bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Fatal blunt injuries possibly resulting from sexual abuse of a calf
Authors: De Giorgio Fabio , Polacco Matteo , Rossi Riccardo , Lodise Maria , Rainio Juha
Published: February 2010

We report a case of a calf-related fatality on a farm. The victim was a 60-year-old man who was possibly attempting to sexually approach the animal from behind when he was struck by it, sustaining fatal blunt injuries, mostly to the thorax. This case is reported because of its rarity and because of the particular circumstances of death. Fatal trauma associated with bovines is rare on the whole, and when it does occur it is usually caused by kicking or pushing during regular agricultural activity. Although the cause of death in our case could be determined, the circumstances and the manner of death remain speculative to some degree.
Police, the Public, ‘Less Lethal Force’ and Suspects: Deconstructing the Human Rights Arguments
Authors: Smith Rhona
Published: February 2010

Violent criminals pose threats to the life and well-being of the police and public alike. One response is the development of mid-range ‘less-lethal’ weapons such as TASER® stun guns and other electronic control devices (ECD). These have the power to incapacitate the suspect temporarily, neutralising the threat to the public, the suspect him- or herself and the law enforcement officers. Nevertheless there have been claims that the deployment of such weapons violates human rights. This article thus considers the use of electronic control devices by law enforcement officers within a human rights framework. The principal issues evolve from the coexistence of potential beneficiaries of the salient human rights.
Occurrence of Injury during Officer Safety Training at Kent Police
Authors: Andrew J. , Henry T. , Coleman D.A. , Wiles J.D.
Published: February 2010

There are limited data available on the injury occurrence associated with training in high-risk occupations. The aim of this investigation was to assess the injuries sustained during police training conducted by the Staff Safety Training Unit (SSTU), at Kent Police (Maidstone, Kent).

Data were collected on 11,432 participants who undertook courses with the SSTU of Kent Police over a two-year period. Injury was defined as any occurrence resulting in physical damage to the body which required a ‘Hurt on Duty’ form to be submitted. In total 93 injuries occurred during the period, which equated to approximately four injuries per 1000 participants per year. The majority of injuries occurred during standard officer safety training (equating to ∼2.3% of the training population), compared to other courses run by the unit (risk of ∼0.1 to 0.2% of the training population). Unarmed defence and baton drills accounted for the highest number (∼49%) of injuries reported, with bruises, sprains and strains accounting for 67.6% of the total injuries.

This study identifies the type, location and injury occurrence rates associated with officer (and other) training, and could potentially be used to inform future policy with regard to appropriate practice in training.
Distance Estimation Error in a Roadway Setting
Authors: Strauss Mark , Carnahan James
Published: February 2010

The purpose of this study was to determine the accuracy of the typical adult's ability to view, then estimate, distances along a roadway. A survey was conducted along a roadway, where 123 subjects were asked to look at, and then estimate the distance to common objects along the roadway. The entire population tended to underestimate distances to objects that were from 20 to 400 feet away. After none outliers were identified and removed, the average estimation error was –23.4%. The variation in performance among individuals was extremely large, with error extremes ranging from –96% to +71%. An analysis of the percentage error in estimation revealed that police performed as well as the rest of the population. The age of the subjects and their rating of their own vision acuity made no statistically significant difference in their average estimation error. Males had significantly lower estimation error than females, as did subjects who rated themselves highly with respect to their distance estimation ability.
Gold-catalyzed synthesis of N,O-heterocycles
Authors: Hashmi A. Stephen K.
Published: February 2010

The selective synthesis of oxazoles, alkylidene oxazoles, and 1,3-oxazines from N-propargyl carboxamides by choosing gold(III) or gold(I) catalysts and selecting terminal or internal alkynes as substrates is discussed. The mechanistic studies based on labeling experiments and intensive in situ NMR studies indicate an anti-oxyauration step and a proto-deauration with retention of the sterical arrangement at the double bond. The synthetic scope for gold(I) catalysts is very broad, allowing selective conversions to products with properties of chelate ligands, reactions of bromoarenes and the formation of acceptor-substituted oxazoles. With N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) ligands in the presence of a base, even the vinylgold intermediates of the reactions leading to 1,3-oxazines could be isolated, a reaction with a great potential for future mechanistic studies and future applications of gold catalysis.
IUPAC/CITAC Guide: Selection and use of proficiency testing schemes for a limited number of participants—chemical analytical laboratories (IUPAC Technical Report)
Authors: Kuselman Ilya , Fajgelj Aleš
Published: February 2010

A metrological background for implementation of proficiency testing (PT) schemes for a limited number of participating laboratories (fewer than 30) is discussed. Such schemes should be based on the use of certified reference materials (CRMs) with traceable property values to serve as PT items whose composition is unknown to the participants. It is shown that achieving quality of PT results in the framework of the concept “tested once, accepted everywhere” requires both metrological comparability and compatibility of these results. The possibility of assessing collective/group performance of PT participants by comparison of the PT consensus value (mean or median of the PT results) with the certified value of the test items is analyzed. Tabulated criteria for this assessment are proposed. Practical examples are described for illustration of the issues discussed.
The Manifeste des Quarante-Quatre, Francophonie, la franafrique and Africa: from the politics of culture to the culture of politics
Authors: Hale Thomas A
Published: February 2010

