bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Optimization of a Priority List Algorithm for 3‐D Rendering of Buildings
Authors: Morer Paz , Alonso Alejandro M. Garcia , Flaquer Juan
Published: March 2003

Architectural scenes usually have some peculiar properties, like parallel surfaces, symmetry, instantiation, easy clustering, etc. These properties can be used by visualization algorithms in order to improve the solution of the hidden surface removal problem.

This paper presents some practical implementation policies for the binary space partition algorithm proposed by Fuchs. They take advantage of the characteristics found in architectural scenes. These suggestions help to minimize both the time needed to build the tree and the memory space used. Five optimization techniques are presented and applied to fourteen architectural scenes.
Domain Extension of Isothetic Polyhedra with Minimal CSG Representation
Authors: Arinyo Robert Juan
Published: March 2003

We consider the problem of converting boundary representations of isothetic polyhedra into constructive solid geometry (CSG) representations. The CSG representation is a boolean formula based on the half‐spaces supporting the faces of the polyhedron. This boolean formula exhibits two important features: no term is complemented (it is monotone) and each supporting half‐space appears in the formula once and only once. It is known that such formulas do not always exist for general polyhedra in the three‐dimensional space. In this work first we give a procedure that extends the domain of polyhedra for which such a nice representation can be computed. Then we prove that not all cyclic isothetic polyhedra have a CSG representation of the style given above.
Animation of Human Diving
Authors: Wooten Wayne L. , Hodgins Jessica K.
Published: March 2003

The motion of a human platform diver was simulated using a dynamic model and a control system. The dynamic model has 32 actuated degrees of freedom and dynamic parameters within the range of those reported in the literature for humans. The control system uses algorithms for balance, jumping, and twisting to initiate the dive, sequences of desired values for proportional‐derivative servos to perform the aerial portion of the dice, and a state machine to sequence the actions throughout the dice. The motion of the simulated diver closely resembles video footage of dices performed by human athletes. The control and simulation techniques presented in this paper are useful for providing realistic motion for synthetic actors in computer animations and virtual environments and may some day be useful for analysis of sports performance.
Fitting Triangular B‐Splines to Functional Scattered Data
Authors: Pfeifle Ron , Seidel Hans‐Peter
Published: March 2003

Scattered data is, by definition, irregularly spaced. Uniform surface schemes are not well adapted to the locally varying nature of such data. Conversely, Triangular B‐Spline surfaces 2 are more flexible in that they can be built over arbitrary triangulations and thus can be adapted to the scattered data.

This paper discusses the use of DMS spline surfaces for approximation of scattered data. A method is provided for automatically triangulating the domain containing the points and generating basis functions over this triangulation. A surface approximating the data is then found by a combination of least squares and bending energy minimization. This combination serves both to generate a smooth surface and to accommodate for gaps in the data. Examples are presented which demonstrate the eftectiveness of the technique for mathematical, geographical and other data sets.
Three‐Dimensional Modeling and Effects on Still Images
Authors: Zakait Yaron , Rappoport Ari
Published: March 2003

Designers and creative artists use computer graphics and image processing effects on stall photographs in application areas such as advertising entertainment broadcasting and the arts Most of the effects available in research arid commercial work are two‐dimensional in nature, for example image processing filters [blur, edge enhancement) and creative effects (tilings, reflections) There is almost no usage of information taken from the 3‐D world in which the objects appearing an the image are located.

In this paper we present a novel method for creating 3‐D effects on photographs or in general on any image created by rendering a 3‐D world The artist interacts with the image using a set of intuitive direct manipulation interface objects These objects let the user define a 3‐D model, display at, and manipulate it in a 3‐D space which is correlated with that of the input image.

The generated model can be an arbitrarily complex 3‐D polyhedron Any texture, including texture taken from the input photograph, can be mapped into any of its faces arid used for special effects We discuss and show examples for effects such as copy and paste, motion blur, model editing and deformations lighting effects, and shadows.
Automatic Generation of Multiresolution Boundary Representations
Authors: Andújar C. , Ayala D. , Brunet P. , Arinyo R. Joan , Solé J.
Published: March 2003

The paper focuses on automatic simplification algorithms for the generation of a multiresolution family of solid models from an initial boundary representation of a polyhedral solid. An algorithm for general polyhedra based on an intermediate octree representation is proposed. Simplified elements of the multiresolution family approximate the initial solid within increasing tolerances. A discussion among different octree‐based simplification methods and the standard marching cubes algorithm is presented.
Special Effects with Half‐Toning
Authors: Buchanan John W.
Published: March 2003

Half‐toning is the process by which gray‐scale images are approximated with sets of black and white pixels. The process works because our eyes perceive a local average, thus half‐toning seeks to approximate the local average. Ideally this approximation should be accomplished without introducing ‘undesirable’ artifacts.

