bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Humanizing science education
Authors: Donnelly James F.
Published: May 2004

This paper argues that the diverse curriculum reform agendas associated with science education are strongly and critically associated with the educational characteristics of the humanities. The article begins with a survey of interpretations of the distinctive contribution which the humanities make to educational purposes. From this survey four general characteristics of the humanities are identified: an appeal to an autonomous self with the right and capacity to make independent judgements and interpretations; indeterminacy in the subject matter of these judgements and interpretations; a focus on meaning, in the context of human responses, actions, and relationships, and especially on the ethical, aesthetic, and purposive; and finally, the possibility of commonality in standards of judgement and interpretation, under conditions of indeterminacy. Inquiry and science technology and society (STS) orientated curriculum development agendas within science education are explored in the light of this analysis. It is argued that the four characteristics identified are central to the educational purposes of these and other less prominent modes of curriculum development in science, though not unproblematically so. In the light of this discussion the prognosis and challenges for science curriculum development are explored. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Sci Ed 88: 762–784, 2004
Brief report: Parents’ life events and substance use among German adolescent girls: testing a family mediation model
Authors: Wiesner Margit , Juang Linda
Published: May 2004

In this cross‐sectional study, data from 202 German adolescent girls (ages 13–17 years) and their parents were utilized to test whether the relationship between parents’ stressful life events and their daughter's substance use was mediated by higher levels of parents’ depressive symptoms, lower quality of the relationship between the parents, and poor parenting behaviour. Structural equation modelling revealed that these family characteristics did not account for the link between parents’ stressful life events and adolescent girl's substance use. Further research is needed to better understand the mechanisms that account for such linkages.
Control of mRNA translation and stability in haematopoietic cells: The function of hnRNPs K and E1/E2
Authors: Ostareck‐Lederer Antje , Ostareck Dirk H.
Published: May 2004

Summry— Studies on the post‐transcriptional regulation of gene expression in haematopoietic cells have uncovered that a subfamily of heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoproteins (hnRNPs) is involved in cytoplasmic gene regulation. HnRNP K and hnRNP E1/E2 share a common structural motif, the hnRNP K homology (KH) domain, which provides a structural basis for mRNA binding. The KH‐domains are components of a modular system, which enables these proteins to engage in both, protein/nucleic acid and protein/protein interactions, the latter generating connectivity to cell signalling events. As components of different mRNA‐protein complexes, hnRNP K and hnRNP E1/E2 function in the control of mRNA translation and mRNA stability in haematopoietic cell differentiation.
Does past pain influence current pain: biological and psychosocial models of sex differences
Authors: Rollman Gary B. , Abdel‐Shaheed Jennifer , Gillespie Joanne M. , Jones Kevin S.
Published: May 2004

Previous studies have generally indicated sizeable sex differences for both laboratory pain reactivity and clinical pain reports. Numerous biological and psychosocial models have been invoked to account for these findings, but the laboratory and clinical findings have generally been examined in isolation. This paper reviews data which show a relationship between past clinical pain experiences and current responses to experimentally induced pain. Individuals with a greater pain history tend to show lower pain tolerance. Since women often have high pain experience levels and lower pain tolerance, one might ask whether the two factors are related. We review several models, based upon concepts of neonatal differences in pain reactivity, hypervigilance following early pain experiences, and concepts of peripheral and central sensitization or plasticity which might help to bridge the gap between clinical and experimental findings.
Population biology of northern shortfin squid (Illex illecebrosus) in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean and initial documentation of a spawning area
Authors: Hendrickson Lisa C
Published: May 2004

Growth, maturity, and age structure of the northern shortfin squid (Illex illecebrosus) population were characterized from samples collected during a stratified, random bottom-trawl survey conducted in May 2000. The survey was conducted on the continental shelf of the east coast of the US and utilized a commercial squid fishing vessel and standardized sampling protocols and gear. Statolith increment counts of 391 individuals, representing the full maturity spectrum from juveniles to mated females (34–250 mm), ranged in age from 69 to 215 d. Substantial variability in the precision of individual age estimates was encountered. The population consisted of a predominant winter cohort of maturing and mature squid (hatched during October–February, with a peak in January) and a spring cohort of juveniles (hatched during February and March, with a peak in March). Recruitment patterns to northern and southern fishing grounds are discussed. The first evidence of a spawning area, located on the continental shelf in the Mid-Atlantic Bight, is presented. Growth in length and weight was best described by a Gompertz model and a power model, respectively. The age range of mated females (115–215 d) indicated a shorter lifespan than expected based on maturity and age information for Newfoundland squid. A latitudinal cline in female size-at-maturity was evident, whereby maturity stages of squid in the southern part of the survey area were more advanced than those in the northern part. Also, females from US waters reach maturity and spawn at smaller sizes and younger ages than females from Newfoundland waters. The results suggest that females from the Mid-Atlantic Bight may exhibit faster rates of growth and maturation, and possibly a shorter lifespan, than their Newfoundland counterparts.
A risk assessment of the sustainability of the harvest of beluga (Delphinapterus leucas (Pallas 1776)) in West Greenland
Authors: Alvarez-Flores Carlos M. , Heide-Jørgensen Mads Peter
Published: May 2004

