bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Pedagogy, Politics and Information Literacy
Authors: Thornton Stephen
Published: September 2010

Information literacy is becoming an increasingly important component of the higher education curriculum, with many disciplines incorporating elements of information literacy training within their traditional teaching. This article will highlight lessons learned during attempts formally to embed information literacy into Politics modules at Cardiff University. In particular, it will address the issue of whether information literacy sessions should include an element of formal assessment.
Ology Schmology: A Post-Structuralist Approach
Authors: Daly Glyn
Published: September 2010

This article represents an intervention in the debate over ontology and epistemology conducted recently in Politics. Taking a post-structuralist stance it seeks to reformulate the nature of the relationship between the ontological and the epistemological and to demonstrate that this has important consequences for the way in which the question of politics is approached.
Moral Principles and Legal Validity
Authors: KRAMER MATTHEW H.
Published: September 2010

Two recent high‐quality articles, including one in this journal, have challenged the Inclusivist and Incorporationist varieties of legal positivism. David Lefkowitz and Michael Giudice, writing from perspectives heavily influenced by the work of Joseph Raz, have endeavored—in sophisticated and interestingly distinct ways—to vindicate Raz's contention that moral principles are never among the law‐validating criteria in any legal system nor among the laws that are applied as binding bases for adjudicative and administrative decisions in such a system. The present article responds to their defenses of Raz's Exclusive Legal Positivism.
Foreign Exchange Controls and the Parallel Market Premium
Authors: Fardmanesh Mohsen , Douglas Seymour
Published: September 2010

This paper studies the relationship between the official and parallel exchange rates, using cointegration, Granger causality, and reduced form methods on data from three Caribbean countries, Jamaica, Guyana, and Trinidad & Tobago, for the period 1985–93. Where the central bank follows a passive policy of infrequent and large adjustments to the official rate, changes in the official rate Granger causes changes in the parallel rate, and larger disparities prevail between the two rates. Foreign exchange controls, expansionary fiscal and monetary policy, and changes of government mostly have a positive effect on the parallel market premium, with foreign exchange controls exerting the strongest impact.
Estimating the Euro Effects on Trade with Propensity Score Matching*
Authors: Chintrakarn Pandej
Published: September 2010

We investigate the effect of the euro on trade among EMU members. Using various semi‐nonparametric methods based on matching, we find that the euro has a statistical and economic impact on trade. The results show that two countries sharing the euro currency trade somewhere between 9% and 14% more than other country‐pairs. In addition, we find no evidence of trade diversion due to the euro.
A Note on Strategic Trade Policy and Endogenous Quality Choice*
Authors: Toshimitsu Tsuyoshi , Jinji Naoto
Published: September 2010

This paper shows that some of the main policy implications in Park (2001) and Zhou, Spencer, and Vertinsky (2002) are sensitive to their assumptions on marginal production costs. The unilaterally optimal policy for investment towards quality improvement is analyzed, assuming constant and non‐negative marginal production costs under vertically differentiated international duopoly. If marginal production costs are different across firms, the optimal policy for each exporting country may be opposite in its sign from that shown by the existing papers under Bertrand competition. The policy reversal may also occur for the low‐quality exporting country under Cournot competition.
An Encompassing Test of Real Interest Rate Equalization*
Authors: Smallwood Aaron , Norrbin Stefan C.
Published: September 2010

Much confusion about the real interest rate connection amongst different countries may result from a narrow approach to analyzing the data. Using an encompassing methodology that accommodates many different types of times‐series processes, we find that real interest rates are mean‐reverting long‐memory variables. We show that cointegration methodology can often fail in this environment. Using a more general approach, we detect a limited connection between real interest rates across countries. In particular, Germany is connected with several European countries, but the US is connected only with Canada and possibly the United Kingdom.
Trade Creation, Replacement, and Destruction in Regional Trade Agreements: Micro‐level Evidence for the UK*
Authors: Girma Sourafel , Kneller Richard , Pisu Mauro
Published: September 2010

Empirical questions surrounding the effect of regional trade agreements on international trade have typically been answered with reference to macro‐level gravity equations. Prominent within this has been whether they create or divert trade. In this paper, motivated by the recent development of theories of export‐platform FDI, we use micro‐level data to explore the part of trade diversion that follows from FDI. Using information on acquisition FDI in the UK manufacturing sector between 1988 and 1998 we find evidence of trade creation, replacement, and destruction from FDI external and internal to the EU.
Financial Globalization, International Business Cycles and Consumption Risk Sharing*
Authors: Artis Michael J. , Hoffmann Mathias
Published: September 2010