In many situations the stylized display of images is desired. Often this stylized display is accomplished by the addition of semi‐structured artifacts. In current applications the designer processes the image using tools provided by some image processing package. The resulting image is then half‐toned and printed. Half‐toning these processed images can reduce the visual impact of the special effects that have been introduced in the image.

In this paper we show that the processes of controlled artifact introduction and half‐toning can successfully be combined. By combining these two processes we ensure that the printed image is what the designer intended. We present a brief overview of the current error‐diffusion half‐toning techniques. We then propose several ways in which artifacts can be introduced to the image. This discussion is accompanied by a set of illustrative images.

In particular, we discuss the introduction of false edges and the alteration of the scan pattern. We illustrate these techniques with a variety of images.

We conclude the paper with a discussion on these new half‐toning methods for the generation of binary gray‐scale textures. In addition to showing how to generate these binary gray‐scale textures we also show how these gray‐scale textures can be used to half‐tone images.
Physically‐Based Deformations Constrained in Displacements and Volume
Authors: Promayon E. , Baconnier P. , Puech C.
Published: March 2003

This paper presents a method of constraining physically‐based deformable objects. In this method, an object can be defined locally in terms of kinetic and dynamic (mass, position, speed), and physical parameters (compressibility, elasticity, motor functioning). Several problems are solved: constant volume deformation, displacement constraints (fixed or moving required positions), and real object modelling. An object is described by a set of mass points on its contour. The evolution algorithm runs in two phases dealing successively with forces and constraints (which are presented as reaction forces).

The main contribution of the method is the control of object volumes during evolution. We define a function that explicitly gives the inside volume of an object in order to use it as a constraint. Thus, the volume can be kept exactly constant during deformation without using an iterative process, in opposition to lagrangian approaches. Some results are illustrated by examples at the end of the paper.
CCD‐Camera Based Optical Beacon Tracking for Virtual and Augmented Reality
Authors: Madritsch Franz , Gervautz Michael
Published: March 2003

We introduce a scheme for optical beacon tracking using two CCD‐cameras and LED beacons. Due to the sub‐pixel accuracy of the beacon detection algorithm a very high precision can be achieved so that the tracking method is suitable for augmented reality applications. We describe the assembly of the equipment needed for the whole tracking system, the behavior of LED‐beacons, and how three beacons can be combined to form a 6‐DOF tracker. A report on our accuracy evaluation and its results are given. Furthermore we describe two application prototypes in which the tracker was incorporated and tested.
Reusable Radiosity Objects
Authors: Ouhyoung Ming , Chuang Yung‐Yu , Liang Rung‐Huei
Published: March 2003

Because of the view independence and photo realistic image generation in a diffuse environment, radiosity is suitable for an interactive walk through system. The drawback of radiosity is that it is time‐consuming in form factor estimation, and furthermore, inserting, deleting or moving an object makes the whole costly rendering process repeat itself. To solve this problem, we encapsulate necessary information for form factor calculation and visibility estimation in each object, which is called a reusable radiosity object. An object is defined as a cluster or clusters of triangles. Whenever a scene updates, the radiosity algorithm looks up the prestored information in each object, thus speeding itself up by two orders of magnitude. Besides, solution time based on cluster representatives is linear to the number of objects since each object is reusable, encapsulated with preprocessed data in every level of hierarchy. We also analyze the unregarded error on visibility estimation and propose a statistically optimal adaptive algorithm to maintain the same error for each link.
Interactive Rendering of CSG Models
Authors: Wiegand T. E
Published: March 2003

We describe a CSG rendering algorithm that requires no evaluation of the CSG tree beyond normalization and pruning. It renders directly from the normalized CSG tree and primitives described (to the graphics system) by their facetted boundaries. It behaves correctly in the presence of user defined, “near” and “far” clipping planes. It has been implemented on standard graphics workstations using Iris GL1 and Open GL2 graphics libraries. Modestly sized models can be evaluated and rendered at interactive (less than a second per frame) speeds. We have combined the algorithm with an existing B‐rep based modeller to provide interactive rendering of incremental updates to large models.
Auditing, Accounting and Supervision in the European Charitable Sector
Authors: Palmer Paul
Published: March 2003

In this paper we first describe recent developments which have seen the emergence of a stronger regulatory structure for United Kingdom charities. Secondly, we outline the radical proposal to change the financial accounting practices of charities. These proposals are designed to provide the financial criteria for monitoring and ensuring greater accountability of charities. Finally we question what effect will these changes have had on the rest of the European charitable sector? How different is the ‘British Model’ from other European countries? Will other European States follow the ‘British Model’? Or has the ‘British Model’ lessons it could learn from its partner states? To effect an answer we illustrate from our recent survey the current audit, accounting and supervision practices in the other European Union States with the exception of Greece.
Assessing Directors’ Core Competencies – the Case of the Mass Transit Railway Corporation, Hong Kong
Authors: Tricker R.I. (Bob) , Lee Kelly
Published: March 2003

In 1993 the Executive Board of the Mass Transit Railway Corporation (MTRC) in Hong Kong approved the implementation of a corporate wide manpower and succession planning process. Succession at executive director level was identified as a priority. It was recognised that it would be necessary to identify and assess skills appropriate to company ‘direction’ as distinct from ‘management’ in order to proceed with succession planning at director level and to identify director training and development needs.