Risk assessments to assess the efficiency of management procedures to regulate removals of marine mammals have rarely been conducted. Using Bayesian methods, we conducted a risk assessment on a harvested beluga population off West Greenland. The population size in recent years was estimated to be 22% of the size in 1954. Results indicate that current catches are unsustainable and that continuation of this situation represents a 90% probability that the population will become extinct in 20 years. The analyses suggest that the harvest should be reduced to no more than 130 animals. Constant catch quotas represent a greater risk of depletion compared with catch limits that are a function of harvest rate and population size. An alternative gradual reduction schedule is proposed as a viable strategy, reducing the harvest in 5 years and adjusting the subsequent quota using a harvest rate of 0.5 of Rmax, with updates in the abundance. This analysis is presented as an alternative for cases where an immediate catch reduction is desirable but not feasible for marine mammal populations that appear vulnerable or in danger and where catch and abundance data are available.
Risk and strategy of fishers alternatively exploiting sea bream and tuna in the Gibraltar Strait from an efficiency perspective
Authors: Herrero Ines
Published: May 2004

While in the last few years interest in efficiency analyses has increased among fisheries economists, efficiency analyses have not been used so far to compare the profitability of alternative fisheries. We compared the profitability of the sea bream fishery and the tuna fishery, both operating in the South of Spain (Gibraltar Strait), based on an efficiency analysis and on a comparison of the efficient frontiers of the two fisheries. Results for 2002 show that, even if the sea bream is a higher-value species than tuna, the profitability of the latter is higher. However, sea bream still appears to be the target species of the fleet whereas the tuna fishery appears only as an alternative fishery. The key reason appears to be that the latter involves more risk than the former. The management of each fishing vessel seems related to the management strategy of the captain and to his assessments of risk.
Growth, maturation, and longevity of maturation cohorts of Norwegian spring-spawning herring
Authors: Beverton Raymond J.H. , Hylen Arvid , Østvedt Ole-Johan , Alvsvaag John , Iles Terence C.
Published: May 2004

In 1907, the Bergen Institute of Marine Research started regular sampling of scales and lengths from landings of mature Norwegian spring-spawning herring. The actual age of each fish when caught was recorded, and from the early 1920s also the age at which it spawned for the first time. The present analyses concern biological samples secured during the fishing seasons 1940–1964. Herring in this stock do not all reach maturity at the same age. A small proportion of any one year class matures at 3 years. The majority matures from the age of 4–7 years, and a small proportion of some year classes at 8 and even 9 years of age. Subsequent age composition and growth of each maturation cohort were followed throughout mature life after spawning for the first time. The maximum age was found to increase with age at maturation, rising to an asymptote of about 22 years. The von Bertalanffy parameter L∞ shows an increasing trend with age at maturation, while K decreases. There is no strict length threshold at maturation and the curve joining the length at which each maturation cohort reaches maturity is less steep than the growth curve itself over the range of maturation ages.

The data suggest that fish in this stock spawn, on average, eight times during a period of their life history in which the mortality rate is independent of age. After these eight spawnings, at an age referred to in this paper as the hinge age, the mortality rate increases sharply. Thus, the adult life is divided into two phases, called here pre-senescent and senescent. The total mortality rates in the pre-senescent phase are relatively stable for all maturation cohorts 3–9, but there is some evidence of a trend towards higher mortality rates during the senescent phase for the youngest maturing fish. This trend is caused mainly by a reduced natural mortality in the fish that mature when older. These findings have interesting demographic implications. Additional mortality due to fishing will change the relative contribution of young and old maturation cohorts in the senescent phase, thus making it appear that natural mortality is dependent on the intensity of fishing. Consequently, for stock assessment, analysis on a cohort basis seems advisable.
The gastric properties of free-ranging harp (Pagophilus groenlandicus (Erxleben, 1777)) and hooded (Cystophora cristata (Erxleben, 1777)) seals
Authors: Christiansen Jørgen S. , Gildberg Asbjørn , Nilssen Kjell T. , Lindblom Charlotta , Haug Tore
Published: May 2004

The study of trophic relationships in seals is based primarily on prey remains recovered from the digestive tract or scats. Basic data on the gastric properties of seals are scarce and are considered to be important to interpret data from dietary studies of these animals. Hence, we examined the key properties of the gastric chyme post mortem (i.e. temperature, acidity, and the concentration of the proteolytic enzyme pepsin) in free-ranging harp (Pagophilus groenlandicus, n=40) and hooded (Cystophora cristata, n=41) seals. Seals displayed huge inter-individual variations in their gastric properties with ranges in temperature: 23.9–37.9°C, acidity: pH 1.16–7.34, and pepsin concentration: 11–1059 μg ml−1 chyme. The stomach weight and the mean values of gastric parameters revealed, however, significant species-specific differences. The stomach weight relative to body weight of hooded seal exceeded that of harp seal (t=13.77, d.f.=75, p<0.001). Furthermore, the gastric temperature and pepsin concentration were lower for harp (32.8°C and 75 μg ml−1) compared to that for hooded (35.3°C and 344 μg ml−1) seal. The reason for this disparity may be linked to the feeding mode and diet composition displayed by these seal species.
The Multiple Monoblock Toe-To-Hand Transfer In Digital Reconstruction. A Report of Ten Cases
Authors: JULVE G. GARCÍA , VILLÉN G. MARTÍNEZ
Published: May 2004