In spite of two decades of financial globalization, consumption‐based indicators do not seem to signal more international risk sharing. We argue that the fraction of idiosyncratic consumption risk that gets shared among industrialized countries has actually increased considerably over the period 1980–2000 and, in particular, during the 1990s—from around 30 to more than 60 percent. However, standard consumption‐based measures of risk sharing—such as the volatility of consumption conditional on output or international consumption correlations—have been unable to detect this increase because consumption has also been affected by the concurrent decline in the volatility of output growth in most industrialized countries since the 1980s. First, the volatility of output at business‐cycle frequencies has declined by more than has the volatility of permanent fluctuations. Since consumption reacts mainly to permanent shocks, it appears more volatile in relation to current changes in output. This effect seems to have offset the tendency of financial globalization to lower the volatility of consumption conditional on output. Second, because the variability of permanent global shocks has also fallen, international consumption correlations have also generally not increased as financial markets have become more integrated.
Adjustment Costs, Inventories and Output
Authors: Danziger Leif
Published: September 2010

This paper analyzes the optimal adjustment strategy of an inventory‐holding firm facing price‐ and quantity‐adjustment costs in an inflationary environment. The model nests both the original menu‐cost model that allows production to be costlessly adjusted, and the later model that includes price‐ and quantity‐adjustment costs, but rules out inventory holdings. It is shown that the firm's optimal adjustment strategy may involve stockouts. At low inflation rates, output is inversely related to the inflation rate, and the length of time demand is satisfied increases with the demand elasticity but decreases with the storage cost and the real interest rate.
Enactment enhances integration between verb and noun, but not relational processing, in episodic memory
Authors: VON ESSEN JAN D.
Published: September 2010

Improved recall has consistently been demonstrated following motor activation at encoding (SPT), compared to traditional verbal learning (VT). Enhancements of item‐specific processing and relational processing have been proposed as possible mechanisms to account for this SPT effect. There is ample evidence supporting the notion of enhanced item‐specific processing, however it is still unclear whether enhancement of relational processing contributes to improved recall. In the present study, 2 experiments were designed to address this issue. In Experiment 1, memory under 2 encoding conditions (VT vs. SPT) and 3 recall conditions (free recall vs. category‐cued recall vs. verb‐cued recall) were studied in 3 large samples (N= 500–600). Experiment 2 replicated the findings of Experiment 1, and controlled for the use of actual objects, short‐term memory effects, and carryover effects, in Experiment 1. The results in both experiments showed an interaction between type of encoding and type of recall. Verb‐cued recall was affected differently by SPT encoding, as compared to category‐cued recall and free recall. The results indicate that enhanced integration between verb and noun is an effect of SPT encoding, whereas enhanced relational processing is not.
Effects of stop signal modality, stop signal intensity and tracking method on inhibitory performance as determined by use of the stop signal paradigm
Authors: VAN DER SCHOOT MENNO , LICHT ROBERT , HORSLEY TAKO M. , SERGEANT JOSEPH A.
Published: September 2010

In Experiment 1, the effects of stop signal modality on the speed and efficiency of the inhibition process were examined. Stop signal reaction time (SSRT) and inhibition function slope in an auditory stop signal condition were compared to SSRT and inhibition function slope in a visual stop signal condition. It was found that auditory stop signals compared to visual stop signals enhanced both the speed and efficiency of stopping. The modality effects were attributed to differences in the neurophysiological processes underlying perception. However, Experiment 2 demonstrated that the modality difference was larger for 80 dB(A) auditory stop signals than 60 dB(A) auditory stop signals. This effect was reconciled with the suggestion that loud tones are more capable of eliciting immediate arousing effects on motor processes than weak tones and visual stimuli. The second purpose of the present investigation was to explore the utility (and potential advantages) of an alternative way of setting stop signal delay relative to mean reaction time (MRT). The method that was suggested compensates for inter‐individual differences in primary task reaction speed by setting stop signal delays as proportions of the subjects’ MRT.
Quality of phonological representations, verbal learning, and phoneme awareness in dyslexic and normal readers
Authors: ELBRO CARSTEN , JENSEN METTE NYGAARD
Published: September 2010

This study of dyslexia was concerned with the quality of phonological representations of lexical items. It extended the studies of verbal learning in dyslexia from learning new vocabulary items (pseudo‐names) to the learning of more well‐specified variants of known words. The participants were 19 dyslexic adolescents in grades 4 to 6 and 19 younger normal readers in grade 2 matched on single word decoding. The dyslexics were significantly outperformed by the reading‐age controls in non‐word reading and in phoneme awareness. The dyslexics also took longer time to learn to associate a set of pseudo‐names with pictures of persons although the dyslexics learned to associate familiar names with pictures as quickly as the controls did. The acquisition of new phonological representations of words was studied in an imitation task with maximally distinct pronunciations of long, familiar words. The dyslexics gained less than the controls in this task. They also gained less on one measure taken from a phoneme substitution task with the same words as in the distinctness task. The results are interpreted in the light of the hypothesis that poorly specified phonological representations may be an underlying problem in dyslexia.
The role of coping styles as predictors of depressive symptoms among adolescents: A prospective study
Authors: MURBERG TERJE A. , BRU EDVIN
Published: September 2010

