bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
‘City of sand’: Stately Re‐Imagination of Marina Beach in Chennai
Authors: ARABINDOO PUSHPA
Published: August 2010

The launch of economic neoliberalization in India in the 1990s unfolded a new urban habitat in Indian metropolitan cities with public spaces becoming an important part of a parvenu visual display. A vigorous state‐led bourgeois imaginary based on an aestheticized model of order and cleanliness ensued, but its realization is often ‘cracked and refracted’, illustrating the problematic conceptualization of public spaces in postcolonial India. This article examines the imagination of the Marina beach in Chennai, from its creation in the colonial era to the different cycles of re‐imagination pursued in the postcolonial years. In doing so, it highlights a fundamental difference between the Western and indigenous understandings of open spaces, which is characterized by conflict at two levels — first of all, between the public and the common, and secondly, between the public and the crowd. This persists to date, as a result of which state‐produced plans for the Marina have come across weakly and attempts to implement grand visions on the beach have frequently been thwarted. Reduced to a narrower set of fragmented pursuits, the state (and those who subscribe to its bourgeois imaginary), instead of looking for a reconciliation between the two conceptualizations of open spaces, increasingly employs class stereotypes to legitimize one (the public) and discredit the other (the common/crowd).

Dans les années 1990 en Inde, le début de la néolibéralisation économique a révélé un nouvel habitat urbain dans les villes métropolitaines, les espaces publics revêtant peu à peu un aspect important dans l'exposition des nouveaux parvenus. Il en a résulté un fort imaginaire ‘bourgeois’ porté par l'État et fondé sur un modèle esthétique d'ordre et de propreté qui, une fois concrétisé, apparaît souvent ‘fendillé et déformé’, illustrant les problèmes de conceptualisation des espaces publics dans l'Inde postcoloniale. Cet article s'intéresse à Marina Beach (Chennai) et à la manière dont le site a été imaginé depuis sa création à l'époque coloniale, jusqu'aux différents cycles de ré‐imagination dans les années postcoloniales. Ce faisant, il met en évidence une différence fondamentale entre les notions occidentale et nationale d'espace ouvert. Celle‐ci se traduit par un conflit à deux niveaux qui persiste encore à ce jour: d'une part, entre le public et la communauté; d'autre part, entre le public et la masse. De ce fait, les plans que l'État a élaborés pour la Marina ont manqué de vigueur et les tentatives d'aménagements grandioses sur la plage ont souvent été contrecarrées. Réduit à une panoplie rétrécie d'actions fragmentées, l'État (et les adeptes de son imaginaire bourgeois) n'a pas cherchéà concilier les deux conceptualisations de l'espace ouvert, accentuant progressivement sa préférence pour des stéréotypes de classe afin de légitimer l'un (le public) et de discréditer l'autre (la communauté ou la masse).
The cult of decision‐making and the nursing profession
Authors: SUTHERLAND ALEX H.
Published: August 2010

When does a vogue become a cult? When it is taken seriously? When it needs to be debunked?
Getting feeding skills taped!
Authors: BRATT ANDREW , MARTIN LIZ
Published: August 2010

This report traces some attempts to teach independent spoon‐feeding to a severely handicapped adolescent, and details our progress through a period of growing despondency to eventual success. The use of mini‐meals and micropore tape were felt to be particularly useful and may be of interest to others involved in teaching feeding skills.
An interview study of 20 older brothers and sisters of mentally handicapped and non‐handicapped children
Authors: McConachie Helen , Domb Hazel
Published: August 2010

SUMMARY: 20 older brothers and sisters of handicapped and non‐handicapped children were interviewed. The results did not support the view that children are adversely affected by the presence of a handicapped child. The majority of differences found were between sex and age groups. Several points are made about the design of any future studies.
CHALLENGING BEHAVIOUR AND COMMUNITY SERVICES: 1. Introduction and overview
Authors: Emerson Eric , Toogood Alexander , Mansell Jim , Barrett Sheila , Bell Caroline , Cummings Richard , McCool Christine
Published: August 2010

As the policy of community care is translated into reality a number of challenges are beginning to appear on the horizon, including the identification of client groups whose members are proving difficult to serve. People with severe mental handicaps who exhibit severe problem behaviours are one such group (DHSS, 1984; King's Fund, 1987).

This paper introduces a series of articles to be published in Mental Handicap that will explore the provision of community based services for this client group. The series will focus on issues arising from the work of the South East Thames Regional Health Authority's Special Development Team.
The objectives model of curriculum development: a creaking bandwagon?
Authors: Billinge Roger
Published: August 2010

This article is written (like that of Carpenter, 1984) from my personal experience, in two schools for children with severe learning difficulties, of coordinating a Staff Curriculum Development Group using the Skills Analysis Model (SAM) (Gardner, Murphy, and Crawford, 1983). The aim here, however, is to illustrate reservations about the use of a SAM or “son of SAM” approach in such schools and to indicate possible alternative emphases.