Ten hands with multiple traumatic finger amputations or congenital agenesis underwent reconstruction by monoblock transfer of multiple toes. Eight patients underwent monoblock transfer of the great and second toes, one patient received the great toe and the metatarsophalangeal joint from the second toe with the same vascular pedicle, and another patient the great, second and third toes as a block. Only part of the great toe was ever taken, while the second toe was totally or partially taken. The surgical technique and the outcome are detailed in this work, with a mean postoperative follow-up of 6 years.
Mechanical Evaluation of the Pronator Teres Rerouting Tendon Transfer
Authors: VEEGER H. E. J. , KREULEN M. , SMEULDERS M. J. C.
Published: May 2004

We simulated pronator teres rerouting using a three-dimensional biomechanical model of the arm. Simulations comprised the evaluation of changes in muscle length and the moment arm of pronator teres with changes in forearm axial rotation and elbow flexion. The rerouting of Pronator Teres was simulated by defining a path for it through the interosseous membrane with re-attachment to its original insertion. However the effect of moving the insertion to new positions, 2 cm below and above, the original position was also assessed. The effect on total internal rotation and external rotation capacity was determined by calculating the potential moments for pronator teres, supinator, pronator quadratus, biceps brachii and brachioradialis. Pronator teres was found to be a weak internal rotator in extreme pronation, but a strong internal rotator in neutral rotation and in supination. After rerouting pronator teres was only a strong external rotator in full pronation and not at other forearm positions, where the effect of rerouting was comparable to a release procedure.
Carpal Tunnel Decompression. Is Lengthening of the Flexor Retinaculum Better than Simple Division?
Authors: DIAS J.J. , BHOWAL B. , WILDIN C.J. , THOMPSON J.R.
Published: May 2004

This prospective randomized double-blind control trial compared lengthening and simple division of the flexor retinaculum in carpal tunnel decompression. Twenty-six patients with bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome were randomly allocated to have the flexor retinaculum divided on one side and lengthened on the other. All 52 hands were reviewed at regular intervals up to 25 weeks. The patients, therapists and the final reviewer were unaware of treatment allocation. The Levine symptom and function scores were used to assess the severity of the carpal tunnel syndrome and showed that the two treatments were comparable for relief of carpal tunnel symptoms. The two treatments were also similar for function measured with the Jebsen–Taylor test. There is no identifiable benefit in lengthening the flexor retinaculum when decompressing the carpal tunnel. Moderate or severe pillar and scar pain is common, occurring in 13 of 52 hands after surgery, but only in four by the 12th week and two by the 25th week.
A Porcine Epistaxis Model: Hemostatic Effects of Octylcyanoacrylate
Authors: Singer Adam J. , McClain Steve A. , Katz Arnold
Published: May 2004

OBJECTIVE

To develop a standardized porcine epistaxis model and evaluate the hemostatic effects of octyl‐cyanoacrylate (OCA).

STUDY DESIGN AND SETTING

Twenty‐four standardized full‐thickness wounds were created on the nasal septae of 7 pigs with a 4‐mm surgical punch. Wounds were randomized to no treatment or topical OCA before and after full heparinization. The rate of hemostasis, time to hemostasis, and number of applicators of OCA required to achieve complete hemostasis were determined and groups were compared with t tests and X2 tests.

RESULTS

Complete and sustained hemostasis was achieved in all wounds treated with OCA. The time to hemostasis was significantly shorter in the wounds treated with OCA vs those left to clot on their own (mean difference, 150 seconds; 95% CI, 92 to 209 seconds, P<0.001). None of the wounds required more than 3 applications of OCA.

CONCLUSIONS

We describe a simple and reproducible animal epistaxis model and demonstrate that OCA is effective in achieving hemostasis in this model.
The effect of the host immune response on the parasitic nematode Strongyloides ratti
Authors: WILKES C. P. , THOMPSON F. J. , GARDNER M. P. , PATERSON S. , VINEY M. E.
Published: May 2004

The host immune response has profound effects on parasitic nematode infections. Here we have investigated how a range of infection parameters are affected by host immune responses and by their suppression and enhancement. The infection parameters considered were the number of parasitic females, their size, per capita fecundity and intestinal position. We found that in immunosuppressive treatments worms persist in the gut, sometimes with a greater per capita fecundity, maintain their size and have a more anterior gut position, compared with worms from control animals. In immunization treatments there are fewer worms in the gut, sometimes with a lower per capita fecundity and they are shorter and have a more posterior gut position, compared with worms from control animals. Worms from animals immunosuppressed by corticosteroid treatment reverse their changes in size and gut position. This description of these phenomena pave the way for a molecular biological analysis of how these changes in infection parameters are brought about by the host immune response.
CHOICE, CONSENT, AND THE LEGITIMACY OF MARKET TRANSACTIONS
Authors: Peter Fabienne
Published: May 2004