The signatories of the manifesto calling for a new relationship between French and Francophone literatures have also criticized Francophonie as a form of colonialism. But for two reasons it is unlikely that their view, on top of criticism from many other sources, will have any impact on Francophonie today. By drawing on Wilder's theory that France and its former colonies should be analyzed as a single unit, and by reframing Francophonie in all its forms in both longer and wider contexts, obstacles to elimnating Francophonie will become apparent. The first barrier is the momentum of French. It diffused as a language of colonization from the Middle Ages in France to Africa since the seventeenth century, a phenomenon described as the politics of culture. The second is the force of French politics from the hard policy of military intervention since 1960 to the soft approach of growing involvement in Francophonie, a period characterized by the culture of politics. Francophonie and la Franafrique are the threads that bind these two powerful political currents, historic and contemporary. Together, they constitute an obstacle unlikely to be swept away by critics of Francophonie.
Idologie, esthtique et littrature-monde en franais
Authors: Taban Carla
Published: February 2010

The manifesto Pour une littrature-monde en franais (Barbery et al. 2007) signed by 44 writers and published in Le Monde des livres on 16 March 2007, on the one hand, and the companion volume of essays Pour une littrature-monde (Le Bris et Rouaud 2007) published by Gallimard
two months later, on the other hand, reveal significant internal contradictions pertaining to the key notion of world-literature in French. This article discusses in depth several such contradictions, of both an ideological-discursive and aesthetic nature, in order to identify their conceptual
sources.
Francophone manifestos: on solidarity in the French-speaking world
Authors: Kruidenier Julie-Franoise
Published: February 2010

This contribution considers the publication of the Manifeste de quarante-quatre crivains pour une langue franaise libre de son pacte exclusif avec la nation (Barbery et al. 2007) as a manifestary phenomenon. As such, it is part of a history of French-language manifestos that have been
instrumental in expressing and enacting solidarity and solidary resistance to marginalization within the Francophone/French world binary. Using Marxian and postcolonial theories as well as theories of affect, this article studies solidarity as it is articulated in manifestos such as Aim Csaire's
(1942) En guise de manifeste littraire; Jean Bernab, Patrick Chamoiseau and Raphal Confiant's (1993) loge de la Crolit; Jacques Stephen Alexis's (1946) Lettre aux Hommes Vieux; the conclusion of Frantz Fanon's (2002) Les damns de la terre, the Manifeste du FLQ; Michle Lalonde
and Denis Monire's (1981) Cause commune: Manifeste pour une internationale des petites cultures, of course the Manifeste pour une littrature-monde (Barbery et al. 2007), and Ernest Breleur et al.'s February 2009 Manifeste pour les produits de haute ncessit. Ultimately, the article reflects
on the nature of the manifesto as a dual form both literary and political and on the insights that manifestary solidarity may provide in restructuring the binaries of francophonie versus France, periphery versus centre, politics versus art, and artist versus critic.
Redeeming Francophonie: a new concept of francit
Authors: Livescu Simona
Published: February 2010

The extent of themtropole's dimensions inside or outside France, real or imaginary, is still an incomplete story. Contemporary critics such as Anne-Rosine Delbart, Stphane Dufoix, Ramona Bordei-Boca, Roxana Verona and Martine Fernandes to name only a few filled some important gaps and published research challenging the latest oversimplification of Francophonie. The astute new categories these researchers propose literary, social and historical urge French and Francophone studies scholars to re-evaluate their field. Based on literary works by French and Francophone writers of various backgrounds such as Eduardo Manet, Eugne Ionesco, Paul Goma, Abd al-Rahman Munif, Abdellatif Labi, Mahmoud Darwish, etc., this article makes a case for a new dimension offrancitsustained by human rights literature in French. Moreover, evidence of writers who speak Francophone and write Francophone (contrary to the 2007 manifesto Pour une littrature-monde en franais denying their existence) prove that Francophonie's lifeline remains rich and strong.
La Littrature-monde in the New Morocco: literary humanism for a global age
Authors: Orlando Valrie K
Published: February 2010

Since 1999, contemporary Francophone authors writing in Morocco have increasingly drawn on humanist themes to meld the ironies and challenges of their contemporary society. They share the same values and belief systems as other humanists writing in our contemporary world. Authors such
as Saoud Bahchar, Youssouf Elalamy and Mohamed Nedali among many others writing and publishing their works exclusively in Morocco have founded a philosophy that exemplifies a new vision of Francophone literature as a consummate form of writing for promoting our commonalities through the global,
human experience. Their works are truly those of a littrature-monde.
Cent ans de migration littraire
Authors: Parris David L
Published: February 2010

