bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The Economic Effects of Human Rights
Authors: Blume Lorenz , Voigt Stefan 
Published: October 2007

SUMMARYThere are three positions concerning the economic effects of human rights discussed among economists. Some economists argue that only property rights matter for economic growth and basic human rights can even make the legal system less efficient. Others argue that negative rights are generally welfare increasing while positive rights tend to reduce income and growth over time. Yet a third group of economists argues that elements of all groups of human rights are a precondition for making productive use of one's resources and are thus efficiency‐enhancing. Based on a cross‐country analysis, the effects of different groups of human rights on economic growth are estimated in this paper. The transmission channels through which the different rights affect growth are identified by estimating their effects on investment and overall productivity. Basic human rights have indeed a positive effect on investment, but do not seem to contribute to productivity. Social rights, in turn, are not conducive to investment in physical capital but do contribute to productivity improvements. None of the four groups of rights covered in this analysis ever has a significant negative effect on any of the economic variables included.
The Great Divide Revisited: Ottoman and Habsburg Legacies on Transition
Authors: Dimitrova‐Grajzl Valentina 
Published: October 2007

SUMMARYThe former socialist countries of South East and Central Europe exhibit great variation in institutional quality. Unlike the sparse existing literature, I claim that the variation can be explained by the legacies of the Ottoman and Habsburg Empires. I identify historical legacies of the Empires, which have affected the current institutional quality of the successor states. I show empirically that the Empires' legacies are key determinants of institutional quality, and that the Habsburg successors have institutions that are more efficient in a market economy than the Ottoman successors. In contrast, I find an insignificant effect of socialism on institutional quality.
Legal Restrictions and Investment Growth
Authors: Lensink Robert , Scholtens Bert 
Published: October 2007

SUMMARYWe analyze the impact of legal restrictions on investment growth at the firm level. With the help of a unique firm‐level survey database, we analyze whether firm investments are related to the efficiency and quality of the judiciary. Furthermore, we analyze whether the investment behavior of large and small firms is influenced in the same manner and degree. Our results provide strong support for the hypothesis that investment growth may be hampered by laws that are experienced as negative by firms. We find that it especially is the smaller firms which are restricted by laws in their investment behavior. Larger (international) firms are better able to cope with the rules. These results are robust to different estimators.
Temporal discrimination increases in precision over development and parallels the development of numerosity discrimination
Authors: Brannon Elizabeth M. , Suanda Sumarga , Libertus Klaus 
Published: October 2007

Abstract Time perception is important for many aspects of human behavior, and a large literature documents that adults represent intervals and that their ability to discriminate temporal intervals is ratio dependent. Here we replicate a recent study by

vanMarle and Wynn (2006

) that used the visual habituation paradigm and demonstrated that temporal discrimination in 6‐month‐old infants is also ratio dependent. We further demonstrate that between 6 and 10 months of age temporal discrimination increases in precision such that by 10 months of age infants succeed at discriminating a 2:3 ratio, a ratio that 6‐month‐old infants were unable to discriminate. We discuss the potential implications of the fact that temporal discrimination follows the same developmental progression that has been previously observed for number discrimination in infancy (

Lipton & Spelke, 2003

).
Evidence for reduced domain‐specificity in auditory processing in autism
Authors: Järvinen‐Pasley Anna , Heaton Pamela 
Published: October 2007

Abstract Neurological and behavioral findings indicate that atypical auditory processing characterizes autism. The present study tested the hypothesis that auditory processing is less domain‐specific in autism than in typical development. Participants with autism and controls completed a pitch sequence discrimination task in which same/different judgments of music and/or speech stimulus pairs were made. A signal detection analysis showed no difference in pitch sensitivity across conditions in the autism group, while controls exhibited significantly poorer performance in conditions incorporating speech. The results are largely consistent with perceptual theories of autism, which propose that a processing bias towards featural/low‐level information characterizes the disorder, as well as supporting the notion that such individuals exhibit selective attention to a limited number of simultaneously presented cues.
Linking working memory and long‐term memory: a computational model of the learning of new words
Authors: Jones Gary , Gobet Fernand , Pine Julian M. 
Published: October 2007