The present study prospectively explored the main and interactive effect of approach and avoidant like coping styles, as well as school‐related stress on depressive symptoms in a sample of 327 (167 females, 160 males) students in two Norwegian secondary schools. The results showed that seeking parental support as a coping style served as a negative predictor of later depression, and results give some support for aggressive coping styles being a risk factor for depressive symptoms. A significant interaction between aggressive coping style and stress in relation to depressive symptoms was found. We were also able to show that school‐related stress at T1 predicted depressive symptoms at T2.
The Prospective and Retrospective Memory Questionnaire (PRMQ): Factorial structure, relations to global subjective memory ratings, and Swedish norms
Authors: RÖNNLUND MICHAEL , MÄNTYLÄ TIMO , NILSSON LARS‐GÖRAN
Published: September 2010

The factorial structure of the Prospective and Retrospective Memory Questionnaire (PRMQ; Smith et al., 2000) was examined in a Swedish population based sample (N= 540, age range; 35–90 years). Concurrent validity was assessed by relating PRMQ to global ratings of memory. Confirmatory factor analyses of the PRMQ items indicated a superior fit of a three‐factor model, with prospective and retrospective memory as orthogonal factors and episodic memory as a common factor. Furthermore, the PRMQ scales correlated with the global ratings of memory, suggesting that each rating contributed with unique variance in predicting PRMQ scores. Given differences in levels of complaints as compared with prior research (Crawford et al., 2003) norms for the Swedish version are provided. In conclusion, the present findings extend earlier work by providing additional support for the construct and concurrent validity of the PRMQ scales.
Is the P600/SPS affected by the richness of semantic content? A linguistic ERP study in Swedish
Authors: ERICSSON EVA , OLOFSSON JONAS K. , NORDIN STEVEN , RUDOLFSSON THOMAS , SANDSTRÖM GÖREL
Published: September 2010

The study investigated whether the P600/SPS component is sensitive to the richness of semantic content in sentences. ERPs were recorded while 30 native Swedish speakers read sentences, of which half were syntactically correct and half contained a syntactic violation. Both kinds of sentences came in one of three types of descending semantic completeness: semantically coherent sentences, sentences which were incoherent due to violations of selectional restrictions, or sentences of pseudo words, hence void of lexical content. In the semantically coherent sentences a P600/SPS was found for the syntactic violation. A less salient positivity was found for the violation in the semantically incoherent sentences. No P600/SPS was found for the syntactic violation in the pseudo word sentences and no LAN component in any sentence type. The results are interpreted as supporting the hypothesis that the P600/SPS component reflects a semantically based reanalysis process.
Assessment of substance abusers on the MCMI‐III and the Rorschach
Authors: VANEM PER‐CHRISTIAN , KROG DAG , HARTMANN ELLEN
Published: September 2010

We examined 60 substance abusers (SA) on the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory‐III (MCMI‐III; Millon, 1994) and on eight Rorschach variables from the Comprehensive System (CS; Exner, 2003). On the MCMI‐III, SA scored above the cutoff for clinical significance (M ≥ BR 70) on Drug Dependence (94.77), Antisocial (82.95), Depressive (74.33), Self‐Defeating (71.48), and Alcohol Dependence (70.70). On seven of the CS variables (M+,o,u, XA%, X‐%, WSum6Lv2%, M‐%, SumT%, and Pure H%) the scores of the SAs suggested significant more psychopathology compared to the scores of 60 university students, whereas the SA's scores on six of these variables (M+,o,u, XA%, X‐%, WSum6Lv2%, SumT%, and Pure H%) suggested significantly less psychopathology compared to the scores of 36 schizophrenics. The effect sizes for the significant differences were in the small, medium and large range (d= 0.31 to d= 1.87).
Eyberg Child Behavior Inventory (ECBI): Norwegian norms to identify conduct problems in children
Authors: REEDTZ CHARLOTTE , BERTELSEN BÅRD , LURIE JIM , HANDEGÅRD BJØRN HELGE , CLIFFORD GRAHAM , MØRCH WILLY‐TORE
Published: September 2010

This article presents the first Norwegian standardization of an assessment tool specifically designed to measure childhood conduct problems. Norwegian norms for the Eyberg Child Behavior Inventory (ECBI) based on data obtained from a random population sample (N= 4063) of children in the age range of 4 to 12 years are presented. The sample was drawn from rural and urban areas within three Norwegian town districts. Clinical and research advantages of having a properly standardized assessment tool for this specific subclass of childhood psychiatric problems in Norway are discussed.
Persistent effects of subliminal stimulation: Sex differences and the effectiveness of debriefing
Authors: BIRGEGARD ANDREAS , SOHLBERG STAFFAN
Published: September 2010