The way we view literature is historically conditioned, and the view of literature as nationally based does not extend back much further than the nineteenth century. Recently, it has become clear, that there are many authors writing in a language that is not that of their original culture,
and this has been termed migrant literature, which we view as a new phenomenon. However, it is clear that there have been migrant authors writing in French for at least a hundred years. Other ways of considering non-French literature in French have been theorized in terms of francophonie or
postcolonialism. The question is posed of whether we can envisage a single approach to this question, englobing these notions as well as that of migrant literature.
La littrature-monde: un dsir de nom
Authors: Sarr Awa Coumba
Published: February 2010

Even if all those who signed the manifesto want the same thing, that is, a world literature in French, that would not make any distinction between French and Francophone literature. It becomes obvious when reading the edited volume by Michel Le Bris (2007) that, as far as the Parisian
literary system is concerned, Francophone writers don't have the same view as the French. Consequently, Alain Mabanckou, Nimrod, Raharimanana and Abdourahmane Wabri mainly stress the need for an end of institutionalized francophonie. In fact, for these African authors, calling them Francophone
writers is a way of degrading their literary production since francophonie is but a ghetto. This commentary argues that the phrase world literature is for them a way of redefining and repositioning themselves, and that the real problem for many African writers is mainly related to the luck
of publishing houses and there is a need to address this problem.
L'crivain africain et la littrature-monde: l'ambition de l'universel?
Authors: Aggarwal Kusum
Published: February 2010

Pour une littrature-monde published jointly by the founders of the literary Festival Etonnants-Voyageurs, Michel Le Bris and Jean Rouaud (2007), is incontrovertibly a first in the history of Francophone literature and represents an entirely legitimate endeavour to question some
of the basic contradictions that characterize their reception in metropolitan France, achieved mainly through the prism of categories of thought and knowledge devised within a colonial context. This article is organized in three sections: the first is an attempt to provide insights into theoretical
postulations of the notion of littrature-monde, the second explores its subterranean linguistic implications, and the third deals with its mode of functioning and its articulation in literary and artistic practice. In sum, what will be highlighted here are the implications for writers
from the periphery, of the emergence of this new literary space which opens up possibilities to liberate them from the constraints and limitations of territoriality and nationality.
Pour une littrature-monde et Eloge de la crolit: deux manifestes, deux visions de la littrature incompatibles, concurrentes, conscutives?
Authors: Brard Stphanie
Published: February 2010

Pour une littrature-monde (2007) co-edited by Le Bris and Rouaud and In Praise of Creolness (1989 1993) by Bernab, Confiant and Chamoiseau are two manifestos published twenty years apart, which demonstrate a new vision of Francophone literature: one that is written in
French but which seeks to separate itself from French supremacy and tutelage. However, the way in which the littrature-monde stretches beyond cultural boundaries and linguistic frontiers differs significantly from the kind of interior regard advocated by the Creolit mouvement which
seeks to promote a regionally specific identity and a literature of resistance based on Creole language and culture. By considering the French establishment as their primary interlocutor, the Creolit movement stands in sharp contrast from the littrature-monde which considers France
as only one part of a larger multicultural and multilingual ensemble. This article aims at comparing the two manifestos, by emphasizing the vision of the world proposed by their authors and their relationship to the French language and nation.
Ageing of modified wood. Part 1: Wetting properties of acetylated, furfurylated, and thermally modified wood
Authors: Bryne Lars Elof , Wålinder Magnus E.P.
Published: February 2010

The main objective of this work was to apply contact angle analysis to predict work of adhesion (W

a
) between some modified wood materials and certain thermoplastics and adhesives. Wetting properties, i.e., contact angles, were measured by the Wilhelmy method on both freshly prepared and aged veneer samples of unmodified and acetylated Scots pine, furfurylated radiata pine, and heat treated Norway spruce. The sessile drop method was used to measure contact angles on a phenol resorcinol formaldehyde, an emulsion polymer isocyanate, and a one-component polyurethane adhesive. Contact angle data were also collected from the literature on polyethylene, polyvinyl chloride, polymethyl methacrylate, polystyrene, and Nylon 6. Contact angle analysis based on the Chang-Qin-Chen model was then applied to determine so-called acid-base interaction parameters and W

a
between the wood samples and the selected thermoplastics and adhesives. Results show that the ageing process led to an increased hydrophobic character of unmodified, heat treated, and furfurylated wood samples. The freshly prepared acetylated wood samples had a pronounced hydrophobic character which remained approximately constant after ageing. The predicted W

a
between the wood and the adhesives was considerably higher than that between the wood and the thermoplastics. Furthermore, the predicted W

a
between the acetylated wood and both the thermoplastics and water was approximately unchanged when comparing the fresh and aged samples. In contrast, the ageing of all other wood samples resulted in a dramatic decrease of the wood-water W

a
and a moderate decrease of the wood-thermoplastics W

a
. The wood-adhesives W

a
, however, was unchanged for the unmodified and furfurylated wood when comparing the fresh and aged samples and even increased for heat treated and acetylated wood samples.
Non-ironic turning ironic contextually: Multiple context-determined irony in “The Story of an Hour”
Authors: Shen Dan
Published: February 2010