Abstract The nonword repetition (NWR) test has been shown to be a good predictor of children's vocabulary size. NWR performance has been explained using phonological working memory, which is seen as a critical component in the learning of new words. However, no detailed specification of the link between phonological working memory and long‐term memory (LTM) has been proposed. In this paper, we present a computational model of children's vocabulary acquisition (EPAM‐VOC) that specifies how phonological working memory and LTM interact. The model learns phoneme sequences, which are stored in LTM and mediate how much information can be held in working memory. The model's behaviour is compared with that of children in a new study of NWR, conducted in order to ensure the same nonword stimuli and methodology across ages. EPAM‐VOC shows a pattern of results similar to that of children: performance is better for shorter nonwords and for wordlike nonwords, and performance improves with age. EPAM‐VOC also simulates the superior performance for single consonant nonwords over clustered consonant nonwords found in previous NWR studies. EPAM‐VOC provides a simple and elegant computational account of some of the key processes involved in the learning of new words: it specifies how phonological working memory and LTM interact; makes testable predictions; and suggests that developmental changes in NWR performance may reflect differences in the amount of information that has been encoded in LTM rather than developmental changes in working memory capacity.
Development of action monitoring through adolescence into adulthood: ERP and source localization
Authors: Ladouceur Cecile D. , Dahl Ronald E. , Carter Cameron S. 
Published: October 2007

AbstractIn this study we examined the development of three action monitoring event‐related potentials (ERPs) – the error‐related negativity (ERN/Ne), error positivity (PE) and the N2 – and estimated their neural sources. These ERPs were recorded during a flanker task in the following groups: early adolescents (mean age = 12 years), late adolescents (mean age = 16 years), and adults (mean age = 29 years). The amplitudes of the ERN/Ne and N2 were greater in the adult and late adolescent groups than in the early adolescent group. Both of these components had neural sources in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC). Although PE was present across groups, PE amplitude was greater in the late adolescent group compared to the adult group and also had neural sources in the ACC. ERN/Ne amplitude was related to post‐error slowing across age groups; it was related to task performance only in the adult group. These findings are discussed in light of the role of the maturation of the ACC in the development of action monitoring processes.
Comparing infants’ use of featural and spatiotemporal information in an object individuation task using a new event‐monitoring design
Authors: Krøjgaard Peter 
Published: October 2007

Abstract Discussions have recently taken place on whether spatiotemporal information is more important than featural information when infants attempt to individuate objects. Hitherto, spatiotemporal and featural information have only been compared directly by using cognitively demanding ‘event‐mapping designs’ (e.g.

Xu & Carey, 1996

), whereas the simpler event‐monitoring designs (e.g. the ‘wide‐screen/narrow‐screen’ by Wilcox and colleagues) have not been employed for such a comparison. The present research offers a new event‐monitoring design, the rotating screen design, that allows for such a direct comparison. Three experiments in which 9.5‐, 8.0‐, and 6.5‐month‐old infants attempt to individuate objects by spatiotemporal and featural information are reported. The results showed that whereas the 9.5‐month‐old infants were able to individuate objects by spatiotemporal as well as featural information, the infants of the younger age groups only successfully individuated objects when provided with spatiotemporal information, but not with featural information.
Children's subjective identification with social groups: a self‐stereotyping approach
Authors: Bennett Mark , Sani Fabio 
Published: October 2007

Abstract We contend that previous work on children's identification with social groups has looked at the mere categorization of the self in group terms and not subjective identification properly conceived. Drawing upon self‐categorization theory, the present research operationalizes identification as self‐stereotyping (i.e. the ability to conceive of the self in group‐relevant terms). Children's self‐stereotyping was explored in two studies using gender as the relevant ingroup. Study 1 required 5‐, 7‐ and 10‐year‐old children, on two separate occasions, to rate their similarity to, and difference from, same‐sex peers. Relative to the control condition, when gender had been made salient, children perceived significantly greater similarity, and smaller difference, between themselves and same‐sex peers, thus providing evidence of a capacity for self‐stereotyping and, hence, for subjective identification with a social category. Similarly, Study 2 sought trait ratings of the self both when gender had been made salient and when it had not. Boys of all ages (though not girls) rated ingroup‐stereotypical traits (such as bravery and strength) to be more characteristic of the self when gender was salient than when it was not. Together, these findings suggest that the capacity for subjective identification with social groups is present at least by the age of 5 years. Moreover, they demonstrate that children's self‐conceptions are contextually variable.
What are you looking at? Infants’ neural processing of an adult's object‐directed eye gaze
Authors: Hoehl Stefanie , Reid Vincent , Mooney Jeanette , Striano Tricia 
Published: October 2007