Persistent and non‐trivial effects of unconscious stimuli have been reported (Sohlberg & Birgegard, 2003). This raises the ethical question of whether informing participants about such stimuli effectively returns them to a normal state. Two experiments (sex‐mixed, N = 70 and 118) tested two kinds of debriefing to participants following subliminal (tachistoscopic) attachment‐related or control stimulation. Measures were the Beck Depression Inventory, Structural Analysis of Social Behavior, and Retrospective Attachment. Results showed persistent effects. Simple debriefing about the stimulus was effective in preventing these, while more elaborate debriefing also describing the effects and mechanisms for them was less effective. Persistent effects were also strongly related to participant sex, but debriefing effects were similar in men and women with regard to the purpose of debriefing. The findings have implications for ethical recommendations for subliminal research, and suggest that this unexplored area requires more attention.
Latent Variable Modelling: A Survey*
Authors: SKRONDAL ANDERS , RABE‐HESKETH SOPHIA
Published: September 2010

Abstract.  Latent variable modelling has gradually become an integral part of mainstream statistics and is currently used for a multitude of applications in different subject areas. Examples of ‘traditional’ latent variable models include latent class models, item–response models, common factor models, structural equation models, mixed or random effects models and covariate measurement error models. Although latent variables have widely different interpretations in different settings, the models have a very similar mathematical structure. This has been the impetus for the formulation of general modelling frameworks which accommodate a wide range of models. Recent developments include multilevel structural equation models with both continuous and discrete latent variables, multiprocess models and nonlinear latent variable models.
Welfare State Issues in the Norwegian 1985 Election: Evidence from Aggregate and Survey Data1
Authors: Listbaug Ola , Aardal Bernt
Published: September 2010

In this article we investigate the impact of welfare state issues on the outcome of the Norwegian parliamentary election of 1985. With data from the NSD Commune Data Base we demonstrate that the gains of Labour were positively correlated with the peripheral location of the commune, the level of unemployment. the proportion of disabled pensioners, and a weak supply of health services. The results from a multivariate analysis of survey panel data show that the increase in Labour vote was strongest among those who said that the health issue was most decisive for their choice of party. Despite strong statistical controls some regional effects remain, and we speculate that regions also may carry a symbolic significance that is not captured by traditional aggregate indicators. Finally, we combine the two data sets to see if aggregate variables exhibit a direct contextual impact on individual behaviour. The results of this effort are mostly negative, a finding that invokes a renewed discussion of incompatibilities of micro and macro analysis.
Norway in the 1980s: Competitive Adaptation or Structural Crisis? A Comment on Katzenstein's Small‐State/ Flexible‐Adjustment Thesis
Authors: Midttun Atle
Published: September 2010

The article comments on Katzenstein's small‐state/flexible adjustment thesis on the basis of the recent economic development in Norway. It is argued that the Norwegian case in the 1970s and 1980s provides a quasi‐experimental situation where the years before and after the 1986 oil‐price fall permit a discussion of some of the limitations of his theory. The article argues that the Katzenstein thesis needs qualifications on at least three points: (1) Size and competitive exposure do not always coincide, as assumed in a strong formulation of the thesis. (2) A discussion of national competitiveness based on highly aggregated indicators may miss important sectoral differences that can be of crucial importance to the national political economy. (3) The question of the adaptive effects of integrative, negotiated and non‐polarized styles of policy‐making in small states has to be modified. Because Katzenstein's basic idea seems theoretically sound, and seems to hold up to at least aggregated data, the issue is not rejection, but rather a modification, and an attempt to specify some of the elements that constitute the relevant condition‐set.
Legal, Political and Practical Aspects of Budgetary Decision‐Making in Finland
Authors: Tiihonen Paula
Published: September 2010

The purpose of this presentation is to illustrate the strong role of state finance in society. The article discusses the role of finance and economics from the point of view of administrative and political research. For many years, legal science, especially constitutional and administrative law, has been the leading field of research and practice in Finland dealing with government, the state and even society as a whole. Today, economics and finance have taken the leading position in the Scandinavian welfare state (Sozialstaat).
Maternal Mental State Language and Preschool Children's Attachment Security: Relation to Children's Mental State Language and Expressions of Emotional Understanding
Authors: Mcquaid Nancy , Bigelow Ann E. , McLaughlin Jessica , MacLean Kim
Published: September 2010

Mothers’ mental state language in conversation with their preschool children, and children's preschool attachment security were examined for their effects on children's mental state language and expressions of emotional understanding in their conversation. Children discussed an emotionally salient event with their mothers and then relayed the event to a stranger. Compared to mothers of insecurely attached children, mothers of securely attached children used more mental state language and had children who used more mental state language with both mother and stranger, and who expressed more emotional understanding in the mother–child conversation. Maternal mental state language and attachment security made shared contributions to children's mental state language with their mothers. Maternal mental state language accounted for the effects of attachment security on children's expressions of emotional understanding in the mother–child conversation. Mothers’ mental state language to their children may enhance secure attachment and foster children's understanding of mental states in self and others.
Ethnic Differences in the Effects of Parental Depression on Preschool Children's Socioemotional Functioning
Authors: Aikens Nikki L. , Coleman Cheri P. , Barbarin Oscar A.
Published: September 2010