This article defines and discusses a type of irony that has eluded existing classifications, namely, “context-determined irony.” Although existing types of irony – whether called “verbal” or “situational” or modified by some other terms – are in varying degrees related to context, none of them is really context-determined. Compared with verbal or situational irony, “context-determined irony” generates more textual tension and semantic density due to the co-existence of the conventionally positive meaning and the contextually determined ironic meaning. It is revealed that such irony implicitly permeates Kate Chopin's “The Story of an Hour” (A lady of Bayou St. John, Houghton, Mifflin and Company, 1894), a textual analysis that is backed up by intertextual and extratextual considerations.
‘A proper synthesis of literary and linguistic study’: C. S. Lewis and a forgotten war
Authors: Williamson Karina
Published: February 2010

This article traces the long-running conflict between the interests of ‘Language’ and ‘Literature’ within English studies in Britain, using as springboard a letter from C. S. Lewis (then professor of Medieval and Renaissance Literature), to Angus McIntosh (then professor of English Language and General Linguistics). Written in 1961 when ‘Lang. & Lit.’ hostilities were at their height, the letter points two ways: back to old battles in Schools of English between philologists and literary scholars, historians and critics, and forward to continuing disputes about the contribution of linguistics to literary criticism. The main focus is on the period 1957–1977, before the impact of structuralism and poststructuralism diverted the attention of literary scholars, but during the development of stylistics as a method of analysing literary texts. McIntosh emerges as a pioneering figure in the struggle to achieve an effective integration of literary and linguistic studies.
A Quantitative Fabric Drape Evaluation System Using Image-Processing Technology, Part 2: Effect of Fabric Properties on Drape Parameters
Authors: Kown Eun Sook , Yoon Soon Young , Sul In Hwan , Kim Sungmin , Park Chang Kyu
Published: February 2010

A new quantitative fabric drape evaluation method using image-processing technology was published in Part 1 and submitted to the International Organization for Standardization as a revised international standard. In this research, the effects of fabric properties on drape parameters have been examined using the new drape evaluation system to verify the new method. Drape parameters include the number of drape nodes, the amplitude of the drape wave, and drape wavelength, as well as drape ratio (coefficient). The Kawabata Evaluation System (KES) was used to measure the mechanical properties of 60 woven fabric samples. Through correlation analysis, we found that tensile, bending, and shear properties of fabrics are closely related to each drape parameter. Some regression equations were derived to predict the drape ratio, the number of drape nodes, and the wave amplitude from the KES fabric properties. In all regression models, the bending hysteresis (2HB) of a fabric and its combined value with fabric weight (2HB/W) were observed to be the most significant factors.
Buchbesprechung
Authors: Voß Christian
Published: February 2010

The Konikovo Gospel. Konikovsko evangelie. Bibl. Patr. Alex. 268. Hrsg. von Jouko LINDSTEDT, Ljudmil SPASOV, Juhani NUORLUOTO. Helsinki 2008 (= Commentationes Humanarum Litterarum, 125), 439 + LXXXII S., ISBN 978-951-653-366-0
Buchbesprechung
Authors: Ibler Reinhard
Published: February 2010

PETROVA, ALENA, Überlegungen zu einer gattungsspezifischen Poetik des Raums an Textbeispielen der russischen Literatur des 19. Jahrhunderts. Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang, 2008. 370 S. (Heidelberger Publikationen zur Slavistik. Literaturwissenschaftliche Reihe; 33). ISBN 3631555024, 978-3631555026
Diazoxide-responsive hyperinsulinemic hypoglycemia caused by HNF4A gene mutations
Authors: Flanagan S E , Kapoor R R , Mali G , Cody D , Murphy N , Schwahn B , Siahanidou T , Banerjee I , Akcay T , Rubio-Cabezas O , Shield J P H , Hussain K , Ellard S
Published: February 2010

Objective

The phenotype associated with heterozygous HNF4A gene mutations has recently been extended to include diazoxide responsive neonatal hypoglycemia in addition to maturity-onset diabetes of the young (MODY). To date, mutation screening has been limited to patients with a family history consistent with MODY. In this study, we investigated the prevalence of HNF4A mutations in a large cohort of patients with diazoxide responsive hyperinsulinemic hypoglycemia (HH).

Subjects and methods

We sequenced the ABCC8, KCNJ11, GCK, GLUD1, and/or HNF4A genes in 220 patients with HH responsive to diazoxide. The order of genetic testing was dependent upon the clinical phenotype.

Results

A genetic diagnosis was possible for 59/220 (27%) patients. KATP channel mutations were most common (15%) followed by GLUD1 mutations causing hyperinsulinism with hyperammonemia (5.9%), and HNF4A mutations (5%). Seven of the 11 probands with a heterozygous HNF4A mutation did not have a parent affected with diabetes, and four de novo mutations were confirmed. These patients were diagnosed with HI within the first week of life (median age 1 day), and they had increased birth weight (median +2.4 SDS). The duration of diazoxide treatment ranged from 3 months to ongoing at 8 years.