According to an often repeated definition, economics is the science of individual choices and their consequences. The emphasis on choice is often used – implicitly or explicitly – to mark a contrast between markets and the state: While the price mechanism in well-functioning markets preserves freedom of choice and still efficiently coordinates individual actions, the state has to rely to some degree on coercion to coordinate individual actions. Since coercion should not be used arbitrarily, coordination by the state needs to be legitimized by the consent of its citizens. The emphasis in economic theory on freedom of choice in the market sphere suggests that legitimization in the market sphere is “automatic” and that markets can thus avoid the typical legitimization problem of the state. In this paper, I shall question the alleged dichotomy between legitimization in the market and in the state. I shall argue that it is the result of a conflation of choice and consent in economics and show how an independent concept of consent makes the need for legitimization of market transactions visible.
THE IMPOSSIBILITY OF A PARETIAN REPUBLICAN? SOME COMMENTS ON PETTIT AND SEN
Authors: List Christian
Published: May 2004

Philip Pettit (2001) has suggested that there are parallels between his republican account of freedom and Amartya Sen's (1970) account of freedom as decisive preference. In this paper, I discuss these parallels from a social-choice-theoretic perspective. I sketch a formalization of republican freedom and argue that republican freedom is formally very similar to freedom as defined in Sen's “minimal liberalism” condition. In consequence, the republican account of freedom is vulnerable to a version of Sen's liberal paradox, an inconsistency between universal domain, freedom, and the weak Pareto principle. I argue that some standard escape routes from the liberal paradox – those via domain restriction – are not easily available to the republican. I suggest that republicans need to take seriously the challenge of the impossibility of a Paretian republican.
EQUALITY OF OPPORTUNITY AND OPPORTUNITY DOMINANCE
Authors: Hild Matthias , Voorhoeve Alex
Published: May 2004

All conceptions of equal opportunity draw on some distinction between morally justified and unjustified inequalities. We discuss how this distinction varies across a range of philosophical positions. We find that these positions often advance equality of opportunity in tandem with distributive principles based on merit, desert, consequentialist criteria or individuals' responsibility for outcomes. The result of this amalgam of principles is a festering controversy that unnecessarily diminishes the widespread acceptability of opportunity concerns. We therefore propose to restore the conceptual separation of opportunity principles concerning unjustified inequalities from distributive principles concerning justifiable inequalities. On this view, equal opportunity implies that that morally irrelevant factors should engender no differences in individuals' attainment, while remaining silent on inequalities due to morally relevant factors. We examine this idea by introducing the principle of ‘opportunity dominance' and explore in a simple application to what extent this principle may help us arbitrate between opposing distributive principles. We also compare this principle to the selection rules developed by John Roemer and Dirk Van de Gaer.
CRITICAL NOTICE TOO MUCH INVESTED TO QUIT
Authors: Ripstein Arthur
Published: May 2004

The economic analysis of law has gone through a remarkable change in the past decade and a half. The founding articles of the discipline – such classic pieces as Ronald Coase's “The problem of social cost” (1960), Richard Posner's “A theory of negligence” (1972) and Guido Calabresi and Douglas Malamed's “Property rules, liability rules, and inalienability: One view of the cathedral” (1972) – offered economic analyses of familiar aspects of the common law, seeking to explain, in particular, fundamental features of the law of tort in terms of such economic ideas as transaction costs (Coase), Kaldor-Hicks efficiency (Posner), or minimizing the sum of the accident costs and avoidance costs (Calabresi and Malamed). In each case, they argued that the law of torts should be understood as a set of liability rules selected for their incentive effects, rather than as a set of substantive rights and remedies for their violation. These authors claimed to be able to explain most of the features of tort law and, where features were found that did not fit with their preferred explanations, recommended modification. Although they disagreed on important questions, each of the pieces seems to work a manageable structure into what strikes first-year law students as an otherwise random morass of common-law judgments. Generations of legal academics were introduced to these works, and drawn into their way of looking at things. As a student studying first-year torts with Calabresi at Yale, I had the sense that I was in the presence of greatness.
REPLY TO RIPSTEIN: NOTES ON WELFARIST VERSUS DEONTOLOGICAL PRINCIPLES
Authors: Kaplow Louis , Shavell Steven
Published: May 2004

In Fairness versus Welfare (FVW), we advance the thesis that social policies should be assessed entirely with regard to their effects on individuals' well-being. That is, no independent weight should be accorded to notions of fairness such as corrective or retributive justice or other deontological principles. Our claim is based on the demonstration that pursuit of notions of fairness has perverse effects on welfare, on other problematic aspects of the notions, and on a reconciliation of our thesis with the evident appeal of moral intuitions. Here we summarize our three arguments and explain that Professor Ripstein's commentary largely fails to respond to them. (We will pass over some of what he says because it has little to do with our book, and we will not address his rather surprising attacks on our scholarship because the reader can readily verify their inaccuracy.)
Using ontologies to aid navigation planning in autonomous vehicles
Authors: SCHLENOFF CRAIG , BALAKIRSKY STEPHEN , USCHOLD MIKE , PROVINE RON , SMITH SCOTT
Published: May 2004