The point of view is expressed that SAM, and other behavioural objectives models, can lead to an unrealistic imbalance with an emphasis on what is being taught rather than what is being learned: approaches which ultimately degrade the learner, the teacher, and the learning process.
The provision of support services for young adults with physical and mental handicaps
Authors: Thomas Andrew P. , Bax Martin C. O. , Smyth Diane P. L.
Published: August 2010

It has been recognised for many years that the amount of health care received by young adults with physical and mental handicaps rapidly declines after they leave the paediatric services. However, little is known about their specific health needs, or how these needs may be best met by the statutory services. This study indicates a considerable degree of unmet need and points to a failure by the Health Service to maintain a continuity of health care for these young people. A formal policy is called for in which multidisciplinary Teams for Adults with Handicaps are set up at district level, to provide a clinical, support, and coordination service for all adults with disabilities.
“Leisure‐Links”
Authors: Browne Charlotte , Singh Rosemary
Published: August 2010

This article describes research undertaken to assess the need for a community leisure service in Tower Hamlets, part of London's East End.

The results replicate the findings of other researchers; that many people with mental handicaps, though “living” in the community, remain isolated from the “community” in its widest sense. People in this study spent the majority of their free time engaged in housebound, solitary, passive, and family oriented activities. Pursuits which did involve “going out” tended to be for groups, such as attending clubs or sports activities.

It was found that 84 per cent of respondents, that is, potential consumers, felt they would like to take part in leisure activities that they were not pursuing at the time of the study.

The development of Tower Hamlets “Leisure‐Links” scheme is described, highlighting features of the scheme which distinguish it from other similar initiatives. Applications for funding are outlined.
Economic evaluation of respite care for children with mental handicaps: A PRELIMINARY ANALYSIS OF PROBLEMS
Authors: Gerard Karen
Published: August 2010

This paper describes the first attempt at economic evaluation of respite services supporting children with mental handicaps and their principal carers. The cost‐effectiveness method was applied as far as possible. However, the study was seriously inhibited by design and outcome problems which reflect the stage of development in this area. The main contribution, therefore, is not the value of costs and benefits obtained but the highlighting of research gaps that for the present constrain this type of evaluation.

Since one of the current themes of British government policy concerning health and social service provision is to ensure value for money, then the contribution this study makes to the research agenda is essential for developing community care policy. Future research should consider the development of reliable, robust, and validated instruments with which to measure the impact of respite care on the lives of both client groups (children and carers), a statistically meaningful way to combine the two client group outcomes, and research designs which ensure alternative methods of service delivery can be considered as suitable comparisons.
Functional assessment of near vision in children with profound and multiple handicaps
Authors: Jones Philip R.
Published: August 2010

There has long been concern in terms of the validity of assessing vision in children with profound and multiple handicaps who are developmentally young. The problem is that, in assessing any specific capacity, most assessment tests rely on the integrity of other aspects of development. Also, conventional tests may not produce educationally relevant data or contain material which is intrinsically interesting to children with profound learning difficulties. This paper reviews the issues relating to the assessment of vision in such children, and demonstrates a standard technique for grading near vision using food items of varying size.
Staff training in the management of violence and aggression: 1 – SETTING UP A TRAINING SYSTEM
Authors: McDonnell Andrew , Dearden Bob , Richens Alan
Published: August 2010

This article, the first in a three‐part series, discusses staff training in the management of violence and aggression. It begins by examining the setting conditions required to set up a training course. Training is placed in the context of an organisational system. A most crucial factor in the successful outcome of training is the provision of clear, precise policies and guidelines. The remainder of the article discusses some useful specifications within these policies.
The Great Integration Debate Part 3
Authors: Tyne Alan
Published: August 2010

As a contribution to National Integration Week during 1992, BILD organised a special one day conference to explore the arguments for and against the integration of all children with disabilities into ordinary schools. The Great Integration Debate provided a forum for parents, teachers and other professionals and students who had experienced different forms of special educational provision. The motion under debate was quite simply ‘special schools should be abolished’. The debate created a great deal of interest and it was suggested that the main position of papers might be of interest to a much wider audience than was able to attend on the day. Papers based on other presentations appear in other issues of Mental Handicap.
Web‐Based Non‐Financial Disclosure and Cost of Finance
Authors: Orens Raf , Aerts Walter , Cormier Denis
Published: August 2010

Abstract:  We study the association of Web‐based non‐financial disclosure and a firm's cost of finance within an international context (North America and Continental Europe). We examine voluntary Web placement of non‐financial disclosures using an information index covering a firm's value creation process. We find a negative association between the level of Web‐based non‐financial disclosure and the implied cost of equity capital in North America and in Continental Europe. Continental European firms with higher levels of Web‐based non‐financial disclosure also tend to benefit from a lower information asymmetry and from a lower cost of debt capital, whereas North American firms do not.
The Commoditization of Societal Safety
Authors: Almklov Petter G. , Antonsen Stian
Published: August 2010