Conclusions

In this large series, HNF4A mutations are the third most common cause of diazoxide responsive HH. We recommend that HNF4A sequencing is considered in all patients with diazoxide responsive HH diagnosed in the first week of life irrespective of a family history of diabetes, once KATP channel mutations have been excluded.
The syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone: prevalence, causes and consequences
Authors: Hannon M J , Thompson C J
Published: February 2010

Hyponatraemia is the commonest electrolyte abnormality found in hospital inpatients, and is associated with a greatly increased morbidity and mortality. The syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone (SIADH) is the most frequent cause of hyponatraemia in hospital inpatients. SIADH is the clinical and biochemical manifestation of a wide range of disease processes, and every case warrants investigation of the underlying cause. In this review, we will examine the prevalence, pathophysiology, clinical characteristics and clinical consequences of hyponatraemia due to SIADH.
Survey of Management of Children with Cleft Lip and Palate in Teaching and Specialist Hospitals in Nigeria
Authors: Olasoji Hector Oladapo , Hassan Abubakar , Adeyemo Wasiu L.
Published: February 2010

Objective

A national survey was conducted to obtain an overall view of the current management of children with cleft lip and/or palate in Nigeria.

Method

Questionnaires were sent to 44 identified cleft surgeons in all teaching and specialist hospitals in Nigeria.

Results

A total of 38 respondents returned completed questionnaires. The findings are as follows: (1) a majority of the surgeons (68.4%) are “low-volume operators,” undertaking 10 or fewer new cleft repairs annually; (2) 86.8% of the surgeons repair cleft lip at 3 to 4 months of age, and the most common (71%) unilateral cleft lip repair method is the rotation-advancement technique; (3) 50% of the surgeons use straight line repair for bilateral cleft lip; (4) a majority (79%) of the respondents close the soft and hard palates as a single procedure; 47.3% of respondents use the von Langenbeck technique, 21.1% use the double-opposing Z-plasty and 21.1%, the palatal pushback; (5) in the management of protruding premaxilla, 52.6% of the respondents choose adhesive tape; (6) procedures such as alveolar bone grafting, rhinoplasty, and surgical treatment for velopharyngeal incompetence are rarely done as part of cleft management; and (7) the interdisciplinary team approach is practiced by 21% of respondents.

Conclusions

Issues are raised regarding the current organization of cleft services. We hope the findings of this study will provide preliminary information needed for the eventual establishment of standard cleft management for children with cleft lip and palate deformity in Nigeria.
Hyperglycemia induces apoptosis in rat liver through the increase of hydroxyl radical: new insights into the insulin effect
Authors: Francés Daniel E , Ronco María T , Monti Juan A , Ingaramo Paola I , Pisani Gerardo B , Parody Juan P , Pellegrino José M , Sanz Paloma Martín , Carrillo María C , Carnovale Cristina E
Published: February 2010

In this study, we analyzed the contribution of hydroxyl radical in the liver apoptosis mediated by hyperglycemia through the Bax–caspase pathway and the effects of insulin protection against the apoptosis induced by hyperglycemia. Male adult Wistar rats were randomized in three groups: control (C) (sodium citrate buffer, i.p.), streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic (SID) (STZ 60 mg/kg body weight, i.p.), and insulin-treated SID (SID+I; 15 days post STZ injection, SID received insulin s.c., twice a day, 15 days). Rats were autopsied on day 30. In liver tissue, diabetes promoted a significant increase in hydroxyl radical production which correlated with lipid peroxidation (LPO) levels. Besides, hyperglycemia significantly increased mitochondrial BAX protein expression, cytosolic cytochrome c levels, and caspase-3 activity leading to an increase in apoptotic index. Interestingly, the treatment of diabetic rats with desferoxamine or tempol (antioxidants/hydroxyl radical scavengers) significantly attenuated the increase in both hydroxyl radical production and in LPO produced by hyperglycemia, preventing apoptosis by reduction of mitochondrial BAX and cytosolic cytochrome c levels. Insulin treatment showed similar results. The finding that co-administration of antioxidants/hydroxyl radical scavengers together with insulin did not provide any additional benefit compared with those obtained using either inhibitors or insulin alone shows that it is likely that insulin prevents oxidative stress by reducing the effects of hydroxyl radicals. Importantly, insulin significantly increased apoptosis inhibitor protein expression by induction of its mRNA. Taken together, our studies support that, at least in part, the hydroxyl radical acts as a reactive intermediate, which leads to liver apoptosis in a model of STZ-mediated hyperglycemia. A new anti-apoptosis signal for insulin is shown, given by an increase of apoptosis inhibitor protein.
Casing Temperature and Stress Analysis in Steam-Injection Wells
Authors: Wu Jiang , Knauss Martin E.
Published: February 2010

For steam injection parameters of greater than 700 psi and 500 deg F, a high production casing failure rate is often observed. This is due to severe thermal stress condition to the production casing string. The production casing may easily be in compression hot-yield under these conditions. This can lead to high casing failure risk in the forms of excessive deformation, buckling, and collapse. This paper presents an analysis on casing and cement stresses under the stated steam injection conditions. The interaction of casing-cement-formation is considered to help understand casing and cement failure mechanisms and potential approaches to reduce casing failures in cyclic steam frac wells. The loss of cement integrity and support to production casing string may occur under steam injection condition, which attributes to casing failures in the forms of excessive deformation, buckling, and collapse.