Abstract Previous research suggests that by 4 months of age infants use the eye gaze of adults to guide their attention and facilitate processing of environmental information. Here we address the question of how infants process the relation between another person and an external object. We applied an ERP paradigm to investigate the neural processes underlying the perception of the direction of an adult's eye gaze in 4‐month‐old infants. Infants showed differential processing of an adult's eye gaze, which was directed at a simultaneously presented object compared to non‐object‐directed eye gaze. This distinction was evident in two ERP components: The Negative component, reflecting attentional processes, and the positive slow wave, which is involved in memory encoding. The implications of these findings for the development of joint attention and related social cognitive functions are discussed.
Fourteen‐month‐olds pay attention to vowels in novel words
Authors: Mani Nivedita , Plunkett Kim 
Published: October 2007

AbstractRecent research has shown that infants are sensitive to mispronunciations of words when tested using a preferential looking task. The results of these studies indicate that infants are able to access the phonological detail of words when engaged in lexical recognition. However, most of this work has focused on mispronunciations of consonants in familiar and novel words. Very little is known about the role that vowels play in constraining lexical access during the early stages of lexical development. We describe a word learning study with 14‐ and 18‐month‐old infants that tests their sensitivity to mispronunciations of word‐medial vowels using a preferential looking task. We found that both age groups demonstrated recognition of correctly pronounced tokens of the newly learnt words but not mispronounced tokens. These results indicate that vowels constrain lexical access of novel words by as early as 14 months of age, and add to the growing body of literature indicating that infants exploit detailed phonological information when processing both familiar and newly learnt words.
Assessing ‘fun foods’: nutritional content and analysis of supermarket foods targeted at children
Authors: Elliott C. 
Published: October 2007

SummaryThis article provides a nutritional profile of foods targeted specifically at children in the Canadian supermarket. Excluding confectionery, soft drinks and bakery items, 367 products were assessed for their nutritional composition. The article examines the relationship between ‘fun food’ images/messages, product claims and actual product nutrition. Among other findings, it concludes that approximately 89% of the products analysed could be classified as of poor nutritional quality owing to high levels of sugar, fat and/or sodium. Policy considerations need to be made in light of the fact that ‘fun food’ is a unique category that poses special challenges; as such, recommendations regarding food labelling and packaging are presented.
La vulnérabilitééconomique, défi persistant à la croissance africaine
Authors: Guillaumont Patrick 
Published: October 2007

Résumé:  Alors qu'après une longue période de stagnation la croissance semble être revenue en Afrique, la question se pose de savoir si la nouvelle croissance africaine est durable. Cet article examine dans quelle mesure la croissance africaine est vulnérable aux chocs exogènes et quelles en sont les implications pour le financement internatìonal du développement. It montre en premier lieu la persistance de la vulnérabilité des économies africaines au regard de l'indice de vulnérabilitééconomique des Nations unies (EVI), utilisant une première série rétrospective de cet indice. En second lieu, s'appuyant sur divers travaux récents, il souligne l'importance de la vulnérabilité structurelle pour la croissance et le développement, particullèrement en Afrique. Enfin il examine le rôle du financement international pour réspondre à la vulnérabilité des économies africaines, suggérant de faire de la vulnérabilité structurelle un des critères d'allocation de l'aide de d'adapter les modailités de l'aide pour lui faire jouer de façon efficace un rôle d'assurance.Abstract:  While after a long stagnation growth seems to have come back in Africa, the issue remains to know whether the new African growth is sustainable. This paper examines to what extent African growth is vulnerable to exogeneous shocks and what are the implications for international developement finance. First it evidences the persistent vulnerability of African economies with regard to the U.N. Economic Vulnerability Index (EVI), using a first retrospective series of that index. Second, relying on several recent works, it unerlines that structural vulnerability matters, in particular in Africa. Finally it considers how international development finance can be used to face the vulnerability of African economies, suggesting to use structural vulnerability as one of the aid allocation criteria and to adopt modalities of aid so that it can effectively serve as an insurance.
Productivity growth and the returns from public investment in R&D in Australian broadacre agriculture
Authors: Mullen John 
Published: October 2007

Investment in R&D has long been regarded as an important source of productivity growth in Australian agriculture. Perhaps because research lags are long, current investment in R&D is monitored closely. Investment in R&D has been flat while productivity growth has remained strong, relative both to other sectors of the Australian economy and to the agricultural sectors of other countries. Such productivity growth, at a time when the decline in terms of trade facing Australian farmers has slowed, may have enhanced the competitiveness of Australian agriculture. The econometric results presented here suggest no evidence of a decline in the returns from research from the 15 to 40 per cent per annum range estimated by Mullen and Cox. In fact the marginal impact of research increases with research over the range of investment levels experienced from 1953 to 2000, a finding which lends support to the view that there is underinvestment in agricultural research. These results were obtained from econometric models which maintain strong assumptions about how investments in research and extension translate into changes in TFP. Hence some caution in interpreting the results is warranted.
WHOSE WILL IS IT, ANYWAY? A DISCUSSION OF ADVANCE DIRECTIVES, PERSONAL IDENTITY, AND CONSENSUS IN MEDICAL ETHICS
Authors: KUCZEWSKI MARK G. 
Published: October 2007