The present study describes the depressive symptomatology of 393 parents of prekindergarten children and assesses ethnic differences in the depression scores of these parents and their differential consequences for children's social competence. Data are drawn from the National Center for Early Development and Learning (NCEDL) classroom study, a national, longitudinal study examining the quality and outcomes of prekindergarten programs operated in schools or under the direction of state and local educational agencies, and the supplemental NCEDL familial and social environments study. Analyses indicated that Latino parents were more likely than African‐American and White parents to be depressed. However, as reported by both parents and teachers, behavioral outcomes for African‐American children of parents with elevated depressive symptomatology were worse than children of their Latino and White counterparts. Interactions between ethnicity and depressive symptomatology emerged in the parent‐child relationship, with African‐American parents with elevated depressive symptoms reporting significantly greater levels of conflict in the parent–child relationship than their non‐depressed counterparts. African‐American parents with elevated depression scores were also less likely to be in marital relationships than their non‐depressed counterparts. Among African‐American families, parent–child conflict served as a mediator of the effects of parental depression on child outcomes. Implications for intervention are discussed.
2. Measurement Error in Stylized and Diary Data on Time Use
Authors: Kan Man Yee , Pudney Stephen
Published: September 2010

We investigate the nature of measurement error in time-use data. Analysis of “stylized” recall questionnaire estimates and diary-based estimates of housework time from the same respondents of a British survey gives evidence of systematic biases in the stylized estimates and large random errors in both types of estimates. We examine the effect of these measurement problems on three common types of statistical analyses in which the time-use variable is used as: (1) adependent variable, (2) an explanatory variable, and (3) a basis for cross-tabulations. We develop methods to correct the biases induced by these measurement errors.
The Portable Home: The Domestication of Public Space
Authors: Kumar Krishan , Makarova Ekaterina
Published: September 2010

Much commentary indicates that, starting from the 19th century, the home has become the privileged site of private life. In doing so it has established an increasingly rigid separation between the private and public spheres. This article does not disagree with this basic conviction. But we argue that, in more recent times, there has been a further development, in that the private life of the home has been carried into the public sphere—what we call “the domestication of public space.” This has led to a further attenuation of public life, especially as regards sociability. It has also increased the perception that what is required is a better “balance” between public and private. We argue that this misconstrues the nature of the relation of public to private in those periods that attained the greatest degree of sociability, and that not “balance” but “reciprocity” is the desired condition.
On Stabilizing the Strongly Nonlinear Internal Wave Model
Authors: Jo Tae‐Chang , Choi Wooyoung
Published: September 2010

A strongly nonlinear asymptotic model describing the evolution of large amplitude internal waves in a two‐layer system is studied numerically. While the steady model has been demonstrated to capture correctly the characteristics of large amplitude internal solitary waves, a local stability analysis shows that the time‐dependent inviscid model suffers from the Kelvin–Helmholtz instability due to a tangential velocity discontinuity across the interface accompanied by the interfacial deformation. An attempt to represent the viscous effect that is missing in the model is made with eddy viscosity, but this simple ad hoc model is shown to fail to suppress unstable short waves. Alternatively, when a smooth low‐pass Fourier filter is applied, it is found that a large amplitude internal solitary wave propagates stably without change of form, and mass and energy are conserved well. The head‐on collision of two counter‐propagating solitary waves is studied using the filtered strongly nonlinear model and its numerical solution is compared with the weakly nonlinear asymptotic solution.
Numerical Modeling of Pollutant Dispersion and Oil Spreading by the Stochastic Discrete Particles Method
Authors: Arkhipov Boris , Koterov Vladimir , Solbakov Viacheslav , Shapochkin Dmitry , Yurezanskaya Yulia
Published: September 2010

We consider two applications of the stochastic discrete particles method. The first one is concerned with the dispersion of a passive pollutant by a turbulent stream with a scale dependent diffusion coefficient. The second application deals with the problem of an oil spill spreading on the water surface described by transport–diffusion equation with a nonlinear diffusion coefficient. For the first problem we develop a discrete particles algorithm provided the diffusion coefficient obeys Richardson's “4/3” law and show good correspondence with the numerical and analytical results. The second problem is more involved and we develop a heuristic procedure based on the standard discrete particles random walk algorithm updating the dependence of each particle step variance on the dependent function. The obtained solution coincides well with analytical and direct one‐dimensional finite‐difference solutions both for instantaneous and continuous oil release.
Three Averages – Ordered by Comparing Areas
Authors: Lann Avital
Published: September 2010

This short article gives a geometrical interpretation of the relationship between the harmonic mean, the arithmetic mean and the self‐weighted mean.
It's a Holiday!!
Authors: Ratliff Michael I. , Mc Shane Janet M.
Published: September 2010