Field surveyed temperature in a cyclic steam frac well is also presented and compared with modeled casing temperatures to show the needs of correctly modeling casing temperatures. Recent casing design practices in some Bakersfield area cyclic steam frac projects, including the successful use of high strength grade casing such as P-110, are discussed in order to reduce casing failures in the cyclic steam frac wells.
Aging and Financial Planning for Retirement: Interdisciplinary Influences Viewed through a Cross-Cultural Lens
Authors: Hershey Douglas A. , Henkens Kène , Van Dalen Hendrik P.
Published: February 2010

Current theoretical models support the existence of interactions between the individual and socio-environmental forces when it comes to the formation and enactment of life plans (Friedman & Scholnick, 1997; Shanahan & Elder, 2002). In this investigation, we examine the social, economic, and psychological forces that impact financial planning for retirement. The collective force of these three broad sets of influences was examined from developmental and cross-cultural perspectives, among respondents from two countries with very different retirement financing systems. Participants were 419 American and 556 Dutch working adults, 25–64 years of age. Path analysis models were created to examine differences in planning associated with age and national origin. Compared to younger individuals, older respondents in both countries were more involved in nearly all aspects of the financial planning process. Differences across cultures were also observed in the social support mechanisms that underlie planning and the impact economic forces have on perceptions of saving adequacy. The discussion focuses on the value of developing interdisciplinary theoretical models of planning, and how such models can inform the development of savings-oriented intervention and public policy initiatives.
Introducing the 8A Model in Death Education Training: Promoting Planning for End-Of-Life Care for Hong Kong Chinese
Authors: Chan Wallace C. H. , Tin Agnes F. , Chan Celia H. Y. , Chan Cecilia L. W. , Tang Andrew C. W.
Published: February 2010

Although planning for end-of-life care is crucial, it is underdeveloped in the Hong Kong Chinese context. To review the local experience in death education training, it was found that helping professionals may not be equipped with adequate knowledge and skills to deal with the various needs of clients in death preparation and planning for end-of-life care. In view of this, an 8A model (alienation, avoidance, access, acknowledgment, action, acceptance, appreciation, and actualization) was developed as a framework for providing death education to these professionals. The 8A model adapted the Transtheoretical model for understanding the needs of clients in different phases of behavior change. In this article, details of the 8A model and how it can enhance professionals' work with clients in death education and planning for end-of-life care are discussed.
Pay-As-You-Go Public Pension Systems: Two-sided Altruism and Endogenous Growth
Authors: Yang Zaigui
Published: February 2010

Within the framework of an overlapping generations model with two-sided altruism and endogenous growth, this paper calculates the rates of fertility, output growth, child-rearing cost, saving, consumption, net intertemporal transfer, bequest and gift, and compares the equilibrium solutions under different public pension systems. It proves that the fully-fertilitylinked public pension system (FFLPPS) is equivalent to the system without public pension (WPPS), and the partly-fertility-linked public pension system (PFLPPS) is equivalent to the conventional public pension system (CPPS). The CPPS is beneficial to developing countries in promoting economic growth and reducing population. It is necessary for developed countries to weigh gains and losses carefully if they hope to transform their CPPS (or PFLPPS) to the FFLPPS.
Distribution Systems and Operating Leverage
Authors: Seog S. Hun
Published: February 2010

This paper presents a model in which firms compete in a Cournot-Nash game. Firms can choose an exclusive agency (EA) or an independent agency (IA) distribution system. Firms can enter and exit the market and switch distribution systems with no cost. The only difference between an EA system and an IA system is the operating leverage or cost structure. An EA firm incurs low (per unit) variable cost but high fixed cost. An IA firm incurs high variable cost but low fixed cost. Under the different operating leverages, we investigate the equilibrium outcome in which no entry, no exit, and no switching occur. We find that coexistence is possible when IA firms are less efficient than EA firms. IA firms can dominate in the market even if IA firms are inefficient. An EA firm produces more than an IA firm. IA firms tend to dominate more in high risk lines than in low risk lines. We provide numerical examples showing how an inefficient system can survive and even dominate in the market.
Surrender Rate Impacts on Asset Liability Management
Authors: Kim Changki
Published: February 2010

We try to model surrender rates with a few explanatory variables such as the difference between reference new money rates and product crediting rates with surrender charges, the policy age since the contract was issued, unemployment rates, economy growth rates, and seasonal effects. In modeling surrender rates we use the logit function. We calculate the value of interest indexed annuities and investigate the surrender rate impacts on the value, the duration, and the convexity of interest indexed annuities.
Public-Private Programs for Covering Extreme Events: The Impact of Information Distribution on Risk-Sharing
Authors: Michel-Kerjan Erwann , de Marcellis-Warin Nathalie
Published: February 2010