This paper explores the hypothesis that ontologies can be used to improve the capabilities and performance of on-board route planning for autonomous vehicles. We name a variety of general benefits that ontologies may provide, and list numerous specific ways that ontologies may be used in different components of our chosen infrastructure: the 4D/RCS system architecture developed at NIST. Our initial focus is on simple roadway driving scenarios where the controlled vehicle encounters objects in its path. Our approach is to develop an ontology of objects in the environment, in conjunction with rules for estimating the damage that would be incurred by collisions with the different objects in different situations. Automated reasoning is used to estimate collision damage; this information is fed to the route planner to help it decide whether to avoid the object. We describe our current experiments and plans for future work.
Between Assimilation and Independence: The Taiwanese Encounter Nationalist China, 1945–1950. By Steven E. Phillips. [Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2003. 272 pp. $55.00. ISBN 0-8047-4457-2.]
Authors: Greene J. Megan
Published: May 2004

In recent years the sub-field of Taiwan studies has begun to take off and Steven E. Phillips' excellent study of local elite political activities and Nationalist state-building in Taiwan during the highly charged period following the island's retrocession to China is evidence that this process is now extending into the realm of historical research on the Nationalist period. Using a wide array of Chinese, English and Japanese language primary sources, Phillips examines the tensions between local, provincial forces and centralizing, national forces as he traces the question of local self-government through Taiwan's evolution from colony to province to province/nation in the period between 1945 and 1950. He argues that, given the different experiences of Taiwan's elite and the Nationalists, some sort of clash was inevitable, and both groups acted between 1945 and 1950 in ways that were consistent with their past actions and experiences. He further argues that the February 28 incident of 1947 was a turning point after which the Nationalists took over the drive for local self-government in Taiwan and Taiwan's local elite were increasingly politically marginalized.
A preliminary evaluation of the sustainability of cassowary (Aves: Casuariidae) capture and trade in Papua New Guinea
Authors: Johnson Arlyne , Bino Robert , Igag Paul
Published: May 2004

Wildlife capture and trade for traditional use in Papua New Guinea has led to the extirpation of cassowary in some areas and increasing pressure for trade from areas where they remain. We tested a village‐based monitoring programme to evaluate sustainability of wildlife capture and trade by households in the Crater Mountain Wildlife Management Area. We monitored the type and number of wildlife species captured and traded. For the most heavily traded species, dwarf cassowary, we compared estimated annual offtake of live cassowary to maximum sustainable offtake and also compared change in hunter effort over time. We found that live offtake rates of 0.06–0.07/km2 were unsustainable in one village catchment and on the threshold of unsustainable use in another. Extirpation of cassowary will probably occur in the management area unless the location or quantity of the harvest can be restricted and the husbandry of captive birds improved. Results indicate that village monitoring of cassowary offtake is feasible when done in collaboration with outside, trained observers. Such monitoring should be encouraged as a means for landowners and management agencies to collectively evaluate the sustainability of the cassowary harvest in Papua New Guinea. This study provides an example of how scientists working with local communities in tropical forests can contribute to systematic monitoring and evaluation of wildlife offtake for sustainable use.
On the optimality of PAYG pension systems in an endogenous fertility setting
Authors: ABÍO G. , MAHIEU G. , PATXOT C.
Published: May 2004

In order to help in designing an accurate pension reform, we determine the resource allocation in an endogenous fertility model that generates an endogenous demographic transition by means of distinguishing between female and male labor. We analyze the problem of the optimal solution and characterize the decentralization of the first best. We show that a pension policy linking pension benefits to the number of children acts as a corrective tax system able to restore both the optimal capital stock and the optimal rate of population growth as a single instrument. We also show that neither a Beveridgean pension scheme nor a Bismarckian one can decentralize the first best.
The outlook for pension contributions and profits in the US
Authors: MUNNELL ALICIA H. , SOTO MAURICIO
Published: May 2004

The bear market that began in 2000 focused attention on two issues – pensions and profits. The initial pension problem was the big decline in value of individual 401(k) accounts. The profit issue was misconduct and stock options. In fact, there is another compelling issue involving both pensions and profits – the impact of the bear market on defined benefit pension plans.

Plan sponsors have a projected benefit liability, which until recently was covered by the rise in asset values during the extended bull market. When stock values fell by 50 percent, sponsors for the first time in decades had to contribute to their pensions. But even without the decline in the stock market, sponsors of defined benefit plans were going to face increased pension contributions in the coming decade. The reason is a host of regulatory and legislative changes in the late 1980s that slowed or limited pension contributions.

Our analysis suggests that in the absence of the stock market boom and the regulatory and legislative changes that reduced funding, the average firm's contribution to its pension plan would have been 50 percent higher during the 1982–2001 period; corporate profits would have been roughly 5 percent lower.