New public management has led to major institutional changes in the sectors operating critical infrastructures. The previously integrated utility companies have been dismantled and are now run, regulated and organized more like private entities. This paper proposes two concepts that may aid the analysis of these organizational changes and the consequences they may have on societal safety. Commoditization refers to the process where work is sought transformed into atomistic standardized products to be ordered on a market. Modularization refers to the creation of discrete entities coordinated by market mechanisms and standardized interfaces. We argue that commoditization of work and modularization of organizational entities pose challenges to some of the informal characteristics of high‐reliability organization's, with recognized importance especially for crisis management. This is illustrated by examples from Norwegian electricity network operators.
Between the devil and the deep blue sea: nationality, power and symbolic trade‐offs among evangelical Protestants in contemporary Northern Ireland1
Authors: MITCHELL CLAIRE , TODD JENNIFER
Published: August 2010

ABSTRACT.National identity is a symbolically complex configuration, with shifts of emphasis and reprioritisations of content negotiated in contexts of power. This paper shows how they occur in one post‐conflict situation – Northern Ireland – among some of the most extreme of national actors – evangelical Protestants. In‐depth interviews reveal quite radical shifts in the content of their British identity and in their understanding of and relation to the Irish state, with implications for their future politics. The implications for understanding ethno‐religious nationalism, nationality shifts and the future of Northern Ireland are drawn out.
A Nation‐state without the nation? The trajectories of nation‐formation in Montenegro1
Authors: MALEŠEVIĆ SINIŠA , UZELAC GORDANA
Published: August 2010

ABSTRACT.Following the successful referendum of May 2006, Montenegro became the last of the former Yugoslav republics to opt for an independent state. Only fifteen years earlier, when the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia collapsed, Montenegro was resolute to continue the Yugoslav state‐formation in a union with Serbia. This paper attempts to answer the following questions: Why did it take so much longer for the Montenegrin population to follow the experience of other republics in its decision on independence? How can one explain a staggering change in public opinion on questions of national self‐determination over such a short time‐span? And, finally, what are the dominant discourses of “Montenegrin‐ness”? The authors argue that the answers to these questions are to be found in the particularities of Montenegro's historical development, and especially in the structural legacies of state socialism. The consequence of these developments was the formation of two separate Montenegrin national ideologies: one which sees Montenegrins as ethnically Serb, and the other that defines Montenegrins in civic terms. The paper concludes that these two divergent trajectories of nation‐formation in Montenegro are largely the unintended consequence of intensive state‐building, cultural and political modernisation and, most of all, the gradual politicisation and institutionalisation of high culture.
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE COLOUR OF TURDINE EGGS
Authors: Lack David
Published: August 2010

1. In the Turdinae, colour of eggs is valueless as a guide to classification, since not infrequently a species has eggs that are unlike those of its congeners and like those of a species in a different genus.

2. Instead, certain colours of eggs tend to be associated with certain types of nesting site; species nesting in deep holes tend to have immaculate white eggs; those in shallower holes and niches speckled white, immaculate blue or speckled blue eggs; those on the ground, amid herbage or on ledges obscured brown, grey or olive eggs; those in forks in bushes or trees blotched eggs, often with shadow‐marks, on a whitish or blue ground; those building domed nests immaculate or speckled, white or blue, eggs.

3. The immaculate white eggs of hole‐nesters perhaps result merely from the absence of selection by predators, but more probably are adapted to increase the visibility of the eggs to the parents in a dim light. Obscured brownish or olive eggs are adapted for concealment on the ground or amid herbage. Between these two extremes is a series of species nesting in shallower holes, niches and recesses, in which the eggs are progressively more spotted the more open the nest, suggesting an adaptive gradient, determined primarily by the need for concealing coloration and perhaps also by the need for some degree of visibility to the parents. There is an alternative series in which the eggs are a deeper blue in shallower holes, possibly those in which the nest is screened overhead; immaculate blue eggs also occur in dense low bushes. The blotchings and shadow‐marks on eggs in nests in forks of trees are thought to be cryptic, but why some should have a whitish and others a blue ground colour is not understood.

4. There is no reason to think that the eggs of small passerine birds are warningly coloured.
NEST‐SITE SELECTION, PAIR FORMATION AND TERRITORY IN THE HOUSE‐SPARROW PASSER DOMESTICUS
Authors: Summers‐Smith D.
Published: August 2010

It is shown that once House‐sparrows have bred they normally remain faithful to their mates and nest‐sites for life. Exceptions to this faithfulness to nest‐site may occur in areas where suitable sites are plentiful, when the pair may hold two sites and use these indiscriminately for breeding. Such sites are normally only a few yards apart. Pair formation most frequently occurs by replacement when one bird of an established pair dies. This takes place from February till the end of the breeding season and again in the autumn. First‐year males that do not become paired in this way take up nest‐sites from February onwards, and may then attract young females to pair with them. Bigamy appears to be uncommon. The House‐sparrow is a colonial nester and territorial behaviour is limited to defence of the nest‐site. The factors of importance in these aspects of the life of the House‐sparrow are: sexual dimorphism, sedentary behaviour and the use of fixed sites for nesting. Colonial nesting is considered to have arisen from the bird's feeding habits and sedentary behaviour; it is maintained by the method of pair formation.
LIFE HISTORY OF THE WHITE‐WHISKERED SOFT‐WING MALACOPTILA PANAMENSIS
Authors: Skutch Alexander F.
Published: August 2010

In the rain‐forests of El General, Costa Rica, White‐whiskered Soft‐wings nest from March to July in a short, descending tunnel in slightly sloping ground. The nest chamber is lined with dead leaves on bottom and sides, and a low collar of sticks and petioles surrounds the round aperture in the leaf‐strewn ground.