Recent extreme events have significantly raised the question of the role of public and private sectors in providing adequate financial protection to victims. Developing publicprivate insurance programs could constitute one of the most appealing ways to solve the problem of financing the consequences of those large-scale catastrophes. However, catastrophic risks present very specific characteristics which challenge any traditional economic approaches to analyzing them. Further, the government may have better information about the risk than insurers (e.g., national security). Currently, little has been done in the economic literature to better understand how this assumption impacts on how risks are shared between all stakeholders in such partnerships.This paper analyzes policy issues related to risk/information sharing between insurers and a dedicated State-backed governmental reinsurer, who are part of a national partnership program. The government develops a mandatory coverage against catastrophic risks and decides the level of premiums levied against the insureds. Using a game-theoretical approach, we show that a government can act to induce private insurers in the country to participate in the partnership instead of leaving the market. By modulating its premium policy, the government can also led them to adopt two different strategies: (1) behave as a simple financial intermediary between the insured and the public reinsurer so that the latter supports the largest portion of the risks or (2) conserve the largest part of risks to benefit from market conditions created by the government seeking to avoid its intervention ex post to bail out the public reinsurer. The paper also discusses the impacts of government information-sharing strategies on the game equilibrium. Illustrations are provided for natural hazards and terrorism risk.
Limited Competition, Information Asymmetry, and Organizational Forms
Authors: Seog S. Hun
Published: February 2010

The theory of information asymmetry has explained the coexistence of stock and mutual companies in the insurance market. However, there is discrepancy between the theory and empirical findings. This paper proposes a simple theory to fill the gap between the theory and empirical findings. Our approach is to modify the theory of information asymmetry by incorporating limited competition. Using the Evolutionary Stable Equilibrium, we show that the coexistence or existence of mutuals only (stocks only, resp.) can be an evolutionary stable outcome even in a high risk line (a low risk line). We find that two additional factors are important in explaining the results: (i) the relative size of advantage of each organizational form and (ii) history (or the starting population of companies).
Does Bancassurance Increase the Efficiency of the Financial Industry? A Case for Korea
Authors: Lee Soon-Jae , Jung Sechang , Lee Bong-Joo
Published: February 2010

This paper aims to investigate the effects of bancassurance in Korea and to find the best bancassurance partners in terms of cost, revenue, and profit efficiency. Thick frontier and scenario analyses are used to measure the efficiency change. We find that foreign and small- and medium-sized insurers can gain cost and profit efficiency through bancassurance, but lose revenue efficiency. Large insurers can realize cost efficiency, but lose revenue and profit efficiency. Banks can realize revenue and profit efficiency, but lose cost efficiency. For banks, large insurers are the best bancassurance partners due to product relatedness and good reputation.
Assessing Adverse Selection in Crop Insurance Markets: An Application of Parametric and Nonparametric Methods
Authors: Makki Shiva S. , Somwaru Agapi L.
Published: February 2010

This paper investigates adverse selection in crop insurance markets using both parametric and nonparametric methods. Our results reject the conditional independence of the choice of insurance contracts and risk of loss, implying the presence of informational asymmetries between insurers and insureds in the markets. Results also show that actual premium rates are significantly different from both pure and fair premium rates. Our findings provide useful insights into asymmetric information problems and methods to assess the risk of loss in crop insurance markets.
Ruin Probabilities under Generalized Exponential Distribution
Authors: Thampi K. K. , Jacob M. J. , Raju N.
Published: February 2010

We consider a renewal risk model in which the claim inter-arrival distribution is generalized exponential (GE). We obtain the probability distribution for the ladder height distribution and use it to find the bounds for the ultimate ruin probabilities for individual claim amount distributions. The method suggested by Dufresne and Gerber (1989) is used for finding the bounds for ruin probabilities.
Applying Data Mining Technology for Insurance Rate Making: An Example of Automobile Insurance
Authors: Kahane Yehuda , Levin Nissan , Meiri Ronen , Zahavi Jacon
Published: February 2010

In this paper we discuss the use of modern data mining (DM) methods to design risk-based insurance premiums for motor vehicles. Our objective is to predict the likelihood and expected value of future claims for each insured based on a myriad of attributes available in the database on the customers and their peers. The model results may then be used for underwriting and for rate making. We employ a two-stage approach, involving a survival analysis model and a linear regression model, to estimate the risk level of each customer and the proneness to file a claim. The study was performed on actual data set obtained from a small insurance company. We demonstrate our ability to discover new underwriting parameters, build accurate predictive models and to distinguish between distinct groups of policies. The new method creates a new ordering of the policies where the most risky people were, on the average, 12 times more expensive than the least risky people. The importance of the study is not in the particular results, which are specific for the particular company and its environment, but rather in the demonstration of the general ability to use data mining for insurance rate making purposes, and in the original use of the concept of survival analysis and the concept of mean time between claims for this purpose.
Managing Viagers Securitization and Life Extension Risk
Authors: Stone Charles A. , Zissu Anne
Published: February 2010