This article studies various holiday distributions, the most interesting one being Easter. Gauss’ Easter algorithm and Microsoft Excel are used to determine that the Easter distribution can be closely approximated by the convolution of two well‐known uniform distributions.
The Humble Pie – Half‐Baked or Well Done?
Authors: Hunt Neville , Mashhoudy Houshang
Published: September 2010

This article re‐examines the much maligned piechart and provides justification for its use. It identifies common pitfalls when drawing piecharts in Microsoft Excel and offers advice on how to avoid them.
Statistics Poker: Reinforcing Basic Statistical Concepts
Authors: Leech Nancy L.
Published: September 2010

Learning basic statistical concepts does not need to be tedious or dry; it can be fun and interesting through cooperative learning in the small‐group activity of Statistics Poker. This article describes a teaching approach for reinforcing basic statistical concepts that can help students who have high anxiety and makes learning and reinforcing these concepts more interesting and fun.
Fractional integration and structural breaks at unknown periods of time
Authors: Gil‐Alana Luis A.
Published: September 2010

Abstract.  This article deals with the analysis of structural breaks in the context of fractionally integrated models. We assume that the break dates are unknown and that the different sub‐samples possess different intercepts, slope coefficients and fractional orders of integration. The procedure is based on linear regression models using a grid of values for the fractional differencing parameters and least squares estimation. Several Monte Carlo experiments conducted across the study show that the procedure performs well if the sample size is large enough. Two empirical applications are described at the end of the article.
Bootstrapping confidence intervals for the change‐point of time series
Authors: Hušková Marie , Kirch Claudia
Published: September 2010

Abstract.  We study an at‐most‐one‐change time‐series model with an abrupt change in the mean and dependent errors that fulfil certain mixing conditions. We obtain confidence intervals for the unknown change‐point via bootstrapping methods. Precisely, we use a block bootstrap of the estimated centred error sequence. Then, we reconstruct a sequence with a change in the mean using the same estimators as before. The difference between the change‐point estimator of the resampled sequence and the one of the original sequence can be used as an approximation of the difference between the real change‐point and its estimator. This enables us to construct confidence intervals using the empirical distribution of the resampled time series. A simulation study shows that the resampled confidence intervals are usually closer to their target levels and at the same time smaller than the asymptotic intervals.
Subsampling in testing autocovariance for periodically correlated time series
Authors: Lenart ŁUkasz , Leśkow Jacek , Synowiecki Rafał
Published: September 2010

Abstract.  The main purpose of this article was to describe the asymptotic properties of subsampling procedure applied to nonstationary, periodically correlated time series. We present the conditions under which the subsampling version for the estimator of Fourier coefficient of autocovariance function is consistent. Our result provides new tools in statistical inference methods for nonstationary, periodically correlated time series. For example, it enables to construct consistent subsampling test which successfully distinguishes the period of the series.
Nonlinear ARMA models with functional MA coefficients
Authors: Wang Hai‐Bin
Published: September 2010

Abstract. In the present article, we propose and study a new class of nonlinear autoregressive moving‐average (ARMA) models, in which each moving‐average (MA) coefficient is enlarged to an arbitrary univariate function. We first provide a sufficient condition for the existence of the stationary solution and further discuss the moment structure. We investigate the estimation method to the proposed models. The global estimates of parameters and local linear estimates of functional coefficients are obtained by using a back‐fitting algorithm. For testing whether the functional coefficients are some specified parametric forms, a bootstrap test approach is provided. The proposed models are illustrated by both simulated and real data examples.
The Cassa Integrazione Guadagni
Authors: François Antonio D'Harmant , Brunetta Renato
Published: September 2010

ABSTRACT: The purpose of this paper is to provide an analytical survey of the historical and normative evolution of the Italian Cassa Integrazione Guadagni (hereafter Earnings Integration Fund or EIF) through examination of the prevalent economic and juridical models during the 40 years of the EIF's existence.

The evolution of the EIF in the periods examined is classified according to five theoretical models, so as to bring out the many different standards accumulated during the administration of the EIF, and the many measures adopted by Public Authorities in response to the various requirements which have arisen over time. The result is an overall reference framework for the EIF's present administration, which is characterised by the presence of both the need for various reforms and alterations, and an equal number of ways of carrying them out; from the development of an ever more direct link between crisis situations and specific EIF requirements, and the evident need to bring the institution within a normative framework correlated to a global labour policy. A verification of the different methods of utilising the EIF is therefore, for the authors, utilizable in defining suitable solutions for modern situations, which require effective EIF models to be worked out in conjunction with an appropriate mix of active labour policies.
An Aggregate Disequilibrium Model of the Labour Market: An Empirical Investigation for the Italian Economy
Authors: Lucifora Claudio
Published: September 2010

ABSTRACT: This paper develops a partial disequilibrium model for the Italian economy. After a brief description of the theoretical framework adopted, the empirical model is specified and estimated. The hypothesis that the Italian labour market, in the period considered, was characterized by‘equilibrium’is tested and rejected.