Two crucial questions emerged: was it possible to identify the core competencies that are required by executive directors? If so, could those competencies be measured and assessed objectively? The experiences of the MTRC in identifying director competencies and in designing, validating and implementing the assessment process during 1994 and 1995 suggests that they can. Their experience forms the basis of this paper.

The relatively sparse literature on the identification of director‐level competencies is discussed. The competencies identified by the MTRC are outlined. The development of assessment centres, which are widely used to assess core competencies in managerial and professional roles, is then explained. Finally, the experience of the MTRC in extending the use of assessment centres to appraise board‐level governance rather than managerial competencies is described and conclusions drawn.
Director Remuneration: a gap in the disclosure rules
Authors: Ward Martin
Published: March 2003

As a result of the recommendations of the Greenbury Committee on directors remuneration, UK listed companies must now disclose information in the annual report and accounts additional to that required by legislation. Nevertheless this paper shows that a loophole still exists regarding disclosure of specific remuneration packages for each executive director. Remuneration for outside directorships can be paid directly to the director concerned or to the company releasing them. The majority of annual reports remain silent on this matter, but where the director receives the payment there is no legal or listing obligation for its disclosure by the releasing company.
Corporate Governance, Accountability and Enterprise
Authors: Short H. , Keasey K. , Hull A. , Wright M.
Published: March 2003

A system of corporate governance requires that a board of directors be accountable, while allowing the board to create wealth for the shareholders of the company. While recognising these twin objectives of a system of good corporate governance, the Cadbury Report's recommendations were directed towards issues of control and accountability. This has led to accusations that the emphasis on corporate accountability risks damaging the spirit of enterprise necessary for commercial and economic success. Given that the discussion concerning accountability and enterprise to date has been to a large degree anecdotal, the purpose of this paper is to offer a thorough review of the available evidence and arguments. In particular, the paper considers whether the present system of corporate governance operating in the UK, with its emphasis on market solutions and monitoring by non‐executive directors, allows the goals of accountability and enterprise to be jointly achieved. The paper concludes that a far greater understanding of the links between governance mechanisms and their effects on accountability and enterprise is required, in order to ensure that measures to increase accountability do not have unforeseen effects on the enterprise activities of the corporation.
Power Dimensions in the Board and Outside Director Independence: Evidence from large industrial UK firms
Authors: Udueni Henry
Published: March 2003

This paper examines the independence of outside directors in large UK corporations. It also establishes the presence of different power dimensions in British Boards. The evidence from the study suggests that while the proportion of outside directors is about 48% (consistent with previous studies), only 40% could be regarded as semi‐independent with less than 20% of them truly independent. Using the analytical schema of Finkelstein (1992), the paper found reliable, valid and stable objective estimates of structural, ownership and prestige power in the board of 180 large UK industrial firms (1750 directors) from 28 sectors. The findings have strong implications for the operationalisation and measurement of board composition and structure in empirical work. The study (by incorporating CEO influence on director’s appointment process) offers wide ranging opportunities for examining if board composition and outside director independence matters. Hypotheses that test if the CEO influence of the nomination process affect board independence could be examined. The reliable and valid objective estimates of power in the board will facilitate the consideration of power dynamics (presently largely ignored) in empirical works investigating the performance effect of the board. Finally, the power dimension factors discovered serves as useful solution to the problem of multicollinearity in regression methods employing several governance mechanisms as explanatory variables.
The Impact of Board Changes on Shareholder Wealth: some UK evidence
Authors: Fox Alan , Opong Kwaku
Published: March 2003

This paper examines the impact of the entry and exit of board of directors on the share price of United Kingdom listed firms. Unlike previous studies in the area, this study distinguishes between the different type of board changes. The results of the study suggest that changes in the composition of management boards affect shareholders wealth. Small but significant positive abnormal returns are experienced on the day of the announcement. The results also indicate that the informational effects of new appointments are perceived differently by the market from resignations from the management board.
Institutional Investors’ Views on Corporate Governance Reform: policy recommendations for the 21st century
Authors: Solomon Jill , Solomon Aris , Joseph Nathan , Norton Simon
Published: March 2003