The deferred contributions are coming due. The decline in the stock market and an ageing population imply that contributions would double from their current level. As the economy emerges from recession and the bear market draws to a close, firms and investors must be prepared to contend with a strong headwind from pension funding obligations that could slow the recover.
Macroeconomic implications of portfolio adjustments of government run pension funds
Authors: PESTIEAU PIERRE , POSSEN URI M.
Published: May 2004

This paper shows that shifting the portfolio allocation of a government-run pension fund towards more equity investment, ceteris paribus, tends to reduce the aggregate capital stock as well as the average consumption level of all individuals except the poor retirees who consume more on average but at the cost of increased uncertainty. If a larger capital stock is desired, reducing the supply of publicly supplied goods is the most effective tool. That change also increases the average private consumption of all the young and the wealthy retirees although it does reduce the average consumption and uncertainty of the old non-savers.
Geoeffectiveness of interplanetary shocks, magnetic clouds, sector boundary crossings and their combined occurrence
Authors: Echer E. , Gonzalez W. D.
Published: May 2004

The aim of this work is to study the geoeffectiveness of interplanetary shock waves, magnetic clouds, heliospheric current sheet sector boundary crossings, and the combinations of these interplanetary structures. Both single and compound structures have their geoeffectiveness evaluated, considering the percentage of moderate and intense magnetic storms (Dst ≤ −50 nT) that followed each event. With this criteria, it was found that, on average, around 57% of the interplanetary shocks, 26% of the sector boundary crossings, 77% of the magnetic clouds, 80% of magnetic clouds at sector boundaries, 60% of interplanetary shocks at sector boundaries, 81% of magnetic clouds driving shocks, 83% of magnetic clouds compressed by high speed streams, and 100% of magnetic clouds driving shocks and located at sector boundaries are geoeffective. Thus, compound interplanetary magnetic structures were found to be more geoeffective than single interplanetary magnetic structures.
Tail dynamics during the growth phase of the 24 November 1996, substorm event: Near‐Earth reconnection confined in the plasma sheet
Authors: Ohtani S. , Ueno G. , Yamaguchi R. , Singer H. , Creutzberg F. , Yumoto K. , Kitamura K. , Mukai T.
Published: May 2004

The present study examines a substorm event on 24 November 1996, with an emphasis on magnetic field and plasma flow measurements in the magnetotail during the growth phase. The unique and most intriguing feature of this event is a systematic change of the flow direction from earthward to tailward observed by the Geotail satellite at X ∼ −21 RE. Good correlation between VX and BX is found for the intervals of both earthward and tailward flows, which suggests that observed variations of the flow velocity were caused by satellite motion relative to the plasma sheet rather than the temporal change of the velocity itself. It is inferred that the earthward and tailward flows lasted at least 9 and 5 min, respectively. The signs of BZ and BY variations also changed systematically along with the sign of VX. These results are consistent with the idea that the observed flow reversal was caused by the earthward movement of a neutral line, which might be formed at a preceding pseudobreakup or even earlier. It is inferred that the associated reconnection did not reach the lobe magnetic field, and that the neutral line is convected toward the Earth along with the background plasma. Interestingly, during the interval of the flow reversal, other satellites observed typical growth‐phase features. The geosynchronous magnetic field continued to be stretched in the midnight sector. The Interball and IMP8 satellites observed a continuous increase of the lobe field strength at X = −20 and −34 RE, respectively, in the premidnight sector. It is therefore concluded that the tail current intensification during the growth phase is a global process, whereas the near‐Earth reconnection is a local process, which, at its early stage, can proceed independently from the overall storage of the tail magnetic energy.
A simple quantitative model of plasma flows and currents in Saturn's polar ionosphere
Authors: Cowley S. W. H. , Bunce E. J. , O'Rourke J. M.
Published: May 2004