ABSTRACTI consider objections to the use of living wills based upon the discontinuity of personal identity between the time of the execution of the directive anbd the time the person becomes incompetent. Recent authors, following Derek Parfit's “Complex View” of personal identity, have argued that there is often not sufficient identity interests between the competent person who executes the living will and the incompetent patient to warrant the use of the advance directive. I argue that such critics err by seeking personal identity in a purely descriptive manner. By exploring Buchanan and Brock's concept of “surviving interests”, an argument is developed that certain future‐oriented acts have a normative force that contributes to the narrative unity which is constitutive of personal ideality. This narrative concept of the self is entailed by many of the our ordinary practices and challenges the philosophical consensus to view the self in a more dynamic and communitarian manner.
SAVING THE YOUNG BEFORE THE OLD ‐ A REPLY TO JOHN HARRIS
Authors: KAPPEL KLEMENS , SANDøE PETER 
Published: October 2007

ABSTRACTFor a distribution of health care resources to be fair, it should consider the consequences for the whole lives of the affected persons and not just how badly off they are at the present moment. Since, other things being equal, a person is worse off if he dies young than if he dies old, it is fair to give scarce vital health care resources to young rather than to old persons. In the paper this ageist view is restated and defended against a number of objections raised by John Harris. According to Harris' so‐called anti‐ageist argument the only relevant consideration in the distribution of vital health care resources is people's desire to go on living. On reflection, this is highly counterintuitive. Instead, it is argued that both present desires to go on living and possible future happiness should weigh together with considerations of fairness. Both fairness and possible future happiness will in most cases speak in favour of saving the young before the old. A number of other problems for the ageist view are discussed, and solutions are suggested.
JUSTICE FOR CHILDREN: THE CHILD AS ORGAN DONOR
Authors: ROSS LAINIE FRIEDMAN 
Published: October 2007

ABSTRACTI argue that parents ought to be allowed to authorize their child's participation as an organ donor for another family member. I introduce a model of decisionmaking for children in intimate families which I call Constrained Parental Autonomy. This model permits wide parental discretion which is constrained absolutely by a broadly defined principle of respect for persons. In general, parental authorization alone is sufficient but I argue that the respect for persons constraint prevents certain donations and requires the child's assent for other donations. I also consider two controversial implications of the application of this model: the objection that the model does not respect the child's right to bodily integrity, and the objection that the model does not and is unable to address intrafamilial disgreement.
RATIONAL DESIRES AND THE LIMITATION OF LIFE‐SUSTAINING TREATMENT
Authors: SAVULESCU JULIAN 
Published: October 2007

ABSTRACTIt is accepted that treatment of previously competent, now incompetent patients can be limited if that is what the patient would desire, if she were now competent. Expressed past preferences or an advance directive are often taken to constitute sufficient evidence of what a patient would now desire. I distinguish between desires and rational desires. I argue that for a desire to be an expression of a person's autonomy, it must be or satisfy that person's rational desires. A person rationally desires a course of action if that person desires it while being in possession of all available relevant facts, without committing relevant error of logic, and “vividly imagining” what its consequences would be like for her. I argue that some competent, expressed desires obstruct autonomy. I show that several psychological mechanisms operate to prevent a person rationally evaluating what future life in a disabled state would be like. Rational evaluation is difficult. However, treatment limitation, if it is to respect autonomy, must be in accord with a patient's rational desires, and not merely her expressed desires. I illustrate the implications of these arguments for the use of advance directives and for the treatment of competent patients.
ADVANCE DIRECTIVES, AUTONOMY AND UNINTENDED DEATH
Authors: STONE JIM 
Published: October 2007

ABSTRACTThis Paper argues that Living wills are typically nebulous and confused documents that do not effectively enable you to determine your future treatment. Worse, signing a living will can end your life in ways you never intended, long before you are either incompetent or terminally ill. This danger is compounded by the fact that those who implement living wills are often themselves dangerously confused, so that, for example, they cannot be relied upon to distinguish living wills from DNR orders. In addition, the Paper argues that advance directives concerning resuscitation are often so confused that they end the lives of healthy, alert people who have not suffered cardiac or pulmonary arrest. Finally, the paper argues that advance directives establishing durable power of attorney for health care often preserve the chief dangers of living wills. Suggestions are offered as to how you can most effectively direct your future treatment without endangering your life.