The two (rarely three) white eggs are incubated by both sexes, the male sitting continuously from the early afternoon until the following dawn, the female taking one long session of five hours or more in the forenoon. Usually each parent quits the burrow before its partner comes in sight, leaving the eggs uncovered for half an hour or more.

The nestlings, blind and completely naked at hatching, remain in the burrow until 20 days old, when they resemble the adults. During their first few days, the male alone broods, staying in the burrow almost constantly, while the female brings all the food, which from the first is delivered at the burrow's mouth. The blind nestlings move up the tunnel to take their meals, certainly from the age of three days onward, and probably on the day of hatching. The male starts to bring food when the young are about six days old and no longer brooded by day, but at all times he brings far less than the female. For the whole period in the nest, feedings averaged less than once per hour for two nestlings.

After nocturnal brooding ceases, the nestlings at nightfall raise up the leaves from the floor to form a screen in front of themselves. They never expose themselves at the burrow's mouth and are habitually silent. Although the parents were not seen to remove droppings, the burrow remains remarkably clean.

In El General, a single brood appears to be raised each year.
RE‐DISCOVERIES OF THE NEW ZEALAND SUBFOSSIL BIRDS NAMED BY H. O. FORBES
Authors: Dawson Elliot W.
Published: August 2010

1. H. O. Forbes briefly described from 1890 to 1893 a number of new species of subfossil birds from the New Zealand Quaternary. The original material on which they were based, long thought to have been destroyed, has been re‐discovered.

2. A preliminary note is offered on the significance of this re‐discovery in relation to descriptions of subfossil birds from co‐eval deposits in New Zealand by subsequent workers.

3. Full details of these and other aspects of Forbes's work will be presented later, and all the proposed changes in nomenclature will be justified.

4. Information regarding H. O. Forbes and the whereabouts of his manuscript journals is sought from anyone who may have known Forbes or his biography.
Breeding ecology of the Sulawesi Red‐Knobbed Hornbill Aceros cassidix
Authors: KINNAIRD MARGARET F. , O'BRIEN TIMOTHY G.
Published: August 2010

Data are presented for a four‐year study of the breeding biology of the Sulawesi Red‐knobbed Hornbill Aceros cassidix. The breeding season normally began in mid‐June and lasted 27–30 weeks. Initiation of nesting appeared to be stimulated by the cessation of the rains and timed such that chicks emerged during a period of fruit abundance. Nesting period averaged 139 days and incubation was estimated at 35–40 days. Females remain sealed in the nest for an average of 108 days and nestlings fledged, on average, 28 davs after the female emerged. Nesting densities were up to 10.4/km2, nesting success was high (up to 80%) and repeated use of nests between years was common. Males delivered a low‐protein diet of ripe fruits (89% of total diet) from 12 families and 52 species; invertebrates composed only 1% of food items. Figs (Ficus spp.) were the primary diet item, accounting for 81% of fruit biomass. Males increased feeding visits throughout the study, but the biomass of fruit delivered declined shortly after the female emerged. Reduced feeding prior to fledging may entice the nestling to emerge. The long developmental period of Sulawesi Red‐knobbed Hornbills may result, in part, from the low protein content of the diet. Despite a 16% annual production, numbers in the study area have remained stable over the past 15 years. It is suggested that high post‐fledging mortality or dispersal to degraded areas outside the reserve maintains population numbers. Distinguishing between these mechanisms is important for understanding the dynamics of hornbill populations.
The decline of raptors in West Africa: long‐term assessment and the role of protected areas
Authors: THIOLLAY JEAN‐MARC
Published: August 2010