Growing interest in UK corporate governance has engendered research on specific issues of corporate governance reform. However, there seems to be little research on the more general impact of recent reforms in corporate governance. In this paper we employ an extensive postal questionnaire survey to investigate: (i) UK institutional investors’ general attitudes towards recent corporate governance reforms; (ii) whether UK institutional investors consider specific corporate governance initiatives to be of equal importance, and; (iii) whether all institutional investors represent a homogeneous group with respect to corporate governance reform. The empirical results indicate that institutional investors: (i) have generally welcomed the recent reforms; (ii) do not consider that specific corporate governance initiatives are equally important but attach more relevance to initiatives aimed at monitoring the principal/agent problem, and; (iii) may be treated as a homogeneous group, except in relation to voting policy, where pension funds appear more pro‐active in their approach than other groups.
Factors Associated with the Development of Board Sub–committees
Authors: Carson Elizabeth
Published: March 2003

This study examines the factors associated with the presence of board sub–committees, specifically audit, remuneration and nomination committees. Factors which are hypothesised in this study to affect sub–committee presence are Big 6 auditors, non–executive directors, non–executive chairmen, number of intercorporate relationships of the board and shareholder type. Company size, number of board members and leverage are employed as control variables as suggested by earlier research.

An analysis of board sub–committees in the Australian corporate environment is relevant to other jurisdictions as there are no mandatory requirements on either board composition or board sub–committees. There is, however, a mandatory requirement to disclose corporate governance practices which allows for a study of this type to be reliably conducted. A sample of 361 Australian companies drawn from the largest 500 public companies is employed.

Audit committee presence is found to be positively associated with Big 6 auditors and the number of intercorporate relationships of the directors of the board. Remuneration committees are also found to be associated with Big 6 auditors and intercorporate relationships and also higher levels of institutional investment. The presence of nomination committees is not associated with auditors, directors or investors, but is associated with board size and leverage. The study concludes that audit committees are a highly developed and mature governance mechanism, and that remuneration committees can be classed as a developing and maturing structure whilst nomination committees are relatively immature.
Global Production and Global Consumption: Designing Organisations and Networks for the Next Century
Authors: Little Stephen
Published: March 2003

Globalisation has increased the significance of intellectual capital leveraged by the information and communication technologies on which it depends. Ultimately global production, distribution and consumption forces a shift in focus towards the end of the production chain where product differentiation and customer support can be used to maintain demand for goods and services. However, development is not uniform, specific markets and specific technologies are at different points in the cycle of growth, maturity and decline, rapid growth at favoured locations also creates regional imbalances within regions and nation states. The organisations and alliances which comprise the global production system must deliver continuous innovation at the cutting edge while ensuring effective diffusion of more mature technologies. Often available infrastructure and skills cannot support full integration into the global economy. While such problems may be most marked within the rapidly development in countries such as China, they exist to some extent in all economies.

The stresses inherent in this emerging global system of have been highlighted by the current difficulties of the East Asian economies. The tight coupling of the system propagates the diverse problems of these individual nation states across the globe. This paper argues that globalisation undermines the separation of manufacturing and service activities and the distinction between products and services and examines the emergence of strategies and alliances across regional and organisational boundaries with a model derived from design management.
Function‐Oriented Creative Group Problem Solving
Authors: Sik‐wah Fong Patrick
Published: March 2003

This paper presents the concept of Value Management (VM) – a creative group problem solving technique that has been in use for 50 years and is still gaining in popularity and momentum. The differences between creative problem solving and value management processes are examined. Function analysis – the element that makes VM different from other traditional problem solving methods is examined in great detail. The paper reviews the use of function analysis to define the objectives of a product, project or service. In doing so, unnecessary costs will be removed and better designs or decisions can be made. Since a VM study will capture the input of a wide range of stakeholders, including end‐users of products, services and facilities, planners, designers and other decision‐makers, this group problem solving technique should have a higher degree of acceptance and implementation rate. A real life case study has been used to illustrate the group dynamics and processes involved in a value management study.
Ideal Standards in Close Relationships
Authors: Fletcher Garth J.O. , Simpson Jeffry A.
Published: March 2003

This article describes the Ideals Standards Model, which deals with the content and functions of partner and relationship ideals in intimate relationships. This model proposes that there are three distinct categories of partner ideals (warmth-loyalty, vitality-attractiveness, and status-resources), and that ideals have three distinct functions (evaluation, explanation, and regulation). The model also explains how perceived discrepancies between ideals and perceptions of one's current partner or relationship can have different consequences, depending on which of two motivating forces is active (the need to see the partner or relationship positively or the need to be accurate). Recent empirical studies that support some of the main features of the model are described.
Ethnicity-Related Sources of Stress and Their Effects on Well-Being
Authors: Contrada Richard J. , Ashmore Richard D. , Gary Melvin L. , Coups Elliot , Egeth Jill D. , Sewell Andrea , Ewell Kevin , Goyal Tanya M. , Chasse Valerie
Published: March 2003