Amongst other factors, the unions‘pushfulness’played a very influential role in wage determination.
Firm Risk Management in the Face of Product Liability Rules*
Authors: SANDERS JOSEPH
Published: September 2010

This paper addresses the issue of corporate risk management strategies in dealing with products liability law. It views risk management as the dependent variable. How do attributes of the firm and of the law of products liability influence the risk management practices of the corporation? Drawing on the work of Oliver Williamson and others, the paper views the firm as a boundedly rational organization that must devote significant resources in monitoring and controlling its agents. This is especially costly in an environment where the measure of adequate performance (i.e. the design, manufacturing and marketing of a non‐defective product) is uncertain and where the criteria used by legal actors (judges and juries) to judge product defectiveness, may vary substantially from the criteria used by the firm's engineers and scientists. Both the costs of control and the level of legal uncertainty are variables. Together they combine to shape a firm's risk management strategy.
Libel Lawyers as Risk Counselors: Pre‐publication and Pre‐broadcast Review and the Social Construction of News1
Authors: SHAPIRO SUSAN P.
Published: September 2010

American libel law presents profound dilemmas about how to provide compensation to individuals for injury to their reputation without destroying First Amendment values of free expression and unfettered public debate. This paper looks at the substantial legal costs incurred by publishers and broadcasters in defending themselves against charges of libel, the response of the courts to limit press self‐censorship occasioned by the risks of libel litigation, and the perverse effect they both have on the social construction of the news. These tensions are captured in the role of the media lawyer who reviews news stories prior to publication or broadcast and advises editors about libel risks. Data are presented from interviews of 53 in‐house and outside counsel who regularly review stories for newspapers, television stations and networks, magazines, and other news organizations. A paradox emerges: media lawyers, in pursuit of constitutional protections of free speech, have come to enforce responsible journalism, while subtly chilling and shaping the ways the news is told.
Managing Risk: Managing Uncertainty in the British Nuclear Installations Inspectorate1
Authors: MANNING P. K.
Published: September 2010

New approaches to risk and uncertainty require a consideration of the collective nature of risks, how they are defined and managed, and how complex social organizations, especially regulatory bodies, are created and mandated to define, manage and reassure publics concerning these designated risks. Sociological analyses of risk should entail analysis of modes of enstructuration, and close ethnographically based descriptions of working institutions. This study explores aspects of the political economy of risks, the selective typification of risks, a regulatory body's practices, and the intra‐organizational relations that pattern risk management. Based on fieldwork, the two year plus study of the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate (NII) in Britain, includes extensive in depth interviews, clippings and historical documents. The purpose of the Nil is to insure that the licensees who operate nuclear installations do so within the stated principles of safety and conditions of the license, and do so by reasonable practical means. The social construction of the management of risk is shaped by the larger political economy, the NII itself through evolving of its mandate, strategies and tactics, and by cultural assumptions about safety and trust in government. Two types of uncertainty shape NII's practices: background factors of importance affecting nuclear safety beyond their direct control, and foreground factors, some of which they claim responsibility for managing. The latter include technological questions, individual risks of radioactive exposure, and collective threats and risks (of cataclysmic accidents). Historical and field data demonstrate a narrowing and refining of the workings of the NII.: through enstructuring a pattern of roles, rules and resources are allocated to narrow objectives and goals; by evolving a set of beliefs or ideologies spelling out the political and moral obligations of NII and the industry the mandate is legitimated; and by employing a licensing strategy for insuring safety many potential paradoxes are obviated. Thus, the work of insuring safety in an extremely risky industry is seen to have been accomplished. Further investigation of the social construction of collective risk is urged.
The Institutionalization of Risk
Authors: REISS ALBERT J.
Published: September 2010

The centrality of risk assessment and risk management to complex organizations testifies to the institutionalization of risk in modern society. Much of the writing on risk assessment and management deals with how decision makers struggle with uncertainty rather than calculable risk. The conceptualization of risk and uncertainty depends in part upon whether one focuses upon decision makers and their decisions or upon outcomes of decisions. Focusing on decision makers leads to concern with risk management whereas focusing on the decision or outcomes draws attention to risk analysis. The papers examined in this paper are primarily concerned with decision makers and risk management. In doing so, we examine the social construction of risks and their control, how intelligence gathering and processing affects risk analysis and management, and the latent functions of risk regulation.
Private Ordering, Self‐Regulation and Futures Markets: A Comparative Study of Informal Social Control*
Authors: GUNNINGHAM NEIL
Published: September 2010