We propose a simple illustrative axisymmetric model of the plasma flows and currents that occur in Saturn's polar ionosphere which are due to both internal magnetospheric plasma processes and the solar wind interaction. The features of the model are based on previous physical discussion, guided quantitatively by both Voyager plasma observations on closed field lines and remote‐sensing IR Doppler observations on open field lines. With increasing latitude the flow features represented include a region poleward of ∼25° colatitude where the angular velocities decrease continuously from rigid corotation to ∼60% of rigid corotation due to plasma production from internal sources in the central magnetosphere, a narrow band of higher but still subcorotating angular velocities mapping to Dungey cycle return flow and Vasyliunas cycle flow regions in the outer closed field magnetosphere, and, finally, a region of low angular velocities, ∼30% of rigid corotation, on open field lines in the polar cap. We show that these flows require a four‐region pattern of field‐aligned currents. With increasing latitude, these consist of regions of upward and downward current on closed field lines peaking at a few tens of nanoamperes per square meter (for an effective ionospheric Pedersen conductivity of 1 mho), a narrow ring of upward field‐aligned current across the open‐closed field line boundary of order 100 nA m−2, and distributed downward currents on open field lines of order 10 nA m−2. Of the upward currents, only that at the open‐closed field line boundary is of sufficient intensity to require significant acceleration of magnetospheric electrons, resulting in total precipitating electron powers of ∼0.03–0.06 TW, together with auroral UV emissions of a few tens of kilorayleighs. The latter emissions occur in a ring of a few hundred kilometers latitudinal width at ∼13° colatitude, which we thus associate with Saturn's main auroral oval. We also estimate similar powers in unaccelerated electron precipitation on closed field lines equatorward of the boundary, leading to distributed “diffuse” UV emissions of a fraction of a kilorayleigh. However, by far the most important energy input to the polar upper atmosphere is due to Joule heating by the ionospheric Pedersen currents, which we estimate as typically several milliwatts per square meter poleward of ∼20° colatitude. The overall Joule powers are estimated to be ∼2.5 TW on both open and closed field lines in each hemisphere (for a conductivity of ∼1 mho and no slippage of the neutral atmosphere), thus representing a very significant energy input to Saturn's thermosphere, more than an order of magnitude larger than the globally averaged solar input. Joule heating is thus likely to make a significant contribution to an explanation of why Saturn's thermosphere is observed to be hot, ∼400–600 K, compared with less than ∼200 K expected on the basis of solar heating alone.
Evidence for an OH(υ) excitation mechanism of CO2 4.3 μm nighttime emission from SABER/TIMED measurements
Authors: López‐Puertas M. , García‐Comas M. , Funke B. , Picard R. H. , Winick J. R. , Wintersteiner P. P. , Mlynczak M. G. , Mertens C. J. , Russell J. M. , Gordley L. L.
Published: May 2004

The SABER instrument on board the TIMED satellite, successfully launched on 7 December 2001, measures the CO2 4.3 μm atmospheric emission at day and night, from the troposphere up to the thermosphere, with a near global latitude coverage and with a very high signal‐to‐noise ratio. SABER has also three channels near 15 μm for the measurements of the pressure‐temperature structure and two channels around 2.0 and 1.6 μm, mainly sensitive to the OH(υ ≤ 9) overtone radiation from levels υ = 8–9 and υ = 3–5, respectively. In this paper we analyze the measurements of SABER in channel 7, centered near 4.3 μm, taken at night in the upper mesosphere and lower thermosphere under quiet (nonauroral) conditions. The measurements of the 4.3 μm radiance in this region are much larger than expected under local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE) and show a strong correlation with the OH channel signal. It was proposed by Kumer et al. [1978] that the CO2(υ3) levels, responsible for the emission at 4.3 μm, were excited from OH(υ) via vibrational‐vibrational energy transfer with N2(1) and hence to CO2(υ3). SABER data (measuring simultaneously pressure, temperature, CO2 4.3 μm emission, and OH(υ) near‐IR emission) offer an unprecedented data set for understanding the non‐LTE excitation mechanisms of CO2(υ3) in the nighttime mesosphere. We have investigated the SABER 4.3 μm radiances with the help of a non‐LTE radiative transfer model for CO2 and found that the large radiances can be explained by a fast and efficient energy transfer rate from OH(υ) to N2(1) to CO2(υ3), whereby, on average, 2.8–3 N2(1) vibrational quanta are excited after quenching of one OH(υ) molecule. A series of alternative excitation mechanisms that may enhance the nighttime 4.3 μm limb radiance were considered and found to be insignificant. The mechanism(s) whereby the energy is transferred from OH(υ) to N2(υ) is (are) still uncertain. The populations of OH(υ) are not significantly affected by incorporation of this fast transfer since N2 quenching of OH(υ) is negligible when compared to O2 quenching.
Magnetization of Greenland ice and its relationship with dust content
Authors: Lanci L. , Kent D. V. , Biscaye P. E. , Steffensen J. P.
Published: May 2004

We estimate the concentration of fine magnetic particles in ice samples from the North Greenland Ice Core Project core from the central Greenland ice sheet, using low‐temperature (77K) isothermal remanent magnetization (IRM) analysis and compare it with the mass concentration of aerosol dust. Samples were taken from six climatic intervals, spanning the time from the Holocene (Preboreal) back to the Last Glacial Dansgaard/Oeschger cycle 5. The mean IRM intensity of the ice varies by a factor of 3 from glacial to interglacial stages, being lower during interglacials. The IRM acquisition curves of the ice do not quite saturate at the maximum available field of 0.8 T and show a relatively broad coercivity, which is compatible with a mixture of maghemite or magnetite and hematite. Comparison of the IRM intensity and total dust mass shows a remarkably good correlation but also reveals a large background magnetization, which may be essentially constant over the different climatic stages. IRM suggests that the dust properties are independent of the background signal and that the dust aerosol has a magnetization within about 30% of pristine loess from the Chinese Loess Plateau, which is considered to have the same source in the same east Asian deserts as dust in Greenland ice. Ice contamination and the flux of extraterrestrial dust particles were considered in order to explain the origin of the background magnetization. Nevertheless, we could not find a convincing explanation for this signal, which represents a considerable part of the IRM signal and is the dominant component during interglacial intervals, without invoking the presence of undetected dust mass. The alternative hypothesis of a varying magnetization of the ice dust at different climatic periods would suggest that different sources of aerosol are active during different climatic periods. This, however, has not proven to be the case so far for studies of the provenance of dust in Greenland ice.
Phytoplankton and heterotrophic respiration in the surface layer of the ocean
Authors: Marra John , Barber Richard T.
Published: May 2004