Early research on ethnicity focused on the stereotyped thinking, prejudiced attitudes, and discriminatory actions of Euro-Americans. Minority-group members were viewed largely as passive targets of these negative reactions, with low self-esteem studied as the main psychological outcome. By contrast, recent research has increasingly made explicit use of stress theory in emphasizing the perspectives and experiences of minority-group members. Several ethnicity-related stressors have been identified, and it has been found that individuals cope with these threats in an active, purposeful manner. In this article, we focus on ethnicity-related stress stemming from discrimination, from stereotypes, and from conformity pressure arising from one's own ethnic group. We discuss theory and review research in which examination of ethnicity-related outcomes has extended beyond self-esteem to include psychological and physical well-being.
Social-Cognitive Factors in Changing Health-Related Behaviors
Authors: Schwarzer Ralf
Published: March 2003

Changing health-related behaviors requires two separate processes that involve motivation and volition, respectively. First, an intention to change is developed, in part on the basis of self-beliefs. Second, the change must be planned, initiated, and maintained, and relapses must be managed; self-regulation plays a critical role in these processes. Social-cognition models of health behavior change address these two processes. One such model, the health action process approach, is explicitly based on the assumption that two distinct phases need to be studied longitudinally, one phase that leads to a behavioral intention and another that leads to the actual behavior. Particular social-cognitive variables may play different roles in the two stages; perceived self-efficacy is the only predictor that seems to be equally important in the two phases.
Evolutionary Psychology: The Wheat and the Chaff
Authors: de Waal Frans B.M.
Published: March 2003

Evolutionary approaches are on the rise in the social sciences and have the potential to bring an all–encompassing conceptual framework to the study of human behavior. Together with neuroscience, which is digging the grave of mind–body dualism, evolutionary psychology is bound to undermine the still reigning human–animal dualism. If a Darwinian reshaping of the social sciences seems inevitable, even desirable, this should not be looked at as a hostile takeover. The underlying theme of this essay is that it is time for psychologists to join the Darwinian revolution, yet the essay also critically reviews current evolutionary psychology. It questions the loose application of adaptationist thinking and the fragmentation of the genome, behavior, and the brain. From biology we learn that not every species–typical trait is necessarily advantageous, and from neuroscience we learn that not every psychological ability or tendency necessarily needs to have its own specialized brain circuitry. But even if the concept of adaptation is hard to apply, psychologists would do well to start looking at human behavior in the light of evolution.
Martianus, Aventius and Isidore: provincial councils in seventh‐century Spain
Authors: Stocking Rachel L.
Published: March 2003

In Spain around 624, Bishop Martianus was deposed by a church council led by Bishop Isidore of Seville. The fact that Martianus had been framed came to light at another council in 633, which then issued canons meant to prevent future abuses, and to institutionalize provincial councils as centrally‐controlled tribunals for local dispute settlements. These events illuminate the problems involved in the Visigothic church's programme for kingdom‐wide religious uniformity.
Review article: Franks and Slavs c.700–1000: the problem of European expansion before the millennium
Authors: Innes Matthew
Published: March 2003

Books received for review:

Franks, Moravians and Magyars. The Struggle for the Middle Danube 788–907. By Charles R. Bowlus. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. 1995. xviii + 420 pp. £42.75. ISBN 0 8122 3276 3.

Das ‘GrossmIhrische Reich’. RealitäIt oder Fiktion? Eine Neuinterpretation der Quellen zur Geschichte des mittleren Donauraumes im 9. Jahrhundert. Monographien zur Geschichte des Mittelalters 40. By Martin Eggers. Stuttgart: Anton Hiersemann. 1995. ix + 525 pp. DM 336.00. ISBN 3 7772 9502 7.

An Elbe und Oder um das Jahr 1000. Skizzen zur Politik des Ottonenreiches und der slavischen Mächte in Mitteleuropa. By Herbert Ludat. Reprint of 1971 original, with an afterword by L. Dralle. Weimar, Cologne and Vienna: Böhlau Verlag. 1995. ix + 214 pp. DM 78.00. ISBN 3 412 11994 6.