This paper describes an empirical study of futures market regulation in three jurisdictions: Chicago, Hong Kong, and Sydney. It focuses on private ordering and argues that informal mechanisms of social control have been crucial in maintaining market “order” and curbing trading abuses. Peer group pressure, fear of being ostracized, the leverage of large institutional clients, the transparency of certain market dealings and the opportunities this provides for “pay back” between “repeat players”, have been far more important in ordering behavior than the remote and often unenforced rules imposed either by government or the exchanges themselves. It is suggested that to understand “crime in the pits” we should focus on criminogenic structures which facilitate fraud through specific combinations of opportunity and risk. It is also structural factors which substantially account for the relative success or failure of private ordering in constraining trading abuses in different markets.
A Norms Approach to Jury “Nullification:” Interests, Values, and Scripts
Authors: SANDERS JOSEPH
Published: September 2010

Juries and other lay tribunals are often justified because they leaven the law with community norms. Unfortunately, we do not have a particularly good theory of when and how juries substitute their normative judgments for the law. A first step in developing such a theory is to examine the nature of norms and the way jurors bring normative judgments to their task. In this article I compare and contrast different understandings of norms that currently are in vogue in the social sciences and then use these approaches to develop a more systematic understanding of when juries do and when they do not substitute their normative judgment for that of the law.
RISK MEASURES AND CAPITAL REQUIREMENTS FOR PROCESSES
Authors: Frittelli Marco , Scandolo Giacomo
Published: September 2010

In this paper we propose a generalization of the concepts of convex and coherent risk measures to a multiperiod setting, in which payoffs are spread over different dates. To this end, a careful examination of the axiom of translation invariance and the related concept of capital requirement in the one‐period model is performed. These two issues are then suitably extended to the multiperiod case, in a way that makes their operative financial meaning clear. A characterization in terms of expected values is derived for this class of risk measures and some examples are presented.
TERM STRUCTURES OF IMPLIED VOLATILITIES: ABSENCE OF ARBITRAGE AND EXISTENCE RESULTS
Authors: Schweizer Martin , Wissel Johannes
Published: September 2010

This paper studies modeling and existence issues for market models of stochastic implied volatility in a continuous‐time framework with one stock, one bank account, and a family of European options for all maturities with a fixed payoff function h. We first characterize absence of arbitrage in terms of drift conditions for the forward implied volatilities corresponding to a general convex h. For the resulting infinite system of SDEs for the stock and all the forward implied volatilities, we then study the question of solvability and provide sufficient conditions for existence and uniqueness of a solution. We do this for two examples of h, namely, calls with a fixed strike and a fixed power of the terminal stock price, and we give explicit examples of volatility coefficients satisfying the required assumptions.
SIMULATION‐BASED PORTFOLIO OPTIMIZATION FOR LARGE PORTFOLIOS WITH TRANSACTION COSTS
Authors: Muthuraman Kumar , Zha Haining
Published: September 2010

We consider a portfolio optimization problem where the investor's objective is to maximize the long‐term expected growth rate, in the presence of proportional transaction costs. This problem belongs to the class of stochastic control problems with singular controls, which are usually solved by computing solutions to related partial differential equations called the free‐boundary Hamilton–Jacobi–Bellman (HJB) equations. The dimensionality of the HJB equals the number of stocks in the portfolio. The runtime of existing solution methods grow super‐exponentially with dimension, making them unsuitable to compute optimal solutions to portfolio optimization problems with even four stocks. In this work we first present a boundary update procedure that converts the free boundary problem into a sequence of fixed boundary problems. Then by combining simulation with the boundary update procedure, we provide a computational scheme whose runtime, as shown by the numerical tests, scales polynomially in dimension. The results are compared and corroborated against existing methods that scale super‐exponentially in dimension. The method presented herein enables the first ever computational solution to free‐boundary problems in dimensions greater than three.
TIME AND PLACE FOR PHILOSOPHY
Authors: CAVELL STANLEY
Published: September 2010

Abstract: Writing in continuous gratitude to Gary Matthews's wonderful project of rescuing childhood from its disregard, not to say banishment, in professional philosophy, I relate here certain moments in his considerations of early childhood to moments in Wittgenstein's Philosophical Investigations, which opens with a scene of childhood from Augustine's Confessions, and also to moments in later stages of childhood (as Matthews also significantly indicates) and, beyond that, to adolescent crises and to what I have called philosophy as “the education of grown‐ups.” I raise the issue of whether we are to see the “odd” questions of early childhood as proto‐science, which will eventually graduate into better science, or as proto‐philosophy, which will be continuously elaborated in philosophical investigation. This raises the question of whether philosophy is to be regarded, early or late, as inseparable from science or, as the later Wittgenstein urges, autonomous with respect to science's glamorous advances.
GENERAL AND PARTIAL EQUILIBRIA IN A CONSUMPTION ECONOMY
Authors: Gutiérrez José Manuel
Published: September 2010

We consider a simple aggregative consumption economy, where there is a market for commodities and four financial markets: for bonds, deposits, credits and some speculative asset. There is a Wicksellian central bank. The existence of temporary equilibrium is discussed by considering partial equilibria in the different markets.