Comparative large‐scale roadside counts (8353 km), through Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, conducted in 1969–73, were repeated 30–35 years later with the same observer and methodology and at the same season. The transect was divided into three geographical zones and between protected and unprotected areas. All diurnal raptors were recorded (22 801 individuals), as well as large game birds. Large vultures suffered a dramatic decline (98%) outside protected areas. The Hooded Vulture Necrosyrtes monachus population also collapsed in some regions, but survived in central Burkina Faso. Conversely, their abundance index did not decrease significantly in national parks. Four eagle species decreased by 86–93% and seven were not even recorded in the later study outside protected areas; by contrast, in national parks, only three species had declined marginally. Smaller Accipitridae (kites, goshawks, buzzards) also exhibited significant declines outside but not within national parks where woodland species reached their highest densities. The Common Kestrel Falco tinnunculus, mostly European migrants, declined sharply everywhere. African falcons decreased only outside protected areas. Among Palearctic migrants, Montagu's Circus pygargus and Pallid Harriers C. macrourus decreased significantly, Short‐toed Eagle Circaetus gallicus less markedly, and Marsh Harrier Circus aeruginosus and Booted Eagle Hieraaetus pennatus not at all. Similar trends had previously been documented in Cameroon. They are associated with human population growth and development, global habitat degradation and ecosystem impoverishment (woodcutting, agricultural intensification, overgrazing, desertification). Heavy use of pesticides, control of locust outbreaks and overhunting have suppressed major food sources. Vultures may suffer from a shortage of carcasses, poisoning for predator control or persecution for trade of meat and body parts. Protected areas play a prominent role in the maintenance of vulture and eagle populations, even though they currently cover less than 2% of the Sudan zone and are virtually absent in the Sahel.
Non‐lethal effects of predation in birds
Authors: CRESSWELL WILL
Published: August 2010

Predators can affect individual fitness and population and community processes through lethal effects (direct consumption or ‘density’ effects), where prey is consumed, or through non‐lethal effects (trait‐mediated effects or interactions), where behavioural compensation to predation risk occurs, such as animals avoiding areas of high predation risk. Studies of invertebrates, fish and amphibians have shown that non‐lethal effects may be larger than lethal effects in determining the behaviour, condition, density and distribution of animals over a range of trophic levels. Although non‐lethal effects have been well described in the behavioural ecology of birds (and also mammals) within the context of anti‐predation behaviour, their role relative to lethal effects is probably underestimated. Birds show many behavioural and physiological changes to reduce direct mortality from predation and these are likely to have negative effects on other aspects of their fitness and population dynamics, as well as affecting the ecology of their own prey and their predators. As a consequence, the effects of predation in birds are best measured by trade‐offs between maximizing instantaneous survival in the presence of predators and acquiring or maintaining resources for long‐term survival or reproduction. Because avoiding predation imposes foraging costs, and foraging behaviour is relatively easy to measure in birds, the foraging–predation risk trade‐off is probably an effective framework for understanding the importance of non‐lethal effects, and so the population and community effects of predation risk in birds and other animals. Using a trade‐off approach allows us to predict better how changes in predator density will impact on population and community dynamics, and how animals perceive and respond to predation risk, when non‐lethal effects decouple the relationship between predator density and direct mortality rate. The trade‐off approach also allows us to identify where predation risk is structuring communities because of avoidance of predators, even when this results in no observable direct mortality rate.
Overgrazing effects on vegetation cover and properties of volcanic ash soil in the páramo of Llangahua and La Esperanza (Tungurahua, Ecuador)
Authors: Podwojewski P. , Poulenard J. , Zambrana T. , Hofstede R.
Published: August 2010

Abstract. The páramo is a high‐altitude ecosystem of the northern Andes. The vegetation is continuous, with grasses as the dominant groundcover. Because of their high water retention, páramos play a fundamental role in water availability for all the population of the inter‐Andean valleys. There are many studies of this specific ecosystem, but very few are focussed on overgrazing and its effect on vegetation and soil properties. Intensive grazing started less than 20 years ago and was studied in a representative area in the western Cordillera of central Ecuador covered by recent volcanic ash deposits. Intensive sheep grazing has led to a strong decline in the number of plant species, the replacement of the tussock grass vegetation by a short carpet grass vegetation, and an increase of bare land. In that area, the upper 50 cm of Andisols are deeply affected by a convergent decrease of Al and Fe oxalate and pyrophosphate in soil extracts, carbon contents decrease from 100 g kg–1 to less than 50 g kg–1 in the humid zone, from 70 to 40 g kg–1 in the dry zone and a reduction of water‐retention capacity at −33 kPa matrix potential from 800 g kg–1 to 200 g kg–1 in humid zones, from 350 to less than 100 g kg–1 in drier areas. They showed also a decrease in the macrostructure and the development of a highly water repellent microstructure. All these important transformations favour the development of aeolian erosion in dry areas, runoff on bare surfaces, and gully erosion on slopes. The role of the páramo in water‐regulation of this ecosystem seems to have been adversely affected for the future.
Carbon and nitrogen stocks in the soils of Central and Eastern Europe
Authors: Batjes N.H.
Published: August 2010

Abstract. Soil organic carbon and total nitrogen stocks are presented for Central and Eastern Europe. The study uses the soil geographic and attribute data held in a 1:2 500 000 scale Soil and Terrain (SOTER) database, covering Belarus, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Poland, Romania, the Russian Federation (west of the Urals), Slovakia, and Ukraine. Means and coefficients of variation for soil organic carbon and total nitrogen are presented for each major FAO soil grouping. The mean content of organic carbon, to a depth of 1 m, ranges from 3.9 kg C m–2 for coarse textured Arenosols to 72.9 kg C m–2 for poorly drained Histosols. Mean carbon content for the mineral soils, excluding Arenosols, is 15.8 kg C m–2. The top 1 m of soil holds 110 Pg C (Pg=1015 g), which corresponds to about 7% of the global stock of soil organic carbon. About 44% of this carbon pool is held in the top 0.3 m of the soil, the layer that is most prone to be changed by changes in soil use and management. About 166 million ha in Central and Eastern Europe have been degraded by compaction, erosion of topsoil, fertility decline and crusting. The achievable level of carbon sequestration for these soils, upon adoption of ‘best’ management practices or restorative measures, is estimated.
Effects of vegetation cover on the tendency of soil to crust in South Africa
Authors: Mills A.J. , Fey M.V.
Published: August 2010