We suggest a way to estimate phytoplankton respiration separately from heterotrophic respiration. The analysis is based on three findings: (1) that carbon loss in the plankton overnight is mostly phytoplankton respiration; (2) that uptake of 14C estimates net primary production; and (3) that phytoplankton respiration occurs during the day at the same rate as at night. Based on these three findings, we propose that phytoplankton respiration can be estimated as twice the overnight loss of organic carbon. Heterotrophic respiration is then the difference between phytoplankton and total community respiration.
Quasi‐stationary ENSO wave signals versus the Antarctic Circumpolar Wave scenario
Authors: Park Young‐Hyang , Roquet Fabien , Vivier Frédéric
Published: May 2004

Two conflicting views on the causal mechanism of the Antarctic interannual variability often appear in the literature, i.e., whether it is remotely teleconnected to tropical ENSO events or is a self‐sustained eastward propagating circumpolar wave generated locally by an ocean‐atmosphere coupling mechanism. Using a Fourier decomposition into stationary and propagating components of several oceanic and atmospheric variables, we show that most of the Antarctic interannual variability can be explained by a geographically phase‐locked standing wave train linked to tropical ENSO episodes. This ENSO‐modulated quasi‐stationary variability is not zonally uniform, rather, the strongest ENSO impact is consistently concentrated in the Pacific sector of the Southern Ocean. The eastward propagating wave component is found to be not only minor (25% of variability) but also intermittent in phase, yielding little support for the so‐called Antarctic Circumpolar Wave scenario.
Recent Arctic Sea Ice Variability: Connections to the Arctic Oscillation and the ENSO
Authors: Liu Jiping , Curry Judith A. , Hu Yongyun
Published: May 2004

Trends in the satellite‐derived Arctic sea ice concentrations (1978–2002) show pronounced decreases in the Barents/Kara Seas, between the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas, the central Sea of Okhotsk and a portion of the Hudson/Baffin Bay by ∼2–8% per decade, exceeding the 95% confidence level. Qualitatively speaking, positive phases of the Arctic Oscillation (AO) and El Niño‐Southern Oscillation (ENSO) produce similar ice changes in the western Arctic, but opposite ice changes in the eastern Arctic. The manner in which the ice changes are related to the AO and ENSO are demonstrated. Over the last 24 years, the magnitude of the ice changes associated with the positive AO trend and the negative ENSO trend is much smaller than the regional ice trends. Thus, more local or less understood large scale processes should be investigated for explanations.
Airplane radiation dose decrease during a strong Forbush decrease
Authors: Spurný F. , Kudela K. , Dachev T.
Published: May 2004

An important decrease of onboard air crew exposure level was registered at the Forbush decrease observed during the period of disturbed solar conditions at the end of October 2003. The onboard dosimetry and geophysical data are presented and compared. Comparable decrease is observed for onboard measurements and geographically nearby cosmic ray neutron monitor's data. It seems that both quantitative and qualitative changes of cosmic rays fields accompany such type of events. Some previous data on similar results obtained during 2001 year both on solar cosmic ray events and Forbush decreases are also referred to and compared with new ones.
European Judicial Cooperation in Criminal Matters
Authors: Jimeno‐Bulnes Mar
Published: May 2004

Abstract: European judicial cooperation in criminal matters has its origins under Title VI as part of the Third Pillar (JHA) of the Treaty on European Union, signed on 7 February 1992 in Maastricht. Nevertheless, there have been important amendments to this Treaty and to the contents of the Justice and Home Affairs policy through the Treaty of Amsterdam and the Treaty of Nice (the latter in force since last February), such as, for example, the introduction of the European Prosecutors Cooperation Unit (‘Eurojust’). This brief study is concerned with these innovations as well as some legal instruments in the field of criminal judicial cooperation, in particular extradition, mutual recognition of judicial decisions, mutual assistance in criminal matters and the European arrest warrant which are considered as the most relevant.
Mapping Human Rights, Reading the European Union
Authors: Williams Andrew
Published: May 2004

Abstract: The EU's human rights policy has provoked increasing scholarly attention over the last decade. Yet rarely has it been subjected to rigorous analysis in the context of any integration theory. This article is an attempt to rectify the omission. By building on the approach of historical institutionalism, whilst at the same time recognising its analytical deficiencies, a method of reading the EU and interpreting its human rights policies is promoted. Specifically, the article contends that an analysis based on the textual nature of the EU and the configuration of this text through ‘institutional narrative’ will enable a better understanding of the institutional logic behind the construction of human rights policy. An agenda for research and analysis is thus suggested that might map the development of human rights in the EU and predict the compass of future policy direction more effectively.