It is possible in France to finance the purchase of a property with a viager in lieu of obtaining a traditional mortgage loan, where the purchase price of the property, or balance of the price if a down payment is made (the bouquet), is converted into an annuity that the buyer agrees to pay for the remainder of the seller's life. Insurance companies in France have been significant investors in the viager market for many years. The cash flows generated by pools of viagers can thus mirror those from pools of life insurance policies. We propose in this paper a model that values the possible securitization of viagers and that values life extension risk. The securitization of viagers gives insurance companies an opportunity to create portfolios where mortality risk can be hedged by life extension risk.
Financial Instability and Life Insurance Demand
Authors: Okura Mahito , Kasuga Norihiro
Published: February 2010

The purpose of this research is to discuss Japanese financial instability and both private life insurance and public life insurance (Kampo) demand. At the same time, we also consider Kampos main role and what Kampo should be as an insurance service provider in the future. From empirically estimating private life insurance and Kampo demand functions using household-level data provided by the Postal Services Research Institute, the authors find that differences in income, children, pension and knowledge affect households decisions on the purchase of life insurance products. Income and financial assets also appear to have significant effect on the purchase of private life insurance products and Kampo. However, pension and bankruptcy experience appear to have an impact only on Kampo, while age (less than 40) and occupation (public official) factors affect only private life insurance. Dummy variables representing insurer comparison, knowledge and bankruptcy experience are not found to have any significant effect on decisions concerning private life insurance. The authors also conducted simultaneous estimations to examine the reasons why households with private life insurance products additionally purchase Kampo and vice versa. The results indicate that differences in income, children and bankruptcy experience variables do not affect the decision-making process, and that a knowledge dummy has a negative impact on additional purchases.
Endowment Assurance Products: Effectiveness of Risk-Minimizing Strategies under Model Risk
Authors: Chen An , Mahayni Antje B.
Published: February 2010

This paper analyzes and discusses the effects of model misspecification associated with both interest rate and mortality risk on the hedging decisions of insurance companies. We consider hedging strategies in different instruments (zero bonds) which are risk- (variance-) minimizing with respect to an assumed model. In this case, the associated expected costs and the variance of the costs are the same for all strategies. While the introduction of model risk, i.e. a deviation of assumed from true models, has the same effect on the expected costs, this is not true with respect to the variance. It turns out that the choice of hedging instruments has a crucial impact on the robustness of the strategies. In addition, the results of the paper can be used to emphasize the necessity to use a combined hedging model. In terms of robust hedging, a separate specification of interest rate model and mortality model is inconvenient, even in the case that interest rate and mortality are assumed to be independent.
Effort Allocation of Insurance Agent under Asymmetric Information: An Analytical Approach
Authors: Kojima Koji , Okura Mahito
Published: February 2010

This study examines the relationship between incentive contracts for managers and the allocation of efforts by the managers as well as the stock markets role in monitoring allocation of the efforts. It also evaluates solvency regulation in Japan and its effects on the compensation of a manager and allocation of the managers efforts and on the shareholders profits in a market with asymmetric information. Particularly, we employ a principal-agency model to demonstrate how uncertainty in the insurance market affects the way managers allocate their efforts so that their companies can achieve a higher solvency ratio in order to meet not only regulatory requirements but also stock market expectation. We find presence of a solvency margin ratio that, subject to certain conditions, increases the level of good effort, decreases the level of bad effort by the manager and increases the expected stock price.
The Birth of the Life Market
Authors: Blake David , Cairns Andrew , Dowd Kevin
Published: February 2010

The huge economic significance of longevity risk for corporations, governments and individuals is beginning to be recognized and quantified. The traditional insurance route for managing this risk is capacity constrained, leaving the capital markets to provide an effective solution. We consider what capital markets need to both start and evolve. We then look at the first generation of bond-based capital market solutions that have been tried so far and examine their success or failure. The lessons learned here have informed the design of the second generation of derivatives-based capital market solutions. Although there remain barriers to surmount, we are witnessing the birth of the life market, the market in longevityrelated financial instruments.
Optimal Retirement Asset Decumulation Strategies: The Impact of Housing Wealth
Authors: Sun Wei , Triest Robert K. , Webb Anthony
Published: February 2010

A considerable literature examines the optimal decumulation of financial wealth in retirement. We extend this research to incorporate housing, which comprises the majority of most households non-pension wealth.We estimate the relationship between the returns on housing, stocks, and bonds, and simulate a variety of decumulation strategies incorporating reverse mortgages. We show that homeowners reversionary interest, the amount that can be borrowed through a reverse mortgage, is a surprisingly risky asset. Under our baseline assumptions, we find that the average household would be as much as 24 percent better off taking a reverse mortgage as a lifetime income relative to what appears to be the most common strategy: delaying tapping housing wealth until financial wealth is exhausted and then taking a line of credit. In addition, we show that housing wealth displaces bonds in optimal portfolios, making the low rate of participation in the stock market even more of a puzzle.