Abstract.Tendency to crust is a potentially useful index for assessing soil degradation and for assisting land use planning in South Africa. In this study, the influence of land use, geology and vegetation cover on the tendency of soil to form a surface crust was investigated in six vegetation types. Crusting at all sites was greater in exposed soils than soils under vegetation, as determined by infiltration rate, water dispersible clay and modulus of rupture. In Renosterveld, crusting was markedly greater in exposed soil than vegetation covered soil (mean infiltration 16 vs 44 mm h−1; dispersible clay 2.6 vs 2.2%; modulus of rupture 121 vs 64 kPa). Greater crusting in exposed soil was attributed to lower soluble salt and labile carbon (C) contents and an associated increase in the dispersion of clay. In Karoo, crusting of exposed, shale‐derived soils was greater than that of exposed, dolerite‐derived soils (infiltration 40 vs 83 mm h−1; dispersible clay 2 vs 1.2%), and a similar pattern was evident in Tall Grassveld (infiltration 18 vs 36 mm h−1; dispersible clay 1.2 vs 0.9%; modulus of rupture 31 vs 21 kPa). In Upland Grassland, cultivation of maize and rye enhanced crusting. In Thicket, crusting was greater in soils from open, degraded vegetation than intact, densely wooded sites (infiltration 19 vs 51 mm h−1; modulus of rupture 16 vs 34 kPa), probably due to lower content of soil C. In Bushveld, crusting was greater in annually burnt plots than unburnt plots (infiltration 109 vs 163 mm h−1; dispersible clay 0.9 vs 0.6% on granite‐derived soils; and infiltration 56 vs 72 mm h−1; dispersible clay 1.5 vs 1.3% on basalt‐derived soils). Greater crusting of soil from burnt plots was ascribed to a reduction in soil C and soluble salts as well as a greater exchangeable sodium percentage.
Incomes, Incentives and the Growth of Means‐Testing in Hungary
Authors: Redmond Gerry
Published: August 2010

The purpose of this paper is to examine the reform of family benefits and the growth of means‐testing in Hungary. From 1996, many family benefits were means‐tested for the first time. A new microsimulation model for Hungary, running on recent survey microdata, is used to simulate the impact of the 1996 reforms on government expenditures, the distribution of incomes, the targeting of benefits and effective marginal tax rates. These reforms are found to be largely benign and even progressive, but they also appear to be paving the way for the further extension of means‐testing. The model is used to investigate such an extension by simulating the impact of a UK‐style system of means‐tested family benefits in Hungary. This system achieves some expenditure savings and better targeting of benefits, but also greatly increases effective marginal tax rates on low‐income households with children. The paper argues that resulting poverty traps may increase child poverty in Hungary in the longer term and cautions against the overextension of means‐testing.
Poor Kids: trends in Child Poverty in Britain, 1968–96
Authors: Gregg Paul , Harkness Susan , Machin Stephen
Published: August 2010

According to Family Expenditure Survey (FES) data, child poverty (with a poverty line defined at half mean equivalised household income) has risen markedly in Britain in the last 30 years. By 1995–96, around one in three ‐ or 4.3 million ‐ children were living in poor households. This compares with child poverty rates of one in ten, corresponding to 1.4 million children, in 1968.

The employment position of the household is seen to be important, with over half of poor children in 1995–96 living in households with no adults in work. If an absolute, rather than a relative, poverty line is utilised, child poverty remains stagnant since the late 1970s, following a period of rapid decline from 1968, despite considerable rises in average living standards. This reveals that the income position of households with children has been falling relative to that of childless households over time. Finally, looking at expenditure patterns and comparing their trends with income‐based poverty measures tends to reinforce these findings.
The Readability of Australia's Taxation Laws and Supplementary Materials: An Empirical Investigation
Authors: Smith David , Richardson Grant
Published: August 2010

‘Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler.’