Salzburg, Bayern, österreich: die Conversio Bagoariorum et Carantanorum und die Quellen ihrer Zeit. Mitteilungen des Instituts für österreichische Geschichtsforshung Ergänzungsband 31. By Herwig Wolfram. Vienna and Munich: Oldenbourg. 1995. 464 pp. DM 128.00. ISBN 3 486 64833 0 (Munich); 3 7029 0404 2 (Vienna).
The martyr, the matrona and the bishop: the matron Lucina and the politics of martyr cult in fifth‐ and sixth‐century Rome
Authors: Cooper Kate
Published: March 2003

The present study attempts to build on the achievement of Pietri and Llewellyn in assessing the peculiarities and limitations of the gesta martyrum as a source for late ancient and early medieval Rome, while shifting interpretative stress away from the lay—clerical binary which has dominated recent treatments of the cult of the saints, and toward an emphasis on factional conflict among lay—clerical coalitions. Central is an analysis of the literary motif, which recurs across the gesta of Lucina, the aristocratic matrona or widow who sees to the burial of the martyr on her own lands. Though the stereotypical figure of Lucina warns us of the limitations of the gesta as a source for the patronage activity of the lay aristocracy, it is argued, her appearance in crucial texts such as the Passio Sebastiani can nonetheless help us to trace the role which the memory of the martyrs played in texts such as the gesta martyrum,the Symmachan Forgeries, or the Liber Pontificalis,as well as the role which martyr shrines such as the Vatican basilica and the memoria apostolorumon the Via Appia played in the contestation and consolidation of Roman episcopal authority.
The Carolingian response to the revolt of Boso, 879–887
Authors: MacLean Simon
Published: March 2003

The decade leading up to the disintegration of the Carolingian Empire in 887–8 is traditionally characterised by historians as a period when royal authority was in terminal decline, crippled by the deaths of three great rulers in the mid‐870s and by the attempt of the non‐Carolingian rebel Boso of Vienne to seize a throne in 879. This article challenges the conventional view, and argues that Boso's revolt actually inspired the four surviving Carolingian kings to enter into a period of successful and effective cooperation. They came to a sworn agreement which sealed a new mutually guaranteed succession plan and resolved several outstanding territorial disputes. The end of the empire was brought about neither by internal conflict nor by loss of faith in the royal house, but rather by the premature deaths of a series of heirless rulers and the failure of the last emperor Charles the Fat to organize his succession in 887.
Does British economic policy have a future?
Authors: Hindley Brian
Published: March 2003

It is frequently claimed that Britain's withdrawal from the EU would be tantamount to national economic suicide. The paper examines that proposition by assessing the costs and benefits of EU membership, concluding that the net effect of withdrawal on the British economy would be small‐certainly not large enough to stop British governments standing up for British interests in Europe.
Minimum wages in Spain
Authors: Hevia Ignacio Gutiérrez , Schwartz Pedro
Published: March 2003

In Spain the minimum wage appears to have no significant employment‐reducing effect for workers over 18. For the under 18s, however, minimum wages and employment are negatively related. The government should consider lowering the minimum wage for younger workers.
Schedule jockeying and route swamping: bus markets in Britain need kerb rights
Authors: Klein Daniel B. , Moore Adrian T.
Published: March 2003

The experience of British bus deregulation has resulted in less on‐the‐road competition than anticipated, and a high degree of industry concentration We argue that the specific form of deregulation in Britain has created a property rights problem in the cultivation of passenger congregations at the kerb. The result has beenschedule jockeyingandroute swamping. From a property rights perspective, the disappointing results can be seen as a commons problem. A nuanced approach to property rights at bus stops, permitting scheduled service to appropriate its investment in cultivating passenger congregations,andallowing freewheeling jitneys to compete on the route, could bring the benefits that many had expected from deregulation.
How can the pensions market be made to work better?
Authors: Sadler J. S.
Published: March 2003

Consumers are very dissatisfied with the pensions market and it is unlikely that Financial Services Act regulation will improve the situation. More effective competition between suppliers is more likely to be successful and ways need to be found to increase it rapidly from its current low level. More sclosure f information, particularly about the profitability of new business and investment returns is needed, as is an independent rating agency.
The shadow economies of Western Europe
Authors: Schneider Friedrich
Published: March 2003

The latest empirical research indicates a strong increase in the size of the shadow economy in Western Europe, over the period 1970 to 1990. For 11 of the 17 investigated OECD‐countries the size of the shadow economy in 1990 was more than 10% of GNP. Analysis shows that the major causes of the shadow economy are the direct and indirect tax burden, and government regulation.
Deterring nuclear weapons proliferation
Authors: Brito Dagobert L. , Intriligator Michael D.
Published: March 2003

In the wake of the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War, the problem of nuclear proliferation has become one of the primary issues of strategic concern The proliferation problem is an old one, but the problem today is very different from that of even a few years ago. calling for new approaches. By considering demand and supply factors, the old approaches that rely on limits on the technology or supply appear inadequate in the current situation Rather, the best approaches today are those that influence demand, making it less attractive for nations to develop nuclear weapons. The constraints on the United States that inhibit it from using its nuclear weapons to threaten new nuclear states make both nuclear deterrence and guarantees to countries not acquiring such weapons ineffectual in preventing further proliferation. The use of conventional forces to prevent proliferation or to protect threatened nations may also be politically difficult unless there are clear national interests at stake.

