term the electoral model of democratization.