Albert Einstein

Australian taxation law has been criticised for many years for its difficulty to read and understand. The Tax Law Improvement Project (TLIP) was established in December 1993 to rewrite in plain language Australia's income tax legislation. The primary purpose of this study is to test empirically the effectiveness of attempts at simplifying the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 as amended. The study utilises empirical measures in analysing the level of readability of Australia's taxation laws. In doing so, it builds on earlier research, which applied similar methods in examining the New Zealand taxation simplification process. It was found that the sections of Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 sampled were slightly more readable than corresponding sections of Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 as amended, which is consistent with Wallschutzky's (1995) findings. Nevertheless, the results fall well short of acceptable bench‐marks, suggesting that the goal of simplification has not been achieved.
The Internationalisation of UK R&D
Authors: Bloom Nicholas , Griffith Rachel
Published: August 2010

Policies to promote research and development (R&D) are high on the government's agenda. R&D and innovation are seen as key drivers of economic growth and important for raising UK productivity. This paper considers recent trends in UK R&D performance. We show that UK R&D is more internationalised than that of other G5 countries and is becoming increasingly so at a faster rate. A rising share of UK R&D is funded from abroad and UK firms are undertaking more of their R&D overseas. Using an international panel of countries, we show that R&D in one country responds to a change in the price in another ‘competitor’ country. This suggests that UK innovation policies could play an important role in determining whether increasingly footloose R&D locates in the UK or moves overseas.
From Micro to Macro: Public Polices and Aggregate Economic Performance
Authors: Besley Timothy
Published: August 2010

This paper provides an overview of the link between policy and economic growth. It stresses that while growth, as measured and discussed, is a macroeconomic phenomenon, the best available evidence of policy effectiveness is typically from studies using micro data. It also reiterates the message that divergence between private and social returns is a key part of the evidence needed to discuss what kinds of policy intervention are desirable.
Does an employer training levy work? The incidence of and returns to adult vocational training in France and Britain
Authors: Greenhalgh Christine
Published: August 2010

We examine two different policy regimes towards continuing vocational training for the adult workforce: policy in France has been interventionist, using an employer training levy since the 1970s, whereas British policy has relied largely on individual initiatives for training investment by employers and workers.

We begin with a review of the theory of vocational training, indicating why market failure and underprovision are the likely outcome and signalling types of corrective policy that might be adopted. We set up hypotheses about the likely impact of policy in France relative to Britain to provide a framework for evaluation. We present a detailed comparison of the two systems in observed training incidence and the returns to training captured by workers and employers, drawing on a wide range of econometric studies. We conclude with an assessment of the employer training levy in France and suggest ways it could be modified if adopted in Britain.
Trends in British public investment
Authors: Clark Tom , Elsby Mike , Love Sarah
Published: August 2010

British public investment has declined sharply both as a share of GDP and as a share of government spending since the 1970s. Only part of this decline is explained by privatisation, which transferred some public investment to the private sector. More important was the very large and permanent reduction in public house‐building between the mid‐1970s and the early 1980s. Between the late 1980s and the early 1990s, the rate of public investment recovered somewhat, but after that time it declined again, reaching a record low in 1999. The most recent decline in public investment has affected a range of central government programmes, and it has not been significantly offset by investment under the Private Finance Initiative. The government now plans to increase investment spending, although levels look set to remain low by historical standards for some time to come.
The economic costs and benefits of UK defence exports
Authors: Chalmers Malcolm , Davies Neil V. , Hartley Keith , Wilkison Chris
Published: August 2010

This study examines the economic costs and benefits to the UK of a 50 per cent cut in UK defence exports from the average level of 1998 and 1999. The net impact on the government budget is estimated to be an ongoing loss of between around £40 million and £100 million a year: around 0.2–0.4 per cent of the total UK defence budget. In addition, there is estimated to be a one‐off net adjustment cost, spread over five years, of between £0.9 billion and £1.4 billion. A further more speculative adjustment cost (estimated at around £1.1 billion) could result if the loss of income associated with the ‘terms‐of‐trade£ effect were also included. In terms of the wider debate about defence exports, the results of this study suggest first that the economic effects of the reduction in defence exports are relatively small and largely one‐off, and secondly that the balance of arguments about UK defence exports should be determined mainly by non‐economic factors.
Social security in the UK under New Labour: what did the Third Way mean for welfare reform?
Authors: Brewer Mike , Clark Tom , Wakefield Matthew
Published: August 2010

In 1997, the Labour Party was elected in the UK with few explicitly articulated ideas about social security reforms. This paper reviews the large number of subsequent reforms to social security, and argues that some consistent themes have emerged. A commitment to keep to the tight spending plans of the previous, Conservative, administration left little scope for increases in benefit spending during the first two years in office. Since that time, increases in the generosity of some social security programmes have been directed towards achieving certain goals. An emphasis on encouraging paid work has been a consistent theme, whilst aims of reducing poverty rates for children and pensioners have been emphasised since 1999. Spending to achieve these goals has often been directed through means‐tested programmes, and there has been a related weakening of the link between paid National Insurance contributions and benefit entitlements. It remains to be seen whether reforms to the process of income assessment will increase take‐up.
An Economic Analysis of the UK Landfill Permits Scheme
Authors: Barrow Michael
Published: August 2010

The UK will introduce in 2004 a system of tradable permits for the landfill of municipal waste, in response to an EU directive setting limits on such activity. Tradable permits are becoming an increasingly popular method of dealing with some environmental issues — for example, sulphur dioxide (SO2) emissions in the USA. This paper describes the background to the landfill proposals and provides an analysis of how the permit system might work. Estimates are made of the possible savings in compliance costs of a permit system compared with a conventional ‘command–and–control’ approach. These estimates are subject to a considerable degree of uncertainty, related to factors discussed in the paper.
Inequality and two decades of British tax and benefit reforms
Authors: Clark Tom , Leicester Andrew
Published: August 2010