A possible way out of this dilemma is to develop a system of conventional deterrence using precision guided munitions and other recent technological developments that have increased the accuracy of weapons delivery systems. Such a system of conventional deterrence could play an important role in making nuclear weapons of less perceived value to potentially proliferating nations and in protecting regions that these nations threaten.
The transition from social insecurity
Authors: Booth Philip
Published: March 2003

The paper analyses the insecurity of state relative to private pensions. It considers issues such as moral hazard, policy‐induced risk and the way in which property rights accrue to a scheme's beneficiaries. The article concludes that state schemes are fundamentally more insecure than private schemes and that the difficulties of state schemes have not arisen simply because of an accident of demographics. The difficulties of private pension schemes are also discussed as well as the transition problems arising from moving from state to private arrangements.
A‘crisis’in water? The wrong sort of privatisation1
Authors: Robinson Colin
Published: March 2003

Privatisation has been less successful in water than in the other privatised utilities. The highly regulated regime is closer to the old nationalised industries than in gas, electricity and telecommunications. Moreover, the industry seems to be heading towards yet more regulation. What is required is more competition. There may be practical difficulties in introducing it, but a determined effort to overcome these problems would be a better use of resources than tighter regulation.
The shaky legal foundations of European monetary union
Authors: Howe Martin
Published: March 2003

A paper currency is underpinned by the power of a state to define and control the issue of legal tender. In legal theory, EMU will centralise this power. But in practice, the legal structure might not be strong enough to enforce currency issue rules against a member state in conditions of crisis. Instability could result if investors move euro balances out of a state's banking system to avoid perceived risk.
How to rescue European monetary union
Authors: Chown John , Beber Massimo , Wood Geoffrey E.
Published: March 2003

This paper considers recent comment and discussion on monetary union in Europe, and appraises recent steps towards Union. It is plain that politics is blinding both supporters and opponents of EMU to issues of major importance, and is also leading them often to‘talk past each other’in debate. In the light of this, the article reappraises our earlier proposal for running the euro as a‘parallel currency’with national currencies. We suggest that this could still be a sensible strategy for the‘outs’and a fall‐back if the politicians managed to wreck what could have been a worthwhile venture ‐ a possibility that has been highlighted by events at the early May meeting.
The normative basis of economic science
Authors: Machan Tibor R.
Published: March 2003

It is often thought that economics is a pure descriptive or analytic science without normative components. But the very idea of commercial exchange or trade rests on the concepts of ownership or property. Unless the actors own something, there can be no sale, exchange or trade. Ownership or property is a moral‐political concept. To own something is to be the one who ought to have the authority to trade or exchange it on terms he or she negotiates with others. This is the bedrock of economics and it is a normative idea.
The future for universities: a public–private partnership?
Authors: Perry Baroness
Published: March 2003

Higher education funding arrangements remain unsatisfactory. Central government's price controls over the services which universities offer threate both autonomy and quality. The best UK research universities can no longer compete with their counterparts in the United States and elsewhere. This article proposes a return to private status for universities, allowing them to form a contractual relationship with government for teaching and research, with freedom to charge an additional market price for their services to privately funded and overseas students.
The case for road pricing
Authors: Day Alan
Published: March 2003

The argument in principle for pricing the use of road space rests on firm intellectual foundations. The necessary technology is readily available. Public acceptance of the idea, with the concomitant need for investment in new roads, is subject to much confusion, reinforced by Nimbyism on one side and Swampyism on the other.
Economic thought and the reform of the welfare state
Authors: Peacock Sir Alan
Published: March 2003

Economics has become increasingly important in the analysis of the objectives, scope and effects of the welfare state and its future development, with the interesting result of producing growing support for ‘liberalist’ methods of social reform.
The political economy of capital punishment
Authors: Wynarczyk Peter
Published: March 2003

Although the policy case against capital punishment appears largely settled and now closed within Britain and Europe there is a need to recognise that the well‐entrenched pro‐abolitionist conventional wisdom has essentially ignored the costs and exaggerated the benefits of removal of the death‐penalty option.
What can we learn from Switzerland?
Authors: Price Victoria Curzon
Published: March 2003

The collapse of Swissair will be a good litmus test for what is advanced here. Although it is too soon to tell at the time of writing (October 2001) it would be extremely uncharacteristic for the company to be rescued with public funds, despite its hugely symbolic nature as an erstwhile source of national pride.
WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO THE EURO?
Authors: Connolly Bernard , Whittaker John
Published: March 2003