Microsimulation methods are used to identify the contribution of tax and benefit reforms to the significant growth in UK income inequality since 1979. The total effect turns out to depend crucially on the counterfactual against which the reforms are assessed: compared with the alternative of pure price‐indexation, the total effect of reform is small; by contrast, compared with a counterfactual in which benefits rose in line with national income (historically the case before 1979), the effect is substantial – approximately half the total rise in income inequality is explained. The impact of reforms on inequality has varied significantly over time: income tax cuts in the late 1970s and late 1980s increased inequality; direct tax rises in the early 1980s and 1990s, together with increases in means‐tested benefits in the late 1990s, reduced it. The robustness of the results to sampling variation and to the measure of inequality used is also investigated.
Fiscal Policy, Business Cycles and Economic Stabilisation: Evidence from Industrialised and Developing Countries*
Authors: Lee Young , Sung Taeyoon
Published: August 2010

This paper empirically investigates the responsiveness of fiscal policy to business cycles and the effectiveness of fiscal policy in reducing economic fluctuations. From regressions on the responsiveness of fiscal policy to business cycles, we find that the government's current expenditures and subsidies & transfers move counter‐cyclically, whereas taxes and capital expenditures move pro‐cyclically. Using economic fluctuations in neighbouring countries as an instrumental variable, we show that ordinary least squares (OLS) estimates understate the responsiveness of fiscal policy to economic fluctuations. We also find that fiscal policy responds asymmetrically over economic fluctuations. In investigating the effectiveness of fiscal policy in reducing economic fluctuations, we mitigate omitted variable bias by adding four important factors ‐ military expenditures, oil production, economic fluctuations in neighbouring countries and fiscal policy responsiveness to business cycles. The results of effectiveness regressions are consistent with the responsiveness regressions, highlighting the importance of current expenditures, especially subsidies and transfers, in responding to business cycles and stabilising the economy.
Government Expenditures and Economic Growth: The Supply and Demand Sides*
Authors: Mo Pak Hung
Published: August 2010

This paper uses a new approach to estimate how government expenditures affect the growth rate of real GDP. They affect the growth rate through three channels ‐ total factor productivity, investment and aggregate demand. We find that apart from government investment, all government expenditures have negative marginal effects on productivity and GDP growth. In particular, a 1 percentage point increase in the share of government consumption in GDP reduces the equilibrium GDP growth rate by 0.216 percentage points, while the same increase in government investment raises the growth rate by 0.167 percentage points. This suggests that a reallocation of 1 percentage point of government consumption to government investment can raise the growth rate by 0.38 percentage points.
Studies in Viscose Rayon Dyeing: Applications of the Dyeometer
Authors: Royer G. L. , McCleary H. R. , Bruyne J. M. A. De
Published: August 2010

A quantitative study has been made of viscose rayon dyeing as affected by (1) rayon manufacturing variations and (2) variations in dyeing conditions. A new instrument called the Dyeometer was used to obtain the dyeing data; this instrument is useful for making accurate measurements of exhaustion at all stages of a dyeing. From the data for the early portion of dyeing, the quantity “initial dyeing rate” has been calculated. This value has been introduced to provide a numerical basis for a quantitative comparison of dyeing rates. The percentage equilibrium exhaustion, the time necessary to reach 90% of equilibrium exhaustion, and the initial dyeing rate have been used to characterise dyeing Curves.

The rayon manufacturing variations studied were— filament size, godet stretch, viscose age, skin structure, degree of polymerisation, delustrant, and presence of gas bubbles in the filaments. The dyeing conditions studied were— salt concentration, type of salt, yarn weight, temperature, and dye concentration. The results of these studies have been discussed and some of the practical aspects related to rayon dyeing have been pointed out.
Paper Chromatography of Synthetic Dyes
Authors: Brown J. C.
Published: August 2010

Meetings of the West Riding Section held at the Griffin Hotel, Leeds, on 11th February 1960, Mr. J. Rankin in the chair; of the Scottish Section held at the St. Enoch Hotel, Glasgow, on 23rd February 1960, Mr. J. G. B, McCallum in the chair; of the Leeds Junior Branch held at The University, Leeds, on 1st March 1960. Mr. B. C. Burdett in the chair; of the Huddersfield Section held jointly with the Huddersfield Section of the Royal Institute of Chemistry at Silvio's Cafe, Huddersfield, on 8th March 1960, Mr. G. H. Binns in the chair; and of the Scottish Junior Branch held at the Paisley Technical College on 16th March 1960, Mr. C. McNeil in the chair

The general techniques of paper chromatography are outlined and specific examples of suitable methods for disperse, acid, direct and metal‐complex dyes are given. Methods of extracting dyes from various textile fibres are given. The complex nature of many commercial dyes is discussed in relation to methods of manufacture.