The Stability Pact ‐ intended to make EMU governments run prudent budgets ‐ is losing its credibility. This article asks the question: what will happen if national debts start to rise again and some governments then have difficulty borrowing? It suggests that there will be calls for bailout, that the EU's political structures will not cope well with the resulting arguments over which countries will pay, and that the eventual and painful result will be a return to the principle that currencies and political areas coincide.
Early beginnings of the quantity theory of money and their context in Polish and Prussian monetary policies, c. 1520–1550
Authors: Volckart Oliver
Published: March 2003

In c. 1540 the counsellors of the King of Poland discovered the central tenet of the quantity theory of money. They were the first to maintain that it was necessary to limit the coinage in order to stop prices rising. Their ideas emerged independently and were much more advanced than the views of Copernicus, and they were applied by the Polish government. The article also claims that this policy was, in principle, appropriate to check the rise of prices. Its investigation of economic conditions in Prussia shows that there is no need for a controversy between the proponents of the monetary and the neo–Malthusian explanations.
New revisionists and the Keynesian era in British economic policy
Authors: Booth Alan
Published: March 2003

This article surveys the literature, which has argued that post‐1945 British economic policy should not be described as Keynesian. It attempts to apply explicit definitions of ‘Keynesian', ‘influence', and ‘the Treasury view'. It suggests that in post‐1945 monetary and fiscal policies, in the treatment of the balance of payments, and in attitudes to public expenditure, strong Keynesian influences can be detected. The idea of a ‘Keynesian era' should not be rejected and it is hinted that the failure to accelerate the growth rate, rather than the external dimension, caused the Keynesian era to unravel.
Equity Markets & the Economy
Authors: Muellbauer John
Published: March 2003

Media commentary in the New Year has seen the word ‘recession’ increasingly associated with short‐term US prospects, which seemed so positive only half a year ago. In this article, John Muellbauer discusses this ‘boom to bust’ phenomenon, the role of asset prices and the wider ramifications for global growth, exchange rates and the UK economy.
Variable Costs and the Visible Hand: the Re‐Regulation of Electricity Supply, 1932–37
Authors: Foreman‐Peck James S. , Hammond Christopher J.
Published: March 2003

Under an Act of 1926, a ‘public interest’ corporation, the CEB, was empowered to build a national transmission grid and rationalize UK electricity generation. A constrained cost model estimates the gains from this re‐regulation of the electricity generating industry. The new regime reduced costs by one‐third, radically improving the utilization of capital and boosting the average scale of operations. It did so by persuading private and municipal enterprises to accept central direction of the extent and timing of their electricity generation. This voluntarism saved on enforcement costs, but perhaps one‐half of the industry cost reduction the CEB actually achieved by 1937 was apparently forgone.
Family Characteristics and the Returns to Schooling: Evidence on Gender Differences from a Sample of Australian Twins
Authors: Miller Paul , Mulvey Charles , Martin Nick
Published: March 2003

Data from the Australian Twins Survey are analysed in order to compare the relative importance of the role of family background as a mediating influence on the relationship between schooling and income for males and females. The analysis reveals that family background is a considerably greater influence on males than on females. This finding is consistent with a greater screening role for education in the case of females and with a process of intergenerational transmission of inequality for males but not for females.
Imitative Competition and Product Innovation in a Duopoly Model
Authors: Peppal Lynn
Published: March 2003

This paper investigates imitative competition in a two‐stage game of strategic product choice in a vertically differentiated market. The innovator chooses its product strategy anticipating the subsequent entry of a rival firm. The rival firm chooses the degree to which it is profitable to differentiate its product from the innovator. It has the second mover advantage that its costs are lower the more closely it copies the innovator’s product. But against this advantage is the drawback that the more similar the two products are, the more intense is the price competition between the two firms. The trade‐off between imitation and differentiation is affected by the degree of consumer heterogeneity in the market. Consumers differ by income. The relationship between the incentive to imitate and the distribution of income is important, particularly in evaluating the welfare effects of two different policy responses, patent policy and cooperative alliances.
Modelling the Transition from School and the Demand for Training in the United Kingdom
Authors: Andrews Martyn , Bradley Steve
Published: March 2003

This paper analyses the choices made by school leavers and the demand for training in the youth labour market. Using a large cross‐section database on all school leavers in Lancashire in 1991, we model, using a multinomial logit, their first destination six months after the end of compulsory schooling. We model six choices/outcomes: non‐vocational continuing education, vocational continuing education, youth training, employment with on‐the‐job training, employment with general‐skills training, and unemployment.

Our results show that the first destination from school is affected by a range of individual, school and local labour market variables. In addition to academic ability, we report three effects that are not well known: a young person is more likely to leave school the bigger the school, the lower its academic performance, and the lower his or her expected lifetime earn‐ings.